Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

Florida, apparently unhappy that coroners are reporting deaths due to the coronavirus and has ordered them to stop reporting them. Taxpayers apparently don't have a right to this information.

Was that before, or after, Trump and the Party of Trump started attacking China for lying about coronavirus numbers? This matters. Some members of these forums are going to return, eventually, and try to blame China, and it matters whether this info is shoved down their throats or up their ass.

[Edge-]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020...media-fox-news

Using artificial intelligence to track the posting habits of right-leaning Twitter accounts over the past three months, Graphika, a social-network-analysis company, published a report this week that found “conservative groups have a larger total presence than liberal groups in the disinformation map, and the combined volume of activity from conservative groups is 27%, compared with 8% from left-leaning groups. This indicates not only that there are more right-wing accounts, but these accounts are also more prolifically producing content than their left-wing counterparts.” Perhaps the most disturbing instance of this disinformation came via proponents of QAnon, as Graphika found a significant overlap between social media users pushing the conspiracy theory alongside coronavirus myths. “Habitual sharers of health misinformation increased their share of voice in coronavirus conversations in February. Of the accounts that exist in both [the coronavirus discussion and health misinformation] networks, 66% sit within the U.S. Right-Wing clusters.”

Meanwhile, Democrats who participated in the Harvard study were more likely than their Republican counterparts “to know that the coronavirus is more lethal than the flu” and to eschew theories claiming the “Chinese government created the virus as a bioweapon.” Alternatively, poll respondents who looked to mainstream outlets like the New York Times and NBC News expressed “accurate information about the disease’s lethality and…beliefs about protection from infection.” Indeed, the authors found that access to mainstream news outlets acted as one antidote to this “infodemic,” especially since many top outlets like the Washington Post and the Times dropped their paywalls for coronavirus-related stories. “Exposure to mainstream print was positively associated with holding more accurate beliefs about prevention of infection,” they wrote. “[E]xposure to sources such as the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Wall Street Journal was positively associated with accurately believing that regular hand washing and avoiding contact with symptomatic people prevent infection.”

Apparently, listening to conservative media is a good way to put your health at risk.

[Breccia]

That's his brother Earl. He can turn water into Coors Light.

Now now, this is just as off-topic as when we were talking about D&Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

So before I get Lynched by going off-topic, here's a few more stories from today.

1) That Fed meeting happened.

The Federal Reserve plans to keep interest rates near zero "until it is confident that the economy has weathered" the coronavirus crisis, per its policy statement.

But low rates alone are not enough to spur the pandemic-hit economy. The Fed has unleashed a slew of other programs to help in recent weeks, including the Main Street Lending Program, which offers loans to midsized businesses.

Powell did not provide a specific date for when that program would officially launch.

What they're saying: Powell said the April jobs report, out next week, is expected to show the unemployment rate in double digits. Before the coronavirus crisis, unemployment was at 3.5%, a 50-year low.

He also said overall economic activity "will likely drop at an unprecedented rate" in the current quarter, while "the depth and the duration of the economic downturn are unknown."

Powell said more action and economic support from the Fed and Congress could be necessary if "the recovery is to be a robust one."

Powell said Q2 will be "worse than anything we've ever seen", in an almost certain nod to Trumpspeak to get his full fat orange attention.

That's a lot of "oh shit" in a few lines.

2) Remdesvir, the drug Trump doesn't have stock in, isn't faring much better. A NIH study shows it doesn't really reduce the chance of death much, although there was promising information about recovery time for those who survived. A study in China didn't agree, but, I think we can all be cautious about Chinese numbers for a while.

3) As predicted, we officially hit 60,000 deaths today, on Wednesday. It is still possible to see under 100,000 deaths, but even if the inflection point was last week, it's not very likely.

4) Kansas' voter ID law just got hit by a tornado. I mean appeals court. It was struck down, like...um, I need a good metaphor...like a voter ID law in the USA.

5) A mile-wide asteroid is going to miss the Earth. Yep, not even nonsentient death rocks from outer fucking space want any of this.

6) More fun with Trump on transcript. Tuesday:

Q: Did I hear you saying you're confident you can surpass 5 million tests per day? Is that —

A-hole: Oh, well, we're going to be there very soon. If you look at the numbers, it could be that we're getting very close. I mean, I don't have the exact numbers. We would've had them if you asked me the same question a little while ago because people with the statistics were there. We're going to be there very soon. We're really — we're really doing — I mean, I watched your report on NBC today and it was an incorrect report, because we're really doing a great job on testing...

Notice that attack on the press he chose to make. 5 million/day comes from the Harvard study, but it should be noted that we've done 5 million total.

Wednesday:

'But somebody started throwing around five million, I didn't say five million,' Trump said. 'Somebody said five million, I think it might have been the Harvard report.'

'We will be there, but I didn't say it,' the president added. 'We are going to be there at a certain point.'

Trump then complained that the demand for greater testing amid the coronavirus pandemic was a 'media trap' only meant to catch him.

'What's interesting about that number is that I remember when we did a million, we said we just did a million and the media said when are you going to do two million. I said soon, pretty soon. And we do two million and then they said when are you going to do five million,' Trump said.

'In other words, it's sort of a set-up because no matter what - and by the way when we hit five million, when are we going to hit 10 million,' he continued.

'It's a little bit of a trap - it's called the media trap - it pertains to me, it doesn't pertain to other people, but it's what I've had to experience for five years,' he said.

Also:

On Tuesday, Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health who is the coronavirus testing director, said in an interview with TIME Tuesday, "There is absolutely no way on Earth, on this planet or any other planet, that we can do 20 million tests a day, or even five million tests a day." By May, Giroir said the U.S. would be testing 8 million per month.

So Trump got caught lying, so he denies what he said on camera.

7) Chesapeake Energy is going bankrupt, @Zan15 probably wants to know that.

8) And of course, after all this, the front page story on FOX News is Biden again.

[Rasulis]

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...th-food-banks/

While the federal government remains largely absent, state governors are leading things.

CA spearheaded an initiative to help restaurants and seniors by having restaurants cook and deliver meals to this at-risk community, both to help restaurants that are struggling and to ensure that seniors who may not be getting nutritious food right now can eat well and not further compromise their immune system. It's in partnership with FEMA, but it doesn't appear to be led by anyone in the federal government.

In-tandem, the state is also working with farmers who have nowhere to sell their crops to deliver this fresh produce to food banks that have seen a huge spike in demand. Yes, the state is paying for this so. Another issue that we've heard of nationally as farmers crops are rotting in the fields with nowhere to sell them.

There are a few other programs he's introducing/expanding including using the Cal Fresh program to order food through Amazon/Walmart and more vendors to come. This needed a federal waiver.

He also apparently worked with Pelosi to get another waiver for funding for low-income families with kids eligible for free or reduced cost meals at schools. That's around 3.8 million kids, and while it's not a lot of money, around $365 per-family will help a lot.

Man, I'm loving seeing all these governors, Democrat and Republican alike, showing what leadership actually looks like. You know, taking responsibility for things.

There is no denying Newsom is very competent. At time like this, the State of California couldn't have a better governor. But, hot damn, he is boring. He just drone on and on in monotone during his COVID-19 updates. I think he even put members of the press covering his updates to sleep.

[DarkTZeratul]

There is no denying Newsom is very competent. At times like this, the State of California couldn't have a better governor. But, hot damn, he is boring. He just drone on and on in monotone during his COVID-19 updates. I think he even put members of the press covering his updates to sleep.

I honestly hate that "the governor is boring while being extremely competent at saving lives" is even an argument people make.

[Breccia]

I honestly hate that "the governor is boring while being extremely competent at saving lives" is even an argument people make.

I agree. I mean, "let's huff bleach" isn't boring, but boy was it a stupid thing to say. And even Trump knows it, which is why he lied 24 hours later and said he was sarcastic.

[Edge-]

There is no denying Newsom is very competent. At time like this, the State of California couldn't have a better governor. But, hot damn, he is boring. He just drone on and on in monotone during his COVID-19 updates. I think he even put members of the press covering his updates to sleep.

I don't look to my governor for entertainment, I have Netflix for that. I look to my governor for calm, collected leadership and accurate information.

[Rasulis]

I honestly hate that "the governor is boring while being extremely competent at saving lives" is even an argument people make.

Sometime competency speaks for itself. Before the pandemic, his approval rating was 42%. Now, Newsom’s approval rating is 93%, according to the latest Morning Consult polls. Which meant even those that voted Republicans approved of his performance.

[jonnysensible]

This story : https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article...ldqpgc#4ldqpgc

The amount of looting/attempted looting that will be going on right now is mad. All the while the working class will be expected to go and die for essential jobs whilst the capital holding class eat cake. If they dont end this with a new social contract its going to boil over.


I saw musk was being his usual cunt self as well.

[Rasulis]

I don't look to my governor for entertainment, I have Netflix for that. I look to my governor for calm, collected leadership and accurate information.

I voted for Newsom, and I would vote for him again without hesitation. Still, he could be more upbeat in his updates. The country really could use somebody like him at the helm. Instead of Mr. I-Take-No-Responsibility-for-Anything.

[Ivanstone]

Well, it looks like Trump has defeated Covid 19.

And for $100 you can now buy the commemorative coin.

https://www.whitehousegiftshop.com/p...vid-heroes.htm

[Blur4stuff]

I imagine he was told to be as serious as possible, otherwise it would look like he's happy about thousands of people dying. And then there's all of the economic hardship people are facing. I would bet he's purposely avoiding looking or acting like anything remotely close to upbeat or happy.

[Lenonis]

Well, it looks like Trump has defeated Covid 19.

And for $100 you can now buy the commemorative coin.

https://www.whitehousegiftshop.com/p...vid-heroes.htm

So.....politicizing and profiting off natural disasters is ok now?

[Ivanstone]

So.....politicizing and profiting off natural disasters is ok now?

Don't be silly. Just celebrating the genius of Donald Trump for the 11th time.

Its not as good as coin #7 though.
https://www.whitehousegiftshop.com/p...coin7-case.htm

[Edge-]

Well, it looks like Trump has defeated Covid 19.

And for $100 you can now buy the commemorative coin.

https://www.whitehousegiftshop.com/p...vid-heroes.htm

The .com address should be a pretty big flag that it's not legit. Should be .gov if it's actually the White House gift shop.

https://twitter.com/grace_panetta/st...47459809939456

Because it's not. Apparently some company based out of PA.

[Lenonis]

The .com address should be a pretty big flag that it's not legit. Should be .gov if it's actually the White House gift shop.

https://twitter.com/grace_panetta/st...47459809939456

Because it's not. Apparently some company based out of PA.

That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that sort of fake(ish) business is allowed to run.

[Templar 331]

The .com address should be a pretty big flag that it's not legit. Should be .gov if it's actually the White House gift shop.

https://twitter.com/grace_panetta/st...47459809939456

Because it's not. Apparently some company based out of PA.

Damn, Trump's face not being on the front of the coin should have been the first clue. :/

[Ivanstone]

That makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that sort of fake(ish) business is allowed to run.

Admittedly it does look like an Onion article.

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-...us-coin-2020-4
"the Patent and Trademark Office granted GSE the trademark to use White House Gift Shop, which Marshall reported appears to be "the only trademark in existence specifically referencing a relationship to the White House."

[Breccia]

Its not as good as coin #7 though.

Huh, the stock market graph is facing the wrong way.

[Benggaul]

Well, the numbers do not look good again today, as I expected.
61,656 deaths, 2,390 on the 29th. So much for that "weekend lull". New daily cases has also been increasing again since the low two days ago. I'm worried that we'll be into 70k by next week at this point. And given that we know some areas (like Florida, as mentioned above) aren't or won't be reporting deaths correctly I'm sure we're closer than we think.

But hey, this administration apparently considers this a "great success story", so I suppose we should be thankful it's not a horror novle. I mean novel.