Cole Beasley making news

[ponyboy]

I’ve posted relevant statistics. Wow, have we really reached the point where educated people can’t be bothered by them? Allan Bloom may have been right after all.

[JasonB]

Not downplaying the seriousness of covid, but I do think it’s helpful to remember that:

1.93% of deaths are people 55 years old and up. And the overwhelming majority of those have pre-existing conditions.

2. 0.2% were younger than 25. (Again, the vast majority with comorbidities).

3. In the most susceptible age category, 85 and older, covid accounts for only 13.3% of deaths.

Source: CDC, https://datavisualizations.heritage.org ... hs-by-age/

1) This intentionally makes pre-existing conditions sound rare. Over 40% of the US has one of the pre-existing conditions, one of which is simply being overweight.

2) Covid was one of the top 3 leading causes of death last year, across most age ranges.

3) You aren't taking into account the impact financially and otherwise of hospitalizations. The impact of high hospitalization rate and long covid should be taken into account when evaluating the full impact of the disease. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc ... y-age.html and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01292-y.

4) Finally, you aren't taking into account the risk that young people have in spreading the disease into other age populations.

At least we have moved beyond the "number of people who died is a lie" argument.

[Mustangs_Maroons]

It is also a bit naive to also assume that these statistics are a result of the virus not being as bad as it is, but rather ignores that these figures are also a direct consequence of the measures, steps and costs that this country (and the world) have undertaken to minimize as much as possible these deaths. The country has been shut down for a year, children were not able to go to school, and socialize, countless people lost their jobs, some industries severely hampered, and the government is is taxing certain income earners more now as a consequence. And we are nowhere near the end. People should do their part and get vaccinated.

[ponyboy]

Here’s a good, balanced read from your grad school on the economic impact of various forms of government action: https://review.chicagobooth.edu/economi ... -19-policy

[Mustangs_Maroons]

Here’s a good, balanced read from your grad school on the economic impact of various forms of government action: https://review.chicagobooth.edu/economi ... -19-policy

Good article and read. I actually took a class from one of the authors, Kevin Murphy. The guys is brilliant (no wonder he won the MacArthur “Genius” Award). Having said that, I don't think anything in this article detracts from what I said. Note that it was written in April 2020, and it itself states that that the cost of shutting down the economy has a substantial, astronomical costs. This actually supports why you should get vaccinated. As people get vaccinated, we won't have to go into further lockdowns or a potential shutdown again.

I think it's been proven that vaccines actually only help bolster the immunity from the virus. It's very likely the immunity provided from the vaccine may end up being more effective than natural immunity from those that had it. In any event, having the vaccine plus any natural immunity only makes the risk of getting sick or dying that much less.

[ponyboy]

Yep. What you say makes sense. I’ve decided to do it.

[mustangxc]

You made me very happy ponyboy!

[ponyboy]

Thanks, XC. Have a great weekend, all.

[East Coast Mustang]

It’s frightening how we’ve gotten to a point in this country where people literally want to force the vaccine on others and shame those who will not get it.

How about everyone does their own research and makes their own choice? I wasn’t crazy about getting a vaccine that was rushed out in under a year, but I talked to my doctor, he alleviated some concerns I had about it, and I got it. If the guy next to me at the grocery store doesnt want to get vaccinated thats fine, thats his choice. Doesnt bother me.

Also, why are we still testing athletes for COVID? They’re some of the least at-risk people on the planet and a highly-effective vaccine is readily available. If Cole Beasley gets COVID he’ll be sick for a few days and then he’ll be fine.

Let’s move on.

[mustangxc]

If you don't want to get a tetanus shot and end up with spastic paralysis go for it. Your freedom, your consequences. However, an infectious disease like COVID-19 is a matter of public health. Whether you get vaccinated affects the number of possible hosts, which affects possible mutations of the virus, which in turn can change enough to be resistant to the vaccine affecting everyone. The people developing the vaccine and doling out the recommendations for disease prevention/treatment are mostly at the 95th percentile or higher on the IQ scale. That means that everyone els is mostly at or below that threshold of intelligence. Unless you are one of those people and have studied the virus, vaccine, and all the information it doesn't make much sense to say that everyone should "think for themselves" as we are not deciding on what flavor of ice cream to get at 31 flavors. There are some people who should not be getting the vaccine, but those are few and far between and should do so in consultation with their doctors.

[East Coast Mustang]

If you don't want to get a tetanus shot and end up with spastic paralysis go for it. Your freedom, your consequences. However, an infectious disease like COVID-19 is a matter of public health. Whether you get vaccinated affects the number of possible hosts, which affects possible mutations of the virus, which in turn can change enough to be resistant to the vaccine affecting everyone. The people developing the vaccine and doling out the recommendations for disease prevention/treatment are mostly at the 95th percentile or higher on the IQ scale. That means that everyone els is mostly at or below that threshold of intelligence. Unless you are one of those people and have studied the virus, vaccine, and all the information it doesn't make much sense to say that everyone should "think for themselves" as we are not deciding on what flavor of ice cream to get at 31 flavors. There are some people who should not be getting the vaccine, but those are few and far between and should do so in consultation with their doctors.

COVID is going to be around forever - thanks, China! We as a society can decide to either continue to hysterically freak out about it (and destroy children’s development in the process) or we can go about our lives. Anyone and everyone who is at-risk for COVID in the US can get a vaccine which is something like 99.9% effective against serious illness.

Life is inherently about choices and consequences. I dont care whether or not Cole Beasley gets vaccinated. And as someone pointed out earlier, it’s amusing that Beasley is getting killed in the media for his decision, and yet LeBron James (who is an exponentially more influential figure than Cole) declines to say whether he’s gotten it and gets a complete pass from the same media. I wonder why that is?

[ponyboy]

Responding to XC, some of the dumbest people I know are those with very high IQ’s. Half of them struggle to tie their own shoes.

Bottom line as to why I’m now doing an about-face and choosing to get vaccinated is this. As a Christian, I’m not personally fearful of the disease. My primary reason is charity.

I’ve been doing a lot of self examination, thanks in good part to many of you here. As a conservative, it’s always been easy to point out the moral failures of progressives. But it came to me that we conservatives also fail in two primary ways: selfishness (what we call “individual responsibility” when we’re praising ourselves) and its closely-related sin, lack of concern for those who are not like us, particularly the poor.

I’m setting side my pride and doing it for others.

[East Coast Mustang]

Responding to XC, some of the dumbest people I know are those with very high IQ’s. Half of them struggle to tie their own shoes.

Bottom line as to why I’m now doing an about-face and choosing to get vaccinated is this. As a Christian, I’m not personally fearful of the disease. My primary reason is charity.

I’ve been doing a lot of self examination, thanks in good part to many of you here. As a conservative, it’s always been easy to point out the moral failures of progressives. But it came to me that we conservatives also fail in two primary ways: selfishness (what we call “individual responsibility” when we’re praising ourselves) and its closely-related sin, lack of concern for those who are not like us, particularly the poor.

I’m setting side my pride and doing it for others.

I’m not as good of a person as ponyboy, I just got it because I didn’t want to lose my sense of taste for six months

[mustangxc]

Responding to XC, some of the dumbest people I know are those with very high IQ’s. Half of them struggle to tie their own shoes.

Bottom line as to why I’m now doing an about-face and choosing to get vaccinated is this. As a Christian, I’m not personally fearful of the disease. My primary reason is charity.

I’ve been doing a lot of self examination, thanks in good part to many of you here. As a conservative, it’s always been easy to point out the moral failures of progressives. But it came to me that we conservatives also fail in two primary ways: selfishness (what we call “individual responsibility” when we’re praising ourselves) and its closely-related sin, lack of concern for those who are not like us, particularly the poor.

I’m setting side my pride and doing it for others.

There is definitely a difference between street smart and book smart. Ideally, you have both. The ones you are referring to are book smart but not street smart. Unfortunately most people by definition are below average in both. Those are the ones I am primarily concerned with.

[Thumper]

Also, why are we still testing athletes for COVID? They’re some of the least at-risk people on the planet and a highly-effective vaccine is readily available. If Cole Beasley gets COVID he’ll be sick for a few days and then he’ll be fine.

Let’s move on.

Because even elite athletes - see Bradley Beal - can test positive. If he or Bradley or anyone else gets it and recovers, great ... but they could still pass it to someone without such a robust immune system.