Capitol Hill Blue Forums Science and Technology Health, Medicine & the healing Sciences Coronavirus: The Plague of The 21st Century?

Job site shut down yesterday. NYS's 'Essential Workers' was revised and now any construction projects not connected to medical, state or Fed contracting is effectively shut down. Gates will be open Monday for crews to pull their tools off the job.

I had ordered a tool trailer last month with a half down deposit. Called the dealer earlier this week and was told nothing was allowed on the road in Indiana without meeting the same requirements as the updated NY essential requirements. Somehow the factory was able to get it's last shipment out, under the wire, and I got informed my trailer made it to NY yesterday. Good deal! I'll still be going as I'm a fabricator and contracts are still valid.

People watching reefer's backed up to hospital loading docks in NYC has created a foreboding broodiness even here in upstate.

I'm lucky to have work and won't need any unemployment benefits. Not really sure how the freelance (gig) workers are going to get any benefits such as myself and the other Sub's on the job. Trillions spent so far, no money getting into anybody's hands except the parasite portion of the economy. No freight is moving on the road around me.

Nobody sick in our community yet.

In my personal resistance struggle against the Trumpvirus, I have collected all the ingredients to start making my own tonic again. Mamma and I are now referring to gin and tonics as "medicine", due to the quinine dose.

Why wouldn't Jackass Trump's numbers be going up? He gets to hold a tv rally every morning! Media at its best! If anybody looks into it they will find that a LOT of folks watch that crap every morning. If its got a lot of viewers its not gonna go away! Media needs the bucks! I did notice, the other night, that CNN at least gave Biden an hour to try. Media also likes the Governor of New York so he will get time until his audience lessens.

I wonder what would happen if media decided to give Biden the same amount of exposure as they are gifting to Trump. Then, I suspect, things might change a bit. The unfortunate thing is that is not going to happen. If the Dems to actually win the next election I would hope that they would go after the media and how/way they give one side more exposure than the other with consistency. It is, as far as I am concerned, really time for the media to be regulated, insofar as fairness in free exposure is concerned. Right now we get a minimum of one hour of Trump lying his head off with NOBODY calling him on those lies. Especially not calling him AT THE TIME HE DOES IT! (They could do this easily with one of them moving lines on the bottom of the tv screen). I would, however, be a lot better to simply give the democratic candidate the same opportunity to blow his horn.

Remember, we have Trump because of the media. THEY gave him, we are told, something like 5 billion dollars worth of free exposure! The Dems got little or none. This was not the fault of Corporations, big money, etc. This was the fault of the greed of TV media because Trump was a big draw and people actually paid extra for ads wherein there was Trump, ie. pure, righteous, greed on the part of the TV Industry. If you google; "trump given free exposure in 2016" you can read a lot about what happened.

Here is a sample link:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/...plies-to-blackmail-blue-state-governors/

I'm breaking quarantine Monday to see a physical therapist. My dog stopped me from walking this morning and made me go back home, I think he could sense the pain. I'm fast-tracking the wheelchair. It's stupid to keep pretending I can walk.

Someone will do my grocery shopping for me and load it in the car while I'm in town and I'll spritz it all off with Lysol before I touch it.

My county hasn't locked down and I hear folks are out enjoying themselves. City had to put tape around the pavilions and basketball courts. The weather is fabulous right now and lots of folks are off work so they're doing just what you'd expect.

Trump's numbers would probably go up.

Only if they are direct deposited.

In my self-imposed isolation state, I have been Coronobsessed. I've read a number of papers outlining forecasting models (there's a really good one from the University of Washington) and done a bit of my own calculations. I put my numbers up against the models and got depressed again. [The whole point of the exercise was to get emotional distance from the pandemic!]

It turns out the models were too modest. The next 10 days are going to be very dark unless the trend changes drastically in the next 48 hours. By my calculations, we'll pass China's death toll by Monday night, and Spain's by week's end. God, I wish we had a President with half a brain.

NWP, I would take a President with any sized brain at all over what we have right now.

For the past several weeks I have been keeping informal track of the death rate. Globally, hovering around 4.5% and up. While the US, and this seems very odd, is holding around 1.5% to 1.7%. Italy is 10.8%, Spain is 8.2% and the start of it all, China is 4.0%, make me question of China's reported numbers are correct.

So yea, by the numbers we are in no way half-way through this. Using China's numbers we can see 4,988 dead, I do not want to look at it using Italy's percentage...

I think our numbers are going to skyrocket, with the US possible surpassing Italy's numbers.

Stay safe, stay away, and stay indoors y'all.

Source, little info graphic on the side

Oh, this frightening - Infection Trajectory The US

The brain needs to be programmed with useful software, though, that includes reason, honesty, and ethics.

There's been a legitimate discussion among journalism ethicists about covering the daily coronavirus briefings live. Information (not given by Trump) from those briefings is important for the public, and he is the President, but he's using those appearances to substitute for his campaign rallies, and it is showing. Journalists know it is deliberate and are chafing.

Much of what he says is actually wrong (and even dangerous) and requires others to correct the record on the spot (thanks, Dr. Fauci). What value is there, then, in airing the briefings live?