Spin Class
On the newsfeed I frequent, the headline was "Fed loans suspended" and the picture was of much-hated Secretary of Education, Nancy DeVos. "This won't be good," I thought as I clicked over to the story. As it turned out, federal student loans were not suspended. Loan payments were. No payments and no interest for 6 months. That's a good thing. So why is it the media hopes to make the reader think it's the evil Trump administration in general and Nancy DeVos in particular at work again?
The New Scapegoat
The New York Times has decided who the main culprit is in this current coronavirus crisis. It's the "religious right." Yep! If you evangelicals didn't have religious beliefs that made you hostile to science, they could have responded much better. There have been hate crimes against people who look Asian because the public has perceived that this virus is a product of China and anyone that looks Asian is likely from Wuhan, apparently. It wouldn't be outrageous to expect similar responses toward evangelicals thanks to the New York Times. (Note to the New York Times. Just because I question your science at times -- "XX ... XY? What's that?" or "Have you seen the complex design of a bird? There can't be a Designer!" or "A baby in the womb is not a baby." or the like -- doesn't mean I'm hostile to science. It means I question some of your oddball conclusions.)
Latest Numbers
The White House has new models for this virus and are now worried about 100K to 240K people dying from it. Keep in mind that we're currently under 7,000. Keep in mind that we're currently less than a 3% death rate of those who get diagnosed. Keep in mind that we're currently in lockdown and drastic measures are in place. But we're not going to let the facts spoil our minds, right? (Like "XX and XY mean something" or "Complexity and data don't mean a Designer" or "O.J. didn't do it." Right?)
Right Answer
Bill Gates is concerned. "Really? How many will die?" So he has a suggestion. The most effective way to combat the virus is to completely shutdown the nation for 10 weeks. "The country’s leaders need to be clear: Shutdown anywhere means shutdown everywhere," he said. I beg to differ, Mr. Gates. The most effective means of combating this virus is to put everyone in a cell for 10 weeks. Feed them, house them, give them entertainment, internet, digital communication, whatever, but isolate them all. Every one. Because "isolate" means "isolate" everywhere. That ought to do it. Oh, wait. Not in favor of the most effective means? Huh. I wonder why.
It Could Be Worse
Things are bad in a lot of places, but it could be worse. It could be like in the Philippines where the president is telling police to shoot on sight anyone who violates the coronavirus lockdown. Nice. And you thought we had it bad. (Note: He's actually ordering them to shoot anyone who causes trouble ... like protesters.)
Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Worse
I knew things were bad, but I didn't realize how bad. The loudest American voice these days appears to be Dr. Anthony Fauci. He's outraged that China would continue their "wet markets." Now, for those of you who don't know, that would be a live animal market. And there might very well be a link between the origin of this COVID-19 thing and wet markets. So Fauci said, "It boggles my mind how, when we have so many diseases that emanate out of that unusual human-animal interface, that we just don't shut it down." Wait ... I missed something. When did we suspend international law and the concept of sovereign states and just decide that the U.S. should have the right and responsibility to go into another country and shut down a market? I'm not entirely sure, but that sounds a lot like grounds for war. And I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty convinced that a war with China would kill far more people on the planet than COVID-19 will. So ... what am I missing? Suggest China shut them down? Sure. Urge them internationally? Why not? But "shut it down"? I don't think that's a possibility, is it? It feels like Fauci's loud voice has gone to his head. 'Cause I'm thinking "Go to war with China" is a bad approach to fighting this virus.
The Up Side
All that bad news, but there is an up side. We may have found the solution to global warming. The Global Carbon Project is saying that, due to the near collapse of all industry and business in this crisis, we may see the largest fall in carbon emissions since World War II. Climate scientists were saying that our emissions have to drop by 2020. Are you happy now?
No comments:
Post a Comment