Coronavirus

AC said:
That’s pretty accurate! Dates cannot be known. Tribunal results are not being released either, so nobody knows who isn’t under an NDA. Name a “conspiracy theory” from a year ago or more that hasn't come true. I’m talking recent history.
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Some things that were falsely called conspiracy theories have been proven true or certainly plausible. However, the believability of one conspiracy theory doesn't suggest the believability of all of them. It's one thing to say that Covid likely came from a lab in Wuhan. It's quite another to say that there are rogue military tribunals convicting civilians over whom they don't have jurisdiction and putting them to death. And frankly, I'd be horrified if it ended up being true. That would scare me even more than finding out that Joe Biden stole the election.

Let's put it this way. I'll put my conspiracy theory that Magic Johnson faked his HIV/AIDS diagnosis up against it any day. It's far more likely to be true.
 
theiioftx said:
Only three places requiring masks for me are airports/airlines, healthcare businesses (hospitals/doctor office) and haircuts. All of those are mandated from a separate legal arm and I am not going to fault the businesses.

My local produce place (which is full of radical liberals) is not requiring masks of customers or employees. Masking is over until the next big election.
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I'm done with it as well. I think we should encourage vaccines by telling vaccinated people they don't need to wear masks.
 
humahuma said:
So I haven’t been wearing a mask going into restaurants or stores for about 3 weeks now. In some restaurants the servers not wearing a mask but I live in a small conservative city. Just want to try to get this thread on topic.
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Was in NJ last week. No masks anywhere.
 
Garmel said:
Is there much in the way of statistical improbabilities? If so count me in. :D
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Far too politically incorrect and frankly tactless to comment on or seriously question him about it. However, what are the odds of someone:

1. Being diagnosed with HIV in 1991 (when HIV was practically a death sentence) and having pretty much no apparent health effects 30 years later; and

2. Not infecting his wife because he always used condoms with her but barebacked it with strippers and hookers? How many dudes are sexually careless with skanks who are very high risk for STDs but extremely careful with their wives who presumably are not? Really?? Who the hell does that?

Is this all possible? Of course. But it damn sure takes a lot of needle-threading over a long period of time to be true.

And when I've brought this up to deniers of my theory they usually grudgingly admit that my skepticism makes some sense but deny Magic's motives. Why do this? I say that it's attention, legacy, and money.

Think about it. I think he was 32 years old at the time he went public. He wasn't washed up by any means, but he already had five NBA championships and had established himself as one of the best of all time. He had absolutely nothing left to prove on the basketball court and was already loaded with money. Furthermore, his team was on the decline and getting pushed aside in prominence by the Chicago Bulls. If he had kept playing, he would have declined as a player on a mediocre team.

Just not a lot of reason for a player of his callibur to keep playing. If he had just retired, he would have gone to the Hall of Fame and would be famous but he basically would have faded as a personality as other guys like Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, and Dr. J got replaced in prominence by Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, etc. However, by claiming to have HIV/AIDS, he became a global megastar unlike any other player of his day and leveraged that to become extremely rich and well-connected. He went from being a great basketball player to being a global media and cultural icon, and there's a hell of a lot to be gained from that.

By the way, I like Magic. Not only was he a hell of a player, he was a good guy. I wish no harm on him at all. But he has been selling snake oil for sympathy and money for 30 years, and I'm not buying.
 
mchammer said:
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Ordinarily I'd dismiss it as virtue signaling, but masks are mostly required in public places here, so he really didn't have a choice. I don't know where that picture was taken, but I know he was at RAF Mildenhall where AF1 landed. Masks are required there in all public buildings regardless of vaccine status.
 
Mr. Deez said:
Ordinarily I'd dismiss it as virtue signaling, but masks are mostly required in public places here, so he really didn't have a choice. I don't know where that picture was taken, but I know he was at RAF Mildenhall where AF1 landed. Masks are required there in all public buildings regardless of vaccine status.
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Going off on a tangent...when did setting a good example get recast as "virtue signaling"? That may be the worst devolution of language usage in the last 20-30 years. Am I "virtue signaling" when I demonstrate work ethic to my sons? How about when I show them the power of integrity when a white lie might be less controversial?

You could make an argument that "virtue signaling" isn't inherently bad but when it's used as an insult and only as an insult it's a tragic usage of the English language that is every bit as impactful on a civil society as the accusations of a non-religious society.
 
Speaking of RAF Mildenhall, for shits and giggles, I decided to drive by just now.

rps20210610_183742.jpg
 
Monahorns said:
You can put Fauci's emails side by side against his public statements he made at the same time and see he was lying. How is that not clear dishonesty?
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As Harris Faulkner said this morning, it's too bad Americans weren't afforded a 2nd (medical) opinion. We were stuck with Fauci and his incompetence & had to pay a steep price
 
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Seattle Husker said:
Cool picture. Recognizing you have access to RAF Mildenhall, I'm surprised you were able to get that close to Air Force 1.
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Well, they don't let everybody get that close, but those of us whose names carry weight . . . Lol.

In all seriousness, I notice a difference between relatively small military communities like this one (and especially Lajes Field in the Azores where I lived from 2011-Feb. 2013) and busy ones like Ramstein.

Ramstein was colossal, and the flight line was difficult to see from outside the base. You could get near it from inside the base, but it took some effort and couldn't really be done discreetly.

RAF Mildenhall is wide open. The flight line can easily be seen from on base and off base. AF1 is parked at the passenger terminal (which I'm sure Biden entered), so the view is obstructed from off base by the building you see on the left, but from on base, it's not hard to see at all.

RAF Lakenheath (about ten minutes away) is even more open. In fact, they have a photo/viewing area off base, and photographers go out there and take pictures of F-15s taking off and landing everyday. (Mildenhall doesn't have that, because who really wants to take pictures of C-17s and KC-135s? Those just aren't that impressive to watch.)
 
Seattle Husker said:
Going off on a tangent...when did setting a good example get recast as "virtue signaling"? That may be the worst devolution of language usage in the last 20-30 years. Am I "virtue signaling" when I demonstrate work ethic to my sons? How about when I show them the power of integrity when a white lie might be less controversial?

You could make an argument that "virtue signaling" isn't inherently bad but when it's used as an insult and only as an insult it's a tragic usage of the English language that is every bit as impactful on a civil society as the accusations of a non-religious society.
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I think you'd find pretty broad agreement that virtue signaling is generally negative and that truly setting a good example is a positive act that shouldn't be labeled as virtue signaling. The source of the disagreement is over what constitutes a good example as well as the intentions of the example-setter (or virtue signaler depending on your perspective).

Is wearing a mask when everyone you're around knows you to be vaccinated? I don't think it is. One night say that it is because he thinks it's cautious. I think prudence and caution are true virtues, but I think it's possible for caution to become paranoia (which isn't a virtue) if it's taken too far.

I'm also just generally suspicious of the intentions of politicians and think what they do in public is almost entirely self-serving. As a Christian I obviously think reading the Bible is a virtue. But do I think Trump was setting a good example by holding up a Bible in the famous photo op? No. I think he was virtue signaling to benefit himself.

But like I said, I give Biden a pass, because he's following the rules and showing respect for the laws of the nation he's visiting. If he made some big point not to wear one over here, he wouldn't be avoiding paranoia. He'd be acting like a disrespectful jackass.
 
Mr. Deez said:
Far too politically incorrect and frankly tactless to comment on or seriously question him about it. However, what are the odds of someone:

1. Being diagnosed with HIV in 1991 (when HIV was practically a death sentence) and having pretty much no apparent health effects 30 years later; and

2. Not infecting his wife because he always used condoms with her but barebacked it with strippers and hookers? How many dudes are sexually careless with skanks who are very high risk for STDs but extremely careful with their wives who presumably are not? Really?? Who the hell does that?

Is this all possible? Of course. But it damn sure takes a lot of needle-threading over a long period of time to be true.

And when I've brought this up to deniers of my theory they usually grudgingly admit that my skepticism makes some sense but deny Magic's motives. Why do this? I say that it's attention, legacy, and money.

Think about it. I think he was 32 years old at the time he went public. He wasn't washed up by any means, but he already had five NBA championships and had established himself as one of the best of all time. He had absolutely nothing left to prove on the basketball court and was already loaded with money. Furthermore, his team was on the decline and getting pushed aside in prominence by the Chicago Bulls. If he had kept playing, he would have declined as a player on a mediocre team.

Just not a lot of reason for a player of his callibur to keep playing. If he had just retired, he would have gone to the Hall of Fame and would be famous but he basically would have faded as a personality as other guys like Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, and Dr. J got replaced in prominence by Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, etc. However, by claiming to have HIV/AIDS, he became a global megastar unlike any other player of his day and leveraged that to become extremely rich and well-connected. He went from being a great basketball player to being a global media and cultural icon, and there's a hell of a lot to be gained from that.

By the way, I like Magic. Not only was he a hell of a player, he was a good guy. I wish no harm on him at all. But he has been selling snake oil for sympathy and money for 30 years, and I'm not buying.
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You make some sense (I feel like AC now). Just to push back on a few points.

1. Don't you think some medical people would have squealed? I mean surely you couldn't be high profile like that and be faking it without someone selling their rights to [insert media outlet here] for the story.

2. One could argue that Magic had access to significant unique medical services that every Tom, Dick, and/or Harry did not.
 
OUBubba said:
1. Don't you think some medical people would have squealed? I mean surely you couldn't be high profile like that and be faking it without someone selling their rights to [insert media outlet here] for the story.
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Too much downside. Anyone who called BS on him would be demonized to no end and would lose his career. Furthermore, there's confidentiality, and Magic can pay people off of necessary. The dude is crazy rich even by professional athlete standards.

OUBubba said:
2. One could argue that Magic had access to significant unique medical services that every Tom, Dick, and/or Harry did not.
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Yes, that's true, but it would have been true of a lot of rich people who had HIV. In addition, even the very best drugs available weren't very good in 1991.

Frankly the strongest case I've ever heard against mine came from a defense attorney I used to try cases against. He said, "you make good points and I'd be persuaded except that by making the announcement, Magic gave up a lifetime of the best *** anyone can imagine. No guy would do that based on a lie even for the money he has made off of it.
 
Mr. Deez said:
Too much downside. Anyone who called BS on him would be demonized to no end and would lose his career. Furthermore, there's confidentiality, and Magic can pay people off of necessary. The dude is crazy rich even by professional athlete standards.



Yes, that's true, but it would have been true of a lot of rich people who had HIV. In addition, even the very best drugs available weren't very good in 1991.

Frankly the strongest case I've ever heard against mine came from a defense attorney I used to try cases against. He said, "you make good points and I'd be persuaded except that by making the announcement, Magic gave up a lifetime of the best *** anyone can imagine. No guy would do that based on a lie even for the money he has made off of it.
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I researched your claim a while back. What I found as counter argument was that Magic had access to the best medicine years before the general public. For example, he was like the first guy to try the cocktail that reduces the virus to zero.
 
OUBubba said:
2. One could argue that Magic had access to significant unique medical services that every Tom, Dick, and/or Harry did not.
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Winner winner chicken dinner. Magic had the best doctors money could buy.

Magic Johnson is the first and only franchisee for Starbucks. He owns ~150 stores in low-income inner city areas. I didn't work directly with him but a buddy of mine did. He said his energy level would drop precipitously on occasions forcing them to postpone meetings. They attributed the energy drop not from his engagement level (he was competitive and intense always) but the medication cocktails he was taking.
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
Perhaps you meant to say "every Bruce, Lance, and Teddy"...
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Steve. To paraphrase Weezer from steel magnolias, “every gay guy is named Steve and has track lighting”. Here’s the actual quote: "all gay men have track lighting, and all gay men are named Mark, Rick, or Steve"

my brother in law is named Steve. So I’ve remembered it well.
 
OUBubba said:
Steve. To paraphrase Weezer from steel magnolias, “every gay guy is named Steve and has track lighting”. Here’s the actual quote: "all gay men have track lighting, and all gay men are named Mark, Rick, or Steve"

my brother in law is named Steve. So I’ve remembered it well.
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Do straight guys watch Steel Magnolias? :P
 
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