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Harrison Bergeron

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Posts posted by Harrison Bergeron

  1. 1 hour ago, shadow_operative said:

    man. i can't help but respect how deeply convicted you are in your belief that you've got everything all figured out, while the rest of us lemmings are just pawns in Big Media's game to convince us that things are bad when in reality everything is awesome. 

    Thank you. The recipe is not terribly difficult:

    - Find meaning in your life besides online redmeat outrage

    - Trust but verify what people tell you 

    - Hold true the core principles regardless of which political party is promoting or violating them

    - Respect that people have diverse opinions and tolerate them and resist the urge to consider your fellow citizens as enemies

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  2. 13 minutes ago, synoptic said:

    So the nation can recover from an actual civil war, but not a potential civil war.  

    The reason that this topic can't help but turn political is because the widespread messaging suggesting the looming end of our republic comes from fear based political propaganda designed to turn out the vote.  That is why the two ideas are intimately linked when this topic comes up.  The fate of the very existence of our nation hangs on the result of this next election, so don't sit at home and let human civilization crumble.  They pump this bullshit so much that it has been ingrained in people’s minds and now the idea can't simply be switched off.  Now every news story and every negative aspect of modern society is interpreted as a sign of the inevitable collapse, and if you don’t see it it’s because your eyes haven’t been opened to the truth.  No amount of real data about the progress of civilization will convince the doom and gloom zealots that the nation is not actually going to hell in a handbasket.  

    100%. Both the purveyors and consumers of political propaganda have become consciously or subconsciously addicted to it. I'm sure it is the same proximity bias, but it amazes me the more information we have access to it seems to more ignorant the average person is of reality.

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  3. 42 minutes ago, Bevo said:

    This drug was an obvious win when it was in clinical trials. I don't get the first point, though. Are they talking about taking it prophylactically which on its face seems dumb or are they talking about getting it within 3 days of symptoms? Because if they are talking about within 3 days of symptoms, it will help protect all people who get COVID - It may just be approved for high risk, but that won't be how it will be used.

    IIRC from the article I think it works within five days of known infection, so <nerdalert> I think technically as a "treatment" (post-diagnosis) vs. "prophylactically" (taken as a precaution. The good news is with this, the Merck drug, and the <triggerwarning> options we are developing a decent set of tools to reduce mortality.  

  4. I did not see this posted, but more good news on the treatment front

    • Pfizer's oral antiviral drug could help protect people at high risk of COVID-19 in trial, the company said.

    • It cut the risk of hospitalization by 89%, when it was given within three days of symptom onset, Pfizer said.

    • Antiviral drugs won't replace vaccines but could be a vital tool for people who don't respond to them.

  5. 4 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

    The median age in Africa is 20 compared to 38 in the US, 42 in Europe, 48 in Japan, 32 in South America, 40 in Australia, 38 in China, and 28 in India. 

    Not sure exactly how that would impact transmission rates. Is there some data that suggests age impacts transmissibility? I have not seen it but certainly does not mean it is not there. It just is an interesting phenomenon in a situation full of interesting phenomena. 

  6. Does anyone have a theory as to why mortality and cases are so relatively low in Africa? It seems counter-intuitive that Africa and its associated health care resources seem to have a much lower mortality rate than other parts of the world.

  7. 2 hours ago, scottsins said:


    Weird. My wife’s best friend has lupus and got her vax as soon as she possibly could, recommended by her doctor.

    My buddy's wife might be vaxxed - I thought he said no but wouldn't be the first thing I misremembered at my age lol.

  8. On 12/7/2021 at 4:49 PM, TexasEd said:

    The question is are any of the historical suspects related to the person it identified?

    That was my initial reaction. Even if the results returned 10,000 suspects, it seems like it would not be a terribly difficult process to run against some other databases and narrow down the list to those that fit an age profile, lived in Austin, during the time of the murders, etc., and then do a little more digging. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but does not feel like there would be 10,000 matches that lived near Austin at the time, were between say 15-60, etc. Then you could do a little detective work and narrow that list down further - it's not like talking to someone is public record, so you could do some interviews and not have to make a big public announcement. 

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  9. 45 minutes ago, Hate said:

    Jesus Christ. Of course the Gen Z’ers don’t have much hope. They have to listen to all of the goddamn ledge sitters like the ones on Surly. There has never been a better age to be alive than the one in which we currently live. Stop being a bunch of fucking Debbie downers and enjoy it.

    This 1000%. Our idea of "have nots" is hilarious not only compared to the rest of the world but compared to history. The poorest Americans are still global 1%ers. But you're right, we're addicted to whining because we do not have any real, existential threats. That does not mean there will not be some sort of economic collapse if we keep blowing out our deficits and other terrible governmental policies. I do not see a collapse as much as there could be some self-induced fundamental shifts that continues us on the road to Idiocracy, where half the population gets a UBI check and watches Instagram and plays video games all day. I do not think a revolution is really possible - the gap between the U.S. military's capabilities and a revolutionary force is just too great. That doesn't mean we don't ultimately lose a war to China someday.

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  10. On 12/10/2021 at 3:46 PM, scottsins said:

    I must have lupus or something?

    Strange personal anecdote from a good friend. His wife has lupus so cannot get vaccinated. He and his two kids had post-vaccination Covid-19. She is the only one in the family that never caught it despite being severely immunocompromised. As part of her lupus treatment, for years she has been taking

    <trigger warning>

    Spoiler

    hydroxychloroquine.

     

  11. 7 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

    I'd be curious about a theoretical explanation of how two doses could confer little protection and yet a third dose could confer a fairly high degree of protection. I know dose response is a thing, but that seems a little too much all or nothing. I assume it is partly because we have limited data. But assuming the observations are somewhat real, what is the best explanation for the results? 

    I had the same question - seems counter-intuitive to keep taking the same thing over and over again unless there is something particular about the mRNA technology. I can't think of another vaccine where multiple regimen's / year are required. Part of it might be frankly that SCIENCE'S answer always has been:
     

    Spoiler

    915444702_morecowbell.jpeg.364edc1c0502942dde64299236496aec.jpeg

     

  12. 5 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    We still can’t decide if eggs are good for us

    Although the dairy council has been remarkably consistent on this issue over the decades. 

    That's a perfect analogy. 

    We still can’t decide if natural immunity is good for us

    Although Big Pharma has been remarkably consistent on this issue over the decades. 

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  13. That's exactly my frustration. We seem to be one of the few countries that can't seem to align on a POV about natural immunity. Some say it's exponentially better than unnatural and some act like it's not a thing. SCIENCE seems to be running the same playbook that made him enemy #1 among the HIV/AIDS community in the 80s.

  14. 4 minutes ago, Bevo said:

    What is it that you want to know?

     

    If I have natural immunity do I still need a COVID vaccine?

    Yes, the COVID-19 vaccines are recommended, even if you had COVID-19. At present, evidence from Johns Hopkins Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports getting a COVID-19 vaccine as the best protection against getting COVID-19, whether you have already had the virus or not.

    Here are recent research studies that support getting vaccinated even if you have already had COVID-19:

    Vaccines add protection.

    • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on Oct. 29, 2021, that says getting vaccinated for the coronavirus when you’ve already had COVID-19 significantly enhances your immune protection and further reduces your risk of reinfection.
    • A study published in August 2021 indicates that if you had COVID-19 before and are not vaccinated, your risk of getting re-infected is more than two times higher than for those who got vaccinated after having COVID-19.
    • Another study published on Nov. 5, 2021, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at adults hospitalized for COVID-like sickness between January and September 2021. This study found that the chances of these adults testing positive for COVID-19 were 5.49 times higher in unvaccinated people who had COVID-19 in the past than they were for those who had been vaccinated for COVID and had not had an infection before.
    • A study from the CDC in September 2021 showed that roughly one-third of those with COVID-19 cases in the study had no apparent natural immunity.

    Immunity varies for individuals: Immune response can differ in people who get COVID-19 and recover from the illness. The FDA-authorized and approved vaccines have been given to almost 200 million people in the U.S. alone, and have strong data supporting their effectiveness.

    Delta variant and future coronavirus variants: Hospitalizations of people with severe COVID-19 soared over the late summer and into fall as the delta variant moved across the country. People infected with earlier versions of the coronavirus and who haven’t been vaccinated might be more vulnerable to new mutations of the coronavirus such as those found in the delta variant. To date, the authorized vaccines provide protection from serious disease or death due to all currently circulating coronavirus variants.

    Should I hold off getting a COVID vaccine to see if there is new research on natural immunity?

    Holding off on getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is not a good idea. Here’s why:

    1. Getting COVID-19 is very risky and can result in long-term disease, lasting organ damage, hospitalization or even death.
    2. Even if your own infection is mild, you can spread it to others who may have severe illness and death.
    3. The authorized and approved vaccines are safe and highly effective against severe illness or death due to COVID.
    4. Risks of COVID-19 vaccine side effects are extremely low.

    For the reasons above, the CDC recommends and Johns Hopkins Medicine agrees that all eligible people get vaccinated with any of the three FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccines, including those who have already had COVID-19.

    Johns Hopkins Research on Natural Immunity for COVID-19 and COVID Vaccines

    Johns Hopkins has conducted a large study on natural immunity that shows antibody levels against COVID-19 coronavirus stay higher for a longer time in people who were infected by the virus and then were fully vaccinated with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines compared with those who only got immunized. (The results of the study were published in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association on Nov. 1, 2021.)

    The data show that one month after they got their second shot, participants who had had COVID-19 more than 90 days before their first shot had adjusted antibody levels higher than those who had been exposed to the coronavirus more recently than 90 days. Three months after the second coronavirus vaccine, the antibody levels were even higher: 13% higher than those who were exposed to the virus less than or equal to the 90-day mark.

    These study results suggest that natural immunity may increase the protection of the shots when there is a longer time period between having COVID-19 and getting vaccinated.

    If you re-read the quotation I thought it was pretty clear.

  15. I wish we had a clearer picture on natural immunity. Like everything with SARS-CoV-2, it seems like the studies and "experts" say polar opposite things. I realize scientific examination is not always clean, but this feels like something that we should  have a pretty clear and aligned POV at least directionally.

  16. Re-listening to some of his post-hoax interviews is just hysterical. I hope he spends some time in prison because he really caused some serious harm: he not only fanned the flames of fake racism and also de-legitimatizes genuine incidents. Again, the problem really lies in the fact that the privileged and powerful swallowed such stupidity with zero critical evaluation.

    For those interested, Bari Weiss has a great episode on this case today both in the national context as well as his psychology and why he may have been driven to perform the hoax.

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  17. 10 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

    Simple. It was a big story when it “happened.”  As in the most famous people in the world drawing attention to it. That’s when I learned who the guy was  

    Only natural that it would still be a big story once the truth came out. 

    I imagine if it was a minor story when it “happened”, it would’ve faded away even when the truth came out. 

    Exactly. The problem is morons with megaphones give voice and sympathy to this kind of crap without doing the most basic evaluation of whether there might be any veracity to the claim. This unquestionably was the stupidest among a lot of stupid fake hate crimes ... a healthy national conversation requires our informational gatekeepers to do even the most basic of evaluation before running with a story and giving idiots like this a platform to espouse Idiocracy.

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