And then there were none...

Well, the virus may or may not totally outstrip the very best health services, whatever.

Let's keep the smugness to one side, both you girls. So, reading back, I know Miki will realise she started it and Lesley will know that she responded likewise. End of please.

So let's forget that and let's talk about the Primaries here and the quest for the Presidency of the USA and forget the Corona, COVID-19, here on this topic, it's covered in another thread.

Thanks Ladies, it's a no-no for sure after here ------------------------------------------



Talk of Joe, Donald, Bernie and ME.... is of course, still allowed here!!!!

Lesley - I threw my personal bomb at you and I apologize.

In a different and extremely scary chain of events -

My Wife stopped by a local supermarket on her way home for some quick groceries.  She could not find a parking spot and when she did every checkout counter had a line at least five deep - it was a fucking panic run.

THANK YOU! YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT OF A MAN-CHILD. THERE BETTER NOT BE ANY FUCKING SHOOTING! STOP IT NOW AND LET THE SANE ONES IN MY GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER THIS CRISIS MISHANDLED FROM THE START SO YOU COULD KEEP THE POTUS NEXT YEAR. YOU BETTER NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DECLARING MARTIAL LAW.

You lost and your name will stand right up there with the others of your ilk who thought self-adulation was all it took to be great!

Cool with me Miki

I AM seriously worried that fear of 'the virus' is going to do more damage than the virus itself.

Air travel is plunging, I wonder if that includes air freight and airmail.

Cruises are declining, the loss of revenue from oil sales is having an effect.

People not going to church, not going to games, not going to concerts, not going to anything.

Parades, rallies you name it.

The shopping is getting dumb too.

Vegas is sure going to get hit, and casinos.

Alberta is feeling the hit here in Canada. I'm guessing Texas will too.

And none of it is necessary.

Cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands a lot. No handshakes. If you go through a door, use your hip, not your hand. Just limit your contacting surfaces.

But this virus is sure going to cause economic ripples.

And this virus is going to effect politics.

Hi Lesley and Miki,

Yes, that's all gonna happen Lesley. I am off until Monday and it's a relief to get away.... I went to the sloopermarket about an hour ago and it was chaos! I have never seen the like on a Friday early afternoon!

Managed to park reasonably quickly though it was chocked, I just passed as a space opened. Inside the tills were very busy, usually there is one or two in front, but there were four or five. All the toilet rolls had gone, (other countries stockpile sensible stuff... the English.... toilet paper and wipes!!!!). Pasta was all gone, most tinned food.... all gone.... it's madness!

I went to the pharmacy section and got paracetamol and lemon flu paracetamol too, there was plenty of them, clearly not enough information is going out there, painkillers will be important to those with the flu like symptoms. But maybe people would panic buy those too.

For it appears that the UK has chosen an entirely different path than others....

It's the herd immunity angle. So that is to have the majority catch it whilst protecting the most vulnerable, (visits to care homes have been curtailed),  and then the virus has such a small pool to infect, it disappears. Kinda explained here, coz often it is linked with vaccination thresholds, but actually the original vaccine free term 'herd immunity', by Hedrich, is what is actually being applied:

https://thevaccinereaction.org/2018/06/the-theory-of-herd-immunity-has-nothing-to-do-with-vaccination-2/

Then those of the 'herd' are told that should you have a new cough, a cold or any suchlike symptoms, you must self isolate for seven, (was 14, now 7), days.

Many things have shut down, no foreign school trips, football suspended, large events suspended. But business as usual and colleges and schools open, (New York style, it worked before).

It's difficult to know whether this is the way to go or not, but it's what the UK government has chosen.... time will tell.

Yes, wash hands, try, try, try to not touch your face when out anywhere at all! Use wipes and bin them. Yes use tissues or your sleeve, bin/ wash! Yes carry a sanitiser, avoid large crowds if possible and remember to wash clothes after mixing with many people, sanitise anything exposed if you have been very close to people.

If you know you have not touched your face after going out, wash your hands the moment you get in. Keep a sanitiser in the car, sanitise your keys, door handle, car wheel, shift stick, indicator/lights/radio buttons and handles, otherwise it will be back on your hands when you get back in your car. Remember the door handle you opened your front door with, the bathroom handle too etc., or render the washing hands a complete waste of time... for the little bastardy blighter can survive 3 days on surfaces, less on clothes.

There was one thing different aabout today's shop, apart from the place being rammed. It was very, very quiet..... stiff upper lip? I heard not a word until I reached the till and a nice young girl with a young child spoke to me about it all, the shortages all the things she could not get. I think she was a little frightenend about it and needed to talk. Others joined in and the till girls, we all agreed how silly it was and began to joke about it. After packing my stuff, I reassured her that she should not worry, she would be fine, being young and healthy.....

I'm holed up for the weekend, I am going nowhere until Monday for work... I will have a huge clean, sort out and watch some stuff on Netflix.... so come on girls, what is worth binge watching on the flix???

Celia xx

The local and national news outlets are not reporting on the store runs except for one report of the empty shelves in one Target store - the empty shelves were where the toiletries were kept - toilet paper.

My Son works the swing shift and went by a store for groceries on his way home - he bought toilet paper. What did we do a century ago without toilet paper (stinky fingers???)!

They cancelled my favorite sport, at least the first round - the Australian GP. I love F1 racing. NBA basketball (my home team went from the top to the bottom this year, oh well), NHL hockey (which I don't watch, anyways), MLB baseball (the only sport I played and was good at), PGA golf (I consistently hit a drive 290+ yards but not always straight) and nearly every concert coming up in the next couple of weeks.

I agree that the worst aspect of this outbreak will be the unnecessary toll it takes on those not directly affected.

Oh Miki,

Firstly I can answer the toilet paper thingy. Leaves, yes dried leaves were sold for the usage of...., certainly in England and her Dominions at least! I would truly like to know which Tree leaves were best, I do not know.... for I know many things but not everything!!!!!

The affluent had sponges dipped in clean waters that would then be cleaned.

Way back when, the poor used leaves from the forest that were dried or kept to dry, whilst, for example, Henry VIII had Grooms Of The Stool that washed his bum with sponge and cloth!

In many non-Anglo countries today, folk simply wash their bottoms with their hands and then wash their hands. it's not so strange, the Romans did that and it is, (as long as one washes one's hands), probably a cleaner option as long as it all goes far away!

I prefer the wet wipes and then use paper, just in case anyone is most uninterested, but then as I am regular in the morning, I always bathe or shower afterwards!

It's just life and my love of history that I know all that....

Anyway Miki!, I remember your boasty boasty of being able to hitting 290 straight or nay..... I can hit straight but not so far by a long way! Yes I can do 220, but guaranteed straight is more like 160.... 140...   But, get me within that of the green and ya got problems sister!!!!! It's why I like the par 3 courses!!!!

Anyway, I love F1 too and I was looking forward to watching the Aussie one this weekend too! But there ya go! And I thought ya liked Premier League football, soccer? But that's off too!!!!

I got bored already being at home and have my eye on an Antique Fair tomorrow, if I wake up in time.... I guess I won't hole up for the whole weekend, what's the point!!!! I've cleaned, I've washed, I've sorted, it's all done and it's not even Saturday!

And, I am very, very picky on films and TV series... it takes ages to find anything I want to watch! So please advise of a cool tv programme ya like!!! Might play more chess online and perhaps invest in a games machine.... don't really do video games, but I may try one or two?  

Worst thing is, not only am I avoiding my 81 y.o. Mother atm, I also put off my very, very best friend from coming down this weekend and regret it, coz this holing up idea is not good for my soul!!!!!

It's just that my dear friend is in her 70's and I am only thinking of her health, as I am my Mother's, in case I am a spreader from my work... My pal is so good, she buys me lots of stuff, clothes, perfumes and other stuff she thinks I'd like, coz I ferry her around when she needs help when I can.

I just don't know when I will feel it's safe to see my Mother or my bestie again, it's like a horrid dream, all gone wrong!

Celia xx

Well, my longest drive was 327 about 30 years ago with a wooden driver and a RAM golf ball. It went straight down the fairway. But, as is my wont, I likely played to 110 on a very difficult Monterey Bay course called Pasatiempo. Same designer who did Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. My best handicap was 19.1. It pays to hit the ball straight - down the middle.

I suspect my putting average would be in the low 2s. Like you, once I am on the green, the ball finds its own way to the hole.

I don't like Sanders, I'm a Dem and don't view him as one. Although I guess you have to let him switch parties during elections or he could run on an independent ticket and guarantee a republican victory.

I'm not really thrilled about Biden, for one he should have ran in 2016 so he's really partly if not mostly to blame for Trump.

I'm far from being a socialist but support social programs and don't think you should go bankrupt over Healthcare and Blake the Obamacare requirement that you were forced to have it or pay a fine to fund Healthcare.. I love the stock market and also try to get people to start investing in a Roth retirement fund which usually falls on deaf ears. Typical example, I tried to get a Facebook friend to start one but she says she has no money although she buys wigs at least monthly.

Just an FYI everyone you can open one up with no fees now or expense ratios When I was young that was not a possibility.

Lesley Niyori wrote:But really, the US needs to get the 40% not voting part of the populace to vote.

That might backfire. I've talked to a lot of people who don't bother voting. Half of them don't participate because they know the libertarians don't have a chance. The libertarians I know who do vote either blow their vote on the libertarian candidate, which is pretty much the same as not voting, or they vote republican. I don't know a single libertarian who has ever voted democrat. They're probably out there, but I haven't met them or, to my knowledge, interacted with them online.

Out of the remaining half half of them don't vote because they simply don't care. It doesn't matter to them who's in office. As long as they can feed their kids and have some fun in their down time it doesn't matter at all if Trump gets reelected or if Biden gets in. They won't even notice unless whoever's in office does something that interferes with them earning a living or pursuing happiness, they'll ignore whatever policy is interfering with that, and they'll die in a shootout if those policies are ever enforced. They're basically of the "let the clowns in Washington throw their pies and spray their seltzer as long as they leave me alone" mentality.

The other half don't vote because every candidate, including during the primaries, strikes them as a milquetoast centrist. These are the extremists from both sides. On one side you have the "whatever they told your parents at birth is what you are" people who want people like us to be thrown into asylums, subjected to electric shock therapy, they want to bring back sodomy laws, think the confederacy made some good points, whatever caricature the media and the left slander Trump supporters with they actually embody. And no, they're not Trump supporters. To them he's just a "* loving one world left wing *." Normally I leave offensive language in direct quotes, but these people use language that not even I would use in any context and I'm the type that takes "you can't say that" as a personal challenge.

On the other side you have people who think North Korea is something to aspire to, as long as they can get someone into the office of dear leader who thinks exactly like they do. They have a very short list of "acceptable" political views, creeds, and even cultural artifacts (movies, music, etc.) and anything not on that list, or even a variant of something on the list that strays too far for their comfort, should be illegal. They believe that if you hold an opinion that offends them you should be subject to arrest with the same sentencing guidelines they apply toward serial killers. They're not content with deplatforming, they think that anyone with a dissenting opinion should be removed from society, damnatio memorea declared and strictly enforced on them, their ancestors, their descendants, and all first and second degree relatives. They think Sanders would just be an extension of the Reagan administration. It would be a disservice to call the policies they want enacted Orwellian, because they would make Airstrip One look like a utopia.

I say if people aren't voting we don't do anything to encourage them. I'm not too worried about the extremists. There are enough sane people on both sides of the aisle that the extremists wouldn't get their way (and if you're about to point out Trump as an argument against that, you have no idea how harmless he is compared to a lot of the people on both sides who could get into the White House) so I'm not really worried about them, but if we activate them they will proceed to make a mess of the primaries for no benefit, as they won't care about the election once their proposed tyrant drops out of the primary. If we mobilize the non voting libertarians they will either vote libertarian, which is the same as not voting in the grand scheme of things, or it will be 2040 by the time we have another democrat in office.

The ones who don't fall into those categories you're not going to convince. If someone doesn't care about politics enough to vote you're not going to convince them that it's important enough to care about. And even if you make them feel an obligation to go to the polls they might not vote the way you want them to.

You may be right, I might even be one of them, maybe, likely just a lot of hot air.

If I could would I?
Push a button, and reduce the capital/whitehouse/senate to a pile of rubble?
I'd rather never know I suppose.

I do NOT like the US government at all.
But I have no real hate of American schmucks.

I hate Christianity, but I know of so many Christians I don't hate.

All of my worst experiences online have been while dealing with transgender women, not TERFS.
Which is rather a shocking statement.

At the end of the day, I'd be ok just shutting up about being transgender, because I am one, I can't not be one, but it's actually not the biggest problem in my life. Being disabled rules my life, not being transgender. I can remove my wig, wear pants, and lie about my gender if needed. I'm disabled, and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't work, regardless of need.

If the PC party in Ontario, does anything to render me homeless, if I lose everything, I won't respond in a civil fashion. I won't have reason to care. And being an atheist, it won't weigh on my mind, how I respond.

I hope it never comes to that.
I just want to grow old with my bears.

Hi Everyone!

So Joe Biden is now the favourite to win 2020.... according to the London Bookmakers.....

Joe Biden 5/6
Donald Trump Evens (1/1)

Were I a gambling kind of person, I would put a fair whack on 5/6..... but I am a safe person that does not gamble, Joe is old and knowing my luck he'll withdraw for some reason. I am sure he would be far more of a favourite if he just kept quiet until at least October..... his opponent is making enough noise for both of them.

Celia xx

I am not a gambling person, so tell me: does a 5/6 bet mean if I put 5 on Biden I get 6 back (my original 5 plus 1 in winnings) if he wins. Or, do I get my original 5 plus 6 in winnings?

I once bet on a pro basketball game (the Warriors) in Las Vegas, took the points and won, but I don't think I would want to try and make a living at sports betting.

I do love poker, and if I had a stake, I could make a living at that sport.

Hi Miki,

Ya put 6 on and you win 5. So total return on a 6 dollar bet is 11 dollars, that is 5 in winnings plus your 6 dollar original outlay back. Its almost evens. I think it will shorten, if Joe stays well and keeps his words to himself for now and simply be the voice of reason and not take the bait of opposition rants in October/November, it's all he has to do to win.

Celia xx

You could take the bet on Biden now and if later the odds change also bet on Trump. 'Hedging a bet'. In other words you can't lose no matter who wins. It might  stick in your throat if Trump wins though. The pros make lots of money from bets like that.

I like a bet but mainly on horses because I know the subject and occasionally make money. But I once bet on Glasgow Rangers soccer team to win 4-0 or 5-0. They were 5 nil up in the last minute. I was happily counting my winnings and yes they scored a sixth.

Then there was the time I put six horses in a small bet. Then changed my  mind about one of them. I still won a €1000. The smiling bookie who counted out my cash couldn't understand my glum face. If I'd left well alone it would have been €30,000.

Celia Eriksson wrote:Hi Everyone!

So Joe Biden is now the favourite to win 2020.... according to the London Bookmakers.....

Joe Biden 5/6
Donald Trump Evens (1/1)

Were I a gambling kind of person, I would put a fair whack on 5/6..... but I am a safe person that does not gamble, Joe is old and knowing my luck he'll withdraw for some reason. I am sure he would be far more of a favourite if he just kept quiet until at least October..... his opponent is making enough noise for both of them.

Celia xx

Keep in mind that Clinton was the favorite at this time in 2016. You can't trust polls. Most people answer based on who's around them. If you call a Trump supporter up, their Biden supporting child or sibling is there, and they know an argument will break out they'll probably say Biden just to keep the peace. There are probably Biden voters who claimed are voting Trump for the same reason.

If they're doing a "man on the street" type thing they're not going to get accurate results. Do you think a Trump supporter in an area where wearing a "Make/Keep America Great" hat can get you beaten will risk a toddler in an adult's body hearing them? They're either going to refuse to answer or say Biden just to get the pollster to stop hassling them.

If they were to come to my little speed bump of a town the Biden voters would be too worried about getting a bullet to the head to answer. Fortunately I'm in the "flyover country" that doesn't matter despite the fact that the "important areas" couldn't function without us so no pollsters will come here.

I have to admit I'm guilty of that, myself. Around my family, my church, and at work it's assumed that I'll vote for Trump. Here, on Reddit, and when I'm out on the town it's probably assumed that I'll be voting Biden. I'm not confirming or denying either claim. I know how I'm voting in November and telling one of the groups that their assumption is wrong is more trouble than it's worth.

Good points Tiffany, a lot of what you say is true. But, these are not polls, they are hard nosed London Bookmakers that stand to lose big bucks on something so pronounced as the US election, especially as a straight choice, no spread, no add-ons, it's win or lose and they are very shrewd people, they have to be where money is involved.

They rarely are surprised with elections, I think the last one they got terribly wrong was when John major got re-elected about 1992 or 1993.

There is a big difference to many elections, this is gonna be very close, very, very close and they need to round the book carefully. The odds are the average, you might be able to get slightly better odds at some point. The odds would be hard to change, because I would say a monumental gaffe by either would move the odds a little, but with both men prone to placing their lower appendages in their mouths without outraging their own likely voters, I doubt the odds will change much.

Celia xx