Mega-Thread: 2020 United States General Election

[Edge-]

If you are asking actual questions about the logistics and efficiency of this strategy, then you are not the target audience of this strategy.

Surely a government who couldn't even get basic masks and PPE sorted out for months during severe shortages is ready and able to organize the logistics of mass producing a newly created vaccine and distributing it to all 50 states, working with the states to ensure that they're further distributed throughout all the states.

Surely they're up to the task.

And I will not stop calling you Surely.

[Thekri]

Surely a government who couldn't even get basic masks and PPE sorted out for months during severe shortages is ready and able to organize the logistics of mass producing a newly created vaccine and distributing it to all 50 states, working with the states to ensure that they're further distributed throughout all the states.

Surely they're up to the task.

And I will not stop calling you Surely.

Yet it can still be effective at its intended purpose.

So I work for a large company doing a lot of productivity and process management work. The first thing I always ask in any project is what is its actual purpose. Not the stated purpose that is on the powerpoint, but the real actual purpose that the project was created. I piss off a LOT of people asking this question, because the real purpose is almost never the stated one. The stated purpose might be "Provide a cost effective mechanism to deliver parts to the assembly teams", but the actual purpose is to provide a high sexy, hi-tech looking solution because the executive that created this project wants to look like a visionary. The project is doomed in its stated purpose from the start, but it can succeed at its real purpose as long as it exists long enough to make it into an industry article that the executive can share on Linkedin.

This is the same way. If you don't think it can provide a safe, effective, and working vaccine to combat corona-virus, well that isn't a fault of the project, that is a fault of you not understanding what the project actually is supposed to do. Which has nothing to do with that.

[Zan15]

Promises kept!!

https://apnews.com/dd93ecd3cafc5df88a8f9f4a61693b07

US trade deficit surges in July to highest in 12 years

The U.S. trade deficit surged in July to $63.6 billion, the highest level in 12 years, as imports jumped by a record amount.

The Commerce Department reported that the July deficit, the gap between what America buys and what it sells to foreigners, was 18.9% higher than the June deficit of $53.5 billion. It was the largest monthly deficit since July 2008 during the 2007-2009 recession.

The July deficit increase was driven by a record 10.9% increase in imports which rose to $231.7 billion. Exports were also up but by a smaller 8.1% to $168.1 billion.

When Donald Trump campaigned for president in 2016 he pledged to sharply lower the country’s large trade deficits, especially with China, which for years has been the country with the largest trade surplus with the United States.

The goods deficit with Mexico hit a record high of $10.6 in July. Trump has claimed the new free trade deal he has negotiated with Mexico and China will be a boon for American workers and businesses.



Maybe he should tax us more than he already has with his useless Tariffs. That's another record he broke, but people are worried about Biden increasing taxes on the rich...sigh

[PhaelixWW]

US trade deficit surges in July to highest in 12 years

The U.S. trade deficit surged in July to $63.6 billion, the highest level in 12 years, as imports jumped by a record amount.

Yeah, but at least the DOW has come back up to almost what it was befo--

"The DOW has plunged 1000 points so far today..."

Oh. Well then.

[Rasulis]

And I don't believe that they'll have a vaccine by then, much less that it will have gone through proper trials and testing. If the consensus amongst professionals inside and outside HHS/CDC is that it's safe and effective, that's rad. If the consensus is that they don't know what the fuck this thing is and can't vouch for it based off the data from trials, I guess I'm turning into an anti-vaxxer for a bit.

The two vaccines which the US is depending on are Moderna and Pfizer. Both require two (2) doses 28 days apart. The 3rd phase trial started in late July, so the people that received the first dose back in July are just now getting their second dose. Both Moderna and Pfizer, as of today, are still looking for human lab rats. I meant vaccine candidates. So we are not likely to start see results of phase 3 trial till early December. At least.

Also, there is a major red flag about Moderna vaccine. As in “nobody has made this type of vaccine before.” mRNA-1273 vaccine aims to deliver pre-programmed genetic information to a patient's cells so that they will subsequently produce antibodies against the coronavirus. This methodology has worked well enough to bring the candidate through the first two phases of clinical trials so far. But there are no other therapies or prophylactics on the market that use the same approach, despite a handful of efforts, which is a red flag.

Furthermore, the company's preliminary safety data suggested that patients in the mRNA-1273 trial were more likely to experience systemic adverse events -- clinical-trial lingo for "difficult side effects" -- after a second dose of the vaccine. If subsequent data show that these side effects are especially burdensome for certain patient populations, like immunocompromised people or older adults, it would make Moderna's vaccine a risky proposition.

[PACOX]

The two vaccines which the US is depending on are Moderna and Pfizer. Both require two (2) doses 28 days apart. The 3rd phase trial started in late July, so the people that received the first dose back in July are just now getting their second dose. Both Moderna and Pfizer, as of today, are still looking for human lab rats. I meant vaccine candidates. So we are not likely to start see results of phase 3 trial till early December. At least.

Also, there is a major red flag about Moderna vaccine. As in “nobody has made this type of vaccine before.” mRNA-1273 vaccine aims to deliver pre-programmed genetic information to a patient's cells so that they will subsequently produce antibodies against the coronavirus. This methodology has worked well enough to bring the candidate through the first two phases of clinical trials so far. But there are no other therapies or prophylactics on the market that use the same approach, despite a handful of efforts, which is a red flag.

Furthermore, the company's preliminary safety data suggested that patients in the mRNA-1273 trial were more likely to experience systemic adverse events -- clinical-trial lingo for "difficult side effects" -- after a second dose of the vaccine. If subsequent data show that these side effects are especially burdensome for certain patient populations, like immunocompromised people or older adults, it would make Moderna's vaccine a risky proposition.

TLDR: There are no approved RNA vaccines because they are extremely difficult to make and could end up being worse than the virus itself. Unless researchers got extremely lucky, as in they all should go play the lotto, Trump isn't getting his gift horse.

[postman1782]

HHS Secretary Azar says Nov. 1 coronavirus vaccine deadline has 'nothing to do with elections'.

Bwaaaaahahahahahahahaha. Of course it doesn't.

Yeah, I am not taking that thing. I will wait til they actually have a study on it before I take that shit. Because all this will do, is if it doesn't work, will create more anti-vaxxer retards like Trump.

[eschatological]

Yeah, but at least the DOW has come back up to almost what it was befo--

"The DOW has plunged 1000 points so far today..."

Oh. Well then.

They're already excusing this as "signs that Wall Street believe Joe Biden will win."

[Rasulis]

They're already excusing this as "signs that Wall Street believe Joe Biden will win."

I am sure that continuing unemployment, after dropping to below 28M, went up by almost 2M to 29.2M has nothing to do with it. Nope. I am sure of it. it is all Biden's fault.

[Benggaul]

Yeezy come, Yeezy go.

Kanye West loses case and is kicked off Virginia ballot

Unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but I couldn't resist the pun.

[Thepersona]

TLDR: There are no approved RNA vaccines because they are extremely difficult to make and could end up being worse than the virus itself. Unless researchers got extremely lucky, as in they all should go play the lotto, Trump isn't getting his gift horse.

The best candidates are the chinese (good luck getting the vaccines early, US) and the english candidates ATM.

[Edge-]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...c29_story.html

Here's an amusing op-ed using numbers Republicans and conservatives will be very familiar with to quantify Trump's performance so far -

The number of lives lost to covid-19 is roughly equal to the death toll of 60 9/11 attacks.

Or, if you’d prefer a more recent ghoulish reference for quantifying mortality, the coronavirus death toll is about 46,000 Benghazis.

Remember when Trump was the best person ever for saving 700 jobs at the Carrier plant, that were later lost anyways?

Last week alone, though, 1.6 million people newly applied for unemployment benefits. That’s the equivalent of 2,300 Carrier plants.

Damnit, well at least money wasn't blown on any boondog...

According to congressional investigators, Navarro negotiated a contract that resulted in the government overpaying for ventilators by $500 million. (The contract was canceled Monday.) He also championed a $765 million federal loan to Eastman Kodak to transform it into a drugmaker. (The loan has since unraveled and is the subject of a securities investigation.)

So how many taxpayer dollars was Navarro involved in wasting through these two deals alone? Measured in units that should be familiar to consumers of right-wing news, it’s roughly two Solyndras.

How about the debt?

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the national debt will reach about $22 trillion in the coming fiscal year. This means that, for the first time since right after World War II, the debt would eclipse the size of the overall U.S. economy. For all those fair-weather fiscal hawks who long complained of Obama’s profligacy: The debt increase under Trump during a single term is on track to surpass that under Obama across two terms.

Man, let's take something less serious like some emails.

Likewise: For each Hillary Clinton private email scandal (one), there are at least eight senior Trump officials who have reportedly used private email to conduct official business. For every Obama-era incident involving supposed retaliation against political opponents, there are literally dozens of instances of Trump trying to use the power of his office to punish perceived enemies, whether through tweets or regulatory actions. Including, this week, a likely illegal order to block federal funding from going to Democratic-led cities.

Maybe reframing his failures can help get the message out at how dangerous a second term under Trump will be.

[SirBeef]

I just love how all this death happened on the GOPs watch, yet it's the Dems that are the problem.

[Felya]

Can anyone explain why a vaccine before the election would help Trump?

- - - Updated - - -

I just love how all this death happened on the GOPs watch, yet it's the Dems that are the problem.

It would be bad enough that they used Ukraine and Australian riots to claim it’s democrat America, but they are literally using images from Trump’s term, to claim its democrats. Crazy town...

[Edge-]

Can anyone explain why a vaccine before the election would help Trump?

Mind-games. Because it would show that he's a biggly in charge man who can make biggly things happen that others say can't happen and you should re-elect him because of his bigly strong wins like rushing out an untested vaccine that a great many of his own supporters have said they would not take.

Boy am I looking forward to the possibility of Trumps anti-vax, "Bill Gates is gonna put a computer chip in us!" conspiracy theorists trying to square that nonsense with Trump promoting the vaccine and everything he says being true.

[Draco-Onis]

Can anyone explain why a vaccine before the election would help Trump?

Because he can declare victory and say COVID is over, that's the reason for the bleach, Hydroxychloroquine etc. he wants to have a magic bullet and take credit for it. He doesn't care if it isn't safe or it kills more people he just needs it to work for the election.

[Felya]

Because he can declare victory and say COVID is over, that's the reason for the bleach, Hydroxychloroquine etc. he wants to have a magic bullet and take credit for it. He doesn't care if it isn't safe or it kills more people he just needs it to work for the election.

But, it is over... The RNC was talking about it in past tense. Then, why would truth mater, as you said... when there is bleach and chloroquine.

[Kaleredar]

Can anyone explain why a vaccine before the election would help Trump?

Some form of vaccine, unproven as it may be, might be just enough to convince conservative voters who are smart enough to know the pandemic is real but not smart enough to realize their party is a sham to show up to the polls to vote.

Meanwhile, liberals who will likely be far more reluctant to believe in any sort of “trump vaccine” (95% chance he tries to call it that) will still be attempting to vote via mail which, as we’ve established, trump is attempting to null and void.

That’s the basic angle I’m seeing.

[Edge-]

https://apnews.com/7d093d8fefee24b97f449f83d405c9dd

President Donald Trump is mocking his Democratic rival for letting his mask hang off his ear when he delivers speeches. Speaking to rally-goers in Pennsylvania, Trump says of Joe Biden, “Did you ever see a man who likes a mask as much as him?”

Says Trump: “He has it hanging down. Because it gives him a feeling of security. If I were a psychiatrist, right, you know I’d say: ’This guy’s got some big issues. Hanging down. Hanging down.’”

It's a good think Trump isn't a psychiatrist, because he'd have his license revoked.

But this is a pretty no-brainer election y'all. The guy who listens to doctors and experts in their fields and wears a mask, and is repeatedly seen wearing and speaking with a mask to provide an example by leadership. Or the guy who brags about how he hates masks, rarely ever wears one even when visiting hospitals or PPE manufacturing facilities, and chooses to abdicate leadership and encourage Americans to risk making a pandemic worse.

You don't even have to look at their policies. One candidate is trying to not get Americans killed. The other is actively trying to get Americans killed. Because the pandemic will still be here after the election, it's not magically disappearing on November 4 no matter who wins.

[DingDongKing]

-snip-

The most alarming thing is that this 'humour' of his is actually appreciated by 40% of Americans.