Coronavirus brings out the worst in people — especially governments
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
144.64915
Summary
When it comes to dealing with a global pandemic, the Trudeau Liberals are sure talking tough, but do their actions back up their words? It s Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and you re watching the Ezra Levent Show.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Hello, Rebels. You're listening to a free audio-only recording of the Ezra Levent Show.
00:00:06.840
If you like listening to this podcast, then you would love watching it.
00:00:11.820
But in order to watch, you need to be a subscriber to premium content.
00:00:17.240
That's what we call our long-format TV-style shows here on The Rebel.
00:00:22.460
Subscribers get access to watching Ezra's Daily Show, as well as other great TV-style shows, too.
00:00:29.100
It's only $8 a month to subscribe, or you can subscribe annually and get two months free.
00:00:37.200
And just for podcast listeners, you can save an extra 10% on a new premium membership
00:00:43.800
by using the coupon code PODCAST when you subscribe.
00:00:53.100
And please leave a five-star review on this podcast and subscribe in iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.
00:01:02.380
Those reviews are a great way to support The Rebel without spending a dime.
00:01:07.900
And now, enjoy this free audio-only version of the show.
00:01:13.000
When it comes to dealing with the global pandemic, COVID-19,
00:01:32.900
the Trudeau Liberals are sure talking tough, but do their actions back up their words?
00:01:38.800
It's Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and you're watching The Ezra Levent Show.
00:01:47.240
Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?
00:01:51.120
There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.
00:01:55.200
The only thing I have to say to the government about why I'm publishing it
00:02:01.040
Is it just me, folks, or does a pandemic bring out the very worst in people,
00:02:11.720
and in particular, the worst in certain governments and so-called leaders?
00:02:17.440
And with COVID-19, oh my goodness, where does one even begin
00:02:22.060
in trying to take inventory of the good, the bad, and the outrageous?
00:02:26.700
After all, this story literally changes by the hour,
00:02:30.380
and today can never hope to dream what tomorrow may bring.
00:02:34.880
For starters, let's begin with the inexplicable rush on toilet paper.
00:02:40.380
Now, if the coronavirus led to explosive diarrhea,
00:02:44.380
I would understand the need to bulk up on the old Charmin Ultrasoft,
00:02:51.340
so why the panic to have at least six months' worth of toilet paper on hand?
00:03:00.620
Look, one of the things that separates us from the denizens of the animal kingdom,
00:03:06.020
in addition to opposable thumbs, big brains, and the ability to create fire,
00:03:11.480
is the fact that we don't tend to do our business on the jungle or forest floor.
00:03:19.820
And I think the idea of running out of toilet paper
00:03:23.220
brings us that much closer to Magilla Gorilla territory.
00:03:40.260
sometimes that decade was cheesier than a bucket full of Bulgarian feta.
00:03:45.660
Still, as much as the manufacturers of toilet paper are enjoying a bonanza,
00:03:53.460
alas, the same cannot be said for the people who brew a certain brand of cerveza from Mexico.
00:04:00.360
It's beyond mind-numbing to me that the sale of Corona Extra is tanking these days.
00:04:08.240
Maybe just because this lager shares the first six letters of a virus?
00:04:15.500
But then again, I best not get too sanctimonious here.
00:04:19.300
I mean, thank goodness the name of this bug isn't Molson's Stock Ale Virus,
00:04:24.160
because then I might have to switch to another brand myself.
00:04:28.240
But you have to feel for those people who are being charged and convicted
00:04:37.540
Back in January, I visited Wuhan Noodle in Markham, Ontario,
00:04:41.340
which has the unfortunate luck to be named after the epicentre of the virus.
00:04:47.120
Unfortunately, the unfortunate coincidence led people to staying away from Wuhan Noodle
00:05:01.680
well, there's a connection these days with the coronavirus
00:05:10.140
And tell me, Mr. Feng, how has that affected your business?
00:05:24.560
Or do you have like that coronavirus in your menu or something?
00:05:33.980
You know, it is people like Mr. Feng, who I really feel for as COVID-19,
00:05:52.100
see us with like very like strange and maybe like afraid of us.
00:05:59.180
You know, it is people like Mr. Feng, who I really feel for as COVID-19 continues to go,
00:06:06.620
I ordered the house specialty that night, Wuhan noodles.
00:06:09.920
And let me tell you folks, they were the best noodles I have ever consumed.
00:06:14.980
And last I heard, the community is rallying around Wuhan noodle
00:06:20.840
who believe it is unfair and downright ridiculous that a business could go belly up
00:06:26.240
simply because of ignorance and perhaps even spite
00:06:30.240
when it comes to those Lugans making those very unfunny, phony phone calls.
00:06:36.480
I'm really pulling for Mr. Feng to get through this.
00:06:43.300
Are the various governments doing the right thing to stem the virus and to lead by example?
00:06:50.840
For example, while most professional sports leagues voluntarily suspended their seasons
00:06:56.140
a full week ago, it was only on Sunday afternoon
00:06:59.840
that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
00:07:02.140
finally got with the program and closed the casinos it operates.
00:07:09.520
Gee, it couldn't possibly be profits over public safety, could it?
00:07:14.820
Well, that's what it looks like that the OLG was rolling the dice
00:07:19.400
when it came to the health and safety of their patrons and staff members.
00:07:23.820
Then again, disgraced CEO Stephen Rigby needs every dollar he can get, folks.
00:07:29.700
As we reported last week, this CEO has built up, I mean,
00:07:33.820
billed taxpayers for all sorts of outrageous expenditures,
00:07:38.300
the kind of stuff that would make Marie Antoinette blush with embarrassment.
00:07:42.100
There's that fancy artwork that he rents for his office to the tune of $3,400.
00:07:49.180
And worst of all, how about that $22,000 that was spent to erect a wall
00:07:54.460
so that Rigby wouldn't have to share the kitchenette at OLG's Toronto headquarters
00:08:03.980
Indeed, how perversely ironic that Rigby actually literally walled himself off
00:08:10.120
from his filthy subordinates, but until 48 hours ago,
00:08:14.980
had absolutely no problem whatsoever keeping the casino games going
00:08:19.960
because, hey, gotta squeeze more idiot tax out of the great unwashed masses
00:08:25.820
to, oh, I don't know, pay for all that rented high-end artwork
00:08:32.720
The point is, the pro sports leagues and the theatres and the aquariums
00:08:37.260
and the theme parks, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera,
00:08:39.820
these are all private enterprises that chose to shut down on a voluntary basis.
00:08:47.920
But the OLG justifies its state-sanctioned monopoly on gambling
00:08:52.780
based on the absolutely bogus mantra of social responsibility.
00:08:57.820
You see, we just can't possibly trust the sale or wholesaling of such sinful commodities
00:09:05.200
as liquor and lotteries and cannabis to the private sector.
00:09:09.480
They're a bunch of shysters who are only out to make a buck,
00:09:19.700
Yeah, right, and I'm going to win tonight's Lotto Max jackpot
00:09:28.940
into shutting down its blackjack tables and roulette wheels,
00:09:36.020
How is that possibly justified based on the science
00:09:39.700
that is being proclaimed by the medical experts
00:09:45.360
All of which brings us to the gateways of our country, our airports.
00:09:49.460
Yesterday, Trudeau announced new measures to close off the country from visitors.
00:09:56.420
There are plenty of exemptions, such as permanent Canadian residents,
00:10:00.100
the immediate family members of Canadian citizens,
00:10:06.340
They can continue to fly into Canada easy-peasy.
00:10:10.020
And there is one huge exemption that was never discussed by the Prime Minister,
00:10:15.120
nor have any of the trained SEALs in the media party even asked about it.
00:10:21.600
What about those illegal migrants entering Canada
00:10:24.340
at illegal border crossings such as Roxham Road?
00:10:28.320
Okay, in fairness, as our own Kian Bexty found out last week,
00:10:32.620
law enforcement is clamping down on some illegal activity at Roxham Road,
00:10:51.020
Do you have evidence that I was parked illegally?
00:11:02.220
In fact, you have 30 days to contest or pay it.
00:11:08.540
Do you know what's something I was meaning to say?
00:11:16.340
And a bunch of illegal immigrants come in right behind us.
00:11:19.620
They illegally cross the border and then they come into this country.
00:11:23.080
So instead of pulling over reporters, you might consider doing that, arresting the illegal immigrants.
00:11:38.960
Do you have evidence that I was parking on this road?
00:11:49.660
You will be in court if you contest the tickets.
00:11:54.340
You haven't seen it, but you're giving me a ticket.
00:11:56.660
You have no evidence whatsoever, and you're trusting the people that are bag-checking illegal immigrants.
00:12:10.440
Kian is heading back to Roxham Road just to find out what the hell is going on there.
00:12:17.520
You know, even if you were an avowed open borders person like our Prime Minister Justin,
00:12:23.020
hashtag welcome to Canada Trudeau, surely in the here and now, there should at least be
00:12:29.180
some temporary fencing erected just to hit the pause button on all this illegal migration.
00:12:36.380
But no, to do that might be interpreted as racist.
00:12:43.040
As I mentioned in this space yesterday, the Trudeau Liberals have invested some $2.6 million
00:13:01.000
You see, even at a time of a global pandemic, virtue signaling by our feminist Prime Minister
00:13:08.460
Oh, sure, you might get the virus, but don't you dare call it Wuhan flu, even though Wuhan
00:13:19.240
All of which makes me wonder, can I call out bullshite without being labeled a racist
00:13:28.200
For example, check out this tweet I happened upon recently.
00:13:31.960
Now, folks, I wish this pic was photoshopped, but it isn't.
00:13:36.240
As you can see, four men in India have actually immersed themselves in cow manure.
00:13:43.480
They evidently believe they can attain immunity from the COVID-19 virus by taking a bath in
00:13:49.680
feces, even if that means contracting, oh, I don't know, E. coli in the process.
00:13:56.640
Yeah, I know what you're thinking right now, folks.
00:13:59.600
You just want to go into the kitchen and boil yourselves, don't you?
00:14:04.340
But under the Trudeau anti-racism policy as it pertains to the coronavirus,
00:14:08.440
if I were to call this out for what it truly is, namely a disgusting, filthy, superstitious
00:14:15.080
exercise that will only likely help spread other diseases, does that make me a racist?
00:14:24.320
You know, I think it would, actually, at least in the eyes of the liberals, because while they
00:14:29.720
say they are serious about stemming the spread of COVID-19, their actions tell another story
00:14:36.660
that when it comes to a global pandemic, it is political correctness, not public safety,
00:14:45.940
And I just wonder how many more will get infected or even die because of this sort of feel-good
00:14:59.720
When it comes to the COVID-19 virus, the big question, I think, is this.
00:15:13.040
Are the various measures being enacted prudent or is it something of an overreaction?
00:15:21.740
And to help put this into perspective is Edmonton Sun columnist Lauren Gunter,
00:15:27.340
who has just written a column entitled, Using Common Sense During the COVID-19 Panic.
00:15:43.720
When it comes to the common sense as it pertains to COVID-19, I think you play your hand very
00:15:53.440
You say, frankly, I think the media coverage, financial collapse, and border closures are
00:16:03.140
Well, this is not the world's most pernicious virus.
00:16:11.860
But you would get the impression sometimes from watching media coverage of it that a single
00:16:17.140
droplet of COVID-19 is enough to kill you, so you must avoid, you know, go cocoon in your
00:16:29.160
We've been asked to self-isolate by the government, not specifically, but generally because we were
00:16:33.960
away in California visiting some relatives when the announcements were made that you should
00:16:41.060
And so, you know, we're not interested in helping to stress out the hospitals or health
00:16:52.280
We're not ill and we're not showing any symptoms ourselves at the moment.
00:16:56.300
We have no reason to believe that we have the virus, no way of being tested.
00:17:01.240
But at the same time, too, if we did pick up the virus while we were away, I mean, the infection
00:17:07.120
right where we were in California is the same as it is in Edmonton.
00:17:11.720
So there's no reason to think that we are more infectious than the people who stayed behind in
00:17:20.500
But we don't want to be responsible for infecting anyone else.
00:17:25.040
So, you know, the prudent thing is that this infection takes about five days to manifest itself
00:17:32.360
You get your first symptoms after five days, but 99 percent of people have shown symptoms
00:17:43.180
So, you know, we have a friend who's been very helpful about bringing us groceries and
00:17:51.520
We had a lot of food in the freezer to begin with as a sort of hangover from a couple of big
00:18:01.120
So, you know, other than being bored with our menu, I don't think we're going to have any
00:18:07.700
But but nonetheless, you know, do I think this is this is necessary?
00:18:13.160
And the whole impression that's left behind that that COVID-19 is somehow this horrible,
00:18:31.120
You are about 10 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than you are if you get the flu.
00:18:38.120
But so far, even as of this morning, as of the morning of St. Patrick's Day, we still
00:18:44.000
had fewer than 200000 people in the world who had who had contracted COVID-19.
00:18:51.240
And most of those, about half of those are still the original outbreak in China.
00:18:59.400
Worldwide, they're going to be a billion people with the flu.
00:19:02.620
So, you know, many, many times more dead from influenza than from COVID-19.
00:19:08.040
Well, first of all, Lauren, I want to say you've some really good friends.
00:19:11.700
I can't think of one friend in my roster that's going to put a bag of groceries on my porch.
00:19:16.340
But secondly, you do make a very profound case for your point of view in the column,
00:19:24.920
At present, over 400 Canadians out of 36 million have COVID-19 and four people have died.
00:19:31.480
So far this winter, there have been nearly 50,000 confirmed cases of the flu in Canada.
00:19:43.040
All these people that are stocking up on toilet paper and pouring Purell over every pore of their body
00:19:51.360
and staying at home and using Lysol wipes to clean surfaces.
00:19:58.700
I'm just wondering how many of them got their flu shot months ago when we were supposed to.
00:20:05.980
And by the way, I asked this question with great trepidation, Lauren,
00:20:10.000
because I know the anti-vaxxers are going to send me so much hate mail just for bringing this up.
00:20:16.040
But I'm curious, what are your thoughts on this?
00:20:18.340
You know, as I said, on a case-by-case basis, COVID-19 is deadlier than the flu.
00:20:25.000
But the flu, because it will infect far more people, will create so many more deaths.
00:20:32.060
And yet only about 40% of Canadians will bother to get the flu vaccine.
00:20:37.180
So that makes me wonder when a COVID-19 or COVID-anything,
00:20:42.840
SARS, for instance, back in 2003 was COVID-02 because it was first identified in 2002.
00:20:50.220
This is COVID-19 because it was first identified in 2019.
00:21:01.280
It's not as aggressive in terms of the number of people it will infect as the flu is.
00:21:10.640
And still, only we know the flu is bad, but still only 40% of us will get the flu vaccine.
00:21:17.400
When a COVID vaccine is developed in the next year or two, what percentage of people will go out and get it despite the response of this?
00:21:27.880
You know, so I think politicians have been criticized for being slow on the uptake with this.
00:21:35.760
Doug Ford, the Ontario premier, declared a state of emergency this morning.
00:21:42.100
You know, I think we're going to get a state of emergency in nearly every province.
00:21:46.180
The federal government yesterday, the prime minister, basically declared a state of emergency,
00:21:51.120
closed all the borders to everyone except returning Canadians and Americans.
00:21:57.320
I think we're going to end up with a closure to Americans as well at some point.
00:22:03.520
Despite what the prime minister says about using only the best science to make his decisions,
00:22:15.480
But he only uses the science that confirms his own beliefs.
00:22:20.400
So I don't think the politicians have been too slow off the mark.
00:22:24.900
I think what has happened is we've had an overreaction to the likelihood of people getting this virus.
00:22:32.800
I spent a lot of time in the last 24 hours since I wrote that column that you're mentioning,
00:22:38.440
trying to figure out why Italy is having so much of a problem.
00:22:42.340
And there are there are as near as I can tell three reasons.
00:22:45.760
A, Italy has the second oldest population in the world after Japan.
00:22:53.760
And this virus doesn't necessarily affect people more who are old, but it does kill more people who are old.
00:23:04.220
Italy also has a higher percentage of smokers than most Western countries.
00:23:13.620
And smokers are more at risk from COVID-19 than non-smokers.
00:23:18.860
In Canada, only about 19 percent of our adult population smokes, as opposed to almost 30 percent in Italy.
00:23:28.480
And we still have a much younger population in Italy.
00:23:32.000
We have about 18 percent over 60, about 15 percent over age 65.
00:23:37.420
So that makes it less likely that Canadians will experience the same level of infection
00:23:45.600
and the same level of serious symptoms that the Italians have.
00:23:51.400
And the Italians were also renowned for ignoring the advice on social distancing.
00:23:59.260
I think Canadians have been far more compliant.
00:24:02.840
I am one of the biggest anti-government skeptics around.
00:24:06.800
And yet, you know, my wife and I are self-isolating because we were asked to.
00:24:11.740
We think it's it's the socially conscious thing to do.
00:24:18.920
And despite the fact, as I said earlier, that we don't believe we're infected, we're just isolating for two weeks,
00:24:27.080
having friends and relatives help us out with with things, with with errands and tasks like grocery shopping.
00:24:35.060
Until all of this calms down, it's probably just the sensible thing to do.
00:24:42.000
I mean, as you state, far more victims by the flu.
00:24:45.280
There'll be far more deaths of Canadians by traffic accidents, for example.
00:24:49.920
But I'm just wondering when it comes to the medical experts who are consulting with government,
00:24:55.820
is there maybe something that isn't being, you know, transparently disclosed in terms of the potential for what this virus can do?
00:25:07.600
Because, Lauren, I'll tell you, I feel like I'm living in a post-apocalypse movie.
00:25:14.700
When I when I drove down to work today, the roads felt like a Sunday, not a Tuesday.
00:25:20.560
I walk into restaurants, I see police caution tape roping off the the tables and chairs, dark theaters, no Leafs, no Raptors, you name it.
00:25:30.520
And I'm just wondering if maybe they are on to something that suggests that this could mutate into a real Spanish flu 1918-1919 kind of epidemic.
00:25:50.880
The worst case scenarios and I blame the federal health minister, Patty Haydew, for a lot of this, for saying that, well, we expect that upwards of 70 percent of Canadians could get infected.
00:26:03.360
Well, you know, theoretically, I suppose 70 percent could get infected.
00:26:06.640
But this is a slower moving virus than the seasonal influenza.
00:26:10.580
It is, I think, less likely to spread if we maintain some social distancing.
00:26:18.980
I'm not necessarily against closing down restaurants.
00:26:22.980
You know, I think it's funny that that Doug Ford has closed restaurants except for takeout and delivery.
00:26:29.980
Well, what happens the first time that somebody is working in one of these kitchens in an otherwise closed restaurant is shown to have COVID-19?
00:26:39.360
I mean, when we shut down all of the delivery services and the takeout as well, there gets to be a point where we overreact, where we fear this virus is far more deadly than it is.
00:26:56.440
And social distancing then becomes complete social isolation.
00:27:00.420
And I think that at that point, there's a real problem because where are you going to get your food from if you're not, you know, if you're under 30 and you don't know how to cook, which a lot of millennials don't know how to cook very well, what do you do?
00:27:17.420
You know, you need to be able to get delivery or you need to be able to get takeout.
00:27:23.540
And I fear that the next level of panic on the part of politicians who are really feeding off the public and the public's feeding off of mainstream media, then I really worry, what's the next step?
00:27:41.460
We've already nosedived the economy over this virus, which isn't as deadly as Ebola.
00:27:51.000
It's not as deadly as an awful lot of it's not as deadly as rabies.
00:27:55.860
Rabies remain still 100 percent fatal if you don't get treatment.
00:28:01.740
So, you know, are we in our modern sanitized world overreacting to this?
00:28:12.880
Now, can we survive with six to eight weeks of shutting down the NHL, shutting down the NBA, shutting down, shutting down all of the professionals?
00:28:28.540
You know, curling the same way, you know, although it's funny because curling was was offering ads to promote its fan interaction by saying, hey, the fans in curling get a lot closer than in any other sport.
00:28:43.180
Well, that's not really a great social distancing strategy.
00:28:47.420
So, you know, can we get is it OK to do this for five or six weeks, eight weeks at the most and watch as as the infection rates flatten and then decline?
00:29:00.720
But what happens with the next virus that's way more deadly than COVID-19?
00:29:12.280
One was being developed after the SARS outbreak in 2003, but because there wasn't another SARS outbreak after that and COVID is a SARS family infection, the vaccines research slowed.
00:29:29.240
Get a COVID vaccine and then let people either get vaccinated, get inoculated or not the way they do about the flu.
00:29:37.240
And I think we'll see in certainly in modern Western society, a far slower infection rate next time, far less concern about all of this, maybe more rationality.
00:29:54.200
I'm not recommending that people ignore what health authorities are saying.
00:29:58.540
But, you know, we're still talking about difficult, unlikely that you're going to get infected.
00:30:05.680
The Italian rate is an infection, 460 people infected per million of population.
00:30:12.320
In Canada, it's 10 people infected per million of population.
00:30:16.400
Jeez, I know it is really getting hammered, as you said.
00:30:23.380
There seems to be, I keep seeing the date of April 5th as to when these closures and suspensions will end.
00:30:35.360
And I'm sure it's going to be, at least I feel it's going to be extended.
00:30:39.380
Certainly Donald Trump said the other day that the experts are telling him the new abnormal won't get back to the old normal until maybe July or August.
00:30:48.460
What do you think is going to be the timeline, you know, that month where we look back at the winter, spring of 2020 and go, wow, remember that COVID-19?
00:31:08.120
That seems to be what a lot of the health experts are sounding out now.
00:31:13.880
If you talk to the real public health authorities, they overreact to just about everything.
00:31:21.040
And they're now starting to talk about July and August, you know, because you have to have two full incubation periods.
00:31:29.740
Two full incubation periods with no new infection.
00:31:34.040
You know, you've got to get to the point where there's far fewer infections when people are a little less panicked about all of this.
00:31:42.400
And then you can start to talk about, do you reopen the schools in this school year?
00:31:48.480
You know, you're looking at most universities not reopening until the fall term.
00:31:54.640
Maybe most of the public schools not reopening until September.
00:32:04.060
But, you know, to keep people from panicking and to get the health officials to sign off on this, maybe you're looking at July or August.
00:32:13.080
I'm hopeful we're looking at early June at the latest.
00:32:17.800
But, yeah, the prediction of July to August may not be that far off.
00:32:24.340
Lauren, thank you so much for your insight into this.
00:32:29.500
I would be devastated, I think, that Lauren Gunter perished through such an inglorious thing as a rabid dog bite.
00:32:43.140
And I'm sure we'll be talking about this down the road.
00:32:46.240
It is the number one story in the world after all, isn't it?
00:32:51.240
And that was Lauren Gunter somewhere in northern Alberta.
00:32:57.040
More of the Ezra Levent show to come right after this.
00:33:10.360
And as I mentioned, one aspect of the travelling ban that has not been mentioned by the Trudeau Liberals
00:33:17.660
is what's going on at illegal border crossings such as Roxham Road.
00:33:22.120
In fact, also, as I mentioned, nobody in the media party has the temerity to ask such an impolite question.
00:33:30.380
Except for us, of course, Kian Bextie is going to Roxham Road, and he is going to file a report later on.
00:33:38.900
We are going to bring you the truth as much as the Trudeau Liberals and members of the media party
00:33:53.760
Ezra Levent, he's on assignment, but he'll be back in this space hopefully tomorrow.