Biblical and Constitutional Politics

Coronavirus Commentaries

March 2020

By Gary F. Zeolla

AP Fact check: Trump’s false assurances on coronavirus

    This “Fact check” is just plain silly. It was not written to inform the public but as a not so veiled attack on the President. But to correct this “Fact check”

1. If in fact a vaccine is available a year from now, that will be quick, as usually it takes far longer.

2. Just because China has not developed a treatment doesn’t mean our medical system cannot find one. Our capitalism-based system is far better than their state controlled medical system.

3. The “ranked by far No. 1 in the world for preparedness” is true, as the article admits. But they still try spin it as false. That shows how the media is able to claim Trump has told thousands of lies. They count as a lie anything they deem a lie, even if it is truly is one or not.

    Bottom line is Trump trying to prevent a panic, but the media would rather attack Trump than provide helpful information.
3/3/20

    Someone replied to my comment by saying Trump always tells lies. I responded by saying, “Only if you spin things like this article does.” He then replied with a snide comment about Trump's alleged lies. I responded with the following:

    In my writings, I go through many of the supposed “lies” of Trump and show they are not really lies at all. Since you mentioned fast food, consider the following from my website:

    After winning the NCAA National Football Championship, the Clemson Tigers were invited to the White House on January 14^th [2019]. …

    Trump said he paid $3,000 for the food. The MSM fact checked it, and it was “only” $2,970. A lie! Trump said the burgers were stacked “a mile high.” But the media calculated it would take far more hamburgers than he purchased to reach that height. Another lie! But of course, the first comment was rounded off, and the second was a figure of speech. But I guess such normal ways of talking are not allowed when you’re the President.
3/4/20

Pittsburgh cancels St. Patrick’s Day parade over coronavirus concerns

 “Allegheny County has not confirmed any cases of coronavirus.” [Note Pittsburgh is located in the center of Allegheny County.]

    This is absolutely silly. People would have had a far greater chance of dying in a car wreck traveling to and from the parade than they would have had of catching the Coronavirus and dying from it by attending the parade. This is the first time I remember the economy being deliberately tanked and events cancelled due to a virus.

    Make no mistake about it, this is media-driven hysteria is designed to tank the economy. That ruined economy will cause far greater suffering than will ever be caused by this virus. But no matter, as tanking the economy is the only way Dems and their cohorts in the media know of to defeat President Trump.

    The latest numbers: the flu: 34,000 million Americans infected, 20,000 killed, 0.2% death rate. Covid-19: 1,000, 32, and 0.4%, respectively. Where is such panic about the flu every year? Where was the panic about H1N1? The swine flu? Ebola? The difference? Obama was President then. Trump is President now.
3/11/20

    To respond to comments I have received to the above post, I am not saying the Coronavirus is not a matter of concern. We should do the same as we do to prevent the spread of the regular flu, but which not everyone does. However, from April 2009 through February 2010 the swine flu infected 59 million Americans, leading to 265,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 deaths, according to the CDC. 

    My point is, where was all of this hysteria back then? It was nothing like we see today. The difference is not the seriousness of the respective diseases but who was President. Back then, Obama was President, and the media did not want to expose his lackluster response to the virus, so little was said about as compared to today. But today, the media will jump on any change disparage Trump. But Trump has done far more to lessen the spread of the Coronavirus than Obama ever died with the Swine flu.
3/12/20

Allegheny County officials disclose ‘bottleneck’ in coronavirus testing

    I listened to this press live conference yesterday. My two takeaways were first, these health officials said, “We are not recommending canceling large-scale events at this time.” But of course, Pittsburgh officials are already doing just that.

    Second, the reason for the lack of testing is not because of a lack of tests. It is due to a lack of local personal equipped to do the test. That is explained in this article.

    “Those taking samples to test for the virus must wear fitted face masks, face shields, gloves and gowns, Mertz said. Because of the limited number of medical professionals who can collect samples, testing has been limited.”

    IOW, don’t blame Trump and the federal government. Blame local officials.
3/13/20

Dow Jumps over 1,000 points during press conference

      President Trump began his Coronavirus news conference at 3:30 pm EDT (3/13/20). At that time, the Dow was up 900 points. Over the next half an hour, as the conference was ongoing, the Dow increased rapidly. By the time of the close at 4:00 pm, it closed up by 1,985 points, to close back above 23k at 23,186. That almost made up for the over 2,000 point drop yesterday.

      That jump was probably because the President announced a public/ private partnership in fighting the Coronavirus. Specifically, Google, Walmart, Target, CVS, and Walgreens are all being brought on board to help with the testing, along with Quest Diagnostics, Signify Health, and Lab Corp.

      Google is designing a website for people to check to see if they should be tested. Testing will be done in mobile units in Walmart and Target parking lots, and the other companies will be directly involved in testing. Such private companies being incorporated probably encouraged the stock market, hence the spike.

      Note also, Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID Director, said it was the lack of such a private/ public partnership in previous CDC regulations that prevented the test kits from being made widely available earlier. It had nothing to do with lack of competency on the part of the administration, as many are alleging. For that matter, it was not really a deficiency with the CDC regulations. What had been done previously worked fine with previous outbreaks. But none of them spread as quickly as this one has, so new regulations needed to be put into place. Now that they have been, the testing will be widely available shortly.

      Again, that is Dr. Fauci not me talking. But I will say, it is time for the “Bash-Trump with the Coronavirus” nonsense to stop. His efforts, as informed by his very competent medical team, is handling this outbreak as best as possible. Any attempts to say the response has been less than stellar is misinformed fearmongering that is stroking unnecessary panic.
3/13/20

Trump’s ban on travel from Europe escalates pain for airlines

    Someone claimed Trump exempted the U.K., because he has a golf course there, and that is was incompetence to wait two days for the ban if it was so important. My reply:

    The U.K. is exempt because they have had a few dozen cases, while continental Europe has had thousands. Nothing to do with Trump’s golf course. You must have TDS really bad. The delay is to let the airlines and others make the necessary adjustments. No incompetence whatsoever. It is Trump doing what he needs to do. Just like his travel ban from China in January kept the spread here way down from where it would be today, this ban will keep the progress lower as well.

    Update: Right after I posted the above, I started to watch Trump’s press conference at 3:30 pm EDT (3/13/20). He said that cases in the U.K. had spiked by over 200 in the past 24 hours. As a result, he might be adding the U.K. to the travel ban. He also said the original exemption and the possibility of adding the U.K. now was at the recommendations of his health officials. All of this is to say it is just plain silly to say it had anything to do with his golf course.
3/13/20

Mayor Peduto bans gatherings of 250 or more in city; Allegheny County encourages same

    Where does a governor, mayor, or the President for that matter get the authority to suspend the First Amendment guarantee to peaceful assembly? Really, I want to know. And what will be the repercussions if someone holds a gathering with 251 people? Will all of those people be arrested and jammed into a jail cell?

    The reason I want to know is I am competing in a powerlifting contest next month in Ohio. The Ohio governor is even worse. He has banned gatherings of more than 100 people. I contacted the meet director of the contest, and she told me, “We absolutely have no plans to cancel or postpone the contest.” But there just might be more than 100 people there. Will the cops break in and drag all of us powerlifters to jail?
3/14/20

    For a detailed follow-up to this post, see Gathering Bans and My Upcoming Powerlifting Contest.

    Let me get this straight. We’re being told we’re supposed to sneeze and cough into our elbows. But then we’re being told we’re supposed to greet people with an elbow bump. Am I missing something here?
3/14/20

Expert: Prepping for quarantine should focus on basic nutrition

    This is something I wanted to mention before when I said people are not following the steps to keep from getting sick. Yes, washing hands is important, but so is following a healthy diet. Also important is exercise, adequate sleep, and stress control. Those steps would go a long way towards reducing your risk of contracting any virus, or at least lessening the severity of an illness if you do get sick.

    However, the hysteria over the Coronavirus is increasing stress, as is financial worries for those whose livelihoods are being affected by all the closures. It also doesn’t help when our governor tells people to not to go to gyms. But it is exercise that will help to keep people’s immune systems strong to be able to fight Corona or any virus.
3/14/20

Trump declares coronavirus pandemic a national emergency

    Someone posted about this article, that Trump went from calling the Coronavirus “fake news” to it being a national emergency. He theorized that was because he and his daughter were exposed. I responded:

    You’re the one presenting fake news. Trump never said the virus was “fake news” nor “a hoax.” What he said was the reporting of the news media that his administration did not have a plan to deal with it was a hoax. We are seeing that plan unfold, and it working as best as could be expected.
3/14/20

Stocks surge on new coronavirus measures; Dow up 1,985 points

    “The pandemic’s new epicenter is Europe.” Hence why the President banned travel from Europe.

    This jump in the Dow was amazing to watch in real time. I was watching Trump’s press conference on FNC, and they had a “Dow Watch” box in the lower righthand corner. It just kept going up and up from 3:30 pm EDT when the press conference started until the markets closed at 4:00 pm. It is a shame the markets had to close, as they would have probably kept going up. But we will see what happens Monday morning.

    A point this article does not mention is the 1,985-point gain was the highest one day point gain ever, though it was only tenth in terms of percentage.
3/14/20

Gov. Wolf orders nonessential Pennsylvania businesses to shut down

    The claim is being made that we need such draconian measures to deal with the Coronavirus virus the seasonal flu, as the mortality rate is far greater for CV vs. the flu.

    However, the mortality rate for CV is not yet known. The more people get tested, the higher denominator will get, so the lower the death rate will be. The best estimate I have heard is it end up being 1% versus 0.1% for the flu. That is tens time as much, which sounds scary, and is how the media is reporting it. But 1% is not really a great number, though admittedly sad for those so affected. But the fearmongering is forcing these draconian measures rather than a more reasoned approach, such as I explain elsewhere.
3/16/20

Allegheny County ordered to stop dine-in service at restaurants and bars

    From another article here on the Trib (Government official: Coronavirus vaccine trial starts Monday), “For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia… The vast majority of people recover.”

    Yet, we are shutting down our society, destroying people’s lives and the country financially. Those most at risk or who are infected should self-quarantine. The rest of us should take reasonable precautions, but then still live our lives. But the fearmongering does not allow a reasonable response.

    By fear mongering, I mean the daily updates seen here on the Trib and elsewhere of the number of infections and deaths (see Latest on the coronavirus: U.S. deaths rise to 69, with nearly 3,800 cases in total). Such is never done with the seasonal flu or previous epidemics. If it were, everyone would be so scared, not one would ever leave their homes.

    As someone who lives a mostly isolated life and who rarely leaves my home due to health situation (multiple chemical sensitivity), it is a horrid life. That is why I am so outraged at what is being done. Confining people to their homes will be next step. I do not want that to happen to my fellow-Americans.
3/16/20

    Sadness, that is how I felt as I listened to the President’s press conference on Monday (3/16/20). Not just for me and the fact that I wasted the last six months training for a powerlifting contest but for the country. I knew millions of American would learn what it is like living an isolated life like I have been doing for many years. Millions would now suffer financially, as the country sinks into recession. 

    To be clear, yes, the Coronavirus is a big deal. I have never denied that. In the end, probably millions of Americans will be infected by it, and thousands will die, about the same as the seasonal flu. But more people will be adversely affected long term by the economic impact of this draconian approach than ever would be by the virus.
3/17/20

As part of $850 billion coronavirus response, Trump wants checks sent to public in 2 weeks

    Someone posted a comment on this article totally unrelated to it. He claimed that on 2/26, Trump said in response to there being only 15 cases of coronavirus in the US at that time, “and within a couple days [it is] going to be down to close to zero.” He also claimed Trump called Coronavirus “a hoax.”

    Following is my response:

    I would bet Trump’s next words were, “But things could get a lot worse.” I say that, as that is how Trump has talked throughout this crisis. He gives the best-case scenario, then the worst case. He then outlines plans in case it is the latter. His motto seems to be, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”

    I say this, as I just caught MSNBC engaging in the same deception. When replaying one of Trump’s answers to a reporter, they left off the first part of the answer, changing the entire tone of it. It was a despicable act on their part, and it is on yours as well.

    You Trump-haters have got to stop trying to use this crisis to engage in unjustified attacks against the President and join the rest of us in trying to solve it.

    And Trump never called the CV “a hoax.” What he said was it was a hoax that his administration did not have a plan to deal with the CV.
3/19/20

Gov. Wolf orders ‘non-life-sustaining’ businesses to close physical locations to halt coronavirus spread

    Let me get this straight. Beer distributors are allowed to remain open, but laundromats are not. How is beer life-sustaining? I guess it does contain calories. But still, life-sustaining? Meanwhile, we’re being told the virus can live on surfaces for days. Does that include fabrics? Is so, then why are laundromats being closed? Wouldn’t washing your clothes help to prevent the spread of the virus?
3/20/20

Chinese Flu?

      The Spanish Flu. The Asian Flu. The Hong Kong Flu. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Zika Virus. West Nile Virus. Lyme Disease. Ebola. MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome). German Measles. Japanese Encephalitis.

       Each of these names and more that could be cited come from the place where the disease originated or the disease had some other association with that place. Such has been standard practice for naming new diseases for over a century, going back to The Spanish Flu of 1918. But now we are being told Trump is a racist and a xenophobe for referring to the Coronavirus as “Chines Flu” or “Wuhan Virus.”

      However, most media outlets used similar names back in January, when the outbreak first started. But then China encouraged WHO to not call it by such names but instead to call it the Coronavirus. WHO caved to that request, even though “corona” is general term for viruses of this type. As such, it is not really that accurate.

      The reason Trump is using such names such as “Chines flu” is to remind people it was China that got us into this mess. If they hadn’t lied and tried to cover it up when it first started, it could have been contained in China. But instead, they jailed doctors who tried to warn about it.

      But most of all, the President is hoping businesses realize it is crazy to keep their factories in China, when another such outbreak and coverup is more than possible. He wants them to move their factories back here to the USA.

      Such moves would not only benefit our country economically, but they would make us safer. Right now, we depend on China for too much stuff, most especially antibiotics and other medicines. If China were to cut us off, we would really be hurting.

      The President is also upset that at one point, China tried to blame the United States for the virus! Yes, the United States. They made up the narrative that the US military created the virus and purposely infected the Chinese people with it. That is absolute nonsense. Trump has called them out on it.

      But for some strange reason, the media has decided to side with China and to refuse to use the terms “Chines Flu” or the “Wuhan Virus,” while criticizing Trump no end for using such terms.

      The media’s actions in this regard are despicable. But they do show that the Trump administration is doing such a good job at dealing with this virus, that the media has to nitpick to find something to criticize him about over it.

      As for myself, I have used the term “Coronavirus” in my writings, as that is the term now being used in the media. But in retrospect, I probably should have used “Wuhan Coronavirus” as that would be most accurate. It is a virus of the “corona” type, and it originated in Wuhan Province in China.

    Note: “Corona” is a reference to the virus having a “crown” or covering on it. It for that reason that soap and alcohol kill it, as they break that crown and seeps into the virus itself.
3/20/20

Liberal Out of Context Quotes

       Along with posting on Trib Live and on Facebook, I am also on Snippy. It has mostly conservatives posting on it, but there is one particular liberal who is very prolific in his postings. Following is my response to one of his posts, responding to one of my posts.

      Our resident liberal tried to claim Rush Limbaugh said the Coronavirus was no worse than the common cold, while Sean Hannity called the Coronavirus a “hoax.” He also claimed the President didn’t correct someone who said it was a hoax, “proving” that is what he believed. My response:

      If you would try listening to all that Rush and Sean have said on this matter, you would know those quotes are out of context. But I would guess you got them off of some liberal website and have never actually listened to them yourself. Rush and Sean have never denied the Coronavirus is an issue. They just think it is way overblown. As a result, the hysteria and government overreach would cause our economy to tank, which in the end will hurt far more people than the virus would have. And that is exactly what is happening.

      Thinking about it, I remember Rush ridiculing people like you for taking his words out of context. He then replayed the entire clip of his comments about the Coronavirus and its relationship to the common cold. He said they are of the same family, but he never indicated the Coronavirus wasn’t more severe than the common cold.

      Meanwhile, the “hoax” Sean has talked about is Dems saying the President doesn’t have a plan for dealing with this crisis. Sean was so far from calling the virus itself a hoax that on back January 28, he was already warning about the potential seriousness of the Coronavirus. He then interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci on his show on February 10 about the Coronavirus. Again, try actually listening to their shows to get the full context of their comments.

      On Trump, he never corrects people. He just goes from what people say and gives his own opinion. Meanwhile, his pattern in this crisis is to “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.” But people like you are trying to use this crisis make unjustified attacks against him, rather than joining in with the rest of in trying to overcome this crisis.

      Please note, there is a big difference between disagreeing with some of Trump's policies in regard to this crisis and spreading disinformation to attack Trump and those of us who support him. I have done the former, while you are doing the latter.

      By your actions, you are joining in with China, Russia, and Iran. They are engaging in an orchestrated disinformation campaign to shake the faith of Americans in our President and the government to deal with this crisis. Thus, by your ongoing misguided attempts to attack Trump, you are joining the side of the enemies of America against America.

      When we get over this crisis, and we will get over it, you can be sure we conservatives will be reminding the American people about the traitorous acts of liberals like you during this crisis. I will also be reminding people that when this crisis began back in January, the President was already taking steps against it, starting with his China travel ban. But what were Dems doing at that time? Trying to remove him from office! Thus, Trump was doing his job, while Dems were engaging in nonsense.
3/21/20

I heard a couple was whitewater rafting for two weeks. They were out of out of touch the whole time. When they got back to civilization and turned on their phones, the mom of one of them had sent them a frantic text: “DON’T TOUCH ANYONE, AND DON’T GET NEAR ANYONE!”
3/21/20

Wolf’s shutdown could be more harmful than coronavirus, health expert says

      “Social isolation can be psychologically difficult for people.” I can speak to this firsthand, as it is how I have been mostly living my life for many years due to my health situation. That is why I am so disturbed about these restrictions, as it breaks my heart to think that millions of Americans are going to learn how difficult it is. I can only hope and pray the restrictions do not last too long. I’ve learned to accept it, but Americans by and large will only stand for it for so long, and then everyone will rebel.

      Also, this is what I have been saying since the start of the government overreach, the “cure” could be worse than the disease. Our governor and the President are relying on their health experts. That is good. But they have lost sight of the economy and the incredible damage these restrictions can cause in that regard. Click on my picture for my extended and updated comments in this regard.
3./21/20

Pittsburgh Catholics permitted to get confession in church parking lots, eat meat on Fridays in Lent, bishop says

      “Catholics in the Diocese of Pittsburgh will be able to say confession in church parking lots, receive general absolution in places such as hospitals and nursing homes, and eat meat on Fridays during Lent, except on Good Friday.” The first two points make sense, but what does eating meat have to do with anything? The Bishop’s answer is “many of the shelves and cases in our supermarkets are sparse, if not empty.” Thus, he thinks people have freezers full of meat but nothing else? Got it.

      Faithful Catholics will abide by the dictates of their Church. Millions still do. That is why this directive was necessary. I’m not Catholic, so I think all of these things are unnecessary. But that doesn’t lead me to criticize people who are faithful Catholics for abiding by their faith.

3./21/20

 UPMC stands ground, will continue elective surgeries despite Wolf’s order

      “The results do show that there is no evidence that there is a ‘cluster of activity’ in Pittsburgh.” This is good to know, but also why our mayor’s draconian measures are baffling.
3./21/20

Editorial: Wolf’s excessive attack on the Pa. economy will hurt lives

     “Maybe they don’t all serve the food that fuels a body, but they provide the paychecks that put food on the table.” This is exactly what my dad said when I told him my nephew, his grandson, had emailed me and told me he was laid off. But I told him, everyone could make that argument. But both my dad and this writer are correct. All of our jobs are “life-sustaining” in that sense. That is why the federal government is working on their $1 trillion relief bill. I hope it works, but I fear it won’t overcome what is being done to our economy by all of these draconian measures.

3./21/20

Hospitals stockpile malaria drug Trump says could treat covid-19

    This article and the headlines are misleading. They make it sound like this is just Trump’s opinion. But Trump comments are based on those of his health experts. If you watched the press conference yesterday (3/20/20), it was Dr. Fauci who talked about the possibility of this working. He said more trials are needed, but it looked promising. Trump was just a bit more confident than Fauci. But Fauci said specifically they had no fundamental disagreement.

3./21/20

Participant in Valley High School NYC trip tested positive for coronavirus

    According to Dr. Siegal on FNC today, there is a less than 5% risk of contracting the virus from casual contact, so calm down everyone. Just because you were near someone who is infected does not mean you will be infected. That only one person out of the 102 people on this trip tested positive shows how unlikely it is to be infected form causal contact. Only two others might be infected. Even if they are, that is still less than 3%. That is my takeaway from this article. But otherwise, “Since the trip was nearly two weeks ago all participants are nearing the end of the incubation period for the virus.” Thus, if there was a widespread problem from this trip, it would have already been realized.
3/22/20

For a detailed discussion on the Coronavirus, see Sadness, Predictions, and More on the Coronavirus.

These commentaries are continued at: Forthcoming.

Coronavirus Commentaries: March 2020 . Copyright © 2020 by Gary F. Zeolla.

The above commentaries were posted in March 2020.

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