There's plenty of reasons for one to hide the fact that they haven't been vaccinated, but there isn't a credible, believable personal reason for an individual not to reveal that they have gotten the poke other than being exposed as a hypocrite. After Carlson has made such a big, public issue about the vaccines, a reporter asking him if he's gotten one is relevant to the topic that he voluntarily talks about and is completely fair. Claiming that it's a "super vulgar personal question" is truly laughable.
Aseahawkfan wrote:Media types like Carlson and Cuomo employ people to research topics for their shows meant to garner ratings to make money. That alone should tell people how trustworthy the sources of information are if the primary motivations is based on their compensation. Rush Limbaugh proved that being able to connect with listeners or viewers based on a two bit political opinion generated big money. Once the media showed they were clearly seeking to maintain a liberal Democratic audience, conservative media built themselves a long and enduring following that is still generating immense revenue and ratings to this day.
One pastor in Tulsa has even said that he will sign a religious exemption letter if people donate to his church
One pastor in Tulsa has even said that he will sign a religious exemption letter if people donate to his church
c_hawkbob wrote:This statement should be prosecutable.
tarlhawk wrote:I know this is a sensitive issue for many and each person protects those they care about in a land that still observes most freedoms. My goal in sharing this post is to relay what I have seen and heard. Early in the crisis of covids discovery and initial response to that discovery I was watching tv at random...and NHK news (broadcast out of Japan) had a show concerning covid-19 and what some studies in Japan had revealed. At that time its origin was widely disputed...mostly circulated rumors.
They compared the characteristics of this particular virus strain with attributes of other deadly virus strains and showed numerous differences that made this virus strain a pandemic. The one thing I had gleaned and found disturbing was that unlike previous virulent strains...this virus was easily spread because once a person is infected this virus reaches its highest spread rate a full two days before showing any signs in its host that it has been acquired. When people catch a flu they get chills/muscle aches/fever (sometimes) and know they should stay home to not give it to their co-workers. With covid-19 you can feel perfectly normal and see no need to stay home...no warnings to allow you to make a decision if you want to risk the health of your co-workers.
The disease did not have the lethality that was originally projected...which only allowed the temptation to not take it as serious...but this type of virus mutates the longer it is allowed to be in circulation. Older/at-risk people are more susceptible to this lethal aspect than much younger people...similar to any bad flu that weakens an immune system. Weakened immune systems are vulnerable to catching pneumonia...which is what normally takes out sick elderly people...your lungs fill with a sticky substance and your death experience is akin to drowning.
Some studies have reported that just because the younger population isn't as likely to die from becoming symptomatic from covid...doesn't mean there is no harm with long term consequences...the virus attacks internal organs and can greatly affect lung capacity. The worst cases can remove almost 25% lung capacity...for the life of the victim. A vaccine protects the individual from the worst case scenarios...but as more breakthru cases are reported it still can't prevent you from acquiring the virus and spreading it to someone unprotected by choice or unprotected due to doctors orders because their immune system is too weak to risk the vaccine itself. I have been fully vaccinated yet still wear masks whenever outside the home because I have seen on local news the nastiness of hospitalized individuals and heard the testimony of the nurses who are over traumatized by the feeling of being helpless while witnessing a person suffering unto death.
RiverDog wrote:My attitude about masks is a little different. Being that they do not protect me and given that the most threatened are those that have chosen not to get vaccinated, I don't feel as morally obligated to wear them as I have in the past. However, now that they've reinstated the mandate here in WA, I've faithfully complied with it, plus if anyone were to ask me (politely), I would willingly don one.
tarlhawk wrote:I understand your frustration at realizing the importance of getting everyone on board to get vaccinated...but what is the driving reason behind a reluctance to become fully vaccinated?
RiverDog wrote:I think we're on the same page here. One of my biggest pet peeves is the utter ignorance of the American public. When I read surveys that claim that 29% of American adults can't find the Pacific Ocean on a map, it's no wonder why we can't rationalize with the vast majority of these anti vaxxers and convince them that it's safe and effective. It's hard to fix stupid.
tarlhawk wrote:I'm weary of stats reflecting something that sounds incredulous. Very sad if true (29%)...but the source data is important ...how many people polled...local/limited or polled across entire country...specific targeted group polled to get desired effect...example : 50 people polled at a political convention of an opposing party...result stated into written article : 60% of Americans think candidate John Doe is stupid/the wrong kind for our country. So 30 people (out of 300 million plus) at an opponents political convention (a bit biased) gave an unfavorable opinion (anything close to conveying "stupid"...yet producing the desired effect "the other guy is dangerously stupid". Not sure how you felt about the show "Are you as smart as a 5th grader?" ...unless you are a 6th grader that question shows no relevance...might as well ask "Are you as tough as a 5th grader? ...and both of you don boxing gloves.
ultarlhawk wrote:Thank you...that puts it in a proper context and is sad...does anyone know if geography is even taught any more? American history? World history? Perhaps its not directly the students...if the curriculum is poorly taught...if at all?
tarlhawk wrote:Thank you...that puts it in a proper context and is sad...does anyone know if geography is even taught any more? American history? World history? Perhaps its not directly the students...if the curriculum is poorly taught...if at all?
tarlhawk wrote:Thank you...that puts it in a proper context and is sad...does anyone know if geography is even taught any more? American history? World history? Perhaps its not directly the students...if the curriculum is poorly taught...if at all?
Aseahawkfan wrote:From what I can tell talking to younger people, the standards for education have dropped dramatically. They are far more focused on not offending anyone or making anyone uncomfortable in school than ensuring a quality education.
Many of these kids graduate without having much competency in the various subjects taught. Competency tests are now considered bad because calling someone incompetent and requiring them to improve seems to be something the education system is not interested in.
Couple that with homes filled with working parents, many divorced, and raised not to push their kids very hard and you have the recipe for the modern day American.
Add in a dash of cell phone/Google searching everything you need to know, why would most bother to learn much when they can just google it.
It's a bad environment for learning overall, even though the tools for learning are the best they've ever been.
Hell, I recently had a friend say, "F history. F the Supreme Court" and basically wanted his feelings about vaccine mandates in relation to the Constitution to be true rather than read up on what case law had to say about such things. A lot of Americans believe the word "Liberty" or "freedom" means no one can tell them what to do and they can do whatever they want regardless of the consequences.
Then add in a pinch of political divide driven by a media who derives ratings from fueling this divide and you have a nice recipe for a lot of foolishness in America.
From what I understand, this foolishness is not solely occurring in America.
tarlhawk wrote:A real compelling read for anyone interested in our educational mess is "NEA the Trojan Horse" authored by Samuel Blumenfeld in 1984. Most parents (opinion...I don't know most parents) are totally unaware of current curiculums at their school. If the teachers aren't asking for meetings because your child is troubled...or your child isn't making trouble ...then the assumption that all is well becomes common. Report cards not identifying problems are often the basis for a bumper sticker "my child is an honor student" proudly displayed on the cars back bumper.
My grade school daughter was sporting straight "A" grades in spelling...we often spoke to our children concerning how they were doing in understanding their homework or if their current subjects were creating any unanswered questions...No dad everything is fine. One time my daughter had a spelling test coming up and was just letting me know...so I got a couple recent spelling quizzes she had gotten A+ on...did a quick check visually...looked good. I started asking her to spell from the list...she was spelling correctly...so I asked her to spell a word out of sequence. She looked uncomfortable and was aware I didn't ask the next word she was expecting to spell. She misspelled...I asked another out of sequence with same results. She told me I was "supposed" to ask them in order. I soon realized she wasn't applying actual spelling skills but was utilizing short term memorization...aided by memorizing them in an ordered sequence.
I don't usually "visit" a school...let alone a teacher...but I was curious if the teacher was aware. I discovered she was aware without bringing it to my daughters attention...because it is no longer a subject that is stressed and since my daughter was well behaved in class...the grades were sort of a reward not merited by skill. ...hmmm so much for trusting grades as an assurance that your child is doing well/learning.
c_hawkbob wrote:I agree with you, we are teaching our kids to pass tests in favor of gaining knowledge of the subject matter.
RiverDog wrote:I've heard complaints from teachers that, due to well intentioned state imposed graduation requirements that dictate what each graduating student must demonstrate knowledge of, forces them to "teach to the test." As part of their job appraisals, teachers are evaluated based in part on how many students they can produce that successfully pass the state exam.
But, like I said, I've been out of the education loop for quite some time.
Aseahawkfan wrote:I hope we restructure our education system to focus young people more into trades. Even when I was going to school in the 80s, the trades were overlooked. They were not overlooked when my father was going to school. You could learn how to be a mechanic or work on electrical equipment in shop. Students when I was coming up are pushed into a liberal type education with an extreme focus on subjects like history, English, math, learning a foreign language with some science rather than trades like shop, mechanics, and the like. I imagine more computer programming is included.
I really think they need to start pushing trades more as an option. A lot of kids are not equipped to compete in mathematics and computer programming as well as not being well suited to liberal degrees like social sciences. The trades would be far more favorable for them to learn and provide them better future job opportunities. But this big push for everyone to have some kind of degree even if it doesn't suit them is what modern education is built around. It seems like that isn't working for everyone.
RiverDog wrote:I've heard complaints from teachers that, due to well intentioned state imposed graduation requirements that dictate what each graduating student must demonstrate knowledge of, forces them to "teach to the test." As part of their job appraisals, teachers are evaluated based in part on how many students they can produce that successfully pass the state exam.
But, like I said, I've been out of the education loop for quite some time.
Aseahawkfan wrote:Tests are a measure of competence. Don't see them as a problem. The bigger problem is when the test results don't matter. If a child fails, they just throw out the test and don't worry about it like they don't care if the kid learned the information on the test. They pass them on to continue failing. You're supposed to look at the test results, see if a kid has a weakness or issue, then teach them up. Tests are a teaching tool to measure the ability of a student to use the material taught.
Aseahawkfan wrote:I hope we restructure our education system to focus young people more into trades. Even when I was going to school in the 80s, the trades were overlooked. They were not overlooked when my father was going to school. You could learn how to be a mechanic or work on electrical equipment in shop. Students when I was coming up are pushed into a liberal type education with an extreme focus on subjects like history, English, math, learning a foreign language with some science rather than trades like shop, mechanics, and the like. I imagine more computer programming is included.
I really think they need to start pushing trades more as an option. A lot of kids are not equipped to compete in mathematics and computer programming as well as not being well suited to liberal degrees like social sciences. The trades would be far more favorable for them to learn and provide them better future job opportunities. But this big push for everyone to have some kind of degree even if it doesn't suit them is what modern education is built around. It seems like that isn't working for everyone.
RiverDog wrote:The problem isn't the fact that they test, it's the standardization of them. As tarlhawk pointed out, you can pass some tests without knowing the subject. For example, if they use multiple choice questions, so long as you can eliminate a couple of answers, you have a 50/50 chance of answering correctly. Have you ever taken a Wonderlic test? It's timed, so rather than ponder on a question that requires some math, skip over it and answer the no brainers then return to the more difficult questions. What teachers are telling me is that "teaching to the test" robs them of the flexibility to concentrate on weak subjects. If your student can't get math, rather than spend the necessary time to drill it into them, they bypass it in lieu of that student mastering an easy subject that would yield a higher score on a test. Picking the low hanging fruit.
Aseahawkfan wrote:All I know is testing isn't the problem. I don't think teachers are either. I think it is more politicians and administrators whose job performance is based on passing standardized tests, so they keep lowering the testing requirements including material on the test and lowering the percentages needed to pass to prevent scrutiny as to how they do their jobs.
Aseahawkfan wrote:Garbage parenting is likely the biggest reason we have issues with education today. Never seen so many uneducated, unambitious people having children who don't really want them and barely take care of them well. I've also never seen so many parents whose kids are in charge. The kid doesn't like something, they don't have to do it. The parent just lets the kid dictate what they want to do because they don't want to tell them what to do. I cannot recall seeing this number of kids who barely listened to their parents, ran around at will, and basically had parents who didn't know what to do with a child that resisted them or often just gave up trying to raise them properly when parenting was tough.
It's kind of amazing the change in this nation's values from my grandparents to my parents to this group of lost Americans who are turning this country into some weird place filled with microaggressions, mental illness, and drug abuse and the like where people don't want to work hard unless you come from another country. This younger generation of people is the weirdest I've ever seen. I can't even imagine what America is going to look when this weird, video game/smartphone generation becomes the dominant group. Super pasty, physically weak, and electronically addicted population whose worldview is influenced by social media Americans. Damn, it's gonna be weird.
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