The full 527-page report can be downloaded here: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.04.2024-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT.pdf

The Official Government Report finds:

COVID-19 Origins: The COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a laboratory or research-related incident.

Misinformation: Public health officials and the Biden administration engaged in misinformation and disinformation campaigns to suppress the lab-leak theory and promote specific narratives.

Government Overreach: The Biden administration’s mask mandates and other restrictive measures exceeded its authority and were often not supported by scientific evidence.

School Closures: The decision to close schools during the pandemic was not supported by science and had severe adverse impacts on students’ academic performance, mental health, and physical health.

Vaccine Mandates: The government imposed vaccine mandates that were not supported by science, ignored natural immunity, and caused significant collateral damage.

Erosion of Public Trust: Actions by public health officials and the government led to a decline in public trust in institutions and a rise in misinformation and anti-science rhetoric.

Financial Mismanagement: The government’s pandemic relief programs were vulnerable to significant fraud, waste, and abuse due to insufficient oversight and outdated financial management systems.

WHO’s Failure: The World Health Organization (WHO) failed to uphold its mission, caved to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, and did not hold China accountable for violating international health regulations.

Economic Impacts: The pandemic and the government’s response had severe economic impacts on individuals, communities, and businesses, including job losses, business closures, and supply chain disruptions.

Unintended Consequences: The government’s pandemic policies, including lockdowns and vaccine mandates, had severe unintended consequences that will likely have lasting effects on society.

Congratulations to all the purebloods who refused the vaccine. It’s official and the US government has admitted it: you were absolutely right to distrust the government, the media, the corporations, the medical community, and what they all tried to pass off as “the science”. Thanks to me, Rich G and Streamer for telling you guys the truth on this from the beginning. Now this is the chance for all you vaxtards, masktards and social-distancing-tards to admit that you were wrong for believing the propaganda without evidence and apologize for it.

Of course, this is only the partial truth. There are more revelations to come.

Good share, FishPrince. Pretty interesting the extensive list of findings in the report. Pretty much everything about covid was proven to be bullschit. The evidence is laid out very clearly under each of the findings and it paints a clear picture on the malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance by politicians and agency heads in handling the covid-19 pandemic. There is clear evidence of cover-up and little basis in science.

I’d like to take a moment to call out the biggest vaxxtards on the dark side and rank order them by their support of these covid measures…

Top vaxxtards:

1. ondarvr
2. Toff
3. Shillster
4. Cumming soon
5. Salmo g
6. DBS
7. DCC
8. Dan S
9. Paker
10. Carcassman

We also need to publicly acknowledge those who were mocked, discredited but correct in their positions and adherence to good policy and science.

Top vindicated list

1. B1tch G
2. Fish Prince
3. Streamer
4. Krijack
5. Evo


Time for reparations and to publicly apologize to the individuals on the vindicated list.


Streamer

But But my test says I got the Covid.

To be fair, this report was released by the government, a house oversite committee document correct ?

Kinda makes one go hmmmmm....

They are here to help.
Pull up your sleeve.
And
Pull down your pants.

People sure get bent over all of that. The shut down was excessive

Correct. However, it is still an alternative and a counter assessment of covid that was not allowed to be discussed or questioned. The evidence listed in the report really speaks for itself.


Streamer

Let's see, the report is from the House Oversight Committee. The House is under the control of the GOP. I didn't notice any talk about the abysmal response from the Trump Administration. Surprised?

Let’s see… Trump issues a travel ban. “Look he’s racist!”
Trump doesn’t issue a travel ban… “See he did nothing!”

Eddie, old leftists like you, Carcassman, and Salmo fail to consider views and evidence from others when establishing your own opinions. You guys have been fully sucked into the dichotomy, and only believe what your party feeds you.

Evidence is evidence, and it’s all clearly in the report. You clearly do not like the evidence, and even more so don’t like the messengers, which is why you are so quick to dismiss it. Pretty sad and pathetic.


Streamer

The Earth is flat
911 was done by lasers
There is a deep state led by satan worshipers
Covid was a hoax and did not kill millions worldwide
The vaccine had chips designed by Bill Gates to be implanted to control people
The vaccine killed more than Covid itself
John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, and the AMA studies were all wrong in that the vaccine reduced Covid mortality rates by allowing the body to recognize the virus and lessen its symptoms
The population after the vaccine was available created its own natural immunity by massive infection rates

Anyone have any other truths they would like to add?

The Trump administration: Let's pretend that it's not that bad and will go away on its own by April. (It didn't, and hundreds of thousands died.)

The Biden administration: We're scared sh!tless of this. Pull out all the stops and practice an abundance of caution.

Salmo"s rationale: At least half of all Americans are stupid and can understand only black and white and are incapable of understanding statistics or nuance. So the gov't overstated its case and over reached. Given the stupidity of the general population, imagine the number of deaths that would have resulted had the gov't taken no action.

Special thanks and congratulations to the anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, and anti-social distancers who contracted Covid and died, or nearly died, for proving your point, whatever it was.

Streamer, (who may not understand anything outside the bounds of black and white) not all evidence is equal. There is weak evidence, modest evidence, and clear, cogent, and convincing evidence. They are not all the same.

Salmo,

It isn’t the responsibility of government to “take action” when there is a pandemic. Previous pandemics were managed by doctors. This pandemic was managed by bureaucrats and politicians with mandates, rules and policies that were not rooted in science

For example, the 6 foot social distancing rule, if you look at the transcript from January 9, 2023 Dr. Fauci admitted there was no studies to support the social distancing rule and that it was a decision made without any data.

Another example, March 8, 2020 interview on 60 minutes, Dr. Fauci stated regarding mask use, “it’s not providing the protection that people think that it is” and since that time, subsequent studies have shown this to be true.

Another example “just get the jab and you won’t get covid.” - Joe Biden
This has also been proven to be untrue. You are quick to blame anti-vaxxers and anti-mask wearers for sickness and casualties and are quick to dismiss the false sense of security people had with getting jabs and wearing masks that don’t work. One could make the case that these people are just as much at fault if not possibly more at fault.

I could do this all day but honestly what’s the point. That is all just “weak evidence” and should be ignored.

Just admit it Salmo, science was not on the side of covid protocols and you ignore science as it is counter to your opinions. “Orange man bad” and your blind faith in systems and government clouds your judgment.


Streamer

Same statisticians Inslee contracted with during Covid that provided bogus data must have also helped him balance the state budget.

Covid was a pretty weird virus. I knew some that barely got the sniffles, some that got very ill and hospitalized but recovered (that had no co morbidities), and two that died. When I finally got it, it was rather mild. My wife got pretty sick. Until we reached herd immunity and the virus settled down to a bad cold, it was pretty serious. I think the shutdowns were not managed well and didn't make much sense.

In states that decided no mask mandates (of course non N95 were useless), no social distancing, no shutdowns, etc, outcomes were pretty much the same, according to the CDC.

But let's ask ourselves this, What should the government have done differently given the poorly understood and evolving nature of the virus? Doctors guided the politicians who had the power to shut things down but they were guessing at best at times. If we get a more serious pandemic issue we are screwed because the misinformationalists will start up again on both sides and needless deaths will occur.

I remember talking to many tradesmen during all that who wholeheartedly believed it was all nonsense but had very poor understanding of science or medicine. It became a dubious badge of honor to defiantly walk through crowds while fake coughing and all. Not a great representation of humans.

Bomb China.

Whether gov't should take action is a judgement call. If the gov't had done nothing, millions of Americans would have been clamoring for gov't action. I'm not taking sides on that.

Calling the policies "not rooted in science" is a stretch. Let's take social distancing. Science tells us that if I don't come in contact with the moisture laden breath of an infected person, then it is far more likely than not that I won't become infected. Social distancing almost always works then. What is at issue is the distance. 6' is arbitrary and didn't help much. One could conclude that 6' was capricious. But most scientists didn't know that until after the fact when there was data to indicate as much. So what should people have done? Oh, maybe shoot any republican who comes within 30 or 40' of me and call it self defense. That would sure go over well in this society that no longer believes in the rule of law. Or would you choose the "do nothing" option?

What about the vaccine? It's not 100% effective! Well no sh!t Sherlock; most things aren't 100% effective. But if it's 75% effective or higher, it leads to herd immunity faster and with fewer losses than doing nothing. Oh, and your exalted Orange Leader got the vax, and initiated operation Warp Speed to develop it. Same with masks, not 100% effective, but higher than zero. And how they are worn contributes much to their effectiveness. That's what I meant about American stupidity. It's gotta' be 100% effective, or it's 0%; nothing in between. You tell me, are Americans really this stupid?

You're right that doctors and scientists were guessing at times. When there's a lack of data to work with, educated guesses are the best that science can offer because science is evidence driven. But stupid Americans are unable to comprehend nuance and understand that when there is a lack of information, the best one can do is compare and contrast any similar conditions that could be applicable. Or you could do nothing and watch more people get sick and die.

With the benefit of hindsight it's now easy to see that some things should have been done differently. But that's hindsight. Foresight was a game of educated guessing to "promote the general welfare" of the nation. That's a big tent, and I don't think a "do nothing" approach is a very good fit.

My opinions are generally informed by science; that's basically how I manage my entire life. When science evolves and changes, my opinions also change. Now you're not wrong about "Orange man bad," because, upon reasonable examination of that POS, I've not managed to find any redeeming quality in him, which is why I'm so flabbergasted that so many gullible Americans fall for his cult leadership. On his best day, the guy really is a sh!tstain, so you'll excuse my harsh summation of him.

I do not have blind faith in anything. If you knew me at all you would conclude that I am very much a person of evidence faith. My faith in government is supported by the fact that a constitutional republic (see, I get it) based on democratic principles of pluralism, free expression and commerce yields a better functioning society for the masses than does anarchy or totalitarianism, or oligarchy. The evidence supporting my faith is to take a look at how well off people are in western democracies compared to how well off they are in the dictatorships. Seems pretty clear, cogent, and convincing to me. Am I wrong? If so, please detail how.

This is an excellent example of a basic stupid American. Yeah, set off some missiles at China. Typical dumfvck wouldn't think that China would then set off missiles targeting the U.S. before the first US missile hits China. American public schools have been such a failure.

Clearly somebody was asleep at the wheel. There is a position of State Economist, presumably at the Dep't. of Revenue. I don't know much about it, but one of my daughters dated the son of the State Economist back during, maybe it was Gary Locke's governorship or maybe the governor before. Doesn't matter, but what I recall is that he could forecast state revenue to within a cat's whisker, year after year. It looks like it's unfortunate that he retired if the replacement came in so far off during this biennium.

I saw on the news day before yesterday that the Legislative leaders believe, they know, they said, that the election results show that WA votes want them to solve this budget problem in the upcoming session with more taxes to cover the gap. Funny thing is, I don't recall voting for that.

“ This is an excellent example of a basic stupid American. Yeah, set off some missiles at China. Typical dumfvck “


And this is possibly an example of someone that has no humor, calls someone names and accuses them of dumphukery with an inability to really understand the seriousness of thier retort, when actually they cannot properly process what the other person is saying due to anger.

It’s a joke, a well drifted bait for sure...

And Salmo usually takes the bait…



Streamer

Well played boys. Well played

First off masks are 0% effective at stopping an airborne virus. Period.

Secondly, onto the vaccines. Nobody is asking for 100% efficacy, we are asking for 99% efficacy, which is what every other vaccine has. Every other vaccine has over 99% efficacy but the covid shot has at best 95% efficacy for 3 months. There is a huge difference between these two numbers.

A 99% efficacy rate means that only 1% of vaccinated individuals will contract the disease, compared to 5% with a 95% efficacy rate. This reduction in risk translates to fewer cases of illness, hospitalizations, and potentially even deaths. A higher efficacy rate like 99% provides more convincing evidence of a vaccine’s ability to prevent disease. This increased confidence can lead to better public acceptance, adherence to vaccination recommendations, and ultimately, improved population-level protection. A 99% efficacy rate might be more relevant to real-world settings, where vaccines are often used in diverse populations with varying levels of exposure to the disease. In such scenarios, a higher efficacy rate can provide a greater margin of safety and protection. Although asymptomatic transmission is possible even with high-efficacy vaccines, a 99% efficacy rate reduces the likelihood of asymptomatic transmission more effectively than a 95% efficacy rate. This is because a higher efficacy rate indicates a stronger immune response, which could reduce the amount of virus shed by vaccinated individuals. 99% efficacy rate could contribute more significantly to herd immunity, as it would require fewer individuals to be vaccinated to achieve a critical threshold of protection for the community as a whole.

It’s essential to note that the differences between 95% and 99% efficacy rates might seem small, but they can have significant implications in practice. Just think of the difference, with a 99% efficacy rate in a room of 100 vaccinated people, there is only one person who can contract the disease but nobody to spread it to or get it from. Now with a 95% efficacy rate there are 5 people in that room of 100 and now there are people to get the disease from and spread it to. Since most people interact with around 150 people in their daily lives, a 99% or greater efficacy rate is needed for herd immunity. Anything less than 99% and you will not get herd immunity and now you are breeding variants that will escape the vaccine.

So instead of arguing a strawman argument that nobody believes, that vaccines need to be 100% effective to work on populations to give herd immunity, try the real argument--that vaccines need to have 99% or greater efficacy to work on populations to give herd immunity and that the 95% efficacy for 3 months is insufficient protection to give herd immunity in the population. You claim that if a vaccine is 75% effective that it leads to herd immunity, a vaccine that has 75% efficacy will never lead to herd immunity. That would mean that 25% of the vaccinated people can still get and spread the virus, how could that ever achieve herd immunity with the vaccine? You are just letting the virus blow through the population causing herd immunity through infection not the vaccine but it would still do that with no vaccine, so it doesn't help.

tl:dr version: nobody was asking for 100% efficacy, we were asking for 99% efficacy and for good medical reasons.

Presentation is everything.
Thank goodness for barbless.
I will release this down streamer to get pinned against a log jam all on his own.
Safe travels.

With some of your post, yes, you are wrong. There are pieces that I agree with but most of it I disagree with and or is incorrect. FishPrince beat me to some of it but there is another piece he didn’t mention that you are wrong about.

You make the assumption that in these circumstances that an action must be taken. Quite often, the idea and solution of “do nothing” is often the best course of action. You wrongfully assume that in the case of covid the government “doing nothing” will result more people getting sick and dying. That is purely speculation and you have no evidence to support that claim.

How many lives were saved by wearing masks and 6 foot social distancing? Both of these measures have proven to be highly ineffective in stopping the spread. So much time, effort, energy and unintended consequences resulted with little or any measurable effect. “Do nothing” would have perfectly sufficed in this circumstance. As far as the vaxxx goes, it doesn’t stop the spread, *possibly* saved some lives, but also likely caused some or possibly more deaths. Again, in this case “do nothing” wouldn’t have caused more sickness or death and likely could have caused less than the vaxxx/mandates.

In Buddhism in the Tao Te Ching they have the concept of wu wei. It's usually translated as action-inacton or effortless action. It's when your action/non-action and intentions flow effortlessly in natural order, overcoming suffering and obtaining enlightenment. This idea should have been applied to covid as well. The evidence shows it would have done the same or less harm, while avoiding the unintended consequences in the economy, peoples mental health, and academic achievement with children.


Streamer

Wu wei can mean those things, it is also translated as "not doing anything", "not forcing", "not acting" , "creating nothingness", "acting spontaneously", "flowing with the moment" and my personal favorite "going with the flow." Acting out of wu wei brings you out of balance with the tao or out of harmony with natural order. It cetainly is relevant here, however might be too much to expect from this crowd.

Overcoming suffering and achieving enlightenment are higher order self actualization/transcendence levels of being at the pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs where Salmo, the bureaucrats and the rest of the Covid crowd are down on the bottom tier of physiological/safety.

The COVID crisis response was complex, but there were items that CAN easily be seen as over reaching. Like not allowing any outdoor activities. Like opening the parks for limited periods, which with common sense would mean a higher concentration of visitors. Stopping many jobs that had limited or no need for interaction. Realistically the state should have used the shut down to repave I-5. Then refusing to rehire the people who did not take the vaccine, but not requiring boosters. this provided no benefit other than punishing people for not doing what the state insisted on.

The amount of money handed out with no directions is also insane. I have relatives that are tribal and they were just handing out checks of 1 to 20 thousand or more, many dependent on who they knew in leadership. I talked to one tribal member who was living in Tacoma said he was mailed a big check from his tribe, on top of the other covid checks everyone else got. No reason other than the tribe was given millions to hand out. Blame who you will, but this likely is part of the inflation issue.

Even I got checks in the mail during COVID. I just thought, I'm getting a check for doing absolutely nothing, the democrats must be in power again. Whatever party you blame personally, it's both parties and the actual government that is the problem. Vote out the establishment of both parties.

Hey do you know what? Don't tell anyone this but when they had the shutdown, I was all over the outdoors. Nobody stopped me. It was nice. Way less people.

I never got checks. All I got was wrongfully terminated for not getting the vaxxx. At least I got a decent settlement from the employer after the fact and a much better job. I guess they did me a favor.

I also spent a lot of time outside at that time as well and it was wonderful. It reminded me of what life can be like in an area with fewer people. Makes it all the more tempting to get out of this state.



Streamer

You got jacked under the income limits Steamer. I got 3 checks. One for $2400 in April 2020. Another for $1800 in January 2021. Then $4200 in April 2021. Luckily I had little income those years, although I had a bunch right before and after these years. I think we did $345,000 in 2022 and something similar in 2019. Whoops.

But but but… I had to repay student loans on the income driven payment plan requiring a certain percentage of my income go to payments that would have then qualified me for checks. It’s not fair!!!

My wife and I already paid off all her student loans and we are working on mine. Unlike many other borrowers, we actually intend to pay off our loans and work extra to make sure we are able to do so while many others free load and or get forgiveness.

Working middle class always reaps the least benefits.



Streamer

28 gage, Oh, I have a sense of humor. WDFW x1=0 and I are slightly acquainted, enough to know that he knows when he writes stupid sh!t.

FP, if masks are 0% effective, why are they used by everyone in a surgical operating room?

I agree with you that the higher a vaccine efficacy then the sooner herd immunity occurs. Doing the math, a less than 99% efficacy still reaches herd immunity; it just takes longer.

I achieved enlightenment long ago, having begun Transcendental Meditation in 1972.

WDFW x 1=0, you make comments like that often. I usually avoid name calling, but I decided to take that one at face value and throw the obvious back at you. And you knew it was a stupid thing to write.

Streamer, don't be too surprised, but I agree with you that sometimes the "no action alternative" is the preferred and best alternative. Whether the no action alternative to Covid would have produced the same eventual outcome, meaning no higher number of illnesses or deaths, is speculative. Personally, I'm not buying it that no action would have been just as effective or more effective. I was 72 when Covid struck, so I was a bit concerned about the potential effect on me. Certainly shooting any unvaccinated republican who got within 30' of me would have been justifiable self defense, right?

Ah yes, an area with fewer people. I have occasionally thought that people who were not in WA state prior to 1970 should leave. Not because I don't like people, but because 1968 was the last year when harvesting wild steelhead was still a sustainable practice. After that, too many anglers killing too many wild fish.

Krijack, I agree about over reach. Of course I'm biased since fishing season was included in that shut down. Refusing to rehire anti vaxers after the fact was just stupid doubling down, a Trumpian trait, and a negative reflection on gov't. And handing out freshly printed money with no conditions sure seems stupid. What appears unknowable is what percentage of that money went to individuals and businesses that didn't really need it. Evidence that it was managed poorly is illustrated by MTG getting her $300k+ loan forgiven. Obviously a lot of people did need it due to businesses closing, leaving them unemployed. But yes, all of that extra money, some from Trump, some from Biden, was a major contributor to inflation.

It was a joke.

You seem angry.
Please stay away from elementary schools while angry.
And
Avoid heavy current areas with log jams.....

Tacoma Power sucks entitled a$$!!!!

Is it being speculative?

There is little to no evidence that measures reduced illness or death and increasing evidence that in ways measures may have increased illness and death.

In addition, the impact on the economy was massive. Academic achievement fell when schools were closed. As it stands today, around 50% of students (increasingly in younger grades) are not on grade level with reading, math and science which grew considerably from pre-covid. Rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations have all drastically increased largely due to lockdowns.

But here you go thinking for yourself “I was a bit concerned about the potential effect on me” instead of looking collectively at what is best for society. FP bringing up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is relevant as you were primarily concerned with your own PERCEPTION of safety before the physiological and psychological needs of others. People like you were allowed to dictate the lives of others out of your own irrational fears. Instead, you should have shut up, let people live their lives and you stayed home in your safe little bubble until you felt ready to come out. If that were allowed to occur, I’m sure life would be a lot better for many people than it is currently and certainly no worse for the majority.


Streamer

to pick on someone for having their own views is bs. Remember? Im not sticking up for salmo, but calling out a hypocrite.

A hypocrite?

Man you better go back to school.

The time we spend on this subject is a perfect illustration of the main problem with the Internet age - We are drowning in information and starving for wisdom. Many good points are made here, the mask comment by Salmo is one of the best. If masks are so ineffective why do hospitals and medical clinics use them? The no action alternative is a red herring. It's unprovable one way or the other. Norway was probably the prime advocate of the no action alternative. As you can see from the following link, Norway was about halfway in the list (based upon death per 100,000). Certainly better than the US and most European countries, but worse than others. And this list is a good piece of data for this discussion. Of course some will say that the information is bogus. And a bunch of people believe Trump won in 2020 and that the Easter bunny exists. In all cases, I would ask for proof. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

I've seen the Easter Bunny in my dad's magazines.








Too much time spent??

You must be kidding!
The Government fenced us in and robbed years from our life we will never get back.
They created the problem with their complacent actions at a virus research facility.

Screw our Government and China's!

"General purpose disposable SFMs however, are not specifically designed to protect the wearer from airborne infectious particulates."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24741720/

Right on Evo but they are moving the goalposts. We are not talking about wearing masks in surgery, which are worn for other reasons other than an airbone viruses. What I was talking about and what Salmo knew damn well we were talking about before he changed the goalpoats with his boring non sequitur about surgery was the general public wearing cloth and disposable face masks to prevent an airborne virus. That doctors wear masks in surgery for other reasons, they still don't wear them to stop airborne viruses. For example an airborne virus will be small enough to pass through the mask but respiratory droplets will not pass through the mask and these can contain bacteria and non-airborne viruses.

The Cochrane Review (2023) analyzed 11 new studies, including 611,000 participants, and found that wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. A study published in Scientific American (2024) reviewed randomized controlled trials and found that the best available evidence suggests that masks do little to nothing to prevent the spread of viruses and might even be counterproductive. The Centers for Disease Control recommends wearing masks, but acknowledges that the evidence is limited and that masks may not provide significant protection against airborne viruses. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2020) found that wearing a mask outside of healthcare facilities offers little to no protection against infection. Another study published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health (2020) concluded that there is “no good evidence that face masks protect the public against infection with respiratory viruses.”

So if Salmo thinks masks stop airborne viruses, show some studies.

He can’t because there isn’t any. He claims to formulate his opinions from what science and research suggests. He isn’t following his own rule on the topic of covid. As I stated previously, science was not on the side of covid protocols yet he continues to support them with no evidence.

Strange how even a supposedly smart guy has blind spots and can’t recognize his own limitations.



Streamer

Salmo admits to not having read anything about masks and Covid in the last two years. Last I heard was that airborne viruses, like Covid, along with bacteria, generally cling to respiratory droplets too, so that many of them end up being stopped by the mask. If that has been demonstrated to be wrong, then I'll accept it. Contrary to what some of you have decided about me, I am all about "Let us seek the truth and go where it leads us."

Streamer, of course I'm more concerned about potential effects of a virus on me than I am about society in general. Society in general consists of about 47% Trump voters. Obviously I don't give a sh!t about them; that would be counter-productive and a clear waste of concern.

You live in the right town to have that attitude.
Your downtown is a chithole.
Good night.

Salmo, because you are a selfish boomer who doesn’t mind authoritarian mandates that significantly impact everyone else as long as “I have muhhhh safety.” There is nothing wrong with having no mandates but encouraging everyone to take their own precautions. You could have easily stayed home watching your CNN boomer box and ordered groceries for delivery and it would have made no difference to you. Instead, “I need muhhh mandates” in order to unnecessarily drag everyone else down to your level of misery. You are actually a terrible person for this.

Still, no studies showing effectiveness of mask usage, but plenty of studies showing their ineffectiveness. There are also and more studies that show covid mandates did nothing. One that I have a copy of is from The Mercatus Center at George Mason University that found,

“We find that indoor vaccine mandates had no significant impact on COVID-19 vaccine uptake, cases, or deaths across all nine cities that implemented the policy.”

Seriously, Salmo. You are supposedly a scientist but you seem to be wrong about all the science related to covid. You’ve posted research about fisheries topics in the past. You ever wonder why you aren’t able to provide research to support your positions about anything related to covid? Yeah… because there is none.



Streamer

Can scientists be bought by large corporations?

Streamer,

I oppose authoritarian mandates almost always. I went along with what I thought was the best available science at the time during covid. I have two friends whose careers were in the health industry, and they had a lot of connections in high places. So I sought their advice about both masks and the vaccine. We had no way of knowing at that time that the advice might be wrong. Quite clearly I am not a Covid scientist and haven't been reading recent reports about the vaccine and masks.

BTW, I don't watch CNN and never once ordered groceries delivered. I went to the grocery store and put on a mask like everyone else. I don't need mandates, I'm not miserable, and I'm not trying to drag anyone anywhere. I went along with the mandates because we're a pluralist society where the majority makes the decision (the majority being represented by the elected officials). When new information supersedes the old, officials will make new and better decisions in the future. I think this is critical because pandemics are likely to occur more frequently because of the magnitude of international travel.

WDFW x 1=0,

Yes, like the "oldest profession" scientists can be bought. Curiously, I think, is that scientists are most often bought by Republican corporate owners to fend off regulations that put human safety over corporate profit. You can test this by examining a list of registered lobbyists of Congress. The good guys are vastly outnumbered by the bad guys.

Who judges them "good" and "bad"?

The peer review process and clear, cogent, and convincing or the preponderance of evidence.

Fair enough.

There is what the peer reviewed evidence says and then what the economically driven policy says. And, depending of what you worship, good and bad are relative.'

This almost sounds like a confession. Are you ready to admit you were wrong in allowing this severe overreach to occur since you “oppose authoritarian mandates almost always” but didn’t this one time? Maybe you could have encouraged the best “science” at the time to be a guideline instead of a mandate?

You rollover way too easily and have no backbone and your actions and behaviors are completely inconsistent with your words and thoughts.


Streamer

Not a confession at all. The best available science indicated that the covid virus was both deadly and highly contagious. Given those as the only truth we knew, a guideline would not have prevented contagion and allowed many more people to become infected. The mandate was seen as necessary to prevent wide scale transmission of the virus.

My actions were entirely consistent with how I felt about Covid. I used a mask, got vaccinated, and lived like a recluse for a year.

So what law allows for the quarantine of healthy individuals? There were laws allowing the quarantine of unhealthy individuals for a limited period of time and could be challenged in court but where are the laws allowing the quarantine of healthy individuals for months and months without any review of this in court? There aren't any such laws, which is why the mandates were unconstitutional and unjust abuse of tyrannical government power because such power to do mandates was never ceded to the government by we the people.

Also if the mask and vaccine you got worked, then why did you need to live like a recluse for a year?

FP - because the risk of Covid was significant enough to overide the faith in masks and vaccine. You only get to make the judgement in hindsight.