Rating Ron DeSantis’s Approach to Covid-19 - WSJ - " The data validates that California and New York relied on the wrong science to manage Covid. The science Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis relied on, provided by Stanford’s Jay Bhattacharya, Harvard’s Martin Kulldorff and Oxford’s Carl Heneghan and Sunetra Gupta, proved to be the correct science. This is the science documented in the Great Barrington Declaration—the science that says protect the vulnerable but safely arrive at herd immunity as quickly as possible. It shows that Anthony Fauci, the World Health Organization and the CDC have had us on the wrong course since day one. Before another pandemic occurs we need a national plan on how to handle it. The plan should require that three models be prepared. One model identifying the impact of the disease on a stand-alone basis—the projected infections and projected deaths. The second model should consider the impact of deferred medical services that will occur for all other medical conditions—the projected medical and financial costs. The third model should include the economic cost—we cannot let the next Covid-like crisis cost $9 trillion. Insurance companies put a value/cost for each death and we as a country need to consider this for the next pandemic. Regarding these three models, we need input not just from the Fauci/WHO/CDC crowd, but from the doctors mentioned above, the Barrington report folks and beyond. The suggestions from all the groups need to be publicized and debated for the public to see and understand."
"Ms. Finley ends her article with the question, “What has Andrew Cuomo learned?” He has learned that gross mismanagement, especially during a crisis, will earn one the Biden administration gold standard of governorship, and will reward New York with more federal bailout money than Florida, despite having a smaller population. And we have all learned that in a Democratic-run America, losers trump winners."
Meme - "I've found most D&D players take coronavirus seriously. We know two things from experience:
(A) a 2% risk is *not* as low as it sounds.
(B) no matter how high your Constitution score, you can *always* fail your saving throw."
D&D also teaches you that life is about managing risk and that if you stay in your village forever because you don't want to be killed by Goblins you'll always stay low level and will never get any loot
D&D teaches you that if you put on a girdle of +5 disease resist, you can't use the girdle of +5 fire resist
Rolling 1 = 5% chance. Much higher than covid risk. Especially for the young and those without comorbidities
Comment (elsewhere): "Goblins are the Covid-19 of the D&D realm. Just imagine all the taverns closing, adventurers cowering in their basements and boarding up the entrance to the dungeon because any small chance of death at the hands of a goblin is not worth any amount of wealth, companionship, or prosperity... The whole point of your OP is knowing statistics. Anyone who's played D&D extensively knows that it's entirely possible to lose a fight you should have won easily just by rolling a few ill-timed 1s."
Increased emergency cardiovascular events among under-40 population in Israel during vaccine rollout and third COVID-19 wave - "Cardiovascular adverse conditions are caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and reported as side-effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. Enriching current vaccine safety surveillance systems with additional data sources may improve the understanding of COVID-19 vaccine safety. Using a unique dataset from Israel National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) from 2019 to 2021, the study aims to evaluate the association between the volume of cardiac arrest and acute coronary syndrome EMS calls in the 16–39-year-old population with potential factors including COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates. An increase of over 25% was detected in both call types during January–May 2021, compared with the years 2019–2020. Using Negative Binomial regression models, the weekly emergency call counts were significantly associated with the rates of 1st and 2nd vaccine doses administered to this age group but were not with COVID-19 infection rates. While not establishing causal relationships, the findings raise concerns regarding vaccine-induced undetected severe cardiovascular side-effects and underscore the already established causal relationship between vaccines and myocarditis, a frequent cause of unexpected cardiac arrest in young individuals. Surveillance of potential vaccine side-effects and COVID-19 outcomes should incorporate EMS and other health data to identify public health trends (e.g., increased in EMS calls), and promptly investigate potential underlying causes."
Time to force a retraction of this "irresponsible" paper
Denmark the first country to halt its Covid vaccination program - "Denmark has become the first country to halt its Covid vaccination program, saying it is doing so because the virus is now under control. “Spring has arrived, vaccine coverage in the Danish population is high, and the epidemic has reversed,” the Danish Health Authority said... the public can still be vaccinated over the spring and summer if they want, and that vaccination sites will remain open around the country."
Japan is loosening its tourism travel ban, but many Canadians wanting to visit family there still face near-impossible hurdles - The Globe and Mail - "Japan is one of fewer than a dozen countries that have remained closed to foreign tourists since the start of the pandemic. It shut its borders in 2020 and has only intermittently reopened them for people visiting the country for non-tourism reasons, like business or study – most recently in March. Until recently, there were no exceptions for family members of Japanese residents, meaning Ms. Grift was unable to visit. She saw a glimmer of hope when the Japanese government announced a new travel visa in February that would allow family to fly into the country as early as April. But getting the visa requires complicated supporting documentation, such as a letter from a guarantor and a full itinerary. And applications can only be submitted in person, at Japanese embassies and consulates... If a Japanese citizen is caught violating quarantine or testing requirements, even accidentally, the potential penalties include fines and having their personal information disclosed publicly. Foreign nationals with permanent residency, like Mr. Valiquette, can be stripped of their immigration status and even deported. Mr. Valiquette said he was considering flying his entire family to Canada last month, but decided not to do so because he feared the Japanese government would tighten the entry requirements without warning. If that were to happen while he was away, he would be unable to return – separated from his livelihood, wife and children. “On a whim, Japan almost seems ready to cut off any sort of aid to their immigrant population,” he said. “Being kicked out seems like it’s way more on the table here.”... Japan initially announced in February that it would begin letting students back in on March 1. Upon hearing the news, Mr. Fukushima bought a plane ticket so he could visit home in December. Within weeks, the Japanese government walked back the readmission policy as it worked to curb the spread of the Omicron variant... “I also feel pretty angry at the government still for banning all foreign residents at the beginning – including permanent residents.”"
Meme - Jennifer Wright @JenAshleyWright: "He drove out of state to kill people. He is a murderer."
Jennifer Wright @JenAshleyWright: ""Actually, I did my own vaccine research and-" Research getting a medical degree or fuck off."
Meme - "The 30 years old Coomplier
saves for QR tattoo
got COVID after every jab
"AAAAAAH I'm COOMPLYINGGGG!!!"
tattoo buried his vaxxed mom
"if only everyone coomplied, we'd be back to normal"
worships Fauci
vaccinated his newborn before circumcision
secretly excited about new variants because new variants because he can coomply more
"Why won't you coomply, don't be selfish""
The fact that no country went back to normal proves that even in China covid restrictions were too lax and people were too irresponsible!
Meme - "Its 2050. While tucking your grandchild to sleep, your child asks you, "ah gong, my teacher told me last time no need yearly injections, go out no need wear masks and can gather as many people as you want. Is that true?" Ahhh. Suddenly those memories came flooding back. The sweet sweet liberty of partying at Zouk without the need to perform SafeEntry. The rush of cool night wind against your maskless cheeks as you 'you strut down Orchard Road to join your 9 besties for dinner. Going overseas was just a simple matter of grabbing your passport, packing your luggage and go. SIN - KUL flights were just $80 round trip, and suppers in JB were a thing. Yearly flu shots were for those kiasi people - completely voluntary. Your trip down memory lane was disrupted by your phone's notification sound. Ding! "MMTF 10.0 Announces Tightening of Measures as New Variant Found." You sighed, but what is new? Like clockwork, you proceeded to cancel all your social plans (which had already been at 5pax), and went to schedule for your 30th booster jab soon as your TraceTogether app has been sending reminders that your fully vaccinated status will be expiring in a few days time. Before that, you remind yourself to head to the pharmacy tomorrow to get more Paracetemol and other OTC medication to deal with the inevitable side-effects from the booster jab. For Singaporeans with families overseas, you called them and told them that this year's holiday reunion meal is cancelled. Yet again, even though you have been looking forward to seeing them despite the exorbitant price tag of VTL tickets and exhaustive battery of COVID tests. You all cry, but what is new?"
WATCH: Bill Gates says COVID is a ‘disease mainly of the elderly’ with ‘low fatality rate’, likens it to the flu - ""At that point, we didn't really understand the fatality rate. We didn't understand that it's a fairly low fatality rate, and that it's a disease mainly of the elderly, kind of like the flu, although it's a bit different than that.""
Time to ban him from social media for spreading "disinformation"
‘Lockdown established a new caste system’ - "The Covid lockdowns of the past two years have left a trail of devastation in their wake. When the virus first hit, governments across the world rushed to shut down their economies and keep children out of school. At the time, this was viewed as a necessary and rational response to the viral threat. But the collateral damage is now overwhelming. Worse still, the pain caused by lockdown has not been shared equally. It has largely been felt by those at the bottom – by the working classes of the developed world and those living hand-to-mouth in developing countries...
Bhattacharya: In the early days of the epidemic, some economists did a careful analysis of what fraction of jobs in the United States could actually be replaced by work from home. It turns out it’s about 30 per cent. And it’s those 30 per cent of people who benefited the most from the lockdowns, or at least were harmed the least by the lockdowns. You had this incredible situation where relatively young professionals, well-off people with jobs that could be done remotely, were being served by others, sometimes even older people. The laptop class protected itself just fine, having its food delivered to it, while the rest of society basically had to face the risk. I like to avoid superlatives because I don’t like to sound hyperbolic, but this really was the most unequal policy possible. We took this class division and then we turned it into a virtue. If you can stay at home, you are not only staying safe – you are virtuous, too...
Throughout the whole pandemic, we have divided people into clean and unclean, essential and non-essential, can stay safe and can’t stay safe, masked and unmasked, vaccinated and unvaccinated, boosted and not boosted. All of these distinctions are very closely related to class. Western society in the past tried to stop making those kinds of distinctions between the clean and unclean. We tried to view everyone as equal. But during the pandemic that was thrown away... One of the great success stories of the past 30 years is that a billion people in the poorest parts of the world were lifted out of dire poverty – meaning $2 a day or less of income. That was an enormous success. But over the past two years, that progress has gone into reverse and 100million people were thrown back into dire poverty. The consequences of that are almost impossible for Westerners to imagine. Tens of millions of people have been thrown into starvation, effectively. In March 2021, the UN issued a report estimating that 230,000 children had died of starvation in South Asia alone up to that point – 230,000 children! And I bet you that is an underestimate... One telling example of the harms of lockdown is India. When the lockdown happened in 2020, 10million migrant workers living in the big cities of India, who live hand-to-mouth, were displaced. These people buy food, like mangoes or coconuts, and they sell them to the rich of places like Mumbai. They use that money to buy new wares, which they then feed their families with. When the lockdown hit, there was no one to buy this food, so it went rotten. When the lockdown was announced these migrant workers were told to go back to their home villages. People have called this the new Trail of Tears. Their journeys took days. A thousand of them died on the way back to their home villages, crushed in overcrowded trains. Huge numbers had to walk or cycle all the way home, many of whom also died en route. It was an absolutely cruel policy that gave no thought to the living circumstances of some of the poorest people on Earth.""
New Study Reveals COVID Lockdowns Will Cost More Lives Than They Save - "Authored by Canadian economics professor and prolific academic Douglas W. Allen, the study concluded that “lockdowns are not just an inefficient policy, they must rank as one of the greatest peacetime policy disasters of all time”.Allen’s paper, entitled COVID-19 Lockdown Cost/Benefits: A Critical Assessment of the Literature, begins with a bombshell revelation: no government anywhere has provided any formal cost/benefit analysis of their lockdown policies to the public. Instead, they relied on early modelling that vastly overestimated COVID deaths, significantly overstated the benefits of lockdowns, and ignored most of the potential costs that would result from these policies... Most lockdown modelling assumes that, without a lockdown order in place, people will not modify their behaviour. But this is not how people actually behave... Allen discovered over twenty studies that do make this important distinction. Remarkably, he observes that “all of them find that mandated lockdowns have only marginal effects and that voluntary changes in behavior explain large parts of the changes in cases, transmissions, and deaths”. He summarises that “there is almost no consistent evidence that strong levels of lockdown have a beneficial effect.” This becomes clearer when comparing countries that did lockdown with those that didn’t. According to Allen’s research, “jurisdictions with lockdowns often did not avoid large waves of cases and deaths. In many ways, the virus seemed to progress independently of lockdown policy.”... Allen observes that it is common for cost/benefit studies that measure the cost of lockdowns to only use lost GDP as their metric—for example, the 3.5% drop in GDP experienced in the United States during 2020. Excluding the value of lost non-market goods from this equation, however, means vastly underestimating the cost of lockdowns. We have known for a long time that lockdown policies have resulted in:
"A broad range of costs through lost civil liberty, lost social contact, lost educational opportunities, lost medical preventions and procedures, increased domestic violence, increased anxiety and mental suffering, and increased deaths due to despair and inability to receive medical attention."...
As a centrepiece of his research, Allen uses a metric that realistically accounts for these costs to calculate the cost/benefit ratio of lockdowns in terms of life-years saved. He finds that ratio to be 141—that is, the cost of lockdown mandates may be 141 times higher than any benefit they accrue to a population. In concluding, Allen remarks that “the preconceived success of lockdowns was driven by theoretical models that were based on assumptions that were unrealistic and often false. The lack of any clear and large lockdown effect is because there isn’t one to be found.”"
Gretchen Whitmer apologizes for blatant lockdown hypocrisy after getting caught in dive bar - "Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) has had to apologize once again for not following her own public advice, and meeting maskless in a crowded indoor setting with people not from her household. The photo in question surfaced briefly on social media before being deleted by the person who posted it, but by that time, the media had already taken notice... Whitmer, in the course of the pandemic, has famously instituted one of the country's strictest lockdowns, with what critics have called incomprehensible and draconian rules. This incident is added to another potentially even more serious incident, where Whitmer told her constituents to not travel out of the state, and then boarded a private jet to FL in the middle of the cold weather in MI. This plane flight happened right when daily COVID cases were peaking... In addition, the plane flight was mostly paid for with funds from a non-profit organization under Whitmer's control which was established to cover the costs of inaugurations."
Laurence Fox points out media bias in anti-lockdown protests - "London mayoral candidate and actor Laurence Fox spoke to OANN about the media's failure to accurately report the sizable number of attendees at an anti-lockdown march in the UK's capital... Speaking on Natalie Harp's show, Fox said that there "were a few more people than the hundreds that the BBC falsely reported, as the government propaganda department they are." "It was the biggest demonstration that I've ever seen in my life since the Iraq War demonstrations"... Fox also noted the discrepancy in media reports between right-wing and left-wing protests: "It's funny how leftist demonstrations always have a million people there who are sensible.""
Small business org SLAMS Doug Ford over job-killing lockdown - "Dan Kelly, who is the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, tweeted that "giving the growing evidence that it is large warehouses, not small retailers, where COVID is spreading, perhaps Costco, Walmart & Amazon should take a turn in the penalty box rather than Ontario's independent businesses.""
Leland Stillman, MD on Twitter - "You got 4 shots, never stopped wearing a mask, and still got sick. Yet you get mad at me for questioning it."
Confusion reigns on how to behave in a pandemic wave void of guidelines | The Star - "Despite her efforts, Keith and her husband, a car technician, both fell ill with the virus last month after Ontario lifted most of its COVID-19 public health measures. She can’t help but feel angry, like the sacrifices and isolation her family endured were all for naught. “How did we go from ‘we’re in it together, we are a united community’ to ‘every man for himself and I hope you make it to the other side OK?’” Keith wondered. The sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been like no other. For two years, daily decision-making was informed by government mandates that guided people on things like when to wear a mask and how many can gather indoors safely at any given time. But since the lifting of most pandemic guidelines in March, these tools to curb COVID-19 spread have suddenly become a personal choice."
The authoritarian nature of covid hysteria is clearly exposed in this piece. They just want to control everyone else when they can just lock themselves up at home forever if they're so terrified of covid. You also see the sunk cost fallacy clearly displayed
Why we need to change the narrative on outdoor transmission | The Star - "knowing the scientific principle behind the low risk of outdoor transmission, why is this a theme that repeatedly surfaces? This may have to do with “moralization” of the COVID response as discussed by Maja Graso et al. Things that have the appearance of leisure tend to be characterized as “wrong” even if there is a real paucity of risk. This was evident in the response to children trick-or-treating, people skating outside and of course Trinity Bellwoods park. What is lost when moralization enters the COVID discussion are real chances to provide safer alternatives for people... Shaming people for gathering outdoors is likely to drive them indoors, where COVID transmission is far more likely. Let’s use communication to encourage less risky behaviour rather than stigmatize it."
Covid hysteria is a moral panic after all
COVID restrictions are the most severe violation of human rights Canadians have faced and it's time to fight back - "Debate will no doubt continue on the question of whether the use of the War Measures Act in 1970 was truly warranted, or the wisest course of action. Even then, an intrepid journalist recognized its threat to a free and democratic society and, in a refreshingly frank exchange, pressed Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on whether the cost of infringing Canadians' civil liberties to protect diplomats and politicians from kidnapping was worth it. But even during the intense drama and tension of the first two months of the October Crisis, most Canadians could freely continue to work, socialize, and attend schools, universities and houses of worship... Lockdowns are based on the unfounded assumption that asymptomatic people are dangerous spreaders of COVID-19. A meta-analysis of 54 studies from around the world found that within households (where social distancing and other safeguards are practiced less than in restaurants and businesses) symptomatic patients passed on the disease to household members in 18 percent of instances, while asymptomatic patients passed on the disease to household members in 0.7 percent of instances."
Busking pianist fined for breaching COVID-19 rules and ‘causing a crowd’ in York - "Twitter share The street performer was handed a hefty fine and was told he will not be able to busk again until May, despite showing legislation which said he could legally perform. A pianist was fined £200 by police for breaching coronavirus regulations after “causing a crowd” while busking in York. Alistair Lawrence was playing a piano in the city centre over the weekend, when police officers and Covid marshals told the musician he had to stop."
Have school reopening decisions been driven by union influence? - "Districts in areas with stronger unions were less likely to reopen in person... I also noticed a fascinating preliminary analysis by Dr. Jon Valant at the Brookings Institution. He used data from Education Week and found that public school reopening decisions were linked to political partisanship—but not COVID risk—in the surrounding area... Many public school teachers’ unions have fought to remain closed by moving the reopening goal posts every step of the way. At the same time, the preponderance of the evidence indicates that schools can reopen safely and that preventing families from having the option of in-person instruction has harmed children academically, physically, and mentally...
A good solution would be to allow each individual family to make the in-person versus remote-instruction decision for their own children. A better solution would be to fix the root of the problem—the power imbalance—by allowing every family to take their children’s education dollars to the education provider of their choosing. We already fund students directly when it comes to Pell Grants and the GI Bill for higher education and with pre-K programs such as Head Start. The money goes to students and their families who can choose public or private, religious or nonreligious providers of educational services. The same goes for so many other taxpayer-funded initiatives including food stamps and Medicaid. With all these programs, we fund people instead of buildings. We should apply the same logic to K-12 and fund students instead of institutions. If a grocery store doesn’t reopen, families can take their money elsewhere. If a school doesn’t reopen, families should similarly be able to take their children’s education dollars elsewhere. As a matter of fact, families should be able to take their children’s education dollars elsewhere regardless of the reopening decisions. Education funding is supposed to be meant for educating children—not for protecting a particular institution. We should fund students, not systems."
Liberals will be very upset, since they'll claim this is funneling public money to private (and, shock horror, religious) schools
How did the experts get Freedom Day so wrong? - "lockdown extremists have reacted with dismay to the fact that Covid cases have fallen so sharply in England over the past week. The seven-day average of reported cases has decreased by a quarter since its peak on 18 July... India – where the Delta variant originated – experienced a rapid, sustained reduction in cases from early May. Cases have peaked and are now falling in other countries, such as the Netherlands, Malta, South Africa, Greece and Portugal. Some of these were in the Euros, but others weren’t. Whatever the reasons for the recent fall in Covid cases in England, it is striking that it has happened without any additional restrictions. The BBC suggests that this is the first time infections have fallen without a lockdown, conveniently ignoring the evidence that infections were falling in England before each of the previous national lockdowns. And still there is little mention in most of the British media of the fact that infections fell for some months in many US states after they ended all restrictions... The modellers and lockdown enthusiasts were adamant that Freedom Day on 19 July would lead to huge increases in cases and deaths. As recently as last week, Neil Ferguson claimed that the full reopening would lead to at least 100,000 new cases per day and quite possibly 200,000. While it is true that the majority of the fall in cases can be traced back to infections that occurred before the reopening, the very latest data suggests that infections continued to fall in the first few days after Freedom Day. New positive tests seem to have peaked with an average of well under 50,000 per day."
Covid hystericists never learn
Meme - "The year is 2043 Covid variant phi beta epsilon is ravaging 0.0026% of the population, you go outside for your government mandated 30 minute exercise, it's 1 a.m. not the best time, but they alternate your schedule so eventually everyone does get some sunlight. You quadruple mask and put on your plastic helmet. You gaze longingly at the sky. A man riding his bicycle points his flashlight at you "Why aren't you doing your stretches and cardio?" He asks, you recognize him as your neighbor (maybe, it's been some time since you last saw anyone). "It's because of people like you not obeying that the lockdowns have been extended another 4 years." He mumbles through his layers of masks. He reports you to AlphabetGoogle and your social credit score drops 5 points, good luck buying bread this week."
If the covid hystericists haven't stopped in July 2022 after two and a half years, despite vaccines they claim are effective (even if their actions belie that claim), will they ever?
Meme - "White House: the unvaccinated will face a winter of severe illness and death.
Unvaccinated people in April: *hippies in field*"
Meme - "CNN's Leana Wen: The unvaccinated should not be allowed to leave their homes."
Leana Wen, M.D. @DrLeanaWen: "The Gridiron Club dinner was probably a #covid19 superspreader. But events like this should still go on. This is our new normal - one that's based on individuals being thoughtful about their own risks and the risks they pose to others. @postopinions"
Scientists now question the point of mass COVID-19 testing - "two years into the pandemic, health officials in some countries are questioning the merits of repeated, mass testing when it comes to containing infections, particularly considering the billions it costs. Chief among them is Denmark, which championed one of the world’s most prolific COVID testing regimes early on. Lawmakers are now demanding a close study of whether that policy was effective... Japan avoided large-scale testing and yet weathered the pandemic relatively well, based on infection and death rates. Other countries, including Britain and Spain, have scaled back testing... WHO guidelines have never recommended mass screening of asymptomatic individuals – as is currently happening in China – because of the costs involved and the lack of data on its effectiveness. Denmark ultimately recorded similar case numbers and death rates as other countries with less widespread testing. This has prompted a majority of parties in parliament to call for an investigation into the strategy."
Meme - Billl Gates: "2021 was an incredibly hard year for many people, including me, but there are reasons to be optimistic that 2022 will be better"
#4 BILL GATES
COFOUNDER, BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION
$124 BILLION NET WORTH
2020: $98B"
Ryan Gerritsen🇨🇦 on Twitter - "The year is 2050, Top Docs in Ontario say Stage 3 opening may finally happen but probably not. They want to see 120% fully vaxxed before making a decision. Although the rest of the world has moved on and left us behind, they would rather proceed cautiously."
Facebook - "Here’s a delightful headline, followed by a charming article, written by a guy named Jonathan V. Last. I don’t think he likes me. Strap in. It's a doozy. MIKE ROWE'S DIRTY LIES... half the country has lost faith in our most important institutions. We have a massive credibility problem, exacerbated by powerful people who not only moved the goalposts time and time again, but championed the same restrictions they chose to ignore. In my view, this steady drip of hypocrisy helped foster a deep level of mistrust among millions of unvaccinated Americans. If you really need specific examples, just google “COVID-political-hypocrites.” Those are the people to whom I refer, and they are legion... In just a few weeks, we flattened the curve, and we saved lives as a result. But what did our leaders do next? Did they say, “Good job! The curve is flat! Now let’s get back to work!” No. They extended the lockdowns and offered no benchmark as to when the restrictions would be lifted. To this day, we have no criteria as to how many deaths or how many infections or how many hospitalizations are acceptable. They could have told us the truth a year ago, which was more along the lines of, “Two weeks to flatten the curve, and then, an undetermined amount of time to keep it that way.” But they didn’t do that. They simply shut us down, ratcheted up the fear, and told us to trust the science. In short, they treated us like children, and that hurt their credibility... I’m not okay with a noble lie, or an ignoble one. Neither are millions of other people, who would prefer to hear the truth. Toward that end, I’m not comfortable telling people the vaccines are “perfectly safe” when the FDA has yet to approve them. As I said, “there is risk in everything, and I find it unpersuasive to pretend otherwise.”... I’m pro-vaccine, but anti-mandate. I’m also of the belief that half the country doesn’t trust anything Joe Biden says. You can blame the president for this, or you can call me a liar, or you can blame half the country for being unreasonably skeptical, but either way, this administration – just like the last one - has a massive, self-inflicted, credibility problem. I think it’s okay to acknowledge that. In fact, I think it’s critical that we do, if we hope to make a more persuasive case to those who believe they’ve been lied to... The airwaves were filled with various experts and journalists talking with great certainty about the way everything would change when herd immunity was reached. I don’t blame them for being wrong – only for sounding certain. From the start of this mess, politicians, experts, and journalists have all been very long on certainty, and very short on humility. That too, has made them all less credible in the eyes of many... The issue at hand is how to persuade vaccine-hesitant Americans to reconsider their hesitancy. I propose we first acknowledge the reasons they distrust those in power and tell them the truth. You seem determined to dismiss their concerns and tell them their mistrust in our institutions is unjustified. With respect, I don’t think that’s going to work... If Biden really wanted to champion vaccines in the Fall of 2020, he could have said, “My fellow Americans, I am praying that President Trump succeeds in his efforts to create a safe and effective vaccine in record time. I fully support his efforts to do so, and I am personally committed to doing all I can fight this disease, no matter what it means for my own future in politics.” But he didn’t say that, Jonathan. Instead, he blamed Trump for creating a massive lack of trust among the American people. I get that. Trump failed badly at getting half the country to trust him. But can’t you see why the other half now sees President Biden in the exact same way?... “Black and Hispanic people remain less likely than their White counterparts to have received a vaccine, leaving them at increased risk, particularly as the variant spreads.” https://bit.ly/2VA9Cs7 Weird, right? Did all those Black and Hispanic folks worship the Orange God King too?"
Meme - Kyla In The Burgh @KylalnTheBurgh: "It's called EMPATHY .. 90k Americans have lost their lives."
Kyla In The Burgh @KylalnTheBurgh: "Is there a new box I can check stating that by under NO circumstances do I want some unvaccinated fuck to get one of my organs when I die, because I'd love that option"
Meme - Bella @bell_lati: "I just don't understand how people are so detached from reality that they are taking trips for leisure right now. the pandemic is not over, we are in the middle of a huge surge, and soon there will be no hospital beds for ANYONE." - Jan 11 2022
Bella @bell_lati: "planning my road trip from SF to San Diego! what are must see stops on the way?" - Jan 19 2022
How Often Can You Be Infected With the Coronavirus? - The New York Times - "A virus that shows no signs of disappearing, variants that are adept at dodging the body’s defenses, and waves of infections two, maybe three times a year — this may be the future of Covid-19, some scientists now fear."
They're not giving up
