The Pelosi unemployment figure was reported yesterday morning at 8:30. She owns this figure. No Republican or conservative should refer to yesterday’s unemployment figures without putting “Pelosi” in front of it.

The 4.4 million Americans who lost their jobs last week can thank Nancy Pelosi for letting the small-business Paycheck Protection Program run out of money. Meanwhile, Nancy was sitting at home eating premium ice cream.

More than 26 million Americans have lost their jobs in the past five weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has paralyzed our economy. While I appreciate the need to be prudent to protect public health, we’ve now lost every single job that was created since the Great Recession ended. That’s a bitter pill to swallow.

A Disturbing Alliance

It shouldn’t be shocking to hear that our enemies are trying to use the coronavirus to deeply damage us and advance their own evil purposes.

U.S. intelligence services and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are pointing out that China, where the virus originated, Russia, and Iran are using the same messaging on social media here in the United States to spread false information about the virus to panic the American people. 

Those dictatorships are hoping to keep America shutdown. Their ultimate goal is the financial collapse of the United States so we are no longer a factor in the world, unable to check their aggressive designs. It’s disgusting, but totally predictable. They are bad nations run by bad people.

What’s unnerving is that there are other actors involved in the United States who are sending similar messages. 

For example, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now urging people to refuse to go back to work. During a recent interview, she said this:

When we talk about this idea of reopening society you know, only in America does the president — when the president tweets about liberation — does he mean “go back to work.”

When we have this discussion about going back or reopening, I think a lot of people should just say no — we’re not going back to that. We’re not going back to working 70-hour weeks just so that we could put food on the table…

This is the same person who celebrated the possible destruction of the American energy industry. She would rather we be dependent on foreign dictators than to be energy independent. But AOC is not alone in calling for a worker revolt.

Fellow Squad member Rep. Ayanna Pressley said, “We just have to reject any calls for a return to normal because that normal was what was slowly killing people.” I don’t know what worker’s paradise she’s designing, but encouraging people not to work is the height of irresponsibility. 

Speaking of fake news, The Washington Post ran a story Wednesday suggesting that Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, had said that COVID-19 would come back in the fall and be worse than ever. Headlines like this one went “viral” (pun intended): "CDC Director Suggests Coronavirus Could Be Worse In The Fall.“

Dr. Redfield was so upset that he asked to speak at Wednesday’s briefing to clarify his remarks. He said he told the Post that if the virus returns in the fall, it could be more challenging for the health system because it would occur when the flu season begins. He added that more people should get their flu shots so we can keep the flu at bay while we fight the COVID resurgence. 

But the Post twisted his words to stoke fear, implying that the virus itself would somehow be worse. That’s something I would expect from the mullahs of Iran. 

Did China and the WHO "Attack” Us Again?

Gilead, an American drug company, is testing an anti-viral drug called remdesivir. The drug has been around for a while and may be effective against COVID-19. There are studies of the drug taking place now, including a gold standard trial by the National Institutes of Health. 

There’s also a trial taking place in communist China. That study has already been criticized for not following standard protocols widely observed by western nations. 

Yesterday, the World Health Organization posted a news item on its website from Chinese sources saying that remdesivir had totally failed, had significant side effects, and that the tests were being stopped. 

Within minutes, the WHO pulled the article off its site and said it was a mistake to post it. But it had already been seen by the Financial Times, which immediately reported the alleged failure and it quickly spread to other news outlets. Trading in Gilead stock had to be halted after it fell 6%. The U.S. stock market, which had been up substantially before the news broke, cut its gains in half in minutes. 

Now just think about this chain of events. We’re awaiting studies here in the U.S. There is a study in China that no one is taking seriously. Suddenly, the WHO has results and puts it up on its site just long enough to be seen by a major news outlet. 

Gilead is hurt. The U.S. stock market is hurt. Confidence in the drug has been called into question. Maybe this is just a series of coincidences. 

I would suggest that the Chinese communists and their allies are waging war against the United States. I believe their short-term goal is to spread fear and despair in order to cause the defeat of the only American president in modern history who has had the courage to seriously confront communist China.

Cuomo the Clueless

Wednesday, Gov. Cuomo made the case for why his state must continue to be shut down. When a reporter pressed him about unemployed workers who are running out of money and can’t feed their families, the governor retorted, “You want to go to work, go take a job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow.”

Progressives like Cuomo, who have never worked in the real world, are just clueless. It’s not as easy as it sounds. 

Is a restaurant worker going to become a nurse tomorrow? Is a barber going to become a police officer tomorrow? Is a paralegal or an accountant going to be a mechanic tomorrow? 

Thank You

We often hear that after the coronavirus pandemic ends, a new normal will set in, involving everything from more handwashing and less handshaking to increased remote work. But I hope that whatever new normal sets in, it includes a renewed appreciation for people whose work is often taken for granted. I’d like to thank a few people. 

Read more in my latest opinion piece at the Washington Examiner.