Convinced yet...?

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Kurieuo
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by Kurieuo »

edwardmurphy wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 8:26 am
Kurieuo wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:06 amYou don't know it'll be Trump for another four years? I wonder how some people are going to cope when that happens.
RickD wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 4:49 amLiving in Florida, I may be able to go see Brady in Tampa, if the tickets aren’t too expensive.

I already can see the Red Sox play there.
Sounds like what you're saying is that you condone Trump's behavior, but for some reason you don't wish to defend it.

And I'd be happy to discuss Tom Brady and the Sox in one of those friendly chit chat areas. This space is labeled Politics and World Events.
Firstly, I think my sentence should have read "You do know it'll be Trump for another four years?" That's just what I'm seeing. Time will tell. I just wonder how people like yourself will be, will there be another four years of anti-Trumpism? So much time wasted over the course of 8 years.

As for condoning, I don't know much about it, and really, don't much care. I do know it's spin from MSM, and perhaps like most people today, I have very little trust in such so hold it in very little regard. Whatever protests happened without Trump's comments, so... it'd be more enlightening for MSM to have them spell out the substance of the peoples' grievance against what I'm gathering was governor overreach (??), than to try and do some negative spin off onto Trump.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by edwardmurphy »

Kurieuo wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:18 pmI just wonder how people like yourself will be, will there be another four years of anti-Trumpism? So much time wasted over the course of 8 years.
Totally. The golf, the TV, the tweeting, the feuds...

To answer your offensively dismissive question-statement, if Trump continues to be a corrupt, incompetent, hyperpartisan criminal then I'll continue to point it out, but if he pulls his head out of his ass and actually makes an effort to appeal to anyone behind his base and if he actually manages to provide the new healthcare system and the massive infrastructure bill that he promised (or even makes an organized, competent, good faith effort) then I'll give him the credit he's due. My concerns aren't petty, and they're not really even partisan. Donald Trump is a corrupt, incompetent, dangerous moron who lacks the ability to accomplish the hard, desperately necessary tasks (healthcare, infrastructure) and lacks the character to rise above politics to unite the nation.
Kurieuo wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:18 pmAs for condoning, I don't know much about it, and really, don't much care. I do know it's spin from MSM, and perhaps like most people today, I have very little trust in such so hold it in very little regard. Whatever protests happened without Trump's comments, so... it'd be more enlightening for MSM to have them spell out the substance of the peoples' grievance against what I'm gathering was governor overreach (??), than to try and do some negative spin off onto Trump.
Ok, so you don't actually know what's going on or much about what's being reported, but because it comes from the media you don't trust it so you're confident that they've provided no context and have limited their coverage to anti-Trump spin...?

Well, I care about knowing stuff, so I made an effort to find out. I also process gathered information better if I talk it through or type it out so here goes.

There are basically 2 sides in this debate.

One side is the CDC, the WHO, the global medical establishment, most of the governors in the US, and about 65% of the US public. Their position is that, while social distancing sucks and it would be fantastic to reopen the economy, we cannot safely do so until we've created the large-scale diagnostic capability that's required to use the Test-Trace-Isolate model that's been so successful in places like South Korea. At the moment we simply don't have it. I wish we did, but we don't. Period. The infection rate seems to have leveled off, but we're still seeing 30,000 new cases a day, even with widespread social distancing. According to infectious disease experts, if we rapidly reopen our economy before we get the needed diagnostic capability in place the result will be a large, sustained spike in the infection rate. If that happens it will overwhelm our hospitals, which are already badly strained in many places, kill a bunch more people, and force us to start another round of social distancing, doing even more damage to the economy. Therefore it's critical that reopening the economy be a careful, deliberate process that doesn't start until we have enough tests to do it safely, and doesn't fully happen until there's a vaccine. That's a bitter pill, but there it is.

On the other side are some business leaders, a handful of TV doctors, a few right wing political donors and activists, a few religious leaders, some small business owners, and a lot of white, working class Trump supporters. According to ReOpen Maryland their position is basically this:
“Government mandating sick people to stay home is called quarantine. However, the government mandating healthy citizens to stay home, forcing businesses and churches to close is called tyranny.”
The obvious problem with their argument is that the majority of cases are apparently both highly contagious and asymptomatic, but I digress.

The different groups within this camp have varying motivations (generally speaking).

The small business owners and working class white guys don't trust "experts" or the "Democrat Party" and they want the economy to reopen right now, They're not deliberately reckless - they seem to generally support social distancing in places with outbreaks - but they think that the risks are overstated because Covid-19 hasn't reached their communities, but economic hardship has. They want Trump to take decisive action to put them back to work before they lose their jobs, businesses, and houses.

The major business leaders are losing money. They want to stay open and ride it out because they believe that the economy must be protected.

The right wing donors and activists, who are providing the money and manpower to organize the "protests," see a political opening and are looking to create anti-Democratic sentiment in key swing states that currently have Democratic governors. They especially want to damage Gretchen Whitmer (in Michigan), because there's been some buzz about her being tapped as Joe Biden's running mate.

The President was grudgingly in the first camp a couple days back, but then the thinly veiled Trump Trump rallies emerged so of course he undercut his own Administration's policy and egged on the protesters.

I'm obviously in the first group. Since March 15th we've been isolated with 2 little kids trying to homeschool, teach gymnastics, and stay sane while every interesting thing in the region is closed. Last week the governor - a moderate Republican - announced that schools are out for the year, so we've got another 7 weeks of this [poop] ahead of us. It sucks, but we're also among the fortunate. I'm furloughed, but my wife is a school principal, so she's well paid and in a recession-proof job. We have health insurance. Our home is nearly paid off, we live in a desirable location, and we have lots of equity. We have money in the bank, and someday - hopefully not soon - I'll receive a pretty nice inheritance. I can afford to take the long view, and frankly the virus is a bigger threat to my family than an economic depression would be.

I also grew up in a family that was dead broke and spent the first 15 years of my life living hand to mouth. If this had happened back then my mom would have lost her job and then the house. I sympathize with the people who stand to lose everything, and I hope that Congress can get their [poop] together and pump out some more stimulus - with safeguards so the in-crowd doesn't steal it all. I completely understand why they want to go back to work right immediately. Everything went sideways in a week. We're all shocked, we're all grieving, and we're all frustrated, but if we move ahead too fast we'll just make things worse for ourselves. A cycle of Pandemic-Recession-Recovery is awful, but it's better than Pandemic-Recession-Pandemic-Depression. We have non-partisan experts who have spent their lives studying, planning, and rehearsing for this situation. We need to trust them.

I have no sympathy or understanding for the political activists pushing for an immediate return to normalcy. They see an opening and they're willing to gamble our lives to increase their own influence. Their behavior is irresponsible and shameful.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by RickD »

You missed a third group. A group like Dr. David Katz, that advocates for herd immunity.

And it’s possible that some in your 2nd group, actually fall into the 3rd group. And contrary to your obvious bias towards those on the right, the 2nd group may actually listen to experts like Dr. Katz.

https://davidkatzmd.com/is-our-fight-ag ... e-disease/
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by DBowling »

RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:56 am You missed a third group. A group like Dr. David Katz, that advocates for herd immunity.

And it’s possible that some in your 2nd group, actually fall into the 3rd group. And contrary to your obvious bias towards those on the right, the 2nd group may actually listen to experts like Dr. Katz.

https://davidkatzmd.com/is-our-fight-ag ... e-disease/
We have a lot more real data regarding covid-19 than when Dr. Katz wrote this article.

When Dr. Katz wrote that article a month ago there were less than 200 covid-19 related deaths in the United States.
In the month since Dr. Katz wrote that article the number of deaths in the United States has jumped to over 34,000.

And the social distancing policies implemented by the governors in our country have succeeded in 'flattening the curve' and saving the lives of American citizens. That's real life data, not some hypothetical theory.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

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This is from Dr. Katz's website.

Image

He's saying pretty much the same thing that all the other experts have been saying, and it damned sure isn't "open 'er up and let herd immunity take care of it." In order for herd immunity to be effective you need 92% of the population to be immune to the disease. At present we have no idea how many people have had asymptomatic infections or recovered from mild infections without realizing it, but the fact that we're getting 30,000 new confirmed infections every day strongly implies that herd immunity is not yet in place.

Nobody wants us all to hunker down until the vaccine comes out. Nobody is advocating for that. As Dr. Katz says, the return to normalcy must be preceded by a massive improvement in testing capability and the collection and analysis of a ton of empirical data, and it must proceed gradually and cautiously.

The problem with these protests, other than the fact that they're stupidly exposing themselves and their families to unnecessary risk, is that their only apparent goal is to rush ahead with a return to normalcy without taking the time to do any of the long list of things being advocated by Dr. Katz, Dr. Fauci, the rest of the scientific and medical community, most of our governors, and the Trump Administration (minus the President). And they're doing it holding AR-15s for some [love] reason.
Last edited by edwardmurphy on Sun Apr 19, 2020 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by RickD »

This link is from today, from a segment airing tonight.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/david-kat ... d-immunity
John 5:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.


“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
-Edward R Murrow




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Re: Convinced yet...?

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Yeah, I get it. But read what he wrote on the page I posted. He's saying that herd immunity can be in place before the vaccine is ready, but he also lists a lot of conditions for reopening that haven't been fulfilled yet. He's not saying we need to reopen immediately or all at once. In fact, he's saying that we can't do that.

Those protestors/Trump ralliers need to calm down, go home, and wait for word from the experts - including Dr. Katz.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

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edwardmurphy wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 12:34 pm Yeah, I get it. But read what he wrote on the page I posted. He's saying that herd immunity can be in place before the vaccine is ready, but he also lists a lot of conditions for reopening that haven't been fulfilled yet. He's not saying we need to reopen immediately or all at once. In fact, he's saying that we can't do that.

Those protestors/Trump ralliers need to calm down, go home, and wait for word from the experts - including Dr. Katz.
And why are you saying that he’s not saying we need to reopen everything immediately?

I never said that he said that. I just posted his views as a third option. Notice, he also said flattening the curve isn’t enough.
John 5:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.


“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
-Edward R Murrow




St. Richard the Sarcastic--The Patron Saint of Irony
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Re: Convinced yet...?

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RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:55 pm Notice, he also said flattening the curve isn’t enough.
That is correct...
But since we don't yet have the resources for comprehensive testing, an effective treatment or a vaccine, social distancing is the only tool we have to reduce the number of Americans killed and flatten the curve so our hospitals are capable of handling the new covid-19 cases.

As Ed pointed out, these 'protesters' who ignore social distancing regulations for the sake of a political rally are not only endangering their own lives, they are risking the lives of their loved ones and everyone they come into contact with.

It is irresponsible and ignorant to attack those who have put into place effective regulations that are flattening the curve and saving American lives.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to ignore social distancing regulations and put yourself and even more importantly your loved ones at risk.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to encourage Americans to place their lives at risk and participate in political rallies during a pandemic.

These are no brainiers... regardless of where we may fall on the political spectrum.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

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DBowling wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:46 pm
RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:55 pm Notice, he also said flattening the curve isn’t enough.
That is correct...
But since we don't yet have the resources for comprehensive testing, an effective treatment or a vaccine, social distancing is the only tool we have to reduce the number of Americans killed and flatten the curve so our hospitals are capable of handling the new covid-19 cases.

As Ed pointed out, these 'protesters' who ignore social distancing regulations for the sake of a political rally are not only endangering their own lives, they are risking the lives of their loved ones and everyone they come into contact with.

It is irresponsible and ignorant to attack those who have put into place effective regulations that are flattening the curve and saving American lives.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to ignore social distancing regulations and put yourself and even more importantly your loved ones at risk.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to encourage Americans to place their lives at risk and participate in political rallies during a pandemic.

These are no brainiers... regardless of where we may fall on the political spectrum.
You can say ignorant and irresponsible a hundred times. You can put ignorant and irresponsible in bold, underline them, put them in quotes, etc. but that doesn’t make it true. It’s your opinion. Dr. Katz disagrees with you. If you read the article you’d see where he talks about letting people move about, so they get infected and recover. That way they have the antibodies, and eventually it gets to the point that enough people have the antibodies, and that stops the spread.
John 5:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.


“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
-Edward R Murrow




St. Richard the Sarcastic--The Patron Saint of Irony
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by edwardmurphy »

RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:55 pmAnd why are you saying that he’s not saying we need to reopen everything immediately?
Because you said this:
RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:56 amYou missed a third group. A group like Dr. David Katz, that advocates for herd immunity.
RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:56 amAnd it’s possible that some in your 2nd group, actually fall into the 3rd group. And contrary to your obvious bias towards those on the right, the 2nd group may actually listen to experts like Dr. Katz.
The people in "the second group" are marching in the streets with Trump signs and guns, demanding that the economy be reopened immediately. If they're listening to Dr. Katz that seems to imply that they think his statements on herd immunity support their position, which they don't.

My bad if I'm reading to far into your statement.

Also, what part of my description of the protestors/ralliers and their motivations was inaccurate or unfair?
RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:56 amI just posted his views as a third option. Notice, he also said flattening the curve isn’t enough.
It's not a third option, though. Herd immunity isn't a strategy, it's just what will hopefully develop as we ease restrictions and get back to work. And nobody thinks that flattening the curve is enough, either. It's just our first move - Step 1, flatten the curve so that the medical system doesn't collapse. Step 2, start working to get people back to work and life back to normal while the scientists work 20 hour days on a vaccine.

All of these fake protests are irresponsible and dangerous. If they grow they could even undo a lot of the good we've done with all this damned social distancing. None of us wanted to sit in our houses twiddling our thumbs for a month, but we did it for a reason. We gave up a lot to save lives, and it's working. Having it undone by morons trying to make a political point would really piss me off.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by RickD »

Ed,

I couldn’t care any less about people protesting.

Really. I’m not one for protesting. It’s not my style.
John 5:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.


“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
-Edward R Murrow




St. Richard the Sarcastic--The Patron Saint of Irony
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by DBowling »

RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:27 pm
DBowling wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:46 pm
RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 1:55 pm Notice, he also said flattening the curve isn’t enough.
That is correct...
But since we don't yet have the resources for comprehensive testing, an effective treatment or a vaccine, social distancing is the only tool we have to reduce the number of Americans killed and flatten the curve so our hospitals are capable of handling the new covid-19 cases.

As Ed pointed out, these 'protesters' who ignore social distancing regulations for the sake of a political rally are not only endangering their own lives, they are risking the lives of their loved ones and everyone they come into contact with.

It is irresponsible and ignorant to attack those who have put into place effective regulations that are flattening the curve and saving American lives.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to ignore social distancing regulations and put yourself and even more importantly your loved ones at risk.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to encourage Americans to place their lives at risk and participate in political rallies during a pandemic.

These are no brainiers... regardless of where we may fall on the political spectrum.
You can say ignorant and irresponsible a hundred times. You can put ignorant and irresponsible in bold, underline them, put them in quotes, etc. but that doesn’t make it true. It’s your opinion.
The reason my statement is factually true is not because it is my opinion.
The reason my statement is true is because it aligns with the available data and medical experts like Dr. Fauci who is on the President's commission.

And yes, I do place more value on the credibility of Dr. Fauci than on the personal opinions of anyone on this board... including myself.
Dr. Katz disagrees with you. If you read the article you’d see where he talks about letting people move about, so they get infected and recover. That way they have the antibodies, and eventually it gets to the point that enough people have the antibodies, and that stops the spread.
The thing your statement is overlooking is that as people move about and get infected, lots of people get sick, the hospitals get overrun (as we have observed in America and Europe) and lots of people die before the surviving population has the required antibodies to resist the virus.

Survival of the fittest and lots of people dying is not a legitimate plan, and I highly doubt that is an accurate representation of Dr. Katz position either.
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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by RickD »

Your statements may or may not be true. We just don’t know right now. And calling people ignorant who don’t agree with your opinions, is ignorant.

You do understand that every week that passes, more is learned about this virus, and how we handle it gets adjusted?

There is no consensus on this virus at this time.

And saying that people who are out in the open are ignorant, is just ignorant, because you don’t know.

So stop acting like those that disagree with you are ignorant, and that you know it all.

FYI, since this entire pandemic started, none of us at my hospital were practicing social distancing. We weren’t even wearing masks up until a couple of weeks ago. And not a single employee out of thousands, has shown any coronavirus symptoms, nor tested positive. I guess we're all ignorant too?
John 5:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.


“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
-Edward R Murrow




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Re: Convinced yet...?

Post by DBowling »

RickD wrote: Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:27 pm So stop acting like those that disagree with you are ignorant, and that you know it all.
I said no such thing!
And you need to stop with the misrepresentations and straw man arguments.

Just to be clear about what I said...
It is irresponsible and ignorant to knowingly disregard social distancing regulations that have been shown to SAVE LIVES!!!!! for the purpose of a political rally.
It is irresponsible and ignorant to encourage others to unnecessarily risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones for the purpose of a political rally.

There are legitimate reasons to "go out" during a pandemic.
I went out twice today...
- To pick up groceries.
- To pick up carryout from a local restaurant (to support my local economy)
Both of these were consistent with the recommendations from the state and federal governments and food (unlike political rallies) is a legitimate necessity.
I also go on daily walks with my wife which again are consistent with the recommendations from the state and federal governments.

I am unaware of any state or federal government guidance that recommends violating social distancing practices during a pandemic for the purpose of a political rally.
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