Virus thread, the political one.

[jclay]

Ok all you Trumpsters, particularly those of you who are Trump 2020ers or undecided:

1) Who would you rather have handling this crisis:

A: Trump and his team
B: Hillary and her team

2) Who would you rather have handling this crisis:

A: Trump and his team
B: Biden and his team

Honest answers only please; and answer it aloud and while looking yourself in the face, in the mirror.

[thollandpe]

Rep. Devin Nunes urges Americans to ‘go to your local pub,’ defying health experts’ warnings

Maybe he can borrow Matt Gaetz's gas mask when he goes out.

"People are scared to go out. One of the things you can do, if you're healthy, you and your family, it's a great time to just go out, go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easily. Let's not hurt the working people in this country that are relying on wages and tips to keep their small business going. Just don't run to the grocery store and buy $4000 of food. Go to your local pub."

In other news, Nunes' personal shopper just got outed.

Yo Devin, $4000 is the average American's food budget . . . for more than a year. Thanks for trying to relate to the working class.

[colker]

The Enlightenment, a.k.a. the Age of Reason. Just a big power grab? Or maybe opposition to superstition, intolerance, and bigotry is still a good idea.

There is more.. some good things as well.

[guido]

Trump, Truth, and the Mishandling of the Coronavirus Crisis | The New Yorker

[Colinmclelland]

I don't know what it is, but something we don't yet know must be happening to justify the Fed firing quite such a big bazooka on Sunday

Seems a bit like "yeh, but it would be a shame to die with one bullet left..."

[Toddykins]

It just shows the Fed learned its lesson from the GFC, when it didnt do enough, soon enough. The Fed (and other central banks) will be successful in tamping down strains in funding markets - it probably wont be successful in cushioning the economic blow up until such point it starts buying stocks. A stronger public health and fiscal response, in that order, will go further to offsetting the economic blow.

Plenty of things to worry about - but the Fed ‘knowing something we dont know’ is not one of them right now.

[Colinmclelland]

Except usually free money would mean our market would rocket, but so far today it’s down. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but as they say in broking, “i’m waiting for the other shoe to drop”

[theflashunc]

There's no Fed cutting our way out of the recession that's inevitable from the correct public health response to this crisis. Consumer spending has to go into the toilet for a couple months as we all hunker down and wait for this to pass. The Fed's firing bullets that have no point right now. The banks are well capitalized, the interbank lending markets aren't seizing.

And meanwhile we've cut down to 0 and have no ammo for when/if it really does start to hit the fan.

[jclay]

There's no Fed cutting our way out of the recession that's inevitable from the correct public health response to this crisis. Consumer spending has to go into the toilet for a couple months as we all hunker down and wait for this to pass. The Fed's firing bullets that have no point right now. The banks are well capitalized, the interbank lending markets aren't seizing.

And meanwhile we've cut down to 0 and have no ammo for when/if it really does start to hit the fan.

Yup. It was an astonishingly stupid and irrelevant thing to do; makes about as much sense as giving a bicycle to a fish that can't swim.

[Tom]

Putting this in here because it really isn't medical related... based on the phone call I just got off from, I wonder how many companies will be rethinking their offshoring of tech jobs, or at least trying to come up with a scheme that doesn't drop entire groups out all at once when they are needed to keep the lights on and the wheels turning every day all day?

I don't think executive management thought it was very funny when I told them that if they get me enough crystal meth I can support them indefinitely except for the hour a day I gotta go get radiation treatment.

[72gmc]

It’s like constant cost-cutting is not the same thing as a continuity plan.

[guido]

Yup. It was an astonishingly stupid and irrelevant thing to do; makes about as much sense as giving a bicycle to a fish that can't swim.

Ahhhh, but it gets trump from mentioning you in every tweet...

[claritycycler]

WTF, are we going to hear anything from trump except for self promoting political drivel even in this time of unimaginable crisis? If you listened to Gov Cuomo this morning(3/16/20) speak with clarity and thought you saw a true public servant, concerned with the well being of this country and citizens. The shit is yet to hit the fan, and with the FedGov leadership as it stands now the shit will enter the fan at hurricane force 5.

Keep well everyone and do as much as you possibly can to keep our country, and the world, get past this dark time.

regards, Brian

[Blue Jays]

Canada is still accepting many flights direct from China daily. That is an outrage.
The first and most elementary step in controlling contagion is to reduce movement.

There is a reason COVID-19 is not rampant in Antarctica, as an extreme example: Very little travel.
If one lives in a household of six, with five very ill, you don't invite him/her to YOUR house for dinner.

[Chik]

On a slightly more positive note:

Japanese airline thanks passengers during coronavirus slump with special message

And if you have little ones at home to entertain:

Storyteller Valerie Tutson is telling stories for the young and young at heart on Facebook live every day this week from 11:30-12 EDT. Today's story starts at 4:42 on the recording.

[bcm119]

Nice to see a couple governors, particularly Cuomo and Newsom, taking leadership. The adults in the room are beginning to stand up.

[King Of Dirk]

Trudeau just announced the Canadian border is closed to non-citizens.

I wonder if border security is a big deal?

[robin3mj]

On a slightly more positive note:

Japanese airline thanks passengers during coronavirus slump with special message

And if you have little ones at home to entertain:

Storyteller Valerie Tutson is telling stories for the young and young at heart on Facebook live every day this week from 11:30-12 EDT. Today's story starts at 4:42 on the recording.

Mo Willems, who writes pretty funny kids books, and is a current artist in residence at the Kennedy Center, is giving daily doodle lessons each day via YouTube.
Mo Willems Is Hosting a Livestream Doodle Every Week, Starting Today | Washingtonian (DC)

I set the first one up for my kids after lunch and watched the first few minutes before getting back to work. A nice little break from the virus.

(Side note: we were meant to go see his show at the Kennedy Center in April. I'm glad we have kept this surprise from our kids, since it'd have been one more thing to cancel, alongside birthday parties, likely the entire soccer season, and a trip to Shenandoah. Not a huge deal for me, but it stinks to rescind these happenings from our kids...)

[Drew]

Mo Willems, who writes pretty funny kids books, and is a current artist in residence at the Kennedy Center, is giving daily doodle lessons each day via YouTube.
Mo Willems Is Hosting a Livestream Doodle Every Week, Starting Today | Washingtonian (DC)

I set the first one up for my kids after lunch and watched the first few minutes before getting back to work. A nice little break from the virus.

(Side note: we were meant to go see his show at the Kennedy Center in April. I'm glad we have kept this surprise from our kids, since it'd have been one more thing to cancel, alongside birthday parties, likely the entire soccer season, and a trip to Shenandoah. Not a huge deal for me, but it stinks to rescind these happenings from our kids...)

This is amazing. Thank you. I have a 7 year old and a 5 year old who don't really understand why we won't let them run around with all their friends right now. Things like this help a lot. Perhaps we should start a new thread with these kinds of things? Since we're all at home right meow...

[colker]

The far right called for a nation wide poltical rally yesterday in Brasil. Yes.. crowds carrying banners and shouting slogans for support to our president who patroznized the whole thing.
Now.. the worst part is: president and his staff were at mar a lago a week ago and 11 staff members came back infected. president should be under quarantine BUT .. went for the rally crowd, shaking hands and taking pics w/ dozens of people when our health secretary was on the news asking brazilians to take severe precautions.
One highly respected lawyer called for a sanity exam of the president while another called for resigning from office.

Jair Bolsonaro is adopting the same far right stance as Trump (his idol) to call Corona a hoax and media hystery.