{"id":577,"date":"2020-05-05T09:45:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T17:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/?p=577"},"modified":"2020-05-11T11:59:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T19:59:49","slug":"items-05-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/2020\/05\/05\/items-05-04\/","title":{"rendered":"Interesting Items 05\/04"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Howdy All, a few Interesting Items for your information.\u00a0 Enjoy \u2013<\/p>\n<p>In this issue:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Fog of War<\/li>\n<li>Reopening<\/li>\n<li>Judges<\/li>\n<li>Legislation<\/li>\n<li>Ballots<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Fog of War. We appear to be in the part of the current festivities where not only all data but cause and effect of adopted policies are being questioned across the board.\u00a0 In military terms, this is referred to as the Fog of War, where you can\u2019t believe anything you see, but must do something about what you see or know is going on regardless.\u00a0 Otherwise, you lose.\u00a0 Today, everything is questioned \u2013 the data, medical treatments, impact of lockdowns (other than utter economic disaster) and what to do next.\u00a0 A few examples for your consideration:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Effectiveness of drugs. The most recent Big Thing in treatment of a Wuhan infection is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2020\/04\/16\/early-peek-at-data-on-gilead-coronavirus-drug-suggests-patients-are-responding-to-treatment\/\">drug used to treat Ebola patients called Remdesivir by Gilead Sciences<\/a>.\u00a0 It has been in testing and appears to be well liked by the CDC and other government agencies.\u00a0 It also has the extra added attraction of being expensive at $1,000 a pop.\u00a0 Early test results indicate that it might cut the cure time by a day or two.\u00a0 Critics note that there is no change in overall death rate when used.\u00a0 Like I said first, fog of war.<\/li>\n<li>Second drug is hydroxychloroquine, which was pointed out as an early treatment. Well, it turns out that it is effective, but must be used as part of a triple meds treatment \u2013 HOQ + Azithromycin + zinc supplement.\u00a0 Timing here is also important, as it does not work all that well once you are a ventilator.\u00a0 This drug cocktail appears to be popular worldwide outside the US; not so popular in the US particularly with the CDC and whomever is advising President Trump.\u00a0 Media has been particularly critical of this treatment, likely because Trump suggested it might have some effectiveness a month ago.\u00a0 A week or so ago, a small study was released claiming that HOQ caused more deaths than cured.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.com\/coronavirus-treatment-trumps-hydroxychloroquine-caused-more-deaths-study-reveals-2962879\">The media was ecstatic with this result, gleefully blaming Trump\u2019s support of the drug for more deaths<\/a>.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/matt-margolis\/2020\/04\/22\/five-problems-with-the-study-that-claims-more-deaths-from-treating-coronavirus-with-hydroxychloroquine-n385923\">PJ Media ran an analysis on the study that found multiple problems<\/a>.\u00a0 These included the fact that the study was not a controlled clinical trial.\u00a0 Rather, it was an analysis of medical records afterwards.\u00a0 It has yet to be peer reviewed.\u00a0 Patients were not representative of the entire population.\u00a0 Median age was 70 and 59 \u2013 68% of them were black.\u00a0 The most severe cases disproportionately got the drugs.\u00a0 Other studies and evidence suggest it works.\u00a0 The drug cocktail appears to be 91% successful overseas.\u00a0 Zinc, which appears to be the silver bullet in this (HOQ damages the virus, Azithromycin controls the pneumonia, and zinc gets thru the viral sheath and kills it).\u00a0 The study concluded that controlled trials are still needed.\u00a0 Pretty bloody bad when a drug is used worldwide but rejected by both the WHO and the CDC and American docs believe both the CDC and WHO rather than the experience of other docs.\u00a0 Final point:\u00a0 A question awaiting anyone to answer:\u00a0 What has been happening to the Lupus patients in all this?\u00a0 Are they dying of Wuhan or not?\u00a0 Note that HOQ is an integral part of Lupus treatments.<\/li>\n<li>Next story comes with ventilators. After much caterwauling out of NY and CA about the lack of ventilators, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-ventilators-specia\/special-report-as-virus-advances-doctors-rethink-rush-to-ventilate-idUSKCN2251PE\">it appears they don\u2019t help<\/a>.\u00a0 Instead, once you are bad enough to get on one, it is really difficult to get off.\u00a0 Some combination of CPAP style pressure and supplementary oxygen appears to work much better.\u00a0 I predict that ventilators are going to end up much like iron lungs did 60 years ago \u2013 vital equipment before we knew how to treat the disease, useless door stops today.\u00a0 But at least we\u2019ll have warehouses with tens of thousands of them.<\/li>\n<li>And how successful were the lockdowns? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/04\/13\/politics\/asa-hutchison-arkansas-coronavirus\/index.html\">One the one hand, we have at least 7 states with either no or limited lockdowns \/ stay at home orders<\/a>.\u00a0 The rest of the country ordered some variation of lockdowns.\u00a0 Did they work?\u00a0 Unknown at this point, as the Dakotas which didn\u2019t lock down had similar disease rates to Alaska, which did lock down.\u00a0 And we have the case of Sweden, which didn\u2019t have a lockdown at all.\u00a0 Observers are pointing to Sweden as a failed experiment.\u00a0 I think we will have to see where it ends up.<\/li>\n<li>Somewhere along the line, we are going to have to do something about the deaths in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. I have come across numbers indicating that 40 \u2013 50%+ of all deaths in individual states were in nursing homes \/ long term care facilities. One doc in such a facility in TX was on Laura Ingraham Monday night and claimed to have a 92% save rate with the 3-drug cocktail with HCQ, z-Pac and Zinc.\u00a0 This is similar to the survival rate reported from France, Taiwan and South Korea using the cocktail.<\/li>\n<li>Finally, how many lives are we actually saving? Initial estimate of deaths was 2.2 million, recently revised down to 100,000 \u2013 200,000. Given the daily increase in deaths here in the US past 66,000 it appears we will be well into that range before it is all over.\u00a0 The media is really enjoying the rising numbers a lot, asking President Trump last week if a president who lost more Americans than died in Vietnam deserves reelection.\u00a0 I think we will be surprised at how the math was done to come up with the current counts.\u00a0 OTOH, Scott Adams over the weekend did some math, applying death rates in NY to the rest of the country.\u00a0 If Wuhan Flu was as deadly to the rest of the US as it has been in NY, there would be around 730,000 dead because of it.\u00a0 Clearly something is either going horribly wrong in NY or nicely right in the rest of the country.\u00a0 We are going to learn what that is.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Reopening. Reopening wars continue in the blue states, as democrat governors and mayors do their level best to crash their state economies while angling for a federal bailout of their overextended pension systems.\u00a0 Their actions are uniformly high-handed and designed to further irritate an already irritated populace.\u00a0 Limbaugh has stated a few times over the last couple weeks that he believes democrat governor actions are being coordinated with Schumer and Pelosi.\u00a0 While that wouldn\u2019t surprise me, there is sufficient variation in what they are ordering and not ordering between the states that it doesn\u2019t look completely like the normal lockstep democrat response.\u00a0 Beaches on Cali continue to be a flashpoint, as beach goers continue to tell CA Governor Gavin Newsome to pound sand and hit the beaches anyway.\u00a0 Two weekends ago was particularly festive, prompting Newsome to close the beaches in Orange County, the most Republican county in the state as punishment.\u00a0 So far, Cali judges have supported Newsome.\u00a0 That might not last.\u00a0 Hospitals are starting to resume elective surgeries, which will help their cash flow a lot.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li>Judges. Lawsuits over high-handed closure orders, particularly those aimed at religious gatherings are starting to hit the judiciary.\u00a0 For the most part, judges have ruled in support of the churchgoers and business owners.\u00a0 Attorney General Bill Barr has gotten the Justice Department involved strongly on the side of churches and their congregants.\u00a0 As the vast majority of lockdown orders are not connected to anything resembling the Rule of Law, the citizens are starting to decide that the mayors and governors aren\u2019t the only ones who can make it up as they go.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/legalinsurrection.com\/2020\/04\/law-enforcement-insurrection-houston-police-union-criticizes-harris-county-judges-idiotic-mandatory-mask-wearing-order\/\">In Houston, the Harris County judge who wrote a 30-day mask wearing order for everyone over the age of 10 is getting pushback not only by the citizenry but by local law enforcement<\/a>.\u00a0 Note that the order requires everyone out of doors to wear a mask and the disease is not successfully transmitted out of doors.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/victorygirlsblog.com\/houston-police-push-back-against-mandatory-mask-ordinance\/\">The order comes with a fine up to $1,000 and 180 days in jail<\/a>.\u00a0 Houston Police Union is strongly pushing back against the order, refusing to enforce it.\u00a0 While the judge will no doubt rule the guilty and sentence to the maximum extent of the law, good luck getting an arrest.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/victorygirlsblog.com\/businesses-without-options-defy-closing-orders\/\">Businesses without any option for continued closure are starting to reopen whether allowed to do so or not<\/a>.\u00a0 These are generally barber shops, beauty shops and restaurants.\u00a0 They are getting cited with misdemeanor violations and will have to show up in court.\u00a0 But the owners are starting to open up regardless.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/bearingarms.com\/cam-e\/2020\/04\/27\/judge-halts-northam-order\/\">In VA, a circuit judge overturned Governor Ralph Northam\u2019s executive order designating indoor firearms ranges as places of amusement and ordering them closed<\/a>.\u00a0 Grounds for the overturn was that Northam\u2019s order was unconstitutional based on a provision in the VA constitution that training with firearms was integral to the freedom own them.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this opinion only currently applies to a single indoor range in Lynchburg.\u00a0 Final judicial opinion is not directly applicable to reopening, but is satisfying, nonetheless.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.personaldefenseworld.com\/2020\/04\/judge-blocks-california-ammunition-law\/\">A federal judge last week blocked a Cali law requiring background checks to purchase ammunition<\/a>.\u00a0 It was tossed as \u201conerous and convoluted.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li>Legislation. One of the things we Americans do following a traumatic national event is generally to pass a few amendments that lock in what has been learned.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t do it following the end of the Cold War, meaning we are a little late.\u00a0 What will be needed following this pandemic?\u00a0 I would suggest several things starting with a clear definition of what an essential business actually is and more importantly who have the right to shut down any business for any reason?\u00a0 Note that all the lockdowns were predicated on controlling the spread of the disease.\u00a0 The problem with this is that when any Mayor or Governor has the ability to shut down any business, he or she by definition controls that business in perpetuity. \u00a0A LOT of democrats have gloried in that control, using it early and often.\u00a0 This decision ought to be fought out in legislatures over the upcoming months, clearly defining what is essential (my dime says they are ALL essential) and what is not.\u00a0 The legislation ought to also clearly define who gets to make the call and under what conditions.\u00a0 Second<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/us-approves-home-covid-19-test-four-states-ban-it\">, there are at least 4 states that have laws on the books that do not allow at-home testing kits<\/a>, recently approved by the CDC to be used.\u00a0 These states are NY, NJ, MD &amp; RI, though MD appears to have modified theirs recently.\u00a0 Going to be difficult to roll out widespread testing if the usual speedbumps still exist in the usual blue states.\u00a0 Final example of a federal speedbump is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.city-journal.org\/fda-blocks-apple-watch-blood-oxygen-feature\">FDA\u2019s blocking a feature on the Apple Watch that allows you to measure your blood oxygen levels<\/a>, an important early indicator of a Wuhan Flu infestation.\u00a0 I expect this is not the only speedbump to progress the FDA has erected over the years.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>Ballots. Final story this week comes via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/articles\/2020\/04\/24\/28_million_mail-in_ballots_went_missing_in_last_four_elections_143033.html\">Real Clear Politics, which finds that 28 million mail-in ballots went missing 2012 \u2013 2018, the last four elections<\/a>.\u00a0 State and local officials didn\u2019t know where the ballots ended up.\u00a0 In come locales (Chicago, for instance \u2013 why does that not surprise me?), the number was even higher because some areas in the county did not respond to the federal survey.\u00a0 This figure does not include ballots that were spoiled, undeliverable or returned.\u00a0 The sheer number of missing ballots raise all sorts of questions about election and ballot security, which is why congressional democrats are furiously pushing by-mail voting for federal elections.\u00a0 A massive increase in by-mail voting will incentive ballot harvesting by which enterprising Cali democrats managed to turn the Orange County congressional delegation blue in 2018.\u00a0 For example, Hilly won the popular vote by 2.8 million (mostly in Cali and NY) with nearly 6 million unaccounted mail-in ballots never counted.\u00a0 A 2012 NYT report noted that voting fraud involving by-mail ballots was vastly more prevalent than in-person voting fraud.\u00a0 No wonder democrats are demanding it.\u00a0 Concerns about by-mail voting fraud have led to calls to significantly restrict or abolish on-demand absentee voting in favor of early in-person voting.\u00a0 In Oregon, the first state to adopt by-mail voting had over 12% of 7 million ballots the state sent out for the 2012 and 2016 national elections unaccounted for.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>More later &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; AG<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Howdy All, a few Interesting Items for your information.\u00a0 Enjoy \u2013 In this issue: Fog of War Reopening Judges Legislation Ballots<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577\/revisions\/579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interestingitems.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}