Trump is still playing armchair immunologist

He was on Maria Bartiromo trash talking the J&J pause as being a big mistake. He didn't mention the related AstraZeneca pause, but presumably that was a mistake too? What have you got to lose, right?

Thanks to him and his party we are on the precipice of having a glut of unused vaccines in this country, but there was no mention of that either.

He did boast about how great his response to Covid was, although by his own metric it was objectively not a "job well done".

Maria demonstrated why she gets these high-profile interviews with her sharp-edged comments: "Uh huh. Uh huh."

Originalist view on the Second Amendment

Originalism, in the context of the U.S. Constitution, is defined as a legal philosophy that the words should be interpreted as they were understood at the time they were written. This philosophy is espoused namely by Supreme Court justices Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas.

Liberals tend to shun this interpretation as it is perceived as an inflexible and regressive roadblock to the organic evolution of civil rights over time. However, there may be a silver lining here for the left. The right to bear arms has done that very thing, passively expanded and become significantly more momentous as firearm and ammunition technology has advanced. This demonstrably violates the very tenets of Originalism. To keep this power strictly aligned with the original intent, it should be limited to only 18th century firearm technology. This includes flintlocks, muzzleloaders, and muskets. Cartridges and magazines and repeating weapons came later and thus should not be covered without a Constitutional amendment.

What say ye Amy Coney Barrett?

WHAT!?! One in a million people suffer blood clots from the vaccine?!?

Screw it, I'm taking my chances with hydroxychloroquine instead.

Hydroxychloroquine Side Effects

Blistering, peeling, loosening of the skin
blurred vision or other vision changes
chest discomfort, pain, or tightness
cough or hoarseness
dark urine
decreased urination
defective color vision
diarrhea
difficulty breathing
difficulty seeing at night
dizziness or fainting
fast, pounding, uneven heartbeat
feeling that others are watching you or controlling your behavior
feeling that others can hear your thoughts
feeling, seeing, or hearing things that are not there
fever with or without chills
general feeling of tiredness or weakness
headache
inability to move the eyes
increased blinking or spasms of the eyelid
joint or muscle pain
large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, and sex organs
loss of hearing
lower back or side pain
noisy breathing
painful or difficult urination
red irritated eyes
red skin lesions, often with a purple center
severe mood or mental changes
sore throat sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
sticking out of the tongue
stomach pain
swelling of the feet or lower legs
swollen or painful glands
trouble with breathing, speaking, or swallowing
uncontrolled twisting movements of the neck, trunk, arms, or legs
unusual behavior
unusual bleeding or bruising
unusual facial expressions
unusual tiredness or weakness
yellow eyes or skin

How is your employer's upper management addressing the CV-19 vaccine question?

Morning routine of a hypochondriac during a pandemic

I think mild hypochondria runs in my family. Normally I have mine mostly in check, but the pandemic has pushed it into overload.

Here's how my day will probably start tomorrow:

6:00 am - Alarm goes off, temperature check and hit the shower. Hmm half a degree higher than yesterday.
6:15 am - Getting dressed. Do my feet look different? Are those covid toes?
6:30 am - Off to work. Better keep my speed in check lest I get pulled over by an anti-distancing police officer.
6:45 am - Mask up! I had to open three doors to get to my desk, better hit the hand sanitizer.
7:00 am - I'm the first in but I better sanitize my station for good measure.
7:15 am - Cough! Probably nothing. Cough! Hmm...is that scratchiness in my throat?
7:30 am - Guy in next office : Cough! I heard that...I wonder how much this air gets circulated.
7:45 am - This coffee lacks any taste. Zoinks! I better smell the beans. I guess I can smell that (hard to be sure).
8:00 am - Better check the Johns Hopkins website. Well none of that looks good.
8:15 am - Need to use the restroom. GAAAAAAHHHHH
8:30 am - OK that was harrowing. I need to drink less coffee and hold it longer. I can't taste this shit anyways.
8:45 am - Need to focus on work and not think about pandemic...need to focus on work and not think about pandemic...

Winger - Seventeen

Dedicated to Matthew Louis Gaetz II, U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district.

Fringe benefit of vaccine passports

This may be obvious, but this thought occurred to me only recently.

Gone are the days of the Jim Crow laws where minority groups are explicitly denied freedoms enjoyed by others. Nowadays the persecution is more subtle. Instead of calling out "undesirable" groups by name, laws are kept on the books which can be disproportionally applied to them. Examples of this include marijuana laws, parole searches, and "bathroom bills". There are many, many others. In addition to laws, there are rules enforced by companies and schools around things like uniforms, hairstyles, and even wedding cakes.

Generally speaking, these tools of discrimination always seems to be wielded by privileged white right-wingers in defiance of the outrage of the left.

Until now.

Now there is discussion of a vaccine passport. Those who opt out of getting a vaccine will encounter headwinds trying to go about their daily routine. They will encounter headwinds boarding a plane, entering an arena, using mass transit, travelling across state lines, etc. Recent polls show that Republicans are three to four times as likely as Democrats to opt out of getting the vaccine. Republicans will be far more likely to get mired in the quagmire of not having a passport as they watch their Democratic peers go merrily about their day.

So it's the proverbial taste of one's own medicine.

Vaccination question not asked by the MSM

Why does the MSM always ask the same questions again and again and miss some obvious ones?

QUESTION

It takes the first vaccine shot 2-3 weeks to provide 80% protection against infection. Are you more vulnerable to infection during this time?

It seems plausible that the body's immune response to the vaccine could weaken its ability to respond to an actual infection at the same time, increasing the chances of it being overwhelmed.

If true, it would be prudent to maximize your social distancing efforts during these few vulnerable weeks. Isn't this an important question?

What one year of the pandemic has taught us about the reality of gun control

There's a certain realization I've had about gun control recently which stems from a year of observations of the highly politicized pandemic response in the USA.

The USA has suffered 1,659.02 deaths per million as of March 26th, for a total of 544,555. This objectively demonstrates an inadequate response when compared with other countries. I believe comparisons with Germany are the most appropriate, as they are a Western country with a conservative, anti-shutdown movement a lot like ours. That said, they stuck to the science much better than we did and were more willing and able to make short-term sacrifices in their economy and keep the conservatives in check.

Germany has had 910.22 deaths per million in contrast, or 748.8 fewer. Extrapolated to our population, that equates to 245,786 lives sacrificed.

I choose the word "sacrificed" here purposefully. We as a country seem to have willingly spent these lives in order to keep our support of shutdowns at lackluster levels. We spent these lives in order to let non-essential businesses limp along and to even avoid the inconvenience of wearing masks. We spent these lives in order to pack churches and MAGA rallies with people. We willingly paid the price for these "freedoms".

While the final bill may not have been knowable last March, science told us that the likelihood of this was there. However, I see no remorse from the Republicans in general, no concession that these costs were too high. I see no evidence of any self-reflection here at all, no acknowledgement that the richest country in the world could have afforded to do more.

So if Republicans are willing to spend 245,786 American lives for a year of fewer constraints like these, I don't see them ever batting an eye at spending 20,000 lives a year for the freedom of owning guns. Their party leaders can't ever admit to this, but I believe this is the mentality.

I agree that gifts should not be used to unduly influence the political process

The Senate and House Ethics Committee allows gifts of less than $50 to congressional employees.

So set the limit on the allowable value of gifts to those waiting in line to vote in Georgia at $50. If it's good enough for Congress, it's good enough for Georgians.

Bottles of water and ham sandwiches shouldn't be a problem.

Expensive bottles of wine and caviar are out.