The Corona Virus, July 27, 2020

There are currently 4.347,149 reported case in the US and 149,496 deaths.

California has 452,883 cases and 8,457 deaths
Florida has 432,750 and 5,931 deaths
New York has 416,995 cases and 32,630 deaths
Texas has 394,846 cases and 5,085 deaths
New Jersey has 179,363 cases and 15,879 deaths

I've continued to track the number of case increases across the country, the state and Bergen County. I've added the numbers for the previous week and updated the numbers for the week before that.

US Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 196,983, 155.5%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 226,490, 66.7%
April 13 - April 19 -- 206,029, 36.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 215,086, 27.9%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 198,464, 20.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 175,910, 14.8%
May 11 -- May 17 ---  158,286, 11.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---  161,280, 10.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---  149,072,  8.9%
June 1 -  June   7 --- 156,692,  8.6%
June 8 - June 14 --- 153,114,   7.2%
June 15 -June 21 --  190,901,  8.9%
June 22 -June 28 -- 274,422, 11.8%
June 29 - July 5    -- 350,566,  13.5%
July 6 - July 12    --  424,163,  14.3%
July 13 - July 19  --  478,255,  14.1%
July 20 -July 26  --  471,243, 12.2%

Well, at least things appear to have flattened out a bit. Both California and Florida passed New York last week in number of cases.

New Jersey Cases, Percentage Increase and Positive Tests
March 30 - April 5 -- 24,119, 180.2%, 51.8%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 24,345, 64.9%, 54.6%
April 13 - April 19 -- 23,451, 37.9%, 53.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 23,737, 27.8%, 45.3%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 17,706, 16.2%, 34.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 11,788,   9.3%, 31.5%
May 11 -- May 17 ---   7,802,   5.6%, 12.7%
May 18 - May 24 ---   7,820,   5.3%,  6.7%
May 25 - May 31 ---   6,291,    4.1%,  3.7%
June 1 -  June  7 ----  3,719,    2.3%,  2.0%
June 8 - June 14 ---   2,717,    1.7%,  2.0% 
June 15 -June 21 ---   2,261,   1.4%,  1.3%
June 22 -June 28 --- 2,040,   1.2%,  1.4%
June 29 -July 5   ---  2,220,   1.3%,  1.5%
July 6 -   July 12 ---   1,896,   1.1%,  1.3%
July 13 -July 19    ---  1,485,  0.8%, 1.4%
July 20 -July 26   ---  2,580, 1.5%, 1.6%

New Jersey had a significant uptick in cases at the end of the week with 1,000 new cases in two days. Granted it was the result of over 60,000 tests results but the 1.6% positive rate isn't that encouraging either.

Bergen County Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 4,018, 185.2%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 3,597, 58.1%
April 13 - April 19 --  2,855, 29.2%
April 20 - April 26 -- 2,326, 18.4%
April 27 - May 3 ----  1,220, 8.2%
May 4 - May 10  ----    744, 4.6%
May 11 -- May 17 ---    432,  2.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---    443,  2.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---    468,  2.6%
June 1 - June 7 ------  240,  1.3%
June 8 - June 14 ---    306,  1.7%
June 15 -June 21 ---   192,   1.0%
June 22 -June 28 ---  344,   1.8%
June 29 -July 5     ---  271,   1.4%
July 6 -July 12    ---    246,   1.3%
July 13 -July 19  --      109,   0.5%
July 20-July 26  --      246,  1.2%

Bergen County had a slight uptick as well. Hopefully this is just an anomaly but we shall see.

I have a doctor's appointment with my pulmonologist Thursday. That should be loads of fun.

Removing Confederate Statues from the Capital

The House voted Wednesday to remove statues of Confederate leaders from the Capitol and replace the bust of Roger B. Taney, the U.S. chief justice who wrote the Supreme Court decision that said the US Constitution didn't mean to extend citizenship to blacks.

The bill specifically mentioned three men who backed slavery — Charles B. Aycock, John C. Calhoun and James P. Clarke.

The statues are actually provided by the states. I believe it's two each and the Senate appears willing to leave it that way so I suspect this bill is going nowhere.

Personally I don't have a big problem with removing the statues of Confederate leaders but I'm not too sure about Taney because, prior to the 14th Amendment, the Constitution probably didn't extend citizenship to black people.

I guess I am confused about the criteria we using for scrubbing our past. Is it Confederate leaders and generals or anyone who owned slaves or allowed slavery to continue as an institution?

I've heard calls for removing statues for Jefferson and Washington because they owned slaves. Taney was from the slave state of Maryland but didn't own slaves himself. He was apparently unhappy with  Northern attacks on slavery which probably was a factor in the Dred Scott decision.

Well, then what about the friezes honoring law givers on the walls of the Supreme Court?

The following friezes are the south wall of the Supreme Court: Menes, Hammurabi, Moses, Solomon, Lycurgus, Solon, Draco, Confucius and Augustus.

I will guarantee you that Menes, Hammurabi, Lycurgus and Augustus had slaves. Solomon, Solon and Draco probably did as well. Moses doesn't seem to have a problem with slavery in the Pentateuch (see Leviticus 25:44-46).

The following friezes are on the north wall of the Supreme Court: Justinian, Muhammad, Charlemagne, King John, Louis IX, Hugo Grotius, Sir William Blackstone, John Marshall and Napoleon.

Justinian certainly had slaves and Muhammad did as well. Charlemagne was probably what we would call Islamophobic as was Louis IX since Louis was one of the leaders of the 7th and 8th crusades. King John was a tyrant who had to have the Magna Carta imposed on him by force of arms. All three of them undoubtedly had serfs which is almost as bad as having slaves.

John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court during slavery, never declared it unconstitutional and owned slaves himself. Napoleon waged wars that resulted in the deaths of between three and six million people including women and children.

I don't know much about Grotius and Blackstone.

So we've got a bunch of folks being honored within the Supreme Court who did lots of bad stuff. Many of them owned slaves and others condoned slavery.

Are we taking them down too?

On a History of Slavery

All of a sudden I see articles about wringing their hands and obsessing over their ancestors owning slaves.

Well, my people were in Italy and Austria-Hungary when slavery was a thing so I'm pretty sure they never owned anyone. I hear that one of my ancestors fought at the siege of Vienna though so maybe I should go and kick a Muslim?

What they're talking about was over 200 years ago and it was a different time with different mores. Learning from history is one thing but not letting it go is something else again.

No, our current issues are not the fault of slavery or even Jim Crow. They're the fault of drugs, guns, poverty and the simple fact that in many cases it takes two working parents to make ends meet. I could also throw in the lack of access to adequate health care and the lack of access to adequate education.

How about we focus on today and tomorrow rather than yesterday?

On Removing Statues

I have modified my position a bit and arrived at what I think are some truisms.

The fundamental insanity of the extreme left is the quest for perfection from imperfect beings and institutions.

The fundamental insanity of the extreme right is the belief that they're better than everyone else and therefore entitled to exploit everyone else.

I'm opposed to removing statues of the founding fathers even though they were imperfect men. We can acknowledge their imperfections while still honoring the things they did.

I'm in favor of removing statues, or anything else, honoring the Confederacy or the political leaders of the Confederacy. The purpose of the Confederacy was to preserve slavery and there's nothing to honor about that.

I'm opposed to the removal of memorials to common soldiers of the Confederacy such as those at Gettysburg. Why soldiers fight is complicated and the men in the front lines are often among the greatest victims of war.

Confederate generals are sort of in between. Lee, Jackson, Hood and Stuart were soldiers but they were also leaders. I also suspect that many of the statues to these men are monuments not so much to the soldier as to the cause of the Confederacy. So now I don't have a problem with taking them down.

The Corona Virus July 20, 2020

There are currently 3,879,477 reported case in the US and 143,041 deaths.

New York has 411,954 cases and 32,483 deaths
California has 386,960 cases and 7,718 deaths
Florida has 360,394 and 5,073 deaths
Texas has 336,301 cases and 4,014 deaths
New Jersey has 176,963 cases and 15,806 deaths

I've continued to track the number of case increases across the country, the state and Bergen County. I've added the numbers for the previous week and updated the numbers for the week before that.

US Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 196,983, 155.5%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 226,490, 66.7%
April 13 - April 19 -- 206,029, 36.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 215,086, 27.9%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 198,464, 20.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 175,910, 14.8%
May 11 -- May 17 ---  158,286, 11.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---  161,280, 10.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---  149,072,  8.9%
June 1 -  June   7 --- 156,692,  8.6%
June 8 - June 14 --- 153,114,   7.2%
June 15 -June 21 --  190,901,  8.9%
June 22 -June 28 -- 274,422, 11.8%
June 29 -July 5    -- 350,566,  13.5%
July 6 -July 12    --  424,163,  14.3%
July 13 -July 19  --  478,657,  14.2%

Things haven't gotten any better. A number of states have rolled back opening and issued mask mandates. Governor DeSantis in Florida still appears to be playing ostrich and doing nothing. 

Mask wearing incredibly continues to be a political debate. There are people coming up with ways to get around the mandates. In Georgia the governor is suing the mayor of Atlanta because she issued a mask mandate and he claims it's beyond her authority. This thing is just nuts.

New Jersey Cases, Percentage Increase and Positive Tests
March 30 - April 5 -- 24,119, 180.2%, 51.8%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 24,345, 64.9%, 54.6%
April 13 - April 19 -- 23,451, 37.9%, 53.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 23,737, 27.8%, 45.3%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 17,706, 16.2%, 34.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 11,788,   9.3%, 31.5%
May 11 -- May 17 ---   7,802,   5.6%, 12.7%
May 18 - May 24 ---   7,820,   5.3%,  6.7%
May 25 - May 31 ---   6,291,    4.1%,  3.7%
June 1 -  June  7 ----  3,719,    2.3%,  2.0%
June 8 - June 14 ---   2,717,    1.7%,  2.0% 
June 15 -June 21 ---   2,261,   1.4%,  1.3%
June 22 -June 28 --- 2,040,   1.2%,  1.4%
June 29 -July 5   ---  2,220,   1.3%,  1.5%
July 6 -   July 12 ---   1,896,   1.1%,  1.3%
July 13 -July 19    ---  1,485,  0.8%, 1.4%

The New Jersey numbers actually went down from Saturday to Sunday which I can only assume was an adjustment. I'm beginning to lose some confidence in the accuracy of the numbers being reported especially at the county level because nothing seems to match.

Bergen County Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 4,018, 185.2%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 3,597, 58.1%
April 13 - April 19 --  2,855, 29.2%
April 20 - April 26 -- 2,326, 18.4%
April 27 - May 3 ----  1,220, 8.2%
May 4 - May 10  ----    744, 4.6%
May 11 -- May 17 ---    432,  2.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---    443,  2.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---    468,  2.6%
June 1 - June 7 ------  240,  1.3%
June 8 - June 14 ---    306,  1.7%
June 15 -June 21 ---   192,   1.0%
June 22 -June 28 ---  344,   1.8%
June 29 -July 5     ---  271,   1.4%
July 6 -July 12    ---    246,   1.3%
July 13 -July 19  --      109,   0.5%

Bergen County is still pretty flat as well but, again, there are some discrepancies,

Now we're hearing from a study at King's College in London that antibodies fade and may be gone after about three or four months. Ain't that just great?

Police Racism

Yeah, I don't really get it. I'm an engineer with a degree in mathematics so I tend to rely on numbers.

Life is hard. I get that. Some people don't act the way you would want them to act. I get that too. They say you shouldn't judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. That sounds reasonable but not always practical.

Yes, a cop pinned a black man by kneeling on his neck in a act of pure barbarity. He has been arrested and charged. The officers that were with him, and didn't do enough to prevent the crime, have been arrested and charged as well. It remains to be seen if they will be convicted.

Police make something like 10 million arrests a year in this country. About 1,000 of them result in the death of a suspect. Around 400 are white and 250 are black. This sounds skewed until one realizes that whites account for 58% of violent crime arrests and blacks account for 38%. Of all suspect deaths about 860 suspects were armed, or appeared to be armed (had a toy gun). At most 75 were unarmed (55 known to be and 20 with no data). In the meantime there are about 6,200 single victim/single offender homicides a year in the US.

So the probability of a police arrest resulting in the death of an unarmed suspect is about 75 out of 10 million or 0.00075%. There are some 496,000 violent crime arrests in the US. So assuming that all fatalities were associated with violent crime arrests, which is almost certainly not true, the probability of a police arrest for a violent crime resulting in the death of an unarmed suspect is about 75 out of 496,000 or 0.015%. Now, zero would be better but probably also unachievable.

I see no evidence here of systemic police racism. There are clearly a few folks in uniform that have no business being in uniform. So maybe that's what we should be focusing on.

OK, now all the woke folk can call me names. Go ahead, enjoy yourselves. Just remember, sticks and stones folks, sticks and stones.

The Corona Virus July 13, 2020

There are currently 3,406,249 reported case in the US and 137,521 deaths.

New York has 406,955 cases and 32,350 deaths
California has 326,188 cases and 7,055 deaths
Florida has 282,447 and 4,277 deaths
Texas has 262,762 cases and 3,216 deaths
New Jersey has 175,516 cases and 15,652 deaths

I've continued to track the number of case increases across the country, the state and Bergen County. I've added the numbers for the previous week and updated the numbers for the week before that.

US Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 196,983, 155.5%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 226,490, 66.7%
April 13 - April 19 -- 206,029, 36.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 215,086, 27.9%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 198,464, 20.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 175,910, 14.8%
May 11 -- May 17 ---  158,286, 11.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---  161,280, 10.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---  149,072,  8.9%
June 1 -  June   7 --- 156,692,  8.6%
June 8 - June 14 --- 153,114,   7.2%
June 15 -June 21 --  190,901,  8.9%
June 22 -June 28 -- 274,422, 11.8%
June 29 -July 5    -- 350,566,  13.5%
July 6 -July 12    --  424,234,  14.3%

The number f cases continues to get worse. Florida is reporting over 10,000 cases nearly every day and a set a record of 15,400 cases Saturday. This is the highest one day total so far. Now granted, the reported on almost 100,000 tests but with a positive rate of 16% that's still pretty bad. 

Yesterday Disney World in Florida reopened which makes no sense to me. What's the reaction from the White House? Apparently everyone is lying. The health experts, the media, the Democrats, the doctors. It's all just a big plot to make Trump look bad. That would be hysterical if 40% of the country didn't believe it.

New Jersey Cases, Percentage Increase and Positive Tests
March 30 - April 5 -- 24,119, 180.2%, 51.8%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 24,345, 64.9%, 54.6%
April 13 - April 19 -- 23,451, 37.9%, 53.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 23,737, 27.8%, 45.3%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 17,706, 16.2%, 34.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 11,788,   9.3%, 31.5%
May 11 -- May 17 ---   7,802,   5.6%, 12.7%
May 18 - May 24 ---   7,820,   5.3%,  6.7%
May 25 - May 31 ---   6,291,    4.1%,  3.7%
June 1 -  June  7 ----  3,719,    2.3%,  2.0%
June 8 - June 14 ---   2,717,    1.7%,  2.0% 
June 15 -June 21 ---   2,261,   1.4%,  1.3%
June 22 -June 28 --- 2,040,   1.2%,  1.4%
June 29 -July 5   ---  2,220,   1.3%,  1.5%
July 6 -July 12    ---   1,896,   1.1%,  1.3%

New Jersey still sort of flat. Covid Act Now has upgraded New Jersey from yellow to green because R0 is back below 1.0 but the curve seems to be turning slightly up. Here's hoping it flattens out again.

Bergen County Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 4,018, 185.2%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 3,597, 58.1%
April 13 - April 19 --  2,855, 29.2%
April 20 - April 26 -- 2,326, 18.4%
April 27 - May 3 ----  1,220, 8.2%
May 4 - May 10  ----    744, 4.6%
May 11 -- May 17 ---    432,  2.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---    443,  2.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---    468,  2.6%
June 1 - June 7 ------  240,  1.3%
June 8 - June 14 ---    306,  1.7%
June 15 -June 21 ---   192,   1.0%
June 22 -June 28 ---  344,   1.8%
June 29 -July 5     ---  271,   1.4%
July 6 -July 12    ---    246,   1.3%

Bergen County is still pretty flat as well. I would still like to see the numbers under 100 or even less.

Well, my daughter's second antibody test came back and this time she was positive which makes a lot more sense. None of us are making the assumption that we're immune though.

The Corona Virus July 6, 2020

There are currently 2,970,945 reported case in the US and 132,301 deaths.

New York has 402,369 cases and 32,206 deaths
California has 265,302 cases and 6,376 deaths
Florida has 206,447 and 3,778 deaths
Texas has 194,932 cases and 2,628 deaths
New Jersey has 173,402 cases and 15,296 deaths

I've continued to track the number of case increases across the country, the state and Bergen County. I've added the numbers for the previous week and updated the numbers for the week before that.

US Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 196,983, 155.5%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 226,490, 66.7%
April 13 - April 19 -- 206,029, 36.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 215,086, 27.9%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 198,464, 20.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 175,910, 14.8%
May 11 -- May 17 ---  158,286, 11.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---  161,280, 10.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---  149,072,  8.9%
June 1 -  June   7 --- 156,692,  8.6%
June 8 - June 14 --- 153,114,   7.2%
June 15 -June 21 --  190,901,  8.9%
June 22 -June 28 -- 274,422, 11.8%
June 29 -July 5    -- 346,158,  13.3%

The numbers are even worse than last week again with Florida, Texas and California posted huge numbers. Florida reported over 11,000 cases yesterday. This isn't even without the impact from the July 4th weekend.

New Jersey Cases, Percentage Increase and Positive Tests
March 30 - April 5 -- 24,119, 180.2%, 51.8%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 24,345, 64.9%, 54.6%
April 13 - April 19 -- 23,451, 37.9%, 53.4%
April 20 - April 26 -- 23,737, 27.8%, 45.3%
April 27 - May 3 ---- 17,706, 16.2%, 34.1%
May 4 - May 10 ----- 11,788,   9.3%, 31.5%
May 11 -- May 17 ---   7,802,   5.6%, 12.7%
May 18 - May 24 ---   7,820,   5.3%,  6.7%
May 25 - May 31 ---   6,291,    4.1%,  3.7%
June 1 -  June  7 ----  3,719,    2.3%,  2.0%
June 8 - June 14 ---   2,717,    1.7%,  2.0% 
June 15 -June 21 ---   2,261,   1.4%,  1.3%
June 22 -June 28 --- 2,040,   1.2%,  1.4%
June 29 -July 5   ---  2,220,   1.3%,  1.5%

New Jersey still sort of flat. Covid Act Now has downgraded it from green to yellow because R0 is back around 1.0. The shore was open and jumping. Hopefully that doesn't cause too big of a spike.

Bergen County Cases and Percentage Increase
March 30 - April 5 -- 4,018, 185.2%
April 6 - April 12 ---- 3,597, 58.1%
April 13 - April 19 --  2,855, 29.2%
April 20 - April 26 -- 2,326, 18.4%
April 27 - May 3 ----  1,220, 8.2%
May 4 - May 10  ----    744, 4.6%
May 11 -- May 17 ---    432,  2.6%
May 18 - May 24 ---    443,  2.6%
May 25 - May 31 ---    468,  2.6%
June 1 - June 7 ------  240,  1.3%
June 8 - June 14 ---    306,  1.7%
June 15 -June 21 ---   192,   1.0%
June 22 -June 28 ---  344,   1.8%
June 29 -July 5     ---  271,   1.4%

Bergen County is pretty flat. It would be nice if the case numbers could get under 100 but I'm sure lots of folks went to the shore this weekend so I'm all that hopeful that we'll that soon.

The first week back at work for my daughter and someone left complaining of being ill. My daughter got tested but was negative. Unfortunately she spent the 4th of July weekend in the city waiting for the results. She also got an antibody retest. Those results aren't back yet.