covid

Karl Manke, a 77-year-old barber in Owosso, Michigan, has defeated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel in court for the second time in about a week. The Argus-Press reported: Judge Matthew Stewart ruled that Karl Manke will not have to close his shop after the state again failed to prove he was an …

Take the rule that restaurants can deliver food, but not wine to go with that food, or the rule that florists in Louisiana must be licensed and…wait for it… pass an exam to make bouquets. Go down the list, and you start to realize how much red tape has been tying up the economy long before COVID-19. …

Canava’s new underwear features their “dream team” — Governors Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci. Los Angeles clothier Canava is plastering the names of three prominent pandemic personalities on women’s underwear. “NEWSOM, FAUCI, CUOMO = our version of a dream team and we heard you loud and clear,” the brand …

President Trump on Tuesday announced a $19 billion coronavirus food assistance program to support farmers and ranchers and “maintain the health of the food supply chain” in the United States amid the coronavirus crisis. “The farmers and ranchers are incredible people,” Trump said during comments at the Whtie House. “I’m proud to stand right by …

Left-wing actor Jim Carrey channeled the 1980 horror film The Shining in his latest political painting, essentially blaming President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for those killed by the Chinese coronavirus in their respective countries. “90,0000 in the US, over 40,000 in the UK. Highest death tolls in the COVID world,” tweeted Jim …

The COVID-19 pandemic has begun to challenge basic premises of liberal democracy, such as individual rights to privacy and constraints on executive power. But even before the public health crisis drove a rush to emergency measures, liberal democracy was straining under the weight of mounting political polarization, distrust and a win-at-any-cost mindset among political competitors.   In …

Fear is a powerful driver of public policy. Ordinarily, that is not greatly troubling.  We have speed limits, food sanitation laws, and many other regulations based on rational fear of harm. Sometimes in extreme circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, fear is so pronounced that it leads government officials to declare an emergency, which under …

Executive orders may have encouraged the lockdowns, but they always depended on voluntary behavior. Some states have lifted their COVID-19 lockdowns or announced plans to let more businesses reopen soon; others have extended stay-at-home orders into late May or even early June. But regardless of what officials dictate, data from Apple and Foursquare suggest the …

Germany tried paying people for not working after WWI. It didn’t turn out so well. Massive government debt, sky-high unemployment, the economy frozen, idle workers receiving payments from the government. This might sound like COVID-19, but I am actually talking about post-World War I Germany. If your high school history teacher skipped this story, here’s …

France should sell the Mona Lisa for €50billion (£44.7billion) to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, a leading French businessmen has suggested.   Stephane Distinguin, 46, founder and CEO of the international tech company, Fabernovel, proposed the French ‘sell the family jewellery’ to combat the economic strain caused by the pandemic.   He told …