IF HE WERE A DEMOCRAT HE COULD JUST USE THE FBI: Erik Prince Recruits Ex-Spies to Help Infiltrate Liberal Groups. And the NYT would provide media cover.

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS EPSTEIN ASSASSINATION WAS TO ‘MANAGE ANXIETY.’

From — of course — America’s Newspaper of Record.

BERNIE SANDERS AND NORMALIZING EVIL.

The way we treat Bernie, as a crank or well-meaning left-winger, is itself a way to normalize Marxism—“democratic socialism,” in this iteration. We would never treat any other similarly destructive ideology with the same nonchalance. For me, it’s nearly unfathomable to accept that my parents—and thousands of others who gave up their friends and families to come to this meritocratic nation—would ever have as their president a socialist who praised the Soviet Union.

Happy warriors shouldn’t take politics too personally. When it comes to Marxists, and I have no doubt Bernie is one, I make an exception. I take history too seriously not to.

As I’ve said, Bernie isn’t a cute old man. He’s evil.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. America Has Been Slipping Toward Socialism For 100+ Years.

Flashback: You want a more ‘progressive’ America? Careful what you wish for.

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Are you suffering from Elizabeth Warren Denial Syndrome? Symptoms include seeing sexism everywhere and forgetting Tulsi is still in the race.

HOW BAD IS THE CORONAVIRUS? Let’s Run The Numbers.

WELL, THEIR JOB WAS PROTECTING OBAMA, NOT PROTECTING AMERICANS: Obama’s FBI let terrorists go who then killed Americans.

RESPONDING TO EPIDEMICS REQUIRES FLEXIBILITY. REGULATION TAKES AWAY FLEXIBILITY. A Self-Inflicted Crisis: Overregulation has played a dangerous role in America’s coronavirus outbreak.

It’s troubling that community spread in Washington State and other parts of the U.S.—possibly affecting hundreds to thousands of individuals—wasn’t detected sooner. Overregulation of diagnostic testing has played a major role in this delay. For weeks, the CDC operated the nation’s sole diagnostic laboratory for coronavirus, while testing in the rest of the world proceeded apace. Test protocols using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were publicly available shortly after Chinese researchers published (or described) the sequence of the virus in mid-January. The World Health Organization (WHO) used a freely available German procedure to create a test kit, shipping 250,000 tests to 159 laboratories worldwide. Since early February, the WHO has facilitated specimen transfer to referral laboratories.

In China, labs have tested thousands of patients each day. By February 23, the Chinese government had approved ten test kits, and production capacity reached 1.65 million tests per week. Meantime, South Korea has more than 500 testing sites and has screened over 100,000 people, reportedly testing 10,000 individuals per day and pioneering “drive-through” testing facilities. This enhanced testing capability is a key reason why the country has reported over 5,100 cases—the second-largest, outside China—including larger numbers of patients with mild illness, as reflected in a case fatality rate less than 1 percent. As of March 3, the U.K. had tested nearly 14,000 cases.

By contrast, the U.S. had performed a paltry 472 tests by March 2. Further, CDC testing criteria have precluded recognizing community spread because of requirements stipulating recent travel to China or exposure to an infected person. Adherence to these guidelines delayed testing in the first probable case of community transmission, in Northern California, by four days.

The CDC has not covered itself with glory here.

Related (From Ed): Jim Treacher sees the contradiction inherent in the socialism:

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG: One slide in a leaked presentation for US hospitals reveals that they’re preparing for millions of hospitalizations as the outbreak unfolds.

AT AMAZON, stock up on Pet Food and Supplies.

Plus, deals in Safety and Security.

LEFTISTS SURE SEEM EXCITED ABOUT THE DEATH OF THEIR OPPONENTS: London Times: Coronavirus will Kill All the Old Climate Skeptics.

QUARANTINE: New Japan Coronavirus Travel Restrictions Effective March 9, 2020. “Foreign nationals, including tourists, arriving from China, Hong Kong, Macao, and South Korea are quarantined for 14 days upon arriving at Osaka (KIX) or Narita (NRT) airports (only two entry ports accepting flights from these destinations).”

INFECTION: At least 28 coronavirus cases in New York are linked to one man — a 50-year-old attorney who works near Grand Central Terminal. Here’s what we know.

DO TELL: Travel restrictions may have slowed COVID-19 outbreak.

OUR PUBLIC HEALTH APPARATUS SEEMS UNNECESSARILY RIGID. We saw this with the first case in California, and now this:

I understand that when tests are in limited supply you have to prioritize, but . . .

OPEN THREAD: Spin your usual delightful web of commentary.

SPACE: NASA tests telecommute plan amid coronavirus worries.

SUPER GAFFE-O-MATIC ‘76! Bold strategy: Obidenbama Democrat Joe Biden tells supporters, ‘We cannot win this re-election… We can only re-elect Donald Trump.’