COVID-19 (f/k/a "the Coronavirus")

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Could we maybe keep this thread on topic and focus political responses to the pandemic?  Seriously guys, it's not hard. 

[MU82]

Someone who isn’t afraid to speak honestly about the science:

Fauci will issue a stark warning on the risks of reopening too soon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/us/coronavirus-updates.html#link-6f63d836

“The major message that I wish to convey to the Senate HLP committee tomorrow is the danger of trying to open the country prematurely,” he wrote. “If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to: ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country. This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”

Dr. Fauci was referring to a three-phase White House plan, Opening Up America Again, that lays out guidelines for state officials considering reopening their economies. Among its recommendations: States should have a “downward trajectory of positive tests” or a “downward trajectory of documented cases” of coronavirus over two weeks, while conducting robust contact tracing and “sentinel surveillance” testing of asymptomatic people in vulnerable populations, such as nursing homes.

So ... who to believe ...

A renowned doctor who has been a leader in the infectious disease field for decades and has been a trusted adviser to Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr and Obama?

Or a science-denying, conspiracy-pushing reality TV host whose numbers are cratering, who recently pushed both a deadly unvetted drug and the injection of Lysol into the lungs, and who desperately is trying to get re-elected?

It's a really, really difficult choice.

[Lennys Tap]

Anecdotally it all makes sense That we misattribute and miss deaths. 

I think everyone needs to take a step back and try to remember why we count in the first place.  We are trying to understand the magnitude of the problem, whether or not we have it in control and to allocate resources.   

Personally, I think we are close enough for those purposes and that’s validated through the excess death research.  So I don’t know what the fuss is about.

Well said, Frenns. Adding or subtracting to score political points helps nobody.

[GooooMarquette]

Could we maybe keep this thread on topic and focus political responses to the pandemic?  Seriously guys, it's not hard.

With all due respect, the behavior and tweets of POTUS in the middle of a pandemic that demands an 'all hands on deck' approach is related to the pandemic, because it shows that his focus is not on the critical issue of the day.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

With all due respect, the behavior and tweets of POTUS in the middle of a pandemic that demands an 'all hands on deck' approach is related to the pandemic, because it shows that his focus is not on the critical issue of the day.

No.  Sorry.  That's a lame excuse to let you unleash whatever opinions you wish.  Quoting about his weird "Obamagate" diatribe lends nothing to the topic.  Everyone knows he's distracted and doesn't want to talk about the pandemic. 

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Yeahhhhh, OK.

I'm not even going to touch this one, but it's backwards as the things Barr has done should disgust every American.

End of any further response.

You missed your opportunity to pull a ChicosDad and selectively quote Lenny.  Here, let me show you. This is what Lenny said:

"Attorney General Barr should disgust every American."

[GooooMarquette]

No.  Sorry.  That's a lame excuse to let you unleash whatever opinions you wish.  Quoting about his weird "Obamagate" diatribe lends nothing to the topic.  Everyone knows he's distracted and doesn't want to talk about the pandemic.

Guess we're gonna have to disagree. The more distracted he is, the more lives we lose.

[Hards Alumni]

Dr. Fauci and others are about to testify to the Senate this morning.

[Spotcheck Billy]

We hung a banner!

[tower912]

What will be more entertaining and educational?   Fauci in front of the Senate?  Or Supreme Court arguments over the subpoena of Trump's tax records?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Guess we're gonna have to disagree. The more distracted he is, the more lives we lose.

I'd argue that the less trump is saying and tweeting dumb things, the better off we are.

Let the bureaucrats handle the logistics and planning, and keep trump focusing on the issue of the minute in his mind.

Edit to clarify:  the less he is tweeting amd talking about covid, the better we are.  Let him keep tweeting and talking about whatever else pops in to his mind.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

What will be more entertaining and educational?   Fauci in front of the Senate?  Or Supreme Court arguments over the subpoena of Trump's tax records?

Both have the potential for a flush in the background - so push?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Could we maybe keep this thread on topic and focus political responses to the pandemic?  Seriously guys, it's not hard.

Thanks for trying to reason with the poo throwers.  Good luck.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Let the bureaucrats handle the logistics and planning, and keep trump focusing on the issue of the minute in his mind.

This has been a major failure in our ability to rally together as a country.

[tower912]

Both have the potential for a flush in the background - so push?

Ha!    Nice. 

 I think Ziggy is on to something.   Leadership is finding competent people, giving them a goal, guidance, and resources.  The president would be better off hushing up. I just don't believe he can help himself.

[mu03eng]

Guess we're gonna have to disagree. The more distracted he is, the more lives we lose.

Gonna have to disagree here. There might be second or third order effects, but the orange buffoon being distracted for a couple of days doesn't correlate directly to further deaths, this is just hyperbolic. It's just not how the federalism works

Inherently the problem is that all sides (left, right, and media) have politicized the pandemic. The right is astroturfing the loss of rights and "acktullay it's just the flu". The left is turning this into another front on the #resistance campaign and generally seeing this as an opportunity to win/landslide in November. The media is amplifying all its worst instincts (if it bleeds it leads, selective usage of data, gotcha journalism, tribalism) which is sharpening the political divide.

None of this is an argument for or against anyone simply trying to articulate what I'm seeing as a dispassionate observer.

[GooooMarquette]

I'd argue that [u]the less trump is saying and tweeting dumb things, the better off we are[/u].

Let the bureaucrats handle the logistics and planning, and keep trump focusing on the issue of the minute in his mind.

Agree 100%. That's why I think it is relevant - and frightening - that he still is saying and tweeting dumb things in the midst of a crisis.

[GooooMarquette]

This has been a major failure in our ability to rally together as a country.

Agreed. If POTUS would just let Fauci, CDC and other experts do their things without contradicting them, we would be in a much better place.

[GooooMarquette]

Gonna have to disagree here. There might be second or third order effects, but the orange buffoon being distracted for a couple of days doesn't correlate directly to further deaths, this is just hyperbolic. It's just not how the federalism works

Inherently the problem is that all sides (left, right, and media) have politicized the pandemic. The right is astroturfing the loss of rights and "acktullay it's just the flu". The left is turning this into another front on the #resistance campaign and generally seeing this as an opportunity to win/landslide in November. The media is amplifying all its worst instincts (if it bleeds it leads, selective usage of data, gotcha journalism, tribalism) which is sharpening the political divide.

None of this is an argument for or against anyone simply trying to articulate what I'm seeing as a dispassionate observer.

Sorry, but I simply want POTUS to let the scientists and epidemiologists do their things, without contradicting them and distracting the public into thinking that the crisis is somewhere else. Does that make me "left," "right," or simply American?

Suppressing the full CDC reopening plan; putting federal resources "right behind" the states instead of in the lead; making false statements about the availability of testing and then questioning whether it's even needed; making public recommendations for 'treatments' that have no basis in science; calling for the 'liberation' of states that don't meet any of the CDC's reopening criteria - all of these things hamper our ability to deal with the crisis at hand. If all that isn't directly related to the COVID crisis, we might just as well shut this entire thread down....

[Hards Alumni]

Sorry, but I simply want POTUS to let the scientists and epidemiologists do their things, without contradicting them and distracting the public into thinking that the crisis is somewhere else. Does that make me "left," "right," or simply American?

Suppressing the full CDC reopening plan; putting federal resources "right behind" the states instead of in the lead; making false statements about the availability of testing and then questioning whether it's even needed; making public recommendations for 'treatments' that have no basis in science; calling for the 'liberation' of states that don't meet any of the CDC's reopening criteria - all of these things hamper our ability to deal with the crisis at hand. If all that isn't directly related to the COVID crisis, we might just as well shut this entire thread down....

Wouldn't it be refreshing if the President learned that taking credit for putting really smart people in top positions was a better strategy than trying to take credit for things he clearly does not understand?  He doesn't need to answer questions, but simply to defer to the person who knows the answer to the question being asked.  Totally simple, something that shows he is a leader, and something he can take credit for without being attacked for or looking like a moron daily.  But we don't live in that world.

I, for one, knew we were in a messed up timeline when Leicester City became champs.

[MarquetteDano]

I, for one, knew we were in a messed up timeline when Leicester City became champs.

I still think this whole Corona thing is a hoax to stop my LFC from winning the Premier League.  Probably propagated by Man U supporters!

[GooooMarquette]

Gonna have to disagree here. There might be second or third order effects, but the orange buffoon being distracted for a couple of days doesn't correlate directly to further deaths, this is just hyperbolic. It's just not how the federalism works

Inherently the problem is that all sides (left, right, and media) have politicized the pandemic. The right is astroturfing the loss of rights and "acktullay it's just the flu". The left is turning this into another front on the #resistance campaign and generally seeing this as an opportunity to win/landslide in November. The media is amplifying all its worst instincts (if it bleeds it leads, selective usage of data, gotcha journalism, tribalism) which is sharpening the political divide.

None of this is an argument for or against anyone simply trying to articulate what I'm seeing as a dispassionate observer.

And by the way, it’s pretty ironic that you are referring to him as “the orange buffoon,“ while I am talking about his actual words and actions.

And you are calling me the overly political one?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I still think this whole Corona thing is a hoax to stop my LFC from winning the Premier League.  Probably propagated by Man U supporters!

Abandon the season now!

[MUBurrow]

Agree 100%. That's why I think it is relevant - and frightening - that he still is saying and tweeting dumb things in the midst of a crisis.

David Roth is the foremost authority on understanding all things Trump imo.  Once you read a couple of his columns and start seeing this administration's actions and messaging through that lens, you kind of can't unsee it.

[JWags85]

David Roth is the foremost authority on understanding all things Trump imo.  Once you read a couple of his columns and start seeing this administration's actions and messaging through that lens, you kind of can't unsee it.

The dude from Deadspin? He’s about as unbiased and impartial as citing someone from a Bretibart as a foremost authority on the inner workings of the Obama administration. I’m no Trump fan but let’s be reasonable