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#161 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 85,849
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#162 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 17,447
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#163 |
Graduate Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,546
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It can happen, but not in way these morons think. There is strong evolutionary pressure to make virus less harmful. Not less infectious, mind you. So pretty much as you guessed.
There are few hundred different viruses causing something we call "common cold". I am quite sure significant part of them were in far, far away past worse. Obviously, there is no guarantee it will actually happen and even if it happens, it will take long time. |
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Sanity is overrated. / Voting for Republicans is morally equivalent to voting for Nazis in early 30's. |
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#164 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Alexandria, VA Home to the Deep State.
Posts: 22,333
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I think President Dumb **** just lost Texas. One of the dogs usually first in line to hump Trump's leg (Gov. Abbot) just issued a mask order.
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A MAGA hat = a Swastika arm band. A vote for Trump is a vote for treason. |
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#165 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Near Harmonica Virgins, AZ
Posts: 2,544
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"You have done nothing to demonstrate an understanding of scientific methodology or modern skepticism, both of which are, by necessity, driven by the facts and evidence, not by preconceptions, and both of which are strengthened by, and rely upon, change." - Arkan Wolfshade |
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#166 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Sir Fynwy
Posts: 31,034
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#167 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 11,177
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There was a sudden shift in talking points from Republicans all across the country towards mandatory mask use. Clearly this is part of an organized strategy. I don't expect it will be long before these people are all claiming Republicans were promoting mask use all along and it was the Democrats holding things up.
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"Anything's possible, but only a few things actually happen" |
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#168 |
Lackey
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: South East, UK
Posts: 96,096
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I wish I knew how to quit you |
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#169 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 11,177
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"Anything's possible, but only a few things actually happen" |
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#170 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 24,805
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#171 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 16,868
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Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppin's Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
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#172 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,956
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#173 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 17,646
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It depends on the nature of the virus and it’s modes of transmission. The selection is for what maximizes viral spread. For a particular type of virus that may be selection for a less rapidly lethal form of disease so that the infected host is up and about spreading the virus around. This was observed for a myxomatosis virus and rabbits in Australia. But for a different type of virus and/or a different environment a rapidly lethal disease that produces a large burst of viruses in a short time may spread the virus better.
I imagine a less rapidly lethal virus is selected among sparsely populated hosts for e.g. |
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#174 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Sacramento
Posts: 49,965
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Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein. |
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#175 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 85,849
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No sure how "sparsely populated" affects a pathogen's transmission. I would think absent a nearby host to infect would help the virus die out.
Giordano is right though, there are multiple selection factors. Take the MRSA 300 strain (bacteria but still a good example), it became the dominant strain and spread rapidly worldwide. It was the result of a mutation that allowed the Panton–Valentine leukocidin toxin to form. The bacteria became more virulent, not less yet that strain spread. Trump is claiming the N95 masks were depleted under Obama for the 2009 flu and not replaced. He's oblivious to the last 3.5 years when he could have replaced the stock. |
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#176 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 5,288
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#177 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,956
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This sign on an Arizona vintage store telling patrons they must wear masks is amusing.
"If you choose not to wear a mask, we respectfully ask that you postpone your visit,” “We will be happy to debate the efficacy of masks with you when this is all over and you come in to sell your dead grandmother's clothes." |
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#178 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Posts: 16,495
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![]() The Trump Administration's Coronavirus strategy has been complete, disastrous, cluster-****. It defies belief that a US Government effort can be so incompetent, but the graph doesn't lie. Europe has closed its borders to people from the USA or transiting through the USA... and with good reason. |
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I want to thank the 126 Republican Congress members for providing a convenient and well organized list for the mid-terms. - Fred Wellman (Senior VA Advisor to The Lincoln Project) ![]() |
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#179 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 4,856
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#180 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Puget Sound
Posts: 15,371
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Kimberly Guilfoyle has tested positive. DJTJ is in isolation.
I'm all broken up over this. |
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To survive election season on a skeptics forum, one must understand Hymie-the-Robot.
My authority is total - Trump |
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#181 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada, eh?
Posts: 16,868
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Trust me, I know what I'm doing. - Sledgehammer I'm Mary Poppin's Y'all! - Yondu We are Groot - Groot |
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#182 |
"más divertido"
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: USA! USA!
Posts: 22,779
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The all-new "US Politics and coronavirus" thread pt. 2
I know that it’s tone trolling or whatever, and I promise to only say it this one time. Can we please not wish that anyone, anywhere gets a potentially deadly virus? If nothing else, they aid on the spread that may get someone that you don’t want to get sick.
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#183 |
Quixoticist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: ON Canada
Posts: 3,487
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"Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." - Oscar Wilde |
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#184 |
NWO Kitty Wrangler
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 28,912
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Nope, sorry, can't do that. These people have made it clear they are either unable or unwilling to learn from the misfortune of others, and start acting as needed to fix this mess. At this point, a full-force bitch-slap from reality is the only thing that could possibly make them open their ******* eyes. These people went out of their way to become the leaders of the United States, and when they were finally called on to actually lead, they ****** off and didn't even try. They need to have their folly rubbed in their faces, and getting sick with COVID is just about the only way to actually do that. |
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Obviously, that means cats are indeed evil and that ownership or display of a feline is an overt declaration of one's affiliation with dark forces. - Cl1mh4224rd |
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#185 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 11,428
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NBC News and other sources are reporting the trump White House will be rolling out a new message for Americans next week about coronavirus. Basically it sounds like, don't worry so much.
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#186 |
Troublesome Passenger
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 18,660
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#187 | |||
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 27,956
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Here is a Trump supporter explaining to the Grim Reaper how the Coronavirus made it to the US.
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Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get to me. . |
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#188 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 24,805
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I think it's kind of cool that someone wore a Grim Reaper outfit to a Florida beach.
It's hard to follow the stats on this darned virus. I have a page provided by Bing bookmarked as my go to "How many cases were there yesterday" page and today for July 4, they showed 133,000 new cases. I can only assume that's a data anomaly, and not an actual number of new cases. In other news, i always follow the comparative number of cases between states to see how my neighborhood, Michigan, is doing. North Carolina has pulled to within 1,000 new cases, and should pass us if present trends continue in 1-3 days. Meanwhile, a few days back I noted that we weren't seeing the horror stories about ventilator shortages and overworked health care workers that we saw in New York at the peek of the pandemic there. As people predicted, today, I saw a few such stories out of Texas. Politically, all I can say about Trump's new campaign strategy is that I am glad to see him running on his record. People should very much judge him on his success or failure handling this crisis. It has been a real test of his leadership, and I hope people give an honest assessment of how he's doing. |
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#189 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 24,805
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From an NYT article today:
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Are we great again yet? |
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#190 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 85,849
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Trump and his followers think they can just ignore it. People only getting mild cases,
![]() It was only a matter of time, a couple weeks, the case numbers rise, the hospitals begin to fill up, the increase in the death rate follows. They're actually claiming since the death rate hasn't risen, all is well. Another week and they'll have to change the talking points memos. Good luck with that. |
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#191 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: East Coast, US
Posts: 7,339
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A.K.A. the plan that Trump's been strongly favoring all along.
...If Trump was normal in the head, that "obviously" might follow. Trump isn't. Trump almost certainly did it as just another "Look at how tough I am on China" thing, even though it was weak as crap, given that the major airlines had already stopped flights. Trump might have been trying to wish it away with the power of positive thinking, of course? |
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#192 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Posts: 16,495
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__________________
I want to thank the 126 Republican Congress members for providing a convenient and well organized list for the mid-terms. - Fred Wellman (Senior VA Advisor to The Lincoln Project) ![]() |
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#193 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Posts: 16,495
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Our government didn't take us completely off restrictions until we had zero new cases for over two weeks (it was actually 18 days). Since then, we have had zero new cases in the general community. The few isolated new cases we have are all returning New Zealanders who presented with the disease during managed isolation or quarantine.
The result is for a population for 5 million, a total of just over 1500 cases, and 22 deaths. This is what it takes to beat this thing. - The government listening to the scientists and following their instructions to the letter. - Following your government's instructions. - Working together with the other members of your community. |
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I want to thank the 126 Republican Congress members for providing a convenient and well organized list for the mid-terms. - Fred Wellman (Senior VA Advisor to The Lincoln Project) ![]() |
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#194 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Norway
Posts: 10,375
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"He's like a drunk being given a sobriety test by the police after being pulled over. Just as a drunk can't walk a straight line, Trump can't think in a straight line. He's all over the place."--Stacyhs "If you are still hung up on that whole words-have-meaning thing, then 2020 is going to be a long year for you." --Ladewig |
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#195 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 11,428
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Assessing how your state is doing based on total cases can be misleading, can't it? I'm sure my state, New York, is still number one among total cases but we're way down on the list when it comes to new cases or trending. In my neighborhood, positive results from testing in Bronx County have fallen from over 1,000 a day in April to under one hundred by June. The positive rate for daily testing has gone from a high of over 20% to about 1%. That tells me we're doing an effective job in reducing the rate of infection. Looking at total case numbers doesn't tell me that.
Looking at Michigan and North Carolina daily new case charts shows the disease has trended way down in Michigan but remains on a steady rise in North Carolina. On Friday North Carolina reported roughly four times the number of new cases as did Michigan. I would say Michigan has done a pretty good job whereas North Carolina has a problem. Link to Google/Wiki tracker The one trend that would bear watching in Michigan is the uptick in new cases the state has been seeing since late June. July 4th saw almost twice as many new cases reported as June 29th. It looks like Michigan bottomed out in mid-June but since then is seeing an upward trend. Since Michigan is one of the states where there has been organized resistance to safety measures that rise is a bit concerning. |
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#196 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 24,805
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Agreed. I'm noting that North Carolina is growing faster than Michigan, but the rise in Michigan is of great concern.
Although there has been organized resistance here in Michigan, that's just some high profile yahoos. I think that in general we are doing pretty good, and our governor deserves a lot of the credit for that. Sure the measures were not universally acclaimed, but we locked down quick and stayed locked down, and we went from number 2 in the country down to, 11 or 12. Like almost everywhere, we have an uptick, but not as bad as those states which ignored the threat and opened up pretty far. I find the uptick disturbing, and we don't have nearly enough mask use compliance for my tastes, but we aren't doing too bad. If you go into a store, most people are masked. We'll see. There's plenty of idiocy here in Michigan, but the results will tell the tale. |
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#197 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 11,428
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This story I'm quoting is from a week ago though I learned of it this morning, as apparently this is still going on. There was a story about this scam in this morning's edition of a local news bulletin I subscribe to. Some scam artists are selling boxes of cards that supposedly exempt the bearer from having to wear a face mask in public or in stores because doing so "poses a mental and/or physical risk to me." From an NPR story:
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#198 |
Graduate Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,546
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Ah, murica. Where using mask is political issue, not medical advice.
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Sanity is overrated. / Voting for Republicans is morally equivalent to voting for Nazis in early 30's. |
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#199 |
Maledictorian
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 14,385
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Ceterum autem censeo fox et amicis esse delendam. |
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#200 |
Troublesome Passenger
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 18,660
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Originally Posted by Commander Inept
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