Biased Media

Disinfecting the Media’s Narrative With Light!

Published by Papa Giorgio

Larry Elder Discusses the whole “Bleach” incident that the media blew up and took WAAAY out of context. And how dumb the Left must be to interpret any part of what the President said as ingesting or injecting caustic material – like Ross. (I include some video of differing modern day units that process blood with UV light at the 3:05 mark.)

BEFORE getting to some of the fun stuff, my post on the Bleach incident: “Trump Then Clarified His Remarks | Clorox Bleach Injections“. Here is a cataloging of the UV Light technology that is a hundred years old, and, the entire point here is not to promote anything below as a cure, it is merely to point out as usual Trump is ahead of the MSM with actual technology to support his randomized statements.

But as you will see from the videos, this is “disinfecting light” brought into the body to fight the Coronavirus, something the AP wrote recently about:

  • Cedars-Sinai-Developed ‘Healight’ Medical Device Platform Technology Being Studied as a Potential First-in-Class COVID-19 Treatment (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LOU DOBBS discussing it:

The President and his people probably got inundated with companies contacting them with technology they have been working on. If you take this into account, the portion where Trump said Dr. Birx and others would look into that makes more sense in context. The Presidents people have probably been brainstorming on all this.

To WIT…

I first heard (read) about this via RUSH LIMBAUGH, to which I excerpt from his transcript:

….Now, folks, it has long been known that ultraviolet light (UV) kills viruses and bacteria. This is known for a long time. The problem is that if it’s unfiltered, ultraviolet light is dangerous to humans and to human cells. What you have to do is filter out the dangerous UVC, ultraviolet C, leaving what’s called ultraviolet A light.

Then it becomes safe for human use. It has proven in the lab by a bunch of companies that at the right wattage and the right duration, ultraviolet A light is effective at killing a variety of viruses and bacteria — including the coronavirus. Ultraviolet A will kill the coronavirus. There is now a company making a product called Healight, H-e-a-l-i-g-h-t.

It was developed at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. The Healight is actually a catheter and is used on patients who are intubated, who have a breathing tube. So what happens is that the catheter, the Healight (that’s its brand name) is embedded with small LED lights that emit ultraviolet A in a specific way.

The Healight is inserted into the breathing tube of an intubated patient, and the light emitted from those days LEDs kills a wide variety of viruses and bacteria. The company that is behind the creation of this contraption has a video explaining and showing how it works. The video is largely text, what I just told you.

There is a graphic. There is a little video showing the devices — the catheter — actually being inserted in the breathing tube of an intubated patient. They’re intubated, then they turn the LED lights on, and they graphically replicate what happens. The bottom line is it’s in its early stages and phases…..

I also — a day earlier — posted on other UV Light technology as an example of possibilities of what Trump was clumbaly trying to get out of his mind to his words. AGAIN, just because I am posting this does not mean I am endorsing this… AND, in fact, I include a warning.

Dr. Kristi Wrightson is conducting a study to assess the ability of UV light to reduce the severity and duration of flu symptoms. The UV light device that she uses is called UVLrx, also a Santa Barbara company:

Dr. Wrightson found that patients’ symptoms resolve within 1-2 treatments with improvement in upper respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat as well as generalized symptoms such as increase in energy, decrease in body aches and fever.

Here is the WARNING about the above:

  • The idea of using UV light to treat infections started with a Nobel Prize – using UV light to treat tuberculosis infection of the skin. This, of course, is an external use. Using UV light to treat the blood had its heyday in the 1950s, but fell out of favor without leaving much of a paper trail behind….. UV light can cause tissue damage, as anyone who has suffered a sunburn can attest. What damage is being done with the UV light from this device, and can it have any clinically significant effect on infections at a dose that is safe for the tissue? These are unanswered questions. (SCIENCE BASED MEDICINE)

WIKI has an interesting “history” portion on its page regarding this and simply state: “This procedure fell out of favor in the late 1950s, at a time when antibiotics and the polio vaccine were becoming widely used. Since then it has been sidelined as a type of alternative and complementary medicine.” There is also a long article on this at the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (Ultraviolet Irradiation of Blood: “The Cure That Time Forgot”?).

But, since this is an older technology and it seems the safest way to do this to blood is like the old way, outside the body. Here are some modern machines THAT DO THIS OUTSIDE THE BODY:

Trump did follow up the statements after a question came from a reporter by saying: “It wouldn’t be through injections, you’re talking about almost a cleaning and sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t work, but it certainly has a big affect if it’s on a stationary object.” This is proof he wasn’t telling people to drink or injects disinfectant. But all the media likes to post is a paragraph from minutes earlier by President Trump to spread a false narrative. Trump said during that whole speech that he isn’t a doctor, it would be handled or administered by a doctor, and that they are seeing if it is even effective.

Trump Then Clarified His Remarks | Clorox Bleach Injections

Published by Papa Giorgio

This story is multiplied at many sites, but I like LEGAL INSURRECTION’S “inflection.” Here is the meat of their post, and I will include others sites after the excerpt (I will emphasize):

This is why when Donald Trump became president I told friends to always listen to his full remarks. Everyone knew the MSM would twist his words to make him sound evil and stupid.

The MSM and liberals on Twitter did just that yesterday. They claim Trump suggested people inject themselves with disinfectants in order to cure the Wuhan coronavirus.

[….]

Then Trump said this (emphasis mine):

  • So, I’m going to ask Bill a question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing when we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting. And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. AND IS THERE A WAY WE CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT BY INJECTION INSIDE OR ALMOST A CLEANING? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful.

If Trump did not include the “or almost a cleaning” then yes I could see how people would think he meant an actual injection. Even then, come on, people. Use your freaking brain.

But ABC News reporter Jon Karl asked Bryan if there is any “scenario that could be injected into a person.”

Of course, Bryan said they “don’t do that within that lab at our labs.”

Trump then clarified his remarks because people are stupid:

  • “IT WOULDN’T BE THROUGH INJECTIONS, you’re talking about almost a cleaning and sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t work, but it certainly has a big affect if it’s on a stationary object.”

Some other good posts follow:

  • Don’t Believe the Blue Checks: Here’s the Context to Trump’s Comments About UV Light and “Injecting” Disinfectant (RED STATE)
  • FACT CHECK: No, Trump Did Not Tell People To ‘Inject Themselves With Disinfectant’ Or ‘Drink Bleach’ (DAILY WIRE)
  • Fake News: Trump Didn’t Tell People to Inject Bleach or Lysol Into Their Veins to Fight Coronavirus (PJ-MEDIA)
  • ‘Sit This One Out’! CNN’s Chris Cuomo Apparently Forgets That He’s Probably The Last Person Who Should Bust Trump Over Covid19 And Disinfectants (TWITCHY — SEE BELOW)

>>> Cristina Cuomo Says She Treated Her Coronavirus With Clorox Baths, Vitamin Drips: Experts React (USA TODAY)

I do have to say though, there are some pretty funny Twitter stuff about the whole thing.

Who Stands To Benefit from “The Rona” (China? Democrats? Socialism?)

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Why I now call it THE RONA)

FIRST and FOREMOST, I wish to set up the two audios well, as, I think the articles linked are MUST READS, and they describe the possibility of the post by OLD SCHOOL PATRIOT (Col Allen West, BTW) So, here is the description portion used for both Rush Limbaugh audios:

First, let’s lay up the main story with some earlier observations via the WASHINGTON TIMES:

  • Coronavirus May Have Originated In Lab Linked To China’s Biowarfare Program (WASHINGTON TIMES, January 26th — follow the two links that say “HERE” — also LINKED BELOW): 
  • Coronavirus Lab Escape Theory Advances (WASHINGTON TIMES, April 8th)

CNN has an interesting story as well regarding some arrests of Harvard University faculty that may be involved in bolstering the lab in Wuhan’s research:

  • Harvard Professor Among Three Charged With Lying About Chinese Government Ties (CNN, January 28th)

And finally — NATIONAL REVIEW notes an arrest by Border Patrol and detailing of suspicious activity in transporting SARS and MERS in and out of our country:

  • Border Patrol Stopped a Chinese Biologist Carrying Viable SARS, MERS Viruses at Detroit Airport in 2018 (NATIONAL REVIEW, March 30th)

THIS ALL leads to this post by COL. ALLEN WEST titled, “SOMETHING SMELLS“.

EXCERPT:

…It cannot be debated, we have been hit with a massive biological agent. The question is not whether there was intent, but rather the level of intent. Sure, there are such things as coincidences, but in this specific case, nah. The indicators, trends, and warnings all lead to a simple, and reasonable, deduction.

Wuhan to Shanghai = 839 km
Wuhan to Beijing = 1,152 km
Wuhan to Milan = 8,684 km
Wuhan to NY = 12,033 km

The coronavirus started in Wuhan, yet there has been no major effect of Chinese coronavirus in nearby Beijing or Shanghai. Yet, there have been many deaths in Italy, Iran, European countries, and America.  All business areas of China are now safe, so declared by the Communist Chinese government.

America is not just blaming China without a reason. The virology lab that does research on bats that carry the coronavirus is in Wuhan. The Chinese Army’s biological research lab is in Wuhan. The university that is connected to the Harvard University biology and chemistry professor who was arrested in January is the Wuhan University of Technology. As for the two doctors who treated the first cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, one is dead, the other is missing.

Even today, India is locked down, yet all the cities of China are open. China has also announced the opening of Wuhan beginning April 8th. Not a single leader in China has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus.

The virus has ruined many economies around the world. Many have had to close their borders in an attempt to contain and control the spread of the coronavirus. Thousands have lost their lives, millions have been exposed to this pestilence, countless people have been locked in their homes, and many countries have placed their citizens on lockdown.

The coronavirus originated in the city of Wuhan in China. We are told its origin is out of a wet market. Yet, these same wet markets remain open. Did someone release one of the lab bats into the local wet market? The Wuhan coronavirus has now reached every corner of the world, but the virus did not have deadly consequences in China’s capital of Beijing nor China’s economic capital of Shanghai, located in close proximity to Wuhan itself.

Or maybe it has and we just do not know about it?…

I found this post compelling due to the odd — to say the least — activity surrounding these viruses and this lab in Wuhan. Fact Checks of the story from January are rushed to a judgement based on incomplete evidence and a theory that it is a bio-weapon, strictly speaking. Here are two article refuting such nonsense (via the January Washington Times article):

  • Experts Know The New Coronavirus Is Not A Bioweapon. They Disagree On Whether It Could Have Leaked From A Research Lab (BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENCES, March 30th)
  • The Proximal Origin Of SARS-CoV-2 (JOURNAL NATURE, March 17th)

All this is VERY interesting indeed!

This whole adventure is a key time for Democrats to try and defeat Trump by various means. One being vote by mail and early voting (all harvested of course). Here are some articles about this:

  • Voting by Mail Is a Terrible Democrat Idea that Invites Fraud (BREITBART)
  • California Compromised (RPT)
  • Voter Fraud Is A Huge Problem In The Democratic Party (LIFESITE NEWS)
  • Voter Fraud – Guess Who? (RPT) — older post regarding Democrats voting fraudulently – in general
  • Coronavirus: Arizona Democrats Push for All-Mail Voting in 2020 Election (BREITBART)
  • Democrats Want To Use The Coronavirus Relief Bill To Seize Control Of Elections (WASHINGTON EXAMINER)
  • Citing Coronavirus Threat, Texas Democrats Sue To Expand Mail-In Voting (TEXAS TRIBUNE)
  • Democrats Introduce Bill To Expand Early And By-Mail Voting (HUFFPOST)

ALL THAT BEING SAID, here are the two audios I think are relevant considering the above:

China Back To Normal (Limbaugh Part 1)

Rush Limbaugh notes that the media, some “scientific acolytes,” and political figures seem to want to hurt Trump bad enough that they would root and actively work against our economy. But the reason I am using this audio is also to bolster the idea that it almost seems to be a purposeful manipulation against Europe and the Americas. Not saying this was virus was released purposefully (see PART 2 below), but that if an accident, it seems to be used to benefit China. Not a conspiracy as much as an observation. This description will essentially be the same for Parts 1 and 2…

Rush Refutes MSM’s Conspiracy Charges (Part 2)

A caller floats a plausible theory that segues into a response to the Media (and Democrats and #NeverTrumpers) saying he [the MahaRushdi] said the virus was a Chinese chemical bio-weapon unleashed on the U.S. purposefully. This is a good example of how the media and the “fact checkers” distort reality.

Read My Lips, No New Cases | Dr. Fauci (Bonus Commentary)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Dennis Prager open up his 3rd hour on Friday by quickly going over Tucker Carlson’s noting Dr. Fauci’s understanding of when we can relax these quarantining and social distancing regulations (see more at DAILY CALLER)… and getting people back to work. Obviously, this cannot happen… we live in a world of trade-offs, as the Thomas Sowell video I added to this video points out (see more at RPT: “3-QUESTIONS LIBERALS NEVER ASK“). One comment I came across humorously noting the impossibility of Dr. Fauci’s statement is this: “Read my lips, no new cases!” ???????, get ready for the backlash from Leftists and #NeverTrumpers when Trump opens society before there are no new cases or deaths.

FYI — After the opening monologue, I truncated calls to almost exclusively include Dennis’ response… so while this sounds like almost an un-edited audio clip, stitch together portions of his third hour as well as add media.

Here are a few articles or blogposts I think are important to understand the irresponsibility of basing public policy on these faulty models:

  • WOW! Dr. Fauci Now Says, “You Can’t Really Rely Upon Models” …WTH? (GATEWAY PUNDIT)
  • Birx Warns of Inaccurate Models Predicting Large Spread Of Coronaviruses (FR24 NEWS)
  • Numerators and Denominators in the Coronavirus Saga (AMERICAN THINKER)
  • Are Covid-19 Models A Sound Basis For Public Policy? [With Comment By Paul] (POWERLINE)
  • Complicated Mathematical Models Are Not Substitutes for Common Sense (NATIONAL REVIEW)
  • Inaccurate Virus Models Are Panicking Officials Into Ill-Advised Lockdowns (THE FEDERALIST)
  • We Cannot Destroy The Country For The Sake Of New York City (THE FEDERALIST)
  • Coronavirus Modeling Had Faulty Assumptions, the Real Data Gives Us Hope (PJ-MEDIA)
  • The Scientist Whose Doomsday Pandemic Model Predicted Armageddon Just Walked Back The Apocalyptic Predictions (THE FEDERALIST)
  • Epidemiologist Behind Highly-Cited Coronavirus Model Drastically Downgrades Projection (DAILY WIRE)

BONUS COMMENTARY

TUCKER: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION PRAISES CHINA, DENIES TAIWAN’S EXISTENCE: World Health Organization would rather deny Taiwan’s existence than offend the Chinese government; reaction from Gordon Chang, author of ‘The Coming Collapse of China.’

TUCKER: THE NEW YORK TIMES’ CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE CAN BE EXPLAINED IN 4 STEPS: The establishment press has botched coronavirus from the beginning.

INGRAHAM: WHAT IS THE NEW NORMAL? If it means abandoning the life we loved before coronavirus or using this the crisis as a vehicle for advancing a left-wing, freedom-killing agenda, count us out.

Trump Acted Quickley On Coronavirus (TIMELINES)

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Part 2 is here) I have seen multiple people I know (friends, family, acquaintances) pass along the very misguided idea that Trump dragged his feet on the response to the Wuhan Virus. This was in response to someone basically saying Trump got in the way of experts, and that he should just keep his mouth shut (adapted):

Dr. Fauci was interviewed at 3am the other morning [March 24th] (10 minutes of you time:DR. FAUCI INTERVIEWED BY WMAL) and the MSM hasn’t referenced his statements once. Also… the quote you are probably referring to is this one: when he was asked if he was worried about this becoming a pandemic:

  • “No, not at all. We have it totally under control,” Trump said. “It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” (Jan. 22)

This was essentially three weeks after the first Chinese case was announced, and only 10-days after China shared the genetic information of the virus. (The first American known to have it was January 21st.) So I think you may be wanting something from the President that you wouldn’t expect from another. (In contrast to the below excerpted timeline) Trump ordered all flights from China halted January 31st.

By the time he declared a state of emergency (March 13), we had had 49 deaths by that time. It took the previous administration till there were a thousand Americans dead to declare an emergency. I think this is an “orange man bad” scenario. You should listen to Dr. Fauci’s wise words. 

This move by Trump SHOWED how quick he acted and to what measures. A must read article excerpted below is a MUST read to show where everyone’s mind was (except Trump’s):

The Impeachment That Killed Americans: Instead of dealing with the virus, Dems focused on getting Trump.

The lethal price tag for the months of the Impeach Trump obsession by Democrats is now in — and rising.

Over there at Breitbart, Joel Pollak, one of the serious journalists of the day, has put together this telling timeline that shows exactly what Democrats were doing as the coronavirus loomed. Here’s the link to Joel’s story — and here’s his very revealing timeline:

  • January 11: Chinese state media report the first known death from an illness originating in the Wuhan market.
  • January 15: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds a vote to send articles of impeachment to the Senate. Pelosi and House Democrats celebrate the “solemn” occasion with a signing ceremony, using commemorative pens.
  • January 21: The first person with coronavirus arrives in the United States from China, where he had been in Wuhan.
  • January 23: The House impeachment managers make their opening arguments for removing President Trump.
  • January 23: China closes off the city of Wuhan completely to slow the spread of coronavirus to the rest of China.
  • January 30: Senators begin asking two days of questions of both sides in the president’s impeachment trial.
  • January 30: The World Health Organization declares a global health emergency as coronavirus continues to spread.
  • January 31: The Senate holds a vote on whether to allow further witnesses and documents in the impeachment trial.
  • January 31: President Trump declares a national health emergency and imposes a ban on travel to and from China. Former Vice President Joe Biden calls Trump’s decision “hysterical xenophobia … and fear-mongering.”
  • February 2: The first death from coronavirus outside China is reported in the Philippines.
  • February 3: House impeachment managers begin closing arguments, calling Trump a threat to national security.
  • February 4: President Trump talks about coronavirus in his State of the Union address; Pelosi rips up every page.
  • February 5: The Senate votes to acquit President Trump on both articles of impeachment, 52-48 and 53-47.
  • February 5: House Democrats finally take up coronavirus in the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia.

And there, in black and white, is exactly the problem. Republicans at the time warned that Democrats were so mindlessly obsessed with impeachment that other issues were being routinely ignored. Immigration, trade, health care, and on and on went the list of concerns that were being ignored in favor of the impeachment obsession.

But there was another issue Democrats were ignoring while they spent their time impeaching the president. A very, very big issue that involved life or death.

The American Spectator’s Dov Fischer took it head on right here. His title:

The Real Threat to Our Democracy During Coronavirus

Pelosi, Schiff & Co. were too busy dragging the country through impeachment to pay attention to ominous developments in Asia.

Dov Fischer nailed it exactly.

Yes, indeed, while all that impeachment obsession was happening, the coronavirus was making its debut. Note well in the Pollak timeline this date — January 11, the day that “Chinese state media report the first known death from an illness originating in the Wuhan market.” And with that virus news out there, a mere four days later, Speaker Pelosi focuses not on that — but on holding the House vote that impeaches the president, followed by an elaborately staged spectacle in which she signs her name to the documents with a stash of 30 gold pens resting on a silver tray. Then, in another elaborately staged spectacle, she formally parades the articles through the halls of the Capitol to deliver them to the Senate.

Then there is January 21, a full 10 days after news of the virus has gone public — and the first known person who had been in Wuhan arrives in America. Carrying the virus. Two days later Pollak notes this:

  • January 23: The House impeachment managers make their opening arguments for removing President Trump.
  • January 23: China closes off the city of Wuhan completely to slow the spread of coronavirus to the rest of China.

And not to be forgotten: on January 31, President Trump announced this, per the Washington Post:

Trump administration announces mandatory quarantines in response to coronavirus

Announcement comes as U.S. airlines cancel flights to China amid growing fears

Mere days later, on February 4, President Trump delivered his State of the Union address, in which he said this:

Protecting Americans’ health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.

And the reaction to that speech from the Pelosi Democrats?

Famously, when the president reached the end of his speech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi ostentatiously stood and ripped the speech in half. That doesn’t count the Democrat members who made a point of walking out on the speech or labeling it, as Pelosi did, a “pack of lies.”….

(READ IT ALL)

I also wish to note the silliness of the media (in this case Joe Scarborough) saying that everyone knew this was coming. No. No they did not. Retired Admiral James G. Stavridis and Senator Tom Cotton were the lone voices on Hugh Hewitt’s Show, here Hugh talks about a special in the works:

I listen to Hugh first thing in the morning… and out of everything I heard from the MSM to talk radio… his voice was alone. Senator Tom Cotton and Admiral James G. Stavridis were the other lone voices…. on the Hugh Hewitt Show. I am looking forward to the special next week. (I inserted the videos BTW.) All Hugh had was audio — of course, radio — of Joe Scarborough saying “everyone knew.”

PJ-MEDIA has an excellent article noting easily some of the lies leveled at Trump and his administration. Here is their list:

10. Trump downplayed the mortality rate of the coronavirus
9. Trump lied when he said Google was developing a national coronavirus website
8. Trump “dissolved” the WH pandemic response office
7. Trump ignored early intel briefings on possible pandemic
6. Trump cut funding to the CDC & NIH
5. Trump “muzzled” Dr. Fauci
4. Trump didn’t act quickly and isn’t doing enough
3. Trump told governors they were “on their own”
2. Trump turned down testing kits from WHO
1. Trump called the coronavirus “a hoax”

I deal with both #1, #4, and #5 here: “CORONAVIRUS LIES VIA DEMOCRATS/MEDIA (UPDATED W/CONVO)” | And #8 and #6 are dealt with here: “WASHINGTON POST SWINGS AND MISSES” |  #2 (and #1) is dealt with here “LARRY ELDER DEBUNKS MEDIA’S LATEST LIES“

And no-one ever show this video of Trump and why it is so easy to take him out of context when one hates him, which is what FACTCHECK did:

….March 4: “Well, I think the 3.4% is really a false number.” — Trump in an interview on Fox News, referring to the percentage of diagnosed COVID-19 patients worldwide who had died, as reported by the World Health Organization. (See our item “Trump and the Coronavirus Death Rate.”)

March 7: “No, I’m not concerned at all. No, we’ve done a great job with it.” — Trump, when asked by reporters if he was concerned about the arrival of the coronavirus in the Washington, D.C., area. 

March 9: “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!” — Trump in a tweet.

March 10: “And we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.” — Trump after meeting with Republican senators…..

Yet, this is why Trump has said these things…

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=246481773156957″ width=”690″ height=”388″ onlyvideo=”0″]

 

Two Decades Of Foreshadowing Ventilator Shortages

Published by Papa Giorgio

Larry Elder discussed a FOX NEWS article…

…to which I use the NEW YORK TIMES to make the point that the attack on Trump (as if this is his fault) is unwarranted:

….“So much that was predicted has come to pass,” said Marcia Crosse, former head of the healthcare section of the Government Accountability Office. Since the early 2000s, the GAO, the federal government’s leading internal watchdog, has issued a steady stream of reports about poor pandemic planning.

[….]

That is only the most recent warning. As early as 2003, the GAO cautioned that many urban hospitals lacked enough ventilators to treat a large number of patients suffering from respiratory problems that would be expected in an anthrax or botulism outbreak.

“Ventilators have long been recognized as a weak link,” said Crosse, who spent 35 years at GAO before retiring in 2018.

[….]

Federal policymakers concentrated heavily on pandemic preparedness in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and anthrax scare in 2001, which both exposed gaps in the nation’s emergency response system.

In 2005, the administration of President George W. Bush published a landmark “National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza.” The document, among other things, highlighted the need for plans to distribute necessary medical supplies from the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile and to support state and local efforts to “surge” medical personnel and facilities to handle an outbreak.

Medical equipment such as masks and protective clothing in particular were given high priority as planners recognized that doctors, nurses and other medical staff were most vulnerable.

After the swine flu epidemic in 2009, a safety-equipment industry association and a federally sponsored task force both recommended that depleted supplies of N95 respirator masks, which filter out airborne particles, be replenished by the stockpile, which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

That didn’t happen, according to Charles Johnson, president of the International Safety Equipment Assn.

The stockpile drew down about 100 million masks during the 2009 epidemic, Johnson said…..

A Must Read AMERICAN SPECTATOR Excerpt… BAM!

Published by Papa Giorgio
The Impeachment That Killed Americans: Instead of dealing with the virus, Dems focused on getting Trump.

The lethal price tag for the months of the Impeach Trump obsession by Democrats is now in — and rising.

Over there at Breitbart, Joel Pollak, one of the serious journalists of the day, has put together this telling timeline that shows exactly what Democrats were doing as the coronavirus loomed. Here’s the link to Joel’s story — and here’s his very revealing timeline:

  • January 11: Chinese state media report the first known death from an illness originating in the Wuhan market.
  • January 15: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds a vote to send articles of impeachment to the Senate. Pelosi and House Democrats celebrate the “solemn” occasion with a signing ceremony, using commemorative pens.
  • January 21: The first person with coronavirus arrives in the United States from China, where he had been in Wuhan.
  • January 23: The House impeachment managers make their opening arguments for removing President Trump.
  • January 23: China closes off the city of Wuhan completely to slow the spread of coronavirus to the rest of China.
  • January 30: Senators begin asking two days of questions of both sides in the president’s impeachment trial.
  • January 30: The World Health Organization declares a global health emergency as coronavirus continues to spread.
  • January 31: The Senate holds a vote on whether to allow further witnesses and documents in the impeachment trial.
  • January 31: President Trump declares a national health emergency and imposes a ban on travel to and from China. Former Vice President Joe Biden calls Trump’s decision “hysterical xenophobia … and fear-mongering.”
  • February 2: The first death from coronavirus outside China is reported in the Philippines.
  • February 3: House impeachment managers begin closing arguments, calling Trump a threat to national security.
  • February 4: President Trump talks about coronavirus in his State of the Union address; Pelosi rips up every page.
  • February 5: The Senate votes to acquit President Trump on both articles of impeachment, 52-48 and 53-47.
  • February 5: House Democrats finally take up coronavirus in the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia.

And there, in black and white, is exactly the problem. Republicans at the time warned that Democrats were so mindlessly obsessed with impeachment that other issues were being routinely ignored. Immigration, trade, health care, and on and on went the list of concerns that were being ignored in favor of the impeachment obsession.

But there was another issue Democrats were ignoring while they spent their time impeaching the president. A very, very big issue that involved life or death.

The American Spectator’s Dov Fischer took it head on right here. His title:

The Real Threat to Our Democracy During Coronavirus

Pelosi, Schiff & Co. were too busy dragging the country through impeachment to pay attention to ominous developments in Asia.

Dov Fischer nailed it exactly.

Yes, indeed, while all that impeachment obsession was happening, the coronavirus was making its debut. Note well in the Pollak timeline this date — January 11, the day that “Chinese state media report the first known death from an illness originating in the Wuhan market.” And with that virus news out there, a mere four days later, Speaker Pelosi focuses not on that — but on holding the House vote that impeaches the president, followed by an elaborately staged spectacle in which she signs her name to the documents with a stash of 30 gold pens resting on a silver tray. Then, in another elaborately staged spectacle, she formally parades the articles through the halls of the Capitol to deliver them to the Senate.

Then there is January 21, a full 10 days after news of the virus has gone public — and the first known person who had been in Wuhan arrives in America. Carrying the virus. Two days later Pollak notes this:

  • January 23: The House impeachment managers make their opening arguments for removing President Trump.
  • January 23: China closes off the city of Wuhan completely to slow the spread of coronavirus to the rest of China.

And not to be forgotten: on January 31, President Trump announced this, per the Washington Post:

Trump administration announces mandatory quarantines in response to coronavirus

Announcement comes as U.S. airlines cancel flights to China amid growing fears

Mere days later, on February 4, President Trump delivered his State of the Union address, in which he said this:

Protecting Americans’ health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.

And the reaction to that speech from the Pelosi Democrats?

Famously, when the president reached the end of his speech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi ostentatiously stood and ripped the speech in half. That doesn’t count the Democrat members who made a point of walking out on the speech or labeling it, as Pelosi did, a “pack of lies.”….

(READ IT ALL)

Washington Post Swings and Misses

Published by Papa Giorgio

I have had this article thrown in my face too many times… and with a YUGE thanks to ACE OF SPADES for this. Here is the typical Facebook link to the Washington Post article (which is behind a paywall):

To say this article is a fav of Dems and #NeverTrumpers is an understatement. Here is an archived (not behind a pay wall) Washington Post opinion piece by a named source — the author of the piece.

(WASHINGTON POST)

  • Tim Morrison is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the National Security Council.

President Trump gets his share of criticism — some warranted, much not. But recently the president’s critics have chosen curious ground to question his response to the coronavirus outbreak since it began spreading from Wuhan, China, in December.

It has been alleged by multiple officials of the Obama administration, including in The Post, that the president and his then-national security adviser, John Bolton, “dissolved the office” at the White House in charge of pandemic preparedness. Because I led the very directorate assigned that mission, the counterproliferation and biodefense office, for a year and then handed it off to another official who still holds the post, I know the charge is specious.

Now, I’m not naive. This is Washington. It’s an election year. Officials out of power want back into power after November. But the middle of a worldwide health emergency is not the time to be making tendentious accusations.

When I joined the National Security Council staff in 2018, I inherited a strong and skilled staff in the counterproliferation and biodefense directorate. This team of national experts together drafted the National Biodefense Strategy of 2018 and an accompanying national security presidential memorandum to implement it; an executive order to modernize influenza vaccines; and coordinated the United States’ response to the Ebola epidemic in Congo, which was ultimately defeated in 2020.

It is true that the Trump administration has seen fit to shrink the NSC staff. But the bloat that occurred under the previous administration clearly needed a correction. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, congressional oversight committees and members of the Obama administration itself all agreed the NSC was too large and too operationally focused (a departure from its traditional role coordinating executive branch activity). As The Post reported in 2015, from the Clinton administration to the Obama administration’s second term, the NSC’s staff “had quadrupled in size, to nearly 400 people.” That is why Trump began streamlining the NSC staff in 2017.

ACE OF SPADES excerpts a portion after this commentary:

He notes that Trump did shrink the NSC — because Obama had bloated it from 100 persons to 400 in just a few years.

But the NSC retained its epidemic personnel — just merged with biodefense and counterprolifereation.

Here is that portion (plus some):

One such move at the NSC was to create the counterproliferation and biodefense directorate, which was the result of consolidating three directorates into one, given the obvious overlap between arms control and nonproliferation, weapons of mass destruction terrorism, and global health and biodefense. It is this reorganization that critics have misconstrued or intentionally misrepresented. If anything, the combined directorate was stronger because related expertise could be commingled.

The reduction of force in the NSC has continued since I departed the White House. But it has left the biodefense staff unaffected — perhaps a recognition of the importance of that mission to the president, who, after all, in 2018 issued a presidential memorandum to finally create real accountability in the federal government’s expansive biodefense system…..

Now ACE switches gears to note who is reTweeting the story:

So you can see how the media eagerly misleads the public — yes, an “office” was dissolved. But most of the personnel making up that office were retained, and added to a new, merged office.

So they say “the office” was dissolved and intend you to take that to mean that the epidemic unit was disbanded.

That’s a lie, but that’s what they want you to believe.

They are the enemy of the people and a reckoning is coming.

Via Tami, John Bolton is now tweeting out the article quoted above:

The rest of ACE’S post is a must read.

CDC BUDGET

This is quickly refuted by the actual budget… the first year is Obama’s… and so, spending on the CDC stayed at or was above O’s.

Wuhan Virus Hysteria

Published by Papa Giorgio

I was asked the following question on Facebook by a friend of the family (my oldest son’s friend to be exact,). She asked:

  • Alright Sean, what do you think of this whole virus deal? I’m personally not really worried about it, pretty sure I already had the dang thing, just curious!

The short answer is “I am not worried.” Democrats are twice as likely to freak-out about this than are Republicans. (I assume #NeverTrumpers are in the same “Democrat boat.”) HOWEVER, I will say this is the best argument for what the nation is doing writ large (even if I still disagree with it somewhat) — from my Facebook:

Okay. So the best argument I’ve heard so far came from Ben Shapiro for the course of action that we are taking as a country towards the Coronavirus (the Wuhan Virus). And it’s simple, unlike past flues you could have this for a few days and not realize you have it before the symptoms kick in. During this time you are highly contagious. Brand new studies show that it can be in the air from you breathing for up to 3 hours in a confined space (say, a room or elevator etc); and it can stay on surfaces for up to 3 days. Now, Italy has more beds per thousand people in hospitals and healthcare systems than does America. Since our Baby Boomer population can be more prone for serious complications in reaction to this, we stand a chance at burdening our emergency rooms/hospitals to well past it’s limits (Italy is at 200% plus capacity and are sending people home essentially to die). So all these precautions are not to “stop” Coronavirus, but to “slow” it’s spread to help alleviate the impact on our health care network. And by slowing it we are allowing a chance for a vaccine to hit the shelves in time to mitigate this flu as it gets worse.

I will answer with the following links (many to my own posts) and updates — I will try and keep it brief, but you know me. First, I am a fan of MICHAEL FUMENTO. I read his book, “The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS: How a Tragedy Has Been Distorted by the Media and Partisan Politics.” And ever since he has been the harbinger to media miscalculations and hysteria. AMERICAN THINKER noted Fumento from an earlier article, quoting:

It’s called “drama,” which is badly needed, because there appears to be nothing very special about this outbreak of the 2019-nCoV or Wuhan ­virus. It should actually be called the DvV, or Déjà vu Virus, because we have been through these hysterias before. Over and over. Heterosexual AIDS, Ebola repeatedly, the H1N1 swine flu that was actually vastly milder than the regular flu and, especially, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003.

[snip]

Wuhan is repeatedly labeled “deadly” — but so is every other ­virus most people know about.

Mr. Fumento’s most recent article deals with the virus in an updated fashion: “Coronavirus Going To Hit Its Peak And Start Falling Sooner Than You Think” — In it he notes the following “Law”

(UPDATE… this article was published the 8th of March, and probably uses information from March 4th)

…China is the origin of the virus and still accounts for over 80 percent of cases and deaths. But its cases peaked and began ­declining more than a month ago, according to data presented by the Canadian epidemiologist who spearheaded the World Health Organization’s coronavirus mission to China. Fewer than 200 new cases are reported daily, down from a peak of 4,000.

Subsequent countries will follow this same pattern, in what’s called Farr’s Law. First formulated in 1840 and ignored in ­every epidemic hysteria since, the law states that epidemics tend to rise and fall in a roughly symmetrical pattern or bell-shaped curve. AIDS, SARS, Ebola — they all followed that pattern. So does seasonal flu each year.

Clearly, flu is vastly more contagious than the new coronavirus, as the WHO has noted. Consider that the first known coronavirus cases date back to early December, and since then, the virus has ­afflicted fewer people in total than flu does in a few days. Oh, and why are there no flu quarantines? Because it’s so contagious, it would be impossible.

As for death rates, as I first noted in these pages on Jan. 24, you can’t employ simple math — as everyone is doing — and look at deaths versus cases because those are ­reported cases. With both flu and assuredly with coronavirus, the great majority of those infected have symptoms so mild — if any — that they don’t seek medical attention and don’t get counted in the caseload.

Furthermore, those calculating rates ­ignore the importance of good health care. Given that the vast majority of cases have occurred in a country with poor health care, that’s going to dramatically exaggerate the death rate….

(His articles for the NYP can be found HERE)

BEFORE posting audio of Michael Medved and Dennis Prager discussing the above article with Michael Fumento… I wish to post the latest audio by Dr. Drew Pinsky discussing the issue. (See two previous posted videos from Doc Drew, HERE.) . And he says listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci, whereas Michael Fumento notes in the Medved audio that Fauci has been wrong on every case since the heterosexual AIDS scare. Even with this note, Doc Drew is waay better in his reporting than the Washington Post or CNN:

Celebrity doctor Dr. Drew slams the media for “reprehensible” coverage of the coronavirus spread in the US and tells Americans to “stop listening to journalists” and instead focus only on information provided by the CDC and other health entities.

Okay, here are the two partial audio interviews with Michael Fumento:

  • Michael Medved interviews Michael Fumento (March 12th) regarding his NEW YORK POST article entitled, “Coronavirus going to hit its peak and start falling sooner than you think“. I include this article because Medved adeptly notes Dr. Anthony Fauci’s assessment to get Fumento’s reaction. And these two have been “locking horns” since the “heterosexual AIDS” scare… Fumento being the hands down winner since the 80’s.

I think much of this is hysteria. I think also Trump knowing the media well and how Democrats would weaponize this issue, got a jump on this disease/flu season, and against his cabinet’s advice — withing three weeks after this strain was identified… put into action the most aggressive controls yet. (See my post on this HERE.) All while the media and Democrats called him racist for his actions:

Could you imagine the reaction if Trump had just blown this off? HoooBoy!

BONUS! Media Standards

BONUS! Science Time

Despite the real threat of coronavirus, Ebola, and influenza, Dr C explains why most viruses are good for you, and good for the environment.

Trump Wins Against Media and Democrats

Published by Papa Giorgio

Larry Elder has great openers, here is one on the Covid-19 hype via the press and Democrats, and Trump “Winning!”

Larry Elder deftly goes thru the differences between the 1918 breakout and the 2020 flu. No comparison at all.

Doc Drew vs Media Hype!

Published by Papa Giorgio

Dr. Drew’s beyond fed up with the media coverage of the coronavirus, because he believes it’s majorly overblown and causing hysteria … while another major threat’s being ignored.

Dr. Drew talks with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith about coronavirus, the media’s response to it, and why we shouldn’t be freaking out about it.

Coronavirus Lies Via Democrats/Media (UPDATED w/CONVO)

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Jump to UPDATE — a quick convo on Facebook)

He takes forever to get to the points… but they are good points. President Trump’s critics are using the natural fear of the coronavirus as a political weapon.

CONSERVATIVE TREE-HOUSE was on it! (Feb 2nd):

In response to an escalating spread of the Coronavirus President Trump initiated a suspension of entry visa’s for persons traveling from China:  “The entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the People’s Republic of China, excluding the Special Autonomous Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States is hereby suspended and limited” [link].

The travel restrictions went into effect at 5:00pm today.  Essentially President Trump is putting the health of Americans first. However, in an effort to politicize the Coronavirus, presidential candidate Joe Biden says travel entry restrictions are “hysteria, xenophobia and fearmongering”:

[…] “We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus,” Biden said in Iowa Friday. “This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia – hysterical xenophobia – and fearmongering to lead the way instead of science.”  (more)

…And just like that Democrats become the party of pro-virus….

TREE-HOUSE points out with a link to the January 31st proclamation, that on this date (again, January 31st), the February ban was put into motion.

The NEW YORK POST has a good piece showing all the maligning when Trump got a jump on the virus… and now they are saying he waited too long — WHICH IS IT?

…It’s a unique set of characteristics showing that President Trump understood early the need for decisive measures such as travel restrictions on China, which he imposed in January.

Yet for that sensible decision — in defiance of the World Health Organization — he was criticized by Democrats such as Joe Biden as xenophobic, and by China as racist.

“This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia — hysterical xenophobia — and fearmongering,” said Biden the day after the travel restrictions were imposed.

CNN ran a story warning that “the US coronavirus travel ban could backfire” and have the effect of “stigmatizing countries and ethnicities.”

The Chinese Communist Party’s official mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, called the ban “racist.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned it would increase “fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.”

[….]

At the press conference with Trump on Saturday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the highly respected head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised the “original decision that was made by the president … [that] prevented travel from China to the United States.

“If we had not done that, we would have had many, many more cases right here that we would have to be dealing with.”

Trump’s travel restrictions began on Jan. 31. Australia and Singapore instituted their own travel limits the next day. Trump’s move bought valuable time to slow the spread of the virus and ease pressure on the nation’s health system before a vaccine is developed — which experts believe is at least 18 months away.

But that hasn’t stopped the barrage of fake criticisms, including that Trump had left the nation dangerously unprepared to cope with a pandemic by cutting funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not true. The CDC’s programming budget increased from $7.2 billion in 2019 to nearly $7.7 billion this year, the Associated Press fact-checking unit reported. Trump had proposed a cut, but Congress rejected it.

It’s reprehensible for the Democrats to make political hay by blaming Trump for the coronavirus or, as a New York Times op-ed piece called it, “Trumpvirus.”

In an editorial Saturday, the Gray Lady also reiterated its debunked claim that Trump has “muzzled” Fauci.

Yet at Saturday’s 2 p.m. press conference — hours before the Times’ deadline — Fauci emphatically denied the claim.

“I have never been muzzled, ever, and I’ve been doing this since the administration of Ronald Reagan,” Fauci said. “I’m not being muzzled by this administration. That was a real misrepresentation of what happened.”

What shoddy journalism to publish such an incendiary, anonymously sourced claim, without at least including Fauci’s denial.

The anti-Trump narrative rolled on, with increasingly silly attacks. The Washington Post speculated that the coronavirus could be “Trump’s Katrina,” referring to Hurricane Katrina, the response to which had been bungled by President George W. Bush.

When Trump announced a coronavirus task force with the most eminent experts in the nation, CNN blasted him for a “lack of diversity.”….

The media and Democrats push false Trump coronavirus narrative.

AMERICAN THINKER runs some good Tweets by Steve Guest (You can find the entire Twitter thread HERE):

MUZZLED?! CUT FUNDING?!

When the AP fact-checks Democrats… you know its bad. More from an earlier AMERICAN THINKER article:

…To set the stage, here are a few indisputable facts:

On January 31, 2020, as China confirmed that 259 people had died and there were about 100 cases reported outside of China, President Trump ordered that the U.S. would prevent foreign nationals who had recently visited China from entering the country. He also ordered quarantined American travelers who posed a high risk.  

Democrats called Trump a racist.

Democrats were worried that Trump’s germ phobia would make him issue even more and worse racist orders.

President Trump held a press conference during which (1) he was surrounded by government scientists who explained what was going on (2) he appointed Vice President Pence, a competent, experienced administrator, to be the White House point person on coronavirus efforts.

Democrats called Pence a killer.

Democrats also announced that henceforth they would call coronavirus “TrumpVirus” because Trump had appointed Pence to oversee the administrative end of dealing with coronavirus and because Trump said there was no need for panic.

Nancy Pelosi complained that Trump had waited too long to act, even though when she spoke not a single American had died.

Elizabeth Warren said that she would end the “racist” border wall by taking all wall funds and putting them into coronavirus research (never mind that, since time immemorial, sealing borders has been one of the prime ways in which governments have been able to protect their citizens from epidemic disease).

Trump stated during the rally in South Carolina that the Democrats’ unceasing and dishonest attacks against him for his handling of the coronavirus risk were their latest hoax.

The media reported that Trump had declared that coronavirus itself was a hoax, one of the most blatantly dishonest bits of reporting ever to come from the media.

Leftists are actively hoping that coronavirus causes so much economic disruption that it will hurt Trump politically – never mind that it will also hurt ordinary Americans….

Facebook Back-N-Forth

A “Never Trumper” friend responded to the following post by me:

(hat-tip to JONATHAN SARFATI) President Trump’s TV press conference:

  • State of emergency declared in the US. $50 billion in aid available and states urged to set up emergency centers.
  • Laws waived to allow greater availability of hospitals and clear beds for urgent cases—i.e. hospitals can move elderly patients from hospitals to nursing homes more quickly.
  • Partnership with private sector to test for coronavirus more quickly (results within 24–36 hours). But he says only people should only take tests if they actually have cause to think they have it.
  • In discussion with pharmacies to make drive-through tests available. Google is developing a website to help people determine whether testing is warranted and direct people to the nearest testing location.
  • Large retailers are partnering with the administration to fight coronavirus by keeping the supply chain as intact as possible.
  • One said, “We are normally competitors, but today we are all working together to fight this virus.”
  • Student loan interest is waived indefinitely.
  • Secretary of Energy instructed to buy strategic reserve of crude oil as the price is very low.
  • Unified decisive action to combat coronavirus is imperative.
  • Coronavirus is now in 46 out of 50 states. Important to look after senior citizens and those with pre-existing chronic conditions.
  • Nursing homes restricting all visits except for essential staff and end of life situations.

His response was thus:

To which I responded thus:

Since I cannot view behind a pay wall. What is the date of that article JIM G? Important information for me to confirm Fact Check rating it half-true. Out of curiosity… what would have been done different with this “official” was there?? (I THEN LINKED TO THIS POST) Three weeks after it was identified Trump slowed the inflow of it drastically? (<< Against the advice of his Cabinet)

This would have been different?

That is the problem with government… once something is put in place, it never is tore down after it (a) fails, or (b) succeeds in its proposed goal. The Trump Admin is different

JIM G. >>>

…In reality, the pandemic expert — Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer — left the National Security Council (NSC) voluntarily after then-National Security Advisor John Bolton was appointed.

Bolton disbanded the unit that Ziemer was supervising as part of an effort to downsize the bloated NSC staff. The purpose of the unit, which had overseen the global fight against Ebola, had largely been fulfilled.

It is true that Ziemer and his unit have not yet been replaced….

(BREITBART)

It still should not be put in place, and more of the NSC should be disbanded. And?

A Couple Text Responses

This was in response to someone basically saying Trump got in the way of experts, and that he should just keep his mouth shut:

Dr. Fauci was interviewed at 3am the other morning [March 24th] (10 minutes of you time:DR. FAUCI INTERVIEWED BY WMAL) and the MSM hasn’t referenced his statements once. Also… the quote you are probably referring to is this one: when he was asked if he was worried about this becoming a pandemic:

  • “No, not at all. We have it totally under control,” Trump said. “It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” (Jan. 22)

This was essentially three weeks after the first Chinese case was announced, and only 10-days after China shared the genetic information of the virus. (The first American known to have it was January 21st.) So I think you may be wanting something from the President that you wouldn’t expect from another. (In contrast to the below excerpted timeline) Trump ordered all flights from China halted January 31st.

By the time he declared a state of emergency (March 13), we had had 49 deaths by that time. It took the previous administration till there were a thousand Americans dead to declare an emergency. I think this is an “orange man bad” scenario. You should listen to Dr. Fauci’s wise words. 

And in another text stream I responded to the idea that South Korea did more tests with a note from a friend via Facebook:

Trump said the US did more testing in 8 days than South Korea did in 8 weeks. Because this is literally true (we did 360,000 in 8 days to their 350,000 in 8 weeks), Politifact decided that “more testing” meant per capita so they could claim it was false.