{"id":83948,"date":"2020-08-06T20:35:52","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T00:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=83948"},"modified":"2020-08-06T20:35:58","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T00:35:58","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-august-5th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=83948","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, August 5th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Wednesday, August 5th, 2020&#8230;but before we begin, one quick note and another brief thought.\u00a0 We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary yesterday&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/weddingbells.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83797\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/weddingbells.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/weddingbells.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/weddingbells-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;though the celebration was muted, as we also had to part with dear little Pebbles:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Pebbles-as-a-Puppy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83798\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Pebbles-as-a-Puppy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Pebbles-as-a-Puppy.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Pebbles-as-a-Puppy-300x276.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>As for the thought, it came to us reading an item at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/research-products\/report\/replace-the-federal-student-loan-system-with-an-income-share-agreement-program\/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWVRnek5HTmxZV1UxTlRNMyIsInQiOiI1dnFcLyt3ekUralpCcktNNHgyQjdIWGd1TkVmbmZEVzhjMVh6Mjh4XC9Cc3RaSnhWWllMUlN3cXBZb2VtRXBGSFlTZDNmZXZtN2w2SE40VHpORXdLamw0ek1cLzZGak9URXFRSmkxNzdiVVdkWDVETkpleHlWQVpaaTZ4ek81ZlN0NCJ9\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em>AEI suggesting how we might restructure the repayment of student debt<\/em><\/span><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>A better solution to the <em>student loan <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">crisis<\/span><\/em> would be a government-sponsored income share agreement and a simplified IRS-managed income withholding repayment system.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crisis?\u00a0 <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">What<\/span><\/em>\u00a0constitutes a &#8220;crisis&#8221;?\u00a0 The fact millions of miseducated myrmidons <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>borrowed money<\/em><\/span> to finance what they <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">should have known<\/span><\/em> were <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>useless<\/em><\/span> college degrees, and their lenders expect the loans to be <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">repaid<\/span><\/em>?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>While we understand AEI&#8217;s intent, here&#8217;s what <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we<\/span><\/em> deem a better solution:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3XGAmPRxV48?start=14&amp;end=22&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>In other words&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BcQ8zMOcV0E?start=6&amp;end=7&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>Problem solved, crisis averted and, most importantly, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>critical<\/em><\/span> life-lesson <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">learned<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now, owing to our anniversary, here&#8217;s an abbreviated edition of\u00a0<em>The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We lead off our mid-week offering with two outstanding commentaries from the great Victor Davis Hanson.\u00a0 First, writing at <em>American Greatness<\/em>, the good doctor reveals how Socialists, like incarcerated criminals, can&#8217;t change their stripes, as he introduces us to&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post-title entry-title \" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" title=\"Permanent Link: The New Old Obama\" href=\"https:\/\/amgreatness.com\/2020\/08\/02\/the-new-old-obama\/\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The New Old Obama<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"subdeck\">\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/amgreatness.com\/2020\/08\/02\/the-new-old-obama\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Why is Barack Obama reemerging with greater frequency now? There are a few reasonable suppositions<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-3.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83842\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-3.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-3-300x169.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"av_dropcap1 \">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>I<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>n his latest incarnation as president emeritus and corporate multimillionaire community activist, we are reminded of the earlier Barack Obama of \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"mfp-iframe lightbox-added\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZCMDur9CDZ4\">get in their face<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>,\u201d \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/blog-briefing-room\/news\/campaigns\/44441-obama-on-gop-if-they-bring-a-knife-to-the-fight-we-bring-a-gun\" class=\"broken_link\">take a gun to a knife fight<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>,\u201d and \u201c<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"mfp-iframe lightbox-added\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zeNoRqtDSeQ\">punish our enemies<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>\u201d vintage. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">From time to time, Obama ventures from his hilltop, seaside, $12 million \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=obama+you+didn%27t+build+that+youtube&amp;rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS813US813&amp;oq=Obama+%2B+%22you+didn%27t+build+that%22+&amp;aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l4.9320j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8\">you didn\u2019t build that<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u201d Martha\u2019s Vineyard Estate or his tony Washington, D.C. $8 million \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a class=\"mfp-iframe lightbox-added\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xa77LnCWbBk\">spread the wealth<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u201d mansion to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>lecture the nation on all of its racist sins, past and present<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>In these outings, he seeks to advise <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">lesser folk<\/span><\/em> on how <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we<\/em><\/span> can <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>still find redemption<\/em><\/span> (make Puerto Rico a state?), given that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">his own eight years as president apparently proved that the United States remains hopelessly captive to the spirit of Bull Connor and that a president such as himself<\/span><\/em>\u2014starting out with <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">complete control of the Congress<\/span><\/em>\u2014had <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">no power to change much<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>His latest weaponization of the\u00a0funeral of John Lewis\u00a0<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">revealed all the Obama signature characteristics<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Why<\/span><\/em> is Obama reemerging with greater frequency <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">now<\/span><\/em>? <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">There are <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a few<\/span><\/em> reasonable suppositions.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>He has <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">already made tens of millions of dollars<\/span><\/em> in the last four years and now believes that he has the \u201csecurity\u201d of being a multimillionaire several times over, and so can <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>once again dabble in politics<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">His party has moved <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">hard Left<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> And he <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">rues now<\/span><\/em> that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>he<\/em><\/span> did not then lead the cultural revolution <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">during his own tenure<\/span><\/em>, given his community organizing Bill Ayers-youth, which as a badge of honor we should expect will now no longer be airbrushed away. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">His early revolutionary cred<\/span><\/em> will likely resurface as the audacity of <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">hope<\/span><\/em> becomes the audacity of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>woke<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>He resents those like \u201cthe squad\u201d who <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>usurped<\/em><\/span> his hard-Left brand, which was tarnished during his past few years in his period of \u201cnot the time to profit\u201d corporate profiteering.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">He thinks Biden <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>suddenly<\/em><\/span> can <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>now win<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Yet better than any <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>he knows<\/em><\/span> that Biden is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>challenged<\/em><\/span> and is a useful vessel. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Thus, he envisions <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>his<\/em><\/span> sudden behind-the-scenes role as <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>substantial<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> He can <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>piggyback on the cultural revolution this summer<\/em><\/span> and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>then<\/em><\/span> claim that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">he<\/span><\/em> helped \u201cdeliver\u201d the progressive and identity politics vote\u2014and thus becomes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>an active wise-man advisor to a challenged Biden<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Then again, there <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is always the chance<\/em><\/span> that Biden\u2019s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>unbreakable oath<\/em><\/span> to appoint a woman as vice presidential nominee and his inference that she will be an African-American <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>opens up all sort of wild card possibilities to Obama<\/em><\/span>\u2014given that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>he knows best<\/em><\/span> the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>VP slot<\/em><\/span> could well be a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>quasi-presidential nomination<\/em><\/span>, given Biden\u2019s cognitive issues, given that Biden is now ahead in the polls, and given that there is some chance that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all<\/em><\/span> the candidates whom Biden considers <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>may have high negatives in his internal polling<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>And thus <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Michelle Obama<\/em><\/span>, the most popular woman in today\u2019s polls, could \u201crescue\u201d the Democrats, unite the party, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>and finish out an Obama 16-year term<\/em><\/span>, with the last eight-year regnum <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>revealing the inner and true Obama that was stymied the first go around<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>These \u201care such stuff <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">as dreams are made of<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dreams for Barry, a nightmare for America.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Though, as Tucker Carlson relates, were <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we<\/span><\/em>\u00a0the first former anti-American President in the nation&#8217;s history, we wouldn&#8217;t be counting our Communist chickens <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">just yet<\/span><\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nS-VVCgZpIs\" 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=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In a related item, not only do the Hodge Twins accurately echo Hanson&#8217;s points, they share our incredibly low opinion of The Great Divider:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z2h15IumYk4\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><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>Since we&#8217;re on the subject of nightmares for America, writing at <em>NRO<\/em>, Hanson details&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2020\/07\/summer-cultural-suicide-sports-movies-schools-go-woke\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Our Summer of Cultural Suicide<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<h3 class=\"article-header__title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2020\/07\/summer-cultural-suicide-sports-movies-schools-go-woke\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\">Sports, movies, and schools go woke. And broke<\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4afzwr.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83828\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4afzwr.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4afzwr.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4afzwr-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"drop\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>C<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span class=\"small_caps\">ultural\u00a0<\/span>suicide used to be a popular diagnosis of why things suddenly just quit.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Historians such as Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee cited <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>social cannibalism<\/em><\/span> to explain why once-successful states, institutions, and cultures <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">simply died off<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Their common explanation was that the <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">arrogance of success ensures lethal consequences<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Once elites became pampered and arrogant, they feel exempt from their ancestors\u2019 respect for moral and spiritual laws \u00a0\u2014 such as the need for thrift, moderation, and transcendence.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong>Professional sports, universities, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and<\/span><\/em> the motion-picture industry <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">all know<\/span><\/em> that what they are doing is bad for business. <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">But they still believe they are rich and powerful, and thus invulnerable.<\/span> They also are <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ignorant of history<\/span><\/em> and cannot be persuaded that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">they are destroying themselves<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">At this late date, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all that matters<\/em><\/span> is that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">the country itself<\/span><\/em> learns from these suicidal examples and <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">heals itself<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> If the U.S. is not to become an extinct Easter Island, it <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">must rediscover<\/span><\/em> a respect for its past, honor for the dead who gave us so much, the desire to invest rather than spend, and a need for some sense of transcendence.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>If <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we do not believe<\/span><\/em> that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">what we do today<\/span><\/em> has <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">consequences for our children after we are gone,<\/span><\/em> there are ancient existential forces in the world that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">will intervene<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>And it <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>won\u2019t<\/em><\/span> be nice.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">already<\/span><\/em> not nice; if The Donald goes down to a defeat <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>of his own orchestration<\/em><\/span>, it&#8217;s going to be a <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">whole lot worse<\/span><\/em> than were he <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>never elected <\/em><em>in the first place<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZB52NEPJxUs\" 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>Next up, we continue our coverage of the Chi-Com&#8217;s latest creation with this update on things Swedish courtesy of Jeff Foutch, as\u00a0<em>Red State<\/em>&#8216;s Michael Thau relates&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redstate.com\/michael_thau\/2020\/08\/01\/swedens-covid-numbers-are-even-better-than-they-look\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sweden\u2019s No-Lockdown COVID Numbers are Even Better Than They Look<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/el-malo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83827\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/el-malo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/el-malo.png 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/el-malo-272x300.png 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;&#8230;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>As my colleague Brandon\u00a0Morse\u00a0reported Friday, it looks like <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">bothering to read what the experts proposing lockdowns actually said they were supposed to accomplish<\/span><\/em> may have paid off:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p class=\"article\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redstate.com\/brandon_morse\/2020\/07\/31\/swedens-covid-immune\/\"><strong><em>Sweden\u2019s Herd Immunity Pays Off, Sees Sharp Decline In COVID Cases While the Rest of Us Cower<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Europe is seeing another surge in Coronavirus cases with the exception of Sweden who is still seeing a marked decline since June.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>But a Twitter researcher who goes by the name\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/boriquagato\/status\/1285566981870161920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1285566981870161920%7Ctwgr%5E&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redstate.com%2F%3Fp%3D886693\">El Gato Malo<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span>(The Bad Cat) did a thread that\u2019s essential reading for anyone who wants to understand <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>whether<\/em><em> Sweden made the right choice<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>It turns out <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>their<\/em><\/span> COVID numbers are incredibly good <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">independent of the fact they seem to be avoiding the recent spike in cases lockdown nations are experiencing<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Moreover, there are <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">differences in the criteria for counting<\/span><\/em> COVID-19 deaths which cast a <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">very different light<\/span><\/em> on some of the comparisons being made.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>To start by considering Sweden\u2019s numbers in isolation, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">their<\/span><\/em> COVID fatalities were almost <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">entirely restricted to the elderly<\/span><\/em>. <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">88<\/span><\/em>% were <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">over 70<\/span><\/em> and <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">75<\/span><\/em>% were <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>in nursing homes or elder care<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Only 4.5<\/em><\/span>% of fatalities were <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">under 60<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Sweden had <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">less than 500 reported COVID fatalities under 70<\/span><\/em>, just <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>12<\/em><\/span>% of the total.<\/span><i class=\"fa sc-tw small-tw fa-twitter fa-fw\" title=\"Flop Sweat Builds as the Efforts to Stop Joe Biden From Debating Donald Trump Heat Up\"><\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Before the \u201ceven one death is too many\u201d crowd starts accusing me of being a heartless monster, they might want to take a look in the mirror.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>A recent\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/07\/19\/lockdown-may-cost-200k-lives-government-report-shows\/?WT.mc_id=e_DM1268242&amp;WT.tsrc=email&amp;etype=Edi_Edi_New_Sub&amp;utmsource=email&amp;utm_medium=Edi_Edi_New_Sub20200720&amp;utm_campaign=DM1268242\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0from the British government estimates that in just <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">a single year<\/span><\/em> lockdowns <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>may cause 200,000 deaths<\/em><\/span> from depriving people of medical care for ailments <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>other than<\/em><\/span> COVID-19 <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">alone<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">(<em>Yes, Mr. Thau&#8217;s grammar is in <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">dire<\/span> need of an overhaul.<\/em>)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Britain has around <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">6 times<\/span><\/em> Sweden\u2019s population. But even dividing the British number by 20 gives you <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">10,000 deaths<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>That\u2019s <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">20 times<\/span><\/em> those <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">500 people under the age of 70<\/span><\/em> that Sweden reported as succumbing to COVID-19 and almost <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">twice<\/span><\/em> their total for <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all<\/em><\/span> ages.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Moreover, it\u2019s <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">very<\/span><\/em> unlikely that the <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">real<\/span><\/em> death toll in Sweden <span style=\"color: #008000;\">(<em>or <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">any<\/span> country!<\/em>)<\/span> is <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">anywhere close<\/span><\/em> to the number they\u2019re <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">reporting<\/span><\/em>. <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Like the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redstate.com\/michael_thau\/2020\/07\/31\/trump-needs-to-appoint-a-commission-to-determine-covids-real-death-toll\/\">U.S<\/a><\/span><\/em>.<\/span>, Sweden\u2019s criteria for counting COVID-19 deaths are <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">so loose<\/span><\/em> that they\u2019re <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>bound<\/em><\/span> to be including <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a lot of people<\/em><\/span> who would\u2019ve died <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>regardless<\/em><\/span> of the virus.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>As\u00a0<span class=\"author-footer--author-name\">Johan\u00a0Norberg\u00a0pointed out way back in April:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Sweden systematically checks the list of people who have tested positive for the virus against the population register.<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Every time<\/span> the government discovers that someone <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">who had the virus<\/span> has died, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">that person<\/span> is registered as a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">COVID-19 death<\/span> if it happened <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">within 30 days of the diagnosis<\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>It doesn\u2019t matter <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">what<\/span><\/em> they died of \u2014 could be a heart attack, <em>cancer<\/em> or even <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>a car accident<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thus does Sweden&#8217;s decision to <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">learn from history<\/span><\/em> seem better and better by comparison than America&#8217;s.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item forwarded by Balls Cotton,\u00a0<em>Conservative Review<\/em>&#8216;s Daniel Horowitz rediscovers our country&#8217;s&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title thin\" style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativereview.com\/news\/horowitz-lost-common-sense-america-lived-asian-flu-1957\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Lost common sense: How America lived through the Asian flu of 1957<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-1-1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83825\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-1-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"420\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-1-1.jpeg 420w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-1-1-300x238.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>\u201c<em>Let us all keep a cool head about Asian influenza as the statistics on the spread and the virulence of the disease begin to accumulate.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0~New York Times\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a class=\"external\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/elvis-was-king-ike-was-president-and-116000-americans-died-in-a-pandemic\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">editorial<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>, Sept. 17, 1957<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>\u201cSo, what was it like to live through the Asian flu of 1957?\u201d I recently asked my father.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>\u201cWhat\u2019s the Asian flu?\u201d replied my father, who was in second grade at the time.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>\u201cWell, do you remember the Hong Kong flu of 1968?\u201d I followed up, thinking that surely he\u2019d remember something that killed\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><em><a class=\"external broken_link\" style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/flu\/pandemic-resources\/1968-pandemic.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">around 100,000 people<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0(the equivalent of 160,000 today) when he was in college and very news-savvy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>\u201cI remember the riots in \u201968 and the oil crisis in the \u201970s, but don\u2019t recall anything about flus.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>Try <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">this<\/span><\/em> social experiment <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">on anyone who lived through the 1950s and 1960s<\/span><\/em>, or <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">try it on yourself<\/span><\/em> if you are a Baby Boomer or older. <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">You likely don\u2019t recall <span style=\"color: #008000;\">(<em>as <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">we<\/span> don&#8217;t!<\/em>)<\/span> any disruption in your life nor any trauma-induced fear and panic.<\/span> That is because there <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">wasn\u2019t any disruption<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horowitz goes on to cite a study by the same Dr. Donald A. Henderson who offered <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">this<\/span><\/em> assessment of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/article\/the-2006-origins-of-the-lockdown-idea\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">our current lockdown strategy formulated through the collaboration of two government doctors, Carter Mecher and Richard Hatchett, neither possessed of training or experience in either virology or epidemiology, and Robert Glass, a complex-systems analyst at Sandia National Laboratories and his then-14 -year-old daughter Laura, who were working together on her school science project<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a>, as detailed in an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=81273\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">earlier edition of The Gouge<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Dr. Henderson was convinced that <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">it made no sense to force schools to close or public gatherings to stop<\/span><\/em>.<\/span> <span style=\"color: #008000;\">(<em>You know, like <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Woodstock<\/span>&#8230;or <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Black Lies Matter riots<\/span>&#8230;er,&#8230;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">peaceful protests<\/span>!<\/em>)<\/span> <span style=\"color: #800000;\">Teenagers would <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">escape their homes<\/span><\/em> to hang out at the mall. <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">School lunch programs <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>would close<\/em><\/span>, and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>impoverished children would not have enough to eat<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Hospital staffs<\/span><\/em> would have a hard time <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">going to work<\/span><\/em> if <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>their children were at home<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>The measures embraced by Drs. Mecher and Hatchett <span style=\"color: #008000;\">(<em>the aforementioned government MDs with neither virological nor epidemiological experience.<\/em>)<\/span> would \u201c<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">result in significant disruption of the social functioning of communities and result in possibly serious economic problems<\/span><\/em>,\u201d Dr. Henderson wrote in his own academic paper responding to their ideas. (How come Dr. Henderson\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>The answer, he insisted, was to <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">tough it out<\/span><\/em>:\u00a0<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Let<\/span><\/em> the pandemic <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">spread<\/span><\/em>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>treat<\/em><\/span> people who get sick and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>work quickly<\/em><\/span> to develop a vaccine to prevent it from coming back.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Had Dr. Henderson not unfortunately passed away back in 2016, perhaps <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">he&#8217;d<\/span><\/em> be our &#8220;foremost infectious disease expert&#8221;, while Dr. Faux-Chi was deservedly demoted to the dust bin of uncertain history.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And would it shock anyone to learn this uninformed, inexpert strategy was commissioned by George W. Bush, the gift&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TQXuazYI_YU?start=38&amp;end=41&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;provided your a Progressive!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Which brings us to\u00a0<em>The Lighter Side<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cash.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83784\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cash.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cash.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cash-300x195.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/varvel-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83817\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/varvel-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/varvel-1.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/varvel-1-300x210.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/goodwyn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83818\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/goodwyn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/goodwyn.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/goodwyn-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080420dAPR20200803084513.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83819\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080420dAPR20200803084513.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080420dAPR20200803084513.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080420dAPR20200803084513-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/gorrell.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83820\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/gorrell.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/gorrell.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/gorrell-300x212.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080320dAPR20200804014806.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83821\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080320dAPR20200804014806.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080320dAPR20200804014806.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cb080320dAPR20200804014806-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/biden-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83822\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/biden-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/biden-2.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/biden-2-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/afb080420dAPR20200804034506.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83823\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/afb080420dAPR20200804034506.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/afb080420dAPR20200804034506.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/afb080420dAPR20200804034506-300x214.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/payne.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83815\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/payne.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/payne.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/payne-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ramirez-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83816\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ramirez-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ramirez-1.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/ramirez-1-300x192.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Name-Game-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83803\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Name-Game-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Name-Game-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Name-Game-1-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Theres-Nothing-Like-a-Damien-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83785\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Theres-Nothing-Like-a-Damien-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Theres-Nothing-Like-a-Damien-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Theres-Nothing-Like-a-Damien-1-300x146.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-3-20-at-8.19-AM.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83786\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-3-20-at-8.19-AM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-3-20-at-8.19-AM.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-3-20-at-8.19-AM-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-4-20-at-9.22-AM.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83804\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-4-20-at-9.22-AM.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-4-20-at-9.22-AM.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Image-8-4-20-at-9.22-AM-300x229.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/dutch.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83811\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/dutch.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/dutch.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/dutch-300x286.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-best-years.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83812\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-best-years.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-best-years.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/the-best-years-236x300.jpeg 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/juice-boxes.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83813\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/juice-boxes.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/juice-boxes.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/juice-boxes-300x292.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Then there&#8217;s these two from the lovely Shannon&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83805\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon2.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon2-300x178.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83806\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon1.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/shannon1-252x300.png 252w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;one from Speed Mach&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/speed.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83809\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/speed.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/speed.jpeg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/speed-256x300.jpeg 256w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;another from Balls Cotton&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/balls1-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83807\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/balls1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/balls1-1.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/balls1-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/balls1-1-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and one more from our eldest son Jon:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/jon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83808\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/jon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"462\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/jon.png 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/jon-300x202.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a wrap with another sordid story straight from the pages of <span style=\"color: #800000;\"><em>The Crime Blotter<\/em><\/span>, and a&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/lifestyle\/passenger-american-airlines-offensive-mask\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;\">Florida woman kicked off American Airlines flight for wearing &#8216;offensive&#8217; mask<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-2.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-83830\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-2.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/download-2-150x150.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>A woman was reportedly kicked off an\u00a0American Airlines\u00a0flight\u00a0last week because her\u00a0mask\u00a0was deemed \u201coffensive\u201d by a flight attendant. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">Arlinda Johns, from South\u00a0Florida, was on her way to Illinois when she boarded a plane wearing a mask that said \u201cF&#8212; 12\u201d and a T-shirt that said \u201cBlack Lives Matter,\u201d she told Florida\u2019s\u00a0Local 10\u00a0station.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>According to the station, \u201cf&#8212; 12\u201d is slang for \u201cf&#8212; the police.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">A flight attendant reportedly asked Johns &#8212; an\u00a0activist\u00a0who believes in\u00a0defunding\u00a0and abolishing the\u00a0police\u00a0&#8212; to cover her mask.<\/span> Johns did, saying in a Facebook Live video later: &#8220;Everything she asked me to do, I did.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8230;<\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\">American Airlines did not immediately respond to Fox News\u2019 request for comment.<\/span> However, the airline <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">did<\/span><\/em> tell Local 10 that Johns \u201c<em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">refused to follow crew member instructions<\/span><\/em> to remove or cover a face mask with offensive language and although the passenger <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>initially<\/em><\/span> complied, they <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>later continued to display the inappropriate language<\/em><\/span>. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">After arriving at the gate, the passenger was asked to deplane.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>&#8230;She <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">reportedly<\/span><\/em> ended up having to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>rent a car and drive\u00a0to Illinois<\/em><\/span> in order to reach her destination.<\/strong><\/span>&#8220;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah,&#8230;&#8217;cuz there were no other flights leaving Charlotte for St. Louis.\u00a0 It&#8217;s also worth noting, like <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>any<\/em><\/span> good activist, Johns did not <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>begin<\/em><\/span> her video until <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>after<\/em><\/span> her part in this senseless melodrama had been played.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Regardless, here&#8217;s hoping the bitter, obese Arlinda never disrupts one of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>our<\/em><\/span> flights, as it&#8217;s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>highly<\/em><\/span> likely we&#8217;ll&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hAJ0ju4Kaa8?start=61&amp;end=64&amp;\" width=\"420\" height=\"235\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>What we <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">meant<\/span><\/em> to say was&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5DHFqAouFFQ?start=1&amp;end=5&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>Or, as TLJ so often states, &#8220;<em>what<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ever<\/span><\/em>&#8220;!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Wednesday, August 5th, 2020&#8230;but before we begin, one quick note and another brief thought.\u00a0 We celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary yesterday&#8230; &#8230;though the celebration was muted, as we also had to part with dear little Pebbles: As for the thought, it came to us reading an item at AEI suggesting how we might restructure [&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-83948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83948","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=83948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83949,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83948\/revisions\/83949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=83948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=83948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=83948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}