Government Response to Coronavirus 5: We're On Our Own

[JMarie]

He only attends church when it's a holiday photo op.

[Ozlsn]

4 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I wonder if, deep down, he really thinks he's attractive. Because he's not.

What I love about this photo is the executives - both of whom are clearly more secure in themselves - are not only wearing masks but standing 1.51m away from him. I'd love to know what their expressions were.

3 hours ago, Becky said:

Holy shit - - I do not believe this is a "mistake," it is not that hard to count tests!  I believe this is  deliberate attempt to mislead and confuse the public in order to make the response look better than it is.  It is so we think leaders are on top of things, particularly in places where the leaders are definitely NOT on top of things.  It is obfuscation, pure and simple.  Better to lie their way out than to actually, you know, lead and stuff.  What a travesty! I am furious about this!  ?

Coupled with the woman that was fired for refusing to produce false data, the reordering of data to show curve reduction when there wasn't etc I agree with you. Leadership would be working out ways to make it possible for people to stay home and not worry about rent/mortgage, food, utilities and so forth.

[fraurosena]

Random capitalisations aside, this two tweet run-on sentence makes no sense. 

• I will be lowering the flags ---
  So he's going to personally lower all those flags then?
• ...in memory of the Americans we have lost to the CoronaVirus
  Ok
• ... in honour of the men and women in our Military
  I'm confused. Who is he lowering the flags for? The Americans lost to the corona virus, or the men and women in the military?

 

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I wonder if he'll be rushing to attend services as soon as churches open. LOL, just kidding, he only worships at the twin altars of money and Mar-a-Loco  ME.

FTFY.

[GreyhoundFan]

Every thing this administration does is corrupt:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I guess social distancing and masks aren't needed if you're repug:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Is it me, or is Kayleigh starting to look a little fried a'la Kellyanne?

 

[JMarie]

50 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I guess social distancing and masks aren't needed if you're repug:

 

This photo makes me wonder if Pence and other higher ups are also taking hydroxychloroquine.  Just because they haven't said they are doesn't mean they aren't. And we all know they'd have access to it if they wanted it.

[thoughtful]

6 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I wonder if he'll be rushing to attend services as soon as churches open. LOL, just kidding, he only worships at the twin altars of money and Mar-a-Loco.

Stephen Colbert, imitating Trump, said "Churches are amazing - I visit one every single time I get married."

 

[JMarie]

28 minutes ago, thoughtful said:

Stephen Colbert, imitating Trump, said "Churches are amazing - I visit one every single time I get married."

 

Trump can't even say that.  Only his first wedding was in a church.  He married Marla Maples at Trump Tower, and Melania at Mar-a-Lago.

[Howl]

15 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Random capitalisations aside, this two tweet run-on sentence makes no sense. 

Trump has made it into a two-fer, lowering flags to half mast for Memorial Day AND now adding on those who have died from CV 19. 

Here in the US, Memorial Day is "a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered, traditionally observed on May 30 but now officially observed on the last Monday in May."  

That said, the meaning of Memorial Day is pretty much lost in popular culture, and it's basically the start-of-summer, three-day recreation binge and huge sales on line and in retail stores. 

Cynical me thinks this is also inappropriate because so many people have died due to Trump's incompetent handling of the coronavirus crisis. 

[fraurosena]

10.000 dead, and Nero is fiddling.

 

[Ozlsn]

10 hours ago, Howl said:

Trump has made it into a two-fer, lowering flags to half mast for Memorial Day AND now adding on those who have died from CV 19. 

Here in the US, Memorial Day is "a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered, traditionally observed on May 30 but now officially observed on the last Monday in May."  

That said, the meaning of Memorial Day is pretty much lost in popular culture, and it's basically the start-of-summer, three-day recreation binge and huge sales on line and in retail stores. 

Cynical me thinks this is also inappropriate because so many people have died due to Trump's incompetent handling of the coronavirus crisis. 

Is there much protest about this doubling up? The closest we have would be ANZAC Day which started as a memorial to those who died serving in WW1, and expanded post-WW2 (higher numbers) to cover Australians serving in all wars from Boer War onward (with the exception of wars where it was Indigenous people fighting against their lands being invaded/stolen, which we as a nation are still very bad at accepting took place at all, and really don't get me started on the black armband/white blindfold History Wars.)

Anyway - there would be massive protest here if people who died in the bushfires, or in the pandemic were arbitrarily added, not least from the Retired Serviceman's League (which covers retired personnel and families, as well as members of the public wishing to join), the ADF association (which covers active personnel) and the Australian Defence Force itself. 

The 911 victims weren't included on Memorial Day 2002, to the best of my recollection (and searching) but had a Day of Prayer and Remembrance of Sept 14th 2001, then Sept 11th dedicated as a Day of Mourning in 2002.

Which is a long winded way of saying WTAF Trump, are you such a pathetic President that you can't even acknowledge two separate groups on different days?! 

[47of74]

The New York Times did this...

I had my way after the Fuckopotomus leaves office and is serving multiple life sentences in prison the United States would seize that golf course and use it to build a memorial to every American who died or who will die from COVID-19.  I'm thinking a big ass wall like the Vietnam Memorial with the names, ages, and races of those who died so Fuckopotomus humpers can't easily whitewash history here.

[GreyhoundFan]

Hypocrisy, thy name is republican.

[GreyhoundFan]

Excellent ad from the Biden campaign.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Guess who went golfing at one of his nasty clubs for a second day in a row?

 

[JMarie]

I guess he's no longer fearful of COVID, since he's done taking hydroxychloroquine.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-finishes-controversial-malaria-drug-course-to-combat-virus/ar-BB14wVjF?ocid=spartanntp

Quote

“Finished, just finished,” Trump said in an interview on Sinclair Broadcast Group program “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” that was taped Friday and aired Sunday. “By the way, I’m still here to the best of my knowledge. Here I am.”

There’s scant evidence that hydroxychloroquine is effective against the coronavirus. The Food and Drug Administration on April 24 cautioned against its use for Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial, citing a risk of heart rhythm problems.

Trump, who at 73 is in an age group at which contracting Covid-19 can be especially dangerous, began the treatments in consultation with White House physicians after Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for coronavirus on May 8. A White House valet also contracted the virus around the same time.

“I believe in it enough that I took a program, because I had two people in the White House that tested positive, I figured maybe it’s a good thing to take a program,” Trump said.

“You know we take a little bit of a period of time, I think it was two weeks, but hydroxy has had tremendous, if you look at it, tremendous, rave reviews.”

 

[47of74]

Sad that she has to do this in order to keep the Orange Fuckopotomus from retaliating in a way that his predecessor never would have done.

Quote

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she censors herself when speaking publicly about President Donald Trump in order to ensure continued federal assistance to her state amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked specifically by Axios reporter Alexi McCammond during an interview on "Axios on HBO" if she self-censors her comments about the President "for the sake of continuing to receive federal assistance," Whitmer responded bluntly, "Yes."

When pressed if she has always felt that way, Whitmer offered that "the worst night sleep that I've gotten in the last 10 weeks is when he has attacked me on Twitter."

Her comments underscore the delicate balance state leaders have been forced to navigate in securing federal assistance from a President who has repeatedly lashed out at governors over their responses to the pandemic. Whitmer has faced substantial criticism from Trump and his allies as she continues to hold steady on slowly reopening the state amid growing calls to relax social distancing measures and jumpstart Michigan's economy.

 

[47of74]

Of course the Orange Fuckopotomus had to lie about his golfing.

 

 

[47of74]

Awaiting the rage tweeting from the orange fuckstain...

Quote

A federal appeals court has backed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order banning in-church services to blunt the spread of coronavirus, rejecting an argument from clerics that the governor is treading on their First Amendment right to free exercise of their religious beliefs.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split 2-1 ruling denying the request for a temporary restraining order against Newsom's in-church service ban filed this month by the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, California.

The ruling was issued late on Friday, the same day President Donald Trump demanded governorsnationwide allow churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship to reopen immediately.

 

[47of74]

The mayor of Baltimore asked the Orange Fuckopotomus not to visit the city.  Think said Fuckopotomus listened?

Quote

President Donald Trump paid a controversial visit to Baltimore for a Memorial Day celebration on Monday, dismissing the mayor’s warnings to stay away from the city as it grapples with the pandemic.

The White House said that the ceremony at Fort McHenry -- which defended Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, inspiring the poem later adapted as “The Star Spangled Banner” -- was intended to honor American service members who lost their lives in battle.

In a separate interview with CNN, Young said the White House did not inform the mayor’s office before announcing the trip. He added that the president’s trip was certain to violate restrictions in Baltimore banning gatherings of more than 10 people.

“It sends a bad, bad message to the citizens of Baltimore because I’m asking them to stay home and only come out for essential reasons,” Young said.

 

[JMarie]

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/trump-coronavirus-great-reviews-twitter-215830788.html

 

[GreyhoundFan]

An excellent read: "Trump’s war on reality just got a lot more dangerous"

Quote

Coronavirus deaths in the United States are rapidly closing in on 100,000. The economic depression is stretching out ahead of us as far as the eye can see. Joe Biden is holding a steady lead in polls.

So President Trump has decided he has only one real chance at reelection: to bet mostly on his magical ability to create the illusion that we’re rapidly returning to normalcy, rather than taking the difficult concrete steps that would make that more likely to happen.

The signs of this are everywhere: in a new federal testing blueprint that largely casts responsibility on the states. In Trump’s new rage-tweets at the North Carolina governor over whether a full convention will be held under coronavirus conditions. And in demands for liability protections for companies so sickened workers can’t sue.

All these things, in one way or another, show that Trump’s war on reality has veered into a new place. Trump is responding to our most dire public health and economic crises in modern times with a concerted, far-reaching effort to concoct the mirage that we’re racing past both.

A deceptive strategy

First, the testing blueprint. The administration just released to Congress a “plan” for testing, in keeping with a requirement in a recently passed rescue package.

The plan does contain some good news: The feds say they’ll distribute to states 100 million swabs for testing, along with tubes for transporting tests.

But overall, the plan is quite deceptive and insufficient. It largely transfers responsibility to states to implement their own testing and contact-tracing plans. But as public health experts point out, it does not include a massive federal mobilization to redirect supply chains to enable states to do that successfully.

“You can’t leave it up to the states to do it for themselves,” one expert told the New York Times. “This is not the Hunger Games.”

Remember, a large federal mobilization of supply chains — via full deployment of the Defense Production Act — is something experts and many states have urged for months.

Meanwhile, experts also dispute the new strategy’s claim that 300,000 tests per day are enough to mitigate spread. We’re currently at around 400,000 per day, but even that’s far short.

If we sufficiently tested all people admitted to hospitals and all residents of nursing homes and their workers — and workers at meatpacking plants, where new spread is erupting — we would already likely far outpace those numbers.

Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, told me the suggestion that we have enough testing “endangers people’s lives.”

“We’re not close,” Konyndyk told me. “A big part of the reason we’re not close is that rather than trying to keep scaling up testing and personal protective equipment, the administration keeps claiming we already have enough.”

The bottom line is that this document attempts to create the impression that the coronavirus is largely under control — even though it isn’t — without the government undertaking the full range of steps necessary to make that actually happen.

The crucial point here is that far more robust testing and tracing is required to accomplish what Trump himself says he wants to accomplish — a return to economic normalcy — because people will feel far more safe about resuming activity.

But Trump won’t do this. Among other things, it would expose those efforts to scrutiny and accountability to new benchmarks.

So creating the illusion of a return to normalcy is the go-to plan.

Nothing but illusions

On another front, Trump is threatening to pull the GOP convention out of North Carolina, because Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has yet to guarantee it can proceed at fully packed capacity. But as the governor’s office responded, this decision will be made in keeping with what state health officials recommend.

Note that Trump is explicitly demanding that state officials prioritize his reelection needs — he views massive crowds as central to energizing base turnout — over the health of their own constituents. Here again, what matters most is marshaling the appearance of returning to normalcy, even if health officials conclude it will imperil lives.

On a third front, Trump and Republicans have been demanding protections for companies to reopen without fear of lawsuits from sickened workers. This may be a condition for GOP support for the next rescue package.

In a new piece, political theorist Will Wilkinson gets to the depraved core of this idea: Trump and Republicans are implicitly conceding that returning to work now actually does put workers in great danger — hence the need for protections.

But they are proceeding anyway. As Wilkinson notes, these protections for companies — when combined with financial aid to people that’s insufficient and puts them in desperate straits — will have the effect of coercing untold numbers to go back to work despite these dangers.

If some of them do, Wilkinson notes, it will help “conjure the illusion of a successfully managed return to normality well before the election in November.”

What makes this even more depraved, however, is that this is the Trump/GOP substitute for taking steps that would enable workers to actually return to work safely in genuinely normalizing conditions. Just as with Trump’s new testing “strategy,” this requires far more robust testing than Trump is willing to marshal.

In so many ways, Trump is prioritizing the weaving of an illusory return to normalcy over taking steps within his power to make that actually happen. That’s actively dangerous. It could lead to substantially more lost lives.

 

[clueliss]

Loving the photo of The Turtle they selected here

 

[Audrey2]

A

10 minutes ago, clueliss said:

Loving the photo of The Turtle they selected here

 

And dollars to doughnuts, who is with me that the stimulus package McTurtle will want will line the pockets of big business while small businesses go under and common people get nothing?