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Along those lines: Mike Rowe July 22 at 10:50 AM · Mike. In a recent post, you said you’ve been to Tennessee and Georgia, giving speeches and filming for your new show. Before that, you were on the road shooting for Dirty Jobs. Is it really so important to film a television show in the midst of pandemic? Is it responsible of you to encourage this kind of behavior when infection rates are spiking? Don’t you watch the news? More and more cases every day – aren’t you concerned? Darlene Gabon Hi Darlene Of course, I’m concerned. I’m just not petrified. On March 15th, the day after my part of the country was locked down, I posted a link to an interview with Dr. Michael Osterholm. I’m posting it again, because I believe you and everyone else in the country would benefit from listening carefully to what he has to say. https://bit.ly/2WLOM6o Dr. Osterholm is the Director of Infectious Disease Research and Policy. This is the same epidemiologist who ten years ago, predicted a coronavirus would come from China and turn our country upside down. In his book “Deadliest Enemies,” he anticipated the utterly irresponsible way in which the media would report on the situation, the completely opportunistic and shamelessly political way our leaders would likely react, and the unprecedented chaos and confusion that would arise from all the mixed messages from the medical community. His resume is unexampled, https://bit.ly/3jvzQTW, and his analysis of the situation is the most logical and persuasive of any I’d heard so far. He’s also the only expert I know of who hasn’t walked back his numbers, reconsidered his position, or moved the goalposts with regard to what we must do, what we can do, and what he expects to happen next. I say all of this because Dr. Osterholm publicly predicted - in early MArch - that we could conservatively see over 100 million COVID cases in this country, with a very strong possibility of 480,000 fatalities – even if we successfully “flattened the curve.” It took me a few weeks to accept this scenario, because 480,000 fatalities is a frightening number, and lot of other experts were saying lots of conflicting things. But eventually, I came to the conclusion that Dr. Osterholm was probably correct, and quickly navigated the four stages of grief that usually precede acceptance – denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. By late April, I had come to accept Dr. Osterholm’s predictions as a matter of fact. Since then, I’ve had three full months to come to terms with the fact that, a) I am probably going to get COVID-19 at some point, b), I am almost certainly going to survive it, and c), I might very well give it to someone else. I hope that doesn’t sound blasé, or glib, or fatalistic, or selfish. Four-hundred eighty thousand deaths is an obvious tragedy, and I’m deeply sympathetic to all who have been impacted thus far. I’m also very concerned for my parents, and everyone else in a high risk category. But when Dr. Osterholm says that COVID can be slowed but not stopped, I believe him. When he says a vaccine will not necessarily hasten herd immunity, I believe him. And when he says that people have confused “flattening the curve” with "eliminating the virus," I believe him. Thus, for the last three months, I’ve been operating from the assumption that this is a year-round virus that’s eventually going to infect 100 million people and kill roughly 1/2 of one percent of those infected, conservatively. I’ve accepted those numbers. Unfortunately, millions of others have not. Many people have no sense of where this is headed, and I understand why. They've been betrayed by a hysterical media that insists on covering each new reported case as if it were the first case. Every headline today drips with dread, as the next doomed hotspot approaches the next "grim milestone." And so, for a lot of people, everyday is Groundhogs Day. They're paralyzed by the rising numbers because the numbers have no context. They don't know where it will end. But Dr. Osterholm says he does, and I'm persuaded that he's correct. He might be wrong, and frankly, I hope he is, but either way, he's presented us with a set of projections based on a logical analysis, and accepting those projections has allowed me to move past denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, and get on with my life with a better understanding of what the risks really are. Fact is, we the people can accept almost anything if we’re given the facts, and enough time to get evaluate the risk and make our own decisions. Last year in this country, there were six million traffic accidents and 36,000 fatalities. Tragic, for sure. But imagine for a moment if no one had ever died from a car accident. Imagine if this year, America endured six million traffic accidents and 36,000 fatalities...for the first time ever. Now, imagine if these accidents and fatalities - over 16,000 and 90 per day respectively - imagine if they were reported upon like every new incidence of COVID. What would that do to our willingness to drive? For a while, I suspect it would keep us all off the roads, right? I mean, six million accidents out of the blue is a lot to process, and 36,000 deaths is scary – especially if you don’t know how high that number could get. It would take us a while to access the risk, before we blindly hopped into our cars again. Eventually though - after getting some context and perspective - we'd be able to evaluate the relative danger of operating a motor vehicle. Then, we could decide for ourselves when to drive, where to drive, and how much to drive. And so we do. Again, don’t misunderstand. I’m not ignoring COVID, or downplaying COVID, or pretending the risks at hand aren’t real. Nor am I comparing COVID cases to car accidents - I'm simply comparing the fear of each to the other, and the fear that always accompanies uncertainty. I don’t want to get this disease or give it to someone else, any more than I want to be in a car car wreck that injures someone else. But I've accepted certain things about the pandemic, and now, I've gotten used to the risk as I understand it. I take precautions. I get tested as often as I can, and if I can't physically distance, I wear a mask – especially around higher risk people. Likewise, I wear a seatbelt, obey the speed limits, and check my mirrors before changing lanes. Yes - I’m aware that we’d all be a lot safer if we kept our cars in the garage. I’m also aware we’d be a lot safer if we all kept ourselves in the house. But that’s not why cars, or people, exist. Anyway Darlene, that’s a long way of saying that I have accepted Dr. Osterholm’s numbers, and now, after three months of acceptance, I’ve made a decision on how I wish to live my life. Sooner or later, you will too. We all will. Mike PS. My foundation is selling masks to raise money for our next work-ethic scholarship program. They're going fast...

Baseball lost me in the strike years. The other sports lost me with the kneeling and taking sides on the flag. These clowns, so called pro athletes, are overpaid. Yes they are good at what they do, but not worth millions. Just my $0.02

They always like to do things big in TX. Looks like they got their wish....

fauchi watching game while social distancing.

Damn it, Dr. Fauci...six more weeks of CoronaVirus thanks to that wild pitch! Their work product is highly specialized in some very competitive industuries, and responsible for bringing in some huge revenues. Their pay is just commensurate to that revenue as they negotiate it with their employer.

You're just now picking up on this? Orange man good. Science man bad.

OLight makes good consumer-grade stuff but I am going to stick to Surefire, Cloud Defensive, Modlite and Streamlight for things that I might need to count on in a fight. I'm not trying to rain on the sale of these items as I think they are perfectly fine for what most folks are going to use them for, but I really cannot in good conscience recommend them for someone who's life might depend on them. Bear in mind that "reviewers" like S00tch are paid handsomely by vendors to post favorable opinions about their products. That guy hasn't met many products that he didn't fawn over. One problem in particular that both Mark and I have been able to exploit with ease on Shooters Nation is the latch design on the Valkrie. It's easy to snag that thing on the draw and inadvertently rip your light off of the gun. Even if they were to use a toggle design similar to what ADM and Surefire use (see below) with an integral lock button, it would still be prone to snagging on things as you draw. There's a reaosn why no one else uses these types of latches on pistol mounted weapon lights and my guess is that everyone else patended their designs and left OLight with very little option BUT to use them. Again... I am not opposed to OLight for casual purposes. I am opposed to them for serious use. ** Not the OLight lever. OLight's lever doesn't have the integral lock, which would at least be a step in the right direction.

My podcast co-host, Mark, works for a major national distibutor. He said the sales volume in 2020 has far surpassed the numbers from 2012 after the Newton CT school shooting that Obama capitalized on to push more "assault weapon" bans. 2012 and 2013 were absolute boom years for TGO. We saw members buy/sell/trade more in that period of time than likely transacted cumulatively in the following five years. If you weren't in the gun community back then, for Mark to say that 2020 has blown those numbers away is honestly just staggering for me to consider.

I like the cut of your jib!

Regardless, it does just use a micro-usb connection, I’d be surprised if anyone doesn’t already have one.

Put IR lights on your truck then technically you do have your lights on.

I think they're doing okay in Bloomington, but I'm on the north end of the Metro area and generally stay up here. They do have lots of pretty good options for food, so I can imagine that would be pretty appealing. Be sure to check their hours and curbside delivery options and whatnot, obviously. I know they delayed the reopening due to all the protests, but they did reopen. If you can get there, Atomic Tactical in Savage are pretty good people. I used to shop there a bit when they were on Lyndale (I think it was), but haven't since they moved.

Tom, got a question for you. I’m coming through that area this weekend. Was thinking about making stop at the Mall of America as per my custom. Is Bloomington keeping a lid on things like I expect they would?

Imagine if they gave these stats on other deaths like they are doing this china flu, people would lose their minds...even more.

But capped, and the other guy has a bottle too but he is masked.

Glad I could help buddy!!

Thanks for the link Doug! @bersaguy I'm in the suburbs now, used to live in Minneapolis when I was younger and singler. That city is a source of so much stuff to smile at...

Simple Answer: Enough

I agree. If I was thinking about it though, I would slug the barrel first and see what size it truly was.

I looked at the web site. The very fact that they have a category called "Assault Rifles" is enough to cause me concern. No knowledgeable gun shop would ever use that term.

pro sports is dead to me. i got better things to do.

They claim to hold a top BBB rating but the BBB website says: We’re sorry, we found no results for for "onlinegunsshop.com" in"Lafayette, LA" Caveat emptor, Whisper

Naaa. Don't believe me, keep watching Rachael Maddow. She'll tell you the truth.

Wear em if it makes you feel good about yourself! Don’t tell me to wear one and I won’t tell you not to. We sure have a lot of commies here for a gun forum.

I don’t traffic stops as a detective but if I did I would laugh and then walk away knowing I couldn’t try it.

I hope this catches on!

And for giggles leave your goggles home.

Should at least be a hunting season for it?.....lol

I'm glad you already got the bait business. I'm not sure the police are back on patrol up there yet..…..

Seriously?

Why would you wish something that bad on your friends down here?...…..

Man, I was hoping they would!

He’s an expert. We are not to question him.

Alright, you got me. Buying one now. A buddy has been hyping Olight to me recently so this is the perfect chance to try one. $14.95 on Amazon, by the way. A separate listing has a limited time deal that includes an Olight branded Micro-USB cable for a mere $0.30 more, so why not. This is the one I'm getting.

Never trust a guy who throws like a girl.

Or if Biden wins (God help us), you will get if for a mere 3 times the price

I plan on waiting outside and just taking someone elses food. Adventure dining