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You are here: Home / Elections / Biden-Harris 2020 / Monday Morning Open Thread: A Petard Large Enough to Hoist An Orange… Elephant

Monday Morning Open Thread: A Petard Large Enough to Hoist An Orange… Elephant

by Anne Laurie|  October 5, 20206:47 am| 287 Comments

This post is in: Biden-Harris 2020, COVID-19, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!

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A whopping 65% of Americans agree that “If President Trump had taken coronavirus/COVID-19 more seriously, he probably would not have been infected with the coronavirus/COVID-19” https://t.co/UDBUJEerU2

This was his own damn fault. https://t.co/GFJZV2TQQN pic.twitter.com/wJ2eKHPRXu

— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) October 4, 2020

Joe Biden leads by 10 points in the presidential race after President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. A majority of Americans think Trump could have avoided infection if he had taken the virus more seriously https://t.co/j4Iltpvncj pic.twitter.com/3ESEQFHfW9

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 5, 2020

A little schadenfreude, to start the week — from the Washington Post, “Trump’s illness halts campaign just when it needs an October boost”:

… The past seven days have dealt the incumbent one setback after another — the extraordinary revelation in the New York Times that he had paid little to no federal income taxes in recent years; a belligerent debate performance that risked turning off many voters; the arrest of his recently demoted campaign manager in Florida; and finally the president’s hospitalization for covid-19 because of an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in a White House that has made a mockery of public health guidelines and offered contradictory accounts of Trump’s health.

All the while, Biden’s sizable financial advantage has allowed the Democrat to dominate the television airwaves, and some recent polls show his lead over Trump holding steady or even growing.

Despite the rosy prognostications of his physician over the weekend, Trump’s illness has effectively stalled his campaign with just four weeks until Election Day and with voters already casting early ballots in many states…

Trump aides acknowledge that the president’s illness has been unhelpful because it draws national attention to his administration’s handling of the pandemic. They also say that the president being hospitalized undercuts what he views as his main attribute over Biden: That he appears stronger and tougher….

… Trump has a sizable deficit to make up, according to recent public polls. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey released Sunday had Biden leading Trump nationally by 14 percentage points among registered voters, 53 percent to 39 percent. The poll showed Biden’s lead nearly doubling after last week’s debate, with an overwhelming majority of voters saying Biden had the better temperament to be president.

Mike Murphy, a GOP strategist and critic of the president who advises Republican Voters Against Trump, said Trump’s electoral problems are compounding.

“He’s falling down the stairs going faster and faster, which makes it harder and harder to regain his footing,” Murphy said. “He really needed a September reset, but instead he was broke and incompetent, and his debate was a disaster. And now he’s in quicksand in October and unable to even work the politics of a serious presidential illness correctly while the clock mercilessly ticks.”…

“It’s like a bad television show, which in fact it is,” Tom Rath, a longtime Republican strategist and elected official in New Hampshire, said in assessing the past week for Trump. “The data suggest that the American people, the public, have just about had enough. Unless [the Trump campaign] significantly change the direction and dynamic of this race — and nothing they have done so far has been able to do it — we are headed towards a pretty significant change in government come November.”

this is just insane levels of karmic energy. the plan was to spend october mocking Biden for taking the pandemic seriously and not recklessly endangering himself and tens of thousands of others. pic.twitter.com/q11xmQT4I9

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 5, 2020

Choose Your Fighter pic.twitter.com/5HTTJkz0Ed

— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) October 5, 2020

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Reader Interactions

287Comments

  1. 1.

    p.a.

    October 5, 2020 at 6:52 am

    Putin is their only competent campaign associate.  And the state level vote suppressors.

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    October 5, 2020 at 6:52 am

    Good Morning, Everyone ???

  3. 3.

    Chief Oshkosh

    October 5, 2020 at 6:52 am

    Are the Secret Service allowed to publicly reveal if they are infected?

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    October 5, 2020 at 6:52 am

    @p.a.:

    No lie told

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    October 5, 2020 at 6:53 am

    @Chief Oshkosh:

    Only in a general sense

  6. 6.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 6:56 am

    amy walter
    @amyewalter
    ·13h
    To me one of the more interesting timelines in latest NBC/WSJ poll is Biden’s fav/unfav:
    1/20 = -10
    8/20= -6
    9/20 = -2
    10/20 = +2
    The attacks on ‘socialism’ and ‘sleepy’ have not only NOT moved numbers away from Biden, but Biden’s actually gotten more popular since the summer.

  7. 7.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 6:58 am

    @Chief Oshkosh: To answer your question, I don’t know, but because of privacy reasons, there will no longer be updates on how staff members have been infected.

  8. 8.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 6:58 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:00 am

    @Kay:

    Biden’s winning over Bernie supporters and the chronically fatigued!

  10. 10.

    rikyrah

    October 5, 2020 at 7:04 am

    The party of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

     

    comes home to roost

  11. 11.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:06 am

    I refuse to give the Boston Glob clicks/money, but apparently Jeff “Not a Lying RWMF Moron, But I Play One in — No, Wait, I AM a Lying RWMF Moron” Jacoby had an op-ed yesterday, the headline/mini-synopsis  telling his reader(s) that “voting for who you really like, even if a third-party candidate with no chance, is NOT squandering your vote.” [Disclaimer: I did NOT read the full op-ed, because it’s Jacoby, and it’s the Glob.]

    It does my heart good to see that he’s reduced to being a “you libs should vote for Jill Stein [sic] because ‘Murica” shill.

    He’s still a fucking asshole, of course

  12. 12.

    rikyrah

    October 5, 2020 at 7:08 am

    The ones who disagree with it being Dolt45’s fault?

     

    Add it up…

     

    Yep…

     

    THE CRAZYFICATION FACTOR ??

  13. 13.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:08 am

    @JPL:

    Then we can only assume all of them have been infected.

  14. 14.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:10 am

    @SFAW:

    Does Jeff have a last name?

  15. 15.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:10 am

    @Baud:

    Most of Trump’s “energy” goes to lying or covering up lying. They missed the point of being energetic. It’s not necessarily a good thing all by itself. I can very energetically take a sledgehammer to your car and you probably won’t hire me over the less energetic candidate who doesn’t do that.

  16. 16.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:10 am

    What horrifies me is that Pence is in Indiana and Jared is in charge and in the WH.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:12 am

    @Kay:

    I don’t know, Kay.  If you smash Republican cars even worse, I might still support you since you’d be hurting the right people.

  18. 18.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 7:13 am

    @debbie: WUT    Where’s Ivanka?

  19. 19.

    OzarkHillbilly

    October 5, 2020 at 7:13 am

    @debbie:Jeff “Not a Lying RWMF Moron, But I Play One in — No, Wait, I AM a Lying RWMF Moron” Jacoby

    ETA: kinda easy to miss it at the end of the rant ;-)

  20. 20.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:13 am

    @debbie:

    Be happy. None of them do any real work. All it means is Jared and Ivanka are running the campaign unsupervised. That’s why we’re getting debacles like “trap the Secret Service agents in the covid car and ride around the block”.

  21. 21.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:15 am

    @debbie: .

    Maybe we’ll finally get peace in the Middle East.

  22. 22.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:16 am

    @Baud:

    True for “not being in the basement” too. Trump should have stayed in the basement for the last debate. What you do when you’re not in the basement matters.

  23. 23.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:17 am

    I wonder if Barr is lying about his covid test. Probably.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:20 am

    @Kay: I can’t see him quarantining himself otherwise, unless he wants to drop off the radar to do nefarious things.  I hope someone is tailing him.

  25. 25.

    satby

    October 5, 2020 at 7:21 am

    @JPL: Like most conservatives who’ve tried to use HIPAA to hide behind, they’re wrong. No privacy violation in disclosing statistics without identifying info like names. They’re just trying to hide the extent of their fuckups.

  26. 26.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:23 am

    Haha.  Melania won’t visit Trump in the hospital because of concern about the safety of her security detail.

    Precious at so many levels.

     

    ETA:

    We just did receive news from NBC’s Peter Alexander putting out a note that the first lady herself […] there’s a note saying the reason she hasn’t visited her husband at Walter Reed is because she didn’t want to put those Secret Service agents and driver in harms’ way and expose them to COVID,” Shivaram said.

  27. 27.

    satby

    October 5, 2020 at 7:24 am

    @Baud: Well, Barr is unlikely to be asymptomatic if he is lying about getting a positive result. Both for his comorbidities and because their superspreader event seems to have provided a few of them with high viral loads.

  28. 28.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:24 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    at the end of the rant

    Rant? You think THAT was a rant??!?!?! Don’t get me started!!! Why, I … etc etc

  29. 29.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:25 am

    My daughter made Biden campaign calls into Florida night before last and the Democrats she spoke to complained that she was “reading from a script”

    Most whiny Democratic complaint ever- this volunteer didn’t tailor her message to them individually and specifically. What about their concerns? Doesn’t she care about them?

  30. 30.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:25 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Thanks! My unawake eyes saw Jacobean and assumed that was a descriptor.

  31. 31.

    eclare

    October 5, 2020 at 7:26 am

    @Kay: Agreed about Barr.

  32. 32.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:27 am

    @Kay:

    I got one of those calls and thanked the person for everything she was doing. I think she was stunned.

  33. 33.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:27 am

    @Kay:

    Jared is stupider than his father-in-law and thinks he can solve the world’s problems better then his father-in-law. Stephen Miller is perched on Jared’s shoulder also. All this has me very worried.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    October 5, 2020 at 7:29 am

    @SFAW: You are just so cute when your angry, I just wanna pinch your cheeks.

    *said in the most sickening of singsong voices

  35. 35.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:30 am

    @debbie:

    Does Jeff have a last name?

    Ozark has, of course, already provided the answer.

    Jeff Jacoby used to be the Glob‘s token RWMF/”conservative” op-ed writer. That was when the Boston Globe was a liberal rag. [They enticed him to jump over from the Boston Herald, an actual RW rag.] Since (billionaire) John Henry bought the Globe, he’s turned it into the Herald-lite. We ended our subscription a few years ago, but I still get the “daily headlines” e-mail.

  36. 36.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:30 am

    @eclare:

    I hope he’s out of commission. We’ll get a lot less interference in a free and fair election with him sidelined. I don’t care what happens to him other than that. The election cures the Bill Barr problem as far as I’m concerned.

  37. 37.

    Barbara

    October 5, 2020 at 7:31 am

    @satby: Not only that, but HIPAA doesn’t apply to employment relationships, outside of benefit plan administration. I do think non-political appointees should be able to maintain their individual privacy, but cabinet level officials should show greater transparency.

  38. 38.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:32 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I just wanna pinch your cheeks, bubbeleh.

    Fixed.

  39. 39.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:32 am

    @SFAW:

    Sad to read of the changes there. When I lived in Boston a billion years ago, the Globe was a great paper. It was the Globe who kept me informed about the Saturday Night Massacre.

  40. 40.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:33 am

    @Baud:

    I always thank them too. I try to politely interject that I will definitely vote (or, usually, HAVE voted) because I think it saves them time, but if they want to do the 20 second spiel they can do that too.

  41. 41.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:34 am

    @satby:

    Even Trump’s physician lied about HIPAA during his Saturday press conference (or whatever that can be called).

  42. 42.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:35 am

    @Kay:

    The election cures the Bill Barr problem as far as I’m concerned.

    I’m more of a traditionalist: I think a 20-year stretch in prison for Barr cures the problem. [No, I have no idea what charge(s). A kid can dream, can’t I.]

  43. 43.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:36 am

    @SFAW:

    There’s no law against being Bill Barr?

    Outrageous!

  44. 44.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:37 am

    Today show coverage was ok, but no one is talking about Trump’s decision to put Biden at risk/try to kill Biden.

  45. 45.

    OzarkHillbilly

    October 5, 2020 at 7:37 am

    @SFAW: I have lots of ideas for charges against him.

  46. 46.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:40 am

    @debbie:

    Yeah, it used to be a reliably liberal paper, with a number of liberal op-ed writers. [I still miss David Nyhan, gone 15 years now.] But that’s all changed.

    As far as I’m concerned, about the only good thing John Henry did for Boston was hiring Theo Epstein. [Although I guess one of the other Red Sox co-owners may have been the deciderer.] I realize that’s a big deal for Sox fans, as it should be. But for those of us who have real lives, Henry’s malign influence outweighs that.

  47. 47.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:40 am

    @Baud:

    There’s no law against being Bill Barr?

    Not yet.

  48. 48.

    debbie

    October 5, 2020 at 7:41 am

    @Baud:

    I think you’re giving too much credit to Trump’s critical thinking abilities. I think he was just being an asshole at the debate and trying to make Biden look bumbling and senile, not trying to get his cooties to travel over Biden’s way.

  49. 49.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:42 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I have lots of ideas for charges against him.

    Depth charges, Semtex charges, 1,000-volt charges, that kind of thing?

  50. 50.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:42 am

    NYT has a story on Kamala.

    Kamala Harris, a Disco-Dancing Teenager, Yearned for Home in Canada

    NYT > Top Stories / by Dan Bilefsky / 13min

    Senator Harris spent her adolescent years in Canada. Friends say being a California girl at a multicultural public high school in Montreal helped shape her

    Per policy, I didn’t click so I don’t know if it’s a hatchet job or a real story.

  51. 51.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:42 am

    Kevin Liptak
    @Kevinliptakcnn
    ·49m
    “That should never have happened,” said one USSS agent of Trump’s drive-by yesterday — 1 of 4 current agents who spoke to CNN. Concocted by a bored president and a tiny group of aides at Walter Reed, the image compounded a sense of deep mismanagement.

    “Mismanagement” doesn’t really cover it. They’re so incredibly selfish that they’re insane and should be supervised by adults.
    Tiny group of aides = Jared and Ivanka.

  52. 52.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:44 am

    @Baud:

    Their political coverage is horrible but locally Kamala is popular and Democrats here want to see and hear more from her. I think she’s good for turnout. They’re excited about her, especially women.

  53. 53.

    p.a.

    October 5, 2020 at 7:45 am

    Breaking: GM designing Super-Suburban (initial marque: Chevy Subdivision, (h/t Dave Barry)) to accommodate Secret Service demands to wear pressurized divers’ suits for next pResidential block-drive.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:46 am

    @Kay:

    Good. If there’s a silver lining to what happened to Hillary, I hope it’s that our marginal voters will stop wringing their hands about women leaders.

  55. 55.

    OzarkHillbilly

    October 5, 2020 at 7:46 am

    @SFAW: Along those lines.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:47 am

    Trump told Woodward in March he didn’t have ‘a lot of time’ to meet with Fauci in newly released audio

  57. 57.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:48 am

    @p.a.:

    They should be working on self driving cars so no one has to be in the car with Trump.

  58. 58.

    OzarkHillbilly

    October 5, 2020 at 7:48 am

    @Baud: It would have interfered with his FOX news viewing schedule.

  59. 59.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 7:50 am

    @Baud:

    They should be working on self driving cars so no one has to be in the car with Trump.

    I’d like to suggest an alternative: have his limo driven by Toonces, the Cat Who Could Drive a Car.

  60. 60.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:50 am

    Readership capture.

    Republicans gripped by dread as multiple crises swirl

  61. 61.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:50 am

    @SFAW: Heh. Memories.

  62. 62.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 7:53 am

    @Kay: I said yesterday that if the virus could pick it’s victims, it would be knocking people down just to get to Bill Barr. Considering he first said, “screw you” to isolating because he was exposed, his turn around can only mean he is Covid positive.

    I am not hoping I am wrong — which is not quite the same as wishing it is so.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 7:54 am

    With President in the Hospital, a V.P. Debate Takes On Outsize Import

    NYT > Top Stories / by Adam Nagourney and Shane Goldmacher / now

    Vice-presidential debates can often be afterthoughts in a presidential race, but Mike Pence and Kamala Harris will now face an unusual amount of scrutiny, and a tricky balancing act in dealing with the virus.

    This year, it’ll be an afterthought just like in past years.

  64. 64.

    WereBear

    October 5, 2020 at 7:54 am

    @rikyrah: I noticed that too. At last! The world makes sense again :)

  65. 65.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:55 am

    @Baud:

    Then there was the Supreme Court. The virus has forced six Republican senators — three who have tested positive for covid — into quarantine for at least two weeks. Two of them, Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Graham chairs. His plans to push through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett were now uncertain. Mitch McConnell said over the weekend that “our biggest enemy” in confirming Barrett before the election, and cementing a conservative 6-3 high court majority, is “the coronavirus, keeping everybody healthy and well and in place to do our job.”

    Promising their base to jam thru the far Right judge could really backfire on them if they can’t get it done. They will have alienated the majority who don’t want Trump to pick the next justice and disappointed their base. If all that happens due to their throwing parties to celebrate RBG dying it will just be delicious. Hubris. They couldn’t be content with just grabbing the seat. They had to crow about it.

  66. 66.

    Alien Radio

    October 5, 2020 at 7:55 am

    16 Percent Strongly disagree + 11 Percent slightly disagree = 27 Percenters

  67. 67.

    trnc

    October 5, 2020 at 7:56 am

    @Kay: My daughter made Biden campaign calls into Florida night before last and the Democrats she spoke to complained that she was “reading from a script”

    Yeah, that’s a weird complaint. FWIW, I’m phone banking for our county, so I’ve taken the script and tailored it to feel more natural. I don’t mean that I actually wrote it out- I just paraphrase in my own way of speaking while still hitting on the main points of the call

    • Connecting personally with the voter
    • Getting the candidates names out there for the non-tuned in voters
    • Urging them to commit to voting
    • Making sure they understand their voting options and early voting dates

    The trainers encouraged us to make it our own. It took a few calls to really feel comfortable, but maybe your daughter would be able to start doing that.

    I also can’t stress enough that old chestnut about the benefit of smiling during the phone call, even if she winds up talking to a republican.

  68. 68.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 7:57 am

    @Baud: yeah!  Where was Elon Musk when the country needed him?!

  69. 69.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 7:59 am

    @Immanentize:

    The implication in the story was other people in the DOJ objected to him possibly infecting them.

    I’m glad some of the DOJ lawyers finally found a spine but I notice they only located it when their own asses were at risk. So disappointing. They can’t even defend their own institution. How can they defend anything else? We need to look at how we ended up with so many chickenshit government lawyers. They’re cowards and effective advocates can’t be cowards.

  70. 70.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 5, 2020 at 8:00 am

    Guess the Covid patient-in-chief got over his boredom:

    Oct 5, 2020 06:14:48 AM
    PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH (BRING OUR SOLDIERS HOME). VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:12:53 AM
    SAVE OUR SECOND AMENDMENT. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:10:26 AM
    FIGHT THE CORRUPT FAKE NEWS MEDIA. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:08:34 AM
    PROTECT PREEXISTING CONDITIONS. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:07:04 AM
    BETTER & CHEAPER HEALTHCARE. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:05:18 AM
    PRO LIFE! VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:04:00 AM
    MASSIVE REGULATION CUTS. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:02:03 AM
    SPACE FORCE. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 06:00:58 AM
    BEST V.A. EVER. 91% APPROVAL RATING. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:57:40 AM
    401(K). VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:54:07 AM
    BIGGEST TAX CUT EVER, AND ANOTHER ONE COMING. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:51:46 AM
    RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:50:40 AM
    LAW & ORDER. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:49:08 AM
    STRONGEST EVER MILITARY. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:47:44 AM
    STOCK MARKET HIGHS. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:45:34 AM
    Virginia Voters! Your Governor wants to obliterate your Second Amendment. I have stopped him. I am the only thing between you and your Second Amendment. Working hard in Virginia. It’s IN PLAY. Better Vote for your favorite President, or wave goodbye to low taxes and gun rights! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:30:25 AM
    IF YOU WANT A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, THE BIGGEST IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (AND ONE THAT WILL SHUT OUR ECONOMY AND JOBS DOWN), VOTE DEMOCRAT!!! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    Oct 5, 2020 05:19:05 AM
    “I’m voting for Donald Trump. My father is a Union Worker and his 401K has tripled under President Trump.” USA Voter. @foxandfriends Thank you, and remember that the Stock Market is getting ready to break its all time high. NEXT YEAR WILL BE THE BEST EVER. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!!! [Twitter for iPhone] link

  71. 71.

    trnc

    October 5, 2020 at 8:01 am

    @Baud: That’s the reaction I’ve been getting from most people I’ve called who take the few minutes to talk. What has actually floored me is when people say, “I’m too busy to talk now,” they tell me a better time to call. I figured those would be blowoffs.

    I took a federal survey on transportation a few years ago and profusely thanked the caller after 15 minutes of questions, and I’m pretty sure that made her day.

  72. 72.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 8:02 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Oct 5, 2020 06:08:34 AM
    PROTECT PREEXISTING CONDITIONS. VOTE! [Twitter for iPhone] link

    LOL.

  73. 73.

    CliosFanboy

    October 5, 2020 at 8:04 am

    Question: If I took a COVID test today* would it show if I’d had an asymptomatic case earlier?  Does it show if you’d been exposed and recovered?

     

     

     

    • I’m not but thinking about scheduling one.
  74. 74.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 8:05 am

    @trnc:

    I donated postcards to the county Dems and they’re filling them out when they’re sitting at the headquarters. We took the list from the public voter file. We have a younger member who took the data and assigned it numbers, 1 to 4 (1 is most loyal Democrat and most likely voter) -they’re sending them out to 3s and 4s, so D’s but “sporadic” D’s. They enjoy having something to do when they’re manning the headquarters and it might help. We only have a possible 8000 votes so the scale is small enough where you can try things.

  75. 75.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 5, 2020 at 8:05 am

    @Baud: Over on Twitter I brought up the possibility that Trump was intentionally trying to kill Biden, and got an angry lecture from one of my more centrist/temperamentally-conservative friends, that it doesn’t matter how much Trump lies, it’s disgraceful that Democrats would even entertain these kinds of paranoid ideas–we have to leave that sort of thing to the right.

    But… does that mean Trump wasn’t trying to kill Biden? I mean, is this not an open possibility?

    I think there’s a powerful disincentive for people who think of themselves as sober realists to consider these possibilities.

  76. 76.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 8:05 am

    @CliosFanboy:

    I think there’s a different test for antibodies that shows past infections.

  77. 77.

    trnc

    October 5, 2020 at 8:06 am

    @debbie: Jared is stupider than his father-in-law and thinks he can solve the world’s problems better then his father-in-law. Stephen Miller is perched on Jared’s shoulder also. All this has me very worried.

    Yeah, this is my biggest concern, too. Pence really is a “Please, sir, may I have another” kind of guy, so who knows if he’s getting the info he should at this time, especially while he’s traveling. My hope is that whatever crap those guys try to pull at this point on a policy level will crumble pretty fast when they’re out and there’s no one to fight for those actions.

  78. 78.

    satby

    October 5, 2020 at 8:07 am

    @debbie: No, physicians and health care providers are who is bound by HIPAA. Unless Trumptraitor gave permission to disclose the doctor could only disclose what the patient allows. Or nothing at all if that’s what the patient demands.

  79. 79.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 8:07 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    He definitely put Biden at risk, if the timeline is what it appears to be. Whether it was first degree attempted murder is speculative at this point.

    ETA: in fairness to your friend, a lot of people treat their speculations as rock solid facts.  I can appreciate the reaction.

  80. 80.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 8:07 am

    @Kay: I have an old and dear friend who is a lifer at DOJ.  In voting.  She is certainly no coward — testified against Reynolds and was critical in fighting off von Spakofsky during the Bush days.  She is still there for her own reasons unknown to me.  When Covid is contained, I will be able to see her in a place away from DC and find out what happened.

  81. 81.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 8:07 am

    @CliosFanboy: There’s a blood test for that.   My son took it and was notified 24 hrs later that there were no antibodies in his system.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    October 5, 2020 at 8:09 am

    @Alien Radio: 29% was the number of people who responded they “liked trump personally” in an NBC/Wall St. Journal poll released September 2019. 69% said they disliked him. The previous high “dislike personally” was 43% for George Bush in 2005, after Katrina, in the middle of the Iraq war.

  83. 83.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 8:09 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Supposedly it’s not his phone, so someone else is trying to make him sound like a maniac.

    hat tip to the hoarse whisperer

  84. 84.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 5, 2020 at 8:10 am

    @Baud: It appears that Trump didn’t actually receive a positive test result until after the debate, but he must have known he was exposed, and it looks like there was a conscious effort on the part of Trump’s whole entourage to dodge COVID testing before the debate. I suspect at this point that it was more reckless endangerment than anything else–he was going to do the debate and he didn’t give a shit.

  85. 85.

    Nina

    October 5, 2020 at 8:10 am

    The tweets I’ve seen so far this morning seem to emphasize the ‘meth’ part of dexamethasone.

  86. 86.

    Danielx

    October 5, 2020 at 8:12 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Fifty three counts of being an oleaginous lying sack of shit for starters?

  87. 87.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 5, 2020 at 8:14 am

    @Baud: There’s been some nutty stuff going around, like some people insisting that Joyride Trump was a fake–that because the SUV wasn’t the main “Beast” presidential limo, that means that the Trump who was riding around outside wasn’t the real Trump, it was some sort of body double. I *think* this was part of the larger theory that Trump’s whole illness is a hoax.

  88. 88.

    Geminid

    October 5, 2020 at 8:15 am

    @Nina: One could describe trump’s style as MethOdd Acting.

  89. 89.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 8:15 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Occam’s razor says someone — maybe Melania? (She wore a mask) — knew they were positive, so they showed up late to avoid testing.

    Alternative theory — they thought they were going to Studio 54 and one never gets there on time.

  90. 90.

    Chyron HR

    October 5, 2020 at 8:16 am

    @Kay: 

    Mitch McConnell said over the weekend that “our biggest enemy” in confirming Barrett before the election, and cementing a conservative 6-3 high court majority, is “the coronavirus, keeping everybody healthy and well and in place to do our job.” Donald Trump forcing us to ignore basic public health guidelines.

  91. 91.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 8:17 am

    @Matt McIrvin: I certainly thought it was Trump, but his waiving was manic like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  So needy.

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 8:17 am

    @Geminid: NotMax substitute!

  93. 93.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    October 5, 2020 at 8:19 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Wow. The steroids have kicked in, bigly.

  94. 94.

    satby

    October 5, 2020 at 8:19 am

    @Matt McIrvin: As John said last night, we’re very much into the old Soviet mindset here: them trying to Potemkin village us, and us trying to parse pictures and public statements for clues to what’s really going on. He really is Putin’s puppet student.

  95. 95.

    Zinsky

    October 5, 2020 at 8:20 am

    I don’t think Trump is out of the woods yet.  My daughter is a nurse and worked on a COVID unit for three months at the start of the pandemic.  Trump is precisely the type of person who shows early troubling signs, is fine for several days and then the cytokine storm hits and they are gasping for breath, intubated and on a ventilator within hours – IF they are lucky enough to be close to an ICU and respiratory therapists who can save them.  Of course, Trumpo already has three top-notch pulmonologists on his team, so he will probably live.  But you watch – I bet he takes a really bad turn for the worse before this is over.

    As far as Trump’s followers – I have concluded that you can only understand them in terms of professional wrestling.  As you may or may not know, Donald Trump is an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame:  https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1544081-donald-trump-to-be-inducted-into-wwe-hall-of-fame

    In pro wrestling, they have a concept called KAYFABE, which means the audience knows the action between the two wrestlers is phony, but they choose to suspend disbelief and cheer as if there really is a life and death grudge match playing out before their eyes!  Trump’s minions are applying kayfabe to American politics.  Deep inside, most of them know Donald Trump is a worthless, deviant layabout who hasn’t really ever done any real work in his life and is just a conman and a cheater.  But they choose to imagine him as a gallant, virtuous and hard-working knight who is out slaying the evil dragons of liberalism on a daily basis.  Trump sees himself as Captain America and most of his followers do too.  I see him as a pathetic, weak Walter Mitty who is scared of his own shadow.

  96. 96.

    PST

    October 5, 2020 at 8:21 am

    @Baud: I read the NYT story about Harris’s high school years in Canada. It is thoroughly nice. It emphasizes how how much everyone liked her and how good her social skills were. It was a highly diverse school, where she identified as African-American but got along with everyone. It makes you wish you had a friend (or a girlfriend) like her in high school. There are several fun photos.

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    October 5, 2020 at 8:27 am

    @Kay: As a Florida Democrat, I apologize for the whiny asshole your daughter talked to, who should have thanked her for volunteering. Florida Democrats are perpetually traumatized. Some of us get angry. Some of us get whiny. Most of us are both angry and whiny. :)

  98. 98.

    dww44

    October 5, 2020 at 8:28 am

    @SFAW:  Until  liberals can reclaim some parity in the media writ large we are always going to have to  work twice as hard to get and maintain some sort of control of the levers of power

    in the last year or so Sinclair has purchased both the Fox and ABC broadcast stations  here and in the last couple of months Newsmax was added to the basic cable offering

  99. 99.

    JR

    October 5, 2020 at 8:28 am

    @Kay: a lot of people just don’t like talking on the phone, myself included.  One of the overlooked aspects of canvassing. Of course, nagging works even if people hate it.

  100. 100.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 5, 2020 at 8:31 am

    @debbie: “Spotlight” was Globe reporters, right? I’m sorry to hear they’ve gone con.

  101. 101.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 8:31 am

    @JPL: Supposedly it’s not his phone, so someone else is trying to make him sound like a maniac.

    I foresee a legal wrangle within a year, as the Biden administration tries to determine whether tweets setting US policy were actually sent by Trump or by his golf caddy, and the former Trumpists fight it because they were all riding on the account to enrich themselves somehow.

  102. 102.

    WereBear

    October 5, 2020 at 8:31 am

    @Immanentize: It suggests solitary confinement would break him within minutes.

  103. 103.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 8:31 am

    @Immanentize:

    I’m disappointed there haven’t been more whistleblowers. For them, given the duties and responsibilities they accepted with the license and the job, whistleblowing is part of the job. They have a duty to report.

    I know it’s hard but that’s the deal. You can’t keep the job by agreeing not to do the job under pressure from corrupt superiors. That’s no longer serving the client, the United States, it’s serving yourself. Is it fair that they were put in a position where they had to choose? No. It’s not their fault but it is their problem.

  104. 104.

    PST

    October 5, 2020 at 8:31 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    There’s been some nutty stuff going around, like some people insisting that Joyride Trump was a fake–that because the SUV wasn’t the main “Beast” presidential limo, that means that the Trump who was riding around outside wasn’t the real Trump, it was some sort of body double.

    It was Trump. I saw a still in which his hand was pressed against the window. No one else has fingers that short.

  105. 105.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 8:32 am

    @PST:

    It makes you wish you had a friend

    I wish that every day.

  106. 106.

    Sloane Ranger

    October 5, 2020 at 8:33 am

    My worry about Barr is that he has tested negative but, as most of his peer group were either at the dance on RBG’s grave party or likely to interact regularly with those who were, he’s gone into quarantine to ensure he’s fit and healthy enough to fuck with the election.

  107. 107.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 8:33 am

    @Baud: I just wish I had one I could see face-to-face.

  108. 108.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 8:35 am

    @WereBear: It suggests solitary confinement would break him within minutes.

    That might be helpful to him after he retires to Russia.  It won’t take the interrogators that long to decide that he really doesn’t know any national security secrets.

  109. 109.

    evodevo

    October 5, 2020 at 8:35 am

    @Baud: yeah…an antibody titer…requires a blood draw and no instant results…

  110. 110.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    October 5, 2020 at 8:35 am

    @Immanentize: I do not want Trump to die of Coronavirus. It would be an easy out for him and would create a huge mess.

    I find I don’t have the same qualms about Barr or McConnell.

  111. 111.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 5, 2020 at 8:36 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Space Force? Really? That’s one of their selling points?

  112. 112.

    Kay

    October 5, 2020 at 8:37 am

    @JR:

    I don’t like phone calls either but she’s a really earnest and nice person and she’s following the directions she was given. She has kind of high standards so not doing the job as she was instructed would be to her not acceptable. Having sometimes fallen short of her high standards raising her I know this :)

    I think phone calls are annoying too. I’d prefer a postcard, myself.

  113. 113.

    Betty Cracker

    October 5, 2020 at 8:37 am

    From CNN:

    Just past 5 p.m. ET, a combination of boredom, agitation and yearning for adulation while convalescing from coronavirus brought the President to the rear seat of a black Chevy Suburban, waving frantically as he rode at a crawl down Rockville Pike while two US Secret Service agents, dressed in medical gowns, respirator masks and eye protection, stared stoically ahead.

    It was an image concocted by the President himself and the very tight group of aides who have accompanied him to Walter Reed, including chief of staff Mark Meadows and social media adviser Dan Scavino, a person familiar with the matter said. They hoped it might reassure Americans that Trump remains both hale and in command after what he deemed exaggerated news coverage of his condition and — in particular — outsized prognostications he planned to transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence.

    But his seconds-long parade only underscored the relaxed attitude toward transmission that appear to have landed Trump in the hospital to begin with. The contained space inside the presidential limousine hardly allowed for social distancing from the driver and agent. While Trump wore a mask, his status as a Covid-positive hospital patient precluded him from falling within anyone’s recommendations for a public appearance.

    I hope this turns into Trump’s second “gassing protesters for a photo-op with a bible” moment: a political stunt that backfires horribly.

    It’s helpful that the Third Lady has announced that she won’t go visit her awful spouse out of consideration for the agents who’d have to drive her. That’s not really why she won’t go, but it’s helpful to the narrative that she used that excuse.

  114. 114.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 8:38 am

    Gonna repeat this here as morning threads are very forgiving and not everyone is inclined or has the time to look at the late night pages.

    Came away very impressed by a documentary series found on Prime, The Hitler Chronicles. Because of the sheer amount of relevant archival film presented (including well-preserved color footage) and the contemporaneous sources, both military and civilian and many previously untapped, dug up and extensively quoted which provide direct, timely context in a most effective manner. Oh, and it’s in English.

    More than any other Hitler biography, the Chronicles depict everyday European life between 1889 and 1945 in impressive images, many of them in color.
    Based on the most extensive compilation of archive material to date, with almost half of it previously unpublished sources, Hitler’s life is shown in detail against the social backdrop of the first half of the 20th century in a contemporary interpretation. Source

    Trailer.

  115. 115.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 8:39 am

    @NotMax: I’ve bookmarked it.

  116. 116.

    Betty Cracker

    October 5, 2020 at 8:40 am

    @Zinsky: My sister-in-law is an ER doc who has treated tons of COVID patients, and she said the same thing.

  117. 117.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 8:54 am

    @NotMax:

    as morning threads are very forgiving

    Go fuck yourself.

  118. 118.

    Aleta

    October 5, 2020 at 8:54 am

    Before he announced his test results he must have been riding around in the limo with no mask.  I wonder if he went maskless  in the limo in the time between the 1st quick test (was positive, I read, but he went to the fundraiser bc he decided it wasn’t definitive) and the positive results of the 2nd longer one.

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 8:57 am

    @Gin & Tonic

    Oh you sweet talker, you.

    :)

  120. 120.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 5, 2020 at 8:59 am

    Since it’s a “relaxed” morning thread (h/t NotMax), Amazon is doing that thing where they discount paperbacks of some of my books without telling me. The price will probably continue dropping until someone buys, but if you’re looking for a Christmas present, my newest book The Wysman is currently $13.85 instead of $14.99. Deep as a Tomb is $14.37 instead of $17.99. They’re part of the same series.

  121. 121.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 9:02 am

    @Nina: Maybe this morning’s series of ALLCAPS short tweets is the modern equivalent of solemn music on the radio.

  122. 122.

    Wapiti

    October 5, 2020 at 9:04 am

    I asked my wife why Trump didn’t hand off the Presidency to Pence and focus on healing. She actually laughed at me.

    Seriously though, this guy is in a bad spot, and he’s responsible for the country. Does he think Pence is incompetent? Is he incompetent? Is he just so needy that he can’t risk Pence doing a better job? This seriously offends my sense of duty. I recognize they have none.

  123. 123.

    evodevo

    October 5, 2020 at 9:05 am

    @Wapiti: He considers Pence to be a minion, like staff…so, definitely NOT deserving of taking control, like say Javanka…

  124. 124.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 5, 2020 at 9:06 am

    @Wapiti: He won’t hand it off because it’s his, dammit! His! Just like all the campaign money is his.

  125. 125.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 9:06 am

    @Kay: 
    Whistleblowers need proof of illegality. Not just a whiny complaint that things aren’t going the way they want. Government attorneys serve the government and policy changes happen with each administration. Whistleblowing is not a stand in for a policy preference. Sure, people can quit. People choose to start new careers at 60 all the time, right?

    But I am only willing to blame those who knew of actual wrong doing and did not act. Not all the thousands of line attorneys who did not.

  126. 126.

    Aleta

    October 5, 2020 at 9:06 am

    @Zinsky:  The % of  Tr voters who watch pro wrestling must be quite high.

  127. 127.

    Geminid

    October 5, 2020 at 9:08 am

    @NotMax: The Deadly Embrace (1988) by Anthony Read and David Fisher focuses on the Ribbentop-Molotov pact, and is gripping history.  They authors have a lot of  accounts of Hitler’s public and private behavior, and good material on Chamberlin, Daladier, Foreign Minister Beck of Poland, etc. The anecdotes of Stalin are illuminating but relatively few, as Stalin’s general practice was to stay behind the scenes. He actually stood just outside the room when Molotov and Ribbentrop were negotiating.     I think the authors of The Deadly Embrace wrote the book in conjunction with a BBC documentary they produced. The book covers the period from the Checkoslovakian crisis to the June 1941 invasion of Russia. A fascinating read.

  128. 128.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:09 am

    when you ask the secret service to take you outside to wave at supporters pic.twitter.com/911hizhBoh

    — Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) October 4, 2020

  129. 129.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:10 am

    Biden stopped negative ads after Trump got infected, but if things were reversed, Trump's website would already have shirts that say "Coughing Joe" or some shit. https://t.co/FJJCrSObPV

    — Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) October 2, 2020

  130. 130.

    Jeff Del Papa

    October 5, 2020 at 9:11 am

    My wife got dexamethasone as part of chemo cocktails. Never mind avoid heavy machinery, the hospital written advice sheet said basically don’t make any serious decisions while taking it. It will impair critical thinking and judgement.

    Certainly sent her moods on a rollervoaster. Didn’t see much of the mania, as the other drugs made up for it, but there were hours I kept busy elsewhere when the hair trigger crabby was dominant. And it always wound up with 26 hours later with her talking about giving up so I wasn’t stuck caring for her (scary the first two times until it became clear it was transient, repetitive and drug induced. In fact once we figured why it was happening, I could improve mood by looking at the clock and “right on schedule” and actually have it help)

    The big thing was the brain fog. She was normally genius level (Dartmouth undergrad summa, MIT pure math PhD, public health degree, 80+ journal articles, 10,000 cites, wrote chunks of grad level textbooks, etc). She would have one to three novels going, etc. on a normal day, picking which one depending on mood. on the drug at full fog, watching one of those very formulaic HGTV house hunting shows was too much to keep up with. On those days, it was bird feeder cam, all motion, color and no dialog.

    Oh yea, if you do take it while contagious, it can prolong the time you shed the virus. So apparently if they give you that, it’s supposed to be 20 days isolation, not the usual 14.

    At one point Senator Cotton talked about wheeling in hospital beds when it’s time for a vote. If I were the minority leader, I would insist on a cognitive function check (that same one they gave trump, with a 1-5 scale and a potted plant can score a 2).

    At least the senators that have the bad luck to wind up on a ventilator will be spared the indignity, as they keep you doped to the gills, so you don’t gag on the tube, or yank it out.

  131. 131.

    hueyplong

    October 5, 2020 at 9:12 am

    @Geminid: Sounds a liittle like the book Russia’s War, which came out in conjunction with a BBC or PBS series (can’t remember which).

    Embrace sounds even more interesting.

  132. 132.

    Aleta

    October 5, 2020 at 9:12 am

    @Wapiti:   This is MY Presidency, he can’t have  it.   MY White House.   My AF1, my Presidential limo, my decor.   MY desk.

  133. 133.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 9:15 am

    @Wapiti: Besides, it’s not like what he normally does all day (sits and watches television) is all that different from what he’s doing in the hospital.  I guess yesterday showed that the big problem is that, though the TV is talking about him, it’s saying worrying things.

  134. 134.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:15 am

    Hey remember when Kim Jong Un was in five hospital and no one knew if he was alive or not and we were all judgy lookyloos like, ‘Wow, it must be so horrible to live in a society where you can’t even trust the government to relay the most basic and fundamental facts, poor things.’

    — Rebecca Metz (@TheRebeccaMetz) October 3, 2020

  135. 135.

    Chyron HR

    October 5, 2020 at 9:16 am

    @germy:

    I know sneering contempt for Democrats is always in style, but isn’t it possible the campaign shifted their ad focus because it was determined to be electorally advantageous?

  136. 136.

    Jim Appleton

    October 5, 2020 at 9:17 am

    @Nina: 

    I’ve taken dexamethasone, as Decadron, for severe dental pain.

    No adverse side effects.

    iDJTs dosage may be higher.

  137. 137.

    Marcopolo

    October 5, 2020 at 9:18 am

    @Kay: From what Ive read recently, there is one more area where Barr is pursuing bad policy.  Apparently, DOJ is about to cut a deal with the Sacklers (sp) in regards to Perdue Pharma & the opioid crisis that will wind up letting them keep most of their billions, only slap them on their wrists criminally, and provide them with a certain amount of immunity from other parties (like states) that are suing them.

  138. 138.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 9:18 am

    @NotMax: I want to watch that. Almost 5 hours.  Wow.  I went to see “Our Hitler” when it reached the States in 78 or so.  Very odd experimental work, but amazing.  That clocked in at 442 minutes — just shy of “Chronicles.”

  139. 139.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:22 am

    @Chyron HR:  You read that tweet as sneering contempt?

    I interpreted it as “Biden is decent, Trump is not.”

  140. 140.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 9:25 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Spotlight still exists and they have done some good work on various issues.  It’s not so much that the Globe has gone full on con (we have the Boston Herald for that).  Rather, the Globe is not a great full service paper anymore.  I actually put the downfall as starting with the takeover by the NYTimes, but Henry has certainly continued the slide.

  141. 141.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:27 am

    It is well known that Jared Kushner/Hope Hicks were the “geniuses” behind the Lafayette Square incident. They thought “showing the protestors” & the Bible moment was a campaign win. Law enforcement were used for this political circus. Now that I’ve left the White House can one of my former colleagues tell me if it’s the same chief of staff, family members & comms people who thought today’s joyride would be a winning “campaign” moment? Because once again, you put the lives of many at risk for the pomp & circumstance of a photo op.

    — Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) October 5, 2020

  142. 142.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 9:27 am

    @debbie:

    What horrifies me is that Pence is in Indiana and Jared is in charge and in the WH.

    What that an unelected sociopath is running the white house? You can bet that even if the 25th amendment was invoked, Jared would still take over and tell him what to do. Jared is the crown prince to the American royalty. The man who is never right about anything.

  143. 143.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 9:28 am

    @Kay:

    He can lie all he wants.. but eventually, if he has it and it isn’t a mild case – we’ll be seeing him in the hospital.. the body won’t lie for you.

  144. 144.

    Shalimar

    October 5, 2020 at 9:30 am

    @Kay:  The aides reportedly with Trump are Meadows and Scavino. I wonder if Jared or Ivanka have it. A lot of aides including them were at the Barrett celebration, yet no one the White House can control has been confirmed positive since Trump. All the announcements, senators, Conway, Christie, Notre Dame president, etc., are outside the Executive Branch unless I’m forgetting someone.

  145. 145.

    TS (the original)

    October 5, 2020 at 9:31 am

    No updates re Chris Christie. Seems the code of silence to protect the president*.

    Can’t imagine he will recover easily. Wonder if this time around he will give up on trump or come back for yet more harm & humiliation.

  146. 146.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:32 am

    @Shalimar:

    It’s very possible more people from his inner circle have tested positive, but are keeping it quiet.  Kellyanne wanted to keep it a secret (her daughter revealed the news) and according to the WSJ, Trump told an infected aide not to tell anyone. (Maybe it was Conway he told.)

  147. 147.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 9:33 am

    @germy: I blame the stunt on trump. His ego needed feeding. “feed me, feed me. “

  148. 148.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 9:34 am

    @TS (the original): Hope and Chris are the abused mates of trump, and will continue to do as told.

  149. 149.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:34 am

    JUST NOW: @shearm, one of the WH reporters who has tested positive says he has received ZERO outreach, no contact tracing at all. ZERO.pic.twitter.com/TngXhKuDUc

    — John Berman (@JohnBerman) October 5, 2020

  150. 150.

    SFAW

    October 5, 2020 at 9:35 am

    @Immanentize:

    I actually put the downfall as starting with the takeover by the NYTimes, but Henry has certainly continued the slide.

    Yeah, I guess I agree with that. Although I don’t think the FTFTFNYT would have gone full-bore Herald-lite, as Henry has done. When the FTFTFNYT owned them, they still had one or two (or more?) liberal columnists (some of whom got laid off when revenues started dropping, I think).

  151. 151.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:37 am

    @JPL:  “feed me, feed me. “

    But what are the optics of a man in a mask waving from the back seat of an armored car, being driven around by other men, also wearing masks?  Strength?

    And here’s pure conjecture on my part:  I wonder if the Secret Service wanted to wear more protective gear but Trump wouldn’t allow it because of “optics” and so they only wore masks.

  152. 152.

    Kathleen

    October 5, 2020 at 9:37 am

    @NotMax:  I want to see this film. Thank you for the rec.

  153. 153.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 9:38 am

    @SFAW: But luckily, Charlie Savage got a new home at the Times.

  154. 154.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 9:44 am

    @germy:    Maggie @ the NYTimes

    The president had wanted to be discharged from Walter Reed yesterday, but doctors weren’t okay with it. So the car ride became the compromise

     

    Why not just give him  a double scoop of Ice Cream

    We really do live in the twilight zone

  155. 155.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    October 5, 2020 at 9:44 am

    @germy: There was widespread speculation that he was wearing a mask on Friday to cover up oxygen tubes. I suspect the mask in the limo is serving the same purpose, or he wouldn’t wear one.

  156. 156.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 9:44 am

    @germy:

    But what are the optics of a man in a mask waving from the back seat of an armored car, being driven around by other men, also wearing masks?  Strength?

    The Lincoln Project people are saying this is way worse than Dukakis in the tank, and apparently plan to exploit it.

  157. 157.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 9:47 am

    @Gin & Tonic:  Did you see their latest ad attacking the roundfaced Miller?  They showed a quick montage of all the networks who’ve had him on.  Why don’t they ask him about his personal life? is the theme.

  158. 158.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 9:47 am

    @JPL: I want to see them make him sign an AMA declaration.

  159. 159.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 9:47 am

    @SFAW: I’m more of a traditionalist: I think a 20-year stretch in prison for Barr cures the problem. [No, I have no idea what charge(s). A kid can dream, can’t I.]

    Agree. I’d like to see some actual punishment for some of these people. The IRS should be on this guys ass like skunk spray.

  160. 160.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 9:48 am

    @germy: I have not. Been largely off-line the last several days, traipsing around the Finger Lakes.

  161. 161.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 5, 2020 at 9:50 am

    @Immanentize: 

    But I am only willing to blame those who knew of actual wrong doing and did not act. Not all the thousands of line attorneys who did not.

    You are facing a bit of brick wall here. There are a number of commenters who believe that the whole DOJ is complicit.

  162. 162.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 9:50 am

    @Baud:

    Today show coverage was ok, but no one is talking about Trump’s decision to put Biden at risk/try to kill Biden.

    I wondered about that as well. How come nobody talked about that angle? You can bet if Obama had done this – there would be a ton of questions about it.

  163. 163.

    frosty

    October 5, 2020 at 9:53 am

    @SFAW: I had to drop the Baltimore Sun when the Chicago Tribune bought them. I haven’t checked back to see if they improved.

    In better news, it seems the Atlantic has gotten over its foray into hedge fund conservative ownership. I subscribed since the 70s and dropped it in the early 2000s. Based on what I see these days I may sign up again and make James Fallows happy (“Subscribe!” in every blog post.)

  164. 164.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 9:55 am

    @Gin & Tonic: They could print one on one of those blank sheets he was signing.   Or a DNR, I’m not picky.

  165. 165.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 9:58 am

    @Baud:

    I love this quote by Graham:

    “This is a chance for him, quite frankly, to talk about the human side of this: ‘This is tough, this is hard, we’re gonna get through it,’” he said. “If he comes out of this thing a little bit humbled and focused on speeding up vaccines and trying to safely reopen the country, then I think he’ll probably be okay.”

    hahahaha!!! Does he not know the man? Tell the human story – fuck me.

  166. 166.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 5, 2020 at 9:59 am

    Trump’s car ride summed up in one picture.

  167. 167.

    CarolDuhart2

    October 5, 2020 at 9:59 am

    Front Pagers:  please post this link:

    https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1313113753995694080

  168. 168.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:01 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I know.  But I am trying to take a brick or two out.

    I know how much people living in red states rightly hate it when others say something like:. “All the white voters in _______ State are stupid racist assholes.”. And folks are right to complain about such proclamations — such a broad brush is an embarrassment.

  169. 169.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 10:01 am

    @Immanentize

    Altogether it’s a lotta minutes buy it’s presented as 13 episodes, each focused on specific years, so one doesn’t feel any compunction to sit through it all in one go.

  170. 170.

    TS (the original)

    October 5, 2020 at 10:03 am

    @germy:

    The administration does not want to know the size of this covid-19 group. The last thing they want is any contact tracing to discover where it came from & where it is spreading.

    This is the administration that the media has supported and laughed about  for 4 years. This was who they wanted elected. What did they think would happen when they agreed to sit in cages and be abused by his followers.

    I give Biden 6 weeks and the media will be screaming because he hasn’t  cured covid, hasn’t revived the economy, fixed up NATO, the UN, Obamacare etc etc.

  171. 171.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:04 am

    @trnc:

    When I’ve done phone calls I tend to turn the script into my own as I get more comfortable with the subject matter. I have yet to do any phone banking though.. strangely I am not being asked to and I’m on several lists. Maybe it is an oregon thing.

  172. 172.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 5, 2020 at 10:05 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Sounds lovely. I’ll bet the trees were turning.

  173. 173.

    TS (the original)

    October 5, 2020 at 10:05 am

    @germy:

    Look closely at the videos – I think it was reported they were wearing full PPE. The driver certainly looks to be wearing it.

  174. 174.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 10:06 am

    @NotMax

    but it’s, not buy it’s

  175. 175.

    Punchy

    October 5, 2020 at 10:06 am

    Technical Q for all you 25th experts….

    Just how “incapacitated” does Donnie have to be to put Pence in charge?  Conscious but unable to speak (ventilator)?  Able to speak but on mind-altering steroids (perhaps at the moment)?   More importantly, can Trump put Pence in charge for a few hours, have him issue blanket pardons for Trump and Associates, then reclaim his presidency and have those pardons still be in effect?

  176. 176.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:07 am

    @Immanentize:

    Is it possible that a lot of them are older and they are protecting their retirement? Govt jobs don’t pay well, so it’s mostly in retirement benefits and other things. That can be a powerful leverage.

  177. 177.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    October 5, 2020 at 10:09 am

    @Kay:

    “Mismanagement” doesn’t really cover it. They’re so incredibly selfish that they’re insane and should be supervised by adults within the confines of a correctional facility, followed by a halfway house and then a lifetime of supervised release.

    FTFY

  178. 178.

    chopper

    October 5, 2020 at 10:10 am

    a whopping 65% of Americans agree that “If President Trump had taken coronavirus/COVID-19 more seriously, he probably would not have been infected with the coronavirus/COVID-19

    and the “disagree” number is (wait for it)…27%

  179. 179.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 10:11 am

    @TS (the original):  I must have missed that.

  180. 180.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    October 5, 2020 at 10:13 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Wow.

    They think this is a good look?

  181. 181.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 10:13 am

    So I see Eric Trump has taken the 5th and refused to appear at the NYC probe into the family finances.

  182. 182.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    October 5, 2020 at 10:14 am

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    Side note: how did the brisket turn out? Hope you were able to salvage it.

  183. 183.

    TS (the original)

    October 5, 2020 at 10:14 am

    I do wonder if the “never trump” brigade would vote for Pence – but before that becomes relevant, Steve Schmidt sure has a way with words.

    Trump’s ride will be talked about 30 years from now like it happened yesterday. It will be viewed as the worst photo op in Presidential History. It speaks perfectly to his sociopathy, recklessness, neediness and the extremes of his movement. @ProjectLincoln looks forward to
    — Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 5, 2020

    Crucifying him (politically) with it this week. He looks completely deranged as he conjures the definitive 21st Century Dr. Strangeglove vibe as he waves at the Q-Anon freak show from inside the hermetically sealed Presidential Suburban with two Secret Service hostages. Trump’s
    — Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 5, 2020

  184. 184.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:15 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    yeah, there is definitely going to be a crash of some sort. He’s going to be out for the count for the rest of the election cycle. Which is good because he won’t be able to be in shape to contest the election.

    I will say that the timing for all of this couldn’t be better – well maybe if it happened this week. :) The rona has done more to derail McConnell’s plans than anything else. The senate is filled with old white males who are definitely the main target for the virus and they now know it.

  185. 185.

    Shalimar

    October 5, 2020 at 10:16 am

    @NotMax: I’m trying to watch the first episode now, but it’s difficult.  The foreboding music is so much louder than the narration that it’s torture to listen.

  186. 186.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 10:16 am

    @cain: I have a good friend, around 40, with very impressive legal bona fides, (yes, I actually have a lawyer friend) who took a job at the DOJ within the last year. Thing is, there is work to be done in his area of specialty – let’s just say he has spent time in both eastern Europe and in London – and he is almost painfully ethical. I don’t talk politics with him, and there is less than zero chance he’ll spill anything about what he is working on, but I have to assume there are other people there who are following the law and the ethics and doing work that needs to be done, regardless of who heads the dept.

  187. 187.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 10:17 am

    Meanwhile, in Iowa:

    Things my opponent has been up to since being uncovered as a Proud Boys and QAnon sympathizer.

    – Canvassing maskless w/children.
    – Putting their lit over Biden signs.

    Mind helping me unseat him? Donate➡️ https://t.co/eGaMXyereS pic.twitter.com/5qpEfYV1El

    — Shawna ✂ Anderson for Iowa House (@ShawnaInIowa) October 4, 2020

  188. 188.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 10:17 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: The foliage was  very nice. The grapes were very nice too.

  189. 189.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 5, 2020 at 10:18 am

    @cain: The majority of lawyers working for the Justice Department probably had very little change to their jobs with the change of administration.  We are talking thousands of lawyers here and only a few would have had jobs with any kind of policy input.

    FWIW the pay isn’t that bad either.

  190. 190.

    Danielx

    October 5, 2020 at 10:18 am

    Passing thought: if Biden wins, FSM willing, does his transition team have a plan in place for fumigating/disinfecting the White House? That’s going to be a major job, and the last thing on Trump’s mind is easing things for a successor. In fact, I’d not be surprised if instead of the usual letter, he took a large dump on the Resolute desk.

  191. 191.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:18 am

    @cain: Some, yes, undoubtedly.  But there is also a respectable position that “this too shall pass.” If you work at DOJ as a career attorney, Presidents come and go — the hard work is trying to maintain credibility and accountability in the work across widely diverging (these days) administrative policy priorities.  In voting it’s “voter protections” versus “election integrity.”  And that priority changes with each switch from Dem to Repub.

    But many really excellent and respected attorneys believe that the best way to protect voters is to be there when a President who wants to protect them comes back into office.  If Trump wins, so many will leave.  But waiting four years to serve the country, with experience and knowledge, to put things right is not too long to suffer.

    Walking away at such a moment really  only helps the abuser

  192. 192.

    CarolDuhart2

    October 5, 2020 at 10:19 am

    @cain: And not only that, but anyone old enough to be in that position is probably over  55 and trying to make it to Social Security and retirement eligibility.  Try getting another job equal to that at that age

    Not only that, they may be paying off their kids student loans, a mortgage, or taking care of elderly parents.  While the pay isn’t as high as in the private sector, it’s much more stable-vitually layoff proof most of the time (my situation excepted) and has paid health and personal leave, health insurance/life insurance, and often union representation as well.

  193. 193.

    Betty Cracker

    October 5, 2020 at 10:19 am

    The mister and I will be returning our damp* mail-in ballots to the county’s sole drop box today (the first day that option is available). This requires a 40+ mile roundtrip that includes miles of shitty, washed out roads.

    I feel a little silly about that. Our mail carrier is a peach, and although the mail was markedly slower for a few weeks at the height of DeJoy’s antics, the delays were in the 7 day range, leaving plenty of time to mail the ballots. The supervisor of elections here has run a tight ship for decades, despite being a Republican.

    But we figure the quicker we can bank those votes and start following the status online, the quicker we can request a cure in person if need be. So, we will drive them to the drop box today. Whew!

    *The ballots — and everything else — are damp because we have all the windows open since the temperatures are perfect (mid-70s) but the humidity is 100%. I hope the dampness doesn’t booger up the Ivanka-branded (possibly!) scanning machine! 

  194. 194.

    germy

    October 5, 2020 at 10:20 am

    @Danielx:   In fact, I’d not be surprised if instead of the usual letter, he took a large dump on the Resolute desk.

    Maybe he’d have Hope HIcks and Kimberly Guilfoyle pee on it instead?

  195. 195.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 10:21 am

    @germy: Shocked!   nah

  196. 196.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:21 am

    @Punchy:

    Trump will never willingly give over power to anyone – especially Pence. He would argue that he would put Ivanka or Jared in charge first or make arrangements that Pence would take orders from them.

    He will hold on to the power until he is forced to.

  197. 197.

    JPL

    October 5, 2020 at 10:22 am

    Well if trump is released, then I think Biden can once again run his negative ads.   In fact he needs to make one showing how many folks tested positive for Covid, because of trump’s reckless behavior.

  198. 198.

    Punchy

    October 5, 2020 at 10:22 am

    @Danielx: No need to fumigate it; Trump will likely both figurately and literally burn it down a day or two before he leaves.  If Trump’s going out, he’s taking everyone and everything with him, the WH offices and all the incriminatiing papers as well.

  199. 199.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:24 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I was just going by what I’ve heard from state employees and what I’ve read. But fair.

    But it must suck to be working at a job where the people in charge are working at cross purposes.

  200. 200.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:26 am

    @CarolDuhart2:

    That’s what my friend who works for county says as well. It’s stable and layoff proof. She struggles though and as a friend it is sometimes tough to see. Then again, she’s seen me suffer too, not sure who is suffering worse :)

  201. 201.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:27 am

    Is raven around?

    SCOTUS denied the final appeal in Spirit’s copyright claim against Led Zeppelin for ripping off Stairway to Heaven riff.

  202. 202.

    cain

    October 5, 2020 at 10:28 am

    @Punchy:

    Who would be his fixer this time? It would be interesting if that asshole actually does take everyone down with him if he realizes it is a death sentence.

    He has no sense of loyalty for others – so I think he will do whatever to fuck people over and protect his daughter.

  203. 203.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:28 am

    @germy: As predicted — down to the timing.

  204. 204.

    prostratedragon

    October 5, 2020 at 10:28 am

    Can steroids cause delusion by proxy?

    Brad Blakeman, GOP “strategist:”

    After all, you just talked about the NFL, when we see a robust quarterback on the sidelines take oxygen, nobody is concerned about whether he’s going to be able to finish the game.

    Trump campaign aide Erin Perrine:

    suggested that President Donald Trump is a better leader than Democratic candidate Joe Biden because he has the “firsthand experience” of being infected with COVID-19.

    While speaking to Fox News host Sandra Smith, Perrine pointed to Trump’s joyride around Walter Reed Medical Center to wave at supporters as evidence of him continuing with a presidential schedule, which she said was “more rigorous” than Joe Biden’s daily activities.

  205. 205.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:32 am

    @Betty Cracker: OT but I loved the “your you’re” viddy you retweeted!

  206. 206.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 10:35 am

    @Immanentize: I’ve not seen current reporting to that effect. There was a story like that floating around last night, but it turned out to have been from August.

  207. 207.

    montanareddog

    October 5, 2020 at 10:36 am

    @Punchy:

     

    If Trump’s going out, he’s taking everyone and everything with him, the WH offices and all the incriminatiing papers as well.

    What was it that was hidden on the hyper-secure server after the Trump-Zelensky call that got him impeached? Was it the full, unredacted call transcript? And once on that server is it “undeletable” meaning the incoming administration can review and release it?

  208. 208.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 10:36 am

    @prostratedragon: What is a strategist?

  209. 209.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:38 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Thanks.  Two days to go max

  210. 210.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 5, 2020 at 10:40 am

    @cain: Most federal attorneys start at the GS-11 level.   In any sized city, they are looking at $70,000.  The majority who have been there for any length of time are over six figures.  It’s not what they’d make in BIGLAW, but it ain’t peanuts either.  Most attorneys don’t make the money that the people in the big firms make, so they are doing okay.   This is the current DC area pay scale.

  211. 211.

    Shalimar

    October 5, 2020 at 10:40 am

    @JPL: They’re aware those ads are coming, which is why they have instructed employees to go to their personal doctors rather than White House medical staff.  There won’t be a number for the people infected due to Trump.  They intentionally aren’t compiling those statistics or doing contract tracing.

  212. 212.

    Chyron HR

    October 5, 2020 at 10:42 am

    Trump campaign aide Erin Perrine suggested that President Donald Trump is a better leader than Democratic candidate Joe Biden because he has the “firsthand experience” of being infected with COVID-19. like Jesus, he died for our sins.

  213. 213.

    Raven

    October 5, 2020 at 10:43 am

    @Immanentize: Hey, I’m sure my brother is on it. His case was Dazed and Confused. The suckitude continues down here. The weather has been awesome, fishing shitty and a hurricane cometh.

  214. 214.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 5, 2020 at 10:44 am

    @cain: But it must suck to be working at a job where the people in charge are working at cross purposes.

    I know from experience that that’s awesome – awesomely infuriating!

  215. 215.

    Aleta

    October 5, 2020 at 10:46 am

    @JPL: They can start those negative ads now after this morning’s all-caps tweet series from T attacking Biden and asking for votes.

  216. 216.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 10:47 am

    @Shalimar

    Hm. Have no memory of music outside of the program intro.

  217. 217.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 5, 2020 at 10:48 am

    @Chyron HR: because he has the “firsthand experience” of being infected with COVID-19″

    Seriously?  Some sucker-of-orange-ass said Dump is awesome at leading because the dumb fuck got a deadly disease?

  218. 218.

    prostratedragon

    October 5, 2020 at 10:50 am

    @Gin & Tonic:  In this case sounds like an old fashioned spin doctor, probably overpaid and jerky like a top just before it flops over.

  219. 219.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 5, 2020 at 10:50 am

    @Chyron HR: JesusTrump died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.

  220. 220.

    Kilgore Trout

    October 5, 2020 at 10:51 am

    @Matt McIrvin: Yes, the $64,000 question is when was the last negative test Trump had. The fact that the White House is dodging the question means the answer is not good.

  221. 221.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:52 am

    @Raven: Hang tight!  I’m starting to think you are a hurricane magnet.  Or maybe just Like a Hurricane.

  222. 222.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:53 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Any Patti Smith is always most welcome.

  223. 223.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 5, 2020 at 10:54 am

    @Aleta:

    They can start those negative ads now after this morning’s all-caps tweet series from T attacking Biden and asking for votes. 

    And exactly how awesome is Dear Leader Orange Shitstain at the COVID?  Is the COVID “a total loser”, yet?  “SAD!”

  224. 224.

    Immanentize

    October 5, 2020 at 10:54 am

    @mrmoshpotato: hey, you gotta go to war with the army you got.  Ammirite?

  225. 225.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 10:55 am

    @prostratedragon:

    suggested that President Donald Trump is a better leader than Democratic candidate Joe Biden because he has the “firsthand experience” of being infected with COVID-19.

    What’s next? We should have confidence in him because he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

  226. 226.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 5, 2020 at 10:55 am

    @CliosFanboy: It would not detect a past infection unless you still had some dead virus in your system and it picked up the DNA, and you’d have to get a PCR test to find dead viral DNA. The antigen tests will not pick up a past infection you have recovered from.

    There are antibody tests out there that will identify people that were infected and recovered. Not sure how easy it is to get those though. IMO we should be rolling them out to give to everyone…even asymptomatic cases are causing heart and lung issues (maybe brain too) and it would be best to identify people who have had the virus so they can be monitored for those complications. But we won’t have those nice things until January 2021 at the earliest.

  227. 227.

    Raven

    October 5, 2020 at 10:55 am

    @Immanentize: We were coming back Friday anyway so, aside from driving in the rain, it should be ok.

  228. 228.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 5, 2020 at 10:56 am

    @Kilgore Trout: And the $421,000,000 question is “What mobsters does Dump owe $421 million?”

  229. 229.

    Marcopolo

    October 5, 2020 at 10:58 am

    @TS (the original):   Let’s just call Trump’s Covid joy ride what it was:  the Trump version of the Michael Dukakis tank ride.

  230. 230.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 5, 2020 at 10:58 am

    @Immanentize: When it comes to Dump, you gotta get your rich daddy to help you dodge the draft 5 times.

  231. 231.

    Splitting Image

    October 5, 2020 at 11:00 am

    @prostratedragon:

    suggested that President Donald Drumpf is a better leader than Democratic candidate Joe Biden because he has the “firsthand experience” of being infected with COVID-19.

    The appalling thing is that this isn’t even a particularly new talking point for Republicans. Remember when Rudy Giuliani became a go-to expert on terrorism when some guys knocked down the World Trade Center on his watch?

  232. 232.

    prostratedragon

    October 5, 2020 at 11:01 am

    @Danielx:
    I’d been wondering about that; that normally high-maintenance place is going to need an extra going over. The Chief Usher is the head of the household staff, and co-ordinates with GSA and the National Park Service on maintenance needs and issues. This person usually has stayed on from term to term, but of course the Fraud had to fire the Usher from Pres. Obama. The replacement might be perfectly fine, but I note that in the Wikipedia article on the Chief Usher he is the only one that does not have a link to some kind of bio.

    In any case he’d have to be some kind of manager for me to keep him on if I were going to live there.

  233. 233.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 5, 2020 at 11:01 am

    @prostratedragon:

    like a top just before it flops over

    Phrasing!

  234. 234.

    Another Scott

    October 5, 2020 at 11:02 am

    re Josh Marshall’s tweet, and others – it’s no wonder that people are confused about the difference between quarantine (being isolated after being exposed) and isolation (being isolated after being infected). The press really should be clearer about this.

    Anyone INFECTED (Donnie, etc.) are in (or should be in) ISOLATION.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  235. 235.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 5, 2020 at 11:02 am

    @Splitting Image: Rudes truly is luxurious at the terrorism.

  236. 236.

    catclub

    October 5, 2020 at 11:03 am

    @Baud: I just amuse myself thinking Hope Hicks and trump got it, but melania is being told to say she got it.

  237. 237.

    Calouste

    October 5, 2020 at 11:05 am

    @Matt McIrvin: It’s not a body double in the car ride. C’mon, just look at the tiny fingers on that hand!

  238. 238.

    prostratedragon

    October 5, 2020 at 11:05 am

    @Splitting Image:  Oh yes that is a precedent isn’t it? And his contribution consisted of locating the city’s emergency headquarters in one of the most obvious terrorist targets in the world, which had already been hit once, by people who one could expect would try again.

  239. 239.

    bemused

    October 5, 2020 at 11:05 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    We brought our MN mail-in ballots to local post office on 9/26 and by 9/30 our ballots were collected according to MN SOS site.

  240. 240.

    prostratedragon

    October 5, 2020 at 11:06 am

    @Gin & Tonic:  Almost intentional –relic of college humor.

  241. 241.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    October 5, 2020 at 11:07 am

    @CliosFanboy You can order an antibody blood test to see if you had  COVID-19 in the past, on the Quest direct website and make an appointment on their online website.  costs about 100 dollars.  You don’t need a doctors order for that.  Some states will let you take a nasal swab test to see if you are currently infected,  whether you have symptoms or not, Connecticut and NY for instance.

  242. 242.

    The Moar You Know

    October 5, 2020 at 11:08 am

    SCOTUS denied the final appeal in Spirit’s copyright claim against Led Zeppelin for ripping off Stairway to Heaven riff.

    @Immanentize:   Good.  I’m a musician.  That lawsuit was utterly ludicrous from start to finish, and if upheld would have set the stage for literally any piece of music to be the object of litigation.

  243. 243.

    Raven

    October 5, 2020 at 11:18 am

    @The Moar You Know: On the other hand, Dazed and Confused was clear as a bell theft.

  244. 244.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 5, 2020 at 11:23 am

    @Danielx: If the concern is COVID-19, that only remains remotely dangerous on surfaces for a few days at most. So they could render the White House safe to occupy by just staying out of it for, say, 3-4 days.

  245. 245.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 11:26 am

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I wouldn’t limit my concern to COVID.

  246. 246.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 5, 2020 at 11:26 am

    @CliosFanboy: There are many kinds of tests. Most of the ones they’re giving now just detect whether you’re currently infected. But there are also antibody tests that can detect whether you were infected at some point within the past few months. The antibodies fade, though, which makes it eventually impossible to tell; I don’t think they can detect T-cell immunity.

  247. 247.

    Baud

    October 5, 2020 at 11:27 am

    Finally, some good news.

    New toilet designed using astronaut feedback arrives on the space station

  248. 248.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 11:27 am

    @Calouste: They might have done plastic surgery on the body double.  Who wouldn’t want to have the last joint of each finger cut off so they could be put in situations where they might take a bullet for Donald Trump?

  249. 249.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    October 5, 2020 at 11:31 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    It was magnificent – next time, though, I start the night before.

  250. 250.

    ballerat

    October 5, 2020 at 11:32 am

    @Baud: I refuse to subscribe but a hatchet job is likely.

    It is the Vichy Times. They’re collaborators.

  251. 251.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 11:32 am

    @Matt McIrvin: So they could render the White House safe to occupy by just staying out of it for, say, 3-4 days.

    I’m pretty sure Trump will be flouncing off to Mar-A-Lago by November 5, and do no further “work” as “president”.  Does the rest of the staff need to stay on after that?

  252. 252.

    Steeplejack

    October 5, 2020 at 11:32 am

    Kayleigh McEnany has tested positive (per MSNBC).

  253. 253.

    Fair Economist

    October 5, 2020 at 11:33 am

    @germy:

    It’s very possible absolutely certain more people from his inner circle have tested positive, but are keeping it quiet.

    FTFY

  254. 254.

    montanareddog

    October 5, 2020 at 11:33 am

    @Raven: as is Whole Lotta Love

  255. 255.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    October 5, 2020 at 11:34 am

    @Immanentize:

    Nothing like timeliness on making your claim about a riff on one of the most played pieces of music over the past 50 years…

  256. 256.

    Citizen Alan

    October 5, 2020 at 11:35 am

    @Danielx: I’m certain the Resolute Desk will be defaced in some way. Shitgibbon’s name carved into it or some shit like that.

  257. 257.

    Jinchi

    October 5, 2020 at 11:37 am

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone: @CliosFanboy You can order an antibody blood test to see if you had COVID-19 in the past

    You’ve got to be careful about this, though. The concern is that people get a positive result (‘Yay I had asymptomatic Covid! Now I can run through the streets maskless without worry.’) But, as with all tests, there are false positives and false negatives. So you could end up putting yourself and others in peril. An individual isn’t supposed to change their actions at all based on the result.

    My understanding is these are better used in large populations to get a statistical result: (‘25% of the staff at Smithsville hospital has had corona’, for example). That allows an organization or town to make pandemic related decisions.

  258. 258.

    Citizen Alan

    October 5, 2020 at 11:38 am

    @CarolDuhart2:

    And not only that, but anyone old enough to be in that position is probably over 55 and trying to make it to Social Security and retirement eligibility. Try getting another job equal to that at that age

    Preach. I’m 51, and my current clerkship ends July 31, 2021. I’m reasonably confident that I can get another job between now and then that will provide me with insurance to keep me alive.

    But I’ve also updated my will and my health care directive.

  259. 259.

    ballerat

    October 5, 2020 at 11:38 am

    @Kay: The food is terrible. And the portions are so small!

  260. 260.

    Ken

    October 5, 2020 at 11:39 am

    @Steeplejack: @Fair Economist: Did you two coordinate that?

  261. 261.

    ballerat

    October 5, 2020 at 11:45 am

    @Baud: Not surprised. None of them wants to admit what Trump is doing with covid is a genocide either. It’s all right there in front of their faces, the orange elephant in the room, but they are pretending this is normal.

    The inability to admit they had bad judgement isn’t restricted to die-hard trumpers.

  262. 262.

    James E Powell

    October 5, 2020 at 11:46 am

    @The Moar You Know:

    No lie. Chuck Berry’s estate would own the Rolling Stones.

  263. 263.

    Uncle Cosmo

    October 5, 2020 at 11:46 am

    @Baud: “Republicans gripped by dread as multiple crises swirl”

    Good first step, Dread, but don’t stop there: Muscle up and choke the living shit out of them.

  264. 264.

    J R in WV

    October 5, 2020 at 11:46 am

    @Punchy:

    “…Conscious but unable to speak (ventilator)?”

    You are not ever conscious while on a vent, based upon my spending nearly a month with my sedated wife in ICU on a vent. No one can tolerate having the various bits of the vent machine down their throat while conscious, which makes weaning a person off their vent a tricky proposition. Just ask an ICU nurse.

  265. 265.

    Fair Economist

    October 5, 2020 at 11:46 am

    @Ken:

    @Steeplejack: @Fair Economist: Did you two coordinate that?

    No! Karma has been busy, it seems.

    Many of those infected in the current outbreak are the most connected of the connected – RNC chair, President, campaign chair, PR spokesperson, etc. They have spread it far and wide – their job is seeing lots of different people all day, and they haven’t been distancing or masking, at least until Friday. We’re going to be hearing “that Republican got infected too?” all the way up to the election now.

  266. 266.

    Jinchi

    October 5, 2020 at 11:49 am

    @Baud: Republicans gripped by dread as multiple crises swirl

    All of their own making.

  267. 267.

    Steeplejack

    October 5, 2020 at 11:51 am

    @Ken:

    Everything is happening all at once—including the speculation!

  268. 268.

    Uncle Cosmo

    October 5, 2020 at 11:55 am

    @Kay: Just FYI, that 1-2-3-4 coding system has a venerable history that goes back at least as far as 1972, when it was used by  Democratic campaigners (yerstruly amongst them) in the general election. Of course then it was with voter lists on bound sheafs of 144-column paper printed out by big-arsed printers hooked to even-bigger-arsed computers…

  269. 269.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 11:59 am

    @catclub

    Her parents and child are also at risk and ought to be quarantining.

    Just sayin’.

  270. 270.

    NotMax

    October 5, 2020 at 12:03 pm

    @NotMax
    Oh , shoot. Fix.

    @catclub

    Her parents and child are also at risk and ought to be quarantining.

    Just sayin’.

  271. 271.

    Jinchi

    October 5, 2020 at 12:05 pm

    @Splitting Image: Remember when Rudy Giuliani became a go-to expert on terrorism when some guys knocked down the World Trade Center on his watch?

    I remember that George Bush kept us safe.

    But Bush’s error was not paying attention to warning signs. Trump is more like the arsonist who gets caught in his own conflagration.

  272. 272.

    ballerat

    October 5, 2020 at 12:05 pm

    @Kay: They will just have their exposed/quarantined and pos/isolating senators come in and vote.

    Why would potentially infecting others stop them? It doesn’t stop Trump. It doesn’t stop his supporters. Who shall say them nay? Nobody. Only common decency and respect for others’ health, and they lack it.

  273. 273.

    Uncle Cosmo

    October 5, 2020 at 12:08 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: You need evidence to back up three conjectures:

    1. Trump & his retinue were aware he had tested positive for COVID prior to the debate
    2. Their arrival at the debate venue was deliberately delayed to render it impossible for the organizers to test them and have the test results returned
    3. Trump’s continual shouting and interruptions were intended to project infectious droplets in Biden’s direction and provoke him into turning toward Trump for greater exposure

    There are abundant reasons to suspect points 1 and 2; point 3 is debatable (how was Trumplthinskin’s behavior any more outrageous than his standard shtick?) but I suspect there was some extra encouragement from his “advisors”. (Krisp Krispie has all but admitted as much.)

    Look for a couple of very heavy hobnail boots to drop soon.

  274. 274.

    ballerat

    October 5, 2020 at 12:12 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: These are from Trump’s twitter account?

    It still doesn’t sound like Trump. It sounds like someone trying to sound like Trump. But still too careful with grammar, quotes and the attribution.

  275. 275.

    The Lodger

    October 5, 2020 at 12:17 pm

    It’s the Jarvanka version of the Oprah maneuver:

    “You get a Covid car, and you get a COVID car, and YOU get a COVID car!”

  276. 276.

    Uncle Cosmo

    October 5, 2020 at 12:24 pm

    @Geminid: @hueyplong: If you’re interested in what that same period (Munich to Pearl Harbor) was like for Americans, I highly recommend The Borrowed Years, 1938-1941: America on the Way to War (1989) by Richard M. Ketchum. Chapters that are straight-up history alternate with reminiscences of a relatively privileged teenager growing up in Pittsburgh during that period (he was a freshman at Yale at the time of Pearl Harbor). Both are fascinating. One of a handful of tomes I think highly enough of that I keep two copies – the second for lending to trusted friends.

  277. 277.

    Uncle Cosmo

    October 5, 2020 at 12:30 pm

    @cain: What that an unelected sociopath is running the white house?

    Raise a kerfluffle over that and the Thugs will make more noise over Woodrow Wilson’s wife running the country after his stroke. “Dummycrats are worse!” (A hundred years ago, but so what, libtards??)

  278. 278.

    trnc

    October 5, 2020 at 12:31 pm

    @Kay: Cool. Our call database is supposed to be just registered dems. That’s mostly been the case, but I’ve talked to a few republicans. Maybe they reg’d dem for some primary. We also don’t get info about the level of involvement. One night, I saw some info about their district and state-level races, but last night I only saw names, so I’m guessing it depends on what server I get on the dialer system.

  279. 279.

    trnc

    October 5, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: But… does that mean Trump wasn’t trying to kill Biden? I mean, is this not an open possibility?

    DT knew he had already been exposed by the time he walked into the debate hall, and his family wouldn’t wear their masks. He managed to dodge the allegedly required test (which was a failure on the part of the commission to not enforce that). There was malicious intent, even if he had not already tested positive.

  280. 280.

    H-Bob

    October 5, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    @CliosFanboy: FYI, the local blood bank was performing the antibody test for blood donors (assuming you qualify as a donor).

  281. 281.

    Uncle Cosmo

    October 5, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    @frosty: I had to drop the Baltimore Sun when the Chicago Tribune bought them. I haven’t checked back to see if they improved.

    I love love love how Laura Lippman (a former Sun reporter) tweaks them in her novels**, referring to the local fishwrap as the Baltimore Beacon-Light, or Blight to its employees past and present. (The Sun‘s masthead motto is “Light For All” which underscores the connection. “Blight For All” is about right.)

    ** Which BTW for all you mystery fans out there are def worth reading – among other things you will learn a lot about Charm City. I am still pissed off at David Simon (“Shock Trauma,” “Homicide,” “The Wire”) for winning her affections long before I could fall to my knees before her & offer her all my worldly goods to marry me.

  282. 282.

    Miss Bianca

    October 5, 2020 at 12:41 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: Huh. I think I’d like to read that book. My dad was a freshman at Yale at the same time (as was GHW Bush). My grandfather was in charge of the Marine barracks at Pearl Harbor, also at the same time. Fortunately, he was out on maneuvers at the time of the attack.

  283. 283.

    StringOnAStick

    October 5, 2020 at 12:49 pm

    @Punchy: I’m pretty sure you aren’t conscious when on a ventilator, patients are heavily sedated so they aren’t choking on the tube in their trachea. If tRump ends up in a ventilator, he’ll be unconscious and the 25th will have to apply.  They’ll try to hide it but that news would definitely leak from WR.

  284. 284.

    ballerat

    October 5, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: From Woodward we know Trump knew the virus is dangerous, highly contagious, deadly and airborne. He knew he could infect and kill someone in that room.

    Trump’s strategic need was to damage Biden in the first debate. But once he tested positive he was damaged. That was a disaster and his campaign knows it.

    In short, Trump lost the covid russian roulette game he’d been playing and his campaign took a bullet, so he made Biden play too.

    Hell, yes he tried to kill him.

    Trump really doesn’t care about anyone else. He doesn’t care if he kills people to get what he wants.

    This should be fucking obvious after 210,000 dead people.

    Is it the semantics people have trouble with? Why is “Trump knowingly causes people to die” not the same as “Trump kills people”? Or do they still want to pretend he doesn’t know?

  285. 285.

    Hob

    October 5, 2020 at 2:20 pm

    @Jim Appleton:

    I’ve taken dexamethasone, as Decadron, for severe dental pain. No adverse side effects. DJTs dosage may be higher.

    You’re right to add that last disclaimer about why your experience wasn’t relevant to this. I used to be an RN in a surgical specialty where patients were frequently being tapered off of IV dexamethasone. When you get that in order to counteract life-threatening inflammation, it’s a much higher dose than you would have taken for anything as an outpatient; it’s likely to make you pretty loopy, and it has to be tapered off gradually so you may be loopy for a while.

  286. 286.

    Hob

    October 5, 2020 at 2:32 pm

    @StringOnAStick:

    I’m pretty sure you aren’t conscious when on a ventilator, patients are heavily sedated so they aren’t choking on the tube in their trachea

    Unfortunately that’s not always the case. It is a horribly unpleasant experience, but when a patient is going to be on mechanical ventilation for an extended period of time and there isn’t any other reason for them to be unconscious, doctors will sometimes let them be awake with only mild sedation—sometimes alternating with brief intervals of no sedation at all. It’s a tradeoff between comfort and the medical impact of being comatose, plus being able to communicate with the patient can be helpful in treatment.

  287. 287.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 5, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    @ballerat: It felt more like “nice people don’t speculate about such things.”

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