The Daily Dose/March 26, 2020
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience…
FOR $500 AND CONTROL OF THE BOARD: Just for funsies, see if you can identify the author of the following quote:
The United States is in turmoil, more so that at any other time in history. States hate other states, the electoral college is under attack at every turn and the races are at each other’s throats. On top of this is a two-party political system, split by racial, social, cultural, linguistic and class divides.
The end result is a nation in gridlock, unable to respond to any great change, unable to commit to any great projects. A political and social stalemate that makes any advancement impossible.
Fly In The Ointment: This particularly cogent analysis of our country came from Brenton Tarrant, the man accused of killing 49 people in two shootings at New Zealand mosques last year, the largest mass shooting in New Zealand history. (Click here to read the 3/25/19 column it originally appeared in. It’s pretty good.)
It’s too bad a New Zealand terrorist has relevant insights into our country, but Tarrant is right: we are unable to respond to any great change, or challenge, for that matter. Our current coronavirus fiasco is merely the latest example.
Dry, Technical Matter: As we did in the months leading up to 9/11, US leaders ignored intelligence reports that might have prevented this.
As early as January US intelligence sources were advising on the advance of the pathogen as well as noting the Chinese government appeared to be downplaying its significance. President Trump as well Congressional leaders also chose to downplay its significance, both publicly and privately, meaning America lost two months’ response time, though at least five US Senators lost no time in dumping stocks that would have lost them money.
No, We’re Not Completely Heartless: Now, we are mindful that it is human nature not to stand by and watch people die. That is why we are locked down, with governments at a variety of levels controlling what businesses and people can do and where they can go, actions unprecedented in any of our lifetimes. We are trying to mitigate the damage, though to think we can eliminate it probably folly. There is going to come a time when we are going to have to come to terms with the death toll, just like we have come to terms with the flu’s death toll. We can’t stay permanently locked down.
As the government starts taking more and more control of our lives they are going to do more and more things for us and while there might have been a time when Americans resisted that, that time has passed. Americans are now demanding more and more things from their government and the first rumblings of a universal basic income (UBI) are starting to be heard, along with the usual demands for government-provided medical care and income redistribution.
Get Your Official Daily Dose Policy Right Here: This is dangerous. It is not the purpose of government to provide cradle-to-grave coverage for its citizens. We must be careful. Governments that take away liberties sometimes do not give them back. We must be watchful that our liberties are returned to us as soon as it is practical and this includes the ability to forge our own way economically and socially.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow has the latest MPG figures for the new ride. Today’s Diary.
The big news is the even in these trying times the MPG figure for the new ride remains strong:…
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On This Date
Great moments in us.
In 1979 – A peace treaty between Israel and Egypt is signed at the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and witnessed by US President Jimmy Carter. The treaty was the result of negotiations hosted by Carter the previous year at Camp David. The treaty took effect in 1980 and was not heralded with universal acclaim. Egypt was suspended from the Arab League for ten years and Sadat was assassinated in 1981. For their efforts, Begin and Sadat shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1972 – The Los Angeles Lakers establish a new NBA record for most wins in a season, winning their 69th game, a 124-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics. The Lakers broke the record of 68 wins established by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966-67 and finished the season 69-13 and defeated the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Their record stood until the Chicago Bulls won 72 games in 1995-96 and is now held by the Golden State Warriors, who won 73 games in 2015-16.
In 1955 – The Ballad of Davy Crockett by Bill Hayes is at #1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart – a predecessor of the Hot 100 – for the first of five consecutive weeks. It was the first chart single for Hayes and only a #33 hit in 1957 kept Hayes, an accomplished actor, from being a one-hit wonder. The song also peaked at #2 in Great Britain and was Billboard’s sixth-biggest song of the year. Three other versions of the song would hit Billboard’s country chart.
Quotebook
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Everyman achieved his own greatness by reaching out beyond himself, and so it is with nations…Only when a nation means something to itself can it mean something to others. – Werner Von Braun
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
It’s not who you know, but what you know.
Sugar Ray Robinson lost to Joe Maxim for the world light heavyweight title in 1952.
Today’s Stumper
Cheaper than Trivia Night at the bar.
What was the Los Angeles Lakers’ longest winning streak in the 1971-72 NBA season? – Answer next time!
