Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

I really should read my own blog.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

You are here: Home / Past Elections / 2020 Elections / Monday Morning Open Thread: Back to Work

Monday Morning Open Thread: Back to Work

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The Democratic Shadow Cabinet didn’t take the weekend off…

Reader Interactions

171Comments

  1. 1.

    PenAndKey

    “Create Supply Commander to quickly coordinate distribution of supplies”

    Pretty sure Trump already did that when he put Jared on the case.

  2. 2.

    prostratedragon

    Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden says he has informed his Democratic rival for the nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, that he is beginning the process of vetting potential vice presidential running mates

    Good!

  3. 3.

    debbie

    Where are the lawsuits charging Trump with hoarding PPE for his future profit and engineering the decimation of non-MAGAts?

  6. 6.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @debbie:

    What future profit? That profit is occurring right now, as FEMA intercepts shipments and provides them to private middlemen for distribution.

  8. 8.

    Baud

    Get data on impact on minority communities

    No. We want Trump to be opposed to the virus.

  10. 10.

    Amir Khalid

    @debbie:

    When I consider Bernie Sanders’ potential usefulness as Biden’s VP, the phrase tits on a boar is what comes to mind.

  16. 16.

    Chris Johnson

    @Baud: Robert Hanssen, y’all. That guy was caught in 2001.

    I’m increasingly convinced that the stolen masks are going to Russia. Trump is opposed to the virus, when it’s in Russia. He is entirely in favor of it running amok in the USA and is doing literally everything he can to facilitate that.

    Details about specifically how he handles his fucked-up treason and why he got that way are less relevant at this time. I think it’s much less about sharing kinky daddy-play with Putin, and much more about him getting his ass kicked by Russians for trying to cheat them in real estate deals, and then being well and truly compromised. History will show him as more a creepy slave than an ‘agent’, more a deeply broken personality than a cogent and knowing collaborator in Russian wartime aims.

    …and if this ain’t a war I’d like to know what is. It’s looking to kill off more Americans than previous wars, and it’s being managed by a hostile foreign country.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    With huge caveats that

    It’s a work in progress.
    Database for comparison is limited.
    It may eventually serve as an adjunct to but not a replacement for diagnostic tools.
    Differences in hardware sensitivity and in ambient sounds picked up are to be considered.
    And so on and so on.

    Treat it as an intriguing curiosity in need of much further testing and refinement and definitely not yet a tool to rely upon.

    New App Attempts to Detect Signs of COVID-19 Using Voice Analysis

  18. 18.

    Amir Khalid

    @prostratedragon:

    This is another thing the Democratic shadow cabinet needs to bring up. By hijacking other nations’ medical supplies, Trump is dragging America’s good name through the mud yet again.

  19. 19.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Brett Crozier, the US Navy captain who was removed from his command this week after he wrote a memo expressing concern for the health of crew members exposed to coronavirus, has himself tested positive, the New York Times first reported.

    The Times report cited two US Naval Academy classmates close to Crozier’s family. The details of Crozier’s condition were unclear.

  21. 21.

    debbie

    Fuck. Johns Hopkins is telling me today there are 337,933 confirmed cases in the United States, compared to runner-up Spain’s 135,032.

    Great job, Trumpie!

  27. 27.

    mrmoshpotato

    @NotMax: Who’s developing this app?  Are voice fingerprints stored?  Anyone else concerned about accidentally arousing the app with their melodious pipes?

    First three questions are all serious.

    Oh sorry, in counting like SPW doesn’t exist, first, second and fourth questions are serious.

  32. 32.

    mrmoshpotato

    @JPL: Probably because some a-holes own stock in the pharma companies that make it.

    “I’m luxurious at stock market!”

  33. 33.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Trump administration determined to exit treaty reducing risk of war

    The Trump administration is determined to withdraw from a 28-year-old treaty intended to reduce the risk of an accidental war between the west and Russia by allowing reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory.

    Despite the coronavirus pandemic, which has put off a full national security council (NSC) meeting on the Open Skies Treaty (OST), the secretary of defence, Mark Esper, and secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have agreed to proceed with a US exit, according to two sources familiar with administration planning.

    A statement of intent is expected soon, with a formal notification of withdrawal issued a few months later, possibly at the end of the fiscal year in September. The US would cease to be a party to the treaty six months after that, so if a new president were elected in November, the decision could be reversed before taking effect.
    ………………………………
    One of the reasons Esper has cited for US withdrawal is to save money by not replacing the two Boeing OC-135B planes the US uses for its Open Skies reconnaissance flights. Congress appropriated $41.5m last year for the cost of replacement but the Pentagon spending request published in February contained no budget for the new planes. Esper told Congress he was awaiting a decision from the president.

    Three Republican hawks in the Senate, Richard Burr, Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz, sent a letter to the administration in March calling for withdrawal, for cost and security reasons.
    ……………………………
    Last year, the US set out questionnaires to its allies about their views on the treaty’s value. The UK and other Europeans sent emphatic appeals for the US to remain part of the agreement. Ukraine also publicly underlined the strategic importance it attaches to the treaty. But the administration has so far not shared the result of its survey with Congress.

  39. 39.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Right.  My point was, even if we win big in November, we could be out on our ass again two years later, if history repeats itself.  We shouldn’t tell the world that we’ve turned a corner if we can’t be sure that we have.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    The American press, for the most part, still refuses to call out trump on his bullshit. Forty seven percent of you still believe that he is doing a good job. This takes "too big to fail" to a whole different level. Is it his whiteness/gender or the office?— thefieldnegro (@fieldnegro) April 6, 2020

  42. 42.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Yep. As you said yesterday, (or was it Saturday?) “Can we please have more than 2 years to fix this shit?” Or something like that.

  43. 43.

    Barbara

    @rikyrah: Plaquenil is a generic drug.  It’s really old.  I am having difficulty seeing a profit strategy here.  You aren’t allowed to buy drugs if you aren’t in the official supply chain.  But I think the main manufacturers are Teva and Mylan.

  45. 45.

    danielx

    is it possible that Trump has made a calculation this whole thing will kill off more minorities/Democrats than Trump voters and that fucking up supply deliveries, etc., is therefore to his advantage? Or is that to credit him with a capacity for strategic thinking he does not possess?

    Asking for a friend.

  46. 46.

    PenAndKey

    @OzarkHillbilly: Trump administration determined to exit treaty reducing risk of war

    I’ve known that this sort of act was possible from a legal perspective for a few years now, but it still floors me that it takes a vote of Congress to enter the US into a treaty yet presidents can essentially go “Nah, screw that” and withdraw at their leisure (primarily because the Supreme Court refuses to weigh in on the practice and pretends that it’s a “political question”, not a clear separation of powers constitutional conflict). I was always taught that treaties were laws, and that the President was responsible for enforcing the law, not retroactively vetoing ones they don’t like.

    Naive, I know.

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    Entirely random wee hours thought, which could be worked into a skit.

    Will induction centers now instruct “Turn your head and don’t cough?”

    ;)

  50. 50.

    Betty Cracker

    @JPL: Starting from the premise that everything Trump does is for his own personal and/or political benefit rather than the national interest, maybe he’s pushing hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure and stockpiling it as a pre-loaded excuse to deflect the inevitable criticism. The admin blew it on ventilator production and to some extent on PPE; sufficient supplies won’t be manufactured in time thanks to Trump’s inexcusable inaction from late January to mid-March.

    So, he glommed onto an anecdotal study with 20 participants, gambling that it really will turn out to be a miracle cure. If that happens, he’ll order the parks system to commence chiseling his face on Mount Rushmore immediately. If the drug doesn’t work, he’ll yap about how he’s an optimist who was trying to save lives and give people hope while blaming the governors for lagging on ventilators and PPE.

  51. 51.

    Barbara

    @satby: No, I mean that you would divert it from Mylan and then down the chain and then ultimately to Feds so that someone in the chain is making a lot of money.  Yes, Mylan could jack up the price, but that would be obvious.  There is something non-obvious about what is happening here.

  54. 54.

    germy

    When the president is pressed about chloroquines and why he’s pushing them it tends to devolve into him calling the question fake news.— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 5, 2020

    hes pushing them bc sean hannity and dr oz said the word “chloroquine” a lot like do you think he read some research or something? the people on tv told him to do it so hes doing it https://t.co/S9EWTAyAvj— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) April 6, 2020

  57. 57.

    SFAW

    @rikyrah:

    Yesss. Who

    A commenter at TPM posted a 2016 article from Motley Fool, noting that Trump owns Gilead stock (one assumes more than just a few shares). Apparently, Gilead is a prime/sole manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine?

    I cannot vouch for the accuracy of either claim, but were it/they true, I would not be in danger of suffering a cardiac event from the news.

    ETA: Did a quick Google: looks like Gilead had earlier stopped production of it, but has now restarted. Still no idea if the Murderer-in-Chief owns Gilead stock.

  58. 58.

    germy

    I didn’t know we needed a “witness’s signature” for absentee ballots.

    so, Wisconsin will toss out the ballots of any voter who (during social distancing rules) submitted an absentee ballot without a witness's signature. even if said voter sent in their ballot in the period where a court had said they don't need a witness. https://t.co/ppY3MsAKHz— Taniel (@Taniel) April 6, 2020

  61. 61.

    JCJ

    @Barbara:

    My daughter takes Plaquenil for lupus.  Initially it was about $200 for a three month supply.  During a shortage a few years ago the price went up to $600.  There is plenty of profit to get from a manufactured shortage.

  64. 64.

    germy

    It's almost like the United States has no President – we are a rudderless ship heading for a major disaster. Good luck everyone!

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2014

  69. 69.

    Baud

    @Spanky:

    If you look closely at images of the crucifixion, you’ll see that Jesus and the two thieves who were crucified with him were at least six feet apart.  God couldn’t have been clearer.

  70. 70.

    Ben Cisco

    Well, this sucks:

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — More than 5,000 medical masks that Montgomery County received from the national stockpile were rotted, the local emergency management director said Thursday.
    States and cities are receiving shipments from the National Strategic Stockpile to try to relieve shortages in medical equipment because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
    …

    (Sen. Doug) Jones, noting the problem with the rotten masks shipped to Montgomery, said he is concerned national stockpile shipments have been inadequate and states are in a “hunger games” competition, bidding against each other for private purchases.

  72. 72.

    germy

    Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are bracing for public-interest lawsuits over misinformation and conspiracy theories dispensed by certain Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Trish Regan. https://t.co/qFtkBeHoTx
    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 6, 2020

  74. 74.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: Agreed we would be better of with anyone other than Orange Corona who is a malevolent morona.

    BTW have any of the noble generals formerly of the T-tanic’s cabinet, spoken about  the ouster of Capt. Crozier?

  75. 75.

    germy

    @Spanky:

    With nothing but his baby blues showing?

    One of our favorites antenna-tv shows is Superstore.  In one scene, an extremely religious manager is trying to convert some employees by talking about Jesus.  “It wasn’t easy for a white man in the Middle East!”

  78. 78.

    zhena gogolia

    @Spanky:

    I used to joke about feeling old, but I really didn’t. This pandemic is the first thing that has made me feel old.

  79. 79.

    germy

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I thought witness signatures were common practice.

    I didn’t know that.  I thought you just filled out your ballot in the privacy of your home and then mailed it.

    I’ve seen it argued that absentee ballots are risky because of the threat of abusive spouses coercing their victims into voting a certain way (republican, I assume) so is the spouse the witness?  Or do you walk the ballot over to a notary?

     

  83. 83.

    MattF

    Story I read is that T’s fixation on hydrochloroquine is due to ‘advice’ from Giuliani. So, the motivation could be Russia. Or just about fucking anything.

  84. 84.

    germy

    Off topic, but why can’t we have nice things?

    In South Korea ??, the solar panels in the middle of the highway have a bicycle path underneath – cyclists are protected from the sun, isolated from traffic, and the country can produce clean energy. pic.twitter.com/HTwHaC2FRf
    — Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) April 5, 2020

  85. 85.

    JMG

    My neighbor across the street has been going to work every weekday. At first, I couldn’t imagine why. Then I remembered. He runs an institutional uniform manufacturing firm. I’m sure they’re real busy and also classified as essential.

  86. 86.

    MomSense

    I’m not doing well working from home and I realize I’m lucky that I can work from home.  It’s a confusing time.

    I’ll try to check in later and see how everyone is doing.

  87. 87.

    TS (the original)

    @Amir Khalid:

    Imagine if any other country was doing this to the USA. He needs to resign now – it needs to be shouted across the country.

  89. 89.

    PenAndKey

    @germy: My wife and I just had this talk this weekend when we filled out our ballots and “witnessed” the other do so. Not only is the requirement idiotic given the current isolation orders in the state, it’s equally idiotic in healthy times. My brother is single. If he still lived in the state he’d have to get a neighbor to witness him fill the ballot out, and that’s presuming he knows his neighbors well enough to ask one of them to do so. Such a requirement is nothing but a transparent roadblock to voters, especially given that we have to sign the ballot ourselves anyway and the stupid things are processed by the same people who would “witness” us vote and process our ballots if we did it in person.

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @germy: I don’t know, I’ve never done it. but it’s the way they are done here in Misery. Absentee ballots are the major weak link in ballot fraud but the GOP generally resist changing it because quite a few of their older voters use it. The witness signature is not the problem. Recent elections in NC and STL showed how the process can be abused.

  93. 93.

    germy

    In six of his books about China, Navarro quotes a “Ron Vara”, whom he describes as a China hawk and former Harvard PhD doctoral student in economics, and who says crass Sinophobic things about China and the Chinese. An investigation by the Chronicle found that this character was made up, and that Ron Vara (an anagram of Navarro) appeared to represent views that Navarro himself held.[ Navarro has admitted to making up the character and quoting him in his books. Economist Glenn Hubbard, who co-authored Seeds of Destruction with Navarro, has said he was not aware that Vara was fictional and that he was not okay with it.  In December 2019, a memo apparently authored by Ron Vara began circulating in Washington DC. The memo highlighted the “Keep Tariff Argument” and the use of tariffs against China a few days before an additional 15% tariff on $160 billion of Chinese made goods was set to be implemented. Navarro later confirmed that he had written the memo.

    I had forgotten this delightful detail about peter Navarro My colleague Phat Poe, renowned economist and epidemiologist, agrees it’s hilarious. https://t.co/EljJMlRXdI— NotADoctorHat (@Popehat) April 5, 2020

  94. 94.

    OzarkHillbilly

    WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—The National Incompetence Stockpiles, the federal reserves of inanity and ineptitude to be drawn upon in times of crisis, are at “full capacity,” the Government Accountability Office announced on Saturday.

    According to the G.A.O., the Incompetence Stockpiles are so well stocked at the moment that they are in danger of overflowing.

    “The sheer tonnage of failure and impotence that is being dumped into the stockpiles on a daily basis is straining their ability to contain it,” the G.A.O. statement read.

  95. 95.

    Gin & Tonic

    @schrodingers_cat: Funny, but a friend of my wife’s is a retired commanding officer of a significant Naval vessel. Since retirement he has “come out” as a vehement anti-Trumper, but on this particular issue he feels that Crozier shit the bed and should have been relieved.

  97. 97.

    TS (the original)

    @rikyrah:

    The American press, for the most part, still refuses to call out trump on his bullshit.

    Nor do most of the State Governors. Cuomo doesn’t mention anything negative in his press conferences other than the odd push back when a nonsensical trump statement is mentioned by a reporter. I have never understood why everyone is scared of him – is he so powerful?

  98. 98.

    Fair Economist

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Saints’ record-breaking kicker Tom Dempsey dies after contracting Covid-19

    Scary part to go with the sad: He was in a home for people with dementia. Scary two ways, actually.

  99. 99.

    OzarkHillbilly

    via Nicholas Kristof @ the NYT:

    “There’s this biological fact that still in South Korea, the people who haven’t been infected aren’t immune, and as soon as there’s an end to social distancing they’ll be vulnerable again,” noted Dr. Mark Poznansky of Harvard Medical School.

    The same is true in the United States.

    “We’re just looking at this first wave,” noted Dr. Murray. He estimates that in June, some 95 percent of Americans will still be susceptible to the virus.

    “The world’s on fire with this virus,” said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and this means that even if one country succeeds in putting out the blaze, sparks will keep arriving from elsewhere to cause new outbreaks. He added: “I think the transmission will continue to occur for some time.”

  100. 100.

    ThresherK

    @prostratedragon: “Medical goods shipment to Barbados being hijacked”?

    Cheesy Pete, I remember when actual pirates were the only people we had to worry about doing that.

    Trump is auditioning for the role of “Somali pirate leader” in Captain Phillips. Playing against Tom (America’s Favorite Guy) Hanks is never a good look.

  101. 101.

    Baud

    @TS (the original):

    I have never understood why everyone is scared of him – is he so powerful?

    Is that a serious question?  Of course the president is powerful, especially in times of national crisis.  And if the president is a Republican, he is more than likely going to use that power to settle scores.

    Most people who are scared of him are scared for their own craven reasons.  But governors are just being practical.

  102. 102.

    Van Buren

    I know there is some tough competition, but I think Wisconsin Republicans really are the shittiest people on the planet. Especially when you factor in their history.

  105. 105.

    ThresherK

    @Fair Economist: I sorta hope Dempsey had the “normal” demetia (like my late FiL, say), and not football impact style dementia.

    Never knew of him to be in a lot of collisions, although it was before my time.

    And, of course, his story is just incredible. Makes me wonder if the actual NFL football has changed between his era and the next 60-yarder to go thru the uprights. (I know they made it harder to do so ~a decade ago.)

  106. 106.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Gin & Tonic: Others have speculated that he did it knowing full well what the result would be but did it anyway because nobody up the chain of command was taking the situation seriously and anything less was a betrayal of his crew. I hope we get to find out.

  108. 108.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: I know, but it was the first I’ve heard the 95% non infected number. The whole idea has always been to slow it down so our hospitals aren’t overwhelmed but I have real doubts about my neighbors ability to keep up social distancing for the long haul.

  110. 110.

    Jinchi

    @rikyrah:

    Trump recommended combining hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin, a common antibiotic. He said azithromycin “will kill certain things that you don’t want living within your body.”

    I’m worried Trump may be turning me into an anti-vaxxer.

    I just don’t think I can trust the FDA or the CDC, anymore, given the fact that he clearly coerced them into dropping all standards to greenlight the use of an unproven drug to support his “what do you have to lose?” snake-oil salesmanship. He’s clearly either fired or sidelined anyone who will push back on this nonsense and I wouldn’t be surprised if he started pushing Jim Bakker’s silver solution next. So if in the next few months the government heralds a new vaccine, I don’t think I’ll trust that it is either safe or effective.

  111. 111.

    Amir Khalid

    @ThresherK:

    I was under the impression that kicker was the one position  in American football with a low risk of traumatic head injury.

  112. 112.

    Jinchi

    @OzarkHillbilly: I have real doubts about my neighbors ability to keep up social distancing for the long haul.

    Social distancing as we’re currently practicing won’t be the standard over the long haul. It’s main purpose was to short circuit the exponential growth of the pandemic and give time for us to come up with longer term solutions. The hope is that 95% will never get coronavirus (meaning that 95% will remain vulnerable) and that we will have controlled the outbreak so they’re never exposed to it.

  113. 113.

    ThresherK

    @Amir Khalid: You are correct. Rules have varied, but kickers and punters largely don’t get hit unless they initiate themselves into the play. And on placekicks (point-after touchdown converts, field goals) there’s really not a lot of that.

    Kickoffs and punts are different; some K’s and P’s are actually good athletes and others avoid contact like crazy. A new thing is to groom rugby or Aussie rules footballers for punting, and they like hitting people!

    Given Dempsey was born missing half his right foot, I would hazard a guess that he was not really a threat to be the last guy to tackle a returner heading for a touchdown.

  115. 115.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Jinchi: Repeating from the article:

    “The world’s on fire with this virus,” said Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and this means that even if one country succeeds in putting out the blaze, sparks will keep arriving from elsewhere to cause new outbreaks. He added: “I think the transmission will continue to occur for some time.”

  116. 116.

    The Moar You Know

    Since retirement he has “come out” as a vehement anti-Trumper, but on this particular issue he feels that Crozier shit the bed and should have been relieved.

    @Gin & Tonic:  I don’t agree that he should have been relieved, but he was going to be relieved. I’ve been a contractor for the Navy for over 17 years now and while Crozier absolutely made the right decision, he was going to get shitcanned and he absolutely knew it when he wrote that letter, because this is how the Navy does things. Lose your ship, lose your job.

    That he wasn’t discharged and gets to keep his rank and salary (he will never be promoted, which sucks for him, but at least he might end up keeping his pension) is a bit of a nice surprise if it actually ends up panning out that way. Hope it does. He saved lives.

  118. 118.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @OzarkHillbilly: I don’t know.  although a quick really rough calculation tells me if there are 300 million people in the U.S. (I know its more like 333 million )  and if 300,000 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (it’s really 337,971 this morning) .  That’s about .01% of the population that have caught the virus AND been positively diagnosed with it.  Just guessing but since this is a novel virus every person in the U.S. has the potential to becoming infected  and developing the disease, some will spread it without ever knowing they had it.    It is also too early to tell how long immunity to the disease will last for those who recover.  For example, with some diseases, like whooping cough, immunity whether acquired through vaccine or having the disease, wanes after a number of years.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15876927

  120. 120.

    Jinchi

    @OzarkHillbilly: “I think the transmission will continue to occur for some time.”

    Right, that’s the flattening part of the plan. But that doesn’t mean everyone gets the virus, which is the path we would be on if we did nothing. And it doesn’t mean we stay in the current mode indefinitely.

    Remember, at the start of this literally everyone was vulnerable, simultaneously, and we didn’t know who had it. If we ramped up testing we could isolate anyone who tested positive. Once we develop widespread tests for antibodies we can identify those who already had the virus and are (presumably) immune. Those people should be able to resume working and aiding those who aren’t.

  121. 121.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:I don’t know.

    Neither do I, but for the time being I won’t feel like I don’t have to worry until I get a vaccine. If it is only effective for 10 years that’s OK, I’ll probably die of something else before then anyway.

  122. 122.

    Jinchi

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone: That’s about .01% of the population that have caught the virus AND been positively diagnosed with it.

    300,000 is about 0.1% of the population and given the testing shortages my guess is that the true number is 10-20 times that.

    But still, most of us have likely not gotten it. Let’s hope it stays that way.

  124. 124.

    Geminid

    @The Moar You Know: My understanding from reporting in The Navy Times is that it was the second day after the Theodore Roosevelt made port when Capt. Crozier sent the letter and gave it a wide enough distribution that publication was certain. I’m guessing that his pleas to get his sailors ashore were met by resistance that he soon understood to emanate from the office of the Secretary of the Navy, and since time was of the essence he decided to cut the knot at the expense of his career. The admiral commanding the task force was in close proximity to Crozier, and  maybe other commanders he might have appealed to, but this was a very hot potato and he could achieve the necessary result by acting alone. He may have decided to take the hit for other commanders as well as his sailors. I am hoping there will be leaks of communications between Crozier and the Guam port authorities during this period.

  125. 125.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: I have real doubts about my neighbors ability to keep up social distancing for the long haul.

    Shit, most of my neighbors aren’t even doing it for the short haul. They’ve cut down on having people over, but they still do. Most (but not all) of these folks are black, so I’m guessing they aren’t watching Fox, but I’m at a complete loss as to why they aren’t isolating themselves.

  126. 126.

    SFAW

    @schrodingers_cat: 

    Is it just me or does anyone else hate video conferencing with the heat of thousand suns.

    Maybe you should just get better people on the other end(s) of the video conference.

  127. 127.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: for the time being I won’t feel like I don’t have to worry until I get a vaccine. If it is only effective for 10 years that’s OK, I’ll probably die of something else before then anyway.

    I agree. And in 10 years, or 5, or 1 like the flu vaccine, we can get it again. But without immunity from that I don’t feel like it will ever be really safe. I’m not likely given my asthma to be an asymptomatic person.

  128. 128.

    Betty Cracker

    @schrodingers_cat: I’ve always hated it, but I’ve worked at home for about a decade, so my hatred of videoconferencing isn’t new. My sister is super-lonely because she’s a very social person, her spouse is working long hours and she can’t hang out with friends or go to the pub. The other day, we did a virtual happy hour using Facetime, and I amused/annoyed her by trying out every filter I could find. Maybe I’ll do that on my next client call…

  134. 134.

    opiejeanne

    @Chris Johnson: Russia delivered 60 tons of PPE to the US last week, while Russian hospitals, doctors, and nurses are crying out for these same supplies, so no, Trump is not giving them to Russia.

  135. 135.

    Jackie

    @Kelly: Same here. If the voter marks their signature with an X, only the signature is witnessed – not the actual voting.

  138. 138.

    geg6

    @germy:

    We just started no excuse mail in voting in PA this year.  My John and I just got our ballots.  No witness needed.  When we had just regular absentee voting, you had to provide proof of your reason for being absentee.

  139. 139.

    Oklahomo

    I wanted to punch my TV this morning; I walked through the living room and Scaramucci was on whining about 28 years olds with brand new equities start-ups that might not get some of this sweet sweet bail-out cash.  They’re just as important as those restaurant workers, dammit!

  141. 141.

    Barbara

    @JCJ: Yes, that is the most feasible way of making bank on these things, but I would point out simply that in order to make money from the company that makes money from producing plaquenil you would not only have to own shares, you would have to sell them before they come back down to earth when it is determined (as I would bet money it will be) that plaquenil is only modestly useful, if useful at all.  It’s the shortest term kind of grift I can imagine.

    I think that someone is trying to study the incidence and outcome of COVID-19 in people who are currently taking plaquenil for other conditions, like malaria, lupus and RA, which are the main things, and they are not seeing anything that they would view as dramatic.  The only reason plaquenil started being used for conditions with inflammation of the joints (lupus, RA) is that doctors noticed that those taking it for malaria experienced improvement in their RA and lupus symptoms, which is par for the course — we have no cure so anything that seems to work ends up being prescribed.  I never thought it did any good at all.

  142. 142.

    Richard Guhl

    Everything that Biden is doing inspires confidence in me. Informing Bernie of his intentions to move forward with the process of vetting potential VP and Cabinet members shows both kindness and firmness.

    Something tells me a Biden administration would exceed our expectations. He knows what he’s doing.

  143. 143.

    Geminid

     

     

    @Another Scott: CNN has good reporting by Barbara Start and others on the Acting Secretary of the Navy’s speech to the crew of the Roosevelt. Modly’s personal attack on Captain Crozier was absolutely disgraceful.

  144. 144.

    James E Powell

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I vote by mail in California and there is no witness signature required. The voter’s signature has to match the one on file.

    I don’t understand why a witness signature would be required or how it would reduce “fraud” – pardon me for deeming every “fraud” claim to be bullshit until proven otherwise.

    Republicans don’t want Democratic-leaning people to vote and they will use every means, legitimate or otherwise, to keep them from voting. It is one of those facts that the political press/media refuse to acknowledge.

  145. 145.

    joel hanes

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    We’re all engaged in delaying actions until we have mass deployment of three things:

    1. – fast reliable test for antibodies, and thus immunity
    2. – fast reliable test for virus, and thus current contagious infection
    3. vaccine
  146. 146.

    joel hanes

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I too hate videoconferencing, almost as much as I hate trans-national conference calls on loudspeaker in a meeting room.

    This became a significant handicap in my most recent job.

  149. 149.

    Barbara

    @MattF: It can compromise your eyesight, and your peripheral vision in particular.  I would be shocked if it were anything more than modestly helpful in some trials.

  151. 151.

    James E Powell

    @Geminid:

    CNN has good reporting by Barbara Start and others on the Acting Secretary of the Navy’s speech to the crew of the Roosevelt. Modly’s personal attack on Captain Crozier was absolutely disgraceful.

    I read the text at Kevin Drum’s place. I wonder how it was received by the sailors.

  152. 152.

    joel hanes

    @MattF:

    The drug may be dangerous

    It is absolutely the case that the drug is toxic, and causes horrific side-effects if misused, and serious side effects in a substantial number of the cases in which it is used very carefully. The President of the AMA has responded to Trump’s “What have you got to lose” with “You could lose your life.”

    But in this dystopia, Rudy Giuliani’s grifting and Hannity’s resentments have more influence on national medical policies than does a warning from the head of the AMA.

  155. 155.

    Geminid

    @James E Powell: According to knowledgeable sources in the CNN article, were Modly a serving officer he would be subject to a courtmartial for his diatribe against Crozier. Another example of a man disgracing himself trying to serve Trump.

  156. 156.

    Elizabelle

    James Fallows blog at The Atlantic (no paywall): https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2020/04/thank-you-captain-crozier/609484/

    … Now, relevant reader response. First, from a reader with a family member aboard the Theodore Roosevelt:

    My husband is currently serving on the Roosevelt. Many family members have been reaching out to their respective ombudsmans to ask for a way to get in contact or relay our support for Captain Crozier and we have been all been told the same thing—they “don’t know” how to get in touch with him.

    We are not to speak to the media regarding anything going on with COVID-19. In fact, we have been getting “updates” (I use that term very loosely because ‘update’ implies difference or a change in information, which is very much not the case) for weeks about the illness spreading throughout the ship and how we are NOT to discuss anything with the media. Which, given Operational Security requirements, is fair but also indicates leadership knew about the spread of the Coronavirus far earlier than what is being portrayed in the news.

    Anyway, I have a simple ask: On behalf of the families of all on board the USS Roosevelt can SOMEONE just tell the man that we appreciate what he did to make sure our sailors and marines come back to us in one piece? Captain Crozier risked his career and did what he thought was best to get the resources they needed. The acting SEC NAV, who amounts to a little more than a modern day mercenary (you know, on account of forgoing his national service for profit in the private sector), railroaded CAPT Crozier and it’s an absolute disgrace.

    We just want to say thanks and let him know we support him. It shouldn’t be this hard to get that simple message across.

    Thanks for reading and please don’t publish my name or email address. We’ve seen how the Navy “doesn’t like to punish” people about stuff like this.

  157. 157.

    opiejeanne

    @eric:

    Experimenting with keeping my blood glucose low, I made egg flower soup this morning for breakfast: low-cal, a decent amount of protein, almost zero carbs, and really easy. And did I mention Cheap?

  159. 159.

    low-tech cyclist

    @JoeBiden’s advice to Trump on @ThisWeekABC >>

    ▶️ Fully implement the DPA
    ▶️ Get small biz loans out
    ▶️ Make tests available
    ▶️ Open up Obamacare enrollment
    ▶️ Get data on impact on minority communities
    ▶️ Create Supply Commander to quickly coordinate distribution of supplies

    That’s nice, Joe, but when Trump doesn’t do any of these things, finds new ways to screw things up, and the result is thousands more lives lost, what do you recommend then?

  162. 162.

    Barbara

    @Geminid: Audience of one.  That explains so much of what we see among a lot of people and is rather clarifying of their fitness for all kinds of public service.

  163. 163.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    we all need hope for the future right now so here's some panda f***ing https://t.co/lVuUcFCb0P

    — seiZedd tesla & spacex to mass produce ventilators (@Zeddary) April 6, 2020

    Ocean Park says its resident giant pandas Ying Ying and Le Le have mated naturally for the first time since they started trying a decade ago.

    Executive director Michael Boos says it’s “extremely exciting” as there’s a higher chance of pregnancy.

    Photo courtesy of Ocean Park pic.twitter.com/poQecMPuUB

    — Richard Pyne (@richardjpyne) April 6, 2020

  164. 164.

    Geminid

    @Barbara: And Trump seems more and more to be playing to an audience of one. His remarks about Captain Crozier Saturday evening were typically vile and churlish, but they were also very stupid politically. He didn’t have to say anything at all about Crozier, or at most given a vague deflection. But Trump went out of his way to drag Crozier. He basically just pulled a gun out his pocket and shot himself in the foot a couple times.

  165. 165.

    No One You Know

    @PenAndKey: True, but Jared neither creates, nor commands, nor coordinates, and publicly announced he was against distribution. In other words, he’s there to actively prevent the work from being carried out.

    Now,  if Jared had a boss, and a subordinate who would eat his shit and still do the work… we’d get somewhere,  maybe!

  166. 166.

    Gravenstone

    @danielx: Trump? One of his brighter* cronies? Absolutely!

     

    • brighter being very much a relative term of crony vs. Trump rather than crony vs. populace at large
  167. 167.

    lol chikinburd

    @Van Buren: Maybe I’m biased because I grew up in a place dominated by Wisconsin Republicans, and they were then, but, yes, they absolutely are.

    And boom: Evers issues executive order delaying in-person voting to June, after said Republicans in the Lege making a formal ceremony of sticking their thumbs up their butts between rapid-fire gavels.  So we get a day of furious lawsuits likely ending in a 5-2 reversal putting us back at square one.

  168. 168.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    President Trump is using a global pandemic as cover to exact political revenge against the Intelligence Community Inspector General who revealed his misconduct.

    Warren gives Trump to much credit, Trump gave up on the virus and using revenge as distraction, like bing watching Netflicks.

  170. 170.

    Suzy

    @Richard Guhl: Mr. Biden explained in an interview last week that indeed, he has begun the vetting process for vp. Mr. Biden didn’t mention Senator Sanders, but was very respectful:  he said he didn’t want to be presumptuous about winning the nomination, but explained that the vetting was a long and serious process and he had to begin that process right now in case he became the nominee.

    One of the most endearing qualities of Mr. Biden is that he displays the right balance between self-confidence and respect for others. He is a man of character.

  171. 171.

    Amir Khalid

    @James E Powell:

    I just read the CNN transcript. It describes some of the crew’s response, which suggests that they weren’t persuaded y the speech.

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