American Politics

[JustTK]

I have been thinking about Uruguay for about 10 years now. From what I've read it does seem like an awesome place. It's just so far to get to. Have you been there? It would be great to hear a first hand review. But like most countries, they had an evil past. No indigenous left and years of right wing military governments But that is all over now.

No, never been. Just followed the story of Mujica thru various news outlets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFSmaztcP4c (an excellent short docu if you have the time).

Not only an admirable character for his frugal liefstyle, but also for his global outlook on the big issues.

Yeah, I hear that the treatment of the negros by the blancos in the wars of liberation for Argentina and Uruguay is why the word 'cannon fodder' was invented. They sent all the negors out in the front line to take the onslught from the Spanish imperialists. Thats why those 2 countries have very few negros now, unlike other South America countries.

I would like to visit there myself too, but being a vegan, I don't think the local diet will best serve me. Hehe. Doesn't it have more cows per capita than any other country in the world?

[Tiny 12]

The Atlantic has come under fire for suggesting that all the terrible pandemic-era decisions over lockdowns, school closures, masking, and punishing an entire class of people who questioned the efficacy and wisdom of taking a rushed, experimental vaccine. For a virus with a 99% survival rate in most, should all be water under the bridge.

By the way Elvis, your 99% survival rate is almost certainly low. At one time it wasn't a bad estimate. But now the infection fatality rate for the USA as a whole, all age groups combined, would have to be less than 1%. Everyone has at least some immunity, from vaccination and previous disease. And the dominant variants are less lethal than what we had before.

I was pretty darn happy to get that rushed, experimental vaccine. Thank you Donald Trump for getting it through the FDA so quickly!

[JustTK]

So according to you, the only way to get "uncensored" free speech is how? By reading blogs? Is FUX Snooze obsequious? Or just left-leaning sources? If Truth Social deletes my account, is that bad? Or is it only bad if Twitter bans me?

I didn't say anything about there being an "only way".

Fox News is part of the collaborative authoritarian control over media, for sure. Not sure why you believe I would think it otherwise. The rest of your comment, I didn't understand.

[Tiny 12]

I will forgive your ignorant thoughts. No doubt you were educated in the usa. But how can russia be more homicidal? Usa has higher domestic murder rate, murders most civilians in wars, has higher death penalty rates, higher covid deaths. Answer please.

Usa government has the most money in it to buy policy, usa uses international institutions such as imf, wb, nati for its own ends, invades countries that it wants, cuases coups. In what eay ix russia more corrupt?

You've got some good points. I'm not sure I agree about the IMF and the World Bank. Those two institutions have helped out a lot of poor countries. Although, yeah, there's been corruption with World Bank programs in particular.

[Tiny 12]

It is great that you were not hurt Tiny but what about the people who were? Do you have a child two years behind where they should be academically? Have you talked to people who were forced to get the vaccine and harmed by it? How about the people who were forced to get it even though they have natural immunity? Why was that decision made and and who made it?

As for listening, you are not wearing a mask right now right? Why have you stopped? Covid is still around and people are allegedly still dying from it every day. If that has not changed, then why have you stopped wearing one? Because the government told you not to? Why did they do that, science or politics? And by the way, Biden has kept us under emergency rule even now because of Covid after he publicly declared the pandemic over.

And as of now, you still have all these Democratic douches who believe their stupid shit worked versus the virus just running its course. Lockdowns, social distancing, and hand sanitizers were a complete fucking joke. All these were worthless. Given that masks might work, I think you would be a fool not to wear one around someone with Covid. OTOH, wearing them outside is moronic and at the supermarket makes no sense either. Enclosed in a bus or subway with poor ventilation may have made sense but that is about it. Too often wearing masks and getting the vaccine (after the summer of 2021) was not helpful in preventing disease but a sign you were compliant with government.

The emphasis should have been on isolating sick people and treating them versus restricting well people. I will never understand why the monoclonal antibodies, which worked so well, were an afterthought with Covid and the vaccines, which did not work shortly after they were developed, were the end all be all. Steroids and blood thinners were used and were effective as well. Honestly, Tiny, I do not know if anyone really died of pure Covid who was not put on a ventilator.

And there are warehouses full of ventilators that taxpayers paid billions for. How did that happen? I get your saying, "Well, the people who made that decision were trying to do their best. " How do you know that when you do not even know who made that decision and why they did?

The Great Barrington Declaration outlined how we should have treated the virus, and the Dems here have stupidly and wrongly put it down. Fauci and Collins used taxpayer resources and even admitted to using the media "to take it down". Why was it "taken down"? It is pretty obvious to me that Fauci and Collins took them down because they did not want anyone else but them to lead the war against Covid.

And speaking of Fauci, he was appointed God by the Democratic media as a foil to Trump. Yeah, Trump said a lot of dumb things and should have been on top of the virus spreading much more quickly than he was, but I know now it did not matter in the end. Hell, Biden's response and Trump's were indistinguishable outside of the Democrats talking a bigger game (I. E. Being bigger assholes). To this day, the dumb Dems think they can change the earth's climate and cure a cold virus.

With Fauci, you should listen to the podcast of Josh Rogin on Joe Rogan's show. He is a Democrat and gives an even handed non partisan critique of Fauci. But honestly, it made me sick.

And the war on opioids is still ongoing. Once again, the government stuck its beak in the patient's room and demands that it be the only voice listened to and the end result like with Covid was a disaster. Read this article and tell me the war on opioids was not a PR campaign fabricated by the DEA, https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis...n-painkillers..

IMO Fauci planned seizing power, money, and influence if a horrible outbreak occurred. Josh Rogin makes that point that Fauci's zeal to cure a future pandemic may have inadvertently caused this whole pandemic to begin with. What I liked about Rogin is he never came out and said Fauci was bad but he sure left you a bread trail to that fact.

Actually Elvis, a woman who I went to junior high with probably died because of the COVID vaccine, or that's what her doctors think. I believe it's a numbers game, and if you're over 50, you may be about 100X better off getting vaccinated than not. Put another way, I believe the chances of dying from COVID are over 100X greater than dying from a couple of COVID shots. Maybe less though if you're really old and infirm. And I believe the COVID vaccination provides good protection against hospitalization and death.

I've had a stockpile of N95 masks since 2005, after SARS. I kept them alongside my stockpiles of canned food, water, and ammo. The masks came in useful in the first half of 2020. Like I mentioned, I've only had one cold since the start of COVID. I used to have 2 or 3 a year. I'd keep using masks from time to time even if COVID disappeared from the face of the earth, as I believe they help prevent the flu too. I suspect the COVID vaccine may provide some protection against other coronaviruses, including the ones that cause the common cold.

And finally, since I have a large nose, N95 masks make me more appealing to women. My typical outfit when trolling bars is a mask, aviator goggles, a sleeveless T-shirt and Bermuda shorts. Women can't resist that!

[Tiny 12]

House arrest: Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters would favor a government policy requiring that citizens remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies, if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Imprisonment for questioning the vaccine: Nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters think federal and state governments should be able to fine or imprison individuals who publicly question the efficacy of the existing COVID-19 vaccines on social media, television, radio, or in online or digital publications.

Forced quarantine: Forty-five percent (45%) of Democrats would favor governments requiring citizens to temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Stripping people of their children: Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Democratic voters would support temporarily removing parents' custody of their children if parents refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. That's much more than twice the level of support in the rest of the electorate seven percent (7%) of Republicans and 11% of unaffiliated voters for such a policy.

That's insane! And what difference does it make? Everyone has had COVID and or gotten vaccinated. Some in the scientific and medical communities believe infection provides better immunity than vaccination. Who's better protected, someone who got the two initial shots back in March, 2021 and a booster six months later? Or someone who was never vaccinated but had COVID, the disease, recently? I'd argue probably the later.

Now maybe a vaccine requirement makes sense for some health care workers. But vaccination requirements in November, 2022, are just an attempt to enforce political correctness and achieve a sense of moral superiority.

If a person wants to reduce his chances of getting severe COVID, he can get vaccinated and boosted and wear an N95 or KN95 mask when appropriate, in crowded indoor settings for example. That's what I do. I don't go around telling other people they need to do the same thing.

[Xpartan]

Ever since the powers that be decided to moderate my posts, it's become impossible to edit anything if you accidentally hit "upload". I don't remember where I stopped typing, sorry about that.

[Xpartan]

The fiction is anyone dying from Covid and that lockdowns that saved them. Tell me genius. How do people theoretically die from Covid and how do you distinguish it from other causes?

I have no idea Elvis. I guess we'd have to ask 1. 07 million dead Americans who have died from Covid how they died from Covid, but I'm afraid we can't.

Trained medical professionals how they know whether or not you have Covid, and they will be able to give you an answer.

The problem is you won't ac.

[Xpartan]

Not at all. It appears you do not understand what homicide is. Or you are only counting the homicides from one country, whiich is obviously ridiculous. 300.000 registered violent deaths alone in Iraq, caused by USA illegal war. https://www.iraqbodycount.org/.

"What does it have to do with Putin's homicidal government?" - nothing directly, You claimed Russia was the most homicidal. I have given plain evidence that is total BS. Even if you just count war, which is only one slice of the cake.

A homicidal government is a government that commits premeditated murders.

Which is why the Russian government is the most homicidal government in the world.

Comparing Putin's war in Ukraine with Iraq is an outrageous falsehood. In Ukraine, Russia strategically and deliberately murders civilians. I'm not even talking about loss of life among military personal both Russian and Ukrainian due to Putin's war of choice.

Deaths in Iraq, as tragic as they are, were a result of unintended consequences -- the civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. America didn't do the killings.

While in Ukraine, it's Russia that directly does the killings.

No one is dense enough not to understand this.

Which begs the question what kind of sick game you're playing here.

[Elvis 2008]

Paulie, I destroyed your millercenter link's assessment of Eisenhower's atrocious economy with their own clumsy admission that the USA was in a state of Recession for FIVE of the eight years Eisenhower was in office, including his last year in office, just in time for the usual crap Repub-to-Dem hand-off. And nevermind that 20% of Americans lived in poverty as defined much worse that it is today because, oh well, nobody was paying much attention to those people during the Eisenhower years anyway.

Yeah, Tooms, that bottom 20% were living it up in the depression and during WW2 and the Korean War. Your bird brained binary view of the world neglects to mention that all the major wars fought in the 20th Century happened when Democrats were in control.

And the most celebrated decades of the 20th century were the 20's, 50's, and 80's, all under Republican rule.

And your beloved JFK and LBJ dragged us into Vietnam destroying the 50's good vibe and pushed us to a type of civil war in the 60's. I do not blame WW1, WW2, and the Korean War on the Democrat presidents but given your definition of the rules, I should.

Still, Vietnam was definitely on LBJ and lesser so with JFK. You miss the fact that Eisenhower avoided war, and his administration largely was a time of peace.

And who said you took down Paulie? Those voices in your head at it again? I hope Fairfield Inn has a good health plan.

[Elvis 2008]

I respectfully disagree Elvis. Why not let bygones be bygones. I don't think the scientists and the doctors were involved in a massive political conspiracy. I listened to them, wore my KN95 masks when it made sense, and got vaccinated and boosted. And since the start of COVID I've only had one cold. And it wasn't COVID.

It is great that you were not hurt Tiny but what about the people who were? Do you have a child two years behind where they should be academically? Have you talked to people who were forced to get the vaccine and harmed by it? How about the people who were forced to get it even though they have natural immunity? Why was that decision made and and who made it?

As for listening, you are not wearing a mask right now right? Why have you stopped? Covid is still around and people are allegedly still dying from it every day. If that has not changed, then why have you stopped wearing one? Because the government told you not to? Why did they do that, science or politics? And by the way, Biden has kept us under emergency rule even now because of Covid after he publicly declared the pandemic over.

And as of now, you still have all these Democratic douches who believe their stupid shit worked versus the virus just running its course. Lockdowns, social distancing, and hand sanitizers were a complete fucking joke. All these were worthless. Given that masks might work, I think you would be a fool not to wear one around someone with Covid. OTOH, wearing them outside is moronic and at the supermarket makes no sense either. Enclosed in a bus or subway with poor ventilation may have made sense but that is about it. Too often wearing masks and getting the vaccine (after the summer of 2021) was not helpful in preventing disease but a sign you were compliant with government.

The emphasis should have been on isolating sick people and treating them versus restricting well people. I will never understand why the monoclonal antibodies, which worked so well, were an afterthought with Covid and the vaccines, which did not work shortly after they were developed, were the end all be all. Steroids and blood thinners were used and were effective as well. Honestly, Tiny, I do not know if anyone really died of pure Covid who was not put on a ventilator.

And there are warehouses full of ventilators that taxpayers paid billions for. How did that happen? I get your saying, "Well, the people who made that decision were trying to do their best. " How do you know that when you do not even know who made that decision and why they did?

The Great Barrington Declaration outlined how we should have treated the virus, and the Dems here have stupidly and wrongly put it down. Fauci and Collins used taxpayer resources and even admitted to using the media "to take it down". Why was it "taken down"? It is pretty obvious to me that Fauci and Collins took them down because they did not want anyone else but them to lead the war against Covid.

And speaking of Fauci, he was appointed God by the Democratic media as a foil to Trump. Yeah, Trump said a lot of dumb things and should have been on top of the virus spreading much more quickly than he was, but I know now it did not matter in the end. Hell, Biden's response and Trump's were indistinguishable outside of the Democrats talking a bigger game (I. E. Being bigger assholes). To this day, the dumb Dems think they can change the earth's climate and cure a cold virus.

With Fauci, you should listen to the podcast of Josh Rogin on Joe Rogan's show. He is a Democrat and gives an even handed non partisan critique of Fauci. But honestly, it made me sick.

And the war on opioids is still ongoing. Once again, the government stuck its beak in the patient's room and demands that it be the only voice listened to and the end result like with Covid was a disaster. Read this article and tell me the war on opioids was not a PR campaign fabricated by the DEA, https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis...n-painkillers..

IMO Fauci planned seizing power, money, and influence if a horrible outbreak occurred. Josh Rogin makes that point that Fauci's zeal to cure a future pandemic may have inadvertently caused this whole pandemic to begin with. What I liked about Rogin is he never came out and said Fauci was bad but he sure left you a bread trail to that fact.

[ChuchoLoco]

Right. But I advocate for a better world in which good guys can exist. As it stands, they are murdered or overthrown bcos they stand in the way of exploitation. There are and have been a few, but few and far in between. Mujeca is the best example I can think of right now. Lead Uruguay t obe the best country in South America. Based on many criteria. Although most USAns seem to think that the economy is the only factor worth considering / discussing.

I have been thinking about Uruguay for about 10 years now. From what I've read it does seem like an awesome place. It's just so far to get to. Have you been there? It would be great to hear a first hand review. But like most countries, they had an evil past. No indigenous left and years of right wing military governments But that is all over now and it seems to be an incredibly progressive country. What all countries should strive for. It was very inexpensive a few years ago but I have heard that is no longer the case. I should just go find out for myself.

P.S. The Rio Plata area it shares with Argentina has a distinctive dialect. Caballo is pronounced cabasho. Just a fun fact.

Agree on what you say. Just wanted to point out what I did. Paz.

[PVMonger]

Calling someone a dumb ass is not an attack? Of course it is.

There is more than one way to censor free speech. Search algoryhtms, factchecks, content warnings, deleting of accounts, de-monitarising accounts, burying of stories, control of media, obsequious media, control of social media, straight up banning of news channels. All this censorship is ok? You just don't like it when other countries do it.

FYI, Donnie the Dumbass was called "the dumbest student I ever taught" by one of his teachers. If that doesn't say "dumbass", I don't know what does.

So according to you, the only way to get "uncensored" free speech is how? By reading blogs? Is FUX Snooze obsequious? Or just left-leaning sources? If Truth Social deletes my account, is that bad? Or is it only bad if Twitter bans me?

[Elvis 2008]

It means, that for Elvis (and me, and most other ISGers, I suspect) the 99% survival rate is a fiction.

The fiction is anyone dying from Covid and that lockdowns that saved them. Tell me genius. How do people theoretically die from Covid and how do you distinguish it from other causes?

And of course, what our enlightened Elvis completely fails to recognize is a thing called long Covid. It's when you ain't dead, but sometimes you wish you were.

Just like you dumb lefties pillared Dr. Malone, who went on Joe Rogan's show and was labeled an antivaxxer, I was vaccinated and probably got Covid and long Covid after. Unlike him, my tests were negative. Obviously, you did not have it, or you wouldn't have made such a dumb comment about long Covid.

Long Covid is annoyance not a death wish dummy. I had a lousy cough, energy was down, and had a type of brain fog for 3 months, but I did not miss a day of work with it. My mother currently has the exact same symptoms I had right now and has also tested negative, and I have talked to dozens of people who say the same thing.

Thing about the cough is I tried tessalon perles for it, and they did not work like they so often do. I was in Colombia and asked the pharmacist about cough medicine. He gave me a gallon jug of cough syrup with codeine in it without my having a prescription, and that did work for the cough.

As for you Democratic douches caring about Covid, give me a break. You cared about being good slaves to the government.

House arrest: Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Democratic voters would favor a government policy requiring that citizens remain confined to their homes at all times, except for emergencies, if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Imprisonment for questioning the vaccine: Nearly half (48%) of Democratic voters think federal and state governments should be able to fine or imprison individuals who publicly question the efficacy of the existing COVID-19 vaccines on social media, television, radio, or in online or digital publications.

Forced quarantine: Forty-five percent (45%) of Democrats would favor governments requiring citizens to temporarily live in designated facilities or locations if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Stripping people of their children: Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Democratic voters would support temporarily removing parents' custody of their children if parents refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. That's much more than twice the level of support in the rest of the electorate seven percent (7%) of Republicans and 11% of unaffiliated voters for such a policy.

And the worst of all this is the vaccine stopped working in later summer, early fall of 2021. Yeah, douche, you guys are really compassionate.

[JustTK]

This is true but the USA is made up of mostly of Europeans at least at one time and it is carrying on the traditions of the Colonial Powers. There really are no good guys and there never has been.

Right. But I advocate for a better world in which good guys can exist. As it stands, they are murdered or overthrown bcos they stand in the way of exploitation. There are and have been a few, but few and far in between. Mujeca is the best example I can think of right now. Lead Uruguay t obe the best country in South America. Based on many criteria. Although most USAns seem to think that the economy is the only factor worth considering / discussing.