The Countdown to the restart of the economy has begun.

[Bicycle Bill]

Let me make a wild ass guess.

Could it be they need to feed their families and pay their bills too?

Spare me the "Omigod we're all going to die" sob story. People are in danger of dying due to the cancellation of elective surgery by the now empty hospitals.

Uh, Darren, 'elective' surgery is by definition surgery someone chooses to do for some non-emergency reason, not surgery that is needed to save a life.  No one ever died because they couldn't get their nose job or gender reassignment procedure or wart removal or their bone spurs filed down.

And there was no need to quote your own post and post it twice more, unless like Trump you're infatuated with the sound of your own voice.

[Scooter]

Try moving your lips when you read it this time, Darren, and maybe you'll get it. I asked:

why, out of all the businesses now shuttered, would these particular industries be prioritized to restart?

I would have thought to prioritize elective surgeries over tattoo parlours, but apparently several governors seem to have a thing for body ink and not so much for removing cataracts.

[Darren]

Let me make a wild ass guess.

Could it be they need to feed their families and pay their bills too?

Spare me the "Omigod we're all going to die" sob story. People are in danger of dying due to the cancellation of elective surgery by the now empty hospitals.

Uh, Darren, 'elective' surgery is by definition surgery someone chooses to do for some non-emergency reason, not surgery that is needed to save a life.  No one ever died because they couldn't get their nose job or gender reassignment procedure or wart removal or their bone spurs filed down.

And there was no need to quote your own post and post it twice more, unless like Trump you're infatuated with the sound of your own voice.

The quote thing baffles me.

I was in the hospital for four days with a ruptured appendix last summer. It looked like I was pregnant. I finally went to the VA when Doc insisted my 103 degree temp was serious.

I was fixed with IV antibiotics and more take home pills. The VA considers my situation elective surgery. It was my choice. Originally I passed on the surgery because of the repeat on my previous hernia surgery. Free health care ain't always the best.

A gastrointestinal doc during an appointment this year essentially said, "Are you fucking crazy?" I'll be electing an appendectomy some time this summer.

Apparently there's elective and there's elective. When you ain't paying for it, it's all elective.

[Scooter]

Someone called a ruptured appendix elective surgery? And you weren't dead within a day of it having ruptured?

You've told some really stupid lies before, but this one ranks with the stupidest.

[BoSoxGal]

Someone called a ruptured appendix elective surgery? And you weren't dead within a day of it having ruptured?

You've told some really stupid lies before, but this one ranks with the stupidest.

Actually he’s not lying; in some cases doctors are now treating inflamed AND perforated appendix with antibiotics instead of surgical removal. Medicine evolves.

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2012/ ... pendectomy

[Darren]

Cuomo has a plan.

"New York’s coronavirus deaths dropped to 367 Sunday, the lowest in almost a month, as Governor Andrew Cuomo sketched out a phased-in reopening that begins with construction and manufacturing. That could start as soon as May 15, he said, probably upstate before the New York City area."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... e-march-31

[Darren]

Someone called a ruptured appendix elective surgery? And you weren't dead within a day of it having ruptured?

You've told some really stupid lies before, but this one ranks with the stupidest.

Actually he’s not lying; in some cases doctors are now treating inflamed AND perforated appendix with antibiotics instead of surgical removal. Medicine evolves.

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2012/ ... pendectomy

I was told I have a 30% chance of another occurrence which will increase with age. After the screwed up hernia surgery, I ain't real happy about going under the knife at the VA again. I may have to consult my astrologer.

[BoSoxGal]

If it’s any consolation, I was butchered by top price platinum health insurance funded surgeons - it’s got nothing to do with the price of your surgery. The guy who graduates last in his class of surgical residents still gets to cut into folks for a living and plenty of them aren’t all that great at it, but still think they’re God.

I highly recommend the podcast Dr. Death, or if you’re not into podcasts, read this article: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/ ... -dr-death/

And then remember that while Christopher Duntsch is an extreme example, the same system that protected him protects plenty of other substandard surgeons practicing all over America, in little towns and big cities. Americans are foolish to revere doctors as they do.

[Lord Jim]

In California, Newsome has loosened the ban on conducting what he refers to as "scheduled surgery". As he explains it, these are surgeries that while not having them wasn't immediately life threatening, could still be called "urgent", and could become life threatening if postponed indefinitely. (Like tumor removals)

The restriction loosening does not apply to things like nose jobs, boob jobs and tummy tucks...(The sort of thing that the average person probably thinks of when they think of "elective" surgery)

He's felt he could make this move because he has been advised by those with the proper knowledge that the state can do this while still retaining to sufficient resources to handle a surge need for Covid-19. (And of course the loosening could be reversed if health considerations demand it.)

It's a pro-public health and science driven decision; a carefully considered prudent first move, that will probably save lives...

Unlike, say opening bowling alleys and tatoo parlors...

[Lord Jim]

Expect much more disobedience.

You mean from the Death-Wish 12 Per Centers? (That percentage of the population which the latest polls show believe that the stay-at-home orders go to far and want to see them lifted. The overwhelming majority, left, right and center, are much more concerned that the restrictions will be lifted too soon. Of course I'm sure you don't believe those polls either, since they don't conform with your fantasy narrative...)

[BoSoxGal]

So I found this story on CNN and since it’s about stimulus checks I thought this is a good place to put it.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/politics ... index.html

Apparently Trump is sending out a gushy gross letter with stimulus checks - the text is in the article.

The weird thing is, I got my check this past week and it was just the check (with Hair Fuhrer’s name on it) in an envelope from Treasury. No letter.

What am I, chopped liver?

Maybe he’s only sending it to red state Americans?

I anxiously await reports from my poor American friends here who will qualify to get a stimulus check.

[Darren]

April 26th, Note that plasma treatment is already in use elsewhere.

"The treatment strategy sought by Chin-Hong and his team has proven successful in past virus outbreaks. "Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy," as it's understood as in more academic circles, was helpful in treating SARS, MERS, and H1N1 patients during past pandemics, though these therapies were often used in severe cases, suggesting it was a last-resort measure. Nevertheless, a recent article published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS confirmed previous successes in CP therapy for the disease and that it could still be useful now — "CP can serve as a promising rescue option for severe COVID-19.""

https://sfist.com/2020/04/26/ucsf-docto ... -patients/

[MajGenl.Meade]

The weird thing is, I got my check this past week and it was just the check (with Hair Fuhrer’s name on it) in an envelope from Treasury. No letter.

Yes and I think the article says that the letters are not with the checks but are a follow-up to make sure people did actually get them -

So your wait may not be in vain!

[Gob]

Colorado's Democratic Governor Jared Polis has said kerb-side retail pickup can begin on Monday, with hair salons, barbershop and tattoo parlours allowed to reopen on Friday.

[Lord Jim]

I guess not all the moron Governors are Republicans...

[ex-khobar Andy]

If I were in the market for a tattoo (I'm not) I think I'd leave it for a while. My neighbor the dentist opens today. I see his car on the lot (it's a few minutes to nine) but no others yet. I'll probably stop in later to see how he's doing.

[Darren]

I got a call for a super load going out of PA on Thursday. The facility makes prestressed concrete beams.

Since the governor in PA is still thinking things over as businesses reopen around the state w/o his blessing, the beams must be going to VA or WV. Construction is still shutdown in PA.

[Darren]

"LYNCHBURG, Va. — A judge has ruled that a Virginia gun range must be allowed to open to customers despite a statewide executive order requiring nonessential businesses to close to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The order issued Monday by Lynchburg Circuit Judge F. Patrick Yeatts says federal and state protections on the right to bear arms outweigh any emergency authority held by Gov. Ralph Northam to order the gun range closed."

https://wjla.com/news/coronavirus/judge ... e-covid-19

[Darren]

"Restaurants across Tennessee are able to welcome dine-in customers Monday for the first time in nearly a month as the state eases restrictions put in place to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The step toward some semblance of normalcy comes a day after the state reported is highest single-day jump in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, 478, which officials say represents a 5.2% increase from the previous day.

The number of people confirmed to have the virus statewide as of Monday morning was just shy of 10,000 cases at 9,667, according to data compiled by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

State officials say the spike in confirmed cases is due primarily to an increase in testing. The state's department of health tweeted that it conducted more than 7,000 tests this past weekend. "

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronaviru ... id-19-case

[Lord Jim]

I saw a report on the news a little while ago that Il Boobce has cancelled today's Coronavirus Task Force briefing, but that he plans to hold a news conference featuring himself anyway...

Which is of course THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what the country needs..

Less science! More Trump! Yay!

Oh well, if The Mad King wants to create some fresh video for Democratic campaign commercials, who am I to complain?