Government Response to Coronavirus 4: The Reality Show From Hell

[Dandruff]

1 hour ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Is it just me or does this one seem to be getting a lot more traction than the other dumbass things he's said?

Maybe because the average person understands how stupid it was, it's not like you need to be able to read a study of chloroquine trials to know injecting bleach is bad.

Could just be me, but more people seem horrified about this one.

I think it's getting more traction because it's having an immediate, reportable effect.  This plays well with the limited attention span of the majority of the viewing public. 

And, yeah, minimal thinking is required to not decide to inject yourself with bleach.

[Ozlsn]

US declines to join Europe, WHO in global initiative to develop covid-19 drugs.

Spoiler

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States will not take part in the launching of a global initiative on Friday to speed the development, production and distribution of drugs and vaccines against COVID-19, a spokesman for the U.S. mission in Geneva told Reuters.

“There will be no U.S. official participation”, he said in an email reply to a query. “We look forward to learning more about this initiative in support of international cooperation to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as possible.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a suspension of funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), where it is the largest donor. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will help launch the global initiative on Friday, the U.N. agency said ahead of the 1300 GMT event.

 

[fraurosena]

1 minute ago, Ozlsn said:

US declines to join Europe, WHO in global initiative to develop covid-19 drugs.

  Hide contents

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States will not take part in the launching of a global initiative on Friday to speed the development, production and distribution of drugs and vaccines against COVID-19, a spokesman for the U.S. mission in Geneva told Reuters.

“There will be no U.S. official participation”, he said in an email reply to a query. “We look forward to learning more about this initiative in support of international cooperation to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 as soon as possible.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a suspension of funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), where it is the largest donor. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will help launch the global initiative on Friday, the U.N. agency said ahead of the 1300 GMT event.

 

So, will the US also refuse any drugs and vaccines developed by Europe and the WHO? Or is this administration letting others do the work for them and then profiting off the efforts of others?

Don't get me wrong, in the humanitarian context, of course everyone in the whole world should have access to anything that works against the pandemic, if they helped develop it or not. But this attitude just angers me no end.

[Ozlsn]

9 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

So, will the US also refuse any drugs and vaccines developed by Europe and the WHO?

Why would they do that? They have bleach!!

From a researcher standpoint I have no doubt there are a lot of very frustrated US scientists banging their head against the wall right now. Trump possibly just closed off a potential funding stream, and people working in international collaborations (which is a very large percentage) will undoubtedly be checking the fine print to see whether the US's refusal has implications for any future projects.  

[thoughtful]

55 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

So, will the US also refuse any drugs and vaccines developed by Europe and the WHO? Or is this administration letting others do the work for them and then profiting off the efforts of others?

Don't get me wrong, in the humanitarian context, of course everyone in the whole world should have access to anything that works against the pandemic, if they helped develop it or not. But this attitude just angers me no end.

Aw, c'mon, @fraurosena - don't you think that the lives of Americans who won't get a cure or vaccine, or the lives of people worldwide who might be helped by the contribution of American researchers, are worth sacrificing to support Trump's spite tantrum?

You're so selfish./s

 

[Dandruff]

If enough Americans - especially older Americans - die then Trump can claim that the projected Social Security shortfall was decreased during his administration.

I wish I was joking.

[Ozlsn]

21 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

If enough Americans - especially older Americans - die then Trump can will claim that the projected Social Security shortfall was decreased during his administration.

I wish I was joking.

FTFY. And yes I totally believe he would because he's nothing but spin with no empathy.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Someone has muzzled him.  No presser today and he said there is no point to doing them when the press is so hostile.

the question is, to whom is he listening?  Which of his flying monkeys has enough influence over him to keep him quiet atm?

 

[Cartmann99]

33 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

No presser today and he said there is no point to doing them when the press is so hostile.

Bless his heart, the First Amendment really chaps his hide.

 

[fraurosena]

4 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Someone has muzzled him.  No presser today and he said there is no point to doing them when the press is so hostile.

the question is, to whom is he listening?  Which of his flying monkeys has enough influence over him to keep him quiet atm?

 

I also think that he might be afraid to face criticism over the imbecilic things he said. He has gotten enormous fallout about the disinfectant and UV light comments; like you said in an earlier post, the blowback on those statements is much greater than the others — everyone knows how dangerous they are. His suggestions are literally being ridiculed all over the world. The sarcasm defense isn’t working. The tantrum tweets about the media don’t have the desired effect either. And if someone close to him has whispered in his ear that these press co’s are damaging his chances of re-election as well...

As to who that is? That’s anyone’s guess, of course, but I think Trump only ever listens to someone with power over him; someone in control over his finances. A major donor threatening to close off the flow of cash, for example.

 

Oh, and then there’s this, of course:

They get record ratings. Nuff said.

[Howl]

Trump stopping his daily briefings pressers updates  idiotic malignant narcissist ramblings is YUGE.  Basically, Trump realized he was getting zero feel good to top off for his narcissistic supply needs, so why bother?  

Apparently GOP operatives are getting extremely fearful that the daily airing of Trump's  lack of mental competency was starting to tank re-election prospects and could easily take the Senate down with it.  

Also, polling shows that at least some (many?) older conservatives want real information on COVID-19.  They're seeing it burn through nursing homes, devastating the most vulnerable -- it's striking very, very close to home. 

Personally, if I were Jared Kushner, I'd be giving some serious thought to an exfil plan.  At some point there will be hearings on the mismanagement going on at the highest level.  I don't think Jared will come out of it looking good. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Howl

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

I don't think Jared will come out of it looking good. 

Nobody in this administration will come out looking good; there will only be graduations in awfulness.

[GreyhoundFan]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

 I don't think Jared will come out of it looking good. 

I hope Jared comes out of it modeling orange jump suits from behind bars.

[47of74]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I don't think there's any hope that Twitler would focus on the sick, but it would help if his nannies kept him out of the press briefing room and broke his phone.

[GreyhoundFan]

It's killing him to have to stay at the WH:

[Dandruff]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I don't think there's any hope that Twitler would focus on the sick, but it would help if his nannies kept him out of the press briefing room and broke his phone.

I suspect he has been focusing on clusters of sick and dying Democrats in major cities because their deaths would skew votes in his favor.  Now that things are starting to slightly improve, and localities are making their own decisions (due to the type of "support" they were getting from the Feds), he and his cronies may be starting to really worry.

[47of74]

Joy - looks like we're all gonna get a letter from fuck face

Quote

If you're getting money from the federal government as part of the recent stimulus response to the coronavirus, you'll also get a letter from President Donald Trump explaining why.

CNN has obtained a copy of the letter signed by the President and sent to recipients of the stimulus payments.

The one-page letter arrives in an envelope from the IRS as part of the Treasury Department, with both postage and fees paid for by the IRS, according to a notice on the envelope.

The letter reads, in part, "We are fully committed to ensuring that you and your family have the support you need to get through this time," and notifies the recipient exactly how much they would receive and how. On the other side of the letter is a translated Spanish version of the same text.

Good - I can always use more toilet paper.

 

[fraurosena]

 

[Ozlsn]

So it looks like Azar's toast then.

Donnie just said he was doing a great job...

[47of74]

No kidding

Quote

Psychologist and psychotherapist John Gartner, contributor to the bestselling book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" and co-founder of the Duty to WARN PAC, has an answer: Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist. Our president's mental pathologies inexorably compel him to hurt and kill large numbers of people — including his own supporters. 

Dr. Gartner taught for many years at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, and has private therapeutic practices in Baltimore and New York, specializing in the treatment of borderline personality disorders. In our most recent conversation, he explains that sadism and violence are central to Trump's malignant narcissism and his decision-making about the coronavirus pandemic. Gartner also warns that Donald Trump is an abuser locked into a deeply dysfunctional relationship with the American people and that, like other sadists, Trump enjoys causing harm and suffering. 

Ultimately, Gartner concludes that Donald Trump is engaging in "democidal behavior" and cautions that the tens of thousands of dead (so far) from the coronavirus pandemic are not simply collateral damage from Trump's policies, but rather the logical outcome of Trump's apparent mental pathologies and the poor decisions that flow from them.

We need to make passing a whole battery of psychological exams a requirement for running for or being appointed to Federal office. 

[GreyhoundFan]

This is great. Too bad we can't have actual leadership at the federal level:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

They all need to be in prison.

 

[47of74]

Some good news 

 

[Ozlsn]

40 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

Some good news 

 

I am frankly surprised, I didn't think anything was too far fetched for Fox.