Politics

[Rubus_Leucodermis]

OK, you have a point. I should not have used those words.

But, replying to myself, I still had a point. There was not the repudiation of Trump there needed to be. Quite the contrary: despite what a disaster it has proven to be, Trumpism is still amazingly popular. It is by far the most popular political movement in the past century in the USA. Far from “not being who we are,” Trumpism is exactly what much of America is. We in the USA are not better than this.

My country has an increasingly fascist party “opposed” (I use that term loosely here) by a party that views timidity as a virtue. Already there is talk among Democrats of letting bygones be bygones and forgiving any lawbreaking that the Trump regime might have done. This will merely continue the trend, ever since Watergate, of evildoers in high places (be they public or private sector) getting off Scot-free.

There is a logical end result to all these trends, and it ain’t pretty.

[Glacier]

But, replying to myself, I still had a point. There was not the repudiation of Trump there needed to be. Quite the contrary: despite what a disaster it has proven to be, Trumpism is still amazingly popular. It is by far the most popular political movement in the past century in the USA. Far from “not being who we are,” Trumpism is exactly what much of America is. We in the USA are not better than this.

My country has an increasingly fascist party “opposed” (I use that term loosely here) by a party that views timidity as a virtue. Already there is talk among Democrats of letting bygones be bygones and forgiving any lawbreaking that the Trump regime might have done. This will merely continue the trend, ever since Watergate, of evildoers in high places (be they public or private sector) getting off Scot-free.

There is a logical end result to all these trends, and it ain’t pretty.

I know a lot of Republicans who held their nose and voted for Trump. Actually, I know several Democrats who did. In fact, 100s of thousands of life-long Democrats did, not because they like Trump, but because the Democratic party has become a Dumpster fire. To a lesser extent, because Trump removed the reasons they would never have voted Republican in the past, namely US military industrial complex and staunch support for free trade and other corporation friendly measures.

James Lindsay, for example, voted for Trump because he's tired of the critical race theory stuff, and claims that it's more dangerous to America than all the terrible things Trump has done.

Tim Pool, a Bernie Sanders Supporter, held his nose and voted for Trump because Trump stands up against the US military industrial complex, and that's the main issue he really cares about.

Liberal and secular Muslims like Asra Nomani voted for Trump because he is the only Candidate who stands up for Muslims and westerners against the radical Islam that will slit your throat in church because someone drew cartoons.

My mom hadn't voted in the US elections since she left for Canada 55 years ago, but she did for Trump because she says Trump stands up against the politically correct crowd who wants to take away your right to free thought.

And the list goes on.

The point here is that the Democrats have put forward two horrifically bad candidates and have started championing far left critical theory that has scarred moderately left types into voting for Trump.

As for what is happening now, let Trump have his day in court. If there is only minor voting problems, he loses, and Biden becomes "president-Elect" in December by the same process all other presidents get elected. Trump will have his reputation ruined to the point he won't have a chance in 2024.

In the extremely small off chance that there is some sort of major voting fraud, the courts will get to the bottom of it, and the system will be more fair moving forward.

Let's all relax and let the process work itself out. I'm going back to talking about more important issues now... like the weather.

[Typeing3]

I'm going based off of many anecdotal reports including one on this site. These people recover but their symptoms persist, like shortness of breath. This is a sign of lung scarring. Once tissues are scarred they can no longer transfer oxygen. Similar thing can happen to your heart, nervous system, olfactory, and on. Can even happen in asymptomatic cases but probably less pronounced.

This link can give you more accurate details.
https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/07/08/fr ... ing-marks/

Lung scarring is also a typical effect of chronic asthma (an underlying health condition):

Chronic asthma often results in scarring of the lung airways (airway fibrosis) and this can cause airway obstruction.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 20fibrosis.

Many articles I've read (including the link you shared) allude that covid is the cause for lung scarring, but do not mention any pre-existing conditions individuals may have had before contracting the virus, including prior lung scarring potentially caused by conditions such as chronic asthma.

[John]

I know a lot of Republicans who held their nose and voted for Trump. Actually, I know several Democrats who did. In fact, 100s of thousands of life-long Democrats did, not because they like Trump, but because the Democratic party has become a Dumpster fire. To a lesser extent, because Trump removed the reasons they would never have voted Republican in the past, namely US military industrial complex and staunch support for free trade and other corporation friendly measures.

James Lindsay, for example, voted for Trump because he's tired of the critical race theory stuff, and claims that it's more dangerous to America than all the terrible things Trump has done.

Tim Pool, a Bernie Sanders Supporter, held his nose and voted for Trump because Trump stands up against the US military industrial complex, and that's the main issue he really cares about.

Liberal and secular Muslims like Asra Nomani voted for Trump because he is the only Candidate who stands up for Muslims and westerners against the radical Islam that will slit your throat in church because someone drew cartoons.

My mom hadn't voted in the US elections since she left for Canada 55 years ago, but she did for Trump because she says Trump stands up against the politically correct crowd who wants to take away your right to free thought.

And the list goes on.

The point here is that the Democrats have put forward two horrifically bad candidates and have started championing far left critical theory that has scarred moderately left types into voting for Trump.

As for what is happening now, let Trump have his day in court. If there is only minor voting problems, he loses, and Biden becomes "president-Elect" in December by the same process all other presidents get elected. Trump will have his reputation ruined to the point he won't have a chance in 2024.

In the extremely small off chance that there is some sort of major voting fraud, the courts will get to the bottom of it, and the system will be more fair moving forward.

Let's all relax and let the process work itself out. I'm going back to talking about more important issues now... like the weather.

Great points ice man!

I liked almost everything trump did policy wise (especially tough on China) just hated his narcissistic personality that’s what did him in imo.

[moonshadow0825]

What do you mean?

global positivity rate for covid is 3.4% as per WHO, locally in the Fraser Health region it is stated to be 6.6% but may be as high as 10%

the fatality rate at one point in Canada was as high as 8% across all ages, it has leveled off to around 4% due to a combination of having more ways to treat the disease and a greater percentage of younger cases

positivity rate for all strains of influenza is less than 1% and the fatality rate is less than 0.2%
we have built up immunity to many strains of influenza, we don't have it for Covid. This isn't just a "flu"

Sweden has tried to go the herd immunity route, in a population of 10 million they have 201,000 cases and over 6300 deaths for a 3% + mortality rate. To achieve herd immunity without a vaccine they need another 294,000 people to die before they will get to 95% of the population having been infected with covid.

In some US states the positivity rate is greater than 22% (S Dakota) and in El-Paso they have brought in 10 mobile morgues to handle the dead.
In countries like India they have no idea how high the positivity rate is because they simply can't test enough; other countries do not release accurate data. check out the excess mortality tables, they are fascinating in a morbid sense.

Even with those impediments the WHO says there have been 55,659,785 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1,338,769 deaths as of this morning.

btw, those are general fatality numbers, the fatality rate rises significantly if you are older, have heart disease, diabetes or are vitamin d deficient to name a few comorbidities

the question is are you willing to go out, get exposed and potentially be one of the 1,200,000 future dead so that we can achieve herd immunity?

[PortKells]

moonshadow your fatality rates are way off. Its not total cases divided by deaths, its resolved cases. Not to minimize this pandemic by any means. The death rate can be below 1% and still kill tons of people.

[PortKells]

Masks now mandatory. School employees are still expendable however.

[Abby_wx]

Masks now mandatory. School employees are still expendable however.

Well, that should shut some people up at the very least. Masks were already pretty much mandatory for all intents and purposes, and there was already very high compliance almost everywhere.

Personally, I was never very concerned about the maybe 10% of people who chose not wear a mask. The data has shown that most transmission of COVID-19 has been occurring in private indoor gatherings, not in stores or restaurants.

Dr. Bonnie Henry has always followed the actual data, which has clearly shown that masks are the least effective means of stopping transmission. The two best ways to stop transmission are to social distance and avoid large gatherings, especially indoors. That doesn't mean that masks are useless, but they just aren't the panacea that many would have you believe.

Think back to early in the summer when we reopened the economy... infections did not rise, and in fact they continued to fall. This despite the fact that only about 50% of people were wearing masks at that time. The difference from then to now was that people were not gathering in large groups INDOORS. If they were gathering at all, it was mainly outdoors. Now that it's winter, people ARE gathering indoors... and in doing so they are not social distancing, etc.

What amazes me is how quickly our cancel culture threw Dr. Bonnie Henry under the bus over the mask issue. I guess people just need someone to point the finger at, but maybe they should be pointing it at themselves if they're among those who have chosen to flout the rules by gathering in private homes.

[John]

Masks now mandatory. School employees are still expendable however.

And students!!

[Glacier]

The government has to balance safety against the economy. The goal is to flatten the curve, not to eliminate transmission (which you cannot do). For a variety of reasons schools remain open, not the least of which is the economy and the social well-being of the students.

"This is no such thing as solutions. There are only trade-offs."
~ Thomas Sowell

[John]

The government has to balance safety against the economy. The goal is to flatten the curve, not to eliminate transmission (which you cannot do). For a variety of reasons schools remain open, not the least of which is the economy and the social well-being of the students.

"This is no such thing as solutions. There are only trade-offs."
~ Thomas Sowell

There definitely leaning on the side of safety the economy is screwed

[Rubus_Leucodermis]

The point here is that the Democrats have put forward two horrifically bad candidates and have started championing far left critical theory that has scarred moderately left types into voting for Trump.

I’m trying to figure out what sort of “far left critical theory” Joe Biden has ever propounded, and just can’t. Within his party, he’s squarely on the right side of its center. Even his main opponent on the left, Bernie Sanders, talked far more about class than race.

It’s hard to think of a more irrelevant political tendency than today’s academic left. If fascism gets enabled on a national level by pretending that what’s happening on a few elite left-leaning college campuses is somehow more representative of national politics than the rhetoric coming out of the White House, well, I guess that’s how it gets enabled. But it doesn’t make factual sense. It’s just hot air and empty rationalizations.

[John]

I’m trying to figure out what sort of “far left critical theory” Joe Biden has ever propounded, and just can’t. Within his party, he’s squarely on the right side of its center. Even his main opponent on the left, Bernie Sanders, talked far more about class than race.

It’s hard to think of a more irrelevant political tendency than today’s academic left. If fascism gets enabled on a national level by pretending that what’s happening on a few elite left-leaning college campuses is somehow more representative of national politics than the rhetoric coming out of the White House, well, I guess that’s how it gets enabled. But it doesn’t make factual sense. It’s just hot air and empty rationalizations.

Biden is nothing more than a puppet he’s not calling the shots it’s the crazy left people that are using him to push their agenda

[Rubus_Leucodermis]

Biden is nothing more than a puppet he’s not calling the shots it’s the crazy left people that are using him to push their agenda

I suppose it’s all in the Protocols of the Elders of Critical Theory Woke Leftism.

[PortKells]

The government has to balance safety against the economy. The goal is to flatten the curve, not to eliminate transmission (which you cannot do). For a variety of reasons schools remain open, not the least of which is the economy and the social well-being of the students.

"This is no such thing as solutions. There are only trade-offs."
~ Thomas Sowell

Keep schools open by all means. But im not sure why some teachers are exposed to hundreds of unmasked students in unventilated rooms, like that music teacher in ICU. I dont get the mask thing. It wouldn't harm students in any way to wear them.
Personally I work in a class where kids don't have the ability to cover up when they cough or sneeze, and I have older immunocompromised in laws at home. I'm terrified of going near them. I can't wait until this is over.