April 14, 2020

Chris Cuomo is feverish as hell and he's not going to take it anymore.

All because a biker confronted him when he was out of his house while infected with the coronavirus!
When the biker confronted him, Cuomo said he’d wanted to respond, getting heated when he detailed how the guy “didn’t know the rules” and how he’d made sure to take social-distancing measures.
NO! Social distancing isn't enough when you actually have the virus! Cuomo was endangering everyone, perhaps thinking the rules don't apply to him because he's a celebrity.
But “here I am in an almost powerless position against this asshole because I’m a celebrity and he’s allowed to say whatever he wants to me. And I have to take it or he’s gonna call the New York Post and lie about something and then I’m going to have to deal with it,” Cuomo continued.

The anchor then alluded to a caught-on-tape incident last August, when he launched into a profanity-laced rant against a man who called him “Fredo.” “I have to tolerate people’s opinion about me because I’m a public figure,” Cuomo said. “I don’t want to do that, I don’t think its worth it to me.”
He's arguing that he can't have the freedom a non-celebrity has — the freedom to get into an angry  confrontation with a stranger. Out of fear that the biker guy — that "jackass, loser, fat tire biker" — would go to the press and report the shockingly bad behavior, Cuomo chose to rant about the entire experience on the air and to go on about how he hates his job:

“I don’t want to spend my time doing things that I don’t think are valuable enough to me personally,” Cuomo said. “I don’t value indulging irrationality, hyper-partisanship... I don’t like what I do professionally... I don’t think it’s worth my time.... I’ve saved my money and I don’t need it anymore... I want to be able to tell you to go to hell, to shut your mouth… I don’t get that doing what I do for a living. Me being able to tell you to shut your mouth or I will do you the way you guys do each other.”...

[H]e doesn’t want to spend his time “trafficking in things that I think are ridiculous.” Like “talking to Democrats about things that I don’t really believe they mean” and “talking to Republicans about them parroting things they feel they have to say.” He also wants to stop analyzing the president, “Who we all know is full of sh-t by design.”...

“I don’t think its worth it to me because I don’t think I mean enough, I don’t think I matter enough, I don’t think I can really change anything, so then what am I really doing? I’m basically being perceived as successful in a system that I don’t value... I’m seen as being good at being on TV and advocating for different positions… but I don’t know if I value those things, certainly not as much as I value being able to live my life on my own terms.”
Don't let the I'm-mad-as-hell-and-I'm-not-going-to-take-it-anymore outburst about the news-show business distract you too much. Maybe his feverish brain is out of whack, maybe his criticisms are genuine and sincerely outraged, but the real story here is that he had the coronavirus and he went outside anyway. He got caught, and he wanted to shut up the guy who caught him, and he was frantic because he couldn't stop the guy from telling the world. He didn't have an un-famous person's choice of methods to silence him.

He goes on TV — because he has a TV show — and he insults the guy, calls him a "jackass, loser, fat tire biker." What made that guy a loser? What made him a jackass? And by the way, did Cuomo body shame him — call him "fat" — or was the man riding a fat tire bike?

ADDED: I think Cuomo's problem with being famous is that he's recognized in public, so when he does anything, people know that's Chris Cuomo doing it, and the press is interested. And I think he connected that biker incident to the idea that his job isn't "worth it" because he — rightly! — feared that it was going to cost him his job. He was getting into the you-can't-fire-me-I-quit position.

AND:



IN THE COMMENTS: Ron Winkleheimer asks: "Didn't Dr. Nancy Snyderman lose her job on NBC for violating her quarantine during the Ebola crisis?" Answer: Yes.
Dr. Nancy Snyderman, the veteran TV-news medical correspondent who was caught violating the terms of a self-imposed quarantine after being potentially exposed to the Ebola virus last year, said she would step down from her job at NBC News.

“Covering the Ebola epidemic last fall in Liberia, and then becoming part of the story upon my return to the U.S., contributed to my decision that now is the time to return to academic medicine,” Snyderman said in a statement provided by NBC News.

162 comments:

gspencer said...

Isn't this the second public outburst that Fredo's had in the last 6 mouths, the first being the one where Cuomo was called (rightly so) "Fredo?"

But to listen to Fredo, it's always the other guy who's in the wrong.

Buckwheathikes said...

"I don’t think I matter enough, I don’t think I can really change anything, so then what am I really doing? I’m basically being perceived as successful in a system that I don’t value... I’m seen as being good at being on TV and advocating for different positions… but I don’t know if I value those things, certainly not as much as I value being able to live my life on my own terms.”

Dear Chris,

Hate to break it to you bro, but you don't matter that much. You don't have the power or the intellectual capacity to change anything. Nobody outside your little bubble of paid sycophants perceives you as anything but a sell-out loser. You're not "good on TV" you're just on TV. Being on TV don't make you a "celebrity." I've seen single YouTube channels of girls putting on makeup that have more views than all of CNN's daily output of DNC agitprop.

Here's the thing. You're not smart, like everybody around you says. You clearly cannot handle things.

Feel better bro. Quit CNN. Go do something useful with your life. Before you end up on that dreary gray fishing trip.

Anonymous said...

"........perhaps thinking the rules don't apply to him because he's a celebrity" Perhaps? Wasn't threatening to beat up someone that called him "Fredo" enough to establish he thinks that?

Shouting Thomas said...

Gotta agree with Cuomo that being a media celebrity is a creepy business.

That’s what he chose to do.

tim maguire said...

Fredo is as Fredo does.

Big Mike said...

Cuomo was endangering everyone, perhaps thinking the rules don't apply to him because he's a celebrity.

Also, his brother and daddy are really, really important politicians.

Besides, silly little things like rules and laws don’t apply when you’re ab important Democrat. So I honk his issue is that his big brother doesn’t have to abide by the rules so he shouldn’t either. Something like that.

campy said...

Is there such a thing as a "tire biker" which could be modified by "fat"? I don't think so.

stevew said...

Chris, consider this old observation and see if it applies to you:

"If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole."

RMc said...

That spinning noise you're hearing is Mario, in his grave.

tim maguire said...

[H]e doesn’t want to spend his time “trafficking in things that I think are ridiculous.” Like “talking to Democrats about things that I don’t really believe they mean” and “talking to Republicans about them parroting things they feel they have to say.”

As usual, love the blindness to his own bias. He doesn't “really believe” the Democrat means it (but maybe the Democrat is sincere), but the Republican, no If’s, and’s, or but’s, is a dumb animal mindlessly repeating the words he’s been trained to say with no idea of the meaning behind it.

I have no doubt Cuomo is proud of himself for criticizing both sides.

Mr Wibble said...

I assume that "fat tire" means that the guy wasn't a "real" biker because he didn't have some fancy road bike. He was just some schlub out for a ride, or trying to get somewhere.

Roy Lofquist said...

It's a shame that "asshole" has lost most of its sting because of overuse. Perhaps we could call him the quintessential asshole.

Fritz said...

Regression to the mean.

Paul Snively said...

Just as there are people who, temperamentally, shouldn't be teachers, there are people who, temperamentally, shouldn't be "news" reporters. Chris Cuomo fits the description in spades.

Bruce Hayden said...

Yesterday I saw a segment that Tucker Carlson did on the children of Dem politicians getting into top colleges. It started with Fredo constantly pumping iron wherever he seemed to be. Fredo who apparently got into Yale because his father was NY Governor. He was the poster boy of attending top schools despite probably having SATs hundreds of points below those of those competitively admitted. And, of course, he has his anchor job because his brother is now the governor.

daskol said...

Andrew Cuomo was on Howard Stern yesterday, and after slobbering all over Cuomo for a while, Stern got into the personal questions. The most surprising line of questioning that Cuomo actually picked up was about his little brother: Andrew is 13 years older than Chris, who was a babe when his father was still running NY State and campaigning to keep the job. Meanwhile Andrew was dad's campaign manager, and to hear him tell it, somewhat of a surrogate father to Chris/Fredo. Andrew admitted it was tough on Chris basically being left at home without his father, who wasn't really around much for his son. It takes a family to make a Fredo.

wendybar said...

Chris Cuomo is the definition of Elite out of touch Media

Original Mike said...

"Me being able to tell you to shut your mouth or I will do you the way you guys do each other.”...

This guy has a very strange view of the world.

Bob Boyd said...

Cuomo probably went out meet his dealer and it sounds like he scored.

JMR said...

Was the biker on a bicycle or a motorcycle? I have heard of fat tires, at least in the context of bicycles and a brand of beer, so maybe he was accurately describing this guy's mode of transportation. Whatever the case, nobody is forcing him to be a news anchor; if ever there was a time to reflect on your life and make changes, this would be it, but not for Chris Cuomo, it seems.

Bob Boyd said...

Maybe he's been binge-watching The Sopranos.

Steven said...

I can't get too upset with Cuomo over this.

The lockdown is futile. Cases were leveling off before the lockdown started and it's already spread so far that it can't really be stopped. It's not going away, it's just saturating. Vaccines are years away, so how long are we going to torture ourselves with lockdowns?

It's also brought out the busybodies like that biker. I feel like my neighbors are no longer friends but more like the secret police. In the long run, that's a bigger problem for society than the virus is.

Anyway, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be, but I look forward to when we finally give up and get back to work.

Ipso Fatso said...

It would be great if Tucker or someone tracked down the guy that confronted Fredo and interviewed him. That would be interesting.

MacNab said...

Does biker mean bicycle or motorcycle?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Never forget, journalists are stupid rich kids who couldn't get into law school.

David Begley said...

“ I don’t like what I do professionally...”

Quit, Fredo. We don’t like you.

daskol said...

Oh, Fredo was definitely talking about one of those "fat tire" bikes, not a biker but a cyclist, and not just a cyclist but a cyclist on a goofy bike.

Breezy said...

He said the president is full of it then basically admitted he is also full of it...

Matt Sablan said...

I wonder if the biker confronted him BECAUSE he's Cuomo who is normally the one trying to tell people how to behave, or if the biker is normally a scold?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Didn't Dr. Nancy Snyderman lose her job on NBC for violating her quarantine during the Ebola crisis?

Bob Boyd said...

Cuomo's a little depressed. He has the Chinese lung clap, he's trapped in his house, he knows his network's largest audience demographic is service animals trapped in their crates in airport departure areas and now the bottom has fallen out of even that.

Some Seppo said...

Like China, Chris Cuomo is asshoe.

daskol said...

Never forget, journalists are stupid rich kids who couldn't get into law school.

Ouch: my wife spent several years in journalism until she went to law school to make an honest living. But she's smart, not dumb like everybody says Fredo is. A lot of journalists also went to law school, btw. And Chris Cuomo could certainly have gone to law school, a very top one, if he'd wanted.

Ann Althouse said...

To those of you who are *asking* about the "Fredo" incident: It's discussed in the post!

Ann Althouse said...

"I assume that "fat tire" means that the guy wasn't a "real" biker because he didn't have some fancy road bike. He was just some schlub out for a ride, or trying to get somewhere."

I assume it's because they were on the beach. Try riding a "fancy" road bike on sand.

It happened in Southampton — a beach town where Cuomo has a house.

Ann Althouse said...

Rich people with a house on the beach feel possessive of the public beach that abuts their land and I have a feeling they especially hate the people who blow through on bikes. That's what leaked out in the "fat tire" part of the insult. Without fat tire bikes, you wouldn't have "assholes" biking across "your" beach.

rhhardin said...

NO! Social distancing isn't enough when you actually have the virus!

Physics is mysterious to women, but rules are not.

It depends on where he was and what he was doing, which doesn't seem to be explained.

iowan2 said...

Oh, Fredo was definitely talking about one of those "fat tire" bikes, not a biker but a cyclist, and not just a cyclist but a cyclist on a goofy bike.

I am not a cyclist. However, my neighbor is. He is a Fat Tire cyclist, Bicycle built a little stronger, with fat tires! He rides gravel roads. Does long trips with camping gear. He'll ride a couple hundred miles on a week end. Destinations, county, and local parks that don't have paved road access, or have "back door" entrances that entail miles of winding gravel, and dirt roads, along rivers or valley floors. Not sure why that would be a disparaging slur, unless you consider yourself an elitist, with your sleek 18 speed that weighs 6.5lbs, thus better than the crude fat tire grunt.

rhhardin said...

I have a fat rear tire on my bike. It's matter of the first tire in the pile when I have to replace one. This one is a treadless 2", which was going to be a problem on snow and ice, except we didn't have any snow or ice this year so it's still on the bike.

Fat tires have a much higher rolling resistance than high tech tires, but work on grass better. You'd need really really fat tires for sand.

Wince said...

For a guy who doesn't want to be thought of as "Fredo", Cuomo sounds a hell of a lot like Fredo.

"I'm smart and I want respect!"

I don’t want to do that, I don’t think its worth it to me... I don’t want to spend my time doing things that I don’t think are valuable enough to me personally... I don’t value indulging irrationality, hyper-partisanship... I don’t like what I do professionally... I don’t think it’s worth my time.... I’ve saved my money and I don’t need it anymore... I want to be able to tell you to go to hell, to shut your mouth… I don’t get that doing what I do for a living. Me being able to tell you to shut your mouth or I will do you the way you guys do each other..."

Temujin said...

"And I have to take it or he’s gonna call the New York Post and lie about something and then I’m going to have to deal with it,”

He has spent years dishing out shit on people and sounding much worse than those politicians he described in generalities. He got enormously wealthy doing this. It is the path he chose, but did not have to struggle to achieve. He's the son of the former almost-Camelot Governor Mario, and current Governor, Andrew. And lookie here, while Chris is on CNN nightly having to swim through the muck on the bottom of the pond that is CNN, his brother is receiving high marks from the Rotten Tomatoes critics of politics. Andrew bests him again. Andrew is going to be Veep candidate. Chris is crawling on the bottom with the crawfish and slugs.

And Chris is stuck doing videos of himself doing push-ups. Getting verbally cold-cocked by strangers on bikes. He's got Covid. He's holed up at CNN or a high priced apartment on the upper East or West side. And he's pissed off about it. He deserves better dammit! I am Chris Cuomo, Dammit!

We live the life we choose to live.

Ann Althouse said...

The class conflict here is delicious.

Here's a piece, "Day Trip: Biking In Southampton On The Cheap."

"This 13.5-mile Southampton route map, which you can view on your smartphone using the MapMyRide app, will guide you from the Southampton rail station, to the beachfront and village. It’s a flat and easy ride, but the roads are narrow in some places and distracted driving can be a problem in the Hamptons, so ride single-file and remain alert to motorist around you. If your time is limited, and your sole objective is to lounge on the beach, rack your bike in the parking lot of Cooper’s Beach off Meadow Lane (see “P” on the map). The pavilion there has restrooms, water to fill your bottle, and take-out food service with tables and chairs on the deck. Before or after your beach stop, a good option is to ride the length of Meadow Lane, a narrow peninsula projecting west. You’ll be wowed by the opulent beachfront homes on the south side of the road, where you’ll also find additional, more secluded public beach access points, and by the wetland views of Shinnecock Bay on the north side. The peninsula ends at Shinnecock Inlet, where you’ll need to turn around."

Look at the map. What a cool ride for anyone who wants to drop in. Put it on your bucket list! How annoying to the people of the "opulent beachfront homes"!

M Jordan said...

The Cuomos are bullies and simians. Guess that plays well in their world.

Ann Althouse said...

And you can get a "fancy" fat tire bike. I always buy a Trek bike, and they've got this one for about $5,000.

Ann Althouse said...

So the bike guy rides up and spots a celebrity. The celebrity is already antagonistic to all the bike people who think they can blow by on "his" beach. And then the bike guy has the temerity to call him out, just for being outside — maybe even in his own yard (or "his" part of the beach). Celebrity flips out. I'm rich and I can't enjoy what I bought!

Shouting Thomas said...

I often reflect on how fortunate I am to be a nobody living on a decent but not opulent income in retirement.

Nice little garden apartment on top of a mountain. Not much maintenance involved. My days to myself to play music, ride my bicycle and play with my grandkids.

Like just about everybody else, it seems. I wanted to be rich and famous when I was young. Had brief bouts of fame and fortune, but discovered that that life entailed giving up my privacy and solitude.

Wasn’t worth it.

Bob Smith said...

Dear Freddo: You got your lucrative gig because of your brother. You eat because Andy is the Governor. Get over yourself .

PS. There’s an a**hole here but it’s not the biker.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Cuomo is a weird dude.

Buckwheathikes said...

The whole problem here is that Chris Cuomo thinks that he's a celebrity. But he's not. If he was a celebrity, the guy on the fat tire bike would have asked for his autograph. Instead, he got in his face for being a public health menace.

And not for nothing, but I'm not convinced Chris Cuomo actually has Caronavirus. I think it was a stunt that he is now realizing has backfired because you can't fake illness in a desperate attempt to garner ratings and then go about your normal Southhampton life like you used to. Pipsqueaks on their fat tire bikes are going to get up in your face about it and since you're a giant pussy, you can't really do anything about it.

I sense a miracle cure in Cuomo's immediate future.

Fernandinande said...

When it comes to New York, no news is good news.

Equipment Maintenance said...

....calls him a "jackass, loser, fat tire biker."
I had assumed the "biker" was on a motorcycle and was riding a Harley Davidson model that has wide tires that is called, strangely enough, a Fat Boy.

rhhardin said...

My bike cost $150 (the most I've ever paid for a bike) and is about 15 years old.

Actually only the frame and wheels are original. Everything else wears out and gets replaced.

Originally it was a mountain bike but I've gone to thinner tires mostly.

DavidUW said...

you don't like what you do and you have enough money to retire.

Stupid is as stupid does.

David Begley said...

Fredo lives in the Hamptons!

Gusty Winds said...

He truly is Fredo. That's the best part of the name. He's so self absorbed, he'll never see it. Even his brother, the Governor, was on Fredo's show saying, "I'm mom's favorite son"....

There is still a part of me that doesn't think he actually has COVID-19. CNN will fake anything. This incident suggests....maybe he doesn't have the virus, and got caught outside.

Or...he's a self-righteous hypocrite.

Ralph L said...

He should have worn a mask.

ConradBibby said...

My guess is that the biker confronted Cuomo, not because Cuomo was a celebrity, but because the biker knew Cuomo was infected; and the biker believed infected people shouldn't leave the house. Of course, the biker only knew that Cuomo was infected because he's a celebrity; but that's beside the point.

wildswan said...

Cuomo, like all Catholics facing death, thinks about his Last Confession. He thinks that news people get made up and so he was endangering the people who put his lipstick on him before he knew he was sick - or they endangered him. He thinks: 'What's so bad about walking around in the open air with the family compared to being jammed into hot little rooms with people leaning in to my face for twenty minutes while they put on makeup with sticks they used on others and comb my hair with dirty combs. And why did I take that risk? I risked my life, I endangered my family, and yet I didn't believe in what I was doing.' And so then thinking aloud he says: "I’m basically ... successful in a system that I don’t value."

His Last Confession, that he doesn't believe in what he is doing, should end his career. But it's just as likely that it will get him a spot as nightly news anchor at one of the big three, ABC, NBC, CBS. And then he would take the job. Think Megyn Kelly

iowan2 said...

For those into this sort of thing,(biking) RAGBRAI will be making their decisions about this years Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, in the next couple of weeks.

Our Host should consider doing this. You and Meade would have a blast. If you put the word out, you would find hosts across the state that would love serve as your personal sag wagon, and host your overnight stay, with crisp clean sheets and unlimited hot showers! I'm already in...if you ask. Le Mars, to Clinton this year. You guy could park your car on the Mississippi and somebody would take to Le Mars for Sundays start.

Smerdyakov said...

The Post links to a story about his treatment and recovery. He lost 13 pounds shivered so badly he chipped a tooth.
He was treated by the Ayurveda method. Where I grew up it was mostly poor people who went to the Ayurveda practitioners. I would never go to them for a life-threatening illness.

Birches said...

He shouldn't even be near his family. I know a lady who had COVID. Before she was hospitalized, she never left her room, spouse had to sleep on the couch. After she recovered, the whole family stayed quarantined until the 14 days were up to make sure no one else came down with symptoms.

Ray said...

I think our hostess is right about "his beach". I also think people who have success because of their name, their family wealth, their looks or something else that gives them an "unfair" advantage have a lot of angst. They always seam to be puffing up their position as to reassure themselves that they belong where they are. I think many celebrities who take strong public political views, while being hypocrites to those views are trying to justify their position and wealth.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I never heard of Ayurveda Medicine before, so I looked it up. Quackery.

"Ayurveda is a system of medicine based on the idea that disease is caused by an imbalance or stress in a person's consciousness."

That's right up there with Christian Science and imbalances in the body's humors.

brylun said...

What has become of Yale?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

We are ruled by idiots.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Cris Cuomo works out. Reminds me of Carlos Danger.

Lurker21 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lurker21 said...

Cuomo seems very active for somebody who was supposedly dying and in hell. Not very mentally alert and alive - though that may always have been the case. He was certainly wrong to go off on the biker, but whether he was right to be where he was depends on just where he was - and some people who do have the virus may also have to go out for important needs, though they should take precautions.

"Biker" is an interesting word. Because of advertising and the media, the first thing it brings to mind is a burly bearded guy in a leather jacket on a motorcycle, though in this case it was just a guy riding a bicycle. Or maybe not a guy. Was it "Karen," the officious, meddling middle-aged White woman? And is "Karen" just another sexist (and racist) stereotype?
Is there a male counterpart to "Karen"?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Just over a month ago I was in Riverhead, right near Southampton, squeezing a little work in before the big shutdown. That was the day they blockaded New Rochelle. Everyone I met was doing preventive social distancing. Yet still, these empty heads who have a gig on TV don’t get it, can’t do what we are all asked to do. Now all those hard working people on Long Island are isolating with their businesses shuttered mostly and this privileged asshoe is still strutting around endangering the poor people who ARE doing the right thing and hassling some guy out for a bike ride. A truly weird asshoe.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Feverish our dear hostess? No... He's a democrat.

Lurker21 said...

What has become of Yale?

Notice that Chris is about 15 years younger than Andrew, and their father was already governor of New York and a likely presidential candidate when Chris applied to the college.

Temujin said...

I should have read the story. So he's not on the Upper West or East side. He's in Southhampton with is all the more delicious. But it also makes one wonder- in that environment, I'm sure he DID expect to not be harassed by anyone. Again- life is full of the unexpected. Makes one wonder why we expect anything.

As Buckwheathikes correctly pointed out, if Cuomo was actually a celebrity, and not a lowly regarded talking head on the lowest regarded network, the biker would have asked for his autograph, and not have gotten in his face. A selfie instead of a haranguing.

Lurker21 said...

"Fat tire" bicycles are a thing now? "Fat tire biker" still sounds more like a fat guy on a motorcylce.

BUMBLE BEE said...

What has become of Yale? Tucker did a segment on that. Quite enlightening.

Shouting Thomas said...

155 coronavirus related deaths in Wisconsin.

This pandemic is a non-event in your state, professor.

Also in my county. 11 coronavirus related deaths in my county, population 184,000.

The Get Trump press inflated this pandemic for the obvious reasons. The coronavirus is just the usual once a decade peak viral epidemic.

A classic Extraordinary Popular Delusions and Madness of Crowds panic.

Should not have even been a headline news event. If a Democrat were president, the press would have ignored this.

Bob Boyd said...

The Cuomo video keeps autoplaying when ever you refresh or open the home page. Have to scroll down and pause it.

Beth B said...

Cuomo is a douche, and actual fat tire motorcycles are a thing. I would pay to see the instant replay of that conversation.

https://4wheelonline.com/why-get-wide-motorcycle-tires.235963.0

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The Cuomo government whore family dynasty.

Shouting Thomas said...

I’ve got to say this again, professor.

You’ve been writing about virtually nothing but CoronaVirus for over a month now and there have been only 155 CoronaVirus related deaths in Wisconsin.

It’s your weblog and I really appreciate that you maintain it, but you’ve been suckered into a ridiculous panic (as have we all).

CoronaVirus is not even a significant news story in Wisconsin.

Tom T. said...

"Physics is mysterious to women, but rules are not."

Someone who has been confirmed infected needs to err on the side of caution, and not be outside interacting with people, touching stuff, sneezing, etc. We'll get through this quicker if people are thoughtful and careful, rather than acting like they have perfect epidemiology information and rules-lawyering condescendingly over the physics of being eight feet apart and not six.

bagoh20 said...

He seems a bit hysterical to be on TV telling people what to believe, but there is an audience for that.

Ken B said...

"Physics is mysterious to women, ..."

Error bars are mysterious to some people too.

etbass said...

My daughter is living in Southampton, was married in the Dune church shown in the article Althouse linked, and says 20,000 people in SA have the virus. They are hunkered down and don't go walk on the beach because there are too many people.

Lurker21 said...

That is quite a Howard Beale-style meltdown. Didn't we all learn from Katherine Heigl that you don't bite the hand that signs your checks -- at least not until you've got another job. Still, he did stumble on a good point or two:

[H]e doesn’t want to spend his time “trafficking in things that I think are ridiculous.” Like “talking to Democrats about things that I don’t really believe they mean” and “talking to Republicans about them parroting things they feel they have to say.”

Sometimes it seems like half of politics is saying things you don't mean and half of journalism is talking about things that didn't happen.

Be like a tree said...

Maybe Cuomo's caught in a "Ground Hog Day" where he wakes up to Cher singing I got you Babe and he has to learn how to play the piano and work out his personal problems before being delivered.

Ken B said...

So, *is* he going to lose his job?

My guess is no. If CNN worried about credibility he might but they worry about stroking their audience. This rant I suspect strokes the audience: “he’s so brave, so honest, so right about Trump”. His entitlement makes perfect sense to CNN viewers is my prejudiced assumption.

Josephbleau said...

Cris Cuomo never asks "Am I the Asshole?"

Gahrie said...

Fredo wants to eat his cake and have it too. He's just your average everyday coastal elite asshole who thinks he's better than the rest of us.

Gahrie said...

"Fat tire" bicycles are a thing now?

We were riding them in the early 80's in college. We called them beach cruisers and there were dozens locked up in front of every building on the campus of USC during school hours.

Known Unknown said...

Can you do anything about the AUTOPLAY?

Dear Lord.

Browndog said...

Politics rules these days even when it comes to personal health. While 53% of Republicans say they would take Hydroxychloroquine if diagnosed with COVID-19, just 18% of Democrats and 28% of those not affiliated with either major party agree.

-Rasmussen Reports

MayBee said...

It's the talking heads that want to "matter" who have caused our media to be the mess it is.

Johnathan Birks said...

Chris, you're nothing to me now. You're not a brother, and you're not a friend.

Francisco D said...

iowan2 said...For those into this sort of thing,(biking) RAGBRAI will be making their decisions about this years Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, in the next couple of weeks.

It gets really really crowded at RAGBRAI, the bars, the restaurants and the tents. I don't know how people can sleep in tents with 10,000 people around them and in 90 degree heat.

It is one of the impressive things about Iowa that Il learned in my 9 years there.

Drago said...

Johnathan Birks: "Chris, you're nothing to me now. You're not a brother, and you're not a friend."

Nothing will happen to Chris as long as his mother remains alive.......

narciso said...

Thurston Howell was right, and in keeping with the godfather theme. paula reid's husband works with the American chamber of commerce in china, and went to school there, so 'its business and personal'

DanTheMan said...

>>We called them beach cruisers and there were dozens locked up in front of every building on the campus of USC during school hours.

Columbia isn't anywhere near a beach.

Sebastian said...

"I'm not convinced Chris Cuomo actually has Caronavirus."

Well, does he? Do we have some sort of confirmation?

Anyway, always good to be reminded of real prog character.

Of course, if we had quarantines, all medieval-like, instead of shutdowns, this would not happen.

MayBee said...

Cuomo should get on Nextdoor and see how non-celebrities are being treated by their Stasi-like neighbors.

Of course, this is most delicious to me because we all know the powerful like there to be rules for the littles that they don't have to abide by. These Corona quarantines are perfect for that. Like Lori Lightfoot having her hairdresser come over to cut her hair.

Dave Begley said...

If Fredo violated the CNN Code of Conduct, then maybe CNN can fire Fredo and not have to pay the rest of his contract. Hire Megan Kelly.

narciso said...

he works for water street partners, so a rant by cnn, just another day starting in y,

Rory said...

“"I have to tolerate people’s opinion about me because I’m a public figure,” Cuomo said. “I don’t want to do that, I don’t think its worth it to me.”"

One problem is that celebrities take a couple of bucks each from millions of people who don't know them. If you're anonymous, you have to convince someone who knows you to pay you enough to live on.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It goes with the territory.

Michael K said...

I never heard of Ayurveda Medicine before, so I looked it up. Quackery.

I have a chapter on it in my medical history book. The theory is nonsense, as you say, but there were some useful things. There was quite advanced surgery at the time. For example, cutting off a nose was a not uncommon punishment. Indian surgeons at the time devised a method of restoring a nose with forehead skin. English army doctors discovered this in the 18th century when they occupied India and wrote it up in medical journals in England.

narciso said...

imf and chamber of commerce and economist

Jupiter said...

I am surprised at his self-awareness. He may have had a life-enhancing epiphany.

narciso said...

was she covering with a pillow then?

narciso said...

you be the judge

Danno said...

Gahrie said..."Fat tire" bicycles are a thing now? We were riding them in the early 80's in college. We called them beach cruisers and there were dozens locked up in front of every building on the campus of USC during school hours.

The fat-tired bikes nowadays are extreme fat tired, up to 4 1/2 inch wide tires. One of the pioneers of this bicycle genre was the Surly Pugsley.

Howard said...

Why are you so down on Chris?

He had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity.

Howard said...

Great minds Jupiter

Bilwick said...

Since the term "loser" seems to be class-oriented ("I make more money than you, therefore I'm a winner an you're a loser"), it's always amusing to me when "liberals"--who like to see themselves as egalitarians--turn Calvinistic when confronted by an uppity serf.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

What has become of Yale?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8M2tg2RkIQ

Also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fj6HjCN8ok

narciso said...

actual news

narciso said...

there was an offering on showtime's free interval, unlocked, about a terrorist plot using ebola Marburg, the thing that scared the heck out of me, when I read about in college, Michael douglas is rooni rapace's mentor at the cia, who alerts her about it, then it all goes sideways, there's and interesting twist, at the end,

narciso said...

are we doing the right thing

reader said...

Growing up in California there were different type of bikes, or at least what we called them. When asking your parents for a bike you had to make sure and specify the type.

Normal bike (either boy or girl)
10-Speeds
Mountain bike (has wider tires)
Beach cruiser (either boy or girl and has wider tires)

Paul said...

So the rich kid finds out what 'quarantine' means. Shocking!

And admits he is just a talking head for CNN who does what they tell him. Shocking!

And maybe, just maybe, he fears he might really get the virus and, you know, DIE.

SHOCKING!

All his $$$, all his toys, all his leisure life would die with him.

Poor little rich boy. The rest of us knew that stuff along time ago.

clint said...

As usual in modern news stories, it's all about the emotional reactions and judgements to an event. We're not told enough about the event to have any well-founded reactions or judgements of our own.

Where was Cuomo? (In his own back yard? On a public beach?) He was "with" his family -- from whom he has reportedly been quarantined. How close was he? To which members of his family? He says he was practicing social distancing -- what specifically was he doing? Was he wearing a mask? Was he keeping his distance? Were they using different bathrooms?

If he was sitting on his porch, wearing a mask, and watching the kids hunt easter eggs in the yard from a safe distance, shame on the biker. If he was on a beach in public taking no visible precautions, then shame on him.

Martha said...

Sebastian said:
“I'm not convinced Chris Cuomo actually has Caronavirus."
Well, does he? Do we have some sort of confirmation?”

Chris Cuomo shared photos of his chest X-ray for all to see on his CNN Cuomo Prime Time show.

Cuomo:
“I have to tell you it is scary to have your lungs go up there and see that stuff and be like, 'What is that? What is that smoke in there?' And they tell you that's the virus," Cuomo said. "You have to fight to keep it out. I'm doing fine. I don't have pneumonia. But if I want to stay that way, I got to have some things fall in my favor.”

The chest x-ray was normal.

CNN doctor Sanjay Gupta maybe saw some fluid (pleural effusion) but nothing alarming and certainly not pneumonia.

tim in vermont said...

How does anybody other than a self centered buffoon get to the top on CNN?

narciso said...

how about MSNBC, there was a time, they had a wide range of viewpoints, from laura Ingraham on the right to olbermann on the left,

Guildofcannonballs said...

Maybe Cuomo is, like Hillary!, just your average, everyday booze-hound. Like long gone C. Mathews, and, well, most people in media.

You know these bi-polars who go nuts even when "dry.". You know.

doctrev said...

Ann Althouse said...
So the bike guy rides up and spots a celebrity. The celebrity is already antagonistic to all the bike people who think they can blow by on "his" beach. And then the bike guy has the temerity to call him out, just for being outside — maybe even in his own yard (or "his" part of the beach). Celebrity flips out. I'm rich and I can't enjoy what I bought!

4/14/20, 7:21 AM

Celebrity liberals can be awfully insistent on -their- property rights. No one can own a beach- oh, unless it's near your 10 million dollar palace, which has its value mainly because of the beach. It's enough to make a nationalist have some socialist sympathies!

Shouting Thomas said...

It’s your weblog and I really appreciate that you maintain it, but you’ve been suckered into a ridiculous panic (as have we all).

CoronaVirus is not even a significant news story in Wisconsin.

4/14/20, 8:07 AM

That's some world-class doubt there, Thomas. And you're right to offer it. Outside poorly-managed megacity shitholes (take a bow, Manhattan), coronavirus is way less prevalent than anyone thought it could be. And you can't put all of that on social distancing. The smart play would be to quarantine NYC for the rest of the year, along with any other outbreak spots, while letting the rest of the country steadily get back to work.

Or don't, that's fine with me too. The tens of millions unemployed while Lightfoot's hairdresser is deemed "essential" and given travel papers is the sort of thing Marie Antoinette would have found tyrannical and elitist. The pressure's even getting to Chris Cuomo, and showing off his impostor syndrome to the entire world. Do urban liberals REALLY think the people they oppress are going to take this forever? Most probably will, but it only takes a few sparks to start a fire.

Bay Area Guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bay Area Guy said...

Fredo can get a little emotional at times:

Fredo Corleone: I'm your older brother, Mike, and I was stepped over!

Michael Corleone: That's the way Pop wanted it.

Fredo Corleone: It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!

* * *
Michael: I've always taken care of you, Fredo.

Fredo Corleone: Taken care of me? You're my kid brother and you take care of me? Did you ever think about that? Hah? Did you ever once think about that?

rcocean said...

you're scrapping the bottom of the barrel when you talk about Chris Cuomo. He's a complete Zero. Would be completely unknown except for his name and family connections.

narciso said...

very NC 17

rcocean said...

Dullest & Dumbest talk show ever:

Moderator: Chris Cuomo
On the Left: Chelsea Clinton
On the Right: Megan McCain

bleh said...

Unlike Dr. Snyderman, Chris Cuomo is a made man. Politically, that is. Not like Fredo was a made man. He is part of New York political royalty and CNN knows better than to cross Chris Cuomo and his brother, the powerful governor of New York. Albany is one of the most corrupt state capitals in the nation, and Andrew dearly loves his brother Chris. As long as Chris is making millions and enjoying life in the Hamptons, Andrew is happy.

By the way, Chris’s rant definitely had a Fredo quality to it. Reminded me of when Fredo was frustrated at being stuck in Vegas working the casinos when he could do so much more for the family.

Anyway, CNN will never fire Chris. They should’ve fired him when he threatened to throw that guy down the stairs and compared the term “Fredo” to the n-word. Appalling behavior.

rcocean said...

chris Cuomo is a 2nd rater who runs around saying "You can't do that to me. Don't you know who I am?"

rcocean said...

CNN won't fire him, because almost no one watches anyway. I wonder if they've gone Hard Left and become almost an arm of the DNC, because their on-the-air talent is so dull and weak. Besides their audience in the USA consists of People in Airports, and Dumb Liberals.

What kind of person would listen to brian stetlzer for 30 minutes?

PM said...

"I'M SMAHT!!"

elkh1 said...

Cuomo shows us why NY is such a mess: selfish, self-important, infected spreaders only care for their own convenience and don't give a damn about the well beings of other people.

narciso said...

I didn't notice it before, but MSNBC plays as the background in all the marvel films, from the avengers on, in civil war, they illustrated their obtuseness in blaming the wrong party, in Nigeria,

Arashi said...

Oh boo hoo

Fredo can take his millions from his CNN gig and eff off somewhere, preferably North Korea ( I hear they need some good news anchors as the last ones got fired or something ).

narciso said...

bezos has made it worse,

Skeptical Voter said...

Fredo likes to talk butch. That doesn't make him butch--but he thinks so.

narciso said...

woopsie

JAORE said...

“I don’t want to spend my time doing things that I don’t think are valuable enough to me personally,”

but I have no real job skills beyond the fact my brother's a powerful politician.

JAORE said...

There is an old comedy bit where two guys get in a pissing contest. As the anger rises one guy says, "Hold me back. Hold me back",

No one moves. The guy says, "I said 'Hold me BACK!'"

Coumo has his on variation where it's, "Boy if I just wasn't a celebrity".

MeatPopscicle1234 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Fredo alfresco??

who let him out??

It's 'Roid Rage again. Maybe he thinks steroids cure Covid

bagoh20 said...

IngaChuck'stoothlessARM had an interesting link late last night to a study that found no correlation between how quickly any particular state went to stay-at-home orders and how many deaths per million they ended up with. It seems counterintuitive to me, but the data and methodology is pretty straight forward. If we can end up with similar results without taking a poison pill, we should. It would take incredible political courage to make that call even with strong evidence, although some states and countries did so this time. This is not talking about zero mitigation, but just the stay-at-home orders. States probably benefited from voluntary measures regardless.

https://medium.com/@yinonweiss/lets-visualize-state-by-state-shutdown-effectiveness-on-covid-19-e13a5cdb50ad

bagoh20 said...

New York continues to run up the numbers today. Without NY numbers this whole thing would have been a non-story in this country. I'm not blaming NY or New Yorkers at all, but we need to find out what went so wrong there. It's such an incredibly different story from everywhere else, and I wonder how much of the rest of the country is due to travel from NY alone. There is something very important to learn from their terrible losses.

henge2243 said...

Let’s be honest. The only reason Chrissy didn’t challenge the biker was because he knew he would get his bitch-ass beat.

Let’s hear from the biker. There must be some kind of organization out there that employs people to dig up the facts.

Rory said...

"Fredo Corleone: It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!"

I never noticed it before, but someone recently pointed out to me that while Fredo is ranting this at Michael, he forms his right hand into a gun.

LA_Bob said...

clint said, "We're not told enough about the event to have any well-founded reactions or judgements of our own."

Absolutely right. I have no sense whatsoever what happened. Did he step outside to get the mail? Did he open the door to look at the sky? Was he out wandering around? The story only says he was out of the house on Easter Sunday with his family. Huh?

There are now two instances of Cuomo throwing temper tantrums over someone hassling him somehow. I wonder if he threw tantrums in his youth. He reminds me a bit of Biden, often sounding like he just wants to hit someone. Of course, Biden in his best days couldn't handle Fredo.

Trump is more than rough around the edges, but he manages his public conflicts much better than Cuomo does.

VekTor said...

'Lurker21 said...
Is there a male counterpart to "Karen"?'

I'd strike out the A and the R, and you're left with "Ken".

Yancey Ward said...

Isn't more likely, Althouse, that Fredo has been pretending to have COVID-19? I had wondered about this when Cuomo first announced he was sick with it, and I even toyed with the idea of suggesting someone stake out his house and see if he snuck out on occasion- that that would be a tell that he was faking this.

Johnathan Birks said...

Not dumb like everyone says...

Tinderbox said...

Gets angry at being famous for his perfect ongoing Fredo impression.

Earnest Prole said...

Why doesn't Cuomo just have him whacked?

FullMoon said...

Yancey Ward said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Isn't more likely, Althouse, that Fredo has been pretending to have COVID-19? I had wondered about this when Cuomo first announced he was sick with it, and I even toyed with the idea of suggesting someone stake out his house and see if he snuck out on occasion- that that would be a tell that he was faking this.


Hate to agree, but he doesn't look too bad. Thought I read he was burning up with fever a few days ago.

Charlie said...

CNN has terrible ratings and their prime time lineup is a collection of unlikable losers, who all make millions per year. If you're Jeff Zucker, why not clean house and change it up?

Titus said...

He’s hot. Amazing body.

Ken B said...

Now he denies he said it!

Ken B said...

Yancey Ward's suggestion that he faked the positive test is looking pretty plausible right now. Cuomo just denied his rant even happened! And if he was actually fine, just faking, then his reaction— his denial is a lie — makes sense. He’s challenged but doesn’t feel guilty of breaking isolation because he isn’t. Immediate reaction, a tell.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Just curious: How are the anti-"fat-shaming" activists dealing with the fact that obesity is one of the co-morbidities associated with dying of COVID-19? How is a doctor to spin this? "Your body type is fine, it's always been fine"? Or "Well, maybe you could stand to lose a few (dozen) pounds"? I haven't heard a lot from NAAFA lately. Perhaps the collision with reality has stopped them short.

Ken B said...

Michelle
Someone posted the latest from twofatprofessors. They didn’t seem chastened.

Lurker21 said...

"Fat-tire biker" would have "tire" unstressed. Cuomo paused between "fat" and "tire" and put stress on both words. So while he probably meant to say "fat-tire biker," it sounded more like "fat, tire biker."

Mark said...

You know what's annoying, talking about the furor over something before talking about what actually happened to create the furor.

How hard would it have been to simply lead with: "Cuomo breaks quarantine"?

Then people (me) might know what the hell this is all about.