heck we went to war because of yellow journalism.

but go back to even the revolutionary war era and the pen names used to influence politics/public opinion. Ben Franklin/Silence Dogood etc.....

 

It’s okay I expect push back and quite frankly it’s no surprise I’m not a doctor nor would I appreciate a doctor who owns an airplane tell me how to fly an airliner.

However, the age issue and failure to stay abreast of the latest practices and research is a known factor in the medical field. Do a simple search and there are articles about which specialist one should use, a younger or older doctor and the younger ones are recorded.

But, my point is almost everything I read from pilots and on the internet about the COVID-19 is off the charts, hyperbolic and allows only one narrative. Rarely does anybody post the boring facts.

Why? Of course no one is allowed to ask that question.

Wear your mask, self quarantine and by god do not cough or sneeze in public.

It’s a very sad time for many reasons.

 

Some bullet points, free stream of thought. What follows is why I refuse to simply abrogate my rights, conscience, and ability to gather data just because a politician or expert says they know better.
​

Power corrupts

There's a ton of power and money in medicine

Pharma out spends the oil industry's governmental lobby around two to one

There have been medical scandals before, and there will be others (Vioxx, doctors endorsing cigarettes I could go on)

An ignorant public reflects a negative society, negative ruling class

Change has come from the grass roots level

The media makes money off sensationalism

Fortunately there are many alternatives to the mainstream media

Experts deserve both our attention and yet scrutiny

Experts are often found on both sides of a topic, but one side typically gets the megaphone

We the citizens now have much access to data and various recorded media to check and balance power

The China travel ban was first xenophobic and racist, later said ban was not only a great idea but should have come sooner

We vote on, interact with, attempt to influence, petiton, and protest our politicians

Who's watching the watchman?

We have every right to research, inquire, and ask questions

The Constitution of the United States is an amazingly prescient document, we must exercise and defend such rights vigorously

 

Ughhh. The news should really stay away from doctors right now and doctors should stop giving poor soundbites to the news that play to either political base. Truth is we don't know much in the science community. There is a lot of data, but struggling to correlate and filter out anecdotal data with data driven results.

Yes, various flu's have caused various amounts of renal failure/disease in patients but it is not normal. Heck even Streptococcus pyogenes may causepost-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.

Further, renal failure is somewhat common with patients on ventilators for extended periods of time.

For all those that have a science background these publications in JAMA may be of interest and lack the middleman of the "news".

Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes of 1591 Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2 Admitted to ICUs of the Lombardy Region, Italy | Critical Care Medicine | JAMA | JAMA Network
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764365

Pharmacologic Treatments for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Review | Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology | JAMA | JAMA Network
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764727

 

You know when you have a GDP to JFK and a passenger comes up to you and says, “I don’t know why we’re delayed. I just looked at the weather and it’s fine. My friend just flew in on another airline and he got in on time. I think you and the gate agents don’t know what’s going on and are lying to us.”


You’re all *that* passenger.

 

I heard it all was just a hoax. I'm confused now.

/s

 

You do realize shutting down the world and then building a narrative to defend it is a whole lot more serious than that one flight.

On the other hand I would hope my passengers would defend the airplane when a terrorist group tried to destroy it and kill everyone on board. And in the process there will be casualties.

Boy making life changing decisions have a lot of issues, don’t they! “Saving lives” and how to successfully navigate the storm maybe isn’t as easy as waiting out a weather front for a couple of hours.

Are we just passengers and if so when do we step up and demand our rights?

The plot is far more complicated and our leaders have laws they must follow, are they?

 

This criticism continues to boggle my mind coming from airline pilots. Unless you're all simultaneously certified and experienced as a doctor of atmospheric science, A&P, dispatcher, ATC, scheduler, airport ops manager, flight attendant, gate agent, and hell-fortune 500 upper management...I guess you've never questioned anything because it wasn't your place to doubt nor was it impossible for you gather additional information. You just do what the experts tell you 100% of the time without hesitating one iota.

Got it.

 

In these situations calling it just the flu, you’re not a passenger stepping in to help save the plane from the terrorist act, you’re the passenger seeing the act and thinking it’s a conspiracy. You think the terrorists may be from a shadow airline while telling other passengers on board to cause a bigger issue because the terrorist act is being overblown. You say the terrorists want to commit a heinous act, but even if they do, who cares? Car accidents kill more people in the US a year and the flight has been smooth and you’re almost to your destination. Then you circulate another YouTube video of some conspiracy theorists talking into his phone while driving.

 

I'll help. Ever shake you head when the media "reports" about the causes of aircraft accidents, particularly in the first hours after it happens? Why?

They're not pilots, accident investigators or even aviation specialists. But they have to get something in the news cycle to "keep up" with the competition.

There's an old journalism saw that goes, "If it bleeds, it leads." That's the reason passenger airline accidents get lots of attention, but cargo accidents don't. After all, only the pilots get killed in freighters. In all journalism its all about ratings or selling subscriptions. High sales/ratings draw advertisers. That's how they make their money.

Guess what you don't see...the NTSB report. By the time that comes out, its "old news." The public has forgotten about it and its too technical anyway.