dpberr

Dan Quinn, especially if the Falcons get out of the gate slow (0-2). The Falcons are the quietest mess in the NFL.

In the mid-1970s, the US government was gripped with the terror of a dangerous flu outbreak that had the potential to do more damage than the 1968 outbreak that killed 100,000 Americans. The US government quickly developed an accelerated vaccine program and distributed said vaccine (which used a live virus) on a very aggressive timetable without a lot of rigorous testing. The US vaccinated 45 million people in less than a year. In 1976, this vaccine leads to 30 deaths from adverse reaction and nearly 500 Americans acquiring Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a paralyzing neurological disorder that offers no guarantee of full recovery. These folks and their families have no financial recourse as the United States government gave blanket immunity to the vaccine manufacturers. The government often settled for small amounts of money in consideration most of these people ended up with permanent nerve damage and disability. That expected flu pandemic never comes, of course. The AZ trial was halted due to that patient having transverse myelitis, and that was a good call. TM and GBS have something in common - both attack the sensitive covering (myelin) of the nerves in the body. Now, you might be tempted to write "well you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." It'd take less than 30 deaths for America to say "hell no" to the vaccine, and in the world of possibilities, that'd be a real disaster if a "safe" and effective vaccine was developed - and nobody took it out of fear of what it could do. That being said, the likelihood of an effective vaccine remains small, IMO. The modern day flu shot is really trivalent (three types of strains) and quadrivalent (four types of strains) wack-a mole potions that "may" protect against those strains in any given year.

Provided there's an effective vaccine, I see a lot of "life' reverting back to February 2020 "normal". Not necessarily because I want it to, but you'll find that there are a lot of forces that will push it that way. 1. One of the reasons I have this opinion is the reaction to the lock downs. When you tell someone they can't have something, they want it 100 times more than they did before. I think part of the problem with virus spikes is that the lock downs created a frenzy of pent up demand, and when the government let everyone out of their cages, people went crazy and flocked to the beach, flocked to restaurants, flocked to bars. Kids, who've spent nearly 180 days without seeing other kids, and are generally at their most stupid during the college years, made up for lost time with huge parties at college. If the crisis was managed at the outset, versus an attempt to choke it off or flat out ignore it, where businesses and travel stayed open but rigorous mask wearing was required among other precautions, people wouldn't have had that deep sense of "missing out." The federal and state governments get artistic style points for botching the COVID response. That's what you get when you've got crap leadership everywhere. I think everyone sucked. Trump. Governors. 2. The economy was and is disturbingly fragile. So many businesses, industries, pension funds, landlords, rich people with influence, and cities have discovered (or soon will discover) they desperately rely on people going somewhere to work to make money. I think you'll see a significant push from the real estate industry and local government to get people back into office buildings, patronizing downtown restaurants and businesses, etc. NYC is a dead city without Manhattan brimming with people. Your local restaurant desperately needs a full dining room to make a profit. Your pension funds that invest in real estate companies that own Class A office space need those buildings with leases that pay money. 3. People are going to find out working from home is difficult, especially if it's permanent. Even under the best of circumstances, you're isolated, held hostage by your internet connection. You're even more isolated if others are back at work with face to face contact. Out of sight, out of mind. While during spring/summer/fall, working from home allows for taking breaks outside to enjoy the weather, how about in the middle of winter? 4. The government wants you all to drive. A lot. Money that funds transportation projects at the federal level and at nearly every state level relies on a gas tax. 5. Schools and teachers unions want kids in school. The only way you keep everyone employed is to have them actively working in the building. Teachers unions fighting in-person instruction win a battle just to lose a war. Once people are laid off, especially in the public sector, those positions are rarely filled ever again. 6. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Divorces are skyrocketing in the months of this pandemic because people figured out that living with each other and the kids 24/7 is a nightmare, and the time away at work was a positive influence on the relationship. 7. People enjoy being unhealthy. COVID should strike the fear into every smoker, drinker and overweight person. Have you seen a lot of people who got healthier in the last couple months? I don't. I think people will continue to eat out a lot, booze a lot, and smoke a lot. I could go on. I think three years removed from vaccine day you might see that the only thing that might "stick" is mask wearing during flu season.

Joe Biden's campaign operates in a 100% leave nothing to chance controlled environment and I think it's a big mistake. I think it's easier for Biden to make a speech with a lot of rest and rehearsal, two things you don't get as President. Similar to HRC in 2016, she was at her best on the days she'd campaign after a few days off. As the campaign turned into the sprint in October, she was shot. I'm sorry Democrats, the doing speeches from nearly empty rooms in Delaware, where you can control who's in the room, isn't going to get this job done. He needs to get out and talk to people and take on the unfriendly press too. It's part of the job.

The NFL and the season seem distant because all the mile markers for the season start were removed this year.

I'll wildly speculate that if you made a map of the Portland and Kenosha arrests, it'd blow people's minds how far people from both sides are traveling to get in on the "action." Who wants to burn their own town down? It's like being rich - you only stay rich by spending other people's money. Same for protesting and rioting - always burn down someone else's town and then retreat to your quiet hometown for a good night's sleep. It wouldn't surprise me if many of your protesters/defenders spend a couple hours mixing it up and then retreat to a nearby hotel.

I'd frame this question in the what if: What's President Hilary R. Clinton been up to for four years? What would America look like if she had won in 2016 and became President? I think President Clinton has America engaged in a hot war in Syria and Iran, with heavy 2005-era insurgency action in Iraq and Afghanistan. America's military is weary, and the American public is divisively split on the conflict. Yes Trump's America is a complete mess but HRC's America is just as messy. Where Trump is a narcissist, Clinton's hubris is right on that level. We should get around to fielding better candidates sometime.

My thoughts: I second the siding noise theory. You sure it's aluminum siding? Vinyl siding that's been attached too tight will make a lot of noise with temperature differences. A new theory to add to the discussion: Since your house was built in late 70s, pre-heavy use of polyiso rigid foam board insulation, most houses were not insulated at all. Did you or the previous home owner drill and fill the walls with insulation? If so, what could be occurring is some crazy air pressure fluctuations in the house. When a house is sealed up like that, you can go overboard with the insulation and what you're hearing is the drywall flexing up and down on the nails it's attached to because the walls are a little weak to handle the pressure. They weren't built with it in mind. Does it happen to lessen in the winter? The only way you really know if you've got that is to buy a relatively cheap endoscope camera (from Amazon) that uses WIFI to your phone. Drill a small hole in a loud wall and take a peak and see what's inside.

In Pennsylvania the health secretary removed her mother from the nursing home she was staying in the early days of the pandemic. And then signed the directive to admit COVID-positive elderly into nursing homes, where it went wildfire in hours, not days in some homes. Pennsylvania has a lot of nursing homes. The irony is that each of these states had elaborate "field hospitals" constructed that no one used, that could have been used for cases such as these.

Did he keep this a secret? I never saw a thing that he was seriously ill.

I doubt a jury will convict him of murder or frankly anything. The people who were shot were not innocent bystanders. He was about ten seconds from being severely beaten by an unknown number of assailants and the video shows one of the people chasing him was also armed with a handgun. No one is going to sit there on the street and get beaten to death. Should a 17 year old kid be out patrolling in a riot alone without adult supervision? No. If anyone should be brought up on charges, it's those two people.

Millionaires walking off the job? Please tell me more...

People who roleplay looting revolutionary should read the costume package fully before purchase. If you assault people with rifles, you might get shot by those people. It amuses me that some are outraged at how unsafe the looting is and the cops should do something about that.

Those rioting in Kenosha are emboldened by the lack of offense by the police, mixed with naivete and an unawareness of their surroundings mixed in for deadly measure. The looters don't expect violence besides the violence they commit, which is in some ways, ironic, because when one of them gets shot or hurt, they are calling the police. The police have provided a "safe" environment for looting. A little tear gas sure, but the looters know the boundaries and where to push them in these cities with law enforcement. This is why the looters chased after an armed man, with the intention of putting a beating on him. They really didn't think he'd actually shoot them. The vacuum created by a lack of decisive leadership is being filled by looters and people who refuse to be looted.

Yes, they are bringing back Michael Keaton's version and Ben Affleck's version for the Flash movie. That one sounds interesting.

I was somewhat surprised by four things from last night They rolled out a lot of very wealthy people. Millionaires row from start to finish. The number of canned speeches. Are Democrats still in a lockdown somewhere? The majority of Americans have either decided to or must get our there and get on with life as best they can. Michelle Obama's speech. I expected her not to mention Trump at all, with a speech that'd be more uplifting. The fall of John Kasich. A man without a political country.

I think the backup QB position is quite solid. You have one that knows the playbook cold, and you have two backup QBs with high football IQs. I think Matt Barkley would perform fine. I think Kurt Warner gave fans an unrealistic perception of what a backup QB is. Backup quarterbacks are the first aid kit. They are not a replacement for the operating room. If the Bills had two blue chip prospects at QB, we'd have the 21st Century version of DF/RJ every single week. One has a bad game, bench him! The other has a bad game, now bench him!

Has President Trump achieved positive things for the good of the country? Yes. Probably more than most citizens think he has because it gets lost in the daily Trump churn. The wheels fell off though with the virus response, IMO. Before you ask me if I think Joe Biden would have done any better, no I don't think that in the slightest. I think America is choosing between two ineffective leaders in moments of crisis. One is weirdly indifferent, the other hides.

Voted for Trump in 2016 largely as an anti-Clinton vote. I'd punt on the presidential vote at the moment. It's 2020 and both of the choices are terrible. I'm disappointed that Trump never cared to evolve into the position and he folded in a crisis when one found him. The Democrats had four years to find a candidate, build a superior platform, and the best they've got is Joe Biden running out the election clock in a basement. It's all quite sad.

Did anyone else read the thread title in Nicolas Cage voice?

This magnifies the problem with a President Joe Biden. He will persistently paint himself into a corner. This VP charade is nothing new. Even the truest Democrat has to be sweating this VP choice a little. Whitmer and Harris are as likeable as HRC, Karen Bass appears to like communists, and Susan Rice, while the best choice out of the bunch, is eyeballs deep in Libya and other Obama-era shenanigans, is not an experienced politician, and while I've got no problem with it, absurdly wealthy. A Whitmer choice is John McCain's Palin choice. It has great optics until she'd need to campaign. Just like America doesn't like Presidents with facial hair anymore, I can't see America getting behind a VP or possible President named Tammy. Sorry Senator Duckworth.

I'd agree the NRA is a corrupt organization and it starts with Wayne. I think Wayne has been gorging himself on NRA dues for years. I'd agree the NY Attorney General probably has a million better cases to prosecute than this one, and since this case is politically motivated, it's probably poorly thought out, with flimsy evidence. It'll do absolutely nothing but make the NRA look like a martyr. I'd agree that the NRA has absolutely nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. They drape themselves in it but they aren't the last castle of defense for it. The NRA stopped representing the views of the majority of gun owners in America quite some time ago, probably in the 80s.

There are many excellent hosts on this list. I chose Marc Summers because Double Dare was a transcendent game show. Before Double Dare, there were no game shows involving children as contestants. It ushered in an entirely new genre of television entertainment, and Summers was the face of it during it's best days. When you ask anyone about Double Dare, 9 out of 10 people will say Marc Summers. There will be one that will mention the giant nose with the flags up the nostrils.

A vote for Marc Summers who hosted Double Dare.

No elected official in the United States has done an amazing job with COVID19. Each and every one one of them has been incompetent, as if it was a competition. They have managed to screw it up with flair from a President who made a decision just to stop dealing with it to the governors who killed whole economies overreacting to it, listening to advice from health "experts" who are everything but trained in pandemic response and infectious disease. In PA, our governor takes advice from a pediatrician. The biggest political story of 2020 isn't Republican or Democrat. it's legitimately how incompetent we all are, from the voters all the way up. We hire all these idiots and we spend all day defending why we do.