Coronavirus

[Falcarius]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - slow moving suicide bombers, absolutely no difference in ideology or intent.

Falcarius think this must have been what Colin Powell was on about when he talked of the " ****ing crazies ".

 

[Virtual ghost]

Worldomter has just passed 200 million detected cases globally (since the start).
If we don't count all those undetected cases in the 3rd world.

 

[Virtual ghost]

From worldometer:


US: +104 700 (yesterday)


Out of that Georgia +9200 (clearly the worst day since January).

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Obama cancels 60th birthday party with hundreds of guests after concern that it could spread COVID-19

Loser. He should have held it anyway to show the virus he wasn't afraid like a strong leader does. Everyone knows that if you pretend things are normal, they become normal. This is what the conservative love of accepting objective truth and reality tells us.

Look, I have my fair share of criticisms of this man, but I think this illustrates pretty well why I voted for his VP in November, for anyone (particularly [mention]Khalil[/mention] wondering why I still voted for Biden despite my issues with him.

Trump really fucked this up. He didn't really have to perform miracles or even prevent more deaths or anything, he just had to show he was taking it seriously and he probably could have coasted to reelection like Dubya. As dumb as it is people want a sort of parental leader making them feel like everything will be ok in times like this, and that's all Trump really needed to do. We don't actually expect presidents to do anything to solve problems, we just want them to be a good high priest of America. Pretending as though it isn't happening or people just made it up to make you look bad or that it's a Democrat problem because it affects Democrat places is not how you do that.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Obama cancels 60th birthday party with hundreds of guests after concern that it could spread COVID-19

Loser. He should have held it anyway to show the virus he wasn't afraid like a strong leader does. Everyone knows that if you pretend things are normal, they become normal. This is what the conservative love of accepting objective truth and reality tells us.

Look, I have my fair share of criticisms of this man, but I think this illustrates pretty well why I voted for his VP in November, for anyone (particularly [mention]Khalil[/mention] wondering why I still voted for Biden despite my issues with him.

Trump really fucked this up. He didn't really have to perform miracles or even prevent more deaths or anything, he just had to show he was taking it seriously and he probably could have coasted to reelection like Dubya. As dumb as it is people want a sort of parental leader making them feel like everything will be ok in times like this, and that's all Trump really needed to do. We don't actually expect presidents to do anything to solve problems, we just want them to be a good high priest of America. Pretending as though it isn't happening or people just made it up to make you look bad or that it's a Democrat problem because it affects Democrat places is not how you do that.

To be honest this is where I see Trump's complete stupidity in plain sight. The pandemic was basically God given opportunity to leave his opponents without arguments and that they look as drama queens (try to replay those 4 years but with serious pandemic response in the end). In the case that he took the virus in ultra serious fashion the 2020 would have been a complete red landslide. Since all races would probably end about 10 to 15 points to the right in the case he took this seriously and made sure that the party does the same. He would be the president that made the stand during what is deep and objective crisis, what would surely bring plenty of votes. It would be a completely different timeline at this point.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

To be honest this is where I see Trump's complete stupidity in plain sight. The pandemic was basically God given opportunity to leave his opponents without arguments and that they look as drama queens (try to replay those 4 years but with serious pandemic response in the end). In the case that he took the virus in ultra serious fashion the 2020 would have been a complete red landslide. Since all races would probably end about 10 to 15 points to the right in the case he took this seriously and made sure that the party does the same. He would be the president that made the stand during what is deep and objective crisis, what would surely bring plenty of votes. It would be a completely different timeline at this point.

And then there's the fact that on top of that idiocy they whine and say it was rigged because it's impossible that people wouldn't love the way Trump handled that. It comes on the heels of 4 years of talking about Trump derangement syndrome and complaining about the other side being unable to accept the results of an election. It's a pattern with them... they do they exact same thing they accuse their opponents of being (like they used to criticize Democrats as being obsessed with celebrity despite going gaga over people like Reagan and Trump), and they don't appear to have any sense of irony or awareness about any of it.

 

[Kephalos]

Florida is suffering a wave of DeSantisitis:

Covid third wave: Florida surpasses all-time record for hospital admissions - BBC News

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Florida is suffering a wave of DeSantisitis:

Covid third wave: Florida surpasses all-time record for hospital admissions - BBC News

Verily, Florida is the gold standard.

For conservative dumbassery

 

[ceecee]

To be honest this is where I see Trump's complete stupidity in plain sight. The pandemic was basically God given opportunity to leave his opponents without arguments and that they look as drama queens (try to replay those 4 years but with serious pandemic response in the end). In the case that he took the virus in ultra serious fashion the 2020 would have been a complete red landslide. Since all races would probably end about 10 to 15 points to the right in the case he took this seriously and made sure that the party does the same. He would be the president that made the stand during what is deep and objective crisis, what would surely bring plenty of votes. It would be a completely different timeline at this point.

Instead he ran around punishing imaginary enemies like blue states trying to keep their people alive by stopping shipment of needed supplies to hospitals, public heath entities and the like. That motherfucker directly killed Americans with his actions and inactions regarding COVID and the GOP backed him up.

 

[Virtual ghost]

And then there's the fact that on top of that idiocy they whine and say it was rigged because it's impossible that people wouldn't love the way Trump handled that. It comes on the heels of 4 years of talking about Trump derangement syndrome and complaining about the other side being unable to accept the results of an election. It's a pattern with them... they do they exact same thing they accuse their opponents of being (like they used to criticize Democrats as being obsessed with celebrity despite going gaga over people like Reagan and Trump), and they don't appear to have any sense of irony or awareness about any of it.

To be honest I am kinda getting impression that rising hell is actually the plan. If the pandemic and it's atmosphere will be dragging deeply into 2022 that will evidently effect the midterms and tilt things heavily towards the right. What means that pretty much nothing will get done by 2024. What will then require "return of the savior".

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

To be honest I am kinda getting impression that rising hell is actually the plan. If the pandemic and it's atmosphere will be dragging deeply into 2022 that will evidently effect the midterms and tilt things heavily towards the right. What means that pretty much nothing will get done by 2024. What will then require "return of the savior".

Meh, I think a lot of the rank and file and even a lot of the politicians actually believe all the shit they say about the virus. I mean they tend to stay consistent with their statements by not getting vaccinated and then getting sick.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Meh, I think a lot of the rank and file and even a lot of the politicians actually believe all the shit they say about the virus. I mean they tend to stay consistent with their statements by not getting vaccinated and then getting sick.

Questionable, especially since middle management would probably also be the pawn in all this (at least to some degree). I could be wrong but I simply see direct desire that the chaos continues ... and that explanation kinda explains the best why they are doing this. It isn't that they are doing this the first time, the only real difference in current example is that this time there is the large public health problem in the whole mix.

 

[Burning Paradigm]

COVAX, unsurprisingly, has been plagued by distribution problems. Of course, easier said than done, but without building the capacity to distribute, it's not surprising many vaccine doses will go unused in recipient countries.

Where Covax, the Vast Global Vaccine Program, Went Wrong - The New York Times

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Questionable, especially since middle management would probably also be the pawn in all this (at least to some degree). I could be wrong but I simply see direct desire that the chaos continues ... and that explanation kinda explains the best why they are doing this. It isn't that they are doing this the first time, the only real difference in current example is that this time there is the large public health problem in the whole mix.

The most fascinating thing about all of this is the degree to which people buy this stuff to avoid any sort of cognitive dissonance with the fact that they believe Trump to be a great leader. The insistence on it is just so strong, it doesn't seem like it's part of a deliberate strategy. You may not be wrong about the effects, I just think there's a moronic sincerity to it all.

Do you mean that the ones pulling the strings are the donors? I mean, they definitely pull a lot of strings, but I'm not sure it's it's in their best interests for the pandemic to continue. Of course it isn't in their best interests to ignore climate change, either, and they do that. But we occasionally see conservative figureheads come out and say to take this seriously, and then receive backlash from the rank in file as being liberals in disguise. This happened to Sean Hannity and Ron De Santis, who I would think would happily march to the beat of donors. The idiocy about the virus fulfills a psychological need for the rank and file and that's why they cling to it.

 

[FemMecha]

The most fascinating thing about all of this is the degree to which people buy this stuff to avoid any sort of cognitive dissonance with the fact that they believe Trump to be a great leader. The insistence on it is just so strong, it doesn't seem like it's part of a deliberate strategy. You may not be wrong about the effects, I just think there's a moronic sincerity to it all.

Do you mean that the ones pulling the strings are the donors? I mean, they definitely pull a lot of strings, but I'm not sure it's it's in their best interests for the pandemic to continue. Of course it isn't in their best interests to ignore climate change, either, and they do that. But we occasionally see conservative figureheads come out and say to take this seriously, and then receive backlash from the rank in file as being liberals in disguise. This happened to Sean Hannity and Ron De Santis, who I would think would happily march to the beat of donors. The idiocy about the virus fulfills a psychological need for the rank and file and that's why they cling to it.

It has become apparent that denial as a cognitive defense mechanism is deeply ingrained into American culture. There is also focus on image and presentation over reality. An extreme degree of it is normative behavior. It sheds new light on how family relationships and all social interactions are actually driven.

I mentioned to one adult student that in the Fall we may need to go back to online lessons, depending on pandemic numbers. She smiled sweetly and said, "Trust in the Lord and he will keep you from getting sick". ORLY? It's pretty well established that every single person gets sick and dies on planet earth. What are people thinking when they talk like that? There is 100% certainty that at some point, regardless of "trusting in the Lord", I am going to be sick and die. We all are. I grew up in it, but hearing it again from the outside, it really sounds irrational.

 

[Virtual ghost]

The most fascinating thing about all of this is the degree to which people buy this stuff to avoid any sort of cognitive dissonance with the fact that they believe Trump to be a great leader. The insistence on it is just so strong, it doesn't seem like it's part of a deliberate strategy. You may not be wrong about the effects, I just think there's a moronic sincerity to it all.

Do you mean that the ones pulling the strings are the donors? I mean, they definitely pull a lot of strings, but I'm not sure it's it's in their best interests for the pandemic to continue. Of course it isn't in their best interests to ignore climate change, either, and they do that. But we occasionally see conservative figureheads come out and say to take this seriously, and then receive backlash from the rank in file as being liberals in disguise. This happened to Sean Hannity and Ron De Santis, who I would think would happily march to the beat of donors. The idiocy about the virus fulfills a psychological need for the rank and file and that's why they cling to it.

In general US countryside is mostly scientifically illiterate, so from that perspective this isn't really all that surprising.
On the other hand it seems that this is pretty much why the donors had some left wing shifts in 2020. Since the corporations evidently want this over as quickly as possible. This is exactly why Trump's behavior was simply stupid (and he got centrist rebellion in the party). The pandemic was God given for him to consolidate the wide coalition but he totally wasted the opportunity.


I mean the awkward truth is probably that the whole thing is now a mess and there is no real master plan on any side. After all that is kinda how the country looks at the moment if we judge at the face value. The whole culture today seems to value quick approach to most of issues and current mess is what you should get out of that.

 

[Virtual ghost]

But since I am from the other side of the globe where pretty much everything is in reverse I will put some cards on the table.
In other words here it is the right that is clearly the main advocate for vaccinations and controlling the pandemic. They are the ones that are in media war with anti-vaxxers (that genuinely hate them). They are the ones that give you the vaccine for free, or free treatment of covid in a hospital. They are the ones that are giving plenty of stimulus each month. They are the ones that block evictions and implement that. What is because they want to CONSERVE our country and our way of life.


As I said I would really be curious to see what would happen in US elections if my right would show up on the right. Since it would really blow up a few conventions. What would probably result in a landslide or totally flop (since it would be just too weird and perhaps too extreme in some issues). The mix is evidently culturally conservative, but economy is pretty hard to the left (often even to the left of Bernie).

 

[Virtual ghost]

Instead he ran around punishing imaginary enemies like blue states trying to keep their people alive by stopping shipment of needed supplies to hospitals, public heath entities and the like. That motherfucker directly killed Americans with his actions and inactions regarding COVID and the GOP backed him up.

Actually his disinformation killed plenty of people across the world. If we will be exact about this.
The damage that it will be hard to reverse in diplomatic sense.

 

[ceecee]

Actually his disinformation killed plenty of people across the world. If we will be exact about this.
The damage that it will be hard to reverse in diplomatic sense.

The US has hoarded the vaccines, I understand that. But I don't see it being reversed as there is nothing happening to build trust in a diplomatic sense. Domestically it's just laughable.

 

[Virtual ghost]

The US has hoarded the vaccines, I understand that. But I don't see it being reversed as there is nothing happening to build trust in a diplomatic sense. Domestically it's just laughable.

Probably when the doses get closer to the date when they expire they will probably sent them to some strategic partner. But yes, US seems to be kinda distant in this issue when it comes to global perspective.
Also as you probably know I am not talking just about practical implications. He really did defile the big chair and that will be hard to fully undo, even if you actually try. Everyone knows that what happened was an "accident" but the reserves are still there.