Monday Misery on the Political Open Thread

[Z is for Zangie]

Good Morning! Have a motivating Monday!

[Mike]

[Runswift9]

That really is not at all amusing.

[Mike]

That really is not at all amusing.

It’s out on the market.

Recently, ‘virtue’ proponent Jordan Peterson made a point of telling folks to not drink alcohol. His rationale (in part): alcohol is dangerous; half the people who either shoot someone or get shot were drinking in close time proximity to the shooting event.

Meanwhile, he fully advocates gun ownership. Saying that the populace needs to be dangerous (to the state).

Seems interesting to me that he is afraid of the danger of alcohol in the percentage of shooting incidents related to it… yet fully embraces the danger of guns in the percentage of shooting incidents involving gun owners. Which is 100 percent.

[Mike]

In Rolling Stone today: the Jan.6 insurrection planners claim they participated in ‘dozens’ of planning meetings with members of Congress, as well as with White House staff. In concert with what we’ve seen/heard from Steve Bannon, it’s looking more and more like the event was designed to do exactly what occurred that day.

[Randi]

Why are they still using guns on movie sets? I would think a good prop department could make one look “ real “ enough and everything else could be done with computer generated graphics

[Tarmaque]

Why are they still using guns on movie sets? I would think a good prop department could make one look “ real “ enough and everything else could be done with computer generated graphics

That's a question that is circulating right now. It is certainly possible to make prop guns that are incapable of chambering a real, live round. Such things have been around for many decades. (A track and field starter pistol is an example.) Some firearms need to be extensively modified to work at all with blanks, but that's an issue of simple logistics. There are actually armories that specialize in these. It's not generally cost effective to fully replace firearms on set, even though it can be done.

However a more important question is, why were there live rounds on set at all? There is no reason for any of the props on this set to have live rounds in them. It turns out that one specific assistant director has a long history of ignoring safety issues and he was the one that called out "cold gun!" A lot of the crew had already walked off due to this numb skull's lack of competence. This guy is probably going to get jail time for negligent homicide or something similar. I doubt he'll ever work on films again.

This is a simple case of someone incompetent on set that nobody likes and everyone complains about, doing something idiotic that got someone that apparently everyone on set liked killed. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

[Mike]

The flip side of the insurrection issue, and part and parcel of it: Facebook. There is ample and increasing evidence that not only did its algorithms not prevent inflammatory disinformation from spreading like wildfire, but that that the algorithms actually helped accelerate the spread of that disinformation. And that the choices to continue to deploy those algorithms were based exclusively on profit.

So my questions:
1. We routinely hear from conservatives and libertarians that the public good is best served by private interests. Any of you care to examine this case, and see how the concept holds up?
2. We also routinely hear the belief that (sexual conduct aside) if it’s not illegal, it isn’t wrong. This has often been expressed, for example, by folks who support corporations killing pensions… or slashing healthcare costs by making their fulltimers into part-timers. So then. What Zuck and FB did was not technically illegal when they did it. And certainly, there are many on the Right who believe that the dissemination of that disinformation in service to their own cause was the right thing to do… even as others on the Right are seeking to evade responsibility for their own parts in the process by blaming Facebook. So then: because it was not illegal, and does not pertain to sexual mores, does that make what FB did right??
3. Do we still believe that refusing to regulate such services is a good thing? Clearly, the market is not going to curtail Facebook. Should govt get involved? Or is laissez-faire still the best policy here?

[Slip Shod]

We have supply chain problems right? And if it isn't enough California's Gestapo attitude towards truckers pissing off drivers. A pole taken in the trucking industry indicates 30% truck drivers will hang it up, quit with a forced vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration.
Biden , are you brains in your ass, are you trying to destroy this country. If not, you're doing pretty good job of doing it.

[Z is for Zangie]

We have supply chain problems right? And if it isn't enough California's Gestapo attitude towards truckers pissing off drivers. A pole taken in the trucking industry indicates 30% truck drivers will hang it up, quit with a forced vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration.
Biden , are you brains in your ass, are you trying to destroy this country. If not, you're doing pretty good job of doing it.

Biden can't force vaccines on truck drivers, they aren't the government, and don't work for the government...only the people they work for can do that...please stop spreading propaganda lies...thanks

[Mike]

We have supply chain problems right? And if it isn't enough California's Gestapo attitude towards truckers pissing off drivers. A pole taken in the trucking industry indicates 30% truck drivers will hang it up, quit with a forced vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration.
Biden , are you brains in your ass, are you trying to destroy this country. If not, you're doing pretty good job of doing it.

Biden can't force vaccines on truck drivers, they aren't the government, and don't work for the government...only the people they work for can do that...please stop spreading propaganda lies...thanks

Shoddy can’t help himself. Like the overwhelming majority of these wingbot zombies, he no longer possesses a filter mechanism capable of detecting when his masters are lying to him. So the masters lie to their zombie hordes, and the zombie hordes unthinkingly and automatically propagate the lie as they have been so effectively trained to do.

[Slip Shod]

We have supply chain problems right? And if it isn't enough California's Gestapo attitude towards truckers pissing off drivers. A pole taken in the trucking industry indicates 30% truck drivers will hang it up, quit with a forced vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration.
Biden , are you brains in your ass, are you trying to destroy this country. If not, you're doing pretty good job of doing it.

Biden can't force vaccines on truck drivers, they aren't the government, and don't work for the government...only the people they work for can do that...please stop spreading propaganda lies...thanks

I'm not feeling the love anymore Ms.Z. and it saddens me cuz I really like you . You know there's a tremendous amount of pressure from the top down the administration and the Federal Government can exert. It's reflected in different Industries such as the airline industry, those who do business with the federal government, it moves its way down into even local government to cities, you are well aware of that. Mandating vaccination or be fired to get vaccinated or get fired to their EMS, police, fire etc.
And and Interstate trucking is regulated by the federal government. So the squeeze is on

[Z is for Zangie]

We have supply chain problems right? And if it isn't enough California's Gestapo attitude towards truckers pissing off drivers. A pole taken in the trucking industry indicates 30% truck drivers will hang it up, quit with a forced vaccine mandate from the Biden Administration.
Biden , are you brains in your ass, are you trying to destroy this country. If not, you're doing pretty good job of doing it.

Biden can't force vaccines on truck drivers, they aren't the government, and don't work for the government...only the people they work for can do that...please stop spreading propaganda lies...thanks

I'm not feeling the love anymore Ms.Z. and it saddens me cuz I really like you . You know there's a tremendous amount of pressure from the top down the administration and the Federal Government can exert. It's reflected in different Industries such as the airline industry, those who do business with the federal government, it moves its way down into even local government to cities, you are well aware of that. Mandating vaccination or be fired to get vaccinated or get fired to their EMS, police, fire etc.

Well, I don't need to agree with you to like you.
Government employees can legally be mandated to get vaccines among other things, and since most of them are around a lot of people, it makes sense.
I don't get this reluctance at all...(other than genuine religious views), even then, they should still mask and social distance in enclosed spaces indoors...just get that stupid shot...no one is making them, but, there are consequences for not doing what the majority of people think is a smart and kind thing to do
If they are fine taking this risk for themselves is one thing, though sad, almost everyone who is dying is unvaccinated right now...sigh...it is pointless, the vaccines work and are low risk, a lot lower risk than getting covid and/or dying or long covid. I am high risk, they put me at risk...even a mild case could put me on a ventilator or worse kill me.
But, if they don't give a fig about me, or themselves, or every other high-risk person, or those who are immunosuppressed and can't get the vaccine...then I would hope they cared about their own family and friends ...
I just don't understand it, it is preformative rebellion that hurts other people, even the Libertarians say your rights end at the point you endanger other people.
Just get the shot, it works, it isn't dangerous, and the low risks there are still less than if you get sick or get someone else sick.
And also, this is a fact: Many businesses, including airlines, want everyone vaccinated for liability reasons and humane reasons...the majority of the country wants this...we are trying to get this thing manageable and as soon as a lot more people are vaccinated we will...and we can get back more to normal again...so, many wanted the cover from the admin so they could do it and tell the people being difficult that they had no choice also...the faster more are vaccinated, teh faster we have to do less to avoid it
There is nothing wrong with vaccines or vaccine mandates, they have been around for years, I have had tons as a child, you can't go to school without them, the military has a ton you have to get, you can't travel to other countries without some...the point is to save lives
And again, why anyone would willfully endanger other people ( especially if they are religious, as that is so against what Jesus said), when they don't have to.
I just don't get it, plus it makes me sad all the people who have died and are going to die when it didn't have to be that way...it is also a horrible way to die...by being stubborn...
This isn't politics to me, it is human goodness and kindness and caring about other people
And themselves...I feel very strongly about this, and it isn't personal and about right or left...it is about what is good for humanity.

Rant over

Sorry, but, I am just frustrated about this. This is consistent with who I am...I always care about how things affect other people and how my behavior can hurt other people...I just don't get the callouness

[Slip Shod]

Rants can be a good thing - unload.
Basically, many of us out here think..
Go ahead wear your mask 24/7 - get your vaccination, then your booster .. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th whatever. We're all good with that. Do your be safe thing and leave the rest of us alone.
~ And that 28 year old guy. That might be just the thing.

[Mike]

Question: why do so many Christians resist getting the shot as well as wearing a mask? Really, why?

Is it connected to their desire to actively invoke the End Days? We KNOW that the more exposed humanity is to this virus, the more variants will evolve and emerge, and we know that it’s entirely possible that one or more of the eventual variants could be far more deadly than the current ones. So one has to wonder.

Side note: we dined with a friend on Saturday evening. Local sushi joint, it was delicious. Anyway, she spent much of the evening telling us about her variety of doctors’ appointments upcoming in the next couple weeks. Internist, gyno, breast exam, etc. She is a person who refuses to get vaccinated, and refuses to mask up. I did not belabor the point, but I did ask why, if she trusts all these medical professionals with her health in every other way, she refuses to get vaccinated. She giggled, but never really answered except to say something about resisting coercion.

[Slip Shod]

This, in hope, should be the final word on the covid vaccine, but I fear not because others simply will not let it go. BUT ..
Do your own damn 'due diligence'. Mask up ( the ultimate mask is a plastic bag over your head, secured around the neck ), vaccinate, booster shots and live your life 6' away from other people. There you have it, the good news according to Fauci - uz good to go.
~ and stick your mandates up where the sun don't shine.
I personally believe that within two years people are going to be dropping like flies because of that vaccine, mainly the spike protein running rampant in their systems now, able to cross the blood-brain barrier affecting the tiniest of capillaries in the brain and lungs. It also interferes with the immune system and gathers in reproductive organs and who knows how that's going to play out.
Two years.. dropping like flies

[Mike]

One thing we know with certainty is that people, given the opportunity to act responsibly, often don’t. Especially when their political trolling objectives are better served by being irresponsible.
As for the mandates you so despise, perhaps the govt should instead institute ‘protocols’? You know, as Fox ‘news’ has done?

[GuideToACrazyWorld]

Biden can't force vaccines on truck drivers, they aren't the government, and don't work for the government...only the people they work for can do that...please stop spreading propaganda lies...thanks

Biden give a speech several weeks ago about forcing masks and vaccination rules on any company with more then 100 employees. To date all he's done is set rules for federal employees. I agree with you that setting mask manages for private companies is outside the privy of the president, in this case Biden started the discussion himself.

[Z is for Zangie]

Biden can't force vaccines on truck drivers, they aren't the government, and don't work for the government...only the people they work for can do that...please stop spreading propaganda lies...thanks

Biden give a speech several weeks ago about forcing masks and vaccination rules on any company with more then 100 employees. To date all he's done is set rules for federal employees. I agree with you that setting mask manages for private companies is outside the privy of the president, in this case Biden started the discussion himself.

I know he did, but, also read he isn't going to do it for a variety of reasons, and that matters...it was idea and I don't know though suspect that it was more about giving some businesses cover than actually doing it...

[Z is for Zangie]

Rants can be a good thing - unload.
Basically, many of us out here think..
Go ahead wear your mask 24/7 - get your vaccination, then your booster .. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th whatever. We're all good with that. Do your be safe thing and leave the rest of us alone.
~ And that 28 year old guy. That might be just the thing.

I want to live a normal life too Slip, and I can't, I can not avoid everyone, in places where unvaccinated people are I can't stay away necessarily and just my luck, I would be one of the vaccinated who gets a cross over case...
I don't wear it 24/7 ( I wasn't snarky with you)...and I have breathing issues so it is hard to wear it for long periods...I am not bothering you at all, your life isn't being affected by anything I do...but what a lot of people are doing is putting me at risk, so, I think it is fair to be annoyed with them...plus, the more vaccinated people, the less we will have to take all these precautions, that is the point
Unless you work for the government or certain businesses, no one is mandating you do anything, and I never said I was in favor of a blanket one, we wouldn't need to do it at all if more people would get vaccinated...you got your vaccinations for school didn't you? You don't have to do anything, and I wasn't suggesting you did, I was asking why you are so resistant and mean to someone like me about it?
This is the last I am going to say about it too
Though you want to bet on that 2 year thing? Because I think you are wrong....
Anyway, this is the last I am going to say about it,
Not my type and way too young for what I am looking for...

[Slip Shod]

Though you want to bet on that 2 year thing? Because I think you are wrong....
Anyway, this is the last I am going to say about it,
Not my type and way too young for what I am looking for...
[/quote]
~ why sure I'll bet you . Now that you're working I won't mind taking your money .
I got $1.50 says I got it right . Problem is you won't be around to pay up . So we'll let Mike hold the money

[Z is for Zangie]

Though you want to bet on that 2 year thing? Because I think you are wrong....
Anyway, this is the last I am going to say about it,
Not my type and way too young for what I am looking for...

~ why sure I'll bet you . Now that you're working I won't mind taking your money .
I got $1.50 says I got it right . Problem is you won't be around to pay up . So we'll let Mike hold the money
[/quote]

haha...what makes you so sure I won't be around? I am going to live at least until 94, like my grandparents...lol...chicken...lol

[Slip Shod]

Though you want to bet on that 2 year thing? Because I think you are wrong....
Anyway, this is the last I am going to say about it,
Not my type and way too young for what I am looking for...

~ why sure I'll bet you . Now that you're working I won't mind taking your money .
I got $1.50 says I got it right . Problem is you won't be around to pay up . So we'll let Mike hold the money

haha...what makes you so sure I won't be around? I am going to live at least until 94, like my grandparents...lol...chicken...lol
[/quote]
. You make it to 94 'Z' and I want to be there at your party. I want to watch you blow them candles out