IS IT SAFE TO GO TO TOURNAMENTS YET...3?

It's true...the blame lies with the average joe who voted in the failed leadership.  If a political party nominated Taylor Swift, and she won the presidency, whose fault is the resulting crappola that ensues?  Taylor Swift's?  No.  The weak-minded people that voted her in.  She just is who she is.  The inability to see who she is and make a rational decision not to support her is the failing of the people.

If people believe that a cabal of child-killing satanists are controlling the media (QAnon)because they believe an anonymous internet troll (or trolls) from 4chan, is that the fault of the trolls?  No.  It's the fault of the weak-minded people that believe conspiracy theories that fit their political agenda even when there's not a shred of proof.

When people watch only 1 news source on TV and pass around Facebook memes and chain letters even knowing that Facebook is rife with fake accounts and bots, is that the fault of Facebook?  No.  It's the fault of the weak-minded people that are too dense to question anything they are seeing.

There's been a lot of talk about cognitive tests recently and how supremely hard it is to repeat 5 words in order, and I think it's time we added an annual test to maintain US citizenship:

Every year, a random conspiracy generator sends citizens a fake conspiracy Email from a fake website, spoofed to look like it was chosen/forwarded from a random relative...if the receiver of the Email buys in by taking action on the fake website, or forwards the Email to more than 3 people, they are stripped of citizenship and sent to Alaska with a 10lb bag of rice to survive the winter (let's see who gets that reference), if they survive the winter, they can take a new citizenship test .

The FCC is starting a special 988 line for suicide prevention. i got a email about it (3) days ago. sooo sad.

That's not possible. I distinctly remember quite a few people, here in these forums, saying suicides would not go up at any significant rate. They seemed to think that if it did, it would be such a small unintended consequence that it would easy to brush aside. In fact, all the unintended consequences were supposed to be brushed aside. Even if it meant many, many millions of lives lost or ruined, it's all worth it. The thinking was, and probably still is, that even if more lives are lost to the unintended consequences they aren't as important as the ones lost to the covid directly. 

here. this came out the other day...

https://www.nbc12.com/2020/07/17/fcc-approves-new-digit-national-suicide-hotline/

  I think she's just being sarcastic Lola..

my question is why ??....why is the govt creating this line now ?

are they reacting to the data being collected ?...are the #'s going up ?

ronald, i am sooo emotional right now that im about to explode !

and why would i care ?...cuz A im a US Citizen and B ? so goes stateside ?...so goes St Croix.

Because, as has been repeated over and over again, the govt is inept. It is not equipped to handle things best left to local jurisdictions. That's why. The farther up you go in govt, the less effective it will be. That's why it was so very important for the people who founded the US to make federal govt the smallest and least impactful on your life as possible. Thats why things like military and treaties are best left to  the federal govt. And things like healthcare and education are best left to local authorities. 

But over time people thought it would be a good idea to get those who are least involved in your life, more involved. Now, the bureaucracy is so immense, so powerful, so inept it cannot be put back to its original purpose. People got what they asked for, now is not the time to whine about it. Now is the time to fix it. People have become so dependent on govt, at all levels, they have completely forgotten what the role of govt even is. It has gone from overseer of liberty, to enforcer of minutia. 

When everything in your life is a problem because the govt is not there to fix it for you, that is when you know your govt has become way too powerful. So do you REALLY need a suicide hotline and daily numbers on the covid? Or do you need to pull your family and community together and form a common sense plan that works for you and those around you?

I have found that those who take the initiative to look out for themselves, their family, and their community find themselves not only in a more calm and secure place, but also a more prosperous one. 

well, the agreeing is short lived .

you say responsibility starts with individuals. on a certain level, i agree. i completely disagree that people should be left to their own devices. seat belts, insurance, and helmets are mandatory because people cannot be trusted to make wise decisions. just look at all the gatherings where people eschew wearing a mask. 

we elect those in government to govern. for all you write about how they need not be involved, i would say this time is the exact reason they need to earn their living by governing, instead of deferring to the locals, as if the virus can't cross county/state/country lines. a mask mandate in one town while the adjacent town considers business as usual is not a course of action that will lessen infections.

in my opinion, this should have been a time where federal government put safety above other concerns and put in place standards nationally based on all available information. the u.s. has only started to do this now. 

for those that are so concerned about the economy, i would ask that you look into who received money from the cares act. the legislation was drafted by those we elected.

then there is the fact that the government is simply printing money to keep people from being homeless. i have no issue with it as it has not produced inflation as it has in the past and it keeps people and businesses contributing. 

the george carlin bit-garbage in, garbage out.

Oh please. Of course individual responsibility is a core component of society, but these days conservatives only use it as an excuse to shuck the complexities of organization that are necessitated by the modern world.

You need government to help societies plan ahead. To account for things like the disadvantaged and corporate greed. The myopic and selfish view of "I'm fine, so why aren't you" is disgustingly childish... and I can't think of a better way to describe conservatives... disgustingly childish.

And every time I open this ridiculous topic I see yet another post by @lfpatriotgames

Obviously @lfpatriotgames is an intelligent individual, feverishly working to justify ideas that he/she knows are BS... if she were comfortable with the ideas espoused then she wouldn't bother going into such contortions to justify them to an unknown audience.

It's as if every time I open this I see a cry for help. "Please dissuade me from my ridiculous ideas"

Well look, I think you already know what you need to do.

Stop getting your news off of facebook. Stop getting your news from only once source. Start allowing yourself to think things though instead of following conservative's advice to doubt your own mind what you're seeing and what you're hearing is not the truth

Because of course, you know deep down, that no one but manipulators would tell you to doubt your own mind.

And so, once again, I have to unfollow this train wreak of a topic, which is sorrowfully populated, predominantly by one woman's cry for help.

Then unfollow. I never said what works for me would work for you. I understand there are many people who rely heavily on govt. They simply dont know any better. There are a lot of people unwilling or unable to look out for themselves. But that is the society we created, and now we have to deal with the consequences. As far as a "cry for help", it should be obvious that the opposite is what I want. I dont want unnecessary interference in my life, or the lives of my family and community. Sorry if I didn't make that more clear. 

Maybe you just dont like that I DO think things through. And dont follow blindly those that have no clue what they are doing. 

First step towards thinking for yourself... delete your FB account. Good luck.

I like FB. It's not the only way to share experiences and photos though. It's one of the best ways to connect with the community. Not just with things like the covid, but also normal everyday issues. Like school, work, family, and common interests. If deleting your FB account helps you think for yourself, then that's what you should do if you like. But that opinion doesn't extend to others. You dont get to decide how others think for themselves. My opinions are formed based on personal experience. I'm sure yours are too. Because my experiences are likely very different than yours, of course you will not agree with MY thinking for myself. You aren't supposed to. You have to do what works for you. 

See, you're a reasonable person... which is why I think you post here.

In any case I don't have a facebook account... or a TV for that matter.

Just saying.

i think you might be shooting yourself in the proverbial foot by saying that people don't know when you have written that it is the people that should know.

you cannot view it both ways and be considered relevant.

stating that there are those that do not know how to 'function' is an advertisement for a functioning government. 

the society we have created evolves. 101 years ago you would not have been able to vote. 60 years ago many black people could not vote. 

you can write all you want about unnecessary interferences, and some may be valid. on the issue we face now with covid-19, what you might consider to be interferences might save lives.   

having said that, you have made some good points on the issue.

Global pandemics are the purview of the federal government.  Just like wars.  Because they potentially  affect everyone.  Because leaving each community to determine their own responses leads to the less intelligent among us causing needless heartache and wasted resources for the rest of us...much like reading this thread.