Is it Monday again already? I feel like the weekend was all a blur. The L Family decamped to the family hideout along the Forgotten Coast of Florida. All the mothers of the family (technically, all the surviving fathers, too) were together yesterday. Today, everyone but me is enjoying the empty beach. I got up, worked, dug 4′ x 8′ x 2′ pit in some sand, and then salvaged an 8′ section of boardwalk today, plus replacing a couple of boards, and then went back to work. I love working lunchbreaks.
This is a shitty excuse for grant funding, but you gotta keep it relevant.
If you feel like your luck is bad, you might want to keep an eye out for large bits of space junk.
Boris Johnson wants people to go back to work? When the UK get a capitalist government?
Surely, one of the THIRTEEN petitions before the Supreme Court regarding Qualitified Immunity Doctrine will be granted cert, right?
You Know Which other Chinese thing is out of control?
Their South China Sea maritime expansionism?
Bai Ling?
Hauwei ?
Hong Kong’s police force?
Tencent?
China’s most famous rapper!
Authoritarianism?
Taiwan?
Oyster Egg Fu Yung?
New Numbers for Utah:
Positive Cases: 6,362 (Up 111 from yesterday)
Total tests: 150,585
Hospitalizations: 517 total, with 92 currently in hospital
Deaths: 68
This all in a state of a little over 3 million. Thankfully restrictions have loosened considerably, but the BS reaction still screams massive overreach. It’s good we can pat ourselves on the back and proclaim in unison that we are “in this together.”
?♂️
I heard the state is now testing anyone who wants one, so there’s that
FYI, I went to the State LP convention and heard the candidate for Governor, and am actually excited about him. Especially if Matheson gets the GOP nomination.
I think most states are now. I can go get one easily in my Texas county with no symptoms.
Which makes the cires for “We NEED MORE TESTING” a little silly. Testing is open and we still can’t reach the goals they want, and the constraint isn’t want of tests, but want of people to take the tests.
Testing is a mixed bag because that will pick up people who had the virus previously and got better. And a mass public test will also drop a huge daily “case” increase into the mix because those numbers will all be posted as “new” cases on the same day.
The jiggery-pokery with the numbers doesn’t have to be blatant or deliberate since most people, including apparently many public health “experts,” don’t understand subtleties like this.
Antibody testing will reveal previous infection*. PCR testing, which is still what is mostly used, reveals the presence of current infection**.
* subject to usual false positive/false negative. Some of the antibody testing are next to useless due to error rates, and none of them should be relied on for individual immunity. Those are not titer tests.
**technically it reveals the presence of matching RNA, which may also be from environmental contamination or leftover non-infective RNA after an infection, but generally will be negative after recovery from an infection. Also subject to the issues with testing and tests, of course as well.
Is that Daniel Cottam? I’ll have to research him a bit. That’s good to know that there is an exciting LP candidate.
Yeah. Seems like a good dude. I like Cox well enough, but i don’t know if he’ll clinch the nomination from the GOP.
Also, were you meaning Huntsman with the GOP nod?
My wife (and in-laws, actually) is a big fan of Spencer Cox because she grew up on a ranch and he she can relate to his world experience.
Yes. I get the Matheson and Huntsman families mixed up all the time. I like Cox too, seen him in person and seems like a genuinely good dude.
They are the “political elite” in the terms of Utah politics, so makes sense.
I think NOT being from the SLC area is what draws a lot of people to Cox.
I think so too. Damn SLC!
And yes. Utah has it’s on set of “Great Families”, and state politics is pretty insestuous. Romeny’s, Mathesons, Huntsmans, Millers…
QI is the epitome of FYTW.
So no.
It would involve admitting that the Court not only created it entirely out of whole cloth, but then has systematically worked to make what meager exceptions that did exist were consigned to the ash heap of legal remedy. So, no indeed.
Emanations and penumbras, bro. Why you hate the best legal minds of our society?
How much time you got, bro?
Insufficient ripeness, maybe next year chumps.
Chumps is probably my favorite insult.
When they elected someone the Guardian does not like?
Just desserts department: Virginia Gov Northam on-track to start opening state on Friday; except for Dem stronghold Northern Virginia.
Here in NJ, we might get some dates on re-opening eventually. I don’t except any meaningful reopening this month.
But…
The Governor is concerned that his own bad decisions are bankrupting the state. Not concerned enough to stop destroying the state economy, but concerned enough to beg Congress to bail out his idiocy, and the long history of corruption and fiscal mismanagement in the state.
If there is one federal policy you can count on – it is to underwrite moral hazard.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/05/08/china-against-covid-19-winner-at-home-savior-abroad/
Thomas L. Friedman faps wildly…
It makes more sense if you read it in a Chinese accent.
Fucking disgusting Chinese apologia and borderline treason…
What are the Treason laws in Pakistan?
Good point, maybe I should have clicked on his name. I stand by the first part though.
I look forward to being able to get an organ transplant after giving the ruling party a properly sized donation.
A Chinese Rocket Just Fell Back To Earth Totally Out Of Control
Well, yeah. It says “Made In China”.
You could just see the lead paint sloughing off of it as it descended into the earth’s atmosphere.
Are they at the point where they deny it, or where they blame the US military?
That will depend on the amount of damage done.
A Chinese Rocket Just Fell Back To Earth
Is the rocket played by David Bowie?
Just read some of those qualified immunity cases. Wow.
Shooting 10 year old kids and family dogs, siccing police dogs on suspects who’ve already given up and more. Yes, if QI could get rolled back that would be a huge victory for liberty in these craptastic times.
Blood pressure was running a little low?
Little bit. The Zadeh vs. Robinson case. They knew that going into an office and asking to see medical records requires a warrant. If not, they should have been fired for that. Each case seemed to draw out a bigger WTF than the previous.
My favorite….
That sounds like a Monty Python line (“let’s not quibble about who killed who…”). Look, when you gave us permission to search your house, how were we supposed to know you didn’t want us to launch tear gas grenades willy nilly inside. Really, if you think about it, this is all YOUR fault.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/05/07/covid-19-is-this-the-end-of-western-liberalism/
‘Thus, if we compare the statistics come out of China with the western world, we have no choice to doubt them’
The author grants us permission to doubt China’s official statistics?
Sure. And if you study election results in North Korea you’ll realize how popular the Kim family is there.
That is quite the fountain of derp you have discovered there old boy.
The author, Asad Ullah, is Majoring [in] International Relations at Shandong University, Shandong Qingdao China.
What did you expect him to say — “You fucked up, you trusted China!” ?
[surreptitious opera applause]
I thought Chinese universities were supposed to be incubators of libertarianism?
Neither clever, nor funny, nor insightful. Even the North Korean judge gives it a 0.
I thought he was pre-med?
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2020/03/great-coming-apart-and-chance-build-something-better
Well he is right about the telelogy aspect. Classical liberals were pretty quick to support public schools to suppress reactionary sentiments. And that at times that reactionaries need to be killed by the state. Or just shouting “It’s current year!” so of course everyone agrees with them.
And classical liberalism always has a worryingly collectivist TOP MEN aspect. You know once we all move into the city, reject Catholicism, attend public schools and buy foreign goods everyone will agree on everything and become a liberal.
Winston, may I humbly suggest you write some articles? I’m quite fascinated by what you have to say and I feel it would benefit greatly from consolidation and a longer format than a comment section allows.
“it is somewhat crystal clear that the response of China (anilliberal state) has for more affective and pivotal than that of the western liberal world.”
Well, I certainly hold in high regard, the opinion of a person who cannot even spell and use grammar at the level of a toddler.
Heard Fraulein Whitmer on the radio in the truck after work today. Really makes my blood boil listening to her. It does please me to hear that the Michigan militia is vowing to defend the Owosso barber that is cutting hair.
I’m astonished that there hasn’t been significant violence. The governors have no idea what a shitstorm is coming.
I think she is starting to lose control.
People here were saying the violence would come May 1, and then they pushed it back, and I have a feeling there won’t be violence come Memorial Day either.
You Know Who Else overestimated their ideological support among the populace?
Marcus Antonius?
I enjoyed that article as well.
Michael Dukakis?
Hence ‘astonished’.
Maybe the anger is bullshit, but I doubt it.
It’s not bullshit. I’m angry as hell every morning when I get out of bed and I’m still working and have plenty of food. It’s boiling right below the surface. They’re going to keep fucking around until it boils over.
Because there are not food shortages yet. There will be if they keep this lockdown shit going and then there will be bloodshed. I know they’re loving their new found dictatorial powers and they want bad orange man gone, but they’re playing with fire and there’s a very slim margin of error here they are playing with, and when that evaporates, crossing the Rubicon and all that shit.
Wait ’til it gets hot and the money runs out.
As an onlooker I would think the last person you’d want to rob/piss off would be your dealer, whether its food or drugs or gas.
Yep, with almost every mass revolt, there is a catalyst event. I have no doubt that if there’s a standoff between militia and cops that ends in bloodshed, that’s going to get a bunch of people revved up to go boogalooing. It all comes down to a question of which force wins out…. Preservation of lifestyle or rage toward the tyrant.
If violence erupts, I’m betting it will be started off by a pack of Karens setting fire to a “non-essential” business that opens in defiance of orders.
That’s Führerin Whitmer to you! Führerin is the feminine form of the German word for leader.
Hure Whitmer.Whitner verzögern, schweineficker Whitner.
I’m sticking with English, Karen Jong un Hitler.
Minarchist answer: If you like your government awarding Rapid Response Research grants, you can keep your government awarding Rapid Response Research grants, as long as you get people to voluntarily give the money for it.
Constitutional answer: Given that the $152,000 comes from either borrowing or taxes rather than from voluntary money, please cite numbers for Article, Section, Subsection or Paragraph, and Clause of the Constitution of the United States of America that gives the hypothetical federal government described therein the authority to pass legislation and/or promulgate regulation that makes legal a ‘National Science Foundation’ awarding a ‘ $152,000 grant to study waste-management system-related challenges in the pandemic environment across several states’.
Donation not taxation.
If we can’t cheat you will feel our wrath.
“We’ve got to get this done in this next package to get funding to the states so that you don’t have that situation where people in garbage bags and homemade masks are standing in line in the rain like we saw in Wisconsin while the President of the United States could simply request a mail-in ballot from Palm Beach, Florida, and vote in the luxury of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” she said. “Everyone should have that right, and we should also use this funding to make sure polls are open 20 days in advance and that we train a new generation of poll workers. We must make this election safe for Americans. And the president can say what he wants.
“The people are with us, Al,” Klobuchar continued. “They’re with us in swing states in North Carolina and in Iowa. They’re with us in states that understand that with Republican governors, as well, everyone — no matter what your political persuasion — you should be able to vote safely. And so, it’s going to be wrath on my Republican colleagues if they do not allow for some funding to make sure that Americans can vote safely. Our state and local governments don’t have the money right now around the country, and that’s what’s going to be this big fight coming up in this next legislative package. We have to protect our very democracy.”
We have to eliminate election security/integrity to save democracy.
Everyone should have that right
To vote from the White house?
Making elections a cheating contest – it’s what the people crave.
“You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household.”
Thank you, Master. Your benevolence is unsurpassed.
“We are members of a large, polyamorous household…”
+1 Harsh Mistress
[Weeps]
Damn you, leon. I’m going through this thing where I’m trying to downsize my life and my personal collection of RAH paperbacks are increasingly unreadable because of old eyes (mine) and high-acid paper (publishers).
See: Dead Like Me.
Loved that show..
too bad it was short lived.
What you dun there … I see’d it.
Yep it was a personal favourite here too. I see gravelings everywhere.
I need a new show, I’ll check it out.
Pelosi: ‘We are carrying out the Republican agenda. What’s your problem?
“And we will in our bill also have funding for vote-by-mail which we think is very essential and supported by Republicans across the country,” Speaker Pelosi asserted. “They like voting by mail. They have more of a habit of voting by mail.”
“This is related to COVID for the reason that we are trying to keep people at home … This is an opportunity to remove obstacles of participation by calling upon the governing bodies to send a ballot to every registered voter by having same-day registration, by having adequate polling places for those who want to or need in person, but to reduce the number of people who will be gathering in such places on election day.”
supported by Republicans across the country
Not ones that want their party to remain politically relevant it would seem.
So none of them?
Anyone remember a single instance in which a trunk full of ballots was found, and they were all for Republicans?
It’s well known that Democrats like to vote in big bunches and then see that their ballots end up in umarked boxes in peoples truncks
Nope. I can’t think of a single election where a series of recounts or a bunch of late-counted ballots ended up with the Republican gaining votes.
Speaking of derp
At the moment, we have had over a quarter million deaths due to covid-19. This death toll will continue to rise until the virus infects everyone and causes millions of deaths, or until we defeat it, either by social distancing and contact tracing, a vaccine, a treatment, or whatever tools we employ, including new technologies. I am personally fascinated by the potential of covid-sniffing dogs.
But we have many who are interested in reopening immediately. We have conservatives who live in a denial bubble, who think if they pretend there is no problem, then nothing bad can happen, or that their ideological claim to freedom trumps the reality that preventable death matters. There are those who believe in nonsense conspiracy theories or who think that “the greater good” matters more than human life (pro life, indeed, but only at conception and ending at the birth canal).
——-
Progressives care more about the lives of conservative voters than conservatives do, even though that makes our lives more difficult as conservatives take away human rights to feed their need for hate. Conservatives also imperil our ability to defeat climate change, which will lead to runaway climate change that could destroy us all, long after the virus is gone.
So, social distancing and technology is being employed with the intention of lowering R0 to less than 1, which would allow the virus to die out, thus eliminating this scourge from humanity. Right now, the death rate is not flattening out because the disease spread unhindered for weeks to months, but with social distancing, we are slowing the rate of expansion. However, compliance has been imperfect, plus people are still infecting those they come into contact with (family members, communal living arrangements, essential trips such as grocery stores, etc.), but we will stop the linear expansion in time. At that point, people could quickly become complacent and call for quick reopening of everything because of the feeling the worst is over. The desire to return to normalcy will grow louder (disregarding the conservative reality denial that is already broadcast incessantly).
But this is a mistake. In addition to the forces that are trying to undo the progress we have made (preposterous “freedom” protests, manufacturing companies wanting to reopen), easy answers, desperation, and motivated reasoning are powerful forces that can overwhelm public discourse. While the majority of the public currently fears reopening too soon, the resolve likely won’t hold when we are close to winning but have not won yet. This virus is insidious and will not respond to feeling the time is right or getting ahead of ourselves. Nor will it respond to minimization or convincing ourselves it is no big deal. We have over a quarter million deaths in a couple months proving otherwise, and that’s with social distancing and testing at a scale we have never done before (and this is still vastly insufficient).
It’s like the derp Doomsday Machine.
That’s some good projection there, Lou.
potential of covid-sniffing dogs.
I have a bridge to sell, that you might find interesting.
Progressives care more about the lives of conservative voters than conservatives do, even though that makes our lives more difficult as conservatives take away human rights to feed their need for hate.
I’m gonna just go out and say, that if you think like this, you might need to take a step back and look at your biases and how you can’t even understand that someone could in good faith disagree with you.
“potential of covid-sniffing dogs”
That’s worked out so well before from a rights perspective.
I want to comment on that, but I just don’t know where to begin.
If we hadn’t shutdown the economy in ’68 the Hong Kong virus would have continued to grow exponentially until the human race was extinct.
Yeah, right. “We care so much for you that we’re willing to take away your rights, your livelihoods, and everything you hold dear in order to save a tiny percentage of people from dying. We do this for you, even though you’re a bunch of ungrateful bastards who don’t really deserve it. You’re welcome.”
Let’s not forget abducting your children if you’re insufficiently supine with fear for the virus. That’s some good caring there, Lou.
“…or that their ideological claim to freedom trumps the reality that preventable death matters.”
It actually does. If the author doesn’t like it, he can start the process of amending the constitution.
“Progressives care more about the lives of conservative voters than conservatives do, even though that makes our lives more difficult as conservatives take away human rights to feed their need for hate.”
We’re caring and compassionate, you murderous monsters. And we’re supporting human rights by advocating that everyone stay under house arrest.
I’ve just received the results of the CV test I took last Thursday: negative. In my town all residents can get tested, no need to have symptoms. I’m not sure what purpose this serves. Perhaps it will drive down the share of positive results when they test asymptomatic population. Our lockdown governor brings this statistic as a sign of improvement.
The “have it right now” test or the “had it in the past” antibody test?
The former. The antibody one was not offered.
I was tested 2 weeks ago and still don’t have my results. Maybe testing thousands of employees over a couple of days wasn’t the best idea.
An online acquaintance was bemoaning the lack of posted online results for his test…on a Sunday. Oh, the sweet, naïve belief in the competence of government.
It was a just a PR stunt. They were advertising all employees had been tested, all before getting back a single result. Even if my test from 2 weeks ago was negative, I could have contracted the virus sense then. Complete waste of resources.
A real health expert is alarmed by the alarmism surrounding coronavirus
The Star Ledger used to allow comments but shut it down because nobody cares what the proles think. I hope Mulshine sent a lot of Karens into a tizzy with this one.
No, see, that’s one of those *wrong* experts. You’re only supposed to listen to the *right* experts.
+1 consensus
this x 1 zillion
At least 1 non-US media outlet doing better job than left or right wing US media reporting politics of US no-longer-federal government’s next coronavirus giveaway legislation
https://www.ack.net/zz/news/20200511/more-checks-payroll-tax-cut-trump-and-congress-are-split-on-next-coronavirus-stimulus-plan
To misquote Everett Dirksen: ‘A trillion here, a trillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.’
Unfortunately, none of the elected persons mentioned in the piece are suggesting paying for it with voluntary money. Government-run redistribution of wealth would be OK if the money is voluntarily given to be redistributed.
Donation not taxation.
I think at this point anyone who is buying government debt is donating that money to the treasury, cause it’s never gonna be paid back.
Will US’s no-longer-federal government default on its promised payments?
The US’s no-longer-federal government has a history of paying off old debt instruments with money from sale of new debt instruments.
For the hi-fin people out there, yes, treating debt instruments as overarching term to include bonds, promissory notes, and all of the other synonyms for government-run IOUs.
Tax cuts. No way for that to get through a dem controlled house, so forget it.
Consider whatever it was forgotten.
The covid isn’t depressing the market for old Alfas.
1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce Lightweight
Wood.
$280K? Good lord.
That Alfa and original Lotus Elite are the prettiest small coupes ever.
Fuck that shit.
I love the new Spiders. I was thinking about buying one, but with 2 of my clients shut down for now because of this bullshit, my 401K getting trashed, and I want to buy a new property soon, that’s probably out. Fun has been cancelled.
Sorry, dude.
I didn’t mean to trigger you. I love looking at beautiful cars (and Porsches) because it takes me somewhere else.
lol, you didn’t trigger me. Fun has been cancelled, not your fault. I’m starting to think summer is cancelled as well, I’ve never seen it this chilly shit time of year. I was just outside on the deck, brrrrr…
I haven’t even taken the Triumph off the dollies. I’ve been half-assedly doing some bodywork, but my heart isn’t in it.
I’m tired of this shit.
Last time it was this cold this late? Probably ’92, yeah?
It’s hard for me to tell. Not since I moved to MD in 2008.
“At the moment they said this was a coronavirus, we should have known that what we needed to address was to protect nursing homes and hospitals,” he said.
Thankfully, this idea seems to be getting some traction lately. We knew early on who was vulnerable, yet they concentrated all the effort on those of us who have zero contact with those people.
The way nursing homes have been handled has been about the most reprehensible part of this whole mess. Since the beginning the only thing anyone knew for sure about this virus is that it is far more dangerous to the elderly and infirm. What in God’s name would make someone think sending covid positive patients to nursing homes is a good idea? It’s vile, disgusting, and negligent. And I’m not convinced this was some bs “unintended consquence.”
80% of the deaths here are in long term care.
No excuse for this malfeasance.
79% Canada-wide. And we knew about their vulnerability ten weeks ago, before any of this “shelter in place” nonsense.
It pisses me off that afterwards, the pols are gonna sell the idea that they saved us. And it pisses me off even more that most Canadians are gonna buy what they’re selling.
I wonder if there is any difference in death rates between facilities that are private pay only and those that take Medicare/Medicaid?
Only sort-term rehabilitation facilities are covered by Medicare. Long term care (nursing homes and assisted living) are not covered. The states themselves often have their own systems set up for those who can’t afford to self pay.
“What in God’s name would make someone think sending covid positive patients to nursing homes is a good idea?”
The same folks who thought that the indians needed blankets to keep warm? Seriously, Cuomo os that fucking stupid when you think about it.
My wife’s mother has pretty advanced Alzheimer Disease and lives in a skilled nursing facility along the Hudson north of Manhattan. It’s always seemed like a surprisingly good place that takes very nice care of their patients. They’ve been doing regular live updates for families about what’s been happening there, and my wife’s watched every one.
Until today they were not allowed to get any of their residents tested unless they were hospitalized (only hospitals in NY were allowed to test symptomatic individuals), and, like all nursing homes in the state, Cuomo has forced them to take many active Covid patients (fortunately they had separate buildings to house these patients, and they accepted them dutifully if not happily). And despite this, over the weekend a NY paper did an ‘expose’ on how they’ve been ‘cagey’ about their Covid numbers (as if they had any way to confirm other than those sent to them with active disease!) No doubt some friendly press looking to divert attention from Cuomo’s policies and instead blame the nursing homes.
This morning my wife was called by the facility at the crack of dawn — of course she’s immediately worried something’s up with her mother. They kindly say first off — ‘don’t worry, your mom is fine’. But then they said the reason for the call — suddenly Cuomo, apparently angry at all the criticism for his dumping on nursing homes, has sent an army of ‘healthcare workers’ to their site to forcibly test every single resident of the facility, her mom included.
This is the man the media thinks should be your next President.
Fuck Cuomo.
Also from Wednesday, people in the UK will be able to sunbathe in their local parks, exercise as much as they want and drive to other destinations, he said.
IT’LL BE ANARCHY IN THE UK! DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO DIE!
Probable cause? Pfffft. We think he’s an asshole, no probably about it.
Trump’s lawyers say the document demands are politically motivated fishing expeditions. But House Democrats say the president cannot block the subpoenas because they have nothing to do with his official duties, are directed at his banks and accountants — not him — and don’t require him to do anything in response.
——-
House Democrats have said they believe Trump’s tax returns might provide insights into a question special counsel Robert Mueller never answered: Did Trump borrow money from Russian entities or otherwise do business with them before he became president? He has denied any such relationship. Democrats say that if any existed, that would give Russian President Vladimir Putin leverage over Trump.
You never know, he might have sold his soul to Beelzebub. It’s worth looking into.
“ they have nothing to do with his official duties, are directed at his banks and accountants — not him”
Yeah right, I have close to zero respect for the courts and even I don’t think they’re stupid/crooked enough to go along with this.
There are so many useful idiots who I think genuinely believe there’s a 1099 from Putin himself hidden in Trump’s returns. (although some of those people also seem to believe Trump sits at home with TurboTax to do his returns, when I doubt he sees them at all except for his signature, if that)
The real reason the DNC wants them is because tax returns are complicated and I’m sure Trump’s are, too, so they’re easy to spin all sorts of impropriety.
“The real reason the DNC wants”
Have you seen their ‘ideas’ and candidates lately? Sometimes desperation can actually be explained.
Hold on a bit. They are demanding all that info just because they think Trump might have gotten a loan from some Russians and that alone is PROOF that he is a stooge for the commies?
If that is so, why didn’t they step in and demand that Hillary withdraw from the race in 2016 because there was no doubt that the Clinton Foundation took millions and millions from Russians. Or is there something magic about a foundation that totes negates all bad influences?
The Clinton Foundation was open about taking the Russian money, Trump denies it. You can’t be blackmailed for something everybody knows about.
Shhh, easy on the Russkis loans, someone needs to buy this debt and the next one and the nex….
“We pinky swear we’re gonna pay you back, Grandma, we just need milk for the baby”
“It is scarcely surprising that investigators need to conduct a thorough investigation when seeking to determine whether money laundering, election and national security, disclosure and conflict of interest laws are sufficient,” they argue.
It’s not a fishing expedition when Congress does it.
OT: Everybody who is a polite, civil customer is appreciated. Wow, there are some people who are uptight.
Off to drive another 3 hours home because someone couldn’t update the documentation which showed the wrong part was installed. Joy.
Unavoidable
The COVID-19 pandemic — and the collapsed economy it created when many businesses were ordered closed and people told to stay home — will also force the governor and Legislature to cut services. It’s at the very time that increasing numbers of afflicted or laid-off Californians need assistance most.
Until now, Newsom has flourished politically in the crisis. His performances in daily online briefings have portrayed him as a leader in the public’s eyes. In a recent poll of California voters, his job approval rating had climbed to an astonishing 70%.
Now comes the hard part. He’s facing a budget deficit that his Finance Department estimates at $54.3 billion. That’s a colossal hole of red ink. In January he proposed a $222-billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Look what you made the governor do. First you made him beat you. Then you didn’t give him your money.
You’re such a disappointment to him.
New some looks like the the Platonic archetype of a used car salesman/televangelist type. He might not be the slimiest politician in the nation but he sure looks the part.
Wow, there are some people who are uptight.
For no reason.
Heh. Of course.
I make it a point to thank people who are courteous. Makes for a more pleasant work day.
Sorry. I’ve been a little short-tempered lately. I try not to be. Sometimes the best I can do is to not say anything at all except “thank you.”
Which puts you head and shoulders above certain… people.
Thank you, Mo. ?
To be clear, this applies only to meatspace.
Actually, my testiness is over the phone with people who have billed me wrongly and, worse, put my MINOR daughter’s name on the bill. Like, what, you look at her birthdate and say, CLEARLY THIS CHILD CAN PAY THIS MEDICAL BILL!!!!
I’ve had two different very bizarre things like that happen lately.
But you know what? The people on the other end of the phone are already testy before I get to them. They aren’t holding anything back.
I’d be very tempted to tell them to run a question up to their legal department. Specifically, “what happens when you have a contract with a minor and they decide not to pay what is owed under the contract?”
It’s gonna change immediately upon them getting a response from legal.
Boy, that pushes a button. I loathe, beyond words, doing business over the phone. Help desk, appointments, ordering pizza, bills or whatever.
Yeah, our open benefits enrollment this year was by phone. Amazingly the call only took about 4 minutes, but still, not being able to do it online and see what I was doing ticked me off.
Some people are genetically uptight.
Smarter than most western politicians.
President of Tanzania Didn’t Trust WHO So Sent Samples of Sheep, Goats, Bunny, Trees, Fruit and Car Oil for COVID Testing — The Results Are In
The WHO proves itself again.
What lab did they actually send those samples to? WHO doesn’t operate labs.
Ah, it was Tanzania’s own national lab that did the testing.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6910821/coronavirus-papaya-goat-tanzania/
Another day, another Elon attempt to make me like him.
Stud.
The one response: “Dude, what if you take the virus back to your newborn… Derr… derr…” Ignoring the fact that the total number of infant deaths is ridiculously minuscule and forgetting that it’s none of his damn business what Musk does when he goes home.
This BS has let these busy-bodies let their Karen freak flags fly.
Musk is going to go down in history as one of the greatest innovators of our time, the Henry Ford of out time, if you will. I think that Starlink is his best idea yet. I don’t really think too much of Tesla, but damn, if he keeps up this dark side renegade libertarian type behavior, I may have to force myself to buy one.
Mass. bureaucrats are the most hard-working and competent bureaucrats in the nation. When all other states took it slow over the weekend to report CV death numbers, Mass. became #1 in terms of daily deaths. Ahead of NY and NJ.
The virus is Boston Strong.
I do find the current strategy by our rulers very interesting: cause massive unemployment, hand out lots of free shit and tax more. Where do they think the money for this free shit going to come from?
Of course there is the irony that only liberalism was able to produce enough wealth to be used for this free shit and to create a society where people think money and consumer goods grow on trees. And liberal politicians themselves are doing this very willingly.
So a day or two ago decided to check out the online version of the Census. I went to my2020census.gov to begin. The first question they asked was what is the 12-digit code that is on the postcard they sent to my address. Fair enough. The next page aske for my name. It said I didn’t have to use my real name, just a name they could use to identify who in my household a question was for. Okay, not bad so I went with Enough About Palin. They then asked for my phone number. I left it blank and clicked Next. Turns out you cannot proceed with out entering a phone number. Fuck them up the ass with a broken whiskey bottle.
So a day or two ago I decided to check out the online version of the Census. I went to my2020census.gov to begin. The first question they asked was what is the 12-digit code that is on the postcard they sent to my address. Fair enough. The next page aske for my name. It said I didn’t have to use my real name, just a name they could use to identify who in my household a question was for. Okay, not bad so I went with Enough About Palin. They then asked for my phone number. I left it blank and clicked Next. Turns out you cannot proceed with out entering a phone number. Fuck them up the ass with a broken whiskey bottle.
(111) 111-1111
As Bill Burr says, it’s a very exclusive area code.
I would really really really really really like to get my kids into the eye doctor and dentist. I’d really like to dump my paint at the hazardous waste facility. I’d really like to make an appointment for bulky item pickup. But noooooooooooooooooo. I can go to Hobby Lobby, but I can’t do any of the things I really need to do.
/grump
Hey Private Benjamin, don’t you want to go to Brunch too?
Some people were claiming they could skip that – I could not either.
212-555-1212
(212) 867 5309
Name: Jenny Tutone
634-5789
What about all the minorities that can’t afford a phone?
Trump has turned the census so RACIST!!!!!
(202) 456-1414
(301) 763-4636
Okay, Karen
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has put the state on a path to reopen nonessential businesses on a rolling schedule. It began May 1, when restaurants and retail stores were allowed to open again to 25 percent capacity. Soon after he announced that hair salons could open with a limited capacity on May 8 and that 10 days after that, gyms would be allowed to operate at quarter capacity.
Businesses that choose to reopen have mandatory guidelines they must follow to help stop the spread of Covid-19. For instance, restaurants need to sit groups six feet from each other, tables should be actively disinfected, employees should wear masks and more. But how many shops and restaurants were following those rules? Billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wanted to find out, so he hired secret shoppers to spread out across Dallas and evaluate. Unfortunately, only 4 percent of all businesses they evaluated were fully compliant, according to a study Cuban released on his blog. “Bigger picture, I wanted to know if these are places that I would feel safe taking my family to,” Cuban wrote.
I guess we had better just stay locked down until Mark Cuban feels safe.
Wasn’t Cuban supposed to be a libertarian? And don’t those shutdowns adversely harm the poor, minorities, small business owners, immigrants than the rich?
*don’t thwse shutdowns adversely harm the poor, minorities, small business owners, immigrants more than the rich?*
I keep hearing about polls indicating that the vast majority of Americans want house arrest to continue. On-the-ground activity I am seeing suggests otherwise.
It’s the same as anything else. People want OTHER PEOPLE to be restricted, not themselves.
I work for a medium-sized restaurant chain and have been involved with the dining room reopening strategy/planning. We are managing to comply with the regulations but damn, it’s a big job. Every state is doing it a little differently and we have some localities trying to impose their own stricter rules and the whole thing is a giant confusing mess. Just a few things we have to deal with: installing plexiglass in front of cashiers, blocking off tables, bringing in a new disinfectant that’s on the EPA approved list, sourcing masks for employees, sourcing sanitizer and keeping in stock, determining how many customers can be in each individual location, disinfecting pens used for signing credit cards, taking employee temperatures, etc etc ad nauseum.
For a smaller chain or independent, I don’t see how it would be possible to follow all the rules, purchase all the items needed for compliance, and pay the extra employees to execute it all after being nearly put out of business by our overlords.
And people will wonder where all the small businesses went.
I can’t wait for the Final nail in the Mom and Pop Coffin: A Lasting Legacy of Trumpanomics article that is sure to be published on Atlantic/WaPo/Slate/NYT in about 5 years.
More unemployment coming.
I miss my favorite restaurant and waitress.
“Even Superman understands that wearing a mask is a small, but important effort we can all make to help protect the essential workers who are risking their health & safety every day to keep our nation running.”
https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin/status/1259958123965616134
What?
Superman is pretty old. He’s in the demo that should be taking precautions.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr.com/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker-palpatine-rey-uncle-grandmother/amp/
Like Dongfang Bubai, the main and super-powerful antagonist of the wuxia novel “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer,” Palpatine’s effete demeanor was an outward sign of his sinister nature as well as the source of his power.
“Twitter to label disputed COVID-19 tweets
Chicago (AP) — Twitter announced Monday it will warn users when a tweet contains disputed or misleading information about the coronavirus.
The new rule is the latest in a wave of stricter policies that tech companies are rolling out to confront an outbreak of virus-related misinformation on their sites.
Twitter will take a case-by-case approach to how it decides which tweets are labeled and will only remove posts that are harmful, company leaders said Monday.”
https://apnews.com/c8a542e2f22004c0c06cbbe1e1b58a52
I remember the good old days when Twitter, Facebook and YouTube would make us libertarian since the march of history is inevitable.
This is being cheered on mostly by the majority of Twitter users. What it must be like going through life already knowing you’re right about everything.
“New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is now describing the coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China as a “European virus.”
He said this in today’s presser multiple times.
Last month he lavished praise on the Chinese government for their efforts in combatting the virus.”
https://twitter.com/JordanSchachtel/status/1259914887221907458
CWAA
What’s he doing all the way up in Rochester? Isn’t conducting normal activities like travel “selfish,” “greedy,” “irresponsible,” or whatever the useful talking point is required of everyone at the moment?
Listening tour of the marches.
PS. Christ, what an asshole.
I don’t want to listen to him. Anyone who did want to explain to me how he justifies that term?
And how did Europe get it? Oh yeah, Andy, from Chinese workers returning to Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen, the man the media wants to be your President.
Sometimes I wish Dave Rubin would accelerate his red pilling. Listening to his latest podcast is irritating.
He was on the panel on Gutfield a week ago and turned every time he was on camera into an opportunity to hold his new book up.
It might have been amusing the second or even the third time, but by the fourth time everyone else on the panel was facepalming.
He’s lucky everyone was Zooming in for the show. Had it been like former days and all were sitting next to each other, Tyrus might have gone all WWE on him.
Sounds like the Chinese drive their satellites as well as they drive their cars.
Noted public intellectual speaks out
Melinda Gates openly condemned the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying that a lack of leadership at the national level has led to ‘chaos’ across the board.
The billionaire philanthropist, who co-chairs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation along with her Microsoft co-founder husband, did not mince words when asked to weigh in on America’s handling of the global health crisis in an interview with Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie on Friday.
‘I’m both surprised we weren’t better prepared, but quite honestly I’m surprised we’ve wasted so much time. That we haven’t had leadership at the national level to get out tests in the right way, protective gear in the right way, contact tracing in the right way,’ Gates said. ‘With lack of leadership, there are 50 homegrown state solutions, and that just shouldn’t be.’
Please list for us of all the massively successful “public policy initiatives” you have originated and shepherded from concept to implementation, Tell us, in the finest detail, what you would have done which would have avoided this situation. What specific policy consensus and plan of action would you pull out of your ass if you were named World Plague Response Czar tomorrow?
Anyone suddenly have a hankerin’ for a sammich?
Laugh it up all you want, but the fact that she’s managed to avoid being Bezos-ed by Bill means her head game is on point.
Think about that for awhile.
Im with you, B. Yo that thot got on that train the moment he punched her ticket. Prolly the only pussy he ever had too, outside of (900) numbers.
“Prolly the only pussy he ever had too, outside of (900) numbers.”
Could be. Considering he looked like a 12 year old pencil neck geek until he was 50, and then all of the sudden looked like an old pencil neck geek. Yeah, you’re probably right.
Joe Biden will be our Enlightened God King who will centrally plan the whole world scientifically, logically and rationally.
I’m sure. Right after he arises in the morning and remembers his own name, he’ll be right on that.
‘With lack of leadership, there are 50 homegrown state solutions, and that just shouldn’t be.’
Laboratories of Democracy obviously isn’t something she’s heard of before. Or if she has, she obviously disagrees with it. If I was a billionaire, I’d pay to be the one interviewing her just so I could ask her why SoDak and NY should have the same response. And the second part would be how she knew which the right approach would be (in real time, not with 20/20 hindsight)?
Scott Adams wrote that it’s easy to criticize Trump by comparing him to an imaginary President who can see into the future and never makes mistakes.
The other day, I was talking to a couple of people at the bar about what a clusterfuck the new rules are, and what sort of sanitizing would be best.
I said each establishment should get a pump sprayer and fill it with an ammonia/bleach/water mix and mist everybody who comes through the door.
They should only mist those who ask if anyone has been misted.
And the pub’s live band should be Mister Mister.
At what altitude was the Chinese rocket, when the WHO finally admitted that the rocket might be crashing?
Silly Pope. The rocket was a smashing success.
How many stages are there when grieving the loss of loved ones killed by a rocket?
The Chinese press has reported that the rocket flew around the sun and then took off past Pluto, left the galaxy, and mapped the entire Andromeda Galaxy, before noon, then flew back, and was just about to make a glorious landing before some unknown American aggression shot it down in an attempt to kill all 1.4 billion Chinese citizens and affect the rest of the world with the virus.
#BelieveCCP
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/kawasaki-disease-up-to-5-ny-children-dead-85-sickened-by-rare-covid-related-illness/2411571/
Worse than the super-hiv!!! It’s killing kids!!!!!
Seriously, how bullshit is this?
It’s NBC and the wording sets off my buzzers.
Oh, and this : https://m.kidshealth.org/Inova/en/parents/kawasaki.html
“What Causes Kawasaki Disease?
Doctors don’t know what causes Kawasaki disease. They believe it doesn’t spread from person to person. It’s most common among children of Japanese and Korean descent, but can affect any child.”
THere was another comment on twitter that pointed out it was discovered/seen/whatever-the-proper-word during the first SARS epidemic.
So it’s a coronavirus problem, not specific to this particular coronavirus. But of course they have to fearmonger the kids are in danger, because people might realize it’s still extremely rare for kids to show up with it.
What Causes Kawasaki Disease?
Playing the violin?
Suzuki or Honda. Duh.
Yamaha Gold Wing, that’s why its relatively rare
https://www.aier.org/article/lord-sumption-the-lockdown-is-without-doubt-the-greatest-interference-with-personal-liberty-in-our-history/
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/05/03/china-and-the-madness-of-capitalism/
Huh.
I’m beginning to think that moderndiplomacy.eu might just be a Chinese propaganda project, staffed with nothing but authors of Arab descent.
Huh.
Hmmmmm…..
Looking at those court cases, I see one from Minneapolis. I remember it from back when it happened and it is mostly bullshit.
A kid left a party at 11:15pm and was found at 8:30 the next morning next to the river. His parents sued everyone because they say the responders should have started cpr and warming efforts because there was a one in a million chance he might have come back.
My rusty memory sort of remembers seeing the parents on TV and thinking that they were complete assholes who couldn’t process that their precious snowflake got drunk fell in the river and died. Had to be someone’s fault (other than their kid). I feel for anyone who loses a kid, but they seemed very unlikable (If I’m remembering this correctly).
Try that link again:
http://www.firelawblog.com/2016/12/12/minneapolis-fire-sued-hypothermia-death/
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2020/05/10/korean-experience-of-combating-coronavirus/
. . . North Korea chose the method of total quarantine and closing of borders.
Let’s not forget using high-velocity lead implants to deal with cases of the virus. Good for what ails ya.
The scary thing is that there is no peak derp. You may think you’ve encountered it, but it’s always elusive.
Testing is the leading cause of coronavirus cases.
It is.
It may just be the contrarian in me, but the jump to outrage from the usual suspects has me starting to question the Georgia shooting. I think it’s rather retarded for two yahoos to run around with guns to make a citizen’s arrest based on a flimsy suspicion, but Ahmaud Arbery may not have in fact just been some innocent jogger.
I love the spin from the Daily Mail, personally. Sure, he just wandered onto a construction site (trespassing). Totally undercuts the notion that he was a burglary suspect because he didn’t take anything that time. Couldn’t possibly be that he was looking for anything good and just happened to not find anything.
They also keep repeating this claim that there were no suspected burglaries in the area in the previous two months. Which ignores the fact that the claim of the accused is that they recognized him from security camera footage. Even if there wasn’t a string in the neighborhood, it doesn’t mean they were wrong about recognizing him (or, hell, maybe Gregory recognized him from investigating him for the shoplifting).
Right now this one has generated near universal outrage (mainly because these weren’t cops), but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it becomes more controversial as time goes on and more comes out. I still think I’m going to fall on the side of two morons had no business pursuing a suspect to make a citizen’s arrest, but Arbery is going to end up an imperfect victim.
Looks like manslaughter, but Innocent until proven guilty. I’m sure we’ll eventually find out more during the trial.
He is the Tayvon Martin they have been waiting for. Seriously though, its a damn messed up situation as is and once the media got their grubby paws in it, it will be no justice for anyone.
Except my whole point is he may not be. I mean, there’s video footage of him going onto a property during this peaceful jog of his for no good reason. What if he ends up being the guy in the surveillance footage, assuming they still have it, or looks awfully similar (as in, it’s not clear, but likely or very possible)? He has a criminal background that includes theft. And the accused was aware of said background having investigated him for the shoplifting while working for the DA.
I’m inclined to always be skeptical when the usual suspects on the left are crafting a narrative. A snippet of video footage can get the emotions going, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
What if he’s the guy who broke into the vehicle and stole the handgun (if my memory serves me correctly, that is the accusation) and there’s footage showing him doing it. What sort of defense do you have now with him also being on video tape trespassing onto a construction site the day he was shot?
Too late. Those white dudes get acquitted, there will be riots.
That’s what I thought about that white Hispanic guy’s case, too.
“I think it’s rather retarded for two yahoos to run around with guns to make a citizen’s arrest based on a flimsy suspicion, but Ahmaud Arbery may not have in fact just been some innocent jogger.”
They can both be true statements.
This.
Yeah. Even if the guy had committed a burglary that day, handing out a death sentence to the guy is still murder. Call the cops (you know the actual ones, not the pretend ones you guys are), and be done with it.
Do you all have a group, you know THAT group of friends, that truly believe if we just stay home this will all disappear?
Yup, my mom and her parents seem to think that if we just lockdown long enough, the virus will subside and we can start a “new normal”.
With one exception, everyone in my social circle does not think a lockdown can ultimately “kill” the virus.
The one who does? Nice guy, and I really like him most of the time, but he’s a painfully sloppy thinker. And he loves himself some legacy media info.
When I pushed to try to find out what they really think is going to happen, I found that they haven’t actually thought it through to the end. The CBS evening News says that we’re in crisis and that it’s unsafe to go out.
It’s the same exact game that gets played with every political crisis du jour. The battle lines have been drawn, and #covidiots are just deplorables by a new name.
I reflect back on my public opinion polling class from college. Generously, 10-15% of people engage politics on the issues. ~30-50% engage on the personalities or tribes (principals over principles). The rest have no detectable rational thought process behind their political stances.
My mom is solidly in the personalities camp. It matters more to her that somebody seems like they have good intentions than that their ideas don’t suck. Talking ideas and consequences with her is like talking to a wall. I’ll say “what do you think is going to happen to the economy if we stay shut down?” and she’ll respond with “but so-and-so said that they’re doing everything they can to get financial help to those who need it. Why would we rush to reopen on Trump’s timeline? He doesn’t care about anybody, anyway.”
We end up talking past each other because I don’t give half a shit what Trump or anybody else has to say. I care about actions and consequences.
Yeah. It’s called believing in the can-do American spirit!
Speaking of the Census, I have seemed to have misplaced my form…and now I get threatening post cards that they will “send out a census worker”. Okay do so but you are getting one answer, 4. 2 adults and 2 non-adults living here
“now I get threatening post cards”
And? What are they going to do? Arrest you?
Red Flag Law results in seizure of cache of weapons and ammo
Red Flag Laws, coming to a Covid Karen near you!
Creating work for everyone. I wonder if OT was approved for this one?
Shocking moment 21 LA County inmates are caught on camera infecting each other with coronavirus by sharing a cup of hot water and breathing into the same face mask in a failed bid to win early release
Let ’em die! Criminal scum!
Documents: Federal agents engaged in sex acts with victims
They had rights!
It’s not against the rules!
Not Lon Horiuchi?
At both Ruby Ridge and Waco! Amazing.
Well, they’re making progress from the days of shit like “Operation Wetback“. Barely.
Other suggested operation titles:
“They’re Barely People”
“Lol Who Is Going to Stop Me?”
“Chink Puss”
Boston, the birthplace of freedom.
Brings a tear to the eye!
That’s how it do be.
Wicked awesome.
I still recall walking to the train station with two of my friends after an event in the Garden and these two random guys walked up to us and politely asked if we wanted to fight.
That video is fantastic for many reasons – it encapsulates everything Boston is an always will be. A group of knuckleheads in team gear insulting a lame male. I’m glad they didn’t beat him so I could truly enjoy it.
Also, I had a roommate who was white Boston trash and we would throw fists at each other a few times a year.
a tweet explained what the guy with the fist microphone said:
“Obeyy ya muthaaaaaa aahahahahahaahaa”
Twitter asked if I wanted that translated.
Legend