Misleading headlines are driving dangerous policy in NJ (Opinion)

When you hear things like “Florida Has Less Than 25% of ICU Beds Available” it strikes fear in some and they are more willing to accept further erosion of their liberty. But as we’ve learned through the pandemic and the subsequent panic and shutdown, the news media is not exactly trustworthy.

Florida is the latest target of the media and New Jersey’s governor to justify the extended shutdown and shaming of those of us who know that COVID-19 is simply not as deadly as you are being told and wearing a mask simply has virtually no scientific basis and is largely done to ease anxiety. What is the justification of all of this? A so-called “spike” in cases. And reports of doom and gloom over hospital beds. But like most things when you look deeper, you realize that the press is playing you with their reporting.

Take Jacksonville, Florida where it’s reported that 70% of hospital beds area occupied, sounds scary right? It does, until you listen to what’s buried in the report, they are nearly always at 70% capacity and generally run at 80-85% in winter months.

The director of infection prevention at UF Health in Jacksonville, Chad Neilsen, told News4Jax this level of occupation in ICUs is not uncommon.

“It’s all very flexible and fluid depending on the patient scenario in our hospital,” Neilsen said. “We probably run on average about 70% ICU occupied anyway. During the winter, most hospitals are running closer to 80 to 85% ICU occupancy. So the numbers can fluctuate quite a bit.” - UF Health Director of Infection Chad Neilsen, to News4Jax

Add this obvious misleading headline to the fact that the percentage of positive cases is dropping, although case counts are higher because we are literally testing millions of people every week. As far as the deadly nature of the disease? Not so much unless you are in a vulnerable category. Despite the facts and the obvious misleading news media, many New Jerseyans are still willing to accept a mask on the beach and an impossible situation for small businesses as they are not really opening in any meaningful way.

Where is the push back? Where is the fight? Has New Jersey finally given up on facts and logic and instead turned to fear and submission to out-of-control government? Given the current state of affairs, it seems that NJ will be re-electing Governor Murphy to another term and willing to accept the dramatically higher taxes and limits of freedoms that are headed our way. None of this is sustainable. Higher taxes will be the death of many small businesses. Ridiculous limits on what defines indoor/outdoor dining will mean the permanent closure of some of your favorite restaurants.

Meanwhile in states across the country, businesses are open and people are getting back to normal. This could happen in New Jersey as well. Unfortunately, the governor wants you to believe that if we act like the ‘normal’ states, COVID will spike and you may die! It’s propaganda at it’s worst. We know who is vulnerable to this disease. It’s not younger, healthy people for sure. And it’s certainly not kids under the age of 15. If you take out the preventable nursing home deaths and the inflated numbers based on ‘probable’ deaths, we had a bad flu season. And people died. Many people in fact, similar to what happens every year in New Jersey and around the world.

The difference here is not the virus. It’s the political elites who took advantage of the fear pushed through social media and the main stream media outlets. Fear allowed politicians to seize control of our economy and take away your civil liberties. And most of you did it willingly. Now that the health crisis has long passed, in early April as a matter of fact, we have the governor abusing his power to enact so-called ‘safety protocols’ to prevent a ‘spike’ and second wave. The facts however simply don’t support the action. Forgetting how ineffective and potentially harmful the cloth masks can be, this is about policy that is being pushed AFTER the virus peaked and subsided. Without masks and social distance.

Our state shutdown at the end of March and the virus peaked in mid-April. You’d be on solid ground to argue that the shutdown actually killed more than it saved. That doesn’t mean it won’t come back. Actually it’s not going away. Only one disease in the history of mankind has been eradicated, small pox. So the idea of zero deaths and eradication is a fantasy. Let’s face it, we know who is vulnerable. We can protect and provide for the vulnerable and the sick. But the actions of our government are doing the opposite.

Never before in American history have we seen the quarantine and shutdown of healthy, free people in order to protect a very small portion of the population. And it’s killing our state. And it will continue until you decide not to wear someone else’s anxiety across your face. It will continue until you read, understand and digest the facts about COVID and the strength of our immune systems. It will continue until you look at the facts around the world, places like Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland. Open schools, business continuing and progress toward herd immunity.

Let’s face it, the rules are dramatically different in countries across Europe, yet ALL have seen the peak and rapid decline in percentage of positive cases and overall deaths. Coronavirus is here to stay and we’re not gonna “defeat” it. That’s the false premise constructed by political elites to keep you scared and submissive. Instead, we should do what we already did, treat the sick, use the available resources of the federal government, if we actually see any possibility of overrunning any local hospital. Of course during the height of the pandemic in NJ, nearly all of the added resources sent by the Trump administration went unused. And we should learn what not to do, expose the most vulnerable to infected patients.

I’m off for the next two weeks and will be back on Monday July, 27th.  Until then, read the articles I’ve written and click on the links to the facts from medical journals and doctors. Stop being scared and stop buying into the liberty crushing propaganda about how you have to give up your income and civil liberties in order to protect others. It’s dangerous misinformation and it’s only increasing the power and money of the elites. Fight with me to get back to normal. Not “new normal”…normal normal.

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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