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Very sad to hear this. Had the opportunity to meet him a few times, truly a gentleman. His book A Soldier's Way is a superb read and story of how dedication and hard work and can off in this country. He was a consummate public servant who likely could have been the first African American President had he decided to run, his wife was against it and he stated he never felt that calling. His detractors will obviously point to his "Case for War "presented to the UN. Years later he accepted fault and wished he had trusted his instincts calling the events a great failure of intelligence. In addition to his autobiography I highly recommend It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership where he lays out 13 rules common sense rule for life. I need to do a better job using these in my life. RIP General Powell. 1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning. There’s a silver lining in every cloud, you just have to find it. That’s not always as easy as it sounds. Things might look bad today, but if you’ve put in the effort, tomorrow will be a brighter day. It’s a state of mind; believe it and you will make it happen. 2. Get mad, then get over it. There’s always going to be days when events—or people—push you to the edge. When you do lose your temper, don’t lose control at the same time. People always remember the leader with a bad temper, and never in a good way. 3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it. People who think that their way is the only way tend to experience a lot of disappointment. Things aren’t always going to go your way, that’s just a fact of life. Be humble enough to accept that fact. 4. It can be done! Just about anything can be accomplished if you set your mind to it, have the necessary resources, and the time to get it done. Don’t succumb to the skeptics; listen to what they have to say and consider their perspective but stay focused and positive. 5. Be careful what you choose. Don’t rush into a bad decision. Take the time to consider your options, weigh the relevant facts, and make reasoned assumptions. Once you pull the trigger, there are no do-overs. So make it count. 6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision. Powell was fond of connecting good leadership to good instincts. Be a leader who hones judgement and instinct. Take the time to shape your mental models. Learn how to read a situation for yourself. Become the decision-maker your people need you to be. 7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. Never allow someone else to make your decisions for you. Ultimately, you’re responsible for your own decisions. Don’t duck that responsibility and don’t succumb to external pressures. Make your own decisions and live with them. 8. Check small things. Success is built on a lot of seemingly minor details. Having a feel for those “little things” is essential. In a 2012 interview, David Lee Roth shared the story of how Van Halen used brown M&Ms as an indicator of whether large concert venues paid attention to the minor details critical to a major performance. Leaders must have ways to check the little things without getting lost in them. 9. Share credit. Success relies on the effort of the entire team, not just the leader. Recognition motivates people in ways that are immeasurable. Don’t be a glory hog. Share credit where credit is due and allow your people to stand in the spotlight. It ain’t about you. It’s about them. 10. Remain calm. Be kind. Keep calm and carry on. Kill ‘em with kindness. When chaos reigns, a calm head and a kind word go a long way. When everyone is under incredible stress, be the leader people want to follow, not the leader people want to avoid. 11. Have a vision. Be demanding. Followers need to things from leaders—a purpose and a firm set of standards. When you see leaders fail, it is almost always for one of those two things. They either lead their followers in a flailing pursuit of nothing, or they don’t set and enforce an example for their people. 12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers. Fear can be a powerful motivator, but it can also paralyze a leader at the worst possible time. Learn to understand your fears and channel them in ways that you control rather than allowing them to control you. Think clearly, think rationally, and make decisions that aren’t rooted in emotion. 13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. Optimism is infectious. Maintaining a positive attitude and an air of confidence is as important for you as it is for those around you. People will feed off your optimism. Believe in your purpose, believe in yourself, and believe in your people. And they’ll believe in you.

The point is that it completely disrupts the very obvious narrative being pushed that "covid can get anyone." It's bullshit. A couple kids and a couple healthy people under the age of 40 die and their deaths are used as some sort of representation of why everybody is supposed to be terrified of this disease. That's the lie. Some people, maybe you, simply can't accept the fact that others just don't care about covid. There's a vaccine, if you want to protect yourself, if you're fat, if you're old, if you have cancer, if there's any reason why you're at a higher risk, get it. So what the fuck else is there left to care about? What exactly is the point of these articles? So and so died, this 14 year old got sick, these 30-year-olds thought they were fine and then they got covid and died, what is the point? The point is to scare people into getting the vaccine. With misrepresented statistics. The point is to say *actually you're wrong, this disease is incredibly dangerous to you if you're young and healthy, and here's a bunch of examples of how risky this whole thing is*. It's using fear to motivate a desired action. Because the truth doesn't support the mandate. I don't know anybody that is happy that fat people or old people are dying from this disease, but the conversation isn't about covid, it's about compelled behavior, vaccine mandates. So it's relevant if they had comorbidities because their death is no longer an obvious justification for government compulsion.

How we let administration after administration get after these same mistakes is beyond me. I would really like to see a Tulsi/Crenshaw or Vice versa ticket or similar individuals who aren’t slave to the establishment come out on top in 2024 and put an end to this madness. I don’t agree with a lot of Tulsi’s policies but at least she isn’t whipped by the establishment. For the record, the withdrawal started with Trump and it was 100% time. Can’t say whether it would’ve gone better or worse under a Trump administration as speculating is purely here say. We can confidently say it couldn’t have gone much worse during the Biden / Austin / Miley oversight of the final stages of the withdrawal.

The decision to impose a mandate should be a very carefully considered one, and IMO you really only have grounds for a mandate if you can answer "yes" to the following questions: 1. Does the disease in question pose a grave threat? 2. Does the vaccine do an extremely good job of protecting people and preventing transmission? 3. Is the vaccine safe? So far those answers seem to be: 1. Only for very specific demographics 2. Yes and no 3. Probably These are very shaky grounds for a mandate especially considering the second widespread variant of this disease we encountered was able to take most of our vaccination assumptions and throw them in the dumpster. But as usual, Democrats want to jump to telling people what to do. It is their default state--using government coercion to solve perceived problems. But they always fail to take human nature into the equation. When you censor something it'll just make it more popular. When you say everyone has to do something, some people are going to not do it just because fuck you. And I love that. Do I still think it's a bad risk calculation not to get the vaccine? Yes. But we really really really need to figure out as a society a way to have the emotional maturity to hold two thoughts in our brains at the same time: -Getting the vaccine is a good idea -Trying to Force it on people is a very bad idea

I think the reality that often gets missed in these discussions is that, for the vast majority of all us little "cogs in the economic machine," the Covd pandemic is over. We've moved on. The contractor I hired to do some remodeling didn't care about masks or vaccine status, and neither did anyone on his crew. The cared about getting the job done, getting paid, and moving onto the next job. When I took a business trip to one of our industrial sites, the factory leadership stressed all the different covid mitigation measures that were in play (masks, plexiglass shields, etc). When it came down to getting on the plant floor, the mechanics and technicians gave a decent effort to wear masks, but the cumbersome plexiglass shields stayed in the corner, where they belonged. They were too busy getting work done. The current administration is trying to shoe-horn in this vaccine mandate, and I'm sure the threat of the mandate has driven more people to get the jab. But the reality is that, as soon as the actual mandate is officially published (whenever that is), it'll get dragged down into the courts and never again see the light of day. Those companies that got all kinds of press when they mandated the jab (United Airlines, etc) will eventually drop the mandate, with little fanfare. There are various entities out there that benefit from a never-ending pandemic. They'll continue to try to keep the narrative and propaganda flowing. For the rest of us, we've all moved on.

Agreed with the first part. I'm vaccinated and against mandates, so obviously I agree that the truth is in the middle. I'm sympathetic to the individuals who fell for the right wing conspiracy theories regarding COVID vaccines for the same reason I was sympathetic to the individuals who fell for the left wing conspiracy theories regarding policing and minorities in the US. A simple reality is most americans, even many highly educated ones, do not have the skills required to sift through data that is intentionally misrepresented to them by seemingly authoritative sources. Well I can understand your position regarding other people being vaccinated, and I certainly agree that the vaccines have some effect on transmission, I believe the threshold for a mandate is very high, and the vaccines do not meet that. Pre-delta you could at least make a solid case, but the rates of transmission amongst the vaccinated in the Delta environment are no longer reduced enough to justify a mandate in my opinion. All it's going to do is slow down the inevitable, and looking at the numbers, not by much. Unfortunately a lot of the studies that show efficacy against Delta transmission are measuring a few months after vaccination, subsequently the efficacy against transmission drops quite dramatically. The vaccines do, however, continue to stave off severe hospitalization or death, but that brings us right back to "if you're worried, get the vaccine." Much like the flu, and unlike measles, there isn't going to be herd immunity granted by widespread vaccination to the Covid-19. It's a bummer, but there are many bummers in life. A small nitpic, but being on a plane for 9 hours is one of the safest places you can be. I don't believe there are many documented cases of spread from air traffic. Bleed air and whatnot. A big nitpic, unless your kid has a very severe underlying condition that you just left out of your post, being worried about him or her getting covid would only make sense if you already kept them in a protective bubble 24/7. It is simply a statistical reality that covid does not represent a threat to children. Is one of the most heavily supported conclusions, bar none. And it is example number one of the fear mongering you reference to the beginning of your post. In fact, it's a fairly easy way to immediately suss out whether someone talking about the virus is intentionally full of shit or not. Anyone advocating for the mandatory vaccination of children, using the safety of children as justification, either has no idea what they are talking about or know exactly what they are lying about. On a more interesting and philosophical level, we now have a great case study in *why* mandates are bad. It kind of goes to the entire argument supporting Liberty in general. Some of us, atheist or otherwise unconcerned with a higher power, support systems of Liberty because at the end of the day they just work better. A bunch of people on the left are going to spend the next few years figuring out what they did wrong and how to craft a better mandate, but instead they should be asking themselves why they thought mandates were the best way to get it done in the first place. Clearly they aren't, but I think to admit that only very specific, and very few policies can be successfully turned into a mandate would undermine their entire long range goal of widespread "social progress," which will most certainly require many, many mandates. Thanks for the honest reply.

Couldn’t figure out how to bold your statements here. I’m not smart. You nailed it, particularly with point #2 above. This is definitely true at FedEx. I couldn’t tell you how many old heads I fly with that insist on forcefully telling me how to invest in some sweet schemes. It’s just sad to fly with dudes who have been widebody Capts for 15+ years and have found creative ways to get their burn rate to exceed their earn rate. I diffuse these situations with humor…wait until I can fit a word in, and then “I’m really glad you brought up investing, because I normally come to pilots for two things—investing advice and conspiracy theories, and I can’t WAIT for the second half of this conversation” I use a financial advisor; I’m a big scared oversaver; I don’t touch any investments until my annual rebalance with the financial advisor. His projections for my retirement are psychotic. I’m actually rooting for 5-10 years of a down market where I will (boring) just keep buying the sale every paycheck, see where it goes from there. Not saying it’s the right way, just that it’s my “sleep at night” way. I can’t even correctly bold an internet quote; where would I find the time/smarts to stress about the market?

I think most people accept that fact. Obvious extremists on both sides. It’s just the callousness of not caring enough about those at risk in the population to not get the shot and help limit it’s spread. I’m not for mandating it. I do think using what used to be the arguments crazy anti vaxxers used but that are now mainstream to not get a shot is caring more about yourself than others, but that’s your choice. If I’m lucky enough to live to be 70+ I hope the generations behind us care more about us than we do of our elders.

But Disney made a documentary about him! We can’t fire him now 🤣

It’s actually very easy.. you start with being truthful in everything you say. You have integrity. You admit everywhere you’ve failed to do that. You don’t tell white lies of omission for political reasons or to try and steer people one way or the other. Those institutions have proven they can’t be trusted. It will take time to regain the public’s trust.. that shouldn’t be surprising. edit: You also get out of the news = entertainment business. You engage in thorough reporting and cite reliable, vetted sources. You acknowledge opposing viewpoints without thinly veiled swipes.

What people relentlessly pushing this vaccine dont realize is the reason you have so many people weary of the vaccine is because they don't trust the institution (the US government, pharmaceuticals, and US media). When the news media push pieces like this that use deception (omission of facts, data, context or counterpoints), people see right through it, and it furthers their distrust. Why would I trust an institution that feels they have to deceive me? Maybe they're experts, but they're experts with an agenda, and any person's individual well-being is not part of that agenda.

Ok. I can understand and appreciate your point about left leaning media pushing the “fear porn”. Sensationalism and outrage sells. That’s the world we live in. I think most who engage here consider themselves thinking human beings & regardless of political tilt, are looking to sift through the chaff & find something a little closer to the truth. Along those lines, there are plenty of right leaning sources and go in the complete opposite direction, discounting any threat at all and insisting society should move on, unencumbered by any need to bend itself to the realities of this virus at all (curiously, while also making the case that this was a brilliant bio-weapon, released by a China on the brink of world domination). I think it’s safe to say that the truth lies somewhere in between those extremes. It’s also a safe bet that CNN and FOX won’t be losing their influence anytime soon, and individuals who value critical thought will have to share their world with those less adept at the process. You indirectly asked the question: why, if I am vaccinated/protected, do I care what others do wrt vaccination/masking/etc? Well, I’ll tell you & I do not intend to be condescending or smug here at all. Despite a metric fuck ton of misinformation to the contrary, vaccines, while not perfect, make you many times less likely to contract COVID. If you DO happen to have a breakthrough case, being vaccinated means you are less likely to spread the virus to others. Here is just one of many studies: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/10/13/do-coronavirus-vaccines-prevent-transmission-of-the-virus You may argue otherwise, but you are highly unlikely to convince me that the vaccines are not efficacious, nor are you likely to convince me that they are unsafe. So why do I care if you’re vaccinated? Because I may have to sit next to you on an airplane for nine hours. I may have to shop in the same supermarket where you fingered the peaches (sts) fifteen minutes earlier. I may have to work in the same office as you. I may have to stand in line at the DMV with you. You get the idea. Now, being a relatively young, fit, healthy person, am I worried about a severe or life threatening case of COVID-19? Not particularly. But I have a non-vaccinated child under 12 at home who I am worried about. I have an immunocompromised parent whom I see often that I am worried about. I have a grandmother about to turn 100 who I am worried about and who’s upcoming party I would dearly like to attend. So, yes I do care if you are vaccinated because your chances of having an infection are less, thereby reducing the chance you will infect me. If you ARE infected and vaccinated, your chances of spreading your infection to me are STILL much lower.

The whole truth in reporting, or lack thereof, has done substantial damage to credibility of individuals, the media, and organizations. My old favorite covid death was the dude killed on a motorcycle in Florida. But that has been usurped by a firearm murder/suicide in Colorado listed as covid deaths. I'm pretty sure covid kills people but why go so far off the logic reservation to run up the numbers?

This is how political the vaccine has become. Just being pro vaccine means I’m obviously an extreme libtard who down ballots democrats every time. I don’t care about masks unless a business wants me to wear it, and I think vaccine mandates outside of how we mandate other vaccines treads on peoples freedoms. But I think not getting the vaccine just to make that point using the same anti vaxxer arguments you probably made fun of 2 years ago while saying sucks old and fat people are dying is kind of ridiculous. Now go ahead and burn the witch.

Who the fuck cares if they had comorbidities? Seriously. There’s a lot of fat/diabetic/immunocompromised/otherwise unhealthy people in this country. If they would’ve survived had it not been for COVID, why does it matter? Are their lives worth less because they’re fat? Sorry, but I’m not ok living in a society that discounts the value of human life based on general health. One of the things that makes us human is having some compassion for one another, regardless of Darwinian attributes. If we’re willing to write off the weak and the sick, then we’re no more evolved than fucking gorillas.

One example of many: just recently a story in Canada went on a on about this “perfectly healthy 14 yr old” who died from COVID and how refusal to get the vaccine was the primary CF. Except enter stage left when his parents come out and say he was terminally ill with cancer, and it was at the point they were expecting/ready for him to pass; the death was of zero surprise to them. The autopsy revealed he happened to have COVID at the time, which played no significant factor in the death. Once again, the MSM makes up a story hardly rooted in truth while purposely suppressing critical info/perspective that would otherwise sink their emotional sale. So many people in the world have lost/never had critical thinking skills. At this point, every single thing you see on the news/social media should immediately be met with “probably complete bullshit/wildly leaving out countering facts” until you can validate with multiple sources (ideally non-profit/non-political ones).

Ive also been seeing a lot of stories like this throughout the pandemic, but interestingly none of them have any evidence that withstands casual scrutiny. Was there a single unvaccinated person quoted in your article about what unvaccinated people say? Or just a handful of cherry picked doctors and administration officials? Was there airtime given to anyone who could articulate an opposing viewpoint, or were they simply relying on authority to tel you what you should think while characterizing opposition as ignorant? This far into our pandemic with so much obvious propaganda, I’m disappointed you wouldn’t exercise a little more critical thinking coming across obvious propaganda pieces like that. What’s surprising to me reading that link, is anyone would view that without skepticism in light of so many similar yet debunked stories.

Kirby was smart, he put the mandate in place well before anybody had radicalized behind their position one way or the other. That left only 3% by the time the government stepped in and guaranteed compromise was dead. American is in a different boat. Something like 3, 000 are on vaccinated, and they've had months of telling everybody who will listen that they're not getting the vaccine. Pride is not so easily overcome, and 3,000 Pilots have a whole hell of a lot of more leverage than 300. I'm genuinely curious as to what's going to happen, because American Airlines couldn't afford even 500 Pilots quitting, and I've flown with multiple Pilots who claim to have already submitted their retirement paperwork. These guys are in their 50s. But our CEO played the same game last year during the furlough crisis. Hardball with the government up until the last minute, and even past it. Then throw his hands up and say he did everything he could but if the government doesn't change their position, all is lost. There's a 0% chance that this administration is going to tolerate this type of turmoil, especially one that will have an effect on the market, when their approval ratings are dipping below 44%. I'm vaccinated, so I don't really have skin in the game. But this mandate stuff is bullshit. The vaccine is no longer sufficient to stop the spread, and thus any justification for mandates, questionable as they were before, are now completely invalidated. And if you're stupid enough to think that it stops here, and won't involve a whole slew of medical decisions starting with mandating boosters, I've got a bridge to sell you.

https://taskandpurpose.com/opinion/defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-must-resign/ Well written article.

Yep. A lot of people will talk a big game on the internet, but when faced with getting the same shot over a billion others have or losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, most will get the shot.