How long do you think a lockdown needs to continue to whack each mole? From what we’ve seen so far, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that it takes 3/4 months of lockdown to get cases to down far enough to manage, and then 1/2 months after opening to be able to tell where things are escalating.

Do you think it’s better for cities/states to be on constant edge like this in up and down cycles? Businesses need certainty to operate, there are huge costs in “staffing up” again at unpredictable times.

Anecdotally, in Texas, it was a real whiplash for multiple families I know as to going back to work, arranging their lives and routines as if that were about to happen, and then getting snapped back to their house like two weeks later. And that’s for people with office jobs- I cant even imagine how terrible that is for the service industry workers that shut downs primarily affect.

Reconfiguring leads to deaths. You get people outside of the jobs they usually do, and they aren't going to be as good as it.

On top of that, losing elective surgeries comes as a huge cost. People think of elective surgeries as stuff like cosmetic surgery, but in reality they're cancer biopsies, joint replacements, cardiac surgeries, etc.

You also remain flat wrong about what flattening the curve means. Stop getting your news from shitty right wing people.

Do you seriously not realize how insanely stupid it is to think 'oh any nurse can be effective in the ICU'?

We had the opportunity to address it more effectively. We blew it. That horse left the barn ages ago--we're off on a completely different trip now.

Mask compliance was extraordinarily high at the protests. The lack of fallout from the protests illuminates even further how dumb all the anti masking people are. As the protests demonstrate mask compliance has a huge impact on the spread of the virus.

Good thing the overwhelming majority of protesters are smart enough to know wearing a mask is important.

Imagine if they gathered in big groups and scream and yelled without masks!

Seems pretty true from a gross negligence standard. She tried to kill her child in multiple different ways.

Unsurprisingly, Smudger is completely full of ****.





https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-s...ecutive-order/

So, uh, yes, hospitals are already slammed as things continue to get worse, and Texas's mask order is not being enforced.

This is a sentiment that has been raised since February / March yet it is wholly unproven and unsupported. We don’t have any actual data on long term lockdowns and their side effects. It is pure conjecture and speculation. On top of that it is than being argued it is guaranteed to be worse than the virus. There is no substance to it.

Not to mention we live in an amazingly unique time where the ability to interact from a distance is incredibly advanced.

You can’t just take symptoms from “isolation” studies and then extrapolate them to a large scale lockdown like this.

So what previous long term lockdown in America was your data collected? Was it in the last ten years? Because technology has vastly changed that reality in that time.

Looking forward to your answer.

Smudger remains ignorant of how the virus spreads and grows so his saying “It’s fine“ is pretty meaningless. It is like someone declaring New York is fine in late February.

You have to actually factor in how the virus grows and what is being done to mitigate it. Mitigation efforts are so so now in Texas after the Governor completely screwed the pooch. Treatment for the virus seems to have advanced in a general sense, which is also good news. The lower average age? Great.

All that together, though, does not change the fact that it is already too late to stop what will happen in Florida and Texas and all we can do is aggressively try to take action and limit how long it is at maximum impact.

It is unfortunate that people keep coming up with excuse after excuse for why they can continue to remain parked on the train track. Smudger is okay with Covid deaths because someone at home might drink more.

Obviously there is a good blueprint to getting through this and America refuses to use it. We can provide financial assistance to people who need it during this time. We can aggressively push mandatory mask compliance when people have a necessary reason to be outside. We can lock things down. We can finally get enough testing so everyone can be tested regularly. We can get the spread down to a low enough number to have a controlled reopening with comprehensive tracking and tracing. It is not brain surgery. Nobody is doing almost any of those things let alone most or all, in the US. But we will be fine. Lol.

This was the obvious blueprint in March yet here we are in July facing record infections and hospitalizations daily.

The c’est la vie, everyone will get it so whatevs is a very dangerous approach. We have no idea what the long time impact will be for even people who didn’t have any symptoms. There are some very realistic concerns that some people could suffer significant long term damage. Racing into that particular unknown is stupid.

And how is social distancing going to stop everyone from inevitably getting it anyway? Are you really that optimistic about vaccine? Because im not..

Imagine being Smudger...

I am certainly less bullish than most on the prospects of a vaccine any time soon.

I do think every day that passes offers the opportunity for treatments discovered and knowledge obtained to reduce the risk for people who have the virus.

I'm not that optimistic about a vaccine. Why does that mean everyone should just give up, kiss their grandparents goodbye, and roll the dice on permanent lung damage?

From a treatment perspective, it is always better to get this type of thing later on to utilize improvements in how it is treated and managed, even if no vaccine is found. Just another "well, duh" thing that some people refuse to comprehend or they willfully ignore that point to suit their agenda.



You don't have to imagine. They will simply "staff up." Party on dudes!

TOTAL VICTORY!

Luckily Obama never had a banner that said " You can keep your doctor and your rates will not go up"


60,000 cases Over Under on a 100,000 case day July 21

Guess Trump's version would be

"You can't get a doctor"

and when it gets to 100,000+ a day and death rates go up, they will simply "staff up," before heading out to the filled to capacity bar to discuss how great it will be when schools are fully open without any conditions or precautions. Easy peasy lemon squeezey.

All the best.

They are doing their bit for global herd immunity(assuming it's achievable). Bless their cotton socks.

The **** does Obama have to do with Smudger declaring TOTAL VICTORY, or Bush parading in front of a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner 15 years too soon?

buckle up?

The fact that right wingers always bring up that Obama statement and compare it to Bush or even Trump's outright lies basically show how crazy they have become. Obama's statement was basically correct. The vast majority of Americans with health insurance pre ACA simply kept going on their existing plan. The problem with Mission Accomplished wasn't that there was still a few military operations left after he gave that speech; it's that 98% of US deaths and fighting in Iraq happened after it. Unlike Obama, Bush was maximally wrong. To put it into scientific terms it would be like:

Obama: "When you lower the temperature of something, it's volume decreases"
Good rule of thumb with some exceptions. Probably has reasonable understanding of the physics/chemistry involved at least at the HS level and communicating in good faith.

Bush:"When you lower the temperature of something, it's volume increases"
Usually false, though with some major exceptions. Perhaps good faith, but ignorant of the undergrad level underlying physics of thermodynamics and phase changes. Probably could be taught a better understanding.

Trump: We're going to build devices that remain colder than their environment, they won't have to do any net work.....and Mexico's gonna pay for them!
Completely ignorant on stuff covered in Day 1 of thermodynamics in Jr high AND blatantly bad faith. Unteachable.

Modern republicans just want to throw all these statements in the same basket and say "See, you can't trust any of them!".

Trump is now pushing as hard as he can to open up schools with no precautions.

Several issues here: first it does not seem children have been tested at the same rate as adults so we have much less real data on children and the virus.

These children might not end up symptomatic but can still carry the virus and spread it to friends and family. Asymptomatic people can be the absolute deadliest spreaders.

Health wise we still don’t know the long term effects and we have seen some problems that have been unique to children with the virus which should concern everyone.

Trump is only pushing school openings because his only shot at reelection, legitimately, is if the economy comes back massively in four months. Kids at home mean parents at home to watch the kids, meaning a less vibrant economy. Trump is fine feeding American lives into the Covid wood chipper to give himself a slightly better chance at reelection.

I am really concerned about the consequences of this. We still are not taking the basic and fundamental steps to manage the virus in the US and we are intent on making it worse.

It feels like america has elected Jim Jones and the country is now heading into its final chapter.