Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

So our fabulous governor here in Wisconsin just extended our shelter in place order through May 26. From the state website, we here in Dane County have had a grand total of ten new cases of covid this week. For those who are counting, that is .0018% of the population. Put into words, eighteen thousandths of one percent.

In the last two days, we have literally had more pedestrians die from getting hit by cars than from covid. And yet, the power grab continues. Other counties have far smaller ratios.

Predictably, after yesterdays announcement of the extension of the economy killing order, protests are planned. I may attend if time allows.

The good news is that you can go play a round of golf now (bring your snow shovel in parts of the state and perhaps a non white colored ball). State parks still closed. Not sure what the golf course lobbyists have on the governor but it must be good.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Update: I have heard a story that a friend’s wife got pulled over by the local cops for doing nothing other than driving home from picking up some chicken. So that’s starting now. She will be at the protest next Friday at the capitol.

10 thoughts on “Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics”

  1. Shutdowns extended while Pelosi and Schumer sit on potential relief bills. I do not see how the Democrats think that any of this is a good look for them. At least Trump and the GOP have a half-way coherent set of policies, even with Trump being his usual erratic self, and he’s certainly been able to focus the responsibility for continued shutdowns back on the Democrat governors.

  2. I hope you realize that if you continue posting things like this you run the risk of having Nassim Taleb call you an imbecile. It’s hardly an idle threat. I note in passing that, after careful and mature consideration, he announced that Claire Lehmann of Quillette is a “neo-Nazi.”

  3. @Grurray – even if we don’t argue about the validity of these covid reported deaths, if you look at those three counties that is nine one thousandths of one percent of the population. Open it up.

  4. You should see the photo of I 10 in the west LA center of the “Resistance” in the Democrat state of California, which also has stringent lockdown rules. It is jammed wityh traffic bumper to bumper as in a usual day.

    In spite of Nancy and her double reefers full of $12 a pint ice cream, the woke of CA seem to be indulging in civil disobedience,

  5. Nine one thousandths, ten one thousandths, eleven one thousandths… but then you have all those people from Chicago going up to their weekend cabins starting after Memorial Day, and pretty soon you have one hundredths, one tenths… Where’s the rate going?

  6. The virus is causing the shutdown. The government’s part of that is not inconsequential, but your focus on the government is misplaced. Nobody told the NBA to shut down, or baseball to delay its season. Concerts were being cancelled quickly before they were actually forbidden. Lots of businesses shut down to protect employees or customers, not because someone told them to.

  7. I would like to see churches open ASAP. If grocery stores shoppers can now be expected to practice good social distancing after all the insane stampeding and hoarding that went on last month, then religious worshipers sure can handle it.

  8. AVI: “The virus is causing the shutdown. … your focus on the government is misplaced.”

    I have to disagree with that assessment. Viruses are always with us, and yet we do not have State-wide shut-downs. That was a unique government decision — or, to be more precise, a decision made by a very fallible herd-following human politician. If we adopted the North Korean approach of taking politicians & bureaucrats who make bad decisions down to the soccer pitch and shooting them, those fallible politicians might make different decisions.

    It is indeed the case that some private entities decided to shut down before the politicians could take the credit. The responsibility for that lies at the evil feet of Big Law, who extract their economic rents by second-guessing real world decisions. An executive who is advised by his in-house counsel that staying open would leave his business at risk of being sued into oblivion may reasonably choose the less risky path. Big Law is a part-owner of the Political Class, and has nothing to do with justice anymore.

    If the Political Class were not such spineless herd animals, we would be helping the limited number of At Risk people (old and/or sick) to self-isolate, while working age people for whom this virus holds no significant threat carry on producing and enjoying life.

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