Moderation Team: Vette, babywhales, Bob In PA, gregf, bighitterdalama, beaugestus, T200
Owner: MightyGiants
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Quote from: umassgrad on July 22, 2020, 06:28:26 PMThat's awesome! I love hearing stories like that. The world has so much offer and I feel tremendously blessed to have experienced some of the different cultures. Glad you have some fond memories to last a lifetime!
For T200- living overseas: I loved every moment of being a foreigner but I never brought the American "greatest country in the world" attitude with me. I embraced the local culture and the locals embraced me and my family. I vacationed in Morocco as the guests of a Muslim family as they wanted to repay us for hosting their children at our home for Christmas. My children received daycare from a Berber women while in Morocco, a lovely Filippino while in Taipei, and the sweetest Chinese national while in Shanghai. None of them could speak English but they loved our children dearly. The most amazing Taiwanese family were there for the birth of our second child while in Taipei. No one in the hospital could speak English and as I was leaving the hospital to settle the bill the Taiwanese mother looked at me and said everything was all set and I should just go home to be with our baby girl. After 9/11 while our church mourned a group of local Domincans entered our church and surrounded the pews and sang Amazing Grace with us to show their support for us and our country. I will never forget that moment and so much more. I have many more stories of the love me and my family received while living overseas. It's for these reasons I'm bothered by Muslim bans, xxxx hole country comments and the building of walls to keep people out.
Quote from: umassgrad on July 22, 2020, 05:46:58 PMThat's awesome! I really loved being overseas.
T200- me as well, I spent 25 years teaching internationally with stops in Shanghai, Cairo, Delhi, Taipei and Casablanca. I just moved back to the US last year.
Quote from: MightyGiants on July 22, 2020, 07:35:40 AMI've had the fortune and blessing to live in both Asia and Europe for a number of years. We don't fully realize how the world sees us until we are on the outside looking in.
Yeah, self-centeredness and a sense of entitlement have plagued man since likely the dawn of time. In fairness, masks were less effective in 1918 than they are today. Today, we know it to be a scientific fact that masks save lives, but in 1918 that couldn't be said.
Quote from: MightyGiants on July 21, 2020, 08:30:44 AMI liken it to the battered wife syndrome. The husband abuses the wife, then apologizes and says he loves her and she still stays. He continues to do it and it's a vicious cycle that she can't get herself out of, despite those around her doing their best to help. Very difficult to get someone out of an abusive relationship.
and this is why I can't agree with any claims that the President and all the governors are doing the best they can for the American people
Quote from: MightyGiants on July 20, 2020, 05:00:51 PMI agree but that's not a mistake. It's deliberate.
This is a prime example of the sort of mistake I talk about. This governor's actions are literally costing people their lives
Quote from: Bob In PA on July 20, 2020, 12:06:18 PMFair enough.
Tim: Acceptable. This is the same rating I give to all other elected chief executives (Governors, county commissioners, mayors, etc.) as of today. Eventually, we can and will look back on their efforts and learn from the errors and find the "best" approach to use in the next pandemic, but I think it's utterly unfair to engage in daily, repetitive, and sometimes purely partisan, criticism of any of them at this time. After all, we are still only in THE MIDDLE of this progression of the plague that has been visited upon us. The good news is that we have 50 different state approaches to study as well as the numerous local governments. The TRUE ERROR would be failure to learn a lot about how to respond in the future.
As for Trump (and this is a just repetition of some of my prior posts) he did what he is supposed to do. He gave heavy weight to the Federal health agencies, who recommended closing most of the economy down, so he did so and for a while stood firmly behind them. Then, after waiting until he thought the situation with the economy prevented any further waiting, he left it to the individual Governors to each do what they thought best for their states, but continued to present the views of the Federal health officials at his press conferences, even if they were not in total agreement with his views. This enabled the American people to see the whole picture and consider the differences, as well as the areas in which there was total agreement.
Bob
Quote from: Bob In PA on July 20, 2020, 11:10:47 AMBob,
umass: Absolutely not. One death per day is "too many." You're correct in the implication that a lot more people are going to die. Can you imagine the daily consternation and hand-wringing in every mayor's office, in every State House and in the White House over this? Elected officials are in a tough spot (but I don't feel sorry for them - they sought elective office). However, I do adamantly object to the daily criticism which is ever-present and constant. The general public is already scared beyond belief, and overdoing the criticism is not helping. Elected executives (i.e., Trump, all 50 Governors, mayors, county execs, etc.) are charged with the duty to do what's best for the group they govern. That includes issues beyond just the virus (unfortunately) and that is why I say they're all in a tough spot. Being a chief executive always means "striking a balance" and while the virus is super-important (obviously), other related and unrelated health issues, economic well-being, and many other issues must be weighed as well. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not in charge, and I'm rooting for each and every one of them to succeed. Bob
Quote from: Ron in NJ on July 17, 2020, 10:58:20 AM
This is the part of her remarks where I drew my conclusion
The science is very clear on this, that
Quote from: Bob In PA on July 17, 2020, 10:06:29 AM
Rich: If you have something to support this contention, please post it. Otherwise, I respectfully request your withdraw it. Bob
QuoteAsked about President Donald Trump's message to parents as some schools opt to go fully online in the coming weeks, McEnany said "the president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open."
"And I was just in the Oval talking to him about that," she said. "When he says open, he means open in full, kids being able to attend each and every day in their school. The science should not stand in the way of this."
Quote from: Bob In PA on July 17, 2020, 01:20:46 AMNo worries, Bob. One team - one fight!
Tim: Oops. Sorry about that. Tired eyes! Bob
Quote from: Bob In PA on July 15, 2020, 07:53:09 AMIs it fair to hold them accountable when countries don't cooperate?
Rich: They're doing a bang-up job! Bob
