Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Consistently wrong since 2002

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

“woke” is the new caravan.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / Monday Morning Open Thread: Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Monday Morning Open Thread: Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

by | 104 Comments

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Meanwhile, time to start gearing up for a national vote-by-mail this November! Per the Washington Post, “Intensifying coronavirus fears rattle voters and elections officials in advance of Tuesday primaries”:

… In Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio, election officials have raced to replace poll workers who have said they will not show Tuesday, supply thousands of precincts with sanitizing supplies, and notify voters whose polling locations, many in senior facilities, have been moved as a result of the pandemic.

Voters, meanwhile, have flooded information hotlines. Among their urgent questions: where to vote, how to deliver a ballot if they are under quarantine and how to vote if they registered while attending a college that is now closed.

As the coronavirus spreads, the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico announced Sunday that it would seek to postpone the territory’s March 29 primaries, joining Louisiana and Georgia. One New York election official said Sunday that discussions are underway about whether to delay that state’s contests.

The rapidly changing landscape left officials worried about the threat of two equally dire outcomes Tuesday: chaos at voting places, with diminished staffs causing long lines and increasing the risk of exposure to the deadly virus; or low turnout levels fueled by public fear…

The GOP almost certainly can’t cancel the election, much as they would like to — but depressing turnout is very much in their favor. They can’t figure out how to minimize the risk of thousands of their constituents dying during the current pandemic, but when it comes to voter suppression, they’re tested professionals.

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  2. 2.

    lee

    I’ve got a question for the jackals.

    At work we are going to 50% of us work from home (long story why only 50%). We were told to ‘work it out ourselves’ on each team who works where and for how long.

    My team get along really well and we’ve worked together for years. Our initial plan is 1 week home, then 1 week at work.

    Now that I think about it a bit more a better plan would be 2 week cycles. Because with 1 week cycles if one of us gets it, then potentially we’d be back to work before symptoms appear.

    Thoughts?

  3. 3.

    Mai naem mobile

    Dow futures are down over 1000 pts which means Trimpov is going to be freaked out. Meanwhile Jerome Powell seems to have been bullied by Trumpov into using what little he had left to use to juice the markets.  Orange Fool doesn’t realize nothing will help the market until you get a handle on whatever is going to happen with COVID19 hapoens. It’s the uncertainty. They just need to drop money from the sky to help people get through the next 3 months.  That and take care of the health care emergency. Everything else will fall into place.

  4. 4.

    JPL

    My nextdoor went from go to the local restaurants, to my wife has the virus and the entire family is under quarantine.    The person was looking for a pulse OX meter so he could monitor his wife since she is home.

  5. 5.

    JMG

    @Mai naem mobile: A serial bankrupt is always going to think low interest rates are a solution to everything.

    One problem of being old is that some of the coronavirus symptoms have been present for a long time. Aches and pains? I have those every morning to some degree (not really badly). As an allergy sufferer, I also sneeze and couch pretty regularly at this time of year. No fever, but then I read maybe you have without that. It’s all anything but reassuring.

  6. 6.

    Ryan

    I would not worry about November.  If this is still going on, Trump will cancel elections and we won’t be able to mass protest in crowds.

  7. 7.

    JPL

    @Mai naem mobile: I wish that they would just give him the wrong drugs and let him sleep a few days.   Maybe then I wouldn’t wake at three or four in the morning stressed out.   Sanders was right and trump needs to shut up.

  13. 13.

    Chyron HR

    Has Bernie announced that Biden’s lack of brain damage “rigged” the debate yet?

  15. 15.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Mai naem mobile:

    No wonder people are uncertain. It feels like there’s no one at the helm. The country would be less jittery if Trump self-isolated completely.

    I will not look at my 401K. No, I will not. When this is over, maybe Mr DAW and I can get jobs as WalMart greeters.

  16. 16.

    gene108

    Given how few people pay attention to the news, along with disinformation from Trump, and Fox News, not enough people are going to take this seriously, until it gets totally out of control

    We are really going to show the world a disastrous level of doing all the wrong things.

  20. 20.

    The Thin Black Duke

    I believe COVID-19 is going to be the disaster that finally brings Trump down. But the tax this country going to pay in doing so is too damned high.

  21. 21.

    Cheryl Rofer

    I have deleted Jeffrey’s comment at #19 because it is an incorrect meme that is making the rounds. We deleted at least two other versions of it over the weekend.

    It’s a particularly pernicious meme because it contains some correct information along with the garbage. That’s what effective propaganda does.

    And no, I’m not saying it’s Russian disinformation. I don’t know. I do know it’s dangerous, and I do know we don’t want it on comment threads here at Balloon Juice.

  24. 24.

    Soprano2

    @Mai naem mobile: YES YES YES YES YES YES  I’m going to talk to our manager this morning about the possibility that we will be forced to close by the state.  I don’t want her to order a whole bunch of food and then have it go bad.  I figure it’s coming, it’s just a matter of when, not if.  Many people here are still in denial; this is a heavy Republican area.  I’m counting on the authorities to do the right thing, even if they are Republicans, because they’ll be getting their information from authoritative sources, not Fox News.  I pray I’m right.

  27. 27.

    Betty Cracker

    Klobuchar on CNN right now talking about working on a bill to ensure people can vote from home via mail.

  29. 29.

    danielx

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    “I’m not a president, but I do play one on tv…”

    Took a drive around the neighborhood yesterday just to see what traffic was like and if there were still crowds at local establishments. Traffic lighter than expected even for for a Sunday, but still lots of cars at bars and restaurants*. They just don’t listen….

    *Except Ruby Tuesday, but Ruby Tuesday sucks ass anyway so I’m not surprised.

  30. 30.

    Immanentize

    @Betty Cracker: If the whole world of higher education can switch to online education in basically two weeks, the States can figure out vote by mail by August.

  32. 32.

    Immanentize

    You know how the people in the military who are stationed abroad vote?  BY MAIL.

  33. 33.

    Cermet

    Shortness of breath is THE wake up call to seek professional help in that list – if you have a doctor do call them; if not, that is a ER visit. Of course, you must be sick with major flu-like symptom’s  as well (also, deep chest pain along with those flu symptom’s can be a serious issue that needs attention.)

    Running on a treadmill and getting short of breath doesn’t count (but does warrant either getting into shape or a visit to your cardiologist … ;)

  39. 39.

    NotMax

    For those keeping score at home –

    The three new cases reported Sunday — two on Oahu and one on Maui — are all linked to recent travel.

    The governor released the following details about the three:

    One of the Oahu cases involved a person who traveled to Colorado from Feb. 29 to March 7. That person began to exhibit symptoms March 9, and is now in self-isolation with family.
    The second Oahu case involved someone who traveled to Florida, returning March 8. The person took a coronavirus test on March 10, and is also self-isolating.
    And the third case involves an Air Canada flight attendant now on Maui. The patient was exposed to a coronavirus patient in Germany and so self-isolated at the Royal Lahaina Resort until getting tested. The person has since been transferred to a clinic and placed in isolation.

    The announcements came less than 24 hours after authorities revealed that two Kauai visitors had also tested positive for coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

    While on Kauai, the couple — an adult man and woman — stayed at the Marriott Resort in Lihue.

    A spokesperson for the hotel said they’re aware that the couple stayed at the hotel and are “taking steps to ensure the safety of our guests and associates.”

    The couple is now in an “isolation facility” and their condition has improved so they do not need hospitalization.

    Here’s what we know about their itinerary:

    The two traveled from Indiana on a direct United Airlines flight to Maui on March 2.
    They stayed in Kaanapali from March 2 to 8. Shortly after their arrival, however, one of the visitors developed a fever, shortness of breath and cough. That visitor went to an urgent care facility.
    On March 7, the second visitor also started developing symptoms and went to urgent care.
    A day later, both of the visitors flew to Kauai on Hawaiian Airlines Flight 149.
    They’ve been on Kauai since then, and were staying at the Kauai Marriott until being placed in an isolation facility provided by the county.
    Ige said that on March 9, one of the visitors — the first to get sick — visited an urgent care facility on Kauai. The visitor was prescribed antibiotics.
    Then, on Thursday, the visitors went to Wilcox Medical Center. At that point, the two informed health care workers that they’d had close contact with an individual who ha d tested positive for coronavirus.

    Late Friday, the two tested positive for COVID-19. Source

  40. 40.

    Betty Cracker

    @Immanentize: The CNN guy tried to press her on her VP prospects now that Biden has announced he’ll definitely pick a woman. But Klobuchar declined to engage in “hypotheticals.”

  41. 41.

    Scout211

    We were in shock yesterday when Governor Newsom announced home isolation for all seniors 65 and over. As I posted last night, it’s one thing to be voluntarily doing that but another to be told by the Governor that you must.

    We quickly got over the shock and are now in coping mode. How are all of the rest of you older California jackals coping with the Senior 24/7 curfew?

  42. 42.

    david

    Did anyone warn Andrew Gillum that he should have been self-distancing?

    Man, to think he was the face of the Florida Democratic Party.

  43. 43.

    p.a.

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    The country would be less jittery if Trump self-isolated completely.

     

     

    They say narcisists may just shut down when faced with overwhelming evidence of failure.  Would be best outcome right now, despite leaving Mike Dense on point.

  47. 47.

    eric

    if anyone sees ‘West of the Rockies,’ please ask him or her when she can chat online later.  my understanding is the he/she had ‘it,’ and i am pretty certain i do, and  want to compare notes.  I am not sick enough to get tested, though i am going to ask because my daughter’s system has been so compromised.

  48. 48.

    Immanentize

    @Scout211: not in California, but my Mother is in a transitional facility in upstate NY.  Now on lockdown.  No guests in, no residents to go out.  She is in her own apartment, on a meal plan and they have started delivering meals to her door.  She is in very good spirits (she is generally pro-rules having been raised as a Methodist on a farm?). But she is sad for her neighbor, also in an apartment.  But that guy’s wife is in the nursing home side of the facility (across the street) getting full care but he is not allowed to see her.  This necessary seclusion stuff is going to create tragedies like this daily.

  49. 49.

    Soprano2

    @NotMax: My stepson who lives in Paia and works at Mana Foods said they’ve had the usual run on stuff that we’ve seen on the mainland.  The difference for all of you is if the shipments stop coming.  He says if that happens, it’ll be pandemonium.  I’m going to hope that doesn’t happen.  Also, he told me he talked to Larry Ellison on the phone two weeks ago about pies.  Y’all live weird lives there!

  50. 50.

    Immanentize

    @eric: I am so glad to see you.  I hope, although compromised, that your daughter’s treatment is going ok?  Please hang in there.

  51. 51.

    bemused

    Election officials racing to replace poll workers who won’t show up due to virus worries me. I am so cynical, I immediately thought republican poll workers and voters will show up no matter what, even if they have some symptoms.

  52. 52.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Baud: Hell, I’ve wanted W, Dick, and Donnie back, and we all know how 8 years of those bomb-happy morons went.

  53. 53.

    Salty Sam

    @Soprano2:   I’m going to talk to our manager this morning about the possibility that we will be forced to close by the state.  I don’t want her to order a whole bunch of food and then have it go bad.

    My son works at a hotel restaurant in Chicago-  they closed last night for at least two weeks.  Hotel mgmnt and exec. Chef gave the kitchen staff permission to “legally steal” all the fresh produce and perishables.   Along with LA’s moratorium on eviction, I am hopeful that this pandemic is the shock that may begin to bring down predatory capitalism.

     

    One looks for hope wherever they can…

  56. 56.

    eric

    @Immanentize: she is doing better.  january saw a few new challenges.  she was all set to go the jimmy fund spring training trip to florida when this hit.  she was looking forward to that as a sort of treat.  thanks…how is your son?

  60. 60.

    lee

    @Immanentize: Similar situation with my Dad. They have not locked down the residents in their rooms (yet) but visitors are only allowed in the lobby area.

  62. 62.

    Immanentize

    @eric: I am sorry about the trip cancellation.  That is one of the saddest impacts I’ve heard about.  At least the weather here hasn’t been soul killing this winter….

    The Immp is doing well, he had a good (but not perfect) CT last month, so he is going to have to do another in May(be).  Meanwhile he is ready to get out of here and go to college.  I am really hoping there is enough Covid understanding by then so he can go in August.

  63. 63.

    p.a.

    Went w GF to market yesterday; as expected, hand sanitizer gonzo, beef & chicken scanty, plenty of oink product.  If you need protein don’t forget fish: many people don’t like it, it may be available.    The frozen stuff is fine (not talking fish stix!), and if you don’t really like it, don’t forget, a spicy creole  sauce can make even an old shoe (or tofu) taste good!

    >>also too check hand sanitizers: not all contain alcohol!!<<

  64. 64.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Immanentize:

    I know a vaccine takes at least a year, but maybe there’ll be a treatment of some sort by then. I was reading about how the testing is easier for a treatment because you give it to people who are already sick and can benefit. A vaccine, OTOH, is given to healthy people, so the potential for harm outweighing good is greater.

  65. 65.

    NotMax

    @Soprano2

    Harbors and docks remain open and functioning on the normal schedule: Matson ships calling at Oahu thrice weekly, at neighbor islands twice each week. The other significant player, Pasha Hawaii, is staying on their regular schedule as well.

    Memory here is long, going back to the strikes of the mid-1950s during which shipping was disrupted and the island did for all intents and purposes run out out TP , so it’s always at the top of the list for long time locals and their descendants whenever there is emergency buying.

    I remember being behind the mayor in line at the supermarket when people were stocking up, years ago – pre-Costco days, right after a major warning (tsunami or hurricane, don’t recall which). His entire purchase was three 4-packs of toilet paper and a half dozen or so cans of refried beans.

    To each his own.

  66. 66.

    Chyron HR

    @david:

    Man, to think [Andrew Gillum] was the face of the Florida Democratic Party.

    Gee, I remember back when Gillum was Bernie’s hand-picked candidate who crushed the establishment shitlib in the primary.

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    Step-sister and her recently diagnosed with ALS hubby have axed their planned trip to Paris in April.

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    @eric: If necessary, and you do have to shut down your household, I could do a porch delivery of matzo ball soup for you and yours.

  76. 76.

    mrmoshpotato

    @p.a.: Sam the Cooking Guy is good too, but can be somewhat vulgar.  He and one of his grown sons make videos.

  78. 78.

    Suzanne

    @JMG: I am having the same confusion. I am allergic to a lot of stuff, and it is full-on spring here. Stuff is blooming. I have a lot of snot and a sore throat from post-nasal drip. No fever. I have plenty of fatigue since I am stressed and sleeping badly and also trying to move and pack. Like, how would I ever know if I have this?

    I went to Costco yesterday (wearing long sleeves and pants, covering the cart in disinfectant wipes, staying away from people). I needed baby formula and a few other things since the state announced that schools were closed for at least two weeks. I commented to the guy checking me out that someone would shoot me if I did so much as cough or sneeze in public.

    I asked the lady who checked my receipt how she was holding up. She said it was absolutely bonkers and that she was barely hanging on by a thread. I thanked her for her work.

  80. 80.

    snoey

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    We have a pretty good understanding of how to make vaccines and have good reason to say 12-18 months to availability.

    Anti-virals are less well understood and a lot more speculative – we may get lucky and have something effective quite soon, we may not for years.

  83. 83.

    MattF

    @snoey: Anti-virals are a crapshoot. An old friend of mine took an anti-viral for the flu and had a psychotic breakdown— started chasing her husband with a knife. Counterintuitive fact: rare events, taken as a class, are not so rare.

  85. 85.

    NotMax

    Anyone seen a story about any nursing or assisted living homes setting up a Skype room? Would seem to be a no brainer but I’ve not come across any yet.

  86. 86.

    snoey

    @MattF:

    “Go ahead and let people try it, it passed Phase 1 so its safe”

     

    Phase 1 just means that it doesn’t try and kill you real fast in a way that makes it obvious that it did it.

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    It feels like the transitional day of my trip to Las Vegas. Bro’ Man and the Sighthound Hall mob are flying back to D.C. this afternoon, so I will worry less about them. Brother-in-law’s school has closed until mid-April, so he’s  thinking of taking the kids to the  house in Rehoboth Beach (DE) for the duration. Probably a good idea.

    Bro’ Man has to keep working regular shifts at his HMO’s large clinic in downtown Washington, even though, as an ophthalmologist, the vast majority of his patients’ cases are “elective,” in that they don’t have to be handled right now, e.g., eye exams, cataract surgeries, etc. So he’ll continue to see a stream of 20-30 people a day in various stages of health. Lots of retirees.

    I asked him if his department had announced any plans for coping with the coronavirus crisis. He laughed and said their last-minute planning would be something like: “Well, old Dr. Bro’ Man died from the virus, so now we’re going to rotate staff in reduced shifts and only do essential services.” But I digress.

    We had a good get-together yesterday with RWNJ brother and Mom at her now vacated house in Summerlin (where the mob stayed this weekend), and that went well. Lots of looking at pictures and memorabilia and some talk of what to do with all of her stuff before the house is sold.

    She has moved into an assisted living facility and seems sort of okay with that—more so than I expected. And I liked the place more than I expected. We were all over there Friday or Saturday (the days have run together) to see her little suite, but by yesterday the management cut down access. Visitors can’t go into the facility, but she can still go out. I’m supposed to see her today, and she wants to “go gaming,” which I didn’t think much about when she mentioned it yesterday but which now I realize is insane.

    Mom is still mentally alert, but she is oblivious about the coronavirus. She is not a Foxbot, but probably what little news she watches she gets from Fox. Yesterday she said she wanted to sell her house quickly and get it over with, and I said we’d have to see how things go with the coronavirus. She said, “Why would that affect someone buying a house?” Like I said, oblivious.

    Plusses from this trip:

    • She has made a good recovery from her cracked pelvis last August. She’s not in pain and is moving pretty well (with a walker). And she is in a safe, secure environment and no longer alone in her house (refusing any help, of course).
    • Her house can sit empty for a while. Safe neighborhood with private security patrols.
    •  We have had some good family time with a minimum of the dysfunctional drama that we are prone to.
    • RWNJ brother has been remarkably non-dickish, maybe from fatigue after shepherding Mom through the last few months. He has done a good job. Kudos to him.
    • I am glad we made the trip, despite the risks. We don’t know what the future holds, but I feel like a lot of loose ends have been tied up.

    Minuses:

    • Coronavirus! By traveling I have had much more exposure than I would have had at home with the housecat in Threadkill Lane.
    • And I’ve got two more days before I fly home to D.C. I’m worried about travel restrictions and also about getting even a mild case of the sniffles or a cough, anything that would prevent me from flying.
    • I haven’t been able to do any disaster prep because I’m out here. The couple of times I’ve been to supermarkets here they have been really crowded, with a lot of bare shelves, pretty much what others have reported elsewhere. I hope things have stabilized a little by the time I get home.
    • I am sorry that my mom is not still in her house, with one hypothetical person coming in every day to give her the help she needs. But she adamantly refused everybody that was offered, so now she’s at greater risk in an environment with more people and more employees coming and going.

    Okay, I’m going to call Bro’ Man and check in with him before they leave for the airport. And then later I’m going to call my mother and suggest something besides going to a casino. Maybe a drive into the desert; she always likes that.

  89. 89.

    eric

    @Immanentize: thanks for the offer–very kind of you.   the irony is that i socially distanced and stocked up ‘fast and furious”  plus my ex lives down the street, so i have ready back up.

  91. 91.

    WereBear

    @Mai naem mobile: They just need to drop money from the sky to help people get through the next 3 months.  That and take care of the health care emergency. Everything else will fall into place.

     
    True. Except they are completely incapable of either of those things.

  93. 93.

    PenAndKey

    @Mai naem mobile: They just need to drop money from the sky to help people get through the next 3 months.  That and take care of the health care emergency. Everything else will fall into place.

    A country-wide unemployment support payout and/or a freeze on debt payments until the situation is resolved would go a long way toward letting “everything fall into place”. Too bad we’re incapable as a country of doing that thanks to the GOP.

  94. 94.

    catclub

    @JMG: 

    A serial bankrupt is always going to think low interest rates are a solution to everything.

    I agree on the low interest rate – but it is just a habit. Do you think he is even paying on ANY loan he has with DeutscheBank? What are they going to do? Foreclose?

  95. 95.

    Slappy Kincaid

    Friend of mine returned from Austria on Tuesday last week.  They did no screening of any kind at customs, just let him walk on out when he flew in to Newark airport.

  96. 96.

    Aziz, light!

    Outside of DC, we federal workers are not being allowed to telework. I’m about to step out the door to ride a commuter train to my 18-story federal building where about 900 people work in cubicle farms.

  98. 98.

    WaterGirl

    @eric: I just sent email to West of the Rockies and included your BJ email.  If that’s not a valid email address, let me know.  thanks

    (Haven’t read to the bottom to see if anyone else has done something similar, but better twice than not at all.)

  99. 99.

    joel hanes

    @NotMax:

    half dozen or so cans of refried beans.

    I have eight or ten cans of frijoles, partly because flour tortillas keep so much better than bread.   And hot sauce, while not immortal, will last for many months.

  102. 102.

    joel hanes

    @Suzanne:

    I am allergic to a lot of stuff, and it is full-on spring here. Stuff is blooming. I have a lot of snot and a sore throat from post-nasal drip.

    Same here.   I’m doing a spreadsheet graph of twice-per-day oral temperature for self-monitoring.

  104. 104.

    noname

    @lee:  But even with a two week cycle they may come in without symptoms. Let’s say coworker A has their 2 week cycle, they somehow are exposed to the virus during the first week, they will begin showing symptoms during their first week back at the office. I think a longer period is good in that you settle into a rhythm rather than having it changed after only a week.

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