Some Covid-19 thoughts by captaincrunch

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Oh that's too bad. I hope the Navajos fare well through this.

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Monday, April 20, 2020 1:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Meanwhile, in reality...

Trump's ratings aren't falling at all.
Meanwhile in Real reality, rather than inside your head, Trump's approval rating is down significantly from 49% in March, while his disapproval rating is up 9 points from 45%. Even in Trump's favorite poll, Rasmussen has found Trump getting buried for his horrendous response to COVID-19.
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/04/trumps-approval-ratings-plummet-new
-gallop

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Trump's approval rating was never 49%.

You would NEVER go by a single poll that showed Trump having a his highest rating ever before, so why would you do so now?

Don't bother answering that. We already know the answer.

His highest ratings in the RCP aggregate ever were just north of 47% approval. It currently sits at 46% which, as I stated before, is as high as it ever has been outside of that recent jump to over 47%.

Take a look at the graph here:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_app
roval-6179.html

Remember when he was at 41% during the sham impeachment?

Or maybe when he was at 37% in December of 2017?

I bet you miss those days, huh?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, April 20, 2020 2:58 AM

BRENDA

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Oh that's too bad. I hope the Navajos fare well through this.

They have over 1,000 cases that covers all their reserves between New Mexico and Arizona.

So far only 6 on the Wind River Reservation. That reserve is split between mine Shoshone and the Arapaho. From what I read it seems the cases are on the Shoshone side of the reserve.

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Monday, April 20, 2020 9:04 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Trump's approval rating was never 49%.

You would NEVER go by a single poll that showed Trump having a his highest rating ever before, so why would you do so now?

Don't bother answering that. We already know the answer.

His highest ratings in the RCP aggregate ever were just north of 47% approval. It currently sits at 46% which, as I stated before, is as high as it ever has been outside of that recent jump to over 47%.

Take a look at the graph here:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_app
roval-6179.html

Remember when he was at 41% during the sham impeachment?

Or maybe when he was at 37% in December of 2017?

I bet you miss those days, huh?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

In Africa, they are wondering what game is Trump playing. If Africans can see that something very peculiar, confusing and strange is going on inside Trump's head, why don't Republicans see it?

http://watchingamerica.com/WA/2020/04/16/the-presidents-mistakes-trump
-and-the-coronavirus/

Although the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across different countries throughout the world, the peculiarity of the American case is that it emerges from the paradox of significantly downplaying the seriousness of the virus at the presidential level, while the United States simultaneously occupies the top spot in the level of virus transmission globally. The first confirmed case of the coronavirus in the United States was recorded on Jan. 21, 2020, and by March 13, 2020, the number of cases had reached 1,663 across 46 U.S. states. However, even up to that point in time, President Donald Trump continued to downplay the impact of the virus in both his statements and on Twitter.

Therefore, it isn't surprising that at the start of the crisis, President Trump was accused of minimizing how serious the situation was by emphasizing that localized spread of the virus was not unavoidable. Actually, these statements were incorrect, with the number of infected people reaching catastrophic levels, such that today there are more than 300,000 cases representing a quarter of the global infection rate. Remarkably, criticism of Trump came from such sober magazines as Foreign Affairs, which expressed the view that Washington, and in particular the White House represented by President Trump, mishandled the spread of the virus in such a way that it laid bare a state of confusion, showing what the magazine described as the United States’ inability to lead the global system.

Strangely, Trump has never listened to the voice of the U.S. media, and instead started out by describing them as stupid and dull. Rather than listening, Trump followed his usual approach of sparring with journalists, as he did when a CNN correspondent attending a news conference referred to Trump’s previous statements that the virus was, to a large degree, under control, and that it would disappear. Because this was not the case, the president’s negligence seemed to be clearly apparent and recognizable across the United States. When asked about his administration’s method for dealing with the virus, Trump first asserted that he did not bear any responsibility, while on a second occasion, he indicated that nobody was aware there would be a pandemic of this size.

More at http://watchingamerica.com/WA/2020/04/16/the-presidents-mistakes-trump
-and-the-coronavirus/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Monday, April 20, 2020 9:56 AM

You're going off topic again, Second. So I'll repost our conversation and you can pick it up where we left off.

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Meanwhile, in reality...

Trump's ratings aren't falling at all.
Meanwhile in Real reality, rather than inside your head, Trump's approval rating is down significantly from 49% in March, while his disapproval rating is up 9 points from 45%. Even in Trump's favorite poll, Rasmussen has found Trump getting buried for his horrendous response to COVID-19.
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/04/trumps-approval-ratings-plummet-new
-gallop

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Monday, April 20, 2020 10:13 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
You're going off topic again, Second. So I'll repost our conversation and you can pick it up where we left off.

6ix, let's get to the point: you want Trump reelected but you don't want to talk about Trump being an incompetent/insane/incoherent bungler. Instead, you bring up poll numbers favorable to bunglers. Competent people know Trump is not right in the head. Incompetent people want to vote for him again. It all boils down to how many of those incompetent people will vote in November. The polls can only indicate what percent of Americans are incompetent. Personally, I'm not voting for Trump, but if he wins I get another round of prize money because Trump and the GOP Senators are very generous to people like me, but not nearly as much to 6ix.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Monday, April 20, 2020 8:02 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The current pandemic has affected some countries more than others, partly because they have been slow to react to the crisis.

People are susceptible to a mistake dubbed “outcome bias”.

“A very obvious example is if you have two airplanes that nearly collide, but don’t,” says Robin Dillon-Merrill at Georgetown University in Washington DC. She says one possible response is, “Wow, that was really close, next time that could have happened” – which might prompt changes to current practice. However, often people do not respond like that. Instead they say, “Wow, I’m a fabulous pilot and my flight skills avoided that entirely”. This is outcome bias: the fact things turned out OK can cause us to underestimate how close they came to going badly wrong.

The Covid-19 epidemic is a clear instance of governments and organisations not having learned from near misses. In the past 20 years there have been two outbreaks of diseases caused by coronaviruses, the group to which the new virus belongs. The Sars outbreak of 2003 and 2004 killed at least 774 people before it was contained, while the ongoing Mers outbreak which began in 2012 has killed 858. Covid-19 has already far surpassed both, at more than 76,500 deaths at the time of writing.

“I don’t think that we’re experiencing anything like a near-miss at the moment, unfortunately,” says Dillon-Merrill. “This is not a near-miss, this is an absolute hit.”

More at www.bbc.com/future/article/20200409-why-we-find-it-difficult-to-recogn
ise-a-crisis

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Monday, April 20, 2020 9:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
You're going off topic again, Second. So I'll repost our conversation and you can pick it up where we left off.
6ix, let's get to the point:

Yes. Let's get to the point:

1. YOU brought up bullshit poll numbers.

2. I thoroughly debunked them.

3. You go off on a completely unrelated tangent like you always do when you're always proven wrong about every thought that pops up into that tiny little brain of yours.

4. I brought the conversation back to YOUR original topic on your bad poll analysis.

5. You devolve once again, as you always do, into telling us about how great you are and how much money you have. (Neither thing, any of us actually believe, BTW...)

6. Now I'm bringing the conversation back to your bogus poll analysis.

Care to try to defend yourself against the ass kicking I gave you by staying on topic this time? Or do you admit that you're wrong and that's why you can never, ever stay on topic?

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, April 20, 2020 10:10 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Covid-19 highlights the conservative reliance on fake experts.

We know that Trump’s call for an early end to the economic lockdown was inspired in part by the writings of Richard Epstein, a conservative legal scholar who decided that he understands epidemiology better than the epidemiologists and confidently predicted that Covid-19 would kill no more than 500 people. (It’s currently killing four times that many every day.)

Fox News responded to the unwillingness of Dr. Anthony Fauci to support an early reopening of the economy. To provide an alternative view, the network turned to Dr. Phil, whose expertise, if he has one, is in pop psychology.

Now, much of this is familiar to anyone who has followed the debate over climate change. Faced with the overwhelming scientific consensus that man-made climate change is real and frightening, the right has long promoted the contrarian views of a handful of quacks — some with actual scientific credentials, but generally in fields other than climate science. And there’s a strong overlap between organizations that promote climate denial and those that promoted virus denial.

The modern right is driven in large part by Fox-fueled hostility to “elites” who claim to know more than guys in diners — which, on technical subjects like epidemiology, they do.

Finally, there has historically been a strong association between right-wing extremism and grifting, including snake-oil and get-rich-quick schemes. Alex Jones may attract an audience by peddling conspiracy theories, but he makes money by selling nutritional supplements, which he is now claiming offer protection against the coronavirus.

All of these factors making modern conservatism a happy hunting ground for fake experts have reached a kind of apotheosis under Donald Trump, a grifter president whose whole political strategy is based on catering to white male grievance, and who both disdains expertise and always values loyalty above competence. And one result is the wildly premature push to reopen the economy.

www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-conservatives.html

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Monday, April 20, 2020 10:22 PM

Yup. That's what I thought.

Thanks for playing.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, April 20, 2020 10:38 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

lol

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 12:14 AM

And so the civil disobedience begins...

Keep everything shut down much longer, and we're going to have some real entertaining things to start talking about.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 12:33 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

I personally prefer that states open up at will, as long as they don't get medical federal aid later. Because once you've made the choice I think you have to live with the consequences. Even if, yanno, too many people start croaking and everyone gets unhappy.

That seems reasonable.

In fact, this is the THIRD time I've posted this in response to your pretense to be able to read my mind and post your bullshit about what I must 'really' want on the board.

But you're apparently too chickenshit to either acknowledge what I post or respond.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 7:24 AM

Not everything is about or directed at you, Karen.

Glad to have you on board.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 7:43 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

And it only took 3X for you to get the message.

But I think it should only happen as long as states don't then go running to Daddy Trump if they found out they messed up. They need to take it on the chin.

BTW, being in a rural area only helps if most people are pretty isolated, like out on ranches or large farms. Small towns are just like cities in terms of rubbing elbows with people. They're just smaller. So once SARS-COV-2 gets introduced in a village, it'll be everywhere in that village. I can't help but cynically laugh at the nirvana they're going to find themselves in.

Well, if Trump's willing to roll the dice on that tactic, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out if it goes south.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 8:46 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The Price of Oil Didn’t Fall to -$30 Yesterday

Everyone knows that the price of oil didn’t really fall to negative $30 yesterday, right?

All that happened was that the price of one particular futures contract fell below zero. This contract comes due on Tuesday and requires the buyer to take physical possession of the oil. Unfortunately, thanks to the COVID-19 oil glut, there’s little storage available and its price has skyrocketed. Under these extreme conditions, taking delivery of the oil and buying storage for it would be a guaranteed huge loss. This caused many investors and speculators to panic and dump their contracts at any price—even if they had to pay someone to take it off their hands.

Anyway, that’s it. The price of one particular futures contract, late in the day, was a victim of panic selling. The price of oil in general was largely unaffected. It’s still dropping, mind you, but not in any kind of dramatic way.

https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/45

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:09 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Right now the main obstacle to vanquishing coronavirus to the point where we can reopen the economy is the lack of a robust federal testing regime. Indeed, Harvard University researchers calculate that we cannot reopen safely until the current levels of testing have tripled.

It’s telling that only hours before announcing the new ban, Trump basically dismissed criticism of his failure to stand up a federal testing regime as a hoax. At Monday evening’s briefing, he mocked critics who, he said, thought they could “get him on testing,” claiming this was mostly “partisan.”

In reality, multiple Republicans have decried this failure. When GOP governor Larry Hogan of Maryland was recently asked about Trump’s claim that testing issues have been solved, he replied, “That’s just not true,” adding: “No state has enough testing.” That includes red states.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/21/trumps-new-immigration-ban-
is-scam-dont-pretend-otherwise/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:55 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
And it only took 3X for you to get the message.

But I think it should only happen as long as states don't then go running to Daddy Trump if they found out they messed up. They need to take it on the chin.

It was sarcasm on my point, because it's disingenuous on your point. You're not at all on board, and you're proposing something that would never happen. You're using anti-smoker tactics, and since this isn't an anti-smoking campaign you know full well that they won't fly here. It's easy to say fuck you to a smoker because they're doing the damage to themselves. What you're suggesting is that everybody who has second hand smoke also be punished if things work out the way that you expect them to.

Quote:
BTW, being in a rural area only helps if most people are pretty isolated, like out on ranches or large farms. Small towns are just like cities in terms of rubbing elbows with people. They're just smaller. So once SARS-COV-2 gets introduced in a village, it'll be everywhere in that village. I can't help but cynically laugh at the nirvana they're going to find themselves in.

You keep talking about The Coomph to me as if I believe it's even 1/8th as dangerous as you think it is. I do not.

Quote:
Well, if Trump's willing to roll the dice on that tactic, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out if it goes south.

It's not up to Trump.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The Price of Oil Didn’t Fall to -$30 Yesterday

Everyone knows that the price of oil didn’t really fall to negative $30 yesterday, right?

All that happened was that the price of one particular futures contract fell below zero. This contract comes due on Tuesday and requires the buyer to take physical possession of the oil. Unfortunately, thanks to the COVID-19 oil glut, there’s little storage available and its price has skyrocketed. Under these extreme conditions, taking delivery of the oil and buying storage for it would be a guaranteed huge loss. This caused many investors and speculators to panic and dump their contracts at any price—even if they had to pay someone to take it off their hands.

Anyway, that’s it. The price of one particular futures contract, late in the day, was a victim of panic selling. The price of oil in general was largely unaffected. It’s still dropping, mind you, but not in any kind of dramatic way.

https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/45

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Yup. Other countries can weather the low prices a lot better than we can.

Just another huge example of how the current shut down is fucking our economy hard in all of its many, many holes.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 12:38 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
JACK:
It was sarcasm on my point, because it's disingenuous on your point. You're not at all on board, and you're proposing something that would never happen. You're using anti-smoker tactics, and since this isn't an anti-smoking campaign you know full well that they won't fly here. It's easy to say fuck you to a smoker because they're doing the damage to themselves. What you're suggesting is that everybody who has second hand smoke also be punished if things work out the way that you expect them to.

It's impossible to discuss anything with you because you insist on not reading words that are there, and reading words that aren't there.

So much for your post.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 12:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Quote:
JACK:
It was sarcasm on my point, because it's disingenuous on your point. You're not at all on board, and you're proposing something that would never happen. You're using anti-smoker tactics, and since this isn't an anti-smoking campaign you know full well that they won't fly here. It's easy to say fuck you to a smoker because they're doing the damage to themselves. What you're suggesting is that everybody who has second hand smoke also be punished if things work out the way that you expect them to.
It's impossible to discuss anything with you because you insist on not reading words that are there, and reading words that aren't there.

So much for your post.

Your "agreement" with me is based off of erroneous assumptions, which I pointed out in my post.

First off, it's not Trump's decision if statewide bans are lifted, like you just said that it was. He can choose to de-escalate the nationwide state of emergency, but he has no jurisdiction over how the states respond to that.

Second, I didn't read words that aren't there. You propose that the 315 Million+ Americans in states that have lockdowns currently relinquish any and all ability to get any relief if things go south if lockdowns are ended.

This choice will ultimately be made by a handful of top-state-level officials and will be made for millions. In this case, the officials who make that choice are the smokers, and the millions of people living in the states are the ones who happen to be the 2nd-hand smokers.

I happen to agree somewhat with what you're saying, but... and this is a BIG but, any states that re-open should not have to pay for the Democrat shitholes that remain closed off and were already leaching tax dollars at 10 times the rate of everybody else before the virus either.

We both know neither of these things are going to happen. All we do know is that keeping things closed off is fucking the future of the country and changing people and their behaviors on a basic, fundamental level.

Seriously though. At the end of the day I think it's time that California and New York parted ways and became their own countries. The rest of the 48 of us won't miss them at all.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 1:04 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
As the continued begging the federal government for more tests, Cuomo explained that one reason for the shortage was the lack of chemical reagents from overseas.

I can believe that* but ... what are the OTHER reasons?

*I'm going to bring up my relevant job experience... again. When I was supervising a section that (among other things) analyzed paints, coatings, lubricants and household cleaners, we would -of course- have to procure standards of the various specialty chemicals that went into each product, and in the past ten years nearly every chemical that we ordered came from China. Once in a while from Germany, almost never from the USA. That kind of invisible hollowing out has been going on for well over two decades, and does not put the USA in a good position during times of emergency.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 2:56 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
As the continued begging the federal government for more tests, Cuomo explained that one reason for the shortage was the lack of chemical reagents from overseas.
I can believe that* but ... what are the OTHER reasons?

*I'm going to bring up my relevant job experience... again. When I was supervising a section that (among other things) analyzed paints, coatings, lubricants and household cleaners, we would -of course- have to procure standards of the various specialty chemicals that went into each product, and in the past ten years nearly every chemical that we ordered came from China. Once in a while from Germany, almost never from the USA. That kind of invisible hollowing out has been going on for well over two decades, and does not put the USA in a good position during times of emergency.

This article says it has been going on for 30 years. I'll say that it is exactly what will happen in a "free market" where buyers, sellers, manufacturers, consumers make decisions 100% based on price and 0% on who made it and where made.

To Understand the Medical Supply Shortage, It Helps to Know How the U.S. Lost the Lithium Ion Battery to China
www.propublica.org/article/to-understand-the-medical-supply-shortage-i
t-helps-to-know-how-the-us-lost-the-lithium-ion-battery-to-china
"The failed U.S. effort to dominate global production of the lithium ion battery — which is key to energy independence, automobile innovation and more — holds lessons for leaders grappling with the U.S.’s reliance on China for emergency medical supplies."

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 3:04 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
The Price of Oil Didn’t Fall to -$30 Yesterday

Everyone knows that the price of oil didn’t really fall to negative $30 yesterday, right?

All that happened was that the price of one particular futures contract fell below zero. This contract comes due on Tuesday and requires the buyer to take physical possession of the oil. Unfortunately, thanks to the COVID-19 oil glut, there’s little storage available and its price has skyrocketed. Under these extreme conditions, taking delivery of the oil and buying storage for it would be a guaranteed huge loss. This caused many investors and speculators to panic and dump their contracts at any price—even if they had to pay someone to take it off their hands.

Anyway, that’s it. The price of one particular futures contract, late in the day, was a victim of panic selling. The price of oil in general was largely unaffected. It’s still dropping, mind you, but not in any kind of dramatic way.

https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/45

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Yup. Other countries can weather the low prices a lot better than we can.

Just another huge example of how the current shut down is fucking our economy hard in all of its many, many holes.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

You can actually trace this problem to a few hundred rich, greedy and overly optimistic Texas oilmen who won't cut back production. Each of these guys thinks somebody else should cut back, not themselves. The result is nobody cuts back production enough. Only bankruptcy will stop the stupidest of these guys from over producing oil.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 3:35 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

You can actually trace this back to the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS that lent these rich, greedy, overly optimistic oilmen everywhere ... not just Texas but Oklahoma, S Dakota, Pennsylvania etc ... tons of money to "invest" in a production technology that would only ever make sense at $60+/bbl. And then there are the rich, greedy, overly optimistic hedge funds that play games with oil futures.

And because the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS have so much money sunk into these ... literally... money pits, they can't possibly let them fail because then the banks themselves would go bankrupt, along with the hedge funds that are based on oil.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 5:53 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

AG Barr has said that the DOJ might prosecute states that don't open up their economies.

That doesn't even make sense from a political POV since Trump would be blamed for any resulting shit show.

If I were Trump, I would let states reopen based on what their governors and state legislatures decided, and I would continue to provide the help that the federal government is supposed to be providing, but only if

States mandate wearing masks in public and

Free Osat tests are provided at any pharmacy, urgent care or doctors office

The state report ALL of its deaths and cases to the CDC using presumed as well as confirmed criteria

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 8:56 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
You can actually trace this back to the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS that lent these rich, greedy, overly optimistic oilmen everywhere ... not just Texas but Oklahoma, S Dakota, Pennsylvania etc ... tons of money to "invest" in a production technology that would only ever make sense at $60+/bbl. And then there are the rich, greedy, overly optimistic hedge funds that play games with oil futures.

And because the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS have so much money sunk into these ... literally... money pits, they can't possibly let them fail because then the banks themselves would go bankrupt, along with the hedge funds that are based on oil.

When you make all these connections to so many different people in far flung places, then nobody is at fault, other than the "system," but there really are particular people behind the low prices, people who are too stupid and won't stop pumping because they are certain somebody else will stop first.

The Texas Railroad Commission was talking about limiting oil production, but two out of three commissioners want to let the "free market" decide. The "free market" is a few hundred oil men, some not very smart, panicking and running in circles, screaming and shouting. It is unsurprising when it goes horribly wrong. That is why there is a Texas Railroad Commission to bring some sanity to the "free market". But sometimes the elected commissioners decide to not decide:

Railroad Commission delays vote on state-mandated oil production cuts
Sergio Chapa Updated: April 21, 2020 3:18 p.m.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, postponed a vote on a proposal to institute state-mandated oil production cuts until next month.

The three-member commission delayed action until its May 5 meeting after debating the issue for 30 minutes during a Tuesday morning hearing.

The proposal, pushed by Irving-based oil company Pioneer Natural Resources and Austin oil company Parsley Energy, has been floating around since the end of March. Executives with the companies want the panel to require drillers in the state to cut production in an effort to help boost oil prices, which are in the midst of a historic crash. The Railroad Commission hasn't enforced such a requirement since the early 1970s.

Parsley CEO Matt Gallagher said he was disappointed by the inaction but praised the commissioners for scheduling a vote next month.

"It is clear we are not in normal market conditions and we need a symphony of solutions to bring stability back to our industry," he said.

www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Railroad-Commission-t
ables-vote-on-state-mandated-15215361.php

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:05 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Public authorities and health care systems were almost everywhere caught short-handed. Forty years of neoliberalism across North and South America and Europe had left the public totally exposed and ill-prepared to face a public health crisis of this sort, even though previous scares of SARS and Ebola provided abundant warnings as well as cogent lessons as to what would be needed to be done. In many parts of the supposed “civilised” world, local governments and regional/state authorities, which invariably form the front line of defence in public health and safety emergencies of this kind, had been starved of funding thanks to a policy of austerity designed to fund tax cuts and subsidies to the corporations and the rich. Corporatist Big Pharma has little or no interest in non-remunerative research on infectious diseases (such as the whole class of coronaviruses that have been well-known since the 1960s). Big Pharma rarely invests in prevention. It has little interest in investing in preparedness for a public health crisis. It loves to design cures. The sicker we are the more they earn. Prevention does not contribute to share-holder value. The business model applied to public health provision eliminated the surplus coping capacities that would be required in an emergency.

More at "Anti-Capitalist Politics in an Age of Covid-19"
https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/03/david-harvey-anti-capitalist-politics
-in-an-age-of-covid-19

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
AG Barr has said that the DOJ might prosecute states that don't open up their economies.

That doesn't even make sense from a political POV since Trump would be blamed for any resulting shit show.

If I were Trump, I would let states reopen based on what their governors and state legislatures decided, and I would continue to provide the help that the federal government is supposed to be providing, but only if

States mandate wearing masks in public and

Free Osat tests are provided at any pharmacy, urgent care or doctors office

The state report ALL of its deaths and cases to the CDC using presumed as well as confirmed criteria

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

Good thing you don't make decisions.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 10:35 PM

JO753

rezident owtsidr

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
Hello JO753...

Howdy, THG.

Are you feeling that? Its like a shifting uv the firmament. An Earth quake without the shake.

My bro sent me a link to this video. Never herd it befor:

----------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early

http://www.7532020.com .

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Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:12 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
SIGNY:You can actually trace this back to the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS that lent these rich, greedy, overly optimistic oilmen everywhere ... not just Texas but Oklahoma, S Dakota, Pennsylvania etc ... tons of money to "invest" in a production technology that would only ever make sense at $60+/bbl. And then there are the rich, greedy, overly optimistic hedge funds that play games with oil futures.

And because the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS have so much money sunk into these ... literally... money pits, they can't possibly let them fail because then the banks themselves would go bankrupt, along with the hedge funds that are based on oil.

SECOND: When you make all these connections to so many different people in far flung places, then nobody is at fault, other than the "system,"

DING! DING! DING! Give that man a cigar!

The system rewards bad behavior. When you have a system that rewards bad behavior (and punishes good) then bad behavior will result.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 12:48 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
SIGNY:You can actually trace this back to the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS that lent these rich, greedy, overly optimistic oilmen everywhere ... not just Texas but Oklahoma, S Dakota, Pennsylvania etc ... tons of money to "invest" in a production technology that would only ever make sense at $60+/bbl. And then there are the rich, greedy, overly optimistic hedge funds that play games with oil futures.

And because the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS have so much money sunk into these ... literally... money pits, they can't possibly let them fail because then the banks themselves would go bankrupt, along with the hedge funds that are based on oil.

SECOND: When you make all these connections to so many different people in far flung places, then nobody is at fault, other than the "system,"
DING! DING! DING! Give that man a cigar!

The system rewards bad behavior. When you have a system that rewards bad behavior (and punishes good) then bad behavior will result.

The neighbor's kid was rewarded by the system when he stole a car: he received free transportation until the car ran out of gas. That was followed by free arrest followed by free prison for a year in Houston. When the kid stole another car, this time in Galveston, same thing happened in a very systematic manner. The kid just got out of jail after 12 months. If the kid hadn't gone to jail, he could have stolen 2,000 cars rather than 2. Let's extend the story to the whole world. I would say that the government, because voters are far too respectful of Capitalism, doesn't punish Capitalists often enough to make them behave and stop their annoying conduct, which is far worse than driving stolen cars until they run out of gas.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 12:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
SIGNY:You can actually trace this back to the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS that lent these rich, greedy, overly optimistic oilmen everywhere ... not just Texas but Oklahoma, S Dakota, Pennsylvania etc ... tons of money to "invest" in a production technology that would only ever make sense at $60+/bbl. And then there are the rich, greedy, overly optimistic hedge funds that play games with oil futures.

And because the rich, greedy, overly optimistic BANKERS have so much money sunk into these ... literally... money pits, they can't possibly let them fail because then the banks themselves would go bankrupt, along with the hedge funds that are based on oil.

SECOND: When you make all these connections to so many different people in far flung places, then nobody is at fault, other than the "system,"
DING! DING! DING! Give that man a cigar!

The system rewards bad behavior. When you have a system that rewards bad behavior (and punishes good) then bad behavior will result.
The neighbor's kid was rewarded by the system when he stole a car: he received free transportation until the car ran out of gas. That was followed by free arrest followed by free prison for a year in Houston.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 12:57 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Maybe the kid should have sold the cars rather than drove them? Maybe then he would have been respected as a good Capitalist by the law. At least he could afford a far better lawyer than a Court appointed attorney. Trump, with the best lawyers money can hire, has never been jailed for his stealing. See "Legal affairs of Donald Trump"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump

When caught, Trump returns the stolen items. He does not go to jail. The system lets him get away with this behavior time after time. The same happens to other Capitalists, except most don't get caught as often as Trump.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 2:07 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Maybe the kid should have sold the cars rather than drove them? Maybe then he would have been respected as a good Capitalist by the law. At least he could afford a far better lawyer than a Court appointed attorney. Trump, with the best lawyers money can hire, has never been jailed for his stealing. See "Legal affairs of Donald Trump"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump

When caught, Trump returns the stolen items. He does not go to jail. The system lets him get away with this behavior time after time. The same happens to other Capitalists, except most don't get caught as often as Trump.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Hillary Clinton could tell you all about it.

Maybe we should ask Hunter Biden how capitalism works in Ukraine. Pretty good for him, apparently.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 5:21 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
The neighbor's kid was rewarded by the system when he stole a car: he received free transportation until the car ran out of gas. That was followed by free arrest followed by free prison for a year in Houston. When the kid stole another car, this time in Galveston, same thing happened in a very systematic manner.

Oh, you think the problem is that the laws don't get enforced?

Has it ever occurred to you that it's the laws themselves that need to be changed?

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 7:43 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
The neighbor's kid was rewarded by the system when he stole a car: he received free transportation until the car ran out of gas. That was followed by free arrest followed by free prison for a year in Houston. When the kid stole another car, this time in Galveston, same thing happened in a very systematic manner.

Oh, you think the problem is that the laws don't get enforced?

Has it ever occurred to you that it's the laws themselves that need to be changed?

I'm certain that kid stole many cars before he got caught. His attitude was that it's no big deal when the people get their cars back. It is not like he kept the cars forever. He simply used them for a few hours.

Do you think the laws about speed limits should be changed? Texans get really angry if they think those laws would always be enforced. That would violate their right to drive! They like it when enforcement is random and seldom. Capitalists also like things exactly the same -- the law is just fine so long as their cheating is just as unlikely to be caught as a speeder is unlikely to be caught. And if the cheating is revealed, well, just pay back what you stole after litigating it for years. Trump knows this very well. See Trump University. He kept that case in court for a decade, only settling immediately before his inauguration. He had sworn he'd never settle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_University#Settlement

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 7:44 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

The latest hospital death data show 17,337 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus across the United Kingdom as of this Monday.

But right now the true death toll from COVID-19 - the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus - is likely to be more than double this, based on the FT’s analysis of excess deaths in recent data.

On Tuesday the Office for National Statistics reported that 18,516 people died in England and Wales in the week ending April 10, or 7,966 more than the five-year average.

While the ONS records mentions of COVID-19 in death certificates, the sheer volume of extra total deaths - including those that do not mention COVID-19 - means that the true toll from the disease is being undercounted, according to the FT analysis.

This indicates the “real” death toll from the coronavirus is now running around 41,000.

The ONS data on Tuesday provided concrete examples of the under-reporting of COVID-19 deaths.

The statistics showed deaths in care homes had doubled over recent weeks, but only 17% of the death certificates mentioned COVID-19.

Cambridge professor David Spiegelhalter told the FT that it was not credible that these extra deaths could mostly come as a result of indirect effects from the coronavirus lockdown, such as seriously ill people avoiding hospital.

www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-toll-ft/ft-analy
sis-sees-uk-coronavirus-death-toll-at-41000-idUSKCN2240RV

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 11:34 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

COVID-19 and climate change: ‘The parallels are screaming at us,’ says John Kerry

Kerry said that a “baseline of truth” to advance scientific recommendations around COVID-19 and climate change is needed, but has at times proved elusive from the Trump White House.

“...It’s no coincidence that the same president who called COVID-19 a ‘Democratic hoax’ referred to climate change as a ‘hoax from China.’”

www.marketwatch.com/story/covid-19-and-climate-change-the-parallels-ar
e-screaming-at-us-says-john-kerry-2020-04-22

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 11:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Maybe the kid should have sold the cars rather than drove them? Maybe then he would have been respected as a good Capitalist by the law. At least he could afford a far better lawyer than a Court appointed attorney. Trump, with the best lawyers money can hire, has never been jailed for his stealing. See "Legal affairs of Donald Trump"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump

When caught, Trump returns the stolen items. He does not go to jail. The system lets him get away with this behavior time after time. The same happens to other Capitalists, except most don't get caught as often as Trump.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

Hillary Clinton could tell you all about it.

Maybe we should ask Hunter Biden how capitalism works in Ukraine. Pretty good for him, apparently.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 2:33 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Hillary Clinton could tell you all about it.

Maybe we should ask Hunter Biden how capitalism works in Ukraine. Pretty good for him, apparently.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

A lot of people are getting their information from Fox News, which is really lying about what’s going on. And so plenty of them are probably thinking this is just a problem for urban people and people who travel to Europe or China and they just don’t see it as an immediate threat where they live. But they absolutely see it as a political threat to Trump, who has become a hugely important symbol for a lot of people. And so they hate the idea that his presidency could be annihilated by some overblown crisis.

A disturbing new study suggests Sean Hannity helped spread the coronavirus

Sophisticated new research links Hannity’s coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”

www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/4/22/21229360/coronavirus-covid-1
9-fox-news-sean-hannity-misinformation-death

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 3:03 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

SECOND, why do you keep reducing the problem to stolen cars?

The way greedy hedge fund managers, bankers, Texas oilmen, AND YOU steal your money is perfectly legal. If you want people to be making positive contribution to society with work, or innovation, reward it. Stop rewarding rentiers including bankers who "rent" money.

I mean, really, think about bankers: What a scam! They "rent" out money, but it's not even money that they have, it's money that they can make up out of thin air! That's what "fractional reserve banking" is about: renting out money that you don't even have.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 3:13 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
SIGNY: AG Barr has said that the DOJ might prosecute states that don't open up their economies.
That doesn't even make sense from a political POV since Trump would be blamed for any resulting shit show.
If I were Trump, I would let states reopen based on what their governors and state legislatures decided, and I would continue to provide the help that the federal government is supposed to be providing, but only if

States mandate wearing masks in public and

Free Osat tests are provided at any pharmacy, urgent care or doctors office

The state report ALL of its deaths and cases to the CDC using presumed as well as confirmed criteria

SIX: Good thing you don't make decisions.

Welcome to your excess deaths, then! Just don't come crying to ... anybody... about it.

I think Trump is making a callous and quite possibly stupid political decision based on an unfounded ASSumption that this coronavirus will subside in the summer (like many colds) and only re-emerge very shortly before or just after the election. Also, schools will probably remain closed until the next school year (Aug/Sept) so that will also suppress infection rates. If it happens the way he hopes, he can pander to "his base" while skating away from real-world consequences until after the election.

If he's wrong about the way this virus behaves, then you should expect to see a very noticeable jump in excess deaths about two months after an economy is "re-opened", assuming people are too stupid to wear masks and wash their hands (which most of Trump's base seem to be.) So if a state re-opens its economy is, say, mid-May, the effects will start to show up in mid-July, if this virus behaves differently than other coronaviruses.

-------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 3:23 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

I WILL give credit to Trump, tho, for suspending "green cards" for 60 days. I hope he will suspend them for longer.

Also, I give credit to Trump for allowing this pandemic to further drive a wedge between the USA and Chinese economies. He's pretty smart about it, by not personally claiming that the Chinese created and/or spread the virus deliberately he maintains the ability to negotiate with the Chinese but allowing his minions to poison the relationship

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 4:54 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

So, speaking of excess deaths, a 'back of the envelope' calculation based on extremely optimistic data indicates that if the country gets infected at the same rate as NYC (80%, coincidentally when herd immunity is supposed to take hold), then a minimum of half a million people in the US will die of COVID-19. That's roughly 10x the number of people who die from all influenza viruses combined in an entire 'flu' year.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 9:23 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Trump guidelines for reopening the economy

https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=6840714-Guidelines

I have yet to go thru them in detail, bu before you even begin to open up economy, the state should demonstrate a 14-day decline in cases.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 10:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:
SIGNY: AG Barr has said that the DOJ might prosecute states that don't open up their economies.
That doesn't even make sense from a political POV since Trump would be blamed for any resulting shit show.
If I were Trump, I would let states reopen based on what their governors and state legislatures decided, and I would continue to provide the help that the federal government is supposed to be providing, but only if

States mandate wearing masks in public and

Free Osat tests are provided at any pharmacy, urgent care or doctors office

The state report ALL of its deaths and cases to the CDC using presumed as well as confirmed criteria

SIX: Good thing you don't make decisions.
Welcome to your excess deaths, then! Just don't come crying to ... anybody... about it.

I think Trump is making a callous and quite possibly stupid political decision based on an unfounded ASSumption that this coronavirus will subside in the summer (like many colds) and only re-emerge very shortly before or just after the election. Also, schools will probably remain closed until the next school year (Aug/Sept) so that will also suppress infection rates. If it happens the way he hopes, he can pander to "his base" while skating away from real-world consequences until after the election.

If he's wrong about the way this virus behaves, then you should expect to see a very noticeable jump in excess deaths about two months after an economy is "re-opened", assuming people are too stupid to wear masks and wash their hands (which most of Trump's base seem to be.) So if a state re-opens its economy is, say, mid-May, the effects will start to show up in mid-July, if this virus behaves differently than other coronaviruses.

-------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

You're probably right. There will probably be a slight rise in deaths outside of NYC after things open back up. Then it will level off, then it will decline.

It won't ever increase again in NYC though. Everybody there already has it, has had it or is dead now.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 10:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I WILL give credit to Trump, tho, for suspending "green cards" for 60 days. I hope he will suspend them for longer.

Also, I give credit to Trump for allowing this pandemic to further drive a wedge between the USA and Chinese economies. He's pretty smart about it, by not personally claiming that the Chinese created and/or spread the virus deliberately he maintains the ability to negotiate with the Chinese but allowing his minions to poison the relationship

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK

On both of these issues we can agree.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, April 22, 2020 10:46 PM