Coronavirus and Pandemics

AutismIn July 2008, Savage said that the increasing rate of autism diagnoses was the result of "a racket" designed to get disability payments for "poorer families who have found a new way to be parasites on the government." He returned to the subject on his July 16, 2008, show with the following remarks:Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, "Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot."In July 2008 the progressive pressure group Media Matters for America picketed the studios of WOR in New York, along with parents of autistic children. WOR issued a statement saying, "We regret any consternation that his remarks may have caused to our listeners." Also that day, the insurance company Aflac pulled its advertising, and the Supertalk Mississippi radio network dropped Savage's program, replacing it with The Dennis Miller Show. Later that evening, Savage devoted his entire three-hour program to the subject, taking calls from parents who took issue with his comments. On that show Savage stated that his remarks had been "ripped out of context" by "far left Stalinists" who want him off of the air. He appeared on Larry King Live with Glenn Beck as the substitute host for Larry King, and said that the real issue he was commenting on was the overdiagnosis of children due to pharmaceutical companies' drive to drug children for higher profits. On July 25, 2008, Autism United advocates gathered to announce that several advertisers, including RadioShack, Sears, The Home Depot, and DirectBuy, will discontinue their support for Savage's show.Savage's syndicator, Talk Radio Network, responded by releasing a lengthy statement, along with a selection of 20 audio clips drawn from Savage's discussions of autism, to show that the comments were taken out of context.

I'm getting concerned about how long this state of emergency is going to go on, especially since the rules and restrictions get progressively stricter almost every day. You mentioned in an earlier thread the economic impact - this is going to be devastating for a lot of businesses, including many who employ low wage workers.