The South Dakota mystery

"I can't figure out what the South Dakota mystery is, but I do like their template. Their template works, and ours sucks. Time to change templates. Time to be like South Dakota. Time to act like citizens once again."    

A bit of honesty and disclosure. I love South Dakota. I always have. As a kid, I loved it because it had so many fun things to do, and places to do them. As an adult, I have always loved crossing over the border from Minnesota to South Dakota. Once the border was crossed, there was a sense of wild west freedom one could feel. It was a state back then (and still is) which resonates freedom. And during this COVID - 19 event, that freedom comes through loud and clear.

In the border town of Sioux Falls, there exists one of the largest meat packing facilities (pork) in the country. It is the site of a major outbreak of the virus. With that being said, one would expect South Dakota to have sky high sickness and death numbers. Plus - to add insult to injury - the Republican Governor (Kristie Noem) NEVER SHUT DOWN THE STATE! Wow! Those South Dakota COVID numbers must really be through the roof! 

Actually, they are not. As of today, there are 3,663 confirmed cases, with only 39 deaths (Mic drop). What?? How can that be? Minnesota has 12,494 confirmed cases with 614 deaths. Sure, Minnesota has some meat packers also which have had some infection problems, but unlike South Dakota, our DEMOCRAT Governor SHUT US DOWN (and we still are)!

South Dakota's population is only 16% of Minnesota's. So if we factored that 16% into Minnesota's numbers, South Dakota's numbers would be 100 COVID deaths instead of 39. One would think that just by leaving the state open, South Dakota's numbers would be higher. But they are not. And the number of confirmed cases is dropping every week. 

Some might say that South Dakota has an advantage because people are so spread out. Okay - what about outside the metro area in MN? Same thing in Northern Minnesota, but our Governor has them shut out state down just like the metro. Plus - of the 3,663 confirmed cases in the entire state of South Dakota, almost 1/3 came from the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls. 

Putting the Smithfield plant aside, one might think South Dakota has done just about everything right during this crisis, and Minnesota has done just about everything wrong. I might be in that camp. While Governor Noem has stood bravely on the bow of her ship, she let her citizens be citizens. Our Governor Walz has cowered in his basement, forcing his citizens to instead act like subjects. 

I can't figure out what the South Dakota mystery is, but I do like their template. Their template works, and ours sucks. Time to change templates. Time to be like South Dakota. Time to act like citizens once again.

    

From gloom to doom and back again

"Let the fans into the baseball games. Let the fans into the football games. Let people worship in their churches. Let the people go shopping. Like I say, if it is inevitable we are all going to get it, let's start living our lives again. Not tomorrow - today."  

I swear, I am getting ready to quit reading the papers. Every day, there are stories of how this CCP Virus is going to rule the day. How before the "herd immunity" sets in, up to 70% of us will get it. And even though it is predicted to subside during the summer, it will come roaring back in the late fall and winter, accompanied by its sidekick, the common flu. The only way the panic merchants in the press say we can fight back is - to stay hunkered and bunkered in our basements.

I am a slow learner, so this is the part I don't understand. Right now, the "models" (as we know, are NEVER wrong), say that Minnesota will end up with hundreds of thousands infected and up to 25,000 dead before this "herd immunity" kicks in. Can't stop it, can't avoid it. So, if most of us are going to eventually get infected, let's "stick our finger down our throat", and get it over with. In other words, let's get back to normal. Kind of like we did during the Hong Kong flu of 1968. Somehow, we survived that one.

However, there is more to this story which we do not understand as yet. Like why when this virus hit South Korea and Japan so much sooner than it hit us, why are their numbers so low? Why are the numbers of sick and dead in Italy, Russia and the United States so much higher when the virus hit us over a month later? Why are the numbers in Tokyo, a larger city than NYC, so much lower than NYC? Tokyo has almost a million more people than NYC, yet the number of confirmed cases in Tokyo is about 5,000 with 155 dead. The numbers in NYC are catastrophic - almost 190,000 sickened with almost 20,000 dead. There is a missing piece to this puzzle.

By the way, as bad as NYC has been, the numbers are starting to come down. Even with the horrible death count that NYC has had, many of the people have had it with doing nothing. They want to open up the state again. Like now. New Jersey is the same way. Okay then - let's be real. Patriots and citizens in every state have had it with this "duck and cover". Time to get back to work. Time to open everything up. Why not "duck and cover" anymore (besides for the fact it is ruining the economy)? 2/3 of the recent cases in NYC have come from people who were not at work - they are people who were sequestered in their apartments or town homes.

Want to get to "herd immunity" quicker rather than later? Don't close down the state fair. I was saddened to see the ND state fair get cancelled. Let the fans into the baseball games. Let the fans into the football games. Let people worship in their churches. Let the people go shopping. Like I say, if it is inevitable we are all going to get it, let's start living our lives again. Not tomorrow - today.  

Play Ball!

"Some doctor was on the news this weekend and said this virus will be with us until the end of time - or until we get a kick butt vaccine. I am routing for the vaccine. This shelter in place crap is for the birds. Now let's play ball!"

As strange as strange can be, it gets even stranger this time of year not having some baseball on the tube. Heck, not only the tube, not being able to go out to the ball park. Right now we have nada. That is, unless you mind re-watching games from yesteryear. Or - South Korean baseball. Wait a minute - how in the heck can the Koreans be playing ball? Don't they have the virus also? Yes they do, and yes they are.

Okay. What if we did that also? Played ball like they are doing in South Korea? What would be missing? For a starter - us. And this:

"Take me out to the ball game,

take me out with the crowd -

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks,

I don't care if I ever come back..." 

South Korea is playing in front of empty stadiums. From the sounds of it, when or if baseball starts up again in our country, we will be doing the same. I guess the old expression "half a loaf" comes in. Better than nothing. And we have been told, our farm clubs will NOT be playing this year. So much for developing future stars.

I understand that each one of our ball players has been tested for antibodies. There was good news and bad news. The good news is only 1% of those tested have shown they have been exposed to COVID. The bad news is, there goes any possible immunity should the virus attack a clubhouse. 

If we think baseball is going to be strange being played in front of an empty stadium, we better get used to it. Sounds like the NFL will also be doing the same. In fact, the NFL has already released their schedules for this year. The Vikings will start off their season playing the Packers. But the first huge game played will be the Bucs (with Brady) playing the Saints (with Brees). Crowd or no crowd, that game could be a barn burner. 

Basketball and Hockey the same way this year? Played, but no fans in the stands? Would not surprise me. In Korea right now, as well as China, the numbers are starting to pick up again for infections. Some are wondering if this is another wave of this crap. If it is, even our "half a loaf" might turn into nothing. As much as we want to return to some kind of normalcy, this virus might rule the day.

I am hopeful though, that it will not. Some doctor was on the news this weekend and said this virus will be with us until the end of time - or until we get a kick butt vaccine. I am cheering for the vaccine. This shelter in place crap is for the birds. Now let's play ball!

The COVID mystery

"Where do we go from here? Continue to play duck and cover? Or tough it out by opening up the country again. We closed the country down, put our economy of life support, and still our numbers are terrible compared to most other countries."

Statistics are funny things. Keep playing with the numbers, and usually they can match what you want them to say. Or not. I have been very interested in the how and why of the number of cases and fatalities in the United States. We are taking a whooping from the virus, more so than most other countries. Not by a little, but by a lot. Let's first look at why the numbers we are seeing may not tell the entire story.

DNR and DNI. Most folks when they get into a care center, have the "talk" with the center staff. I can remember being with my Mom when she had the "talk". With zero coaching, my Mom told the staff that if something happened, like her heart stopping, she did not want to be resuscitated. The staff told us after the meeting, the vast majority of the residents make the same decision. So in the days of COVID, should a resident get it, the resident will either get better, or die. There is no going to the hospital and being put in an ICU or hooked up to a ventilator. Thus in Minnesota, of the almost 600 folks who have died from COVID, over 80% have been in long term care facilities.

But here is where the mystery comes in. In New York alone, over 21,000 people have died from this disease (or so it has been reported). Compare that with the country of Japan, where the death toll is only 624. The population of Japan is about 130,000,000 people. The population of New York is about 20,000,000. With the population of Japan being over six times bigger than New York (and both countries having major world cities - NYC and Tokyo), New York has over 20,000 more deaths from COVID - 19. Why?

What about South Korea? With a population of over 50,000,000 people, their death toll to date from COVID - 19 is 256 people. Heck, we have more deaths in Hennepin County than in the entire country of South Korea. Why? The virus hit Japan and South Korea before the United States, and our stats from this disease are terrible. Even Canada with a population of almost 36,000,000 has a death count of almost 5,000. Not as good as Japan and South Korea, but still much better than New York.

To me, the biggest mystery yet to be solved about COVID - 19 is not where it came from (we all know it was China), but why New York? What made New York ground zero for this thing. Plus, contact tracing has shown that many New Yorkers who fled New York, brought the virus with them to other parts of the country. Thus, we have a death count in America of just over 73,000. That is over 12 times more than Japan's, South Korea's and Canada's death toll combined.

Where do we go from here? Continue to play duck and cover? Or tough it out by opening up the country again. We closed the country down, put our economy of life support, and still our numbers are terrible compared to most other countries. I say open everything up, and now. I can't imagine things being any worse that they are now. Minnesota has shut down - South Dakota has remained open. South Dakota's economy and their COVID death toll numbers are both better than Minnesota's. 

  

Keep on truckin!

"But this new virus is like a new pothole in the road of life. We now know about it, we can see it, and we know what we can do to increase the chances of avoiding it. And avoiding it does not mean stopping or going in reverse. If means going around it. Living our lives." 

Okay. This will be a bit of a throwback for all you baby boomers. This was one of the mottoes, the creeds, that many of us lived by. No matter what happened, we needed to put one foot in front of the other. We needed to keep on going. Not to stop. Not to go back. Heck, most of the time it was not even to rest for a while. We needed to "keep on truckin!" What has changed in America in the past few decades? Not much. Many of us still want to "keep on truckin!" 

When the government told us to leave our places of employment, stay home, maybe hide out in the bunker - how did that work out for us? Not well. For a generation who was brought up under the banner of "keep on truckin!", to stay put, to do nothing, to cower, did not mesh. Not being able to see our friends, our loved ones, not being able to hug our grandies, that was for the birds. This bunch of rebels, many of which are grandparents, collectively said, "NO MORE!" We want our lives back. We still want to "keep on truckin!"

Many of us were born without a rear view mirror -  only a windshield. Our bodies don't have a reverse on our gear shift - not even a park. Only a drive. So we can go fast and faster yet. From the time we got out of school, the road ahead has seldom been as smooth as glass, but it was a road. It had a direction - forward. Who ever came up with the saying that life is not about the destination, but rather the journey, knew what he or she was talking about. Most of our journeys have been filled with puts and takes, ups and downs, smiles and tears, successes and failures. But we always kept going forward. That was the road. We "kept on truckin!"

Do we have a new virus to deal with right now? Yes, we do. We have had new viruses in the past, and we will probably have some more in the future. But this new virus is like a new pothole in the road of life. We now know about it, we can see it, and we know what we can do to increase our chances of avoiding it. And avoiding it does not mean stopping or going in reverse. If means going around it. Being careful, yet living our lives. Going to work. Worshiping together. Shopping. Heck, getting a haircut! Potholes or no potholes, we will "keep on truckin!" Why? That is who we are. That is what we are all about.

Our government has done its job. Thank you very much. You have informed us, and that is great. Now leave us alone. Let us live our lives. Let us "keep in truckin!" Why? Because if we can't "keep on truckin", this great American Experiment will not be able to "keep on truckin" either. And that is when everything stops.

Coming home to roost?

"May and June should be interesting months. Not only will we be fighting off this stubborn virus, we will also be fighting with the MSM to tell the entire TRUTH on this story. Because they are so invested in the Obama's, and HATE this President so much, this is going to be a tough road to slog."

My, oh my. In the midst of this virus, we seem to have some other news. Like the exoneration of General Flynn. About dang time! He was set up bigly by the DOJ and FBI. Not everyone in those two organizations, just the bad apples at the top. He was set up because he was associated with Donald J. Trump, the incoming President. They did it solely to get to President Trump. Everyone knew that. If Hillary had been elected, nobody would have given two hoots about General Flynn. Anyhow, a huge wrong has now been righted.

How deep was the mud in this Russia-gate? How far did the corruption go? Was it just Strzok and Page? Or did it go deeper? Like up to Comey? Or the Obama AG department? Or Obama himself? Facts are hard to keep hidden forever. And now is the time for some of those fact concerning Russia-gate to come to the surface. The fingerprints which have been found on this crime scene are many, and some belong to the powerful. The drip, drip, drip of this disclosure has begun.

Someone had suggested that Trump fire Ray (who is nothing but a tool), and then put General Flynn as the head of the FBI. That would be a great move! Could you imagine Flynn as the bureau chief, and then having many of the guilty doing the perp walk? Like Brennan? Like Clapper? Like Comey? And then trying them on violations of the Logan Act? If it could only be true! 

How about Mr. Pure, aka Barack H. Obama? Sometimes known as Barry Soetoro? The man with the murky past. How deep was his involvement? Some say he was the puppet master. Other's say his involvement was only passive. Then there are a few who thought he was like a Biden - clueless. My vote has always been the puppet master. For all this plotting to go on right under his nose without him knowing about it - impossible. No - Obama was the man behind the curtain. Having Hillary finish out Obama's third term was just that important to him.

May and June should be interesting months. Not only will we be fighting off this stubborn virus, we will also be fighting with the MSM to tell the entire TRUTH on this story. Because they are so invested in the Obama's, and HATE this President so much, this is going to be a tough road to slog. Fortunately, we have enough truth tellers now in Washington, that the truth will be told.

Karma can be a bitch. If the Deep State had never come up with this Russia-gate thing, none of this investigation into Obama's corruption would be happening. But it did, and it is. As my old boss would tell me, "If you are going to throw a bag of poop out of the front window, make sure the back window is rolled up." Bingo!   

Petty little dictators with faux power

"Time to go back to work folks. Time to go out to eat. Time to travel, to go on vacation. Heck - time to get a haircut! We know how to do this. We understand enough about this virus, to stay as safe as possible while living our lives. Time to get going."

If we could go back in time just a bit, and tell some folks that soon you could be fined or tossed in jail for the simple crime of going to work, you might have been thrown in the loony bin. After you were firmly ensconced in the loony bin, you would have been reminded that this is America. And you have the right to go to work (so long as what you do it legal), and NOBODY had the right to tell you that you can't. That is, unless your governor or judges have faux authority.

By now, we have all heard of the Dallas case of the Salon owner who only wanted to open up her shop to serve her clients. She had "played the game" for a while, of sheltering in place. But the bills were coming due, she needed to feed her kids, and many of her clients were begging for hair cuts or perms. So she opened her shop back up. Masks were worn and "social distancing" was practiced as much as practicable. No matter - she was now a law breaker (even though, there was no legal law she broke).

Enter Obama appointed judge Eric Moye', aka - petty dictator. This piece of self important, low life judgeship, had this poor woman arrested. Had her dragged into his courtroom, fined her $7,000 for the days she was "illegally" opened, and then demanded an apology out of her. This petty dictator really wanted to make this American patriot feel small. Instead of apologizing to this dictator, she refused. So Moye', threw this patriot in a COVID infested jail for 7 days.

Every day, we can see similar things played out in this free country of America. Least wise, America is suppose to be free. But somehow, petty little dictators have stolen powers which are not reserved for them to have. And for a while, honest patriots and citizens have allowed this to happen. However, that channel is about to change. These petty little dictators, many or whom have never had to work in the private sector, are ruining the economy. Patriots and citizens are coming back to their senses, and are collectively saying, NO MORE! 

Time to abrogate all these faux orders given by petty dictators. One of them, the Governor of Oregon, is not going to "allow" her state to be opened up until after the Fourth of July. Give me a break! People are not stupid. They will return to work, and be as safe as possible. Yes, the doctors have told us that over half of us will eventually get sick from this stuff. It may be tomorrow, it may be next year. It may be at work, it may be at home. Bottom line is this - we have to live our lives and do our jobs. We tried this dead stop business, and it does not work for us. Does not work well at all.

The Boston Tea Party should have shown the world that this bunch of Americans do not do well under tyranny. In fact, they get way beyond feisty. Whereas the the petty little dictators think our Constitution gives them extraordinary powers de jour, patriots and citizens understand the purpose of the Constitution was rather to limit the power of government. 

Time to go back to work folks. Time to go out to eat. Time to travel, to go on vacation. Heck - time to get a haircut! We know how to do this. We understand enough about this virus, to stay as safe as possible while living our lives. Time to get going.