What is this, a Biblical pestilence? Did you ever doubt for a moment that there would be “variants,” lots of them? It’s uncanny. Just when the reports were that cases were on the wane we have a brand new global panic. Financial markets are falling apart, travel restrictions are being announced and the WHO is holding a special session. Dr. Fauci will be on all the mainstream outlets with sage pronouncements of sound advice. He’ll tell you what to do, where to and where not to go and what kind of mask you should wear when you get there. Maybe wear the mask while driving alone.

A majority of states are suing the central government over shot requirements and mask mandates. In Texas, the governor issued an executive order banning schools from enacting mask requirements. One court struck it down and has since been overruled. It’s hard to keep up with all the twists and turns over who’s in charge around here. Is it the governor, is it the Judge, is it the President, or is it Dr. Fauci? Be frightened if you must, but these arrogant bureaucrats have grown awfully bold with their authority. Did somebody elect these people and give them unbridled power? In some cases, we’re told, yes.

We don’t even want to know the extent of the anti-racist, pro-global warming mandates being pushed by “elected officials” in the lost paradise of California. No doubt, California has everything anybody could want. Over the years it’s lost its sanity. What a blessed region and a wonderful climate. Unfortunately the people there have had to suffer one indignity after another.

The cities were overrun with “homeless” who could do no wrong. Then a flood of illegal aliens, also immune from criticism. But the latest craze surely can’t continue without somebody getting hurt. That’s the worst thing, and the one thing government won’t tolerate. Violence!!

When we saw some years ago the advent of “flash-mobs,” we knew no good could come from it. Apparently the strategy has been honed to perfection. High end department stores are blocked with cars while the occupants in ski-masks cart away all the merchandise they can carry. No doubt the offenders feel justified. You know, discrimination, white supremacy and racism. Don’t think for a minute that we’ve heard the last of it. What’s next? Armed guards? Mainstream media would be inconsolable.

It’s almost axiomatic that whatever transpires on the West coast is due to sweep the nation if not the world within a couple of years. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of the nation will sit still for that kind of authoritarianism. But here comes FEAR and all the authority needed to manage it. They don’t know yet but they suspect… We’ll have to wait weeks for the details, but they suspect that there may be many mutations, and don’t yet know if the vaccines are effective against the B.1.1.529 out of South Africa.

What happened to the letters of the Greek alphabet? Maybe they were starting to lose their ability to frighten the masses. The new variant has shown up in Israel and in Europe, and South Africa is in the process of being quarantined from the rest of the world.

It’s not exactly burning up the front pages, but massive protests have been mounted all over the world. From Australia to Europe and here at home, people are breaking the rules to let the infallible bureaucrats know that they’re all through taking orders, following mandates or being “quarantined” by “health officials” with an authority complex.

Suddenly news reporters are mostly advocates for the most intrusive of requirements. Just do it! They advise that you’ll only be safe if you do what you’re told. They hope we’ll live our lives in fear, always mindful of the latest mandate. It’s a litigation dream come true. We’ll just have to wait for everything to wind its way through the judicial system. Apparently the Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that has ramifications for Roe vs. Wade. Maybe defunding the police wasn’t such a good idea. You know cities will burn, high end stores will be robbed blind, and it will all be acceptable to the mainstream. They’ll call it social justice, or some mis-nomer.

Officials are arguing about what “fully vaccinated” even means. How many booster shots are we supposed to take before we get the green light. The officials are deep in consultation. May it not go well. As it is, we don’t know if it’s our fault. How corrupt is it going to get before big troubles begin? Or have they already?

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 26 November 2021 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The homelessness crisis in America’s West Coast cities is beginning to draw national attention. There are now an estimated 166,752 people on the streets in California, Oregon, and Washington, and sensational stories of human despair and the return of medieval diseases have captured the public imagination.

Even President Donald Trump has tweeted about the “very bad and dangerous conditions” in San Francisco and warned that leaders must take action “to clean up these hazardous waste and homeless sites before the whole city rots away.”

There has been remarkably little clarity, however, on the key question: What’s really driving the homelessness crisis in West Coast cities?

For the past decade, progressive political leaders, activists, and media organizations have insisted that housing costs are the primary cause of homelessness. There is some truth to that: It’s obvious that in the largest West Coast cities, where a one-bedroom apartment rents for at least $2,000 a month, it’s more difficult for low-income individuals to afford stable housing.

However, as an emerging body of evidence shows, homelessness in America’s West Coast cities—particularly unsheltered homelessness—is not driven primarily by high housing costs, but rather by three interrelated phenomena: addiction, mental illness, and permissive public policies.

In cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco, residents have complained about rampant public drug consumption, psychotic episodes, and millions of used hypodermic needles that have been discarded on city streets.

Still, despite the obvious visible evidence, progressive political leaders have insisted on the fiction that addiction and mental illness are only a small part of the homelessness crisis. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan insists that only “1 in 4” of the homeless struggle with drugs and alcohol, while Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti does not even list addiction as one of the major causes of homelessness on his official website.

However, as the Los Angeles Times has demonstrated in a recent investigation, “mental illness [and] substance abuse … are much more pervasive in Los Angeles County’s homeless population than officials have previously reported.”

While the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported substance abuse for only 14% of the homeless population, according to a UCLA study, the real figure is likely to be 75%—more than five times higher than the official estimates.

The figures are similar for mental illness. Government authorities have estimated that 25% of the unsheltered population suffers from mental illness, while the UCLA study suggests that the true number is likely to be 78%.

As the Times points out, “the findings lend statistical support to the public’s frequent association of mental illness, physical disabilities, and substance abuse with homelessness.”

Put another way, the politically incorrect perception that homelessness, substance abuse, and mental illness are deeply intertwined is, in actuality, factually correct—and political leaders who insist otherwise are in a state of deep denial, preferring an ideological fiction to the harsh reality of life on the streets.

Unfortunately, the progressive political class in major West Coast cities is compounding the homelessness crisis with a set of permissive public policies.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom, homelessness is not a national crisis. In fact, homelessness has declined 14.6% nationwide over the past decade, while at the same time increasing dramatically in major West Coast cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

In part, it’s because these cities have adopted permissive policies on public camping, drug consumption, and property crime, which has created an attractive environment for the homeless.

In Los Angeles, more than one-third of unsheltered adults migrated to Los Angeles County after becoming homeless. In Seattle, even the former homelessness czar has admitted there is a “magnet effect” because of the city’s policies and availability of services. (As I have reported for City Journal, 9.5% of Seattle’s homeless population moved to the city “for legal marijuana,” 15.4% “to access homeless services,” and 15.7% were “traveling or visiting” and decided to stay.)

If political leaders in West Coast cities truly want to reduce street homelessness, they must first break through their denial about its causes.

Although reducing housing costs is a critical public policy goal, it will not significantly reduce the number of people on the streets. The compassionate response is not to maintain the fiction that homelessness can be solved with new housing developments, but to grapple with the complex human challenges of addiction and mental illness.

Christopher F. Rufo is a documentary filmmaker, contributing editor at City Journal, and research fellow at Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth, Poverty, and Morality. He has directed four films for PBS, including “America Lost”.

His article first appeared in The Daily Signal on February 24.

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/crisis-why-are-liberal-west-coast-cities-plagued-homelessness-126562

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