We went out to dinner last night at a restaurant that doesn't hassle people about masks. As I sat there I saw that most people wore a mask as they entered and as they left. They put one on as they went back and forth to the restroom. Yes, they put on the stupid mask to walk 10 feet to a bathroom and in most cases 10 feet to the entry door. These people are just blindly following orders, no critical thinking, no, Wow, this seems kind of dumb, just no thinking at all. A switch was flipped and instantly millions just turned off their brains and followed orders.

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but the simple fact is they work, and the data bears this out

not entirely correct

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Originally posted by TAllen01:
the simple fact is they work, and the data bears this out, according to this study.

For every study or "expert" opinion that says masks work, , another can be found to say that they don't work.

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It is also clear that masks serve symbolic roles. Masks are not only tools, they are also talismans that may help increase health care workers’ perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals. Although such reactions may not be strictly logical, we are all subject to fear and anxiety, especially during times of crisis. One might argue that fear and anxiety are better countered with data and education than with a marginally beneficial mask,

New England Journal of Medicine April 1.
Link
The statement above and other statements in the linked article seem to be quite definitive and difficult to walk back but two months later walk back they did.

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We understand that some people are citing our Perspective article (published on April 1 at NEJM.org)1 as support for discrediting widespread masking. In truth, the intent of our article was to push for more masking, not less.

NEJM June 3

Link

Me thinks the political science changed not the science. From calling masks symbolic and talismans to saying you were pushing for more not less masking? The smoke machines are running wide open.

long article

https://townhall.com/columnist...n-hospitals-n2572994

Trump Is on Point: The Covid-infected Are Fleeing Mexico…for US Hospitals

a significant but unknown percentage of severely ill dual Mexican-American citizens, legal permanent residents, and Mexican visa-holders of various sorts infected inside Mexico, and yes, illegal immigrants, in May, began flooding over the California border to escape besieged Baja State hospitals. The Covid refugee flow continued into Arizona border hospitals as the Mexico contagion swept eastward through Sonora, Coahuila, and then to Texas as Tamaulipas hospitals broke down in June and into July. Before this southern wave washed northward, Trump administration officials privately fretted and planned for it. But, when their communications leaked, Latino advocacy groups roundly pilloried them as xenophobic.

....

The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal all reported that Covid-19 patients, infected in Mexico, were arriving in substantial numbers over California and Arizona ports of entry and filling local hospitals as Baja and Sonora state health systems across the frontier were collapsing.

The June 7 Times story “Coronavirus Jumps the Border, Overwhelming Hospitals in California” reported so many sick patients had poured over the border that California was forced to activate the “extraordinary response” of transporting them to San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Sacramento, in a helicopter airlift and aboard a fleet of ambulances. All of this just happened to coincide, the newspaper reported, with the lifting of stay-at-home restrictions and the reopening of businesses, which today, as we know, are solely blamed for California’s spike.

The same piece attributed a similar influx pattern into Arizona border town hospitals, citing state health officials as saying the influx was “tied to people coming in from Sonora state.”

...

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Curve flattening? What a joke.

Well, Dr. Fauci really flattened the curve last night...

Dr. Anthony Fauci Throws Out First Pitch | Opening Day

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Well, Dr. Fauci really flattened the curve last night...

Dr. Anthony Fauci Throws Out First Pitch | Opening Day

This guy is and always has been a joke.

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Originally posted by tleo205:

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Well, Dr. Fauci really flattened the curve last night...

Dr. Anthony Fauci Throws Out First Pitch | Opening Day

This guy is and always has been a joke.

Well, his pitching is as accurate as his scamdemic advice & predictions.

"Ducks Unlimited", July/August 2020.

One of the cover story subjects:

Social Distancing in the Duck Blind

A recent published paper on nonpharmaceutical measures for pandemic influenza does not lend much weight to the utility of wearing masks. It was published in the Journal of Emerging Infections Diseases and examined hand hygiene, "respiratory etiquette" (e.g. cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze), and face masks:

"Abstract
There were 3 influenza pandemics in the 20th century, and there has been 1 so far in the 21st century. Local, national, and international health authorities regularly update their plans for mitigating the next influenza pandemic in light of the latest available evidence on the effectiveness of various control measures in reducing transmission. Here, we review the evidence base on the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical personal protective measures and environmental hygiene measures in nonhealthcare settings and discuss their potential inclusion in pandemic plans. Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. We similarly found limited evidence on the effectiveness of improved hygiene and environmental cleaning. We identified several major knowledge gaps requiring further research, most fundamentally an improved characterization of the modes of person-to-person transmission."

The studies reviewed all examined influenza since that is the only real data available at this time. I expect SARS CoV-2 2019 to behave the same once reliable data become available.

You can review the actual paper on the CDC website: Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings

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Originally posted by bigdeal:
Well, I became a casualty tonight of the mask craziness. Ordered curbside pickup from a local restaurant

Being close by, care to say which chain?

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Originally posted by Ackks:

EPIC

What a true POS! One more excellent example of why I can't stand him and all this mask crap.

That picture speaks volumes. Wow.

Dr. Falsi

More concrete evidence that Fauci speaks with a forked tongue.

I do not wear a mask to protect others. But to protect myself. Period

I do not really know how necessary it is. But I will decide when it isn't.

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But I will decide

That's what it comes down to for me. I don't care who wears a mask and who doesn't so long as it is the individuals making the choice for themselves.

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Originally posted by bigdeal:

please leave the premises, and don't come back if you have issue(s) with our policies.

Which fine dining establishment was that?