Trump Presidency

[Chips]

Some vaccines confer immunity, others don't. COVID vaccines don't make people immune from infection or prevent them from transmitting the virus to other people. I'm not saying those vaccines are completely ineffective, just "dubiously effective". Evidence does point to them tending to reduce likelihood of infection, as well as reducing the intensity of sickness. So that is a good thing. On the other hand, we have the measles vaccine, which IS effective, DOES confer immunity and DOES prevent infection.

This just implies there's a misunderstanding about the role of vaccines. Vaccines do not confer "immunity" in the sense that you cannot catch something. If you think it does, then there's a fundamental misunderstanding about infections...

Here's the "immunity" part definition from bad AI search:

Vaccine immunity, also known as vaccine-induced immunity, refers to the protection against a specific disease that the body develops after being exposed to a weakened or inactive form of the disease-causing agent (like a virus or bacteria) through vaccination.

To be "immune" implies your body has been trained to deal with and can therefore recognise, attack, and defeat, the infecting "thing". Measles vaccine, for example, that you say "IS effective, DOES confer immunity and DOES prevent infection". You can still "catch" measles by being near an infected person who is shedding the virus via the airbourne methods (which is how it's transmitted, so easily breathed in). Your body can fight off the virus before it "takes hold" and develops into Measles (which is an infection); you don't show the symptoms of it nor suffer side effects before your body has totally overcome the invader. So the "immunity" is that you can defeat the virus when it enters your body. And the terming of "immunity"...

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/vaccines/index.html

One dose of MMR vaccine is:
93% effective against measles
72% effective against mumps
97% effective against rubella

Two doses of MMR vaccine are:
97% effective against measles
86% effective against mumps

Why is that important?

As many as 1 in 20 children with measles will get pneumonia, which is the major cause of death from measles. One in 1,000 children with measles will develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which can lead to brain damage. One or two children per 1,000 with measles will die from it. Finally, 7 to 10 years after contracting measles, one person per 100,000 will develop subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) and inevitably die of this devastating brain inflammation.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-shee ... il/measles

Measles is 9 out of 10 contacts infection rate (so 90%) if you've had the 2 doses of the MMR vaccine, you're 97% chance of being "immunised" against measles. Not 100%. 97%. Also, that "mortality" rate is tiny, so why bother huh? Oh wait, it's lower for Covid right, so that's the difference...

A decrease in COVID-19-related deaths was observed in 2022 for pediatric age groups (3–11 and 12–17) with relatively higher vaccination coverage. However, no decrease was observed for the 0–2 year old age group, which had the longest delay in access to immunization and lowest vaccination coverage. When compared to unvaccinated populations in 2022, we observe an 8–15-fold reduction in cumulative death rates for pediatric populations vaccinated with 1 or more doses, and a 16–18-fold reduction for those vaccinated with 2 or more doses. Historical analysis shows that for diseases for which vaccination is now compulsory in many countries, pre-vaccine-rollout mortality was lower than COVID-19 deaths during 2020–2022.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 0X24006650

Think the death rate is approx half that of measles. So again, what's the "it's not effective" metric if 93% reduction in deaths isn't sufficient?

Covid vaccines are for an entirely different type of virus, one that mutates frequently - causing new strains (that may be more or less serious). Just like the "flu" vaccine, they'd be immunising against the last cocktail of greatest known variants of the overall virus. This doesn't happen with Rubeola (measles); there's no seasonal variant.

Also, "effectiveness" is about how it performs in the real world - and huge part of that is herd immunity. It takes *years* to gain herd immunity. Additionally, you could be asymptomatic - and in that instance, you may be infected... but showing no symptoms - meaning for immunised-against-"working" vaccines aren't necessarily quite what you think. We don't have epic pandemics of measles as herd immunity in most countries exist. We did not have any immunity against Covid/SARS2 and it swept the world in no time at all; resulting in millions of deaths.
https://www.who.int/data/stories/the-tr ... -mortality

Finally, the vaccination can/does reduce the impact of the virus's outcomes (severity and follow on complications), which is absolutely the reason to also have the vaccine if you're in a vulnerable-to-serious complications group.
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-car ... cines-work#

If everyone had been vaccinated, the virus would probably still have ripped around the world (it does with flu, after all). But the death toll may have been significantly lower (as in... 20 times less). More chilling, without vaccines, the death toll could well have been far higher (as in 10 times higher).

The statistical data on population wide numbers of individuals shows a direct correlation between mortality rate from SARS2/COVID and vaccination. There's no denying it. It also shows which demographics are most likely to develop those serious complications. Similar to flu. Which is why older people (pension age) or vulnerable (immune compromised) are offered the vaccine shots for flu. The vaccine isn't 100% effective (it only vaccinates against most *likely* strain, not all strains) as it mutates, so it won't prevent any individual from catching flu, nor developing serious complications - but on a population scale, it does. And the statistics that back it up are clear to see.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulation ... tusengland

The problem people have with RJK is that he does not have any qualifications nor rigorous, scientific study into these matters; he's got his personal opinion that's formed on... well, it's certainly not science. And that person gets to make decisions for *everyone*. And that becomes the Govt line/advice. So whether he's just saying "they need to be safer..." - he's saying that peddling false narratives about autism from vaccines. He's saying that peddling a load of cobblers that is going to *directly* impact uptake of vaccines, which could remove herd immunity, which could therefore cause outbreaks, death, misery within the population. All because *HIS* opinion matters.

I'm one of those who'd like a mechanic to fix his car, a plumber to fix his plumbing, an electrician to fix the electrics, and a doctor to fix medical issues. I don't think having your dustbin man, the librarian, the tarrot card reader and a Duck with a crystal ball are suitable alternatives. Despite what they may individually say...

There's nothing wrong with his entire "America eats crap, that needs to change" line; that's backed by actual health statistics, data, providers and science. There's nothing wrong with the scientifically backed "some additives are unnecessary and have links to causing cancers or other health issues" - again, all good. Personally agree with the "don't just put crap in food for sake of putting crap in food" (e.g. pumping it full of syrup).

You can absolutely support that view. But it's very odd, in the fact of *actual* scientific data and statistics, from around the world, to follow his vaccination guff. People absolutely can support one of his views, and ridicule him for the other(s). The question is, why should USA put up with him. Are there not others who'd do the health part without the endanger populations part?

[matthewfarmery]

And to add more to the SS debate,

Social Security Is Breaking Down

Washington Post: “The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts because the servers were overloaded. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones at the front desk as receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. But the agency no longer has a system to monitor customers’ experience with these services, because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk.”

“And the phones keep ringing. And ringing.”

So by cutting administration, and very likely tech support, the website has crashed 4 times this month, which will put a strain on those trying to access their data, and may wind up not getting any checks. You thought Observe, that cuts to the adminstration wouldn't effect how this agency is ran? your mistaken there. And DOGE is fully to blame. If the crashing continues, which it probably might, there going to be a lot of angry people who will be very pissed off come midterms.

Again you kept on denying that SS will be effected in a big way from the previous cuts, well, you are wrong. They have effected the way that SS runs. Its probably only a matter of time before the whole system keels over. Then people will no longer be getting checks at all, and the phones will be pulled from the walls.

[Chips]

Jon Stewart on the free speech hypocrisy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNMdRzK9Nj0

[matthewfarmery]

Did a fine job on what is so wrong in America now, concerning free speech. He is a funny guy, but yes, things are going downhill very quickly.

[Vertigo 7]

And to add more to the SS debate,

Social Security Is Breaking Down

Washington Post: “The Social Security Administration website crashed four times in 10 days this month, blocking millions of retirees and disabled Americans from logging in to their online accounts because the servers were overloaded. In the field, office managers have resorted to answering phones at the front desk as receptionists because so many employees have been pushed out. But the agency no longer has a system to monitor customers’ experience with these services, because that office was eliminated as part of the cost-cutting efforts led by Elon Musk.”

“And the phones keep ringing. And ringing.”

So by cutting administration, and very likely tech support, the website has crashed 4 times this month, which will put a strain on those trying to access their data, and may wind up not getting any checks. You thought Observe, that cuts to the adminstration wouldn't effect how this agency is ran? your mistaken there. And DOGE is fully to blame. If the crashing continues, which it probably might, there going to be a lot of angry people who will be very pissed off come midterms.

Again you kept on denying that SS will be effected in a big way from the previous cuts, well, you are wrong. They have effected the way that SS runs. Its probably only a matter of time before the whole system keels over. Then people will no longer be getting checks at all, and the phones will be pulled from the walls.

This is by design. The republicans know that so long as the population supports social security, they'll never be able to touch it without a massive uprising. So they killed its staff and disrupted its services to turn opinion against it when people have to schedule appointments 6 months to a year out, if they can even get someone on the phone, plus removing people necessary to maintain the infrastructure and website to make it difficult for people to use.

[matthewfarmery]

Which leads to just one conclusion, SS will certainly be fully chopped soon enough. Trump and co just wants this dead, they tried that before and it backfired, so here is another approach to killing SS for good.

[Mailo]

I'm worried about my host parents in the US. Both are around 80, my host Mom is in a memory ward. I just talked to my host Dad, they closed the SS (and yes, it is REALLY weird for a German to type that abbreviation) office in the town they live in (55k inhabitants). The next closest one is in a city 80 miles away (120k people). He has to register something this week, and his only option is the webpage, which now you tell me has frequent outages. How on earth is this acceptable in any country that wants to consider itself even something close to modern?

[matthewfarmery]

More Proof that RFK has no idea what he is doing or endorsing.

Remedy Supported by RFK Jr. Leaves Patients More Ill

“Doctors in West Texas are seeing measles patients whose illnesses have been complicated by an alternative therapy endorsed by vaccine skeptics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary,” the New York Times reports.

“One of those supplements is vitamin A, which Mr. Kennedy has promoted as a near miraculous cure for measles. Physicians at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, say they’ve now treated a handful of children who were given so much vitamin A that they had signs of liver damage.”

This is the problem, RFK is promoting alternative medicine that is far too dangerous and untrustworthy. the state should have kept to the safer vaccines. Liver damage isn't a laughing matter. This guy needs to be removed from the post, how many more children will suffer due to his promoting of unhealthy alternatives?

[fiksal]

@matthewfarmery
unfortunately, the only fix to this is to take all these people to courts. And doctors who do that to people and children. Now, later or in 10 years, with no limitations.


@Mailo, sorry for you situation, I don't really have a comment

I am waiting for my pro Trump family in US say a word about not receiving Social Security or medical care. The later they claim is vastly better than Canadian one, where I choose to live, nevermind that they have to drive 1 hr to see a doctor if they get an appointment within 3-6 months. If they can pay for it.

I wait to say that I am happy for getting what they voted for. It's not always the case in politics.

(It's no same day doctor here either, but I have like 5 different ways to see a doctor between same day and in 3-4 months, depending on the issue and how much I want to wait, for free or small pay)

[chew-ie]

Florida to consider relaxing child labour laws to fill vacant jobs

My personal "favourite" for the new all-time-low [of this week].

[Skism]

I'm worried about my host parents in the US. Both are around 80, my host Mom is in a memory ward. I just talked to my host Dad, they closed the SS (and yes, it is REALLY weird for a German to type that abbreviation) office in the town they live in (55k inhabitants). The next closest one is in a city 80 miles away (120k people). He has to register something this week, and his only option is the webpage, which now you tell me has frequent outages. How on earth is this acceptable in any country that wants to consider itself even something close to modern?

That is horrific

I could write a lot about how we got into this situation
Basically far left and far right are at war inside the country and are destroying the lives of ordinary people
The Usa in particular is downright cruel to people on SS it’s designed to make people leave it in my opinion and it’s somewhat coming here to Britain too

[clakclak]

I'm worried about my host parents in the US. Both are around 80, my host Mom is in a memory ward. I just talked to my host Dad, they closed the SS (and yes, it is REALLY weird for a German to type that abbreviation) office in the town they live in (55k inhabitants). The next closest one is in a city 80 miles away (120k people). He has to register something this week, and his only option is the webpage, which now you tell me has frequent outages. How on earth is this acceptable in any country that wants to consider itself even something close to modern?

That is horrific

I could write a lot about how we got into this situation
Basically far left and far right are at war inside the country and are destroying the lives of ordinary people
The Usa in particular is downright cruel to people on SS it’s designed to make people leave it in my opinion and it’s somewhat coming here to Britain too

Once again where is this supposed far-left in America? Because quite frankly looking in from the outside it seems as if the far-left does not really exist in America.

[fiksal]

there's no such thing.

Americans for example call far left anyone who wants socialized medicine or equal rights.

What's happening now isn't fighting, this is by design and this is what Trump supporters wanted and voted for. Literally. We knew this of these ideas for years

[chew-ie]

I'm worried about my host parents in the US. Both are around 80, my host Mom is in a memory ward. I just talked to my host Dad, they closed the SS (and yes, it is REALLY weird for a German to type that abbreviation) office in the town they live in (55k inhabitants). The next closest one is in a city 80 miles away (120k people). He has to register something this week, and his only option is the webpage, which now you tell me has frequent outages. How on earth is this acceptable in any country that wants to consider itself even something close to modern?

That is horrific

I could write a lot about how we got into this situation
Basically far left and far right are at war inside the country and are destroying the lives of ordinary people
The Usa in particular is downright cruel to people on SS it’s designed to make people leave it in my opinion and it’s somewhat coming here to Britain too

Once again where is this supposed far-left in America? Because quite frankly looking in from the outside it seems as if the far-left does not really exist in America.

To me that "far left" thing is an artifical, non-existing scapegoat created by those who want to destroy established society in order to "justify" their doing [of destroying the lifes millions of people].

[Vertigo 7]

There isn't one. It was the Orange one and his ilk that invented it. Then you get morons latching onto it because progressives dared to suggest reforms to healthcare and energy production so they somehow became the radical left. Don't forget people like Liz Cheney and Adam Kisinger were also absurdly labeled extremists by the MAGA morons, despite their life long commitment to the GOP and conservative policy. Anyone left of MAGA is this mysterious far-left extremist group.

[Mailo]

At least they found a solution to the lack of workers caused by the deportations in Florida ... night shifts, work days longer than 8 hours, and work weeks longer than 30 hours ... for 14 year olds.
The only thing that surprises me is that they stopped at 14 years.

[matthewfarmery]

Marco Rubio Admits Someone Made a ‘Big Mistake’

March 27, 2025 at 10:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 94 Comments

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio broke ranks and admitted ‘someone made a big mistake’ by adding a journalist to a secret group chat about military action in Yemen,” the Daily Beast reports.

“His remark at a news conference in Jamaica Wednesday contrasted sharply with those of other Trump administration officials who have sought to downplay the severity of the leaks.”

The Dispatch: Experts call use of Signal “unbelievably poor” security practice.

While at the same time, you have all the others saying nothing happened, there was no war plans etc. And lets not even forget that they used an insecure form of median to talk in, Plus one of them was in Russia for goodness sake.

So one huge screw up, and no one is really taking the blame still, at one admits there was a mistake, but everyone else is still hiding in the cupboard to say, nothing happened, move along.

The reaon question is, how long before the next screw up?

[alt3rn1ty]

~ And lets not even forget that they used an insecure form of median to talk in, Plus one of them was in Russia for goodness sake. ~

Signal is probably the most secure personal communications app there is. Pretty sure it uses Diffie Helman Curve cryptography which can never be cracked, and is future proof against quantum computing. The original founder of Signal (Moxie Marlinspike) also made sure it only used cryptography which the NSA had no influence upon to undermine its excellent security.

https://signal.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software)

WhatsApp is based on the same code (but undermined a bit by Facebook/Meta's privacy settings which are adapted for the company who bought it from the original developers).

So out of just those two I would trust Signal way above WhatsApp.
Whatever spin is being put on this, its not the software at fault.

Whoever Included a Journalist and someone from Russia in the secret Group meeting is the problem here.

[CBJ]

Security and encryption are not equivalent; encryption is just one element of security. Validating that the people who are involved in a conversation are who they say they are (and in this case who you intended them to be) is another important factor. And in the case of government activity, security also includes maintaining an audit trail of who said what to whom so that those involved can be held accountable. Signal may provide decent encryption but that does not make it a secure system for these kinds of communications.

[jlehtone]

Whatever spin is being put on this, its not the software at fault.

True.

If operating procedures of US administration do not allow use of some/any software and/or regular mobile phones for communication of this type, then creating the group was an error. Adding unverified participants to group was also an error. One more strike and out?