Governor Murphy should be held criminally accountable (Opinion)

Businesses destroyed, continued economic hardship on working and middle class families, vulnerable patients killed when the governor ordered nursing homes to accept back patients who were known to have coronavirus. All supposedly to stop the spread, flatten the curve or whatever cute propaganda slogan you subscribed to at the time. The bottom line is the disease itself flattened and dissipated. Not because of government action, but because it’s a virus and that’s historically what happens.

As a matter of fact, millions more people have had the virus than reported, this according to medical experts on the front lines. In the Bronx, the estimate back in April was that 40% of residents had the virus. In Sweden, the estimate is that half of the nation’s population has been exposed. With only 6,000 deaths, the rate of death equates to .12% compared to the season flu which is approximately .11%.

So what do we know? We know that most people will be exposed in some way to coronavirus despite masks and lockdowns. As far as the masks, they are nearly completely ineffective when it comes to stopping the spread. Actually, contrary to the government push for masks to help stop the spread to others, even N95 masks are useless:

For example, N95 masks can filter particles as small as 0.3 microns, so they may prevent a majority of respiratory droplets from escaping. They cannot block aerosolized viruses, however, that are in the air itself. Additionally, many N95 masks only protect the wearer, as they have exhalation ports that allow you to exhale unfiltered air.

Lab testing has shown 3M surgical masks can block up to 75% of particles measuring between 0.02 microns and 1 micron, while cloth masks block between 30% and 60% of respiratory particles of this size. As noted in the WHO's guidance memo:

"Meta-analyses in systematic literature reviews have reported that the use of N95 respirators compared with the use of medical masks is not associated with any statistically significant lower risk of the clinical respiratory illness outcomes or laboratory-confirmed influenza or viral infections …

The use of cloth masks (referred to as fabric masks in this document) as an alternative to medical masks is not considered appropriate for protection of health workers based on limited available evidence …

At present, there is no direct evidence (from studies on COVID- 19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19."

Curiously, while cloth masks and face coverings are far less effective for blocking respiratory droplets, the WHO recommends that cloth or nonmedical masks "should only be considered for source control (used by infected persons) in community settings and not for prevention." - Doctor Joseph Mercola analyzing WHO reports

As a matter of fact, the often heralded CDC has concluded the same thing about the uselessness of masks…

CDC Policy Review Found No Evidence of Usefulness Either

A policy review paper9 published in Emerging Infectious Diseases in May 2020 — the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's own journal — has also reviewed "the evidence base on the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical personal protective measures … in non-healthcare settings," and they too found no evidence of benefit:

"Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza."

Pages 970 to 972 of the review include the following quotes:10

"In our systematic review, we identified 10 RCTs [randomized controlled trials] that reported estimates of the effectiveness of face masks in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the community from literature published during 1946–July 27, 2018. In pooled analysis, we found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks …

Disposable medical masks (also known as surgical masks) are loose-fitting devices that were designed to be worn by medical personnel to protect accidental contamination of patient wounds, and to protect the wearer against splashes or sprays of bodily fluids …

There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure.

Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza … In this review, we did not find evidence to support a protective effect of personal protective measures or environmental measures in reducing influenza transmission. - Doctor Joseph Mercola analyzing CDC reports

Combine the uselessness of masks, actually you could add the danger of masks given the constant face touching and the false sense of security, with the fact that half the population is estimated to have had the virus, Plus the fact that for younger healthy people there is almost ZERO risk of getting sick, let alone dying and let’s not forget that we have a treatment which has been proven to work to save lives. Add it all up and the policy direction should be clear: open the economy and schools without any restrictions.

Now back to the point of criminal accountability, how is the governor of New Jersey allowed to exercise the power to arbitrarily take away your rights to assemble and make a living?  How is the governor allowed to blame the nursing homes when it was his own administration that exposed the most vulnerable to the disease? How is he allowed to ignore the fact that the virus, even at it’s peak, was simply not a threat to young people?

When will you realize that you have been lied to and have fallen victim to out-of-control government abuse? Will you fight back? Who speaks for New Jersey? Who speaks for common sense and reality? Certainly no one in Trenton government.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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