News today

AzIllini

Senior
Apr 26, 2003
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This is not only interesting because Calif is the only state stiffing repaying covid era debt to the US to the tune of $21 billion, but that the congressman introducing a bill to make they pay up is a Republican from California. Probably one of those that Newsome gerrymandered out of existence in 2026.

 

dtrain79

Heisman
Jul 13, 2006
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Btw, I personally think the only reason that MAGA folks (not MAHA, who are just health cranks) are still talking about the Covid vaccine is overwhelmingly BECAUSE ALL OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WERE DEEMED "CONSPIRACIES" WERE LATER VINDICATED.

1. Covid came from a lab. Remember the lefties laughing about how people could believe this. Turns out, nearly every credible intelligence service and scientist now thinks Covid likely came from the Wuhan Virology Institute ... go figure.

2. Lockdowns are bad. Those of us who opposed lockdowns were once deemed uncaring monsters (even murderers to some). Turns out, while there's a defensible argument for lockdowns, they didn't work AND they were probably counterproductive overall.

3. Masks don't work. I mean, if we all had industrial grade masks, maybe they work. We didn't. And the evidence heavily favors the positions that cloth masks were useless and silly.

4. Protecting against Covid isn't the only societal function we need to consider. This is where Dr. Fauci pops up in my mind, all he was worried about was the virus. It didn't even cross his mind that shutting down society and the like would have problematic applications across much of society. We talk a lot about crime spikes and OD deaths here, perfect examples of problems wildly exacerbated by the overwrought Covid intervention.

5. Children and young people aren't much impacted by Covid. We knew this before Covid really arrived in the USA, and yet the shrill set tried to shout it down.

6. Covid vaccines are evil. I wish I could come up with a better word to describe what the anti-Covid vax crowd says, but evil seemed semi-on point. Turns out, Covid vaccines have a modest risk for a couple of very rare conditions, but largely prevented old people not previously exposed to Covid from dying by helping with natural defenses. The type of thing most vaccines do! Weird ... the one truly scientific undertaking to fight Covid was the one that wasn't crankery.
 

AzIllini

Senior
Apr 26, 2003
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This opinion piece ends with this: "No regime that survived 39 days of American and Israeli strikes, watched its supreme leader killed, and still declared enrichment non-negotiable is going to surrender that leverage at a table in Islamabad. The real fork is not escalation versus diplomacy. It is this: accept a nuclear-capable Iran as the permanent outcome of this war or accept the cost of physically removing the threat. Washington should make that decision deliberately — not by default when the ceasefire finally collapses."

Much better Trump than Obama or Biden but this is a difficult decision. Failure is death to the regime class after the horrific things they have done. Negotiating was always a low success outcome. Apparently the low lifes in the regime feel the US will back off and they can continue their reign of terror.

 
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ILisBest

All-American
Jun 16, 2007
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Btw, I personally think the only reason that MAGA folks (not MAHA, who are just health cranks) are still talking about the Covid vaccine is overwhelmingly BECAUSE ALL OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT WERE DEEMED "CONSPIRACIES" WERE LATER VINDICATED.

1. Covid came from a lab. Remember the lefties laughing about how people could believe this. Turns out, nearly every credible intelligence service and scientist now thinks Covid likely came from the Wuhan Virology Institute ... go figure.

2. Lockdowns are bad. Those of us who opposed lockdowns were once deemed uncaring monsters (even murderers to some). Turns out, while there's a defensible argument for lockdowns, they didn't work AND they were probably counterproductive overall.

3. Masks don't work. I mean, if we all had industrial grade masks, maybe they work. We didn't. And the evidence heavily favors the positions that cloth masks were useless and silly.

4. Protecting against Covid isn't the only societal function we need to consider. This is where Dr. Fauci pops up in my mind, all he was worried about was the virus. It didn't even cross his mind that shutting down society and the like would have problematic applications across much of society. We talk a lot about crime spikes and OD deaths here, perfect examples of problems wildly exacerbated by the overwrought Covid intervention.

5. Children and young people aren't much impacted by Covid. We knew this before Covid really arrived in the USA, and yet the shrill set tried to shout it down.

6. Covid vaccines are evil. I wish I could come up with a better word to describe what the anti-Covid vax crowd says, but evil seemed semi-on point. Turns out, Covid vaccines have a modest risk for a couple of very rare conditions, but largely prevented old people not previously exposed to Covid from dying by helping with natural defenses. The type of thing most vaccines do! Weird ... the one truly scientific undertaking to fight Covid was the one that wasn't crankery.
I like this post. Although, I am open to any ongoing evidence of harm coming from the Covid Vax that could outweigh the lives saved for the elderly. I think the evil pointed to in #6 refers mostly to those in power pushing younger, healthy people into something unnecessary?
 

tjfleck6

All-American
Apr 19, 2008
6,048
7,185
113
Another one showing even worse results for the “purebloods.” Great job everyone.

So, one question. Would you rather have the Pfizer jab in your system today or not? I'm 100 percent happy being a pureblood as is everyone I know who made the same choice. No one that I know, vax or not vaxed died from Covid. Congrats to all of those who fell for the greatest scam of modern times.

Real epidemics? The Black Death, the Plague of Justinian, and the plague that hit the Roman Empire under Marcus Aurelius. Population contracted by 33 percent in contrast to the Covid Plague which caused population to increase. Imagine that.
 

tjfleck6

All-American
Apr 19, 2008
6,048
7,185
113
This opinion piece ends with this: "No regime that survived 39 days of American and Israeli strikes, watched its supreme leader killed, and still declared enrichment non-negotiable is going to surrender that leverage at a table in Islamabad. The real fork is not escalation versus diplomacy. It is this: accept a nuclear-capable Iran as the permanent outcome of this war or accept the cost of physically removing the threat. Washington should make that decision deliberately — not by default when the ceasefire finally collapses."

Much better Trump than Obama or Biden but this is a difficult decision. Failure is death to the regime class after the horrific things they have done. Negotiating was always a low success outcome. Apparently the low lifes in the regime feel the US will back off and they can continue their reign of terror.

Hire a bunch of H1B's to remove the enriched Uranium.
 

ILisBest

All-American
Jun 16, 2007
7,323
5,026
113
This opinion piece ends with this: "No regime that survived 39 days of American and Israeli strikes, watched its supreme leader killed, and still declared enrichment non-negotiable is going to surrender that leverage at a table in Islamabad. The real fork is not escalation versus diplomacy. It is this: accept a nuclear-capable Iran as the permanent outcome of this war or accept the cost of physically removing the threat. Washington should make that decision deliberately — not by default when the ceasefire finally collapses."

Much better Trump than Obama or Biden but this is a difficult decision. Failure is death to the regime class after the horrific things they have done. Negotiating was always a low success outcome. Apparently the low lifes in the regime feel the US will back off and they can continue their reign of terror.

I think Trump is ready to step back from the aggressor role and on to selling a good offramp. Can the Iranian people or the ME leaders provide that ramp for him? I am skeptical. Trump's only four leaf clover may be Iran bullying their neighbors and citizens nonstop. The US doesn't have the will to send door kickers into the country. We will sooner sell our citizens a perceived deal of no nukes and leave a heavily wounded regime to try and pick up their pieces. I have zero confidence in any deal with the ideologues running what is left of the IRGC, but at this point just get out and let somebody else figure it out.
 

dtrain79

Heisman
Jul 13, 2006
48,503
27,482
113
I like this post. Although, I am open to any ongoing evidence of harm coming from the Covid Vax that could outweigh the lives saved for the elderly. I think the evil pointed to in #6 refers mostly to those in power pushing younger, healthy people into something unnecessary?

But that's not the argument being made, and it hasn't for years. I think some made it at the beginning, and I basically agreed. The Covid vax is probably a wash for most healthy people under 35-40. My kids didn't get it because I knew they didn't need it. But I don't think them getting it would have been a big deal either.

Effectively, I think the vaccine debate is psychological. Those on the right who now hate legacy institutions can't simply say "yeah, on balance the vaccine was not bad, I just didn't need for myself." If they were an overweight 70 year old, they should have taken it. A healthy 45 year old, NBD in passing.
 

dtrain79

Heisman
Jul 13, 2006
48,503
27,482
113
So, one question. Would you rather have the Pfizer jab in your system today or not? I'm 100 percent happy being a pureblood as is everyone I know who made the same choice. No one that I know, vax or not vaxed died from Covid. Congrats to all of those who fell for the greatest scam of modern times.

Real epidemics? The Black Death, the Plague of Justinian, and the plague that hit the Roman Empire under Marcus Aurelius. Population contracted by 33 percent in contrast to the Covid Plague which caused population to increase. Imagine that.

I didn't get Pfizer, I did the one shot J&J before it got yanked. It's totally irrelevant to me whether I got it. I don't think I needed it, but I don't think it hurt me an iota, either.

I understand you are incapable of rational thought on this (and some other) topics, but many people died as a result of Covid. Several million in the US and many more abroad. The majority of these people were probably in their last 5-10 years of life (without Covid), but not all. I knew at least 4 people who died from Covid, and one of them was a early-50s Trump-loving conservative in good physical condition. Here's his obituary. My wife's aunt and uncle (sister/brother) also died; both were about 70 years old. Sans Covid, the aunt would almost certainly be alive today, and uncle would have a decent chance of that.

Eric Lee Davis Obituary March 24, 2022 - New Hope Funeral Home

So you can continue to lie to yourself and others about what a warrior you are for not getting a shot (lame AF), but I don't understand the purpose. And that's in no way me thinking you should have taken the needle, I don't care, it was your choice.
 

AzIllini

Senior
Apr 26, 2003
2,374
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78
I think Trump is ready to step back from the aggressor role and on to selling a good offramp. Can the Iranian people or the ME leaders provide that ramp for him? I am skeptical. Trump's only four leaf clover may be Iran bullying their neighbors and citizens nonstop. The US doesn't have the will to send door kickers into the country. We will sooner sell our citizens a perceived deal of no nukes and leave a heavily wounded regime to try and pick up their pieces. I have zero confidence in any deal with the ideologues running what is left of the IRGC, but at this point just get out and let somebody else figure it out.
I admit I'm not smart enough to opine from afar but once we started this it seems like we had no purpose if we walk away. The regime was always going to fight to the last breath because they are evil and want to protect their asses. They have murdered every person that stands up to them so the bench is pretty barren for new leaders. Again, I'm glad it's Trump and not Obama or Biden in charge but in ten years Iran will be fully back with the help of their friends in Russia and China, and probably with multiple nukes and then where is the negotiating leverage?