American Politics Thread VI: Can't We All Just Get Along?

[Thermodolia]

Hell there where a stack of 50 boxes of 10 N-95 masks each at Lowe’s the other day. Thats 500 masks just sitting in a store

Those aren't N-95 masks. Their just normal paper masks. Just because it looks like a medical grade mask doesn't mean that it is.

No they are N-95 masks. Lowe’s was selling them 10 per box. Hell I can post the picture of them. Prior to 2020 I was pretty involved in construction and I know what a N-95 mask looks like

[Thermodolia]

Those aren't N-95 masks. Their just normal paper masks. Just because it looks like a medical grade mask doesn't mean that it is.

Here's the list of NIOSH approved N95 masks: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/N95list1.html

Here's Lowe's respiratory protection product list: https://www.lowes.com/pl/Respiratory-protection-Safety/721068286897

You can cross-compare these two lists to figure out what's what.

This is literally what I bought

[Neanderthaland]

But the updated "science facts" are that it's still possible to transmit and infect others, even after the vaccination is supposed to be in full effect!

It's bad practice in the science community to say there's a 0% chance of something because that is rarely ever the case. Yes, it is POSSIBLE to transmit Covid through a mask, but it's a very very low probability.

It's sort of a weird argument anyway. Basically everyone acknowledges that covering your mouth when you cough sneeze isn't a 100% effective way to stop the spread of a cold.

But try sneezing directly onto someone's face sometime, and see if the "it isn't a reliable way to stop the spread of germs" defense stops them from punching you.

[Shrillland]

It's bad practice in the science community to say there's a 0% chance of something because that is rarely ever the case. Yes, it is POSSIBLE to transmit Covid through a mask, but it's a very very low probability.

It's sort of a weird argument anyway. Basically everyone acknowledges that covering your mouth when you cough sneeze isn't a 100% effective way to stop the spread of a cold.

But try sneezing directly onto someone's face sometime, and see if the "it isn't a reliable way to stop the spread of germs" defense stops them from punching you.

Or more. As I always remind people, here in Illinois, if you cough on someone deliberately, anything that follows is now considered self-defence.

[Genivaria]

The natural state of existence is working for a wage? Don't be ridiculous.
We produce far more with our modern technology than our ancestors could've dreamed of and yet we throw away more food every year in the United States than we consume simply because it's not profitable to give it to the hungry.
We don't NEED the profit motive, in fact we are being restrained by it.

Profit has nothing to do with it. Food is thrown away because government regulations forbid it from being given to soup kitchens, etc. In a prior career, I managed fast food restaurants. We tried VERY hard not to have unsold food, because it HAD to be trashed.

And do you know why those regulations exist? TO PREVENT THE PRICE FROM TOO LOW.

We tried VERY hard not to have unsold food, because it HAD to be trashed

Yeah that's a straight up lie, plenty of restaurants give their food to food banks.

[Grave_n_idle]

No. That's not it - Trump is, after all, famously also a Democrat.

He wasn't at the time, however. If you look at his party membership history, he's generally been a member of the party opposite the one currently in charge.

To circle back to my point, if Trump were a Democrat, but his policies were largely unchanged, MSNBC and the like would've treated him like FOX did in OTL.

No, 'the point' is that Trump isn't just being criticized because he's a Republican. Because he isn't.

That's a fake argument made to rationalize why Trump was so ridiculously unpopular, even compared to previous dumpster-fire presidents like Bush - and it relies on everyone agreeing to forget things like the yield curve inverting all the way back in 2018, the economy having 5 of it's ALL-TIME biggest same-day collapses in the 3 years BETWEEN Trump being elected and the pandemic... and his horrible mismanagement of a pandemic.

Trump wasn't criticized for being a republican or a conservative - he isn't either. He was criticized for being an awful, awful president. Which is why his criticisms have been unusually bipartisan.

[Genivaria]

He wasn't at the time, however. If you look at his party membership history, he's generally been a member of the party opposite the one currently in charge.

To circle back to my point, if Trump were a Democrat, but his policies were largely unchanged, MSNBC and the like would've treated him like FOX did in OTL.

No, 'the point' is that Trump isn't just being criticized because he's a Republican. Because he isn't.

That's a fake argument made to rationalize why Trump was so ridiculously unpopular, even compared to previous dumpster-fire presidents like Bush - and it relies on everyone agreeing to forget things like the yield curve inverting all the way back in 2018, the economy having 5 of it's ALL-TIME biggest same-day collapses in the 3 years BETWEEN Trump being elected and the pandemic... and his horrible mismanagement of a pandemic.

Trump wasn't criticized for being a republican or a conservative - he isn't either. He was criticized for being an awful, awful president. Which is why his criticisms have been unusually bipartisan.

You know looking back it's really easy to forget alot of the Trump scandals because of just how fucking many there were.

[Shrillland]

No, 'the point' is that Trump isn't just being criticized because he's a Republican. Because he isn't.

That's a fake argument made to rationalize why Trump was so ridiculously unpopular, even compared to previous dumpster-fire presidents like Bush - and it relies on everyone agreeing to forget things like the yield curve inverting all the way back in 2018, the economy having 5 of it's ALL-TIME biggest same-day collapses in the 3 years BETWEEN Trump being elected and the pandemic... and his horrible mismanagement of a pandemic.

Trump wasn't criticized for being a republican or a conservative - he isn't either. He was criticized for being an awful, awful president. Which is why his criticisms have been unusually bipartisan.

You know looking back it's really easy to forget alot of the Trump scandals because of just how fucking many there were.

Right? Who remembers when he tried to buy Kalaalit Nunaat?

[Exalted Inquellian State]

You know looking back it's really easy to forget alot of the Trump scandals because of just how fucking many there were.

Right? Who remembers when he tried to buy Kalaalit Nunaat?

Yes, trying to buy land is a scandal.

[The Temple of the Computer]

You know looking back it's really easy to forget alot of the Trump scandals because of just how fucking many there were.

Right? Who remembers when he tried to buy Kalaalit Nunaat?

I don't see what is so wrong about trying to buy the country of greenland.

[Merrill]

Profit has nothing to do with it. Food is thrown away because government regulations forbid it from being given to soup kitchens, etc. In a prior career, I managed fast food restaurants. We tried VERY hard not to have unsold food, because it HAD to be trashed.

And do you know why those regulations exist? TO PREVENT THE PRICE FROM TOO LOW.

We tried VERY hard not to have unsold food, because it HAD to be trashed

Yeah that's a straight up lie, plenty of restaurants give their food to food banks.

Fuck you, asshole! I don't lie.

[Genivaria]

Right? Who remembers when he tried to buy Kalaalit Nunaat?

I don't see what is so wrong about trying to buy the country of greenland.

Ethically? Nothing.
Logically? Fucking stupid as hell.

[Genivaria]

And do you know why those regulations exist? TO PREVENT THE PRICE FROM TOO LOW.

Yeah that's a straight up lie, plenty of restaurants give their food to food banks.

Fuck you, asshole! I don't lie.

Well golly gee I'm convinced.

[The Temple of the Computer]

I don't see what is so wrong about trying to buy the country of greenland.

Ethically? Nothing.
Logically? Fucking stupid as hell.

Fair enough.

[Conservative Republic Of Huang]

I don't see what is so wrong about trying to buy the country of greenland.

Ethically? Nothing.
Logically? Fucking stupid as hell.

I mean, buying and selling sovereignty over land negates the right to self-determination of its inhabitants. Greenland has a pretty sweet deal with autonomy from Denmark.

[Genivaria]

Ethically? Nothing.
Logically? Fucking stupid as hell.

I mean, buying and selling sovereignty over land negates the right to self-determination of its inhabitants. Greenland has a pretty sweet deal with autonomy from Denmark.

Well I would assume they'd be okay with it if it actually did happen of course.
We wouldn't just buy land without the consent of the inhabitants.......who are European.

[Shrillland]

I mean, buying and selling sovereignty over land negates the right to self-determination of its inhabitants. Greenland has a pretty sweet deal with autonomy from Denmark.

Well I would assume they'd be okay with it if it actually did happen of course.
We wouldn't just buy land without the consent of the inhabitants.......who are European.

There really aren't many Europeans on the island, they're all Inuit just about and most of them want independence, they just can't get it because Danish subsidies make up a critical mass of the territorial budget that Kalaalit Nunaat can't hope to make on its own.

[Genivaria]

Well I would assume they'd be okay with it if it actually did happen of course.
We wouldn't just buy land without the consent of the inhabitants.......who are European.

There really aren't many Europeans on the island, they're all Inuit just about and most of them want independence, they just can't get it because Danish subsidies make up a critical mass of the territorial budget that Kalaalit Nunaat can't hope to make on its own.

Okay so ignore me because I don't know shit about Greenland apparently.

[Rusozak]

It's sort of a weird argument anyway. Basically everyone acknowledges that covering your mouth when you cough sneeze isn't a 100% effective way to stop the spread of a cold.

But try sneezing directly onto someone's face sometime, and see if the "it isn't a reliable way to stop the spread of germs" defense stops them from punching you.

Or more. As I always remind people, here in Illinois, if you cough on someone deliberately, anything that follows is now considered self-defence.

Is it now? Takes notes

[Conservative Republic Of Huang]

I mean, buying and selling sovereignty over land negates the right to self-determination of its inhabitants. Greenland has a pretty sweet deal with autonomy from Denmark.

Well I would assume they'd be okay with it if it actually did happen of course.
We wouldn't just buy land without the consent of the inhabitants.......who are European.

I will say I haven't looked into this at all, but I can't help but suspect Greenlanders wouldn't have wanted to be bought by Trump, especially considering Danish financial support for them. In any case, if land is to be transferred between states, the only necessary and sufficient condition should be the consent of the inhabitants, rather than a crude financial transaction, which implies that the power of the state over land can be separated from the consent of the people. Even statists admit power ought to flow from the people and only the people.

[Shrillland]

Or more. As I always remind people, here in Illinois, if you cough on someone deliberately, anything that follows is now considered self-defence.

Is it now? Takes notes

I'm pretty sure it is, anyway, at least since the first lockdowns. I could be wrong, though.

[Myrensis]

Even those who weren't at high risk for death were and still are at risk for Long COVID due to the lung damage it causes. I've had COVID, I got it in late February 2020, and I still have a harder time with seasonal allergies than before because my lungs can't handle phlegm like they could before the disease. We may not all be at risk of death, but with Delta now affecting children, we are all at risk for long-term damage.

Okay, this is where the "lived experiences" of millions of people are conflicting, and setting up different expectations from the government. Some still view Covid with fear. Others look at what effect it had on them and their neighbors, and say "What's the big deal?"

So, for those of you who are still afraid, masks that work are now available, there is a vaccine that the government claims to work; why don't you guys protect yourselves, and let the rest of us reject the risk, if we choose? It's YOUR responsibility to protect yourself.

Because, Billy, there will always be people who can't get the vaccine for various medical reasons, or are all ready immunocompromised, and we're not particularly inclined to let them die just because you've decided that endangering others by being a petty spiteful asshole makes you the hero of your own deluded fairytale.

[Galloism]

Tbf this would depend if the shirt was wet or not.

And on the type of fabric, the liquid it had been soaked in, the extent of the saturation, whether or not there's an alien with a plasma knife demanding they hand over their shirt-- did you not get the point, or are you heading to some sort of wetness:Gates Foundation microchips::shirt:vaccine thing

Mostly I just was pointing out the example wasn't that great of an example.

Also, I still didn't get my personal 5G uplink, and I'm super pissed about it.

[Thermodolia]

And on the type of fabric, the liquid it had been soaked in, the extent of the saturation, whether or not there's an alien with a plasma knife demanding they hand over their shirt-- did you not get the point, or are you heading to some sort of wetness:Gates Foundation microchips::shirt:vaccine thing

Mostly I just was pointing out the example wasn't that great of an example.

Also, I still didn't get my personal 5G uplink, and I'm super pissed about it.

I heard only select people where allowed those. And they specifically excluded Florida residents

[Eahland]

And on the type of fabric, the liquid it had been soaked in, the extent of the saturation, whether or not there's an alien with a plasma knife demanding they hand over their shirt-- did you not get the point, or are you heading to some sort of wetness:Gates Foundation microchips::shirt:vaccine thing

Mostly I just was pointing out the example wasn't that great of an example.

Also, I still didn't get my personal 5G uplink, and I'm super pissed about it.

The problem is that flesh is opaque in 5G frequencies, so none of our vaccine nanobots can get any bars.