dpberr

Drs. Fauci and Collins are faces of U.S. virology academia but there are thousands of scientists with a vested interest in keeping their virology research and the hundreds of millions of dollars funding it, out of the public spotlight. You're talking about universities, third party organizations, corporations. For a guy like Fauci, he's a true believer - he thinks the research is progress and he has every interest in keeping it going. He also controls a lot of the grant money so you're not going to have widespread questioning from his peers. I think there is an ugly truth - that SARS and SARS II were both the result of lab accidents, and there have been several close calls that were kept quiet by the very same people the public treats like prophets of truth and honesty. Is it really that much of a stretch that this is the result of human error? Nobody has yet to show either bug is from nature or that nature can replicate it on its own. It is no coincidence that the COVID bug was mapped so quickly and pharmaceutical companies just happened to have half built vaccine tech lying around for it. It's because it's *all* active research.

The CDC hasn't been the gold standard of anything for decades because it's filled with hall wallking academia and professional bureaucrats from academia. Even Robert Redfield, who retired from the Army as a colonel, spent the last 20 years writing papers and being in management. Walensky has a lot of titles, but she, too, has spent most of her time managing. That's why the CDC has nonsense guidance - bureaucrats are part weather vane, part political animal, all self preservationist.

He'll never do it but he needs the Fed to raise interest rates right now or else. Going to be deeply unpopular, but that's the fix, along with sending out the notice that stimulus is over and there are no more paychecks coming. Biden is sliding into that Nixon/Carter inflation quicksand and the longer he ignores it or assumes it's temporary, the certainty grows that you'll need a Paul Volcker-style intervention to fix it, and absolutely nobody wants that.

I think that's going to be his high water mark. He's no more competent than Trump was. While Trump's incompetency resulted from the endless chaos and hubris, Biden's comes from inaction and fear of making a mistake. I don't think this administration realizes the danger of the inflation, the shortages of nearly everything and the shortage of people in the workforce. There's also the border which hasn't improved and the violence in Israel and Afghanistan. I thought Biden would do ok so long as nothing major happened, and he didn't go out and start anything. If you're expecting decisive, shrewd action, don't hold your breath. His still wearing a mask like it's a safety blanket tells you a lot about the personality in charge.

Nothing a couple trainers, a little HGH and a couple workouts a day can't fix right quick. I can't imagine how hard and expensive it is to keep a truly top notch body. The Rock seems to work out literally every hour of the day. I can't imagine the work Stallone puts in to keep elderly age at bay. I figure he's hitting the HGH hard too, but at his age, it is nearly impossible to put muscle on the body.

Kenny Mayne was the bizarre uncle of those early ESPN hosts. When I hear his name anywhere, all I hear is his famous meats and cheeses line which always made me laugh.

IMO these are the moves you make when you are interested in selling the team, and making it look as financially healthy as possible on the balance sheet. You jettison as many long term contracts as you can. Trading Watson, which I feel will happen before the new season, is part of that strategy. Janice McNair is 85 years old.

I wouldn't use the words "truth" and "Cheney" in the same sentence.

I thought the 2008 Bills were legitimately AFC title contenders. Runner up: thought Steve Spurrier was going to be a great NFL coach.

You know the world is upside down when a Cheney is being portrayed as a sympathetic figure in the media.

I'm still waiting for COVID-19 to be found in nature. Science seems to have quick answers and retort for everything but that one sticky detail.

This draft won't be Brandon Beane's best draft work he will ever do. It was ok. I think this was one of the weaker overall drafts in the last couple years. Lots of good players but no generational talent like those early 90s drafts where you had zero hall of famers out of them.

Urban Meyer will do a year and then retire. When the going gets tough, Meyer gets going....in the direction of the exit. Softer than a brownie.

I really don't like this selection. It's probably my least liked selection of the Brandon Beane era. Rousseau is a one hit wonder who got the majority of his sacks lined up over center, not the edge. Didn't play last year, came back heavier in 2021. I prefer a track record of consistent production or consistent improvement in production. He's a great athlete but so is every other player in the NFL.

The vaccine isn't as effective out in the wilderness of the unhealthy American body. When you read through the pages of people Pfizer and Moderna excluded from the testing, you come to the conclusion that yes, the vaccine works great in a relatively healthy body that doesn't have a lot of problems. it's augmenting an already capable immune defense. Problem is America as a whole, is exceptionally unhealthy. I don't think its efficacy is anywhere as high in the morbidly obese, those with cancers, those with diabetes, those with chronic inflammation, or those extremely vitamin deficient and that covers a large swath of America. It's not a miracle drug.

Terrible choice. This was the pick I hope they'd avoid.

I've often wondered if Rudy was ethically challenged as Mayor of NYC or his thirst for money got the best of him afterwards. He often reminds me of the Frank Skeffington character in the Last Hurrah.

I had to laugh when "fully vaxed" President Biden walked to the podium on this gorgeous day with the mask on...and nobody around him.

Are you going to attempt to correlate the situation in India with the United States? India is one of the most Vitamin D deficient populations in the world, largely due to malnutrition. Studies suggest 90% of the population is deficient to severely deficient. Add that to poor sanitation and you have millions of juicy hosts for viruses to feast upon. It's why viruses historically run roughshod over India. You're only hearing about it now because it advances a narrative, but India is routinely fighting viral, bacterial and fungal plagues of all kinds, especially in its cities.

I've been seeing more and more people not wearing masks at stores, regardless of the signs. The demographics have changed too. It used to be just white boomers. Now, you're mixing younger people and different races. I've also noticed some stores have quietly removed their signs about masks. Grocery stores and big box stores do not seem to care. Small businesses, it depends. There is a local bookstore who's owner is *still* stopping every customer at the door to squirt hand sanitizer on them.

The catch to that idea is the police officer may have to respond to an incident where lethal force is necessary in that first shot to defend themselves. For every teenager armed with a knife, there are domestic disputes with heavily armed individuals, drug dealers, active shooters, and otherwise violent felons that have zero compunction in killing a police officer. I think the Columbus incident is a justifiable use of lethal force. The woman was armed, was in the act of using that weapon on somebody, and did not stand down when the police arrived. The woman in the pink jumpsuit was seconds away from being murdered. This wasn't the George Floyd case by a country mile IMO.

There was a time when police officers carried considerably less lethal, less capacity firearms. Two "things" happened, largely in the 1980s: Police were more frequently outgunned by the criminals with the 1986 Miami Dade event being one of the more noteworthy events. Two, police were encountering more people high on drugs that could endure multiple shots from .38 caliber and even 9mm handguns and were still able to move and do what they wanted to do. You saw a big push in law enforcement circles to use 10mm for a while, many brought back .45 caliber handguns as service weapons, and 9mm handguns capable of firing higher grain rounds than your usual 115gr rounds. I think police need to carry firearms that posses the potential to end violent situations. For example, I'd want the police to have a lethal force option to take on an active shooter or a hostage situation. I think the issue is that the non-lethal gadgets they have aren't powerful enough and the cops don't trust them when it counts. Some people can take Taser and spray and they can keep doing what they are doing. The Columbus police officer could have used the Taser and the woman with the knife could have gotten a couple stabs off before she could be stopped.

I agree. This sort of thing is risky because you're asking the player to do X, Y and Z and also produce results that justify the 1st round selection. I'd understand if he was one of those players who did a little DE/LB throughout his college career ala Brian Urlacher (who often played FS and LB in games during his college career) but he wasn't from what I can tell.

IMO, the problems are the coaches when it comes to Oliver and Epenesa. Ed Oliver was a pass rushing DT in college. That's what he did well in college. He was a Top 10 pick because he consistently got into the backfield. The Bills disagree, obviously, and have insisted on making Oliver a jack of all trades DT. If Ed Oliver played in the old Jim Schwartz defense, he'd have double digit sacks annually. Epenesa never played a down as a linebacker in his high school or college career. I have no idea what the Bills want Epenesa to do with all that weight loss. He's for sure, no longer a lineman that's going to routinely beat tackles. I don't think Edmunds is bad at all. He may not have had enough experience to do the best job at being the playcaller on the defense last year.

Interesting question Irv. Like: Carolina. Warmer but not southern Floridian tropics. Owner with money to burn, younger coach, team has talent, and overall the franchise has been competitive throughout its history. Dislike: Packers. I think playing in the Aaron Rodgers cult isn't enjoyable, and getting tackled on concrete is even less fun. Most people outside Wisconsin can't name five Packers players besides Aaron Rodgers without googling it.