• MANUFACTURE OUTSOURCING TO CHINA has provided Americans with substantially cheaper products, but comes with some negative trade-offs. Beyond the current COVID-19 problem, imports have included: Other viral epidemics – H1N1, bird flu & SARS; toothpaste made with poison found in antifreeze; drywall installed in 100K homes which emitted noxious fumes, destroyed electrical wiring & metal fixtures; melamine-laced dog food that killed possibly thousands of pets; and long-horned beetles (via a cargo ship) which killed over 200K New England maple trees so far. The reason Chinese goods are so cheap is that they skip the crucial quality control step.”  [TOWNHALL .COM – 3/18/20]
  • THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF DEHYDRATION which result from failure to drink enough water are significant. Impacts include fatigue, drop in energy, loss of focus, memory and attention decline.   “When fluid intake is decreased, the body stores water to hydrate vital organs first,” but studies show that dehydration can induce headaches, impact kidney & colon performance, and urination (also turning urine dark yellow).  An evidence based analysis is at eatthis.com/drink-water/.
  • ANOTHER BENEFIT: DRINKING MORE WATER IN THE FORM OF TEA, on a regular basis, may also provide a “protective effect against age-related brain decline.” A small but important study of tea drinkers over age 60 at Nat’l University of Singapore Medical School reported in Aging Magazine that “neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging found better organized brain region connectivity structure and cognitive functions” than in non-tea drinkers. [LIFE EXTENSION – Apr 20]
  • S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) IS BECOMING A JOKE. “At current deportation rates, it would take 140 years to remove the illegal immigrants who snuck in just during the border surge of the last two years” while Congress and state officials dithered over political power gaming for future voters. Some 3.3 million cases are now on the ‘non-detained docket’ – so greatly outstripping the capacity of ICE that “without additional resources to actually effectuate a judge’s removal orders, we have an immigration enforcement & court system in which billions of dollars a year are spent to obtain orders that are not worth the paper they are written on.”  [LBN EXAMINER – 3/15/20]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:  As we watch this generation continue to re-write history, one thing we can be sure of: it will be misspelled and will have no punctuation

                              THE CORONA VIRUS CRISIS

It’s early 2020, the entire world on edge.  Just a temporary pandemic, all the experts pledge.

Virus just a form of flu which for centuries has attacked, and our species so far successful in fighting it back.

This year’s virus is more serious having taken a course which ignored territorial boundaries with contagion force,

Infecting people silently, transmitting quickly with ease, but is still diagnosed a manageable disease,

With relatively simple steps to mitigate its impact: avoiding large gatherings and cautious personal contact,

Not touching skin of others or anything they’ve touched, especially plastic/metal/fabric – everything pretty much.

The medical crisis is genuine and serious to be sure, exacerbated by 24/7 preaching “Pandemic! No cure!”

From the media mob fighting to keep audience tuned-in, via irrelevant headlines and half-truth opinion,

From ‘expert’ talking-heads and selfish politicians, extolling propaganda for their vote-slanted positions. 

With Smartphones screaming ‘Crisis’ in a manner so frantic, it drives so many people to levels of Panic,

 Who then overwhelm resources, raid and hoard supplies, fear all outside contact, and fail to realize

That most of the Panic is simply explained – the result of unnecessary, stupid, self-inflicted pain.

 Like crises before, Covid-19 too shall pass and the world will reset, although alas,

Like outcomes before, those most fittest survive, who took sensible positive steps to survive,

By acting responsibly and doing what’s ‘right,’ maintaining positive outlook for a future still bright. 

So try not to get crazy, don’t succumb to fright; it’s time to relax, breathe and just try to sit tight.     [DENNIS GRAY – 3/20]