The Swamp

who can blame people for expecting even worse?

Man, this Deep State Hoaxspiracy is too much! State of Emergency? Lib'ruls are wildin'!

The whole purpose of the presser seems to be for Pence and the CEOs of these health companies to praise Dear Leader.

They timed this to goose the Dow and fuck if it didn't work. Went up 1400 points during the speech. He'll take a victory lap, but all the fancy words in the world can't kill a virus.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:57 pm The whole purpose of the presser seems to be for Pence and the CEOs of these health companies to praise Dear Leader.

Pence was over the top, but overall this is the press conference (and of course the actual work) that should have been done about 10 days ago.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:00 pm They timed this to goose the Dow and fuck if it didn't work. Went up 1400 points during the speech. He'll take a victory lap, but all the fancy words in the world can't kill a virus.

And when these new tests become available, of course confirmed cases will spike and we will be back on the downtick.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:01 pm

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:00 pm They timed this to goose the Dow and fuck if it didn't work. Went up 1400 points during the speech. He'll take a victory lap, but all the fancy words in the world can't kill a virus.

And when these new tests become available, of course confirmed cases will spike and we will be back on the downtick.

Yeah, also when other prominent Americans start testing positive. Those positive tests amongst Congresscritters are coming I still think, especially now that the markets are closed until Monday.

So fucked up...

The NBA's access to coronavirus testing helped the league protect players. The rest of us deserve the same.

Utah Jazz had 58 employees tested yesterday. The CDC had tested 77 people between Monday and Wednesday.

Ivanka might have been infected after meeting with an Aussie minister last week.

Mayor of Miami tests positive.

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:57 pm Ivanka might have been infected after meeting with an Aussie minister last week.

It'll be hilarious when Trump ends up testing positive and Jared Kushner doesn't.

In-service for teachers, no school for kids on Monday. Online classes then start on Tuesday. The situation will be re-evaluated oh a week by week basis.

So I'm trying to think through something here because a) I don't know if it's just a Las Vegas thing b) if I'm being overly paranoid or if it some combination of those, but I'm not really thinking that we're really doing all that much to seriously stop the spread of the virus.

I get that the steps to curb travel and work from home and prevent mass gatherings is great, but despite that it mostly seems like business as usual. So much so that I'm not really sure why the temptation to have stocked up on groceries. I still see people going out to movies and restaurants (and the grocery stores, etc.). I'm wondering if we're still not about four or five days from a very serious reckoning in this country about what social distancing really means. (And I'm not really saying I'm any better. I was thinking of heading up to the bar for a couple of hours myself tomorrow.)

(Although maybe that was part of the implied part of "flattening the curve".

Nice takedown, but we'll see if it holds to November.

The Trump Presidency Is Over

rass wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:00 pm In-service for teachers, no school for kids on Monday. Online classes then start on Tuesday. The situation will be re-evaluated oh a week by week basis.

Oh, forgot to report in. We're "atleast" 2 weeks starting immediately.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:04 pm So I'm trying to think through something here because a) I don't know if it's just a Las Vegas thing b) if I'm being overly paranoid or if it some combination of those, but I'm not really thinking that we're really doing all that much to seriously stop the spread of the virus.

I get that the steps to curb travel and work from home and prevent mass gatherings is great, but despite that it mostly seems like business as usual. So much so that I'm not really sure why the temptation to have stocked up on groceries. I still see people going out to movies and restaurants (and the grocery stores, etc.). I'm wondering if we're still not about four or five days from a very serious reckoning in this country about what social distancing really means. (And I'm not really saying I'm any better. I was thinking of heading up to the bar for a couple of hours myself tomorrow.)

I imagine we're not doing enough and it all traces back to a lack of testing to depress the fucking headcount.

(I'm torn right now on going to a bar where you're not in contact with others ... its probably the right thing to do in terms of extra caution but the social cost is enormous and I'm not sure where the proper balance is for a currently healthy person.)

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:04 pm So I'm trying to think through something here because a) I don't know if it's just a Las Vegas thing b) if I'm being overly paranoid or if it some combination of those, but I'm not really thinking that we're really doing all that much to seriously stop the spread of the virus.

I get that the steps to curb travel and work from home and prevent mass gatherings is great, but despite that it mostly seems like business as usual. So much so that I'm not really sure why the temptation to have stocked up on groceries. I still see people going out to movies and restaurants (and the grocery stores, etc.). I'm wondering if we're still not about four or five days from a very serious reckoning in this country about what social distancing really means. (And I'm not really saying I'm any better. I was thinking of heading up to the bar for a couple of hours myself tomorrow.)

Yeah I mentioned up thread that my stocking up was just to be able to reduce trips out more than to avoid people at all costs. Reduce the amount of time I’m out but I won’t be afraid to hit the liquor store when I need to

I'm glad it's not just me I guess. You two pretty much nailed what I was trying to think through.

Picked up a pizza for dinner tonight. We’re actually having a handful of people over tomorrow, too.

I think I’m gonna make a late night run to a 24 hour super market just to get the last couple things we would need to get us through a week or two without going out.

Guys, Jared is on it:

Jerloma wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:12 am Alright, I will read it.

And then watch the mini-series. Its pretty good (and has a cameo by Kareem!)

The expanded edition is probably worth it.

So today we learned that the journey from 'Only I can fix it' to 'I have no responsibility' is 3 1/2 years.

In a way I suppose it's good we haven't reached the "have a fundamental distrust of being around other human beings" stage of this thing, but I still can't help but think that's coming, right?

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:08 pm

rass wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:00 pm In-service for teachers, no school for kids on Monday. Online classes then start on Tuesday. The situation will be re-evaluated oh a week by week basis.

Oh, forgot to report in. We're "atleast" 2 weeks starting immediately.

Yup. We're closed for two weeks. Though one of those weeks is spring break anyway.

School will be open for kids who need the lunch or a safe place to be.

More bad news.

Also, does anyone else think that the disastrous health care system in this country is going to mean that containment to even the extent Italy and Iran have been able to is not going to be possible and it may in fact be worse here than just about anywhere else?

Vietnam closed schools since Jan 15. People thought that was drastic at the time.

Brian- Yes.

Yup. You’re incented to risk others for your own needs.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:52 pm In a way I suppose it's good we haven't reached the "have a fundamental distrust of being around other human beings" stage of this thing, but I still can't help but think that's coming, right?

Things are changing pretty quickly these days, but I think we're still about a week or so away from this stage when even all the bars and restaurants and whatnot will be more or less shut down. I think I'm good on supplies if that stage lasts only about two weeks.

(And if I'm being honest gonna take one or two more chances (though probably no more) to patronize a favorite local business before we hit bottom.)

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:33 pm Also, does anyone else think that the disastrous health care system in this country is going to mean that containment to even the extent Italy and Iran have been able to is not going to be possible and it may in fact be worse here than just about anywhere else?

Absolutely. People without insurance either don't see doctors, or go to the emergency rooms, which are already being flooded and running low on supplies. Add on the lack of guaranteed paid sick leave in almost every state, and people will go into work sick because they can't afford to stay home. Maybe this will open people's eyes to the dangers of being the only first world country without socialized health care or paid sick leave, but I doubt it. The idiots who fight against these things will credit Trump for defeating Corona, no matter how bad things are, and blame Obama.

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:26 pm More bad news.

Eh, a chart showing total cases and comparing a 330M population country to a 60M one doesn’t tell me a lot, especially when people in the 330M country have the benefit of knowing what happened in the 60M one. Also, Italy isn’t the biggest disaster right now, Spain is. Don’t know why they’re not on the chart.

They are closing our local public library this Monday through the end of the month (at least). It makes all the sense in the world, but our cleaning lady comes on Tuesday, so where am I going to kill a few hours?

sancarlos wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:43 pm They are closing our local public library this Monday through the end of the month (at least). It makes all the sense in the world, but our cleaning lady comes on Tuesday, so where am I going to kill a few hours?

Clean the house yourself!

To be fair, it is hard to react to rising case numbers because they reflect both that infections are going up, which is a bad thing, and that testing is increasing, which is a good thing. Nobody is testing the entire population or anything close to it. Okay maybe Bahrain is getting close. Everybody is dealing with the same problem of having limited ability to test (and the fact that testing is of limited use to begin with). The difference in the US is that the biggest stumbling block is the horror show at the top which the private sector and state governments are working hard to overcome. The testing capacity is starting to increase, and as a result, next week we are going to see some massive increases in cases. People will interpret that to mean that the virus is spreading when in fact it also means we are doing a better job of getting our hands around the problem despite the shitshow in DC.

The only thing that is clear is that falling numbers are good. They fell in China (if you believe the government), Japan and South Korea, and they are starting to fall in a meaningful way in the “hotspot” parts of Italy even as the nationwide numbers are still problematic. What all of those places have in common is that people were forced to shut it down and legitimately did that.

Holy Moley!

Three Mar-A-Lago Guests Test Positive

Ummm...

Acting Brazil Ambassador Nestor Forster, who sat at President Trump’s table Saturday night during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, has tested positive for coronavirus, the embassy said late Friday.