All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (15 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?

 

[MT15]

I never said I agreed with what she was saying and I strongly disagree with withholding funding from schools if they don't open.

Let's not act like the media didn't intentionally cut off her quote to make it seem like she was saying something different that what she did. We even have Democratic operative... I mean CNN's Jake Tapper speaking to that.



"If I could just say, Sanjay," Tapper interjected. "I think she was just trying to say that the science shouldn't stand in the way because the science is on our side. I don't know that all of the science is on their side- and certainly, this White House, their respect for science knows bounds, let's put it that way, but I think that's what she was getting at."

I disagree with you. She said what she said, and when she tried to elaborate she made it worse. You pick some strange stuff to get all upset about, really. This wasn’t a misrepresentation of the gist of her remarks. And citing Tapper just makes me chuckle.

 

[SaintForLife]

I disagree with you. She said what she said, and when she tried to elaborate she made it worse. You pick some strange stuff to get all upset about, really. This wasn’t a misrepresentation of the gist of her remarks. And citing Tapper just makes me chuckle.

Taking people out of context to make a political point is something that we should call out. Here is a Washington post reporter:

 

[SaintForLife]

I suppose the real question should be, how come every time the President or White House says something, we have to dive 10 layers down to discover some actual supposedly hidden meaning, or to get the joke that they claim should have been obvious? Its become the new norm. Make a statement, see it blow up in your face, blame the media for distorting it by showing everyone the clip, spin the next few days saying it means something completely different and that people take things too seriously/literal/out of context/whatever.

You don't have to go 10 layers in this instance. She said the rest of the quote a sentence or two later. Trump and his administration say plenty of stupid things. Why purposely take them out of context when they give the public plenty to criticize?

 

[Optimus Prime]

Taking people out of context to make a political point is something that we should call out. Here is a Washington post reporter:

I must have missed this opinion when Obama said "You didn't build that"

 

[Optimus Prime]

Taking people out of context to make a political point is something that we should call out. Here is a Washington post reporter:

For a more recent example:

.......Afterward, I told reporters, “We are not merely fighting to tear down systems of oppression in the criminal justice system — we are fighting to tear down systems of oppression that exist in housing, in education, in health care, in employment and in the very air we breathe. . . . As long as our economic and political systems prioritize profit, without considering who is profiting and who is being shut out, we will perpetuate this inequality. So we cannot stop at the criminal justice system. We must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression wherever we find it.”

But minutes after my news conference, the Republican National Committee clipped 27 seconds of my speech and added a false caption that said I had just called for getting rid of the entire U.S. economy and government. Instantly, Donald Trump Jr. and right-wing “media outlets” were amplifying the false claim.

That evening, Tucker Carlson dedicated a segment of his Fox News program to attacking me and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), another prominent woman of color, under the banner, “We Have to Fight to Preserve Our Nation & Heritage.” My congressional office and social media feeds were instantly flooded with hate speech, calls for deportation and, as is so often the case, death threats. ...............

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ilhan-omar-when-i-spoke-out-about-systematic-oppression-the-republican-response-was-vicious/2020/07/15/5bc79f7a-c6ce-11ea-8ffe-372be8d82298_story.html

 

[xpuma20x]

You don't have to go 10 layers in this instance. She said the rest of the quote a sentence or two later. Trump and his administration say plenty of stupid things. Why purposely take them out of context when they give the public plenty to criticize?

What I got from the rest of the quote was that we need to ignore the science that the White House doesn't like, and go with the "science" that the White House does like. Based on what she was talking about, they want to discredit the science specifically related to U.S. reopening of schools around the lack of controlling the virus and instead go with the science based on other countries reopening, even though that information is based on them actually controlling the virus in their locations. So again, yes, she said and meant "the science should not stand in the way of this."

 

[LA - L.A.]

Here is a Washington post reporter:

Step back and pause for a second.

Stop seeing discussions here as a competition and those who disagree with you as your competitors.

Reflect on your actions.

Try to see the illogical and hypocritical nature of saying "you can't trust people in the biased media" "here's a post from one of those biased media people saying something I agree with, so trust what they are saying here."

Your actions in this discussion are the epitome of being driven by bias.

 

[nolaspe]

How is this even legal?

White House blocks CDC director from testifying before House panel on reopening schools

The Trump administration is rebuffing House Democrats' effort to hear testimony from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield on safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

thehill.com

 

[Lapaz]

How is this even legal?

White House blocks CDC director from testifying before House panel on reopening schools

The Trump administration is rebuffing House Democrats' effort to hear testimony from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield on safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

thehill.com

This is ridiculous. The House may have to subpoena Redfield.

 

[MT15]

I am also alarmed by the recent announcement that states must bypass the CDC to report their Covid mortality and morbidity stats. This is beyond political, and people at the hospital are very concerned about it, no matter which political party they are affiliated with.

 

[SaintForLife]

It's not looking good for Louisiana hospitals. People need to wear a damn mask!

 

[Richard]

I am also alarmed by the recent announcement that states must bypass the CDC to report their Covid mortality and morbidity stats. This is beyond political, and people at the hospital are very concerned about it, no matter which political party they are affiliated with.

If I understand the situation correctly, the directive allows the administration to control the narrative surrounding the numbers. It may be intended to marginalize the CDC, but the real threat to me is to transparency and it stifles the ability of average Americans to get unbiased information. The White House Task Force will still listen to the CDC, as will the NIH and other public health organizations. We just won't know if the statistics are being manipulated by the administration, because political neutrality has been removed from the equation. Hopefully, the fact that states still control the data reported, we will continue to be able to determine what is real and what is manipulated.

 

[Richard]

It's not looking good for Lousiana hospitals. People need to wear a damn mask!

That's really bad. I truly don't understand why there is a significant number of people who reject the recommendations of wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and using hand sanitizer. No one has suggested that those things are a cure-all, but they have been proven to have a positive affect on slowing the spread of the virus. If people would just get on board with those things, more business could remain open, people could get back to work, our hospitals would be less crowded, fewer people would get sick and/or die and very importantly, it would buy us time until treatments and safe vaccines are uncovered. I just don't understand the people taking a stand against wearing masks as if it were some kind of just cause.

As the county I live in has just been added to the mandatory mask list in Mississippi this week, I will be interested to see how many people actually comply. I have mentioned before that I frequently go to a neighborhood store that serves breakfast and lunch and I rarely see a mask there. This week, a guy I have known for 40 years has been hospitalized with COVID and he is usually in that store during breakfast and lunch, sitting at one of the crowded tables they have. I wondered if his sickness would have an affect on the men that gather there daily. So I masked up and went in yesterday, but all of the same faces were there, not another mask in sight. I did overhear a couple of them commenting on my mask, as if I was the one who was doing something I shouldn't. I guess some folks just revel in their own stupidity.

 

[The moose]

That's really bad. I truly don't understand why there is a significant number of people who reject the recommendations of wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands and using hand sanitizer. No one has suggested that those things are a cure-all, but they have been proven to have a positive affect on slowing the spread of the virus. If people would just get on board with those things, more business could remain open, people could get back to work, our hospitals would be less crowded, fewer people would get sick and/or die and very importantly, it would buy us time until treatments and safe vaccines are uncovered. I just don't understand the people taking a stand against wearing masks as if it were some kind of just cause.

As the county I live in has just been added to the mandatory mask list in Mississippi this week, I will be interested to see how many people actually comply. I have mentioned before that I frequently go to a neighborhood store that serves breakfast and lunch and I rarely see a mask there. This week, a guy I have known for 40 years has been hospitalized with COVID and he is usually in that store during breakfast and lunch, sitting at one of the crowded tables they have. I wondered if his sickness would have an affect on the men that gather there daily. So I masked up and went in yesterday, but all of the same faces were there, not another mask in sight. I did overhear a couple of them commenting on my mask, as if I was the one who was doing something I shouldn't. I guess some folks just revel in their own stupidity.

It is amazing but not really shocking.

During all this I have been getting out on the old motorcycle a ton more than the past. About every other week I just get out before the sun comes up Sunday morning to clear my head. So I have seen how serious other town are taking this well at least the gas stations and in traffic. The thing that makes it to where I do go out into the scary parts of the south is the motorcycle gear is pretty good PPE.

I was really down on New Orleans until you get out of town. I am really proud of us here but I have noticed a up tick in mask use within about two hundred miles (my range) I am hopeful it will be better tomorrow. It was like none in before in Mississippi, north Louisiana, and the Texas coast.

For the life of me I can't understand how this is so hard to get for people you listen to the doctors. Doctors care about your health news anchors and political parties don't care they care about making or raising money first.

 

[gummbo]

I am also alarmed by the recent announcement that states must bypass the CDC to report their Covid mortality and morbidity stats. This is beyond political, and people at the hospital are very concerned about it, no matter which political party they are affiliated with.

I wonder if this is what he meant when he said ,” and one day it’s all gonna disappear“ like magic

 

[gummbo]

It is amazing but not really shocking.

During all this I have been getting out on the old motorcycle a ton more than the past. About every other week I just get out before the sun comes up Sunday morning to clear my head. So I have seen how serious other town are taking this well at least the gas stations and in traffic. The thing that makes it to where I do go out into the scary parts of the south is the motorcycle gear is pretty good PPE.

I was really down on New Orleans until you get out of town. I am really proud of us here but I have noticed a up tick in mask use within about two hundred miles (my range) I am hopeful it will be better tomorrow. It was like none in before in Mississippi, north Louisiana, and the Texas coast.

For the life of me I can't understand how this is so hard to get for people you listen to the doctors. Doctors care about your health news anchors and political parties don't care they care about making or raising money first.

People need to stop turning to Fox News for their medical advice

 

[Optimus Prime]

On CNN the other day someone said that the mask/anti mask has shown is with how divided the country is and how everything is politicized and how hyper partisan it is that we’d never get the national seatbelt and motorcycle helmet laws passed now

 

[MT15]

Well, how and why would Trump want to do this? I see a lot of joking around that he’s trying to kill us all, but seriously, what is he even trying to do here?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/07/18/white-house-testing-budget-cdc-coronavirus/

I’m not seeing a tease, so let me summarize. He wants to cut billions of dollars that the states need to do testing and contact tracing. He also wants to cut billions out of the money allotted for the CDC, and more billions out of money for the military and the Pentagon for COVID mitigation. And these cuts are coming out of the Senate Republicans’ bill.