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Over its long history, the field of medicine has been at its best when it was rife with questions and at its worst when it was brimming with answers. The physicians whose ignorance killed George Washington and James A. Garfield would probably have nodded approvingly at the “We Believe Science Is Real” signs planted today in the front yards of America’s tonier precincts. Medical science has a long history of slavish devotion to orthodoxy and stasis and virulent opposition to heterodoxy and change. Physicist Max Planck famously said, “Science progresses one funeral at a time.” In medical science, I would argue that, “Science progresses millions of funerals at a time.” Unwarranted stasis can kill in large numbers.
— Robert F. Graboyes
Reading Time: 5 minutes 25 seconds
Today is Sunday, October 23rd, the 296th day of 2022. There are 69 days left in the year. It is Event Organizers Day, National Paralegal Day, National Boston Cream Pie Day, and National Canning Day.
On This Day
In 1707, Great Britain’s first Parliament convened.
In 1850, the first National Women’s Rights Convention began in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In 1864, Union troops decisively defeated an outnumbered Confederate force at the Battle of Westport, the last significant engagement west of the Mississippi River.
In 1942, Allied forces commenced the Second Battle of El Alamein, which proved to be the key turning point in the North African campaign.
In 1944, the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.
In 1956, secret police shot several anti-communist protesters, igniting the Hungarian Revolution.
In 1972, Operation Linebacker, the U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ended after five months.
In 1983, the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut was hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 servicemen. A French army barracks in Lebanon was also hit the same morning, killing 58 troops.
In 1995, former Selena fan club president Yolanda Saldivar was convicted of murdering the Tejano star outside a Texas motel seven months earlier.
In 2007, a storm caused the Mexican Kab 101 oil platform to collide with a wellhead, leading to the death and drowning of 22 people during rescue operations after evacuation of the platform.
Today's Birthdays
World Golf Hall of Famer Juan Antonio “Chi-Chi” Rodríguez is 87. Filmmaker Philip Kaufman is 86. Soccer legend Pelé, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is 82. Filmmaker Ang Lee is 68. Singer-songwriter, musician, and actor Dwight Yoakam is 66. Filmmaker Sam Raimi is 63. Canadian Football Hall of Famer Doug Flutie is 60. Actor Ryan Reynolds is 46. Actress Emilia Clarke is 36.
The Links
Fauci to be deposed as part of censorship collusion lawsuit (Reclaim The Net)
“After finding documentation of a collusive relationship between the Biden Administration and social media companies to censor free speech, we immediately filed a motion to get these officials under oath.”
Fauci rewrites history, claims he ‘had nothing to do with’ COVID school closures (Steven W. Mosher)
“Few dared question the all-knowing Dr. Fauci in those days, but the proper response to his fearmongering about infections among children would have been: So what if children get infected? It was clear from the outset that their risk of dying ... was effectively zero, far lower than their risk of dying from the seasonal flu, which itself is minuscule.”
The CDC director just got COVID. She got the new bivalent booster a month ago. (Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H.)
“Before we launch massive vaccination campaigns, we need good evidence that they actually benefit the people we are tasked with protecting and caring for. Rochelle Walensky’s infection is just a reminder to the American people she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, because she has not asked for good evidence.”
“Millions of Americans are scared, and they’re concerned about the concerted attacks on democracy, on voting, and how that’s going to impact the midterm elections.”
Democracy in peril argument fizzles as midterm issue (The Hill)
“Researchers conducting a Harvard-CAPS-Harris poll asked voters this month to identify the most important issues facing the country. Inflation ranked first; the Capitol attack ranked 19th.”
It’s Long Past Time for the FDA To Approve Over-the-Counter Birth Control (Reason)
“In recent years, a few states have made getting oral contraceptives easier by authorizing pharmacists to prescribe and dispense them on the spot. But nowhere in the U.S. can people purchase birth control pills with the same ease that they can buy Tylenol, antihistamines, or condoms.”
Republican Ashley Kalus aims to shake up political status quo as RI governor (The Providence Journal)
“Kalus brings a more populist approach. She often talks about lifting up the less fortunate and sprinkles terms like ‘inclusiveness,’ ‘engagement’ and ‘community organizing’ in conversations.”
Why New Jersey doesn’t let people pump their own gas (CNBC)
“It goes back to the middle of the 20th century. There were forces involved who wanted to protect their interests in terms of the smaller gas owners against mega gas stations that were starting to be built at the time that would require self-service to be profitable.”
Inside the faith-based argument against developing Little Cottonwood Canyon (Deseret News)
“‘You are ripping up God’s creation, and our watershed, for a luxury recreation activity. I don’t have anything against skiers, I’m glad Snowbird and Alta are there for people, but this is not a solution, it’s a shiny object,’ said Jean Hill, director of the office of life, justice and peace for the Catholic Diocese in Salt Lake City.”
Radical Activists Glue Themselves To Porsche Pavilion, Demand Decarbonization Of Transport (NoTricksZone)
“Reality doesn’t mean a thing to them because they don’t live in it. A fantasy is their reality. Admittedly, it’s great entertainment — if you’re into clown shows. But sadly, these are the people who are teaching our young ones at our institutions of higher education.”
NVMA and Mobil to host “Mining into Future” in Winnemucca (Elko Daily Free Press)
“First up on the agenda is the sustainability module, where speakers from NV Energy, Lithium Americas, and ExxonMobil will share how mines around the world are planning for a net zero future and innovating to meet stakeholder expectations around sustainability by improving efficiency and reducing energy consumption.”
Europe Needs American Energy, Not Fake Kryptonite (American Institute for Economic Research)
“National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew warned of rolling blackouts between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on ‘really, really cold’ days in January and February, should generators not be able to secure enough natural gas when wind speeds during a cold snap were too low to power turbines.”
Net Zero Bombshell: The World Does Not Have Enough Lithium and Cobalt to Replace All Batteries Every 10 Years — Finnish Government Report (The Daily Sceptic)
“Michaux sounds a clear warning message. Current expectations are that global industrial businesses will replace a complex industrial energy ecosystem that took more than a century to build. It was built with the support of the highest calorifically dense source of energy the world has ever known (oil), in cheap abundant quantities, with easily available credit and seemingly unlimited mineral resources. The replacement, he notes, needs to be done when there is comparatively very expensive energy, a fragile finance system saturated in debt and not enough minerals. Most challenging of all, it has to be done within a few decades.”
“Farming Needs to Stop, That’s the Single Biggest Driver of Climate Change” (Watts Up With That?)
“Mandatory veganism could be a death sentence for a lot of people.”
In Japan, humanoid robots could soon become part of the family (Big Think)
“If, in Western pop culture, the image of the terminator robot is pervasive, then in Japan the image is of robot as savior. After the destruction of World War II, recovery and rebuilding the nation were heavily tied to modern technology and robotics. In postwar Japan, robots came to be depicted as human-like, kind, friendly superheroes. The robot savior became embedded in the culture and began with the hero prototype Astro Boy. Astro Boy was created in 1951 when Japan was recovering from the war’s nuclear tragedy. His creator was Osamu Tezuka, a physician and illustrator … . Tezuka said he wanted to create a creature that was the opposite of Pinocchio — a boy who becomes a thing, as opposed to a thing that becomes a real boy.”
Your Turn
1. Will “mines around the world” ever achieve “a net zero future”?
2. Can Ryan Reynolds act?
3. Should oral contraceptives be available over the counter?
4. Could Doug Flutie have been a star in the NFL?
5. Should we treat robots “the way we treat animals,” and grant them “similar rights”?
1. No. The laws of physics and the amount of energy it takes to mine minerals, don't allow it. There is also no sunlight down in the mines.
2. He is decent. I liked him in Deadpool.
3. No. For religious and health reasons I don't agree with the use of oral contraceptives.
4. No, he is too short. Was a great college scrambling quarterback, but that is it.
5. No. They are only machines.
1. Will “mines around the world” ever achieve “a net zero future”?
Impossible for that to happen and not necessary for the planet. So, this is just more lying from the Desperate Democrats!!
2. Can Ryan Reynolds act?
Who is Ryan Reynolds? Does that tell you anything?
3. Should oral contraceptives be available over the counter?
Whatever!
4. Could Doug Flutie have been a star in the NFL?
He played for the Patriots, Chargers & Bills over 7 years in the NFL.
5. Should we treat robots “the way we treat animals,” and grant them “similar rights”?
WTF?! Hello know! Robot Wars all the way!!