Decisions, decisions, decisions

People who know me pretty well will gladly tell you I don't make some decisions easily or quickly.

Ask me where I want to go to eat? You should ask me about 24 hours beforehand. That way, I can literally sleep on the idea and spend my waking time thinking about it.

Does it literally take me that long to decide where to eat? Well, I can decide immediately if I have to. I just don't.

When it comes to a lot of small decisions, I waffle more than the South's most popular all-night diner. It is not that I have a problem making decisions. Like you, I make decisions constantly throughout the day.

Unlike you, I make decisions on a regular basis that can affect a person's life for the rest of their life. I am not a judge (except for food contests) and I do not want to be. Yet I wield a lot of power and, as Stan Lee wrote, "with great power comes great responsibility."

It does keep me up at night.

MEET VAL

You do not know Valerie, this one at least. She and I worked together for a while at a newspaper. She wrote a story and the main source in that story committed suicide shortly after the story came out. Was Val's story the main reason, the proverbial straw on the camel's back or it had no effect at all?

The only person who knows exited this life intentionally.

Val was torn up. 

While the details are obscured by decades, what happened sticks with me. 

Every day I make decisions on what to write, how to to write it and so forth. Frequently, I am conscious of what Val went through. I do not want that to happen to me.

So yeah, it keeps me up at night.

MAKING A DECISION

Over the past couple of weeks, I made a decision. It was finalized around 7:30 a.m. Sept. 16, 2024, when I typed the last period into The Wiregrass' editorial for the week. That editorial was not a matter I took lightly.

In fact, the whole matter started in Jun 2023. I sued the local City Council and won. Going to court kept me up at night; some of the Council are people I truly call my friend. I appreciate the Council and the hard decisions they have to make. But dammitall, right is right. Gotta stand for something or fall for anything.

As of the last period on the editorial, some individuals on the Council did not do some of what the Judge ordered and the whole Council did not do at least one thing the Judge ordered.

In the editorial I gave the Council until Noon Friday to comply. Then, I'd file papers to go back to court. I called out by name the 2 Council members who defied the Judge's orders. Gonna hear about that one.

That part I can handle. Bring it on. I'm justified and have the Judge's order to prove it.

Still, it was not fun. Fortunately, it was not a decision that required instant action. I sat back and waited for a while. I even wrote a news story the week before saying 2 Council members, unnamed at that time, refused to comply.

INSTANT DECISIONS

I am not one who is paralyzed by the need to decide instantly. I can. If lives, damage, pain and so forth are on the line, I am moving.

I can make decisions when they have to be done.

IMMA PASS

But I keep going back to the decisions I make as a reporter, editor and newspaper publisher. I make calls that can change lives. So, when it comes to the little things, Imma pass.

The pen is mightier than the sword; it is an old axiom that still holds true.

The late Sheriff Lamar Whiddon told many people, don't worry about the ones that attack you physically. You can get over that. Worry about the ones who come after you with barrels of ink. 

I buy ink by the barrel.

So grant this cynical old reporter some relief. If I want to pass on making a decision, please let me. I have enough weight on these pain-wracked worn-out shoulders and even a straw is more weight I'd prefer to avoid.

Ignoring the reality of book publishing

TLDR - Money matters.

Lost the thread on FB but invested too much time in this to just toss it. It is about the world of traditional book publishing. If you are thinking about writing a book, here ya go.

This is gonna make some people mad. As I frequently say, if the truth hurts, yer living wrong.

Lemme speak to this as a publisher, a person who buys words other people write. I am also a 30+ year veteran judge of the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards. And yes, I also write books. I also own a bookstore, am the editor for an international magazine and co-own 3 other businesses.

What I see in a lot of these comments is a missing element. Traditional book publishers exist for one reason - to make money. They have a proven formula to do this. They know what sells. They know what will not sell.

Do they make mistakes? Sure. They sometimes publish a bomb. They sometimes reject an author who then goes elsewhere and becomes a best seller. These rare exceptions, call them aberrations, happen in every business everywhere. You can easily find a list of the rejected works that turned into monumental hits.

Betcha can't find a similar list of books the traditional publishers tried and lost big money on. Lemme give you a hand with one example - Billie Eilish by Billie Eilish. Crash and burn! Samuel Clemens was a stunning author. As a businessman, he was a stunning author. He lost a fortune in the publishing company he created. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/736554

Lowering standards, easier access, getting an agent etc etc etc to open the doors to more authors are all grand ideas. Somebody has to pay for it. Who? People who buy books. Publishers, editors, agents, press men, etc etc etc got bills, yo. The ROI is simply not there.

So about those Ben Franklin Awards (self published or independent publisher). Each year, I get between 10 and 50 books to judge. I can generally count on 1 or 2 of those books being good enough for a traditional publisher. Depending on the category, it could be none. I can definitely count on about 25% of the entries being so bad it makes me want to go down to my farm and set fire to the timber so the trees cannot be harvested to make paper that could be used to print more of those books.

The rest? Eh.Don't quit your day job. Good idea, mediocre execution. I simply don't see enough in the author's work to believe the writer could turn the book into a money maker.

If you are still with me, I have talked people OUT of self publishing too. 98% of self pub books do not make enough money to recover the author's cost of producing the book. Me bud Ang is one of these people. She wanted to do a cookbook (and Ang can COOK!) What she did not want to do is market her book.

Self publishing requires the author to market, market, market. If you cannot invest significant time in trying to sell your book, it won't sell. Another bud Susan self pubbed and had monumental success. The work she had to put into it gave her a nervous breakdown and landed her in a mental ward for a while. She talked about that in a later book.

Block THIS!

 Advertising has paid my bills for the great majority of my life now.

Yeah, I write. I get paid to write. Advertisers pay to be associated with my writing.

So, this may sound very hypocritical. I use an ad blocker in my browsers.

I do not have time, inclination or desire to see multiple popups that I have to click away to see the content I want. I do not want to see videos about products I have zero interest in knowing anything about that I have to sit through to get to the content I want.

In short, if online advertising is going to get in my face worse than a Karen with PMS, I will do everything I can to avoid it.

Static ads that are part of the page are OK, as long as they do not hide anything. Embedded ads that do not hide anything I want to see or hear are OK.

I block as much as possible on YouTube in particular because of YouTube policies.

1) YT is not fair to creators. Over in Europe, Jorge Sprague formed a union and YT caved. Rules over there are not the same as in the US. Note, this was done both through creator's union and the European Union government rules.

2) YT is not fair to the companies I genuinely want to see ads from.

3) YT has double standards for creators and the companies I do want to see ads from. Gun topic creators are being hammered constantly for violating YT terms of service. Yet the same content as a paid ad is allowed.

I block ads. This is against YT policies. Good. Their policy is not statutory YT policies are against my policies, which are also not the law.

I will continue to block ads until and unless the Google monopoly allows a level playing field for consumers, creators and advertisers.

Chasing rabbits

For some reason Sovereign Citizen (however they wanna be called now) videos on YouTube fascinate me.

This is a rabbit hole I encourage you to NOT go down. It is both bottomless and does not even brush away the dust on the surface at the same time.

It is bottomless because each time a SovCidiot argument is shot down, they come up with another one. One of the latest brainless arguments is about the flag many courtrooms have. If the flag has a golden fringe around it, then they argue it is a "maritime" court with no jurisdiction over things that happen on land or outside of ports.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

I love what one judge said to the bailiff. "Do you see any water around here?"

This is also why the arguments are so shallow. They say the flag fringe means the court can only hear matters about water-related things. Where do they come up with this stuff?

The tautology is also mind-warping. They say the exact same thing over and over as if this will change matters. It does not.

BUSTED WINDOWS

I've watched police officer break windows and haul people out of cars, throw them on the ground and handcuff them. One of my favorite moments was a SovCidiot "Moorish National" who said into his camera "They will look at our paperwork and let us go." He stepped out of his vehicle and was arrested. No license, tag, insurance, etc.

Another favorite, a guy was stopped and claimed he was "traveling." The officer asked him, "Where are you sitting? What is that seat? Is that the passenger seat?" The SovCidiot just kept saying "I am traveling."

The High Court

If you ask a SovCidiot what the courts have to say, they reference a Supreme Court decision and take a couple of sentences out of context. The rest of the SCOTUS decision clearly says states have a right to regulate the use of vehicles on public highways. 

Of course this is left out because it does not fit the narrative. Kinda Exactly like people who quote a verse from the Bible and leave out the context and the rest of the passage.

So has a SovCidiot ever managed to win a case in court based on the merits of the SovCidiot arguments?

No.

G'head. Prove me wrong. I'd love to read the court decision.

PROCEDURAL

I found one case that the guy won and he won on a procedural matter that was not part of the charges he faced. In other words, someone in law enforcement forgot to dot a T or cross an I in the paperwork. It happens in all kinds of cases and has nothing to do with the actual merits of the case.

THE SUPREMES

SovCidiots often like to say they will take their case to the Supreme Court.

Ahahahahahahahahaha. SCOTUS takes about 3% of the cases brought forward each year. So far, none have managed to get a hearing.

One guy, John Dalen, did manage to get his paperwork to the Court. It got tossed out on a procedural matter. He refused to pay the necessary fees to have his case reviewed. The judges never got to review his paperwork.

What happened? He did not pay the filing fees. He wanted to file for free. Was told he had to pay the fees. Rather than argue or pay the fees, he did nothing. His case got kicked to the curb.

Ya wanna chase that one - John Dalen v. South Carolina https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/court-of-appeals/2020/2020-up-323.html

Meantime, I will probably continue to waste a few minute every week watching SovCitdiot videos hoping one will come up with a valid legal argument. Just call me an eternal optimist.

A teacher in name only

A while back, I had a discussion with a man who claims to be a teacher.

Reality says he is a teacher. So, like it or not, I have to accept the fact he is a teacher. I do not like it.

To explain -

Someone else suggested this man read a book. A book. Words on a page.

"No. That's not going to happen," this man replied.

I was quite surprised and immediately my level of respect for this man plummeted. The more I listened to him speak, the lower my respect dropped.

His comments displayed a level of deliberate ignorance that was shocking for someone who claims to be a teacher, has the formal education to be a teacher and even works as a teacher. Sadly, his way of doing things is becoming ever more entrenched.

As he spoke, he got things wrong. When corrected, he acted surprised.

If he would simply read that one book, he would learn so much and his incorrect views on those particular matters would get corrected.

No, was the response again.

I asked why he would not read the book. He said a different man told him he should not read the book.

Whoa. If someone sincerely tells me I should not read a book, I am teleporting to the Library to see if they have it in stock. I may even buy a copy. I will read that book.

Just read the book. No one asked him to assimilate or grok the information in the book. Just read it. He did not have to agree or even like the book and the information therein.

No, again.

I wonder what he is afraid of.

As a teacher, he should embrace knowledge from any and every source. Those sources may well confirm and reaffirm his own views. Those source may be in direct opposition to his views.

Those sources may be evil, may be wrong, may be contradictory. Those sources may be totally accurate, factual and represent reality.

Those sources may challenge his views.

Ahhhhh, I may be onto something there.

If he would read the book, he would have information. He would have a better understanding.

 Understanding of what? Does not matter. It would grow his understanding.

No, again.

I am in contact with this man and we trade emails each week. Each week I ask him a question. He answers.

Unlike him, I want to understand more. That is the only reason I continue to have a conversation with him. He continues in his deliberate ignorance, which boggles my mind.

Why does a teacher refuse to learn?

With each question answered, my respect for him drops a little more. It is obvious he does not wish to expand his knowledge base.

I simply do not get that. I said as much. He gave me a non-reply to the effect that it is a decision he has made. I am welcome to question it, but the answer will not change.

The idea that this man claims to be a teacher and actually teaches other people to think the exact same way he does is literally terrifying to me. He is teaching other people to close their minds and reject information out of hand.

This man is walking the road of totalitarianism, control and eliminating freedom. When other people tell you what you can and cannot read, they are directly trying to control you. Yes, they are. Every dictator government in the world shuts down freedom of communication as one of the 2 primary steps to controlling the people.

So to him I reply, "No. That's not going to happen."

I will read. I will read banned books. I will encourage other people to read banned books. I will learn. I hope they learn.

I may learn things I do not want to know. So be it. I may learn harmful things. So be it. I may learn things that disturb me. So be it.

I will learn.

I do not have to act upon these things I learn. I do not have to believe these things I learn. I do not have to accept the challenges presented in the things I learn.

I will learn.

Some of you want to know what book he refuses to read. I will only say it is banned in some places.

COMMENTS ON THIS POST FROM ANOTHER WEBSITE

1) Eh, that's assuming the book you speak of isn't utterly garbage.

My reply: Irrelevant. If you wish to understand other people, you need to understand them. One man's garbage is another man's treasure. To dismiss something out of hand, without attempting to understand it or know about it is prejudice, bigotry and empirical evidence of a closed mind.

2) I knew this Baptist minister once. Tall fella, really big, had red hair and delivered a really convincing fire & brimstone sermon like no one else I'd ever listened to. He had a bookshelf in his office. One of the shelves had the bible prominently placed in the middle. Surrounding it were other religious text such as the Bhagavad Gita, Book of Mormon, Qu'ran, The Tao and others. All the books other than the bible had a red sticker on their spine with the word "poison" on it. Always thought he was brave to read books which he thought were poisonous.

My reply: That is a person interested in learning.

3) Wow. I am a teacher and realize exactly what I don't know daily.

One of the best quotes I have read was from a 92 year old person, who said, "I have learned I have a lot more to learn."

One day, I will have more knowledge and understanding. I need to be a more effective teacher than I am.

(I did not offer a reply to this)

Stopping and knockdown power

 In the gun community, there is an idea that stopping power and knockdown power are a myth.

SCIENCE!, yanno, the stuff that actually involves real research, study, lots of maths, empirical evidence and so forth disagrees.

SCIENCE!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/stopping-power

Just scale it up.

http://karllippard.com/military/docs/Calculations-of-Bullet-Stopping-Power.pdf

https://www.nrafamily.org/content/terminal-ballistics-stopping-power/

https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA078233.pdf

These links will not convince any of the gun nerds (Hi fam!) otherwise. Cool. And in other news some people refuse to accept, the earth is a sphere, not flat.

EDIT: Me bud Mike Moore passes along this article by a real expert who did real research. 

https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/an-alternate-look-at-handgun-stopping-power

But lets take a look at the two ideas in a way some people will understand.

STOPPING POWER

What is stopping power? This is the problem. Ask 10 gun nerds and you can get anywhere from 2 to several dozen opinions.

To me, stopping power is the ability of a projectile to interrupt how fast a bullet stops what I shoot. Period.

Just for the record, two elephants were killed with a 22 Long Rifle, considered one of the weakest cartridges you can get. A very few are even weaker. These pachyderms were shot behind the front leg and the bullet nicked an artery. The critters bled to death.

That is pretty weak stopping power. In this case, Dumbo and Jumbo had plenty of time to turn around and stomp the shooter into a bloody hole.

Dangerous game guns are capable of dropping an elephant, rhino or Cape buffalo in its tracks. That is stopping power. These bullets penetrate very tough hide, thick and very dense bone and still manage to deliver enough wallop to disable the shot critter. Lulu and Ellie collapse without taking another step.

Stopping power.

Bah. If you still think stopping power is a myth, here is another example.

If you shoot an A-10 Thunderbolt with a 22 LR, the pilot will likely never notice. Shoot a Warthog with a Sidewinder missile and the pilot will certainly know, if he survives. The Sidewinder stops the plane.

KNOCKDOWN POWER

Is knockdown power real? Absolutely. 

Knockdown power, to me, is the ability of a projectile (bullet) to knock down, flip, etc. the target. In other words, will it make a target move, as in fall down move? Will the bullet knock a target backward? It is almost the same thing as stopping power. You need a fine measuring device to see the difference.

This does has something to do with how sturdy the target is. Shoot a piece of paper not attached to anything and it will move. Shoot it with a BB gun and the paper will move. Shoot the same paper mounted to a frame and it does not move.

Go back to the two elephants above. A 22 LR has almost no stopping power where they are concerned.

Don't take my word for it. Shoot some ballistic gel and find out. Again, take that 22 LR and shoot a block of gelatin and it barely moves.

My friend Scott at Kentucky Ballistics should put the idea that knockdown power does not exist to rest. He proves it pretty thoroughly by shooting a 4 Bore rifle into gel blocks.

If knockdown power is a myth, then why do gel blocks react like that?

BULLET DESIGN

At some point, a gun nerd is going to bring up bullet design. Good. Bullet design does affect stopping power and knockdown power. Scott's 4 Bore video demonstrates that pretty well. Witness the flat point v. the round nose. MAJOR difference.

Bullet design is intrinsic to knockdown and stopping power. Anyone who shoots enough to know the difference between hardball and JHP should be able to see that.

SEMANTICS

The real issue here is a matter of semantics, language. Some in the gun community are hidebound to hard and fast and never-changing definitions of certain words. Language does not work that way.

The myth folks are stuck to their definitions like stink on a roadkill skunk. Other folks are willing to adapt to the changes.

A great example of this in the gun community is the difference between clip and magazine. The general public does not see or care about any difference. Gun nerds do. 

An even more esoteric gun nerd difference is handgun v. pistol. A pistol is a handgun, always, but a handgun is not always a pistol. Really.

Wanna spin your head a little more? In the US under ATF regulations, we have pistols, revolvers. Under actual US law, we have handguns. That last link may or may not work. For some reason, it has "terrorism" as a key term and I did not use terrorism to find 18 USC 921: Definitions.

WHEE!

Surviving the alien invasion

Good news for the folks in the Peach State! According to a study done by a bunch of casinos - I am not kidding - Georgia ranks No. 2 in the nation in our ability to survive an alien invasion.

Nevada, home to Area 51, a variety of aliens from many places, crashed spacecraft, nuclear testing grounds, strips shows on every corner, legal houses of ill repute and casino conglomerates that did not pay for this study, comes in dead last. Well now. Guess that whole "secret military base in the desert" thing didn't work out so well after all.

For your further edification, here is the report:

Amid reports that the Pentagon is investigating more than 650 potential UFO sightings — and following NASA’s first-ever public meeting on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena — renewed interest in alien activity has risen sharply with search volume for “UFOs” in America soaring by 85.7%.

And with almost 3 in 10 (29%) believing that there will be an apocalyptic disaster in their lifetime — and two-thirds (65%) believing in aliens — it has never been more important to consider. Intrigued by this, (a casino conglomerate) were keen to discover the US states most likely to survive an alien invasion.

The experts created a points-based index system that assesses a variety of factors that are considered to have an impact on survivability in an alien invasion. The metrics included population density, UFO sightings, landscape (caves, forest, bodies of water), defense (military and law enforcement), science (scientists and engineers), medical (healthcare professionals), and food manufacturing data — to reveal the US states best equipped for an alien invasion.  

The full dataset used throughout this study — with all metrics included — is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vlpeuqnAd6UFw35qNy7lP2onALm88o1f/edit#gid=882094557

Look up your state and see how you will come out if/when the aliens decide to reveal themselves and officially take over. I for one am ready for the Reptiloids to shuck their masks and show us Star Trek was telling the truth when Capt. Kirk fought that Gorn.

 (a casino conglomerate) can reveal that Georgia is in second place with an overall alien survival score of 7.95/10. Georgia has the second-lowest reported UFO sightings in the top ten, with just 2.35 sightings per 100,000 people. This is 48% more than in the bordering state of Florida where there have been 3.50 UFO sightings per capita. The state also benefits from a high number of food and beverage manufacturing companies (849), 46% higher than in Tennessee (581), which would play a crucial role in an alien invasion scenario. Not only this, but Georgia has a high volume of caves (12) in comparison to its neighbors, such as in South Carolina where there are zero.

A spokesperson from (a casino conglomerate) comments on why these metrics are important in an alien invasion scenario:

“In the event of an alien invasion, disruptions to transportation and logistics networks could make it challenging to import food from other regions or countries. States with a higher number of food and beverage companies would have a greater capacity to produce and distribute food locally, ensuring a more reliable food supply for their population.” 

Virginia is the US state best equipped for an alien invasion

Virginia is the US state best equipped for an alien invasion, with an overall alien survival score of 8.04/10. Just 2.91 UFOs per 100,000 people have been spotted in Virginia, which is almost three times fewer alien sightings than in Washington, where there have been as many as 8.61 per capita. Not only this, but Virginia has the largest military force per capita in the top ten, with 17.97 army personnel per 100,000 people — as well as a high volume of law enforcement officials per capita (600.49), which is almost double that of Kentucky (392.12). The state also benefits from a high number of caves (29), the second-highest in the top ten, which can be beneficial for concealment and camouflage as well as providing protection from aerial attacks.

“The presence of a larger military force per capita means that Virginia is well-equipped to defend and protect its territory against extraterrestrial threats and enables a faster response time to an alien invasion, meaning the state can mobilize and deploy troops more quickly. 

Not only this, but a greater number of military personnel ensures a larger pool of trained individuals with combat skills and experience who can handle critical support functions such as intelligence gathering, communication networks, medical support, supply chains, and transportation.”

In third place is Massachusetts, scoring 7.85/10 for alien invasion survivability. Massachusetts has 35.07 healthcare professionals per capita, which is the highest in the top ten and would assist where there may be an increased need for medical response and emergency care. The state has had just 3.57 UFO sightings per 100,000 people, 60% fewer than in the bordering state Vermont, where there have been 9.01 per capita. Not only this, but Massachusetts has the highest percentage of land covered by water (0.26%) in the top 10, which would facilitate access to fresh water for drinking, agriculture, and industrial needs.

 (a casino conglomerate) can reveal that Nevada is the US state least equipped for an alien invasion, with an overall alien survival score of 4.53/10. Unfortunately, the state lacks in areas that would protect it in an invasion scenario such as its high volume of UFO sightings per 100,000 people (5.03), lack of caves (0), and low forest cover (0.16%), as well as a low number of food and beverage manufacturing companies (280). 

Amid the recent spike in UFO sightings across the USA, former Ministry of Defence UFO investigator, Nick Pope, has commented: You can tell Mr. Pope is from Great Britain because he cannot spell defense. Also, being from Great Britain he has no obligation to tell us ungrateful colonials anything that could remotely be true. Or not. The Brits are good at mind games. Their national currency is the Pound, but they refuse to say a pound of what. They also have king and a prime minister instead of a dictator president like normal countries.

“Gone are the days when it was regarded as part fringe, part-science fiction, and part conspiracy theory. UFOs are now being treated as a defense and national security issue, discussed in the United States Congress, and attracting attention from the Head of NASA.

"It's difficult to tell whether we're seeing a genuine spike in UFO sightings - and if so, what this means - or whether what's happening is that a higher proportion of sightings is being reported, as a result of the current mainstream media coverage of this subject.

The subject has come out of the fringe and into the mainstream, which has led to lots more people speaking out about their own sightings and encounters. Regardless of the truth about these various incidents, it focuses on the fact that UFO sightings - whatever their cause - have serious and profound defense, national security, and air safety issues.”

Here is a numbered list from the press release. In the interest of full disclosure misinformation bowing to the corporate overlords sharing the entire press release, I am passing it along.

1.  (a casino conglomerate) were keen to discover which US states are most likely to survive an alien invasion.

2.  To do so, the number of UFO sightings and the average duration of ‘UFO visits’ was scraped from NUOFC (the National UFO Reporting Centre Database) and was aggregated per state in the US. As the number of sightings could suggest that aliens have been circling and planning the invasion, the higher number of sightings = a higher chance of the invasion starting there.

3. To aid survival, one of the first strategies is to hide. States with lower population density may have an advantage during an invasion, as it can provide more space for individuals to hide, evacuate, or organize resistance movements. Rural areas or states with large uninhabited regions might have an edge over densely populated urban centers. The population density for all states was sourced from WorldPopulationReview.com.

4. The number of caves was scraped from sop-inia.fr and forests (% of area covered) per state were sourced from WorldPopulationReview.com as a measure of potential hiding spots, with a larger number improving the survivability score.

5. As access to water and food sources is important for long-term survival, the % of area covered with bodies of water per state was obtained and ranked from usgs.gov data. To estimate accessibility to food sources the number of food and beverage manufacturing establishments in each state was sourced from the US Department of Agriculture data. 

6. States with a strong military presence and robust defense capabilities may be better equipped to respond to an alien invasion. Hence, the total military force (active and reserve) per state in addition to law enforcement employees per capita was included.

7. Medical and healthcare professionals will be key for treating the wounded and the sick and maintaining long-term survival. Additionally, scientific and technical expertise will be crucial for maintaining a defense against an invasion and survival. The number of employees across Life Science and Physical Sciences, Engineers, and Medical and Healthcare practitioners per capita for each state was sourced from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

8. A percentrank across all factors was calculated to score and then rank which US state has the hig chance of surviving an alien invasion.

9. All data was collected in May 2023 and is correct as of then.

If you are like me (gads we hope not) you are wondering why a bunch of casinos would fund such a study. The first reason is to generate publicity for the casinos. They are hoping people will click the link to learn more about said casinos.

I killed the links and identifying info. They want links, I want money.

The second reason, which is far more disturbing to me just as likely as trying to get free publicity, the casinos are taking odds on who will make it and who will not make it.

May be a third reason. Possibly many more reasons. I don't care any more.

Note to editors:

[1] edition.cnn.com/2023/04/19/politics/us-government-ufo-reports/index.html

[2] Google Trends shows that search volume for “UFOs” in the United States has risen by 85.7% between the 5th and 12th of February 2023.

[3]today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2020/03/18/apocalypse-climate-change-pandemic-coronavirus

[4]pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/30/most-americans-believe-in-intelligent-life-beyond-earth-few-see-ufos-as-a-major-national-security-threat/