Cont: The all-new "US Politics and coronavirus" thread pt. 2

[timhau]

Hard to believe. As CBS News reports, Governor Brian Kemp is forcing local governments in Georgia to rescind any requirement that residents wear face masks. This effects at least fifteen local governments including the City of Atlanta.


These Republican supporters go back and forth with this. If a governor does something they don't like they cry local rule. If a city, town or county enacts something they don't like they appeal to the governor. Or donald trump. But with almost all of them, they won't discuss the medical science involved. They refuse to acknowledge the polling that shows the majority of Americans think wearing a face mask is a good idea. That's a conversation they're not having. It becomes impossible to work with people like this.

Meantime, the virus in Georgia keeps growing:
.

Don't worry, now that the Trump Administration gets to record the numbers, they are sure to go down.

Pneumonia deaths may mysteriously increase in a dramatic fashion, but many people say that is a totally different issue and all Obama's fault.

 

[carlitos]

You can't fix stupid. And these people are just plain
stupid.

This is why mask mandates are necessary at this point. You can't reason with someone about complex health issues when they are bat crap insane. Just tell them to do something and punish them if they don't. Like vaccine requirements in schools. We don't have time to fix your brain; just put a mask on or stay home and get out of everyone's way.

Down the road, I don't look forward to living in a country where these people have home-schooled their kids either ...

 

[Andy_Ross]

Oklahoma reports 24,140 COVID19 infections, an increase of 14,434 for a 148.7% increase since June 19. Trump held his BOK rally June 20.

 

[eeyore1954]

The full quote, though, began with

"'The science is on our side here,' McEnany told reporters gathered in the James S. Brady Briefing Room Thursday afternoon."

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what she meant.

But the out of context quote is funnier. I have only a limited amount of outrage available for an out of context quote that hurts Donald Trump.

It really annoys me the way the media (on both sides ) will take things out of context and run with it.
In this case it is one thing to argue with the premise that science is on the side of reopening and another to claim she said it doesn't matter where science stands.
I could also see people arguing you believe by the actions of the administration or President Trump's words they don't care about the science regardless of what was said.

 

[Stacyhs]

It really annoys me the way the media (on both sides ) will take things out of context and run with it.In this case it is one thing to argue with the premise that science is on the side of reopening and another to claim she said it doesn't matter where science stands.
I could also see people arguing you believe by the actions of the administration or President Trump's words they don't care about the science regardless of what was said.

That irritates the feces out of me, too. But I also know that some people don't want to hear that when it doesn't coincide with their 'side'.

 

[Meadmaker]

It really annoys me the way the media (on both sides ) will take things out of context and run with it.
In this case it is one thing to argue with the premise that science is on the side of reopening and another to claim she said it doesn't matter where science stands.
I could also see people arguing you believe by the actions of the administration or President Trump's words they don't care about the science regardless of what was said.

I agree, in principle, but to be honest, I've given up caring when it comes to Trump. His failures on covid has made it personal for me.

However, it would be better for all if there were widely read, trustworthy, nonpartisan, news sources, who did not misrepresent things like this. Ironically, if such a thing existed, I don't think Trump would ever have been elected.

 

[varwoche]

What has this administration done to warrant any benefit of the doubt?

Nothing.

But in this instance, fair-minded observers who take in her entire statement should have no doubt.

(To be clear, I don't mean to imply they are actually being guided by science.)

 

[newyorkguy]

The reality is, who is Kayleigh McEnany? She's a shrill partisan political figure commonly considered to have little in the way of objectivity or integrity. When she appeared on a Fox News program and gushed about how wonderful donald trump is and how terrible Barack Obama was, that said it all. If she had displayed some tact and intelligence, people would have at least respected her. If she'd said something like:

"I'm really excited to be a part of the trump administration. I think president trump is doing a terrific job and really taking this country in the right direction. I really disagreed with the direction in which his predecessor was leading us. I truly believe we're finally on the right path."

Many people -- like me -- wouldn't have agreed with her opinion but at least we could respect the way she expressed it. If she had come across as reasonable, mature and professional. Only she didn't come across that way at all. She came across as an idiot.

What Kayleigh McEnany says means nothing. She is going to go out and say whatever they tell her to say and swear, "It's the greatest! No, it really is!" This is a mouthpiece, which all leaders like trump have. An American and female version of Baghdad Bob.

Bah humbug!

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Nothing.

But in this instance, fair-minded observers who take in her entire statement should have no doubt.

(To be clear, I don't mean to imply they are actually being guided by science.)

Yes, it's quite clear.

The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open. And I was just in the Oval talking to him about that. And when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school. The science should not stand in the way of this. And as Dr. Scott Atlas said, I thought this was a good quote. Of course, we can do it. Everyone else in the Western world, our peer nations are doing it. We are the outlier here. The science is very clear on this that for instance, you look at the JAMA Pediatric study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that said the risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than that of seasonal flu.

The science is on our side here, and we encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools.

1. The President insists on it.

2. If the science disagrees it's wrong.

3. But everyone else is doing it (lie!)

4. And the science very clearly agrees (lie #2)

5. So we should follow it because it's on our (Trump's) side (this time).

But that's not the worst of it,

It’s very damaging to our children. There’s a lack of reporting of abuse, there’s mental depressions that are not addressed, suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important. They’re essential and they must reopen. Yes.

OMG, schools are essential to prevent abuse, mental depression and suicide! Yes, it's true. Teenage suicide rates are on the rise. But what is causing it?

As Teen Suicide Rate Increases, States Look to Schools to Address Crisis

In April 2018, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that the suicide rate among U.S. youth, ages 10 to 17, had increased by 70 percent between 2006 and 2016...

Experts cite a number of reasons why teens are so susceptible. Bullying, academic pressure, family problems, and social media are all risk factors. “Honestly, I’ve had more students this year hospitalized for anxiety, depression, and other mental-health issues than ever,” said Kathy Reamy, school counselor at La Plata High School in southern Maryland and chair of the NEA School Counselor Caucus. “There’s just so much going on in this day and age, the pressures to fit in, the pressure to achieve, the pressure of social media. And then you couple that with the fact that kids can’t even feel safe in their schools—they worry genuinely about getting shot—and it all makes it so much harder to be a teenager.”

Too many schools have become pressure cookers, says Denise Pope of Stanford University.

“I’ve spoken with many kids who tell me, ‘I’m studying as hard as I can and my parents are saying I just need to study harder.’ These kids stay up all night and focus 100 percent on schoolwork to get ahead,” Pope says.

 

[Resume]

The reality is, who is Kayleigh McEnany? She's a shrill partisan political figure commonly considered to have little in the way of objectivity or integrity. When she appeared on a Fox News program and gushed about how wonderful donald trump is and how terrible Barack Obama was, that said it all. If she had displayed some tact and intelligence, people would have at least respected her. If she'd said something like:


Many people -- like me -- wouldn't have agreed with her opinion but at least we could respect the way she expressed it. If she had come across as reasonable, mature and professional. Only she didn't come across that way at all. She came across as an idiot.

What Kayleigh McEnany says means nothing. She is going to go out and say whatever they tell her to say and swear, "It's the greatest! No, it really is!" This is a mouthpiece, which all leaders like trump have. An American and female version of Baghdad Bob.

Bah humbug!

In context or out of it, McEnany is full of ****.

 

[varwoche]

Still not one syllable about Herman Cain's status since he was admitted to the hospital approx 16 days ago, having contracted covid somewhere around the time of the Tulsa rally which he attended up close and maskless.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Still not one syllable about Herman Cain's status since he was admitted to the hospital approx 16 days ago, having contracted covid somewhere around the time of the Tulsa rally which he attended up close and maskless.

According to the Christian Post, prayers are healing him.

Herman Cain progressing in COVID-19 recovery; prayers 'making a difference'

Update: Herman wants to thank everyone for praying for him. It's making a difference. He's still in the hospital but he's making progress and we expect to hear more encouraging news as the week progresses. So thank you, everyone, and keep them coming! God is listening.

— Herman Cain (@THEHermanCain) July 5, 2020

That was 12 days ago. I couldn't find anything newer.

 

[newyorkguy]

A different approach. Below is a statement uploaded to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's state webpage.

Governor Cuomo Announces New York City Cleared by Global Health Experts to Enter Phase Four of Reopening Monday, July 20th

"New York City will enter Phase Four on Monday. That is a hallmark for us. Every region of the state will now be in Phase Four. There are no more phases than Phase Four, so we are all in the final phase of reopening. And that's great. Every region has made it through the four phases without having to close. And the numbers are consistent through all phases of reopening. And this is what we said from day one, reopen smart, and if you reopen smart and you reopen in phases, and you follow the data, it's actually a better way for the economy to reopen because if you rush the reopening then you risk the probability of a viral increase.

"Today is day 139. New York conducted 78,239 tests yesterday and 776 were positive. That is lower than 1 percent were positive, so that is very good news. Ten New Yorkers passed away yesterday. Cause of death, COVID. They're in our thoughts and prayers. Seven hundred sixty-five New Yorkers were hospitalized, that's down 48, so that's very good news. It's the lowest daily total of hospitalizations since March 18...We had the full team go through the data. As you know, we accumulate more data than any state that's now testing. We then have that data reviewed by two teams of experts. We have an in-house team, Department of Health, et cetera, and then we have global experts that have looked at this data all across the world, and we ask them to look at the data to make sure there's nothing that they see that is troubling. And they've done that." governor dot ny dot gov

 

[Aridas]

It really annoys me the way the media (on both sides ) will take things out of context and run with it.

The main quibble that I have here is that both sides assumes that there's only two sides. Otherwise, this is true enough, directly speaking. It does leave out the fact that far too many of the right-wing leaning media sources are dramatically worse offenders, though.

In this case it is one thing to argue with the premise that science is on the side of reopening and another to claim she said it doesn't matter where science stands.

It's true that those are different things. Still, with that said, I'm not particularly convinced with the premise that science is actually on the side of reopening schools. There are some indications that it reopening schools will be relatively safe for the kids, at least, (teachers are apparently making their wills en masse, at present) but nowhere close to enough to serve as a definitive answer on the subject. There are also some other related important caveats to recognize, though. For example, the nicer schools in wealthier (usually very white) areas will fairly certainly be in an overwhelmingly better position to enact and uphold any safety measures than the schools in poorer areas of the US - the same poorer areas where the people tend to be far more at risk of serious harm due to COVID. That the loudest voices pushing for school reopening seem like they're serving the same masters who have been pushing propaganda concerns and attacking science in ways that keep making COVID get ever more out of control in the US is also serious reason for concern, honestly, though.

I could also see people arguing you believe by the actions of the administration or President Trump's words they don't care about the science regardless of what was said.

Politically speaking, the Republican Party has pretty consistently been a fair weather friend of science for far too long now. If science happens to determine something that they like, they celebrate that and praise science loudly. If science happens to determine something that they don't like, they attack and undermine science both directly and more generally. Going further, the Trump Administration has literally testified to Congress that "Science is a Democrat thing" and has rather consistently worked to either completely remove science from decision-making as much as possible or replace the scientists in question with ones being paid by corporations to say what the corporations want them to say. So it's very safe to say that the Republican politician and Trump Administration sides really don't actually care about science, itself, so much as how they can use it towards their own ends.

On the Democrat side, incidentally, there's notably more internal conflict when it comes to how much to respect science but, overall, the equilibrium currently rests at a very, very significantly higher level than it does among Republican politicians.

 

[The Atheist]

As Florida, Texas and others rev up the reefer trucks, the words of an NYC ER doctor echo through the land:

Every disaster has its images, its symbols. For COVID-19, it might just be the refrigerator truck. It’s our overflow morgue, holding the patients we could not save.

https://arstechnica.com/science/202...exas-and-arizona-turn-to-refrigerator-trucks/

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1283802949274275840

How Trump's comments on COVID-19 correspond to case numbers in the U.S.

Video embedded in tweet.

 

[Ulf Nereng]

A different approach. Below is a statement uploaded to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's state webpage.

If all the states had followed Cuomo's lead and done likewise, the US economy would now be well poised for a sustained comeback and Trump would be well on his way to re-election. Sad. So much whining. Are you tired of whining yet, Trump? Covfefe! CryOverVirusForEverFatEgomainiac!

 

[a_unique_person]

Newt Gingrich: Coronavirus remote voting in Congress is cowardly – if freedom isn't worth the risk then quit

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/coronavirus-remote-voting-in-congress-is-cowardly-newt-gingrich

 

[Armitage72]

Georgia continues to cook the books with their virus reporting.

Some people have mentioned not being able to view Tweets here, so here's a screen capture.

 

[newyorkguy]

It's almost terrifying that trump is this stupid.

Donald J. Trump Tweets-
In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open! Fox News link

But trump must know what the difference is. Why is he ignoring it? What's the real plan here. Just getting himself reelected? That's it, nothing else?