Inevitably, when talking to a progressive the term “science” comes up. The word is used in such a way as to end a discussion. The implied argument is this: We all believe in science, and if science is on my side of the argument, my argument should win the day—-end of discussion. Anyone making such an argument is surely not a scientist. Science has never claimed to be a body of facts or knowledge, but rather a method by which theories are tested. One practices science like one practices law or medicine. When a lawyer states the law is on our side there is another lawyer that says “I don’t think so or prove it”. Scientists offer theories that try to explain natural events. Because our ability to measure and observe natural phenomena changes, our scientific theories change. The media and progressive left proceed in an opposite manner. They create a narrative and then try to fit the observations to that narrative. There is nothing scientific about such an approach.
One other thing is important to understand —all scientists do, and that is there is no such thing as “closed or settled science” and no scientist understands the idea of accepted science. Even basic principles in physics and chemistry are being retested and refined. With that in mind there are three narratives that liberal progressive socialists cram down our throats every day. As they do so they present themselves as the custodians of truth and fact. When new facts are presented, they try to change the facts and the arguments. Global warming is now called climate change because scientist have recognized the cyclical nature of weather and climate and via core ice samples from Greenland and CO2 samples from the deepest part of the oceans, we see fluctuations in CO2 levels and temperatures over millions of years. There is no question that since the industrial revolution CO2 levels in the atmosphere have gone up from 300-400 ppm, but this increase started 50 years before the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Non-compressible gases like NO, and CH4 were much higher during the times of the dinosaurs. The largest greenhouse gas—water vapor is a compressible gas and subject to its’ own cycles based on the earths temperature, but during fire season in addition to 25% more CO2 being produced than the rest of the year in California—90billion metric tons, water vapor also has a significant impact on the earth’s temperature. But the progressive narrative about fossil fuels and the internal combustion engine being the primary cause of global warming isn’t consistent with the facts.
Why? Because terrible forest management practices promulgated by the “greenies” and executed by Federal Government bureaucrats that has resulted increased forest fires, has contributed more CO2—and water vapor to the environment than all the trucks and cars on the highway, at least for 6 months out of the year. And this doesn’t take into account new carbon capture techniques or the conversion of coal burning power plants to natural gas energy solutions. Even with renewable solar, wind, or hydroelectric or geothermal—actually nuclear would be the safest and cleanest, the renewable sources could never be the exclusive energy in our country—or the least costly.
The Covid-19 pandemic: ON May 5th Niall Ferguson’s new book DOOM THE POLITICS OF CATASTROPHE compares the 1957 Flue pandemic in the USA with our current pandemic. Progressive’s like to compare the current political pandemic to the 1917 Spanish flue pandemic, but the lessons from 1957 are far more comparable. Americans—politically, medically, culturally were much better able to deal with the pandemic in 1957 than we were in 2020. Upwards of 1.5 million people died from the Asian (H2N2) virus—with today’s population that number would be 2.7million souls—the current Covid-19 number today is 3.0million. The Asian flu however affected young people far more than the Covid-19. Excess case fatality rates were 34% in the 15-24 age group and 27% in the 5-14 age group.
In Idaho as of 2 weeks ago, nobody has died under the age of 18. In 1957 the pandemic started at the beginning of the school year and by March teenagers infected rose from 5%-75%. The public health responses and the Federal response could not have been different in the two pandemics. Businesses remained open, churches schools, The World Series (NY vs Milwaukee—Mickey Mantle vs Hank Aaron and Whitey Ford vs Lou Burdette) with capacity crowds—all proceeded. President Eisenhower’s experts recommended keeping the country and the economy open which shifted the responsibility from government to individuals. The ill and infected stayed home. If people were already, compromised they stayed home.
An Army Pathologist and virologist Maurice Hilleman cultured and then presented to vaccine manufacturers the virus and in 6 months a vaccine was produced—-even then President Eisenhower had to interject himself into the bureaucratic process thus streamlining the effort—just like Mr. Trump did. The mental toughness and stoic attitudes of the American people in 1957 compared to now are very different. Today’s baby boomers —young infants then were raised by parents who had overcome the great depression and the dust bowel and WWII and The Korean War. Today’s young people have been raised by those same baby boomers who never were given the opportunity to develop that same mental toughness. Instead of looking to themselves to overcome the problem, they looked to government. How sad to give up a portion of one’s liberty without even knowing it. There were other factors that mitigated the response in 1957. The option of working from home was not available to many people.
There were far more hospital beds—almost twice as many per capita back then, but that brings up an important point. The difference in hospital beds can be found in the number of ambulatory beds today, and those were never considered when calculating beds/Covid patient—they should have been considered and they could have been used. The big difference in the responses had to do with the mental toughness of society—the people and leaders, in 1957 compared to today. That is something that we should really worry about as a society. Too many scared snowflakes if you asked me.
The final issue that the progressive—media— elite has wrong is the idea of “systemic racism”. Is there racism absolutely. But systems aren’t people. To my way of thinking only people can be racist and they must always be confronted individually and as groups. To say that we are worse off today as a country, or that we are entering a new era of “Jim Crow” is simply wrong. To look back on 50 years of spending $20trillion on great Society Programs should tell us that those programs have contributed more to inequality between demographic groups than anything else. From WWII until 1965 Black ownership of homes, business and Black employment and Black family income rose faster than any other group. In 1965 80% of Black children were raised in a home with two parents. Today that number is 40%. People like Senator Tim Scott and Clarence Thomas, and Thomas Sowell all who have lived through “Jim Crow” and all who have risen from share- cropper grandparents and slave great grandparents loudly speak out against those who say “America is a Racist Country” So do I and so should you. Loudly! The biggest racists I know—those who see everything through the lens of skin color, are those promulgating Critical Race Theory (CRT) and concepts of “white privilege” in the academy and the halls of government. All racists need to be called out including them.
These three issues point out how the left has driven a narrative that has influenced political policy and philosophy in our country for 50 years. The narrative is false—even they know it. It is a means to an end and the end is not small government or more liberty or more prosperity for everyday people. The end is power and control. I think the story of liberty and upward mobility’s is a far better narrative than the story of dependence and subservience. WE must all start telling our side of the story because the media and our politicians don’t have the courage to do so. If you don’t believe me about the motives of the left go back and listen to Mr. Biden’s “STATE OF THE STATE”—it used to be called State of the Union, speech. If he gets all he asks for there will not be 50 States, but rather one Big STATE. Federalism will be dead. Then wait for the next pandemic to see what totalitarianism is about. Or just move to China.
