Threat Level: Bat Guano

Also, let's talk about the definition of 'greatness.'

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Dear Reader (Including the ancient Japanese haruspexes, who were quite literally “Deer Readers”),

The inestimable Matt Ridley wrote in the Wall Street Journal this week:

“In Shitou Cave, south of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, they found viruses in the bats’ droppings and anal swabs that were more similar to human SARS than anything found in palm civets, the small mammals that until then were presumed to be the source of human infection.”

There are a lot of observations about the weirdness of these times that have become era-defining clichés. I use—or have used—many myself. “We live in a reality TV show.” “I wonder what’s happening on Earth 2?” “This isn’t the timeline I chose. “Let’s touch the orb; what could go wrong?” And, of course, “If you wrote this in a novel, people would reject it for being too unbelievable.”

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  1. Avatar photo
    Scarlette Tarte

    A "great country" is one like we used to be. In WWII, we turned manufacturers of all kinds of products into manufacturers of war products. We RAMPED UP production and women went to work in the factories turning out the bombers, bullets, guns, parachutes, etc...that we needed to win that long, hard slog. Or the country that marshaled all the best scientists and test pilots and put a man on the moon in just ten years. Or, going back in time, the country that built the railroad across the continent while it was fighting a civil war.

    WE are not that country anymore, and the entire fault of this lies with the 45 years of Republicans purposely trying to get government to fail. From putting people into positions they have no experience with, to purposely designing systems to fail like the Republicans did in Florida with the unemployment system there, Republicans have been determined to destroy American's faith in their own government.

    Our government used to be EXTREMELY competent...and that was the problem for the Republicans. They knew they could never get Americans to go against their own government...so they had to destroy Americans belief that their government could rise to occasions like this and keep them safe.

    Congratulations, you jerks. You have done what no outside nation could have done. Republicans have destroyed the country from within.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    I think I just finished listening to this one? I definitely started it earlier, finished the latest one from Tuesday with James Pethokoukis (very good!), and for some reason there was a little left from “The Ruminant” (great name). So forgive me, if I’m a bit confused.

    I was near the end, and this is where you, Jonah, started responding to a couple of subscribers who were getting after you re Trump. I could hear your frustration, and almost feel it, because I’m also tired of the complaining. I’m not certain I know why so many people are upset with you over Trump, but I’m wondering if part of it is they basically enjoy your work, and support your opinions for most things, but are disappointed that you don’t share their enthusiasm for or even resignation over Trump and the Republican Party.

    I thought you made some very valid points, and I have no arguments. What I do know is that it’s still not going to matter, which is sad. People want to believe what they want to believe, and I don’t care how logical the information is for having different beliefs, they will just cling all the harder.

    I have a wonderful brother, and I can’t tell you how much I love him. But, he will not allow himself to listen to anything or anyone who doesn’t support his beliefs. He reads to some extent, but he doesn’t challenge himself. I would give anything if he’d read more history or just listen to some of the really good conservative podcasts I’ve tried sharing with him. Instead, he is still clinging to Rush Limbaugh!! He listens to some Ben Shapiro (I kind of enjoy him), and I’m not sure what else. Just the other day we were talking, and my brother was telling me what a great job Trump is doing. It’s not worth getting into an argument, so I mostly just listened. But, I also have to listen to various theories regarding this quarantine that my brother is getting from the people who are telling him exactly what he wants to hear.

    Another example is I happen to like Dr. Drew Pinsky. You may recall (or not) that he had a TV show called “Celebrity Rehab,” and he’s also done a number of podcasts, mostly on addiction. However, he has an MD in internal medicine. Fairly early on he was saying that Coronavirus was basically another flu, don’t worry, get your flu shot, wash your hands, stay home if your sick, etc. As it turned out, he was wrong about the virus, and he’s admitted it. He does a daily update on Facebook, trying to keep his followers informed re this virus. I can’t tell you how many awful posts are put out there. People (as you know) are vicious. But what really gets to me is that not one of them had any credible knowledge themselves. They’ve made a decision based on something they heard from someone else, and they cannot let it go. I honestly doubt that most of them are even listening, it’s just an opportunity to throw something out there, and get some recognition from their fellow kind. One guy wanted me to know that he had a medical background and worked in one of the hospitals where all these sick people were coming in, and how horrible it was, and how Dr. Drew was part of the reason this was happening. When I asked him what his medical background was, his reply was “guess!” He wouldn’t give me any information about himself, and why he was an authority. I see this all the time.

    I know that’s not exactly the same thing, and I think the people (at least here) who are upset are at least articulate, but my point is people are so damn stubborn! So, even though I know I’ve said this before. Thank you for giving me a different perspective. You’ve said many things I hadn’t considered before or wasn’t aware of. I want to be informed, I want to learn, and I don’t want to be the one who only listens to the things that support what I think I know (which I’ve discovered more often than I’d like to admit, are often incorrect).

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  3. Avatar photo
    JonathanRRogers

    I appreciate the complexities of dealing with neighbors and dogs. I also have two dogs that are very different and require different treatment in public. One, a 45 lb mix, gets along with other dogs and would never hurt a human or canine, though she will wrestle pretty hard. The other, a 60 lb pitbull, loves people exuberantly but doesn't get along with any dog other than my first dog. I walk both on leash in my neighborhood, but I must take a much more vigilant and defensive stance when walking the latter. I know I can keep control of him, but once or twice a week, a loose dog will suddenly appear and approach us and I do whatever I can to keep it from getting too close. I've often kicked the loose dog simply because I don't have any knowledge of its temperament or intentions. This is to protect the other dog as well as to protect my dog and myself.

    It's bad enough that loose dogs often approach with no human in sight, but I've also often passed a person with a dog, either in a yard or just on the street, and the dog suddenly charges at my dog. In a situation like that, a person has either failed to hang on to a leash or mistakenly though that because she was near, she had control over her dog. It may be true that 95% of the time the dog would have stayed by the person's side. For whatever reason, the person has become complacent. I have no reason to think the Goldbergs are not in control of Pippa at all times, but the people they walk by don't necessarily know that, nor do they necessarily know that Pippa is harmless. I don't know if they're being irresponsible, but I can easily imagine how neighbors near by might think they are.

    Bringing government into a dog control issue is even trickier. I have only contacted authorities twice when the owner of a dog expressed a complete lack of willingness to control the dog. The worst example is a woman that called the police to complain that I had repeatedly knocked on her door to complain that her dog was loose and had chased me and my dog down the street. I made sure to be there when the police officers arrived and they sided with me. A couple of weeks later, the dog was loose again with no humans in sight so I called 911, the first time I'd ever done so for any reason. I'd never have considered calling 911 except that the officer I talked to the first time told me to.

    I don't know enough about the Goldbergs' situation to judge who was in the wrong or to what extent. Because I read and listen to Jonah, I'm biased toward his position that the legal complaint was motivated by a grudge. On the other hand, does the fact that dog owners should be held responsible for what their dogs do apply only when physical damage has already occurred? I have attempted to hold dog owners responsible, usually by speaking to them face to face, because their dogs have behaved in a way that I perceive could easily have resulted in a fight. I have witnessed enough dog fights to know that if I let a dog get within six feet of mine, I've waited too long to act.

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  4. Mary Stine

    Friends.. Jonah has, as always, a lot of truly fine points here, the most obvious being that the "greatness" of a country should not be measured only in acts by government officials alone. A country, to my mind, is a place inhabited by individuals who have agreed on many things, most importantly how to treat each other and co-exist, what laws and traditions to maintain, and where to draw the borders of said country.
    We always have been a place where ordinary citizens can feel free to spring to the aid of others in whatever way necessary. Perhaps we have not always done this perfectly or swiftly enough, but we keep trying. We are, most of us, trying right now to help each other.
    Help, going forward must address the elephant in the room: not enough local USA
    manufacturers that are supported to continue manufacturing essential needs.
    The word supported is key here. As the daughter and granddaughter of small farmers and the partner of a small business I am well acquainted with the problem of competing with the amoral machinations of the giant corporations. I suggest a conservative yet radical way to support true small local businesses: small memberships. Each family/household pays a small monthly fee ($5.00) plus an agreement to purchase a minimum amount of goods over the course of a year, sort of like a CSA agreement with your local small farmer. Goods that would only be vital in something like a pandemic
    (ventilators, PPE) could be stockpiled in limited quantities for membership use at local hospitals or donated/loaned on agreement. Goods needed daily or year round could be delivered to a drop-off point (local community center) or directly to clients' homes.
    Then, if a crisis occurs and shelter in place has to happen again, small businesses already have a steady income and buyers have a less erratic supply of necessities.
    Having a good local supply of PPE would let a lot more manufacturers stay up and running, as well as allow adaptations to local needs: pipefitting and welding might need more flame retardant and abrasion retardant PPE than veterinary staff, for example.

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    The Bell Tower

    This is a fantastic article. Too many people these days fail to grasp: efficient government is tyranny. The fact that our divided system fails to accomplish much of anything without tempered consensus is a feature, not a bug. Gridlock is a bulwark for liberty.

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    Anne W (Raw5254)

    Lots of interesting comments, and the only thing I want to add is my thumbs up for your podcast version of The G-File. 👍🏻

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    Israel Bigelow

    Jonah makes a great point about "Greatness" that is often lost in the debates among political partisans. That doesn't mean local leaders and all people behaved well or that the President was, but the narrative being put out is that America's response was altogether terrible behind other modern economies and if only we had someone else in the White House or a more centralized economic system could we have avoided this is mess is false. Emergencies do require competent leaders but greatness is not how many ventilator makes we have in our stockpile, it's a founding attitude and culture that is carrying us through. You'll see a documentary like Tiger King showing Americans at their worst and most self-absorbed, but what about millions of hard-working Americans who've sacrificed during this crisis? Were their sacrifices in vain?

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  8. Bob B

    I live in Santa Clara County where the first shelter in place rule was put in place. Unlike Jonah's fantasy of wise individuals acting prior to governement action, I can tell you that virtually no one was sheltering in place prior to being told to do so by the county authorities. Sure a few large events got cancelled but my workplace was busy, the retail stores had lots of people, and the restaurants were packed. We were concerned but life went on as normal. It took a government decree to force us (myself included) to shelter in place and for many businesses to close. I did not like it, I resisted it, but I knew the county health officials were right. Fortunately most of my local citizens followed the lead of the government and we are much better for it. We are no longer a major virus hotspot. The local government took the lead and citizens followed.

    Likewise I stopped flying because we were advised not to do so. Ditto with visiting elderly relatives in care centers. Not something I would have done naturally, not something I would have done on my own, but I have faith in my local and state leaders (unlike the bozo we have as President) and followed their lead.

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    Logical

    The situation is, if not for the tragedy, quite hilarious.

    We spent trillions on a problem which, as a first order solution, could've been fixed with a $6.99 Home Depot dead bolt on each cockpit door.

    Pentagon conducts round the clock, comprehensive war games on every conceivable scenario, most of which would be pin pricks on the economy.

    But we spent little to nothing in focus or dollars on a real war game which would bring the economy to its heels in one shot.

    Regarding the strawman JG usually erects to take down the liberals, no..I don't want Trump to become Frederick the Great; just stop being a jerk and help me get a fresh mask and a test for the bug.

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  10. Bob Metzger

    I’ve been reading Jonah since before he had grey in his hair and beard. I like his spunk and many of his views, but I’m no butt boy. Now it seems I’ve read 2 straight G Files with little to question. Either I have lost my critical eye or perhaps he’s penetrated my cerebral cortex like a friendly brain worm! Great column.!

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