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Excellent paper. Thank you. WHO now estimates the death count was under-reported and was closer to 3 million. I still think the lockdowns were a good idea given that we didn't know what we were dealing with and really had no plan, so decisons at that instance in time had to be made. In the military, there is a "Stand-Down." Everybody stop what you're doing, assess what's going on, and present ideas - basically, hit the stop button. Then, reboot. Politicizing it - no bueno.

The glaring truth that base698, and others who believe the same, ignore is that we who supported restrictions-even with some degree of doubt-did it not for ourselves but for our fellow citizens. They, invariably as base698 has again made evident, take their exceptions because they personally were in some way limited. Sadly, that exact psychology is on open display again with their support of Trumps policies that limit or harm their fellow human beings.

And here's an honest start. I heard an interview with one of the authors of this paper with a meta-analysis of papers about the effects of various things that were done, including the lockdown. And nope, the lockdown was probably not worth it. In retrospect. Because the last global pandemic we had was before germ theory was thoroughly ingrained, and experiences like the hugely increased mortality in Philadelphia due to the 1918 flu and their holding of a big military parade (at least that's what's thought to be the cause for Philadelphia's outsized death toll). The interview (and I don't remember when I heard it other than the last month or so, and where other than NPR) was really good; the author said that only an honest appraisal of what didn't work would make a difference next time Wendy P.

It was Base's fault. Him and those like him failed to adhere to a shutdown. Let's not make a virus allow us to blame either side. Everybody did the best they could with a 100 year event. Mistakes? Absolutely. Instead of playing the blame game - how about a major non-culpible lessons-learned communicated to the people.

That's the thing, really, that I was thinking about. ICU, and just ER, space was at a premium, ventilators were in short supply etc, and so on. It was real and the prospect that it could totally get beyond any semblance of control was real. I have zero regrets that I was supportive of some restrictions I now believe were overdone because I fully believe those restrictions did save some lives and prevent some lives from being made permanently worse and so on as we've already discussed on these pages more than enough. None of which in any way, shape, or form, justifies the insensible and irrational over reaction in the opposite direction some here propose is the right course.

If only said people would actually LISTEN to those lessons. Yet they continue to refuse science and facts. See you in camp!

Pure eloquence.

Yep. Which would only be justified if they were looking at a pandemic that might kill millions of Americans. It's like a pilot who follows every step of the QRH during an emergency. Is every step needed? Usually not. Might that list change in the future? Definitely. But following every step gives you the best possible chance of landing the aircraft safely, given the knowledge at the time. Indeed, NOT doing that would be irresponsible, even if some actions (like dumping fuel) might harm other people. I, for one, would never decide that it's worth risking (say) 100 lives to keep a business open.

Most of that happened in 2020. Why was that Biden's fault? Wendy P.

It's just what he's been told to think.

Hi 698, Complete & total bullshit. Jerry Baumchen

Absolutely. We would not have such a crisis under Harris. Ah yes. You are the persecuted victim of the mean n evil lefties, who DARE to criticize your party! It's impossible to even live like that! Meanwhile, the innocent people being deported to concentration camps are getting free meals, the lucky stiffs. Too late! Human trafficking - sending innocent victims to concentration camps in foreign countries Murders - Heather Heyer and Brian Sicknick come to mind. Trump supporter Patrick Wood Crusius murdered 23 people to stop all the illegals, acting at what he believed to be the direction of Trump. And of course Trump supporter Phoenix Ikner is the most recent, killing two at a school shooting. On social media he regularly posted support for both Trump and Hitler. Drugs - we have a former heroin addict in charge of things at the HHS. When Kim Kardashian asked him to, Trump pardoned convicted drug trafficker Alice Marie Johnson. Well, first she had to praise Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention, but then he was happy to pardon that drug dealer. I guess the drug trafficker was white enough. Overall Trump pardoned 22 drug dealers. Not sure how much each pardon cost, but sorta puts lie to the "anti-drug republicans" eh?

I agree, I made an undeserved insult and she's a real wizard. As I'm unlikely ever to agree she's well meaning, can I substitute selfishly evil?

I just packed one into an older Javelin this week. I pack it every year. Yellow and not labelled FCI, old enough to be Glidepath. My customer weighs about 180 and he had a ride on it last year. Uneventful landing. Some people seem to think that PDRs are the oldest reserves that work. They are wrong.

Hi Ian, It really depends upon the condition of the canopy. Obviously, one should be conservative on wing loading. Red, who owned Flight Concepts, never agreed with fabric testing, term limits, etc on his canopies. A Firelite might be old, but it could still be a good canopy. Jerry Baumchen

Your perception skills are a tad skewed, methinks. Certainly your understanding of how Bill thinks isn't even close. Your admission that Trump supporters, including you, are believers in weaponizing the legal system to attack their enemies does naught but confirm all that we've been saying all along. So you just carry on not seeing how your political views are destroying the fabric of the nation and making a mockery of the Constitution, our apparently fragile separation of powers, and the judicial system that was supposed to hold it all together. You see, the thing of it is we all need to be able to hold our noses and accept what we do not like in the name of holding together the nation; that is in fact job one. What Trump is now doing and what supporters such as yourself are now doing is the polar opposite of that but you just keep pretending it will all rebalance nicely once your pet peeves, personal agenda, and identified enemies are dealt with properly.

Even with the clearances I had, we still and always had the Need to Know rule. Clearance was just the initial hurdle, but does that person have a need to know? In this case it's a crystal clear HELL NO. Compartmentation of sensitive information is something the current admin is clueless about.

Except that a variety of complimentary descriptors and points of virtue can also be used to describe Harris. Whereas for Trump it only gets worse.