Happily, I’m on the mailing list of Frank Splitt, who sent me this Wall Street Journal article by George Gilder and his response to it. Gilder thinks that the nation should be grateful that we have a wise president like Trump to make decisions, and we should listen to Trump, not the scientists or medical professionals. Trump has said many times that he listens to his gut and that he knows more than the experts in every field. Gilder never explains why Trump spent more than two months denying that the coronavirus was dangerous.
Dear Friends and Family,
The forwarded message is my response to the appended opinion piece by George Gilder, author of “Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy. .
Apparently, Mr. Gilder has not paid careful attention to President Trump’s decision making while in office prior to and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president’s decisions precipitated the loss of competent members of his cabinet, White House staffers, and a bevy of inspector generals. Consider Generals H.R. McMaster, John Kelly and James Mattis who are long gone when we need them most, replaced by sycophantic yes men.
Close observation of the president’s self-serving performance at the Task Force daily briefings should have supplied Mr. Gilder with ample evidence that his decision making is all about him and enhancing his re-election prospects.
Frank
——————–
We Need Politicians in a Pandemic
The conceit that everyone must bow to ‘science’ is not only undemocratic but dangerous in its own right.
By George Gilder
April 13, 2020, Print page 17
Online at https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-need-politicians-in-a-pandemic-11586710824
The U.S. economy has been cratered less by the coronavirus than by the response to it—driven by the undemocratic idea that “science” should rule, even when much of the science and the data behind it remain in dispute.
We’re told in this plague year that politicians have no role—in essence, that the people have no real rights against consensus science, which can demand that we forfeit our liberties and suspend the Constitution. Political leaders, elected to exercise judgment on our behalf, must defer to doctors, because the viral threat is addressable only through medical expertise.
Yet since many liken fighting the coronavirus to war, we should remember that in war admirals and generals defer to civilian authority—to the president, as commander in chief, on matters of strategy and to Congress on matters of budget. This is not a design flaw but how a free people governs itself, even in a perilous crisis. It is how we bring the largest possible perspective to decision-making.
The demands of health-care experts are not greater than the demands of the economy, for a very simple reason: The health-care system is not separate from the economy but a crucial part of it. The health-care system saves lives; the economy provides everything we need to live. The damage being done to the economy—if sustained—could easily cost more lives world-wide than the coronavirus.
There are not, and never will be, scientific answers to all public problems. Scientific expertise and specialization inform good policy, but they should never be the final word. To navigate successfully between competing interests or competing calamities, between war and peace, and even between deadly pandemics and deadly economic depressions, we need politics—and politicians.
The American system of government asserts these truths: that the people have an ineradicable right to govern themselves, that politics is how we exercise our free will, and that rather than reflexively deferring to experts, we should defer as much as possible to the principles of freedom and common sense.
Common sense says that if a disease threatens to kill millions of elderly people already afflicted by disease, those people should be sequestered and protected. But the rest of us should proceed with our work, taking prudent precautions, even if some of us die anyway.
Anthony Fauci is undoubtedly a fine physician, but he is not in a position to cure what ails us. We are beset by more than a virus; we are beset by bad ideas about what government can and should do, and about who should be making crucial decisions.
It may be a hard truth for many to grant, especially because so many in the media hate the president with a fever that itself seems a contagion, but an optimistic, patriotic, practical-minded politician like Donald Trump, who over the past few years presided over a period of singular economic success, is exactly the man to provide the correct, if undoubtedly painful, cure for the current crisis. We may not envy him his decisions, but he is in the best position to make them.
###
—–Original Message—–
From: fnjsmp
To: wsj.ltrs
Sent: Mon, Apr 13, 2020 3:49 pm
Pandering for the president
George Gilder opines: “an optimistic, patriotic, practical-minded politician like Donald Trump, who over the past few years presided over a period of singular economic success, is exactly the man to provide the correct, if undoubtedly painful, cure for the current crisis. We may not envy him his decisions, but he is in the best position to make them,” (“We Need Politicians in a Pandemic,” Opinion, April 13).
Mr. Gilder is blatantly pandering for the president. That’s precisely what many, if not most, intelligent Germans thought about Adolf Hitler, their pathologically narcissistic leader in the 1930s.
Frank G. Splitt
Mount Prospect, Ill
One has to wonder what planet Gilder inhabits.
Planet Sycophant
LOL.
Planet intelligent design (check Wikipedia).
No doubt, just like his gut-driven leader, this sycophant who thinks the economy should always be Priority 1 and seniors should be sacrificed for it (despite the fact that people of all ages have been dying), probably supports the appointment of Ivanka and Jared today to the “Council to Re-Open America.” Of course, that means they think all people who aren’t sick should go back to work now, during the pandemic, even though that is very risky & likely to include carriers who don’t know they have COVID-19 and can spread it further…
Some minds will be forever closed & may never value the sanctity of human lives over the almighty dollar, but others may open when they are personally touched by this horrible virus, including the deaths of friends and family, but It should not have to take such draconian circumstances to wake them up
My candidate for the most astonishing and frightening thing ever said by a U.S. president:
“When somebody is president of the United States, your authority is total.”
And, ofc, IQ45 makes this breathtaking claim of absolute, fascist, dictatorial authority with his usual remedial third-grade grammar, using a second person pronoun (“your”) to reference a third-person antecedent (“somebody”).
The comment is from today’s Coronavirus Briefing and Trump Pep Rally (4/13/2020)
Here’s another frightening thing: Bill Barr seems to agree with Führer Trump about this.
cx: Here’s another frightening thing: Bill Barr seems to agree with our new self-appointed Führer, Trump, about this.
A theocrat’s support for Trump is expected.
Trump spent time in our press room, not his private platform, with the press not fully prepared for his blatant political campaigning or event his inevitable attacks on the press. Today he had an animated and annotated graphic timeline of his response to the virus with video clips of statements from the press and from governors that made Trump look like a perfect leader.
He has announced again that he has full authority, as President with war powers, to tell states what they must do and when. The press is in a catch 22 environment. CNN ran a bar under his rants “Trump turns briefing on the virus into a propaganda campaign.” MSNBC simply cut away from the blatant propaganda, returning when there was something approximating information about the pandemic.
Yeah, nothing new in my part of the world right outside of DC with a large sector of Fed workers and Gov’t contractors. The cries in my neighborhood about getting the economy rolling again are just…..the worst I’ve heard/seen in mankind. I just shake my head and keep raking and weeding my lawn while they ignore social distancing and have small gatherings with “family”. There are a lot more people in the world like this than I ever imagined.
Good lord. Seeing nothing like that in my NJ nbhd (40min train ride from NYC). Lots of singles or couples out walking, running, biking, but they keep their distance from each other. County parks were closed because paths are too narrow to do that. I think people here have been spooked since 3/10 when NJ’s 11th confirmed case showed up just 8mis away, & w/n 4 days we had a man in 40’s confirmed in town, and a 62-yo woman in the town whose border is just 3 blocks from ours. Plus constant talk of NYC at epicenter.
Maybe things will change by you soon; I read that DC suburbs curve is behind ours & on the rise. Stay safe!
If that’s all the confirmed cases you’ve got, then count your blessings, because you are very lucky!
We have nearly 10,000 confirmed cases in my city and in my Ward alone, we’ve got almost 700 confirmed cases –which is nearly 4 times higher than the average number of cases per Ward here!
I don’t go out much but my roommate goes shopping for essentials and has repeatedly reported to me seeing folks outside and congregating with no masks or gloves. The Alderman wants people to call 911 if we see that now. And, yes, a lot of the people in my neighborhood did drink the Trump Kool-Aid…
And let me make it worse for you….these people are still working high paid jobs from home OR they are home but still getting paid (in full). We are a small but wealthy county with only 1 hospital and our numbers are on the lower end with few deaths (although our hospital is today asking for donated PPE). The mantra from my neighbors is that the flu kills more people than this…..they won’t realize that it’s because our Gov shut down the state last month that we have fewer cases. It makes me sick to think that I have to “get along ” and socialize with these people after this all over.
Reteach, things have changed a lot here since 3/10 when NJ’s 11th case was confirmed; NJ had 65,000 as of 4/13; my county 6,700. Putting it in perspective, confirmed cases as a % of population: NJ’s is .7% (2-1/2x higher rate than US as a whole); my county is at 1.3% (double the state rate)… but my town & the one next door are running at about .5% or less than half that county rate (& a bit less than the state rate), no doubt because we are privileged– spread out suburban towns in a highly-populated county [15th most densely populated county in US].
LisaM, tell your neighbors covid19 has already reached the low end of the fatality rate of flu [add that to the usual # of flu deaths], & it’s 10x more infectious.
Kung Flu Pander
Pandering to guts
Is absolutely nuts
Cuz once you go to Jack
You never will come back
https://images.app.goo.gl/xkztDgrtmJ4L8Xad9
Trump Flu Pander
Have you ever heard the term “mutiny”? That’s what happens when there is pushback against leadership who have policies which are counterintuitive to the lives of those they serve.
When our President spouts nonsense the rank and file is obligated to pushback in the interests of the public. If our “elected” leader is off course, then those who are able need to change that course to a new direction. Thank God for our Governors who walk the narrow path of trying to appease while doing the right thing. If Trump continues down the path of chaos, expect to see a massive mutiny.
No mutiny in the evangelical and Catholic Churches. It appears the political arm of the Catholic bishops, which is the state Catholic Conferences, aren’t even aware of any dissension among the faithful. The religious vote elects Trump. Good luck, America.
I have a friend who is a one issue voter and that issue is abortion,
In order to justify her support if Trump, she watches FOX and feels the democrats (plus MSNBC) are lying. In her mind she is able to justifies his actions. She is not a bad person, she just has been blinded by her conservative views (pro gun, anti immigration, etc).
She is a Christian (bornCatholic, now Methodist). I try to think of her when I consider other “Christians” who follow the leader.
Unfortunately, the majority of Trump’s actions go against everything Jesus stood for, so I don’t understand how they can keep supporting the root of the problem without compromising their own purported values.
When those we believe have hearts, vote for the heartless, we should reassess our evaluation.
It’s tough when you hear your friends repeat the garbage/untruths which abound. Some are born to drink the Kool Aid. Myself, I never liked the stuff and refused to give it to my children. It’s toxic.
Is this the same George Gilder that wikipedia identifies as Time’s, “Male Chauvinist Pig of the Year-1986”?
Is this the same George Gilder that gets a laudatory page at the Catholic University of America site?
Is this the same George Gilder who hawks intelligent design to replace the science of evolution?
Is this the same white, male privilege, George Gilder, of Exeter and Harvard?
Is this the same George Gilder, who has written about the Christian basis for capitalism, who said “the poor are ruined by moral decay and in need of Christian teaching from churches”?
Watch out Pope Francis!
This one is true:
“There are not, and never will be, scientific answers to all public problems. Scientific expertise and specialization inform good policy, but they should never be the final word. ”
But this one
To navigate successfully between competing interests or competing calamities, between war and peace, and even between deadly pandemics and deadly economic depressions, we need politics—and politicians.”
is a strange conclusion. I don’t think,we need politicians at all—I don’t know what a politician is. Maybe this is a definition “a person who thinks, he can make decisions for more people than she/he should”.
THIS president is telling the public the Truth, he is opposing evil to bring about good, so YES, we can believe he has our best interest in mind as he wants to open up our economy again. I had covid19– similar to the flu, no biggie for most
Wait until you discover what the current POTUS has been battling for all of us. We couldn’t do what he’s doing. He is in a unique position of being “one of them” but he is against them, and has inside access and connections that most people don;t have. The world is literally being saved right now.
This president doesn’t care about you. He only cares about the rich and powerful. Do you belong to Mar-a-Lago? If not, you are simply a pawn in his game.
“I had covid19– similar to the flu, no biggie for most”
Yeah, whatever applies to you applies to the whole population, personal experience replaces statistics. personal belief replaces science. And you are right, that’s how POTUS operates, working tirelessly to take the World down to Hell.
Surely all of the negative comments are Democrat’s and Liberals. If you all sit and think about it , and really go through everything that President Donald Trump has accomplished you would all be congratulating him. He has done more than any American president ever. We literally can not all lock ourselves inside and let the economy die from a virus. That is pure stupidity. We have to keep going, and if you don’t like it, lock yourself inside and let your life go down the tubes and cry about it. Or , put your grown up pants on, take care of yourself, eat right, exercise and wash your hands, and be smart about things and go to work, and keep the economy alive!! I understand people that are elderly with conditions staying in. We then step up and help them. Many many many elderly people have survived this. We all need to stop hating on our own President , and unite together and stop being little babies. No other President has ever had so much disrespect, while working to still Make America Great!
Mel,
Do you wear a mask? Or do you follow Trump’s example and go into crowds without one?
Mel, for normal people it’s not an honor to die for Trump’s economy or any economy.