Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Hermit]

11 minutes ago, Starlord said:

Nope.

 

We were fine till them city-folk let things get outta control and started spreadin' that virus to us decent sort .

 

Oh, probably.

 

Our utopia was just that, and then... carpetbaggers!

[Old Man]

6 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

 

The bulk of his support is concentrated in the states which have yet to be truly bombarded by Coronavirus. Once the number of infected/dead begins to rise in those locations, I imagine the regional kind appraisal of Trump will start to sour.

Trump is sending extra aid to red states. For example, Florida has received three times the money and supplies that they requested, while New York and California have been left to fend for themselves. Thus, Floridians will regard him as a hero, while blue state voters are allowed to die. 

[DShomshak]

On 3/28/2020 at 4:05 PM, Ragitsu said:

 

I personally spoke with an individual that halfheartedly mentioned there might be someone to blame for this pandemic. They were of the mind that it may have been a deliberate attack by those that hate the United States. All I said in response was (and I am heavily paraphrasing here) that trying to lay blame at this point is an academic exercise which will lead to impotent frustration and that we should be focused on minimizing exposure to the virus, because heads can roll later once we are past the crisis.

 

That's probab ly the best response you could give, under the circumstances. Though we are getting a graphic example of why germ warfare would be a... peculiarly unreliable, uncontrollable, and counterproductive weapon.

 

Apropos of this, I recommend the essay "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by physicist Freeman Dyson, in his collection Disturbing the Universe. It includes the story of Matthew Meselson, the Harvard biology professor who almost single-handedly ended the US biological warfare program of the 1960s. He kept turning up at Congressional hearings for the program's appropriations to ask questions the generals in charge of the program couldn't answer. Quite a story, though I would not be surprised to learn that a later president re-started a biological weapons program after Richard Nixon abolished it. Some presidents since Nixon have been, hm, notably simple-minded.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Dean Shomshak

[DShomshak]

On 3/28/2020 at 4:05 PM, Ragitsu said:

 

I personally spoke with an individual that halfheartedly mentioned there might be someone to blame for this pandemic. They were of the mind that it may have been a deliberate attack by those that hate the United States. All I said in response was (and I am heavily paraphrasing here) that trying to lay blame at this point is an academic exercise which will lead to impotent frustration and that we should be focused on minimizing exposure to the virus, because heads can roll later once we are past the crisis.

 

That's probab ly the best response you could give, under the circumstances. Though we are getting a graphic example of why germ warfare would be a... peculiarly unreliable, uncontrollable, and counterproductive weapon.

 

Apropos of this, I recommend the essay "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by physicist Freeman Dyson, in his collection Disturbing the Universe. It includes the story of Matthew Meselson, the Harvard biology professor who almost single-handedly ended the US biological warfare program of the 1960s. He kept turning up at Congressional hearings for the program's appropriations to ask questions the generals in charge of the program couldn't answer. Quite a story, though I would not be surprised to learn that a later president re-started a biological weapons program after Richard Nixon abolished it. Some presidents since Nixon have been, hm, notably simple-minded.

 

Dean Shomshak

 

Dean Shomshak

[Badger]

4 hours ago, Hermit said:

 

I was wondering if much the same. A lot of his support is rural areas, and much of what rural folks are hearing is "New York City has @##$# ton of infected".. and figure they're safe as they live in less dense areas. Not realizing that a big factor is that some of the big 'liberal' cities testing positive is what you get when you actually TEST period. As bad as it is getting in some urban areas, the rural areas, when they get hammered, are going to have whole new challenges like no hospitals nearby at all, smaller hospitals with fewer staff, and finding some supplies have run low already because other places needed them first. etc.

 

The Lt. Gov of Texas who made it sound like a noble sacrifice to turn old folk into soylent green so save the Stock Market is already getting some backlash from even some normally loyal republicans. Maybe eventually they'll catch on that he pretty much said out loud what Trump's values have indicated all along. But I worry by the time they do they'll be dying as they try to drive an hour and a half to a hospital that is already full.

 

Nope, us rural area people already went crazy and stocked up.  😁

 

Note: though it must be nice to have actual working hospitals.  3 car wrecks and a heart attack would put my local hospital in triage mode.  

[Hermit]

Workers at Staten Island STRIKE

 

This...could be interesting. Labor is taking the risks, they want more protection. .but will it work?

[Zeropoint]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

This...could be interesting. Labor is taking the risks, they want more protection. .but will it work?

 

Labor does the work. Labor takes the risks. Labor gets the health problems. Labor dies the deaths.

 

Capital gets the money.

 

It's time to change that.

[Hermit]

8 minutes ago, Zeropoint said:

 

Labor does the work. Labor takes the risks. Labor gets the health problems. Labor dies the deaths.

 

Capital gets the money.

 

It's time to change that.

 

With unemployment being what it is, it's very possible these guys could get replaced

[Old Man]

[Ragitsu]

12 hours ago, Old Man said:

Trump is sending extra aid to red states. For example, Florida has received three times the money and supplies that they requested, while New York and California have been left to fend for themselves. Thus, Floridians will regard him as a hero, while blue state voters are allowed to die. 

 

While I applaud his naked attempt to curry favor and recognize that his understanding of humanitarian concerns is roughly on par with a dog's comprehension of quantum mechanics, I must question the wisdom of allowing at least two major economic engines to fall into disrepair if he is (purportedly) dedicated to preserving this nation's economy.

[Old Man]

Coronavirus in red states vs. blue states

 

tl;dr: Red states aren't testing and are earlier in the curve.  Their turn is coming.

[Badger]

6 hours ago, Hermit said:

 

With unemployment being what it is, it's very possible these guys could get replaced

 

Yeah, pretty much.  Though, I do suspect we can probably recover if we ever get past quarantine, and the infrastructure hasn't collapsed too badly during the wait.  (last part being the big key)

 

but, yeah, they are confusing what is considered essential with what is considered expendable, and don't have a leg to stand on. Provided the employer doesn't blink.

[Sociotard]

That's where I am. Idaho was one of the last four to get a confirmed case. We've now had two in my county. What may save us is that we are shut down, as much as we can, and have done so way earlier in the curve than New York did.

 

What I don't get is states like Arkansas that haven't put out those orders. Idaho is super conservative, so it isn't just that.

 

[csyphrett]

Somebody put up a news story that the Gov of Mississippi opened up all the businesses again after the local authority shut them down. Basically exposed people who were too dumb to stay home

CES

 

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, csyphrett said:

Somebody put up a news story that the Gov of Mississippi opened up all the businesses again after the local authority shut them down. Basically exposed people who were too dumb to stay home

CES

 

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-mississippi-governor-executive-order-most-businesses-essential-2020-3

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/mississippi-coronavirus-essential-businesses-tate-reeves.html

 

A textbook example of "clarification" by a politician confronted with reaction to his own haste and foolishness. But the wind from his backpedaling nearly blew me over.

[Hugh Neilson]

On 3/29/2020 at 11:58 PM, Old Man said:

It's better than 201 thousand.  Great Again™!

 

OK, this repeated spelling error is driving me crazy.

 

It's "Make America Grate Again!" - and no one is better at that than Trump!

[Lawnmower Boy]

On 3/30/2020 at 6:59 AM, Hermit said:

 

[snip]

 

The Lt. Gov of Texas who made it sound like a noble sacrifice to turn old folk into soylent green  . . . . 

Geez, Hermit, I can't focus on reading the rest of the thread if you're going to get my tummy rumbling like this! 

[DShomshak]

12 hours ago, Sociotard said:

That's where I am. Idaho was one of the last four to get a confirmed case. We've now had two in my county. What may save us is that we are shut down, as much as we can, and have done so way earlier in the curve than New York did.

 

What I don't get is states like Arkansas that haven't put out those orders. Idaho is super conservative, so it isn't just that.

 

Yesterday, All Things Considered reported on a COVID-19 outbreak in Sun Valley, Idaho. (I *think* they said Idaho.) Super-rich people thinking they're going to do the Masque of the Red Death or Decameron thing by riding out the pandemic in their luxury ski resort town... but they and their entourages bring the disease with them. oops. Sorry, guys, we have millennia of epidemiological history showing that running from the plague never works.

 

Their little hospital has 25 beds. Total. One of them is occupied by a local doctor, sick with COVID-19. Oh, the irony.

 

Dean Shomshjak

[Sociotard]

Yes, Sun Valley is in Idaho, and it does host a lot of super-rich, and it did have an outbreak. You probably remember right. I heard about it first because my nephew worked there. So near as we can tell, he isn't afflicted. His mother in Oregon did let him move back. Into the garage. He can't come in the house or leave the garage once he enters for two weeks. He even has a porta-potty in there.

[megaplayboy]

When this is all over, many many thousands of totally avoidable and unnecessary deaths later, I hope that one of the questions Americans ask themselves is "Why, oh why, did we ever suffer fools so gladly?"

[Old Man]

No, what they're going to ask is "Why do the libruls keep calling us fools?"  With absolutely no irony.

[Ragitsu]

The mentality of those that repeatedly excuse/forgive Trump is an alien one; they seem to be afflicted with chronic amnesia. Believe it or not, to those of us with a functioning brain, his incompetency and/or outright evil accumulate.

[Old Man]

Speaking of excusing Trump, here's a select quote from today's press conference:

 

“I don’t think I would’ve done any better had I not been impeached,” Trump said. “I think that’s a great tribute to something. Maybe it’s a tribute to me.”

 

It should be noted that today's press conference was a big improvement over yesterday's verbal fellatio by the My Pillow guy.

[Pariah]

It is my profound belief (or maybe just my hope) that America will make it through this pandemic largely in spite of the efforts of our Government.

 

At least the state and local leaders here have some <REDACTED> common sense.

[TrickstaPriest]

On 3/30/2020 at 10:18 AM, Old Man said:

Trump is sending extra aid to red states. For example, Florida has received three times the money and supplies that they requested, while New York and California have been left to fend for themselves. Thus, Floridians will regard him as a hero, while blue state voters are allowed to die. 

 

Wait, can we confirm this?  Is the Federal Government okay with this?  I'm just shocked.  Or does this sort of behavior happen all the time?

 

Isn't this essentially an act of sabotage against your own country's citizens because they didn't vote for you?