Faceless Dystopias

Now all I can do
Love what was once
So alive in you
--Billy Idol

Interesting article associating present day mask wearing with dystopian visions conveyed by Huxley, Orwell, et al over the past century. The defining characteristic of the dystopian literature, proposes the author, is "the eradication of all individuality." 

A lesser known dystopian writer, German Ernst Junger, suggested that the face mask aptly symbolized the mechanistic uniformity of new age society. He wrote in 1932 that masks, at that time being developed for various war, industrial, and sporting functions, would "come to take on functions that we can today hardly imagine."

The author suggests that "our readiness to obscure the face reflects the dehumanising tendencies that, for Junger, underlie the modern period."

Many of the authors thoughts resonate. It does appear, based on my personal observation, that there is a strong, negative correlation between affinity for individualism and propensity for mask wearing. 

Given the ubiquity of mask wearing today, what does this imply about present human capacity to stave off collectivist takeovers similar to those portrayed by dystopian fiction.

Cheesy Masks

Evey Hammond: Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey Hammod: Well, I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey Hammond: Oh...right.
--V for Vendetta

What's one hint that mask mandates are a complete charade? There are no specifications, no performance requirements for masks. 

A mask is a filter. Serious scientific analysis of mask efficacy would study important filtration variables such as mesh size and thickness to determine minimum standards necessary to capture the virus.

So...we have an oppressive regulatory regime in place yet no regulations about what constitutes a 'valid' mask?

People are beginning to push this folly toward completion. 

If you can't get out of wearing the face napkin entirely, here's a good option. https://t.co/a6qsbx0SHn

— Stacey Rudin (@stacey_rudin) October 8, 2020

Wear some cheesecloth, or even coarser netting.

Not fine enough? Why not? Where are the standards and the studies that explain how the requirements were derived?

Lockdown Harm

Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Living in the streets
Oh, oh, there's a solution
--Steve Miller Band

No public health official in favor of lockdowns has an intelligent reply to this question: how much will lockdowns cost in terms of human life and suffering?

More folks are beginning to estimate this cost. John Ioannidis of Stanford has written a recent paper lists several possible causes of excess deaths from lockdown measures (Table 1). Note the lengthy time horizons associated with some of these CODs to materialize.

This article cites research by Scott Atlas and others estimating that lockdown deaths from cancer, heart disease, suicide, and other causes could easily add up to more life years lost than from CV19. Moreover, the associated recession could push more than 60 million people into extreme poverty worldwide (that number seems conservative.

A declaration about the hazards of lockdown written by several scientists is attracting worldwide support.

The axiom that people are coming to realize is this. Prosperity (which includes health) depends on production and voluntary trade. Anything that impedes this process makes heath worse, not better. 

Stated differently, lockdowns lead to less production and trade. Less production and trade lead to higher poverty. Higher poverty leads to lower health. 

Courting Michigan

"I'm just a humble country lawyer trying to do the best I can against this brilliant prosecutor from the city of Lansing."
--Paul Biegler (Anatomy of a Murder)

Add Michigan to the list of states taking judicial action to upend government by edict. Looking forward to more state legislatures getting back in session. When legislatures deliberate and discuss issues from various perspectives, then they more accurately represent the people than does a dictatorial governor.

Use the courts to get states back into the hands of legislatures. Into the hands of the people. Back to being a republic.

Siren of Satan

"There will be a day when you will wish that you had done a little evil to do a greater good."
--Sybilla (Kingdom of Heaven)

Difficult to tell if they are being genuine or not, but many pro-lockdowners are questioning what others are complaining about. Except for schools being shut, everything else is pretty much open, they argue.

This is statist mentality. Some of your freedoms still remain, so what's the beef?

The problem, of course is that any restriction on liberty, particularly when made by edict, is unacceptable to people endowed with inalienable rights to liberty.

"C'mon, don't be selfish. Surrender some of your freedom in the name of security. Permit a little evil for the greater good."

Those who know better shun this Siren of Satan, and refuse to make this trade.

Deep State of Public Health

You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
I can hear you coming
I know what you're after
We're wise to you this time
We won't let you kill the laughter
--Red Rider

The deep state is commonly associated with military, security, and intelligence bureaus. There can be little doubt now that public health agencies should be added to the list of deep state operatives.

Similar to other deep state bureaus, public health officials are unelected governments bureaucrats that can pursue their own agendas with little fear of reprisal. They can retaliate against administrations that threaten their existence. Left unchecked, they can undermine liberty.

Hopefully the last few months have taught us to check the power of the deep state of public health.

Parable of the Landowner

Balian of Ibelin: What becomes of us?
Imad: As you deserve. You reap what you sow. You have heard of this, no?
--Kingdom of Heaven

Today we ponder the Parable of the Landowner (Matthew 21:33-43)--perhaps the most jarring of all parables when the light switches on.

Meeting with political, religious, and intellectual elite, Jesus presents the following parable:

A landowner builds a vineyard and leases it to tenants. He then travels out of town. Because he is still away at harvest time, the landowner sends some servants to the vineyard to obtain his produce. Rather than paying what they owe, the tenants kill the servants.

The landowner then sends more servants, but the tenants kill them as well. 

Finally, the landowner sends his own son, reasoning that he will be respected and the tenants will turn over what is his. Instead, the tenants see this as an opportunity to expropriate the landowner's property by killing the one who was to inherit the vineyard. So they murdered the son.

Christ then turns to the elite and asks them what the landowner should do to those tenants upon his return to the vineyard. 

Paraphrasing their response: "He should kill every one of those sons of bitches and find new tenants who will be loyal and productive."

I wonder if the elitists stopped right there...and saw the light.

Gibby

Billy Chapel: Don't crowd me, Sam. I hate being crowded.
Vin Scully: So, one and two the count, and, whoops, Tuttle has really moved up on the plate. He's all over the plate right now.
Billy Chapel: Now you got the idea (in response to catcher's signal for up and in pitch).
Vin Scully: Uh-oh, down goes Tuttle! What a knockdown pitch that was! There's a message being delivered.
--For Love of the Game

The first World Series that I remember is the 1967 Fall Classic between the St Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox. Cards pitcher Bob Gibson threw games 1, 4, and 7. He won all three, throwing complete games in each and giving up only one run in 27 inning pitches while striking out 26. He also added a home run at the plate on his way to being named the series MVP.

This was Gibson's second World Series MVP, btw. In 1964 he led the Cardinals to a seven game series win vs the Yankees. He started three games in that series as well--striking out 31 in 27 innings pitched.

In 1968 the Cardinals returned to face the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. There was Bob Gibson again, throwing three complete games while striking out 35. Unfortunately, the Cards lost game 7 when a fly ball was misplayed by centerfielder Curt Flood.

His lifetime World Series stats: 3 series, 9 games started, 8 complete games, 7-2 record, 81 innings pitched (9 game x 9 innings/game), 92 strikeouts, 1.89 ERA.

Gibson also pitched one of the first games I saw at Crosley Field. Gazing from behind Crosley's bulletproof backstop behind home plate, I marveled at Gibson as he spun like a top off the mound toward first base after his delivery.

As fierce a competitor that you'll ever see ('up and in' never a prob for him), Bob Gibson passed away yesterday at the age of 84.

RIP Gibby.

Coroner Report

"We are being detoured into the land of make-believe."
--Horatio Caine (CSI: Miami)

Milwaukee coroner suspects at least one fifth of CV19 deaths have been misclassified. Like Alex Berenson, I sense that is likely on the lower bound of error here.

The Milwaukee coroner says about 20 percent of #COVID deaths in his county are misclassified and not due to the virus (not sure if this includes death certificate matching, which typically happens at the state level). 20 percent is likely the minimum.https://t.co/HEXHPg9FOB

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) October 2, 2020

Adds more to the notion of auditing death certificates to determine count accuracy.

Old Decisions

Give me your answer
Fill in a form
Mine for evermore
--The Beatles

"We must protect the elderly." Nearly everyone assumes that rules must be enforced to limit old people's exposure to the virus.

I deliver to nursing homes and I've been trying to tell people this. The #1 thing residents tell staff: "I want to see my family". Seems obvious that when you have little time left anyway, quality is more important than quantity. Stop assuming what the elderly want and ask them. https://t.co/2bfFGaFvPH

— Orange Hats Save Lives (@luther_snell) September 28, 2020

But the older you are, the less time you have left. Do you really want to spend your remaining days isolated from those people that mean the most to you?

This is not the choice for regulators. It is a choice for the old and their loved ones.