"Did we get good advice from POTUS for the first 12 weeks? No. All we got were lies. Saying it’s fake, by saying this is a Democratic hoax…this is the most irresponsible act of an elected official that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime." https://t.co/bo6HgdFOBF
— American Times Film (@ExportedFromMI) March 20, 2020
If you were the president for one day, what would you say in the daily briefing?
I would begin the press conference by saying “Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Ron Klain—he was the Ebola czar [under President Barack Obama], and now I’ve called him back and made him Covid czar. Everything will be centralized under one person who has the respect of both the public health community and the political community.” We’re a divided country right now. Right now, Tony Fauci [head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] is the closest that we come to that.
Are you scared?
I’m in the age group that has a one in seven mortality rate if I get it. If you’re not worried, you’re not paying attention. But I’m not scared. I firmly believe that the steps that we’re taking will extend the time that it takes for the virus to make the rounds. I think that, in turn, will increase the likelihood that we will have a vaccine or we will have a prophylactic antiviral in time to cut off, reduce, or truncate the spread. Everybody needs to remember: This is not a zombie apocalypse. It’s not a mass extinction event.
I’m now following him on Twitter…as I pare down some of my follows for their hysteria, both political and pandemic…and introduce more reasonable voices to my timeline.
Yesterday we had a wild, wet snowstorm that took out my satellite, and boy did I need a break from all the news. I’m going to try today to pretend it’s still out and focus on other things. Later today I’m hoping to share a list of resources one of our jackals put together of all kinds of online concerts, entertainment, storytimes, etc.
How are you coping? Check-in and let’s support each other.
Open thread
bbleh
Yesterday we had a wild, wet snowstorm that took out my satellite
Wow! Aren’t those kind of expensive? Did you get it used?
Jeez, I’m in the wrong line of business. Guess I’d better take up garden blogging …
(Sorry … cabin fever.)
joel hanes
Ron Klain
Another good person to have making decisions would be Rear Admiral R. Timothy Ziemer, who was the head of the pandemic response team that Trump/Bolton fired in 2018.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Since this is an open thread, I have a question for jackals who listen to fiction on podcasts. If there’s a continuous story (ie a novel), is the structure more episodic than in written stuff? Is it more like a TV series and less like a movie? I’m beta reading a science fantasy novel for a friend, who thinks he might want to podcast it. I keep commenting about things like rising and falling arcs but I doubt my knowledge on this one.
Tractarian
Seeing a lot of hand-wringing and fretting on Twitter over a new poll showing majority approval for the presidential response.
This is an ongoing national emergency and we should expect people to rally around their leaders. The only thing comparable in my lifetime was 9/11, and even then the panicky, emergency phase only lasted a few days. I’m sure we all remember what George W. Bush’s approval numbers looked like back then.
If Trump responded halfway competently to this, his approval would be in the 70-80% range right now. The fact that almost half the country disapproves of his response, despite the rallying effect of a once-in-a-lifetime national emergency, means he is not in a good position to get re-elected.
Major Major Major Major
@Dorothy A. Winsor: The continuous-story fiction podcasts I like are strongly episodic. The popularity of shows like Westworld seems to indicate that there’s a big audience out there that doesn’t care about episodic episodes in a larger story, but that’s exactly why I hate it, so consider the source…
trollhattan
Just watched Hazel the wombat below and my day is much better.
The Dangerman
I had to turn Trump off. Fuck that piece of shit. He’s about one step away from saying that border guards can open fire at the Southern Border and he’s getting off on it. Treating both borders equally my ass.
Immigration has been a problem for decades; since before I was born. It is NOT driving this thing. Ignorance is driving this thing and Trump is stoking it. Hell, I’m surprised he’s not publicly getting off on the fact that it’s the two biggest Blue States that have shut down (you know he’s enjoying it in private).
Would someone please drive a big truck up to the White House so Captain Vroom Vroom can honk the horn? He needs a distraction.
He needs to shut the fuck up and get off the stage and let the experts speak.
MattF
Tax filing deadline now officially moved to July 15 according to various.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Tractarian:
This
Avalune
Just goofing off with animal crossing today. Checked in on a coworker who was going through some pretty crappy personal life stuff who I realized is probably trapped with it.
Dodo code: MK22W
I got cherries!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Major Major Major Major:
That was my guess. I listen to audio books but my podcasts are all political so I wasn’t sure. Thanks.
Frankensteinbeck
@Avalune:
Gonna get me some DOOM.
Narya
In a zoom meeting w annoying people. But otherwise am getting exercise, working, managing.
Mandalay
Well known traitor Sen. Richard Burr is following his leader’s example, and has decided to deny everything:
I’m assuming that he gets away with this, but the stench is still going to drag him and the Republican Party down. What he did is really offensive, and easy for the public to understand.
joel hanes
@Tractarian:
I’m sure we all remember what George W. Bush’s approval numbers looked like back then.
data :
https://web.archive.org/web/20090722234412/http://pollkatz.homestead.com/files/approval-data_files/zzzmaingraphics_14808_image001.gif
Avalune
apparently you have to get a new code when you take your dog for a walk
6H5QN
JWR
Azar praising Trump for his bold actions, thanks him for being so bold.
Fair Economist
Son was laid off from his job today. His company is in physical disaster recovery so should be still working but they apparently went broke since his last paycheck bounced. He said he’s looking for work but I expect there are a million others in Socal right now. Family finances are very secure but so much for him moving out. Hopefully he will at least have to cut back on his pot addiction.
Leto
Playing World of Warcraft, catching up on tv shows, getting over my bronchitis (think I’ve turned the corner on that), laughing with Avalune, limiting the amount of bullshit I consume (I know that it’s a closed information loop, but BJ is a bright ray of sunshine for the non-stop bullshit coming out everywhere else), doing the military series here… it seems that a lot of the systems that I need now I started developing 18 months ago (the time of my accident).
Something that’s heartening is that some of my normally more right wing friends are taking this seriously. Sharing information that amounts to: this is serious, don’t spread this, don’t panic… again, it’s an encouraging sign. I’m also not grabbing them by the back of their heads and rubbing their noses in it (as I am want to do), which I think is a sign of growth on my part? I’m sure it’ll pass…
joel hanes
@Mandalay:
I’m assuming that [Sen. Burr] gets away with this
Not if we retake the Presidency and/or the Senate.
zhena gogolia
@Narya:
Haha, “in a Zoom meeting with annoying people” sounds like my life for the next few months. I really shouldn’t say that, they’re mostly being quite nice. It’s Zoom that’s annoying. But I’m eternally grateful for it right now.
Leto
@Fair Economist: our son is contemplating leaving the service, but he still has about 18 months before that happens. I’m afraid that his type of service will mirror mine: every time I tried to separate, the economy took a nose dive which kind of forced my hand.
I’m sorry your son is going through that. I’m glad his finances are secure and I hope he finds something soon.
Matt McIrvin
@Tractarian: In terms of opinion polling, the big difference between now and 2016 is that while Trump’s approval is slightly higher, Joe Biden’s is enormously higher than Hillary Clinton’s was at this point in the cycle. It’s almost upside down from where she was.
Note, the progressive left mostly hates Biden as much as they did Hillary, but clearly their theory of why everyone else hated her was wrong.
I don’t understand it (or rather I do but not in a happy way); I don’t have to like it or agree with it; but it’s the case.
patroclus
Well, I would certainly say I don’t approve of Trump’s overall performance, but he did sign the Pelosi-crafted bills, he did declare a National Emergency which freed up a lot of money and he is implementing the Defense Production Act, which will enable stockpiles of PPE, ventilators etc.. to be made more quickly available. Yeah, he’s lying constantly about a LOT of stuff, but I am at least wiling to give him credit for doing some things right. I’ll never vote for him, but when he does something good like cooperating with Democrats in advancing good policies, it deserves some acknowledgement.
dr. bloor
@Fair Economist:
My kid came home for Spring Break and is now in residence until (at least) September. I’m not touching his pot addiction as long as he’s willing to share.
Mandalay
@joel hanes: I’m assuming that he will be exonerated long before November. I don’t see how any election result will place him in further jeopardy.
cintibud
@patroclus: Talk about a low bar, a monkey could be trained to do the same things.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@patroclus:
Republicans never do this and never pay a price.
Besides, he ignored this for over a fucking month. It’s too little, too late as we’re going to unfortunately find out in a few weeks. So no, he doesn’t deserve credit for doing things half-assed and a day late and a dollar short
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Poorly. Never missed a house payment, haven’t missed a credit card payment in 30 years.
That’s about to change.
Wife is essentially unemployed, and has been offered some mighty weak tea (salaried management took a 20% paycut), what they’re offering is caretaking her files on a part time basis for less than 10% of what her commissions previously garnered – which might pay for most of our health insurance, at best, and which is about half of what she’d get by taking unemployment. Kids are unemployed.
Phylllis
We transitioned to skeleton crew at work beginning today, so I’m at home. Will go in Monday until about noon, and at least one more day next week to help pack the grab and go meals we are delivering to our district’s students. South Carolina schools were closed initially closed through March 31, but we’re already hearing through the grapevine that will be extended. I’m pretty sure we’re done for the year, but I understand why the state superintendent isn’t ready to make that call.
cintibud
“I have to give credit to the bus driver since, once he woke from his nap, was able to get the bus back on the road before it hit the tree”
JWR
Trump hemming and hawing and doing the accordion thing (his “I’m making shit up” tell) as he pretend-talks about the Defense Production Act. No yes or no answer as to whether or not it’s been invoked.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@The Dangerman:
I’m a lot more concerned about the ability to leave this country than I ever was before. Walls work both ways.
joel hanes
@dr. bloor:
I’d mostly given up smoking dope for the duration in the interest of maximum lung health, but a couple days ago I took a nice big hit of bud.
Result: dread, followed by depression
I’ll probably be avoiding weed for a while.
Barbara
@joel hanes: What I remember is George H. W. Bush’s approval numbers after the first Iraq adventure. They were sky high too. I assumed that made him a shoo in for reelection, but it didn’t. Just, really, we probably need to worry more about the how rather than the whether of defeating Trump.
joel hanes
@Mandalay:
I can’t see how he can be “exonerated” before January if he’s not indicted , which I’m assuming that today’s SEC will not do (even though they took down Doug Collins).
waspuppet
Trump cannot make it more obvious that these details of, like, people not dying were supposed to be taken care of for him, and all he was supposed to do was roll around like a kid in a ball pit for four years.
Lapassionara
@patroclus: Is he implementing the Defense Production Act? The last I heard he had not done this yet.
the stories of medical supply shortages have been horrific.
Barbara
@joel hanes: Dread followed by depression/anxiety was nearly every experience I ever had with marijuana, which is why I had very few before I quite forever. That was around 40 years ago.
debbie
Whoever this reporter is (first name Peter) has really ticked off Trump.
joel hanes
@cintibud:
was able to get the bus back on the road before it hit the tree
This is far too generous.
“after going over the embankment, was able to jerk the wheel back and forth and honk the horn, shouting ‘I got this!’, while the bus plunged a hundred feet to the rocks below, killing everyone in the three back rows”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Barbara: so many of my friends use it as a sleep aide or anxiety relief, but like you, shit just doesn’t work for me.
WereBear
I have opened the emergency pickles.
I’m kind of planning grocery shopping like a commando raid. Go when it’s not crowded, look for alternates when they don’t have something, warding people off when they get too close, buy the weird thing because who knows if I’ll get the right one, and then shower and wash gloves when I get home.
A friend said he played the Impossible Mission theme on his earbuds the last time he went. That’s the spirit!
In my spare time I pet cats and read. I never get tired of that. Mr WereBear says I have to watch this new Galaxy Quest documentary. We got BritBox for the duration.
cintibud
Buddy of mine just posted on FB that he stopped to walk his dogs in a park before going to Krogers. The dogs got sprayed by a skunk. He got a bit on himself getting them back into the car. But instead of going home first he continued on to Krogers with a very good plan to encourage social distancing. It worked but he was glad he didn’t see anyone he knew!
Dadadadadadada
I’m at work for the first time since Monday (skeleton crew at a courthouse; I’m still on full salary for the duration, and getting overtime pay for the one day in 10 or so that I’ll have to work, because socialism is kind of awesome). Nothing at all is happening, so I’m working on my book.
khead
What a fucking shit show on my TeeVee right now.
Ruckus
@MattF:
Just went to the IRS website and it doesn’t say that. The payment deadline was extended to July 15, 2020 but the filing deadline is still listed as April 15. That’s the news and what’s hot menus.
On twitter is where it has been posted. So is it official or is this just another line of BS?
I’d go with BS with this crew before anything else. They may have announced it without any actual thought about the rest of the IRS.
A Ghost to Most
@WereBear:
Good luck with that.
debbie
I just spent four hours driving around trying to get basics like paper towels and bread, through flooding and road closings and screwed-up parking at more than a couple shopping centers. I was walking through Target, just about to give up and go home, when in front of me was a shelf filled with Clorox Wipes. I felt like the guy in the desert crawling toward the oasis. I was sure I was hallucinating.
Assholes are still hoarding and totally ignoring limits. They can probably get away with it by using self checkouts.
Dorothy A. Winsor
The Jewel Osco I shop at has shop on line, and then you can do curbside pickup or have it delivered. I was just looking at the app. I may try it.
Leto
@waspuppet: He offered Kasich the job of actually running the country while he… golfed. Instead that went to MOTHER!
Mandalay
@joel hanes: They had Collins by the balls, and his son would have gone down if he didn’t confess.
It’s not so clear cut with Burr, though his public statements that the coronavirus is nothing to worry about certainly make his stock sales problematic.
Marcopolo
@Dorothy A. Winsor: If your friend (or anyone for that matter) would like to see how episodic fiction can be written I’d have them read & study Dickens. He did most of his writing for magazines so a lot of his novels originally were presented in installments in monthly publications. I’d think that would be similar to writing for episodeic podcasts. The Pickwick Papers is an example that is also just a fun read.
JWR
Trump, when asked what he has to say to the American people who are afraid:
Something a bit more aggressive about the reporters today.
Leto
@khead:
Yup. I turned it off because it’s just not worth it.
bemused
Not watching trump presser but I’m getting the impression that it’s even worse than his last one, more belligerent with reporters.
Shalimar
@Mandalay: The problem with Burr’s lie is that his own public statements were that everything was fine. He knew he was lying then. We know he is lying now.
zhena gogolia
@patroclus:
Yes, my appetite for Trump-hate is pretty suppressed right now. When/if we get through this, I’ll return enthusiastically.
Ruckus
@Ruckus:
Of course it’s the IRS, you have to read all of the fine print. On March 6, 2020 there is a press release that says that the dates have been moved.
MomSense
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I’m basically screwed if this thing is as bad as it appears it will be. I guess we are all just hoping to live to see the fallout.
I was trying to remember how many Republican recessions I’ve been harmed by. I think this is five.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Oh holy shit. I knew there was a reason I don’t watch these press briefings.
The Dangerman
@waspuppet:
If there is one picture/video that shows the Trump years in a few seconds, it’s his taking The Beast for a few laps at the Daytona 500. I bet they even let him beep the horn.
He’s a sick fuck and the sooner he’s off the stage (I don’t care how), the faster this ends. He spreads the ignorance (along with Devin Nunes: “Hey, now’s a really good time to go to a pub!” Fuck him, too)
ETA: Seriously, dude needs a binky to suck on (he can Maggie SImpson it for the rest of his term).
zhena gogolia
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I tried this with my local Stop & Shop yesterday, and the first day I could get a delivery was April 1. We have enough until then (except for fresh vegetables), but this is not going to be a solution for us unless things loosen up.
Betty Cracker
Someone told me the mortality rate for C19 is twice as high for males than females. Has anyone else heard that?
zhena gogolia
@Betty Cracker:
I heard it was higher in China, but not twice as high. I have given up looking at statistics, basically. It seems to vary country by country.
Aziz, light!
My wife’s 89 year old mom and her 91 year old husband were on a four-month cruise around the world aboard the Holland America Amsterdam, and all the passengers (mostly in their 70s and up) have just been dumped in Perth, Australia, and told to find their own way home. The arduous 3 or 4 days of travel home, rather than the virus, will probably kill some of them.
Here’s the eye-opening story, Nightmare at sea: Cruise line forces elderly tourists to get off halfway across the globe.
debbie
@Betty Cracker:
They were just talking about that on NPR. Some think it’s because men are more likely to be smokers so their lungs would be more susceptible. (Not where I come from, to be sure.)
JMG
@Betty Cracker: Research out of Italy showed that. Of course, it needs to be correlated with other mortality rate factors, like smoking, hypertension and other illnesses.
MattF
@Ruckus: Both NYT and WaPo say filing deadline has moved to July 15, so I’m persuaded. And, yeah, since it’s the IRS, there’s always some doubt, but this sounds like it’s real.
trollhattan
This could prove important.
When the kid caught flu earlier this year it was diagnosed during the doctor visit, which was a real surprise. Multi-day response times are not nearly as helpful as same-day results. Both topped by lack of tests entirely, of course.
trollhattan
@A Ghost to Most:
We were having a “remember when?” discussion re. 24-hour supermarkets. They were a thing for a while and now, bupkis. Less competition? I dunno.
JWR
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
This is the first one I’ve really paid attention to, and yes, it’s gotten pretty bad today.
Benw
NY state is closing all non essential businesses. Urging everyone to stay inside as much as possible.
Mallard Filmore
@Mandalay: “The sell orders went in as soon as I learned there was a need for a classified briefing on the virus.”
khead
The entire press conference is pretty much one big lie.
joel hanes
@Betty Cracker:
Someone told me the mortality rate for C19 is twice as high for males than females. Has anyone else heard that?
Yes. I think that’s what the ten-days-ago mortality rates coming out of China said. IIRC, it mostly applied to people over 50.
joel hanes
@trollhattan:
24-hour supermarkets
Turned out that sales between 2:00 and 6:00 AM did not pay for having to staff the checkout lines.
khead
“It’s a complex system. States can order swabs from the Internet!”
Hungry Joe
Just returned from Costco. Long, long line, controlled entry. Everyone calm, polite, almost cheerful. All out of TP and some other stuff, but I got almost everything on my list. Checkout guy (at 9:30am) said he’d been working since 1:00am.
Here’s how I’m coping: learning to ride a motorcycle and shoot a crossbow. “Fury Road,” motherfuckers!
Geminid
A result in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll published last September stuck with me. While Trump’s job approval rating was 45%, the question, do you like/ dislike him personally? was asked, and 69% of respondents said they disliked him. (previous high dislike: George Bush, 45%, after Katrina) Told me he had a lot of fair weather fans, and that the Democrats did not risk much backlash for impeachment proceedings. I see people dismayed that his approval rating has not fallen yet. Just give it a few weeks. His inaction over Covid-19 during February cannot be swept under the rug; it’s worst effects have yet to be actually experienced. I believe the election will be held this fall, and the Republicans will suffer a defeat of historic proportions.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
RWNJ mom just sent me a screaming text, angry about Gavin Newsome. I’m unwilling to engage, but I assume it is to complain about his order.
Swear to god, the first moment it is going to be feasible, she’s going to the cheapest, filthiest nursing home I can find….
Marcopolo
@joel hanes: With the caveat that smoking is very prevalent among men in China. Chinese women don’t smoke much at all. COVID-19 is a lot worse for folks with the underlying conditions & smoking (damaged lungs) is one of them.
joel hanes
Ima just leave this here
https://twitter.com/o2bnobx/status/1240936676697886721
Betty Cracker
@joel hanes: Welp, my husband is in his 50s and a cigar smoker. I guess I’ll be doing 100% of the shopping for the duration. (I already did 90%, so no big deal.)
@Geminid:
From your keyboard to the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s delicate al dente orecchiette. FWIW, I think so too.
Emma from FL
I am working from home except on Fridays, when, IF I NEED TO, I can go into the office to pick up stuff from my files. I was given the option of creating my own schedule, and since my job is maintaining our digital repository, I just shifted to my bedroom/office. As far as groceries are concerned, I stock-piled dry and canned beans, pasta, canned tuna and sardines, rice, and steam-frozen vegetables. Our local Publix still delivers and for those of us within the township limits, they try extra hard for overnight deliveries. So, so far, so good.
NotMax
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Look for the sign: Big Bubba’s Geezer Kamp & Bait Shop.
Booger
@bbleh: “…IS IT SNOWING IN SPACE???”
–Phil Connors, Weatherman, WPBG Action-9 News, Pittsburgh
JoyceH
I’m not even sure how or if I’m coping. As some of you are aware, my twin sister died in December and I’m her executor so I already had a lot of unusual stuff to do and not a lot of brain attention to do it.
I’d been trying to get her house sorted out and ever time I went up there I seemed to get injured or sick. Came back the first time with back muscles all awry and the second time with horrific bronchitis.
Now I’m self-isolating at my own house two hours away and here it is March and her house hasn’t even been sorted out! So I’m pretty fretful about that, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I did figure out how to pay her water bill online so when we finally can emerge from our caves and I can get back up there, the water won’t be turned off.
I’ve been doing some exercising in the house; with each catastrophe recently I’ve come out the other end weaker than I started and that just can’t continue!
And I’m calling my other sisters more; the conversation is helpful, but it doesn’t replace my talks and texts with Jane.
I might be oversharing a bit here…
Leto
@Benw:
PA did the same yesterday.
Ksmiami
@The Dangerman: I want Trump and most of the Republicans in office and at Fox to catch Covid for the duration- they can all just foad
Mallard Filmore
@Betty Cracker: I have heard that males get hit harder than females, but do not have any numbers
[add] Yeah, that was news from China, where male smokers heavily outnumber female smokers.
Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)
Working from home for the foreseeable future, along with doing the whole stay-at-home-so-you-don’t-get-anyone-killed thing during my free time.
What is this Animal Crossing?
MisterForkbeard
@Avalune: Ooooh! Okay, we’ll need to set up a balloon juice Animal Crossing discussion. I wonder if we can get M4 to set up a ‘social video games’ thread.
I just started Animal Crossing last night, haven’t gotten to the point where I can share codes yet.
On another note – maybe we should set up a BJ discord for anyone who wants to play games together.
Emma from FL
@JoyceH: No, you’re not. I only have a younger sister, and I can’t even imagine how I would cope with her death. A twin… lord, I can’t even wrap my head around that. If talking about helps you even a bit, you go ahead.
First thing is to TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. The other stuff will still be there when the crazyness starts to die down.
Leto
@Hungry Joe:
Even with less traffic on the road, I still don’t trust Americans.
Fleeting Ex-istence
I ordered pizza delivered last night, and left the money in a planter on the porch and she left the pizza on the porch. Chatted with her through the glass door. She said business had been real good, and that she had a strong immune system. Also that she had a rare blood type, she said she wasn’t sure whether it was B+ or B- , that made her pretty safe from the virus.
Knowing that this lady needs to keep working and needs her positive attitude to do it, I couldn’t bear to discuss with her the horrors that could happen soon.
Brachiator
Sigh. I just watched President Sharpie try to sell snake oil by insisting that a malaria remedy would work to cure corona virus illness based on no freaking scientific evidence at all. And I watched an actual knowledgeable person partially back the president because, I guess, he figures that supporting a liar is the lesser of two evils.
Goddam it.
Leto
@Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA):
Very popular video game for the Nintendo Switch system. Basically a social game where you farm, fish, do silly daily stuff.
Betty Cracker
@JoyceH: So deeply sorry for your loss.
trollhattan
@Hungry Joe:
I went yesterday. No line to enter and a whiteboard listing out-of items. Some folks had bottled water, paper towels and Clorox wipes in their carts so it was a fluid supply, I guess. Ain’t nobody rocking the TP 40 packs, though.
Checkout lines were pretty jammed as was the receipt check at the door. Beginning to feel like I’m an extra in a Soviet-era movie. “What for is line? Not knowing for sure, hope is bread.” “Vodka?” “Da!”
WaterGirl
@JoyceH: Not oversharing. My heart goes out to you. You’re still functioning, and I’d say that’s pretty good, given everything. Don’t be hard on yourself.
Betty Cracker
@Leto: Yep. A whole lotta stupid out there.
Kelly
6 month old kitten Martin brought my wife a toy and they are playing fetch.
joel hanes
@Hungry Joe:
Just returned from Costco.
Those of you who are still going to stores: PLEASE WEAR AT LEAST A DOUBLED BANDANA AS AN IMPROVISED MASK.
Please
Betty Cracker
@Aziz, light!: That’s just criminal. Hope your relatives get home safely and soon.
Yutsano
>@Ruckus: That is actually for the victims of the Tennessee tornadoes. That’s very common when there’s a natural disaster that impacts an area. The only info I’ve found is a Mnuchin tweet from today. WaPo has the details.
James E Powell
@Geminid:
Press/media: Hold our beers.
When have Republicans ever been held accountable?
trollhattan
@joel hanes:
Sigh. President Liz has some good ideas.
A Ghost to Most
Wapo:
Juice Box
@MattF: the payment deadline was moved to July 15, the filing deadline is still April.
joel hanes
@JoyceH:
I might be oversharing a bit here
Not a bit of it.
All here hae got their griefs and cares
Be you our angel, unawares
James E Powell
Reposting this from a now-dead thread because I think the whole world needs to see it.
https://twitter.com/ForTheRuleOfLaw/status/1241007544744710149?s=20
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Fleeting Ex-istence:
Is that true about type B blood? I hope so because that’s mine and I need something to balance off my age and that heart attack I had in 2018.
Chyron HR
@Juice Box:
This morning Rat Bastard Mnuchin tweeted that “All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments.” As of right now the accounting industry is taking this guidance as stated.
Soprano2
I just went into the lunch room to make lunch, and Mike Dense was on the TV. He was soon replaced by the Orange Pustle. I made the sincere comment “Why are they all standing so close?”, and the Trump sycophant in the room snapped at me “To piss you off”. I said no, really, it’s dumb. He said the reporters were sitting close, and I said that was dumb too. Then he complained about me muttering under my breath while he was trying to learn something. I didn’t bother to tell him he wasn’t going to learn anything from that press conference, except for what Dr. Fauci says. I didn’t believe it was possible to hate Trump more than I already did, but I found out I was wrong!
JeanneT
@Juice Box: According to the Washington Post, Mnuchin announced yesterday that both filing and paying deadlines are extended to July 15.
germy
@JeanneT:
If I still file early, I’ll have to wait til late summer for any tax refunds I’m owed?
Soprano2
@JoyceH: I’m so sorry. When we dealt with my sister’s estate in 2012-2013, she had a trust and we had a trustee. I cannot imagine what you are going through with that and all of this crap too. Please take care of yourself.
germy
@Soprano2:
I watched yesterday’s conference. Before it began, a young woman came out from backstage and gestured toward the taskforce members who were waiting for trump to emerge. She gestured at them to stand closer together. I have no idea what this stage managing was meant to signify. I also have no idea who the young lady was… press secretary, maybe?
JWR
@James E Powell:
Good point, but Trump is so adamant about the “horrible, broken, no good” system he inherited, one would think the press would take that as a clue to ask, and ask often, until properly answered, why he dismantled the entire pandemic system Obama left him.
trollhattan
@JeanneT:
July 15 may be suitable for various graduations as well. Weirdest Year Ever.
NotMax
92-year-old Mom announced she’s going to open up the doors to the terrace early and spend time unwintering it, which means in her case days of short bursts of sweeping and scrubbing.
Wrangled a solemn promise she will get someone else to retrieve and carry up the bulky cushions for the big chairs there from storage.
Bought her a small portable TV to use out there last year, but the thing is so complicated to use it confoozled the heck out of me for several days. If it’s put where the antenna is pointing just so it worked fine, otherwise fuhgeddabout it. We shall see how it goes with that.
narya
@JoyceH: My sister died more than 35 years ago; I still miss her. And I’m only a lurker/occasional commenter, but this is a welcoming community here at BJ Central, so share as much as you want.
Fair Economist
@JoyceH: Sorry for all you are going through. Share away if it helps.
trollhattan
@germy:
Good question. We’re gonna owe–got creamed by Trump’s tax bill–so a delayed refund is but a dream for us but I can well imagine being pissed if my refund was delayed by…months?
They’d be a cost-free stimulus so I can foresee processing them quickly to get cash out into circulation. They sure as hell won’t be busy with a mountain of returns!
Brachiator
@Juice Box:
The filing deadline has been moved to July 15. We will see if states conform.
NotMax
@JoyceH
It’s cathartic.
Share away, we can handle it.
Mike in NC
Visited pharmacy where they had tape on the floor to maintain social distance between customers. Supermarkets are slowly but surely getting picked clean. No toilet paper, little bread, not much fresh meat or produce. Hot bars/salad bars shut down. We got extra cat food and litter. Lots of beer and wine and Easter candy on hand, though, and gas is abundant and dirt cheap.
JMG
@NotMax: We have one of those. They can be quite frustrating. We finally found it works best in our kitchen with the antenna leaned up against the wall behind the blender. Took much experimenting to find this out!
Brachiator
@germy:
No.
This July 15 thing is causing confusing. There are no delays in the IRS processing of tax returns. As far as I know, this applies to the states as well.
dnfree
Illinois will be sheltering in place starting Saturday. And the biggest hospital network near me in the suburbs won’t be testing anyone unless they’re really sick.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-testing-suspended-advocate-hospitals-20200320-2kt3g6s3dnho3ctiffx2apg3ky-story.html
joel hanes
@JWR:
one would think the press would .. ask … why he dismantled the entire pandemic system Obama left him
Any such question would result in banning of that news organization from attending further briefings.
Not sure why the media companies regard this outcome with all the horror of a death sentence, since no accurate information is ever on offer at a presser from the Trump people, but the media companies apparently do.
germy
D.C. announces first coronavirus death as positive cases in region hit 338
Fleeting Ex-istence
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I don’t think so, and I don’t think she actually had any real information on that or anything else. I think the current real information is that no one, no one at all has immunities because the virus is in fact new to the planet.
germy
@Brachiator: Good!
Any refunds or any other government checks I receive; I’m going to send them to my now-unemployed offspring.
They’ve put up with so much bullshit from this stupid economy.
germy
I wonder what goes through the mind of Dr. Birx while she stands there with her fixed grin listening to trump’s prattling and temper tantrums.
debbie
@germy:
I’d bet it was Mrs. Stephen Miller making sure everyone fit into the frame. Frankly, I’d like to see them all get a bit closer.
Gin & Tonic
@Juice Box: RI extended the State filing deadline to July 15.
A Ghost to Most
@Hungry Joe: I’m looking for an old fishing reel and rod, and procuring fishhooks. I dislike fishing, but there’s a reservoir not too far from here that was paying people to catch northern Pike. Pike is decent eating.
NotMax
@germy
‘What did I do in a past life to deserve this?”
:)
debbie
Well, fuck.
Anything but pay those icky workers.
L85NJGT
@Betty Cracker:
The data from South Korea doesn’t reflect that, and they have much higher levels of testing.
So….who knows. Public health officials here are focusing like lasers on long term care facilities, so it could have to do with elder care and communal living in Italy and China.
germy
I couldn’t find Clorox wipes or even hand sanitizer to use for counter surfaces.
But I found some pine-sol on a bottom shelf that the hoarders didn’t think to commandeer.
I’m losing my patience with people who are emptying the shelves. Rugged individualists who fill their carts with as much toilet paper, napkins and soap they can carry. Fuck them.
It didn’t occur to me to grab EVERY LAST BOTTLE of pine-sol. I just bought two. Maybe someone else needs it, too.
What is the matter with people?
NotMax
@debbie
To the floundering self-employed and unemployed: “Here, catch this anvil.”
westyny
@joel hanes: There are a lot of clinical studies that show that pot is hell on anxiety. My nephew pushed into bipolar territory while smoking pot like a fiend. Spent four years in a halfway house after hospitalization. He’s basically ok although he will always be on shifting levels of bipolar medication. Doesn’t go near pot, now. Instead he’s smoking cigarettes like Denis Johnson. : /
Geminid
@James E Powell: Republicans lost 41 Congressional seats November 2018. Here in Virginia, last fall, they lost the House of Delegates that they had gerrymandered in their own favor in 2011. Trump helped make this happen. Of course, there will always be Maga people who will back Trump no matter what. But they are not enough to win elections. November is not that far off. Just watch.
germy
@NotMax: “Here! Catch this lifesaver!” [tosses single lifesaver breath mint]
Betsy
This is peak 21st century
.. one hopes
https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-drone-walks-dog-cyprus-lockdown-20200319-dvpxy46a7ncxza2kxijlu6ym6i-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1rxXmoFz4bxDTCo4xv_vipxOHPBSGgUoCEAnyra40HKdMVGvPvMu1jQP8
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
Dunno if data has been adjusted to compensate for China having a higher proportion of males than other countries as a result of the one child policy, which possibly would skew raw numbers.
L85NJGT
@germy:
I feel bad for the poor fuckers outside of healthcare who can’t find masks & filters for occupational use.
A Ghost to Most
wapo:
Di
@zhena gogolia: The Stop and Shops in my area (western Mass) are, as of yesterday, opening their stores 6-7:30 every morning only for those over 60. Maybe in your area too? Assuming you’re also an old like me.
debbie
@germy:
I’d lay odds they are Trump supporters.
jeffreyw
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Shame about the icebergs melting so fast.
zhena gogolia
I just managed to score some toothpaste on Amazon. I know, it’s not one of the scarce items, but it was refreshing to be able to order something and not be told it’s not available.
germy
With a pandemic as cover, Netanyahu is carrying out a coup in Israel
joel hanes
@A Ghost to Most:
For northern pike, the tried-and-true is a big red-and-white spoon, or a whacking bit Mepps spinner, or a
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/eppinger-original-dardevle-spoon-15eppupngrdrdvlt3lur/15eppupngrdrdvlt3lur
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/mepps-dressed-aglia-spinner-17mepushldngl18zdlur/17mepushldngl18zdlur
The great thing about spoons is that one can easily cast them a looong way.
Retrieve moderately fast, working the tip of the rod back and forth a foot or so to make the lure seem to “dart”.
zhena gogolia
@Di:
Yes, but I’ve been thinking maybe it’s not so wise to shop in-store. I maybe have to break down on that. I have no masks or bandannas. I have Russian wool scarves — maybe they’d help, they’re pretty thick.
Brachiator
@trollhattan:
Refunds will be processed timely.
It’s weird. So far, most tax offices my company deals with were reporting that people were still coming in to get their taxes down. In fact, it was busier than last year. This may be changing.
NotMax
@A Ghost to Most
When is peak pikes?
Gin & Tonic
@Di: Yeah, and they will be mobbed. I went at 0615 today, and it was like the Saturday afternoon before Super Bowl.
Great idea in theory.
JWR
@joel hanes:
Very true. But you’re right, none of them will go so far as to risk being banned. But the look on Yamiche Alcindor’s face… I really wonder if she’ll remain a journalist, or simply fall in line with the rest, if only as an act of self-preservation. I hope not, because she’s pretty damn sharp.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
Pulled up turtleneck?
joel hanes
@joel hanes:
avoided putting a third link in that comment;
the third recommendation was to be a “spinnerbait”,
like this
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/jawbone-spinnerbaits-16jawujwbnspnnrbtlur/16jawujwbnspnnrbtlur
The links are to Dicks Sporting Goods, because in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, Dick’s immediately quit selling assault weapons, and had their existing stock destroyed. The outrage of the ammosexuals was immediate and damaging, but Dick’s held fast. They deserve your business much as Penzey’s does.
joel hanes
@germy:
Soap and water works well on surfaces, too.
joel hanes
@germy:
What is the matter with people?
Fear, helplessness, and the need to do something to alleviate those feelings.
Plus a political party that has spent nearly fifty years attacking our sense of the nation as a community with a common good.
chopper
@debbie:
he really pissed trump off by asking him the easiest softball question a crisis-era president can be asked. jesus h christ, the guy literally gave trump a chance to look like he gave a shit about this situation and he wouldn’t even fucking take it.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
If I have to get near other shoppers, I just hold my breath until I or they move away. Probably not very helpful to you.
NotMax
@NotMax
“That Mort kid from Bazooka Joe may have been on to something.”
:)
debbie
@Brachiator:
Isn’t the delay more to help people who’ve been laid off rather than the IRS shutting down temporarily?
debbie
Duplicate deleted.
joel hanes
@zhena gogolia:
I have no masks or bandanas
Dish towel.
Skepticat
Should have known the fates would smite me for feeling very grateful but a bit smug because I work remotely and live on a tiny island in a country with only a handful of cases many miles away. Four days ago, my phone/data account (through which I access the net with a hotspot) packed it in for no discernible reason. Interestingly, I could talk to tech and customer support, but hours of talk with them resolved nothing. Sent cash on the ferry to a taxi driver on the big island so she can get me a new SIM card, as they’ll give me a temporary account while they trace—and, I hope, solve—the problem. However, the temporary phone service office (a truck; thank you, Dorian) isn’t open much, so I have no idea when or even if I’ll have a new card. At the moment, I’m piggybacking a friend’s Wi-Fi, but that’s feasible only a few hours at a time. I guess I ought to have sent enough cash for her to get me a stash of alcohol, as this is the first time since the storm I’ve been really discouraged.
The good news is that I can’t get too wound up in what the idiots in the maladminstration are doing.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
Irresistible.
Yes, we have no bandanas.
;)
mad citizen
I watched the Peter Alexander (he always reminded me of David Putty from Seinfeld) – DJT exchange. It was a SOFTBALL question, a chance for the Great Leader to show some empathy, FFS. This minute should play on a loop as a commercial this fall. I know, there are many such examples. Trump’s behaviour is despicable, simply awful. I don’t get why the major networks don’t show these exchanges on their news shows.
Regarding the anti-malerial drug, I guess Fauci said the evidence is anecdotal, true, but it seems very promising to me; combined with an antibiotic, such as here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/19/french-study-finds-anti-malarial-and-antibiotic-combo-could-reduce-covid-19-duration/
joel hanes
@NotMax:
When is peak pikes?
Yah, I get it, but because I’m an engineer, I’ll answer straight:
spring, when they congregate from lakes to the mouths of rivers and upstream in rivers, and are _hungry_ from the long winter. Fish the eddies next to the fast water, and pools downstream from rapids.
debbie
@chopper:
I love that Trump’s worst descriptor for someone is to call them “nasty.”
J R in WV
@patroclus:
Can not disagree more. It is less than the minimum level for his job — perhaps a 2 on the 10 points scale, an F- on the grading scale. The few things he accomplishes are far outweighed by his active racism (China Virus!?!?) IT HAS A NAME, LEARN IT!!! But he can’t remember the real name, so it’s going to be China Virus for him.
For me it’s the Trump Plague !!
satby
@JoyceH: Condolences and vent as much as you need. We’re here for you.
Everyone: If, like me, you’re not a gamer thegreatcoursesplus.com is offering a free trial. The newest lecture, Managing Fear in a Time of Pandemic, sounds worth taking.
Elizabelle
@Skepticat: Talk about “mixed blessings.” Wow.
On the good side, you will have a much longer attention span than we do!
danielx
@WereBear:
It’s a huge pain in the ass. Wear disposable gloves (if you have them), assume everything in the store is contaminated. Your gloves will be while you’re shopping. Get your stuff in your cart – decontaminating that is another topic. However – you go to pay for your stuff. Get your wallet out? Now the wallet and pants or purse are contaminated. So is the card or cash you used, so is the change you get back if you used cash and don’t have the correct change. Get in the car? Still wearing gloves? Now your keys, door handle, steering wheel, gear shifter, seat belt, buckle, etc – all contaminated. Fuck!
Best solution I’ve been able to come up with is carrying gloves, paper towels and Lysol spray in the car every time I have to go out for something, which has been twice in the last week.
debbie
Wow, the age range of confirmed cases in Ohio is from 1 to 91. Total is 120-something.
eddie blake
@westyny:
precisely the opposite result for me.
i’m bipolar as well, diagnosed ten years ago, but mad as a hatter for many years before that. weed, indica strains specifically, act as mood-stabilizers for me.
very helpful for my brain.
Martin
I have MSNBC on almost continuously, but I have to turn it off when Trump comes on because it’s just so, so bad. Plus, I lose a years salary in the market every time he talks, which is just swell.
joel hanes
@danielx:
Repeating:
Portable, personal, renewable decontamination kit:
1 washcloth, moderately wet, lots of soap, in a ziplock.
Wash for 20 seconds, before employing
1 washcloth, wet then wrung, as the “rinse”, in a second ziplock.
then
1 dishcloth or hand-towel to dry.
Works on hands, surfaces.
Wash your hands again and then your face when you get home.
danielx
@debbie:
Right. Fuck the workers.
This dipshit is not recognizing that a lot of people are about three days from running out of food, at which point shit is gonna get real very quickly. People who don’t have money to buy food for their kids don’t want to hear any economist horseshit about inefficiency.
Martin
@trollhattan: I’m with you. My tax bill is 5 figures, and that’s just sitting in my savings acct, so the longer we can wait to pay the more useful to have that little pot of money sitting there if needed. That’s all the stimulus I need TBH. Gonna give my stimulus to Biden or Act Blue.
Fair Economist
@germy: There’s no explicit testing, but every reason to expect any detergent will be an adequate sanitizer for COVID. 0.3% detergent kills enveloped viruses in blood products, so a soapy sponge should be fine for your counters
Pine-sol works too, moderately diluted.
J R in WV
@JoyceH:
No, Joyce, not at all. Sorry for your loss, a twin must be so much closer than most family relationships. You don’t need to be in a hurry about that house clean-up at all, we all have other things to work on right now.
I’ve been listening to calm music and paying real close attention to the sounds to enable me to stop thinking about current events. That has been a go-to for sleeping for me for a long time.
Sab
Iwent to the bank today to cash some trucks. They only had the drive thrus open. Waited in line for over an hour, got my cash envelope and then drove away. Then I discovered they hadn’t returned my ID, so another hour and a half wait in line again.
First world problems.
Martin
@danielx: I kind of agree with him. I’m not saying no checks, but do checks for the workers who need them. Send a check (a bigger one) to everyone who files for unemployment. That’s easy. Then try to figure out how to catch contractors and gig workers. Someone’s got a big database showing how much of their income was reported on 1099s instead of W2s. Send them a bigger check.
I mean, if BofA can pause loan repayment of their own accord (and I’m normally a fuck BofA guy, but they deserve a mountain of praise here), I don’t see why the feds can’t do that across the board. But how many salaried workers (and there are a lot of us) need a check? I don’t. I’m saving money hand over fist not going out. Pause my mortgage and I’ll be rolling in it.
So, a $1200 check is simultaneously too big for people like me, and too small for people who have lost jobs/income, and too slow.
Kelly
@debbie: I suspect it’s this expert James Glassman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_36,000
He and Kevin Hassett predicted endless investing Nirvana just before the tech crash of 2000. Dow was around 10,000 when the book came out.
Jay
TomatoQueen
How’s it going. Mostly rolling along as usual, with oddments. The continuing question of A Lad’s day support program is answered weekly, “closed until further notice”, thus he is going without his OT and PT and so on . All usual sources for one particular item of his myriad supplies are out of stock, except for one third party vendor on Amazoo. The previous price for the item was $32 at Sam’s Club (including shipping). The Amazoo price, both last night and this morning, was $349.00. That is not a typo. There is a price gouging law in Virginia, but does it apply to online vendors? Don’t know. Meals on Wheels continues to deliver, grocery delivery component has gone a little wonky, but there’s a lot of communication back and forth so I still have a source of coffee. Work is fully on lock-down unless by permission, and all are working at home, as SSA case processing never stops (you can assume payments will go out on time and any and all impending deadlines for any documentation will be extended).
Animal Planet is running “Too Cute” marathons, so puppies and kittens all day in the background. My darling boy Merlin runs about, rubs against my shins, and trills. Yes. He trills. It is ADORABLE.
A Ghost to Most
@eddie blake: Agreed. Plus, if you stay away from couchlock herb, very helpful in the creative process.
NotMax
@Martin
How to handle those who don’t earn enough to file?
JPL
@JoyceH: You are amazing to being able to function at all. Take care of yourself first.
A Ghost to Most
@joel hanes: Thanks. I haven’t fished in decades, and I will starve before I eat trout.
debbie
@Kelly:
Dow at 36,000? Jesus, he makes Jim Kramer seem sensible
ETA: It’s been forever since this morning. Your hiking photos were wonderful!
Dorothy A. Winsor
Holy moly. Illinois will be on lockdown starting Saturday.
NotMax
@Martin
Also too, wait until the Republicans dig up the first “illegal” to receive a check. The vicious bellowing will be heard on Neptune.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie: Jim Glassman of Dow 36,000 fame?
ballerat
@cintibud: Wait, he went into the supermarket with his dogs?
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Apparently, yeah. Dude’s still around, for some reason.
Jay
@A Ghost to Most:
what’s wrong with trout?
A Ghost to Most
@joel hanes: Thanks for the tips. What about walleye?
Kelly
@debbie: I’ll send in some more Silver Falls pics as the seasons change.
Jay
A Ghost to Most
@Jay: As was explained to me by a fish geneticist neighbor, a small % of people perceive the smell of trout as rotting flesh.
Jay
@A Ghost to Most:
yellow or white “twister” jigs, deep, just off the bottom, slower water behind rapids. Bottom bounce or close to.
Brachiator
@debbie:
Yep.
Martin
@NotMax: The employers still file. The IRS doesn’t need you to send the 1099s. You only send them to verify what employers send. So, the IRS knows any income that’s been earned, even if you don’t file.
I mean, if checks are going out based on your 2018 return, there’s a full year of workers that just entered the workforce, or just came out of unemployment. You’re missing all of them, plus all the people who didn’t earn enough to file. That’s why I don’t like this plan.
Give everyone free shelter for now, that’s a big stimulus to almost everyone, send big checks to everyone on unemployment, boost TAMF and those programs, and then mine the IRS database for these other categories of workers. With each step you’re making the problem smaller. And with that, each step lets you give more assistance.
And because the first steps leverage existing structures, they go in place faster. If people are 3 days out from running out of food, a check in 4-6 weeks isn’t that helpful.
Martin
@Brachiator: Plus, I haven’t yet gotten all of my tax information, and I not sure when it’ll all show up.
debbie
Twitter thread by a guy suffering from COVID-19 now. Says it’s nothing like the flu and describes his lungs as angry.
Aziz, light!
@danielx:
We have a two-person system. One person with gloved hands pushes and loads cart, loads shopping bag at self checkout. Ungloved other person carries, inserts, removes debit card (gloved person enters PIN) and holds bag open while it is being loaded, then carries bag (with uncontaminated handles) to car. Gloves off before car. Products and bag wiped down at home with bleach solution. It’s a lot to remember. Throughout the store, gloved person reminds ungloved person “No touchy!”
Yesterday at the crowded supermarket not a soul besides me was wearing gloves.
Jay
@A Ghost to Most:
interesting, never encountered that before.
to me trout don’t smell, but then:
– I don’t fish for dumb put and take, pellet fed, truck dumped, barely legal “keepers”. They smell and taste like the offal and renderings the “food pellets” are made of,
– I catch, kill, clean, and cool the fish as fast as I can. I don’t leave them to bake in the sun uncleaned or drag them around half alive on a “keeper chain” hoping for a bigger fish.
– around here, all of the trout, the brookies, the 3 different cutthroat and 12 different rainbows all have red flesh from all the shrimp in their diet from daphina to grammus.
JPL
@Dorothy A. Winsor: GA has more cases and the population is a lower and our governor has issued few restrictions.
Brachiator
@Martin:
Yeah. This adds to the misery and confusion.
This extension looks to be a great thing for some people.
We are waiting to see if the states all conform.
Martin
@Jay: Those numbers aren’t as terrible as they appear. They’re still off their old trend, so that’s still good. But where we were seeing day over day improvements to the trend, today didn’t improve – it was the same expected rate as yesterday.
There’s a few possibilities, the simplest and most likely being just a problem in counting. Some fatalities yesterday got counted today, or some got counted faster that would have been reported tomorrow. Another possibility is people dying outside of hospitals are getting counted later, etc.
Another possibility is the improvement we’re seeing is the result of the smaller scale lockdown in late Feb and not the March 8/9 lockdown that most people are thinking of. So most of the nation is still reporting on the old trendline and it’s only a subset of the nation that has seen significant improvement. That’s sort of what I was expecting given a trend toward fatalities coming in the 17-21 days after infection range. That would put the benefits of the March 8/9 lockdowns on fatalities another week out or so, which would suck.
But, this data is super noisy, and it jumps around a lot. Today’s numbers are what I would expect if we based a new, slower trendline off of the last 5 days. It’s still progress.
joel hanes
@A Ghost to Most:
In spring, walleye will be in deeper pools downstream of where the northerns are, or around the edges of a submerged reef in the lake. They like to hover near a vertical wall, five to ten feet down. They usually like a slower presentation than northerns, and the dardevl’s are not quite as effective, but the spinnerbait might still work. Try a jig with a small spinner, and put a scented powerbait fake leech on the hook.
Lemme see :
these are good, but the body gets torn up pretty badly after you catch a couple:
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/berkley-powerbait-pre-rigged-swim-shad-soft-bait-15bkyupb2prrggdswlur/15bkyupb2prrggdswlur
The classic walleye rig for trolling is a live nightcrawler or big leech in one of these:
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/three-d-worm-harness-5-tandem-colorado-blades-18thdu3dwrmhrnss5lur/18thdu3dwrmhrnss5lur
but they don’t cast well. If you’re fishing a stream, throw it at the upstream end of the pool and let it drift down halfway, then moderately-slow retrieve.
IMHO, walleye is much better eating than northern pike.
Brachiator
@Martin:
And some people may have changed addresses, etc. Still, this is not enough of a problem to scuttle the plan. Most people will get a check.
It’s not an either/or. Assistance with eviction protection is happening at the state and local level in many communities.
And boosting unemployment compensation benefits even fewer people than the current proposal.
People have to apply for unemployment compensation, and their is (in California, at least) a few weeks before they get their first check. And the idea is to get checks in people’s hands by April 8, which is not too far away. And more people would be getting checks than would be getting unemployment compensation.
Another Scott
@patroclus: I’m not willing to give him credit for signing those bills. When the votes are 90:9 (or whatever), he has no choice.
(As we all know) He’s made the COVID-19 situation in the US and around the world worse by just about every possible measure.
He needs to shut down these daily Praise The God-Emperor sessions, get out of the way, and let the experts do their job without throwing so much gravel in the gears of government.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
cintibud
@ballerat: No, but he still stunk!
Jay
@Martin:
all of the numbers, are just that, numbers, sadly with people attached. There will not be “good data” for months, probably years, if we get any at all, because too many Governments want to bury the dead quietly, and others are more interested in propaganda than facts.
Martin
@Brachiator: I’m saying to do all of these. Do the ones that can be implemented in hours, then the ones in days, then the ones in weeks.
They’re starting with the ones in weeks. What do you want to bet they go through all of this, get halfway into the process of the checks, and then realize it’s not fast enough and they have nothing to fall back on because they’re now committed to this slow-ass plan. I mean, that’s been the story of this response from the outset.
Martin
@Jay: I’m less worried about todays fatality count than I am about what it tells us about tomorrows. So long as today’s numbers predict that tomorrows will be better, that’s a basis for decision making.
Todays fatalities are the result of a decision not made 3 weeks ago. We can’t change that, we have to live with it. But it’ll be 100x worse (literally, probably more) if we don’t get today’s decisions right because these numbers will be 100x or more worse in 3 weeks. It will seem quaint that we were devastated by 600 fatalities, as horrible as that number is.
catclub
Another Franklin Roosevelt right there, re-assuring the American people we are in a war together that we will eventually win.
catclub
I do not understand how Italy’s crematoria are overwhelmed by this.
The base death rate (total population/ average lifetime) is still pretty large compared to covid-19 death rate, isn’t it.
Tdjr
@NotMax: That made me chuckle!?
?BillinGlendaleCA
I knew we had pupcake, but duckcake? I’ve gotta pie a few more folk, sorry.
Fair Economist
@catclub:
Not really. Nationwide they would have about 1700/day, so 600 is quite noticeable. But the vast majority of the deaths are in Lombardy, with only 1/6 of the population, so there the coronavirus is killing about twice as many as normally die. Plus the non-coronavirus death rate must be elevated with the health system overwhelmed.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@NotMax:
That’s my government – ignoring my needs as it looks after the wealthy…..
A Ghost To Most
@joel hanes:
Agreed. But both are edible.
Brachiator
@Martin:
Checks are faster than waiting for people to sign up for unemployment.
Still, Trump has stumbled and continues to handle this poorly.
However, aspects of this are new for all the countries involved. We don’t know what kind of income support may be needed, or for how long.
A Ghost To Most
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Get the fuck over yourself. Same as it ever was.
Boussinesque
I have a couple online sessions with my tutoring students, but other than that I’ve been passing the time with Nioh 2 (and now DOOM Eternal) on my PS4.
Currently staying at a friend’s place–my parents were in Costa Rica when this all hit, and their trip got cancelled out from under them. I had a sore throat that I was playing wait-and-see with, counting on having enough time to know whether I had Covid or not before they returned home, so I had to clear out posthaste (they’re both in their 70s, and I didn’t want to risk exposing them to whatever I had).