Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

When I was faster i was always behind.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

The revolution will be supervised.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Giving up is unforgivable.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

The willow is too close to the house.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

You are here: Home / Politics / Media / After Almost Twelve Hours…

After Almost Twelve Hours…

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The New York Times decides that there are not two sides on injecting bleach.

The difficult thing about the Times is that they actually do a good job – even an excellent job – on a lot of things. Like this:

How New Mexico, One of the Poorest States, Averted a Steep Death Toll

Open Thread!

Reader Interactions

159Comments

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    He needs to be removed from office and given medical treatment immediately. You would think that his own family would recognize this. Can you imagine letting your own father / husband continue like this?

  6. 6.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Federal Judge Tosses California Law Requiring Background Checks for Ammunition

    A federal judge blocked a California gun law on Thursday that required people to undergo a background check before purchasing ammunition.

    U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego called the regulations “onerous and convoluted,” adding that they violate a citizen’s Second Amendment rights, the Associated Press reported.

    Benitez ruled in favor of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, which had asked him to halt the background checks with a preliminary injunction.

    “The experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted. California’s new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured,” Benitez wrote in his 120-page opinion.

    “Criminals, tyrants, and terrorists don’t do background checks,” he added. “The background check experiment defies common sense while unduly and severely burdening the Second Amendment rights of every responsible, gun-owning citizen desiring to lawfully buy ammunition.”

    Benitez reportedly claimed the law blocked legitimate sales to law-abiding citizens, about 16 percent of the time. He also ruled that California’s ban on importing ammo from outside the state violates federal interstate commerce laws.

    California became the first state in the country to require background checks for ammo purchases when the law took effect back in July.

    Ammunition sales jumped 300 percent in June before the regulations took effect. Voters originally approved the measure back in 2016

    His “opinion” reads like a press release from the NRA or the GOA. I guess simple background checks are just too radical for this Dubya appointed judge.

    I love the self-importance and pomposity of the “background check experiment” phrasing as if by him simply writing those words down invalidates the entire concept of background checks for firearm/ammo purchases

  7. 7.

    Edmund Dantes

    No fuck that change.

    Implied is doing a lot of heavy lifting. So even in fixing it they are still trying to shirk their own complicity.

    They did no implying.

  8. 8.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @satby:

    Unfortunately, that’s a lot of people and the NYT is still making tons of money through online subscriptions, according to their quarterly earnings reports. Too many people trust them. I still find it hard to believe that so many liberals recommended getting an NYT sub once Trump was elected after what the NYT did to Hillary Clinton

  9. 9.

    Peter

    That “difficult thing” you refer to is the gulf between the reporters (with a few notable exceptions) doing excellent work and the editors, specifically the EIC, keeping their thumbs firmly on the scale. If it comes out that Haberman has been on the take (likely, IMO, given her mother’s employment), I hope that Baquet also loses his job.

  12. 12.

    lumpkin

    @satby:

    Yep. Saying “yeah, but the NYT has a lot of good news coverage too” is like saying “yeah but he only pees in the other end of the pool.”

    The thing is, if people quit paying the NYT to propagandize them they’d shape up well before they went broke. As it is, they know that liberals will continue to support them no matter how hard they chase after conservatives who are always going to hate them anyway.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    The NYT consistently sucks at domestic political coverage, to the detriment of the nation.  You can decide for yourself whether their coverage of other issues is worth the cost.

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jim Acosta @Acosta · 20m
    Trump telling reporters he was just being “sarcastic” yesterday when he suggested that people could inject themselves with disinfectant as a treatment for coronavirus. per TV pool reporter
    @weijia (note: in the video it did not appear he was being sarcastic)

  15. 15.

    luc

    Journalists and the public should ask every politician the question:

    “Is a person that publicly suggests injecting disinfectants to treat the virus mentally fit to be a school teacher? ”

    Put everybody on the record.

  16. 16.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Per the pool in the Oval Office right now, Trump now says he was being sarcastic when he mused that disinfectants could possibly kill the coronavirus inside the body.
    — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 24, 2020

    ETA: Jim beat me to it!

  17. 17.

    sherparick

    @Cheryl Rofer: Just to clarify, Mike Ricci, who is Republican Governor Larry Hogan’s spokesman, was not snarking on NYT, but subtweeting an announcement from the Maryland Department of Health that says as follows:

    Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MDMEMA)

    @MDMEMA

    ALERT


    : We have received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and #COVID19. This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.

    12:24 PM · Apr 24, 2020·Twitter Web App

  21. 21.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Trump now says he was being sarcastic when he mused that disinfectants could possibly kill the coronavirus inside the body.

    Fuck. Him.

    No he wasn’t, he was dead serious. Even if he was, which he wasn’t, he still acted irresponsibly. So that’s not any better of an explanation.

    He encouraged people to basically kill themselves. End of story

  22. 22.

    ChrisS

    “You liberals have no sense of humor” would be a better defense for stupid things that Trump says if comedies and comedians weren’t dominated by liberals.

  28. 28.

    Roger Moore

    @zhena gogolia:

    You would think that his own family would recognize this.

    They don’t give a damn about him as a person, just as a source of money, and he’s still doing well at that.  It’s fair, I guess; he doesn’t give a damn about any of them as people, either.

  29. 29.

    catclub

    @sherparick: should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route.

     

    Not even alcohol laced enemas. I am disappoint.

  31. 31.

    Hildebrand

    I was curious to see how far the wackadoodles at Red State would go to prop up the Orange one – they are saying, “But this was all in the context of the doctor saying UV light and bleach were effective. The lame stream is taking his sage musings out of context!”

    The sycophant chorus is just stunning to behold.

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Jeanine supports Trump: “Today I’ve already injected myself with 8 whiskey sours, a vodka tonic, a Kir Royale and a bottle of Chanel No. 5. I feel great, I smell great and when the Fresh Direct delivery boy gets here I’m gonna be wearing a face mask, gloves and nothing else.” pic.twitter.com/nlPgZTFIuA

    — Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) April 24, 2020

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Ninedragonspot: “Don’t be a cutie-pie”

    (Yet another statement that makes me want to just look at the collective Lumpenmittel and say, “Do you fucking get it now? Do you still think ‘they’re all alike’?”

  36. 36.

    kindness

    Critiquing the NY Times all too frequently involves giving them credit for the nice things when discussing the abominable ones.

    It’s kind of like saying Jim Jones served absolutely delicious Koolaide to his followers just prior to many of their untimely deaths.

  37. 37.

    Shalimar

    I have been informed by insane Trump Facebook groups that vaping is better than injecting bleach directly into your lungs.

  38. 38.

    mary s

    Yeah, someone on Slate (I think?) put it pretty well the other day. To paraphrase badly, the NYT is doing a good job of investigating the corruption in the Trump administration and also many of the deleterious effects that Republican policies (for lack of a better word) are having, but they can’t seem to stop covering the administration, and Trump himself, as if everything is “normal.” The NYT has been having covering politics lopsidedly for decades in the name of “balance.” But it’s just too ridiculous at this point.

  39. 39.

    VeniceRiley

    I saw that last night and immediate tweeted that “SOME.”  They lost the human decency thread years ago.
    That vanity Fair piece is interesting but not surprising.

    OT: My fiancée’s promotion got last minute delayed by a month so they could make her a (1 of 4) covid patient lead at the prison.  She has high blood pressure meds and is middle aged. So a month (one hopes, as their word is in question) of that, and, if she survives, I will be a married lady eventually.  I am getting beyond frustrated with the quality of leadership by those in big and little power.

  40. 40.

    Tazj

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: No he wasn’t being sarcastic, and he did say it no matter how many conservatives or supposedly “nonpartisan” people claim he didn’t or that liberals are the real monsters for pointing out what an idiot he is. Accurately quoting him is the real crime.

  41. 41.

    L85NJGT

    Did the president offer any guidance on whether he was recommending skin popping, or mainlining, the bleach?

  42. 42.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    @zhena gogolia: Trump? Why on earth does he need medical treatment?

    He’s been taught, for over four years now, that he can say any old bullshit that comes to mind, regardless of whether it’s meaningful or sensible, and people will quote him, clean up his meandering speech, and make his words sound defensible.

    So he does, because it pays off for him.

    Don’t assume he’s developmentally disabled, or showing signs of dementia; he’s always been dumb as a post, and quite arrogant about being right, regardless of accuracy or truth.

    The problem is not him; he is, as many people say, as dumb as the sort of Fox News fan who thinks only Fox can be trusted. The problem is, the Republican Party has locked itself in to the point that it must listen to such complete morons, and act interested, and even defend their baseless BS.

  43. 43.

    Kent

    What enrages me about this sort of mealy-mouthed coverage of Trump stupidities, is that organizations like the NYT could actually EXPLAIN why Trump is a complete idiot rather than just citing “experts” without explanation.  As a biology teacher, just off the top of my head it would go something like this:

    “The coronavirus is not a stomach or intestinal infection like e-coli or cholera so drinking bleach is not going to reach the virus or do anything at all.   It is also not a blood-borne disease like HIV or Malaria so injecting disinfectant into your bloodstream isn’t going to do cure it.  It is a respiratory disease which attacks the lungs.  So logically, to even get disinfectant close to the virus in your body, you’d have to fill your lungs with bleach, not your stomach or veins.  We call that “drowning”.  If you want to try drowning yourself in bleach, go ahead.

    But, more importantly, viruses don’t live on their own on the surfaces of your lungs or in your bloodstream.  They actually replicate themselves inside your own cells.  So to physically attack a virus in your body you would have to destroy your own cells.  In other words, poison yourself.  THAT is why  we don’t try to disinfect ourselves from the inside.  Instead, we rely on our body’s own defenses and immune system to fight off viruses.  And we supplement our immune systems as we can with vaccines.”

    I have not seen a single news report on Trump actually EXPLAIN in plain language why he is such a fucking idiot who knows nothing about science.  All they do is trot out experts to say “don’t do that!”

  45. 45.

    Roger Moore

    @mary s:

    The bigger thing is that while FTFNYT may be doing a good job of investigative journalism, they’re by no means the only media organization doing that.  Those other good sources of investigative journalism aren’t doing nearly as bad a job as FTFNYT is at their political coverage.  So stop supporting the bad actor and start supporting one of their competitors.

  46. 46.

    MoCA Ace

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    Jeanine supports Trump: “Today I’ve already injected myself with 8 whiskey sours, a vodka tonic, a Kir Royale and a bottle of Chanel No. 5. I feel great, I smell great and when the Fresh Direct delivery boy gets here I’m gonna be wearing a face mask, gloves and nothing else.” pic.twitter.com/nlPgZTFIuA

    — Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) April 24, 2020

    DO. NOT. GOOGLE!

  47. 47.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Kent:

    Doing that would require effort and many journalists are science-illiterate. But I feel your pain.

  48. 48.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Roger Moore:

    So stop supporting the bad actor and start supporting one of their competitors.

    I nominate the WaPo and ProPublica. Oh and TPM

  49. 49.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    If a presidential candidate were to declare that the earth is flat, you would be sure to see a news analysis under the headline ”Shape of the Planet: Both Sides Have a Point.” After all, the earth isn’t perfectly spherical.

    Paul Krugman

    November 1, 2000

  51. 51.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Imagine the hysteria and ridicule at the Vichy Times if Biden or Warren implored the public to inject Clorox.

  52. 52.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    OT – kinda:

    One of my most interesting lifetime acquaintances/working colleagues is a lawyer/hobby farmer from South Central KY who happens to be the sister of the current UN Ambassador (she actually commutes over an hour and a half from her home on a daily basis).  Her Trump hate is visceral, and with each new post, the bile is more evident.

    Micah is a conservative woman from a conservative part of the more conservative portions of KY.

    It is pretty fun to watch.

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    @Shalimar: Speaking of vaping, I have been wondering if the higher-than-expected issues with COVIDS in the young might be related to vaping, which has a very negative impact on your lungs.

  54. 54.

    Archon

    I HAVE to believe Trump was just being a troll and attempting to be sarcastic in the middle of a global crisis.

    The “he was actually being serious” , would imply a level of derangement from Trump that is too dark a road for me to contemplate.

  57. 57.

    L85NJGT

    If the cleaning agent needs to get into the lungs, they could huff chlorine gas, like 1915.

  59. 59.

    Geoboy

    By the way – “implied?”  Hell, no – they came right out and said it.

    I’d like a list of the “experts” who think it isn’t dangerous.  I’m sure “Dr.” Oz will be at the top.

  60. 60.

    Scout211

    Huh. So “sarcastically” daring people to harm themselves at a presidential briefing on a pandemic is, uh, okay now?

    These “new rules for presidents” are hard for me to keep up with.

  62. 62.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kent:

    Malaysia’s Health Minister, a physician, said that drinking warm water would flush the coronavirus from your mouth and into your stomach, bye bye virus. Which is of course nonsense; the virus isn’t food-borne. I think this is why we haven’t heard a single word from him since, and the daily media briefings are given by the Director-General whom the public finds very credible.

  64. 64.

    bemused

    @Betty Cracker: 

    I’ve never heard him say anything sarcastic. He doesn’t have any idea what sarcasm is. His people probably had to tell him what sarcasm means when they thought up this excuse for him to use.

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Robert A George @RobGeorge ·12m
    Also, the president doesn’t know the meaning of the word “sarcastic.” The BEST interpretation of his excuse today is that he was being FACETIOUS — which has different connotation than sarcasm. Regardless, anyone who SAW the exchange yesterday realized he was not being either.

    If memory serves, Robert George is an alumnus of the Bush II administration, several campaigns and a few wingnut-welfare sinecures, none of which is part of his twitter bio

  68. 68.

    Capri

    @sherparick:  NYT wasn’t about to say “all experts” until Dr. Cleanton Peroxide, the Clorox Chair of Bleachological Studies weighed in.

  69. 69.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @tomtofa: Yes, well these people are that dumb. Remember Trump’s quack doctor? Talk about shades of Theodor Gilbert Morell (Hitler’s doctor, who specialty was cocaine injections) I am positive it will come out that Trump is on all kinds of weird shit he claims is medicine.

  73. 73.

    leeleeFL

    @eric: True, you gotta care, at least a little.  I’d take his keys and forget where he lives.  I, also, find the wee garden where my fucks grow completely empty.

  74. 74.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Cheryl Rofer: I’ve seen video of Trump saying it, that was one of the few times he didn’t sound like he was lying or just lashing out. He really did come across like he though he was a genius for saying that.

  75. 75.

    trollhattan

    @Betty Cracker:

    Other examples of Trump being sarcastic:

    Vote for me, what have you got to lose?
    I’m a stable genius.
    Beautiful, clean coal.
    Mike Pence will be a great vice president.
    Senator Roy Moore.
    Fine people on both sides.
    My daughter is hot.*

    *Psych! Obviously does not belong on a list of utterances he didn’t actually believe.

  78. 78.

    JPL

    This is funny

    TRUMP: I was looking at you yesterday when I was being sarcastic about disinfectants

    JEFF MASON: I wasn’t there yesterday

    ANOTHER REPORTER: You were looking at Dr Birx

    TRUMP: I was looking at Bill, the doctor, I was looking at some of the reporters

  79. 79.

    hueyplong

    It wasn’t sarcasm, facetiousness, or any other form of non-serious communication.  He had his “I’m a serious problem solver” intonation and facial expressions.

    He was in deadly earnest.  Had there been no blowback, Trump would be ripping that doctor on stage with him for failure already to have started the testing/investigation.

    I’ll look for everyone’s accounts today.  No way I’m watching it.

  81. 81.

    MomSense

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    Check out Noel Casler’s Twitter feed and comedy routine on YouTube.  He was his handler/producer for years on the Apprentice.  Trump is on some weird shit alright.  Lots of tea being spilled even about a Melania double.  Interesting to note that trump never threatens to sue him.

  84. 84.

    ab_normal

    @WereBear: don’t google “Miracle Mineral Solution” unless you want to get mad. Some chucklefucks feed it to their kids to “cure” autism and it’s fuckin’ bleach.

  88. 88.

    Mandalay

    Even the backtracking correction was mealy mouthed, and carefully  worded to be unclear, despite their claim to the contrary:

    To be clear, there is no debate on the danger.

    That is not clear at all. It is waffle, and says nothing about whether ingestion is dangerous or not. It just states there is no debate. Given that many people believe whatever Trump says, I’m hardly nitpicking.

    Their correction should have stated “Experts unanimously agree that President Trump’s suggestion to ingest household disinfectants is very dangerous“.

    Now THAT would have been clear, but it would also have been a bridge too far for the NYT, because access.

  90. 90.

    Brachiator

    We’ve deleted an earlier tweet and updated a sentence in our article that implied that only “some experts” view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous. To be clear, there is no debate on the danger

    Jesus. You don’t need a freaking expert to know that Trump was spouting dangerous bullshit.

    Maggie, her editors and the Times publisher should never, in any universe, let this nonsense slide.

    Yeah, the Times does good reporting, but that good reporting does not make up for, or excuse this nonsense in any way.

     

    ETA. Unsurprisingly, this morning I heard local talk radio personalities attempt to give Trump some credit for his ridiculous claims.

  92. 92.

    NotMax

    It’s been a circuitous road downhill ever since they dropped the period from the masthead.

  93. 93.

    Soprano2

    All of the Trumpers I know have gone to the “out of context” defense. When I asked a couple of them in what context it would be a good idea to suggest injecting cleaning products into the body to cure COVID-19, I got crickets for an answer. That’s their go-to answer whenever Trump says something dumb or insane. It’s also their weakness, because that makes it easy to call them cult members. They aren’t willing to criticize anything he says, no matter how crazy or ridiculous it sounds. That’s how a cult members acts.

  94. 94.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    He’s doubling down. Eighty seconds of the Presidnent talking science.

    JRehling @JRehling
    He was sarcastic when he said it last night but now he’s saying it again. #InjectDisinfectant #DontDrinkBleach

    Acyn Torabi @Acyn · 27m
    “So I said, how do we do it inside the body or even outside the body with the hands and disinfect, I think would work. .. Maybe there’s something there.”

    “incredible lab, by the way”. When he brags about just finding out something that would be obvious to a middle-school student….

  95. 95.

    Mandalay

    @JPL:

    the president just lied

    Hallelujah!

    AFAIK that is the first time anyone in the mainstream media has directly used the “L” word.

    But maybe now the genie is finally out of the bottle?

  96. 96.

    MoCA Ace

    If a presidential candidate were to declare that the earth is flat, you would be sure to see a news analysis under the headline ”Shape of the Planet: Both Sides Have a Point.” After all, the earth isn’t perfectly spherical.

    Paul Krugman

    November 1, 2000

    This jiggled the memory banks…

    In the before times my 3 yo grandson was sitting on the floor spinning our globe around and 7 yo grandson said “you know grandpa, some people think the world is flat”.  I asked what he thought about that and he said they were dumb because it would be easy to prove… just go up to the edge and take a picture.

    I told him “you should be proud, you are smarter than all those people”.

    Same grandson walked through the room when trump was on TV and without breaking stride said “he’s and idiot” as he exited.  My daughter laughed and I explained, in my defense, I try really hard to keep my political commentary PG when he’s around.

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    Loved this Twitter response

    On journalism: “If someone says it’s raining, and another person says it’s dry, it’s not your job to quote them both. Your job is to look out the fucking window and find out which is true.” -Sally Claire

  98. 98.

    danielx

    @HalfAssedHomesteader:

    Surely, this time will spark some self-reflection at the NYT.

    And pigs MIGHT have wings, too.

    “Yeah, maybe we pushed the “both sides, opinions vary” thing a little too far in this instance.”

  100. 100.

    Shakti

    @zhena gogolia: That assumes they value him for any other reason than the big fat inheritance. They absolutely recognize this. The minute it stops enriching them is the minute you see “concern.”

     

     

     

    @Kent: I don’t think the problem is that people are scientifically illiterate. I think too many people are willing to give ridiculous statements credence because they don’t question authority.  “The President said it so there must be something to it” is in the same realm as “Daddy knows everything!” Authoritarians aren’t known for critically evaluating statements from people they follow.

  103. 103.

    dr. luba

    So our governor (Whitmer) has extended our lockdown, while loosening some restrictions (golf and boats with motors allowed, garden centers can open) while tightening up others (masks mandatory in enclosed areas with other people).

    The Trumpkins are whining, of course, because golf carts are still not allowed.

  105. 105.

    Duane

    @Kent: Who needs an expert to know not to drink bleach? The FNYT could ask a 5- year old, or read the label on the bottle. The entire company should die from shame and embarrassment.

  106. 106.

    Jeffro

    Thanks so much for helping during a huge national crisis, trumpov!

    WHERE ARE THE CALLS FOR THIS CLOWN TO RESIGN AND GET OUT OF THE WAY???!?

  107. 107.

    pacem appellant

    @Archon: That’s his current tact. Juck his gaslighting. He meant it. He doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    The belief that the New York Times is a reliable source for news is unproven and potentially dangerous, some experts assert.

  111. 111.

    WaterGirl

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Absolutely.  Like he thinks of himself as part of the brain trust who can solve this problem.  I am pretty certain that I have, in fact, never before hear Trump sound sincere, yet he sounded very earnest and sincere when he walk talking about UV light and bleach as solutions INSIDE OUR BODIES.

  112. 112.

    Sloane Ranger

    @WaterGirl: It might depend on what they’re vaping. Raw Story had a piece up yesterday of a French clinical trial to see if nicotine prevents or lessens the severity of coronavirus.

    Apparently, medical staff in both China and France noted that smokers were presenting with serious symptoms in much lower numbers than their percentages in the general population would suggest.

  113. 113.

    Barbara

    @Cheryl Rofer: Somehow I knew it had to be there — read through, and there it is, Alan Keyes is promoting the same cure by the same outfit.  The crazification factor lives.

  114. 114.

    chopper

    We’ve deleted an earlier tweet and updated a sentence in our article that implied that only “some experts” view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous.

    you assholes didn’t ‘imply’ it. you straight up said it. why would you say ‘…that some experts would consider dangerous’ if you meant that literally everybody would consider it fucking dangerous??

  116. 116.

    Brachiator

    @Shakti:

    I don’t think the problem is that people are scientifically illiterate. I think too many people are willing to give ridiculous statements credence because they don’t question authority.  “The President said it so there must be something to it” is in the same realm as “Daddy knows everything!”

    Probably both things at work here. Science illiteracy and appeal to authority. Some people assume, and want to assume that a president is telling them the truth.

    Also, some people have a deep need to believe in, and to justify their belief in a leader when they have a vested interest in that person. They love Trump, so he must be right in some way.

  117. 117.

    chopper

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    right. trump doesn’t do sarcasm. he doesn’t understand sarcasm. he’s too simple to grasp it.

    besides which, even if he was joking around, we’re in the middle of a goddamn deadly viral pandemic and he’s joking about shooting up bleach? what in the actual fuck?

  118. 118.

    John Revolta

    Imagine, if you will, if President Obama had sarcastically suggested that we inject cleaning fluids into our bodies to cure stuff………………that would be okay, right?

  122. 122.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: What Trump really reminded me of this was of some stoner rambling about the sun is really the eye of God while on some acid trip or something equally dumb. He’s probably loaded to the gills of anti-depressants going into those briefing and the “Oh, I was joking is when he comes down the next day”

  123. 123.

    Kent

    @Shakti:@Kent: I don’t think the problem is that people are scientifically illiterate. I think too many people are willing to give ridiculous statements credence because they don’t question authority.  “The President said it so there must be something to it” is in the same realm as “Daddy knows everything!” Authoritarians aren’t known for critically evaluating statements from people they follow.

    I was talking about the NYT which is most definitely NOT scientifically illiterate.  They have done a lot of competent science reporting over the years.

    I was talking about their reflective tendency to run a story about drinking bleach as a “he-said but the experts disagree type story.”  when what they should actually be doing is running a Trump is completely full if shit and here is WHY in simple understandable terms” sort of story  Give us the SCIENTIFIC explanation as to why he is a complete moron.  Don’t quote me 3 experts saying it is a bad idea without explaining why.

  125. 125.

    Calouste

    @Sloane Ranger: Could be that smokers die of Covid-19 before they even get to a hospital. There are a lot more deaths than in previous years than just the ones that have been officially assigned to Covid-19.

  126. 126.

    Calouste

    So the defense by the shitgibbon is that it is appropriate to make sarcastic remarks during a press conference about a disease that is killing 2,000 people a day in the country.

    I guess we all remember the sarcasm of G.W. Bush after 9/11 and of Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor, right?

  127. 127.

    patrick II

    @Archon:

    Yeah, and the look on Dr. Birx’s face was a sarcastic look of horror, not a real one.

    Not being able to contemplate how horrible he is has been a huge advantage to him. The media treats him like a nearly regular president instead of the sociopathic fascist bent on the destruction of democracy that he is.  Face up to it Archon, it’s necessary for change.

  128. 128.

    TriassicSands

    To be clear, there is no debate on the danger.

    To be clear, there is no debate on which party is the cause of congressional dysfunction, which is the party of lies, which is the party that has abandoned democracy, and which party poses an existential threat to our system of government.

    If only they would print that statement.

  130. 130.

    dopey-o

    @MomSense: LINK!!!!!! If this Twitter feed with into trumps apprentice follies is so noteworthy, please be so kind as to provide the link…. Otherwise don’t bother me.

    You may want to google “copy and paste”.

  132. 132.

    different-church-lady

    @zhena gogolia:

    He needs to be removed from office and given medical treatment immediately.

    Or we could just skip the medical treatment. That’s an option too.

  134. 134.

    different-church-lady

    @Betty Cracker:

    but I’m glad he feels the need to lie about it.

    Yes, I’m not being sarcastic at all when I say his feeling the need to lie about it is a great improvement over his usual mode of lying about things just because.

  135. 135.

    Mnemosyne

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:

    Yep, I saw that, too. I’m assuming that’s where the QAnon idiots got it from since there are huge overlaps between them and the anti-vaxxers/anti-autism assholes. Ugh.

  137. 137.

    Amir Khalid

    The Guardian’s coronavirus liveblog has this Reuters story saying … well, here it is:

    US navy leaders have recommended the reinstatement of the commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, who was fired after he pleaded for help with a coronavirus outbreak onboard.

    Speaking on the condition of anonymity, officials have told the Reuters news agency the recommendation to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier was made during a meeting on Friday between the US defence secretary, Mark Esper, and navy leaders.

    The decision is pending Esper’s approval, the officials said.

     

  138. 138.

    Another Scott

    @Amir Khalid: Relatedly, USNI News:

    […]

    Guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG-100) has reported 18 sailors have tested positive for the virus, a Navy official confirmed to USNI News on Friday.

    “A sailor assigned to USS Kidd tested positive for COVID-19 after being medically evacuated to the United States from operations at sea, April 23,” the service said in a statement subsequent to an earlier version of this post. “The sailor is stable and receiving care at a medical treatment facility in San Antonio, Texas. Kidd was underway in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations, in support of U.S. Southern Command.”

    A medical team has been embarked on the destroyer and the ship is heading back to shore from its current location in the Eastern Pacific, though the final location to disembark the crew has yet to be determined, officials told USNI News. The service is expecting to discover more cases among the crew of Kidd as the medical team continues to test the more than 300 sailors aboard the destroyer.

    “The first patient transported is already improving and will self-isolate. We are taking every precaution to ensure we identify, isolate, and prevent any further spread onboard the ship,” said U.S. 4th Fleet commander Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson in a Friday statement.

    “Our medical team continues coordinating with the ship and our focus is the safety and well-being of every sailor.”

    Reuters first reported the outbreak.

    The cases on the destroyer follow a COVID-19 outbreak on carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) last month. As of Thursday, the Navy had found 840 cases of the virus with 4,098 negative results.

    As a result of the outbreak on Theodore Roosevelt the Navy has instituted a set of pre-deployment guidelines to the virus off of ships and procedures to mitigate the spread once COVID-19 is discovered on a ship underway.

    As of Thursday, 26 ships – all not deployed — have reported at least one case of COVID-19 among their crews, Navy officials told USNI News.

    Kidd was operating with U.S. 4th Fleet as part of a U.S. Southern Command anti-trafficking push announced on April 1.

    […]

    (Emphasis added.)

    Capt. Crozier should get his ship back. He saved the lives of his crew, and forced the Pentagon to take COVID-19 on ships seriously.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  141. 141.

    Duane

    Trumpov has announced that the USPS has to raise its rates before he’ll help them. Great campaign material. Do gas taxes next.

  144. 144.

    Another Scott

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:

    Oh, in case people are wondering why Bank of China is #9 in that trending list, Liz Dye at Wonkette is on the case:

    […]

    Politico reports this morning that Trump owes tens of millions of dollars to the Bank of China in a note that comes due in November of 2022, which would be smack in the middle of his second term. (God forbid!) Because OF COURSE Trump’s going to go out and scream lunatic nonsense about how “China will own the United States” if Biden is elected, when actually China owns Trump’s own flabby ass.

    The 10-year note originated in 2012, when Trump’s partner Vornado Realty Trust borrowed $950 million from the Bank of China to refinance the debt on 1290 Avenue of the Americas in New York, one of the jewels in the Trump Organization’s portfolio. Trump owns a 30 percent stake in the building, which its website describes as “one of the New York City’s most distinguished office buildings in midtown.” That 30 percent means that he’s been paying down a $285,000,000 note to the Chinese state-owned bank for the past eight years. No wonder he always walks back criticism of Xi Jinping immediately after promising to get tough on China!

    […]

    Recall that the Steele Dossier said that Donnie was happy to have everyone be distracted by his dealings with Russia, because it was actually China that has him where they want him…

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  146. 146.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Melissa DeRosa @melissadderosa
    · 2h
    Cuomo: A farmer in northeast Kansas.
    His wife has one lung & diabetes.
    He has 5 masks.
    He sends one mask to NY for a doctor or nurse, keeps four masks.
    You want to talk about a snapshot of humanity? God bless America.

  147. 147.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    stuart stevens @stuartpstevens 47m
    Trump is putting West Point grads at risk for a campaign commercial. That pretty much sums up the deep disrespect he has for the service he dodged.

    Kevin Baron @DefenseBaron · 2h
    FORCE PROTECTION? West Point had no idea, is now forced to recall 1000 graduating cadets for Trump’s surprise speech. “Everyone is leery about bringing 1,000 cadets into the New York metropolitan area for a ceremony,” she added. “It’s definitely a risk.”

  149. 149.

    Shakti

    @Kent: Who then, would this proposed article reach? What do you expect the effect of such an article, “Why Drinking Bleach Will Kill You and Not Cure Covid-19”  would be?

    Certainly such an article would make me feel better and possibly help people who are willing to learn, like curious children. It would also not give abusers cover under “malicious neutrality” or “spitballing.” (Which is what might have happened with the guy and his wife who ingested fish tank cleaner. The wife survived;he didn’t.)

     

    I don’t think it’ll work on members of Cult 45 who distrust “experts” and claim the “lamestream media is just trying to make him look bad.” I spent way too much time thinking that if I just told Shrub supporters the truth and presented facts they’d see the light.

  152. 152.

    Mandalay

    @Amir Khalid:

    the recommendation to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier was made during a meeting on Friday between the US defence secretary, Mark Esper, and navy leaders. The decision is pending Esper’s approval…

    Esper is now between a rock and a hard place, since he fully supported the firing of Crozier:

    Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday defended the firing of the Navy captain who sounded the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak aboard an aircraft carrier, characterizing the commanding officer’s ouster as an “example of how we hold leaders accountable.”

    Esper is going to look like a jackass if he reinstates Crozier, and a scumbag if he doesn’t. It’s a win-win.

  155. 155.

    TS (the original)

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Trump now says he was being sarcastic when he mused that disinfectants could possibly kill the coronavirus inside the body.

    He or his media person – have no idea as to the meaning of sarcastic  viz

    given to using irony in order to mock or convey contempt.

    This in no way related to what trump said – unless he was conveying contempt towards the deplorables who believe every word he says.

  156. 156.

    Captain C

    @Roger Moore: When he’s no longer President*, the money and influence spigot turns off, no one will want to do business with their incompetent and now toxic asses, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were indictments coming for at least some of Ivana’s kids.

  157. 157.

    Brachiator

    @Mandalay:

    Late comment.

    RE: Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday defended the firing of the Navy captain who sounded the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak aboard an aircraft carrier, characterizing the commanding officer’s ouster as an “example of how we hold leaders accountable.”

    Esper is going to look like a jackass if he reinstates Crozier, and a scumbag if he doesn’t. It’s a win-win.

    The Trump administration will look for some kind of “We support the military” bullshit to deflect from their initial fuck-up.

    And Trump will deny that he was ever involved with any of this.

  159. 159.

    Another Scott

    @NotMax:

    Brookfield:
    https://ny.curbed.com/2018/8/6/17654692/kushner-companies-brookfield-666-fifth-avenue-deal

    Most recently, Kushner was in talks with Vornado Realty Trust to buy out the latter firm’s 49.5 percent stake in the tower for $120 million. Per the WSJ, the Brookfield deal may give the firm the leverage to do just that.

    Qatar:
    https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/qatar-666-5th-ave-jared-kushner

    Last August, an economic miracle occurred. Eleven years after a young Jared Kushner purchased an aging skyscraper that would become an albatross around his family’s neck, and six months before the Kushners would have to cough up the $1.4 billion that was due on the mortgage for 666 Fifth Avenue, a Canadian asset-management company swooped in and agreed to take a 99-year lease on the building, paying a near-century’s worth of rent upfront. The bailout was surprising for a few reasons, chief among them being comments by the Kushners’ previous partner that 666 Fifth “would be worth a lot more if it was just dirt,” plus the fact that the family had spent two years trying to get new partners or financing to no avail. Also, there was the matter of the Qatar Investment Authority being a major investor in the company, Brookfield Asset Management, and Kushner’s support of a Saudi- and U.A.E.-led blockade of Qatar. To some, it sure sounded like a foreign government was trying to influence policy by greasing the president’s son-in-law’s wheels! At the time, Brookfield told reporters that the Qataris “had no knowledge of the deal before its public announcement”—apparently they don’t read The New York Times—and now that the deal has officially gone through, Doha is doubling down, insisting, somewhat curiously, that the government had absolutely nothing to do with the 666 debacle.

    Absolutely nothing to see here, move along, move along…

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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