Althouse: "How could the president's address to the nation include so many false statements about the issue that's been gripping the country and the world?"

March 12, 2020

"How could the president's address to the nation include so many false statements about the issue that's been gripping the country and the world?"

My son John asks (on his blog).

109 comments:

Francisco D said...: Trump did not direct us to a web-site so that we could inspect the details and nuances = false statements.

Really John?; 3/12/20, 1:30 PM
chuck said...: Summary, there isn't much to complain about.; 3/12/20, 1:32 PM
effinayright said...: Would it have made your son any happier if Trump had said, "If you like your health, you can keep your health"?; 3/12/20, 1:32 PM
Unknown said...: Because they are not false,; 3/12/20, 1:34 PM
Nonapod said...: Both Trump's biggest strength and weakness is communication abilities. As usual, he speaks far too carelessly and cavalierly when relaying significant information. For example, the whole insurance companies waving copays for "treatments" versus "testing". I generally try to defend Trump when I feel he's being unfarily attacked by the mdeia (which is far too often) but I can't defend that screw-up. The only thing I'll say is that I doubt it was a deliberate "lie" (because... why would he do that?) but rather a glib misreading.

He could have outlined the Euro travel ban thing a bit more clearly too.; 3/12/20, 1:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Riding with Biden; 3/12/20, 1:43 PM
Nichevo said...: Better question is, what makes him think that?; 3/12/20, 1:44 PM
Ken B said...: Your son routinely blocks critical comments. There is no point discussing things with someone so closed minded.; 3/12/20, 1:44 PM
Stephen said...: Maybe its time for you to retire the Trump rhetoric euphemism and create a new category, Trump falsehoods. It's really not appropriate to keep soft balling your critiques of Trump or outsourcing them to others, especially when you have recently been trashing Biden so hard.

Contrast this with Biden's speech of today, which was substantive, responsive to the facts on the ground, and appropriately empathic. To be sure, it's two old white guys reading from a teleprompter, but the difference in substance and tone is very striking.; 3/12/20, 1:45 PM
madAsHell said...: "If you like your doctor, then you can keep your doctor!"

"Not a smidgen of corruption."

"30,000 emails concerning yoga, and Chelsea's wedding"

I could go on......; 3/12/20, 1:46 PM
Anonymous said...: It was a 9 minute speech, no?

Seems like a they should have proof read it a lot better.; 3/12/20, 1:49 PM
bbear said...: Sorry to say it but this is a very childish post. Haaretz is a left-wing Israeli paper (similar to the Grauniad in the UK) almost nobody over there reads. Available in English, though, if you see what I mean. Evidently your son doesn't know the Boston Globe (bastard child of the NYT) is part of the hate-Trump cabal. He ought to try the Boston Herald instead...

Far as blocked European countries, restrictions on travel will apply to foreign nationals who have been in the countries of the Schengen Area in the 14 days prior to their arrival in the US....

The Schengen Area is 26 European countries that includes: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland...

I read the full text of Trump's speech, thought it was okay. Reassuring, which is what he's supposed to do...; 3/12/20, 1:51 PM
Jerry Goedken said...: If Trump said the sky was blue, someone would find a cloud and call him a liar. Someone else would do a spectral analysis and find 0.5% red and green and call him a liar. Good grief. His address was a high level announcement and discussion, full details to be made available.; 3/12/20, 1:51 PM
roesch/voltaire said...: Because he is Trump?; 3/12/20, 1:51 PM
Curious George said...: "In a way, having Trump as America's #1 communicator seems worse than having no president at all."

Plus, he's not gay.; 3/12/20, 1:53 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: From the link:

"In a way, having Trump as America's #1 communicator seems worse than having no president at all.'

Then, the first jaltcoh response to a question there:

"In light of Trump's mistake-ridden speech last night, I would rather have President Joe Biden or President Bernie Sanders, even though they were far from my first choice."

An answer to better communication would be Biden.

Okay.

I support you in your freedom to draw this conclusion.

I am Laslo.; 3/12/20, 1:54 PM
narciso said...: well the boston globe was probably the first mistake,; 3/12/20, 1:54 PM
Balfegor said...: Something went very wrong in the preparation of his remarks. It would be one thing if he were speaking extemporaneously, as he often done, but he seemed to be reading a script. And that script was simply wrong about the nature and extent of, e.g., the travel restrictions on Europe. Not sure who was responsible for drafting or QC, but they clearly fell down on the job. And one would have hoped that the President would have a better grasp of exactly what travel restrictions were being imposed, so that he could catch the error.; 3/12/20, 1:55 PM
Ken B said...: I will reply here.

“All” is not a lie. Everyone understands it is an approximation. This is an example of hunting for a pea under a pile of mattresses. Does the Globe or JAC expect Trump to read the executive order on air? It sure looks that way, since they complain what he said was “not exactly his plan”. Anything less than the full executive order would be “not exactly his plan.”

The Globe makes a prediction about medicines. That their prediction differs from Trump's does not make Trump's a lie. This is a fundamental dishonesty on the Globe's part. Predictions are not facts, least of all politically loaded predictions.

Trump did misstate about co-pays. This was quickly corrected. It was not a lie if it was meant to deceive. A quick correction suggests to me it wasn’t.; 3/12/20, 1:57 PM
Oso Negro said...: Buttigieg! Buttigieg would do it right.; 3/12/20, 1:58 PM
Kevin said...: What would John do differently? Specifics, please.; 3/12/20, 2:02 PM
Ice Nine said...: "How could the president's address to the nation include so many false statements about the issue that's been gripping the country and the world?"

Said John Althouse Cohen, after listing, whoo, *three* (after correction) such statements -- that were of minuscule consequence at best. Let me guess, this guy is a Trump-hating Lefty, right?; 3/12/20, 2:04 PM
Dave Begley said...: JAC:

That's an exceedingly weak bill of particulars. Trump is no lawyer when he speaks. The gist of his message is correct.

And let's quibble about whether the UK is part of Europe or not.

The facts are the EU screwed up and didn't cut off travel to/from China early like Trump did. And everyone in the EU can move freely about the Continent.

JAC's post and the Boston Globe is classic TDS and Fake News. I expect way better from JAC; son of Ann Althouse of cruel neutrality fame.

This type of shit only leads to more Trump distrust hatred and trust.

The Left is predicting 100k dead Americans and 70% of Germany infected. Only 38 dead in the US so far. Probably more people shot in Baltimore in a month.; 3/12/20, 2:08 PM
Tomcc said...: It's a fair question. Brevity is important, but one could add a few more explanatory sentences for clarity.; 3/12/20, 2:10 PM
minnesota farm guy said...: Boy, oh Boy. Talking about picking a few nits while ignoring the significance of actually taking the step of stopping travel from a Europe that can not possibly control the spread of the virus. John is displaying his TDS while doing the same for his lack of intellect.; 3/12/20, 2:14 PM
Michael K said...: this guy is a Trump-hating Lefty, right?

Guess so, glad I don't pay any attention to him.

The craziness is going more exponential than the virus.

Even Kasich couldn't get a word in.; 3/12/20, 2:15 PM
MartyB said...: Are these *false* statements or rather, "non-precise" statements that don't get into all the details. (i.e. "all" really means "most", "all treatments" means "all testing")

Clearly the president's words "antiviral therapies available in record time" does not contradict "will be available soon", but that's not what he said, so this one is a complete straw man.

The "trade" contradiction looks to be clearly a case of the president mis-reading the statement and adding an "only".

So, while "lack of clarity" is a reasonable criticism, to characterize these are "lies" or outright false seems to me to serve no real purpose.; 3/12/20, 2:18 PM
Stephen said...: Wake up folks. John Althouse-Cohen, a thoughtful moderate, is calling out something very real and deeply troubling.

Here's an even more powerful statement of the problem from David Remnick, in the New Yorker, quoting two leading public health authorities:

Recall, since the start of the coronavirus crisis, the litany of bogus assurances, “hunches,” misinformation, magical thinking, drive-by political shootings, and self-stroking:

“We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

“By April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

“The Obama Administration made a decision on testing that turned out to be detrimental to what we’re doing . . . ”

“We’re going very substantially down, not up. . . . We have it so well under control. I mean, we really have done a very good job.”

“As of right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test [can have one], that’s the thing, and the tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect—the transcription was perfect.”

“They would like to have the people come off [the Grand Princess cruise ship, off the coast of California]. I would like to have the people stay. . . . Because I like the numbers being where they are.”

Physicians and public-health officials told me, as they have told many other journalists, that they are dispirited by the President’s public pronouncements, saying that he has added to the danger of the crisis by minimizing its scale and the need for rigorous precautions. Has there ever been a less serious President?

Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told me, “We need the President to put the well-being of the American people before his reëlection. And that requires open discussion and accurate information so that we can, along the way, condition people to what’s coming next, not to pretend that this is not a serious threat and they should just continue life as usual. His interest in being reëlected is in conflict with the truth and people’s best interests.”

Trump, Mina went on to say, “sees downplaying the threat as a way to look good. He can say all the words he wants, but that won’t change the biology of this virus, which will spread unabated unless we take the proper steps.”

Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard’s School of Public Health, told me, “It is just false and unproductive to say that things are under control, and it is false to say that anyone should go to work with a ‘minor’ case of the virus. . . . One thing you can say is that federalism is our friend. There are top-notch people in state and local health departments. They are very capable and put out good information.”; 3/12/20, 2:19 PM
minnesota farm guy said...: Ann, Why don't you send John this piece which includes the text of the presidential order so that he doesn't get a hernia trying to condemn Trump's actions.. Of course letting facts and actual data get in his way would be asking too much for such an immature partisan.

Don't censor me!; 3/12/20, 2:20 PM
Dave Begley said...: JAC, "How could the president's address to the nation include so many false statements?"

How could the plaque on the statue of John Harvard in Harvard yard contain so many false statements?; 3/12/20, 2:22 PM
n.n said...: Trump did misstate about co-pays. This was quickly corrected.

That's probably the only legitimate criticism. The other one was in response to people's criticism of selective exclusion of travelers from known terrorist sanctuaries, and the loud braying about regulating trade with China to compensate for, among other things, labor and environmental arbitrage.; 3/12/20, 2:24 PM
Gusty Winds said...: Trump implements China travel ban Jan 31st. Liberals (Biden, Schumer) call it an overreaction and Xenophobic. Trump takes reasonable measures including travel restrictions from Europe, and it’s again....Xenophobic.

The virus and panic will calm by Summer. The stock market will come back.

The only Leader NOT playing politics with this is President Trump.; 3/12/20, 2:25 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Honestly.

This is the time to come together and deal with the threat.

Griping about details--and these ARE details--is not helping.

Listening to the public health authorities and taking care of anyone who could use your help is.; 3/12/20, 2:26 PM
narciso said...: a lie would be pretending the flu didn't originate in china,; 3/12/20, 2:26 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: Wow - prefer Biden and Bernie over Trump!!! That tells me a lot about his politics.

I guess we will see if the nation agrees in November.

My take was it was very hard emotionally for Trump to give this speech. He did not want to give this speech, but felt he had to.

And the mistake that were high lighted are minor. What is much more important is Trump with this speech communicated that Coronavirus is major.; 3/12/20, 2:26 PM
narciso said...: the fact checkers are in fact lying or distorting by omission,; 3/12/20, 2:28 PM
Jim at said...: Wake up folks.

Why? So your long-winded, TDS-infected post could put me back to sleep again?; 3/12/20, 2:28 PM
rehajm said...: I'm so glad both parties have resoundingly rejected the insufferable demands of the millennials...; 3/12/20, 2:29 PM
robother said...: Honestly, when the White House announced that Pence was in charge of the effort, I had hoped that Pence would be making these announcements. Trump's strong points are rallying political support for his agenda. This is pure governance, requiring the kind of nuance and precision that a governor like Pence understands.; 3/12/20, 2:31 PM
Clyde said...: Nitpicking.; 3/12/20, 2:32 PM
Ken B said...: Dave Begley
“ I expect way better from JAC”

I invite you to expand your experience of the man by posting criticism on his blog.; 3/12/20, 2:34 PM
minnesota farm guy said...: @ Steve - and JAC - make an effort and read this.

An excerpt:
"On January 30th while Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and Chuck Schumer were literally trying to impeach President Trump; on that very day President Trump was assembling a task force in advance of his authorization for HHS Secretary Alex Azar to declare a proactive national health emergency.

On the exact same day the Senate was debating whether to call more witnesses for the Senate impeachment trial, the newly assembled Coronavirus Task Force was holding a press conference to outline: in accordance with the national health emergency declaration, at 5:00 p.m. EST; Sunday, February 2nd, the U.S government would implement temporary measures to increase detection & containment of the coronavirus proactively."

That the MSM did not cover this does not mean it did not happen.; 3/12/20, 2:36 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: This is coming from someone who considers pot legalization one of the vital issues of the day.

And btw, I'm still waiting for my $2,500 Obamacare benefit.; 3/12/20, 2:43 PM
Michael K said...: There are top-notch people in state and local health departments. They are very capable and put out good information.”

AKA Trump haters. Isn't it a shame that these people are using this crisis to politic for Democrats ?; 3/12/20, 2:48 PM
Michael K said...: For "Stephen";

“If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively."; 3/12/20, 2:50 PM
narciso said...: we don't introduce viral clusters, like William walters did into at the outset, one tries not to expand the reach of the outbreak,; 3/12/20, 2:50 PM
Michael K said...: For "Stephen";

“If one assumes that the number of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic cases is several times as high as the number of reported cases, the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%. This suggests that the overall clinical consequences of Covid-19 may ultimately be more akin to those of a severe seasonal influenza (which has a case fatality rate of approximately 0.1%) or a pandemic influenza (similar to those in 1957 and 1968) rather than a disease similar to SARS or MERS, which have had case fatality rates of 9 to 10% and 36%, respectively."; 3/12/20, 2:50 PM
hstad said...: Blogger Stephen said...Wake up folks. "...John Althouse-Cohen, a thoughtful moderate..."

When you start your arguement with this propoganda you've outed yourself as a TDS nut!; 3/12/20, 2:51 PM
Nichevo said...: If we're having a National Emergency now over this coronavirus, can President Trump please declare a moratorium on plastic bag bans? I can't think of anything both more annoying and germaphilic then reusing old paper and cloth bags as many times as you can.; 3/12/20, 3:04 PM
hombre said...: The Media Matters troll list weighs in. Thanks, Stephen.

Presumably, you won’t be calling any Democrats on their lies. Yes, I know. These are sooo important. How many times have Dr. Fauci, et al, had to take to the airwaves to correct leftmedia lies.; 3/12/20, 3:07 PM
Nichevo said...: If you think that the coronavirus is a specious acute excuse to return to the use of hygienic, practically sterile plastic bags, dedicated to single use of the consumer, imagine how much waste must be generated in the treatment of this virus, just all the wet wipes they hand out in supermarkets now.; 3/12/20, 3:08 PM
roesch/voltaire said...: MK- In Italy, roughly 3% of the confirmed number of cases ended in death as of Monday. But the number of new cases jumped early Tuesday to 270, so that has the mortality rate now at 2.6%.; 3/12/20, 3:15 PM
Big Mike said...: John Althouse-Cohen, a thoughtful moderate

Two lies in “thoughtful moderate” alone.; 3/12/20, 3:20 PM
Dan said...: Hyperbole may not kill us all but it is making us sicker.; 3/12/20, 3:20 PM
Rabel said...: From JAC a week ago:

"The worse coronavirus gets, the more sense it makes for Joe Biden to be the Democratic presidential nominee.

Why? 2 reasons:

1) Biden is uniquely credible because he has experience from when the Obama administration dealt with Ebola.

2) The risks of huge numbers of people coming to the US from everywhere else in the world are becoming more and more salient. This could put voters in a mindset where they’re not so disturbed by Trump’s hardline views on immigration. They might still think the administration has sometimes been inhumane. But they might deprioritize their empathy for masses of people from other countries, and give more weight to the health of their own families, coworkers, etc. In that context, it wouldn’t help Democrats to nominate someone who’s recently made statements that will strike many swing voters as too lenient on illegal immigration. The very fact that Biden was attacked so much in the primaries over the millions of Obama deportations means he’ll be less vulnerable to attacks from Republicans in the general over immigration."

Well, as to reason 1 - whatever, John.

As to reason 2 - I've got a lot of respect for JAC, but that's just silly. You could pull a muscle with a stretch like that.

Perhaps his overreaction today to the "lies" in Trump's speech is in part due to Trump's action in minimizing the travel risks in an aggressive manner which it seems JAC would have supported - before Trump actually followed through. This left him flat-footed and looking for a way to criticize Trump for doing the right thing.

That sort of scrambling is quite common on the never-Trump right.; 3/12/20, 3:22 PM
Stephen said...: Micahel K.

Your quote doesn't cite the source, so its hard to judge. On certain assumptions, it is certainly possible that the fatality rate will be lower than my argument suggests. But on other assumptions, it could also be higher--much higher if hospitals become overloaded and are unable to provide optimal care.

A really thoughtful interview with a mathematician who studies infectious disease presents his best estimate of a range of .5 to 2.0 deaths per 100 cases--that is, between 5 and 20 times more deadly than the seasonal flu. My 10X number is well within that range.

The article and analysis are below.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/health/coronavirus-deaths-rates.html; 3/12/20, 3:28 PM
hombre said...: The Boston Globe, CNN and Haaretz? Seriously?

Does it matter whether Trump said “all” European countries or “26” European countries? And didn’t Cuccinell immediately clarify the applicability to US citizens. Do any of these “lies” make me, or anyone more or less safe.

Will John feel better if Trump cans the person who wrote the speech?

If Trump got it all correct And also announced truthfully that he personally invented a cure, would John vote for him? LOL.

It’s all the same old nit picky bullshit!; 3/12/20, 3:29 PM
hombre said...: Lucky the Biden folks have Honest Joe to fall back on.

Watch: https://videos.whatfinger.com/2020/03/05/in-just-20-secs-biden-lies-on-video-about-degrees-he-has-grades-law-school-honors-this-is-the-democrat-to-face-trump/; 3/12/20, 3:35 PM
bagoh20 said...: "How could the president's address to the nation include so many false statements about the issue that's been gripping the country and the world?"

John proves it's not hard at all.; 3/12/20, 3:38 PM
Otto said...: "That sort of scrambling is quite common on the never-Trump right." JAC is not a never-trump right. He like his mom are 60 liberals to the core.; 3/12/20, 3:44 PM
walter said...: We need to consider what message we send to the world.
Surely, electing the gaffe-tastic, mush mouthed angry outburst prone Biden is the ticket.; 3/12/20, 3:47 PM
Chris of Rights said...: Your son is clearly suffering from advanced TDS, if the truly thinks that such minor details are worth getting in a snit about. Has he not realized yet that Trump is not a details person?

Exhibit B of his descent into derangement is his comment that he'd rather have Late Stage Dementia Joe or Commie Bernie as President than Trump. I suggest that if you believe either of those would be better for America than Trump that you have, at best, a tenuous grip on reality. And yes, I know that come November, 60 million people or so will vote for one of those people. That doesn't make my statement any less true.; 3/12/20, 3:47 PM
walter said...: "2) The risks of huge numbers of people coming to the US from everywhere else in the world are becoming more and more salient. This could put voters in a mindset where they’re not so disturbed by Trump’s hardline views on immigration."
You mean illegal immigration. I know..feels icky to say.; 3/12/20, 3:52 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: There are no balanced assessments of anything left. This is what I got out of Trump’s speech.
1. He will put America and Americans, including legal permanent residents first.
2. He will respect the efforts of the UK and Ireland because they have retained legal control over their borders.
3. He asks Americans to work together for the common good in overcoming this challenge.

Does anyone dispute this message?

Aren’t John’s criticisms a little inconsequential?; 3/12/20, 3:54 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: I appreciate a mother trying to push traffic to her son's site. She can not be cruel or neutral when her son.

JAC hates Trump and prefers Biden's tone but disregards the reality that Biden would have introduced many more Covid-19 cases into the US. I guess JAC thinks more dead people is a good thing? Or maybe he hasn't thought it through, the judgement thing.

Biden is pretending he's already president and decided it is beneficial to fan the flames of discord and panic and then attack Trump because so many Democrats are panicking. Completely shameless and irresponsible, imo putting party and self interest over country and the public welfare. Unforgiveable. Oh yeah, also Joe thinks the US should take over managing the pandemic worldwide, not that any country asked us for that.

Apparently none of Biden's character flaws and errors in judgement are significant compared to the fact that Trump didn't specify which European countries are exempt from the travel ban. Not enough detail!! Terrible!!!

Kind of absurd and childish commentary, not worthy of serious consideration. JAC a nice mom though.; 3/12/20, 4:11 PM
Rabel said...: "JAC is not a never-trump right."

I didn't say that he was.; 3/12/20, 4:12 PM
Ken B said...: Amadeus 48
Yes JAC disputes them. Or rather he disputes those are good goals. Scroll up to where rabel quotes him.; 3/12/20, 4:16 PM
Rabel said...: I just scored on a 4-pack of Scott single-ply.

Make me an offer!; 3/12/20, 4:18 PM
narciso said...: haaretz is nearly as rabid against Netanyahu, who is trapped in israeli ground hog day, with te rule of the prosecutors, and the joint list,; 3/12/20, 4:23 PM
Michael K said...: Your quote doesn't cite the source, so its hard to judge.

Fauci is not a "source?" That quote was Anthony Fauci. I thought it included his name.; 3/12/20, 4:26 PM
Ken B said...: I was wondering if covid would finally kill the open borders push. I think it is clear the answer is no.; 3/12/20, 4:26 PM
Michael K said...: Here is the source for the Fauci statement.

Moderation makes it hard to comment.; 3/12/20, 4:29 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Joe or Bernie could do it better? That’s a lie!; 3/12/20, 4:35 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Sounds like JAC has serious case of TDS. And sees himself as a big brain like his Mom who actually has a big brain.; 3/12/20, 4:55 PM
MountainMan said...: A couple of things:

1. When I heard of the flight restrictions on Europe I automatically assumed "Europe" meant "EU" due to Schengen. I guess it would have been more accurate to say "European Union" but in recent years the terms have become almost synonomous.
2. I would think that people would realize that none of the flight restrictions would apply to US citizens returning to their own country.; 3/12/20, 4:58 PM
PJ said...: There may be reasons why a President would wish, in March of an election year, to downplay the significance of a public health threat by making false statements and unreasonably optimistic predictions. But how could winning reelection in November be among them? By election day, everyone will know that the statements were false and the predictions overly optimistic. Plus, by hypothesis, lots of people will be dead. That’s supposed to ensure the incumbent’s reelection? Or . . . Donald Trump’s political instincts are so bad he thinks he’ll win reelection that way? I don’t think Michael Mina and Commenter Stephen really believe either of those things.; 3/12/20, 5:10 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: After the Russia Russia Russia lie and the impeachment lie (among many others) I find it astonishing that anyone with a thread of moral integrity would want to reward the democrat party.; 3/12/20, 5:14 PM
Greg the class traitor said...: Blogger Stephen said...
Wake up folks. John Althouse-Cohen, a thoughtful moderate, is calling out something very real and deeply troubling.

0 for 2 there, Stephen

Yes, somewhere between 0.5 and 2.0% death rate is reasonable. Yes, that's more deadly than the flu

But it's not even close to a "civilization ending threat".

Completely shutting down civil society and most production for multiple months, OTOH, WOULD be a civilization ending response.

So, let's keep perspective here, ok

Something the commie loving JAC clearly has failed to do; 3/12/20, 5:21 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: The good news with Biden is we won't actually have Biden - we'll have the Clinton behind the curtain.; 3/12/20, 5:31 PM
Iman said...: As tough as this is to write, it may be time for you to socially distance yourself from your son.; 3/12/20, 5:33 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I am curious why the H1N1 virus of 2009 wasn't this big of a deal.
Lots of people got sick. Lots of people died.

I don't recall Obama being pressed to solve it over-night.

You too can google the Swine flu/ H1N1 statistics:

Here they are:
CDC

From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 DEATHS (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus.; 3/12/20, 5:33 PM
madAsHell said...: Methinks the turnip truck hit a pothole.; 3/12/20, 6:23 PM
Achilles said...: I just posted this on your son's blog. It will likely be deleted.

John Althouse Cohen said...
I deleted a long, rambling comment with various mischaracterizations of this post,

You could deal with the mischaracterizations and let the posts stand side by side.

Or you can delete them.

One of these is the path your mom takes.

The other is the path of tyrants and weaklings.

Given that your post is just a long series of mischaracterizations by the Boston Globe I know we will never see this post here.

Your mom wont delete it on her blog though.; 3/12/20, 6:46 PM
daskol said...: Rule: anyone who puts forth an already disqualified candidate like Biden, who disqualified himself with his first campaign ad, is himself disqualified. Also lol @ America being better off under Biden because he had some experience. Yeah, he had experience pretending to be a Vice President while Obama was playing President in their very own version of West Wing. But Biden didn't do anything. He didn't even pick his own staff.; 3/12/20, 6:49 PM
Achilles said...: Ken B said...
Dave Begley
“ I expect way better from JAC”

I invite you to expand your experience of the man by posting criticism on his blog.

You know criticism will get deleted.

Until JAC grows up.; 3/12/20, 6:51 PM
pacwest said...: Contrast this with Biden's speech of today, which was substantive,

You mean the one where he said Trump was doing it wrong and then proceeded to tell us that what he would do were the same things that Trump is doing? You mean that speech?; 3/12/20, 7:21 PM
ken in tx said...: I didn't vote for Trump, but I don't hate him. I expect him to over generalize and he did. Other than that, I thought his speech was OK. He has experts to go into all the 'ifs, ands, and buts'. They did.; 3/12/20, 7:53 PM
rcocean said...: Opinions you don't like - aren't lies.
Ambiguous comments you misinterpret -aren't lies.
Mild exaggerations - aren't lies.'
Optimistic words - aren't lies.

And there's absolutely No way that I want Joe Biden, who's going senile, in charge of anything.; 3/12/20, 7:57 PM
Ken B said...: 4 comments right now, 9 pm edt, over at JAC. Three are from JAC about rejecting comments. This is not how discussions happen. If you think a comment has mischaracterized you explain why.; 3/12/20, 8:16 PM
elkh1 said...: He read a prepared statement. Question: who prepared the statement to set him up?; 3/12/20, 8:16 PM
Ken B said...: Elkh1
No, that won’t do. He is responsible for the statement. The buck stops here. But the only thing actually wrong was the quickly corrected bit about copays. The rest is the Globe and JAC's motivated reasoning on display.; 3/12/20, 8:42 PM
Jaq said...: You see this in a lot of pundits. The day they throw in with a cause and stop calling ‘em like they see ‘em. Like Michael Tracey on Twitter who was so good until he decided to line up behind Biden.; 3/12/20, 8:59 PM
Doodad said...: Maybe Trump will become an overnight Dem and proclaim," The sky is falling we're all going to die!" That should fix America good.; 3/12/20, 9:15 PM
Doug said...: Hostess's son like so many of his ilk - out gay pundits that decide if someone is on their side (celebrates degeneracy), or not. Fail to celebrate gaygaygay means a person is evil and always wrong. Must be destroyed by any means necessary.

And seriously - BIDEN? Kid, you are either clueless or evil.; 3/12/20, 9:39 PM
wbfjrr2 said...: Sorry Althouse, I often disagree with you but respect you. Cruel neutrality or not.

But, sadly, I don’t respect nor will I link to your son. He’s already just another media hack. Internet media hack. Which means a dishonest narrative pusher. Regardless of the actual truth of the matter.

Meanwhile untold numbers of ordinary not at risk schmucks are losing their retirement savings and/or jobs because for the media, getting trump in any way they can, including creating a health panic, is just fine.

Disgusting people. With zero accountability.; 3/12/20, 10:52 PM
Big Mike said...: @Doug, clueless for certain. He’s probably never worked for a competent manager a day in his life, so he has no idea what actual leadership looks like.; 3/12/20, 11:02 PM
Stephen said...: Michael K.

It is really a pleasure to be in dialogue with you.

No, you did not identify the source originally. But I very much appreciate knowing that Fauci is the source, and I also appreciate your appending the full link. It looks as though its well worth reading, but I am overloaded with information right now, so I am going to hold off. I do note two things, though. One is that Fauci's quote is presented as a possibility, one might call it the lower bound of plausible estimates for mortality. It definitely does not state that this is the actual expected mortality, and I am guessing that Fauci's original text actually explores upper bounds as well.

The second thing is that the linked text itself expressly considers the likelihood of much higher mortality rates, including that in Korea, which is 7X times that for the seasonal flu.

You are a physician, I believe. Based on this, wouldn't you agree that the prudent assumption for planning purposes, and pending better information, should be that this disease is both much more lethal and more contagious than the seasonal flu, particularly if the number of cases rises to the point where there are not enough ventilators to deal with acute respiratory distress?; 3/12/20, 11:53 PM
DeepRunner said...: Cruel neutrality, I guess, as Althouse calls her approach...and Jaltcoh? Meh...; 3/13/20, 12:05 AM
chickelit said...: I stopped commenting over at JAC's place a while a ago for good reason. I'm surprised he persists.; 3/13/20, 2:26 AM
Ken B said...: Achilles
"You know criticism will get deleted."

Exactly my point. Let Mr Begley learn from experience just how JAC handles disagreement.; 3/13/20, 2:31 AM
Silly Calabrese said...: Three out of four comments on linked post are... by the author of the post. That man has a lot of growing up to do.; 3/13/20, 6:27 AM
Tina Trent said...: Sorry to say this here, but your son doesn't seem to know much about the way the CDC operates or the way emergency powers are portioned. Nor does he seem to understand that just because the New York Times and its sisterhood says Trump didn't do anything doesn't mean it's true.

We would be in a world of hurt if Trump had not banned travel from China, and it's delusional to pretend that any Democrat or most Republicans would have taken that step. That alone gave us precious time to prepare. The test kit stuff is a mess, but that mess falls entirely on the CDC, which has the very same leadership it had under Clinton, Bush and Obama. I'm pretty shocked by it, but having some familiarity with the agency, I think they've experienced some damaging mission-creep which reinforces itself because it's a big bureaucracy stocked with ambitious bureaucrats lording it over the real medical staff.

The travel ban on Europe is another courageous tough decision. Jon should read more widely, to say the least. As I've mentioned, the Bannon Pandemic podcast was prescient and is stocked with experts. Real experts, not show pony talking heads.; 3/13/20, 6:28 AM
David Begley said...: I posted my comment on the JAC blog, but it hasn’t made it through moderation yet.; 3/13/20, 6:32 AM
Tina Trent said...: Also, David Remnick is an embarrassing Obama fetishist, even among Obama fetishists.; 3/13/20, 6:35 AM
Cato said...: False statements? What false statements? This reminds me of Juan Williams yesterday. He had nothing.; 3/13/20, 7:26 AM
bagoh20 said...: If JAC was a minor, this post would be child abuse.; 3/13/20, 8:27 AM
mtrobertslaw said...: That JAC would rather have Joe Biden than Trump in charge of dealing with the coronavirus demonstrates how the TDS can seriously harm the rational part of the mind. There can be no doubt about that. The only question is whether this damage is permanent even after the TDS fades away.; 3/13/20, 9:32 AM
Amadeus 48 said...: Did Althouse post this to provide a forum for comments on John's post?

It seems like it.; 3/13/20, 10:25 AM
jg said...: I find that ambitious professional moderates such as JAC are extremely susceptible to the elites+suckups' piling-on against Trump. It's groupthink.; 3/18/20, 1:43 AM