Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

You cannot shame the shameless.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

This really is a full service blog.

“But what about the lurkers?”

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Republicans in disarray!

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

This blog will pay for itself.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / Saturday Morning Open Thread: One More Week Behind Us

Saturday Morning Open Thread: One More Week Behind Us

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(h/t commentor Jackie)

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102Comments

  2. 2.

    Starfish

    In the category of family COVID-19 musicals, I really liked this one by a 16yo and his mom. I just love the look on his mom’s face.

  3. 3.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    An ambulance and fire truck just pulled onto the property here. It’s not unusual to see them. There are old people here after all. But under the current circumstances, it makes nervous.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    he can blame the recession and the worsening unemployment on them,

    Great insight. I never would have guessed Trump would blame other people for his failures.

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Referring to #Coronavirus ahead of the launch, cosmonaut Anatoli Ivanishin suggested that “for the next few months the space station is the safest place to be.”

    I hope his confidence in their virus free state is not misplaced, else wise the space station could be the worst place to be.

  9. 9.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Gotta love that tweet in one of the COVID threads about Russia suggesting that their “doping problem” be set aside because of the pandemic. Almost makes me think that Russia made the virus, not China. //

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: Yeah, sorry. Past experience argues against him being blameless. I’ve already drank a pot of coffee, maybe I just didn’t get enough sleep.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    Knowing some folks have expressed trouble sleeping well (or much at all) prompts bringing up another mention that if you have Prime video, go to the search function there and type in the word ambient.

    You’ll be presented with a list of choices of relaxing audio to fall asleep by. Things like gentle rains or other nature sounds. Some darken the screen to near black, others accompanied by soothing images. Almost all included free with Prime.

    On occasion have made use of the sounds of a distant thunderstorm, which runs for nine hours.

  13. 13.

    ThresherK

    @OzarkHillbilly: My wife and I were thinking of every sci-fi show which has the “disease in outer space” episode, and I think that’s a common trope.

    Spoiler alert: They don’t all end up killing invading Martians like in War of the Worlds.

  17. 17.

    Jinchi

    If he pushes for “opening” but the states resist, he can blame the recession and the worsening unemployment on them

    There’s no “if”.  Trump has never needed an excuse to blame anyone for his failures.

  18. 18.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Russia has opened a criminal investigation after Czech authorities dismantled the statue of a Soviet military commander despite Moscow’s protests, escalating a diplomatic row over the issue.

    The statue of Marshal Ivan Konev, who led the Red Army forces during the second world war that drove Nazi troops from Czechoslovakia, is reviled by some in Prague as a symbol of the decades of communist rule that followed the war.

    But in Moscow Konev is lionised by authorities as a war hero, and the removal of his statue was cast as a diplomatic insult and part of what Russia sees as a dangerous attempt to rewrite history.

    The statue of Konev, who also played a leading role in crushing the 1956 Hungarian uprising and building the Berlin Wall in 1961, was taken down on 3 April by municipal Prague authorities, who said they planned to put it in a museum.

    They must be running low on vodka in Russia.

    Russia has no legal jurisdiction in the Czech Republic.

    Just in case anyone was confused.

  19. 19.

    ThresherK

    @Immanentize: Interesting take, but, unlike humans v. Martians, the white man’s regular weapons proved damn effective against the indigenous people.

  22. 22.

    Amir Khalid

    @debbie:

    You wouldn’t let a five-year-old get away with an argument like that. Russia doesn’t deserve to be let off the hook.

  25. 25.

    Jean

    At Walgreen’s, I asked if they were ever going to restock thermometers again, and I was told that they’d been recalled because too many people were taking their temperatures and going to the hospital with suspected fevers.  WTH??

  26. 26.

    Immanentize

    Yesterday I had a teleconf with my Doc.  I’m fine, I was due for a check in, but we did it over the phone.  He had a very tough day and called about an hour after my appointment.

    After going over my stuff — I’m fine! He got to the business of the call.
    1). Update your Health Care Proxy, Power of Attorney and DNR forms!
    2). Fill out a new advanced directive form which indicates whether, if you get Covid, you want to go to a hospital at all or stay home to fight the disease.

  27. 27.

    John S.

    @NotMax: People should try watching the The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. If a few minutes of him painting happy little trees doesn’t soothe a person to sleep, I don’t know what will. I know it works for me and my wife.

    A word of warning: it is habit forming.

  29. 29.

    Immanentize

    @John S.: I love Bob Ross and so does the Immp.  We even have the Bob Ross board game which is pretty good.

    But what is it about his pinky coke finger nail?  Always distracts me from total enjoyment.

  30. 30.

    germy

    @John S.:  What I enjoy about watching Bob Ross is when he first puts some blob on a painting, and I wonder “what the hell is he doing? What is that?” and then flick flick flick it becomes a cliff or a seagull or something.

  31. 31.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    About the Duomo in Milan. It’s actually not a great place to hear concerts, though they do have a lot there. We listened to a string quartet concert when we were there, and the echo was so bad that it was basically unlistenable if you weren’t in the first few rows of seats. It’s cool to be there, but doesn’t really work as a concert hall.

  33. 33.

    Nicole

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    An ambulance and fire truck just pulled onto the property here. It’s not unusual to see them. There are old people here after all. But under the current circumstances, it makes nervous.

    Of course it would.  Every time my husband comes from the bedroom/now temporary office and says, “hey”- I’m expecting it to be news about someone else we know or are adjacent to who has died.  There are more than a few this week, and some people we know personally are really sick.

    Although I don’t know that I think they’re all that effective, we’ve been covering our mouths and noses when we go out- scarves, mostly, since that’s all we had- but yesterday, on my way to pick up a prescription, I saw the local hardware store had a scrawled sign in the window saying “MASKS LIMITED QUANTITIES CASH ONLY.”  So I bought 3 of the kind with a little wire to shape over you nose, for $6 each. What struck me was it was the first time I’d handled cash in almost a month.  As they are one of the little independent stores on the avenue, too, I couldn’t be too grumpy about the price gouging.  I considered it a small business donation.

  34. 34.

    Nicole

    @John S.: We JUST introduced our 9-year-old to The Joy of Painting two weeks ago, and he loooooooves it.  I’m enjoying watching it, too, which makes me laugh because back in its original run in the 1980s-1990s, teenage me thought it was boring as fuck.  My kid has more sense than his mom did. ;)

  35. 35.

    Chyron HR

    Referring to #Coronavirus ahead of the launch, cosmonaut Anatoli Ivanishin suggested that “for the next few months the space station is the safest place to be.”

    Not out it worked out for the astronauts in World War Z.

  38. 38.

    Matt McIrvin

    @ThresherK: Apollo 7 got hit by a simple common cold and it caused so much friction between the astronauts and Mission Control that none of them ever flew again. If COVID-19 hit a space mission it could easily kill everyone on board even they get “mild” cases, and the incubation period combined with the false-negative rate on testing really isn’t reassuring. I hope these people have been in quarantine a long time.

  42. 42.

    germy

    To the extremists who have taken over the Republican Party: The bad leadership you see coming from Trump in the midst of this deadly virus is not Trump's fault as much as it is yours. You refused to impeach and remove him. You have upheld his lies and self-worship.

    — revdrbarber (@RevDrBarber) April 11, 2020

  44. 44.

    debbie

    @Immanentize:

    My doctor let me know (less than 24 hours before my appointment!) that she had switched over to tele-appointments for the next month. Works for me; less expense.

  45. 45.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Nicole: Since there are so many people making them out of bandannas, I assume scarves are also fine. Cloth apparently is enough to stop the droplets that are the carriers in the air around other people. It’s recommended that you wash them after being outside.

    Masks still aren’t standard wear for people walking around the neighborhood, like us. But we have an order of bandannas that should be here today and we’re probably going to start.

    Surprised to hear about using cash. I still have every penny that was in my pockets on Mar. 10. I thought people were afraid of handling cash, with good reason.

  48. 48.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: They’ll stop the LARGE droplets, at least. Small ones that can be carried easily on air currents might get around the edges of any cloth mask.

    But the point of these simple masks isn’t complete protection–it’s to make any dent in that viral reproduction rate that we can make. Anything (used wisely) is better than nothing, even if it’d be a joke by medical-practitioner standards. The only exception I could see would be a mask that is so uncomfortable or slips so often that it drives the wearer to touch it frequently.

  49. 49.

    Amir Khalid

    @Jean:

    Was it because the home thermometers falsely reported fever temps, or was it bevause they correctly reported fever temps?

  51. 51.

    raven

    @debbie: I’d done several with Live Health before this hit. You just login, get an MD and they can write you a script. I have an upcoming visit with my GP online as well and it works well. I did go in to see a sports med doc this week and it felt pretty safe but most of the people were in the ortho section not the sports med.

  53. 53.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Immanentize: You mean extra long? Back in the late 70s I worked with a couple of Iranians who had the fingernail. They told me it is for scratching itches.

  55. 55.

    Scout211

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Yes, two layers of high thread-count material will feel thick. At first it feels like you can’t get enough air, but you do eventually get used to it. Try wearing your mask at home for an increasing amount of time daily so you can get used to breathing with the mask on. Hopefully, this will help.

  57. 57.

    debbie

    @raven:

    Glad there’s an alternative. I was a bit nervous about this appointment because I’ve picked up a virus or two over the years after an office visit. Plus, I’m fine with it because I get to avoid a monthly blood test. Gotta love the lack of a 24-hour notice, though.

  59. 59.

    JPL

    @Immanentize: I signed a few blank checks for the sons also.    Just in case they have to take care of bills.    Since they are both employed they did think that a bit much.

  60. 60.

    JMG

    1. We have a large (more than a doz.) supply of bandannas left over from a late ’90s elementary school function. So we ran ’em through the laundry and are using them as masks. If the idea is to keep your breath in rather than as protection from others, they work OK if nothing more.
    2. Yesterday was supermarket day, so I also stopped at the bank machine and got $200 worth of 10s and 20s. If we are going to be getting more deliveries, and we are, tipping is essential. That is the one possible use for cash now I can imagine.
    3. Homemade buffalo wings were a big hit last night. Maybe we’ll make Fridays Home Bar Food Night!
  66. 66.

    DropDminus

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I haven’t had a steak umm in probably 25 years. That might have to change this week.  That is remarkable as both an insightful thread and a very effective and subtle pr tactic.  Suddenly I’m willing to suffer the inevitable adult consequences of eating one of the foods of my childhood just to give them a hat tip.  Well done steak-umm guy.

  67. 67.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @germy:

    As I’ve noted, the people who will benefit on these programs aren’t us.

  68. 68.

    rikyrah

    My sister’s birthday is coming up. She is an essential worker. So, she hasn’t seen her granddaughter in weeks.?

     

    I want to send her some actual books. She doesn’t like the ebook thing. Anyone know of a book retailer that isn’t Amazon?

  77. 77.

    SFAW

    Apropos of nothing in particular:
    Last night, the Jeopardy! College Tournament had a contestant from Liberty University. [Mrs. SFAW wondered why I uttered “Fuuck,” when I saw that, until I explained.]
    Fortunately, the contestant was pretty useless; she got a lot of the Bible questions/answers correct, but not much else.

  84. 84.

    Tenar Arha

    @rikyrah:I don’t know where you live, but Papercuts in JP in MA; is a local bookstore (& publisher) that has an online shop.

    ETA ugh typoed my nym

    ETA 2 I’m sorry I cannot link on my phone properly (Please just google if they’re convenient for you)

  85. 85.

    SFAW

    @Tenar Arha:

    I don’t know where you live, but Papercuts in JP in MA;

    Thanks for the tip. I don’t live near JP, but sometimes visit a cousin there, so maybe I’ll look for it.

  89. 89.

    Tenar Arha

    @SFAW: they’re not open rn (& they’re apparently fundraising too bc this hit them at the worst time, just after a move) but they have an online shopping link.

  90. 90.

    leeleeFL

    @Baud: Truthfully, as long as we don’t wind up fu—ng up all the good that’s been done, I don’t give a flyin’ f— if he blames it on me, personally, and Steve King comes and camps out in Sunny Flori-dah in front of my apartment.  If too many innocents die from stupidity, the economy is in the crapper anyway.

  91. 91.

    Ruckus

    The dumbest dog I ever had was smarter than trump. And he was a dumbass. Still a lot smarter than trump.
    He could learn really simple stuff, but would forget it in hours.
    And have to be completely retaught.
    Still smarter, still a better animal than trump and he chewed up stuff.
    Even his mom was caught shaking her head at him on occasion and gave up after a year of trying to teach him how to be a good dog.
    He never actively tried to kill people, because he was smarter than trump, but he also wasn’t the devil’s dildo, actively trying to fuck everyone else on the planet out of their ability to live.

  92. 92.

    Miss Bianca

    @rikyrah: Powell’s – I think they have a Chicago branch, too, in Hyde Park, that specializes in scholarly books – I remember a deliriously happy shopping trip there decades ago when I still lived in Chicago.

    AbeBooks is another one if you’re looking for used or rare

    ETA: I see I’m not the only one to recommend Powell’s – of course not! : )

     

    @Ruckus: OMG, now “the devil’s dildo” is an image I can never, never unsee. Curse yoouuuu!

  93. 93.

    Another Scott

    @Miss Bianca: Abe Books is owned by Amazon, if that’s important to prospective purchasers.  (Amazon owns a lot of stuff, but they’re generally upfront about it (see the bottom of the main Amazon page).)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I live in a senior apt complex. 55 and up. My 73 yr old next door neighbor died on Thursday, just his time. Tuesday noon till 4am Wednesday the paramedics were here, parked in front of my place 3 times, twice for the same woman and once for my next door neighbor.

  96. 96.

    Ruckus

    @germy:

    I’d bet those extremists in the rethuglican party don’t see his “leadership” as bad. There may be more than one reason they have stood behind trump. In the first place, they are republicans. They’ve had over 3 yrs to see who he is. I’m considering that anyone who is still a republican and a trump supporter to be pure fucking evil. They want the world to shit on them so they support the best candidate for that job. Their stupidity is that they think they will gain from this support.

  98. 98.

    StringOnAStick

    The demographics of who is dying is a RW dream come true. POC’s?  The white supremacist groups are thrilled. Old people? The investors types are happy to see the useless eaters thinned out.  People on the lower end of the economic spectrum? Eh, too many of them as it is and they tend to vote the wrong way when we can’t stop them from voting.  Babs Bush’s comment about how a disaster is working out well for them still holds true but this time the roles are reversed.

    This extremely cynical take makes it clear that the current federal response isn’t just incompetence.  It struck me that the day the Vector in Chief decided to suddenly pay closer attention is when some evil prick , likely Miller, pointed out that an ongoing pandemic could be used to really corrupt the election; what just happened in Wisconsin later confirmed that. Of course he’s so unable to hold onto a single idea that he’s pinballing from knowing they can rig a version of Wisconsin in enough places to win to demanding things reopen to save “his” perfect economy (too late there, Donnie Dumbass).  We have to crush him and his party, 2020 is our last possible moment.  

  100. 100.

    James E Powell

    @Ruckus: 

    I’d bet those extremists in the rethuglican party don’t see his “leadership” as bad.

    Every day he is on TV saying hateful things and making the libtards angry. This is exactly what those a holes voted for.

  102. 102.

    SFAW

    @Tenar Arha:

    they’re not open rn (& they’re apparently fundraising too bc this hit them at the worst time, just after a move) but they have an online shopping link.

    Thanks, bookmarked it and subscribed. Not doing any purchases these days, but it’s good they also have audiobooks and e-books.

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