dark humor - BLOGS - Blacksciencefictionsociety2024-03-28T22:24:51Zhttps://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/dark+humorFunny How It's Not Aliens...https://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blogs/funny-how-it-s-not-aliens2023-12-21T01:44:36.000Z2023-12-21T01:44:36.000ZReginald L. Goodwinhttps://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/members/ReginaldLGoodwin<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12332094695,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12332094695,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="556" alt="12332094695?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align:center;">The 3D model of Menga was drawn with AutoCAD, showing the biofacies (microfacies) present in the stones. The fourth pillar, currently missing, has been added, while capstones C-2, C-3, C-4, and C-5 have been removed in order to show the interior of the monument (Lozano Rodríguez et al.<sup><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-47423-y#ref-CR25">25</a></sup>). (<strong>a</strong>) Pillar P-3 with examples of biofacies (<strong>a1</strong>–<strong>a3</strong> observed in hand specimen). (<strong>b</strong>) Orthostat O-15 with examples of biofacies (<strong>b1</strong>–<strong>b4</strong> observed petrographically) and in hand specimen (<strong>b5</strong>). (<strong>c</strong>) Orthostat O-8 with examples observed petrographically (crossed polars) (<strong>c1</strong>,<strong>c2</strong>). (<strong>d</strong>) Orthostat O-5 with examples observed through the petrographic microscope (<strong>d1</strong>,<strong>d2</strong>). The star-shaped symbol indicates the place where a section was made for the petrographic study—Qtz: Quartz (designations after Kretz,<sup><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-47423-y#ref-CR49">49</a></sup>).</p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">Topics: Applied Physics, Archaeology, Dark Humor, History</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong><em>Abstract</em></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><em>The technical and intellectual capabilities of past societies are reflected in the monuments <a href="https://physicsandnano.com/2023/12/20/funny-how-its-not-aliens/" target="_blank">they were able to build</a>. Tracking the provenance of the stones utilized to build prehistoric megalithic monuments through geological studies is of utmost interest for interpreting ancient architecture as well as contributing to their protection. According to the scarce information available, most stones used in European prehistoric megaliths originate from locations near the construction sites, which would have made transport easier. The Menga dolmen (Antequera, Malaga, Spain), listed in UNESCO World Heritage since July 2016, was designed and built with stones weighing up to nearly 150 tons, thus becoming the most colossal stone monument built in its time in Europe (c. 3800–3600 BC). Our study (based on high-resolution geological mapping as well as petrographic and stratigraphic analyses) reveals key geological and archaeological evidence to establish the precise provenance of the massive stones used in the construction of this monument. These stones are mostly calcarenites, a poorly cemented detrital sedimentary rock comparable to those known as 'soft stones' in modern civil engineering. They were quarried from a rocky outcrop located at a distance of approximately 1 km. In this study, it can be inferred the use of soft stone in Menga reveals the human application of new wood and stone technologies, enabling the construction of a monument of unprecedented magnitude and complexity.</em></span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-47423-y">The provenance of the stones in the Menga dolmen reveals one of the greatest engineering feats of the Neolithic</a>. Scientific Reports, Nature</span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:12pt;">José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez, Leonardo García Sanjuán, Antonio M. Álvarez-Valero, Francisco Jiménez-Espejo, Jesús María Arrieta, Eugenio Fraile-Nuez, Raquel Montero Artús, Giuseppe Cultrone, Fernando Alonso Muñoz-Carballeda & Francisco Martínez-Sevilla</span></p><p></p></div>Young Guns: an Epitaph...https://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blogs/young-guns-an-epitaph2023-01-06T10:00:00.000Z2023-01-06T10:00:00.000ZReginald L. Goodwinhttps://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/members/ReginaldLGoodwin<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10926212496,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10926212496,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10926212496?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="573" /></a></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, Dark Humor, Democracy, Existentialism</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><em>In 1870s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County,_New_Mexico">Lincoln County, New Mexico</a>, English cattleman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tunstall">John Tunstall</a> hires a wayward young gunman named Billy to join the "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_County_Regulators">Regulators</a>" who live and work on his ranch: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Scurlock">Doc Scurlock</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Chavez_y_Chavez">Jose Chavez y Chavez</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_M._Brewer">Dick Brewer</a>, "Dirty" Steve Stephens, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Bowdre">Charlie Bowdre</a>. Tunstall tries to educate and civilize the young men in his employ and clashes with rival rancher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Murphy">Lawrence Murphy</a>, a well-connected Irishman in league with the corrupt <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Ring">Santa Fe Ring</a>.</em></span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><em>One of Murphy's hired hands, McCloskey, joins Tunstall while Doc attempts to court Murphy's ward, Yen Sun. Murphy's men kill Tunstall, leading his lawyer friend Alexander McSween to arrange for the Regulators to be deputized and given warrants for the killers' arrest. Hotheaded Billy challenges Dick's authority as the group's foreman as the Regulators attempt to take Murphy's henchmen alive. Instead, Billy guns down several unarmed men, including McCloskey, whom he suspects of still working for Murphy. Newspapers paint the Regulators as a deadly gang headed by a larger-than-life outlaw, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid">Billy the Kid</a>."</em></span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Guns_(film)" target="_blank">Young_Guns (film)</a></span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><em>Make no mistake: Congressmen Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy are proud Republicans. But they believe the party had lost sight of the ideals it believes in, like economic freedom, limited government, the sanctity of life, and putting families first. This isn’t your grandfather’s Republican party. These Young Guns of the House GOP—<strong>Cantor (the leader), Ryan (the thinker), and McCarthy (the strategist)</strong>—are ready to take their belief in the principles that have made America great and translate it into solutions that will make the future even better, solutions that will create private sector jobs, maximize individual freedom, and establish a better world for our children. This groundbreaking book is a call to action that sets forth a plan for growth, opportunity, and commitment to propel this country to prosperity. <strong>Together, the Young Guns are changing the face of the Republican party and giving us a new road map back to the American dream.</strong></em></span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Young-Guns/Eric-Cantor/9781451607345" target="_blank">Young Guns</a></span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">A New Generation of Conservative Leaders</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">By Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy, published by Simon & Schuster</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><em><strong>A Faustian bargain</strong> is a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moral">moral</a> or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/soul-religion-and-philosophy">soul</a>, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches.</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Faustian-bargain" target="_blank">Britannica online</a></span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">When Kev sought the Speakership previously, he <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/05/the-forgotten-scandal-that-derailed-mccarthys-speakership.html" target="_blank">eighty-sixed</a> himself by his gaffe on Benghazi and Hillary Clinton (saying the quiet part out loud) and an alleged affair (when Republicans CARED about things like that). My favorite Kev-ism is the one that came and went like a silent, deadly fart: "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/house-majority-leader-to-colleagues-in-2016-i-think-putin-pays-trump/2017/05/17/515f6f8a-3aff-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html" target="_blank">I think Putin pays Trump</a>" a month before Orange Satan clinched the nomination, and we've been in the Twilight Zone ever since.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Kevin McCarthy said that the "<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/13/mccarthy-trump-responsibility-capitol-riot-458975" target="_blank">President bore responsibility for the Capital Riot on January 6</a>," then voted with the insurrectionists who wanted to overthrow a free and fair election. He followed that up with a whirlwind tour of Butt-kissing down at the gaudy resort of the twice-impeached leader of the Republican Party in Florida. He could have invoked the 25th Amendment. He could have whipped the votes in the House from Republican members to support impeachment BOTH times! He raised money for the "<a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/04/taliban-20-digs-against-kevin-mccarthy-as-house-tries-to-pick-speaker/" target="_blank">Taliban 20</a>" that voted against his Speakership, and Marjorie Taylor, "Secret Jewish Space Lasers," found out the hard way to get what he wants - power - he would lie to even the QUEEN of MAGA. To enter into a Faustian bargain, one assumes "The Kev" had a soul to haggle with the Orange Devil from Mar-a-Lard-o in trade. <a href="https://physicsandnano.com/2023/01/06/young-guns-an-epitaph/" target="_blank">Jellyfish have more spine</a>.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">“Created realities” and the vote for Speaker.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">This is the first time in a century that there’s been a failed vote for Speaker. “Kev” is like the Republican Party: no agenda, no platform, and no ideology to govern. All this after copious Butt-kissing on the altar of the graven image of Orange Cheeto. The party has a problem with facts and reality. Kev is the last man standing for the “Young Guns." The Tea Party drove out the former. Kev-o is being driven crazy in prime time.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">*****</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><em>The aide said that guys like me [Suskind] were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. "That's not how the world works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and we create our own reality when we act. And while you're studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and all of you will be left to study what we do."</em> [The New York Times Magazine] Attributed to Karl Rove, which he denies.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">*****</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The GOP Leader in the House cursed at his chaotic, fractious, raucous caucus, and Gunboat Barbie, Lauren Boebert, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/lauren-boebert-curses-mccarthy-last-minute-plea-gop-meeting-1771001" target="_blank">cursed him back</a>.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Hakeem Jeffries got 212 votes (in one round), Kev 202, and Jim Jordan 20 after THREE. He failed to get elected Speaker SIX TIMES on Wednesday (by Thursday, as I type this, that count went to ten), and by the House Clerk not gaveling when time expired, it allowed them to sneak a few more votes in to get the ONE successful vote out of seven: to adjourn, and avoid at the time a seventh defeat. Nathanial Banks of Massachusetts holds the longest, most contentious record <a href="https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-longest-and-most-contentious-Speaker-election-in-its-history/" target="_blank">at 133</a> - right before the poorly-named Civil War, and I think Kev-a-Tron is going for the Guinness Book of World Records. We now have Kev-bro, or likely Steve Scalese, self-described as "<a href="https://theweek.com/speedreads/440133/steve-scalise-reportedly-said-like-david-duke-without-baggage" target="_blank">David Duke without the baggage</a>." What did that MEAN, anyway? Even if Kev managed to limp to the Speakership, he's already the WEAKEST Speaker in the nation's history. We haven't gotten to funding the government, raising the debt ceiling, or funding Ukraine against Russian aggression. Whoever's Speaker, the next two years should be "fun." Thanks to Jonah Goldberg, his "<a href="https://www.nationalmemo.com/house-speaker?fbclid=IwAR1dDlHT8KsLLBkul0j6rC7AtGretkkWfTVfPd8hs48PG9iyf_iqib8JK2I" target="_blank">fecal festival</a>" observation has become part of my lexicon. So apropos for the two-year anniversary of an insurrection that sadly involved feces and urine from barbarians.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">If spineless Kev-muffins wants to “play Speaker” so badly, why doesn’t he BUY a gavel and podium at Walmart or Amazon? It would be FAR cheaper and less humiliating. He could knock himself out all day and post selfies. That is the only functionality other than breathing and going to the bathroom that the “<a href="https://www.rawstory.com/kevin-mccarthy-2659070498/?utm_source=123456&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12616&recip_id=393231&list_id=1" target="_blank">raucous caucus</a>” appears to have mastered. The House Republicans aren’t lawmakers: they’re the logical conclusion of electing the poorly spelled, grammatically challenged comments on Facebook.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Whatever soulless deals "the Kev" promised with the "Space Lasers Caucus," the next Speaker, if it's not him, will have to continue it to maintain a modicum of sanity for as long as humanly possible before like Ryan, Cantor, Boehner, and Kev-ums to leave Arkham Asylum to save it. Al Qaeda, the Taliban (original, and 20), QAnon, MAGA, and all terrorists have the same common goal: make America (not "great”) but ungovernable. If you truly believe that <em>“Government is not the solution to our problem, the government is the problem”</em> (Reagan), you CAN'T ALLOW it to function for anyone other than billionaires. In such a nihilistic, sadomasochistic, <a href="https://www.postindependent.com/news/congress-has-munchausen-by-proxy/" target="_blank">Murchassen-by-proxy</a> worldview, this demonstrated chaos to elect a Speaker, without which there IS no 118th Congress, on the second anniversary of the January 6 Insurrection is not a bug: it’s a desired, psychotic feature.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">This is embarrassing and has shown the American people that the slim majority the Republicans enjoy should be erased in 2024. They should not be allowed to govern until they take their jobs more seriously than their social media followers.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">‘<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jeb-bush-donald-trump-chaos-candidate-hed-chaos/story?id=35788736" target="_blank">He’s a ‘Chaos Candidate,’ and He’d Be a Chaos President,’</a> Jeb Bush. Truer words have never been spoken, and the chaos has become a contagion.</span></span></p><p> </p></div>Perils of Privilege...https://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blogs/perils-of-privilege2022-07-22T10:00:00.000Z2022-07-22T10:00:00.000ZReginald L. Goodwinhttps://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/members/ReginaldLGoodwin<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10662928064,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10662928064,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="478" height="305" alt="10662928064?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:8pt;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/21/pence-secret-service-families-capitol-riot" target="_blank">Pence Secret Service detail feared for their lives during Capitol riot</a>, Martin Pengelly, The Guardian</span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Topics: Civics, Civil Rights, COVID-19, Dark Humor, Existentialism, Fascism, Human Rights</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Steven Bannon's "medieval," <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve-bannon-promised-hell-at-trial-but-punked-out-instead" target="_blank">take-no-prisoners</a> defense rested yesterday. The three-shirt Troglodyte didn't take the stand in his defense on advice from counsel. He said more outside the courtroom than he did inside. Today is closing arguments.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The January 6th Committee ended "season 1" yesterday as well, promising more hearings in September, just in time to keep the subject fresh in voters' minds before the midterms. I hope my Fraternity Brother, Bennie Thompson, heals soon from his Covid infection.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The 45th occupant of the Oval Office looked small yesterday. The hearings didn't drop so many bombshells, in my opinion. It presented a so-called "white" privileged man that could not, and cannot, admit <a href="https://physicsandnano.com/2022/07/22/perils-of-privilege/" target="_blank">he lost the 2020 election</a>. He is using that narcissism in the "Big Lie" that infects so much of our politics now. It presented that a man who can't admit after six bankruptcies he sucks at business, a con artist who steals money through fake real estate schools, border wall scams, and teasing his cult following that he's going to run again for president (any day now), is simply a spoiled, entitled brat. It's no wonder he and Bannon found each other. I'm not a right-wing podcaster with millions of listeners, many of whom he scammed with a "<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/steve-bannon-prosecutors-border-wall-fundraising-1362483/" target="_blank">build the wall</a>" boondoggle. Three-shirts, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/21/hawleys-effort-reap-political-rewards-jan-6-scampers-off/" target="_blank">Senator Hawley</a>, who had an impressive sprinting form on January 6th, and Baby Huey are all so-called "white" privileged men who know how to manipulate their enraged constituents, who they enraged.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">They're enraged because someone told them they are "white," that God is "white," and that "white" is blessed, exalted, and privileged. All other colors fall below the apogee of the American hierarchy and caste system.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">They're enraged by critical race theory, which is not taught in K-12, but what they fear is accurate history that doesn't show so-called "white" privileged men in a good light.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">They're enraged because Rush Limbaugh told them to be enraged about "Feminazis" and anyone who didn't look like so-called "white" privileged men like him.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">They're enraged because it's better for those who scam and steal money from 99% of the population to keep them engaged with the Reich-Wing media complex that keeps them angry at the "other." It's the "others" who took the jobs their fathers used to privilege their way to lifetime employment, pensions, and retirement. It couldn't possibly be the so-called "white" privileged multimillionaire and billionaire class, the gods that they actually worship. It can't be them: they look like (other, poorer so-called "white" men). But those same so-called "white" privileged men were in the boardrooms deciding to send those jobs overseas for profits. They don't live with you, and they don't care about you.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Their rage causes them not to invest in books or education, but in arsenals. Their rage merges lethality with <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hoarding-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20356056" target="_blank">hoarding disorder</a>, the stress of no longer being the center of the citizenry, and Norman Rockwell-type images depicting diversity, driving some stark raving mad. Every human, despite shades of Melanin, can only fire one gun type once. There is no credible animal that is hunted by AR15s, Sig Sauers, or Kalashnikovs. The only animal that they have hunted are those they consider fellow human beings, and "others."</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">This rage caused (I believe) the Secret Service to delete text messages from January 5th and 6th, and no other days, even after Congress asked for them. Did the Secret Service follow their Comms Plan? Preserving records and evidence is the first duty of law enforcement. If law enforcement isn't upholding the law, there is no "rule of law."</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Despite the incredible pictures from the James Webb Space Telescope, I am struck by two things:</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">If we were to read the spectrograph of some distant exoplanet's atmosphere, we might see something resembling ourselves. The distance between us is prohibitive, we're not likely to see this world in a human lifetime. Because they're so far, arrival will be after conditions would have evolved, or dissolved over millennia.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">If there have ever been other intelligent beings in the universe, they may have died off: a victim of their own misplaced hierarchical privilege and abject stupidity inhibiting spacefaring.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">This rage will be the necrosis of the species.</span></span></p><p> </p></div>Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics...https://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blogs/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics2021-04-09T18:15:12.000Z2021-04-09T18:15:12.000ZReginald L. Goodwinhttps://blacksciencefictionsociety.com/members/ReginaldLGoodwin<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8776747258,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8776747258,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="503" alt="8776747258?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:8pt;"><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/gma/states-dropped-mask-mandates-why-184800825.html" target="_blank">Which states have dropped mask mandates and why</a>, Marlene Lenthang, Yahoo News</span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Topics: Biology, COVID-19, Dark Humor, Existentialism, Mathematics, Politics</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><em>Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”</em></span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Mark Twain, also: <a target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics</a></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">A follow-up to Tuesday's post: <a href="https://physicsandnano.com/2021/04/06/voc/" target="_blank">VOC...</a></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/04/02/gop-states-still-end-mask-mandates-despite-covid-19-rise-and-warnings-from-biden-cdc/?sh=6d324d9240b6" target="_blank">‘No Thank You, Mr. President’: GOP States Still End Mask Mandates Despite Covid-19 Rise And Warnings From Biden, CDC</a>, Alison Durkee, Forbes Business, April 2, 2021</span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Having some "fun" with mathematics. It's dark humor for all you young libertarians.</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The current US COVID deaths are 573, 988 from <a href="https://ncov2019.live/" target="_blank">https://ncov2019.live/</a>.</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The current US population is 332,494,997 from <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/#:~:text=The%20current%20population%20of%20the,the%20latest%20United%20Nations%20data." target="_blank">Worldometers.info</a>. Each link updates minute-by-minute, so by the time you read this, these figures will have changed.</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">(US COVID deaths/current US population) x 100 = 0.17%. Round up to 0.2%.</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">That's pretty low.</span></span></p><p></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">For the "freedom-loving libertarians" spring breaking in Miami, or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas - a thought experiment:</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">100,000 of you are about to dive into the ocean.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">There is a 0.2% = 0.2/100 chance some of you will get devoured by sharks.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">100,000 x (0.2/100) = 200 dead spring breakers.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">So, out of 100,000 - 200 = 99,800, or 99.8% have a very good chance of not becoming "chicken of the sea," and surviving your spring break. The dilemma is, there will still be blood in the water. Blood that carries pathogens that despite your "Y" swimming lessons and the saline environment, you might ingest red tide, and suffer the consequences.</span></span></p><p><span class="font-size-3"><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">The problem is, your 0.2% chance is not zero. Under normal circumstances (and pandemics are once-in-a-century "not normal"), there's <a href="https://physicsandnano.com/2021/04/09/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/" target="_blank">no libertarian case</a> for this:</span></span></p><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8776751887,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8776751887,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="532" alt="8776751887?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></p></div>