discoveryinstitute--2020-06-18--The Age of the Wolf Warrior: China’s Post-Pandemic Strategy

While countries around the world have been dealing with the spread of COVID-19 ( coronavirus ) , China has claimed disputed areas in the South China Sea , taken over the Hong Kong government , and flown planes over Taiwan .
One result was a standoff between warships from the U.S. , Australia , and China .
A 2016 international tribunal in The Hague ruled that China has no legal sovereignty over most of the South China Sea .
China , saying that the ruling was void , claims areas that are also claimed by Vietnam , Taiwan , Malaysia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Japan .
The Chinese Liberation Army has also increased the number of troops at its border with India ( the Line of Actual Control ) disputed since the Sino-Indian war in 1962 ( below right ) .
A broader issue is the Chinese Communist Party ’ s aggressive response to any approach to COVID-19 that deviates from its preferred narratives .
For example , when Australia called for an investigation into the origins of the virus , China countered with a threat of economic sanctions , as well as propaganda warning Chinese students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embassy in Venezuela claimed that legislators who called SARS-CoV-2 the “ China coronavirus ” suffer from a “ political virus.
” The legislators were told to “ wear a mask and shut up.
” One analyst sums it up : One of those goals is extending influence in Africa .
That includes providing large infrastructure loans .
When several countries asked for debt relief so that they could direct their resources toward public health infrastructure , China agreed , provided that they “ provide lucrative national assets as collateral.
” For example , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as collateral so that they could focus on improving healthcare , sanitation , and food during the pandemic .
This approach has been described as “ Wolf Warrior ” diplomacy .
The tactic takes its name from a 2015 Chinese movie that depicts a Rambo-style vigilante who fights American mercenaries .
Younger Chinese diplomats apply the strategy to foreign powers that do not tout a pro-Beijing narrative .
Most of these diplomats have been educated in schools where they are indoctrinated in Communist Party rhetoric , anti-Western sentiments—and alternative history .
According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history books in which the facts of an event are completely changed .
In a 2007 essay translated by the editors of China Heritage Journal , Victor Mair describes Yuan ’ s reaction to typical children ’ s history books : Yuan describes such young people as having been brought up on “ wolf ’ s milk , ” alluding to those who were brought up in hardship following the Cultural Revolution .
But the phrase has acquired an additional meaning as these children have grown into the aggressively nationalistic “ Wolf Warrior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charming enough to be a diplomat ?
Unfortunately for the young diplomats ’ aims , life is neither the movies nor the rewritten history they were brought up on .
According to a Yale study , the Wolf Warrior strategy isn ’ t working as well as the warriors believe it is : “ the results show strident methods pale in comparison to traditional public diplomacy.
” ( June 11 , 2020 ) Even among CCP loyalists , one hears condemnation of President Xi Jinping and the Wolf Warriors .
The new aggressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global ethos , as set forth by President Deng Xiaoping , who called on diplomats to “ Observe unfolding events with equanimity ; remain secure in our stance ; remain unperturbed in the face of challenges ; hide our capacities and bide our time ; avoid claiming leadership while advancing our cause.
” A recent video of former CCP professor , Cai Xia , has been making the rounds online .
In it , she ardently condemns the Chinese government , calling it a political zombie , and calls for the resignation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 ) When the Wolf Warriors started roaming on Twitter… Some of China ’ s Wolf Warrior diplomats have used Twitter to sow disinformation and to target anyone who speaks out against China or a narrative preferred by Beijing .
Departing from prior practice , diplomats have been aggressively targeting users who do not have a large social media presence .
For example , the Wall Street Journal talked to Sri Lankan activist Chirantha Amerasinghe , who had called the Chinese government “ low class.
” He has fewer than 50 followers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweeted in response , “ Total death in # China # pandemic is 3344 till today , much smaller than your western ‘ high class ’ governments.
” Amerasinghe expressed surprise that an embassy to a country would respond by mocking it because it had suffered higher death counts from the disease .
Additionally , the Chinese government has used Twitter to spread disinformation on COVID-19 , apparently to “ undermine Western democracies , sowing internal division and projecting a distorted view of Chinas response to the global pandemic.
” ( Politico , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was that the European Union , which has been soft on China in the past , made its most forceful statement to date : Twitter , forced to respond , shut down 23,750 accounts deemed to be state actors from China : The 150,000 accounts that were “ dedicated to retweeting and amplifying these messages ” turned out to have very few , if any followers , which suggests that they mainly gamed the Twitter algorithm .
The wolves are not winning many hearts or minds China ’ s Wolf Warrior diplomacy has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In May , 122 countries called for research to identify the origin of the virus , a call China has resisted .
Recently , an inter-parliamentary commission on China was formed , whose stated mission is “ to promote a coordinated response between democratic states to challenges posed by the present conduct and future ambitions of the People ’ s Republic of China.
” Those challenges include Beijing ’ s actions in Hong Kong , the interment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang , the handling of Covid-19 in Wuhan , and the security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technologies ( The Guardian , June 5 , 2020 ) .
At the time of this writing , 100 countries had joined .
Additionally , Australia and India signed two military agreements , the Australia-India Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and the Defence Science and Technology Implementing Arrangement , in response to the increasingly aggressive actions by China ’ s military in the South China Sea .
While China ’ s Wolf Warriors may have hoped to advance strategic objectives during the distractions and confusions around the pandemic , the reality is that wolves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been popular in human societies .
The natural human reaction is self-defence .
Editor ’ s Note : For a discussion of China ’ s strategy and AI , see Denise Simon ’ s “ China Aims at Global AI Dominance by 2030.
” Simon argues that China ’ s systematic use of AI for social surveillance and control should cause us to think carefully about what that means .
Further reading on COVID-19 in China ( Heather Zeiger ) The Dragon ’ s Deception : Conspiracy theories and false numbers .
China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) is running up against incriminating evidence Coronavirus in world without trust In China , medical heroism thrives despite both paranoia and justified mistrust of authorities .
Censorship ?
But coronavirus doesn ’ t care !
Back when SARS was a threat , social media wasn ’ t the giant it is today .
Censorship , secrecy , and detention are less effective tools of control now .
Serious media in China have gone strangely silent .
With a compulsory new app , the government can potentially access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and capturing data .
Liu Hu sums up the scene in a few words : “ Outside of China , journalists are fired for writing false reports… Inside China , they are fired for telling the truth .
”

While countries around the world have been dealing with the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), China has claimed disputed areas in the South China Sea, taken over the Hong Kong government, and flown planes over Taiwan.
One result was a standoff between warships from the U.S., Australia, and China. A 2016 international tribunal in The Hague ruled that China has no legal sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. China, saying that the ruling was void, claims areas that are also claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Japan. The Chinese Liberation Army has also increased the number of troops at its border with India (the Line of Actual Control) disputed since the Sino-Indian war in 1962 (below right).
A broader issue is the Chinese Communist Party’s aggressive response to any approach to COVID-19 that deviates from its preferred narratives. For example, when Australia called for an investigation into the origins of the virus, China countered with a threat of economic sanctions, as well as propaganda warning Chinese students in Australia of racism. The Chinese embassy in Venezuela claimed that legislators who called SARS-CoV-2 the “China coronavirus” suffer from a “political virus.” The legislators were told to “wear a mask and shut up.” One analyst sums it up:
And now, while Beijing grasps a fire hose with two hands, it’s also planting a boot on the world’s neck… But China isn’t letting the crisis go to waste. Instead of looking to make amends, Beijing is taking advantage of the chaos to pursue its long-term foreign policy goals more aggressively. Alex Ward, “How China Is Ruthlessly Exploiting the Coronavirus Pandemic It Helped Cause” at Vox (April 28, 2020)
One of those goals is extending influence in Africa. That includes providing large infrastructure loans. When several countries asked for debt relief so that they could direct their resources toward public health infrastructure, China agreed, provided that they “provide lucrative national assets as collateral.” For example, Zambia had to provide their copper-mining projects as collateral so that they could focus on improving healthcare, sanitation, and food during the pandemic.
The wolf now studies diplomacy?
This approach has been described as “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy. The tactic takes its name from a 2015 Chinese movie that depicts a Rambo-style vigilante who fights American mercenaries. Younger Chinese diplomats apply the strategy to foreign powers that do not tout a pro-Beijing narrative.
Most of these diplomats have been educated in schools where they are indoctrinated in Communist Party rhetoric, anti-Western sentiments—and alternative history. According to historian Yuan Weishi, students learn from history books in which the facts of an event are completely changed. In a 2007 essay translated by the editors of China Heritage Journal, Victor Mair describes Yuan’s reaction to typical children’s history books:
Highly selective and ideologically-driven descriptions of events leading up to the infamous razing of the Garden of Perfect Brightness, the imperial Manchu demesne outside Beijing which was destroyed by Anglo-French forces in 1860, and the Boxer rebellion of 1900, were not only incorrect but, Yuan warned, serve only to inflame nationalistic passions among impressionable teenagers. Yuan also cautioned that the irrational spirit guiding history teaching in China today endangers the country’s mature and rational participation in the global community. He recalled that the xenophobic violence of the Red Guard generation was bred by just such a biased education. Victor Mair, “1900 & 2020–An Old Anxiety in a New Era” at China Heritage, Viral Alarm (April 28, 2020)
Yuan describes such young people as having been brought up on “wolf’s milk,” alluding to those who were brought up in hardship following the Cultural Revolution. But the phrase has acquired an additional meaning as these children have grown into the aggressively nationalistic “Wolf Warrior” diplomats.
But is the wolf charming enough to be a diplomat?
Unfortunately for the young diplomats’ aims, life is neither the movies nor the rewritten history they were brought up on. According to a Yale study, the Wolf Warrior strategy isn’t working as well as the warriors believe it is: “the results show strident methods pale in comparison to traditional public diplomacy.” (June 11, 2020)
Even among CCP loyalists, one hears condemnation of President Xi Jinping and the Wolf Warriors. The new aggressive approach goes against China’s previous global ethos, as set forth by President Deng Xiaoping, who called on diplomats to “Observe unfolding events with equanimity; remain secure in our stance; remain unperturbed in the face of challenges; hide our capacities and bide our time; avoid claiming leadership while advancing our cause.”
A recent video of former CCP professor, Cai Xia, has been making the rounds online. In it, she ardently condemns the Chinese government, calling it a political zombie, and calls for the resignation of President Xi. (June 12, 2020)
When the Wolf Warriors started roaming on Twitter…
Some of China’s Wolf Warrior diplomats have used Twitter to sow disinformation and to target anyone who speaks out against China or a narrative preferred by Beijing. Departing from prior practice, diplomats have been aggressively targeting users who do not have a large social media presence.
For example, the Wall Street Journal talked to Sri Lankan activist Chirantha Amerasinghe, who had called the Chinese government “low class.” He has fewer than 50 followers. Yet the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted in response, “Total death in #China #pandemic is 3344 till today, much smaller than your western ‘high class’ governments.” Amerasinghe expressed surprise that an embassy to a country would respond by mocking it because it had suffered higher death counts from the disease.
Additionally, the Chinese government has used Twitter to spread disinformation on COVID-19, apparently to “undermine Western democracies, sowing internal division and projecting a distorted view of Chinas response to the global pandemic.” (Politico, June 10, 2020)
One result was that the European Union, which has been soft on China in the past, made its most forceful statement to date:
Foreign actors and certain third countries, in particular Russia and China, have engaged in targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns in the EU, its neighbourhood, and globally. European Commission, “Coronavirus: EU Strengthens Action to Tackle Disinformation” at Press Release (June 10, 2020)
Twitter, forced to respond, shut down 23,750 accounts deemed to be state actors from China:
The U.S. social media company suspended 23,750 accounts that were posting pro-Beijing narratives, and another 150,000 accounts dedicated to retweeting and amplifying those messages. The network was engaged “in a range of coordinated and manipulated activities” in predominantly Chinese languages, including praise for China’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and “deceptive narratives” about Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, the company said. Kelvin Chan, “Twitter Removes China-Linked Accounts Spreading False News” at Associated Press (June 12, 2020)
The 150,000 accounts that were “dedicated to retweeting and amplifying these messages” turned out to have very few, if any followers, which suggests that they mainly gamed the Twitter algorithm.
The wolves are not winning many hearts or minds
China’s Wolf Warrior diplomacy has backfired in the global community in general. In May, 122 countries called for research to identify the origin of the virus, a call China has resisted. Recently, an inter-parliamentary commission on China was formed, whose stated mission is “to promote a coordinated response between democratic states to challenges posed by the present conduct and future ambitions of the People’s Republic of China.” Those challenges include Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong, the interment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the handling of Covid-19 in Wuhan, and the security threats posed by Huawei’s 5G technologies (The Guardian, June 5, 2020). At the time of this writing, 100 countries had joined.
Additionally, Australia and India signed two military agreements, the Australia-India Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement and the Defence Science and Technology Implementing Arrangement, in response to the increasingly aggressive actions by China’s military in the South China Sea.
While China’s Wolf Warriors may have hoped to advance strategic objectives during the distractions and confusions around the pandemic, the reality is that wolves, real or imagined, have never been popular in human societies. The natural human reaction is self-defence.
Editor’s Note: For a discussion of China’s strategy and AI, see Denise Simon’s “China Aims at Global AI Dominance by 2030.” Simon argues that China’s systematic use of AI for social surveillance and control should cause us to think carefully about what that means.
Further reading on COVID-19 in China (Heather Zeiger)
The Dragon’s Deception: Conspiracy theories and false numbers. China’s global attempt to rewrite the history of coronavirus (COVID-19) is running up against incriminating evidence
Coronavirus in world without trust In China, medical heroism thrives despite both paranoia and justified mistrust of authorities.
Censorship? But coronavirus doesn’t care! Back when SARS was a threat, social media wasn’t the giant it is today. Censorship, secrecy, and detention are less effective tools of control now.
and
Serious media in China have gone strangely silent. With a compulsory new app, the government can potentially access journalists’ phones, both for surveillance and capturing data. Liu Hu sums up the scene in a few words: “Outside of China, journalists are fired for writing false reports… Inside China, they are fired for telling the truth.”


Citrate Death Spiral

Michigan State University biologist Richard Lenski and collaborators have just published a terrific new paper in the journal eLife.1 Anyone who wants to see a crystal-clear example of the inherent , unavoidable , fatal difficulties that the Darwinian mechanism itself poses for unguided evolution should read it closely .
The paper concerns the further evolution of a widely discussed mutant strain of the bacterium E. coli discovered during the course of Lenski ’ s Long Term Evolution Experiment ( LTEE ) .
The LTEE is his more-than-three-decades-long project in which E. coli was allowed to grow continuously in laboratory flasks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As I ’ ve written before , almost all of the beneficial mutations that were discovered to have spread through the populations of bacteria in the LTEE were ones that either blunted pre-existing genes ( decreasing their previous biochemical activity ) or outright broke them.3 There seemed , however , to be one interesting exception.4 One morning after more than 30,000 generations of bacterial growth , one flask of E. coli ( out of 12 separate flasks that Lenski maintained for comparison and replication ’ s sake ) seemed cloudier than the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bacteria than usual had grown in the nutrient broth .
After much hard laboratory work , Lenski ’ s group showed that a region of the prodigious bacterium ’ s DNA that was close to a gene coding for a citrate transporter ( that is , a protein whose job is to bring external , dissolved citrate into the cell ; citrate is a common chemical that cells metabolize ) had duplicated.5 The duplication mutation placed the control region of a different gene next to that of the citrate transporter .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gene ’ s natural regulator causes the gene to be turned off whenever oxygen is around , as it was under the normal laboratory growth conditions at MSU .
The second regulator , however , allows the gene it controls to be turned on in the presence of oxygen .
The mutation that placed a copy of the regulator of the second gene next to the citrate gene then allowed the citrate gene to be turned on in the presence of oxygen , too .
Since for technical purposes there was a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the mutant E. coli could import and metabolize ( “ eat ” ) the citrate , which was unavailable to nonmutants .
With all that extra food , the mutant grew like crazy , quickly surpassing nonmutants .
The novel result was widely reported , and the conjecture was floated that perhaps the mutant was on its way to forming a new species.6 As I wrote in Darwin Devolves , however , other , much more ominous , genetic results should have tempered any optimism .
For example , the citrate mutant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mutations that had previously spread through the population — the new mutation did not , could not , restore them .
And later work showed that several more broken genes had been selected in the mutant , apparently to help it metabolize citrate more efficiently.3 The new paper now reports on 2,500 generations of further evolution of the citrate mutant , in nutrient media that contains either citrate alone or citrate plus glucose ( as for earlier generations ) .
As always with the Lenski lab , the research is well and thoroughly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one sick puppy .
Inside the paper they report that “ The spectrum of mutations identified in evolved clones was dominated by structural variation , including insertions , deletions , and mobile element transpositions.
” All of those are exceedingly likely to break or degrade genes .
Dozens more genes were lost .
The citrate mutant tossed genetic information with mindless abandon for short term advantage .
In a particularly telling result , the authors “ serendipitously discovered evidence of substantial cell death in cultures of a Cit+ clone sampled from … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other words , those initial random “ beneficial ” citrate mutations that had been seized on by natural selection tens of thousands of generations earlier had led to a death spiral .
The death rate of the ancestor of the LTEE was ~10 percent ; after 33,000 generations it was ~30 percent ; after 50,000 , ~40 percent .
For the newer set of experiments , the death rate varied for different strains of cells in different media , but exceeded 50 percent for some cell lines in a citrate-only environment .
Indeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mutations — again , almost certainly degradative ones — in genes for fatty acid metabolism that , they write with admirable detachment , “ suggest adaptation to scavenging on dead and dying cells.
” The degraded E. coli was eating its dead .
Let me emphasize : the only result from the decades-long , 50,000-plus generation E. coli evolution experiment that even seemed at first blush like it had a bit of potential to yield a novel pathway in the bacterium has resulted instead in spectacular devolution .
As Lenski and co-authors wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ review of Darwin Devolves ( which focused strongly on the clear degradation occurring over the course of the LTEE ) :7 The “ one new ” function was the citrate mutation .
I had called it a “ side show ” in Darwin Devolves precisely because the E. coli of the LTEE were accumulating degradative mutations much faster than any mutations that might with charity be called constructive:3 The more molecular evolutionary work that rolls in , the more the above conclusion becomes a mere truism .
In their new paper the Lenski @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of its experimental evolutionary system.1 Exactly .
That means the LTEE gives us our clearest insight into the general effects of Darwin ’ s mechanism , which continues to operate no matter what other processes may also be occurring ( I ’ m looking at you , Extended Evolutionary Synthesis ) , no matter whether an organism is in a lab or in the wild , no matter which kind of organism — whether microbe , plant , or animal — is subject to its tender care .
So , thanks to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is relentless — it never rests .
In good times and bad , if a change in a species could help it adapt more closely to its environment , degradative mutations will arrive most quickly by far to offer their assistance .
And , of course , under selective pressure a species has no choice but to accept helpful ones , even if that eventually leads to the species languishing .
Thanks in very large part to the fine work done over decades at Michigan State we can now be certain that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an explanation for the great features of life Darwin ’ s theory itself is in a death spiral .

Michigan State University biologist Richard Lenski and collaborators have just published a terrific new paper in the journal eLife.1 Anyone who wants to see a crystal-clear example of the inherent, unavoidable, fatal difficulties that the Darwinian mechanism itself poses for unguided evolution should read it closely.
The paper concerns the further evolution of a widely discussed mutant strain of the bacterium E. coli discovered during the course of Lenski’s Long Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE). The LTEE is his more-than-three-decades-long project in which E. coli was allowed to grow continuously in laboratory flasks simply to observe how it would evolve.2 As I’ve written before, almost all of the beneficial mutations that were discovered to have spread through the populations of bacteria in the LTEE were ones that either blunted pre-existing genes (decreasing their previous biochemical activity) or outright broke them.3
An Interesting Exception?
There seemed, however, to be one interesting exception.4 One morning after more than 30,000 generations of bacterial growth, one flask of E. coli (out of 12 separate flasks that Lenski maintained for comparison and replication’s sake) seemed cloudier than the other 11 flasks. That indicated substantially more bacteria than usual had grown in the nutrient broth. After much hard laboratory work, Lenski’s group showed that a region of the prodigious bacterium’s DNA that was close to a gene coding for a citrate transporter (that is, a protein whose job is to bring external, dissolved citrate into the cell; citrate is a common chemical that cells metabolize) had duplicated.5 The duplication mutation placed the control region of a different gene next to that of the citrate transporter.
Here’s why that helped. The citrate-transporter gene’s natural regulator causes the gene to be turned off whenever oxygen is around, as it was under the normal laboratory growth conditions at MSU. The second regulator, however, allows the gene it controls to be turned on in the presence of oxygen. The mutation that placed a copy of the regulator of the second gene next to the citrate gene then allowed the citrate gene to be turned on in the presence of oxygen, too. Since for technical purposes there was a lot of dissolved citrate in the nutrient broth, the mutant E. coli could import and metabolize (“eat”) the citrate, which was unavailable to nonmutants. With all that extra food, the mutant grew like crazy, quickly surpassing nonmutants.
The novel result was widely reported, and the conjecture was floated that perhaps the mutant was on its way to forming a new species.6 As I wrote in Darwin Devolves, however, other, much more ominous, genetic results should have tempered any optimism. For example, the citrate mutant had accumulated many of the same beneficial-but-degradative mutations that had previously spread through the population — the new mutation did not, could not, restore them. And later work showed that several more broken genes had been selected in the mutant, apparently to help it metabolize citrate more efficiently.3
A Sick Puppy
The new paper now reports on 2,500 generations of further evolution of the citrate mutant, in nutrient media that contains either citrate alone or citrate plus glucose (as for earlier generations). As always with the Lenski lab, the research is well and thoroughly done. But the resulting E. coli is one sick puppy. Inside the paper they report that “The spectrum of mutations identified in evolved clones was dominated by structural variation, including insertions, deletions, and mobile element transpositions.” All of those are exceedingly likely to break or degrade genes. Dozens more genes were lost. The citrate mutant tossed genetic information with mindless abandon for short term advantage.
In a particularly telling result, the authors “serendipitously discovered evidence of substantial cell death in cultures of a Cit+ clone sampled from … the LTEE at 50,000 generations.” In other words, those initial random “beneficial” citrate mutations that had been seized on by natural selection tens of thousands of generations earlier had led to a death spiral. The death rate of the ancestor of the LTEE was ~10 percent; after 33,000 generations it was ~30 percent; after 50,000, ~40 percent. For the newer set of experiments, the death rate varied for different strains of cells in different media, but exceeded 50 percent for some cell lines in a citrate-only environment. Indeed, the authors identified a number of mutations — again, almost certainly degradative ones — in genes for fatty acid metabolism that, they write with admirable detachment, “suggest adaptation to scavenging on dead and dying cells.”
The degraded E. coli was eating its dead.
Lessons to Draw
Let me emphasize: the only result from the decades-long, 50,000-plus generation E. coli evolution experiment that even seemed at first blush like it had a bit of potential to yield a novel pathway in the bacterium has resulted instead in spectacular devolution. As Lenski and co-authors wrote in Science in 2019 in their dismissive review of Darwin Devolves(which focused strongly on the clear degradation occurring over the course of the LTEE):7
There are indeed many examples of loss-of-function mutations that are advantageous, but Behe is selective in his examples. He dedicates the better part of chapter 7 to discussing a 65,000-generation Escherichia coli experiment, emphasizing the many mutations that arose that degraded function — an expected mode of adaptation to a simple laboratory environment, by the way — while dismissing improved functions and deriding one new one as a “sideshow”. (Full disclosure: The findings in question were published by co-author Richard Lenski.)
The “one new” function was the citrate mutation. I had called it a “side show” in Darwin Devolves precisely because the E. coli of the LTEE were accumulating degradative mutations much faster than any mutations that might with charity be called constructive:3
Interesting as it is, the ambiguous citrate mutation that started the hoopla is a side show. The overwhelmingly important and almost completely unnoticed lesson is that genes are being degraded left and right, both when they directly benefit the bacteria and when they do so indirectly in support of another mutation. The occasional, particularly noticeable modification-of-function or gain-of-FCT mutation can’t turn back the tide of damaging and loss-of-FCT ones.
The more molecular evolutionary work that rolls in, the more the above conclusion becomes a mere truism.
A Great Strength
In their new paper the Lenski group rightfully points out the great strength of its experimental evolutionary system.1
It is rarely feasible to examine evolution in action as organisms invade, colonize, and adapt to a new niche in nature, especially with independently evolving replicates and control populations. In this study, we investigated how E. coli variants with the new ability to grow aerobically on citrate adapted to a novel, citrate-only resource environment in the laboratory.
Exactly. That means the LTEE gives us our clearest insight into the general effects of Darwin’s mechanism, which continues to operate no matter what other processes may also be occurring (I’m looking at you, Extended Evolutionary Synthesis), no matter whether an organism is in a lab or in the wild, no matter which kind of organism — whether microbe, plant, or animal — is subject to its tender care. So, thanks to the Lenski group, we know that devolution is relentless — it never rests. In good times and bad, if a change in a species could help it adapt more closely to its environment, degradative mutations will arrive most quickly by far to offer their assistance. And, of course, under selective pressure a species has no choice but to accept helpful ones, even if that eventually leads to the species languishing. Thanks in very large part to the fine work done over decades at Michigan State we can now be certain that, like the citrate-eating E. coli, as an explanation for the great features of life Darwin’s theory itself is in a death spiral.
References
Photo: Richard Lenski, by Zachary Blount [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons.


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-19--Are Our Brains Downloadable?

Are Our Brains Downloadable?

Jay Richards interviews Dr. Robert J .
Marks II , Director of the Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence , about the meaning and future of artificial intelligence .
Marks challenges the notion espoused by Ray Kurzweil and others that our minds are “ downloadable.
” In Marks ’ view , there are certain aspects of our brain that are not algorithmic and thus can ’ t be uploaded or replicated by a computer .
Besides serving as Director , Robert J .
Marks Ph.D. hosts the Mind Matters podcast for the Bradley Center .
He is Distinguished Professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University .
Marks is a Fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers ( IEEE ) and the Optical Society of America .
He was Charter President of the IEEE Neural Networks Council and served as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks .
He is coauthor of the books Neural Smithing : Supervised Learning in Feedforward Artificial Neural Networks ( MIT Press ) and Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics ( World Scientific ) .
COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ //cosm.technology/ .
And , watch all of the conference sessions including keynotes Peter Thiel , Ray Kurzweil and George Gilder .
Get access here : https : //vimeo.com/ondemand/cosm2019

Jay Richards interviews Dr. Robert J. Marks II, Director of the Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, about the meaning and future of artificial intelligence. Marks challenges the notion espoused by Ray Kurzweil and others that our minds are “downloadable.” In Marks’ view, there are certain aspects of our brain that are not algorithmic and thus can’t be uploaded or replicated by a computer.
Besides serving as Director, Robert J. Marks Ph.D. hosts the Mind Matters podcast for the Bradley Center. He is Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University. Marks is a Fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Optical Society of America. He was Charter President of the IEEE Neural Networks Council and served as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks. He is coauthor of the books Neural Smithing: Supervised Learning in Feedforward Artificial Neural Networks (MIT Press) and Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics (World Scientific).
COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it. Learn more at https://cosm.technology/.
And, watch all of the conference sessions including keynotes Peter Thiel, Ray Kurzweil and George Gilder. Get your Virtual Ticket.


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-19--Counsel of the Woke

Counsel of the Woke

America has reached an epistemological breaking point .
For the first two months following the coronavirus outbreak , public-health experts insisted that we “ follow the science ” and implement their recommendations , even if it meant millions of lost jobs and significant restrictions on constitutionally protected activities , such as church attendance and freedom of assembly .
Blue-state governors quickly positioned themselves as executors of this neutral scientific knowledge , condemning anti-lockdown protesters as “ anti-scientific ; ” meantime , social media companies banned anti-lockdown groups and censored content from lockdown skeptics .
But when protests erupted in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Minneapolis , many public-health experts reversed course—and subordinated “ science ” to their activist politics .
The same doctors and nurses who once shamed churchgoers released petitions in support of Black Lives Matter and marched with tens of thousands of protesters in the streets .
They categorized racism as a public-health threat and rationalized their participation in street demonstrations by deeming Covid-19 transmission the lesser of two evils .
In other words , public-health experts rejected science in favor of progressive politics .
Early in the pandemic , University of Washington professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hawk , defending Britain ’ s Imperial College model that predicted up to 2.2 million American deaths and arguing that the health-care system would be “ overrun.
” During the initial lockdowns , Bergstrom warned against “ kids hanging out by the lake , ” criticized Florida for “ leaving beaches open , ” and mocked leaders who “ want us all back in church on Easter Sunday.
” Bergstrom ’ s subsequent conversion to “ woke science , ” however , was swift and absolute .
On May 27 , before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the professor insisted he would wear a mask while walking alone in a public park , even if there is “ only a 1-in-100,000 chance [ to ] save a life.
” Three days later , after the outbreak of protests in Minneapolis and other cities , he tweeted that he was “ heartbroken by the endemic state violence against people of color in America ” and was reading Ibram X. Kendi ’ s book , How to Be an Antiracist .
A few days later , Bergstrom conceded that “ science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsed the protests , making the dubious claim that millions of protesters rallying , chanting , and gathering in close quarters wouldn ’ t necessarily spread Covid-19—and even if they did , he “ wholeheartedly support [ ed ] the protests nonetheless.
” Here ’ s the problem : Bergstrom and other public-health experts persuaded Americans that their advice on the pandemic response was driven exclusively by science and underwritten by cold fact .
They argued that politics should be subordinated to scientific knowledge—but when the political grounds shifted , they immediately reversed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is especially damning .
In less than a week , he made the moral leap from recommending behavioral modification for a “ 1-in-100,000 chance ” of death to supporting protests that , according to his colleague Trevor Bedford , could cause up to 4,000 Covid-19 deaths .
Scientists , like everyone else , are entitled to their personal opinions .
But the fallout from the lockdowns and protests suggests that progressivism has become the default ideology of the public-health community ; science is now a weaponized form of politics .
In hindsight , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceded political authority to the public-health apparatus .
This isn ’ t only antithetical to self-rule ; it also accords constitutional protection to elite causes—and only elite causes .
Attending a Black Lives Matter protest is permissible .
Attending a church service is not .
Left unchecked , the progressive-scientific alliance will penetrate additional domains of life .
Whether it ’ s “ housing is healthcare , ” “ harm reduction saves lives , ” or “ antiracism is public health , ” slogans abound for subsuming science into politics .
Maligned as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the proper arena for making public decisions .
As George Gilder wrote in April , at the height of the pandemic : “ The American system of government asserts these truths : that the people have an ineradicable right to govern themselves , that politics is how we exercise our free will , and that rather than reflexively deferring to experts , we should defer as much as possible to the principles of freedom and common sense.
” Don ’ t be fooled by the lab coat .
We remain in charge @ @ @ @

America has reached an epistemological breaking point. For the first two months following the coronavirus outbreak, public-health experts insisted that we “follow the science” and implement their recommendations, even if it meant millions of lost jobs and significant restrictions on constitutionally protected activities, such as church attendance and freedom of assembly. Blue-state governors quickly positioned themselves as executors of this neutral scientific knowledge, condemning anti-lockdown protesters as “anti-scientific;” meantime, social media companies banned anti-lockdown groups and censored content from lockdown skeptics.
But when protests erupted in the U.S. after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many public-health experts reversed course—and subordinated “science” to their activist politics. The same doctors and nurses who once shamed churchgoers released petitions in support of Black Lives Matter and marched with tens of thousands of protesters in the streets. They categorized racism as a public-health threat and rationalized their participation in street demonstrations by deeming Covid-19 transmission the lesser of two evils. In other words, public-health experts rejected science in favor of progressive politics.


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-13--Viruses, COVID-19, and Evolution

Viruses, COVID-19, and Evolution

In this online Zoom webinar , Dr. Behe reviews the biochemistry of viruses in general and COVID-19 in particular .
@ @ @ @ @ to illustrate a fundamental principle : Darwinian and other unintelligent evolutionary mechanisms can change life @ @ @ @ @ are medically important , yet they can not explain life ’ s complex structure .
@ @ @ @ @ structures of life required purposeful intelligent design .
The Colorado , Houston , and Southern @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Science & Culture Network are pleased to host this upcoming event .
To @ @ @ @ @ Chapters , or to donate towards this and other events , please visit their website @ @ @ @

In this online Zoom webinar, Dr. Behe reviews the biochemistry of viruses in general and COVID-19 in particular. He uses these topical examples to illustrate a fundamental principle: Darwinian and other unintelligent evolutionary mechanisms can change life marginally, in ways that are medically important, yet they cannot explain life’s complex structure. Rather, the elegant molecular structures of life required purposeful intelligent design.
The Colorado, Houston, and Southern California Chapters of Discovery Institute’s Science & Culture Network are pleased to host this upcoming event. To stay in touch with the Chapters, or to donate towards this and other events, please visit their website at https://scienceandculture.network


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-17--The Bill Walton Show: The True Human Costs of Government Imposed Lockdowns with Jim Agresti

Medical studies show that excessive stress and anxiety are among the most debilitating and deadly of all health hazards in the world .
Beyond their obvious effects like suicide and substance abuse—these mental stressors are strongly related to and may trigger and inflame a host of ailments like high blood pressure , digestive disorders , heart conditions , infectious diseases , cancer , and pregnancy complications .
Based on a broad array of scientific studies , my guest Jim Agresti and his organization Just Facts , have calculated that the health risks created by reactions to Covid-19—such as stay-at-home orders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and legitimate concerns about the virus—will destroy at least seven times more years of human life than can possibly be saved by lockdowns to control the spread of the disease .
This figure is a bare minimum .
The total years of life that it will rob from all people is likely more than 90 times greater .
So when a politician like Andrew Cuomo declares that he will take every draconian measure to “ save just one life ” from Covid 19 he ’ s ignorant to or simply ignoring the massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moreover , there ’ s growing evidence that ’ s there not much relationship between the severity of government imposed lockdowns and excess deaths .
Are we looking at one of the most massive leadership blunders in history ?

Medical studies show that excessive stress and anxiety are among the most debilitating and deadly of all health hazards in the world.
Beyond their obvious effects like suicide and substance abuse — these mental stressors are strongly related to and may trigger and inflame a host of ailments like high blood pressure, digestive disorders, heart conditions, infectious diseases, cancer, and pregnancy complications. Based on a broad array of scientific studies, my guest Jim Agresti and his organization Just Facts, have calculated that the health risks created by reactions to Covid-19 — such as stay-at-home orders, business shutdowns, media exaggerations, and legitimate concerns about the virus — will destroy at least seven times more years of human life than can possibly be saved by lockdowns to control the spread of the disease.
This figure is a bare minimum. The total years of life that it will rob from all people is likely more than 90 times greater.
So when a politician like Andrew Cuomo declares that he will take every draconian measure to “save just one life” from Covid 19 he’s ignorant to or simply ignoring the massive human costs he’s imposing.
Moreover, there’s growing evidence that’s there not much relationship between the severity of government imposed lockdowns and excess deaths. Are we looking at one of the most massive leadership blunders in history? Join me as I explore all this with Jim Agresti.
Related


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-23--Eric Metaxas Interviews Stephen Meyer on The Return of the God Hypothesis

Eric Metaxas interviews Stephen C. Meyer about the ultimate mystery of the universe as drawn from recent scientific discoveries in @ @ @ @ @ biology .
The interview took place at the Dallas Conference on Science and Faith , @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Center for Science and Culture , in January 2019 .

Eric Metaxas interviews Stephen C. Meyer about the ultimate mystery of the universe as drawn from recent scientific discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biology.
The interview took place at the Dallas Conference on Science and Faith, sponsored by the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, in January 2019.


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-23--Antifa Makes Its Move

Antifa Makes Its Move

Antifa has become famous for rioting in the streets and setting police cruisers on fire , but behind the scenes , the left-wing activist organization has done the unthinkable : establish political power in major American cities .
The media has long provided cover for Antifa , perpetuating the myth that “ Antifa is an idea , not an organization ” and playing the childish semantic game that “ Antifa only means standing against fascism.
” But the truth is that Antifa is not only real , but has advanced a sophisticated three-part strategy to move the country towards its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goes like this : First , create chaos at the national level through identity politics-fueled protests , riots and civil unrest .
Second , quietly elect sympathetic officials to local councils in America ’ s most progressive cities .
And third , stamp out dissent through intimidation and build political power from the bottom up .
At this point , most Americans have come to understand Antifa ’ s role in street demonstrations and violent protests .
But Antifa has already advanced to the second stage of its strategic plan and established itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American cities .
As journalist Andy Ngo has reported , Antifa functions as the paramilitary wing of the Democratic Socialists of America ( DSA ) , which has expanded to 70,000 dues-paying members nationwide and has won local council elections in cities such as Chicago , San Francisco , Seattle and New York City .
The members of the DSA and Antifa often overlap in local “ affinity groups ” and , last year , the DSA formalized its support for Antifa by voting to “ [ institutionalize ] the fight against fascism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite concerns from some members that it might “ cause negative legal and safety consequences for the DSA.
” In recent months , as riots consumed dozens of American cities , some progressive political leaders have turned their support for Antifa from latent to explicit .
In Minneapolis , City Councilman Jeremiah Ellison openly declared his allegiance to the “ anti-fascists , ” even as the group ’ s rioters burned down entire blocks of his city and as President Donald Trump denounced the movement as a “ terrorist organization.
” In Seattle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her newborn baby in an Antifa onesie and told followers on social media that you have to “ start ’ em early ” in the world of radical political activism .
Even more dangerously , some city councils have begun to implement the policy agenda of the DSA-Antifa alliance .
Ellison and his associates on the Minneapolis City Council voted to “ abolish the police ” citywide , which they must know will enable the kind of Antifa-dominated street violence that has been seen in Portland , Oregon and , more recently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hill Autonomous Zone.
” For their part , Mosqueda and her Seattle City Council colleague Kshama Sawant rallied behind violent protestors and hailed Antifa ’ s armed takeover of the six-block autonomous zone as a “ victory ” against “ the militarized police force of the political establishment and the capitalist state.
” Both have vowed to cut police funding by 50 percent and support a plan to redirect $ 100 million in city funding to “ community-based programs ” —which would doubtlessly include funding for some of the same activist organizations that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happens to citizens who resist the takeover of local politics by Antifa activists ?
Violence , threats and intimidation .
In Portland , journalist Andy Ngo has been the victim of a years-long campaign to silence his reporting on Antifa .
In the Seattle municipal elections last year , when conservative candidate Ari Hoffman ran against DSA candidate Tammy Morales , Antifa-affiliated activists sent death threats and posed as neo-Nazis on the website 8Chan to encourage a campaign of anti-Semitic intimidation against him .
In response to my own reporting on left-wing politics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ address , followed my movements around the city and even posted threatening flyers around the school of my oldest child .
Unless a higher authority steps in and federal law enforcement takes the threat of left-wing political violence as seriously as right-wing political violence , Antifa ’ s malign influence will continue to expand .
Be forewarned : As we have seen on a small scale with the “ Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone , ” if the radical activists of the Left succeed in abolishing the police , prisons and courts , Antifa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they can not be trusted .

Antifa has become famous for rioting in the streets and setting police cruisers on fire, but behind the scenes, the left-wing activist organization has done the unthinkable: establish political power in major American cities.
The media has long provided cover for Antifa, perpetuating the myth that “Antifa is an idea, not an organization” and playing the childish semantic game that “Antifa only means standing against fascism.” But the truth is that Antifa is not only real, but has advanced a sophisticated three-part strategy to move the country towards its political program of anarcho-socialism. The plan goes like this: First, create chaos at the national level through identity politics-fueled protests, riots and civil unrest. Second, quietly elect sympathetic officials to local councils in America’s most progressive cities. And third, stamp out dissent through intimidation and build political power from the bottom up.


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-26--Bill Dembski on His Decentralized Currency How-to

Jay Richards interviews mathematician , entrepreneur , and philosopher , Dr. Bill Dembski , about his unique thought experiment regarding how one could create a decentralized , DIY , information-based currency .
Richards also explores with Dembski the concepts of natural and artificial intelligence .
Trained as a mathematician and philosopher , Dr. Bill Dembski is a writer , editor , and researcher whose books and articles range over mathematics , engineering , philosophy , theology , and education .
A board member and founding Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute , Bill ’ s current work focuses on the connections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
To that end , Bill has become an entrepreneur who builds educational software and websites .
Dr. Dembski has taught at Northwestern University , the University of Notre Dame , and the University of Dallas .
He has done postdoctoral work in mathematics at MIT , in physics at the University of Chicago , and in computer science at Princeton University .
Dr. Dembski is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago , where he earned a B.A .
in psychology , an M.S .
in statistics , and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1988 and a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1996 .
He has held National Science Foundation graduate and postdoctoral fellowships .
COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it .
Learn more at cosm.technology .
And , watch all of the conference sessions including keynotes Peter Thiel , Ray Kurzweil and George Gilder .
Get your virtual ticket .

Jay Richards interviews mathematician, entrepreneur, and philosopher, Dr. Bill Dembski, about his unique thought experiment regarding how one could create a decentralized, DIY, information-based currency. Richards also explores with Dembski the concepts of natural and artificial intelligence.
Trained as a mathematician and philosopher, Dr. Bill Dembski is a writer, editor, and researcher whose books and articles range over mathematics, engineering, philosophy, theology, and education. A board member and founding Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Bill’s current work focuses on the connections linking freedom, technology, and education.
To that end, Bill has become an entrepreneur who builds educational software and websites. Dr. Dembski has taught at Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Dallas. He has done postdoctoral work in mathematics at MIT, in physics at the University of Chicago, and in computer science at Princeton University.
Dr. Dembski is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he earned a B.A. in psychology, an M.S. in statistics, and a Ph.D. in philosophy. He also received a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Chicago in 1988 and a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1996. He has held National Science Foundation graduate and postdoctoral fellowships.
COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it. Learn more at cosm.technology. And, watch all of the conference sessions including keynotes Peter Thiel, Ray Kurzweil and George Gilder. Get your virtual ticket.


Washington’s Prophetic Warning

President Trump paid tribute to George Washington when he recently delivered the 2020 convocation speech at West Point .
While congratulating the cadet graduates and reminding the world of the success of his defense modernization program that gives the U.S. unchallenged superiority , Trump missed an opportunity to mention that Washington ’ s “ Farewell Address ” was a warning to the nation that America ’ s greatest threat would be internal , rather than external military incursions .
Prophetic in nature , the Farewell Address so gripped the American people at the time that it was read and reprinted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was a penetrating articulation of three sources of peril to freedom and the republican form of American democracy that citizens needed to guard against : • the failure of institutions to keep people informed and enlightened • the problems of party factions and hyper-partisanship • the decline of religious obligation and national morality The recent urban chaos and violence reminds us how dangerous mobs can be and how critically important it is to have crowd control through appropriate and effective National Guard , police , and law enforcement action .
But what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the devastation to cities and property in urban areas across the country is not a bad dream , but rather a glimpse of what America ’ s internal enemies want for the whole country .
It should be remembered that Antifa and Black Lives Matter ( BLM ) both have their ideological origins in Marxism , although they were both ostensibly formed under the banner of being anti-police .
BLM was established in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin , and we all remember BLM ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a blanket , fry ‘ em like bacon.
” Recently , Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors said , during a media interview , “ We are trained Marxists.
” Antifa ’ s roots go back further with some members coming out of the Weather Underground and others having been involved with the May 19th Communist Organization .
The ideology of both BLM and Antifa revolves around a core view of cultural Marxism that America was founded on white supremacy , and therefore needs to be destroyed .
By the language applied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( such as ISIS , Hizb ’ allah and Al-Qaeda ) , as those that “ employ the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims , ” both Antifa and BLM should be deemed terrorist organizations ; their activism employs violence and intimidation in pursuit of political objectives .
Council of American-Islamic Relations ( CAIR ) Executive Director Nihad Awad who openly supports Hamas — a designated terrorist organization — has publicly said , “ Black Lives Matter is our campaign.
” In addition , to Antifa , BLM , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leftist and anarchist militants , many of the crazies in the streets are ignorant opportunistic hoodlums .
The elected officials who have enabled the chaos created by the aforementioned in a growing number of municipalities are the product of higher education institutions that have failed to inculcate a basic appreciation of the American system and an understanding of the responsibilities required to protect freedom and rights in ways that maintain order , protect property and keep things working .
Their views are reinforced and sustained by most of the media — in both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — in ways that perpetuate false PC narratives being subliminally planted and taking root in a large portion of the population .
The scope of our internal problem in need of a solution is succinctly stated by Kyle Shideler , the director for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy : “ With the successful promulgation of the radical message [ the narrative ] of America as bastion of white supremacy by presidential candidates , cable news anchors , and generations of tenured professors , Antifa is unlikely to lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ otherwise — any time in the near future.
” Make no mistake — the goal of these narratives promoted by the left in America is to reinforce and drive white guilt and self-doubt for the specific purpose of increasing demoralization and paralysis in American society .
The harmful consequences of this is now on panoramic display in a number of large American city jurisdictions with mayors , commissioners , and city councilmen failing to support the police in the face of hostile confrontation , which demoralizes the police and undermines their willingness to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Little wonder that resignations and early retirements are on the rise .
But this is also part of the left ’ s plan to diminish public safety , increase lawlessness , and facilitate the end game .
Compounding the problem of bringing about a corrective and restoring balance is the fact that competing views and alternative narratives are being increasingly marginalized , censured , and blocked .
And we are now at a point when Americans who exercise their first amendment rights to express views that go against the dominant politically correct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and bullying and censored and defunded by social media giants , but increasingly they are being fired from corporate jobs , professional sports teams , and other employers and venues .
The First Amendment that is at the heart of our Constitutional freedom and differentiates America from almost every other county is under severe attack .
And when that freedom is gone , surely others will soon follow , and the transformation of America will be all but complete .
Is it all coincidence that the failed coup , the Trump-Russia Mueller investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and attendant nullification of Americans ’ Constitutional rights were followed immediately by an outbreak of urban warfare and assault on police and authority ?
We may never know definitively , but it ’ s clear that the leaders of Antifa and BLM didn ’ t miss a beat in organizing immediately after the death of George Floyd , and in subsequent days , continued to work in a well-funded and highly coordinated fashion .
They targeted cities , with their affiliates carrying out the logistics of transporting people , arranging for the delivery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gasoline to break windows , facilitate looting , and ignite fires , knowing that the energy levels of non-affiliated urban hoodlums and opportunists after nearly three months of pent-up frustration from cooped-up sheltering would likely result in extreme violence , destruction and looting .
It succeeded .
What this period of urban chaos and destruction has revealed is that the narratives that have turned Americans against America have worked to increase both the number of street revolutionaries and anarchists as well as the numbers who are passive in the face of property destruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And then there are the corporate leaders who apparently think that virtue signaling and buying protection from the left is a wise choice .
Of course , the leaders of Antifa , BLM and other radical groups see all this as weakness and confirmation to move forward with next steps to seed the collapse of America and gain power .
As a result of leniency — following the successful neutralization of the police and horrendous destruction of property , ransacking big box retailers and upscale shopping districts , and looting the very stores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what law and order and capitalist success bring — has only empowered the left to do more and bigger things that advance their long-term goal , which is the total transformation of America .
While they applaud concessions like shifting public spending and defunding the police , the radical left finds its greatest motivation in actions that move the country closer to the end game .
A central part of that is to delegitimize American institutions of authority by erasing and deconstructing history , so as to further disorient and disconnect Americans from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desecrating and tearing down national monuments has picked up momentum .
In Wilmington , Delaware city officials removed the statue of Columbus before it was dismembered and destroyed .
In St. Paul , Minnesota and Richmond , Virginia activist thugs gleefully toppled statues of Columbus .
In Boston , the statue of Columbus was beheaded , jihadi-style .
It matters not that Columbus was a passionate explorer , evangelist , and practitioner of Christian kindness .
Neither does it matter that he never saw nor set foot on the North American continent , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ native Americans .
With the white supremacist colonial narrative having been long and deeply established in the psyche of many Americans , Columbus and Confederate generals are an easy targets .
But we already see that toppling Columbus and Confederate monuments are just steppingstones to desecrating and removal of even more high value targets such as the memorials and statues of founders George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , and James Madison , who were slaveholders .
An important part of cadet training at West Point is the study of battle plans .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and long-term battle plans .
The short-term battle plan should start with speaking to the nation about the nature of the real threat to the Republic .
Clearly a revolution is underway , and we need to get out of denial , and implement decisive counter-revolutionary actions .
That starts with naming our enemies and rigorously enforcing the law against them .
Reestablishing law and order is a prerequisite to even thinking about implementing the long-term plan to neutralize the three prongs of internal threat that Washington laid out in his Farewell Address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ points to that long-term battle plan , which is absolutely necessary to save the Republic , would include : • Accelerated reform of and increased competition to the K-12 government-run school system , strategies that provide incentives to universities and media giants to provide more balance in the conveyance of knowledge and information , with requirements that all the protections associated with the First Amendment are upheld with legal liability and penalties for violations and violators .
• Second , the problem of factions and hyperpartisanship would diminish over time through the results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice in better schools and educational curriculum .
The survival of any nation requires inculcating a certain amount of enlightened patriotism , and the United States is no exception .
• And third , more can be done outside public policy initiatives to elevate the value of religious obligation and practice , which can bring surprisingly fast results by strengthening families , mitigating juvenile delinquency and crime , providing more genuine social connectedness and a higher purpose and meaning in life where bigotry has no place and tolerance is more abundant .
All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would provide a more civilized , broadminded , and enlightened population from which leaders would arise and get elected — better informed and equipped for bipartisan cooperation around policies that actually solve problems — all of which would provide a powerful force for American renewal .
The problem is the barbarians are not only inside the gates but have become the shock troops of the Democrat Party to intimidate and enforce compliance .
So the first step toward that long-term solution is to reestablish law and order , utilizing the powers of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority of citizens would welcome this .
To the elected city and state officials who would resist and bow to the left , just remind them that the oath of allegiance of federal officials is to defend the Constitution against all enemies , foreign and domestic .

President Trump paid tribute to George Washington when he recently delivered the 2020 convocation speech at West Point. While congratulating the cadet graduates and reminding the world of the success of his defense modernization program that gives the U.S. unchallenged superiority, Trump missed an opportunity to mention that Washington’s “Farewell Address” was a warning to the nation that America’s greatest threat would be internal, rather than external military incursions.
Prophetic in nature, the Farewell Address so gripped the American people at the time that it was read and reprinted more than the Declaration of Independence. It was a penetrating articulation of three sources of peril to freedom and the republican form of American democracy that citizens needed to guard against:
the failure of institutions to keep people informed and enlightened
the problems of party factions and hyper-partisanship
the decline of religious obligation and national morality
The recent urban chaos and violence reminds us how dangerous mobs can be and how critically important it is to have crowd control through appropriate and effective National Guard, police, and law enforcement action. But what people really need to realize is that the devastation to cities and property in urban areas across the country is not a bad dream, but rather a glimpse of what America’s internal enemies want for the whole country.
It should be remembered that Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) both have their ideological origins in Marxism, although they were both ostensibly formed under the banner of being anti-police. BLM was established in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, and we all remember BLM’s street march refrain of “Pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon.” Recently, Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors said, during a media interview, “We are trained Marxists.”
Antifa’s roots go back further with some members coming out of the Weather Underground and others having been involved with the May 19th Communist Organization. The ideology of both BLM and Antifa revolves around a core view of cultural Marxism that America was founded on white supremacy, and therefore needs to be destroyed.
By the language applied by the FBI to define terrorist organizations (such as ISIS, Hizb’allah and Al-Qaeda), as those that “employ the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims,” both Antifa and BLM should be deemed terrorist organizations; their activism employs violence and intimidation in pursuit of political objectives. Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Executive Director Nihad Awad who openly supports Hamas — a designated terrorist organization — has publicly said, “Black Lives Matter is our campaign.”
In addition, to Antifa, BLM, and the “swarms” of lesser-known leftist and anarchist militants, many of the crazies in the streets are ignorant opportunistic hoodlums. The elected officials who have enabled the chaos created by the aforementioned in a growing number of municipalities are the product of higher education institutions that have failed to inculcate a basic appreciation of the American system and an understanding of the responsibilities required to protect freedom and rights in ways that maintain order, protect property and keep things working. Their views are reinforced and sustained by most of the media — in both traditional channels and the social media outlets — in ways that perpetuate false PC narratives being subliminally planted and taking root in a large portion of the population.
The scope of our internal problem in need of a solution is succinctly stated by Kyle Shideler, the director for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy: “With the successful promulgation of the radical message [the narrative] of America as bastion of white supremacy by presidential candidates, cable news anchors, and generations of tenured professors, Antifa is unlikely to lack for recruits and support — rhetorical or otherwise — any time in the near future.”
Make no mistake — the goal of these narratives promoted by the left in America is to reinforce and drive white guilt and self-doubt for the specific purpose of increasing demoralization and paralysis in American society. The harmful consequences of this is now on panoramic display in a number of large American city jurisdictions with mayors, commissioners, and city councilmen failing to support the police in the face of hostile confrontation, which demoralizes the police and undermines their willingness to perform their job and enforce the law. Little wonder that resignations and early retirements are on the rise. But this is also part of the left’s plan to diminish public safety, increase lawlessness, and facilitate the end game.
Compounding the problem of bringing about a corrective and restoring balance is the fact that competing views and alternative narratives are being increasingly marginalized, censured, and blocked. And we are now at a point when Americans who exercise their first amendment rights to express views that go against the dominant politically correct narratives are not just silenced through shaming and bullying and censored and defunded by social media giants, but increasingly they are being fired from corporate jobs, professional sports teams, and other employers and venues. The First Amendment that is at the heart of our Constitutional freedom and differentiates America from almost every other county is under severe attack. And when that freedom is gone, surely others will soon follow, and the transformation of America will be all but complete.
Is it all coincidence that the failed coup, the Trump-Russia Mueller investigation and Ukraine-impeachment hoaxes, the COVID-19 shutdown and attendant nullification of Americans’ Constitutional rights were followed immediately by an outbreak of urban warfare and assault on police and authority? We may never know definitively, but it’s clear that the leaders of Antifa and BLM didn’t miss a beat in organizing immediately after the death of George Floyd, and in subsequent days, continued to work in a well-funded and highly coordinated fashion. They targeted cities, with their affiliates carrying out the logistics of transporting people, arranging for the delivery of pallets of bricks, bats and gasoline to break windows, facilitate looting, and ignite fires, knowing that the energy levels of non-affiliated urban hoodlums and opportunists after nearly three months of pent-up frustration from cooped-up sheltering would likely result in extreme violence, destruction and looting. It succeeded.
What this period of urban chaos and destruction has revealed is that the narratives that have turned Americans against America have worked to increase both the number of street revolutionaries and anarchists as well as the numbers who are passive in the face of property destruction, looting and violence against resisters. And then there are the corporate leaders who apparently think that virtue signaling and buying protection from the left is a wise choice. Of course, the leaders of Antifa, BLM and other radical groups see all this as weakness and confirmation to move forward with next steps to seed the collapse of America and gain power.
As a result of leniency — following the successful neutralization of the police and horrendous destruction of property, ransacking big box retailers and upscale shopping districts, and looting the very stores and brands that symbolize the fruit of what law and order and capitalist success bring — has only empowered the left to do more and bigger things that advance their long-term goal, which is the total transformation of America.
While they applaud concessions like shifting public spending and defunding the police, the radical left finds its greatest motivation in actions that move the country closer to the end game. A central part of that is to delegitimize American institutions of authority by erasing and deconstructing history, so as to further disorient and disconnect Americans from their heritage. That’s why desecrating and tearing down national monuments has picked up momentum.
In Wilmington, Delaware city officials removed the statue of Columbus before it was dismembered and destroyed. In St. Paul, Minnesota and Richmond, Virginia activist thugs gleefully toppled statues of Columbus. In Boston, the statue of Columbus was beheaded, jihadi-style. It matters not that Columbus was a passionate explorer, evangelist, and practitioner of Christian kindness. Neither does it matter that he never saw nor set foot on the North American continent, and never enslaved or abused any indigenous native Americans.
With the white supremacist colonial narrative having been long and deeply established in the psyche of many Americans, Columbus and Confederate generals are an easy targets. But we already see that toppling Columbus and Confederate monuments are just steppingstones to desecrating and removal of even more high value targets such as the memorials and statues of founders George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, who were slaveholders.
An important part of cadet training at West Point is the study of battle plans. What President Trump needs now are effective short and long-term battle plans.
The short-term battle plan should start with speaking to the nation about the nature of the real threat to the Republic. Clearly a revolution is underway, and we need to get out of denial, and implement decisive counter-revolutionary actions. That starts with naming our enemies and rigorously enforcing the law against them. Reestablishing law and order is a prerequisite to even thinking about implementing the long-term plan to neutralize the three prongs of internal threat that Washington laid out in his Farewell Address.
A few ideas on the starting points to that long-term battle plan, which is absolutely necessary to save the Republic, would include:
Accelerated reform of and increased competition to the K-12 government-run school system, strategies that provide incentives to universities and media giants to provide more balance in the conveyance of knowledge and information, with requirements that all the protections associated with the First Amendment are upheld with legal liability and penalties for violations and violators.
Second, the problem of factions and hyperpartisanship would diminish over time through the results of a more balanced media and more choice in better schools and educational curriculum. The survival of any nation requires inculcating a certain amount of enlightened patriotism, and the United States is no exception.
And third, more can be done outside public policy initiatives to elevate the value of religious obligation and practice, which can bring surprisingly fast results by strengthening families, mitigating juvenile delinquency and crime, providing more genuine social connectedness and a higher purpose and meaning in life where bigotry has no place and tolerance is more abundant.
All of this, implemented over time, would provide a more civilized, broadminded, and enlightened population from which leaders would arise and get elected — better informed and equipped for bipartisan cooperation around policies that actually solve problems — all of which would provide a powerful force for American renewal.
The problem is the barbarians are not only inside the gates but have become the shock troops of the Democrat Party to intimidate and enforce compliance. So the first step toward that long-term solution is to reestablish law and order, utilizing the powers of the federal government where necessary. The vast majority of citizens would welcome this. To the elected city and state officials who would resist and bow to the left, just remind them that the oath of allegiance of federal officials is to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.


discoveryinstitute--2020-07-02--The End of Chaz

The End of Chaz

Early this morning , a phalanx of Seattle police officers , armed with long batons and semiautomatic rifles , cleared out the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone ( CHAZ ) , also known as the Capitol Hill Occupation Protest ( CHOP ) .
Unless Antifa militants stage an unexpected counterattack , this marks the end of the 24-day occupation of the Capitol Hill neighborhood .
Seattle can now begin to reckon with the damage .
The CHAZ saga began on June 8 , under the premise that capitalism , police brutality , and the “ fascist regime ” of Seattle mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that systemically oppressed African-Americans .
Black Lives Matter and Antifa-affiliated activists hoped to create a new regime based on familiar social-justice principles of recent years : they established a social order based on a “ reverse hierarchy of oppression , ” implemented race-based segregation in public spaces , and maintained a “ police-free zone ” that they believed would protect “ people of color ” from the depredations of the state .
As it turns out , however , maintaining public order is a complex undertaking and can ’ t be replaced by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , and James Madison , but a regime based on the principles of Nikole Hannah-Jones , Ibram X. Kendi , and Robin DiAngelo doesn ’ t work too well .
As CHAZ ’ s experience demonstrates , when left-wing radicals shift from protest to governance , things fall apart .
Ultimately , the problem of violence—and a dangerously naive understanding of policing—doomed the CHAZ .
Over its 24-day history , the autonomous zone saw two gun homicides and four additional shooting victims .
All the identified victims were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CHAZ had claimed to offer protection .
In the absence of a legitimate police force , armed criminal gangs and untrained anarchist paramilitaries filled the void .
Almost every night , gunshots rang through the streets .
The first homicide victim was killed in an outburst of gang violence ; the second , reportedly unarmed and joyriding in a stolen car , was gunned down by the “ CHAZ security force.
” In the end , the homicide rate in the CHAZ turned out to be 1,216 per 100,000—nearly 50 times greater than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s obviously not a strict apples-to-apples comparison—the small sample size of the CHAZ creates an exaggerated statistical effect—it ’ s instructive nonetheless , as it invalidates the entire premise of the autonomous zone .
By instituting a “ police-free zone , ” the CHAZ didn ’ t become peaceable ; it became lawless , brutish , and violent .
As the national media conducts its autopsy of the CHAZ , one tragic detail has escaped notice : the police department ’ s East Precinct building , which radicals saw as a symbol of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constructed under the leadership of Seattle ’ s first African-American city councilman , Sam Smith , who wanted to provide faster response times to the city ’ s Central District , where black residents had demanded greater police protection .
The irony is cutting : Smith , who grew up in the Deep South during Jim Crow , saw policing as a public service ; today , college-educated , white radicals see policing as an evil that must be abolished , whatever the consequences for African-Americans .
What are the ultimate lessons of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fooled by rhetorical premises of radicals and don ’ t cave to mobs .
For more than three weeks , Durkan insisted that the CHAZ was a “ block party ” or a “ Summer of Love , ” and entered negotiations with activists and armed gangsters attempting to capitalize on the cultural cachet of BLM .
In the coming weeks , when the barricades are cleared and the graffiti is washed away , the true legacy of the CHAZ will be the memory of two black men who died under the false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 19 , and Antonio Mays Jr. , 16 .
When the television cameras disappear and the bourgeois-radicals go home , who will remember them ?
Who will say their names ?

Early this morning, a phalanx of Seattle police officers, armed with long batons and semiautomatic rifles, cleared out the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), also known as the Capitol Hill Occupation Protest (CHOP). Unless Antifa militants stage an unexpected counterattack, this marks the end of the 24-day occupation of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Seattle can now begin to reckon with the damage.
The CHAZ saga began on June 8, under the premise that capitalism, police brutality, and the “fascist regime” of Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan were upholding a social order that systemically oppressed African-Americans. Black Lives Matter and Antifa-affiliated activists hoped to create a new regime based on familiar social-justice principles of recent years: they established a social order based on a “reverse hierarchy of oppression,” implemented race-based segregation in public spaces, and maintained a “police-free zone” that they believed would protect “people of color” from the depredations of the state.


discoveryinstitute--2020-06-26--Bill Dembski on a DYI Decentralized Currency


discoveryinstitute--2020-07-03--The Future of 5G

The Future of 5G

Jay Richards interviews Andre Fuetsch , President of AT & T Labs and Chief Technical Officer at AT & T , about the future of 5G communications .
Feutsch says that one of the great benefits of 5G will not only be faster speeds , but much lower latency .
This will be a “ game changer ” for latency-sensitive applications such as autonomous vehicles , drones , and online gaming that require real time information .
Andre Feutsch oversees the global technology direction for AT & T .
This includes network planning , the company ’ s innovation road @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AT & T Foundry , and the intellectual property organization .
His responsibilities include spearheading the design of the company ’ s next-generation 5G wireless infrastructure and software-defined networking ( SDN ) initiative .
He ’ s also heavily involved in AT & T ’ s push into open source software and other open standards , and engagement and collaboration with the broader developer community .
Since joining AT & T in 1995 , Andre has supported and led several organizations responsible for software , systems and network architecture , planning and engineering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the field of network traffic optimization and database design .
He earned his bachelor ’ s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at U.C .
Berkeley and completed his graduate coursework in Computer Science at Stanford University .
COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it .
Learn more at https : //cosm.technology/ .
And , watch all of the conference sessions including keynotes Peter Thiel , Ray Kurzweil and George Gilder .
Get your virtual ticket to COSM 2019 .

Jay Richards interviews Andre Fuetsch, President of AT&T Labs and Chief Technical Officer at AT&T, about the future of 5G communications. Feutsch says that one of the great benefits of 5G will not only be faster speeds, but much lower latency. This will be a “game changer” for latency-sensitive applications such as autonomous vehicles, drones, and online gaming that require real time information.
Andre Feutsch oversees the global technology direction for AT&T. This includes network planning, the company’s innovation road map, AT&T Labs, AT&T Foundry, and the intellectual property organization. His responsibilities include spearheading the design of the company’s next-generation 5G wireless infrastructure and software-defined networking (SDN) initiative.
He’s also heavily involved in AT&T’s push into open source software and other open standards, and engagement and collaboration with the broader developer community.
Since joining AT&T in 1995, Andre has supported and led several organizations responsible for software, systems and network architecture, planning and engineering, where he holds six patents in the field of network traffic optimization and database design. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at U.C. Berkeley and completed his graduate coursework in Computer Science at Stanford University.
COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it. Learn more at https://cosm.technology/.
And, watch all of the conference sessions including keynotes Peter Thiel, Ray Kurzweil and George Gilder. Get your virtual ticket to COSM 2019.


discoveryinstitute--2020-07-06--The Deadly “Quality of Life” Ethic

The Deadly “Quality of Life” Ethic

Something evil happened recently in Austin .
Michael Hickson , a forty-six-year-old African-American man with quadriplegia and a serious brain injury , was refused treatment at St. David ’ s Hospital South Austin while ill with COVID-19 .
The hospital withheld his tube-supplied food and water despite the objections of his wife , Melissa—and even though Michael might have survived the illness with the medical care generally provided COVID patients .
Michael died on June 11 because his doctors did not believe he had a sufficient “ quality of life ” to justify curative treatment , and that because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ futile.
” Here ’ s the backstory : In 2017 , Michael experienced brain injury after cardiac arrest .
He was quadriplegic and had seizures .
But he was conscious and , according to Melissa , able to do math calculations and answer trivia questions .
Wasn ’ t his life as precious as everybody else ’ s ?
Not according to Michael ’ s doctors .
When Michael became sick with coronavirus , his doctor informed Melissa that treatment would not improve the quality of his life ( meaning , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he survived ) , so the medical team “ and the state , ” through a court-appointed guardian , had decided all treatment except hospice comfort care should end .
Melissa was unable legally to save her husband ’ s life by insisting that he receive proper care .
Having been appointed Michael ’ s temporary guardian , she was in a legal struggle with Michael ’ s sister over his custody , a dispute that predated Michael ’ s hospitalization .
Family Eldercare , a nonprofit agency , had been appointed interim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made about permanent guardianship .
Doctors convinced Family Eldercare to approve Michael ’ s transfer to hospice care even though he was breathing on his own .
Michael died of pneumonia after six days on hospice , the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration having no doubt weakened his body ’ s ability to fight disease .
Even without pneumonia , Michael would have soon died of dehydration .
Please note that this wasn ’ t a case of triage , a sad necessity required by a lack of resources in a time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a situation of doctor said/wife said .
Melissa recorded her conversation with the unnamed physician and posted it on YouTube so we can all hear for ourselves what families in these circumstances too often experience when dealing with the healthcare needs of disabled and elderly patients .
Here ’ s the substance of the conversation from the YouTube transcript , with my commentary .
Doctor : At this point , the decision is , do we want to be extremely aggressive with his care or do we feel like this will be futile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one that we always question .
The issue is : Will this help him improve the quality of life , will this help him improve anything , will it ultimately change the outcome ?
And the thought is the answer is no to all of those .
Melissa : What would make you say no to all of those ?
Doctor : As of right now the quality of life , he doesn ’ t have much of one .
Melissa : What do you mean ?
Because he was paralyzed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have a quality of life ?
Doctor : Correct The doctor did not base his decision on the seriousness of Michael ’ s illness , but on his continuing disability .
This is a classic example of applying the invidious “ quality of life ” ethic , which deems people with disabilities , the elderly , the chronically ill , and the dying to have a lower moral worth than the healthy , able-bodied , and young ; this ethic sometimes translates into denying the weak and vulnerable medical care that others @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the doctor says that the decision is not Melissa ’ s to make .
Melissa : So the fact that you are killing someone doesn ’ t make sense in your mind ?
Doctor : We don ’ t think it ’ s killing .
Because I don ’ t know when or if he will die .
But at this point I don ’ t think it would be humane or compassionate to put a breathing tube in this man and do the lines and the tubes and all that stuff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will benefit him .
Melissa : And I totally agree with you on the intubation part of it .
I don ’ t want him intubated .
But I also don ’ t think you should just sit him somewhere to be comfortable until he finally just drifts away .
That to me is futile too .
That ’ s saying you ’ re not trying to save someone ’ s life .
You ’ re just watching them go .
The ship is sailing .
I mean that just doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try .
I don ’ t get that part .
I don ’ t like that part .
Melissa is not asking for intubation .
She is not asking for “ everything possible ” to be done .
Rather , she wants proper care for Michael , which would presumably have included medicines and tube-supplied food and water .
The doctor becomes increasingly tired of the conversation : What can we learn from this ?
First , people should sign advance directives naming legal surrogates who will make medical decisions for them in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparently not done that .
Had Melissa been Michael ’ s legal surrogate , it is very possible he would be alive today , because she would not have consented to his transfer from acute care to hospice .
Second , the quality of life ethic is deadly .
When doctors fail to recognize life itself as a good , and only deem as “ good ” those lives they perceive to be of sufficient quality , the weak and vulnerable are put at material risk .
Something evil happened recently in Austin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man with quadriplegia and a serious brain injury , was refused treatment at St. David ’ s Hospital South Austin while ill with COVID-19 .
The hospital withheld his tube-supplied food and water despite the objections of his wife , Melissa—and even though Michael might have survived the illness with the medical care generally provided COVID patients .
Michael died on June 11 because his doctors did not believe he had a sufficient “ quality of life ” to justify curative treatment , and that because of his disabilities , saving his life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the backstory : In 2017 , Michael experienced brain injury after cardiac arrest .
He was quadriplegic and had seizures .
But he was conscious and , according to Melissa , able to do math calculations and answer trivia questions .
Wasn ’ t his life as precious as everybody else ’ s ?
Not according to Michael ’ s doctors .
When Michael became sick with coronavirus , his doctor informed Melissa that treatment would not improve the quality of his life ( meaning , he would remain quadriplegic and cognitively disabled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical team “ and the state , ” through a court-appointed guardian , had decided all treatment except hospice comfort care should end .
Melissa was unable legally to save her husband ’ s life by insisting that he receive proper care .
Having been appointed Michael ’ s temporary guardian , she was in a legal struggle with Michael ’ s sister over his custody , a dispute that predated Michael ’ s hospitalization .
Family Eldercare , a nonprofit agency , had been appointed interim guardian until a final decision could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convinced Family Eldercare to approve Michael ’ s transfer to hospice care even though he was breathing on his own .
Michael died of pneumonia after six days on hospice , the withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration having no doubt weakened his body ’ s ability to fight disease .
Even without pneumonia , Michael would have soon died of dehydration .
Please note that this wasn ’ t a case of triage , a sad necessity required by a lack of resources in a time of pandemic emergency .
Nor was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Melissa recorded her conversation with the unnamed physician and posted it on YouTube so we can all hear for ourselves what families in these circumstances too often experience when dealing with the healthcare needs of disabled and elderly patients .
Here ’ s the substance of the conversation from the YouTube transcript , with my commentary .
The doctor did not base his decision on the seriousness of Michael ’ s illness , but on his continuing disability .
This is a classic example of applying the invidious “ quality of life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disabilities , the elderly , the chronically ill , and the dying to have a lower moral worth than the healthy , able-bodied , and young ; this ethic sometimes translates into denying the weak and vulnerable medical care that others would receive readily .
A bit later , the doctor says that the decision is not Melissa ’ s to make .
Melissa is not asking for intubation .
She is not asking for “ everything possible ” to be done .
Rather , she wants proper care for Michael , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food and water .
The doctor becomes increasingly tired of the conversation : What can we learn from this ?
First , people should sign advance directives naming legal surrogates who will make medical decisions for them in the event of incapacity .
Michael had apparently not done that .
Had Melissa been Michael ’ s legal surrogate , it is very possible he would be alive today , because she would not have consented to his transfer from acute care to hospice .
Second , the quality of life ethic is deadly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ itself as a good , and only deem as “ good ” those lives they perceive to be of sufficient quality , the weak and vulnerable are put at material risk .
Finally , our societal attitudes need adjusting .
Rather than upholding a quality of life ethic , we should insist that society generally—and medicine specifically—adhere to the sanctity/equality of life ethic , according to which everyone is considered equally valuable and worthy of living and care .
This ethic would not force people to accept medical treatment they do not want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weak and vulnerable among us , people like Michael Hickson , from being pushed out of the lifeboat by doctors who can ’ t imagine why anyone with quadriplegia and cognitive incapacities should go on living .
Finally , our societal attitudes need adjusting .
Rather than upholding a quality of life ethic , we should insist that society generally—and medicine specifically—adhere to the sanctity/equality of life ethic , according to which everyone is considered equally valuable and worthy of living and care .
This ethic would not force people to accept medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would keep the most weak and vulnerable among us , people like Michael Hickson , from being pushed out of the lifeboat by doctors who can ’ t imagine why anyone with quadriplegia and cognitive incapacities should go on living .

Center on Human Exceptionalism
The mission of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism is to affirm and uphold the intrinsic nature of human dignity, liberty, and equality. In resistance to a growing movement against unique human personhood, we aim to revitalize a commitment to the traditional Western view of human rights and human responsibilities — summed up by the term “human exceptionalism.” Read more