Mr. President, What is the Plan?

    Jake Tapper to Trump: This crisis requires a plan. Do you have one?

     

    Comments

    Here's your answer, he's fixated on that which the stable genuis deems a miracle cure:


    He's pushing it right now live on tv as I type....

    as this guy said yesterday


    more input


    this is a hint for colleagues along the lines of "something is happening here, what it is isn't exactly clear":

    When the president is pressed about chloroquines and why he’s pushing them it tends to devolve into him calling the question fake news.

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 5, 2020

    Doctors say (1) the drug has serious side effects, especially for people with underlying conditions, including death, (2) the drug has been studied for decades and found to have no significant effect killing viruses. Malaria is, of course, a parasite not a virus.

    The AMA doesn't support it's widespread use for the virus.


    Nonetheless, I think it's pretty damn clear: that's his plan! That's it, just that simple.


    Everybody likes pie.


    How prophetic of me to have included "more pie" in my most cherished beliefs...(http://dagblog.com/arts/thisi-believe-17678)

     

     

    THIS I BELIEVE

     

    I believe in suppressing inflammation, any time and any place it might arise in the body.

    I believe that money now is better than money later, always and everywhere in the universe

    I believe that I am first and foremost a platform for the production, transportation and delivery of DNA--the rest is commentary.

    I believe in the infinite redemptive power of lysergic acid

    I believe in less than enough feed, just enough speed, more than enough weed, and way too much pussy

    I believe that patriotism is tribalism, and tribalism sucks.

    I believe that I'm Spartacus.

     

     

     

    I believe that all kids are my kids.

    I believe that those tits might be real.

    I believe that I will have a bit more pie.

     

     

     

     


    The pie-in-the-sky plan came by influence of chance comment by Larry Ellison of Oracle, followed by Navarro, a television doctor, and Rudy Guilani. (Compare and contrast, oh say, Abraham Lincoln's "Team of Rivals"):

    “Mr. Trump first expressed interest in hydroxychloroquine a few weeks ago, telling associates that Mr. Ellison, a billionaire and a founder of Oracle, had discussed it with him.” https://t.co/s2vWdpm8nI

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 7, 2020

     


    more of what's really going on--the Trump whisperer Navarro, sometimes he influences, other more important times: very much not:


    This guy is right on the Navarro story. Isn't it typical that the plot twists when you have a idiot king with a huge court trying to influence him often are interesting?


    The doctor will see you now...Can you imagine anything more terrifying than seeing the above image in conjunction with the quoted phrase?

     

    For added emphasis, the sound of a rubber glove being prepped....


    David Wallace-Wells:


    Thanks for the link.


    What's the "hardest week" bullshit? US has at least a month of heavy dying, and that's being optimistic because people still aren't wearing masks, still not enough stay-at-home lockdowns, still not enough ventilators and beds...

    American exceptionalism aside, there is no God-given rule of "we've suffered enough" clause - you'll suffer until you do the right things *for an extended period of time*. Removing the retarded sociopath president would help start your 12 step program.

    And yes, things are quite good over here, so it can be done.


    I agree with Romer that testing without tracing is the most direct way to allow some of the normal back, especially because the lack of a unified strategy has shit canned the methods effective in other nations.

    From a management point of view, getting to that condition should be prior to every effort but the emergency support crisis. All the elements need to be started immediately.

    • Direct all resources available to make the tests more effective. The tests for antibodies do not have to start from zero. Develop the most efficient means and organization to deliver and process.
    • Don't wait to create the infrastructure to set up this testing regime. Get the Department of Defense involved with the effort now to work on a fifty state level. It should have its own chain of command and Congress needs to devote a budget process for it immediately.
    • Since the Executive Branch is stoned on Quaaludes for the foreseeable future, the Governors need to form an association to replicate some of the lost Federal function. They can establish a testing plan that outlines what the National effort will do in concert with local organization.


    I see someone put it into a thread reader app for him, so is on one printable page, here's the link. Is quite worthwhile, lots of good tips for all of us including for handling aggravating trolls on internet and situations like those unfair arguers in the family. Especially as he is staying away from legal cross-examination technique:

    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1246953070765969408.html

     


    So the point of these two tactics is ... what? 1) To baffle Trump (and the general audience) with convoluted questions or 2) to cross examine him like an adversarial lawyer?  Yeah, those new ways to ask 'gotcha' questions will play well with the part of the electorate so disgusted with that style of journalist that they voted for Trump because of how good he was at frustrating them.

    Why not instead just ask Trump a simple, straight-forward question. He is unlikely to give a simple, straight-forward answer either way but at least journalists will not look like gotcha jerks in the process.

    In his own words, Trump on how he works the press:

    One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that. The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you…

    The funny thing is that even a critical story, which may be hurtful personally, can be very valuable to your business. [When I announced my plans to build Television City to the press], not all of them liked the idea of the world’s tallest building. But the point is that we got a lot of attention, and that alone creates value.

    The other thing I do when I talk with reporters is to be straight. I try not to deceive them or to be defensive, because those are precisely the ways most people get themselves into trouble with the press. Instead, when a reporter asks me a tough question, I try to frame a positive answer, even if that means shifting the ground. For example, if someone asks me what negative effects the world’s tallest building might have on the West Side, I turn the tables and talk about how New Yorkers deserve the world’s tallest building, and what a boost it will give the city to have it again. When a reporter asks why I build only for the rich, I note that the rich aren’t the only ones who benefit from my buildings. I explain that I put thousands of people to work who might otherwise be collecting unemployment, and that I add to the city’s tax base every time I build a new project. I also point out that buildings like Trump Tower have helped spark New York’s renaissance.

    The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.

    I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration – and a very effective form of promotion.

    That's from his 1988 autobiography The Art of the Deal.


    I am on board with the simple questions.


    he is just 100% pure troll today, including ad hominens:

    Rupar has a whole lot more clips on that thread for those interested (I'm not. Jay Rosen is rightly interested because he's in the biz of training journalists and the job has been changed forever by this man as prez...) But the rest of us, it's just feeding a troll


    Yes, Trump does not matter anymore. Let's move on.


    Well I do think it's fun to ridicule him and sometimes if it's over a particularly boneheaded thing, that may also do some good, making another low info. person see "gee really is an idiot" the way satire has worked in politics for millenia. But not if it's to take him seriously as if to criticize and to dissect how one could turn him into a real leader. That's not possible. Even his closest have to manipulate him to do what they want to see happen or what they guess he thinks wants to happen and/or they pander to what he says he wants and then he flips on them.

    A reminder that just the other day he got this great idea that maybe he'll expand Medicare and Medicaid, saying it as if no one had ever mentioned that before. There's no there there.


    The closest historical parallel I can think of is not really history as confirmed by multiple accounts. It is the story of El Cid, who was dressed, armored, and mounted upon a horse to lead the charge after he had died. A corpse riding a horse in front of other people riding horses.

    So, the center of this shit show is not the star but the producers. The ones who dress, armor, and mount the corpse.


    Jake Tapper is going for the gold in the Nitwit Olympics but the competition is fierce. Weeks ago Trump outlined a plan based on regional data down to the coounty level to put people back to work, 23 states still have less than 1500 reported cases.

    Jake and anyone else suggesting that we could or should test ' everyone' is a dickhead. The test is good for one day.

    I.m certain that if the stable geniuses here contract a serious case of the Wuhan virus they will reject the Malaria drug treatment because Orange Man Bad.


    I.m certain that if the stable geniuses here contract a serious case of the Wuhan virus they will reject the Malaria drug treatment because Orange Man Bad.

    That's likely not true. It's most likely the opposite. If my doctor prescribes the malaria drug treatment I'll follow his advice as will most liberals. What Trump says about it is irrelevant.The simple fact is the vast majority of doctors will not prescribe it because there is no evidence it works and it has serious side effects. But for Trump supporters many will request, insist and argue with their doctor to get the treatment simply because Trump suggested it.


    insist and argue with their doctor

     

    No worries, just as was my practice when seeking unprescribed antibiotics, which led here:

     

     

    The unhappy patient can avail himself of Hydroxycloroquine Phosphate....wait, what?

    Fearing coronavirus, Arizona man dies after taking a form of chloroquine used to treat aquariums

     


    I tried but I can not not comment on your picture of amoxicillin for fish, jolly. It's a pet peeve, no pun intended. The version of amoxicillin FDA approved for humans is handed out like candy by idiot dentists (which is 90% of them as far as human health is concerned, including dental school professors) after anything resembling dental surgery. And they guilt you into taking it, even though you are smart enough to know you probably shouldn't, over and over if you have extended work done. Take it from my sad experience: not only does it harm your whole intestinal system by fucking up its balance, as most probably know. I ended up with a MRSA bacteria infection in my sinus from taking that shit from stupid dentists, was losing my hearing, probably would be dead if I hadn't gone to my old intelligent sem-retired doc (now not taking insurance, $$$$ out of pocket) who wisely took a swab for testing (the uncomfortable nasal one (just like the one for coronavirus.)

    That they sell a fish or animal version of any drug probably means: humans shouldn't take the human version any more. The critter that was once targeted by the drug no doubt has evolved! Dr. arta says: don't take any  amoxicllin for fish or for humans that doesn't have more letters after the word "amoxicillin". If you did and you survived, you ate a lot of yogurt and other healthy bacteria and they won over what that damn drug did to you.

    Edit to add: I did go to an urgent care before shelling out bucks for special knowledge doc. That doc just gave me a different antibiotic which would not have killed the MRSA. That's really a good example of one of the big downsides of what our medical system has become: they don't test much anymore. They give out drugs by guessing diagnosis from symptoms and then follow the protocol laid down by Medicare diagnosis codes because that's what the insurer wants them to do. Guess wrong, if the patient dies, they're covered by following protocol. Send in swab for test to diagnose? Nope, costs money and time, insurer will probably want authorization, argue with you about test and cost....


    These days I don't take antibiotics for any purpose other tha absolute life threatening infections, whether fishcillin or human cillin....I have a non aggression pact with my microbiome.  The holocaust that ensues in your gut when you take an antibiotic, especially by mouth, is really breathtaking.

     

    In my defense, at the time, I was a fugitive from a root canal and the abscess presented truly imperative arguments for quick antibiotic intervention.


    14 of those 23 states have fewer than 2 million people. 5 of those states will be above 1500 in a week or less. A number of those states have weak stats on how many are *actually* infected. And quite a few new deaths nationwide from "pneumonia" and similar but not labeled Coronavirus. Maybe if Trump had issued orders for masks, tests and Ventilators, or even serious stay-in-place, rather than his "plan" to kneejerk fuck over New York and out that "dickhead", as you say, son-in-law in charge of the pandemic response we wouldnt have 350,000 cases by now. I mean, what kind of stupid motherfucker "in charge" sends out requests for ideas to his Facebook pals? What kind of stupid motherfucker defends stupid motherfuckers like this? Take your time, serious answer if you have it in you.

    An estimated additional 180 - 195 deaths per day occurring at home in New York City due to COVID-19 are not being counted in the official figures.

    Even in the official figures, death's are doubling every 5 days. Do the math: 10k, 20k, 40k, 80k, 160k deaths in the next 3 weeks under best circumstances (most of those are already infected, we just don't know it yet, much more underreporting going on, and for the many states taking this less than serious, spreading will continue to expand. This was 2 weeks ago. Now the US has 350k & 10k death's by its lonesome.


    Don't help the snowflake media and the talking dickheads among us spread panic and fear. It is evil and benefits no one, we need unity caution and optimism. Are you going to be part of the problem or part of the solution? 

    Even if the actual number of infected is 10x the number reported these 23 states are where back to work should begin. Those unreported multitudes are already building herd immunity. These states have relatively small populations but many have densely populated cities, Albuquerque has a larger population than Detroit so these cities will need to be monitored closely. 

    The travel bans, from outside, social distancing and social isolation are working along with novel treatments are saving lives now it is time to begin saving peoples livelihoods. 


    No, those states are 1) where few people live, and 2) where few have been tested, and so 3) they'll be dying like flies in a couple weeks.

    Boris Johnson is our global expert on herd immunity - go ask him what to do next. And can you ask people to put on a fucking mask while you're at it, or does everyone need their turn in the barrel?

    Here's the great state of North Korea...

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/north-koreas-coronavirus-f...


    I understand your panic being trapped in the EU with 50 thousand already dead. 

    Our numbers of deaths will certainly rise but we were given time to respond by the early closing of our borders which is showing signs of flattening the curve even in NY.

    I hope conditions are improving where you are and I wouldn't project those numbers onto anyone else anywhere.


    The dead is focused on Italy/Spain/France where they got caught early, and UK & Holland where they copied the ignorant herd/survivalist mentality of your favorite Great Leader. Elsewhere, Germany has lots of cases but few death's thanks to very strong tracking and good socialized medical facilities, while many other EU countries have implemented social distancing extremely well, shutting down travel, imposing stay-at-home orders, and wearing masks.


    About half of our deaths are happening in one region around one city that was slow to respond to the crisis. . 

    Germany has a multipayer hybrid system with strong government regulation which seems to work well for them. I hope we soon learn what if anything they did to reduce their death rate.


    Anon, Germany's health care system is mostly a universal state-required multipayer system - only 11% have private insurance. Since I've never been in love with "single payer", I'm glad we agree that a universal healthcare system that allows Cadillac policies on top is efficient, effective, and perhaps the most ideal.

    Obamacare/ACA *could* evolve to that if Republicans stopped trying to ruin it to be spiteful at every chance they get. Perhaps after the current crisis there will be much more shared consensus that mandatory healthcare for all is a necessity in a modern society, and that paying for it is less a problem than all these funerals.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Germany


    PP. my understanding of the German system is the government limits its role to collecting taxes to fund private universal health insurance with wealthier Germans subsidizing the less wealthy. All the health insurance is supplied by nonprofit companies as are health caree services.

    These regional nonprofit insurers do negotiate prices with healthcare providers and this seems to be how the Germans keep down costs for healthcare and insurance.

    The Trump Adm. has mandated that healthcare providers must reveal their prices for services and procedures to the public to create competetion and allow patients to shop for the best prices. This transparency could help slow the rising costs of healthcare and insurance.


    Anon - 2000 US dead in a day, half million infected. Thought you were competing with Europe? You remember "herd" includes "immunity", right? Not just lemmings?


    The more Trump talks, the more incompetent he appears. Biden is beating Trump in Florida. Biden can sit back and  let Trump charge forward and take responsibility for the coronavirus deaths. 


    Here's Why Herd Immunity Won't Save Us From The COVID-19 Pandemic

    Until we have a vaccine, anyone talking about herd immunity as a preventative strategy for COVID-19 is simply wrong. Fortunately, there are other ways of preventing infections from spreading, which all boil down to avoiding people who are sick.

    You are the problem.


    On the bright there are people like Anonymous trying to thin their herd

    A ‘Liberty’ Rebellion in Idaho Threatens to Undermine Coronavirus Orders

    Even some public officials have challenged social-distancing requirements, calling them assaults on the Constitution. One group wants to gather up to 1,000 people for Easter.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-idaho-bundy-patriot.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage


    There are already hundreds of thousands possibly over a million people who can't transmit Wuhan and that number is growing. This fact along with social distancing can help break up the exponential transmission through the population, not perfect but the best we have until the vaccine is available which could take a year.

    Learn to think for yourself and not be dependent on parroting dickheads.


    Unless you are a scientist, you are using a model presented by some one other than you. We all can think for ourselves but science is a huge enterprise devoted to finding objective truths.

    The primer I referred to before acknowledges that eventually a population will get herd immunity after enough people die. If one wants to cut that number down, testing is important to slow the spread to those who have no immunity. That is the model I understand. Go ahead and link or locate where the one you are using comes from.

    The contempt you ooze makes it difficult to entertain the idea that you are seriously arguing for something. Either argue for something and support it with something beyond your musings or piss upon people. Pick a lane.


    Here is an interview with Jon Cohen, who, as the description says, is an award-winning journalist who has been reporting on infectious diseases for 40 years.

    His responses touch on most of the science issues you raise. I found it helpful. Perhaps you will too.

     


    Nonny gets Wyoming to 1500 adding 27 a day, Vermont 

    25/day, Montana 45/day, Alaska 38. Seems herd immunity's faded in the outback or was a non-starter to nevím with. Wonder how the Covid resources Are out in serious flyover country? Nonny doesnt care - big celebration for Putin. GRU 4 evuh.


    Montana started June with 500 cases, July with 1000, August with 4000. Great exponential growth out there in Big Sky, 100 new infections a day.

    Alaska's also lost its isolation, 468 to 978 to 2990.

    Bet people will be real happy by election day 3 months away.


    Oklahoma will hit 1500 tomorrow. DC & Rhode Island (& Kentucky) in 3 days. Minnesota, Iowa and Delaware in 5 days, New Mexico in 7.

    That's 8 of those 23 states.


    Hey Anon - 

    Rhode Island  2,015

    Oklahoma  1,794

    Kentucky 1,693

    District Of Columbia 1,660

    It's magic!!!

    But hey, you still have 19 below 1500 - until they actually test/infection spreads 2 more days. (5 more states above 1300 waiting to join the big boys - the club's becoming less exclusive every day)

    (note that a lot of these sparse states don't have a lot of public health facilities, so no one actually knows how many there are. But if wishes were horses...)

    Oops, my bad - Iowa skipped over 1500 today too.


    Houston - no tests, no prob

    Mission out of control

    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/How-many-mi...


    Hey Anon - OSHA sez don't worry about it. Workers don't need protection at work.

    https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5e91cc70c5b6f7b1ea8218bf


    Judge knocks Trump scam - Donnie & Ivanka to face non-kangaroo court

    https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/492151-judge-orders-mg...


    Hey Anon - Idaho, Kansas, Arkansas the next to cross your 1500 line (New Mexico's straggling - the rest have surged ahead as predicted/obvious)

    Waiting on sparse states seems a flawed strategy.


    Hey Anon - now it's South Dakota and New Hampshire pushing 1500 plus Puerto Rico (for sure the numbers aren't right there.

    Only 10 bare states left in reserve now. Is that enough to rescue the union?

    675,000 infected and 35,000 dead - just how much more winning does Trump have in store? He seems to be trying to punt away all responsibility to the statesz aside from claiming he's in charge. The man always could hold 2 contrary notions in his head. Can you?


    Hey Nonny, back to work in South Dakota, as you tlrequested! And in Missouri! Except those meat packing jobs are where the wild virus things are. So now only 10 states with fewer than 1500 infections - probably due to underreporting and undertesting. But sure, open up the factories while we clean out the senior homes - what could go wrong? Herd immunity's a great concept if you don't actually like the cows.


    Hey Nonny - after tomorrow only 8 states below 1500 infections. 36 states adding >100 infected a day; 9 states adding 1000+ a day. Of course the President could arrange much more testing, but inst ad he wants to open up more schools and businesses. Putin must be happy.


    Hey Anon - New Hampshire didn't just cross to 1500 - it jumped that fence hard. 23% of new cases under 18? I thought these were your herd immunity backstop - looks more like a Jr League rush. Even The Donald has backed off Hydroxychloroquine and opening up Georgia. Maybe heading towards 100,000 deaths doesn't make for good campaign slogans. When do you admit how wrong you've been? Or will you just social distance yourself and stay (or say!) "Anon"?

    The Department of Health and Human Services also announced 99 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state's total positive test results to 1,588. Several cases are still under investigation, DHHS says.

    Of the new cases, 23 of the patients are under the age of 18.

    The regional breakdown of new cases is: 27 in Rockingham County; 53 in Hillsborough County (including 38 in Manchester and five in Nashua); six in Strafford County; four in Merrimack County; and three in Cheshire County. The county of residence has not yet been determined for six of the new cases.

    Seven new hospitalizations for COVID-19 were announced, bringing total hospitalizations in the state to 213, of 13% of total cases.


    He may be slow to respond. I hear he has gone to Las Vegas to join the control group.


    Hey Anon - tomorrow West Virginia slips over 1500 infected, meaning we're down to 5 states below 1500 (incl the 3 least populous) with a total 4.5m population - i.e. about 1.4% of the US. Sure, it's taken a bit longer to get there than I expected, but then again, I didn't count on Jared's buds announcing to their Facebook friends, "hey, I got this friend high up in the White House, and if anyone knows how to cure coronavirus, would be great to send a recipe". Nor did I imagine we'd just not count the deceased because... Trump doesn't like big numbers (as relates to a "flu" - he's down with fake yuge numbers for his inauguration). Carry on.
     


    Yep, Nonny - today's the day, a bit anti-climactic, but W. Va made it as a straggler what with 7 states at 50K cases or more, 22 more states over 10K, and 24 states at 500 deaths or more. (total >1.5mill, 92K deaths now - taroo-taray! feel that "herd immunity" kicking in)
    Was intrigued when those 23 "back to work" states you reported 6 weeks ago would show us how herd immunity is done. But it just seems they were late starters, with 39 states showing at least 100 new cases a day, while one of the "safe 11", South Dakota, jumped up to 4000 cases with its meat-packing plants.
    But sadly, Anonymous seems to have gone "Anon". Sad, since we now have Trump gone rogue on Hydroxychloroquine, presumably guzzling it in the Oval Office like Grant used to down Scotch.


    Jake and anyone else suggesting that we could or should test ' everyone' is a dickhead. The test is good for one day.

    Nobody is claiming that the test means you cannot get the virus the next day. It being available allows those who test negative to be with others who test negative. This is especially helpful if the test becomes fast and accurate with a quick turnaround. The developments of such tests for other diseases helped get them under control.

    Once anybody can get an accurate test at any time through a program that is not immediately tied to our health care provider system, the situation will be sharply different. This would not only give more options for people who wonder if they have it or not, the data collected will help the science get more effective more quickly. Having people tested for anti-bodies is helpful regardless of who comes down with the virus afterward or not.

    You, like Trump, seem to have difficulty with the fact that the number of recorded cases is always behind the curve if it is growing exponentially. If you and Trump are correct, please come back in 4 weeks to laugh at the Liberals. In the meantime, your limited understanding is a threat to us all.


    No one could have foreseen that asymptomatic people would still be infectious (except for the countless reports in the preceding weeks). 

    Owning the libs has become such great sport - getting tired of 24x7 "winning", Anon?


    You do know that this person is not a person, per se.

    You may as well wrestle with an answering machine or a dryer in a Laundromat.


    The worst president in history pandemic timeline:

    1/8 -CDC issues pandemic warning Intelligence community waving "red flags" as it did before 9/11

    1/14 - Trump has campaign rally

    1/18 - Trump plays golf

    1/19 - Trump plays golf

    1/21 - First coronavirus case is detected in Seattle.

    1/22 - Trump makes his first comments about the coronavirus, saying he is not concerned about a pandemic. “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. … It’s going to be just fine.”

    1/28 - Trump has campaign rally

    1/29 - Trump's Chief Economic Trade Advisor Navarro writes memo to Trump: " there is a real risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.”

    1/30 - Trump has campaign rally

    1/30 - Jan. 30: Trump says of the threat: “We think it’s going to have a very good ending for it. So that I can assure you.”

    2/1 - Trump plays golf

    2/5: Trump’s impeachment trial ends with his acquittal by the Senate.

    2/10: Trump says, “I think the virus is going to be — it’s going to be fine.”

    2/10 -Trump has campaign rally

    2/15 - Trump plays golf

    2/19 - Trump has campaign rally

    Feb. 19: Trump says: “I think it’s going to work out fine. I think when we get into April, in the warmer weather, that has a very negative effect on that and that type of a virus. So let’s see what happens, but I think it’s going to work out fine.”

    2/20 - Trump has campaign rally

    2/21 - Trump has campaign rally

    2/23: Another Navarro memo warns of an “increasing probability of a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic that could infect as many as 100 million Americans, with a loss of life of as many as 1-2 million souls.”

    2/24: Trump says: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. … Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

    Feb. 26: Trump says, “When you have 15 people — and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero — that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”

    2/28 - Trump holds rally, SC - "They tried the impeachment hoax. ... They tried anything. ... And this is their new hoax. ... One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear..."  

    3/7 - Trump plays golf

    3/8 - Trump plays golf

    3/10: Trump says: “Just stay calm. It will go away.”

    3/11: Trump says, “I think we’re going to get through it very well.”

    3/11 - NBA suspends season

    3/13 - Trump pretends to act, issues Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease

    3/16: Asked about his repeated comments saying the situation was “under control,” he says: “If you’re talking about the virus, no, that’s not under control for any place in the world. … I was talking about what we’re doing is under control, but I’m not talking about the virus.”

    3/16 - President Trump told reporters Monday that he would rate his administration’s response to the coronavirus a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.

    4/7 - Over 12,790 Americans have been known to have died of coronavirus, although the actual death toll is likely thousands higher due to the fact county coroners are unable to receive testing kits to diagnosis infection.  

    4/7 - Trump appoints another toady, Kayleigh McEnany, as his new press secretary. Speaking on Fox Business on February 25,  McEnany said: "This President will always put America first," she said. "He will always protect American citizens. We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here. We will not see terrorism come here. And isn't that refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama?"


    IMNAD but anytime I hear the word "necrotizing"...

     

    ETA: just back from the link, and....dayum...

     

    I was figuring that the brain issues you cited were secondary to prolonged sedation pursuant to being on a vent, not a whole subset of pathologies attendant upon the virus alone.


    Your response is a good lesson for us all.
    The situation is unfolding much more quickly than our capacity to understand what all is involved.


    as an alternative, you could just use Christopher Titus' "miserable failure at human as president? no thanks" method:

     


    Your update regarding testing in relation to the coroners work is important. The whole article is important but I will quote one sentence:

    But it is ultimately the medical examiners and coroners who decide what ends up on death certificates under their jurisdiction, and some, like Romann, told CNN they don't feel comfortable guessing at the cause of death without a test. 


    NCD, very nice simple 30-second video chart to illustrate your point:

     


    AMERICA FIRST !!! WE'RE NUMBER ONE!

    Trump's biggest bankruptcy!

    Good graphic, thanks. Trump says it's all over in a couple of weeks, Fauci banned from TV by Pence.


    BTW, just for accuracy purposes on these "who knew what when" things, I see the medical arm of the DIA is formally denying the existence of a Nov. 2019 report.


    The "official statement"  is from Colonel R. Shane Day, he is not the Director of DIA's National Center for Medical Intelligence unit, Kathryn Morici is director.

    The colonel is a DO, and "leads a team of over 400 personnel providing medical care and operational support to over 15,000 beneficiaries." He is a primary care provider, and likely DOD Secretary Esper ass kisser. What connection primary care provider Dr. Day had to intelligence assessment of November, 2019 satellite photographs, computer communication intercepts and other east Asian intelligence is not stated in his Air Force biography.

    The "official denial tweet" mentions a "Coronavirus-related product assessment in November" , and "no such product exists".

    1. The November report mentioned a contagion, it did not identify the coronavirus, the name and type of the contagion was not even known in China at the time. So, of course, a "coronavirus product" did not exist.

    2. The warning related to the unknown epidemic was likely in a product of a general assessment of risks to US forces in the western Pacific region.

    On Trump's CDC Director, the idiot Redfield, CNN:

    What we needed was extremely aggressive leadership at the CDC level and at the national level to say, okay, these are all our plans... I don't think there was really a realization of the magnitude of the problem," said Glenn Morris, director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida.
     
    As late as January 28, in an email obtained by CNN, CDC Director Robert Redfield told state public health directors that "the virus is not spreading in the U.S. at this time and CDC believes the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is low."
    But lab directors and epidemiologists said the likely magnitude of the problem was crystal clear to them much earlier.
    "We certainly said on many conference calls with the CDC during those times that we really needed to expand lab testing,"
    Redfield was such a Trump boot licker and toady he held up tests that any doctor would know are needed to prove his unsupported by any evidence conclusion that the virus was "not spreading" in America. He was told the test were needed by epidemiologists and academics across the country, but didn't allow them to do tests, so as not to prove his boss, Trump, is a liar and fool.
     
    Trump, 2/26 - “When you have 15 people — and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero — that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”
     
    Redfield, 2/28 - " "the virus is not spreading in the U.S. at this time.."

    Trump deadset against testing, then, now, in the future.

    Like all con artists he hates facts as they limit the con. Today 4/9:

    --President Trump on Thursday said mass testing for the coronavirus is not necessary for the United States to get back to normal, contradicting experts who say widespread testing is critical to ease out of social distancing. The Trump administration is pushing to reopen much of the country next month.

    Epidemiologists and infectious-disease specialists have included widespread testing as part of the strategy for sending people back to work safely.--


    I don't think even the GOP in Congress would fall for grand reopening without much more testing, they know that by November they'd have to pay for the resulting disaster. Again, I don't think Trump's whims of the day are what's important to watch anymore.Someone will convince him otherwise tomorrow, and he'll flip flop two more times after that. Sounds like he's obsessed with his original "aspirational" Easter vision, wants to do some more delusional P.R. along those lines for the fans....

    Edit to add: thanks for the other info. on D.I.A., et. al.


    As expected you selectively edit to prop up your phony narrative. Trump said it was mot necessary to test 350 million people which isn't possible. There will be mass testing in targeted areas to gather useful data.

    The serum antibodies testing that is now coming online will be targeted and may produce even more useful data for the task of reopening the economy.


    As expected you try to pretend there's some competence in our current chaotic Fed. government instead of arguing the more rational though cruel libertarian angle that you and Trump don't want any and want to leave a pandemic up to local government and survival of the fittest:

    You can't have it both ways. Trump can't be a libertarian heeero and an excellent federal manager at the same time. You are much better off arguing that he doesn't intend to interfere with the pandemic.

     


    Art, you're still my favorite commie and there's still no art in your agitprop, a blunt weapon at best.

    My  least favorite commie Ian Welsh is lamenting the fact that the Wuhan won't be deadly enough to bring down the 'system'. His candor exposes the ever darkening underbelly of your fellow travelers who would tolerate even celebrate the bodybags stacked high in the streets. By Any Means Necessary.  


    Your president did next to nothing after gutting critical resources, while putting his corrupt incompetent kids in charge of national r lied efforts, and you have the fucking nerve to Yammer about "fellow travellers"? You're an enabler of a kleptocratic nepotistic oaf. 


    Da plan, boss, da plan. (I could watch this all day)


    for those who still want to keep track, here's the latest of umpteenth reports by anonymice to Maggie how he is a stubborn idiot narcissist who could care less about anyone else, including Republicans, and needs to be babied and manipulated:


    Brit Hume is one conservative who has had enough (caught this only because someone I follow retweeted it)


    But is Brit Hume correct?

    Is there some point to be made that Trump could make but he fails to do so because of whatever?

    I don't think so. Brit is inserting an imaginary Trump to make his point because Trump fails to.

    My brain hurts.


    Sorry moat, but WSJ too:


    It should say "highly toxic" show but I will take it and leave the store without a whimper.


    Tom Tomorrow:


    A pathetic miserable failure, even by his own metrics. This Schachtman tweet and Darzai retweet was clarifying for me, it's just this simple:

    The pathetic part is all he had to do is say, “I will humbly defer to the scientists and experts on this one.” https://t.co/dKfnHdVpMb

    — Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) April 11, 2020

     


    5 star reporters recommended by a competitor star reporter write lots of words and furnish lots of links, using leakers galore, all to the same conclusion, pathetic miserable failure:


    We seem to have ferreted out the true identity of "Anon"-he is Judd Deere (parenthetically, who would'a thunk Dagblog would rate attention from one so hightly compensated...)

     

    “While the media and Democrats refused to seriously acknowledge this virus in January and February, President Trump took bold action to protect Americans and unleash the full power of the federal government to curb the spread of the virus, expand testing capacities and expedite vaccine development even when we had no true idea the level of transmission or asymptomatic spread,” said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman.


    Deere in the headlights? 20/80 hindsight?


    The quickest way to find where a troll is getting their information from or who they are copying and pasting as their own words is to go to a number of right wing websites and paste whatever text is being used into their search engine. Pop goes the weasel, the origin is revealed.

    In their comments sections, much is made of the sport of "triggering Libs" and how much fun it is to watch their heads explode. They share notes on which message from the movement yields the largest explosion. It gets pretty sweaty.

    I used to be more curious about it before I found out how small the shared resources are.


    Maybe a way to look at trolls is not to see them as instruments of influence but as stimuli inserted to harvest a response.
    While it is important to respond on the level of preserving discourse from such actors, there is a cost paid every time. The trolls use the responses to learn what to try next. They have their own learning curve.


    absolutely, no question. I learned that being moderator on bulletin board back in the blogosphere days. Especially learned a lot private messaging with world class famous troll trying to get him to behave. He wasn't trying to convince anyone of anything, he got off on getting emotional reactions and causing chaos.

    Doing that can go along with a conservative world view where one wants to show how if you all come back to a rigid organization of rules, you will be safe from all these crazy emotional irrational people going off.

    But most of them just get a real high out of being able to manipulate an emotional reaction from other people. It's a power thing.


    It is a power thing. But I take a less motivational view. When in a conflict, don't teach the opponent how to fight you.
    That is a difficult standard, maybe impossible on some level. But one could stop providing free seminars on the topic.


    dupe deleted, comment below


    Really, got me thinking: what would a successful narcissist populist do? A chicken in every pot! Jobs jobs jobs!

    If you're Trump, you get a gaggle of nurses and doctors to appear and you say: you said you need N95 masks, I'm gonna get you a gazillion! Haz mat suits too, even tho you didn't ask! It's gonna be yuge. We are gonna win! Even if he had no idea how to deliver what he promised and made excuses when it didn't happen.

    But he's not doing that which made him President. He's not lying and saying "I'm gonna solve it". He just babbles this way and that, confused about whether the wants his admin to look in charge or whether he wants to do ye old Norquist Republican local government thing, wishy washy back and forth. Yuge pathetic fail by his own standards, nothing to brag about, just like he used to say on TV, he should say to himself "you're fired".


    Successful narcissistic personalities don't win, they keep the game going.
    Roll again. Don't let the music stop in the chair game. Etcetera.
    That's it.
    The Music Man leaves town in the end.
     



    Dang, despite all my promises to the contrary, I get dragged into the troll's lair again! Dying to know what the latest deleted Trump tweet said:

    The president is unwell. https://t.co/0g1BZjbJDN

    — Andrew Sullivan (@sullydish) April 11, 2020

     


    OIC, several of Andrew Sullivan's followers put screen shots of the deleted tweet in the replies, here it is:


    There is nothing there. We are here.


    Jake Tapper tries again: Mr President, these questions need answers

    The first unanswered question is about the tests that are not happening.


    Thanks, great job by CNN's Tapper. 

    Trump may destroy our healthcare system and its providers, nursing homes, grocery stores/employees, meat processing employees/industry, the post office, the Navy, along with his destruction of the EPA, State Department, etc.

    Wall Street will be the last to realize this country is heading over a cliff. Hopefully, governors can save us until and if Trump is defeated.


    Those pesky governors. There is a plan for that but not one for nationwide testing.


    The plan this weekend: how in the heck can I fire and replace Fauci?


    We'll look back on April as the 'calm before the storm' Trump may destroy the country, to try to save his grip on power, that may be his plan.


    BUT Sunday a "great friend" who has been with him "since day one" just died of coronavirus:

    Stanley ​Chera, New York real estate mogul and Trump friend, has died of coronavirus complications

    @ CNN Business, April 12, 10:25 pm WITH VIDEO OF TRUMP LAUDING CHERA at link

    Stanley Chera, the prominent New York City real estate developer and Republican donor who co-founded Crown Acquisitions, has died of complications related to Covid-19, a source close to Chera confirmed to CNN Sunday. He was in his late 70s.

    The news was first reported by journalist Yashar Ali.

    Chera's real estate career began when he started buying the retail buildings that held his family's chain of children's specialty stores, holdings that became Crown Acquisitions, according to the company's website. The company eventually divested from the retail stores to focus on real estate. Crown's holdings include several iconic New York City properties, such as The St. Regis New York and the Cartier Mansion.

    Chera was also friends with President Donald Trump. 

    From 2016 to 2019, Chera donated a total of $402,800 to Donald J. Trump for President Inc. and Trump Victory, organizations dedicated to supporting Trump's presidency, according to Federal Election Commission records.

    Chera's 

    Crown Acquisitions inked a deal in 2008 with now-Trump son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's firm The Kushner Companies and private equity firm The Carlyle Group. Crown Acquisitions and Carlyle Group took a stake in the retail portion of the building at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City, which was owned by Kushner Companies. The Fifth Avenue skyscraper ended up being a troubled property that weighed down The Kushner Companies' portfolio for years until the building sold to Brookfield Properties in 2018.

    Chera introduced Trump at the New York City Veteran's Day Parade last November, calling the president "my dear friend."

    Trump called out Chera at a 2019 rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, describing him as "one of the biggest builders and real estate people in the world."

    "And he's a great guy and he's been with me from the beginning," Trump said of Chera [....]

     


    The World Health Organization has broken it down to six bullet points:

    1. Transmission is controlled.

    2. Health system capacities are in place to detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.

    3. Outbreak risks are minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes.

    4. Preventive measures are in place in workplaces, schools and other places where it's essential for people to go.

    5. Importation risks can be managed.

    6. Communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the new normal. 

    None of that has happened yet.

    It also lists what is most difficult to make happen outside of a Federal process.


    Just for the historical record of daily bluster bullshit "aspirational" authortarian red meat for the fans and backtracking the very next day, 

    here is the current NYTimes headline

    'Call your own shots, Trump tells Governors

    President Backs Down From Confrontation Over Reopening States

    and here is WaPo's

    CORONAVIRUS

    As testing outcry mounts, Trump yields to states in guidelines for slow reopening

    Administration officials said that although the federal government will try to facilitate access to tests, states and localities will be responsible for developing and administering their own testing programs.

    ‘Call your own shots’: Trump leaves reopening states up to their governors



    promise with no plan:


    One of Trump's young victims.

    Either you're helping or hurting.

    Trump's going out of his way not to help.

    Sympathies for this girl and her family. 

    Now so many like her, and those older.


    Latest Comments