Virus Schmirus

[D-train]

As for Trump, as I have said previously I did not vote for him, I would never be friends with someone like him, he has major flaws but what I know is he is NOT racist, he is pro Gay rights, he is is REAL, what you see is what you get, he is a damn good president and he, without a doubt, loves this country and wants the best for it. I will be voting for him in November thought it won't matter as I am still in a Blue state.

[gil]

I suppose it could be argued that it could have been faster but he issued the travel ban in January and was called a racist for it by most of the left so none of them have a leg to stand on in terms of being qualified to level criticism. Besides the governors had the power to independently implement lockdowns so it really would't have mattered if he did more or nothing.

I'll take issue with he characterization of "most" on the left. According to whom? A few "blame Trump for everything" idiots on CNN or MSNBC don't represent me. I think I'm pretty much on the left relative to this group, and I thought the travel ban was a good call, as did most of my "leftie" friends. The problem I saw was that there were too many loopholes. But Trump could have been better being a leader in February and early March. He downplayed it as I recall. He's not alone, by the way. But there was the debacle with the test kits, and emergency equipment wasn't adequate. President Trump didn't do this personally, but he IS the chief executive, and that is where the buck stops ultimately.

Sorry gil, I should have been more clear. When I say "left" I am referring to those that would be comparable to the group referred to right wingers. The radical left. On a scale of 1-10 I would guess you are a 3 or a 4. I am probably an a 7 or an 8 as I have never owned a gun so not passionate about gun rights but understand those that are, don't have any problem with gay marriage and think abortion is a necessary evil given the alternative of 10s of millions of unwanted babies that become wards of the state. Also, I am not religious.

What I am passionate about is small government, freedom, and fiscal conservatism. I despise identity politics and hypocrisy which is the religion of the "left". Just look at the difference in the treatment of Blasey Ford and Tara Reade. I also despise the MSM for there blatant bias.

Thanks for your perspective, dt. I appreciate it. My (probably naive) hope is that we can develop more politicians and leaders who would be described as a 5 or a 6 on the scale you describe. It seems like there is a huge "hole" in our political spectrum. What do you think of your governor, Charlie Baker? My (pretty left wing) friends in Massachusetts have quite a bit of respect for him.

What I detest is how every issue is polarized. From climate to how we treat a woman who accuses a powerful man of sexual assault. Or the coronavirus (to stay on topic, slightly). I feel like when a new issue surfaces, I can sit back and say "wait for it", and pretty soon the predictable sides will be falling into place. It's like the "sides" barely have a basis for discussion, between disagreeing on facts and expressing hateful caricatures of "the other side."

[D-train]

I agree gil. I haven't watched enough of Baker to form a strong opinion buy he seems reasonable.

You got that right. When this virus started I never imagined their would be two sides to the issue but it has becoming the most polarizing issue of them all unbelievably. Yes, their needs to be a third party that represents the middle which is where most people lie. But I don't think there will be because those people just aren't as passionate about things and thus are less likely to vote. imo

[D-train]

OMG! Official Covid death counts reduced in half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 37k now!

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

[Millikin]

OMG! Official Covid death counts reduced in half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 37k now!

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

Holy cow, will this actually be reported in regular media?

Edit: Apparently this isn't catching on:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buzzfe ... nformation

The "percentage of expected death" column really makes this all seem like it was overblown.

[bpj]

OMG! Official Covid death counts reduced in half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 37k now!

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

Numbers are truly in 11,000 range.

The 37k includes pneumonia and flu.

[gil]

I agree gil. I haven't watched enough of Baker to form a strong opinion buy he seems reasonable.

You got that right. When this virus started I never imagined their would be two sides to the issue but it has becoming the most polarizing issue of them all unbelievably. Yes, their needs to be a third party that represents the middle which is where most people lie. But I don't think there will be because those people just aren't as passionate about things and thus are less likely to vote. imo

I'm not convinced about being less passionate and less likely to vote. (But of course, I'm probably extrapolating from a sample of one: myself.) The "middle" takes fire from both extremes, and that is a problem in general. Personally, I sometimes feel that my seeing nuances and recognizing tradeoffs is taken for a lack of conviction. In our current two party system, for example, it's becoming more difficult for either moderate democrats or moderate republicans to survive primaries.

I'll give credit to David Brooks for this idea: we need institutions that support moderate positions. We have cable news, fringe web sites, and social media platforms that are all amplifying (very effectively, IMO) the extremes of right and left.

Also, I realized a long time ago that taking an extreme position makes it easy to argue with someone. You can develop a theory for everything and anything based upon the extreme position. The extreme position explains everything. (For example, tongue firmly in cheek, I'm sort of waiting for Bernie Sanders to say that Covid-19 is an attack upon "working people.")

[D-train]

Wow I remember it cost me $100 to fill up the Hummer. It just cost me $37 just now.

[Double Mocha Man]

Wow I remember it cost me $100 to fill up the Hummer. It just cost me $37 just now.

You're making out like a bandit! The government is going to have to withhold some money from your stimulus check.

[D-train]

Truly crazy times:

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1 ... 8492984321