Posts Made By: James Lacey

Originally Posted by James Brown

Fair point, but is not public media beholden to the government?  No such thing as a free lunch.

NPR driveway moments are the only reason I need for public radio to exist!

Originally Posted by Brian McFarland

Wearing a propeller beanie would be perfectly appropriate.

I'm assuming it's partly motivated by a political nod to his base that still thinks COVID was a hoax or that wants to blame China entirely. Or maybe it's a way to avoid any responsibility for his mishandling of the pandemic. Perhaps it could also be seen as a way to criticize and gain leverage over China? Whatever their reasoning, it's yet another thing Trump is doing that my imagination didn't prepare me for. I hope to heck we do not end up having a bird flu pandemic while this clown is still in charge. 60 Minutes did a segment on bird flu and its increasing threat as it spreads to our cattle and continues to infect more and more mammals. Thank goodness, Trump and RFK have fired so many federal workers who worked in public health.

Originally Posted by Brian McFarland

Leave Pete Hegseth alone. It wasn't his fault - his blood alcohol level was > 0.25 at the time.  Seriously, who makes sound decisions in those circumstances?

There are early reports that the White House is now looking for a new Secretary of Defense.

Originally Posted by Brian McFarland

I can't believe that clown was given the position in the first place.

It's all about the Trump loyalty pledge. The only qualification that genuinely matters is fealty to the mad king and a willingness to defend, no matter how insane it is, Trump's version of reality. I'm not sure we've ever had a politician who embodies the meaning of the saying "The emperor has no clothes" more than Trump does.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

Oh, so then it didn't come from a Chinese lab?  

Did it come from Bats?

Where did it come from since a rational explanation reigns as "conspiracy" in your world?

There is no direct evidence that the virus was engineered or that it "escaped" from a Wuhan lab. There is, however, a lot of evidence that supports a zoonotic origin. Therefore, the overarching scientific consensus is that the virus arose naturally.

Wildlife coronaviruses have long been a threat for spillover into the human population. Scientists have been warning us about it and studying coronaviruses for decades because they knew we were at risk, just like we are at risk for a spillover of H5N1 that will make COVID-19 seem easy and pleasant by comparison. For that matter, COVID-19 is not even the first coronavirus to spread to the human population. There have been several notable examples in just the last 20 or so years—namely, SARS-CoV-2 in 2019, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-COV in 2003. In total, there have been 16 known major zoonotic viral outbreaks in humans over the last 50 years, whereas there have been zero lab leaks that have caused a global pandemic.

The well-known threat of coronaviruses is just one reason we were able to develop a vaccine so quickly. It was already well understood, for example, that using mRNA vaccines to trigger an immune response to the COVID-19 spike protein would be an effective strategy.

All of this doesn't mean that there are shortages of support for the lab-leak conspiracy. You can find numerous opinion pieces and even intelligence reports from our government using their influence to support the lab-leak theory. There are also congressional committee reports supporting the lab-leak theory, but just like Trump's updates to the government's COVID-19 informational sites, they are heavily influenced by politics. Regardless,  the scientific consensus is that the lab-leak theory is improbable.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

Another disgruntled former aide.  Nothing of course but the regular MSNB Hee Haw sycophants are up in arms.  LOL

So, he was just the coffee boy, I take it?

Originally Posted by Brian McFarland

Who to believe - opinion pieces and politically-influenced congressional reports or the scientific community that actually understands virology?  Wow, that's a tough one. NOT

You cannot find even one peer-reviewed scientific article that supports the lab-leak theory. On the other hand, you can find hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles that support a zoonotic origin. You can even find some peer-reviewed scientific articles that take specific aim at sources that claim to prove a lab-leak theory. As you can imagine, the claims of a lab leak do not hold up well to scientific scrutiny.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

In 2023, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News it was his bureau's assessment that "the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident".

As I said, you can't find a single peer-reviewed scientific article that supports the lab-leak theory. All of the evidence that the FBI cited in their report is circumstantial and does not stand up to scrutiny. Additionally, the Department of Energy stated in 2023 that it had low confidence in the lab leak theory. So, who in our government is correct? Meanwhile, there is a lot of robust evidence (genetic, market, sociological, and geographic) that is all scientifically peer-reviewed, supporting a zoonotic origin for the virus.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Hi James, articles like this and your posts have certainly changed my view of the likely origins of COVID 19:

 https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01240-24

The main thing I can cite as a reason for my previous view that lab leak was believed by the scientific community to be the most likely scenario is the 2023 FBI assessment.   Still not sure what would motivate the FBI to favor a lab leak in 2023, seems politically disadvantageous.   In any case, you’ve motivated me to do some in depth reading and my point of view has changed.   Have I ever told you how much I admire your intellect?

Only thing I ought to add for the forum in general is that lab leak is not a propeller beanie or flat earth thing.   All of the more careful scientists acknowledge that the origins of COVID are still an open question, even though zoonotic origins are the leading theory.

I'm certain that most of us here hold your opinion and intellect in high regard as well. Therefore, any compliment coming from you is more valued than usual. Some have accused me of being "smart" in the past, but the truth is, while I was lucky enough to be born with some innate intelligence, the truth is I was always willing to work as hard as I had to, to accomplish my goals, and that was what made me seem bright. Cue Rich and some immature comment about circle-jerks and dicks in 3, 2, 1 ...

Your point that the origins of COVID are still an open question is correct. We still don't know for certain where it came from, but the scales currently tip heavily in favor of zoonotic origins. Should that change in the future, it won't mean that we or anyone else were lying. Instead, it will mean available evidence has changed the prevailing opinion. I feel like that needs to be said for the peanut gallery in the back.

Originally Posted by David Cotterell

Hey, Richard!

What's next for you?

Chemtrails?

Flat Earth?

Moon Landing Hoax?

Dave

Dave,

Don't forget, "Tariff is the most beautiful word in the dictionary."