Thanks for both your kind words and your criticism. One of the things I love about Stacker News is that you can have civil discussions with people you completely disagree with. Right after I hit send I read over my post to see if there were any last minute mistakes I could correct during the edit window. When I got to the covid stuff I chuckled and said to myself that if this could be considered propaganda to someone on the left. I used to enjoy reading the New Yorker magazine. I liked the quality fiction and long, detailed investigative stuff. At some point I couldn't take what I saw as the political propaganda woven into what otherwise should have been a straight factual topic (if there is such a thing). I stopped reading the New Yorker. Your reply has really made me think. I assure you what I wrote flowed quite naturally. I wasn't trying to shoehorn anything. I believe what I wrote with all my heart. I also can see how someone with your perspective would think otherwise. I have done the same thing when reading an article, many times. We differ on covid. I have read a lot about it and try to keep an open mind. You probably don't believe me. That's okay. Matt Odell said something like "remember, probably only half of what you believe is accurate and have of what the guy you're arguing with is accurate." We'll never know. The polarization we face is real. I have to address your aside about agreeing that churches should have been closed and liquor stores remain open. Regardless of your religious beliefs, or lack thereof, this country was founded to a large extent on religious freedom. It is a specific constitutionally protected right. The fact that the executive branch, without judicial or legislative backing, executed emergency powers to shut churches is outrageous to me. As a kid we were taught how the first thing the godless communists did was close the churches. 70 years later, here we are. Anyway, let's just say that I guess one man's truth is another man's propaganda.