Coronavirus

[Al-O-Meter]

What does me wearing a mask do for authority though?
I have never paid for a mask or anything.

The way our government is set up to work is with 3 co-equal branches of government with a system of checks and balances. Laws are created by the legislative branch, signed into law by the executive branch, and determined to be consistent with the US Constitution by the legislative branch.

What legislator proposed this law? Which legislators voted to pass it? When did the President sign it? The separation of powers with checks and balances aren’t there to protect the government. They are to protect the people from government. You will likely have to follow these CDC mask mandate guidelines even if it is never debated in your state legislature. The emergency is being used to sidestep checks on power.

There was an emergency. The statistics show there isn’t one now. There is no justification for the government refusing to give up emergency powers. With this mask mandate for the vaccinated that is completely unsupported by science, government is daring us to say something. I’m saying something. IDGAF if this is in our best interests. The government can either pass a law the regular way or GTFO of my business. This new way of dictating restrictions into existence is not what we signed up for.

 

[One Brow]

The study is at the link below and it was a pretty big deal when it was published. It caused my local school district to trash more than $100k worth of Plexiglas dividers because it was determined they hindered air exchanges per hour.

A guideline to limit indoor airborne transmission of COVID-19

Airborne transmission arises through the inhalation of aerosol droplets exhaled by an infected person and is now thought to be the primary transmission route of COVID-19. By assuming that the respiratory droplets are mixed uniformly through an indoor space, we derive a simple safety guideline...

www.pnas.org

1) The study you linked to stated, "By assuming that the respiratory droplets are mixed uniformly through an indoor space,... ", which is not the result from face masks, which concentrate droplets away from the person you are talking to.
2) Another section discusses the difference between being in a respiratory jet (such as when the unmasked person is facing you) and in the ambient air: There is thus a critical distance, A1/2m/(αtfd)Am1/2/(αtfd), beyond which the pathogen concentration in the jet is reduced to that of the ambient. This distance exceeds 10 m for fdfd in the aforementioned range and so is typically much greater than the characteristic room dimension. Thus, in the absence of masks, respiratory jets may pose a substantially greater risk than the well-mixed ambient.

The article contains much more on the importance of wearing masks and the dangers of being in the respiratory jet of another person. If your school trashed the dividers based on this study, they clearly misunderstood it.

 

[Avery]

I don’t think the vaccinated need to wear masks, but unless you mandate everyone to wear one, the issue will persist. Saying vaccinated don’t have to means the non-vaccinated will continue to lie their way through every day in public.

That’s the reason we are where we are right now - dumbass people who can’t be bothered to do something they don’t want to do.

Perhaps they need to rebrand The Big Lie to an actual one.

 

[One Brow]

With this mask mandate for the vaccinated that is completely unsupported by science,

As someone working directly with doctors and researchers at Washington University, let me be clear on this: every single one of them that has spoken on this thinks the CDC is, if anything, under-reacting. Mutations have already happened, and every possible infection (even of the vaccinated) can cause more of them. The science is firmly, totally, and completely on the side of being more cautious regarding mask wearing, not less.

This new way of dictating restrictions into existence is not what we signed up for.

I agree the executive branch has too much power overall, and I agree it needs to be trimmed back. However, covid19 is not the hill to (literally) die upon. Fight against the FCC, the IRS, the EPA, military adventurism, NSA data collection, SEC market regulation, Federal Reserve monetary policy, etc., and even when I don't agree in particular, I'll agree with the general notion of less executive power. Covid19 is the wrong battlefield.

 

[fishonjazz]

The way our government is set up to work is with 3 co-equal branches of government with a system of checks and balances. Laws are created by the legislative branch, signed into law by the executive branch, and determined to be consistent with the US Constitution by the legislative branch.

What legislator proposed this law? Which legislators voted to pass it? When did the President sign it? The separation of powers with checks and balances aren’t there to protect the government. They are to protect the people from government. You will likely have to follow these CDC mask mandate guidelines even if it is never debated in your state legislature. The emergency is being used to sidestep checks on power.

There was an emergency. The statistics show there isn’t one now. There is no justification for the government refusing to give up emergency powers. With this mask mandate for the vaccinated that is completely unsupported by science, government is daring us to say something. I’m saying something. IDGAF if this is in our best interests. The government can either pass a law the regular way or GTFO of my business. This new way of dictating restrictions into existence is not what we signed up for.

The question I was asking is what does the government get out of me wearing a mask?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[Al-O-Meter]

The question I was asking is what does the government get out of me wearing a mask?

Emergency powers. If fully vaccinated people are willing to accept the government's order to wear masks due to the emergency then those people are willing to accept the continued use of emergency powers by their government.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

I agree the executive branch has too much power overall, and I agree it needs to be trimmed back. However, covid19 is not the hill to (literally) die upon. Fight against the FCC, the IRS, the EPA, military adventurism, NSA data collection, SEC market regulation, Federal Reserve monetary policy, etc., and even when I don't agree in particular, I'll agree with the general notion of less executive power. Covid19 is the wrong battlefield.

 

[One Brow]

Since it's not a problem today, it won't be a problem in two months or two years? What's your level of certainty, and how many lives are you willing to risk on it?

 

[Avery]

Emergency powers. If fully vaccinated people are willing to accept the government's order to wear masks due to the emergency then those people are willing to accept the continued use of emergency powers by their government.

So if no amount of lives lost is a hill to die upon, what is your plan for overcoming this pandemic?

 

[Al-O-Meter]

So if no amount of lives lost is a hill to die upon, what is your plan for overcoming this pandemic?

1. Develop a vaccine
2. Make it available to the people for free
3. Provide the right kind of information to the people
4. Give the vaccine and information time to work and update vaccine as necessary

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Since it's not a problem today, it won't be a problem in two months or two years? What's your level of certainty, and how many lives are you willing to risk on it?

Let me flip the question on you. Do you think SARS-CoV-2 will ever be completely eradicated from the planet and that we will reach a point where zero Americans die from it? Should we accept authoritarian rule until that day happens?

As for my end, we have a good vaccine developed using a technology that will allow us to update the vaccine to combat any new variant with no more than 7-10 days of development time, and relaxed the vaccine approval process so that updated vaccines take 2 weeks to clear the FDA. We've made the vaccines available to the public for free. I have an extremely high level of certainty the very smart people who developed the mRNA vaccines and the machines they used won't be snapped out of existence.

 

[fishonjazz]

Emergency powers. If fully vaccinated people are willing to accept the government's order to wear masks due to the emergency then those people are willing to accept the continued use of emergency powers by their government.

Why did they stop making me wear a mask though? Seems they would have wanted to keep that power

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[Scat]

Ouch, thanks for making yourself look ignorant!

Relax Felicia. It was simply a funny anecdote.

 

[Scat]

Wearing a mask does nothing? Flu and cold season sure was almost non existent last year for some strange reason.

It had more to do with actions beyond just wearing a mask. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, sanitizing and isolation all played a role. That said, we have suppressed our immune systems to the point where a simple cold is more severe than normal. Makes one wonder what flu season will be like once it kicks back in. Might be pretty bad.

Why Everyone Has the Worst Summer Cold Ever (Published 2021)

As pandemic restrictions begin to relax, common viruses that cause drippy noses, stuffy heads and other cold symptoms have roared back to taunt your immune system.

www.nytimes.com

 

[One Brow]

Emergency powers. If fully vaccinated people are willing to accept the government's order to wear masks due to the emergency then those people are willing to accept the continued use of emergency powers by their government.

This is getting into am all-or-nothing mentality. Accepting government mandates on masks does not imply acceptance of, for example, shutting down Facebook. The slippery slope argument is usually fallacious.

Let me flip the question on you. Do you think SARS-CoV-2 will ever be completely eradicated from the planet and that we will reach a point where zero Americans die from it? Should we accept authoritarian rule until that day happens?

1) It's possible. We actually had a full year in this country without a single case of measles at one point, and and today all the outbreaks come from across our borders. If the rest of the world vaccinates to the degree we do, measles could be eradicated. Measles is more contagious than covid19. So, while I don't know about "will ever", it's certainly possible.
2) Wearing masks, or even mask mandates, are not authoritarian rule.

As for my end, we have a good vaccine developed using a technology that will allow us to update the vaccine to combat any new variant with no more than 7-10 days of development time, and relaxed the vaccine approval process so that updated vaccines take 2 weeks to clear the FDA. We've made the vaccines available to the public for free. I have an extremely high level of certainty the very smart people who developed the mRNA vaccines and the machines they used won't be snapped out of existence.

7-10 days development time is still followed by months of time for production and distribution.

 

[One Brow]

That said, we have suppressed our immune systems to the point where a simple cold is more severe than normal.

That makes zero sense. It's not how immune systems work.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Why did they stop making me wear a mask though? Seems they would have wanted to keep that power

It is because they were getting push back including from centrist and even left-leaning areas and outlets.

California Governor Gavin Newsom Reneges on Surrendering Emergency Powers

California governor Gavin Newsom reneged on his promise to lift the state's emergency declaration after June 15, allowing him to retain the powers to mandate sweeping COVID restrictions.

news.yahoo.com

As the Pandemic Wanes, Newsom's Emergency Powers Remain in Place | KQED

Gov. Gavin Newsom has had almost total authority during the pandemic. But is it time to hand back some control?

www.kqed.org

California governor won't lift virus state of emergency

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Most of California's coronavirus restrictions on businesses and public gatherings will end June 15. But Gov.

apnews.com

Gov. Gavin Newsom Clings to COVID-19 Emergency Powers

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with a controlling, micromanaging leadership style that few other governors can match.

reason.com

Our running 7-day average 6 months ago was 3,341 SARS-CoV-2 deaths per day. Now it is in the 200’s. That is not to say each of those isn’t a tragedy but the insistence that we are now in Covid Pandemic 2: Delta Boogaloo when coronavirus deaths are barely 8% of what they were 6 months ago is to deny reality. It is time for the government to give up using a virus killing a fraction of the people who die every day from heart disease, cancer, and accidents as an excuse to rule by authoritarian decree.

 

[Scat]

That makes zero sense. It's not how immune systems work.

According to this expert, it does.

“Frequent exposure to various pathogens primes or jazzes up the immune system to be ready to respond to that pathogen,” said Dr. Paul Skolnik, an immunovirologist and chair of internal medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “If you’ve not had those exposures, your immune system may be a little slower to respond or doesn’t respond as fully, leading to greater susceptibility to some respiratory infections and sometimes longer or more protracted symptoms.”

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Accepting government mandates on masks does not imply acceptance of, for example, shutting down Facebook.

Authoritarians wouldn’t shut down Facebook. They would “suggest” that Facebook erase speech not approved by the government.

Biden administration ‘flagging problematic posts for Facebook,’ Psaki says

The Biden administration is playing an active role in flagging Facebook posts it considers to be “problematic” or “disinformation,” according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

www.yahoo.com

There seems to be a lot of acceptance. It is just "misinformation" and we're in an emergency, right?

 

[Al-O-Meter]

According to this expert, it does.

“Frequent exposure to various pathogens primes or jazzes up the immune system to be ready to respond to that pathogen,” said Dr. Paul Skolnik, an immunovirologist and chair of internal medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “If you’ve not had those exposures, your immune system may be a little slower to respond or doesn’t respond as fully, leading to greater susceptibility to some respiratory infections and sometimes longer or more protracted symptoms.”

My kid was in preschool from before he could crawl and I think he caught a new cold every 6 weeks. By the time kindergarten started he had an immune system of the gods and didn't get sick once. It was easy to see in kindergarten who had preschool and who did not by looking at absentee reports.