Bits and pieces from a news article that summarizes recent scholarly studies. Some moderately good news, and a reminder that increased testing means finding more cases, and finding them earlier, which means people get medical treatment sooner. (More testing means less suffering and fewer deaths. For those of us who care about such things.) Over…
I wish I had the time or energy to get out the telescope and camera, but I did go out for a walk in the neighborhood and got an eyeful of this in the sky. Similar:NYT: G.W. Bush is "super-overexposed" and "so far to our right" — so they omitted his pre…The quotes in my…
From The Brookings Institution (non-profit, deeply sourced factual writing; has been accused of both conservative and liberal bias; is cited in Congress about equally by conservative and liberal politicians; leans a bit left in terms of loaded language): American institutions are not perfect, of course. We all should want to improve scientific practices, remove bias…
Those darned reporters. Always publishing newsworthy facts of national importance that powerful people would rather keep silent. When Hicks tested positive, she worried about others around her who might be infected, too, but the White House sought to keep that information from the public. Without Jennifer Jacobs, a dogged Bloomberg reporter who broke the story…
So negative! Why does the lying America-hating fake news media keep publishing stories that make Trump look bad? Where are the reports about superspreader events in the Obama White House? Where are the stories about Obama’s family members and staff ostentatiously refusing to take precautions that their own medical experts recommended that all Americans take?…
This is the end of the coronavirus pandemic. And this is how it could happen in the United States: By November 2021, most Americans have received two doses of a vaccine that, while not gloriously effective, fights the disease in more cases than not. Meanwhile, Americans continue to wear masks and avoid large gatherings, and…
Friday the CDC released updated guidelines that reflected recent scientific observations that the coronavirus is airborne and can transmit over a distance of more than six feet, as CNN reported. This morning the CDC reversed itself, removing the updated information. From the Washington Post: The agency had posted new guidelines suggesting the virus can…
Am I doing the tribal rage thing right? Laura Helmuth of Scientific American says the decision to break tradition was both unanimous and quick: “We took this decision very seriously. You don’t give up 175 years of tradition for nothing.” —‘Scientific American’ Breaks 175 Years Of Tradition, Endorses A Presidential Nominee –NPR Similar:The elements, in…
“I remember the first meeting where I actually told a city council that it was costing more to recycle than it was to dispose of the same material as garbage,” she says, “and it was like heresy had been spoken in the room: You’re lying. This is gold. We take the time to clean it,…
Our understanding of COVID-19 has accreted around the idea that it kills a few and is “mild” for the rest. That caricature was sketched before the new coronavirus even had a name; instead of shifting in the light of fresh data, it calcified. It affected the questions scientists sought to ask, the stories journalists sought…
On Tuesday, as Florida set a daily record for covid-19 deaths, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods prohibited his deputies from wearing masks at work. His order, which also applies to visitors to the sheriff’s office, carves out an exception for officers in some locations, including hospitals, and when dealing with people who are high-risk or…
This is a mask. It prevents the spread of coronavirus. This is not a political statement. It’s a mask. Please wear a mask. #factsfirst😷 pic.twitter.com/1nY7FAEHi1 — CNN Communications (@CNNPR) July 31, 2020 Similar:Why are sports in trouble in the U.S.? Because we didn’t do the work. Hard-hitting column from Sally Jen…BusinessShakespeare on EclipsesPrepping for tomorrow’s…
I don’t have scientific expertise. I work with people who do. I trust their informed opinions on scientific matters far more than I trust my own ability to “do the research” in areas where they have far more expertise than I do. I would not expect a metallurgist to be able to fix my rusty…
After mounting a half-hearted defense of a woman who says masks don’t work, that there’s a cure for COVID-19, and that doctors make medicine from DNA from aliens and that experts are working on a vaccine that makes you immune from becoming religious, Trump ends a press conference by walking out of the room. Background…
Background for Trump’s remarkable pivot to a pro-mask stance. First, here’s a report from the right-leaning Forbes, last week. One possible reason for Trump’s continued public embrace of Fauci–even as he shirks his advice behind the scenes–is Fauci’s popularity: an Economist/YouGov poll released Wednesday showed 55% of voters surveyed have a favorable view of Fauci…
In a shift in tone, and after weeks of focusing public events on other issues, Trump urged Americans to wear a mask. […] “We’re asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask,” Trump said in perhaps his strongest urging to date on that issue. “Whether you…
A copy-paste meme I’ve encountered recently compares chickenpox, herpes and HIV with COVID-19, and builds up to a powerful rebuke to those who dismiss the seriousness of the current pandemic. I was particularly moved by these words: For those in our society who suggest that people being cautious are cowards, for people who refuse to…
Front page of the Miami Herald newspaper, with two headlines circled: “Florida schools ordered to reopen in August” and “Miami-Dade restaurants, gyms closing to fight COVID surge” Similar:‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers under threat from AIArtificial intelligence is making steady…Art'Babylon 5' Reboot in Development at The CW From Original Series Creator J. Michael…
Shortly after my region ended their lockdown, I went to my local Walmart to return something I had purchased online. I was shocked that more than half of the people there weren’t wearing masks. I got in and out quickly, wondering all the while whether the chance to get infected was really worth the $22…
This site tracks Rt, the value that measures how many people the average infected person infects, in each of the American states. An Rt greater than one (depicted as red in this interactive chart) means the virus is spreading to more people. A value less than 1 means it’s on track to die out. Note…