The University of California at Berkeley, boasts ten current
Nobel Laureates. These folks are no
slouches. They did not get their prizes for Gender Studies or Social Justice.
Graduate programs at UC Berkeley run the gamut of smarty-pants
faculties: Applied Mathematics, Bioengineering,
Biophysics, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Endocrinology, Epidemiology,
Physics, and a host other fields that make the brain cells spin.
Whatever the field, there is no shortage of brain power in
Berkeley.
So I ask myself, why are none of the clever people in town
speaking out against the insanity of lockdowns? Surely, some of them have read
the research if, in fact, not actually written it.
Now to the data that supposedly supports the draconian measures
imposed on the populace.
Berkeley is in Alameda County, which has a population of 1.7
million.
Current statistics for Alameda County, March 1 2020 – Dec 18, 2020: Total COVID
related deaths: 565. (I do not have
access to the number that died with COVID as opposed to from COVID,
which is a whole other discussion.)
Of those 565 deaths, nearly 50% were over the age of 81, and
159 were in Skilled Nursing Facilities.
In the City of Berkeley, since March 1, 2020, there have
been a total of 9 deaths.
I won’t bother with all the statistics about the survival
rate if one should contract the disease. Smart citizens already know the odds
are in their favor.
What we have here is a nine-month effort to scare the bejesus
out of the populace and sadly, in the home of The Nobel Prize Winners, it has
worked like a charm.
At the beginning of March, City Councilmembers began to
send out frantic newsletters warning of the impending doom. Granted, no one
really knew much about the China Virus at the time, so I’ll give them a break.
The March 14 newsletter outlined the beginning of Governor Newsome’s
Reign of Terror. We citizens were now either essential or non-essential. You
know the rest.
A few days after that came Shelter-in-Place orders, as if a
gas field had blown up and toxic fumes filled the air.
The following week schools closed, sports fields closed,
parks closed, pools closed. But don’t worry, residents were still allowed to get
home delivery of marijuana.
The Stay-at-Home orders continued and continued and
continued, with each newsletter implying we would die or kill granny if we went
out or visited anyone.
At the end of April, a few things like construction and real
estate sales became permissible. Since summer was just around the corner, there
was obviously no need to open schools.
July’s newsletter, with a photo of a virtue-signaling councilwoman
in a red bandana, looking to all the world like a train robber, brought great
headlines. Dog parks would re-open, outdoor gym activities allowed, student athletes
could practice sports if socially distanced. And the best news, Newsome announced
a Statewide mask mandate!
Every time I think someone will come to their senses and get
rid of all the ridiculous lockdowns and panic-mongering, it just gets worse.
In fact, as I was writing this my phone began to make a
horrible sound. I thought maybe it was about to blow up. No, it was an Emergency
Alert from the State of California: Stay home except for essential activity.
Who in the heck gave Newsome my
phone number?
We already have a 10pm -5am curfew. When is enough enough?
In Southern California, and areas outside of the Bay, people
are beginning to speak out and in an attempt to save their livelihoods. But not
around here where every other car has a RESIT bumper sticker. They should replace it with a COMPLY sticker, as that is what they
are all doing.
What can I do other than write about the injustices practiced
in my city and State? At times like these I do go back my Berkeley roots and
try sending out possitive psychic vibes and reading tarot cards. I can’t say it has done
much good, but you never know.
