Other stuff

We can now see an extensive effort to re-write the story of the shutdown of the economy. Before that is accomplished it is necessary to put a number of factors on the table so they don’t disappear down George Orwell’s 1984 memory hole.

4/13/20 – American Institute for Economic Research – Liberation From Lockdown Now – Article discusses recent explanations and how we got to this point.

We need to remember this uncomfortable information before it is removed from the discussion.

I shall quote one paragraph from the article to keep the information alive before it is erased from the record. The early advice from the experts was:

“For a family sitting around the dinner table tonight,” said Dr. Nancy Messionnier, a spokesperson for the CDC on January 17; “this is not something that they generally need to worry about.”

Let’s not forget the next sentence:

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A reminder of previous government pronouncements before they are pushed down the memory hole.Read More »

Some states are already loosening some of the shutdown restrictions.

The ‘indicators’ announced by California, Oregon, and Washington indicate it may be months before any parts of the economy are allowed to revive.

Washington state and Texas show the stark contrast in approached.

(This discussion will be posted at several of my blogs.)

4/19/20 – USA Today – US reopening: What states are relaxing social distancing restrictions and moving away from lockdowns? – Several states have already dialed back parts of the lockdown. Others have announced dates to do so. A summary of the small steps:

• Now – Florida, Minnesota, Vermont
• April 24 – Texas Montana
• May 1 – Ohio, Idaho, North Dakota

Californians will stay in lockdown for a very long time

4/14/20 – Office of the governor – Governor Newsom Outlines Six Critical Indicators the State will Consider Before Modifying the Stay-at-Home Order and Other COVID-19 Interventions

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Some states start to open up at the same time California may be locked up for months.Read More »

Here are a few articles in the last few days describing the economic catastrophe that is expanding daily as we watch. Estimate is out that one out of four employees in Los Angeles are out of work. Higher education as an industry is in danger.

4/14/20 – American Enterprise Institute – The International Monetary Fund’s coronavirus reality check – The IMF expects a worse downturn than the ‘08/’09 Great Recession.  Global output is expected to have a US$9 trillion loss in output from what would have been expected.

For the US and Europe the loss will be equal to two years worth of economic growth.

4/17/20 – LAist – LA’s Latest Unemployment Numbers Are Staggering. An Estimated 1.3M Jobs Have Already Been Lost – Percent of LA county residents who are employed is estimated at 45%. That is down from 61% in March. The difference is 16%. Divide that by the 61% employed prior month indicates 26% of the people working a month ago are now unemployed. Data is from researchers at USC.

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Additional indications of economic destruction from the shutdown.Read More »

Another round of horrible news on the jobs front today. Again a big rise in the ranks of the unemployed.

4/16/20 – Wall Street Journal – U.S. Jobless Claims Top 20 Million Since Start of Shutdowns – initial claims for unemployment benefits tallied 5.2 million last week. Here is the grim recap of the last four weeks:

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Another drastic rise in new unemployment claims.Read More »

(Cross-posted from my other blog, Freedom is Moral. Originally posted on 3/3/13. Will repost and slightly update today.)

Yesterday one-third of the people on the planet celebrated the most holy day of their faith – Easter.

Yesterday was just another Sunday for two-thirds of the people on the planet.

As I understand it, this upcoming Thursday marks the last day of Passover, a high point of the Jewish faith (Updated for 2020).  Passover celebrates the exodus from slavery as Moses led the people of Israel toward the promised land. For those reading this blog who are Jews, from the bottom of my heart I sincerely hope you have a wonderful and blessed time of celebration.

For everyone else, I sincerely hope you had a relaxing weekend, maybe got to sleep in late. I’m quite serious. I hope you had a nice, fun, refreshing weekend. (Update to 2020: Or, more precisely, I hope you got to do as much relaxing as you could while under stay-at-home orders.)

Here’s what religious freedom looks like:

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This is what religious freedom looks like.Read More »

More songs to enjoy as we continue to celebrate the risen Lord:

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Recorded at Westminster Abbey.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/3kPkjghup8E]

Lyrics: Crown Him with Many Crowns

  I know that My Redeemer Lives

Job 19:25-27 from the New International Version (NIV):

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He is risen! Allelluia!Read More »

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Here’s a selection of videos to help your celebration on this most wonderful day, even though we be worshiping apart due to the coronavirus pandemic, nothing shall ever stop the good news:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dT7dGcsrPkQ]

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Blessed Easter to you! He is risen!Read More »

News flash from 4/5/15: 

Jerry Bowyer has the report from Jerusalem. It is in the very early edition of today’s paper. Apparently that seditious rabble-rouser from Nazareth got his just due Friday past when the Sanhedrin and Roman government both agreed to address treason as treason ought be addressed.

The article’s first paragraph,

Jesus of Nazareth was executed today on the orders of the Roman State. Method of execution: Crucifixion. The charge under Roman law was treason, and under Herodian law blasphemy against the Temple. The evidence against this anarchist was so strong that authorities of both the Roman State and the Kingdom of Herod concurred with the arrest and execution, and he was subjected to trial by both governments. And in a rare uprising of spontaneous collective justice, the mass of people who were gathered for Passover called for his execution as well. The mob affirmed their loyalty to the state, chanting, “We have no king but Caesar.”

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Jerusalem Daily Reporter, Sunday pre-sunrise edition: “Jesus of Nazareth, Enemy Of The State, Executed For Treason”Read More »