No Win
Half the country has been screaming for "clean energy." So when the Trump administration gave final approval for the biggest solar energy project in the U.S. this week, you'd think they'd have been delighted. They weren't. They say "It will destroy thousands of acres of habitat critical to the survival of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise in Nevada." Well, now, hang on. What do you want? Clean energy or protecting animals? Because there is a trade off for clean energy, you know. Nothing comes for free. Sometimes you just can't win.
Disturbing
A professor in Israel has plotted the rates of new coronavirus cases in 9 countries from Israel with a severe quarantine to Sweden with almost no quarantine and he's made a disturbing discovery. It appears as if the virus cycle works the same in all scenarios. The cases appear to peak in the sixth week and subside by the eighth ... regardless of quarantine. His study suggests that the devastation the world has spread to its people was unnecessary. I can't say if the professor is right, but if he is, that's disturbing.
This is News
In California, a bastion for the Left, a Republican flipped a congressional seat for the first time since 1998. Mike Garcia filled former Representative Katie Hill's seat in a special election by double digits. I don't know Garcia -- good or not -- but it is certainly news when a Republican takes office in a state like California.
The God-Given Right to Read
According to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, "Every student, no matter where they come from, has a birthright to a quality public education." Whence comes this right? By birth. Think of the millennia of people who were never afforded this right. The horror! So she applauded the payout of $280,000 to seven Detroit student plaintiffs. "This settlement is a good start," she said. Now, I'm not saying there was no-harm-no-foul. I'm just wondering where the right to literacy came from and what other new rights we might expect soon, because this isn't the first "right" we've manufactured out of thin air.
Counting the Cost in Lives
Currently unemployment is at 15%. Goldman Sachs is predicting that unemployment in America could hit 25% before this thing is all over. That's huge; equal to the devastating rates of the Great Depression. And it doesn't take into account the people who are so discouraged they stop looking for work. Worse, it appears that the hardest hit are the least capable to survive it, with 40% of low-income Americans losing their jobs in March. At what point does the overreaction to this pandemic cost more lives than this pandemic? If poverty kills at the same rate as heart attack and stroke, the defense against this virus could kill more than the virus ever would.
When is Helping Not Helping?
Democrats in the House passed an additional $3 trillion relief package for this pandemic. Given that the previous $3 trillion set of packages hasn't really helped much, many are skeptical. They figure it will cost their grandchildren a lot of money without a lot of help. But it's not likely the Senate will take it up at all. Senator Lindsey Graham calls it "dead on arrival." And Trump promised to veto it after that. The upside is that the bill included a simplified tax form. "Line 1: Enter your income. Line 2: Send it in." Keep trying guys. There are still a few people with money that you can try to take.
Breaking News
And, in case you missed this cataclysmic breaking news story, Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo's dog was shot in a "heinous act" and is in critical condition (at the writing of this story). Stay tuned for updates ... just not from me.
On the Plus Side
On a positive note, it appears that Taco Bell is totally unaffected by the meat shortage. Hmmm ... I wonder why that is. And the really compassionate Americans -- 68% of us -- say the lockdown shouldn't end until all diseases are eradicated and there is no war, hunger or suffering.
Must be true; I read it on the Internet.
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