Lies

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Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff for President Obama and current mayor of Chicago, once said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.”  He was espousing the idea of using a crisis to get other things approved that had no chance otherwise.

Today with the coronavirus crisis in full bloom, governors are misrepresenting and/or lying about conditions and circumstances to move their state up on the list to get supplies or to get more money from the federal government.

A smaller item in the grand scheme of things was Governor Cuomo’s (D-NY) assertion in the media that NY needed 30,000 ventilators immediately.  PDJT responded by asking about ventilators NY currently had in storage.  It turns out that the Governor was trying to stockpile for the worst-case scenario.  So, NY did not need them now.  The federal government’s role here is to see that what resources exist are available when and where needed.  Cuomo was trying to muscle his way to the front of the line.

However, this is mild compared to what has happened recently elsewhere.  On Wednesday Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced tragic news.

“It is with heartbreaking sadness today that we can confirm the first pediatric fatality in Connecticut linked to [COVID-19].  A 6-week-old newborn from the Hartford area was brought unresponsive to a hospital late last week and could not be revived. Testing confirmed last night that the newborn was COVID-19 positive. This is absolutely heartbreaking. We believe this is one of the youngest lives lost anywhere due to complications relating to COVID-19.”

The death of a six-week old is a tragedy.  Our prayers go out to the family.

The news raced around the internet.  As one could easily imagine, such news would be terrifying to any parents of a newborn.  Questions were raised about the virus mutating since the number of deaths below age 40 are miniscule compared to other age ranges.  The vast majority have been people over 70.

The problem?  It turns out that COVID-19 had nothing to do with the newborn’s death.  Perhaps the telltale hint that there was something seriously wrong with this narrative were the words “linked to.”  Were facts that were germane omitted from the story put forth by Lamont?  You bet!

Did the baby test positive for the virus?  Yes!  However, the cause of death was accidental suffocation by a caretaker.  The police responded to a 911 call from the caretaker.

Lamont had to know the real reason for the newborn’s death.  So, what was the reason for him “linking” the death to COVID-19 and, in doing so, terrifying parents of newborns everywhere?

When one looks at the state’s budget revenues, one gets an inkling of the possible reason.  Connecticut has been on the brink of a financial crisis for some time.  Connecticut had been experiencing a shortfall in revenue before the state started shutting down businesses due to the virus.

Shuttering of businesses has blown up the state’s budget.  Kevin Lembo, Connecticut’s Comptroller reported a substantially increased projection for a revenue shortfall.

“My office is already seeing a drop-off in withholding receipts from the large number of layoffs and furloughs resulting from non-essential business closures related to the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The speed and scale of the pandemic’s economic disruptions are unprecedented for Connecticut.  As a result, the full extent of the impact is not yet clear and may take weeks, if not months, to determine. The current year deficit could, and likely will, grow larger.”

The current projected deficit?  $170 million.  And this is likely to grow.

Was the Governor trying to weasel more money out of the federal government?  Candace Owens, a Connecticut resident and conservative activist, certainly thinks so.

After the above tweet and video went public, a responsible journalist asked Lamont about this. Lamont immediately handed the question to the state’s Director of Infectious Diseases, who explained in general terms that his office does not confirm the cause of someone’s death.

It appears that the governor lied about the baby’s death because his state is running short on money.  Perhaps Lamont hoped to elicit enough sympathy to create pressure on Washington to fork over more money than is needed for COVID-19 relief efforts.

Andrea Widburg over at American Thinker noted,

How many other jurisdictions are being “creative” about linking deaths to COVID-19?

There are always going to be various levels of “weaselness” in politicians.  But, this effort by the Connecticut governor is despicable at a level that is hard to fathom.  The fact that Lamont would stoop to such an action and terrify parents of newborns everywhere indicates that he has lost his moorings altogether about what is acceptable conduct even for a politician.