Humans Hiding, Animals Running Amok

                With human beings confined to their domiciles, animals are once again taking over. And even takin’ it to the streets as the Doobie Brothers might say. Recently, an Instagram video showed an alligator sauntering around the Barefoot Landing shopping center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The following day, the Folly Beach (S.C.) Public Safety department fielded complaints of a different alligator chilling on the beach. The police called the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, which told the officers not to worry about it, and to let nature take its course. This advice was not folly, as there are no humans on the beach anymore, anyway.

                Reports are coming in from around the country—and the world—of animals turning up in parks, on beaches, and even on streets and parking lots, places normally reserved for homo sapiens. Coyotes have been observed prowling the now nearly empty streets of San Francisco, geese have been loitering around Las Vegas Boulevard (Note to Noah: geese? Really?), and rats have overtaken the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. I have personally witnessed flocks of gulls squatting in shopping center parking lots and turkeys taking our roads less traveled. Video from Thailand exists online of monkeys brawling in the streets, as do shots of a puma strolling down a sidewalk, in Santiago, Chile.

                This is a kind of reverse Genesis, with the animals going forth and multiplying, and taking dominion over the earth, as people are instructed to stay inside and timidly mind their own business.

                It is in keeping with the bizarre nature of these times, as folks around the planet are losing their religion, their minds…and, apparently, their place at the head of the animal kingdom.

Coronavirus, Governments Robbing People Of Togetherness, Community

Police recently served a summons to the pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship for holding a church service for 16 people spaced far apart in a sanctuary that seats 293.  On a charge of violating Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID Order Number 55, which prohibits large gatherings under penalty of a $2,500 fine and/or a year in jail. Happy Easter to Lighthouse Fellowship.

You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away

                Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear then warned that anyone attending an Easter (or other) church service in his state would have to be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days. Concerned that some folks might not heed his warning, he ordered police to go through the church parking lots car by car and write down the license plate numbers of all the attendees. The police then provided the information to health departments, which will enforce the quarantines.

I ain't lookin' for prayers or pity
I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that human touch
Just a little of that human touch

The town of Beverly, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, has set up one-way sidewalks in order to force its residents to practice social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Locals are mandated to walk in opposite directions along formerly bustling Lothrop Street, using separate sidewalks so that they do not momentarily come in close proximity to one another. Pedestrians must now walk against traffic, using the sidewalk on one side of the street if going one direction, and the one on the opposite side of the street if traveling in the other direction. Those not in compliance with the dictate are subject to fines of $100.

Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize
Well it comes with a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and pain
Without losin' the love that remains
We're all riders on this train  (well, we used to be)

                Numerous experts are saying it will be at least 18 months until Americans will be able to return to some semblance of normalcy  and begin to attend public gatherings such as concerts, sporting events, conferences, and religious services—or even eat in restaurants again. All of them say it is regrettable that this is the case…before adding some form of “but we have no choice.” So, until a vaccine is discovered, just shelter in place for a year and a half or so, Americans. Can’t wait to see who you—and we—are when and if we come out the other side.

You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers they don't amount to much
Somebody that you can just talk to
And a little of that human touch

                The behavioral changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic-- and government’s response to it—will not be going away any time soon, even when the shelter in place orders are eased or lifted. New habits die hard, too. Fear can be very difficult to shake. And it is anything but certain that our elected officials, bureaucrats and appointed “experts” will relinquish their newfound control…especially since it came so easily. We have been told that we can’t leave our homes, can’t visit relatives in nursing homes and hospitals, and can’t attend weddings. We have even been told that we can’t attend a loved one’s funeral. Denied our ability to say goodbye, we are likewise stripped of our humanity.

                Easter was effectively banned. Memorial Day will be next. Then the Fourth of July. We have already been prevented from publicly worshipping the Lord and will likely be prevented from gathering to honor our veterans, and our nation. The world is virtually turning into a virtual realm. For some, the concept of reality is slipping away.

Artificial intelligence is not a suitable replacement for common sense. Nor can virtual reality replace the beauty and poignance of the human touch.

 Let’s hope it never does.

Baby in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much ?
I just want to feel you in my arms
And share a little of that human touch...

On Liberty

              Perhaps liberals love affair with public transportation, high-density housing and urban development will be seen in a different light once all the COVID-19 lock-downs are ended. At least in the United States, and assuming they ever do end, as “experts” seem to be continually extending the time they say is necessary to keep them in place. (A new report from Harvard researchers says that these measures may be necessary until 2022.)

             Cramming myself into a New York subway and hanging onto a strap while others lurch (and belch and sneeze) around me isn’t my cup of tea, nor is getting funneled thru an airport and fondled by TSA employees for the privilege of flying in an elongated, motorized cigar tube with 75 strangers to get to another airport where we all wait for our luggage to return to us. Neither am I fond of being carted around in a city bus with my seatmate falling asleep and leaning into me, shortly after he has apparently consumed a meal containing prodigious amounts of garlic and washed it down with a similar quantity of alcohol.

I am personally averse to being housed in massive, urban, multi-family developments, be they low and sprawling or towering 30 or more stories into the sky.  Moreover, since I have claustrophobia, I have never enjoyed riding in a packed elevator, staring at my own feet and listening to bad Muzak, and that will be even more the case in the future.

If you like dense urban environments and public transportation, more power to you. Honestly, that is your right. But, our officials, elected or otherwise, do not have the right to strip the rest of us of all our liberties. They have no right to tell us we can never leave our homes. In perpetuity. They should not be allowed to tell us where (or how) we should live. Or how we should get there. Or if and when we can attend weddings and funerals. Or worship our God.

So, as for me, give me liberty and give me breath. God willing, I will take to the open road in my own vehicle-- perhaps heading from my decadent, if modest, single family home—and head out across the vast American West, whether it be on Route 66, across “Big Sky Country” (Montana), or to visit the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore.

By the grace of God, Washington and Jefferson bestowed upon us our freedoms. Lincoln preserved and enhanced them. No modern-day politician-- or group thereof—can be allowed to take back what they have bequeathed us.

Democrats, Socialists and Chinese Communist Party members, listen up. We shall be free. Or die trying to once again make it so.

Coronavirus Headlines Truly Sickening

              So called progressives and the mainstream media continually trumpet how sensitive they are to others, how caring. They flout their “wokeness” and assumed moral superiority incessantly. For example, if you don’t call a man who identifies as a woman by a feminine pronoun, or one of “her” own choosing, they will call you a bigot and suggest that you be subject to fines or other punitive measures. The mainstream media literally never stops assailing President Trump for his alleged callousness, boorishness and insensitivity. And yet they come up with headlines such as these:

*”Climate Change Alarmists See Hope In Coronavirus”—MSN

* “There’s an unlikely beneficiary of coronavirus: The planet”—CNN.COM

*“Cleaner hands, bluer skies: what has coronavirus done for us?”—YAHOO.COM

                “Yes, it’s a bummer that over 126,000 people have died worldwide, but hey, there’s a bit less pollution in the air! So sorry that nearly 30,000 Americans have perished, but our greenhouse gas emissions have dropped a bit. Yay?!?”  What the hell? What happened to “even one life lost is too many?” It’s easy to see where their priorities lay. It’s a good thing we didn’t have today’s hypocritical, soulless, radical leftist media in days of yore, or we would’ve been exposed to headlines like these:

*“Bright side of Pearl Harbor attack, navy using less crude oil”

*“Silver lining of 9/11: birds no longer flying into Twin Towers”

*“Unanticipated benefit of Holocaust: price of Matzo ball soup dropping”

                Here is one headline I’d like to see:

*”Overwhelming majority of Americans deem those in  mainstream media ‘shameless charlatans’”

                 I’m not holding my breath.    

Earth Not Shaking As Much, Experts Say

                As I noted in a recent post, “Silent Spring,” things have quieted down around the world due to the extreme isolation measures governments have imposed on their citizens. Empty malls, empty stores, empty arenas, empty streets…and empty lives…are the rule, not the exception.

                Seismologists across the planet have noticed. They are observing dramatically less ambient seismic noise, otherwise known as the vibrations generated by cars, buses, trucks, trains and people living and working as they had been for many decades. This has, they say, resulted in the Earth’s upper crust moving a little less. We’re not talking about the rich and famous (the movers and the shakers?), but the planet’s actual physical crust. Thomas Lecocq (!), a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, noted that Brussels has seen a reduction in ambient seismic noise of between 30% and 50% since social-distancing measures were imposed in mid-March. Lecocq says this is clear evidence that people are observing authorities’ warnings to stay inside and avoid traveling. “Everyone is doing the same. Everyone is respecting the rules,” he added.

                Raphael De Plaen (“look, boss, De Plaen…De Plaen!”), a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, explained that the seismological data can also be used to identify areas where containment measures have not been as effective. He stated: "That could be used in the future by decision makers to figure out, 'OK, we're not doing things right. We need to work on that and make sure that people respect that because this is in the interest of everyone.'"

                In other words, authorities will be able to utilize the data to “deal” with those who have not sufficiently ceased their movements in the eyes of their governments.

                “Good Vibrations?” Not anymore. Even the Beach Boys are slowing down.

                Soon, there will be no need to ask anyone, “What’s shakin’?”

                Because every answer would be the same. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

President Trump Faults The WHO

                President Donald J. Trump recently stated that he was looking into placing “a very powerful hold” on U.S. funding of the WHO, insisting that the group “called it wrong” in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump slammed the WHO for opposing his travel ban to China earlier in the outbreak and hinted that the U.S. is not getting much, if anything, from its substantial investment in the group. He said the WHO have “been wrong about a lot of things,” and added that he believes the group is “very China-centric.”

                At a recent press conference, when asked about America’s funding of the WHO, Trump said if he were them, “I’d call that a bargain, the best I ever had.” The president was also asked how the United States was roped into providing such a high level of funding to the group. He replied, “I can see for miles and miles” as you know, but “I Can’t Explain” this. He added, “I Don’t Even Know Myself.” Trump went on to state that, if we “Join Together,” we’ll all be okay.

                When a reporter asked about the coronavirus’ affects on people of different age groups, the president responded, “Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, the ‘Eminence Front’ as I call them, tell me ‘The Kids Are Alright,’ but that ‘My Generation’ is at risk. I am ‘The Seeker,’ and even though there is no ‘Magic Bus’ to take us from the depths of this pandemic to the promised land of health and prosperity again, we are not going to roll over. ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ that I can promise you.”

                Another reporter asked if Trump blamed China for the virus and pandemic, to which the president responded: “Who are you…who, who, who, who? Who the f**k are you?” He then added, “You Better, You Bet!”

                Trump wrapped up his press conference by stating of China and the WHO, “There’s one thing I can promise you: we ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again!’”

                Neither Roger Daltrey nor Pete Townshend were available for comment.

Silent Spring

                Rachel Carson was right after all. Almost six decades since her iconic environmentalist book “Silent Spring” was published, we are entering a season of strange and disconcerting soundlessness. In an ironic twist of fate, it turns out it is man and not nature that has been muted.

                There will be no groans of distress, grunts of effort and focus, nor shouts of joy on the athletic fields or in the pro-sports arenas this spring. There will be no umpire to yell “play ball!” No shrieks of joy as the Stanley Cup is proudly held aloft. There was no “March Madness,” only sadness and ennui. Tragically, there will be more of the same to come. Countless seniors in numerous winter and spring sports have been—and will be—stripped of the opportunity to compete for a championship and to be recognized on “senior night.” The Olympic Flame has been temporarily snuffed, the Summer Games postponed. Well, there’s always next year. Unless there isn’t.

                Hello darkness, my old friend

                I’ve come to talk with you again

                “Pomp and Circumstance” will not ring out across high school stadiums or college venues as joyful graduates receive their diplomas and degrees in front of their proud families and friends. Well, there’s always next year……strike that, maybe not.

                Because a vision softly creeping

                Left its seeds while I was sleeping

                Neither stadiums nor arenas, nor anyplace else, will thrill to the sounds of our favorite bands and musicians any time soon. Not in the COVID-19 Era. Those sounds you don’t hear coming from bars, restaurants, and brewpubs, would have been the clinking of glasses, the making of toasts and the telling of stories.

                And the vision that was planted in my brain

                Still remains

                Within the sound of silence

                Businesses and factories have been shut down. The hustle and bustle of city life hushed.

                “Ode to Joy” will not move throngs of marriage ceremony attendees to tears of elation, because there won’t be any sizeable marriage ceremonies. There will be no sermons in church, because there will be no public services. And there will be no gatherings at funerals, either. In the time of the coronavirus, you are not even allowed to say goodbye.

                And no one dared

                Disturb the sound of silence

Coronavirus Samples Stolen

            WFLD FOX 32, a television station in Chicago, recently reported that five coronavirus samples were stolen from a lab employee’s car at a Chicago gas station. Incredibly, the lab employee, a 42-year old woman, left her car unlocked and running while she went into the South Side gas station shortly before 7 p.m. Not surprisingly, as she entered the station, two men stole her car, a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. Apparently, after enlisting the help of a relative, the remarkably careless lab tech located her vehicle only a few miles away. Nearing midnight, she alerted nearby police officers that the two men were still in the car. Reports say the police then approached the vehicle, prompting the men to flee. Somehow, they got away from the police, who are still searching for them.

The police confirmed that all five of the samples were missing from the car after they repossessed the vehicle.

The whole episode is stupefying. Were the coronavirus samples in little plastic bottles with snap-on lids? Were they just sitting on the backseat of the ditzy lab tech’s car? On its dashboard? Did the ditzy lab tech have to use the rest room? Fancy a snack? Need to buy a pack of cigs? I mean, what the hell?! So, the two guys stole a car and then fled…with the virus samples? Did they know they were there? Did they know what they were? And the cops saw the two guys in the car and yet the two guys got out and fled and the cops couldn’t catch them? Were the cops afraid to get too close to the two car thieves? Or afraid to get too close to the coronavirus samples?

It’s a good thing this lab tech wasn’t entrusted with our nuclear codes or samples of uranium 235. “I know I should protect them, but, damn it, I crave a Twinkie! Couldn’t hurt if I left the doors unlocked and the car running, could it? Be a lot easier for me when I get back.”

Of all the ways “experts” have told us the coronavirus spreads, of all the things to watch out for…this wasn’t one of them.

Sunbathers, dog-walkers and lone paddle-boarders have been fined and/or arrested during this crisis. Will this lab tech be held accountable?

Of Pandemics And Miracles

Strange days are these.

During the present crisis, I have often written about government overreach and my fears for the post COVID-19 (COVID-1984?) world, should there ever be one. Today, however, I offer my considered opinion on what the best case scenario would be-- what needs to happen if we are to live happily ever after, or at least until the next existential crisis statists and would-be totalitarians seize upon to prevent the rest of us from ever threatening their power. We need to realize there is a tipping point economically, intellectually, and spiritually from which we can never return. I write this from the perspective of an American citizen, but many of the points made equally apply to nearly everyone around the globe. The following is a short list of what I believe we should learn from this pandemic, its genesis, and the various responses to it-- if we wish to see a better world, or even a future in which we care to be present.

*We must cherish and protect our freedoms, and never relinquish them again without the direst of proven threats. (Assuming we get them back.) And then only with the clear understanding and commitment from a democratic government that they will be promptly returned in full the moment the threat is past. Or else the old leaders will be cast out and new ones elected.

*We must always be prepared for a pandemic—or a war—so that there is no need for panic or for our liberties to be taken from us in a desperate attempt to save ourselves. This, too, is the best way to prevent either from occurring.

*We must never allow ourselves to be dependent on another nation for vital products (or services) pertaining to our national security, be they pharmaceuticals, energy supplies, military hardware, or high-tech components. We must continue strengthening our own manufacturing and energy sectors.

*We must stop relying on Chinese-made products in particular. This is not racist, just prudent. And we must never rely on the Chinese Communist government for anything whatsoever, including the truth.

*The world must demand that Chinese “wet markets” close forever. The people don’t need them. It is generally the wealthier citizens that purchase exotic animals, their carcasses, or parts thereof, as “status symbols.” The world can no longer put up with a continuing series of diseases emanating from these filthy locations.

*China must be held accountable and isolated until they give up on their attempt to dominate the world economically and militarily. (The same goes for Iran.)

*Socialized medicine should be seen for what it is. Do not forget that the elderly are often deliberately left to die due to the pernicious effects of government run health care.

*We must realize that the Democrats have clearly shown they only care about their agenda, their power, and not a whit about the American people. This realization must be reflected at the polling places in November.

*Similarly, those in the mainstream media have conclusively—and repeatedly—proven that there is no lie they won’t tell and no low to which they will not go to advance their own agenda and interests, which mirror those of the Democrats…even in the midst of a national crisis and worldwide pandemic.

*We should realize that President Trump was right about securing our borders, placing a ban on travel to and from China, and confronting China over its unfair trade practices…as well as a host of other issues. 

*We should finally realize that colleges, owing to progressive policies and dogma, have become vastly overpriced indoctrination centers, and that a viable education can be obtained online, for example, without the elaborate facilities, cadre of administrators and plethora of diversity coordinators for which physical colleges force students to pay.

*We must not rely on “experts” to tell us how to lead our lives. They have their own biases and are anything but infallible. In fact, they are often-- if not usually-- wrong.

*We must insist, through our purchase patterns and actions, that the Big Tech companies do not run roughshod over our liberties while playing patsy to the Chinese Communist government in their quest for ever bigger markets. Or we must demand our legislators take a stand.

*We should learn, once and for all, to never take another day—or loved one—for granted.

*We must awaken to the fact that we have become much too dependent on—and obedient to—government. We should ask ourselves, “What would the Founders have done?” while committing ourselves to relearning the founding principles. The best single resource I know for doing this is a book titled, “The 5,000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World,” by the National Center For Constitutional Studies.

*Finally, but perhaps most importantly, we should, each in our own way, consider revisiting and strengthening our faith. There are more things in heaven and earth than we dream of in our philosophy. If we lose this realm, it’s comforting to know the next one will be better.

Let us hope and pray that, like the Phoenix, we too can rise again.  And reclaim our freedoms and battered humanity.

                                                   ***************************

           Hebrews 11:1-- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

         He is risen! Happy Easter!

Stressed Monkeys Chain-Smoking?

                Zoos around the world have been shuttered due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Apparently, this has made some of their animals confused and nervous. In the midst of the pandemic, a video of a monkey smoking a cigarette in a zoo enclosure has surfaced. The animal holds the cancer stick between his fingers like a natural between taking deep drags off the butt, blissfully exhaling smoke from his nose and mouth. Though some animal rights activists were concerned, the zoo’s staff were more sanguine about the chimp’s actions, because they said the chimp “didn’t inhale.” Ah, the old Bill Clinton defense.

               Some zookeepers and trainers state that this is not an infrequent occurrence and that monkeys often pick up butts previously discarded by human visitors, some of whom have discarded their lighters, too. Apparently, monkeys are smart enough—or dumb enough—to figure out how to light the cigs as well as smoke them. And then…addiction can set in. Some zoo officials say a few monkeys have been “chain smoking” due to their unease over the coronavirus pandemic. This seems like so much preposterous balderdash for multiple reasons. However, it did get me to thinking. If they are aping the behavior of the humans who (used to) come to see them, things could get ugly. Let’s hope cigarettes aren’t a gateway drug for simians. Hopefully, we won’t soon discover that they’ve been monkeying around with harder drugs, or one day we will visit our favorite exhibit of bonobos or orangutans and see them not just reach for a pack of Marlboros, but pull out a bong, coke spoon, or crack pipe. I fear some will also be drinking straight from a bottle of Old Grand Dad hidden in a small, wrinkled paper bag.

Who among us wishes to see our favorite simian exhibit devolve into a dystopian hell that makes Skid Row look like Park Avenue or the Miracle Mile? On their best days, monkeys are not exactly paragons of virtue—or stability. If they were to be on drugs, they would make Dante’s Inferno or Studio 54 in its heyday look like grandmother’s quilting bee.

So remember, if this crisis/lock-down ever does end, and we are once again “allowed” to visit zoos, be on your best behavior. Present a calming influence. And don’t smoke. After all, monkey see, monkey do.