Why quibble about what happened during Covid? We can’t change that. The point is a convicted felon should not be president. If you vote for a convicted felon for president you are garbage.
Mine or Amy's? Do you mean assessment of Trump or an assessment that half of the American electorate is garbage?
As for my assessment of Trump, it won't. I formed my opinions about Trump long before he was put on trial. My guess is that you and Amy did as well. But there is a meaning to the statement, which is similar to one you made earlier. It is hard to see how it could be about persuading people who disagree with you. So what is it about?
Whether or not his convictions are overturned or not will not change my opinion of him and those who stand with him. I cannot support someone who treats people with disabilities, those of color, veterans, and women with such disrespect.
You're missing the point. A disagreement on one issue doesn't make anyone anything. I have very strong anti-Trump feelings. That doesn't even mean I despise Republicans or conservatives. You are spending a lot of time defending him. Why don't you tell us what you find compelling about him. His marriage infidelity? His denial of things, even when there is video evidence? His personal descriptions of anyone that disagree with him? His recent talk about pointing guns at people? His threats to fire loyal government workers merely because they don't show fidelity to him? The best most of his supporters can do is turn to his supposedly great administration. I can easily argue against that since much of it is made up lies. But even if one considers that it still leaves an amoral narcissistic bully whose campaign promises are threatening basic American freedoms. So why don't you try to defend him. I get the part where many conservatives don't like what Biden did with Covid responses and immigration being the two main bugaboo. What do you think Trump is going to do about is- that is both legal and reasonable? And Harris is sure getting a lot of crap for things she didn't do. Just what do conservatives think she was in charge of as vice-president? She wasn't Biden. But that's changing the subject. This is still about Trump. Try to defend him.
Absolutely not. Mine won't. He was garbage before he entered politics. He used illegal immigrants to build his buildings in order to save money but now wants immigrants gone. The way that he treated his wives with the public affairs shows that he's morally and ethically bankrupt. Questioning the motives of veterans and calling the fallen losers, disrespecting Sen. McCain ("I like people who didn't get caught".) He dismisses Jan 6th as peaceful and professing love for the perpetrators shows his blindness to the rule of law. He is a pustule on the collective body of this country and democracy, and needs to be defeated and tossed into the dustbin of history.
Why quibble? Because it’s dangerous to, when confronted with being wrong about a fact , say “ well it doesn’t matter, it’s the idea behind it that matters.” Saying, “let’s not quibble ….that So, what if Trumps mishandling of COVID wasn’t the cause of the extra deaths vs Canada. Trump is horrendous that’s all that matters. “ is like JD Vance saying “What does it matter if Haitians didn’t kill pets, they are bad people”
Cate Plys right. There are soooooo many objective ways in which Trump is despicable and a tragedy for the US, that making stuff up about why he’s so is a bad bad idea.
I have many friends that won’t acknowledge that lockdowns and school closures were a mistake even though one made in good faith. Not admitting your mistakes is what Trump does. Why would you want to be like that?
I merely meant what is done is done. We can’t change what has already happened. Hopefully we all learn from our mistakes and do differently next time. If we (meaning people) want change we can’t look back but forward and go vote for what we believe in.
Yeah, this is not the time. We can argue about it later. To paraphrase the late Rumsfeld, there are a lot of unknown unknowns with regard to the pandemic. I will let better researchers, time and history decide. In the meantime, vote blue.
But this was about a statement that Trump caused the extra deaths. Acknowledging that the statement is wrong isn't about "what's done is done" It's important to fight what Trump is trying to do by refusing to do what he does. Say a falsehood doesn't matter and doesn't need correcting because there is somehow a more important "truth"
You are correct. Besides. I see much more serious issues ahead. Are any of you federal employees? Get ready to kiss Trump's ring if you want to stay employed. Have any kids in school? Hope you don't let them read anything that your conservative neighbors disagree with. Have any friends with alternative lifestyles? Better dump them before someone turns on you. You want your favorite outdoor spot protected? Not gonna happen- not if some rich developer or mining company wants it. The big corporation robbed you again? Too bad- they will now be protected from any enforcement. Don't like what Russia is doing? Tough cookies- Trump has already said Ukraine would need to give up some territory(they already have), that our relationship with NATO would need to change, and besides, he admires Putin, as well as Hitler. Covid- now what was that all about?
Amy, I totally get your point too, but like Jo said, there are just SO many legitimate ways to discredit Trump, there's no need to make them up. And when Obama or other media outlets do that, they discredit themselves, which just leads to still more distrust of societal institutions. Plus, re Covid, if people and institutions won't take a clear-eyed look at what happened, how are we going to do better next time? And we really need to do better.
I would add that they spread and reenforce misinformation which becomes 'common knowledge' which cannot be challenged without being labeled as a bad actor. This is further compounded when one side successfully claims to be the owners of science and data based policy while labeling the other as reality deniers.
Agreed. How many times on this forum have I tried to turn the discussion over to us rather than put everything on the backs of politicians? If we choose to listen to non-medical politicians other than the people that know, then we are to blame. I have seen a number of people in this forum try to use stats to justify their views. The same stats can be looked at by 100 people and come up with 100 different opinions. I prefer my method. It's called the simple view, which is handy for people like me that are smart enough to interpret all the stats. People get sick. Blame it on obesity, lifestyle, poverty- anything you want. If it can be caught, I don't want to be near them. I wish they would have the common sense to stay home and not spread it. But we are Americans and no one can limit our freedoms. So if one wants to go out and infect others, let the the others stay home and cower. Did it hurt the economy? Of course it did! Who can argue that closing businesses and limiting contact between people doesn't hurt business? So now leaders need to make choices. Protect people or protect business. Or do nothing and hope it simply goes away. I chose to get vaccinated. There are medical people that have been testing this stuff for centuries. It also leaves me wondering how many naysayers eschew all medicines. None of them are natural to our bodies, because if they were, we wouldn't need prescriptions. Yeah, I know the issue is freedom of choice. If it just concerns my health, yeah it's my choice. The ability to infect others is another matter. Many of us are awful greedy about the our rights and don't care about the rights or needs of others. Yes, I wore a mask. I had Covid twice. It was as much about protecting others as myself. So what kind of choices do we as people make? When it's based on politics, which has nothing to do with my health- or shouldn't- I consider that a form of insanity.
It was a couple of years before I was born. But maybe a few of you have heard of the McCarthy Era? Anyone with ideas like modern liberals could be labeled communists, which was as bad as one could get. People could be investigated by the FBI. They could be labeled Unamerican. They could lose jobs or even be jailed for not turning in their friends. Does anyone think it can't happen again- or worse? The country was very conservative then, much more than now. My father was a World War II vet. God help any of his children that dared bash the country. The McCarthy Era ended when he went to far and tried to label the Army. In my view, what Trump has said has already gone too far. I don't count on MAGAs stopping him.
amy, how do you justify your post in a civil society, in a reasonable 'public square' like the PS? trump supporters may be considered foolish, misguided, bemused, short-sighted - maybe even ignorant. but garbage?
BTW, i became a never-trumper when he was 1st nominated by the repub's for POTUS, and have been a never-trumper ever since.
BobE - Many people believe that Trump's overt racism - as a presidential candidate - "granted permission" for many closet racists to let their racist flags proudly fly. This makes those of his followers "garbage". He hates who they hate. The rise in hate crimes (of all kinds) since 2015 lends credence to this.
I only used garbage because it was used at his MSG rally. I wanted to use a stronger word or words to describe Trump supporters but was afraid Mr. Zorn would ban me from posting here.
You're right, EZ. Even though there were more deaths per month in Biden's first year (2021) than Trumps last year (2020), Biden's monthly numbers have fallen dramatically from 2022-2024.
The first covid death waves, pre-vaccine, were more urban. Post-vaccine, late 2020 and in 2021, it switched substantially to republican rural areas. You can lead a horse to water....Yes, that would have been tricky politically to explain. Both sides love to use stats that start with Day 1 of the presidency, if it fits their narrative. The final Trump fiscal budget didn't end until September 2021 (inflation had risen 6% by then), yet credit / blame starts on Day 1.
President Biden may, or probably did not, call MAGA types "garbage." Result, column after chin stroking column on what it means for the election. Agent Orange calls VP Harris a sleazebag in a speech that calls for Liz Cheney to face nine rifles trained on her. Vance calls VP Harris "trash." Result in both cases, crickets. The one thing these candidates (President Biden is not a candidate) are good at is floodng the zone with EssAitch1Tee.
i think - with no more evidence than anyone else has - there was likely a diff btwn what biden said and what he meant with the 'garbage' rejoinder. what he said [in his now-usual addled fashion] was that MAGA types are "garbage."
what he was trying to say was that the idiot stand-up comic was garbage.
I appreciate the analysis from Cate Plys. The effects on excess mortality rate from COVID are many and complicated. Teasing out the effect of government policy from everything else is no easy thing, and I do not think it is possible without making a lot of assumptions. Most media sources I have seen do not even try; they cite a univariate relationship to make a point and end there.
It’s taken nine years and finally seeing Trump simulate giving a microphone stand a blowjob, but I have finally figured it out: He’s John ‘Bluto’ Blutarsky from Animal House in real life — an unhinged frat boy given free rein to run amok because the people from his group find his antics funny.
The only real difference is Bluto went on to be a senator instead of president.
I love Belushi, and Animal House -- as a comedic movie. But some of the actions Bluto takes in the movie would be disturbing and horrendous in real life. He's pretty much a boorish dick, but because he's one of the "good guys" we love him.
Some examples of things we wouldn't tolerate from a real person: peeping on Mandy through her bedroom window, grabbing food in the cafeteria and putting it back after biting into it, spewing mashed potatoes on people like he's popping a zit, smashing someone's guitar in a moment of rage, and on and on...
And even in the movie his frat brothers know better than to put him in charge of anything other than handing out nicknames to the new pledges.
Read some biographical stuff on Belushi, including one of his best buddies, Dan Akyroyd. Belushi, away from the screen, was pretty much what we saw on screen. Because of his personal habits, "Animal House" was damn hard to make along with fact that many studio execs did not consider it worth what it was costing to make. Belyshi was definitely no saint and his habits cost him his life. But here's the big difference between Bluto and Burger Boy. Belushi was out for personal pleasure. Burger Boy wants to please anyone like himself and damn the rest of us. Bluto wasn't trying to be in charge.
I think the only person Trump ever truly wanted to please was his dad, which was apparently an impossible task. Everything else was pure self-indulgence.
Charlie Sykes quote is both fearmongering and the summation of truth. Without knowing the future - he presents the best case scenario. Smoke and Mirrors... To reach out to undecided voters, we are resorting to re-evaluating COVID numbers. Insane. Speed Limits. Seems like the first thought for any of these type of proposals, ones first instinct is to ask how is the city wanting to make money from any change? Lower speed limits, people aren't adhering, to enforce - we'll install red light cameras, $$$ No cars, people movers and sky gondolas! Worst Name Change: JBP DuSable from LSD. There had to be a better way to honor DuSable and not take away our iconic drive.
And now... "Remember, Remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."
“People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
Nearly everyone called it, and still calls it, the Drive: a perfectly clear and useful reference for all who've ever encountered it more than once. The most common first reference and road sign reference is DuSable Lake Shore Drive. That not only a plurality but a clear majority of respondents (69% when I saw results) found that roadway's renaming to be the worst among the five options makes me think we've all been driven around the Drive's original S-curve by this political season. (Understandable, under the circumstances.) In general though, the "We weren't here first but we stole it fair and square" tradition of defending names bestowed by early powers-that-be against all comers, no matter how worthy, strikes me as either childish, churlish, or bigoted. Which brings us back to the current political season. I sure hope Michael Moore gets it right this time, too.
I'm surprised Stroger is high, but many people over the years claimed to have been born in Cook County. Waveland is an obnoxious name change but majority of people care less about a golf location. It'll still be called the Circle Interchange and Congress but I don't think people balk at Byrne/Wells. LSD is easy, simple and clear. At least it isn't the Nike Lake Shore Drive.
I thought the visual jokes were all really good. But this is the first time humor has revealed a prejudice in me. I picked the Aaron Judge one, it was not the funniest, but I am originally from Boston and anything bad that happens to the Yankees just tickles my funny bone.
That was Aaron’s first fielding error all season, could not have come at a worse time.
Hey, I have voted for Harris, I did the important stuff before dealing with the visuals!
Regarding Covid, is there a definitive book on Covid and who died and how the different measures worked? I read an excellent book on the 1918 pandemic and would be interested in reading about this one.
During this pandemic I realized my dad was four & survived the 1918-19 one, along with his one year older brother & both parents, who I have slight memories of!
Good question, I don't think so, yet, but it surely must be coming. Nicholas Christakis wrote a terrific book on pandemic and the early portion of Covid, "Apollo's Arrow," but that's not the focus so much.
I would also like to see more information on the acceptance and usage of vaccines. In conversations when the covid vaccine came out many people seemed to assume that getting the vaccine was obvious to anyone with a brain and that anti-vax messaging was the sole culprit in preventing use. But when I looked at data from prior vaccine programs the uptake was immediate for less than 30%, took years to get to 60%, and decades to get near 90%. Only 67% of the population got at least one dose of the two-dose original vaccine (40% got both doses?) and only 15% have gotten the boosters. The uptake of boosters among those that got the original vaccine was only 7% in the first year. Human behavior is complex and simplistic cause/effect claims are not helpful.
You made a better point than you think. We are still fighting the fluoride battle with Kennedy promising to get rid of it. The polio vaccine has been a decades old debate. The measles vaccine supposedly causes autism. So there is nothing new about the Covid- debate. Plus, we are Americans. No one tells us what to. Government telling people what to do is just about a guarantee that at least half the population will do the opposite no matter how much sense it makes.
For his coverage of COVID Ed Yong of the Atlantic "won the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism; the George Polk Award for science reporting; the Benton Award for distinguished public service; the Victor Cohn Prize for medical science reporting, the Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for investigative journalism; the John P. McGovern Award from the American Medical Writers’ Association; and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for in-depth reporting. He was also a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award in public service, and was described as “he most important and impactful journalist of 2020 by Poynter." But AFAIK he has not written a COVID book
Many thanks to Rick Weiland and Little Bear for their comments this week. I'm not against all protected bike lanes on major streets, but I too just can't figure out why it doesn't make more sense to put them where possible on nearby parallel streets where the bikers would be safer overall and at intersections. I, too, ride those streets rather than the major ones--except admittedly when there's a protected bike lane. The spot Rick mentioned re Sheridan is a classic example. Now I have to decide whether I can manage one more book on my towering stack of must-reads for Little Bear's recommendation.
The ones on Clark between Devon & Ridge are the worst. It has condensed a two lane street with lots of traffic & one of the CTA's most important backbone bus routes into one lane for 3/4ths of a mile, causing major backups both north & south of that. The Clark bus is now trapped in a traffic mess for that portion of the route.
In addition, there are nice quiet sidestreets that I rode my bike on for over 50 years, parallel to Clark just a block away both east & west. I always preferred a nice quiet side street to ride on! Plus, the bike lanes will be useless when it snows, as there aren't bike lane snow plows!
I also wonder about the effect on business of the bike lanes. I liked going to Revolution Brewing on Milwaukee, but it was very congested and difficult to park. Now they are closing. I believe the bike lanes contributed to that.
Read the latest Sun Times column on the use of automated cameras to ticket anyone parked in a bus or bike lane. I'm not in favor of this anyway, being concerned about privacy. But if one is a downtown business owner, how does one get deliveries with the amount of commercial spots disappearing? How do bigger vehicles navigate already too small streets built long before today's vehicles? Yes, I know, get everyone out of their vehicles and make the air clearer. That's not really helpful to a lot of old or disabled people or others that have no choice but to drive.
As to Cate Plys’s quoted statement suggesting that masks, lockdowns, and vaccinations were not effective in fighting COVID-19, why were there more deaths in red counties than blue counties? Are there more obese Republicans/fascists/conservatives than obese Democrats/progressives?
Joanie - I think it had more to do with much higher rates of vaccine skepticism among Rural Red Voters than Blue Urban Voters (IMHO). (I am visualizing all of the videos of Red Trump supporters wearing mesh masks to "comply" with locally-imposed mask mandates.)
But part of Cate Plys’s quote was “There was never any evidence that the COVID vaccines stopped transmission between people, so there was never any medical reason for vaccine mandates.” I guess I am skeptical that the trifecta of lockdowns, masks, and vaccines had no appreciable effect.
It wasn't unreasonable to assume the COVID vaccines would help reduce the spread of the disease as other vaccines have been shown to do that. It's only in hindsight that we knew for sure that they weren't effective at curbing transmission.
"This study showed that the impact of vaccination on community transmission of circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 appeared to be not significantly different from the impact among unvaccinated people."
What she was saying was that if vaccines did not stop transmission, there was no real reason for a mandate which is designed not to protect the vaccinated, but those around them. If the vaccine only helps me by reducing my risk of severe illness or death, but not others by keeping me from giving them the disease, then there are less reasons to require others take the vaccine. Though one could still argue that the need to reduce the strain on our public health system by reducing hospitalizations and need for care from medical personell is a reason from a public health perspective to require vaccines. Lockdowns, especially school closures probably caused more harm than good, though there is a definite risk/reward balance involved.
It was a confusing comment to start to start with. Was there no medical reason for the vaccines or just the mandates? The reasons we have any laws or regulations in the first place is too many people don't have the common sense needed to stop doing something because it harms others.
Eric -- I want to thank for promoting that word game, in which you find the missing letter, in the Tribune. I've started playing it every day (finding another part of the paper to put over the answer, because I find it hard not to notice the answer. Quite enjoyable! I've missed a few but am getting better. It's a little brain exercise in the morning.
Another example of unsupported covid claims is "Lacking a system of universal healthcare and plagued by unusually high levels of class and racial inequality” has an effect on covid mortality. This was a routine claim during the pandemic with regard to infection rates, which were supposedly related to "access to health care".
But there is no evidence that frequency of doctor visits had any relationship to infection rate.
There is also no evidence that doctor/clinic visits have any effect on obesity, smoking, alcohol use, heart disease, hypertension, etc. Being treated for any of the chronic conditions underlying covid mortality also did not change the mortality rate. Obesity (and other chronic condition) rates are corelated to income (not race). The rate of obesity of people with income over $100,000 is 30% and the rate for people below $35,000 is 40%. The aggregate rate in Canada is 28% and 35% in the US.
Similarly, the Gini coefficient for Canada is .35 and for the US is .48. The US rate is higher primarily due because the US has many more people with wealth over $1 million (18% of the US vs 4.3% of Canada). Removing the top tier the Gini coefficients are roughly the same in the US and Canada. There is no evidence of class differences between the US and Canada.
The claims are at best secondary or tertiary causes of differences in outcomes. A more likely cause is the much lower population density of Canada in urban, suburban, and rural areas.
No one has mentioned this, but that fool Fioretti started running ads to become the loser in the Cook County State's Attorneys race on Sunday. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but the ad ends with "Punch 55".
Exactly what brain dead fool came up with that?
We haven't punched out a card to vote since either 2000 or 2002!
If you punch a touch screen, you might break it!
Yet another reason why the Cook County Republican party is a pathetic joke!
How was it done in Chicago? Where I live we received paper ballots which we filled out little ovals with pens before depositing them in counting machines. There was nothing for us to punch, though considering names on ballots, it was tempting.
If you remember the infamous "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach in 2000, Chicago & Cook County used the exact same thing.
there was a booklet made of a hard paperboard & they pages were attached in such a way, that small holes were next to the names.
You inserted you IBM style punch card & there was a special pin there & you pushed the pin all the way down.
In palm beach though, the old fools didn't push the pin all the way through, just making a dent in the card, which didn't count as a vote, plus the layout was confusing & many voted for Pat Buchanan, instead of Al Gore!
i just saw a popup for the PS in my Inbox. so, in honor of election day, i decided to vote immediately on the visual quip of the week.
i was the 1st to vote [in today's VQotW contest] - hey hey!🎉
remember, get out & vote today - and vote on the the VQotW - if you haven't already.
The Stonehedge one is perfect!
amen!
Why quibble about what happened during Covid? We can’t change that. The point is a convicted felon should not be president. If you vote for a convicted felon for president you are garbage.
Will your assessment that someone is garbage change if his felony convictions are overturned?
And will your assessment be reinforced if found guilty in upcoming criminal trials?
Mine or Amy's? Do you mean assessment of Trump or an assessment that half of the American electorate is garbage?
As for my assessment of Trump, it won't. I formed my opinions about Trump long before he was put on trial. My guess is that you and Amy did as well. But there is a meaning to the statement, which is similar to one you made earlier. It is hard to see how it could be about persuading people who disagree with you. So what is it about?
I found about him from my subscription to Spy Magazine which created the perfect moniker for him, The Short Fingered Vulgarian!
Charlie Pierce at Esquire nicknamed him the Vulgar Talking Yam.
And Jon Stewart calls him Fuckface von Clownstick!
Whether or not his convictions are overturned or not will not change my opinion of him and those who stand with him. I cannot support someone who treats people with disabilities, those of color, veterans, and women with such disrespect.
So felony conviction is not a determining factor, and you think half of the electorate is garbage?
You're missing the point. A disagreement on one issue doesn't make anyone anything. I have very strong anti-Trump feelings. That doesn't even mean I despise Republicans or conservatives. You are spending a lot of time defending him. Why don't you tell us what you find compelling about him. His marriage infidelity? His denial of things, even when there is video evidence? His personal descriptions of anyone that disagree with him? His recent talk about pointing guns at people? His threats to fire loyal government workers merely because they don't show fidelity to him? The best most of his supporters can do is turn to his supposedly great administration. I can easily argue against that since much of it is made up lies. But even if one considers that it still leaves an amoral narcissistic bully whose campaign promises are threatening basic American freedoms. So why don't you try to defend him. I get the part where many conservatives don't like what Biden did with Covid responses and immigration being the two main bugaboo. What do you think Trump is going to do about is- that is both legal and reasonable? And Harris is sure getting a lot of crap for things she didn't do. Just what do conservatives think she was in charge of as vice-president? She wasn't Biden. But that's changing the subject. This is still about Trump. Try to defend him.
I am not defending Trump. I find his behavior reprehensible, and I think his policies are bad for the country economically and culturally.
What did I say that gave you the impression that I was defending him?
Absolutely not. Mine won't. He was garbage before he entered politics. He used illegal immigrants to build his buildings in order to save money but now wants immigrants gone. The way that he treated his wives with the public affairs shows that he's morally and ethically bankrupt. Questioning the motives of veterans and calling the fallen losers, disrespecting Sen. McCain ("I like people who didn't get caught".) He dismisses Jan 6th as peaceful and professing love for the perpetrators shows his blindness to the rule of law. He is a pustule on the collective body of this country and democracy, and needs to be defeated and tossed into the dustbin of history.
You're far too kind to him!
No. That's a limited vision question. He has said and done many things, that even if legal, we're wrong.
Why quibble? Because it’s dangerous to, when confronted with being wrong about a fact , say “ well it doesn’t matter, it’s the idea behind it that matters.” Saying, “let’s not quibble ….that So, what if Trumps mishandling of COVID wasn’t the cause of the extra deaths vs Canada. Trump is horrendous that’s all that matters. “ is like JD Vance saying “What does it matter if Haitians didn’t kill pets, they are bad people”
Cate Plys right. There are soooooo many objective ways in which Trump is despicable and a tragedy for the US, that making stuff up about why he’s so is a bad bad idea.
I have many friends that won’t acknowledge that lockdowns and school closures were a mistake even though one made in good faith. Not admitting your mistakes is what Trump does. Why would you want to be like that?
I merely meant what is done is done. We can’t change what has already happened. Hopefully we all learn from our mistakes and do differently next time. If we (meaning people) want change we can’t look back but forward and go vote for what we believe in.
Yeah, this is not the time. We can argue about it later. To paraphrase the late Rumsfeld, there are a lot of unknown unknowns with regard to the pandemic. I will let better researchers, time and history decide. In the meantime, vote blue.
But this was about a statement that Trump caused the extra deaths. Acknowledging that the statement is wrong isn't about "what's done is done" It's important to fight what Trump is trying to do by refusing to do what he does. Say a falsehood doesn't matter and doesn't need correcting because there is somehow a more important "truth"
You are correct. Besides. I see much more serious issues ahead. Are any of you federal employees? Get ready to kiss Trump's ring if you want to stay employed. Have any kids in school? Hope you don't let them read anything that your conservative neighbors disagree with. Have any friends with alternative lifestyles? Better dump them before someone turns on you. You want your favorite outdoor spot protected? Not gonna happen- not if some rich developer or mining company wants it. The big corporation robbed you again? Too bad- they will now be protected from any enforcement. Don't like what Russia is doing? Tough cookies- Trump has already said Ukraine would need to give up some territory(they already have), that our relationship with NATO would need to change, and besides, he admires Putin, as well as Hitler. Covid- now what was that all about?
Amy, I totally get your point too, but like Jo said, there are just SO many legitimate ways to discredit Trump, there's no need to make them up. And when Obama or other media outlets do that, they discredit themselves, which just leads to still more distrust of societal institutions. Plus, re Covid, if people and institutions won't take a clear-eyed look at what happened, how are we going to do better next time? And we really need to do better.
I would add that they spread and reenforce misinformation which becomes 'common knowledge' which cannot be challenged without being labeled as a bad actor. This is further compounded when one side successfully claims to be the owners of science and data based policy while labeling the other as reality deniers.
Agreed. How many times on this forum have I tried to turn the discussion over to us rather than put everything on the backs of politicians? If we choose to listen to non-medical politicians other than the people that know, then we are to blame. I have seen a number of people in this forum try to use stats to justify their views. The same stats can be looked at by 100 people and come up with 100 different opinions. I prefer my method. It's called the simple view, which is handy for people like me that are smart enough to interpret all the stats. People get sick. Blame it on obesity, lifestyle, poverty- anything you want. If it can be caught, I don't want to be near them. I wish they would have the common sense to stay home and not spread it. But we are Americans and no one can limit our freedoms. So if one wants to go out and infect others, let the the others stay home and cower. Did it hurt the economy? Of course it did! Who can argue that closing businesses and limiting contact between people doesn't hurt business? So now leaders need to make choices. Protect people or protect business. Or do nothing and hope it simply goes away. I chose to get vaccinated. There are medical people that have been testing this stuff for centuries. It also leaves me wondering how many naysayers eschew all medicines. None of them are natural to our bodies, because if they were, we wouldn't need prescriptions. Yeah, I know the issue is freedom of choice. If it just concerns my health, yeah it's my choice. The ability to infect others is another matter. Many of us are awful greedy about the our rights and don't care about the rights or needs of others. Yes, I wore a mask. I had Covid twice. It was as much about protecting others as myself. So what kind of choices do we as people make? When it's based on politics, which has nothing to do with my health- or shouldn't- I consider that a form of insanity.
It was a couple of years before I was born. But maybe a few of you have heard of the McCarthy Era? Anyone with ideas like modern liberals could be labeled communists, which was as bad as one could get. People could be investigated by the FBI. They could be labeled Unamerican. They could lose jobs or even be jailed for not turning in their friends. Does anyone think it can't happen again- or worse? The country was very conservative then, much more than now. My father was a World War II vet. God help any of his children that dared bash the country. The McCarthy Era ended when he went to far and tried to label the Army. In my view, what Trump has said has already gone too far. I don't count on MAGAs stopping him.
amy, how do you justify your post in a civil society, in a reasonable 'public square' like the PS? trump supporters may be considered foolish, misguided, bemused, short-sighted - maybe even ignorant. but garbage?
BTW, i became a never-trumper when he was 1st nominated by the repub's for POTUS, and have been a never-trumper ever since.
BobE - Many people believe that Trump's overt racism - as a presidential candidate - "granted permission" for many closet racists to let their racist flags proudly fly. This makes those of his followers "garbage". He hates who they hate. The rise in hate crimes (of all kinds) since 2015 lends credence to this.
amy has painted all of his followers as 'garbage'. some of them certainly are. she's made a similar mistake that biden made.
but not all of them are 'garbage'. and, unlike you, amy didn't qualify her categorization.
i heard something during the 1st trump admin - not all trump supporters are racists; but all racists are trump supporters.
I only used garbage because it was used at his MSG rally. I wanted to use a stronger word or words to describe Trump supporters but was afraid Mr. Zorn would ban me from posting here.
You're right, EZ. Even though there were more deaths per month in Biden's first year (2021) than Trumps last year (2020), Biden's monthly numbers have fallen dramatically from 2022-2024.
The first covid death waves, pre-vaccine, were more urban. Post-vaccine, late 2020 and in 2021, it switched substantially to republican rural areas. You can lead a horse to water....Yes, that would have been tricky politically to explain. Both sides love to use stats that start with Day 1 of the presidency, if it fits their narrative. The final Trump fiscal budget didn't end until September 2021 (inflation had risen 6% by then), yet credit / blame starts on Day 1.
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/03/03/the-changing-political-geography-of-covid-19-over-the-last-two-years/
That's a great point about the fiscal year budget continuing to September. I'd forgotten about that.
President Biden may, or probably did not, call MAGA types "garbage." Result, column after chin stroking column on what it means for the election. Agent Orange calls VP Harris a sleazebag in a speech that calls for Liz Cheney to face nine rifles trained on her. Vance calls VP Harris "trash." Result in both cases, crickets. The one thing these candidates (President Biden is not a candidate) are good at is floodng the zone with EssAitch1Tee.
i think - with no more evidence than anyone else has - there was likely a diff btwn what biden said and what he meant with the 'garbage' rejoinder. what he said [in his now-usual addled fashion] was that MAGA types are "garbage."
what he was trying to say was that the idiot stand-up comic was garbage.
nice try, joe - you weren't helping.
I appreciate the analysis from Cate Plys. The effects on excess mortality rate from COVID are many and complicated. Teasing out the effect of government policy from everything else is no easy thing, and I do not think it is possible without making a lot of assumptions. Most media sources I have seen do not even try; they cite a univariate relationship to make a point and end there.
It’s taken nine years and finally seeing Trump simulate giving a microphone stand a blowjob, but I have finally figured it out: He’s John ‘Bluto’ Blutarsky from Animal House in real life — an unhinged frat boy given free rein to run amok because the people from his group find his antics funny.
The only real difference is Bluto went on to be a senator instead of president.
Bluto wasn't a narcissistic sociopath like the fat traitor!
That's debatable -- we didn't see enough of him to know.
good analogy, john. except bluto/belushi really was funny - and kinda lovable - both contrasts to the Lyin' King.
this analysis from a frat boy who lived in 'animal house' for 3 yrs.
I love Belushi, and Animal House -- as a comedic movie. But some of the actions Bluto takes in the movie would be disturbing and horrendous in real life. He's pretty much a boorish dick, but because he's one of the "good guys" we love him.
Some examples of things we wouldn't tolerate from a real person: peeping on Mandy through her bedroom window, grabbing food in the cafeteria and putting it back after biting into it, spewing mashed potatoes on people like he's popping a zit, smashing someone's guitar in a moment of rage, and on and on...
And even in the movie his frat brothers know better than to put him in charge of anything other than handing out nicknames to the new pledges.
Read some biographical stuff on Belushi, including one of his best buddies, Dan Akyroyd. Belushi, away from the screen, was pretty much what we saw on screen. Because of his personal habits, "Animal House" was damn hard to make along with fact that many studio execs did not consider it worth what it was costing to make. Belyshi was definitely no saint and his habits cost him his life. But here's the big difference between Bluto and Burger Boy. Belushi was out for personal pleasure. Burger Boy wants to please anyone like himself and damn the rest of us. Bluto wasn't trying to be in charge.
I think the only person Trump ever truly wanted to please was his dad, which was apparently an impossible task. Everything else was pure self-indulgence.
In the renaming poll I couldn't find "all of the above."
Charlie Sykes quote is both fearmongering and the summation of truth. Without knowing the future - he presents the best case scenario. Smoke and Mirrors... To reach out to undecided voters, we are resorting to re-evaluating COVID numbers. Insane. Speed Limits. Seems like the first thought for any of these type of proposals, ones first instinct is to ask how is the city wanting to make money from any change? Lower speed limits, people aren't adhering, to enforce - we'll install red light cameras, $$$ No cars, people movers and sky gondolas! Worst Name Change: JBP DuSable from LSD. There had to be a better way to honor DuSable and not take away our iconic drive.
And now... "Remember, Remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."
“People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
Nearly everyone called it, and still calls it, the Drive: a perfectly clear and useful reference for all who've ever encountered it more than once. The most common first reference and road sign reference is DuSable Lake Shore Drive. That not only a plurality but a clear majority of respondents (69% when I saw results) found that roadway's renaming to be the worst among the five options makes me think we've all been driven around the Drive's original S-curve by this political season. (Understandable, under the circumstances.) In general though, the "We weren't here first but we stole it fair and square" tradition of defending names bestowed by early powers-that-be against all comers, no matter how worthy, strikes me as either childish, churlish, or bigoted. Which brings us back to the current political season. I sure hope Michael Moore gets it right this time, too.
I'm surprised Stroger is high, but many people over the years claimed to have been born in Cook County. Waveland is an obnoxious name change but majority of people care less about a golf location. It'll still be called the Circle Interchange and Congress but I don't think people balk at Byrne/Wells. LSD is easy, simple and clear. At least it isn't the Nike Lake Shore Drive.
I don’t like “Byrne Interchange” because naming a godawful traffic mess after someone is a peculiar way to honor them.
And I’m not a fan of Wells Parkway because in intersects with Wells Street.
You'd hate having to navigate through Atlanta, with all its Peachtree streets, avenues, and boulevards.
Can we name a snowstorm after her?
I thought the visual jokes were all really good. But this is the first time humor has revealed a prejudice in me. I picked the Aaron Judge one, it was not the funniest, but I am originally from Boston and anything bad that happens to the Yankees just tickles my funny bone.
That was Aaron’s first fielding error all season, could not have come at a worse time.
Hey, I have voted for Harris, I did the important stuff before dealing with the visuals!
i'm with you, peter. as a lifelong white sox fan, anything bad that happens to the damn yankees is OK by me.
Regarding Covid, is there a definitive book on Covid and who died and how the different measures worked? I read an excellent book on the 1918 pandemic and would be interested in reading about this one.
During this pandemic I realized my dad was four & survived the 1918-19 one, along with his one year older brother & both parents, who I have slight memories of!
Yo Garry, no Dad means no Garry…and no Garry comments.
Glad your family survived🙂!
Good question, I don't think so, yet, but it surely must be coming. Nicholas Christakis wrote a terrific book on pandemic and the early portion of Covid, "Apollo's Arrow," but that's not the focus so much.
I would also like to see more information on the acceptance and usage of vaccines. In conversations when the covid vaccine came out many people seemed to assume that getting the vaccine was obvious to anyone with a brain and that anti-vax messaging was the sole culprit in preventing use. But when I looked at data from prior vaccine programs the uptake was immediate for less than 30%, took years to get to 60%, and decades to get near 90%. Only 67% of the population got at least one dose of the two-dose original vaccine (40% got both doses?) and only 15% have gotten the boosters. The uptake of boosters among those that got the original vaccine was only 7% in the first year. Human behavior is complex and simplistic cause/effect claims are not helpful.
You made a better point than you think. We are still fighting the fluoride battle with Kennedy promising to get rid of it. The polio vaccine has been a decades old debate. The measles vaccine supposedly causes autism. So there is nothing new about the Covid- debate. Plus, we are Americans. No one tells us what to. Government telling people what to do is just about a guarantee that at least half the population will do the opposite no matter how much sense it makes.
For his coverage of COVID Ed Yong of the Atlantic "won the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism; the George Polk Award for science reporting; the Benton Award for distinguished public service; the Victor Cohn Prize for medical science reporting, the Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for investigative journalism; the John P. McGovern Award from the American Medical Writers’ Association; and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for in-depth reporting. He was also a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award in public service, and was described as “he most important and impactful journalist of 2020 by Poynter." But AFAIK he has not written a COVID book
Not yet. We are still learning. But remember that it took decades for anyone to write about the 1918 pandemic.
In your first paragraph, did you mean to say disenchantment with Kamala?
No! It’s fixed above
Many thanks to Rick Weiland and Little Bear for their comments this week. I'm not against all protected bike lanes on major streets, but I too just can't figure out why it doesn't make more sense to put them where possible on nearby parallel streets where the bikers would be safer overall and at intersections. I, too, ride those streets rather than the major ones--except admittedly when there's a protected bike lane. The spot Rick mentioned re Sheridan is a classic example. Now I have to decide whether I can manage one more book on my towering stack of must-reads for Little Bear's recommendation.
The ones on Clark between Devon & Ridge are the worst. It has condensed a two lane street with lots of traffic & one of the CTA's most important backbone bus routes into one lane for 3/4ths of a mile, causing major backups both north & south of that. The Clark bus is now trapped in a traffic mess for that portion of the route.
In addition, there are nice quiet sidestreets that I rode my bike on for over 50 years, parallel to Clark just a block away both east & west. I always preferred a nice quiet side street to ride on! Plus, the bike lanes will be useless when it snows, as there aren't bike lane snow plows!
I also wonder about the effect on business of the bike lanes. I liked going to Revolution Brewing on Milwaukee, but it was very congested and difficult to park. Now they are closing. I believe the bike lanes contributed to that.
Read the latest Sun Times column on the use of automated cameras to ticket anyone parked in a bus or bike lane. I'm not in favor of this anyway, being concerned about privacy. But if one is a downtown business owner, how does one get deliveries with the amount of commercial spots disappearing? How do bigger vehicles navigate already too small streets built long before today's vehicles? Yes, I know, get everyone out of their vehicles and make the air clearer. That's not really helpful to a lot of old or disabled people or others that have no choice but to drive.
As to Cate Plys’s quoted statement suggesting that masks, lockdowns, and vaccinations were not effective in fighting COVID-19, why were there more deaths in red counties than blue counties? Are there more obese Republicans/fascists/conservatives than obese Democrats/progressives?
Joanie - I think it had more to do with much higher rates of vaccine skepticism among Rural Red Voters than Blue Urban Voters (IMHO). (I am visualizing all of the videos of Red Trump supporters wearing mesh masks to "comply" with locally-imposed mask mandates.)
But part of Cate Plys’s quote was “There was never any evidence that the COVID vaccines stopped transmission between people, so there was never any medical reason for vaccine mandates.” I guess I am skeptical that the trifecta of lockdowns, masks, and vaccines had no appreciable effect.
other than hyperbole, to suggest that what we had resembled a bone fide lockdown is a major misnomer.
The vaccines didn’t prevent transmission, but they did mitigate the severity of illness and chances of death in the people that took them.
It wasn't unreasonable to assume the COVID vaccines would help reduce the spread of the disease as other vaccines have been shown to do that. It's only in hindsight that we knew for sure that they weren't effective at curbing transmission.
No, only significantly reducing the possibility that those who received them would die if they contracted COVID.
How do we know this? Many people just ignored mandates and either spread or caught Covid.
Studies were done on the topic:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-30992100768-4/fulltext
"This study showed that the impact of vaccination on community transmission of circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 appeared to be not significantly different from the impact among unvaccinated people."
What she was saying was that if vaccines did not stop transmission, there was no real reason for a mandate which is designed not to protect the vaccinated, but those around them. If the vaccine only helps me by reducing my risk of severe illness or death, but not others by keeping me from giving them the disease, then there are less reasons to require others take the vaccine. Though one could still argue that the need to reduce the strain on our public health system by reducing hospitalizations and need for care from medical personell is a reason from a public health perspective to require vaccines. Lockdowns, especially school closures probably caused more harm than good, though there is a definite risk/reward balance involved.
It was a confusing comment to start to start with. Was there no medical reason for the vaccines or just the mandates? The reasons we have any laws or regulations in the first place is too many people don't have the common sense needed to stop doing something because it harms others.
Eric -- I want to thank for promoting that word game, in which you find the missing letter, in the Tribune. I've started playing it every day (finding another part of the paper to put over the answer, because I find it hard not to notice the answer. Quite enjoyable! I've missed a few but am getting better. It's a little brain exercise in the morning.
Another example of unsupported covid claims is "Lacking a system of universal healthcare and plagued by unusually high levels of class and racial inequality” has an effect on covid mortality. This was a routine claim during the pandemic with regard to infection rates, which were supposedly related to "access to health care".
But there is no evidence that frequency of doctor visits had any relationship to infection rate.
There is also no evidence that doctor/clinic visits have any effect on obesity, smoking, alcohol use, heart disease, hypertension, etc. Being treated for any of the chronic conditions underlying covid mortality also did not change the mortality rate. Obesity (and other chronic condition) rates are corelated to income (not race). The rate of obesity of people with income over $100,000 is 30% and the rate for people below $35,000 is 40%. The aggregate rate in Canada is 28% and 35% in the US.
Similarly, the Gini coefficient for Canada is .35 and for the US is .48. The US rate is higher primarily due because the US has many more people with wealth over $1 million (18% of the US vs 4.3% of Canada). Removing the top tier the Gini coefficients are roughly the same in the US and Canada. There is no evidence of class differences between the US and Canada.
The claims are at best secondary or tertiary causes of differences in outcomes. A more likely cause is the much lower population density of Canada in urban, suburban, and rural areas.
No one has mentioned this, but that fool Fioretti started running ads to become the loser in the Cook County State's Attorneys race on Sunday. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but the ad ends with "Punch 55".
Exactly what brain dead fool came up with that?
We haven't punched out a card to vote since either 2000 or 2002!
If you punch a touch screen, you might break it!
Yet another reason why the Cook County Republican party is a pathetic joke!
How was it done in Chicago? Where I live we received paper ballots which we filled out little ovals with pens before depositing them in counting machines. There was nothing for us to punch, though considering names on ballots, it was tempting.
If you remember the infamous "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach in 2000, Chicago & Cook County used the exact same thing.
there was a booklet made of a hard paperboard & they pages were attached in such a way, that small holes were next to the names.
You inserted you IBM style punch card & there was a special pin there & you pushed the pin all the way down.
In palm beach though, the old fools didn't push the pin all the way through, just making a dent in the card, which didn't count as a vote, plus the layout was confusing & many voted for Pat Buchanan, instead of Al Gore!