Ok Smokey...whatever you say.
You are blind to your own prejudices.

The whole impeachment thing was a load of B.S. and you know it.
Millions of dollars and months of time wasted. Time and money that COULD have been used to fight the corona virus.
I’m not going to waste anymore time trying to reason with you. I’ve learned it’s a loss cause.
I won’t bother with this thread anymore. I don’t want to be banned because of you again.
It’s not worth my time.

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Cheesey, don't bother. The thread is supposed to be about CCP-virus. People need to go off on tangents when they can't successfully address or grasp positions counter to their own.

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Yup, I know. I put him on “ignore” now. So I can pay attention to the thread and not other garbage .
I’ll be a lot happier now!😁

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I've seen you throw this point around a lot - and I'll say this: it was not. Unless the U.S. had special intelligence that COVID-19 was an imminent threat during the impeachment, arguing time and $ were wasted on it is wrong. It was a legal process process provided for under the federal laws/constitution of the U.S., run by democratically elected representatives - to call it time/$ wasted is to dismiss something democracy allows. And if a government is so lean that it cannot manage multiple conflicting priorities at the same time... that is not a shortfall of or problem with the process, but an indicator that the people in charge need to expand or grow to manage multiple things at once. No government should ever be so weak as to try and argue 'well, we were really tied up with one thing, so couldn't focus on this other thing'. The most basic skill for any job is being able to manage conflicting priorities / multi-tasking.

One thing I take issue with in KRK's post is the line "Socialism bring about more death than snowflakes would have imagined"... the irony is countries with socialist tendencies (including public/government funded health care, as well as implementing some form of universal basic income even if for a handful of months at most) have actually had lower outbreak numbers after factoring population size. South Korea, for example, was one of the most innovative in terms of setting up testing procedures fro COVID-19... and it's medical system is built on a more socialist ideology. And, being a resident in a "socialist" country who lost his job because of COVID-19, I can say without doubt that having my government pass laws which guarantee me a fixed income for the next few months as a result is perhaps the biggest boost to my sanity I can imagine while I search for a new position in such uncertain economic times. Many socialist countries are actually into various stages of reopening their economies, and are in the midst of ensuring PPE and tests are widely available to continue onto the next stage of restarting their economies.

If the result of me paying higher taxes means my country can have publicly funded healthcare for all (which includes me, my family, neighbors and friends), is willing to guarantee a small source of income to its most impacted residents so they can continue to meet essential expenses when things get really crazy and unexpected economically, and provides a boost to my mental well being... then it isn't the worst thing in the world. I'm not arguing socialism is the best thing since sliced bread; there is merit in being a republic where individual states have the freedom to maneuver in a way most responsive to its citizens and unique circumstances and America, as a whole, is expected to have amongst the least severe negative economic growth numbers compared to other countries ... but not much (if anything) about this pandemic supports "socialism brings about more death than imagined" line of thinking. Especially since many "socialism" ideology based countries are not arguing/struggling to secure tests and/or PPE that is necessary to progress into next stages of restarting the economy, and mind you are already involved in various stages of economic reopening countries as a whole instead of certain states/provinces/territories.

I really, really don't get the need to paint with such a broad brush in this scenario.

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Well....if giving up your freedoms for a false sense of security is what you want, then that’s your choice I guess. To be “owned” by your government might make you FEEL secure I guess, but I sure don’t like that idea. And “free” healthcare here has been a joke. It isn’t free, by any stretch of the imagination.

And the corona virus numbers from socialist countries isn’t true. They throw out numbers and want you to believe the numbers are true.

And yes, a government should be able to juggle more than one thing. But the impeachment was a 100% BS waste of time. And the democrats running it were blasting President Trump for not acting sooner on the outbreak. At the same time they were throwing crap at the wall and hoping something would stick. And they blasted him for closing off incoming flights from China, calling him a “racist”.
If you can’t see that that was all a bunch of garbage to try to remove an elected President, then you are ignoring the facts.
No matter what President Trump does, the democrats will hate. And yet none of them has any answers, just “arm chair quarterback” blasting, as if any of them could do any better.

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I... can't meaningfully debate with someone moving the goal posts. My post mentions that "socialist" countries have had the least amount of time imposing restrictions, some didn't impose any social distancing or closings of their economies, and many that did were already in the early stages of restarting their economies starting in May ... only to be told about enjoying giving up freedoms?

And you cannot just make statements about socialist countries underreporting numbers - that is a worldwide problem (moreso in the U.S. than other countries given the lack of available test kits). Again, if the available data isn't something you'll want to accept, there is no point debating.

But the thing that's surprising is being told I'm "ignoring the facts". I've invested a ton of my time away from this site that I frequented around 15 years ago to get a doctorate in law, become licensed to practice law in multiple states (let alone other countries outside the U.S. too), have spent the better part of my career working for a U.S. law firm (albeit in an office outside the U.S.) practicing U.S. law, and have also taught U.S. law to boot. That's just my credentials, not taking into account that I read the report the articles of impeachment was based on. You have every right to your belief - but to frame my opinions with a simple "ignoring facts" is pretty weak dude. For the record, I feel there were issues in the impeachment saga (including the underlying report it was based on) ... but that doesn't mean it was throwing crap at a wall. You simply cannot make up statements, assert them as facts and dismiss voices more qualified than you to opine on something. That is so peak privilege.

And frankly, not once have I seen anywhere in this thread someone labeling President Trump "racist" for his China travel ban. That was absolutely the most sensible thing to do and frankly he saved countless of lives doing so. Why on earth bring that up? The problem is many on this forum are so steeped in ideology that anything sniffing "left-wing" is simply ignored or dismissed by raising false grievances or using broad strokes statements to try to get the person who isn't a right-wing supporter on the defensive. So many straw-mens are created when conservative ideology is put up for discussion. Dude, that was the point of my initial post: painting in broad strokes has literally no use. I thought Star Wars firmly established only the Sith deal in absolutes. *sigh* Good day my friend, debating you isn't worth getting both of us riled up in these uncertain times.

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That’s fine. You can have your own opinions.
I might not have fancy credentials, but I have read enough and heard enough to base my opinions on.
I’m 62 and have become a conservative based on what I have seen and experienced over those years.
When I was in college, I saw the left wing views shoved down the throats of young people on a daily basis. And even when I proved the professors were wrong, and they even admitted to me behind closed doors that I was right, they wouldn’t admit it to the class. So the brain washing begins at a young age. And if you disagree, you are labeled an idiot.
I respect that you have different views then I do about the same things.
That’s what makes this country great. The freedoms we have.

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all_about_da_packers,
I salute you postings and must praise your eloquence. I don't always fall into 100% agreement with any political party or who is currently filling which office, rather I prefer to inspect the facts as they exist. This current US President WAS impeached by the US House of Representatives on two counts and that will forever stand as a very real FACT.

As for KRK's post, he and others that believe as he does, often don't realize that their comments on social, economic, and other national issues too often contain their too personal leanings. While I have ZERO respect for the current US President, I still respect the office and look forward to seeing it return to one qualified for the honor. When I say,"your president" as I did, I was being as polite as I could muster. Expanding upon it has taken this thread far from it's original theme, but like Cyrano de Bergerac, I always defend my honor.

Finally, as I stated before this Pandemic presents both medical and economic issues. Wrong decisions will result in increased virus deaths and/or increased stress on an already hard hit US/World economy. Each of these primary issues affects the other. For me it's like gambling, I never risk a bet unless I can afford to loose the bet. Rushing to reopen too much too soon is gambling with the lives of people that see their personal needs as more important than the greater safety of their communities. Furthermore, increasing social activity puts more than a few at danger. This virus is highly contagious and will not pass on any opportunity to spread. Money can be reacquired in time, the same can't be said for Grandma Mary or Uncle Jerry or the neighbors 4 year old daughter.

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Tis nothing but a scratch!
 image.png You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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I don’t think things will ever be the same. Even if the lockdown is lifted, I doubt if most people will try to interact with other people like they did before the outbreak.
When I go to the store, people will move far out of the way to avoid being too close.
And I always wear a mask.

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