patrick.net

marcus says

Idiocracy. There is no such thing as expertise.

That's essentially what Dr. Birx said, when she said nobody had ever experienced this. That fact didn't seem to stop her from making recommendations for draconian coercive policies. The idiocrats thought bleeding was the cure for all illness 200 years ago (and bleeding to death men like Mozart, Washington, etc.), Asprin was the cure for flu 100 years ago (killing tens of millions of people doing that), and Labotomy was worthy of Nobel Prize half a century ago (1949 Nobel Prize in Medicine). Heck, the government appointed well educated "experts" even came up a way of identifying witches in Salem, MA.

marcus says

:

LOL! There are prostitutes in every profession. When the government subsidizes an industry, a lot of 2nd rate and 3rd rate practitioners in that industry sell their souls to be in bed with the devil. A top-rate doctor would have much less incentive to become public health official; a top-rate scientist wouldn't want to cook numbers to get government funding.

Reality says

That's essentially what Dr. Birx said, when she said nobody had ever experienced this.

In every way what she said is 1,000% correct. We are in the studying and analyzing phase of this. Someone will guess right, but no one knows the true outcome if we did things differently.

It's nature. We've failed outside of tracking weather events at controlling spontaneous natural disasters. And even weather, it's just a notification system, not controlling it. Yet people somehow think we're capable of controlling an airborne virus? The flu vaccine is half effective at best and we put all our eggs in the basket of the people that are going to create a new one for this? They understand flu and still aren't getting it 100%, yet so many people put 100% blind faith into these people. Now that's logic....

Reality says

There are prostitutes in every profession.

That's a great line.

I've recommended a great read on this topic before: Michael Crichton's State of Fear. It's a novel about eco-terrorists killing everyone with a superbug (except for a tiny group who get a vaccine) to SAVE THE EARTH FROM GLOBAL WARMING!

There is an excellent bibliography and a chapter on the Politicization of Science. This book was a fun read, especially the parts where the protagonist learns some real truths, not the media babble. Really opened my eyes and made me more of a confirmed skeptic than ever!

Example: Gotta Save the Forests! Redwoods have been here forever! WRONG: Redwoods appeared ~65 million years ago, but were mostly wiped out during the last "ice age." Flora comes and goes, climate slowly marches on.

Here’s the real question.

Why are Democrats so heavily invested in keeping the country shut down? The expert doctors are advising that we can open up, assuming appropriate social distancing measures. It’s not just the US doctors...it’s doctors in Europe as well.

Why don’t they want to listen to the experts in this instance?

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

Why don’t they want to listen to the experts in this instance?

I predict that they totally will.

But MAGA idiots will be crying every step of the way that it isn't happening faster. THen when it finally happening they will think it was due to their incessant whining, when actually it will happen at the same time either way.

The truth is everyone wants things to open up again. Some of us just don't have bizarre political fantasies about the whole thing.

marcus says

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

Why don’t they want to listen to the experts in this instance?

I predict that they totally will.

But MAGA idiots will be crying every step of the way that it isn't happening faster. THen when it finally happening they will think it was due to their incessant whining, when actually it will happen at the same time either way.

The truth is everyone wants things to open up again. Some just don't have bizarre political fantasies about the whole thing.

What I’m reading on various California and Nevada centric sites is that the lefties want is a prolonged stay at home order and typically cite opinion pieces from places like HufPo, Wapo, The Atlantic, Daily Beast etc, who source non expert doctors.

I've been speaking with very Liberal tech workers for our outside vendors.
They are all saying these are not your True Blue Dog Democrats.
They are ditching them and they are on the Trump train. Even though they can't stand the way he talks, but they sure love the way he sings.

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

Here’s the real question.

Why are Democrats so heavily invested in keeping the country shut down? The expert doctors are advising that we can open up, assuming appropriate social distancing measures. It’s not just the US doctors...it’s doctors in Europe as well.

Why don’t they want to listen to the experts in this instance?

That’s a good question. I don’t know where money for them here is.

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

opinion pieces from places like HufPo, Wapo, The Atlantic, Daily Beast etc, who source non expert doctors.

Sounds like BS.

There are going to be different experts with different opinions. For example, some may believe this was overdone (closing parks - really ?) but there were reasons for this, and I don't think it was experimenting with controlling the population.

It's that we really didn't know enough, other than how bad this thing can be, requiring prolonged ICU care in too many cases. And that our health care system might not be able to handle it. IT was about the precaution - and not knowing. It's easy to say in hindsight that it was over reach. But that doesn't take in to account what we didn't know.

It's a bad analogy. But if some high-rise in Florida spends a bunch of money on reinforcements for hurricane protection and there is no hurricane, does it mean they were wrong to do it ?

Keep in mind the whole world (almost) did this lock down. Different countries are going back at different rates. What the experts will be weighing in on and debating are things like,

1) What is the chance of it blowing up again ?

2) Do we have antibody tests that can test people that work in nursing homes etc., although I don't know who is working in those places now or how they protect. I guess it's about those workers not catching it (i.e. a big part of the reason we are shut down in the first place)

3) Is there a way to analyze a point of diminishing returns, for being closed down ?

Keep in mind most of the world is going through this. I'm of the opinion that it's going to come down to guessing really, but one would think we could watch other countries to see what's happening, and the degree that it's re- flaring up again or not as different countries go back to life as usual. We were following many other countries with our timing poing in to lockdown mode so we can learn watching them go back and what's happening as they go back online.

marcus says

I don't think it was experimenting with controlling the population.

I somewhat agree, but a vast majority of our population hasn't heard or understands the term contact tracing. It's not something to be taken lightly if the result of a positive test is legally enforceable to keep you quarantined. That is complete government overreach. I don't like the talk I see here and elsewhere about this aspect of it.

You can screen me and test me all you want (I don't agree with that either) but you cannot force people by law to stay in their home under the threat of fines or even arrest for a virus that most don't even understand the science behind it. It will result in social disorder in massive magnitude, as it should.

WookieMan says

the term contact tracing. It's not something to be taken lightly if the result of a positive test is legally enforceable to keep you quarantined. That is complete government overreach. I don't like the talk I see here and elsewhere about this aspect of it.

I agree it is inhuman and unconstitutional to confine people to their homes based on who someone says they came in to proximity of. If government wields this power, they have effectively become the embodiment of the evil we supposedly fought world war 2 to destroy.

And yet, what is the lesser of two evils, confining those that are likely carrying pestilence, or just confining everyone and blowing up the lives and livelihoods of EVERYONE?

Both are wrong, and one is worse than the other. Our “leaders” or should I say our owners have chosen the worse of two evils.

And yet there is an alternative, in the land of liberty EVERYONE ought to decide for themselves to work, or stay home, to wear a mask or not, to eat out or stay in, to open their business or close it.

More than a year later, and this post is still perfectly relevant.

Now they have added:

TAKE THE DEATH JAB! YOU ARE SELFISH AND WILL BE FIRED AND EXCLUDED FROM SOCIETY IF YOU DO NOT TAKE THE DEATH JAB!

How about a donut or some ice cream for taking the jab?

Why are they trying to spread gay everywhere, that’s my biggest concern. It’s absurd in schools, very absurd, promoting it to children in elementary and middle school. It’s as if they want us all dead or something. Totally fucked up or stupid or both.

"The Lemmings! They deliciously commit suicide on our command with the jabs and think they are being 'good people'. HaHaHa! Kill the Lemmings! Kill them ALL!"

Fortwaynemobile says

It’s absurd in schools, very absurd, promoting it to children in elementary and middle school.

Get away from urban centers. That shit doesn't happen in flyover country. I'm more worried about my kids f'ing a girl in middle school or high school and getting them pregnant. Very few gays around here and they all move if they are. Good chunk of them end up killing themselves from my experience. They flock to urban centers for their vice and end up with disease or dead. Darwin awards. Maybe it's not all that bad.

Real science has always been controversial. The establishment dosen't like truth, it upends their world view but facts win out in the end.

Just ask Galileo.

GreaterNYCDude says

facts win out in the end

It can take centuries though. Galileo was finally pardoned the Catholic Church in 1992.

The vaccine given to girls is testosterone and to guys, estrogen, to turn everyone queer.

If Fauci has his way, every guy will run out of the front door every morning and start sucking the nearest dick he can find.

Chicks will all be in farmer jeans shouting commands for strange women to lick them.

This is the Democrats dream come true.

WookieMan says

Fortwaynemobile says

It’s absurd in schools, very absurd, promoting it to children in elementary and middle school.

Get away from urban centers. That shit doesn't happen in flyover country. I'm more worried about my kids f'ing a girl in middle school or high school and getting them pregnant. Very few gays around here and they all move if they are. Good chunk of them end up killing themselves from my experience. They flock to urban centers for their vice and end up with disease or dead. Darwin awards. Maybe it's not all that bad.

Got recommendations of places to go to?