Opinion Piece By Samuel Strait – August 26, 2020 What has the world of science come to? I have to say, that after having returned from a recent road trip up to the State of Washington, my next trip into town was a bit of a shock. I was greeted by a town full of mostly mask wearing sheeple, something even my warped mind had great difficulty wrapping my head around. It was as if mostly everyone had left town to be replaced by people that keep their thinking brains in a sock drawer at home. Has the local population become so indoctrinated by media, local and state governments, and "medical experts" that do not seem to be able to find truth with both hands? I wondered if by some chance someone, some where had unearthed real science behind lock downs, social distancing, and the wearing of masks, that could actually validate the absurdity of engaging in the notion that any of these practices would actually do some good let alone aid in combating the effects of the current corona virus. Lock downs, something that State and local politicians have engaged in most places since March, 2020 were employed about the time that the worst effects of the current virus were peaking and had no measurable effect on "flattening the curve". Lock downs on an otherwise healthy population have NO scientific support as an effective means of combating a virus other than a fourteen year old's science fair project from 2006 ginned up by her father and his friend to pass on to the federal bureaucracy and at the time was never meant to be employed. The science fair project was a proposal and not actual science. The only time lock downs have been employed in the past as a means of controlling the spread of any disease is by quarantining those that are already sick. There is; however, extensive science behind the notion that locking down a healthy population is counter productive to combating a virus such as the one we are currently experiencing. If it is not already crystal clear to anyone that the current lock downs have caused far more damage to the United States and us here locally than any place that did not employ lock downs, I invite those skeptics to enlighten us. Moving on to Social Distancing, another purely arbitrary mechanism that is not based on any valid science. There are simply too many variables that would allow any sort of distancing measure to be a reliable measure of space as a preventative. Science is meant to be repeatable in all instances. Even with current technology, it would be nearly impossible to determine a safe distancing space to prevent transmission of a virus. Social distancing is wishful thinking and more of a control mechanism than actual science. And finally the mass use of masks, something that we are currently experiencing here locally. Even trained medical personnel versed in the use and maintenance of proper masks have regularly failed to avoid the consequences of working in a highly transmissionable environment by wearing masks. In addition, they also have the luxury of using masks that have the possibility of being some what effective in the prevention of being infected by the virus, to which something very few in the population have access. In a recent study by the University of North Carolina nearly all masks used by the public were found to be much more hazardous to a person's health than not using a mask at all. Except for the M95 mask and a very few other surgical masks, current mask users are at far greater risk to their health from a growing list of risks than those NOT WEARING A MASK AT ALL! So what is this all about? If any one any longer believes that this virus is anything other than another corona virus, a virus that has plagued the world for decades in many different variations, perhaps it is time to turn off your TV, stop reading the San Francisco Chronicle or the New York Times, perhaps look beyond social media and look around in the world that you live. Ask yourself just how many people do you know that are stricken with the virus or have tested positive that required hospitalization? If you do, how many of those are elderly with multiple underlying health conditions? Do you know that less than 2% of the overall population of the United States has tested positive for the virus, that is if you believe the numbers. About three tenths of a percent of those infected, once again if you believe the numbers reported, have died. Current information seem to indicate that Covid deaths being reported by the medical community are up to four times more than the number of actual deaths from the virus. And finally, in the midst of all the recent hand wringing about a "second wave" has any one noticed the continued decline of hospitalizations and deaths from Covid? Once again, what does all this mean? Are we being sold a bill of goods by the media, our medical professionals, our leadership? Is there really a necessity for businesses to be closed, stay at home orders, social distancing, or even masks? With you as an individual, is this really any different from so many other viruses that come around each year? Are all the edicts from our State's governor really about a state of health and safety, or something entirely different? Maybe its time to take the old brain out of the sock drawer and use it again…… Something like if we are social distancing, why wear a mask? if we are wearing a mask, what is the point of social distancing? Is it possible to stay at home for extended periods of time if we have become so dependent on the grocery store? the pharmacy? or any other service? Maybe it's time to ask what is this really all about?