This I Believe

A few years ago, NPR had a weekly series titled "This I Believe". People of all walks of life, famous, little known or unknown would submit an essay on a subject meaningful to them and if chosen, they would read their essay on the air. The original "This I Believe" aired on CBS from 1951 - 1955, hosted by Edward R. Murrow. The idea was revived by NPR and continues on PRI. Check it out https://thisibelieve.org/   I'm sure you will find something inspiring.

I have no expectation of appearing on the radio, but here's my essay.

This I Believe.

I believe a healthy democracy requires a separation of powers where all three branches of government have equal power and act as checks and balances on the others. The Legislative branch should create laws, exercise the power of the purse and confirm political appointees and exercise oversight of the Executive branch. The Executive branch shall administer laws assuring they are faithfully executed, act as commander in chief of the armed forces, conduct foreign policy, propose legislative initiatives. The Judicial branch shall interpret laws, settle disputes, rule on the constitutionality of laws. The judiciary should be non-political.

I believe that voting is both a right granted by the constitution and a sacred duty for all eligible voters.  I believe voting should be simple, fair and accessible to all. I believe attempts to suppress the vote is criminal. 

I believe that affordable, quality health care is a right and should not depend on income or locale.

I believe the US needs allies. I believe we should work diligently to build partnerships around the world, especially with countries on our borders, Europe, Israel and Japan. I believe we have surrendered our moral and political leadership in the world.

I believe that climate change is an existential threat to the planet. It is a global problem and must be met by coordinated global action. I believe we are failing and the time for action is short.  

I believe that environmental protection is a fundamental component of the health and welfare of a society. I believe it is a responsibility of all of us but governments have a special responsibility to preserve our natural wonders, protect water & air quality, combat deforestation, punish polluters.

I believe that science leads to progress.

I believe in the separation of church and state. I believe we all have the right to worship as we choose without interference from government.

I believe that peaceful protest is a fundamental right granted by the constitution.  I believe that looting and burning is a crime and should be punished.

I believe in individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility. I believe liberty means you are free to make your own decisions as long as the rights of others are considered. I believe responsibility requires empathy and compassion for those less well off than yourselves. 

I believe it is possible to disagree and still be respectful of the opinions of others. 

I believe that embracing false conspiracy theories causes great damage to civil society.

I believe the USA must work to recover our long held standing as a beacon of freedom to the world, the shining light on the hill and again '... and lift our lamp beside the golden door'. 

Copyright © 2020 Dave Hoplin

Nicknames

Growing up in the small town of Lowry in the 50's was a pretty insulated environment. But you had to learn to get along with people.  A civil society.  As kids, we bonded through mutual interests and by 'following the leader'. Tubba was that leader  Now "Tubba" seems like a derogatory, bully-like nickname, but for us it was a term of affection. Everyone liked Tubba. And, point of fact, we all had nicknames. Nowadays, nicknames seem to have gone out of style. For us, it was a bonding thing.

In the 50's and before, nicknames were more common in society in general, particularly among sports figures. Baseball, the national game at the time, in particular was awash in colorful handles. Babe, of course. And Shoeless Joe made famous by Field of Dreams;  The Barber whose shaving implement was a fastball under the chin; Three-Finger,  whose mangled hand made for nasty pitches; Rapid Robert with his hundred mph fastball; Yogi, master of the malaprop; The Splendid Splinter; Say Hey Kid; Hammerin' Hank; Joltin' Joe; Duke; Killer; Big Train; Big Poison; Little Poison; Pee Wee; Scooter; Charlie Hustle; Mudcat; Catfish; Dizzy; Preacher; Satchel; Puck ... you get the idea. (bragging rights to the first to identify all these players :-)

I was "Hoppy", a rather dull moniker derived from my surname. However, I identified with Hopalong Cassidy, the black hat hero, so I didn't object too much. Hi-yo Topper. Others in the "gang" had more interesting alter egos.  

• We had "Utta" (derivation unknown) who lived in the Molander Apartments above the International Harvester dealership and regularly fired his 22 at the water tower a block away from his bedroom window. 
• Big Time was a load, especially on the ice rink. I know of no one brave enough to try to take the puck away from him when he got up a head of steam.
• Dubshay is Bohemian for Tak, so that seems like a pretty nice honorific.
• Mucka (derivation unknown).  What the heck is a mucka?  Muck is not a nice place to find yourself.
• Engie, another derivation from a surname. Not everyone is creative.
• King - a mystery.
• Tonto - The Lone Ranger sidekick, but we had no Lone Ranger.  go figure
• Butch - perhaps the most common nickname of the day.  Leland the Barber's specialty.
• Bumpy earned his nickname.
• Bubby. No clue although he was Bumpy's brother and Bubby & Bumpy has a nice ring to it.
• Speed was Tubba's brother. Slightly different frames.  I remember playing touch football on the skating rink and Tubba was running back a kickoff straight up the middle.  As Speed was closing in, Tubba faked a pitchout and Speed bit, tearing off to the supposed receiver.  Tubba motored on and Speed circled around from 20 yards back and caught him about the 30 yard line.  Nice move tho.

I'm sure I've missed a few. Lowry oldtimers - help me out.

You've probably noticed there are no females in the list. Rare, except for a shortening of the given name:  Dort, Maggie, Abby, ... I thought that with all the Mabels, Esthers, Leonas, Hilmas, Agnes, Clarices and Gertrudes in town, you'd think they would have welcomed a clever handle. 

Nicknames for men on the other hand were common, perhaps a legacy of WWII. 

• Captain: Anzio vet
• Happy: And he truly was. 
• Fluke: A rare lucky happenstance so someone must have liked him.  
• Spook: Just take a long look into those eyes. 
• Slim: Don't tell me we didn't understand irony. 
• Wimpy: From the cartoon character I'm guessing.  
• Goose: I could guess but I'll defer. 
• And an assortment of Buds', Andy's, Hank's, Punky's.

I realize I am suffering from stage 3 nostalgia but those were the days my friend.

Copyright © 2020 Dave Hoplin

COVID-19

Covid-19 is not the same as influenza. We are now (20Oct2020) at 40 million cases and over 1 million deaths worldwide from this pandemic and cases are spiking as we enter the fall "flu" season. The death rate from Covid is about 3%.  Influenza death rate is about .1%.  They are not the same.  We have flu vaccines. We do not have a Covid vaccine. What ticks me off are the frequent comments like "it's only old people dying" - which targets me by the way - and is also false. It's as if the right to life has an expiration date.  Yes, the vast majority of those dying are over 65, however if you're young "you have nothing to fear" is wrong, especially because you may potentially infect your parents and grandparents or other vulnerable "old people". And your death risk is higher that the flu.  If you have any empathy for your fellow man, you will do everything you can to prevent yourself from passing along this virus.  In short, wear a mask, wash your hands, keep to social distancing.

Remember, many cases are asymptomatic. You don't really know if you are a carrier.  Carriers can infect others. Yes, your risk of infection varies by zip code but everyone is vulnerable. The disease is highly infectious. Densely populated urban areas are riskier but on the other hand, take a look at North Dakota numbers.

And, regardless of your age, you really don't want to get this disease.  Not because it might kill you, although it might, but because of what long-term effects it might have on you. 

It is pretty easy to accept that those that surviving a hospital stay for Covid are likely to sustain lung or heart damage. An elephant on your chest. I can't get enough air. I feel like I'm 100. A respirator keeping you alive.

The virus attacks blood vessels and the associated organ is at risk of long term damage. In addition to lung damage, liver damage, brain damage, myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) is the most common "leftover" from Covid.  It is triggered by the over-aggressive immune response to the disease. It can produce arrhythmia (irregular heart rhythms), AFib symptoms,  and reduce the ability of the heart to pump. These symptoms can occur weeks or months after recovery from Covid.  A German study showed that 78% of recovered patients had indications of myocarditis.  Only half of those resolve without a chronic condition. Another study found CV19 in the heart muscle of 7% patients whose death was attributed to lung failure.  We are likely to see an increase death rate due to heart failure in the future.

Finally, "herd immunity", the latest proposed solution to Covid.  Herd immunity is the concept that if enough people contract the virus, there will not be enough uninfected to transmit to and the virus will become harmless. This first of all assumes you will have immunity once you have contracted the virus. Perhaps.  In the US, to have effective herd immunity, roughly 200 million people would need to get the disease. The current US death rate is about 3%, but be optimistic, assume that as the herd gets sick the death rate falls to 1% - purely hypothetical by the way.  Do the math 200,000,000 x .01 = 2,000,000.  Mass murder.

Copyright © 2020 Dave Hoplin

Read more

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-19-can-wreck-your-heart-even-if-you-havent-had-any-symptoms/

https://ourworldindata.org/mortality-risk-covid