Alternate Justice System (AJS)

Two weeks ago I posted about Some Lives Don’t Matter (SLDM), a movement that now seems to be growing faster than the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Actually, SLDM has grown so rapidly that it has brought to the public eye an alternate system of justice that prevails in our inner cities.

Let me give an example. On Saturday, June 27, a 21-year-old black man was gunned down by an assailant who pumped a number of bullets into his car. The young man was killed instantly but the three other occupants of the vehicle were only wounded. Predictably, these witnesses refused to cooperate with police representing the official criminal justice system. It would appear that they have more respect for the alternate justice system. 

What makes this story stand out from numerous other murders of this type was the fact that the young man had recently been released from prison to save him from the dreaded coronavirus. For months Progressives have been urging that the prisons be emptied not just for public health reasons, but because they believe that the large numbers of black prisoners are a sign of systemic racism. 

After all, in the official criminal justice system most of the judges, lawyers, jurors, and police are white, while the majority of criminals in prison are people of color. 

So, the young man was released after serving only two years of his eight-year drug trafficking sentence. Whoever ordered his release from the official justice system obviously believed that they were doing him a favor but they did not realize that he was only being thrown into the arms of the Alternate Justice System (AJS).

In that system the arresting officer used a deadly weapon to not only execute the young man but sprayed bullets into the car. He acted as prosecutor, judge, and executioner. The trial was swift and the verdict pre-ordained. The defendant had no rights or attorney to defend him. He could not even enter an appeal. 

We know that in this alternate criminal justice system practically all of the those carrying the guns are people of color. In a state that has some of the strictest gun-control laws in the country, these laws either do not apply or go unenforced in the alternate justice system. 

The state has also banned the death penalty but it is a major and growing part of the alternate justice system. The death of the young man was the ninth case of the death penalty meted out so far this year by the alternate justice system. Bridgeport’s Police Chief stated that the system has a long history. “Violent groups in the city have been targeting each other for years.”

The recent riots and looting in Minneapolis, Seattle, New York and elsewhere have demonstrated the existence of the two systems. On the one hand, we have the great majority of people, white and black, who abide by the laws of the official system. During the coronavirus scare we obeyed like sheep when told by authorities to stay at home, leave work and school, and wear masks.

On the other hand, when vandals, looters, burners, and shooters took over and trashed neighborhoods without any fear of the official justice system, they suffered no consequences. Some even praised them. Inevitably, the alternate criminal justice system took over and shootings and killings increased dramatically.

In the nine days following the rioting in New York City, there were 112 killed or injured in 83 separate shootings. In Chicago, a city where more than 300 black men had been executed by the alternate justice system in the past year, 25 people were killed and another 85 wounded over the last weekend in May.

Because these victims were not killed by a white policeman, their lives really won’t matter to the protestors marching to reform, de-fund, or even eliminate the official criminal justice system. 

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Quote for the day. "The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it, ignorance may deny it, malice may distort it, but there it is." Churchill.

Coronavirus: Ministry of Fear

Fish mongers sell fish and fear mongers sell fear. Newspapers have always resorted to alarming headlines to attract readers and gain ad revenue. In the past few decades television and the Internet have brought fear tactics to new levels. Every day when I open my home page there are alarming headlines all designed to gather “hits” or page views. In the age or the Internet every “hit” generates revenue, either directly or through increased ad rates.

The coronavirus has been a bonanza for the fear mongers. Almost from the first they have used excessive projections (now discredited), and alarming anecdotes to sell fear and anxiety. Covid-19, the preferred name for the virus, sounded like some alien invader even though it was just an abbreviation of corona and virus with 19 tacked on to indicate the year it started.

It is true that as of June 23 there have been 122659 deaths in the USA but let’s put that into context and avoid projections and anecdotes. The United States has a total population of about 328 Million. Every year about 2.8 Million, less than 1%, die in this country of all causes.

Total population: 3280000000

Corona test total: 27554000

Total positive: 2312000

Total deaths: 122659

Only 8.3% of those tested were positive. At the outset of the epidemic about 15% were positive. Back then, tests were only given to those with symptoms. Eighty five percent of those tested had something else. Now, we are obviously testing people without symptoms or who were infected but recovered. In any case testing positive is not the proverbial kiss of death. It is not like the bubonic plague where once the tell-tale signs appeared, you would be dead in a matter of days.

As of the morning of June 23, 122659 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus. That means the 5.3% of those who tested positive have died, but that the remaining 94.7% have so far survived. We now know that the great majority of the deceased were over age 65, with most over 80 and living in nursing homes where they had been previously confined for other medical problems.

Contrary to popular wisdom, the elderly are particularly vulnerable not because their immune systems are weak, but because their immune systems are too strong after a long lifetime of fighting off other diseases. An over-reaction of the immune systems causes inflammation and obstructs breathing. Most of the elderly who test positive for the virus usually die of pneumonia, a secondary infection.

Doctors have been treating the victims with cortisone, an anti-inflammatory even though it can have dangerous side effects if not used properly. Other doctors have prescribed Plaquinil, another anti-inflammatory, and the Z-pac to deal with the secondary infection. Critics have objected to Plaquinil, originally an anti-malaria drug, because it has not been fully tested for the virus.

It is the immune system reaction that causes the familiar symptoms—coughing, fever, and fatigue—that lay most people low for a couple of days. Most of the people infected quickly recover and develop an immunity that will protect them against future strains of the virus. People hope that a “cure” will be found but for most of us the cure is right in the immune system of our own bodies. As long experience tells us, when symptoms appear we just should take to bed and let our immune system do the job.

It is clear that the spread of the virus has been slowing down. From mid-March to mid-April the number of deaths in the USA grew from less than a hundred to more than 20000. By mid-May deaths had increased to over 80000, an increase of 300%, but by mid-June, even though the number of deaths grew to over 112000, the rate of increase was only 40%. It is slowing down enough that Governors in states that were hit very hard are beginning to open up.

Nevertheless, the fear mongers must still peddle their wares. Now they see the virus “spiking” in sunshine states where the virus originally made little headway. In Florida, for example, the number of cases from June 19 to June 23 jumped from 86000 to 100000, a 14% jump, but the number of deaths only increased from 3064 to 3170, a 3.6% increase over those five days.

The number of cases is obviously spiking because of the increase in testing. All along, medical researchers have argued that many more people have contacted the virus than have reported it. I have seen estimates that say we should multiply the number of positive results by a factor of from 3 to 100. Even if we use a mid-range multiplier and multiply the 2.3 Million positives by 22, it would appear that over 50 Million of us have contacted the virus by now. Only 122000 have died and the remainder have survived and likely become immune to further invasions. *

Of course, the threat of future invasions of the dreaded virus is now the last resort of the fear mongers. But even if it does come back in the fall, not only will many of us be immune but we also know a lot more about how to deal with it than before. We know who is in danger and who is not. We know that most young people will hardly know they have symptoms if they do get infected, especially remarkably fit athletes.

Recently, a story went viral about a group of sixteen young women who celebrated a birthday in a crowded Florida bar. Subsequently, they all tested positive for the coronavirus. The headline was alarming but if you read the story, none of them got seriously ill. They were in more danger from the alcohol they were drinking.

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*Note: I asked my scientific advisor about immunity. He replied:

99% of those who recover will be immune to it. There are always some other possibilities given individual genetic and immune differences and personal body conditions. You are probably correct with the mumps analogy having the disease and recovering from it naturally probably affords more resistance than a vaccine against the disease. For a virus whether you get a vaccine or have the actual disease will usually take about 14 days to develop full, lifetime, immunity to it.

Some Lives Don't Matter

Recently a black writer whose column appears every Sunday in my local newspaper gave a very narrow definition to the term, Black Lives Matter (BLM). I guess readers had been asking why so many black on black crimes don’t seem to matter. He wrote,

That includes the slogan Black Lives Matter, which confuses many people when they witness black on black crime. But one has nothing to do with the other. BLM is about police brutality against blacks. Period.

In other words, some lives don’t matter (SLDM). In Chicago in the last 12 months about 300 black men were murdered in the streets. Why don’t they matter? Is it because their lives were of little consequence? 

Despite all the tributes to George Floyd, I suspect that most of those protesting in the streets after his death would not have even given Floyd the time of day while he was alive. They often live in exclusive, even gated, communities usually off limits to black strip club bouncers.

Or is it the fact that black on black gang murders in cities like Chicago are so common, that they no longer are newsworthy? In comparison, a statistically rare killing of a black man by a white police officer is big news especially after the video goes viral. 

Ultimately, I believe the real reason the deaths of 300 black young men in Chicago did not matter is because their deaths do not fit a convenient racist narrative? Political correctness does not admit that blacks can be racists. Only whites can be racists. Why is the systemic racist narrative so important?

Despite the protests and the outpouring of articles lamenting racism and police brutality, systemic racism has nothing to do with reality. When I was born in 1939 racism was so much more prevalent in the USA than it is today. Any fair minded person should be able to see this obvious fact. 

The lamentable recent removal of “Gone with the Wind,” a 1939 film classic, from the HBO line up harks back to an era when blacks could only portray maids or porters in main line American films. Actually, in 1939 there were separate black theaters showing all black films made by black producers and directors. A similar situation existed in baseball, the American pastime. Only after world War II did the situation begin to change with the result that today blacks play important and lucrative roles in all areas of American life.

In reality neither George Floyd nor Derek Chauvin, the policeman who killed him, matter. The narrative cannot just be about them. It cannot just be about indicting the police officer and bringing him to justice. The whole Minneapolis police force must be indicted as riddled with racism. But it can’t stop there. Police departments all over the country must be seen as permeated with racism and prone to brutality. But more than that, the very idea and need for police must be called into question.

But it must go even further. All blacks must be seen as victims or at least assume the mantle of victimhood. Even privileged whites like Nancy Pelosi must pose as victims. The police are just a sign of systemic racism that has marked America from the beginning and that 70 years of civil rights legislation has failed to eradicate despite the success of the many black Americans who feel the need to complain of racism despite their success.

At dinner the other night a friend of mine who emigrated to this country 25 years ago complained of an incident where she had been bullied by a policeman. When I asked how many times that had happened to her, she admitted that it was the only incident. She had lived in this country for 25 years and 99.9% of the time, she, like most law-abiding citizens, black or white, had not been bothered by the police. 

Today, the papers are full of people offering such anecdotes but these anecdotes do not come close to systemic racism. Nevertheless, protestors call for structural reforms not only in the police but throughout society. Some are even demanded de-funding or even eliminating police. 

The recent riots and looting in Minneapolis and elsewhere demonstrate vividly what happens when that occurs. When police stand down, the looters and the burners turn out to pillage and destroy. 

They say one picture is worth a thousand words but this short video from the end of the 1950 film classic, the Asphalt Jungle, is worth a million. It is as relevant today as it was then. Like many of the films of that era it is a story of a crime by a gang that eventually goes deadly wrong. A corrupt police lieutenant was involved in the crime, and in this scene reporters ask the Commissioner what will happen to the bad cop. It is as good a summary of the role and importance of the police as I have ever seen. Click on this link or view the clip below.

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Vitamin D and Coronavirus

Here is another guest post from my scientific advisor, Robert DeStefano, who also happens to be my younger brother. He is a master biologist who has kept up his interest in science and nature even after retiring from the teaching profession. He has been following the coronavirus since it first appeared and has helped me on many of my posts. Early in March he argued that longer days and increased sunlight would be the real antidote. In particular, he believed ultraviolet light from the Sun was necessary for a healthy immune system. It looks like he was right.

                                                                Vitamin D.


Most of us were taught in school that Vitamin D is essential for proper bone development.  However, Vitamin D is also proving to be a major factor associated with IMMUNITY, DIABETES, HEART DISEASE, CANCER and the EVOLUTION OF SKIN COLOR.  

Most of us were also taught that the human body can make Vitamin D by being exposed to sunlight; hence it has been called the Sunshine Vitamin.  However, few people realize that what causes the production of Vitamin D is Ultraviolet light, specifically UV B.  Unfortunately the Northern Hemisphere receives very little UV B during the winter months.  In fact, we only start to receive significant amounts of UV B as the days grow longer around April, peaking during the summer, and tapering off beginning in the fall. 

The UV B which reaches the Earth occurs mainly between 10 AM and 2 PM.  A person outside on a bright sunny day for about 15 to 30 minutes will produce a substantial amount of Vitamin D, and, since Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, we store excess amounts of it.  The typical recommendation for Vitamin D is about 600 to 800 IU a day.  This can be achieved by being exposed to UV B when available, or by eating food rich in Vitamin D such as oily fish, or by eating foods supplemented with Vitamin D such as milk and certain cereals, or by taking a Vitamin D tablet or a Multivitamin containing Vitamin D.

There are a variety of factors which go into our ability to make Vitamin D from UV B radiation.  Age, skin color, and various medications can all limit Vitamin D production.  As we age our skin does not produce the same amount of Vitamin D as when we were young; therefore, elderly people are more at risk of not producing enough Vitamin D from the Sun.  The darker the skin, the less UV B is absorbed thus limiting the amount of Vitamin D produced.  A very dark skinned person will require probably 3 times the Sun exposure than a very light skinned person to produce an adequate amount of Vitamin D.  Medications such as anti inflammatories, anti hypertensions, antibiotics, endocrines, and anti epileptics all limit the amount of Vitamin D production.

The seasonality of the flu is still somewhat of a mystery; however, the role of Vitamin D has always been considered to be one factor in this regard.  The amount of UV B reaching the Earth is dependent on season and latitude.  In fact the Evolution of skin color is closely tied to Vitamin D production.  UV B is abundant at the equator but diminishes going north or south from the equator.   A person being dark at the equator will be protected from excess amount of UV radiation which could cause skin cancer and still be able to produce enough Vitamin D.  If we follow the evolution of Man from Africa to Europe, being lighter and lighter in color was genetically selected for in order to produce Vitamin D in UV B limited areas but at the same time people run the risk of skin disorders such as cancer.  Typically the flu strikes the hardest during winter time in the Northern Hemisphere and begins to taper off in mid spring and summer when we begin to have UV B and natural Vitamin D production increasing.  

The question now is, “Does Vitamin D play a significant immunological role?”  Research over the past few years seems to indicate that Vitamin D plays a major role.  Proper amounts of Vitamin D can cause the production of potent anti-viral molecules known as cathelicidins.   Cathelicidins work as part of our innate immune system to stop the virus from infecting cells and turning those cells into viral factories. 

Research has shown that immune cells such as macrophages, T-cells and B-cells all have DNA receptors for Vitamin D indicating that these cells will initiate production of a variety of anti microbial molecules once signaled by Vitamin D. Vitamin D is associated with over 200 human genes which indicates that Vitamin D must be involved in many reactions which occur in the body.  Over 2500 DNA binding sites have been discovered for Vitamin D with many of those sites associated with a variety of autoimmune disorders such as Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Leukemia and Crohn’s disease.   Before there were antibiotics, Vitamin D was used to treat Tuberculosis.  Vitamin D is used to treat upper respiratory disease and to maintain proper skeletal structure and function. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to Multiple Sclerosis, Autoimmune Diabetes, Asthma, Cancer, and Osteoporosis.  

            How much Vitamin D do we need?  When a blood Vitamin D test is taken, the numbers in ng/ml (nanograms of 25-HydroxyVitamin D per milliliter of blood) show a wide range in people.  Currently less than 20 indicates deficiency, 20 to 30 insufficient and 40 to 50 being sufficient. However, some researchers believe these numbers are too high while others believe that the numbers are too low. Too high a level can be dangerous as excess Vitamin D is not eliminated from the body.

Using these numbers, it has been estimated that close to a billion humans currently fall into the range of deficient or insufficient.  Some doctors recommend getting Vitamin  D level checked prior to going into Fall and Winter as the stores of Vitamin D will start to diminish with less and less UV B reaching the Northern Hemisphere with the opposite true for the Southern Hemisphere which enters Spring and Summer. 

Vitamin needs are usually expressed with the term International Units (IU) rather than a microgram amount in order for a typical person to make sense of the numbers.  The recommended daily intake of Vitamin D usually is in the range of 700 to 1000 IU which is easily obtainable by spending about 30 minutes in the Sun around midday during mid spring and summer.  In certain situations some doctors use what is called a Vitamin D hammer which is a dose of 50,000 IUs which then is gradually tapered off.  For a person with severe deficiency, some doctors will prescribe 20,000 IUs for several weeks and then reduce to 10,000 IUs or until the individual is no longer Vitamin D deficient.  Keep in mind that being in the Sun for several hours on a weekend will produced about 200,000 IUs of Vitamin D naturally.  However, as the level of UV B declines entering fall and winter, sunlight will no longer provide the daily requirement of Vitamin D.  As mentioned before, humans do store the fat soluble Vitamin D but without ingesting Vitamin D from either food or supplements, the stored Vitamin D will eventually be depleted resulting in either deficient or insufficient Vitamin D especially among the elderly.  

            I have never had my Vitamin D level checked, but I now believe that checking Vitamin D blood level during a routine blood test is warranted.   Elderly, dark skinned, immunocompromised individuals, etc. would be served well by knowing their Vitamin D level especially as fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere.

Robert DeStefano

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Battle of Midway June 4, 1942

The June 4 anniversary of the Battle of Midway is usually overshadowed by remembrance of D-day, but this year it will be completely forgotten because of the coronavirus and the rioting and looting in American cities following the death in Minneapolis.

If we think things are bad in our country today, we should consider how dark things looked on June 4, 1942. We had been at war since Dec. 7, 1941 when the surprise Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor destroyed much of the American fleet in the Pacific. By 1942, Hitler and Nazi Germany had conquered France, eastern Europe, and threatened to invade England. America had been totally unprepared for war and the Japanese, who had achieved victory after victory in the Pacific thought that one final blow could force America to sue for peace.

The Japanese planned an attack on Midway in the hope of enticing American aircraft carriers into battle, a battle the Japanese were sure they would win. 

Nowhere is the story of Midway told better than in Admiral Samuel Morison’s epic history of United States naval operations during the Second World War. Admiral Morison was a rare combination of sailor and historian. Before the war he had written a magisterial biography of Columbus that still ranks with anything ever written about that great sailor. As part of his research Morison even used a sailing ship to cover the route Columbus had taken.

When the war broke out, the U.S. Navy asked Morison to be its official historian. The Navy took pains to put him on actual ships that were very likely to see action. He was not at Midway but his account reads like an eyewitness. Below are excerpts from his depiction of the pivotal two minutes of that epic battle.

First, a little introduction. After their stunning success at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the Japanese had rolled up one victory after another. By the spring of 1942 Japanese strategists thought that an attack on the tiny island of Midway in the central Pacific would entice American aircraft carriers into battle. The destruction of the US Navy carriers would force the Americans to sue for peace and secure the Japanese empire in the Pacific.

They sent a huge naval task force including four of their best aircraft carriers and most of their best pilots to take the tiny island in the middle of nowhere. Even though the American navy had been battered at Pearl Harbor, it was able to send a carrier force to intercept the Japanese after code-breakers deciphered enough of the Japanese naval code to reveal that Midway was the target. 

The Japanese had already bombed the small garrison at Midway when the American carriers came into range. Admiral Raymond Spruance was in command of the American fleet and he followed the advice of Captain Miles Browning who shrewdly predicted the location of the Japanese force. Spruance launched an immediate attack and the American planes quickly found the Japanese. The initial torpedo bomber attack was thwarted by Japanese fighters (Jekes). Not one torpedo reached its target and practically all the torpedo bombers were shot down. It seemed like all was lost for the Americans. Morison relates what happened next.   

Lt. Commander McCluskey

"The third torpedo attack was over by 1024, and for about one hundred seconds the Japanese were certain they had won the Battle of Midway, and the war. This was their high tide of victory. Then, a few seconds before 1026, with dramatic suddenness, there came a complete reversal of fortune, wrought by the Dauntless dive-bombers, the SBDs, the most successful and beloved by aviators of all our carrier types during the war. Lieutenant Commander Clarence W. McClusky, air group commander of Enterprise, had two squadrons of SDBs under him: 37 units. He ordered one to follow him in attacking carrier Kaga, while the other, under Lieutenant W. E. Gallaher, pounced on Akagi, Nagumo’s flagship. Their coming in so soon after the last torpedo-bombing attack meant that the Zekes were still close to the water after shooting down TBDs, and had no time to climb. At 14000 feet the American dive-bombers tipped over and swooped screaming down for the kill. Akagi took a bomb which exploded in the hangar, detonating torpedo storage, then another which exploded amid planes changing their armament on the flight deck—just as Browning had calculated. Fires swept the flagship, Admiral Nagumo and staff transferred to cruiser Nagara, and the carrier was abandoned and sunk by a destroyer’s torpedo. Four bomb hits on Kaga killed everyone on the bridge and set her burning from stem to stern. Abandoned by all but a small damage-control crew, she was racked by an internal explosion that evening, and sank hissing into a 2600 fathom deep.

Lt. Commander Leslie

The third carrier was the victim of Yorktown’s dive-bombers, under Lieutenant Commander Maxwell F. Leslie, who by cutting corners managed to make up for a late start. His 17 SBDs jumped Soryu just as she was turning into the wind to launch planes, and planted three half-ton bombs in the midst of the spot. Within  twenty minutes she had to be abandoned. U.S. submarine Nautilus, prowling about looking for targets, pumped three torpedoes into her, the gasoline storage exploded, whipsawing the carrier, and down she went in two sections....

Never has there been a sharper turn in the fortunes of war than on that June day when McClusky’s and Leslie’s dive-bombers snatched the palm of victory from Nagumo’s masthead, where he had nailed it on 7 December.

Midway was a victory not only of courage, determination and excellent bombing technique, but of intelligence, bravely and wisely applied….it might have ended differently but for the chance which gave Spruance command over two of the three flattops. Fletcher did well, but Spruance’s performance was superb. Calm, collected, decisive, yet receptive to advice, keeping in his mind the picture of widely disparate forces, yet boldly seizing every opening, Raymond A. Spruance emerged from this battle one of the greatest admirals in American naval history.

Admiral Spruance

Admirals Nimitz, Fletcher, and Spruance are, as I write, very much alive; Captain Mitscher of Hornet, Captain Murray of Enterprise and Captain Miles Browning of the slide-rule mind have joined the three-score young aviators who met flaming death that day in reversing the verdict of battle. Think of them, reader, every Fourth of June. They and their comrades who survived changed the whole course of the Pacific War."

For military history buffs here is a link to an excellent 40 minute video on the Battle of Midway. 

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