How rumors propagate.

I watched the attached video (at 8:56) and started thinking about how rumors get going.

Back when I did my Dolphins page, I would sometimes get a nugget of information that I would research and then write about. And, once in a while, on a lark and to test the limits of people’s belief in what they read (and to conduct a sort of social experiment too!), I would get a nugget and “go with my gut” and run with it. Not that I lied or made stuff up, per se, but I’d roll with “news” sometimes. 

If it was especially salacious, whether I had corroborated it or not, it might get some traction. That’s just how people think. 

But a friend of mine, Brian over at Phinatics, decided one April fools day to have a little fun. He wrote an article that was absurd. I don’t remember the details, but it was some blockbuster trade he was “breaking news” on. But the trade was silly. And every source he linked to pointed to Wikipedia’s April fools page. 

But, hilariously, this got picked up by most news outlets without doing any research. It was all over the internet as they say. People asked him (and other dolphins site owners) about it. 

And there ya go. All you need is a nugget of truth. And the willing audience who wants it to be true. And people eat it up. 

I suppose it’s human nature, sad though it might be. 

An open letter to GOP senators on impeachment.

It strikes me that mr trump committed a crime in his handling of the events before the terrorist attack on the Capitol. In fact, I would suggest that his specific crime is sedition ("conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch") which is a high crime in this country.

And you are constitutionally bound to act on it.

You can (incorrectly and absurdly) argue that he didn't mean anything by his words. But the fact that many of those arrested in connection with this assault on democracy have said unequivocally that they acted because trump told them to. There is no ambiguity there.

I have heard your colleagues argue that he can't be tried for the impeachment because he already left office. To this, I have two comments: first, he committed this crime while in office and was impeached in the house while in office. We need to hold any/every one to account for their actions on that day. And he himself reportedly will offer a defense of "the election was stolen so I felt some obligation..." which makes no sense whatsoever. It is simply an open admission of guilt.

And second, I would ask you if your answer to the question of whether you think it would be different if he were still in office. Think carefully, because it's very likely that you are supporting an attempted coup, which makes you complicit in the actions.

You see, senator, there is no reason to simply stand behind trump other than thinking of yourself or your party.

This is a constitutional crisis of sorts, and we need to ensure that everyone who was involved in this riot on our establishment is punished for their actions. Every. Single. Person.

Do your job to the oath you swore to protect and defend the constitution.

oh those whacky republicans.

Sometimes, when I hear politicians - especially those on the Republican side of the aisle - speak, it’s like I’m watching Disney animated films. 

It always feels like they are trying to make a point, but it’s supercilious and cartoonish in nature. 

Like yesterday, when I heard someone say that trump shouldn’t be tried because “it’s in the past”...maybe Rafiki needs to come and hit them with a walking stick. 

That’s an interesting perspective.

"Putting Kamala Harris as VP into perspective.

See the red box? Until then, she would have been enslaved."

See the blue box? Until then, she couldn't vote.

Yellow box? Until then, she had to attend a segregated school.

The green one? Until then she couldn't have her own bank account"

Returning to what passes for normal.

Vaccine distribution is ongoing and we're on a path to something close to normal again.

But people still don't get that the vaccine protects you from getting sick, but until it gets widely distributed, you can still be a carrier and get other people sick. So you need to still wear a damn mask.

There's also a subset of the population that seems to think that if you've had it, and recovered, you can't get it again or spread it. Both of which are false. And you need to wear a damn mask, too.

Setting aside that there are new mutations of this virus and the vaccine efficacy is unknown against those, we'll set those aside for a moment.

Looking at the data, about 5% of the total population (or about 16.5 million people) have had a single shot.

But only about 1% (3.3 million people) have had both shots and are considered vaccinated.

Most health organizations see the threshold for vaccine penetration to range between 50%-80% of the population, to reach a version of herd immunity. That is, both shots.

To be clear, that would mean to being well enough vaccinated; to stop the spread, be protected against getting it ourselves, and having enough people that way so that we no longer are transmitting it.

That's a wide range, so let's assume the midpoint. 65% of the population. Or about 214.5 million people.

If we remove the 3.3 million, we're left with 211.2 million people to vaccinate.

If we can get to 1 million people a day, that would mean it would take us about 200 days for enough people to get their first shot (211 million minus the 12 or so million that already had their first shot) 

That's August.  

But there's the matter of second shot. Would it take another 200 days? Would we get faster and have more distribution?

Suddenly we're looking at end of 2021, or perhaps early 2022 to return to "normal"...

And of course that's assuming things go smoothly and there's no serious mutations. (🤞)

In other words, we've got anywhere from 8-14 more months of this to get there.

So hold tight. What passes for Normal is out there. But we still have way to go.

It’s Inauguration Day.

I haven’t had much to say in recent days. The events happening in and around trump were just...absurd. And the assault - the domestic terrorism, insurrection, and sedition - on the Capitol was beyond the pale. 

But it’s a new day. We can be smart again. We can embrace science, logic, reason, and even equality once again. 

It’s weird, though, because, I have this feeling of hatred  Toward 45... and I’ve never hated an individual before. And then I remembered this moment in Star Trek, where O’Brien sums up the feeling quite well. 

It’s not that I hate *him* per se. I do dislike him, after all, he’s a “game show host” and not a leader. But history will judge him. As will the many lawsuits he will have to deal with. Perhaps some will be federal charges, but that’s not the point. The point is we can see the wannabe-emperor has no clothes. 

And so we move forward. 

Sedition

Sound like anyone we hear about in the news daily?

Here's to hoping that he, and those who enable him and blindly support him as elected officials, are held to account for their treachery.