House is on fire. Better go to the store and steal a fire extinguisher.
It’s sad that discussion of the coronavirus in the designated area for coronavirus discussion somehow means you can’t discuss the obvious and verifiable shortcomings that lead to this state of horror and continues to worsen it.
This isn’t 2 subjects. It is 1 subject. Stop burying your head in the sand.
I agree with the policy. We should separate the problems being caused by the disease itself from the problems being caused by Trump’s failure to lead. If we start attributing all problems to the virus, we’re effectively absolving Trump of his responsibility. And I’m sure that’s going to be the Republican party line; they’ll be saying all of the death and confusion was unavoidable and there was nothing anyone (ie Trump) could have done to avoid it.
I guess Trump was caught by surprise by the short term consequences. He probably though this would be another crisis like the environment or the deficit, where he could tell the lies now and the consequences wouldn’t appear until he was out of office.
Did you mistake me for a Trump supporter?
I think this is it. Up to this point, Trump has been able to hand-wave, distort or spin most things he didn’t like, and they were typically minor enough things that he could get away with it. Now with Covid-19, he’s finally been hit by something too big and too severe to be distorted or waved away.
Maybe more like an apologist is how I saw it at the time. But then again, the way I see things lately is not to be trusted. Lots of double vision from self medication combined with an outright rage at the way Trump is tolerated in this country. A real good combination.
Yeah, well, reading my initial response, “It doesn’t make any sense” reads like I was saying that it makes no sense that Trump would do this.
“Self-medication and outright rage”. Does a twelve pack of beer count as self -medicating? The rage I can so sober.
Cutter’s Way” quotes
“I don’t drink. You know, the routine grind drives me to drink. Tragedy, I take straight.”
About the issue of what is going on with the medical supplies, one gets the impression that at the federal level no one is managing this in a rational way.
True, but there are rational sociopaths in his ear who can probably get him to do what they want. Sean Hannity comes to mind. We know that Trump getting re-elected is goals #1 to 100 for his network.
Sure, there are hotspots now, and some of them in swing states. But the current shortages are mostly in cities with populations that will vote against Trump anyway.
In today’s news conference, Trump did proclaim that the ventilators “are ready to go” when needed. And yet, New York has to rely on donated ones from China and Oregon.
DJT’s goals!
pre-COVID: get re-elected to avoid dying in Leavenworth.
post-COVID: get re-elected so he can die in Bethesda.
I still lean toward national emergency, martial law, interning dissidents for their own safety, etc. An out-of-control pandemic makes a good excuse, as seen in Hungary.
Liberal optimist: But the Dems hold the House!
Cynical response: Only if they aren’t detained.
One awful scenario: Dem congresscritters find themselves quarantined in Very Safe Places. GOPs majorities show up in DC for votes, to impeach and remove bothersome judges and justices, to grant the God-Emperor sweeping powers to rule by decree, all for the sake of Order.
Oh no, that would never occur. It Can’t Happen Here, of course not.
I read an article in today’s paper that documented that the Trump administration was told back in January about the coming need for ventilators. But took no action on ordering them until March - and didn’t look into having production increased until after that. In fact, the Trump administration actually reduced the supply by sending a shipment of them to China in February.
I’ve also read that Trump did not take the initiative on invoking the Defense Production Act as he has claimed. GM and other companies, on their own initiative, formed plans for increasing ventilator production when they heard about the developing shortage. They then went to the administration with their plans. After initially ignoring them, the Trump administration then turned around stated it was ordering GM and other companies to produce the ventilators.
But Michigan has a female governor. A female who has challenged Trump and called him out on his appalling lack of leadership in this crisis.
“In a weekend tweet storm as the coronavirus death toll surged, Mr. Trump called her “Gretchen ‘Half’ Whitmer,” charging that she was in “way over her head” and “doesn’t have a clue” about how to handle the health crisis. Two days earlier, Mr. Trump said publicly that he had instructed Vice President Mike Pence, the leader of the White House’s pandemic response, not to call “the woman in Michigan.””
Trump hates Democrats and women who stand up to him. Poor Governor Whitmer is both. Michigan, hopefully, will not vote for him again.
Don’t our so-called president make you proud? Well done, Republicans. Go to hell.
It’s time to give it a name:
The Trump Pandemic
The Dems should start using the term now.
“Drumpfodemic” has a nice ring to it. Or Mar-a-Lago-itis? No, Drumpfosis. Or (illustrated) the orange bug.
(From Post #30 above.) In case anyone was wondering, the source of the quoted article appears to be
What’s Up with the Feds Seizing PPE Shipments to States and Hospitals?, Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, April 4, 2020.
Naw let’s piss off his evangelical supporters. Call it the “Trump Plague”
I like TRUMP PLAGUE
or TRUMPEDEMIC
But whatever the label it needs to be tattooed on his forehead!