All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (4 Viewers)

[Maxp]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

 

[Dadsdream]

So, my good friend DD, how've you been?

So you're stating that changing the check to put his signature in the memo section takes absolutely 0 time? Not even 10 seconds as previously claimed?

Because otherwise, that statement is 100% a lie. There is a delay caused. A guy with 40 years of government service can obviously tell when a government spokesman is blowing smoke up your skivvies.

I've been pretty good, old buddy!
I'll concede that perhaps there's a Montgomery Scott (Star Trek TOS) effect, you know, inflate the estimate of how long it will take to do something, then get it done ahead of schedule and get praised as a miracle worker?

There's also probably a touch of "Yes sir! No sir! Three bags full, sir!"

 

[Dadsdream]

Don't you know what is wrong with Trump yet?

I don't like his voice. I don't like his smirk. I don't like his smug, condescending, holier-than-thou attitude. I don't like his HAIR!
But, I disliked him less than I disliked Hillary.
By November, will I dislike him less than I dislike Biden as a presidential candidate?
We shall see.

 

[Saintamaniac]

In unprecedented move, Treasury orders Trump’s name printed on stimulus checks

From the article:

The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name printed on stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that could slow their delivery by a few days, senior IRS officials said.

Anyone claiming that there will be no delay is simply not being truthful.

 

[Dadsdream]

"could"?

Anyone who believes MSN speculation over the Treasury Department spokeswoman has issues.

 

[V Chip]

I've been pretty good, old buddy!
I'll concede that perhaps there's a Montgomery Scott (Star Trek TOS) effect

It's like pulling teeth, but it's probably the closest I'll get to a mea culpa out of ya.

"No delay" and "ahead of schedule" read like a politician-speak of "yeah I was wrong but I'm not admitting it and won't give anyone even the tiniest quote to use against me." Everyone with any sense knows it's not true, and that yes there is a delay and a cost (probably significant) associated with it.

 

[V Chip]

"could"?

Anyone who believes MSN speculation over the Treasury Department spokeswoman has issues.

Tsk tsk tsk. You already know the Treasury Department spokeswoman lied. Pretty hard to have worse credibility than directly lying.

 

[Saintamaniac]

"could"?

Anyone who believes MSN speculation over the Treasury Department spokeswoman has issues.

Obviously, you are having trouble reading with understanding right now.

a process that could slow their delivery by a few days, senior IRS officials said.

In case you didn't catch that, senior IRS officials said means that an IRS official that is a senior level official at the IRS said that the process could slow their delivery by a few days. This means that the senior IRS official is saying that putting trump's signature on the checks can cause a delay for a few days. I hope that was clear enough for you to understand that it wasn't MSN speculation. It was a statement from a senior IRS official.

 

[surada]

I don't like his voice. I don't like his smirk. I don't like his smug, condescending, holier-than-thou attitude. I don't like his HAIR!
But, I disliked him less than I disliked Hillary.
By November, will I dislike him less than I dislike Biden as a presidential candidate?
We shall see.

I didn't like Hillary either..

Trump's problems are far more serious than the majority of American men could even imagine. Whether you are a liberal or conservative.. Democrat or Republican he is NOT like you. He doesn't share your values or morality or patriotism or loyalties.

He claims to have a high IQ and that his intuition is superior to yours and mine .. He claims he's a genius and knows more than Generals, Doctors and Intelligence Services.

We Actually DO Know What Is Wrong With Trump’s Mental State

Ask just about anyone about Trump’s psychology, and they conclude that, like all bullies, he is a very insecure person. As many have noted: “You don’t need a fancy diploma to figure out what is wrong with Trump.” I would agree — even though I do have a...

www.dailykos.com

 

[dtc]

What the hell? Recognizing that the precense or abscence of certain health conditions will effect the mortality rate is not the same as placing a value on one's life.

I disagree.

When put in the current context of Trump "opening" the economy by decree in order to avoid economic damages, you have to make the mathematical determination about who is expendable and at what risk do we proceed.

You have repeatedly talked about the cure being worse than the disease and feigned concern about the plight of the poor during the shutdown because some might die due to poverty from not working presumably despite the fact that we are printing money and giving it away hand over fist.

Honestly, I'd rather argue about the effects of the deficit busting stimulus and the irresponsibility of the Trump tax cuts, but whatever.

 

[zztop]

ah now blaming the WHO (I was wondering when this would happen.)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration will "halt" U.S. funding to the World Health Organization as it conducts a review of the global organization's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have deep concerns about whether America's generosity has been put to the best use possible,” the president said in a Rose Garden press conference. “The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion."

 

[bdb13]

I didn't like Hillary either..

Trump's problems are far more serious than the majority of American men could even imagine. Whether you are a liberal or conservative.. Democrat or Republican he is NOT like you. He doesn't share your values or morality or patriotism or loyalties.

He claims to have a high IQ and that his intuition is superior to yours and mine .. He claims he's a genius and knows more than Generals, Doctors and Intelligence Services.

We Actually DO Know What Is Wrong With Trump’s Mental State

Ask just about anyone about Trump’s psychology, and they conclude that, like all bullies, he is a very insecure person. As many have noted: “You don’t need a fancy diploma to figure out what is wrong with Trump.” I would agree — even though I do have a...

www.dailykos.com

And since you mentioned it, we sure could have used some of that intuition and famous instinct of his back in January-early March.

He operates on instinct and instinctually, in spite of warnings from within his own administration and flashing signals coming from multiple countries, he decided that coronavirus was comparable to the flu and not something we should worry much with.

It's a poor way to lead, that's become all too obvious.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

They aren't swapping the signature. They are reconfiguring the process to add his while still keeping the signature of the person that's actually authorized to sign them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/coming-to-your-1200-relief-check-donald-j-trumps-name/2020/04/14/071016c2-7e82-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html

All printed federal checks have to have a signature on them and you do that with a digital e-signature on the blank virtual check before they're ever printed. Treasury Secretary, or President, either way. Swapping out one e-signature for another is a 10-second process, like I said.
I e-Sign documents every day. I haven't physically signed a document in several years.

O'rly.

You know for a fact that, by law, POTUS can sign treasury checks?

Just as I figured. For trump to be the signator of checks from the Treasury, it would probably require a change in the law that establishes the Treasury Department.

 

[Beach Friends]

I disagree.

When put in the current context of Trump "opening" the economy by decree in order to avoid economic damages, you have to make the mathematical determination about who is expendable and at what risk do we proceed.

You have repeatedly talked about the cure being worse than the disease and feigned concern about the plight of the poor during the shutdown because some might die due to poverty from not working presumably despite the fact that we are printing money and giving it away hand over fist.

Honestly, I'd rather argue about the effects of the deficit busting stimulus and the irresponsibility of the Trump tax cuts, but whatever.

"Feigned" concern? Forget you.

 

[Optimus Prime]

And since you mentioned it, we sure could have used some of that intuition and famous instinct of his back in January-early March.

He operates on instinct and instinctually, in spite of warnings from within his own administration and flashing signals coming from multiple countries, he decided that coronavirus was comparable to the flu and not something we should worry much with.

It's a poor way to lead, that's become all too obvious.

Well, he is saying that he knew it would be a pandemic before anyone else did (because he’s so smart)

He’s trying to have it both ways

“I’m so smart every decision I make is the right decision at the right time”

But if anything goes wrong “it’s not my fault and I had nothing to do with it”

 

[Optimus Prime]

President Trump’s wild gyrations and reversals on coronavirus become a lot more intelligible when you realize he is motivated at bottom by a simple, unchanging imperative: Trump wants to be perceived as taking charge of the situation, without being held accountable for the horrible consequences of the bad decisions he has made along the way.

Now that Trump has declared “total” authority to reopen the American economy, insisting he “calls the shots” and governors do not, many commentators are pointing to an apparent contradiction.

How can Trump make this claim after spending weeks insisting that the states are largely on their own when it comes to procuring urgently needed medical supplies?

How can he say this after having flatly declared “I don’t take responsibility at all” for his administration’s catastrophic failure to ramp up testing?

As former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara put it, Trump is basically arguing that “my authority is total but my responsibility is zero.”..........:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/heres-what-really-matters-about-trumps-despotic-claim-total-authority/

 

[JimEverett]

I remember Republicans complaining about signage the Obama Administration had required indicating "a symbol of President Obama’s commitment to the American People to invest their tax dollars wisely to put Americans back to work." Democrats seemed fine with it then. Some Republicans objected.

Now, suddenly, some Democrats see something similar as indicative of some sort of almost criminal narcissistic personality trait. LMAO - you cannot make this stuff up.

 

[Lapaz]

ah now blaming the WHO (I was wondering when this would happen.)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration will "halt" U.S. funding to the World Health Organization as it conducts a review of the global organization's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have deep concerns about whether America's generosity has been put to the best use possible,” the president said in a Rose Garden press conference. “The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion."

Now this is an important topic to discuss. Cutting the funding to the WHO will only make it more likely that the pandemic will resurface or another pandemic will hit us. It is stupidity even for Trump. He is attempting to deflect from his ignorantly ignoring their warnings. This is adding insult to injury.

I heard a reporter say that it is legal for Trump to re-allocate the funds. I thought only congress could do that. If it is legal as currently allocated, then congress needs to find a way to allocate funds to the WHO that Trump can not touch.

P.S. I don't care whether Trump adds his name to the memo line of stimulus checks and causes a few days of delays. That is just free publicity for him to convince people that are stupid that he gave them the checks. It will get him a few more votes, but I think enough people will be smart enough to know that it was just a ploy to manipulate and persuade them that he came to their rescue, when in fact it was bi-partisan congressional action.

 

[Farb]

I am glad that this pandemic has come full circle for the lefties and they can get back to screaming about how racist everything is. I was getting worried. Oh, and the strange and mentally unhealthy obsession with the color orange.