By KENNETH DEL VECCHIO
The chief law enforcement officer of the country – U.S. Attorney General William Barr – told Laura Ingraham on Fox News Channel last night that pandemic restrictions must be balanced against civil liberties…Some of the profound quotes issued by Barr and Ingraham, in no particular order (as they all are so compelling), during this interview include:
Ingraham: “Right now, we have no freedom of worship…No freedom of assembly…No freedom of movement, given what some of the states are doing.”
Barr: “…Whatever steps you take have to be balanced against the civil liberties of the American people and cannot be used as an excuse for broad deprivations of liberty…The states have very broad police powers, that the federal government doesn’t have, to regulate the lives of their citizens, as long as they don’t violate the Constitution. So we’ll be keeping a careful eye on that.”
Ingraham: “At what point in time do Americans feel that they’ll have that right back and that the federal government will stand up if local officials continue this all-out prohibition going forward?”
Barr: “I think religious liberty is the first liberty. It is the foundation of our republic, and a free society depends upon a vibrant religious life among the people. So anytime that’s encroached upon by the government, I’m very concerned.”
Barr: “When this 30-day period ends, I think we have to consider alternate ways of protecting people.”
Ingraham: “These are inalienable rights…There are a lot of Americans today who are mourning those who have lost their lives in this horrible virus, who also say the government doesn’t have the right to take away our rights, even when the experts are saying this is a horrible time for us health-wise, and they’re very worried, I think as time goes on. But they’ve been very patient as well.”
Barr: “I think they have been patient, and I think we have to be very careful to make sure…that the draconian measures that are being adopted are fully justified and that there are not alternative ways of protecting people. And I think…when this period of time…at the end of April expires, I think we have to allow people to adapt more than we have and not just tell people to go home and hide under the bed.”
Ingraham: “…The rule of law still applies during a pandemic. The rule of law…our inalienable rights…the law of the land…it all still exists and we don’t want to set a precedent where every time experts declare a crisis, and it’s scary and a lot of people are going to die, that we just lose our ability to function as a government.”
Americans should take the coronavirus seriously, just the same as they should take seriously all significant strains of the flu and related diseases, as well as deaths from drug overdoses, suicide, and stress-related deaths (all of which have very similar or higher death rates and occurrences than the coronavirus). Politico fearmongers, with a precise purpose or in reckless disregard of facts, however, have sought to frighten Americans into believing that the coronavirus is more dangerous than is actually the case. Now, the strongest and most thoughtful in the political and media worlds are correcting the errors of the evildoers and the hysterical.
President Trump tweeted this afternoon, “A key coronavirus model is now predicting far fewer deaths than the number shown in earlier models.” The president, who has been a pillar of rationale during this crisis, has examined the evidence presented by a plethora of leading medical doctors and scientists – not just the wild opinions of a few – to reach valid conclusions that can lead the nation out of an unnecessary crazed panic. Thoughtful, sound-minded members of the media, like Ingraham, are reporting information that is elsewhere being hidden or distorted.
Also last night, Tucker Carlson reported on his Fox News Channel show that the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) – a liberal think tank at the University of Washington – now projects that the total number of American deaths from the coronavirus (by the time of its estimated end in August) will be 60,000 people. This is of great significance because this 60,000 figure is the same projected number of American deaths from this season’s flu. Yes, the IHME, who most state governments are relying upon for their crazed society-shutting, draconian orders, has now predicted that the deaths from the coronavirus will be the same number as those from the flu.
Carlson additionally presented statistics showing that the amount of deaths from drug overdoses last year exceeded 60,000. Suicide deaths were near that mark. Several other common reasons for fatalities far exceeded this number.
It is most logical and rational to be gravely troubled by the states’ governments’ desecration of Americans’ civil liberties via unprecedented and unconstitutional drastic government orders in face of the facts that show that the dangers of the coronavirus, albeit serious, are at the same level of those of the flu, drug overdose, and suicide. The states’ actions – in also annihilating the economy, as well as causing a significant number of other deaths from stress, mental health issues, and people refusing to leave their homes to see doctors for other health matters – are inexplicable, as they not only fail scientific scrutiny but they are wholly refuted by math.
MATH cannot be disputed by even the most arrogant and/or fabricating politicos because, well, it’s MATH. The following math further makes the government shutdowns confounding and disturbing:
(1) According to Johns Hopkins University and Worldometers.Info and every other source that can be found, the current number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. is 462,391 with 16,454 people who have sadly died from it. A purported death rate, calculated with those numbers, is approximately 3.5% – pursuant to the mathematical equation of dividing 462,391 by 16,454…Basic math, however, shows that the true death rate is substantially lower.
(2) According to Johns Hopkins University, and every medical doctor and scientist that can be found, 3.5% is, of course, not the actual coronavirus death rate in the United States – and the actual death rate is much lower because of the following basic MATH: (a) in addition to the 462,391 reported cases, there are a lot more people who have had the coronavirus with very minor symptoms (and have not reported it) – so that number of people are added onto the 462,391; and (b) in addition to the 462,391 reported cases, there are a lot more people who have had the coronavirus with no symptoms (and have not reported it) – so that number of people are added onto the 462,391…While Johns Hopkins University, and every medical doctor and scientist that can be found, state that there is a substantial number of people who have had or currently have the coronavirus (with little symptoms or no symptoms) and have not reported it, no one knows exactly how many people there are in those categories. They just know that there are a substantial number of people in those categories which, mathematically, means that the death rate is much lower than 3.5% (how much lower is the question – not whether it is lower). There are numerous possibilities. Examples: (a) if it’s 10,000,000 people who had/have the coronavirus (with little symptoms or no symptoms) and have not reported it, then the actual number of people who have/had the coronavirus in the U.S. is 10,462,391 – and therefore the actual death rate is approximately 0.1% (pursuant to the mathematical equation of dividing 10,462,391 by 16,454); (b) if it’s 5,000,000 people who had/have the coronavirus (with little symptoms or no symptoms) and have not reported it, then the actual number of people who have/had the coronavirus in the U.S. is 5,462,391 – and therefore the actual death rate is approximately 0.3% (pursuant to the mathematical equation of dividing 5,462,391 by 16,454); and (c) if it’s 1,000,000 people who had/have the coronavirus (with little symptoms or no symptoms) and have not reported it, then the actual number of people who have/had the coronavirus in the U.S. is 1,462,391 – and therefore the actual death rate is approximately 1.1% (pursuant to the mathematical equation of dividing 1,462,391 by 16,454)…and on and on…Of course, it is unknown what the actual number is; it is simply known that, via basic math, the actual death rate is obviously a lot less than 3.5%.
It is important to note that, collectively, all medical and scientific professionals who can be found advise that the coronavirus is considerably contagious—although there is a wide dispute over just how infectious the virus may be. A higher estimate of the contagious rate of the coronavirus is a reproductive rate of roughly 3 (according to the Australia Government’s Department of Health). To put that in perspective, the reproductive rate for the mumps is 10 – 12. According to any medical doctor, including Dr. Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, a renowned epidemiologist, the coronavirus is “fortunately, much less infectious than mumps.” However, he concludes that the coronavirus reproductive rate is “still high.” If the contagious rate is indeed this high, then it means that the number of people in the U.S. who have/had the coronavirus (with little symptoms or no symptoms) and have not reported it is at the much higher level (maybe 10 million people or more) – which, in turn, means that the death rate for the coronavirus is at the much lower end of approximately 0.1% or less (which means that the coronavirus death rate is either the same as the flu or less). Again, this is just basic math.
Per Dr. Meyerowitz-Katz, who cites the website for the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University (the “CEBM”), “the best estimates put COVID-19 infection fatality rate at around 0.5 – 1 percent.” The CEBM, which is no conservative outlet in that it hails from one of the world’s most influential universities, lists the same approximate 3.5% current rate of U.S. fatalities (derived from the mathematical equation of dividing the current number of reported cases by the current number of deaths). The CEBM then goes through the math analysis – of course, taking into account the substantial number of people who had/have the coronavirus (with little symptoms or no symptoms) and have not reported it – and ultimately reaches the conclusion that the actual death rate for the coronavirus, worldwide, is somewhere between 0.5% and 1% (with America being on the lower end). It is incredibly interesting to note that the CEBM, in drawing a comparison between the coronavirus and the swine flu (aka H1N1 influenza), reported, “the overall case fatality rate as of 16 July 2009 (10 weeks after the first international alert) with pandemic H1N1 influenza varied from 0.1% to 5.1% depending on the country. The WHO reported that swine flu ended up with a fatality rate of 0.02%.” In other words, the initial death rates estimated for the swine flu (at the same time frame as the U.S. is currently in with the coronavirus) were egregiously higher than what the actual death rate turned out to be.
The reality – via basic math – is simply this: the coronavirus death rate in America is substantially lower than some unscrupulous and/or highly reckless politicos are reporting (in their efforts to cause hysteria, panic, and fear). The actual death rate may be somewhere between 0.1% – 0.5%. It may be less. The truth is that the U.S. coronavirus death rate is commensurate with that of the flu—and the number of deaths that it will sadly cause to Americans will probably be less than the number of Americans who have died from drug overdoses in the same time period.
Although all definitively must abide by the new laws restricting their constitutional rights (just as they must follow any other laws with which they may disagree), they should strongly and loudly voice their opinions in opposition of these civil liberties-destructive/economy-annihilating/communist-style shutdown measures. At the same time, all should take the coronavirus seriously, just the same as they should take seriously the swine flu and all serious strains of the flu. That said, rather than the government forcing Americans into a freedom-less submission, people should be permitted to utilize their own acumen and good sense—and take certain normal precautions. Washing hands, being sanitary, and following the advice of medical experts is clearly the wise path. The very elderly and those with significant pre-existing conditions (and anyone thoughtful) should be wary and judiciously interact with others – through their own choice and judgment. Compelling all of the populous to succumb to dictatorial government strangleholds, however, is not only unwarranted – given the medicine, science and math – but illicit and unconstitutional.
Kenneth Del Vecchio is the author of some of the nation’s best-selling legal books, including a series of criminal codebooks published by Pearson Education/Prentice Hall and ALM/New Jersey & New York Law Journal Books. He is a former judge, a former prosecutor and a practicing criminal/commercial litigation attorney for 25 years, wherein he has tried over 400 cases; he is partner in the prestigious law firm, Stern, Kilcullen & Rufolo. Mr. Del Vecchio is also an acclaimed filmmaker who has written, produced and directed over 30 movies that star several Academy Award and Emmy winners and nominees. His films are distributed through industry leaders such as Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal, Cinedigm, and eOne Entertainment. He has starred in numerous movies, as well. A best-selling political thriller novelist, he penned his first published novel at only 24-years old. Additionally, Mr. Del Vecchio is the founder and chairman of Hoboken International Film Festival, called by FOX, Time Warner, and other major media “One of the 10 Biggest Film Festivals in the World.” A regular legal and political analyst on the major news networks who has appeared on hundreds of shows, Mr. Del Vecchio formerly served as the publisher and editorial page editor for a New Jersey daily newspaper.
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