Althouse: At the Wednesday Night Café...

April 15, 2020

At the Wednesday Night Café...

348D9CFA-4E5E-482E-A379-5BB199DE6201_1_201_a

... you can talk all night.

320 comments:

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West Texas Intermediate Crude said...: This entire Chinese virus caper is starting to look like Global Warming, The Sequel.
In both, there is a basic scientific underpinning- the earth is getting warmer, and has been since the end of the Little Ice Age. There is a viral epidemic, still not as deadly as a bad flu season, but may be worse.
The end of civilization as we know is predicted, if we don’t take massive action, right now, despite any scientific indication (not close to scientific proof) that such action will be effective.
The action recommended in both has actually done more harm than the threat.
The action recommended just happens to result is a degree of government control previously seen only in totalitarian regimes.
I have always been a great fan of The Who. Not a fan of WHO, though,
Won’t Get Fooled Again.; 4/15/20, 9:01 PM
rhhardin said...: Scott Adams mispronounces Zeitgeist. Ts, not Z.; 4/15/20, 9:03 PM
Kyjo said...: It’s time to hang the scientists.

US may have to endure social distancing until 2022 if no vaccine is quickly found, scientists predict; 4/15/20, 9:07 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I no longer give a fuck about your sensible reasons for why I should surrender my civil liberties and live under house arrest.

Life free or die!; 4/15/20, 9:08 PM
rhhardin said...: My life is unchanged except that the daily bike ride doesn't go to the store. Scott Adams is thinking that he's going stir crazy. No imagination, is the problem.; 4/15/20, 9:10 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: My life is unchanged except that my choral rehearsals and concerts are canceled, my church can’t meet face to face, my gym is closed down, I can’t have lunch out and chat with people at the local artisan restaurant, I can’t rehearse and jam with fellow musicians, and the governor has just issued an executive order that I have to wear a mask in public.; 4/15/20, 9:14 PM
Kyjo said...: Hang the police, too, and the officials giving them color of law, while we’re at it.

<a href="@raleighpolice: Protesting is a non-essential activity.</a>; 4/15/20, 9:14 PM
Kyjo said...: Damned HTML tags.

@ raleighpolice: Protesting is a non-essential activity.; 4/15/20, 9:16 PM
mockturtle said...: Kyjo suggests: It’s time to hang the scientists.

US may have to endure social distancing until 2022 if no vaccine is quickly found, scientists predict

Who would pay attention to 'scientists' chosen by CNN? There are scientists and there are scientists. And scientists in any field tend to have tunnel vision.; 4/15/20, 9:16 PM
Kyjo said...: @mockturtle, we can limit the mass hanging to scientists who’ve made themselves willful stooges for the vast increase of police powers, if you prefer. That means 99% of climatologists, too.; 4/15/20, 9:19 PM
Narr said...: Virustimulus.

Virustimulu$.

Viru$tim!

"Cousin Scrubby got his Viru$tim today."

Narr
Whaddayasay?; 4/15/20, 9:20 PM
William said...: Given that I live at the very epicenter of a mass extinction event, my life has changed relatively little. I wash my hands more often. I need a haircut. The lines at the supermarket slower and spaced further apart, and prices there are higher. I read less and watch more television. I want to see a physical therapist about an arthritic knee, and good luck with that.....I live in NYC and yearn for the good old days of 9/11. That was a superior disaster. Better pacing and a tighter story arc.; 4/15/20, 9:25 PM
mockturtle said...: I'm glad each state--and maybe each county--will be responsible for setting its level of restrictions. We are not NY, praise God! That said, as most of you know, I've pegged this virus from the start as one that was genetically modified in a lab in Wuhan. And more and more information is backing up that theory. And until we know more about its origins and characteristics, we must treat it as if it is a potentially lethal and maybe unstoppable virus. There is no cure, for example, for HIV, just a lifelong multi-drug therapy to suppress the viral load. There is no vaccine for HIV. So, yes, let's get most of the country back to work & play but let's do it circumspectly.; 4/15/20, 9:29 PM
Buckwheathikes said...: Chris Cuomo, CNN's lead anchor, got into a fight with a fat tire bike guy at a virtually empty lot yesterday.

He was seen with his wife, two children and another woman there, breaking quarantine.

Today, at 10:30pm, we learn his wife is now infected.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/15/us/chris-cuomo-wife-coronavirus/index.html

How long are we going to let these two idiots INFECT OTHER PEOPLE before we take their kids from them, to, you know, stem the spread?; 4/15/20, 9:31 PM
Ken B said...: Today was the worst yet for US deaths, almost 2500, yet nearly everyone here thinks the virus is kaput. Deaths still are growing exponentially. Active case might be, at a lower rate than before, but still increasing.; 4/15/20, 9:34 PM
narciso said...: you really beat a dead horse into tasajo weve been debating angels on a pin all day.; 4/15/20, 9:34 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Shouting Thomas said...
the governor has just issued an executive order that I have to wear a mask in public.

For the children.; 4/15/20, 9:34 PM
Original Mike said...: "Today, at 10:30pm, we learn his wife is now infected."

I wouldn't bet anything of value on that being true. I find it just as likely it's a sympathy play to keep his miserable, highly compensated job.; 4/15/20, 9:36 PM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Talk all night? That what was said about Gueniviere.; 4/15/20, 9:37 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "That said, as most of you know, I've pegged this virus from the start as one that was genetically modified in a lab in Wuhan."

mock, what stuns me is that the US government actually funds that Wuhan lab.; 4/15/20, 9:37 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "Guys, it's snowing outside. It's not like you'd want to have freedom right now anyway."**

-George Washington, Valley Forge

**just kidding. That was Gov. Asshat, (D) MI; 4/15/20, 9:39 PM
Ken B said...: Original Mike
It sounds dreadfully hard hearted and cynical but that was my exact thought. She gets sick just exactly on the day he needs cover! Maybe I will owe them an apology but ... I am skeptical.; 4/15/20, 9:39 PM
Inga said...: Oh my all this talk of hanging and civil liberties. Like peanut butter and jelly, eh?; 4/15/20, 9:39 PM
narciso said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/15/20, 9:40 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: You’re a communist, Inga, and the enemy of all things good and free.

You must be enjoying yourself.; 4/15/20, 9:41 PM
narciso said...: again i ask; 4/15/20, 9:41 PM
Ken B said...: Inga
Not as many Americans died as the worst case scenarios predicted. The denialists are angry and want revenge.; 4/15/20, 9:42 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: Don't see the promised Trumpolians in my account yet. As Vince L. would say, "What the hell is goin' on out here?"; 4/15/20, 9:42 PM
Kyjo said...: No, Ken. Deaths are not increasing exponentially. Look at a logarithmic graph of US deaths. We’re past the inflection point, the curve is flattening. That doesn’t mean there won’t be many more deaths to come—cf. Italy.; 4/15/20, 9:42 PM
mockturtle said...: mock, what stuns me is that the US government actually funds that Wuhan lab.

Yes and, at one time, just a couple of years ago, we had scientists working there but they left due to concerns about the safety of the lab and the competence of some of its personnel. And, as we know, scientific ethics are not high on the list of priorities in China.; 4/15/20, 9:42 PM
Ken B said...: Kyjo
Not the worldometer graph.; 4/15/20, 9:43 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @Ken B

If you’re willing to sacrifice your freedom and civil liberties out of fear of death, you’re a complete piece of shit and you should be shot.

This argument you’re making is an asshole coward argument.; 4/15/20, 9:44 PM
narciso said...: It does seem like sonething out of mission impossible 2, (set in australia) and 3 (partially set in shanghai); 4/15/20, 9:45 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Life free or die, you fucking cowards.

The Michigan rebels have started to fight back.

Think of other ways to fight back. Open your businesses. Use force against government officials who try to shut you down.

Make the bastard tyrants pay.; 4/15/20, 9:45 PM
Ken B said...: Turley had a good post on the Wuhan lab.

I think we are seeing LeBronism at work: rich and famous media people covering for China because the major media companies are all dependent on Chinese cash.; 4/15/20, 9:46 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Yes, Ken B, it’s time to take revenge against low life fucking cowards like you.

If I meet pieces of shit like you in the street, there will be hell to pay.; 4/15/20, 9:47 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Sick(sic) Semper Tyrannis !!; 4/15/20, 9:48 PM
Kyjo said...: Yes, Ken, the Worldometer logarithmic graph shows that we are past the inflection point for deaths in the US. You are wrong.; 4/15/20, 9:48 PM
Ken B said...: ST
Are you brave enough to walk the streets without a mask? Civil disobedience man.; 4/15/20, 9:49 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I’m ready to die, motherfucker, rather than put up with your shit.

And if you have to die first so that I can regain my freedom, so be it.f; 4/15/20, 9:50 PM
Inga said...: “Not as many Americans died as the worst case scenarios predicted. The denialists are angry and want revenge.”

Well they should go out and protest in a huge crowds and get really close to each other and sing songs of freedom and liberty really loud in each other’s faces to prove how they aren’t afraid over a measly little WooHooFlu. The revenge they seek would be visited upon them though. Hope the poor cops don’t get infected though.; 4/15/20, 9:50 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Fuck the authorities. Gov. Cuomo can go fuck himself.; 4/15/20, 9:51 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Die like a fucking commie coward, Inga.

It’s what you deserve.; 4/15/20, 9:51 PM
Ken B said...: Kyjo
Let’s look at the graph on the site
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/; 4/15/20, 9:53 PM
Ken B said...: Worth preserving against deletion.
Blogger Shouting Thomas said...
Die like a fucking commie coward, Inga.

It’s what you deserve.; 4/15/20, 9:56 PM
Drago said...: Ken B: "Inga
Not as many Americans died as the worst case scenarios predicted. The denialists are angry and want revenge."

Ah yes. The reverso-argument is back.

Its the alarmists who are angry and, apparently, willing now to count every single death in the country as a ChiCom Wuhan Lab virus death.

Meh. I'm okay with that. Go ahead and count every single death as a ChiCom flu death.

Time to get the nation moving again.

Ken B, the Canadian, is quite willing to have the US shutter all businesses for the next year or so as well as keep the US at a permanent Trade tariff disadvantage to allow for "open markets", or something.; 4/15/20, 9:56 PM
I Callahan said...: White knight comes into the thread and saves the damsel in distress. How gauche.

Thomas has every right to be angry. Too many people in this country really are cowards and are willing to give up their rights to a government who hasn't gotten anything right through this whole thing.; 4/15/20, 9:58 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "The revenge they seek would be visited upon them though."

How many MS13 immigrants have you welcomed into your neighborhood Inga?

I sure hope its a number > than zero. After all, your policy preferences should definitely be felt by you, no?; 4/15/20, 9:58 PM
Inga said...: “Worth preserving against deletion.
Blogger Shouting Thomas said...
Die like a fucking commie coward, Inga.

It’s what you deserve.”

I do think our Screeching Thomas has finally lost his marbles altogether. He can’t sing his hymns in person for the time being and it’s driven him over the brink, lol.; 4/15/20, 9:59 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Stop being sensible about this shit, stand up like American patriots, and refuse to obey the authorities.; 4/15/20, 9:59 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "I’m ready to die, motherfucker, rather than put up with your shit,
and if you have to die first, so that I can regain my freedom, so be it!"

Dang! That's awesome! A sneering, clenched-teethed Eastwood line. Classic!; 4/15/20, 9:59 PM
Kyjo said...: I snapped a screenshot of the relevant graph from that site and uploaded it to a free image hosting service to document it. At this point you’re either lying, or perhaps you don’t understand what the logarithmic scale is, and how it relates to exponential growth.

Here, again, is the link for the screenshot of the graph: https://ibb.co/kKDbFsY; 4/15/20, 10:00 PM
narciso said...: If we cant bond over tearing the cats movie apart, well the __^_^_^ has won; 4/15/20, 10:00 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: You dumb fucking cunt, Inga, I told you I deposited a $1,000 check in the bank for my work singing hymns over the Holy Week.

I’m not a communist, nor am I a fucking lowlife drunk and commie like you.

I know how to do things you dumb bitch. You don’t.; 4/15/20, 10:00 PM
Inga said...: “Too many people in this country really are cowards and are willing to give up their rights to a government who hasn't gotten anything right through this whole thing.”

Trump is the President last time I looked.; 4/15/20, 10:01 PM
I Callahan said...: I tried explaining exponential before, and apparently it hasn't gotten through.

Here is exponential:

1
2
4
8
16
32
64

This is not:

1
1
2
2
5
5
4
4

Thus endeth the lesson.; 4/15/20, 10:01 PM
Kyjo said...: To head off possible confusion, my comment @10:00pm was in reply to Ken B @9:53pm.; 4/15/20, 10:02 PM
I Callahan said...: Trump is the President last time I looked.

Which has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. The state governments are the ones locking down, not President Trump.; 4/15/20, 10:02 PM
narciso said...: Its like we drifted into one of those ya dystopias like divergent or the maze runnet.; 4/15/20, 10:03 PM
I Callahan said...: According to Ken B, increasing means exponentially. No, it doesn't.

Thus endeth another lesson.; 4/15/20, 10:04 PM
Buckwheathikes said...: " I find it just as likely it's a sympathy play to keep his miserable, highly compensated job."

Yes, but we should take their children from them, you know, just in case. Otherwise, they too might get infected?; 4/15/20, 10:04 PM
Drago said...: I Callahan, you don't understand. Here, let me explain:

Alarmist/Keep America Shut Forever "exponential":

1
1
2
2
OrangeManBad
5
4
OrangeManBad
OrangeManReallyBad
OrangeManReallyReallyBad
OrangeManReallyReallyBadBidenIsntDoing Well
OrangeManInfinityBad; 4/15/20, 10:04 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I’m going to spend the next few days thinking about how I can throw a monkey wrench in the machine.

All’s fair now. It’s war.; 4/15/20, 10:05 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: @Narciso

we'll deal with those effing Cats in due time.
Right now we got bigger fish to fry; 4/15/20, 10:05 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

A poem that always moves me. Thought I would share.; 4/15/20, 10:07 PM
Inga said...: “Which has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. The state governments are the ones locking down, not President Trump.”

Trump supported/supports the mitigation policies of the Governors. Trump listened to the scientists who explained it to him. Trump believed them. The buck stops at the Presidents desk. Trump claims he has “total authority”.; 4/15/20, 10:07 PM
Drago said...: I Callahan: "Which has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. The state governments are the ones locking down, not President Trump."

The lefties, like Inga, were literally celebrating the democrat governors taking charge just hours ago!

And whammo! Here we are again with Trump being in charge of the government.

But when Trump says he has the authority, the Inga's scream No You Don't, The Governors Do!

So Trump says: Okay, have it your way.

At which point the Inga's say: Trump runs the government!

You see where this is going.

History used to reset every 15 minutes for Inga. Now history is resetting at a continuous rate for Inga and her pals.; 4/15/20, 10:07 PM
Ken B said...: Kyjo
The diagram on the site has dots on the curve. There are no dots on your diagram. I won’t cast aspersions. The best evidence is the site itself. If you look on the worldometer site the log graph is still a very good match for a line.

It might be significant that in a dispute about what worldometer shows I say “look at worldometer” and kyjo says “look at this picture I uploaded.”; 4/15/20, 10:10 PM
Inga said...: “Blogger Shouting Thomas said...
I’m going to spend the next few days thinking about how I can throw a monkey wrench in the machine.

All’s fair now. It’s war.”

4/15/20, 10:05 PM

Just in case he makes the news.; 4/15/20, 10:10 PM
Ken B said...: Anne-I-Am
That was written by a poet from my home town. His home is a museum there.; 4/15/20, 10:11 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: The Windhover

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Gerard Manley Hopkins is a challenge. Strange syntax. Difficult metaphors. But lovely, so lovely.; 4/15/20, 10:11 PM
wildswan said...: One reason why there isn't a lot of trouble is that very few states have flu-nazis like Grebchen Witless, the Governor of Michigan, running things. We need to reopen but I am convinced it will happen soon and quite suddenly in rural areas. And it will be strange to come out and hear Dem reporters chattering on like little brooks about how terrible Trump and the Republicans are as if nothing had happened.; 4/15/20, 10:11 PM
narciso said...: Its that apocryphal line 'we had to destroy the village to save it' applyong an untested shutdown protocol to flatline the economy, so as to prevent an epidenmic that doesnt spread that way. Along the way you have scarcity, hyper unemployment probably hyperinflation famine and zombies why not, but thats the logical strategy.; 4/15/20, 10:11 PM
Ken B said...: Inga
I pointed out he could walk the streets unmasked. He is staying home though, to plot bravery.; 4/15/20, 10:12 PM
I Callahan said...: Trump supported/supports the mitigation policies of the Governors. Trump listened to the scientists who explained it to him. Trump believed them. The buck stops at the Presidents desk. Trump claims he has “total authority”.

You know, it would be great if any lefty I've ever come in contact with, could at least make an attempt at consistency. One day Trump is a dictator; the next day he's not, but he should be acting like one, and the next day by agreeing with scientists he's a dictator and it's a good thing.

You really are a loon.; 4/15/20, 10:13 PM
Inga said...: Good news!

“Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt
Adm. Michael Gilday has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who was removed from command after pleading for more help fighting a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.”

NYT; 4/15/20, 10:14 PM
Drago said...: I Callahan (to Inga): "You really are a loon."

Ask her about Carter Page! That's always good for a laugh.

Spoiler: She STILL thinks he's a russian spy.; 4/15/20, 10:14 PM
mockturtle said...: ST proclaims: The Michigan rebels have started to fight back.

We don't all have a tyrant for a governor. And it sounds like VA is using drones to spy on pedestrians. This is totally foreign to us out here in the West. I'm sorry for you if you live in a police state.; 4/15/20, 10:14 PM
I Callahan said...: Ken B - I haven't worn a mask through any of this. Not one single time. Not during trips to stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc.

Does that count?; 4/15/20, 10:15 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Inga, the fucking commie stooge, is glorying in this destruction.

Her stooge friends bragged for the past 3-1/2 years that taking down the economy was the way to get rid of Trump.

Keep up the stupid, Inga. My strategy is not going to be to play into your hands and go down in a blaze of glory, you dumb fucking cunt.

My strategy is going to be to win.; 4/15/20, 10:15 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: I love the line "the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!"

I think Hopkins was exulting in the achievement of perfection by this bird--an overwhelming joy that comes from seeing something done beautifully and perfectly.

Sometimes I have that feeling--when I read a wondrously crafted sentence, poem or paragraph. When a piece of music enters my gut and wells up through my heart. When I see an athlete absolutely at the top of his game perform a perfect and impossible feat. When I see a horse gallop wildly in a field, seemingly just because he can.

I love that some things in this world are capable of what strikes me as perfection. I cannot do those things. But I love them.; 4/15/20, 10:15 PM
Inga said...: “Inga
I pointed out he could walk the streets unmasked. He is staying home though, to plot bravery.”

Ha, I saw some woman in that group of Michigan protestors today wearing a mask, oh her bravery was so moving!; 4/15/20, 10:15 PM
mockturtle said...: ST: Maybe you're drunk, I don't know. But you are behaving contemptibly just because you disagree with someone.; 4/15/20, 10:16 PM
I Callahan said...: mockturtle,

Northam just extended the lockdown til June 10th. A couple days after he signed some of the most left wing legislation in the country; certainly in Virginia's history.

There are a lot of police states right now.; 4/15/20, 10:16 PM
Mark said...: Magnum turns around . . . and sees his wife.

The one who was killed years ago.; 4/15/20, 10:16 PM
mockturtle said...: “Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt
Adm. Michael Gilday has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who was removed from command after pleading for more help fighting a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.”

Inga, this was at President Trump's request, you know.; 4/15/20, 10:18 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "Ha, I saw some woman in that group of Michigan protestors today wearing a mask, oh her bravery was so moving!"

You can laugh, but that woman was literally risking arrest.

And now church attendees who simply want to sit in their cars near each other are also at risk of arrest from Inga's dem pals.

You know who isn't worried about getting arrested no matter how they gather and how they worship?

Islamists.

I wonder why that is?; 4/15/20, 10:18 PM
I Callahan said...: Ha, I saw some woman in that group of Michigan protestors today wearing a mask, oh her bravery was so moving!

mockturtle - the above was a comment by Inga. She hides behind an internet persona and gets away with saying things like the above. I may not condone it myself, but I completely understand ST's anger here.

She's like a mean little kid with a magnifying glass in the sun, burning bugs because she enjoys it. Why our hostess didn't ban her for good is something I'll never understand.; 4/15/20, 10:18 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: @mockturtle

No, I’m not drunk. I’m fed up.

You should be too, and you would be if you were a patriot and not a coward.

The time to be sensible and nice is over.; 4/15/20, 10:18 PM
Drago said...: mockturtle: "Inga, this was at President Trump's request, you know."

Shhhh! Inga's on a bit of a "roll" here........; 4/15/20, 10:19 PM
Ken B said...: I think the protesters in Michigan made a terrible blunder. Had everyone stayed in their cars it would have been really effective. But too many got out and mingled. Those pictures undercut the entire point of the protest, which is the unnecessarily restrictive and stupid rules Whitmer imposed. The protesters have killed any recall dead.

You might not like but you do have to persuade people. This was a fail.; 4/15/20, 10:19 PM
Drago said...: Ken B: "I think the protesters in Michigan made a terrible blunder."

Yes. Canadians often think that way.

"Yeah, well, you aren't from Chicago."; 4/15/20, 10:20 PM
I Callahan said...: Please, enough with the dishonestly, Ken B. That last set of nonsense about Michigan protesters is so incorrect as to be laughable. The streets around the capital were teeming with cars doing exactly what you said didn't happen. A few people got out. And you know what? Good for them.

You were never in their court in the first place, so let's cut the BS.

Someone had to have the guts to get out of their car. That WAS an example set.; 4/15/20, 10:22 PM
Inga said...: “Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt
Adm. Michael Gilday has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who was removed from command after pleading for more help fighting a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.”

“Inga, this was at President Trump's request, you know.”

I’m glad! However this brave man gets his job back is fine with me. He should’ve never been fired. That was a huge mistake. Didn’t sit well with most of the Navy either.; 4/15/20, 10:22 PM
narciso said...: Ah martha smith, who was in tales of the gold monkey (theyve never brought that show back) among other works, it was an interesting story arc like the ivan one.; 4/15/20, 10:23 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Fuck the rules on social distancing.

They violate our right to freedom of assembly.

Those rights don’t get cancelled because you are afraid.

The Michigan protesters did the right thing, and even more aggressive protest is on the way.; 4/15/20, 10:23 PM
Drago said...: I Callahan: "Someone had to have the guts to get out of their car. That WAS an example set."

And that's just the first of what will become many such protests to come if this isn't wound up pretty fast.

The American people, in general (excluding the Inga's of the world) are not the sheep that the Canadians and Europeans are.; 4/15/20, 10:23 PM
Ken B said...: I Callahan
Nor have I. But ST was saying he is now required to in public. So it’s civil disobedience, right? Make them enforce the law.

I think masks make sense in some places and some activities or some people. Crowded places mostly. They should be mandatory on the subway for instance. Not on walking paths.; 4/15/20, 10:24 PM
narciso said...: Five sheriffs have vowed not to enforce these atupid rules from the replicant governor.; 4/15/20, 10:25 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Chuck the whole pile of shit.

The state of emergency doesn’t exist as far as I’m concerned.

Fuck the authorities.

No explanation is needed for this.; 4/15/20, 10:25 PM
Ken B said...: I Callahan
My judgement is that the protesters made a PR blunder. We will see who is right.; 4/15/20, 10:26 PM
cubanbob said...: It's time to end this hysteria immediately. Those at risk and that includes me, need to get out of the way and let the country live.
The Spanish Flu of 1918 killed 675,000 people in this country and the country got on with it. Sweden is acting sensibly and they are no worse off the Germany. If we don't get back to work very soon the economy won't come back for a long time. Once the businesses that get destroyed by the hysteria there won't be any instant replacements. Retail was already softening before the virus and with that commercial real estate was going down. Now this will be going further south at a lot faster pace. The cascade will turn into an avalanche. The longer we wait, there worse it will be. Lending is going to start drying up soon as lenders get squeezed by defaults and the old school tools of looking at yearly financials is backwards looking and projecting forward. The new and coming view is how much you have in current liquidity and what is your projected cash flow. A lot more businesses are now not liquid or barely able to run on cash flow and it's not only the small guys. Mid sized and big boys as well. A lot of people are going to terribly surprised in a few months if this ill founded panic continues. So the smug who are in government, academia or in areas that fancy themselves depression proof are going to realize they aren't immune when state and local taxes start drying up and the layoffs start and so do the pay and benefits and pension cuts. And no, the bond market won't rescue them either as the muni market start drying up when investors see where this road is heading to. A dying economy will kill a lot more people than this virus ever will.; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
Mark said...: I see that Canadian deaths are jacking up in the last few days. They tripled in a week.; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: It’s not about PR.

It’s about your basic God given civil liberties.

Quit rationalizing them away, coward.

If it offends people to exercise your God given civil liberties, well fuck them.; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
Ken B said...: No narcisco, that isn’t right. They have said they won’t enforce them strictly, but will use judgment.; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
Inga said...: “The American people, in general (excluding the Inga's of the world) are not the sheep that the Canadians and Europeans are.”

The American people of Wisconsin, those passive sheep, just elected a liberal Justice to our SC. She won by 120,000 votes. Things aren’t looking good for Trump in the pasture lands of Wisconsin, baaaah!; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
I Callahan said...: My judgement is that the protesters made a PR blunder. We will see who is right.

It's not a matter of whether they made a "blunder" or not. It's a matter of whether you were being honest about what drove that assessment. And you weren't. There were thousands of cars with people in them. Very few got out of their cars. Yet that doesn't factor into your opinion on this.

This is a dishonest take. Just have the stones to admit it.; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
mockturtle said...: There are a lot of police states right now.

People here in AZ [or TX] wouldn't put up with such actions and our governors know that.
And our governors wouldn't impose them, anyway. Yes, we do have many businesses shut down until the end of the month but people are pretty much free to do as they wish, although most of us are taking the precautions seriously.

And it's largely the blue, urban areas with the problem so lets keep them in their blue areas for a while and let the rest of us go about our business.; 4/15/20, 10:27 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "I’m glad! However this brave man gets his job back is fine with me. He should’ve never been fired."

Actually, he should have been fired.

There are navy personnel in prison for violating national security, which this Captain did.

The appropriate action by this Captain would have been to file his complaints and concerns up the Chain of Command and if he did not receive the permission to do what he thought was correct, then he should have resigned as CO of the ship to make a stink about it. If that didn't work, he would then resign his commission and go public.

That's how it works, and its surprisingly effective with officers who possess solid records as any commanding officer of a nuke Carrier would.

But there should never, ever, be 2 sets of rules and punishment slates. That's bad for good order and discipline.

Say that in the future a Petty Officer goes public with concerns about the material readiness of a US combat ship on cruise which exposes a weakness in real time to any potential foe.

I guarantee you that Petty Officer is going to get a big surprise when he's tossed in the Brig, busted a couple of ranks, docked a couple months pay and is sent back home to sit in a cell for 3 months or so before being kicked out.; 4/15/20, 10:28 PM
Ken B said...: Yes Mark. More evidence the virus spreads exponentially.; 4/15/20, 10:28 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "Things aren’t looking good for Trump in the pasture lands of Wisconsin, baaaah!"

Trump has no path to 270 and The Walls Are Closing In.

Again.; 4/15/20, 10:29 PM
I Callahan said...: Things aren’t looking good for Trump in the pasture lands of Wisconsin, baaaah!

Mail in ballots. In other words, cheating.; 4/15/20, 10:29 PM
I Callahan said...: And it's largely the blue, urban areas with the problem so lets keep them in their blue areas for a while and let the rest of us go about our business.

Here's the problem with that on my end: I live in a suburban area that is northeast of one of those blue areas, which means they'd lock us down too.; 4/15/20, 10:31 PM
Ken B said...: Inga
It’s idiotic to look at polls now. The next few months will decide. If a trump handles it well he wins, if not he gets crushed. But no current poll counts for spit.; 4/15/20, 10:31 PM
cubanbob said...: Inga said...

“Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt
Adm. Michael Gilday has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who was removed from command after pleading for more help fighting a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.”

“Inga, this was at President Trump's request, you know.”

I’m glad! However this brave man gets his job back is fine with me. He should’ve never been fired. That was a huge mistake. Didn’t sit well with most of the Navy either."

If that captain is reinstated we might as well mothball our fleet as the Navy won't be worth a damn in combat. If Trump is for putting this captain back in command of the carrier, this would be the impeachable event.; 4/15/20, 10:32 PM
Drago said...: I Callahan: "Mail in ballots. In other words, cheating."

In Virginia, Governor Blackface/Klanrobes just passed a series of measures that extends voting out to 45 days of an election, removes ID requirements and allows for even more provisional ballots.

Now, not only can illegals and out of state students vote without any concern whatsoever of being caught, but they can do it multiple times.

It's why Nancy tried to shove nationwide ballot harvesting into the Virus relief bill. Because that's how you stop a virus: you make it easier to dems to cheat.; 4/15/20, 10:32 PM
Inga said...: “Trump has no path to 270 and The Walls Are Closing In.”

First Evers, now this liberal Justice, won by white Wisconsin suburbia who started voting Democratic in 2018 after having voted for Republicans for decades.; 4/15/20, 10:32 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Shouting Thomas,

You are upset, I see. I am not unsympathetic. Yelling at internet harpies is unproductive, it seems to me.

I just do what I want, insofar as I can.

Went out for a non-group run with friends tonight, here in Oakland. Wouldn't you know, the hare (what we call the person who sets trail) took us up a seemingly endless hill. Up and up and up we went. Then up some more. Running all the way, I marveled at what this old body can do. Clearly not imperiled by the Chinese Lung AIDS. (Probably already had it, no? In Cali?)

We all stood around after drinking our EtOH of choice and eating homemade tamales. Some of us hugged each other.

As I sped past oh so many people out walking (Oakland has never been so active!), I made no effort to socially distance. No mask (have you ever run with a mask?). But then, refreshingly, most people didn't seem to notice or care.

One thing I refuse to do is wait in line to get into the store. Just nothing I want to buy badly enough. Prepper that I am, I already had 6 months worth of food and other essentials in the house. I would like to check out Restaurant Depot, though. It is a restaurant supplier, now open to the public. I saw on the intertubz that is has a 5 gallon bucket of corn syrup. Imagine! That would make an amazing mess.

So, I chafe at the bit as you do, Thomas. And I am intermittently angry. But then I get over it.; 4/15/20, 10:34 PM
Achilles said...: mockturtle said...
ST: Maybe you're drunk, I don't know. But you are behaving contemptibly just because you disagree with someone.

Actually no he is not.

You are a bunch of sheep that do not deserve your freedom.

You freakers are all contemptible. People died for your freedom and you are treating it like it is worthless.

The evidence is overwhelming that this started months ago and all of these deaths are backlogs. Of the 2500ish that died today how many died 2 weeks ago and they just did an antibody test on them?

That total excess death rate for the country is lower right now than in previous years. This is all bullshit.

If you want to live in a police state go right on ahead.

It is time to start shipping tyrants to China. We should give the cowards a chance to go with them.; 4/15/20, 10:34 PM
Kyjo said...: @Ken B:

Here's the graph from Worldometers.info is as it appears on my phone: https://ibb.co/kKDbFsY (note I kept the banner up top showing the website is worldometers.info)

Here's a screenshot of the same graph from the desktop version of of the site, with your dots: https://ibb.co/BrfJt7V.

Here are the figures for daily death increase so far this month (cf. Wikipedia):

2020-04-01 4,746(+25%)
2020-04-02 5,821(+23%)
2020-04-03 7,006(+20%)
2020-04-04 8,359(+19%)
2020-04-05 9,534(+14%)
2020-04-06 10,746(+13%)
2020-04-07 12,674(+18%)
2020-04-08 14,610(+15%)
2020-04-09 16,466(+13%)
2020-04-10 18,544(+13%)
2020-04-11 20,454(+10%)
2020-04-12 21,936(+7.3%)
2020-04-13 23,398(+6.7%)
2020-04-14 25,708(+9.9%)

Here's another visualization of the data just for good measure: https://ibb.co/PWY2xm8

Any way you look at it, we are past the inflection point for cumulative deaths in the US, which means that the deaths are no longer piling up exponentially.

(Comment written on and sent from my laptop, you insuffferable prick.); 4/15/20, 10:35 PM
Drago said...: Ken B: "Inga It’s idiotic to look at polls now. The next few months will decide. If a trump handles it well he wins, if not he gets crushed. But no current poll counts for spit."

Dude! Inga just had her russia collusion Sham-peachment I hoax exposed as a total farce and lie with the FBI/CIA at the center of it, followed by the collapse and exposure of her many lies related to Sham-peachment II - Ukraine-boogaloo, and now, Sham-peachment III is dying before it gets off the ground due to exposure of the lefty lies against Trump being exposed in real time as ploys to protect the ChiComs.

At least let Inga enjoy this moment of "victory" over Trump where Biden still got fewer votes than Trump.; 4/15/20, 10:36 PM
cubanbob said...: Blogger Ken B said...
Inga
It’s idiotic to look at polls now. The next few months will decide. If a trump handles it well he wins, if not he gets crushed. But no current poll counts for spit."

You don't beat something with nothing. And Biden is less than zero. Biden is old, stupid, crooked, mendacious and senile. This is the best the Democrats have to offer. Trump really would have to shoot someone on 5th ave and give a half hour to draw a crowd to lose and even that may not be enough if Biden is the alternative.; 4/15/20, 10:36 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Ken B said...

Deaths still are growing exponentially.

Are they? That's certainly not how the graphs look. They are still growing. But the rate has slowed significantly.

I'm not saying that they wouldn't be growing exponentially if we had not taken the measures we have taken. Those measures are working. Maybe not well enough. Or maybe they are too expensive for the amount of good they are doing. Those points are debatable.; 4/15/20, 10:37 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "First Evers, now this liberal Justice, won by white Wisconsin suburbia who started voting Democratic in 2018 after having voted for Republicans for decades."

I guess its all over then.

What color should the drapes be in the Oval Office when Biden is plopped down on the sofa to eat his pudding?; 4/15/20, 10:38 PM
narciso said...: Ever heard of this place called schwanns that also does take out in bulk.; 4/15/20, 10:42 PM
Drago said...: In other interesting news, Nancy Pelosi just now figured out that her passionate pleading with people on Feb 24th to come on down and party like its 1999 in San Francisco-Chinatown, captured for all eternity on video, was not really a good look considering she is calling Trump a murderer and solely responsible for the ChiCom Wuhan Lab Bat Flu in the US.

So Nancy, who is smart, not dumb, like some people say, but smart, decided today would be a really good day to delete the tweet that memorialized that moment.

Who, pray tell, on Nancy's staff is going to tell her that simply deleting it doesn't really make it go away?; 4/15/20, 10:44 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Maureen Dowd's half-brother, Quasi MoDo,

...Is Back On The Job!!; 4/15/20, 10:44 PM
narciso said...: revenge cam be sweet; 4/15/20, 10:45 PM
narciso said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/15/20, 10:46 PM
Drago said...: In other interesting news, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla has confirmed in a letter that double voting in CA did take place during the democrat primary.

So, as expected, all is going to plan in the Golden State...and everywhere else the dems are running things.

I sure hope those MS13 "kids" are given the free cash and extra ballots they deserve.; 4/15/20, 10:47 PM
Ken B said...: Bliss
I agree the slope is a bit less than in March, before the distancing was practiced everywhere, but the curve itself looks to me to be tracking a straight line pretty well still. It’s the shape not the slope that matters, right, in assessing this question.; 4/15/20, 10:48 PM
narciso said...: Nonconformist, where did that go,; 4/15/20, 10:48 PM
walter said...: We must count the deaths from shutdowns as well as from coronavirus
<
The academics and public-health officials who have concocted models of the virus’s spread are telling us that we have to continue the shutdown to save thousands of lives. It’s too bad none of their models considers the deaths that will be caused by unemployment.

Before the virus hit, America’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, the lowest in 50 years. Now Goldman Sachs predicts unemployment could spike to 15 percent by midyear. A St. Louis Federal Reserve economist grimly predicts 32 percent unemployment — worse than during the Great Depression.

Job losses cause extreme suffering. Every 1 percent hike in the unemployment rate will likely produce a 3.3 percent increase in drug-overdose deaths and a 0.99 percent increase in suicides, according to data from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the medical journal Lancet.

These are facts based on past experience, not models. If unemployment hits 32 percent, some 77,000 Americans are likely to die from suicide and drug overdoses as a result of layoffs."; 4/15/20, 10:50 PM
mockturtle said...: Railing at forum commenters rather than taking it to your dictatorial officials who are the root of the problem? Pretty bold stuff, I'd say. /s; 4/15/20, 10:55 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Calvinball. You must remember we are playing Calvinball.

The rule was: Flatten the curve. The curve is flattened. Even NYC never reached capacity.

New rule: No deaths! No more infections! Or, perhaps more honestly: More control for the freaks who find ecstasy in controlling the minutiae of other people's lives.

More important even than having the mask removed from the petty tyrants who run our states, cities and towns, is the revealing of the good little Germans among us. Those who call the police, who inform, who badger others to quit doing anything that hints of a refusal to comply.

The boot stomping on Winston's face might well have belonged to his next-door neighbor.; 4/15/20, 10:55 PM
narciso said...: Mccaughey was one of the only regilar reporters that called out hillary care in 1993 death panels in the stimulus bill in 2009, the huntress popularized it, so when she tells you something stinks pay attention; 4/15/20, 10:56 PM
Original Mike said...: I'm going to regret this…

"It’s the shape not the slope that matters, right, in assessing this question."

Really? So a horizontal line would tell you what?; 4/15/20, 10:56 PM
narciso said...: Yes those groups are reminiscent of the blic committees my parents fled.; 4/15/20, 10:58 PM
Ken B said...: If that were the new rule there wouldn’t be plans for staged reopening. But there are. The question is, can we reopen without undoing the good done? Not an easy question to answer and the answer will be different in different states. And dependent on what testing can be done and how full hospitals are.; 4/15/20, 10:59 PM
mockturtle said...: Mulling over a run for President: Mark Cuban [Independent] and Justin Amash [Libertarian].; 4/15/20, 11:00 PM
narciso said...: What are those questions no one was asking.; 4/15/20, 11:02 PM
Ken B said...: Original Mike
That you are deliberately missing the point. The line doesn’t have 0 slope, the question is what is the second derivative.

It would also be exactly exponential growth though, exponent 0, to answer your question as if it were a serious question.

The point is that as long as the data is following a line it is exponential. If it’s upwards it’s growing.; 4/15/20, 11:02 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Here's a thought. How much Is Joe Biden benefiting from this myopic focus on the Panic! He has a credible accusation of rape--forcible penetration of a woman's vagina with his fingers. Yet we have media crickets. Or excuses being made for why the media is ignoring it.

This is a man who has been photographed numerous times making creepy moves on women. Now a staffer has accused him of sticking his fingers in her vagina.

Are the suburban white woman who took to their fainting couches over Trump going to shun Biden over this? I wouldn't bet on it.; 4/15/20, 11:03 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Data ARE.; 4/15/20, 11:05 PM
narciso said...: great pillow coverage; 4/15/20, 11:05 PM
Ken B said...: Data WERE but now IS. It’s like pants.; 4/15/20, 11:07 PM
Charlie Currie said...: I'm so old I remember when, my body, my choice was in vogue.; 4/15/20, 11:07 PM
Inga said...: “Justin Amash [Libertarian].”

Amash is an interesting guy, but I think he’d take votes away from Trump more than he’d take them away from Biden.; 4/15/20, 11:08 PM
Original Mike said...: "If it’s upwards it’s growing."

Yes, it is growing.

"That you are deliberately missing the point."

I'm "deliberately" missing the point? I see why others say you do not discuss in good faith.; 4/15/20, 11:08 PM
Charlie Currie said...: When the hunger games begin I want Shouting Thomas on my team.; 4/15/20, 11:08 PM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: Good take on the role of WHO.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/really-china-centric-case-asia-has-become-who-centric/

I have a Taiwanese friend and he was amazed at the lack of seriousness with which we entered this battle.; 4/15/20, 11:08 PM
lb said...: Anne I am...exactly right. Enlighting to see who is reveling at the economic destruction as well. It’s easy to say stay locked down when your job is government funded ,,my teacher friends think this is hunky dory. I guess the silver lining is seeing the true character of certain people..regardless of outcome there are several people that I wouldn’t pour a cup of water on if they were on fire..a few commenters here included.; 4/15/20, 11:09 PM
Ken B said...: A scene I don’t remember from Star Trek TNG
“I am Data. My pronouns are they, them.”; 4/15/20, 11:10 PM
Drago said...: Ken B: "The question is, can we reopen without undoing the good done?"

Notice how there has apparently been zero "bad" that has been done.

Certainly nothing worth addressing.; 4/15/20, 11:11 PM
Inga said...: “Enlightening to see who is reveling at the economic destruction as well.”

Who is reveling in economic destruction?; 4/15/20, 11:12 PM
Ken B said...: Original Mike
I gave you credit for knowing the rules of exponents. If you did not, I apologize. Did you?; 4/15/20, 11:12 PM
DavidUW said...: Tis a strange plague indeed where actual weekly deaths from all causes including the plague are running 10% below the multi year average. Fluhan saves lives. We should all catch it.

Source: the cdc’s own numbers on their site.; 4/15/20, 11:15 PM
Original Mike said...: That's a base-10 semi-log plot. You read the exponent off the slope.; 4/15/20, 11:17 PM
Dr Weevil said...: I just left this as a comment at Ace of Spades, but it needs to be here, too, with the number in the first sentence appropriatley adjusted:
"Over 150 comments and no one has mentioned that Trump stopped dying his hair orange and fake-tanning his face (also orange) today, and suddenly looks much more distinguished and statesmanlike with gray hair and average white bland complexion. Thomas Wictor, now calling himself 'Carlos Osweda' to get around the Twitter ban, has the evidence: link. He thinks it's a declaration of war on the Democrats.
(I wish I'd put it in writing so I could prove it, but I've been telling friends for a month or two that I like to think that on the day he's reelected he would appear for his victory speech with grey hair, with a shiny bald head instead of the implausible combover, and with ordinary untanned complexion, and that that would be the signal that he could just do his job without having to fool his enemies into underestimating him by playing the clown. Looks like I was right on two points out of three, but totally wrong about the timing. Has he decided that he doesn't need to fool his enemies any more, he can crush them openly starting right now?)"; 4/15/20, 11:17 PM
walter said...: Those stats in above above don't include domestic violence, violent crimes, murder.
Maybe our public sector "servants" in charge should be presented with rice bowl considerations tied to revenues.; 4/15/20, 11:17 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Well, where I swim, data are.

And I am no math whiz, but I don't see how any curve with a slope greater than 0 is "exponential." But you said, an upward curve is exponential. A mathematical progression is not exponential. Linear progression is not exponential. Geometric is not exponential.

I get older every year. If I plot my age versus time, it is an upward curve, sadly. But it isn't exponential.; 4/15/20, 11:17 PM
Mark said...: I've never seen the whole story arc, much less the whole series, but I never knew that Michelle Magnum was Ilsa Lund.; 4/15/20, 11:19 PM
Drago said...: ARM: "I have a Taiwanese friend and he was amazed at the lack of seriousness with which we entered this battle."

Unbelievable.

The Taiwanese were the ones screaming the loudest at the earliest and the ARM-supported WHO, completely owned by the ChiCom's, shut the Taiwanese down.

Within the last 72 hours, WHO Ethiopian Marxist Party leader Tedros again praised the ChiCom's, approved the reopening of the Bat Soup Flu wet markets, and attacked Taiwan!

It's really especially galling that a ChiCom suckup like ARM who supports Beijing and the Beijing controlled WHO, which spends so much time attacking Taiwan, would use a Taiwanese anecdote to attack the US.

Again.

Just look at what that POS Tedros has been up to (ARM, don't read this as these have not been pre-approved for you by Beijing):

"Taiwanese officials on Thursday strongly denied allegations from World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that it was linked to a racist smear campaign against him.

Tedros, a former Ethiopian health and foreign minister who is the WHO’s first African head, said at a Wednesday press briefing in Geneva that Taiwan’s foreign ministry was responsible for threats and racist abuse he has received in recent months."

"China has accused Taiwan of “venomously” attacking the World Health Organization (WHO), seeking independence and conniving with internet users to spread racist comments, after the agency’s chief said racist slurs against him had come from the island."

We've reached the point where its just ChiCom propaganda 24/7 from ARM.; 4/15/20, 11:19 PM
Mark said...: Sorry, but you can throw the numbers in the trash now that they are included estimated and presumed deaths.; 4/15/20, 11:20 PM
Charlie Currie said...: Today, my wife and I received our Trump Cash, or as my buddies say, High Performance Auto Parts Stimulus Funds.; 4/15/20, 11:21 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Drago,

Could you edit my user profile? ;-); 4/15/20, 11:21 PM
Drago said...: Inga: "Who is reveling in economic destruction?"

"Economic meltdown gives Democrats new hope in Texas"

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/13/economic-meltdown-democrats-hope-texas-184613

Oh, I don't know, democrats maybe?

Normally, the democrats keep their gloating over economic misery to themselves, but every once in awhile they forget to keep it hidden.; 4/15/20, 11:21 PM
mockturtle said...: I agree with Anne-I-Am: Data are. But just as most today--even those in the media--say media is instead of are, the toothpaste is out of the tube, so to speak.; 4/15/20, 11:22 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Charlie Currie,

I did not receive a check. The good news and the bad news all in one. I have no complaints.

My 21 yo son, who lives with me, did receive his. He promptly ordered a chicken sandwich. Thankfully, my nagging pushed him to put most of it in his savings account. He desperately needs a new-to-him car. I promised to help him, because he drives an unsafe, gas-guzzler. But how to buy a car now?

More unintended consequences.; 4/15/20, 11:22 PM
Drago said...: Anne: "Drago, Could you edit my user profile? ;-)"

Well, as you might have surmised, I like bubblegum, kickin' a** and editing user profiles, and right now I'm all out of bubble gum and quite tired from all the a**es I've kicked, so perhaps I could find the time.; 4/15/20, 11:23 PM
Drago said...: Here's another one for Inga:

"Comedian Bill Maher on Friday said he "really" wished there was another economic recession, arguing such an event would ruin President Trump's chances of winning reelection." -Aug, 2019

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/456942-bill-maher-roots-for-recession-so-that-trump-loses-in-2020

And he ain't the only one.

But I keep forgetting that all of these occurred more than 15 minutes ago so Inga can't remember them.; 4/15/20, 11:25 PM
narciso said...: I hadnt thought out of that way, but youre right even more in michael walshs attemor at a sequel 'as times goes by'which goes in to all their backstories. Blaine was a gamgster and left wing activist. Lazlo was of course a resistance leader, and major renault has a twist as well.; 4/15/20, 11:25 PM
mockturtle said...: Today, my wife and I received our Trump Cash, or as my buddies say, High Performance Auto Parts Stimulus Funds.

As did I. Mine is trickling down to my children and grandchildren, who have things like mortgages and car payments.; 4/15/20, 11:25 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: Drago,

I grow tired of the circle jerk here on the evening salon. How refreshing last night was, with no Chinese Lung AIDS perseverating.

No lectures on math from a Canadian. No harpy in a screaming match with a shouting man at his limits. This was not fun, and I think I shall go away in search of more uplifting fair.

But I will check back.; 4/15/20, 11:25 PM
walter said...: We had an incident outside Waukesha Memorial hospital ER(originally reportedly seeking treatment) today that looks like suicide by cop. We'll see.; 4/15/20, 11:25 PM
DavidUW said...: That’s why I’m going with total deaths

You’re either dead or alive

Total deaths are 90% of normal or down 10% despite this terrible new Black Death.; 4/15/20, 11:26 PM
Rory said...: Completed Season 7 of Barney Miller, with Inspector Luger having some great moments. On to Season 8.; 4/15/20, 11:27 PM
Drago said...: DavidUW: "Total deaths are 90% of normal or down 10% despite this terrible new Black Death"

That just won't do for our Alarmist amigos here. They need deaths. Lots of them. And they need them to be laid at DJT's feet for 2 primary reasons: Defeat Trump and protect the ChiComs.; 4/15/20, 11:27 PM
Ken B said...: Original Mike
Then I was right, your question was a bad faith gotcha attempt. You knew the answer to the question.; 4/15/20, 11:27 PM
Drago said...: I really don't know what I else I can do. I've already agreed to count every death in the US in 2020 as a ChiCom Wuhan Lab Bat Flu Virus death so our alarmists could feel better about themselves.

I think that's about as far as I'm willing to go to advance their self-esteem.; 4/15/20, 11:29 PM
narciso said...: Somehow i never caught on to that show. I remember it; 4/15/20, 11:29 PM
Big Mike said...: Are you brave enough to walk the streets without a mask? Civil disobedience man.

@Ken B., wife and I took a long walk through the neighborhood. Met several other couples. None of us wore masks. All of us passed each other with at least ten feet of separation. One neighbor let her big ol‘ black Lab run to the end of its leash so I could pet him. Safe enough, I think.

And people who are skeptical about the current level of risk imposed by COVID-19 are not “denialists” — it’s that you’re an alarmist.

@Anne-I-Am, data IS. In modern usage the word is a collective noun, like crew or flock or herd.; 4/15/20, 11:31 PM
Mark said...: Now worldometers and Johns Hopkins are showing two different death counts.

Just what we need -- unreliable numbers.; 4/15/20, 11:33 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: confessions of a frustrated patriot:

"I’m going to apologize for my tone tonight. I just see freedom being trampled on at every turn and people who have been frightened into handing it over and it makes me weep. Truly. Sorry I was harsh."

confession of a petty, overreaching tyrant:

Tucker Carlson asks New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy where he got the authority to nullify the Bill of rights when he banned religious services in his state:

"I wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this..."; 4/15/20, 11:33 PM
Drago said...: Mark: "Now worldometers and Johns Hopkins are showing two different death counts.

Just what we need -- unreliable numbers."

Just take the larger number, add "exponential" to the description, and count every death in the nation as a ChiCom flu death.

Problem solved.; 4/15/20, 11:34 PM
Ken B said...: I gave up on plural data ages ago. And singular really makes more sense, since when you are looking at what “the data show(s)” you are talking about what the collection considered as a whole shows, not what each datum in isolation shows; it’s a subtly different thing from just being a plural. It’s more like “scripture”. You have individual books of scripture, and they can be referred to in the plural as scriptures, but if you view them as a whole, then you can say “scripture tells us”.; 4/15/20, 11:34 PM
narciso said...: What we need more of in this world is real faith, 'which is belief in what isnt (reeadily seen' the faith community seems to be a little weak on that.; 4/15/20, 11:35 PM
Drago said...: Ken B: "I gave up on plural data ages ago"

I think you meant to say: I gaves up on plural data ages ago.; 4/15/20, 11:35 PM
Original Mike said...: No it wasn't, Ken. I entered this discussion when you said,""It’s the shape not the slope that matters, right, in assessing this question.".I don't know what point you're trying to make.; 4/15/20, 11:36 PM
Drago said...: "Tucker Carlson asks New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy where he got the authority to nullify the Bill of rights when he banned religious services in his state:

"I wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this..."'

Lets not kid ourselves. No one in NJ is checking in on the mosques. Period.; 4/15/20, 11:37 PM
narciso said...: What was that line from degaulle when he asked if they stocked the french constitution, 'mssier we dont stock periodical literature'; 4/15/20, 11:37 PM
Mark said...: If you don't need the money, give the check to someone or some organization that does.

Or just go ahead and spend it all. It is not intended to be put into savings. That doesn't help. Getting the life blood of the economy moving through the commercial body is what helps.; 4/15/20, 11:37 PM
Anne-I-Am said...: De gustibus non est disputandum.; 4/15/20, 11:38 PM
Ken B said...: Big Mike
I guess you didn’t understand my remark about masks. I don’t wear one btw. ST was screaming he was going to defy authority, and that he is now required to wear a mask in public. I pointed out he has a simple way to practice civil disobedience. It was mockery, since ST won’t do squat.
I am not remotely alarmist. I take risk management seriously. You can see lots here denying the virus is any kind of threat at all. Anne said so explicitly. That’s denial.; 4/15/20, 11:40 PM
Mark said...: Re: Barney Miller

You know, it struck me a long time ago that in a lot of those shows from 70s and 80s, the places where they were set were really, really dingy and dirty. None of them look bright and clean.; 4/15/20, 11:40 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: I received no "stimulus" check.
But the feds took over a thousand bucks from my checking account today. I filed my taxes in early February & told them to deduct my owed taxes from my checking account on April 15th. In theory, I now have until July 15th to pay the amount due, but in reality it is not easy to stop the feds from dipping its hand into my account once I have set up the transaction.
But I am not complaining. My 403B is down about 6% since January 1st. I'm not doing badly at all. I coincidentally moved a lot of money from growth stocks to money market in january. This was because I was planning on retiring in July, I had no idea the virus was going to tank the market.; 4/15/20, 11:40 PM
Big Mike said...: We need to reopen but I am convinced it will happen soon and quite suddenly in rural areas.

Here in Virginia our governor came on TV and announced he’s extending his executive order to May 8th. A message has to be sent to the SOB’s party this November.; 4/15/20, 11:41 PM
Mark said...: Nah, close, but not really. Faith goes beyond mere "belief."; 4/15/20, 11:42 PM
narciso said...: But it is more than what isnt seen. The media is intent on telling us everything is over, and you must sacrifice every principle if ypu are to survivem; 4/15/20, 11:44 PM
eddie willers said...: Here in Virginia our governor

Renamed Governor Klansrobe Blackface by Tucker Carlson.; 4/15/20, 11:45 PM