This website is so weird. I will write a well thought out post (for me, a rarity), and within three minutes four front pagers will stomp on me. Then, when I have nothing to say, everyone fucks off and there are no posts for six hours.
By now you all have heard about the village idiot demanding to drive around and spread the plague and wave to whatever morons are out front of Walter Reed to wish him well. He’s just so awful. Aside from the fact that everyone involved in the farce has to be quarantined because they spent time with the infected dipshit, what really infuriates me is right now this is where he is staying:
U.S president Trump isn’t staying in any old hospital room. Walter Reed Hospital has a six-room presidential suite just for the commander in chief that includes an intensive care unit, a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, & a dining room with a crystal chandelier. pic.twitter.com/QQVhFYjzLJ
— Richard Southern (@richard680news) October 3, 2020
All the fucking people who have had to quarantine for weeks in their shitty little apartments or all the kids in schools in the quarantine dorms would kill to have to stay in a suite like that, but it’s not good enough for President Fuckboy.
Ken
But he’s borrrrrrrrred….
Which I can only think means the suite doesn’t have a television since that’s all he does every day.
SiubhanDuinne
And he’s complaining that he’s bored.
Fuck that.
ALurkSupreme
We’re here, Cole.
gwangung
Enraging.
zhena gogolia
I hate him so much.
And I hate my neighbors with their TRUMP 2020 KEEP AMERICA GREAT! sign.
Balconesfault
Needs to put someone’s life at risk ion a daily basis to keep the spirits up.
Calouste
Nowhere to be seen in those pictures: the backgrounds of Saturday’s photos. So even though there is a massive suite, they still had to foul up a few additional rooms and hallways.
Most likely that suite has its own elevator and ground floor entrance as well.
Ruckus
I’m a bit bored but mostly I’m on a constant diet of pissed off.
One could imagine what the cause of that being pissed off is.
One would probably be correct at least 97% of the time. The initials of the cause is shitforbrains.
cain
The man doesn’t give two shits about anyone. On the other hand, I’m completely mystified why doctors basically haven’t told him no. Is this so absolute that nobody is willing to tell him to go fuck off? Seriously, is this really America? It seems that power is only good against Democratic presidents. Our side gets freely abused by everyone.
BTW during the funeral, I’d like to advocate that no Democratic politician should show up for his funeral (and I hope it doesn’t happen, cuz I rather we all laugh at him while he’s behind bars) There will be a lot of tut-tutting by the media, but fuck em.
cain
@Ruckus:
You should hop on a hermetically sealed car with some folks and drive around cruising like a 1950s teenager and mocking the olds.
dmsilev
@SiubhanDuinne: He’s been there for what, two days? And weren’t we told that he was hard at work even in the hospital?
I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone or anything as much as I hate him.
cain
You front posters could not worry so much about stomping if before posting you look at the drafts part of word press and see what is currently being worked on. Just saying. Make Water Girl your LEO.
Gvg
@Ken: I see 3 in those pictures.
i think those must be pics from a brochure or background, not currently today.
West of the Rockies
I still anticipate there will be more names on the testing positive list in the next few days. I’m rather surprised there weren’t more today.
TS (the original)
@Calouste:
I believe those pictures are from the old Walter Reed suite – there are apparently no photos available from the current building.
dmsilev
And just in case people don’t know about the source of the ‘I’m bored’ bit, it’s in this Post article:
Infectious Trump briefly leaves hospital to greet fans as confusion continues over his health
sdhays
OT: I just talked with my parents who live in the Midwest, in a town of about 30k. They told me about how they stopped at a small apple orchard about 30 miles out of town and while the owner didn’t say anything, he was clearly just about fit to be tied that they were wearing masks. My parents said they went out to walk a little bit before driving home, and he drove up to them and told them that he “didn’t have liability insurance” so they couldn’t walk there. Obviously, he’s pretty stupid to not have liability insurance if he’s enticing people onto his shitty farm to buy apples, but the takeaway from my parents was “rural areas aren’t welcoming anymore”. My parents are older white folks, so if they don’t feel welcome, who would?
I wonder how this increasingly hostile attitude in rural areas is going to further exacerbate the economic crisis in rural areas. They literally hate the people most likely to be willing to help them, so the help really isn’t going to come.
ETA: To clarify, my parents first bought some apples, and the owner didn’t seem to appreciate that, although he took their money.
Ken
@Gvg: Maybe they don’t have cable? Or just a basic package with no Fox?
TaMara (HFG)
@cain: Trust me when I tell you, you do not want to go there…you be stepping on a landmine with that comment.
Kent
So that suite was last used during the Reagan Administration? I guess that explains the bed spread.
TS (the original)
@West of the Rockies:
I wonder if they are no longer revealing their test results. e.g. Barr going into quarantine – as an abundance of caution.
Calouste
@dmsilev: I can’t imagine that between all the medical stuff and what’s supposed to be a full time job someone would have time to get bored. Only if you’re not actually doing the job of course.
Btw, about those pictures of him signing a blank piece of paper: what was he supposed to be signing? A bill Congress passed? They’re not in session at the moment.
cain
@West of the Rockies:
McConnell (may a thousand fleas feed on his accursed body parts) has called for the senate to adjourn till Oct 16 or something. Fucker, why are teachers and everyone else forced to go – while you stay safe.
The Democrats should find a way to forced these assholes to stay. Let them interact with each other. They are stupid enough to keep not wearing masks.
Tim Now Sir Simon Poshlord
I’ve been ignoring news today: is he still positive and being treated? Was he pronounced recovered?
Wot tha hell?
Ken
@West of the Rockies: Did we have anyone other than Christie today (or was he yesterday)? There was Claudia Conway too.
Mo Salad
Still reeling from Aston Villa 7 – Liverpool 2, as I am sure Amir is as well. One early goalie giveaway and then four deflections. At that point you just laugh it off and be thankful that all of the weird shit happened in one match. Having to sit Thiago and Sadio due to COVID didn’t help either.
Cameron
I’d forward this to GF, but she already flipped out on me tonight re Trump’s illness and response. She actually framed it in much cruder language than you, Mr. Cole.
cain
Well, I’m just an outsider looking in – I have no idea what you FPs do on this – but I suppose I don’t want to get into that. I don’t want to be nuked out of orbit by Adam – :D
Barbara
I am mystified. If he really is taking Dexamethasone, then he is seriously ill. If he is not seriously ill but taking it anyway then his doctors are seriously stupid. I would guess from the MD press confabulation, that his lung x-rays are showing the hallmark changes that accompany Covid, and that seem to be associated with tiny blood clots in the lungs.
Cckids
So, is the fab Walter Reed suite new? Or is it a long-time fixture just in case any POTUS gets sick?
Either way, it’s infuriating, especially given the medical care available at the White House. The money & space could be better utilized.
Luciamia
Crystal makes everything okay!
cain
@sdhays:
It’s a free country – it’s not like the are harming in any way – but he sees it as a political statement which is really the most fucked up thing bout it.
But yes, Trump has stroked grievance, Fox News has stroked grievance. The pandemic is going to close even more businesses – theaters, ice cream parlours, etc – rural america is going to be looking pretty bad after this is all over.
sdhays
@cain: He’s not really a President. He’s a king with only the powers of a President. But since Presidential powers are still pretty powerful, particularly when backed by a cult with a lot of political power, he’s been able to make progress destroying the barriers to royal/authoritarian power.
Patricia Kayden
Wapiti
@sdhays: His god is ailing.
Ken
It’s… complicated.
Here’s an analogy: Remember “It’s a Good Life”, either the Jerome Bixby story or the Twilight Zone episode? Imagine that kid in the hospital, getting cranky and borrrrrrred.
Fortunately his powers are limited to the executive branch and military; unfortunately everyone at the hospital works for one or the other.
Another Scott
I remember stories from 2016 that he had to fly home to TTower every day because he couldn’t stand not to sleep in his own bed. If that’s true, then he must actually be going stir-crazy at WR.
But since everything he says is a lie, he probably had to fly home to TTower to talk with his boss in Moscow, or something.
He’s so incredibly needy.
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
cain
@sdhays:
His people want a king as well. They don’t want a democracy – they want ultimate power over everyone and retrofit this country into something else while cloaking themselves in the flag and jesus but honoring neither.
cope
Mr. Cole, these front pagers you’re talking about, ya want I should lean on them for ya? I have a particular set of skills that I could put to use for you…my ability to kill a thread by making a post in it is pretty impressive if I say so myself. Just send me the word and I can make it happen.
The Moar You Know
I think Trump got a little too much feelgood in the bloodstream and decided to go for a ride. Walter Reed is the perfect place to pull that kind of shit, they are a military hospital and he is, very unfortunately, in charge of the military. He wouldn’t be able to get away with that anyplace else, he’d be in a isolation ward, and he’d be locked in.
He tried to kill Biden. Jury’s still out as to whether that attempt has been successful or not. Will feel a lot better by Friday if Biden is still testing negative.
Mai Naem mobile
My educated guess is that Barack Obama and more than likely Biden have been to the WR presidential suite and know what it looks like and whether Orange Lump is really there. Also I am guessing with Beau being treated there and Michelle and Jill Biden doing stuff for families of service members, the Biden campaign has a decent idea of what’s going on there. I don’t mean details. Just an overall idea.
Wapiti
@Cckids: I imagine it’s always been there.
When I was stationed in Houston working with the Army Reserves (in ~2000), they had a plan for GHWB’s funeral activities that would happen in Texas. Plans, preparations, and pre-prepared sites, they’re all out there.
Craig
I’m sure I’m not the first person to notice that Trump is all the characters that Dorothy meets on The Yellow Brick Road. No Brain, No Heart, No Courage, Wicked.
West of the Rockies
@Ken: Chris Crusty was yesterday. Young Conway teen isn’t an inner-circle member, of course. I was thinking more your Barr’s, McCarthey’s, Jordan’s…
Anne Laurie
Where the Hell Is Everyone?
… Says the person who bigfooted me just this afternoon after nine minutes…
I don’t complain, but I do notice.
Ken
Someone asked today which took precedence at Walter Reed, the military oath or the medical one. One response was “the one that can get you shot” for disobeying an order.
Though if Trump is managing his own care (“Get me that drug, it sounds good. No, I don’t need to wear a heart monitor. I want to take a car ride.”), he’ll be dead soon.
Matt McIrvin
@Craig: He’s also a humbug.
sdhays
@Barbara: I think he’s seriously ill, and he’s in denial about that, as he is about pretty everything else in reality. He totally believes that everything is simply a PR challenge and that reality doesn’t actually exist. Even a disease ravaging his worthless carcass is just something that needs to be managed in the press. And his doctors are toadies (at least his WH doctor) or in a difficult position where their Commander in Chief wants one thing and their medical expertise/ethics points to something else.
He probably actually believes that this COVID thing isn’t all bad since we’re not talking about his taxes. That he could literally be dead or in a coma in a week cannot enter his fragile fantasy reality.
Royston Vasey
@Barbara: From Kevin Drum (Mother Jones):
West of the Rockies
@cain:
Adam comes in at about an 11 and takes it 15 real fast!//
scott (the other one)
@Another Scott: It is sadly not impossible that he had to fly home to TTower every night so he could take a dump in his own gold-plated toilet; the fact that they had new toilets installed in the White House might indicate the truth of this horrible thought.
cope
@Mo Salad: Every team that wins an EPL championship has at least one of these games in a season where they win. I just hope today’s result was the only one on this scale this season for the Reds.
What really chaps my hide, though, is that I currently refuse to pay for Peacock so the Liverpool games available to me to watch this season will be seriously throttled down from the past several seasons.
matt
My theory is Trump did it because his favorite people in the world, the Proud Boys were there. independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-proud-boys-alt-far-right-gavin-mcinnes-covid…
mad citizen
His car ride video reminded me of my favorite NASCAR tale of when a driver competed with a monkey in the car. Only lasted a few races though because the monkey would get out of control. Would link but on my phone.
West of the Rockies
@cope:
Nice little blog ya got here… Be a shame if somethin’ happened to it.
Uncle Cosmo
@Mo Salad: My sympathy for Amir is greatly tempered by his barely-concealed smugness earlier as he reported ManUre’s being thrashed.
“Those who the gods would humiliate they first goad into gloating.”
Suzanne
@zhena gogolia: My neighbor on the next block has one that reads “MAKE LIBERALS CRY AGAIN”.
SFAW
@TaMara (HFG):
Yr doin’ it worng. What you should have said was: “You make some really good points! Why don’t you send mail to John, and to show him how strongly you feel about it, MAKE IT ALL UPPER CASE — he LOVES that!”
As the saying goes: hilarity would ensue.
SFAW
@cope:
Amateur. Be glad I don’t send Subaru Dianne, Mob Enforcer, after you.
mrmoshpotato
Once again – thanks to all of the selfish shitstains who just had to tell Hillary to get fucked.
Well! Done! Assholes! Damn shame we can’t make them dig 200K+ graves with their bare hands!
Go watch The Death of Stalin. It’s hilarious.
Time to suit up for a walk.
cain
@matt:
Seeing the Proud Boys having a massive sad regardless of Trump’s fate will make me happy. Those assholes have been all pumped up thanks to the debate. It would be a damn shame if their totem of white supremacy continues to his his health flail.
They’ve been wandering around the hinterlands around here in their trucks and flags being visible.
The worst though is when I found out that there are some asshole Hindus were doing pujas.
One woman was about to do a puja the next day until she got accosted by a old MAGAt while she was at the checkout counter. The asshole told her “to hurry up, this isn’t little India” and then mocked her slowness in checking out.
Yeah, she was shocked by that interaction. They think Trump is gonna stick it to the muslims. Morons. If a Hindu committed a terrorist act on U.S. soil she’ll know very quickly what will happen.
cain
I’m not afraid, I have a wheel barrow and a holocaust cloak .
jonas
Can you imagine the headlines if Obama had ever become seriously ill and had to be cared for here? Fox would be screaming for his resignation because he thinks “he’s too good for the rest of us” who have to stay in cruddy little hospital rooms with a roommate and bad food.
But Trump? Is it really too much to ask that an entourage of eunuchs comfort him with ostrich feather fans and fluff his pillow a couple times a day? I mean, he’s used to the best…
Barbara
@TS (the original):
Yes, that is my assumption. That we will only find out if they are rushed to the hospital, or someone in the know leaks, or they start canceling events, and so on.
Bill Arnold
@West of the Rockies:
In particular, Meadows and Scavino were both at at least 3 events (and travel) with Trump, but Meadows claims they are negative. Kushner was at a few as well.
Are any of them known to have already been through a SARS-CoV-2 infection?
(I also wonder if the administration has been offered (non-placebo) doses of the vaccines now in phase III )
Here’s Everywhere We Know Trump Has Been Since Monday (Lissandra Villa, October 2, 2020)
Note: that only goes back to Monday; he may have been infectious Saturday/Sunday too, though less likely.
cain
BTW – y’alls remember this “Herman Cain is getting better and better!” ? Actually, reading that – it almost feels like that Trump’s faith is sealed. The COVID has gotten its scalp. But it’s currently going through the Republican strongholds though – god knows how many will fall to it. Covid the Cimmerian.
Brachiator
Trump chumps love their Dear Leader
From the NY Post
cain
If Barr hits the hospital – I will celebrate by opening a $50 bottle of of temperenillo. The man’s desperate downward spiral to either death or to reduced life pleasures would be pleasing. The sooner more of these assholes fall into its clutches the better we will have sane policies that will save lives.
ant
My hypothesis is that Trump is really bad at listening to experts that specialize in whatever.
I mean, someone is in charge of doing his makeup right? They can’t talk him into using a better shade on his face?
Who did his hair plugs? You think their advice was followed?
What about whoever tailors Trumps suits?
Trumps doctors had to convince the man that oxygen is important when treating Covid. Trump didn’t want it. Now the whole world is expected to believe oxygen wasn’t involved in Trumps treatment.
It all just seems so obvious to me. Why would anyone think this guy is right for the job of being president is just beyond me. Even for people that refuse to spend any time thinking about public policy. How can you not see?
Chetan Murthy
@Bill Arnold:
I have a GREAT! idea! Mandatory vaccination with one of the top three vaccines (randomized selection of which) for every West Wing administration employee and every goddamn political appointee. Every. Goddamned. One. Then mandatory exposure to covid-positive spittle for an hour each, daily. Let’s fuckin’ see which vaccines work, which have side-effects. We have a perfect population for the study: they created the conditions that make it a necessity.
Fuckers.
Barbara
@Royston Vasey: Lots of doctors had the notion that steroids might be effective for immune responses to Covid that seem to be in hyperdrive, but more research, mostly in GB, has shown that it only seems to be effective within a fairly narrow window, for seriously ill patients receiving oxygen. If you have only mild to moderate symptoms Dexamethasone could be counterproductive because it can interfere with an effective immune response. Yes, I suppose they might be giving him very low doses, below the standard, to placate him.
Aleta
@sdhays: I remember in Jan 2017 he (I assume) had a couple of stories planted that he was related to kings in two countries, England and a Nordic one. I mean, wtf.
But at the same time he’s all patriots this and founding fathers that.
TaMara (HFG)
@cain: I had not seen that…interesting. It felt like they announced he had it and a week later he was gone. But time warps these days.
I know with my mild case, there were days I couldn’t walk across the room. There were hours I felt normal and then the next hour I was gasping for air. It’s definitely an erratic illness.
This is why we prepped for the worst because it is so unpredictable.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@dmsilev:
He went for a ride in a car. But judging from what I’m seeing on twitter, he’s got all the monkeys howling from his hymnal.
Cameron
youtu.be/2ILqbD6XXkA
Barbara
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It was designed to show that he was breathing without the assistance of a machine.
Jager
@zhena gogolia:
I’m an old white guy who told his last living Aunt to fuck off and die today.
JCJ
@zhena gogolia:
I hear you. I can’t even look at many of my neighbors. The other day I heard the Nine Inch Nails song My Violent Heart and the first four lines described me well:
You and I, we might look the same
But we are very far apart
There’s bullet holes where my compassion used to be
And there is violence in my heart
The one change I would make is my compassion doesn’t just have bullet holes in it. There are bomb craters
SFAW
@cain:
But sadly, no Fezzik, and Inigo ain’t as svelte as he used to be.
texasdoc
@Barbara: I agree about the implications of dexamethasone treatment for Trump–that’s not given in mild cases. And if they’re just giving him everything but the kitchen sink, even though he’s not that ill, I’d sure worry about dexamethasone side effects. He’s obese, with high cholesterol–it wouldn’t surprise me if he is pre-diabetic. Who knows what will happen to his blood sugars on a steroid. Not to mention the myriad of other potential side effects.
I’m absolutely livid that he went for a ride. No other Covid patient would be allowed to do that. The potential exposure of other people is criminal negligence at least, negligent manslaughter if someone gets Covid from him and dies.
SiubhanDuinne
Honestly, John, what you describe here is one of the quirky charms of Balloon Juice. I never mind, as a backbench commenter, seeing a bigfoot post. Equally, I don’t usually* have a problem with threads that have a few hundred comments — it usually means there is an (or are several) engaging conversation(s) going on, and that’s what this place is all about, yes?
We’re all grown-ups. We can toggle from one thread to another with ease.
*The exception is when there’s a subject-specific thread going on, in which any tangential comments would be inappropriate, and a new thread a blessed relief.
Brachiator
@ant:
Shorter: Trump is really bad at listening
Trump is probably very poorly educated and is as stupid as his followers. This is why they love him. He is that ignorant blowhard in a bar who tells you exactly how he would put things right if he were president.
Only that guy actually became president.
It would be comical if it were not so sad.
oatler.
I’m starting to remember all the old Francisco Franco jokes..
Eural Joiner
@JCJ: we are living Year Zero every day it seems ?
MomSense
@scott (the other one):
I think he is incontinent and his sheets are a filthy mess most mornings. There was a story early in 2017 about him yelling at the the housekeepers in the WH for changing his sheets and tidying his room in the morning.
cain
@TaMara (HFG):
Yeah, it’s definitely a hideous disease and so easy to defeat but seems out of grasp for so many people. I will forgive Trump for politicizing this pandemic and causing the death of 208k people and countless people like yourself who have to deal with the aftermath.
Hopefully you’re normal and left relatively unscathed.
West of the Rockies
@SiubhanDuinne:
Ah, yes. The On the Road After Dark threads come to mind.
Bill Arnold
@TS (the original):
I’ve seen what might be deliberate sloppiness about the use of quarantine (not known to be infected, can quarantine with a few others if desired) and isolation (known to be infected, must be alone)
Press should not be assuming that when a DTJ admin person says quarantine that they mean “not infected”; could be a deliberate intent to mislead. (Bill Barr specifically has been reported to have had multiple negative tests, so he may be telling the truth in this case.)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne:
Who is this we?
cain
?
Chris T.
I think you mean “stoked grievance”. For a pretty good discussion, see here.
cain
@MomSense:
He’s probably hiding the fact that he has wet dreams at night.
danielx
@Barbara:
I am so goddamned tired of the entire country – hell, the entire planet – being at the mercy of a bad tempered five year old.
cain
@Chris T.:
Good grief it really needs a tl;dr :D I went through a while but it never really came to any conclusion other than stroke one’s ego” came first.
bluehill
Saw something on twitter that Russia and probably the Chinese, Israelis and our Nato allies are all trying to figure out Trump’s true condition. Former national intelligence people think that Walter Reed is already bugged and that the Russians are “pulsing all their sources” for info. So they will probably know before we do.
If some odd stuff starts happening with Russia or the others, I wonder if that’s the tell.
Aleta
The original Constitution wasn’t clear about whether the VP actually becomes president if the Pres is no longer in the picture. Or whether the VP only assumes the duties and takes over the work. After Harrison died,* Taylor declared he was president; the 25th A. wasn’t added until the 60s. Do originalists like Thomas and the late Scalia believe in the transfer of the office? How about asking Amy Barrett what should happen, just to shake everyone up.
*My partner says the family story he was told is that Harrison died not from his illness but from the many quack treatments the docs gave him. Interesting parallel ….
HumboldtBlue
Liverpool lost 7-2 to Aston Villa (sweet Jesus committing a violent red-card foul I never thought I’d type those words) and I have completely ignored the news.
Got a new desk lamp.
Lyrebird
@Royston Vasey: Didn’t know that Kevin Drum in being treated for cancer, yikes. Thanks for the link.
danielx
Also too: point of order. A comment the other day referred to Jon Stewart’s nickname for Trump in days of yore as Clownstick McFuckface. It was actually Fuckface Von Clownstick.
Accuracy in quotes is important.
Morzer
@SFAW:
True, but just look at Prince Trumperdink.
HumboldtBlue
@SiubhanDuinne:
This.
cain
@bluehill:
There are a ton of leakers already.. hell, Trump uses a phone that has probably been tapped. Israelis spy on us more than anyone else.
Chetan Murthy
@Lyrebird: He was treated originally quite a while ago. And in a spirit of public journalism that I applaud, though I sure couldn’t do it, he’s been blogging about his treatment ever since, including his periodic diagnostic test number. It’s a brave thing to do, even if he seems to be in remission, b/c I think it probably makes other cancer patients feel not-so-alone. But in any case, it was quite a while ago that his situation was more …. acute. He seems to be much, much better these days. Which is a good thing, obviously.
JCJ
@Royston Vasey:
In his treatment for multiple myeloma he certainly has received dexamethasone. Some people have significant side effects even after a day or two. A study randomized patients to 6 mg daily for up to ten days. That likely won’t cause everyone side effects, but I have had patients on 1 mg daily who were definitely wanting to discontinue the dex as quickly as possible. The patients I see are a completely different population, however.
In any event, from the NEJM:
A total of 2104 patients were assigned to receive dexamethasone and 4321 to receive usual care. Overall, 482 patients (22.9%) in the dexamethasone group and 1110 patients (25.7%) in the usual care group died within 28 days after randomization (age-adjusted rate ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75 to 0.93; P<0.001). The proportional and absolute between-group differences in mortality varied considerably according to the level of respiratory support that the patients were receiving at the time of randomization. In the dexamethasone group, the incidence of death was lower than that in the usual care group among patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (29.3% vs. 41.4%; rate ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.81) and among those receiving oxygen without invasive mechanical ventilation (23.3% vs. 26.2%; rate ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.94) but not among those who were receiving no respiratory support at randomization (17.8% vs. 14.0%; rate ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.55).
CONCLUSIONS
In patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those receiving no respiratory support. (Funded by the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research and others; RECOVERY ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04381936. opens in new tab; ISRCTN number, 50189673. opens in new tab.)
Hardly a cure-all
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I believe Julia Ioffe is on the sunny side of 40, and her account of her case is pretty frightening.
bluehill
@cain: Ha. Good point. I’m sure Putin already called Jared, but Putin probably doesn’t trust him.
HumboldtBlue
@cope:
soccerstreams.net.
Punchy
The Average Joel, and I count Don Donnie in this group, underesty just what it means to sit 10 days in iso or 14 in quarantine. Its a loooooong fucking time all by yer lonesome! So theres no way Agent Orange is going to forego Mar Largo and golf and campaign rallies for 10-14 days. Thats infinity to a man with zero attention span and thinks like a toddler. Expect him to ignore iso rules, doctors orders, and mask wearing and be out on the stump (or golf course) by Wednesday.
SiubhanDuinne
@dmsilev:
Goddammit, I do NOT want to hear that Donald Trump is bored. I’ve been isolating (not in the strict medical sense, just out of a fucking abundance of fucking caution) since early March. Seven months. I’m living in an extended-stay facility in what is the equivalent of an efficiency apartment. I’ve made great progress on research for two books I’m writing, have done a beautiful job on several colouring books (staying carefully within the lines), have completed a couple of jigsaw puzzles, and solve 24 separate online games/puzzles every morning. I’ve recently gone back to simple cooking, as opposed to microwaving frozen dinners. I read a lot, and I comment occasionally on Balloon Juice. I volunteer for political causes and candidates. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not bored. For the President of the United States, with all his responsibilities and resources, to tell me he’s bored after spending two whole days in a six-room luxury suite is arrogant, dismissive, and offensive.
Kattails
@sdhays: This kind of boggles me. I live in rural NH and pretty much every one is masked, with a few outliers and whack jobs. The small local farm stands both require masks; one had a guy flip out on her, she ended up calling the constabulary to get him off premises. She’s got kids, lots of older customers, what in God’s name would this farmer be objecting to????
HumboldtBlue
@Craig:
That sums up 2020.
Chetan Murthy
@SiubhanDuinne:
I don’t think that’s what it was. I think he was experiencing withdrawal from his narcissistic supply: he needed to see his adoring crowds to feel like a man again. That’s why he went out. If his aides can see this, they’ll arrange daily videoconferences with adoring groups of supporters from all over the country, where they sing him songs, tell him how much they love him, etc, etc, etc. Make him feel really loved and adored. Uh, I assume that that’s what a convalescing narcissist would want. Though maybe what he really wants to see is lots of naked women ….. ok, I can’t even finish that thought.
cain
@Punchy:
I think he’s going to be in no condition to do anything – if he survives it will take him weeks to recuperate.
Morzer
@SiubhanDuinne: I have thought for a while now that Trump is bipolar. He obviously has extreme mood swings, has trouble focusing, makes poor decisions when manic and shows signs of hypersexuality and wildly inappropriate behavior.
gene108
@Barbara:
It’s just a con job to deflect from the tax returns and Melania’s “fuck Christmas” tape that were getting legs.
This has knocked all that out of the news.
Friday, I thought he was actually sick, but right now I’m convinced it is all fake.
Until I see photos of him getting actual treatment, with oxygen tubes in his nose, and IV’s in his arms, it’s just a bullshit made up story to try and get a sympathy vote.
Chetan Murthy
@gene108:
The disarray back at the White House seems to give the lie to that explanation. In any case, if he reappears with basically no damage, no after-effects, we’ll know it was likely a ruse.
ETA: They’ve informed hundreds of people that they need to get tested, due to his carelessness. hundreds of high-roller *donors*. I can’t believe they’d do all that for a hoax.
Another Scott
@JCJ: Thanks.
It’s good to be reminded that there’s still no good treatment for COVID-19. (As in, “Take these once a day, stay home for a week, and call me if you’re not better then.” Or something even approaching that.)
Cheers,
Scott.
smike
@Bill Arnold:
But how would anyone be able to tell?
Mai Naem mobile
I wonder how many people in this country know somebody personally who’s had COVID. That would give you an idea how many people these morons can’t fool with their lies.
dmsilev
@Chetan Murthy: A ruse makes no sense. Four weeks before the election, run a political ploy that is absolutely guaranteed to 100% focus the news onto the one subject that you’ve been trying to wish away for the last eight months, the one subject that even a broad swath of your own supporters are forced to admit you screwed the pooch on? Not to mention, you need a whole bunch of ancillary victims (the Conways’ daughter, for instance) to play along.
I’m sure they’re pervasively lying about Trump’s exact health condition and medical status, but I do believe that he has COVID.
Chetan Murthy
@Mai Naem mobile: 46% per this survey.
beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/46-of-americans-know-someone-with-covid-19-5-survey-findings…
Anya
Apparently one of the side effects of the meds he prescribed for lung performance is irritability and mood swings. I mean, isn’t that Trump’s baseline?
Chetan Murthy
@dmsilev:
Me too. And that it’s a *lot* worse than they’re letting on. That they allowed him to take his little joyride, b/c they’re worried he’ll bolt otherwise and end up coding in the WH Residence. I wouldn’t be surprised that he’s at WRMC for weeks and weeks. And to this I can only say: “good”.
Mai Naem mobile
@gene108: that was my initial thought too but I think Donnie is too narcissistic and too much of a macho man to go to WR because of the optics. I think if he was faking it he would have stayed at the WH and come out and say he took HCQ and fought it like a manly man would and Voila! he’s all well!
Aleta
@Morzer: Yeah it’s seemed possible to me too. His grandiosity. His impatience tied up with anger and superiority. If it’s true, that super-steroid he took, even if he just got 1 injection of it, might trigger more extreme mania and delusions of power. Hard to say because he’s socially impaired in so many ways.
Mai Naem mobile
@Chetan Murthy: thanks. That’s from July. That’s probably gone up a few percent from the outbreaks in Texas and Floriduh so good chance its over 50 percent.
SiubhanDuinne
@Chetan Murthy:
@Morzer:
We’re going to need a bigger DSM-5.
Aleta
@SiubhanDuinne: ha, that’s very funny.
Sab
Not much gold or gilt in that Walter Reed suite so I see why he feels out of place.
My 96 year old dad in a nursing home has been waiting since March for another simple car ride around the block.
Salty Sam
A bit of editing seemed in order.
bluehill
@Mai Naem mobile:
@Chetan Murthy:
I wonder what percentage is the tipping point where it becomes personal and real and not a disease afflicting just the elderly or people with preexisting conditions. Seems like 50% has to be getting close.
Chetan Murthy
@Sab:
Your dad’s [entirely human] suffering, like my 75-year-old mom’s, at not being able to hug her knee-high-to-a-grasshopper grandsons (and theirs at not being able to hug their grandma) is part of what makes me so incredibly angry. What drives me, like Arya Stark, to list the names of the ones I wanna see sputtering up pinky frothy lung butter ……
Morzer
@SiubhanDuinne: DSM-5 Expanded Orange edition
joel hanes
@cain:
I’ve never bought Dom Perignon, but if either Trump or Barr dies before I do I will do so.
Another Scott
@Chetan Murthy: @Sab:
Hang in there.
Cheers,
Scott.
Sab
@Chetan Murthy: I share your feelings.
Chetan Murthy
@Another Scott: Jesus, the video in the linked-to thread. Just …. just …
Amir Khalid
@Uncle Cosmo:
I wasn’t gloating, just reporting.
cain
The RNC is going to be hearing about this. Higher-roller donors even if they also don’t believe in masking will be quite angry if you showed up being infected and exposing them as well. If they go back and they go it – a percentage of those donors will die. If they die – I have a feeling that their family is not going to be looking that fondly at the RNC going forward since as we’ve been beating the drum – completely preventable deaths.
rikyrah
Here, Cole ?
just enraged by his selfishness??
Sab
I am doing a washer load of cloth face masks every other day. We must be going out too much.
We have a washing machine in our house. I cannot even imagine having to use the laundromat down the street. Sitting in all that steamy air waiting for the protective masks to finish their wash and dry cycles.
cain
@gene108:
No, he totally has the rona.. that ploy with the car smells of desperation. Too many other people around them are getting covid.
Air lifting from the WH to the hospital for a ruse? I don’t think so.
Hang out to your seats, October is going to be an interesting month.
HumboldtBlue
I’ve been reading this blog for years and there are a lot of Sci-fi fans but what pisses me off is youse weirdos never told me you had a soundtrack.
Martin
@Cckids: It’s been there for decades. I’m fine with it – allocating 2,000 sq ft to help ensure that the President can continue with his job is pretty reasonable.
It’s only unreasonable because Trump did jack shit about Covid so hospitals had to pile dead bodies in trucks. It’s fine that the President has nicer digs than the rest of us, but that presumes that the President does his fucking job and at least tries to protect the public.
Sab
@cain: Next week we get to early vote!
HumboldtBlue
@Sab:
I hope the dog walks are more pleasant.
Original Lee
@Mai Naem mobile: Sadly, it doesn’t appear to change their minds about voting for Hair Furor. One friend (who might not be a friend much longer) has had 3 family members die from COVID-19, and while he’s rabid about anti-maskers, he still supports 45.
Chetan Murthy
@Sab: Asking seriously: is that necessary? I have 3 cloth masks and a couple of bandannas. I just go thru them in rotation, so that each gets used, like, maybe once every 4 days. When not in-use, they sit in a row on a shelf near the front door, nowhere near my living space. My understanding was that covid on a surface will die out within 2 days/ So 4 days should be sufficient to render the masks safe-to-use again?
Am I missing something? Seriously asking. [obvs. at some point I wash ’em — in a tub in the sink, then hang ’em up to dry in the window, but that’s, like, every few weeks.]
JaySinWA
@Luciamia: The crystal chandelier is the most infuriating part. How the hell do they sterilize that in any practical manner.
Sab
@Chetan Murthy: We probably overdo it. We change masks every time we we go out, and also change between locations. So a mask each for the dog walk. A new mask for every stop shopping. Also washable cotton gloves for each stop shopping or bank etc.
We tend to switch off gloves instead of using hand sanitizers. It all adds up.
Chetan Murthy
@Sab: Ahhhhh …. O.I.C. OK, I have no doggie. And since single living alone, I shop once a week, same time I got to the Farmer’s Market. So otherwise …. well, maybe every other day I step outside to move the car, deal with something-or-other. And I *never* go inside other buildings — grocery pickup from parking lot, open-air farmer’s market. Otherwise, it’s staying inside and working from the kitchen table. Yeah: I can see how that would add up.
And can I just say: if I were out-and-about a lot, going to multiple places, I’d want to do as you do — change the covering frequently, hoping that just in case were there pathogens that got trapped in the mask or gloves, changing frequently would minimize the risk of them penetrating the cover.
If all Americans were doing as you do, instead of only 85%, we’d be thru this damn disease already. Dammit.
Well done to you and your entire family.
Sm*t Cl*de
@danielx:
Recently adopted by a NZ brewer as the name for a beer.
untappd.com/b/behemoth-brewing-company-f-kface-von-clownstick/3987189
Sab
@HumboldtBlue: 60 degrees lately. The dog walks are amazing. We lost our girl dog last week, but after the initial shock our elderly adopted cocker is really over it, and revelling in being a single dog in cool weather. He is an energizer bunny.
Our current experiments involve discovering if there is anything he won’t eat.
ETA She was a very picky eater, and also liled to fight over food. Now he has free rein.
prostratedragon
@JCJ: Aha. Thanks for the lyric.
Sally
@Chetan Murthy: Four day rotation should be fine, though I have enough, as well as knit fabric gloves, for a weekly rotation. I wash them all about fortnightly (two weeks!). I thought the time to let the virus die was about three days. Depends on the fabric, also, too. Absorbent fabric desiccates the virus it faster. I leave them hanging in a warm room where they can be air dried between use. Or in the sun.
Ian
@Cckids:
I get why we need a private hospital suite with full accommodation for the prez, even if the WH has similar facilities. The Chandelier, however, was clearly installed by someone who never expected the public to get a look inside said facilities. Our whole government system could use a good dose of sunlight when it comes to this kind of shit. Apparently the WH underground rooms are similarly ostentatious.
Ian
@Aleta: By now a considerable portion of the world must be related to some royalty. Those guys aren’t famous for keeping it in their pants. I recall reading that geneticists think 1/3 of Asia is descended from Ghengis Khan.
bemused
@sdhays: I read about an apple orchard in Hinckley MN, owners called covid19 “china virus”. When people objected, the owners doubled down and refused to stop saying “china virus”.
SFAW
@Martin:
Well, he does — for certain non-standard definitions of “protect the public.”
Robert Sneddon
@sdhays: The Rebellious Slaveholders who wrote the Constitution intended for an elected President to have the administrative powers of a reigning monarch since that’s all they could understand in that time. Modern countries with elected Presidents don’t let them have unlimited pardoning powers, for example, or “Executive Orders” or all that other authoritarian shit but the US is trapped in the 18th century by its Traitor’s Wishlist.
cope
@HumboldtBlue: Thank you, I will check it out.
J R in WV
@cain:
What are pujas?
WaterGirl
@Chetan Murthy: Wow, it is worse when you see it than it is to just read about it. It sounds like a 4th of July parade!