Trump VS COVID-19 Threat

[Jimmy Higgins]

Please AG Barr, you haven't done enough... why don't you muddy the waters too.

Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department would support legal action against states that continue to impose strict social distancing rules even after coronavirus cases begin to subside in their respective states.

In a Tuesday interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Barr called some current stay-at-home orders "burdens on civil liberties" and said that if they continued and lawsuits were brought, his department would side against the state.

"The idea that you have to stay in your house is disturbingly close to house arrest. I'm not saying it wasn't justified. I'm not saying in some places it might still be justified. But it's very onerous, as is shutting down your livelihood," Barr said.

What in the fucking hell is going on?!

He pretty much just told a bunch of far-right wing zealots to take it to court, we've got your back. And when in the hell did he become an expert is disease management?

 

[Elixir]

...when in the hell did he become an expert is disease management?

As soon as he realized that mismanaging this disease might cost Trump the election, and him, his freedom. You can't blame the guy - he knows he's a treasonous MF and will likely be held to account if the PINO is ousted.

 

[Emily Lake]

Choices. If people choose to go to work knowing the consequences, then they can go to work.

I'm going to try to be really patient with this explanation, as I think it's very important.

Choices, in this case, aren't choices about oneself. They're choices about oneself and everyone around one.

A drunk person might be willing to take the risk of driving themselves home after downing five whiskeys. All of the other people that the drunk person endangers, however, haven't been given the chance to weigh in on their choice. Similar for this. A person might be willing to risk their own health, and that of their family, by returning to work. But if they catch the virus, and even worse if they're asymptomatic or are presymptomatic for an extended period, they're making the choice to risk the health of everyone they come into contact with, as well as everyone that comes into contact with those people.

That's why I said it's a choice. People understand if they go to work they could come into contact with someone who has it and catch it. It is their personal choice to take that risk.

I know some people have the mentality of, "I'd rather live free and die young than live scared and die old." Not everyone of course, but a lot of people do think this way.

I'm a lot more of a "live free" kind of a person than you might suspect.

I feel like maybe you missed my point on this. Let's go off into imaginary land for a moment. Let's say that everyone who wants to go back to work is allowed to do so... but that they all have to be completely quarantined and not allowed to have contact with anyone who didn't go back to work, including their own children and families. Additionally, we need to make sure that the people who don't want to take the risk aren't punished for it financially, and don't die of starvation. If you can figure out a way to get that approach in place, I'll support it. Because it really is a choice that all of those people make.

But... if you can't enforce that full quarantine, then each of those people is making a choice for themselves and for their children and families, and anyone else that their children and families come into contact with while doing essential activities like buying groceries.

I'm relatively libertarian about this sort of thing. I'm perfectly willing to make an informed choice and put myself at risk. I'm not at all willing to put other people at risk who haven't been given the opportunity to make a choice. I'm not willing to force my choice on others.

 

[lpetrich]

Unemployment checks are being held up by a coding language almost nobody knows - The Verge

Colorado — like most states and territories across the country — is experiencing record unemployment numbers. But the state’s unemployment system is built on aging software running on a decades-old coding language known as COBOL. Over the years, COBOL programmers have aged out of the workforce, forcing states to scramble for fluent coders in times of national crisis.

A survey by The Verge found that at least 12 states still use COBOL in some capacity in their unemployment systems. Alaska, Connecticut, California, Iowa, Kansas, and Rhode Island all run on the aging language. According to a spokesperson from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the state was actually only a month or two away from “migrating into a new environment and away from COBOL,” before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

COBOL = Common Business-Oriented Language -  COBOL - invented in 1959.

99 Bottles of Beer | Language COBOL - prints out the words of that song using a COBOL program: 99 Bottles of Beer | The lyrics to the song 99 Bottles of Beer

       IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
       PROGRAM-ID. 99-Bottles-of-Beer-On-The-Wall.
       AUTHOR. Joseph James Frantz.
      *COMMENTS.
      ******************************************************************
      * PURPOSE:
      *   This is a sample COBOL program to display the lyrics of the
      *   song "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."
      *   This version of the COBOL 99 beers program demonstrates a few
      *   features of COBOL:
      *
      *   1. PERFORM VARYING, Cobol's version of a Loop.
      *   2. ADD/SUBTRACT with GIVING for math calculations.
      *   3. EVALUATE/WHEN, Cobol's version of Case.
      *   4. INSPECT/TALLYING, which finds the number of specified
      *      characters in a variable.
      *   5. Reference Modification:
      *      Var-name(Start character:Number of characters)
      *      which is essentially Cobol's version of text subscripting.
      *   6. Long descriptive variable names.
      *   7. Use of SPACES and ZEROES for field/display values.
      *   8. Highlight the self documenting nature of COBOL.
      ******************************************************************
       DATA DIVISION.
       WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
       01 Keeping-Track-Variables.
          05 Bottles                      PIC S99   VALUE 0.
          05 Remaining-Bottles            PIC S99   VALUE 0.
          05 Counting                     PIC 99    VALUE 0.
          05 Start-Position               PIC 99    VALUE 0.
          05 Positions                    PIC 99    VALUE 0.
       PROCEDURE DIVISION.
       PASS-AROUND-THOSE-BEERS.
        PERFORM VARYING Bottles FROM 99 BY -1 UNTIL Bottles = -1
          DISPLAY SPACES
          SUBTRACT 1 FROM Bottles GIVING Remaining-Bottles
          EVALUATE Bottles
            WHEN 0
              DISPLAY "No more bottles of beer on the wall, "
                      "no more bottles of beer."
              DISPLAY "Go to the store and buy some more, "
                      "99 bottles of beer on the wall."
            WHEN 1
              DISPLAY "1 bottle of beer on the wall, "
                      "1 bottle of beer."
              DISPLAY "Take one down and pass it around, "
                      "no more bottles of beer on the wall."
            WHEN 2 Thru 99
              MOVE ZEROES TO Counting
              INSPECT Bottles,
                TALLYING Counting FOR LEADING ZEROES
              ADD 1 TO Counting GIVING Start-Position
              SUBTRACT Counting FROM 2 GIVING Positions
              DISPLAY Bottles(Start-Position:Positions)
                      " bottles of beer on the wall, "
                      Bottles(Start-Position:Positions)
                      " bottles of beer."
              MOVE ZEROES TO Counting
              INSPECT Remaining-Bottles TALLYING
                Counting FOR LEADING ZEROES
              ADD 1 TO Counting GIVING Start-Position
              SUBTRACT Counting FROM 2 GIVING Positions
              DISPLAY "Take one down and pass it around, "
                      Remaining-Bottles(Start-Position:Positions)
                      " bottles of beer on the wall."
          END-EVALUATE
        END-PERFORM
       STOP RUN.

Here's a version in a more recent programming language: 99 Bottles of Beer | Language Python

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: iso-8859-1 -*-
"""
99 Bottles of Beer (by Gerold Penz)
Python can be simple, too :-)
"""

for quant in range(99, 0, -1):
   if quant > 1:
      print quant, "bottles of beer on the wall,", quant, "bottles of beer."
      if quant > 2:
         suffix = str(quant - 1) + " bottles of beer on the wall."
      else:
         suffix = "1 bottle of beer on the wall."
   elif quant == 1:
      print "1 bottle of beer on the wall, 1 bottle of beer."
      suffix = "no more beer on the wall!"
   print "Take one down, pass it around,", suffix
   print "--"

 

[crazyfingers]

I had heard that an old language was used. COBOL Fun. I recall we learned some of it in high school in the late 1970's. No monitors existed. We got our results printed out on fan-fold paper. Of course I don't remember a scrap of it.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I'm relatively libertarian about this sort of thing. I'm perfectly willing to make an informed choice and put myself at risk. I'm not at all willing to put other people at risk who haven't been given the opportunity to make a choice. I'm not willing to force my choice on others.

That's what makes you different from the "protesters."

 

[Half-Life]

I'm relatively libertarian about this sort of thing. I'm perfectly willing to make an informed choice and put myself at risk. I'm not at all willing to put other people at risk who haven't been given the opportunity to make a choice. I'm not willing to force my choice on others.

That's what makes you different from the "protesters."

The right to peacefully protest is in the Constitution. Don't become a fascist.

They are probably upset at the fascist governor Whitmer who said "Lottery tickets and alcohol are essential but joint replacement surgery is a criminal offense."

Lottery tickets are nothing more than a poor people's tax. It's a sickness these people have. The buy the tickets, and they scratch them off like a man on meth. You don't even have to scratch the tickets. Most places have a scanner to just scan it to see if you've won. Sitting there scratching off 20 tickets while you stand in front of the scanner is just sick behavior.

 

[Keith&Co.]

So, it's an individual choice, huh?
Okay. Say i own a, i dunno. A store at the mall. Stationary.
Gov opens up the state, the mayor closes the city.
The mall's closed, i cannot open.

Or, the mall opens. I open. My workers all have small children and most choose not to come in. I can't afford to pay them to stay home, but if i fire them, i pay towards their unemployment. If i force them to quit, they have no work-based insurance on top of no income.

I cannot really choose not to open. My contract with the mall says i open when they do. If i try to stay shut, i got no income, but they sure as fuck are charging me rent.

And if i have any insurance for 'unable to open the store,' they won't pay out. 'You ARE able, you just CHOOSE not to. Thanks for the premiums.'

There won't be another stimulus package for businesses in states that are open.
Whole lot of 'rock and a hard place' choices being dropped on me so that the 'wealth creators' don't have to dig into capital...

 

[Patooka]

They are probably upset at the fascist governor Whitmer who said "Lottery tickets and alcohol are essential but joint replacement surgery is a criminal offense."

Oh goody, another bullshit Half-life quote. Anyone want to guess the veracity of this claim?

Lottery tickets are nothing more than a poor people's tax. It's a sickness these people have. The buy the tickets, and they scratch them off like a man on meth. You don't even have to scratch the tickets. Most places have a scanner to just scan it to see if you've won. Sitting there scratching off 20 tickets while you stand in front of the scanner is just sick behavior.

Stay classy champ.

 

[Patooka]

Boy, I hate being right all the time!

We know. That you despise being right is abundantly clear.

 

[lpetrich]

Congress reaches deal on coronavirus relief bill, which Trump is expected to sign - AOL News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement that they were "proud" to have secured an interim aid bill that went beyond the initial Republican proposal.

“Democrats flipped this emergency package from an insufficient Republican plan that left behind hospitals and health and frontline workers and did nothing to aid the survival of the most vulnerable small businesses on Main Street," they said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement announcing the deal that in the more than a week of negotiations on the interim measure, “while our Democratic colleagues delayed the urgent [Paycheck Protection Program] funds, additional federal help for hospitals and health care providers became urgent as well."

"I am just sorry that it took my colleagues in Democratic leadership 12 days to accept the inevitable, and that they shut down emergency support for Main Street in a search for partisan ‘leverage’ that never materialized," McConnell added.

Coronavirus: Senate strikes deal on $484 billion relief package for small business, hospitals, testing

• The Senate reached a $484 billion coronavirus relief agreement that includes small business loans and funding for hospitals and testing.
• It hopes to pass the bill Tuesday afternoon and send it to the House.
• The deal would allocate $320 billion more for the Paycheck Protection Program, $60 billion of which would be set aside for small lenders.
• It would also offer $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for coronavirus testing.

Lawmakers close in on next round of coronavirus stimulus, but testing remains key sticking point - CNNPolitics

• SBA PPP program: $310 billion
• SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program: $60 billion
• Hospital funding: $75 billion
• Testing funding: $25 billion

The biggest sticking point is over the testing piece of the package. Democrats want Republicans to agree to making the Trump administration come up with a national testing plan in addition to the $25 billion they want to boost testing. The money isn't an issue. But multiple sources say that attaching strings that could potentially put the President and the administration in the seat for a political blame game is an issue.

"Republicans view this as a political play," one source said.

I think that he/she meant "ploy".


AOC: Honoring those our community has lost to COVID-19.

 

[Rhea]

There’s an interesting dialogue going around that it is fascist to make a directive that hospitals “must postpone elective surgeries like joint replacement, except in cases of emergency or trauma where postponement would significantly impact health, safety and welfare of the patient.”

Typically, those who voice this, using the code language identical to FOX News and russian Troll farms when crying “fascist!” make the claim that these people are in pain and then they bizarrely fail to mention the serious medical risk of infections after this major surgery. They also fail to mention what any person who has undergone it knows, that patients typically wait quite a while before deciding to do it, because it is a MAJOR surgery with significant recovery including many multiple visits to hospital for therapy. In other words, that joint replacement patients know quite well what a big deal it is and would typically NEVER WANT to get it done during a time of full hospitals, let alone during a pandemic where we’d be sharing anesthetists and respiratory therapists with plague patients.

So in other words, the ranting “freedoms” people are very rarely on the same side as the actual patients, who all know better and it’s why we wait so long to do the surgery in the first place, enduring a lot of pain because even an uneventful joint replacement is something to not take lightly.


But the ranting fascist people never were protesting on our behalf in the first place, which explains why they are at odds with the wishes of the joint replacement population. We wish they’d just STFU and stay home so the hospitals can become safe again.

 

[lpetrich]

Schumer responded that the legislation "is significantly better and broader" than McConnell's bill by catering to businesses without access to large financial institutions and providing more health care money than Republicans initially sought.

Schumer responded that the legislation "is significantly better and broader" than McConnell's bill by catering to businesses without access to large financial institutions and providing more health care money than Republicans initially sought.

“Leader McConnell tried to steamroll us,” Schumer said in a press conference after the vote. He and other Democrats have accused McConnell of trying to unilaterally bypass them on the small business legislation while ignoring their demands.

Michael Grunwald on Twitter: "Democrats cave: Nothing for states or cities, nothing for election protection or the post office, no oversight, no limits on fossil fuel bailouts, no food stamps. They got some testing - somehow that’s a GOP concession! - but no contact tracing. https://t.co/PWjOoaWozN" / Twitter

Rand Paul and Mike Lee rip Senate for passing coronavirus aid - POLITICO - "Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky slammed the Senate on Tuesday for passing a $484 billion coronavirus rescue package while lawmakers remained scattered across the country."

‘Another nail in an almost closed coffin’: Trump faces his next coronavirus test - POLITICO

President Donald Trump’s political fate now hinges on a simple premise: Everybody who needs a coronavirus test must be able to get a test.

More than five weeks into a devastating shutdown of the U.S. economy, Trump’s aides and advisers inside and outside his administration now view disapproval of his preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic as his biggest political liability heading into the 2020 election.

...
“If the testing does not get sorted out as soon as possible, it will be another nail in an almost closed coffin,” said one Republican close to the White House who argued messaging alone cannot solve the political challenge the pandemic presents for Trump.

...
While the states with high infection rates initially happened to be Democratic strongholds on America’s coasts, the virus is quickly spreading to the Midwest, rural areas and swing states like Michigan that are home to Trump’s political base.

Business leaders, governors and senators have also been clamoring for greater access to tests before they reopen offices or urge Americans to move about more freely. Corporate executives and lawmakers made that point repeatedly on calls with the president, vice president and top White House aides last week.

Trump's strategists are running scared. Good. Instead of acting entitled to their positions, they should ask themselves "Am I doing a good job?"

EXCLUSIVE: The Long Strange Trip Of One Shipment Of Millions Of KN95 Masks | Talking Points Memo

As a shipment of millions of KN95 protective masks were on their way to New Jersey from China in early April, federal agents were hatching a plan

The government deemed the mask shipment to be “critical supplies,” necessary for treating the COVID-19 crisis that was rapidly approaching its peak. HHS officials worked to get a Defense Production Act order which would give the government the authority to take possession of the materials.

But this story didn’t turn out to be one in which the federal government intervened to divert the shipment. Rather, it’s a story of chaos at every level of the supply chain and how despite the chaos the shipment of KN95 masks cleared hurdle after hurdle to make it to health care providers on the front lines.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC is doing great:

Justice Democrats on Twitter: ""Congress is abdicating responsibility...and thousands of people are dying every day. Every time we pass one of these bills we're hearing that the real solution is coming in the next bill, and at some point we have to raise our hands and say, when is the solution coming?" -@AOC https://t.co/BxM3REYjop" / Twitter

NowThis on Twitter: "‘It’s like putting a Band-Aid on an enormous wound’ — @AOC is calling out Congress for not doing enough in response to COVID-19 https://t.co/ObVspHkjLP" / Twitter

Sherrilyn Ifill on Twitter: ""We haven't legislated for a month. And thousands of people are dying." - @AOC speaking on @maddow about Congress and need to do more, quickly." / Twitter

NowThis on Twitter: "Reps. @AOC, @AyannaPressley, and @PramilaJayapal came together to explain why—now more than ever—the U.S. needs Medicare for All https://t.co/i8DvIr47Wc" / Twitter

Sergio Siano on Twitter: "AOC on relief checks: "If you get your physical check late, you can thank Trump. He put a hold on the physical checks so that he could put his ugly ass signature in the memo section because he's not even authorized to be a signatory."" / Twitter

rebecca on Twitter: "me af, ranting to my boyfriend about republican bs on ft while doing my nails. @AOC ily https://t.co/xbH4BTPkeA" / Twitter - AOC argued that Republicans don't like mail-in voting because they want to do voter suppression.

Anand Giridharadas on Twitter: "On tomorrow’s premiere of my new show, “Seat at the Table,” @AOC says Americans should refuse to go back to work if work doesn’t change, @SethMacFarlane reveals how he lobbied the Murdochs to fix @FoxNews, and Taylor Mac sings about art in crisis.
Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET, @VICETV. https://t.co/zg5Cq43EZc" / Twitter

AOC: Honoring those our community has lost to COVID-19. - a memorial list that she intends to present to Congress the next time she shows up there.

 

[braces_for_impact]

I think the more progressive congresscritters should have shown enough courage to threaten to block the original bill and insisted on the temporary OBI. I bet they would have gotten it. Here we are, printing trillions for big business and small(er) business, and landlord enjoy protection from mortgages, yet the people get a pittance. Now the dems are talking subsidizing COBRA?! I'm fucking tired of having an off the charts to the right party and a right of center supposedly left party.

 

[lpetrich]

Things left out:

Indivisible Guide on Twitter: "Here's what we see when we review this bill:
No $ to secure elections
No protections or support for frontline workers
No support for immigrants
No additional economic support for workers & families
No $ for USPS
Nothing to make sure companies maintain payroll" / Twitter

Demand Progress on Twitter: ".@SpeakerPelosi and @SenSchumer cannot support another stimulus that leaves out:
- More $ for unemployed
- Health care for the uninsured
- Bailout for @USPS
- Vote by mail option for all
- State/local gov't aid https://t.co/62Jdwkf2Hq" / Twitter

 

[blastula]

Trump is losing the olds even more.

How the Coronavirus Outbreak Is Impacting Public Opinion - Morning Consult

Older Americans sour on Trump’s handling of the outbreak: As President Donald Trump increasingly signals interest in prioritizing economic interests, America’s senior citizens are growing critical of his approach.In mid-March, this group approved of Trump’s handling of the outbreak at a higher rate than any other age group, with a net approval of +19. A month later, that level of support has dropped 20 points and is now lower than that of any age group other than 18-29-year-olds.

 

[angelo]

You must truly have a very low opinion of Americans as stupid morons

Yes, many of them sound like you. And they elected Donald Trump. What more evidence is needed?

Ah yes. Killery's deplorable's! Half the American population are all deplorable morons because they have a different opinion than most of you lot. In case you forgot, the Soviet Union [ to you're consternation I may add ] collapsed many decades ago. Never mind. Cuba and Venezuela aren't all that far away and are beckoning.

 

[angelo]

Trump is losing the olds even more.

How the Coronavirus Outbreak Is Impacting Public Opinion - Morning Consult

Older Americans sour on Trump’s handling of the outbreak: As President Donald Trump increasingly signals interest in prioritizing economic interests, America’s senior citizens are growing critical of his approach.In mid-March, this group approved of Trump’s handling of the outbreak at a higher rate than any other age group, with a net approval of +19. A month later, that level of support has dropped 20 points and is now lower than that of any age group other than 18-29-year-olds.

As has been proved time after time. Polls are meaningless. The only poll that counts is the one where creepy and senile Joe and his party will be told where to go in November.

 

[Patooka]

You must truly have a very low opinion of Americans as stupid morons

Yes, many of them sound like you. And they elected Donald Trump. What more evidence is needed?

Ah yes. Killery's deplorable's! Half the American population are all deplorable morons because they have a different opinion than most of you lot. In case you forgot, the Soviet Union [ to you're consternation I may add ] collapsed many decades ago. Never mind. Cuba and Venezuela aren't all that far away and are beckoning.

Anyone else appreciate the irony of someone bemoaning intolerance of dissenting political views instantly condemning anyone 2.3mm leftward of his opinions, collectively dumping them with Cuba and Venezuela?