caulfield12

January 23rd to my wife going back to work on March 30th (essential/govnt workers)...that said, the official opening up was April 8th, and from a practical consideration, most K-7 students never went to school that entire time, in-person. Only Grade 6/9/12 for nation-wide exams in June and July. We got an emergency permission to bring kids back in mid-May for one week (mock exams). I didn’t go outside once from January 23rd until May 25th, a full four months. For the majority of people in the city, including senior citizens/retired, the average was somewhere around 3 1/2 - 4 months inside entirely...only being allowed to pick up food at the apartment gate or go out once a week for groceries, and you had to go through numerous checkpoints with temp checks to get anywhere. If you had a fever or even got caught trying to buy fever medicines from the pharmacy, immediate two week quarantines away from family. Lots of families even refused to let supposedly healthy family members members return after quarantine if there was a baby or young child in the household. Keep in mind, many apartments had three generations if not four staying together, so both very old and very young mixed together with twenty and thirty-some parents.

Probably something to do with the fact that 30-50% of senior citizens are scared to wait in long, out in the open, public lines with some refusing to wear masks or quite confrontational about being forced to...can guarantee he will push mail in ballots in Florida as well as a number of higher risk states with disproportionate voting numbers over age 50.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thats-the-only-way-we-survived-government-stimulus-provided-millions-a-lifeline-now-families-are-on-the-brink-142544221.html

Bucknor I think it is...not to be confused with Bill’s 1986 Mookie Wilson/Cubbie/Seinfeld version.

The difference is on the strength of the expected government response that’s coming in late January or early February assuming current election trend lines continue to put a stop to this in the heart of the winter before we lose another semester of school to online classes. At a certain point, enough people not being responsible and a critical mass not enforcing policies (that are wildly inconsistent and constantly changing already) leads us to the conclusion something more draconian must be imposed. Texsox is trying to humanize it like good politician with vignettes and stories of individual entrepreneurs, but they’re all going to be swept away if this goes on for another 4-6 months and without any more government financial assistance. For example, the US rental market is on the verge of a complete collapse as the pressure on landlords builds with no end in sight. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/07/tech/qanon-europe-cult-intl/index.html It’s going to get REALLY ugly/nasty/Darwinist if the entire world needs to be locked down again. There’s the exponential growth of qAnon across Europe and even South America. One of my coworkers in China has been mesmerized by this way of thinking, and he now wants to physically fight another Civil War back in the US with anyone who doesn’t agree with his conspiracy-driven philosophy. Texsox is unlikely to be a QAnon cult leader (they are wholeheartedly anti-golf as an elitist sport, except Trump and Abe playing, lol), but the scariest thing is those blindly following because there’s such a vacuum in world leadership that they are gravitating to like-minded communities for a sense of solidarity, for a meaning/purpose in life.

I also think a lot of this falls under the countryside/rural/open spaces vs. city/urban area argument... While there are exceptions, many or most of the Red states tend to have less dense populations. While there are notable higher population states (like Ohio, Texas, Florida and Georgia,) there’s that constant narrative barrage of “failed city/Blue mayors” arguments being made each and every day on conservative social media...that the country is completely falling apart due to mayors and not governors or the executive branch. If you were to throw out a few stereotypes, the red states supposedly care more about individual freedoms, gun rights, less interventionist or limited government, etc. Going by most of the comments here, people in urban areas are more willing to collectively shut down. And throughout this, those in rural areas believe (mostly) that life should still go on as normally as possible, with many saying things like “I’d rather die as a result of the virus than wear a mask for the 3-5 years or completely change the way I live my life because someone TELLS me that it’s the right or best or safest thing to do and is for the collective good of everyone else.” And the logical counterargument is places like Florida or South Dakota that are basically now taking the Sweden path moving forward...when, at best, only 10-20% of the US has been exposed/infected already and it’s burning through the most secure building in the world like a California wildfire. I would guess we’ll see similar trend lines between city/urban and country/rural about acceptance of the “compelling community need” to be vaccinated, once these first human participants have cleared at least three months after Stage 3 trials without any significant side effects.

He even said it was exactly five times worse, quite precisely.

The problem with all these analogies to motor safety laws is there’s a huge consequence for not following them...losing your license, going to jail, etc. We don’t have that level of seriousness yet...not across the board. It’s more analogous to the pregnant mother who smokes, drinks alcohol, especially any illegal drugs while pregnant...it’s more of a social stigma, and every mother knows it can lead to birth defects...but that doesn’t stop some from taking that risk. Back to that personal responsibility, where there’s not as much of an official government enforcement mechanism, other than the consequences to the health of an unborn baby (outside of the illegal drugs angle.) You can’t have a true lockdown in most American cities (anyway) because almost everyone has a car, and most live in single family homes, so there’s simply no way like here in China to block them in their houses, garages or driveways that’s going to be practical. There aren’t enough police, National Guard or active duty military to control massive swaths of population or land area, either. Can hardly control travel from one state to another, unless all available resources were allocated to that purpose. Plus, there’s neither the will, funding nor available (in the moment) training for efficient contact tracing...which has been one of many failures on all levels of government.

https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/10/06/california-congressman-says-he-got-coronavirus-after-sen-mike-lee-interaction-1321724 Calif Democratic Congressman claims (without much proof) that Utah GOP Senator Mike Lee gave him Covid.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/why-are-pandemic-sports-ratings-so-terrible.html Puts the White Sox ratings in even more of a positive light, compared to sports industry-wide trends...

Tanaka was never a high 90’s guy, though. He always relied more on command and movement than pure stuff.

But the odds of Pederson producing 1.5-2 fWAR for an entire 2021 season, compared to Mazara? If they spend the entire budget on Springer, they’re only going to have room for reclamation pitching prospects. At best, you get someone like Gausman if you buy Springer at peak.

That didn’t age well. 5-4 Rays. Going to have to be really strategic about bullpen use with no off days, Cash needs to manage the game of his life to avoid 0-2 hole.

If we’re not willing to pay Springer (who would only cost money), we’re not going to do the same for Blackmon and surrender useful talent to boot.

Pulling Deivi Garcia after a 1-1 tie game out of the first for JA Happ totally changed the momentum of this one...Rays all over the Yankees, who are self-destructing. Also, Stanton on a huge tear this postseason.

You can add "immigration policy advisor" Stephen Miller to the positive Covid list.

Now do you go Montas, Fiers, Luzardo?...tough call for G3. With Minor in right now, that option is pretty much off the table.

Springer is pretty much hitting his way off the White Sox list this postseason...

Before late January, 2021...or 2024? If he can at least battle Harris to a draw this week, he still has a puncher’s chance four years from now. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-29/trump-s-convention-offered-peek-at-2024-republican-primary Arguably, Pence and Pompeo have the most to lose in a Nov. 3rd blowout, along with Donald Jr. and Ivanka. Nikki Haley probably goes to the head of the 2024 pack in that scenario, perhaps Paul Ryan, Cruz and Rubio, Kristi Noem...who knows what the world will look like by then? Then you have Hogan, Baker and DeWine who will come out of Covid the strongest governors, along with Noem.

Not St. Louis even with the Rams...Boston has always been more identified with Red Sox and Celtics, although one could argue it’s even now with the Pats as well. LA is definitely not a professional football town. Atlanta, the Braves and Falcons might have a slight edge on the baseball side. Detroit has been Tiger town the past 15 years. Of course, the Red Wings as well. Toronto, the Blue Jays have owned city until recent Raptors’ success.

All depends on pitching health. Could be Clevinger, Lamet and Gore in MLB debut...could just as easily be Paddack, Richards/Davies, bullpen game. Meanwhile, LAD lead with Buehler and Kershaw yet again. Rosters are due at 11 a.m. EST.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-trade-candidates-offseason-2020-2021 Almora/Schwarber (RF) E.Escobar/K.Calhoun L.Lynn Tauchman/C.Frazier S.Marte R.Iglesias J.Hader H.Renfroe D.Duffy

At some stage, hopefully sooner rather than later, the Thai government will have to re-open its borders and find a way to ‘manage’ the Covid-19 situation rather than remain in a travel bubble of its own making. The longer the government doesn’t re-open to something akin to general tourism, the harder it will be to re-boot the former Thai tourism powerhouse. You would think with a compulsory wearing of face masks, some diligent respect for social distancing and constant reminders of good hygiene and hand washing, most of the risk factors for Covid-19 can be mitigated. Testing before travel and upon arrival also provides an extra level of defence. There are well established ways to avoid a virus beyond the blunt tool of simply closing borders. Sure locals, who have been living inside this Siamese Bubble for 6 or so months, will also have to manage their own prevention with potential new cases coming into the country. The recent complacency will have to be replaced with a new vigilance. The mandatory 14 day quarantine, clearly a major sticking point for many travellers, has been cobbled together to appear as little more than a money-making exercise for a select group of wealthy hoteliers, rather than a well-grounded public health policy. Appointing a government-owned private company as the intermediary for travel arrangements also smacks of turning Covid travel into a profit centre for a single business entity. The 10 room guesthouse in Patong and the bike tour company in Chiang Mai are making nothing from this exercise. The two reoccurring themes behind every announcement about possible re-openings are “fear” of a new wave of Covid-19 and “we’re just waiting for a vaccine”. Whilst the Thai government’s success in containing Covid-19 relatively early is something to be proud of, it has been replaced with an irrational fear to develop a useful, science-based plan to re-open the borders. And while the hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine are shared by millions, the history of successful coronavirus vaccines is not good. In fact there has never been a workable vaccine for any of the five other coronaviruses. The urgency and clear need for a vaccine for Covid-19 has forced scientists to fast-track their development and testing, and clinical trials are currently underway. But, even if they work they will only be partially successful and many people simply won’t get the vaccine, either through choice, poorly-informed fears or lack of access. So waiting for a vaccine could be a LONG wait… it simply may never happen. Thailand’s travel and hospitality industries, and they ARE industries, are in a perpetual limbo. Whilst everyone is happy to see a development like the Special Tourist Visa, it is not even a remotely sustainable model for Thailand’s tourism industry beyond the immediate short-term. It’s time to replace fear with professional management of this inconvenient virus. https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1186070-hard-truths-about-travelling-to-thailand-right-now/?utm_source=newsletter-20201006-0539&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

If only 35-40% of police are trying to enforce a policy, that will also fail. Just like if half the teachers hold students accountable and the other half gives them free reign to do whatever they want, what will happen to the overall discipline in that school? The exact same thing is happening on a macro scale across the entire country.

Nobody likes China, Vietnam... but authoritarian responses (Singapore another solid example) have been among the best. (Otoh, can we at least be South Korea, Germany, Australia/NZ?) Of course, just a strong leader like Russia, Turkey, India, the US or Brazil alone hasn't led to ideal responses, either. One common thread, though, is allowing the country's scientific community to lead.