Monday, April 6, 2020
The President Asks For Prayer
During yesterday's White House press briefing, President Trump asked Americans to pray for our nation, those grieving loved ones and those most impacted by the crisis. Here are excerpts of the president's remarks:
"While we may be apart from one another . . . we can use this time to turn in prayer in our own personal relationship with G-d. I would ask that all Americans pray for the heroic doctors and nurses, for the truck drivers and grocery store workers, and for everyone fighting this battle.
"I had mentioned yesterday where I see the nurses rushing into hospitals, and they're putting on their outfits and they're putting on their masks and goggles in some cases. They're rushing into war. . . They're warriors. . . They're putting all this stuff on and running inside . . . to tremendous danger.
"But most of all, I'd like to ask for your prayers, for the families who have lost loved ones. Ask G-d to comfort them in their hour of grief. It's a great hour of grief for our nation, for the world. . .
"With the faith of our families and the spirit of our people and the grace of our G-d, we will endure, we will overcome, we will prevail. We have learned so much. We will be stronger than ever, and I just want to thank everybody."
I think it would be a fantastic idea if churches across the country rang their bells at particular times over Holy Week to signal hope and renewal to the American people.
Policies Vindicated
The coronavirus crisis has largely vindicated President Trump's policy themes of America First and economic nationalism. It's beyond tragic that it took this pandemic to get people to focus on why our dependence on foreign imports from places like communist China is so dangerous.
Every step of the way, Washington's political establishment has resisted the president's call to get tough on China and rebalance our trade relationship. When the president was confronting China on its unfair trade practices, many cultural and political elites were defending China and downplaying the threat from China.
Last year, when the president "ordered" American CEOs to start thinking about how they could bring manufacturing plants back to America from China, many on the left accused Trump of acting like a dictator.
Now some on the left are insisting that the president act like a dictator by locking down the entire country. (Here and here.)
The Chinese Communist Party has acted like the godless totalitarians they are every step of the way. They punished their own doctors who first reported the disease. They then lied to the world repeatedly, even telling the world in mid-January that Covid-19 wasn't contagious.
When the president heard about the first infections in the U.S., he banned travel from China and was attacked by the liberal media and the Communist Party of China.
At some point the progressive left must answer for why the positions it takes almost always coincide with the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. And you don't have to take my word for it. Chinese state media are now quoting our leftist politicians and progressive Hollywood celebrities.
Hoarding Vital Supplies
New evidence is emerging that while the Chinese Communist Party was lying to the world about the severity of Covid-19 it was also hoarding vital medical supplies. Even though China is a major exporter of personal protective equipment, Beijing was buying up supplies all over the world. It appears as though China was trying to "corner the market."
Even now we are in the unenviable position, no fault of the Trump/Pence Administration, of ordering ventilators we desperately need from Chinese companies. Let's hope they are not as ineffective and flawed as other gear China has sent to countries around the world.
And now there are reports that Beijing is forcing countries to buy back medical supplies they had donated to China!
Here's a suggestion to American drug companies: We all have great hope that you will develop a vaccine in record time, which means late fall or early 2021, when the virus is likely to come back. Do whatever you can now to boost domestic manufacturing.
If the vaccine is made in China, millions of Americans may refuse to take it given China's track record. Many Americans understand who the Chinese communists are, even though elements of corporate America are still in denial.
A New Test & A New Model
A new antibody test is being launched today in Massachusetts that could be hugely important if it can be ramped up quickly. Initially, the tests will be administered to hospital staff to determine which workers may have immunity.
But if enough testing can be done, it could help others know when it is safe for them to return to work. One company is attempting to develop an at-home testthat utilizes your smartphone.
In related news, President Trump announced yesterday that 1.67 million Americans have now been tested for the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has updated its Covid-19 model based on "a massive infusion of new data." The estimated death toll is now roughly 82,000, with a range of 49,000 to 136,000. Yesterday, the president acknowledged that the model, at least in terms of hospital bed demand, had been wrong.
Here's my concern: The number of people who will be economically destroyed by the continued lockdown may far exceed any additional coronavirus casualties. The media are trying to present a false choice between the health of the American people and the health of the economy. That's a false choice.
Sadly, I know of people who have committed suicide from the despair of the lockdown. You also run the risk of the current unprecedented economic dislocation snowballing into a total collapse.
As economist Stephen Moore put it, "At some point soon, we're going to have to make some real decisions about what kind of a calamity we are causing through this lockdown of our economy." That has be to be weighed, too.
To be clear, if anything like a depression or a total economic meltdown happens, you won't be able to save coronavirus patients because our medical system will be operating in the "dark ages." We can't just print money without consequences.