Leaderboard

A majority of the population has been vaccinated for 6 months. this thing has gone to 15 days to stop the spread.... to a year of shutdown. Now they told everyone things would get back to normal once 50%-60% had the vaccine. Now they want 100%! It will never be enough. This is about control.

Don't call them that, please. I know what you are trying to convey, but this war is going to be won through a split in the Democratic party, where the more temperate liberals cast out the progressive/socialist/Marxist radicals. That split is going to take *a lot* of dialog between conservatives and liberals. "Woketarded shitlibs" does nothing but shut off the listening part of the brain for anyone who remotely identifies as liberal. It's a free country, so do what you want, but realize you are exacerbating the problem and empowering actual "Woketarded shitlibs" by using childish language that they will use to keep the rational liberals on their team.

So much what lord rather said. I’m fairly in tune to local politics, and it is very promising to see how many liberals (not far left progressives, there’s a difference) are starting to finally wake up to this bullshit going too far. I’ve talked to several who self-described as progressive, but now they’re saying they can’t do it anymore. Those liberals won’t necessarily get on board with all the conservative polices you like, but they will have a conversation and are more open minded than given credit…just as the same applies to conservatives who are closer to the middle/lean in the libertarian direction. Locally, I’ve determined the GOP are all old people who staunchly cling to their viewpoints/fuck everyone else just as much as the progressive nut jobs…there’s no fundamentally big pic difference in the two groups as far as I’m concerned. Invite the other side of the middle fence to respectful conversation, bet you find out they’re actually pretty reasonable and good people. And hopefully they will find the same about you if they give honest conversation a chance.

The city doesn't have to burn. If a few hundred Kyles showed up to protect it we would see which side the .gov is on. Sad thing is the riot that started this was perpetuated by leftist media lies. And leftist media lies are going to cause more riots after the verdict.

Not Guilty on all counts. I guess you can defend yourself when someone is beating you in the head with a skateboard.

Human compassion has been hijacked and most have no clue that it has. IMO, it is the most dangerous human emotion- even greater than fear because compassion grants moral high ground. Then there are no bounds to how much someone’s “cares about you”, then you start hearing things like, “for the greater good”, “do it for your neighbor”, etc. etc. I don’t agree with everything she said, but these last few years remind me of this quote from the legend Ayn Rand: I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

I had the pleasure of flying with Thor in two different squadrons with too many Thor stories to share. He was a talented pilot, a great friend, and all around nice guy. He will be missed.

Prozac “I guess that’s where we’re at as a country these days. Not willing to make even small changes in our behavior for the greater good. It’s a bit depressing.” Dude. Really? That’s super disingenuous if what small change you are talking about is a person violating their religion, conscious, belief in science, or belief in personal freedoms to get a vaccine (which 10 years ago wouldn’t have met the definition) to help protect themselves from something they are at less than 1% of 1% risk of dying from. Or less than 1% of getting sick from and even less for getting hospitalized from. Which is similar to our ongoing battle with flu, colds, and pneumonia. I think it’s more sad of our country that the people responsible have not been held thus. It’s more sad that a large portion of our country is so willing in the face of something this insignificant to blame everything but their co morbidities, own personal choices, the responsible parties, and willing to sell out their fellow countrymen in such loathing and anger when supposedly they are protected from Covid by being Vax’ed. So why would you care? Because both Vax’ed and un-Vax’ed not only can spread it (along with animals, it won’t ever go away), but get sick and die from it. Never mind that if you caught it and survived it you are 27 times less likely to get it than a Vax’ed person. What makes this sad isn’t people exercising their thoughts, beliefs, and freedoms in this totally survivable time, but those who are willing to sell the all aforementioned for perceived safety from a virus. That’s the sad part.

It's not simplistic at all. Society provides those things, but its not obligated to. It happens as a matter of transactional relationships that are mutually beneficial to multiple parties. The COVID vaccine is not transactional. It's great that you're worried about other people including myself, but I never asked you for that and frankly I don't need you to do it.

Now I hope he sues the shit out of the major "news" networks.

I think we’ll agree to disagree. Plenty of things the US gov does only provides benefit to a portion of society. The argument against your points will circle back to 2 things: 1) vaccine mandates in the past have been extremely effective with no issues, so prove this is different 2) you get value first by not having to use taxpayer money to take care of a lot of dying people and second by having a more effective healthcare system with excess capacity. Also, I’d be careful with the it’s justified because “taxpayers agree via their representatives” argument. Because that’s exactly what’s happening now. Dems were elected and now are pushing policy. It doesn’t intrinsically make it right. All this to say, I’ve already explained that this particular vaccine mandate doesn’t make sense to me because it doesn’t appreciably affect transmission/infection. I just take issue with not including nuance.

Every example you gave is transactional. US taxpayers agree to an exchange via elected representatives wherein they give money via tax dollars in exchange for security. Sure there are elements of public service in all of those occupations, but service is voluntary and never expected. A vaccine mandate isn't transactional. It's society telling a large subset of people that they will take a vaccine and they will get nothing in exchange of inherent value to them. Your uphill battle here is you are trying to convince a large subset of healthy people who would likely be unaffected by COVID that the vaccine has value to them. So you will sit here and provide mountains of data saying "look how dangerous COVID is!" But the baseline truth is for many people, it is not. And so they will continue to be able to pick through that data and say "hey... You're wrong."

'Merica! 🗽🗽🗽

Careful, I postulated that a few pages ago and Waingro apoplectically shit his pants.

If you aren’t vaccinated 3 times, then you aren’t fully vaccinated. That’s coming next!

You don’t see the irony and hypocrisy in your own viewpoint? Why do healthy people have to alter behavior for the vulnerable, and not the other way around? You can’t make me feel guilty for not willingly obliging to the mandates when those espousing mandates show zero interest in changing their behavior to accommodate me. You are guilty of what you lament in others.

By the way, we are some how supposed to believe the FDA had time to review all 326,000 requested pages in 6 months of 2020,but to review the exact same set of material for releasability they need 100X that. How does this make sense? There shouldn't even be a review. A review for what? This is the FDA, not security/defense material!? Just release it!

Safe? Based on what clinically sound studies? We've chased this squirrel before. This crash program did produce something that helps. It is not a "vaccine." Effective? If you get the shot, you can still transmit the virus. If you get the shot, you can still catch the virus and get sick. At a not insignificant percentage either. Best tool? Maybe. But too many other avenues of research/treatment have been shut down arbitrarily for me to accept the efficacy on blind faith and gubmint say-so. The draconian 'mandate' isn't helping their case and makes me dig in my heels. Especially given all the political exceptions - USPS, illegal aliens, attending 'peaceful protests,' etc, etc. This virus is either so deadly to all of the US or it's not. The counters produced thus far are either ways to defeat the virus or they are not. Exceptions literally and figuratively weaken the argument for a vaccinated population. The FDA, yesterday, asked a federal court to grant it permission to answer FOIA requests in 2076. Yes, I'm skeptical. I also do not want to lose the freedom of choice argument currently underway. Otherwise, we all will continue to lose our freedoms. As we have doing at an alarming rate since at least 2001. All in the interests of "safety."

I’ll take that as directed at me. I see your point of view & I understand where you’re coming from. Try and understand mine: I, and many others are equally confused as to how a person who is willing to give their life to this country, and make all of the other sacrifices that come with military life, is not willing to accept a vaccine that is safe, effective, and the best tool we have (at the moment) to fight a disease that has killed almost three quarters of a million Americans. I know you aren’t selfish. I know that for most of you, military service is not just a “transactional relationship” (as alluded to by some of the more hardcore libertarian types here), but is truly service before self. But I soundly reject 99% of the objections out there. Religious objections, worries about long term side effects, efficacy arguments, and almost all the other “objections” simply don’t hold water. Getting a vaccination (and yes, probably at least a couple boosters) is the single most effective thing you can do to fight COVID. Regardless, I know you and most who serve are not selfish…..far from it, and I apologize for coming across as a self righteous asshole.

So the standard in Europe up until now has been 3Gs, which meant you had to be vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID, or be regularly tested. As of last week, much of Europe is turning from testing meaning leaving your house is effectively impossible unless you're vaccinated. They're essentially making vaccination mandatory. The below article adequately explains it: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thelocal.de/20211116/tell-us-how-have-you-found-the-2g-and-3g-covid-rules-as-a-visitor-to-germany/%3famp

Shouldn't you use quotations when you quote Hildebeast, Brandon, Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin...........

Heres those institutions doing a phenomenal job of creating trust again. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/wait-what-fda-wants-55-years-process-foia-request-over-vaccine-data-2021-11-18/

But the lib tards are all set to fry the one that stopped their riot.

Translation… “Take your medicine so mine works.”

The same place it went after Chauvin. These cases are not the cause, they are the symptom. The disease is manifesting everywhere, with Virginia being the most clear infection. I wasn't sure if the disease had gotten bad enough to trigger a strong enough response, but it seems like the progressives are doubling down, so maybe there's hope?

Regardless how the jury finds him, it just further drives these important points: 1) Don’t live in an area ran by progressives 2) Limit travel to areas ran by progressives 3) Definitely don’t go to an area to help people who won’t help themselves, an area which welcomes “mostly peaceful protests”, and who don’t want the police attempting to establish some sense order/put down lawlessness, etc. The decent people in these areas need to see #1 above. For those who disagree, keep in mind this is what our current president tweeted out shortly after the event (not to mention the crap spewed by other leftist politicians):

I mean, this gets deeper than this simplification. There’s plenty of counter examples in our society. Is public education a transactional relationship? How about fire departments? What about the military, even? I find the libertarian views you’re describing to be a little overly idealistic. If society was purely transactional you wouldn’t be able to have a lot of things you enjoy in America.

I agree with your sentiment, but we must acknowledge that making changes for the greater good works both ways. I loathe the idea of legislating health, but many of those espousing taking one for the team will not concede the point that personal choices to be unhealthy have already hurt our society far more than COVID has. Perchance we should create exercise and eating vegetable mandates. Admittedly, the libertarian in me (sts) likes the Ron Swanson approach. Ron Swanson on freedom to eat what you want

Fuck those expecting healthy people to take a vaccine that works marginally at best and which we have absolutely no knowledge of the potential long term, adverse effects. Its been out for what, not even a year? Most vaccines don't come to market for 8-10 years ... This has made it to market in months.

Except vaccines work best when the majority of the population is vaccinated. Even with the less than perfect effectiveness of the current vaccines, a highly vaccinated population will give COVID far less opportunity to spread and perhaps more importantly, to mutate. Also, even young, healthy adults are highly likely to catch this bug at some point. The vaccine may well mean the difference between a case of the sniffles or an extended stay in the hospital with potential “long covid” complications down the road. Seems like a win-win to me. But what seems to be the unequivocal opinion of the nay sayers is: it’s all about me. I don’t feel vulnerable & fuck those who are (or may be going home to family members who are). I guess that’s where we’re at as a country these days. Not willing to make even small changes in our behavior for the greater good. It’s a bit depressing.

Don't underestimate them.

Judge kicks out MSNBC from his courtroom for “allegedly” trying to photograph jurors. My bet at this point is for a hung jury, possible acquittal on one or all the charges. If it’s a hung jury, I don’t see the state trying him again given the evidence and considering how bad the prosecution performed in trying the case. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/judge-bars-msnbc-from-court-after-person-allegedly-tried-to-photograph-rittenhouse-jurors%3f_amp=true

To an all-around great guy and one hell of pilot… Him him 🍻

Data from CDC as of today… Risk of going to hospital: 65-75: 1.5% / 50-64: 1% / 18-49: 0.46% / 0-17: 0.075% Note: Includes all those with health problems; 95% of those numbers above have at least one comorbidity. So your chance of being hospitalized if you’re healthy is roughly 5% of your age group number above (averaged across all age groups, so it won’t be exactly 5, but close enough). Risk of death if you contract COVID: 65-75: 6.3% / 50-64: 1.9% / 18-49: 0.24% / 0-17: 0.01% Note: Includes all those with comorbidites, as well as all data starting Mar 20. Interesting numbers on the vaccines: Fully (partially) vax’d: 65+ 86.1% (99.4%) / 18+ 70.6% (81.6%) /12+ 68.9% (79.7%). Pretty high vaccination rates overall. Over the course of the last year, the vaccines have reduced the death rate by 0.16% (averaged over all age groups/total US population). My personal takeaways from the data: 1. If you’re under 65, your risk of hospitalization/death is minuscule; if you’re without comorbidities your risk is even more minuscule. There is certainly not zero risk (caveat for those who will try to misconstrue my words). 2. The vaccines have hardly moved the needle, despite what the MSM, gov reps, and Pharma say. Last 30 days death rate is only 0.16% less than the day prior to EUA. That is not to say vaccines have not accomplished anything, but rather they are significantly less impactful than what many want/believe them to be. 3. Your overall health and age appear to be the largest factors in how you react to COVID. The “pandemic of the unvax’d” is a total misnomer, as it’s really a “pandemic of the unhealthy (who also may have chosen not to get vax’d).” If we actually root cause this thing, we should be directing much of our misplaced effort towards creating a healthier America, not on emotionally-driven virtue signaling/attacking our neighbors about masks, vaccine mandates, etc.

Let me rephrase what you just said. "I soundly reject anything you have to say because I really just don't care, but I'm sorry if sound like an ass hole!" Mmmmm, are you really sorry? Or do you just not want people thinking you're an asshole? By the way, I never said military service was transactional, rather, the intrinsic benefit provided by the military to greater society is transactional.

Did you raise the "murdered baby" argument for any of the other vaccines you got in the military? MMR, varicella, and hepatitis A vaccines were all developed using fetal cell lines.