The pandemic and personal diet – Decline in national birth rate – A slap on the wrist – John McAfee – Evening statistics
A friend has recently told me of an odd advantage that she received as a result of the pandemic. Before the pandemic she chiefly obtained her meals from restaurants, frequently dining out on one night and then using leftovers for subsequent dinners. When, at the onset of the pandemic, many restaurants closed, she fell back to cooking her meals on her own; and because she had greater control over the ingredients that went into the dishes she consumed and because she was no longer being served the extravagantly large portions for which American restaurants are famous, she was eating less and her diet was healthier. She lost some weight and was all the fitter and trimmer in consequence. I myself have missed the opportunity for dining out during the pandemic at its height; but it was only an occasional indulgence for me even before the pandemic began. For those who up to this point relied on outside services to provide their meals, no doubt many have benefitted in the same way that my friend has done.
The pandemic has affected the country in more wide-ranging ways. The CDC reports that as of December, 2020 – nine months after the pandemic was declared – our population showed an 8% decline in births in comparison with those of the previous year. Births have been declining at the rate of about 2% per year for several years running, but anxiety about COVID-19 and economic impact may have played a role in people deciding to put off having children.
The first sentence connected with the assault on the Capital was handed down today; and if there was any doubt that the rioters are being treated like members of a privileged class, this verdict must put them to rest. Anna Morgan-Lloyd pleaded guilty to demonstrating in the Capitol building. After this plea, the prosecutors dropped three other misdemeanor charges. No felonies were included in the charges leveled against her. She was ordered by the court to pay a $500 fine and to complete 40 hours of community service in addition to three years of probation. She will not spend a single day in prison, nor be forced to pay any more than the cost of a new home workstation or of an airplane flight from Dulles to California.
John McAfee, the founder of McAfee Antivirus, was found dead in his cell in a Spanish prison, probably by suicide (there is a report that he hanged himself, but it is not yet confirmed). The story of his life reads like a morality play. He developed the most widely-used antivirus software in the late 1980s and became CEO of the company that promoted it. In 1994, however, he tired of the business, resigned his position, and sold his shares in the company, realizing a fortune of $100 million. And there, one would think, matters might have rested, he being able to lead an exceedingly comfortable, indeed lavish, lifestyle to the end of his days, merely by living on the interest of his wealth and not spending a penny of his capital. Instead he went on a massive spending spree to acquire land parcels, mansions, artwork, automobiles, and so on, which quickly reduced his wealth; the housing bubble of 2008 made much of his land and house purchases all but worthless and by 2010 his assets had dwindled from $100 million to $4 million. Even so, he had merely to accept his losses and reduce his expenditures in order to live well. He did in fact move to Belize in an attempt to cut down on expenses; but other than that, he went on exactly as he had done before, residing in a house nearly as large as a castle and surrounding himself with an entourage of hangers-on and sycophants. He also had numerous brushes with the law, including being questioned as a “person of interest” during an investigation of the murder of his next-door neighbor and being briefly imprisoned in the Dominican Republic for of carrying high-caliber weapons and ammunition on his yacht. As the decade he wore on he became involved in a scam to raise more money: this past March the Security Exchange Commission charged him with securities fraud, saying that he acquired $23 million in digital assets promoting Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) without disclosing that he was an investor in those ICOs. From 2014 to 2018 he made an attempt at economy that did more credit to his thrift than to his prudence: he did not file a single tax return, which prompted the IRS to launch an investigation against him. He thereupon fled to Spain, where the authorities, after being contacted by the IRS, arrested him for tax evasion. The U.S. was seeking for his extradition at the time of his death, and the Spanish government announced its intention to comply with the request just hours before his death was discovered.
It takes a strong head to withstand the effects of a great amount of wealth acquired in a short time, and poor McAfee did not possess it. Like the Spanish Empire during the latter part of the 17th century, his life fell into a state of collapse as a result of too great an influx of gold.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 180,337,903; # of deaths worldwide: 3,906,593; # of cases U.S.: 34,447,852; # of deaths; U.S.: 618,272.