NETWORK

In 1976, there was a movie made in Hollywood called "Network."  It was very successful and gave the world a line that has stood the test of time.  The flick was about a TV network and it's news reporter/anchor (Peter Finch).  At a critical point of near insanity after hearing he was getting fired, he gives a soliloquy over the air that is quite memorable.  He is fed up with what he has had to report and what is going on in the country.  He stands and encourages everyone to go to the window, open it, and scream, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"  You've likely heard this line repeated sometime over the years.

Now, picture me as the reporter.  "This Wuhan, China COVID-19 Corona Virus idiocy is bullshit."  I don't buy it.  It's way too political.  Governors getting enormous face-time. Congress giving away money.  Some businesses open and some closed.  Some businesses get money and some don't.

All of the following is from the U.S. CDC (Center for Disease Control) website.  They list the following pandemics in my lifetime.

• The 1957 (Asian Flu) Pandemic lasted from late Summer 1957 through Spring 1958.  The CDC estimates that some 1.1 million people died of it worldwide and 116,000 in the United States. 
• The 1968 (Hong Kong) Flu Pandemic lasted from Fall 1968 through Summer of 1969.  The CDC estimates that some 1 million people died worldwide and about 100,000 in the United States. 
• The 2009 (Swine Flu) Pandemic lasted from April 10, 2009 to April 10, 2010.  The CDC estimates there were 60.8 million cases, 274,000 hospitalizations and 12,469 deaths in the U.S.

I lived through all of these.  I can't remember anyone referring to any of them as a pandemic.  I can hardly remember hearing of them.  That's about a quarter million people dead and nobody blinked an eyelid.  

Statistics on the current pandemic are sketchy and somewhat unreliable. Its not that easy to get everyone to report properly.  The CDC's current death rates lump together pneumonia, influenza and COVID-19.  It says through April 18,  90.2% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were for people with existing serious medical conditions.  Old people die.  

I assure you that no one died who wasn't going to, eventually.    If you want to stay in - have at it. 

Let me out!  

😱