Who to Believe?

With all the information and accusations flying around these days about coronavirus and cures and other things, with various media outlets telling different versions of the same story, with some states lessening restrictions and others tightening them, with governors decreeing one thing and mayors demanding another – it's hard to determine what is true and what's not. Why do I see people I know cautioning others not to believe certain things – how can they be so sure? Some use cute memes to bully and shame. I see posts with unsupported statements and data. Why are media outlets suppressing free speech by taking videos off the internet? What is being said that the powers that be don't want to be told? If it's not true, then who cares? There's lots of fake stuff on the internet. If what is being suppressed is true, that's a different matter. Seems like something's going on with all those millions flowing from the US to the Wuhan labs.

Some are in favor of a worldwide vaccine. Of implanting chips inside human bodies. Meanwhile media companies are cooperating more with the World Health Organization and China and not with the US military and those trying to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Are powerful doctors dictating research for new vaccines that they'll stand to profit from, while knowing of cures already developed that could be used immediately – while thousands are dying? And while covid is contagious and lethal for older people and those with compromised immune systems, is research showing that younger people and children are far less likely to be infected? If so, why is the economy still shut down? Sure, we know more now than we did a month or two ago, and it's hard to turn aircraft carriers around quickly.

 

Washington DC these days seems to be like king of the hill. Instead of everyone working across party lines for what's best for the US like Reagan and Tip O'Neill did, nowadays instead it's just one big squabble, treying to knock off the guy on top. More concern with making the other party look bad than actually governing, even if it means letting people die of the virus, go broke from lack of work, or go out of business. Not sure how many Presidents have truly been Christian, though it's not for me to judge. Bush seemed to be, as well as Carter.

 

So many unanswered questions. Satan is using all this to create confusion, and to turn people against each other. Some say this crisis is helping pave the way for the eventual One World Government (OWG), that small steps have been taken for years and even decades. The Bible says the antichrist will be silver-tongued, loved and worshipped by the multitudes – so we know that the current President is not the antichrist. I just don't want to be fooled. I don't want people I love to be fooled.

 

Wrote this then checked my email. Received one titled "Are you feeling uncertain?" Claims the verse from Isaiah 33: "…and He shall be the stability of our times…"

Lots of chatter about Korean baseball. Cool for your favorite team to not be one of the first two to be televised, but you gotta like a team named the Dinos. Guys think it's funny to comment on, but in another week you'll be screaming at the television – HOW CAN THE MANAGER LEAVE IN YANG HYEON-JONG TO FACE CHOI JEONG??? (joke stolen from Twitter).

Gotta like Lombardi over Shula. Both coach back in the 60's when the plan was to grind out wins with the running game, with Hornung and Taylor and Matte and Csonka and Kiick and Mercury Morris. Then Shula got Dan Marino and switched to the passing game. Schula passed George Halas on the all-time wins list. Your friend Bill Belechik is like 67 and still fifty wins behind Shula – which will take five seasons to pass. I don't think he'll coach that long.

Speaking of Hornung, there's a social media post going around – who's the best number 5 in college football history?  Many said Reggie Bush. Christian McCaffrey. Manti Teo. Pat White. Darren McFadden. Edgerrin James. Braxton Miller. Donovan McNabb. Jabrill Peppers. Jamies Winston. Hardly anyone mentioned Hornung, who won the Heisman in college, and championships and scoring titles as a pro. Only Edgerrin joined Hornung in the pro football hall of fame.

Tuesday night Ceil and Matthew fixed a Cinco de Mayo feast. M had a brisket marinating all day. All the regular fixins: homemade refried beans, rice, homemade spicy salsa, chips, chopped onions, cheese, and more. Also fresh pineapple. Made one taco and also a pile of everything, that I ate with chips. Ceil watched some new show on TV. Some "star" picks up a regular Joe who runs a small bakery with his family. I watched one episode and went to bed. C watched the second episode but said it wasn't that great. The Baker and the Beauty.

Wednesday I was outside on the phone. Was out on the street and Barney was at the window barking at me. Hopefully his eyesight isn't so bad that he couldn't recognize me. Hhad been planning on cutting the grass yesterday after work. Was backing out Ceil's car to get the mower but felt sprinkles of rain. Wind blowing hard and getting chilly, so I put it off to today. I was taking the trash to the street when the neighbor's inside dog Sadie came running up. She's checked me out before, so I coaxed her up to me so I could grab her collar. After I petted her she laid down wanting a belly rub. Barney was inside but not happy. Got Ceil to take her home.

Ceil cooked chicken tenders, baked chopped potato and sweet potato, and cooked some spinach. Not much on TV. She turned on Hallmark. For lunch Wednesday I fixed turkey quesadillas.  

 

Still cold today. Bundled up to work with long johns, long socks, three layers on top, and my gloves with the fingertips cut out. My workspace is near some drafty windows so I have a blanket on my shoulders. Anna is headed to the lake. M cooked himself breakfast: egg taco with sausage, cheese, and refried beans. M had leftover fried egg so I made me an eggy boy with cheese & turkey on toast. Rodrigo Blankenship was on the radio with Buck Belue today, so I had a listen. Ceil is finally baking bread today, using Lang's recipe. M went to meet friends down by the river.

 

Doesn't seem like I've been sleeping all that well, but my graphs haven't been too bad.

 

TOT.QUAL.deep.heartrate

6.23  4.17  1.01   60 last nite

8.45  5.37  2.50   64 Tues nite

6.50  3.31  1.13   65 Mon nite

 

Bad news: this AM our CEO announced temporary pay cuts. Not sure yet how this effects me. Hopefully the stock market will bounce back sooner than later. Not sure yet of the details of the wage reduction. The email said all salaried employees and technically I am hourly, so we'll see if I dodge a bullet. Should know by Monday.

  

EDDIE ROBINSON [SABR Bio] is currently the oldest living former major leaguer - born 15-Dec-1920, now 99 years 144 days old. He was the first White Sox batter to hit a home run completely over the right field pavilion roof at Comiskey Park. HR off Al Widmar on 25-Apr-1951. The first six roof shots were launched by Hall of Famers: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx (twice), Hank Greenberg & Ted Williams. Ruth's roofer, the park's first, was home run number 37 in route to his record total of 60 for the '27 Yankees, traveled an estimated 474 feet, and came in the first season Comiskey Park was double-decked. That same season, more than 40% of Robinson's hits were home runs - 36 hits, 16 HR = 44.4%.

 

Joe Torre broke his record of grounding into three double plays in a game. Baseball-Reference tells us that between 1934 and Torre's 4-peat on 21-Jul-1975, nine Hall of Famers plus 32 others, including Robinson, hit into 3 double plays in one game. Billy Herman and Billy Conigliaro each did it twice!. An additional 76 players have now tied Robinson for second place on that list. In Eddie's twelve-year career, he played for seven of the then existing eight American League teams. Played for CLE, NYY, CHW, WSH, PHIL-KCA, BAL & DET. Did not play for BOS but worked for them as a scout after his playing days.

Read a discussion of how when Hank Aaron broke Ruth's record, his manager was former teammate Eddie Mathews. Someone mentioned few star players turned out to be good managers. I suggested a teammate of Hank and Eddie – Joe Torre.