Solitary listener

Actually, it is a pandemic. A pandemic is an epidemic than spans multiple countries and continents.
https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section11.html

Once you understand that, and then follow the link provided below, you will see that the CDC twice states that "Mortality attributed to COVID-19 remains above the epidemic threshold."
(First paragraph on the page, last sentence)

and at the bottom of the page: "Severe Disease:Mortality"
"Based on death certificate data, the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza, or COVID-19 (PIC) for week 36 is 6.3%. This is currently lower than the percentage during week 35 (9.5%); however, the percentage remains above the epidemic threshold and will likely increase as more death certificates are processed."

Note the similarity between the first sentence in that paragraph and the quote provided in the original post.

Aside from slightly limiting the freedom to assemble, what other freedoms have been given up? Private business is just that--private. At the very least, the first and second amendments don't apply to private business. A private business is well within it's rights to prohibit firearms and mandate masks.

Funny, as far as I know, a bunch of armed loonies have never shown up to protest, No shirt, no shoes, no service."

millercarbon6,081 posts09-18-2020 4:01amrvpiano, your request is hypocritical in the extreme. You start a thread "With this pandemic" then tell us to ignore the fact you are saying its a pandemic. When its not. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html Notice on this page it says

Based on death certificate data, the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza, or COVID-19 (PIC) for week 36 is 6.3%.

See that? They COMBINE pneumonia, flu (ordinary flu!) and COVID to come up with 6.3%. That is flat out exaggeration. We know from doctors reports they are pressured to list COVID as cause of death. Medicare pays $40k for ICU care with that diagnosis. Awful lotta pressure to list that, even when its not. 

Exactly. The virus is not the danger. The political response to the virus, that is the danger. We have been frightened into giving away freedoms unheard of in American history.

rvpiano,
A good thread...
I fully understand what you're missing. When I was in my late teens through my mid twenties, I always listened to music in the company of one or more friends while we conversed. Back in those days, we were the most rudimentary of audiophiles. We cared more about sound than the average person, but we didn't know too much and we were relatively poor.
As time went by, my interest in music and good sound reproduction grew, and the inverse happened with my friends for various reasons like kids.
So now, even though I miss those days, I have been a solitary listener for many years, and I have learned to love that as well. I read while I listen, and sometimes, I just listen. I have my own dedicated room, and my husband is very respectful of my interest in music, but is also a solitary listener with different musical preferences, and much more occasional than myself. I listen nearly every night. Both solitary and communal listening have their good points when you think about it.

you are right,

I got hald a dozen new lps for my bday, truly enjoy listening by myself, with the wife, and miss sharing this wonderfulness with a few of my friends.

I do go back and forth with one audiophile friend, we trust each other to be safe at all other times to get together here or there, just the 4 of us, and still stay apart from each other in our houses, imaginary hugs ...

yep, and i’m not gonna fan the flames!

Poor choice of metaphor just at the moment.