Thursday, April 17, 2014

Stupidity is the the New Normal

This country has plunged head first into the stupid pool.

The latest evidence?

Oregon officials are draining a drinking water reservoir because someone urinated in it.

That's right.   We are flushing 8 million gallons of water down the drain because some drunk guy pissed through a fence.  It is costing $35,000 to drain and refill the reservoir.

$35k in taxpayer money literally down the drain.

Let's establish a few facts:

  • Urine is sterile, it contains no infectious vectors.  
  • You can drink urine directly with no ill effects. Crazy health nuts do it all the time. 
  • This urine would be diluted to 1 part to 64 million after he pissed a pint into 8 million gallons
  • 1 part in 64 million is not detectable in any test that has been devised
  • The rotting and diseased carcasses of animals are routinely pulled from these reservoirs and they don't drain them because of that. 

So why are they wasting all this time and water?

Water bureau administrator David Shaff told KATU it's not about the science.

"There are people who will say it’s an overreaction,” he said. “I don’t think so. I think just dealing with the ‘yuck factor,’ I can imagine how many people would be saying, ‘I made orange juice with that water this morning. That’s not what I want to hear.’ ”



So we are spending $35K so this guy doesn't have to defend science from the scientifically illiterate who worry about the 'yuck' factor.

We are all on the stupid train now.