The all-new "US Politics and coronavirus" thread

[newyorkguy]

This is confusing. 1 - they are tough, but Pence avoided the White House over the weekend. And 2 - he was around someone with the virus, is NOT quarantining, but IS following the guidelines?

When you work for a boss who is a total jerk, you have to act like a jerk, too. It's in the job description.

We may be seeing evolution at work. Just greatly speeded up. Fascinating!

 

[Horatius]

They have all become idiot Infowarior Cultists, following a man who set himself above the people of the State of Hawaii, based on the word of a 9/11No Planer, people who couldn't even understand how simple Punch cards worked, and knowinly perpeted Racism for Political Gain!

Yep. I was reading one of their "news stories" this weekend, that claimed the published transcripts of the Congressional hearings into the Russian influence "proved that Adam Schiff knew there was no collusion" (see an example here). It was exactly like the arguments we see from CTists and other woos.

They had about five quotes, out of dozens of transcripts that all ran to a hundred pages or more that appeared to support their claim. But in looking up the actual transcripts, I found out that all but one were taken far enough out of context as to significantly distort their intention, and none of them actually supported the conclusion that Schiff "knew it was all a hoax".

But, as like all other quote-mining exercises, it was just sufficient to convince people who didn't look at the original source.

And that's their best "evidence".

 

[johnny karate]

At least 72 protesters in Wisconsin have tested positive

Super. I wonder how many people these morons will kill?

 

[newyorkguy]

At least 72 protesters in Wisconsin have tested positive

The story seems to actually be a bit more involved and it's from Up North News, a local Wisconsin news site.

It's not clear the 72 people who have tested positive attended the state house protest. Up North News discovered that, the state health service asks people with a positive test, had they recently attended any large gatherings. But unlike previously, the seventy-two people who answered 'yes' were NOT asked the routine followup question as to what event and where. When a health service spokesperson was asked about this she dodged the question.

Two weeks ago, roughly 1,500 people gathered at the Capitol in Madison to protest Gov. Tony Evers’ safer-at-home order, saying the order violated their freedom and was problematic for businesses. Some scheduled speakers said they were not afraid to die or afraid of the coronavirus, with many hosting signs calling the pandemic a hoax.

In a gathering of 1,500 people, most of whom are not wearing face masks or social distancing, it does seem likely there would be a few infected people present and they would then infect others present. However, in defense of the health service, they may have decided not to followup since this issue has become so politicized and divisive. Asking where they had been -- if some of them HAD been to the demonstration -- might only serve to provoke an angry response and more irresponsible behavior.

Meanwhile, Texas is not doing so good. Yesterday new cases went down -- yesterday was a Sunday and new case numbers do seem to go down in most states on Sundays -- but the overall trend continues to be clearly upward. I watched some of the Sunday news shows yesterday and most of the health officials seem to agree it is too early to be relaxing restrictions and we will probably see cases numbers continue to rise in states that have done so.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

At least 72 protesters in Wisconsin have tested positive

Many of those in attendance did not maintain a 6-foot distance from others, or wear masks or other protective gear.

On April 24, the day the protest was held, there were 5,356 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 and 262 deaths.

On Friday, the number of positive cases was 9,590, more than 4,500 higher than the day of the protest. The number of deaths since then increased by more than 100 to 384. Palm said the state is investigating 235 facilities with site-specific outbreaks across the state.

That's a week later.


I'm going to look for a bump in cases in the data from the other states that larger protests were held in.


Link from link above: COVID-19 Superspreader Events in 28 Countries: Critical Patterns and Lessons

Finally, three of the SSEs involved mass sports spectacles, during which fans regularly rain saliva in all directions as they communally celebrate or commiserate in response to each turn of fortune. ...

 

[Segnosaur]

Link from link above: COVID-19 Superspreader Events in 28 Countries: Critical Patterns and Lessons

Finally, three of the SSEs involved mass sports spectacles, during which fans regularly rain saliva in all directions as they communally celebrate or commiserate in response to each turn of fortune. ...

That's why the Ottawa Senators will become really popular after the quarantine is lifted....

The team is so bad, that there is no reason for people to cheer at all, so the games are safer to be at.

 

[newyorkguy]

It was reported that at the Wisconsin protest in the state capitol:

Some scheduled speakers said they were not afraid to die or afraid of the coronavirus, with many hosting signs calling the pandemic a hoax.

To me that seems to echo the words of Texas Lt. Gov. Dan 'There's more important things than living' Patrick. Is this a developing right wing meme? Dying -- especially of the Coronavirus -- is no big deal?

 

[slyjoe]

It was reported that at the Wisconsin protest in the state capitol:


To me that seems to echo the words of Texas Lt. Gov. Dan 'There's more important things than living' Patrick. Is this a developing right wing meme? Dying -- especially of the Coronavirus -- is no big deal?

Put those speakers on death's doorstep and see what they say.

The problem is they infect people that ARE afraid to die.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

That's a week later.

I didn't mean to imply that they contracted it at any protest.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I didn't mean to imply that they contracted it at any protest.

I meant there was a protest and a week later (IOW the incubation period) the number of new cases went up by 4,500 from the number of cases on the day of the protest (IOW before the protest).

 

[newyorkguy]

At least 72 protesters in Wisconsin have tested positive

I didn't mean to imply that they contracted it at any protest.

The article you linked also doesn't support what you wrote: at least 72 protesters tested positive. The article linked only states:

On Friday [May 8th], the state Department of Health Services said there have been 1,986 confirmed cases since the weekend of the rally. Of those, 72 people reported having attended a large gathering, according to The Progressive. However, people who tested positive were not asked specifically if they had attended the protest in Madison.

A large gathering not necessarily the protest. In fact, there has been some complaints leveled at Wisconsin DHS for NOT attempting to find out what/where the 'large gathering' was, in order that the state could do effective contact tracing. When specifically asked about that, Andrea Palm, the DHS’s secretary designee, ducked the question. Instead of answering why people who reported attending a large gathering -- and were now testing positive for Covid-19 -- weren't asked about the gathering, Palm instead talked about people who'd been to the polls in early April and then tested positive. How their contacts were traced.

 

[Stacyhs]

The article you linked also doesn't support what you wrote: at least 72 protesters tested positive. The article linked only states:


A large gathering not necessarily the protest. In fact, there has been some complaints leveled at Wisconsin DHS for NOT attempting to find out what/where the 'large gathering' was, in order that the state could do effective contact tracing. When specifically asked about that, Andrea Palm, the DHS’s secretary designee, ducked the question. Instead of answering why people who reported attending a large gathering -- and were now testing positive for Covid-19 -- weren't asked about the gathering, Palm instead talked about people who'd been to the polls in early April and then tested positive. How their contacts were traced.

Ah.....the Kayleigh McEnany Technique.

 

[Mojo]

Daddy, I wanna grow up to be a moron just like you!

He can’t grow up to be like his dad, he has to choose one or the other.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

And Trump storms out of another press conference.

Reporter asks some question about Trump responding to hurting Americans. It was along those lines, someone can correct me.

Trump responds with something to the effect of asking China.

Reporter pulls down her mask, emphasizing the fact she is of Asian decent and calls him on it: "Did you give that answer specifically to me?"

Trump calls it a nasty question, calls her a nasty reporter and storms off.



Sorry, I shouldn't laugh.

 

[Resume]

Reporter pulls down her mask, emphasizing the fact she is of Asian decent and calls him on it: "Did you give that answer specifically to me?"

Trump calls it a nasty question, calls her a nasty reporter and storms off.

What a snowflake. He needs a safe space, a binkey and a Big Mac.

 

[Stacyhs]

And Trump storms out of another press conference.

Reporter asks some question about Trump responding to hurting Americans. It was along those lines, someone can correct me.

Trump responds with something to the effect of asking China.

Reporter pulls down her mask, emphasizing the fact she is of Asian decent and calls him on it: "Did you give that answer specifically to me?"

Trump calls it a nasty question, calls her a nasty reporter and storms off.



Sorry, I shouldn't laugh.

We don't call him Trumplethinskin for nothing.

 

[Mojo]

We don't call him Trumplethinskin for nothing.

He pays you?

 

[Stacyhs]

He pays you?

Hoping he knows is all the payment I need.

 

[Minoosh]

I think being sick and tired of restrictions may be transcending political affiliation. I dislike Trump as much as anyone, but having an exit strategy from lockdown IMO is something many people need to hear right now. It's only human. Isolation takes a toll. I don't mind at all pointing out when governors violate conditions they themselves set, but I also don't believe that everyone who supports easing restrictions is a foaming-at-the-mouth yokel who utterly rejects science and is champing at the bit to kill off old people. Plenty of people are ambivalent; it has to be OK to have that conversation without turning it into a right-left screaming match.

We need conversations, we need common ground. As much as Trump ****** up the science, the worst thing he has done make this issue as divisive as a possible. **** him, have town halls on Zoom where people just listen to each other. I'm sure Russia loves watching America at war with itself over these issues. I don't think it has to be that way.

ETA: Unintended consequence, the old people here on the retirement campus are developing some technical skills and are pretty pleased with themselves.

 

[Paul2]

And Trump storms out of another press conference.

Reporter asks some question about Trump responding to hurting Americans. It was along those lines, someone can correct me.

Trump responds with something to the effect of asking China.

Reporter pulls down her mask, emphasizing the fact she is of Asian decent and calls him on it: "Did you give that answer specifically to me?"

Trump calls it a nasty question, calls her a nasty reporter and storms off.



Sorry, I shouldn't laugh.

Loved the reporter's tone and body language when she pulled down her mask, it was like, "OK, bring it on, m***********."