America - The Official Thread

[Danoff]

"I believe in Christ and Donald Trump, but when he said get the vaccine he didn't mean the COVID one because it's not a vaccine, but he also didn't necessarily mean go out and get a vaccine immediately, or which one. Anyway..." «dies»

It just goes to show how far one can twist the facts the support their preferred position.

Trump was obviously speaking in code about random vaccines for no reason, and not the "kill shot" for covid. Now, clearly that was going to be misunderstood and people would go get vaccinated against covid, and also there is absolutely no conceivable motivation for him to do so, but that's definitely what he was doing. [/s]

 

[HenrySwanson]

Looking at this site that was in one of the twitter replies and it's all so damn tragic.

 

[TexRex]

 

[TexRex]

This is just the way it's going to be for the foreseeable future.

 

[TB]

This is just the way it's going to be for the foreseeable future.

He was down by almost 4% of the entire district's population.

Let it go, man.

 

[TexRex]

He was down by almost 4% of the entire district's population.

Let it go, man.

Conceding is a missed fundraising opportunity. Republican is when you fleece the idiot base.

 

[Keef]

fleece the idiot base

These days I'm wondering who is getting fleeced. I know a lot of good people right now who aren't at work because they "got Covid" despite taking all reasonable precautions for years now, and now they're getting punished for it. Why is everybody getting punished except the people who are responsible for causing the mess?

 

[Joey D]

These days I'm wondering who is getting fleeced. I know a lot of good people right now who aren't at work because they "got Covid" despite taking all reasonable precautions for years now, and now they're getting punished for it. Why is everybody getting punished except the people who are responsible for causing the mess?

Money and manipulation/false information mostly. There are so many people with money who believe misinformation that they're in control of the politicians. It's not just Republicans either, it's pretty much all over the political spectrum.

However, it is worth noting that the vaccinated hold responsibility in the Omicron wave though. So many people don't understand how vaccines work and they wrongfully assumed that getting vaccinated meant a free pass to do whatever they wanted. This is partly the fault of Biden and his administration for pushing the narrative, but it's also the responsibility of the person getting the vaccine to actually understand it. While I don't expect people to be an expert or really even moderately educated on it, I do think they should've probably spent 5 minutes on Google.

Government leaders are also woefully inefficient at dealing with COVID too. They're more concerned about winning the next election than dealing with the current issue. You have Democrats pushing restrictions with no concern of how people are actually going to pay their bills and you have Republicans pushing freedoms with no concern of how to handle the health crisis and collapsing healthcare systems. Basically, both parties are pandering to a certain group of people in order to win the next election while the people who are in the middle, which is a majority of us, get screwed and glued.

Honestly, both federal and state governments did things so wrong for so long that we're now seeing the result of electing people who put their own interests ahead of the country.

It's inconceivable to me that we're creeping up on two years in the pandemic and it's somehow worse than it was a year ago. We have COVID positive and symptomatic nurses working because we have no other choice, we have hundreds of thousands of kids out of school because teacher unions are swinging their proverbial cojones around and not paying attention to actual experts, and we still have thousands dying every day not only due to COVID but also due to a gap in care.

/rant

 

[Keef]

However, it is worth noting that the vaccinated hold responsibility in the Omicron wave though.

Hard disagree. The responsibility for the evolution of this virus rests heavy on the shoulders of those who didn't get vaccinated and didn't help snuff out the bug long before it had a chance to evolve. Whether we could carry and spread it doesn't matter, what matters is whether or not it had enough hosts to flourish and cause serious health issues and fear. I didn't contribute to that and I'm not going to accept punishment for it.

 

[Jezza819]

This is just the way it's going to be for the foreseeable future.

Republicans are trying to basically say there's no way they should lose an election. Regardless of the margin for their opponent, they actually won the election. There's no way Democrats have legally cast their votes. Any Democratic vote has to be a fraud.

 

[TexRex]

Republicans are trying to basically say there's no way they should lose an election. Regardless of the margin for their opponent, they actually won the election. There's no way Democrats have legally cast their votes. Any Democratic vote has to be a fraud.

Yes. Any win is legitimate, no matter the circumstances, and any loss is illegitimate, no matter the circumstances.

 

[TB]

Republicans are trying to basically say there's no way they should lose an election. Regardless of the margin for their opponent, they actually won the election. There's no way Democrats have legally cast their votes. Any Democratic vote has to be a fraud.

Platform be damned, that should be reason enough to not vote for someone that's that delusional.

 

[Pupik]

However, it is worth noting that the "vaccinated" hold responsibility in the Omicron wave though.

(FTFY, no snark intended.)

Coupled with the CDC's easing of nearly all restrictions back in April on the "vaccinated" well before most places had hit 25% rates of immunization was a terrible idea. Nobody needed proof, nobody asked, and there was nothing to stop liars from being irresponsible. When any part of this vaccination program was incentivized for those helping society not collapse upon the collective weight of its ignorance, the crazies put an end to that. Just who the hell is running the asylum anymore?

It goes to show that at least 30-40% of Americans are totally out of whack because they didn't care. Fresh shipments of whack keep arriving every day, despite the shortages.

 

[Danoff]

Coupled with the CDC's easing of nearly all restrictions back in April on the "vaccinated" well before most places had hit 25% rates of immunization was a terrible idea.

They were trying to stop the hemorrhaging for businesses and simultaneously provide incentive to get vaccinated.

 

[Pupik]

They were trying to stop the hemorrhaging for businesses and simultaneously provide incentive to get vaccinated.

Sure, but it was like removing all speed limits with "reasonable and prudent", but everywhere. Sounds great, until you actually have to drive with other drivers.

Really should have waited until we'd hit herd immunity levels, also as a carrot.

 

[polysmut]

Platform be damned, that should be reason enough to not vote for someone that's that delusional.

Someone that's either that delusional or that dishonest.

 

[Danoff]

It looks like the supreme court split the vaccine or test mandate, allowing mandating for healthcare workers, but not everyone else (over 100 employees). I have no idea how OSHA is supposed to navigate that. It strikes me as a complete lack of clear boundaries for OSHA. Somehow the vaccine mandate (of which there have been more stringent examples in the past) is not ok for OSHA to regulate (except healthcare), but a hard hat is...

 

[Joey D]

Hard disagree. The responsibility for the evolution of this virus rests heavy on the shoulders of those who didn't get vaccinated and didn't help snuff out the bug long before it had a chance to evolve. Whether we could carry and spread it doesn't matter, what matters is whether or not it had enough hosts to flourish and cause serious health issues and fear. I didn't contribute to that and I'm not going to accept punishment for it.

The mutation of the virus is likely on the shoulders of the unvaccinated, however, the vaccinated have played a significant role in the rapid spread of it. The only ones who really didn't have a part to play in it are the people who got vaccinated, boosted, wore a mask, kept physical distancing, and avoided large crowds. Unfortunately, there's a significant part of initially vaccinated that decided against the booster. Even if the booster is only effective for 10 weeks or so, it's better than nothing.

Also, many people who were vaccinated thought they could do whatever they wanted again. Case in point, half of my co-workers contracted COVID at the Rose Bowl because they thought being around 90,000 screaming people was appropriate. They're all vaccinated since we all have to be, but going to the Rose Bowl was a really stupid idea especially since everyone was maskless.

Coupled with the CDC's easing of nearly all restrictions back in April on the "vaccinated" well before most places had hit 25% rates of immunization was a terrible idea. Nobody needed proof, nobody asked, and there was nothing to stop liars from being irresponsible. When any part of this vaccination program was incentivized for those helping society not collapse upon the collective weight of its ignorance, the crazies put an end to that. Just who the hell is running the asylum anymore?

This is why not having a "vaccine passport" is a horrible idea. I get it, people think the government is going to track them, but at the same time, these people say this like they all don't carry a mobile phone or have a car with a license plate on it.

It looks like the supreme court split the vaccine or test mandate, allowing mandating for healthcare workers, but not everyone else (over 100 employees). I have no idea how OSHA is supposed to navigate that. It strikes me as a complete lack of clear boundaries for OSHA. Somehow the vaccine mandate (of which there have been more stringent examples in the past) is not ok for OSHA to regulate (except healthcare), but a hard hat is...

For healthcare workers, it's likely going to be enforced by CMS (Medicare). Like most things governed by CMS, they'll just refuse reimbursement for healthcare systems that don't abide by the mandate. This will sink a healthcare system in as little as a month.

Galesburg Cottage Hospital in Illinois just went through this and closed last week:

Illinois hospital closes, terminates staff

Galesburg (Ill. ) Cottage Hospital closed Jan. 8 and its workers were told via email that their employment was terminated, according to The Register-Mail.

www.beckershospitalreview.com

 

[HenrySwanson]

It looks like the supreme court split the vaccine or test mandate, allowing mandating for healthcare workers, but not everyone else (over 100 employees). I have no idea how OSHA is supposed to navigate that. It strikes me as a complete lack of clear boundaries for OSHA. Somehow the vaccine mandate (of which there have been more stringent examples in the past) is not ok for OSHA to regulate (except healthcare), but a hard hat is...

Interesting analysis:

SCOTUS Had No Legal Reason to Block Biden’s Vaccine Rules. So It Made One Up.

“Today, we are not wise,” the liberal justices wrote in a rare and emphatic joint dissent.

slate.com

 

[Famine]

​

 

[Danoff]

Interesting analysis:

SCOTUS Had No Legal Reason to Block Biden’s Vaccine Rules. So It Made One Up.

“Today, we are not wise,” the liberal justices wrote in a rare and emphatic joint dissent.

slate.com

The seems like a pretty fair take. It sounds like the majority opinion came from nowhere, and leaves OSHA in a confusing mess - exactly what I was saying would happen if they overturned the vaccine or test mandate.

This is a pretty solid example of legislating from the bench (at least based on the limited information I've seen so far, I haven't read the opinion). The "outside the workplace" and "anti-novelty" concepts are laughable on their face. No self-respecting supreme court justice should peddle that kind of nonsense.

Edit:

I think the anti-novelty principle is particularly gross, because it basically is just another way to say conservative.

 

[HenrySwanson]

Utah, Minnesota used race to determine COVID treatment eligibility

The Utah and Minnesota Department of Health both published guidance notifications that stated race and ethnicity could be considered when determining eligibility for COVID treatment.

www.dailymail.co.uk

OK....but why aren't these men saying it's "un-American" for males to be given a point in the scoring while females have none?

And Tucker Carlson is wrong to say that it is a new thing to take into account race when making clinical decisions as many specialties have used similar scoring systems in the past (and continue to do so) that have arguably favoured white patients, with some being phased out because of the potential of creating health inequalities.

 

[Joey D]

Utah, Minnesota used race to determine COVID treatment eligibility

The Utah and Minnesota Department of Health both published guidance notifications that stated race and ethnicity could be considered when determining eligibility for COVID treatment.

www.dailymail.co.uk

OK....but why aren't these men saying it's "un-American" for males to be given a point in the scoring while females have none?

And Tucker Carlson is wrong to say that it is a new thing to take into account race when making clinical decisions as many specialties have used similar scoring systems in the past (and continue to do so) that have arguably favoured white patients, with some being phased out because of the potential of creating health inequalities.

I can speak on the Utah one, it's not wrong. Non-whites in the state of Utah have nearly a 40% higher chance of being hospitalized due to a variety of reasons and almost all of those are related to the type of jobs they work and the lifestyle they either choose to live or a forced to live due to circumstances like economic hardship. So it's not incorrect for them to get "2 points" on the COVID risk assessment because they are at a higher risk. Also, as someone who works with the group of people who figure out treatment protocols, we don't use race.

I feel like this article is trying to make healthcare systems seem racist when they really aren't. However, are the racial divides in society that cause non-whites to be more likely to be hospitalized? Absolutely. It's probably best to direct the anger at those divides than the healthcare system that has a very limited number of treatments.

 

[HenrySwanson]

I can speak on the Utah one, it's not wrong. Non-whites in the state of Utah have nearly a 40% higher chance of being hospitalized due to a variety of reasons and almost all of those are related to the type of jobs they work and the lifestyle they either choose to live or a forced to live due to circumstances like economic hardship. So it's not incorrect for them to get "2 points" on the COVID risk assessment because they are at a higher risk. Also, as someone who works with the group of people who figure out treatment protocols, we don't use race.

I feel like this article is trying to make healthcare systems seem racist when they really aren't. However, are the racial divides in society that cause non-whites to be more likely to be hospitalized? Absolutely. It's probably best to direct the anger at those divides than the healthcare system that has a very limited number of treatments.

Exactly - why can they be accepting of age and sex as demographic risk factors for hospitalisation/death but not race? Why has no fuss been made of race being used in numerous other scoring systems when they could potentially disadvantage non-whites?

 

[TexRex]

It looks like the supreme court split the vaccine or test mandate, allowing mandating for healthcare workers, but not everyone else (over 100 employees). I have no idea how OSHA is supposed to navigate that. It strikes me as a complete lack of clear boundaries for OSHA. Somehow the vaccine mandate (of which there have been more stringent examples in the past) is not ok for OSHA to regulate (except healthcare), but a hard hat is...

Yeah but head smash wasn't conjured up from nothing as a commie plot to make Trump look bad, so measures to protect against it are acceptable. Wait until they discover that hard hats scan brainwaves for disfavored thoughts and transmit to the government for review and cataloging.

 

[Joey D]

So in the matter of a week, Biden has had his two big bills stonewalled, has Democrats criticizing him, had Stacey Abrams not show up to his bizarre speech in Georgia, had his vaccine mandate nulled by the Supreme Court, and somehow had his DoD unable to figure out whether or not North Korea's missile was going to hit the US. Oh, and Russia is on the verge of waging an unjustified war that the US will, inevitably, be drug into.

Looking back over the last year of his presidency, it's been pretty terrible too. COVID is out of control, the CDC has just given up giving any sort of clear communication, inflation is going nuts, rent and home prices are pricing out the middle class, the Afghanistan withdrawal was a dumpster fire, extremism is still rampant in the US, nothing useful has been done about the flood of migrants at the border, and that's just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. I guess also he hasn't canceled student loan debt, despite promising he would.

I get that some of the stuff isn't his fault and that he inherited a cluster and a half from Trump's inability to govern. But he ran on the idea that if he were elected, he'd solve problems. He can start solving problems anytime now and right the ship so we don't have a Trump-like Republican win in 2024.

I feel like Biden has been timid and tried to toe the line on many things when really that sort of approach wasn't even going to work. He needed to come out aggressive and not let his foot off the gas to show people what it looks like when a president doesn't sit on Twitter all day.

Seriously, get some sort of control over COVID. While he can't lock down the nation, he sure as hell can act to ramp up the production of treatments and tests. There is no reason tests should be unavailable after we stockpiled the stuff for two years.

With inflation and housing, I'm not sure how you get that under control, but I feel like that needs to be under control like yesterday. There was a local article here yesterday that said to be a home buyer in Salt Lake County, you needed to make six figures. That's a problem, especially because rent for so-so places is $2,000 a month. When my family who makes well into the six figures feels like rent is out of control, that's a really big problem since my family is definitely above the average household income.

As for the border, I'm not sure what can be done here either. A wall was never going to work and was just a horrific waste of money, but there are things that can be done. Putting people in overcrowded detention centers isn't the answer.

And with student loan debt, while I don't support the government nulling it out completely, I do think there needs to be some assistance for working people who are struggling. From my understanding, Biden could do this via executive order.

I think what Biden's presidency has shown thus far is that we need to quit electing out of touch old people or rich 🤬holes.

 

[UKMikey]

I think what Biden's presidency has shown thus far is that we need to quit electing out of touch old people or rich 🤬holes.

If the next Republican administration encourages states to introduce legislation which makes it near impossible to elect non-GOP party candidates, maybe voter choice'll cease to be an issue.

Perhaps that might be sensationalism but, ya never know, maybe it'll cause people to start voting for third parties. After a few decades.

 

[TexRex]

DirecTV is dropping OAN.

 

[Jezza819]

That's a problem, especially because rent for so-so places is $2,000 a month. When my family who makes well into the six figures feels like rent is out of control, that's a really big problem since my family is definitely above the average household income.

I live in a one bedroom apartment of around 875 sq ft. I've lived in this building for going on 11 years now. I downsized into this current apartment in summer of 2019. My previous apartment upstairs was also a one bedroom but it had an upstairs loft which meant the living room ceiling was about 20ft tall which meant it was terrible on the electric bill in the winter because all of the heat rose up into that ceiling and I would freeze to death all winter. So this apartment I'm in now became available at the end of my lease in 2019 and I was allowed to transfer in here. This apartment is perfect for me. It's very easy on the electric bill, it faces the woods and not the building across from me, it faces west instead of east so the sun doesn't rise into my bedroom window and wakes me up on the weekends.

My current lease expires in March of this year. If my renewal amount is what this current apartment is being advertised at, then my monthly rent will go up about $250 a month, A MONTH!!!! That's $4000 more per year. I don't make enough money to handle an extra $4000 per year for rent. Yes Alabama apartment rent is less than larger cities but I also make Alabama wages which are FAR below larger cities also. I can't go to my employer and say "hey just so you know, my rent is going up $4000 per year so I need a $4000 a year raise" Once they stop laughing they will say "not no but HELL no!!".

When I told my sister about what's about to happen she told me with interest rates being so low I should look at buying a condo. Well that's all well and good but there are some problems with that. First I would have to find one that I like more than this apartment, second I don't have the down payment it would take to buy one again since I make Alabama wages. There are other factors to consider if I move out of here. I'm about 1/4 mile as the crow flies away from where I work which allows me to come home for lunch everyday. It also allows me to have a super low mileage lease on my car which is the lowest payment. My car insurance is lower because I do live so close to work. Once i move out of here all of that goes out the window, expense everyday to eat lunch out, can't get the low miles lease anymore, car insurance goes up....

I don't want to leave here. I love this apartment. It's the perfect size for me. I'm not cramped. I've got room for all of my stuff. My racing rig just slides in a separate "computer room" when I'm done with it. As a single person I feel I'm doing the right thing by renting an apartment. A house even a smaller one would be a waste to me. Plus I couldn't afford the expense of home owners insurance and property tax per year.

In my opinion this explosion in rent prices has little to do with actual inflation but it's more of a price gouging situation. These property management companies are taking advantage of the current news saying how bad everything is. Sort of like lumber companies before and after a hurricane or raising the price of bread and milk during a snow storm. This is where there should be some sort of protection especially for long term residents of more than 8 years. If you've been in the same complex and you're trying to make it your long term home, you've never been late with payments, never been a security risk or disturb your neighbors, then you should be rewarded for that loyalty and be protected against any exorbitant rate increases. I personally think that there should be a increase of only 2% or 3% per lease for long term residents. Which I think is something similar to how rent controlled apartments work in bigger cities. HOWEVER if you are being rewarded as a long term VALUED resident with low increases in rent then all of the associated fees that go along when you are late with rent payments or if you break a lease, those fees are doubled or even tripled.

 

[Danoff]

So in the matter of a week, Biden has had his two big bills stonewalled, has Democrats criticizing him, had Stacey Abrams not show up to his bizarre speech in Georgia, had his vaccine mandate nulled by the Supreme Court, and somehow had his DoD unable to figure out whether or not North Korea's missile was going to hit the US. Oh, and Russia is on the verge of waging an unjustified war that the US will, inevitably, be drug into.

Looking back over the last year of his presidency, it's been pretty terrible too. COVID is out of control, the CDC has just given up giving any sort of clear communication, inflation is going nuts, rent and home prices are pricing out the middle class, the Afghanistan withdrawal was a dumpster fire, extremism is still rampant in the US, nothing useful has been done about the flood of migrants at the border, and that's just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. I guess also he hasn't canceled student loan debt, despite promising he would.

I get that some of the stuff isn't his fault and that he inherited a cluster and a half from Trump's inability to govern. But he ran on the idea that if he were elected, he'd solve problems. He can start solving problems anytime now and right the ship so we don't have a Trump-like Republican win in 2024.

I feel like Biden has been timid and tried to toe the line on many things when really that sort of approach wasn't even going to work. He needed to come out aggressive and not let his foot off the gas to show people what it looks like when a president doesn't sit on Twitter all day.

Seriously, get some sort of control over COVID. While he can't lock down the nation, he sure as hell can act to ramp up the production of treatments and tests. There is no reason tests should be unavailable after we stockpiled the stuff for two years.

With inflation and housing, I'm not sure how you get that under control, but I feel like that needs to be under control like yesterday. There was a local article here yesterday that said to be a home buyer in Salt Lake County, you needed to make six figures. That's a problem, especially because rent for so-so places is $2,000 a month. When my family who makes well into the six figures feels like rent is out of control, that's a really big problem since my family is definitely above the average household income.

As for the border, I'm not sure what can be done here either. A wall was never going to work and was just a horrific waste of money, but there are things that can be done. Putting people in overcrowded detention centers isn't the answer.

And with student loan debt, while I don't support the government nulling it out completely, I do think there needs to be some assistance for working people who are struggling. From my understanding, Biden could do this via executive order.

I think what Biden's presidency has shown thus far is that we need to quit electing out of touch old people or rich 🤬holes.

Compared to the Trump dumpster fire, it has been a dream.

How many attempts have we had at taking over the country?
How many attempts have we had at strong-arming other countries into swinging our elections?
How many times has the president endorsed arresting, attacking, or executing politicians he doesn't like? Or random citizens?

So far, compared to the previous administration, the worst in US history, it has been amazing.