California Governor Gavin Newsom just issued an executive order to lockdown the entire state. At this time, people are unsure of what that means.

According to the official web page California Coronavirus Response, here are the business and events that are closed or canceled:

  • Dine-in restaurants
  • Bars and nightclubs
  • Entertainment venues
  • Gyms and fitness studios
  • Public events and gatherings
  • Convention Centers

Businesses and services that are open:

  • Gas stations
  • Pharmacies
  • Food: Grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants
  • Banks
  • Laundromats/laundry services

The order, per the Public Health official Dr. Sonia Y. Angell, went into effect March 19th and will remain in effect until further notice.

The California State Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health is ordering all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence, except as needed to maintain continuity of operation of the federal critical infrastructure sectors, critical government services, schools, childcare, and construction, including housing construction.

Although Governor Newsom said,  "We're going to keep the grocery stores open. We're going to make sure that you're getting critical medical supplies. You can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog, you can still pick up food at one of our distribution centers, at a restaurant, at a drive-thru — all those things we will still be able to do."

Some people have reported being stopped by CHP and asked where they were going. It is uncertain how and when fines will be imposed on violators of the "shelter in place" order.

Californians can expect the economic cost of the "lockdown" to be high and the effects long-lasting, perhaps some of them good, but mostly harmful.

California's healthcare system already in distress

California's public health care system was already under great strain caring for the homeless and immigrant populations. According to NPR in January 2020,

A range of health concerns has spread among homeless communities. A few years ago, hepatitis A, spread primarily through feces, infected more than 700 people in California, most of them homeless, according to state officials. Ancient diseases, such as typhus, have resurged. Homeless people are dying in record numbers on the streets of Los Angeles, according to data from the county coroner.

Cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are dealing with human excrement and filth on their streets. Making those places and other cities sanitary will be an expensive task.

Tucker Carlson recently aired a segment on the unsanitary conditions in California. Watch:

In today's press conference, President Trump announced that he is invoking the Defense Production Act to meet the needs the coronavirus pandemic has produced.

There is a limited supply of ventilators, masks, and protective gear needed to fight the Chinese coronavirus.

The Defense Production Act was first enacted in 1950 to ramp up supplies during the Korean War. The language in the bill allows the president to use it in the "war" against the coronavirus. The president can authorize the production of medical items like respirators, ventilators, face masks, and other items if needed during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Lexington Institute military expert Loren Thompson,

The Defense Production Act permits the president to push national security items to the front of the line, rather than following items that were previously ordered. It exists to speed up urgently needed items."

In fact, the president said he is now a "wartime" president, identifying the enemy as Covid-19, the Chinese coronavirus.

“Now it's our time. We must sacrifice together, because we are all in this together, and we will come through together. It's the invisible enemy. That's always the toughest enemy, the invisible enemy.”

The president asked for questions after he and his various task force members finished updating the nation. The second question asked was the media's new talking point, their attempt to label the president a "xenophobe," asking if he would continue to call the virus the "Chinese" virus.  The president responded that he would call it that because that is where the coronavirus originated.

Watch:

An ABC correspondent repeated the question about labeling the virus the "Chinese" coronavirus.

After listening to the reporter's comments and question one would think that President Trump was the only person who had called Covid-19 the Chinese coronavirus. It turns out that the president is simply calling the coronavirus by the same name the mainstream media called it until now.

The Media Research Center created a montage of the many times the media used the name.

Watch:

President Trump, while taking questions during a press conference, was asked if he should call Covid-19 the "Chinese" virus.  The reporter that asked the question was concerned that calling the virus the "Chinese" virus might create a stigma. The president's response was quick and to the point, exposing the question and questioner as dumb at best and malicious at worst.

Many are coming to realize that China must be held accountable for allowing the virus to escape their country. The Chinese attempt to accuse and blame the US for the coronavirus is reprehensible.

The US and other countries should rethink their dependence on China for essentials such as antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies. Go here to read an excellent article by Victor Davis Hansen about our current situation and China's role in bringing the world to a standstill.

Praise from his enemies

After days and days of listening to the media and the Democrats excoriate the president for his "incompetency" in handling the coronavirus outbreak, praise for his actions came from unlikely sources like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and CNN's Dana Bash.

Cuomo and Trump have had their disagreements in the past, especially over the president's tax reform of the SALT deduction capped at $10,000. New York taxes residents heavily, and with the cap on the deduction of state and local taxes, many residents are having to pay more tax to the federal government. New York could ease the tax burden on residents, but they haven't. Cuomo has voiced his displeasure with Trump frequently.

Cuomo said of the tax reform, "It was politically diabolical and also highly effective, and if your goal is to help Republican states and hurt Democratic states, this is the way to do it.”

In spite of his dislike of the president, Cuomo is willing to praise him for the work he and his task force are doing to manage the coronavirus outbreak in New York and in general. New York is the hardest-hit state in the country at this writing.

Even more shocking than hearing Cuomo praise the president for anything at all is to hear a CNN anchor say something good or positive about him. But CNN's Dana Bash did just that saying that President Trump is being the kind of leader we all need. Please watch this rare event.

Slowing the virus and saving lives

The coronavirus, now in every state, is claiming more victims, but President Trump and his task force are making their recommendations, and states are settling on a method to slow the virus. The American people are figuring out what they need to do to help.

Hopefully, if we all are willing to reduce our movements, we can help slow and even end the progress of the coronavirus. Let's get this done, America, so we can get back to normal.

Here is Vice President Mike Pence explaining that 15 days of social distancing will help slow the virus.

On March 16, President Trump urged all Americans to make sacrifices in order to defeat the Covid-19 coronavirus.

The president has recommended that everyone should avoid gathering with more than ten people at a time. He has also suggested that discretionary travel be stopped and if possible, people should be working from home.  The length of this restriction will be at least 8 weeks, which will bring us to the middle of May.

The intent of the "social distancing," the practice of keeping six feet between people, is to slow the spread of Covid-19 in America. If we can slow the progress of the spread, we might avoid overwhelming our health care system. The president called on Americans to do what is necessary to beat the virus.

Some good news out of Washington is about a vaccine for the coronavirus. One of the president's White House Coronavirus Task Force members, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has confirmed that a vaccine is being tested on a candidate.

The vaccine was developed in 65 days, a record for vaccines.  The vaccine will need to be tested multiple times before it can be deployed to fight the virus.

The disadvantages of being isolated due to the coronavirus are numerous. Schools have been closed all over the country right in the middle of the spring sports season. Many are saying that school may not reconvene at all. Many athletes are not able to complete their seasons.

Restaurants and bars have been ordered to close in many states. People are having trouble getting child care for children home from school. You can find guidance on what to do to prevent the spread of the disease here.

Elderly people  the most vulnerable of the population, are being asked to remain isolated, ages 65 and up, and family members, including younger people are being asked to protect the elderly.

President Trump and the governors cannot defeat the virus alone. We, the people, have to do everything we can to slow or stop this virus.

On Sunday, the 11th Democrat debate was held in Washington D.C. hosted by CNN. The Democrat field has been narrowed to just three candidates, one of which was not on the debate stage. Tulsi Gabbard failed to qualify for the debate after the DNC changed to requirements to qualify. Some say the changes were meant to exclude her.

Biden and Sanders on China

When asked what consequences China should face for its role in the global coronavirus crisis, Sanders quickly attacked China, saying that China should not have lied to the American people about the extent of the spread of the virus. He then excoriated the president for praising the Chinese for the good work they are doing.

Immediately after chiding the president, he pivoted to praising China and said that now is the time to be working with them. Is anybody listening?

Biden hits his stride when talking about recession

When Joe Biden was asked to respond to a question about the economy and what he would do, he said he would enact a "major, major, major bailout package" that does not reward corporations. His rhetoric seemed like it came straight out of 2008 when he and Barack Obama were campaigning to win the White House. Biden knows how to campaign during a recession, and the coronavirus seems to threaten a new recession.

Sanders said that just as he voted against the 2008 bailout, he would not support a bailout for the economic harm caused by the coronavirus.

Biden and Bernie gaffes

While responding to questions about the coronavirus, Sanders seemed to confuse the coronavirus with the ebola crisis of 2014. He used the term ebola repeatedly. He said the ebola crisis has exposed the weakness of the American health care system. Biden referred to the crisis as the SARS crisis.

Super PACs

When Biden and Sanders debated about campaign funding, they both tried to prove that they represented the little guy. Biden boasted that the average campaign contribution was $51.

But Sanders pointed out that Biden's super pac was running negative ads about him. Biden shot back, "You have nine super PAC's, do you want me to list them? to which Sanders responded, "Yes, please list them. Biden replied with his famous, "C'mon, give me a break." But Sanders was not having it, and he asked Biden to get rid of his super PACs.

Sanctuary cities

Biden was asked where he stands on sanctuary cities since he opposed them in 2007. When asked if undocumented immigrants arrested by local police should be turned over to immigration officials, Biden had a one-word answer, "No."

Biden, in a later response, said that "xenophobia is a disease." He then accidentally called an undocumented person an undocumented "alien."

Biden promised that in the first 100 days of his administration, "no one would be deported."

Biden's presidency

Biden promised that if he was elected that he would appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court. He also promised that he will pick a woman to be vice president.

Energy

Both Biden and Sanders promised there would be no new fracking, the drilling technique that changed America from a dependent nation to an independent oil producer. Biden went so far as to say, "no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period..."

Winner

Biden, overall, was a more likable candidate. His shining moment was when he took down the idea that a single-payer health care system would do a better job of handling the coronavirus crisis. He pointed to Italy, a country with a single-payer health care system, with an exponentially spreading coronavirus outbreak. Italy has the most coronavirus cases in the world, second only to China.

Joe Biden said having Medicare for All in the US would not help solve the coronavirus crisis.

In fact, things are so bad in Italy that authorities there are preparing for desperate measures as their hospital beds fill. They have drafted a policy to limit intensive care to people under 80 that have less than 5 chronic illnesses, according to The Telegraph.

The headline reads, Italians over 80 'will be left to die' as country overwhelmed by coronavirus. Italy does not have to implement that measure yet, but they are preparing for extreme measures.

Loser

Loser: Bernie came off as passive-aggressive, unwilling to really go after Biden's lies. He also, again, expressed admiration for authoritarian accomplishments.

C'mon man! Give me a break!

Out of an abundance of caution, President Trump consented to be tested for coronavirus. The president's physician, Sean Conley, confirmed the negative test result.

“Last night after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed,” Conley wrote in a statement. “This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative.”

President Trump was just recently exposed to the coronavirus at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida while dining with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.  Bolsonaro's press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, also present, tested positive for the coronavirus. On Friday, Bolsonaro tested negative for the disease.

The White House is conducting temperature checks on the press corps.  White House Deputy Press Secretary, Judd Deere, explained,  “Out of an abundance of caution, temperature checks are now being performed on any individuals who are in close contact with the President and Vice President."

Perhaps, out of an abundance of caution, the president should not allow reporters into the daily press conferences at all. He would be safer and we, American people, wouldn't have to listen to them yell questions at the president.

National emergency

President Trump declared a National emergency and invoked the Stafford Act, freeing up $50 billion dollars to deal with the coronavirus crisis facing the US. The Stafford Act has been used in times of national emergency by many presidents, including most recently Obama, Bush, and Clinton. President Trump invoked it in the spring of 2019 during the flooding in Nebraska and Iowa.

Drive-thru testing for coronavirus

President Trump is working with Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and Target to implement drive-thru testing in the US.

South Korea has been using drive-thru testing on 20,000 people a day. The technicians wear protective gear and masks to do the testing. There is no need for the testee to get out of the car, limiting exposure for the tester and the testee.

According to ABC News, "Under the new protocol, using the drive-thru sites, "the goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car," President Trump said on March 13. The test uses a nasal swab."

Let's hope we can get this going and get a better idea of the extent of infection in the US.

Democrats continue to play games with people's lives

Congress, led by Nancy Pelosi, has failed to produce a bill that both Democrats and Republicans can agree on. The Democrats included medical spending in the bill without the protection of the Hyde amendment, which prohibits taxpayer dollars to be spent on abortion. Pelosi, predictably, continues to play games, this time, with people's health.

More cancellations and quarantines

The Master's golf tournament has been canceled. Saint Patrick's Day parades and the Boston Marathon are canceled.

Local events, organizations and gatherings are all canceling to try to stop the spread of the virus.

Spain has declared a nationwide lockdown, allowing people to leave their homes only to buy food and medicine. All schools, restaurants, bars, hotels, and non-essential retail stores are closed.

The Covid-19 or coronavirus outbreak has brought some much-deserved attention to American dependence on foreign medical and pharmaceutical supplies.

Many Americans are and should be alarmed to find out that the US is dependent on China and other countries for most of our medical supplies, including face masks, and our pharmaceuticals e.g. antibiotics, blood pressure medication, and almost all generic drugs.

Our dependence on China is especially alarming because of our adversarial relationship. China could wreak havoc on our health care system just by refusing to ship supplies to the US. They could also send us pills that are contaminated with chemical or biological agents.

Many of the active ingredients in pharmaceuticals (API) are sourced from China. Christopher Priest of the Defense Health Agency said, “The national security risks of increased Chinese dominance of the global API market cannot be overstated.”

China could "weaponize" pharmaceuticals and medical supplies

Rosemary Gibson, co-author of “China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine,” testified before Congress: “Medicines can be used as a weapon of war against the United States. Supplies can be withheld. Medicines can be made with lethal contaminants or sold without any real medicine in them, rendering them ineffective.”

A former central bank adviser, Li Daokui,  suggested that China could curb its exports of antibiotics to the United States as a trade war retaliation tool. According to Politico, Li Daokiu said, “We are at the mercy of others when it comes to computer chips, but we are the world’s largest exporter of raw materials for vitamins and antibiotics. Should we reduce the exports, the medical systems of some western countries will not run well."

Li Daokui raised the prospect of Beijing curbing its exports of pharmaceuticals as a countermeasure in the trade war with the US. By some estimates, America imports 96 percent of its antibiotics from China.

President Trump will issue an executive order to "buy American"

President Trump is working on an executive order to reduce or eliminate US dependence on other countries, some of them hostile, for our medical supplies.

According to The Daily Caller, "White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro confirmed Wednesday the administration is working on an executive order to eliminate the government’s reliance on foreign-made medical supplies."

Reducing our reliance on China for essential medical supplies and drugs should have ended years ago, bur former administrations did not tackle the problem. President Trump brought the problem to light in his negotiations to get a better deal with China.  So far, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies were exempted from the trade talks, but that could easily change, which is why it is good that the president signed this executive order.

Senator Marco Rubio said, "The coronavirus outbreak has been a wake-up call that we must combat America’s supply chain vulnerabilities and dependence on China in critical sectors of our economy."

Covid-9 has hit the world like a planet-wide tornado, turning everything topsy-turvy and leaving unbelievable destruction in its wake.

The US economy, touted just a month ago by President Trump as the strongest in history, is now, according to some experts, headed for a "light" recession. The US stock market and other markets around the world have plummeted across the board due to uncertainty and fear of what the impact from the coronavirus might be. (Why wait and see, let's just drive the market into "bear" territory in anticipation of what might happen.)

Trillions of dollars of wealth have been erased by fear, not deaths, not even cases of coronavirus, just fear of what might happen.

It is hard to believe Democrats are anything but happy about the coronavirus and its effect on the US stock market. They have been strategizing for months, and worrying that they could never win back the presidency from Trump if the economy is strong.

Never let a crisis go to waste

The Democrats are following former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel's advice. He said, "Never let a crisis go to waste..."

Instead of bringing a bill to the House floor that will help people survive the economic disruption of the coronavirus, the Democrats have filled the bill with Democrat items that Republicans can't in good conscience, support.

Some are saying that the Democrats even sneaked some abortion funding into the bill.

Even so, either outcome is good for the Democrats and bad for the Republicans, a classic "heads I win, tails you lose" setup. If the Republicans vote yes, the Democrats get what they want and the Republicans are losers.

If the Republicans vote no, the Democrats can say the Republicans don't care about people. The Republicans should have brought their own bill first so they could turn the tables on the Dems.

 

Fearmongering

The coronavirus is spreading rapidly and older people and immuno-compromised people are at risk. Precautions should be observed, such as washing hands, staying out of crowded places, etc.

In fact, some states like California are banning non-essential gatherings of more than 250 people and suggesting that smaller gatherings be canceled if non-essential. Keeping your distance, or "social-distancing" will be forever a part of America's vocabulary.

Having said that, there does seem to be some fearmongering going on, so let's look at the numbers. At this date:

Bernie Sanders

Speaking of fearmongering, Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders fears that the coronavirus will kill more people than the number of soldiers that died in WWII. The death toll for the virus is less than 5,000 at this date. 20 million soldiers died in WWII. Here is the comparison: 5,000 is .00025 percent of 20 million. Fearmongering much?

America at a standstill

  • Disneyland and Universal Studios are closed for the rest of March
  • The NBA and the NHL have postponed their seasons. Schools are canceling classes.
  • There will be no March Madness for the NCAA.
  • In MLB, the 2020 Opening Day to be delayed by at least two weeks; Spring Training Games canceled beginning today.
  • Broadway shows are canceled at the request of New York governor, Andrew Cuomo
  • SXSW and other festivals and concerts are being cancelled all over the country

Many community meetings are being canceled. Governors are issuing executive orders. The Federal Reserve is lowering interest rates. The president is banning travel from Europe.

Hopefully, all of these cancellations will result in diminishing the spread of the coronavirus.

America has a choice. A choice between progressives or conservatives to run this country.

In the presidential race, we have a progressive masquerading as a center-left Democrat, Joe Biden. We also have a populist with conservative instincts, maligned by the media, the Democrat establishment, and even the whole globalist elite, Donald Trump.

The prize is the most powerful country with the largest economy in the history of the world. One candidate sees America as a country to control and exploit, the other one sees America as a country of great freedom and incalculable potential, a country that a president has an obligation to put first in all of his or her thoughts.

The choices seem disparate but Conservatives and progressives have one thing in common. They both believe "something" is wrong and needs to be fixed, they just don't agree at all on what that "something" is. That "something" is all the difference between freedom and subjugation.

Conservatives

Conservatives believe that the founding documents of the United States have provided the most freedom for the most people in the history of the world. They believe that the principles embedded in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights should be adhered to, defended, protected, and preserved. They believe in the oath that all federal employees and elected officials take:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

President Abraham Lincoln considered the Constitution the only guard of our liberty: "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."

Conservatives believe that the founding of the country is good, that the people of America are good, but the government is out of control. They believe that the officials, both elected, and especially unelected, are overstepping their bounds and abusing the great powers with which they have been entrusted.

Conservatives believe that the problem, the thing that is wrong, is that the government is no longer by the people or for the people. The people running our government think that Americans are their servants, providing them with an endless and ever-increasing revenue stream and that is a serious infringement of our liberty.

Progressives (leftists)

Progressives see government as the solution to their problem, which is America. To them, America is inherently racist. To them, America has committed unforgivable sins. To them, America uses more than her share of resources. America is too rich and too free for their taste. They think America drives too much, etc. For progressives, the real problem is America.

Remember when President Obama or Candidate Obama said he wanted to "fundamentally" change America? "We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” — Barack Obama, October 30, 2008

His progressive wife Michelle went farther, "We are going to have to change our conversation; we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history; we’re going to have to move into a different place as a nation.” — Michelle Obama, May 14, 2008

If our founding, our fundamentals are good, why would they need changing? But President Obama was and is a progressive, and for him, the Constitution is fundamentally flawed and inherently racist. How does a progressive really uphold the oath of office, the oath to defend and protect a document they don't even believe in?

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg doesn't think the Constitution applies to the modern era. As Egypt was preparing to write a new constitution, Ginsburg counseled them: "I would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in 2012."

She then suggested that Egypt look to South Africa and the European Convention on Human Rights, not the US Constitution. It seems that Ginsburg should recuse herself from interpreting a Constitution that she thinks is archaic and unfit to govern modern life.

Why do progressives think America is the problem? Why do they think the constitution is fundamentally flawed?

I would posit that progressives view the Constitution as an obstacle, something standing in the way of their totalitarian instinct. They think people should not be free, they should be controlled. One of the members of FDR's Brain Trust, Guy Rexford Tugwell, knew that what they were doing to take control of America in the name of the people's well-being was antithetical to the Constitution.

The battle between progressives and conservatives is decades old and hoary with age. Progressives have made impressive inroads in dismantling the rights and freedoms the Constitution guarantees to Americans, such as the right to our own property (money), the right to bear arms, the right to worship God, and the right to speak, the right to be free from government intrusion, etc.

They have been gaining ground for almost a hundred years now, growing the administrative state, saddling employers and businesses with strangling regulations. They have successfully destroyed any hope of affordable and high-quality health care as they continue to push regulations that interfere with the freedom of both providers and patients. Higher education and science are so beholden to progressivism, they are losing their legitimacy and value.

Instead of pursuing happiness, many Americans find themselves fearing the future. Anxiety, not happiness, is the constant state of many, wondering if the government, state or federal, will pass more laws that destroy their jobs or destroy their home values. Sadly, the progressives have us just where they want us.

What is the solution? Don't vote for progressives. Study the Constitution and the fundamental principles that created America. Fight for your rights. Remember, America is not the problem, progressivism is.

In the end, it really isn't Biden vs. Trump, it is freedom vs. control, it is conservatism vs. progressivism, it is the Constitution vs. totalitarianism.

In a long-anticipated move, President Trump has replaced his chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, with Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC). Mick Mulvaney, in a series of verbal flubs, made himself less than useful to the president.

The president announced the change via twitter:

Mick Mulvaney became controversial during the"quid pro quo" Ukraine controversy which ultimately led to the impeachment and acquittal of the president. The House Democrats accused the president of using a quid pro quo with the president of Ukraine to get political dirt on a political rival, Joe Biden.

Mulvaney, apparently unaware that Democrats wait like spiders for verbal gaffes, put his foot in his mouth and said that the president does this all the time. Oops, now he is on his way to Northern Ireland, far far away from Washington D.C.

Meadows, a staunch conservative, along with Jim Jordan and other conservative House members, formed the Freedom Caucus during the Obama administration. Recently, Meadows and his conservative colleagues in the House played an important role defending the president during the unfair and biased proceedings during the House impeachment inquiry.

Meadows, Jordan, Elise Stefanik, John Ratcliffe, Louie Gohmert, and others were the only defense the president had as he was not even allowed to have counsel present in the secret and open impeachment meetings.

Meadows has served in Congress since 2013. He announced in December 2019 that he would not seek re-election. Meadows, having proven himself an able defender of the president, will now take on the important role of permanent Chief of Staff.

Watch:

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