04 Mar 21
@mott-the-hoople saidTed Cruz was infected ?????
what do you call allowing covid infected illegal to flow freely into the US?
Now there's my Dammmmm moment....
@sh76 saidWe will be studying trends and efficacy of these public health measures for the better part of the decade. For the most part local health experts are making the best decisions/recommendations they can based on the evidence, and then politicians can choose directives weighed against possible impacts to the economy etc. Certainly there's plenty of evidence masks work, it just boils down to how it impacts the state in other areas. In many places, including South Dakota, there is no state-wide mandate but masks are still mandated in populated areas (e.g. Sioux Falls).
Okay, possibly that's a good one.
Other examples, such as comparisons between North and South Dakota (SD chose far fewer restrictions but had similar outcomes) and the fact that California's strictest-in-the-nation policies don't seem to have helped it much in the winter don't make me especially confident that government mandates do all that much.
Now we'll have a nice con ...[text shortened]... in the northeast fall.
I'll be glad to admit if I'm wrong, but I tend to doubt that will happen.
edit: in addition to Sioux Falls, the second and third largest cities in SD also have mask mandates.
04 Mar 21
@wildgrass saidDo you guys and gils know what is happening at the border. I was really loving Sonhouse fresh Texas info, and what Trump is doing today. but I am going to devote more time on the Border issue.
We will be studying trends and efficacy of these public health measures for the better part of the decade. For the most part local health experts are making the best decisions/recommendations they can based on the evidence, and then politicians can choose directives weighed against possible impacts to the economy etc. Certainly there's plenty of evidence masks work, it just ...[text shortened]... , there is no state-wide mandate but masks are still mandated in populated areas (e.g. Sioux Falls).
Sorry Sonhouse
@wildgrass saidDon't get me wrong. I do think masks work on an individual level. I just am underconfident that on this practically unenforceable granular level, people really give a damn what they government says. Places where COVID transmission is high risk (indoor venues where people are staying for reasonably long times) probably mandate masks anyway and communities that are contemptuous enough to not want to bother probably ignore the mandate or wear the masks beneath their noses or (my favorite) take it off to sneeze.
We will be studying trends and efficacy of these public health measures for the better part of the decade. For the most part local health experts are making the best decisions/recommendations they can based on the evidence, and then politicians can choose directives weighed against possible impacts to the economy etc. Certainly there's plenty of evidence masks work, it just ...[text shortened]... edit: in addition to Sioux Falls, the second and third largest cities in SD also have mask mandates.
Anecdotal though it is, I will tell you that where I live, the people who take COVID seriously are careful and the people who don't are not; nobody really gives a damn what the government thinks. Enforcing mask mandates is almost impossible.
Harsh measures like banning indoor dining drives people to private parties. Capacity restrictions on indoor activities are very hard to enforce, again, except where there is buy-in from the proprietor and/or the customers.
At this point, when we're used to the idea of COVID in our lives and something like 1/3-1/2 of us have some level of protection based on prior exposure or vaccination and where people have settled into what sort of risk they want to accept on themselves, I just don't know what state mandates can really accomplish. You can mandate masks, but you can't really enforce it. You can stop people from dining at restaurants, but you can't stop private dinner parties. You can pass capacity restrictions, but you can't bust into every meeting and count seats.
Personally, I'm double-vaxxed and though I'm happy to keep wearing masks in supermarkets out of respect for the other people, no mandate is going to make me wear masks outdoors or when I'm with my friends and family.
04 Mar 21
@averagejoe1 saidThey are stupid.
Is Biden calling the governors stupid? The President is calling the governors Stupid? Did anyone else hear that, I think it is actually true.
04 Mar 21
@AverageJoe1
What a load of stinking poop. The REPUBLICANS are 100% responsible for the deaths of all those people froze to death because those assswipes REFUSE to mandate winterizing.
They already said as much just today. Like I said, repubs could give a rats ass about the plight of common folk and it shows quite clearly with this latest goat fuk of their lack of state leadership.
Also, they refused to connect to the national grid so they can go it alone. You can see how well THAT turned out.
So the next freeze, another bout of death, freezing blowing water pipes, with no electricity the water works comes to a screeching halt.
And now here we are in a pandemic where among other things you are supposed to be washing your hands. So that doesn't happen much if you have no water.
ALL PREVENTABLE and 100% on the hands of the republican asssholes who refused in the past, refusing right now and refusing to winterize in the future.
They could give a rats ass about the common folk.
That should be obvious even to YOU.
But of course you will come back with some BS rational why it is just FINE that Texas repubs refuse to actually govern, bunch of lazy bastards ONLY interested in keeping their sorry asses in power and SCREW the common folk ESPECIALLY if they are brown or black skin.
05 Mar 21
@sh76 saidI think there's general consensus that speed limits are helpful to slow people down and prevent traffic fatalities. But the enforcement of these laws are hodge pogde and inconsistent. By some statistics 80% of all drivers exceed the speed limit and the vaaaast majority of speeders are not caught. In other words, 80% of all car drivers break the law.
Don't get me wrong. I do think masks work on an individual level. I just am underconfident that on this practically unenforceable granular level, people really give a damn what they government says. Places where COVID transmission is high risk (indoor venues where people are staying for reasonably long times) probably mandate masks anyway and communities that are contemptuous en ...[text shortened]... r people, no mandate is going to make me wear masks outdoors or when I'm with my friends and family.
Despite the lack of compliance with public safety measures, I still think it's a good idea, while not enforceable, for governments to use statistics, data and experts to take actions that protect public safety. Mask mandates aren't a perfect solution, but they slow infection rates and they are relatively easy to do vs. shutting down businesses and schools.
05 Mar 21
@Mott-The-Hoople
Since you seem to be a social scientist, how many infected illegals have entered the US?
05 Mar 21
@Earl-of-Trumps
So you figure it is ok for Texas state repubs to refuse to mandate winterizing the grid. Or refuse to connect to the national grid.
How did you reach that conclusion? People died you know.
Those deaths are 100% on the hands of those repubs.
05 Mar 21
@earl-of-trumps saidNoticed that . But , can you tell us what Sohoise DID say, I’m just not seeing it
@sonhouse
A 300 word diatribe and nary a mention of Trump. Good sign, sonhouse! 😉 🙂
05 Mar 21
@AverageJoe1
Well of COURSE you wouldn't see it, being a card carrying Trump cultist.
So YOU tell me why the Texas grid failed since you admit you are MUCH smarter than me. I must have missed something.
BTW, if I am so much dumber than you, maybe we should play a game of chess......
@sonhouse saidThought I had sent you this, in thr hopes that you can get on to the Trump Trials.
@AverageJoe1
Well of COURSE you wouldn't see it, being a card carrying Trump cultist.
So YOU tell me why the Texas grid failed since you admit you are MUCH smarter than me. I must have missed something.
BTW, if I am so much dumber than you, maybe we should play a game of chess......
Here is your answer. I won't take credit for it, why dot you throw it out there for people to see the answer.
Now there are 10 Ways to fix the problem....The BEAUTY?!?!? The Beauty of it all? Eveything happens within th state of Texas. ...where it dammit belongs, Sonhouse. YOU are so blind by socialism and everyone in everyone else's business, you still will not GET IT. Montana and other states, nor I, have NOthING to do with the gas grill that blew up in your backyard.
One you realize that , check out this website to see10 things that will refresh you mind.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/ten-ways-to-fix-texas/
Yu can thank later/ AJoe
05 Mar 21
1 edit
@sonhouse saidI believe in state's rights, if that answers you questions.
@Earl-of-Trumps
So you figure it is ok for Texas state repubs to refuse to mandate winterizing the grid. Or refuse to connect to the national grid.
How did you reach that conclusion? People died you know.
Those deaths are 100% on the hands of those repubs.
What if the whole US grid went down? Texas would be the ONE state where the power is on. So it goes two ways.
Hey, Texas threw the dice, they lost. No big deal.
PS: This is a prefect example of an issue where it is predictable where 99% of the libs/dems will stand.
The Dems want strong central government running our lives. Ergo, you criticize Texas for not being on the National Grid
- not due to strategic reasons, but because a democrat is a totalitarian. easy peazy.
05 Mar 21
@earl-of-trumps saidI'm sure traffic will pick up when he gets hauled into court.
@sonhouse
A 300 word diatribe and nary a mention of Trump. Good sign, sonhouse! 😉 🙂