The took a non-panic approach to the pandemic. Turned out to be the right one. (When in doubt, don’t panic.)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s top epidemiologist said on Tuesday a rapid decline in new critical COVID-19 cases alongside slowing death rates indicated that Sweden’s strategy for slowing the epidemic, which has been widely questioned abroad, was working.

Sweden has foregone a hard lockdown throughout the outbreak, a strategy that set it apart from most of Europe.

Chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the public health agency said a rapid slowdown in the spread of the virus indicated very strongly that Sweden had reached relatively widespread immunity.

more more more here

Telling argument for opening up the damn economy, whether top doc knows it and/or is willing to press the point. Or not, which is a safe bet.

A few Dems want him to resign, so what?

Madigan has used hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover legal fees in the past. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in January Madigan spent nearly $1.3 million on lawyers and related costs in a year???s time. The Speaker???s political operations dealt with a sexual harassment allegation that was ultimately settled. He also faced a legal challenge from a political opponent in his legislative district.

These donations are taken for granted, apparently.

It’s only money, says Nancy.

Do I see a pattern here? Gov P blames states-around-us for more virus, Mayor LL for more guns.

What would they do without neighboring states? If it weren’t for them . . .

It became a popular media target:

Sweden is also criticized for its fatality rate which is higher than some but lower than others. As of today, the number Coronavirus deaths in Sweden is 5,667 which is considerably higher than its neighbors in Norway and Denmark but lower than Belgium, Italy, France, the UK and Spain. In other words, Sweden is somewhere in the middle of the pack. Interestingly, Sweden compares quite well to poorly-governed states in the US with similar-sized populations. Take a look:

• Sweden: No Lockdown
  Population of 10.2 million
  Coronavirus deaths ???5,667
• Lockdown State#1: New York City??(Democrat Governor, Andrew Cuomo)
  Population??? 8.3 million
  Coronavirus deaths??? 32,133 (5 and a half time more than Sweden with 2 million less people)
• Lockdown State#2: New Jersey??(another Democrat governor, Phil Murphy)
  Population??? 9.2 million (1 million less than Sweden)
  Coronavirus deaths??? 15,684 (nearly 3 times as many as Sweden with a smaller population.)
• Lockdown State#3: Massachusetts??(another Democrat Governor, Charlie Baker)
  Population??? 6.9 million #.3 million less than Sweden)
  Coronavirus deaths??? 8,380 (1 and a half times Sweden???s total with 3 million less people.)

Perspective helps.

These are the real Coronavirus losers, the three states that are run by liberal governors who imposed counterproductive lockdowns that collapsed their economies, killed tens of thousands of people, and did nothing to staunch the spread of the infection. In contrast, Sweden has weathered the storm nicely, built up the public???s innate immunity and put the economy back on the road to recovery. Take a look:

???Unlike most European countries, Sweden didn???t impose strict lockdown measures. Now it???s reaping the rewards ??? economically speaking, at least.??A report from Capital Economics published on Tuesday found that the Swedish economy was the least harmed in Europe, describing it as the ???best of a bad bunch.???

Though Sweden was not immune to the pandemic???s economic impact, it was the only major economy to grow in the first quarter of the year, the report noted???.

???The Swedish economy has weathered Covid well, thanks in part to the government???s light-touch lockdown, and our forecast of a 1.5% drop in GDP this year is well above consensus,??? the economists Andrew Kenningham, David Oxley, and Melanie Debono wrote.??? (???Sweden weathers 2020???s economic storm better than anywhere else???,??Business Insider)

NYT not impressed.

Readers might want to compare the facts about Sweden???s economy with the spurious claims made by New York Times. Here???s an excerpt from a piece titled ???Sweden Has Become the World???s Cautionary Tale???:

???Not only have thousands more people died (in Sweden) than in neighboring countries that imposed lockdowns, but Sweden???s economy has fared little better.

???They literally gained nothing,?????said Jacob F. Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. ???It???s a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains.??????

The elevated death toll resulting from Sweden???s approach has been clear for many weeks. What is only now emerging is how Sweden,??despite letting its economy run unimpeded, has still suffered business-destroying, prosperity-diminishing damage,??and at nearly the same magnitude of its neighbors.??????In short, Sweden suffered a vastly higher death rate while failing to collect on the expected economic gains.??? (???Sweden Has Become the World???s Cautionary Tale???,??New York Times)

Huh? So, Sweden ???gained nothing???, says the Times? Really??

Golly, you say, you saw nothing of this in your morning paper et al.?

More more more here.

Dems champed at the bit to get Barr in front of them.

But Democrats did not actually want to hear Barr answer questions. They wanted to take shot after shot after shot at him. So this might become known as the “reclaiming my time” hearing. This or that Democratic committee member would attack Barr and then, after the prefatory attacking, ask him a question. Then, as Barr began to answer, they would interrupt and say, “Reclaiming my time,” and begin attacking him again.

Which is when Barr became (almost) the only adult in the room.

False information but they do not specify “according to studies.”

As this stands, it’s on Facebook’s authority. If Facebook is so authoritative, why can’t it explain itself?

“We’ve removed this video for sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19,” a Facebook spokesperson told CNN, adding that the platform is “showing messages in News Feed to people who have reacted to, commented on or shared harmful COVID-19-related misinformation that we have removed, connecting them to myths debunked by the WHO.”

They should quote WHO. No possible argument? No opposite opinions allowed? Facebook man say so. But he’s faceless.

And I can say this without a smidgen of expertise but as a reader of many publications with some understanding of how newspapers should and usually do report, unless it takes the mommy-and-daddy role of him or her knows best.

Look. All I used to know, I read in the papers. Then they became biased and even unreliable, ignoring some important stories and featuring some either (a) not very important or (b) one-sided. So. What about Sweden and the coronavirus? How’s this for a start?

While the Covid-19 epidemic continues to drag on in the United States, it???s largely over in Sweden where fatalities have dropped to no more than 2 deaths per day for the last week.

You jest. I don’ belief you. What the . . . ?

Sweden has been harshly criticized in the media for not imposing draconian lockdowns like the United States and the other European countries. Instead, Sweden implemented a policy that was both conventional and sensible.

They recommended that people maintain a safe distance between each other and they banned gatherings of 50 people or more. They also asked their elderly citizens to isolate themselves and to avoid interacting with other people as much as possible. Other than that, Swedes were encouraged to work, exercise and get on with their lives as they would normally even though the world was still in the throes of a global pandemic.

Conventional and sensible.

The secret of Sweden???s success is that its experts settled on a strategy that was realistic, sustainable and science-based. The intention was never to ???fight??? the virus which is among the most contagious infections in the last century, but to protect the old and vulnerable while allowing the young, low-risk people to circulate, contract the virus, and develop the antibodies they???d need to fight similar pathogens in the future. It???s clear now that that was the best approach. And while Sweden could still experience sporadic outbreaks that might kill another 2 to 300 people, any recurrence of the infection in the Fall or Winter will not be a dreaded ???Second Wave???, but a much weaker flu-like event that will not overwhelm the public health system or kill thousands of people.

They didn’t panic. The media did. Got “particularly vicious in their criticism.”?? Sweden???s approach, they said, was too “relaxed.???

Recent headlines:

?????? Sweden becomes an example of how not to handle COVID-19, CBS News

?????? Lack of Lockdown Increased COVID-19 Deaths in Sweden, U of V Newsroom

?????? Sweden Has Become the World???s Cautionary Tale, New York Times

?????? Sweden Stayed Open And More People Died Of Covid-19, But The Real Reason May Be Something Darker, Forbes

?????? Sweden hoped herd immunity would curb COVID-19. Don???t do what we did. It???s not working. USA Today

?????? Sweden???s coronavirus death toll is now approaching zero, but experts are warning others not to hail it as a success, Business Insider

?????? Lack of COVID-19 Lockdown Increased Deaths in Sweden, Analysis Conclude, Virginia edu

?????? Sweden COVID-19 Deaths Linked to Failure to Lockdown as Country Prepares for Second Wave, Newsweek

?????? Sweden Tries Out a New Status: Pariah State, New York Times

No wonder its success is almost unknown.

As you can see, the media has taken a very hard line with Sweden. But, why? What has Sweden done that has provoked such a hostile response?

Nothing, really, they???ve just shrugged off the repressive stay-at-home orders and pursued their own independent policy. The Swedish approach stands in stark contrast to the lock-downs which are costly, ineffective and socially damaging. Here???s an excerpt from an article at The Evening Standard that underscores these very points:

???Lockdowns made little difference to the number of people who have died from coronavirus, a study has claimed. Researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Texas found that whether a country was locked down or not was ???not associated??? with the Covid-19 death rate.

This is heresy in today’s market, of course. Dr. Fauci would point the fingerbone of scorn.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/sweden-one-chart-matters?utm_campaign=&utm_content=ZeroHedge%3A+The+Durden+Dispatch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=zh_newsletter

Locking and loading:

Growing concerns over personal safety are fueling a striking surge in gun sales in the US, according to research and firearm experts. ???If you were to walk into any big-box store or any small corner gun store, you would see the shelves are bare, and they are bare because of demand,??? said Marc Oliva, a representative for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. ???Manufacturers are working around the clock to be able to keep up with that demand???

Getting to be a jungle out there.