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Readers!

 

It is now July, time once again to celebrate the start of this webpage in 2010 with my annual July fund-raising campaign.

 

This year I celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black. During that time I have done more than 33,000 posts, mostly covering the global space industry and the related planetary and astronomical science that comes from it. Along the way I have also felt compelled as a free American citizen to regularly post my thoughts on the politics and culture of the time, partly because I think it is important for free Americans to do so, and partly because those politics and that culture have a direct impact on the future of our civilization and its on-going efforts to explore and eventually colonize the solar system.

 

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Economy crashes in March due to Wuhan lockdowns

Never let a crisis go to waste: Retail sales in March dropped a record 8.7%, almost entirely due to the nationwide lock downs and business closures imposed by the government on what government officials have arbitrarily determined are “nonessential” businesses.

The Census Bureau said though “many businesses are operating on a limited capacity or have ceased operations completely,” it had “determined estimates in this release meet publication standards.”

Last month’s decrease in retail sales reflected depressed receipts at car dealerships, with light vehicle sales crashing in March. With millions at home and crude oil prices collapsing amid worries of a deep global recession, gasoline prices have dropped, which weighed on sales at service stations in March.

In addition, the closure of non-essential retailers knocked sales at clothing, sporting goods and furniture stores.

There were also steep declines in receipts at restaurants and bars, which stopped in-person service and moved to take-out and delivery service. Though some businesses, including restaurants, have shifted to online sales, the volumes were insufficient to close the gap from social distancing measures. [emphasis mine]

I wonder if the families that run these “non-essential retailers” consider their livelihoods to be “non-essential.” Somehow I don’t think so.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

3 comments

  • Cotour

    This virus / contagion “Opportunity” is beginning to remind me of the “Good soldier”, Lois Learner and the likes of, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Brennan and all of the rest of the inside players in government, and that includes partisan mayors and governors.

    Having the power as they do and being partisan, just like the media, they can effect certain hurdles in the name of “Safety” and “Saving lives”. And as we all know we all should kill ourselves in the name of saving one life.

    The vehicle in the form of this Chinese bat soup virus now exists to dull and even destroy with a purpose an economy that if not altered as it has been the president would without effort be reelected.

    They all have the plausible deniability with this virus to “Do what must be done”, and whom ever’s business is damaged or even destroyed is just a cost of doing the business that must be done “At any cost”.

    That’s ridiculous! Nothing at this level of play is ridiculous, and all levels of potentials exist.

    No one said that it would be easy, and so it won’t be. We move forward.

  • john hare

    One thing I see coming is the same people (read America hating scum) that were over the top criticizing Trump for not preventing the outbreak with more immediate and aggressive measures will be the same people screaming blame and overreach for economic problems caused by those same measures. Media practice of “If it bleeds, it leads” is the major problem with media pandering doctors a seriously close second.

    I personally don’t care for Trump. That has nothing to do with this particular set of panic driven reactions. I think he has been a follower of mob trend for the most part in this case. Thinking that he was better than the offered alternative in 2016 is NOT high praise.

  • Max

    2020 economy,
    https://youtu.be/-CFTIOQCqTc
    “Fear of virus” is the forklift.

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