On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Science is still a thing, isn’t it?
Masks and social distancing while in public, such as when at your local grocery store, is a
must to prevent you and others from getting and spreading the COVID-19 virus right? That’s the wisdom from the authorities and of course the authorities know best because they are informed by the experts.
Some have rejected this saying, “I’m healthy. I’m not worried about catching this virus. My immune system is strong, I am young, and will fight it off, if I do catch it. And if I do catch it, I’ll stay at home until I get over it, like I do with a cold or the flu.†But the experts tell us that masking and social distancing isn’t necessarily for your health but for the health of others. You see you might have COVID-19 virus and not even know it. That is what the experts call an “asymptomatic†case — someone who has contracted the virus and can spread the disease yet not does have any symptoms.
Therefore, according to the experts and authorities, mask wearing and social distancing in public is to prevent people who unknowingly may be asymptomatic with the coronavirus from spreading it to others. Sounds good, right? Wrong.
Let me ask you, do you love your family? Do you care about those you live with? If yes, then you must also be wearing your mask at home and social distancing as well right? You’re not? Aren’t you worried that you might be an asymptomatic carrier, or worse, they might be and spread the virus to you? How is it you know at home you are not an asymptomatic carrier and don’t wear your mask or social distance, but when in public you don’t know so you wear a mask and social distance? Does that knowledge just disappear when you get in your car and drive to the grocery store, but then you remember when you get home and take off your mask and ignore social distancing with your family?
Matter of fact, the home is the best place to test whether anyone has COVID-19, because if they did, and if it is as contagious as the experts tell us, everyone one in your house would’ve had it by now.
We need to think carefully about always obeying orders from the authorities just because they are the authorities. This is especially true when the authority for the state of Oregon has been consolidated into one person, the Governor. It is dangerous to go against one's conscience, so if you think you need a mask and social distancing in public, by all means do what you think keeps you safe and well. But let’s not allow authorities rule our lives just because they are authorities. We have all been given a mind to think through decisions like this. Matter of fact we spend everyday making important decisions about all sorts of things that benefit us, and by extension those around us.
What I ask from the experts and authorities is to give us the best information about the coronavirus, and then we the people of Oregon will do what is best. That is what is called liberty.
Happy Thanksgiving, from all of us at the Northwest Observer
--Northwest Observer Editorial Staff| Post Date: 2020-11-25 18:03:32 | Last Update: 2020-11-28 16:26:00 |
