Opinion
As you read the following article from 2008, recall that 9/11/01 was Dick Cheney’s and his pet Project for a New American Century’s (PNAC) "New Pearl Harbor" government conspiracy (google author David Ray Griffin and “The New Pearl Harbor":
Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration and 9/11), which has been conclusively proven to be yet another example of an Orchestrated “Disaster Capitalism” event that served the ruling globalist/Oligarch’s short term/long-term goals of enriching themselves and their cronies while simultaneously expanding their power and control over the governments of the planet’s politicians, their economies, their business communities, Wall Street, War Street and the military-industrial-congressional-deep state complexes across the world.
While humans stand on the brink of precipitating our own extinction, with the prospects of now averting this remote – see ‘Human Extinction Now Imminent and Inevitable? A Report on the State of Planet Earth’ – virtually everyone remains unaware of the critical nature of our plight. Moreover, the ongoing human death toll from the activities that are generating this crisis numbers in the many millions each year while the number of species driven to extinction is estimated at 200 per day.
In contrast, a virus that is killing a very small proportion of the minuscule number it has infected is causing panic in many countries around the world, devastating the travel and tourism industries while emptying supermarket shelves of food and that apparently most vital of commodities: toilet paper.
I am writing this article in what we presume to be the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone is scared. There aren’t many people outside, gas prices are very low, and people are panic-buying groceries. Unless you are reading this in some archive in the future, this is no news to you. It feels like something out of a near-future sci-fi movie, and that is exactly the problem.
In the opinion of our highly respected City Auditor Megan Kilgore regarding the impact COVID-19 will have on Columbus’s economy, Ms. Kilgore states, “The likely scenarios are not good and will require federal, state, and local stimulation to rebuild businesses’ balance sheets and turn things around for our most vulnerable workers.”
Since March 3, when nearly the entire Arnold Sports Festival was shut down, our Mayor and City Council has taken steps to mitigate the spread of the virus.
They have temporarily halted all city meetings, closed recreation and senior centers, passed a $1 million emergency human services fund, created an additional $12,000 senior citizens relief fund, established a COVID-19 Resource web site, ordered city employee travel restrictions, relaxed various street parking violations, and suspended parking ticket fines and penalties.
Mayor Ginther has also signed a declaration of a State of Emergency for Columbus granting him emergency powers to suspend certain city codes and regulations, and to control purchasing and contracting requirements to assure the public’s health and safety.
In the midst of this terrible Pandemic, three absolutely essential items must be made immediately available to all Americans: masks, testing and ventilators.
Congress must drop all other business—-including its in-fighting over a multi-trillion economic stimulus package—-and do everything in its power to make these three things immediately available to all Americans.
The masks of course must first go to all First Responders, along with gloves, protective clothing and whatever else is needed to guarantee the safety of our doctors, nurses and other health professionals. It’s wrong on all fronts to expect these brave citizens to put their lives at risk while treating others.
The testing must be made universally available with no charge. Only a tiny percentage of our population knows with any certainty if they have this disease. Early detection and treatment are exponentially more effective than waiting even a day or two.
Are you reading the Free Press online while "sheltering in place?" It's astonishing how fast life changed. Governor DeWine listened to the science of epidemiology and to Ohio Public Health director, Amy Acton, now a local shero for her knowledge and empathy. Instantly, the 24 hour news cycle was gifted with a hydra-headed crisis and a mission to tell the stories and their impacts on our elections, the economy, health care, self care, poverty, food access, energy use - our way of life, really, here, in other states, and in countries around the world.
Business as Usual: Interrupted! A virus, smaller than a bacteria, invisible without an electron microscope, whose relatives cause the common cold and influenza, is so contagious that a global pandemic now threatens our way of life. Perhaps only for a matter of months if we are able to flatten the rising curve of infections, but the aftermath is hard to predict. As Yogi Berra put it, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."
Every day now we’re waking up into an extreme real-life nightmare, while responses are still routinely lagging far behind what’s at stake. Urgency is reality. The horrific momentum of the coronavirus is personal, social and political. In those realms, a baseline formula is “passivity = death.” The imperative is to do vastly better.
Excerpts from an Interview with Dr Joseph Mercola – March 8, 2020 (3261 words)
At the risk of sounding trite, this article focuses on common sense ideas for self-care and using the time that self-quarantine creates. Practicing social distancing and self-quarantine is vital to how the virus spreads and to whom.
Asking people to practice these ways of living, even on the short term can be a real burden for many individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Social distancing may negatively impact many people, especially those who are vulnerable in society. There are structural and social inequities built in and around social distancing recommendations. Steps need to be taken to improve the community response to people who face food insecurity, domestic violence, and housing challenges, along with the many other social disadvantages.
The goal for now is to create sustainable practices and focus on resiliency. Almost anyone can do these things at various levels. If a majority of people just take one day at a time to self-quarantine and make the best of the time, it is possible to change the outcome that is predicted and maybe find some good in the current state of affairs.
What's Next...
“Waiting is full.” That’s what my husband Eric says: waiting is full, of whatever you do with that time. It could be irritation, anxiety or anger or it could be meditation, for example.
We are all in a waiting game here. Waiting to see what’s going to happen next. Hour by hour things are changing and evolving, the outcome uncertain.
Not only are we waiting, we are being asked/ordered to do it inside, away form others, to “shelter in place.” We’re told to stay home, keep a safe distance from others. For most of us, our jobs are on hold or worse, gone! For most that is a very scary thing. So, there’s fear in the waiting.
But you know what else there is in there? So much love! It’s everywhere from the balconies of Italy to our own communities. People are loving on each other via social media, on TV and by reaching out to friends and family. Through podcasts and reporting from their living rooms, talk show hosts and reporters are letting us into their homes like family. It’s personal. Because we ARE all in this together. all humans are susceptible to this bug.