Coronavirus

Political discussion here. Any reasonable opinion is welcome, but due to the sensitive nature of the topic area, please be nice and respectful to others. No flaming or trolling, please. And please keep political commentary out of the other board areas and confine it to this area. Thanks!
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Nodack
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Nodack »

Not confusing at all.

Putin sends military plane to U.S. with supplies to fight coronavirus after talking with Trump
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronaviru ... ald-trump/

A Million N95 Masks Are Coming From China—on Board the New England Patriots’ Plane
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-million- ... 1585821600

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Superbone
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Superbone »

Fox News host asks a doctor about the government’s coronavirus response — some say his answer might have cost him a return appearance

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fox-n ... 2020-04-02
"Be Legendary."

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Nodack
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Nodack »

I don’t think FOX has a blind loyalty to Trump no matter what, like is portrayed. I think they have a blind loyalty to the Republican party, who Trump leads. They have questioned him on things before and have received his wrath. This particular issue actually deeply impacts Republicans and Trump can’t insult the virus into submission like is his normal MO when confronted.

The FOX host stayed with him and didn’t try to steer him in any direction. I am almost proud of her/them.

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Cap
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Cap »

Biden campaign slogan: “It didn’t have to be this way.”

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Nodack
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Nodack »

FDA to allow imports of KN95 masks from China amid PPE shortage
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4 ... a-amid-ppe
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will no longer block the import of KN95 masks, due to a shortage in personal protective equipment, or PPE, in the United States, an agency official first told Buzzfeed News.

The masks have been described as the Chinese equivalent of an N95 mask which U.S. health care workers use to protect themselves from airborne bacteria and viruses. Though they are allowing imports of the KN95 mask, the product is not FDA-approved, meaning those who use it do so without legal protections.

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Superbone
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Superbone »

Letter from President Donald J. Trump to Senator Charles E. Schumer

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st ... e-schumer/
"Be Legendary."

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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

Superbone wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 2:01 am
Letter from President Donald J. Trump to Senator Charles E. Schumer

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st ... e-schumer/
Bizarre .. no doubt the guy is being hunted, Obama was as well, but that is hardly a response I'm going to sympathise with and is definitely not becoming of the president.

General comment - if Trump gets back in that will complete the hoodwinking of America - all his economic credentials are gone, he's lead a really bad virus response and he's a blame deflecting, ignorant, childish a**hole (all entirely fair comments) - democracy isn't perfect but it tends to (I think) see through bullsh*t.

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Zeratul
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Zeratul »

Nodack wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:44 pm
FDA to allow imports of KN95 masks from China amid PPE shortage
Yeah... I’m not sure if it’s the FDA but word here in France is most the masks we ordered in China were rerouted to the USA after overbidding... not cool.

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Nodack
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Nodack »

It seems everyone is competing with everyone for everything related to the virus. The US shipping supplies to other countries desperately needed here while simultaneously buying the same supplies from other countries and shipping it here. Governors in the US are having to out bid other governors and the US government for the same supplies. It’s a dog eat dog world.

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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

Zeratul wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:32 am
Nodack wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 9:44 pm
FDA to allow imports of KN95 masks from China amid PPE shortage
Yeah... I’m not sure if it’s the FDA but word here in France is most the masks we ordered in China were rerouted to the USA after overbidding... not cool.
Looks to have some legs:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... ing-demand

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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

With the caveat applied that it is the Guardian, a little too left sometimes (ok, maybe a little more than is comfortable..) but generally credible paper.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Mori Chu »

I don't totally know what to make of the medical supply kerfuffle. It sounds like there are multiple potential problems: the lack of federal government leadership means that states are fighting with each other over the same supplies, often getting into bidding wars over the same masks and ventilators. That's dumb. There's also the international aspect: we seem to have sent some of our own stockpile of supplies to other countries, and we seem to be importing supplies from other countries, sometimes from unsavory places like Russia. I read one story where we tried to get supplies from Thailand only to find that they were our own supplies that we'd just sent to them (!). This seems poorly executed and organized.

Trump has been trying to get our companies to halt their export of medical supplies to other nations. This may seem like a good thing; we need them, so why let companies ship them out? But 3M claims that this would be bad for us to do, because it would cause other nations to retaliate by not sending any needed supplies back to us in return. I don't know the answer; I'm no expert in international commerce or trade.

I do think it's completely stupid not to have an organized, fair system for managing the production and distribution of medical supplies within our own country. This is a place where the Trump administration has really dropped the ball. They could be doing a lot of good here, helping us gather the supplies we need, buy them at reasonable prices in bulk, and disburse them to states based on need. But they just aren't. They invoked the Defense Production Act once, against a single company, but that seems to have been more of a personal vendetta between the President and that company since they irked him in the past. The lack of action and leadership here is undoubtedly increasing the count of cases and death toll in unnecessary ways.

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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

Never stops being enjoyable watching fox news..


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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

Mori Chu wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 3:15 pm
I don't totally know what to make of the medical supply kerfuffle. It sounds like there are multiple potential problems: the lack of federal government leadership means that states are fighting with each other over the same supplies, often getting into bidding wars over the same masks and ventilators. That's dumb. There's also the international aspect: we seem to have sent some of our own stockpile of supplies to other countries, and we seem to be importing supplies from other countries, sometimes from unsavory places like Russia. I read one story where we tried to get supplies from Thailand only to find that they were our own supplies that we'd just sent to them (!). This seems poorly executed and organized.

Trump has been trying to get our companies to halt their export of medical supplies to other nations. This may seem like a good thing; we need them, so why let companies ship them out? But 3M claims that this would be bad for us to do, because it would cause other nations to retaliate by not sending any needed supplies back to us in return. I don't know the answer; I'm no expert in international commerce or trade.

I do think it's completely stupid not to have an organized, fair system for managing the production and distribution of medical supplies within our own country. This is a place where the Trump administration has really dropped the ball. They could be doing a lot of good here, helping us gather the supplies we need, buy them at reasonable prices in bulk, and disburse them to states based on need. But they just aren't. They invoked the Defense Production Act once, against a single company, but that seems to have been more of a personal vendetta between the President and that company since they irked him in the past. The lack of action and leadership here is undoubtedly increasing the count of cases and death toll in unnecessary ways.
Kind of related about isolated approaches vs global approaches and how we're at the cross roads of having to choose one post corona:


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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

3rdside wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 2:23 am
Superbone wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 2:01 am
Letter from President Donald J. Trump to Senator Charles E. Schumer

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st ... e-schumer/
Bizarre .. no doubt the guy is being hunted, Obama was as well, but that is hardly a response I'm going to sympathise with and is definitely not becoming of the president.

General comment - if Trump gets back in that will complete the hoodwinking of America - all his economic credentials are gone, he's lead a really bad virus response and he's a blame deflecting, ignorant, childish a**hole (all entirely fair comments) - democracy isn't perfect but it tends to (I think) see through bullsh*t.
Doing a self audit, I wasn't sure my hoodwinking comment above was all that neutral.

Then I saw this article from the Telegraph and I think it covers what I was thinking; that current events might just facilitate his re-election, as counter intuitive as that appears, as they reinforce some of the strengths of his original campaign promises, amongst other things.

Like the Guardian newspaper being too left, the Telegraph is too right but still generally credible, copy pasted below in case you can't access directly and well worth a read:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... ave-never/

Spoiler: show/hide

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Nodack
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Nodack »

I don’t subscribe to the Telegraph. It’s a pay site like several others have gone. I don’t pay for news when there is so much out there for free. I hate doing searches for things sometimes. The pay sites always come up first, I click on them and I bail as soon as I see it’s pay only. I wish there was a way to block those sites from searches.

Anyway, Trump probably does feel hunted by the press because he is. Presidents for the most part have just ignored bad press in the past. It comes with the job. Trump went the opposite direction and decided to take them on head on and declared war on them. It might make him and his supporters feel better but, now the press is at war with him. You don’t call ALL the press in the world fake and then expect them to kiss your ass. You call the FBI fake and then expect them to kiss your ass. You call the intelligence community fake and then expect them to kiss your ass. You don’t keep throwing career people under the bus for your own gain and expect them to kiss your ass. You don’t lie about everything and then expect people to trust you later on. You don’t crap all over your allies and then expect them to kiss your ass.

Trump does.

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3rdside
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by 3rdside »

The article is there to read in full though, I copy pasted the whole thing so it's not just the link.

But yeah it's still hoodwinking.

If he gets back in it will be a tragedy however it occurs - that people vote for him because they are hoodwinked, or they vote for him in the full knowledge of all the information but still do it anyway.

I don't know whats worse.

And I don't pay for news sites either really - I donated £30 to the Guardian last year, and I have subscribed to the economist from time to time but other than that I stick with free stuff.

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Mori Chu
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Mori Chu »

NYT reports today that Trump has an investment stake in a company that produces name-brand hydroxychloroquine. That explains part of why he is so gung-ho about recommending that drug as a miracle cure for COVID-19 even though its effectiveness in treating that disease is not well proven yet.

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Indy
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Indy »

Mori Chu wrote:
Tue Apr 07, 2020 10:08 am
NYT reports today that Trump has an investment stake in a company that produces name-brand hydroxychloroquine. That explains part of why he is so gung-ho about recommending that drug as a miracle cure for COVID-19 even though its effectiveness in treating that disease is not well proven yet.
To be fair, one of his mutual funds has a small stake in it. And the drug isn't under patent anymore, so it isn't like there are huge profits to be made for the French company, or the mutual fund that holds some of it. It is more about him touting a miracle drug that, if works, make him look like a savior and help him get re-elected. He will make far more off getting re-elected in one month that if the stock price went up 50% as a result of this.

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Nodack
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Nodack »

Perfect.

Trump figures out government a little more every day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inspector_general
Main article: Office of Inspector General (United States)
In the United States, an inspector general leads an organization charged with examining the actions of a government agency, military organization, or military contractor as a general auditor of their operations to ensure they are operating in compliance with generally established policies of the government, to audit the effectiveness of security procedures, or to discover the possibility of misconduct, waste, fraud, theft, or certain types of criminal activity by individuals or groups related to the agency's operation, usually involving some misuse of the organization's funds or credit. In the United States, there are numerous offices of inspector general at the federal, state, and local levels

Recently he found out about Inspector Generals when the Ukraine whistleblower came to an Inspector General Michael Atkinson and he did his job and reported it to Congress. He has figured out that these guys are the internal police for government. Trump fired Atkinson a couple of days ago and has been attacking anyone with the Inspector General in front of their name ever since.

On Friday evening, President Donald Trump announced that he had picked White House lawyer Brian Miller to oversee how billions of dollars in coronavirus-related relief money is spent.

Trump names a WH lawyer to oversee where the 2 Trillion in the relief package goes and then today fires the Inspector General in charge of making sure none of those funds are misused and replaces him.

Trump replaces Pentagon IG, removing him from coronavirus relief oversight panel
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4915 ... rus-relief
President Trump has replaced the Pentagon’s top watchdog a week after he was named to lead a committee charged with overseeing the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.


Trump issued a statement where he makes it pretty clear he is going to ignore any rules regarding the relief package.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st ... sident-38/
Section 15010(c)(3)(B) of Division B of the Act purports to require the Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to consult with members of the Congress regarding the selection of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director for the newly formed Pandemic Response Accountability Committee....

Accordingly, my Administration will treat this provision as hortatory but not mandatory.

My Administration will make appropriate efforts to notify the relevant committees before taking the specified actions and will accord the recommendations of such committees all appropriate and serious consideration, but it will not treat spending decisions as dependent on prior consultation with or the approval of congressional committees.

Finally, several provisions (such as sections 3511(d)(4) and 3862 (creating section 744N(d)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) of Division A of the Act) purport to require recommendations regarding legislation to the Congress. Because Article II, section 3 gives the President the authority to recommend only “such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient,” my Administration will continue the practice of treating provisions like these as advisory and non-binding.


I can already see the next scandal. Trump wants to decide where to spend that 2 Trillion and he wants no oversight. He is putting “his people” in key positions to decide where that money goes and he is putting “his people” in charge of policing that money.

Maybe it’s just me....

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