300. The approximate number of businesses, out of 700, now closed in Portland as a result of rioting, looting and burning. That is just one city. But the left-wing Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman of the New York Times was minimizing the widespread damage across the country. "Trump and the Attack of the Invisible Anarchists" was the title of his piece. These "mostly peaceful" demonstrations across the country (as described by Krugman) resulted in between one and two billion dollars worth of damage. Imagine if the protests were not "peaceful."
661,000 and 837,000 and 840,000. The first number being the number of jobs added in September, with the unemployment rate falling to 7.9%. However, the second and third numbers are the new unemployment claims for the last two periods.
500 million infected, 50 million dead. No, those are not the numbers from the current coronavirus. Those numbers are the worldwide estimated totals for the 1918-19 flu pandemic, as reported by the CDC. That virus was a type of H1N1 flu. The estimated number of deaths in the US was 675,000. With the current coronavirus, there are 37,704,412 cases worldwide, and 1,080,600 deaths. The US currently has had 7,986,078 cases, 5,124,331 people who recovered, and 219,675 deaths. Again, we do not know if millions more got infected with minimal or no symptoms, and therefore never got reported. In a UK study, 86% of those who tested positive for the virus had none of the core symptoms of "fever, cough, loss of taste and smell."
4,800. The number of scientists and health care providers who have signed onto "The Great Barrington Declaration," which recommends that people go about their normal lives, while still protecting those more vulnerable. (As reported in the 10/7/20 Wall Street Journal.) The Journal reports that the Declaration discusses "collateral damage," which "include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health - leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice." Also, the Declaration states that the "vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young." If Biden wins the election, he has stated his readiness to shut down the country if the scientists recommend that. I do not believe a president has that authority, as the general police powers reside with the governors and the states. But just imagine the damage to an already weakened economy, if Biden won and got his way.
61%. The percentage of people in a recent survey who agreed that the United States is "nearing a second civil war." 41% strongly agreed. And a majority - 52% - said they are stocking up on food and supplies. (Survey by Engagious, Sports and Leisure Research Group, and ROKK Solutions.) Part of the title in one of my 8/30/20 two posts was "...the Impending Civil War." I had no idea that so many people agreed.
6 to 3. With all the talk about Amy Coney Barrett being another conservative vote on the Supreme Court, the left is certain that the Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, assuming an abortion challenge reaches the Court. I don't see it. I could see possibly 3 votes to overturn Roe - Alito, Thomas and maybe Kavanaugh. Obviously, Kagen, Sotomayor and Breyer would not vote to overturn Roe. And I don't believe Roberts, Gorsuch or Barrett would vote to do so. They appear to be Justices who would adhere to precedent. But the talk will continue, if for no other reason than to keep the pressure on those 3 Justices.
20,000. The number of students polled on 55 college campuses regarding "free speech." 60% of students feared expressing an opinion because of the potential reaction from professors or other students. Tolerance for speakers with views opposing their own not surprisingly came from Republican and Independent students. 71% of "strong Republicans" supported Biden coming to their campus compared to only 49% of "strong Democrats" supporting Trump coming. Female students were reported to be less tolerant of speakers than male students. And students identifying as "extremely liberal" were more than twice as likely as students who were "extremely conservative," in agreeing that it is "always" or "sometimes" acceptable to use violence to shut down speakers (13% to 6%). (Poll taken by FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, along with Real Clear Education and College Pulse.)
Top 5. However, if you have children or grandchildren who will be attending college soon, these are the top 5 schools ranked on free speech: 1. The University of Chicago, 2. Kansas State University, 3. Texas A&M, 4. UCLA and 5. Arizona State.
$750. The headline in the New York Times expose on Trump's taxes, making it sound as if that's all that Trump paid in taxes. Much further down in the article we find that Trump paid the Alternative Minimum Tax - totaling $24.3 million in 7 years between 2000 and 2017. In 2015 Trump paid $641,931. In 2016 he paid $1 million and in 2017 he paid $4.2 million. However, we are told that most of those payments were "washed away" when he eventually filed and "rolled forward" to cover potential future taxes. Meanwhile, the government had that money. And, of course, the left showed no concern for the fact that somebody illegally obtained and/or released the President's tax information.
14. When in 2016 President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, the Washington Post then wrote that there was nothing unusual about a president making a SCOTUS nomination in an election year. The Post: "14 presidents have appointed 21 justices during presidential election years." Most importantly, the Post wrote that "a half dozen presidents filled Supreme Court seats even though their successors had been elected." So, even lame-duck presidents have gotten their appointments.
And finally, millions. In a 10/10/20 Op-Ed in the New York Times, Paul Matzko told us that talk radio "is turning millions of Americans into conservatives." He asserts that talk radio "has the potential to dominate the construction of a person's worldview in a way that other media simply cannot..." It is entirely unclear why that would be the case. One needs to go looking for talk radio. But, just living in this society is likely to bombard you with the left-wing viewpoint from childhood through adulthood - in TV shows, movies, academia, social media and the mainstream media. Although, I certainly hope that Matzko's assertion is correct.
