by A. Joseph Lynch
I. POPE FRANCIS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
URBI ET ORBI: Pope Francis led Catholics the world over in prayer, adoration, and a benediction that carried with it a plenary indulgence.
ST. CORONA: Learn more about the patron saint of epidemics and the story of some relics associated with her patronage.
FRONT LINE PRIESTS: In Italy alone, almost 70 priests have died from the coronavirus.
DIVINE PUNISHMENT?: Bishops are divided over how to interpret the coronavirus. Where Pope Francis does not see the coronavirus as a punishment, one Mexican bishop offers many reasons why a punishment is long overdue.
NIENSTEDT FOOT-DRAGGING: The Vatican's Congregation of Bishops appears to be dragging its feet in investigating disgraced former Archbishop of St. Paul, John Nienstedt. Despite the statement of current Archbishop Hebda that the allegations against Nienstedt were not “manifestly unfounded,” Cardinal Ouellet has not begun an investigation mandated by Vos Estis (Pope Francis' 2019 moto proprio on investigating bishops).
II. PRESIDENT TRUMP AND AMERICA
POST-PANDEMIC POLICY: Pat Buchanan wonders if the coronavirus could lead to the fulfillment of President Trump's foreign policy. As the coronavirus appears to be more earth-shattering than 9/11, we suspect it will bring many changes indeed.
ANSWERS WITH JOE: Learn more about the coronavirus with this excellent (and short) video.
NANCY'S WISH LIST: Senate leaders had virtually ended negotiations last weekend when Nancy Pelosi, who had just returned from a week's vacation, proposed her own legislation and halted Senate plans. Her 1,432 page bill was loaded with non-essential demands: diversity boards at companies, same day voter registration, and mandatory carbon offsets for airlines. Pelosi was not ready to let a pandemic go to waste - even if it meant hold Americans hostage while she made demands. The bill was ultimately abandoned, but it held up the GOP-led plan from the Senate until Friday.
BIDEN'S GAFFES: Democratic presidential front-runner, Joe Biden disappeared for nearly a week as the virus threat grew. His return to airwaves has been less than stellar. Now a woman is coming forward with a sexual assault allegation (which the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund bizarrely refused to back). Can he really win? The mainstream media wants us to think so.
BEST PREPARED: A study from Johns Hopkins found that the United States was the nation best prepared to handle a pandemic. Many are sadly dying, but America the sleeping giant is awakening. Soon we'll have more ventilators, masks, and gowns than ever before.
NY EPICENTER: Despite being the best prepared, America has seen a large number of infections with New York being the epicenter. Tucker Carlson reminds us of how the New York government let their citizens down.
TRAVEL BANS AND IMPEACHMENT: As the coronavirus spread globally, President Trump wisely began a series of travel bans to affected areas. The media called Trump racist and Biden said he was guilty of "hysterical xenophobia." The leader of the World Health Organization and the European Union condemned his decision. As the media and liberal politicians attacks Trump for "not acting sooner" we should not forget their attitude and outlook at the time. Perhaps moving forward with a partisan impeachment of the president as coronavius reports were mounting was a bad move for the Democrats and the liberal mainstream media. How many lives could have been saved had the president been able to focus all his attention on the threat rather than on defending himself from Pelosi's bogus impeachment charges?
BOURBON STREET BREAK UP: Although schools had been closed and people told to practice social distancing, it wasn't until March 16 that New Orlean's Bourbon Street was finally cleared of crowds. Louisiana now has nearly 3,000 coronavirus cases and over 100 deaths, making it the third highest in fatalities nationwide. Archbishop Aymond of New Orleans is one of the infected.
WHO DO YOU TRUST? A new gallup poll reveals Americans trust hospitals (88% approval) and President Trump (60% approval) far more than they trust the media (44% approval). The polls offers further evidence that American's are seeing through the media's slanted and partisan coverage of the crisis.
DRINKING CLEANERS: Speaking of slanted media coverage, a man died and his wife was in critical condition after they drank an aquarium cleaner that included chloroquine phosphate. The media was quick to blame Trump despite the fact that the wife said they learned that the aquarium cleaner had chloroquine from media reporting. While the media attacks the president, there no criticism of NY Governor Cuomo as he touts the same medication.
OVER SCHEDULED AT HOME? Americans are at home for work yet working longer hours. One study suggests up to three extra hours a day. The quarantine also brings with it the rise of Zoom - a virtual meeting platform that allows dozens of people to teleconference. One writer muses on how Zoom has led many to be more over-scheduled at home than at work.
III. THE NATIONS
CORONAVIRUS AND THE NATIONS: Peter Zeihan put together a chart of nations by age and adds commentary regarding how the virus will impact the nations, especially nations with older populations more susceptible to the virus. Here's what he thinks will likely happen in Europe. The Euro may have to be abandoned - and perhaps with it an end to the EU.
WHEN POLITICAL CORRECTNESS KILLS: Italians were encouraged to prove they weren't racist by hugging anyone they saw from China, many of whom came from Wuhan. More from Dr. Steve Turley.
INDIAN SUPER SPREADER: A "super spreader" is a highly infectious person who acts as a disease transmitter to many people. One super spreader in India, a now diseased Sikh preacher who attended a large religious festival, may have jeopardized the lives of thousands. India has now locked down 40,000 people as a precaution.
BRAZIL'S REBELS: President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is facing a revolt among many of his governors - and even the courts - over his plans to begin lifting pandemic restrictions. This may be a preview of what is to come in America as President Trump seeks to get Americans back to work as quickly as possible.
IN THE AMAZON: A doctor working with tribes in the Amazon has tested positive for the coronavirus. Take a look at this chart to see an example of how past foreign diseases have impacted native populations.
BY THE NUMBERS: How does the coronavirus compare to other outbreaks? Here are the numbers:
- Spanish Flu of 1918 (20-50 million dead)
- Asian Flu of 1956-58 (2 million dead)
- Hong Kong Flu of 1968 (1 million dead)
- H1N1 (Swine Flu) of 2009 (CDC estimates 284,000 dead, including 12,469 Americans)
- MERS of 2012 (858 dead)
- SARS of 2003 (774 dead)
No comments:
Post a Comment