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Post by celawson on Mar 25, 2020 11:48:49 GMT -5
I know I didn't leave on the best of terms with some of you here, but in light of this pandemic, I just wanted to tell you ALL that I hope you stay safe and healthy during this crisis. Especially Cass who is in a tough location right now. Please do whatever you all can to social distance and practice germophobe hygiene. My family is OK so far, but my husband and I have to continue to see patients, and though we are not front line (yet), there's just no way of knowing which patient might be asymptomatically shedding the virus. So everyday, we come home and immediately drop our clothes into the washing machine, leave shoes outside, etc. My 17 yo daughter is with us, and I've been showing her how to manage things around the house if things go bad. Got all our paperwork/accounts including estate trust together in one place for them. My fear is that if both my husband and I end up sick/dead, my poor 17yo won't be able to go to any relatives home for at least the close contact quarantine period. She will be by herself managing a home and taking care of the dog. Older daughter is staying in Oregon in her apartment with her boyfriend whose family all live in the Netherlands. Boyfriend has an autoimmune condition, so even though they could come live with us (final semester is all online and campus closed), they are afraid to because of my and husband's work. I so wish we could hunker down and venture out only for occasional shopping. A couple of things for you all to consider: Yes the surgeon general keeps saying don't wear masks. I think the main reason is to save PPE, which is in terrible shortage, for health care workers. But please consider, in this time of boredom at home, making your own and wearing it when you go out to the store etc.. The thinking is that illness severity probably depends, at least in part, on the initial viral load you're exposed to. That's why we are thinking front line health care workers are getting pretty sick - they are exposed to the virus in higher concentration and for longer periods (as well as being stressed and exhausted). Masks are easy to make at home. There are plenty of DIY videos on YouTube. Cambridge University did a recent study looking at various materials in terms of blocking tiny particles (similar in size to the novel coronavirus), and found that dishtowels block 73% of particles, and cotton BLEND blocks 70%. To me, it's worth it. Just remember to wash the mask in soapy water after use and dry completely before wearing again. Here's the study: smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/ I'm not sure how this can hurt, and it might help.
Eat well, hydrate, and get rest! Please take care of yourselves. And pray for a vaccine.
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Post by celawson on Jul 6, 2019 14:07:21 GMT -5
Right. Ask some who have left TCG (and two of my RL friends who refused to join because of her), and you might get a different answer.
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Post by celawson on Jul 6, 2019 13:02:52 GMT -5
Well, I completely disagree with that, though I'm absolutely not surprised you side with Cass as you always have, regardless of how it has hurt your board participation and the interactions here.
A PM is a PM. The fact that you shared it with others in order to ridicule NT is just another indication that this board is unfortunately not an enlightened nor civil place to be (as Cass has reminded me on multiple occasions, so maybe that is by design). In any event, it is a waste of a great idea, to allow one toxic individual to wield so much power and be awful enough to chase away decent people from participating. And no, don't claim that I have thin skin, because I'm certainly not the only person who has felt that way and has left for periods of time because of it. You, as the boss here, are just encouraging her. And no, you're not always correct, either, but it is your board and of course you may run it as you wish. Unfortunately, that seems to be to TCG's participatory detriment.
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Post by celawson on Jul 6, 2019 11:44:06 GMT -5
Nighttimer wrote: Truer words have never been posted on this forum. Divulging a PM on a public board that wasn't even sent to that person? That's some pretty nasty crap. Every time I consider trying to post here again, stuff like this turns me away again. At least Cass should know that, although I held my nose and crossed my fingers when I voted for Trump in 2016, I will do so GLADLY in 2020 and that is almost entirely due to Cass. (Who, btw, has not only been nasty on this forum but has been wrong so many times I've lost count - about who would win the 2016 election, about how the economy would tank after Trump, about the end of the world coming if we place our embassy in Jerusalem, fear that Trump would "push the red button" (LOL), and don't forget the RUSSIA COLLUSION BS hoax. LOLOL. Oh, and of course the NON-EXISTENT BORDER CRISIS that "Trump manufactured". There are many more, however that's not my point of posting, just a fun aside. But disclosing a private message that wasn't even sent to her has to win the prize for nasty. And that's on who shared it AND who posted it. Really unfortunate.
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Post by celawson on Mar 26, 2019 10:23:47 GMT -5
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Post by celawson on Mar 23, 2019 18:49:58 GMT -5
As much as Cassandra is praising you for your "thoughtful" responses to my post, I'm not convinced they're all that. Here's what the Border Patrol Chief says about calls to abolish ICE: So I guess THAT's "what the hell ICE has to do with CBP". Quite a lot practically speaking. thehill.com/hilltv/rising/401228-border-patrol-chief-calls-to-abolish-ice-impact-the-morale-of-my-teamRegarding abortion: Since when have supposedly mainstream Democrats touted abortion on demand up to and including during labor and delivery? This is an entirely different scenario than the usual and much more extreme. Your other comments about the minimum wage and universal basic income being "touted" -- I'm not arguing no one over the years has suggested these. I'm saying these are formerly leftist policy ideas that are becoming mainstream issues in today's Democratic party. Bill Clinton didn't "tout" any of these things during his presidency. Obama didn't "tout" these things. He tried to make college more affordable, yes, but FREE college tuition for all? Heck no. Universal basic income? no Abolishing private medical insurance? no, Obamacare did not do that. Yet that's what multiple Dem candidates want to do now - single governmental payer. Whether or not you think this is a good idea, it's far left of what recent Democratic administrations wanted to implement.
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Post by celawson on Mar 23, 2019 12:31:07 GMT -5
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Post by celawson on Mar 23, 2019 1:45:41 GMT -5
NT, I agree with you -- I don't think Trump should be attacking McCain in that manner. It's not presidential, and it's not the way to treat a dead Patriot. NO argument there. And I agree with Jonah there, too. I do believe Trump has issues with the dossier (which one could very well argue is a stain on the Dems) and that is one reason he's directing vitriol at McCain now. But no, I do not agree with that behavior at all. prozyan, you're wrong. This is nowhere near a mainstream left position. It has no serious consideration and probably won't get much.Well, no. www.npr.org/2019/03/22/705627996/abolishing-the-electoral-college-would-be-more-complicated-than-it-may-seem3) The NGD has virtually no support outside a handful of leftists. Everyone knows it is basically a pipe dream and there is currently no push to make any facet of it law.Wrong again. 5 high profile Dem 2020 candidates who are current senators are backing the plan and you say it has no support? 4) court packing
Much like #1, this is nowhere near a mainstream left position. It is an idea floated around but is highly unlikely to get any traction.
How Court-Packing Went From a Fringe Idea to a Serious Democratic Proposal At least five presidential contenders have expressed openness to Supreme Court reform.www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/court-packing-2020/
I will just let the title and subtitle from a recent Mother Jones article speak for itself. 6) abolishing ice
A recurring theme here is you are taking extreme ideas and making it out like they have Democratic support. I think this comes from AOC and a tweet. Call me when there starts to be a push to make this reality.... Calling.....https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/02/politics/abolish-ice-democrats-list/index.html this article is from way back in July and it lists: senators: Elizabeth Warren Kristen Gillibrand Kamala Harris House members: Mark Procan Pramila Jayapal Earl Bleumenaur Jim McGovern Nydia Velasquez Adriano Espaillat Mayor Bill DeBlasio AOC Beto O Rourke also says he's open to it So now that we've got that straight, how about YOU call ME when you have evidence of ONE 2020 Dem contender talking seriously about the situation at the border, which is, in fact, a crisis. Instead they play games to thwart Trump, going against even what many of them said just a few years ago about illegal immigration, while 76 THOUSAND people get caught in one month trying to cross our border. Most of the rest are your opinions because you agree with the proposals/policy ideas. That's fine, of course. But that doesn't mean those ideas are not left of center. They are. And they wouldn't have been touted by a mainstream Democrat even a few years ago.
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Post by celawson on Mar 22, 2019 17:30:36 GMT -5
Of course you take it that I won't respond to reasonable arguments. Of course I will. But no, I'm not going to respond to insults. We all have our own coping mechanisms, and mine has now become don't respond to insulting posts that are personal. I will respond to cogent arguments within the constraints I will have with internet and time while in Europe. I see it's ok that YOU can have constraints while traveling, but not me. So yes, I think putting me on ignore is probably a good idea for both of us. So thank you.
I have mulled that over, and the only explanation I can come up with is that their better judgement and their perspective of the greater good and the macro good for our country is overshadowed by their Trump hatred and their need to be popular. And these days, especially on social media, it's very difficult to be popular when you support Trump.
I don't consider Kristol or Tom Nichols or Jennifer Rubin either wise or Republican anymore. They aren't objective enough. Jonah Goldberg is an example of someone who has been anti-Trump but who has a level head, is a great writer, and who gives Trump credit on occasion, when he deserves it. Of course, he criticizes him a ton, but I do read those criticisms and I take them to heart because he's wise. Those others I mentioned...not so much.
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Post by celawson on Mar 22, 2019 16:24:30 GMT -5
I can't believe I'm doing this, but holy hell, no one else is responding, so I will. Note - I will be in Italy for a while, so I don't plan on ruining my trip with insults from TCG. You're right - there's no contest. And the party that's extreme is the one that: 1) wants to abolish the electoral college 2) wants federally funded single payer health care while abolishing the insurance industry 3) wants to implement The Green New Deal and well, I can't think of any recent policy idea that is further left than that one, not to mention it will bankrupt the country and stomp on our freedoms. (oh, wait, I already said leftist sorry) 4)wants to pack the supreme court 5)cheers and lights up buildings for legislation allowing abortion on demand up to birth (when for years and currently, the majority of the country is against late term abortions unless the life of the mother is at stake - see multiple Gallup polls) 6) wants to abolish ICE and open our borders (note - 76 THOUSAND people tried to cross last MONTH, the most in 12 years, we can't even detain people due to everything is full to overflowing but hey no crisis.) 7) wants to give illegal aliens voting rights 8) wants to double the minimum wage 9) wants guaranteed universal basic income 10)wants to give free college tuition 11)wants government takeover of corporate boards 12)attacks and ridicules moderate and reasonable possible candidates like Howard Schultz because they aren't subscribing to leftist orthodoxy But, yeah, if you want to put the example of Devin Nunes suing a parody account on Twitter as an example of extremism on the right, go right ahead. Trump might be extreme in his behavior, or his narcissism, or his attraction to porn stars, but his policies are mainstream conservative (and thank God for that) unless they are to the left of conservative (i.e. his trade policies.) Here are a couple of articles that address the leftward lurch of Dems: www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/democratic-voters-move-leftward-range-issues/574834/www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/7/18165283/ocasio-cortez-aoc-60-minutes-democratic-partywww.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/symmetric-polarization/544059/
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Post by celawson on Mar 6, 2019 15:22:09 GMT -5
Mark, I'm seriously re-evaluating how much I will engage here about Trump.
As much as I've enjoyed interacting here over the past couple of years (I have looked forward to logging on most mornings with my coffee), and as much as I've learned from everyone here, and as much as I hoped and wished we could talk about everything here but still be respectful and civil and discuss the issues rather than the motives or morals or defects of the person posting, it's just not panned out that way very well (and even much worse recently). Which is unfortunate, because the purpose of Rob creating this site was to be able to engage with all sorts of opinions YET free of the tone and rancor and contempt and personal attacks which we tried to escape from other places. And I'm not happy at myself either, that I've let myself get defensive and post things out of anger. That's super sad to me, because I have always liked you and so many here. Your British gentlemanly way combined with your criminal justice system knowledge and experience is a great combination. Heck, Cassandra and I were friends in the past, and I LOVED talking to her outside of any forum. I SO enjoyed her sense of humor and wicked cleverness and talent. It hurt me that a developing friendship could turn so quickly just from a political discussion, and I'm very much thinking right now that it's just not worth what these sorts of discussions do to people. (Yet at the same time, I fiercely believe people CAN be successful at what we tried to do.)
Fortunately, NT and I have been able to be friends regardless, and I hope we always will be, but for some reason he can dish it out to me without snark and contempt for ME, regardless of the contempt he feels for Trump. And yes, he definitely dishes out the goods in his arguments. And yes he scores points. But he does it on the issues. I don't think he and I can ever resolve our very different world-views, but that's ok because he knows my views are a product of many things but not that I'm a bad person or an evil person with bad motives, or a contemptible human that deserves being ridiculed or accused of being bad things. And as he's said before, hell I would LOVE to sit and have a drink with him and talk about anything and everything. I hope we can someday.
But that's what I thought we could do here. And I kept coming back because I like smart and funny and engaging and interesting people who are good writers and who are very different from me, or who do very different things from what I do. I love interacting with people like that. That's what all of you here are. And I LOVE interacting with people about things other than sickness and tragedy, which I'm immersed in all day long at work. It's stressful a lot of the time, and I just can't come to a place on my free time and feel even more stressed and sad when I leave here than when I came. Or spend time and effort to respond to challenges here with real information and facts (from sources that are not right-wing) that support my perspective (like Trump and VA reform), and receive only ridicule in response.
So...long story short...I'm mulling some important things over right now.
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Post by celawson on Mar 6, 2019 11:42:31 GMT -5
This is a really interesting post, Don. I can't read the article or respond right now due to heading to work soon, but I would like to later after I've read it and mulled a little.
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Post by celawson on Mar 5, 2019 14:18:35 GMT -5
I've been a parent of softball and volleyball players (both girls played both), but volleyball is the one they pursued more seriously for college recruiting, including club travel ball and multi-year high school varsity. I have rarely seen parents be jerks to officials at club tournaments and qualifiers for nationals (these are huge with college coaches in attendance). It does happen on occasion, and the refs put a stop to it immediately. It happened recently at a Las Vegas college recruiting tournament where a parent yelled at a player performing score keeping duties. Real bully behavior from a parent to a teenager. He was told by the refs to leave the area of the court.
What I have seen far more frequently are parents who are really hard on their kids. This ranges from exaggerated head shaking at errors, to loud groans, to verbal smack downs. I feel for the kids.
One of the best coaches we had, a former beach pro and national team player, implored parents to speak only positives to their child on the way home from a game/tournament. I've tried to stick to that request throughout my years as an athlete's parent. My style is to be quietly supportive in the background, film her so she can make her own recruiting videos, and help teach how to be a good teammate and handle the stress of participating in a more serious level of sports. What I do consistently struggle with is finding a balance between a good well-rounded and relaxed family home life, and club sports. That is definitely the bigger challenge for us. We are trying.
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Post by celawson on Mar 5, 2019 10:52:19 GMT -5
Rob, if you could figure this out and do it, you could save lives and become a very rich man. I say go for it. Hurry, before someone else beats you to it. I would have thought the city had sirens or something. Our city has tsunami warning horns that blast pretty loud. They test them on a regular basis.
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Post by celawson on Mar 1, 2019 14:13:22 GMT -5
Yes, those types of things are EXACTLY why Trump was right to fund the VA to overhaul its inadequacies! Thanks for proving my point! Good for him!
I did med school rotations at the VA Med Center, I did my entire internship in internal medicine there, I then did my residency there for 3 more years, and after that I was an attending physician at the VA Med Center for some years. I loved the vets. I saw firsthand the struggles of the system and its failures. And I hated how our most vulnerable vets (financially and social support-wise) were the ones on the receiving end of those failures.
Would I rather have a (insert any derogatory term you usually use for President Trump here) for POTUS who actually does stuff like the above, than a nice guy who doesn't? No question YES!!!!!
MAGA!
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