Zack Hill by John Deering and John Newcombe for May 25, 2020

Those who trade their freedom for security deserve neither. -Ben Franklin (paraphrased)

The philosopher’s paradox: the more safe a society is, the less free it is; the more free a society is, the less safe it is.

How about the politicians that refused to take it seriously until it was too late?

How about destroying your life, or your parent’s life, for our economy?

Lawyers are salivating. The lawsuits will be endless when the courts reopen.

Prosperity before self!

It’s not “either or.” With proper testing infected people are quarantined and treated and everyone else keeps the economy going.

As the old expression goes, “The proof is in the pudding!”. Time will tell how this pandemic ends and how many worldwide will die. Until then, all bets are off and I’m not taking any chances I don’t have to….like going to a restaurant, bar, or beach.

Carl said it all.

Had the situation been taken seriously by those in power, the number of those affected could have been significantly less. By one study, it would have resulted in 30,000 less killed by the virus if precautions had been implemented 1 week earlier.

Maybe it’s time to quit voting in anti-science politicians?

In December 2014, then-President Barack Obama warned the United States: “There may and likely will come a time in which we have both an airborne disease that is deadly,” Obama said. “And in order for us to deal with that effectively, we have to put in place an infrastructure—not just here at home, but globally—that allows us to see it quickly, isolate it quickly, respond to it quickly, so that if and when a new strain of flu like the Spanish flu crops up five years from now or a decade from now, we’ve made the investment and we’re further along to be able to catch it.” In March 2009, H1N1, was identified in Mexico before spreading quickly across the rest of the world. . The Obama administration acted early and decisively to prevent the swine flu pandemic from devastating the U.S. instructing every federal agency to play a role in preparing the U.S. for a pandemic. H1N1 was first detected in the U.S. on April 15, 2009 and within a week, the CDC had already begun working to develop a vaccine and activated its Emergency Operations Center to respond. By April 28, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new CDC test to detect H1N1 infections. Obama’s response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak was similarly marked by action. . The U.S. sent thousands of health officials to Africa, where the virus was spreading, to help with response efforts and limit the virus’ spread. The Obama administration helped create 15 treatment centers in the region, provided PPE and medical relief supplies to the countries, and conducted aggressive contact tracing to identify how the virus was spreading to limit its spread beyond Western Africa. There were an estimated 12,469 deaths from H1N1 in the United States. Only one person in the United States died from Ebola after traveling from West Africa to Dallas, Texas.

To help the incoming administration be better prepared to fight future pandemics, officials under President Obama took what they learned from these battles and prepared a 69-page playbook. written by Obama’s National Security Council, which detailed strategies for when and how to obtain personal protective equipment, and included recommendations on how the government should move quickly to detect and contain potential outbreaks, secure additional funding, and possibly even invoke the Defense Production Act to compel private companies to produce needed medical supplies..Outgoing Obama administration officials also prepared a “tabletop exercise” just days before Trump’s inauguration, in which they briefed Trump’s top aides on the potential dangers of a pandemic—such as the one now devastating the United States. As Politico reported in March, the Trump team was told it could face specific challenges, such as shortages of ventilators, antiviral drugs, and other medical essentials. Obama administration officials emphasized that having a coordinated, unified national response was “paramount.” But the Trump administration ignored the playbook Instead, spending weeks downplaying the virus, which they knew about in late December, spouting rampant misinformation and contradicting his own medical and scientific advisors. Even as he began to acknowledge the reality of the pandemic, Trump refused to take responsibility for the shortages of ventilators, PPE, and other medical supplies, stating “no one could have seen this coming.”Instead, as the Associated Press reported, the Trump administration wasted nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed supplies and equipment. Federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators, and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers. By then, it was too late

Do people who object to following Stay Home orders also feel entitled to flout traffic regulations? Do they assert their “right” to run over pedestrians? I don’t understand where they’re coming from, unless it’s an open repudiation of any consideration whatsoever for any individual except oneself.

Wealth vs Safety.. a problem since Adam and Eve got evicted from the garden.

You are, of course, referring to leaders who thrust us into World Wars to save democracy, right? Surely, you’re not thinking of current leaders who consider themselves above the law in order to destroy democracy. Because that would be so ironic. Not to mention unpatriotic. We sacrifice to help each other, that’s what we do. It’s what we’ve always done.

Succinct. And truthy.

50 years ago he likely would be cheering on the cops/construction workers attacking anti-war protester and supporting “law and order” and waning to impeach Earl Warren for establishing people arrested do have “rights”.

Throughout our history, millions of Americans willingly reduced their freedoms for the common good. Many gave the ultimate sacrifice, which we honor today. And yet there are those today who can’t even wear a mask in a store for the protection of others.

I am very disappointed in this comic.

USA Democracy; tyranny of the apathetic and uninformed.

Those who put money above health, shall have neither.

I don’t know which is more disturbing, people who actually believe that safety guidelines only exist to increase the power of politicians, or people who believe that being asked to behave responsibly during a pandemic is an infringement on civil liberties.

It all breaks down to “How many people need to die for each job saved?” By the way it can be reversed. No, I don’t have the answer, do you?

I don’t object to people giving their lives for the economy, but I DO object to people giving other people’s lives for the economy.