Luna Bliss
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Everything posted by Luna Bliss
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I think influence frequently has more power than "actual power" (the law). -
I wish we had more Republican governors like yours. It seems so many have to cater to the extreme voters these days to get elected, and it makes me wonder how the process was different for him.
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You know they knows this. You know that's not what they're saying. How do you know he knows this?
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An interesting issue you brought up, @FairreLiletteand @Ceka Cianci -- just how much influence does a president have over the States in the U.S.? I'd say a Republican president who is a Populist (as Trump was) has an undue amount of influence over the States governed by Republican officials. We saw Trump dump a bunch of officials in his cabinet who wouldn't tow the line, for example -- evidence of undue pressure. And Trump and the party made it difficult for State officials to get elected if they didn't follow the party whims. But more than the way in which a President can have undue influence over lockdowns in each State and so affect the outcome of pandemics, what are other ways a President could have undue influence in a pandemic situation when a Populist? POPULIST LEADERS & COVID RESPONSE Frenk listed four common attributes of various populist leaders who have mishandled the pandemic: First, “the tendency to underestimate or dismiss expertise,” because “experts are considered part of the corrupt elites that the populist leader is going to defend people from”; second, “the distrust of science” and of the sort of “independent, critical thinking” that populist leaders with authoritarian inclinations dislike; third, the impulse to divide citizens between the “good people embodied by the populist leader” and “the corrupt elites,” even going so far as to politicize public-health measures such as mask wearing, rather than instilling in the public “a sense of shared destiny”; and fourth, the instinct to “trap themselves in a narrative” and then “refuse to acknowledge that they were wrong” and correct course, blaming others instead. The governments that have performed best against COVID-19, by contrast, have implemented policies “informed by science and by expertise and by political leaders who unify the country.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/covid-19-lays-bare-price-populism/618838/ And of course, populism easily spreads into fascism according to some scholars. Takeaway -- don't vote for a candidate who is a populist! When our next pandemic comes a Populist president would spell disaster.
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That sounds so lovely. I wish there was more trust in the U.S.
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That would be premature until they conclusively prove that vaccinated asymptomatic cases do not still transmit the virus to others. In fact, vaccinated health care workers would be even more of a threat to their patients being that their symptoms would be so mild they wouldn't know they have it and therefore be spreading it more so then the unvaccinated one who would realize they are sick and stay home. If we have high rates of compliance with vaccination there won't be much virus circulating to catch and spread asymptomatically though (if that even happens to the degree that it's an issue in the first place). So the best route is still for everyone to get vaccinated and then asymptomatic spread would not be an issue. CDC Guidance https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/fully-vaccinated-people.html#:~:text=The risks of SARS-,spread it to others.
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I never said, nor did WHO say, that Covid ONLY spreads through droplets. The issue has been what percentage spreads via droplets vs what percentage spreads through airborne transmission, and they revised their position to increase the percentage of airborne transmission. However there are many viruses that are not viewed as airborne (like the many Hepatitis viruses as well as some respiratory ones), or at the very least they haven't discovered airborne transmission. From reading the opinion of some other scientists it does appear WHO was slow in updating their guidance. But it's also true it's a much more difficult problem to solve than some realize, and I do wonder how conclusive the 'new' science is (have yet to read what they believe proves it's more airborne). Why airborne transmission hasn't been conclusive in case of COVID-19? An atmospheric science perspective: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33940729/ I'm not happy with how all people, scientists included, develop attachments to their theories for various egotistical reasons and have difficulty letting go and accepting new knowledge. This is why I'm such a proponent of meditation (it teaches one to let go of being attached to whatever one identifies with, including pet theories and the need to feel 'right'). However, I accept the ego as part of the human condition, and that it influences the way in which Science progresses, and so I seldom rant about it. I look at the progress Science has made and accept that the path is not perfect and that we get 'stuck' along the way -- the important thing is that there is a way forward and we come closer to truth over time. This is what is special about Science -- the accumulated knowledge over time as many minds can work on a problem together and revise when necessary. Hindsight is 20/20, armchair analysis abounds from people who have little knowledge yet think they know it all, and mistakes are made. I just can't trash the whole endeavor as you frequently do though, even though 100,000 deaths from medical mistakes occur in the U.S. each year. I keep the perspective that if I worked in the medical field there's nothing preventing me from being one of those 100,000 who killed someone accidentally.
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How do you feel about "uplifting" animals?
Luna Bliss replied to Gopi Passiflora's topic in General Discussion Forum
I agree that it's completely foreseeable that humanity probably shouldn't interfere with the natural evolution of species and ecosystems on Earth until they reach an advanced collective level of development and understand the rules well enough to break them co-creatively. Now they have quite possibly triggered the sixth mass extinction and this after two intense centuries of not just industrialized beat-downs of the natural systems that sustain and nourish us, but also turning vast swaths of the aquifers and atmosphere into literal industrial waste dumps. I mean, It rains glyphosate here, and the bats and bees die en masse for most of the last two decades. They've managed to destroy the balance of the oceans themselves through acidfication and the salinity changes brought about by glacier meltoffs may change the currents and the climate radically, shocking the ecosystems that as yet endure, and that's impressive for just one relatively insignificant faction of an insignificant species in the grand natural ecological scheme of things. And that faction is strangely indifferent or oblivious to the fact that the stress they endlessly create is existentially toxic to all the world upon which they also depend for survival, which does seem to be an indication they need to be kindly disempowered. In that sense, maybe we owe it to the remaining higher life forms to give them the best shot possible. Perhaps we should discover how to transplant some of their intelligence into us... -
It can be difficult to weigh risks and benefits. I declined going for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine given at a drive-thru location due to its less efficacy in preventing Covid and the rare blot-clot findings. But it might have been the better choice due to all the exposure I had in a huge building filled with a big crowd that day offering the Pfizer one -- likely there were a few virus particles floating in the air somewhere. Fingers crossed.
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It looks like the entire EU ditched AstraZeneca recently: https://www.barrons.com/articles/eu-ditches-astrazeneca-vaccine-its-pivoting-to-pfizer-51620649307
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What kind of customer service do you want them to do? I started getting complaints from customers regarding one person I hired for customer service, but I can't say that would always happen.
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How do you feel about "uplifting" animals?
Luna Bliss replied to Gopi Passiflora's topic in General Discussion Forum
Yeah I feel pretty wary regarding meddling in some things too much. All kinds of unintended consequences can result. -
Personally, I think most people didn't differentiate between either type. The same protocol would be in place for both. Masks, hand washing, social distancing and we wiped down things that came from outside. The main difference being to increase ventilation. With so many people already screaming that lock downs were unfair and dangerous, imagine how much more would have had to have been shuttered until they installed expensive air handling devices that were either out of reach financially for some or impractical. Instead, they did the next best thing. Limiting numbers, masks, sanitizing so they could reopen as so many wanted. You may be right...not much difference in how we can respond. I think I may be more cautious in closed spaces now though (like the post office I had to go into recently to send registered mail). I'll be avoiding those places like, well, the plague.
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I read somewhere (sorry can't remember where) that AstraZeneca might even be more effective with one of the new mutations. We didn't have that option where I live ...couldn't even get the Moderna one here due to a problem in the supply chain.
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I might be more hesitant about getting a vaccine if I lived in NZ as it's so much more under control there. The thing about this vaccine though is that the technology has been in development for around 10 years, and it's only been tailored to respond to Covid...kind of tweaked...and so it really wasn't as rushed as some believe. I had your concerns in the beginning too until I studied it more.
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I was really hoping this thread wasn't gonna get political. I knew I should have just not said a word. I guess, IBTL My intention is for people to report their vaccination experience. I simply wanted you to know what was happening in your neck of the woods and so quoted a paragraph from the NYT that describes the situation (regarding vaccine hesitancy, and why) in Tennessee...it was purely descriptive. Getting political would be me arguing about *my" side vs another political side, but I was merely reporting the situation on the ground. In any case, it's not 'getting political' per se that closes a thread...it's when we insult the 'other' side ....ad hominem attacks and the like. I hope you can get vaccinated soon...from what I read it's pretty bad there with major spread.
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Wow won't that place give you time off to get vaccinated?! I was just reading about so many vaccine-resistant people in Tennessee, so likely the rate of Covid will be higher there. Hopefully, their beloved Dolly (posted above) will convince some. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/30/health/covid-vaccine-hesitancy-white-republican.html "Communities like Greeneville and its surroundings — rural, overwhelmingly Republican, deeply Christian, 95 percent white — are on the radar of President Biden and American health officials, as efforts to vaccinate most of the U.S. population enters a critical phase. These are the places where polls show resistance to the vaccine is most entrenched. While campaigns aimed at convincing Black and Latino urban communities to set aside their vaccine mistrust have made striking gains, towns like these will also have to be convinced if the country is to achieve widespread immunity".
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Yeah I think my arm was overly tense and this is why I had pain and a bruise...going to massage my arm before the 2nd shot. I had kind of 'left the building' in my mind though, as the whole process of an auditorium of people looking at me get the vaccine (because I was at the edge of the vaccine tables and facing all the people waiting to make sure they didn't have an allergic reaction), plus the presence of some kind of military (maybe the National Guard), plus my worries of getting Covid from all these possibly infected people, made me nervous. The person giving my shot said "is this you with your arm relaxed and at your side"? lol Then I realized my arm was way high and so tense!
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thats great Luna.. I got my 2nd march 5th.. Moderna and the 2nd kicked my butt for 24 hours.. sick as a dog, but totally worth it to be vaccinated. 🤘 Fantastic...you are done! Yeah I wouldn't care if I got extremely sick really.
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It's not common sense to say a disease always transmits primarily through airborne particles because some diseases transmit primarily through liquid droplets while others transmit primarily through airborne particles. The only argument you have is whether WHO discovered the truth fast enough or used appropriate methods to determine which route Covid infection took. I would not necessarily trust the opinion of the doctor you cited in the NYT even though I agree with some of her points. I more trust these top-notch researchers with an article published in a credible, scientific journal who have been pressuring WHO to come out with a statement affirming that airborne transmission is a primary avenue for transmission. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00869-2/fulltext# Science moves slowly at times, but the process is working as intended. In the discovery of truth researchers challenge the prevailing beliefs and discussions ensue so that recommendations can change if need be. I caution you not to use this process as a way to diss Science or official sources as you have (by claiming they were lacking in "common sense"). The crux of discovering what is true and what might need to change rests in determining what constitutes a credible source when challenging mainstream beliefs. A rogue physician or so-called 'maverick' (or even a group of them) is not a credible source -- research, peer-reviewed, and published in a credible Scientific journal is needed in order to challenge prevailing beliefs.
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Watching tonight: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/media/vaxlive/
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Laurie Garrett (great Science writer and author of a comprehensive book on pandemics) is on this Michael Moore Podcast speaking on vaccines: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-187-its-like-herding-americans-how-to-defeat-covid/id1490354763?i=1000520583150' Ep. 187: It’s Like Herding Americans! How To Defeat COVID This Year (w/ Laurie Garrett) Michael is joined by public health expert and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Laurie Garrett to discuss the new reports that the United States of America will never reach herd immunity to the coronavirus. President Biden seemed somewhat defeated when he had to announce recently that we will have to settle for 70% getting just one shot by the 4th of July. They discuss how each of us are the most important ambassadors for total vaccination success. If 200,000 Average American citizens who are listening to this podcast each convince 10 people to get their shots — BOOM! Yes, there is a small portion of the American public who will simply refuse to get the vaccine and whom we cannot reach. However, most of the people avoiding vaccination have fears and skepticism — and each of us can help convince them with our support, encouragement, kindness and love. President Biden — don’t give up on us. We’ll get millions of those sleeves rolled up by summer!
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Oh no, don't do that! Do you have grocery delivery in your area?
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I was finally able to get my first shot yesterday! Pfizer. Arm a little sore and quarter-sized bruise, but otherwise fine. Things are ramping up. 12 to 15 year-olds eligible next week. Fingers crossed we reach herd immunity... https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1390122392375087104?s=20
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‘Turning the Corner’: U.S. Covid Outlook Reaches Most Hopeful Point Yet (msn.com) After weeks of coronavirus patients flooding emergency rooms in Michigan, the worst Covid-19 hot spot in the nation, hospitalizations are finally falling. %7B© Philip Cheung for The New York Times Signs of hope are appearing across America. Los Angeles County made headlines with the news that it had reported zero new deaths on two consecutive days this week. On some recent days, entire states, including Wisconsin and West Virginia, have reported zero new coronavirus deaths — a brief but promising respite from the onslaught of the past year. And in New York and Chicago, officials encouraged by the recent progress have confidently vowed to fully reopen in the coming weeks, conjuring images of a vibrant summer of concerts, sporting events and packed restaurants revving cities back to life. Americans have entered a new, hopeful phase of the pandemic. Buoyed by a sense that the coronavirus is waning, in part because of vaccinations, more people are shrugging off masks, venturing into restaurants and returning to their prepandemic routines. Mayors, governors and other local officials — once the bearers of grim news about the virus’s toll and strict rules for businesses — have joined in the newfound optimism, rapidly loosening restrictions.
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