A couple of things... This Afghan pullout is a disaster. I don't know if Trump would have been any different, but not even making preparations to get allies out, people who will executed, is unfathomable. Why didn't we get out the women and girls? Just ignoring the whole humanitarian angle, which I can't seem to, but depriving the Taliban of women is a smart tactical maneuver, making them sitting ducks when they have to start bringing women in for their "wives."

I'm glad we're leaving, but holy shit, what a disaster.

"The number of people who identify as white alone declined from 223.6 million in 2010 to 204.3 million in 2020, marking an 8.6% decline. It is the first time the category saw a drop in the nation’s history and was also the only race category to see a population decline.

Those who identify as white in combination with another race, however, increased by 316%, with the white alone or in combination with another group coming in at 235.4 million."

The census is no longer using majority/minority. It seems people are taking this as the end of white men, again, but seem to ignore the growth is with Hispanics who many identify as white (the census doesn't count that or biracial people who identify as white) and Asians. Interracial marriage is skyrocketing between white men and Hispanic women and white men and Asian women. White women are having fewer children. Guess the two groups of women who are having the most children? I don't understand the appeal of identity politics, it's never as clear as people make out. Whenever it's brought up in a debate that Hispanics identify as white, there's like a meltdown. One reporter called it depressing news. Why? isn't a diverse "white America" good? Nearly every article I've read neglects to add that context.

I love how mall culture morphed into something else the older you got....

A little kid....toy stores
A bigger kid.... arcades and record stores
A teenager....friends and cruising for girls
Adult.... merely a place to shop in general... especially holidays
Middle aged and older....who gives a fuck about malls....

On a different subject....

Markie Post died today. I had a huge crush on her when my mom and dad watched Night Court when I was a kid.

Hard to believe she was 70.

slashsfro wrote:

misterID wrote:

There were a lot of antoi-vaxxers to begin with, so it's not so much political. A lot of people are afraid of how quickly it was developed. Some people just don't like shots.

But most people have had multiple vaccines (measles, chicken pox etc..) so I never really got the anti-vax part of that argument AT ALL.  And this thing has been out since December.  There's more than enough data to indicate that yes you should get yourself vaccinated.  I mean, if you're unvaccinated NOW, that's on you and no one else.

You'd be surprised how many people don't get vaccines after adult hood and the requirements dissipate.  Again, how many people get their flu shot every year?  At the start of COVID I did a poll here and it was about half.  The figures google gives me says the same amount is representative of the US as a whole. 

I'm 100% pro-vaccine and got my first shot in January.  If they make this an annual booster like the flu shot (and I think they will), I'll get it annually just like I do with the flu shot.  But people are people.  Anywhere from 9 - 50 million people get the flu annually in the US, significantly more than what is alleged to be the COVID positivity, and prior to COVID, the CDC and NIH were saying 100k people died annually from the flu in the US.  Yet half the country doesn't feel any need to get that vaccine annually. 

COVID is here to stay, and like all illnesses, it will primarily affect the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.  You can't stay in lockdown or masking forever.  And we all live in western democracies, so forcing injections in the arm of every citizen isn't going to happen.  I agree, at this point it's a personal choice whether to receive the vaccine.  My personal stance on that has been made clear.  I don't know what the actual ceiling of vaccinated people will be, allegedly 70% of US adults have had at least one shot, though the CDC and states did such a shit job collecting data, I don't know how accurate that claim is.  But I suspect we're soon at the apex of people willing to get their shot.  Sure, federal mandates for employees (if it survives court challenges) and the military will bounce numbers up a few points if we're lucky, but there's not much more carrot to give.    People should never expect not to suffer the consequences of their decisions.  At this point, I got no sympathy for anyone who refuses the vaccine and becomes ill.  It's entirely avoidable.  So let's stop babying people and let them pay the price for their choices.

mitchejw wrote:

Axl S wrote:

Dude, politically you and I reasonably align. It is obvious that I am far far away from Flagg on a lot of shit. So in your long arguments I often agree with where you're coming from.

But why you got to jump in on him like that with these potshots and stir the pot like this? It's petty as fuck. Grow up and stop trying to derail these threads with your bullshit.

Where were you a page or two ago when he shit all over me?

Yeah, in an argument with you about a topic.

Today he makes a not controversial post about how sensationalist cable news is and you jump in with a potshot. Stop looking for fights and stirring shit.