Incompetence may have spread the virus

[Bob78164]

George Conway: Trump simply doesn’t understand his job

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... elong-him/

Among Donald Trump’s many flaws as president is one that’s as fundamental as any: He simply doesn’t understand his job. When he ran a private company, one he owned, Trump could command all its constituent parts to do his bidding and make the rules himself. You’d think by his fourth year in the White House, he would have learned that the presidency doesn’t work that way. But obviously he hasn’t.

Trump made this clear during his briefing Monday, with an extraordinary series of statements about presidential power — well, perhaps extraordinary for anyone but him. Referring to restrictions that states have imposed to fight covid-19, Trump claimed: “The authority of the president of the United States having to do with the subject we’re talking about, the authority is total, and that’s the way it’s got to be. … It’s total. The governors know that.”

In other words, he claims the power to force the entire country to back to work, regardless of what state or local officials say. “They can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States,” Trump asserted. “I have the ultimate authority,” he said.

“Who told you that?” a reporter asked; Trump wouldn’t say. And no doubt, couldn’t: No competent presidential adviser would tell him that. Certainly no lawyer.

It’s no excuse for Trump that he’s not a lawyer, and that, as conservative commentator Andrew C. McCarthy put it, Trump “frequently gets out over his skis when he discusses constitutional law” — that, indeed, he “mangles” it. Trump took a solemn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. After his years in the job, he ought to know something about that document.

<more>

Again, Bob, I'm much more interested in what Donny is actually doing or not doing than in what he says, much less what people say about what he says.

Such as naming a "Council to Reopen the Country" that doesn't have a single public-health expert. (And no, Jared and Ivanka don't count.)

Or delaying relief checks a few extra days so that he can have his name printed on them. --Bob

[Bob Juch]

George Conway: Trump simply doesn’t understand his job

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... elong-him/

Among Donald Trump’s many flaws as president is one that’s as fundamental as any: He simply doesn’t understand his job. When he ran a private company, one he owned, Trump could command all its constituent parts to do his bidding and make the rules himself. You’d think by his fourth year in the White House, he would have learned that the presidency doesn’t work that way. But obviously he hasn’t.

Trump made this clear during his briefing Monday, with an extraordinary series of statements about presidential power — well, perhaps extraordinary for anyone but him. Referring to restrictions that states have imposed to fight covid-19, Trump claimed: “The authority of the president of the United States having to do with the subject we’re talking about, the authority is total, and that’s the way it’s got to be. … It’s total. The governors know that.”

In other words, he claims the power to force the entire country to back to work, regardless of what state or local officials say. “They can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States,” Trump asserted. “I have the ultimate authority,” he said.

“Who told you that?” a reporter asked; Trump wouldn’t say. And no doubt, couldn’t: No competent presidential adviser would tell him that. Certainly no lawyer.

It’s no excuse for Trump that he’s not a lawyer, and that, as conservative commentator Andrew C. McCarthy put it, Trump “frequently gets out over his skis when he discusses constitutional law” — that, indeed, he “mangles” it. Trump took a solemn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. After his years in the job, he ought to know something about that document.

<more>

Again, Bob, I'm much more interested in what Donny is actually doing or not doing than in what he says, much less what people say about what he says.

Such as naming a "Council to Reopen the Country" that doesn't have a single public-health expert. (And no, Jared and Ivanka don't count.)

Or delaying relief checks a few extra days so that he can have his name printed on them. --Bob

How about what he says he's going to do?

[Bob78164]

How about what he says he's going to do?

Not worth the time. We already know he's a liar. --Bob

[silverscreenselect]

Brazilian chloroquine study halted after six days because of high adverse side effects

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/202 ... 983129001/

[Pastor Fireball]

Brazilian chloroquine study halted after six days because of high adverse side effects

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/202 ... 983129001/

I would inquire about chloroquine from Belize, but that's probably the stuff that gives one a boner immediately before they die.

[Bob Juch]

Brazilian chloroquine study halted after six days because of high adverse side effects

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/202 ... 983129001/

I would inquire about chloroquine from Belize, but that's probably the stuff that gives one a boner immediately before they die.

Early on they were saying Losartan might help prevent an infection. I never heard anything more about that. I've been taking it for years.

[earendel]

Re: chloroquine

I seem to recall an episode of M*A*S*H in which chloroquine was being used as an anti-malarial but it caused hemolytic anemia in African-Americans and those of Mediterranean descent (CPL Klinger and PVT Goldman were both stricken).

[Bob Juch]

Re: chloroquine

I seem to recall an episode of M*A*S*H in which chloroquine was being used as an anti-malarial but it caused hemolytic anemia in African-Americans and those of Mediterranean descent (CPL Klinger and PVT Goldman were both stricken).

Anemia is not a known side-effect of chloroquine. I'm not saying your memory is bad, that may have been a writer's invention.

[earendel]

Re: chloroquine

I seem to recall an episode of M*A*S*H in which chloroquine was being used as an anti-malarial but it caused hemolytic anemia in African-Americans and those of Mediterranean descent (CPL Klinger and PVT Goldman were both stricken).

Anemia is not a known side-effect of chloroquine. I'm not saying your memory is bad, that may have been a writer's invention.

I did a Google search and I was correct. If a person has glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency then chloroquine can cause hemolytic anemia. This deficiency is due to a genetic abnormality present in roughly 400 million people around the world, and 1 in 10 African-Americans, as well as individuals of Mediterranean descent.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectious ... id19/85552

[Bob Juch]

Re: chloroquine

I seem to recall an episode of M*A*S*H in which chloroquine was being used as an anti-malarial but it caused hemolytic anemia in African-Americans and those of Mediterranean descent (CPL Klinger and PVT Goldman were both stricken).

Anemia is not a known side-effect of chloroquine. I'm not saying your memory is bad, that may have been a writer's invention.

I did a Google search and I was correct. If a person has glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency then chloroquine can cause hemolytic anemia. This deficiency is due to a genetic abnormality present in roughly 400 million people around the world, and 1 in 10 African-Americans, as well as individuals of Mediterranean descent.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectious ... id19/85552

I found many pages on chloroquine that didn't mention that. They need to fix those.

[silverscreenselect]

LIBERATE MINNESOTA! ... LIBERATE MICHIGAN! ... LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!

These are three actual tweets sent out by Trump this morning. While we're trying to get out of this mess and one day after Trump essentially dumped the whole thing back in the laps of the state governors, he's trying to stir up trouble in three states with popular Democratic governors. I can't see any way in which these tweets are the slightest bit productive.

[Beebs52]

LIBERATE MINNESOTA! ... LIBERATE MICHIGAN! ... LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!

These are three actual tweets sent out by Trump this morning. While we're trying to get out of this mess and one day after Trump essentially dumped the whole thing back in the laps of the state governors, he's trying to stir up trouble in three states with popular Democratic governors. I can't see any way in which these tweets are the slightest bit productive.

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha

[silverscreenselect]

Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat. The bump in coronavirus cases is most pronounced in states without stay at home orders. Oklahoma saw a 53% increase in cases over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over same time, cases jumped 60% in Arkansas, 74% in Nebraska, and 82% in Iowa. South Dakota saw a whopping 205% spike.
The remaining states, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming each saw an increase in cases, but more in line with other places that have stay-at-home orders. And all of those numbers may very well undercount the total cases, given a persistent lack of testing across the US.

This trend undermines the notion perpetuated by President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies that the restrictive social-distancing measures aren't necessary in rural America -- and that these states even offer a model for reopening the country. "If you look at Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota -- that's a lot different than New York, it's a lot different than New Jersey," Trump said at Thursday's coronavirus task force briefing, adding that 29 states are "in that ballgame" of being ready to be reopened first.

If we start re-opening the country too soon, this will be repeated over and over again.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/politics ... index.html

[Bob78164]

Just as cases are starting to plateau in some big cities and along the coasts, the coronavirus is catching fire in rural states across the American heartland, where there has been a small but significant spike this week in cases. Playing out amid these outbreaks is a clash between a frontier culture that values individual freedom and personal responsibility, and the onerous but necessary restrictions to contain a novel biological threat. The bump in coronavirus cases is most pronounced in states without stay at home orders. Oklahoma saw a 53% increase in cases over the past week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over same time, cases jumped 60% in Arkansas, 74% in Nebraska, and 82% in Iowa. South Dakota saw a whopping 205% spike.
The remaining states, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming each saw an increase in cases, but more in line with other places that have stay-at-home orders. And all of those numbers may very well undercount the total cases, given a persistent lack of testing across the US.

This trend undermines the notion perpetuated by President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies that the restrictive social-distancing measures aren't necessary in rural America -- and that these states even offer a model for reopening the country. "If you look at Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota -- that's a lot different than New York, it's a lot different than New Jersey," Trump said at Thursday's coronavirus task force briefing, adding that 29 states are "in that ballgame" of being ready to be reopened first.

If we start re-opening the country too soon, this will be repeated over and over again.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/politics ... index.html

The lack of testing makes counting the number of cases a perilously unreliable way to make public policy decisions. Hospitalizations are a much better indicator, though they lag infections by a week or two. --Bob

[tlynn78]

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha
[/quote]

Bless they hearts.

[Beebs52]

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha

Bless they hearts.
[/quote]
Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

[tlynn78]

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha

Bless they hearts.

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.
[/quote]

[silverscreenselect]

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha

Bless they hearts.

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

[/quote]

It's not surprising. Trump thought that he would get a whole bunch of business leaders to line up behind him (the long list of people he mentioned Tuesday as part of his "team") and they basically refused to do so. And he got almost universal criticism, even from some right-wing sources. So now he dumps it back on the governors. If they loosen restrictions and it bombs out, it's their fault. If things go well, it's his guidance that led to it.

And then we get the attempts to "encourage" people to put pressure on Democratic governors. In the meantime, we're going to be over 40,000 deaths after this weekend.

[Beebs52]

Bless they hearts.

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

It's not surprising. Trump thought that he would get a whole bunch of business leaders to line up behind him (the long list of people he mentioned Tuesday as part of his "team") and they basically refused to do so. And he got almost universal criticism, even from some right-wing sources. So now he dumps it back on the governors. If they loosen restrictions and it bombs out, it's their fault. If things go well, it's his guidance that led to it.

And then we get the attempts to "encourage" people to put pressure on Democratic governors. In the meantime, we're going to be over 40,000 deaths after this weekend.
[/quote]
Of course. Thus spake Zarathustra

[wbtravis007]

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha

Bless they hearts.

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

[/quote]

[wbtravis007]

Hm.First he was acting like a "king", now he's "dumped the whole thing". Gotcha

Bless they hearts.

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

[/quote]


Unlike y'all's, right?

Well, bless your little pea-pickin' (but mean-spirited) hearts!!!

Never gets old.

[Beebs52]

Bless they hearts.

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

Unlike y'all's, right?

Well, bless your little pea-pickin' (but mean-spirited) hearts!!!

Never gets old.
[/quote]

You so cute.

[wbtravis007]

Can't wait for reply. Think I can write it.

Unlike y'all's, right?



Well, bless your little pea-pickin' (but mean-spirited) hearts!!!

Never gets old.

You so cute.
[/quote]

Thanks.

I know. Hills and what not. But still. You gotta admit.

[Bob78164]

This story explains in some detail what appear to be the result of some pretty massive management failures at CDC that led to the screw-up in the tests.

Donny's not responsible, of course, for the original manufacturing issue that caused the screw-up. But he's certainly responsible for the decision to create a single point of failure in America's response by attempting to rely exclusively on tests manufactured here when other countries had tests that were already working. And I'd love to know who (civil servant or political appointee) was responsible for the decision to make the test more complicated than it had to be to get the job done -- the contamination issue happened in a third component that wasn't actually necessary for the test to work properly.

I'm pretty sure that if coronavirus response had been a priority within the Administration in January and February, they would have chased down the problem significantly earlier. They were still crediting the possibility of a design flaw long after they had enough information to know beyond a doubt that the problem was cross-contamination; i.e., a manufacturing flaw. There were clear management failures here, and responsibility for those management failures belongs at the very top of the food chain. --Bob

[Bob78164]

This ad from Vice President Biden's campaign says it pretty well.



--Bob