Trump VS COVID-19 Threat

[funinspace]

Coronavirus is mutating: Chinese scientists find second strain

No worries though - we have a very stable genius president who has a natural understanding of these things. He will save us if we all gather together in a bigass stadium, hold hands and sing his praises in each others' faces.

Or...
[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Esh4W3dfI[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Copernicus]

All viruses mutate. That's why we have to keep getting new flu shots every season and nobody can develop immunity to the family of corona viruses known as the "common cold".

 

[Elixir]

All viruses mutate. That's why we have to keep getting new flu shots every season and nobody can develop immunity to the family of corona viruses known as the "common cold".

The article didn't say whether it was only the genetic sequence or if the protein that encases the virus has also changed, which could render the current tests ineffective...

 

[Bronzeage]

[Q

The DOW is up >300 points today so far. If the truth were told, it'd be down another thousand. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, COMMIE?

You were saying?

 

[blastula]

Asked about virus precautions, Sen. Inhofe offers to 'shake hands,' New York Times reports - Tulsa World

When a reporter in the Capitol asked Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, 85, what precautions he was taking to protect himself from the disease known as COVID-19, he said none — and extended his arm with confidence: “Wanna shake hands?”

Inhofe, a science denialist to the end.

 

[lpetrich]

All viruses mutate. That's why we have to keep getting new flu shots every season and nobody can develop immunity to the family of corona viruses known as the "common cold".

The article didn't say whether it was only the genetic sequence or if the protein that encases the virus has also changed, which could render the current tests ineffective...

Strictly speaking, the virus's coat protein is encoded by the virus's genome. But mutations in its genome could affect other proteins that the virus has, or those mutations could be "silent". For example, synonymous-codon mutations, or mutations in noncoding regions.

It's mutations that affect the protein coat that are the troublesome ones, because these mutations can help the virus evade our immune systems by making the protein coat look different to them.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 isolate Wuhan-Hu-1, co - Nucleotide - NCBI = COVID-19 genome: 29,903 RNA bases. It's a positive-sense single-strand RNA virus.

 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 - mainly transmitted by coughs and sneezes.

 

[lpetrich]

Mike Pence defends Trump Jr., Rush Limbaugh coronavirus comments

Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday defended comments from President Trump and his supporters accusing Democrats of politicizing the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, including Donald Trump Jr.'s assertion that his father's opponents hope the disease "kills millions" of Americans.

"When you see voices on our side pushing back on outrageous and irresponsible rhetoric on the other side, I think that's important, and I think it's justified," Pence said when asked about the remarks from Trump Jr. and others on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

Trump reportedly won't meet with Pelosi on a coronavirus bill, or for any reason, because he's mad at her

On MSNBC Tuesday, CNBC's Eamon Javers said the White House doesn't think it "would end well" if Trump met with Pelosi. "It's a tragic statement that because he's so wounded — I mean, we're in the middle of a national crisis, and he can't get in a room with the speaker of the House?" host Nicole Wallace asked. "What the White House would say is, that's Pelosi's fault," Javers said. "Because she ripped up his speech, she's been tough on him, she impeached him, and therefore the president has every right to not want to be in a room with her."

How petty and spiteful he is.

Trump fears emergency declaration would contradict coronavirus message - POLITICO - "Trump is concerned that declaring an emergency would hamper his narrative that the coronavirus is similar to the seasonal flu."

What a sore loser. Isn't he ever able to say that he was mistaken about *anything*?

Exclusive: White House told federal health agency to classify coronavirus deliberations - sources - Reuters

The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus.

Staffers without security clearances, including government experts, were excluded from the interagency meetings, which included video conference calls, the sources said.

Seems like Trump's first impulse: to cover up.

 

[OLDMAN]

Latest buzz is the virus has a one month shelf life after the symptoms are gone...ut oh... and it may have a pre-symptom life. It is going to get fucking crazy with people hoarding tp and the third world that has no defence.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump's stock market gains have been cut in half by the coronavirus sell-off - CNN - "Since the market's high on February 19, the S&P 500 has fallen by 644.8 points, erasing more than half of the gains it had made since Trump was elected in 2016."

President Trump meets with banking CEOs in White House | ABC News - YouTube - to discuss possible stimulus plans

Payroll-Tax Cut Isn't Best Way to Perk Up Coronavirus Economy - Bloomberg - because the people who need it most won't get much direct benefit.

What would be better? Direct, targeted financial assistance. That would mean sending checks to low-income households in areas with a severe coronavirus outbreak, or who are otherwise economically vulnerable to the virus.

10,000 coronavirus cases now reported in Italy | TheHill - and over 600 deaths from it. Much of Italy is now in partial lockdown because of the disease.

‘Coronavirus doesn’t care if you’re documented’: AOC rails against prison labour, US healthcare and child homelessness in Q&A | The Independent - "New York congresswoman warns about outbreak’s ‘systemic’ threat as ‘rough’ election primaries reflect ‘stark’ generational divide"

 

[lpetrich]

Trump’s Playbook Is Terribly Ill-Suited to a Pandemic - The Atlantic

President Trump rode out the Mueller investigation. He survived impeachment. He has waved away dozens of lesser scandals as though they were nothing more than gnats.

But now he faces a challenge unlike any he has confronted before: The coronavirus is continuing its spread around the globe and has arrived in the United States, causing widespread alarm and a precipitous drop in the stock market.

...
The Trump crisis playbook to date has involved bullying both political allies, to keep them in line, and potential opponents, to prevent them from talking. It has involved lying. It has involved the deflection of attention onto other matters. It has involved attacking the attackers, spinning conspiracy theories about and spawning investigations of the investigators. It has involved bombastic dismissals of serious issues as the latest “hoax” or “witch hunt” or instance of “presidential harassment.” And it has involved endlessly reminding people that the economy is humming along and their 401(k) plans are doing well.

But a virus, unlike a Republican member of Congress, cannot be bullied. It doesn’t care about the president’s poll numbers. Nor does it pay any mind to whether the president describes his own handling of its presence as perfect.

Also, stock traders can't be expected to keep the value of stock up while major businesses are suffering some very bad slumps.

 

[ZiprHead]

"Take two tax cuts and call me in the morning."

And the GOP blocked an emergency sick leave bill.

 

[ZiprHead]

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson test positive for coronavirus

 

[lpetrich]

Incompetence Exacerbated by Malevolence - The Atlantic - "The coronavirus has dangerously inverted a long-standing White House theme."

Authors Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes note:

Throughout the many disasters that have befallen the Trump administration, one theme has remained a constant: malevolence tempered by incompetence. That description emerged from a text-message conversation between the two of us in January 2017, the day after the release of the president’s first travel ban. Chaos was erupting at ports of entry around the country. U.S. permanent residents were being denied entry. Courts were getting involved. Protesters and lawyers were assembling at airports. And yet, the worst consequences were averted, because the travel ban was so ineptly conceived and executed that it was quickly put on hold and later substantially rolled back.

That is a good description of some of the admin's other crises, like the botched efforts of Republican politicians to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Now, however, the disease known as COVID-19 has upended this theme altogether. As the former Justice Department official Carrie Cordero declared on Twitter: “To invert a @benjaminwittes formulation, the Trump administration #COVID19 response might be characterized as incompetence exacerbated by malevolence.”

Incompetence? Several weeks of fumbling that let the virus arrive at the US and spread among US inhabitants. With as many people tested as of March 9 as South Korea has been able to do in a day. Also shutting down agencies that were set up to handle pandemic diseases.

The malevolence? "President Trump’s statements since the virus first appeared in the United States have been wholly untouched by concern for anything except blame avoidance."

Trump has tried to bully the stock market, even as he has tried to minimize the risk posed by the virus, suggesting that the pathogen would take care of itself with warmer weather, that it was little more than the flu, or that people might safely go to work when infected. He barely bothers to express concern about public health, choosing instead to wax indignant about how the virus is affecting his public image. This has led to some scenes that might have been bleakly funny if not for the many lives at stake.

Trump is doing what the Chinese Communist Party had done.

The Chinese Communist Party did incalculable damage to world public health with its early strategy of lying and denial. Crucial time to contain the virus was lost. Early chances to protect people through commonsense social-distancing measures were lost as well. It was easier in the short term for the party to lie, cover up, and deny than to lose face by allowing the outbreak to become publicly known.

Then a scene from the HBO miniseries on the Chernobyl disaster.

But one early scene from the series is particularly resonant: The chief engineer of the power plant is informed that a nuclear reactor has likely exploded. Instead of listening to his worried employee, he screams that the man is mistaken and that the evidence of the explosion isn’t real. Minutes later, the chief engineer vomits and loses consciousness—poisoned by a massive dose of radiation.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Right about now would be a great time to weigh emergency measures like:
- Extending Medicare/Medicaid coverage to all
- Eviction freezes
- No-strings UBI programs
- Eliminating work requirements for SNAP &other assistance
- Humanitarian provisions in prisons & decarceral policies" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Some are taking about unemployment insurance, & while good it’s not nearly enough. There are enormous sectors of our economy (tipped workers, freelance, shift workers) who may not be “unemployed” but whose lives are still dramatically disrupted to the point of eviction, etc" / Twitter

AOC is also considering a "tele town hall", a town hall held with videoconferencing, so it won't involve a large number of people next to each other.

 

[TSwizzle]

President Trump has banned travel to the USA from Europe for 30 days. The UK is exempt from the travel ban. A pretty drastic step. This will cause major disruptions to many industries.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

When will he call off the election?

 

[Ford]

Donald Trump's reaction to the pandemic...one degree of Kevin Bacon:

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDAmPIq29ro[/YOUTUBE]

 

[lpetrich]

Coronavirus live updates: Dow futures drop 1,000 points with these tidbits:

• President Donald Trump said the United States will suspend all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days, and that the new rules are going into effect on Friday midnight.
• Actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the coronavirus, Hanks confirmed via Instagram Wednesday.
• China’s National Health Commission said there were 15 new confirmed cases on Mar. 11, with 8 of them in Hubei province.
• Australia unveiled a 17.6 billion Australian dollar ($11.4 billion) stimulus package to tackle the economic impact of the global pandemic.

Deep into crisis, Trump demands 'something big' on coronavirus - CNNPolitics

After months of minimizing a spreading crisis, it was only after a stock market free-fall and two of his closest congressional allies quarantined themselves that President Donald Trump instructed his top advisers to prepare dramatic action.

"I want to do something big," Trump told his economic team on Monday, according to a senior White House official. After weeks of resistance, the President appeared ready to concede the economy -- his economy -- needed help.

Referring back to the QJ&BW articles, someone commented that Bill Clinton never had a big crisis in his presidency, so he never had an opportunity to demonstrate greatness. It looks like Trump is completely failing in that.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump's focus remains on the economic ramifications of the outbreak, which are worsening by the day. Some close to the President still believe he hasn't fully grasped the gravity of the health situation itself and remains in denial over what's unfolding across the nation.

And several people who have urged the President to take a more serious approach -- and stop brushing off sobering warnings from his own health officials -- said his recent unease stems more from negative coverage than a sudden reckoning about the outbreak.

Truly awful leadership. Doesn't it bother him that he might get the disease? Or his oligarch friends?

Trump was also surprised when at least three Republican lawmakers with whom he enjoys close ties -- Reps. Matt Gaetz, Doug Collins and Mark Meadows, who he recently named his new chief of staff -- entered self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus at a conservative gathering last month.

While Trump has not expressed worry about his personal health following those cases, and has resisted being tested for the virus himself, he privately appeared startled that people close to him were being so directly affected by the outbreak.

Something is seriously wrong with him. He will go down in history as one of the worst presidents ever.

 

[bilby]

All viruses mutate. That's why we have to keep getting new flu shots every season and nobody can develop immunity to the family of corona viruses known as the "common cold".

Yeah, and why despite decades of effort, there's no common cold vaccine, or effective treatment.

I suspect that it will be decades, if ever, before there's either for COVID-19 too.

This is going to run and run.