Are Republicans Killing Voters in Wisconsin?
April 21, 2020 4:56pm
While the news media is breathlessly reporting that the evil Republicans in Wisconsin tried to murder people at polling locations on election day, it is important to keep their biased enthusiasm in perspective.
Health officials in Wisconsin have concluded that seven people likely contracted the COVID-19 Coronavirus on election day (six voters and one poll worker).
Gee, I wonder how many poll workers and voters typically catch the seasonal flu at a polling location. Without that comparison, this statistic is meaningless.
But here are statistics we do know and can use to calculate a meaningful perspective:
1.55 million people voted in Wisconsin. 1.13 million of those were by mail. That means 420,000 people voted in-person. So that means 99.99857% of the people who showed up to vote in-person DID NOT catch the coronavirus.
Because I always try to seek and share the full truth, it is important to point out that officials say they only have about 30 percent of the data in for Milwaukee and none for elsewhere in the state. So my back-of-the-napkin calculation of 99.99857% could really be closer to 99.99795%.
In other words, "yawn."
Full story at https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/7-wisconsin-virus-cases-linked-person-voting-n1188606
Elected Officials in America Have Outlawed Church!
April 18, 2020 8:38am
Pastors and congregants in many states have been arrested for the "crime" of exercising their First Amendment religious Rights.
In Chincoteague, Virginia, police who obviously hold our Constitution in contempt, raided Lighthouse Fellowship Church and charged Pastor Kevin Wilson with a crime.
What was the crime? He held religious services for 16 people in a church designed to hold 293 worshipers. That means the church was at 5.5% of its capacity. It was 94.5% empty! And parishioners were sitting more than six feet apart.
But it violated the almighty Dictator Ralph Northam's decree from on high that church services have no more than ten people present regardless of the size of the building. Even beyond the obvious First Amendment violation, can you think of anything more arbitrary and capricious???
Liberty Counsel is defending Chincoteague Pastor Wilson and other pastors in Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi against these blatantly unconstitutional arrests.
I spoke with Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel on my radio program this morning. A recording is archived online at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/200418
If you care about our Constitutional Rights, it is worth the time to listen. The Mat Staver interview occurs in Segment 3.
If you enjoy history, the first segment is a recording of my 2017 interview with Dick Cole, Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot during the Doolittle Raid over Japan that occurred 78 years ago today.
More information about Liberty Counsel’s ministry defending religious freedom in America is at www.LC.org
The Democrats' Proposal to Destroy Our Republic
April 15, 2020 2:40pm
Democrats are proposing that the U.S. Treasury give $2000 per person per month to every American age 16 or older making less than $130,000/year. If, as census data indicates, this would be approximately 250 million people, so that's $500 billion per month ($6 trillion/year).
For perspective, the entire federal budget before the coronavirus relief bill was $4.7 trillion. With those relief bills, it is now about $7 trillion, of which $3.4 trillion is debt.
There is no way this country can afford to fund the Democrats' proposed giveaway. But how many votes will their proposal buy?
Enough to win the presidency, take the Senate, and increase their majority in the House.
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
That quote is usually attributed to 18th century Scottish historian Alexander Tytler or to 18th century French historian Alexis de Tocqueville. But the real author is unknown. Regardless of who said it, it is absolutely correct. And it perfectly describes how Democrats will destroy our country.
The government-mandated coronavirus shutdown, whether foolish or malicious, was the worst possible course of action we could have taken.
The result will be seen in the November 2020 elections when we will usher in the complete destruction of our Republic.
Story at https://thehill.com/homenews/house/492950-house-democrats-propose-2000-monthly-payments-to-americans?fbclid=IwAR3zQQljN9oDCCc8q7ClE1iJePtSCXynGsnQoS_NQTpkIGh9ljx40r4DDzA
No, Mr. President, You Are NOT a King!
April 14, 2020 4:39pm
In 2018, I denounced Time Magazine for their cover of Donald Trump envisioning himself as a king. Today, I stand by that denunciation at the time because it was a meritless attack against the President for simply exerting powers the Constitution very clearly allowed.
But his recent claim that he has total authority to decide how and when to end the Coronavirus Closure is absurd. Trump said “When somebody is President of the United States, the authority is total, and that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total. The governors know that.” He went on to say that local leaders “can’t do anything without the approval of the President of the United States.”
No, Mr. President, that is not true. You are either inexcusably ignorant of our Constitution, or you have received terrible legal advice. I'd wager it's the former.
Trump said he would release a paper supporting his legal argument that “the President of the United States calls the shots." I look forward to reading it. It will have as much validity as the Babylon Bee, but it won't be as well-written.
The President has ZERO authority to shut down commerce and impose a quarantine upon America. Frankly, neither do the governors, but the governors have more authority to limit movement than the President does.
Trump's claim is wrong. And the news media rightly challenged him on it. But does anyone else see the pathetic irony of the Democrats and the media - but I repeat myself - blasting the President because he falsely claimed authority he doesn't have while at the same time blasting him for not exerting sooner the authority they acknowledge he didn't have???
If it wasn't for double standards, Democrats and the media would have no standards at all.
The Governor of Kentucky Has Declared War Against the American People!
April 11, 2020 10:32pm
The Governor of Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear has outlawed church attendance. He has mandated what is de facto imprisonment of anyone who attends Easter services tomorrow. He will be sending his Gestapo out to surveil churches and record the license plates of every car in church parking lots. They will then use that illegally obtained list of the religious faithful to force a 14-day quarantine upon them.
Really? House arrest for attending church? The war is no longer against the coronavirus. The war is now against the American people!
And what about the police who will carry out the governor's unlawful orders? Are those cops so devoid of knowledge about our constitutional liberties that they'll follow such blatantly unconstitutional orders?
"But I was only following orders!" Where have we heard that before? It is no excuse.
We need Nuremberg-style trials against these enemies of our Republic. Because without holding elected officials and law enforcement personnel accountable for their actions, they will only be empowered to trample on our rights to an even worse degree next time. And there will be a next time.
Our Founders knew public health threats existed. Smallpox and tuberculosis were both far more contagious and had fatality rates far higher than the COVID-19 Coronavirus. But they didn't include any mechanism to permit the suspension of our Constitution when a pandemic occurs. Yet elected officials across America have suspended constitutional rights - or at the very least, ignored them.
Under the guise of protecting us from ourselves, traitorous politicians have not only put us in quarantine; they have quarantined the Constitution of the United States. And almost no one seems to know or care. It's disgraceful.
Oh, how I wish I was in Kentucky so I could attend a church service there tomorrow...
William M. Arkin on America's Continuity of Government Plans
April 11, 2020 8:38am
Did you know the U.S. military has activated its Continuity of Government plans and secured the blast doors at Cheyenne Mountain because of the coronavirus? Seriously. That’s not kook, conspiracy stuff. It actually happened. And almost nobody is talking about it. But I did!
This morning on my radio program, I spoke with military consultant William M. Arkin about the COG Plans if coronavirus cripples the government. If you missed the program this morning, I encourage you to listen to it on the podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/200411
My guest the entire hour was William M. Arkin, who wrote "Inside The Military's Top Secret Plans If Coronavirus Cripples the Government" for Newsweek. His article is online at www.newsweek.com/exclusive-inside-militarys-top-secret-plans-if-coronavirus-cripples-government-1492878. It is well worth your time to read it.
When I read Arkin's piece, I found it to be terrifying - not because we have Continuity of Government plans in the event our top leaders are killed or incapacitated; everyone knows we do. It was terrifying because of the thought that the COVID-19 Coronavirus could possibly bring us to the point of needing to implement those COG Plans.
In our conversation, Arkin provided a very level-headed and factual explanation of America's COG Plans and described the extent to which they've been activated. Don't dismiss it as nonsense or paranoid fantasy just because you haven't heard about it elsewhere. Because Big Media spoon-feeds you only what they want you to know, the real stories are often found in what they don't report.
There is no need to panic. Our government is intact. The tanks are not rolling down the street toward your house. But you do need to be informed. Arkin's article and our interview this morning are good places to start.
LINKS:
William M. Arkin's article in Newsweek
www.newsweek.com/exclusive-inside-militarys-top-secret-plans-if-coronavirus-cripples-government-1492878
William M. Arkin's interview on The Mike Bates Show
www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/200411
William M. Arkin's website
www.WilliamAArkin.wordpress.com
Michigan's Governor is a Dangerous Tyrant
April 9, 2020 10:08pm
Many elected officials across the country are imposing unjust and illegal orders that infringe upon the fundamental Constitutional Rights of Americans.
Governor Dimwit of Michigan is the worst offender. Her real name is Gretchen Whitmer. By executive order, Governor Dimwit closed all gun stores in the state, canceled all religious services, and banned all advertising for goods and services that are not food or medical. That same order prohibits peaceful assembly on both public and private property of ANY NUMBER of people who are not residents of a single household.
What if people want to peaceably assemble to protest or discuss how to challenge the extremely unconstitutional overreach of the governor's quarantine orders? Could that quarantine order prohibit the gathering? Not legally. But that's exactly what her order does. Can you see the irony of an unconstitutional order that prohibits the protest of an unconstitutional order? The whole point of the First Amendment is to protect Rights the people in power don't want you to exercise!
Her ban on gatherings is so extreme that if I lived next door to my mother in Michigan, it would be illegal for me to visit my mom unless I was providing her with medical care.
For perspective, you should know that Governor Whitmer has also prohibited the sale of seed and fertilizer, meaning people cannot grow their own food. But she deems the sale of liquor, recreational marijuana, and lottery tickets to be "essential." She has decreed that Michiganders can buy weed but not food seed!
Can she possibly be so ignorant of what our Constitution says as to believe her order is lawful? Or does she just not care? Does it matter what her reasoning is? Both are inexcusable! Violating her orders are criminal offenses not civil infractions. Is there no limit to her tyranny???
Can this really be true? Am I making it up? Or do I just misunderstand Governor Whitmer's executive order? I completely understand your skepticism. But it's all true. I read every word of her Executive Order #2020-42. You can read it yourself at https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MIEOG/2020/04/09/file_attachments/1423850/EO%202020-42.pdf
Governor Whitmer brings to mind two quotes: 1) "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." And 2) "Sic Semper Tyrannis."
If I said those words in Michigan, Governor Whitmer would probably have me arrested and prosecuted for hate speech. I mean, she's violated so many Constitutional Rights already, why not pile on with more? Do you know the origin of those two quotes? The first one is from Thomas Jefferson. The latter is the Virginia state motto that appears on the state flag; "Sic Semper Tyrannis" - "Thus Always to Tyrants."
Wake up, America! These tyrants must not be tolerated!
The Senate's Coronavirus Relief Bill Has Less Pork, but it's Still Overloaded with Pork
March 26, 2020 10:51am
The 880 page $2.2 trillion CARES Act ("Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act") unanimously passed the Senate last night. The vote was 96-0 because four Senators, Rand Paul (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) are exiled in a coronavirus quarantine.
Nancy Pelosi expressed support for the Senate bill and predicted the House would also pass it, even though it doesn't contain as much pork and unrelated policies as the proposed House bill did.
But don't think the Senate bill is clean. It isn't. Far from it. I just spent nearly seven hours comparing the passed Senate bill with the proposed House bill. Although the Senate bill is not as bad as what Democrats in the House wanted, it also has many bad elements:
Most American adults will receive direct, tax-free payments of $1200 that gets paid EVEN IF THE PEOPLE DID NOT LOSE THEIR JOBS OR SUFFER AN INCOME LOSS. Most children will receive $500.
$600 per week in ADDITIONAL unemployment compensation for a duration of four months that is above and beyond what the unemployed would have already received. Depending on the state, current unemployment benefits range from $200 - $550 per week; Florida is near the low end of that at $275/week. The $600 weekly bonus will boost unemployment checks to a total of $800 - $1150 per week. That translates to a weekly pay of $20 - $29 per hour based on a 40 hour work week. Annualized, that's $40,000 - $58,000! Many people will get more money for not working than they did for working! Senator Chuck Schumer touted the $600 weekly bonus as “unemployment insurance on steroids.” I call it “unemployment insurance on heroin."
OTHER UNNECESSARY PORK SPENDING:
$15.8 BILLION for more SNAP food stamps [p. 614]. If people who lost their jobs are getting regular unemployment PLUS $600/week, why can't they buy food with that money??? And that $15.8 billion is IN ADDITION to the $8.8 BILLION for other nutrition programs appropriated on page 613.
$75 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting [p. 770] (down from the $300 million the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$25 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts [p. 722] (down from the $35 million the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$75 million for the National Endowment for the Arts [p. 723] (down from the $300 million the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities [p. 724] (down from the $300 million the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$258 million in FOREIGN AID via "International Disaster Assistance" [p.817] (down from the $300 million the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$3 BILLION for FOREIGN AID via the International Development Association [p.825] (the same amount the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$7.2 BILLION for the African Development Bank [p. 827] (the same amount the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$900 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program [p. 735] (down from the $1.4 BILLION the Democrats' House bill proposed).
$3.5 BILLION for child care [p. 736] (down from the $6 BILLION the Democrats' House bill proposed).
$300 million for Native American Housing Block Grants [p. 851] (up from the $250 million the Democrats' House bill proposed).
$65 million for "Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS" [p.855] (half of the $130 million the Democrats' House bill proposed).
$4 BILLION for "Homeless Assistance Grants" [p. 862] (down from the $5 BILLION the Democrats' House bill proposed).
$2.5 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program [p. 872] (down from the $55 million the Democrats' House bill proposed).
$13 million specifically earmarked to Howard University [p. 768] (the same amount the Democrats' House bill proposed)
$7 million specifically earmarked to Gallaudet University [p. 767] (the same amount the Democrats' House bill proposed). It should be noted that the bill already had $30.7 BILLION for schools, including universities [p. 753], so why were Howard and Gallaudet allocated their own special appropriations?
$88 million for the Peace Corps [p. 817] (down from the $90 million the Democrats' House bill proposed). But the Peace Corps has suspended operations and returned their employees to the United States, so what the hell do they need an additional $88 million for???
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) got his $400 billion small business "loan" program included in the bill. It would make "loans" of up to $10 million to small businesses. I put "loans" in quotation marks because they're probably really grants. If the businesses use that "loan" money to continue paying employee salaries, benefits, rent, utilities, etc., the money would not have to be repaid.
If businesses elect to do so, they may defer paying the 6.2% Social Security tax match until 2021 and 2022 (with half the deferred amount being due by the end of each year).
The bill properly prohibits corporations who take relief money from buying back their stock or paying dividends for the duration of the outstanding loan or loan guarantee plus 12 months.
Homeowners with federally-backed mortgage loans can suspend payments for up to six months. Fees, penalties, and additional interest may not be charged as a result of delayed payments.
Renters living in buildings with federally-backed mortgage loans may not be evicted for failure to pay rent for four months. While I understand the reasons for this, I also predict a massive number of eviction proceedings beginning five months from now.
The law prohibits any businesses owned 20% or more by the President, Vice-President, Member of Congress, or their families from receiving any government aid from this law. I don't like this provision. Elected officials are just as entitled to equal treatment under the law as any other citizen. But Democrats insisted on this provision specifically to hurt President Trump's businesses, which are in sectors hardest hit by the Coronavirus Closure.
Keep in mind that Congress has already passed two smaller coronavirus relief bills that spent over $100 billion. And I'll wager any amount you want that there are more coronavirus relief spending bills to come. But, hey, we're already in debt $23,551,586,033,384. What's another $2,200,000,000,000?
For list of the pork and unrelated policies the Democrats initially wanted, see my post from March 24th at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/200324-1133
Please don’t take my word for any of this. Go read the Senate CARES Act that passed at https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6819239/FINAL-FINAL-CARES-ACT.pdf. I included page numbers to save you time.
Mike Bates
mike@TheMikeBatesShow.com
Democrats Are Shamelessly Filling the Coronavirus Relief Bill with Unrelated Pork and Policies
March 24, 2020 11:33am
I just spent the last five hours reading the Democrats' bill to address problems arising from the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Democrats are shamelessly trying to use the coronavirus relief bill as a pork barrel spending spree and to include several unrelated policy issues.
It was President Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who said. "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that, it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before." The Democrats are certainly using the coronavirus crisis to try to do things they could not not do before.
Below, I have compiled the pork & policies, along with the page numbers on which they appear.
ELECTIONS:
Mandatory vote-by-mail ballots during a declared emergency (p. 826)
Prohibits voter ID requirements nationwide (p. 821)
Federal regulation of the placement of all polling locations (p. 820)
Renders illegal all state laws that require witness signatures on mailed in ballots (p. 821)
Mandates nationwide early voting (p. 818)
Renders illegal all state laws that prohibit ballot harvesting (p. 830)
STUDENT DEBT:
Student loan payments will be made by taxpayers rather than by the borrowers (p. 613)
CLIMATE CHANGE:
$100 million for development of sustainable aviation fuels (p. 979)
$33 million National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (p. 15)
$3 million for Forest and Rangeland Research (p. 70)
Various carbon emission restrictions for airlines (pp. 968-982)
TSA WASTE:
$26 million for overtime and travel costs for TSA agents (p. 54) Who's flying???
$20 million for the TSA to buy more explosive trace detection swabs (p. 54)
MISCELLANEOUS PORK:
$300 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (p. 126)
$35 million grant to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (p. 76)
$300 million for the National Endowment of the Arts (p. 77)
$300 million for the National Endowment of the Humanities (p. 77)
$300 million in FOREIGN AID via "International Disaster Assistance" (p. 148)
$3 BILLION for FOREIGN AID via the International Development Association (p. 155)
$7.2 BILLION for the African Development Bank (p. 157)
$90 million for the Peace Corps (p. 148)
$1.4 BILLION for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program (p. 95)
$6 BILLION for child care (p. 95)
$250 million for Native American Housing Block Grants (p. 183)
$130 million for "Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS" (p. 186)
$5 BILLION for "Homeless Assistance Grants" (p. 194)
$55 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (p. 638)
$200 million for staffing the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (p. 640)
$3 BILLION for the Minority Businesses Initiative (p. 663)
$13 million specifically earmarked to Howard University (p. 122)
$7 million specifically earmarked to Gallaudet University (p. 118) [It should be noted that the proposed bill already had $9.5 billion for "higher education" (p. 120). Why were these two universities allocated their own appropriations? An alumni in Congress, perhaps?]
In addition to the unrelated pork, the Democrats' bill also imposes many restrictions upon corporations receiving federal coronavirus aid. Some, like temporarily prohibiting stock buybacks and dividend payments, make sense. But it imposes terrible mandates also:
A $15/hour minimum wage beginning January 1st next year (p. 741).
Paid leave of at least 14 days for all full-time & part-time employees AND for contractors (p. 740)
A ban on lobbying, which is a blatant violation of First Amendment Rights to petition the government for a redress of grievances (p. 728)
A limit on CEO pay (p. 741).
Various expanded collective bargaining powers for unions (pp. 945-953)
And that's just what I found during my five hour perusal of the bill. There's probably a lot more pork and bad policies in the 1404 page bill than what I've listed here.
If Democrats had any decency, and if the media wasn't so willing to deceive the public on behalf of the Democratic Party, the Democrats would support a clean bill that addresses the actual coronavirus problem at hand. The fact that they won't, shows where their priorities are. And they're not with the American people.
The partisanship and dishonesty of the Democrats and the media - but I repeat myself - are disgraceful.
It should be noted that the Democrats know that such pork barrel funding would be illegal under existing law, so they made it legal by declaring in the bill itself that their pork is "an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985."
Please don't take my word for any of this. Read the Democrats' bill yourself at https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=6817883-FINAL-HOUSE-BILL
The so-called "news" media is not reporting this! If you are as outraged by this as I am, please share this link: www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/blog/200324-1133
Thank you,
Mike Bates
mike@TheMikeBatesShow.com
What Race Am I? I Am "American"
March 22, 2020 3:04am
I was included in the censuses my father completed in 1970 & 1980. I have completed the census myself four times: 1990, 2000, 2010, and as of just a few minutes ago, 2020.
In all four censuses I completed, I have checked "other" under the question about my race. And then I've written in my actual race: "American." That's not "Native American," although I was born in the United States. It's just "American."
My racial lineage includes Caucasian, Hispanic, Black, and a sprinkling of Jewish and Middle Eastern. So what does that make me? I suppose it makes me a mutt. But "mutt" wasn't offered as a choice on the census form, so I put down the amalgamation that I am. I am an American. I am descended from a mishmash of people around the planet who made it to these shores to help build the greatest country the world has ever known. And I am blessed to be here.
It doesn't matter where someone is from. It matters where someone is going. It doesn't matter who your parents were. It matters who you are.
I can think of no human characteristic that is of less importance than race. So why do we bother to ask about it?
Trying to Support Lawful Commerce During the Coronavirus Panic
March 20, 2020 2:13pm
I just finished lunch with some friends. In the two hours we were at the restaurant, it was us plus three other tables. That's it. The waitress said it has been that slow all week. My lunch today was not just to satiate my hunger. I could have eaten the food I have in my house. I went out to eat with the goal of seeing friends and putting some money in the hands of the restaurant staff that desperately needs it since so few people are dining out.
The overreaction to the media-induced Coronavirus Panic is destroying the economy. And for what? For nothing.
I have no fear that I caught the coronavirus today. I am safe because I was wearing a mask!
Understand that I am not mocking the COVID-19 deaths. I am mocking the panic. The coronavirus is real. People ARE getting sick, and people ARE dying. But the U.S. has overreacted to it by massively shutting down commerce. And I see the economic damage as far worse than the biological damage. That's not to say that lives don't matter; clearly they do. But society decides between money and life all the time. And I don't see America's self-inflicted damage as being worth it.
On tomorrow's episode of The Mike Bates Show, I'll go into great detail about how the risk is overblown and why shutting down commerce is the wrong response to it. Listen live from 7a - 8a (CT) at http://www.talk103fm.com/listen-live
The podcast recording will be up shortly after 8:30a (CT) at https://www.themikebatesshow.com/podcasts/200321
ADDITION: March 21, 2020 11:11pm
Soooooo.....
As the above photo shows, yesterday, I had lunch with five friends at a restaurant in Pensacola that was LAWFULLY open and LAWFULLY serving food in the dinning room. One of those friends was Mike Hill, who serves in the Florida House of Representatives. Mike Hill and I get together frequently, but his presence here is germane because...
I posted a photo to Facebook of the six of us eating. And then the internet went completely nuts. My post was set to public, but I didn't understand why so many people I didn't know were commenting on it. Well, as it turns out, a so-called "journalist" from a statewide "news" publisher tweeted out a screenshot of my Facebook photo as an attack on Representative Hill. It was retweeted 3100 times. Apparently, peacefully eating at a restaurant while the rest of the country is panicking is frowned upon.
Anyway, having been alerted to the Crime of the Century, in which I was a participant, the Twitterverse converged on my Facebook page to throw their tomatoes and insults, with a few death wishes sprinkled in. The Twitter comments can be read at https://twitter.com/PeterSchorschFL/status/1241090972878020613
I don't tweet, but I did send the following to the so-called "journalist":
Peter Schorsch, your tweet at https://twitter.com/PeterSchorschFL/status/1241090972878020613 falsely states, "There's Florida State Representative @MikeHillFL (R-Confederacy) having lunch today with friends who say the #Coronavirus outbreak is 'media-induced' and 'nothing.'"
Your description of Representative Mike Hill as "R-Confederacy" demonstrates your irresponsible political bias. And your false assertion that Hill's friends "say the #Coronavirus outbreak is 'media-induced'" is blatantly and provably untrue. If you'll read and comprehend what I actually wrote (and it's still there, so you should), you'll see that I didn't say the coronavirus outbreak is media-induced. I said the Coronavirus PANIC is media-induced, which it is.
If you cared about facts, you would post a correction. But I won't hold my breath waiting for one.
#DishonestJournalism
(END)
Well, I didn't hold my breath, and he didn't correct his fake news.
At the time we were dining, it was legal to eat-in. But Governor DeSantis must have read the comments in that Twitter thread and realized that eating inside a restaurant means certain death for the diners and anyone they'll ever encounter. He issued an order limiting all Florida restaurants to take-out and delivery only.
I didn't address the Facebook or Twitter threads on my radio program this morning. Instead, I explained how I formed my opinion that destroying our economy by shutting down lawful commerce due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus is completely inappropriate and will do more damage than the virus will. After the show aired, it was uploaded to my podcast page. If you'd like to hear it, it's at www.themikebatesshow.com/podcasts/200321
If you do listen, please listen to the entire hour so what will be perceived as my cold-blooded callousness, unbridled greed, and heartless apathy will be heard in proper context. It won't make sense if you don't hear all of it.
How to End the COVID-19 Coronavirus Epidemic in 3 Easy Steps
March 18, 2020 1:40pm
HOW TO END THE COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC IN 3 EASY STEPS:
1) President Trump announces that the COVID-19 Coronavirus is an epidemic.
2) President Trump signs an executive order that postpones the November elections and keeps him in office until the epidemic is over.
3) Within hours, the media will declare the epidemic to be over, and we can get back to our lives.
WPNN Radio to Provide Live Coverage of Election Results from 7pm - 9pm Tonight
March 17, 2020 5:18am
Presidential Primaries happen today in Florida, Arizona, Illinois, and Ohio (although Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is still trying to postpone Ohio's vote by ordering the closure of all polling places through a declaration of a "health emergency" after a judge refused an earlier lawsuit's attempt to delay the primary).
Assuming Ohio does vote today, there are 577 Democrat delegates up for grabs, 219 of them in Florida. Republicans will choose 328 delegates, 122 are in Florida.
WPNN Radio (103.7 FM & 790 AM and streamed at www.talk103fm.com/listen-live) will provide live coverage of today's election tallies as soon as the polls close in Pensacola. We'll have interviews with party representatives and newspeople from across Florida.
Chris Bryan and I will anchor the program from 7pm - 9pm on WPNN, where Pensacola listens. Depend on us.
The Politicized Coronavirus Panic is Doing More Harm Than the Disease.
March 12, 2020 7:35am
Stop the hysteria! We have completely lost our minds. The media-induced fear of the COVID-19 Coronavirus has now turned into a full-blown societal panic that will cause far more damage than the disease itself ever could.
This is not the Black Plague! It is a viral respiratory infection that will cause flu-like symptoms for a week or two among young and healthy people. Ninety-nine percent will fully recover. The elderly and infirm do face a higher risk of death. But even that survival rate exceeds 85%.
The government has told us not to go on cruise ships. Airlines have canceled thousands of flights. Travel plans have been canceled. Entire cities are quarantined. Schools have closed. Consumer goods are becoming scarce because of supply chain disruptions and hoarding. The FDA has reported shortages of some drugs. The NBA suspended their season. The March Madness NCAA Basketball Tournament will be played in arenas devoid of fans. Concerts and festivals have been canceled. The National Association of Broadcasters convention, the fourth largest convention in America, previously scheduled for April 19 - 22, was canceled yesterday. It was far from alone. Sunday's Democratic primary debate in Arizona will be held without a live audience. Scheduled military exercises aren't happening. Religious institutions have been shuttered. Even the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca has been seriously curtailed.
The unjustified, media-driven fear has managed to destroy the strong American economy in just a few weeks. Yesterday, the Dow ended its eleven year bull market run by closing in bear-market territory; a 20% decline from its high. The S&P 500 will almost certainly follow suit when markets open today.
Democrats and the media - but I repeat myself - have realized they can use this virus and the massive economic damage the fear is causing to bludgeon President Trump. By hyping the story beyond all reasonable proportions, they believe they can do what the Russian collusion hoax and phony impeachment couldn't do; bring down the President of the United States. With that as their goal, this panic will be encouraged until Election Day. And by then, our economy will make the Great Recession look like the good ol' days.
And no tax cut will cure our economic woes because our problem is not that consumers lack money (at least not yet). The problem is that people are afraid to go out and spend their money going about their daily lives.
It was President Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who said. "You never want a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before." This coronavirus "crisis" is certainly causing us to do things we could not do before. A crisis can be natural or man-made.
The proposed "solutions" to this "crisis" all come from a bigger, more intrusive national government. And we seem willing to accept it because we fear we will otherwise die.
I'm not one to believe in conspiracy theories. But the perfectly coordinated worldwide execution of the coronavirus scare makes me wonder. I am not saying the COVID-19 Coronavirus is a global conspiracy. But I am saying such a theory is "not impossible." And if I were to write a novel about a global conspiracy by intelligence agencies - both foreign and domestic - to bring down the President of the United States, it would align with today's real-world events.
As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in his first inaugural address, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts."
Well, I refuse to live in fear. I will wash my hands and carry on. And I'll be on a commercial airplane this afternoon.
Why Should Trump Get Off Twitter? This Retweet is "Exhibit A"
March 9, 2020 11:35pm
This tweet is a perfect example of why President Trump should get off Twitter or employ a censor to review his tweets before he hits the "tweet" button to make it go live.
The image is a screenshot the President's retweet of a tweet posted by Dan Scavino. Donald Trump retweeted it with his added message of "Who knows what this means, but it sounds good to me!"
Has Donald Trump never heard "Nero fiddled while Rome burned"? I've known what that meant since at least the 6th grade! Roman Emperor Nero allegedly played the violin as he watched Rome get destroyed by fire in 64 AD. And while that account is almost certainly historical fiction, the expression has come to mean that a conceited and sadistic ruler is so selfish and heartless that he irresponsibly ignores the perils his people face.
And Trump retweeted that???
For at least four years, I have said that Donald Trump is his own worst enemy, and that his biggest problem is that he always thinks he's the smartest person in the room no matter who else is in the room with him.
His moronic retweet proves he’s not.
You Are 29% MORE LIKELY TO DIE from the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the United States than in China!
March 7, 2020 1:45pm
At this moment, based upon the most recent data available from the World Health Organization, there have been 80,652 people diagnosed with the COVID-19 Coronavirus in China, and there have been 3070 deaths. That's a fatality rate of 3.806%.
Also at this moment, based upon the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control, there have been 345 people diagnosed with the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the United States, and there have been 17 deaths. That's a fatality rate of 4.927%.
Since 4.927% is 29.453% higher than 3.806%, YOU ARE 29% MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM COVID-19 IN THE UNITED STATES THAN IN CHINA!
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and coronavirus statistics.
NOTE: Although the above data is accurate, it should be obvious that I posted this just to mock the media hype. There is no need to fall prey to the media-induced panic. Wash your hands and carry on.
Open the Naval Aviation Museum to the Public NOW!
March 6, 2020 6:51am
Exactly, three months ago, a Royal Saudi Air Force flight student at NAS Pensacola shot eleven people, killing three. And the base has been closed to non-DOD civilians ever since, except under the very narrow circumstance of being escorted by someone with a Department of Defense ID card.
Keeping civilians away from the base's Naval Aviation Museum is unacceptable and inexcusable.
The phony claim of "security concerns" is complete nonsense. It wasn't a civilian visiting the base who murdered people. And the museum is already effectively isolated from most base operations anyway. The Navy could return to the exact same museum access as existed before the shootings with zero adverse consequences. They just don't have the courage to do it. It's easier to sit back and do nothing.
The murderer was motivated by fundamentalist Islam and anti-American hatred. He was not motivated by a desire to see historic aircraft in a museum. But many decent people who pose no danger to anyone at NAS Pensacola do want to see those historic aircraft. And they should be allowed to.
I am fully aware that the mission of the base is not tourism, and that the safety and security of our military personnel is paramount. But the absurd policy of denying public access to the Naval Aviation Museum and the Pensacola Lighthouse is the equivalent of not allowing horses into the barn because a fox got into the hen house.
Actually, it's worse than that. It is the equivalent of not allowing horses into the barn because a rooster who lived in the hen house killed a hen in the hen house.
No, Trump Did NOT Cut Funding for the Centers for Disease Control
March 1, 2020 7:22am
This Chicago Tribune story is FALSE. It is one of many fake news stories that are circulating.
As is so typical, Democrats are lying about President Trump, and the propagandists in the so-called "news" media are amplifying those lies.
Many Democrats - and all Democrat candidates for President - have claimed that Donald Trump slashed the budget for the Centers for Disease Control, and that those irresponsible cuts are to blame for the COVID-19 Coronavirus spreading to the United States. But that is complete nonsense.
The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health BOTH have had budget INCREASES during Trump's presidency. But Trump cannot be credited with those increases, however. He wanted Congress to cut CDC and NIH funding, but Congress increased funding instead. Trump did sign the budget into law, but that can't really be considered support for it.
From the debate stage, lying Mike Bloomberg said the U.S. is unprepared for the COVID-19 Coronavirus because Trump "defunded Centers for Disease Control, CDC, so we don’t have the organization we need." NOT TRUE!
And lying Joe Biden said the Obama-Biden Administration increased the budget of the CDC and NIH, but Trump "wiped all that out" and "cut the funding for the entire effort.” ALSO FALSE!
Whether or not President Trump's response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus has been good or not is a matter of opinion. But to quote the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." The Democrats are entitled to their opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. That the so-called "news" media allows such provably false statements to go unquestioned is disgraceful.
Bloomberg is also lying in his advertising by making the charge that the U.S. is unprepared for the virus because Trump made “reckless cuts” to the CDC. That statement is false and therefore inappropriate. But at least that dishonesty is done in Bloomberg's paid advertising - a platform where candidates play fast and loose with the facts all the time.
If I know the Democrats are lying, why don't the "journalists" know? They do know. They just aren't going to let facts get in the way of a political attack on President Trump.
The dishonesty is disgraceful.
Fake news like this is everywhere. This particular fake news story is at https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/clarence-page/ct-column-trump-coronavirus-cdc-page-20200228-25n2oswzanbzdbvj27mhl5w77a-story.html?fbclid=IwAR0PZ27Q-UZLszdMzBlsB4MHLE8DcW-RHHvPmlYvosksN1p7ZrBnVgZxrNs
The Worldwide Panic Over the COVID-19 Coronavirus is Unjustified.
February 27, 2020 11:32pm
I'm no epidemiologist, but I do want to weigh in on the worldwide reaction to the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Let me change a word in that sentence. I want to weigh in on the worldwide OVERREACTION to the COVID-19 Coronavirus. It is an unjustified panic.
In the last four days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 3226 points. Is that drop of 11.1% justified? Not in my opinion. But markets can be motivated by both irrational exuberance and by irrational fear.
People are acting as if COVID-19 is a painful, super-contagious, extremely deadly, incurable disease. It is not. The official fatality rate is less than 3%. But it's probably lower than that because there are certainly more infections than are officially tabulated. For comparison, the flu's fatality rate is about 0.2%
But who is dying? The elderly and people with preexisting health problems such as heart disease or diabetes. Fully 99.8% of the young and healthy who contract the coronavirus survive.
People aged 80+ have an official fatality rate of 14.8%. But the official fatality rate for people under 50 is less than 0.5% (with 10-39 year-olds dying at a rate of 0.2%). I'm 54, which means I have a 98.7% statistical probability of surviving a COVID-19 infection. And even an 80 year-old has a 85.2% chance of NOT dying. So what the hell are we so afraid of?
This is a situation where the fear is worse than the disease. I would travel to Wuhan, China tomorrow without any concern that I would get sick and die. The symptoms, while not pleasant, are no more severe than many other illnesses that infect our bodies.
Worldwide, the coronavirus will cause far more economic damage than biological damage. With businesses in China closed, the pipeline for parts and manufactured goods around the world is in the process of being seriously disrupted. Chinese companies face bankruptcy and may never reopen. The ripple effects are being felt across the entire globe.
Airlines have reduced services. Cruise lines have canceled cruises. Entire towns in Asia and Europe are quarantined. Many sports leagues in Asia are playing games in deliberately empty stadiums. Schools have closed. Festivals were canceled. Religious facilities have been shuttered. Saudi Arabia has prohibited Haj pilgrimages. There is even talk of Tokyo not hosting the 2020 Olympics.
With people afraid to travel and congregate, the flow of money will dramatically slow. And it is the speed of money changing hands that fuels the economy. Fast cash flow is good; slow cash flow is bad. And credit defaults have a cascading negative effect even on businesses with strong balance sheets. Fear resulting from the media's hype will do more damage than the virus.
Symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe fever, cough, and shortness of breath. In other words, it's just like most respiratory infections. I acknowledge that COVID-19 is worse than the common cold. But it's not the Black Plague either. Be reasonable. Wash your hands. Cover your coughs and sneezes. SARS, MERS, Ebola, H1N1, and the West Nile Virus didn't kill anywhere near as many people as the alarmists predicted. And neither will COVID-19.
And now to get political (because in 2020 EVERYTHING is political). If the American economy tanks as a result of this media-induced panic, and people become concerned about their access to health care, who benefits from that? The candidate promising the most free health care. And that ain't Trump.
As the curse claimed to be of Chinese origin says, "May you live in interesting times." These times are certainly interesting.
TripAdvisor Ranks Pensacola Beach as the 4th Best Beach in the United States!
February 27, 2020 9:02am
TripAdvisor ranks Pensacola Beach as the 4th best beach in the United States! With our sugar white sands, undeveloped stretches of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, warm waters, and plenty of public access, Pensacola Beach is certainly one of the finest beaches in the world.
Full rankings are at https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Beaches-cTop-g191