The Face Maskers in the Midst

The Ship of Fools - woodcut

I have spent a lot of time since early March in the woods, in the company of birds, geese, a wild rabbit, a fox visiting my yard daily, squirrels, a racoon, five deer who enjoy the grass in our back yard at dusk, one coyote, wasps, bumblebees, a majestic eagle, a water snake, the river, flowers, grasses, two ospreys, and a lot of mud.

The daily trips to the woods saved my sanity when everything around me turned irrational and abnormal, “socially distancing” from other humans as if they had the bubonic plague, the “new normal” as the Democrat leaders turned Stalinists and their lackey main stream media have been telling us non-stop for twelve weeks now.

Insane lefties took up the crusade of forcing everyone to wear face masks outside, in the woods, in state parks, in the house, in stores, while jogging, biking, in grocery stores, and in their own cars when they were driving alone.

A fashion industry has quickly popped up with useless face masks of various shapes, sizes, thickness, colors, and messages that fit the submissive and scared to death personality of the wearer. One famous individual expressed herself with a crocheted mask with holes.

We must wear a face mask at the bank, coupled with seeing eyeglasses, and it seems that it is now legal to do so. Who would have thought that looking like a robber would be acceptable and necessary in a bank, but here we are. 

I used to walk across a fishing pier where two ospreys were nesting. I enjoyed photographing them while the male was bringing his mate fish in his beak. But the governor closed the pier and the occasional 5-6 fishermen had to move alongside the river’s edge, clustered together under the railroad bridge. How else could they tell each other tall fishing tales and drink beer? Humans are social creatures and need other people to remain sane and healthy. And the catfish and snakeheads fed their families. Thanks to the governor’s crazy policies, the fishermen are now unemployed and unable to provide for their loved ones.

The governor left state parks open but closed the bathroom facilities – too much to clean properly, the ranger explained one day. But they brought in unsightly port-o-potties which had no hand sanitizer and were sprayed by a park employee with Lysol spray. Who can argue with the logic of a governor, who is a doctor, that a port-o-potty with exposed fecal matter and urine is cleaner than a restroom?

People could stand on the river’s sandy beach and fish or exercise, but nobody could sit in a chair or on the sand – it must be crawling with Covid-19 viruses. How in the world have we ever survived so far on thousands of crowded beaches around the world without social isolation or physical distancing! How lucky we were! It is a “miracle” that Dr. Fauci and Dr. Brix saved us on time. It was worth every penny of the six trillion dollars in debt and the millions of permanently unemployed.

Arbitrary rules of physical distancing euphemistically called “social distancing” were established, a form of social isolation which varied across the globe, from 3-6 ft, even though a cough or a sneeze can travel much farther, 18-24 ft.

Then the leftist and regressive population, whose agenda was never about liberty of any kind, started to turn into the Gestapo, vociferously shaming anybody who dared to show up without a face mask - How dare you endanger my fragile health? Go home and hide under a rock! Worse yet, the left turned into the Stasi Karen(s) and called the police on face mask violators.

And the police, being the vigilant defenders and protectors of the law that they are, started arresting parents playing with their children, church goers, partiers in private homes, restaurant patrons who violated totalitarian lockdown orders, towed their cars, fined citizens for daring to open up businesses, and for eating inside restaurants or bars.

People became so conditioned that, while walking in the woods to get fresh air, they wore masks alone and with their spouses and children. Shrill women were shouting twelve feet away from other humans, “stay away from me,” as if they were aliens in the invasion of the body snatchers.

Irrational and panicked, these individuals have lost whatever sanity they have ever had. I can now fully understand how the lynching of innocents happened when crowds reached a frenzy of hatred towards helpless humans exercising their right to exist.

People now cross the street to avoid each other and make no eye contact or attempt at any human interaction. We have become invisible to each other, “contactless” humans.

Parking fee collection during pandemic in northern Virginia state park

Photo: Ileana Johnson, early May 2020

A park employee was collecting parking fees one day using a fishing net with a long handle. The drivers had to put their money in, and the attendant retrieved the said cash from the net following the “contactless” dictates of the non-stop PSAs.

“Contactless,” “safe,” “stay safe,” “safe distancing,” “together alone” (an oxymoron), “new normal” became the indoctrinating phrase of the new generation of supine and scared humans who would rather exchange their freedom for temporary “safety.”

The extreme cowardice and almost overnight submission to totalitarianism without a whimper or logical argument and questioning were painful to watch.

The Deliberate Misconception of Socialism

Meme found on Facebook

If you do a Google search of the definition of socialism, you will find a progressive definition of socialism and a progressive definition of socialism in history, both of which are historically incorrect. Both definitions bear a glaring discrepancy to reality and embody the progressives’ utopian dreams.

The first progressive definition of socialism is a “political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.” This could not be further from the truth. No community could regulate or own anything under socialism.

The definition of socialism in history is also factually incorrect. It defines socialism as a “range of economic and social systems characterized by social ownership of the means of production and workers’ self-management.” Workers never self-managed under socialism. They may have hidden at work in a warehouse to take naps during the workday but that would be the extent of self-management.

The real definition of a socialist society is the government’s ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. Not at any point could the proletariat self-manage, they were told what to do by apparatchiks under the strict guidance of the Communist Party. Socialism was and still is a pre-cursor stage to communism.

The aggressive mass media, academia, and social media controllers’ agenda of indoctrination of the population is obvious at every corner by those of us who studied real (not manufactured) history and have lived under socialism.

The handsomely paid agents of indoctrination know what they are doing, and it seems to be working well with the low information voters and their fellow travelers who use Facebook and other social media as a source of information via memes cleverly designed for maximum misinformation/disinformation.

For example, a recent meme designed by Uncle Jack states “Republicans want you to be afraid of socialism! ‘Socialism’ means that we pool our resources to provide things for everyone! In America today, that includes: fire departments, police departments, public schools, public hospitals, veterans benefits, national weather service, roads and bridges, unemployment insurance, drinking water, military, NTSA, Medicare, Social Security, FEMA, G.I. Bill, Food and Drug Safety, CDC, NASA, sewers, bank deposit insurance, hazardous waste disposal and clean-up.” It continues by asking in boldface lettering reminiscent of Halloween, “So which of these current SOCIALIST programs scare you?”

For starters none of those listed represent socialism, they are services provided by the local, state, and federal governments with taxpayer funds accumulated from taxation, dues, fees, etc.

Schools are paid by property taxes in the U.S.  Under socialism, nobody owns property because the government controls everything. Schools are indoctrination tools run by the government and their indoctrinated teaching agents.

Police departments in the U.S. can apply for grants from the federal government under strict guidelines from agencies such as the USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program. Tax dollars from citizens pay for police and firefighters and each state is vastly different. Under socialism, the government controls the police and its funding under different levels of monitoring in order to keep the population under control.

Public hospitals are funded by the Department of Health. Patients pay a small nominal fee.

Health care is paid for by government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurance, and by out-of-pocket expenditures.

Developed countries except for the U.S. have partially or fully, publicly funded health care systems. They are not free; they are either financed by heavy taxation or via compulsory health insurance. Nothing is FREE.

In the U.S., state and local health departments receive their funds from grants (taxpayers’ money) given by the Prevention and Public Health Fund established under the Affordable Care Act passed by Obama in 2010 at Christmas time, with only Democrat input.

Medicare is financed through payroll taxes, premiums, and federal tax revenues.

Medicaid is tax-funded and administered by the individual states which operate the program with federal guidelines. Some individuals get free medical care while others must pay a nominal fee. Illegal immigrants and asylum refugees receive free care from the moment they cross our borders unlawfully.

In 2017, the U.S. spent about $3.5 trillion or 18% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health expenditures more than twice the average among other developed countries.

According to taxpolicy.org in 2018 the federal government alone spent $1.1 trillion on health care; $583 billion on Medicare, $399 billion on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance (CHIP) and $70 billion on veterans’ medical care.

Medical organizations are funded by credit, venture capital, donations, grants, savings, subsidies, and taxes. Such medical organizations did not exist under socialism.

Veterans benefits was approved by Congress’ $86.5 billion in discretionary funding. The money comes from federal taxation which all working Americans pay. The U.S. Department of Veteran affairs requested a total of $220.2 billion in fiscal year 2020, a 9.6 percent increase over 2019.

Veterans were promised benefits for their service for their country and active duty in peacetime and wars. Their salaries are much lower and are not commensurate with their sacrifice. These veteran benefits are not welfare, they have earned them. They pay health insurance premiums for their medical care.

The national weather service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government and is funded by taxpayer dollars. We did not have a national weather service system under socialism. We were on our own when disaster struck, and nobody warned us beforehand. The government did not see fit to invest in such endeavor because nobody paid ANY taxes. We were serfs to the government’s whims.

Roads and bridges are funded through federal grants to state and local governments via taxation. One-quarter of spending on roads and bridges comes from the federal government, the rest financed by state and local governments. Gas taxes, tolls, user fees, license plate taxes, income, sales and property taxes are used to maintain infrastructure which varies from state to state. The Highway Trust Fund for highway and mass transit programs awards grants to localities and states. Under socialism, paved roads were scarce and deficient because there were no taxes levied by the government or paid by the proletariat.

Unemployment insurance is paid by employers and is not a feature of socialism.  It is a tax collected by state and federal governments. It is part of payroll taxes. The employer payroll taxes include: Social Security taxes (6.2%), Medicare taxes (1.45% of wages), and federal unemployment taxes (FUTA).

Drinking water is controlled by the Safe Drinking Water Act which authorizes the EPA, a federal agency supported with taxpayer dollars of those who pay taxes. The act establishes minimum standards to protect tap water and requires all private, public owners or operators of public water systems to comply with the standards. Water infrastructure includes systems of water supply, treatment, storage, water resource management, flood prevention, and hydropower. Different private and public owners and agencies control the water infrastructure. It has nothing to do with socialism, on the contrary.

Under socialism, the government controlled the water supply and delivery. Rivers and canals were polluted, water was substandard, and it was delivered whenever the government rulers decided to do so. A few hours during the day cold water flowed, but hot water was in short supply or non-existent, and, in summer time, there was no water at all as the mighty government had to do maintenance for three months and the people were supplied drinking water via cisterns that combed the neighborhoods.

Sewage treatment is the responsibility of each municipal wastewater treatment plants. It is a service provided to the citizens for a monthly fee. It is not socialism either as these are owned by various towns and even private companies that have invested in the wastewater treatment facilities.

The four branches of the military, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force are funded by Congress through the federal budget. The money comes from taxation and again, it is federalism, not socialism. For FY 2019, the Department of Defense budget is approximately $693 billion.

Social Security is not socialism, on the contrary, it is welfare for the federal government which dips into the fund to transfer money to other agencies, for other spending as they see fit. The Social Security program is funded by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax, a payroll tax. The tax is assessed at a rate of 6.2% of income paid by employer, and another 6,2% paid by employee. The self-employed pay the full 12.4% tax. “The money that employees and employers pay into the fund through taxes is not the same money that you will receive later in life.”

FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency established by executive order by President Carter in 1979 which merged many disaster-related responsibilities at the federal level. It is funded by taxpayer dollars. It is not socialism at all. Socialist governments usually leave their citizens to deal on their own with natural disasters and wait on capitalist nations such as the U.S. to donate food, water, blankets, medical help, and other resources when disasters strike. I know because we survived a terrible earthquake in 1977 and we went hungry, cold, and homeless for days, and had to find our own sources of water.

G.I. Bill is a term that refers to any educational benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs to members of Active Duty, Selected Reserve and National Guard Armed Forces, and their families. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (the G.I. Bill) was a law that provided a range of benefits for returning WWII veterans. The G.I. Bill is part of their otherwise low military pay, for their service, sacrifice, and putting their lives on the line, it is not an entitlement and not socialism as the lefties imply.

Food and Drug Safety falls under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration (a taxpayer funded bureaucracy) which “protects the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.” There is no socialism there.

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is a federal agency (taxpayer funded) under the Department of Health and Human Services and as such it receives federal funding from Congress with funds from taxpayers.

CDC Foundation receives charitable contributions and philanthropic grants from individuals, foundations, corporations, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other organizations to advance the work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is not socialism. Socialist governments do not have the equivalent of the CDC.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program. It is funded by research opportunities with other government agencies, private, and non-profit sectors. It has nothing to do with socialism, on the contrary, it benefits from the existence of capitalism. Socialist governments did not have money for such research or even other types of research. There is a reason why most discoveries came from capitalist economies, never socialist ones. Barack Obama defunded NASA’s shuttle space flights and research in 2010. Since then, NASA bought seats on the Russian space flights.

Bank deposit insurance protect deposits of individuals covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This is a private corporation with shareholders even though the name federal implies ownership by the U.S. government – it is not. The deposit insurance fund is mandated by law for each Federal Reserve Bank to set aside money and to pay back up to $100,000 per depositor in case of failure of a financial institution.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) does not receive Congressional money, it is funded by insurance payments made by banks. So, it has nothing to do with socialism, on the contrary, it is capitalist finance. Socialism has one bank only, that which is owned by the central government and they do whatever they want with the depositor’s cash. They often confiscate at whim the funds of citizens they don’t deem socialist enough or who have offended the socialist government in some way.

Hazardous waste disposal and clean-up funding comes from taxpayers; states pay ten percent of cleanup costs, fifty percent if the state operated the facility responsible for contamination, and the company which polluted is responsible for cleanup. By law, the parties responsible for use, transportation, storage, and disposal of hazardous substances/waste and oil are liable for costs. This is not socialism at all.

As we can plainly see, the disinformation of the Left is quite insidious and unfortunately millions and millions of low information voters and illegal aliens who vote but don’t speak English, fall for the Left’s inflammatory, misinformed, deceitful rhetoric and memes which are generously funded by billionaires who stand to profit from their deception.