PozBearWI

I can't speak for how things will unfold down under. Here in the US there are multiple solutions, not just one. I would not cry if muskrat got offed, but I suspect that isn't going to happen. I think with our gun crazed population (well some of our population) gun violence seems inevitable. Greed, we're somewhat repeating the US in the 1880's and 1890's, the so called golden age.

I'm not sure there is "no solution". Rather I think there are a variety of solutions, but one size doesn't nor should fit all.

I only wish you were in Wisconsin then, happy to spend hot naked time with you.

Hmmm, not sure how to think of this query.... Having been a biker myself for several decades...

My hope @Erik62 is that the majority of us (and MAGA thinking is no where close to majority) coalesce into a unified opposition and we come back to the center; where the needs of most is the emphasis. Not that we shouldn't help our unique fellows, just not at the expense of the whole shebang.

Yes, know of those guys right around me.

Fuck @hntnhole you're going to pull out three words out of a paragraph? Normally you are prone to misreading so significantly. The idea of puberty blockers seems like a good idea. But we won't know the long term consequences until we have long term consequences. Electroshock and lobotomies we thought to be effective treatments until we learned they weren't. How you got that I was advocating electroshock for young gay people is pretty fukken astounding... Have you not been paying attention to who write what here???

We sold arms to Israel as part of our strategic partnership by treaty. Thankfully Biden was not too quick to abandon those. I think Netty pushed them too far though and fear that may lead to worsening global instability.

A bit of an amendment if you please.... Most religions here in the US no longer push the notion that only their views are acceptable. But some in the US do, Westfield Baptist for example. Globally, which will only influence us more in the coming years, we still have plenty of zealot sects.

Your best options to alter the course is BEFORE the election. Beyond that aside from sharing language; there are a host of unique "if/then/else" conditions that influence Australian life and USA life. It is great to know we want something, even better to understand why. Even better if we then understand how each of us are being impacted and find a place of mutual benefit? Here Donny and Elon? They are definitely not looking out for how their actions affect anyone else. They believe the better things go for themselves, that defines the place to be regardless of how that impacts those around them. Somehow we need to pull that curtain back.

Yeah, I have other friends thinking along gun lines. If that is where we're going as a society I rather hope I am one of the first ones shot. But I am a senior citizen; retired; been retired for about a decade. No matter the outcome I am not going to be living it for a lot of years anyway. Therefore disposable? I hope not. I do actively work on community committees. If we're not part of our immediate neighborhood, aren't we just sort of floating?

Nope @Erik62 not at all. For me "optimism" has left the station. But, I can see a variety of pathways which might unfold going forward. Some utterly brutal. We are in the process of grappling with the BIG DIVIDE we're living in. We have a whole lot of people seeking a savior; taking the position of "here go fix this" as if government were our local mechanic. Worse, rather than a shared pool of interaction, we've spun off into factions and pretty much ignore. We are in a world where conflicting and often warped if not overtly wrong information being spun to the masses pretty close to moment to moment. I am not a guy on his "smart" phone constantly. It is wherever I last set it down. I am not a fan of sudden loud noises; appreciating whatever environmental sounds actually around me is what I favor. There was a time we didn't always have a running stream of music, or talk radio constantly streaming into our ears? If we live that, when do we ever get into that quiet space of focused consideration of whatever catches our interest. So clearly I am in a minority of my fellow Wisconsin citizens; and that has become largely true throughout the USA. And indeed listening to music, especially focused listening is a pleasurable activity. Without earbuds, there are sounds all around us. Environmental sounds present information about what is going on around us. Data for our brains to use in getting familiar with, and understanding what is occurring around us. It seems to me we block each out out mostly... I try to visit with neighbors standing in line with me. Even trite interaction confirms that we, the sound we make, the heat our bodies put out, how the space we're in smells. Restated focused time where we actively plug in all the senses we can take in about the space we're in now, with whomever is with us now. I also became an adult while the 1960's unfolded. And it pretty much feels now like we were then. It might be that we need to consider the history of the 1960's (and early 70's) and see if we can see better what NOT to do now. Somehow, we need to rediscover our common ground. I don't think that happens for any of us until we, ourselves, decide to.

A pretty good summation of the present state of USA leadership @negchaserlooking. In some ways I am glad I don't possess the ability to see into the future. Suffice to say we have a problem and many are leaning towards H2 ignorant of history 100 years ago. I am very hopeful my Australian brothers will prevail and not copy the US in your next election.

Would MAGA do that? Some for sure would as they seem to be unaware of consequences. Is madness infectious? Yup.

Thanks. FWIW (for what its worth) I strongly support religious freedom. However if your religion instructs you to kill me for my beliefs, we have a problem right?

Oh lord NOT the way HIV/AIDS were dealt with. For the first few years to our President AIDS was the solution, not a problem.

Ooooh baby if I was a fortune teller. Probably we're all safe though to recognize that things will differ a month from now, a couple months after that, this coming Fall... It could turn into an utter shit show. But maybe it won't. JD might be too busy fucking the couch in the oval office... LOL

You've lived; hit challenges and got through. Yeah we're all susceptible to picking up prior behaviors which hurt us. Helps to know when we're in danger. I'm glad you're here @Poz50something.

Indeed. We have clues only in that we have alternatives we can envision. But what will actually happen remains to be seen. My very UNscientific poll among people I know suggests their early thinking involved guns. And yeah that could I suppose happen. Maybe even 5050 odds of a civil war. But maybe odds are greater than I think.... I think speed of intervention will have a large influence on longer term outcomes.

That would give those who wish to go after, let's say finally eliminate all those gay people so they won't reproduce, and then they will cease to exist... Not unlike 100 years ago as Germany devolved into it's despicable outcome.

Costa Rica 25 years ago, vs now, and potentially where it may be 25 years from now...

KILLS If the proposed drug kills someone; we would know early in the game; the drug trial would end and things go back to be studied. So when you write the drug kills xyz, that just won't happen. Now we might see some percentage of the group exposed to new(ish) treatment XYZ manifest other health conditions later on. But inferring that was "caused" by the vaccine would be unanticipated. We've had unhappy things happen while trying new treatments. If the option is "do nothing" vs "learn and do the best we can"; why would we not side for the latter? The trials we do are a pretty good predictor of how a new vaccine will work among the full population. It is nonetheless true we are working with diverse humans. At initial roll out the first users are the final guinea pig. Perhaps you've forgotten that during the Covid19 initial vaccinations they were rolled out by risk. Those who might die sooner anyway but for whom avoidance of the pathogen lessens a hasty death. My group; HIV poz, otherwise immune compromised, seniors with some underlying conditions were that first Covid vaccination group. It would be interesting to grab those stats specifically; how many of us were adversely affected by the vaccine and how infections rates evolved between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. SAVES Context is relevant here. The words you used were "(it) saves 10 million lives". Knowing how many lives were "saved" requires us to know what would have happened vs what actually happened. And while we can measure things to gain a trajectory of likely outcomes; we don't know specific numbers. By tracking information and grouping them into those we did X to and those we didn't do X to; gives us one way of considering outcomes. From that we can calculate what what likely would have happened. But it is a calculation. If you meant, 2 million died rather than 12 million from the disease we are attempting to control; I am pretty damned happy with that number. A more accurate metric would be when we compare the frequency and severity of infections between vaccinated and unvaccinated. And if you listen to any statement about Covid vaccine, it's goal was to reduce frequency and severity of infection. They absolutely do not guarantee you won't get infection by the targeted pathogen. If we're watchful, some of that USAID sorta work, we can detect and contain a new pathogen to as small as possible geographic region as we can. Initial containment limits progression and sometimes that is self correcting (looking back on human history). My HIV resistance directly connected to the Black Plague survivors. We implemented AZT largely as an experiment rather than do nothing until we achieved perfection. So the number you pose is unlikely, but honest if I am one of the 10 million, that is 10 million ostensibly happy people vs zero. I imagine there are stats one can pull that would give us the details of 85 yo 95 treatment success ratio.

Thank you!

It would not be the first stupid venture Donny posed, started and failed in. What is unclear is he speaking as Donny the guy who buys (rather than develops) real estate? Or as POTUS? It is quite unclear if he sees a difference. He seems to have deluded himself into believing he owns the USA.

Adding to @BootmanLA 2-1-1 use of PrEP has been approved for some time now. Meaning even that doesn't necessarily have to be taken daily unless you have raw anonymous sex daily. IF that is the case it would be worthwhile do discuss with your doctor how to manage your comparatively unique case with your doc.