WHY CAN’T WE TRUST THE CHINESE ON CORONAVIRUS? NO FREE SPEECH. No doubt many of the same people who would agree that we can’t trust what the Chinese Communist Party has to say on COVID-19 would also be happy to see speech here in America silenced, though maybe on other topics. In this preview entry for his upcoming blog, FIRE president Greg Lukianoff offers a longish read on why “the marketplace of ideas” isn’t the whole show when it comes to freedom of speech — it’s also about knowing the way the world actually is.
Archive for 2020
March 17, 2020
THIS IS THE PROBLEM: 80% of COVID-19 spreads from people who don’t know they are sick.
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Constitutional powers and issues during a quarantine situation.
Here’s a much longer report from the Congressional Research Service.
THE HEADLINE FOOLED ME FOR A SECOND, BUT WHAT AMAZON IS DOING IS STOPPING DELIVERIES FROM 3D PARTY SELLERS SO IT CAN FOCUS ON EMERGENCY GOODS: Amazon suspends all warehouse shipments except medical supplies and ‘high-demand’ products.
Amazon has temporarily suspended the shipment of all items from independent merchants to its warehouses that are not medical supplies or “high-demand” products.
This temporary suspension will go through 5 April as the e-commerce giant prioritises products relating to combating the growing coronavirus pandemic.
“We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies and other high-demand products coming into our fulfilment centres so we can more quickly receive, restock, and ship these products to customers,” an Amazon spokesperson told the Independent.
“We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding as we temporarily prioritise these products for customers,” the spokesperson added.
This decision from Amazon comes after the online site saw an increase in shopping from people around the world. Items prioritised by shoppers and subsequently going out of stock related to cleaning supplies and other necessary items for Covid-19.
Amazon is part of the emergency supply chain, and they’re acting like it.
UPDATE: So I found the actual Amazon announcement and there’s more to it than third-party sellers:
We are seeing increased online shopping and as a result some products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock. With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and ship these products to customers.
For products other than these, we have temporarily disabled shipment creation. We are taking a similar approach with retail vendors.
This will be in effect today through April 5, 2020, and we will let you know once we resume regular operations. Shipments created before today will be received at fulfillment centers.
Here’s the list of prioritized products:
Baby Products
Health & Household
Beauty & Personal Care (including personal care appliances)
Grocery
Industrial & Scientific
Pet Supplies
Plus, the announcement that Amazon is prioritizing its own retail products — not just those from third party sellers — the same way. Like I said, they’re part of the emergency supply chain, and they’re acting like it.
Related: Amazon Deprioritizes Book Sales Amid Coronavirus Crisis. Another advantage for Kindle books.
WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Los Angeles releasing inmates, urging fewer arrests in coronavirus fight.
SMART: Supreme Court Suspends Arguments Amid Coronavirus Fears. “Six justices considered ‘at risk’ given age.”
Although I suspect RoboGinsburg isn’t at risk for anything.
NEWS YOU CAN USE? Stop hoarding toilet paper and make your own bidet starting at $20.
VIA EMAIL, I see that the University of Tampa, having gone online, will be issuing partial refunds to students for room and meal plans. I imagine most schools will wind up doing this eventually, some with better grace than others. My advice to administrators: Like Tampa be one of the first, not one of the last. You might as well look good.
THOUGHTS ON SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS, from Stacy Tabb’s Boondock Studios.
JOE BIDEN PROMISES TO PUT A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT OF WORK:
● Joe Biden’s Plan to Shut Down the Firearms Industry.
● Biden says ‘no new fracking’ for oil and gas.
● Biden: ‘We Can Take Millions of Vehicles Off the Road if…’
After the Democratic presidential candidates’ apocalyptic-themed “climate change” town hall on CNN this past September, Bryan Preston wrote, “If you like Venezuela, voting for any of them will bring you a whole lot of Venezuela. Thank you, CNN, just for letting these people talk. Do it again next week? Please?”
AT AMAZON, AA Batteries from Duracell. Also, Coppertop D Alkaline Batteries. Plus, Coppertop Alkaline 9V Batteries.
YOU COULD PUT THE PERIOD AFTER “PARTY”: Leftists Echo Chinese Communist Party in Slamming Trump Coronavirus Tweet as Racist.
I’VE OBSERVED THIS FOR YEARS: ‘Disengagement’ after retirement increases cognitive decline risk.
TOM BRADY ANNOUNCES HE IS LEAVING THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS. It’s unclear where Brady will go. “I don’t know what my football future holds,” he said.
EMPLOYMENT: Food delivery gigs abound in COVID-era Denver.
SALENA ZITO: Coronavirus has this small Ohio city longing for a return to normal.
There are now 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in the state, so far there are none reported yet here in East Liverpool or anywhere in Columbiana County. But in a city where nearly 15% of the population is over age 65, Bricker is being cautious. He points to the city hospital in the distance, a highly acclaimed but small local facility that is limited to 152 beds for a city of 11,000. Those numbers and odds are weighing on the accountant turned mayor’s mind.
“First, we needed to do a series of precautionary measures to prevent the spreading of this, so we closed the city offices to keep this from spreading to our workers but also to our citizens, because if we don’t take preventative measures, we’ll just really overwhelm our hospital and our healthcare system,” he said.
This is life in America, interrupted. Aside from the older gentleman who groused about having to pay his water bill in a slot and not in person, people were doing what they had to keep themselves and their community safe.
“The healthcare workers are really our first line of defense right now,” Bricker explains. “Anyone who has exhibited symptoms is being asked to quarantine. They have also set up drive-through testing. We’ve had a couple of people tested. And all the results have come back negative.”
Good.
We’re a much better people than our chattering class is, or gives us credit for being.
VDH ON CHINA’S BOOMERANG: Its bad behavior in the wake of COVID-19 will leave it in its weakest global position in memory. And the U.S. will emerge stronger.
Curiously, no thanks to the DNC-MSM.
JOHN NOLTE: Left’s Pet Issues Like Mass Transit, Reusable Bags Prove Deadly During Coronavirus Crisis.
What do these environmental loons think? That the whole idea of disposable items was just for laughs? That single-use was developed by some Bond villain desperate to destroy the planet? That going out to the country for “fresh air” was just some quaint concept?
No, the reason disposable items became so popular was sanitation. What could be safer than removing a straw from a sealed paper sleeve? Those straws are now outlawed in California.
What could be safer than single-use grocery bags where you throw away that leaked meat juice instead of carrying it around until you finally throw the bags in the wash? Those single-use bags are now banned in eight states, including New York, whose ban took effect on March 1.
Read the whole thing.