Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[jeremyrh]

But anyway, back to being serious, just saw the 7 day average daily of new C-19 cases in CA (lockdown heavy) is 90.5 whereas in TX (lockdown lite) is 42.  Those heavy lockdowns sure are working like a charm. 

To judge that you'd have to know what the rates woud be if Texas and California swapped lockdown policies. 

[Robert Roaldi]

To judge that you'd have to know what the rates woud be if Texas and California swapped lockdown policies.

Yes, and those numbers fluctuate with time. As you point out, "lockdown" can mean many different things and enforcement might be all over the map. Seeking meaningless solace in minor differences in numbers from one state to another is missing the forest for the trees, it seems to me.

But you know, if 320,000 deaths in less than a year doesn't alert one to concerted action, then no amount of online convincing will have any effect. As with a lot of other things, people always need to protect themselves from the selfish and the thoughtless. There are lots of people who confuse contrariness with independence of thought.

And as for the damage to the economy. I'm beginning to see lots of stories in the media, as well as anecdotally, of enterprises whose profits have gone up this year BECAUSE of Covid. Firms with lots of employees working at home are giving up rental space and enjoying the windfall as they restructure the way they do business. Like all shocks to the economy, some people suffer and others don't. But if a significant percentage of the population gets sick and dies, it's hard to imagine that being good for the economy.

I'm also occasionally seeing anti-vax thinking, with people worrying if the vaccines are safe. Do the bad side effects from history's worst vaccines come close to the mortality rate of Covid?

[faberryman]

So I was looking over the news this morning and saw this story about Alabama's newly elected senator, who is an old washed up college football coach. Alabama just loves football, so being an old washed up college football coach is a plus not a minus if you are running for office, any office, but the higher the better. I'm pretty sure that they would vote for the wife of an old washed up college football coach and it would be a landslide. Anyway, it was a CNN article. I have told you I am not a big fan of CNN and rarely watch them. I think they are sensationalist like Fox News, only on the other side. They are both caricatures of themselves. I mean you are watching them and you don't know whether it is live TV or a SNL rerun.

So usually when I click on a CNN story in my newsfeed I make sure the speakers are off because CNN has this annoying habit of rolling audio and video when you arrive on their website which really sets me on edge. So I clicked on the link and I hadn't turned my speakers down and here comes old Briana I think her name is and she is going off on the old washed up college football coach not knowing his ass from a hole in the ground, and despite my best efforts, she kind of catches my attention, and then she rolls the audio and video of this guy talking at a couple of press conferences. The clips were mercifully short, but they didn't really need to be long because halfway through the first sentence it was obvious the guy is a fucking idiot. He starts by enumerating the three branches of government as being the House, the Senate and the President, and finishes up with how 76 years ago his father helped the Allies save Europe from socialism. So when Bluto starts talking about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor, you know that this guy is shaking his head up and down. Do yourself a favor and listen to the first couple of minutes of this clip and, for our international friends, know this is what we are dealing with.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/18/politics/tommy-tuberville-electoral-college-reaction/index.html

Two points: first, we have geniuses like this on both sides of the aisle. I thought this was an especially egregious example, and I would be showing the video and making these snarky comments even if he were a Democrat; second, I have heard all the arguments about the Nazis being socialists, but believe me, if you tried any of those arguments out on this joker, he wouldn't have any idea what you were talking about, so don't try to convince me he has a Ph.D. in political science, and he was perfectly correct that the Allies saved Europe from socialism. He is a pea brained idiot even if he did invent the end-around. Most people who didn't sleep through their junior high school civics class know that the Nazis and all their pals were fascists. Maybe by the time you get to graduate school they are socialists. So I agree with Briana or whatever her name is on this one, but I am still not going to start watching CNN.

[digitaldog]

You don’t want any Philly BBQ.

Fine. You can come up with your own offering if you lose the wager.

[Craig Lamson]

So I was looking over the news this morning and saw this story about Alabama's newly elected senator, who is an old washed up college football coach. Alabama just loves football, so being an old washed up college football coach is a plus not a minus if you are running for office, any office, but the higher the better. I'm pretty sure that they would vote for the wife of an old washed up college football coach and it would be a landslide. Anyway, it was a CNN article. I have told you I am not a big fan on CNN and rarely watch them. I think they are sensationalist like Fox News, only on the other side. They are both caricatures of themselves. I mean you are watching them and you don't know whether it is live TV or a SNL rerun.

So usually when I click on a CNN story in my newsfeed I make sure the speakers are off because CNN has this annoying habit of rolling audio and video when you arrive on their website which really sets me on edge. So I clicked on the link and I hadn't turned my speakers down and here comes old Briana I think her name is and she is going off on the old washed up college football coach not knowing his ass from a hole in the ground, and despite my best efforts, she kind of catches my attention, and then she rolls the audio and video of this guy talking at a couple of press conferences. The clips were mercifully brief, but they didn't really need to be long because halfway through the first sentence it was obvious the guy is a fucking idiot. He starts by enumerating the three branches of government as being the House, the Senate and the President, and finishes up with how 76 years ago his father helped the Allies save Europe from socialism. So when Bluto starts talking about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor, you know that this guy is shaking his head up and down. Do yourself a favor and listen to the first couple of minutes of this clip and, for our international friends, know this is what we are dealing with.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/18/politics/tommy-tuberville-electoral-college-reaction/index.html

Two points: first, we have geniuses like this on both sides of the aisle. I thought this was an especially egregious example, and I would be showing the video and making these snarky comments even if he were a Democrat; second, I have heard all the arguments about the Nazis being socialists, but believe me, if you tried any of those arguments out on this joker, he wouldn't have any idea what you were talking about, so don't try to convince me he has a Ph.D. in political science, and he was perfectly correct that the Allies saved Europe from socialism. He is a pea brained idiot even if he did invent the end-around. Most people who didn't sleep through their junior high school civics class know that the Nazis and all their pals were fascists. Maybe by the time you get to graduate school they are socialists. Like I said this guy just doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. I agree with Briana or whatever her name is, but I am still not going to start watching CNN.

s

Wait a second, the three branches of government are Nancy Pelosi, Big Tech and the NYT...

/s

[faberryman]

Wait a second, the three branches of government are Nancy Pelosi, Big Tech and the NYT...

So, do you still think if anyone knows the election law, it is state representatives? State representatives are the junior varsity compared to senators, and this guy can't spell elekshun.

[Craig Lamson]

So, do you still think if anyone knows the election law, it is state representatives? State representatives are the junior varsity compared to senators, and this guy can't spell elekshun.

I do, given the circumstances in Wisconsin.

[James Clark]

Fine. You can come up with your own offering if you lose the wager.

I'm not a party to this wager - I'd just hate to see anyone bet a nice bottle of wine against "BBQ" that's fit to be served in a roll with Cheeze Whiz

[TechTalk]

For your Saturday morning funnies...

Lin Wood, the Georgia attorney who has been working with the Kraken lady to overturn election results in his state, filed yet another complaint in court. The complaint ended with the statement... and I kid you not...

"I declare and verify under plenty of perjury that the facts contained in the foregoing Verified Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief are true and correct."

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Lin Wood Plenty of Perjury Image

https://twitter.com/persily/status/Lin Wood Complaint

[James Clark]

To judge that you'd have to know what the rates woud be if Texas and California swapped lockdown policies.

Joe's understanding of the actual "on the ground" conditions in TX isn't quite right, as far as I can tell from the comparisons he's making.  All of the major cities save Ft. Worth, which sucks, lean left (in a corporatist Dem way, but still), and outside of the major cities are vast swath of ultra-low density towns.  Short version - I'd be wary of using Texas as a general model of what "red" states are like compared to CA.

[digitaldog]

New (newer) news about ”the Russian hoax”;

Barr Says C.I.A. ‘Stayed in Its Lane’ in Examining Russian Election Interference
In an interview with a Wall Street Journal columnist, the attorney general defended his legacy and criticized the special counsel’s investigation.
The Justice Department’s examination of the investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election has cleared the C.I.A. of suspicions that it targeted President Trump and his associates, Attorney General William P. Barr said in an interview published on Friday.

[digitaldog]

Joe's understanding of the actual "on the ground" conditions isn't quite right.  All of the major cities save Ft. Worth, which sucks, lean left (in a corporatist Dem way, but still), and outside of the major cities are vast swath of ultra-low density towns.  Short version - I'd be wary of using Texas as a general model of what "red" states are like compared to CA.

Did I miss a full description and definition of ”lockdown” from Joe as requested by state/countries?

[digitaldog]

And more Russian news:

The massive cyber spy campaign against the U.S. government is grave and ongoing. And Russia is ‘pretty clearly’ behind it, Pompeo says.

Bill under veto threat by Trump bolsters hacking defenses.
The bill contains provisions against the kind of broad hacking just discovered.

[faberryman]

Did I miss a full description and definition of ”lockdown” from Joe as requested by state/countries?

lockdown (noun) - anything governmental officials are doing to curb the spread of coronavirus in states which have Democratic governors, even if governmental officials are doing the same thing in states which have Republican governors and it isn't considered a lockdown.

[James Clark]

Did I miss a full description and definition of ”lockdown” from Joe as requested by state/countries?

Don’t think so.  My point, though, is that talking about Texas as a “red” state that doesn’t “lock down” ignores the fact that the highest density areas actually lean left and have a pretty high rate of voluntary compliance with sensible precautions. 

[faberryman]

I was wondering if Joe does move to Texas, what kind of big belt buckle he will get. He is an independent thinker, so I have eliminated silver and turquoise from the options. Maybe I'll spend the afternoon surfing western wear websites for ideas. He is also going to need a gun and a gun rack, which means he will also need to git himself a pickup truck.

Having been born and raised in Texas gives me a pass on mocking Texans. I still remember some Aggie jokes. I wish I still had that cowboy hat my grandfather gave me when we went to the rodeo. I already had some cowboy boots, so the cowboy hat was just the finishing touch. I'm not sure if he let me wear my six shooter. I liked to wear the holster kind of low. I use to enjoy going to the rodeo. I went to one a few years back and it just scared the hell out of me. I could barely watch.  I think it is safer to walk out on the interstate and try to dodge traffic.

News Flash:

I just remembered I had this silver belt buckle with a derringer built in. You would kind of pooch out your stomach and the derringer would swing out and shoot the guy standing across from you. It didn't really shoot, but you would use a cap and it made a pretty good bang, loud enough so the guy across from you had to fall down and pretend he was shot. There was usually a discussion which followed, when he was still on the ground and everything, about where he was shot and whether he was going to die. Most of the time we just said he got it in the arm and he would live, at least as long as it took to reload.

[digitaldog]

Don’t think so.  My point, though, is that talking about Texas as a “red” state that doesn’t “lock down” ignores the fact that the highest density areas actually lean left and have a pretty high rate of voluntary compliance with sensible precautions.

Agreed. Not fully defining what and where a so called ”lockdown” takes place, then lumping red and blue into that mix is a rather sloppy argument.
All to distract from the facts and simple steps to avoid infection.

[TechTalk]

This is simply terrifying. 

At this point, and I know this may be a little far fetched to think, but I hope Trump is on the phone with Biden determining exactly what immediate action needs to take place right now and how Biden will continued it into the new administration.

Trump's Response Today

The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!). There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the USA.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/Cyber Hack Response

We can sleep safely at night knowing that Donald Trump is defending the United States Russia to the very end.

[digitaldog]

I was wondering if Joe does move to Texas, what kind of big belt buckle he will get. He is an independent thinker, so I have eliminated silver and turquoise from the options. Maybe I'll spend the afternoon surfing western wear websites for ideas. He is also going to need a gun and a gun rack, which means he will also need to get himself a pickup truck.

Having been born and raised in Texas gives me a pass on mocking Texans. I still remember some Aggie jokes. I wish I still had that cowboy hat my grandfather gave me when we went to the rodeo. I already had some cowboy boots.

OK, you asked for it. 😜
"You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans". -George Carlin

[Manoli]

So the UK has announced extended lockdown measures - the most extreme since the lockdown of last March - and given outline details of a newly detected variant of Covid-19 , upto a 70% higher transmission rate and expected to increase the R by 0.4.