Add Chris Wallace to my list of Self Haters

I’ve watched the journalist, Chris Wallace move up through the ranks over his career. His father was the late, famous, Mike Wallace of the TV show ’60 Minutes’. In the US there is only one right wing news channel ‘Fox News’. There one can watch shows like Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Ingraham Angle and others. People like Sean Hannity are super patriots who adore President Trump. But even on Fox there are those who are Left if not official Democrats. People like Juan Williams is definitely one of these. You can watch him on The Five. He is usually one of 5 pundits who analyze the latest news bites. He typically attacks Trump (regardless of the issue) while the rest usually defend and praise the president. Chris Wallace also fits in there like Juan. The pretence is to appear neutral and objective. But in actuality he is neither. It’s a facade.

 My proof is the last debate. As is usually the case, when the president is involved in an official, public debate, he is tag teamed by both his opponents and the moderator. In the recent Trump vs Biden debate, this was no different. If you missed it, let me point out some disgusting points by the moderator, Mr. Wallace:

1. While the president often interrupted Biden, the VP treated the president with the most disrespect ever given to a sitting president in public and aired on TV on a debate that was watched by millions of people (if not billions). Amongst other comments, he told the president to shut up, called him a clown and a liar (more than once). Like him or not, one must treat the President of the USA with respect (in public at least). And what did the moderator (Chris) do? Nothing. In fact he admonished the president for interrupting. What would have happened had Romney told then president Obama during their televised debate to shut up? A decent moderator would have admonished Biden to watch his tongue and offer an apology immediately. With Chris appeasing Biden at every opportunity, Biden obviously felt emboldened to continue to insult the President at will. Can you imagine what world leaders were thinking when they watched that? They were probably shocked and appalled that in the US anyone can insult the President to his face in public on TV, including a former VP and not only get a pass by the moderator but also by the Democratic party and the MSM like CNN approves. 

2. As I write this, terrible violence is ongoing in many cities throughout the US. Mostly in Democratic run cities. Everyone knows that 99% of the violence is caused by Leftists. Uber left wing organizations like Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) are doing the violence. President Trump knows it and certainly speaks up about it regularly. But Biden and Wallace know it too. It’s such a big problem, that everyone knows about it whether they’ll admit it or not. It is arguably the biggest issue facing the US right now. Of course the second wave of the Covid virus and its economic impacts are huge. But if you lived in any of the many Democratic run cities that are under siege by violent rioters, looters, many carrying weapons who have murdered innocent citizens and police and caused millions of dollars of damage to property (both private and public), you would quickly forget about the loss of income or the danger of contracting Covid. You would rightly be concerned about protecting your family and your community. These places are like war zones with fires raging in the streets, sirens wailing and shots fired. So it begs the question, why would the moderator not ask Biden why he and his party seem okay with the violence. Or perhaps ask him directly if he’d disavow Black Lives Matter or Antifa. Instead he asks the President (he’s been asked this a million times already) if he would disavow white supremists who Chris claimed were also behind the violence. To make his point, Chris found a case of a white supremacist who was guilty of being a violent demonstrator. 

One would have thought that this issue of cities throughout the US being torn apart while Biden and his party are pushing to defund police departments throughout the country, close down the DEA (federal drug enforcement) and ICE (Immigration enforcement) and support violent, racist, murdering, Marxist groups like BLM and Antifa would be one of the first questions that must be put to Biden. 

Besides all of the great accomplishments that President Trump has done in less than 4 years (economy, foreign relations, trade, deregulation, jobs, etc.) he has been the best friend to Jews and Israel. Far better than any American president in history. Therefore anyone who disparages Trump for any reason is attacking the Jewish people and of course the one and only tiny Jewish nation, Israel, whether they intended to or not. 

Chris Wallace certainly helped to disparage the president (again). He made it clear who’s side he’s on. In fact just now I heard that both the President and his wife have unfortunately contracted Covid-19.  G-d willing they will both get through it in good health! But even now, instead of wishing them a quick recovery, Chris had to throw in his 2 cents here, admonishing the President’s family for not wearing masks during the debate. If any of Biden’s family were not wearing masks, I doubt we’d hear it from Chris. 

A while back I posted ‘Some Jews are the Cause of Antisemitism’ on my blog. There I laid out a short list of prominent Jewish people who are not only self haters but they promote antisemitism. Since Chris Wallace is Jewish (I have no idea how he sees himself) I hereby add him to my list. 

You Are Not Alone!

I write this column today to honour all of those people who are on the Right. That is, they believe that those on the Left have gone so far Left that they've lost complete focus on what's real vs what's imagined. What's important vs what might seem important. What's true and what's absolutely false. 

Trying to speak out publicly on the Right can cause you harm. It often does. Today there are so many cases of Right wingers getting hurt or even killed for wearing a Trump cap. 

Is it any wonder that most Conservatives or Republicans are quiet when it comes to everything but mundane things like talking about the weather?

That's why all the polls in the 2016 American election were wrong. They all predicted a strong win for Hillary and they all predicted that Trump had no chance of ever becoming the president. We are not looking for trouble. We are not looking for a fight. And most of us are not even looking for an argument. We are convinced that our wishes align with the policies of the leaders that WE choose. 

Despite living in a Left leaning, Liberal country (Canada), I am constantly, happily surprised to meet and hear from people on the Right. Some are people I might have known for years but out of fear of attacks or otherwise negative consequences for them liking President Trump, being avid Zionists, disliking our PM Trudeau, identifying BLM for the antisemitic, communist organization that it really is and conforming to other Right wing thinking, have kept quiet. They have done their best to keep their innermost feelings under wraps. Rather than getting into heated debates with family, friends, colleagues at work, employers or even strangers and risk losing close relationships or even a job, they have decided that it's best to keep quiet. I can certainly relate. Although I

consider myself an exception to a point as I am quite vociferous when it comes to antisemitism and other important issues, I too do not look for a fight. I consider myself non-confrontational. I think most people who know me would agree. Yet I can't tell you how many times I've been sucked in to arguments (actually more like attacks) surrounded by people who can't fathom why anyone would like President Trump or why anyone doesn't like PM Trudeau or why people like me don't agree with THEM on the thought of the day (ie. anything they might come up with on any given moment because tomorrow they might reverse course and think the opposite). I never look for trouble but if asked a question I don't hesitate to give an honest answer. 

I'm in a good position because I'm old and I'm retired. I'm also not famous or wealthy. So I have little to lose by exposing myself as a Jewish activist, proud white Conservative male. Although not a fan of labels like Conservative, I'm okay with using them as a general way to describe who I am. No one can fire me for my Right Wing remarks. Suing me won't get them any money either. Calling me out publicly would probably help my cause. I feel sorry for my fellow colleagues who would love to speak out about their innermost feelings about the dangers facing the world today and our grandchildren tomorrow. The indoctrination of our youth by a Left Wing educational system, the constant brainwashing of the rest of us by the Mainstream Media (MSM), the disturbing lawlessness by many on the Left and cooperation and in fact push for the destruction of democracy, capitalism, family, freedom of speech and many other hallmarks of good people by some in government and by many large social media giants are just a few points that many of us on the Right want to fix. The first step in fixing a problem is to identify it in words. If we can't get to that first step, then we'll never fix the problem. 

Do a search for something like 'boy attacked for wearing a Maga hat' on youtube and you will find an endless list of videos depicting all sorts of people being attacked by those on the Left. From children to war vets, you can watch all of the disturbing things taking place on a daily basis and that's just in the US. I picked one at random here.

There are many ways to express yourself without exposing yourself to trouble. One can often post articles or comments on social media anonymously for example. Similarly one can make donations to excellent organizations anonymously as well. I will never judge someone on the Right who keeps silent, negatively. Maybe he or she runs a business and does not want to risk losing customers. Maybe someone is an employee and does not want to lose their job. There are a myriad reasons why one keeps quiet on political issues. An obvious baseline reason is that 'It's no one's business who I plan to vote for' for example. 

The point is that you are not alone. Please rest assured that there are many of us who share your well thought out views. These same thoughts that were rolling around in your mind for years have also been shared by many others who might be as silent as you or as loud as me. So let me suggest to you, the silent majority that you need not let the Left silence you. I'm not saying not to use common sense when you want to voice your opinion.  But I am saying not to totally give in or give up. Together we can make a difference. Together we can set an example for others who either share our views or are thirsting for another opinion. We don't all have to agree on everything. People rarely do. But we would be wise to seek out like minded people from whom we can draw strength and gain insights. It's not healthy to keep your concerns to yourself. It is healthy to talk them over with friends (real friends) who care about you and the things that concern you. Do yourself a favour. If you are the silent type, write your thoughts/concern down. Afterwards you are free to share your written words just like I'm doing now. Even if no one reads them, you'll feel better. Trust me!

Ode to Ageing Skiers

I thought I'd take a break from politics and write about something that's personal to me. Water skiing! 

Here's a great pic of my daughter water skiing into the sunset! (She is not however, who I'm referring to in this post)

I just turned 64 last week and celebrated with my family and some cottage friends up north at our cottage. One of them lent us a portable karaoke machine and we sang, ate and drank on our dock. It was a blast.

The point is, I'm no longer young. Now when I get injured or sick, it seems to take forever to recover. So prior to every cottage season I get anxious about one of my favourite past times: water skiing. My wife and late father in law taught me how to ski when I joined their family in my twenties. I had never had the chance to water ski before. In fact until then, I had never seen a cottage that was on the shore of a lake with a boat! I fell, what seemed like hundreds of times before I finally got up on 2 skis. Then I proceeded to fall another hundred times before I got up on one ski and finally learned how to slalom ski. The more my wife and friends laughed at my spectacular falls and after drinking half the lake, the more I was determined to learn this sport and excel at it. By the time I hit 30 I was a fairly good water skier.

We are on a small lake called Dark Lake which is about 1 km long and less than half a km wide. Thankfully it does connect to the much larger Lake Muskoka through a small channel. 

When the stars line up -Ie. no serious injuries, the boat works, my wife (an excellent boat driver) is available and up to it driving, a spotter is available (one needs another person in the boat besides the driver to watch the skier),  the weather is good, the lake is calm and there are no other boats on the lake, I just might have the ski of my life. But as I age, the stars seem to rarely line up. Mostly it's me. Every year I develop more issues. This year it was tennis elbow on both arms (no I don't play tennis so I don't even know why I have this) and breathing issues. My knees have been shot for many years now. I tore my ACL on my right knee years ago and have 2 metal screws holding it together. I think the screws are loosening up now so when I ski hard or ski on choppy water they hurt even more. 

I know I'm not alone. I have a few friends that are also not young anymore who also love to ski. We all share the same concerns. One of them I've yet to mention is lake etiquette. This happens so often to many of us. We get ready to go skiing. We get the driver, the spotter, setup the tow rope, life jacket, water ski and gloves ready. In my case I wear a double boot ski which takes a bit of extra time to put on. Since we are old farts, it's a good idea to stretch prior to ski in order to avoid injury. I am usually exhausted before I even put my ski in the water!  So just when we are ready to begin our wild ride on the water at good speed, an exhilarating ride that typically lasts no more than 10 minutes, another boat magically appears on the water shlepping kids on a tube or maybe some sea doers pop up out of no where running circles on our little lake. So we wait patiently on our docks hoping that they will quit soon and give someone else a chance to enjoy the water (us). But it rarely works out that way. They are having too much fun to realize that maybe someone else wants to use the lake if only for 10 minutes. So quite often we either try to ski somewhere else (ie. in a quiet bay in the larger Lake Muskoka) or we simply give up. Sometimes (I've done this before out of rage- not a good idea), I've gone skiing amidst the mayhem. What usually ends up happening is that I have a terrible ski. The waves caused by the tube riders or other boats make my ability to cut back and forth and get into a nice slalom rhythm, impossible. Rarely do they get the message that they don't own the lake. My knees hurt more and more injuries are likely. 

Is there a solution? I doubt it. Some of us are considering publishing and distributing a short list of rules for lakeside etiquette. An example might be to take the tube rides and sea doers out in the big lake. Another might be to wait 10 minutes after towing someone in order to give someone else a turn. Yet another would be to drive in the same direction as any other boat(s) that might already be on the water. Believe it or not I recall way too often on a busy summer long weekend watching 2 boats going in one direction and a third going in the opposite direction. This is a recipe for disaster! One might think this should be a matter of common sense yet this happens so often it's hard to believe. I also know the psychology of many cottagers. Especially ones that are new to the lake. They have a limited time frame to use it and by gosh nothing is going to stop them form enjoying every minute of it. 

Many of us elders have tried to talk nicely to a cottager who needed to understand for safety sake what the required lakeside etiquette is, only to be told in few words exactly where to go. 

But water skiing is like golf. I'm a typical, average player (if that). I don't get out that often but when I do I enjoy myself. I can't forget learning the game not that many years ago. My first couple dozen shots either went a few yards forwards or worse, a few yards backwards. Eventually though I finally hit the ball high and kind of far and more or less in the right direction. It reminded me of watching a professional golfer hit the ball. (It was nothing like a pro though, believe me.)

Video of me water skiing on our little lake

That's what draws us back to the game. That one good shot is what we remember. Hopefully we forget the dozens of terrible shots we made. The same holds true with water skiing. Despite all of the hurdles we face (especially us ageing skiers) like the ones I already mentioned, when the stars line up and we manage to ski on glass like water and have some of the best cuts ever with large rooster tails, our eyes light up and the adrenaline kicks in. Those skies at sunset flying over the boat wake at sun set, looking at the beautiful purple and orange colours reflecting on the water as we criss cross over it are memories that are etched in our minds and call us back for more.

The Dishonesty of our Opponents

 I recall a post I wrote years ago decrying that I prefer then president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over then president of the US, Barak Obama. Because Mahmoud was honest about his hatred for us. He made no secret about his desire to wipe Israel and the US off the map. Obama on the other hand tried to hide his hatred for Israel and America. He would from time to time say the right things, like: 'Don't worry Israel, we've got your back' but his actions were to constantly stab Israel & America in the back. At election time he declared that there is no black or white Americans, there are simply Americans yet today he is on a mission to divide Americans by colour (something he started when he became president). 

Democrat leaders in the US and Liberal leaders in Canada and elsewhere seem to be consistent in their dishonesty. One can see thousands of videos and statements of these people saying one thing years ago and saying quite the opposite today. Here is a clip of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer voicing his opposition to letting in illegal immigrants into the US from 11 years ago. His immigration policy then mirrors President Trump's immigration policy today. Today he stands for open borders because he takes his orders from the Squad with members like Ilhan Omar and AOC.  

Here is a clip of Obama prior to becoming president on immigration reform. Although his policy then didn't mirror that of Schumer at the time or President Trump, it certainly didn't match his immigration policy when he became president. 

Here is a clip of an interview of senator Gabbord in 2019 on her calling out senator Harris (when they were both running for the Democratic nominee) on her promise to reform prisoners. Here is another clip of Harris (chosen by Biden's handlers to be his VP and she of course accepted the nomination) calling him out as a racist and sexual predator. Watch at 3:50 minutes into the clip. Now it's a virtual love in between them. Biden has said that because 'he is an old guy' we can expect her to lead the country as early as 2021!

Here is the infamous clip in 2012 of then president Obama declaring to an AIPAC (mostly Jewish) audience that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and that it must remain undivided. Here he walks back his previous statement that Jerusalem must remain undivided.

I think you get the point. Now I'm not saying that one can't change their minds on things. Sometimes events change causing the person to change their minds on policy issues. I'm also not saying that Conservative, Republican or otherwise Right leaning people haven't also behaved this way. I even admit to having confirmation bias. That is since I agree with most right wing policies I have obviously attempted to prove my case right here. But I'll leave it to you to decide if this insidious and dangerous behaviour is more common on the Republican/Conservative/Right or more common on the Democrat/Liberal/Left. To me it's blatantly obvious who is more guilty of this dishonesty. 

To make a more general point, let's use the Iran deal as an example. There are many people out there (I won't even use labels like Left or Right) who claimed that they supported Obama's Iran deal because as he stated 'it would stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and in fact would protect Israel. '

Most Israelis of all parties and many of us outside of Israel knew better. We knew that Obama was trying to befriend Iran mainly so he could add to his legacy that he brokered the biggest and most important peace deal in history. At the time Iran could have (and did) ask for anything including all kinds of loop holes and money in order to get Obama to sign the deal which he did with a smile. He bent over backwards to appease them. 

Most of those people who claimed to support the deal because they wanted peace in the Middle East were lying. Not all of them because some of them believed the main stream media who defended Obama at every corner and helped to paint the picture that he wanted them to paint. But as for the rest of them: They were DISHONEST. The truth was that they really didn't give a crap whether or not Israel ceased to exist. They were no fans of Jews so why worry about Israel. Why start a potential war with Iran just because Iran is threatening to wipe Israel off the map? (They did neglect Iran's same threat against the great satan, the USA). It was a similar mindset to most of the world who looked the other way when the Nazis were gassing Jews during the Holocaust. 

I'd respect our opponents who are honest with their hatred or indifference towards us much more than those who are dishonest in their approach for attacking us or not defending us. It's so important to know the policies of our leaders and the reasons for their policies. If our leaders only policy is to get elected and therefore behave like a leaf in the wind and consult surveys of the public on every issue prior to deciding their own policy, we are in big trouble. 

All Lives Matter

The world is not in a good place right now. We are always in a perpetual war between good and evil. That will never change. When evil pushes good down, we are in trouble. 

The way I see it is that evil is winning. To me it’s dead obvious. I live in Canada. A relatively safe place. Actually one of the safest places to live in the world right now. But even here, evil is flourishing. Starting with our PM who is enjoying his second term, Trudeau junior must be living the dream. He and his people (those are the ones actually running the show) are grabbing a little more power every day. The Conservative party which normally acts as counter balance to the left leaning Liberal and NDP parties is weak. Conservative citizens have lost their collective voice. They are either intimidated to speak their minds or have slowly been brainwashed by everyone else. The anti-Trump movement combined with Antifa and BLM (Black Lives Matter) movements have spilled into Canada as expected. My casual interactions with Canadians of all backgrounds backs this up. Even if the discussion revolves around BLM and even if the people I talk to believe in the rule of law and are against the looting & violence caused by BLM or Antifa they somehow think it’s all president Trump’s fault. While he is one of the few leaders who is trying to protect Americans from BLM or Antifa (an almost impossible job), he continues to be attacked on all sides. Meanwhile his opponents continue to get away with murder. I suspect that the current world view of Trump from almost all Westernized countries is the same. Israel is the notable exception. But even there one can see huge cracks. 

So I appear to stand alone in Canada as the sole Trump supporter. I’m alone in my abhorrence of BLM. I’m alone in my objection to shutting down the world over covid-19. I’m alone in my dislike of my own prime minister. I’m alone in my absolute support of Israel. I’m alone in my decree that Jewish Lives Matter. I even stand alone in my shout out that All Lives Matter. I’m alone in my cries to fix our education system. My calls to shut down the UN and Canada’s CBC (Cdn Broadcasting Corp) have fallen on deaf ears. My insistence that Israel is an owner of Judea and Samaria (aka West Bank), not an occupier seems also to be a minority opinion. 

I don’t have a solution. I can only hope that good people will prevail in the end. Is this wishful thinking? Perhaps. Like minded voices seem to be getting quiet. With the economic crisis affecting the world thanks to those nefarious people, organizations, politicians and corporations who are using the pandemic to exploit their dark plans to destroy the West, many of us are just too busy trying to stay afloat than bother to react to any of this.  That’s why I cherish those that do react properly. Those that vociferously oppose evil. I can’t wait to read the many emails I get that continue to posit wonderful ideas and unfortunately but necessarily inform us of ongoing evils all around us that I receive  every day. From big names like Caroline Glick to the far too many to name, lessor known people who often write insightful articles about these important topics. 

But the pressure to conform is great. Those of us who watch TV regularly are exposed to a constant array of insidious, left wing brainwashing. It’s impossible to escape. The MSM (main stream media) are not our friends. They are in a de facto partnership with Leftist politicians and states.  

So I’m asking you now. Please do your best to ignore all of the lies and dishonesty. If you can please speak out. Speak out now or forever hold your words. The Left certainly has been emboldened. Antisemitic and anti-white organizations like BLM continue to make gains. Many businesses including large corporations as well as governments have been intimidated enough to appease them. Even many Jewish organizations such as the ADL have bought their poison. They partner with vile antisemites like Al Sharpton and Linda Sarsour. One can attend many liberal synagogues (especially Reform ones) and expect to hear cries of support for the Black community while hearing silence in support of our own Jewish community. No one dares mention the antisemitism that prevails within the BLM movement. If we can’t be an example to the world of how people should behave, then how are third wold countries supposed to behave? And the third world has a huge segment of the world’s population. They may be poor but they are many. 

What really hurts is that Jews should know better. We should have learned by now, that we are alone. We can’t rely on anyone else to protect us (other than G-d if you believe in him). When Jews were attacked and murdered earlier this year in the US mostly by Black people, the silence was deafening.  Other than a few Jewish rags who reported it, it was mostly ignored by the MSM. And what was the reaction by us? Did we start looting stores? Damage property? Attack Blacks? Ask to defund the police? Attack the President? Can you imagine what would have happened if that cop who killed the black criminal was Jewish?

G-d Help Us!

Covid 19 - Overreaction?

A friend of mine sent this email to me. It's from an American. I have been bombarded with all sorts of information about the virus we call Covid 19. I assume you have as well. This email poses a new paradigm that I think is not only worth considering but it has been totally ignored by most of us, especially in the media:

I have never posted a “my thoughts“ narrative on Facebook before, and I hope never will again, but the hysteria, political posturing, and unreasonable virtue signaling stemming from the current coronavirus pandemic has compelled me to do so - so here goes:
What is most needed is to analyze what we know about the virus and it’s effects, how to minimize it spread (within reason and social acceptability), assess our relative risk as individuals, look at collective characteristics for group risk determination, and balance our response within a cost/benefit framework.
With that approach in mind, I offer the following (my thesis is derived from a cross-section of sources, and I recognize the data is in flux, but the reasoning I have used is sound):

— The risk of death to healthy individuals under the age of 50 is extremely low, even if one contracts the virus. People over 60 and those with underlying health conditions are the most vulnerable, but over 90% of them are not going to die from this virus.
— The death rates reported are not reflective of the actual number of cases out there, just the number that are confirmed. Thus, it represents a maximum rate of death, not the actual rate of death. Since this virus is often undetected, and many cases go unreported, the actual death rate is almost certain to be well under 1% when all the data is collected. There is good statistical evidence to suggest that the rate of infection is much higher than has been assumed. It is not unreasonable to anticipate that we will learn the death rate from this virus is much closer to a conventional flu death rate than it is to the current stated rate of 1.4% in the U.S.   Keep in mind that this is the death rate for those who are infected. The death rate for the entire population will be less than 1/10 of 1%. So the absolute risk of death for a US citizen is EXTREMELY low. And the relative risk for healthy, young individuals is virtually zero. And that is the best news we could hope for, as children die from conventional flu at much higher rates than they do from covid 19. That is a bright spot that is too often overlooked as we deal with this pandemic.
I suspect we will develop an accurate test for antibodies that will at some point in the future determine the death rate to be much lower than the current rate stated in the media, and we will become fully aware that the media fueled panic was extremely overdone.
   Given these facts, why aren’t we focusing on isolating/quarantining the most at risk individuals, with measures as extreme as necessary to prevent them from being infected? If one is at high risk, their self interest should  make them much more amenable to extreme measures, and much more likely to follow recommended protocol than is the general population. Keeping them protected would have the greatest likelihood of preventing the healthcare system from being overwhelmed when the viral peak occurs since they are the ones being hospitalized most frequently. Self interest and the will to survive are great motivators, and the most vulnerable have the most at stake. Let’s harness that rather than relying on the non existent wisdom and understanding of a younger population who simply are not at risk of death from this virus. Their sense of invincibility makes them poor allies in the effort to fight this virus in the current approach. The existing shut down of business and industry across the board will be less effective in protecting the most vulnerable than what I propose. In terms of protecting the most vulnerable, it doesn’t matter what the infection rate is among the younger and healthy population if we keep the vulnerable isolated and protected from them. If this were the focus of our efforts it would allow a more rapid peak of the virus and allow the vulnerable to return to normal life more quickly in a controlled manner based upon their level of vulnerability. This approach would prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed, which is the fundamental purpose behind our efforts.
     The continued shut down of our economy will have cascading affects resulting in more overall harm to our society then will the health effects from the virus. These effects happen to be diffuse and not transparently linked to the shut down, and are too easily ignored in the calculus of a cost/benefit analysis. But they are real and quantifiable with close scrutiny and study. I know I set myself up for criticism as a cold, heartless person to state this, but the emotionally appealing mantra of “anything it takes to save even one life is worth it“ is simply intellectual fraud, usually invoked as a virtue signal to rally others to embrace a course of action that may not be the best when viewed through a broader and deeper perspective. Our real world experience is based upon trade offs that frequently accept a level of lives lost. We are dealing with a novel virus that is forcing us to confront this harsh, painful reality. A prolonged economic shutdown could easily be more deadly and more painful than the approach I am suggesting.
    Finally, there is the danger of losing something that is as precious and valuable as life itself, something that can be easily lost in the “fog of war” that the fight against the virus has caused to descend upon us. That “something” is the ability to live our lives as free people, protected by the United States Constitution from the tyranny of unrestrained government. Restrictions on our freedom of movement, our right to assembly, the use and control of our property, and the ability to provide for and defend our families and loved ones are all at stake in our response to this virus. The risks to our health are real and must be addressed, but let’s do so without fear, panic, and devoid of reasoned analysis. We have much more at stake than we can readily see.

I loved that and agree with it and it’s pretty much what I’ve been saying. That in every decision we make in life we do a cost/benefit analysis. We’ve done it so often, thousands of times a day, that it’s almost done by rote. The rush to shut down the world over this virus seems like an over reaction to me. We’ve never done this before yet we’ve had serious pandemics before. Why then are we doing this now? 

I certainly agree that the challenge to save every life is a noble one and worth pursuing but at what cost? I think that the combination of economic hardship that will be with us for years after this pandemic is over plus the emotional scars and other real illnesses and deaths from dealing with the isolation, job loss, school loss and huge financial losses is a far bigger threat to us than the virus itself. 

I'm in no way saying that we shouldn't take this virus seriously. But what both the gentleman who wrote the email above and I am saying is that like in all existential events, we must consider all options, calmly and rationally and then act.  This mantra ties back to my previous post 'We Must Dig Deeper'.  

Stay safe and don't panic!

We Must Dig Deeper

This latest virus attack from China is a terrible tragedy. Mostly because it could have been averted.

Had China behaved like a normal democracy, they would have asked for and received help immediately from other states who have the expertise to limit the damage from this new virus.

Wuhan, China

But since China is the farthest thing from a 'normal democracy', the worst possible scenario came out of this. A deadly pandemic that has attacked the world and is still growing. Possibly worse than the illness is the dreadful economic impact. Sadly I think it is this impact that will affect far more people than just the illness alone. When the world is racing to stand still, when people both wealthy and poor stop working, when students stop learning, when our elderly and sick are stuck in isolation for an untold time period, when life savings disappear in mere weeks and when people are literally losing their minds, we are in serious trouble. 

And again who must we thank for all of this? China.

But wait. China on her own is not solely to blame. We are also guilty. Because we opted to buy their products that albeit were of cheaper quality but cost us less. Wealthy businesses and entrepreneurs all followed the same mantra. Make it in China. With their slave labour and government interference in private business (they give them subsidies), they obviously have an unfair advantage in keeping their costs down. How many times have I heard Kevin O'Leary on 'The Dragon's Den' (an interesting show where wealthy business people listen to all sorts of entrepreneurs pitch business ideas) lecture the guests on making the new products in China...

To save $20 dollars years ago, we chose a Chinese made TV over the US made one. Of course that had a domino effect. The less American products we bought, the fewer sales the US companies had, the more they had to raise the cost. Until finally they gave up and closed shop or worse, moved production to China. That last move was one of desperation. I guess the CEO's went for short term gain. Even they must have known that in time the Chinese would copy their products that were being made for them in China and eventually would sell them directly to the West and put these American businesses out of business. 

So greed won us over. Now we are paying the price. We should have thought this through a little deeper. Had Nazi Germany started building cheaper TV's using slave labour (ie. 6 million starving Jews and others) would we have bought them?

This concept of digging deeper is so important. So many of us read a headline or heard a rumour and run with it. Instead of spending a little bit of time to research the facts, we seem to love to parrot ideas that others have parroted to us. That's why I was worried when Obama got elected president. Based on limited research on him, like his love of Communism, his love of Arabism and his hatred of America (amongst other things) I had every right to be worried. That's why I was worried when Bernie Sanders came on the scene. When some of my friends thought that simply based on his 'great idea' that Bernie had in offering free education for all, I dug a little deeper. Without much difficulty I was able discern that there was no way in hell for Americans to afford this without destroying their economy. 

Many ideas from the left, on the surface, might sound great. Sure in a perfect world where all people are good, where all people are in good shape, healthy both physically and economically, maybe open borders might work. But obviously this is a dangerous dream. When various political leaders say they have Israel's back, dig a little deeper. Focus far more on what they do rather than on what they say. 

Unwarranted attacks on President Trump right now fall into this category. I certainly understand that many people don't like him. I think that most simply don't like his personality or more likely they don't like the persona that the Leftist media has portrayed in him. But now is not the time to attack him. If you want to remain healthy, beat this virus and regain your wealth, we must support him and his administration's efforts to win this war. I know it's easy to find fault with every little thing he said or might have said. Hopefully those that hate him, can wait until after this war is won before they continue to attack him. 

Back to China and what they've done to us with the spread of the corona virus. We must absolutely hold them to account. Likewise we must hold our political leaders and business leaders who have also helped China to succeed, to account as well. And lastly we must hold ourselves to account. China is a very large and powerful adversary with nefarious ambitions. They have already threatened to withhold medicines to us, which are mostly produced there. This is no less an act of war. 

If we learn anything from this terrible situation, I hope that we isolate China and other nefarious states like them. And make them pay! On a more general note, we must learn to dig deeper before we react.

In good health,
Leon