I decided to step away from the midterm elections this week to focus on a story that caught my eye, and not in a good way. Emily Oster wrote a piece for our good fiends…I mean friends at The Atlantic with the title “Let’s Declare a Pandemic Amnesty.” Although Ms. Oster’s body of work on COVID-19 has been much more towards following the science (not that science, the real science), the main point of her piece was an attempt to bring us together again and have an honest discussion about where to go from here.
Yeah, and I’m in the running to be the next Pope.
Although the Left has critiqued her work by citing she gets funding from “right wing think tanks,” I haven’t seen anybody on the Left say anything supporting or rejecting it, which means…they’re probably waiting on the polling data to come up with a position.
Still, it’s worth looking into, if only to fill my weekly requirement of text-based snark.
pandemic amnesty
What the Left thinks it means – ummm…we’ll get back to you on that
What the Right things it means – a move to absolve Leftists from their multitude of bad decisions and examples of government overreach
What it really means – pissing into the wind and hoping we don’t get too much splashback
In my lifetime, there have been few issues that have divided the country as much as COVID-19. The Cola Wars of the 80s came pretty close, mind you. (#TeamPepsi) In the midst of the chaos over the severity of the sickness and what to do, we were all looking for something to cling to in order to keep our sanity. For the Left, it was government and science. Not the Trump Administration, mind you, as the current President and Vice-President both expressed doubts about the COVID-19 vaccines developed under Trump. But once he was out of office, everything was cool! The vaccines were totes safe, people!
And who couldn’t trust two people who flip-flopped more than John Kerry working as an IHOP cook for commission only?
Meanwhile, the Right tended to apply a bit more scrutiny to the claims being made from the Left, so they did their own research. Which caused them to get mocked as unintelligent conspiracy theorists that were hurting the real research efforts. Furthermore, the scrutiny was being painted as being anti-vaccination, which opened up the door for other denigrating accusations from the skeptics being anti-science to wanting children to die. And anyone who was anti-vax who died from COVID? Well, they deserved it and don’t deserve any pity, according to the loving, mature Left.
Guess what, bitches? The Right was, well, right with their skepticism a good chunk of the time. From COVID deaths being overcounted to COVID-19 possibly being manmade to Dr. Anthony Fauci lying to Congress about gain-of-function research out of Wuhan, China, where COVID is alleged to have originated. And as we learn more, the more the “conspiracy theories” that got dismissed by the people claiming to “follow the science” get revisited and often vindicated.
But not by the people requesting amnesty.
See, the Left has a lot at stake in maintaining the perceived validity of their COVID narrative, namely in the realms of power. Political, social, financial, it didn’t matter, COVID opened a lot of doors for a lot of politicians to enact laws and rules for everyone else but themselves. Even in the throes of COVID, that shit didn’t go unnoticed. Making matters worse was their nigh-draconian approach to lockdowns. Let’s just say Australia had nothing on Michigan Governor Gretchen “Witless” Whitmer and her Box Wine Brigade. Viral videos of mothers, fathers, and children getting yelled at by grown adults acting like hall monitors for not wearing masks, playing outside, and any number of activities with low-to-no risk to the people complaining. Remember, kids, COVID struck the elderly the hardest, not a little girl playing on the swing set on a nice spring day.
For all of their “science” following, the Left’s biggest threat is actual science. As we’re finding out, lockdowns didn’t work, masks weren’t all that effective, and we did a ton of psychological damage across the board, all because some Leftists decided a global pandemic was the perfect time to ram totalitarianism in a paper mask down our collective throats.
And these are the fucknuggets who want amnesty?
In a word, no.
In two words, fuck no.
In three words, fuckity fuck no.
In four words…I think you get the picture.
While most people are focused on rejecting the pandemic amnesty idea, we have to ask why it’s being offered now. For that, we can look to actions from this year. In January, the US Supreme Court ruled OSHA didn’t have the regulatory power to mandate “vaccine or test” rules for private companies with 100 or more employees. The New York Supreme Court for Richmond County recently ruled workers who were fired for being unvaccinated were to be reinstated. Massachusetts also rehired workers fired for not getting the jab, albeit without back pay and some benefits.
What does this mean? The tide is turning against those who pushed the COVID overreach for years, only to now think pandemic amnesty is a realistic possibility. It’s not, but it’s a nice dream to hold onto as Karma comes knocking on your doors, right?
The fact the courts and even Left-leaning states like Massachusetts have started pushing back against the Left threatens the narrative, and the power structures Leftists built because of COVID. With that, the Left have a choice to make: swallow their pride and admit they were wrong, double down on their discredited bullshit, or try to find a way to weasel out of admitting they were wrong while looking contrite in the process.
Right now the jury’s still out on what the Left will do, but I get the feeling the pandemic amnesty issue may be what they ultimately decide upon so they can straddle the line between accepting and rejecting responsibility, all while betting we forget what they made happen.
We won’t, of course, because we’re still dealing with the aftermath of the Left’s overreach. But Karma may be visiting the Left sooner than they think, with the midterm elections being a couple of days away (Please check local listings for the Election Day near you.) Although it’s not a lock, the party out of the White House tends to pick up seats during the midterms.
And with the economy, inflation, and energy woes weighing on voters’ minds (and pocketbooks), Leftists are on track to get stomped like grapes at a wine-making festival. While Leftists try to write excuses for their losses, they only need look at what they’ve done since 2020 for the answer as to why they lost and will continue to lose.
Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you.
Regardless of where you stand on the past couple of years, it’s clear pandemic amnesty should be a non-starter. Those who supported the government’s position on how to address COVID should man up (but, then again, I’m not a doctor) and say, “Yeah, we fucked up, and we’re going to make amends.” What they will do, however, remains to be seen, but I get the feeling they’ll pretend like nothing was wrong.
Which will make it easier for Republicans to win in 2024. So, win-win, I guess?
Tag: lockdowns
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Over the past two weeks, the world’s eyes have been focused at least in part to our neighbors to the north, Canada, due to a trucker convoy so long C.W. McCall is considering making a comeback. Thanks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin “Justine” Trudeau’s mask mandates, truckers across the Great White North joined in a caravan to protest in what is being called the Freedom Convoy. In response, the Left has openly supported the truckers for uniting and standing up for their rights as workers.
Just kidding. They hate the Freedom Convoy.
But the Left’s ire isn’t just about people standing up to them and their mandate demands. It goes a lot deeper, as we’re about to find out.
Freedom Caravan
What the Left thinks it means – a far right wing movement connected to white supremacy designed to undermine the societal good of masking
What it really means – a movement being slimed by authoritarian asshats
I have a rule of thumb when it comes to political movements: the more unhinged and unfounded the accusations are against it, the closer it is to a sensible position. It doesn’t always work, but it works well enough to use as a baseline.
And thanks to the Prime Minister, the Freedom Caravan is utterly sensible using my rule of thumb. Since the truckers started making their way towards him, Trudeau went from calling them a “fringe minority” to racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, and flavor-of-the-month-phobic among other insults. If you believe the Prime Minister, you would think the Freedom Caravan was only a couple steps away from Hitler (and still six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon…or would it be Kevin Backbacon in this case?), so let’s take a look at what they’ve actually done.
No deaths. One alleged act of violence against someone possibly connected with Antifa for trying to make the truckers look bad. But worst of all…they honked. Honked, for the love of all that is holy! I don’t know for certain, but we could be dealing with Geneva Convention violations here. I’m sure we’re 943 tersely-worded UN memos away from them doing something really serious.
In the meantime, the larger issue at hand isn’t what the truckers are doing to make the Left lose their shit, but what they’re doing to dismiss the concerns they’re bringing to the table and what implications may be around the corner. Spoiler Alert: there’s a chance some shrugging will occur, if you know what i mean.
The Left loves to think they’re smarter than everyone else (just ask them), even when they’re not even as smart as the coat rack. In this case, the coat rack may be way smarter than they are. As much as the “Follow the Science” crowd crows with confidence at their scientific knowledge, they’re letting their egos prevent them from actually, you know, following the science. As recent studies have shown, lockdowns haven’t helped, cloth masks are ineffective, and the vaccinated are spreading COVID-19 as much as the non-vaccinated are alleged to be spreading it. So, instead of admitting they fucked up, they doubled down more than KFC bringing back the greatest sandwich in the history of fast food.
Which leads to them looking like authoritarian assholes when they continue to force their stupidity on others. Of course, they are authoritarian assholes so it all works out.
What may not be working out in the near future are the attempts to dismiss the Freedom Caravan as fringe actors. Judging from the reactions we’ve seen and heard from Canadians on the tundra, the truckers represent far more people than the Prime Minister and his sycophants want us to believe. I don’t have hard numbers on this, but I get the sense more Canadians support the truckers over the Trudeau.
And here’s the thing that make the Leftists very nervous: American truckers are thinking of doing a Freedom Caravan here. Something tells me it’s going to be as big and as maligned as the Canadian version. Hoo boy!
What the Left isn’t thinking about, among other things, is what impact the Freedom Caravan will have on an existing issue, that being supply line delays. Whether you believe President Joe Biden’s ineptitude caused the empty shelves peppering the country or you believe in whatever bullshit the Left wants us to believe is the cause of the problem this week, the scarcity is starting to get noticed, which causes an immediate political headache for Biden and the Left.
Oh, and did I mention there are elections this year that could affect what the President can get done legislatively?
Anything that keeps the shelves from being stocked is another nail in the Biden agenda’s coffin. That includes…oh, I don’t know…pissing off truckers who can get goods from the ports to the stores. Knowing Joe Biden like I do, he will consult with experts, weigh their advice to devise the best possible outcomes, and support the worst idea with all the passion of a true believer. Doubt me? Guess who came up with the three-state solution in Iraq, an idea worse than letting David Duke host the NAACP Image Awards.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t that bad. It was worse than giving David Duke an NAACP Image Award.
This leads me to believe the President will follow the Prime Minister’s lead and insult any trucker who decides to be part of the American version of the Freedom Caravan. If he does, the Left will cheer him on…until they realize the truckers aren’t bringing goods to the stores they frequent. Wait until their Whole Foods is half stocked.
Then, they might start to feel a shrug of the Atlas variety. Serves them right for discounting Ayn Rand as often as they have, even though her observations are as salient today as they were when she first penned them.
Although the Freedom Caravan has experienced some setbacks in the form of Leftist pressure/coercion from GoFundMe, they are winning where it counts: in the hearts and minds of freedom-loving people around the world. The longer the Caravan exists and gets, the more pressure it puts on the Left to figure out an exit strategy.
It can’t go any worse than Biden’s Afghanistan exit strategy, right?
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
As George R. R. Martin is fond of writing, Winter is coming, and along with it comes the possibility of another round of COVID-19 breakout. To combat this, the same people who said we needed to stay quarantined to slow the spread (except, of course, if you’re ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter, or Biden/Harris supporters) are now saying we need to go back into lockdown to slow the spread again.
You know, because lockdowns worked so well last time.
Although we covered this topic earlier this year, the topic has been refreshed, namely because the Left keep acting as though the pandemic isn’t a thing. Which makes it perfect fodder for this week’s Lexicon!
lockdowns
What the Left thinks it means – a way to protect society from the spread of COVID-19 by limiting or canceling in-person activities, such as visiting a restaurant or going to concerts
What it really means – a means to control and manipulate people under the guise of science
When they weren’t telling us to ignore lockdown orders to combat racism, Leftists were enamored with idea of everybody staying inside to, as they called it, “flatten the curve.” Well, the curve didn’t get flattened so much as it got the Mamie Van Doren Special breast augmentation surgery. To cover this up, the Left kept moving the goalposts as to when the lockdowns would be over. First it was 2 weeks. Then 3. Then 4. Then 6. When it got to 12, I sold.
After blowing through the first couple of Leftist-designated goalposts, many people (including your humble correspondent) started to wonder if the lockdowns were actually supposed to control the spread of COVID-19. (Spoiler Alert: The scientists still aren’t on the same page as to the effectiveness of lockdowns. But we’re supposed to trust the science so…I guess we trust the ambiguity?) Then, Democrat governors across the country used the outbreak to enact restrictions stricter than my third grade teacher (to whom I still owe three weeks after school in detention), and people rebelled. Even though most people still considered COVID-19 a threat, they also saw the draconian moves by said governors to be as big of a threat. There is a debate to be had concerning freedom during quarantine, but the Left doesn’t want one. They just want to tell you what you can and can’t do.
Of course, those rules don’t apply to them because…reasons?
The reason lockdowns became a subject of discussion again is because Democrats leaders are getting caught violating the rules they want everyone else to follow. Who could have seen that coming? Even before now, Democrat governors and their spouses in some cases were caught defying their own mandates for personal gain. Imagine being told you have to stay in your house and not have Thanksgiving while the person telling you this is spending Thanksgiving with his family in a foreign country. If you’re living in Austin, TX, you know what that’s like because it actually happenedthis year.
You know, even Beethoven wasn’t this tone deaf.
At this point, the concept of lockdowns may be medically wise, but foolish in practice because we’re not all in this together, contrary to what the Left says. They’re in it for themselves and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process. That much is evident by how many businesses of all sizes have closed down due to lack of business or been forced out of business by governors who don’t have to worry about serving customers or making payroll. All they have to do is pretend to care when it’s election season.
On top of that, the Left hasn’t made any friends by, well…acting like Leftists. It’s hard enough to get everyone to go along with a reasonable request as it is, but it’s made even more difficult when you’ve given people a reason to distrust you. Congratulations, Leftists. You’ve made it impossible to achieve the right goal. And as someone who would benefit by the curve being flatter than pancakes in Nebraska, I’m not happy the Left used lockdowns to grab up power, hurt people and the economy, and create rules they don’t have to follow, but really should.
Thus, we see the facade of the lockdowns. Leftists used science to convince most of us to stay indoors and away from others, and we did. After weeks went by, the message stayed the same, even when the science didn’t back up their ideas. In the end, it was never about following the science or staying in lockdown until we got COVID-19 under control; it was all about control of as many people as possible.
And unfortunately it worked pretty well.
Where we go from here is hard to say. As I mentioned earlier, there is a valuable debate about freedom during the time of quarantine, and this is the time to have it. If President-Elect Joe Biden has his say, we will be looking at actions more draconian than the ones we’ve already experienced and he will try to justify it using the same method (i.e. the public good) the Left used during the first round of lockdowns. The thing is the same argument can be used to refute more stringent restrictions because of the number of people out of work due to the lockdowns themselves. The Left calls it putting profits ahead of people, but they also admit there are economic costs to a lockdown. When you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, profits are how you get paid. Put another way, the Left is putting politics and pain before people.
And you might need to dodge as the Leftists’ heads explode.