grant
March 4th, 2020
Thanks to this weeks co-writer Carmine Sabia, via The Freethinker.
Congratulations to Terry from Sacramento on winning this month’s raffle. Terry gets a signed copy of the latest J&M book.
If you enjoy Jesus & Mo and would like to make a small contribution to its continued existence on this mortal plane, you can do so here:
In my scientist’s opinion, financial support to public health and reseach works better than praying. I’m sorry if it looks like advertising but when a scientist reads the word “grant” he immediately jumps on the chair! 🙂
“The Daily Validator” – beautiful! Great punchline from Mo as well. Or did Author swoop down and put those words in his mouth, godlike as it were?
I wonder why Mike Pence doesn’t consider that god sent the virus in the first place.
Many scientists work on grants. That’s how they get the money. It’s odd that Faber runs away from grant money.
Now everyone knows Mike prayed for money for the scientists and if money flows to scientists (and it will), then his prayer worked.
Even if you say that Mike was asking for wisdom, not money, for the scientists and the scientists find a cure, his prayer worked.
If scientists don’t find a cure it does not mean his prayer didn’t work. It could mean God said “No”.
Actually Jesus got it right in the last frame when he said people need a deeper understanding of prayer.
A bunch of preachers are saying that Christians’ faith will protect them from COVID-19. All that does is set them up to be more susceptible to contracting it. I find it hard to muster any sympathy to any of their followers who do get sick and die because they were convinced that folding their hands and groveling was better than preventative medicine.
I’m hoping that the Man up there is granting special wisdom to leaders of the Korean Shincheonji Church of Jesus to whom 2000 infections are linked, bit too late really…
Did you see in the linked article that, as a precaution against coronavirus infection, they’ve closed the pools at Lourdes? The pools where people bathe to get miraculously healed?
I’m gald they did, but, doublethink much?
Laripu: God is not responsible for the coronavirus. He is too busy giving HIV to babies in Africa.
John Sproule, and the irony meter went spoing.
People are panic-buying goods and supplies based on rumors and herd mentality, and here in Australia toilet paper has become a rarity, with greedy idiots buying in bulk and leaving none for the rest. There’s even eBay auctions selling what are normally $3 packs for over $10,000! That is not a joke.
Other things like canned food, hand sanitizer, pasta and rice and disappearing, and can only imagine bottled water is next.
People are acting like it’s the fucking apocalypse when in reality, what is happening is no worse than the recent outbreaks of swine flu, ebola, etc. Although I don’t recall the level of moronic bulk buying then that I see now.
Perhaps we should pray that God gives all these human cattle the virus so their fears can actually be justified. And if a few were to drop from this mortal coil, then you could think of it as a solution to the world’s overpopulation.
Publically pray for untestable consequences and you can claim success without any evidence.
The virus will do to the gene pool that all serioya pathogens do. Eliminate from the gene pool those who’s genes make them more likely to die from respiratory illness, or is more likely the case those who have compromised their cardio vascular system thru lifestyle….I suppose I am hoping that nobody really suffers, but life just aint like that…
I’m not sure the gene pool will be affected much, as the death rate (so far) is low below the age of 50. [source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/%5D
A “]” got appended to that URL, which should be https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/
Someone: Your general point about various strains of flu is fair enough, but ebola is no joke, it has a very high mortality rate, truly “apocalyptic”, although a couple of vaccines have now been developed, which will save a lot of lives.
Kokako
Humans increase inclusive fitness in more ways than straight up reproducing. One way is inter-generational transfer of resources and status with a specific biological strategy switch to implement this–e.g. menopause.
Briefly–there’s a reason gran is so nice. But not if she’s dead.
HHB. Sounds lamarkian to me….don’t reproduce = extinction…
Son of Glenner, I know that about ebola. That and marburg are two of the most frightening diseases out there, and a genuine global pandemic would be something to dread.
The last widely reported outbreaks however were still fairly localized, and while undeniably tragic, there was a sense of hysteria that it would reach other countries that seem comparable to what is happening now.
The obvious difference being that coronavirus is in essence global, but people are going so crazy that it may as well be something like you’d fear from ebola or see/read in tales of world-ending pathogens. I’m not going to pretend people haven’t died from it but I think the mass panic is making it worse than it is, something populations are wont to do.
the healing baths in Lourdes
were closed to the suffering hordes
whose fates were inured
and miraculously uncured
both the hordes and the lord were ignored
M25 Holts: Lamarckism is the (genetic) inheritance of acquired characteristics. If my dad gives me his car he hasn’t done something “Lamarckian”. Unless I splice the car into my DNA, using CRISPR technology, and then start reproducing as a HelenCAR monstrosity, roaming the land, spurting our little Human-Car hybrids in an unholy affront to the laws of both god and man. Which I might do. If I get bored.
HHB. One current treatment for some cancers is to develop a CAR-T cell that has been modified to attack the cancers. Some exciting results. These cell then reproduce and maintain the disease free status. Since only the T cells have the genetic change, I assume this would not be passed on to progeny but, if so, would be Lamarckian from what you say above. In any event, no interference from God seems evident.
Edward: Thats interesting, I didnt know that. But, the information is still only travelling in one direction (assuming I understand chimeric antigen receptor tech properly (which I freely admit is not likely, but I might understand the underlying processes enough). But–you dont pass it on to offspring, I’m reasonably confident in saying.
We can alter DNA all the time–indeed, thats happening constantly due to radiation etc. But unless we alter something in the germ line then this isnt being passed down and I dont think this is?
HHB, Yes, the CAR-T changes do not go into germ cells. However, there seems a possibility that some genetic treatments might. Sickle Cell disease and aa few other single gene disorders might fall into that. I do not think that would be Lamarkian as this would be an acquired genetic trait due to DNA change not a DNA change due to environment. Maybe I should pray for understanding?
HHB. I suppose that if my dad lent me his big flash motor I might use its expansive rear seat to impregnate more women than a battered old ford escort and I clearly (and my genes) would benefit from being in more babies…but what if my genome contains a faulty gene that is detremental? Surely phenotypic effects on a genes frequency could be equally good/bad for overall calculated fitness? It always depends on the genes eventually….that was my point…
I think we are talking past one another. Everyone knows and accepts that there is intergenerational transfer. Everyone knows that epigenetic effects occur (such as GR demythylation in response to maternal care that makes that gene express itself more fully).
To any geneticist these things are “well, duh? How did you think ‘adaptations’ were going to work in practice?”
I suspect (I don’t “suspect”, I “know” because I sometimes hang out with anthropologists and they all make this mistake, but I try to be kind around their PoMo rotted minds) that people think that “genetic” = “fixed at birth”, and that “learning” is opposed to genetics (rather than being what it is–a set of biological processes)
The genotype is fixed at birth, the phenotype is not–because genes are turning one and other on and off all the time
Helenahandbasket, you wrote “everyone knows”, and that’s just not true. Most people don’t even know where to find a dictionary to look up the words you used.
Most people are dirt-stupid. Even smart people are dim-witted some of the time. Some people are even stupid for a living.
What’s PoMo? Postmodern? Indigenous people of northern California? Permanent Open Market Operations? Price of missing out? Short for tomato?