Fnord

You're a bigot. It's the truth, you just don't want to hear it. Or maybe you do. You're a weird MFer.

It's controversial because, despite it only affecting a tiny % of the population, it's become a wedge issue that can be used by folks like Maxipad Overflow to make pathetic, horrible assumptions and accusations about "others." It's bigotry. It's an issue for the children, their parents, and their medical providers. It's not your decision, it's not your business. Mine either. Circumcision is mutilating genitals too, and that's completely acceptable and affects far more people. I don't know what I would do if my son decided he was a girl, but I do know that the decision should not be made by anyone not directly involved.

Cool. As long as it's not religious in nature, they can share all the good news that's fit to print.

That was always going to happen. I'm not defending Biden for doing it, but I never expected him not to pardon Hunter. Why wouldn't he? Aside from protecting his son, it's a giant middle finger to the DNC, who he probably hates more than Trump right now. You're also in the EXTREME minority of righties with your opinion on the J6 rioters.

Ya hear that, Maxipad? I can practically feel you seething over this. Let it all out, boss. We're here for support. Man love is real love! :rainbows:

And will be prone to having their services and procedures refused.

Dude, get a grip. We don't support "child mutilation." That is NOT what this is about. You know this, but refuse to acknowledge it. Why?

I do. It is referred to locally as 41-donut. I will say I appreciate it when the Vikings get trounced out of the playoffs in that manner, like in 2000 and 2017. It stamps out the hope emphatically. There is no lingering what-ifs like in 1987, 1998 or 2009 (or even 2015, MF-ing Blair Walsh). As an aside, 2000 had to be one of the weakest NFL seasons ever. Baltimore barely fielded an offense and won the SB. Neither the Vikings or Giants were good enough to be in the NFCCG, yet there they were.

If the Vikings imminently collapsing affected me negatively, I'd be 5150'd by now. I've never seen less steam for a 10-2 team in my life, but that's okay. Nobody, including their fans, will ever believe they can win a SB until it happens. I take heart that they will almost certainly win one before the Giants get another, however.

And less appealing than the bull's ass it was torn from.

I thought you were fukin around. Imagine my delight that you were being honest! The bolded makes me want to meet her. I've found anarchists to be interesting folks, and who doesn't appreciate a good dominatrix?

There is a joke here about how drastically your faculties have deteriorated if this is a revelation to you. I respect you too much to make the joke myself, however.

Link?

It's legal for adults to give their minor children alcohol in quite a few states, both red and blue. There are actually quite a few exceptions for minors to drink and possess booze. Link Do you think that should be illegal?

I realize that. But I know a lot of gun owners, myself included. I know exactly one guy that has a silencer-equipped pistol, but he's an avowed gun nut that also has a .50 caliber rifle. Silencers are not that common in home arsenals. At least not that I'm aware of.

Damn. I hadn't heard about the silencer. Seems like a hit. Not too many aggrieved insurance customers with the capability to carry that out themselves. Although there are millions of aggrieved insurance customers...

Jealous? You'll never win me over with twitter spam and rainbow emojis, unless you admit to everyone what we already know: you are either homo- or transsexual and are in internal torment over it. We are here for you, and support your journey. Some of us even believe that you should maintain some semblance of normal human rights despite your proclivities.

How wonderful! Now if you can just avoid being a condescending dooshnozzle when responding to me we'll get along famously! I will reciprocate, of course. Maybe we can have a respectful relationship for a couple of months!

Who among us has not? (of those with the traits to engage in it, anyway)

Figure out what Occam's razor is, double check your numbers, educate yourself using innumerable online resources (since you look at everything and make your own decisions) as to why turnout numbers are down (hint: nobody liked Kamala) and reassess. Why didn't they cheat this time? Wait for it... You're getting awful big for your britches. Your swollen head inserted so far up your own ass is going to start causing discomfort one of these days. For the millionth time: you are a caricature of those you claim to hate. D'Souza bent the knee now? With Trump about to take office? Seems like a cowardly thing to do for such a brave, upstanding propagandist. He was and is a partisan shill that outright lied and is now trying to save his own ass. What a fockin hero. When will it occur to you that perhaps the elitist billionaires threatening the constitution also happen to be the ones you voted for? Never. You will never get it. You'll be the first guy to fall in line and shout agreement when Trump starts his unconstitutional drives to imprison and/or ruin those that dare to speak out against him. Mr. Anti-censorship just loves that editorial boards on papers owned by billionaires with government contracts to protect prohibit their newsrooms from endorsing a candidate. Or that government aid and grants will be decided now by quid pro quo, ideology and cronyism, not merit or need. For all your bluster, you can't even see the obvious.

1.The vaccine was not required by the government, other than for healthcare workers, which was completely justified. Individual businesses were able to make their own decisions, and they did. 2. Masks DO help in transmission of airborne disease. There was a reason that influenza was practically zero that year, and it's not because of a conspiracy, as someone referenced upthread. The biggest issue is that it is the SICK people that should be wearing them, not healthy. But remember, you could carry C-19 and still be completely asymptomatic. In that respect, masks were not helpful. 3/4. In hindsight, you're right. But in the moment, these things were not known. And given carriers could be asymptomatic, it was not known whether a child at school could potentially carry it home to their elderly grandparent and kill them. I will not argue that opportunists have milked the situation, that always happens. I also agree that the CDC being advised by the head of the teacher's union was at best bad optics, and at worst is directly responsible for a lot of the childhood issues we see now. 5. If we're being honest here, the politicization was really a Trump/right wing thing. Hell, he lost the election because of it and because of his recklessness, there are almost certainly at least several thousand people that died unnecessarily. What blew me away at the time was how many people just said "fock you, I ain't wearin no damn mask." Really? That is exactly how one says "I'm a selfish POS that DGAF about anyone else" without actually saying it. This is what Americans are supposed to do for our friends, family, and neighbors that indicates their lives are more important than our temporary comfort. We pull together and support each other. But MAGA collectively said "GFY. If it inconveniences me, preserving your health doesn't matter." A lot of the Wuhan lab origination pushback from media was a question as to whether the virus was intentionally released as a biological weapon; can we agree that there is no evidence of that? I think this is where things get muddied, since an accidental or negligent release from that lab was always a possibility, especially when China was in cover-up mode from day 1. And yes, China should be held responsible, but they never will.

I have no more likes to dispense today, but you earned one EG. Integrity is a trait that disappears all too quickly in times like these. We would all do ourselves a favor by evaluating our own.

Update?

@Engorgeous George Thanks for sharing your stories. What I gather from them is that you are a troublemaker, a pot-stirrer, a speaker of truth to power, a man with convictions not compatible with the times. And I mean these all in a complementary fashion. You have earned your kayaks, road trips, and drug binges. Huzzah, sir!