Mark Armstrong’s Weekly News Review – 15 May 2020

Greetings from Tyler,

We were sick to death of hearing about the wretched bat-flu, the government models, the horrible predictions, all of it, about seven weeks ago.  But we’ve heard almost nothing else.  Apparently the virus will dominate everything for the foreseeable future.  Despite the fact that the “models” were as phony as global warming, the orders have only ratcheted up, in some cases because there are arguments about the sanity of the demands, and some have just decided to disobey and go about their lives regardless.

Oooh, does that ever make them upset!  They’ll only have to extend the “lock-down” and introduce stringent punishments for dissenters. That ought to show us who’s the boss of us!  Governors and commissioners and health department officials you never heard of, that’s who.

We’re learning things amid the greatest health-scare in history that we’d just as soon have never known.  One of them is the rush local “officials” get when they issue orders, proclamations or edicts.  There’s nothing that allows them to do that in our national Constitution, but apparently State Constitutions have little-known clauses that allows them to issue orders on the basis of “the public health and safety,” or some such. You would expect such powers to have been used sparingly, even apologetically, but we’ve seen that is not necessarily the case.  There are some particularly notable cases, like Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who better not get any guff.  “These aren’t helpful hints or suggestions, they are the law!”  (Hopefully a court will return her to reality, someday.)

Constitutional experts dare to differ.  Who do these governors think they are, Pharaoh?  “So let it be said, let it be done.”  Uh, what about the consent of the governed?  What about, “We, the people?” Last time we checked, this isn’t ancient Egypt.  No, suddenly she has all the cameras pointed at her and she’s risen up in all her preening power to let all concerned know exactly what’s up.  Bully for her.  We can hardly wait for her idiotic orders (you can go to Lowes, but NOT to the garden center) to see a higher court.  But even that’s no guarantee.

It turns out that this thing has political overtones like you wouldn’t believe.  Those preaching the gospel of socialism want the shutdown to go on and on, with no glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.  Suddenly the answer is FREE government money for everybody.  Even some conservatives are touting that as the solution.  Have we taken leave of everything we believed?  Liberal judges have shown no qualms about using their power against the interests of a sovereign United States, as we’ve seen in so many cases, notably immigration cases, and this is no different.  Their rulings often depend on their agenda, not the facts at hand, as we are often reminded.

This thing could turn ugly, though we certainly hope not.  Anchors on the mainstream news have not been reticent about expressing their own anger and fury at anybody not following “the rules.”  That’s interesting, because the “rules” are changing by the day.  Apparently doctors make their recommendations and then local officials lower the boom on the basis of “science.”  It shouldn’t be this way, but the “science” shows whatever they deem it to show.  The “experts” told us that healthy people had no reason to wear masks, but they’ve changed their minds.  Now we’re endangering ourselves and others if we don’t wear them, or we’re banned from entry assuming some place is open.  We can hardly wait for the “experts’” next revelation.

Wisconsin residents rushed out to the restaurants and bars as soon as it was announced that the State Supreme Court had struck down the governor’s stay-at-home orders.  They (the orders) were found to be in violation of Constitutional rights.  How somebody managed to get their complaint heard in short order is a mystery, but residents are obviously thrilled to learn their governor does not have the authority to keep them under house arrest or sanction them for going about their lives.

We were all told that we had to “follow orders” in order to “flatten the curve” so hospitals wouldn’t be overwhelmed. The curve is not only flattened, but headed downward.  So why are carefully made up and coiffed “officials” extending their shutdown orders and threatening everyone who dares disagree?  Governor Newsome of California just told those poor folks that nothing would ever be the same again unless or until an effective vaccine is available.  But a vaccine may never be available, despite hopes that one will be found.  But the California Summer has been canceled, along with school next year.  The kids are probably ecstatic, and their parents are scouring the map.

Do you know how long they’ve been looking for a vaccine for AIDS?  Since the early-mid ’80’s, and there’s still no such thing.  (That’s something that might interest those under the age of 35.  The media spent weeks, months, maybe years, trying to convince us that we were all going to die of AIDS in the 80’s.  It was contagious off the charts, and not limited to, uh, any certain “community.”

They’ve spent the last 20 years telling us “the planet will die” unless we buy their fake charts and graphs.  When proven wrong, and when caught making up their “data” out of whole cloth, they double down.  Well, they’ve got a brand new toy.  Let’s hope it breaks before they destroy everything.  In one underreported exchange last week, Dr. Birx (aka scarf lady) told the director of the CDC that she can’t trust anything they report, and their figures have been inflated by at least 25%.  But, but we all have to follow CDC guidelines, isn’t that the fall back retort to every question?

We have an innate penchant toward optimism.  Most of us, anyway.  We want to believe that everything will be ok, that life will go on, that the kids and the grandkids will be just fine, it’s in our nature.  That’s always been viewed as a good thing, but not now!  If they have to “inconvenience” us for an extended period of time, too bad.  It could be worse you know.  You could go out and get INFECTED, or dead!  Then how would you feel?

Believe it or not, we remain optimistic.  We know a time is coming when these power-drunk little officials are going to find out they are not the boss of anybody or anything.  Our hope is not in this life only, but a future time when God Himself will show everybody who’s Boss.  The high officials may actually have a hand in hurrying along their own day of reckoning.  Hope they’re having fun.

Mark Armstrong