The first days of this month have brought several things which led me to focus on those two words at the top of the page, not the least of which has been marking a birthday for the statement of our founding purpose and Thomas Sowell turning 91. If any one person could be used as a figurehead for intellectual clarity, Dr. Sowell would have to be a prime candidate. The Declaration of Independence was not necessarily an original document but a brief clarification of principles gleaned from the troubled history of mankind.

Having observed some of the more recent examples of hot air and unprincipled mutterings, I have for a few moments left my dugout to add some of my cluttered thoughts to the mix.

LA has reimposed an indoor mask mandate starting tomorrow.

If I told you that because COVID cases are few but increasing, that you should continue to stand on one foot while eating pizza you would likely point out that such a gesture has no impact on the spread of COVID.  Exactly right. In fact, none of the NPIs done by any government at any level anywhere in the world has had any significant or even measurable effect on the spread of COVID. We now know with statistical certainty that the lockdowns and closures had little or no effect other than economic, medical, and social injury, that school closures were scientifically ill-advised and harmed kids more than COVID and that general mask mandates had no measurable impact on any country or local jurisdiction that imposed them.  COVID was always gonna COVID and the numbers went up and down on COVID’s own terms. Other than vaccines, we have no effective tools but we continue to pretend that we do.

I was looking back through some of my emails with Boss Mongo.  A couple years ago, we once again nearly had the chance to get together for a bourbon or three.  But then he had some problems with his house, and he was having some health problems, and he had to cancel.  This was part of his email, explaining that he couldn’t make it:

We’ve had a couple medical issues (serious stuff, not imaginary), we’ve had some housing issues (getting evicted after H. Irma so my landlord could his hands on some of that sweet, sweet FEMA money.  But, still.  I’m amazed at how much effort it takes to get through the day, when I thought I’d get to downshift into “cruise” at this point.  Still, absotively posolutely I would leap at the chance to sit down and have a dynamic conversation with you and your pops.

Just saying: I am not currently a man of leisure.  But someday I will be.  Yes I will.

Outside of the old leftist stand-by of racism, I doubt there has been any subject more on the collective tongue than voting for the last few months. The noise has come from all political directions but little of it has processed much clarity, intellectual or otherwise.

A secure and valid vote is one of those necessary, vital elements if we are to practice, maintain and grow the liberty intended when our republic was founded. The Founders/Framers were wise enough not to create a strict democracy. They knew enough history not to make that mistake. They also realized that the path to that hard-to-define term “will of the people” was always an ongoing process requiring actual input from us peons in a variety of ways.

I could not not revive this series since we have now arrived at a point in our own demise where this is not so much snark as astute political / social commentary:

“They’re gonna make people wish that the January 6 “insurrection” was real, and that it had succeeded, aren’t they?”