caulfield12

Fake News? Julio and James Franco, 2020. And he’s wearing a mask! And better bat speed at 61 than most of the 2000-2015 White Sox Top 10 prospects. https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=29210934 As you follow this thread, you’ll notice it’s from China...and is already shrouded in controversy, even if it was to be distributed freely. Fwiw, this testing group is out ahead of Oxford, Sanofi (France) and Moderna (which might just be a pyramid scheme, caveat emptor).

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bill-maher-says-jeff-bezos-043959235.html To get back on track, at least closer to Covid-related effects, try this one, Greg. This one hits home in Iowa or Kansas. I also know you often quote Bill Maher, he’s about as close to right-center as it gets. Amazon probably has an equal number of critics on the right and the left, but it and Wal-Mart are profitability and tax/health insurance avoidance behemoths that are arguably threatening our way of life as monopolies. What say ye? In America, at least since the 1980’s S&L crisis, we “privatize gains and socialize losses.”

She could have the nomination if she wanted, but not interested. Write her a letter urging her to run. It would have more impact than writing here. Not even African Americans in the party are sure running an African American woman is the most pragmatic choice. There is a real fear that it could negatively influence Hispanic voters, for example. In the MSM that you never read, it’s far from the consensus view about what Biden could/would/should do. The fact that Harris is black AND Indian is what makes her so intriguing to a number of political operatives, a true “crossover” candidate. Life is not decided by SNL impressions, or Trump wouldn’t have been elected in the first place.

But protecting the lives of everyone in the country takes precedence...”life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” which of these inalienable rights is listed first and foremost? Only if your life is protected can you then have #2/#3. All we’ve been hearing for months from the conservative media is that the suicide rate is going to skyrocket, people will riot in the streets...by denying people the right to drink, we’re going to improve the conditions for all those who are suffering? Note, I didn’t even argue legalize all Class C narcotics. Catholic mass uses or at least used to utilize real alcohol/wine in celebrating the Eucharist. The Bible is clear that we should never drink wine or strong drink to the point of drunkenness. But it doesn’t say drinking is not permitted. That said, conservatives would never argue that government should ever have the right to tell people how much they can drink, as long as they don’t operate a car or boat.

Abrams is highly unlikely to be the pick, no matter how much conservative media is HOPING for her to be a potential foil. After all, she struggled to beat ultimately the worst governor (arguably) and certainly the least well-informed one. While there are plenty of allegations of election tampering there, as well as it being a pretty solid red state, her being the Bernie Sanders #1 pick from the beginning probably disqualifies her. They’re just not quite on the same page politically, which is why Warren would be a stretch, too. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/23/americas/brazil-coronavirus-hospitals-intl/index.html The Brazilian president copying the Trump playbook and putting all the Americas at risk/re-risk should be enough to put a fork in The Donald. But it is never that easy in politics, and there are still five months left.

How would closing churches for health reasons be illegal? https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/opinions/churches-reopening-trump-covid-19-beck/index.html Catholic Priest: Mr. President, we don't need to open churches to practice our faith Arguably, it’s easier to pray at home individually, yes? Nobody can remove that right. Nobody can stop you from donating electronically. At the very least, alcohol creates government revenue through high taxation, same with lotteries...at a time when nearly every state and municipalities across the country are staring at drastic budget cuts in essential services, school consolidation, etc,

I could just as easily assumed Trump wasn’t going to make it...let’s not forget the Reagan and Wilson presidencies. Are you sure you’re not projecting or bouncing back Fox News fears? Let’s also not forget your past trepidation concerning Chelsea Clinton...why aren’t you similarly afraid of Ivanka, Donald, Jr., Eric, Tiffany and Barron? Let’s not forget Reagan was an actor and George W. Bush a substance abuser with a C+ average in business school, a failed oilman in a state where that’s hard to do with those parents/grandparents and a largely symbolic governor in terms of power in Texas at that time. Then there were Trump’s multiple bankruptcies and inherited hundreds of millions...so he was qualified because of Celebrity Apprentice, Howard Stern appearances and the birther conspiracy? Branding success with the Trump name?

Harris, Klobuchar, Warren, Whitmer and even Cortez-Masto or Lujan Grisham are all more likely. And he never said anything about a black woman, Greg...just a woman. Michelle Obama is undeniably more popular than her husband but definitely not interested. And we saw how well that theory worked out for the Clintons...during the campaign, the way he was utilized, he didn’t turn out to be an asset, and the fact that nearly everyone liked her husband (at least the 1993-2001 and not 2008 Obama feuding version) more than her, it simply magnified her own shortcomings. I think the only way she would consider it would be if she thought there was no other way for the Dems to win, preserve ObamaCare and safeguard her husband’s legacy. (Which, in a way, is the same dangerous level of complacency that crept in the last 2-3 months of the Clinton campaign in 2016. Picking Klobuchar would almost be another Tim Kaine-level unforced error.)

Life has to be more nuanced. And falling into the “what about what Trump said?” standard didn’t work out well in 2016. Imagine if the conversation was with a Hispanic DJ, well, it’s not so cut-and-dried. Bernie Sanders was successfully mobilizing both Latinos and young people, but Biden still can’t seem to break through (it’s why Cortez Masto and Lujan Grisham are on all the VP short lists.) If he simply assumed all those voters were going to come to him instead of Trump, he would be mistaken, since many Hispanics vote on social issues like abortion, school prayer, education, morals/values/ethics. This conflicts with the peace and justice side of Catholicism, which would put them more firmly in the Dem camp. But let’s not conveniently forget that the Obama/Biden administration also deported roughly 3 million illegal immigrants. It’s not as obvious as it looks at first glance. Or Asian American voters, that’s even more complicated. I just don’t believe in the times that we currently live that any group in the country can be treated as a monolithic bloc. In my lifetime, making such assumptions about the “African American base” has come back to bite Gore (2000) and HRC, in particular. They couldn’t transfer the popularity of Bill Clinton and the Obamas to their own campaigns. And it still might not matter, because the coronavirus response and economic malaise has arguably undone any inroads Trump was making heading into 2020. And back to Covid-land...

There’s not much hope for either side. Trump already knows that the USPS will largely vote against him, not unlike the UAW or American Federation of Teachers, so they become a convenient target, especially when bundled with his anti-Bezos campaign (subsidizing Amazon shipping.) Biden is so tone deaf that he simply assumes he’s entitled to the African American vote because, well, Obamas and Rep. Clyburn. He’s falling into the same bad habits that nearly cost him the nomination in the first place. Coasting along and letting Trump gaffe himself to death while sheltering in your basement isn’t exactly an inspirational campaign strategy, either. Meanwhile, Washington is losing “hundreds of millions” in unemployment funds to Nigerian hackers/scammers because these outdated/antiquated state computer systems haven't been upgraded since Windows 97. I could understand if this happened in one of the poorest states in the country, but Washington is the home of Microsoft and Amazon. And let’s not get started on dams, bridges, highways, broadband/5G, Amtrak, subways, airports. There are numerous problems here in China, but infrastructure certainly isn’t one of them. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/washington-adds-more-than-145000-weekly-jobless-claims-as-coronavirus-crisis-lingers/

Why would a tyrannical, unreasonable governor allow movie theatres? Now KS is suddenly conservative again? Guess that governor and Board of Commissioners wasn’t so all-powerful, after all. Trump was perfectly happy to send out those checks...and wanted MORE. Still does. Thought it was just a great idea. And sent out letters with his ridiculous signature (just imagine the ink/printing costs) claiming credit for personally delivering the money, even it it was already there in the account via Direct Deposit. You can dream on about the $10,000. It’s going to be perfectly calibrated to potentially elicit your vote, and that alone. So we can honestly debate the societal benefits (versus disincentives) of massive non tax-payers like Amazon and Facebook largely funding $1000-1500 per month to the 10-12 million Americans who will never get their jobs back (Yang Gang talked about this plan for month after month), but that’s too nuanced an argument. For now, Trump will be a socialist if it helps him. He simply doesn’t have any guiding principles beyond holding onto power.

Chances of this happening if they didn’t vote 85-90% Republican? Probably about the same level of probability as Trump doing PSA’s for the US Postal Service hyping “mail it in” voting during September and October. All the Dem governors should collectively respond...sure, we’ll open every church in the country as long as you provide waivers allowing them to sue the Trumps or Federal government instead of state/local governments if/when they invariably start to get sick now or in the fall/winter. After all, Washington, D.C., has the printing presses. They can keep cutting taxes and juice the stock and lending markets, whereas states and cities are the ones looking at massive layoffs and/or the inevitability of raising taxes.

What position is he going to play? 1B, RF, DH....yes? Or we’re basing most of our excitement on Passan/Shohei Ohtani comps? Just not seeing how he’s anything close to fitting in the Robert/Cespedes mold, but very few are... It means, and we’ve debated the value of Jose Abreu for the past three years, that he’s going to have to be an amazing hitter to bring a ton of surplus value. I also haven’t seen many scouts claiming he should or could give up pitching to be a starting pitcher like with Ohtani ever since he was in middle school. I guess part of the attraction is throwing from the LH side, but I guess we’ll find out.

All you’re missing is The Alamo soundtrack playing in the background...

Russia coronavirus chief: “Those meant to die will die. Everyone dies.” Alexander Myasnikov, previously a celebrity doctor, made the controversial comments during an interview with pro-Putin pundit Vladimir Solovyov, broadcast on Tuesday: https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2020/05/21/russia-coronavirus-chief-those-meant-die-will-die/

Well, Clint Eastwood got his break with that show...and needed a haircut. But can Greg also carry on a conversation with an empty chair? “Remember Pig Pen, who had a cloud of dust around him at all times?” Ann Arbor resident Joe Miriani asked The Daily Beast. “That’s what the virus is like. A mask isn’t going to stop that. (CNN) Sweden has revealed that despite adopting more relaxed measures to control coronavirus, only 7.3% of people in Stockholm had developed the antibodies needed to fight the disease by late April. The figure, which Sweden's Public Health Authority confirmed to CNN, is roughly similar to other countries that have data and well below the 70-90% needed to create "herd immunity" in a population. It comes after the country adopted a very different strategy to stop the spread of coronavirus to other countries by only imposing very light restrictions on daily life. Sweden's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said the number was a "little lower" than expected "but not remarkably lower, maybe one or a couple of percent." https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/21/health/sweden-herd-immunity-coronavirus-intl/index.html

He’s Dayan Viciedo all over again unless he can really pitch effectively as a reliever...which means he’s going to have to improve greatly on his off-speed stuff, as big league hitters will just lay off of it.

Breaking: Montgomery, Alabama...shocking...starting to run out of ICU beds today/tonight. How the hell does one play tennis with gloves on during the summer...with those copper compression ones they’re constantly hawking on MSNBC? Either you’re going to lose grip on the racquet and it will fly out of your hands (cloth ones), or you’re going to accidentally wipe the sweat away from your eyes after absorbing it into the leather (plus constantly touching the ball). Every player has one ball that only they serve with? How practical is that? Otherwise, you’re going to be like Willie McGee and wiping your face with your sleeves constantly... Try batting gloves? Well, I guess still better than racquetball, handball or wall ball...

Doc “Moonlight” Graham is dead! He went to be with his Alecia in 1965, and nobody’s going to tell me different. https://twitter.com/Shawington/status/1263277013344964608?s=20 And this guy who “invented” e-mail asserts masks don’t work...because he went to MIT, has a PhD and is running for office, he must be right

The CDC is out to get revenge on Trump. Deep state! Fake news! Or the CDC has been sidelined for so long that nobody’s going to actually pay attention (Dr. Laura Mesonnier spooked the markets speaking out of turn and then the “everyone who wants a test can get one” fiasco in Atlanta) so Trump now won’t give then credit for anything, even if it leads to more confidence in reopening...because, politics. Yet he won’t fire Drs. Redfield and Azar because that would make him look even more incompetent.

Nobody really knows what the hell is going on in GA. Or TX, VT and VA. At least four states combined data from two different test results,potentially providing a misleading picture of when and where coronavirus spread as the nation eases restrictions. ..... Virginia, Texas, Georgia, and Vermont have said they've been adding two numbers to their totals: viral test results and antibody test results. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/21/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html After facing weeks of criticism for not being transparent with data about the coronavirus, state officials on Wednesday acknowledged that a test type that does not measure active cases inflated published test counts by 57,000, or roughly 14% of total tests to date. ..... “Either they don’t know what they’re doing, or (the data is) being manipulated in ways it shouldn’t,” said Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a clinical associate professor at the Georgia State University School of Public Health. “Either way it is very concerning.” In April, Gov. Brian Kemp called the state’s poor national ranking in its share of residents tested for the virus “unacceptable,” and challenged public health officials and private companies ramp up the state’s testing capacity. Earlier this week, he publicly touted the state’s rise to 20th in the nation as an important step forward. Removing antibody tests from the state’s testing total, however, now drops Georgia’s per capita ranking to 29th, according to the AJC’s analysis of national testing data. https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/latest-data-lapse-inflated-georgia-virus-test-count-000/2RG89mkuryApRMdQzblMgP/

Well, what’s wrong with 1,235,520 deaths AND counting? It’s only 13x worse than our current level. Barely twice as much as the Civil War...and it’s only 0.003766 of the US population, that’s not even 1/2 of 1%!!! That's where we would currently be following Plan Sweden. And it still gives Trump wiggle room to claim that UK “experts” (Niall Ferguson at Imperial College) originally predicted 2.2-2.4 million deaths with no social distancing. He’s saving 1+ million lives. Amazing! Nobel Prize worthy, if the MSM didn’t hate America and want to stay locked down forever to deny Trump re-election. Oregon GOP nominee Jo Rae Perkins speaks about 'Q' like he or she is a real person. 'Q is most likely military intelligence and they've been out there watching what's been going on with our country for decades and they are partnered with President Trump to stop the corruption and to save our republic.'

Civil War. Plagues of locusts. All of The Purge movies...combined. Worse than the Left Behind series. Worse than Bleeding Kansas. More dictatorial/tyrannical than Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco, Mao and Pol Pot. Worse than Ditka vs. a hurricane. Worse than MJ vs. The Bad Boys combining forces with Horace Grant and Will Perdue. Worse than Phil vs. Jerry Krause. Worse than Dolan vs. NYC. Bird Box mixed with Tiger King, narrated by a hallucinogenic-inflamed Henry Rollins. 100x worse than Marshawn Lynch’s acting in Westworld S3.

At more than 5 million cases, the virus has infected more people in under six months than the annual total of severe flu cases, which the World Health Organization estimates is around 3 million to 5 million globally. The pandemic has claimed over 326,000 lives, though the true number is thought to be higher as testing is still limited and many countries do not include fatalities outside of hospitals. Over half of the total fatalities have been recorded in Europe. source: Reuters So we’re talking 456,400 - 521,600 on a global level, most realistically....and with Brazil copying the Trump Doctrine politically and temperamentally, it means South America will soon be overrun, then Central America, Mexico, and we can go back to June, 2015, and protecting from barbarian hordes invading from the south/border security as a campaign issue. Attacking the CDC, WHO, China, Obama, Joe Scarborough, Nancy Pelosi. Check. Spending $600 million on machines that were supposed to clean/disinfect masks 20 times for reuse when the actual number has turned out to be 3-4 times, making not simply procuring the masks in the first place...well, it is what it is. Check. Even at $1.50 instead of the pre-virus cost of 0.58, that would be 400,000,000 N95 masks, more than enough for every American, with 70,000,000 left over. Another $354 million contract to a Virginia company to create a national drug stockpile despite their having no experience doing so. Check. What’s a $100 billion anyway, it’s not even Bezos’ net worth, even after divorce. Navy Rear Adm. John Polowczyk is just going around telling everyone “he has a blank check from the Trump administration.” No oversight of Treasury/Mnuchin programs for medium and large companies. No oversight of Jared Kushner. No oversight with every IG who crosses Trump Saturday Night Specialed.

Would much rather have Y. Cespedes than Colas...