Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[postman1782]

I'm having a problem with detecting sarcasm from American patriots:


https://twitter.com/dwancba/status/1328852484098576385

Is this for real, or is it an attempt at elaborate trolling?

These are bots. There are hundreds of posts saying the same thing.

[Breccia]

Kansas orders mask mandate.

I just want to throw it out there, the Republican Party chose to foster the "muh freedumbs!" for the anti-maskers. Now their states are being hit the hardest.

Congrats on slamming that barn door shut now that the horse is out, Kansas. Your constituents who survive will be sure to thank you while waiting in line at the food bank.

- - - Updated - - -

Minnesota announces new restrictions. Uses term "pause" not "lockdown" because, well, he's probably afraid of death threats.

[Benggaul]

173,632 new cases, about 29k more than last Wednesday. It looks like the increase in new cases might be slowing down slightly...maybe. I'll talk more about that later. Nebraska has, once again, failed to report on time.

Top 20:

Texas: 13,379 new cases (new record); 205 deaths
California: 11,835 new cases; 112 deaths
Illinois: 8,922 new cases; 151 deaths
Wisconsin: 7,989 new cases (new record); 52 deaths
Fuck Florida.
Pennsylvania: 6,486 new cases (new record); 110 deaths
Ohio: 6,385 new cases; 55 deaths
Michigan: 6,218 new cases; 62 deaths
Indiana: 6,015 new cases; 59 deaths
Kansas: 5,624 new cases; 60 deaths
Missouri: 5,488 new cases; 43 deaths
New York: 5,364 new cases; 47 deaths
Minnesota: 5,094 new cases; 67 deaths (new record)
Colorado: 4,650 new cases; 43 deaths
Tennessee: 4,472 new cases; 53 deaths
Iowa: 4,173 new cases; 39 deaths (new record)
New Jersey: 3,694 new cases; 36 deaths
North Carolina: 3,367 new cases; 46 deaths
Arizona: 3,206 new cases; 53 deaths
Georgia: 3,161 new cases; 57 deaths

Other states with new case/death records: Oklahoma, New Mexico and Rhode Island.

So, it's been a while since Texas had a new case record and today barely squeaked over, but I've been noticing something odd and after a little digging am considering adding Texas to the "Fuck <state>" zone. Here's the thing. Numbers in Texas weren't making much sense to me given what I'd been seeing on their trends, positivity, etc.. I started paying closer attention and one thing that stands out immediately is that Midland county has not reported numbers since just after the election. Now I won't claim to know how dense the population is in Midland but given their prior numbers I have to doubt sincerely that they haven't racked up quite the total of cases in the past two weeks. Cases that aren't being added to the Texas tally. From a county where at least one hospital is full and has been expanded into tents. Yeah...I don't trust this and I don't trust Abbot. Hang in there, @Crissi.

As for the rest of the nation, 41 states had over 1k new cases and despite the fact that the delta between today and last Wednesday is a bit lower than the week before it still doesn't look all that rosy. Looking at the positivity rates for each state only three of them appear to be flat or decreasing. And only one state--Vermont--appears to have an ICU occupancy of less than 50%. 13 are above 80% occupancy. North Dakota is around 90%. That's...fucking scary. And we might already be seeing the effects of this.

I'm expecting around 1,500-1,600 days, but if we see 1,700-1,800 I would not be entirely surprised given the explosive growth of the outbreak and the numbers we've seen the past couple weeks.

1,956 deaths is 500 more than last Wednesday. Right now I'm leaning towards that being a correction. We'll know more tomorrow; I expect it to be lower. The national total is 256,254. 4 states had triple digits. 35 other states had double digits. I can't state this enough: this will get worse. How much worse depends on how many more new cases flood the hospitals and strain the already struggling resources. Wear your fucking masks.

Related news:

One in six Texans infected with COVID-19, study estimates--I came across this while I was doing some digging into what the fuck is up with Texas. The bottom line is that the real number of cases in Texas is probably over 4 million.

Number of COVID-19 'long haulers,' survivors with lasting virus symptoms, is growing--Another reminder that even if you recover, you might never fully recover.

COVID-19 infections are soaring. Lockdowns could be coming. A list of restrictions in your state.--Funny how open more governors appear to be to lockdowns now that elections are over. NYC is also closing public schools.

Stay safe, folks.

[Breccia]

CNN reports that--

1,956 deaths

..hey remember when two days ago I asked "2,000 a day by the end of the month?"

Sigh.

CNN reports that 1,314 military members got COVID today -- that's a new record.

There are currently about 25,000 active Covid-19 cases in the ranks, and another 44,390 service members have recovered from the virus, according to the Pentagon. The number of military cases has grown over the last few weeks as case counts have increased in the general population.

A US defense official told CNN that the US military has a positivity rate of 6.8%. That compares to about 10% among civilians taking coronavirus tests. The military has claimed since the beginning of the pandemic that it can maintain a lower positivity rate because the military has a younger, healthier population. It also can also more easily mandate restrictions than civilian authorities.

[beanman12345]

Number of COVID-19 'long haulers,' survivors with lasting virus symptoms, is growing--Another reminder that even if you recover, you might never fully recover.

I'm curious about the long hauler cognitive decline of people who were already suffer from cognitive decline long before getting covid, like trump. Is it additive?

[Benggaul]

I'm curious about the long hauler cognitive decline of people who were already suffer from cognitive decline long before getting covid, like trump. Is it additive?

I'm no doctor. But this guy is:

The hidden long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19

There is one inevitable conclusion from these studies: COVID infection frequently leads to brain damage — particularly in those over 70. While sometimes the brain damage is obvious and leads to major cognitive impairment, more frequently the damage is mild, leading to difficulties with sustained attention.

In other words...how could we know?

[PhaelixWW]

And only one state--Vermont--appears to have an ICU occupancy of less than 50%. 13 are above 80% occupancy. North Dakota is around 90%. That's...fucking scary.

I feel like I should point out that ICU's standardly operate at about 70-80% occupancy. At least they did pre-COVID. That being said, I think most hospitals have tried to find a way to increase their ICU bed total, and they're also still seeing a decrease in non-COVID cases as people are understandably worried about going to/staying in a hospital during a pandemic.

I'm not sure what a "normal" ICU occupancy is these days, but it's probably somewhere in the 30-60% range, so factor that into your assessment of hospitalization rates.

[Crissi]

Pls send halp. My county is at 92% ICU bed occupancy, 17% covid occupancy, and our county judge is literally using polite language to say "Abbot is not letting us save lives cause he's a fuckface". We're on our way to being the new El Paso.

[Xyonai]

I'm no doctor. But this guy is:

The hidden long-term cognitive effects of COVID-19



In other words...how could we know?

Honestly not enough has been done to stress the Lingering Side effects of this disease for the dipshits in the back who think a 95% survival rate means its harmless.

[Corvus]

Those numbers are terrible. In reality they are probably much worse when you consider the ridiculously high positive rates in places like the Dakotas.

Sad to say that I think it will be too late by the time Biden takes over. The US is going to be crippled for years by that stage. If you wanted to go out of your way to ruin a country then you'd be acting as Trump and his enablers are.

China is watching on as is likely licking it lips. I would not by shocked if they made a move on Taiwan while the US is falling apart due to the virus.

[Breccia]

I would not by shocked if they made a move on Taiwan while the US is falling apart due to the virus.

Um...they haven't already? I'm fairly sure they have.

[Omega10]

Those numbers are terrible. In reality they are probably much worse when you consider the ridiculously high positive rates in places like the Dakotas.

Sad to say that I think it will be too late by the time Biden takes over. The US is going to be crippled for years by that stage. If you wanted to go out of your way to ruin a country then you'd be acting as Trump and his enablers are.

China is watching on as is likely licking it lips. I would not by shocked if they made a move on Taiwan while the US is falling apart due to the virus.

So is EU. They have been unshackled thanks to Brexit, and are quickly and reasonably efficiently positioning themselves to capture a lot of the power that the US relinquishes. The US and India were both falling behind even before the virus, and now that we are numbers 1 and 2 in number of virus cases, the path for EU and China to be the top two powers is quite clear and ready to be traversed.

I just hope that both grow at similar rates to counterbalance each other. The US got quite cocky when we were the sole superpower. Having two superpowers that aren't complete enemies might work better than either the cold war (US vs USSR) or the lone wolf (US alone).

[Underverse]

So is EU. They have been unshackled thanks to Brexit, and are quickly and reasonably efficiently positioning themselves to capture a lot of the power that the US relinquishes. The US and India were both falling behind even before the virus, and now that we are numbers 1 and 2 in number of virus cases, the path for EU and China to be the top two powers is quite clear and ready to be traversed.

I just hope that both grow at similar rates to counterbalance each other. The US got quite cocky when we were the sole superpower. Having two superpowers that aren't complete enemies might work better than either the cold war (US vs USSR) or the lone wolf (US alone).

I'm okay with the EU filling a US power vacuum. They have good moral bearing. China...not so much.

[Corvus]

Um...they haven't already? I'm fairly sure they have.

I meant an invasion of Taiwan.

The CCP have made a pretty big deal of how the unification of Taiwan with the mainland has to happen by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, by any means necessary. And given how they have stoked the ethno-nationalist rhetoric of late, they can't not carry through.

They had tried to persuade Taiwan that the one country two systems approach would work but after seeing what has gone down in HK and how the CCP reneged on it there, the Taiwanese aren't buying it. Which leaves forceful unification.

To date the Chinese haven't tried it, partially because they didn't have the equipment for it, and partially because they weren't sure exactly what the US would do, given how the US has left it ambiguous. They have build up their forces massively to the stage they could attempt it now. The only obstacle lay with what the US would do, and if the US is falling apart due to the coronavirus, it leaves the CCP with a window to try it, if they are going to do it all.

[Breccia]

I meant an invasion of Taiwan.

Ah.

Wel...yeah, now's the time.

[Forogil]

These are bots. There are hundreds of posts saying the same thing.

Which still doesn't answer the question.

Bots (or humans) can be programmed to amplify a message based on the wishes of the ones controlling them; and thus the question remain - and we have seen such things before. It's like people chanting "Stop the Steal" when law-suits are intending to steal the election.
Bots (or humans) can also repeat a message just to get people to engage in their other messages.

- - - Updated - - -

"moving to Mexico" And you aren't sure?

Well, people chanted "Jews shall not replace us" - while Jared Kushner was the overall fixer.

And in Europe I've heard some anti-immigration politicians talking about moving to countries with stringent immigration policies.

[Kaleredar]

I meant an invasion of Taiwan.

The CCP have made a pretty big deal of how the unification of Taiwan with the mainland has to happen by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, by any means necessary. And given how they have stoked the ethno-nationalist rhetoric of late, they can't not carry through.

They had tried to persuade Taiwan that the one country two systems approach would work but after seeing what has gone down in HK and how the CCP reneged on it there, the Taiwanese aren't buying it. Which leaves forceful unification.

To date the Chinese haven't tried it, partially because they didn't have the equipment for it, and partially because they weren't sure exactly what the US would do, given how the US has left it ambiguous. They have build up their forces massively to the stage they could attempt it now. The only obstacle lay with what the US would do, and if the US is falling apart due to the coronavirus, it leaves the CCP with a window to try it, if they are going to do it all.

Such a move would likely send alarm bells-a-ringing throughout the Asian-pacific nations. I highly doubt that South Korea and Japan would be fond of such a move, let alone the reaction of the world at large, US aside.

And I mean, if such a thing were to happen and the US had to sit it out because of COVID (something I actually kind of doubt would play that majorly into whatever hypothetical geopolitical issue this would cause, especially with a promise of a vaccine and actual competent leadership in the not-too-distant future)... if every other country also sat it out because big brother USA wasn't there to raise a fuss... that's not just on the US, at that point. Every other country would be equally complicit in just letting China do what they want.

If the EU wants to act like it's not currently scrapping with Russia for third place in the effective global power scale totem pole, they might have to be prepared to put up or shut up on geopolitical issues all on their own. Yes, that might include deciding to stand up to China.

Though this conversation appears to be drifting away from Trump.

[Breccia]

A tale in three tweets. Guess who wrote each?

The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud - including dead people voting, Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, “glitches” in the voting machines which changed votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more. Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Translation: The recent statement by Chris Krebs was highly accurate, in that there were no improprieties or fraud, confirmed by all credible 2020 Election officials sworn under oath to be truthful. Therefore, he has been terminated for refusing to lie for me, your #LiarInChief

In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way

[Skulltaker]

That being said, I think most hospitals have tried to find a way to increase their ICU bed total, and they're also still seeing a decrease in non-COVID cases as people are understandably worried about going to/staying in a hospital during a pandemic.

The thing about this capacity is that it's not enough to simply have the space and hardware.

Patients in intensive care need just that, intensive care. It's usually not enough to 'plug them in' and check on them once a day. You need personal to monitor them, and that personal needs training, and that isn't something you can get in a 'boot camp'. Hospital staff working the ICU have recieved years of training and education. Properly administering ventilators is actually very tricky.

[Thepersona]

A tale in three tweets. Guess who wrote each?



Translation: The recent statement by Chris Krebs was highly accurate, in that there were no improprieties or fraud, confirmed by all credible 2020 Election officials sworn under oath to be truthful. Therefore, he has been terminated for refusing to lie for me, your #LiarInChief

In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way

1st: Darth Dotardine

2nd: Jedi Master Luke Skywalker

3rd: Jedi knight... I forgot his name, but he served as an undercover agent in Darth Dotardine's regime.

Edit: the third one is Jedi knight Chris Krebs.