Now NBA Players Sound More Rational Than Gov't Officials on COVID-19
Fauci, take note
How is it that an NBA player is making more sense about the pandemic than every single government official we’re somehow supposed to trust?
Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic is one of the players quoted in a recent Rolling Stone article about anti-vaxxers in the NBA, and he had some problems with how he was depicted in the story:1
“I am not anti-vax. I’m not anti-medicine. I’m not anti-science. I didn’t come to my current vaccination status by studying black history or watching Donald Trump press conferences. I have nothing but the utmost respect for every health care worker and person in Orlando, and all across the world, that have worked tirelessly to keep us safe. My mom has worked in health care for a really long time. I thank God, I’m grateful that I live in a society where vaccines are possible, and we can protect ourselves and have the means to protect ourselves in the first place.
“But with that being said, it is my belief that the vaccine status of every person should be their own choice and completely up to them, without bullying, without being pressured, or without being forced to do so. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m uncomfortable with taking the vaccine at this time. I think that we’re all different, we all come from different places, we’ve had different experiences, and hold dear to different beliefs. And what it is that you do with your body, when it comes to putting medicine in there, should be your choice, free of the ridicule and the opinion of others.”
Is Isaac right? I don’t know. But if he’s not, I need someone to explain why, not just dismiss him as some wild-eyed loon. He’s obviously given it a lot of thought, and he’s able to express his opinion succinctly and cogently. He’s not ranting and raving about conspiracies. He’s just not convinced about this vaccine, because the people in charge of convincing him have failed.
And I’m assuming he’s not a Trump voter. He doesn’t fit the profile of anti-vaxxers that our friends on the left keep trying to draw up. He’s not the caricature.2
Isaac certainly sounds more rational than his elders:
When you calmly and patiently explain your reasoning, and your opponents scream for you to lose your job, it doesn’t make me want to side with the screamers.
So, what happens when more athletes and celebrities refuse to comply with these mandates? How are the authoritarians going to stop other prominent Americans from dissenting like this? Shaming them isn’t working. “Because I said so” isn’t working. Banning them from social media to silence them isn’t working.
Step 1 would be to drag Fauci away from the cameras and replace him with someone who’s trustworthy, but he craves fame too much for that to happen.
Speaking of vaccines, has anybody seen President Biden since he got that booster shot on Monday? He’s pushing 80 and doesn’t seem to be in the best of health even on a good day. Is everything okay? Is he going to pop up and lie to us some more, or will he continue to delegate the lying to his underlings?
A politician said something stupid:
And Norm Macdonald mocked him from the grave:
If you need to keep telling us that a certain group of people are the real heroes, chances are they’re not the real heroes. The real heroes, as Norm pointed out, are the real heroes.
You know who should really be pontificating to us about accountability right now? Fredo Cuomo, that’s who.
“News accountability.” This is after news broke of another female co-worker who left Cuomo’s show under suspicious circumstances. That makes two women he’s harassed. How many more women have had problems in the workplace with this mook?
If you don’t like being scolded by this scumbag, you’re not alone. CNN’s ratings are in the crapper, and they’re still not going to do anything about this dummy. That whole network is garbage.
Speaking of which, here’s some good news for journos desperately seeking a second career:
If you currently work in the media, this would actually be a promotion!
La Brea is such a Lost ripoff that one of the characters even points out that it’s a Lost ripoff, as if lampshading it will make it less of a Lost ripoff.
It’s not very good, even for a show about a bunch of random people who fall into some sort of chronal rift in a giant sinkhole and end up in prehistoric California, but it has its charms. I’ve liked Natalie Zea ever since she was on The Shield a million years ago, so it’s nice to see her getting a lead role. And it’s filmed in Melbourne, so it’ll be fun to see how the producers try to make it look like LA, and how the Aussie actors try to make it sound like LA. So I’ll give it a few episodes. And then NBC will probably cancel it, just like they cancelled Debris. I miss that crazy show.
It just feels right to support a network TV show that isn’t produced by Dick Wolf and isn’t a gameshow or singing competition.
Finished the final season of Goliath. It’s objectively kind of terrible, the plot is complete nonsense, but I still liked it. They moved the action from LA to San Francisco and made it #noirAF, with endless scenes of Billy Bob Thornton lolling around in doorways smoking cigarettes while the rain pours down. J. K. Simmons plays yet another cartoonish villain, which he can do in his sleep at this point but it’s still fun to watch. And the show makes a good point about drug companies and the opioid epidemic. Plus, it’s laugh-out-loud funny at times. Nina Arianda is a gem. It’s worth a watch if you’ve already got Amazon Prime.
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I’m not sure why anybody is counting on Rolling Stone for journalism after they concocted a gang-rape at the University of Virginia, but I guess memories are short.
For the 10,000th time: I’m vaccinated. So I don’t particularly care if Jonathan Isaac or anyone else is vaccinated, although I think it’s a good idea. But if you’re forcing me to take sides, I’m siding with the guys who don’t sound hysterical.
I believe he said he’s had COVID. And if the Israeli studies are accurate, his resistance to infection is now 27 TIMES that of a vaccinated individual who has not contracted the disease. Plus, there’s the incomplete studies of the effects of the vaccine on those who have recovered from the infection. So…all this has demonstrated is that our society can no longer engage in a rational discussion about the decision to be jabbed. I’m vaccinated (I’m 67, so it seems prudent, and contracted Influenza B in my mid-30s that took me off flying status for almost 3 months) but the neo-fascist posturing of our “betters” makes me less receptive to their diktats.
I had never seen the Norm Macdonald clip. It was hilarious. Thanks for posting it.