EXCEPT THAT THERE REALLY DOESN’T SEEM TO BE A VENTILATOR SHORTAGE:  Engineers convert breast pumps into ventilators amid coronavirus-related shortage.

IF I WEREN’T DEATHLY ALLERGIC TO FEATHERS…  Coronavirus concerns: People are panic-buying baby chickens, reports claim.

However, as I’ve said a number of times you don’t have to be a weather man to see which way the wind is blowing.

GEE, THEY SEEMED SUCH A RICH, WELL MANAGED COUNTRY ONLY A FEW DECADES AGO – I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED:  Venezuelan doctors languish in fuel lines amid coronavirus pandemic.

MY OWN MIND HAS BEEN WORKING ON SIMILAR LINES:  After the Hysteria Dies, What Rough Beast Slouches Towards Bethlehem To Be Born? The Answer Might Surprise You.

(BTW I love the way Richard’s paintings capture, in a highly evocative way that can’t be expressed in words “our national moment.  I’ve seen it time and again, and find it fascinating as someone who ALSO gets bossed round by a subconscious that doesn’t always share everything it knows.)

CONNECTING DOTS:  Wuhan Coronavirus – An Origin Hypothesis.

YOU NEED A HEART OF STONE NOT TO LAUGH LIKE AN HYENA. MY HEART IS NOT STONE:  State Department Refuses To Help Hillary Clinton Avoid Deposition.

SOME PEOPLE ENJOY THE LIMELIGHT SO MUCH THEY’D PREFER WE KEPT LOCKED UP FOREVER!  Hydroxychloroquine Sparks WH Task Force Squabble.

BELIEVE ALL LEFTISTS?  #MeToo? Not When the Accused is Joe Biden, According to Actress Alyssa Milano.

IT DOESN’T MAKE HIM WRONG:  Pastor who criticized coronavirus ‘mass hysteria’ dies from illness.

“We just never thought our father would pass away because of this,” Jesse Spradlin told the outlet. “But he wasn’t the type of person to just live in fear and let it rob him of the joy of the life that he had.”

FASTER, PLEASE:  Finland to begin randomized coronavirus antibody testing.

THEY DO HAVE A LOT OF PRACTICE WORKING REMOTELY AND KEEPING SOCIAL ISOLATION:  NASA details plans for putting base on moon.

YEP:   Ventilators Are No Panacea.

NOTHING BIDEN DOES IS HELPFUL. INCLUDING TO HIMSELF:  Biden campaign coronavirus offer making governors’ jobs ‘difficult’.

I’M VERY, VERY TIRED OF THIS:  A Plague of Madness.

NEW FROM KEN LIZZI:  Captain: Falchion’s Company Book Two.

Running a mercenary company may be a bloody business, but it’s still a business. Falchion, now captain of his own outfit, faces not only opposing mercenary companies just as deadly as his own, and the magical threats posed by psychotic wizards, but also stingy, second-guessing employers. When his employers realize their allies in a three-party war are using them as a cat’s-paw and will likely turn on them, Falchion finds himself taking on two opposing armies, twin-sorceresses driven by religious fanaticism, and a mercenary commander holding a personal grudge.

THIS IS HOW THE PEOPLE MAKING THESE DECISIONS VIEW YOU. AND WHAT THEY’RE OVERLOOKING: Assume a Spherical Cow of Uniform Density in a Frictionless Vacuum.

TALES OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE:

NYC real estate broker losing $250,000 because of coronavirus pandemic.

‘I lost not one but three jobs because of the coronavirus’.

Airbnb host went from making $3,800 a month to $0 amid coronavirus.

Staten Island car dealer still has to pay $500K in interest while lot closed.

Caterer spent $20,000 on expanding business — then coronavirus hit.

Dog walker asks clients to pay him half-salary during coronavirus.

Important correction, though: these losses are NOT due to coronavirus. They’re due to the decision to place a country of 320 million under house arrest, instead of merely trying to protect those at highest risk.
Also note these people are in NYC and so, due to population density/way of living at higher risk than people in the rest of the country who don’t ride subways and don’t live in apartment buildings.

And yet, these losses are all over. Why? Because our “betters” think we’re all Manhattan. Or because they just like power. Your choice.

MAKES COMPLETE SENSE:  What Everyone’s Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage.

FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE DEEP THOUGHTS OF WANDA FISH-TANK CLEANER:  Don’t Bogart that chloroquine.

SO, WAIT…. THE BILL OF RIGHTS DOES HAVE A CLAUSE SAYING “INVALID IN CASE OF PANDEMIC?” BECAUSE THAT IS NOT IN MY COPY OF IT. HOWEVER, THE FIRST IS GONE AND NOW THAT UNREASONABLE SEIZURE THING IS OUT THE WINDOW AND…   NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo orders National Guard to seize ventilators from upstate hospitals (#UpstateLivesMatter.)

PUSH BACK. PUSH BACK. PUSH BACK.  NANCY GREY GOOSE PELOSI THINKS THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO INSTITUTIONALIZE VOTE BY FRAUD MAIL. WE’VE SEEN THIS BEFORE. ANY STATE THEY MANAGE TO PULL THIS OFF IN, REPUBLICANS NEVER WIN AGAIN:  Pelosi, Trump Clash Over Democrat Push For Mail-in Voting.

Perhaps someone should whisper in Cheating Nancy’s ear: Remember, if you take away the ballot box, you only leave us one box.

I DON’T KNOW. I’M GETTING READY TO DOWNPLAY CORONAVIRUS. WHEN COMPARED TO THE ECONOMIC BLOOD BATH, IT’S A PAPER WINNNIE THE FLU:  Trump is accused of downplaying the coronavirus risk by the very media who mocked government and ‘right-wing’ concerns.

TRUE, BUT BESIDES THE POINT?  Trump mocks Biden attack tweet: “He didn’t write that …, he doesn’t [even] understand what he’s watching”.

LET MY PEOPLE GO!  President Trump needs to set the country free now.

I’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE. IT DOESN’T END WELL:  In What Sense Do You Think We Are Free?