Tag: communism

WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN?

Protection for WHO?

who was that masked man

You may not be familiar with the word ‘fomite’. A fomite  is any object that, when contaminated with infectious agents, can transfer disease. One example of a fomite is a door knob or push handle.  If a sick person with  a highly infectious disease touched it, you might contract that disease through contact if you unknowingly touched that same object. Young children have a tendency to touch anything they see, or worse put it into their mouth. I’m sure at one point or another when you were younger your parents yelled at  you ‘don’t touch that, you don’t know where it’s been!’, or a similar warning.

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The healthier you are, the stronger your immune system tends to be, and you can fight off infection easier. Health and personal hygiene go hand-in-hand. Good hygiene should always been encouraged from an early age, as habits formed during one’s youth tend to last a lifetime. Habits are easily formed through constant repetition until they become second nature. These go for both good and bad habits. It takes discipline and diligence to improve one’s life by forming good habits and breaking bad ones. As always self-improvement begins with SELF. No one can force you do what you are unwilling to do, short of passing laws with stiff penalties.  Even so, laws do not stop people from completely disregarding or willfully violating them. It’s illegal to litter, yet people throw trash in the street. It’s illegal for people not to wear seat-belts, or safety harnesses while driving automobiles in 49 of the 50 US states, yet some people choose not to do so. There are over 30,000 gun laws on the books in the USA, and there is still crime committed with guns. We don’t need ‘better laws’, we need ‘better people’.  The Bible is the ultimate self-improvement book.

The Ten Commandments which are the basis for most laws in the western world appear twice in the Bible,  first in Exodus 20: 1-17, and then they are restated in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Decent law-abiding citizens are kept in check NOT by the laws on the books, but by their internal moral code.  

MURPHY’S LAW

When I was in high school, my one English teacher the late Mr. Jim Murphy introduced me to a couple of ‘dangerous’ books. These were intended for mature readers, and were definitely way over the heads of most teenagers. There are even ADULTS that wouldn’t be able to handle some of the Science Fiction stories in these books. I refer to the Science Fiction anthologies Dangerous Visions, and the sequel Again, Dangerous Visions, both edited by Harlan Ellison. One of the two stories I vividly remember to this day appears in the second volume and is titled Elouise and the Doctors of the Planet Pergamon  by Josephine Saxton.  The story involves a perfectly healthy girl who was raised by her mother free of all illness and disease. Unfortunately that is against the law on Pergamon and she is arrested and forcibly restrained and examined by a hundred physicians who mercilessly poke and prod her everywhere.

Last month in mid-March most of the USA, as well as nearly every nation on Earth began shutting down EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE that was deemed non-essential due to the world-wide pandemic COVID-19,  AKA the Wuhan coronavirus, sometimes shortened to just corona. COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease, and there are various strains, seven of which have crossed over to infect humans.  According to WebMD:
Scientists have divided coronaviruses into four sub-groupings, called alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. Seven of these viruses can infect people. The four common ones are:

  • 229E (alpha)
  • NL63 (alpha)
  • OC43 (beta)
  • HKU1 (beta)

The three less-common ones are:

  • MERS-CoV, a beta virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
  • SARS-CoV, a beta virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
  • SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19

Scientists are divided over whether or not COVID-19 is transmitted by airborne particles or solely by close contact or by both.  According to WHO, the World Health Organization, studies to date suggest that COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through contact with respiratory droplets rather than through the air.  These droplets are too heavy to remain airborne. Only tiny air particles known as aerosols remain in the air for a brief period. This type of ejaculate of respiratory particles usually occurs when someone sneezes or coughs. If you’ve ever had someone accidentally sneeze or cough on you  and felt a slash of wetness, you understand what I mean.  It’s common sense.  You cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and you quarantine sick people to keep THEM from infecting healthy people. If you suspect a person is sick, you avoid contact. If YOU are sick STAY HOME. If YOU have a weak immune system, STAY HOME.

 

As far as how long the virus can survive outside of a host in can live:    

  • In the air: Up to 3 hours in air particles called aerosols
  • On copper: Up to 4 hours
  • On cardboard: Up to 24 hours
  • On plastic: 2 to 3 days
  • On stainless steel: 2 to 3 days

COVID-19 IS a ‘nasty bug’, BUT it is NOT a death sentence. HEALTHY people with STRONG immune systems may get sicker than they’ve ever felt before, but will generally make a full recovery with proper treatment and care.  As of this writing there have been 2,329,651 cases WORLDWIDE resulting in 160,721 deaths. In the USA, there have been 740,557 cases resulting in 38,979. To put in on a much more local level, in my home state of Pennsylvania, there are 31,731 confirmed cases, and there have been 1,102 deaths. This is ‘about’ the same number as what’s showing in California which reports 30,811 and 1,148. By comparison, the area of Pennsylvania is roughly equal to that of the nation of England, and California as about the same size as Italy. New York is the ‘problem child’ and the epicenter of the US outbreak. NY is responsible for about  1/3 of the total cases and nearly half of all the deaths due to COVID-19 in the US. Those numbers from our fourth-most populous state are 241,041 cases and 39,015 deaths.  (Pennsylvania is fifth in population.  New York has 19,491,339 people, Pennsylvania has 12,813,969) These numbers CHANGE every second and will probably have increased slightly by the time you finish reading this.    

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President Trump is desperately trying to re-open portions of the USA on a case-by-case basis as some states like NY have been hit much harder than the virus, than say Alaska. In a press conference on Wednesday, President Trump made his position clear that he wants to get the nation back to normal and re-opened very soon, possibly before the end of this month, but he would let each state make that determination on when it should, or should not re-open. People are out of work as a result of to the shutdown. Bills need to be paid, and that requires an income.  This prompted an immediate retaliation from Democrat run ‘Blue States’ like NY, and PA to issue new mandatory face-mask rules starting by or before this  Monday, and a promise to veto any attempts to re-open their states.

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 Unintended consequences

When you lock away a sick person, it’s quarantine. When you lock away a healthy person  because they MIGHT make YOU sick, you take away THEIR freedom and THEIR rights. There is little or no evidence to suggest wearing a surgical face-mask will prevent a healthy person  from getting sick. If a person wants to wear a mask because it somehow makes them feel safer, I have NO problem with that. FORCE ME to do it, and we have a problem.  So until this mandate is revoked, my freedom is severely being infringed upon. This is America, NOT Communist China, and I am NOT happy.

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And what those CIVIC-MINDED people who are wearing gloves and masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 doing with their used items? Why just throwing their potentially hazardous medical waste on the ground to blow around town like little coronavirus-tumbleweeds.   

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And then there’s identity. Who’s behind the mask? Anyone, EVEN dangerous criminals and sex-offenders can now move about freely with their identity concealed behind a mask.  If someone robs your essential business, how do you describe the criminal. He was wearing a mask. JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE STATE.

 It was a running gag at the end of every episode of The Lone Ranger that some character would say “Who  was that masked man?”.    The Lone Ranger character was created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker and first aired as a radio drama on radio station WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan, in 1933 running up until 1954. There was a movie serial in 1938, and then a television show that ran from  1949-1957. Clayton Moore Portrayed the Lone Ranger alongside Jay Silverheel’s Tonto. Moore often was quoted as saying he had “fallen in love with the Lone Ranger character” and strove in his personal life to take The Lone Ranger Creed to heart. He was never seen in public without his mask until a 1979 lawsuit forced him to turn in his mask. He donned sunglasses before returning to his mask when the lawsuit was dropped three years later.  Doing what you love to do causes personal happiness, and Moore loved to be the Lone Ranger and wore his mask proudly, because he wanted to. He is forever synonymous with the character he portrayed.  As always, I wish you success and happiness!

Slaying the Dragon

Why tariffs are really good.

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“This bill is an American bill. It is made for the American people and for American interests.” –President William McKinley referring to his Tariff Act of 1890.

The Rise of the Red Dragon.

Just as the symbolic bald eagle represents the United States, the Chinese dragon has long represented China. In Chinese culture, the color red symbolizes luck, happiness and joy. Unfortunately about the middle of the 20th century, red took on another meaning when referring to China, the red of communism. Mao Zedong declared the founding of The People’s Republic of China on October 1st, 1949 following the defeat of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese Civil War. Taiwan became a new republic much like the ill fated Republic of Formosa which occupied Taiwan for a mere five months in 1895 before being crushed by mainland China. Taiwan fared much better and continues to exist to this day as it’s own country, but both Taiwan (The Republic of China) and Mainland ‘Red’ China (The People’s Republic of China) each claim that they are the ‘real’ and ‘only’ China. This led to the One-China Policy which was first stated in the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972: The wording declares that “the United States acknowledges that Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States does not challenge that position.” It was a diplomatic solution to a complicated mess. Mainland or communist China is by size the 4th largest country by area, and the largest by population. It was then, and continues to be today, a major port of trade.  

There has been a significant imbalance in trade with China for decades, and the problem has been getting worse due to a lax attitude from prior administrations. Since the population of China has exceeded a billion people for more than 40 years, many leftist politicians and even some conservatives felt there was no stopping the production powerhouse of the Red  Dragon.

So far in 2019, as of the first trimester ending April 30th, the trade deficit was $106.8 billion. Assuming the same rate for the remaining 8 months of the year, that would amount to a projected imbalance of $320.4 billion.  That would place it slightly higher than it was in 2012, the first year it exceeded $300 billion and came in at $315.1 billion. Both numbers are small in comparison to last year’s whopping trade deficit of $419.5 billion in 2018!

Killing Jobs to feed ‘The Red Dragon’!

The terms socialism and communism are interrelated and often interchangeable. There are a few minor differences. In communism, the people own the factories and work together for the public good. Everyone is paid the same. In socialism the government owns the factories, and the people work for the state, which decides what you are paid. Both systems lead to widespread poverty. Both systems are incompatible with capitalism which  creates wealth, freedom, and opportunity.

Because the citizens of China are being paid a slave wage, goods produced there cost significantly less. If the cost of importing cheaper foreign goods is less than  the cost of producing goods domestically, then there is no demand for domestic goods, and the domestic jobs ‘go away’.  Why would any company pay a U.S. citizen $30 an hour or more, when they can open a plant in a foreign country, pay foreign workers a fraction of their domestic counterparts, and then import the cheaply produced goods. Hence the needs for tariffs.

“In almost every case, whenever a tariff or quota is imposed on imports, that tax is strongly supported by the domestic industry getting the protective shield from lower-priced foreign competition. The sugar industry supports sugar tariffs; textile mills lobby for tariffs on foreign clothing.” – Stephen Moore, American economist

Feed Americans, starve the Dragon!

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods to make them on a level playing field. If both items cost exactly the same, it becomes a matter of quality. If the quality is also equal, then it falls to the whim of the consumer. When an ‘excessive’ tariff is placed on a foreign good, it is referred to as protectionism, because the domestic good becomes the only inexpensive option, and the domestic industry is thus protected by the government.

A good rule of thumb when dealing with comparable quality and cost is to always buy domestic. A better position for the good of the nation is to ALWAYS buy the domestic option, despite the cost, because the job you are saving belongs to a fellow citizen. ‘Be American , buy American’ is still a catchy slogan embraced by patriots looking to ‘Make America Great Again’. Tariffs are totally unnecessary if citizens flat out refuse to buy any foreign made good.

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Trump the Dragon slayer!

President Donald J. Trump is working day and night to defend our nation from ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. His economic stance has been to bring back industry to the USA, reversing the job losses creating by sending production overseas. Tariffs are one tool in his arsenal, and rest assured, he has the best interests of the nation at heart. Don’t listen to the garbage spewed by the liberal media as they attempt to sway you against this great patriot and all he’s doing. It takes a tough man to stand up for national interests. If you don’t support putting American interests first, then you are not a true American. We are privileged to live in the greatest country the world has ever know, and freedom and opportunities are endless for those who are willing to seize the day and work for their prosperity.   The bottom line is, if you are against American exceptionalism, there are  plenty of other counties where you can ‘hang your hat’. Nothing is keeping you here. America– love it, or leave it! As always, I wish you success and happiness!

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