Coronavirus Pandemic
 
The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is affecting most nations in the world.  Germany announced today that it is sealing its borders.  But I doubt that out of power political parties in most nations are so unashamedly trying to exploit the tragedy to destroy their political opponents as much as the American left and its media allies are doing right now.
 
For example, the CNN moderators began last night's debate with a lengthy segment on the virus outbreak.  The candidates spent the first half hour doing everything they could to undermine confidence in our government and score cheap political points on suffering with repeated demands for socialized medicine and pure demagoguery. 
 
Over the weekend, the administration team dominated by health experts continued to announce new initiatives and public-private partnerships, while providing the American people with as much up-to-date information as possible.  For example, the first human vaccine tests will be administered today.
 
President Trump did his best to try to calm the growing signs of panic.  There were fist fights in grocery stores over the weekend.  So Trump brought in the heads of America's major grocery chains.  They said that supply lines were fine but people have to stop panic buying.  Trump shared this information, urged calm and told people there will be plenty of food. 
 
Immediately, the media attacked him for sending mixed messages.  It pains me to say this, but there are powerful people in the media who want panic because they believe this is the monster that can finally take down Trump. 
 
For one brief shining moment last week, some outlets, including Fox News, appropriately started emphasizing the recovery rate from the virus.  By Saturday that useful information was completely gone. 
 
Will somebody please tell me why it is not a rational, responsible thing for the media to report the recovery rate?  Doing so would help to minimize panic.  The fact that the media are not doing it is beyond disgusting.
 
During Saturday's briefing, Surgeon General Jerome Adams blasted the media for focusing on partisanship and finger-pointing.  He urged reporters to concentrate their efforts on providing "more stories about how people can protect themselves."
 
Here in the metro Washington area, the first three patients who were diagnosed with the virus two weeks ago have already recovered and are back at work.  Why is that not major news? 
 
The president and vice president have repeatedly stressed that for the overwhelming majority of people, this is not a deadly threat.  From everything we see, that is exactly correct.  Yet they are attacked for saying it.
 
 
 
Don't Panic
 
This is a time for everyone to be careful about what they read online, even if it sounds authoritative. The U.S. National Security Council issued a statement late last night debunking reports of a national lockdown.  People were showing up at grocery stores in the middle of the night trying to get in.
 
One of the things the government is struggling with is our dependence on global supply lines.  Donald Trump has been warning about this problem for decades.  As soon as he took office, he tried to address that vulnerability, but he has been opposed by left-wing politicians, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
 
When Trump urged American CEOs to start thinking about getting their factories out of China and bringing them back home, he was mocked as a "dictator" by free market advocates, libertarians, Never Trumpers and media elites.  He was right then, and the disruption caused by the coronavirus and China's subsequent threats have further proven the point.
 
 
 
HHS Hacked
 
As our nation is struggling to deal with this crisis, someone – Iran, China, Russia, ISIS – attempted to hack the Department of Health and Human Services over the weekend. The agency reports that a massive cyberattack was aimed at disrupting the government's response to the coronavirus.
 
 
 
The Debate
 
I don't know how many of you watched last night's debate, but it was certainly an educational experience.  For example, one candidate announced that in the first 100 days of his administration, no illegal alien in America would be deported for any reason. 
 
Assuming that there is another outbreak of coronavirus next year, it's easy to imagine hundreds of thousands of people from Latin America pouring across our southern border because a new left-wing administration has announced a de facto amnesty.
 
Here's another example.  The U.S. economy in general is taking a beating right now, and our energy industry in particular is struggling as Russian and Saudi oil floods the market in a price war. 
 
Incredibly, both candidates promised to drive a stake through the heart of the American energy industry by banning fracking, among other things.
 
More than six million Americans are employed by various sectors of the U.S. energy industry.  At a time when we are reeling economically, why is any politician promising to destroy millions of American jobs? 
 
Lastly, both candidates promised to support taxpayer-funding of abortion.  That's not at all popular with the American people.  But as one candidate explained, it was an essential part of his commitment to "public funding for all healthcare."