4562 Virus Fever

Sorry, St. Pat.  No parades for you this month.  Give us a ring- back sometime in April and we’ll try to reschedule.

What? Another post about coronavirus? Yes, I'm afraid so. Why this time? Because everybody is self quarantining except those who are being quarantined by their schools or their towns or their counties. And I feel duty-bound to help the Mass Media Mavens in fueling the Great Pandemic Panic.

As we have pointed out, school districts are closing and switching to online classes. So are many colleges and universities Some of them are extending the spring break into the next millennium.

Goodbye NBA season. And NCAA Division One March Madness. And The NHL, for now. 

And St. Patrick’s Day parades in New York, Boston and all of Ireland. The New York parade is the world’s largest.  It has been held since 1762, though some of the original marchers are having trouble walking and so are consigned to the sidelines.

The president’s “beautiful wall” against Mexico cannot stop sneezing across the border. The mostly Asian grocery shoppers wearing idiotic masks cannot immunize themselves, at least not in the way they’re trying.

Airliners are flying empty or near-empty.  Great time to travel because the guy in the seat in front of you won’t put his seatback back, largely because there IS no guy in front of you. No one gets a center seat.  

Are we panicking?  Probably. Should we be worried? Maybe.  The UN says we’re in the midst of a pandemic.  Say, what?  We are in the midst of an outbreak of a condition about which we know very little. 

Can someone please explain the run on toilet paper?  What is that about?

The upside: every punk kid with a decent immune system gets to call the shots.  Attention oldsters: You don’t want their mercy. They’re not going to care about your age.  They care only for themselves.

As of deadline, the market was still falling like an ice ball rolling down a mountain toward a tropical ocean.  There are things to remember.

1.    The state of the economy is related to much more than just the major stock indexes.

2.    The Dow Jones Industrial Average is important only in that it is leading the rest of the figures lower.  “The Dow” is not a synonym for “the economy.”

3.    Congress is trying to put together some laws to stop the ice ball before it reaches the water.  But a certain political party is throwing roadblocks in the way all the while chanting lies about national unity.

4.    The White House is absolutely clueless and is chanting positive thinking and spreading cheerfulness. Disregard them.  Listen to the mainstream economists and the mainstream scientists rather than the political hacks, dolts and desperados on Pennsylvania Avenue.

PREVIEW: Monday 3/16: Our Handy Dandy Guide to Working from Home.  Don’t miss it. :)

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®

Any questions?  Send ‘em to wesrichards@gmail.com

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