Comments by "KesArt" (@kesart8378) on "Face the Nation"
channel.
-
37
-
26
-
20
-
19
-
14
-
12
-
12
-
11
-
7
-
6
-
6
-
6
-
As the late great American baseball legend, Yogi Berra, once said, "It ain't over till it's over."
Unless memory fails me, I recall Dr. Gottlieb expressing a positive attitude but last week about un- masking and reopening America. At the time I wondered, "Given how very mutable this virus has proven, and how the variants that have emerged have proved more transmissible and more potent than the original virus, wouldn't an abundance of caution be more appropriate than adopting a cheerleading stance for the America Reopens campaign."
From the very start of the pandemic certain factions (read: conservative Republicans) in America have let haste be their guide as they dove pell-mell into the race of which state will be first to reopen. And some medical and scientific professionals have, no doubt, felt pressure to put a rosier than truthful gloss on the status of America in the time of COVID, particularly given the restive nature of certain Americans, particularly those enamored of conspiracy theories... And America has not reached the percentage-- which is now calculated as higher than it was pre-variants-- necessary to achieve "herd immunity."
One would be well advised to keep a mask at hand whenever venturing out--especially in regions where anti-masking and anti-vaccine sentiments run high.
5
-
5
-
5
-
Deat SCHOOLTHEWORLD, First, may I say that as a parent and grandparent I empathize with the instinct to protect one's offspring against unknown, potentially harmful forces.
However, as a retired professor and proud father of a son who is a neurologist, I feel compelled to place a good deal of stock in what the medical and scientific experts say.
At this point in time the experts, given how recently this new corona virus made its debut, cannot say with certainty how long--and how effective--"natural immunity" (i.e.: immunity acquired through exposure to the virus, exposure that prompts the body to generate antibodies to combat the virus) will prove. They need more time and more data.
My kids and grandchild live in the state of Florida and they have not abandoned masking--particularly when indoors amongst people whom they do not know. My four-year old granddaughter wears a mask at preschool and takes a mask to public parks, and is reminded not to crowd too closely to unmasked children in the park. (My kids have a "pod," a group of parents and children who practice the same preventative health measures, which, therefore, makes them safer to socialize with than those who are lax about following health guidelines.)
So given that we care so much about our little ones, we exercise great caution and take with a huge grain of salt the pronouncements of politicians--particularly state governors who wish to claim the title of, "First to reopen."
Perhaps the CDC article about types of immunity (link below) will be of some assistance.
Stay safe and be well.
Cheers
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/immunity-types.htm
5
-
5
-
4
-
4
-
4
-
Ah, the scholarly chin-whiskered chap clearly belongs in the camp of empiricism and not rationalism: he seems willing to believe only what his own extremely limited experience presents to his highly suggestible mind. He believes that what he imagines that he perceived--or, rather, what his brain interpreted from the limited, decontextualized data it received--constitutes "the truth." And, more troubling, is his faith that his very limited experiences--what legal types call "anecdotal"--can be extrapolated on a grand scale, grand enough to permit him to condemn an entire electoral system from minuscule bits of interpreted occurrences. From little snippets--confined to one very specific location--can a great cloth be constructed. Mountains from molehills. Global conspiracies from what he observed and interpreted as irregularities during the terrible brief time that he was present in one singular polling place...But he's not--as he's quick to interject--"a conspiracy theorist."
Interesting, too, is the fact that this average Joe had no knowledge that Trump's appointee, Chris Krebs, the nonpartisan director of CISA, had certified the election as "...the most secure in American history," a statement supported by the FBI'S Christopher Wray, another Trump appointee. And when pressed on this issue, Mr. Average Citizen said that he doesn't pay attention to "supposition," only facts. (Read: "Only what I observed/experienced directly in my very small sphere/bubble.")
So for this chap to be enlightened would require transporting him to every state--and several randomly chosen polling places within each state--on Election Day so that his untrained eyes could see firsthand what transpired.
Oh, and it would absolutely require unplugging him from the feeds of right-wing, pro-Trump propaganda mills. Like weaning a five year old child who has only known breastfeeding for her life to date. Imagine the ghastly howling triggered by such deprivation.
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
3
-
2
-
2
-
@mariar2651 Thank you for the civil manner in which you presented your thesis.
However, your points have been thoroughly debunked in so many venues that I find myself a bit embarrassed that you are banging a drum long broken and discarded.
The changes in voting methodology were inarguably necessary given that America--and the world--was in the throes of the first wave of the pandemic and a failure to make healthful accommodations to how Americans vote would have constituted criminal negligence. Health concerns, not darkly sinister political machinations, prompted the changes.
As for the legality of said changes, sixty plus court challenges found no merit to any of the allegations that you raise. That reality, in addition to the fact that the Supervisors of Elections in all fifty American states--a goodly number dominated by Republican legislatures--certified their states' elections should have put this matter to bed...but apparently not for some doggedly persistent folk.
As for the issue of Russian interference--are we really still litigating the 2016 election?--all components of America's alphabet soup intelligence community--FBI, CIA, NSA--as well as the Director of National Intelligence, agreed that Russian agents had succeeded in intruding electronically into the American 2016 election--and for the purpose of tilting the election to Trump.
Regarding the fantasy that then Vice President Joe Biden interfered in Ukrainian politics in order to secure a position with Burisma for his son, Hunter, this matter, too, has been exhaustively investigated, both by the press, foreign and domestic, and by the U.S. intelligence agencies, and found to be without merit. Yes, Hunter Biden is an opportunistic charlatan and all-round gobsh**e, but those self evident facts aside, Biden forced the firing of a corrupt, pro-Putin, Ukrainian prosecutor with the full support--and urging--of America's UK and European allies, none of whom gave a tinker's damn about Hunter Biden's job prospects.
So while I very much appreciate your civility and decency, I must admit to a measure of disappointment at the dredging up of tired, meritless talking points that are rooted in a belief in grand conspiracies, conspiracies that sprang from the minds of partisan political operatives, only to wither in the light of day.
Cheers
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
@nc3826 Condoleeza Rice was one of the chief architects of the invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein, both of which were sold to the American public and Congress through the use of manipulated intel. Stockpiles of WMDs never existed and, contrary to George W. Bush's claim, Iraq never attempted to purchase "yellowcake uranium" from Niger, or anywhere else for that matter, for the purpose of creating offensive nuclear devices. But these were the lies that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et. al., foisted upon America's citizenry and elected officials, lies that led to the "Forever War" that America lies embroiled in--at a terrible cost of so many American lives and trillions of dollars--to this day.
And let's not forget Condoleeza Rice's major role in supporting the rendition and torture of foreign nationals.
This woman has been denounced by scores of political scientists and has had to cancel speaking engagements at colleges and universities due to planned protests by students and faculty...Life can be bumpy for those labeled as "war criminals."
2
-
2
-
2
-
2
-
1
-
1
-
@tcjohnson3437 Again, with respect, America, at present, has two distinctly different information eco- systems and supporters/partisans exist in grand numbers for both.
Unfortunately, the two systems diverge considerably in what they present as reality and what they consider to be the truth. And, regrettably, far too many of their partisans lack the skills necessary to apply analytical and critical thinking to the data that they receive--and passively consume--from their favoured news purveyor.
While I appreciate passion, your posts exude a good deal of anger, anger that prohibits lucid reasoning and disdains rational debate. But it does have an affection for baseless accusations and dismissiveness toward those not of your faith, or political stripe...and it raises the question of why you choose to engage with those whom you disagree profoundly when you come to the debate with closed ears (and mind?).
So thanks for the kind closing; I, in return, wish that you and those dear to you will weather these parlous times in safety and good health.
Cheers
1
-
1
-
1