dpberr

You're about to be stunned....for about a decade, Europe has been trying to make the severity of its flu season less by fortifying its food supply with Vitamin D. Some countries have really gotten to it, others haven't. I think there's a lot of data points flying around out in the air about a person's Vitamin D levels and how it correlates to COVID severity. Why nobody is trying to really understand that relationship beats me, It'd seem like a simple way for people to keep themselves from not getting sick.

I'm sure I've beaten this to death but Sweden likely has Europe's longest and most complete mandatory Vitamin D food fortification program in Europe, and has for a decade. It's in everything - milk, oils, butters, sundries. The population's risk of deficiency and extreme deficiency is likely substantially lower than say...the UK that's getting broadsided with cases.

Trump and Biden are mostly the same kind of President and personality IMO. Use the same sorts of tactics. I think both are divisive, bitter personalities at their core, and they have a hard time keeping it controlled. I don't think the Biden Presidency feels all that different from the Trump Presidency. It's just as chaotic and partisan, with the administration filled with partisan hacks who are way out beyond their skis. You've got a lot of nothing getting done. Clinton, Bush and Obama are in a different class, different generation. I don't see those guys being anywhere nearly as divisive. I don't think the us vs. them rhetoric would be at the fever pitch it's been for the last couple years. Not saying they were great Presidents, but I think if this pandemic hit during their respective eras, the approach would be entirely different.

Concur. The actors and actresses today don't "buy in" to their characters like the "old timers" did because they they all want to be the Rock and Cena with dreams of mainstream movies and appeal. Can't get too weird, too crazy. I really blame Hulk Hogan for that. Remember in the 90s when UPN essentially took Weird Al's UHF and made it a reality and started pumping out random shows? I think they hit it big with Star Trek TNG, but Hulk Hogan had a dumb show on there where he literally rode around in an invisible speedboat. Hahaha.

*Failed .gov roll out of 1976 swine flu vaccine for those around when it happened. Today's rollout more or less is the 1976 program if it continued. *Botched MMR vaccine in the 1980s which led to Reagan giving vaccine manufacturers blanket indemnification. *All of those required school immunizations have decades of safety data and are covered by the VICP program. Covax has months of safety data and is not covered by VICP. Third bullet is the big one for me - if the government is so certain these vaccines are so safe, all of them should be moved into the VICP immediately so that those injured by them can petition for damages. There should be no mandate unless the vaccines are treated like any other vaccine - they are treated as workplace injuries per OSHA if you mandate them, and if you personally are injured by them, you can file a claim through VICP.

Prior to 2021, few. There was an anthrax vaccine under EUA in 2001 that .gov tried mandating DoD, but employees were successful in defeating it. That case is very likely why DoD hasn't mandated covax yet. The precedent remains.

I was thinking about NYC's vax cards yesterday. Could you imagine how many restaurants wouldn't be able to open if you flipped this around and every employee who touched a plate or the food had to be vaccinated or test negative for flu, herpes, COVID, etc. Can we make sure the short order cook doesn't have a stomach virus each week, ok? I agree with your post though - this is where this mandate business is going. Covax is the low hanging fruit for these folks. Who they really want are the obese, the smokers, the HIV+, the diabetics, the alcoholics,...the ones that cost employers and by extension, health insurance companies, the $$$. After covax, the next will be the obese won't be able to buy soda. No more cigs for you if you have cancer. If you have herpes or HIV, best of luck getting that kitchen job. Mandates come for everyone.

Urban Meyer will resign as head coach of the Jaguars before the season ends.

I'll add another: Men's suits *and* a man's desire to wear them correctly. I have lots of suits of different materials. You can feel and see the quality in the older ones, whether they are full wool, seersucker cotton, blends. I always purchased off the rack and then had them tailored. Back in the day, you could get a well made suit off the rack from a variety of places you could dry clean many times and stores often carried a variety of styles and sizes. Stores often had people who *knew* what they were talking about when it comes to suits. Today, off the rack suit quality is quite poor but you're paying back in the day price. If you find a suit that's 70% wool, you're in luck. A suit under $200 may last 2 dry cleanings. If you spill something on it, you're probably SOL. On my second point, if men wear suits at all ,they often skip the often necessary step of having them tailored to their bodies which makes for an unflattering appearance. It's ok to be skinny or have a belly. Bodies aren't ideal. Just make sure what you wear accentuates your appearance, not detract from it.

Major props to the OP for researching the stadiums. I appreciate the effort because I was curious about that exact question!

There's a lot of wannabe noise out of Austin. There's a lot of new money there and the want you to see them. It has zero to do with the Bills specifically. Just a fever dream for those tech bros down there. When the Spurs recently changed minority ownership, the same phenomenon occurred, sudden talk about the Spurs relocating to Austin. It's a nothing burger.

Hollywood movies. If you prohibited sequels and superheroes, Hollywood would stare blankly out the window for a year.

I know it's not true but I feel he's been in the league since the 90s.

They are overreaching with this mandate rhetoric. They are ratcheting that pendelum so far in one direction that the snap back in the other direction is going to be white hot. Biden is just as divisive as Trump was, pitting Americans vs. Americans. Times feel no different to me.

Here in PA, I feel Governor Wolf learned something, and that's a credit to him. He stated today that there'd be no new state mask mandate, and no new state mask mandate for schools in the fall. I want to think he's come around to a bit more nuanced approach out of common sense, but I suspect the vote to curtail the governor's emergency powers did it. Since voters did that in May, he's been a different governor as it pertains to the pandemic. All of the restaurant lawsuits from the winter dropped, the mask mandate ended early.

Less than 5 for sure. They'll see what Love has of course, but ultimately, if the season is imploding, they will keep it imploding to get the #1 or a Top 5 pick. They'll do trades at the deadline to clear cap if they can. They either take the best QB or trade out and get a load of picks to retool and come back for 2022. You can't brush off your generational HOF QB spontaneously retiring, so why pretend?

With nearly 40 months until the election, I doubt Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis will be the GOP nominee. These early runners never are. Trump: The country won't have an appetite for an elderly candidate. I expect President Biden's health to become an event for the history books, unfortunately, and that'll shift American attitudes, including Republicans, on the age of their candidates. I think he's worn out his welcome for everyone but the media who keeps him around because he triggers people so easily and it's easy views and clicks. 2016 will be eight years ago at that point. DeSantis: I don't expect COVID to be a relevant issue by 2024 and nobody cares about Cuba but people in Florida. DeSantis will likely be the Trump wing of the GOP candidate, but besides just saying no to liberal agendas and stupid COVID policies, is he advancing Florida in any particularly noteworthy manner? If the GOP is facing Kamala Harris in 2024, they absolutely have to love that dream match-up. If there's a Mt. Rushmore of unlikable politicians, you'd have HRC, Trump and perhaps her on a list of contenders to chisel into the mountainside.

Team USA is super soft. They don't bang inside, and they are looking for calls the NBA refs will give but the Olympic refs don't care. It has no enforcers in the mold of an Oakley, Mahorn or Mason. You need those guys when you're playing these Euroball teams. US Basketball won't medal this year. That sucks because Im a Spurs fan and all the blame will fall on Pop.

A new obsession There's something Lurking in the back of my mind... And lately I feel it sliding into the light...... I just need something To get me through the night, oh A new obsession Something to hold in my sights (Something to behold in my sights) I just need something To get me through the night, oh A new obsession Something to hold in my sights (Something to behold in my sights) Sometimes I feel it comin' on at the wheel Distraction Is the only thing keeping me sealed from breaking

The irony is that the vaccinated diabetic sedentary person with a BMI of 35 is now "healthier" than an unvaccinated person who is not diabetic, not morbidly obese who exercises regularly. Btw...the governor of Alabama...elderly and morbidly obese, vaccinated or not. She's got two strikes against her regardless how many vaccines she takes.

Keep in mind that CHOP is what I'd call a member of the virology academia "deep state" in the United States that benefits handsomely from annual research dollars. That hospital gets millions in vaccine and virology funding from .gov and your friendly vaccine makers like Pfizer. It pays a lot of bills. If CHOP ever says a vaccine shouldn't be pumped into a child, that'll be the day. The Philadelphia Inquirer has been running their doom pieces about how parents are sentencing their teenagers to death if they don't get them both the COVID and HPV vaccines.

I hate to say it...but he'll give you a great month of games before that injury gets dinged again. He has degenerative tears of the rotator cuff, probably genetic, probably exacerbated by the nature of being a defensive tackle. Absolutely repairable but results in a pair of fragile shoulders.

It's not going to matter. Too many star names haven't and won't get it. Teams are and will continue to fake numbers. If you think MLB teams are being honest about numbers, they aren't. All those people in the building get paid to win NFL games in the NOW, and come September all this safety theater becomes background.

It's your slippery slope you proposed. I'm just rolling with your idea that we shouldn't stop on the irresponsible persons tour at just an unvaccinated individual. It's too simplistic. Obesity and diabetes are perhaps the top two major comorbidities for Covid infection, also arguably at pandemic levels in the US. I'd expect a similar aggressive campaign to get people slimmed down for their safety and the safety of others. There should be mandatory food restrictions and mandatory levels of exercise for anyone with a BMI over 30. If you try to buy soda at the store, you'll need your FitBit to show the cashier you are under that 30. The FitBits are free, provided by your state government. There is no excuse to not wear one. There should be mandated weight loss medication taken, as it is widely available, safe, effective. Do your part. Of course that's deliberate sarcasm on my part. It's your body. I can't and shouldn't be able to demand you do anything to your body.

Are people like smokers, the obese, and those with herpes/STDs next on your irresponsible list? I'd argue a smoker who got vaccinated but hasn't stopped smoking and similarly, an obese vaccinated person who's made no effort to lose weight, are just as irresponsible according to your concept. They've done nothing to reduce their comorbidities of catching covid other than taking a shot and hoping they've got enough antibodies if necessary.