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Your point was wrong. The idea that some how this was somehow not able to be mitigated and minimized is flat out, 100% wrong. All of the What Abouts in the post don't excuse the leadership of this country from their negligence of duty. The mixed messages and finger pointing start right at the top. From saying it would be gone by April to a Democratic hoax have allowed a large portion of our population to not take this event as seriously as they should, and allowed them to pretend that science and medical advice are somehow fungible with Presidential gut feelings and Karen's on the internet who heard something 3rd hand. We KNOW these types of events are inevitable. They are constant through history. We have entire agencies who are dedicated to exactly these eventualities, and they were flat out ignored and sidelined in the days of this where we could have worked ahead. We knew this was happening in January. It was obvious to the people who do this stuff for a living that it would go world wide. If we as a country had actually started ramping up medical response then, instead of waiting until the pandemic was rampaging through the country, we could have saved lives. A singular and consistent message from the top is where that starts. Or that is at least where it should have started. The states and governors who STILL refuse to see this have something in common in that they take their walking notes from the President. You literally have people drinking aquarium cleaner based on the President's advice, yet pretend that the President being out in front of this couldn't have made a difference? Nope. I won't accept that contradiction. You can what about with Italy and Germany, but I won't accept that. Their response was also botched. There are plenty of other industrialized countries who took the advice and saved lives. That is the standard I expect from the USA. We have the best scientific community in the world, and the capability to shift resources like no other country in the world. That is the standard I hold this country to. We knew this storm was coming for two months and our leadership laughed and mocked it.

It was obvious enough that the president called it the next democratic hoax. Would have been nice if there was a pandemic team. And blaming the system as obsolete, this administration was in powef for 3 years prior, and didn't do anything until the horse was out of the barn. Why do they try to blame previous administrations?

Thanks for adding nothing, poppy sox

@southsider2k5 eh I wouldn't trust the numbers from India or any of SEA outside SK and Japan really. That said, that we are even in a world where the Indonesian response in any way comparable to the US' is just sad and depressing. @turnin' two you're a trumpkin we get it. nothing dear leader does is ever bad. or if it's bad, it's only because of the democrats or the media and is it really that bad anyways compared to... Trump is a joke man. His inaction is and was a joke. His pressers, where he can't articulate a position, can't answer any questions, are a joke. His entire fucking existence is a joke and we have him in charge in the greatest crisis since WWII. God help us all man.

I'm old enough to remember when the US simply being "as good as (meaning as bad as) the rest of the world" at handling shit like this was seen as unacceptable. Of course the GOP tricked Americans into thinking Good Governance doesn't matter, at least as long as you could point the finger at your neighbor for why your life stalled out. What a pathetic situation the GOP has created in America. This is where we are at. Simply "not being China" or "doing about as well as Europe" is considered strong leadership.

What about-isms are exactly how we got here, and how we continue to go down this path.

Ron Paul and his son Rand are the two biggest idiots ever to be elected to Congress. This is not a hoax, people are not dying to make Trump look bad, and it is time Trump finally utilizes the full power of the federal government to fight this thing. It was also help if right-wing pundits and bloggers would just shut the fuck up.

At least he answered the bell, unlike the FL governor leaving the beaches open.

Give it two weeks. Then everybody will have so much god damn TP in their basement they won't need any for a year. We had the first death last day of February. Peak store panic was probably week of March 14-21st. Stores were back stocked normally by about March 25th or so. Every corner store here has "1 per customer" limit on hand sanitizer but you can find it easily.

I think turnin' two has been critical of Dr. Trump. He just isn't willing to put all the blame on Trump. There is no doubt the president could have handled this better.

There was no good reason why Yermin didn't get a September call up last year if they were just going to add him to the 40 man in the winter. That I agree with. Wasting ABs on Castillo in September was super stupid. But there was nothing wrong with rolling the dice on Reed when they did. He was a guy they had interest in for a few years, and fit a club need (left handed DH). It was unlikely to work based on his recent history, and it didn't. He sucked balls in 44 PA, and was jettisoned. The Yermin folklore among some Sox fans is something. He'll get a chance at some point, but he's likely going to be nothing more than an Astudillo that is measurably worse at catching and can't even fill in elsewhere on the field in a pinch. He's nice to have around, but I am not going out of my way to make space for a guy like that.

The state level response is directly coordinated to the federal response. If the Feds had been out front, clear, and consistent with the message, it would have been nearly impossible for governors to do otherwise. We have seen how the Senate and House fall into line behind the President, I doubt the governors would have been much different. This fog of doubt that the President established from Day 1, has allowed states to hide in it, even to this day.

To whatever extent the US has mitigated the death toll has a lot to do with individual governors that had to fight against guidance from the feds, which is opposite of how it's rolling out nearly every where else in the world, where the federal gov't is leading the changes. The federal response has been atrocious, but luckily the US has a lot of actors from states to hospitals to philanthropists to companies (props to tech) that acted early to mitigate. I also remember a time where it used to be expected that the US would have the top response, now it's okay if they aren't so long as others also failed. Germany is testing 300k per day. When we don't have our worst states rationing our tests we can talk about how great a job our federal gov't is doing, and the man in charge of it.

You missed the point entirely.

No it isn't. We got here because there was a new virus that emerged in China, likely spread from wet markets. Infected people traveled all over the world before it was known, and it was likely covered up for a while, increasing the spread. Then no one knew the severity of the issue. Now it has spread across the globe. I know it is the trendy thing to jump on Trump and blame him because of his bluster and his general dis-likability, But, in case you haven't noticed, basically the same situation is playing out everywhere. South Korea is the only country that seems to have handled this well. Even Germany, who is also getting praised for their response, is at 10 deaths per million in population. Right now the US is at 12. Now, that number is sure to rise, on both counts, and has risen in the last few days. South Korea is at 3 for reference. Italy and Spain are about 200. France is over 50. The UK at 35. Trump downplaying the disease had nothing to do with the response in those countries. No one knew. Really until Italy crashed, no one knew how bad this was going to be. Comments like the above don't help anything and are overly simple and just finger pointing. It doesn't acknowledge the truth of how we got here. There were plenty of people from all parts of the political spectrum that dismissed this. And plenty of people from all over the political spectrum that have disregarded the suggested measures to stop the spread.

Speaking of... https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-truthers-question-death-toll-hospitalization-rate-212633252.html “GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open. NOW! If government doesn’t stop this foolishness...STAY IN THE STREETS. END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS,” wrote former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, who was floated as a possible candidate for a Trump administration post at the Department of Homeland Security, in a now-deleted tweet. “People should ask themselves whether this coronavirus ‘pandemic’ could be a big hoax, with the actual danger of the disease massively exaggerated by those who seek to profit — financially or politically — from the ensuing panic,” former Rep. Ron Paul wrote on his website. A week later, Paul’s son Rand, the senator from Kentucky, tested positive for the virus. Diamond & Silk ticket 2024

This is absolutely silly. I don't think China purposefully released this virus as an act of biological warfare. Regardless, comparing the US to China is an absolute joke. They literally have Uighur concentration camps where they harvest the organs of the prisoners. I get it, "America bad" is the cool mindset to have, but what a reach by you. Comparing China to the US from a humanitarian standpoint is laughable.

Watching the Konerko grand slam and Podsednik walk-off never gets old though. Goosebumps every time. Watching all of the interviews of the players they had arranged for the post-game show of this airing had me tearing up. Man I hope our new core can win one someday.

Here’s the problem. Robert O’Brien (fourth National Security Advisor now) isn’t even qualified for his position. He, Pompeo, Navarro...are out there blasting China on conservative media outlets. Fine. But what happens when he’s part of a briefing with the President? He quickly remembers how Trump keeps circling back to the trade agreement, tariffs rolling billions in, President Xi and I had a great call, Heartland is being saved by agricultural purchases (that still haven’t come close to replacing lost markets). Poof. Dude (O’Brien) then says absolutely nothing at all about China in the briefing. Can someone in the administration be consistent, for once? Last week or so, it was Wuhan and China/Chinese virus every other sentence. Then he’s suddenly coming to the aid of stigmatized Asian communities (“lots of great people, I know many personally...great deal makers”) and protecting them from racist attacks he practically cheered on himself. The whiplash back and forth is just incredible. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/coronavirus-biden-and-other-democrats-blast-trumps-health-care-rejection-212619771.html Then he’s somehow saving many millions more by....drumroll, cutting off healthcare enrollment/participation. The Trump administration’s decision to not open a special enrollment period for the health care marketplace because of the coronavirus pandemic has garnered strong criticism from the Democratic Party. A White House official told POLITICO that the Trump administration would be foregoing an SEP, and instead “exploring other options.”

I've never even heard of Tony's. Googling, looks like you mean Tony's Fresh Market? No, looks like they don't do much in the north burbs other than Niles (and there are like a hundred grocery stores closer than that for me). I appreciate the idea though, thanks.

Shouldn’t they fire Dr. Redfield, then? Or Azar? NIH is a completely different entity...and Fauci cannot be connected in any way, shape or form to the rejection of WHO kits in Jan/Feb, decision to manufacture in the US and the debacle than ensued with those initial kits that set the timetable back by two weeks at such a critical time. Dr. Fauci and Cuomo are pretty much doubling his approval numbers. If he does push Dr. Fauci, a 78 year old by the way, out...and leaves Dr. Birx as the only competent face remaining in a country of the best and brightest scientific minds in the world, God help us all. She’s just not capable of separating herself politically from the administration, and this has been evident from the very beginning. If anything, he popped the bubble on overly optimistic projections, on weather cures, on untested drugs providing quick solutions, on the country going back to business in early April and then Easter weekend. He got the nickname Dr. Doom, but now many are managing to outpace his perceived negativity (the projection model with 82 or 84,000 total deaths was the one he most frequently cited.) Now, that’s considered WAY too optimistic compared to that 100-240k range, not to mention many are citing the 12-18 month timeframe as WAY too optimistic on a vaccine as well.

Because the administration is setting him up as the fall guy by making the failings of the CDC all seem like his doing. The blood is already in the water, everyone knows Trump hated that he contradicted him multiple times. People are now blaming him for the virus spreading

It’s not unlike the New Testament...many refuse to believe until they see or experience firsthand proof or evidence in their own families. The Doubting Thomas Effect, which was multiplied by the skepticism echoed/reinforced by both the President and the conservative media. I think a large part of this was coming right on the heels of the impeachment debacle...so it SEEMED in line with yet another conspiracy or hoax. In that sense, the Democrats also bear SOME responsibility for entering that process with no viable end game...which soaked up months of Congressional focus. Of course, the other obvious side of this is that empathy, compassion and non-transactional leadership are exactly what is called for to unify the country. As long as these briefings remain so politicized that networks are debating whether to carry them as they devolve consistently into partisan talking points from politicians...the country will continue to be divided or polarized. On the state and local levels, governors can evoke that sense of we're all in this together as Governor Cuomo has consistently done for weeks now...or DeWine, or Hogan, or Baker. On a national basis, though...we’re suddenly (at least for today) fixated on controlling the border with Mexico. It’s like an alternate reality t.v. show created to distract from reality and intentionally shift the focus back to campaign issues. “Warmer weather will slow or kill the virus.” That’s not a national suppression/mitigation strategy!

This is what I find amazing about this crisis: No matter how polarized the country has been and is, we should have had an easy time agreeing that this is the most dire crisis we have faced in the history of our country. Instead, we get talk about hoaxes and conspiracies and speculation that is okay if older people die to save the economy. I keep hearing that "we are all in this together." I don't think that's true yet. And that's really scary.

Ray Davis, one of the owners of the Rangers is worth approximately 1.7 billion dollars.

We (mankind) are in crisis. The US should be looked to for leadership. Our response was to create a virus task force headed by Mike Pence and including 2 people from the medical community (Drs. Fausi and Birx). With all due respect to the Drs. that is not a real task force. Moreover, it reports to Trump who cannot manage anything let alone a crisis. We need a serious leader who can mobilize resources and think in terms of collaboration and execution. This is a viral/medical crisis but to win will take the best minds in science, logistics, supply networking, technology and manufacturing. Lets recruit Bill Gates to lead a real task force made up of the best and brightest across all relevant disciplines. For any of you who have watched the documentary, Inside Bills Brain, you know he is the man for the job (if you have Cable and time on your hands, its a great watch). This guy knows how to think globally and organize effectively. When he calls, leaders respond and when he speaks, its with credibility vs. Trumps ego feeding, self important referendums on how great he is doing. If we don't get serious (Pence might be a fine cheerleader and Trump sycophant but he should not chair a task force with real consequences for nonperformance), this will be orders of magnitude worse than it could be.

This is really cool.

Anecdotes are not evidence in court and certainly not scientific proof. A placebo pill administered to all but the senior citizens would yield anecdotal evidence of "efficacy." People go to college and take classes in statistics to learn how this kind of trash does not amount to a peer reviewed legitimate study let alone a reason for drugs like this to be administered to humans for CV-19. Even more troubling to me is that those drugs nave caused serious complications when not prescribed in the right dosages and for a proper purpose. I guess for people that do not want to learn about scientific method, perhaps they can now figure out by themselves that we would be seeing the death rate seriously diminish if this crap was effective. Politicians need to the scientific community do their work and just stfu for a while.

You need to cease trolling this thread

Ban bet?

Cool. So just throw out uninformed BS. That seems like the best course of action.

The idea that opinions can exist in the middle, that something can be both good and bad, is a foreign topic to many. Hyperbole, polarization and false dichotomies are the new norm because they provide an identity for those who feel they need one. And from this comes the-- "If you don't hate Trump, this means you support him and I hate you." --nonsense.

I've taken to making a playlist with nothing but songs with gang vocals to trick myself into thinking I'm in a large crowd. Morale is low.

That's interesting. In the western suburbs of Chicago, I still haven't been able to find soap, hand sanitizer, any cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc. for a few weeks. Luckily I had all of it well before this hit, so I'll be fine, but I'm surprised that your stores are already back to normal.

Eh, I wouldn't worry about food so much as paying rent and other bills. I can tell you that from experience in Seattle the first two weeks saw all the hoarding. We are so far past that now (onto week 5 now) the stores are flush with TP and chicken thighs and all that again. It's just that NOBODY is operating a business. If you are, like myself, you're doing it with extreme caution, with reduced hours, at about 50% volume and have furloughed or just laid off your workers. This is a unique crisis and fortunately many Americans are taking it more seriously than the POTUS. But I wouldn't worry about food as much as jobs.

The response is still terrible and that includes some governors who are otherwise handling it well, like JB who went ahead with in-person primaries on March 17th. I started stocking up on food and cleaning products in late February, and even that was later than I really wanted to. This was obviously going to get very, very bad. I won't say I fully appreciated how bad and how quickly, but at the same time the heads of the United States government were insisting that this was nothing, it'd be gone by April, nobody in America is really that much at risk, it's all a political hit-job by a desperate opposition, stock market hitting record highs! Yes, other countries have had poor responses as well, but the US response is shaping up to be pretty uniquely terrible. Earlier today, Vice President Pence said our situation is now most comparable to Italy. We are in for a very rough couple of weeks ahead.

Well my governor decided to allow churches to meet. (As an ordained pastor I wonder if I can hold services at my local wine club for members only). Abbott went from not doing anything and allowing local governments to decide, to issuing statewide restrictions, to over ruling local leaders in about ten days. Although I do hope we can keep drive through margaritas. It was nice pulling away with a couple quality drinks. https://www.statesman.com/news/20200331/abbott-issues-statewide-stay-at-home-order-allows-religious-services

All I'm saying is Dr. Trump got this one right, while the media grilled him because some moron drank fish tank cleaner. Credit is given where credit is due

Your naivete is exactly how we got here. Please volunteer for the testing program.

How they could have that number and not do a national shutdown is insane

Exactly what it is. And he isn't the only snake oil salesman looking to profit off a pandemic. I see Yahoo message board posts every day that make false claims like "my buddy was in critical conduction with the Corona virus , then he was given hydrochlorinique and zpac, and was able to walk out the hospital a few days later." People are losing patience right now and don't need a pep talk or false hope...just the facts. . President Trump has issues with Democrats and people that are disloyal in his own party but he can't continue to make his problems our problems. The country needs to unite right now and we all need to get on the same page and on the same schedule. I don't see that happening yet.

That Dr Vladimir Zelenko story going around just doesn't sit right with me. That guy is saying he successfully treated 700 people with hydrochloriquine, but has no documented proof. It seems like a big scam https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zelenko-669-coronavirus-patients/ " Zelenko’s claims, however, rest solely on taking him at his word: He has published no data, described no study design, and reported no analysis." also, that guy with that huge beard is around almost 700 patients? There is no way a ventilator could protect his face. I have seen the video that shows doctors preparing for interaction with patients and they might as well be the spooks from the movie E.T. dressed in full body suits

Uh no. The study in France involved people who were not Seniors and those without serious pre-existing medical conditions. You can give a placebo pill to otherwise healthy young people and most will recover after being infected the Covid-19 virus To cast further doubts, the dude who is promoting hyrochloriquine looks like Trump's family doctor. https://www.france24.com/en/20200329-french-expert-says-second-study-shows-malaria-drug-helps-fight-coronavirus

In what world can you thread a needle so perfectly as to avoid talking politics while talking about the epidemic? Lord.

It really wasn't a bad move, other than Rickie batting Reed 4th. I mean, if the Sox really like Yermin and think he could be a cheap DH after Jose there wasn't any reason to start his clock late last summer when Reed was floating around for nothing but a 40 man spot.

There was no demand for a vaccine after it burnt itself out in a few months.

Hey, why not? James Fox prepared his first mock draft for the 2020 class. Check out who the White Sox may select.

His right arm probably throws harder than your dominant hand. Hopefully not as accurate though. 😁

If you are into that I would also recommend The Road to Jonestown, Heaven's Gate: America's UFO religion, Member of the Family, and Prophet's Prey.

This is the result when you have a culture that adheres to alternative facts and disdain for experts. I only follow what Exxon Oil tells me is true. The ultimate goal is what I disdain. I hear we are getting a new pandemic council. Sure wish the previous govt had thought of that.