Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Zaydin]

I've said since I was a child that the reason why I'm an honest person is that every lie, eventually, gets out. And once it does, trust is lost and the situation is worse than if you had just told the truth in the first place.

It's sad that world leaders can't figure this out.

Reminds me of a line from the last episode of Chernobyl:

“Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid...”

[Rasulis]

I saw the /s and everything, but, it's amazing how many people believe that kind of thing.

On topic: Fauci is continuing to pull back on the "Easter Lol" as hard as possible. I mean, he used the exact quote "I think it could probably start at least in some ways maybe next month". That's caution, right there.

Anthony Fauci admits earlier Covid-19 mitigation efforts would have saved more American lives

How many more American lives could have been saved?

My sister forwarded this NBC Nightly News show about her hospital. Her hospital put together a 600-bed COVID-19 ward. Only 20 beds are currently occupied. It has been so quiet there, UCSF is sending 50 of their doctors and nurses to NY.

[s_bushido]

I've said since I was a child that the reason why I'm an honest person is that every lie, eventually, gets out. And once it does, trust is lost and the situation is worse than if you had just told the truth in the first place.

It's sad that world leaders can't figure this out.

Because it's not a lie when someone in power does it. It's an alternative fact.

[Mekh]

Any news yet re: Churches & Easter? Did these congregations of hundreds happen and if so, how common was it?

[Breccia]

Any news yet re: Churches & Easter? Did these congregations of hundreds happen and if so, how common was it?

There were a few scattered outbreaks of thoughts and prayers. Looks like most churches didn't have mass gatherings, lockdown order or not.

[Mekh]

There were a few scattered outbreaks of thoughts and prayers. Looks like most churches didn't have mass gatherings, lockdown order or not.

Nice. At least some good news.

[D Luniz]

Any news yet re: Churches & Easter? Did these congregations of hundreds happen and if so, how common was it?

The Way Church in Spring ALMOST got it right
had the service where everyone stayed in (or on their vehicle in some cases) but after it was over, they started gathering in groups 5 or more, close enough to touch, and stood around talking to each other

and I doubt the behavior was an isolated case.

[Edge-]

Anthony Fauci admits earlier Covid-19 mitigation efforts would have saved more American lives

How many more American lives could have been saved?

My sister forwarded this NBC Nightly News show about her hospital. Her hospital put together a 600-bed COVID-19 ward. Only 20 beds are currently occupied. It has been so quiet there, UCSF is sending 50 of their doctors and nurses to NY.

My state/county ain't fuckin around. We're kicking ass at this.

[Breccia]

The mortgage bill the House and Senate voted on and Trump signed gave some homeowners, depending on their mortgage, the ability to delay payments ("forbearance" is a term used here) for up to six months. If I'm reading this correctly, they'd have to pay it all at the end.

And, well, people are terrified of that. If they don't have the money now because, oh I don't know, they got fired, the odds of them having it later -- or, based on interest rates, having slightly more later -- seem remote.

"Wait, they have to do that?"

That's the problem. Nobody seems to know.

A sixth-month pause on certain mortgage payments mandated by the coronavirus economic rescue bill is causing confusion and risking financial peril across the housing industry.

The provision could be a crucial financial lifeline for millions of Americans who’ve lost their jobs due to the pandemic and owe part of a combined $7 trillion in federally backed U.S. mortgages.

But a lack of clear legal guidelines for what happens after the forbearance period has left some homeowners facing unaffordable balloon payments down the line and the mortgage industry pleading for its own federal financial support.

And it's not just the borrowers that aren't sure, and are scared.

Though major banks say they have enough cash on hand to weather the delays, mortgage servicers that depend on a steady stream of home loan payments to stay afloat are sparring with regulators who’ve shown little urgency to salvage their industry.

“If these companies go bankrupt, no one is going to want that servicing. The big banks don't want it for the capital requirements and other reputation risk comes with it. Financially, somebody has got to pick that up,” said Mike Calhoun, president of the Center for Responsible Lending, a non-profit that advocates for boosting consumer financial protections.

The consistent payment of mortgages and the system of investment products they fund is a crucial pillar of the U.S. financial sector.

We've talked a bit about mortgage-backed securities recently, mostly, in parallel with W's recession. We might see them again, but in a slightly different way. Specifically, investment companies and banks that used to buy those up, now being afraid to touch them because
a) they're not stupid enough to put their other hand into the tiger cage after 2008, and/or
b) they know these particular mortgages won't pay.

Requests for mortgage forbearance rose nearly 1,900 percent in the final week of March, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), an industry trade group.

“Borrowers must repay these funds eventually, but in the interim, mortgage servicers are contractually required to keep making payments to the end investor,” wrote Karan Kaul, senior research associate at the Urban Institute, in a Thursday research paper.

“If unresolved, many servicers will likely experience financial distress, causing insolvencies industrywide. Servicer failures at a time when struggling borrowers need assistance the most will have severe consequences for consumers and the entire housing finance system.”

While banks are required under law to hold higher levels of capital than other financial firms and have access to support the Federal Reserve and other government entities, mortgage servicers lack the same prudential oversight and depend on credit and steady servicing fees to stay afloat.

The MBA and other industry advocates have implored the Federal Reserve to set up a credit facility that would allow mortgage servicers take discounted loans to pay bondholders what they’re owed from the missed mortgage payments.

It also stops foreclosures -- which it'd have to, since it allows people to not make payments.

[Captain N]

So the dingleberry has now resorted to retweeting threats to fire Fauci....it just keep getting worse.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...e-fauci-2020-4

[Felya]

So the dingleberry has now resorted to retweeting threats to fire Fauci....it just keep getting worse.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...e-fauci-2020-4

Too many around him will talk him out of it, in context of how popular Fauci is. Trump won’t do it, because it will hurt his ratings.

[Captain N]

Too many around him will talk him out of it, in context of how popular Fauci is. Trump won’t do it, because it will hurt his ratings.

While I don't doubt that you're right with that it'll be interesting to see what the base does. I mean right now they're all up in arms trying to claim that the shelter in place rules are unconstitutional and you know someone is going to whisper in Trump's ear that removing Fauci means they can reopen the country.

[Felya]

While I don't doubt that you're right with that it'll be interesting to see what the base does. I mean right now they're all up in arms trying to claim that the shelter in place rules are unconstitutional and you know someone is going to whisper in Trump's ear that removing Fauci means they can reopen the country.

They don’t have to remove him to open the country and if he is let go, there is no one to stop him from talking.

[Rasulis]

My state/county ain't fuckin around. We're kicking ass at this.

That's what you get when you have leaders who are actually trying to do the best for their citizens and not win popularity contests.

When Newsom was asked by the press why California was lagging in COVID-19 testing, he took responsibility for the failure and outlined the steps that he had taken to rectify the issue. The idiot presidents would have either looked for a scapegoat or called the press "mean".

London Breed took a lot of flak for declaring a state of emergency in February when there wasn't a single confirmed case of coronavirus in San Francisco. San Francisco’s coronavirus case count of 857 as of April 10 with just 13 recorded deaths, which is much lower than that in any other metropolises of comparable size, is a testament of how early and aggressive action can prevent the explosive rise in cases that has overwhelmed hospitals in other metropolitan areas.

[Breccia]

So the dingleberry has now resorted to retweeting threats to fire Fauci

From March 23:

He can't jump in front of Trump, but he can call a press conference and explain that;
1> What the President stated was false,
2> That he does not know where the President is getting his information, because you advised him this was wrong and he said it anyway,
3> That it is irresponsible to be pushing harmful disinformation during a pandemic, since it puts American lives at risk, and
4> Here's the correct information that the President refused to give you, despite my urgings.

You'll get your ass super-fired for that, but that's the ethical response. Sometimes, you've gotta do the right thing, even if an asshole narcissist is gonna fire you because you didn't lick his boots properly.

I would love to see that. Trump firing the person giving honest, correct, helpful information while the crisis is ongoing? He's more than welcome to try.

The problem with shooting someone who's bulletproof is you can catch the ricochet. The deaths are still mounting and it's only because of an abundance of caution that earlier estimates are now being lowered. Remove Fauci, and therefore send a massive signal, and things will get worse, not better. And Fauci has interviews for weeks, taking his case to save American lives directly to the public, that Trump won't be able to stop.

Basically, Endus would be reverse-correct. He wouldn't be fired for that, but once fired, he'd do that. Because he wants to save lives. He clearly knows what he's doing, he's competent, and he's eager to get out valid information to save lives. What's Trump going to do, claim executive privilege or NDA? Over live-saving medical information? In an election year?

[Felya]

That's what you get when you have leaders who are actually trying to do the best for their citizens and not win popularity contests.

When Newsom was asked by the press why California was lagging in COVID-19 testing, he took responsibility for the failure and outlined the steps that he had taken to rectify the issue. The idiot presidents would have either looked for a scapegoat or called the press "mean".

London Breed took a lot of flak for declaring a state of emergency in February when there wasn't a single confirmed case of coronavirus in San Francisco. San Francisco’s coronavirus case count of 857 as of April 10 with just 13 recorded deaths, which is much lower than that in any other metropolises of comparable size, is a testament of how early and aggressive action can prevent the explosive rise in cases that has overwhelmed hospitals in other metropolitan areas.

Jay “the snake” Inslee got WA from the being the first epicenter, to now being 13th most cases. Every state that is now ahead of us in number of cases, should have reacted at the same time we did. But, thanks to Georgia and Florida, we are not likely to return to top 10.

[alexw]

Too many around him will talk him out of it, in context of how popular Fauci is. Trump won’t do it, because it will hurt his ratings.

He won't be fired right now but his name will be added to the shit list and he'll be given the boot when Trump thinks it's safe to do it without it hurting him. Just like he did with the AG that blew the whistle on his Ukranian blackmail/extortion attempt.

[Breccia]

Jay “the snake” Inslee got WA from the being the first epicenter, to now being 13th most cases. Every state that is now ahead of us in number of cases, should have reacted at the same time we did. But, thanks to Georgia and Florida, we are not likely to return to top 10.

If I'm reading this correctly, Washington has 292 cases. Scaling Washington's population up to NYState's, they'd still be under a thousand.

Washington State did a great job.

[Milchshake]

If I'm reading this correctly, Washington has 292 cases. Scaling Washington's population up to NYState's, they'd still be under a thousand.

Washington State did a great job.

Ya Inslee is a really good governor. He took it seriously and raised awareness really early. Also for people maybe missing context, it was Trump that called Inslee as "snake".

Its a shame his presidential campaign never took off. Also his climate policies put the Green Deal to shame. Biden's team has already been communicating with Inslee on adopting some of his policy stances.

Would be awesome if he got a Sec Interior nod in a Biden administration. Especially considering how much damage Trump has done to public land in the West.

[Breccia]

So the dingleberry has now resorted to retweeting threats to fire Fauci....it just keep getting worse.

So here's the quote that Trump retweeted:

Fauci was telling people on February 29th that there was nothing to worry about and it posed no threat to the US public at large.

Let's test that, shall we?



By the way, if a Trump supporter attempts to buzz in on this topic without watching the full video, they will disqualify themselves from comment. The video is dated Feb 29th, and that was a highly-viewed (Trump bragged about it) public address. It runs the show.

Yeah...the tweeter is likely describing the short bit on the Today Show, and not what Fauci told the world while standing with the crisis team. In other words, the tweeter is intentionally picking infected cherries.

Also:

Feb 28th, Fauci says we don't have enough tests.

and my favorite

March 1 on FOX News,

You'll also see a ton of articles from Feb 28th saying "Trump is gagging Fauci" and the WH response "no he's not".

Speaking of which, we haven't had a briefing in two days. Hmm. Is it because it's Easter and they're all in packed churches?

(checks internet for pics of Trump and/or Pence in a packed church)

(realizes "packed church" is slang for something he didn't know about and stumbles into some very disturbing fan art)

Um...well, no, doesn't look like they were. In fact Pence told FOX News four days ago that he -- this is Mr. Religious Right we're talking about -- would be going to church in his living room. So no, that wasn't it.

So until directly contradicted, I will say that they had no good news that overwrites the mounting body count, they can't push for opening the country while the kill count keeps going up, and yes, possible in-fighting with Fauci on account of public safety and honesty not being in Trump's best interest right now. Yesterday wasn't a holiday anyhow.

Maybe we'll have one tomorrow. If we do, and Fauci is out in front, well, I guess that ends that. If there's no briefing, or if Fauci isn't there...then we have a problem.