It’s - you know, other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history.” -U.S. “You know, putting a national lockdown, stay-at-home orders, is like house arrest. Attorney General William Barr who said the public health restrictions represented an intrusion on civil liberties second only to slavery. On May 18, 2020, when the seven-day moving average of COVID deaths was at 1,479 ( ), the president tweeted “REOPEN OUR COUNTRY!” In early August, as concerns about the reopening of schools were on people’s minds, the president tweeted, “OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!” Perhaps the strongest executive branch statement came from U.S. These complaints about closings have been common at all levels of the Republican Party. On the morning of my interview, they were pointing to the increased number of “deaths of despair” during the stay-at-home period, in particular the rise in drug overdoses in the Chicago area. In preparation for my appearance, I listened to the show for a few hours, and the hosts and callers spent much of their time complaining about the coronavirus health policies, such as the closing of restaurants, bars, and schools, imposed by the Illinois governor and Chicago mayor (both Democrats). The conversation was polite, and although I tried to find as many points of agreement as possible, it soon became clear we actually had less in common than the host must have imagined. I think something about the title, “ COVID-19 and the Tyranny of Now ,” caught the eye of one of the show’s hosts, so they invited me on to discuss the article in the morning drive slot. My last column for Skeptical Inquirer landed me on a conservative Chicago-area talk radio program.
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