Covid Has Gone on Too Long for It to Be This Dumb

 

I’m writing this from rural southern Missouri, the hotspot of the Delta variant and one of the lower vaccinated areas in the country. It’s not good. It’s not what the national media would lead you to believe but it’s still a tragic situation. Any honest person can see that here. But even with a year plus of living this, we’re still having the same dang arguments. It’s exhausting.

We have been living in a pandemic for a year and a half. We have learned a lot of new information, developed amazing new vaccines, and observed changing human behaviors. Our medical field has learned new ways to treat the virus. New data has given us insight into which categories are most at risk vs those least at risk. Despite a few blips here and there, the media has reported on the pandemic nearly non-stop.

Why are we still so dumb about it?

To begin, I believe many of the early “pandemic skeptic” claims have been blown out of the water:

A. It’s not “just the flu”. If you’re not living in a total bubble, anecdotal evidence alone should prove that to you. I have a few otherwise healthy (and young) friends who over the last couple weeks have ended up on oxygen or worse (collapsed lung, ventilator, death, etc.) due to their infection. That’s not the flu.

B. Following that: it’s not a conspiracy. Now maybe our political “leaders” have conspired in bad faith and cynical behaviors over the course of it but that’s a separate matter. The virus is very real.

C. The mask fight was and still is dumb. From day one, masks at best would help and at worst would be a waste of time. Nobody really knew. Current data supports they are probably a waste of time. Just don’t be a jerk about them (Good life lesson: don’t be a jerk.).

D. The vaccines are safe and effective! Yes, nobody knows the long-term complications of the vaccines but the same is true for COVID. The overwhelming number of cases since mass vaccination are from the unvaccinated. Virtually 100% of deaths are from the unvaccinated. While this is the first vaccine using MRNA technology, MRNA technology is not new. It’s not a “modified live” virus. It’s not a chip. It’s not a ploy from Bill Gate or some other nefarious actor angling to control the populace. It truly is a modern medical wonder. (I hear some say “well it’s not FDA approved”, well neither are the vitamins you take every day. The FDA doesn’t have the most sterling record of approvals and non-approvals either, some studies show that their lag in approvals cost thousands of American lives each year. It’s weird to be skeptical of the government-backed vaccine yet say you’d feel better about it if it was approved by the government.).

Another point: there have been billions of shots globally. There will be some adverse reactions. There will be some who are vaccinated who still get infected. No vaccine is 100% effective nor without side effects. Nobody said they would be. Stop arguing as if a minute fraction of cases represents serious evidence against the efficacy of the vaccine.

Disclosure: I have been vaccinated since February (Moderna). My only side effect was a mild hangover feeling the day after the 2nd dose.

E. Understand that private companies can force you to do things on their property. Yes, Walmart can force you to wear a mask. Yes, your employer can force you to get vaccinated.

Now for the “pandemic catastrophists”:

A. Stop lying, misrepresenting the data, and exhibiting double standards. It started with lying about the masks. Then two weeks to slow the spread. Then the riots. How many politicians were caught eating out or getting their hair done during the lockdowns? The list goes on and on.

B. Certain groups are more at risk and others are much less at risk. Quit acting as if everybody is going to die and requires the same level of protection/caution. Young people just aren’t dying from the pandemic nor is there much if any evidence they spread it. Open schools. Don’t mask kids. Don’t force vaccinations on children.

C. Stop thinking you can force people. This mainly applies to the governments. There are many common sense areas where mandatory public health measures can be taken (think nursing homes or hospitals), thinking you can enforce outdoor mask-wearing is not that. The little authoritarians running rampant the past year have done nothing but create a divisive and counterproductive environment.

D. Stop punishing those who have been vaccinated. At this point, getting vaccinated is the most you can ask of someone. Don’t turn around and tell them they’ll still need to wear a mask because they may still transmit the infection. WE ALREADY KNEW THAT. The vaccine is to protect yourself, not others. Now that the vaccine is widely available (and largely free!), those who have made the decision to not get vaccinated will have to assume those risks.

E. Stop name-calling. There are studies that show calling people racist who aren’t actually racist makes them more racist. What do you think calling someone who is being cautious about the vaccine a “killer” or “stupid” is going to do? I doubt it’s going to warm them up to your position.

I blame both sides for many of the issues during this terrible time. Most of all I blame our political class and media. The inability to have an intelligent and good faith discussion is completely on them. The political football played with the virus in 2020 entrenched millions of Americans into defensive positions, many I think for political reasons (although they won’t tell you that). It’s sad. It didn’t have to be this way.

Growing up, to be “conservative” was to be for smaller government. The other side of that was conservatives were for “good” government as well, and by good I mean effective. Being smaller would enable a more efficient government. While that’s changed some in recent years, that’s what I still believe. Unfortunately, we’ve been operating under bad government for quite some time. A lot is written about the costs of bad government. The pandemic has caused the bill on those costs to come due.

I think H. L. Mencken would say we’re getting it “good and hard”.

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  1. Chuck Coolidge
    Chuck
    @Chuckles

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Kind of like “no queer wedding cakes”.

    For the other, my last three employers all required me to pass a physical. My employer can’t force me to do anything, its my choice – I can always quit.

    Nice to be independently wealthy.

    Drew, there’s a cost to everything.  It isn’t a matter of being independently wealthy, at least not yet.

    • #31
  2. DrewInWisconsin, Oaf Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Chuck (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Kind of like “no queer wedding cakes”.

    For the other, my last three employers all required me to pass a physical. My employer can’t force me to do anything, its my choice – I can always quit.

    Nice to be independently wealthy.

    Drew, there’s a cost to everything. It isn’t a matter of being independently wealthy, at least not yet.

    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option. Not that the government cares. I think they count on people being stuck in their jobs and therefore submitting to their mandates.

    • #32
  3. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions.  Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job.  I quit more than one.

    • #33
  4. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    Correct.  If I had it to do all over again, I’d learn carpentry.

    • #34
  5. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Preston Storm (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    This is a nice job. It would’ve been a better job if you hadn’t been so dismissive of the lack of FDA approval.

    My libertarian streak is not going to allow me to be much of a FDA defender.

    Sure, I’m not setting the FDA up as a flawless organization.  It’s a reasonable issue for some people is all I’m saying.  I don’t think that we can know all of the reasons why people don’t get vaccinated, but reluctance to shoot a non-FDA approved product into one’s body (which did) does not mark one as a dummy.  I don’t think we can assume that everyone who declines the vax is off-base, and having it approved closes another window to objection.

    • #35
  6. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    Correct. If I had it to do all over again, I’d learn carpentry.

    Carpentry isn’t rocket science.  It’s pretty easy to learn.

    • #36
  7. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    Correct. If I had it to do all over again, I’d learn carpentry.

    Carpentry isn’t rocket science. It’s pretty easy to learn.

    You should see the coffee table I “built” a few years ago.

    • #37
  8. DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) Coolidge
    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!)
    @DonG

    Preston Storm: B. Following that: it’s not a conspiracy. Now maybe our political “leaders” have conspired in bad faith and cynical behaviors over the course of it but that’s a separate matter. The virus is very real. 

    It’s not a conspiracy, it is many conspiracies!  Here are my top ten.

    1. Illegal funding of gain-of-function research by Fauci through a cutout entity.
    2. China denying there was a disease outbreak, while buying up all the protective equipment in the world and purging their Wuhan lab.
    3. China stopping internal flights, while allowing international flights that seeded pandemic in Milan and elsewhere.
    4. China and their US media agents all saying the source was a bat in a wet market.
    5. Leftists politicians and Big Pharma blocking effective treatments, so they could sell vaccines and create panic.
    6. The CDC ignoring the previously researched conclusion that public masking was ineffective.
    7. Democrat (effectively) run states rolling out voting procedures on the pretense that voting in person was not safe.
    8. Democrat (effectively) run states throwing out signature validation on mail-in votes, because of fomites or whatever.
    9. ModeRNA extending their final trial by 20 days to delay the announcement of the vaccine until after the election.
    10. Sweden and Florida are hell-scapes of viral devastation.
    • #38
  9. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    Correct. If I had it to do all over again, I’d learn carpentry.

    Carpentry isn’t rocket science. It’s pretty easy to learn.

    You should see the coffee table I “built” a few years ago.

    Lol.  Building furniture is something else entirely.  Though I have to say I built a computer table and cut some 2′ long miters with a skillsaw I’m pretty proud of.  Looks like they were machined.

    • #39
  10. DrewInWisconsin, Oaf Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    • #40
  11. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    You and me both. I find it wrong for anyone to force me into anything where they are not at risk.

    Which is why the sewage hep mandate is reasonable and Covid/flu is not.

    • #41
  12. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism.  It has to do with feeding your family.

    • #42
  13. Chuck Coolidge
    Chuck
    @Chuckles

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Kind of like “no queer wedding cakes”.

    For the other, my last three employers all required me to pass a physical. My employer can’t force me to do anything, its my choice – I can always quit.

    Nice to be independently wealthy.

    Drew, there’s a cost to everything. It isn’t a matter of being independently wealthy, at least not yet.

    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option. Not that the government cares. I think they count on people being stuck in their jobs and therefore submitting to their mandates.

    I agree.  There could be a goodly number of reasons – family and otherwise – why the cost of refusing the needle could become excessively high for a particular individual.  So if someone thinks they need to get vaccinated and keep their job, well, it isn’t my place to fault them.  It’s still a personal choice and ones’ own cost/benefit analysis.

    • #43
  14. DrewInWisconsin, Oaf Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with feeding your family.

    Yes. So when your employer says “get the jab or lose your job,” . . . what do you do if you’re not in a position to be able to quit on a moment’s notice? The long-standing conservative position of “Just go get another job!” as if it’s always that easy, is not one I hold.

    • #44
  15. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with feeding your family.

    Yes. So when your employer says “get the jab or lose your job,” . . . what do you do if you’re not in a position to be able to quit on a moment’s notice?

    I don’t think I’ve ever been in that position.

    • #45
  16. Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patriot) Member
    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patriot)
    @ArizonaPatriot

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Kind of like “no queer wedding cakes”.

    For the other, my last three employers all required me to pass a physical. My employer can’t force me to do anything, its my choice – I can always quit.

    Nice to be independently wealthy.

    Drew, there’s a cost to everything. It isn’t a matter of being independently wealthy, at least not yet.

    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option. Not that the government cares. I think they count on people being stuck in their jobs and therefore submitting to their mandates.

    Drew, we may be on the same page on this one.  (That would be nice!)

    My view is that employers can require vaccination of their employees, but generally shouldn’t.  At least not for this one. 

    There may be exceptions for areas of special risk, like medical care for the elderly.  I’m not sure even about that, but it’s a closer call.

    It would be a different story if this thing was actually the Black Death.  It’s not, so I think that we should lean pretty heavily in favor of letting people make up their own minds.

    That said, if you haven’t gotten the shot, please consider doing so.  I understand all of the reasons to distrust the media, and Fauci, and the deep state.  But President Trump says that we should get the darned shot, so it’s not just the Leftist Overlords.

    • #46
  17. Stina Inactive
    Stina
    @CM

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with feeding your family.

    There’s a problem when you are forced to do something or your family starves. At some point, you have crossed a road into tyranny and I’m not sure at what point that is.

    But it’s so ridiculous that it’s coming down to THIS of all things.

    How many of you would support me for not wanting to hire a liberal?

    • #47
  18. DrewInWisconsin, Oaf Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Chuck (View Comment):
    It’s still a personal choice and ones’ own cost/benefit analysis.

    Yes. On that note I think we no longer put our faith in individuals to weigh risks and costs/benefits for themselves. Which is why government imposes mandates. “Because what if the proles choose wrong!?”

    All of this would be so much simpler if the government would just let us decide for ourselves if we wish to get vaccinated or wear masks or keep that arbitrary six feet distance. But they really hate the idea of freedom.

    • #48
  19. DrewInWisconsin, Oaf Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf
    @DrewInWisconsin

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with feeding your family.

    Yes. So when your employer says “get the jab or lose your job,” . . . what do you do if you’re not in a position to be able to quit on a moment’s notice?

    I don’t think I’ve ever been in that position.

    Count your blessings!

    • #49
  20. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with feeding your family.

    Yes. So when your employer says “get the jab or lose your job,” . . . what do you do if you’re not in a position to be able to quit on a moment’s notice?

    I don’t think I’ve ever been in that position.

    Count your blessings!

    I do.

    • #50
  21. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    DonG (2+2=5. Say it!) (View Comment):

    Preston Storm: B. Following that: it’s not a conspiracy. Now maybe our political “leaders” have conspired in bad faith and cynical behaviors over the course of it but that’s a separate matter. The virus is very real.

    It’s not a conspiracy, it is many conspiracies! Here are my top ten.

    1. Illegal funding of gain-of-function research by Fauci through a cutout entity.
    2. China denying there was a disease outbreak, while buying up all the protective equipment in the world and purging their Wuhan lab.
    3. China stopping internal flights, while allowing international flights that seeded pandemic in Milan and elsewhere.
    4. China and their US media agents all saying the source was a bat in a wet market.
    5. Leftists politicians and Big Pharma blocking effective treatments, so they could sell vaccines and create panic.
    6. The CDC ignoring the previously researched conclusion that public masking was ineffective.
    7. Democrat (effectively) run states rolling out voting procedures on the pretense that voting in person was not safe.
    8. Democrat (effectively) run states throwing out signature validation on mail-in votes, because of fomites or whatever.
    9. ModeRNA extending their final trial by 20 days to delay the announcement of the vaccine until after the election.
    10. Sweden and Florida are hell-scapes of viral devastation.

    The health department in our county has attempted to function as all three branches of government. 

    • #51
  22. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Preston Storm: Yes, your employer can force you to get vaccinated.

    Not without violating the Nuremberg Code, article 1.

    It is an experimental procedure and one cannot give informed consent if one is facing coercion.

    • #52
  23. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Preston Storm: Yes, your employer can force you to get vaccinated.

    Not without violating the Nuremberg Code, article 1.

    It is an experimental procedure and one cannot give informed consent if one is facing coercion.

    It’s different when it’s not Nazis.

    • #53
  24. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Preston Storm: Yes, your employer can force you to get vaccinated.

    Not without violating the Nuremberg Code, article 1.

    It is an experimental procedure and one cannot give informed consent if one is facing coercion.

    It’s different when it’s not Nazis.

    Reelect Trump and they’ll call us Nazi’s and this nonsense can stop. Plus, Trump won’t make you get the shot.

    • #54
  25. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Preston Storm: Yes, your employer can force you to get vaccinated.

    Not without violating the Nuremberg Code, article 1.

    It is an experimental procedure and one cannot give informed consent if one is facing coercion.

    It’s different when it’s not Nazis.

    Yes it is. They are Health Nazis. 

    • #55
  26. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    And death is not a side effect of an ordinary vaccine. A significant number of previously healthy people all over the world have died as a result of one of the new vaccines. I thought about that as I stood in line waiting for my vaccine. But I still got both doses with no side effects at all. No one should be forced to get one of the vaccines before they have final approval. 

    • #56
  27. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Kind of like “no queer wedding cakes”.

    For the other, my last three employers all required me to pass a physical. My employer can’t force me to do anything, its my choice – I can always quit.

    Nice to be independently wealthy.

    This is why I say people are losing agency these days. The structure of the economy is not helpful compared to decades ago. Then throw in all of the government overreach and corporate fascism.

    • #57
  28. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    Stina (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    DrewInWisconsin, Oaf (View Comment):
    I’m just saying that we shouldn’t flippantly say “Well, just get another job,” because for a lot of people that’s not an option

    A lot of people make bad decisions. Anyone interested in constant employment will learn a trade. I worked as a carpenter for many years, and I could always find another job. I quit more than one.

    This is one of those areas where I’m not a standard conservative, I guess.

    It has nothing to do with conservatism. It has to do with feeding your family.

    There’s a problem when you are forced to do something or your family starves. At some point, you have crossed a road into tyranny and I’m not sure at what point that is.

    But it’s so ridiculous that it’s coming down to THIS of all things.

    How many of you would support me for not wanting to hire a liberal?

    I would avoid hiring anyone who showed evidence of being guided by CRT. 

    • #58
  29. Wiscosotan Member
    Wiscosotan
    @AlanMartinson

    (Removed)

    • #59
  30. Roderic Coolidge
    Roderic
    @rhfabian

    Preston Storm: The vaccines are safe and effective! Yes, nobody knows the long-term complications of the vaccines but the same is true for COVID.

    A very good point.  To that I’d add that our experience with older vaccines indicates that side effects show up in under 2 months.  A lot of people have been vaccinated for 6 months or longer by now, and there are no reports of any significant additional side effects.

    If you vaccinate 190 million people with a vaccine that has very high, 95%, protection, then you can expect 9.5 million of them to get “breakthrough” infections.  We’re obviously doing a lot better than that.  

    People keep forgetting that even young people tend to get the long term complications of COVID infections, some of which are quite disabling.  Death isn’t the only bad outcome of COVID.  In my humble opinion, it’s definitely worth it for a young person to get vaccinated.

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