Remember that Sun Belt spike?

Remember that Sun Belt spike?

The numbers now are excellent. Hospitalizations in those states (we're talking Florida, Georgia and Texas in the South, and then California and Arizona) are down 65.7% since their peak.

Out of the 108 million people living in those states, a grand total of 10,828 are currently hospitalized with COVID.

The chart looks like this (thanks to Ian Miller):

Florida reported 34 deaths yesterday. But even that exaggerates the situation, since yesterday was merely the day these deaths were reported, not the day they actually occurred.

Here's when those 34 deaths occurred (with thanks to Jennifer Cabrera, who covers these numbers for Florida, for the data):

9/13 - 1

9/11 - 1

9/9 - 1

9/8 - 3

9/7 - 5

9/6 - 2

9/4 - 5

9/2 - 1

9/1 - 1

8/30 - 1

8/20 - 1

8/19 - 1

8/17 - 1

8/16 - 1

8/11 - 1

8/6 - 1

8/3 - 1

8/2 - 1

7/31 - 1

7/30 - 1

7/24 - 1

7/8 - 1

6/20 - 1

This result was reached without hard lockdowns.

Yes, California locked down, but in light of the results in these other states, that was obviously pointless.

Meanwhile, which two countries in the world have suffered the least economically?

Russia and China.

It would be funny if it weren't so destructive: the very people who see Russian threats to America around every corner just got played in the most devastating and embarrassing way.

The hospital system -- anywhere in America -- is nowhere near being overrun. Fears that it would be were behind why we were urged to "flatten the curve." The curve has been flatted, hospitals are fine, and yet the lockdown/reopening voodoo pseudoscience continues.

At this point the White House has got to coordinate rational, fact-based messaging about the virus.

There are plenty of highly intelligent people who have been doing excellent work out there, and who can easily parry -- and mock -- the panic narrative being peddled in virtually every outlet you can think of.

It could even be packaged expressly as an antidote to fake news.

For example:

When the media try to panic you about "cases," here's what you should know.

And so on.

Doctors with unimpeachable credentials should be placed front and center. We have to hope that they'd be willing to take the slings and arrows for the sake of fighting for what's right, since the best doctors understand the wreckage all the restrictions are causing.

Show a bunch of charts, with the state/country names withheld, depicting places with different timings and degrees of lockdowns and reopenings, and challenge reporters to figure out which charts represent hard lockdowns and which don't.

For the sake of humanity itself, hammer away at this.

Take every opportunity to line up aggrieved Americans against the people doing this to them.

Like those kids at that massive rally in Connecticut protesting the state's decision to cancel high school football season. "Let us play!" the kids chanted.

Tell those kids: never forget who did this to you.

Now, before we close:

(1) On the Tom Woods Show this week: Phil Labonte of the metal band All That Remains on the fate of performing artists amidst the COVID lockdown voodoo; Dave Rubin on how political disagreement turned into semi-warfare; Sheldon Richman with more libertarian fundamentals; how the U.S. presidency got to be so powerful; and Bob Murphy on money mechanics and the perils of Modern Monetary Theory (the preferred approach of Bernie supporters). Subscribe for free: http://www.tomwoods.com/episodes

(2) Here's the replay from last night's final workshop on prospering in an age of shutdown control freaks. It'll be up for another 48 hours and that's it. Enjoy: http://www.tomwoods.com/lastcall

Tom Woods