Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:
TemporalFlux wrote:

This is why I watch this stuff my co-worker sends me.  This is gold!

https://www.simonparkes.org/post/10th-january-update

The pope has been a hologram since last year!   There has *got* to be a Sliders story in there!

That PURPLE background, clearly written in HTML 1.0, doesn't throw you off??????????

Why are the secrets of all humanity so often imparted by people who haven't learned the secret of WordPress? (The secret is that 20 bucks USD and an eBay account will get you all the templates and plugins you need to craft something that mimics a professional-looking web design. I feel this knowledge was Transmodiar's most vital contribution to my life even though we all know it was his dialogue revisions to SLIDERS REBORN.)

**

Biden won the election. I now resume my customary criticism of America's Grandpop (which is not necessarily an insult as Biden reminds me of my grandfather, a man of moderate ability and immoderate decency who didn't always know what to do but would always find SOMETHING he could do that needed doing however small or large it might and he would make sure to be useful, supportive and present).

Grandpa passed over Bernie Sanders for Secretary of Labor, choosing Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh. This pissed me off. A lot. But Biden provided his explanation and I shall let minds better than mine consider its value.

Joe Biden:
When I say our future will be made in America, it will be a future built by American workers. A future with historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing, and so much more that is going to create millions of good paying jobs. Marty knows worker power means encouraging unionization and collective bargaining -- not just saying you can have the union, but saying that the government should encourage the formation of unions.

It also means protecting pensions, ensuring worker safety, increasing the minimum wage, ensuring workers are paid for the overtime they have earned -- like we fought for in the Obama-Biden administration but this administration has weakened -- and making sure we have a trade policy where, for every decision we make, unions are at the table focused on winning good jobs for American workers.

This is one of the most important departments to me. I trust Mayor Walsh. And I am honored he accepted.

But I also want to say I did give serious consideration to nominate my friend Bernie Sanders to this position. I am confident he could have done a fantastic job. I could think of no more passionate devoted our life to working people in this country.

But after Tuesday's results in Georgia, keeping Democratic control of the United States Senate and a tie vote, Bernie and I agreed -- as a matter of fact, Bernie said: We cannot put control of the Senate at risk in the outcome of a special election in Vermont. He agreed we could not take that chance.

We also discussed how we would work together, travel the country together, helping Marty and me working with men and women who feel forgotten and left a behind in this economy.

We work closely on our shared agenda of increasing worker power and to protect the dignity of work for all.

I want to thank Bernie for his continued friendship and leadership and look forward to us working together with Marty. He thinks I made a good choice.

Biden also said of the attack on Capitol Hill by people who apparently no longer want America to elect its leaders:

Joe Biden:
Initially I was going to talk about the economy, but all of you, all of you been watching what I've been watching. At this hour, our democracy is under unprecedented assault — unlike anything we've seen in modern times. An assault on the citadel of liberty. The Capitol itself.

Let me be very clear: The scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America. Do not represent who we are. What we're seeing are a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness.

For nearly two and a half centuries, we the people, in search of a more perfect union, have kept our eyes on that common good. America is so much better than what we've seen today. Notwithstanding what I saw today, we're seeing today, I remain optimistic about the incredible opportunities. There's never been anything we can't do when we do it together.

This is nonsense. I'm sorry to say this -- I like all the Americans I know and Biden's fine -- but what we saw on Wednesday is exactly what America is: a nation of privileged white people who think they can attack their own elected government with impunity and are so certain in their supposed immunity that they photographed and filmed themselves attacking a government building and carrying zipties and planting pipe bombs and carrying weapons -- encouraged by their (soon to be former) president, permitted by the very police officers supposedly there to guard the premises and allowed to walk away (although it occurred to federal agents to look up the selfies to arrest some of these people afterwards). These are privileged white people in a country that was founded on enslaving black people to do all the labour, who are enraged that being white and loud doesn't put them at the top by default.

This doesn't have to be what America will be tomorrow, but it's what it was on Wednesday and it's what it has been historically even as people have fought and suffered and sometimes given their lives to change the United States into a less appalling version of humanity. As many have said, democracy has proven to be the worst form of government except for all others that have been tried. But to claim that America is a shining, polished gem of human conduct and that Wednesday was an aberration --

Joe. Grandpa. It's a kind lie. I understand the need for leaders to talk to us as though we're who we should be instead of who we actually are. And if that's what you need to do, then go ahead, Grandfather. But even a kind lie is still a lie.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

https://mobile.twitter.com/NickLutsko/s … 5167604736

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

One person shows up to the anti Twitter purpose on Trump’s behalf.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/11/2222 … latforming

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

can you believe this is NOT Chuck Norris?

https://twitter.com/NunesDrag/status/13 … 1454375938

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Erft3UdW4AIcl2P?format=jpg

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

pilight wrote:

Perhaps it's time to modernize the transition process.  Other modern democracies transfer power within a week of the election, often the next day.  The US still allows enough time to reach Washington by horse.


Like now. The election has been certified. It's over. Why are we still waiting around for inauguration?

I know why, it's because of a law written when jet travel and interstates didn't exist and it actually took weeks to move about the country.

That day is over. It's time we caught up with the rest of the civilized world.

It should be...

First Tuesday in Nov: Election Day!

Second Tuesday in Nov: Electors vote in their states

Third Tuesday in Nov: Congress certifies the electoral count

Third Wednesday in Nov: Inauguration Day!

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I'm on board with that as well.  Especially if there's going to be more nonsense.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Well, it ultimately didn’t serve him, but I’m sure Al Gore appreciated having some time for recounts in 2000.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Why do we need to alter centuries worth of procedure and tradition simply because ONE maniacal crook can't follow them?

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

Why do we need to alter centuries worth of procedure and tradition simply because ONE maniacal crook can't follow them?

Because the delay is too long and it doesn't make any logistical sense.  As pilight said, other countries are able to transfer power in a fraction of the time it takes us.  It can't be immediate because I'm sure there's a learning curve with every government job, but even before Trump, these lame duck periods are a waste of time.  Nothing gets done, and anything that gets rushed out (like the Yemen stuff) can easily be undone once the transfer of power is over.

I'm all for tradition and I do believe that Trump is a unique character, but almost three months is such a long time.  Especially in times like this, where a leader is doing such a bad job that we've replaced him, think of all the lives that could've been saved if Biden was in office December 3.  Still 4,000 deaths a day because Trump didn't have a centralized plan for the vaccine. 

I agree with TF - the process needs to play out.  But this has been certified for a while now.  There's no reason for a month gap between the states certifying and congress doing the same.  There's no reason for a two week gap between then and now when nothing can be done.

Trump can be the reason we make a change, but we've probably needed to make that change for a while now.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

Why do we need to alter centuries worth of procedure and tradition simply because ONE maniacal crook can't follow them?

How many maniacal crooks would be sufficient to justify changing it, do you think?

It's not like changing it is unprecedented.  The lame duck period used to even longer, with inauguration day coming in March.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

pilight is right. One psycho in the White House is reason enough to fix the rules. The next president with a vindictive streak for losing an election might not be as stupid, incompetent and inept as Donald Trump.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Guys, the Electoral College meets when, mid-December?  Then you have the holidays and whatnot when Congress is in recess.  Nobody in Congress has any interest in modifying that schedule, trust me.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Grizzlor wrote:

Guys, the Electoral College meets when, mid-December?  Then you have the holidays and whatnot when Congress is in recess.  Nobody in Congress has any interest in modifying that schedule, trust me.

That's why I suggested getting it done before Thanksgiving.

The electoral college meets whenever the law tells them to.  It can be changed.  We don't need six weeks for the electors to travel to the state capitol by stagecoach anymore.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Yeah and we aren't married to November either.  We could do it in October an inaugurate in November if December has to be a dead zone. I'm not saying Trump is the only reason, but he can be the reason we do it.  We could've saved tens of thousands of lives if Biden could've been in office months ago.  We're sitting around and waiting for no good reason.

And it's the same for previous presidents.  The only time a transition time is beneficial is when the transfer of power is one party to the next.  Anything Obama accomplished during his lame duck period could've been done in a month and whatever he did could be easily undone by Trump (executive orders, etc).  Congress was elected at the same time and they're already sworn in and working.  Only the presidency is delayed like this.

And I get that transitions take time.  But there could always be some sort of period where Trump and Biden's staffs are working together even if Biden is in office.  So a transition period with the new guy in power instead of the old guy.  It works everywhere else so I'm not sure why it wouldn't work here.

But Grizzlor's right - it'll never happen.  At least not in this political climate

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Seeing that Biden’s stimulus plan includes the promised $15 minimum wage (including tipped minimum).

People do understand that this change will just cause the price of everything to double?  The quality of life of the Burger King employee will improve zero - they’ll be exactly where they are now.  However, salaried workers not under a minimum wage will see no pay raise while facing the new double prices.  It will effectively cut salaried worker income in half.

There is no gain in this scenario.  Only loss.

1,816 (edited by ireactions 2021-01-15 12:35:04)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I have done a bit of work with people in the $15 and Fairness minimum wage campaign, so TF and I are on opposite ends of this debate.

The position papers I’ve read on this note that corporations have marked as little money for wages as possible to mark as much money for profit as possible and have plenty of flexibility on setting prices. With currency conversions and fuel and material prices, wages have a negligible effect. Corporations are perfectly capable of allocating a small percentage of their gross to paying workers a living wage while still keeping most of it for themselves.

In addition, corporations that don’t pay employees a living wage force employees to rely on the government safety net for food and health care, a bill that the taxpayer ends up shouldering. Walmart and Amazon should not be depending on government welfare for its workforce. They have the money.

Small businesses in Seattle saw increased patronage after a wage increase because people had more money to spend on them. Quinn’s university, Berkeley, has offered a study concluding that any price increases in New York State after a wage increase were within a rounding error relative to inflation that would have happened anyway.

I think any business that won’t pay a living wage is no business at all and any business that can’t pay a living wage should never be in business. I think that any job that doesn’t pay a living wage is not actually a job but indentured servitude.

I also think that Temporal Flux is a very smart guy whereas I am only average and if TF has concerns, we should listen to him and take what he has to say seriously even if you or I may not agree with his conclusions. Democrats predicted a 2020 wipeout victory. TF shared the Primary Model prediction that Trump would win the election and pointed out: the high turnout of voters who participated in a primary to choose Trump as the nominee indicated the high enthusiasm for Trump — an enthusiasm that proved true and critical when Trump got 74 million votes, losing only to Biden getting a small 9.45 per cent more, and with losses in the House and a tie in the Senate.

Ignore Temporal Flux at your peril. As always, the views of ireactions are (obviously) not the consensus of Sliders.tv and TF is a hell of a lot better at math than I am.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

TemporalFlux wrote:

Seeing that Biden’s stimulus plan includes the promised $15 minimum wage (including tipped minimum).

People do understand that this change will just cause the price of everything to double?  The quality of life of the Burger King employee will improve zero - they’ll be exactly where they are now.  However, salaried workers not under a minimum wage will see no pay raise while facing the new double prices.  It will effectively cut salaried worker income in half.

There is no gain in this scenario.  Only loss.

I have a degree in economics (in addition to my degree in journalism) and I've always sorta come on this side of the equation.  After all, companies don't have compassion and will happily pass whatever extra costs to the consumer.

But I don't think that's true anymore.  A few years ago, one of my jobs was to monitor minimum wage hikes across the country and update our systems so that we didn't underpay anyone.  When Target announced that they were going to be increasing their minimum wage across the board to $15 voluntarily, a lot of companies moved to do the same.  Mine didn't (too expensive overall) but did make lengths to get close.  That was years ago - they could be there by now.  I modeled a situation where they probably could've gotten there by now.

I think prices could go up slightly (a Big Mac in California costs about a dollar more than a Big Mac in Alabama even though labor costs are much higher in California), but I don't think there's enough evidence that corporations are so cold that they'll pass *all* the costs onto the consumer.  I think there's too much risk from a public relations stance for all the costs to double.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

It's possible that I am missing something that Temporal Flux has seen or I am missing some nuance to Temporal Flux's opinion because the idea that all prices double if minimum wage doubles seems -- to me -- to be based on the assumption that the only cost incurred by businesses is employee wages. Surely wages are just one financial factor among rent, power, telecommunications, materials, fuel, supplies, facilities, equipment, advertising, etc.

But I think I would defer to the person with the economics degree to weigh in on that one.

I cannot stress enough in the name of Quinn's bumper stickers, Wade's nametag, Rembrandt's entombed shrine and the Professor's bow tie that the views of ireactions do not reflect the consensus views of this forum.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

With my viewpoint, it really comes down to this - if businesses could handle this ethically, then the federal government wouldn’t need to force them to increase wages.  Just look at Jeff Bezos - he’s playing a numbers game at this point and doesn’t need the money; but he’s not passing it along to his employees.  Bezos would rather have the “high score”.

The owners of these businesses never lose.  They don’t cut their salaries or their bonuses; they do whatever it takes to keep their income level or increase it; and to do that, they either lay off workers or increase prices.

Though it has its own problems, a government managed living wage to supplement hourly pay would probably work better.  Such an idea could spread out the cost more evenly in a population through taxes.  Salaried workers would still lose purchasing power as taxes take part of their income, but it wouldn’t be half.  The two main problems with a living wage program are trusting the government to manage it well (which is rare); and wealth could also run from the US to avoid even the smallest tax increase.  Again, business always wins.

There will always be variations and outliers to behavior, but I truly believe most businesses do not want to help people even a little.  If they did want to help, they would be doing it now.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Did Temporal Flux just advocate for universal basic income? Never again will I think of him as right-leaning.

UpJohn.org takes the position that a minimum wage increase will see the cost passed onto the customer -- but that the cost will likely be about 1.8 per cent (0.36 per cent for every 10 per cent increase).

But I defer to Slider_Quinn21 and Slider_Quinn21's economics degree to tell me if this paper is trustworthy. https://research.upjohn.org/up_workingpapers/260/

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

Did Temporal Flux just advocate for universal basic income? Never again will I think of him as right-leaning.

In truth, I don’t like it; but something is going to change now, so it’s choosing the best of those options.

It would be easier for me to swallow the basic income idea as long as it’s handled like our unemployment system where you must show you are trying to get a job in order to receive the benefit.  I don’t want people sitting around doing nothing and getting paid as much as the people working their tails off.  That’s fundamentally not fair.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

And in other news, the MyPillow guy is apparently trying to stir it up:

https://www.mediaite.com/news/mypillow- … necessary/

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

TemporalFlux wrote:

In truth, I don’t like it; but something is going to change now, so it’s choosing the best of those options.

It would be easier for me to swallow the basic income idea as long as it’s handled like our unemployment system where you must show you are trying to get a job in order to receive the benefit.  I don’t want people sitting around doing nothing and getting paid as much as the people working their tails off.  That’s fundamentally not fair.

Well, for anyone over 67, I’d want them to be able to do nothing.

For anyone under 67, I think universal basic income would also need universal housing that’s like the student dorms I used to live in — a bed and shared showers and bathrooms for an entire floor — so that if you did nothing, you wouldn’t be on the street, but you wouldn’t have any luxuries without employment to build them.

That said, I don’t subscribe to the idea that the unemployed in this economy (and pandemic) choose not to work.

I wonder who’ll be right on this. Temporal Flux’s intellect is greater than mine, but that also means his errors are correspondingly larger. Slider_Quinn21 knows more than I do, but he has been on opposite ends of this argument.

Anyway, if Temporal Flux is right about minimum wage, I will fly out to his town to buy him dinner at the Olive Garden and if Slider_Quinn21 turns out to be right, I will fly out to Austin and buy him dinner at the Alamo Drafthouse (or whatever equivalent of these institutions exist by the time going to America is anything but some sort of weird suicide pact).

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

And another bit from the MyPillow guy:

https://mobile.twitter.com/RexChapman/s … 3252910080

This whole thing is an odd string-along.  His “news” has a definite expiration date; everyone will know it’s garbage on January 21 when Biden is in the Oval Office.  Conspiracy theories are usually designed to be a little more open ended.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

TLDR: If you're currently using cotton masks, it's time to switch to medical grade masks with liquid resistant layers, electrostatic filtering and a nose wire to seal the mask to your face. COVID-19's developed some highly contagious variants with higher viral load.

Very concerned about masks right now. Anti-maskers like our suicidal death cultist Kyle declare that masks don't work, don't prevent COVID-19 -- but the reality is that it depends on the mask.

When the pandemic first hit, North America was unprepared, supplies of medical grade masks were needed for hospitals, so the population was encouraged not to use up the supply. As a stopgap measure, non-health workers were later asked to wear non-medical face coverings; masks made of cotton with earloops.

I don't believe these face masks protect the wearer. I've been examining them closely and when I hold cotton face masks up to a dim lightbulb, I can see the outline of all the threads. Droplets containing the COVID-19 virus wouldn't be stopped by an absorbent layer of cotton that has gaps visible to the human eye.

They would protect the person around the wearer, however, in that if the wearer coughed or sneezed, the large sized droplets from their mouth would be blocked by their own mask. Which is why it helps if people wear them: they prevent a COVID-carrier from transmitting even if they themselves are unprotected.

During the shortages, my mother was wearing disposable non-surgical masks -- these masks look like a surgical mask but made of what's basically tissue which has the same failing as a cotton mask: no resistance to droplet absorbsion. And unlike a cotton mask, these disposables were too thin to be washed and reused. A cotton mask could at least be reused after being sprayed with disinfectant.

I did, however, find a way to augment cotton masks by slipping in a PM 2.5 activated charcoal filter. Positioned over the nose and mouth, the filter could block any droplets that passed through the mask. However, this still leaves a problem: cotton cloth masks lack a nose wire to clamp the mask over the bridge of the nose. Without a clamping wire, there is a gap on both sides of the nose where droplets can make it in, possibly slipping past the charcoal filter. And worse, my mother would never remember to put in the filter if it fell out.

The cloth masks with filters have been adequate, likely reducing viral load in any exposures. However, we're now seeing new variants of COVID that are more transmissible -- but I still see people on the streets and in grocery stores with cloth mask after cloth mask -- often intricately patterned or colour coordinated to their clothes -- and with medical grade masks now more available, I think it's time to move from adequate protection to the best possible protection.

I'm on a rotation of KN95 masks with a charcoal filter added. KN95s have a full seal around the entire perimeter of the mask. My mother says she can't breathe through them. I've put her on a rotation of surgical masks -- these are 3-layer masks with water-blocking layer upfront, an electrostatic layer underneath to catch any particles, a cotton layer against the face, a nose wire for sealing, and I've clipped in charcoal filters for her as well. These surgical masks aren't as tight as the KN95, but it's the best mask that I can get her to wear.

The trouble with these masks: if you spray them with disinfectant, they lose the hydrophobic and electrostatic properties. So after using each mask, I put them in a paper bag marked with the day of the week and let them sit there for a minimum of 72 hours for any virus on it to die.

I still have a bunch of cotton masks with a filter and I'll use them if passing through the hallway of my condo building to check mail or take out garbage and recycling because there are few if any people around, but I wouldn't wear these for any situation with more than one other person present.

COVID-19 is spreading more easily and the new variants have more viral load. We can't count on cotton anymore. I cannot stress enough in the name of Quinn's coils, Wade's leather jacket, Rembrandt's new boots and the Professor's waistcoats that the personal views of ireactions do not reflect the -- wait, you know what? This is not a personal opinion. This is a statement of fact. Friends, protect yourselves and those around you. Get the good masks.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

My Pillow guy was a crack head after all

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

Did Temporal Flux just advocate for universal basic income? Never again will I think of him as right-leaning.

UpJohn.org takes the position that a minimum wage increase will see the cost passed onto the customer -- but that the cost will likely be about 1.8 per cent (0.36 per cent for every 10 per cent increase).

But I defer to Slider_Quinn21 and Slider_Quinn21's economics degree to tell me if this paper is trustworthy. https://research.upjohn.org/up_workingpapers/260/

Places like Walmart love the $15 minimum wage because it busts unions and lets them wring their hands over laying off people in favor of automation.

UBI is fantastic and should be for everyone. This comes from a Ron Paul Republican.

Andrew Yang is running for NYC mayor. Hope this is the start of something amazing.

Earth Prime | The Definitive Source for Sliders™

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

When I saw that Andrew Yang was running for mayor, my first thought was, "I'm very happy for Transmodiar and I hope this is the start of something amazing."

1,829 (edited by ireactions 2021-01-20 19:33:56)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

QAnon weeps that Trump didn't have some masterplan to stop Biden's inauguration, founder gives up.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/2 … day-460926

Domestic terrorists shocked that Trump wouldn't pardon the cons and marks he got to riot in his name to try to stop electoral votes counting, astonished that Trump only pardoned those from whom he hopes to get money or help avoiding prison.

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2021/01/20/cap … didnt-get/

Local SLIDERS fan relieved that he accurately predicted that Trump would give up and spend his final days in the White House eating hamburgers and French fries and looking at the ceiling in bed.

http://sliders.tv/bboard/viewtopic.php?pid=11034#p11034

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Biden honeymoon with me persists as Dr. Fauci is at last unmuzzled and says he's free to speak on the pandemic with full support from the White House:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/us/p … cCwj4Jc_aI

Biden warms my heart declaring to his appointees that abuse and harassment will not be tolerated among his staff and is an on the spot firing offence. He also swears them in via Zoom because he doesn't do superspreader events.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/202 … ot-vpx.cnn

Senate stalled.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/2 … lay-461348

I should say, I felt as happy with my Prime Minister after his election. But now, he's had three ethics violations, bought an oil pipeline despite his commitment to climate change reform, given up on electoral reform because he's barely holding a minority government, just had to fire his Governor general for abuse and harassment...

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Oh thank God. Criticism time!

Biden's vaccine plans are pedestrian at best. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2224 … n-100-days

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

The way the National Guardsmen are being treated is a national disgrace. 5,000 troops made to stay in a parking lot with one power outlet and one washroom that had two stalls. And there is no COVID prevention procedure and over 200 of them have gotten sick.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/2 … tol-461220

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/2 … tol-461220

I'm not sure if Biden is personally responsible for this, but he is organizationally responsible for addressing and resolving it.

That said, this outrage and frustration feels familiar and I'm almost relieved because I thought God had forsaken me in allowing me to have a few hours in relative calm over the state of America.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Very interesting article on minimum wage.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019 … -be-raised

Not sure if its assertions are true. It could certainly just be telling me what I want to hear.

**

I upset someone today. I logged onto a Discord to ask a blogger whose work I enjoy if he'd be reviewing Something. The channel was expressing a lot of grief over the disaster zone that is America right now. I thought I could say something kind by sharing the values I've generally absorbed from CAPTAIN AMERICA comic books -- that Americans are good people who have an incredible capacity to work together to solve their problems, that they have, like any society, made some disastrous choices, but that the American ideal of equality and freedom from monarchs and feudalism and a strong middle class and leadership chosen by people rather than birth is something special and I'm sure that America will find its way again.

The blogger told me that such views of American exceptionalism were repulsive and appalling and offensive that he would ban me from his channel if I kept typing and would likely ban me from his channel regardless and I thanked him for his writing and left and won't go back.

I guess I misread that. I was -- I thought -- being polite in that when your friends (or people with whom you wish to be friendly) are upset, you highlight their strengths and express confidence that they can solve their problems. But I'm going to have to rethink whether or not it's the crowdpleaser I thought it was to say that "Americans are good people who will pull together."

Realistically and truthfully, Americans are an alarmingly white-centric, prejudiced society hostile to objective scientific information and inexplicably certain that genetic origins make them exempt from any consequences after engaging in assault, armed insurrection, bioterrorism -- but Americans are also a nation of scientific minded engineers, civil rights leaders, thinkers, philanthropists, social justice activists, public servants and people who believe that they can govern themselves (even if they often screw it up).

No other society would have created the superhero. As a neighbour to America, I sometimes watch in consternation and dismay, but I also look on at times with admiration and respect and I think any friendship will see the pendulum swing back and forth between the two. I do believe in American exceptionalism -- but I believe that every society has some point of exceptionality. I don't believe in exclusive exceptionalism.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Biden's upped his vaccination goal to 150 million people by his 100th day in office. It's still too low for herd immunity. America needs to get 300 million by then to reach herd immunity.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2021 … ccine-goal

Fauci during a town hall was asked about the US government getting N95 masks to every person in America. He said that N95 masks are too uncomfortable and that people would not wear them consistently, so whatever masks people wear have to be comfortable enough to be worn constantly.

There's a fair point to that. I wear KN95 masks myself (a variant on an N95 mask that has earloops instead of the straps wrapping around the back of the head). I can't get my own mother to wear a KN95 mask. She says she cannot breathe through it. I've gotten her to wear surgical masks (hydrophobic, electrostatic filtering like the N95, but without the 360 seal of an N95).

The other problem with supplying an N95 or surgical mask to every person in America: these masks cannot be conventionally washed. Soaking eliminates the electrostatic charge that gives these masks their strong filtration properties. Spraying them with disinfectant has the same effect. The only real way to reuse is to, after each wearing, put the mask in a paper bag or envelope for 72 hours, let the virus reach non-viability during that period, and then put it back in your mask rotation again. This is rather complicated for the general public to adopt to a near-universal level, and you also need to have enough KN95s to rotate between them while putting any worn ones out of circulation for three days.

But the US government could still supply masks. The simplest mask that would work for the widest number of people: it would be a 3-layer cotton mask with a nose-wire (to create a seal and prevent glasses from fogging up) as well as a filter pocket and adjustable earloops (to fit as many people as possible). Such masks are intended for use with a PM2.5 filter in the filter pocket. A PM2.5 filter is activated charcoal in a slip of cloth that offers both physical filtering and electrostatic filtering like an N95 (albeit without the wide coverage and 360-seal of an N95).

If America could supply every man, woman and child with (a) 10 3-ply masks with a nose wire and a filter pocket (b) 360 PM2.5 filters and (c) instructions to wear the mask once, throw out the filter, disinfect the mask, replace the filter and wear it again -- everyone would have a year's worth of gear to protect themselves from the heavier viral load of the new COVID-19 variants as well as each other.

It wouldn't be as good as the N95 or KN95 mask because the seal on such masks is not as tight or along the entire perimeter of the mask, but the PM2.5 filter would be pressed against the nostrils and mouth and that would have to filter at least 70 - 85 per cent of particles -- certainly below the 95 per cent filtration of an N95 but well above the level of a cotton mask with no filter that serves to contain droplets from the wearer but wouldn't protect the wearer from exposure.

I've written a letter suggesting as much.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

The vaccines haven't been approved for children, which makes 300M impossible.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I didn't realize that. Thank you.

**

Anecdotal anecdote: I used to get a severe cold every other month. After some dietary changes and supplementation, I would get a severe cold once in the fall and twice in the winter.

But for 2020, I have had no severe colds. No sick days in the winter. No sick days in the fall. I had to dig up my HR records to confirm this, but the year the pandemic hit was the first year I didn't take a single day off work for illness.

It's because I've been wearing a mask. At the start of the pandemic, I was on construction dust masks that I'd spray with disinfectant after each wearing. Then I moved to surgical masks as they became available. Since the fall, I've been largely on KN95 masks whenever going into buildings that aren't my home. Three-ply surgical masks with a PM2.5 filter added in if I'm running short on KN95s. Three-ply cotton masks with a PM2.5 filter in the filter pocket if I'm going out for a walk or taking out the garbage or recycling. Masking didn't just protect me from COVID-19; it kept me from getting any illnesses at all. If I get to March 2021, it'll have been my first 12 months ever without taking ill.

Even after a vaccination, even after the pandemic is lifted, I'll be wearing a mask at the start of fall and at the start of winter. (Three-ply cotton with a PM2.5 in the pocket.)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/3 … eam-464017

Trump has lost his impeachment defence lawyers. Not that it matters. He could just represent himself. Senate won't vote to convict him.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

My country has declared Proud Boys a terrorist group, and they'll be listed among incels.

Canada's done lots of other stupid crap lately, though. Wakanda, we are not.

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Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/3 … eam-464017

Trump has lost his impeachment defence lawyers. Not that it matters. He could just represent himself. Senate won't vote to convict him.

He could not show up at all and he still wouldn't get convicted

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

It sucks because the trial is a waste of time and it will hurt Biden more than it will hurt Trump.

Especially since Trump has been very quiet since leaving office.  He can't run the party without a platform to speak from, right?

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Biden is a politician and he signed up to be hurt. Everyone should feel free to take a swing at him. It's the president's job to be the country's punching bag; it is without question the worst job in America and Biden is a deeply average and mediocre human being (as are most of us).

My question is -- will a Trump trial hurt the people? Or will it help them? Will it heal the country? Or will it deepen its wounds?

I honestly don't know, you're a deeply polarized nation.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I don't think it'll help or hurt.  People will vote on party lines and it won't matter.  Republicans will be mad at Democrats and vice versa.  If I were Schumer, I'd just spend half a day on it and call a vote.  Get it on record for 2022 races and move on.

Trump is content, at least for now, to stay on the sidelines.  That's enough of a win for now.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Biden's administration is trying to work out how to mail masks to every home in America. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurk … ts-spread/

I recently had to give away my entire supply of KN95 masks. My sister had been insisting that my mother start double masking with two surgical masks, my mother protested she couldn't breathe. In the summer, I'd done fit tests with her for KN95 masks, but she said she couldn't breathe through them. But she tried one on now and this time, she could breathe through them. A KN95 with an added PM2.5 filter is six layers, superior to any double mask, and as a senior, if she can wear a KN95, it's the only one she should wear.

I'm currently wearing surgical mask a with PM2.5 filter, repossessed from my mother. My face is odd: surgical masks sit loosely at the sides on most people, but for me, they sit securely without gaps and even moreso with the filter under the mask. I also have three layer cotton cloth masks with a filter pocket. But I feel safer with the surgical mask because with a PM2.5, that's two layers of electrostatic filtering when a cotton mask with a filter pocket only has one electrostatic layer. Except the cotton mask with a filter pocket also has adjustable earloops to wear the mask tonight and really press the filter against the mouth and nostrils for a tighter seal and I'm not sure which one is better.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/1 … ter-468748

Project Veritas and James O’Keefe are banned from Twitter.

I’m sure Kyle would say this just proves how real and true these deceptive video editors and hoaxers are. I’m also sure that he’s seething about it while insisting it’s not an issue that his favourite news source is being deplatformed.

**

Gina Carano fired from all STAR WARS projects for comparing anti-Trumpism to anti-semitism, lying that the election was stolen, lying about face masks being unnecessary and I'm really stunned at her behaviour and loved her in the movie HAYWIRE. But any time someone who used to fight people for a living behaves this way, I wonder if they have brain damage from their various blows to the head.

https://www.cracked.com/article_29593_3 … iring.html

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

White House deputy press secretary gets to scream abuse at female reporter in exchange for a week off work:
https://theslot.jezebel.com/white-house … 1846261023

And here we are. The Biden administration turns out to be a political enterprise dedicated to protecting its own.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

So they're going to call witnesses.  Lindsey Graham has been threatening the Democrats to not call witnesses and was reportedly upset that they voted to do it.

I don't like prolonging the inevitable, but I think getting McCarthy or whoever under oath and making them tell the truth could be really damaging.  They could get in a lot of trouble if they lie, and they could make the Republicans' votes really difficult.

Let's see what happens.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Witnesses weren't called -- and I don't see what good it would have done. Trump was not going to be impeached successfully. Republicans remain in thrall to their cult leader. But Trump will be investigated for electoral interference in Georgia and financial fraud in New York and there could be a strong case for negligent homicide as well.

**

I've come to the conclusion that between my cloth masks with a PM2.5 filter and my surgical masks, the surgical masks provide the most filtration through their electrostatic properties. The cloth mask may seal more firmly to the face, but the electrostatic filtering is limited to the surface area of the filter which is smaller than the mask that holds it. In contrast, the surgical mask has electrostatic filtering across its entire surface.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Rush Limbaugh has passed.

Love him or hate him, he did give us a focal point in the season one episode, “Prince of Wails”.  Sheriff Arturo was patterned after Limbaugh - especially the tv show and the book:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/slWHVMniIOU/hqdefault.jpg

http://www.slidersimages.com/1c/1c151.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5EBXUlV-yZhORh6wWdgdM76joCaDQ5yza0A&usqp=CAU

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I was listening to Tracy Torme's January 2021 Dark Matters podcast and he had some interesting political views.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/kgra/dmr0 … io-tracy-t

Torme said that he felt that the virus had been politicized; that now, someone's masking identifies where they stand politically. He added that his family has been split down the middle by the virus; he has a sister who is very strict and obsessive about masking and sanitizing and social distancing from all friends and family. Meanwhile, he has other family members who dismiss any precautions with the two extremes ripping them apart.

Tracy says that he himself is "in the middle" in that he "takes it seriously" but doesn't obsess. He then described how, for I AM LEGEND, he did a lot of research on pandemics: ebola, smallpox and how horrifying those pandemics were in the past. Torme also described how he recently invited an apparently homeless person to move in with him and his wife for the pandemic.

The host seemed to be a fervent Trump supporter. It was interesting: the host said Biden was ridiculous to ban referencing COVID-19 as the "China virus"; Torme remarked that the Constitution protected free speech. The host said he quit watching football after seeing football players kneeling for the national anthem; Torme said he didn't like people hating on America but could never stop watching football. The host said Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was overblowing her claim that Ted Cruz tried to murder her; Torme replied that while he grew up a Democrat, he finds that Democrats have been radicalized into a lie of wokeness, that the label racism has been vastly overexpanded, and that Democrats have stumbled into an ill-advised love affair with communism and a destructive disdain for capitalism. Torme also wondered if then-President Trump would be able to reveal the truth about UFOs.

Torme seemed to pick up points of discussion in his Trump-supporting friend where he had his own parallel opinions and points of intersection, but I couldn't entirely tell if he agreed or disagreed in his responses touching on adjacent matters and his love for America and the US Constitution. However, someone who isn't aware of Torme's Libertarian politics and healthy disdain for both sides of the political spectrum might mistake his responses as support for Trumpism, just as quotes of Torme declaring himself a radical leftist in past interviews might give the wrong impression that he's a Democrat.

He reminded me of Temporal Flux saying here that he watches both CNN and FOX and finds his answers in the middle.

I wonder if this ability to position himself in the middle is why Torme had and has such a gift for social commentary that is subtle and amusing and artful. As much as I love SOUTH PARK, SOUTH PARK only speaks to people already in agreement with SOUTH PARK. Torme's writing gives you something to think about, but it doesn't tell you what to think.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I had  heard that interview a bit ago and must have missed some of the portions you mentioned.  I'll give it a re-listen.  Tracy's documentary has done rather well.  He talked about the doc on that podcast in the past during its infancy and development.  The name changed and him and his collaborator had creative differences and they ended up moving on without him.  But the project has ended up being fairly successful.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

TOM: "Hey, I got some bad news -- I got your package, but the envelope was ripped open and it was empty!"

IB: "Damn. I'll send you the flash drive again."

TOM: "I tell you, our post office system is really bad these days! Trump made so many cuts to it. It was rough before that too!"

IB: "I am so sorry, Tom. It is entirely my fault. I had a chance for Quinn Mallory to take Donald Trump down back in 2016 and I chose not to use it, that's on me."

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

TOM: "Hey, I got some bad news -- I got your package, but the envelope was ripped open and it was empty!"

wow did this really happen?

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

https://i.ibb.co/gJwqbhP/dejoy-disaster.jpg

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

ireactions wrote:

https://i.ibb.co/gJwqbhP/dejoy-disaster.jpg

wow.  i've had packages with stuff stolen....  i am not sure  if it was USPS but  it used to happen a lot with video games.

1,855 (edited by Slider_Quinn21 2021-03-30 09:34:34)

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I don’t know if this is where we brag but I got my first shot of Pfizer!

(I put it here because the vaccine is VERY political)

1,856

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I got 2 of Moderna a few weeks ago.

PS: I never realized Limbaugh was being slightly lampooned in Prince of Wails.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

I envy you both. I don't expect to be vaccinated until July. Until then... well, it's all about masks for me.

I've been obsessively fit-testing my mother and I've come to the conclusion that the duck-bill shaped KN95 mask, despite four layers of filtering and a 360 seal design -- well, it just doesn't fit my mother's face properly. It's always leaving gaps around her nose after she walks or speaks. Her face and cheeks have an unusual structure that just shifts any mask she wears from breathing and moving. A mask that doesn't seal is a mask that can't protect.

I got her some KF94 masks. Imagine a KN95 duck-bill mask with an unexpanded surgical mask worn on top of it. A KF94 mask is designed to have those two pieces stitched together. Unfortunately, these masks also shifted off her nose and created gaps after a few steps and a few breaths.

I have gotten my mother 25 three-ply surgical masks. The large surface area of these masks means that they can shift on her face without letting the air through. And this is the only kind of mask that firmly wraps around her face without gaps. I've put in PM2.5 filters to add to the protection.

And I myself now have 25 KN95 masks, 50 KF94 masks, and about 60 PM2.5 filters for my own use. Seventy five high filtration masks isn't the same as a vaccine, but it's what I've got.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

Come to Texas!  Making the vaccine easy to get (regardless of residence) is the *only thing* we've done right.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

When time, work and travel restrictions permit, I would actually like to visit Austin, Texas. It's one of my favourite cities in the world on account of the TV show FAKING IT taking place there and I would of course want to take you and your family to dinner followed by dinner again at the Alamo Drafthouse.

Re: American Politics: Discuss and Debate

My mother is booked to get her first shot of Moderna early next week and her second shot in four months' time. It's not ideal, but it's what we've got in addition to (now) 50 surgical masks with full fluid resistance and eletrostatic filtering, 25 KN95 masks, 50 ASTM Level 3 masks with a full 360 seal, 125 PM2.5 filters and a year's worth of hand sanitizer.

I expect to get my first shot in July and my second in September.