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In regard to points 1 through 3, the US government does not have a history of confiscating valuable property from law abiding citizens. Any government which attempted to vacuum up yachts and Lear Jets would be a communist government. Any politician attempting to do such things here in the US would be voted out , and they'd have to go into some sort of government protection program so as not to be hunted down by an enraged mob.
Any government that bans free speech, tries to take their right to bear arms and look into anyone making $600 transactions at the bank, forces you to get an injection against your will punishes you for owning a gas powered vehicle is pretty close to being a communist government already.
Any government that bans free speech, tries to take their right to bear arms and look into anyone making $600 transactions at the bank, forces you to get an injection against your will punishes you for owning a gas powered vehicle is pretty close to being a communist government already.
Yet what is the GOP offering us in exchange? A government which comes into power by ignoring the popular vote and taking advantage of the arcane rules imposed by the electoral college. A government which is doing its best to transition from a democracy to a single party autocracy by telling lies about voter fraud; limiting voter access to the polls, and giving us candidates who inform us in advance that should they be the losers in the upcoming midterms, they will not accept defeat. Worst of all, the GOP wants us to have a government that fosters the prosperity of the mega corporations engaged in the fossil fuel industry like Exxon, BP, Peabody Coal and all the rest. If the GOP gets its way, the government for, by, and of the people will be abandoned in favor of an authoritarian, one party government of the almighty dollar. When the GOP has solidified its power play, all scientists - especially climatologists will be labeled as traitors and the scientific community will be silenced through fears of the repercussions should they tell the truth concerning their findings.
Staunch conservatives claim to be terrified that some dark, ill defined entity is seeking control of every nation on the planet by telling fearful lies about climate change. I would submit that this entity is actually the Republican party itself with its myriad attempts to undermine the study of science combined with its attempts to undermine the public's faith in the integrity of almost all the members of the scientific community.
As Pogo famously observed, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
A government which comes into power by ignoring the popular vote and taking advantage of the arcane rules imposed by the electoral college.
Americans are promised a republican form not a democratic form of government, where a majority could legally persecute a minority - or tax the snot out of them.
The Founders abhorred democracy - which usually resulted in mobocracy and political partisanship.
And no, the executive is NOT to be democratically elected, nor partisan like England's Parliamentary Democracy. That's why the original Electoral college was instituted.
Locals voted for someone whose judgment they trusted (the Elector) to examine all the candidates and vote for 2.
Benefits:
+ No national campaigning
+ No bribes (ahem) campaign contributions
+ Anyone with a bus ticket to DC could appear before the E.C. and give his credentials for office (no need for personal wealth)
+ No partisan politicking
+ No partisanship in the White House (V.P. was the president's rival, usually)
Sadly, that worked too well - Geo. Washington detested his overly critical V.P., John Adams (twice elected VP), and thus the Electoral College was amended to vote for a team, and thus partisan parties gained control over the Executive.
The United States is both a democracy and a republic. The founding fathers incorporated elements of both in the constitution. As Thomas Jefferson wrote: "We may say with truth and meaning, that governments are more or less republican as they have more or less of the element of popular election and control in their composition."
At any rate, a discussion of republic vs democracy is off topic for this thread and should be placed in the P&OC forum.
If I was carrying a disease that could spread to you via tiny droplet particulates in my breath, you wouldn't appreciate me wearing a mask, which blocks my spit? They definitely do that, at least. The masks may not have done all that much, but I don't doubt they helped with the transmission situation some, in general.
Anyway, again, all the diabolical mass conspiracy nonsense is illogical. In both the sense that conspiracy theories in general are on true inspection, and also just in a basic analyzing of the facts at hand. Humans are doing our industrial activity every day for the last couple hundred years. We are burning fossil fuels, which have byproducts. It doesn't do nothing at all. It doesn't have no effect. That's not how the world works.
Like my argument that it's apprpriate to ignore the effect of co2 or relativity in most practical calculations, let's concede that burning fossil fuels puts non-co2 pollutants into the air...Then how do explain that the more fossil fuel we use thru the years, the higher the life expectancy grows?...Or that since the draconian EPA exhaust regs were put in place, the rates of COPD & asthma have skyrocketed? Those pollutants can't be very important compared to other factors.
We digress to start discussing CoV & masks, but CoV was spread mostly by the air-borne route (free virus in the air) as opposed to droplets (aerosol)...The smallest holes in a surgical mask are 80u wide. The virus particle is 0.1u in diameter....ie- the holes in a mask are a basketball hoop 800 ft wide and and the virus a basketball 1 ft wide. Even Stevey Wonder could get 'nuthin but net on every 3-pointer. Plenty of studies showed rhat masks provided ZERO advantage of contracting CoViD vs no mask.
Like my argument that it's apprpriate to ignore the effect of co2 or relativity in most practical calculations, let's concede that burning fossil fuels puts non-co2 pollutants into the air...Then how do explain that the more fossil fuel we use thru the years, the higher the life expectancy grows?...Or that since the draconian EPA exhaust regs were put in place, the rates of COPD & asthma have skyrocketed? Those pollutants can't be very important compared to other factors.
How do you say "Baa-a-a-hh?"
How on earth can you make such statements?
The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (among many others) finds that "particulate air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy, or a combined 17 billion life-years, relative to a world that met the WHO guideline (5 µg/m3). This impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism."
As for COPD and asthma, these conditions are not caused by air pollution. According to the Mayo Clinic, The main cause of COPD in developed countries is tobacco smoking. In the developing world, COPD often occurs in people exposed to fumes from burning fuel for cooking and heating in poorly ventilated homes.
You seem to be fond of just throwing misinformation out there, hoping you will be believed even though you have nothing to back up your words with.
How do you say "Du-uu-hh?"
Last edited by Colorado Rambler; 10-29-2022 at 11:37 AM..
Reason: to add link
The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (among many others) finds that "particulate air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy, or a combined 17 billion life-years, relative to a world that met the WHO guideline (5 µg/m3). This impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism."
As for COPD and asthma, these conditions are not caused by air pollution. According to the Mayo Clinic, The main cause of COPD in developed countries is tobacco smoking. In the developing world, COPD often occurs in people exposed to fumes from burning fuel for cooking and heating in poorly ventilated homes.
You seem to be fond of just throwing misinformation out there, hoping you will be believed even though you have nothing to back up your words with.
How do you say "Du-uu-hh?"
Hold the Mayo.
Having been a physician who reviewed the med lit on a daily basis for over 40 yrs, let me assure you that crap like that should never have been published. They wrote their conclusions first, then tried to find data to support it (much like the "climatology" papers). The studies were shoddily & lazily done, at best, with absolutely zero experimental evidence for support. They are correlation studies using data based on questionares and medical records notoriosuly inaccurate.
BTW-- COPD is a classic example of the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Read up on alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency as an example. While smoking is a risk factor for COPD, one has relative protection from or propensity for COPD depending on one's genotype. Non-smokers have a 6% incidence of COPD, while smokers "only" increase that risk to 18%...Even for lung cancer, their risk is only 10-15%-- another case of the interaction of genes with environment. ...Turn the numbers around-- 82% of smokers DO NOT develop COPD....But no problem = no research funding and no freedom killing regulations.
If you don't believe my numbers, look them up and show us they are wrong.
How do you say "clueless"? We already know that Republicans are opposed to any taxes save for the ones that support the military-industrial complex and its never ending quest for the best weapons of mass destruction in the entire world. Republicans will pay taxes in order to support the killing of every last person on the planet, but they will see you in hell before they pay so much as a plugged nickel to prevent the 6th Great Mass Extinction of almost every species on the planet, including Homo sapiens. Thank you for underlining the fact that the Republican party's sole interests are wealth and power and the people be damned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto
Hold the Mayo.
Having been a physician who reviewed the med lit on a daily basis for over 40 yrs, let me assure you that crap like that should never have been published. They wrote their conclusions first, then tried to find data to support it (much like the "climatology" papers). The studies were shoddily & lazily done, at best, with absolutely zero experimental evidence for support. They are correlation studies using data based on questionares and medical records notoriosuly inaccurate.
BTW-- COPD is a classic example of the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Read up on alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency as an example. While smoking is a risk factor for COPD, one has relative protection from or propensity for COPD depending on one's genotype. Non-smokers have a 6% incidence of COPD, while smokers "only" increase that risk to 18%...Even for lung cancer, their risk is only 10-15%-- another case of the interaction of genes with environment. ...Turn the numbers around-- 82% of smokers DO NOT develop COPD....But no problem = no research funding and no freedom killing regulations.
If you don't believe my numbers, look them up and show us they are wrong.
OK, just relax and have another cigarette. Now that you are feeling calmer, here is the last thing I'm going to look up for you. This information comes from Medlineplus, a service of the charlatans and liars at the National Library of Medicine. Since you are a doc who "reviewed the med lit on a daily basis for over 40 yrs," I assume you are familiar with the NLM? And you do know how to search medical publications using Medline? Or was medline after your time? At any rate, here is the information coming direct from the NLM to you:
What causes COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)?
The cause of COPD is usually long-term exposure to irritants that damage your lungs and airways. In the United States, cigarette smoke is the main cause. Pipe, cigar, and other types of tobacco smoke can also cause COPD, especially if you inhale them.
Exposure to other inhaled irritants can contribute to COPD. These include secondhand smoke, air pollution, and chemical fumes or dusts from the environment or workplace.
Rarely, a genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency can play a role in causing COPD.
Who is at risk for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)?
The risk factors for COPD include:
Smoking. This the main risk factor. Up to 75% of people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke.
Long-term exposure to other lung irritants, such as secondhand smoke, air pollution, and chemical fumes and dusts from the environment or workplace
Age. Most people who have COPD are at least 40 years old when their symptoms begin.
Genetics. This includes alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which is a genetic condition. Also, smokers who get COPD are more likely to get it if they have a family history of COPD.
Asthma. People who have asthma have more risk of developing COPD than people who don't have asthma. But most people with asthma will not get COPD.
Now, if you refuse to accept the findings generated by the National Library of Medicine and freely available on their Medline database, I can't help you. Your critique of the latest findings by medical researchers is about as valid as your critique of climate science - non existent.
How do you say "clueless"? We already know that Republicans are opposed to any taxes save for the ones that support the military-industrial complex and its never ending quest for the best weapons of mass destruction in the entire world. Republicans will pay taxes in order to support the killing of every last person on the planet, but they will see you in hell before they pay so much as a plugged nickel to prevent the 6th Great Mass Extinction of almost every species on the planet, including Homo sapiens. Thank you for underlining the fact that the Republican party's sole interests are wealth and power and the people be damned.
I am not a Republican; I have been a Democrat since 1975, when I turned 18; and
How do you know that your snake oil will accomplish anything? Do you care if small businesses are shuttered? Do you care that the attendees of the AGW confabs arrive on private jets?
You guys feel so great afflicting others with your restrictions and taxes, while you advocate virtue to the beat of Bon Jovi.
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