{"id":79564,"date":"2020-04-05T17:56:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T21:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=79564"},"modified":"2020-04-05T17:56:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-05T21:56:37","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-friday-april-3rd-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=79564","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Friday, April 3rd, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Friday, April 3rd, 2020&#8230;but before we begin, we interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast for two brief public service announcements.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/thanks.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79500\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/thanks.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/thanks.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/thanks-300x206.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Second, in addition to being the 41st anniversary of our first arrested landing aboard the U.S.S. <em>Lexington<\/em> (CV-16)&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ttfYGWVw0_A\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;this day also marks the 23rd occasion of TLJ&#8217;s 39th birthday:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WIrGkAu11j0?start=1159&amp;end=1265&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Baby, you&#8217;re the greatest!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, here&#8217;s <em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, if our lead item\u00a0is any indication, as the Wuhan pandemic progresses, things are going to get a lot crazier before they get saner, as <em>FOX<\/em> reports a&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/california-derails-train-coronavirus-aid-ship-usns-mercy-feds-say\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; text-decoration: underline;\">California engineer derails train over suspicion about coronavirus aid ship USNS Mercy<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n63ckV17cHw\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Moreno expressed concerns to authorities that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the ship had an alternate purpose than to assist with COVID-19 and was potentially linked to a government takeover<\/em><\/span> and he <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">derailed the train to &#8220;wake people up<\/span><\/em>.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>You only get this chance once<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> The whole world is watching. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>had to<\/em><\/span>,&#8221; Moreno told investigators, according to the complaint.<\/span> &#8220;People don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on here. <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Now<\/em><\/span> they will.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>A California Highway Patrol officer who witnessed the crash said he saw \u201cthe train smash into a concrete barrier at the end of the track, smash into a steel barrier, smash into a chain-link fence, slide through a parking lot, slide across another lot filled with gravel, and smash into a second chain-link fence.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8216;Duardo, you got some SPLAININ to do&#8230;not the least of which is why, with at least 500 yds. of asphalt and concrete between you and the <em>Mercy<\/em>, you chose a locomotive, a mode of transport notoriously difficult to direct with no tracks beneath it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We&#8217;re gonna go out on a limb here and predict Mr. Moreno&#8217;s train isn&#8217;t stopping at all the scheduled stations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a similar occurrence of Wuhan-related psychosis, writing at his\u00a0<em>Morning Jolt<\/em>, Jim Geraghty cites a story from <em>Reuters<\/em>\u00a0which suggests\u00a0<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-india-paranoia-ins\/vitriol-and-violence-a-coronavirus-death-exposes-paranoia-in-india-idUSKBN21G076\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">the coronavirus is just starting to hit India, and that country sounds like another powder keg, ready to explode<\/span><\/span><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>By the time paperwork was completed and the body was taken to a riverside crematorium on Monday night, local residents had surrounded the hearse, said two police officers, who asked not to be named. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">A crowd of around a hundred people <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>demanded the body be taken elsewhere, fearing Samir\u2019s cremation would contaminate the area<\/em><\/span>, one of the officers said.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>\u201cThe mob <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>grew in numbers<\/em><\/span> and <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">turned aggressive<\/span><\/em>,\u201d the officer said. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">Police called in reinforcements and baton-charged the crowd, before cremating Samir\u2019s remains around midnight.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The backlash in Kolkata <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>may not be an anomaly<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #008000;\">News reports have emerged <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>across India<\/em><\/span> of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>mobs<\/em><\/span> harassing people they <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>suspect<\/em><\/span> of carrying the virus, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>including<\/em><\/span> doctors and air crew.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Some healthcare workers in rental accommodation have been forcefully evicted by their landlords over infection fears<\/em><\/span>, a doctor\u2019s association said this week.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>best<\/em><\/span> of times, hundreds of millions of Indians face everyday challenges which make the poorest Americans seem rich by comparison; and what&#8217;s about to face the subcontinent is likely to prove the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>worst<\/em><\/span> of times.\u00a0 Pray the heat lessens COVID-19&#8217;s effects.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, writing at the\u00a0<em>WSJ<\/em>, Messrs.\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Benny Peiser\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Andrew Montford offer&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><a style=\"color: #008000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/coronavirus-lessons-from-the-asteroid-that-didnt-hit-earth-11585780465?mod=MorningEditorialReport&amp;mod=djemMER_h\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Coronavirus Lessons From the Asteroid That Didn\u2019t Hit Earth<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/coronavirus-lessons-from-the-asteroid-that-didnt-hit-earth-11585780465?mod=MorningEditorialReport&amp;mod=djemMER_h\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Scary projections based on faulty data can put policy makers under pressure to adopt draconian measures<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5jap.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79478\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5jap.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5jap.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5jap-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>The coronavirus pandemic <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>has dramatically demonstrated the limits of scientific modeling to predict the future<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>most consequential<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a class=\"icon none\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/media\/imperial-college\/medicine\/sph\/ide\/gida-fellowships\/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">coronavirus model, produced by a team at Imperial College London<\/a><\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>tipped the British government<\/em><\/span>, which had until then pursued a cautious strategy, into <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>precipitate action<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>culminating in the lockdown under which we are all currently laboring<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> With the Imperial team talking in terms of <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">250,000 to 510,000 deaths in the U.K<\/span><\/em>. and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>social media aflame with demands for something to be done<\/em><\/span>, Prime Minister Boris Johnson <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>had no other option<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>But <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>last week<\/em><\/span>, a team from Oxford University <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>put forward an alternative model<\/em> <\/span>of how the pandemic might play out, suggesting a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>much less frightening future and a speedy end to the current nightmare<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>How should the government know <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>who is right<\/em><\/span>? <span style=\"color: #800080;\">It is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>quite possible<\/em><\/span> that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>both teams are wrong<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong>Several researchers have apparently asked <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>to see<\/em><\/span> Imperial\u2019s calculations, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but Prof. Neil Ferguson<\/em><\/span>, the man leading the team, has\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"icon none\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/neil_ferguson\/status\/1241835454707699713?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the computer code is 13 years old and thousands of lines of it \u201cundocumented,<\/em><\/span><em>\u201d <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>making it hard for anyone to work with, let alone take it apart to identify potential errors<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">He has promised that it will be published <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>in a week or so<\/em><\/span>, but in the meantime <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">reasonable people might wonder whether something made with 13-year-old, undocumented computer code should be used to justify shutting down the economy<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> Meanwhile, the authors of the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Oxford model<\/em><\/span> have\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"icon none broken_link\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2020.03.24.20042291v1.full.pdf?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">promised<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>their code<\/em><\/span> will be published \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>as soon as possible<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">&#8230;<strong>Calculations aren\u2019t the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>only<\/em><\/span> problem. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">Only a few weeks into the pandemic, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we don\u2019t have enough data to feed into the models<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> In particular, information about <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>how many people are infected but remain asymptomatic<\/em><\/span> is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>highly tentative<\/em><\/span>.<span style=\"color: #800080;\"> This means that there are a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>huge<\/em><\/span> number of mathematical models that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>might<\/em><\/span> explain what has happened so far, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">each extrapolating a very different future<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>New data<\/em><em> can change predictions considerably<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Take an example from astronomy.<\/span> On March 12, 1998, media around the world announced that a mile-wide asteroid was on a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>possible<\/em><\/span> collision course with Earth in 2028. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">Only a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>day later<\/em><\/span>, the global asteroid scare was over as <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>additional observational data showed it would miss by 600,000 miles<\/em><\/span>. <\/span>While the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>initial calculations weren\u2019t inaccurate<\/em><\/span>, they were <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>based on limited data<\/em><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>weren\u2019t properly scrutinized<\/em><\/span>, which made the announcement <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>premature<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">A <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">short delay<\/span><\/em> while <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>new information<\/em><\/span> was collated was all it took to show that there was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no risk at all<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">&#8230;<strong>Covid-19 is no false alarm, but public health could benefit from a similar warning system, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>which would help governments and health officials communicate uncertainties and risks to the public<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">When competing models are giving <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>wildly different<\/em><\/span>, and in some cases <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>frightening<\/em><\/span>, predictions, the pressure on governments to adopt a draconian approach <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>can be overwhelming<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> But, as we are seeing, the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>costs<\/em><\/span> of such measures are <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">extraordinarily high<\/span><\/em>. Nations <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">cannot afford to lock down their economies every time a potentially devastating new virus emerges<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #800080;\">Setting up an effective pandemic hazard scale would inform policy makers and the public, helping fend off <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>media demands<\/em><\/span> for \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>something to be done<\/em><\/span>\u201d until the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>right decisions<\/em><\/span> can be made at the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>right time<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>This is not to imply said decisions will <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>always<\/em><em> be right<\/em><\/span>, simply <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>more fully informed<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Side bar, your honor: are we the only one reminded of the similarly questionable results of equally under-informed studies on the effects of anthropogenic global warming?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item at\u00a0<em>Best of the Web<\/em>, Jim Freeman&#8217;s thoughts are just as blunt in what he entitles&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/faucis-inconvenient-policy-11585767119?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Fauci\u2019s \u2018Inconvenient\u2019 Policy<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/faucis-inconvenient-policy-11585767119?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">If public-health officials are calling the shots they should understand the costs<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5o33.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79480\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5o33.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5o33.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5o33-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>President Donald Trump unfortunately continues to present our anti-viral options as <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">doing nothing or a massive government response which disrupts American society and sends federal debt surging<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">This is <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">especially concerning<\/span><\/em> because the <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">infectious-disease experts on whom he is relying for advice cannot reasonably be expected to also forecast the economic results of their policies<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong>Today the White House released the following Presidential\u00a0statement:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em>During National Financial Capability Month, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we recognize the importance of financial literacy to a free and prosperous society<\/span>, and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we commit to ensuring that all Americans have the resources they need to make informed financial choices and provide opportunities for a brighter and more secure future<\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>The President <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>might<\/em><\/span> consider <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>providing financial briefings for the people whose decisions now have enormous financial implications<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">For example, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Dr. Anthony Fauci<\/em><\/span>, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.<\/span> Fauci\u00a0said\u00a0at a White House briefing on Tuesday:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><em>If you look at our history, we\u2019ve been through some terrible ordeals. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">This is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">tough<\/span>.<\/span> People are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">suffering<\/span>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">People are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">dying<\/span>.<\/span> It\u2019s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">inconvenient<\/span> from a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">societal standpoint<\/span>, from an <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">economic standpoint<\/span> to go through this, but this <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">is<\/span> going to be the answer to our problems.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Dr. Fauci has spent a laudable career <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>leading the federal effort against infectious diseases<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> His belief that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the current economic impact is merely \u201cinconvenient\u201d illustrates that he cannot reasonably be expected to also serve as an expert on the costs of virus countermeasures<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Nor <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>should he be<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 After all, even the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>greatest sawbones in history ultimately admitted<\/em><\/span> he was&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7bgpbCRKKe0?start=28&amp;end=30&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not<\/em><\/span> an expert in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>cost-benefit analysis<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speaking of those renowned in their fields around the world, writing at the <em>WSJ<\/em>, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer and Dr. Rajiv Shah offer what is, on its face, a sensible alternative to what amounts to a 2020 version of the 1950&#8217;s (Yeah, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>THAT<\/em><\/span> oughta help!) &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/zMnKNHNfznE\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>duck and cover<\/em><\/span><\/a>&#8220;:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/testing-is-our-way-out-11585869705?mod=opinion_lead_pos5\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Testing Is Our Way Out<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"sub-head\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/testing-is-our-way-out-11585869705?mod=opinion_lead_pos5\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">Returning to normal is too dangerous. Lockdowns are unsustainable. Let\u2019s save lives without a depression<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/im-172191.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79491\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/im-172191.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/im-172191.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/im-172191-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>For <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">now<\/span><\/em>, social distancing is the best America can do to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But if the U.S. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>truly mobilizes<\/em><\/span>, it can soon deploy better weapons\u2014advanced tests\u2014<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that will allow the country to shift gradually to a protocol less disruptive and more effective than a lockdown<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Instead of ricocheting between an <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unsustainable shutdown<\/em><\/span> and a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>dangerous, uncertain return to normalcy<\/em><\/span>, the U.S. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>could<\/em><\/span> mount a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>sustainable strategy with better tests<\/em><\/span> and maintain a stable course <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>for as long as it takes to develop a vaccine or cure<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The country will once more be able to plan for the future, get back to work safely and avoid an economic depression.<\/span> This will require <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">massive investment<\/span><\/em> to ramp up production and coordinate the construction of test centers. But the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>alternatives<\/em><\/span> are even <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>more costly<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>As our&#8230;and likely your&#8230;401K\/pension plan can attest.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To echo Jeff Foutch&#8217;s thought, we&#8217;d gladly take the bullet&#8230;i.e., <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we&#8217;re 64<\/em><\/span>&#8230;if it meant <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>our children&#8217;s<\/em><\/span> future financial security <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>would be preserved<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 Though, as <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Pelosi&#8217;s rapidly approaching 80<\/em><\/span>, we&#8217;d <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>infinitely<\/em><\/span> prefer <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>she<\/em><\/span> take it, particularly since <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>she bears so much more responsibility for this mess<\/em> <\/span>than <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile, the protestations of the Disloyal Opposition and their Socialist MSM shills to the contrary notwithstanding, <em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Zach Evans details what <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>should come as no surprise<\/em><\/span> to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anyone with half a brain<\/em><\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/u-s-intelligence-concludes-china-concealed-extent-of-coronavirus-outbreak\/?utm_source=email&amp;utm_medium=breaking&amp;utm_campaign=newstrack&amp;utm_term=19898815\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;\">U.S. Intelligence Concludes China Concealed Extent of Coronavirus Outbreak<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5rsg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79490\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5rsg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5rsg.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/3v5rsg-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The news comes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a day after<\/em><\/span> Dr. Deborah Birx, response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, suggested that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the U.S. response to the pandemic may not have been as effective as possible due to \u201cmissing\u201d data from China<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">\u201cThe medical community interpreted the Chinese data as, this <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>was<\/em><\/span> serious, but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>smaller than anyone expected<\/em><\/span>,\u201d Birx\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/dr-birx-claims-u-s-was-slow-to-respond-to-coronavirus-outbreak-because-china-withheld-a-significant-amount-of-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0at a press briefing.<\/span> \u201cBecause, probably\u2026<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we were missing a significant amount of the data<\/em><\/span>, now that we see what happened to Italy and we see what happened to Spain.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>China could have prevented 95 percent of coronavirus infections if it had acted sooner to stem the outbreak<\/em><\/span>, according to one\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2020.03.03.20029843v3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">study<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Just to be clear, the segment of society unsurprised by this conclusion <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>does NOT<\/em><\/span> include a <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/latest-news\/woman-who-ingested-fish-tank-cleaner-was-prolific-donor-to-democratic-causes\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Fish Tank Cleaner-Consumer Named Wanda<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of Socialists playing fast and loose with both facts and information, in a forward from Ed Hickey, <em>The Patriot Post<\/em> reveals the truth behind&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/patriotpost.us\/articles\/69625-cuomos-fateful-decision-2020-04-01\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cuomo&#8217;s Fateful Decision<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/patriotpost.us\/articles\/69625-cuomos-fateful-decision-2020-04-01\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\">The New York governor opted against advice in 2015 that the state stockpile ventilators in case of a pandemic<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #800000;\">.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a3cb4356614d10c0120ad236faea4dd430118510a285364024e290b8d5ed6a66.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79459\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a3cb4356614d10c0120ad236faea4dd430118510a285364024e290b8d5ed6a66.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a3cb4356614d10c0120ad236faea4dd430118510a285364024e290b8d5ed6a66.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/a3cb4356614d10c0120ad236faea4dd430118510a285364024e290b8d5ed6a66-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>In <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2015<\/span><\/em>, New York\u2019s Democrat Gov. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Andrew Cuomo was faced with a decision<\/em><\/span>: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>purchase a recommended 16,000 ventilators to add to the state\u2019s pandemic preparation stockpile<\/em><\/span>, or spend the millions <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>elsewhere<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #800000;\">Cuomo chose to go <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the latter route<\/em><\/span>, commissioning a task force led by his health commissioner, Howard Zucker, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>to come up with a rationing plan for using the state\u2019s existing ventilators should a pandemic scenario ever become reality<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> In other words, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>create a death panel<\/em><\/span> that will determine <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>who gets<\/em><\/span> the state\u2019s<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> limited number of ventilators<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Furthermore, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>instead of spending $576 million on 16,000 ventilators<\/em><\/span>, Cuomo elected <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>to waste $750 million of the state\u2019s budget on a solar-panel boondoggle<\/em><\/span> known as the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/07\/13\/cuomos-buffalo-billion-was-beyond-corrupt\/\">Buffalo Billion<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Now, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>five short years later<\/em><\/span>, that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unthinkable pandemic<\/em><em> is here<\/em><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>New York<\/em><\/span>, the state <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>hardest hit<\/em><\/span> by the\u00a0China Virus, has been caught <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unprepared<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Cuomo <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>daily begs the federal government<\/em><\/span> for more ventilators<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em> as if it was the job of the federal government to ensure that states were fully prepared for whatever crisis may come along<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>run<\/em><\/span> for President A-hole, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>PLEASE<\/em><\/span> run!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Almost lost in the Wuhan Virus noise was this story filed by <em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s Tobias Hoonhout the MSM conveniently chose to ignore:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/news\/ig-horowitz-found-apparent-errors-or-inadequately-supported-facts-in-every-single-fbi-fisa-application-he-reviewed\/?utm_source=email&amp;utm_medium=breaking&amp;utm_campaign=newstrack&amp;utm_term=19886930\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\">IG Horowitz Found \u2018Apparent Errors or Inadequately Supported Facts\u2019 in Every Single FBI FISA Application He Reviewed<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/fbi.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79509\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/fbi.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/fbi.png 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/fbi-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>The Justice Department inspector general said <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>it does \u201cnot have confidence\u201d in the FBI\u2019s FISA application process<\/em><\/span> following an audit that found the Bureau was <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>not sufficiently transparent with the court<\/em><\/span> in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>29 applications from 2014 to 2019<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all of which<\/em><\/span> included \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>apparent errors or inadequately supported facts<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">Inspector General Michael Horowitz\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>released\u00a0a report in December<\/em><\/span> which found that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the FBI included \u201cat least 17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications and many errors in the Woods Procedures\u201d during its Crossfire Hurricane investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> After releasing the report, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Horowitz said that he would conduct a further investigation to see if the errors identified in the Page application were widespread<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VZ5zrPVnrzo?start=27&amp;end=29&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Horowitz\u2019s office said in a\u00a0<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/reports\/2020\/a20047.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">report<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>released Tuesday<\/em><\/span> that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">of the 29 applications<\/span><\/em> \u2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all of which involved U.S. citizens<\/em><\/span> \u2013 that were pulled from \u201c8 FBI field offices of varying sizes,\u201d <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the FBI could not find Woods Files for four of the applications<\/em><\/span>, while <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the other 25 all had \u201capparent errors or inadequately supported facts<\/em><\/span>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong>The Woods Procedure dictates that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>the Justice Department verify the accuracy and provide evidentiary support for all facts stated in its FISA application<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">The FBI <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is required to share with the FISA Court all relevant information compiled in the Woods File when applying for a surveillance warrant<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>\u201cFBI and NSD officials we interviewed indicated to us that there were <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>no efforts by the FBI<\/em><\/span> to use <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>existing FBI and NSD oversight mechanisms to perform comprehensive, strategic assessments of the efficacy of the Woods Procedures or FISA accuracy, to include identifying the need for enhancements to training and improvements in the process, or increased accountability measures<\/em><\/span>,\u201d the report states<\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other than that, how&#8217;d you enjoy the loss of any remaining shred of credibility you still possessed, Messrs. Comey <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and<\/em><\/span> Wray?!?\u00a0 Yeah, you read that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>right<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 The FISA abuses the IG identified at the FBI occurred from 2014 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>through 2019<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 Comey was fired\u00a0in <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2017<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If Chris Wray and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anyone else even remotely connected<\/em><\/span> with these FISA applications <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>has a job tomorrow<\/em><\/span>, they&#8217;ll have overstayed their welcome&#8230;not to mention <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>avoided prison for far too long a time<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Here&#8217;s the juice<\/em><\/span>: the DOJ <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and<\/em><\/span> FBI are <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>rotten to the core<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0 It&#8217;s time we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>destroyed<\/em><\/span> the institutions in order to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>save<\/em><\/span> them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcome to Washington: after all, this&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nI67dSs3dXU?start=8&amp;end=10&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us, appropriately enough, to\u00a0<em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79505\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cross-300x229.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/china.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79506\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/china.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/china.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/china-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/afb040220dAPR20200402054506.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79503\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/afb040220dAPR20200402054506.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/afb040220dAPR20200402054506.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/afb040220dAPR20200402054506-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kelley.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79507\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kelley.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kelley.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kelley-300x238.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lisa.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79508\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lisa.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lisa.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/lisa-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/aria_c17258820200329120100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79504\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/aria_c17258820200329120100.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/aria_c17258820200329120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/aria_c17258820200329120100-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/biden.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79501\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/biden.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/biden.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/biden-300x261.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/impeachment-pen.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79502\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/impeachment-pen.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/impeachment-pen.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/impeachment-pen-300x203.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-1-20-at-8.15-AM-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79487\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-1-20-at-8.15-AM-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-1-20-at-8.15-AM-1.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-1-20-at-8.15-AM-1-300x201.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-2-20-at-7.52-AM.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79488\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-2-20-at-7.52-AM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-2-20-at-7.52-AM.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Image-4-2-20-at-7.52-AM-270x300.jpeg 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cant-wait-to-see-mine.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79496\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cant-wait-to-see-mine.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cant-wait-to-see-mine.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cant-wait-to-see-mine-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/cant-wait-to-see-mine-298x300.jpeg 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/probably-not.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79497\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/probably-not.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/probably-not.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/probably-not-300x262.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/not-your-average-club.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79498\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/not-your-average-club.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/not-your-average-club.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/not-your-average-club-261x300.jpeg 261w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s these bits of humor from G. Trevor&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imagge.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79483\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imagge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imagge.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imagge-300x147.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imadge.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79484\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imadge.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imadge.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/imadge-300x129.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79485\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79486\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/image-256x300.jpg 256w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;along with a couple more from Ed Hickey:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79481\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey-292x300.jpeg 292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79482\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey2.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hickey2-300x249.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>We&#8217;ve actually finished it, and decided Jenny deserves it for her birthday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a week with this timely pearl of wit and wisdom from Speed Mach:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_0207.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-79515\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_0207.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_0207.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_0207-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Friday, April 3rd, 2020&#8230;but before we begin, we interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast for two brief public service announcements. First&#8230; Second, in addition to being the 41st anniversary of our first arrested landing aboard the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-16)&#8230; \ufeff &#8230;this day also marks the 23rd occasion of TLJ&#8217;s 39th birthday: \ufeff\ufeff Baby, you&#8217;re the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79565,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79564\/revisions\/79565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}