The needs of the many
Usually when Donald Trump speaks, I am automatically going to disagree. But he just said something that makes sense to me. He questioned bringing Americans who have been infected with the Ebola virus back into the United States. I can't help but be reminded of this statement:
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one." I think that these two people who went to Africa to help others, and that it is tragic that they became infected. That doesn't mean it makes sense to put the entire population of the United States at risk of a horrific death just to give them the best of treatment.
I hear all this talk of the isolation ward at the facility where one of these two individuals is being treated and I don't think that's relevant. They were following all standard isolation procedures to prevent themselves from being infected and it happened anyway. If the disease isn't passed on via coughing or sneezing, why it the first rule for dealing with potentially infected individuals to have them put on a surgical mask?
One opinion-writer who claims there is zero risk of anyone in the U. S. being exposed and infected with Ebola poses the question, what else can be done to mitigate the risk? Don't bring a disease with a mortality rate over 60% inside our borders is the best answer.
* * *
Major General Harold J. Greene, United States Army, was killed in Afghanistan. He has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the highest ranking U. S. officer to die during the War in Afghanistan.
I've checked as thoroughly as I was able and I can find no record of a U. S. general officer dying in Iraq as the result of hostile action. Major General Keith Ware was killed in combat action in Vietnam in 1968 while commanding an infantry division. That's pretty darn far up the military food chain. He was also a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II.
It isn't heroic to be killed by an assassin like Gen Greene was. It is tragic. It indicates that our security precautions to protect all of our military personnel from privates to generals, in Afghanistan, are inadequate.
The President, as Commander in Chief, has every right to order our military personnel into harm's way. But there is no reason to waste their lives by not making every effort to keep them safe.
* * *
Tempe, AZ has banned the use of e-cigarettes in bars, restaurants and other enclosed places. Those who support the ban claim that the nicotine present in e-cigs is enough of a danger without having to wait until more research is done into the dangers in the vapors of e-cigs. Those who oppose the ban claim there is no proof the e-cigs are dangerous.
They are both correct, but here's the thing. We know that smoking cigarettes is harmful to the user, and to those around the user. Without question. We do not yet know if the use of an e-cigarette is harmful to the user, or to those around the user. But why should others be exposed to a potential risk until it is found to be safe.
We don't let people market medications, prescription or over-the-counter, until they are proven safe. You can't sell food until you comply with the laws and regulations concerning the safety of the consumer. Why should we assume that e-cigs aren't harmful until the research is complete?
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I'd be really pleased if William Shatner followed me on Twitter, but I'm not donating $25 to charity to get a follow.
Miranda Kerr vowed to make Justin Bieber a man? Heck, even she's not up to that task.
Today's good news/bad news. Good news is there is a U. S. state that doesn't have income tax or sales tax and doesn't tax pensions or Social Security. Bad news is that it's Alaska, so retiring there means long, cold winters.
Giving the CIA a chance to redact a report on torture conducted by U. S. personnel is an invitation to cover-up. Senator Feinstein is right in asking to reduce the redactions.
I don't think I want to know the advantages of porn films in 3D.
Becky Hammon won't be the first female assistant coach in NBA history, but she will be the first, full-time salaried female assistant. As for her decision to play for Russia in the 2008 Olympics, once the U.S. national team excluded her from trying out, she had every right to play for any other nation she was eligible to play for.
Probably good for Sylvester Stallone's three daughters that they got their looks from their mother.
I get that some people like lots of heat in their food, but mixing habanero peppers with ghost chilies and then adding in Trinidad scorpion peppers is just insane.
Should NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstate Josh Brent, now that he's out of prison? I honestly don't know for sure. My first instinct is to say no, but then again, he's "paid his debt."
The man whose real life story inspired the film "Dog Day Afternoon" is the subject of a third documentary film, set to be released more than seven years after his death. I guess people never tire of a love story.
* * *
August 5th in History:
25 – Guangwu claims the throne as emperor after a period of political turmoil, restoring the Han Dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin Dynasty.
642 – Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.
910 – The last major Danish army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Earl Aethelred of Mercia.
939 – The Battle of Alhandic is fought between Ramiro II of León and Abd-ar-Rahman III at Zamora in the context of the Spanish Reconquista. The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Cordoba.
1068 – Byzantine–Norman wars: Italo-Normans begin a nearly-three-year siege of Bari.
1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
1278 – The Siege of Algeciras ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada. The battle resulted in a Granadan victory.
1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.
1388 – The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England, is fought near Otterburn.
1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place.
1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.
1689 – One thousand five hundred Iroquois attack the village of Lachine in New France.
1716 – The Battle of Petrovaradin takes place.
1735 – Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.
1763 – Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run: British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.
1772 – The First Partition of Poland begins.
1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.
1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian ships in the Battle of Samos.
1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.
1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.
1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).
1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.
1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.
1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m). The record will stand for 20 years.
1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.
1914 – World War I: The German minelayer SS Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion.
1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.
1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.
1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.
1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.
1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
1944 – World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of anywhere between 40,000 and 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.
1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.
1949 – The Mann Gulch fire kills 13 firefighters in Montana.
1957 – American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
1958 – Herbert Hoover eclipses John Adams as having the longest retirement of any former U.S President until that time. Hoover would live another six years, his record 31 years 7 months 16 days retirement has since been eclipsed by Jimmy Carter.
1960 – Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.
1962 – Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
1963 – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
1964 – Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow: American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.
1969 – Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
1971 – The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the "South Pacific Forum") is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.
1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.
1981 – President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.
1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.
2010 – The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground.
2010 – Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan.
Famous Folk Born on August 5th:
Joseph "Elephant Man" Merrick
Conrad Aiken
Erich Kleiber
John Huston
Selma Diamond
Neil Armstrong
Vern Gosdin
Herb Brooks
Roman Gabriel
Rick Huxley
Loni Anderson
Bernie Carbo
Rick Derringer
Samantha Sang
Maureen McCormick
Faith Prince
David Baldacci
Tawny Kitaen
Janet McTeer (2 time Oscar nominee)
Adam Yauch
Rachel Scott
Lexi Belle (porn star and vegetarian)
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one." I think that these two people who went to Africa to help others, and that it is tragic that they became infected. That doesn't mean it makes sense to put the entire population of the United States at risk of a horrific death just to give them the best of treatment.
I hear all this talk of the isolation ward at the facility where one of these two individuals is being treated and I don't think that's relevant. They were following all standard isolation procedures to prevent themselves from being infected and it happened anyway. If the disease isn't passed on via coughing or sneezing, why it the first rule for dealing with potentially infected individuals to have them put on a surgical mask?
One opinion-writer who claims there is zero risk of anyone in the U. S. being exposed and infected with Ebola poses the question, what else can be done to mitigate the risk? Don't bring a disease with a mortality rate over 60% inside our borders is the best answer.
* * *
Major General Harold J. Greene, United States Army, was killed in Afghanistan. He has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the highest ranking U. S. officer to die during the War in Afghanistan.
I've checked as thoroughly as I was able and I can find no record of a U. S. general officer dying in Iraq as the result of hostile action. Major General Keith Ware was killed in combat action in Vietnam in 1968 while commanding an infantry division. That's pretty darn far up the military food chain. He was also a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II.
It isn't heroic to be killed by an assassin like Gen Greene was. It is tragic. It indicates that our security precautions to protect all of our military personnel from privates to generals, in Afghanistan, are inadequate.
The President, as Commander in Chief, has every right to order our military personnel into harm's way. But there is no reason to waste their lives by not making every effort to keep them safe.
* * *
Tempe, AZ has banned the use of e-cigarettes in bars, restaurants and other enclosed places. Those who support the ban claim that the nicotine present in e-cigs is enough of a danger without having to wait until more research is done into the dangers in the vapors of e-cigs. Those who oppose the ban claim there is no proof the e-cigs are dangerous.
They are both correct, but here's the thing. We know that smoking cigarettes is harmful to the user, and to those around the user. Without question. We do not yet know if the use of an e-cigarette is harmful to the user, or to those around the user. But why should others be exposed to a potential risk until it is found to be safe.
We don't let people market medications, prescription or over-the-counter, until they are proven safe. You can't sell food until you comply with the laws and regulations concerning the safety of the consumer. Why should we assume that e-cigs aren't harmful until the research is complete?
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I'd be really pleased if William Shatner followed me on Twitter, but I'm not donating $25 to charity to get a follow.
Miranda Kerr vowed to make Justin Bieber a man? Heck, even she's not up to that task.
Today's good news/bad news. Good news is there is a U. S. state that doesn't have income tax or sales tax and doesn't tax pensions or Social Security. Bad news is that it's Alaska, so retiring there means long, cold winters.
Giving the CIA a chance to redact a report on torture conducted by U. S. personnel is an invitation to cover-up. Senator Feinstein is right in asking to reduce the redactions.
I don't think I want to know the advantages of porn films in 3D.
Becky Hammon won't be the first female assistant coach in NBA history, but she will be the first, full-time salaried female assistant. As for her decision to play for Russia in the 2008 Olympics, once the U.S. national team excluded her from trying out, she had every right to play for any other nation she was eligible to play for.
Probably good for Sylvester Stallone's three daughters that they got their looks from their mother.
I get that some people like lots of heat in their food, but mixing habanero peppers with ghost chilies and then adding in Trinidad scorpion peppers is just insane.
Should NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstate Josh Brent, now that he's out of prison? I honestly don't know for sure. My first instinct is to say no, but then again, he's "paid his debt."
The man whose real life story inspired the film "Dog Day Afternoon" is the subject of a third documentary film, set to be released more than seven years after his death. I guess people never tire of a love story.
* * *
August 5th in History:
25 – Guangwu claims the throne as emperor after a period of political turmoil, restoring the Han Dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin Dynasty.
642 – Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.
910 – The last major Danish army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Earl Aethelred of Mercia.
939 – The Battle of Alhandic is fought between Ramiro II of León and Abd-ar-Rahman III at Zamora in the context of the Spanish Reconquista. The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Cordoba.
1068 – Byzantine–Norman wars: Italo-Normans begin a nearly-three-year siege of Bari.
1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
1278 – The Siege of Algeciras ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada. The battle resulted in a Granadan victory.
1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.
1388 – The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England, is fought near Otterburn.
1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place.
1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.
1689 – One thousand five hundred Iroquois attack the village of Lachine in New France.
1716 – The Battle of Petrovaradin takes place.
1735 – Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.
1763 – Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run: British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.
1772 – The First Partition of Poland begins.
1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.
1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian ships in the Battle of Samos.
1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.
1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.
1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).
1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.
1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.
1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m). The record will stand for 20 years.
1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.
1914 – World War I: The German minelayer SS Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion.
1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.
1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.
1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.
1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.
1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
1944 – World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of anywhere between 40,000 and 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.
1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.
1949 – The Mann Gulch fire kills 13 firefighters in Montana.
1957 – American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
1958 – Herbert Hoover eclipses John Adams as having the longest retirement of any former U.S President until that time. Hoover would live another six years, his record 31 years 7 months 16 days retirement has since been eclipsed by Jimmy Carter.
1960 – Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.
1962 – Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
1963 – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
1964 – Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow: American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.
1969 – Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
1971 – The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the "South Pacific Forum") is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.
1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.
1981 – President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.
1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.
2010 – The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground.
2010 – Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan.
Famous Folk Born on August 5th:
Joseph "Elephant Man" Merrick
Conrad Aiken
Erich Kleiber
John Huston
Selma Diamond
Neil Armstrong
Vern Gosdin
Herb Brooks
Roman Gabriel
Rick Huxley
Loni Anderson
Bernie Carbo
Rick Derringer
Samantha Sang
Maureen McCormick
Faith Prince
David Baldacci
Tawny Kitaen
Janet McTeer (2 time Oscar nominee)
Adam Yauch
Rachel Scott
Lexi Belle (porn star and vegetarian)
posted by me at 6:38 AM
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