This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset." Keep in mind, that's not from QAnon, that is a head of state talking and he's not alone. Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, has written a book called "COVID-19: The Great Reset." The book isn't really about science or medicine. Instead, it describes, "what changes will be needed to create a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable world going forward."
What changes is Schwab talking about? We don't know. What we're certain of is that you're going to pay for them and the people in charge will benefit from them.
What's telling is how different this is from the way our leaders were talking back when the pandemic began. Statewide coronavirus lockdowns in this country started about eight months ago, in mid-March. At the time, California Gov. Gavin Newsom predicted that 56 % of his state's population -- more than 25 million people -- would become infected with the virus within eight weeks. Businesses would need to shut down, Newsom acknowledged. But he also promised he would all be over soon. "This is not a permanent state," Newsom assured us. "It is a moment in time."
That should have made us nervous. Because in the end, that moment continued indefinitely. Pretty soon Gavin Newsom was telling us who we were allowed to be around and who we were allowed to talk to.
What have we learned from the data since then? Well, as of Nov. 15, about 2.6% of the total population of California has been infected. That's roughly 20 million fewer people than Gavin Newsom predicted to be infected by May. So in some ways, that looks like a victory. Can we declare victory? No, just the opposite.
Monday, Newsom announced that more lockdowns are underway. Right now, 41 counties in our biggest state are under the most restrictive form of lockdown. Churches, gyms, and restaurants cannot conduct any kind of indoor operations.
Newsom is implementing these lockdowns on scientifc grounds, of course, but he doesn't believe in it for himself because apparently he is exempt from the laws of epidemiology. We know this because nine days ago, the governor was caught violating his own guidelines by eating at one of the state's most expensive restaurants with a dozen other people. By the way, he's fine. He didn't die from it. When you're God, you don't fear viruses. Lockdowns are for mortals.
You'd think getting caught would hurt Newsom. Getting caught ignoring your own rules used to be a major problem for politicians, but it's not anymore. They are no longer humiliated by their own hypocrisy. The point of the exercise is to humiliate the rest of us by forcing us to obey transparently absurd orders.
"Everyone has to wear a Viking hat with horns every Wednesday. It's the law! Dr. Fauci's orders!"