Pandemic in March

March 15 2020: So much can change in just a few days, or even hours. We are all wondering what to do. The politicians are making a lot of noise, but really, the coronavirus is not preventing people here in Colorado from living their lives. The ski resorts are closed. Health clubs and ice rinks are closed. Schools and universities are closed. But people are out and about, walking their dogs, shopping as much as they can, although the toilet paper fiasco it's happening here too.

The President of the United States is so far in above his head that he cannot possibly see the surface. I actually felt sorry for him speaking from the oval office. However, he is convinced that if he issues edicts such things will simply incur. Thus, people returning from abroad with required testing taking place on Friday were met with airport agents who did not know what they were supposed to do, and in any event did not have any equipment with which to do it. Accordingly, the very opposite of what should have happened, happened. That is, people were forced to wait for hours in extremely crowded conditions.

It is hard to say how long this"National Emergency” will go on. It is to be hoped that the spread of the virus will be slowed, and that enough will be learned about it to enable the creation of a vaccine or other treatment. In the meantime, all of the plans that people had for work, school, travel, and recreation are at a standstill. It is a very strange time.

"Lame Duck Don"

So here we are, still in the pandemic. Things are a bit more predictable now, but we are seeing increased cases in the U.S. and in other parts of the world. The presidential election is only a little over a month away, and there is some hope that Joe Biden, a non-insane person, will be elected, but we have to prepare for the worst. However, in any event, no matter what happens, Donald Trump, on November 4, becomes "Lame Duck Don." Whether it is for a few weeks or a few years, he is "Lame Duck Don."

So How Are Plastic Shoes Sustainable While Leather Shoes Are Not?

SO HOW ARE PLASTIC SHOES SUSTAINABLE WHILE LEATHER SHOES ARE NOT?

The fashion industry lies all the time.  In a whiplash of schizophrenic frenzy, the fashion media assures women (and, to some extent, men), that there are no rules anymore, then proceeds to set forth arbitrary and inconsistent rules for not following rules.  

The nonsensical label Vetements is an iconic example.  ("Iconic" is one of the fashion industry's favorite words.) . The creators have taken downscale work clothes, perhaps, or perhaps not, added a flourish of their own, and raised the price of a standard tee shirt to hundreds of dollars.  Mr. Kanye West's Yeezy line also demonstrates a remarkable ability to wrest funds from consumers for ugly and uncomfortable "streetwear" made out of ridiculous materials.  

I for one, hope these lines make endless fat stacks of cash.  After all, a fool and her money are soon parted.  The only sadness comes from the fact that the profits will go to pompous assholes who fancy themselves creative artists, rather than to the workers who actually create the garments.

Funds flow endlessly towards idiotic blowhards currently creating much of the preposterousness masquerading as fashion not only because the fashion industry lie all the time, but also because people (mostly women, sadly) want to believe these lies.  In fact, if the fashion media told a truth--for example: "wearing a $2,000 down puffer jacket that is falling off your shoulders in the middle of a hot Los Angeles day makes you look pretentious and silly"--millions of media trolls and influencers would immediately retort that such a look constituted a "statement," and was "of the moment," etc.  More entertaining, counter trolls and influencers would support the statement and begin a "movement" to boycott puffer jackets as ecologically unsustainable.

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Just Sayin'

Examples Of Logical Fallacies And Propaganda From Media--Let's Learn to Recognize Them and Teach Others To Do So.

AN EXAMPLE OF A LOGICAL FALLACY

Retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney stated on Fox News, that the torture done by the CIA, and in particular, that in which the new director Gina Haspel was complicit, is acceptable because "it works."  He then went on to state that Sen. John McCain, apparently known to the dude-bros in the military as "songbird John" only opposes torture because it worked on him in Vietnam.  

This is an excellent example of a faulty conclusion drawn from a faulty premise.  It is also an excellent example of an ad hominem attack on someone with a different opinion. 

The faulty premise is "If something works, it is acceptable."  Under this premise, the fact that torture worked to extract "confessions" from people during the time of the Inquisition makes that torture acceptable.  Going further down the slippery slope, the premise would support the horrific conclusion that the gas chambers of the concentration camps worked to rid Europe of those pesky Jews, so they were acceptable.  Lots of things "work" but are morally reprehensible.  The effectiveness of something logically cannot be used to argue it necessarily complies with ethical or moral standards.  The two things are not related.  Therefore, the fact that torture "works" is irrelevant to whether it is right to do.

In addition, criticizing Senator McCain's stance on torture because torture "worked" on him is also irrelevant, and simply attacks the Senator.  While Senator McCain's experience with torture may have colored his views, it does not make those views necessarily invalid or valid.  Similarly, whether one regards Senator McCain as a hero or a traitor, a good guy, a bad guy, or somewhere in between does not lead to a conclusion that his opposition to torture is valid or invalid.  

In my own opinion, I wonder if, based on the macho man portrayal of military personnel in popular media, as well as the "torture porn" stories of martyrs many people were told as part of their religious education, our society may have an inaccurate view about what would cause a person to "break" under torture.  Thank God, I do not know--and neither does McInerney, since his service record, while distinguished, does not reflect incarceration and torture by the North Vietnamese.