It was around this time that I began to detach myself from the pandemic …. psychologically.
I began looking for highlights, and listening to the occasional anecdotal remarks that seemed relevant. I found that was very little being said. People had REALLY moved on. It wasn’t even a topic of discussion.
Here are some relevant (IMO) topics during the first half of 2023.
A
No need to call everything we disagree with a conspiracy theory.
(January 20, 2023)
Misinformation is here to stay. It’s a necessary part of our discourse. So, rather than removing it, analyze how relevant and truthful it is. Perhaps rather than “conspiracy theory,” think “undetermined.” Or, “subject to change over time.” Or, “no binary explanation or solution, here.”
We could find out that what we thought was really “out there” actually contained truth. Or, that something we had been hearing and denying for years was actually true …. or, false.
An event like a pandemic will create a breeding ground for (unproven, unverified, not current) information. It is up to US to determine what is really accurate …. at the moment.
Biden will end Covid Emergency
(February 1, 2023)
The White House says it will end the COVID-19 emergency declaration. This Tangle Newsletter covers what it means, and arguments for and against it given from both left and right sources (with relevant links).
Paraphrased excerpts appear below.
There will be a three months’ notice.
The political implication is that the administration will be able to say it helped end coronavirus.
This halt will impact government programs that were set up during the pandemic. Much of it will relate to health care rules. During the emergency, funding for Medicaid was boosted, which means there was an all-time low number of uninsured. So, 5.3 million to 4.2 million people could lose their coverage within a year.
Title 42, the quick deportation of migrants, will also end.
President Biden will no longer have a rationale for pausing student loan repayments.
Biden made the announcement just hours before a scheduled vote on a Republican-prompsed bill, which would have immediately ended the emergency declaration.
The Covid lab-leak Theory
(February 28, 2023)
(From readtangle.com) Contains the complete topic information, and views from the left and right (with links).
Excerpts:
On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) concluded the Covid-19 pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently given to the White House. The Department of Energy had been undecided on how the virus likely emerged, but updated its 2021 determination and made its conclusion with “low confidence.”
Several federal agencies and sectors of the intelligence community have now arrived at different judgments on how the pandemic began. The DOE and the FBI have both concluded the virus began with some kind of leak from a Chinese laboratory. Four other agencies, as well as a national intelligence panel, believe it was the result of natural transmission from animals to humans. Two others have said they are still undecided on its origin.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning responded to the report by dismissing the findings and saying the issue should not be politicized, pointing to a World Health Organization-China joint study that concluded the lab leak theory was very unlikely.
The lab leak theory has never been a “conspiracy theory” — it’s just a theory. We should stop calling everything we don’t like a conspiracy theory. We should ALWAYS be able to accept the fact that there are a lot of things we just don’t know.
As time goes on, it becomes more apparent that we all just have to decide for ourselves, and make choices based on our health situation and how our choices could affect those in our circle with high risk health conditions.
Go to: Second Half of 2023
Leave a Reply