Screw the pooch:

To make a very serious, grievous, or irreversible mistake; to ruin something or cause something to fail due to such an error.

During the Mercury Space Program in 1962, this term came into being.   When the  capsule of “Liberty Bell 7”, the second orbital flight of the Mercury Program, landed in the Atlantic ocean the hatch prematurely blew.  The astronaut aboard was Virgil “Gus” Grissom.  It was suspected that in removing his helmet after the landing he had accidentally activated the hatch.  Grissom was rescued, but the capsule filled with water and sank.

Whether this was true or not is debated to this day.  Grissom vehemently denied doing so, but the stigma remained, and many believed that he had indeed “Screwed the Pooch”.  We are about to do the same thing in our dealing with the Covid-19 virus.

Allowing the extremely cautious approach advocated by Dr. Anthony Fauci and others to be implemented we are in grave danger of losing the future to save the past.  Using the admittedly false premise about mortality rate developed by a British university, we have embarked on a program of isolation which if followed will destroy the economy of our nation to the point where it will take years, possibly decades to recover.

There is no doubt that the mortality rate among certain groups, specifically the elderly (especially those over age 80) and those with preexisting medical conditions is high.  My wife and I are in that group.  There is no data that indicates it is higher than that of the seasonal flu we deal with every year.  However, because the national media has chosen to emphasize the number of deaths rather than the number of recoveries, that simple fact has been lost in the shuffle.

So what is reasonable?  Suggest (not mandate, that should be the option for people in the at risk groups) that those over 65 and all people with preexisting health issues self quarantine or at least limit their outside activities and wear masks and gloves at all times when they are away from home.  Continue use of hand sanitizers and frequent hand washing.  Stop all travel to and from “Hot Spots” that currently exist or may develop. 

For everyone else, recommend the use of masks and the wearing of gloves, and of course stay home if you are ill, but Let Everyone Return To Work!  Some younger people undoubtably will contract the virus, be sick and suffer the symptoms for a few days.  They will recover, and develop the so-called “Herd Immunity” that will prevent this Pandemic from being a recurring phenomena for years to come.  Allow doctors to prescribe anti-viral drugs like Hydroxychloroquine and others to lessen the severity of the illness. 

Finally, let the scientists do their blind studies and develop a safe and effective vaccine.  But don’t let their excessive caution destroy our nation in a foolish attempt to save everyone.  The ship of state is sinking. There just aren’t enough lifeboats for everyone.  If we let every single person in, they all will sink, and symbolically, everybody dies.  Use some common sense and we’ll get through this.  Don’t, and we’ll regret it forever.

To my subscribers and others: If you agree, please pass this on to as many people as possible.