Well... it's Trump... again. #47, here we go.

[lostone]

I’m assuming it’s because he said everyone should wear masks, which were useless and annoying, and he wouldn’t back the use of ivermectin, which would have cured everyone of Covid.

I think it might have to do with mixed messages. Early on he was saying it was not advisable to wear masks.

“Right now, in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, an immunologist and a public face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, on CBS’ “60 Minutes” earlier this month. He, like the others, suggested that masks could put users at risk by causing them to touch their face more often.

Mask mystery: Why are U.S. officials dismissive of protective covering?
He rectified it later, but the 180° change in recommendation did damage to his credibility.

Useless?

I am almost sure SM is being facetious. See his ivermectin comment.

You realize those of us who have never had Covid are almost all pretty strict mask wearers? Real ones, not the dick-nosed surgical ones. Yes, I mean you, lady, who was wearing at least three surgicals on top of each other. Dick-nosed.

I wonder how many people who "never had COVID" got it but never got tested because they did not have symptoms or whose symptoms were mild. I certainly had colds during the worst of the Pandemic, but nothing out of ordinary, so I just stayed home and did not bother getting tested. So I might well have contracted it without knowing it. And I did wear N95 masks regularly as soon as I could get my hands on some. But remember, early in the Pandemic it was hard to get your hands on good masks.

A doctor will, and should, change his message when new information invalidates previous knowledge. That;'s science.

 

[ZiprHead]

So as people know Trump had the military send some undocumented citizens from south America back. He didn't use the established procedures when sending the flights and some got turned away such as Colombia which as typically accepted the return of their citizens but though proper protocols.

Traditionally Colombia also did not have a far leftist president who used to belong to the M-19 guerilla/terrorist organization. His political party grew out of M-19.
Trump of course should have followed proper protocols (he is like an elephant in a china shop even when his overall goals are good), but let's not pretend that Colombia has a normal government either.

Colombia is considered to be a US allies.

Traditionally, yes. But, again, Gustavo Petro is a wildcard.

Red herring. In no way was Trump's action well considered. It's the actions of a bully and negotiation by threat. Trump is a menace.

It's the "Art Of The Deal."

 

[ZiprHead]

I keep some tens around to tip the house cleaning women

I keep ones to tip strippers. And higher denominations for lap dances and ... uhm ... other activities best paid in cash.

Watch what you are admitting to. Trump might try to send you back.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[TV and credit cards]

He’s already wasting tax payer money using military aircraft and now Americans will pay more for Colombian goods. Sheesh. Is America great again yet??

He’s likely using DoD aircraft/funds to save Homeland Security’s budget for other uses. He can’t transfer funds from one agency to another.

 

[Shadowy Man]

He’s already wasting tax payer money using military aircraft and now Americans will pay more for Colombian goods. Sheesh. Is America great again yet??

He’s likely using DoD aircraft/funds to save Homeland Security’s budget for other uses. He can’t transfer funds from one agency to another.

It’s still wasteful spending, something that he is supposed to be against.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Cash is certainly in a serious decline around here. I never use it.

It's very useful as a fallback if the network acts up.

The network has never acted up such as to prevent my use of at least one of multiple non-cash payment options.

Cash is simply not a part of my life anymore, except as an occasional novelty such as a bill in a birthday card.

You're assuming there are a variety of options. You're a bus driver so let's look at the buses here. Cash or work through their app--which requires a working cellular connection.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

What defines the template? Isn't that the genetic code that also exists at conception?

If nothing goes wrong in translating that genetic code into a person. But things sometimes do. And reading the full genetic code is still a non-trivial task. Does the chromosome contain every gene it's supposed to? Does it contain any extras that it's not supposed to? Knock out one gene on the Y and you get the Swyer syndrome I just mentioned. And what happens if that gene wandered onto something else and manifests?

I feel like you've just eroded your own viewpoint by pulling the rug away from even a basic X or Y basis. eg let me try and demonstrate...

You said "XY genes + failed applying of the "male" template = Swyer syndrome -- someone who is female, although some things that should develop in puberty might not. Thus male is female + template and that template does not exist at conception."

but (me) What defines the template? Isn't that the genetic code that also exists at conception?

You also said "If nothing goes wrong in translating that genetic code into a person. But things sometimes do. And reading the full genetic code is still a non-trivial task. Does the chromosome contain every gene it's supposed to? Does it contain any extras that it's not supposed to? Knock out one gene on the Y and you get the Swyer syndrome I just mentioned. And what happens if that gene wandered onto something else and manifests?"

If things sometimes do go wrong in genetic code translation then then must be able to go wrong with the basic XY genes. I think there's a lack of whole of system thinking creeping in here and there's too much focus on the X and the Y.

1) Mutations are possible. My mother was blind because of a mutation. It's technically recessive but it happens often enough by chance that inheriting it means basically 100% chance it manifests (and which means that it can't have existed farther up the tree.) And in all probability I inherited other health issues from her. (Looks pretty much the same, but the underlying mechanism is unknown.) Issues that certainly couldn't have existed farther up the tree.

2) Even not considering this the problem remains that reliably reading the entire genetic code is decidedly non-trivial. Sure, there are labs out there that you can send a specimen to and they'll give you a "full" DNA readout for some hundreds of bucks. But it's not your whole genome, only like 99% or 99.9% or 99.99% of it. The thing is it's a probabilistic thing, they read out random bits of your DNA. An expensive test might read out 100x as much DNA as you have which IIRC translates to 99.99% coverage. Not 100% coverage. Things will be missed.

3) You're also assuming you have one set of DNA. Maybe, but maybe not. How many of us are chimeras? A quick check with Google says unknown but maybe as high as 10%. The thing is in the vast majority of cases chimerism goes unnoticed. It's only identified when either there are body effects that are apparent or genetic tests come back wonky. (Like the woman arrested for welfare fraud because the DNA check came back saying she was the aunt. Yeah--turns out she was both mother and aunt depending on which part of her body you looked at.)

 

[Swammerdami]

Dispensing with trivia, my ATM withdrawals would be free if I used an ATM (or a human teller) in the Province where I opened the account. But I've moved to Chiang Mai. Start a new thread if you need more of my banking details!

IIDB has at least 3 or 4 members who approve of Trumpism, but at this point hearing their opinions on Trump-47 will be more sad than amusing. I WILL ask @Derec specifically though. He seems to agree with Trump on almost all policy issues despite never voting for him. @Derec -- what do you think of Trump-47 so far?

That's a bold-faced lie!

I'm pretty sure you gleefully click Report on me every chance you get, but I'll just gently remind you that calling me a liar, whether with face BOLD or BALD -- are you sure you're a native speaker? -- is against ToU.

I disagree with Trump on most of his positions.

REALLY? Irrational hatred of "DEI" -- Check! Irrational hatred of foreigners -- Check! Defend cops who kill innocents -- Check! Blame victims -- Check! Misogyny -- Check! Et cetera.

And even where I agree with him on principle, he has been a disaster when it comes to implementation.

Obviously. Your views are mostly right-wing but like Liz Cheney you have a 100+ IQ.

- - - - - - - - - -

These facts do not meet the DSM-V criteria for a diagnosis of 'bonkers'.

There you go again! Where's my copy of DSM-V? I need the latest definitions of "bonkers", etc. in order to properly diagnose the symptoms I often observe. I'm not even sure if I'm autistic, schizophrenic, obsessive-compulsive, or a combination of all three.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

So as people know Trump had the military send some undocumented citizens from south America back. He didn't use the established procedures when sending the flights and some got turned away such as Colombia which as typically accepted the return of their citizens but though proper protocols.

Traditionally Colombia also did not have a far leftist president who used to belong to the M-19 guerilla/terrorist organization. His political party grew out of M-19.
Trump of course should have followed proper protocols (he is like an elephant in a china shop even when his overall goals are good), but let's not pretend that Colombia has a normal government either.

Doesn't change how out of line The Felon was. You simply don't go flying military aircraft into another country without first getting permission!

And note that this isn't the first misdeed with his deportations. Mexico also rejected a flight: nope, not our people. Admittedly, this has been a problem for some time, the government deporting to Mexico (shove them across the border) people who aren't Mexican. Sometimes not even the right appearance to be Mexican.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Red herring. In no way was Trump's action well considered. It's the actions of a bully and negotiation by threat. Trump is a menace.

Disagree--I think this is just a case of being out of touch with reality, thinking he can do anything he wants.

 

[bilby]

Cash is certainly in a serious decline around here. I never use it.

It's very useful as a fallback if the network acts up.

The network has never acted up such as to prevent my use of at least one of multiple non-cash payment options.

Cash is simply not a part of my life anymore, except as an occasional novelty such as a bill in a birthday card.

You're assuming there are a variety of options. You're a bus driver so let's look at the buses here. Cash or work through their app--which requires a working cellular connection.

We do not handle cash at all on our buses. The only ways to pay are with a Go Card from TransLink, an Odin Pass (which is a phone app) or by buying a paper ticket at a bus station. We are supposed to also take credit and debit cards, but TransLink and Cubic (who supply the hardware and software) can't make it work, due to incompetence.

Cash was deprecated when Covid happened, but Covid was the last straw, rather than a major cause; The union had been campaigning for an end to cash handling for a few years, to protect drivers from robbery.

 

[Swammerdami]

I’m assuming it’s because he said everyone should wear masks, which were useless and annoying, and he wouldn’t back the use of ivermectin, which would have cured everyone of Covid.

I think it might have to do with mixed messages. Early on he was saying it was not advisable to wear masks.

WHAT????? A scientist changed his mind about something in response to new data?? Are they allowed to do that???? No wonder Biden had to pardon him.

I thought scientists were just supposed to say whatever George Soros and Greta Thunberg tell them to say. Changing one's mind is a privilege reserved only for our finest intellectuals like Donald Trump and George Santos. (Oh wait -- this is Derec who "never voted for Trump." Replace the Donald Trump example with Ron DeSantis I guess.)

 

[Swammerdami]

It remains a riveting question: WHY did so many American voters choose fascism and a psychopath?

David French addresses this in yesterday's N.Y. Times. Here are some excerpts:

How a German Thinker [Carl Schmitt, a Nazi writing in 1932] Explains MAGA Morality

“When you worship power, compassion and mercy will look like sins.” Benjamin Cremer, a Wesleyan pastor and writer who is based in Idaho, posted that thought last year. I saw it last week and immediately forwarded it to some of my close friends with a note that said that this sentence captures our political moment. It helps describe America’s moral divide. Over the last decade, I’ve watched many of my friends and neighbors make a remarkable transformation. They’ve gone from supporting Donald Trump in spite of his hatefulness to reveling in his aggression. This isn’t a new observation. In fact, it’s so obvious as to verge on the banal. The far more interesting question is why. How is it that so many Americans seem to have abandoned any commitment to personal virtue — at least in their political lives — and have instead embraced merciless political combat so enthusiastically that they believe you’re immoral if you don’t join their crusade or even if you don’t mimic their methods? It’s a question with a multifaceted answer.
...

The political sphere, according to Schmitt, is distinct from the personal sphere, and it has its own distinct contrasts. “Let us assume,” Schmitt wrote, “that in the realm of morality the final distinctions are between good and evil, in aesthetics beautiful and ugly, in economics profitable and unprofitable.” Politics, however, has “its own ultimate distinctions.” In that realm, “the specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy.”

One of liberalism’s deficiencies, according to Schmitt, is a reluctance to draw the friend-enemy distinction. Failing to draw it is a fool’s errand. An enduring political community can exist only when it draws this distinction.
...

Our government is constructed with the understanding that, as James Madison famously put it in Federalist No. 51, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” The Constitution tries to ameliorate the will to power as best it can — as Madison said in the same essay, “ambition must be made to counteract ambition” — but the founders also knew that even our elaborate system of checks and balances is insufficient. To make our system work, virtue is a necessity. “We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion,” John Adams wrote in his 1798 Letter to the Massachusetts Militia, “Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net.”
...

While Trumpists are among the most vicious voices in the public square, merciless aggression is sadly common across the political spectrum, especially at the extremes. I’ve seen far-left activists utterly demonize their opponents. Any deviation from orthodoxy is perceived as evil, and evil must be utterly eradicated. And there’s no humility in cancel culture — regardless of whether it comes from left or right. Because our civics depends on our ethics, we should be teaching ethics right alongside civics. Sadly, we’re failing at both tasks, and our baser nature is telling millions of Americans that cruelty is good, if it helps us win, and kindness is evil, if it weakens our cause. That is the path of destruction.

 

[unapologetic]

Biden should have EO'd a requirement for the President to breath air with a mix that was 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen.

Only the purest air, that is 100% Oxygen is good enough for Herr Rump. It's a shame he doesn't smoke

The Fascist Felon has discontinued Dr Fauci’s security detail.

Someone needs to discontinue Rump's security detail. Also, from https://abc7ny.com/post/newark-ice-...n-custody-warrant-mayor-baraka-says/15833458/

"they were banging down bathroom doors to make sure no one was hiding inside,"

If no one was in there, why need to bang down the door?

Don't forget to take lots of $2 bills (I assume they're still rare)

Not rare, just unused.

 

[unapologetic]

In the 1990's WIRED mag said cash was dead. I responded "Hell No, I'm not giving up cash. Cash can't be traced."
In 2020 I finally broke down and got my first and only debit card. I still carry bills for vending and bus fare.
2 months ago bus fare went to an even dollar amount, so I stopped carrying change.
The only coin in my pocket now is a "bitcoin" token. (the one pictured in every article) Just for fun.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

A doctor will, and should, change his message when new information invalidates previous knowledge. That;'s science.

And a Republican will choose the message they most like and insist that it's the truth, everything else is a conspiracy theory to make trouble.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I keep some tens around to tip the house cleaning women

I keep ones to tip strippers. And higher denominations for lap dances and ... uhm ... other activities best paid in cash.

Watch what you are admitting to. Trump might try to send you back.

Why would he mind? Or is it for me but not for thee?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

We do not handle cash at all on our buses. The only ways to pay are with a Go Card from TransLink, an Odin Pass (which is a phone app) or by buying a paper ticket at a bus station. We are supposed to also take credit and debit cards, but TransLink and Cubic (who supply the hardware and software) can't make it work, due to incompetence.

Cash was deprecated when Covid happened, but Covid was the last straw, rather than a major cause; The union had been campaigning for an end to cash handling for a few years, to protect drivers from robbery.

Buy from the bus station--around here there's only one and it's downtown.

AFIAK our drivers can't be robbed because they have no access to the cash. You don't pay the driver, you stick the money in the machine. (Which means no change.)

 

[Loren Pechtel]

In the 1990's WIRED mag said cash was dead. I responded "Hell No, I'm not giving up cash. Cash can't be traced."
In 2020 I finally broke down and got my first and only debit card. I still carry bills for vending and bus fare.
2 months ago bus fare went to an even dollar amount, so I stopped carrying change.
The only coin in my pocket now is a "bitcoin" token. (the one pictured in every article) Just for fun.

Our bus fares are even. Unless you're buying a time pass (2-hr or 24-hr) on a reduced fare.