coronavirus

I’m grown tired of the Daily Outrage stories. “Trump said this! What an asshole!” “McConnell did this! What an asshole!” There’s just so fucking many of them, each of them more shocking and morally reprehensible than the next. Honestly, if you made me king for a day, I’d channel Travis McGee, who had similar thoughts (from The Empty Copper Sea; go read the quote): I’d go through the land in disguise, rewarding the good and lopping the heads off of the assholes. By the time I was done, the place would look like a macabre bowling alley. I have violent thoughts, I know. Usually, I just move them aside and try to continue conducting myself in a civilized fashion. Who knows what lurks inside the hearts and minds of men, indeed? But this one is special. This guy…well, I honestly don’t know what we, as a civilized society, should do with this one. Pennsylvania State Rep. Andrew Lewis (R-Plague Rat) is a special kind of asshole. On May 27, he announced on his Facebook page that he had been “secretly self-quarantining” for a few days after being tested positive for COVID-19. He began feeling ill the second week of May, was tested on May 18, and told he was positive on May 20. He chose not to go public “[o]ut of respect for my family, and those who I may have exposed.” He said in the comments on his Facebook post that he privately told family members and some who might have been exposed, and said members of his staff “who met the criteria exposure was immediately contacted and required to self-isolate for 14 days from their date of possible exposure.” At least one fellow Republican, and possibly two more, were advised that Lewis may have infected them, and they should self-quarantine. Bad enough, right? He decided who he should and shouldn’t know about him breathing the Coronavirus on everyone and everything he encountered. But it gets better. Lewis told his Republican caucus’s Human Resources Department. He did NOT tell any Democrats. Neither did the GOP caucus. So the House Democrats who came into contact with him didn’t know he was blowing his Corona breath in their faces. Democrats found out…yesterday. Yesterday. No one told them. For almost a week. Like many in the Rattus Norvegicus Caucus, Lewis didn’t participate remotely in legislative business, and he refused to wear a mask. The idiot who was told to self-isolate, Russ Diamond (R-Sewer Rodent) has openly boasted that he goes in public without a mask. Apparently masks are for sissies. (No word if Macho Man Russ Diamond is currently battling a scorching case of COVID-19 as you read this. He says he’s fine, and intends to keep showing up, unmasked and apparently untested.) Democrats are not happy. Democrat Kevin Boyle, who chairs a House committee that both Diamond and Lewis breathe all over, says he is outraged that he and his fellow Democrats were not told. Most Republicans, he says, refuse to wear masks in the committee. “Whoever knew this in the Republican leadership and did not inform the broader membership and staff, they need to resign immediately. This is outrageous and immoral.” Boyle intends to get tested within a day or so. Boyle’s committee has been at the center of a pitched […]

When the going gets tough, the tough go golfing. Or at least Donald Trump does. This three minute recap of the Memorial Day weekend and today’s new milestone in America, 100,000 dead from COVID-19, puts Trump’s coronavirus response and his entire presidency into a simple context: America has no government right now. We’re in one of the wrost crises we have ever faced and we lack a functioning federal government. 100,000 Americans have lost their lives. 40,000,000 have lost their jobs. Trump is golfing. Vote him out in November. pic.twitter.com/eEjHIyYy5B — Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 27, 2020 Here are some stunning statistics to go with this. — Temporary eviction moratoriums are set to expire in half of the states — One-fifth of Americans missed rent payments this month — Unemployment benefits are set to expire in two months We're barreling towards economic devastation and the government is nowhere to be found. — Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 27, 2020 Also, .@WellsFargo mortgage suspension ends July. — 🇺🇸 (@singlepayer) May 27, 2020 There was an article in the NY Times today that said we are facing a “renter’s crisis.” People are unemployed, broke, and can’t pay their rent – and at the same time states are “opening” and lifting restrictions on evictions. This is a looming disaster that can be averted. — John Bolony (@bolony) May 27, 2020 Reich is right. A lot of Americans could be out in the street and hungry. Trump is setting himself up to be Herbert Hoover Redux — and you think he’s worried? Hell, no. He’s playing golf. And why should he worry? Corporations are being bailed out and the Dow is okay. What else matters?

Did you ever notice how anybody who drives slower than you is an idiot, while anybod who drives faster than you is a maniac?   George Carlin When you look at all of the truly insane shit that Trump pulls every day, if you want to stay properly grounded, it’s important to remember Trump’s chosen career path, real estate. Let’s say you want to build a house. The county assessor values the property at $60,000, and it costs $40,000 to build the house. Moron logic tells us that this is a $100,000 piece of property. Enter Don The Con, whose job it is to convince you that that house is actually worth $225,000. You can see Trump’s real estate chops in every thing he does, especially concerning the coronavirus. When pressed, if Trump doesn’t like the numbers, he simply pulls new numbers out of his ass, tosses them out there, and intones waddaya got to lose? Even using the best possible practices to calculate, it is widely accepted that both the infection numbers, as well as the death toll are being woefully under reported. But even those numbers are too painfully high for Trump, his White House is getting ready to go to war on those numbers, claiming that greedy hospital who are padding their coronavirus numbers  in order to get paid by Medicare?!? Trump regularly makes up mystery dates for some magic vaccine to swoop in and save the day, and personally takes a dangerous drug that he has touted as a miracle cure. But I think that this one might just take the cake. Several weeks ago, at the height of the PPE shortage crisis, Trump almost peed his pants behind the press room podium as he touted a miracle machine that would make mask shortages a thing of the past. Made by a small company in Ohio, you simply hung used masks on racks, sprayed them down with the wonder solution in the gun, and viola! the masks could be reused 80 times, with Trump kicking up the ante by bragging up to 100 times each. And if you act today, we’ll double your order for free, just pay a separate handling charge. Trump bragged from the podium that the government had purchased 60 of these machines, and was sending them to hospitals and clinics around the country, with more soon to follow. But, Trump being Trump, here comes the con, and it’s a doozy. It turns out that both Trump and the small company in Ohio were full of shit. As, the machines functioned properly, and the spray contained therein did properly disinfect the masks and make them reusable again. But not for any 80-100 additional uses. Hospitals and clinics noted that after 2-4 treatments, the paper on the masks started to deteriorate, making them useless. So much for another miracle fix. But again, because it’s Trump, there’s even more to this sordid saga. It turns out that the Ohio company had been trying for months to get an FDA waiver to sell the machine, but could only obtain a limited waiver from the FDA, mainly because Dr Rick Bright was suspicious of the company’s claims. If that name sounds familiar, it should, Trump recently bounced him from his position for shitting all over Trump’s miracle cure. But never fear, corruption to the rescue! A company exec got into somebody’s ear, and that somebody got into Peter Navarro’s ear, […]

Monday will be an especially poignant Memorial Day because this year it has a dual meaning. It’s a memorial not only for the fallen troops in wars throughout our history, but for Americans struck down by COVID-19, which is Donald Trump’s war against his own citizens. More specifically, it’s a war between Trump’s ego and reality and rather than doing the sane thing and listening to the experts he decided to do the selfish thing — true to form — which was to do nothing and let a pandemic rage out of control on our shores. Most if not all of the victims of COVID-19 would still be alive if Trump didn’t choose to ignore the virus in the childish hope that if he paid no attention to it, it would simply go way. This is an American tragedy and I don’t minimize that for a moment by offering up the following song parody. This is offered to give a little comic relief on this Memorial Day weekend, because humor is a way to deflect from sadness, and get us into enjoying the moment and looking forward to brighter days. In that spirit, here’s Ode to Hydroxychloroquine.  (to the melody of Love Potion Number Nine) I was in Davos, never thought a bit They asked about COVID, I said you can quit I’ve got it handled, it won’t get here any time and if does there’s — hydroxychloroquine.    Then things got worse, I had a talk with Mitch He said fer crissakes, this could be a bitch, I said don’t you worry I’ll shut it down real fine I’ll tell my supporters — take hydroxychloroquine   Mitch said forget it man I think you’re done for sure I said no really I got this, I’ve got a magic cure They’ll take it from their fishtanks and they won’t even blink For me they’ll drink bleach eat Tide pods  — cause they don’t think!   I said go back to church now, you’ll be just great Don’t worry ’bout the death toll, that’s liberal bellyache, If you just keep believing, in November we’ll be fine Either that or you’ll be dead from — hydroxychloroquine hydroxychloroquine….hydroxychloroquine…hydroxy-cloro-quiiiieyeiiieyennn      

I would honestly like to know what Trump’s exalted base thinks about the fact that he does jack nothing but watch cable TV and golf, even in the midst of the worst pandemic to hit America in 100 years, while almost 100,000 people are dead. In the event that they can ever wake up and smell the coffee, great attack ads are coming out all the time and here’s the latest. 📺 NEW VIDEO Nearly 100,000 Americans are dead. With no plan in sight, Donald Trump has decided to hit the golf course.#TrumpGolfsYouDie pic.twitter.com/VmxeBpRPuj — MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) May 23, 2020 Maybe it’s just a question of time. Maybe when COVID-19 kills enough people in red states, they’ll start to wake up. It’s sad if that’s what it takes, but that may be what it takes.

The New York Times has chosen a simple yet powerful memorial message honoring the 100,000 Americans who have already died from the coronavirus. It’s devoted the entire front page to a list of the victims, with a one-line biography, such as “Romi Cohen, 91, New York City, saved 56 families from the Gestapo.” Every time Donald Trump mentions the statistics of COVID-19, it is with lack of interest, in his characteristic monotone. This simple memorial on the front page of the Times is a powerful reminder that these Americans were people of diverse backgrounds, who contributed to America in countless ways. There is no photo on the front page. That’s a first as well. Trump will either ignore the Times or pretend to cancel his subscription once again. He’s out playing golf now, anyway.

Here’s a sentence you’ve never heard before, Hand me that piano.   George Carlin OK kiddies, make sure that the safety bait is snug across your waist, and make sure you keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. Because ready or not, the train is leaving the station, it’s gonna be a helluva ride, and nobody knows when was the last time this thing had a safety check. We are about to enter a brand new phase of the coronavirus pandemic, and unlike most of them, I honestly believe that this one will be possible to time on the calendar. This stage, which may well set the national mood for the rest of the year, and bring about incredible internal strife will be measured between two national holidays, Memorial Day and the 4th of July. Right now you have 50 different states, all in various stages of reopening their states and economies, all at varying speeds, and all following widely divergent rules and schedules to control the reopening. This is because Emperor Gluteus Maximus has no time for shit like this, since he’s busy screaming at his press secretary about that photo of him wearing a mask leaking out. Basically the way it goes is, you have one bunch of Governors, mostly in deep red states, who are basically throwing open every window in the house, like it was the first 70 degree day of spring, but ignoring the fact that it’s raining like hell and windy outside, and all the furniture is getting soaked. And then you have a bunch of states, mostly blue, with Governors who are running down the street next to the bike, and they’re not gonna let go of the goddamn seat and handlebars until they’re sure that the kid isn’t going to take a spill and crack his skull. The problem with all of this disparity is that these stay-at-home-orders and shelter-in-place rules were a one off. They were issued in a time of sudden, imminent crisis, and responded to for the same reasons. But now, the moronic proclamations of El Pendejo Presidente notwithstanding, by taking those first steps to reopen, whether baby steps or a full gallop, the governors themselves are tacitly implying that the crisis period has passed. And with that understanding, regardless of what happens, you are never going to get everybody locked down for weeks or months again. Here’s where my calendar calculation comes in. Remember the simple math of the spread of this pandemic. From the date of infection, there is an 8-14 day gestation period before the first symptoms become apparent. After that, there is another 6-12 day lag in general before the symptoms deteriorate to the point where the patient goes to the hospital to be tested. If a person is infected over the Memorial Day weekend, this means that there is a 14-26 day lag before that infection will show up in hospitals, and on graphs and charts. And by my crude reckoning, that’s the second to third week in June. So, by the time we get to Independence Day, we’re going to have a pretty good idea of just how successful this crazed early reopening in states like Texas, Georgia, and Florida, where governors threw open the doors on days when the states reported their worst single day infection rate […]

The world breathes a little easier today, as five more countries have signed the nuclear test ban treaty. Today’s signatories were Chad, Sierra Leone, Upper Bolta, Monaco, and Iceland   George Carlin You know, different people can have different reactions to being exposed to stupid. Hell, the same person can have different reactions to being exposed to stupid. For instance, you can see somebody getting ready to do something, not realizing that they’re missing a critical thing, and when they end up on their ass, you actually feel sorry for them, they were accidentally stupid. And you can see somebody else getting ready to do something stupid, already realizing it would be stupid, and they do it anyway. And when they end up on their ass, your only thought is Serves you right, you dumb ass! When you look at today’s GOP, they most definitely belong in Column B. Going all the way back to 2009, GOP politicians, inspired by the Koch brothers discovered, that as long as you had a catchy enough knee jerk reaction slogan, such as repealing Obamacare, you were golden. As long as they keep promising to repeal Obamacare if you vote for them, you never have to actually deliver on that promise, even if you control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Hell, that’s what bullshit excuses are for. Because the Republicans have become so used to the fact that they can keep pulling this same lame shit on their own sheeple and keep getting reelected, they’ve lulled themselves into thinking that they can say or do whatever they want, and pay no political penalty for it. But for the last 3 1/2 years, there have been disturbing signs that there has been a sea change, but the GOP is too fat, dumb and happy to pay any attention. But it’s about to come back and bite them in the ass. What’s that old saw that I hate so much? Oh yeah, Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line. That may be true, but you know what else Democrats tend to do when they get good and pissed off? They fucking organize! How many times have you and I done over this particular timeline? It started on January 21st, 2017 when more than one million men, women and children descended on Washington DC, adorned with their adorable little pink pussy hats, spawning worldwide protest marches in solidarity that may have set the Guinness record for a single day protest. The GOP’s immediate response? Fucking whinerbag crybaby sore loser Democrats. The hell with me,something else will come up to take their attention away. They projected the shortcomings of their own base on the Democrats. Nothing to worry about. But it didn’t go away. Part of it was a pure miscalculation on the part of the GOP. They misunderstood just how deep the loathing of everything that Donald Trump stands for and represents really was. But they didn’t stop there, it went on and on and on. The Muslim ban, the political gamesmanship over the DACA recipients, the child separation orders for the southern borders. Instead of letting the fire burn out by denying it fuel, Trump and the GOP just kept pouring gasoline on the fire. The 2018 midterms were a nightmare that surpassed even the GOP’s nightmare scenario, but they didn’t take the lesson. Not really. […]

Does anybody remember a TV show in the late 50’s, “Naked City?” It signed out with the tagline, “There are eight million stories in the Naked City. This has been one of them.” As we live and breathe, 90,000 other Americans are unable to, because Donald Trump couldn’t be bothered to take the advice of experts and do something about coronavirus. Here’s a new political ad from Eleven Films, commissioned by RemedyPAC. The young woman here who tells the sad story of her father’s death is extremely moving. Literally, there are 90,000 stories in the COVID-19 sage. And this is one of them. Let’s hope we start hearing from other family members of lost Americans, to speak for those who no longer can speak for themselves.

The trial balloon that Donald Trump floated on Monday, that he was taking hydroxychloroquine, with the permission of his White House physician, turned into a lead zeppelin and bombed, and it’s only Wednesday. Now Trump has announced that he will finish up taking hydroxychlorooquine in two days. Naturally, this statement gives credence to the theory that many people had to begin with, that he was lying through his teeth the entire time, just getting another distraction out there into the news cycle, so that the fact that over 90,000 Americans are dead and testing is so pathetically far behind is not focused on. Anything but that, because for that, he has no answer. He also said he took "an original dose" of azithromycin as a preventative. But "you don't have to take it simultaneously". Because, apparently one dose of antibiotics is how it works nowadays. — Bill McCarty (@billyboy14) May 20, 2020 For the sake of the country, Trump's doctors could consider giving him antipsychotics. They could just tell him that the pills are hydroxychloroquine. He'd never miss a dose. — NotATweeter16 (@NotATweeter16) May 20, 2020 Take it all now, get it over with. I'm a doctor. That's what I say. I'm Dr. McCoy, from Space Force. — That Record Got Me High Podcast Cohost (@BusStationDrift) May 20, 2020 You mean for the imaginary medication his doctors are giving him that’s actually skittles? — Barbara O'Toole (@barbaraot) May 20, 2020 Is that when the creature explodes from his chest? — Tech Witch “Worsh Yer Hands!” (@nerdgirldv) May 20, 2020 This last tweeter might be on to something. Let’s see what Trump comes up with to distract us on Friday. That’s all this is, is a game show, and our nation’s capital is the set.