Is this where we got the word tallied, as in I tallied up?
Expat, what’s the mood of our German allies regarding our disgraceful pullout from Afghanistan? What about the man on the street? I know from my time spent there that there is a great deal of anti Ami sentiment. It would not surprise me much if many consider Biden to be the next best thing to Obama
“An ancient denomination of weight, originally Babylonian (though the name is Greek), and varying widely in value among different peoples and at different times.”
Are you familiar with Jesus’ “Parable of the Talents?” At the time he spoke it, a talent* was literally a sum of money.
So, yes, you are correct that the English concept of “tallying” comes from that same word, as does the word, “talent,” although its meaning has changed over time.
And, I’m sure you are familiar with the German verb, “zahlen,” which is similar to “tally.” I have assumed it has the same origin. I also guess the German word for tax, “Zoll” has the same origin, and, based on the video, it would seem to have taken the same path in Germanic usage as it did in English, to calculate a tax.
If you go by what the various translations of the Bible say, you will be confused. The NIV (New International Version) translates ten thousand talents as “ten thousand bags of gold.” The Living Bible takes more leeway and translates it as “$10 million, literally, ‘10,000 talents.’ Approximately £3 million.”
Clearly it was a great deal of money. In the Old Testament the word “talent” appears when describing how much gold the Israelites used to build the tabernacle. It was a unit of measurement for weighing precious metals like silver and gold and weighed about 75 pounds. The Israelites used 29 talents of gold in the construction of their tabernacle.
In the New Testament the word meant something different. From the Greek word tálanton, it was a large monetary measurement equal to 6,000 drachmas or denarii, the Greek and Roman silver coins. It was the largest unit of currency at that time. The denarius was a standard silver Roman coin and equal to a day’s wages. The Romans, remember, were ruling over Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, so their minted coins were in use there.
So if one denarius was what a man like the ungrateful servant could earn in a day, he would need to work 6,000 days to earn one talent. Ten thousand talents would equal 60 million denarii or 60 million days of work.
Griffin,
I’m facing a similar ethical conundrum regarding the vaccine. Unlike Mrs. Pullman, I don’t find the mask particularly overbearing. I find it stupid. I’m often annoyed by it. I think they do little to nothing to halt the spread of COVID*. However I know a lot of my fellow citizens are scared. The media is mainly to blame for their irrational fear, but that doesn’t mean their fear is not real. They are genuinely scared.
Regarding the vaccine, I had COVID. I have an official letter from my county’s board of health stating that. Most current studies show that’s as good or better than being vaccinated. Yet, all discussion in the U.S. is on vaccination, and only vaccination. In my small sample size of personal acquaintances I know of no one who had COVID who has gotten symptoms from a later variant. I know two, healthy, 20-somethings who are vaccinated and then got fairly ill recently from the Delta variant. Everyone I know who had COVID and then got vaccinated said they felt worse after the vaccine than they did with COVID. Anecdotal. Small sample size. YMMV. I know there are people who had COVID, recovered, and got COVID again. And I believe the vaccines lessen the symptoms in those who get breakthrough cases. But there are also a small percentage of folks who have very bad reactions to the vaccines. I’m healthy and under 60, so I’m at low risk from COVID. I had COVID and recovered (my body seemed to figure out what to do when exposed to it). I don’t feel ill or have symptoms. But at some point it appears society will force me to get vaccinated and have proof; work, air travel, hotel check-in, sports attendance…
Even though I believe the risk of harm from the vaccine for me is very low, I agree with Mrs. Pullman. Why do I need to participate in a lie simply because other people are not doing proper research and have a gross misunderstanding of COVID, vaccines and natural immunity?
*In my observation, the greatest change our society has made is encouraging people who feel cold and flu symptoms to remain home. I was one of those people who went to work unless I was violently ill. I now realize that was dumb, foolhardy and dangerous.
Rufus,
I had COVID also and then got the vaccine for reasons relating to visiting my elderly mother and the vaccine side effects were not small for me and my COVID was very mild and honestly no different then any other cold I’ve had in the past.
My views on masks are very much in line with Ms. Pullman. I hate them and I grow to despise people that I see wearing them in their cars alone or walking in a park more and more. I don’t confront them or anything but honestly they kind of scare me because irrational people are not usually just irrational in one way.
I resist as much as possible our stupid mask mandate in WA by either not wearing one or I put in on and wear it below my chin. I have yet to have a complaint this time around and I am not the only one. The people I see in stores not wearing a mask are truly everyday heroes in my opinion.
Biden seems to be giving his handlers fits when he goes off script. Clearly Biden isn’t exactly being puppeteered very well when he’s out in front of microphones. In fairness, it must be a nightmare to attempt to manage an obviously very willful, demented idiot like Biden. Plus he still clearly believes he’s the smartest and wisest person in any room he’s in, so that makes it even more challenging.
Griffin and Rufus T. Firefly: 1) Thank you for the link to Joy Pullman’s essay. I agree with her 100%. I haven’t had COVID-19, but I had both the Hong Kong and Swine Flus when they hit some years back; not fun, but nobody went into hysterics about either one as has been done with the Woo-Woo Flu.
2) I’m sick and tired of the whole public health cosplay. This morning I had to have a blood test preparatory to seeing my primary care doc next week. On the front door of the lab were no fewer than eight posters and announcements about the lab’s policy regarding COVID; the latest burp from the CDC; the local board of health’s “guidance,” and on and on ad nauseam. No more than five patients allowed inside at any one time; the “extras” had to wait in the outside corridor to be buzzed in.
Once inside, the place looked like the kind of room where detectives interrogate criminal suspects; the usual magazine rack was gone (people might get cooties from reading a magazine that someone else had touched!); there were five and only five chairs for people to sit in, spaced at least eight feet apart, and the chairs were the ugly bare-bones plastic type (easier to sanitize, I assume) instead of the comfortable chairs the lab used to have for patients. No nurse at check-in; instead, an electronic gadget for touch-typing one’s name, rank, and serial number. The general atmosphere of the lab was straight out of an old episode of Twilight Zone.
The phlebotomist was friendly as well as competent, but she was required to be gowned, double-masked, and wear a plastic face shield over the masks. I went home feeling like the contents of my cats’ litter box. There is something about being treated as if one is a leper or the bearer of some other loathsome contagion that eats away at one’s soul and spirit. This fetishization (I don’t know a better word) of physical health über alles is well on its way to destroying the body politic.
Griffin,
I am sorry to say I too find myself judging people I see wearing masks in especially absurd locations; alone, outside in large, open spaces with relatively few people… Their behavior doesn’t even make sense by their own standards.
And, I have chosen to not go into some stores and restaurants based on how draconian their posted mask policy is. I guess I’m not being particularly heroic. When a sign reads, “recommended” I base my behavior on what I see upon entering. If everyone is masked I’ll put my mask on, but if 15%’ish or more are unmasked I leave it off. I tell myself I’m doing it not to scare the others, but maybe I am just a coward, or afraid of how I will be judged.
PA+Cat,
I’m sorry your day started out so poorly, and I share your repulsion at much of the “Omega Man” theater, but I still want to laud you on your use of the word, “phlebotomist.”
Such a great word!
Great video.
I’m a fan of Jason’s YouTube history channel. I started subscribing to his channel when I watched a video about what medieval peasants ate.
I just got back from our annual Dove Hunt in Abilene Texas and it was interesting that most of us have not worn masks in stores since last January, my only exception was the VA for hearing aid repair and paying taxes on a boat last spring at the local court house where the staff, about ten people, were behind plexiglass without masks, kind of interesting. Anyway as we gathered at our hotel the hotel staff was masked up and our friends from Dallas came in with masks the first day. As our group started unmasking the hotel staff did too so by Sunday morning, our third day no one was wearing a mask so I am thinking the mask, at least here in Texas is more of a social construct for a lot of us.
And then there is the woman who was putting fuel in her car in front of me at a filling station in Winter Texas, no one close to her within 100 feet, I was about 30 feet away in my car with the windows up, we were slightly out of a little town of less than 3,000 people, 40 miles out of Abilene and I kind of wanted to go smack her up the side of the head because her masking up was senseless but of course I would never want to interfere with her right to be as nutty as she wanted to be. I might not have been out of line if I did tell her that an aluminum bonnet would increase her protection at least four fold and I am sorry I neglected to do that.
Maybe we can convince people that just like white shoes, masks should not be worn after Labor Day. And the terrible North Texas Freeze in February killed off so many dove that this was our worst dove hunt in the 27 years we have been hunting but 23 of us gathered in for Dove Eve dinner, enjoyed meeting each other once more and a good time was had by all.
Rufus, PA+Cat, Griffin,
I’m long past feeling guilty for judging people when I see them wearing masks alone in their cars or out jogging alone or walking their dog. My wife says I can’t hide my look of disgust, so even if I don’t say anything, I’m sure I will get approached by one sooner or later when they see the look on my face.
It’s a blessing in a way though: now we know from a distance, without the need for direct interaction, who the irrational people are. They’re doing us a favor by advertising it.
Now, if only the rational people would start not wearing their masks. We can’t comply our way out of this mess.
“Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)”
I’ve said this before but I think it bears repeating – I sometimes wear a mask while alone in my car, and I’ll tell you why. I often do a string of errands at once, errands that each require mask-wearing. Very often these tasks are a short distance from each other – say, a five-minute drive or even less. Once I have a mask on I consider it something of a pain in the neck to keep taking it off and putting it on at such short intervals. For one thing, it means touching it over and over. For another thing, my car’s receptacles are pretty full and there’s no easy place to put it that isn’t somewhat dirty, or at least not sanitary. My masks are not particularly uncomfortable to wear, although I don’t ordinarily wear them unless it’s required. Anyway, for such a short interval, I don’t see the point of a quick off and on, off and on.
That way of thinking seems quite logical to me and not the least bit irrational. I would imagine I’m not the only one with that calculation, and some of the in-car mask-wearers may be doing it for that reason.
Also, every now and then I have forgotten I have it on, and I arrive home with it on and I didn’t even realize it.
Rufus T. Firefly:
Thank you for your kind words about this morning’s episode of COVID Theater. As for “phlebotomist,” it is a great word, and I have the utmost respect for the health professionals who are specially trained to draw blood. The phlebotomist who drew my blood sample this morning was very good at what she does; she was finished before I had time to react to the minor stick of the needle– and of course I thanked her for her professionalism.
Apropos of the general atmosphere of COVID fever– you might enjoy this paragraph from James Lileks’ Daily Bleat:
“My Twitter feed is almost entirely COVID. It’s infected almost every free-roaming social commentator I follow. None of them are banging pots and pans or calling for conspicious [sic] disobedience; for the most part, they’re reacting to the ever-tremulous thrum of disapproval and dread from the Covid Eternal cohort. We’re about two weeks away from Mu bolstering the need to retreat inward evermore. In a few months I expect that stories about Mu breakthrough cases in people who had the booster will lead to a surge of tweets condemning pictures of airports full of people going somewhere for Christmas.”
With respect, Neo, that may be your rationale for wearing the mask but I find it hard to believe it applies to the majority of the people I see doing it. Do I have proof? No. However, I suspect you are in a very small minority.
Fractal Rabbit:
But why would you think I’m in such a small minority? I’m just being logical, and I would imagine a lot of people make the same calculation – especially if they’re just driving around town. Why wouldn’t they?
As I said, I also sometimes just forget to take the mask off when I leave the place, because I forget I’ve got it on in the first place. If a mask is comfortable, one can forget.
Neo,
You don’t give yourself enough credit. One of the reasons you have such a loyal core of readers, even people like me who only agree with you about 50% of the time, is because it is obvious to most how careful and deliberate you are in your thought pattern and rationale. That alone, masks or no, puts you in a minority.
Face it: You’re probably in the minority.
And I have yet to find a mask so comfortable I can forget I’m wearing it. Every moment wearing it is irritating at best, torture at most.
Fractal Rabbit:
Thanks!!
But I really don’t think it’s a stretch in this case to think quite a few people just find the off-on-off-on thing onerous, and that it’s easier to keep it on for a few minutes. Also, perhaps the discomfort you feel has to do with face shape or ear shape or head size or something like that. I’m not saying I find masks comfortable. But a couple of months ago I traveled cross-country and had to wear one by mandate for about 13 hours. I did often forgot I was wearing it, although sometimes I found it quite annoying to be wearing it. I don’t think I’m that unique in that regard.
My wife, who had Covid in June 2020 and has been vaccinated x 2, was in her internist’s office last week. She asked, “Do you mind if I take off this mask?” He replied, “Yes, because I have a 9 year old at home.” I know of no greater example of political stupidity. Since I am also an MD and my wife is a nurse practitioner, I use him only for routine tasks, like ordering blood tests.
Very interesting video. I thought perhaps I would be learning about the phrase “the short end of the stick,” but no.
The phlebotomist has probably worn a mask for the last decades since HIV came on the scene.
I only wear one when absolutely required, like in Doc offices or the Vet. Boulder Cty CO has again mandated masks in buildings. Today Eye Doc with a mask, then to King Soopers and no mask – not a word was said.
I find that can hang the mask off one ear if I have to wear it again soon. But it does get tangled up with my eyeglasses.
Yes next is MU, the what ever comes after that.
Peter Boghossian has (finally) resigned his professorship at Portland State University. Honestly, I thought he’d been run out of there years ago.
His open letter of resignation is at Bari Weiss’ Substack here, and it says pretty much what you’d expect it to say.
Masks: Now in Florida for 2 weeks and only about 10% of the random people I see are wearing masks. That does not include the unfortunate workers at places like Home Depot who are required by corporate to wear masks.
Bryan: I saw that letter by Boghassian this morning. He hit all the right points, but my main response is that I’m quite sure PSU was happy to see him go and don’t give a rat’s pituti about any of the points he made.
Neo: thanks for the history lesson on tally sticks: I had no idea! Our ancestors weren’t stupid, and I bet that their counter-counterfeit technique (matching the split stick) was very nearly foolproof. A lot better than “123456” as a password. On the other hand: if you absent-mindedly use your half of the stick for kindling…
As for masks: I am proud to report that I have been using the same one since March 2020. I hang it on my turn signal lever so it’s handy for errands. When I put it on (sloppily) I always hope that others can see how seriously I take this piece of theater.
SHIREHOME:
Depends on the size and shape of the ear.
As far as phlebotomists go, until COVID I had never seen one wearing a mask, and I’ve had an awful lot of blood tests in my life.
The literate version of the split tally stick was the indenture, a contract written twice on the same sheet and then cut in half along a jagged line, so that the parties could later put their pieces together and verify that they’d signed the same thing.
But why would you think I’m in such a small minority? I’m just being logical, and I would imagine a lot of people make the same calculation…”
Believing that more than a small minority are actually being driven by logic in this day and age is, well, quaint.
There is a much larger minority than a small minority who have gone simply stark raving bonkers. I grant that “some” are slapping on the mask because it is “just too much trouble” but how much trouble is it, really? Trivial.
Many in masks are driven by fear and trembling and being good zombies are just doing what they are told and I can understand that.
The real tell are those you pass that are compulsively wearing the black Biden death masks. Those are the Biden voters and it is a good thing they are marking themselves as such.
neo,
Yeah, I don’t know I spend a fair amount of time on the freeways of the Puget Sound area and it is fairly common to see a person in their cars all alone wearing a mask and they don’t fit your running errands theory. And even last winter when I begrudgingly wore the mask more I would immediately pull it down when I went outside even if just driving across the parking lot.
For me it’s all about normalizing abnormal behavior and I will not comply.
Rufus,
Yes there are a couple of places that are mask crazy that I won’t go to anymore and I have vowed to never go again. It’s the only power we have as individuals and I will not go to any restaurant, theater, sporting event that requires a vax passport even though I have been vaccinated.
Vax passports are wrong and I will not play along like they are anything other than wrong.
Also to the Joy Pullman piece at The Federalist I think a key part is the feeling when forced by government to do something absurd. It’s a deeply troubling feeling and I will not accept it and I’m saddened that too many people on the right seem to.
This has been a very troubling time but also clarifying to me.
Griffin,
A few years back, there was a movie released called ‘Last Knights’, starring Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman. Critics hated it. It was basically a retelling of the 47 Ronin, in a fictional setting. I loved it, as did my daughter.
Anyway, Morgan Freeman has line in that movie that has come to me seemingly once a day these past two years or so:
“Adopting the language of a pretense only serves to ease participation in it.”
I am saddened when I hear people even use the same terms as some of our enemies, let alone when they do something or go along with something absurd. Buying into the lie, makes people complicit.
Gerard vandeleun:
You misunderstand me.
I am certainly not saying that most people are driven by logic in complex matters such as politics or other large decisions. But in terms of whether to keep one’s mask on in the car when running short errands, the logic behind a reason for keeping it on is not so difficult or rare as you seem to think. It’s often easier to keep it on. And sometimes people forget they have it on. That’s not so hard for anyone to wrap his or her mind around.
And several of the very few Trump supporters I know wear “black Biden death masks.” So you’re wrong there, too. They are just the type of mask they happen to have purchased in quantity, and they often wear the same one over and over.
You are jumping to conclusions that are – how shall I put this? – illogical.
Fractal Rabbit,
Yes, I try my best not to fall into the ‘I wear a mask for other people’ line. I don’t accept that period. The fact that nobody in their right mind thought any of this crap was effective before March 2020 tells me all I need to know.
And to be clear I do wear the mask at a doctor or hospital or visiting my mom’s facility even though I don’t buy it there even at this point but that is a tougher call. But the store or an outdoor football game no way.
Griffin:
I’m sure there are regional differences. Puget sound would be perhaps atypical in terms of a higher percentage and scope of mask-wearing.
I have actually owned only about five masks this entire time. I wore one flimsy ass cloth one every day for months. They accomplish nothing so what does it matter. I did get a black one that I like better and goes with clothes I wear better and I’ve now worn that one for like six months.
neo,
Yes I’m sure western Washington is higher in mask usage than many areas. It’s certainly true in the more lefty hangouts like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s that have been truly out of control this entire time.
It’s got to the point that there is a writer for Reason (Robby Soave) out there dancing around supporting mandates.
Worst libertarian evah!!
Reason went off the rails a long time ago.
Agreed, but good lord this should be a field day for libertarians but even they lay down.
Great video with a sad ending (1837 fire) Come the deluge, that method of keeping track of payments might still be useful.
As far as masks, I don’t wear them – at least initially. I do have a mask with me. If asked, I say, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize I didn’t have it on.” and I immediately put it on. That happened infrequently last year. This year it’s happened rarely. There’s no confrontation, no “losing face”. I have noticed that, though I’m maskless, store employees are very polite and helpful – maybe because they want me to leave as quickly as possible. I prefer to think it’s because they want this nonsense to end.
“Archilochus:—
If he keep complaining of woeful misfortunes, Pericles, no citizen will take pleasure in feasting, nay, nor city neither. ‘Tis true these noble souls have been whelmed in the roaring sea and our hearts well with grief; yet to woes incurable, my friend, the Gods have ordained the remedy of staunch endurance. Such things possess one man to-day, another to-morrow; and now they have turned our way and we bewail a bloody wound, but soon they will pass to others. Then quickly put thou womanish grief away, thou and thine, and endure.”
Stobaeus, Anthology
[just testing to see if I could post here at all]
In the “Some days” thread I twice tried to post a link to Conrad Black’s essay “A pitiful, helpless giant” in the New Criterion’s Dispatch blog, and was rejected both times. Let’s see if I can mention it now without the link (easy to find).
[well o.k., that much works]
On this blog, comments having more than one link will be delayed until Neo can look at them, so far as I know.
To wear a black Biden death mask is to give up all allegiance to Trump and to be drummed out of the group.
My views on masks are very much in line with Ms. Pullman. I hate them and I grow to despise people that I see wearing them in their cars alone or walking in a park more and more
You need a better attitude. It’s no skin off your nose and people have them on in odd settings because they’ve forgotten to remove them or they’re in transit from one locus to another where they’re expected.
The problem with the masks is what they indicate, not the masks itself. We have a satisfactory idea that they’re a weak vector in influencing infection risk. We are well aware that COVID is not a danger to the young. Yet, we have mask mandates in schools. That’s a strong indicator either that (1) the people Glenn Reynolds calls ‘the administrative class’ are stupid or (2) the masks have some function other than their supposed function. And you’d be advised to not co-operate.
The phlebotomist has probably worn a mask for the last decades since HIV came on the scene.
That makes no sense; HIV is not transmitted by respiration. The only way the phlebotomist might get it is through handling infected blood (something I would think more common among lab technicians than phlebotomists).
I have made more than 500 blood donations at the Red Cross since 9/11/2001 and the phlebotomists never wore masks until the WuFlu arrived.
They have always been very careful about exposure to blood products and sharps but that was gloves only. About three years ago they began using a plastic shield between them and my hand when taking a drop of blood from the finger tip as a pre-donation screening of my heme level.
Saw this comment posted. The show is pretty funny though not for the militantly genteel. Tommy’s Garage
I intend to wear my nice flannel mask again this winter because it keeps my nose warm. Other than that, only where I have to go and it’s required. Most of my friends are going barefaced.
A caution on reuse: they do hold bacteria from you on one side and incoming on the other. However, I did learn, quite accidentally (ahem), that the commercial ones can go through a washer without disintegrating. So I don’t buy them anymore.
Tally sticks, what an ancient concept. Now, in the oil patch, a common fixture in any driller’s pocket is the Tally Book. These are small notepads, with lined and columned paper, bound and covered with easily cleaned covers, about 3-1/2″ x 8″ when closed – they fit right snugly in your hip pocket but stick out at the top for easy retrieval. When drilling, everything that goes into the hole is measured. That’s why it’s called a tally book, that’s the purpose: A record of what went into the hole. Every piece of pipe is numbered in sequence, as it’s run into the hole, so the driller always knows how deep he is, so there is a known record in case of trouble.
These things are typically handed out by service companies that use the covers as their advertising medium. I must have a stack a foot high, and long habit often keeps one in my back pocket.
Concerning the plight and the damage done: “The more serious and recurrent the failures and humiliations of the Biden Administration, the more China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea will push and provoke America and its allies, and the feebler and more appeasement-minded America’s long-time allies will become.”
Kate, still no go my post about the “Pitiful, helpless giant” essay. It contains just the one link, so I don’t see how that could be the problem. Maybe the spam filter thinks “Lilliputian” is a dirty word. Hmmm…
[edit to add: no, “Lilliputian” got through all right, and I am very puzzled]
B. Lovely–
Thank you for the Boghossian link. That is really atrocious!
Like the graffiti above the urinal says, these leftist fascists “hold the future in their hands”.
To whomever thanks are due, thank you.
Baceseras:
I found your comments in the spam or the trash (I forget which) and I liberated them. I have no idea why they were originally flagged, though. There was nothing unusual about them that should have caused that to happen. Let me know if it happens again.
Re: masks in Snohomish County, WA
I live in Marysville and I’ve worn a cloth mask probably less than 2 hours since the whole mess started. Happened upon a woman in Cabela’s wearing one of these: a spit shield that seems to satisfy _everybody_ — at least to the degree they won’t say anything about it or request a different “mask.” I started carrying one of them and don’t even put that on unless it is explicitly requested by a person — I ignore the signs and usually nobody says anything.
About 2 weeks ago I wore it to a medical appointment at a clinic. Not a word said by any of several people I had contact with: screening at the door; check-in, 3 nurses, 1 doctor. Next day when back for a blood draw and same result.
I suspect a lot of people “know” the masks are nonsense but lack whatever it is that is required to say: “NO. I won’t live a lie.”
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Is this where we got the word tallied, as in I tallied up?
Expat, what’s the mood of our German allies regarding our disgraceful pullout from Afghanistan? What about the man on the street? I know from my time spent there that there is a great deal of anti Ami sentiment. It would not surprise me much if many consider Biden to be the next best thing to Obama
This is really good.
https://thefederalist.com/2021/09/08/the-top-reason-i-hate-masks-is-they-force-me-to-live-by-lies/
expat,
“An ancient denomination of weight, originally Babylonian (though the name is Greek), and varying widely in value among different peoples and at different times.”
Are you familiar with Jesus’ “Parable of the Talents?” At the time he spoke it, a talent* was literally a sum of money.
So, yes, you are correct that the English concept of “tallying” comes from that same word, as does the word, “talent,” although its meaning has changed over time.
And, I’m sure you are familiar with the German verb, “zahlen,” which is similar to “tally.” I have assumed it has the same origin. I also guess the German word for tax, “Zoll” has the same origin, and, based on the video, it would seem to have taken the same path in Germanic usage as it did in English, to calculate a tax.
*
https://www.grandrapidscoins.com/blogs/entry/how-much-was-a-biblical-talent-worth
Griffin,
I’m facing a similar ethical conundrum regarding the vaccine. Unlike Mrs. Pullman, I don’t find the mask particularly overbearing. I find it stupid. I’m often annoyed by it. I think they do little to nothing to halt the spread of COVID*. However I know a lot of my fellow citizens are scared. The media is mainly to blame for their irrational fear, but that doesn’t mean their fear is not real. They are genuinely scared.
Regarding the vaccine, I had COVID. I have an official letter from my county’s board of health stating that. Most current studies show that’s as good or better than being vaccinated. Yet, all discussion in the U.S. is on vaccination, and only vaccination. In my small sample size of personal acquaintances I know of no one who had COVID who has gotten symptoms from a later variant. I know two, healthy, 20-somethings who are vaccinated and then got fairly ill recently from the Delta variant. Everyone I know who had COVID and then got vaccinated said they felt worse after the vaccine than they did with COVID. Anecdotal. Small sample size. YMMV. I know there are people who had COVID, recovered, and got COVID again. And I believe the vaccines lessen the symptoms in those who get breakthrough cases. But there are also a small percentage of folks who have very bad reactions to the vaccines. I’m healthy and under 60, so I’m at low risk from COVID. I had COVID and recovered (my body seemed to figure out what to do when exposed to it). I don’t feel ill or have symptoms. But at some point it appears society will force me to get vaccinated and have proof; work, air travel, hotel check-in, sports attendance…
Even though I believe the risk of harm from the vaccine for me is very low, I agree with Mrs. Pullman. Why do I need to participate in a lie simply because other people are not doing proper research and have a gross misunderstanding of COVID, vaccines and natural immunity?
*In my observation, the greatest change our society has made is encouraging people who feel cold and flu symptoms to remain home. I was one of those people who went to work unless I was violently ill. I now realize that was dumb, foolhardy and dangerous.
Rufus,
I had COVID also and then got the vaccine for reasons relating to visiting my elderly mother and the vaccine side effects were not small for me and my COVID was very mild and honestly no different then any other cold I’ve had in the past.
My views on masks are very much in line with Ms. Pullman. I hate them and I grow to despise people that I see wearing them in their cars alone or walking in a park more and more. I don’t confront them or anything but honestly they kind of scare me because irrational people are not usually just irrational in one way.
I resist as much as possible our stupid mask mandate in WA by either not wearing one or I put in on and wear it below my chin. I have yet to have a complaint this time around and I am not the only one. The people I see in stores not wearing a mask are truly everyday heroes in my opinion.
We cannot believe that resistance is futile.
“When Biden gives public remarks, some White House staffers will either mute him or turn off his remarks, according to White House officials… they’re filled with anxiety that he’s going to take questions from the press and veer off the West Wing’s carefully orchestrated messaging.”
Biden seems to be giving his handlers fits when he goes off script. Clearly Biden isn’t exactly being puppeteered very well when he’s out in front of microphones. In fairness, it must be a nightmare to attempt to manage an obviously very willful, demented idiot like Biden. Plus he still clearly believes he’s the smartest and wisest person in any room he’s in, so that makes it even more challenging.
Griffin and Rufus T. Firefly: 1) Thank you for the link to Joy Pullman’s essay. I agree with her 100%. I haven’t had COVID-19, but I had both the Hong Kong and Swine Flus when they hit some years back; not fun, but nobody went into hysterics about either one as has been done with the Woo-Woo Flu.
2) I’m sick and tired of the whole public health cosplay. This morning I had to have a blood test preparatory to seeing my primary care doc next week. On the front door of the lab were no fewer than eight posters and announcements about the lab’s policy regarding COVID; the latest burp from the CDC; the local board of health’s “guidance,” and on and on ad nauseam. No more than five patients allowed inside at any one time; the “extras” had to wait in the outside corridor to be buzzed in.
Once inside, the place looked like the kind of room where detectives interrogate criminal suspects; the usual magazine rack was gone (people might get cooties from reading a magazine that someone else had touched!); there were five and only five chairs for people to sit in, spaced at least eight feet apart, and the chairs were the ugly bare-bones plastic type (easier to sanitize, I assume) instead of the comfortable chairs the lab used to have for patients. No nurse at check-in; instead, an electronic gadget for touch-typing one’s name, rank, and serial number. The general atmosphere of the lab was straight out of an old episode of Twilight Zone.
The phlebotomist was friendly as well as competent, but she was required to be gowned, double-masked, and wear a plastic face shield over the masks. I went home feeling like the contents of my cats’ litter box. There is something about being treated as if one is a leper or the bearer of some other loathsome contagion that eats away at one’s soul and spirit. This fetishization (I don’t know a better word) of physical health über alles is well on its way to destroying the body politic.
Griffin,
I am sorry to say I too find myself judging people I see wearing masks in especially absurd locations; alone, outside in large, open spaces with relatively few people… Their behavior doesn’t even make sense by their own standards.
And, I have chosen to not go into some stores and restaurants based on how draconian their posted mask policy is. I guess I’m not being particularly heroic. When a sign reads, “recommended” I base my behavior on what I see upon entering. If everyone is masked I’ll put my mask on, but if 15%’ish or more are unmasked I leave it off. I tell myself I’m doing it not to scare the others, but maybe I am just a coward, or afraid of how I will be judged.
PA+Cat,
I’m sorry your day started out so poorly, and I share your repulsion at much of the “Omega Man” theater, but I still want to laud you on your use of the word, “phlebotomist.”
Such a great word!
Great video.
I’m a fan of Jason’s YouTube history channel. I started subscribing to his channel when I watched a video about what medieval peasants ate.
I just got back from our annual Dove Hunt in Abilene Texas and it was interesting that most of us have not worn masks in stores since last January, my only exception was the VA for hearing aid repair and paying taxes on a boat last spring at the local court house where the staff, about ten people, were behind plexiglass without masks, kind of interesting. Anyway as we gathered at our hotel the hotel staff was masked up and our friends from Dallas came in with masks the first day. As our group started unmasking the hotel staff did too so by Sunday morning, our third day no one was wearing a mask so I am thinking the mask, at least here in Texas is more of a social construct for a lot of us.
And then there is the woman who was putting fuel in her car in front of me at a filling station in Winter Texas, no one close to her within 100 feet, I was about 30 feet away in my car with the windows up, we were slightly out of a little town of less than 3,000 people, 40 miles out of Abilene and I kind of wanted to go smack her up the side of the head because her masking up was senseless but of course I would never want to interfere with her right to be as nutty as she wanted to be. I might not have been out of line if I did tell her that an aluminum bonnet would increase her protection at least four fold and I am sorry I neglected to do that.
Maybe we can convince people that just like white shoes, masks should not be worn after Labor Day. And the terrible North Texas Freeze in February killed off so many dove that this was our worst dove hunt in the 27 years we have been hunting but 23 of us gathered in for Dove Eve dinner, enjoyed meeting each other once more and a good time was had by all.
Rufus, PA+Cat, Griffin,
I’m long past feeling guilty for judging people when I see them wearing masks alone in their cars or out jogging alone or walking their dog. My wife says I can’t hide my look of disgust, so even if I don’t say anything, I’m sure I will get approached by one sooner or later when they see the look on my face.
It’s a blessing in a way though: now we know from a distance, without the need for direct interaction, who the irrational people are. They’re doing us a favor by advertising it.
Now, if only the rational people would start not wearing their masks. We can’t comply our way out of this mess.
“Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)
Come, mister tally man, tally me banana
(Daylight come and me wan’ go home)”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tou8-Cz8is
Griffin; Fractal Rabbit; Rufus T. Firefly; et al:
I’ve said this before but I think it bears repeating – I sometimes wear a mask while alone in my car, and I’ll tell you why. I often do a string of errands at once, errands that each require mask-wearing. Very often these tasks are a short distance from each other – say, a five-minute drive or even less. Once I have a mask on I consider it something of a pain in the neck to keep taking it off and putting it on at such short intervals. For one thing, it means touching it over and over. For another thing, my car’s receptacles are pretty full and there’s no easy place to put it that isn’t somewhat dirty, or at least not sanitary. My masks are not particularly uncomfortable to wear, although I don’t ordinarily wear them unless it’s required. Anyway, for such a short interval, I don’t see the point of a quick off and on, off and on.
That way of thinking seems quite logical to me and not the least bit irrational. I would imagine I’m not the only one with that calculation, and some of the in-car mask-wearers may be doing it for that reason.
Also, every now and then I have forgotten I have it on, and I arrive home with it on and I didn’t even realize it.
Rufus T. Firefly:
Thank you for your kind words about this morning’s episode of COVID Theater. As for “phlebotomist,” it is a great word, and I have the utmost respect for the health professionals who are specially trained to draw blood. The phlebotomist who drew my blood sample this morning was very good at what she does; she was finished before I had time to react to the minor stick of the needle– and of course I thanked her for her professionalism.
Apropos of the general atmosphere of COVID fever– you might enjoy this paragraph from James Lileks’ Daily Bleat:
“My Twitter feed is almost entirely COVID. It’s infected almost every free-roaming social commentator I follow. None of them are banging pots and pans or calling for conspicious [sic] disobedience; for the most part, they’re reacting to the ever-tremulous thrum of disapproval and dread from the Covid Eternal cohort. We’re about two weeks away from Mu bolstering the need to retreat inward evermore. In a few months I expect that stories about Mu breakthrough cases in people who had the booster will lead to a surge of tweets condemning pictures of airports full of people going somewhere for Christmas.”
With respect, Neo, that may be your rationale for wearing the mask but I find it hard to believe it applies to the majority of the people I see doing it. Do I have proof? No. However, I suspect you are in a very small minority.
Fractal Rabbit:
But why would you think I’m in such a small minority? I’m just being logical, and I would imagine a lot of people make the same calculation – especially if they’re just driving around town. Why wouldn’t they?
As I said, I also sometimes just forget to take the mask off when I leave the place, because I forget I’ve got it on in the first place. If a mask is comfortable, one can forget.
Neo,
You don’t give yourself enough credit. One of the reasons you have such a loyal core of readers, even people like me who only agree with you about 50% of the time, is because it is obvious to most how careful and deliberate you are in your thought pattern and rationale. That alone, masks or no, puts you in a minority.
Face it: You’re probably in the minority.
And I have yet to find a mask so comfortable I can forget I’m wearing it. Every moment wearing it is irritating at best, torture at most.
Fractal Rabbit:
Thanks!!
But I really don’t think it’s a stretch in this case to think quite a few people just find the off-on-off-on thing onerous, and that it’s easier to keep it on for a few minutes. Also, perhaps the discomfort you feel has to do with face shape or ear shape or head size or something like that. I’m not saying I find masks comfortable. But a couple of months ago I traveled cross-country and had to wear one by mandate for about 13 hours. I did often forgot I was wearing it, although sometimes I found it quite annoying to be wearing it. I don’t think I’m that unique in that regard.
My wife, who had Covid in June 2020 and has been vaccinated x 2, was in her internist’s office last week. She asked, “Do you mind if I take off this mask?” He replied, “Yes, because I have a 9 year old at home.” I know of no greater example of political stupidity. Since I am also an MD and my wife is a nurse practitioner, I use him only for routine tasks, like ordering blood tests.
Very interesting video. I thought perhaps I would be learning about the phrase “the short end of the stick,” but no.
The phlebotomist has probably worn a mask for the last decades since HIV came on the scene.
I only wear one when absolutely required, like in Doc offices or the Vet. Boulder Cty CO has again mandated masks in buildings. Today Eye Doc with a mask, then to King Soopers and no mask – not a word was said.
I find that can hang the mask off one ear if I have to wear it again soon. But it does get tangled up with my eyeglasses.
Yes next is MU, the what ever comes after that.
Peter Boghossian has (finally) resigned his professorship at Portland State University. Honestly, I thought he’d been run out of there years ago.
His open letter of resignation is at Bari Weiss’ Substack here, and it says pretty much what you’d expect it to say.
Masks: Now in Florida for 2 weeks and only about 10% of the random people I see are wearing masks. That does not include the unfortunate workers at places like Home Depot who are required by corporate to wear masks.
Bryan: I saw that letter by Boghassian this morning. He hit all the right points, but my main response is that I’m quite sure PSU was happy to see him go and don’t give a rat’s pituti about any of the points he made.
Neo: thanks for the history lesson on tally sticks: I had no idea! Our ancestors weren’t stupid, and I bet that their counter-counterfeit technique (matching the split stick) was very nearly foolproof. A lot better than “123456” as a password. On the other hand: if you absent-mindedly use your half of the stick for kindling…
As for masks: I am proud to report that I have been using the same one since March 2020. I hang it on my turn signal lever so it’s handy for errands. When I put it on (sloppily) I always hope that others can see how seriously I take this piece of theater.
SHIREHOME:
Depends on the size and shape of the ear.
As far as phlebotomists go, until COVID I had never seen one wearing a mask, and I’ve had an awful lot of blood tests in my life.
The literate version of the split tally stick was the indenture, a contract written twice on the same sheet and then cut in half along a jagged line, so that the parties could later put their pieces together and verify that they’d signed the same thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indenture#
“Fractal Rabbit:
But why would you think I’m in such a small minority? I’m just being logical, and I would imagine a lot of people make the same calculation…”
Believing that more than a small minority are actually being driven by logic in this day and age is, well, quaint.
There is a much larger minority than a small minority who have gone simply stark raving bonkers. I grant that “some” are slapping on the mask because it is “just too much trouble” but how much trouble is it, really? Trivial.
Many in masks are driven by fear and trembling and being good zombies are just doing what they are told and I can understand that.
The real tell are those you pass that are compulsively wearing the black Biden death masks. Those are the Biden voters and it is a good thing they are marking themselves as such.
neo,
Yeah, I don’t know I spend a fair amount of time on the freeways of the Puget Sound area and it is fairly common to see a person in their cars all alone wearing a mask and they don’t fit your running errands theory. And even last winter when I begrudgingly wore the mask more I would immediately pull it down when I went outside even if just driving across the parking lot.
For me it’s all about normalizing abnormal behavior and I will not comply.
Rufus,
Yes there are a couple of places that are mask crazy that I won’t go to anymore and I have vowed to never go again. It’s the only power we have as individuals and I will not go to any restaurant, theater, sporting event that requires a vax passport even though I have been vaccinated.
Vax passports are wrong and I will not play along like they are anything other than wrong.
Also to the Joy Pullman piece at The Federalist I think a key part is the feeling when forced by government to do something absurd. It’s a deeply troubling feeling and I will not accept it and I’m saddened that too many people on the right seem to.
This has been a very troubling time but also clarifying to me.
Griffin,
A few years back, there was a movie released called ‘Last Knights’, starring Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman. Critics hated it. It was basically a retelling of the 47 Ronin, in a fictional setting. I loved it, as did my daughter.
Anyway, Morgan Freeman has line in that movie that has come to me seemingly once a day these past two years or so:
“Adopting the language of a pretense only serves to ease participation in it.”
I am saddened when I hear people even use the same terms as some of our enemies, let alone when they do something or go along with something absurd. Buying into the lie, makes people complicit.
Gerard vandeleun:
You misunderstand me.
I am certainly not saying that most people are driven by logic in complex matters such as politics or other large decisions. But in terms of whether to keep one’s mask on in the car when running short errands, the logic behind a reason for keeping it on is not so difficult or rare as you seem to think. It’s often easier to keep it on. And sometimes people forget they have it on. That’s not so hard for anyone to wrap his or her mind around.
And several of the very few Trump supporters I know wear “black Biden death masks.” So you’re wrong there, too. They are just the type of mask they happen to have purchased in quantity, and they often wear the same one over and over.
You are jumping to conclusions that are – how shall I put this? – illogical.
Fractal Rabbit,
Yes, I try my best not to fall into the ‘I wear a mask for other people’ line. I don’t accept that period. The fact that nobody in their right mind thought any of this crap was effective before March 2020 tells me all I need to know.
And to be clear I do wear the mask at a doctor or hospital or visiting my mom’s facility even though I don’t buy it there even at this point but that is a tougher call. But the store or an outdoor football game no way.
Griffin:
I’m sure there are regional differences. Puget sound would be perhaps atypical in terms of a higher percentage and scope of mask-wearing.
I have actually owned only about five masks this entire time. I wore one flimsy ass cloth one every day for months. They accomplish nothing so what does it matter. I did get a black one that I like better and goes with clothes I wear better and I’ve now worn that one for like six months.
neo,
Yes I’m sure western Washington is higher in mask usage than many areas. It’s certainly true in the more lefty hangouts like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s that have been truly out of control this entire time.
It’s got to the point that there is a writer for Reason (Robby Soave) out there dancing around supporting mandates.
Worst libertarian evah!!
Reason went off the rails a long time ago.
Agreed, but good lord this should be a field day for libertarians but even they lay down.
Great video with a sad ending (1837 fire) Come the deluge, that method of keeping track of payments might still be useful.
As far as masks, I don’t wear them – at least initially. I do have a mask with me. If asked, I say, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize I didn’t have it on.” and I immediately put it on. That happened infrequently last year. This year it’s happened rarely. There’s no confrontation, no “losing face”. I have noticed that, though I’m maskless, store employees are very polite and helpful – maybe because they want me to leave as quickly as possible. I prefer to think it’s because they want this nonsense to end.
“Archilochus:—
If he keep complaining of woeful misfortunes, Pericles, no citizen will take pleasure in feasting, nay, nor city neither. ‘Tis true these noble souls have been whelmed in the roaring sea and our hearts well with grief; yet to woes incurable, my friend, the Gods have ordained the remedy of staunch endurance. Such things possess one man to-day, another to-morrow; and now they have turned our way and we bewail a bloody wound, but soon they will pass to others. Then quickly put thou womanish grief away, thou and thine, and endure.”
Stobaeus, Anthology
[just testing to see if I could post here at all]
In the “Some days” thread I twice tried to post a link to Conrad Black’s essay “A pitiful, helpless giant” in the New Criterion’s Dispatch blog, and was rejected both times. Let’s see if I can mention it now without the link (easy to find).
[well o.k., that much works]
On this blog, comments having more than one link will be delayed until Neo can look at them, so far as I know.
To wear a black Biden death mask is to give up all allegiance to Trump and to be drummed out of the group.
This is how Democrats treat Blacks they disagree with:
https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/larry-elder-attacked-by-woman-in-gorilla-mask/
Disgusting behavior
My views on masks are very much in line with Ms. Pullman. I hate them and I grow to despise people that I see wearing them in their cars alone or walking in a park more and more
You need a better attitude. It’s no skin off your nose and people have them on in odd settings because they’ve forgotten to remove them or they’re in transit from one locus to another where they’re expected.
The problem with the masks is what they indicate, not the masks itself. We have a satisfactory idea that they’re a weak vector in influencing infection risk. We are well aware that COVID is not a danger to the young. Yet, we have mask mandates in schools. That’s a strong indicator either that (1) the people Glenn Reynolds calls ‘the administrative class’ are stupid or (2) the masks have some function other than their supposed function. And you’d be advised to not co-operate.
The phlebotomist has probably worn a mask for the last decades since HIV came on the scene.
That makes no sense; HIV is not transmitted by respiration. The only way the phlebotomist might get it is through handling infected blood (something I would think more common among lab technicians than phlebotomists).
I have made more than 500 blood donations at the Red Cross since 9/11/2001 and the phlebotomists never wore masks until the WuFlu arrived.
They have always been very careful about exposure to blood products and sharps but that was gloves only. About three years ago they began using a plastic shield between them and my hand when taking a drop of blood from the finger tip as a pre-donation screening of my heme level.
Saw this comment posted. The show is pretty funny though not for the militantly genteel. Tommy’s Garage
“I came across this show on Rumble last night – TommysGarageTVShow.com
It’s a conservative comedy show – a little hokey, but very conservative and gets up to a million views:”
https://rumble.com/vlgqxp-who-wants-to-see-sleepy-joe-get-the-tommys-garage-treatment-after-this-week.html
I intend to wear my nice flannel mask again this winter because it keeps my nose warm. Other than that, only where I have to go and it’s required. Most of my friends are going barefaced.
A caution on reuse: they do hold bacteria from you on one side and incoming on the other. However, I did learn, quite accidentally (ahem), that the commercial ones can go through a washer without disintegrating. So I don’t buy them anymore.
The twitter parody account we need.
https://twitter.com/ZeroCOVID4Ever/with_replies
Tally sticks, what an ancient concept. Now, in the oil patch, a common fixture in any driller’s pocket is the Tally Book. These are small notepads, with lined and columned paper, bound and covered with easily cleaned covers, about 3-1/2″ x 8″ when closed – they fit right snugly in your hip pocket but stick out at the top for easy retrieval. When drilling, everything that goes into the hole is measured. That’s why it’s called a tally book, that’s the purpose: A record of what went into the hole. Every piece of pipe is numbered in sequence, as it’s run into the hole, so the driller always knows how deep he is, so there is a known record in case of trouble.
These things are typically handed out by service companies that use the covers as their advertising medium. I must have a stack a foot high, and long habit often keeps one in my back pocket.
Tally-ho Chaps! Jerry’s at Twelve O’Clock High!
Harry Belafonte – The Banana Boat Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tou8-Cz8is
Tally-ho, naturally, has nothing to do with Tallies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally-ho
Kate wrote: “On this blog, comments having more than one link will be delayed until Neo can look at them, so far as I know.”
My comment contained just the one link, and it hasn’t appeared yet, some seven hours since I posted (tried to post) it.
In fact I tried again a few minutes ago, and still can’t post it on *that* thread. Let’s see if it goes here…. [ahem]:
Gulliver tied down by Lilliputians has crossed my mind lately too; and there’s this: https://newcriterion.com/blogs/dispatch/a-pitiful-helpless-giant
Concerning the plight and the damage done: “The more serious and recurrent the failures and humiliations of the Biden Administration, the more China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea will push and provoke America and its allies, and the feebler and more appeasement-minded America’s long-time allies will become.”
Kate, still no go my post about the “Pitiful, helpless giant” essay. It contains just the one link, so I don’t see how that could be the problem. Maybe the spam filter thinks “Lilliputian” is a dirty word. Hmmm…
[edit to add: no, “Lilliputian” got through all right, and I am very puzzled]
B. Lovely–
Thank you for the Boghossian link. That is really atrocious!
Like the graffiti above the urinal says, these leftist fascists “hold the future in their hands”.
To whomever thanks are due, thank you.
Baceseras:
I found your comments in the spam or the trash (I forget which) and I liberated them. I have no idea why they were originally flagged, though. There was nothing unusual about them that should have caused that to happen. Let me know if it happens again.
Re: masks in Snohomish County, WA
I live in Marysville and I’ve worn a cloth mask probably less than 2 hours since the whole mess started. Happened upon a woman in Cabela’s wearing one of these: a spit shield that seems to satisfy _everybody_ — at least to the degree they won’t say anything about it or request a different “mask.” I started carrying one of them and don’t even put that on unless it is explicitly requested by a person — I ignore the signs and usually nobody says anything.
About 2 weeks ago I wore it to a medical appointment at a clinic. Not a word said by any of several people I had contact with: screening at the door; check-in, 3 nurses, 1 doctor. Next day when back for a blood draw and same result.
I suspect a lot of people “know” the masks are nonsense but lack whatever it is that is required to say: “NO. I won’t live a lie.”