yzerman19

Hayduke- the reason your keyboard and dick are orange are because of the cheesy Puffs your mom brought down to the basement. Maybe she shoulda had a mask on. Good news is you aren’t going to die. Bad news is I’m going to have to continue to foot the bill for your failures. I actually give you a bit of a pass. When you have real responsibility. People that rely on you for jobs. A family that depends on you. You might grow up...but I guess that’s hard isn’t. You recall the scene in goodwill hunting at the bar? Wink....how you like them apples?

The reporting Of numbers is dynamic, but these appear reasonable from everything I’ve seen. agree with poster that 99.96% is not having died yet. Other details to clarify: are those unique individuals tested or total tests performed. they also don’t have results from self testers that do not report. we know the death rate is extremely varied in different populations...so while netting out to the numbers shown, if you are under 18, death chance from covid is like being struck by lightning. If over 65 it’s pushing 10% (of both catching it and dying from it)

What if they were giving samples

And.... the healthcare system did NOT collapse under the weight of Covid. Medical staff have learned what works better than alternatives (aka ventilators are not the answer). No rational person ever believed that controlling cases was the answer.

The narcissist who wears no mask, the fascist that demands all comply with mask wearing... Both are extreme positions...

It’s a biological world filled with bad stuff. We’ve just gotten soft as a society and narcissistic enough to think we’re smarter than nature. I still love how the goal posts moved. In CA right now if you are healthy today under 50, your odds of contracting and dying from the virus are 1 in 100,000. Under 18, 1 in 10,000,000.

You cannot generically refer to ACA as good or bad. It is complicated legislation with good and bad components. Certain elements were more important in different States too. Actuarially you need the mandate in order to keep costs somewhat contained. If all the young, healthy, invincible non-utilizers opted out of the pool, premiums would be even higher than they already are. All the minimum benefits, etc also increased the premium. insurer admin expense and margin is capped via the MLR requirement. The increased costs aren’t going to insurers as profit.

Healthcare reform has always targeted the wrong animal. Insurance was never the issue. It was the scapegoat.

Feels like a fantasy world some days...amazing what hard work, talent and focusing on the right priorities yields. Not a scheme. Many years of school, doing things that suck, delaying gratification, tough calls in opacity, correct analysis, logic and conclusions. Treating people fairly. Doing business honestly. Nurturing relationships, keeping a cool head. It works! America works!

Or is it okay to dislike the poorly educated if they happen to disagree with you and meet certain qualifications of ethnicity?

In fact, if you favor the woke crowd, poorly educated is primarily a function of underfunded, underprivileged schools in the inner cities. These schools are disproportionate in their minority enrollment. To dislike the poorly educated would therefore be systemic racism. Certainly white privilege.

Brother I’m in CA...half the economy is fully dependent on undocumented workers.

Why I really wanted Biden to go for the middle.

The immigration thing drives me bananas for example. There is an incredibly compelling argument to: 1. Establish strong border security and control immigration. 2. Devise a path to citizenship via public or military service for those here legally or illegally at a set point in time. 3. Deport criminals and those unwilling to follow the path to citizenship. 4. Effectively manage work and school visas also tied to paths to citizenship or deportation depending on choices.

Among McCain and Lewis’ collective eulogies as well as messages and appearances by Clinton, W, and Obama, I Have found myself nostalgic for a leader that at least on the surface appears to respect the office and speaks to and for all Americans. The thing is, I do favor many policy moves by Trump, but the why and how the message is delivered masks it over.

I will agree with you on being un-remorsefully divisive. While it can be argued that W and Obama were also divisive, that was a result of policy rather than rhetoric. Trump might be the first President to ever take the rhetorical position of constituents over country. Certainly policy has always favored constituents in political history, but the surrounding rhetoric was at least attempting to (if not unite) at least explain and attempt to convince.

Victory in the Cold War and curbing inflation on one hand. Economic devastation to the working class, manufacturing, mining, farming on the other. I blame the Fed for almost all our economic woes.

I’m just writing away this morning... Here are some other things that have really degraded opportunity in the USA that have nothing to do with social justice: 1. Corporations outsourcing jobs overseas to save a buck. Inflated earnings, but at the expense of product quality (pharma great example) and US jobs. 2. The elimination of defined benefit pensions. Again, really improved the balance sheets of Corporations, but at the cost of security. Do not confuse this with the underfunded pensions in the public sector. Those would be fine too if they were properly managed. 3. Corporate tax law. If you look at the effective rates actually paid, well, let’s just say we all wish we paid so little. 4. Housing. I’ve said it a million times. All people want is a job, a family, and a home they own. When a house in CA costs $700k as a starting point, there is no hope for the masses. im losing steam...too much posting for a Sunday morning.

Lincoln saved the Republic by bringing millions to their knees. I hope it doesn’t come to that. The cultural, experiential, philosophical, and economic divides in this country are tremendous. What does a Wyoming cowboy or Texas Oil man have in common with a Brooklyn chef or a Los Angeles graphic designer? Little to begin with, then start layering in where they grew up, their experiences, their ethnicity....

Defining smarter is hard? Is it knowledge, experience, IQ, EQ, a mix of all of the above? I don’t believe Trump lacks knowledge, experience or IQ points (might not be a genius, but he’s probably at least 120-130). What Trump lacks is a filter, temperance, and patience. He doesn’t care to bring people along his mental construct, he just fires from the hip. one thing experience has taught me is how important it is to frame things and bring people up to speed with your thought process before just blasting away with a decision or opinion. I think Trump has been an autocratic business leader for so long that he just doesn’t think like that. so, I am not a Trumpist. I voted libertarian last time- was in a State that was going Hillary no matter what, so it was basically a protest vote. That said, we are in some very unprecedented times right now. Neither Trump nor the democrats appeal to my belief structure, so it becomes the lesser of two evils. I was sincerely hoping Biden would claim the middle ground like a Bill Clinton Democrat, but I’m concerned the party has gone so far left he can’t do that. With Covid too much of the country is now dependent on government. It was bad before, it’s horrible now.

The internet and social media with its dulling of humanity is the biggest threat we face. More so than an antifa protest. Cancel culture and the willingness to “kill” a person online like you would kill a bot in a video game. It’s so de-sensitized. I’m waiting for a major lawsuit against a platform like Facebook for damages due to inciting a virtual mob. The country is very much split, like 51/49. It is incredibly important that the barely minority’s rights are protected, no matter what side they are on. The framers were very concerned about this and built the government to prefer gridlock over trampling without a super majority. Using Executive orders, eliminating the filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court, eliminating the electoral college, adding senators...these things all are abuses (no matter what side) and are contrary to the goals of the framers.

I still contend that inequality is a tremendous motivator if there is an attainable path to upward mobility. Therefore focusing on inequality on its own is the wrong lens. This country was founded on opportunity and inequality in other lands. Poor and hopeless in Europe- indentured servitude in America gave you a chance. Affordable home ownership to me is a major vehicle. There are affordable homes across “fly-over” country, but there aren’t as many jobs. So, my goal would be advancing millenial focused jobs in more rural areas- covid and the zoom boom should make that easier.

I will say this. It is reported that his father taught him to never be the one to sign a deal personally. My father taught me to never do a deal unless you can look that person in the eye, sign it, and be willing to do it with your children in the room watching. not that you literally have your kids in the board room, but that you’d sleep well at night if they knew every aspect of what you were doing. Business is a long game, and your reputation lasts forever. In the end it’s all you have and outweighs EQ and IQ.

Why would I want to impress nameless people on a message board? I was actually consuming a fairly difficult to find and excellent bottle of wine at the time, so it was the immediate example at hand. Importantly, your statement about people is spot-on. The folks who work for me love me. I’ve developed and advanced many people. Can’t do it for everyone, because some people lack talent or work ethic. Those that have it though- it’s been as rewarding for me intrinsically as it has been for them financially and professionally.

They want to remake America. I’ve seen too many images of signs claiming the irredeemable nature of the US and calling for revolution. This is such a narcissistic perspective with no historical or international context. One of my favorite signs of all-time flew in Capitol Hill in Seattle. I drove by it frequently and it said LBGTQ for a no border world. I for one am proud to live in a country where you can be LBGTQ with equal protection. I could care less how you were made and who you want to sleep with or how you identify. The irony is in many, many countries around the world LBGTQ people are considered illegal and in many places murdering them goes unpunished, in some places it’s even state sponsored or condoned. my point is we have it better than any nation in history in terms of freedoms and opportunities. To whine or revolt shows a true lack of perspective.