The rush may be greater if I don't follow the laws, but then finding the laws the risk still exists. I don't feel bad for driving and putting others at risk while I just try to get to work or home.
I did mask during the mandate what I had to, I also didn't mask during the mandate when I didn't have to. It's not like I went into a nursing home without a mask, I went out with other people who were also willing to not use masks, it's not like I intentionally exposed my breath on those who wanted to stay isolated and masked up. If it's appalling to hang out with other intentionally un-masked individuals, I don't know what to tell you.
That's fair, but I think you can still compare it to the flu, which is not that far off from covid percentage wise. At this point both the flu and covid should be at an equal level of people having vaccines and natural antibodies, right? Even if you go with covid being about twice as deadly as the flu, twice as deadly as almost nothing is still almost nothing.
Well one big difference is that PPP loans were a one time thing, they are gone now and not coming back for a very long time.
If you paid off all student loans today, there would be more tomorrow, and every day after that. If we do it once, we basically have to keep doing it until school is completely paid for and student loans are no longer a thing.
Forgiving student loans just has a much bigger and longer lasting financial obligation than one time PPP loans.
Again, I think you need to look up the definition of false equivalency, what I am saying isn't that.
Define dangerous, because I wouldn't call current strains of covid dangerous. The hospitalized death rate isn't that far off the flu at this point. It used to be more deadly, but it's just not anymore.
But hey, at least we can agree I'm technically correct.
Am I not putting people at risk of death and injury by driving my car even if I do it while sober and follow the rules? Am I not harming people with my exhaust, even if it's stock and legal? We all do stuff that puts others at risk, it's part of life.
God could have made it not even happen in the first place, he needs to answer for creating a death virus, and cancer, and all the other horrible stuff he is responsible for.
That's not what I'm saying at all, does saying all people die mean all people are the same? Does saying all murders kill mean they are all the same? No, there are obviously differences.
which ignores the differences in damage they do to people.
The fact I said isn't about differences in damage, facts don't have to say everything to be facts. My fact also isn't saying or implying that they do the same damage.
If you had any actual point to make with your pedantic bullshit, I didn't see it. You're just textually masturbating as far as I can tell.
Look at the context of who I was responding to. They were basically saying that if it kills we should wear a mask, I pointed out that All viruses kill and we don't wear masks because of those, so just the fact that it kills isn't enough.
I think you need to look up the definition of false equivalency, it is not an apple to orange kind of thing to say all viruses can kill. I'm not denying some kill more than others, but they all kill. If you can't understand this fact, I don't know what to tell you.
It's mad that people can go "hey my actions put people at risk of death and injury and I'm just going to do it"
Yeah, you know, I realize that driving my car around puts others at risk, it pollutes the air, I might hit and kill someone accidentally, but I have to get food and go to work somehow. I guess screw me for just trying to live my life, right?
Can you imagine if there was an afterlife, and you had to explain your actions to your higher power
I would ask why that higher power thought creating covid was a good idea in the first place, or why he didn't care enough to stop it.
The numbers I've seen are from hospitalized patients, which should still be tracked, and tracked in a similar way to the flu. It doesn't give us the full story for sure, but it gives us something to compare.
Yes really, I'm part of that pro gun community, I own some myself. In the US, we have certain rights that are in our constitution, like the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, a trial by jury, and along with all those is the right to bear arms. It was so important to early America it's the second amendment, right behind free speech.
Just having a gun, or any item that is also a weapon really, doesn't oppose the right to live. Both exist, it's illegal to kill someone with your fists, a knife, a bat, or a gun, it doesn't matter what tool is used.
Most mass shooters fit the definition of "law abiding gun owner" right up to the minute they start firing into crowds.
So they aren't law abiding? Glad we can agree on that. Yes it's legal to carry a gun around as long as you don't go shooting random people with it, what's the point? I carry a pocket knife everywhere I go, that's also legal also as long as I don't go stabbing people.
Who blocks expanded checks and red flag laws that would have prevented mass shooters from buying semi-automatic weapons on a whim
So about red flag laws. Should red flags prevent the ability to practice a right? I'm not mentioning any specific right because constitutionally they all have the same protections. If it's illegal to use two flags to prevent free speech, it's illegal to use it for any other right, that's how rights work.
The people wanting to single out one right are destroying the integrity of the most important document in US history. There are correct ways to do it, but they aren't being done, instead they are trying to do things unconstitutionally. Removing a right is hard, and requires agreement, and there isn't enough support to do it so the left resorts to unconstitutional methods and the right fights to stop it.
And surprise surprise, it's the same groups that routinely strips other people of their rights without a glimmer of guilt or self awareness.
I'm also against the recent movements to remove stuff like the right to abortion, but I was honestly shocked to see how weak the argument that made abortion a "right" was. Did you know how the original Roe V Wade decision was made?
It starts with the 14th amendment, known as the amendment that gave citizenship to anyone born in the USA, and providing them equal protection under the law. There is one line in the 14th amendment that reads "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law". The supreme court decided that one little phrase gives us the implied right of privacy. From that right to privacy, they determined that means we also have the right to abortion, but only some abortion, no late term abortion.
So not surprising it was a very controversial decision that many saw as the right result in the wrong way. I'm honestly surprised it lasted 50 years.
To summarize the NPR one, and correct me if I am wrong, but they are confirming that the current variants are weaker, but that we shouldn't take that to mean the next variants will follow the same trend?
If it comes down to then being required again I'll look out for those and give them a try.
I'm in the US, I think we have had maybe the best access to these vaccines. I just checked one pharmacy in my area, 17 locations within 30 miles all with appointments today, I can even choose between Moderna and Pfizer. I haven't gotten a booster in a while, but I want to say I've gotten the first two shots and like 2-3 boosters. The last booster was an updated one I think for Delta.
As someone who didn't try to not to get sick, avoided wearing a mask whenever I could, went to crowded bars with friends during the height of covid, etc, and never once got noticeably sick, I didn't find the air I was breathing to be all that dangerous to warrant protection.
I'm not denying that COVID exists, I got my vaccine the second it was available to me, I just didn't feel as threatened by it as some others did.
I saw it as an evolutionary benefit to be less deadly. The way I'm seeing this, the virus's purpose in life is to spread, so a higher infection and contagious rate with less death rate is ideal from an evolution standpoint.
I call it reality.