Saturday Morning Isolation Links

by | Apr 11, 2020 | Daily Links | 408 comments

I’m voluntarily staying away from work for the next week. Which may be the best thing for me mentally. I’m not consciously isolating, but I’m quite looking forward to just being with SP for a bit. My usual mountain hiking is dead dead dead since the local park & rec authorities decided that they were going to enforce Leper Length in the most heavy-handed possible way. And by the time this gets changed, it will be 120° in the morning. So this weekend, it will be urban walks past churches where people are singing about some guy (((we))) had hit. I’m considering wearing a full on respirator system just to troll.

Birthdays today include a guy nicknamed “Shakey”; a guy who was in the best baseball film of all time; a composer who, every time I hear his music, I think, “Did I like this?”; John McAfee’s spirit animal; and a woman who managed to get banned from SNL.

Oh yes, and news.

 

Some things about Philly haven’t changed since the days I lived there.

 

Hey, isn’t this a rerun?

 

Daryl Huff nods.

 

This is why woodchippers were invented.

 

Or maybe THIS is why.

 

“I can walk! Mein Fuehrer, I can walk!”

 

CNN defends SCIENCE. Sheesh.

 

Old Guy Music is my farewell to the great John Prine.

About The Author

Old Man With Candy

Old Man With Candy

Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me. Wait, wrong book, I'll find something else.

408 Comments

  1. Not Adahn

    LaVey is a douchebag. All the negatives of Crowley with none of the upsides.

    • Brochettaward

      YOU RUINED IT

      • Not Adahn

        It’s what I do.

    • JD is Unemployed

      He put some eerily bizarre albums, which I kind of enjoy in a strange uncanny way.

  2. Brochettaward

    Ibam the first man. The superior man.

  3. Tonio

    I think Gov Bashear is overplaying his hand. Hopefully this will backfire, and badly.

    • Translucent Chum

      We’re going to need a bunch of lamp posts.

  4. Not Adahn

    Re: the CNN article, Even Hank Green, who is so woke he’s making videos saying “Biological Sex is a Spectrum,” is not jumping on the trumpenquin BAD! bandwagon.

    • Fourscore

      But, but, but “Trump is being unrealistically enthusiastic”

      says someone that has never been to a high school pep rally or a military briefing

    • cyto

      That clip/article is a perfect test case. If you can watch that and not see that CNN is *only* doing propaganda at this point, you are either a hopeless partisan or hopelessly clueless.

      Fauci has spoken on this many times – as Trump points out – and he is on board with fast-tracking research on the topic. Smash cut to CNN anchor saying “He won’t even let him answer the question… and we know why!”

      It is amazing to me that the White House press pool thinks they are doing the lord’s work when they play “gotcha” games, like twisting the push to fast-track various drugs and equipment through regulatory hurdles into “promoting”– presumably for some personal benefit.

      Notice that they’ve zeroed in on the malaria drug, since it is less likely to be successful than the ventilators and masks that have been fast-tracked. He’s not hammering away at Trump for allowing GM to repurpose a car factory into a ventilator factory…. with no experience in making medical equipment at all. Surely he owns a lot more stock in GM than in the drug company in his mutual fund.

      • Count Potato

        Trump owns about $100 in that company.

      • cyto

        Could be as much as $385.

  5. Ted S.

    Old Guy Music is my farewell to the great John Prine.

    Did they make a little magic before the night was through?

  6. Brawndo

    Thanks for the depressing links. My wife woke me up to say the Mass governor said we (meaning me) have to wear masks out in public. I asked if we got our complimentary masks in the mail and she said it’s just an advisory, not required. Great, I’ll continue to do what I want.

    • Ted S.

      More people were wearing masks when I went shopping yesterday compared to the last time I went shopping earlier in the week.

      Pretty much nobody where I work — either the few of us who can’t do our work from home or the folks on the mail room side — are wearing masks. The custodians aren’t either.

      • Sean

        I don’t plan on wearing one to the Fresh Market this morning, but that place is pretty chill and fairly well spaced out. I was fully prepared to wear one last weekend when we tried to go to Trader Joe’s. The line around the building waiting to get in killed that trip anyway.

      • Not Adahn

        Yeah, literally nobody was masked when I went in to my local pizzeria yesterday. However, I’m planning to go to the wholesale club later this morning and last time I was there people were aggressively social distancing, so I’ll wear the plague mask. I’ll report back if I can.

      • Sean

        That mask should help increase your social distancing by a large margin.

      • Not Adahn

        Just as long as it doesn’t inspire biddies to reprimand me for not taking the plague seriously. I really would rather not get arrested.

    • Fourscore

      Ho boy, making your own decision, eh? Anarchy in the trenches!

    • Not Adahn

      Cuomo gets benchslapped and NY gun stores reopen?

      • Ted S.

        AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

        Let me catch my breath.

        [catches breath]

        AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

        Sorry, but no.

      • Not Adahn

        Gotta admit, that would be the strangest possible timeline.

  7. PieInTheSky

    So the 2001 Spanish-American-Russian pinot noir was not bad at all for a 44 lei wine fished out of some forgotten corner of a warehouse, or wherever the store got it from

    • PieInTheSky

      I need to drink older wine more often. I think the average red I drink is less than 5 years old.

      • Fourscore

        Older women and younger whiskey, right?

      • Sean

        That sounds backwards.

      • PieInTheSky

        ehm no?

      • Ted S.

        Unfortunately, I’m not well enough off to buy wines that old.

        Fortunately, I’ve noticed enough of a quality difference when I start going to the $10-$15 range that I don’t need to go to the fine old wines that are much more expensive.

      • PieInTheSky

        44 lei is like 10 usbucks.

  8. Drake

    An old guy died in our local hospital after falling off a ladder. He tested positive for the commie cough so that was his official cause of death.

    • Fourscore

      He may have been coughing and that was the cause of the fall, resulting in death. Cause/effect

  9. PieInTheSky

    So question:

    What is the deal with mass graves in New york? I mean 500 deaths in a day should be handled bt a city of almost 10 million.

    I had the same thing with Lombardy, who was overwhelmed by a few hundred deaths.

    Is there no room in the system? What is the daily capacity?

    • Not Adahn

      It’s where indigent/unclaimed bodies are interred. Have been forever.

      • PieInTheSky

        well what I got from the news was that this never happened before

      • Not Adahn

        Yeah well, news media lies.

        What do Romanians do with inconvenient corpses? Do you have the European tradition of exhuming bodies to resell the gravesite?

      • PieInTheSky

        I mean it happens but not often. Usually graves are a family matter and reused…

        What do Romanians do with inconvenient corpses – use as servants

      • Not Adahn

        I grew up in a place that doesn’t have many graveyards more than a century old, so moving here has been kind of interesting in that regard. On the way to Vermont, there is some town had a cemetery that included… a barrow I guess? A big round hill with a doorway set into it. But then there were also graves on top of the barrow.

      • Ted S.

        The password is “ossuary”.

      • cyto

        The “Something New” is that they quit using prison labor to dig the graves. They quit using prisoners because of the virus. That is all. Now they have a contractor doing it.

        Something about using slave labor in dangerous conditions that might spread the virus in confined spaces seemed like it might look bad on TV, I suppose. So politicians went with paid labor instead.

      • Shirley Knott

        Somebody’s cousin owns an excavating firm more likely.

    • Fatty Bolger

      It’s a potter’s field, so nothing new. Most people were probably unaware of it before this, though.

  10. Atanarjuat

    Closing remote hiking trails is so asinine. It’s reminiscent of the furloughed federal employees roping off the National Mall out of spite during the government shutdown.

    In a slightly positive development, there is a bike path here that was formerly the rail bed of a line that brought south Georgia cotton to ships. Needless to say it is very level, straight, flat and remote. Perfect for road bikes and joggers. Well, the asshats in local government roped and coned off the parking area. But people here, probably sick of being cooped up, have been parking on the shoulder and using it anyway.

    I’m no scientician, but hiking, biking, and jogging in remote areas are about the least likely ways to contract an illness.

    I’m thinking about sneaking over at night and dismantling their closure apparatus. Maybe a bad idea since I’m trying to get some stuff expunged off my record right now.

    • Crusty Juggler

      “I’m no scientician, but hiking, biking, and jogging in remote areas are about the least likely ways to contract an illness.”

      IT LIVES IN THE BUSHES

      • Translucent Chum

        And apparently vacation homes in Michigan.

    • Tejicano

      “hiking, biking, and jogging in remote areas are about the least likely ways to contract an illness”

      STEVE SMITH APPROVE THIS MESSAGE

      • Atanarjuat

        Chastity belt (greater than) N95 mask

    • Fatty Bolger

      I see people wearing masks when they’re out alone walking their dogs. What exactly do they think the mask is protecting them from? All these people wearing masks seem to think it’s some sort of magical talisman that prevents them from getting the disease. It’s true that it might prevent *you* from giving it to somebody else, but that’s not why they are wearing them.

      • Tejicano

        Face masks have been a standard feature of life in Japan for generations and I’d always had the same attitude as you – even though people say they are to protect others you can just feel that most people wear then to protect themselves which is really silly. I never thought I’d live to see them become part of everyday life in the US too.

      • straffinrun

        My mask is part of my persona.

    • Ted S.

      Thankfully I’m on the side of the state forest opposite the parking lot (which is just the end of a former dirt road with a barrier put up). In theory the state could rope that off an make people park where the paving ends (which many of the bikers do anyway), but they can’t rope off the entire thousand acres.

      Last Saturday when the dog and I were out we ran into one pair of mountain bikers, which is roughly normal except for summer weekends just before lunch, when you’re more liable to run into a good half dozen walking/biking groups during an hour-long walk. Depending on which trails you’re on, of course.

    • Tonio

      It comes down to distancing. The latest breathless lockdowner headline is about a study claiming that outdoor exercise creates clouds of virus particles.

      • Not Adahn

        Yup. It can spread Germanstwo aisles away

      • Atanarjuat

        You know who else tried to spread Germans around?

      • leon

        Germanicus?

      • Tonio

        Allied bomber crews?

      • Seguin

        Odoacer?

      • Fatty Bolger

        The french fries in the freezer aisle immediately surrendered.

      • juris imprudent

        Funny you should mention that; people are so fucking stupid when they let fear rule them.

      • Tonio

        Thank you for that. Going to go on a nice long bike ride today.

    • Nephilium
    • cyto

      Because the parks are so crowded, a couple of the municipalities down here have banned jogging in the park. I think you can still jog in your neighborhood though.

      My neighborhood is swarming with joggers and dog-walkers. Everyone is keeping their distance though.

      I’ve probably met 20 new people while walking my dog the past couple of weeks. So there’s at least one plus.

  11. PieInTheSky

    Daryl Huff nods. – I assume some coronadeaths were in fact heart disease / cancer deaths categorized.

  12. The Late P Brooks

    Physicians, including Trump’s own advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have emphasized that in order to know if a drug is going to work — and be safe — it has to be studied in clinical trials. It might work, but it might not. It might be safe, but it also could hurt patients.
    Clinical trials are considered the gold standard in medicine. Boiled down to the essentials, clinical trials take a large group of people, give half of them the drug and half of them a placebo, and see how each group fares.

    You give some people the drug, and see if they get better? Just as Trump is suggesting?

    • juris imprudent

      What? And give FDA bureaucrats the vapors.

    • Drake

      So they are saying they are worse than useless during an epidemic. A new disease shows up and begins killing people and their first response is to prohibit doctors from trying treatments until they find a few that work. Do they realize how stupid this sounds? If this thing was as deadly as the Bubonic plague, the survivors would hunt down the medical bureaucrats and have them pulled apart by horses.

  13. Crusty Juggler

    How to look good on Zoom, according to Tom Ford

    Once the laptop is positioned above you, you should point the camera down towards your eyes.
    Read more

    Lighting is also important, according to the designer, who suggests that you place a tall desk lamp next to your computer “on the side of your face you feel is best” to provide some flattering light.

    “The lamp should be in line with and slightly behind the computer so the light falls nicely on your face,” he explained.

    To ensure you get “a bit of fill and bounce,” Ford recommends using a white piece of paper or a white tablecloth and placing it on the table you are sitting at.

    However, as he told Dowd, you have to make sure the white isn’t visible in the frame, although it’s not exactly clear why.

    Finally, Ford advises using “lots of powder”.

    “Et voilà,” the designer concluded.

    From what I’ve heard some of you could use this advice…

    • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

      Hey! My penis was glorious in that zoom call! Perfectly lit, well proportioned, and plenty of “fill and bounce”!

      • JD is Unemployed

        Fill and bounce? So it’s a grower and a shower? Just remember that pride cometh before ED.

      • Fourscore

        and plenty of “fill and bounce”!

        So, like my clothes dryer with 2 dryer sheets?

    • Ted S.

      Claudette Colbert notoriously preferred having the left side of her face photographed over her right side.

      • Toxteth O’Grady

        And Jean Arthur had a “face problem”, as Capra put it.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Finally, news you can use.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      You don’t want the white reflector in the shot because it will throw off the contrast levels and make you look darker by comparison.

      • Tonio

        ^This. Also avoid including active lamps, video displays, aquaria, etc in the frame.

      • straffinrun

        And I thought it was my Goth makeup.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Ease up on the eye shadow dude.

    • Tonio

      I wasn’t going to say anything…

  14. The Late P Brooks

    The reason a clinical trial can’t be done in days is because the universities need to recruit study subjects, who then need to take the pills for a period of time. Doctors need to analyze the results.

    That all takes time — even when doctors are moving at lightning speed because of the pandemic.
    “We need rigorous science, we need the right science,” said Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, the principal investigator at the University of Washington. “This is the most urgent study we’ve ever worked on and we’re moving quickly to get results.”

    <

    Do these people have any notion of how stupid they sound?

    “Doctor, I’m bleeding to death. Put a tourniquet on my leg.”

    “Well, we can’t do that without rigorous testing and analysis of alternative materials. We can’t just use an old belt, you know.”

    • Not Adahn

      The precautionary principle is an article of faith to some.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I think this is the first time I’ve heard people on the left say we have to wait to do something. It’s usually WE MUST DO SOMETHING…

      • juris imprudent

        We must do something, when we think it will make us look good, and we must wait if there is any possibility of making the other side look good.

      • Fourscore

        However, to do something requires a substantial financial infusion, oh, say, 5 no, make it 10 million dollars. Health is far too important to try to do this on the cheap.

      • Rhywun

        It is literally this. You can’t even try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

      • Tejicano

        Seeing how many people need somebody to do SOMETHING when things go south I often wonder if early human societies had so many rituals and practices for just that reason. From our perspective those rituals were silly and useless, having no effect on their situation. But I can imagine some head man in a Neolithic tribe come up with a “rain dance” or a “bountiful harvest” ritual just to be seen to be doing SOMETHING in those times when he knows that isn’t anything to change the situation.

        21st century America needs a plague ritual for everybody to do – either in the privacy of their homes or in groups (I guess on-line would be the default) so they can be doing SOMETHING in our current situation.

      • cyto

        Yeah… medical science is pretty difficult.

        Using an approved medication off-label sounds safe… but remember, aspirin was safe and effective and used on-label for fever in the case of Chickenpox. Then we figured out that it cause Reye’s syndrome. Ooops.

        We do a fair job of evaluating treatments scientifically these days. But only just fair. We still pretty much suck at it. Your family physician is still pretty likely to prescribe an antibiotic for a viral infection, or give you Tami-Flu even if you don’t have flu or if you are outside the very brief window of opportunity…. And lord knows, a bunch of medical practice has never been rigorously studied.

        Even drugs are not evaluated properly. Do you have a study that shows the relative effectiveness of the various heartburn medications? No, you don’t. Because we don’t do things that way. The new patent drug comes out, they spend a ton on advertising, and everyone switches to the new thing. “Better” is really hard to quantify anyway… and who’s gonna pay to find out that their new drug is middle-of-the-pack.

      • juris imprudent

        I may have mentioned this before, but a couple of years back I had a fairly severe neuropathy. One neurologist diagnosed it as MS and wanted me to go on one of the medicines now treating it. She didn’t have a recommendation and said I might have to try more than one to find what works best for me. So, I do some internet-research. Not one of them could describe what mechanism was involved in the treatment – just that it had showed a statistically significant improvement (and all were secondary uses of the pharma in question).

        And that is the glory of western medicine – well, we don’t know why it works, but it looks sorta like it does. You might as well recommend some tiger gall-bladder to me you non-scientific fucks.

        The neurologist I saw after that looked me square in the eye and said “you do NOT have MS”. As it was, I fully recovered without the help of any treatment.

      • Tejicano

        Hell, when you consider how recently and for how long we were all fed that BS line about “cholesterol in the diet = high blood serum cholesterol” – and the additional BS that controlling either had anything to with controlling heart disease you really get the idea that medical science is less about science than they would have you believe.

    • leon

      Really reads like a person who can’t get their head around thinking about a situation other than their narrowed viewpoint.

      “We have to run these tests scientifically!!!” Ok. Do that when you have time, for now at got lots of patients, let’s see what helps them.

    • leon

      This is why we need to have legislatures abolish absolute immunity.

  15. Trials and Trippelations

    I feel your pain OMWC regarding trail closings.
    NC state parks immediately closed their campgrounds and visitor centers, but left the restrooms open when this BS started.
    Before all state parks were closed with the stay at home order 2 or 3 weeks ago. They closed popular parks due to locality mandates or if they felt not enough people were social distancing. They cited pics on Derpbook as evidence.

    Needless to say my family’s camping trip for this upcoming week was ruined. We were going to see 7 state parks.

    My local parks have had bathrooms locked and water fountains shut off for 3 weeks.

    My neighbor suggested a privately owned trail system nearby. It was a God send. My son was so happy. It was probably his best day since this stupidity started with the exception of his birthday.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    Question-

    What exactly makes for the “end” of flue season? Is it air temperature and humidity change, or is it just that people get out of stuffy enclosed areas into the fresh air?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      A flue cap?

    • PieInTheSky

      probably a combination. I heard some say even the actual increased sunlight, both as a direct effect and as in increase in vitamin d in humans.

    • Old Man With Candy

      When the flues get cleaned out.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    All these people wearing masks seem to think it’s some sort of magical talisman that prevents them from getting the disease.

    By George, I think you’ve got it!

    • Atanarjuat

      Kind of like people who wear rubber gloves while shopping, but still touch their personal effects, groceries, faces, door handles, etc.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      The masks are a minimal intrusion compared to the shut downs.

      And they’re more effective when infected people wear them, and since we don’t know who has it because of asymptomatic carriers…

      I’d much rather they insist people wear masks and get rid of the other restrictions. We might be able to carry on an economy.

      • straffinrun

        This is very true. Even if it were just a talisman, at least you’d calm people down a bit.

    • Crusty Juggler

      I like that it allows me to judge women purely by their bodies.

      • Trials and Trippelations

        Hillbillies from Deliverance hardest hit

      • Gustave Lytton

        It’s throwing a curve ball into my Asian or Elderly mask wearing guessing game.

  18. PieInTheSky

    I randomly remembered that in a linx thread a while ago I posted a stupid though experiment. I wonder if the Chiana Syndrome changed any minds towards doing it… I will repost here for fun.

    Stupid thought experiment time:

    Let’s say there was a Stargate like device that would lead to planets just like earth, gravity climate same flora and fauna – I mean exactly earth plants and animals, not analogs – just no humans, and nothing human made. You can transport for each opening of the gate, maximum 50 thousand people of the same ideology with a standard shipping container of stuff per person. Everything needs to be built and everything not brought from earth needs to be made. . The stargate opens every 10 years for a trip each way, so if you stay on the planet you need to stay there 10 years. If you go back to earth it takes 10 years to return to ther planet. People could talk in advance to form groups among people willing to go have a mix of doctor engineers farmers men women etc. You have many such planets for various groups. How many people would do it? I assume various religious sects would take the opportunity. Would any libertarians? Would 50k libertarians be willing to be isolated from earth in this way to attempt libertopia? Would they get enough women to come with? Would after 10 years another 50k be willing to go if the first built some stuff? Would the first 50k expect special privilege for pioneering, thus no longer being libertopia? Or would they selflessly trailblaze.

    Yes silly but for some reason it came to me I do think up shit like this for no reason.
    … Because I was thinking would I go? or what political changes to the world would drive me to go?

    • Atanarjuat

      I would definitely go. Although planet Libertopia would make sausage fests seem feminine.

      And you could make a killing just by having an open general store and speculating on some property prior to the arrival of the second wave.

      • Fourscore

        Can I take some bees?

      • Suthenboy

        Yes. Me too and I want my property adjacent to yours.

      • PieInTheSky

        you get one shipping container like everyone else. you can use that space how you like.

    • leon

      I might do it. If 50k Libertarians leave, we’ll have no one here to fight for liberty.

      On that note however, 50k is way too much for an initial colony. You’d have mass starvation.

      • PieInTheSky

        well one shipping container is pretty big you could get a few years worth of rations for each human.

    • Suthenboy

      I would go. I think the libertarian group would end up looking about like the glibs….a complete mix of genders, orientations, religions, races etc. Generally of higher intelligence and education.

      End result: The groups holding liberty/self ownership as their highest value would thrive in record time.
      The groups holding collectivism/top manism/authoritarianism as their primary value would descend into hell in record time. They would also be calling for the conquering, looting and subduing of the liberty groups.

      Just as they have here on the original earth.

      What works for small bands of humans in a primitive world does not work in large sophisticated societies. Our technology has advanced quite a bit in the last half-million years but our culture has yet to catch up.

      • juris imprudent

        Tom Kratman’s series starting with A Desert Called Peace plays with this. The first expedition to colonize was a disaster because it was all hand-picked experts. The subsequent expeditions sent the deplorables as it were, wherein they very successfully recreated Earth with all of its squabbling (but the original Earth was free of the trouble-makers – which had its own unintended consequences).

      • Fourscore

        Isn’t that the history of Australia?

    • Pi Guy

      Hopefully not on Ark B

    • Cannoli

      I would go if enough of my family came too. My parents and sisters are pretty libertarian, but I don’t know if they’d want to start over. My grandparents probably wouldn’t be interested.

  19. Crusty Juggler

    Learning to Date My Dildo

    I recently had a very romantic date with my dildo.

    My dildo’s name is Dawn, like the dish soap with which I wash it before and after. Alternatively, it can be spelled Don — like a mobster boss who loaned me money that I want to repay “some other way.” It’s obsidian black, made of a firm silicone and measures seven-and-a-half inches long with a six-inch girth. I like all kinds of cocks, but this one’s perfect. We met back in college, and we’ve had an extremely casual thing ever since. I don’t need what Dawn gives me on a regular basis. So when we hook up, it’s usually a special occasion

    My God.

    • Tonio

      That person is better off dating xir dildo than making someone else miserable.

    • Trigger Hippie

      “I like all kinds of cocks, but this one’s perfect.”

      How long to do have to wait after boring your hole out with Girthy Dawn until you can even feel another cock? Jesus…

    • l0b0t

      Bow before the majesty of Maclean & Maclean singing Dildo Dawn

    • LCDR_Fish

      The matching color scheme is a bonus, but it is pretty cool. Assuming the interior isn’t completely exposed to the weather when you take the boat down.

    • Tejicano

      I do like the looks of cars from the 50’s but there is no way I would drive one that was 100% stock. I don’t know how many people these days know how crappy those engines were. A flathead V-8 might crank out 40 horsepower and be worn out in 40,000 miles. To keep it running right it needs new points & condenser (the electrical switch in the distributor) and carburetor adjustment every 3 to 6 months. For years I drove a few cars and trucks from the late 60’s / early 70’s and kept them running myself. It is cool how mechanically simple they were but it takes dedication to keep them on the road.

      • Crusty Juggler

        It looks cool! I don’t want to marry it or nothin.

      • The Last American Hero

        You could name it Dawn. Like the soap.

      • Seguin

        The ’48 flathead put out 85 hp iirc. Maybe 110.

        In the early 2000s to early 2010s I drove as a daily driver a 1957 Ford F100. It had two principle modifications: a T5 five speed and 2.71:1 rear gears. The engine was a stock 272 Yblock v8 (ohv). It was…

        Pretty good. Admittedly the shocks weren’t matched well so it drove a bit like a tractor and the lack of A/C and power steering meant I was usually sweaty by the time I got to my destination, but overall it was a competent vehicle on city and highway. I drove multiple times from College Station to Dallas in it where I averaged 75 mph.

        Really, as long as you dont miss convenience features and luxuries like cd players, a stock mid fifties car is just fine for 90% of driving.

    • Oy the Billy-Bumbler

      How sexy is a mug exactly?

    • Count Potato

      Awesome.

    • Tundra

      Would.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Would 50k libertarians be willing to be isolated from earth in this way to attempt libertopia? Would they get enough women to come with?

    That’s crazy. There aren’t 50k libertarians.

    • Trials and Trippelations

      You forgot to include the orphans

      • The Last American Hero

        I assumed they’d be packed in the storage container.

    • Translucent Chum

      SMOD, why have you forsaken us?!?

    • Q Continuum

      “I am a trans Domme with a dedication to Female Control. The way forward is through Gynarchy”

      ok…

      • Seguin

        Apparently you can purchase Gyn- like you used to be able to purchase noble title. Meritocracy ftw.

  21. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of rigorous SCIENCE and the people who love it, I was watching some dumb show earlier, and a commercial for some kind of AIDS drug came on. Blah blah blah, and in the disclime4r at the4 end, the guy says something about “hasn’t been tested on those ASSIGNED FEMALE AT BIRTH”.

    Science, ho!

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?

    • Count Potato

      Why wouldn’t they test it on women?

      • Gdragon

        Technically they did test it on women but they were all women who were born with penises 😉

    • Gdragon

      I’ve seen that, I believe that there’s a “born male” who identifies differently who appears in the ad as well, right?

  22. Fatty Bolger

    ‘Don’t you love us?’ Millennials say their parents are making them feel guilty for turning down invitations to come over for Passover and Easter

    Declining Passover with his mom and sister was only the latest blow Daniel, a 28-year-old in California, delivered to his family.

    Weeks ago, he refused to help his mom move, reasoning that she, as someone in a high-risk category for severe illness, should stay in place, which was a possibility, until the coronavirus threat passed. Plus, Daniel is on immunosuppressing drugs for an autoimmune disorder and wanted to keep himself safe by locking in place, too.

    “When my mom caught wind of me not being willing to drive across state lines and help her move, she said, ‘I heard you’re not going to help your mother. To think of all the times I helped you as a child,'” Daniel, whose last name is omitted as to not hurt his family further, told Insider. “I was shocked.”

    • Not Adahn

      How has this person been unaware of the stereotype of a Jewish mother until now?

    • Trigger Hippie

      Shocked! Who ever heard of a parent using guilt to manipulate their kids into doing something they don’t want to do! Unprecedented!

    • Nephilium

      There was no invitation or any gatherings I’m aware of for my family this year.

      • Fourscore

        Well, you won’t feel so rejected then. OTOH, maybe it was you that didn’t get any invitations. I know the feeling.

      • Nephilium

        Either way, I’m good with that.

        Usually I’m out of town now anyways.

    • JD is Unemployed

      #s 6 and 31, but mostly 6. USA!

    • Trigger Hippie

      5, 27, 28

    • Count Potato

      I don’t recall ever seeing it.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    CNN mans the barricades

    In public, Trump has been coy about offering a specific date for reopening the country after he was forced to back off his initial Easter timetable. But internally officials are pushing to do so by next month and there are specific discussions underway about May 1, a person familiar with the talks said.

    It’s a date few health experts, including those advising him at the White House, feel comfortable endorsing outright. Privately they have cautioned that it could take longer to get testing up to speed throughout the country, including not only for the tests that determine if someone has coronavirus but those that determine if someone has had it without knowing. Those health officials are being assured by other aides that testing will be on par within weeks, but doubts remain, people familiar with the talks said.

    Aides already predict an eventual clash between those who want the economy reopened and those who caution a more gradual approach.
    Trump insisted Friday he would give both sides a hearing, even as he claimed that “staying at home leads to death also.”

    Trump should taze Fauci during a live press conference, and then threaten the governors with total loss of federal money if they don’t reopen their economies.

    • Q Continuum

      Like I said before, why stop now? There are a whole host of other diseases and various boogeymen Big Daddy can protect us from. Let’s extend house arrest indefinitely. The National Guard can distribute supplies that the Politburo has approved as necessary. Think of all the lives we can save!

      Of course, if you are caught leaving your home without a pass, you will be killed for your own protection.

      • Sean

        Will my chocolate ration be sugar free?

      • Tejicano

        “if you are caught leaving your home without a pass, you will be killed for your own protection”

        Told you it was dangerous out there.

    • leon

      CNN is absolute trash.

      • cyto

        That’s the whole point.

        He says “I hope we can start opening back up by easter” and they roast him for “vowing to lift all restrictions by April 11”

        They got some mileage from that… so now they are desperate to pin him down to a specific date. Obviously, at this point it is entirely down to what the situation on the ground dictates, but they want a date, any date. That way they can wax apoplectic about the date pledged, and then crucify him when the date is missed.

        It is entirely a “gotcha” exercise. There is no other purpose to the question. I just hope some people other than nutjobs who post in libertarian comments sections are able to notice.

      • Tundra

        Their ratings are shit. I think other people are noticing.

      • tripacer

        Of course their ratings are shit, there’s nobody in the airports.

    • Trials and Trippelations

      Fuck the politicians, experts, and the Karens.

      • juris imprudent

        But, but, but – we only want to look out for you, to care for you. Stop resisting [us].

    • leon

      “even as he claimed that “staying at home leads to death also.””

      It doesn’t? Just like jarflax wrote yesterday, most of the media is still playing politics. They don’t care that the economy is shot. Trump wants it back open so it must remain closed.

      • Q Continuum

        It’s like watching children fight over something. They will take the opposite side of ORANGEMANBAD no matter how logical his position might be on a particular issue. If Trump cured cancer, they’d become pro-tumor.

      • leon

        It really is this way, and especially with CNN. When everything Trump does is evil, or done with evil intent, you start to wonder from the source who is telling you that. CNN has shot their credibility because they zelously refuse to be evenhanded with Trump. The only time they see fit to praise him is when he is bombing Brown people in Syria.

  24. Q Continuum

    Got the My Pillow I ordered in the mail yesterday. Didn’t really need a new pillow but I bought it to support the guy since he voluntarily started producing PPE without some Defense Production BS.

    Review: It’s fine. Not life changing. It will take some getting used to in that it’s lumpy. That’s by design as it’s got a bunch of differing sizes of foam as the fill; that definitely makes it perform as advertised though. It does in fact hold its shape if you rearrange the fill.

    • Translucent Chum

      I know crusty is find to want you to wait on the full review until after you’ve humped it a few times.

      • Atanarjuat

        I think it’s cool that y’all lovely folks are video chatting now but it might make it less likely for some of us to admit to owning such things. I’m old enough to remember beloved commenter AuH2O talking about getting pegged, for example.

      • Toxteth O’Grady

        I must have missed that day!

        I always thought it odd that the My Pillow ads don’t mention a price. I bought a couple of similar pillows from Costco for maybe 20 bucks before I’d even heard of MP/ML. I’m guessing they’re made of foam scraps from some other bigger product.

      • Crusty Juggler

        I am interested in buying a new pillow or two.

    • Stillhunter

      My wife and I did need new pillows and I also wanted to support Lindell after that nonsense.

      We bought the standard pillow, not the premium version. As you said, it seems fine for roughly $30 bucks investment each (BOGO). I got the “green” firmness and my wife the “white”. Hers seems to have more volume when fluffed, but mine does seems to be somewhat more firm. I agree with you on the lumpiness. Odd, but not off putting for me.

      Bottom line, it has a 10 year warranty and is at least as good as a $30 pillow from any other place, so I consider it a worthwhile investment.

      • cyto

        I’m amazed at this fact of modern life.

        A pillow…. essentially a bag with some sort of filling – polyester fibers, foam, feathers… and that’s it.

        And it costs more than a shirt. A shirt has how many seams, buttons, button holes… fabrics that need to be properly aligned..

        And you could have bought an android phone that can play high definition movies, video games and let you talk to anyone on the planet for the same price as two pillows.

        What in the ever-loving hell?

      • Stillhunter

        The pricing on items today is somewhat vexing, though I’m guessing the $60 Android device would break well before my new $30 pillow. The most I’ve paid for a pillow previously is about $10-15, but they are junk after about 6 months. As I get older I really try to buy quality at a value. Not paying a premium for a name or buying disposable crap. Perfect example is a pepper mill I just bought for $32 dollars. Ridiculous? Maybe, but it is made in USA from wood harvested in Maine and has a lifetime warranty. Every previous pepper mill has been ruined within 2 years or so. Doesn’t take long to match $30 bucks.

      • Toxteth O’Grady

        Buy cheap, buy twice.

      • Mojeaux

        Buy once, cry once.

      • Tundra

        Hiya, Stillhunter!

        How are things in God’s country? Been out fishing yet?

      • Stillhunter

        Living an extreme introverts dream! Actually not since I’m playing teacher to the kids while the wife WFH.

        Fishing? I don’t want to get busted man!

        According to model used by Minnesota governor my town of 4000 should have about .8 deaths by August so I think this is all worth it…

    • Count Potato

      I have a couple. If it’s lumpy just shake it.

      • Stillhunter

        Lumpy meaning I can feel the relatively large foam chunks inside. Not a dealbreaker for me, but I could see how it could bother some.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    And-

    As conversations intensify in the White House about how and when to give guidance to reopen the country, the President is talking more and more to friends from Wall Street, hedge fund managers and others in the financial world pressuring him to put a specific date on the calendar for when businesses can reopen — and to do it soon, according to a person familiar with the President’s conversations.
    Meanwhile, the President’s allies in conservative media have begun waging a campaign to discredit some on his team as narrowly focused on charts and models rather than the economic pain inflicted on millions of Americans.

    ——-

    Even some of Trump’s Cabinet officials have started signaling their quiet endorsement of lifting certain restrictions. Attorney General William Barr called guidelines on social distancing “draconian” in an interview this week. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he sees businesses reopening as soon as next month.
    The debate isn’t necessarily falling along predictable lines. Some of Trump’s longtime political advisers — both inside and outside the White House — are concerned about opening the country too soon, fearing a resurgence of infections and more calamity, people familiar with the matter said.
    Frustration is brewing among some of the President’s aides that wealthy outside voices are pushing their own agendas — with their own portfolios and companies in mind — rather than what may be best for the country, not to mention the President’s reelection prospects and legacy.

    Listening to anybody who might actually understand wealth creation is stupid. They might tell you to accept some level of risk greater than zero. Not only that, they might start picking your hastily scabbed together models. We need to just keep the private economy permanently on hold, and start mailing those UBI checks. It’s time for bold cowardice.

    • Q Continuum

      Only bureaucrats are capable of understanding the economy. What part of “expert” don’t you understand peasant?

    • Suthenboy

      “…according to a person familiar with the President’s conversations.”

      “…people familiar with the matter said.”

      Oooooh. That guy again. We should definitely believe every word of that. Maybe we could give him a nickname….how about ‘Casper’?

    • juris imprudent

      Never mind that the EXACT SAME DISCUSSION is happening in those glorious European countries we are supposed to emulate for better govt. By the way, how’s the healthcare system handled the situation over there, hmm?

  26. PieInTheSky

    Rightwing sociopathic quacks like @BjornLomborg
    : are ALWAYS on the wrong side of things precautionary, (including climate).

    Saying “no worse than the flu” was ignorant 3 months ago; saying it after data from the past few weeks is outright malfeasance.

    https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/1248748281838088193

    • leon

      I’d say ever talking about this as an exestential threat is pretty ignorant.

      • leon

        Directed towards taleb, not you pie.

    • Fourscore

      Median age of CV victims in MN is 87. I feel a lot better now

    • cyto

      Look, a left-wing guy who agreed with the oil companies is definitionally a right-wing hack. And just because we are only at 10% of a normal flu year thusfar, don’t pretend that this is evidence of anything other than the worst pandemic of all time. Sure, a couple of million died of flu in the 2016-2017 season… 80k in the US alone. But worldwide, 100,000 have died of Covid-19 already!!! And it only started circulating in China last October!

      2.2 million, 1.5 million, 750,000, 500,000, 250,000 …. or maybe 60k Americans are going to die of this thing! You can’t argue with Science!

    • R C Dean

      Even though the models are now showing “most likely” deaths in the 60K range, which is pretty much a flu season?
      What science is he referring to? Right now, there is no good data on the actual mortality rate because infection testing has lagged incidence by a fair amount, and antibody testing has barely started. The current reported mortality rate is way higher than the actual mortality rate, and any scientist should know this.

      • cyto

        Shut it, denier!

        300 million people have died from gun violence since Trump took office… and now another 12 billion are going to die from Covid-19.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Well…some of the links I’ve seen are indicating that NYC is the outlier. 60,000 deaths nationwide, but for the timeframe, NYC is at 10k+ over their normal death rates for this period. (look for the graph that compares the death tracker to 9/11 for city “out of the ordinary” spikes)

        The rest of the country though…..appears to be below the average. Still only 130 deaths for all of the state of VA.

    • Rufus the Monocled

      WOW!

      Enemies from within.

      This is where I stand now.

    • Suthenboy

      True for most of the major scientific periodicals. It really is sad.

      • cyto

        This seemed like a pretty intentional assault. For me it started in the early-mid 90’s with Shermer at Scientific American.

        The New England Journal of Medicine had always been known for the odd left-wing editorial, but Shermer took over Scientific American and made it into a lefty propaganda rag… and sometime after that, really weak papers with properly woke viewpoints started getting published in ever more prominent journals.

        When I was in the field, university researchers may have been uniformly of the left, but they were rarely overtly political in their science. (well, political as in US partisan politics. They played politics among themselves like nobody’s business. One of the reasons I couldn’t stay the course)

  27. The Late P Brooks

    Would CNN have published a front page editorial on Monday, December 8, 1941 begging FDR to surrender to the Japanese because it would save lives?

    I believe the answer to that is yes.

    • Fourscore

      “I’ll have those________________voting democrat for the next 200 years”

    • R C Dean

      No, because the Japanese were on the other side of the war than the commies.

    • cyto

      No chance. FDR was a democrat.

      • Toxteth O’Grady

        I can see how he could have garnered early loyalty from ending Prohibition.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Papieren, bitte

    Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, revealed Friday the federal government is considering issuing Americans certificates of immunity from the coronavirus, as the Trump administration works to better identify those who have been infected and restart the U.S. economy in the coming weeks.

    “You know, that’s possible,” Fauci told CNN’s “New Day,” when asked whether he could imagine a time when people across the country carry such forms of identification.

    “I mean, it’s one of those things that we talk about when we want to make sure that we know who the vulnerable people are and not,” he said. “This is something that’s being discussed. I think it might actually have some merit, under certain circumstances.”

    Somebody should drop an anvil on this guy, from a great height.

    • leon

      Sudden Spike in cases as everyone rushes out to catch the thing so they can get their cert.

    • Q Continuum

      Anything to stay in the spotlight. This guy must be getting some fantastic trim.

    • Translucent Chum

      Commie Cough killed anyone that actually saw it when it was released.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      I watched the live action Lion King and became irrationally angry. What a shitty movie.

    • Nephilium

      So, a full CGI Song of the South next year?

      • Trigger Hippie

        Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth
        Gone, gone with the wind
        There ain’t nobody looking back again…

      • cyto

        I found a copy and tried to pre-screen it for the kids. We had this album/filmstrip thing as kids that would play stills along with the sound. The Brer Rabbit stories were some of my favorites. I’m not sure I ever saw the movie though…

        So I tried watching it…. nope. Can’t make it through it. The non-animated parts bored me to tears. I skipped ahead and watched the animated bits… yup… holds up! Not as great as I remembered. But still pretty great.

    • Suthenboy

      It is not just Disney. We have Star Wars XXII, Star Trek XXXII, third and fourth remakes of everything you saw as a kid, etc. etc.
      The kinds of people who babble the gibberish. you hear coming from the Hollywood crowd comes from people who can parrot nonsense and are not original or creative. They are going through the motions monkey see, monkey do style because it is all they have.

      • cyto

        The 3rd in the Jumanji trilogy is worth the watch. All three of those are actually pretty great.

    • Trigger Hippie

      Wow. I haven’t seen that film in over twenty five years and just seeing the fox again made me start whistling along to the opening credits.

      • cyto

        I loved that as a kid. Maid Marion was hot!

        I tried to pass it on to the kids… they had no interest. Won’t sit through it at all.

  29. Rufus the Monocled

    Justin Trudeau and his merry band of stale, token woke incompetent pessimists are disgraceful fools.

    Justin went from Zoolander to Denethor in just one month. See what happens when you govern via the UN and China you clown?

    That is all.

  30. Q Continuum

    It’s sure gonna be amusing when, the day after the election, no matter who wins, the news media instantly stops caring about Kung Flu.

    • Count Potato

      I hope they stop caring long before then.

  31. Translucent Chum

    Boats without motors okay; boats with motors bad. Because reasons.

    Paddlers and sailors must be “part of a single household,” according to the state, and any activities “must be done in a manner consistent with social distancing, and individuals should use only their own equipment to prevent the transmission of the virus through the touching of shared surfaces.”

    I know I posted about this yesterday, but each time I see it, I can’t believe it.

      • Gender Traitor

        Residents may visit a home outside of the state or return to Michigan from another state or drive to a Michigan state park, the Free Press reported.

        You just know she’s itching to close the borders and would if she thought she could get away with it.

      • Toxteth O’Grady

        W?! OMFGYHGTBKM!

    • cyto

      The city shut down the marina gas pumps here two weeks ago. Because “screw you guys with boats”, near as I can tell.

      The genesis of this was a bunch of pictures from Boca Raton’s Lake Boca. A whole bunch of boats tied up into a big party raft. People were pretty pissed… they were being laid off and told to stay home, meanwhile a bunch of millionaires were partying it up on their expensive boats. So a meme was formed, and suddenly “boats=bad”.

      I will say this…. paddling is not a panacea. The local neighborhood kids have been out in groups paddling all sorts of things. Some parents are taking “social distancing” much less seriously than others.

      • 61North

        Oh, you better believe that’s a paddlin’

      • cyto

        Yeah, you can’t do that kind of paddling either. At least, not outside your family unit.

    • Tundra

      I shared that with my neighbor as he was getting ready to head up to his lake place.

      He said he’d do a few extra fast laps of the lake in honor of Michigan.

      Actually, I can’t believe our cunt of a Governor hasn’t tried that yet…

    • Q Continuum

      Second place is the first loser.

    • Ted S.

      So the 1.5 years between gold and bronze is not significant, but the 2.4 years between gold and silver is?

  32. The Late P Brooks

    He feels your pain

    At a press conference on Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is working to institute a rent freeze for over 2 million New Yorkers.

    “We will keep the roof over your head,” he said.

    The mayor said he was committed to addressing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “The last paycheck is long gone,” he said.

    To help those who are struggling, de Blasio said he has called on the Rent Guidelines Board to institute a rent freeze for New Yorkers in rent stabilized apartments. “Because, lord knows, people do not need another burden at this moment,” he said.

    He added that New Yorkers who can’t afford the rent should be able to pay it with their security deposit. “We must protect people when it comes to just being able to live life — and we will,” he said.

    “My heart goes out to every family dealing with this pain,” he added. “The City of New York will have your back.”

    Well, not really. He’s still getting paid, and living in a mansion for free. And he has a squadron of armed guards to protect him from the more unsavory elements of society. But he’ll spend somebody else’s last dime if it will get him your vote. He FEELZ.

    • Ted S.

      Now how about a tax freeze?

      • Trigger Hippie

        Hush, you! Can’t expect the man to pay for that armed security himself!

    • mrfamous

      One of these days a price fixing scheme is actually going to work. I just know it!

      I wonder if mandating rent at $0.00 for several months will have any effect on available supply?

    • Spudalicious

      They’re doing it wrong.

  33. Tundra

    Good morning, Old Man!

    And good morning to the rest of you reprobates.

    I was up waaaaaaay too late (early) with the other idiots in Neph’s Fun House. It was great, though. You People are fucking hilarious.

    I like lynx that get my blood going. Maybe time to see if ropes are considered essential items…

    Even the local hipster station has been celebrating Prine.

    Here’s one I’m particularly fond of.

    Have a fantastic Saturday!

    • DEG

      The fun house was good. Thanks Nephilium!

      • Gender Traitor

        ::points at Tundra & DEG and nods vigorously::

        (::is also irrationally proud that Glibbroads are a disproportionate share of Glib Zoomers::)

      • Tundra

        There were so many chicks on last night, even CPRM was on his best behavior.

      • Gender Traitor

        Would we even be here if we wanted to hang out with dudes on their “best behavior”?

      • Tundra

        His best still is pretty bad.

        He’s the reason I bought my little girl a gun!

      • Tres Cool

        What’d I miss?

        See what promising Jugsy Id watch Letterkenny with her gets me ?

      • Gender Traitor

        CPRM wants to marry Tundra’s daughter. I bet he’d even be willing to cough up a pretty substantial TP dowry.

      • Tres Cool

        Do it in Ohio, and Ill officiate!

        Ill marry anyone to anything for a case of beer.

      • The Hyperbole

        I’d offer to pay for the CPRM/Tundra’s daughter wedding but someone broke into my house last night ad drank all my Strohs, Now i’f you’ll excuse me I need to go lie down for a few days.

  34. cyto

    On banning the sale of “non-essential” items….

    My TV breaks, and you can damn well bet that the new TV is an essential item in this brave new world of social distancing. I have 5 people in 1250 square feet. No TV??

    And if my WiFi router were to break… Holy hell. It would be Armageddon in here.

    And the middle kid is growing out of her shoes. That’s not essential?

    Methinks they are not that bright, and they simply keep following the path they are set on, without a real thought toward the final objective.

    • Rhywun

      No TV??

      I’m sure Amazon can get one to you in a month and a half.

      • The Last American Hero

        I’ve been getting stuff no later than 4 days, including a wide array of non-essential items such as computer monitor adapters, additional bullets for the kids nerf guns, and some outdoor adventure gear.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        I haven’t had a problem either. My computer’s hard drive gave up the ghost the other day and I had a new one from Amazon in two days. It was a pleasant surprise actually.

      • Nephilium

        The place I order my green coffee beans from usually has 2-day shipping. My most recent order is looking like it won’t get delivered for ~10 days. I’m glad I ordered before I ran out.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Yeah, initial email said 1-2 weeks, but everything received in about 5 days.

      • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

        I got a new Golf disc in 2 days, like usual

      • Rhywun

        Just checked. I can get one in six days but I don’t have Prime so I would have to pay $42 for the privilege.

        They do seem to be getting better though – seemed like everything was like a month out a couple weeks ago.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Yep. Top. Men. think they can divine how to cut out the “non-essential” parts of the economy without killing the entire thing, when if those were truly non-essential, they wouldn’t exist.

    • Count Potato

      I read some places banned the sale of gardening stuff. Which makes no sense.

      • Gender Traitor

        We can’t risk having people grow their own food and possibly become more self-sufficient!

      • cyto

        A bunch of people here were posting themselves planting stuff on facebook. The wife was pretty miffed…. you see, they didn’t need to go to home depot where they might spread the virus around…

        I figure Home Depot is about as far from “dense crowd” as you can get at a store. It has Dude Culture, which means you stand back several feet in line anyway, even if you didn’t have a cart with a bunch of 8 foot sheets of plywood…

  35. Ownbestenemy

    The old farts in our area are in civil disobedience. Last week I noted a small group thay tailgates in front of the Starbucks. It has now grown and the whole parking lot is pockets of little groups together, enjoying morning coffee together and not distancing themselves.

    There may be hope yet

    • Trigger Hippie

      Good for them. If I was getting to the age where the end was a starker reality than any future longterm goals the last thing I’m going to do is cower in place while fearing death.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    Methinks they are not that bright, and they simply keep following the path they are set on, without a real thought toward the final objective.

    The final objective is Total Control. That’s where your analysis falls apart.

    You’ll have to get a certificate of need from a health professional, verified by a clerk at a government help desk, before you may be permitted to buy that teevee, or those shoes.

    • Suthenboy

      “The final objective is Total Control. That’s where your analysis falls apart.”

      Bingo. This is their chance they have waited for for generations.

  37. 61North

    I’m in dire need of a haircut, but it’s looking like our dickbag mayor is keeping barbershops closed until May. I’d get clippers and DIY the whole job, but it would somehow come out worse than it looks now.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Put a bowl on your head and go to town. It won’t be pretty even if it goes well though.

    • Gustave Lytton

      I’d get clippers

      Someone hasn’t been shopping yet.

    • whiz

      One word: Flowbee!

  38. DEG

    Old Guy Music is good.

    RE: Philly: Yes, SEPTA has asked all riders to wear masks:

    SEPTA is now asking riders to wear masks or facial coverings, echoing a recommendation made Tuesday by Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley.

    “Remember, wearing a mask is about really protecting the people around you, and you’re around people when you’re in a bus or in a subway,” he said.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    The local neighborhood kids have been out in groups paddling all sorts of things.

    That’s barely even a euphemism.

  40. The Late P Brooks

    The old farts in our area are in civil disobedience.

    I suspect old farts are the only people willing to stand up against this bullshit. They (we) actually remember what it was like to live in a country proud of being free.

    • Ownbestenemy

      They set up right at 6am when the coffee house opens and are there nearly all morning. Its refreshing. I am starting to see younger groups too.

      Not all in Nevada is lost. Time to check the local scolds on Nextdoor

    • Grosspatzer

      Not just old farts.

  41. The Late P Brooks

    I’m in dire need of a haircut

    #METOO

    • 61North

      Glibs who know these things, are contractors hungrier now or has the slow down not hit residential work? It’s finally warm enough to have some insulation work done on my foundation and it seems like they’d be willing to drop their price in order to keep their crews employed. With the price of oil crashing up here and general fuckery of the government at all levels , I wouldn’t think that there’s the usual springtime boom.

      • Tundra

        The slowdown has hit residential here. My buddy told me that the vast majority of his backlog has been put on hold. Obviously, if people are worried about their jobs, the remodel can wait.

        I think you are in good shape. They will probably deal.

      • 61North

        Good to know. I have to have it done by early July and I’d rather have it done now so I can get all the paperwork processed with my lender. It should knock my mortgage down .35% and save a few hundred dollars next winter in heating costs.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Don’t know about the retail side if they’re willing to drop prices, but the mills around here are slowing or shutting down due to cratering demand. Like empty order file for one plywood mill. Lumber prices are dropping which tells me it’s already happening.

      • Fourscore

        I have several smaller projects for contractors, a small patio, a couple metal roofing jobs and install a gas furnace. I talked to the concrete guy, said he’d be out a couple weeks ago, haven’t seen him. I’ll make some other calls for the other jobs this week, snow has finally gone.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Not a contractor, but work for them most often. I’m a painter, and have been laid for a week despite being “essential” because several people cancelled on us due to the fear of having strangers in their homes. The painting department for the company I work for employes four separate crews of 3-4 people each so there’s only so much work to go around right now.

        However, I believe many homeowners have gotten over the initial panic and we are supposed to have some work lined up after next week. Got a cash job lined up on Monday that should last about three days and since I won’t pay taxes on it I’ll really only be short a week’s pay due this nonsense.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Oh, for your question, sorry. I know the company I work for has basically extended its Winter/After Christmas discount for interior work indefinitely. Shop around, I’m sure you can save money.

      • 61North

        Thanks. And I’m definitely paying in cash, which should sweeten the deal.

    • cyto

      Haircut is easy if you are a dude.

      Number 4 up the sides, number 6 across the top. Number 2 to trim in the sideburns and edges around the ears.

      If you did a good job of blending, you are done. If not, grab some scissors and do the “two finger pull up a bunch of hair” thing and trim it up to even up the transition.

      Should take you about 15 minutes in the mirror. 10 if your wife will do it for you.

      And you’ll never go back to the barber again. If not because you are a cheap bastard and don’t want to lay out that cash for something that you can do for the rest of your life with $25 worth of supplies, then because driving down there and waiting for your turn is a royal pain in the ass.

      • 61North

        Ha, wife…

      • cyto

        My wife won’t even trim up the back for me.

        So I do my hair and the kids. She goes to a hairdresser at $60 a pop. She quit paying for the blowout though.

        She quit giving me crap about it after last year’s 4th of July parade. A couple of her friends happen to be hairdressers and they were there. They saw my son’s haircut and complemented it. The wife rolled her eyes and said I did it…. and they proceeded to quiz me about how I did my hair, full of complements. So that shut her up.

        She still doesn’t like it. She wants me to pay $20 to get my 7 year old girl’s bangs trimmed every 2 weeks. Yeah… no. Plus, it is a 20 minute drive, each way, and you are there maybe 30-45 minutes. No thank you. 2 minutes in the shower with a pair of scissors… done and done. (would be 30 seconds, but she’s 7. Standing still is not in her skill set)

      • Mojeaux

        My dad was a barber for a while. He and his dad decided to learn a trade that didn’t involve summer sun, concrete, and cars whizzing by.

        Anyway, he liked my hair boy-short and if he didn’t think the hair dresser made it short enough, he’d cut it himself.

        FORTUNATELY, that was the era of the punk cuts so I did that and was cool at school, and he liked it and never knew the difference. If he had…

      • Fourscore

        I had a dry spell in the army when I didn’t get paid for 100 days. After about 15 days I bought a clippers, cut everyone in the platoon’s hair every 4-5 days, 50 cents a pop. Pretty much a 5 o’clock shadow haircut. My room mate was a barber, I had the best haircut in the platoon, more like a 2 day beard. 6 months of that, I got all my back pay plus a lot of 50 centers by the time all was said and done.

      • Ted S.

        You shower with your 7-year-old daughter?

      • cyto

        Actually, trying to cut her hair in the shower is pretty much exactly like taking a shower with her…. Giving the dog a bath is easier and less messy.

      • cyto

        And this is the kid who sat still for three stitches over her eyebrow when she was 4 years old. Calm as can be, didn’t move a muscle. But try to cut some hair? Sometimes easy… sometimes like trying to give a cat a bath.

      • The Last American Hero

        Ha, top.

      • Gustave Lytton

        That’s mine except drop two on the numbers. Drop 4 when I was still wearing BDUs.

      • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

        ^ this, except for the Wife part, and the back of your head can get a bit…. messy,

      • Cannoli

        I cut my husband’s hair. Cutting it doesn’t take long, but I haven’t figured out how to do it without making a big mess and the cleanup takes a while.

        I have been getting my hair cut by a family friend who is a hairdresser since I was a baby. I’m growing it out, though, so I wasn’t due to go back until May.

      • cyto

        Two tips… do it outside and you don’t have to worry about cleanup so much.

        Or….

        Do it in the tub/shower. Hair falls in place, sweep it up with your hands. The rest collects on the grate when he turns on the shower.

        Also…. always cut hair wet. Makes a better cut, and makes much less mess.

        I do mine leaning over the sink. Everything falls in the sink and I pick it up and toss it in the trash. Then I jump straight in the shower and wash my hair, getting rid of all the little pieces, so no itching.

    • Gender Traitor

      I need my gray roots touched up something fierce. I’ll be pissed if I have to resort to drug store hair color (if they are even allowed to sell it to me) and potentially wreck years (and hundreds of dollars) worth of my stylist’s great work.

      Do not piss off a redhead who wants to continue to be a redhead.

      • cyto

        Hair coloring is definitely an art.

        My brother in law went grey in his 20’s. And he’s rich as the pope. So he got the best. His hair was amazing. She probably put 10 different shades of blond in there.

        You definitely get what you pay for with hair color. It ain’t tattoo artist level important, but I definitely feel your pain.

        I used to do the ex-wife’s perm. Even that is easier than doing the color… .but at lest you won’t end up bald with a scab-covered scalp if you screw up the color.

      • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

        My Red Hair is Bottle Blonde and looks Fabulous! I’ve used Revlon for decades,

    • Mojeaux

      #metoo

      Hair is way too long. Mr. Mojeaux loves it, the longer the better. But he doesn’t have to sport it around or take care of it. Going back to year-2?-3?-post-head-shave length.

    • DEG

      #methree

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      I hope their definition of responders includes grocery store clerks and UPS drivers.

      • Ownbestenemy

        They are neglecting a large housing development in their flyover too

    • Suthenboy

      How much will that cost?

      • Ownbestenemy

        My guess is they roll it as logging hours they would have flown anyway so why not make it over the city? My guess anyway

    • Gustave Lytton

      Stay home or we’ll strafe and bomb you?

      • Ownbestenemy

        Heh that article does read that way

  42. cyto

    The stuff about government expansion and NYC got me thinking…..

    They’ve been wanting to confiscate wealth for some time now. New York City has the perfect opportunity. They have a 1 time event with a defined cost. They need to pay rent for a few hundred thousand people for a few months.

    The perfect opportunity to simply confiscate a small percentage of the wealth of the 1%.

    And then….. camel’s nose… tent….

    • Trigger Hippie

      “Hump Day” gets a whole new meaning.

  43. Raven Nation

    On trails/parks closing, our mayor (somewhere near the middle of flyover country) has come up with quite the interesting response. At first, they kept the city parks open but asked people to not use the equipment, etc. or congregate in large groups. Now they’ve decided that too many people were ignoring social distancing requirements. So, the new policy is that all the walking/biking trails throughout the city are open, but the parks are closed. They’re also going to ticket (& maybe tow?) cars found in the parks. BUT, of course, ALL the trails run through parks for at least some of their length. So, apparently, you can use the trails, and you can walk to the local park to pick up the trail but you can’t drive to a local park by yourself, park your car, and then go for a walk on the trail.

    • 61North

      The Feds shuttered most services at Katmai NP, the place where the bears eat fish at the falls and home of my avatar, until July. Clearly the place with 4.6 million acres and zero road access or permanent population poses vital threat. Assholes.

      • Ownbestenemy

        They closed Death Valley…talk about true distancing…

      • 61North

        Good god. Now close the paychecks of the park employees.

    • Count Potato

      WTF?

      • Raven Nation

        Yeah, it really makes no sense.

        On the issue of isolated parks (such as Katmai that 61North references), here’s how supporters of these things in the UK argue it: if you’re out hiking and injure yourself, it will require EMTs to come and assist you. By coming in contact with you, that breaks their quarantine “bubble” and now they have to self-isolate taking them out of the rotation.

        Not saying I agree/disagree, but that’s the argument.

      • cyto

        Meanwhile… 6 police officers are physically dragging a man off a bus for failing to wear a mask….

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Probably a drug side effect would be my guess.

      • Grosspatzer

        Who knows? Love the avatar, BTW.

      • Count Potato

        The fizzing is from the hydroxychloroquine making tonic water.

  44. Gustave Lytton

    Local park operated by the Corps of Engineers has closed signs on the gate and entrance sign. Seems like they’re doing a reasonable balance of directives from above and sensibility. They didn’t block off the parking lot in front of the gate nor do they appear to be enforcing the closure.

  45. Donation Not Taxation

    ‘My usual mountain hiking is dead dead dead since the local park & rec authorities decided that they were going to enforce Leper Length in the most heavy-handed possible way. And by the time this gets changed, it will be 120° in the morning.’

    Los Angeles concurs.

    ‘L.A. County officials on Friday announced the closure of beaches, piers, beach bike paths, beach access points, public trails and trailheads through April 19. That order covers beaches in every coastal city and unincorporated area of the county. The city of Los Angeles closed its hiking trails as well.’

    https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-03-27/la-tr-travel-safe-open-parks-beaches-trails-hiking-coronavirus-california-weekend

    • cyto

      Beaches here in SoFla have been closed for a couple of weeks. I thought it was a bit silly… since the beach is outside, not confined and people keep their distance.. and there are no hard surfaces to harbor the virus, while everything is bathed in UV radiation, which is lethal to the virus.

      I was clearly wrong though.

      The response to this has been a testament to the principles of federalism. Local governments had a much better handle on the issues that affected their communities. With the exception of New York City, most have handled it well. (in fact, if NY had simply been walled off Snake Pliskin style, we’d probably have half the cases we do in the rest of the country… you can see the patter of spread from that central spot. It is like NY is a festering boil on the bum of the US, spreading sepsis throughout the body.)

      • Donation Not Taxation

        ‘ It is like NY is a festering boil on the bum of the US, spreading sepsis throughout the body.’

        But back to talking about The Virus. / jk

  46. Donation Not Taxation

    According to the link OMWC generously provided:
    ‘Coronavirus now leading cause of death in US
    By Kaelan Deese – 04/09/20 03:14 PM EDT’
    https://thehill.com/homenews/news/492053-coronavirus-now-leading-cause-of-death-in-us

    https://answersingenesis.org/coronavirus/2020/03/21/abortion-stats-vs-coronavirus-stats/

    Terry Mortenson, M.D. and Ken Ham disagree:

    ‘If the government closed all abortion clinics and outlawed all abortions, it would instantly reduce that death rate to almost zero, though sadly, abortion clinics are still operating as usual during the outbreak.’

    Abortion Stats vs Coronavirus Stats

    by Ken Ham on March 21, 2020

    https://answersingenesis.org/coronavirus/2020/03/21/abortion-stats-vs-coronavirus-stats/

  47. Hyperion

    “Hey, isn’t this a rerun?”

    It erupted with more force a couple of years ago. But nothing like the big one in the 1800s that reduced global temps by 2 degrees F for a year.

  48. Donation Not Taxation

    TDS (not to be confused with THD) pandemic continues.

    ‘A judge ruled this week that MGM must release unaired footage from “The Celebrity Apprentice” to entrepreneurs who claim they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after President Trump and his children endorsed a multilevel marketing company on the reality show prior to the president’s election.’

    https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/492151-judge-orders-mgm-to-hand-over-celebrity-apprentice-trump-tapes

    • Ownbestenemy

      So you aren’t a lesbian. Because I know lesbians and at most..they would cuddle their male friends and that is all.

      • cyto

        Lesbian is a spectrum….

      • Mojeaux

        ^^^^This.

      • Ownbestenemy

        So the story is bullshit then. I know its slate but if lesbian is a spectrum, then the story means nothing.

        Better written if it was “I prefer girls in bed but I am only human…”

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Nah, it’s like prison gay and maybe they’re only doing mouth stuff.

      • Hyperion

        “So you aren’t a lesbian. Because I know lesbians and at most..they would cuddle their male friends and that is all.”

        Yeah, dude, that was then. Now they’ve roped off the dildo section at the Walmart.

    • Hyperion

      First world problems solved? Best virus ever.

  49. Hyperion

    “Beshear says license plates of cars at mass gatherings will be recorded”

    You’ll be rounded up for the camps when it’s safe for officers to go outside again.

  50. Gustave Lytton

    https://www.registerguard.com/news/20200411/crackdown-possible-as-hundreds-enter-oregons-closed-parks-beaches

    Really interesting how local municipalities can shut down beaches. Those are considered state highways, which is how the state wrested control up to the high water mark from private owners over a century ago. The scared local assholes angle is particularly charming. Hey dipshit, if your hospital beds start filling up, either you’ll get help or have your patients transferred to other hospitals with capacity. Same thing that happens now when a patient shows up beyond the capabilities of your local hospital.

  51. Hyperion

    “CNN defends SCIENCE. Sheesh.”

    Look, folks, we can’t just be letting people take whatever kinds of drugs they want. As soon as we have a good 20 year, we can let the doctor decide if the drug is right for you. Well no, sorry, no money to be made on this one. Just die and STFU until we find a drug that sort of woks and we can make billions on. FDA gets a big ol juicy cut of that, or course. The way things are supposed tow work.

  52. The Late P Brooks

    Let’s not be hasty

    Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbott said he plans to allow businesses to reopen with an executive order that would lift the coronavirus lockdown in a “safe” way.

    The announcement from the second largest state is likely sharpen debate over how long Americans should endure crippling economic restrictions to contain a pandemic that has claimed more than 18,000 lives. The medical community and many Democrats have argued for extended closures to reduce infection rates. The business community and many Republicans want to end the deepest recession since the Great Depression before it does lasting economic damage.

    Abbott said Texas, which would be the world’s 11th largest economy it were an independent country, could find a balance between personal safety and economic security.

    “We will focus on protecting lives while restoring livelihoods,” Abbott said on Friday at a news conference.

    “We can and we must do this. We can do both, expand and restore the livelihoods that Texans want to have by helping them return to work. One thing about Texans, they enjoy working and they want to get back into the workforce. We have to come up with strategies on how we can do this safely.”

    Abbott said details of the executive order would be available next week and it is expected to provide businesses with a list of guidelines on how to safely reopen.

    “We will operate strategically,” Abbott added. “If we do it too fast without appropriate strategies, it will lead to another potential closure.”

    Newsweek reached out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for comment.

    CDC: WTFSRSLY!?

    It’s a bold move. Let’s see if Abbott can shut down the panic stricken biddies.

    • Urthona

      I approve of this but no specific timeline or rules have been given so taking with a grain of salt.

    • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

      He’s Black

      • Drake

        But his uniform is white.

      • LCDR_Fish

        He shouldn’t be wearing whites unless he’s in Hawaii or it’s after May. Still not appropriate.

      • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

        No, it looks Black with Sparkly things on it,

      • creech

        Bah. He has less medals, ribbons, and shit on his uniform than your average county sheriff or small town police chief.

    • Hyperion

      Did the tell them ‘no fried chicken’ as well?

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Under Trump even black people are racist against black people. The man’s a monster.

      • Hyperion

        Dude, have you seen Ben Carson? That negro dared to be a brain surgeon. And that was in Baltimore where he was supposed to be in the ghetto with all the rest of them darkies, and only go out to vote for Democrats. Now Trump makes the uppity negro a cabinet member.

        Truly a monster!

    • Donation Not Taxation

      The white Dr. Fauci explained that the higher percentage of African-Americans among COVID hospitalizations than their percentage of the population was because of their underlying health conditions. The white Dr. Fauci was obviously less racist because he did not suggest that they could do anything to alter that fact that according to Fauci ‘we have known literally forever’

  53. The Late P Brooks

    We can’t risk having people grow their own food and possibly become more self-sufficient!

    COMMERCE CLAUSE!

    • Gender Traitor

      Fun fact: I live less than 2.5 miles/a 5-minute drive from Filburn’s farmhouse.

    • Hyperion

      Now he’s going to meet the same fate as all the other GOATS. He’ll enjoy a couple of awful seasons with a mediocre at best team, and then he retires.

      • Trigger Hippie

        The end of the career of Johnny Unitas was a travesty.

      • Hyperion

        And Joe Montana.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Ha! You dirty bastard!

        Well played.

    • cyto

      Yup…. that’s life on the water. We have boats in our back yard all the time. I walk through the kitchen in my boxers without a care. If you are in my back yard, you have no right to complain.

  54. Hyperion

    THE BIG RESET

    Look, comrades, as we predicted, we won’t have to fire a shot to defeat those evul capitalists! Hoarders and wreckers, woe to thee! Utopia is at hand!

    Is there no limits to the awfulness of that rag?

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Sure, some people are going to die but we’ll get to realize our dreams. It’s shit like this article that convinced me they’d kill us if they could away with it.

  55. The Late P Brooks

    “Tom Brady says Florida mansion he shares with Gisele Bundchen lacks privacy: ‘When you go out to the backyard, there’s a lot of boats that have pulled up’”

    Did he buy it sight unseen? What a maroon.

    • Hyperion

      Well, it’s Florida, so I’m sure he got it for a price that is way less than he can afford.

      Maybe the gov of Florida can use his newfound tinpot powers and issue the ‘Brady Rule’ executive order, different that the ‘tuck rule’, you know, and give Tom his own personal water space sovereignty.

    • cyto

      It’s a rental.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Still, as soon as he entertained the thought of living in a particular city for a few years he should have paid a handful of people to scout out a few areas for a week or two. It’s not like he doesn’t have the money.

      • Hyperion

        Look, dude, it’s Brady. The refs need to throw a flag here.

  56. The Late P Brooks

    I approve of this but no specific timeline or rules have been given so taking with a grain of salt.

    Saying re-opening the private economy will be necessary gives some people the flutters.

  57. The Late P Brooks

    I’m a Lesbian. But Since the Lockdown, I’ve Been Sleeping With My Male Roommate.

    NEEDZ MOAR DILDO!

    • Hyperion

      The police report said:

      She kept trying to find the place on him where you put the batteries in, but it just lead to frustration. Later, she attacked him with a vacuum cleaner and drugs fell out of her ass.

    • cyto

      She never claimed she didn’t wear it, nor did she make any claims as to who was on top….

    • creech

      Guess her team didn’t have a no-trade clause.

  58. Hyperion

    Well, folks, we only have one day left before the end days truly begin.

    Tomorrow, Obama fools the Pentagon into thinking he’s still president and they order airstrikes on the Bundy Idaho Church gathering. It will be known from now on as ‘Easter Bundy Sunday’, the day right before martial law was declared and the deplorables were all rounded up for the camps.

    • Drake

      U2 can write a song about it.

      • Hyperion

        Sunday Bundy Sunday… I like it.

    • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

      “Iceland has tested more of its population for coronavirus than anywhere else. Here’s what it learned”
      That this is a bunch of crap? Now get back to Work!

      • Hyperion

        Dude, it’s Saturday…

      • Lost and Drifting in Arizona

        there are No days off! I just charge double………

      • Hyperion

        The difference for me is, I won’t get stuck at my desk wearing headphones for 2+ hours. Well, it could happen, but probably won’t, because other people also do not want to sit at their desk wearing a headset for 2+ hours on Saturday.

  59. Shirley Knott

    A small encouraging sign? I walked down to pick up the mail and the delivery person was ranting with a colleague (I assume) about the madness of Gov. Whitmer. After the call was done she said ‘Hi’ so I expressed agreement with her take on the governor. We had a nice little hate session for a few minutes.
    Particular focus of the rage were paddle boats but not motorboats, closed off “non essential” sessions at the big box hardware stores, destruction of the economy, and suchlike.
    I was somewhat encouraged — if a postal worker is going non-linear maybe they really have overstepped in ways that will lead to serious pushback.
    I expect things to start getting interesting next week.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      The longer this lasts the more of that you’ll see. Even couch potatoes with enormous Xbox game catalogues must be starting to get tired of this.

    • Gender Traitor

      I’d love to see a lot of people get fed up and go to church for Easter services tomorrow. Heck, I’m not even a believer, and I’m tempted to go to church tomorrow just as an act of defiance.

  60. creech

    Well it’s obvious that one essential occupation is “Politician’s Media Relations Manager.” Every freaking day the local rag has headlines about some politician who has jumped in front of the coronavirus parade with their “tips for social distancing” or whatever. Today, the banner headline is that the local congresscritter has “pushed for national testing” (as if she is the only one among 435 that has thought of this brilliant suggestion.) Never let a crisis go to waste.

    • Hyperion

      Repeating other’s worn out talking points can be your claim to fame, if only you can get elected to something or get hired by the media.

  61. The Late P Brooks

    Random pointless question:

    Does Alphabet own CNN?

    Every other link on the google news is to some hysterical raving CNNPCer.

    • Count Potato

      No, CNN is owned by AT&T.

  62. Count Potato

    “A phlebotomist working at Roseland Community Hospital said Thursday that 30% to 50% of patients tested for the coronavirus have antibodies while only around 10% to 20% of those tested have the active virus.

    Sumaya Owaynat, a phlebotomy technician, said she tests between 400 and 600 patients on an average day in the parking lot at Roseland Community Hospital. Drive-thru testing is from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. each day. However, the hospital has a limited number of tests they can give per day. ”

    https://chicagocitywire.com/stories/530092711-roseland-hospital-phlebotomist-30-of-those-tested-have-coronavirus-antibody

    Sounds like bullshit.

    • Urthona

      i posted that yesterday and everyone said it was bs.

      • cyto

        Might be BS, but numbers kinda line up.

        Roughly of those tested are positive.

        And roughly half of those positive have active virus. (so the other half are already past the viremia )

        So not unreasonable.

        Here in SoFla, nowhere near half of the tests are positive, last I heard. Closer to 10%, IIR.

    • RAHeinlein

      It doesn’t just sound like bullshit, it is obviously bullshit.

  63. Donation Not Taxation

    According to the link OMWC generously provided:
    ‘Coronavirus now leading cause of death in US
    By Kaelan Deese – 04/09/20 03:14 PM EDT’
    https://thehill.com/homenews/news/492053-coronavirus-now-leading-cause-of-death-in-us

    Terry Mortenson, M.D. and Ken Ham disagree:

    ‘If the government closed all abortion clinics and outlawed all abortions, it would instantly reduce that death rate to almost zero, though sadly, abortion clinics are still operating as usual during the outbreak.’

    Abortion Stats vs Coronavirus Stats

    by Ken Ham on March 21, 2020

    https://answersingenesis.org/coronavirus/2020/03/21/abortion-stats-vs-coronavirus-stats/

    • cyto

      I’ll see your spin, and raise you….

  64. The Late P Brooks

    Public Enemy Number One wants you dead!

    New U.S. government figures show coronavirus infections will spike during the summer if stay-at-home orders are lifted after 30 days as planned, the New York Times reported on Friday.

    If President Donald Trump lifts shelter-in-place orders after 30 days, the death total is estimated to reach 200,000, the New York Times reported, citing new projections it obtained from the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.

    The April 9 projections did not have dates for when shelter-in-place orders were delivered or dates for when spikes would hit, the newspaper said.

    The projections outline different scenarios. Without any restrictions imposed to contain coronavirus – including school closings, shelter-in-place orders and social distancing, the death toll from coronavirus could have reached 300,000, it said.

    But if the 30-day stay-at-home order is lifted, the death total is estimated to reach 200,000, the Times said, “even if schools remain closed until summer, 25 percent of the country continues to work from home and some social distancing continues.”

    According to my model, your model is bullshit.

    • cyto

      And the number could be 2 million. Or it could be 20k. Or anywhere in between.

      Bad model, plus bad assumptions, plus bad data…..

    • Gustave Lytton

      What shelter in place order can Trump lift? The feds haven’t issued any. It’s all the states doing it.

      • cyto

        Trump explaining federalism the other day was epic. I had no idea he could do it…. Even funnier… the press present couldn’t understand it.

    • Hyperion

      Pass.

  65. Ted S.

    Nice beer review, even though I don’t drink beer.

  66. The Late P Brooks

    NYS Governor livestream now

    Get back to me when they’re strapping him in Old Sparky.