Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Second rate reporter says what?

The US Supreme Court is on the ballot in november.

In after Baud. Damn.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

No one could have predicted…

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

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

Another missed opportunity for Jamie Dimon to just shut the fuck up.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / It’s Looking Like Amy Coney Barrett’s Announcement Was The Spreading Event

It’s Looking Like Amy Coney Barrett’s Announcement Was The Spreading Event

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At least three reporters who were there are experiencing symptoms.

And, of course, someone is making a trace and track spreadsheet.

Joe and Jill Biden have been tested and come up negative, as has Nancy Pelosi.

Trump was supposed to be on a phonecall this morning, and Mike Pence substituted for him.

Here’s the latest from the White House physician, if you care to believe it.

Reader Interactions

233Comments

  1. 1.

    RaflW

    The debate zone didn’t go off flawlessly either.

    eta: For the love of Pete, why if I copy the ’embed tweet’ direct from Twittter to I just get garbage?

    I’ll try again in a sec. {grumble}

    Eeta:

    WKYC 3News @wkyc

    City of Cleveland announces 11 positive cases of COVID-19 stemming from preparations for presidential debate

    I’d also say the Cleveland Clinic really embarrassed itself with their unwillingness to enforce their mask rules for the Trump entourage.

  2. 2.

    Mary G

    The whole Republican side of the Judiciary Committee was there, no? Can they replace Lee and any others who contract it, or do they have to wait to vote?

    I’ve been trying hard not to point and laugh, but karma is a bitch.

  3. 3.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Oh yeah – I wanted to share this with you too

  5. 5.

    Mary G

    @Cheryl Rofer: Chris is PISSED OFF:

    Chris Wallace is on Fox right now confirming that the Trump family arrived late at Sunday’s debate to avoid being tested by the Cleveland Clinic as required by the venue’s rules. They knew!— Scenario (@ScenarioLENS) October 2, 2020

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    Trump is ‘fatigued but in good spirits’ doesn’t really say much beyond that he’s symptomatic to some degree.
    Shocking, this White House is usually so open and transparent.

  10. 10.

    JPL

    They lost Chris Wallace    He thinks the trump clan knew they were positive, which is why Melania wore a mask.      Here’s an article about it.  Channel 8 ABC

  11. 11.

    RaflW

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    Meanwhile, where the real power struggle resides in this broken country: https://t.co/R0s5JYewT7— Resolve.Action.Love (@Snowman55403) October 2, 2020

    Aha, bit better, thanks. Still doesn’t look like other people’s embeds, as it’s the grey box and not the pretty white twitter tweet, so it doesn’t show what I’m quote-tweeting.

  12. 12.

    dmsilev

    @Mary G: Reporter for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Network is shocked to find face-eating happening right in front of him.

  13. 13.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    It’s Looking Like Amy Coney Barrett’s Announcement Was The Spreading Event

    Cheryl, this is all well and good to know but Mitch McConnell simply doesn’t give a damn.  It’s full steam ahead for this delusional bastard.

     

    McConnell, who was interviewed on Hugh Hewitt’s radio program, said the Senate Judiciary Committee will take additional precautions as it moves forward with the confirmation process for Barrett.

     

    “The plan is for the nomination to come out of the committee on October the 22nd as Chairman Lindsey Graham has indicated, and we will be voting on the nominee very soon,” McConnell said. “I haven’t picked an exact point to bring the nomination up. But it is front and center for the American people. As we move ahead I will be more specific on the precise time on the Senate floor.”

     

    h/t https://www.npr.org/sections/latest-updates-trump-covid-19-results/2020/10/02/919492624/amy-coney-barretts-supreme-court-confirmation-will-move-forward-mcconnell-says

     

     

  18. 18.

    zhena gogolia

    Over 200,000 dead, millions more seriously ill, millions out of work or struggling, children and young people unable to continue their education, so I know this is minor.

    But I haven’t been able to have my friends over for a meal, meet them in a restaurant, hug them or even shake their hands for six months.

    Watching these pigs yukking it up and kissing and hugging each other makes me physically ill.

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    I co-sign John’s tweet.

    Basically I am looking at all these people catching covid the same way I would when I read a headline that says a bunch of terrorists blew themselves up while making explosive vests https://t.co/DecHDQm9HG— John Cole (@Johngcole) October 2, 2020

    Hope all the innocent children and workers who had to look after the goons are spared, but as for the rest, fuck’em.

  20. 20.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    and we still don’t know why trump was carted off to Walter Reed, almost a year ago now?

  21. 21.

    jonas

    Chris Wallace is on Fox right now confirming that the Trump family arrived late at Sunday’s debate to avoid being tested by the Cleveland Clinic as required by the venue’s rules. They knew!

    And then he still went to that fundraiser in NJ, where aides said he was visibly under the weather. I wonder if a single one of the rich MAGAts who ponied up ten grand or whatever to be exposed to Executive Covid at Bedminster regrets any of their life choices at all?

    Yeah, I know. Not holding my breath.

  22. 22.

    Mary G

    Thursday may have been a super spreader too:

    Scoop: GOP donors from across the U.S. came to Trump's fundraiser on Thursday at his Bedminster golf course. After the event some traveled from NJ to AZ. Others came from Texas to NJ and then to NYC.All of this based on social media accounts of attendeeshttps://t.co/QSk2m1Z7Mo— Brian Schwartz (@schwartzbCNBC) October 2, 2020

    We’ll know in a week or two.

  23. 23.

    NotMax

    @RaflW

    why if i copy the ’embed tweet’ direct from Twittter to I just get garbage?

    Twitter Is garbage. Moving it elsewhere doesn’t alter that.

    ;)

  26. 26.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Wyatt Salamanca: FWIW, I’ve seen it pointed out that most (all?) of the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee were at the Rose Garden event. We’re just seeing the beginning of the probability curve for symptoms and positive tests.

  27. 27.

    zhena gogolia

    He’s taking melatonin!!!!

    That’s one of the names he gives Melania in JL Cauvin’s videos.

  30. 30.

    catclub

    Here’s the latest from the White House physician, if you care to believe it.

     

    it is on Kayly McEnany’s letterhead.  No.

  35. 35.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @JPL:

    They lost Chris Wallace.

    Chris Wallace is still an asshole. This morning he was on Fox and Friends saying that Biden’s campaign should not try to score political points off of this latest development. He can go fuck himself.

    Meanwhile, Jake Tapper can barely contain his outrage at Trump for being such as an irresponsible selfish prick.  He was shocked that Trump’s campaign didn’t give Biden’s campaign a heads-up about Trump coming in direct direct with a staffer who tested positive.

  36. 36.

    LuciaMia

    So at CNN, WH saying Trumps had a fever since the morning. Im surprised theyre being that open.

  38. 38.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Mary G: Wait – the Trump team and family weren’t tested at the debate? Seriously?

    That’s it. Charge him and his family with reckless endangerment. What the utter fuck.

  39. 39.

    RaflW

    @JPL: Speaking of Walter Reed, in the huge volume of stuff flying by today, I’d agree with whomever has said that only docs from there can be deemed reliable. Not the WH physician, and certainly not something Kayleigh McNinny puts out on her letter head, even if it purports to be the physician.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    @zhena gogolia: I think he was far enough away that the likelihood is low.  But it’s not zero.

    Two months ago:  WHY WON’T BIDEN LEAVE HIS BASEMENT???

    Today: WHY THE FUCK IS BIDEN LEAVING HIS BASEMENT???

  42. 42.

    germy

    Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s, is blasting him for what she calls “actively spreading a deadly virus.”

    Omar said earlier this year that her father died of the virus, and she said in a statement Friday that she doesn’t wish it on anyone.

    Omar, a Democrat, says the nation has been waiting for months to hear Trump say America “will get through this together.” And she says he’s saying that now because it’s about him.

    Trump announced earlier Friday that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus.

    She criticized Trump for holding a rally and fundraiser this week in Minnesota without wearing a mask, saying he exposed hundreds of people in a state where cases are already rising.

    (Associated Press)

  43. 43.

    JPL

    Biden is talking about taking the virus seriously and protecting ourselves and others.

    trump tried to infect him also.   It will still be four days before Biden is out of the woods.

  47. 47.

    RoonieRoo

    I don’t give a flying fig about Trump or any Republican at this point.  All I care about is they didn’t infect Biden.  My tinfoil hat fear is they knew they were positive and were intentionally trying to infect Biden.  My tinfoil hat is getting pretty worn out by how much I have been wearing it lately.

  50. 50.

    Jinchi

    @Wyatt Salamanca: It’s full steam ahead for this delusional bastard.

    Sure, but there could be several Senators missing when the nomination comes up for a vote and Mitch can’t win without getting to 50+Pence.

  55. 55.

    BR

    @JPL:

    I hope Biden is getting tested daily and that they also secure some of the antibody treatments that Trump is taking as a precaution, so that if Biden or anyone around him becomes positive at some point they have one (possibly helpful) treatment. No magic solution, of course, but there seems to be decent results for it so far.

  57. 57.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    I don’t think Melania wore a mask, though. She had one on as she entered the hall (alone among the Trump entourage), but took it off as soon as she sat down. She certainly wasn’t wearing it after the debate when she joined her husband on stage. She’s no more conscientious or responsible than any other Trump-adjacent person.

  58. 58.

    Brachiator

    Here’s the latest from the White House physician, if you care to believe it.

    Is this anti-body treatment the standard of care for the Coronavirus?

  59. 59.

    germy

    There was a moment, right before the presidential debate began, where Wallace turned around and looked at the audience for a long time.  It was sort of a “WTF” look.

    I didn’t understand it at the time, but I think I do now.

    He was wondering why the trump side wasn’t wearing masks.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    @RoonieRoo: There appears to be some suggestion that he did.   The proof is more difficult to prove unless Hope Hicks verifies it, because the campaign gave him the test.

  62. 62.

    RaflW

    @RoonieRoo: That row of Trump spawn, sitting in the front row, maskless for more than 90 mins in Cleveland. I’m just furious. Cleveland Clinic has trashed itself far more than Mayo did in their subservient bow to Pence earlier this year. Idiots.

  63. 63.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Cheryl Rofer: Mike Lee would be out sick and I think the Senate has not allowed proxy voting out of support for Trump’s position.  Senate Republicans shouldn’t have the votes to clear The Handmaiden of Coathangers out of committee for 2 weeks.

  64. 64.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @RoonieRoo: if that was the plan, he would have had one of the Fredos be the rat.

    “Donnie, on Tuesday, before the debate, I want you lick some door knobs at the airport and then go cough on Biden”

    “Will you love me then, Dad?”

    “Let’s see if you get it right first”

  65. 65.

    PJ

    @Baud: If Trump had any thumb strength and mental alertness, at a minimum, he’d be tweeting what he saw on Fox.  If Dan Scavino starts tweeting from Trump’s account, it means that they think he is out of the woods and on his way to a full recovery.

    Until then, I’d say it’s safe to assume that Trump is incapacitated or dead.  I do wonder whether they’d keep him going on a ventilator when braindead through the election though, to keep turnout higher than it would be with just Pence and whomever the VP pick is.

  66. 66.

    JMG

    @Jinchi: Posted this on an earlier thread, but WaPo reports several Republican Senators have pointed this out to McConnell, and asked for a week’s recess at least until they know more.

  67. 67.

    Keith P

    I expected the doctor’s note to read “In a manner of speaking, COVID caught Donald Trump and is not expected to survive the onslaught.  Like Stallone-as-Cobra, President Donald J. Trump is the cure.”

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    @Mary G:

    Can they replace Lee and any others who contract it, or do they have to wait to vote?

    The ideal case would be at least 7 Republican senators forced to isolate until January.

  70. 70.

    zhena gogolia

    BillinGlendale in the thread below has reminded me what we should look for, based on Russians’ experience with Andropov and Chernenko: if you turn on the TV and they’re playing Swan Lake, it’s all over.

  74. 74.

    jame

    Interesting that the White House physician used the term “convalescence” — you’d think that if the Trumps were feeling well, he would have said “quarantine”, which is what they are supposedly doing. If they’re convalescing, that would imply they are indeed sick.

  75. 75.

    Baud

    @PJ: I wish I knew the record for Trump’s twitter silence.  It’ll be interesting to see how long he goes and how people will react.

  76. 76.

    JPL

    Joe’s back to taxes and good for him.    Trump needs to stay alive for another month in order for Biden to get out his message.

  77. 77.

    Another Scott

    https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/how-might-president-donald-trump-be-treated-covid-19

    […]

    Q: How much of an increase in risk does being older than 70 pose?

    A: It’s important to remember that at 74, the age of the president, most people will recover. But when you look at the mortality curves related to age, it really starts to go up. Compared to 18- to 29-year-olds, people 65 to 74 have five times the rate of hospitalization and a 90 times higher risk of death.

    Q: If Trump is early in the course of disease how might you treat someone like him? Would the antiviral remdesivir or interferon drugs be indicated? Would it depend on what symptoms the patient has, if any?

    A: I want to speak fairly generally. I don’t think it’s fair to comment over the shoulder of whoever might be taking care of the president.

    With that caveat, the best evidence for therapeutic effectiveness is dexamethasone, but that’s only used and only needed in people with severe illness. In the next category down would be remdesivir. The general feeling about remdesivir is it has a modest benefit in people with moderate illness. It seems to shorten duration of symptoms a little bit, they feel better more quickly. We sort of compare it to the effectiveness of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) for influenza—not a huge lifesaver, but it seems to reduce symptoms.

    Should you take remdesivir as soon as you know you have COVID? That’s obviously not a crazy idea. There haven’t really been any data about that because at the moment, the drug is given intravenously. Studies haven’t been done in people with mild illness. But obviously the president of the United States has access to everything.

    The next therapy which has been given to a lot of people, and we don’t have great answers for, would be convalescent plasma. Just last week the NIH [National Institutes of Health] expert panel on COVID treatment said they’d make no recommendation for or against the use of convalescent plasma in anyone with COVID.

    Q: What about treatments that boost interferons, proteins that defend against viral invasions?

    A: There have been a couple small studies that look promising, but I’m not sure I would just give it.

    Q: Another treatment that’s gotten a lot of attention is monoclonal antibodies. Would they be valuable?

    A: The trials are really interesting and important. There’s been some efficacy of those drugs in Ebola. But I haven’t seen any definitive data for COVID. I personally—unless someone has access to data that hasn’t been published yet that really looks promising—I would say they’re not ready for prime time. In theory they could be made available to certain individuals, but that would seem to make most sense in sicker or high-risk patients.

    Q: Let’s talk about the course of disease in someone with Trump’s health and age profile. He is reportedly experiencing mild symptoms now. What are the different ways this could go?

    A: As testing has become more widespread, we’ve learned that most people like him will have mild disease and recover without any specific treatment. The natural history of the disease is such that most people that are going to get very sick will generally get very sick in the first 7 to 10 days. There are always exceptions, but I think the next week or so is when there is going to be a tremendous amount of concern.

    […]

    (Emphasis added.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  81. 81.

    Mike in DC

    If he’s already symptomatic, yes, he could be dead before the end of this month.   He’s 74, he’s morbidly obese(he weighs significantly more than his “official” weight), there are rumors of him taking blood pressure meds, and persistent ones regarding an adderall addiction, he doesn’t exercise and is absolutely at risk from this.

    Even if he survives, he will experience permanent damage to his heart and lungs and probably his kidneys and liver as well.  He might have to retire from office, win or lose.

    This is effectively the greatest self-own in the history of American politics.  He downplayed the very problem which may wind up killing him.

  82. 82.

    catclub

    @PJ: to keep turnout higher than it would be with just Pence and whomever the VP pick is.

     

    I think you are right that a pence only ticket would not get Trump’s turnout.   But I also think there is a calculation about all the republicans who will vote for Biden rather than Trump coming back home if not forced to vote for Trump. and between the two, it is pretty close.

  84. 84.

    Ken

    @MattF: Foxcult is demanding that Biden stop campaigning.

    Only if the Trump campaign, by which I mean Fox News, also shuts down all programming.

  86. 86.

    Cameron

    @LuciaMia: Well, if he’s faking it, he’s out golfing.  If he really has it, he’s on a ventilator.  This half-assed “he’s feelin’ a bit tetched” sounds less believable than either alternative.

  93. 93.

    bluefoot

    I saw a report that Trump got the Regeneron antibody therapy.  (It’s in Phase 2/3 clinical trials.)  No reported serious adverse events from the clinical trials that I know of, and their press release earlier in the week was hopeful so I expect Trump will see a benefit from the therapy.

    But what happened to “it is what it is” and older people being an acceptable loss?

  95. 95.

    catclub

    @RaflW: The venal stupidity without the, uhh, charisma.

     

    I wonder if Pence has started rehearsing the speech that was to be at the end of the Manchurian Candidate.

  96. 96.

    Jeffro

    @Wyatt Salamanca:Chris Wallace is still an asshole. This morning he was on Fox and Friends saying that Biden’s campaign should not try to score political points off of this latest development. He can go fuck himself.

    Hey if you think that’s bad, Jeff Greenfield was tweet-asking whether or not Biden would be suspending his campaign until trumpov recovers.  Yes, really.

    Suffice it to say, the responses were en fuego, as they should be.  What a Beltway hack

  99. 99.

    Mary G

    @Brachiator: Not officially, but based on AL’s links and my personal experience of having been on a different antibody treatment for RA for more than ten years, I would say so. Some of the mRNA vaccines they are testing and hyping have never been tried for anything before, and letting someone inject genetic material, however modified, into my body for the first time ever doesn’t strike me as good. My doctors are skeptical, but again they are not virologists.

  100. 100.

    Mart

    @zhena gogolia: That is what upset me. I have passed on fist bumps and elbows, and these idiots are behaving like it’s 2019. My wife gets off the phone with friends and wants to know why we can’t go to the restaurant or bar like our old white Republican friends are? Why can’t we hug the grandbabies like they do? Maybe now she will get it. They are idiots playing with fire. My daughter was diagnosed Wednesday. She’s OK so far. 2000 miles distant. Fucking idiots at her work yelled at her for bitching about masks. Now they don’t want her giving their names to trackers so they can keep working, avoid quarantine. Putting quarantine pay in the stimulus bill would be socialist doncha know.

  107. 107.

    Jinchi

    @Baud: This should give you a ballpark number.

    Post Mueller report : …an almost 40-hour tweet-less stretch by the president, who typically posts several tweets a day. But that was not a new record. In June 2017, the president went almost 46 hours without a tweet.

    If Trump is still off twitter on Sunday, it’ll be a really bad sign for him.

  108. 108.

    JPL

    @zhena gogolia: Biden.    He opened his speech talking about this is not a time for politics and ended with that we have to bring the nation together.   In the middle he spoke about his economic plan.

    Jake Tapper and team praised the speech and mentioned how he always takes the high way.

  109. 109.

    The Moar You Know

    My tinfoil hat fear is they knew they were positive and were intentionally trying to infect Biden.

    @RoonieRoo: not tinfoil hat territory. That’s obvious.

  110. 110.

    Mike in DC

    @germy: I think his baseline health is obviously worse than they admit openly, so I wonder whether his prospects are thereby a bit worse than average for someone his age.

  111. 111.

    Cameron

    @PJ: Yeah, it could be a modern El Cid – The Donald’s corpse propped up in a golf cart, being driven around Bedford while his minions announce he’s back in form and in the pink of health.

  112. 112.

    Sloane Ranger

    Jake Tapper has just expressed his amazement about Joe taking the high road in his speech. In his words, “If anyone has a right to be mad at the President today, it’s Joe Biden.”.

    Is it me, or is CNN becoming more Democratic sympathetic?

  113. 113.

    The Moar You Know

    Is this anti-body treatment the standard of care for the Coronavirus?

    @Brachiator: no, but the good/bad news is that it doesn’t do anything, statistically.

  114. 114.

    brantl

    Did I just miss it, or did hydrochloroquine not make the list of what Cheatolini’s getting in treatment? Can we send him a case of it, and a pallet of bleach?

  116. 116.

    Mousebumples

    BevMarie (@evenbev) tweeted at 0:14 PM on Fri, Oct 02, 2020:
    Maskless Bill Barr wipes his nose then shakes hands. https://t.co/arWtYtmRVU
    (https://twitter.com/evenbev/status/1312078525491556352?s=03)

    Appears Barr was also there and maybe already exhibiting symptoms?? I haven’t heard about any test results of his, but the doj might be keeping that under wraps..

    Eta – he tested negative earlier today. ? Just checked the spreadsheet the Cheryl’s post.

    Here’s hoping for more GOP senators being unable to hold hearings for acb, though. ?

  117. 117.

    RaflW

    @Jeffro: But it isn’t a cult. Really! They’re just respecting each other’s opinion about Covid.*

    *Sign a good friend saw at the entrance to the Thirsty Whale in Minocqua, WI this summer. “Please respect everyone’s opinion about Covid”. He was gonna get takeout, saw zero mask use by guests, and fled.

  118. 118.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jeffro: I remember Roger Ebert reminiscing about the days when he and Greenfield were fairly radical as editors of their college dailies, Ebert at U of Illinois, Greenfield at Wisconsin. We lost Ebert– who wrote a couple of scorching political pieces in the early aughts as I recall– and Greenfield lived long enough to apparently turn in to Ron Fournier.

  119. 119.

    Kent

    @MattF:

    @Baud: Yeah. Foxcult is demanding that Biden stop campaigning

    Are they withdrawing their Barrett nomination for the same reason?

    Didn’t think so.

  122. 122.

    Bill Arnold

    Ugh, Regeneron did decide to get involved in US politics. If they haven’t offered that polyclonal antibody cocktail to Biden, they they deserve to be destroyed.
    Trump did not look at the camera once, instead mostly facing Biden while spewing SARS-CoV-2 contaminated exhalations (disguised as non-stop lies in violation of the debate rules) in Biden’s direction.
    Yes, if Trump is showing symptoms today (Friday), he was infectious Tuesday night. It’s even possible that he (or somebody(ies) closely associated with him) knew he was infected, which would amount to attempted slow (and deniable) political assassination. Trump has already engaged in political assassination, of an Iranian leader, so the relevant Bayesian prior is significantly greater than zero.
    Biden better not have been infected. There will be Consequences.
    A Reckoning (clip from “Wyatt Earp”)
    Metaphorically. :-)

  124. 124.

    Betty

    @PJ: It doesn’t generally act that quickly. It takes 10 to 14 days for the serious illness to take hold.

  127. 127.

    bluefoot

    @Brachiator: It’s not standard of care yet.  The antibody therapies are in clinical trials right now.  But I think antibody therapy will become standard of care if enough can be manufactured and the longer-term data looks good.  (For whichever therapies make it to market.)  IMO, the big open question is subsequent immune response – whether or not you’d see something like dengue where you can get what’s called antibody-dependent enhancement.  That’s where the presence of antibodies can actually make symptoms worse.

    I spent a lot of time a couple of weeks ago looking into the Regeneron trials.  Someone I know had COVID and was eligible to enroll in the trial and they wanted advice about whether to do it.  Of the antibody therapies, I think it’s the best one so far.

  128. 128.

    RaflW

    @Betty: Herman Cain was ill for three weeks.

    A number of notable people have been sick for months (and countless unknown folks as well, of course).

  129. 129.

    Martin

    @JPL: Yeah, Josh is calling shenanigans on the timeline. I tend to agree – either we’re being lied to, or they wildly ignored their own protocols, or both.

  130. 130.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: NYT has a graphic of those who’ve tested positive and negative, so far, says Barr has tested negative.

    Fredo and his nutty GF both had it a few months back, right?

  131. 131.

    Leto

    @JPL:

    Jake Tapper and team praised the speech and mentioned how he always takes the high way.

    Wait, I thought he took always took Amtrack?

    *I’ll see myself out.

  132. 132.

    Brachiator

    @Bill Arnold:

    Ugh, Regeneron did decide to get involved in US politics. If they haven’t offered that polyclonal antibody cocktail to Biden, they they deserve to be destroyed.

    Is this part of the general standard of care for people with the virus? I saw a story from two or three days ago suggesting that claims about this treatment had not yet been peer reviewed.

  134. 134.

    Bill Arnold

    @Brachiator:

    Is this anti-body treatment the standard of care for the Coronavirus?

    No. It is still in clinical trials. If it works (I’ll strongly guess from the reports so far that it will at least help, particularly if used early), then it will be a treatment for wealthy and connected people, because it is hard to make a lot of it. (And a few high-profile charity cases for marketing purposes.)
    ETA here’s an article. There is also a Regeneron investor’s release.
    ‘Provocative results’ boost hopes of antibody treatment for COVID-19 (Jon CohenSep. 30, 2020)

  135. 135.

    debbie

    @PJ:

    I once had a bad reaction to an IV that was like the worst flu I have ever experienced. If I had been near a gun, I would have used it. As it was, at one point I noticed there was a spider on the wall. I just left it alone, I cared that little about it or anything. My friends still bring that up, knowing how much I freak out at the sight of any sort of bug.

    You don’t have to feel that crummy to not want to tweet.

  136. 136.

    JPL

    @Sloane Ranger: Watch New Day if you can with Berman and Cameroti.   It’s on at six here so not sure what time it’s available for you.  IMO Some shows are better than MSNBC

  137. 137.

    Martin

    @LuciaMia:

    So at CNN, WH saying Trumps had a fever since the morning. Im surprised theyre being that open.

    Translation: he died, went to hell, and is currently marinating in molten sulfur.

  138. 138.

    JAFD

    Good evening, fellow jackals !

    Cast my ballot today !

    Came yesterday (along with those for thetwo people who’d lived here before me).  Had to get up early, run some errands as the day brightened ovr Newark.  So got home, had breakfast, took care of ‘do today’ stuf.  Opened up ballot.  Read instructions, filled out and signed inner and outer retun envelopes.  Read thru ballot.

    If you were a NewJerseyite, you could vote for these tickets:

    Roque ‘Rocky’ de la Fuente & Darcy G. Richardson – Alliance Party

    Gloria Estela la Riva & Sunil Freeman – Socailism and Liberation

    Bill Hammons & Eric Bodenstab – Unity Party America

    Don Blankenship (?!?!?!) & William Mohr – Constitution Party

    And for Senate:

    Veronica Fernandez – Of, By, For!

    Daniel Burke – LaRouche Was Right

    and the Greens and Libertarians, too

    However, there were no third-party nominations for the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At Large. Daarn

    Also two amendments to the State Constitution – legalizing marijuana, and allowing delaying redistricting if Census data is delayed.

    So, filled out circles, inserted , sealed.  Decided that taking my predecessors’ ballots to Board of Elections can wait, so walked to deposit box outside City Hall, dropped it in, took selfie.  Walked home  Beautiful afternoon.  EcuaDominican Restaurant had singer and guitar player at their outdoor cafe, happy hour, sounded fine.

    One problem, I live in senior citizens’ residence.  With NJ going to elections-by-mail, lot of people received ballots here who are no longer on earth to cast them, current residents just tossed those ballots into mail-room trash pile.  Temptation to unscrupulous.  Suggestions ?

    Have a great October, everyone !

  140. 140.

    Ken

    @Sloane Ranger: More like “reality has a liberal bias,” in my opinion.

    It’s certainly looking like the Trump contingent knew they had been exposed (at least) and flouted the testing and masking requirements anyway, which any person of normal morals would treat as, well, evil.

  141. 141.

    Mary G

    It's been, like, 15 hours since the last October Surprise, and I have to tell you I'm getting a little edgy, just hit me with the next one so I can deal with it and enjoy my weekend okay— John Scalzi (@scalzi) October 2, 2020

  142. 142.

    PJ

    @Betty: So why isn’t Trump tweeting?  That’s unnatural for him.  He is incapacitated – it may be that this is him withdrawing from amphetamines, as some have suggested, rather than coronavirus, but there’s no way he wouldn’t be tweeting if he were able.

    And, FWIW, if the Coney Barrett party was the even where he got it, he’s had it for six days now.

  143. 143.

    Jinchi

    @Baud: James Comey was testifying about being fired over the Russia investigation.

    Basically things have to be going really badly for Trump to shut up for 2 days.

  144. 144.

    Sebastian

    The more I think about it the more I wish for him (and possibly Pence too) to die. Because the only thing against it is our desire to see him punished. The downside of that is that a lot of his loyalists would keep resisting and obstructing in the hope to get him off/out/back into power. But if he dies? Poof! The whole house of card collapses, all info comes out, nobody is afraid of his asshole mouth because he is no longer here.

    It would be the ultimate catastrophe for the GOP and I am very much in favor of it if I cannot get the Hector Salamanca conscious vegetable option.

  145. 145.

    catclub

    @Jeffro: Hey if you think that’s bad, Jeff Greenfield was tweet-asking whether or not Biden would be suspending his campaign until trumpov recovers.  Yes, really.

     

    I will suspend my campaign for just as long as Trump suspended his when he claimed Hillary had pneumonia.

  146. 146.

    PJ

    @debbie: Trump does need to feel that crummy to stop tweeting.

    More significantly, he must look awful, too, otherwise they’d have a photo of him giving a thumbs up or something.

  151. 151.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    @Mike in DC:

    @germy:

    I hope Trump recovers to the extent that he’ll be healthy enough to stand trial once he leaves office.

    My fervent hope is that this bastard ends up dying in a prison cell where he belongs.

  153. 153.

    JPL

    @Martin: Which accounting for the damage that he’s done, is fine.  We just need him to hang on another month.

    If I were a betting person, I would bet against that.

  155. 155.

    Mary G

    @Brachiator: @Bill Arnold:

    The WaPo article AL linked to the other night is a good summary:
    These laboratory-made antibodies are a best bet for a coronavirus treatment, but there won’t be enough

     

    In two-story-high stainless steel vats, a drug is brewing in trillions of hamster ovary cells. Many experts think this could be the best bet to defang the novel coronavirus and transform it from a potentially lethal infection into a treatable illness.

    Current treatments for the coronavirus aim to help the sickest patients survive. But this drug, called a monoclonal antibody cocktail, aims to keep people out of the hospital altogether. The experimental shot of lab-generated antibodies imitates the body’s own disease-fighting force. The goal is to boost a person’s immune defense, instead of waiting for human biology to muster its own response — and possibly lose to the virus.

  156. 156.

    Jeffro

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: that dumb tweet was 15 hours ago…starting about 6 hours ago, Greenfield has been on an anti-trumpov, “my god the man is dumb”, “he won’t get nearly the goodwill Reagan did when he was shot” kind of tweet-tear.

    So yeah, still Ron Fournier…maybe just a little quicker at seeing which way the wind blows, though.

  157. 157.

    Bill Arnold

    @jame:

    he would have said “quarantine”,

    Technically, you “quarantine” if you were exposed but don’t know if you’re infected, and “isolate” if you know your infected.
    When he tweeted about “quarantine”, he was implicitly asserting that he had not yet learned that he was infected. If he was using the language correctly, then if he knew he was infected, he was lying.

  161. 161.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Nicole Wallace announcing that trump is being taken to Walter Reed “out of an abundance of caution”.

    He’ll be ‘working’ in a Presidential office that is apparently kept there. I wonder if they have a superTivo

  163. 163.

    Jinchi

    @RaflW: Herman Cain was ill for three weeks.

    And then died.

    That’s critical. If Cain had been just healthy enough to survive, he would probably still be sick today.

    Trump better hope he’s healthier than Herman Cain. Though if you’d asked me that in June I would have guessed it the other way around.

  164. 164.

    debbie

    @PJ:

    I don’t know. Germaphobia and hypochondria go hand in hand. Other than Adderall sniffles, I’d think a cough or a sweat or a twinge of chest pain would really set him off.

  172. 172.

    RinaX

    Goddamnit, this fucker better not die before the election! I want him to witness his defeat!

  173. 173.

    Sloane Ranger

    Trump being taken to Walter Reed. White House says he will be working from offices there for a few days. Yeah, right!

  174. 174.

    PJ

    @debbie: They’re taking him to Walter Reed.  He doesn’t just have a cough or congestion or a headache or a fever, or all of them.  He is very sick.

  175. 175.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: judging by their looks, and accepting gossip I don’t know is true, Johnson from a health perspective is trump with a serious boozing habit

    I’m still surprised BJ survived

  181. 181.

    RaflW

    In general, Cheryl, are you saying anything publicly so far concerning Trump being off at Walter Reed, possibly feverish or more ill (who can even trust any of that news), in terms of global actors?
    Belarus? Putin romping around Ukraine? A casual goal or two for China or their clients?

  182. 182.

    PJ

    @debbie: Ha!  BJ is 18 years younger than Trump, and, while fat, is nowhere near as obese as Trump.  And I suspect that he doesn’t have the same levels of drug abuse that Trump has put his body through.

  185. 185.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Donald is headed to the Walter Reed ICU.

    This is much more serious than has been let on.

  186. 186.

    TS (the original)

    @jame:

    he would have said “quarantine”,

    Quarantine is for those who do not have the virus but have been in close contact with someone who does – like all of trump’s close staff  both sides of the white house.

    For trump and others who have the virus, the correct term is isolation. They should be isolated & everyone visiting or interacting with them should be wearing PPE.  All the problems with hospital staff/nursing home staff contacting the virus earlier in the year, related to lack of PPE.

  188. 188.

    NickM

    Let’s see if he walks to the car when they take him to Walter Reed. If he can’t muster that show of strength for his ego …

  189. 189.

    Bill Arnold

    Something better than the image posted by Conley:

    Trump in ‘Good Spirits’ and Treated With Antibody Cocktail (Oct. 2, 2020)

    President Donald Trump is in “good spirits” after his Covid-19 diagnosis on Friday and has been treated with a Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. “antibody cocktail,” the White House physician said.
    “Following PCR-confirmation of the president’s diagnosis, as a precautionary measure he received a single 8 gram dose of Regeneron’s” drug, the physician, Sean Conley, said in a statement released by White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
    In addition to the antibodies, “the president has been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin,”, Conley said.
    Trump “remains fatigued but is in good spirits,” Conley said. First lady…

     
    I don’t recall any anti-viral effects for melatonin or aspirin; they may be for sleep and slight blood thinning. Sleep improves the immune system and blood thinning of any sort might help with SARS-CoV-2-caused clots.

  193. 193.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NickM: he’s about to get on Marine  2  1, live on MSNBC. It’s a long distance shot, I’ll be curious is they let the cameras see him

  195. 195.

    RaflW

    @PJ: If anyone even loosely associated with the WH has said ‘moderate’ symptoms, that’s bad. The mild cases are like flu.

  198. 198.

    TS (the original)

    @JPL:

    Trump needs to stay alive for another month in order for Biden to get out his message.

    I need talking down – there is a post debate poll out today which has Biden up by only 3 points. It’s supposedly a good pollster and has dropped 538 average by half a percent. Any more of these and I will be hysterical.

  200. 200.

    Jinchi

    Wait is this how we count things now? Because I can’t believe that’s how it’s ever been done before.

    President Trump’s and first lady Melania Trump’s coronavirus infections will be counted in Florida, not Washington, DC, a DC government official told CNN.
    Washington is not their permanent home; Florida is, the official said.

  201. 201.

    CaseyL

    I don’t know whether to wish him dead or not.  Almost any other circumstances, it would be an easy call.  But I don’t want anyone to feel OK voting for Pence after they decided they weren’t going to vote for Trump.

  204. 204.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @RaflW: My cousin had it– late fifties and obese– and it never got worse than the congestion. Another relative had it and it was like a head cold with loss of taste and smell for a couple days, she’s 24 and in good shape.

  208. 208.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Their is a robust, extensive medical unit inside the WH.

    If they’re flying him to Walter Reed, it’s significant.

  209. 209.

    Ken

    @Jinchi: Early on, Florida was making its numbers look better by not counting the “snowbirds” who died there but lived out of state, so I suppose this is more of the same.

    Though last I heard Trump didn’t have a residence in Florida, just a couple of business addresses.  He had a potential voter fraud issue because he registered using one of those.

  210. 210.

    Sebastian

    @The Moar You Know:

    Of course he did. His strategy of interrupting and bringing up Beau was to get Biden to stutter so he could claim Joe has dementia. This man has no bottom.

    It is better for the world if he is dead.

  212. 212.

    RaflW

    CNN saying that McNinny acknowledging in a note that POTUS will be at Walker Reed ‘for several days’.

    CNN reporter also saying that the WH physician not being available to reporters is a problem.

  213. 213.

    Aleta

    Sept 28, USA Today  

    …  University of Notre Dame President the Rev. John I. Jenkins apologized for not wearing a mask Saturday during the announcement of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Photographs of Jenkins sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with others, shaking hands and not wearing a mask during the ceremony at the White House circulated quickly Saturday and drew criticism on social media.
    …
    “I regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden,” Jenkins wrote. “I failed to lead by example, at a time when I’ve asked everyone else in the Notre Dame community to do so. I especially regret my mistake in light of the sacrifices made on a daily basis by many, particularly our students, in adjusting their lives to observe our health protocols.”

    On Sunday, three Notre Dame students — Ashton Weber, Makira Walton and Patrick Kelly-Dutile — circulated an online petition among students that calls for the Student Senate to demand Jenkins’ immediate resignation as university president.

  214. 214.

    JanieM

    @Jinchi:

    Wait is this how we count things now? Because I can’t believe that’s how it’s ever been done before.

    It’s how cases and deaths in Maine have been counted from the beginning: where your residency is. People from elsewhere who are diagnosed in Maine are counted separately. I would guess it’s the same everywhere, but I don’t really know.

    From the Maine CDC web page

    Data are about individuals who claim residency in Maine regardless of what state they were tested in, or where they are currently living. For example, an individual who claims residency in Maine but lives in Florida will appear in this data even if they were living in Florida at the time of illness. County listings are by residence of patient, not location of the hospital or testing location

    ETA: Of course, whether they actually live in Florida is a separate question. But even then it would be NY and not DC…..?

  215. 215.

    Jinchi

    @RaflW: CNN saying that McNinny acknowledging in a note that POTUS will be at Walker Reed ‘for several days’.

    This escalated fast. 16 hours ago I didn’t even know he was ill.

  218. 218.

    Ken

    @Kent: @NickM: When do we start talking 25th Amendment?

    Around mid-2017, as NickM said.

    If you’re asking when the people who should be talking about it do so, I would guess around the funeral.  Actually, would there be an issue with having too many “acting” secretaries in the cabinet to invoke section 4?

  221. 221.

    The Moar You Know

    If BoJo can bounce back from a vent, so can Trump.

    @debbie: BoJo is 56. Trump is 74.

    BoJo has never been the same since that incident. If Trump goes on a vent he will come off in 30 days. When he dies.

  222. 222.

    Roger Moore

    @RoonieRoo:

    I don’t give a flying fig about Trump or any Republican at this point.

    I do.  I want every fucking Republican senator hospitalized with COVID between now and January 3rd.  I don’t want them to die, because then their governors could appoint replacements, but I want them too sick to even think about voting.

  223. 223.

    Jinchi

    @The Moar You Know: If Trump goes on a vent he will come off in 30 days. When he dies.

    I don’t mean to be cynical, but if that happens, exactly how long will it be before the evangelicals push the line that Trump had finished doing God’s work when he nominated Barrett so God was done with him.

  224. 224.

    The Moar You Know

    I don’t mean to be cynical, but if that happens, exactly how long will it be before the evangelicals push the line that Trump had finished doing God’s work when he nominated Barrett so God was done with him.

    @Jinchi: Those inhuman bastards? They’ll be saying it by tomorrow morning.

  225. 225.

    hueyplong

    Trump is over 70, has a lifetime of drug abuse that is likely ongoing, is morbidly obese, and has whatever additional condition caused his unscheduled run to Walter Reed earlier in the year.

    A regular flu could kill a guy like that.

    This isn’t a regular flu.

  226. 226.

    Ohio Mom

    I just got here and I see the thread has moved on but no use in being angry at the likes of the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo.

    These sorts of big hospitals will never do anything that might anger an ongoing or potential donor. So no high-profile calling out of bigwigs, no matter who they are or how much they deserve it. That could miff an important patron.

    I remember when Ann Romney and then Melania made our local news for visiting our Children’s Hospital. It was revolting to me but I already know that place is always about the bucks (disclaimer: Ohio Son got mostly very good care there during his childhood).

  228. 228.

    JPL

    @Baud: He had two Ohio events and went to Grand Rapids.   I don’t know where the other one was suppose to be

    CNN just said it was canceled

  230. 230.

    Bill Arnold

    @Jinchi:

    I don’t mean to be cynical, but if that happens, exactly how long will it be before the evangelicals push the line that Trump had finished doing God’s work

    Evangelicals that push that line would be the ones that are slaves of The Adversary. (Satan, in their belief system.)
    Less than a week.

  231. 231.

    Obdurodon

    I really want to know how many Trump family members, associates, White House staff, and senior Republicans bought Regeneron stock before his use of their treatment was announced.

  233. 233.

    Kenneth Krasity

    @brantl: Jumped out at me too, you’d have thought he would insist on getting just a tiny bit so it could be on the letter, but no. Trump has hi BP and HCQ is bad for hearts, so when it was his life on the line, he ignored his own advice

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