Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance
I know I’ve spent a lot of time, both leading up to the election and post-election, talking about why the mainstream media is noxious and why independent media exploring “fringe” hypotheses and narratives is just as important to consider as the “official narrative” on any given topic.
Some of you may have already seen the report produced by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic this week, reported on by the New York Post and multiple other outlets. It concludes that COVID-19 most likely originated from a laboratory incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
The report also criticizes the implementation of social distancing and mask mandates during the pandemic, asserting that these measures lacked a solid scientific foundation. It also highlights that Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified that social distancing guidelines "sort of just appeared" without substantial scientific backing.
After reading that today, I had a flashback to just how ostracized I was during the lead-up to COVID and during COVID for exploring all sorts of “crazy” theories other than those explicitly blessed by Pfizer. As I wrote in my inaugural blog post here in 2021, even just sounding the alarm on COVID itself—before it became a mainstream media news story—got me labeled as a “conspiracy theorist” and “fearmonger.”
From there, discussions about alternative treatments, the safety of brand-new mRNA vaccines, and the origins of the coronavirus all similarly landed me in the same “misinformation” crosshairs. And think about it: I didn’t even have much of a following at the time, nor was I a prominent source of alternative news. I was just an investor on Twitter, trying to have a discussion about what, precisely, the hell was going on.
It floors me to look at how casually some of the conclusions we now have regarding the virus are discussed. People today go about life as though there were never any COVID restrictions, and findings we now talk about casually—like COVID coming from a lab—could have gotten you kicked off social media, de-banked, or even arrested and thrown in jail just four years ago. That is not hyperbole. That’s a man that watched the forces “in control” arrest a solitary surfer on a paddleboard out in the middle of the ocean for being outside. This was reality four years ago:
Starting with a slight, limited hangout some years back, people today talk about the likelihood that the virus leaked from a lab as though they’re just twiddling their thumbs. That statement would’ve been beyond blasphemous four years ago.
We’ve already seen Chris Cuomo come out and admit that ivermectin was prescribed to him for COVID. That’s another statement that would have been deemed completely blasphemous just four years ago. At least we got redemption by both Rogan and Dave Smith on the ivermectin issue.
Today, people walk around unmasked, not even giving a second thought to the insane rules that were put in place during COVID. When was the last time someone asked you to keep six feet of separation? Four years ago, not doing so was blasphemous.
As I’ve written many times before, these Covid wake-up calls—combined with the Russian collusion hoax and the covering up of Hunter Biden’s laptop leading into the 2020 election—have solidified for me that the mainstream media can never be trusted again. I don’t want to tell anyone else that this is the case for them; everyone is free to make up their own mind. But for me, I’ve seen and heard enough.
Above all, however, the one lesson my COVID flashbacks today reinforced was that it takes insane courage to speak out against the powers that be when the government is at the peak of trying to tell you how to feel and what to think. As I said in a 2021 podcast with Dave Collum, the propaganda to get vaccinated in 2021 was beyond overwhelming. Remember this shit?
And those are the times it takes the most courage and the biggest resolve to stand up for liberty, civil rights, and the objective truth as you see it. I didn’t have the courage to examine the other side of the coin when the Russia-Ukraine war started, but my friend George Gammon did, and I’m glad I listened to his podcast to hear about the context I was missing. I didn’t have the courage to publicly put together a comprehensive case for why COVID may have come from a lab, but Zero Hedge did, and I’m glad I got to read their analysis—which, by the way, got them kicked off Twitter at the time.
The whole point of starting my blog was to examine narratives on the “fringe” and do my best to arrive at objective truths. I came to this method of thinking because it coincides with investing: you want to know all the facts about a company and hear the best bull and bear cases available before you make your decision. The more data you have access to, the more informed you are, and the more likely you are to make the “right” decision as you see it. The same principle applies to politics and current events.
Reading that COVID-19 report today was a reminder—not only to pay closer attention to those loud objectors the next time I’m having a narrative mercilessly stuffed down my throat—but also to try and have a modicum more courage than I’ve had in years past to find my own voice and courage to speak up when something doesn’t make sense to me.
As a contrarian investor by nature, this should be second nature to me, but looking back at COVID-19 and the events of the last four years, I still feel like there’s room for improvement and I could’ve done more.
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This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.
