Trump VS COVID-19 Threat

[Rhea]

I can only read Half-Life's posts when someone else quotes him by the way.

You are wise.

 

[funinspace]

I can only read Half-Life's posts when someone else quotes him by the way.

You are wise.

But one does give up on reading Onion Reality postings...

 

[Rhea]

USA is now just behind Italy in active cases......

USA now ahead of Italy and top of the list for number of active cases. Though I think Italy's figures for today are not yet included.


https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Italy hadn't reported yet. They are still in hell.

 

[blastula]

laugh tracks on tv shows are jarring to me now. But great bit at any rate.

Oh the humanity! That episode first aired in 1978. But maybe a better analogy here would be to the Jonestown mass suicide which occurred just a few weeks later that fall.

 

[ZiprHead]

This quarantine will work. I guarantee it. April 12 we will be up and running. The cases are going to start declining in the U.S. starting around the next few days. By April 1, we will see a steady downstream and be on our way out.

 

[blastula]

Nothing's been able to take down Trump yet. This is no different.

A very illustrative statement. You share Trump's sociopathy in caring about the pandemic mainly in how it affects him personally or politically.

 

[Elixir]

This quarantine will work. I guarantee it. April 12 we will be up and running. The cases are going to start declining in the U.S. starting around the next few days. By April 1, we will see a steady downstream and be on our way out.

Why are you still trolling?

Obviously the lockdown can not work that quickly for a couple of reasons. Utmost, the virus supposedly remains in the body for 5 weeks. So even if there were no new cases starting today, we'd have a clock set for 5 weeks.

Then the other issues. Firstly, most states aren't in lockdown. Secondly, the cases don't start slowing down for a week or two after a lockdown starts. Of course, even in locations of lockdowns, there has been issues with people still getting together, so the lockdown is a soft lockdown.

So by early April, the cases slow down acceleration in some areas. The peak is after that, then the new cases start decreasing. No new cases would be no closer than four or five weeks, at the most ridiculously optimistic expectations. Merely having fewer new cases would be reckless justification for ending lockdowns.

A shut down taking only five or so weeks was maybe possible end of February or very early March, before over a million Americans contracted the virus (including unconfirmed cases)!

Yabut if you're an epidemiological ignoramus you can shut down this here China Virus thing this afternoon.

 

[lpetrich]

Trending on Twitter: "Drop Dead" - what Trump apparently wants New Yorkers to do.

Trump to New York: You’ve Been Mean to Me, Drop Dead

Democratic governors, including Andrew Cuomo, are grappling with a coronavirus-related fear: piss off the president and risk losing his support.

...
Trump would go on to insist he was not blaming Cuomo. But the magnanimity was short-lived. “It’s a two-way street,” Trump said of having the feds help states with a coronavirus response policy. “They have to treat us well, too.”

...
“If you’re good and respectful to [Trump], he will treat you the same—it’s that simple,” said one senior White House official. “The president has always said that he fights back when he needs to, and the situation with [Cuomo] is no different. If you keep that in mind, their sort of seesaw relationship during [coronavirus] doesn’t come as a surprise.”

...
“He’s been trying to kick the blame to the states... and I think this maneuver [to re-open the economy] is the same,” said one Democratic operative who works on gubernatorial campaigns. “It’s him being able to say: ‘Hey, I opened it up, it’s not my decision that your state kept the economy closed. It’s not on me that you lost your job. Blame your governor.’”

Opinion | Trump to New York: Drop Dead - The New York Times

So it’s essentially come to this: President Trump is treating each of our 50 states as individual contestants on “The Apprentice” — pitting them against one another for scarce resources, daring them to duke it out — rather than mobilizing a unified national response to a pandemic.

If that’s the case, this is the episode where New York loses. The coronavirus is whipping through the state, especially New York City, at a terrifying rate. We need personnel, ventilators and personal protective equipment, stat.

But Trump’s response has been the same as President Gerald Ford’s in 1975, when our city, faltering on the brink of insolvency, begged Washington for help and was brutally rebuffed, a moment forever enshrined in The Daily News’s headline “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD.”

 

[lpetrich]

No time for BS on Twitter: "Maybe NY should invoke eminent domain and make Trump Tower and the Trump SoHo Hotel into makeshift hospitals https://t.co/ymgKm7d8l7" / Twitter

Good idea.

Matthew Yglesias on Twitter: "Does the virus fund the federalist? https://t.co/neVAK3TjZ7" / Twitter
noting a tweet from The Federalist that called for "controlled voluntary infection". It was deleted as against Twitter's rules.

How 'Chickenpox Parties' Could Turn The Tide Of The Wuhan Virus - "It is time to think outside the box and seriously consider a somewhat unconventional approach to COVID-19: controlled voluntary infection."

With responses like
Chairman Jeb! on Twitter: "@mattyglesias Pictured, The Federalist office https://t.co/9K1rmjrA5h" / Twitter
With a cartoon of a virus at a desktop computer.

Whatever Richard Rorty said... on Twitter: "@mattyglesias I vote for controlled voluntary infection of all Federalist "journalists," "editors," subscribers, funders and patrons" / Twitter

WeHearVoicesOutThere on Twitter: "@mattyglesias I nominate the @FDRLST and all Republican official's from the WH down to the individual State's to go right ahead and enroll in controlled voluntary infection. Trust me. This would save America to get rid of the weakest link in our chain. Walk that talk, @GOP https://t.co/uys4j1TVuN" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "I am working very hard to help New York City & State. Dealing with both Mayor & Governor and producing tremendously for them, including four new medical centers and four new hospitals. Fake News that I won’t help them because I don’t like Cuomo (I do). Just sent 4000 ventilators!" / Twitter

4000? Only 4000?

Steven Greenhouse on Twitter: "@realDonaldTrump Facing this crisis, Trump is displaying traits that many find jarring—the profound need for personal praise, the propensity to blame others, the lack of human empathy, the penchant for rewriting history, the disregard for expertise, the distortion of facts https://t.co/upU6Jg30KY" / Twitter
noting
Used to Meeting Challenges With Bluster and Force, Trump Confronts a Crisis Unlike Any Before - The New York Times - "The ways he dealt with crises in his business, real estate and even his personal life prove jarring as he leads the government’s response to a pandemic."

During his Presidential campaign, his advisors tried to get him to think about what he would do about crises like Hurricane Katrina.

“I would have fixed that,” Mr. Trump replied with certitude, referring to the government’s bungled rescue and recovery efforts, according to a campaign official who was present for the exchange. “I would have come up with a much better response.” How? He did not say. He just asserted it would have been better and advisers did not press him to elaborate.

He has faced a lot of crises in the past - bankruptcy, divorces, etc. -- but never one where his usual methods could not get him out of it.

“When he’s faced a problem, he has sought to somehow cheat or fix the outcome ahead of time so that he could construct a narrative that showed him to be the winner,” said Michael D’Antonio, a Trump biographer. “And when it was all about feuds with other celebrities or contests over ratings or hotel branding, he could do that and no one cared enough to really check. And the bluster and bragging worked.”

“But in this case,” Mr. D’Antonio added, “he tried that in the beginning and you can’t brag or bluster your way out of people dying. And I think more than the suffering, the human suffering, it’s been the inexorable quality of the data that’s forced him to change.”

Yet he continues to do much of what he has been doing, like blaming China, claiming that he knew about the virus all along, etc.

“We’ve done a fantastic job from just about every standpoint,” he said Tuesday. “We’ve done a great job,” he said Wednesday. “We’ve done a phenomenal job on this,” he said Thursday.

I wouldn't be surprised if his advisors are trying to get him to sound like Winston Churchill, but if they are, then they are badly failing.

 

[lpetrich]

When banks came after him for overdue loans, he pushed back, arguing that it was in their interest that his brand not be harmed by calling him out. When contractors demanded to be paid, he found complaints about their work and refused, leading in part to more than 3,500 lawsuits. When his first two marriages fell apart, he took a scorched-earth approach against his wives, leaking to New York’s gossip columnists even if it meant his children watched ugly divorces play out in public.

...
To Mr. Trump, most of his crises were about paper and money, not people. The self-described “king of debt” treated loan repayments almost as if they were optional and made it a mantra never to back down. “I figured it was the bank’s problem, not mine,” he wrote in one of his books. “What the hell did I care? I actually told one bank, ‘I told you, you shouldn’t have loaned me that money.’”

The only crisis where he showed any empathy is when three of his executives died in a helicopter crash on the way to Atlantic City. He has seldom showed much empathy for anyone else, like the casino employees who lost their jobs when their casinos went bust.

So Mr. Trump, with his recent descriptions of a war to be won over a “foreign enemy,” is seeking a dynamic that he is familiar with, personifying the virus as an opponent to be beaten, framing it as the kind of crisis he knows how to tackle. “He’s trying to make it into a win-lose situation,” she said. “That’s how he sees the world — winners, him, losers everybody else. He’s trying to make the coronavirus into a loser and himself the winner.”

Thia is with Bernie on Twitter: "
NO rent freeze
NO student debt forgiveness
ONE time payment
$1200 per person
NO money until May
Money will be taxed
Am I being charged interest? Do some have to pay this back? Is this a loan? Cuz it’s def not relief -it’s a bullshit attempt at shutting us up. #stimulusbill" / Twitter

The House has its own bill. Will the two get reconciled? Will the House and the Senate confront each other over the bill?

 

[Patooka]

The Emprah really has no clothes.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC retweeted
DCH1 Amazonians United on Twitter: "In the middle of a pandemic, we won PTO for ourselves and ALL Amazon workers. This is *how* we did it and how you can join us. Hopefully it serves as an example of how ya'll can get started too! https://t.co/BBIZpeazQE" / Twitter
It linked to
Amazonians United Wins PTO for Amazon Workers | Medium

So why did we begin a campaign for PTO? Because we found out that Amazon was promising us Vacation Time and PTO on paper, but denying it to us in practice.

Then
april glaser on Twitter: "Incredible. Amazon warehouse workers in Chicago have been organizing to secure paid time off and just got the company to agree to it for ALL Amazon workers nationwide https://t.co/jDsFjxP9Rp" / Twitter

and
Old Hippie, Walking Toward Milwaukee on Twitter: "@aprilaser @NaomiAKlein It took a pandemic for Beazos to realize he has to take care of his current workers. The delivery pipeline has to stay open.. and replacement workers may be hard to come by.. #UNION" / Twitter


Rashida Tlaib on Twitter: "Dear Senators, Our residents needed help weeks ago so to settle for a one-time payment, rather than recurring payments, leaves our neighbors too vulnerable in this uncertain times. We must be more aggressive and help people monthly until this crisis ends. #MintTheCoin" / Twitter

Pramila Jayapal on Twitter: "A comprehensive list of who no-strings-attached corporate bailouts help: 1. Corporations 2. Their wealthy shareholders" / Twitter

Rep Peter DeFazio on Twitter: "OR businesses want to manufacture personal protective equipment to help protect health care workers, but red tape is getting in the way. I joined w/the OR delegation urging the Trump administration to expedite the process so we can get frontline workers the equipment they need. https://t.co/EbHZ1MRQ3o" / Twitter

I live in his district, and even if he's not as good as he might be, he's still good. He's tweeted several times earlier about the virus.

 

[lpetrich]

Rashida Tlaib on Twitter: "I am so angry right now. The Senate sent over a bill that has no direct help for water shutoff. Just like masks, washing your hands prevents the spread #COVID19.
They had relief for businesses for water shutoff, but not poor people. The priorities of our Senate is shameful." / Twitter

Anita Sarkeesian on Twitter: "
Why hasn't America frozen rents and mortgages?
Why hasn't America nationalized its health services?
Why hasn't America released everyone in prisons?
Why hasn't America issued a "shelter in place" for the whole nation?
Now's a good time to read up on alternatives to capitalism." / Twitter

Ana Kasparian on Twitter: "Looks like under the Senate relief bill, small businesses - which get less in appropriated funds - have to keep their employees to qualify for the relief money. But massive corporations don't?
Americans get a ONE TIME check for $1,200 depending on a means test." / Twitter

Ana Kasparian on Twitter: "The help for small businesses would start off as loans. But those loans can be forgiven if the businesses keep their employees." / Twitter

Ana Kasparian on Twitter: "@CupsBen Means testing is dumb AF. Especially in the middle of a crisis like this. And they're means testing for fucking crumbs." / Twitter
Also creating a lot of needless bureaucracy. That's the nice thing about universal basic income -- it's low on bureaucracy.

Referring to an easily waivable ban on stock buybacks,
Ana Kasparian on Twitter: "@TarynJay5 Yes! Noticed that too. We're going to a do a breakdown of it on the show today." / Twitter

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Hospitals are debating a universal "do not resuscitate" policy for COVID patients, to protect medical staff and conserve protective gear:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/25/coronavirus-patients-do-not-resucitate/

 

[Elixir]

The Emprah really has no clothes.View attachment 26719

I know we have some developers on this forum, and I have an award-winning idea for an app:
The app detects the sound of Trump's voice, and in real time, substitutes the voice of the Swedish Chef from The Muppets. In addition to raising the morale of the entire country (if not the world) it will ensure that the stock market doesn't tank every time Cheato opens his mouth.

 

[lpetrich]

Alita Holly on Twitter: "@navgirl63 [MENTION=2]Jo[/MENTION]dyavirgan @chrislhayes According to this article, this is what @SenSasse said: “It looks like parts this bill would actually incentivize the severing of the employee-employer relationship.” https://t.co/ULVOIxazeH" / Twitter
noting
Four GOP Senators Threaten to Oppose Coronavirus Stimulus Package, Say Unemployment Would Pay Some Workers Too Much

The four GOP lawmakers—Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Rick Scott of Florida—chalked up the conflict to a "drafting error" and contended it would incentivize low-wage earners to seek unemployment rather than continue working because they could potentially receive more money through unemployment benefits than at their current job.

"I have been one of your strongest supporters for upping unemployment insurance," Graham said. "But I never in my wildest dream believed that we would incentivize people to stop working to take on employment."

"It looks like parts of this bill would actually incentivize the severing of the employee-employer relationship," Sasse added.

So he supports employer dependency? It figures that there are forms of dependency that right-wingers like.

Manu Raju on Twitter: "Expect senators to get of town quickly after today’s vote. The Senate is likely to adjourn until at least April 20, per senators.
This basically means they’re adding next week as a recess in addition to two-week recess on the books
It‘s unclear if the recess will be extended." / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The Senate might ADJOURN FOR A MONTH after this bill?
This is completely dangerous and unacceptable. We HAVE to be able to respond to people’s needs.
People don’t have this time. Even IF the Senate can even return on the 20th (big IF) that may not be enough time to solve May. https://t.co/O5XnubG0l1" / Twitter
Is the Senate trying to force-feed its bill to the House? That's what it seems like.

 

[lpetrich]

Senate coronavirus-emergency appropriations bill at the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Yashar Ali on Twitter: "Dick Kovacevich, the former Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo, wants people to return to work.
“Some of them will get sick, some may even die, I don’t know.” [url]https://t.co/PZDaL6pUMp https://t.co/DkJcheyfs8" / Twitter[/url]
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "For days, major CEOs & certain powerful people have been admitting, in clear terms, that they are willing to sacrifice people’s lives for their profits, but are NOT willing to sacrifice their profit for people’s lives.
Remember this lesson, bc it informs a LOT of US policy. https://t.co/Dk0jNshuoE" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Just a reminder that there is absolutely no good reason why Senate Republicans are tying a historic corporate giveaway to getting relief money in the hands of families.
They could just authorize sending checks to families today, right now, & deal with the rest. But they refuse." / Twitter

 

[funinspace]

This quarantine will work. I guarantee it. April 12 we will be up and running. The cases are going to start declining in the U.S. starting around the next few days. By April 1, we will see a steady downstream and be on our way out.

View attachment 26718

Butt...butt...butt...my Orange Prince says it is a Cremosa Lollipop

 

[lpetrich]

Steven Dennis on Twitter: "IMPORTANT: The problem Sasse, Tim Scott and Graham have is that the UI benefits would be larger than what many low-wage workers make because of the *extra $600 per week.*
They worry that would create an incentive for low-wage workers to get laid off and stay laid off." / Twitter
then
Chris Hayes on Twitter: "They're worried low wage workers might get TOO MUCH MONEY during a period when the economy is might contract by 25% and unemployment might his Great Depression levels. Real Galaxy Brain stuff. https://t.co/FuQinJ2kA8" / Twitter

Trump's businesses barred from bailout money in Senate coronavirus bill - "It’s not aimed just at Donald Trump, but at anyone in high office," Schumer told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Trump's self-pity I find nauseating.

Trump was asked during Sunday's White House coronavirus task force press conference if he would commit that none of the stimulus money would go toward his business. The president then lamented that "nobody cared" or said "thank you very much" that he has forgone the president's annual salary in excess of $400,000.

He's been on the take so much over his presidency that that is pure virtue signaling.