Corona Virus: It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

[El Guapo]

What would it mean to loudly fly testing kits?

[malchior]

What would it mean to loudly fly testing kits?

They silenced the loudspeakers blaring 'This delivery of testing kits is 'yuuuuuuuge'!' in the Orange moron's voice.

This was the point I was getting at. My mood is still hang the fucker from a lightpole. A lot of folks have already died from his incompetence and probably a lot more to come.

https://twitter.com/brhodes/status/1240414144504856577

If you want to understand how catastrophically Trump has failed in this response, consider that the first cases were in the US and South Korea on the same day. And because of testing, honesty, and a swift government response, South Korea has already flattened the curve.

[Kraken]

All the US shelter in places so far have still allowed for grocery/med runs, I believe.

Yes. Everything you (collective) are doing now is to minimize risk of going out when you don't need to.

Sure but what about the packies? Civilized peoples aren't allowed to buy beer and wine in grocery stores, for that way lies anarchy.

Seriously, if grocery stores are literally the only thing open, they will be even more mobbed and bare than they are now (I'm not on any prescriptions so I don't care about pharmacies). I need to have one good grocery run with such rarities as ground beef, macaroni, bread, and yes, toilet paper in stock. Failing that, I'm making quick stops every couple of days to look for those things.

I have a can of big sanitary wipes in my car, and I use them liberally when I make these runs.

[ImLawBoy]

I am so sorry to hear that. I can't excuse or explain your dad's behavior, but everything I'm hearing/seeing is suggesting people 60+ are in severe denial over what's happening / what's about to happen. Some of it is likely political, but some is just psychological. I've raised my voice to my dad over the last few days because it's not sinking in. My parents are in their early 70s and telling me "the tv said we can go out shopping". I've been grabbing food for them locally, but they will only give me like 10 items to get, thinking it's a weekly shopping trip. They're also really angry that I won't go and get them fresh milk or juice. My dad told me he had to go to the bank today to "move money from one account to another" and was getting angry when I said I would do it for him online.

I talked to my parents and my MIL today (all in their mid-70s), and I was pleasantly surprised that they were all essentially sheltering in place. The biggest surprise is my dad, who I have long referred to as a "talk radio conservative" and who I've refused to discuss politics with since at least 2016 because I don't want to have to disown him if I actually learn he voted for Trump. My brother lives about 10 minutes away from them and has told them they can walk around their neighborhood, but that's it. He's going to get them their needed supplies. My sister-in-law also lives near my MIL, and she has apparently offered to make sure that my MIL has what she needs (breaking a surprisingly long run of thinking only of herself). We have also offered to help out if needed, but we're a bit further away and are dealing with a vulnerable kid, so I'm glad the other siblings are stepping up.

[El Guapo]

All the US shelter in places so far have still allowed for grocery/med runs, I believe.

Yes. Everything you (collective) are doing now is to minimize risk of going out when you don't need to.

Sure but what about the packies? Civilized peoples aren't allowed to buy beer and wine in grocery stores, for that way lies anarchy.

Seriously, if grocery stores are literally the only thing open, they will be even more mobbed and bare than they are now (I'm not on any prescriptions so I don't care about pharmacies). I need to have one good grocery run with such rarities as ground beef, macaroni, bread, and yes, toilet paper in stock. Failing that, I'm making quick stops every couple of days to look for those things.

I have a can of big sanitary wipes in my car, and I use them liberally when I make these runs.

This seems like an ideal time for Massachusetts to repeal its archaic prohibition on the home delivery of alcohol.

[Daehawk]

The news showed video of how stores are open to seniors the first hour. I slapped my forehead. The line was across the parking lot and they all stood nose to back of head packed. Oy.

[Defiant]

2 Members Of Congress Test Positive For COVID-19, Others Quarantine After Contact

[Skinypupy]

2 Members Of Congress Test Positive For COVID-19, Others Quarantine After Contact

I was sitting right behind McAdams on my flight back home from DC on the 5th.

Now I’m frantically trying to remember if he sneezed...

[El Guapo]

Found out today that I lawyer that I was in a conference room with as of last Thursday came down with a fever and a cough as of last night. So far I still feel fine, and he wasn't coughing (or sneezing), but still scary.

[Zarathud]

Found out today that I lawyer that I was in a conference room with as of last Thursday came down with a fever and a cough as of last night. So far I still feel fine, and he wasn't coughing (or sneezing), but still scary.

I had that experience, but came into the conference room 23 hours after the meeting. Nothing like being aware of dodging a bullet to clarify the danger.

[Paingod]

I've been thinking about the US response.

This morning NPR was running a piece on a senator who was speaking with small business owners in a meeting, back when Trump was saying everything was fine. Richard Burr was being very frank with these people, talking about things the government is doing only now like it was well known fact. Warning them.

I got to pondering. If the government had come out on day 1 and said "Everyone inside" - what would have happened? Utter pandemonium. Preppers would have looted gun stores, grocery stores might have been murder scenes. Chaos. Americans aren't as ordered as some other nations, or as willing to listen to leaders.

Instead we were drip-fed a sequence that has rapidly escalated and each step feels more palatable compared to how things appear in the news. Because dealing with Americans is like herding cats hyped up on PCP with ADHD, was this the best outcome we could have hoped for anyway? I mean, I'm not praising Trump's refusal of science - nor do I think he handled anything well - but given who we are in the US, could it have actually been done better once it was clear this had slipped the initial quarantine phase?

For example, we still have large groups of people refusing to self-isolate, even with the infection rate climbing daily. How many more would have called the whole thing a "Nothingburger" and ignored a lockdown order when there were only a handful of reported cases in the US?

I don't think I'm right. I'm just expressing a mental train of thought around the whole response - based on the fact that the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman knew exactly what was coming 3 weeks ago and we weren't acting on it.

[stessier]

Slowly boiling the frog.

[El Guapo]

I've been thinking about the US response.

This morning NPR was running a piece on a senator who was speaking with small business owners in a meeting, back when Trump was saying everything was fine. Richard Burr was being very frank with these people, talking about things the government is doing only now like it was well known fact. Warning them.

I got to pondering. If the government had come out on day 1 and said "Everyone inside" - what would have happened? Utter pandemonium. Preppers would have looted gun stores, grocery stores might have been murder scenes. Chaos. Americans aren't as ordered as some other nations, or as willing to listen to leaders.

Instead we were drip-fed a sequence that has rapidly escalated and each step feels more palatable compared to how things appear in the news. Because dealing with Americans is like herding cats hyped up on PCP with ADHD, was this the best outcome we could have hoped for anyway? I mean, I'm not praising Trump's refusal of science - nor do I think he handled anything well - but given who we are in the US, could it have actually been done better once it was clear this had slipped the initial quarantine phase?

For example, we still have large groups of people refusing to self-isolate, even with the infection rate climbing daily. How many more would have called the whole thing a "Nothingburger" and ignored a lockdown order when there were only a handful of reported cases in the US?

I don't think I'm right. I'm just expressing a mental train of thought around the whole response - based on the fact that the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman knew exactly what was coming 3 weeks ago and we weren't acting on it.

The core issue with the government's response is that it didn't do enough to attempt containment back in January, and that it didn't ramp up testing production (and is now not ramping up hospital and ventilator capacity enough). Had it done that more starting in January, wholescale lockdowns might not have been necessary.

[LawBeefaroni]

Hearing that there are a lot of false negatives on the test. Not sure it that is one particular type of test or all of them. But because of that our protocol is no test for suspected exposure. You assume you have it and go into self quarantine and monitoring. Testing w/o symptoms and getting a false negative means a carrier on the floor.

Only those with symptoms get tested since kits are still scarce. We went through half our daily allotment yesterday and it's still early.

[LawBeefaroni]

Apparently the new GOP line is that this is all China's fault. Seems to dovetail with the president's insistence on calling this the "China Virus."

Heard a GOP mouthpiece this morning saying the China failed in containment and have the virus to the world.

[Holman]

Apparently the new GOP line is that this is all China's fault. Seems to dovetail with the president's insistence on calling this the "China Virus."

Heard a GOP mouthpiece this morning saying the China failed in containment and have the virus to the world.

Yup. And Trump has been playing up that narrative that we're on a "wartime footing" and he is a "wartime president." He has talked about our "War on the virus," which I assume means we'll be bombing China sometime next week.

A GOP senator (Cornyn) says the virus is China's fault because they are a "culture where people eat bats and snakes and dogs."

During the Black Death, Europeans blamed Jews for the disease and went after them in mass pogroms.

[$iljanus]

Apparently the new GOP line is that this is all China's fault. Seems to dovetail with the president's insistence on calling this the "China Virus."

Heard a GOP mouthpiece this morning saying the China failed in containment and have the virus to the world.

Yup. And Trump has been playing up that narrative that we're on a "wartime footing" and he is a "wartime president." He has talked about our "War on the virus," which I assume means we'll be bombing China sometime next week.

A GOP senator (Cornyn) says the virus is China's fault because they are a "culture where people eat bats and snakes and dogs."

During the Black Death, Europeans blamed Jews for the disease and went after them in mass pogroms.

Can’t get tested? Blame China! No PPE or ventilators? Blame China! The GOP sure loves to spread the shame and blame around. And Americans who are always looking for someone to blame for their woes will eat this shit right up.

[YellowKing]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

[LawBeefaroni]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

The question is how much of the future does he mortgage to boost the economy for the election.

[pr0ner]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

Bernie Bros on Twitter are lamenting the fact that they think the current handouts to Americans in response to the virus have already handed Trump the election in 2020. It's fascinating to read.

[El Guapo]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

Bernie Bros on Twitter are lamenting the fact that they think the current handouts to Americans in response to the virus have already handed Trump the election in 2020. It's fascinating to read.

Part of what's fucked about our political system is that it probably is in Democrats' self-interest to deny any stimulus, so that the economy craters, which would probably let them easily sweep the elections. At the cost of huge human suffering, of course. #WhatWouldMitchMcConnellDo

[malchior]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

Bernie Bros on Twitter are lamenting the fact that they think the current handouts to Americans in response to the virus have already handed Trump the election in 2020. It's fascinating to read.

Yeah - I think they are going to be proved hilariously wrong...again. The trajectory of this thing looks like worse than Italy. The economy is going to be bad no matter the handouts and a lot of dead Americans. He's probably toast.

[LawBeefaroni]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

Bernie Bros on Twitter are lamenting the fact that they think the current handouts to Americans in response to the virus have already handed Trump the election in 2020. It's fascinating to read.

Part of what's fucked about our political system is that it probably is in Democrats' self-interest to deny any stimulus, so that the economy craters, which would probably let them easily sweep the elections. At the cost of huge human suffering, of course. #WhatWouldMitchMcConnellDo

All they have to do is put it out there first (call the $1000/month the "Yang Plan") and say that they are glad Trump is using their ideas. He will singlehandedly quash it and come up with some unworkable, disasterous alternative.

[Scraper]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

Bernie Bros on Twitter are lamenting the fact that they think the current handouts to Americans in response to the virus have already handed Trump the election in 2020. It's fascinating to read.

Yeah - I think they are going to be proved hilariously wrong...again. The trajectory of this thing looks like worse than Italy. The economy is going to be bad no matter the handouts and a lot of dead Americans. He's probably toast.

How in the hell are we going to pay for hand outs to most Americans? A sane person would look at our largest expense (Military) and start making cuts there. Trump will never do that, he will aggressively go after social programs even harder than before. Which is the exact opposite of what we need right now. Trump will be incapable of making anything positive happen, much less convince 60% of the country that he helped in some way. Only the MAGAs will be left standing in team Trump by November.

[LordMortis]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

The question is how much of the future does he mortgage to boost the economy for the election.

Screw for the election. I am not a fan of the GOP but there are going to be a lot people who need relief and they are goingto need it in an ongoing way since, what, two weeks ago? Whenever Washington first got the first "oh shit" realization. The economy and the people go hand in hand. This is not 2008. While this has been poorly handled from the outset, it was not created by malfeasance (merely exacerbated) and the people "and economy" weren't greedily hoisted on their own petards, they are the simply the needy. This is a rare case where mortgaging the future is the right call. But of course, you have to pay down that mortgage when all is said and done, something this administration (and it's support network) denies.

Trump will never do that, he will aggressively go after social programs even harder than before.

So far that is not the case. Relief has first gone to the elderly and single mothers. Don't let your (my?) hatred for the GOP stand in the way of doing right by the people in need.

[Zarathud]

We could have paid if there weren’t irresponsible tax cuts. The economy has been ok due to continuous stimulus. The virus will expose the underlying economic issues.

The US has benefitted in crisis because the US economy has always been the safest bet. If Trump leads the worst response, the US may no longer keep its status — China may overtake us in real and economic terms.

[Skinypupy]

The latest conspiracy theory seems to be that the Harvard professor who was arrested in January for providing bio research to China actively smuggled the virus to Wuhan so they could intentionally set it loose and hurt the US. Saw this posted at least a half dozen times this morning.

I would fully expect His Orangeness and Fox News to latch on and run with this at full speed...any actual proof be damned.

[LawBeefaroni]

I don't think Trump's going to get off easy on this one, whatever the narrative.

Partisan politics aside, the country en masse typically lays economic blame on the President, and in this case the biggest economic collapse since 2008 happened on his watch. And it's only going to get worse between here and November.

The question is how much of the future does he mortgage to boost the economy for the election.

Screw for the election. I am not a fan of the GOP but there are going to be a lot people who need relief and they are goingto need it in an ongoing way since, what, two weeks ago? Whenever Washington first got the first "oh shit" realization. The economy and the people go hand in hand. This is not 2008. While this has been poorly handled from the outset, it was not created by malfeasance (merely exacerbated) and the people "and economy" weren't greedily hoisted on their own petards, they are the simply the needy. This is a rare case where mortgaging the future is the right call. But of course, you have to pay down that mortgage when all is said and done, something this administration (and it's support network) denies.

My point is thst there is a difference between saving the economy and winning an election. One involve pain and sacrifice while still getting relief. The other is just a 9-month band-aid and time bomb.

[LordMortis]

My point is thst there is a difference between saving the economy and winning an election. One involve pain and sacrifice while still getting relief. The other is just a 9-month band-aid and time bomb.

I fear that too but the GOP has found my weak spot, an existential threat to our nation that they didn't directly cause. Go figure.

[malchior]

The US has benefitted in crisis because the US economy has always been the safest bet. If Trump leads the worst response, the US may no longer keep its status — China may overtake us in real and economic terms.

It's too late for that I suspect. For some time we've been broken. Electing Trump was the confirmation that our politics were a mess. Impeachment showed that the rot was deep. McConnell takes a 4 day weekend to take a victory lap about judges? General administration (read Trump) chaos? Business leaders clamoring with their hands out to get their usual shot at looting the corpse. This virus is just showing us how bad it is.

[Scraper]

Trump will never do that, he will aggressively go after social programs even harder than before.

So far that is not the case. Relief has first gone to the elderly and single mothers. Don't let your (my?) hatred for the GOP stand in the way of doing right by the people in need.
[/quote]

I'm talking about long term spending cuts in the budget. He will look to cut welfare, food stamps, scientific research, etc. He won't touch the military budget. Which by itself could pay for the $1000.00 to most Americans without making a tremendous dent in the overall budget.

[Smoove_B]

Trump will never do that, he will aggressively go after social programs even harder than before.

So far that is not the case. Relief has first gone to the elderly and single mothers. Don't let your (my?) hatred for the GOP stand in the way of doing right by the people in need.

I'll just leave this here:

Federal Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling late last week, stopped a set of changes that would have taken effect on April 1. On Wednesday, an Agriculture Department spokesperson responded to an Associated Press query with a terse email saying only that “USDA disagrees with the court’s reasoning and will appeal its decision.”

Under the current rules, able-bodied adults without dependents must show they’ve worked at least 80 hours per month for more than three months in a 36-month period to stay in the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps.

However, individual states have had the ability to waive that work requirement and time limit for areas of the state that have high unemployment rates. The changes, championed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, would have taken that waiver ability from the states, starting on April 1. Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000.

Evidence that the administration was not at all thinking about the pandemic in the bigger picture.

[LordMortis]

Trump will never do that, he will aggressively go after social programs even harder than before.

So far that is not the case. Relief has first gone to the elderly and single mothers. Don't let your (my?) hatred for the GOP stand in the way of doing right by the people in need.

I'll just leave this here:

Federal Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling late last week, stopped a set of changes that would have taken effect on April 1. On Wednesday, an Agriculture Department spokesperson responded to an Associated Press query with a terse email saying only that “USDA disagrees with the court’s reasoning and will appeal its decision.”

Under the current rules, able-bodied adults without dependents must show they’ve worked at least 80 hours per month for more than three months in a 36-month period to stay in the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps.

However, individual states have had the ability to waive that work requirement and time limit for areas of the state that have high unemployment rates. The changes, championed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, would have taken that waiver ability from the states, starting on April 1. Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000.

Evidence that the administration was not at all thinking about the pandemic in the bigger picture.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/18/81773769 ... -president

President Trump signed the latest coronavirus aid package into law Wednesday evening.

The Senate approved the new round of emergency funding earlier Wednesday.

The economic relief bill marks the second such aid package in a matter of weeks. The legislation passed Wednesday provides paid sick and family leave for some for U.S. workers impacted by the illness, expands unemployment assistance, includes nutrition assistance and increases resources for testing. Efforts are already underway to put together a third, larger relief measure that could total $1 trillion.

The second bill faced some delays since the House approved it early Saturday morning, and some Republican senators have raised concerns about its provisions. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged its passage and said members could address those concerns in the next wave of legislation.

"This is a time for urgent bipartisan action, and in this case, I do not believe we should let perfection be the enemy of something that will help even a subset of workers," McConnell said ahead of the vote.

[LawBeefaroni]

The US has benefitted in crisis because the US economy has always been the safest bet. If Trump leads the worst response, the US may no longer keep its status — China may overtake us in real and economic terms.

It's too late for that I suspect. For some time we've been broken. Electing Trump was the confirmation that our politics were a mess. Impeachment showed that the rot was deep. McConnell takes a 4 day weekend to take a victory lap about judges? General administration (read Trump) chaos? Business leaders clamoring with their hands out to get their usual shot at looting the corpse. This virus is just showing us how bad it is.

It would be a good time for them to unleash all the stolen credit cards and consumer data. What would 1M fraudulent charges in one day on Amazon do? Or 30,000 hacked Well Fargo accounts cashing out at once?

[Defiant]

Gambling with 80 Million Lives: Why Erdoğan Lied about Coronavirus

One Turkish doctor estimates that as many as 60 percent of Turks may now be infected and that Erdoğan is retarding testing in order to prevent the scale of the catastrophe from becoming known. Deaths were inevitable, but Erdoğan’s dishonest will likely cause many thousand additional deaths in his country added to the dozens Turkey reportedly has already experienced but will not officially report.

[$iljanus]

Tuned in to the daily Trump Coronavirus briefing and turned it right off when Trump was talking about how no one was working harder than the head of the FDA, then said “maybe Tom Pence...and me”.

[Jaymon]

https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/ ... 8926534657

This thing here, it leaves me with questions. Did they just have these, and then had to decide if they should use them or not? if thats true, does this mean they have more than that lying around somewhere?

if they didn't have these, then its phrased wrong, and it should says, pentagon has agreed to obtain , so where are they obtaining them from, and if they can get this many, why are they not getting more? I have yet to see a study that suggests we have plenty of respirators.

[Defiant]

https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/ ... 8926534657

This thing here, it leaves me with questions. Did they just have these, and then had to decide if they should use them or not? if thats true, does this mean they have more than that lying around somewhere?

if they didn't have these, then its phrased wrong, and it should says, pentagon has agreed to obtain , so where are they obtaining them from, and if they can get this many, why are they not getting more? I have yet to see a study that suggests we have plenty of respirators.

"The Department of Defense will make available up to 5 million N95 respirator masks and other personal protective equipment from our own strategic reserves to Health and Human Services for distribution," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said.

"The first 1 million masks will be made available immediately," he added.

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mili ... lic-2020-3

[malchior]

Tuned in to the daily Trump Coronavirus briefing and turned it right off when Trump was talking about how no one was working harder than the head of the FDA, then said “maybe Tom Pence...and me”.

He can't have rallies so why not just do a 'look at me, look at me' routine on tv. It is turning into weird state tv with all these boot lickers heaping praise on this pile of shit. It is very, very hard to watch. Worse I instinctively don't believe a word they say. Notice also that Fauci is missing. My guess is he was getting too much credit.

[El Guapo]

Tuned in to the daily Trump Coronavirus briefing and turned it right off when Trump was talking about how no one was working harder than the head of the FDA, then said “maybe Tom Pence...and me”.

He can't have rallies so why not just do a 'look at me, look at me' routine on tv. It is turning into weird state tv with all these boot lickers heaping praise on this pile of shit. It is very, very hard to watch. Worse I instinctively don't believe a word they say. Notice also that Fauci is missing. My guess is he was getting too much credit.

I think it's more that Fauci is too honest.