I wonder if “I’ve been talking with the most intelligent people in the world and never even noticed”

From the Editor—

Last night I watched another episode of Columbo, “The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case.” Not that that’s anything special, mind you: I own all the episodes on DVD, watch them over and again — regardless of pandemic or any sort of government imposed quarantine. [1-7]

Mrs Deaton can certainly vouch for that. [8]

In the closing minutes of that particular show, Lieutenant Columbo is offered the following question from a standardized intelligence test used by the MENSA-like organization of which the villain is a part. [9]

We can go directly to the more difficult questions. Ah, yes. Here we are.

Lieutenant, I’m going to give you four words — and you tell me which one does not belong. Asphault. Uncle. Delight. Leave.

A lot of things about the COVID-19 outbreak strike me as a similar sort of cipher. Except in this case, nothing belongs except the virus itself. Stopping spread of the virus. Curing the virus. [10]

Even at that, the words “data-driven” and “science” are being used to squelch as opposed to open further exploration, discussion, scruitiny, debate. The presumption is that to have taken action “out of an abundance of caution” is itself persuasive justification for having done so. [11-16]

This extends all the way to the President Donald Trump, who, a great many argue, is nothing more than an impediment to implementation of his medical experts’ directives (as opposed to mere counsel). Well, except when it has to do with some other tangents. [17-21]

There are other considerations, our president has argued, including balance of immediate impacts on the economy in both the long- and short-term. I’m reminded of a personal blog entry posted almost twenty years ago now, arguing against the notion that “We should do this thing even if it only benefits one person in a thousand.” [22]

Here in Saline Michigan, it’s how voices opposed to wiping out a third of our local main street small business owners by the end of this month are shamed into silence. [23]

Turns out there are numerous aspects of the United States Constitution that refute “abundance of caution” and “if it saves just one life” tropes as well. But, as I’m saying in this editorial, those discussions are not, by and large, the stuff of evening cable news discussions, social media rants, and general click-obsessed news sites online. [24-26]

Other thoughts I’ve had on this aren’t anywhere near as grand as ties to our Founding Fathers. [27]

Take the Boy Scout concept of “Be Prepared,” for example. Before COVID-19, the most common extreme that came to mind was a “Prepper,” subject to “an inordinate amount of commentary and focus is put on so-called ‘Doomsday’ or Apocalyptic preparedness ….” Today we have “hoarders.” [28-33]

Ventilator acquisition for patient use for inventory in preparation for inevitable epidemic falls somewhere in between federal and personal. According Governor Andrew Cuomo, it is appropriate to take ventilators and protective equipment from hospitals and other health care facilities in upstate New York where they’re not in use to deploy the lifesaving equipment in the New York City area. [34,35]

I apologize for the hardship to those institutions — ultimately there is no hardship, if you don’t get the ventilator back, I give you my personal word I will pay you for the ventilator — but I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redeploy these ventilators.

Thus application of “The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case” intelligence test I referenced at the outset has been quite the opposite in terms of gleaning a fuller picture of the novel coronavirus story.

Here, there isn’t a single word that does not belong.

References

1. “Columbo (1971-2003): The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case” IMDb.
2. “Episode review: Columbo The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case” (October 27, 2019) The Columbophile.
3. “6.3 The Bye Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case” (mp4) Internet Archive.
4. “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
5. “Novel Coronavirus Reports” CDC.
6. “Executive Order 2020-09 (COVID-19)” Governor Gretchen Whitmer (March 16, 2020) State of Michigan.
7. “Executive Order 2020-21 (COVID-19)” Gretchen Whitmer (March 23, 2020) State of Michigan.
8. Janet Deaton (Kossick) (Facebook Page).
9. MENSA International (home page).
10. Coronavirus (COVID-19) (home page).
11. “Inaccurate Virus Models Are Panicking Officials Into Ill-Advised Lockdowns” Madeline Osburn (March 25, 2020) The Federalist.
12. “No, a COVID Scientist Didn’t Walk Back His Prediction” Robert Verbruggen (March 26, 2020) National Review.
13. “What if the ‘sky-is-falling’ coronavirus models are wrong?” Douglass Mackinnon (March 28, 2020) The Hill.
14. “‘Out of an abundance of caution’ – An overused phrase” Tara Kirk Sell and Crystal Boddie (July 22, 2015) “The Bifurcated Needle” Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins.
15. “Michigan activates state emergency operations center to prepare for coronavirus” Ken Haddad (February 28, 2020) Click on Detroit.
16. “‘We’re going to get through this,’ says Gov. Whitmer as she orders K-12 schools closed over coronavirus” Emily Lawler (March 13, 2020) mLive.
17. “Do Not Listen To Trump On Coronavirus. Listen To Health Experts, Please” Chris D’Angelo and Hayley Miller (March 11, 2020) The Huffington Post.
18. “President Trump Is Already Considering Defying Health Experts to Boost the Economy” Brian Bennett and Tessa Berenson (March 23, 2020) Time.
19. “Your Guide To The Federal Stimulus Package” Kely Ann Smith (March 27, 2020) Forbes.
20. “Diane Keller (2020.04.03)– on CARES Act businesses loan options” Diane Kellery (April 3, 2020) Saline Journal.
21. “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (2020-0403)– notice issued by US Congressional District 7 House Representative for Michigan” Tim Walberg (April 3, 2020) Saline Journal.
22. “The ‘One in a Thousand’ Fallacy” Dell Deaton (October 22, 2000) Dell Deaton.
23. “Analysis of financial impact on restaurants as Michigan Executive Orders 2020-09, 2020-21 remain in effect” Dell Deaton (March 23, 2020) Saline Journal.
24. “Red and Blue America Agree That Now Is the Time to Violate the Constitution” Paul Spella (March 25, 2020) The Atlantic.
25. “Taking constitutional rights seriously during COVID-19 pandemic” Andrew P Napolitano (April 1, 2020) Washington Times.
26. “Will COVID-19 Kill the Constitution?” Jacob Sullum (April 1, 2020) Reason.
27. “Founding Fathers” Khan Academy.
28. Boy Scouts of America (home page).
29. “Be Prepared: The origin behind the Scout motto” Bryan Wendell (May 8, 2017) Bryan on Scouting, Scouting Magazine.
30. American Preppers Network (home page).
31. REI (home page).
32. “Hoarding: The Basics” ADAA: Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
33. “Step Inside the Real World of Compulsive Hoarders” Ferris Jabr (February 25, 2013) Scientific American.
34. “Ventilator/Ventilator Support” NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
35. “Cuomo plans to use National Guard to seize ventilators from upstate facilities” Marie J French (April 3, 2020) Politico.