Trump in the GOP primaries
If GOP leadership doesn’t want Trump to get the nomination, they could switch all the GOP primaries to ranked-choice voting as they did for the Virginia governors race. If they did that in 2016, Trump would not have been the nominee, but there were so many candidates that split the vote.
Student loan forgiveness- an interesting take
Hi guys. Would love to hear both of your opinions on what the response to all of the cries for student loan forgiveness came with a catch: “sure, we’ll forgive your loan but it will cost you your education. All your debt will be cleared, but you degree and any record of your college experience will also be gone” Yeah, I know it would never fly but I’m interested as hell to see how many people would be so cavalier for forgiving all student loan debt if it came with a high personal cost. So many these days feel college is an overrated expense, but how many would really put it all on the line for loan amnesty? FWIW I support loan forgiveness and will not personally qualify if the proposed means test is implemented.
Why won’t you
I find it disgusting that so many progressives cab only get the word out on conservative and ultra right news….Naomi Wolfe is now having to report on Steve Bannon’s channel! WOW. You reported that the CDC is now doing an internal investigation. I would expect you to be reporting that a thorough INDEPENDENT investigation needs to be conducted. IMO the CDC knows that only about 45% of Americans have any trust left to listen to them so I believe this internal investigation is to thwart attempts to independentlyminvestigate the inherent corruption in the CDC. Will you have Naomi Wolfe on as a guest? https://2ndsmartestguyintheworld.substack.com/p/confidential-pfizer-documents-confirm https://totalityofevidence.com/naomi-wolf-on-pfizer-foia-documents/
8/18 episode missing basic monkeypox info
Tried posting this three times as a Youtube comment so people know where to get actual information from virologists, immunologists and clinicians but both times it disappeared, perhaps due to length? You don't have to do your own research with a resource like TWiV and their nonprofit and free to take course in virology from Columbia, here is the post I tried to comment earlier which has relevant information where Saagar had gaps in his knowledge: If you want to inform yourself on poxviruses, I can’t point you to a better resource than TWiV episode 927 with Michael Merchlinsky as a guest from BARDA, Ph.D. from Yale and postgrad work in poxviruses and beyond. If you just want the condensed skinny, here it is but I urge you to spend the time to watch the interview. BARDA was created in 2006 in response to 9/11 biodefense funding and licensure to make sure the medicines that might otherwise stall get approved for timely response. At that time it was revealed that the Soviet Union in the 1990s was involved in bioweapon research including smallpox which promoted the push for research. Smallpox was eradicated using dryvax originally, back then it involved dipping a needle in virus and scraping across the stomach of a cow to then collect the result. One cow could produce 400,000 doses which were used in a successful ring vaccination campaign. To make the production more efficient acam2000 was the clonal synthetic replacement allowing for a large stockpile which we now have. The drawback is it’s a live replicating vaccine associated with adverse events especially with the immunocompromised including death. Smallpox had a much bigger risk of adverse events so it is considered the much better tool with regard to smallpox threat as a high transmission, high mortality virus. Monkeypox is a high transmission low mortality so it isn’t considered the right tool despite our large stockpile. Smallpox was also human-only whereas monkeypox reservoirs exist in rodents (although which rodents aren’t currently known) and first was discovered in lab with monkeys that were infected hence the name, the naming was never racially based despite some protests from the uninformed. These vaccines are long term due to poxviruses being dna based unlike corona being rna based so we don’t see the variants due to stability of dna over rna. The two claves we associate with monkeypox are west Africa and central Africa (D.R.Congo). Smallpox survivors never caught it again so we have no reason to assume this will be different with monkeypox due to the similar molecular structure. Newer jynneos mva based stockpiles exist because of BARDA seeking a vaccine without the higher adverse events of dryvax or acam2000 and also safer with immunocompromised. It is administered differently with a new method of intradermal saving doses (originally intramuscular 2 dose/28 days). However, it was too expensive to stockpile due its 3 year expiration which is why we don’t have much due to funding. BARDA had the foresight to stockpile the intermediary which can be frozen -80F for long periods, it is just not licensed yet but with the new emergency declaration it is currently being converted to the finished product for use. Tpoxx is one of two studied antivirals but the other one isn’t in production yet, brincidofovir. On label, it doesn’t include use for monkeypox but the eua has removed most of those barriers for use. Previous to the outbreak, there was a clinical trial in Congo and now there is in the US as well with the current outbreak and that will allow full licensure. It has been shown in vitro to be completely effective and the FDA is fast tracking this. There have been people upset there’s not enough jynneos but I would propose we should be thankful that BARDA exists with the efforts of Michael Merchlinsky specifically to create what we wouldn’t have stockpiled otherwise. He did say we are projected to have enough doses by end of 2022 and up to 2 million in the next couple months with a stockpile planned after. Production is labor intensive using chicken embryos which is the main limiting factor. In the meantime, human behavior changes like during the ebola outbreak with health communications to inform people how this spreads could do the most for us right now. Direct close contact including intercourse is the primary driver with the highest frequency in those with multiple frequent partners, this has unfortunately affected one population over others in a super majority (95%+) but I’m also glad TWiV still just calls this an indiscriminate infectious disease which it is. Lower frequency occurs in fomites and very close quarters--bedding, being in kissing distance for prolonged periods, and raves have been notable spreader events. Vax and antivirals focused on high risk groups with behavior changes should snuff out the spread assuming we continue listening to scientists like virologists. Transmission from a lesion requires contact with internal body or broken skin as minor as a microabraision as far as we know, there have been rumors of respiratory transmission but it is thought that would require mucosal lesions (in the throat) and then a cough could potentially eject it from someone infected. Anyone suspected of lesions should isolate and of course talk to a clinician. Be safe people, and arm yourself with knowledge.