Where have all the alligators gone, long time a passing.
"'When it gets you, it actually makes you want to just lay still and be quiet, and you start to feel better and then it slowly starts to take your air away day by day. It’s killing you slowly but you think you feel OK until you cough.'" Welcome to bilateral pneumonia.
"The Cleveland Clinic announced Tuesday night that only the 'highest-risk' patients will be tested after receiving an 'overwhelming' demand in recent days. The Clinic is defining high-risk patients as people who currently are hospitalized or are age 61 and older. Patients will no longer be tested at the Clinic’s Landerbrook location in Mayfield Heights." The Landerbrook testing station (drive-through) lasted all of one day. Actually not that long because they had to turn people away. And the Stones are cancelling? That's it! :: starts flipping tables ::
"At least 100 people in the United States have now died from coronavirus, according to an unofficial count compiled by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, and the disease has spread to all 50 states… The grim milestone comes less than a month after the first reported case of community spread of the virus on Feb. 26. Cases in the U.S. have exploded in recent weeks as testing for the respiratory disease has become more readily available, though testing capability is still not widespread despite a deluge of criticism and efforts by the Trump administration."
"Instead, the White House is now endorsing the plan of sending direct payments to Americans, though it’s unclear what scale they are looking to endorse." Conservatives to America, "Everything we told you about Obama in 2009 was a lie." And I'm sure it wouldn't hurt the president's re-election chances for him to be seen to be sending everyone some cash. Also, "Deficit? Never met the guy." the unshamed fuckers. (Grokked from Xopher Halftongue)
"The coronavirus pandemic has already started to hit American pocketbooks, with nearly 1 in 5 households experiencing a layoff or a reduction in work hours, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll." Yep. Also got the notice that we may be experiencing "reduced hours" (which means pay cuts and/or layoffs) at the day thing.
"The hotel industry is seeking a total of $250 billion in bailouts for owners, employees and suppliers, saying devastated room bookings due to the coronavirus are resulting in closures and mass layoffs." Okay, but first you have to pay your employees a living wage. And they get the money first before it goes elsewhere.
"Americans have little trust in the information they are hearing from President Trump about the novel coronavirus, and their confidence in the federal government's response to it is declining sharply, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll." And for good reason. But again, notice that a majority of republicans do believe the president (including that 35% who trust Trump "a great deal", that number keeps popping up).
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to issue an order to close the state's beaches, despite fears regarding the spread of the coronavirus." Gov. DeSantis looks to Mayor Larry Vaughn for inspiration.
Who's protecting Americans? "The United Auto Workers union has asked the Big Three Detroit automakers to shut down production for two weeks to safeguard its members from the coronavirus outbreak… In a letter to union members, UAW President Rory Gamble said Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler haven’t been willing to pause production."
To be fair, Trump isn't the only one trying to retcon history around SARS-CoV2. "While the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, China is fighting a propaganda war. Beijing’s war aim is simple: shift away from China all blame for the outbreak, the botched initial response, and its early spread into the broader world. At stake is China’s global reputation, as well as the potential of a fundamental shift away from China for trade and manufacturing. Also at risk is the personal legacy of General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has staked his legitimacy on his technocratic competence." It's a Real Clear Politics article, but they make some good points. Although this whole "we never should have had to deal with this Coronavirus" is bullshit. In my lifetime this is the fourth or fifth major global disease threat. This one is just going to hit us hard. And yes, some of that is due to the bungled first response by China. But I hate to tell you all, this is what living on Earth, or living in general is like. Viruses are a part of our environment. Occasionally they target humans, and of those sometimes the virus doesn't balance how quickly it kills it's host with it's long term prospects. Think of it as the MBA philosophy of the natural world.
"Remember the 2008 financial crisis? Well, the next Great Recession began this past week, as the U.S. virtually shut down its economy to prevent further spread of COVID-19." Some say it's better, I say it ain't.
"President Trump is pushing a plan to send money directly to Americans in response to the coronavirus, saying it's time to 'go big' to boost the now stalled economy." I thought conservatives didn't believe in "giving" people things. Also, where is all this money coming from? Put it on the card! If the Tea Party doesn't rise up against this, it just shows their concerns were only about presidenting while black.
"Just don’t call it a 'bailout' around any White House officials or Republicans on Capitol Hill."
"U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Republican senators on Tuesday that the country’s unemployment rate could hit 20% if they failed to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package, a person familiar with the closed-door meeting said."
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would move at 'warp speed' to pass coronavirus legislation Tuesday, but Sen. Rand Paul, his fellow Kentucky Republican, put a damper on those plans, two leadership sources told NBC News." Asshole is an asshole.
"'The 15 days is about measures we believe can impact the growth and expansion of the virus in the United States,' (VP) Pence told NPR's Steve Inskeep in an interview at the White House. 'But we fully expect that we will be dealing with the coronavirus in the United States for months ... according to some of our modeling, we could well be dealing with coronavirus cases in the United States well into July.'" Considering this administration can be trusted to evaluate their own previous response (expect to hear the phrase, "moving forward…" a lot in the coming days/months/years), and Pence's own performance and being unable to say "mistakes were made", I don't have a lot of confidence in these jerks.
"About 250,000 workers came to the U.S. on H-2A visas last year, the majority of them from Mexico. They've become an increasingly important piece of America's food industry… Late in the day on Monday, March 16, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City announced that it is suspending non-emergency visa appointments due to concerns for the health of its employees and visitors." While you were stocking up on toilet paper, your government was working hard to make sure you don't have anything to eat this Fall. Although, for everybody in the right place that is missing a paycheck, there's hard work for minimum pay to be found soon.
"Here are images of our strange, new life in the uncertain age of coronavirus."
"A months-long analysis of alleged pieces of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls that are on display at a privately funded museum in Washington, D.C., has revealed them to be clever forgeries, according to a team of researchers examining the fragments." This is my shocked face. "'We're victims — we're victims of misrepresentation, we're victims of fraud,' (Harry Hargrave, the Museum of the Bible's CEO) was quoted as saying by National Geographic." No, Harry, the people you duped into believing they were actual pieces of the scrolls are the victims. You just were had because you thought the money would solve all the problems.
"Discovered at a Russian dig site called Kostenski 11, a mammoth bone structure has been radiocarbon dated and found to be more than 20,000 years old -- potentially classifying it as the oldest circular structure built by humans in the region."
"Microsoft Edge received the lowest privacy rating in a recently published study that compared the user information collected by major browsers. Yandex, the less-popular browser developed by the Russian Web search provider Yandex, shared that dubious distinction. Brave, the upstart browser that makes privacy a priority, ranked the highest." Shocked that Microsoft would ship a browser that had low security. Shocked, I say. (Grokked from John)
"Idaho legislation banning transgender people from changing the sex listed on their birth certificates despite a federal court ruling declaring such a law unconstitutional headed to the governor's desk on Tuesday, bringing the state closer to becoming one of less than a handful of states with such a restriction."
"Rep. Dan Lipinski, a moderate eight-term Democratic congressman from Illinois, lost his primary on Tuesday to progressive challenger Marie Newman." Dear Democratic Party Leaders, you need to wake up. This is a historic opportunity for your party, don't let it slip through your hands.
"A federal judge Tuesday sentenced former congressman Duncan Hunter to 11 months in prison after the California Republican pleaded guilty to stealing campaign funds… Prosecutors say Hunter spent about $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use – including throwing birthday parties, shopping sprees for his wife, vacations with a mistress, and such petty purchases as joke books and cans of chewing tobacco." Huh "The judge rejected appeals from Hunter's lawyers that the ex-Marine should be granted home confinement instead of a prison cell. They cited his service in Iraq and Afghanistan and his six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives." You know, with all that, you'd think he'd know not to fucking steal.
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