By Brownstone Institute at Brownstone dot org.

You recall how the Covid lockdowns began. It was a soft and slow drumbeat that began in late January 2020, with growing amounts of panic and a faster tempo, increasing for several weeks. The US President and the UK Prime Minister resisted extreme reactions. Most governments did and so did most public health authorities.

The drum pounding became earsplitting in late February. Faced with an incredible barrage, finally Boris Johnson and Donald Trump gave in. They got out in front of the problem and lowered the boom: stay home, essential/unessential, no flights, no parties, stop your consumerist ways. Just sit alone and be sad. Both came to regret this choice but, by then, others were in charge.

The experts and institutions were everywhere, seizing the moment. The CCP, WHO, CDC, Imperial College London, Fauci, Birx, CNN/NYT/MSNBC, and on it went, everyone telling us the same thing daily. Those who asked questions were shouted down, shamed, throttled, cancelled, deleted. It felt like we were surrounded on all sides by lies and liars, marionettes and mushbrains, sycophants and spooks.

Six years later and nearly to the day, this new attempted lockdown seems to be going the same way, not concerning infectious disease but energy use. Isn't it remarkable how the officially recommended methods of managing these completely different realms bear so much in common? They both come down to restricting your liberty, rationing your consumption, redirecting your attention, and shouting down critics.

The Iran War kicked off the price spike but it was uncanny how a machinery was so quickly put in place to instruct everyone of what to do. The panic about how to respond is intensifying. The crisis is without precedent, they say. We have to try new approaches, dramatic ones.

Suddenly, this institution called the International Energy Agency holds new prominence in world media. Founded in 1974, it's an NGO associated with OPEC. It has no hard but only soft power – like the World Health Organization, with whom the IEA shares a similarly authoritative branding.

There is a new Fauci too. The head of the IEA is highly decorated and universally praised Dr. Fatih Birol. Though he has never worked in industry, any more than Fauci had seen patients in decades, Dr. Birol is said to be the world's top expert and works closely with China on its supposed "energy transition." Indeed, sporting an honorary doctorate from Imperial College London, he has been a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering since 2013.

Concerning the release of new energy reserves, Birol is nonplussed: "supply-side measures alone cannot fully offset the scale of the disruption."

Remarkable isn't it? New script, same play, new actors for the same roles, overlapping protocols, nearly identical tempo of acceleration and dynamic of acoustics in the media. Around the world, countries are imposing price caps, consumption rationing, indoor temperature controls, and shorter work weeks as a prelude to full-on stay home orders. They haven't come to the US yet but they are spreading in Europe and the UK, as people panic about prices.

Clearly, they say, we need to flatten the curve once again. Temporarily. Just until we get the problem under control. We just need to buy time. After all, we've never dealt with anything like this. Clearly the long-term solution, they say, is a full switch to "renewables" but that cannot happen all at once.

Inspired by the manner in which governments were able to control communication and people during the Covid crisis, the IEA advises the following:

1. Work from home where possible. We'll be back to languishing at home and consuming entertainment through laptops. IEA comments: "Displaces oil use from commuting, particularly where jobs are suitable for remote work."

2. Reduce highway speed limits by at least 10 km/h ( 6-7 miles per hour), which is really nothing more than a method of creating annoyance. The IEA says "lo...