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Follow the Science? How COVID Authoritarians Get It Wrong


Muda69

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https://spectator.org/follow-the-science-health-authorities-covid-19/

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A dozen generations or so ago, the scientific method gradually began superseding the method of authority as the most reliable way of knowing the world. We no longer had to accept without question what powerful individuals and institutions asserted; we could observe and test and measure, relying on a more objective approach. This profound shift in focus helped the human family take steps away from darkness and toward light. But apparently the light was too bright.

In recent years, we’ve taken half a step backwards. We’ve seen the rise of an unlikely hybrid of the methods of science and authority. Sciority? Authorience? Whatever we call it, it isn’t good. Nowadays when a science representative speaks, we’re expected simply to nod in agreement. One would think that the key element of science — skepticism — would be encouraged among the hoi polloi. But it’s not. If we question what the scientific community proclaims, we are labeled “science deniers” by our superiors. And if we critically evaluate research-based opinions and predictions, we are treated to condescending comments like “the debate is over.”

The purveyors of this type of science — some of them scientists and teachers, some of them celebrities and pundits and former politicians — have made it clear that science is the new ultimate authority. It is pure and above reproach. It employs precise measurement. And it uses statistical analysis. So obviously it must be revered and never challenged.

Respect for science is justifiable. After all, it has given us rockets and vaccines, Roombas and hoverboards. But reverence for science is another matter. As we over time have elevated science, it has morphed from one of several methods of learning about the world into the arbiter of truth.

The traditional scientific method can be summarized like this: observe, hypothesize, test, analyze, interpret. The new and unimproved scientific method replaces “interpret” with “declare truth.” But science doesn’t uncover truth, and it never has. Truth emerges over time as we employ all of our capacity for knowing, including intuition, rationalism, empiricism, and, yes, even authoritarianism in certain contexts.

I recently learned from a virtue-signaling yard sign in my neighborhood that “science is real.” Yes, science is real. But so are the people who conduct science. And real people, I’ve been told, sometimes are inept or careless. They occasionally are biased or rigidly ideological. They from time to time value prestige and professional advancement more than conventional ethical and moral standards. So as authority figures, scientists are no more reliable than any other group. And yet we are exhorted to mindlessly “follow the science” whenever the latest study is announced, without regard for how and why and by whom “the science” has come about.

The people who chant the mantra “follow the science” do not epitomize the scientific spirit. If they did, they would insist that everyone be skeptical. They would encourage us all to be intelligent and careful consumers of scientific information. They would stress the value of critically examining the implications of touted studies, as well as the opinions and predictions offered by scientists and science worshipers.

The fact is that the wary are not science deniers; they are science embracers. By being “hard sells,” they reflect the essence of the scientific approach. They know instinctively that a valid result is not an irrefutable result. They understand that a reasonable conclusion is not an unassailable conclusion. They grasp that support for a theory is not proof of a theory. And they recognize that a reliable methodology is not an infallible methodology. In short, they keep science in its place rather than assigning it a place on a pedestal.

We’ve taken half a step backward in recent years as science has become increasingly authoritarian. A few more steps backward will lead us to a place where scientists decree and we agree lest we be punished. But a few steps forward at this critical point will lead us once again toward light. We can’t rely on governments or institutions or media to move us in the right direction. We the people must do it. And we can succeed if we commit always to scrutinize the science before, and if, we agree to follow the science.

Agreed.

 

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The CDC Doesn't Want Kids Trick-or-Treating for Halloween

https://reason.com/2020/09/22/cdc-halloween-trick-or-treat-covid-19-coronavirus/

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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has published guidance for families on how to approach the coming fall holidays—and if the federal agency had its way, kids would suffer through a very un-fun Halloween.

"Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses," warns the CDC in information released on Monday. "There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween."

The very safest activities, according to the CDC, are carving pumpkins with members of your own household, having scary-movie night, or throwing a "virtual Halloween costume contest." (How fun.) Small, outdoor gatherings are classified as moderately risky, and the quintessential Halloween activity—door-to-door trick-or-treating—is considered "higher" risk:

Avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:

  • Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door

  • Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots

  • Attending crowded costume parties held indoors

  • Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming

  • Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household

  • Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors

  • Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19

Crowded, indoor costume parties and haunted houses are certainly higher risk activities, though other factors can reduce the danger—if the COVID-19 levels in the community are low, attendees are being tested, etc. Trick-or-treating, though, takes place outdoors. Can't people just wear masks and hand out candy from their porches? Kids could approach in small groups, even incorporating mask-wearing into their own costumes wherever possible. This hardly seems more dangerous than attending a mass protest or a large public memorial for a beloved Supreme Court justice, but don't expect the CDC to inveigh against any of those things.

Keep in mind that the agency just admitted on Friday that COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory disease spread through airborne particles rather than something you can pick up from touching a compromised surface. Most medical experts, and even vaguely informed citizens, have been aware of this for months. Who knows—maybe six months from now, long after the candy has gone stale, the CDC will revise its Halloween guidance, too.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles announced it would ban trick-or-treating entirely, but then relented and said the activity would merely be discouraged. Similarly, the CDC guidance is merely that: guidance. Hopefully, government health authorities will recognize the diminishing returns of sacrificing every beloved childhood tradition on the altar of extreme coronavirus risk-aversion, and instead give families tips about how they can trick-or-treat in relative safety, if they so choose.

The city of Frankfort recently announced it's 2020 trick-or-treating hours for Halloween and they are the same as they always have been.  And as in past years I will happily be handing our candy to those children who trick-or-treat.

 

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Arlington 4th Grader Sent Home From School After Sneezing: https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/09/22/arlington-student-sent-home-from-school-after-sneezing/

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A father in Arlington said his nine-year-old son was sent home from Bishop Elementary School because he was sneezing. The fourth grade student was told he could not to return until he gets a negative Covid-19 test.

“I sneezed two times then the teacher told me to go to the nurse,” said Lancinet Keita.

Lancinet says he felt fine, but those sneezes sent him to the nurse’s office where he had to wait for his dad to pick him up.

“I was thinking I didn’t have anything just a couple sneezes,” Lancinet said.

Thierno Keita says he got a call from the school nurse Tuesday morning that caught him by surprise.

“I’ve been so upset about it,” Thierno Keita said. “I’m so upset about sending my kid home.”

Keita said his son was OK when he left for school and also had no symptoms when he picked him up. Now he says his son needs to take a Covid-19 test to be allowed back.

“He don’t have any symptoms no one and he’s OK,” Thierno said. “And I checked his temperature everything was perfect. His temperature was OK. It’s OK.”

Thierno even took his son’s temperature in front of the WBZ camera to show he doesn’t have a fever.

Lancinet’s father says they will get a test, and hopefully have the results quickly so he can get back to school.

Statement from Bishop Elementary School:

A student at Bishop Elementary School was sent home early today after he displayed COVID-19 related symptoms. This decision was made both out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with district protocols related to COVID-19. This isolated incident is not indicative of any need for wider concern of COVID-19 exposure. Per district protocols, the student will either have to produce a negative COVID-19 test, written documentation from a health care provider stating it is an alternative illness or be symptom free for 10 days following the start of the symptoms.

*sigh*   Combine this covid-19 fear with the soon to begin seasonal flu season and schools will be hell,  more than they already are.

 

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So, before this year, what was the standard protocol for someone that had pneumonia?  Just as dangerous to basically the same demographics and pretty much the same spread rate.  Your sick, you stay home until you feel better.  The rest of the world goes on.  My point is, what changed?  The introduction of COVID, followed by the crazy increase in deaths in New York following the panic signaled from the Governor after he put COVID positive patients in nursing homes among the elderly which inflated the death numbers, followed by including "probable" data from patients not even tested, which brought the numbers higher and instilled a level of fear that is dictating the "new normal".  You don't hear anymore about the NY Governor screaming for the help that he actually didn't need.

Notre Dame has postponed a game this weekend because 7 players tested positive yesterday (they have daily tests btw) not one has symptoms, but they and there contacts have to be quarantined.  One year ago, a player gets sick and has symptoms bad enough he just doesn't play, gets back in the game when he gets over whatever he had, but the rest of the team goes on.  Not anymore.

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9 minutes ago, swordfish said:

So, before this year, what was the standard protocol for someone that had pneumonia?  Just as dangerous to basically the same demographics and pretty much the same spread rate.  Your sick, you stay home until you feel better.  The rest of the world goes on.  My point is, what changed?  The introduction of COVID, followed by the crazy increase in deaths in New York following the panic signaled from the Governor after he put COVID positive patients in nursing homes among the elderly which inflated the death numbers, followed by including "probable" data from patients not even tested, which brought the numbers higher and instilled a level of fear that is dictating the "new normal".  You don't hear anymore about the NY Governor screaming for the help that he actually didn't need.

Notre Dame has postponed a game this weekend because 7 players tested positive yesterday (they have daily tests btw) not one has symptoms, but they and there contacts have to be quarantined.  One year ago, a player gets sick and has symptoms bad enough he just doesn't play, gets back in the game when he gets over whatever he had, but the rest of the team goes on.  Not anymore.

It's all about control.   If covid-19 and pneumonia had switched places in the timeline of communicable diseases we all be having pneumonia lockdowns right now.  

The illuminati saw their chance and they took it. Seems to be a pretty good success so far.

 

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11 hours ago, swordfish said:

So, before this year, what was the standard protocol for someone that had pneumonia?  Just as dangerous to basically the same demographics and pretty much the same spread rate.  Your sick, you stay home until you feel better.  The rest of the world goes on.  My point is, what changed?  The introduction of COVID, followed by the crazy increase in deaths in New York following the panic signaled from the Governor after he put COVID positive patients in nursing homes among the elderly which inflated the death numbers, followed by including "probable" data from patients not even tested, which brought the numbers higher and instilled a level of fear that is dictating the "new normal".  You don't hear anymore about the NY Governor screaming for the help that he actually didn't need.

Notre Dame has postponed a game this weekend because 7 players tested positive yesterday (they have daily tests btw) not one has symptoms, but they and there contacts have to be quarantined.  One year ago, a player gets sick and has symptoms bad enough he just doesn't play, gets back in the game when he gets over whatever he had, but the rest of the team goes on.  Not anymore.

Can you explain why there are significantly more dead people each and every week this year relative to previous years?  Not just Covid but all deaths.  (Hint:  It's not pneumonia)  Ignore the NY nursing home deaths (basically every death in April.)  Why are more people dying all summer and in places not called New York state?

24 of the 31 weeks that have had excess mortality since April 2017 have been this year.

Scroll down halfway to the graph and explain what has happened this year.  Also, the dip at the end of the graph probably will look different a month from now because not all deaths from the last several weeks have been counted yet.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

Edited by Alduflux
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K-12 Schools That Reopened Have Avoided COVID-19 Surges So Far: https://reason.com/2020/09/23/schools-reopen-coronavius-campus-testing-virus/

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While most large school districts throughout the U.S. are continuing with distance learning, the smaller number of schools that have reopened are reporting good news: So far, K-12 school buildings have not played host to sizable COVID-19 outbreaks.

"Everyone had a fear there would be explosive outbreaks of transmission in the schools," Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told The Washington Post. "In colleges, there have been. We have to say that, to date, we have not seen those in the younger kids, and that is a really important observation."

Researchers at Brown University found extremely low levels of virus transmission over a two-week period in schools that reopened. In many places, the rate of infection in schools was lower than in the rest of the community.

These results came as something of a surprise to some teachers union leaders, according to the Post. "I am not seeing at this particular point the rate I had expected," said Zeph Capo, president of the Texas branch of the American Federation of Teachers.

Keep in mind that teachers unions have fought tooth and nail to keep schools closed. Last week, New York City's union successfully pressured Mayor Bill de Blasio to delay reopening schools yet again, even though NYC is one of the areas of the country best equipped, at this point, to manage the pandemic. In Washington, D.C., the teachers union is skeptical about reopening in November.

It's still very early, of course, and opening schools could eventually correlate with significant virus spread. But right now, the idea that it's impossible to reopen schools safely until some undetermined, far off point in the future—perhaps when a vaccine is available—is not holding up.

College campuses, on the other hand, have seen some fairly significant outbreaks. This makes sense: College students live and socialize with each other to a greater degree than young kids do, and many administrators were either naive or indifferent to the fact that compliance with extreme social distancing demands were bound to be ignored.

But even at the college level, not everything is bleak. Some universities have found a workable solution: testing, testing, testing. The University of Illinois, for instance, is testing its entire undergraduate population twice a week; that's 10,000 tests every day. Developing the capacity to pull this off isn't easy, but it appears to work very well when implemented. University health officials can quickly identify asymptomatic cases and quarantine the sick.

Contrary to what the most ardent supporters of endless lockdowns believe, it is possible to safely reopen schools without making students miserable or placing teachers in danger. It just takes planning, hard work, and testing, testing, testing.

 

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10 hours ago, Alduflux said:

Can you explain why there are significantly more dead people each and every week this year relative to previous years?  Not just Covid but all deaths.  (Hint:  It's not pneumonia)  Ignore the NY nursing home deaths (basically every death in April.)  Why are more people dying all summer and in places not called New York state?

24 of the 31 weeks that have had excess mortality since April 2017 have been this year.

Scroll down halfway to the graph and explain what has happened this year.  Also, the dip at the end of the graph probably will look different a month from now because not all deaths from the last several weeks have been counted yet.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

You are assuming I don't think COVID exists.  You are wrong.  I believe it does exist.  However, I don't believe it merits the panic-level mania that was portrayed early on, resulting in the wholesale shutdown across the nation.  As it is appearing now after months of accurate data, "pandemic" was not even close to accurate........Did COVID add to the overall mortality this year?  Sure it did.  But when a person gets a bullet in the head and their cause of death is listed as COVID, one should be suspicious......

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8 hours ago, swordfish said:

You are assuming I don't think COVID exists.  You are wrong.  I believe it does exist.  However, I don't believe it merits the panic-level mania that was portrayed early on, resulting in the wholesale shutdown across the nation.  As it is appearing now after months of accurate data, "pandemic" was not even close to accurate........Did COVID add to the overall mortality this year?  Sure it did.  But when a person gets a bullet in the head and their cause of death is listed as COVID, one should be suspicious......

The point I was making was in response to your asking "...what has changed.?", the answer is obvious.  There are significantly more dead people this year then previous years.  Currently we sit at 208,000-274,000 excess deaths on the year and that is just six months of Covid related deaths.  By comparison 30-40,000 people die each year by firearms so I guess using your metric there are lots of extra firearm fatalities this year.

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14 hours ago, Alduflux said:

I'm curious to your thoughts on quarantining and contact tracing in school.

It's mostly more safety/security theatre.  An interesting anecdote;  last week a friend of mine's 9th grade son, who attends a Tippecanoe county government high school,  along with a number of other classmates was told by the government school to quarantine from home due to them supposedly being exposed to another student who tested positive.   Interestingly enough this child's older 10th grade brother was not told by the government school to quarantine even though they live in the same home and, although probably unknown to school administrators, actually share a bedroom.  

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10 hours ago, Muda69 said:

I generally oppose them.  How about you?

 

I generally support them except 1 which is unreasonable and arbitrary and 3 which is just unreasonable.

 

The guidestone link was your response to my asking "why so many dead people?"  Am I to assume you believe nefarious guidestone followers are behind covid?

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10 hours ago, Muda69 said:

It's mostly more safety/security theatre. 

The article you linked to above regarding school transmission has a glaring obvious omission.  You even bolded the important part of covid management. "It just takes planning, hard work, and testing, testing, testing."

That quote and the article left out one critical component.  Quarantine.  Testing is completely useless if you don't quarantine people that test positive.  How far that quarantine should be extended to close contacts (1, 2, 3,degree contacts etc) is an ongoing evolution and our policy should adjust as knowledge improves.

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12 hours ago, Alduflux said:

I generally support them except 1 which is unreasonable and arbitrary and 3 which is just unreasonable.

 

The guidestone link was your response to my asking "why so many dead people?"  Am I to assume you believe nefarious guidestone followers are behind covid?

Possibly, yes.

 

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11 hours ago, Alduflux said:

The article you linked to above regarding school transmission has a glaring obvious omission.  You even bolded the important part of covid management. "It just takes planning, hard work, and testing, testing, testing."

That quote and the article left out one critical component.  Quarantine.  Testing is completely useless if you don't quarantine people that test positive.  How far that quarantine should be extended to close contacts (1, 2, 3,degree contacts etc) is an ongoing evolution and our policy should adjust as knowledge improves.

Yes.  It just takes planning, hard work, and (fake) testing, testing, testing to maintain the security theater.  Just ask the TSA, that unconstitutional agency has been doing it, minus the testing of course, for almost 20 years now.

 

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A Coronavirus vaccine is needed before we can return to any sense of normalcy......A vaccine is coming by the end of the year!!!  YES!!  Oh - Wait a tick.....We can't kill all those sharks!!!?

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-half-a-million-sharks-could-be-killed-for-vaccine-experts-warn-12083167

Coronavirus: Half a million sharks 'could be killed for vaccine', experts warn

Sharks produce squalene, a natural oil made in their livers, which is an ingredient in several COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

By Aisha Zahid, news reporter

Monday 28 September 2020 01:21, UK

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Half a million sharks could be killed for their natural oil to produce coronavirus vaccines, according to conservationists.

One ingredient used in some COVID-19 vaccine candidates is squalene, a natural oil made in the liver of sharks.

 
 

Squalene is currently used as an adjuvant in medicine - an ingredient that increases the effectiveness of a vaccine by creating a stronger immune response.

Great white sharks have 'evolved numerous molecular changes in genes linked to DNA-repair and damage tolerance'
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Man refused to disband party that violated COVID order, gets year in jail: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/09/man-gets-year-in-jail-for-throwing-parties-in-violation-of-covid-order/?comments=1

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A Maryland judge sentenced a man to one year in jail after finding him guilty of throwing two large parties in violation of a state pandemic order that banned large gatherings. Police were called to the man's home twice in one week, and he refused to disband the party on the second occasion, authorities said.

Shawn Marshall Myers, 42, was sentenced on Friday at the District Court of Maryland, said an announcement by the state's attorney for Charles County. Myers' legal troubles began on March 22 when "multiple officers responded to Myers' residence... for the report of a large party" violating Governor Larry Hogan's order in which "large gatherings were strictly prohibited," the state's attorney office said.

Myers allegedly hosted about 50 people at the party. "Upon arrival, officers told Myers that his party violated the current mandate. Myers was argumentative with officers but eventually agreed to disband his party," the state's attorney office said.

Just five days later, "officers responded back to Myers' residence for another report of a party exceeding fifty people," the announcement said. "Officers told Myers to disband the party, but again he was argumentative claiming he and his guests had the right to congregate. Beyond being argumentative, Myers directed his guests to stay in defiance of Governor Hogan's Orders and the officers' lawful orders to disband the party. Officers tried to reason with Myers and obtain his cooperation to no avail. Myers was then apprehended."

The large-gathering ban has since been lifted, but Myers' parties occurred when the ban was in effect.

Myers was found guilty of two counts of failure to comply with an emergency order. The first count resulted in a six-month suspended sentence and a $1,000 fine, which was also suspended. For the second count, Myers was sentenced to one year in jail, a $5,000 fine, and three years of unsupervised probation. He will serve the year of jail time in the Charles County Detention Center, the announcement said. Myers has filed an appeal, according to The New York Times.

An executive order issued in March banned social gatherings of more than 10 people "at all locations and venues" in order to limit spread of the coronavirus. The order classified any "knowing" and "willful" violation as a misdemeanor that can be punished with up to a year behind bars and a $5,000 fine. Myers therefore got the maximum sentence on the second count. The case was decided by Judge W. Louis Hennessy, without a jury.

Social-distancing orders have been imposed in many states as COVID-19 continues spreading throughout the country, but this is the first time we've heard of jail time being issued for violation of a large-gathering order. "The state's attorney's office said that a few others in Charles County had been charged with violating the governor's order but that Mr. Myers' case was the first to have gone to trial," the Times article said.

Hogan acknowledged in early June that enforcement was rare. "The 10-person limit is technically still in effect, because it's still not really safe to gather with people closely together, but most people are not following that and it's probably something I think every state still has in place and nobody's following it," Hogan said at a press conference.

Hogan's large-gathering ban was repeated in several executive orders including one on June 3. But a superseding order on June 10 dropped the ban. That and more recent orders, including one this week, advise residents to avoid large gatherings and crowded places but do not make it a requirement.

Hmm.  Anybody else have a problem with the sentencing of someone to a year in prison without a jury trial, as well as prison time for misdemeanors in general?

 

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On 9/29/2020 at 1:27 PM, Muda69 said:

Man refused to disband party that violated COVID order, gets year in jail: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/09/man-gets-year-in-jail-for-throwing-parties-in-violation-of-covid-order/?comments=1

Hmm.  Anybody else have a problem with the sentencing of someone to a year in prison without a jury trial, as well as prison time for misdemeanors in general?

 

No and no.

Laws restricting peaceful assemble are another matter.

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