All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (6 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]

Oh oh...

Cedric Richmond, incoming member of Biden administration, tests positive for coronavirus | CNN Politics

Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond, who will join the incoming Biden administration as a White House senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement, tested positive for Covid-19, Biden transition spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said Thursday in a statement.

www.cnn.com

Saw that he's symptomatic, hopefully it's mild.

I know a few people that know him, I hear nothing but good things. My dad, life-long Republican, has very positive things to say about Cedric.

 

[superchuck500]

She’s from Colorado. The western slope went ‘full retard’ with her — she’s practically a caricature.

She always carries that gun - I think she's pitching a fit because you can't bring guns into Congress.

She's also Q.

 

[JRad]

She always carries that gun - I think she's pitching a fit because you can't bring guns into Congress.

She's also Q.

I will just never understand the “I have to be armed at all times” mentality. What are you so afraid of?

It’s not lost on me these are the same people saying others are “afraid of the virus”

 

[insidejob]

Guess who's pushing anti-vax narratives on Fox News? Everyone's favorite trollop, Tucker Carlson, of course.



There's a part two of you really feel like watching 15 whole minutes. I really can't stand his stupid smug voice or his stupid smug face so I only made it about 4 minutes or so into part one.

 

[DaveXA]

Guess who's pushing anti-vax narratives on Fox News? Everyone's favorite trollop, Tucker Carlson, of course.



There's a part two of you really feel like watching 15 whole minutes. I really can't stand his stupid smug voice or his stupid smug face so I only made it about 4 minutes or so into part one.

You lasted longer than me, lol.

 

[The moose]

Some fishy stuff going on here

Google News

Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, aggregated from sources all over the world by Google News.

news.google.com

Your uncle is cutting shipments this quick?

 

[zztop]

Here's a pretty funny parody of the audio of Tom Cruise going off on people on the set of the movie he's making for not following guidelines for COVID safety.

kind of sad that him ranting about not wearing masks made me forget for a moment that he belongs to the cult of scientology

 

[Eeyore]

I don't think he ever actually cared about mitigating the pandemic. Bob Woodward pretty much proved that to all of us when he got Trump on record as early as January (I'm not 100% certain it was January, but I know it was well before he even started lying about it just being the flu) saying that this was going to be a huge disaster. The way he handled this publicly from day one shows that he never cared at all about anything but the political implications of COVID and he seriously screwed that up too. I remember it being reported that Trump was going to try to basically weaponize the virus to make it look like only states with Democrat governors (or what he considered to be "blue states") were being affected the most.

He could have prevented so much suffering just by being competent. If he was there's a pretty good chance that he'd have won re-election. I'd have been willing to endure another 4 years of him in office to not have 310,000 dead Americans. We're on pace to have another 200,000 dead Americans over the next 60 days if nothing changes. I wish that I could see that not happening but what has been done to slow it down? Everyone who believes in science, not even just doctors, was saying that the winter was going to be a "second wave" of misery at the beginning of the pandemic.

Oh yeah. Another thing this stupid virus has caused: The poverty level in the US is now at 11%. We always talk about the unemployment rate and kinda gloss over the poverty rate. I know they go hand in hand but I thought I'd mention that statistic.

USA! USA! USA!

But... the stock market.

 

[Eeyore]

A little more that ties into the conservative's lack of empathy.

They don't want people on unemployment to receive a stimulus payment.

'Gratuitously Cruel': Outrage as GOP Tries to Prevent People on Unemployment From Also Receiving Stimulus Check | Common Dreams

"Funny enough, they never take issue with doubling down on corporate bailouts and tax cuts for the wealthy."

www.commondreams.org

 

[Poison]

I’ve sat here silently bewildered as over 300,000 Americans have lost their lives with no immediate end in sight and seemingly a complete lack of appetite to intervene on a necessary scale to attack the problem.

This article (from a guy who is now a very successful TV show host and who happened to be my lecturer in my university course 10+ years ago) offers a perfect explanation as to why Australia was incredibly well equipped to fend off the virus where the cultural and social conditions in the US have been the opposite.

It doesn’t hold us out as anything other than products of our environment, but I think it’s an excellent piece.

Carefree larrikin is a myth. Australians are obedient to authority

Australians have a deep belief in the role of government to solve our problems, which helps explain the success of the lockdown.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Dragon]

Yes national identity and approach with regards to how to manage issues has a lot to do with how easy it is to do the necessary things to contain the epidemic.

In DK it is called "Social responsibilty" and while the police will eventually fine people if they keep breaking the rules, they are mostly enforced by a form of social "shaming". We do have a few hardheaded conspiracy crazies on SoMe but most have dropped off the radar very quickly when their sponsors disappeared.

 

[efil4]

I’ve sat here silently bewildered as over 300,000 Americans have lost their lives with no immediate end in sight and seemingly a complete lack of appetite to intervene on a necessary scale to attack the problem.

This article (from a guy who is now a very successful TV show host and who happened to be my lecturer in my university course 10+ years ago) offers a perfect explanation as to why Australia was incredibly well equipped to fend off the virus where the cultural and social conditions in the US have been the opposite.

It doesn’t hold us out as anything other than products of our environment, but I think it’s an excellent piece.

Carefree larrikin is a myth. Australians are obedient to authority

Australians have a deep belief in the role of government to solve our problems, which helps explain the success of the lockdown.

www.smh.com.au

good read.

I would add our ( American ) way "of life". We are some VERY materialistic folks. Our cars, our homes...many view them as "status" symbols. Why drive a $20,000 Hyundai SUV when you can show "you have arrived" with a $50,000 Audi SUV? Why live in an 1800 sq ft home, when, for just a tad bit more ( over 30 years ) you can live in a 3000 sq ft home? All this at the age of 30-35.
So when you talk about "lockdowns" and how it will ruin the economy, what you are REALLY talking about is ruining the lives of those who have lived beyond their means. There are a great many who DONT and will feel the brunt as well, but there is also those who do and stand to lose a lot. So to avoid that loss, they rail against the system designed to protect them. They arent interested in protecting themselves as much as they are more interested in protecting their "status". If their car is repossessed or home foreclosed, the fear is how they will be viewed...a failure.
We have succumbed to "keeping up with the Joneses" mantra. Oh, Jim bought a boat? I need a boat. He got a new car? i need a new car. I see it every day all day. Younger neighbors that have Can-ams ( they dont hunt ), boats, 4 different Yeti coolers of varying colors. Its a problem here. Is it widespread? im not sure. But i do know that these folks are the same ones who send their kids to school sick because they simply cannot afford to miss income. Why? because they are saddled with debt. So it becomes an issue of self-preservation- both from COVID and financial stress. And you have to choose one. There is no sense of community when things begin to unravel. Which then broadens to a sense of national pride. We simply cant help one another because we are too busy trying to maintain our own way of life.

Ahhh idk - maybe im ranting.

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

Ok...so am I the only one that is thinking "Why in the hell does he need to get the Vaccine?"

He gets his shot today, then 21(or 14?) days later he gets the 2nd then 14 days after that, he's considered immune, problem is that by the time he's immune...he's out of a job any freaking way, then on top of all that it isn't like he did anything in the first place. That could've been a shot that someone w/ a particular vulnerability to COVID could've received or it could've been for a first responder.

Maybe its just me being a partisan thinking that no one in that administration should get a shot because of their ineptitude in handling the pandemic response.

 

[JRad]

Part of it is entitlement, part of it goes back to the lack of empathy mentioned in another thread.

"I don't care if I get it" "You don't need that mask" and anything along those lines are just a lack of empathy regarding the people around you. You don't know if that person you laughed at for wearing a mask has an underlying condition. You don't know if that person you coughed on in Rouses has to go home and take care of an infirmed parent. Just because you don't care if you get it or not doesn't entitle you to make irresponsible decisions regarding those around you.

Wearing a mask is not enough of a burden on someone's life* to be so indignant about wearing one. It's such a zero impact on your life in exchange for helping protect those around you.


*I do understand there are exceptions for some

 

[JRad]

Ok...so am I the only one that is thinking "Why in the hell does he need to get the Vaccine?"

He gets his shot today, then 21(or 14?) days later he gets the 2nd then 14 days after that, he's considered immune, problem is that by the time he's immune...he's out of a job any freaking way, then on top of all that it isn't like he did anything in the first place. That could've been a shot that someone w/ a particular vulnerability to COVID could've received or it could've been for a first responder.

Maybe its just me being a partisan thinking that no one in that administration should get a shot because of their ineptitude in handling the pandemic response.

Trump and Pence both publicly getting the vaccine is at least some bit of penance. If seeing both Trump and Pence getting it will encourage that base to also get the shot, it helps us all.

But no, they don't deserve it.

 

[wardorican]

Ok...so am I the only one that is thinking "Why in the hell does he need to get the Vaccine?"

He gets his shot today, then 21(or 14?) days later he gets the 2nd then 14 days after that, he's considered immune, problem is that by the time he's immune...he's out of a job any freaking way, then on top of all that it isn't like he did anything in the first place. That could've been a shot that someone w/ a particular vulnerability to COVID could've received or it could've been for a first responder.

Maybe its just me being a partisan thinking that no one in that administration should get a shot because of their ineptitude in handling the pandemic response.

Gotta remember it's also about messaging. If Trump got the vaccine in public, you'd get like 40 million more people, minimum (IMHO) want to get vaccinated.

The more high profile people that get it, and get it early, the better. His one shot is a drop in the pond.

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

Trump and Pence both publicly getting the vaccine is at least some bit of penance. If seeing both Trump and Pence getting it will encourage that base to also get the shot, it helps us all.

But no, they don't deserve it.

Gotta remember it's also about messaging. If Trump got the vaccine in public, you'd get like 40 million more people, minimum (IMHO) want to get vaccinated.

The more high profile people that get it, and get it early, the better. His one shot is a drop in the pond.

I guess you guys are right, its all about the big picture...I didn't think about anything other than how they don't deserve to be vaccinated, my thinking was that Biden/Harris should get it publicly, but then kinda like what you said, that wouldn't do anything to get their base to take the vaccine and we need them to buy in to taking the vaccine.

 

[insidejob]

Since I shared Tucker Carlson's ranting against the vaccine last night, I think it's only fair to show how dumb he is: