@2:

We've had nearly a full year of "people decide(ing) for themselves what level of risk they are comfortable with" and the result has been more than 463,000 of our fellow citizens dying, for the simple reason that far too many people have decided to engage in stupid, risky, easily avoidable behavior that leaves both themselves, their families, neighbors, friends, and co-workers susceptible to a highly infectious, extremely deadly viral infection.

As the late, great George Carlin once quipped: "never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"; however, in this case the "power" is literally that of being able to kill yourself and those around you.

Look if you're not comfortable being around plague rats just dont go out! It's that simple. Dont go to your job. Get fired. Spend months fighting for unemployment scraps. If you do happen to get it, best of luck not getting your personal information hacked and your identity stolen.

We have to make sure the people who are apathetic about the harm they are doing to others are able to go to a fully functioning Applebees and drink Bud Lite. It's in the constitution.

That Debbie Reynolds video must be modern.
All the football fans in the stadium are cardboard cut-outs.

Gotta give us all a chance to win the COVID lottery and enjoy an agonizing, horrible death now that the more wildly contagious and lethal variants are here, and we can’t get access to the vaccines.

Let’s reopen all the schools and kill the teachers too, since no one has ever sent their kids to schools and day cares before and noticed that they’re disease-breeding factories.

Deeeeath cuuuuuuuulllllt!!!

@9: You know, fire up the Jewish space lasers and just zap them... Question is whether to prioritize zapping stupid motherfuckers like you who wave the freedumb flag around/ don't give a fuck about public health or starting up CA wildfires.. That's the hell of it when it comes down to priorities and making choices.

This is terrible news for the FWD: FWD: Seattle IS DYING!!! crowd:

New study ranks Seattle as nation's 2nd-healthiest city

https://komonews.com/news/local/new-study-ranks-seattle-as-nations-2nd-healthiest-city-02-08-2021

@ 13,

Oh sure, the totally incompetent and willfully obtuse CDC has shamelessly flunked every other test over the last year, but let's blindly accept everything they're saying on this one specific issue.

HOORAY!!! We're all so fucking dumb : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) X ) X ) X ) X ) X )

@9:

It's pretty fucking simple: WEAR A GODDAMNED MASK when you leave your home, and STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ANYONE you don't HAVE to be in close proximity to - and even then at least attempt to stay six feet away for as short a period of time as is absolutely necessary. Anything short of that - and this is the bare minimum - is not only stupid and risky, but prevents others, who may have no choice but to be in some degree of proximity to you, from being able to make SMART, SAFE DECISIONS for themselves.

In short: people can just decide for themselves to stop being lazy, self-centered idiots so lacking in basic human compassion and consideration for others that they think their need to go to X and do Y without adhering to a couple of exceedingly simple protocols is more important than someone else's life.

Seriously, it's not at all difficult. It only takes the tiniest bit of will and self-discipline to accomplish; qualities that, granted, appear to be entirely lacking in many of our fellow citizens. But, if this ISN'T the time to start cultivating them, then WHEN is?

Is it a requirement that nearly every single one of these has to mention the "$2,000" checks, and then imply that Biden is a liar and reprobate for "only" pushing for $1,400 checks? You DO REALIZE that politicians are beholden to national politics, and Biden has already done more in the first few weeks than Obama did in his entire first term. No? Right, because Americans are simply incapable of understanding politics, they're incapable of being happy about positive changes when, well, they want unrealistic changes instead, and the "leftists" (yet another stupid term cooked up by progressive liberals to try to categorize people using arbitrary definitions, and that criticism is coming from a progressive who studied liberal arts in college) are completely and totally unwilling to face the fact that half of this country is conservative and that ain't changing anytime soon. Maybe move to Portland and burn some shit down to make yourself feel better about your "positive contributions to society"?

They should absolutely "target" the stimulus checks moving forward, but they should be based on 2020 taxes. Anyone who made over 50K in 2020 is less likely to need that assistance as badly as all the people in retail and lower paying jobs (or unemployed, obvi).

@23 Professor, you are such a joy to read on a Monday morning. I hope you are holding tight on the reins on your high horse because I have some news for you. Yes, we absolutely have laws and yet people are speeding down I-5 right now, tires are burning somewhere in Snohomish, stores are being robbed in Capitol Hill and 2020 saw a record number of murders in Seattle. Laws are great but if they can't be enforced or even worse won't be enforced than so what?

I can already tell you exactly what will happen if you want to go down the road of enforcing some myopic requirement to stay at home. Those impacted the greatest will be those who have no choice but to be out and about and we already know that demographic is highest among disadvantaged communities so now you are contributing to racist policing with your enforcement.

It would be great if people would voluntarily do what needs to be done but they never have and to pretend otherwise is just foolish. Flu and measles kill people every year and yet what is the consequence for spreading those illnesses. Heck the legislature just voted to decriminalize knowingly giving someone HIV because it basically didn't work ( https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/12/01/52673711/washington-decriminalized-hiv-this-year-heres-whats-next). It may be sad but people have to take responsibility for their own health. If you don't want to risk exposure than stay home and limit your contacts.

I respectfully disagree with your forecast of this lasting another 18-36 months. All the vaccines produced to date have efficacy's above 50%. Did know the 2020 flu vaccine only has an efficacy of 50% and 37% against one variant? These vaccines are not going to be bulletproof but they will provide enough protection to reopen society. You are not going to eradicate Covid anymore than you are going to eradicate the flu. The vaccines will have to updated each year and people immunized but every year there will be some deaths due to Covid. That is the future.

The issue with waiting until 2020 taxes is that the money won’t move for a few months while the IRS processes returns and programs the new info into whatever database is used to determine eligibility. Any changes other than doing it automatically based in a current target (whatever that may be) will delay any payments.

The reason the bill isn’t through is because it has to be prepped and vetted for reconciliation. Government 101. Between that and the impeachment trial it’s going to be another week at best. My guess would be it will make it through just before mid March. We should see them end of March or so. Pelosi isn’t going to put it on the floor until the end of the Feb. Most people don’t really give a shit about what’s in the rest of the bill though that's the part that will help the most long term.

The impeachment is a gigantic time sink. No chance of conviction, no minds will be changed. Everyday spent on that is potentially one day less spent on getting relief out the door. If they feel they have have a case he needs to be prosecuted.

@26: The historical record of every senator casting their vote as a jury in the case against Donald Trump negates arguments as being a waste of time, no chance of conviction, and other senseless pouting.

@2, the now nuked Bess sock puppet, and others:
Why? Why won’t you do the simplest things to help stop this shit show? Why? Why won’t you take your own safety and the safety of others into consideration?
Why?
I’m sitting here in tears, because people like you are making it so much harder for the rest of us.
I work with elderly nuns. The retired sisters haven’t been outside of their facility since last March.
Because of people like you.
My mother has terminal cancer, and my father, who is her primary care giver, had a stroke 2 weeks ago and is now in a rehab facility. My mother and I stood in a flower bed outside his window yesterday so they could see each other.
I’ve been working from home, wearing my mask and social distancing on the few occasions I HAVE to interact with the public, for coming up on a solid year, and barely having any in person interaction with my parents. My parents who need me.
And last night the Husband’s boss called to let him know that one of the people he works with has COVID, so both of us have been exposed. Because Boeing insisted on sending people on remote in states that DGAF about enforcement of mask mandates, or any other thing that might help end this nightmare because god FORBID someone like fucking Dadddddddddddddy be inconvenienced.

Why? What is wrong with you? Will it take you standing in the cold with your crying mother because she can’t touch her frightened husband’s hand? Will it take losing someone YOU care about? Will it take YOU fighting for every breath?
Tell me, what will it take to make you be a decent human being that cares about our society and the people in it?

Cuz frankly I’m fucking sick of taking up the slack for you.

wow Thank
you Lissa

@2 Yes, we already know that you are a selfish, self-centered child. That you call your self Dadddy is completely in keeping with your childishness. If people want to decide for themselves what risks they are willing to take, then everyone has to be completely honest about how reckless and irresponsible they have chosen to behave. Then again, you are consistently Conservative: completely focused on your own desires, and absolutely refusing to take any personal responsibility for your actions. You want to take higher risks than recommended? Then stay away from the rest of us responsible adults.

@29: No, thank you my dear. You are good people. <3
@30: God, I don’t want that to be true. It’s just too bleak a prospect. :(

@24:

Yes, we have laws, and yes people break them - they also suffer the consequences when they're caught. Currently, we don't even try to hold people to account for violating COVID protocols, and without the threat of some sort of punitive response there's literally no incentive for people to change their behavior.

As for your comparison to the flu, well: A of All) As we all know flu strains, while they can be lethal to those with specific comorbidities (primarily chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes, and congestive heart failure) it does not, as a general rule, produce many fatalities outside of those groups, and; B of All) we have fairly plentiful supplies of readily available vaccines on-hand every year to combat the most virulent strains. Currently, we don't have anywhere near the number of COVID vaccines available to treat a similarly large population group, and based on everything I'm seeing, most likely won't until well into the summer or even fall.

And as for people taking responsibility for their own own health, well, yes, that's exactly what most of us ARE and have been doing for the better part of a year now. But, most of us still have to venture out into the world at some point and it's THERE we encounter self-absorbed idiots who have no concept of having any regard for anything beyond their own noses; we can take all the sensible precautions we can think of, but if THEY are going to continue to run around spreading it with no consequences, then they are going to continue to infect other people regardless.

So, the options are: either EVERYONE follows the protocols, even if it means punishing those who refuse; or EVERYONE is put at-risk no matter how careful they are, short of locking themselves in their homes and never venturing out for any reason whatsoever - which, as even you seem to understand, is an impossibility for 99% of the population. If that's the case, then the socially mature approach is to enforce protocols so that when people MUST go out in public, they can do so as safely as can be managed.

@28 - That's what I don't get. I almost always ask people who argue about mask-wearing, "If there's even a slim chance that wearing a mask will help protect the more vulnerable in our community, why would you not do that?"

I mean, it is an inconvenience, but it's such a trivially minor inconvenience of such limited duration (only when you're in a public place), why not tolerate it if there's even just a small chance it will protect someone? Even if you think masks are essentially worthless, why not tolerate the triviality of wearing one for brief spells if there's even a slight chance you'll be protecting one of your more vulnerable neighbors...or hell, even yourself, if it truly is all about you and only you?

Man, my former profession showed me more than most what assholes people can be, at least in terms of criminality, but it's been the advent of Trumpism and this pandemic that have shown how even I, after 30 years of working among the worst our society has to offer, really had no idea the extent of just how deep and widespread the assholery of people could be. And sadly, I'm sure we still haven't seen the bottom of that particular barrel even yet...

@28: You wonder if they'll change their tune when they feel a fever coming on.

@35 I'm on board with accountability but in a city/state where we barely enforce cases of assault and theft for lack of resources and in many cases equity related issues how would you propose we enforce some sort of Covid law? Would you agree that disadvantaged communities would be overly represented in enforcement and you are now inviting further contacts with police when we are actively trying to minimize and defund the police? I'm sympathetic to your suggestion I just don't realistically see how it is possible to implement.

I also agree we won't have the supply of vaccine needed until fall at best but that is still way ahead of the Professor's dismal 18-36 month projection which I think was overly pessimistic.

Not to start a different argument but I think there are a lot of people who would disagree with the notion that criminals are suffering consequences when they are caught currently. That's a whole other thread.

"... it's been the advent of Trumpism and this pandemic that have shown how even I, after 30 years of working among the worst our society has to offer, really had no idea the extent of just how deep and widespread the assholery of people could be. And sadly, I'm sure we still haven't seen the bottom of that particular barrel even yet... " --@Morty

from the coen bros' 2007 'No Country for Old Men':

It’s all the goddamn money, Ed Tom. Money and the drugs. It’s just goddamn beyond everything…You know, if you’d have told me twenty years ago, I’d see children walking the streets of our Texas towns with green hair, bones in their noses…I just flat-out wouldn’t have believed you.” --El Paso Sheriff

“But I think once you quit hearing ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ the rest is soon to follow.” --Sheriff Bell

“Oh, it’s the tide… it’s the dismal tide. It is not the one thing.” --EPS

i like to blame rupert fucking murdoch
rush fucking the oxymoron
and newt fucking gingrich
w/ mKkKonnell and the
trumpfster for best
supporting actors
and down the
Rabbit Hole
we GO

Raindrop it’s not pouting. It’s reality. There won’t be a conviction. I don't doubt he’s guilty. He should be criminally indicted. Neither of those will happen.

Lissa, you’re picking up no ones slack. If anything people like me are picking up your slack when you want to close everything down. It’s not all or nothing. It’s more nuanced than that which is something the shoutiest, emotionally animated people that post here can’t grok. Using measured, controlled ways is not the same thing as lifting all measures.

You’re able to work from home. Good for you. Many of us can’t because entire industries have either closed or are operating at a much reduced capacity. I’ve got skin in the game. Around $30k lost wages, $10k in savings and $10k of a HELOC. Real money. Real pain and uncertainty. Comparatively speaking I’ve got it good. Unemployment even with the spiff, after taxes is about $12/13 hr. A two income family making $80-100k year is making a third to half of what they made pre pandemic. Could you live on a third of your normal income? For a year? Me and millions of others have had to for nearly a year. It’s not sustainable.

Meaningful help for millions of us is not on the way and won’t be. That’s why we look for ways to do business during the pandemic. We have to. There is no choice. For better or worse we have to either take the risk or lose everything we have. Sanctimony and virtue signaling from some of the posters here is no substitute for the needs of those in need. Your sense of privilege and entitlement might make you feel better but it does nothing to pay our mortgages or rent or feed our families. Until you’re willing to give up everything you have and become homeless you have no business judging others that don’t have it as good as you.

@40: This historical record is reality. All Trump republicans would love for everyone to have the same attitude you do, that since conviction is highly remote it's not worth doing.

How shallow. If you acknowledge Trump is guilty you should want the precedent to be set that no-one is above the law even if the trial results in acquittal.

@40: dude IDK who the gal in your head is that you’re arguing with but it ain’t me. Did I say anything at all about ANYTHING other than wearing a mask or social distancing?
That’s right I did not.
Did I say anything about closing businesses?
That’s right I did not.
And for your information I have been exactly in the scenario you described back 2008 when I lost my job, my 1st husband, and was going through breast cancer, and I paid my mortgage by slinging coffee, unemployment and gutting my retirement savings.
So yes, my dear, I have survived on “a third of my normal income” and I did it for two fucking years, thank you so much for asking!
And do you know what I’m not asking you or anyone? To have to go through that as well.
What I asked, was what it would take for people like Dadddy, to do the bare minimum to help end this shit show.

@36 - they won't wear masks because the rest of the Trump-fluffing crowd will tease them for being snowflake liberal pussies.

sounds like to me
you might got it comin'
should Lissa's rabid rabbit
tear you a new one ole soundy.
what was it about her heartfelt testimony
that required you to shit all over it, boardman?

and i think our failure to give Credit where Due
is foolish -- mitch fucking kKkonnell made SURE
that Nothing that might reflect well on Dems had
any shot including the Survival Pay so desperately
needed by a Citizenry under Attack from trumpf's Coronavirus

And for reasons that are not clear to me they are more worried about that than about the rest of US calling them "dead."

@28 Lissa for the WIN!
@28 Lissa; I am so sorry about your current hardships, and want to offer you a cyber hug! You have a tremendous lot on your plate, with the nuns you work with, your husband's predicament with Boeing, leaving you both exposed to COVID, and your inability to interact with your parents and loved ones as you would like.
I share your concerns and frustrations concerning all the clueless idiots making life hard for the rest of us during these frightening, maddening, and uncertain times. Thank you and bless you for all you do, Lissa.

@40 Confused Old Fart: Dude--you have a serious white noise issue. Reread Lissa'a comment @28, provided you aren't also struggling with illiteracy.

Laws and regulations to prevent the spread of a deadly virus?! I dunno, seems like a step onto a mighty slippery slope. What’s next? Is the government going to decide it wants to prevent the spread of other deadly toxins? Are chemical plants going to have to stop dumping toxins in the water? We going to start worrying about how many people get sick and die from breathing polluted air? Is the government going to mandate masks on smokestacks?! Or omg, regulate the emissions from my, my, my... car? (Oops, car? Haha.Truck, I meant truck.)

@48: Well, the deadly toxins (bad as they are) are not resulting in patients going into ICU units and dying.

Thank you Morty, and Auntie G. You are both very kind.