By CRAIG E. CAMPBELL
Caretaker Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson tested positive for COVID-19. I am certain we all wish her a quick recovery and that she will not experience the severe health complications that the China virus can cause.
However, her getting infected does illustrate the indiscriminate nature of the virus and calls into question the effectiveness of the draconian measures she has implemented in Anchorage to curb its spread.
I am sure AQD, who authored the newest emergency mandate that is crushing businesses and creating numerous other unintended negative consequences on our population, was vigilant in wearing her mask, probably did not dine in restaurants, strictly adhered to social distancing guidelines, and repeatedly washed her hands throughout the day as she conducted her official duties.
But she still got the virus.
Masks may work, to some degree, as does social distancing. We all know this to be true from the repeated reminders on the radio, television, social, media, press releases, and medical advisories. However, here it is December and case numbers continue to spike with new highs reached on almost a daily basis.
While restaurants and bars are not permitted to have dine-in service, other businesses remain open, albeit at reduced capacity levels. Do you think the virus only spreads indoors at restaurants and bars?
What is the difference between indoor dining and outdoor dining that is done in an enclosed tent with heaters and limited ventilation? Nothing, when it comes to the virus spread, yet “outdoor dining” is still being allowed.
The virus spreads indiscriminately indoors and outdoors, both in the air and on surfaces. Even the most vigilant compliance may not prevent you from potentially being infected, case presented: AQD.
Masks will not prevent the spread of the virus. However, masks may cause serious long term health problems.
Neurologist and Neurophysiologist, Dr. Margarite Grieiz-Brission MD, PhD, has written about one of the more serious effects long-term mask usage can cause to the brain. She warns that reinhalation of carbon dioxide creates an oxygen deficiency which leads to headaches, drowsiness, and issues with concentration. Long-term oxygen deficiency kills brain cells, cells that are not regenerated, but dead forever.
In other words, wearing a mask over time can cause brain damage. This damage will show up years later as dementia.
Great, just what I need to forget is this horrible pandemic.
Cardiologists know that oxygen deprivation is also damaging to your heart. Pulmonologists know it can be damaging to the lungs. So why are politicians so eager to mandate mask wearing when its ability to prevent the spread of the China virus has not been scientifically validated, yet other medical conditions related to oxygen deprivation are known facts?
There are two answers. The first is that the medical profession is divided on the effectiveness of wearing masks to prevent the spread of the virus. It is probably true that wearing a mask may slow down, and in rare cases prevent a person from getting infected.
However, as we are seeing with the spike in Anchorage over the past month when mask usage has been peaked, people are still getting sick at record numbers.
The brilliant Democrat political strategist Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.” That is exactly what has been unleashed on America, using a pandemic to create hysteria and fear to gain political control.
The second answer is, because politicians can use the China virus as a fear-based excuse to crush American exceptionalism by creating economic chaos, forcing obedience from the population, issue health emergency mandates, and then provide government bail-outs to create a socialistic society. Just wear your damned mask because she said so.
It’s time to start using science to address the China virus. Science has not proven masks protect against the China virus. Encourage mask wearing, but leave it to the discretion of a person or business. If a business requires masks and a person does not want to wear a mask, they do not have to patronize that business. It’s called free choice.
Continue social distancing. In fact, the Municipality of Anchorage has funds available under the CARES Act that could be distributed to the private sector for renovations, expansion, and other modifications that would allow for social distancing and keeping the business open, providing jobs, creating income, and providing tax revenues to the city.
As President Trump has stressed, “The cure can’t be worse than the virus.” Killing our economy, creating social stress, increasing suicides, increased drug and alcohol usage, domestic violence, and general population depression is not the answer to fighting the China virus.
End the mask mandate. Open up all businesses with increased social distancing requirements, cleanliness standards, and making mask wearing an option decided by the business. Manage the medical response requirements for additional ICU beds. Work with the state to balance bed usage and medical professional’s availability. Start now to develop the priority system and inoculation procedures for vaccinations, as vaccines will become available in Alaska later this month.
I am not an anti-masker. In fact, my wife has some medical conditions where by getting the China virus would be very serious. So when we go out, we wear masks. However, that is our decision, not one we need government to mandate for us.
In every respect, we must claw back the government overreach that has been thrust upon us by overzealous politicos whose ultimate desire is to create a more obedient and government-controlled society. Freedom of choice is about limiting government intrusion into our everyday lives.
AQD, may you recover quickly and without long term complications. Once recovered, cancel your socialist emergency mandates. Redirect all remaining CARES Act funds to help businesses survive. Aggressively develop a vaccine inoculation program that addresses those most at risk, especially for those in the medical career field.
It’s time to be a leader of a capitalistic, democratic, open society. Will you be up to it or will you continue to pander to your fear-mongering, government control Marxist base?
Craig E. Campbell served on the Anchorage Assembly between 1986 and 1995 and later as Alaska’s Tenth Lieutenant Governor. He was the previous Chief Executive Officer and President for Alaska Aerospace Corporation. He retired from the Alaska National Guard as Lieutenant General (AKNG) and holds the concurrent retired Federal rank of Major General (USAF).
I hope you keep up being the voice of reason. May it wake some folks up and let them think for themselves and take responsibility for them selves. Thank you Mr. Campbell.
Well said, Dave!
Well said, Craig.
Great article. In all honesty though to hope after AQD recovers she’ll change course and open up the city of Anchorage is wishful thinking at best. The illegitimate mayor will come out of her covid quarantine with more mandates since her mask didn’t protect her. Who knows, maybe she’ll think of something that California haven’t tried yet.
Hear, hear! Well put Mr. Campbell.
Jefferson in his Declaration of Independence, wrote an enumeration of grievances suffered under the kings rule. Early in the document he notes that government is to secure certain rights for the people, including Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Happiness originally was ” property” , your right to property. Under the old world system you had a fuedal right, meaning the king owned everything and you had a right only if the king allowed to enjoy your property. Jefferson’s bombshell in this document was that the individual was sovereign. Have we as a nation lost sight of this? It seems so, your Store, Business and Body belong to you! How is it that a petty tyrant can unilaterally deprive you of your rights?
Exactly! The constitutional violations by this and previous mayor are many. Why are they not removed from office? I’m sure she has also illegally extended “emergency orders” and the intent of them IF this is even legally an “emergency” at all! You cannot resurrect an emergency over and over every 3 months continually. No. This is ON PURPOSE with the intent of gutting the middle class, causing division and confusion among the people. The foreign takeover will have occurred w/o firing a single shot.
There are models out there for keeping things open without lockdowns, enforced maskings, and other awfulness. Take a look at the Dakotas for instance.
The worst thing of all is the sheer mindlessness of AQD’s and the Assembly’s mandates. They keep doing the same thing time after time after time expecting different results.
There are a couple reasons for the spike in cases. One is that we are not outside anymore, the days are short, and not much sunlight. The other is that we are testing like crazy with a test that may very well be throwing a significant amount of false positives. Of course, you can’t discuss that, especially in the Binkley fish wrapper, as your comments will be summarily deleted. To date, we have conducted 1.2 tests for every Alaskan since this began.
There are some additional things that may help: vitamin D supps, zinc supps, UVC light to sanitize volumes of air, none of which are ever mentioned. Happily, the vaccines are on the way. Sadly, I do expect AQD & her Assembly to come up with a requirement for vaccination before being allowed out in public again, which will be a whole new discussion. Cheers –
Hopefully your last comment if tried by this Assembly will be the final straw in the Dunleavy cap and he steps in and puts them down.
One-an-DUNLEAVY won’t do a thing! Just like all the calls I made to stop Berky boy and his illegal handling of the Covid -CARES relief funds—- nothing!
With the breaking news of 11-17 State Legislators on the take for possible “Personal Financial Gain” on voting to steal the PFD and give it to Special Interest you have to wonder who in local and State Government can be trusted anymore— look at the Legislator from Kodiak siding with the left?!
Oh and don’t forget the National mess going?!
I reject the language of the zombies. “Anti-masker”seems to infer that free thinkers want to outlaw face coverings. I myself am a pro choice masker
Thanks Craig for speaking the truth, your comments are spot on!
Gov. Dunleavy has already laid out his vaccination priorities and AQD just needs to resign from her un-elected position. Her power hungry actions, if left unopposed, will just increase over time and cause even more damage. The Left’s march towards socialism must be stopped. In particular, with socialism comes communism, in which we better start learning Mandarin if we want to survive.
Acting (and acting badly) Mayor Hyphen could resign, and should, but who would take her place? Just another one of the eight out of ten arrogant, clueless, neo-Marxist nannystaters on the ass-embly? As a mathematician might state, Mayor Hyphen’s resignation would be a necessary but not sufficient step towards restoring sanity and freedom to Anchorage.
Finally a sensible commentary without the threat of oh my god the sky is falling and we better believe without questioning this spastic government and its “experts.”
Wear your mask and willingly bring upon your self damage to your own brains/lungs/ and heart! Looks like the curve will go up in the future because of our lack of discernment.
What we were told to prevent we look to be creating.
Stupid sheep
Every day I see more and more evidence that masks do nothing to stop or slow the spread of this disease. The US Marine Corps tried it out. One group of recruits were required to take the strictest measures; constant mask wearing, wiping down the restrooms with bleach wipes after use, strict distancing, only exercise out of doors, etc… Another group of recruits just took “common sense” measures. Curiously, the group with the strictest measures tested positive for the virus at a higher rate. If the Marine recruits can catch it with strict supervision despite the measures, then what good will they do in the general population?
.
And, that is not the only instance where these measures are demonstrated to be meaningless. If you want to wear because you think it helps, please do. If you don’t want to wear a mask because you see the drawbacks as far exceeding the benefits, don’t.
Get the petty tyrants out of it.
It is interesting that the mayor stayed home for Thanksgiving and always wears a mask. I have never worn a mask, have had multiple events with people outside of my “bubble”, take normal precautions that I didn’t need any commercials or loudspeakers in the Walmart parking lot to tell me as I am a mature adult. And I have not gotten sick. Do we think this will cause the mayor to rethink her stupid stay home order? Wear a mask or face shield, no longer is there a medical exemption. One can only hope, but historically when people like her are wrong, they just double down on the stupid.
You might not have gotten sick that you were aware of. Fixed it for you.
How exactly does one get sick and not notice???
The mask/vaccine mandates in effect anywhere in the world is akin to the Jews of world war 2 being forced to wear the star of David, but now the star has been moved from the clothing of a people to the mask wearing faces of the world. Funny how those who wear a mast constantly while speaking, they sound like all the adults in the old Charlie Browns cartoons.
All you have to do is sit back and look at all the propaganda and massive recycling over and over coming from every arm of the mainstream media and they say you must wear a mask even if you are not sick.
The term being asymptomatic, they claim to shame and fearmonger the masses into thinking we are all going to die if you do not follow their psy-op paranoia and fear of death or compassion for everyone else.
This article and many more needs to be broadcast on a daily basis and expanded upon to calm the programming being shoved in our faces trying to get us to conform to the socialist narrative.
“Masks may work, to some degree, as does social distancing. We all know this to be true from the repeated reminders on the radio, television, social, media, press releases, and medical advisories.”
The part about masks being somewhat effective is probably true. It is still unproven, in spite of many attempts by researchers to pass off faulty studies as proof. Masks may be somewhat effective. The part about “…this to be true…” is, well, not true. News reports, media releases, and medical advisories are not proof of anything. Right now, the novel coronavirus is a completely new disease we are still discovering. We are learning as we go, and information will change as we find out more about how the disease works.
“Do you think the virus only spreads indoors at restaurants and bars?” The virus is reliably understood to spread under three conditions, close contact, closed spaces, and crowded conditions. It will spread wherever these occur, bars, restaurants, churches, arenas, indoor family get togethers.
“If a business requires masks and a person does not want to wear a mask, they do not have to patronize that business. It’s called free choice.” Fine. If you make that choice, don’t complain that some vague right is being violated. Especially at local, governmental meetings where alternate means of participating are available.
“In every respect, we must claw back the government overreach that has been thrust upon us by overzealous politicos whose ultimate desire is to create a more obedient and government-controlled society. Freedom of choice is about limiting government intrusion into our everyday lives.” For heaven’s sake, we’re talking about temporary measures to subdue a dangerous disease. This isn’t about imposing liberty threatening orders based upon Marxist ideology. Government intrusion is manifest in our lives every moment of every day. We have speed limits, along with a plethora of other traffic laws. We can’t just dump our garbage in the street. You can’t just shoot your neighbor’s dog, or your neighbor, if you think the dog might bark all night long.
Freedom in a democracy demands responsibility; it is not permission to do whatever we please. The concept of personal responsibility, however laudable it may be, simply does not work as a governing principle because everyone will have a different idea of what personal responsibility is. If it did work, we would need no laws.
I continue to believe that should he decide to enter the race, Lt. Gen. Campbell would be the best choice for our next Mayor. That said, I was alarmed by a comment at the end of the column in which he suggest that the pretend temporary Mayor get involved in the vaccine distribution process. This would an absolute abomination in that Muni involvement in the program would become totally politicized with preferences being granted to every special interest group and anyone claiming to be a victim or disadvantaged in any way. Let’s not compound the errors of socialism and corruption. Keep the MOA out of the vaccine program.
Please run for Mayor Craig!
This overreach of government is only being allowed by us. We all think this or that law won’t affect us. The left has been very good at dividing the country and people over the the last 40 years or so. They incrementally add laws that over time encroach on our freedoms until people finally realize it is affecting them – too late. They control the school systems to raise good young people who are taught what to think instead of constructive thinking. If you don’t wear a mask then you are a spreader and a bad, bad person.There are all kinds of studies on both sided for mask or no mask, what we have to decide is what is too far in terms of our liberty. We are still a civil moral nation as a whole but are losing it fast now. Covid is the perfect storm for them and they have moved into warp speed and are not hiding anything much anymore. Then left has always used the conservatives morality against them and this is no different. The right, religious, conservative people think that the left would never do the things they do – kill, cheat, alter elections etc., to gain power but with the left the ends ALWAYS justify the means. We have to wake up more people. It is a rare person who turns down power. They are the people we need now more than ever. We are still a constitutional republic, for now. We are not a democracy! A lynch mob is a democracy. Throughout history government has never been a friend of the people no matter where or when. We were really one of the first truly free nations ever on this planet thanks to brilliant forefathers, let’s not lose it now. Don’t underestimate the left but don’t fear them either no matter how much power you think they have. Speak up and if you don’t want to wear a mask then don’t. Engage people and educate them as one of our forefathers stated so well, [ We are all born ignorant but if you remain ignorant it is your fault.]
Good comment. I particularly agree with the sad observation that the Left will do absolutely anything and everything to gain and hold power.
Comments are closed.