As Congress fiddled and Democrats tried to embed their own personal pork and pet projects into the coronavirus financial relief stimulus "package" (remember, they tried to sneak in abortion last week), the economy crashes.
To the anger of many, I have written about how bad the economic impact of this virus was and will be. How we navigate it is crucial; let's not make the cure worse than the disease.
The bright spot? We are about to learn the lesson of the importance of businesses succeeding so they provide goods and paychecks for all of us. Moreover, it should give us a clearer understanding of how paychecks and taxes are paid: by the productivity of companies and the work of employees.
In America we have always said that "the states are the laboratories of democracy." I like the idea that each state has rights and can try new things such as legalizing pot, etc. We then can watch and see how it works. With the coronavirus pandemic, we can see what other nations do, or not do, that works or doesn't work. And that is a good thing - if we get honest data.
Our nation's lawyers have stepped up, most of whom are going to work each day as they advise clients not to. This pandemic came from eating snakes in China, so out of professional courtesy lawyers will not get it. Lawyers are sending the same CYA emails to all their clients; I have received essentially the same email hundreds of times, from Delta Air Lines to my dry cleaner. Stop the CYA; we know you "care."
My family is about to report its first coronavirus-related death if we continue to be holed up together in my house, as I might shoot someone. On the bright side, terrorism is down and Al-Qaeda is crippled. A suicide bomber recently killed himself and nine family members when he was forced to work from home.
The left says calling it the "Chinese" virus is racist, but remember: China is a country, not a race. Most other viruses were named after their place of origin: Ebola, West Nile, Spanish flu, etc. The only problem I see with Trump calling it the "Chinese" virus is, like their food, an hour later you feel like you have to call it Chinese again.
Maybe couples quarantined together to avoid the "Chinese" virus will ramp up lagging millennial reproduction efforts. Their babies will be called "Coronials," but even that word sounds like you're making fun of Asians.
We have to stop second-guessing everyone; we have never been through this before. What we knew three weeks ago now is changed. There will be new "experts" opining on it tomorrow. All our Facebook friends who were Constitutional scholars during impeachment are now epidemiologists.
There are a lot of unfounded fears out there. We need to retire the current article of faith among mostly the left that you either support the latest media and TV doctors' constructs 100%, or you are an idiot. Mayors and governors scold us about staying home and not being around people as they sit at podium news conferences, two feet from 12 other people.
We hear the same elitist attitude from the media about Trump supporters - remember, the folks who voted to control our borders and manufacture more goods here rather than in China?
Democrats really look bad carping at Trump during this unprecedented challenge. At first they said he did too much by shutting down flights from China. They even went to Congress to overturn it. Now, according to the same complainers, he hasn't done enough. You can't have it both ways. Democrats look sadly petty, and we are reminded why we did not elect them.
Politicians and the media have long overstated problems, bungled them, and later congratulated themselves and brag that they saved us from something. Let's try to calm down, act sensibly and not view all that you recently read as scary or predictive of how things will turn out - not in The New York Times, The New England Journal of Medicine or the "Book of Revelations."
Contact Ron Hart at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.