All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (17 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?

 

[N.O.Bronco]

Hard to process what I am reading. Telling seniors to basically risk their lives so the economy can do a little better.

Almost feels like we are nearing that stage where the cult leaders start convincing their followers to kill themselves

 

[dtc]

Oh I'm sure the Republicans and their lobbyists got some unrelated pork in the bill, but the Democrats seem to be trying to include many of their pet projects.

Two comments.

1. "some unrelated pork" is really a kind way ot saying TONS OF BS FOR BILLIONAIRES.

2. There is an stupid, asinine, ridiculous amount of political nonsense in the proposals I've read from Democrats. At the current time, I don't care how much minority ownership is in place nor do I care if there are future environmental restrictions put in place.

Clean it up and make it happen or go die in a fire. That's my suggestion.

 

[not2rich]

ALL of those who put their own interests before the country's should go to prison, Democrat or Republican.

 

[Dadsdream]

Two comments.

1. "some unrelated pork" is really a kind way ot saying TONS OF BS FOR BILLIONAIRES.

2. There is an stupid, asinine, ridiculous amount of political nonsense in the proposals I've read from Democrats. At the current time, I don't care how much minority ownership is in place nor do I care if there are future environmental restrictions put in place.

Clean it up and make it happen or go die in a fire. That's my suggestion.

Everybody pay close attention . . . this is one of those very rare occasions when dtc and I are in total agreement.

 

[EmBeeFiveOhFour]

JFC. Remember when he tried to use $400 million in foreign aid to assist his re-election campaign and was impeached for it? Imagine what would happen with $500 billion.

 

[not2rich]

JFC. Remember when he tried to use $400 million in foreign aid to assist his re-election campaign and was impeached for it? Imagine what would happen with $500 billion.

That's the thing.

This Administration hasn't earned the trust that it will send the money where it's needed instead of self-enrichment and rewarding cronies.

The McConnell-led Senate hasn't earned the trust that they will act in good faith to save the country rather than advance the perceived interests of the GOP.

If McConnell really thinks it's imperative to pass a bill immediately, then do what GOP senators forced Obama to do in 2009 - give the Democrats what they want, even if some of it is pork.

If Trump wants a resolution, then his administration needs to actively mediate the negotiations to get a bill that both parties will support.

 

[Optimus Prime]

.......In a macabre reprise of Rahm Emanuel’s “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” we see the Trump administration and its Senate allies exploiting a public-health crisis to push through a long-standing, to advance pet causes:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is attempting to use the crisis to get rid of the Dodd-Frank protections enacted after the financial collapse in 2008.

The Justice Department wants to allow people to be detained indefinitely without charges or trial.

The administration used the coronavirus not just to evacuate 7,300 Peace Corps volunteers but to fire them.

Trump’s team used the surgeon general’s public-health pronouncement to deny due process to asylum seekers.

The administration also cited the crisis in trying to make it easier for federal workers not to have union dues withheld from their paychecks, the New York Times reported.

And now, Senate Republicans, working with the White House, are attempting to push through a stimulus measure that offers a bonanza to corporations.

It gives $50 billion to the airline industry without preventing layoffs. It expands corporate tax cuts. It gives Mnuchin a $500 billion blank check to hand out to businesses...........

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/23/president-with-no-empathy-exploits-coronavirus-crisis/

 

[Optimus Prime]

With hundreds of millions of people now isolating themselves around the world, the novel coronavirus pandemic has become a truly global event.

And while its geopolitical implications should be considered secondary to matters of health and safety, those implications may, in the long term, prove just as consequential—especially when it comes to the United States’ global position.

Global orders have a tendency to change gradually at first and then all at once.

In 1956, a botched intervention in the Suez laid bare the decay in British power and marked the end of the United Kingdom’s reign as a global power.

Today, U.S. policymakers should recognize that if the United States does not rise to meet the moment, the coronavirus pandemic could mark another “Suez moment.”.

It is now clear to all but the most blinkered partisans that Washington has botched its initial response.

Missteps by key institutions, from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have undermined confidence in the capacity and competence of U.S. governance.

Public statements by President Donald Trump, whether Oval Office addresses or early-morning tweets, have largely served to sow confusion and spread uncertainty.

Both public and private sectors have proved ill-prepared to produce and distribute the tools necessary for testing and response.

And internationally, the pandemic has amplified Trump’s instincts to go it alone and exposed just how unprepared Washington is to lead a global response.

The status of the United States as a global leader over the past seven decades has been built not just on wealth and power but also, and just as important, on the legitimacy that flows from the United States’ domestic governance, provision of global public goods, and ability and willingness to muster and coordinate a global response to crises.

The coronavirus pandemic is testing all three elements of U.S. leadership. So far, Washington is failing the test............

The Coronavirus Could Reshape Global Order

www.foreignaffairs.com

 

[Saintamaniac]

More death from not


Like I said, “what about the Dems!” I’m convinced some of you will use it to rationalize everything up until the moment we truly pass the threshold into an illiberal failed state.


Though if you want to get into the economics of what constitutes an actual quality bailout package in a severe demand and supply side recession brought on by a major economic shock by way of a pandemic, relative to the two sides proposals and stated executive leadership, I’m down!....Of course I’m guessing some snide remark indicating you aren’t actually here for meaningful discussion again. Thinking if you possibly triggered the lib your work is done?

But you will have a hard time defending no-strings attached corporate handouts and woefully inadequate safeguards for individuals....Something you all feigned to care about in 08 before Trump rode in and killed the so-called Tea Party that supposedly really cared about no-strings corporate handouts that were simply used for stock buybacks and padding upper level staff at the expense of table scraps for the rest....Meanwhile the Senate could pass the House bill tonight.

but I am guessing your argument probably rests on something that amounts to the Democrats are at fault because they didn’t simply capitulate to the corrupt practices of their opponents, which falls in line with the fascistic mindset many have embraced as some virtue to counter oppositional forces.

Will? Will Hunting is that you?


Dude the only thing that would make this post better is if Matt Damon said it in the bar scene of Good Will Hunting when he embarrasses the clown whose blocking Ben Affleck. It's hard to believe that the Republicans actually thought that they could pass this monstrosity of a bill and it shows you that they don't give a damn about the people. They are more concerned with giving trump a half a billion dollar slush fund to try to bribe his way into re-election while enriching himself all due in part to his administration's complete and utter incompetence in preparing for and responding to a pandemic that they were warned about. They are trying to cash in on the American people. Lessons have been learned from the last bailout. No way in hell Democrat allow trump and Mnuchin to have free reign with half a billion dollars as they shouldn't. It would behoove them to get the message out now that Republicans are trying to use this unprecedented national emergency to help themselves and trump to enrich themselves of the American people's money while Americans are dying.

 

[Beach Friends]

More death from not


Like I said, “what about the Dems!” I’m convinced some of you will use it to rationalize everything up until the moment we truly pass the threshold into an illiberal failed state.


Though if you want to get into the economics of what constitutes an actual quality bailout package in a severe demand and supply side recession brought on by a major economic shock by way of a pandemic, relative to the two sides proposals and stated executive leadership, I’m down!....Of course I’m guessing some snide remark indicating you aren’t actually here for meaningful discussion again. Thinking if you possibly triggered the lib your work is done?

But you will have a hard time defending no-strings attached corporate handouts and woefully inadequate safeguards for individuals....Something you all feigned to care about in 08 before Trump rode in and killed the so-called Tea Party that supposedly really cared about no-strings corporate handouts that were simply used for stock buybacks and padding upper level staff at the expense of table scraps for the rest....Meanwhile the Senate could pass the House bill tonight.

but I am guessing your argument probably rests on something that amounts to the Democrats are at fault because they didn’t simply capitulate to the corrupt practices of their opponents, which falls in line with the fascistic mindset many have embraced as some virtue to counter oppositional forces.

No anger to spare for the Democrats? Just going to ignore that they are trying to load all types of provisions in that are totally unrelated to the crisis that they know the GOP will never agree to?

 

[The moose]

No anger to spare for the Democrats? Just going to ignore that they are trying to load all types of provisions in that are totally unrelated to the crisis that they know the GOP will never agree to?

Well considering just how bad the ball was dropped by this leadership and the public can see it they better push thru what ever the Democrats want.

This president doesn't have a pair enough to use the Defense Production Act.

He doesn't have the smarts to lead or get out the forking way and let people do their jobs.

After living thru Katrina the government needs to take control and set the tone. The sidestep and letting the govnerors figure this out is a horrible mistake.

Now the talk of back to work soon is crazy.

But go right on and blame the Democrats. Are the Dems the reason we are not testing? Nope

The first thing the president should have done is Defense Production Act before the shut down. All big three have closed factories put them on line. The car industry that just got a huge bailout would have been the first to help our nation.

 

[Beach Friends]

Well considering just how bad the ball was dropped by this leadership and the public can see it they better push thru what ever the Democrats want.

This president doesn't have a pair enough to use the Defense Production Act.

He doesn't have the smarts to lead or get out the forking way and let people do their jobs.

After living thru Katrina the government needs to take control and set the tone. The sidestep and letting the govnerors figure this out is a horrible mistake.

Now the talk of back to work soon is crazy.

But go right on and blame the Democrats. Are the Dems the reason we are not testing? Nope

The first thing the president should have done is Defense Production Act before the shut down. All big three have closed factories put them on line. The car industry that just got a huge bailout would have been the first to help our nation.

The Democratic party is committing suicide right before our eyes.

 

[Taurus]

Burn them all.
Every single one who used inside information to profit from this calamity needs to do time.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

 

[N.O.Bronco]

No anger to spare for the Democrats? Just going to ignore that they are trying to load all types of provisions in that are totally unrelated to the crisis that they know the GOP will never agree to?

Here’s the problem, which I think you must instinctively understand since you failed to make a single substantive critique besides attempting to scorn me for not criticizing one side as you actively engage as a loyal partisan now and for as long as I have seen you on this board or the other. If you think the Senate bill is sufficient, then the House Bill is only better. More relief to families(More money, higher income thresholds), more money to small businesses, more funding for critical safety nets, more robust tax credits and loans for businesses. All with greater checks to make sure it doesn’t just get hoarded like 2008.

I’m guessing you are referring to things like the environmental rules on airlines if they take bailout money? But here’s the rub there as well, that is in coordination with a more robust bailout package and an exemption from fuel taxes temporarily to get the airlines back on their feet. The terms of the loan are to not load up our environmental tax bill as a double whammy. So more money in exchange for taking greater responsibility long term.

And if your problem is simply that the Dems are putting things the other side will turn their nose up at(setting aside the Democrats can pass whatever they want in one chamber while the other side needs Democratic votes, making Repubs the weaker party with less leverage), I’m not sure how you follow that through to the logical conclusion without looking absurd. Since you know what the House thinks is a non-starter from Republicans(and most Americans based on 2008)? The sort of billion dollar no-strings giveaways to banks, oil companies, and other flush businesses that we know from recent experience take that as an opportunity to not take care of the average worker(which they are woefully under protecting, another non-starter for the other side), but to line upper staff pockets and buyback stocks for shareholders. So if you want to level that critique at the Dems, you are stuck with why that doesn’t equally apply to the Republicans, and more importantly, why, if you are tolerable of that sort of posturing from Republicans, that sort of disregard is more desirable and acceptable than the Democrats posturing to an opposition that sees as non-starters things like checks and balances on businesses, and expanded healthcare subsidies in a pandemic.

And like I said before, by all means champ, go on and defend that Republican posturing and provisions. I’d like to hear how the right thing to break a stalemate where the Democrats have more leverage is to go with the side that’s package is prioritizing corporate bailouts over the individual and drawing a line in the sand so as to not hold corporations accountable, remove needed protections and subsidies for individuals, allow tenants to evict, natural monopoly utilities to cut off people, and restricting lobbyists from
Industries that take bailout money.

 

[Beach Friends]

Here’s the problem, which I think you must instinctively understand since you failed to make a single substantive critique besides attempting to scorn me for not criticizing one side as you actively engage as a loyal partisan now and for as long as I have seen you on this board or the other. If you think the Senate bill is sufficient, then the House Bill is only better. More relief to families(More money, higher income thresholds), more money to small businesses, more funding for critical safety nets, more robust tax credits and loans for businesses. All with greater checks to make sure it doesn’t just get hoarded like 2008.

I’m guessing you are referring to things like the environmental rules on airlines if they take bailout money? But here’s the rub there as well, that is in coordination with a more robust bailout package and an exemption from fuel taxes temporarily to get the airlines back on their feet. The terms of the loan are to not load up our environmental tax bill as a double whammy. So more money in exchange for taking greater responsibility long term.

And if your problem is simply that the Dems are putting things the other side will turn their nose up at(setting aside the Democrats can pass whatever they want in one chamber while the other side needs Democratic votes, making Repubs the weaker party with less leverage), I’m not sure how you follow that through to the logical conclusion without looking absurd. Since you know what the House thinks is a non-starter from Republicans(and most Americans based on 2008)? The sort of billion dollar no-strings giveaways to banks, oil companies, and other flush businesses that we know from recent experience take that as an opportunity to not take care of the average worker(which they are woefully under protecting, another non-starter for the other side), but to line upper staff pockets and buyback stocks for shareholders. So if you want to level that critique at the Dems, you are stuck with why that doesn’t equally apply to the Republicans, and more importantly, why, if you are tolerable of that sort of posturing from Republicans, that sort of disregard is more desirable and acceptable than the Democrats posturing to an opposition that sees as non-starters things like checks and balances on businesses, and expanded healthcare subsidies in a pandemic.

And like I said before, by all means champ, go on and defend that Republican posturing and provisions. I’d like to hear how the right thing to break a stalemate where the Democrats have more leverage is to go with the side that’s package is prioritizing corporate bailouts over the individual and drawing a line in the sand so as to not hold corporations accountable, remove needed protections and subsidies for individuals, allow tenants to evict, natural monopoly utilities to cut off people, and restricting lobbyists from
Industries that take bailout money.

If you want to have a discussion it needs to be based in reality. There was a bipartisan agreement, but when Pelosi and company came back from Spring Break they decided that they couldn't let a crisis go to waste so they had their laundry list of unrelated leftist demands they foolishly thought they could force in using the American public hostage.

America doesn't want the silly Green New Deal. The weirdo branch of the Democratic party is not going to be able to use this crisis to force it upon the nation.

As the Democrats have a habit of doing, they have overplayed their hand. They have once again shown that they no longer represent workers, but rather an ever decreasing number of fools entrenched in wokeness. They are going to have to grow up in a hurry.

 

[The moose]

The Democratic party is committing suicide right before our eyes.

I guess you can't see how any other nation is absolutely killing us in testing?

I guess you can't see the potential sacrifice if thousands of people to keep the economy going?

But then again you defend everything this leadership has ever done.

I guess you seemed to miss the denial of the scope of the problem until what last week?

 

[Dadsdream]

A guy self-medicated and died? You can't legislate against stupidity in a country where people eat Tide pods on a dare.

EDIT ADD: What they consumed was reportedly not the malaria medication form of chloroquine, but an ingredient listed on a parasite treatment for fish, according to NBC News.

Arizona man dies after self-medicating to treat coronavirus

An Arizona man has died and his wife is in critical condition after they both took the drug chloroquine phosphate, which has been touted as a treatment for coronavirus despite a lack of study on it or approval by federal health agencies.

www.foxnews.com