March Madness and Covid-19

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I’ve seen where some people who’ve recovered from COVID are donating blood to COVID patients. The idea being, they now have antibodies to fight the virus. This could theoretically help COVID patients fight the virus.


I’d like to hear steveO’s thoughts since he has a background In hematology.
 
We missed the boat for any kind of mass shutdown (true quarantine) in the US. Zero chance most citizens would allow that at this point, after being "mostly shut down" for weeks already. Unless this thing spirals out of control even more than it already is, I don't see any chance we go to a nation-wide complete shutdown.
 
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hoopsaustin said:
Make the house have term limits imo. Repeal 17th amendment as the framers intended and allow the state legislatures to put in effective senators with no term limits. Imo.
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The terms were still 6 years before the 17th amendment, and I would argue the 17th amendment still fits within the framers' intention as they gave power to the states to amend the constitution.

If we wanted to stick to the Constitution as the framers intended, we would still allow slavery, presidential elections would require ballots to be counted in the Senate, women couldn't vote, and there would be no term limit for a President.

Campaign finance would create term limits by returning the power of the vote solely to the citizens and prevent House and Senate members from campaigning for the next election the minute they are sworn into office. If the citizens are the power of the vote, and they wish to elect someone to 15 years, so be it as it is their voice.
 
WTSooner said:
We missed the boat for any kind of mass shutdown in the US. Zero chance most citizens would allow that at this point, after being "mostly shut down" for weeks already. Unless this thing spirals out of control even more than it already is, I don't see any chance we go to a nation-wide complete shutdown.
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They will allow it if the national guard comes out... But I just don't see that happening.
 
WTSooner said:
We missed the boat for any kind of mass shutdown in the US. Zero chance most citizens would allow that at this point, after being "mostly shut down" for weeks already. Unless this thing spirals out of control even more than it already is, I don't see any chance we go to a nation-wide complete shutdown.
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At this point , it is almost a US shutdown.

I think only 10 states are not SIP. SC, AL, AR, MO, IA, NE, ND, SD, UT and WY. Some cities in those states are SIP, but not a statewide order. I read a number that something like 91% of the population is SIP.
 
MJSooner said:
The terms were still 6 years before the 17th amendment, and I would argue the 17th amendment still fits within the framers' intention as they gave power to the states to amend the constitution.

If we wanted to stick to the Constitution as the framers intended, we would still allow slavery, presidential elections would require ballots to be counted in the Senate, women couldn't vote, and there would be no term limit for a President.

Campaign finance would create term limits by returning the power of the vote solely to the citizens and prevent House and Senate members from campaigning for the next election the minute they are sworn into office. If the citizens are the power of the vote, and they wish to elect someone to 15 years, so be it as it is their voice.
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I would like to see a 6 year term for house, senate, and president. Elected on the same cycle. Absolutely no re-elections. Re-election campaigns are fraught with problems, many of which we have already discussed.

That alone fixes lots of problem with campaign finance, lobbyist, political contributions, politics as a career, etc. Extending to 6 years gives more legitimate time to implement the promised agenda.

I still think you deal with campaign finance, very strongly. The combination of those two things would go A LONG WAY to fixing our politics.
 
MJSooner said:
At this point , it is almost a US shutdown.

I think only 10 states are not SIP. SC, AL, AR, MO, IA, NE, ND, SD, UT and WY. Some cities in those states are SIP, but not a statewide order. I read a number that something like 91% of the population is SIP.
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I was talking more of a true quarantine. Like Italy had. We still have a LOT of people going to work, or going out daily. I assume under a full quarantine, that would stop or be significantly reduced. Some things that have been deemed essential, like construction, would likely be shut down. Stuff like that.
 
MJSooner said:
The terms were still 6 years before the 17th amendment, and I would argue the 17th amendment still fits within the framers' intention as they gave power to the states to amend the constitution.

If we wanted to stick to the Constitution as the framers intended, we would still allow slavery, presidential elections would require ballots to be counted in the Senate, women couldn't vote, and there would be no term limit for a President.

Campaign finance would create term limits by returning the power of the vote solely to the citizens and prevent House and Senate members from campaigning for the next election the minute they are sworn into office. If the citizens are the power of the vote, and they wish to elect someone to 15 years, so be it as it is their voice.
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The citizens don’t get to vote on politicians salaries. They vote on that themselves. How the hell is that constitutional? That’s the kind of BS that needs to be outlawed. That, and every elected politician should be forced to use Obamacare. That would also not exist if they had to use it.
 
WTSooner said:
I was talking more of a true quarantine. Like Italy had. We still have a LOT of people going to work, or going out daily. I assume under a full quarantine, that would stop or be significantly reduced. Some things that have been deemed essential, like construction, would likely be shut down. Stuff like that.
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True, I read this article this morning about how tech companies are using your phone location to track you and are supplying this information to the government. This allows them to get a clue to see if people are following SIP. Pretty interesting, and scary, article.

In OK, only 12% less movement to stores.

https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/

https://thenextweb.com/google/2020/...ealth-officials-with-coronavirus-containment/
 
mict085 said:
The citizens don’t get to vote on politicians salaries. They vote on that themselves. How the hell is that constitutional? That’s the kind of BS that needs to be outlawed. That, and every elected politician should be forced to use Obamacare. That would also not exist if they had to use it.
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It's constitutional according to Article I, and after the 27th Amendment, they don't really vote on their own salaries, but for salaries of future Congresses. Plus, the President does have the power to veto.

And your are wrong on Congress and the ACA. Congress, and its staff, do have to use the ACA or decline coverage. They have to select their health insurance from one of the exchange health plans. Additionally, they have the same regulations under the ACA as we all do. Their old health plan was prohibited under the ACA in 2010, which makes it the only large "group" in the country that is forced to use the ACA exchange plans.

The story that they have their own plan and don't use Obamacare is a fake news Rush/Hannity talking point.
 
Not one conservative or center-right individual would ever consider Trump a "conservative". He can't even decide on his party as he has switched it to benefit him- what a shock. He was a Democrat up until 2009. Hmmm, he changed it when Obama was elected. Most of his idealogy does not match up with conservative principles. As much as I dislike them, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are fundamental conservatives, not Trump.
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I don't know about Trump ideology, but most of the things he does are pretty consistent with what conservatives want. That's why they like him. He probably doesn't believe any of it or even understand it, but that's the character he is currently playing on TV.

Being okay with change and moving forward does not conflict with the idea of conservatism. Conservatism means you want to "conserve" as you put it the traditional ideas of government. Just because you embrace the conservative principles of the Founding Fathers or the party of Lincoln, doesn't mean you want to "conserve" things as they were in the 1700 and 1800s. Conservatism can still promote change, just as long as it is consistent with "traditional" values and principles. Interestingly enough, I would say allowing marijuana usage state-by-state would be one of those values- it should be a state decision, not a federal decision.
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Sure, I am not saying conservatives never offer change, they are just far less likely to do so, and a vast majority of their initiatives are geared around undoing previous things and going back to the way it was before, such as in the examples I gave. The other major part of their platform is fighting to keep certain things the way they are, like religious symbols, weapons, etc.

An example of conservative change I saw that hasn't gotten much media attention is actually a pretty palatable solution to healthcare called "Direct Primary Care"... I actually read it in the House GOP healthcare plan, and we have one in Tulsa. Their plan involved a massive influx of spending and support for Direct Primary Care, which is basically like a gym membership for healthcare.

Check out the place in Tulsa...

"With our Direct Primary Care (DPC) model, a flat monthly fee covers all your primary care needs and provides you 24/7 direct access to your doctor in-person or via phone, text, or video chat. We have cut out the insurance middle-man, so you have no co-pays, no deductibles, and no surprise costs for primary care services. We also have negotiated discounted cash pricing for prescriptions, labs, and imaging."

Newborn to 19 years old: $29 per month
20 years and older: $79 per month

So I have a wife and one child. It would cost us $187 a month for unlimited access to a doctor, 24/7. That includes all the doctors visits, care, etc. They have clearly labeled prices on certain things. If I need a stool culture, $8.00... Blood test, $10... Pap smear, $28... It's just listed on the board, like a food menu.

You don't even need insurance to do this. And they partner with employers to offer MUCH cheaper premiums on actual health insurance if employees are enrolled. It's so cheap that in some cases, employers are just paying the full amount for their employees to have Direct Primary Care.

I spoke to some conservative friends of mine about it, they have NEVER heard of it. Never heard of the concept, and certainly didn't know we had one in Tulsa. They liked the sound of it though.

Here is their website if you are interested... https://remedyhealthdpc.com/

As for cannabis, If I am not mistaken, it being illegal at the federal level creates some challenges for those operating in the state. Related to moving things across state lines, banking, etc.

But if the fed intervenes and creates more government, more bureaucracy and more programs to make the average citizen more reliant on government and give the government more control over the citizen, the government has become too big. You mentioned you don't have to go to college or retire so that means the government isn't too big or has too much control, but do you have the freedom to not fund those programs? Do you have the freedom to not pay increased tax rates or FICA that would pay for more government benefits? Of course not, so, therefore, the government has control and bigger than the citizen's rights of freedom and choice.
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Now you've gotten to the core of Libertarian thinking... The issue of force. You asked "do I have the freedom to not pay increased tax rates for more government benefits"... The simple answer is no, you don't. Just like right now in your property taxes in Tulsa you pay for free college at TCC, you pay for your local schools, etc even if you don't have children and won't benefit from that personally in any way.

But this type of force is required for the creation of a modern, functioning society. Just like force is applied when I am taxed and it goes to the military. I can't opt out of that either. The military does all sorts of things that I don't think are valid for my protection, like a war in Vietnam that ended up killing about 2 million people. Or like a war in Iraq that destabilized the entire region, led to ISIS, and has led to obscene death. But, just because I don't agree with it doesn't mean I had any power to opt out of it. It's the price I paid for a powerful military to protect the country.

In the words of former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, "taxes are what we pay for a civilized society".

This is a classic argument between intentionally building or engineering a society and leaving individual people alone.

Yes, the "system" needs new leadership, and ultimately at times, it needs reforming. That is why we have amendments to our Constitution, Congress' ability to enact new laws, or the Supreme Court's power to overturn laws.

Ideology isn't the same as it was 233 years ago, hence the changes over the years through the above avenues, but thankfully, our system is.
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Passing a constitutional amendment seems damn near impossible in today's political environment, but hopefully we can issue some reforms that modernize our government.
 
MJSooner said:
I deleted most of the quote to save room on the thread, but love the discussion. While we are probably on different ends of the political spectrum, there is a lot of common ground, particularly on the need to change campaign finance and the need to hear more from the citizens' voices.

A couple of points of clarification.
  • Not one conservative or center-right individual would ever consider Trump a "conservative". He can't even decide on his party as he has switched it to benefit him- what a shock. He was a Democrat up until 2009. Hmmm, he changed it when Obama was elected. Most of his idealogy does not match up with conservative principles. As much as I dislike them, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are fundamental conservatives, not Trump.
  • Being okay with change and moving forward does not conflict with the idea of conservatism. Conservatism means you want to "conserve" as you put it the traditional ideas of government. Just because you embrace the conservative principles of the Founding Fathers or the party of Lincoln, doesn't mean you want to "conserve" things as they were in the 1700 and 1800s. Conservatism can still promote change, just as long as it is consistent with "traditional" values and principles. Interestingly enough, I would say allowing marijuana usage state-by-state would be one of those values- it should be a state decision, not a federal decision.
  • Limited government and conservatism isn't just defined by spending. The responsibility of the federal government is to make laws, provide national security, define foreign policy, to support a national economy, and to provide equal opportunity for all. This can all be found in the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, and the Constitution. If the fed spends to provide for these issues, it is doing so by limited government. But if the fed intervenes and creates more government, more bureaucracy and more programs to make the average citizen more reliant on government and give the government more control over the citizen, the government has become too big. You mentioned you don't have to go to college or retire so that means the government isn't too big or has too much control, but do you have the freedom to not fund those programs? Do you have the freedom to not pay increased tax rates or FICA that would pay for more government benefits? Of course not, so, therefore, the government has control and bigger than the citizen's rights of freedom and choice.

Yes, the "system" needs new leadership, and ultimately at times, it needs reforming. That is why we have amendments to our Constitution, Congress' ability to enact new laws, or the Supreme Court's power to overturn laws.

Ideology isn't the same as it was 233 years ago, hence the changes over the years through the above avenues, but thankfully, our system is.
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MJSooner for President!!*

*However, you're gonna have to explain the dislike for Lee and Cruz to me.
 
Good morning, I’m working straight through the weekend.

I was on a conference call yesterday with some colleagues at the VA in Biloxi, they have a refrigerated truck setup out front for the dead bodies because their morgue was too small to handle that many. As of yesterday they had 30 patients on ventilators and they said the prognosis is not good once they are intubated. The peak here is predicted for the last week of April/first week of May. We are gearing up for that kind of situation, we are getting a fairly steady flow of positives at this point.
 
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