Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Mike]

One clown down, many more to go...

[lineygoblue]

DSL

I was only referring to why the hand wringing is going on in the Detroit area, and why minorities seem to be so resistant to get the vaccine(s), even when the MDHHS has made it so easy for them to get it. There's no doubt in my mind that the FREEP would love to read a "racist" storyline into it, but the facts are, minorities in the area don't seem to be that interested to get it, even when you put it on their doorstep. Some hinted in the article that the State may actually do that, by taking mobile crews into the neighborhoods, and offering vaccines to people on a door to door basis. I doubt they'll ever do that in Shiawassee County Michigan, but it may happen in Wayne County.

Yes I get it that some right-wingers don't want any part of the vaccine. Some nimrods still believe the whole thing is a hoax. They'll have to deal with the situation for themselves, because they aren't listening to those who have common sense.

[iam416]

As noted above, I don't think "blaming" states is particularly useful. Covid is fairly random. As noted, there certainly things that are fair to criticize, but by and large I don't put much into blaming people for Covid outbreaks. However, that's not the way The Left and The Media -- my apologies to most for the glaring redundancy, but there are still a few flat-earthers out there -- that's not the way The Left and The Media play the game. It was clear last summer when they hard after Florida, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Georiga while praising Cuomo, Whitmer and Newsome to the Nth degree. We might have thought that they'd learn there lesson, but nah....Chairman Joe cues up the Neanderthal bit and The Media, instead of any actual critical assessment of the line, breathlessly tut tuts.

And so, you end up with a parade of predictions about Texas that don't happen. And, of course, you end up with huge outbreaks in The Media's beloved M and NY at the exact same time those huge outbreaks were supposed to hit Neanderthal Texas.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/04/the-texas-apocalypse-that-wasnt/

One can only imagine how blistering The Media would be if Texas actually had anything close to The Media's and Chairman Joe's preposterous predictions happening.

[iam416]

Amazingly, truth is hanging on -- barely -- against the great Georgia JIM CROW ON STEROIDS!!! lie. It was a slaughterhouse at first. The Truth's lines broke and The Truth was pushed back into an exceedingly tight spot. But, it appears The Truth reformed its lines, found a strong position and is, for the time being, holding on.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/...utm_term=first

You know the Progs are fleeing when they ditch they bailey and start moving toward the motte. In this case, the bailey is the preposterously false substantive assertions fo JIM CROW ON STEROIDS!!! and motte is, yeah, well, "it was motivated by PDJT's claims, so still BAD!, substance be damned!"

Finally, I still don't know how Chairman Joe's ridiculous claims and The Media and The Progs entire "Jim Crow 2.0" bullshit isn't remarkably ignorant of the actual bullshit, violence, and real life, fuck you racism that AAs lived through for decades. I don't know how one can, with any sort of conscience, say that trying to vote and being asked to show your using your ID is at all comparable to trying to vote and being hung from a fucking tree. I don't get the comparison. And I could maybe forgive a one-off bit of hyperbole, but this is an actual DEMOCRAT/MEDIA TALKING POINT.

[froot loops]

The Gaetz stuff is funny and creepy, but unless more damaging stuff comes out, he probably survives. That said there probably is more stuff, but so far the girl he venmoed was of age.

[Da Geezer]

Gaetz would survive if he were a Dem (eg. Teddy Kennedy). He has no chance of survival as a Republican, both because of the Media and because of the R's history of harsh treatment of its own politicians who are morally suspect (eg. Rep. King of Iowa).

[Whitley]

Gaetz would survive if he were a Dem (eg. Teddy Kennedy). He has no chance of survival as a Republican, both because of the Media and because of the R's history of harsh treatment of its own politicians who are morally suspect (eg. Rep. King of Iowa).

Former Sen Russ Feingold on line 1.

[lineygoblue]

If he's guilty of sex crimes, especially against minors, then he belongs in prison with the rest of the criminals. That's why we still have prisons. Build more prisons if we need them to keep criminals locked up. Those who choose to live a lawless life can do so behind bars. (D) or (R) it doesn't matter.

[CGVT]

Gaetz would survive if he were a Dem (eg. Teddy Kennedy). He has no chance of survival as a Republican, both because of the Media and because of the R's history of harsh treatment of its own politicians who are morally suspect (eg. Rep. King of Iowa).

Haha! Good Lord that is rich.

Al Franken and Gym Jordan would like a word with you for a staring point

[Hannibal]

Gaetz is a red-hatter but I haven't seen much out of him WRT the old school "family values" stuff that tripped the Republicans of yore. Ultimately, it's getting held up to their own standards that has sunk people like Newt Gingrich, Kate Hill, and Al Franken.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Maybe you should look it up Buchanan, it's more than a handful of counties.

Fair enough. You live there, I used to. I also respect that your wife, I believe a nurse, is right in the middle of this so, when you see death caused by COVID with the dying alone on a daily basis it changes your perspective on the pandemic.

But my main points remain: the impact of vaccine rollout on the most vulnerable is clear. Even younger cohorts who either have co-morbid conditions or for whatever weird reasons are getting hospitalized with serious COVID symptoms vaccines are, without any doubt, benefitting them and getting states back to the main goal of post-pandemic normalcy. If states want to control outbreaks - and I still contend regardless off how many counties are seeing increases - you target those counties and then target over 65s within them. This is how you get the most bang for your buck. I also contend that approach is WAAAAYYY better than locking things down when vaccine availability is not a problem.

The end result of that strategy is lower death rates - an endpoint that I contend is #1, right behind that is hospitalizations as far as all metrics for judging the impact of SARS2. % positivity is OK and states fashioning reopening strategies are using them, seeking a below 5% rate for extended periods. Increasing case numbers, in an environment where vaccines are available, is a poor metric to use to guide PH policy on reopening. Whitmer is not alone in heralding this number. The CDC does it, most states report in on the regular and local news stations repeat that. It's misleading, keeps citizens uneasy about returning to work and play and is counterproductive, IMO.

I mentioned Wayne Co. as being an M county with a poor vaccination rate. They actually have a total vaccination rate around 20% and that is consistent with states out in front on this. But only around 50% of over 65s have been fully vaccinated there, Monroe County is even worse. That is low compared to S. FL's Tri-County averages that are around 70%. This region has always produced the most infections, most hospitalizations and most deaths. Needless to say these three counties, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade, correctly got and administered the most vaccine doses of any in FL. I don't see that kind of prioritization from Whitmer in MI SE counties.

I'd offer that Michigan has a 11% higher death per 100,000 population than FL with FL having more residents over 65 is another indication that MI has its vaccine priorities wrong. IOW, that tells me that unlike Desantis, Whitmer didn't target over 65s as heavily as Desantis did. The differences between the vaccination rates for 65+ seniors in SE MI Counties and the S FL counties make my point. I think she is now but she's behind. Desantis also went hard after housebound and LTC elderly early on when vaccines first became available and there is a very visible pro-vaccine campaign being carried out now by the state's public health department.

[lineygoblue]

Is it tacky for libs to "suggest" to Justice Breyer that he retire so that Chairman Joe can appoint "the first female black justice"? I mean, if Justice Breyer is in good health, and he likes what he's doing, why should he give up a position that he loves? Breyer was nominated by Bill Clinton. I wonder how he feels about that.

[Jeff Buchanan]

It's been a difficult last three days if you are listening to any broadcast news source. The print and on-line press is only slightly better. You can find some balance there if you look for it. The news is depressing and I'm not here to tell you it isn't. From large COVID outbreaks, shootings in the US to global violence and political instability things look dismal. At least that's what I'm feeling.

COVID, primarily and up to maybe a month or so ago, was a medical menace. It's social impact was understood but not widely thought of to be consequential. I think it has become very consequential and, in the US at least, probably elsewhere but I'm not there to judge it. Experts that study human behavior have been quick to associate the pandemic and year long restraints on mobility imposed by governments with the uptick in violence. There's been a slew of articles decrying the loss of public confidence in government and here in the US that is most prominently displayed by a lack of trust in the CDC and public heath messaging in general.

The reality is, we don't really know where we are or where we're heading with the pandemic. The numbers I watch contradict the generally "worrisome" picture painted by the CDC and that picture is augmented by the press who love a crisis. I'm looking at three developments that, for me anyway, indicate we are winning the battle against SARS2:

The nations that are experiencing the biggest surges in new cases along with an uptick in COVID related deaths and hospitalizations are nations that didn't impose strict mobility restrictions as part of national PH policies early in the pandemic - unlike Australia, New Zealand and some Asian countries did and like Brazil, India and some EU countries didn't. Or, started out with reasonable control of the spread of the virus, then allowed more mobility but are now late in deploying vaccines.

The UK, provides the best example, it appears at the moment, of a combination of targeted mobility restrictions and consistent PH messaging, integrated with sound vaccination policies and robust testing to include more genomic testing than any country in the world. The Biden administration appears to have the right idea, the vaccine roll out is good but the rest of is a mess. IMO, the CDC has no credibility, there is no substantive guidance coming from the CDC about how to approach and return to a safe, post pandemic normalcy and no national level testing strategy. There's talk of all these things at the federal level but implementation at the state level is disjointed, varies significantly in its effectiveness as measured by key metrics and lacks a cohesive approach.

I think what happens with key metrics in MI, FL, TX and CA over the next two weeks is going to determine how successful the US will be in comparison to other countries who are having success in returning to some level of normalcy. I tend to scoff at the pearl-clutching, dire consequences commentary. At the same time, it's hard to ignore the situation in both the EU and in the US, MI in particular, that is getting a ton of press and is being looked at as a harbinger of what will happen in the coming weeks across the US.

At this point, I tend to think that getting the most people vaccinated in the shortest time frame possible will dampen the current uptick in transmission - not that new cases are the best indicator of virus control or lack thereof, deaths and hospitalizations are better indicators - but the number of new cases that get a lot of coverage drives the public mood and the politics of how to cope with the reality that SARS2 isn't going away any time soon. OTH, globally and here at home, governments need to act to regain the public's confidence that progress is being made, will be made going forward and outline concrete steps to return to a post-pandemic normalcy. Doing that will reduce the stressors that are presently seriously damaging social cohesion and civil order.

[THE_WIZARD_]

The boogeyman is coming! The boogeyman is coming! Run and hide!!!

JFC.

[Jeff Buchanan]

The boogeyman is coming! The boogeyman is coming! Run and hide!!!

JFC.

I agree this is a problem as advancing this notion, as the CDC continually does, plays a role in producing the bull-shit on the ground we're seeing in the US. The folks are pissed and its going to get worse .It also distorts the actual progress being made towards brining the virus to heel.

I'm pretty sure the Biden administration is not sensitive to the havoc being created by the "boogey-man is coming" messaging emanating from public health principals in his administration like Walenski and Fauci.

Quite frankly, I can see why Trump muzzled these clowns. I may not have liked it at the time and sure, some responsible people in the PH fields got silenced, but what we're seeing right now, when I expected much better, is disappointing.