The Politics of Covid 19, mask wearing and the vaccination process

[LordMortis]

Is it any wonder the word patriot conjures distrust and/or disgust in me nowadays? I want the word back. Why don't you co-opt another word, like dunghole? Maybe egomanical? Or perhaps shitforbrains?

Patriot has been synonymous with right wing lunatic as long as I can remember. Maybe things were different up your way?

It's always been synonymous with extreme nationalism but for me extreme nationalism wasn't the always the same as extremist willfully ignorant nationalism. I don't think the word really started to get tainted for me until the Patriot Act. It may have been misused by some or even many but it wasn't synonymous with distrust. It's all been down hill from there and now if there is a such thing as trigger word. For me, that's it.

[Defiant]

The United States squandered both money and lives in its response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it could have avoided nearly 400,000 deaths with a more effective health strategy and trimmed federal spending by hundreds of billions of dollars while still supporting those who needed it.

That is the conclusion of a group of research papers released at a Brookings Institution conference this week, offering an early and broad start to what will likely be an intense effort in coming years to assess the response to the worst pandemic in a century.

U.S. COVID-19 fatalities could have stayed under 300,000, versus a death toll of 540,000 and rising, if by last May the country had adopted widespread mask, social distancing, and testing protocols while awaiting a vaccine, estimated Andrew Atkeson, economics professor at University of California, Los Angeles.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... SKBN2BH1DK

[Smoove_B]

NBC News: President Biden will announce at his press conference today a new vaccination goal of 200 million doses administered in his first 100 days, @PeterAlexander reports on @MSNBC

.

[coopasonic]

There we go, moving the goalposts again!

[LordMortis]

There we go, moving the goalposts again!

[Zaxxon]

There we go, moving the goalposts again!

A true flip-flopper. Thanks, Obama!

[malchior]

[Smoove_B]

I guess a Chicago hopsital executive bragging about vaccinating Eric Trump is the politics of COVID-19:

Oh hey look, a week later he resigned.

[Blackhawk]

State lawmakers take aim at the emergency powers governors have relied on in the pandemic. (WaPo)

When the pandemic began, the nation’s governors suited up for a new role as state bodyguards, issuing emergency orders to shutter schools, close cinemas and ban indoor dining in an effort to curb a mushrooming threat.

But not everyone likes killjoys, no matter how well-intentioned.

Now, state legislatures — saying the governors have gone too far — are churning out laws aimed at reining in the power of their executives to respond to the pandemic and emergencies like it.

Gee, I wonder what will happen next time there's a different kind of emergency and nobody has enough power left to address it.

Of more personal interest:

The Republican governor of Indiana, Eric J. Holcomb, has backed more lenient coronavirus restrictions than have governors of some neighboring states, giving businesses more generous occupancy limits based on the severity of Covid-19 outbreaks in each county. That did not stop the Republican-controlled legislature from filing 21 bills aimed at loosening his emergency powers, the most of any state surveyed by the Conference of State Legislatures, including a resolution calling for the statewide emergency to be scrapped immediately.

The resolution appeared to be gathering serious momentum until Tuesday, when the governor sought to address critics by lifting a statewide mask mandate and turning business regulations over to local governments.

Both actions go well beyond the easing of restrictions taken in most other states that have relaxed regulations, although local governments retain the right to impose stiffer rules.

We were already doing less than everyone, but now we'll be doing the least. People who could live long lives are going to be corpses. Because politics and power.

I want out. I've been homesick, stuck in somebody else's home town for more than 20 years now. I spent most of my life in cities, and I'm locked in this 4,000-person redneck village. I just want out. The last kid graduates school in about 14 months. We'll still have to stay because Michelle's mother needs our support (her other adult offspring won't lift more than one finger at a time for her.) I don't expect that I'll able to leave for some time.

[Zaxxon]

When you can, come west! The ColOOlorado contingent will accept you. And we have cookies.

[Blackhawk]

When you can, come west! The ColOOlorado contingent will accept you. And we have cookies.

I love Colorado. I spent a good portion of 1990 in the Denver/Golden/Boulder area. But unless things have changed, I would never be able to afford to live in Colorado. One big decider for me will be moving somewhere where we can afford to live on what we have without having to live in a slum to do it. Right now, there are very few places we could move and maintain any decent standard of living, and our income is more likely to go down than up.

[$iljanus]

I should lay off listening to the haunting melancholy that is Max Richter right now. I’m imagining a world that is slowly depopulated due to our negligence in dealing with COVID and we couldn’t keep up with the variants. After the riots and small to mid sized wars there’s an eventual sad acceptance as we go out like a candle that once burned bright. But the Earth endures and even with the remnants of our technology causing environmental issues the Earth wins out and a lush garden vibrant and teeming is reborn...

Yikes, definitely should lay off the news and Max and watch some Resident Alien or Banshee. And getting vaccinated probably would be a nice pick me up.

[TheMix]

When you can, come west! The ColOOlorado contingent will accept you. And we have cookies.

Cookies? We mostly stopped making those here. However, brownies or fudge are a definite possibility.

[The Meal]

There are low cost of living areas in Colorado, but they happen to be in the reddest parts of the state, so what sort of trade-off would that be? (Probably still a positive one, as the state-level governance is still rather sane, especially compared to Indiana.). Still, living in Lamar (say), may not offer a lot of appeal overall.

[Blackhawk]

Yep. Part of the appeal of moving is to get out of a small town. To live in a place again that has things like 'theaters', and 'museums', where there are restaurants that don't all have minor variants of the same food. Where you can need a doohickey and drive down to the doohickey store to try the options out rather than ordering blindly online. To be able to find people to engage in hobbies (board games, RPGs), etc. Moving to a town with nothing in it would be a sidegrade, save for a change of scenery.

[The Meal]

Yeah, if you're looking for low-COLA urban areas in the US, my understanding is you'd be looking at cities in the South (which, again, come with their own trade-offs, of course).

[Daehawk]

Michigan must tell Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients that it was developed using stem cells

Good job repugnicans. Im sure that will help with CoViD deaths.

Residents of Michigan receiving the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine must be told it was developed using a stem cell line originating from an aborted human fetus, according to a state law passed by Republicans.

[Smoove_B]

I know I've said it before, but even if I live to be a hundred years old, I'll never vote for another Republican ever again.

[malchior]

I know I've said it before, but even if I live to be a hundred years old, I'll never vote for another Republican ever again.

Same here. At any level.

[LordMortis]

I'm very uncomfortable with the idea of committing to never voting republican again but I can't foresee what makes me turn that corner and actually vote for an elephant at any level. I'm the kind of person who can't see the path to remaining with someone after they've cheated on you. I just don't know how to get through it and what the GOP has done is so much more than that. Putting my faith, my trust, in to anyone who wants to caucus with what this party is... Nope. You can be my ideal of conservative and then lose my vote simply by going "yeah, the GOP is better than the democratic party of this country"

[Unagi]

Michigan must tell Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients that it was developed using stem cells

Good job repugnicans. Im sure that will help with CoViD deaths.
V

Residents of Michigan receiving the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine must be told it was developed using a stem cell line originating from an aborted human fetus, according to a state law passed by Republicans.

So did the ‘other two’, just in a different phase of development...

[Lorini]

There needs to be a rational, science based party that is not based on racism and money but yet has ideas that Dems don't. If the GOP gets destroyed in 2022, who knows, maybe that party will show up.

[Zaxxon]

There needs to be a rational, science based party that is not based on racism and money but yet has ideas that Dems don't. If the GOP gets destroyed in 2022, who knows, maybe that party will show up.

That's the dream I don't dare dream.

[El Guapo]

There needs to be a rational, science based party that is not based on racism and money but yet has ideas that Dems don't. If the GOP gets destroyed in 2022, who knows, maybe that party will show up.

That's the dream I don't dare dream.

The odds that the GOP gets destroyed in 2022, given general mid-term patterns, pending gerrymandering, and voter suppression, and given their structural advantages, is close to zero. I'll be satisfied if the Democrats manage to hold onto the Senate while losing the House.

[Zaxxon]

There needs to be a rational, science based party that is not based on racism and money but yet has ideas that Dems don't. If the GOP gets destroyed in 2022, who knows, maybe that party will show up.

That's the dream I don't dare dream.

The odds that the GOP gets destroyed in 2022, given general mid-term patterns, pending gerrymandering, and voter suppression, and given their structural advantages, is close to zero. I'll be satisfied if the Democrats manage to hold onto the Senate while losing the House.

Hence the not daring to dream part.

[Jaymon]

You can't destroy the party that has the money, unless its the money that wants a new party.

[Lorini]

You can't destroy the party that has the money, unless its the money that wants a new party.

Both parties have the money no question. But only one party cares about either racists or wealthy people. There could be money that could want a rational alternative to Dems. We'll see about 2020, I’ve read plenty saying the GOP is terrified because they’ve lost the suburbs. And those ridiculous voter suppression laws may not stand up in court.

[LordMortis]

I’ve read plenty saying the GOP is terrified because they’ve lost the suburbs.

In Michigan, this is not true. The GOP are losing more of the university educated class and the blue collar class are asking questions. That's not a good mix and mostly leaves the wealthy, the trust funded, the Calvinist Christian, the bigots, and the old. I would like to convince myself this is a small and shrinking group but I've been shown to be wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong again on that front.

[Blackhawk]

You can't destroy the party that has the money, unless its the money that wants a new party.

They can destroy themselves by splitting into factions, though.

[Archinerd]

I know I've said it before, but even if I live to be a hundred years old, I'll never vote for another Republican ever again.

Same here. At any level.

I'm not willing to say "never". I can think of some extreme edge cases where a Republican may be the lesser evil. It's not very likely though.

[LawBeefaroni]

I know I've said it before, but even if I live to be a hundred years old, I'll never vote for another Republican ever again.

Same here. At any level.

I'm not willing to say "never". I can think of some extreme edge cases where a Republican may be the lesser evil. It's not very likely though.

Willie Wilson vs. the field.

[Blackhawk]

I will also never vote for a Republican. If there is a single-candidate race, I'll skip it or write something in.

Of course, my absolutes always have assumed qualifiers.

[LordMortis]

Wandered in to R&P so X Posting form EBG Covid

I’m sure there are state by state differences, but I’ve read about this happening in more than just my area.

While we are technically still following phases here, informally these larger sites are begging people...ANYbody to come and get vaccinated.

It's not just state by state, it's area by area. Michigan plans to open up next week, but my PCP still can't get any vaccines at all, Wayne County is still on 65+, and I just lucked in to a CVS opening for 50+ 20 miles away, when just yesterday I couldn't get in anywhere but by commuting to Ohio being 50+ with existing conditions.

And yet I know other people in their 20s with nothing to bump them to the front of the line who have already had their 2nd dose and my 79 YO father with conditions just got his 2nd dose last week.

With expanding the players and the logistic systems, it's still looks like we'll be in more shots than arms "soon" but at the same time, I may live in the most willfully ignorant state in the nation.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/coronavirus/c ... he-country

We're number 1!!! As I figured we would be after St Patty's day. We can't even look at literally the exact same thing from a year ago and learn even a little.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 983313002/

And the squeaky wheel will get the grease. Whether Red in 2020 or Blue 2021

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 983313002/

[Zaxxon]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Declares Governor's Mask Mandate is Unlawful. I tend to agree that this is the 'right' decision based on Wisconsin law, but come on, man. That just means the legislature done dropped the ball bigtime.

[Smoove_B]

Because I love sharing stories about Ohio:

As soon as Ohio opened up its coronavirus vaccine eligibility to residents over 70, Jennifer Salzano threw herself into finding an appointment for her mom, who’s 72 and has heart disease and diabetes.

For the next few days, Salzano was hunched over her phone, scouring dozens of Kroger, CVS, and Walgreens sites for any appointment near her mom’s home in Columbus, the state capital. At midnight, when a slew of new appointment times would get released, she’d dash to the family computer and try again.

The result was always the same: no availability.

“I was kind of like, this is never going to happen,” Salzano told The Daily Beast.

But then her dad suggested she might have better luck if she looked in the parts of Ohio where denial about COVID’s risks was high—and demand for vaccines was low.

“So I just googled ‘Trump landslides in Ohio,’” then I looked at the nearest county and the biggest city in that county, and I found an appointment,” Salzano told The Daily Beast.

[Zaxxon]

[malchior]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Declares Governor's Mask Mandate is Unlawful. I tend to agree that this is the 'right' decision based on Wisconsin law, but come on, man. That just means the legislature done dropped the ball bigtime.

I gave the decision a read - this was more than the legislature dropping the ball. Beyond that Wisconsin's legislature is incredibly gerrymandered so they aren't even looking to play ball. The dissent really eviscerates the majority decision which was split along partisan lines and reads like an overreach. They went well beyond the relief demanded and ended up striking down Executive Orders not in the lawsuit. It appears to be an activist and partisan decision.

Edit: This is also properly framed as yet another in a line of activist, partisan COVID-19 Wisconsin Supreme court decisions.

[Zaxxon]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Declares Governor's Mask Mandate is Unlawful. I tend to agree that this is the 'right' decision based on Wisconsin law, but come on, man. That just means the legislature done dropped the ball bigtime.

I gave the decision a read - this was more than the legislature dropping the ball. Beyond that Wisconsin's legislature is incredibly gerrymandered so they aren't even looking to play ball. The dissent really eviscerates the majority decision which was split along partisan lines and reads like an overreach. They went well beyond the relief demanded and ended up striking down Executive Orders not in the lawsuit. It appears to be an activist and partisan decision.

Edit: This is also properly framed as yet another in a line of activist, partisan COVID-19 Wisconsin Supreme court decisions.

Don't get me wrong--it's certainly not ideal. But if the reading of the law that the governor can't just re-up emergencies without legislative approval is correct, then the headline ruling is correct, at least on its face. Also, a dumb law.

[malchior]

Don't get me wrong--it's certainly not ideal. But if the reading of the law that the governor can't just re-up emergencies without legislative approval is correct, then the headline ruling is correct, at least on its face. Also, a dumb law.

That's the point here. We have good reason to think their reading *isn't correct* and that the majority wanted to overturn the mask ban for partisan reasons. Keep in mind this court is 5-2 Conservative and Wisconsin is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country in favor of the GOP. Scott Walker packed the court with ultra conservatives. Even then the dissent is written by one of the Conservatives saying the other ones are hacks. It's a really blistering dissent. They essentially hung together a series of paper thin legal arguments, had to overturn a century of precedent, and then misinterpreted the text. I really recommend at least reading the dissent because she really laid gloves on them.

Just to break it down a little. To even hear the lawsuit, they had to invent a rationale that ignored a century of legal precedent. The dissent points out all the case law they threw out from the get go to even entertain the lawsuit. After they kicked over the hurdle because it was inconveniently in the way about the question of standing, the dissent goes on to point out their interpretation is wrong because they didn't even do a basic analysis of the text. She said they somehow omitted key words from their analysis that undermine their conclusions.

Edit: The reason I say read the dissent is that she goes to the pain to walk through the text in question to point out the hackery. These guys didn't even interpret the law. They just made up shit or as she more nicely said to paraphrase - they threw up blinders and chose to ignore the meaning of the word occurrence that appears in the law and says they chose to ignore that the masks orders were tied to new outbreaks. It's pretty blatant.

[malchior]

The Atlantic

It is a great read. It is a searing indictment of someone who has caused real harm to public health. I also found it interesting to see the author's decision process weighing whether he should amplify a conspiracy theorist versus exposing them.

The pandemic has made fools of many forecasters. Just about all of the predictions whiffed. Anthony Fauci was wrong about masks. California was wrong about the outdoors. New York was wrong about the subways. I was wrong about the necessary cost of pandemic relief. And the Trump White House was wrong about almost everything else.

In this crowded field of wrongness, one voice stands out. The voice of Alex Berenson: the former New York Times reporter, Yale-educated novelist, avid tweeter, online essayist, and all-around pandemic gadfly. Berenson has been serving up COVID-19 hot takes for the past year, blithely predicting that the United States would not reach 500,000 deaths (we’ve surpassed 550,000) and arguing that cloth and surgical masks can’t protect against the coronavirus (yes, they can).

Berenson has a big megaphone. He has more than 200,000 followers on Twitter and millions of viewers for his frequent appearances on Fox News’ most-watched shows. On Laura Ingraham’s show, he downplayed the vaccines, suggesting that Israel’s experience proved they were considerably less effective than initially claimed. On Tucker Carlson Tonight, he predicted that the vaccines would cause an uptick in cases of COVID-related illness and death in the U.S.