I received an email this last week from a dance studio I used to attend, back in the days when we were allowed to do things, like attend dance classes: let me read you a part of it:

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce our permanent closing.  COVID 19 has literally killed us.  We tried and tried for help and relief from so many different avenues but have not found anything truly viable from anywhere or anyone. It’s now June and we don’t even have any legal guidelines to open in Irvine.  Like most small businesses we need to be open to stay open.  Most customers have no idea how insanely expensive it is to operate a small business in Orange County.  We have some of the highest retail rent in the country.  I have spent over 8 years of my life building my studio, my brand, my community, and the pandemic bankrupted the business in 4 short months. We are fiscally completely insolvent. I am even more saddened to say this studio closing will be the tip of the iceberg of the destruction of the fitness industry. “

Another business owner, a hairdresser in Lake Forest, told me she didn’t qualify for funds because she had opened just 7 months prior to the lockdown.  She’d gone through all her life’s savings and now was steadily working through her retirement funds. 

If any of you actually think that it’s better to keep this artificial “state of emergency” going in order to get state and federal funds, you are greatly mistaken. 

A tech company that was able to keep open, though with a massive loss of business, received a $10,000 grant from Irvine.  That’s nice, but it’s a third of what’s needed for payroll alone, a tenth of expenses for one month.  Companies do not want government handouts.  They want to be in business, with no interference from the government.  A free, open market is the way for businesses to survive, not self-styled magnanimous handouts from government agencies.

I understand that you think you’re helping by keeping this state of emergency going to receive money.  You’re not.  You are actually being part of the problem.  Let businesses get on with their business.  Rescind the false ‘state of emergency” declaration today.  I understand that Governor Newsom will retaliate with something petty, if you allow companies to open up.  However, he will just be showing himself for the tyrant he is. The only emergency here is what you are doing to Orange County’s small businesses and our economy, and the health of our citizens by allowing harmful mask dictates to come from unelected officials in the OC Health Department.

Rescind the state of emergency declaration.  Do not force masks, vaccines, tests, tracing, or any other health related issues.

[Thank you.]

Regarding face masks, as far as I can tell, this arbitrary decision has been made based on peer pressure – if everyone else is doing it, it must be helpful, right? Well, as my mother used to ask me, if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you jump, too? It seems the health department of Orange has jumped.

According to many, many doctors face masks can cause all sorts of harm, including headaches, hypoxia, hercapnia, skin irritation, loss of consciousness, impairment in immunity, even death, along with the psychological