Gromnir

the thing is, involuntary servitude is legal a bit different than seat belts, drinking age and speed limits, which is why we mentioned abortion. the US already provides all kinda advantages to those who serve in the military with va loans and gi college benefits. is not taking too much effort to functional expand such programs for "national" service while simultaneous diminishing benefits for those who forego such service. make fed funding programs contingent 'pon fulfillment o' those programs which aid those who served is gonna presumptive pass Constitutional review. best way to make a national service program work is with private and social pressure as 'posed to government. convince all the private universities and most major businesses to voluntarily adopt a policy whereby those who complete national service is given preferential treatment and you wouldn't need worry 'bout the Constitution. however, broad cultural/social change takes leadership as well as a nation far less polarized than 2020 USA. HA! Good Fun!

as well as a minimum age for alcohol consumption. no fed highway construction funds for states unless they set minimum age for alcohol to at least 21. south dakota, previous, were 19 minimum. HA! Good Fun!

Gromnir has no defense from people in supermarkets ignoring social distancing. again, a bunch o' folks may be maintaining social distancing and all it takes is one idjit to infect all the people being reasonable. with asymptomatic people spreading, we may never know who were the person who infected us. handful o' obtuse libertarians is actual a common problem we face when shopping. am personal maintaining social distance when a jackarse comes up from behind, brushing past us to get at yogurts or a box o' facial tissue, coughing w/o wearing a mask. wtf? is a story that chris cuomo might o' been out o' his home during his self-imposed quarantine, and you know he ain't alone. quarantine means different things to different people, or so it seems. is stories, more than one, o' infected people going to grocery stores and gas stations 'cause, y'know, they have to get gas and food. infected person touches a gas pump handle and six hour later Gromnir might get the virus 'cause we used same gas pump? wtf? seen those images from how a single infected person in a restaurant in china infected nine people 'cause o' air conditioning? wtf? sorry, but this is just so wrong. the guidelines has been communicated and these folks is doing anyways. who doesn't know guidelines and reasons for guidelines at this point? heck, guidelines don't matter if the libertarians clowns genuine believe the current situation is a panic-driven hoax and that covid-19 is no worse than the flu. so wrong. HA! Good Fun!

fed prerequisites on funding which encourage or discourage behaviours is commonplace and established law. example: no fed tax payer dollars to fund abortions is okie dokie even though it disproportionate affects women who need medicaid. takes only a little creativity to prevent money from going to those who avoid service. HA! Good Fun!

history and recent photographic evidence suggest otherwise. "i wouldn't be doing..." is irrelevant. as we noted, takes one libertarian who knows covid is a hoax in a supermarket to infect many. takes one libertarian capitalist dumping toxic waste on his own private land to poison an entire community. takes one drunk driver to cause an accident resulting in death o' a woman and her kids. assume most people is responsible is nice and swell and maybe even accurate, but it don't matter. the costs o' having a minority o' folks acting like ignoramuses is too high in too many cases. yeah, the argument that no cost is too high when human lives are at stake is also bs. like it or not, liberty does have an attendant body count. sounds callous but is unavoidable. we wouldn't have a reasonable person standard in law if people were invariable reasonable. would be no point in identifying behaviour as reckless if such recklessness never happened. a large enough sampling o' people results in a functional gurantee o' stoopid and selfish. people is predictable stoopid and selfish in enough numbers that it is irresponsible to ignore the need to protect innocent citizens from the stoopid and selfish. the costs is too high. HA! Good Fun!

13th amendment prohibits slavery and, o' more immediate significance, involuntary servitude. is a whole lotta positives regarding national service, but 13th amendment makes this a non-starter 'cause while such service don't confer ownership rights o' your person to the government, it does most definite involve involuntary servitude. need a new amendment to implement practical national service. there is ways to implement national service, but wouldn't be national so much as state and would be voluntary but nevertheless prohibitive to avoid. examples: fed government only provides funding to universities which require students to have completed "national" service or fulfilled requirements for an appropriate waiver. banks benefit from fdic and other fed programs only if they comply with lending practices which overwhelming favor those who has completed "national" service or appropriate waiver. etc. hardly straightforward. am not denying there is positives to national service, but from a pure practical pov such service is legal problematic. HA! Good Fun!

"cover" is vague. deductible for an office visit could nevertheless cost considerable coinage in some locales, and the presumed tests @Azdeus would need for kidney issues might not be covered... period. is not as if all insurance is created equal. in CA, for example, we got this covered california thing. ca, which is better than many states, will go pretty far to help folks meet costs o' health insurance, but there is tiers o' coverage which is representing vast gulfs in the level o' care which is actual covered. for example, if you got bronze tier, only the first three dr. visits in a year (not necessarily tests) is encheapened to $65 per visit, after which you pay full. we got nyc EMTs who cannot afford health insurance. after the recession, businesses changed to confront new realities. post 2011 employers found ways to fill labor needs and reduce full-time employees. so your part-time nyc emt, who is an essential worker, may need make choice 'tween rent and health insurance. 'course maybe you were lucky and were a full time employee with health insurance through your employer, so when you get fired from your now non-essential job, you may maintain health insurance through cobra, which is s'posed to allow recent unemployed to maintain health insurance coverage. unfortunate, cobra marketplace is not cheap. even with the threat o' covid-19, if you gotta make a choice 'tween feeding family and paying for health insurance, food is the likely winner, and such is the reality all too many is facing today. Hundreds struggling during COVID-19 pandemic line up to receive food at distributions across South Florida am thinking us health insurance is more terrible than many make it out to be, 'cause many don't realize just how bad it is for far too many people. however, am also recognizing is not a magic wand situation which is easily fixed. pretend as if medicare-for-all is a no-brainer is also a mistake. still, situation is pretty f'ing terrible. HA! Good Fun!

all too often the libertarian explanation is requiring a level o' selfish stoopid untenable by most people. is why we speak o' personal liberties when we mention our libertarian streak. smoke in a crowded restaurant and describe as the smoker's choice is false, 'cause is every other proximate customer who will also suffer, and smoking is hardly a unique example. drunk driving. worker safety. toxic waste removal. etc. say is a choice for private citizens and business owners ignores fact we do not live like jeremiah johnson alone and independent. a libertarian's stoopid choices has costs for other people and is no financial or liberty punishment which will make those others whole. dump toxic waste and a bunch o' kids get cancer? depend on market to balance is obtuse. even a fine or imprisonment is hardly balancing the scales. free speech? the cost to community is typical that individuals may need hear a message they don't wanna hear. covid-19 is hardly as ez as free speech. how much liberty is you willing to give up to save lives? how many lives? social distance as a choice is aspirational but ignores realities. got five people genuine maintaining social distancing in a supermarket and all it takes is one libertarian making a (bad) choice to result in six people becoming infected. and yeah, all laws which is written facial neutral is gonna have injustice at the margins, which is why we don't have hal 2000 dispensing justice. sure, some overzealous cop may levy a citation 'pon a citizen for an innocuous behaviour which nobody ever contemplated would be punishable. human judges is s'posed to be able to recognize the place where injustice and the law inevitably overlap and make a ruling which protects citizens from law. regardless, depend on libertarians making choices or market forces to save us from covid-19 or secondhand smoke is an auto fail. HA! Good Fun!

worse, people are gonna face financial hardships such that they lose their home. predictable. when a large number o 'people face financial hardship it means many pets will suffer, 'cause like it or not, the calculus o' tragedy needs have bob making a choice between mr. whiskers or his daughter. live in your car 'til you find a new place to live? lose home and move into a hotel or apartment with a no pet policy? mr. whiskers may not be supportable save extreme short term in such scenarios. during the recent recession, pets suffered. abandoned in droves. believe this financial crisis is gonna be different for pets is not ratinaol or reasonable. good for shady... though am noticing he said "most." with family, including the mother-in-law, forced to live in close proximity, perhaps there were also an investment in a pair o' top shelf noise cancelling headphones? many folks is making unanticipated adjustments o' some kind. good luck to you all. HA! Good Fun!

it is no surprise seeing folks believe they know. heck, had folks in this thread with zero medical background touting common sense to deny and refute the observations made by this guy regarding tbi suffered by soldiers in afghanistan. the common sense approach explains images such as rush limbaugh not understanding the limits o' anecdotal evidence regarding hydroxychloroquine? well, he knows more than fauci and bright. neil degrasse tyson's class might be worthy o' consideration, but sadly, is a given the folks who would benefit most from such educational opportunities don't know enough to realize they need. HA! Good Fun!

is worth noting how 'bout a half-dozen o' the alfred hitch**** presents episodes were roald dahl tales. neil gaiman also uses horror elements in most o' his children's books. might be a curiously english affectation to wanna scare children. converse, all too many american authors who wrote children stories, including steinbeck, e.b. white and lloyd alexander, were preoccupied with killing beloved pets and animal companions. am only half joking when we suggest if the hobbit were written by an american, smaug woulda' been bilbo's dearest companion and the hairy-footed hero woulda' been forced to put the dragon down as the tear-jerking climax o' the story. HA! Good Fun!

am thinking hurl's best option is to never seek insights from boardies regarding history teaching. let's be honest, am suspecting every history unit from gd would look same/similar with focus 'pon oppressive governments being overthrown only to be replaced by equal or more oppressive regimes. and am not singling out gd. amentep, for example, would likely use scientific revolution unit to show witchfinder general to the class. no better would Gromnir be as by end o' renaissance, reformation, scientific revolution, every saint would have their halo shattered and all heroes would be recast as villains... with the possible exception of sir thomas moore. as a gestalt kinda approach, the boardies might offer something useful, but individually we are a nightmare. that said, as a student we wouldn't mind the anticipated amentep all-horror movie approach to history. HA! Good Food!

@Skazz kinda a ps: one o' the people for whom we has been shopping has set our teeth on edge. bite into aluminum foil with a metal filling edge worthy. she wants what she wants. only wants motts brand applesauce, but she expects us to call her from the store if they do not have motts so we may tell her what brands they do have. angie's boomchikapop popcorn is a thing at costco- who knew? 'course there is multiple varieties. no specific variety on the list provided which means Gromnir needs call _______ to get clarification on what variety she wants. buy eggs from winco for ________. we only went to winco 'cause is __________ favorite store. ________ wants 2x 18 count large eggs. sure, limit is one per customer, and she knows this, but am buying groceries for five folks so am able to sneak this past the egg police. however, 'pon making our delivery it is discovered one egg carton has broken egg bits on the OUTSIDE o' the container and _________ insists she is gonna drive back to the store (a +20 minute drive for a woman with cancer) to get a replacement, so we literal drive to the more geographical proximate store for eggs to get an 18-count carton for her and we take the befouled eggs. not every old person, but more than one, channels a bit o' eddie murphy from the snl family in the attic skit. am not gonna condemn anybody who throws in the towel after shopping for old people... and Gromnir is +50. HA! Good Fun!

Can the coronavirus be spread through farts? "Tagg [Australian emergency physician Dr. Andy Tagg] pondered whether flatulence itself is an “aerosol-generating procedure.” (His determination: yes.) A recent study, in fact, suggested a post-flush toilet plume could even be cause for concern when it comes to spreading the coronavirus via “aerosolized feces.” Plus, scientists have confirmed that fecal-oral transmission itself is an issue due to the presence of the virus in poop, which is why health officials in Oregon and New York have even cautioned against oral contact with feces during sex. "Unfortunately, as Tagg observed, there is “not a great deal of research” available to come to a firm conclusion about the perils of passing COVID-19 while passing gas." ... got 'bout a dozen one-liners, including a half -dozen "keep your pants on," jokes which we were tempted to include. oh hell, why not. next time you use a public toilet or decide to go get your mail sans pants, keep in mind warden norton's demise were 'caused by a miraculous fart in the wind. stay safe. HA! Good Fun!

there is at least a kinda/sorta intuitive link 'tween use o' a drug meant for lupus patients and those covid-19 victims who suffer cytokine storm. however, cytokine storm as the cause o' death for covid-19, while having been observed, is representing a small % o' cases. as a prophylaxis kinda drug, as 'posed to a hail mary, it might be worth testing 'pon the young and healthy? am honest talking out our arse 'bout who might benefit from hydroxychloroquine, but am seeing how in some extreme small # o' covid-19 cases, a lupus drug don't sound utter ridiculous. HA! Good Fun!

we know a woman who helps at local food bank. describe her as religious is understatement. goes to church multiple times a week as well as bible study. in addition to food bank and homeless school volunteering, she also mentors recent immigrants as part o' an esl program run through local public libraries. some couple years ago we heard her reference "those people" when describing homeless people who were not taking advantage o' assistance programs. probable shoulda' ignored the comment but we were curious, so we kinda questioned her 'bout her pov on homeless. turns out the woman is a bit o' a bigot who has strong opinions 'bout various minority groups and is dismissive o' mental health problems. ... we had a knee-jerk reaction where we were internal thinking o' her as a hypocrite. then we reflected a bit and realized this were one o' those fu Gromnir moments. (have these moments frequent as we age) didn't matter if the woman were being charitable 'cause she thought it would get her into heaven or 'cause she wanted the praise o' her fellow bible study members. this woman were spending much time and effort helping people to whom she owed nothing. family members is often the folks is hardest to help, but even so there is practical reasons for doing so. helping strangers is different. hypocrite religious lady were/is helping people she, on some level, disliked. every week and month after month and year after year, this woman who kinda despised the homeless and were prejudiced towards numerous minority groups, did her honest best to make better the lives o' less fortunate people. Gromnir criticism were misplaced and embarrassing in retrospect. not donating time to charitable causes such as soup kitchens and shelters for battered women is hardly some kinda indicator that you are a bad person. can be generous in smaller and more immediate ways. ordinary acts o' kindness add up, or so we believe. go and volunteer at a food bank but be an evil bastard to everybody you meet is seeming like a net loss to Gromnir as well, but such questions is beyond us. motivations is not insignificant, but such is 'tween you and your conscience. what you do is what matters and for us is most fundamental 'bout choice. we choose. doesn't matter what others think 'cause is our choice. *descends from soap box* HA! Good Fun! ps keep in mind we ain't suggesting it is ok to be a bigot as long as you donate time for good causes. bigotry is like a virus and it spreads insidious. however, just 'cause religious lady is a bigot does not change fact she is doing something good, doing more than far too many sjw using social media to be proselytizing the evils 'bout which religious lady is actual doing something to make a real difference.

having read the new guidelines/phases, couldn't help but be reminded o' the old joke: A ‪‎physicist, an ‪‎engineer and an ‪‎economist are stranded in the desert. They are hungry. Suddenly, they find a can of corn. They want to open it, but how? The physicist says: “Let’s start a fire and place the can inside the flames. It will explode and then we will all be able to eat”. “Are you crazy?” says the engineer. “All the corn will burn and scatter, and we’ll have nothing. We should use a metal wire, attach it to a base, push it and crack the can open.” “Both of you are wrong!” states the economist. “Where the hell do we find a metal wire in the desert?! The solution is simple: ASSUME we have a can opener” so, assume we have enough testing and ppe... HA! Good Fun!

am thinking peaks and curves is simple concepts which is great for communicating with a large group o' people, but such might be oversimplifications for the US, particularly as the fed has been visible during daily briefings but has otherwise abandoned a leadership role. couldn't help but chuckle, darkly, at the thought the US is beginning to, from a practical perspective, look more like our old crimson skies board game map. michigan's peak is still a bit temporal remote even if new york is final seeing a decrease in new hospital admits. south dakota has just begun to see the 3-4 day doubling rate which is becoming typical o' disease hotspots, which means cases is gonna be increasing for a considerable period o' time. thank goodness the roosevelt were able to get to guam and see sailors distanced and quarantined 'cause the naval vessel represents the #2 case hotspot in the entire nation with 585 all by its lonesome. general trends for the US might be a bit misleading. cdc, muzzled and humbled a bit by trump pressers, nevertheless has been more vocal recent with their warnings regarding anticipated seasonal recurrence o' covid. as we got no proven therapeutics and a vaccine is at least a year away, social distancing is the only real tool we got to combat covid-19 and as such there is gonna be new hotspots from time-to-time as this is a novel virus with only native human resistance to protect those exposed. w/o adequate testing and given this virus spreads asymptomatic, US is gonna be playing whack-a-mole with virus hotspots for some time to come, particular as a few governors is clear not grasping the gravity o' the situation and singlehanded validating the florida man memes. HA! Good Fun! ps we very much wanted to use our shadowrun map, but the united canadian and american states were just too vast to make it analogous. can hip pocket shadowrun for 2021?

a clever quick solution if you don't have masks and don't have skills/supplies to craft one. HA! Good Fun!

didn't know that iran had their own version o' the onion. HA! Good Fun!

again, "knowing" doesn't mean you ain't actual bought chinese. buy made in usa products does not mean such purchases is absent china contributions 'bout which you is unaware. made in rochester or san jose does not preclude possibility (likely) more than one component or part required a chinese contribution. gd hasn't used a nail in last five years? even if the nail were made in usa, is a good chance were chines steel involved. HA! Good Fun! ps sunpower

well, "medical professionals" makes more broad than one might initial consider. doctors, nurses, hospice workers, emergency medical technicians, and "trained caregivers" is all considered medical professionals. whole lotta folks and am betting each category skews a bit different. 'ccording to wsj, for years (up until late 90s) doctors were gop stalwarts. has been a shift and is now closer to 50/50 with actual monetary contributions favoring democrats. 'course as with the rest o' society, republicans is more likely to bother to vote. nurses, emts, hospice workers and trained caregivers? all we got is unreliable anecdotal evidence and such is predominant CA. FBI warns companies of employees faking coronavirus test results "Last month, a South Carolina man was arrested and faces state charges after police say he similarly submitted fake documentation to his employer, indicating he contracted Covid-19. The call center where he worked was shut down for five days while the facility was disinfected. "Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright told to CNN affiliate WSPA that it "seems to me like the fellow just wanted a two-week paid vacation."" disappointing but not unexpected. HA! Good Fun!

even more insidious. @Guard Dog has his larder full o' canned foods to get him through the coming apocalypse, yes? many o' the cans producers use is from china and even those who don't use chinese cans are probably using chinese steel to make cans or the lining o' cans. am recalling a couple stories from last year how trump tariffs were hitting the canned food industry hard 'cause of issues with steel and cans. is products which is sold with individual extreme small profit margins, so changes in canning costs caused a serious impact which were felt 'cross industry, including individual farmers and small producers. For One California Company, Trump's Tariffs Have Unintended Consequences How Trump's steel tariffs kick the can business does gd know for certain if the tinplate lining his cans is japanese, mexican or chinese? car parts. factory equipment. nails? am betting gd purchased a few chinese products w/o even realizing. not a criticism. is likely most o' us is buying chinese even if we are conscious attempting to avoid doing so. and is nothing freaking wrong with buying products which take advantage o' cheap chinese production. fox opinion pundits rail 'bout globalism, but has nothing whatsoever to do with ideological globalism. is free freaking market and rational business practices which has American manufacturers and consumers purchasing chinese alternatives. 'course you gotta plan for contingencies. can't rely on china for essential goods and components given they act adversarial far too often. Federal government spent millions to ramp up mask readiness, but that isn’t helping now "In September 2018, the Trump administration received detailed plans for a new machine designed to churn out millions of protective respirator masks at high speed during a pandemic." end of the story on that piece o' equipment. hhs keeps recommending development o' prototype machine, but no money were allocated. cheap in retrospect. obama admin, based on bush era recommendations, started a program to do something 'bout PREDICTED n95 shortages. $9.8 million spent to develop two options: 1) a machine which would mass produce n95 masks quick; 2) a reusable n95 mask. rail 'gainst cheap chinese products or globalism is silly and inefficient. like it or not, in a global economy, buy American doesn't necessarily mean you are avoiding buying chinese. even so, the fed needs be cognizant o' realities o' shifting world conflicts to prepare for an eventuality when essential goods and components sudden become impossible or prohibitive to purchase. HA! Good Fun!

and what about the birds? now that prince has passed, why is trump the one who must need listen when doves cry? HA! Good Fun!

obama had big dreams 'bout renewable energy, high speed rail and smart grids. he didn't follow through but is noteworthy he simultaneous got hit with a fracking boom which woulda' required a whole lotta will to slow... and orogun would have us seeming give trump credit for the fracking boom which happened during the obama years, so go figure. HA! Good Fun!