Letter to the Editor
My response to Letter to the Editor from Ms. Jeanne Scrivner-
Hello Ms. Scrivner. My wife and I would like to thank you for taking the time to respond to our Letters to the Editor on the Covid19 panic. Although we are in disagreement, we have nothing but respect for anyone who will discuss these important matters. And to do so publicly and sign your name is clearly more courageous than the complaints from those who remain anonymous. I will respond for both Kimberly and me.
You stated that “I, for one, want facts, not hypotheticals, especially from a doctor.” First, the ‘what if’ approach is both a literary technique and a teaching approach. Instead of just making statements of opinion, which many people will reject reflexively, the technique is to frame ‘facts’ or opinions in the form of questions in order to get the reader to begin to question the accepted narrative in their own minds. The point is for you to consider alternatives. For you to ask the questions. This technique is sometimes used very effectively by Judge Andrew Napolitano in his articles. It also is related to the Socratic teaching method. Asking students questions invites them to think through the answer themselves, rather than being told what to think. If you care to try something interesting, take Kim’s letter and black out all the ‘what ifs’ with a sharpie pen, then go back and read it again. You will discover that the entire letter is a digest of what we suggest are the ‘facts’ of the Covid19 panic. It’s really quite shocking when it is read that way. Please give it a try.
Also, Kim’s letter gave a long list of sources for actual evidence of those ‘facts.’ Did you look up any of them before you wrote your response? We don’t know where you found the numbers you quoted for Covid19 cases, deaths, and the asymptomatic paradigm; but I can assure you that if you were to investigate the sources Kim listed, especially the medical ones, you would find a treasure trove of credible conflicting data, none of which can be found on mainstream TV or radio news or the daily White House/CDC briefings.
For example: Did you know that the whole ‘lockdown’ fever by world governments was in response to the W.H.O. declaring a pandemic. That was based upon projections from a computer model from the UK called the ‘Imperial College Model.’ It predicted many millions of deaths. I believe it was initially 2.2 million for the USA and 500,000 for the UK. Everyone panicked. Once the government lockdowns were in place, Neil Ferguson, the author of the model (who reportedly refused to share his computer programs with any other scientists) revised his estimates dramatically downward. The UK projection dropped to 20,000, then 10,000. The USA projections came down to 100,000-200,000, then 60,000. But the lockdowns and the CDC recommendations of distancing and masking stayed in place, even though the projections were then on par with a seasonal flu. In other words, case and death numbers that we experience from flu most every year.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, also downgraded his projections of millions of deaths in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, stating, “The overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (fatality 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively.” This was of course after trillions of dollars in bailout money were committed. And yet the lockdown continues. This is not from me or Kim, it’s from Anthony Fauci.
The case numbers you quote also include presumed cases (not proven) – anyone with a symptom like fever, cough or breathing difficulty, all common to a number of illnesses, including seasonal flu. The diagnosis and testing itself is highly unreliable.
The death numbers were addressed in our previous letters, but it is clear from many ‘front line’ sources that they include anyone who died with the virus, not just deaths directly caused by the virus; and many of those are ‘presumed’ cases. The death toll has thus been exaggerated, and most deaths were people of advanced ages already close to dying from other conditions.
As to ‘asymptomatic’ shedding of the virus – as I understand, this is nothing unusual, and all viruses can be shed when asymptomatic. An ‘asymptomatic carrier’ is a healthy person. This should not be a cause to fear your healthy neighbors. Assuming that a virus can actually be transmitted person to person, the mere presence of the virus does not mean the person will become ill. Being exposed is a natural part of how our immune system learns and keeps us healthy. We need exposure to bacteria and fungi and viruses. In fact, we would not survive without them.
You also wrote “I don’t see any sign from Mr. Urban’s letter how he feels about other people’s freedoms to not become exposed.” I don’t agree. I thought I made it quite clear that I am concerned for everyone’s personal freedoms as expressed in the Constitution. That document is not about how we treat each other, it’s about protecting all of us from government violating our natural rights. With FREEDOM comes responsibility. In a free society, while we may care about one another and voluntarily agree to cooperate, we are each responsible for our own safety and health. I don’t hold you responsible for mine. And I am not responsible for yours. We can each educate ourselves about the risks, and decide what level of caution is appropriate for ourselves. If you are afraid of contacts, then you can wear masks and gloves if you think they will help, keep your distance from everyone, or just stay home. If you are especially at risk because you have other serious health issues, then it might be best for you to stay home until you are recovered. I don’t deny you that, and I am not asking you to do anything you are afraid to do. All of these choices, whether mine or yours, are ‘self-centered.’ And if the local Walmart wants everyone to wear a mask or stay out, we would comply, because they own the store and can make the rules for their business. We just don’t want government telling us, or Walmart, what to do.
I’m not sure that I understand your meaning, but it sounds as though you think we are going about intentionally endangering others. Not so. We believe in the ‘live and let live’ approach. If someone wants to have contact with us, we are fine with that, as we are not in fear of any viral transmission, symptomatic or asymptomatic. Otherwise, we simply leave people alone. However, we are not at all convinced that this virus is a threat to any but those who are immune compromised, and even then, we do not believe the death toll numbers are honestly attributable to the virus. I don’t mean to sound cold about any of this – it’s a great shame that anyone has to die from a preventable disease or accident. But millions of Americans die each year from preventable causes – like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hospital induced infections, legal and illegal drugs, and even seasonal flu. They all die because their body’s immune system has been compromised and lost the ability to heal or fight off disease.
Wearing masks does not boost your immune system. Social distancing does not boost your immune system. Staying home does not boost your immune system. And by the way, stress and fear are very high on the list of things that will compromise your immune system, along with pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines (the only options heralded by the CDC), lack of sunlight/vitamin D3, a poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, lack of sufficient sleep, exposure to toxic chemicals or electromagnetic radiation and more. There is actually little or no science behind the use of lockdowns of healthy people or social distancing and masking to stop a virus. The only thing that will stop it is ‘herd immunity’, after a sufficient percentage of the healthy population develop natural immunity.
If you want to see some scientific news on the virus, and real evidence, I recommend you at least visit the Youtube channels of Dr John Bergman (try this video: “Science or lack of science”) and Del Bigtree (video: “Censored Doc Doubles Down”). That would be a good start.
You state that “we should all follow the CDC guidelines.” Go for it. When it comes to government pronouncements, we prefer to do our own research before blindly accepting the edicts of career technocrats and politicians. The history and track record of the CDC is not all that inspiring to us. If you choose to follow the CDC, we have no objections. Since I am the FREEDOM guy, I promise that I will never tell you “what guidelines you should follow.” But I can assure you that Kim and I are not alone, as there is a long list of very prominent medical experts who disagree strongly with the W.H.O. and CDC guidelines, and many who believe the economic consequences of the ‘lockdown’ will result in more deaths than the virus ever will.
Are you aware that the W.H.O., the group that first declared the ‘coronavirus pandemic’ based upon admittedly wrong death projection models, is now stating that we will likely face a series of food shortages and famines which will kill tens, if not hundreds of millions of people around the world, as a direct result of the government lockdowns of economies which have disrupted world food chains? And the W.H.O. is saying we should have acted more responsibly, like Sweden, who did not lockdown their population and businesses, but respected individuals, not government edicts, to determine how and when to take protective measures.
I don’t know who the ‘front line’ doctors and nurses are that you have seen pleading for us to stay home in order to protect others – but whoever fears they need protection from the virus can stay home themselves. How does our staying home protect you? Only you staying home protects you. Common sense says you quarantine the sick and at risk, not the healthy.
We are not harming anyone, Ms. Scrivner. But media-generated fear is doing a lot of harm. A collapsing economy is doing harm. And government overreach always does harm. This virus will pass, but any loss of our precious FREEDOMs will probably be permanent. Think about the temporary security measures (the TSA) which the government put into place at the airports after 911. Temporary! That was 18 years, thousands of gropings and billions of dollars ago.
Finally, we are very pleased that there are no virus deaths here in Douglas County. We don’t wish any illness upon anyone. There was a run of mild seasonal flu symptoms here back in December and January which could have been a coronavirus, so perhaps we all have immunity already.
Kim worked very hard and long to become a Medical Doctor and she practiced Obstetrics and Gynecologic Surgery for about two decades. I served our country for decades as a military officer. We too have been on the ‘front lines.’ We care deeply about America’s health and America’s FREEDOM, and when all is said and done, we respect your right to disagree.
We wish you well. Be safe, but even more important, LIVE FREE.
Bob Urban (and Kim Brady)
