This weekend, sat in Budapest, my girlfriend became quiet distraught reading the news that it would close its borders starting September 1st. After all, its not like Hungary is flooded with COVID-19 or anything – quiet the reverse in fact. It has got off lightly like many countries in this region. Could it be that vacation countries like Croatia were seeing a splurge in new infections? Well, you would be hard pushed to make that case in my opinion – yes, infections are increasing everywhere but hospitalizations and deaths are not. And when we say increasing we mean from under a hundred a day to just over a hundred a day – not a runaway exponential curve. And anyway, half the Government were in Croatia vacationing and the other half were quarantined after attending some party party and not obeying their own rules regarding distancing and facemasks.

But COVID isn’t the reason why Victor Orban closed the corders. Europe’s wanna be fascist dictator sees COVID as his route to a lifelong position as head of state and shutting in the country allows him to do as he wants.

Meanwhile, in the USA the continued politicization of COVID continues. Given that the recent CDC report actually says -now you do have to look hard but it is there) that only 9% of so called COVID deaths in the country are actually down to COVID – the other 91% were people who had the misfortune to catch it on top of two or more other conditions. Now, try catching a virulent flu on top of two or three other conditions and see what happens….

Look, I’m not trying to belittle the threat of COVID and I’m not trying to avoid seeing the tragedy of these deaths but when we are dealing with matters like this we have to look scientifically and dispassionately at the basic information available, think critically and then make decisions that are warranted.

On my way home from Budapest, I sat in a 4-seat business class compartment (its not expensive and very good service on Regiojet). No facemask required as I am alone. I was reminded almost immediately to put on my facemask. I did not. When we crossed the border in Austria, another agent told me to put on facemask. I did not. On crossing the Czech border no one asked me to put on a facemask as it is not required. See the idiocy here? First – I’m alone in an airtight container yet I am supposed to suffocate myself? For what purpose? To say I am a good compliant citizen? No thanks. Then two, there is no such requirement in Czechia. No one asked me twice. Everyone understood how stupid it was to ask – they did their duty and nothing more. I think this extended to other areas of the train too as when I went to the bathroom, only 50% were wearing masks – in an area where I probably would wear one.

Meanwhile, in Berlin tens and tens of thousands of ordinary people gathered to protest the silliness of many of these restrictions as well as the Government’s willingness to act in a totalitarian and anti-freedom of speech way. Of course, major media outlets like CNN for example true to form reported a ‘few thousand virulent right wingers gathered…’ To get the truth you needed to go to blogs and small local news sites where you would find that the crowds were addressed by one of the Kennedy family who spoke passionately about freedom of speech and how his uncle had spoken there before him on a similar topic.

We live in a dangerous time where politicians are curtailing our liberties using fraudulent science and a bought and biased media. I’m not belittling COVID – it can kill and I do not wish to get it nor the flu for that matter. Yes, there are all kinds of strange conspiracy theories to navigate as well. But, if you cannot see that our freedoms are being challenged then honestly, you don’t deserve those liberties. There are many who seemingly sucked up into the ideology and rhetoric no longer think but follow like sheeple off the cliff to their imprisonment.

Not me.

I just joined the Free Speech union. I will continue to speak out and ask others to think hard. This is not about right and left. That duality is for the sheeple. It is about doing the right things for the right reasons.