Trump's "Little Green Men"

I offered the following as a letter to the editor of our local newspaper:

Editor,

Poor President Trump.  His friend Vladimir Putin urged him in a phone call in June to "dominate the streets" when the Black Lives Matter demonstrations got too close to the White House and the Secret Service rushed Trump into the bunker downstairs just in case.  So, Trump ordered a fully armed military unit to Washington along with miscellaneous other federal police groups.  The soldiers came with bayonets but did not bring them onto the streets.  

Putin had used Russian troops in Ukraine but they wore no identification.  They just took over Crimea and eastern Ukraine.  So Trump saw to it that the enforcers he brought to Washington also had no ID.  Trump got his photo op at St. John's Church across the street.

He now plans to send unmarked troops to eleven major cities, all run by Democrats.  He is ignoring the 130 other cities that have had BLM demonstrations every night since George Floyd died.

Portland, OR, was the first foray outside the Capitol for Trump to use what are now being called "little green men."  They faced off with peaceful demonstrators around a federal building full of graphiti.  They "dominated the street" with tear gas and grabbed people off the street and drove them away in unmarked cars.  The next night, a retired Navy seal, confronted the feds.  At 6' 7" he towered over them.  He asked them if they believed in the oath they took to defend the Constitution so they tried to knock him down with batons and when that didn't work, they broke his arm and pepper-sprayed him in the face.  

The next night, women came out and formed an arm-linked line between the protesters (their kids) and the soldiers.  Tear gas.  So the following night, Trump's little green men were met by "Dads with Leaf Blowers."   

Poor President Trump still hasn't got the video footage he wants for his political ads so he is sending more of his little green men to Chicago.  I wonder what folks there have up their sleeves.

Update:  Upon counting words, the above had to be edited down.  I did the best I could and gave the last ten or so words to be done by the newspaper.  It took a few days but they finally published my letter to the editor within the word limit on August 5.

How do you know what news is true?

How do you know what news is true?

AARP Bulletin for July and August listed ten suggestions:

1. Who wrote it? No author, be cautious. Google the name of the one who wrote it. You may learn enough to tell how credible the writer is.

2. Does the headline grab you? Then read the article to see if the headline is actually backed up by what is in the article before sharing or liking it. Note the source and be wise about dealing with future articles from that source.

3. Most writers are affiliated with some "source," an agency, news outlet, research firm, etc. It is good to know what the source is and as much about it as you need to know regarding its credibility.

4. If the article urges immediate action, be sure the writer and source and funding mechanism are legitimate. Some urgent action calls are not legitimate and when clicking forward at the urging sometimes leads you into sales or fraud situations about which you were not warned.

5. Facebook and some other social media now provide a "blue shield" or symbol next the source or "owner" of the account to confirm it is authentic. Be cautious if that symbol is not included on the page.

6. Pictures can be photoshopped. So to be sure the picture is not disinformation, "drag and drop" the picture into Google Image to see if it finds another picture that had been been altered.

7. If the story is true, it will also be carried on other media and sources. If your source is the only one carrying it, be cautious about passing it on.

8. Legitimate sources are usually properly spelled and formatted. Fake accounts misspell or use odd wording or provide inaccurate history.

9. Check the date of the article. If an old article or picture is posted implying it is contemporary, be cautious about its news value. The date of the original article is usually on it. If not, Snopes and other fact checking sources can let you know if it is news or not.

10. Is it news or opinion? News answers the questions about when, where, what happened, how, and why. Opinions contain only enough to try to persuade you about something. Know the difference between fact and opinion. Do not pass on an opinion as a fact or as news.

I do not always make sure about things I feel strongly about. I mean to and most of the time, if I do not know the source, I use almost all of the above techniques (I don't use the picture googling yet) all the rest of the time. Now you can check my posts for authenticity as well as those you are tempted to share.

How risky is the aerosol form of the COVID virus?

How risky is the aerosol form of the COVID virus?

A little more than than the droplets. The droplets are most dangerous because they carry a lot of the virus. Sneezes, coughs, and loud vocalizing produce pretty good sized globs of mouth moistures that are really bad when we get a load of them. But if we do not get them pretty directly, they are heavier than air and drop pretty fast to the ground/floor and, so far, appear to lose their dangerousness almost right away.

The virus also ride on tiny drops of vapor, the kind of moisture you see in the winter when your breath condenses in the air. In warm weather, you never see those tiny droplets, but they still come out of us all the time when we breath. What we do not see in the winter is how the microscopic droplets hang around us for awhile and hang in the air for as much as three hours before finally dropping to the grounds/floor.

A better analogy than winter breathing-steam is cigarette smoke. You know who is a smoker when you get within a foot or two (or more for some of us non-smokers). The virus hangs around an infected person like the cigarette smell hangs around a smoker.

Staying away from others by presuming everyone else is infected is the safest strategy. The six foot social distancing is very good because the mist of virus loaded micro-drops around the asymptomatic or otherwise infected person is about three feet wide, the farther into the mist globe you may move accidentally, the more risk. Literally close your eyes, hold your breath, and move on!

That's why it is so bad to be in an enclosed room with lots of people or even In close proximity with a lot of people. Imagine being stuck in a room with all smokers, even if none is actually smoking!

Being outside with people staying three or more feet away and everyone moving so they are not staying in one place into which a puff of virus micro mist could invade and hover, the risk is really quite low. So far, the demonstrations have not caused any significant infections where being on a crowded beach has been s serious risk.

Now if you add a mask, your chances of becoming infected outside anywhere drop to near zero. Being in a store with few others near you leaves you almost complete risk free, especially if the workers are masked. If they aren't, cover your eyes as well as nose and mouth!

I leave my sunglasses on all the time when I am out of the house, even in stores. They are not as good as a full-face gas mask or a face shield but they cut the risk.

Stay safe, don't touch your face, keep social distancing, wash your hands, and when getting close to anyone, realize they have this halo of micro mist (just like you do and like all smokers do!).