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?

 

[superchuck500]

On the school issue, it's tricky. There is consensus among the experts that children need to be in school and every effort should be made to have them in school. But in the context of that effort, the degree of the local outbreak must be considered. As long as case counts are increasing and % positive rates remain above 10%, experts believe that having children in schools is problematic.

But in typical American form, the nuance will be lost in the discussion. Florida's governor has already commanded schools to open (despite Florida being among the nation's worst in outbreak metrics). Other (blue) states will likely have closures even though they're meeting the outbreak metric goals.

Here is the guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2...ons-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/

 

[GrandAdmiral]

These anti-maskers need to go. This one is "special."

He felt threatened and showed it by approaching the threat like any rational person who is scared would do. He's wearing a shirt that he bought all by himself. Note the historically accurate map of the U.S. circa 1776. Note the factual statement that the U.S. was running the world in 1776. Marvel at the way that he wears his sunglasses. I'm not intelligent enough to understand the benefit of wearing them in such a way. I agree with the internet that this is, likely, an off duty cop.

I don't remember foul language but I might have missed it.

tuckbot.tv

I've only seen three groups wear sunglasses like that... some baseball player, beachgoers, and cops.

 

[B4YOU]

Sounds like a policy that lacks nuance. I can understand not wanting people to come over on a student visa for online courses. They should just add a one-year exception for existing students. What ultimately will happen is schools will create a hybrid program because the revenue from foreign students is too valuable to lose. Anything graduate level most likely wouldn’t be affected.

 

[superchuck500]

"We're just going to have to live with it."

 

[samiam5211]

Sounds like a policy that lacks nuance. I can understand not wanting people to come over on a student visa for online courses. They should just add a one-year exception for existing students. What ultimately will happen is schools will create a hybrid program because the revenue from foreign students is too valuable to lose. Anything graduate level most likely wouldn’t be affected.

Which i think is the point. Trump wants colleges open because it makes his handling of covid seem less terrible.

He doesn't want "foreigner's" here.

So either colleges do more in person classes - a win for Trump, or we have less "foreigners" in the country - a win for Trump.

 

[superchuck500]

Go figure.

 

[superchuck500]

 

[B4YOU]

Which i think is the point. Trump wants colleges open because it makes his handling of covid seem less terrible.

He doesn't want "foreigner's" here.

So either colleges do more in person classes - a win for Trump, or we have less "foreigners" in the country - a win for Trump.

Maybe. But this could also be seen as maintaining existing policy that doesn’t allow online programs to become visa sellers while providing a hybrid option given Covid realities. Heck, international students can attend Strayer “University”, take 3 in-person courses at any of their 75+ locations, and maintain their student visa.

A compromise policy would be a one year waiver for existing students while requiring new students to meet at least the hybrid program requirements for visa eligibility.

 

[wardorican]

In that image alone.. female staff/teacher with mask pulled down talking to boy with mask around his chin. Male teacher/staff with nose exposed. man in the top left corner nose is exposed.

 

[coldseat]

In that image alone.. female staff/teacher with mask pulled down talking to boy with mask around his chin. Male teacher/staff with nose exposed. man in the top left corner nose is exposed.

I can't wrap my head around how people don't understand the proper way to wear a freaking mask? Why do so many people wear it with their nose uncovered? What's the freaking point if you're going to do it that way? What's the point if you're going to pull the mask down when you talk to people?



It gives me an aneurysm trying to figure out why. Why is this so hard?

 

[samiam5211]

Maybe. But this could also be seen as maintaining existing policy that doesn’t allow online programs to become visa sellers while providing a hybrid option given Covid realities. Heck, international students can attend Strayer “University”, take 3 in-person courses at any of their 75+ locations, and maintain their student visa.

A compromise policy would be a one year waiver for existing students while requiring new students to meet at least the hybrid program requirements for visa eligibility.

Yea, there are loads of problems with the student visa program, but not giving returning students a covid waiver for online courses should have been automatic.

I don’t think we should be giving student visas to anyone attending the Devry type colleges, but that isn’t what this is about.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

These anti-maskers need to go. This one is "special."

He felt threatened and showed it by approaching the threat like any rational person who is scared would do. He's wearing a shirt that he bought all by himself. Note the historically accurate map of the U.S. circa 1776. Note the factual statement that the U.S. was running the world in 1776. Marvel at the way that he wears his sunglasses. I'm not intelligent enough to understand the benefit of wearing them in such a way. I agree with the internet that this is, likely, an off duty cop.

I don't remember foul language but I might have missed it.

tuckbot.tv

Well, he isn't a cop and has been identified...

 

[wardorican]

Well, he isn't a cop and has been identified...

Talk about a 180...

 

[Eeyore]

Who could have seen that coming?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Who could have seen that coming?

But then we get this imbecile...

DeVos demands ‘fully operational’ schools in the fall: ‘Not a matter of if’

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday told the country’s governors in a conference call that she expects schools to be “fully operational” come the fall, regardless of the co…

thehill.com

 

[Eeyore]

Class war

Republicans Want To Make Sure You Can't Sue Your Boss If You Get Sick

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell is worried about an "epidemic of lawsuits" against businesses as the coronavirus pummels workers.

m.huffpost.com

 

[superchuck500]

Look everybody - we're not the only jackasses in the world. Serbia says #metoo

 

[wardorican]

Interesting economic discussion from the 538..

Economists Think Congress Could Create An Economic Disaster This Summer

The economists in our survey think Congress could tank the economy.

fivethirtyeight.com

In partnership with the Initiative on Global Markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, FiveThirtyEight asked 31 quantitative macroeconomic economists what they thought about a variety of subjects around the coronavirus recession and recovery efforts. The most recent survey was conducted from July 2 through 6, which means the June jobs report was fresh on respondents’ minds — but so was the state of the pandemic, along with challenges ahead for lawmakers.

“There’s a distinct risk that between now and November, Congress’s ability to continue fiscal support will be very limited by election-year politics,” said Jonathan Wright, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University who has been consulting with us on the design of the survey. “That could be more of a drag on the economy than the local and state shutdowns just because the effect would be so huge.”

With a congressional showdown looming, we asked the experts to estimate the probability that several policy decisions would have the biggest negative impact on U.S. gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2020. Among the five options we presented, the single most important to the economists was a decision by state and local governments to reclose their economies because of COVID-19 outbreaks. But a decision by Congress not to provide funding to state and local governments was close behind. And the weight given to choices made by the federal government — bailing out local governments, extending unemployment insurance and providing ongoing aid for small businesses — added up to be even more important when taken as a whole: