Category: America

Dolphin News

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

“We’re number one! Pretense is gone; the humans are gone.”

Atlantic Ocean- It became official this afternoon with the death of Byron Chase, the eleven-year-old from Middletown, Rhode Island. Dolphins are the apex of intelligence on planet Earth. Following millennia of dominance (and arrogance), humans became extinct today. Famous for their technological advances and equally noted for their ferocity, humans perished in the relative flick of a flipper following their mishandling of the coronavirus.

Before official celebrations begin, let us take a moment to recount the passing of humans. The coronavirus started in 2019 and quickly spread to an unsuspecting populace, racing around the globe ignoring human governmental delineation lines or, as they called them, “countries.” As air breathers, humans found that the virus spread through particulate exhaled through their dual respiratory system of nose and mouth from one human to another. Their most educated in medicine and science determined fabric placed in front of these orifices would reduce the expectorant sprayed. However, it quickly became evident that a significant portion of the population decided their “internet” research, and graduation from the “school of hard knocks” placed them on par with the physicians and scientists. Unfortunately, this misstep began the fatal infection and death toll culminating in the loss of young Mr. Chase.

When physicians and scientists created a vaccine to save humanity, only a portion of them chose to receive the gift. Remote areas or areas without the infrastructure to distribute vaccines could not be protected. In affluent “countries” (especially the United States), a portion of their populace simply chose not to become inoculated, leading to the rapid progression of virus variants. These mutations rapidly spread throughout the unvaccinated populations leading the strained medical system to collapse.

The execution of Anthony Fauci, MD, in January of 2022, following the rise of Republicans and their control of both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate in the midterm elections, tripped the switch for so many in the medical field. His court conviction of “treason,” as read out by new Speaker of the House (and former President) Donald J. Trump led swiftly to Fauci’s execution on pay-per-view television on Fox News on the National Mall (and sponsored by Trump 2024, the Republican National Committee, and Brandon Funeral Home and Crematorium).

Immediately after this telecast, seemingly overnight, physicians, nurses, scientists, and hospital staff failed to show up to work, their homes abandoned, and their cars were gone. No record of them was ever found. There have long been rumors of them escaping to an Ayn Randian panacea of intellectuals. However, any enclaves discovered were quickly shut down and merged with those in hospital intensive care wards. Forced to live among the unvaccinated and infected, the professional staff and their families, without the protection of masks or air filtration of any kind, saw their ranks dwindle and succumb to the virus.

It appears that most of the unvaccinated, despite cognitive awareness (and mirrors), were unaware of the two methods of respiration. Countless depictions were seen in grocery stores, airports, and even hospitals, of humans begrudgingly wearing a mask somewhat over their mouth but hanging well below their noses. It remains a mystery how all humans did not understand the basics of tidal breathing.

The collapse of the medical system accelerated the demise of humans in late 2022 with the rise of the newest variant. No longer following the Greek alphabet to name variants, because, as Speaker Trump said, “This is America, and that’s all Greek to me,” the new variant was simply called the Newest-er China (Jina) Virus.

Manufacturers could no longer produce vaccine boosters with the elimination of physicians and scientists, and there was no one left to administer them. Chief Medical Officer Joe Rogan declared vaccines unnecessary because he believed that getting (and surviving) the virus gave you better protection. It was never fully explained how, in a chicken and the egg scenario, one was to be protected from the virus before contracting it if one had to contract it to be protected. Mr. Rogan died shortly after that when a dumbbell crushed his skull while exercising in his garage.

You will recall Vice President Ted Cruz and Secretary of Health and Some Human Services Rand Paul held the great mask burning bonfire on the National Mall leading to the conflagration that burned most of downtown Washington, DC. It was then, with most of the congress choking on the smoldering smoke, that democrats met to decide whether to create an online petition to discuss thinking about maybe considering a proclamation to create a list of possible strongly worded Tweets. However, it was ultimately killed, both by the passing of most democrats to the virus and then-Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who said, “The use of certain words being considered in the possible Tweets were problematic.” Senator Manchin later died choking on his words. Vice President Cruz died onboard a plane when his wife beat him to death for a perceived slight made years earlier. Their flight to Cancun turned around for the funeral. Mr. Paul, a physician, died of an overdose of injected sunlight and bleach.

Death followed political affiliations and geographic voting patterns. The United States seemed to die from the inside out, beginning with the farmland and “true Americans” living away from the coasts. These mostly unvaccinated humans grew much of the food for the remaining American humans, and when they died, food became scarce. Coastal cities began rationing, and then, armed with righteous indignation and bibles, those remaining inland humans, self-titled “patriots,” shot and killed most of the coastal dwellers in a purge so fast there was neither resistance nor anyone remaining to call it a civil war. No charges were filed against anyone. Indeed, many of the killers were active military, law enforcement, or hunters dressed in camouflage to blend in with the steel and glass of downtown cities.

However, this purge was short-lived as the food supply dwindled and the virus ran unchallenged. Church services increased, eventually being mandated by Speaker Trump, who famously held up a bible (upside down) in front of a Taco Bell in West Palm Beach this past December. Evangelicals were on hand to wipe his mouth of drool and ketchup, genuflecting and chanting while supplicating themselves to the rotund man with the kelp-like hair. Mr. Trump died later that month trying to cough up a chicken wing. All three (recognized) Trump children, Eric, Don Jr., and Ivanka, were buried (alive) with Mr. Trump. Don Jr. was tied to his father’s corpse on his left side, Eric on his right side, and according to Mr. Trump’s wishes, Ivanka on top. Melania Trump was not in attendance for the funeral and was last seen running in Manolo heals out of the city wearing her “I really don’t care, do u?” jacket.

The remaining survivors died quickly after that, either through gunshots or the virus. The remaining portions of the world promptly claimed global dominance, primarily China. However, either through official public malpractice (or willful ignorance), mask and vaccine intransigence among portions of the populace, or geographic remoteness, the population of humans failed. Mr. Chase’s passing marks the end of all humans.

Reaction among the remaining mammals was met with applause and marked trepidation. Humans leave a rapidly warming planet through their inaction on climate change (and partially due to their arrogance and hubris). This intrepid dolphin is eager to explore areas of the ocean previously too cold (or dry) to inhabit. However, this enthusiasm is tempered by the ecological food chain collapse rising temperatures have set off. It is too early to tell whether the planet will survive.

This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates.

Freedom…

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Can someone, perhaps a Constitutional scholar (or someone who attended the University of Hard Knocks because, apparently, that’s the same thing), explain to me how these “rights” as written by James Monroe came to be interpreted as freedom from responsibility? Please?

Reeling from a global pandemic, science handed us a way out. And it was made free and accessible to everyone! And yet, after sitting on our asses for a year, we cannot be bothered to get vaccinated. We can’t be bothered to do what is right for our family, our neighbors, our nation, the world. Because FREEDOM! But freedom from what? Can someone answer that question? What’s the end of that phrase? Freedom from what? 

I see yard signs now saying UNMASK OUR CHILDREN! Unmask? Oh, you mean to leave the decision to protect your child, my family, and everyone too stupid to vaccinate themselves to you and your internet search medical degree?

I still wear a mask inside stores. Do you know why? I’m vaccinated! The CDC says I no longer need to wear a mask indoors. I wear the mask indoors for two reasons. First, because the vaccine has provided cover for those too selfish to vaccinate themselves; in other words, those unvaccinated can claim to be vaccinated and therefore no longer need to wear a mask indoors. I wear a mask indoors with those I do not know because I do not trust them. Their freedom from responsibility leaves them vulnerable to the virus and a prime candidate to join 600,000 other dead Americans. And, honestly, I’m done worrying about their lives. If they’re too selfish and cloaked in the wisdom granted by the Fox News science and medical experts Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, I don’t care if they live or die. Just as they have rid themselves of caring whether I live or die. Second, I wear the mask because I could be carrying the virus and be asymptomatic due to the vaccine. Despite my anger at the unvaccinated, I wear it to protect them from me.

 Freedom from responsibility has replaced both the first and second Amendments. We have the freedom to say and do anything we want, but we now assume it was granted without responsibility. No blowback is expected or appreciated. We have been locked indoors for a year. And when finally bored enough, we ventured out. Some of us were vaccinated. But the bored move about freely. And as soon as we ventured out of our homes, we did so, not with the vaccine, but with our guns. Free to leave our homes, Americans are now subjected to multiple mass shootings a day. Because Freedom! But, again, no one finishes that phrase. Freedom from what, if not responsibility?

I weigh too much. Guess what? It’s because I overeat. Not because of my boss, my spouse, my government, or my family. And guess what? When I take responsibility for my weight and eat better foods and less of it, I lose weight! If I eat red meat, there is a chance my heart will suffer, or my cells may rebel in cancer. The danger I am subjecting others to is limited. My family will suffer my loss. But my job will be filled within a week, and the world will carry on. However, not vaccinating myself leaves me vulnerable, along with everyone with whom I come in contact. The danger is expanded exponentially—the exposed beyond just me. And to do that to others is selfish and devoid of responsibility. 

The irony of this situation is that those refusing to be vaccinated directly infringe on my freedoms! I may soon be required to wear a mask everywhere again because the unvaccinated will drive us back into restrictions and lockdowns. I did the right thing for everyone, but I may soon be restricted from moving about freely because of the unvaccinated.

The first definition of socialism in the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines socialism as:

Any of the various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.

Can we agree that seatbelts are a socialistic response to automobile injuries and deaths? Can we agree that highways are a socialistic response to bad roads being too expensive for each of us to build alone? Can we agree that the military that the right fawns over and spends almost a trillion dollars on a year is a socialistic response to existential or dogmatic geopolitical threats? If so, can we not also agree that solutions to problems need to be made on a granular level exclusive of a nation’s political definition? Can we agree that it is possible and appropriate to have a socialistic response to a problem within a democratic republic? That perhaps reductio ad absurdum or ad hominem arguments against proper answers to issues are simpleminded, foolhardy, and just plain wrong?   

 My rights are being infringed as a vaccinated citizen both by those who will not vaccinate themselves and those who think a gun gives them power and absolution. Freedom from responsibility is now the American creed. 

2022

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

Winston Smith awoke from his nap, the tattered science textbook still resting on his chest. It rose and fell with his breathing, the paper-thin book jacket waving in time with his exhalations.

It was dangerous enough to be napping during the day, especially this day, but to have been caught with that volume in his possession would have been personally devastating. Fortunately, it was still mid-morning, and the Happiness Squads hadn’t begun their daily sweeps. He hadn’t slept well the previous night, and it had caught up with him after his breakfast sank into his belly.

Today was the anniversary of the rebellion, a day when “spontaneous” celebrations and protests erupted across the new nation in honor of the heroes of the previous year. The migration and funerals paused on this day. Everything paused.

Winston looked at his upper arm. The redness had subsided from the previous day. In another day or so, there would be no evidence of his insubordination, no way to identify him as one of “them.”

It still struck him as strange. He thought again of the science textbook now safely tucked under the floorboards in the bedroom. Cancer, he had read, was the process of mass replication of mindless cells with the ultimate, suicidal goal of killing its host. His mind made the connection before he had the chance to consider it. How similar was that metaphor to what had happened over the past few years, but especially the past year?

He looked at the paperboard flyer everyone had received in the mail still sitting on his kitchen table. The Happiness Squad would be by shortly to ensure it had been placed in a prominent place. He thought of the mantle, the refrigerator, the door. Getting up, he picked up the placard and decided on the door. That way, he could see it both when passing by the door and, especially, as the last thing before leaving his apartment. He read the words out loud to himself:

Science is fiction.
Freedom is ignorance.
Ignorance is strength.
God trumps all.
Trump is God.

Following last year’s purge (or emergency recall elections, as they were called), evangelicals, once a fringe group of mystics and non-taxed mass delusion peddlers, now comprised 100% of the Senate following last Spring’s purge. Since then, the nation had fallen further as the emergence of the epsilon variant to coronavirus had risen. First, it infected the young and the unvaccinated (or Insubordinate as they were now called). Then the evangelicals had seized control as the moral arm of MAGA nation under Trump.

They first convinced the country that a cloud shaped like a fist with the index finger pointing skyward was the sign God was with them and the solution finally at hand (pun intended). They said the reason for the epsilon variant’s rise was because the vaccinated, the Insubordinates, were emitting undetectable, demonic microwaves infecting the unvaccinated. Science is fiction, we were told. Freedom is ignorance. Absolution walked hand in hand with willful ignorance. Those (scientists) claiming to have an answer (the vaccine) were the first sacrifices to the purge. God would show the way. Trump would lead the way. He was the only one who could solve it.

The death toll from the previous day had topped 500,000 for the sixteenth day in a row. What remained of the South were pockets of the Insubordinate and the Happiness Squads rounding them up. Winston thought of the press conference held last year when Trump told them to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was his final, most essential command. It was then that the evangelicals began to set a firm date for His return to the White House. On the same date, the cloud showed them God was manifestly on Trump’s side.

The Happiness Squads protected themselves, as had the evangelicals, with aluminum foil hats. They believed the metal prevented the transmission of the demonic microwaves and saved them from the epsilon variant. Still, with a 63% failure rate, there were rumblings of its protective properties. Thicker sheets of aluminum foil would soon be produced through the Insubordination Distribution Incentive Output Taskforce recently passed by the reconstituted Senate. The bill’s negotiations had proven difficult to conclude as senators were constantly being replaced, either through epsilon variant deaths or the recently imposed three-week term limits.

The press conference presented evidence supporting the purge. Two maps of the United States were overlaid on one another. The first showed the results of the 2020 election by county. The second showed the death rate by county. With near perfect uniformity, the maps coalesced. This was proof, they were told of the microwave’s effective dissemination of the virus targeting only those who voted for Trump. The Happiness Squads were formed the next day under Generals Sebastian Gorka, Stephen Miller, and Stephen Bannon.

Winston had just secured the placard to his front door when the knock came.

“Happiness Squad, open up in the name of Trump,” said the voice.

Winston hesitated a second, pulled the short sleeve of his shirt over his underground obtained vaccination site, and opened the door.

O’Brien entered first, followed by three camouflaged troopers wearing their officially sanctioned “tactical” aluminum foil hats and toting “recreational, modern sporting” AR-15’s.
“Why are you not mustering for your parade position yet, Smith?” said O’Brien.
“I did not sleep well last night and fell asleep on the couch this morning after breakfast,” explained Winston.
“There have been reports of mask-wearing in this neighborhood, Smith. Wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” asked O’Brien, squinting his eyes as though that allowed him to see inside Winston.
“No,” said Winston, “I saw one in the gutter last week, but given its condition, I’m sure it hadn’t been worn since the purge.”

“Sweep the apartment,” O’Brien barked to the Happiness Squad. “You know we’re only here to ensure your happiness, don’t you, Winston?”
“Of course!” answered Winston. His eyes stole a glance at the bedroom into which the Happiness Squad had entered. His pulse quickened when he heard their footfalls on his floor, hoping the loose boards hiding his science textbook would not betray him.
“Sir, we’ve found something,” said the leader of the Happiness Squad. O’Brien stared intently at Winston for what seemed a minute before heading into the bedroom.

Muffled voices emanated from the bedroom. Orders were given.
O’Brien emerged from the bedroom with the tattered textbook raised before him, looking so much like President Trump holding the bible outside the church in Lafayette Square years earlier in his famous photo op that Winston giggled. He was in trouble, and he knew it.

“Yours, Winston?” asked O’Brien.

“Can I ask you a question, O’Brien?” posited Winston, suddenly freed by the truth and warmed by fact.

“What is it?” an annoyed O’Brien asked.

“That book describes cancer as the mass replication of mindless cells with the ultimate, suicidal goal of killing its host,” began Winston. Behind him, one of the Happiness Squad lowered his Happy Gun to clear a nagging cough. “Today is the day of celebration for the beginning of the overthrow of a tyrannical government. January 6th is celebrated today and will be on every January 6th after that. So, my question is: Without the Insubordinates, without the vaccine, without science, who would He blame? Science created the vaccine, and the old government offered it free(!) to its people. Isn’t it possible, just possible, that disinformation, doublespeak, and idolatry have acted as the catalyst for a population ready to mass replicate, through force, if necessary, with the ultimate, suicidal goal of killing this nation? Isn’t it possible?”

The blow to his head came from behind. The Happiness Squad leader provided the final insult. The vaccine would not save Winston now, nor, did it seem, could science and facts save the nation.

The history books would never mention Winston Smith, and his tattered science textbook would disappear in a burst of bright fire along with so many others on a night later that summer named Fahrenheit 452 Night.

The Dragon in the Garage

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

Marjorie Taylor Greene (GQP, GA-14) recently tweeted, “Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star. 

Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable.”

Retweeted by Greene was a post from David Brody, who wrote, “People have the freedom to NOT get vaccinated if they don’t feel comfortable with it. Those that ARE vaccinated shouldn’t shame the unvaccinated. We have enough division. The last thing America needs is separating citizens into two medical tiers with a reward/punish system!”

Antisemitism and disingenuous calls for unity aside, these tweets are idiotic for another reason. I will shame any individual not lining up to get the vaccine. Not only shame but judge and ostracize. 

I have my problems with doctors and our state of medicine. I think we are still in the dark ages, despite the “advances” we’ve made. We don’t know shit about the human body. And the thought (by some) that we are nearing a cure for cancer is beyond foolish. 

However, the vaccines developed by medicine and science to address the COVID-19 pandemic are as miraculous as I’m ever willing to admit. And we are not worthy of it.

According to Johns Hopkins, today (May 26, 2021), 3,488,625 people have died due to the virus. In the United States, that number is 591,179. And yet, despite overwhelming evidence that masks and social distancing help keep the virus from spreading, we got bored! Bored! Masks holding chins up, Republican politicians and right-wing media downplaying the risk, or simply the maskless citing their “freedom” over common sense and community concern allowed the virus to keep taking bites out of us like a shark on a whale carcass. 

I cannot shop in a grocery store (adorned with more lines and markers than an international airport tarmac) without feeling like a spawning salmon going upstream. I catch myself looking behind me on every aisle to ensure I’m going the correct way as an armada of uncaring shoppers approaches me.

1,735,215,327 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide (288,596,955 in the US), but Dr. Barstool next to me in the grocery store won’t get the vaccine because he does not know the long-term effects of the vaccine… Well, doctor, 591,179 people Americans know the long-term impact of dying from the virus. Sorry, they aren’t available to comment. The CDC currently reports a 0.0017% chance of death from an adverse reaction to the vaccine (resulting from voluntary reporting and before any analysis of death certificates or autopsy reports). The United States Navy, because the vaccine was approved using “Emergency Use Authorization” (you know, because of the pandemic), is now offering incentives for military personnel to get the vaccine. This is beyond outrageous. Have the vaccine fully approved and mandate vaccinations. Life is full of risk. This one is a no-brainer. It was simple before. Wear the damn mask. This is simpler. Get the damn shot.

And yet, the Democrats expect to negotiate in good faith with Trump’s party, to compromise on solutions, in short, to govern. And here is where the Democrats bring a pillow to a gunfight. Republicans no longer exist. Although I suspect they’d be fine with Democrats bringing a My Pillow to the gunfight, because, as we know, Mike Lindell has all of the answers. They have been corrupted to the point of extinction by Trump and his acolytes. Ipsos presented the results of their recent survey, which showed that today (again, May 26, 2021), 53% of Republicans believe Trump is the actual president. How, in the name of parliamentary debate, do you argue with a party that does not accept facts? 

John Adams wrote, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” He was obviously wrong. Today, the power within the Republican party lies with those that are grounded in neither fact, evidence, nor reason. Shakespeare’s three witches in Macbeth said, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” That’s the Republican party today. 

Trump’s Orwellian claim that “What you are seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” seems lifted directly from 1984 (“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”)

And yet, 53% of Republicans believe Trump is president.

This week has seen an avalanche of improbable headlines:

  • Texas approved “constitutional carry,” where individuals do not need a license or training to carry a handgun. As if that’s not depressing enough, consider that Texas wasn’t first to that party. They are the 21st state to approve constitutional carry.
  • Voter suppression bills (read; racist voting obstacles) are being passed in red states faster than a Texan can quick draw in Target. Coupled with ongoing gerrymandering, this all but guarantees Republican wins in the midterms. Democrats want a fair fight, a fair election? I refer you back to Shakespeare’s three witches.
  • Republicans stand ready to kill a bipartisan commission to explore the origins and failings evidenced by our own eyes and ears of the January 6 insurrection, claiming it is political theater. Enough people have compared this proposed commission with the 18 congressional hearings on Benghazi for me to have to expand on here. Besides, they were just tourists, right Rep. Clyde?

There were many more batshit crazy headlines, but why give them all oxygen? And yet, in the end, I must still adhere to Carl Sagan’s analogy of the dragon in the garage. Sagan wrote, “Now, what’s the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there’s no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists?” In other words, the Maricopa audit of the 2020 election is simply putting the onus on the sane to disprove the lunacy put forth by the insane. 

And so, I’ll close with one final quote, this from “Darwin’s bulldog” T.H. Huxley, who wrote, “The great tragedy of Science – the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.” Republicans believe in beautiful bullshit. I’ll take the ugly truth.

Vaporware Fraud

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

Texas has threatened secession as long as they’ve been part of the Union (both times). They insist they were an independent country anyway (as if they’ve been doing America a favor all these years (at least since their readmission to the Union)), seems to always linger in the back of their mind like Chekov’s gun. Whenever Washington sends money to a state not named Texas for disaster relief or responsible gun legislation is considered, they drag their secession placards out of the closet and begin talking about tyranny. In the past, I’ve offered to help them pack.

The thing is, now they have friends. Many of them. All of them “ReTrumplican” red. The Republican party is dead, corrupted by Trump, and now bearing his name like a failed casino. No longer are they the party of small government or law and order. They are the party of Trump. There is nothing he could do to lose their support.

He lost the election and claimed he won, in a landslide! Climate control and the coronavirus showed us they did not “believe” in science as if science demands their belief. They’ve extended that to no longer believing in facts or numbers. He claims victory because he received more votes (74 million) than any president in history. That’s like saying the Red Sox won because they scored three runs. Competition is defined as a conflict between two combatants. Two! The Red Sox only win if the other team scored less than three runs. They lose if the other team scores more than 3. Biden received 80 million votes. Let me check… quick math… 80 million is more than 74 million, right? To say nothing of the fact that the electoral college determines presidential elections. So, let’s rerun the numbers. 306 is indeed more than 232. Biden won. Saying Trump won doesn’t make it real. It doesn’t change the numbers. And insisting there was fraud without evidence is fantasy. Christopher Hitchens said, “that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.”

And that’s what the Supreme Court said, 9-0, yesterday. Notice the score there? 9-0. It’s good that it was unanimous. Had one justice sided with Trump, he would have claimed he won with ONE vote, ignoring the other eight justice’s opinions. And yet, I see he still thinks he won. Logic and fact vaporize. And his acolytes agree.

And now they want to secede to form a new country. What’s the definition of sedition? Treason? A sitting president has sycophants who want to follow him into a civil war. That’s where we are. Unbelievable. A patriot would die for his country but would much rather live for it. These people are neither patriots nor intelligent, and there is no debating them. There is no common ground from which to begin a discussion. When they choose not to accept fact, there can be no debate. They cannot be persuaded by reason when they are strangers to truth and logic. The best we can hope for is to drag them along while education blossoms. President Kennedy’s aphorism, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Unfortunately, a self-proclaimed billionaire from NYC claimed to speak for the rural and uneducated, and they believe him. Now they think they are due a victory in the absence of fact because Trump told them so.

American Hubris

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

My anger right now is so intense I can taste it. I can taste it! According to science, that probably means I don’t have COVID-19. That’s the good news. The bad news is that over 250,000 Americans are dead, and almost 12 million Americans have the virus. Why? Why is America being hit so hard by this virus compared to the rest of the world? Short answer: American hubris.

Here’s the even shorter answer. We’re stupid. Collectively, we’re so damn stupid we can’t be trusted to do what’s in our own best interest. Because FREEDOM!

Someone, and I can’t find the source, said, “Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom. It’s adolescence.” But that selfish, entitled, truncated version of “freedom” is America now. We are simply egotistical. We are devoid of responsibility. Especially personal responsibility. “Wearing a mask is a personal choice!” No, it’s not. It’s a common sense, common decency, almost biblical (do unto others) response to a deadly pandemic. But, no, the fake patriot drowns out reason with “I don’t have to wear a mask if I don’t want to.” Stomp your feet and wave your flag, asshole.

Let’s be clear. The house is on fire. Our house is on fire. And it’s killing people because that’s what happens when your house is on fire and 350 million people live inside.

My wedding was scheduled for December 10th. Rather than ignore the fires raging in the kitchen, living room, garage, basement, bedrooms, dining rooms, bathrooms, and porch, we’ve done the responsible thing and canceled it. We’re not alone, and we’re not happy, but we’re doing the right thing to protect those we love. We did everything right and still have to cancel because those who’ve built their homes atop Dunning-Kruger’s Mount Stupid can’t be bothered to do the right thing. In short, America got bored with doing the right thing. Nobody told the virus. And now there will be no wedding reception. Thanks, you selfish twits.

The part that angers me is the fact that it didn’t have to be this way. We know what causes the virus. We know how it is transmitted. But we’re too damn stupid or just so damn arrogant to do what is necessary to save our own lives. How ridiculous does that sound? America seeks to spread democracy throughout the world. Well, the world is watching, and from their less impacted perches, American democracy looks like petulance and hubris in the face of a virus that doesn’t give a shit about our politics or “freedoms.”

So how do we negotiate with someone who doesn’t “believe” in facts or science? You can’t. There is no debate in America anymore. What we call polarization is a breakdown between those that see science and reason as evident and indisputable and those that choose not to “believe” in it. Children believe in the Easter Bunny. Adults are supposed to know better. And science isn’t the Easter Bunny. Science doesn’t ask for or demand your faith. Science is real whether you choose to believe in it or not. Same with the virus.

But here we are, in an America fractured politically. One side is called socialist because they seek equality and justice, science, and reason. The other side is called Republican because millions of uneducated twits and plutocratic Ayn Rand acolytes are convinced that an adolescent, orange narcissist speaks for them. He doesn’t. 

And the virus doesn’t care.

Bulletin from New Washington

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

NEW WASHINGTON – Overnight bombing continued in New York City and San Francisco as Day 39 of President Trump’s ongoing purge of “blue” America continued. Following last month’s arrest and detention of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and former chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Congressman Adam Schiff, the president shows no sign of pausing the purge or “Red Whitewashing” as he calls it.

Similar to his coronavirus claims that “If you take the blue states out, we’re at a level that I don’t think anybody in the world would be at,” no casualty reports were issued from within any engaged city. Instead, when asked this morning, the president said, “We’re doing very well. One attack helicopter had to make a hard landing following apparent engine trouble, an engine, by the way, that was manufactured in one of the previously, poorly run blue states. Other than that, we can’t manufacture bullets fast enough, despite my authorization of the Red Defense Production Act.”

He further stated, “the stock market is nearing an all-time high, and as of this morning, the LCF (Lives Conversion Factor) is hovering at a number never seen before.” Indeed, at the time of his briefing before OANN and Fox News, each red state death was trading at 6,973 blue state deaths, a high not seen since the opening days of Operation Golden Crimson. Current Pentagon projections estimate that several blue states will, like an overturning iceberg, flip to red within the coming year. If that timeline proves accurate, the president will be poised to win the postponed presidential election with an unprecedented sweep of the revamped Electoral College. This will all but ensure his nomination for a third term even before the New Senate takes up the controversial White House proposal to rename the president’s recognized title from “Mr. President” to “Your High, Golden Wonderfulness.” Another White House proposal remains in limbo, moving the White House to Mar a Lago (New Washington), relocating the Capital to the Russian Embassy, and removing the bald eagle as the national bird in favor of a KFC drumstick.

When asked for comment on the status of the latter proposal, newly appointed Supreme Court Ted Cruz said, “I don’t believe there is any reason… not to allow the proposal to go through. With the other Justices removed… I, as the Supreme Court… whole-heartedly agree with His High, Golden Wonderfulness.”

Similarly, Senate Tsar Lindsey Graham seemed to flip flop on his initial reservations regarding the bald eagle’s removal following a round of presidential golf on Tuesday. Golfing included a KFC luncheon held on the 7th green and a presidential nap on the 13th green. The presidential siesta came complete with My Pillow pillows emblazoned with the new presidential seal (Two crossed drumsticks, one holding a nuclear missile and the other holding a gravy soaked biscuit).

Across town at the Ministry of Truth, Tsar Marco Rubio quoted an unrelated Bible verse when asked about recent, underground science and facts regarding coronavirus death’s topping 1 million. To clarify, he stated, “Jesus wasn’t taught calculus or medicine, and he is the white man we most seek to emulate. Other than His High, Golden Wonderfulness. Amen and pass the mashed potatoes.” Rubio, whose petition to change his last name to Ruby, per Operation Golden Crimson guidelines, saw his case move closer to Supreme Court Cruz (whose own petition to change his name to Oswald is pending presidential approval). When inadvertently pushed to expand on his remarks by Fox News reporter John Roberts (whose disappearance following the news conference was deemed coincidental to his line of questioning, Rubio replied, “Take him, dear Lord, take him.” It was not lost on this reporter that Rubio’s top security man is named Deerloard.

No living Democrats could be located for comment, and no Republicans could locate their vertebral column.

How?

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

How is it okay that the president knew about the severity of the virus and said nothing?

How is it okay that 190,000 Americans are dead because the president hid the truth?

How is it okay that people died because Republican state governors took their lead from a lying White House?

How is it okay that the president called the virus a Democrat hoax?

How is it okay that people die because some don’t wear a mask, just like the president?

How is he not legally culpable for the deaths of thousands of Americans?

How is this not illegal?

How is this not premeditated?

How is this not malice aforethought times thousands of deaths?

How is this not reckless criminal homicide/manslaughter time thousands of deaths?

How is this not depraved-heart murder times thousands?

How is this not reckless endangerment times thousands?

How is any of this okay?

How is it okay that elected Republicans never seem to have ever seen a Trump Tweet or will never hear the interviews with Bob Woodward?

How is it okay that the only loquacious Republican is a “formerly elected” Republican?

How is it okay that evangelicals follow Donald Trump?

How is it okay that uneducated whites follow “billionaire” Donald Trump?

How is it okay that the DOJ will now defend someone who was a private citizen from a ’90’s rape charge?

How is it okay that I have to pay for it?

How is it okay that the president denigrates the military as “suckers” and “losers?”

How is it okay that the president allows Russia to put bounties on soldier’s heads with impunity?

How is it okay that the Hatch act now seems quaint?

How is it okay that the president lies? All of the time?

How is it okay that this president has taken our once proud country and dismantled it and reshaped it to his liking?

How is it okay that America now resembles a corrupt plutocracy run by a simple crime family immune to the law and respected conventions?

How can this possibly be a close election?

How?

I’m genuinely confused.

The Rise of the Lowest Common Denominator

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

Today, scientists will introduce a new vaccine through the World Health Organization to three African countries in a pilot program designed to prevent malaria. Three hundred sixty thousand children each year will receive the vaccine, which has a 40% success rate in preventing the disease. 40% may not sound impressive, however, when you consider 435,000 people die of malaria each year (a child dies every two minutes from the disease, 250,000 children alone in Africa) this “complementary malaria control tool” is better than nothing at all. This is a victory for humanity and a proud moment for science.

This news comes on the same day (April 24, 2019) when, in the United States, a record 681 cases of the once eradicated measles disease have been reported. Twenty-two states report instances. The previous record for an entire year was 667 in 2014. Again, it’s only April 24th. This is a loss for humanity and an embarrassing moment for rational thinkers.

Science, I believe, is in its infancy. We pose far more questions each year than we answer. But as Donald Rumsfeld famously said, “There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” Knowing there are unknowns (both known and unknown!) keeps science humble and curious. Each step forward reveals new questions, new problems, but more knowns (even if they are known unknowns).

Research into the demographics of “anti-vaxxers” always identified them as living on the outskirts of both political parties, but recent analysis has identified a distinct skewing toward the far right. The same conspiracy believing, science ignoring (climate change, pollution, flat earth), demographic who consider education to be an elitist, global cabal and who embraced the plain-spoken crudeness of a New York billionaire as their savior, believing he tells the truth, is a victim of the deep state and the mainstream media and was fully exonerated by the Mueller report. The echo chamber from which they obtain their news meets their confirmation bias, and anyone disagreeing is ignored and scorned as unpatriotic.

Fortunately, some African children will benefit from scientific advancement, children not of privilege or means, but beneficiaries of scientific progress. At the same time, some children in the United States will suffer from an entirely preventable disease because first world freedoms afford even the ignorant the right to put them in jeopardy.

As Harlan Ellison wrote, “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.” Unfortunately, specific demographics of our society have all of the answers when the rest of us are convinced of less and less each year, embrace that limitation, and continue to seek wisdom.

Thomas Paine wrote, “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” In a country where education should be celebrated, instead, we seem to elevate the lowest common denominator — shame on us.

Today

~ thoughtsatlarge ~ Leave a comment

Picture1We are divided. We are angry. Regardless of what side of the political chasm you stand on, we each scream at ears that cannot hear. Each side can site their own origin for our condition, but increasingly, our cold civil war is getting hot.

And now we have lunatic sending bombs to critics of the president while the president continues to pour gasoline on the growing firestorm.

Words are my religion. They are far more important to me than physical persuasion. Books are portals. Carl Sagan wrote as part of his incredible Cosmos series,

“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.”

And yet, in our hurry-up world of 280 character pontifications, arguments and debates are reduced to ad hominem attacks and ad reductio gotchas. We are a heavily armed society with hair-trigger sensitivities and no sense of personal responsibility. That’s a terrible combination.

Cicero wrote, “He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason” and I understand the sentiment. As of right now, three bombs have been sent to New York City. My son lives in New York City. This individual has subjected everyone handling these packages (whether politically likeminded or not) and everyone around them to harm from within a potential blast radius. I look at Google Maps to identify where the newest bomb has been located and then see where my son should be at that moment. I am a civilized man, but also a father. I do not own a gun, and I treasure words. However, as a father, should I encounter the individual sending these bombs, I would not hesitate to punch them in the face.

Perhaps that makes me part of the problem, maybe I’m merely a parent, regardless, we all must do better. And it starts at the top. And it begins with the individual. The president leads, and we are responsible for ourselves. I’ll do my part. Mr. President? #Vote