caulfield12

What do you know, two Trump states in Iowa and Nebraska are mostly following the rules (also, lesser population density) and still have lots of school districts open as of this week.

“So, the media is absolutely responsible for this. But, one should not think the media is the media, OK? 90% of them are working for the Democrats, they're working for the left. And you know, why you would pay so much attention to what I say, hey I'm flattered, great, you want to write about me? That's great. And as you know, Ray, and they know, if you defame me or slander me, you'll see me in court." https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/politics/devin-nunes-coronavirus/index.html Devin Nunes has to be one of the worst, now that IA Rep. Steve King is quiet. Check that, he’s actually taken to comparing the head of the Army Corps of Engineers to Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf. Going with all the wartime analogies...

Sounds like eastern Long Island...Manhattanites fleeing the city and hoarding all the goods/groceries (through an army of assistants and line-waiters) the year-round population (much more middle class) needs to survive. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/politics/kansas-coronavirus/index.html Topeka, KS residents struggling to follow mayoral requests...reminiscent of conversations from a week ago.

One of the most striking statistics of the last few days is Germany hitting 500,000 tests per day in a much smaller country when we’re touting that we ramped up to 100,000 per day...that’s not counting the 160,0000 backlogged at Quest and 500,000 that aren’t being used because they’re in the wrong places to meet current needs, private hospitals and testing centers, etc. Pretty jarring that the UK and US need to learn so much from other countries about how to get this right. Germany’s still under 1000 deaths and they’re still extremely critical of their own response so far and looking to make continuous improvements. And Florida is still exempting religious services from the stay-at-home order. Sigh.

https://news.yahoo.com/behind-scenes-kushner-takes-charge-235545283.html You know you’re in serious trouble when a secret government cabal behind the scenes led by Jared Kushner offers the greatest promise. The senseless death threats to Dr. Fauci are just the icing on the cake.

6.648 million UNE claims Converting into a percentage, that’s roughly 10.5% right now. Rise of 7% in less than one month. Seems 15% bottom is going to end up on the conservative side.

Gov. Cuomo just pushed the timeline for apex or peak to the end of April, with deaths extending in a straight line in June/July/August. First time the possibility of no baseball this season really hit home.

Here’s the answer, take it as you will. 10,000—40,000, the facts around the world on the ground are no different, except for a higher mortality rate than originally projected (3-4% is where we sat here for about two months.) https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3078120/china-rejects-claims-inaccurate-coronavirus-death-tally-wuhan https://www.newsweek.com/georgia-governor-didnt-know-asymptomatic-people-transmit-coronavirus-1495695 A stunning admission of deadly ignorance from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who says he only just learned that asymptomatic people can transmit #Covid19. “ndividuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours.” pic.twitter.com/T7NZWk2GDR — Andisheh Nouraee (@andishehnouraee) April 2, 2020 In a bizarre turn of events, information the rest of the nation had in January didn’t reach Georgia Governor Brian Kemp until April: “Individuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours. https://t.co/v1nGdzTy5y

16 min ago Only some medical supplies from overseas going directly to coronavirus hotspots From CNN's Leyla Santiago, Priscilla Alvarez and Kristen Holmes Only a portion of the medical supplies being flown in by the Federal Emergency Management Agency from overseas are being allotted to critical hotspots -- the rest are going onto the private market. Competition between states and the federal government has been a source of frustration for governors trying to shore up equipment to treat patients with coronavirus, according to multiple officials. The Trump administration has touted the incoming flights, billing them and the equipment they're bringing in as a reprieve to states desperate for supplies. But states are not the sole recipients of the equipment, according to a FEMA spokesperson. Supplies will also be sent to the private market, where states have been in fierce competition with each other to get hold of hard-to-come-by supplies. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/austin-spring-breakers-coronavirus-trnd/index.html About 70 people in their 20s chartered a plane from Austin, Texas, to Mexico for spring break two weeks ago. They went against the advice of White House officials who asked that people avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 and nonessential air travel. Now 44 of those people have tested positive for coronavirus -- all of them University of Texas at Austin students, a university spokesman told CNN on Wednesday. Finally, if Covid-19 overtakes the Dharavi and Kibera slums in Mumbai...well, it’s like those supposedly watertight compartments on the Titanic.

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.”

Trump’s new coronavirus argument: 2 million people are being saved Even as Trump adopts a somber, get-ready-for-the-worst tone, he has still sought to portray himself as a hero for his actions thus far. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/01/trump-coronavirus-millions-saved-160814

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.

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!

With the cloud over Chinese, US, Russia, Indonesia, Iran, India and Malaysian numbers...maybe even Japan protecting the Olympics, we still don’t really know as much as we need to. The most dangerous aspect of this is 33% of those testing positive being asymptomatic carriers or super spreaders. Btw, National stockpile of PPE wiped out today. We’re starting off press conferences worried about illegal drug interdiction moreso than PPE and ventilators? Sigh...interestingly, the hospitals are running low on Fentanyl supplies for intubation. And Maduro in Venezuela is now Public Enemy #1 because we’re still trying to do regime change. Fine. Just seems like we need to have our priorities straight.

Mortality rate for the entire world running at close to 5%, or roughly 1/2 of SARs with magnitudes greater transmissibility. That’s about 3x higher than the earliest anticipatory US projections in January and February. Or 50x the rate of the common flu. Even with under-testing or denied testing, arguably 20-30x more deadly. And we have a backlog of 160,000 tests currently waiting to be processed just at Quest Diagnostics alone. Ten day delays, 1/2 of total order backlogged. Same exact issues with LabCorp. That particular only handle 30,000 per day, max. 100,000 is our current daily NATIONAL capacity...and these next two months we’re going to need to be processing 5-10x that on a daily basis.