I have a theory as to why. People have their own life experiences and tend to believe that is “the truth.” We do something a certain way and/or believe something a certain way and we tend to think that is the “way.” Recently, my oldest son did not talk to me for a year because he disagreed with my politics. He came to the conclusion that it was a mental health issue and asked if I would see a psychologist with him. I said “sure” (I would do anything for my kids). So I picked a psychologist and he decided to see her without me. After about three weeks, he called me and said “Dad, never let me do that again… that was dumb!” We still disagree, but now he listens and doesn’t say “That’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard.” That was once his “go to.” Things are good between us and we will never let politics stand between us again… but we still talk about them. We disagree without being disagreeable. Why can’t everyone do this?
Recently Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Prince Harry, and Freaking Megan Markle as well as others have tried to silence Joe Rogan because he dares to have people with opinions outside the mainstream media on his show. Jon Stewart (of all people) says it is a mistake. Donald Trump in his imbecilic manner ridiculed and taunted people who disagreed with him. It’s probably a Republican move to call people names. I don’t approve of that… unless you are a moron who deserves to be called one. But the Democrats like to cancel or silence people who disagree with them. I have been canceled by numerous Democrats and the cancellation just proves that they have no ability to form a cogent argument, so in lieu of that, it is easier to cancel that person. Take your ball and go home. That is the Democratic Playbook! Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat I would vote for, said this:
A recent controversial Johns Hopkins Report reignited a discussion about the adverse consequences of lockdowns after finding they had no significant mortality benefit during the first wave of the 2020 pandemic in the United States and Europe, according to the report.
“We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality,” said the authors of the study. The study authors, however, did find closing nonessential businesses reduced COVID-19 mortality by 10.6%, which is likely most related to the closure of bars.
Lockdowns “… have contributed to reducing economic activity, rising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence and undermining liberal democracy,’, but are those unintended consequences or planned effects? The alpha variant had a higher mortality rate than the Delta or Omicron. We did not have the “vaccine” during the alpha, we did during the lower mortality rates of the Delta and Omicron, yet more people died in 2021 than in 2020. That is a fact.
Of course, I was lectured and blasted by many of you on this very site because I was not in agreement with much that they said about COVID-19, its origins, the lockdowns, and the mandates, so like last week when I posted the proof that the Dodgers are still really a TOP 10 Organization, I am doing the same thing here. Take it from none other than one of your very own, Bill Maher:
Free Speech
Spotify, If you de-platform Joe Rogan, I’m done with you! I will cancel my membership. Some people are using Joe Rogan’s COVID interviews as a pretext to silence his voice because he’s not woke. Zealots of wokeism try to censor voices who don’t agree with theirs because they fear the absurdity and weakness of their positions will be exposed. Rapper Zuby Music said: “Joe Rogan has helped millions of people, all around the world, in a myriad of ways he can’t possibly fathom. He has contributed more good to humanity than ALL of his haters and detractors combined. Bunch of salty losers. Joe is a genuine, honest, kind human being. That’s why he is such a threat to people who are none of the above. I will vouch for him and defend him.“
#I Support Joe Rogan
Gone Fishing!
I will likely be back when MLB and the MLBPA reach an agreement, but I am tired of all the vitriol from each side. I am tired of the vitriol from the Left and Right. The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a disaster that is only eclipsed by having to listen to Trump say the election was stolen and the three years all the media and left spouted the Big Fat Russian Lie. Can we just stop with all the dis-information? Think Sheeple, Think! Maybe someday soon, this will again be a baseball blog.
OK… Who is This With me?
Any idea? Hint: he has a baseball brother.
If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck…
If this upcoming season, a couple of players hit 400 and a couple more hit over 75 homers, it’s probably safe to assume that the ball was tampered, or steroids came back in a big way…
In the last election, both candidates received the most votes ever for a President. Yeah, everything was on the up and up, nothing was stolen.
We had a President that was tough on China. Pandemic originated in China. Voting laws changed due to pandemic. Nothing to see here, everything was on the up and up. Water main breaks in Georgia, then an overflow of Biden votes come in, in the middle of the night. Caught on tape were people running the same stack of ballots multiple times through the same machine. Also caught on tape was a suitcase of ballots being pulled from under a table to be counted. All in the middle of the night. That’s all legit. Sure.
The Democratic party is pushing for nationalized voting that includes 100% mail in ballots sent to everyone, similar to what was implemented during the pandemic response under the guise of an “Infrastructure Bill”. They also want no ID, but want you to have a vax status ID to do everything else. Sure, nothing fishy about any of this.
Riots with burning buildings are called peaceful protests, a much more peaceful protest is call an insurrection. Seems legit.
If you look back through history, the ones doing the censorship are never on the righteous side. Even Ray Charles can see that!
Not a lot of baseball to talk about until the lockout ends. Freddie Freeman will be a Dodger, then we need to find an arm for the rotation.
Clayton Kershaw has thrown 2454 innings in his career, David Price 2103, Max Scherzer 2536, Justin Verlander 2988. Why is it that no one thinks Price is an option for the rotation?
“mostly peaceful protest.” I just saw a viral video of one of the Ottawa protestors describing how police in tactical gear swooped in and confiscated fuel for their tent heaters. The authorities are trying to starve and freeze them out. To this guy’s credit, he described how he and others went to the police and prayed with them. He hardly seemed like an insurrectionist, Confederate flag waving type. These are decent people. They will be branded as violent racists by the same media that talks about “disinformation.”
My hunch with Price is that he’s just checked out and the Dodgers know it and aren’t relying on him for anything. He doesn’t care. He took a vacation in 2020. He’s on the last year of a mega $$$ contract and he knows he won’t get another contract and I think he’s content to just get paid this year and retire.
If the rumors about Kershaw tentatively accepting a Ranger contract are true, I have NO interest in the Dodgers signing him. If really being able to kiss your kids goodbye when they go to school is a major consideration when signing your next contract, then you’re already semi-retired like Price is. No way would I pay big $$$ for a guy who hasn’t not been on the DL during the season for years, has lost his fastball and lost his fire.
“Confederate flag waving type. These are decent people.”
Decent people? They are also brandishing Nazi flags and your fine with this?
You are a pathetic, lying little turd, and if you were in front of my right now I’d break your nose.
Here is the quote you attributed to me:
“Confederate flag waving type. These are decent people.”
Here is the full context of what I actually wrote:
“To this guy’s credit, he described how he and others went to the police and prayed with them. He hardly seemed like an insurrectionist, Confederate flag waving type. These are decent people.”
You deliberately edited out what I actually wrote to suggest that I was saying Confederate flag waving types were decent people. You went on to suggest that I was fine with people brandishing Nazi flags.
You are a liar. And the kind of liar who lies to smear someone else is the worst kind of liar.
Let me add one more sentence to my quote:
“They will be branded as violent racists by the same media that talks about “disinformation.”
This is exactly what you just did. It’s from the same predictable, tired, dishonest, pathetic playbook. Falsely brand someone as a racist to discredit their argument. It’s weak.
If my response seems harsh, you deserve every word of it, and I think responses such as mine should happen more often. I think that is one of our big problems – we’ve grown to simply accept these smears as a normal part of political discourse. I think every time someone tries to play this game there ought to be swift pushback, and there should be zero tolerance for this kind of dishonesty. No one should just accept being smeared as a racist.
You’ve now outed yourself as someone not worthy of any good faith discussion. Bye now.
If ballots wee run thru multiple times thru machines, then why did the paper ballot count match the machine count after 3 recounts by Republicans in Georgia and upheld by courts in the state.? And why did the Republican Secy of State and Republican governor of Georgia, and Republican appointed judges(like the Supreme court) throw out 5 dozen cases as bogus????
On video tape David. Don’t believe your lying eyes.
“In the last election, both candidates received the most votes ever for a President. Yeah, everything was on the up and up, nothing was stolen.”
Glad to see you agree Trump lost.
You sound like an Astros fan.
Something is wrong with him… not sure what.
BTW: In 1974 at the age of 27, Nolan Ryan threw the fastest recorded pitch in baseball history. That pitch was calculated to have reached the speed of 108.5 mph. In 1993 at the age of 46, Nolan Ryan’s final pitch with a torn elbow ligament was clocked at 98 mph.
In case you haven’t heard, Keith Law of The Athletic ranked the Dodgers Farm System #1 in all of MLB:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Last year: No. 10
The Dodgers’ system is just ridiculous. They are hitting on every cylinder right now. They have depth and ceiling, pitching and position players, near-in prospects and long-term Players. I don’t think any other organization can rival their consistent success in drafting, international scouting, player development and pro scouting right now, which is probably the last thing fans of the four other NL West teams want to hear. Every player in their top 10 was in broader consideration for my top 100 – I don’t make a “longlist,” like this was the Booker Prize or something, but if I did one with 200 or so names, the Dodgers’ entire top 10 would make it. The only nitpick I’d offer is that they only put one prospect in my top 40 because the rest of their high-ceiling guys, players who have a chance to be frequent All-Stars or top 10 in baseball at their positions, are higher-variance or just further away from the majors. They make up for it by having so many of those players that they should end up with multiple stars from their current roster of prospects even with typical attrition.
Man, I took a lot of flack when I said the Dodgers have a TOP 10 FARM SYSTEM.
Turns out… well EAT THAT CROW!
I quite like KEith Law and echo Mark’s ALL-CAPS satisfaction at how well run this teams’ drafting and player dev are.
A great, great time to be a fan of the team.
I’m glad you reconciled with your son. One of the worst things that our current revolution/cold civil war is doing is destroying families. In a way, what happened is a microcosm of the way our two opposing sides view each other. For me, and for you and others who think more or less like us, I like to think that my views are somewhat grounded in rational analysis: What are the facts? Where is the evidence? Ok, that doesn’t make any logical sense! Conversely, If someone makes with an opposing view makes a good argument with sound evidence, I think I’m capable of changing my view.
To the other side, theirs is a faith based belief system. When you think about social justice in this environment, it is simply right versus wrong, good versus evil, righteous versus the infidel. There is no vigorous debate. When you believe to your core that your positions are moral, just, and unassailable as part of some overarching doctrine of justice, anyone outside that sphere is not just factually incorrect, but evil and, in your unfortunate case, literally crazy. More ominously, if you truly believe that your cause is the righteous one, there is very little you won’t do to your mortal enemies. The worst atrocities are usually committed by those convinced that righteousness is on their side.
And it’s about power. Literally that’s what Marxist Critical Theory is based on. It’s about power structures and leveraging identities to “dismantle” the existing power structure. Marxist power is, at root, not one based on individualism. It is collectivist, authoritarian and coercive.
The Left, as we used to know it, used to be the biggest champions of free speech and free expression; of judging people based on character versus skin color. Their motto was “question authority.” They were deeply suspicious of intelligence communities and hated the influence of corporations. They were consistently anti-war, and looked at the conservative Cold War push to face down the Russians with deep skepticism. They have completely reversed themselves. Their values are the complete opposite of what they used to be. Why? They now have institutional power – universities, media, corporations, and government.
The Joe Rogan response is what happens when that hegemonic power is threatened. He’s a free thinker, mostly apolitical or libertarian (he said he was going to vote for Bernie), asks honest questions and has speakers talking about diverse topics. Some of those speakers have challenged the narrative, and Joe is more popular than CNN or MSNBC combined.
So they will try to destroy him. They tried with the “disinformation” canard. That didn’t work at first, so they brought out the old tried-and-true technique – accusing him of racism. The people who created the video of Joe using The Offensive Word without context went through a decade of podcasts – hundreds of them, each lasting 2-4 hours, to find offensive material to slander him with. It had to have been a huge undertaking, which tells you just how motivated they are to destroy him. It’s the modern day accusation of witchcraft. It will probably work.
Joe represents the value we always placed on free expression, asking questions, the ability to challenge official narratives, to think critically with information that is not censored, to discuss, debate and think about big issues – the freedom to dissent; the freedom to think.
People like William will never get it. They’ll talk about some book that some random parent wanted to remove from a school library while the Joe Rogan bonfire is raging right in front of them – and they cheer it on without a hint of ironic self awareness.
If Joe is purged, will we be the same?
Good for you Mark (restored relationship with son)
#I absolutely support J Rogan
#mlb players stand strong and make mlb competitive for all
No guesses on who the person in the photo with me might be?
Give us a hint
His brother is a manager.
Joe Maddon? Sort of looks like him.
Yes. Mark Maddon, Joe’s Brother!
Glad you and your boy reconciled. I had a falling out with my son, and also my daughter several years ago. Albeit for different reasons. My son had lost his son. A grandchild I had never met. I did not even know he had a son at the time. He had been in the Navy and living with his mom, so I was not really involved in his life. I was on the road all the time. But by this time, I had settled into a local driving job in Phoenix. Anyway, when he got the news, his perception was that I did not seem broken up enough over the loss of a grandchild. I had much more sympathy for him losing a child in the manner he did. His exe-girlfriend had been living with another guy, pretty much completely under his control. And they starved a seven year old kid to death. He and she are both still in prison. My son, who, like me at his age at the time, had serious anger issues, wanted to do something to get thrown in jail so he could go after this piece of trash. My argument to him was do not ruin your life. He will get his. He got pretty mad that I did not back his idea up. So, for a couple of years we had basically no contact. That changed after he calmed down a lot. My daughter quit talking to me after I had a disagreement with my granddaughter. The disagreement? Baseball related. She is a Giant fan, and naturally she was giving me the business on facebook after a Dodger loss. Really dumb stuff. But then she stepped over the line and got disrespectful. I called her out on it. And her mom got involved. I told both of them, you might not like me, but you damn well will respect me and not talk to me like I am a child. For the next three years, my daughter would not talk to me at all. As a matter of fact, it has only been about four years now that we finally have reconnected. As for politics, well, the kids have their idea’s and I have mine. We do not discuss them.
Glad you’re reconnected to your family.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and hypothesize that stubbornness and being opinionated run in the family.
Mean that in jest.
Yep, along with a strong love of country, a BS meter that is off the charts, and a strong dislike of liars.
A good looking man by comparison.
Oh just kidding
Owners set to meet tomorrow. No negotiations scheduled yet. Players have a healthy disdain for Manfred.
except 2017 astro players, of course.
Yeah, they benefited from cheating, and to me that is the more egregious offense. That the commissioner allowed the cheaters to prosper and benefit from cheating to win. I did not want the Dodgers awarded something they did not win, but I definitely thought that the Astros at the very least should have had the title vacated and no Champion declared.
I don’t mind the idea of mandatory voting, but you would need to be able to vote “None of the above” or something similar.
The idea would be to drive the wacky left and wacky right to be less influential.
I’m also a huge proponent of abolishing primaries. Back to smoke filled roooms!
And massive expansion in the size of the house. MASSIVE.
Bluto, I completely agree with your idea of having a “none of above” option. But, it could make it difficult to ever elect many candidates. What is your reasoning for expanding the House massively? I’ve never heard of anyone suggesting to do such a thing. Just curious on your thoughts about doing so. Interesting.
I guess I don’t understand why the house hasn’t been expanding. It had in the past and then we just stopped, early 1900s IIRC.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, we were much better! For kinda nefarious reasons (so no state would LOSE seats) we kept expanding.
1. So many reasons to expand. Better representation. (It’s easier to represent the interest of fewer people.) The average house district is over 700K people.
2. Some districts account for more people than Senators purport to represent. Given the theory behind the house, that’s absurd. No? It is projected that each member of Congress will represent a million or more people by 2050. That’s even more absurd no? We started with an average representation of 35K!
3. Make the house less performative. The more people, the more time and focus is spent on people OTHER than Marjorie Taylor Greene, or AOC, or Maxine Walters or Madison Cawthorne.
4. It’s what the founders (well, I think plural) wanted! The House of Representatives was intended to be the branch of government most intimately tied to popular will. Federalist No. 52, which either James Madison or Alexander Hamilton authored, argued the House should have “an immediate dependence on, and intimate sympathy with, the people.”
5. We’re out of touch Globally. The Germans! Germany’s 84 million citizens are represented by 709 legislators in its lower chamber, for instance.
6. Gerrymandering. This is more theoretical but more districts enable greater accurate representation. More ways to parcel land in a reflective manner.
7. Almost finally, there’s the functionality of the house. It’s suppose to oversee OUR tax dollars to ensure they are not wasted on boondoggles or handed over to grifters and bums. 435 House members just cannot oversee the nearly 200 agencies and the $6.8 trillion in spending?
8. And now the final point, which really is California-centric. It’s not fair! We re-apportion congress people without expanding. So, somehow California LOST a house seat even though our districts are bigger than some states. Our voters are even LESS well heard than they were, and represented more poorly.
Ca lost a seat because the population constricted I presume.
Interesting idea. I would think, though, that you’d get to a point with so many Reps that it would be easier for corrupt ones to hide in obscurity. It would increase the potential for corruption IMO.
That’s a weird first reaction, nor am I sure why that’s an argument against.
There are > 430 now. It’s not easy to track corruption at this scale.
If a corrupt Congressperson is 1 in 1000, the extent of their potential damage is much, MUCH more negligible.
And, with smaller representational numbers, the feedback loop increases. Plus the lure of corruption is much less, because a congressional rep has decidedly less power.
The law of unintended consequences.
At first blush… it sounds very interesting.
Thanks Bluto. Nice and clear explanation and reasoning. Makes sense. How do we make it happen?
Oh my gosh.
I have no clue. Half the congresspeople seem to be there just for CSPAN, so there may not be inherent momentum.
Not sure how any of my ideas could become reality.
Dick Mountain, aka Rich Hill, absolutely destroyed Manfred in an interview. I mean he let him have both barrels. He said what has the man done for the game? Nothing I can see. Reducing the minor leagues by 40 teams and messing with the structure of the game. Pablo Sandoval signed with a Mexican League team.
Manfred is shaking in his boots.
New post on Dodgers Nation
Dodgers: Update in Trevor Bauer’s Legal Battle
by Brook Smith
The Dodgers are getting a little bit more clarity on the Trevor Bauer situation today. Even with the lockout and no real ability to do anything with players, the future of Bauer will the team has been an obstacle for the team planning out the pitching rotation.
But TMZ Sports reported today that Bauer will not face any criminal charges stemming from an incident with a woman in Pasadena. The story was initially released by TMZ last Summer and alleged that Bauer had punched and choked a woman unconscious.
The news today also suggests that Bauer will not face charges due to text messages between the Dodgers pitcher and the woman. Those texts reportedly were enough for no charges to be filed against him with District Attorney.
What happens now?????
He’s toast!
I’d say 60/40 he’s toast.
I’m at 95/5.
Trevor Bauer reportedly won’t face criminal sexual assault charges
by Thomas Carannante3 minutes ago Follow @TOMMYS_TAKES
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s sexual assault case is nearing the end now that the LA district attorney’s office has come to a conclusion.
According to a report from TMZ, Bauer won’t face any criminal sexual assault charges stemming from an alleged incident with a woman last year. According to her testimony, Bauer allegedly punched and choke the woman while she was unconscious during sex.
Throughout the case, Bauer and his representation claimed the encounter was nothing more than consensual rough sex. Bauer’s lawyers went as far to publicly release text messages between the two parties, which was problematic for a multitude of reasons.
Bauer, with support of his “agent” Rachel Luba, has claimed innocence ever since the allegations forced him onto MLB’s administrative leave list. He hasn’t pitched since the end of June.
Some will always hate him and I completely understand that, but if Bauer is back on the roster the Dodgers off season just got a bit better. Walker, Urias, Bauer, Gonsolin, Heaney, White and Price all vying for the SP rotation with a mid season addition of May doesn’t look so bad.
CK will retire or stay in Texas and the Dodgers will get Freeman. Now the MLB and MLPBA have to get this shit done and we can have pitchers and catchers next week. Not gonna happen, but one can dream
L.A. D.A. has announced that all charges are being dropped against Trevor Bauer.
Well, so far the Bauer Debacle has played out the way I predicted.
Nothing can happen now until the lockout is over.
Then Manfred has to make a decision and while I believe Bauer might accept a short suspension (retroactive, of course) of 10-20 days, I do not think a substantial suspension will stand up. Bauer will sue MLB and probably win if MLB tries to suspend him longer.
What I do not know is how the Dodgers will deal with this. That remains to be seen. Has Trevor Bauer thrown his last pitch as a Dodger? If I were forced to bet, I would say NO!
Another wrinkle is that he has a no trade clause that’s pretty restrictive. Once the season starts he has a no trade provision to any AL team.
And any trade scenario will require the Dodgers to eat a big portion of his contract.
Once the season starts? What about before the season starts, which is probably the more likely scenario if they decide to trade him?
You’re right, but if the lockout puts everything on hold, gets resolved, and then suddenly the season is on there might not be time to conduct normal trade business before the start of the season. Just spitballing a little.
In think we will be hearing from Trevor himself VERY SOON! Maybe ad nauseum!
I don’t think AF is going to trade a Cy Young winner from an already depleted staff just to appease a bunch of Karens.
Check out the comments on this video. I don’t see the outrage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMS-R_sSD6M
The only reason he would do that would be to avoid constant PR headache. He would be deliberately hurting the team on the field to do so. I have a feeling the outrage is going to die down.
TB made a video statement on YoutTube.
Pretty much what I’d expect him to say. It will be enough for some, not for others.
But at least he can actually have a conversation with Dodger ownership now that the criminal side to this is settled (whenever the lockdown ends). That will obviously be a while. I’m sure there will be no statement from the Dodgers until the labor issue is resolved.
Yet another lose end to add to all the others the lockout has created.
https://youtu.be/mqCKmjgH2e0
He did not read from a script.
He spoke about some really awkward stuff.
He acknowledged that he had made some bad choices.
He finally was able to tell his side of the story!
I am persuaded, but I know how it feels to be falsely accused and how it took me 7 years, 5 months, and 5 days to beat the lies that sent me to prison. So that makes me jaded.
It was horrible if he did this to that woman, but it was just as horrible if she did this to him. I believe Bauer!
But, again I admit, I am biased. I had a woman who lied and put me in prison for 40 years! It took me 7-1/2 years to get it overturned. That was 28 years ago, and I have never looked back. That is the book I am writing; “The Mountainmover.”
Trevor Bauer will be a Dodger in 2022. That is MY prediction.
Just doing a little quick math in my head, but if you were in for 40 years, but got out 28 years ago – that’s 68 years ago.
I was sentenced to 40. Got it overturned in 7 years 5 months and 5 days. I was the attorney! I went in at 33 and got out at 41… I have never had a bad day since.
Ok….now I understand. Good for you … and for building up a successful life after having to start over at 41.
Holy shit Mark. What a life you have had. I can’t imagine going through a tragedy like that.
He thought this was an effective statement. He addressed the face and vagina punching accusations directly and forcefully, which now puts it in a he said/she said situation and, I think, neutralizes it. He showed contrition and a little embarrassment, which shows a little vulnerability. If I were his lawyer I’d say he did a pretty good job.
I’m curious to see what the outrage peddlers with come up with as a response. Nosler might either not acknowledge it or post it as rage bait.
Nosler is a moron. He says the same about me.
He’s an awful human, and so is his mob.
You have no idea…
I do. I got doxxed over there.
Bill Plaschke is a moron as well.
Former Yankee outfielder and a good friend of Derek Jeter, Gerald Williams, passed away today at 55 of cancer. RIP.
A major league pitcher: T. Gonsolin.
A top 100 prospect: M. Bush.
One player on the 40-man roster: J. Amaya.
A Dodgers top 30: G. Stone.
To get Luis Castillo from the Reds, who says no?
2022 SP:
1 Buehler
2 Bauer
3 Urias
4 Castillo
5 Kershaw ?
Heaney
White
Price
Jackson
Pepiot
Joe Rogan has a $100 million contract with Spotify. Rupert Murdoch is a multi-billionaire and his top Fox News personalities such as a Tucker, Hannity and Ingraham all earn millions of dollars.
Nobody really has a solid estimate of the wealth of the defeated former president, but it’s a plenty… ..while the evidence of fraud and tax evasion mounts, but never mind about that.
All of these parties have been engaged in promoting medical falsehoods that have now contributed to the deaths of 900,000 Americans. Worst of all, the bully pulpit at the White House was turned into a bullshit pulpit. For weeks the American people were told that virus was no big deal, totally contained, “fake news,” a “hoax.” He even declared that number of cases would go down to zero. Remember that BS? …. Even after the “presidential” rhetoric belatedly steered a bit closer to reality, we had a “leader” suggesting on national TV that maybe people should inject themselves with disinfectant….. Remember that? Millions of Amerians trusted his lies and acted accordingly. And remember how, in his interviews with Woodward, this “leader” admitted that he didn’t want to tell the truth because he was afraid of causing panic.
I will say it again: Americans have died from covid at MORE THAN THREE TIMES the rate of Canadians. (And an analysis of voting precincts shows that resistance to vaccination, and thus cases and deaths, are highest in the most partisan “red” regions where people trusted the BS.)
Perhaps those truckers up north don’t really appreciate how fortunate they are to live in a society in which the political leadership respects science and works to protect public health.
Things are trending down now–but all it takes is another dangerous variant to push America’s covid death toll to more than 1 million–and most of these deaths, as the Canadian experience suggests, could have been averted with sound policies. (Dr. Birx has made the same point.)
Yeah, Joe Rogan has a right to spew BS, but he’s not some kind of hero people should rally behind. He’s much better than Alex Jones, certainly, but even a creep who portrays the grieving parent of the Sandy Hook massacre as “crisis actors.” You wonder why people can’t get along but gee, the defeated former president got along great with Alex Jones and the “very fine people” who staged the white supremacist protest-cum-riot in Charlottesville. The DFP, by all accounts, watched with glee as his self-appointed goons stormed that Capitol–and for more than three hours failed to call off the rabid mob, even those chanting “hang Mike Pence.” Gee, why can’t we all get along? A good question for the former VEEP and now the RNC who, in a written declaration, portrayed the violence and threats as “legitimate political discourse.”
It’s pretty hard to find agreement when millions of Americans, many with an angry disposition, don’t recognize the reality unfolding in front of their eyes. And others, like the Murdoch machine, make millions by promoting the falsehoods.
Retired USMC Gen. James Mattis, Trump’s first secretary of defense, declared that this particular commander-in-chief was the first he ever witnessed who never demonstrated an interest in unifying the American people. He had a golden opportunity to do so against the common threat of the virus, yet he elected to transform into another wedge issue for his culture war.
Americans really did get along much better before the election of 2016. A lot better.
I hope you don’t do your taxes the way you just did that little piece of crap you wrote: Start at the bottom and work up!
“Joe Rogan has a $100 million contract with Spotify. Rupert Murdoch is a multi-billionaire and his top Fox News personalities such as a Tucker, Hannity and Ingraham all earn millions of dollars.”
I am positive you have never listened to Joe Rogan because you would not say what you just did if you had. You are just parroting the left-wing media, whom you obviously worship. You single out Right-Leaning people in the media and bash them for making money, but what about Anderson Cooper, Michael Bloomberg, the Newhouses, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Joy Reid, Whoopie Goldberg, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olberman, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart? That was a really dumb thing to say. I know you are not an idiot, but it makes you look like one! Here’s what an MSNBC news anchor says:
https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbc-joe-rogan-silencing
You shouldn’t write about stuff you obviously do not know about. The campaign against Rogan began when a group of media-described “medical professionals” — they are largely academics and leftwing activists posing as medical professionals — laundered an “expert” petition in the media demanding that Spotify censor the Joe Rogan Experience. 270 doctors’ called out Joe Rogan, but the authors of the letter and the vast majority of its signatories are not medical doctors. Rogan has become bigger than anyone on the Left and they simply want the power of silencing him.
“Nobody really has a solid estimate of the wealth of the defeated former president, but it’s a plenty… ..while the evidence of fraud and tax evasion mounts, but never mind about that.
Uhhh, yes they do… and evidence of fraud and tax evasion is promoted by the left-leaning media… they started all this 2016 and have not stopped. They suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome and so do you (obviously).
In 2016, Forbes estimated Trumps’ net worth at $3.7 Billion. A year earlier they estimated it at $4.5 Billion. Today, Forbes estimates his wealth at $2.5 Billion.
Trump is the only president I know of whose wealth declined while he was in office. Obama’s multiplied by 30 times!
All of these parties have been engaged in promoting medical falsehoods that have now contributed to the deaths of 900,000 Americans.
More American’s have died under Biden than under Trump and there was no vaccine when Trump was President AND the original variant was more deadly than the Delta or Omicron!
Worst of all, the bully pulpit at the White House was turned into a bullshit pulpit. For weeks the American people were told that virus was no big deal, totally contained, “fake news,” a “hoax.” He even declared that number of cases would go down to zero. Remember that BS? ….
Remember this BS?
1. Biden said he would not do mandates
2. Then he did mandates
3. We recently found out that masking was mostly BS unless you were wearing an N95 mask.
4. Biden said once you got vaccinated you could not get it. Wrong!
5. When Trump imposed the China Flight sanctions Biden (and others) blasted him as “Xenophobic.” That was actually a very important thing to do.
Even after the “presidential” rhetoric belatedly steered a bit closer to reality, we had a “leader” suggesting on national TV that maybe people should inject themselves with disinfectant….. Remember that?
It’s obvious that if they gave you an enema, they could bury you in a shoebox. You like to take sound bites and fail to consider the background, context or what was being talked about. Go back and watch it. Trump was talking about UV (ultraviolet light) which is a disinfectant that does kill COVID. Many people, myself included (I am a recognized expert on UV Disinfection) have theorized that UV could be used in this instance. He did not mention bleach. He was talking about the disinfectant, UV! But you want to make shit up and mock it because of course you do!
Remember that? Millions of Amerians trusted his lies and acted accordingly. And remember how, in his interviews with Woodward, this “leader” admitted that he didn’t want to tell the truth because he was afraid of causing panic.
Remember how Facci and Biden admitted the same “Don’t want to panic the people?”
Now, here comes some more real BS: I will say it again: Americans have died from covid at MORE THAN THREE TIMES the rate of Canadians.
Try this:
1. The US is the most obese country in the world.
2. Canada is slightly larger than the US.
3. The US has a population of 334 Million
4. Canada has a population of 37 Million
With more land and 1/10 the people, Canada should have 1/10 the COVID-19 deaths of the US, but it’s only 1/3. What a moronic assertion!
(And an analysis of voting precincts shows that resistance to vaccination, and thus cases and deaths, are highest in the most partisan “red” regions where people trusted the BS.)
There is certainly a lot of underlying data to consider, but the Johns Hopkins Report pretty much showed that the current administration’s posturing on COVID was/is a disaster.
The rest seems to be the rants of a madman off his meds! General Mantis is not going to have anything good to say about Trump because Trump fired him, but you certainly like to pick and choose your facts. I certainly do not want Trump back, but if forced, I would take him over Biden. Other than having slightly more dignity, look at the state of affairs in the US.
The last two years have seen the fastest rise in murder and violent crime in 60 years…. most of it in shithole blue cities. OF the top 20 cities for violent crime – 18 are run by Democrats. I have been to LA, SF, Detroit, Cleveland, and NYC and have personally seen the filth and violence.
You can have opinions, but you can’t make up your own facts. No sir!
The John Hopkins report has issues; most notably it has not been peered reviewed. In addition;
the authors “systematically excluded from consideration any study based on the science of disease transmission, meaning that the only studies looked at in the analysis are studies using the methods of economics.”
the limitations of using a narrow time frame for the analysis, which means key elements of disease transmission are not priced into the overview, including that later lockdowns are less effective than earlier lockdowns, and that lives are not saved “immediately,” because there is a lag from infection to death. It’s as if we wanted to know whether smoking causes cancer and so we asked a bunch of new smokers: Did you have cancer the day before you started smoking? And what about the day after. This study intentionally excludes all studies rooted in epidemiology—the science of disease.”
the study’s extremely broad—and at times inconsistent— interpretation of what constitutes a “lockdown,” and. that under the authors’ definition, mask wearing policy amounts to a “lockdown.” Note, that different countries imposed very different restrictions at different points in the pandemic, and the levels of enforcement and adherence also varied widely.. The study looks at a tiny slice of the pandemic, there have been many lockdowns since globally with far better data.
As a wise man once said, “ you shouldn’t write about things you don’t know. So let’s see what a peer review says about the Hopkins study.
They are scrambling as we speak to discredit it, but there are many other reports from all over the globe about this.
More and more we’ll see more objective studies that tell how bad this whole response has been. We still do not have any good studies showing mask efficacy.
Also, The Narrative is collapsing. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but suddenly and in unison, the Democratic media and politicians – in literally a day – have done a complete reversal on mask mandates, the viability of prior natural immunity and the need to get back to normal. I think they see polling numbers, and I think they are watching what is happening in Ottawa, so their overall strategy is just going to change overnight and everyone will just pretend like it’s perfectly normal.
“The science has changed” will be the excuse. The politics changed. That has been the issue since the start. The Science has been corrupted by The Politics.
Partisans have a remarkable capacity to pick and choose and selectively interpret facts and events to create their own reality. It’s certainly helped along by a dishonest media. I’ll sometimes compare what I know about a certain topic to the way CNN frames it and my jaw drops. The level of propagandistic excess makes a North Korean state media communique seem subtle by comparison.
The division is cultivated. It’s profitable. Outrage sells. There was a CNN exec even caught on tape admitting that revving up the anti Trump rhetoric was a business decision that came from Zucker himself. Now CNN’s viewership is down 91% from it’s peak last year. Even Ted Koppel, an old guard holdover from a time of some journalistic integrity, called out the modern media’s addiction to Trump for ratings.
The Ted Koppels are gone, unfortunately. We can certainly use OBJECTIVE critical coverage of politics and current events. It’s up to us to individually piece through the noise and the bias and the agendas to try to make sense of things.
For instance, just taking the first part of this diatribe about Trump calling the virus a “hoax.” That has already been explained and discredited many times over. When he referred to a “hoax,” he was referring specifically to attempts by Democrats and the media to politicize the virus at the time to damage him politically. He didn’t say the virus itself was a hoax. Did he clumsily misspeak in a way that left him open to such an attack? He sure did, and he can be rightly criticized as a terrible communicator.
The same can be said about the disinfectant comment and the very fine people comment. I was actually watching the news conference when he made the UV light comment. He just went to some stream of consciousness hypothesizing about using UV light to internally disinfect people. He never said people should inject bleach. Now, should he have said what he said? No, but that was No Filter Trump. I understood what he was saying and didn’t think it was particularly noteworthy one way or the other, but the sheer amount of manufactured lies and outrage over some silly forgettable moment, to me, is, by far, the bigger sin. Garbage like that masquerading as news corrupts sensible discourse.
I listened to the Dr Malone podcast with Joe Rogan. He was certainly a smart and credentialed guy and I thought he made some compelling arguments, but I think Joe could have pressed him a little more.
Rogan is under attack because he hosted two Doctors with impeccable credentials who challenged The Science and the holy word of St. Fauci. The very nature of scientific progress demands that it be questioned – constantly. That’s what science is. If you think Malone and McCullough are wrong in their facts, present better facts. It really is that simple. In terms of policy that affect all of and radically transform how we live, it’s astounding to me that so many believe that we’re not even allowed to debate policy. Just shut up and obey! That’s not how it should work.
Weak-minded people want to cancel strong-minded people and dominate them. Thus has never worked (for long) in the history of the world! Back to the Obama Era: If you disagreed with Obama, you were a racist.
That worked pretty well, so when Trump took office, if you liked Trump, you are a racist and white supremacist. I have never been called a racist until the last 2 years. You can only call people these kinds of names for a period of time and then they will not take it anymore. Is Trump divisive? Not even 10% as divisive as the LEFT!
… and no one who knows Joe Rogan thinks he is racist. The N-Word montage is all out of context. This is a media-smear campaign for sheeple who are too weak-minded to do their own research and think for themselves.
If you went to work every day, and 10 of your co-workers met you at the door and said “You are a racist.” And you heard it every day, you may laugh at first and think it’s funny, but there will come a day when all 10 of those co-workers will eat a fist. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, but he did not say how many times. Many people have had enough with all of this – I hope it does not come to violence. MLM and Antifa are Rank Amateurs when you compare them to all the “Billy Bobs.” We do not want to go there. Therefore, I suggest, that you check yourself, before you wreck yourself.”
You were right originally. It is “Duke not SYNDER” I’m sorry I pointed it out when you first arrived here. Why when most of the post is baseball related you decide that it’s time to pull some delusional bullshit out of your ass about Covid? It’s been beaten to death on this site. The finger pointing has been vast and has accomplished nothing. Go somewhere else to spew your vitriol and CNN/MSNBC versions of how things happen during the pandemic. You are probably the last person actually watching CNN. That channel might be eventually programmed into a sci-fi channel so as not to upset the current viewer(s). If you want to talk baseball and the Dodgers then stick around. You’ve had some good takes in the past. If not, then find a site that would welcome your political and medical thoughts and conclusions. Then, again, it’s not my call.
Great news about Bauer. Could never see a different outcome tbh.
Get him back in the Rotation, and if B&P is correct in his thoughts about Freddie being keen to join, then suddenly we are looking in a much better position.
Would just need to add some better Bench Pieces, and we would be set.
Anyone any idea if Kahnle is good to go?
If there is enough money, I would also add another Starter like Cueto on a one year deal, especially if Clayton joins Corey.
Just to say quickly, that Covid is very much on the retreat here, and that life is very much getting back to normal.
Omicron in the main is now not much more than a cold or cough – very mild.
Limitations on overseas travel have been lifted, and there is no longer any need to test when entering or leaving the Uk.
Masks are gone and we’re really moving things on.
I’m sure you guys are not far away from the finishing line now.
Obviously there are and will continue to be questions about the handling of it all – but like the whole Pandemic from the beginning, the country is unified in its deteriorating to move forward as quickly as possible, and not waste any more time.
#determination to move forward
I watched the Bauer piece with great interest.
From the very start I wanted him to have this moment – one where he could finally put over his side of events.
We’ll never know the whole truth I guess, but nothing he said in that clip surprised me.
In fact it was almost exactly what I’d imagined – and I have to tip my hat to B&P, Patch and one or two others on here, who gave him the benefit of the doubt.
TBF to Mark – he said that he wouldn’t make a judgment until more was known.
I must say I was disappointed at how many here turned on him, choosing to believe the media BS that so many of you say you hate when it comes to Politics.
I wonder how many will put their hands up and admit they got it wrong?
I can already see the comments about how he put the club in an awkward position or that he let everyone down and showed a lack of respect for his teammates. What a crock.
He had a bit of rough sex – so what? – it’s 2022 – things move on.
If Rough Sex is a crime then there’s a lot of players who will be in danger of having their careers ended.
It was a set up. Should he have seen it coming ? maybe – but she played the long game – gaining his confidence.
He’s a virile young man – clearly comfortable in his own skin – why not enjoy life to the full?
I sincerely hope he is allowed to put this behind him, the fans get behind him, because after all, it was he who had the lies told about him, and had his name slandered, and that he plays a major part in a LAD WS win in 22.
Your last sentence summed this up completely. Trevor is the victim here. People should be outraged by what happened to him and should welcome him back with open arms. If people are so quickly to believe her accusations, then they should also believe his side of the story, now that he made it public. I really can’t believe how people were still taking her side after her texts were revealed.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…
Pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report today.
Stupid baseball, there goes my Feb plans!
From the very first breaking news of this Bauer saga, I cautioned everyone to not to jump to conclusions without more information. Many of us, including Mark, cautioned about a premature judgement.
The Duke Lacrosse Scandal immediately came to my mind, and I mentioned that right off the bat. The Duke Scandal should have taught us all the danger of making a judgement without all the facts. Without jumping to conclusions that drastically effects people’s lives. Getting the facts takes time (in this case too long probably). We are an impatient society. We want immediate resolution and a prompt lynching.
I was pleased to get Bauer’s side of the story now that he was free to tell his side.. And I believe him. He had to remain silent while much of the media and many posters on this site jumped to conclusions without the facts. That had to be difficult listening to all the noise without the ability to defend yourself. Maybe Trevor has learned something about social media. He admitted to mistakes. But who could be surprised in this day and age if this woman attempted to get rich at Bauer’s expense. So, some people don’t cotton to his sexual preferences. Well, that’s none of my business. Should we exhume all to the skeletons in everybody’s closet; all the athletes or entertainers, or politician. Or your neighbors. Or YOU? Trevor is just human a being who happen to pitch better than the rest of us. I’m not interested in Mother Theresa. I’m interested in a plus baseball. If you still live in a world that says these guys should be role models for your children, instead of you, you haven’t paid attention.
We could use Bauer on this 2022 team with our lack of starting pitching. Plus it might be nice to get something for that 40 million. I think that if Bauer shows up and pitches, drops the clown-act, that in a relatively short amount of time this will fade away. I think that the thought that he won’t be accepted by his teammates is naive. These guys have been around and have experienced all the personality types and behaviors. A paining the ass player is generally welcome as long as he can produce on the field. Some fans, including Women’s Groups, who want to exercise their right to protest won’t outnumber the amount of fans pissed off with a prolonged lockout and no CBA.
Now that’s one that pisses me off. What Bauer does on his time is his business.
Well stated phil. I thought his video was well done and his explanation, though uncomfortable, was sincere and truthful. It makes sense. I never got the pictures taken after the second encounter. Now, that didn’t make sense to me. I mean Trevor is a different type of dude, but hitting someone in the face like that is very extreme. From the video his explanation shows that he is most likely not the complete lunatic that was painted in much of the media. It’s going to be interesting to see what players express their support for him being on the team.
I don’t often take Mark’s advice 🙂 but this time I decided to and waited for Bauer’s explanation. I thought the video was well done and I believe him.
What I couldn’t understand from the very beginning was that she came back for a second helping and even stranger was the fact that she stayed over night with him after supposedly being assaulted.
No meetings scheduled.
Many well versed people on this website. I learn something new almost everyday. Thank you.
Bauer’s fate is in the hands of Manfred. There are still reports that some of the players do not want him back. Here is the problem. If Manfred decides to suspend him, he most likely is going to appeal and fight the suspension. Ozuna was suspended for 20 days that will start when the season starts. Any suspension will surely be shortened by the fact he was on admin leave for so long. Any fight of the suspension is going to get very messy. And the MLBPA will no doubt back their member. If he is anything like he was last season, he is a valuable asset to the team. No charges to me means the DA had no case. MLB and Manfred are playing with fire on this one. Would the Dodgers simply release him and eat the contract to parry any backlash that is certainly going to come if he is taken back with open arms. There are a lot of women’s groups out there who are most likely going to protest. AF has enough on his plate as it is. There are a lot of decisions to be made and the longer the lockout lasts, the more hectic it is going to be when they finally do return.
Bauer was on administrative leave and being paid. If he is suspended that time will not be credited towards suspension time. Manfred has the gavel now .
Not true. Ozuna was on administrative leave and his suspension was time served. Basically the opposite of your claim.
With no charges, what is the complaint and reason to protest Bauer’s return. Is there proof of something or is there only another persons word who’s complaint in the end did not, in the assessment of the DA warrant filing charges.
It seems, the woman involved exercised as much stupidity as did Bauer.
Has the Dodger organization said anything publicly that would give a clue as to their position in any particular scenario, including this current one?
No, they won’t until Manfred makes his decision. As of right now, he is on the 40 man roster. You know as well as I do that there will be someone out there protesting his return to baseball.
Of course there will be protesting if Bauer returns to pitch. Some folks are going to protest Bauers return and threaten to abandon any team he’s on. Gee, people pissed off about something? What’s new? Somebody protests Doc’s moves every day. Somebody wants their own way everyday. Somebody doesn’t like something every day. Some people will think Bauer is the devil. And who gives a shit? What he is is a pitcher who we can use who apparently hasn’t broken any law that prevent him from earning a living.. I’m telling ya that more people are going to be upset and ready to boycott the game over the lack of a CBA and a delayed season than they are about Bauer. And if they are pissed? It’s a free country and I don’t care if they want Bauer run out of the game or banished to Florida. The man is innocent until proven quilty. I trust AF will use good judgement and do what’s best for the Dodgers. .
The sticking point is the evidence of facial and vaginal bruising. She claims Bauer hit her when she was unconscious. He claimed very strongly that his was not true. The physical evidence is there, but she left enough questions about her credibility that it was doubtful it was ever going to be winnable case. Bauer haters will continue to believe her. Bauer fans will say he was a victim of a setup.
Mark – I have stayed out of the political conversations on TBLA but I am not sure your assertions about Canada are entirely correct.
I’m not suggesting Canada has done a wonderful job in managing Covid. For quite some time we did well but right now we have no bragging rights.
The land mass in Canada is not a big factor if you look at a population distribution map of Canada. You will see that we have huge tracts of land with virtually no population and most of the population is close to the 49th parallel. Most of our population is compressed in a smaller area than the population distribution of the US. You will also see that our urban population roughly approximates that of the US so we have about the same contact in urban areas.
If my information is correct (always suspect) Canada has had 35,000 Covid related deaths. The US is now at the 900,000 mark. If that is the case, then our death ratio with the US is not 1:3 but 1:25.
As for obesity, in 2020 the US had a reported 42% rate while Canada had 28%.
You are probably right, DC. I just know I am ready for it to be over.
Last week, I had our rep from http://www.LuminorUv.com spend time with us. He is a resident of Canada but is living in Florida which he says is “refreshing.” They are in Guelph Ontario. I have never lived there, but he is outraged at the PM. Sales he is an “elitist.”
I want it over too Mark but am willing to do whatever it takes to help keep others safe as long as it takes.
I respectfully disagree with your Guelph friend.
I respect your opinion DC, but the government, no matter how hard they try, can not control nature. Mixed messages on masks and lockdowns with mixed statistics and results to match.
The lesson learned? If they continue to modify viruses to kill people, it will eventually be the end of humanity as we know it.
As soon as a vax became available to everyone, the government should have returned everything to normal and restored everyone’s freedom.
Pfizer financials worse than expected. They haven’t sold enough vaccines. Now you know why we’re being pressured by all the politicians that bought Pfizer stock ahead of the game. This is all very disgusting behavior.
I will do as asked by our governments based on the best information they have. No one has asked us to do anything that is not within reason in my experience. Get vaccinated, show proof of vacination, wear masks, hand sanitize, stay out of crowded areas, social distance. How does that restrict my freedom? I didn’t have to get vaccinated. I chose it based on what has happened in the last 100 years with vaccinations. That record is pretty good.
This is a first for governments yet many seem to expect them to have all the answers that satisfy them.
You see, for every right I have, I understand that I have a corresponding responsibility to use that right so as not to negatively impact others. Democracy is a shared experience not an I, me experience.
If that is too simplistic folks, it just is. I have lived with that beleif for over 80 years and plan on some more where the person next to me is as important as I am.
Whatever it takes to keep others safe.
Within reason or whatever ? And who decides what that looks like ? Common sense or political science ?
They always have said, “follow the science.”
OK, but science is a moving target…. yesterday’s science or tomorrow’s science?
I’m Canadian!
It’s great and lovely, but I like Los Angeles way more.
Do miss universal healthcare though
I have also stayed out of the political debates as that’s just not why I come here. Arguing with random people on the internet is not something I’ve found productive or enjoyable.
That said, as somebody who works in biotechnology it gets tiresome to hear people from all political spectrums yelling at each other “the science! the science!” I’m currently running several studies related to covid and immune response. I work with immunologists, microbiologists and epidemiologists every day.
The term “scientific consensus” has been so overused in the political public square as to be almost completely meaningless. As most partisans simply pick and choose which studies, reports and opinions support their own pre existing preferred narrative and ignore all else.
The reality is that “scientific consensus” (as most people perceive the term to mean) is rare and illusive. The Germ Theiry of Disease, Evolution, General Relativity; are examples of TRUE consensus. On the broad subject matter. Dive into the specific issues within any of those extremely successful theories and you’ll find more and disagreement between subject matter experts. The notion that there is a broad scientific consensus on almost any specific aspect of the pandemic is an illusion created by partisans in the media.
With covid, not only is their broad disagreement on many aspects of the science itself, the notion that there is a “consensus” on the public policy side is simply not true. What is true is that an environment has been created where many in the sciences are scared to speak out. The example of that one particular doctor on Rogans podcast is a poor one. From clips I’ve seen (didn’t watch the whole thing) he did say many things that are way way outside where most people in his field would find their conclusions. But many other scientists have been brutally criticized for expressing opinions which were very much within the mainstream views but not inline with that media created perception of “consensus”. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. And it’s created an environment of fear. CNN, MSNBC, FOX News and Newsmax are deciding what “consensus” is based upon their viewers political appetites. Not for a desire to accurately represent the science.
And I can speak from recent experience there is a tremendous amount of anger and disagreement in the science community with the FDA and CDC. But many, especially in the biotech and pharmaceutical world, are unwilling to speak out publicly because their fate is dependent on approvals from the FDA and other regulators in order to market a product, test or therapeutic. So they keep their issues and concerns private. Less there be potential retribution or negative publicity. So many in the scientific community are not involved in the public debate. Which further skews the perception of where the “consensus” actual resides. It’s all become very politicized; like everything else these days.
And discounting a study because it isn’t yet peer reviewed simply doesn’t work today with Covid. The nature of the pandemic, understanding of the virus and the efficacy of the vaccines has changed drastically and consistently for two years. Everybody in the research community is releasing their manuscripts at the same time they submit for peer review as a courtesy to those in the research community. If every paper waited to complete peer review, the info would already be dated and potentially irrelevant. The peer review process can take months. The research is needed now. This especially true with omicron, which has changed many of the dynamics of the pandemic. Both in terms of how it spreads and individual outcomes. I’m sure there will be many studies that went viral in the media that will end up rejected or highly modified in the peer review process. But the benefit to immediately releasing manuscripts of studies vastly outweigh the problems associated with pre-peer review. Several of the studies I’m currently working on drew data and information from studies that had not yet completed peer review. Our own studies are months ahead because data and other information are made available immediately.
Take my opinion for what it’s worth. But just know, if your getting your science information from a partisan source; it’s likely mostly wrong or skewed to conform to a political conclusion.
Years from now I predict we will look back on 2020-? (However long this pandemic persists) with an awful lot of shame. Almost every aspect of the pandemic has been politicized by just about everybody. Right and left. Media and government. Years from now I think we will look back and realize that somebody took a giant dump in the well almost from the beginning. And everything was shit from that point on.
Exceptionally well said!
Bluto,
Tell me about that.
I have heard issues for and against.
For example. I sat beside a man on a flight from Toronto to NY maybe a dozen years ago. We got to talking and he was coming to NY to get a hip replacement because he had been waiting for six years in Canada to get it done. I got mine done in 3 months. It was $44,000 and I had to pay $4,000 (I also paid insurance premiums), but it was quick for me. He got tired of waiting and paid for it. Is that real or a “one off?”
Just got an alert. Jeremy Giambi dead at 47.
Steroids are bad for you. I hate saying that, but likely it was a factor.
That is so sad!
He certainly did a lot of roids. Just like Ken Caminiti.
Here’s an example of how corrupt some are: