From RS, re the China Spy Balloon: 

“I was excited to see my thoughts published in your ‘Readers Write’ section on Feb. 10, but dismayed to be dismissed as a conspiratorial loon. My hunch could certainly be wrong, but the truth behind these types of intel events can take years to come out (if ever). Let’s see where the data leads. I will investigate your original question about satellite vs. balloon surveillance.”

My Response: My dear RS, I didn’t dismiss you. You told me your theory. I told you mine. Still, I promise, I won’t mention it again.

Unless, of course, my theory turns out to be correct. In that case, I’ll not stop telling you I told you so!

More on Statins. GM sent in this excerpt from an article titled “The Medical Mafia MUST Be Destroyed” posted on The Market Ticker: 

“How about statins? That entire class of drugs and the billions extracted from people scared of having a heart attack, never mind all the scolding by physicians rests on the cholesterol hypothesis, which appears to have been disproved more than a decade ago. The hypothesis in fact dates to 1913 (!!) and a single study of rabbits. Problem: It didn’t generalize when it was repeated in other mammals. Then Ancel Keys put forward an observation that higher serum cholesterol correlated with heart disease but he cherry-picked the nations in which he observed the correlation – six out of twenty-two. If you instead looked at the data from all of the nations there was no correlation. His study was clearly an intentional fraud. We next had the infamous Framingham study, which found somewhat-elevated cholesterol in men who had a heart attack. Aha, you say. Except – 30 years later the follow-up on that study was ignored – it found that in men 50+ there was no correlation between high cholesterol and death and in women none whatsoever irrespective of age. Worse, the follow-up found an inverse all-cause mortality increase with DECREASING cholesterol! That’s right – the follow-up, which is always of course superior since time is the best judge, found that higher serum cholesterol was either protective or the drug(s) used to lower cholesterol were poisons.

“How many people know this, even today? Few. You still hear this mantra, ‘medical advice’ and the prescription pads and pharmacy counters dispense statins by the truckload even though the underlying hypothesis was conclusively debunked more than a decade ago. How many billions of dollars were and are extracted from people on what appears, from all the evidence, to be a worthless intervention that, as with all drugs, carries risk of adverse effects and which was trivially proved to be predicated on an intentional falsehood by Keys – all you had to do was look at all twenty-two nations from which he originally collected the data.”

Click here to read the entire article.

Re my essay in Tuesday’s issue, “Is the China Spy Balloon a Hoax?”

From DD: 

“Hi, Mark,

“Always enjoy your eLetter.

“About the balloon…

“As you may well have heard, some people in positions to know believe it’s just China probing our technological, political, and military reactions to such an incursion.

“Now they know, among many other things, that it’s a great way to cause political dissension, and that the reaction will be pretty much like when the Three Stooges get ready to do something… fighting with and tripping over each other in the process.”

My Response: Thanks, DD! YES, I have heard that theory. In fact, that was the theory presented in the link that I mocked. As far as our political system having turned into a Three Stooges show, I don’t think China needed to send a balloon over to understand that!

From RS: 

“Though too early to draw conclusions about the spy balloon incursions, I found myself mystified by your remark about Gordon Chang’s response. I find nothing ‘ridiculous’ about his suggestion that it was a way to gauge the US’s air defenses/responses.

“You may have forgotten that the US received an intelligence bonanza in 1983 when KAL 007 inexplicably ventured deep into Soviet airspace. The incident ‘lit up’ the entire Soviet air defense network along their east coast, exposing the Soviets’ hand.

“His theory is underscored by recent military admissions that we have an obvious gap in our air defenses.”

My Response: The question that needs to be answered is what can China possibly learn from sending an easily detectable balloon into our air space that it doesn’t already know or couldn’t find out from a satellite?

Talk about conspiracy theories! The idea that this is an act of information gathering seems loony to me.

From LG, re my comments about Ron DeSantis: 

“I hope you were kidding about Ron DeSantis. Among other terrible things, he’s a blatant homophobe!”

My Response: I was half kidding. But only half. As to homophobia, here’s Dave Rubin, a well-known conservative commentator, answering that question from a personal perspective.

Re my Feb. 3 essay on the Tyre Nichols Killing, GG writes: 

“One thing I suspect we might see in the investigation of the Memphis killing is that the cops were used as tax collectors.

“That sounds crazy, but a Dept. of Justice report on Ferguson showed that a lot of the mistrust in the community that turned into riots after the police shooting of Michael Brown stemmed from using the cops as heavily armed tax collectors. There’s even a section in the report called FERGUSON LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON GENERATING REVENUE.

“Basically, the local politicos spent too much money and used the cops to generate revenue to cover their deficits. Predictably, this mostly hurt poor people, and a lot of the poor people there are Black.

“This is obviously stupid. Cops have much better things to do than make money for overspending politicians. And using the cops this way erodes the relationship with police and citizens.

“Anyhow, it wouldn’t surprise me if this ‘Scorpion Unit’ in Memphis had a mandate to make the city money by harassing citizens. That’s one very plausible explanation for why an ‘elite unit’ would concern themselves with something as piddly as reckless driving. They pull Tyre over, give him a bunch of tickets, and Tyre owes the city a few hundred bucks. Wash and repeat. They can make the city a couple thousand a night.

“I bet it also leads to bad behavior in cops. I doubt anyone joined the force to act as a shakedown agent for the state.

“I’m waiting to see some reporting in this direction.

“Here’s the Ferguson DOJ report.”

A request for my thoughts on Ron DeSantis, from BG: 

“I look forward to reading you every week. Please comment on your Gov. DeSantis. Oh, and congrats on getting the wedding gigs going at Paradise Palms. It’s beautiful and amazing what you’ve accomplished!”

My Response: Thanks for the note.

I’m glad you are reading my blog. I am especially pleased to know you are reading it because, as one of my favorite leftist friends, it warms my heart to know that you push yourself to read my stuff. I know it must be difficult at times.

It also saves us time. I expect all my friends and family members to read the blog religiously. If they ever ask me a question that I’ve covered, I tell them that I am severely disappointed that they felt the need to ask me something I’ve already written about, and I direct them to the index.

About DeSantis… I haven’t written about him yet, but I’ve been thinking of doing so.

Let’s see. What do I think?

Off the top of my head, I think he has proven himself right by keeping Florida open during most of the last three years, while California and NYC went into a major delusional panic and shut down their economies.

I like that he’s standing up to the gender and race ideological nonsense that is destroying the mental competence of my left-leaning friends.

I love what he’s doing with Disney.

But most importantly, I’m happy that he has kept Florida the land of the free and the home of the brave by:

* Maintaining Florida as a no-income-tax state

* Not raising other taxes

* Preserving Florida as an inexpensive and a safe place to live (Unlike California and NY)

Gee, now that you mention it, I love the guy! I feel lucky to have him as our governor.

Not just that, but he’s good looking and articulate too!

P.S. I hope he doesn’t run for president, because America as a country is too ruined to save. Florida will have to erect borders to keep out the liberals.

Re my review of The Banshees of Inisherin 

From AS: 

“In your review, you said, ‘The main plot point: I just couldn’t believe the premise. That after years of friendship, one friend would turn so suddenly and completely away from the other.’

“I thought the movie made it more than clear. He was suffering profound depression.

“You didn’t see that?”

My Response: I understood that was the purported explanation. But his scripted behavior wasn’t even remotely believable.

When people are depressed, they don’t shut themselves away from just one person. They shut themselves away from everyone. A severely depressed person would have stayed home. He would not have gone to the pub at night to enjoy the company of so many people but exclude only one.

That, to me, is entirely invented and artificial behavior. On the level of young women tiptoeing down to the basement after hearing scary noises down there.

From FJ: 

“I couldn’t stay with ‘Banshees.’ I made it through for about 15 minutes. I appreciated it but moved on. But your description of Colin Farrell’s casting and acting was spot on. Like myself, he is cursed with good looks and an intelligent demeanor.” – FJ

Re the availability of my books: 

SD wrote in to ask how she could buy copies of Words That Work and Making the Most of Your Time. Unlike most of my books, they are not available on Amazon. But we do have some copies in storage. If you’d like a copy of any of my books that are not available on Amazon:

Send a check for $10 (for each book) to cover shipping and postage.

Make the check payable to Cap & Bells Press, LLC. (No cash, please.)

Include your name and mailing address and mail it to:

Cap & Bells Press

Attn: GKoo

235 NE 4th Ave., Suite 101

Delray Beach, FL 33483

Re my series on “The COVID Response” 

From JJ: “Mark, you may be partially right. More important, and probably more closely a cause of lower numbers in Africa: the widespread use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Both were shown to be highly effective in preventing infection and [in preventing the development of] a full-blown case if the person did become sick.

“Read the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. book about Anthony Fauci, which details all the research that doctors and scientists did early in the pandemic, showing that both were indeed effective.”

My Response: Thanks for your note, JJ.

I’m familiar with that theory about Africa’s numbers, and I was excited about it when I heard it. When I wrote about my own theory in the Jan. 31 issue, I hadn’t yet done any research on ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine. However, I thought my theory was strong because it was so simple and provable.

Yesterday, I spent several hours researching hydroxychloroquine, looking for studies that would support the notion that it works as a safeguard against or treatment for COVID-19. I didn’t find a thing! Not a single study. On the contrary, everything I saw said that hydroxychloroquine had no discernible benefit at all.

I haven’t yet studied ivermectin. If I find something that supports it, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, if you can find any study that proves Kennedy’s claims, I’d like to read it.

I believe my theory is more accurate than the hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin theories. More importantly, it is more relevant to my overarching thesis that our (the government’s) response to COVID-19 was both hysterically wrong and immensely damaging.

Remember, we have known, almost since the beginning, that COVID-19 was life-threatening almost exclusively to people that were (a) in their 70s and 80s, (b) medically obese, and/or (c) diabetic. Why didn’t the WHO, the CDC, and the US government work to protect that relatively small portion of the population rather than lock down the lives of those for whom COVID was no less dangerous than the common cold?

From SA: 

“Why are you wasting your time writing about how many COVID-related deaths occurred in China? You can’t believe a single thing China says. If George Santos were a country, he’d be China.”

My Response: The point I was trying to make was that, during the first year of the pandemic, China’s severe crackdown was frequently touted by some leftist politicians and the mainstream media as a model that the US should follow. At that time, not having the data to prove they were lying, all I could do was point out that China’s mortality rate seemed impossibly low. And that even if they did manage to slow the spread of the virus, it would eventually return and spread widely, since the only way to stop a virus on a countrywide scale is by herd immunity. Today, China is admitting to huge case rates, which proves the second point. I don’t think they will ever admit to the true mortality rates. But again, the point was to mock the stupidity of those that believed China’s data in the first place.

From AS: 

“I loved ‘If I didn’t have to go to dinner now, I’d take the time to explain why [China’s official explanation of its recent surge in COVID cases is obviously false].’ It made me laugh. It humanized the writer, you.”

My Response: Thanks, AS. I appreciate that. I always want to convey some amount of humility in my comments, because so many of them are said with some degree of irony or sarcasm, and because I do enjoy making, as I indicate when I sign off on each blog post, definitive statements about things I have marginal knowledge of.

A request from BT for a travel recommendation: 

“I’m a longtime admirer of your writing & worldview. I’m visiting Savannah for the first time in 2-3 weeks. Might you have any recommendations for live music venues, theater, or dining options? I’m especially interested in catching some jazz or blues.”

My Response: Savannah is one of my favorite cities to visit in the US. My interest is mostly in the city’s history and architecture. I don’t usually have time to take in live entertainment when I’m there. However, some of the venues that have been recommended to me for jazz and blues are Casimir’s Lounge, Bay Street Blues, and the Bayou Café. For theater, investigate the Savannah Theatre and the Tybee Post Theater.

Re my comments in last Friday’s issue about the correlation between wealth and happiness: 

“I attended a religious retreat years ago, given by a priest who had spent more than 30 years in the jungles of Brazil. Among the poorest people on Earth, he claimed. Yet, he told us, they were the happiest people he had ever met.

“By the way, I went to Paradise Palms. Amazing and beautiful.” – GM

Re my story in Tuesday’s issue about helping a guy out: 

“You paid the cops in cash. Do you think it’s possible that they kept the cash and, a few days later, impounded the poor man’s car?” – AS

My Response: Yes, I did think about that afterwards. Ugh! It would have been terrible if they did!

From SH:

– is this a course?”

My Response: No. I wish it were. Alas, it’s just a book I wrote years ago, containing some of my favorite words. Unlike most of my books, including The Pledge (see above), it is not available on Amazon. But we do have some copies in storage. If you’d like one…

Send a check for $10 to cover shipping and postage.

Make the check payable to Cap & Bells Press, LLC. (No cash, please.)

Include your name and mailing address and mail it to:

Cap & Bells Press

Attn: GKoo

235 NE 4th Ave., Suite 101

Delray Beach, FL 33483

From HJ:

“I have always valued your excellent, pragmatic information. When I came across your website, I was thrilled, only to discover that the last book you wrote was from 2019 (excellent as it was). Will you start writing again? You have a lot to give this world.”

My Response: Thank you, HJ. As far as future books are concerned, I’m in the middle of nearly two dozen, several of which are close to being finished. My priority right now is to catch up on all my business projects. Rest assured, I’ll start advertising the new books here on my website as soon as they are finished.

Could I Have Had PTSD? 

 A friend wrote to say:

After my heart surgery, the cardiologist talked to me about PTSD. I didn’t think much of it at the time.  Last week, I read an article about PTSD in stroke patients. 25% of them get PTSD.

I was wondering if you’ve had any symptoms. I think about people who never experienced PTSD, and how would they know if they were suffering from it.

My Response: I suppose it’s possible, especially considering that the symptoms I had, including fatigue and brain fog, are said to be symptoms of PTSD. But I think it’s more likely that my symptoms are the result of the statin drug I was taking, because (1) fatigue and brain fog are two of the most common reactions to statins (more than 50% of those that take statins report these symptoms), and (2) since I stopped taking them a week ago, I am feeling noticeably better.

“What have you found to be the best meeting rhythm for a copywriting team? Regular meetings to brainstorm on copy and ads? Meetings only when necessary to collaborate on new copy? As few meetings as possible and let the copywriters slave away in dark rooms? I appreciate your insights. (And great to see you still writing regularly. I read everything you put out.)” – CB

My Response: I haven’t formally thought about a “meeting rhythm” for copywriters. Or written about it. But what I’ve done, when working with teams, is have lead-storming meetings once a quarter or twice a year or annually, depending on scheduling needs.

Here’s how they work…

The meetings are tape-recorded.

Within 24 hours of a decision to go with a particular lead, the copywriter must produce a 500+ word first draft. I don’t like waiting more than a day for the first draft, because I’ve found that it’s easy to forget the cleverness of the core idea behind the lead. The core idea is more than just an idea. It’s the emotion behind it. It’s the wording. If you wait too long – say, a couple of weeks – the core idea will be gone. Even if everyone thinks they remember it. (Thus, the tape-recording.)

If the first draft is approved by the team, the next step is a second draft. Longer and more detailed. Usually about 1,000 to 1,500 words. Again, the copywriter must produce it within 24 hours.

Once that is approved, the team agrees to a deadline for the first draft of the full promo, sometimes including intermediate deadlines.

I think four weeks is the right amount of time for completing the first draft of a full promo, from idea generation to completion. I would not allow any more than that.

And then the rewrite begins. Depending on the suggestions given to the copywriter, the final draft should take no more than two weeks.

As far as working in solitude vs. in physical proximity with other copywriters is concerned, there is an obvious advantage to being surrounded with other writers. At the same time, many creative people find that working with others around is distracting. Considering the way so many people are working remotely today, I’d leave the writing itself decision up to the copywriters individually. But I would mandate that all the brainstorming and the team reviews be done in person.

Re Alex Hormozi’s recommendation of Ready, Fire, Aim in Tuesday’s issue: 

“Ready, Fire, Aim is amazing.” – JC

“It is one of the best, and I reread it about once per year.” – CH

“It’s your crowning achievement. Insights on every page!” – MS

Another mention from Alex Hormozi – this one for “The Rule of One”…