In the normal course of things, I write my columns to a particular formula, that of the "op-ed." I pick a subject that's riding high in the news cycle (or, better yet, is about to be riding high in the news cycle, making me look prophetic) and make the most compelling — but concise! — argument I can come up with for my position on that subject.

On February 29, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams took to Twitter to admonish Americans:  "Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus ..." A little over a month later, Adams finally got around to asking the Centers for Disease Control if perhaps he'd been talking through his hat when talking through a mask might have been smarter.

MOLINE, ILLINOIS (April 9, 2020) - VanDerGinst Law PC is spearheading an initiative called "Masks of Love" to help address the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the community. During this crisis, a number of workers have experienced loss of employment, and as a result face an uncertain financial future.

The COVID-19 outbreak isn't over yet, but we've reached a turning point: American politicians and bureaucrats are beginning the tricky process of trying to simultaneously walk back their predictions of catastrophe, while awarding themselves the credit for those predictions not coming true, and avoiding the blame they deserve for inciting headlong irrational panic.