Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[lineygoblue]

This is where Whitmer and her ilk - as well as the press- are having their true colors called out. The SMART move for them would be to take credit for the actions done back in March and April. Some things actually worked and there is some excuse allowed for being overcautious.

But, no- They keep insisting on their End of the World scenarios with ridiculous graphics, vague warnings and sketchy numbers- all based on "Science" that is kept hidden behind a curtain. The Clown Show continues yet they are oblivious to the fact that we aren't as stupid as they think we are.

I wish I could "like" this 100 times.

There are a few nut jobs here in Michigan that think armed rebellion is the appropriate way to deal with Whitmer. That's ridiculous of course, but sometimes extremists will start to act out, when they feel disenfranchised. Whitmer illegally took total control of Michigan, and came out with literally dozens of EO's, to enforce her policies on everyone, and basically told us to STFU and obey. I don't support radical actions like what the "militia" did, but I can understand where their frustration comes from. You'd have thought that a 80 year old barber from Owosso Michigan was Public Enemy #1, simply because he wanted to reopen his little 1-chair shop and cut hair, against Whitmer's orders. I'm surprised that she didn't have him arrested by the State Police. She got totally ridiculous, and she's still pouting about being RIGHTFULLY corrected by the Michigan Supreme Court.

The "militia's" actions have unfortunately created a sympathy effect for Whitmer, who is playing that card for every penny its worth. Her pal Lezzie Nessie, is taking full political advantage as well, basically comparing the actions of a few knotheads with a full-blown civil war. So, the knotheads have given Whitmer and Lezzie the political trump card (no pun intended) that they have long desired. All because Whitmer and Lezzie Nessie hate Republicans and conservatives, and refuse to work with them.

Yet, one of Whitmer's biggest political selling points in her campaign for Governor was that she was "ready to reach across the aisle" to work with the opposition.

Guess she fooled all of us on that one.

Edit: to this date, not one case of Covid has been attributed to someone getting a haircut at Mr. Manke's shop. Much to the chagrin of Lezzie and Whitmer.

[Da Geezer]

One inconsequential but amusing (to me) campaign sidenote: the Trump campaign has spent more money running tv ads in Washington DC than either Virginia or New Hampshire. Why waste the money there when it's 90% Democratic? Well, so Trump can see his ads running during his several hours of tv watching every day.

Nonsense, at least the implication of seeking to "turn" DC red. Money is spent on DC media because it reaches suburban Virginia which, apparently, may be in play.

[Jeff Buchanan]

To expand on my earlier post taking a position that lock downs, even targeted ones, impose economic and social costs that are substantially greater than the PH benefits derived therefrom, I'm seeing a line of thinking being written about in conservative media outlets and from PH experts that supports this with a good deal of data. The WSJ links below are pay-walled but, they may be available for you to read as some are making COVID news available without a subscription.

If you can't link to these articles and read them the important points are:

• We know enough about the virus at this point, who is at risk and who isn't, to do a better job at stratifying risk reduction measures.
• It's becoming clear that a balance between lock-downs (China and New Zealand) and a more relaxed approach (Sweden) is possible but needs to be tailored to a nation's culture and mood.
• Suppression of the virus isn't going to happen in western style democracies. Lock-downs aimed at doing that breed citizen resentment that can lead to violence, are costly and ineffective. They are more effective in places like China.
• The EU and the US have inadequate testing and tracing capacity to prevent outbreaks that can lead to harmful PH outcomes. That does not mean that testing and tracing should not be at the center of a virus containment strategy.
• Preventing a testing, tracing and isolating strategy from being widely adopted early on in the US were dismissive attitudes about the virus from the federal level, CDC ineptitude, lack of prepositioned testing supplies and dependency on foreign production to then try to obtain them. The later exacerbated by foreign companies producing such supplies being nationalized for their country's own needs.
• Rapid early viral spread in the US and the difficulty in early suppression of its spread puts the US in a much different position vis-a-vie comparable nations. What this means is that higher infection rates and realization higher disease burden may be a consequence has to be sold to the American public if the public wants less economic and social restrictions. That is a hard sell and its difficulty is reflected in the constant stream of "dire consequences" coming from the media.
• The alternative is more restrictions, more economic and social costs and more virus related turmoil.

To me, it's a no brainer choice but that's because, admittedly, I'm not a particularly empathetic person. There is still a lot of gray area and not all epidemiologists are onboard with a no or even loosened restrictions strategy if that means more disease burden.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/public-health-experts-rethink-lockdowns-as-covid-cases-surge-11602514769?mod=hp_lead_pos6

https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-lockdowns-economy-pandemic-recession-business-shutdown-sweden-coronavirus-11598281419

[Dr. Strangelove]

Nonsense, at least the implication of seeking to "turn" DC red. Money is spent on DC media because it reaches suburban Virginia which, apparently, may be in play.

Fair enough point about the DC tv market extending into Virginia...but given how NoVA voted in 2016 and 2018 I see zero reason to think that area is 'flippable'

[Whitley]

Nonsense, at least the implication of seeking to "turn" DC red. Money is spent on DC media because it reaches suburban Virginia which, apparently, may be in play.

No it isn't.

[Dr. Strangelove]

[Jeff Buchanan]

If you haven't heard it yet, you'll hear of it shortly ..... "you can get reinfected with SARS-CoV-2 after recovering from COVID."

The Lancet study is linked below. Some important caveats: The authors make it clear that this is one case where there were genetic differences between the sample collected in the first infection and the second. There are three other cases globally where this has been seen. The lack of genomic sequencing capability world wide is a significant obstacle to concluding this case and the three others are representative of a wide-spread and high potential for SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. They could just as well be rare instances. There were several other potentially confounding mechanisms involving the genomic differences in this patient's two infections, one of them being reactivation of the initial infection with in vivo transformation.

It would be better if the lay press didn't run headlines when studies like this are released. While not misleading and the authors did conclude that the patient studied did have two infections, this isn't by any means a slam dunk that you can get reinfected and that vaccines may not confer 100% immunity. On the later, we already know that vaccines will not protect 100% of the time so, not big news.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30764-7/fulltext

[iam416]

Joe Biden reiterates the absolute brazen D lie that confirming ACB is "court packing."

It's now obvious to me that they are going to court pack. I mean blindingly obvious. So, fuck. That's about the only way Biden loses my vote.

[AlabamAlum]

Laypeople/media really need to stay away from initial research. Studies have to be critiqued, reproduced, replicated, and reevaluated before the science is settled. Failure to do so is one of the reasons so many people believe childhood immunizations cause autism, which was bolstered by a shitty initial piece of research that couldn’t stand the light of day. But by the time it was discredited, too many people had already bought into the whole cloth paper.

[lineygoblue]

Last week, when the Michigan Supreme Court rightly ruled against Gretch Whitmer's sole authority in Michigan, her reaction afterward included a quote that her EO's were "still effective for the next 21 days" because of course, she once again misunderstood the law regarding appeals of MSC decisions.

The Court stated yesterday that "No, madam Governor, our ruling is immediate, you don't get an additional 21 days to break the law".

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/12/michigan-high-court-whitmer-orders-have-no-continuing-legal-effect/5970809002/

Meanwhile, Gretch continues to plead for sympathy as she rails on "the white supremacist right" here in Michigan for plotting to kidnap her. Gretch's definition of the "white supremacist right" is basically anyone that opposes her. Not sure how she defines people of other races who think she's a nutjob.

Her pleas for sympathy seem to be working for the gullible voters of Michigan. She still enjoys a high "satisfied" rating with voters who still answer their phones for pollsters.

[Cody_Russell]

Joe Biden reiterates the absolute brazen D lie that confirming ACB is "court packing."

It's now obvious to me that they are going to court pack. I mean blindingly obvious. So, fuck. That's about the only way Biden loses my vote.

Can't pack the court without having Senate majority.

[iam416]

I put the Ds chances of getting to 50 at somewhere around 90%. I think they'll be at 51.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Had a conversation with my son and his wife over the weekend about "court packing." Their view was that it's not as troublesome going forward as R's are making it out to be. This a rahter ubiquitous viewpoint among people I consider intelligent. Undoing the ACA and Roe v. Wade could be targets but tough one's given checks and balances was their viewpoint.

My son acknowledged that his lawyer friends were extremely troubled by the potential that a sitting D president and a D controlled Senate could pack the court with liberal or progressive thinking D judges. He didn't quite know their reasoning why ....... so I told him:

Authoritarianism and a government with only two branches instead of three.....a progressive legislature, a progressive president and a court whose viewpoints were indistinguishable from that of those two. He got it after I had him read this.

https://www.econlib.org/the-problem-with-court-packing/

[Mike]

Joe Biden reiterates the absolute brazen D lie that confirming ACB is "court packing."

It's now obvious to me that they are going to court pack. I mean blindingly obvious. So, fuck. That's about the only way Biden loses my vote.

He also said he's not a fan of court-packing. I think the line about ACB is just to throw a bone to the progressive wing in an effort to not run off support. The Bernie Bros helped cost the Ds the presidency in 2016 and it seems the campaign is trying to keep everyone happy this time around. I just really have a hard time seeing Biden go along with that AND get all 50 or 51 senators, too. I think there's a very slim chance that happens. Like less than 1%.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Mike, I think the history of the Ds in the 30s and culminating with FDR's presidency that spanned the 40s is instructive (see the link in my post above). I was in the too much ado about nothing crowd re allegations from R's that the D's had court packing plans until I started to read about it. If you are a D and want to consolidate power for a generation, court packing is how you do it. It was how FDR got his New Deal. That fundamentally and permanently changed the U.S. federal government by expanding its size and scope—especially its role in the economy.

If Biden is a figurehead for a progressive coalition looking to consolidate power as Liney says he is, court packing is a huge risk to limited government and conservatism while advancing the nanny state. A progressive minded SCOTUS is likely assured if the Ds get to 50 in the Senate with Harris as VP being the tie breaking vote. You think the government is over-involved in our lives now? Just wait and hold out hope the Schummer doesn't replace the Turtle.