Oh Shoot

Looking around at the general group behavior I see, coupled with either largely idiotic or lax guidance from the top echelons of government (both federal and state), I have no reason to think they won't. Unlike influenza, this baby obviously ain't "seasonal". Although of course since the flu largely is, having both this winter is gonna take a toll that having merely either one would not. I have my doubts that even when a truly effective vaccine is approved (and of course actually universally available) that it will actually cut the overall infection rate by more than 50% in the US at least for a good long while. Although it hopefully will nix the majority of the Covid death rate for seniors, as we are the most likely to actually take it, just as with the yearly influenza shot. I do hope this year's flu vaccine proves to be among the best matched ones, especially important this year. - OS

TN average daily deaths (updated 2PM daily): March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 August 22.5 September 23.2 October (thru 10th) 30.4 total TN deaths 2,758 IHME projection for total TN deaths based on Current projection scenario by 2/1/21: 7,402 - OS

New record today. 63 TN deaths. - OS

Am I missing something? How is this piece any different than the many other AR pistol with brace configs being made? Why was it singled out? - OS

It difficult for me not to think in terms of heroic Greek tragedy, hamartia, hubris, irony and the like. I do hope it's just a lesson and not a final judgement though. - OS

Hmm, nary a tweet in over 12 hours. That may be a record. - OS

TN average daily deaths (updated 2PM daily): March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 Aug 22.5 September 23.2 total TN deaths: 2,454 IHME projection for total TN deaths based on Current projection scenario by 1/1/21: 6,738 - OS

The CDC, FDA, and even NIH have all been hamstrung by Trump. Standards for the world now find their credibility in shambles. That has of course filtered down to various states' GOP governors, I'm not sure who has been the most shameful there, although De Santis seems to lead the pack . It's no wonder that political hackery over basic medical science has filtered quickly down through the ranks of the county/city levels too. Knox County is gonna win some bad prizes in the coming months I'd posit, a lot of it due to firing up UTK and of course other schools in general. UT has a whole dorm dedicated to Covid quarantine, as of a few days ago there were over 2K students there and elsewhere off campus in "self quarantine", and of course all those folks in Ft. Sanders are doing a fine job I'm sure, even during the keggers. - OS

TN average daily deaths (updated 2PM daily): March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 Aug 690 22.5 September (thru 9/21) 479 22.8 total deaths 2,233 IHME projections based on current scenario have fallen a bit, good news if pans out: total TN deaths by 1/1/21: 6,673 Total US projection by 1/1/21: 378,321 - OS

You can of course fire it from the shoulder for increased accuracy. Some of the braces are just squishy enough to really mitigate recoil, too. The one on my 7.62x39 pistol is softer shooting than a real stock with a nancy pad for example. - OS

If IHME is right, we're not a third of the way through total just until first of the year. ------------- TN average daily deaths: March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 Aug 690 22.5 September (thru 9/10) 23.4 total TN deaths: 1988 IHME projection for total TN deaths based on Current projection scenario by 1/1/21: 7,108 Total US death projection by 1/1/21: 410,451 - OS

Well, are those "probables" what goes on the death certificate? Meaning, would seem those two things would have to jibe? - OS

I meant that I don't think the state reporting systems are up to snuff over weekends, but sure, TN is in large part acting like Covid is in the past, following DJT admin lead. One reason why IHME is predicting 7,108 TN deaths by Jan 1, quadruple the current count in just 4 months. - OS

Hope so, but dunno, I've noticed since I starting keeping track of daily deaths that weekend stats seem pretty wonky, and now with holiday thrown in too. - OS

Took no action period. When you create a void, there are 50 states that have to fill it for better or worse. Partially. For those with Chinese passports only though. There were still 50-75 flights per day coming into LA, SF, and NY from Beijing. Which has close to zero effectiveness, if any at all. His "going it alone" has mainly been to downplay the extent and seriousness of Covid since the gitgo, squelch the science of his own agencies, suggest hare-brained stuff like bleach infusion, and hold super spreader events. What has he even seriously proposed that they fight him on? He doesn't even know what's in the legislation that gets submitted, will pick out one little part to opine on at best. Hell, he didn't (and presumably still doesn't) know what "Covid 19" even stands for, suggesting there would be a "Covid 20, and so on. I would debate that stat, and also the definition of "safe" as regards all who contract it. I'd say the long term jury is still out for all the folks who have kicked it with "minor symptoms" too. Seeing 190, 000 deaths (just so far and perhaps only half the final total) as an acceptable loss for more coin in the pocket is a pretty harsh judgement, sounds like the Obama "death panels" railed against so fiercely from the right re the ACA. Yep, it is. Since he has denied any responsibility for the whole shebang (in his own words), and with no national guidelines except the ones from his own health agencies that he denigrates, he has simply created a void that gets filled in 50 different ways and with hundreds of subsets therein, often with just as crackpot "solutions" as his own, both from the left and the right. This country was transformed forever in so many ways starting overnight after 9/11, And that was over a loss of 3,000 folks. We've been losing over 1,000 per DAY for months. With absolutely no cohesive federal plan beyond drink bleach, open everything up, and we'll have a vaccine next week Since the majority of those deaths have been seniors, it really shows the priorities regarding the (previous) "every life is sacred" part of the GOP platform. But of course, there really isn't a GOP anymore -- it was telling that for the first time, there wasn't even a written platform during the RNC, appropriate since the party has abandoned any semblance of fidelity to at least half it's former tenets. It's simply TrumpVille, follow whatever whim the psycho goes with. Btw, these ignored seniors vote in the highest percentage of any age group. - OS

The CDC also keeps up with overall death counts, and the Covid era shows an uncharacteristic uptick that is actually greater than the generally reported total that has no apparent explanation other than Covid. Indeed, the Covid attributions may be well under counted, due to all the folks who died while not under medical care and received no autopsy, which is pretty common in rural communities and small towns. Ya know, there's every indication that Covid deaths will at least equal the total US military deaths during WWII. And just think, we here at home have had few of the hardships the general population suffered during that. No rationing, hard work stints in munitions factories, etc. All we really needed to do is adhere to a few reasonable science based defenses. But unlike during WWII, there's no national will to do that and that starts at the top. Even the most severe part of our national sacrifice, loss of income, could have been ameliorated by a concerted federal response. There has only been irrational raving, blame chasing, mis/dis information, and token legislation/orders. DJT has been Covid's best friend, and all only because of his perception of what's best for him. We don't need herd immunity, we need herd intelligence, even though there's none at the top to nurture it. - OS

That report is like saying that a heart attack is not "the only cause of death" if you also had high blood pressure or were overweight. Or insulin shock not the only cause of death if you of course were diabetic and needed to take the shots in the first place. Lung cancer not the only cause of death if you also smoked. Etc. It's not only "lying with statistics" but also simply twisting definitional meaning of the language. Like any number of our critical institutions, DJT has totally corrupted the CDC, NIH, and FDA. The movie Idiocracy was overly optimistic. - OS

TN average daily deaths (updated 2PM daily): March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 Aug 22.5 total deaths 1754 IHME projection for total TN deaths based on current projection scenario by December 1, 2020: 5,926 - OS

That does not address NFA registered firearms. The BATF has never been definitive on the subject, but other of their FAQs would suggest that they consider an SBR an original new rifle, so the "first a rifle always a rifle" would apply. They have also stated that the only way to remove a SBR from NFA purview is to configure it as conventional rifle with barrel of 16" or more, or to possess it as receiver only, with no barrel attached at all, or of course to destroy it. This would suggest that any SBR with short barrel attached would retain its status as NFA firearm, whether it was made from scratch or from a pistol, as using a registered SBR with a pistol brace would simply be using your SBR without a stock. To my knowledge, no court case has arisen regarding the matter since the Thompson Decision in SCOTUS (which the ruling you cite above is belatedly based on), so YMMV if ever brought to bear on the matter. Of course, for the most part, firearm carry is a state matter, so TN for example is unlikely to even know the history of the firearm unless they had a reason to check into it, and even then might not care one way or the other unless they had reason to sit down on you hard and pursue the issue. One interesting (or not) similar quirk is that federally, it is legal to put a vertical forward grip on a pistol, IF the overall length of the thing is 26" or more, as it then becomes a "firearm". However, since it is no longer a handgun, it would then technically not be legit to carry with a TN permit. And also, if concealed in that configuration , federally the "firearm" becomes an "AOW", the possession of which becomes a federal felony without a stamp for it. One final quirk is that TCA defines "handgun" as having a barrel of "less than 12", so that could technically figure into certain configurations regarding carry. - OS

TN average daily deaths (updated 2PM daily): March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 Aug through 8/26 : 22.4 Total deaths: 1,648 IHME projection: over 5,000 TN deaths by Dec. 1 - OS

According to lastest IHME projection, we're still just getting started statewide, which of course will affect Knox proportionately, and maybe worse just because of UTK. - OS

Students back on campus and Football Time in Tennessee will surely remedy the situation, eh? - OS

Previous high TN death in a day was on 8/6/20: 42 New record today: 61! - OS

TN average daily deaths (updated 2PM daily): March (over last 11 days of month starting 3/21 with first death) 2.0 April 5.8 May 5.3 June 8.0 July 14.7 Aug through 8/19 20.6 - OS

Right up DJT's alley, he'll probably say he's used it. - OS