NOTE: This is the second in a series of Soapboxes to get us caught up after a three-week break; any of them can be read individually, although they are meant to be consumed sequentially. Oh, and they’re all filled with horribleness. Sorry…I don’t write the news, I just analyze and interpret it.
A few items you must accept before continuing:
- Covid-19 is a real virus that is exceptionally dangerous to those who are vulnerable to all viruses. Claiming it is a “hoax” makes you look like a fool.
- That said, if you have used critical thinking and examined all of the scientific data presented by all of the experts and decided to agree with those who say this is nothing more than a horrible case of something similar to the flu, you are in the minority by a large margin and you must accept that. Now, more than ever, Americans are terrified of the virus and 2/3rds support shutting down the country again. https://www.newsweek.com/majority-americans-support-closing-down-economy-again-over-coronavirus-spike-poll-1516374
- Masks? Everyone is wearing them except for a few of us. Drone surveillance, polling, CCTV cameras, and state inspectors across the nation report between 80-90% compliance. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/89-americans-wear-masks-public-coronavirus-pandemic-persists/story?id=71455062
With that as the foundation, we move on
Just because the RAD show took three weeks off, doesn’t mean that the propaganda did as well. While perusing the e-mails that were sent to the show during that time, many of you admitted to beginning to crack under the onslaught of misinformation and intimidation; and who could blame you? The full-court-press is on, and there are very few places reporting or even seeking truth, objective data, and actual facts.
Regardless of whatever you think the motivation is, politicians, businesses, and health officials are working harder than ever to keep you as terrified as possible of Covid-19. One thing that is repeated over and over again is true; it’s not a political party thing any longer. For a while, people tried to pin the majority of fear-mongering on Democrats; but now, prominent Republicans are caving quickly into the “science.” None more so than Texas Governor Greg Abbott, long viewed as a 2024 Republican Presidential Candidate, Abbott ordered Texans to “mask-up,” with many more preparing to do so as of this writing. Meanwhile, calls for a national order to wear masks are getting louder…and not from politicians, but from businesses. https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/506496-business-groups-make-nationwide-push-for-masks
https://www.9and10news.com/2020/07/02/health-officials-push-for-nationwide-mandate-on-masks/
To repeat previous studies cited here, there remains absolutely zero actual scientific evidence that masks do anything at all to stop the spread of any virus, yet everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to every governor in America claim that the science is “unanimous.” It isn’t; only man-made computer models (which have been proven to be wrong over and over again) show any sort of benefits from masks. All actual scientific studies show the opposite, yet no one reports or acknowledges that, even when doctors and scientists try. https://aapsonline.org/mask-facts/ (Remember, it was only 4 weeks ago the World Health Organization suddenly claimed masks work to stop the spread; when we sift through the rubble of this debacle, we will no doubt find the obnoxious number of politicians and health officials with large investments in mask companies).
In fact, just the opposite is eaten up. At this point, they’re literally making things up. Like this gem, which somehow claims to know that wearing masks has saved 450,000 lives…a ludicrous statement that, when actually read, is beyond laughable, yet people nod their heads stupidly and virtue signal. https://bgr.com/2020/06/17/coronavirus-face-masks-study-mandates-cases-decline/
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which has literally been wrong every single time they have made a Covid-19 prediction, has claimed, out of the thin blue air, that wearing masks in America will save 33,000 lives this summer. There are no words for this level of idiocy. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/24/coronavirus-deaths-projected-high-if-no-mask-order/3255179001/
Two dozen states are now mandating mask wearing and the push for a national order has begun…not just in the immediate, but for years. https://brobible.com/culture/article/virus-masks-several-years/
Some people have been trying to compare compelling people to wear masks to being no different than seat belt laws. This made no sense from the jump, since seat belts protect the person wearing them from harm (not to mention that driving is a privilege and the pursuit of life is a right but we’ll deal with the latter of those later). https://www.mediaite.com/news/miamis-gop-mayor-calls-for-nationwide-mask-requirement-no-different-than-being-forced-to-wear-a-seatbelt/
And so, it comes as no surprise that suddenly, miraculously, and out of nowhere, a study appears claiming that masks protect the person wearing it! How fortuitous!
Let’s recap for a moment, shall we? In February, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Surgeon General, the CDC, and every other official said, and repeated for 6 weeks, that face coverings did absolutely nothing to stop the spread of Covid-19 (and since Covid-19 is a version of the Coronavirus and a strain of SARS, we actually have decades of data and research to point to and rely on). They simply made people “feel safe.” In April, they all suddenly threw hundreds of years of combined experience and knowledge out the window and without any scientific proof, reversed course, claiming that face coverings worked. In June, they claimed the reason for 6 weeks of not encouraging masks was to hoard masks for health officials, which makes no sense since they have never advocated any sort of medical masks for citizens, and have instead encouraged cloth face coverings the entire time.
However, they have never once claimed that masks protect the person wearing it. Just the opposite. It’s always been about protecting “others.” Yet, as the seat belt analogy gains steam, suddenly two doctors claim “laboratory experiments,” (which, remember, are theoretical and based on man-made models, not legitimate Randomized Control Trial tests, the only reliable form of science), somehow show that people wearing masks are 65% more protected against Covid-19. If you actually read their report, they never explain exactly how they came to that conclusion, but of course, they don’t need to. And the argument “what if I want to catch the virus,” is long since settled as you simply don’t have that right. https://www.foxnews.com/health/wearing-mask-cuts-own-risk-novel-coronavirus-65-percent-experts-say
In other words, prepare for masks everywhere and laws to soon be passed which will force otherwise hesitant police from enforcing the laws and writing fines or arresting people.
And why not? After all, it’s so clearly working! Half of all of California’s Covid cases and the overwhelming majority of hospitalizations have come from Los Angeles County, where they have been under a mandatory mask order since May. So of course, California made it a state-wide order. That’s just brilliant! Look to the least successful place and follow their lead.
And why stop at California? More than half of the nation is under a mandatory mask order and the overwhelming majority of the population is following it, yet we are setting records with daily cases. If masks work, and people are wearing them (which they are), why are the cases spiking? Take a moment to chew on that…and while you do, keep in mind that cases are irrelevant. Not only are hospitalizations not spiking, the overwhelming majority of people in the ICU have nothing to do with Covid. In Texas, for example, where headlines scream of hospitals being “overloaded by Covid,” the truth is that 90+% of ICU beds are occupied, but only 15% are COVID patients. 85% of the occupied beds are not COVID patients. In other words, people are catching a virus and it’s doing absolutely nothing to them…yet, we’re slowly shutting down the country again.
As masks are worn everywhere, our rates of cases are skyrocketing, and yet that somehow means we need more mask orders…I realize the common sense train derailed long ago but this is getting beyond embarrassing.
Do yourself a favor and remember that none of this maddening information I bring you matters; in this upside-down world we live in, it is now beholden upon us; those who are not afraid of the virus and have taken the time to use logic, common sense, and fact-based data to reach reasonable conclusions, to isolate ourselves. In fact, much of the messaging has changed from “wear a mask,” to “wear a mask or stay home.” And so, we do the latter. But then, people suddenly realize that our money is just as good as everyone else’s, so the messaging has shifted to target those of us in favor of opening up the country and learning to live with the virus. If you want the country to open and stay open, wear a mask and get out there! In other words, wear a mask to save businesses. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/requiring-face-masks-nationwide-save-us-economy-hit/story?id=71535982
I’m not there yet…not even close. This coercion by mandate, fear, and lies is appalling to watch, and yet for so many people, it is unavoidable. People have to live, work, eat, and entertain themselves and their kids somehow, anyway. Even if it means standing in a line wearing a mask in 100-degree heat.
The lies aren’t going to stop. The hope of rebellion and non-compliance pushing the country back to normal is a distant memory. And it’s only going to get worse…much, much worse. Check out part three of the series for a look at where America is headed as 2020 only gets worse.
Post-Vacay Soapbox #1: It Really Is This Simple
