[Zero] As concerns of a Covid-19 outbreak increase across the US, Costco stores are experiencing the second weekend of panic-buying of food, water, and hand sanitizers.
Last weekend we noted how the "great panic of 2020 is underway" as Americans made a mad dash to Costco stores and other big-box retailers to hoard supplies. Costco CFO Richard Galanti told investors during an earnings call last week that buying panic has "been nuts" adding that he attributes "this to concerns over the coronavirus."
Stock prices for Walmart and Target have also benefited from the spread of the deadly virus, as people preparing for a quarantine situation load up shopping carts with bottled water, canned soup, instant mac and cheese and everything else that they could possibly need to wait out the virus. But the panic-buying has been leading to shortages and leaving people on edge. -WaPo
On the East Coast, tens of millions of Americans woke up on Saturday morning and heard the news about 44 total confirmed virus cases in New York, with a majority in Westchester, a suburb of NYC. PIX11 News' Cristian Benavides tweeted a video of the panic that is developing in NYC this morning. He shows a long line of cars waiting to get into a Costco in Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens.
#1
Went to the local produce stand on Friday, there was plenty of everything, but the crowd was like the day before Christmas / Thanksgiving / Easter and the traffic was like an oil embargo era gas station.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/08/2020 9:04 Comments ||
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#2
Our local Smart & Final was out of toilet paper, sanitizer, all types cleaning wipes etc..
#3
It may or may not be useful for the current situation, but at least some of those purchases will still be stored when a real disaster happens. I just read a post by a gentleman who got a pallet of SPAM when Barack Obama was reelected, and is still working his way through it — the rest of the family refuses to eat the stuff.
[DW] Very few of the people currently trying to get into the EU via The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... are from Syria. The reason why highlights a key aspect of the current crisis.
There are two reasons why relatively few Syrians and a disproportionately high number of Afghans in Turkey have made their way to the country's border with Greece and the Europe
Continued on Page 49
#1
Equation is very simple. You cannot have a Wlffare Stte AND Open Borders. If you have them you are going to attract people from the whole world hoping to live on the dole. In Italy they tried to hae "refugeesé work a couple hours a week in menialm tasks. They flatly refused.
Thre is also the problem those particualr refuges hate and despise the hspting countries and their people. Watch Elia Kazan's Ameriacn America. Wgen the Greek refugee arrives to America and sees the Ameraican falhh he is dumbstruck and looks at it with love. In contrast Muslma refugees have been involved in a=dispropetionately high number of crimes incli=uding beating of German women not
"properly" dressed, rape, hate murders and terror
And we are supposed to welcome them?
[Red State] - These days, it seems like politics dominates everything. It influences where people shop, what types of entertainment we consume, and even who they choose as a mate. Anytime a major story breaks, Americans’ opinions on the event seem to fall along party lines.
One can see this social phenomenon in America’s reaction to the recent coronavirus outbreak that has already claimed thousands of lives worldwide. A Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that political affiliation is playing a significant role in the formation of people’s opinions on the disease.
From Reuters:
"Americans who now find themselves politically divided over seemingly everything are now forming two very different views of another major issue: the dangers of the new coronavirus.
Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to say the coronavirus poses an imminent threat to the United States, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this week."
...Anyone following the corporate media’s coverage of the coronavirus outbreak has seen their unabashed attempts to convince the American public that we’re all going to die an excruciating death because of the disease. Even worse, they are also blaming ‐ you guessed it ‐ President Trump for the spread of the illness. Put simply, the press is brazenly politicizing the event.
In light of this, it seems logical that Democrats would be more likely to alter their daily routines in fear of the coronavirus. It makes sense that they would see it as more of a threat than Republicans would. They have more trust in the reportage of the media than conservatives, who trust the Fourth Estate about as much as one might trust Joe Biden with their teenage daughters.
[PJ] It's hard to imagine why anyone in Congress would oppose a measure designed to keep sex offenders, violent criminals, and people on terror watch lists from working for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), but alas, a mindboggling 174 House Democrats did just that this week.
On Thursday, a bipartisan majority passed an amendment to the Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act authored by Democratic Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood. "[The amendment] was pulled back by leadership because the socialist wing of the party did not want to have that amendment go forward on this bill," said Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy. "When it was offered, overwhelmingly the majority of the House would like to see the TSA not hire terrorists or those who have been convicted of sexual misconduct with minors and others. But the socialist wing of the party, that controls now the Democratic Party, said that that could not be offered."
#1
The leftist POV - You can't treat sex offenders like social outcasts just because they do stuff that's socially unacceptable outside Hollyweird, muzz countries and major TV network green rooms.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/08/2020 12:38 Comments ||
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Legal Insurrection via Instapundit
After a week of covering the Wuhan coronavirus as both as a pundit and a biosafety professional, I have come to the conclusion that maybe it is time to dial back the drama associated with the pathogen.
Let’s begin by starting with some perspective. The current flu season has hit 32 million Americans, resulting in 18,000 deaths, and the vaccine that was selected for the flu season was limited in its effectiveness. Yet, we are not doing a daily flu death countdown.
...The press is currently ginning up fear about the lack test kits. However, Pence noted that all the state labs that had requested test kits have received them. And because of the changes in the regulations implemented by the Trump administration last week, the state labs can actually run the tests.
Between March 2 and 5, over 900,000 tests had been distributed across the country. By the end of next week, 4 million tests could be shipped. Pence made it clear that a public-private partnership (working with Lab Corp and Quest) was being implemented toward getting even more test materials to the state labs more quickly.
...Finally, Dr. James Phillips, operational medicine fellowship director at George Washington University, recently said that most people who contract the coronavirus will "do just fine."
"Most of us are going to get this virus. It’s undeniable," said Phillips. "You won’t find a single expert out there who is saying that this is going to be contained. "And, the more we learn about it, the more we see that the spread is going to be global and, for the most part, that’s OK because the data we know from China shows that roughly 98 to 99 percent of us are going to do very, very well."
In conclusion: Stay calm and keep your hands away from your face.
#1
In general I agree that panicking is a stupid and unwise response.
But unless the author is totally innumerate, his article actually increases anxiety. According to the professor, coronavirus is at least 20x, perhaps 40x, more lethal than the flu -- AND "most of us will get it" -- but there's nothing to worry about.
#3
So let's do the math:
"Most of us will get the virus" = minimum 165m Americans
"98-99% will do fine" = 1-2% will not "do fine", i.e. will not recover, i.e. will ... die? What else could he mean?
1% of 165m = 1.65m Americans will die from coronavirus
2% of 165m = 3.30m Americans will die from coronavirus
If the good professor aims to reduce panic, he ought to speak more precisely. Or not speak up altogether.
#4
that "1-2%" they reference are the ones will need hospitalization and extended acute care. Of that group, that's where the deaths will come. And remember most of the death statistics so far are in China and Iran, not exactly known for hygienic society. Also there is the issue of under reporting of cases, which falsely skews the death rate higher. In the younger population this virus appears to be very mild, and sometimes shows mild symptoms or none at all, which means those cases arent being reported. And supposedly there are yet to be any cases reported in otherwise healthy children under the age of about 15.
Right now, its primarily the elderly, the immuno-compromised like diabetics, mporbidly obese, heart failure and circulatory issues, and especially cancer patients on chemo/radiation. Above all else, the people most at risk for death are those with compromised pulmonary function: smokers, former smokers, living in highly air polluted areas like central (Wuhan) China, and especially those with chronic lung diseases like emphysema, chronic bronchitis, long-term severe or acute asthma, and most definitely COPD.
Basically, if you are under the age of 60, and don't smoke, do not have cancer, and do not have pulmonary issues, and are otherwise fairly healthy, you are very unlikely to die from this. Flu is more likely to kill you.
So stay away from crowds, wash your hands properly and frequently, use hand sanitizer after touching things in public, like door knobs, gas pump handles and shopping carts. And until you do clean your hands, don't touch in or near the eyes, nose or mouth. And disinfect the surfaces in your home and car regularly, this virus lives up to 9 days on surfaces.
Do those things and you reduce your chances of exposure.
So stop adding to the panic and hysteria.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 ||
03/08/2020 7:03 Comments ||
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#5
bad actors in the media (but I repeat myself) are already salivating at the prospect of this being 'Trump's Katrina' (their words). So hoping that the drama gets dialed back by those who use drama as their biggest weapon... not likely.
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 ||
03/08/2020 9:33 Comments ||
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#6
The deaths from COVID-19 are following the influenza pattern. Most dead are above 60. Most people will be fine.
However, it is a very serious and deadly virus for a lot of people. Just take basic precautions and stay away from old people and immune system compromised people if you are ill.
#7
We've got a nice little experiment underway here right now. It's Bike Week on the Florida coast and there are people who have come from all over the country. There are going to be crowds, people suppressing their immune systems with alcohol and whatnot. We shall see...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/08/2020 12:35 Comments ||
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#8
If there is any sort of a silver lining to this and all the different information available, at least we can rejoice in knowing the FDA and CDC haven’ t delegated the vaccine research to Boeing.
#12
Experts I heard said that the virus probably spread all around the world during the cold and flu season. Folks got it and for nearly everyone it was no worse than the flu so they never went to the hospital and so never knew they had Coronavirus. For others they got sick as they would the flu and hospitals treated them for the flu and in many cases they parallel the normal flu.
This really does seem like fear mongering making things worse and with folks saying it will be Trump's Katrina it's hard not to find motive.
#13
Even if its not "TrumP's Katrina", the media is doing its best to make it into that.
Something needs to be done with/to the dominant leftist media to hold the writers and editors personally accountable and punish them for sedition.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566 ||
03/08/2020 17:47 Comments ||
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#14
Occam agrees: This is an attempted Katrina-ing if OrangeMan.
Not saying you shouldn't wash her hands, or take reasonable precautions. Just saying that the panic-mongering conceals a large degree of Machiavellian political manipulation.
[AmGreatness] In an order that also extended "parental leave" to "same-sex couples" in the U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant General David Berger has mandated that "Confederate-related paraphernalia" be removed from all Marines bases.
It's a bad decision.
Imagine the United Kingdom purging Scottish symbols from the British army. The Scottish secession movement, after all, has a lot more political traction than any neo-secessionist movement in the American South. Besides, the Scots fought, and fought savagely, against the British, before they fought for them.
Continued on Page 49
#3
I'm the last one to support anything PC but the Commandant is absolutely right to banish this symbol. No one can serve Jeff Davis and Uncle Sam. Pick one.
It does not diminish anyone's heritage or pride in his kin to point out that the Confederate flag was born as a political symbol that designated an armed rebellion which arose squarely for the purpose of preserving and extending slavery -- "now and forever."
There is no comparison between the flag of slavery and the Scottish cross of St Andrew.
Someone needs to explain to our sons of the South that they can be proud of their family's valor without brandishing the symbol of slavery and insurrection.
#5
The north has never stopped raging war upon the south. If the confederates were black you would see none of this. History and pictures are still told and hung in many homes just as the Ball and Jack of England. PC culture is an anemic failure. You can bury history in the media but this history lives on.
#6
Would be curious to see General Berger’s reaction to the rainbow flag, BLM or Antifa symbolism. I recall seeing an all female African American West Point grad picture with fists raised.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/08/2020 9:52 Comments ||
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#8
The "Ground War is Here so 'Don't Sweat the Small Stuff!'" phase is drawing to a close so the REMF's that delight in making sure that all of the rocks in the base are properly painted white are trying to take over *cough* insure proper discipline. Happens after most every shooting war.
Sperg all you want about how the Stars and Bars represent rebellion, but the brass is going out of its way to alienate a demo that is generally overrepresented on a state by state basis within the services.
And I haven't heard of any combat personnel refusing to follow orders because Jeff Davis would have disapproved.
Most of the shirking seems to have been the result of leftism or Islam.
Maybe we should worry about those factors instead.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[DW] Very few of the people currently trying to get into the EU via 
[PJ] It's hard to imagine why anyone in Congress would oppose a measure designed to keep sex offenders, violent criminals, and people on terror watch lists from working for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), but alas, a mindboggling 174 House Democrats did just that this week.
