The Spanish Flu (H1N1) pandemic occurred in 1918, killing an estimated 50 million people. My father was born in 1926, so he didn’t really know much about it.

I was born in 1952 and was 16 years old when the H3N2 pandemic killed 1 million folks worldwide in 1968.

AIDS struck in 1981 and by 2018 had killed 32 million. I was 29 at the time, (her age when she was elected). I didn’t try to meddle and kept my opinions to myself and observed what the experts were doing (that’s how one learns).

The Bird Flu killed a great number of poultry and 6-10 people in 1997. 774 people died of SARS in 2002-2003. 2009 saw 575,400 people die of the return of H1N1. These were lower in scale to the earlier pandemics.

Now we have COVID-19, a pandemic that’s killed 40,000 as of this writing. It’s estimated 200,000 could die in the U.S. alone before this thing has run its course.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born 10/13/1989), in her arrogant, youthful ignorance has a great deal to say about how this pandemic and the economics surrounding it should be handled. Yet she’s never lived through nor witnessed how people with experience work under the pressure of something of this scale. It would do her well to step back, watch and learn how experienced adults deal with this and shut her flapping yap.

As senators and representatives fall ill and self-quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are unable to vote on legislation. I wonder when Congress will address this issue and allow remote voting (perhaps via Skype). Or, will either side of the aisle take unethical advantage of the situation? Shenanigans in Congress? Who’s ever heard off such a thing?

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich) has the answer to how the government can rescue citizens from financial ruin and stimulate the economy. She suggests the Treasury Secretary direct the U.S. Mint to issue two $1 trillion dollar coins to be sold to the Federal Reserve, which, in turn, would credit the U.S. Mint’s account wit $2 trillion in reserves. The Fed would permanently own the two coins to make sure its books balanced with the Treasury. Then the Treasury would move the “newly created” reserve funds from the Mint’s account into the General Treasury account. At that point, the Treasury would make the money available to the Bureau of Fiscal Service which, in turn, would provide citizens with pre-paid U.S. Debit Cards that can be up-funded whenever. BRILLIANT!!!!!

One question. If they can do that, why only two $1 trillion coins? Why not “newly create” a whole lot more money? Why not pay off the federal deficit for years to come, as well? Please read on…

For as ridiculous as this scheme sounds, it can legally be done and has been considered before when the government overspent (more logical heads nixed the idea). Platinum coins of any size or arbitrary denomination can be minted and used. Unlike paper money, there’s no limit….but there is one pesky sticking point. FISCAL REALITY.

It’s a novel, rationalized and ridiculous way to not only address the current situation, but to redistribute wealth. That is Rep. Tlaib’s great desire. Understanding reality isn’t.

I just got a couple of texts from family warning that the nation would be shut down by the military in response to COVID-19. Everyone nationwide would be forced to quarantine themselves in their homes. All businesses nationwide would be forced to close. Trump invoked the Stafford Act to do this and would announce it over the weekend. The problem with this, (aside from it being hilariously impossible), is that the Stafford Act only involves funding for FEMA and the lifting of restrictions on the medical community…not quarantine. Not Martial Law.

I went to a reliable source (REUTERS) to learn that this farce originated from a Facebook post by Jasmine Morgan of Richmond, Virginia at 8:16am on Monday morning. I went to Jasmine’s Facebook page to confirm this and there was the warning, supposedly from a friend in the military and advising everyone to buy and hoard two weeks worth of food and supplies. Just what we needed to hear when shelves are already bare. NOTE: Actually, the language in this particular post displays far better grammar than her other posts, so I wonder if SHE actually wrote it or whether they are someone else’s words posted to her account.

Jasmine (or whomever) has the right to free speech, just like every other citizen, but this post doesn’t fall into that category. It falls into the category of yelling “FIRE” in a crowded theatre. But this is even worse. The supremely stupid behavior can easily be considered treasonous due to the enormous damage and possible loss of life it may cause by those who believe the lies.

Trump also invoked the Defense Production Act ( a wartime tool) to address COVID. After all, we are at war with this virus. Treason during wartime is punishable by…guess what?

Jasmine (or whomever) should certainly be arrested and charged. The person responsible is, of course, entitled to due process. If convicted, I’d have my own opinion as to their punishment and it wouldn’t stop at the loss of a Facebook page.

Trump warned of getting information from reputable sources. He warned about the likelihood of disinformation being spread through social media. He gave good counsel.

Bernie Sanders is a bit confused. He has declared free healthcare, shelter and education are human rights. They are not. They don’t pass the litmus test for human rights. When they are offered , they are social entitlements paid by taxes. Human rights are tax free.

Governments have no decision making powers regarding human rights…except to violate them.

Perhaps Bernie is dealing with the subject on a semantic level, which cannot be logically done. The concepts of human rights vs. entitlements are too different. It would be like comparing an idependent bear in the wild, making a living for itself without kind-hearted intervention to a dependent bear being fed and cared for in a zoo (at no “financial” cost to the bear). Bears don’t have human rights but captive ones are entitled to our care, which is why we buy tickets to pay for their care and are able to see them in zoos.