2020 archive
Epidemiology, One More Time 0
William Haseltine digs into the question if why, when the flu by the numbers is clearly much more dangerous, so many persons are wigging out over the coronavirus. Here’s part of what he has to say; follow the link for the rest.
Why does the 2019-nCoV outbreak rile our fears so? The discrepancy has to do with how humans perceive risks. Novel threats provoke anxiety in a way that everyday threats do not, triggering a fear response that begins with the part of the brain known as the amygdala and travels via activation of “fight or flight” motor functions throughout the body.
While this evolutionarily honed instinct for the unfamiliar and foreboding can sharpen the senses—a sort of physiological priming for confrontation with a predator—it can also confuse the mind.
A Notion of Immigrants, Have Cake, Eat It Too Dept. 0
Scott Maxwell discusses a proposed law in Florida to ensure that employers hire only legal immigrants except when they don’t.
The Rule of Lawless 0
Trudy Rubin weighs in on the Trump Administration’s decision to meddle in the sentencing of Roger Stone. Here’s how she starts:
They call it “telephone justice.” That means the official picks up a phone and tells the judge what verdict to deliver. It’s a phrase that dates back to Soviet Union days, when the Communist Party always dictated outcomes to the judge.
Follow the link for where she goes next.
When Fiction Is Truth 0
Mark Twain understood America.
The Duke is President; the Dauphin is Attorney-General.
Afterthought:
If you haven’t read Huckleberry Finn, do so now.
Forget that it uses the vocabulary of its time.
It is a story of redemption.
Judgement Day 0
David discusses a Federal Judge Frank Easterbrook, a conservative, decision to call out the rule of lawless.
Break Time 0
Off to drink liberally.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
From coffee break to coffee broken.
“Those Who Forget History . . . .” 0
I suspect that I am not the only person to fear that the leaders (Johnson:EU::Trump:NATO) of certain English-speaking countries that fought World War II have chosen to forget lessons learned from that struggle.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Exercise politeness whilst in your motorized automotive conveyance.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
The Kansas City Star, in a lengthy investigative article, reports that the persons who put Charlottesville, Virginia, in the news for something other than basketball and frat parties, have decided that they need to “rebrand” to try to capture the youth market.
Full Disclosure:
I did a year of grad work at C’ville, during which I learned I was not cut out to be an academician.