NewsOp By Ed Wallace / Publisher of UtahStandardNews.com / 3/27/2020

People are starting to question if all of the COVID-19 hype holds merit. Is it really all real, or an augmented reality conjured up and foisted on us by a vast world conspiracy aided by an hysterical media? This once in our lifetime event (so far) is so grand and persuasive that it almost defies reality. And, with recent revelations, one has to wonder if there is at least an infinitesimal, barely measurable, teeny-weeny possibility that something is off. 

We’ve got ourselves a pretty nice crisis here, it would be a shame if something happened to it. Empowered by “a public health emergency” our elected officials and unelected bureaucrats are free to issue diktats at will with impunity. The leaders of America’s most progressive cities and states have finally reached the pinnacle of their glory.

Related Article: Humor for Hard Times: Covid-19

Now, it’s rumored that Governor Herbert is on the verge of shutting down the entire State of Utah and mandating a “shelter in place” order. Maybe this abundance of caution is the wisest course of action, but to us older, independent types, enforced actions like this are abhorrent. Especially when our overlords use our right of self-determination against us.

One casualty that no one seems concerned about was brought to my attention by Philippe Legrain, founder of the Open Political Economy Network (OPEN) who laments in an article for Foreign Policy that  “Coronavirus Is Killing Globalization as We Know It”. He said that the spread of COVID-19 “has been a gift to nativist nationalists and protectionists.”  Oops.

Another theory, according to CNN-MSDNC, Huff Po, Nation, KOS, Michael Moore, Nancy Pelosi, and the Communist Party of China, the virus most likely came from the White House. They also claim that Trump is destroying the economy he painstakingly built over three years, JUST TO GET JOE BIDEN ELECTED!

Kate Dalley, the host of one of America’s most popular and reputable radio broadcasts (1450am radio), has been digging into the COVID-19 rabid-rabbit hole and coming up with some interesting observations. She asks: “When did we lose our sanity, our ability to think? When did we lose our capacity to reason? In a few weeks, I think the populace may realize that our liberty was stolen and trillions were looted. They are ruining businesses and livelihoods and the only answer is getting the bill passed? Good grief. It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. As soon as the bailout goes through…. just watch… we will see less scary dishonest headlines but not until they get their cash first. Well, our cash… to give back to us. Or, we could just open our businesses. If everyone did it, what in the world could they do about it?” 

Kate continues: “There are people that are demonizing others for walking down the road, or hugging a loved one or standing 4 feet away instead of 6 feet. And even if you get it (C19), you’ll likely be just fine and there’s not even any treatment. Most people are not sickly and susceptible to everyone else’s health problems. That’s the beauty of building an immune system and being healthy. If you’re worried about your health, it’s the best thing you can do. You must separate your irrational fear from reality. You’ve been corona’d.”

Is she right? It’s beginning to look like it. 

Three days ago, March 24, The New York Magazine, the incestuous child of the New York Times, the “Mother of Fake News”, published: Oxford Model: Coronavirus May Have Already Infected Half of U.K. Population.

Yet, five days earlier, the British Government published a “Guidance” that declared “As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) in the UK. The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) is also of the opinion that COVID-19 should no longer be classified as an HCID. The need to have a national, coordinated response remains, but this is being met by the government’s COVID-19 response.”

Hmmm…

Meanwhile, back home, Dr. Birx admitted yesterday during the daily briefing, March 26, that the Initial COVID Predictions Were Extreme. 

That is quite a flip.

Some are beginning to think: Is this a hoax to take down Trump, or some other kind of hoax? Rolling Stone, another pinnacle of reputable information, recently published an article: Coronavirus Is Spreading — And So Are the Hoaxes and Conspiracy Theories Around It.    

The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro’s site, reports: Epidemiologist Behind Highly-Cited Coronavirus Model Drastically Downgrades Projection.

In an article from the American Thinker, Lloyd Marcus wonders “How Long Will Americans Tolerate Corona-Madness?” 

Marcus concludes “Fake news media has successfully infected many with irrational fear. When Gov. Larry Hogan mentioned plans to restrict church gatherings, a chill went up my spine. In the United States of America, the government is mandating that people not attend church. WOW! CDC data confirms that the martial-law-light mandates steamrolling across America are disproportionate to the threat of the virus. Some governors and most corporations are responding to media-mob pressure to halt life in America. Others see an opportunity to land a death-blow to the Trump administration.”

“Sadly, many youths are clueless regarding their constitutional freedoms. They grew up in public schools where progressive teachers taught them that the Constitution is an outdated piece of paper written by racist, sexist, homophobic, and Christian dead straight white men. We have far too many Bernie Bro youths who say, “If the government is going to give me free stuff, I am down with whatever controls the government deem necessary.” The light I see at the end of the corona-madness tunnel is the strong will, spirit, and instincts of the American people. How long will it take Americans to say screw this nonsense, “I’m going out for a burger and a beer?” I believe there will be a tipping point when Americans say enough is enough, I’m going to resume my life.”

Here in Utah, where “Life is Elevated”, our Governor is seriously considering shutting the state down because of one death. The following graph displays the realities of COVID-19’s health effect in our state:

Utah has a population of 3.161 million residents. That means that 0.00003163556% have died (1 person), 0.01271749446% have contracted the disease, and 0.243910155% have been tested. IF the entire population were tested AND those figures hold, the number of deaths would rise to 2,470 (+-1.5%) of the 164,688 (05.21%) people who got the disease. That would make COVID-19 the third leading cause of death in Utah, and about 7.39 times that of Flu/Pneumonia. Worldwide, there is a 98.6 percent chance of survival (good odds, but not nearly as good as flu, with its 99.9 percent survival rate).

“In no country today have we seen an attack rate of over 1 in a 1,000.” – Dr. Birx

The following image reports the TOP 10 leading Causes of Death in Utah in 2017: 

Thus far, more people have died on the highways in Utah this year than from the Apocalyptic Virus Infestation. Deaths from cancer and heart disease rampaging across the state dwarf the number of deaths from Covid-19. How come we don’t hear about that? How can we Shelter In Place from Life?

As I stated earlier: ” Maybe this abundance of caution is the wisest course of action, but to us older, independent types, enforced actions like this are abhorrent. Especially when our overlords use our right of self-determination against us. “

There are usually two underlying motives when things happen on a large scale: Power or Money, or both. 

While the rest of us were locked up in our houses learning how to make our own protective gear and stuffing our remaining cash inside a ragged sock which we can take with us when we start living under a bridge, the Congress and Senate decided to spend 2 trillion of OUR dollars on themselves.

That figure TRIPLES to $6,000,000,000,000.00 (6tril) when $4 trillion is added by the Fed & Treasury. That adds up to $17,000 of debt per citizen or $68,000 for a family of four. In other words, they are “giving” every taxpayer a digital check for $1,200 (our money) and we get to pay “them” back $17,000. That figures out to about 1,417% interest. The local loan shark only charges 100%, AND THAT”S HIS MONEY THAT HE LENDS. That might shed some light on the recent push to reign in payday-loans interest…. The government doesn’t like the competition. 

According to taxfoundation.org, in their ”Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2018 Update”, in 2016, 140.9 million taxpayers reported earning $10.2 trillion in adjusted gross income and paid $1.4 trillion in individual income taxes.

So, multiply 140.9 million taxpayers times $1,200.00 for each, and the total is $169,080,000,000. Subtract that from the $6tril stimulus, and you have to wonder: WHERE THE HECK DOES THE REMAINING $5,831,000,000,000.00 (trillion) go? 

Oh…. go ahead… Take a wild guess. 

Forbes put out an informative article: Is There Wasteful Spending In The Coronavirus Stimulus Bill?

This from their article:

        $25 million in the Senate bill went to the John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. During the past ten years, the center received $68.3 million in federal grants (2010-2019). The Kennedy Center has total assets of $557 million. The Pelosi bill earmarked $35 million.

        $75 million in the Senate bill funded the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Why does National Public Radio and Big Bird get a coronavirus subsidy? The Pelosi bill allocated $300 million.

        $1.2 billion in the Pelosi bill to require airlines to purchase expensive “renewable” jet fuel. It was $200 million per year in grants (2021-2026) to “develop, transport, and store sustainable aviation fuels that would reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.” The Senate bill eliminated this provision.

People of good will can debate each of these goals, but is it truly emergency spending? For example, what is the public purpose for the Smithsonian Institute receiving an additional $7.5 million in this time of crisis? Both bills provided these funds.

While governors begged for vital medical supplies, the spending packages each contained massive increases even in obscure, small agencies.

An earmarked $1.1 billion in the Pelosi bill would have more than doubled the budgets of The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment of the Arts and the Humanities. The Senate bill provided funding of $200 million.

        $500 million in the Pelosi bill to The Institute of Museum and Library Services (FY2019 budget: $230 million). This agency is so small that it doesn’t even employ an inspector general. The Senate bill provided $50 million.

        $600 million in the Pelosi bill to National Endowment of the Arts and the Humanities (FY2019 budget: $253 million) – In 2017, our study showed eighty-percent of all non-profit grant-making flowed to well-healed organizations with over $1 million in assets. The Senate bill provided $150 million.

    $88 million to the Peace Corps for “evacuating volunteers and U.S. direct hires from overseas.” The agency just fired all of their 7,300 volunteers working in 61 countries on March 15. The Pelosi bill allocated $90 million.

    $250 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The subsidy would cover “taxpayer services,” “enforcement,” and “operations support.” The Pelosi bill provided $602 million.

    $350 million to the State Department for “migration and Refugee Assistance.” This funding would help minimize the virus spread in vulnerable populations. The Pelosi bill earmarked $300 million.

    $400 million to the federal Election Assistance Commission to assist the states with “election security grants.” The Pelosi bill provided $4 billion.

    $30.8 billion to the Department of Education for “state Fiscal Stabilization Fund” that provides grants to support of elementary and secondary education ($13.5 billion), Higher Ed ($14.25 billion), and State flexibility grants ($3 billion). The Pelosi bill asked for $50 billion.

During the past three years, Republicans and Democrats have helped drain the U.S. Treasury from the left and the right. Our national debt increased from $10 trillion (2008) to $19.6 trillion (2016) to $23.6 trillion (2020). Coronavirus responses will drive the national debt much higher.“

Even after deducting all that pork, there is still an obscene amount going to wherever they want it to go. We probably won’t find out until after the bill is passed. History repeats itself. Even the fine print in a near-final 880-page version of the bill has fine print. It’s a $4.5 trillion corporate money cannon. There are a whole bunch of goodies for specific industries in the bill.

And from Political: Here’s what’s in the $2 trillion stimulus package — and what’s next.

This ‘bailout’ is much worse that the one in 2008. Sure, there are loans available for ‘the little guy’, but few will be able to qualify for them. Cuomo asks: “How do you fill a $6tril hole? You can’t”. Expand on that: How do we fill a $29.6tril hole? We can’t. We’ve created a black hole that is going to swallow us and enslave our future generations. Every despot that voted for this 2020 omnibus bill should be removed from office for violating their oath to protect and defend our country. They actually think they are protecting us. This is socialism on steroids… there isn’t a word for it. A TOTAL takeover and realignment of everything.

Utah has two conservative candidates challenging our current incumbent Congressmen, John Curtis-CD2 and Chris Stewart-CD3. 

Mary Burkett is running against Chris Stewart. In an interview with Utah Standard News, Burkett stated “History tells us that stimulus bills like the massive $2 Trillion bill to be passed later today don’t work. This bill, assembled in the heat of the moment, with emotion and no concern for future generations, do not, can not, accomplish the stated goal of helping those who are hurting during this crisis.”

Tim Aalders, running against John Curtis, stated “If the goal is to get the economy going, the best thing we can do is to get Covid-19 behind us. But in light of what Congress is doing, that goal will not be accomplished. Bailouts never work and legislation that reward friends of members of Congress are 100% wrong. None of the large businesses targeted for receipt of these funds even asked for money. Even worse is the fact that items like the Kennedy Center have been on Congressional agenda’s forever. Because of Covid-19, politicians are robbing our future generations security to fulfill their own agendas. Just once, we as Americans would like to see unselfish legislation. I would have voted against and required all pork to be removed. I do not believe the $1,200 to each American taxpayer will even dent the damage being created.”

“For now, though, the immediate goal is to help families and businesses survive, not to help the economy revive and thrive. There’s no way to stimulate an economy that’s still in lockdown. Congress will have to wait for the hurricane to pass before it can start the rebuilding process.”

This pandemic has exposed the shortcomings in many arenas, not the least of which is the ongoing battle between the progressive left’s desire to break down every societal tradition and political norm in the pursuit of inexorable “change” and the conservative right’s losing attempt to maintain valid traditions and norms.

This crisis may serve as a teaching moment for the indoctrinated generations who are about to discover for real that “free” is not free. Nor is freedom. A friend commented: 

“My adult grandchildren are frightened. They have never heard “no” in their social life. Free to go wherever they wanted, eat at whatever place they liked, and now… No, you can’t. I’m serious, they are confused and scared. These same young people who think Bernie has the right idea with all his free stuff, now wonders who is going to give them this ‘free’ stuff if nobody’s working. What good is “free” they say if you can’t get any of it?”

I’d like to self-quarantine myself for the Corona. I could use some help convincing my part-time employer that he needs to pay me full-time, with a raise, while I sit on my couch, and over-time, too. And I’ll need someone to bring me my extra rations of beets. And, I think I’ll change my name to Delta Boeing. That has a nice ring to it.

 So, Kate, keep digging.

A great source for information is the Worldometer. Their data is displayed in the following screenshots: Overview of COVID-19 Surveillance

Click here to become a member.

Steal our Stuff!
Utah Standard News is deeply committed to restoring government oversight through non-partisan journalism. In order to provide top-quality news coverage and investigative work to your readers, our work is free for print with link and proper attribution. For instance: This article originally appeared on

Media Requests or Partnership Inquiries
We have a growing nationwide network. If you’re interested in learning more about our work or receiving regular content from our reporters please contact our Director of Communication and Media Outreach at ed@utahstandardnews.com.

Disclaimer:
The author of each article published on this web site owns his or her own words. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this site do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Utah Standard News or official policies of the USN and may actually reflect positions that USN actively opposes. However, in this instance, this doed reflect our opinion.

The articles from our ‘Friends’ are under copyright and are published with permission. Any republishing of these articles is STRICTLY PROHIBITED without written consent from the original Publisher.

Attribution Guidelines
Any Utah Standard News original article republished in their entirety or mentioned within a news story must include the reporter’s name and “From http://utahstandardnews.com/.” For example, “By Sandy Smith | From http://utahstandardnews.com/”