Kevin Ball 🇨🇦

@stairway-to-kevin

normalize not normalizing the new normal pro-vax, anti-vax-‘n’-relax i pity the fools but i do not suffer them Ⓥ

1.761 Folgt2.640 Follower1.349 Posts

YouTube Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir stairway-to-kevin.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 24

yeah well i wish we could still 'koogle it', i.e. spread it thick on wonder bread or snarf it with a spoon straight outta the jar nom nom guess how old that makes ME www.foodrepublic.com/1998678/nost...

picture of a hand holding a jar of kraft 'koogle artificially flavored chocolate peanut spread' so that the brown lid listing the ingredients (below) is visible:

U.S.GRADE NO, 1 PEANUTS, PARTIALLY HARDENED VEGETABLE.
OILS, SUGAR, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, DEXTROSE, SALT,
NONFAT DRY MILK, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR
KRAFT FOODS, CHGO., IL 60690 • DIV. KRAFTOO CORP.

NET WT. 12 OZS
KRAFT

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 23

welp, the skies overhead are shrouded in thick haze, the AQ index indicates the air is unhealthy to breathe for children & other sensitive groups—but hey, no one’s wearing masks (including mothers carrying babes), so i guess the threat from wildfire smoke is officially over! HURRAY #COVIDlogic

screenshot of my local AQI index reading (orange):

143
US AQI*
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5
24°
‹ 8.0 km/h
52.7 g/m3
52%

from a sept, 2022 npr article:

President Biden said in a 60 Minutes interview Sunday that the COVID-19 pandemic is a thing of the past.

"The pandemic is over," he said. "We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape, and so I think it's changing, and I think [the Detroit auto show resuming after three years] is a perfect example of it."

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 23

Despite plentiful opportunities for misuse, science can be the golden road out of poverty and backwardness for emerging nations. It makes national economies and the global civilization run. Many nations understand this. It is why so many graduate students in science and engineering at American universities-still the best in the world-are from other countries. The corollary, one that the United States sometimes fails to grasp, is that abandoning science is the road back into poverty and backwardness.

-Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 21

@thebulwark.com, honest question: when does it become untenable for your hosts to mock 🦋 users for taking a principled stand by leaving X for 🦋 (even imploring them to return to zombie “twitter”) while rightly calling out X’s owner/chief shitposter for the dangerous fascist/racist POS bigot he is?

bulwark host sarah longwell with host tim miller, urging bluesky users to return to ‘twitter’

bulwark host sarah longwell accurately describing X owner & chief shitposter elon musk as a flamingly racist garbage of a human

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 21

who can make sense of it? wait i know

screenshot of quote from article:

“I was thinking that it was going to resonate with the world, with whoever, but man, people are strange out there," he said. "Meaning like, nobody is really coming up with support, especially financial support. So far I've spent all my money on this."

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 21

it’s only funny precisely because it’s as though they’re trying to fail kids so hard

The ONION
AMERICA'S FINEST NEWS SOURCE • ONION.COM

JUNE-JULY 2026 • VOL. 62, ISSUE 23

CDC Successfully Eradicates Children

World's No. 1 Vector Of Disease Eliminated From Nation

This child, and all others, have been vanquished from the country in what may be the most significant medical achievement of the 21st century.

ATLANTA-Hailing its success as a major victory for the public health and safety of all Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that it had successfully eradicated children.

The agency confirmed that children has been the leading vector of disease nationally, posing grave risk to entire communities and contributing significantly to the rapid spread of germs. CDC officials told reporters the complete elimination of the prevalent disease-carriers would cause a massive decrease in child-borne pathogens nationwide, particularly benefiting those vulnerable individuals who faced the most exposure to children, including parents, daycare workers, teachers, coaches and ice cream truck drivers.

“Humanity has never faced a more deadly carrier of disease

see CHILDREN, page 2

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 20

cf: COVID, which didn’t end simply b/c america’s politician-in-chief magically declared the pandemic over—his evidence: he noticed “no one’s wearing masks” www.npr.org/2022/09/19/1... now the shitty, predictable sequel: no one masks to protect against the most intense wildfire smoke of their lives

Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social • 2h

This shit with Taylor Farms is exactly what I'm talking about when I say you may say you
"don't do politics," but politics are more than happy to do you.

The microbes political bribes got out the door and into your intestines don't particularly care that you find it all beneath you.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 17

perhaps more like the car salesman than the car itself, but yeah nationalpost.com/news/mark-ca...

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 16

“…and then later, over drinks, blanche launched into a hilarious impression of me grilling him. everyone erupted in laughter until he said, ‘what the hell are all y’all laughing about? none of YOUR questioning had any impact whatsoever on my inevitable confirmation, either!”

screenshot of corey booker’s walking eulogy to lindsey graham where he reminisces about what a hilarious mensch his late colleague was and all the swell times the two had in the senate together

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 10

wow. some people feel this is a fine occasion to respond with how they feel this woman's life was not worth living, and if it were them, they would have killed themselves long ago. i bet they didn't even read the article. either way, that's some sick-ass shit. but guess what? she ain't about you

Lillard always loved animals. She rescued dogs and lizards. She was artistic and created hundreds of works of art and wrote poetry over the years.

She fell in love and married twice.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 6

to suggest it’s “not semantic *at all*” is a stretch, given the debate began with the WHO declaring the emerg. phase over in ‘23, while maintaining the pandemic is very much ongoing. to the more pressing point re: vaccines, i agree 100% they offer protection. NB important caveat in your cited study

The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the Committee regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He determines that COVID-19 is now an estaulished and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

…hospitalization or intensive care unit admittance, is among the strongest predictors for the risk of developing long COVID 62,63. It follows that, by effectively reducing the incidence of severe COVID-19, vaccination may, in turn, prevent progression to lo, COVID, thus achieving a protective effect. [highlight mine] The impact of repeated SARS-CoV-2 infection on the risk of developing long COVID has not been fully elucidated. While some studies indicate that previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 may decrease the risk of long COVID after a second infection 6,64, there is also evidence to suggest that reinfection leads to a cumulative increased risk of long COVID. [end highlight]

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 1

bread & circuses and carney barkin’

Barker at the Vermont state fair, Rutland
Public domain, via Wikipedia

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jul 1

broke up with my local dentist after the second visit because he gave me such ‘tude for simply asking him to wear an n95. said i was impinging on the rights of him and his staff not to wear them

I really have less than zero interest in being seen as a difficult patient. But since our first visit last year you've made it clear that's how you view me. The stress to me—and evidently you-simply isn't worth it. So I won't be bothering you with any further appeals or appointments.

My best wishes to you and your staff.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jun 26

i first broke up with the nyt daily when they covered the convoy siege of ottawa. their cdn reporter painted such a hokey fantasy of 🇨🇦 i thought, if they’re getting *us* this wrong, what else are they getting wrong? their feature of macedo & lee on COVID clinched it: a LOT bsky.app/profile/coza...

Mar 20, 2025 • 51 mins
Were the Covid Lockdowns Worth It?
The Daily
>Play
Subscribers Only

Five years ago, at the urging of federal officials, much of the United States locked down to stop the spread of Covid. Over time, the action polarized the country and changed the relationship between many Americans and their government.

Michael Barbaro speaks to Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee, two prominent political scientists who dispute the effectiveness of the lockdowns, to find out what they think will be required when the next pandemic strikes.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jun 18

responsible studies like this always qualify their findings to a degree you don’t often see with conspiratorial nonsense assertions about lab leak probability. alas, while it’s the right thing to do, it has the effect of tipping the scale of public opinion toward the more assertive batshit claims

At the end of the day, we have to weigh up evidence and trust experts to explain to us which pieces of evidence carry more weight. If you are looking for certainty in the response to the question, 'Is this how SARS-CoV-2 started out?' We can't know.

Nevertheless, what this study does tell us is that a single point mutation in the genome of a bat virus is all it takes to trigger an evolutionary cascade towards a pandemic ready virus.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Jun 15

paddling prairie skies 🇨🇦

low-angle shot from the rear of our hyundai sante fe, pulled over on a stretch of highway in saskatchewan, under an altocumulus blanket of clouds. our cedar strip canoe is strapped on top. bumper stickers from various stops between bc and ontario cover the rear door. the opposite side of the two-lane highway strip is lined with green grass and beyond that a long train borders the horizon and passes a grain elevator near the vanishing point of the road

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· May 29

i’m infinitely more impressed by texans who are who resist jingoistically joining the imbecilic culture wars—like the great @caroljadams.bsky.social. (but what do i know? i’m from 🇨🇦)

cover of the 1st edition of “the sexual politics of meat” by carol j. adams.

yellow font on a red field:

"This book is likely to both inspire and enrage readers across the politial spoctrum. — Library Journal

The Sexual Politics of Meat
A Feminist-Vegetarian
Critical Theory
Carol J. Adams

illustration on a white field in the upper right-hand corner of a nude woman kneeling in a cowboy hat and looking back over her shoulder. a diagram divides her figure into cuts of meat, with the caption, “what’s your cut?”

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· May 6

man, what a great point: asking the medically vulnerable to do all the work to protect themselves from illness while “healthy” people pay 0 heed to infection control is akin to the wealthy paying little or no tax while the di$advantaged pay & struggle to survive podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/p...

To take on all of the risk.

[highlighted] Yeah. It's so backwards. Like shouldn't those who are low risk, those who have the capacity to do more, contribute more to the collective public health effort? Like this is akin to like not taxing the wealthiest people in our society, but like asking low income people to be like, oh, you better fill out your tax form, right? Otherwise our IRS is going to get you.

I'm like, why are you not taxing the people with yachts? Like it doesn't make any sense.
You see that same paradigm here with public health, with like a virus. It's like, no, no, no, only like the really vulnerable people need to worry about this. And that's just so backwards. [end highlight]

Absolutely. And I think it also assumes that the people who are low risk now will forever be low risk.

People age, hello.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· May 1

hey, @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social, you listening? bsky.app/profile/stai...

Telework illustrates the contradiction clearly. At the beginning of the pandemic, the federal public service demonstrated that large-scale telework was operationally possible and effective. For many workers, telework remains a zero-cost solution that removes workplace barriers entirely. It enables participation for employees with mobility impairments, chronic illness, immune vulnerability, and many other disabilities. There is no credible argument that telework creates undue hardship for the employer when the work was successfully performed remotely for years.

Accessibility cannot depend on an employee's willingness to disclose personal medical information. The workplace must be structured to accommodate diverse needs without requiring workers to fight for basic flexibility.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 30

whether it’s just a cold or that weird bug that’s going around, or a new strain of that thing from before that definitely isn’t more serious or cause for any alarm, we are in a far better place than we were just four years ago

Headline:

The World Is Better Prepared For Future Pandemics Now We All Think You Should Just Try And Catch Everything

Story by James Smitf and Dr Lucien Verhaeghe

Photo of people celebrating from Unsplash

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 24

exhibit A

DoctorDee - Слава Укра... @doctord... • 3h

This has proper made my day.
If I won the lottery, I would prolly toss a few mill on the dark web for someone to hunt and kill trophy hunters.
I'd have no issue with people hunting lions if they did it bare-haded. Shooting something is a fucking coward cunt's trick.

[attachment] HUNTER BECOMES PREY
Millionaire US big game hunter is trampled to death by elephants while hunting antelope in Africa

Van3ssaV#@shewithcapitalv.bsky.s... • 6h

Anyway, l've still got a couple of baps left so I'm going to brunch up & make myself some bacon baps.
I'm feeling peckish.

I appreciate that with all this erotic talk, you're finding me incredibly alluring
#baconbaps
•• •
DoctorDee
Слава Україні
@doctordee.bsky.social

I fucking love bacon.

4:06 AM • Apr 24, 2026

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 24

“people just don’t care” never saw “leaving neverland” (2019). but it didn’t take long before COVID hammered home this same lesson to me. we really are a misopedic society calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

Opinion: Treating kids as invulnerable is treating them as disposable

By Calgary Herald
Published Feb 14, 2023
Last updated Feb 14, 2023
4 minute read

COVID vaccines have been proven to be beneficial, but are just one part of what is needed to protect children for long-term effects of the disease. PHOTO BY LEAH HENNEL /Postmedia Network

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 23

thebigforget.com/snippets/

"It's the lack of curiosity that is a real sign for me of denial. Friends don't ask me what's it like being immunocompromised?

What's it like still masking?

We ask each other everything about everything else. We exist on different planets. I travel to theirs. There is no interest in visiting mine."

The Big Forget
an oral present history project

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 21

i mean, does it come as any surprise? we do it for ‘very stable’ geniuses too www.avclub.com/leaving-neve...

[emphasis mine between asterisks]

Jackson's creative brilliance. Spike Lee's films covering Off The Wall and Bad are euphoric.
Michael Jackson's This Is It finds an aging performer still in his prime. *But that artistry is inherently incomplete without also weighing what Leaving Neverland has to say about our culture's willingness to grant carte blanche to genius to behave however it sees fit*. For those who saw the film, we recognized it wasn't just a portrait of Robson and Safechuck's loss of innocence—it was also ours. We had heard the accusations against Michael Jackson before, but we ignored them. Now, we no longer could.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 17

"Take heed, as you are able, not to infect thy brethren with wholly avoidable plagues or pestilence, by covering thy mouth and nose with a shroud of purifying fabric. But woe, if the mask prove the slightest inconvenience unto you, tear it off and throw it away from you and go with unveiled face, and think no more on it; for it is better you risk the life of thy neighbour than for yourself to feel the least bit encumbered in service to the Lord God."

II Covidians 3 v. 18

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 16

revised paul calandra’s statement to reflect what a responsible ontario minister of education would say about ontario’s decline in high school attendance. can somebody tell him? globalnews.ca/news/1180158...

*original text in [], substituted text in ()

Calandra said he was concerned the current assessment system [allowed] (pressured) kids to [skip] (attend) class [and still get high marks] (while sick), while failing to acknowledge
[those who attend every lesson] (the risk to them and their fellow classmates.)

"One hundred per cent of their mark is based on coursework, so students can pop in and out as they like and their mark was not impacted at all," he said on Tuesday.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 13

A Skeptic From the Start

Mr. Vance did not want the United States to go to war with Iran.

He warned about regional chaos and mass casualties. He worried about depleting the U.S. stock of munitions. He feared betraying the administration's political base, many of whom backed the president because of his vow not to enter the United States into new wars.

Mr. Vance, whose political identity has transformed over time, from a harsh critic of Mr. Trump in 2016 to an ardent supporter, has focused his foreign policy ideology on opposing these very types of conflicts. It was his stated premise for supporting Mr. Trump during his third presidential campaign.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/us/jd-vance-pakistan-iran-war-talks.html

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 12

those were the days, my friend we thought they’d never end

Orbán Viktor V

@PM_ViktorOrban

Had a great meeting today with @IDUAlliance Chairman@stephenharper.International
cooperation between right-wing, conservative parties is more important than ever. Chairman Harper is a great ally in this respect. Thank you for your support, Mr. Chairman!

Orban Viktor & Stephen Harper

4:44 AM • Jul 6, 2023 • 690.9K Views

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 12

@timmiller.bsky.social and @janecoaston.bsky.social rightly concerned about prominent left voices giving props to tucker carlson apparently missed this tweet from his bud/her boss, @jonfavs.bsky.social?

Jon Favreau @jonfavs
The entire monologue is worth watching

Tucker Carlson
@TuckerCarlson • Apr 6

Desecrating Easter was the first step toward nuclear war. Christians need to understand where Trump is taking us.

8:35 AM • Apr 7, 2026 • 640.4K Views
312.17 2951.8K
404🏳️

highlight from transcript of “bulwark takes” apr 10/26:

Tim Miller: Like who's been more likely to share Tucker? Like obviously, left. And so that, I think, is important for just both analyzing, like what is happening in our politics. But—and it's also important because I think it's a little dangerous because I'm worried that Tucker's appeal to that group on the left is going to take people down a pretty bad pipeline.

Kevin Ball 🇨🇦@stairway-to-kevin· Apr 10