Dan Erwin

For the Coronavirus Chaos: by Einstein

Albert Einstein seems to have an endless supply of relevant quotes.This one is especially pungent for all that's going on in especially religious contexts today:

"Science without religion is lame: Religion without science is blind."

"Better to be six feet apart..."

"than six feet under," says Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Although I'm quite certain that the virus will rebuild the value of science and scientists, I also suspect that it's also hardening anti-science perspectives. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) vigorously defended her continuing stay-at-home order Friday after thousands of protesters converged on the capital, Lansing, and four northern Michigan sheriffs said they would not strictly enforce it.

“You know what? I can take it,” Whitmer said during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “If it makes people feel better to take their frustrations out on me, that’s fine. All I ask is let’s not get overly political here. Let’s focus on the public health. … I know that there are a lot of businesses and people that are hurting right now. But the fact of the matter is it’s better to be six feet apart right now than six feet under.”

Whitmer has faced hundreds of maskless protesters in Lansing, along with the refusal of at least four Michigan sheriffs to support her authority. She has shown herself to be a very capable state leader.

Currently, Michigan is the fifth deadliest state for coronavirus. Some people have difficulty looking reality in the face.  There are a lot of covidiots out there. Where there are intelligent rules, there are always people to break them. Plenty of people never seem to understand that smart safeguards, designed by specialists, save lives.

General James Mattis on "Why Read?"

I've always wanted to say something very direct when an acquaintance or a client asked why I read so much, but I was always a bit too cautious to verbalize my real beliefs out loud. But if a prominent, knowledgeable person  supports my beliefs publicly, I'll happily repeat them. I have, however, gotten to the place over the past ten years when someone asks why I read the NYTimes or a magazine like the New Yorker, I can be fairly direct. It usually comes out like, "look, there's no way you can become intelligently aware of what's going on in this world unless you read the Times or the New Yorker." That's true whether or not you agree with the writer.

But here's General Mattis verbalizing my actual beliefs in the context of the military: If you haven't read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate and you will be incompetent because your personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain sustain you. Any commander who claims he is "too busy to read" is going to fill body bags with his troops as he learns the hard way.