Upstate NY Banter and General Discussion..

[TugHillMatt]

51 minutes ago, wolfie09 said:

“State law allows marijuana use anywhere tobacco use is permitted,” Bullard said. “Smoking is not permitted in Fairgrounds buildings or in the open concert venues at Chevy Court and Chevy Park but is allowed elsewhere outdoors. We encourage those who smoke to be considerate of others around them.”

So, during a time when Covid is of great concern, and the government can seemingly place random restrictions on people, it makes total sense (sarcasm) to be allowing people to smoke in a very crowded area. Sure, spread your Covid germs on molecules you exhale out of your mouth.

NOTHING makes sense these days.

[DeltaT13]

42 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

So, during a time when Covid is of great concern, and the government can seemingly place random restrictions on people, it makes total sense (sarcasm) to be allowing people to smoke in a very crowded area. Sure, spread your Covid germs on molecules you exhale out of your mouth.

NOTHING makes sense these days.

Just because you can smell it doesnt mean it changes how effective the virus transmits.  It simply reveals just how much air we breathe that comes out of others peoples lungs.  This is a non-issue IMO. 

[TugHillMatt]

5 minutes ago, DeltaT13 said:

Just because you can smell it doesnt mean it changes how effective the virus transmits.  It simply reveals just how much air we breathe that comes out of others peoples lungs.  This is a non-issue IMO. 

With how liberal you are on things, it surprises me that you're dismissing such a possibilty. If you push for mask wearing because we can spread germs through breathing, I think exhaling with a little force out of the lungs could spread it as well.

Which continues my point that everything is a contradiction anymore and people will just push for their "point" because it is what they "want" regardless of others or actual sensibility.

[wolfie09]

A blame game

While the Biden administration executed the US withdrawal, it was the Trump administration that brokered a deal with the Taliban to pull out US troops. The agreement, signed in February 2020, stipulated that US troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan within 14 months. The deal was much criticized for acceding to the Taliban demand of not including the Afghan government. At the time, the Taliban already controlled nearly half the country. 

Biden largely upheld the Trump-era deal, though he didn't follow that exact timeline. Many observers said the US's agreement in principle to depart cost it leverage it could have used to compel the Taliban to adhere to the peace deal and a cessation of hostilities.

After the negotiations, Trump began slimming down the US's presence. By mid-January, there were only about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. To put this into perspective, there were more US troops deployed to Washington, DC, as a result of the January 6 insurrection than the number deployed in Afghanistan.

An Afghan special-forces officer told The Washington Post that Trump's withdrawal deal demoralized Afghan troops and made them feel as though a Taliban takeover was inevitable.

"The day the deal was signed we saw the change. Everyone was just looking out for himself," the officer said.

Trump on Sunday criticized Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying that the president didn't follow the plan he crafted. But outside the original timeline, in which US troops would've fully pulled out in May, Biden hardly diverged from Trump's peace agreement. 

Biden in a statement on Saturday placed blame on Trump for the chaos in Afghanistan, saying that he'd inherited a deal that "left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

From Bush to Biden, US presidents failed in Afghanistan

There is ample evidence that the US withdrawal has been rushed and sloppy, particularly when it comes to helping vulnerable Afghans who assisted the US during the conflict. But the US's ultimate failure in Afghanistan cannot be laid at the feet of a single president or administration.

The war in Afghanistan has been chaotic from start to finish, with US troops often unsure of their mission as multiple administrations — both Republican and Democratic — misled the public about the state of the conflict.

Over the years, Americans were repeatedly told that the US was turning a corner in Afghanistan, but there was rarely evidence to back that up. The US invested $83 billion in training and equipping Afghan forces, with little to show for it. The Afghan military consistently struggled with endemic corruption and discipline issues, exhibiting few signs that it could defeat the Taliban without US assistance.

Every president who has overseen this war made decisions that exacerbated the conflict in various ways.

 

The war in Afghanistan began in October 2001 under President George W. Bush, who within the first month of the conflict rejected an offer from the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden in exchange for the US to stop bombing the country. In May 2003, the Bush administration declared that "major combat" was over in Afghanistan. As time would show, this was exceptionally premature.

President Barack Obama drastically ramped up America's troop presence in Afghanistan in 2009 — a move that Biden opposed as vice president. In 2014, Obama shared a timeline to bring US troops home by 2016. He declared an end to the US combat mission in the country in December 2014, but the war was nowhere near finished — and US troops remained in Afghanistan when Obama left office.

While Trump promised to end "forever wars," he relaxed the rules of engagement for airstrikes in Afghanistan in 2017, and under his watch, civilian casualties in the country rose 330% from 2016.

Biden announced the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in April. The Taliban continued to make gains across the country throughout spring and into summer, raising fears of an eventual takeover. Last month, Biden rejected the notion that it was "inevitable" the Taliban would regain power and expressed confidence in the Afghan military. Within a matter of weeks, the Taliban was back in control of Afghanistan.

There's no doubt that Biden and his advisors got much wrong about what would transpire in Afghanistan, but recent events are a product of years of poor decision-making by the US. Like other empires before it, the US has learned the hard way that no amount of military might and money can fundamentally change a complex country like Afghanistan

[DeltaT13]

8 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

With how liberal you are on things, it surprises me that you're dismissing such a possibilty. If you push for mask wearing because we can spread germs through breathing, I think exhaling with a little force out of the lungs could spread it as well.

Which continues my point that everything is a contradiction anymore and people will just push for their "point" because it is what they "want" regardless of others or actual sensibility.

I mean how many people at the fair will be openly smoking pot?  Probably 1 percent, if that.  In the grand scheme of things this just isnt an issue.  There will be far more people smoking cigs and vapes and no one was worried about that.  Pot is the least of our concerns right now.  I also don't think it enhances transmission.  There is no reason to believe the virus would be attaching to smoke particles.  

[TugHillMatt]

Just now, wolfie09 said:

A blame game

While the Biden administration executed the US withdrawal, it was the Trump administration that brokered a deal with the Taliban to pull out US troops. The agreement, signed in February 2020, stipulated that US troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan within 14 months. The deal was much criticized for acceding to the Taliban demand of not including the Afghan government. At the time, the Taliban already controlled nearly half the country. 

Biden largely upheld the Trump-era deal, though he didn't follow that exact timeline. Many observers said the US's agreement in principle to depart cost it leverage it could have used to compel the Taliban to adhere to the peace deal and a cessation of hostilities.

After the negotiations, Trump began slimming down the US's presence. By mid-January, there were only about 2,500 troops in Afghanistan. To put this into perspective, there were more US troops deployed to Washington, DC, as a result of the January 6 insurrection than the number deployed in Afghanistan.

An Afghan special-forces officer told The Washington Post that Trump's withdrawal deal demoralized Afghan troops and made them feel as though a Taliban takeover was inevitable.

"The day the deal was signed we saw the change. Everyone was just looking out for himself," the officer said.

Trump on Sunday criticized Biden over the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying that the president didn't follow the plan he crafted. But outside the original timeline, in which US troops would've fully pulled out in May, Biden hardly diverged from Trump's peace agreement. 

Biden in a statement on Saturday placed blame on Trump for the chaos in Afghanistan, saying that he'd inherited a deal that "left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

From Bush to Biden, US presidents failed in Afghanistan

There is ample evidence that the US withdrawal has been rushed and sloppy, particularly when it comes to helping vulnerable Afghans who assisted the US during the conflict. But the US's ultimate failure in Afghanistan cannot be laid at the feet of a single president or administration.

The war in Afghanistan has been chaotic from start to finish, with US troops often unsure of their mission as multiple administrations — both Republican and Democratic — misled the public about the state of the conflict.

Over the years, Americans were repeatedly told that the US was turning a corner in Afghanistan, but there was rarely evidence to back that up. The US invested $83 billion in training and equipping Afghan forces, with little to show for it. The Afghan military consistently struggled with endemic corruption and discipline issues, exhibiting few signs that it could defeat the Taliban without US assistance.

Every president who has overseen this war made decisions that exacerbated the conflict in various ways.

 

The war in Afghanistan began in October 2001 under President George W. Bush, who within the first month of the conflict rejected an offer from the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden in exchange for the US to stop bombing the country. In May 2003, the Bush administration declared that "major combat" was over in Afghanistan. As time would show, this was exceptionally premature.

President Barack Obama drastically ramped up America's troop presence in Afghanistan in 2009 — a move that Biden opposed as vice president. In 2014, Obama shared a timeline to bring US troops home by 2016. He declared an end to the US combat mission in the country in December 2014, but the war was nowhere near finished — and US troops remained in Afghanistan when Obama left office.

While Trump promised to end "forever wars," he relaxed the rules of engagement for airstrikes in Afghanistan in 2017, and under his watch, civilian casualties in the country rose 330% from 2016.

Biden announced the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in April. The Taliban continued to make gains across the country throughout spring and into summer, raising fears of an eventual takeover. Last month, Biden rejected the notion that it was "inevitable" the Taliban would regain power and expressed confidence in the Afghan military. Within a matter of weeks, the Taliban was back in control of Afghanistan.

There's no doubt that Biden and his advisors got much wrong about what would transpire in Afghanistan, but recent events are a product of years of poor decision-making by the US. Like other empires before it, the US has learned the hard way that no amount of military might and money can fundamentally change a complex country lie Afghanistan

Biden is an incompetent fool of a president. Such an embarrassment and disgrace he and his administration are to this country. My comments have nothing to do with our previous president(s).

Biden had a job to do based on what has been happening throughout this SUMMER of his presidency. He and his administration disregarded and ignored warnings and obvious/clear happenings of what the Taliban was doing. Then, he just wussies us out of there... Grrrrr...

[TugHillMatt]

1 minute ago, DeltaT13 said:

I mean how many people at the fair will be openly smoking pot?  Probably 1 percent, if that.  In the grand scheme of things this just isnt an issue.  There will be far more people smoking cigs and vapes and no one was worried about that.  Pot is the least of our concerns right now.  

Oh, I agree. I'm not too concerned about whatever people are smoking at the fair... it's about the disregard and lack of courtesy during a time when people are amped up and anxious about sharing airspace with others. If we are going to push masks, I think it's logical to push not smoking and not exhaling your molecules all over others in public. Or is it a double standard?

 

[DeltaT13]

5 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

Oh, I agree. I'm not too concerned about whatever people are smoking at the fair... it's about the disregard and lack of courtesy during a time when people are amped up and anxious about sharing airspace with others. If we are going to push masks, I think it's logical to push not smoking and not exhaling your molecules all over others in public. Or is it a double standard?

 

This I agree on.  I think smoking should be done in designated areas pretty much everywhere.  Surprised that isnt the case already.  

[TugHillMatt]

4 minutes ago, DeltaT13 said:

This I agree on.  I think smoking should be done in designated areas pretty much everywhere.  Surprised that isnt the case already.  

We are certainly at a crossroads of freedoms and limiting those that infringe upon the health and safety of others, aren't we? What freedoms do we sacrifice, limit, or allow to continue? I think Covid has brought much of this to the forefront.

[StormfanaticInd]

Meanwhile hospitalizations are surging 

 

[Buckeyes_Suck]

[TugHillMatt]

4 hours ago, Luke_Mages said:

Ha. Pretty much.... Next part of this conversation:

"Brooo, I wonder if we send forces into the U.S., if Biden will just have U.S. troops flee...."

"Yeah, man...he's on vacation til next week..."

"Yo, man...grand idea...the American people will have nowhere to go or nobody to look out for them..."

"Maybe Canada?"

Canadians: "Hold up, eh? You vaccinated?"

[wolfie09]

Health department plans to spray after deadly virus is found in Oswego County mosquitoes..

The New York State Department of Health also tested the mosquito samples and declared an “imminent threat to public health” in Oswego County.

This designation by the state is one of the first steps in getting approval to conduct aerial spraying in targeted areas, Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang said.

The spraying is a temporary and partial measure to control the spread of the EEE virus, Huang said. The date and time of spraying will be announced as soon as plans are finalized to ensure that the public has ample opportunity to prepare, he said.

EEE is an extremely rare, and often fatal infection that causes encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, health officials said.

Both humans and horses are at risk of getting EEE through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

There have been eight reported human EEE deaths in Onondaga and Oswego counties since 1971.

https://www.syracuse.com/health/2021/08/health-department-plans-to-spray-after-deadly-virus-is-found-in-oswego-county-mosquitoes.html?outputType=amp

 

[Buckeyes_Suck]

37 minutes ago, wolfie09 said:

Health department plans to spray after deadly virus is found in Oswego County mosquitoes..

The New York State Department of Health also tested the mosquito samples and declared an “imminent threat to public health” in Oswego County.

This designation by the state is one of the first steps in getting approval to conduct aerial spraying in targeted areas, Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang said.

The spraying is a temporary and partial measure to control the spread of the EEE virus, Huang said. The date and time of spraying will be announced as soon as plans are finalized to ensure that the public has ample opportunity to prepare, he said.

EEE is an extremely rare, and often fatal infection that causes encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, health officials said.

Both humans and horses are at risk of getting EEE through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

There have been eight reported human EEE deaths in Onondaga and Oswego counties since 1971.

https://www.syracuse.com/health/2021/08/health-department-plans-to-spray-after-deadly-virus-is-found-in-oswego-county-mosquitoes.html?outputType=amp

 

 

Mosquito lockdowns! Invest in OFF!

I'm joking of course.

[DeltaT13]

57 minutes ago, Blue Moon said:

Hello folks,

I've just arrived in the area. I'll be living here as a student the next couple years. Pleased to meet you all! (virtual handshake)

Now, I've got a question: I noticed scores of dead trees scattered throughout the area as I drove in, and it started as far back as central Ohio (I took 71 and then 90). Are these the ash trees being killed off by the Emerald Ash Borers, or is this something else?

Thanks!

 

You got it, and welcome aboard.  900 million ash trees in this state and almost a third are already dead. Nothing stopping the borer at this point.  Good eye though. Most people I know have lived here their whole lives and haven’t noticed yet. Kinda sad. 

[TugHillMatt]

2 hours ago, Blue Moon said:

Hello folks,

I've just arrived in the area. I'll be living here as a student the next couple years. Pleased to meet you all! (virtual handshake)

Now, I've got a question: I noticed scores of dead trees scattered throughout the area as I drove in, and it started as far back as central Ohio (I took 71 and then 90). Are these the ash trees being killed off by the Emerald Ash Borers, or is this something else?

Thanks!

 

Welcome! Yeah, it's very sad to see all the unhealthy trees this year.  

I am excited for you to experience some real winter weather. While the winters lately have left much to be desired in these parts, it will be 100 times better (literally) than Tennessee!

[Buckeyes_Suck]

I didn’t realize raccoon city was in India…

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57774294

[MJO812]

Breaking: NYC Mayor to announce vaccine mandate for all school staff, without testing alternative. All education dept staff must provide proof of first dose by 9/27. In doing so, NYC joins strictest vaccine mandates for school staff in country.

[TugHillMatt]

1 hour ago, MJO812 said:

Breaking: NYC Mayor to announce vaccine mandate for all school staff, without testing alternative. All education dept staff must provide proof of first dose by 9/27. In doing so, NYC joins strictest vaccine mandates for school staff in country.

Misuse of power. I hope he is ready for the fallout of teachers leaving the job.

The vaccines haven't even been approved yet! I realize Pfizer should be by then. 

This extremist progressively liberal government is destroying our nation's foundations in less than a year. Awful.

[MJO812]

8 minutes ago, TugHillMatt said:

Misuse of power. I hope he is ready for the fallout of teachers leaving the job.

The vaccines haven't even been approved yet! I realize Pfizer should be by then. 

This extremist progressively liberal government is destroying our nation's foundations in less than a year. Awful.

Phizer is now approved

[TugHillMatt]

4 minutes ago, MJO812 said:

Phizer is now approved

In that case...make it an option OR weekly testing.

"I HAVE the freedom to do this but YOU do NOT have the freedom to do that." Can't believe the hypocrisy in this country... 

If it comes down to actual concerns about the health and well-being of those around us, and each person having the right to decide what goes in the body, perhaps we should just go back to school virtually where everyone can be in their safe bubble.

 

[winter_rules]

22 hours ago, MJO812 said:

Breaking: NYC Mayor to announce vaccine mandate for all school staff, without testing alternative. All education dept staff must provide proof of first dose by 9/27. In doing so, NYC joins strictest vaccine mandates for school staff in country.

Despite expecting increasingly hardcore liberalism and government mandates out of NYC, this one really shocked me.  I wonder if they have replacements set up for those who choose to leave their job.  I have to imagine an appreciable percentage will just leave (5-10%?) right at the start of a new school year.  But at least there are plenty of applicants for most jobs right now, and teaching is something you can do with no background training or certifications….oh wait.  Brilliant move. 

[StormfanaticInd]

 

[weatherwiz]

 For anyone interested in NFL pickem pay league please see the following link. We have done it for 3-years but skipped last year due to COVID. The annual free league is also back and please check out the sports side and the thread for that if interested:

 

 

[Syrmax]

On 8/19/2021 at 11:52 PM, DeltaT13 said:

You got it, and welcome aboard.  900 million ash trees in this state and almost a third are already dead. Nothing stopping the borer at this point.  Good eye though. Most people I know have lived here their whole lives and haven’t noticed yet. Kinda sad. 

My golf partners commented on this a couple weeks ago while we were waiting on a tee box in Cicero.  No idea if the dead trees are all Ash trees but it is noticeable if you take time to notice...

[Syrmax]

On 8/20/2021 at 1:21 AM, TugHillMatt said:

Welcome! Yeah, it's very sad to see all the unhealthy trees this year.  

I am excited for you to experience some real winter weather. While the winters lately have left much to be desired in these parts, it will be 100 times better (literally) than Tennessee!

I can hardly wait for the cold November followed by Holiday Season Sizzle yet again.  Hard to believe that it's Climate Change related (although what isn't ascribed to CC these days?), but it has been common the past several years. 

[TugHillMatt]

2 hours ago, Syrmax said:

I can hardly wait for the cold November followed by Holiday Season Sizzle yet again.  Hard to believe that it's Climate Change related (although what isn't ascribed to CC these days?), but it has been common the past several years. 

Yeah, it sure has. It's been a fairly  consistent run of warm Falls, a tease of winter, mild winter "thaws" (can't thaw if it hasn't been cold...lol), a chilly Spring, and then a furnace that lasts into September and "cools" to a mild October.

[StormfanaticInd]

 

[vortmax]

18 hours ago, StormfanaticInd said:

 

Don't think we need a play-by-play on this, thanks.

[wolfie09]

This was a covid thread, if he wants to continue he can.. Anthony did every day during the height of the pandemic and nobody said anything lol But we can come in here to bitch about liberal this liberal that lol With no pushback of course..