Coronavirus

[BoSoxGal]

Thank goodness it’s warming up!




CDC estimates 3000 deaths/day in the weeks to come, nearing 135,000 by August.

But since all the fuckwits are running around like there’s no virus to worry about, I estimate more - mark my words.

[Econoline]

[ex-khobar Andy]

I said and supported some nice thoughts about GW Bush earlier this thread. I just watched 'American Experience' (PBS) story of GWB until the decision to attack Iraq. Part 2 is tomorrow. Yes the man was a moron and a single expression of common sense doesn't make him a good guy. Better than Trump, yes - but that particular bar is not even off the ground.

[Gob]

I watched the video of Bush which LJ posted. During those years, I had no problem calling Bush a moron or probably worse, but I had no idea what history had lying in wait for us.

Out here in the civilised world we, foolishly, though; "Oh well, after this (Bush II) even the American people must see that electing morons isn't good for their country.."

To which you replied; "Hold my beer..."

[eddieq]

I watched the video of Bush which LJ posted. During those years, I had no problem calling Bush a moron or probably worse, but I had no idea what history had lying in wait for us.

Out here in the civilised world we, foolishly, though; "Oh well, after this (Bush II) even the American people must see that electing morons isn't good for their country.."

To which you replied; "Hold my beer..."

If this doesn't describe the trump presidency, I don't know what will.

[Bicycle Bill]

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

That is a useful meme - but I feel compelled to point out that the powers to declare states of emergency, issue shelter in place orders, close venues where people congregate in large numbers, direct citizens to wear masks and not gather in groups larger than X have been around for at least 102 years, as all were utilized in the Spanish flu pandemic.

There aren’t really any new ‘authoritarian’ powers being created by this crisis; the backlash against the tools being used which have long existed in the governor’s toolkit is simply another case of idiots who refuse to learn from history being bound to repeat it.

So, we can all look forward to the coronavirus carnage coming our way in the fall - and probably all summer, too.

[Scooter]

The fact that certain powers have been used in past pandemic crises doesn't diminish concerns about how they are and might be used now, and they are certainly an "expansion" in comparison to most people's lived experience. One example that is playing out across Canada is the use of ticketing by police for those allegedly violating emergency orders, because their use has varied between provinces and between municipalities within provinces. In Toronto, enforcement has fallen particularly heavily on the homeless, who are getting $880 tickets for sitting on park benches or otherwise lingering too long in certain public spaces when, let's face it, they don't really have other alternatives.

So yes, most of these powers have existed on paper for a long time, but many of them haven't been used within the lifetimes of most of us who are being subjected to them now. And while I think you know I don't hold any truck with those "protesting" against the general principle of keeping the country locked down, I still believe there should be push back when extraordinary powers are being abused or exercised arbitrarily.

[BoSoxGal]

This is very bad news, especially as far as getting a quick vaccine goes.

Scientists say a now-dominant strain of the coronavirus appears to be more contagious than original

[Econoline]

[Gob]

He truly is insane!

Donald Trump is preparing to wind down the White House coronavirus taskforce even as the US death toll has topped 70,000 and experts warn that the worst is yet to come.

Mike Pence, the vice-president and taskforce chair, said on Tuesday that coordination of the pandemic response could be transferred back to federal agencies in late May or early June.

But in the wake of a leaked internal White House report suggesting that the daily US death toll will climb to 3,000 per day by June, the move is likely to fuel concerns that Trump has all but abandoned a public health strategy in favour of economic imperatives.

“I’m not saying anything is perfect, and yes, will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes,” Trump said during a trip to Arizona – a battleground state in the 2020 presidential election – on Tuesday. “But we have to get our country open, and we have to get it open soon.”

In an interview with David Muir of ABC News on Tuesday evening, Trump was asked directly: “Do you believe it’s the reality we’re facing, that lives will be lost to reopen the country?”

The president said: “It’s possible there will be some because you won’t be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is, but at the same time we’re going to practise social distancing, we’re going to be washing hands, we’re going to be doing a lot of the things that we’ve learned to do over the last period of time. And we have to get our country back.”

A prolonged shutdown, Trump added, came with its own costs in terms of increased drug use and suicide.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... death-toll

[BoSoxGal]

I just hope the tens of thousands of deaths over the next 6 months will drive down Trump’s support enough to rid us of his scourge. At least then those deaths will not have been entirely in vain.

[Lord Jim]

Looks like somebody may have convinced the POS-I-C that shutting down the Coronavirus Task Force in the middle of the Pandemic with 1000-2500 Americans dying every day, (and new hot spots and spikes poking up every day) might not be a good look for him:

In Reversal, Trump Says Coronavirus Task Force ‘Will Continue On Indefinitely’

President Trump said on Twitter Wednesday that the coronavirus task force “will continue on indefinitely,” after confirming Tuesday that the task force would be phased out in the coming weeks⁠—instead, Trump tweeted, the group will “focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN.”

The task force “headed by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources,” Trump tweeted, adding “we may add or subtract people.”

In addition to safety and reopening, vaccines and therapeutics will also be part of the task force’s focus, according to Trump.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoy ... 74a593e2c1

Of course that's what he said this morning; he could reverse course again this afternoon...

[RayThom]

This is how the Grifter-in-Chief tickles the asses of his minions.

He will come out with a somewhat distressing announcement, wait a short time to see what then happens and, if it's negative feedback, he will "save the day" deeming it necessary to keep the status quo until a later date.

That's leadership to our Clown Prince.

[Gob]

The Australian government has pushed back at US claims the coronavirus may have originated in a Wuhan lab and has determined that a “dossier” giving weight to the theory is not a Five Eyes intelligence document.

It is understood the Morrison government sees the promotion of the theory the virus leaked out of a laboratory in Wuhan, China, as counterproductive to Australia’s push to gain broad international support for an independent inquiry into the origins and overall handling of the pandemic.

But the government appears to be walking a diplomatic tightrope, declining to back up the claim while also not wishing to antagonise its US allies – given that Donald Trump and the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have claimed there is enormous evidence for the theory.

Speculation about the possible involvement of the US embassy in distributing the dossier to News Corp has raised the diplomatic temperature.

The embassy in Canberra declined to comment on a report in the Nine newspapers on Thursday of suspicions within senior ranks of the government and the intelligence community about a staffer’s possible role.

The deputy chair of the Australian parliament’s intelligence and security committee, Anthony Byrne, has been angered by the reported dossier, fearing the episode was reminiscent of the saga surrounding intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2003.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... -wuhan-lab

[Bicycle Bill]

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-"BB"-

[RayThom]

Innocent... until proven infected.

Ohio Judge Forges Ahead with Jury Trial Despite Evidence of COVID in the Courtroom
https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice ... rials.html

[BoSoxGal]

Pences press secretary has covid, one of Trumps valets has covid, and 31 Secret Service have covid plus another 60 in quarantine! Covid is getting very close to Trump! Fingers crossed.

[Bicycle Bill]

Pences press secretary has covid, one of Trumps valets has covid, and 31 Secret Service have covid plus another 60 in quarantine! Covid is getting very close to Trump! Fingers crossed.

✺◟( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)◞✺   ✺◟( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)◞✺   ✺◟( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)◞✺

Never thought I'd see the day when I would be rooting FOR the virus.

-"BB"-

[RayThom]

This is how the Grifter-in-Chief tickles the asses of his minions.

He will come out with a somewhat distressing announcement, wait a short time to see what then happens and, if it's negative feedback, he will "save the day" deeming it necessary to keep the status quo until a later date.

That's leadership to our Clown Prince.

I knew our Acting President was going to play the fear card.

His past behavior is most always the best indicator of his future behavior.

I'm still praying daily to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that our Grifter-in-Chief comes down with COVID, and needs a ventilator to keep him going. And if he starts to get healthy he strokes out, leaving him drooling into a cup when he tries speaking through paralyzed lips.

God, are you out there?