So, Trump's travel ban to/from Europe. Fine, right?? On it's face, yeah. Guess what they didn't do?? If you guessed "buff up CBP agents at airports for the inevitable last minute rush", you win. Dulles and O'Hare tonight are nothing so much as massive human petri dishes. We are so fucked. This is catastrophic leadership. The ban was implemented for a soundbite in a speech. No ACTUAL PLANNING went into it at all. I would be surprised if it was decided upon 5 minutes before going on the air the other night. Tonight is all I need to see. There is no doubt anymore. This is going to be biggest shitstorm anyone has seen in 80 years. And since a Japanese patient has gotten the virus for a SECOND time, Boris Johnson might want to rethink his strategy, pronto.
I'll believe you can get it twice when reputable doctors/scientists confirm it. I want to know the false-positive rate of the test before I come to any conclusion. The more tests that are performed means a statistically small chance of a false-positive beomes a statistical certainty that cases like somebody getting 'infected' twice is going to be reported.
I'll believe you can get it twice when reputable doctors/scientists confirm it. I want to know the false-positive rate of the test before I come to any conclusion. The more tests that are performed means a statistically small chance of a false-positive beomes a statistical certainty that cases like somebody getting 'infected' twice is going to be reported.
If you can get the flu or any strain of it back to back in a short period of time then I would assume you can get the Covid strain also.
I'll believe you can get it twice when reputable doctors/scientists confirm it. I want to know the false-positive rate of the test before I come to any conclusion. The more tests that are performed means a statistically small chance of a false-positive beomes a statistical certainty that cases like somebody getting 'infected' twice is going to be reported.
If you can get the flu or any strain of it back to back in a short period of time then I would assume you can get the Covid strain also.
But I haven't read about that being a big deal before so I think it's a statistically small chance, probably involving multiple strains that aren't as akin to each other or something along those lines (I'm not a biologist).
At this point, it is looking increasingly likely that unless New York and Seattle implement the kind of measures going on right now in Italy, France and Spain IMMEDIATELY, then they are looking at Wuhan or Lombardy-type situations in the near future. So even in this regard, the REST of the United States is going to get an even MORE up-close preview than the one we should have been heeding out of Europe. These two coastal cities are going to bring into stark contrast what the rest of the major cities in the country could be looking at with inaction.
I just can't tell you how much the pictures and reports all across the country last night of people jamming into pubs for St. Patrick's Day, filling Bourbon Street, kids by the thousands on the beach in Florida, or airports crammed wall to wall with people disturbed me. I think maybe half the population understands, and the other half just viewed closed schools, colleges, and work as an excuse to go get smashed among hundreds and thousand of other people.
My city isn't affected yet, I know it's only a matter of time. Frankly, I don't even want to go back to work on Tuesday. I take the bus. I've been sitting in the back as far away from people as possible. I go to my local grocery store after midnight. And I sit at my desk at work. Other than that, I'm at home. This isn't just for me. This is for everyone else too. People I don't know. People I might like or not like if I knew them in real-life. This is no longer the point. If you have any sense of civic duty to your fellow citizens whatsoever at this point, stay home unless you have to work or buy groceries/medicine. We have luxuries with high speed internet and electricity that past generations could only dream of. It's not hard. There is plenty to do. Read a book. Binge a TV show on a streaming service. Immerse yourself in game-world. This is not the sacrifice people imagine it is. Isolate now so you can be with people later.
At this point, it is looking increasingly likely that unless New York and Seattle implement the kind of measures going on right now in Italy, France and Spain IMMEDIATELY, then they are looking at Wuhan or Lombardy-type situations in the near future. So even in this regard, the REST of the United States is going to get an even MORE up-close preview than the one we should have been heeding out of Europe. These two coastal cities are going to bring into stark contrast what the rest of the major cities in the country could be looking at with inaction.
I just can't tell you how much the pictures and reports all across the country last night of people jamming into pubs for St. Patrick's Day, filling Bourbon Street, kids by the thousands on the beach in Florida, or airports crammed wall to wall with people disturbed me. I think maybe half the population understands, and the other half just viewed closed schools, colleges, and work as an excuse to go get smashed among hundreds and thousand of other people.
My city isn't affected yet, I know it's only a matter of time. Frankly, I don't even want to go back to work on Tuesday. I take the bus. I've been sitting in the back as far away from people as possible. I go to my local grocery store after midnight. And I sit at my desk at work. Other than that, I'm at home. This isn't just for me. This is for everyone else too. People I don't know. People I might like or not like if I knew them in real-life. This is no longer the point. If you have any sense of civic duty to your fellow citizens whatsoever at this point, stay home unless you have to work or buy groceries/medicine. We have luxuries with high speed internet and electricity that past generations could only dream of. It's not hard. There is plenty to do. Read a book. Binge a TV show on a streaming service. Immerse yourself in game-world. This is not the sacrifice people imagine it is. Isolate now so you can be with people later.
I agree with.you but I'm going to give you the same advice I gave @smeagolheart. Get away from the news channels for a bit. Get outside and take a walk. You're going to worry yourself into bad health. You can't help others if you don't help yourself first.
At this point, it is looking increasingly likely that unless New York and Seattle implement the kind of measures going on right now in Italy, France and Spain IMMEDIATELY, then they are looking at Wuhan or Lombardy-type situations in the near future. So even in this regard, the REST of the United States is going to get an even MORE up-close preview than the one we should have been heeding out of Europe. These two coastal cities are going to bring into stark contrast what the rest of the major cities in the country could be looking at with inaction.
I just can't tell you how much the pictures and reports all across the country last night of people jamming into pubs for St. Patrick's Day, filling Bourbon Street, kids by the thousands on the beach in Florida, or airports crammed wall to wall with people disturbed me. I think maybe half the population understands, and the other half just viewed closed schools, colleges, and work as an excuse to go get smashed among hundreds and thousand of other people.
My city isn't affected yet, I know it's only a matter of time. Frankly, I don't even want to go back to work on Tuesday. I take the bus. I've been sitting in the back as far away from people as possible. I go to my local grocery store after midnight. And I sit at my desk at work. Other than that, I'm at home. This isn't just for me. This is for everyone else too. People I don't know. People I might like or not like if I knew them in real-life. This is no longer the point. If you have any sense of civic duty to your fellow citizens whatsoever at this point, stay home unless you have to work or buy groceries/medicine. We have luxuries with high speed internet and electricity that past generations could only dream of. It's not hard. There is plenty to do. Read a book. Binge a TV show on a streaming service. Immerse yourself in game-world. This is not the sacrifice people imagine it is. Isolate now so you can be with people later.
I agree with.you but I'm going to give you the same advice I gave @smeagolheart. Get away from the news channels for a bit. Get outside and take a walk. You're going to worry yourself into bad health. You can't help others if you don't help yourself first.
Yes, frankly, I'm emotionally drained from banging my head against the wall with family members and others and I can't do it anymore. I suppose instead of buying toilet paper, it's my way of pretending that I have some sort of control, which no one does at this point. I just gave up at a certain point yesterday. I've said all I can say to them. They'll have to see for themselves.
This is also something to remember. Going outside for a walk is perfectly fine at this point if you are able to do so away from other people. In fact, it probably is a good idea. Social distancing is not a quarantine. But if we don't do the former, we will eventually be forced to accept the later.
The UK has reacted to the travel ban implemented by the US by advising people not to travel to the US. In one sense I find it hard to argue against that given that I'm pretty sure the disease is actually more widespread in the US than the UK.
I'd much prefer that countries talk together and try to develop a common approach, though the chance of that happening in the current fevered atmosphere is extremely low - I can understand why domestic political pressures can force immediate actions, though I regret that such actions can be taken irrespective of whether they make sense or not.
I posted in the COVID-19 forum but US Prez Donald Trump has caused another international incident by trying to buy exclusive rights only for the USA from a German company working on a vaccine.
The initial report has been confirmed by German government officials.
At this point, it is looking increasingly likely that unless New York and Seattle implement the kind of measures going on right now in Italy, France and Spain IMMEDIATELY, then they are looking at Wuhan or Lombardy-type situations in the near future. So even in this regard, the REST of the United States is going to get an even MORE up-close preview than the one we should have been heeding out of Europe. These two coastal cities are going to bring into stark contrast what the rest of the major cities in the country could be looking at with inaction.
I just can't tell you how much the pictures and reports all across the country last night of people jamming into pubs for St. Patrick's Day, filling Bourbon Street, kids by the thousands on the beach in Florida, or airports crammed wall to wall with people disturbed me. I think maybe half the population understands, and the other half just viewed closed schools, colleges, and work as an excuse to go get smashed among hundreds and thousand of other people.
My city isn't affected yet, I know it's only a matter of time. Frankly, I don't even want to go back to work on Tuesday. I take the bus. I've been sitting in the back as far away from people as possible. I go to my local grocery store after midnight. And I sit at my desk at work. Other than that, I'm at home. This isn't just for me. This is for everyone else too. People I don't know. People I might like or not like if I knew them in real-life. This is no longer the point. If you have any sense of civic duty to your fellow citizens whatsoever at this point, stay home unless you have to work or buy groceries/medicine. We have luxuries with high speed internet and electricity that past generations could only dream of. It's not hard. There is plenty to do. Read a book. Binge a TV show on a streaming service. Immerse yourself in game-world. This is not the sacrifice people imagine it is. Isolate now so you can be with people later.
I agree with.you but I'm going to give you the same advice I gave @smeagolheart. Get away from the news channels for a bit. Get outside and take a walk. You're going to worry yourself into bad health. You can't help others if you don't help yourself first.
Like jjstraka, and probably most everyone here, I have loved ones with underlying conditions and high risk factors and weakened immune systems. I have been telling them this is serious because every scientist I've heard is saying it is serious. And it's mostly falling on deaf ears. I want to help others and keep myself and my family safe but I can't force them not to make bad choices and endanger us all.
Um, well if you can't see that Fox News is full of corona deniers and conservatives are pushing the conspiracy that "it's just the flu!" then you are missing something that is clearly there to be seen.
Wow, nice twisting of my statement...
So me blaming both sides is me claiming the right isn't or hasn't done it even those I literally said
All of this before it even touched ground her in the states. And both the left and the right ignored it and downplayed it.
So not only are you're showing me you are willing to sit in the same forum forum and be willfully dishonest about what I was saying, you are tribal quick to defend your tribe while blaming the other.
Um, well if you can't see that Fox News is full of corona deniers and conservatives are pushing the conspiracy that "it's just the flu!" then you are missing something that is clearly there to be seen.
Wow, nice twisting of my statement...
So me blaming both sides is me claiming the right isn't or hasn't done it even those I literally said
All of this before it even touched ground her in the states. And both the left and the right ignored it and downplayed it.
So not only are you're showing me you are willing to sit in the same forum forum and be willfully dishonest about what I was saying, you are tribal quick to defend your tribe while blaming the other.
Imagine, my, shock.
So you are saying both sides are the same? If that's what you are saying, there's a lot of evidence that this is not the case.
There's no blame going on over CNN purposefully downplaying the cornavirus situation is there? Has there been any Republicans or conservatives elites saying the left is not taking this seriously? The Democratic party is not downplaying it either. So you are willfully both sidesing things that are not both sides.
Trump trying to BUY the rights to a vaccine from Germany in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC is not so much scandalous as outright malevolent. For one thing, Trump is well aware at how bad he's fucked this up. Deep down, he knows he can't handle this. He wants a hail mary pass that will end this. That pass will not be completed. He's flailing, overmatched by events in a way perhaps no President ever has been besides Andrew Johnson. He didn't sign up for this. Frankly, neither did anybody else. The dark bet electing Trump banked on was something like this not happening.
The Senate Republicans are still on a weekend break and not voting on the bill the House passed. That bill has huge holes in it, but it's what Democrats could get when dealing with an opposition Congress and White House. Pelosi worked night and day on the phone with Mnuchin to hammer it out. And people like John Cornyn are back in their home states tweeting out pictures of Corona beer and making light of a incoming disaster. I mean, they truly DO NOT GET IT. Trump is as of ten minutes ago tweeting about Schumer's comments about judges. If any of the medical experts who have access to him have tried to impress upon him the seriousness of the what's coming, they have failed. And the refusal of testing kits from the WHO in January and his response everyday since is such a fundamental betrayal of the public good that it can't even be properly quantified.
The statement he made from the bully pulpit about "It's 15 cases, and those 15 will soon be zero" is likely the most brazenly stupid and irresponsible thing ever said by someone holding the office. It should be etched on his tombstone, right alongside (and this is the most honest thing he has ever said about himself) "no, I don't take any responsibility at all". Governors need to understand that the federal government is incapable of responding effectively with this man in charge. Not because it can't, but because they made it this way. We aren't just fighting the virus. We are fighting the toxic misinformation and mismanagement by the Executive Branch and their propaganda outlets.
Trump trying to BUY the rights to a vaccine from Germany in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC is not so much scandalous as outright malevolent.
Trump's response was the most stereotypical 'ugly American' thing ever.
It's a strategy brought to you by the companies that charges thousands of dollars for $2 worth of insulin.
You see you gotta protect Americans. It's a zero sum game. You fuck over everyone else in the world and long as I'm ok it does not matter (and also think of the money you'd make money when other countries have to beg for the cure, you could charge them trillions and then you cut the taxes on the 1% to zero! Win win!).
And people like John Cornyn are back in their home states tweeting out pictures of Corona beer and making light of a incoming disaster. I mean, they truly DO NOT GET IT. Trump is as of ten minutes ago tweeting of Schumer's comments about judges.
Read the whole article (not just the headline) before jumping to any conclusions about the 'evil' USA (or Trump) trying to poach a vaccine from Germany. The truth is far more mundane...
Not that anyone really cares with Corona Virus dominating our train of thought, but there was a primary debate tonight. I didnt watch up, but I have been reading up on it.
Sounds like it was pretty rough. Both candidates going after each other a lot. Looks like Sanders doubled down quite a bit attacking Joe's previous record -which is fair. Biden did the same for Bernie's record on gun control.
Biden did make 3 significant policy concessions: He's backing Warren's plan to undo some of bankruptcy bill. He agreed to support free college tuition for those making less than 120,000 a year, and he signaled a support to stopping fracking.
He also said he'd make a woman his VP, meaning that Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Stacy Abrams and Elizabeth Warren seem to be the obvious choiceds.
Given the public health risks, and the fact that short of a medical issue, Biden is a near certainty to win the nomination, I'm hoping this is the last debate. Biden did move left, so that's good - but it sounds like Sanders was still playing to win rather than to try to pull Biden to the left. Apparently at one point, Biden expressed his frustration that he was trying to take some of Sander's ideas and use them, but Sanders was "making it hard for him" (Presumably, by attacking him despite the leftward shift).
They also didnt spend a lot of time coming after Trump's awful handling of COVID 19 - which is a missed opportunity. The longer they take shots at each other rather than Trump, the worse (in my opinion).
Not that anyone really cares with Corona Virus dominating our train of thought, but there was a primary debate tonight. I didnt watch up, but I have been reading up on it.
Sounds like it was pretty rough. Both candidates going after each other a lot. Looks like Sanders doubled down quite a bit attacking Joe's previous record -which is fair. Biden did the same for Bernie's record on gun control.
Biden did make 3 significant policy concessions: He's backing Warren's plan to undo some of bankruptcy bill. He agreed to support free college tuition for those making less than 120,000 a year, and he signaled a support to stopping fracking.
He also said he'd make a woman his VP, meaning that Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Stacy Abrams and Elizabeth Warren seem to be the obvious choiceds.
Given the public health risks, and the fact that short of a medical issue, Biden is a near certainty to win the nomination, I'm hoping this is the last debate. Biden did move left, so that's good - but it sounds like Sanders was still playing to win rather than to try to pull Biden to the left. Apparently at one point, Biden expressed his frustration that he was trying to take some of Sander's ideas and use them, but Sanders was "making it hard for him" (Presumably, by attacking him despite the leftward shift).
They also didnt spend a lot of time coming after Trump's awful handling of COVID 19 - which is a missed opportunity. The longer they take shots at each other rather than Trump, the worse (in my opinion).
Frankly, the only part I even watched was the opening 30 minutes on the pandemic. I simply don't really care about anything else at the moment, and I'm not sure many other people do either. My thoughts on that were that Biden was laser-focused on dealing with the immediate issue, and Sanders was focused on what comes after in terms of changing our healthcare system. Biden compared it to putting the country on war footing. I'm gonna be perfectly honest, right now, on March 16, 2020, listening to talk about Medicare for All seems rather beside the point. We don't have it now, we're not going to have it through the entirety of this crisis, and Biden was talking specifically about people not having to pay for any COVID-19 related treatment. When they moved on to talking about who loved dictators more, I completely tuned out. No other domestic or foreign policy positions matter in the current moment. We are facing something none of us have seen in our lifetimes.
He also said he'd make a woman his VP, meaning that Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Stacy Abrams and Elizabeth Warren seem to be the obvious choiceds.
Pay attention to the person he chooses. Should Biden win, it is likely that he will have to step down in the first two years because he will be medically unfit to discharge the duties of his office under the 25th Amendment.
Remember, folks: absolutely nothing of any importance whatsoever is happening in the world right now except coronavirus. No one will try to take advantage of all the noise that issue is making to do something they ought not be doing.
He also said he'd make a woman his VP, meaning that Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Stacy Abrams and Elizabeth Warren seem to be the obvious choiceds.
Pay attention to the person he chooses. Should Biden win, it is likely that he will have to step down in the first two years because he will be medically unfit to discharge the duties of his office under the 25th Amendment.
Remember, folks: absolutely nothing of any importance whatsoever is happening in the world right now except coronavirus. No one will try to take advantage of all the noise that issue is making to do something they ought not be doing.
For the all-time record, and if you want to know WHY so many people are misinformed about the virus, I present to you public statements made from the bully pulpit by Donald Trump, in chronological order. If people think the Presidential "voice" doesn't matter, then explain to me in replies WHY it's called the bully pulpit:
Jan. 22- "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. It's gonna be just fine"
Feb. 2- "We pretty much shut it down coming in from China"
Feb. 24- "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"
Feb. 25- "CDC and my Administration doing a great job handling the Coronavirus"
Feb. 25- "I think that's a problem that's going to go away. They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we're very close to a vaccine."
Feb. 25- "The 15 cases within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero."
Feb. 26- "We're going very substantially down, not up."
Feb. 27- "One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear."
Feb. 28- "We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of medical."
Mar. 2- "You take a solid flu vaccine, you don't think that could have an impact, or much of an impact, on Corona??"
Mar. 2- "A lot of things are happening, a lot of very exciting things are happening and they are happening very rapidly."
Mar. 4- "If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work, some of them go to work, but they get better."
Mar. 5- "I never said that people that are feeling sick should go to work."
Mar. 5- "The United States has, as of now, only 129 cases and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep those numbers as low as possible."
Mar. 6- "I think we're doing a really good job in this country of keeping it down. A tremendous job at keeping it down.
Mar. 6- "Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They're there. And the tests are beautiful. The test are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This is not as perfect as that but pretty good."
Mar. 6- "I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said 'how do you know so much about this?' Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of run for President."
Mar. 6- "I don't need the numbers to double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."
Mar. 8- "We have perfectly coordinated and fine-tuned plan at the White House for our attack on Coronavirus.
Not what I expected to hear from a Republican, but it's refreshing. I had been hoping that the realignment was happening (republicans divorcing themselves from strict capitalism), now I'm more sure of it.
Not what I expected to hear from a Republican, but it's refreshing. I had been hoping that the realignment was happening (republicans divorcing themselves from strict capitalism), now I'm more sure of it.
I've been calling for $1000 checks to be sent out to every person in the country on a monthly basis for at least the next 3-5 months for the last 5 days. Again, if MITT ROMNEY is suggesting this, think about how serious it is. $1000 is an arbitrary number, but it's the easiest to wrap our heads around. Frankly, means testing would be better, but we don't have time for that shit.
In addition?? National moratorium on evictions and utility shut-off until at least July. That includes internet service. Moratorium on mortgage payments as Italy has done. Banks should suspend all normal fees associated with overdrafts and non-sufficient funds. This is for STARTERS. It should be done NOW. The Federal Government should now be using it's power to quickly manufacture respirators like we manufactured artillery shells in World War II. Think I'm joking?? I'm not. There is something called the Defense Production Act. It should be activated, immediately.
Look, when this is studied years from now, you will be able to statistically pinpoint the rate at which people who were listening to partisan conservative media were more likely to contract and spread the virus. I guarantee it. MUCH of the citizenry is utterly ignorant about what's going to happen, but the willful act of treating this like the 9/11 terror attacks, and standing up against social distancing as way of showing how you won't be "bullied or told what to do" by outside forces is on a WHOLE other level. The virus is not an Al Qaeda cell that you can "make a point" to by going out to a crowded bar to show you aren't scared. Grow the fuck up people. As I have said, @Balrog99 is practically the most conservative poster in this group, and he is perfectly honest about this dynamic and how prevalent it is.
Not sure what else to say at this point. I personally have enough saved to ride this out the rest of the year. At worst, in my job situation, we will be working from home (as I know we are about to get slammed with questions and requests). Actually my worst case scenario is being forced to continue to go in and take my afternoon bus ride (the evening one at 11pm worries me less). I know many if not MOST people are not in this situation, and my heart goes out to them. I honestly don't know how this is going to be done, especially with who we have at the helm. It's impossible to even quantify how much this is going to alter American life. I hope everyone is as prepared as they can be. I don't know what else to say on that front. Our brand of hyper-capitalism is not equipped to tackle this. We are dog eat dog and we need to move to a collective mindset way quicker than we will be able to.
I listened to the Rush Limbaugh show on the way home (just out of curiosity). Mark Steyn was standing in for Rush and telling everybody to do what they're told, ride it out and don't panic. I was frankly shocked! Better late than never I guess...
Edit: FYI - big turnaround on conservative radio in general since Trump's declaration last week. I'm sure Trump hated admitting he was wrong, but at least he finally did (sort of).
I listened to the Rush Limbaugh show on the way home (just out of curiosity). Mark Steyn was standing in for Rush and telling everybody to do what they're told, ride it out and don't panic. I was frankly shocked! Better late than never I guess...
Edit: FYI - big turnaround on conservative radio in general since Trump's declaration last week. I'm sure Trump hated admitting he was wrong, but at least he finally did (sort of).
Someone clearly gave him some DIRE projections between yesterday and today. Now imagine if he'd been honest with us for the last 5 weeks. We need to hear harsh realities, not fairy tales. He will revert to his old ways within 24 hours. He now knows the entire situation if fucked beyond all comprehension, and the only to do is pretend he's been on this footing all along:
Comments
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/487436-can-you-get-coronavirus-twice
If you can get the flu or any strain of it back to back in a short period of time then I would assume you can get the Covid strain also.
But I haven't read about that being a big deal before so I think it's a statistically small chance, probably involving multiple strains that aren't as akin to each other or something along those lines (I'm not a biologist).
I just can't tell you how much the pictures and reports all across the country last night of people jamming into pubs for St. Patrick's Day, filling Bourbon Street, kids by the thousands on the beach in Florida, or airports crammed wall to wall with people disturbed me. I think maybe half the population understands, and the other half just viewed closed schools, colleges, and work as an excuse to go get smashed among hundreds and thousand of other people.
My city isn't affected yet, I know it's only a matter of time. Frankly, I don't even want to go back to work on Tuesday. I take the bus. I've been sitting in the back as far away from people as possible. I go to my local grocery store after midnight. And I sit at my desk at work. Other than that, I'm at home. This isn't just for me. This is for everyone else too. People I don't know. People I might like or not like if I knew them in real-life. This is no longer the point. If you have any sense of civic duty to your fellow citizens whatsoever at this point, stay home unless you have to work or buy groceries/medicine. We have luxuries with high speed internet and electricity that past generations could only dream of. It's not hard. There is plenty to do. Read a book. Binge a TV show on a streaming service. Immerse yourself in game-world. This is not the sacrifice people imagine it is. Isolate now so you can be with people later.
I agree with.you but I'm going to give you the same advice I gave @smeagolheart. Get away from the news channels for a bit. Get outside and take a walk. You're going to worry yourself into bad health. You can't help others if you don't help yourself first.
Yes, frankly, I'm emotionally drained from banging my head against the wall with family members and others and I can't do it anymore. I suppose instead of buying toilet paper, it's my way of pretending that I have some sort of control, which no one does at this point. I just gave up at a certain point yesterday. I've said all I can say to them. They'll have to see for themselves.
This is also something to remember. Going outside for a walk is perfectly fine at this point if you are able to do so away from other people. In fact, it probably is a good idea. Social distancing is not a quarantine. But if we don't do the former, we will eventually be forced to accept the later.
I'd much prefer that countries talk together and try to develop a common approach, though the chance of that happening in the current fevered atmosphere is extremely low - I can understand why domestic political pressures can force immediate actions, though I regret that such actions can be taken irrespective of whether they make sense or not.
The initial report has been confirmed by German government officials.
Like jjstraka, and probably most everyone here, I have loved ones with underlying conditions and high risk factors and weakened immune systems. I have been telling them this is serious because every scientist I've heard is saying it is serious. And it's mostly falling on deaf ears. I want to help others and keep myself and my family safe but I can't force them not to make bad choices and endanger us all.
Wow, nice twisting of my statement...
So me blaming both sides is me claiming the right isn't or hasn't done it even those I literally said
So not only are you're showing me you are willing to sit in the same forum forum and be willfully dishonest about what I was saying, you are tribal quick to defend your tribe while blaming the other.
Imagine, my, shock.
So you are saying both sides are the same? If that's what you are saying, there's a lot of evidence that this is not the case.
There's no blame going on over CNN purposefully downplaying the cornavirus situation is there? Has there been any Republicans or conservatives elites saying the left is not taking this seriously? The Democratic party is not downplaying it either. So you are willfully both sidesing things that are not both sides.
The Senate Republicans are still on a weekend break and not voting on the bill the House passed. That bill has huge holes in it, but it's what Democrats could get when dealing with an opposition Congress and White House. Pelosi worked night and day on the phone with Mnuchin to hammer it out. And people like John Cornyn are back in their home states tweeting out pictures of Corona beer and making light of a incoming disaster. I mean, they truly DO NOT GET IT. Trump is as of ten minutes ago tweeting about Schumer's comments about judges. If any of the medical experts who have access to him have tried to impress upon him the seriousness of the what's coming, they have failed. And the refusal of testing kits from the WHO in January and his response everyday since is such a fundamental betrayal of the public good that it can't even be properly quantified.
The statement he made from the bully pulpit about "It's 15 cases, and those 15 will soon be zero" is likely the most brazenly stupid and irresponsible thing ever said by someone holding the office. It should be etched on his tombstone, right alongside (and this is the most honest thing he has ever said about himself) "no, I don't take any responsibility at all". Governors need to understand that the federal government is incapable of responding effectively with this man in charge. Not because it can't, but because they made it this way. We aren't just fighting the virus. We are fighting the toxic misinformation and mismanagement by the Executive Branch and their propaganda outlets.
Trump's response was the most stereotypical 'ugly American' thing ever.
It's a strategy brought to you by the companies that charges thousands of dollars for $2 worth of insulin.
You see you gotta protect Americans. It's a zero sum game. You fuck over everyone else in the world and long as I'm ok it does not matter (and also think of the money you'd make money when other countries have to beg for the cure, you could charge them trillions and then you cut the taxes on the 1% to zero! Win win!).
But both sideses?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2120IV
Sounds like it was pretty rough. Both candidates going after each other a lot. Looks like Sanders doubled down quite a bit attacking Joe's previous record -which is fair. Biden did the same for Bernie's record on gun control.
Biden did make 3 significant policy concessions: He's backing Warren's plan to undo some of bankruptcy bill. He agreed to support free college tuition for those making less than 120,000 a year, and he signaled a support to stopping fracking.
He also said he'd make a woman his VP, meaning that Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Stacy Abrams and Elizabeth Warren seem to be the obvious choiceds.
Given the public health risks, and the fact that short of a medical issue, Biden is a near certainty to win the nomination, I'm hoping this is the last debate. Biden did move left, so that's good - but it sounds like Sanders was still playing to win rather than to try to pull Biden to the left. Apparently at one point, Biden expressed his frustration that he was trying to take some of Sander's ideas and use them, but Sanders was "making it hard for him" (Presumably, by attacking him despite the leftward shift).
They also didnt spend a lot of time coming after Trump's awful handling of COVID 19 - which is a missed opportunity. The longer they take shots at each other rather than Trump, the worse (in my opinion).
Frankly, the only part I even watched was the opening 30 minutes on the pandemic. I simply don't really care about anything else at the moment, and I'm not sure many other people do either. My thoughts on that were that Biden was laser-focused on dealing with the immediate issue, and Sanders was focused on what comes after in terms of changing our healthcare system. Biden compared it to putting the country on war footing. I'm gonna be perfectly honest, right now, on March 16, 2020, listening to talk about Medicare for All seems rather beside the point. We don't have it now, we're not going to have it through the entirety of this crisis, and Biden was talking specifically about people not having to pay for any COVID-19 related treatment. When they moved on to talking about who loved dictators more, I completely tuned out. No other domestic or foreign policy positions matter in the current moment. We are facing something none of us have seen in our lifetimes.
Pay attention to the person he chooses. Should Biden win, it is likely that he will have to step down in the first two years because he will be medically unfit to discharge the duties of his office under the 25th Amendment.
Remember, folks: absolutely nothing of any importance whatsoever is happening in the world right now except coronavirus. No one will try to take advantage of all the noise that issue is making to do something they ought not be doing.
Like pardoning Flynn?
Jan. 22- "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. It's gonna be just fine"
Feb. 2- "We pretty much shut it down coming in from China"
Feb. 24- "The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!"
Feb. 25- "CDC and my Administration doing a great job handling the Coronavirus"
Feb. 25- "I think that's a problem that's going to go away. They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we're very close to a vaccine."
Feb. 25- "The 15 cases within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero."
Feb. 26- "We're going very substantially down, not up."
Feb. 27- "One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear."
Feb. 28- "We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of medical."
Mar. 2- "You take a solid flu vaccine, you don't think that could have an impact, or much of an impact, on Corona??"
Mar. 2- "A lot of things are happening, a lot of very exciting things are happening and they are happening very rapidly."
Mar. 4- "If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work, some of them go to work, but they get better."
Mar. 5- "I never said that people that are feeling sick should go to work."
Mar. 5- "The United States has, as of now, only 129 cases and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep those numbers as low as possible."
Mar. 6- "I think we're doing a really good job in this country of keeping it down. A tremendous job at keeping it down.
Mar. 6- "Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They're there. And the tests are beautiful. The test are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This is not as perfect as that but pretty good."
Mar. 6- "I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said 'how do you know so much about this?' Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of run for President."
Mar. 6- "I don't need the numbers to double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."
Mar. 8- "We have perfectly coordinated and fine-tuned plan at the White House for our attack on Coronavirus.
Mar. 9- "This blindsided the world".
March 13- "I have declared a national emergency".
The prosecution rests, your honor.
I've been calling for $1000 checks to be sent out to every person in the country on a monthly basis for at least the next 3-5 months for the last 5 days. Again, if MITT ROMNEY is suggesting this, think about how serious it is. $1000 is an arbitrary number, but it's the easiest to wrap our heads around. Frankly, means testing would be better, but we don't have time for that shit.
In addition?? National moratorium on evictions and utility shut-off until at least July. That includes internet service. Moratorium on mortgage payments as Italy has done. Banks should suspend all normal fees associated with overdrafts and non-sufficient funds. This is for STARTERS. It should be done NOW. The Federal Government should now be using it's power to quickly manufacture respirators like we manufactured artillery shells in World War II. Think I'm joking?? I'm not. There is something called the Defense Production Act. It should be activated, immediately.
Not sure what else to say at this point. I personally have enough saved to ride this out the rest of the year. At worst, in my job situation, we will be working from home (as I know we are about to get slammed with questions and requests). Actually my worst case scenario is being forced to continue to go in and take my afternoon bus ride (the evening one at 11pm worries me less). I know many if not MOST people are not in this situation, and my heart goes out to them. I honestly don't know how this is going to be done, especially with who we have at the helm. It's impossible to even quantify how much this is going to alter American life. I hope everyone is as prepared as they can be. I don't know what else to say on that front. Our brand of hyper-capitalism is not equipped to tackle this. We are dog eat dog and we need to move to a collective mindset way quicker than we will be able to.
I listened to the Rush Limbaugh show on the way home (just out of curiosity). Mark Steyn was standing in for Rush and telling everybody to do what they're told, ride it out and don't panic. I was frankly shocked! Better late than never I guess...
Edit: FYI - big turnaround on conservative radio in general since Trump's declaration last week. I'm sure Trump hated admitting he was wrong, but at least he finally did (sort of).
Someone clearly gave him some DIRE projections between yesterday and today. Now imagine if he'd been honest with us for the last 5 weeks. We need to hear harsh realities, not fairy tales. He will revert to his old ways within 24 hours. He now knows the entire situation if fucked beyond all comprehension, and the only to do is pretend he's been on this footing all along: