THE WHO BY NUMBERS. James Lileks: No, you can’t have your old life back.

One little detail about the fellow who wants to reorganize the world:

On 18 October 2017, [Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization] announced that he had chosen President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to serve as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador to help tackle non-communicable diseases for Africa. He said Zimbabwe was “a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide health care to all.”

He was widely criticized, and accused of returning a favor, since Mugabe had backed his WHO appointment. But you have to admit Mugabe did his part for reduced greenhouse gas emissions; starved cows don’t blurt methane, and dead people don’t drive cars.

Read the whole Fisk.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SOCIALISM: In my interviews about The Socialist Temptation I am frequently asked whether Scandinavian countries are socialist. I cover this in the book, but I have added a few points about AOC’s assertions on the subject here at OpenMarket.

“GOING DOWN SWINGING:” Jerry Falwell Jr. Belatedly Resigns From Liberty University After Initially Denying Reports.

IT’S BASICALLY A .45 DERRINGER, SO I EXPECT IT TO KICK: First Look: Bond Arms Backup with Matte Finish.

AT AMAZON, Shop Amazon Warehouse Deals – Deep Discounts on Open-box and Used Products.

Plus, Shop Amazon Outlet – Clearance, Markdowns and Overstock Deals.

MATT MARGOLIS: AOC Tried to Mock the GOP on Twitter… It Did Not Go Well.

JON GABRIEL AT RICOCHET: RNC Night 1 Wrap-up.

As much grief as Trump gets for not being presidential, Monday night’s event was vastly more respectful, patriotic, and … well, classy … than the DNC’s offerings last week. Where the Dems went for snark and mockery, the Republicans spoke to the best of America. They featured celebrities; the GOP featured We the People.

Well done, RNC.

Read the whole thing.

USEFUL IDIOT? FELLOW TRAVELER? ON THE PAYROLL? YOU MAKE THE CALL! Biden quotes Chinese dictator Mao for second time in his campaign.

MAYBE CALL IT SOMETHING MORE FRIENDLY-SOUNDING? Robotic Tank Is Designed to Crawl Through Your Intestine.

DISPATCHES FROM THE SOCIAL MEDIA VIRUS: Kenosha Burns, Shaun King Pushes More Violence, On Twitter. Jack Does Nothing.

AND NOT JUST THE PANDEMIC: Pence Slammed CNN: Your Network Was ‘Wrong About a Lot’ Regarding Pandemic.

FINE WORK, CDC: By March, The US Counted 1,500 COVID-19 Cases. Scientists Say We’d Missed 100,000 More. Basically, it was already too late.

BUSTED: The Lincoln Project fabricates racist Trump supporter.

As Glenn has noted, the left’s demand for hate and racism greatly exceeds the supply.

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Did Democrats Sacrifice Several Goats To Satan At The DNC? Fact Check: FALSE. They Actually Sacrificed Just One Goat.

(Classical allusion in the Bee’s headline.)

VICTORIA TAFT: California’s All-Out War on Church Worship Intensifies With Bans, Fines, and Sending In Spies.

SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Exercise, stretching reduce depression in young adults, study finds.

I’M SO OLD, I CAN REMEMBER “TWO WEEKS TO FLATTEN THE CURVE:” Four Life-Threatening Unintended Consequences of the Lockdowns.

DECOUPLE FASTER: It’s Happened Again – Professor, NASA Researcher Accused Of Collaborating With China.

THINK OF THE NEWS MEDIA WITH THEIR HYSTERICAL COVERAGE AS A TOBACCO INDUSTRY FOR THE MIND: Searches related to panic attacks spike during COVID-19 pandemic.

SEEN ON FACEBOOK: “All the Republicans endorsing Biden are white, and all the Democrats endorsing Trump are black.”

NOW THEY TELL US: New Thinking on Covid Lockdowns: They’re Overly Blunt and Costly: Blanket business shutdowns—which the U.S. never tried before this pandemic—led to a deep recession. Economists and health experts say there may be a better way.

In response to the novel and deadly coronavirus, many governments deployed draconian tactics never used in modern times: severe and broad restrictions on daily activity that helped send the world into its deepest peacetime slump since the Great Depression.

The equivalent of 400 million jobs have been lost world-wide, 13 million in the U.S. alone. Global output is on track to fall 5% this year, far worse than during the financial crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Despite this steep price, few policy makers felt they had a choice, seeing the economic crisis as a side effect of the health crisis. They ordered nonessential businesses closed and told people to stay home, all without the extensive analysis of benefits and risks that usually precedes a new medical treatment.

There wasn’t time to gather that sort of evidence: Faced with a poorly understood and rapidly spreading pathogen, they prioritized saving lives.

Five months later, the evidence suggests lockdowns were an overly blunt and economically costly tool. They are politically difficult to keep in place for long enough to stamp out the virus. The evidence also points to alternative strategies that could slow the spread of the epidemic at much less cost. As cases flare up throughout the U.S., some experts are urging policy makers to pursue these more targeted restrictions and interventions rather than another crippling round of lockdowns.

Two weeks to slow the spread — okay. Six months: No. We understood that in 1918, but I made a grave mistake in thinking that our public health people could be as sensible now as they were then.

FIRST NIGHT OF GOP CONVENTION DELIVERS NEARLY SIX TIMES MORE VIEWS THAN START OF DEMOCRATS’ EVENT ON C-SPAN LIVESTREAM.

Or as Howie Carr writes in the Boston Herald: The DNC stands for ‘Did Not See!’ “Admit it — you didn’t watch any of the just-completed Democrat convention from the basement. Neither did I. All these seventy- and eighty-year-old hacks — if I want reruns from the 60’s and 70’s, I’ll just watch MeTV.”

WELL, THEY PRETTY MUCH HAVE TO SINCE THEY CONTROL THE CITIES AND THE PEOPLE BURNING THEM: Democrats are pretending the cities aren’t burning.

PJ’S ON THE RADIO:

Megan Fox will be on The Mark Griffith Show today at 3pm ET 1pm MT to discuss and contrast the Democrat Convention with the wonderful opening of the Republican Convention. Join us in Denver on 560 KLZ on the AM dial.  Or listen with the “KLZ 560” app on your phone or online at www.klzradio.com.