Don's Tuesday Column

            THE WAY I SEE IT   by Don Polson   Red Bluff Daily News   10/13/2020

  Despotic Authoritarians Rule by Fiat

Stop by the Republican headquarters, Main St, where old Snack Box stood.

“Despotic Authoritarians Gotta Be Authoritarian Despots,” or DAGBAD, pretty much sums up our predicament, here in River City. What legislation has placed sole ruling authority in Governor Gavin Newsom, and state and local health authorities? What city, county or state laws were introduced, debated, voted on and signed into law, with public comment?

Please cite those laws—we don’t live in distress or emergency. Just DAGBAD. It’s bad. There is no constitutional support for current DAGBAD restrictions on our personal, economic, social, religious or business life in a free nation, state or county. There’s no health crisis, period.

And yet, in spite of the editor’s rather hectoring, chiding, even lecturing admonishments to readers to recommit to masks (I approve, for the most part) and social distancing (likewise), it remains a fact of our rural, small town county life that our unfortunate fate is thrust upon us by, well, DAGBAD. The Wu-flu is not a crisis in hospitalizations or deaths. Not here; hardly anywhere.

More below. First this: President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will be reelected by a wide margin, possibly decided on election night. You think I’m mad with reverse Trump Derangement Syndrome—Trump Pollyanna Syndrome? Can anyone not brainwashed by Progressive cultish ideology deny that, in January, the economy was as strong as anyone can recall, with record low unemployment among even minorities? Growth and markets exceeded the tepid Obama-Biden recovery.

Only TDS-glasses showed Trump losing. Then the China coronavirus hit, economies from coast to coast shut down, deaths worldwide rose to 7,000 per day (USA, 2,200+, now 700+). The hysterical hoax of impeachment simply found a new banner: “Trump lied, (fill-in) thousands died.” Honest memories know that “experts,” citing “science” and “data” told us that closing boarders wouldn’t work, that it didn’t spread through the air from human-to-human (WHO), that masks were not effective (Fauci), and that it didn’t pose a serious health threat to Americans (also Fauci).

Trump’s NSA Robert O’Brien, radio and TV conservatives Hugh Hewitt and Sean Hannity repeatedly highlighted the serious threat; Trump, Fauci, Biden (later) and others rightly told us to avoid panic (imagine toilet paper shortages for all consumer goods). DeBlasio: “come to New York”; and Pelosi: “come to Chinatown” as late as March. Trump replenished Obama’s depleted masks and ventilators; a vaccine is developing with “Warp Speed,” per Trump. Trump saved perhaps millions.

Relative to the election: 56 percent of the electorate believes 1) that Trump will win; and 2) that they are economically better off than 4 years ago. The “enthusiasm gap” which favored Trump over Hillary Clinton by 13 percent, now favors Trump over Joe Biden by 16 to 20 percent.

For polls to find big Biden/Harris leads, they include around 30+ percent more Democrats (40%D to 30%R, apply math), and they have figured out how to find the least supportive Republicans—in the suburbs—and the least conservative Democrats, to poll. Rallies, car parades and massive boat flotillas don’t equal 65 million voters. Compared to the Biden/Harris base of antifa-blm-ers wreaking havoc, legacy mind-numbed Democrat party-line voters, and the roughly 7 or 8 percent of workers unionized—I like Trump’s chances.

The Pence/Harris debate: Adjusting for the “lay of the green” from this writer, Pence showed maturity, command of relevant facts, and the assertiveness to take on a moderator, Susan Page—whose 21 questions were (all but 2) slanted with Democrat/Progressive premises and assumptions. Complaints about interruptions aside, Pence got 3 ½ -minutes less time and far more interjections from Page than Harris.

Silly dismissals of Pence’s “mansplaining” to Harris translate to “the woman is too fragile to get roughed up and should not be argued with.” It’s a debate, get over it. Seriously, did your spouses find Kamala Harris’ nasally voice, smirking, pursed lips, inappropriate toothy smiles (like Biden’s “Cheshire cat” grins) and incessant staring at Pence—performances you want to see in a president?

In-the-eye-of-the-beholder adages aside, bald-faced lies that Trump called: 1) white supremacists “fine people,” 2) our deceased soldiers “losers” and 3) COVID-19 a “hoax”—are exposed. If you tire of such “gaslighting” by Democrat fabulists, join the #Walkaway Campaign (walkawaycampaign.com) of fellow liberals saying “so long” to the malignant, progressive left.

Harris’ made-up Abraham Lincoln story condemns her veracity: “Honest Abe” didn’t withhold the nomination of Salmon P. Chase to Chief Justice (the Senate was out of session); never said “it’s not the right thing to do”; and actually “wanted to dangle the nomination before Chase and several other potential candidates because he wanted them to campaign for him” (D. McLaughlin). The election—and his Civil War leadership—won, Lincoln nominated Chase upon the Senate’s return.

Back to the Wu-flu, of the 8.3 million “currently infected patients” (worldometers.info/coronavirus/), 68,749 are “serious or critical,” less than 1%. So, 99.2 % are “in mild condition.” A WHO official believes around 750 million, not the stated 37.4 million, have been infected; that means the fatality rate for 1.1 million Coronavirus deaths is about 0.14 percent, like normal flu (as Trump said).

Of America’s current 2.6 million “Active Cases,” 14,720 are “Serious, Critical,” or 0.5 percent. That means that, of California’s 400,000 “Active Cases,” about 2,000 are “Serious, Critical.” CA has fewer “Total Cases per million” than 28 states, and 10 percent fewer than the nation.

Tehama County’s death rate, at 133/million (8 deaths x16.6) is one-third the state’s 419/million. 3-5 out of 10,000 infected under 50-year-olds die. No disrespect to health officials or the editor, we’re being suffocated with subjective numbers pulled out of hats—pray for healing and freedom. See: “Over 14,000 Health Experts Sign Petition Against COVID-19 Lockdowns” (10/8).