By Mary Goetsch
Aurora, Ill.
Thursday, May 11 marks the federal end to pandemic restrictions and related funding programs. If school closures, public library closures, and restricted business were the precursor to online living, then after May 11, there should be no more of this situation.
I see Fermilab (in Batavia) still is not really open to the public; no events appear on the website calendar, so in theory no guards are present to open the gate. Since 2020 their lectures and concerts have gone to Internet streaming. There are benefits and problems, depending on your consumer habits. Do you do Internet and have a mobile to gain access to the secure sites if you are at a public computer?
I looked this week and see most of the streamings have been archived and can be watched through their Facebook site. Of course it is a treasure trove, and free, or, is it an appeasement to satisfy taxpayers that this campus is being sufficiently utilized?
Remember, there are many refugees and homeless and no large facility should sit unused. I can’t help but wonder shy only the Department of Energy is keeping the online culture. The U.S. Surgeon General Tuesday, May 2 issued his stance against loneliness and lack of in-person interaction as unhealthy as cigarette-smoking. Is it the need to reduce the carbon footprint the reason the Department of Energy is nudging an online economy with exclusive Internet, smart phone, and the related online banking? How far-reaching is the conspiracy to force consumers into this situation?
I have written on conspiracy theory previously, in the March 23 edition of The Voice, on bank failures, and on a PBS program apparently pre-cognizant one month in advance. I reviewed a book, “Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know”. There is another book I wish to recommend now: “Conspiracy” by Michael Shermer, 2022, which is in the Aurora Library System.
If only two individuals are in collusion, it is by definition a conspiracy. Science can’t answer the question of the slippery slope difference between a private contract and one that affects most of society. Conspiracy covers UAP (UFO), WWI, Iran-Contra scandal, Carrie Buck, and forced sterilizations, compulsory vaccination, Tuskegee tragedy on medical disclosure, principle of pluralistic ignorance, peer pressure, and the difference between mythology claim, and a scientific claim that can be falsified.
Michael Shermer’s Skeptic Society has a research center that has been doing polling and analyzing current events. The book provides some highlights and the general list of top conspiracy concerns. The No. 1 topic is Big Pharma. The No. 2 topic is Climate Change. My interest is in whether the online nudge accelerating with the pandemic school closures has to do with the political goal of reducing carbon footprint. There are several research reports from this situation and all are free and easy to gain access. Google skeptic.com/research center. You will see the website and can select the reports you wish to print. The report for my comments is PCIS-001, Who Endorses COVID-19 Conspiracies?