by IanMSC
Sanity, intellectual honesty, critical thinking and rationality are dead. The COVID response killed those qualities and purposefully discouraged and disparagingly labeled anyone who still engages with them.
For anyone who has paid even the slightest amount of attention to the world over the past eighteen and a half months, this is not news. But it’s still infuriating.
COVID response has eliminated the ability of countries to function as coherent, livable societies. It’s led to purposeful misinformation from media outlets, and immediately disproven expert claims mindlessly repeated by the press.
As we’ve seen throughout the United States (and the rest of the world), local health officials are some of the worst perpetrators of intellectual dishonesty and purposeful ignorance.
They exist in groupthink echo chambers and live in fear of attracting media attention for not doing exactly as activist reporters demand.
One of the most persistent media demands is mask mandates. So much so that Kentucky’s Governor Andy Beshear pointed out in an interview earlier this month that had he not been stripped of emergency powers, he’d have mandated masks again:
A few weeks ago, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said that requiring masks is “just basic science” and due to their “dire” situation, he would have reinstated a mask mandate already if he could
Almost immediately, cases started dropping without a mandate
They’re ALWAYS wrong pic.twitter.com/dyLiCG847B
— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) September 29, 2021
At least be honest, Andy…just admit you’re a coward and say what you actually mean: “I really wanted to avoid media criticism by following incompetent expert advice, but the meanies in the legislature wouldn’t let me.”
But perhaps the most infuriating aspect of the current dismissive attitude towards rationality, intelligence, critical thinking and intellectual honesty is that anyone willing to look at recently accumulated data would have to acknowledge the clear lack of impact from mask mandates.
Acknowledging that there’s been no impact would destroy any possible justification for the continuation of mask mandates, which is why they must ignore it and further end the Age of Enlightenment.
Let’s run through some examples.
The South
A wonderfully clear example of the pointlessness of mask mandates comes from Beshear’s own Kentucky.
Neighboring Tennessee has had different mask rules at different times, with no statewide mandate and the removal of local mask mandates in late April. Yet for all of 2021, their trends have been nearly identical:
Not only did Tennessee not have a statewide mandate at any point during this time period, many counties did not have mandates and in late April, Governor Bill Lee removed the authority of local officials to implement their own mask rules. Kentucky, meanwhile, had a statewide mandate in effect until mid-June, and lifted it a month and a half after Tennessee.
None of it mattered. The trends are the same. The numbers are remarkably similar. Masks made no difference. They never do.
It’s the same story that’s played out in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
Louisiana reinstated a mask mandate in early August, while Arkansas and Mississippi did not. The trends are nearly identical regardless — in fact, here are the three states, unlabeled. Good luck guessing which one brought the curve down with masks:
You just wonder what would happen if a single media member asked politicians about this. How amazing would that be?
Reporter: “You mandated masks, while your neighboring states did not. There has been no significant difference whatsoever in the trajectory or severity of the curves in the neighboring states. Why do you think that is?”
Governor: “Uhh…well…uh…masks work, and I follow the CDC.”
Reporter: “Ok, but do you have a reason that doesn’t involve mindless appeals to an authority that has been wrong about nearly everything since the pandemic started?”
Governor: “I, uh…I just…uh…masks work, so wear a mask”
Reporter: “That’s not an answer, it’s just deflecting. Was this the result you expected to see when you mandated masks?”
Governor: “Masks work”
Reporter: “Well, guess we’re done here”
Southern California
It’s not just states showing no difference in rates or trajectories, drilling down to the county level highlights the same trends.
Perhaps the clearest example of the delusional political obsession with pretending masks matter is found in Southern California.
We can likely thank the recall effort for the ability to make this comparison, as the state would have almost assuredly mandated masks as soon as cases rose in the summer. Instead, only some of the true believers in anti-science like Los Angeles mandated masks. So, thankfully, we can compare them to neighboring Orange County, where there’s no mask mandate and little to no mask wearing in most locations:
Unsurprisingly, Los Angeles has had higher case rates and failed to bring the curve down earlier — they peaked on essentially the same day. Masks made no difference.
Chicago Area
It’s the same story for the true believers in Chicago, where the entire region highlights the uselessness of mask mandates:
Good luck picking out which one of these counties mandated masks ahead of the statewide mandate.1 And double good luck picking out which county is in Indiana, where there is no mask mandate.
Let’s keep going!
The Southwest
Neighboring states Nevada and Arizona, unsurprisingly, have followed very similar hospitalization curves for the past year.
Nevada, due in part to their Governor’s unending commitment to pseudoscience, has had a mask mandate in place for most population centers for two months now, while Arizona has not. Theoretically, if masks worked, you’d expect to see a difference, given how similar the curves have been for literally an entire year.
Did masks have had a significant impact? I’ll give you three guesses.
The mere thought that a highly infectious virus can be defeated by taking whatever soft goods you can find around the house and hanging it off your ears across your face is absurd at best. But, absurd is what seems to appeal to the left. Just look at idiot Biden.
Sunshine is a wonderful disinfectent.
Even kills viruses.
When the days start getting shorter there is less time you can spend in the sun.
When the days get colder there are less days you even want to spend in the sun.
Masks or not, there’s a bump in cases that aligns with these truths.
OTOH, the bump in cases in summer 2021 aligns with the bump in tests as people got back to school and work.
Testing positive is not the same as being sick.
Tests are being mandated as are vaccines.
“Breakthru” cases in vaccinated people are on the uptick.
one has to ask if you believe the numbers presented are accurate. currently, there is no accurate data on infections and death in the US, or even the world. Example, India has over 50,000 people die from venomous snake bites/year. however, the gov claims only about 800. OK 50,000 estimate to alleged 800 real from the gov. every one admitted to an ER has covid. in GA, all nursing home deaths, top line of death certificate( recall a death certificate has three causes of death) is the alleged virus. worked in chi., for over eight years, medical and medical disinformation is top priority for the woke press and the socialistic gay, hiv mayor and city council.
Funny, walk into a restaurant and the mask comes off. Right, why? the virus floats over your head when you sit down.