Money is an issue, a segment of the electorate that is dumb as a rock is another. Like come on, why would anyone in their right mind believe Trump, who hired someone to take his SATs and cheated his way through all his education, over a medical professional with years of experience and actual qualifications on COVID-19.
There is a huge culture of anti-intellectualism in the States that somehow equates freedom to mean "my freedom to be ignorant" is equal to better than years of researched evidence backed fact. Any stable society can't allow that type of mentality otherwise it'll just degrade into "I don't understand these laws so they just don't apply to me"
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Money is an issue, a segment of the electorate that is dumb as a rock is another. Like come on, why would anyone in their right mind believe Trump, who hired someone to take his SATs and cheated his way through all his education, over a medical professional with years of experience and actual qualifications on COVID-19.
There is a huge culture of anti-intellectualism in the States that somehow equates freedom to mean "my freedom to be ignorant" is equal to better than years of researched evidence backed fact. Any stable society can't allow that type of mentality otherwise it'll just degrade into "I don't understand these laws so they just don't apply to me"
The education system in America is deliberate. Underfunded public schools, university expenses that keep those that can afford it in debt (and therefore reliant on their employers) for decades, poor access to education for huge swathes of primarily Republican-voting districts. It's all by design. Keep a large segment of the population ignorant and afraid and have loud voices on the TV tell them who to direct their anger at. It's been proven to work.
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As strange as this sounds, perhaps the only hope for the United States is that things get so much worse for everyday Americans that Biden and other Democrats will find they have enough popular support to pass a modernized version of the New Deal just like FDR during the Great Depression. Perhaps COVID will be the driving force that makes a sufficient number of Americans say "Enough is enough" with their horribly broken healthcare model and finally join the rest of the OECD by moving to a universal single-payer system.
I wonder if there may be a resurgence of 'Republican Classic' emerging as a response to Trump and maybe there could emerge some conservatives that can focus on good governance and decouple themselves from Evangelical buffoonery and worship of ignorance.
Probably not...
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I wonder if there may be a resurgence of 'Republican Classic' emerging as a response to Trump and maybe there could emerge some conservatives that can focus on good governance and decouple themselves from Evangelical buffoonery and worship of ignorance.
Probably not...
I really don't think that's possible as long as the ultra right-wing Trumpists exists and are a significant chunk of the Republican base. Any moderate candidates that don't pander to this chunk of the population just get primaried out and not getting the votes, this is happening for a good number of years.
Not sure if there are enough "Republican Classic" left to stomach turning out to a GOP primary in the huge numbers to overcome the Trumpists.
A new ad from the Lincoln Project reminding voters that one day, Trump will be gone, but to not forget the names or forgive those who stood by Trump in support through it all.
After some days of “only” a couple hundred COVID deaths in the US, it seems the deaths from the surge are now starting. Nearly a 1000 yesterday and already 700 reported today.
56 Florida counties have full hospitals. They are setting up triage tents in parking lots in some places.
Arizona now above 90% hospital capacity. 50% of ventilators used and that’s starting increase rapidly. Most hospitals have stopped non-essential surgery.
One doctor I read today has said 80% of the patients she admits to hospital are COVID cases.
Basically we are getting very close to the point where doctors will be forced to decide who to treat.
Pittsburgh and the surrounding region is full of people who vacation in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas. My county had done a remarkably good job through all of this, with our population of 1.2 mil our highest 1 day case increase was 75 back in mid-April. It had trickled to 15-20/day in the county by early June, when everything opened back up (with some restrictions for occupancy of bars/restaurants, salons, etc.).
Then all of these idiots went on vacation and came home, went to bars, went to restaurants (many of which weren't fully following the guidelines) and now we're having 100-240 cases daily, far worse than we ever were during the time we were shut down.
Both the county I live in and the county I work in are in far worse shape than during the "worst" of it, and yet I'm still going to work cutting hair, well closer than 6 feet away, every day now. It's...not the best feeling in the world.
It's incredibly hard to feel anything but dread in this country right now.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal funding if schools don’t reopen in the fall, and he lashed out at federal health officials over school reopening guidelines that he says are impractical and expensive.
Taking to Twitter to voice his frustration, Trump argued that countries including Germany, Denmark and Norway have reopened schools “with no problems.” The Republican president also repeated his claim that Democrats want to keep schools closed for political reasons and not because of any risks associated with the coronavirus.
Quote:
The president of the nation’s largest education union said Trump is more interested in scoring points for the November election than in keeping students safe.
“Trump has proven to be incapable of grasping that people are dying — that more than 130,000 Americans have already died,” said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association. “Educators want nothing more than to be back in classrooms and on college campuses with our students, but we must do it in a way that keeps students, educators and communities safe.”
Trump’s claim that Democrats are pressing to keep schools closed for political reasons has been criticized by health experts who say politicizing the issue makes it more difficult to work toward reopening schools.
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Pittsburgh and the surrounding region is full of people who vacation in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas. My county had done a remarkably good job through all of this, with our population of 1.2 mil our highest 1 day case increase was 75 back in mid-April. It had trickled to 15-20/day in the county by early June, when everything opened back up (with some restrictions for occupancy of bars/restaurants, salons, etc.).
Then all of these idiots went on vacation and came home, went to bars, went to restaurants (many of which weren't fully following the guidelines) and now we're having 100-240 cases daily, far worse than we ever were during the time we were shut down.
Both the county I live in and the county I work in are in far worse shape than during the "worst" of it, and yet I'm still going to work cutting hair, well closer than 6 feet away, every day now. It's...not the best feeling in the world.
It's incredibly hard to feel anything but dread in this country right now.
Yep. Our county is one of the fastest growing as the virus really didn’t really hit here until a few weeks ago. Finally the major city in the area passed a mask ordinance last night (and has bought everyone a mask). The hospitals are filling. You just see a bunch of comments About how this is what happened to the Middle East! Face covers and look what happened there! I wish I weren’t serious.
Louisiana governor yesterday in a more politically correct way said the equivalent of “well done idiots. We went from beating this virus back to undoing all the work in the past three weeks that we are back at pandemic rates in every single county. Wear your damn mask and social distance.” GOP governors are starting from feel the heat and more and more are distancing from the federal admin. And Fauci, well Fauci is essentially waiting for Trump to say something and then correcting him.
Also Tulsa is now spiking again. Can’t pin it on the rally because their contact tracers are overwhelmed. And that’s the situation. Hospitals are filling. Contact tracing can no longer be done in the time it needs to be done in. Which means no isolations and exponential spread.
Oh and people have no understanding of math. Constantly hear the death rate is going down! Well there is a second number you need to know To understand impact...how many infections? That and it ignores the high hospitalization rate and long term Organ damage People might be experiencing.
Last edited by ernie; 07-09-2020 at 03:57 AM.
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One of my conservative friends on FB was "calling out" us liberals for shaming and mocking these people who don't wear masks, suggesting we have two options, one to mock and one to respectfully try to convince them of their folly.
As I said to him and the few others that agreed with that, it is like dealing with anti-vaxxers when it comes to these people, probably more so akin to the climate change debate being more about what political beliefs you have rather than listening to science.
I mean go for it, attempt to reason with people who refuse to wear masks, spend your time and energy politely and reasonably trying to reach them, but in my long experience in the skeptic community online, you rarely are able to convince people to change their minds when it comes to something that in the US has become a badge of defience and "freedom" when it comes to those who refuse to wear masks in public.
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One of my conservative friends on FB was "calling out" us liberals for shaming and mocking these people who don't wear masks, suggesting we have two options, one to mock and one to respectfully try to convince them of their folly. ....
Tell them to convince you that Drinking and Driving is ok first. It's the very same argument. Telling someone they cannot operate a vehicle after drinking is infringing on their rights and freedoms. It should be their choice.
The stats are over blown and the death rates stemming from drunk driving are minuscule when looking at the total number of drivers on the road. They are likely only putting themselves at risk.
If they can respectfully convince you of that, then you will extend the same courtesy.
Until they can do that, they don't deserve ANY respect ... and they can GTF away from me and my family with their aerosol generating, disease carrying drivel.
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Pittsburgh and the surrounding region is full of people who vacation in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas. My county had done a remarkably good job through all of this, with our population of 1.2 mil our highest 1 day case increase was 75 back in mid-April. It had trickled to 15-20/day in the county by early June, when everything opened back up (with some restrictions for occupancy of bars/restaurants, salons, etc.).
Then all of these idiots went on vacation and came home, went to bars, went to restaurants (many of which weren't fully following the guidelines) and now we're having 100-240 cases daily, far worse than we ever were during the time we were shut down.
Both the county I live in and the county I work in are in far worse shape than during the "worst" of it, and yet I'm still going to work cutting hair, well closer than 6 feet away, every day now. It's...not the best feeling in the world.
It's incredibly hard to feel anything but dread in this country right now.
I would hope every poster here with their intentional or unintentional "holier-than-thou" opinions of the average American and the glee people are taking in what is happening down south, remember Witty, and remember that the average American is not a red neck bumbling clown. The average American is as smart, thoughtful and caring as any Canadian. And we should be supportive of them, and not taking pleasure in their disaster.
Which often seems to be the case.
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
