Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Monday, February 27, 2023
Re: "Dilbert" Comic Strip BANNED Because of What Creator Scott Adams Said
It isn't helpful to further sow division.
The "I love White People" shirt the YouTuber is selling is a big disappointment because it is something the KKK would say. It is definitely coming across as racist.
I would rather say that I love all people, or all lives matter.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Human Trafficking vs Human Smuggling
I find this interesting...
"If a smuggler brings an illegal immigrant over at a non-designated point of entry, they are liable to pay a fine, be imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both. However, this is for a single smuggled immigrant. The punishment can multiply. In addition, the following consequences can occur:
If a person is seriously injured or put into jeopardizing situations, the prison sentence rises to up to 20 years
If the smuggling results in death, the imprisonment can increase the number of years to life in prison."
https://www.lawfirm1.com/removal-proceedings/immigrant-smuggling/
https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report/2017/CSReport-13-1.pdf
"If a smuggler brings an illegal immigrant over at a non-designated point of entry, they are liable to pay a fine, be imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both. However, this is for a single smuggled immigrant. The punishment can multiply. In addition, the following consequences can occur:
If a person is seriously injured or put into jeopardizing situations, the prison sentence rises to up to 20 years
If the smuggling results in death, the imprisonment can increase the number of years to life in prison."
https://www.lawfirm1.com/removal-proceedings/immigrant-smuggling/
https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report/2017/CSReport-13-1.pdf
Friday, February 24, 2023
Vaccines prevent the spread of COVID-19
A sore spot for me is the claim made by every single conservative talk show host that the vaccines do not stop the spread of COVID-19 and that we were lied to when the government said that they would. This claim is based on testimony by Janine Small to the European Union who said that they did not have time in their initial testing to determine if the vaccines stop the spread of the disease. However, those studies have since been done. I have found studies showing that the vaccines reduce the spread of COVID-19. It also makes sense that if you reduce infection then you also reduce spread. This logic is almost irrefutable, so it would be perfectly proper for the government to make this claim.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Dianna Cowern Physics Girl
This is popular Youtuber, Physics Girl, Dianna Cowern
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sOhdQNjmK_U
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sOhdQNjmK_U
Reportedly, she has been suffering from "Long COVID" since July. She has made this public.
Things got worse and she went to the ER last week.
She is clearly suffering because of this. I have long believed that COVID is something that we should take seriously. It is not an ordinary disease. It is not just the cold or a bad flu.
I looked to see if there is an update on her condition. Nothing yet.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
ChatGPT Generated Fictional Podcast with A.I Joe Rogan & Jordan Peterson
Once again we get an AI generated script and computer generated voices.
https://youtu.be/sVThCuT8j0A
Is this what the future holds? We might be watching our favorite actors, some long dead, simulated, with a never ending stream of AI created content. You could have Tom Hanks on TV 24/7, and the shows never repeat.
"In the next hour, Tom Hanks, Jimmy Stewart, and Charlie Chaplain take their air car on a grand tour of New Detroit. "
Best wishes,
John Coffey
https://youtu.be/sVThCuT8j0A
Is this what the future holds? We might be watching our favorite actors, some long dead, simulated, with a never ending stream of AI created content. You could have Tom Hanks on TV 24/7, and the shows never repeat.
"In the next hour, Tom Hanks, Jimmy Stewart, and Charlie Chaplain take their air car on a grand tour of New Detroit. "
Best wishes,
John Coffey
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Chick-fil-A Identity Politics
The left makes a mountain out of a molehill. It advances its agenda by claiming victimhood. As I understand it, the original owner of Chick-Fil-A donated money to religious organizations that he agreed with, which just happened to have some anti-gay positions. This is a long way from saying that the donations were made for the suppression of gay people. For this original sin, the left wants to keep punishing Chick-Fil-A forever no matter what changes they make.
Most people on the right are very tolerant and accepting people. I don't see anyone who is actively promoting an anti-gay agenda. Not a soul. If they exist, they are a small minority. I'm here in conservative Indiana, and most people just want to live and let live.
I once ran my chess club at a Chick-Fil-A. The people there were nice and eager to please. I happened to like the food, although I haven't compared it to other fast-food chicken.
The left will attack you just for not being woke enough. If you don't actively support their position, then that makes you a racist, homophobe, or whatever. This is a divide-and-conquer strategy, and when you point out how outrageous they are being then they attack you as bigoted for disagreeing with them.
It is ironic that at 7:20 he accuses the right of being the ones with a chip on their shoulders.
After such an over-the-top unjust slander of good, well-intentioned people, that I am done with this channel.
Most people on the right are very tolerant and accepting people. I don't see anyone who is actively promoting an anti-gay agenda. Not a soul. If they exist, they are a small minority. I'm here in conservative Indiana, and most people just want to live and let live.
I once ran my chess club at a Chick-Fil-A. The people there were nice and eager to please. I happened to like the food, although I haven't compared it to other fast-food chicken.
The left will attack you just for not being woke enough. If you don't actively support their position, then that makes you a racist, homophobe, or whatever. This is a divide-and-conquer strategy, and when you point out how outrageous they are being then they attack you as bigoted for disagreeing with them.
It is ironic that at 7:20 he accuses the right of being the ones with a chip on their shoulders.
It is shameful that he would accuse the right of defending slavery. Remind me, which political party supported slavery?
How Hard Is It to Not Buy a Video Game?
John Coffey
0 seconds ago
Calling people bigots for their biologically realistic point of view that men cannot women and vice-versa, is just unfair. We have a different point of view that doesn't go along with some people's fantasies. I am all for letting people live their lives until it starts imposing on the rest of us. Suddenly I have to be careful about what pronouns I use. People want to force me to lie to protect their feelings.
I think that it is equally unfair to threaten people's livelihood if they don't agree. Jordan Peterson first became famous when his job was threatened over forced speech codes. And it is still happening to him. They want to take away his license.
The left thinks that it is about diversity and inclusion, but it is not true when it comes to diversity of opinion. The left thinks that having a different opinion is harming others. If you disagree with them then they will literally try to ruin you. They want you to go away and die. You don't have the right to speak nor do you have the right to earn a living.
I've known for some time that Steve Shives has some different political opinions than I do, but that doesn't mean that I stop watching his videos. For the most part, I like his videos.
I suggest reading what J.K. Rowling wrote about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues. I would include a link here but it would probably be deleted by the spam filter.
P.S. https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Friday, February 17, 2023
Why Honey Badgers Don't Fear God or Lions
Many people have a naive view of wild animals. They are not pets and will try to hurt you if they can. To most animals, you look like food.
Even most herbivores will kill and eat small animals if given the chance.
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Brain injury after vaccination
John Coffey 0 seconds ago:
There is no evidence that the spike proteins were generated locally or caused the inflammation. You would have to show a significant number of excess cases after vaccination.
I found another study showing COVID causing the same symptoms.
It is not clear to me that the vaccine causes an excess number of these cases. There is an assumed causality that is not proven.
It is not clear to me that the vaccine causes an excess number of these cases. There is an assumed causality that is not proven.
The U.S. Government statistics show a much lower overall death rate among the vaccinated.
The quoted study concludes with ...
"Neurological manifestations following the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination have been reported, and although they are few in number, healthcare professionals should be alert to their presentation as a high vigilance and rapid response to these events are the need of the hour. Further investigations are required to establish a definitive causal association with the currently recommended vaccines. Until then, the benefit of protection against COVID-19 for both individuals and society is far greater than the hypothesized risk of these adverse events."
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Illegal immigration to the United States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States#Countries_of_origin
I heard a radio talk show host express concern about "hundreds of thousands" of Chinese illegal immigrants in the United States. Although small compared to the total, one has to wonder why they are coming here illegally.
I think that we should welcome people escaping tyranny with open arms. However, if one out of a thousand of those who came here illegally did so for the purpose of espionage, then we could have hundreds of spies in our country. Maybe it is one out of ten thousand.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Disney turns Luke Skywalker into an LGBTQ+ character | News | westernstandard.news
Luke Skywalker is listed on the "LGBTQ+ individuals" page of the Star Wars fan encyclopedia Wookieepedia.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Category:LGBTQ%2B_individuals
The reason Skywalker is now LGBTQ+ comes from "a recent short story by activist writer Sam Maggs," according to Bounding Into Comics.
In a 2016 Vanity Fair article, JJ Abrams said that Star Wars needed more non-straight characters.
Mark Hamill, the actor who portrayed Skywalker, suggested in the Vanity Fair story that Skywalker "of course" is gay.
"Fans are writing and ask all these questions, 'I'm bullied in school ... I'm afraid to come out,'" said Hamill.
"They say to me, 'Could Luke be gay?' I'd say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer ... If you think Luke is gay, of course, he is. You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves."
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/disney-turns-luke-skywalker-into-an-lgbtq-character/article_f3664f6a-a949-11ed-8b27-57687608b00d.html
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Category:LGBTQ%2B_individuals
The reason Skywalker is now LGBTQ+ comes from "a recent short story by activist writer Sam Maggs," according to Bounding Into Comics.
In a 2016 Vanity Fair article, JJ Abrams said that Star Wars needed more non-straight characters.
Mark Hamill, the actor who portrayed Skywalker, suggested in the Vanity Fair story that Skywalker "of course" is gay.
"Fans are writing and ask all these questions, 'I'm bullied in school ... I'm afraid to come out,'" said Hamill.
"They say to me, 'Could Luke be gay?' I'd say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer ... If you think Luke is gay, of course, he is. You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves."
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/disney-turns-luke-skywalker-into-an-lgbtq-character/article_f3664f6a-a949-11ed-8b27-57687608b00d.html
Friday, February 10, 2023
Yes, masks reduce the risk of spreading COVID, despite a review saying they don't
An updated Cochrane Review published last week is the latest to suggest face masks don't work in the community.
However there are problems with the review's methodology and its underpinning assumptions about transmission.
An RCT comparing occasional versus continuous use of respirators in health care workers showed N95 respirators and surgical masks were equally ineffective when only worn occasionally by hospital workers. They had to wear them all the time at work to be protected.
We also combined only apples and apples in a meta-analysis of two RCTs conducted in exactly the same way and measuring the same interventions and outcomes. We found N95 respirators provide significant protection against respiratory infections when surgical masks did not, even against infections assumed to be "droplet spread".
https://theconversation.com/yes-masks-reduce-the-risk-of-spreading-covid-despite-a-review-saying-they-dont-198992
However there are problems with the review's methodology and its underpinning assumptions about transmission.
An RCT comparing occasional versus continuous use of respirators in health care workers showed N95 respirators and surgical masks were equally ineffective when only worn occasionally by hospital workers. They had to wear them all the time at work to be protected.
We also combined only apples and apples in a meta-analysis of two RCTs conducted in exactly the same way and measuring the same interventions and outcomes. We found N95 respirators provide significant protection against respiratory infections when surgical masks did not, even against infections assumed to be "droplet spread".
https://theconversation.com/yes-masks-reduce-the-risk-of-spreading-covid-despite-a-review-saying-they-dont-198992
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
What is the price of tea in Indiana?
This used to be a $2 box of tea. Apparently, Walmart is either out of stock or not carrying it anymore, so instead offers an expensive 3rd party seller.
I see that I can get it from Kroger for $4.19, or a case of 6 from Amazon for about $20.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Sunday, February 5, 2023
Saturday, February 4, 2023
I Misunderstood the Greenhouse Effect. Here's How It Works.
I thought that actual Greenhouses prevent convection, which is different than CO2 which absorbs and re-emits infrared photons.
I heard that convection is an important part of how our atmosphere loses heat.
I also had heard that the infrared photon knocks an electron to a higher orbital, and then 3 nanoseconds later the electron falls back down to the lower orbital and re-emits an infrared photon. The net effect is to scatter the photons in a random direction since quantum physics acts somewhat randomly.
Photons are force-carrying particles. They carry electromagnetic force. In order for the temperature to increase, there would have to be a gain of kinetic energy because heat is the motion of molecules. Does the vibration of the molecule convert electromagnetic force to kinetic energy? So I am wondering what percentage of the infrared photons gets converted to kinetic energy, and what percentage gets re-emitted?
Friday, February 3, 2023
COVID vaccines slash risk of spreading Omicron — and so does previous infection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgrMzvasrm8&t=1100s
"Decreases in transmission of the delta variant were greater after two BNT162b2 vaccinations"
"The team found that among individuals with COVID-19, those who received at least one vaccine shot were 24% less likely to infect close contacts"
"This study confirms that COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of delta variant infection and also accelerates viral clearance in the context of the delta variant. However, this study unfortunately also highlights that the vaccine effect on reducing transmission is minimal in the context of delta variant circulation. These findings have immediate public health implications. Higher vaccination coverage rates need to be achieved because indirect protection from vaccinated to unvaccinated people remains suboptimal."
"Pfizer vax did reduce transmission of early variants"
"Researchers in the United Kingdom reported in a February observational study that Pfizer's vaccine helped cut transmission of the alpha and delta variants."
"Fact check: Vaccines protect against contracting, spreading COVID-19"
"Scientific studies show that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reduces transmission"
"However, when booster vaccine doses reduce the risk of infection (as shown in the study by Spitzer et al2), then these boosters will also prevent transmission. As with all infectious diseases, the pathogen is required to cause the disease, and SARS-CoV-2 infection is the sine qua non for COVID-19. Prevention of infection results in prevention of potential onward transmission from all individuals who are spared the infection."
"New research suggests COVID-19 vaccines can slow the spread of disease, even with Omicron"
"Early data suggest infections in fully vaccinated persons are more commonly observed with the Delta variant than with other SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, data show fully vaccinated persons are less likely than unvaccinated persons to acquire SARS-CoV-2, and infections with the Delta variant in fully vaccinated persons are associated with less severe clinical outcomes. Infections with the Delta variant in vaccinated persons potentially have reduced transmissibility than infections in unvaccinated persons, although additional studies are needed."
"Instead, it's the principle that the UKHSA identified above: if you don't get infected in the first place thanks to a vaccine, you can't spread it. Once you're infected, you still can"
Thursday, February 2, 2023
This Is the Single Most Important Moment in TV History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kkox1kG0hY
The third episode of The Last of Us features a side story about a gay couple who survive the zombie apocalypse. For this reason, Ben Shapiro hates it. It does have the problem of being a big detour from the first couple of episodes.
I disagree that it has no relationship to the story because the couple does interact with the main characters. There was an episode like this in the first season of The Bad Batch where the main characters only have a brief appearance, and it was one of the best episodes of the season. Also, an episode of The Book of Boba Fet was controversial for not having the main character in it.
Why Are American Health Care Costs So High?
Third-party payers constitute most of the healthcare. Reportedly, around 60% of healthcare is paid for by the government. The problem is there is very little free market competition. Nobody knows how much their healthcare costs, or if there might be a cheaper option.
One solution would be medical savings accounts with price competition.
One solution would be medical savings accounts with price competition.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
“Objectivity Has Got To Go”: News Leaders Call for the End of Objective Journalism – JONATHAN TURLEY
Ted Glasser, insisted that journalism needed to "free itself from this notion of objectivity to develop a sense of social justice." He rejected the notion that journalism is based on objectivity and said that he views "journalists as activists because journalism at its best — and indeed history at its best — is all about morality." Thus, "Journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it's hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity."
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/02/01/objectivity-has-got-to-go-news-leaders-call-for-end-of-objective-journalism/comment-page-1/
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/02/01/objectivity-has-got-to-go-news-leaders-call-for-end-of-objective-journalism/comment-page-1/
Significant Events
Until recently, the most significant thing to happen in my lifetime was 9-11. It had a profound effect on this country and its foreign policy, and it also had a profound effect on me because I went to work for a defense contractor. It also temporarily brought Americans together to fight a common enemy.
In terms of the number of people affected, 9-11 is small potatoes compared to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been 675 million cases worldwide, with 6.76 million deaths. In the United States, there have been 104 million cases with 1.1 million deaths. Roughly 1 out of every 300 Americans has been killed by COVID-19. However, when it comes to fighting the disease, this common enemy did not bring us together but made us more divided.
Perhaps the most important thing in the world right now is that we don't get into a nuclear war with Russia or China or any other potential adversary. Since this is not likely to happen, I'm not too worried about it.
So the second most important thing in the world is how we handle the COVID-19 pandemic both personally and in terms of public policy. The actions we take could save or cost lives.
Most people today see the pandemic in the rearview mirror. The public seems very lax. People stopped wearing masks. President Biden has declared May 11th the end of the COVID emergency. However, I think that it could be naive to think that COVID is over. We currently have around 500 deaths per day. New mutations keep popping up and some of these might not be so bad, but there is always the potential for a new deadly strain to arise. The XBB 1.5 variant is so infectious there is a possibility that everyone will get it, and it has killed 1,600 New Yorkers since December 1st.
I suspect that we will be fighting COVID for the rest of our lives.
Almost nobody has time to read scientific literature. This is one reason we pay politicians to make policy so that we don't have to sort through all the details ourselves. And most people are fine with that. However, only 68% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, with around 21% having never been vaccinated.
I am personally angry with the anti-vax crowd because they seem to only think about themselves. There are some very small risks associated with the vaccines, so many people assume that if they are young and healthy that they are better off not getting vaccinated. These assumptions may not be correct, since many young healthy people also have died from COVID-19. However, the reason for my consternation is that the anti-vax crowd seems to not care at all about people like my elderly mother whose health issues would make her extremely vulnerable to COVID. If a person chooses not to be vaccinated, then they are choosing to likely spread COVID to someone else, because the R factor of the Omicron variant is 3.4. In the past, anything with an R factor of 1 or higher was considered serious.
I like to say that the anti-vax crowd cherry-picks their data, but that is being generous. For the most part, they don't look at data. They see statements on social media, Youtube, and fringe conspiracy-theory websites made by very questionable people, and they believe in some of the most absurd positions as if they were gospel. I have spent 2 years fighting vaccine misinformation on the Internet, but I give up because apparently, you can't reason with irrational people.
I see claims every day that I know have been debunked by at least one scientific study. The most recent one is that the mRNA vaccines don't stop the spread of the disease. There are studies that say otherwise.
Some commentators who I would normally respect think that the government has been lying to us this whole time. They are calling for the prosecution of government officials for their "COVID lies".
What the data currently shows is that there is much lower overall mortality for people who have been vaccinated. There is a small health risk with the vaccines, but COVID-19 is no ordinary disease. It attacks every organ in the body. The health complications from COVID are far more dangerous than the vaccines.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
John Coffey
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