Who to trust. It’s so hard:
Dr Anthony Fauci:
Or this guy:
No question that it’s legit- attested by 150K deaths - and many mistakes have been made and lives needlessly lost due to bad decisions by our leaders, certainly including Trump.
I use this simple method:
Bona Fides: TV personalities, absent specific credentials such as medical degrees etc., even those in the employ of the White House, don’t have the qualifications to override those with specific credentials. Larry Kudlow is not an epidemiologist. He a terrible economist…sort of, who had a TV program Trump watched. Dr. Anthony Fauci has actual credentials. The difference matters. Check the information source’s bona fides. They matter.
Track Record: Some, thankfully few, but some people and organizations with credentials are not factual or truthful, or they may be just wack (ex. “demon sperm” doctor). The President is not a reliable source based on his track record. He called it a hoax, he said it would just go away, he suggested injecting disinfectant, he continues to promote a drug that has been proven to not work, he clearly does not understand basic statistics, and so many other things to ruin his credibility.
Occam’s Razor: A philosophical idea that in absence of significant, credible evidence to the contrary, the simplest explanation for any given circumstance is probably the correct one. This is why the idea promoted by Trump, that the virus was concocted in a Chinese laboratory never seemed credible to me. No evidence was given and my own knowledge of “wet markets” in Asia made the idea of trans-species infection seem not only credible, but inevitable.
I always thought it was whacko, but the consensus here seems to be wacko. Either way, it’s an enjoyable word to use.
Is there an ignore feature here? I will not read another word the MF says. Election year. Media bias. Disbelieving experts. Fucking Trumper.
Go to your profile, Preferences, Notifications, Users.
Thx
Agreed.
What students, their parents and teachers need is for the spread of the virus to be contained so everything can return to normal. Sending kids back to school for in-person classes when that is not the case in Houston nor Texas right now, is irresponsible.
I’m a parent of a five-year-old daughter who should have started Kindergarten later this month in CFISD. Because not everyone is willing to make the appropriate sacrifices to contain the spread of the virus, she will now start public school in August 2021. Education begins in the home, and my wife and I will make all the sacrifices necessary to get her as prepared to start Kindergarten next year as possible. Also, parents need to stop viewing public school as a another form of daycare. I understand it serves that function for many parents, but it’s not a teacher’s job to be a surrogate parent to my daughter while I’m working. We made the choice to bring a child into the world, and raising him or her is the most important job we have. If that means making sacrifices at work, so be it. Everything comes with a cost, and family comes first.
That’s disgusting. Apparently those school administrators are following the lead of Georgia’s despicable governor, Brian Kemp.
“School is not another form of daycare”
Bravo, David. Bravo.
COVID-19 will some day be contained, bad parenting will always be around.
I saw an interview with a Gwinnett Count teacher who quit rather than teach under the Kemp regime in Georgia. A shocking action, considering it’s all going so well…
CNN reports 260 Gwinnett County School District employees exempt for Covid-19
The reopening plans for Georgia’s largest school district may have hit a snag after reports that more than 250 district employees have either tested positive for Covid-19 or been exposed.
A GCPS spokesperson told CNN Sunday evening that approximately 260 employees had been excluded from work and that the number is “fluid” as they “continue to have new reports and others who are returning to work.”
You know, we could have worthwhile discussions about the conditions under which we ought to open businesses, schools, etc, and perhaps arrive at some compromise that we could all live with. But one side is so scared of what that might mean that they’re willing to hide all objective evidence that would allow us to make an informed decision.
Actually, it’s worse than that. Experts - like the CDC - have issued very detailed recommendations as to what conditions they believe need to be prevailing before businesses of different types open up. They have also issued operating guidelines for various types of businesses once open.
One side of the political spectrum didn’t like the message and attacked the messenger’s credibility, thus undermining the public trust in its institutions and leaving us all flopping around in a swamp of contagion.
A non-trivial percentage of the population thinks scientists have spent untold years studying epidemiology and so on solely so they can, at this opportune moment, trick rednecks into wearing masks.
Same goes with climate science. My takeaway? Scientists are power mad money haters. I never suspected that as a kid. I guess you get older, your innocence sort of washes away with the tides of time.
These MAGA idiots. JFC
This entire disaster was set in motion 30 years ago by Lee fucking Atwater. He convinced the Republican Party to adopt a Russian-style policy of disinformation, lying about every and any source of inconvenient information.
If I were a religious person, I’d hope that he’s rotting in purgatory.
Great question, Limey! Thank you!
I tried to find neutral resources; feel free to provide a balancing view if I failed.
Unintended consequences: the most vulnerable suffered the most losses Nursing Homes Balk at COVID Patient Transfers From Hospitals (AARP, 2020-04-21)
42% Of U.S. Deaths Are From 0.6% Of The Population (Forbes 2020-05-26)
Inadequately monitored federal contracts impacted available PPE: Why Was America So Unprepared for the COVID-19 Pandemic? (FREEOPP.org 2020-08-05)
Some stats won’t be available for years; a list of possibilities follows.
Part 2: unintended consequences - lagging impact
Potential teen suicides (Buck Institute, 2020-07-14) - Robert Redfield, MD, Director, CDC:
In addition, there are the unknown psychological (World Economic Forum, 2020-04-09) and economic (BBC, 2020-06-30) impacts of the lockdown(s).
PS: I have been out of work several memorable times, once more than a year @ 50. I will never forget the silky voice often suggesting I was move valuable dead than alive to my family as I looked for work.
So thankful I did not heed that voice.
South Dakota hosted one of Trump’s rallies, so, unfortunately, this comes as no surprise.