Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Reopening & Reviving America
During a special Rose Garden announcement yesterday, President Trump made it absolutely clear that he wants to reopen America sooner rather than later.
The president announced that a detailed plan to reopen the country will be ready in a matter of days. Trump said he would consult with the nation's governors, and would authorize them to begin "a powerful reopening plan" with a specific schedule for each state.
Insiders say it is possible that on May 1 as many as 20 states, mostly low population density states, will be able to begin reopening. The president suggested some states may be able to open even sooner.
This won't be all or nothing, like flipping a light switch. It will be more like a dimmer switch that can be slowly turned up as we get the U.S. economy off the "ventilator."
To facilitate this transition, the president announced the "Great American Economic Revival Group." This group contains dozens of industry leaders from every aspect of the economy – retail, manufacturing, high tech, telecommunications, agriculture, entertainment, construction, energy, banking, sports, real estate, healthcare and more.
President Trump also announced that he would be reaching out to faith leaders to discuss how we can get our churches open again, which the president said was very important to him.
By the way, the Trump Justice Department is intervening in a lawsuit against one city that recently attempted to ban all religious services.
While 20 states may be able to start the process of reopening soon, I believe the president and those close to him are hoping that by Memorial Day the rest of the country will be well along in this process as well.
There Will Be Pushback
Make no mistake about this: The progressive left and their media allies will use every new Covid-19 infection and death to say, "This wouldn't have happened if we hadn't reopened the country!"
To realize how ridiculous this is, we will likely have coronavirus cases in certain hotspots throughout the rest of the year. And it may return next year. If we followed the left's demagoguery, America would be crippled for the next 12 to 18 months.
Incredibly, some left-wing activists are demanding just that. And by the way, there would no longer be an America – at least not one we recognize or would want our children and grandchild to inherit.
No one will ever be able to completely calculate the destruction, despair and the death of human dreams that has occurred during this shutdown. But there is absolutely no doubt that there has been a grim economic and human toll from these extreme mitigation efforts.
President Trump and Vice President Pence want to end this suffering as soon as possible. Some on the left seem intent on "resisting" their efforts and dragging it out as long as possible.
Trump vs. The WHO
President Trump announced yesterday that he is suspending U.S. funding of the World Health Organization pending a thorough investigation of its role in the coronavirus pandemic.
Predictably, the president was attacked by left-wing activists and the media. But they should be supporting his call for an investigation of communist China's role in all of this.
Where did the virus come from? What was China's role in manipulating the WHO and its director-general, who appears to be a great admirer of communist China?
Answering those questions would actually help the country, and I am pleased to report that the Senate Homeland Security Committee is stepping up and demanding answers.
But all the left wants to do is investigate Trump. Rep. Adam Schiff announced recently that he will be investigating Trump's response to the early coronavirus intelligence. Well, why wasn't the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee warning us about the coronavirus? Probably because he was too busy obsessing over impeachment.
Sadly, it seems that many leftists care more about destroying Trump than they do about saving America. For example, why is CNN publishing communist China's propaganda and why is China's communist propaganda quoting so many American progressives?
The Governor vs. God
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was on CNN yesterday and he said something that I found really bizarre and outrageous. The governor said that the progress being made in New York against the coronavirus has nothing to do with God.
"Our behavior has stopped the spread of the virus," Cuomo said. "God did not stop the spread of the virus."
Of course, the left is quick to blame any human tragedy on God, mockingly asking why He would allow it. But is the governor, who claims to be a faithful Catholic, really that clueless?
Does he not know that if God decided that New York was finished all the cable news commentators and talking heads in New York could not change His plans?
Is Cuomo so unaware of the role faith plays in leading countless doctors, nurses and first responders to risk their lives to save others?
Is he not aware of how many people, alone in their apartments, have sustained themselves through prayer and the knowledge of a loving God?
Does he not know that God is the source of all wisdom, without Whom there would be no life-saving medicines?
Of course, this is the same governor who once said that pro-life Americans weren't welcome in his state. But if I were the governor of New York right now, I would be very careful in suggesting that God is not welcome in New York either.
Our founding fathers strongly believed that God had a central role in creating and sustaining this great country. And as Ronald Reagan once said, "If we ever forget that we're one under God, then we will be a nation gone under."