April 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Bobby Mitchell, star of the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died yesterday. He was 84. No cause of death was given. Mitchell broke the Redskins’ color barrier, but said he wanted to be remembered first and foremost as a great player, rather than an historically significant one. In this post, I will honor that wish. You can read about his historical
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April 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
It looks like I was too optimistic when I wrote about Boris Johnson’s condition last night. I hoped that, like a friend of mine who has the Wuhan coronavirus, Johnson’s visit to the hospital was just a precautionary measure in response to his inability to shake the fever that comes with the virus. That is how Downing Street characterized it. However, Johnson’s condition has worsened, and he’s been rushed to
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April 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
For better or for worse, the University of Washington’s IHME model has become, for many governmental units, the go-to set of projections relating to the Wuhan coronavirus in the U.S. Governments credit the IHME’s forecasts of cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and strain on medical resources. Until today, the IHME was forecasting 93,531 deaths from the virus (through early August). Now, it has lowered that number to 81,766. This number is in
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April 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, April 5, New York state reported 599 deaths from the Wuhan coronavirus. To put this number in perspective, it’s 74 more than Italy reported and five more than Spain did. However, it’s a slight decrease from the 630 reported deaths from the virus on Friday. It looks like New York’s death count has plateaued. And, according to Gov. Cuomo, the numbers suggest that the spread of the virus in
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April 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Italy is reporting some progress in its fight against the Wuhan coronrvirus, and yesterday (April 5), Spain had its best day in a while. However, in Germany, the UK, and France, the daily numbers are getting worse. Yesterday, Italy reported 525 deaths from the virus. A week ago, the daily death rate was around 800. As I have previously reported, the number of new reported cases seems to have leveled
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April 5, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to the hospital for tests today, ten days after testing positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. The word from Downing Street is that Johnson was hospitalized because he hasn’t shaken the fever that typically comes with the virus. Johnson’s case seems similar to that of a friend of mine who has this virus. For about a week, my friend experienced coughing and a persistent
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April 5, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote about Sweden’s decision not to go on lockdown in response to the Wuhan coronavirus. I will be watching Sweden’s numbers for new reported cases and deaths, and comparing them to those of Norway, which did lock down. A reader asked me to look at the numbers from Singapore where, he says, only a partial quarantine has been used. The latest Singapore numbers I found were 1,189 reported
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April 4, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
I have started to track Sweden’s numbers of Wuhan coronavirus reported cases and reported deaths. Why Sweden? Because it is taking a different approach to dealing with the virus. Instead of locking down, Sweden is keeping its restaurants, cafes, and schools open. Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says he’s relying on the good judgment of Swedes to carry their country through the pandemic. Good judgment or not, Sweden’s approach means
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April 4, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
On Thursday and Friday (April 2-3), new reported cases of the Wuhan coronavirus in Spain continued substantially to outstrip those in Italy. Today, April 4, Spain’s total number of reported cases passed Italy’s. In both countries, the number is around 120,000 reported cases. Italy’s death count is higher than Spain’s, probably because the virus hit Italy first. However, Spain’s total might well surpass Italy’s some time this month. In the
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April 3, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump has nominated Judge Justin Walker for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the nation’s second most important court. Walker, age 37, serves on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. He has been on that court for about half a year. The American Bar Association rated Walker “unqualified” when he was nominated for the district court position. To the extent, if
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April 3, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
The Democratic party has decided to push back the start of its national convention from July 13 to August 17, a week before the Republican convention is set to begin. The postponement is, of course, due to the Wuhan coronavirus. July 13 was an unusually early date on which to hold a national convention. The Democrats picked it to avoid a conflict with the Olympic games. Those games will not
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April 2, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump has responded in a public letter to criticism from Sen. Chuck Schumer of his handling of the Wuhan coronavirus. The text is here. Trump begins by thanking Schumer for his “Democrat public relations letter and incorrect soundbites which are wrong in every way.” He then corrects Schumer’s claim that the president hasn’t adequately utilized the Defense Production Act. The president reminds Schumer that the Act “has been consistently
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April 2, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
According to this report, Vice President Pence said yesterday that the U.S. trajectory for the Wuhan coronavirus most closely resembles that of Italy. I hope Pence was talking about the trajectory of infections, rather than deaths. Italy’s population is thought by some to be more susceptible to dying from the virus than ours because of its age and propensity to smoke. In addition, Italy’s hospitals are said by some to
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April 2, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
I hope some of our readers followed Scott’s recommendation and watched or taped a few of the Akira Kurosawa films that TCM showed yesterday. I watched High and Low for the first time and loved it. Here are a few more recommendations for those interested in Japanese films from the Kurosawa era: Ikiru: TCM didn’t show this movie, but it’s one of my favorite Kurosawa films. Ikiru is a scathing
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April 1, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Florida governor Ron DeSantis today issued a 30-day stay-at-home order for the state. Florida’s approximately 21 million residents are instructed to remain at home unless they are pursuing “essential services or activities.” It’s not clear what DeSantis accomplished by delaying this effort to mitigate the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Florida’s economy will now be hammered. The state might experience the worst of all worlds. The bigger question, which John raised last
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April 1, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
No baseball for the foreseeable future. No NBA. No Euro 2020 soccer tournament. No matter what sports you enjoy watching, you’re missing out on pleasurable experiences above and beyond the joys of going out and about. But there’s a bright side. The Democratic national convention may not take place in its usual form. That’s what Joe Biden says. In his view, it’s “hard to envision” an in-person Democratic National Convention
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March 31, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Our friend Michael Auslin explains the importance of pushing back against China’s effort to deflect blame for the origin and spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. The case for holding China accountable is founded in morality, global governance, and the need to protect against future pandemics. The moral case stems from the Chinese government’s reprehensible response to the early outbreak of the pandemic there. Auslin reminds us: Chinese officials knew of
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