Are we really so gullible?

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
We are always on the verge on annihilation..even when you think it’s safe..it never really is.

Maybe this is really why 6 in 10 adults are so tired?
60% of adults say they’re more tired than ever before

Insects gonna get us..
‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet

Killer Bees
9 minutes to read | Updated for 2020

Or it’s the killer dust somehow crossing the Atlantic that’s coming for us..
Amazing satellite imagery shows giant dust plume known as 'Godzilla' sweeping across the Atlantic from the Sahara to the Caribbean

The plague has made a reappearance in China and Colorado? Is it because they bother begin with C? What are the odds?

China Confirms Case of Bubonic Plague

Squirrel tests positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado amid fears Black Death will jump to humans

I know we have many earthquakes in the world..I have a thread going on that..but they are always, always waiting on the Big One..California! Why does it always disappoint and never happen?
Chance of big San Andreas earthquake increased by Ridgecrest temblors, study suggests

And don’t forget we are always under siege from outer space..anything could crash into us at any given moment!
END OF THE WORLD? Comet Neowise and ‘asteroid approaching Earth’ are signs of APOCALYPSE, crackpot YouTube preacher warns


I don’t know how we make it from one day to the next..and neither do they! Lol! Don’t get me started on covid..because unless you believe it your a real covidiot..
Real covidiots! People who refuse to wear a mask or comply with social distancing have lower cognitive ability, new study shows
 

sailormoon

Established
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
123
Fear and death culture... the establishment is threatened by the fact more people are in the know. I think often it won’t be long until this site and sites like these are dismantled. Internet censorship is a thing, look at YouTube and Facebook for examples. They’re the largest info platforms and the messages that spread there are sponsored by the elite. As more and more conspiracy theories are discovered as true, the less they’ll want us to talk. Free thought is a beautiful thing, which is why they’re creating products to control our brains essentially through google. See here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/elon-musk-neuralink-works-monkeys-human-test-brain-computer-interface-in-2020/
 
Joined
Jul 3, 2020
Messages
631
We are always on the verge on annihilation..even when you think it’s safe..it never really is.

Maybe this is really why 6 in 10 adults are so tired?
60% of adults say they’re more tired than ever before

Insects gonna get us..
‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet

Killer Bees
9 minutes to read | Updated for 2020

Or it’s the killer dust somehow crossing the Atlantic that’s coming for us..
Amazing satellite imagery shows giant dust plume known as 'Godzilla' sweeping across the Atlantic from the Sahara to the Caribbean

The plague has made a reappearance in China and Colorado? Is it because they bother begin with C? What are the odds?

China Confirms Case of Bubonic Plague

Squirrel tests positive for the bubonic plague in Colorado amid fears Black Death will jump to humans

I know we have many earthquakes in the world..I have a thread going on that..but they are always, always waiting on the Big One..California! Why does it always disappoint and never happen?
Chance of big San Andreas earthquake increased by Ridgecrest temblors, study suggests

And don’t forget we are always under siege from outer space..anything could crash into us at any given moment!
END OF THE WORLD? Comet Neowise and ‘asteroid approaching Earth’ are signs of APOCALYPSE, crackpot YouTube preacher warns


I don’t know how we make it from one day to the next..and neither do they! Lol! Don’t get me started on covid..because unless you believe it your a real covidiot..
Real covidiots! People who refuse to wear a mask or comply with social distancing have lower cognitive ability, new study shows
You’re
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
Fear and death culture... the establishment is threatened by the fact more people are in the know. I think often it won’t be long until this site and sites like these are dismantled. Internet censorship is a thing, look at YouTube and Facebook for examples. They’re the largest info platforms and the messages that spread there are sponsored by the elite. As more and more conspiracy theories are discovered as true, the less they’ll want us to talk. Free thought is a beautiful thing, which is why they’re creating products to control our brains essentially through google. See here: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/elon-musk-neuralink-works-monkeys-human-test-brain-computer-interface-in-2020/
Do you think people will want to control computers with their brains? I think there is only a tiny minority that might want to do that.
 

sailormoon

Established
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
123
It’s marketed that the entire internet is instantly at your exposure. No need to think or research, the facts will already be in your brain. So yes I think it’s very marketable
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
It’s marketed that the entire internet is instantly at your exposure. No need to think or research, the facts will already be in your brain. So yes I think it’s very marketable
Every time o read something like that..I can’t compute really how that could all work. How can everything just be in your brain? And do you really want all the info on the internet on your brain..if they could really do that and it isn’t a sci fi lovers dream?
 

sailormoon

Established
Joined
Jun 15, 2018
Messages
123
I mean it’s essentially mind control through google since they’d really determine what “facts” are out there. But I know what you mean, technology is mind blowing. My hub is a big tech fan so he understands it and can explain how it works, to me it is hard to grasp also.
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
I forgot to mention the weather..

they are still trying to make this work apparently. The new ice age from decades ago..

How does that mix with El Niño?
The Curious Case of the EL Niño That Never Happened: A Perspective from 40 Years of Progress in Climate Research and Forecasting

Global warming..
Global Warming Is Expected to Be the Hot Issue of 1990s : Environment: Some scientists studying the greenhouse effect say the sky is falling. Others believe the best advice is to stay cool.

And instead of having to make up a new weather disaster every decade..we now just lump it all under climate change..and say it’s our own damn fault!!

9 ways we know humans triggered climate change
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
3,578
Let’s face it, fears sells. It can keep people in a state of panic and helplessness, and it can also keep the cortisol levels up to have people more prone to getting sick physically and emotionally. It's a great way to demoralise the population.

Below is a link from Reader’s Digest that has 101 good news stories. I never understood the magazine's popularity as a child, and it's the very last magazine I’d pick up to read at the doctor’s office. Although, reading through some of the comments on articles during this lock down, someone mentioned how they miss the days when it was popular because it wasn’t always promoting “doom and gloom”. Perhaps they have a point, as it appears to be by design that none of these stories in the article would make headlines today:

Good News Stories From Around the World That Will Brighten Your Day
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
Let’s face it, fears sells. It can keep people in a state of panic and helplessness, and it can also keep the cortisol levels up to have people more prone to getting sick physically and emotionally. It's a great way to demoralise the population.

Below is a link from Reader’s Digest that has 101 good news stories. I never understood the magazine's popularity as a child, and it's the very last magazine I’d pick up to read at the doctor’s office. Although, reading through some of the comments on articles during this lock down, someone mentioned how they miss the days when it was popular because it wasn’t always promoting “doom and gloom”. Perhaps they have a point, as it appears to be by design that none of these stories in the article would make headlines today:

Good News Stories From Around the World That Will Brighten Your Day
I always liked the little stuff readers sent in for their living in America or whatever it was called. They were often humorous little day to day living stories. I always wanted to send in this one..

My son had a sleep over friend they were around 5 and we were making breakfast when his friend told us that he was black toast intolerant. Lol! He was so earnest about it..we really tried hard not to laugh.

People could relate and it would make you chuckle for a little while and brighten your day. Which I think why John Krasinski’s Some Good News was so popular..
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
Of course because no one needs their jobs..;)
And we might be able to get another $1200 someday to live off


Hillary Clinton says 'teachers shouldn't be forced to choose between their lives and their jobs' as she hits out at Trump's demands to reopen schools despite coronavirus surge

Coronavirus Mystery: Are Kids Less Likely To Catch It Than Adults Are?
Why the coronavirus appears to affect children differently than it affects adults is one of the great mysteries of the current pandemic.

Orange County education board calls remote learning an 'utter failure' for students and votes to reopen schools for students with NO masks or social distancing

 

justjess

Superstar
Joined
Mar 16, 2017
Messages
11,510
Back to school? (Thanks, Pat Mohr)
If you are a parent, a school board member, a teacher, or if you simply live here, please read this discussion of the arguments for sending kids/educators/staff/administrators back into classrooms.

(This is long—-but compelling.)

*****

This was posted in a Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) group. It’s a parent’s thought process on deciding between in-person and virtual. It might help some of you who are still debating.

From Joe, with daughters in 8th & 10th grade

To our fellow FCPS families, this is it gang, 5 days until the 2 days in school vs. 100% virtual decision. Let’s talk it out, in my traditional mammoth TL/DR form.

Like all of you, I’ve seen my feed become a flood of anxiety and faux expertise. You’ll get no presumption of expertise here. This is how I am looking at and considering this issue and the positions people have taken in my feed and in the hundred or so FCPS discussion groups that have popped up. The lead comments in quotes are taken directly from my feed and those boards. Sometimes I try to rationalize them. Sometimes I’m just punching back at the void.

Full disclosure, we initially chose the 2 days option and are now having serious reservations. As I consider the positions and arguments I see in my feed, these are where my mind goes. Of note, when I started working on this piece at 12:19 PM today the COVID death tally in the United States stood at 133,420.

“My kids want to go back to school.”

I challenge that position. I believe what the kids desire is more abstract. I believe what they want is a return to normalcy. They want their idea of yesterday. And yesterday isn’t on the menu.

“I want my child in school so they can socialize.”

This was the principle reason for our 2 days decision. As I think more on it though, what do we think ‘social’ will look like? There aren’t going to be any lunch table groups, any lockers, any recess games, any study halls, any sitting next to friends, any talking to people in the hallway, any dances. All of that is off the menu. So, when we say that we want the kids to benefit from the social experience, what are we deluding ourselves into thinking in-building socialization will actually look like in the Fall?

“My kid is going to be left behind.”

Left behind who? The entire country is grappling with the same issue, leaving all children in the same quagmire. Who exactly would they be behind? I believe the rhetorical answer to that is “They’ll be behind where they should be,” to which I’ll counter that “where they should be” is a fictional goal post that we as a society have taken as gospel because it maps to standardized tests which are used to grade schools and counties as they chase funding.

“Classrooms are safe.”

At the current distancing guidelines from FCPS middle and high schools would have no more than 12 people (teachers + students) in a classroom (I acknowledge this number may change as FCPS considers the Commonwealth’s 3 ft with a mask vs. 6 ft position, noting that FCPS is all mask regardless of the distance). For the purpose of this discussion we’ll say classes run 45 minutes.
I posed the following question to 40 people today, representing professional and management roles in corporations, government agencies, and military commands: “Would your company or command have a 12 person, 45 minute meeting in a conference room?”
100% of them said no, they would not. These are some of their answers:
“No. Until further notice we are on Zoom.”
“(Our company) doesn’t allow us in (company space).”
“Oh hell no.”
“No absolutely not.”
“Is there a percentage lower than zero?”
“Something of that size would be virtual.”
We do not even consider putting our office employees into the same situation we are contemplating putting our children into. And let’s drive this point home: there are instances here when commanding officers will not put soldiers, ACTUAL SOLDIERS, into the kind of indoor environment we’re contemplating for our children. For me this is as close to a ‘kill shot’ argument as there is in this entire debate. How do we work from home because buildings with recycled air are not safe, because we don’t trust other people to not spread the virus, and then with the same breath send our children into buildings?

“Children only die .0016 of the time.”

First, conceding we’re an increasingly morally bankrupt society, but when did we start talking about children’s lives, or anyone’s lives, like this? This how the villain in movies talks about mortality, usually 10-15 minutes before the good guy kills him. If you’re in this camp, and I acknowledge that many, many people are, I’m asking you to consider that number from a slightly different angle. FCPS has 189,000 children. .0016 of that is 302. 302 dead children are the Calvary Hill you’re erecting your argument on. So, let’s agree to do this: stop presenting this as a data point. If this is your argument, I challenge you to have courage equal to your conviction. Go ahead, plant a flag on the internet and say, “Only 302 children will die.” No one will. That’s the kind action on social media that gets you fired from your job. And I trust our social media enclave isn’t so careless and irresponsible with life that it would even, for even a millisecond, enter any of your minds to make such an argument. Considered another way: You’re presented with a bag with 189,000 $1 bills. You’re told that in the bag are 302 random bills, they look and feel just like all the others, but each one of those bills will kill you. Do you take the money out of the bag? Same argument, applied to the 12,487 teachers in FCPS (per Wikipedia), using the ‘children’s multiplier’ of .0016 (all of us understanding the adult mortality rate is higher). That’s 20 teachers. That’s the number you’re talking about. It’s very easy to sit behind a keyboard and diminish and dismiss the risk you’re advocating other people assume. Take a breath and think about that. If you want to advocate for 2 days a week, look, I’m looking for someone to convince me. But please, for the love of God, drop things like this from your argument. Because the people I know who’ve said things like this, I know they’re better people than this. They’re good people under incredible stress who let things slip out as their frustration boils over. So, please do the right thing and move on from this, because one potential outcome is that one day, you’re going to have to stand in front of St. Peter and answer for this, and that’s not going to be conversation you enjoy.

“Hardly any kids get COVID.”

(Deep sigh) Yes, that is statistically true as of this writing. But it is a cherry-picked argument because you’re leaving out an important piece. One can reasonably argue that, due to the school closures in March, children have had the least EXPOSURE to COVID. In other words, closing schools was the one pandemic mitigation action we took that worked. There can be no discussion of the rate of diagnosis within children without also acknowledging they were among our fastest and most quarantined people. Put another way, you cannot cite the effect without acknowledging the cause.

“The flu kills more people every year.”

(Deep sigh). First of all, no, it doesn’t. Per the CDC, United States flu deaths average 20,000 annually. COVID, when I start writing here today, has killed 133,420 in six months.
And when you mention the flu, do you mean the disease that, if you’re suspected of having it, everyone, literally everyone in the country tells you stay the f- away from other people? You mean the one where parents are pretty sure their kids have it but send them to school anyway because they have a meeting that day, the one that every year causes massive f-ing outbreaks in schools because schools are petri dishes and it causes kids to miss weeks of school and leaves them out of sports and band for a month? That one? Because you’re right - the flu kills people every year. It does, but you’re ignoring the why. It’s because there are people who are a--holes who don’t care about infecting other people. In that regard it’s a perfect comparison to COVID.

“Almost everyone recovers.”

You’re confusing “release from the hospital” and “no longer infected” with “recovered.” I’m fortunate to only know two people who have had COVID. One my age and one my dad’s age. The one my age described it as “absolute hell” and although no longer infected cannot breathe right. The one my dad’s age was in the hospital for 13 weeks, had to have a trach ring put in because she could no longer be on a ventilator, and upon finally getting home and being faced with incalculable time in rehab told my mother, “I wish I had died.” While I’m making every effort to reach objectivity, on this particular point, you don’t know what the f- you’re talking about.

“If people get sick, they get sick.”

First, you mistyped. What you intended to say was “If OTHER people get sick, they get sick.” And shame on you.

“I’m not going to live my life in fear.”

You already live your life in fear. For your health, your family’s health, your job, your retirement, terrorists, extremists, one political party or the other being in power, the new neighbors, an unexpected home repair, the next sunrise. What you meant to say was, “I’m not prepared to add ANOTHER fear,” and I’ve got news for you: that ship has sailed. It’s too late. There are two kinds of people, and only two: those that admit they’re afraid, and those that are lying to themselves about it. As to the fear argument, fear is the reason you wait up when your kids stay out late, it’s the reason you tell your kids not to dive in the shallow water, to look both ways before crossing the road. Fear is the respect for the wide world that we teach our children. Except in this instance, for reasons no one has been able to explain to me yet.

“FCPS leadership sucks.”

I will summarize my view of the School Board thusly: if the 12 of you aren’t getting into a room together because it represents a risk, don’t tell me it’s OK for our kids. I understand your arguments, that we need the 2 days option for parents who can’t work from home, kids who don’t have internet or computer access, kids who needs meals from the school system, kids who need extra support to learn, and most tragically for kids who are at greater risk of abuse by being home. All very serious, all very real issues, all heartbreaking. No argument. But you must first lead by example. Because you’re failing when it comes to optics. All your meetings are online. What our children see is all of you on a Zoom telling them it’s OK for them to be exactly where you aren’t. I understand you’re not PR people, but you really should think about hiring some.

“I talked it over with my kids.”

Let’s put aside for a moment the concept of adults effectively deferring this decision to children, the same children who will continue to stuff things into a full trash can rather than change it out. Yes, those hygienic children.
Listen, my 15 year old daughter wants a sport car, which she’s not getting next year because it would be dangerous to her and to others. Those kinds of decisions are our job. We step in and decide as parents, we don’t let them expose themselves to risks because their still developing and screen addicted brains narrow their understanding of cause and effect. We as parents and adults serve to make difficult decisions. Sometimes those are in the form of lessons, where we try to steer kids towards the right answer and are willing to let them make a mistake in the hopes of teaching better decision making the next time around. This is not one of those moments. The stakes are too high for that. This is a “the adults are talking” moment. Kids are not mature enough for this moment. That is not an attack on your child. It is a broad statement about all children. It is true of your children and it was true when we were children. We need to be doing that thinking here, and “Johnny wants to see Bobby at school” cannot be the prevailing element in the equation.

“The teachers need to do their job.”

How is it that the same society which abruptly shifted to virtual students only three months ago, and offered glowing endorsements of teachers stating, “we finally understand how difficult your job is,” has now shifted to “screw you, do your job.” There are myriad problems with that position but for the purposes of this piece let’s simply go with, “You’re not looking for a teacher, you’re looking for the babysitter you feel your property tax payment entitles you to.”

“Teachers have a greater chance to being killed by a car than they do of dying from COVID.”

(Eye roll) Per the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the U.S. see approximately 36,000 auto fatalities a year. Again, there have been 133,420 COVID deaths in the United States through 12:09 July 10, 2020. So no, they do not have a great chance of being killed in a car accident.
And, if you want to take the actual environment into consideration, the odds of a teacher being killed in a car accident in their classroom, you know, the environment we’re actually talking about, that’s right around 0%.

“If the grocery store workers can be onsite what are the teachers afraid of?”

(Deep breath) A grocery store worker, who absolutely risks exposure, has either six feet of space or a plexiglass shield between them and individual adult customers who can grasp their own mortality whose transactions can be completed in moments, in a 40,000 SF space.
A teacher is with 11 ‘customers’ who have not an inkling what mortality is, for 45 minutes, in a 675 SF space, six times a day. Just stop.

“Teachers are choosing remote because they don’t want to work.”

(Deep breaths) Many teachers are opting to be remote. That is not a vacation. They’re requesting to do their job at a safer site. Just like many, many people who work in buildings with recycled air have done. And likely the building you’re not going into has a newer and better serviced air system than our schools. Of greater interest to me is the number of teachers choosing the 100% virtual option for their children. The people who spend the most time in the buildings are the same ones electing not to send their children into those buildings. That’s something I pay attention to.

“I wasn’t prepared to be a parent 24/7” and “I just need a break.”

I truly, deeply respect that honesty. Truth be told, both arguments have crossed my mind. Pre COVID, I routinely worked from home 1 – 2 days a week. The solace was nice. When I was in the office, I had an actual office, a room with a door I could close, where I could focus. During the quarantine that hasn’t always been the case. I’ve been frustrated, I’ve been short, I’ve gone to just take a drive and get the hell away for a moment and been disgusted when one of the kids sees me and asks me to come for a ride, robbing me of those minutes of silence. You want to hear silence. I get it. I really, really do. Here’s another version of that, admittedly extreme. What if one of our kids becomes one of the 302? What’s that silence going to sound like? What if you have one of those matted frames where you add the kid’s school picture every year? What if you don’t get to finish the pictures?

“What does your gut tell you to do?”

Shawn and I have talked ad infinitum about all of these and other points. Two days ago, at mid-discussion I said, “Stop, right now, gut answer, what is it,” and we both said, “virtual.” A lot of the arguments I hear people making for the 2 days sound like we’re trying to talk ourselves into ignoring our instincts, they are almost exclusively, “We’re doing 2 days, but…”. There’s a fantastic book by Gavin de Becker, The Gift of Fear, which I’ll minimize for you thusly: your gut instinct is a hardwired part of your brain and you should listen to it. In the introduction he talks about elevators, and how, of all living things, humans are the only ones that would voluntarily get into a soundproof steel box with a potential predator just so they could skip a flight of stairs. I keep thinking that the 2 days option is the soundproof steel box. I welcome, damn, beg, anyone to convince me otherwise.

At the time I started writing at 12:09 PM, 133,420 Americans had died from COVID.

Upon completing this draft at 7:04 PM, that number rose to 133,940.

520 Americans died of COVID while I was working on this.

In seven hours.

The length of a school day.
 

justjess

Superstar
Joined
Mar 16, 2017
Messages
11,510
i can email the CDC for you... im sure they will add another 5000 to the number if you like.
It was a quote. And I was more concerned with the technicalities of SCHOOL then the numbers since I have zero idea exactly when it was written.
 

Lisa

Superstar
Joined
Mar 13, 2017
Messages
20,288
Children 'are not super-spreaders of Covid-19' and pose a low risk of infecting classmates after research showed three under-15s who were infected BEFORE lockdown did not transmit virus to others in a 'school setting'
Children are not superspreaders of Covid-19 and they can return to school as they pose a low risk, research suggests.
 

Maes17

Superstar
Joined
Jul 27, 2017
Messages
6,521
Children 'are not super-spreaders of Covid-19' and pose a low risk of infecting classmates after research showed three under-15s who were infected BEFORE lockdown did not transmit virus to others in a 'school setting'
Children are not superspreaders of Covid-19 and they can return to school as they pose a low risk, research suggests.
We’re all spreading it. We are all asymptomatic or probably had it. We’re probably seeing herd immunity at play. 2019 and before, anytime you went to work sick or during peak flu etc you were still playing with the possibility of spreading the illness to immune compromised people. Who knows maybe covid is lethal or agitates any pre existing dormant stuff.

Pneumonia was pretty brutal at the beginning of the year. Was that really covid? Did it turn political and they decided to run with the narrative to enforce a police state? So many theories
 
Top