So they were lying. Got it. Glad you caught up to the rest of the class. I didn’t come here to listen to your stupid opinions, I came to tell you how it is. That’s how it is. I like how you bring up old shit where I was also completely 100% correct; shows you’re way to fuckin’ slow to keep up. Get on my level or STFU. Better yet, just save us all the time and skip right to the shuttin’ the fuck up.
Wow, you must be living in a different “public” from the rest of us. IME, some of the public gets news of scientific information and says “well that makes sense”. But a distressingly large proportion of the public, including majorities of Republicans and overwhelming majorities of right-wing conspiracy-thinkers, just responds with “don’t trust the media FAKE NEWS egghead scientists conspiracy international elites destroying our freedoms cold dead hands”.
The chief reason the CDC has to worry so much about the optics of the public-health messages it’s trying to send is because of those gibbering loons who wouldn’t know a responsible policy decision or a reputable scientific source if either of them bit them on the ass.
This is purposely misleading. CDC always recommended surgical masks for people who had symptoms as source control. They were asking people to not buy N95 due to limited supply. Once it was discovered that a large number of people were mildly symptomatic, asymptomatic or presymptomatic carriers, they recommended cloth masks for everyone. News of this came at the end of March 2020 and the CDC made their mask recommendation for everyone official April 3, 2020. That is following the science for those of us who really were following the science.
The CDC published instances of airborne transmission back in June 2020 even though this was considered controversial. They didn’t make an official announcement until October, but they were not hiding the fact that there was evidence of airborne transmission.
Even though they are underestimating how safe outdoors is, they always stated that being outdoors is much more safe than being indoors in public. That doesn’t mean that all outdoor situations are safe. It’s still not safe to be close to someone outdoors without a mask (if not vaccinated).
The mask guidance for vaccinated people is the least conservative guidance they’ve provided so far. On the other hand, this guidance appears to come after the potential April surge lost its steam almost immediately. A surge in deaths never occurred. Between the number of people infected and vaccinated, there is simply not enough hosts left even though we’re not at herd immunity. Plus, most vulnerable people are vaccinated. It’s a less conservative call, but it is not simply political.
Not the only maskhole in ID going for that Gov. position. Noted maskhole, Ammon Bundy, is running for governor. Of course, he is banned from the capitol grounds, but I’m sure that’s seen as a positive to his dipshit followers.
I think the pen was a nice touch. Generous and so practical, too. But in a United States hospital that single Tylenol cost $33.89 so let’s leave it at the pen, K?
Oh, and a few sheets of toilet paper to write on.
“Nuh-uh! YOU are!!!”
And here I thought Live free or die was New Hampshire’s motto, not Idaho’s.
Well, apparently Idaho’s is “live free AND die.”
Speaking of Idaho.
The Republican Governor went out of state to attend the Republican Governors’ Conference. While he was gone, the Republican Lieutenant Governor issued an executive order banning all mask requirements in the state. The Governor went back to rescind the order and called it a stunt.
“Stunts 'R Us” would make a very accurate name for the 2021 Republican Party, come to think of it.
And they’re being very cunning about them.
It’s stunning, really.
Today is the first day in MA of the non-governmental enforcement of masking (though businesses can still require it). We were in a Cape Cod Dunkin’ Donuts this morning (“no masks” sign still prominently hanging) and the few of us in there were wearing masks. Then a big balding older guy came in (picture a retired wrestler) and immediately informed the young guy stocking the straws etc. that “you don’t have to wear that anymore.”
The guy began explaining that it was still corporate policy and not everyone was vaccinated, but then the two ladies behind the counter starting quietly saying “don’t engage him! don’t engage him!” and he stopped.
So then the guy bellows to the whole room “I’ve had 18 months of that, and that’s enough!” and then he goes to the other end and talks the lady behind the counter into giving him a chair so he can sit at the tables (which of course have had their chairs removed to keep people from sitting down).
After a pause he tells the room “I’m an 88 year old man in a 62 year old body, and I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of all that Trump nonsense and GOP politics and politics in general.”
The whole thing was weird, and my wife thought he might even have dementia, but in the end he was still a guy without a mask yelling at a roomful of people about masks.
Yeah, man, you don’t have to tell me why they worry about optics. The point is they worry about optics. And that means those of us with a higher functioning brain stem can hear what they say and say “I bet this has some concern for optics mixed in,” while the cicada-level thinkers of our society just go along with whatever they say, without critical thought. Sheesh. I thought we were all on the same page with that one. If I’ve sinned at all, it was by once again overestimating the critical thinking abilities of my fellow man.
Anyway, in other news, Walmart and some grocery stores (Kroger?) have dropped their mask mandates. I’m sure others have done the same without me reading about it. Another brick…falls from…the wall? You think the public transit one lasts past August? I’ma say…yes. No, no. No, back to yes. Final answer.
Meanwhile, my mother’s having a major birthday celebration this month and my sister’s driving in from RedStaterville. Naturally she’s unvaccinated with no goddamn reason not to be. And we all gotta act like that’s fine. Now my kids can’t hang out with grandma because Auntie might get them sick. What bullshit.
The last time I was present for someone ranting, I interrupted him to say, “nobody fucking cares” and he shut up.
To give a proper follow-up on this:
The Lt. Governor, predictably, doubled down:
Shame the Governor can’t fire the Lt. Governor.
Pretty impressive dressing-down.
Props to Gov. Little for recognizing that neither one of them was elected “paladin.”
I wasn’t. I was telling you that your claim about what “the public” does when informed directly about results of scientific studies, without mediation from advisory bodies such as the CDC, differs markedly from what much of the real-life public does in those circumstances.
Maybe you thought you were replying to a different post?
It’s Idaho. I’m sure that there ae plenty of ‘Tom Horn’ wanna-bees. /s