Posted on 04.13.2020

Put Some Skin in the Game

I am going to do my level best to aim this column straight down the middle, glancing neither left nor right, in what the politicians in DC call a bipartisan fashion.

It is an attempt to circumvent personal political preferences, step around the hyperbolic, the rhetorical and the prejudiced vendettas so firmly ingrained into our minds by media on the left and on the right.

I want to ask a question and I am not going to give my opinion, but leave it to everybody who reads this to answer, the only caveat being, that you be honest with yourself, using only your own thoughts, unclouded by the obviously tilted and verbose comments of those with a very dull ax to grind.

The question is this...

If you were President of the United States of America, how would you have handled the coronavirus pandemic?

Let’s set an imaginary scene.

Let’s say, the country is buzzing along economically, with no major military conflicts, no immediate heavy-duty problems looming on the horizon, that international prestige and relationships were in good shape, unemployment was extremely low, domestic industrial startups were proceeding at a pace not seen in decades, the stock market continued to break records and GDP was inching into rarified territory.

And let’s say you had large and acquiescent majorities in both houses of Congress, freeing you to do basically anything you wanted.

And like a bolt from the blue along comes the coronavirus and in a matter of days it becomes obvious that this disease is so contagious and so deadly that experts are saying has the capacity to kill millions of Americans in a matter of months.

It’s never been seen before, very little is known about it, if is passed by person-to-person contact, by lasting for days on surfaces, is it airborne. Is it capable of infecting the food chain or the water supply?

Are there any existing therapeutic medicines to treat the infected?

How fast is it capable of spreading and how many ways can it be passed, what is the incubation period and what is the best way of slowing it down and isolating it?

And now on top of that, the disease starts popping up all over the world, worse in some places than others, totally catastrophic in some, and nobody in the medical or scientific communities has the answers.

Now, remember, you have no barriers to speak of from the legislative branch which leaves you free to do basically whatever you wish.

Now without the benefit of the hindsight we have today, take yourself back to the first days of this developing pandemic and answer honestly.

What would you have done?

Would you close down the incoming flights from the country of origin and curtail the flow of foreigners from nations where the virus was known to be rapidly spreading?

Would you immediately start making arrangements to drastically increase the production of ventilators, personal protective gear, specially equipped hospital beds, even to the point of enacting a war powers act to actually force private industry into manufacturing the needed products if necessary?

Would you commission a group of the best and brightest to research, manage and advise?

Would you basically shut down the economy of the nation, forcing citizens to quarantine themselves for a period of time, allowing only what is deemed as urgent and imperative business and services to operate?

And when and what do you do about kick-starting the economy?

Do you do it in segments?

Do you wait while approximately 330,0000,000 people are tested to make sure the virus has been stamped out?

Awesome job, huh?

What do you think? 

Pray for our troops our police and the peace of Jerusalem. 

God Bless America 

— Charlie Daniels

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Check out "Mexico Again" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

Comments

Trump Wins
Amen, Amen & Amen Charlie I would play it just as Trump has.....nuff said God Bless Plowboy
Posted by Plowboy
YES
I'll go with a overall YES! I think the virus hit us earlier than reported; so shutting down as soon as it was feasible was a smart move. If it wasn't soon enough than it was still needed when the s..t hit the fan! Without inside knowledge, when it was deemed safe I'd open the Country in segments/sections. I'd be ready to back up as needed during this opening. Unless the governors were grossly negligent I'd let them use their local information to make opening decisions. We'll see what happens and I can only hope that our People respond with common sense and get rid of their hoarder/mean "what's in it for me" ways. Thank you Charlie! Irish Mickey.
Posted by Irish Mickey
Put some skin on it
My papaw always said, "Plain talk is easy to understand!"....
Posted by Conan
Keep er Open
Amen, Amen & Amen Charlie, as I think on this one it is easy to see how one's outlook could change like the weather, however where the rubber meets the road, I find that first Trump done what is good, stop many from coming into the country, another good reason to seal up the borders to all illegals, forever. Next would be mobilize all necessary manpower and equipment including floating naval hospitals in case the models were accurate. But under no circumstance would I shut down the economy, The head of Israel’s Health Ministry, Isaac Ben-Israel, stated yesterday that shuttering business, curfews and lock downs have no effect. He farther stated “This is how it is all over the world. Both in countries where they have taken closure steps like Italy and in countries that have not had closures, like Taiwan and Singapore," Off course hind sight is 20/20, but now is the time to get'er done and get back to Keeping America Great.....nuff said God Bless Plowboy
Posted by Plowboy
Skin in the Game
President Trump did the right thing in stopping travel to and from the U.S. And of course, retrospect is a better judge. However, closing the ENTIRE country??? Telling people what they can and cannot do? For a disease that we now know is NOT what they supposed it to be...The flu kills more every single year. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people will succumb to bankruptcy, loss of business' which took years to build, and depression like we have not since the likes of since the '20's and 30's of the previous century. No, the cure has been worse than the disease. Each governor of our great states should make determinations based on INDIVIDUAL states. Governor Lee has been very disappointing for my home state of TN. He did NOT stop abortion, he closed our state for a length of time that we may indeed cripple it for years to come. I voted for him, attended rallies with and for him. I believe him a good man. But by George open our state Governor!!! Let the little man run his gift shop, feed those who want to go out in their restaurants, open our Salons and our parks. I do not suppose to be voting for him in the next TN election and that's sad because he is a fine man. But when American Civil Liberties become less important than death (and only God knows the time for that in a person's life..as our days are numbered) then we have crossed a very scary line. The civil unrest which could ensue could make this virus look like a belly ache. OPEN UP OUR COUNTRY. LET THE PEOPLE USE GOOD JUDGEMENT. We have a great Constitution. It has been attacked.
Posted by Elizabeth
"What would you have done?"
“Would you close down the incoming flights...curtail the flow of foreigners...immediately start making arrangements to drastically increase the production of ventilators, personal protective gear, specially equipped hospital beds[?]...” Maybe. To be honest, I actually might. “...even to the point of enacting a war powers act to actually force private industry into manufacturing the needed products...basically shut down the economy...forcing citizens to quarantine...allowing only what is deemed as urgent and imperative business and services to operate?” No. I can’t imagine anyone doing that. Remember West Nile virus? Remember SARS? These and some other disease scares in recent years were shrugged off as hype, a handful of few-and-far-between incidents. The stay-at-home guidelines and such didn’t happen until this crisis became obvious. -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
“What would you have done?”
That’s a completely different issue entirely. -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
Skin in the Game
I would do Exactly what President Trump has, & is doing! However, I don't know How President Trump can even think straight, much less make decisions & call the shots, with all the torment & harassment he's constantly thrown by the media...But for the Grace of God! He's always in my prayers, & he should be in the prayers of all.✝️ As far as opening the country back up for business, IMO that should be done Solely By President Trump (vs By the state Governors), BUT!! it should be done on a Region by Region basis After Careful discussion with each governor of the states within the specific regions as well as the president's medical experts, & based on the Factual Data provided regarding Both Case Numbers And Regional Preparedness! When the first Region gets opened back up, the Data for all the states in that Region should be carefully studied for Reoccurrences & Spread to Surrounding states outside of that region Before consideration is given to open up the next region.
Posted by Snow
I responded to the wrong quote.
CRAP !!! I meant for “That’s a completely different issue entirely.” to be a response for “And when and what do you do about kick-starting the economy?”, NOT “What would you have done?” My mistake. -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
“And when and what do you do about kick-starting the economy?”
Bush43 was wrong to bailout banks. Obama was wrong to bailout auto makers. And Trump will be wrong to bailout the airline industry if he does so. None of these companies are “too big to fail”. I hope new businesses in these industries are established and replace the ones that received these bailouts. -- Tru Cola P.S.: I REALLY agree with Charlie’s statement, “If we use it here, it should be made here”. I’ve been coming up with ideas for this and posting them on the soapbox article “Survival”, where Charlie first said this. I encourage you all to read these ideas and add some of your own.
Posted by Tru
“And when and what do you do about kick-starting the economy?”
Money to individuals (like the $1,200 checks) is a good idea. Compensate workers. Let the consumers decide where that money goes. Help for small businesses is a good idea. I say absolutely no help for big businesses whatsoever. Not one red cent. Let them fend for themselves. -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
“And when and what do you do about kick-starting the economy?”
Trump was wrong to claim the authority to decide when states should reopen the economy. He was right to backtrack on this. -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
trump
President Trump did not win the popular vote He lost by 2.5 M votes. It's the flawed voting system that is responsible. If you want to save the country from people, you must change the system to one person one vote .Only way my vote can count. 2.5 M VOTERS DENIED.
Posted by Joe
Our President.
I have a great confidence in our President. I shudder to think about a Hillary Clinton response to all this.
Posted by Randy
Trump and COVID
Well - it is good that he supported social distancing and closed large gatherings. It is also good that he has Dr Fauci and other experts on his team and he even occasionally listens to them. But - stating "I know more about viruses than anyone Jan 20 - I would not do that. Stating "We pretty much shut it down coming in from China" Feb 2 - I would not do that. Stating "The cornovirus is very much under control in the USA...Stock Market starting to look very good to me" Feb 24, I would not do that. Stating "I think that's a problem that's going to go away...They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we're very close to a vaccine." Feb 25 - I would not do that. Stating "I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president" March 6, I would not do that. Calling it a hoax perpetuated by the Democratic Party at a trump rally (actually - some nuts still believe this !), I would not do that. Constant complaining and diverting responsibility blaming others - Obama, Media, Democrats, etc, etc, I would not do that. Spreading fake news on Fox - I would not do that. We now know that Trump had early warnings in January that things were going bad. The amount of cognitive dissonance on the right is mind boggling. If Obama did half of the things that toddler trump did - the right wing folks would be all over him, including Charlie, Hannity, and others. When toddler trump does it - all is ok. But then again - he can shoot someone on 5 Ave and not lose a single vote. That is trumps way of stating that no matter what he does, you all will follow. An insult to his followers, although they have not figured that out yet. Although there is no opinion ventured in Charlie's post today, is is fantasy that previous posts play it "down the middle."
Posted by Paul
BUDDY WHITAKER
CHARLIE , I'm just trying to let you know that Dad passed away on Easter. He was in the hospital with his diabetes and caught corona virus. He was very proud to know you and call you his friend. I'm gratful for all the good times we got to share with you backstage and the summer we got to come see you at twin pines. I'll try to catch up with you the next time you are in town. Thanks for everything Buddy Ray Whitaker
Posted by CHARLES
Responding to Joe and Randy
Someone like Ted Cruz or John Kasich would’ve defeated Hillary Clinton in the popular vote, and would’ve defeated her in electoral vote by a larger margin. Like Trump, Hillary would’ve planned to reopen the economy earlier than the states were willing to do so. Unlike Trump, Hillary would not have changed her mind letting the states make the decision anyway (so places like Wal-Mart and Target can sell more things that are made in China). -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
Can't make some folks happy
Well, it's obvious that going right down the middle makes the moonbats even madder. Must they politicize everything to the max, even the idea of aid to starving businesses? That's rhetorical, of course the answer is yes.
Posted by Jeff
Country Joe, we call it the United STATES of America. . .
Joe, Did you know that the framers of the Constitution felt that the method of electing the President was by far their best work. The world was run by monarchs appointed for life and had never heard of a President" that would be elected by the people of each State that way he is accountable to the people not Congress. We elect local,state, and federal representatives including Electoral Collage by what ever way the each state see fit, the Feds have very little to do with state election law. Let's say you have 29 Electoral votes it's because you have 27 house and 2 senate seats who represent your State in congress at the same time you are adding 29 votes toward the election of the Executive. The Electoral Collage gives each state a voice in the Executive branch of government. Schools don't offer Civics class LBJ took that away! (sounds like a Country Joe and the Fish tune) yes I am old. DeploraBill the Northwoods Drifter
Posted by bill
To Paul, the physician
As with your comments on previous Soapbox articles, I agree completely. Trump is a dangerous idiot, a toddler who only blames others for his shortcomings, who takes "absolutely no responsibility" and plays to his followers like some demented Pied Piper. As I write this, he is inciting people to flout the recommendations of his own "administration," calling protesters against the stay-at-home orders "responsible" when they are anything but. I dread to think what he thought would happen when he mentioned the Second Amendment in his tweet advocating the "liberation" of Virginia. You are also absolutely correct about Charlie, as well: he will often start a post/article proclaiming that he will be fair, even-handed, play it "down the middle" and then will only criticize those he considers to be on the Left. Charlie also - and this has been a pet peeve of mine for years - routinely signs off asking for prayers for "our troops our police and the peace of Jerusalem." He doesn't ask for prayers for the poor, the sick, the homeless, those who are actually persecuted or for peace in places like Chicago or Syria. Anyway, thanks for your insights! Steve
Posted by Steve