CORRECTION AND REBUTTALS

            One of the nice things about a blog is that you can correct inaccuracies with the same emphasis as the original sin.  Ever notice how publications bury corrections in a tiny box in the least prominent place?

             So I'll put mine front and center.  The last post about denying unvaccinated people access to public property was not a U.S. Senate bill, but a Virginia Senate Bill.  That was my mistake and I apologize for it.  Do you know how freeing it is to admit a mistake?  That was my error and I own it. 

             With that said, while the state versus federal certainly reduces the footprint of the impact if such a thing passed, it does not change the atrocity of the thinking that created it.  Back when I worked as an investigative reporter at the local newspaper, I learned that normally people who called the newsroom alleging atrocities and corruption were in the ballpark even if they were not on the field.

             In other words, if the allegation was a $100,000 bribe, it might be $50,000.  The particulars might be a bit shaky, but almost always something was indeed going on.  To my knowledge, I only tracked down and researched one serious allegation that turned out to be completely false.   The caller might be wrong as to the certain person, title, amount, or agency, but as the old saw goes, if you see smoke, there might be a fire.  I never crucified these folks for being wrong as to specifics or magnitude; I appreciated the tip.

             With that out of the way, let me address two comments about the substance of the post:  one that Africans don't live as long as Americans (life expectancy) so our vaccination program must work, and two, that I should stay away from anything except food and farming and let the experts handle the other issues.

             On Africa, realize that most deaths occur from infectious disease.  In America, most deaths occur from non-infectious disease.  Interestingly, as the undeveloped world (and I say that only for comparison, not that one is better than the other) becomes more like the developed, that difference is narrowing.  To assume based on life expectancy alone that vaccines have anything to do with it is ridiculous.  Way more factors enter into cultural life expectancy than one thing.  This is not a reasonable refutation.

             On experts, I've pondered this quite a lot. I'm looking at 1950s advertisements showing children being powdered with DDT based on expert opinion and "sound science."  Was my grandfather, a factory tradesman at the time who said DDT was dangerous, less worthy of his belief than the DDT experts?  As an avid organic gardener, he eschewed all the expert DDT advice of his time.

             How about hydrogenated vegetable oil?  How about the Federal Reserve system and fractional banking?  How about the IRS as the best means to fund the government?  How about Genetically Modified Organisms?  I have not read it; it's on my list; have any of you?  Range:  Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. 

             I remember well when we decided to home school our children.  At that time, parents faced truancy violations; Child Protective Services would come to your home and take your children away to foster care.  It was a big deal to make that decision.  And ALL the education experts crusaded against it, trying to outlaw it.  Just like the public teachers union today crusades against school choice.

             But we were looking at a lot of factors, not as education experts, but as generalists.  I'm not just an eater and farmer; I also have grandchildren, convictions, run a business, employ people, use technology, pay taxes (too many) and interact with lots of different people.  Leaving things to experts is perhaps one reason we've become a technocracy of bureaucratic tyranny.  Perhaps if more of us would voice our gut, voice our observations in a general sense, we'd preserve a few more freedoms.  I will not be put in a silo.

             That said, I've changed positions on numerous things. And I don't have positions on numerous things. It's okay to say "I don't know."  Perhaps I should do a post on all the issues I don't know. 

             Do you have strong opinions on issues in which you would not be considered an expert?  And if so, does that scare you?