The Coronavirus Report – Plague fatigue makes mitigations meaningless – continued!

“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” ― Søren Kierkegaard

“I’ll take crazy over stupid any day.” ― Joss Whedon

“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.” ― Margaret Atwood

“Freedom of speech does not protect you from the consequences of saying stupid shit.” ― Jim Hines

I figured we needed at least four more stupidity quotes to keep me from perpetually banging my head against the wall, so there you go! Meanwhile back at the ranch…

Actually, before we continue, let’s cover the fact that, once again, the pandemic panic porn prone press reported a “massive” 12,542 IL case number on Tuesday, which, of course, completely belies that when you test an almost record 116,000 people, that’s exactly the number you’re gonna get. It’s a direct correlation between that and our average 1 in 10 prevalence. It really is a very simple concept! The more people you test, the more COVID cases you’ll uncover!

But fully unsatisfied with that reporting lapse, the sky-is-always-falling press tried to terrify the populace by trumpeting a record 238 Illinois deaths, with 2,800 nationwide, yesterday.

First, I take great issue with doctors who claim that a 71-year-old with COPD and slew of other ailments died directly as a result of COVID-19. While the disease may have ended their lives somewhat prematurely, as the CDC frequently notes, coronavirus cases where the victim had no pre-existing condition are exceedingly rare.

Then there’s the math! (Sorry Jim Sather!)

Recalling our 1,200 average daily July COVID case number from Tuesday’s column, that number led to an average 18 deaths a day. Yet our November 9,200 case daily average – an 825 percent increase over July – translated into just 76 daily deaths, a 425 percent increase. So clearly, the disease is far less lethal that it used to be.

I know some of y’all are gonna take umbrage at the whole “just 76 daily deaths” thing, but the truth is, you’re far worse than I am. 1,315 Americans die EVERY DAY from the insidious effects of tobacco use, while another 822 die every 24 hours from obesity related diseases. And those deaths are virtually 100 percent preventable, yet we refuse to eliminate cigarettes or ban overweight people from Houlihan’s.

Don’t give that “obesity and lung cancer” aren’t contagious crap, either, because you can only catch the plague if you put yourself in a position to catch it.

And speaking of obesity, a minority of readers took me to task for declaring that some folks need to learn how to put down the fork. But when did a series of factual medical statements turn into an artificial form of bigotry known as fat-shaming? What’s next? Cheering on cancer?

If, in the course of a plague that can clearly kill you, you still somehow fail to moderate your diet and get a minimum amount of exercise, then you’re much worse than that jerk who refuses to wear a mask at Walmart. Obesity is an eminently preventable self-inflicted disease, and if you expect me to rescue you from yourself, you’d be a lot better off waiting for President Trump to concede to Joe Biden.

Go ahead and call me a cad, but in the immortal words of that late great philosopher, Tom Petty, “You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down! The truth is the truth and, considering the economic and human cost, we should be treating our absurd obesity epidemic with even more alacrity than the plague. And if you don’t agree with that blitheringly obvious observation, then don’t talk to me about the pandemic because you have absolutely no credibility.

Since we’re already traversing the overly dense minefield of personal responsibility, let’s take it a little further, because the press is also taking great glee in promoting stories of health care workers who claim they “didn’t sign on for this!” To be clear, I have talked with an enormous amount of medical professionals during this exciting era, and not only have the vast majority failed to whine about their lot in life, but they’ve almost unanimously agreed with The First Ward’s statistical analysis.

With that stipulation entered into the record, I can say, “Yes! You did sign on to this!” Not only is this the fifth pandemic in my short lifetime, but you also signed on to a relatively new phenomenon called “mass casualty events!”

What’s so easily forgotten is, I’ve written about the difficulties involved in being a nurse for years. You have to take crap from doctors, hospital administrators, patients and patients’ families, it doesn’t pay nearly enough, and after all that, if you’re really lucky, you get taken hostage by an escaped prisoner and shot as a result. Nursing may well be the only profession worse than choosing to be an unpaid journalist.

But it is a choice, and if the plague is too much for you, and I fully understand that possibility, then quit! There are other options out there. Not every job is for everyone. My career as a waiter lasted a mere week because the public generally sucks. That stark reality doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what our medical professionals are currently enduring, because I do, but the most important lesson I’ve learned in this fascinating existence is that it’s far too short to let yourself to become that miserable.

Might I also add that, rather than blame us for our failure to take the kind of precautions that don’t really make a difference, how about directing your anger at Governor Pointless who dismantled all of the medical overflow facilities far too early and relies on physicists and a pediatrician for terrible information.

Thankfully, much of what we’ve discussed here is immaterial because, through his random edict and fantasy-based approach to the pandemic, the Governor has lost the consent of the governed. And with plague fatigue finally setting in, no one’s listening to that blowhard anymore anyway.

Talk about a failure to lead by example and put down the fork! The sole purpose of government is to protect us from each other, but the second it tries to protect us from ourselves, the gig is up! To wit, Meijer and Fresh Market were packed last weekend, and at least 20 percent of the not-at-all-social-distancing patrons were wearing their masks below their noses which kinda defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it?

Then, just to get a handle on it, I did a west Geneva between-football-game Thanksgiving loop, and while there may not have been as many obvious family gatherings as in previous years, there was no shortage of ‘em, either. I may have even driven by a few of our aldermen’s homes to see if they were behaving.

The bottom line is, the Stasi and progressive nanny staters can whine and rat out their neighbors to their heart’s content, but with even state’s attorneys flipping Governor Pointless the bird, it doesn’t matter. Though I have FOIA’d all the Geneva November 911 calls in this regard, and I fully intend on publishing the complainants’ names right here!

Lastly, considering the havoc these pointless shutdowns have wreaked, with rare exception, this centrist moderate will never vote for a Democrat again. If it comes down to a choice between a Dem and a Trumper, I’ll either vote libertarian, or I’ll write in local attorney Kim DiGiovanni just to aggravate the bleep out of her.

Thankfully, it looks like a reasonable vaccine looms large and the singular solace in the Democrat regard is that Pritzker, Cuomo, and Newsome, among others, will not be reelected. A vast government overreach like this one should never be rewarded. As for me, since life is the very definition of the word “risk,” within the bounds of reason, I’m going to live that life regardless of how anyone thinks I should. And I’ve got a couple of fingers for you if you happen to believe otherwise!