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The Biden Administration and All Things Politics

Because, getting round a city on a bus suddenly got easier in 2021? Do you really believe that, or did you just miss the point entirely?
The point is vaccine accessibility. The zip code with the greatest number of Black Utahns is 84104 and there are 32 vaccination sites within 5 miles of the geographic center. It is hard to find a point within 84014 that is more than 2000 yards from a vaccination site. Not only would no one spend "a few hours" on busses but for almost everyone they'd have to walk by a vaccination site to get to the nearest bus stop. What you've presented as a reason for 66% of Black Americans not being vaccinated is a fiction. In July of 2021, the overwhelming majority of those who are unvaccinated are so by choice.

Everyone wishes what you said were true because that would be a much easier problem to solve.

Someone who lives on Center St. in Alton, Utah and doesn't have a car or a ride.
A tiny speck in the middle of nowhere with 218 people? If they can't get 30 miles to the nearest vaccination site they've got bigger problems because that is also how far it is to the closest grocery store. Those 218 people aren't why 66% of Black Americans aren't vaccinated, and the Altonites aren't spending a few hours on the bus every day to work their 2 jobs. If anything, you are providing far more of a justification for why rural conservatives aren't getting vaccinated than why Black Americans aren't getting vaccinated.
 
The point is vaccine accessibility. The zip code with the greatest number of Black Utahns is 84104 and there are 32 vaccination sites within 5 miles of the geographic center.
For someone who keeps claiming to not want to drag race into the discussion, it's odd how you just keep dragging race into the discussion, and with an astounding ignorance of people and culture. Further, all of this has been a smokescreen against the very clear trend of low vaccination rates in Republican counties overall, as presented by graph The Thriller linked to.

If anything, you are providing far more of a justification for why rural conservatives aren't getting vaccinated than why Black Americans aren't getting vaccinated.
Isn't it interesting how you never wanted to discuss race, even though you first brought up the topic irrelevantly, and now leap at the chance to defend white people while denigrating black people?
 
Isn't it interesting how you never wanted to discuss race, even though you first brought up the topic irrelevantly, and now leap at the chance to defend white people while denigrating black people?
I don't defend races, nor denigrate races. I don't think in collectives and view the entire idea of race to be idiocy attractive to people who think they can judge value by nothing more than a quick glance. As I spent part of my childhood growing up overseas in a non-white part of the world, haven't lived in Utah since my junior year of high school, and my long time residence is in a city that is minority majority, I know my perspective on this is a bit different. I'm not saying I'm better than anyone because I'm not. It simply doesn't occur to me that any of the physical traits that indicate where someone's long ago relatives came from mean very much.

I will say that I find those who claim to be so outraged on a subject are usually the worst offenders. The republicans who are so anti-gay are usually the ones who get caught in bed with boys. The actors who claim to be so for female empowerment usually have the biggest pay disparities and the most Harvey Weinsteins. The people who claim to be most concerned over the treatment of people of different skin colors usually have the most racist Karens.

That said, I come at issues from a scientific background and believe theories need to explain all the data or be tossed out. A piece of data I brought in to this discussion doesn't fit the simplistic explanation and I suggested there is likely more to this.
 
I don't defend races, nor denigrate races. I don't think in collectives and view the entire idea of race to be idiocy attractive to people who think they can judge value by nothing more than a quick glance.
Pretty words, but that doesn't change your behavior. While Red and The Thriller were discussing red vs. blue counties, you insisted on looking at the data by race in post #300, despite it not being a subject in the posts you were responding to. I carefully pointed this out in posts #301 and #303, offering a better line of examination. Red says he's not interested in your racial breakdowns in post #304. Responding to that in #310, you again decide to focus on black vaccination rates.

So, despite your insistence that you "don't think in collectives and view the entire idea of race to be idiocy", you, and you alone, decide twice in this thread to bring up black vaccination rates as an important topic. Whatever you think your ideals are, your behavior says otherwise.

That said, I come at issues from a scientific background and believe theories need to explain all the data or be tossed out. A piece of data I brought in to this discussion doesn't fit the simplistic explanation and I suggested there is likely more to this.
I find your use of your scientific background to be lacking in general. You don't post with a skeptical outlook; you rarely seem to look for detailed and complicated relationships; you hold to firm categorizations on nuanced topics.

There are many reasons that black people don't vaccinate; simply saying "those who are unvaccinated are so by choice" is a shallow and unscientific approach. Do you have any thoughts on why they are making this choice?
 
Do you have any thoughts on why they are making this choice?
I think the individuals who have not yet received the vaccine are distrustful of authorities telling them what they should be doing for their own good and/or are of the opinion that the prospect of a SARS-CoV-2 infection does not frighten them enough to motivate them to get the vaccine.
 
Do you think that makes Republicans and Black Americans bad people? Do you think Conservatives and People of Color should be broadly condemned as groups because their vaccination rates aren't higher?

Um, I don’t think I’m very big at condemning people. Years ago, at the request of Joe Bagadonuts, I started a thread on determining what was the cause of differences between conservatives and liberals. It didn’t really take off, but the point of it was to see if we(the partisan sides in the United States) could get to the point of actually “doing politics” again, where politics is seen as the art of compromise. I wanted the “two sides” to talk. Clearly, I lash out at Trumpsters, I give in to anger at times, but, look, I’m one who believes we are in this place, not of it. I prefer to think we have a higher nature, and that very few of us realize our true nature while alive. I see life, sometimes, as a morality play. And, if it is, condemning people is the wrong path. But I do recognize there is evil in the human world as well, we are not all the children of light.

There is no doubt I blame Trump, the Republicans, the far right ecosystem, like Fox News and others, for the troubles plaguing us. But, while there are individuals, like Trump, who I see as truly the enemy of our republic, I don’t believe I hate anyone, and I want to see us make it though these difficult times as united to some degree. I want those who believe the election was stolen, those who believe the vaccine is killing people, those who believe the other side of the partisan divide than the side they stand with are the enemies of America, who must be stopped, or they will destroy America, I just want the blinders to fall from their eyes. All would be forgiven, can we please just leave all this divisiveness behind?

Put it this way. I would always much prefer to see us come together in peace, than live to be able to say “you see, all you stupid Trumpsters, I was right about you and your beliefs all along”. I’m not interested in being proven right. I want my country to be OK again. I saw an article recently, written by someone on my side of the divide, writing about how he wakes up sad, every single day, because his first thought on attaining consciousness is that it is just killing him to wake up to such a mean spirit-dominated country. The sadness is weighing him down. I thought, you know, some will laugh, and call him a weakling, but I thought, well, yeah, I am feeling this deep sadness too. I want it to end.

I’m rambling, never a good approach. I do recognize you made some valid points earlier. Not all anti-vax folks are from the right wing of the spectrum, for instance. Of course I understand one does not need to be far right to subscribe to irrational beliefs/conspiracies. But my point at the time is that the rate of vaccination is lagging to a greater degree in red counties, and that is not surprising. It’s likely dangerous though. The wife and I have decided to go back to masks. 31 people admitted to Boston hospitals most recently, all associated with Provincetown, on Cape Cod, and all fully vaccinated, and all with the delta variant. If so much of America is going to go unvaccinated, still other mutations will evolve. We are acting very stupid as a nation.
 
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Um, I don’t think I’m very big at condemning people. Years ago, at the request of Joe Bagadonuts, I started a thread on determining what was the cause of differences between conservatives and liberals. It didn’t really take off, but the point of it was to see if we(the partisan sides in the United States) could get to the point of actually “doing politics” again, where politics is seen as the art of compromise. I wanted the “two sides” to talk. Clearly, I lash out at Trumpsters, I give in to anger at times, but, look, I’m one who believes we are in this place, not of it. I prefer to think we have a higher nature, and that very few of us realize our true nature while alive. I see life, sometimes, as a morality play. And, if it is, condemning people is the wrong path. But I do recognize there is evil in the human world as well, we are not all the children of light.

There is no doubt I blame Trump, the Republicans, the far right ecosystem, like Fox News and others, for the troubles plaguing us. But, while there are individuals, like Trump, who I see as truly the enemy of our republic, I don’t believe I hate anyone, and I want to see us make it though these difficult times as united to some degree. I want those who believe the election was stolen, those who believe the vaccine is killing people, those who believe the other side of the partisan divide than the side they stand with are the enemies of America, who must be stopped, or they will destroy America, I just want the blinders to fall from their eyes. All would be forgiven, can we please just leave all this divisiveness behind?

Put it this way. I would always much prefer to see us come together in peace, than live to be able to say “you see, all you stupid Trumpsters, I was right about you and your beliefs all along”. I’m not interested in being proven right. I want my country to be OK again. I saw an article recently, written by someone on my side of the divide, writing about how he wakes up sad, every single day, because his first thought on attaining consciousness is that it is just killing him to wake up to such a mean spirit-dominated country. The sadness is weighing him down. I thought, you know, some will laugh, and call him a weakling, but I thought, well, yeah, I am feeling this deep sadness too. I want it to end.

I’m rambling, never a good approach. I do recognize you made some valid points earlier. Not all anti-vaz folks are from the right wing of the spectrum, for instance. Of course I understand one does not need to be far right to subscribe to irrational beliefs/conspiracies. But my point at the time is that the rate of vaccination is lagging to a greater degree to red counties, and that is not surprising. It’s likely dangerous though. The wife and I have decided to go back to masks. 31 people admitted to Boston hospitals most recently, all associated with Provincetown, on Cape Cod, and all fully vaccinated, and all with the delta variant. If so much of America is going to go unvaccinated, still other mutations will evolve. We are acting very stupid as a nation.
Well said. I cannot express enough how much I respect this response.
 
I think the individuals who have not yet received the vaccine are distrustful of authorities telling them what they should be doing for their own good and/or are of the opinion that the prospect of a SARS-CoV-2 infection does not frighten them enough to motivate them to get the vaccine.
Good. Can you move beyond that to understand why they feel this way?
 
Oh weird. Just a coincidence I’m sure:
The political disparity in vaccine hesitancy is stark. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported at the end of Junethat 86 percent of Democrats had at least one shot, compared with 52 percent of Republicans. An analysis by The New York Times in April found that the least vaccinated counties in the country had one thing in common: They voted for Mr. Trump.


Weird, I wonder who or what gave them the idea that covid was a hoax and just the flu? Who’s actively right now discouraging them from getting the vaccine?
 
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It isn't always for the best, but we call those people representatives for a reason. We have a representative government. Their job is to represent the views of their electorate. They aren't elected lords.
 
It isn't always for the best, but we call those people representatives for a reason. We have a representative government. Their job is to represent the views of their electorate. They aren't elected lords.
Traditionally, they were supposed to represent the interests of the electorate as much as their views.
 
No... But seriously. It's vital that we know what the guy you all elected is saying. I don't think asking you Biden voters to decipher this is asking a lot. This is the President of the United States, it's pretty important...

 
No... But seriously. It's vital that we know what the guy you all elected is saying. I don't think asking you Biden voters to decipher this is asking a lot. This is the President of the United States, it's pretty important...


It goes against some principles, but I don't think any sitting president should be over the age of 62 IMO. If you're old enough to retire and qualify for SS, well, enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

Both Biden and Trump really struggled to put together coherent thoughts the last few years - doesn't make them stupid in the capacity of intellect, but it's simply what happens when you're 75+.

My father is one of the smartest people I've known, but when I talk to him on the phone, he's quite forgetful and really needs to focus on what he's saying more. He'll be 76 in November and I wonder how much he has left in the tank.

I fully expect that I too will be yelling at clouds when and if I'm that age, but appearing on live TV in a job that's among the most demanding in the world won't be a place I'll find myself in.
 
It goes against some principles, but I don't think any sitting president should be over the age of 62 IMO. If you're old enough to retire and qualify for SS, well, enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

Both Biden and Trump really struggled to put together coherent thoughts the last few years - doesn't make them stupid in the capacity of intellect, but it's simply what happens when you're 75+.

My father is one of the smartest people I've known, but when I talk to him on the phone, he's quite forgetful and really needs to focus on what he's saying more. He'll be 76 in November and I wonder how much he has left in the tank.

I fully expect that I too will be yelling at clouds when and if I'm that age, but appearing on live TV in a job that's among the most demanding in the world won't be a place I'll find myself in.
Agree 100%
If either party puts fourth someone in their 40's or 50's as their presidential candidate then that person might get my vote no matter what their politics are like.
Im sick of old senile dudes.

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It goes against some principles, but I don't think any sitting president should be over the age of 62 IMO. If you're old enough to retire and qualify for SS, well, enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.
I would go with "first time elected", but that just might be my family experience.
 
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