From Solar Eclipse to Bird Flu, Histrionics and Panic Taint Today’s News Coverage and Policy Making

From Solar Eclipse to Bird Flu, Histrionics and Panic Taint Today’s News Coverage and Policy Making

Back when I was a young girl, watching one of the three broadcast channels on a black-and-white TV, I recall the news coverage related to 1970’s total eclipse of the sun that dimmed regions across North and Central America. I was fascinated, and a little upset that we weren’t going to experience the total darkness in Michigan, where I lived at the time.

I also learned from these broadcasts that total darkness during an eclipse lasts just four minutes.

The last time I experienced a partial eclipse in the San Diego area, my sole concern was getting the correct cardboard box set-up to view the event safely.

Back in 2017, Legal Insurrection reviewed the #FakeNews about President Donald Trump staring into the eclipse that occurred that year. He was actually wearing protective glasses.

The reporting associated with the upcoming April 8th eclipse that will cross this country has managed to devolve further. The stories related to event preparation are filled with histrionics and panic.

State and local officials whose areas will get the best views of the rare coast-to-coast solar eclipse later this month are issuing emergency advisories and taking crisis precautions as they brace for a massive influx of tourists.

The eclipse’s “zone of totality” — where the moon will almost fully block the sun — is a 70-mile-wide strip that will fall across towns and cities in 12 states from Oregon to South Carolina. It’s the first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years.

An estimated 12 million people will be plunged into darkness for nearly three minutes on Aug. 21 — and as many as 7.4 million more people are expected to travel to areas along the eclipse band. Local officials — some of whom could see the populations of their towns double in just a few days — are now faced with undertaking massive precautionary measures.

For example, Democratic Governor Maine Governor Janet Mills, fresh off her loss to impose an EV mandate in the state, issued safety warnings.

In a release, Maine Governor Janet Mills offers safety advice for the event, as residents and visitors will find themselves in the path of totality as the moon completely blocks out the sun.

…Ahead of the eclipse, Maine residents have been urged to plan ahead. Travel is likely to be difficult on that day given the large number of people traveling to witness the event. Motorists are urged to research their destination and find out where they may need to stop to buy fuel and other necessities.

Schools are going to remote learning in many states.

Because of expected heavy traffic and other disruptions, hundreds of schools are closing or switching to remote learning in states including Texas, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

But, to be fair, there is a spate of state and local officials reminding people of the gas shortages, food issues, and other potential hiccups based on experiences that occurred during the 2017 eclipse. But the descriptions and language used make it seem that the four riders of the Apocalypse are lining up at the gate and are ready to ride.

But the eclipse isn’t the only topic being covered hysterically, either. Legal Insurrection has been following the highly pathogenic avian flue (HPAI) since reports of the most recent pandemic of the disease reported, and providing updates as needed.

We have reported HPAI is now being reported in cattle in six states and a Texas man had a case. But we have also noted the disease has been mild in cows, and the Texas man essentially had a bad case of “pink eye.”

However, the press has managed to round a few “experts” up, and now the reports being issued that the ensuing disease can be “100 times worse than covid.”

A bird flu pandemic with the potential to be “100 times worse than COVID” may be on the horizon after a rare human case was discovered in Texas, experts have warned.

The H5N1 avian flu has spread rapidly since a new strain was detected in 2020, affecting wild birds in every state, as well as in commercial poultry and backyard flocks.

But it has now even been detected in mammals, with cattle herds across four states becoming infected, and on Monday, federal health officials announced that a dairy worker in Texas caught the virus.

…John Fulton, a pharmaceutical industry consultant for vaccines and the founder of Canada-based BioNiagara who organized the meeting, also expressed his concerns, the Mail reports.

“This appears to be 100 times worse than COVID — or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate,” he said.

“Once it’s mutated to infect humans, we can only hope that the [fatality rate] drops.”

I will simply point out that it was a pharmaceutical industry consultant that tossed out this “number.” I anticipate it will be a number of days before this number morphs into “consensus” and becomes “settled science.”

Conservative pundit Don Surber noted the following on the 4th anniversary of “15 days to slow the spread”: Star Wars was wrong. Liberty does not die to thunderous applause; it dies in fear.

The trouble with rule-by-fear is that eventually fear hormones deplete, and people can’t sustain constant levels of anxiety. They start making different choices, seek different sources of information, and begin to push back. Politicians, bureaucrats, and “journalists” should really recalculate, as it is clear people are truly tired of the needless drama and nanny-state lectures.

In fact, the push-back has already started.

Not one single state declared a state emergency during this eclipse.

Weird right? https://t.co/07LxvjZKKT

— Wendy Patterson (@wendyp4545) April 4, 2024

Where are the birds? These are cows.🙂

— Julie (@Julie0285314168) April 3, 2024

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