The Coronavirus

[Eric the Green]

(03-04-2021, 10:37 AM)David Horn Wrote: At some point, the states will have to be sidelined or we will never get a real handle on this pandemic.  Listen to Greg Abbott explain why this societal menace is really just a case of poor individual judgement.  If we applied that idea to fighting wars, we would dispose of military orders and just offer guidance to the troops as we suggest they might be wise to fight... or not -- their choice.  I'm sure that will work.

Right. Biden should be making federal mandates on these things, and has settled for giving lectures and admonishments which Republicans ignore.

[pbrower2a]

Stupid leadership gets people killed.

[pbrower2a]

Covid Announces Plan To Move Operations To Texas Full-Time To Escape Burdensome Regulations





AUSTIN, TX—Bemoaning the bureaucratic red tape that had been holding it back for the past year, the Covid-19 virus announced Thursday that it would move its operation to Texas full-time to escape burdensome regulations. “Shifting my operation to Texas will give me the freedom to spread my wings and grow this pandemic in ways that are impossible in blue states,” said the coronavirus molecule, adding that it had been especially heartened by the governor’s recent decision to cut away unnecessary regulations like dining restrictions and mask mandates. “Obviously, I appreciate everything California and New York have done to help me—especially when I was just starting out. It’s just been hard watching liberal legislators pile on cumbersome restrictions despite, frankly, having no idea how to build a pandemic. Those regulations really hurt small virus particles. The Lone Star State has been nothing but welcoming to me, and I’m thrilled to call it my new home.” At press time, Covid-19 had celebrated its move with a raucous night hanging out in the atmosphere of local favorite restaurant Trudy’s North Star.

The ONION (it's satire)

[pbrower2a]

More seriously:


Associations Between Governor Political Affiliation and COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Testing in the U.S.



Introduction: The response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic became increasingly politicized in the U.S. and political affiliation of state leaders may contribute to policies affecting the spread of the disease. This study examines differences in COVID-19 infection, death, and testing by governor party affiliation across 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Methods: A longitudinal analysis was conducted in December 2020 examining COVID-19 incidence, death, testing, and test positivity rates from March 15 through December 15, 2020. A Bayesian negative binomial model was fit to estimate daily RRs and posterior intervals (PIs) comparing rates by gubernatorial party affiliation. The analyses adjusted for state population density, rurality, Census region, age, race, ethnicity, poverty, number of physicians, obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, smoking, and presidential voting in 2020.

Results: From March to early June, Republican-led states had lower COVID-19 incidence rates compared with Democratic-led states. On June 3, the association reversed, and Republican-led states had higher incidence (RR=1.10, 95% PI=1.01, 1.18). This trend persisted through early December. For death rates, Republican-led states had lower rates early in the pandemic, but higher rates from July 4 (RR=1.18, 95% PI=1.02, 1.31) through mid-December. Republican-led states had higher test positivity rates starting on May 30 (RR=1.70, 95% PI=1.66, 1.73) and lower testing rates by September 30 (RR=0.95, 95% PI=0.90, 0.98).

Conclusion: Gubernatorial party affiliation may drive policy decisions that impact COVID-19 infections and deaths across the U.S. Future policy decisions should be guided by public health considerations rather than political ideology.

INTRODUCTION
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a global public health crisis. As of December 15, 2020, there have been >16 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 300,000 deaths in the US.1 In response to the pandemic, the governors of all 50 states declared states of emergency. Shortly thereafter, states began enacting policies to help stop the spread of the virus. However, these policies vary and are guided, in part, by decisions from state governors.
Through state constitutions and laws, governors have the authority to take action in public health emergencies. In early 2020, nearly all state governors issued stay-at-home executive orders that advised or required residents to shelter in place.2 Recent studies found that Republican governors, however, were slower to adopt stay-at-home orders, if they did so at all.3,4 Moreover, another study found that Democratic governors had longer durations of stay-at-home orders.5 Further, researchers identified governor Democratic political party affiliation as the most important predictor of state mandates to wear face masks.6

Although recent studies have examined individual state policies, such as mandates to socially distance, wear masks, and close schools and parks,3,4,6–8 multiple policies may act together to impact the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the pandemic response has become increasingly politicized.7,9,10 As such, political affiliation of state leaders, and specifically governors, might best capture the omnibus impact of state policies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to quantify differences in incidence, death, testing, and test positivity rates over time, stratified by governors’ political affiliation among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.


Much more at the source (check the link). 

I am going to give credit to Republican governors who chose to do lockdowns and mask mandates.  Without those governors (including those of Indiana and Ohio) the numbers would be even uglier. The numbers for Indiana and Ohio probably look more like those of Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania (yes, Kentucy has a Democratic Governor) than like those of Iowa, Missouri, or Georgia.  

[pbrower2a]

At 542,000 dead, the death toll has surpassed Fresno, California (America's 34th-largest city) and is headed to Tucson, Arizona (America's 33rd-largest city. Again, the cities are getting decidedly scarcer as we get into the middle-six-digit range.

[pbrower2a]

I just got my second shot today. I also took a photo of my vaccination card, and I treat it like my driver's license, Social Security card, Medicare card, a credit or debit card, or a passport (if I had one). Really it is worthless without other documentation such as a passport or driver's license that is identification.

As I say I found out that I

(1) did a good job avoiding COVID-19, as I got nasty symptoms from the vaccine,
(2) I have much more freedom now than I had, and
(3) the nasty symptoms suggest that I could have ended up quite seriously dead from COVID-19.

I have nothing but sympathy for the loved ones of those who lost someone dear of COVID-19. I have nothing but contempt for people who deny its reality.

If it is my experience, then my opinion is simply reinforced. I thank the politicians, including Republican Governors of Indiana and Ohio, who offered me no safe haven for recklessness that I did not get in Michigan.

If you have yet to get your vaccine, then mask it or casket until you have certifiable immunity, and after that, just set a good example.  

[Classic-Xer]

(03-17-2021, 05:39 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: I just got my second shot today. I also took a photo of my vaccination card, and I treat it like my driver's license, Social Security card, Medicare card, a credit or debit card, or a passport (if I had one). Really it is worthless without other documentation such as a passport or driver's license that is identification.

As I say I found out that I

(1) did a good job avoiding COVID-19, as I got nasty symptoms from the vaccine,
(2) I have much more freedom now than I had, and
(3) the nasty symptoms suggest that I could have ended up quite seriously dead from COVID-19.

I have nothing but sympathy for the loved ones of those who lost someone dear of COVID-19. I have nothing but contempt for people who deny its reality.

If it is my experience, then my opinion is simply reinforced. I thank the politicians, including Republican Governors of Indiana and Ohio, who offered me no safe haven for recklessness that I did not get in Michigan.

If you have yet to get your vaccine, then mask it or casket until you have certifiable immunity, and after that, just set a good example.  

You've got as much freedom today as you have had available to you all along. Whatever gain (feeling) you think that you have today that didn't have last year is all your mind so to speak.

[Classic-Xer]

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:



Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

[pbrower2a]

(03-18-2021, 10:55 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-17-2021, 05:39 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: I just got my second shot today. I also took a photo of my vaccination card, and I treat it like my driver's license, Social Security card, Medicare card, a credit or debit card, or a passport (if I had one). Really it is worthless without other documentation such as a passport or driver's license that is identification.

As I say I found out that I

(1) did a good job avoiding COVID-19, as I got nasty symptoms from the vaccine,
(2) I have much more freedom now than I had, and
(3) the nasty symptoms suggest that I could have ended up quite seriously dead from COVID-19.

I have nothing but sympathy for the loved ones of those who lost someone dear of COVID-19. I have nothing but contempt for people who deny its reality.

If it is my experience, then my opinion is simply reinforced. I thank the politicians, including Republican Governors of Indiana and Ohio, who offered me no safe haven for recklessness that I did not get in Michigan.

If you have yet to get your vaccine, then mask it or casket until you have certifiable immunity, and after that, just set a good example.  

You've got as much freedom today as you have had available to you all along. Whatever gain (feeling) you think that you have today that didn't have last year  is all your mind so to speak.

The stalker "Rona" is no longer a part of my life. My judgment isn't always perfect... whose is? ... but I can put together a few facts and draw a valid inference. I may have gotten myself fifteen or more years of life than I would have had had I died on a ventilator.

One is free to say anything that one wants in Iran or China. Of course you can be killed for what you way, which somehow seems like an undue deterrent to saying that some top leader is a horrible person.

[David Horn]

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Amazing! We're more likely to infect them than the reverse ... unless they're from Brazil, of course.  Nevermind that the border remains closed to adults and families. Only unaccompanied minors are brought across, unless the person/family is attending a hearing.  

And unlike Trump, Biden will stage refugee application services in the home nations of Central America, and pre-validate applicants there, rather than here.

[Eric the Green]

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:



Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Personally, if I were the president, I would shut off all travel or migration to and from the USA right now, unless such travelers passed a covid test or showed a vaccination card. And if I were governor of California I would shut off all travel to and from Texas and Mississippi and all the other dork red states whose dorky Republican governors have prematurely opened up their states for the covid virus to come on in, unless the travelers showed the same credentials.

Great cartoons there, Mr. Brower

[Eric the Green]

As of March 18, 2021
#.....Country.............Total Cases.....New Cases...Total Deaths...New Deaths
........World...............122,364,087...+552,054......2,702,574......+10,513
1......USA...................30,358,880.....+62,629.........552,470........+1,705
2......Brazil.................11,787,600.....+87,169.........287,795........+2,659
3......India.................11,513,945.....+39,643.........159,405...........+155
4......Russia.................4,428,239......+9,803............93,824...........+460
5......UK......................4,280,882......+6,303..........125,925.............+94
6......France................4,181,607.....+34,998...........91,679..........+268
7......Italy...................3,306,683......+24,907.........103,855...........+423
8......Spain..................3,212,332.......+6,216...........72,910...........+117
9......Turkey................2,950,603......+20,049..........29,777.............+81
10....Germany.............2,628,629......+17,860..........74,878...........+201
11....Colombia.............2,319,293........+5,139..........61,636...........+138
12....Argentina............2,226,753.........+8,328.........54,386............+155
13....Mexico................2,175,462.........+6,455.......195,908............+789
14....Poland................1,984,246.......+27,276.........48,388............+356
15....Iran....................1,778,645........+7,530..........61,581.............+89
16....South Africa........1,533,961........+1,464..........51,724.............+90
17....Ukraine...............1,504,076......+15,053..........29,253...........+267
18....Indonesia............1,443,853........+6,570..........39,142...........+227
19....Peru...................1,443,521.........+7,923.........49,706...........+183
20....Czechia...............1,439,120.......+12,003.........24,230...........+175


#...State...............Total Cases....New Cases...Total Deaths...New Deaths
......USA................30,358,880....+62,629.......552,470.........+1,705
1....California..........3,635,598......+3,574........56,824............+276
2....Texas...............2,749,440......+3,485........47,257............+194
3....Florida..............1,994,117......+5,093........32,613.............+83
4....New York..........1,811,288......+7,608........49,539.............+95
5....Illinois...............1,216,090......+2,325........23,287.............+32
6....Georgia.............1,040,817......+2,267........18,420.............+61
7....Ohio....................995,785......+2,104........17,992..............N/A
8....Pennsylvania........982,122......+3,047........24,854.............+44
9....North Carolina......891,314......+2,004........11,783.............+26
10...New Jersey..........853,349......+4,473........24,076.............+31

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[pbrower2a]

(03-19-2021, 12:39 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Personally, if I were the president, I would shut off all travel or migration to and from the USA right now, unless such travelers passed a covid test or showed a vaccination card. And if I were governor of California I would shut off all travel to and from Texas and Mississippi and all the other dork red states whose dorky Republican governors have prematurely opened up their states for the covid virus to come on in, unless the travelers showed the same credentials.

I concur. I would also add "Iowa" and "South Dakota", whose Republican governors have let their states become slaughterhouses for COVID-19 instead of for livestock alone. I have my card, and fairly soon it might allow me to go to Canada. I always did want to see Toronto... and Montreal.

"Dork red"... is that a Freudian slip?

[Eric the Green]

(03-19-2021, 01:27 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(03-19-2021, 12:39 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Personally, if I were the president, I would shut off all travel or migration to and from the USA right now, unless such travelers passed a covid test or showed a vaccination card. And if I were governor of California I would shut off all travel to and from Texas and Mississippi and all the other dork red states whose dorky Republican governors have prematurely opened up their states for the covid virus to come on in, unless the travelers showed the same credentials.

I concur. I would also add "Iowa" and "South Dakota", whose Republican governors have let their states become slaughterhouses for COVID-19 instead of for livestock alone. I have my card, and fairly soon it might allow me to go to Canada. I always did want to see Toronto... and Montreal.

"Dork red"... is that a Freudian slip?

No, not a typo

[Classic-Xer]

(03-19-2021, 12:39 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:



Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Personally, if I were the president, I would shut off all travel or migration to and from the USA right now, unless such travelers passed a covid test or showed a vaccination card. And if I were governor of California I would shut off all travel to and from Texas and Mississippi and all the other dork red states whose dorky Republican governors have prematurely opened up their states for the covid virus to come on in, unless the travelers showed the same credentials.

Great cartoons there, Mr. Brower

Yep. He picked some great cartoons that can be easily turned around and used against him today. Unfortunately, you're not the President. You're just another worthless partisan hack like PB who elected the stupid leadership that's completely fucking up the possibility of the country remaining one country who don't realize they're on the verge of losing the bulk of their rights and legal protections associated with the American side when the American side votes to formally part ways with the Democratic party all together. I hope you are fully prepared for the nasty stretch road that lays ahead for those associated with the Democratic party.

[Classic-Xer]

(03-19-2021, 01:40 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-19-2021, 01:27 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(03-19-2021, 12:39 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Personally, if I were the president, I would shut off all travel or migration to and from the USA right now, unless such travelers passed a covid test or showed a vaccination card. And if I were governor of California I would shut off all travel to and from Texas and Mississippi and all the other dork red states whose dorky Republican governors have prematurely opened up their states for the covid virus to come on in, unless the travelers showed the same credentials.

I concur. I would also add "Iowa" and "South Dakota", whose Republican governors have let their states become slaughterhouses for COVID-19 instead of for livestock alone. I have my card, and fairly soon it might allow me to go to Canada. I always did want to see Toronto... and Montreal.

"Dork red"... is that a Freudian slip?

No, not a typo

I assume that it takes a dork to know a dork so to speak.

[pbrower2a]

(03-19-2021, 03:06 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-19-2021, 12:39 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(03-18-2021, 11:10 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote:

(03-05-2021, 02:11 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:



Stupid leadership gets people killed.

Yep. Stupid leadership gets people killed. I don't think it's wise to open borders to migrants who have COVID and release them by thousands like Biden is doing today. Oh. BTW, partisan hack like you who support and turn a blind to what their stupid leaders are doing that seriously contradicts their positions deserve whatever bad happens/occurs to them.

Personally, if I were the president, I would shut off all travel or migration to and from the USA right now, unless such travelers passed a covid test or showed a vaccination card. And if I were governor of California I would shut off all travel to and from Texas and Mississippi and all the other dork red states whose dorky Republican governors have prematurely opened up their states for the covid virus to come on in, unless the travelers showed the same credentials.

Great cartoons there, Mr. Brower

Yep. He picked some great cartoons that can be easily turned around and used against him today. Unfortunately, you're not the President. You're just another worthless partisan hack like PB who elected the stupid leadership that's completely fucking up the possibility of the country remaining one country who don't realize they're on the verge of losing the bulk of their rights and legal protections associated with the American side when the American side votes to formally part ways with the Democratic party all together. I hope you are fully prepared for the nasty stretch road that lays ahead for those associated with the Democratic party.

I praised Republican Governors of Indiana and Ohio for going along quickly and thoroughly with their Democratic counterparts in Kentucky, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.  Except for West Virginia American Governors of both Parties from Grand Forks in the northwest to Paducah in the southwest to Virginia Beach in the southeast have done as well as possible in establishing an Iron Curtain against COVID-19.

I wish that Texas state government had acted like Ohio state government. The editorial swipes have been at states like Florida, South Dakota, and Texas who botched the response to COVID-19... and to people who ran counter to political leadership that said "Stay home", "Use a mask in public", and "Do social distancing". Nearly 550 thousand people are now deceased, some of them for failing to take appropriate precautions against COVID-19.

When one does right as a politician in conducting a war or foreign policy, then I do not carp about partisan concerns. George Herbert Walker Bush deserved a Nobel Peace prize for his handling of the fall of Communism even more than Barack Obama did for... OK, I think that Obama deserved a Nobel Prize instead for economics. Maybe if he did prevent a 1929-1932 economic meltdown he did stop the rise of a Hitler or two. 

I can be as critical of Big Business for its political objectives, but if I had to choose between the behavior of Donald Trump and Big Business in dealing with COVID-19, then I would go with Big Business, which played it safe with COVID-19  instead of putting customers at risk. 

Joe Biden is doing far better than Donald Trump in uniting this country. Millions of Americans now have the shared experience of inoculation for COVID-19. OK, I will give credit to the medical profession, medical science, and to Big Business for heroism, hard work, and wisdom. Now... what did Trump do right about COVID-19?   

Negligent homicide... negligent homicide.

[pbrower2a]

Not today, 'Rona!

[David Horn]

(03-19-2021, 03:06 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: Yep. He picked some great cartoons that can be easily turned around and used against him today. Unfortunately, you're not the President. You're just another worthless partisan hack like PB who elected the stupid leadership that's completely fucking up the possibility of the country remaining one country who don't realize they're on the verge of losing the bulk of their rights and legal protections associated with the American side when the American side votes to formally part ways with the Democratic party all together. I hope you are fully prepared for the nasty stretch road that lays ahead for those associated with the Democratic party.

Please exit stage extreme right.  Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.  We'll take our chances.

[pbrower2a]

(03-20-2021, 09:48 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(03-19-2021, 03:06 PM)Classic-Xer Wrote: Yep. He picked some great cartoons that can be easily turned around and used against him today. Unfortunately, you're not the President. You're just another worthless partisan hack like PB who elected the stupid leadership that's completely fucking up the possibility of the country remaining one country who don't realize they're on the verge of losing the bulk of their rights and legal protections associated with the American side when the American side votes to formally part ways with the Democratic party all together. I hope you are fully prepared for the nasty stretch road that lays ahead for those associated with the Democratic party.

Please exit stage extreme right.  Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.  We'll take our chances.

Yes, politics is about assessing and taking risks on a large scale. Most start locally and go up some ladder of elections for "higher" and "higher" offices. So someone runs for a small-town city-council seat, then mayor, then state representative, then State Senator, then maybe Secretary of State, or US Representative, then Governor or Senator before becoming President, maybe the latter at age 60. At each level of complexity (and there are other routes for different communities and different sorts of preparation, as with law) the challenges get bigger and one must meld one's background with one's talent. Of course we know that nobody capable of fitting Texas' First Congressional District Cook R+25)





could ever win in new York's 15th Congressional District (D+44):



Obviously the politicians that a district elects to Congress will mirror that district. Districts will change with their demographics, which explains why Loretta Sanchez could supplant "B-1 Bob" Dornan in the 43rd Congressional District. Dornan's wins kept getting narrower and narrower. This district went from strong R to strong D:

      

The geography explains everything. It also explains that someone who particularly well fits either district is unlikely to fit America as a whole, or even their states, as both districts are far from being a microcosm of America or even their states.  A State governorship, the US Senate, or (less often) the Vice-Presidency is usually the last stop before becoming President. Such is no guarantee of Presidential greatness (Harding, Nixon, Carter, Dubya), and having never been a Senator, Governor, or Veep is no guarantee of disaster (Eisenhower was above average) or may be irrelevant (Herbert Hoover, hamstrung by economic orthodoxy that failed catastrophically), it shows in Trump. 

If there is one office that I am surprised is not a forcing ground for Presidents it is "mayor of a giant city". It is clear that the Mayor of Los Angeles is responsible for the welfare of more people than is a Governor of Arkansas... and that more of America is urban than rural (and don't try to keep alive the distinction between "urban" and "suburban", as many suburbs are now legitimately urban in their problems. Where urban pols fail is in understanding rural issues... although Barack Obama, about as blatant a city-slicker as there is, was able to formulate a coherent agricultural policy. Trump did well in rural areas in 2020 because he opened the spigot on farm subsidies as overcompensation for his trade policy that hurt farmers badly.

As for Classic X'er and my choice of cartoons: 

COVID-19 is good for some dark humor, and anyone who trivializes its danger is a fool who may be putting the lives of those who heeds them at risk of death, a shortened lifespan, or crippling damage to vital organs. I do not need to be a liver expert to know that I want to do anything to put my liver at risk. I have never been drunk in my life, and I drink rarely. I know my limit: one.  I know that tobacco use is a pure detriment to health. I do not smoke at all. An occasional drink might have some health benefits, so I do not quite have a "Mormon liver". But I do have "Mormon lungs". At my age that may be the difference between alive despite some serious disability and no linger being around.

COVID-19 is definitely to be avoided, and one little debauch is enough to put one in serious danger of death or something too close for my taste. If I am to die at this stage of life, then let my death serve some purpose.  

I consider the districts NY-15 and TX-01, however different they may be in demographics, equally American. It is extreme arrogance on the part of Classic X'er, along with pundits and pols who are or were his inspiration, to claim that one part of America is more American than another.  

What is an American? Who knows? Let's start with the obvious: the "average American" is about 1/16 African in origin. How many Americans fit that description? One would also be about 1/8 of origins in the Hispanic world. And... about 1/32 Asian. 25 of 32 great-great grandparents would be clearly of European origin and the other seven would not be.