Numbers, lies, damned lies, statistics...and questions

January 5, 2021. Did you ever notice that Fauci and the CDC count Covid deaths the way American generals and the military counted Viet Cong deaths in Vietnam? Body counts. Such a horrible term, with no effort to confirm or explain. But those big numbers created an aura of power, invincibility and inevitability of history, only in the long run those made up numbers worked for Ho Chi Minh, not for America.

What evidence does a death certificate require to earn Covid as the immediate cause of death? Are their post mortem? Did the deceased get a positive Covid test on the way to see the doctor, or at the nursing home, just before s/he died? Is the listing of various contributors to death science or a judgment call, and/or by an expert? Is there second opinion? Do YOU believe that all of the Covid deaths the CDC adds to their list are really deaths caused solely by Covid, or even by Covid? My answer to the last, two-part 'deaths caused' questions are No! And No!

Do you believe that George Floyd died by strangulation by a policeman, well after the policeman released him? Do you believe that a person can say 'I can't breathe!' if he really can't breathe? [NOTE: Can you say 'yes' to the question, "Are you asleep?"] Do you believe that the policeman's 'knee on the neck' holding position was legal, justified or part of his training? Do you believe that George Floyd tested positive for Covid? Or fentanyl?

Do you know what 'excess deaths' means, or how they are counted? If 'excess deaths' means 'actual deaths' minus 'expected deaths,' how do you calculate 'expected deaths' and, if you do, is it a certain number, an estimate, or a statistic, with a range and standard error included? If you calculate expected deaths by averaging the number of actual deaths over the last ten years, and that annual actual count has been increasing by 50,000 deaths a year for the past ten years, shouldn't you use last year's actual deaths plus 50,000 as the 'expected deaths,' and not the ten-year trailing average?

What number tells you more useful information, a raw count of deaths or a deaths per million count? In comparing morbidity rates, does it make more sense to compare the United States with Belgium? Or maybe Wisconsin with Belgium? Or maybe Los Angeles with Belgium.

If you are going to lecture people on policy for preventing Covid deaths in 2020, wouldn't it be appropriate to 'fess up on how well your AIDS policy has been going for the past forty years?

If 621 people in your city died of a drug overdose while at the same time 173 people died of Covid, do you have a drug problem or a Covid problem? Who is to be held accountable for those deaths?

Do you believe that the nine highest increase in murder rates has occurred in ten cities that had significant Black Lives Matters protests? Do you believe that it is acceptable to skip wearing a mask for a political protest or celebration but it's not acceptable to attend a religious service, mask or no mask?

Do you believe the "mostly peaceful protests" claim has any validity if that included 500 non-peaceful protests out of 7,000 protests?