On COVID-19, Politics, and Masks

People are behaving very strangely with regard to COVID-19. It seems that most of the contention has political and ideological roots. Half the country is overly pessimistic while the other half is overly optimistic and the truth is nuanced somewhere in between. It also seems that people assume that everyone has the same worldview and data, so each side thinks the other side is crazy. I get disappointed in humans now and again. Let’s see if we can pull this all together in a way where both sides can agree.

COVID-19

First, let’s talk about COVID-19 a bit. A flu season is 13 weeks long. COVID-19 U.S. deaths as of Sep 28, 2020 (205,003) adjusted to a 13-week period would be 81,562 deaths.

It seems that we have more deaths with COVID-19 generally because more people are getting it than the flu because nobody was immune to COVID-19 like they partially are to the seasonal flu. We know that 99% of deaths involve other medical issues like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart and lung problems, etc. We know that T Cells are a big part of defense, and those are produced more in younger people and drop down to zero around age 65, which seems to be why the older you get, the worse COVID-19 affects you. There’s even a theory around vitamin D deficiency, making COVID-19 more severe, which could explain differences in skin color affecting COVID-19 severity. Scientists are recommending the US RDA increase vitamin D intake to reduce covid-19 hospitalizations. We also are finding that common cold infections can give some level of immunity to COVID-19.

Save 10% on FL Studio!

I’ve been using FL Studio for a few years now to make techno and classical music (strange combination, I know).  I just found out that if I direct people to their site to purchase their products, the people I direct there through my link will save 10% and I’ll get some money for directing people there as well.  I think the coolest part of FL Studio is the Free Lifetime Upgrades.  You buy it once and for the rest of your life, you can upgrade to their newest releases for free.  I started back in FL Studio 6 or so and they’re at 9.7 now and they’ve made amazing improvements over the years.  Anyway, below are some graphics from their site and here’s the link you can click on that will take you to their site and get 10% off the regular price for anything you buy over $90.  Enjoy!  (Click the images below to enlarge.)

Seeking Truth

The word “truth” seems easy enough to define. I define it as being the correct knowledge of things as they are, were, and will be. An orange can be sitting on a table and that’s the truth, regardless of who sees it, who doesn’t see it, and who thinks it’s an apple. Truth exists independantly of people – so if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around to hear it, amazingly enough, it actually does make a sound.

My perception and interpretation of the truth is irrelevant to the truth itself since I exist independantly of the truth I am perceiving. If I think it’s an apple on the table, that has no effect whatsoever upon the orange that’s actually sitting there. It may have an effect upon me and upon the apple-lovers who I tell about it though.

If truth is such an easy concept to grasp, why is the truth at times so difficult to find? I have been wondering this for several years now. This has been in the context of finding spiritual truth as well as the truth of world events such as 9/11, etc. Through my interactions with people who are seeking truth as well as looking at myself seeking the truth, I have found several things that have kept me and others from finding the truth.

Obama Sees Private Industry As The Enemy

This is somewhat old news, but since it took me a little while to get the citation for it, I figured I’d post it here for convenience. Reportedly from chapter 7 of Barack Obama’s book “Dreams of my Fathers”, he says (emphasis is mine):

“… I decided to find more conventional work for a year, to pay off my student loans and maybe even save a little bit. I would need the money later, I told myself. Organizers didn’t make any money; their poverty was proof of their integrity.

Eventually a consulting house to multinational corporations agreed to hire me as a research assistant. Like a spy behind enemy lines, I arrived every day at my mid-Manhattan office and sat at my computer terminal, checking the Reuters machine that blinked bright emerald messages from across the globe.”

Hmm. Perhaps that’s why much of what he does to “help” the economy has been proven in the past to hurt the economy. If he were to cut taxes and get out of the way, he’d see Americans fixing the problems he’s complaining about and promising to fix. But if he did that, he’d be helping the “enemy” right? It appears to me that we have an enemy of the private sector in the white house claiming to want to help his enemy and then providing anything but help. It all makes sense now.

Proven:Government Spending Does Not Stimulate the Economy

A January 5th 2010 article from heritage.org explains that government spending has been shown over the past decades to be incapable of stimulating the economy.  Unfortunately, we’ve had to endure repeated failed trials of this government spending theory instead of just using common sense that for every dollar you inject into the economy, you had to extract it from somewhere else or place the burden on future generations through borrowing.  And usually, the government trying it only counts the dollars spent and the jobs “created” while ignoring the jobs lost and the dollars confiscated.  Here’s an abstract of the article:

Abstract: Despite decades of repeated failure, President Obama and Congress continue to promote the myth that government can spend its way out of recession. Heritage Foundation economic policy expert Brian Riedl dispels the stimulus myth, lays out the evidence that government spending does not end recessions–and presents the evidence for what does end recessions. Hint: It’s not another “stimulus package.”

It’s kind of like pulling money out of the bottom of your piggy bank and then stuffing it back into the top and fooling yourself into believing that you just made a bunch of money.  Why is this so hard for some people?  Go read the article and enjoy some common sense.

Why Socialism Failed

Socialism Illustrated

In the spirit of more democrats “coming out” as socialists now, I present this wonderful article entitled “Why Socialism Failed” by Mark J. Perry (blog), Ph.D. Professor of Finance and Business Economics, about why Socialism has failed in so many countries already. I think the practical reality of historical evidence is crucial in our day when it’s so easy to sell Socialism as a wonderful cure-all – in theory.

On Socialism and Freedom

Socialism Illustrated

Introduction

With all of the bailouts, automotive and bank takeovers, health-care reform, and wealth redistribution going on under the Obama administration lately, Socialism has become a popular topic.  I oppose Socialism because: 1) It doesn’t achieve its most important stated goals, 2) it is immoral and unchristian, and 3) for a bunch of other reasons (to be explained below).  First, let’s define some terms and then we’ll get to the details.

Welcome to Government Healthcare Bureaucracy!

A picture says a thousand words (source):

Marine Corp Veteran David William Hedrick destroys US Representative Brian Baird

A taste of bold justice. Finally. We need more calm powerful justice like this.

“In case you haven’t heard about Brian Baird a Congressman from Washington State, he is the one who said those at townhalls expressing their concerns about ObamaCARE were exhibiting a “lynch mob mentality” and “close to Brownshirt tactics,” a reference to Nazi stormtroopers. David William Hedrick, a member of the silent majority, decided that he was not going to be silent anymore. So, he let U.S. Congressman Brian Baird have it. He was one questioner out of 38, that was called at random from an audience that started at 3,000 earlier in the evening. Not expecting to be called on, he quickly scratched what he wanted to say on a borrowed piece of paper and with a pen that he borrowed from someone else in the audience minutes before he spoke. So much for the planned talking points of the right wing conspiracy.” – source

Video Transcript:

BRIAN BAIRD: Yes, sir.

DAVID WILLIAM HEDRICK: My name is David, and I’m from Camas Washington.

BAIRD: Hi David.

HEDRICK: And uh, first of all I want to let everybody know since this is the thing tonight that I’m a marine corp vet. [applause]

BAIRD: Thank you David.

HEDRICK: And like you, I swore an oath to defend my constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. [applause] Now, I heard you say tonight about educating our children, indoctrinating our children, whatever you want to call it

BAIRD: I didn’t say indoctrinating.

HEDRICK: Stay away from my kids. [applause] I also heard you say that you’re gonna let us keep our health insurance. Well thank you! It’s not you’re right to decide whether or not I keep my current plan or not. That’s my decision. [applause] Now I’ve heard recently in the media that you and some other people on the national political stage call us brownshirts because we oppose…

BAIRD: No I did not. No I did not. What I said was, and I’ve apologized for it.

HEDRICK: Ok, well thanks for apologizing, but let, uh, I won’t speak to you then, I’ll speak to others. But I’ll remind you, a little history lesson, the Nazis were the national socialist party. They were leftist. They took over the finance. They took over the car industry. They took over healthcare in that country. If Nancy Pelosi wants to find a swastika, maybe the first place she should look is the sleeve on her own arm. [applause] Now what I want to know is, you’ve done a lot of things that violate your constitutional oath as you know. What I want to know is as a marine, as a disabled veteran that served this country, I have kept my oath. Do you ever intend to keep yours?

BAIRD: Yes I do.

No More Green Guilt

This article discusses how we go along with failed environmentalist scheme after failed environmentalist scheme partly because of prosperity guilt.  It’s quite interesting.