Jambo-Jimbo Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Just now, JFK-1 said: You can be guaranteed he wouldn't, but they could easily get someone else to do it, hell I would do it. Then see if we get another rare result like Trumps. What are the odds we would? How rare exactly is it? 🤣 Get a 10 yr old to do it, that would really piss him off, having to share his rare result with a 10 yr old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kila Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Just now, Jambo-Jimbo said: Get a 10 yr old to do it, that would really piss him off, having to share his rare result with a 10 yr old. A 10 year old Mexican immigrant whose second language is English Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambos_1874 Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 I had a look at the Montreal Cognitive Assessment out of interest and it is obviously ridiculously easy, however I genuinely think I would fail at the memory element of the test!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beni Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 1 hour ago, kila said: They should, as a wee surprise, see if Trump is willing to do the same one he passed live on air. "Oh I happen to have the very test in front of me on this laptop Mr President. Shall we do a few questions again together so our viewers can agree on the difficulty?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 This guy breaks down the Trump interview which he found disturbing. One comment he makes before beginning his breakdown is "historic in it's level of insanity" 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kila Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 It's his eyes and gaze... he's totally gone like. Keep hoping he slips up with some big secret though. Maybe someone could tell him the Epstein death was a fake and he's actually talking to the FBI about Trump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthVodka Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 3 hours ago, JFK-1 said: You can be guaranteed he wouldn't, but they could easily get someone else to do it, hell I would do it. Then see if we get another rare result like Trumps. What are the odds we would? How rare exactly is it? 🤣 i do dementia trials for a living. The Montreal test is well outdated and to be honest have not seen this used in a clinical setting, there are so many others that are better. Generally all of us should pass easily but they pick on subtle things such as response times, not just that you can answer them. Also a required battery of tests can take some time so wear a person with memory complaints down and then expose frailties. diagnosis of early dementia is quite tricky and relies on a number of factors - which I can presume Trumpy knows nothing about, but according to him he is an expert im no Biden fan but for the sake of the US I hope the destroys the obese orange fecker in a humiliating way in November .... but i think it will be a tight one not like the recent polls are suggesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Given that Trump qualifies is a coronavirus conspiracy nut I will put thus here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EH11_2NL Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Do this nutter's supporters realise how frighteningly simple that test is? I despair that he still gets into double figures in the polls. He is feckin' MENTAL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 54 minutes ago, EH11_2NL said: Do this nutter's supporters realise how frighteningly simple that test is? I despair that he still gets into double figures in the polls. He is feckin' MENTAL! My thoughts on it for sometime have been that to be impressed on any level by this orange buffoon, to see anything approaching competence to lead a nation, you would have to be even more simple minded than he clearly is. They may not all be that simple minded, I suspect millions are just racist to the core. So who else would they vote for? But many millions more are that simple minded. It needed someone rational in the White House from day one to competently handle this pandemic. What they had was Trump. A simple minded conspiracy nut. Who is showing no sign of becoming remotely rational. I see absolutely no way out of the pandemic for the US till he's gone. In the meantime they may see over half a million dead by the end of the year. At a minimum. Individual sates are beginning to ignore Trump. I'm in Oklahoma, as deep red Trumpet land as it gets. Local authorities in Oklahoma City are now mandating masks in all indoor public spaces. There are fines for non compliance. Other towns and cities in Oklahoma may follow suit but not all of them will. And even if they did which as I said they wont even that wouldn't save Oklahoma or the nation. It requires a national plan to get this under control otherwise the virus will simply continue endlessly circulating around coming in from other cities and states. As long as many states continue doing absolutely nothing which is the case it's like wearing masks in Edinburgh but nowhere else in Scotland, and expecting Edinburgh and Scotland to become covid free. Not going to happen. As I said, I see no way out of this deadly shambles while the orange crackpot is in the White House. And that's going to be for at least another 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 At first I wasn't 100% sure of the legitimacy of this, but I get the feeling it's real. Others can decide for themselves. It's written by a guy called Al Franken who though he is a comedian was also a Democratic senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. TRUMP LOSING SUPPORT AMONG OLDER RACISTS Many Cite Mishandling of Covid-19 Crisis Quote Fayetteville, NC – 86-year-old Earl Toole, a self-identified lifelong racist, slips off his mask to sip his coffee at the Dixie Café. “I wasn’t one of them Obama-Trump voters,” says Toole. “I’ve voted Republican every election since 1964.” That, of course, was the year that the 1964 Civil Rights Bill ended Jim Crow, a turning point for Southern racists like Toole, who until then had been lifelong Democrats. “But I just can’t get myself to pull that lever again for Trump.” A tear rolled down Toole’s cheek as he slipped the mask back on. His older brother, Otis, 93, was in the ICU at Fayetteville’s Jesse Helms Memorial Hospital, named for this battleground state’s virulently racist late senator. “Otis grew tobacco his entire life, but never, ever took a puff off a cigarette. Not once! And now he’s on a goddam ventilator. And I blame Donald Trump!” Like many older racists in this historically racist community, Toole has lost faith in this president’s ability to handle crises. Toole now wears a mask whenever he ventures outside the modest home he shares with his 85-year-old wife, Enid, whom he also describes as “very, very racist.” Because of Enid’s several co-morbidities, including diabetes and emphysema, Toole had asked to conduct the interview at the Dixie, owned by his friend, Bobby Fortenberry, who is now considering whether to pull the lever for Joe Biden in November or to write in a protest vote for David Duke. “Don’t get me wrong,” says Toole, “I support Trump on those Confederate statues.” Then, raising his voice, he pounds the table, “That’s our goddam heritage, goddam it!” That catches the attention of the McCuskers, a family of four that participates religiously in the town’s Civil War reenactments organized twice a year by Toole himself. “Damn straight!” yells 34-year-old Danny McCusker, husband of Gretchen and father of their boys, Connor, 10, and Kyle, 7. Until recently both Danny, who sells thermal pumps, and Gretchen, a teacher’s assistant, were firmly in Trump’s camp. But of late, Gretchen has been having her doubts, wondering whether Trump has the intelligence or attention span to keep her family safe and economically secure. Back at his table, Toole is wiping up the coffee spilled from the table-pounding. “And those goddam Black Lives Matter protesters? He shoulda put vicious dogs on ‘em like he promised.” Fortenberry, standing six feet away, nods in agreement. “But, my God, what a goddam, stupid idiot!” Toole scoffs, shaking his head. “He’s been screwing up from Day One!” Then mocking the president he says, “’It’ll disappear in April,’” in a voice that could best be described as that of a person who is cognitively disabled . “Right!” laughs Fortenberry. “I mean he’s a friggin’ idiot!” That illicits a cackle from Gretchen McCusker as her husband just stares down at his waffles. Now Toole is exasperated. “And he’s just incapable of learning from his mistakes. The thing he said in Tulsa about testing? That made me wish I’d voted for Hillary!” “How about swallowing disinfectant?” Fortenberry laughs, as does Gretchen and her older boy, Connor. Danny just throws down his napkin and heads to the men’s room. But now Toole turns serious. “Listen. I firmly believe that in the history of our country, Donald Trump is the most racist president who did not personally own slaves. And no one I know is more racist than me and Bobby right here.” “Damn right!” “But I believe that Trump is personally responsible for killing tens of thousands of Americans, a good number of them just as racist or almost as racist as us.” “Damn right!” Asked if most of the other racists in town agree with him, Toole seems less than certain. “I don’t know. If I had to guess, of racists my age, I’d say it’s fifty-fifty. The younger racists just don’t seem to get it.” Does he think that will change? “Absolutely. See, Trump is just incapable of admitting mistakes, so things will just keep getting worse and worse. I’d say by November, it’s actually possible that Donald J. Trump could lose the racist vote. And, frankly, by a substantial margin.” The day after this story was published, Earl’s brother Otis regained consciousness and was taken off the ventilator, though he remains in critical condition. https://alfranken.com/read/trump-losing-support-among-older-racists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambostuart Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42717163 Only 5 questions but an example of the test. If anyone gets anything other than 100% please consult a doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 9 minutes ago, jambostuart said: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42717163 Only 5 questions but an example of the test. If anyone gets anything other than 100% please consult a doctor. This is very rare you know. Your score: 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 America is flunking its cognitive assessment Quote We should be relieved that President Trump claims he “aced” his cognitive assessment, including what he calls the “very hard” last five questions. Such as: · Identifying the similarity between a train and a bicycle. Repeating the sentence: “The cat always hid under the couch when dogs were in the room.” And naming at least 11 words beginning with the letter “F” in one minute. Forgive me for finding fun and frivolity in our fearless first minister’s feeble self-flattery, for his felicitous finesse, fluid facility and firm familiarity with F-words, far from folly, are fully fitting, and fundamentally and fantastically fortuitous. The real question is whether we, as a nation, could pass a cognitive assessment test. At the moment, we’re struggling with the national equivalent of distinguishing a lion from a rhinoceros: 17.8 million Americans are without jobs — but Trump is pushing to cut payroll taxes for those who already have jobs. Unemployment assistance has held off a wave of evictions, foreclosures and mass hunger — but Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing to cut it. Schools need new funds so that they can protect teachers and students from the virus if they reopen their doors — but Trump threatened to withhold money from schools if they don’t open. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health are struggling to contain the virus and to get remedies to the public — but Trump seeks to phase out funding for both, as well as for testing and contact tracing, ABC News reports. The federal government poured trillions of dollars into coronavirus recovery legislation, and tens of millions of Americans sheltered in their homes to limit the spread — only for the country to squander both by reopening too soon without following public health guidelines. State and local governments are hemorrhaging cash as they fight the virus — but instead of providing them relief, congressional Republicans are focused on protecting private businesses from lawsuits if they make workers sick. Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and others are gradually returning to normal after suppressing the virus — but the United States is setting records for new infections: Roughly 900 people are dying from the virus every day, and week-long testing delays make it near impossible to quarantine those infected and to trace their contacts. Trump has stopped attending coronavirus task force meetings because he does not have the time, aides told The Post — but he continued to play golf and to raise campaign money. (He apparently found time and will resume briefings Tuesday.) Trump told Fox News’s Chris Wallace that the United States has the “number one low mortality rate” — then provided a chart that did not support the claim. Trump said he was not seeking to discredit the government’s top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci — then called him an “alarmist.” Trump said Sunday that federal police have been mobilized in Portland, Ore., (against the wishes of state and local authorities) to “protect Federal property” from “anarchists and agitators” — nine days after Trump pardoned two men serving sentences for arson that burned 139 acres of federal property in Oregon in a case that inspired armed militias to seize federal land. Trump’s secretary of homeland security, Chad Wolf, says the Portland operation is to stop “lawless” behavior — achieved by firing tear gas at nonviolent protesters and having unidentified officers throwing demonstrators into unmarked vans without charges. Trump attributes a recent flare-up in violence in U.S. cities to Democratic mayors — who have been running these same cities for decades. He promises to provide evidence that Democratic challenger Joe Biden proposes to “abolish” the police — then fails to provide the evidence. He says he won’t label Biden “senile” — then says Biden “doesn’t know he’s alive” and is “mentally shot.” Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone seemed to say Saturday during a radio interview with an African American host that he couldn’t believe he was “arguing with this *****” — then he told the New York Times that he didn’t say the “epitaph,” and that it wasn’t a slur anyway. And one-time Trump fan Kanye West, now mounting his own quixotic presidential bid, held a campaign event Saturday at which he said Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves,” but rather had them “work for other white people.” No, our national cognitive assessment is not promising. But now come the “very hard” last questions: Will Republicans, in these final months before the election, find the elusive courage to disavow Trump’s madness? Will the people reject him and his enablers in 106 days? And, if Trump loses, will all Americans insist he do what he refused to commit to on Sunday: honor the will of the people? If not, we will have earned ourselves a big, fat F. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/20/america-is-flunking-its-cognitive-assessment/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Z Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 I mean . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 10 hours ago, franko1874 said: 10 hours ago, franko1874 said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ri Alban Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Smithee said: Homer knows! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boof Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 8 hours ago, JFK-1 said: And naming at least 11 words beginning with the letter “F” in one minute. I gave it a go... Fox flattery fails to forewarn folk of foremost federal frontman’s feeble faculties. ****ing Fruitloop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beni Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 5 minutes ago, Boof said: I gave it a go... Fox flattery fails to forewarn folk of foremost federal frontman’s feeble faculties. ****ing Fruitloop. Fat feckless fool's family financially fleece formally formidable federation for fun. ****ers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnrazor Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 2 minutes ago, fancy a brew said: Fat feckless fool's family financially fleece formally formidable federation for fun. ****ers. Very good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobboM Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 I've started listenening to a (short) daily news podcast. This morning they were discussing whether the Supreme Court reversal of Trump's attempt to end DACA could actually open up a loophole for Presidential power. Trump has a short time left to do a lot of damage. https://www.axios.com/trump-executive-orders-supreme-court-daca-3d369f16-d9db-4e39-b8a0-946e670797b2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geddyalexneil Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Kudos to both Boof and Fancy A Brew! Made me laugh so cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 3 hours ago, Boof said: I gave it a go... Fox flattery fails to forewarn folk of foremost federal frontman’s feeble faculties. ****ing Fruitloop. F. F. S. foreign fat freak fearing failure from Florida fading fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Franko, fearless, feigns fortitude. Fails. Fooling few, flawed ****er flees frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maple Leaf Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Republicans show their hypocrisy. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/20/politics/supreme-court-senate-republicans-election-year/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 The hypocrisy is and always has been staggering but it's what everyone has come to expect from them. And this latest instance of it is actually not the most striking example of it. Can you imagine the screams if candidate Obama had a background littered with bankruptcies, questionable tax issues he declined to show the returns for, caught on tape bragging about grabbing pussies, paying off hookers. As just a small sample. Then president Obama begins his presidency by inserting his own family into government positions, while along the way being consistently incoherent and using the oval office to endorse the products of a food manufacturer who said nice things about him. The screams of corruption would still be echoing right now almost 4 years after he left the office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Fredrickson Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 15 hours ago, jambostuart said: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42717163 Only 5 questions but an example of the test. If anyone gets anything other than 100% please consult a doctor. Thanks for posting that, I ACED IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey J J Jr Shabadoo Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, JFK-1 said: The hypocrisy is and always has been staggering but it's what everyone has come to expect from them. And this latest instance of it is actually not the most striking example of it. Can you imagine the screams if candidate Obama had a background littered with bankruptcies, questionable tax issues he declined to show the returns for, caught on tape bragging about grabbing pussies, paying off hookers. As just a small sample. Then president Obama begins his presidency by inserting his own family into government positions, while along the way being consistently incoherent and using the oval office to endorse the products of a food manufacturer who said nice things about him. The screams of corruption would still be echoing right now almost 4 years after he left the office. You missed out using US tax money to prop up his leisure resorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maple Leaf Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 2 hours ago, JFK-1 said: The hypocrisy is and always has been staggering but it's what everyone has come to expect from them. And this latest instance of it is actually not the most striking example of it. Can you imagine the screams if candidate Obama had a background littered with bankruptcies, questionable tax issues he declined to show the returns for, caught on tape bragging about grabbing pussies, paying off hookers. As just a small sample. Then president Obama begins his presidency by inserting his own family into government positions, while along the way being consistently incoherent and using the oval office to endorse the products of a food manufacturer who said nice things about him. The screams of corruption would still be echoing right now almost 4 years after he left the office. You've just described one of the major differences between the Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans are relentless when it comes to harassing their opponents, whether it's Obama's birth certificate, Hilary's emails, or Benghazi, they never stop. The Democrats, on the other hand, adopt this bullshit attitude of "When they go low, we go high." How nice. How cute. So they never say anything nasty about anyone. They seem to forget that they're in the dirty business of politics, where it's little more than a verbal no-holds-barred brawl. The Republicans understand that therefore continually have the Democrats on the back foot. You mentioned Al Franken earlier. He was a Democratic Senator who resigned after he was photographed acting inappropriately toward a sleeping woman. Could you imagine any Republican resigning for that? Donald Trump tried to bride a foreign leader to provide dirt on an opponent, using US taxpayers money ... and he's still in office. The Republicans have learned that you can do anything or say anything and you will get away with it. The Democrats won't hold their feet to the fire, the MSM will soon look for different headlines, and the general public will quickly lose interest. That approach has worked for them for years, so they're not about to change now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 6 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said: You've just described one of the major differences between the Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans are relentless when it comes to harassing their opponents, whether it's Obama's birth certificate, Hilary's emails, or Benghazi, they never stop. The Democrats, on the other hand, adopt this bullshit attitude of "When they go low, we go high." How nice. How cute. So they never say anything nasty about anyone. They seem to forget that they're in the dirty business of politics, where it's little more than a verbal no-holds-barred brawl. The Republicans understand that therefore continually have the Democrats on the back foot. You mentioned Al Franken earlier. He was a Democratic Senator who resigned after he was photographed acting inappropriately toward a sleeping woman. Could you imagine any Republican resigning for that? Donald Trump tried to bride a foreign leader to provide dirt on an opponent, using US taxpayers money ... and he's still in office. The Republicans have learned that you can do anything or say anything and you will get away with it. The Democrats won't hold their feet to the fire, the MSM will soon look for different headlines, and the general public will quickly lose interest. That approach has worked for them for years, so they're not about to change now. I wouldn't want to see the Democrats lowering themselves to conspiracy craziness like the birth certificate stupidity as an example. I wouldn't mind if they wanted to return fire to sheer childish stupidity with something real but keep it short Say if someone mentions Trumps infantile 'sleepy Joe' babble give a short response such as "why would we care about the juvenile name calling of bleach drinking dopey Donnie?" Then move on to adult talk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETTY29 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Carl Fredrickson said: Thanks for posting that, I ACED IT! Me too. Proud as punch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 minute ago, DETTY29 said: Me too. Proud as punch. That's very rare, in Trumpland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey J J Jr Shabadoo Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 At least he sends his best wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Z Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said: At least he sends his best wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell. Pretty sure that's four or five people he's sent best wishes to who were under federal indictment at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.T.F.Robertson Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 8 hours ago, JFK-1 said: The hypocrisy is and always has been staggering but it's what everyone has come to expect from them. And this latest instance of it is actually not the most striking example of it. Can you imagine the screams if candidate Obama had a background littered with bankruptcies, questionable tax issues he declined to show the returns for, caught on tape bragging about grabbing pussies, paying off hookers. As just a small sample. Then president Obama begins his presidency by inserting his own family into government positions, while along the way being consistently incoherent and using the oval office to endorse the products of a food manufacturer who said nice things about him. The screams of corruption would still be echoing right now almost 4 years after he left the office. Add to that he's black, and he'd have been taken out. (that's where this non-existent white privilege gets you) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Justin Z said: Pretty sure that's four or five people he's sent best wishes to who were under federal indictment at the time. Perhaps they can return the compliment when he is charged. If he went to jail they would need to get him a non orange jumpsuit. Trump would be camouflaged in that suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) These guys really are trying to drive him over the edge. Or should I say even further over the edge. I truly hope he sees this stuff, the laugh track will have him apoplectic, turning the air orange. His niece mentioned that he can't handle being laughed at. Edited July 22, 2020 by JFK-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maple Leaf Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 @JFK-1This is the sort of thing I've been hoping for from the Democrats. "The Trump virus". I like the way Pelosi is playing the Republicans at their own game. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/07/21/nancy-pelosi-trump-virus-sot-blitzer-sitroom-vpx.cnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 41 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said: @JFK-1This is the sort of thing I've been hoping for from the Democrats. "The Trump virus". I like the way Pelosi is playing the Republicans at their own game. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/07/21/nancy-pelosi-trump-virus-sot-blitzer-sitroom-vpx.cnn Obviously things have dived even further South since this article was published. Current numbers are even worse than the ones quoted. This Is Trump’s Plague Now The first coronavirus spike, in late April, can be blamed on the president’s negligence. The second spike, in June, is his own doing. David Frum Staff writer at The Atlantic JUNE 29, 2020 Quote COVID-19 infections peaked on April 24, or so Americans assumed. State health authorities reported 36,738 new cases that day, a record. By mid-May, the United States had reduced that rate of infection by nearly half, to 17,618 on May 11. The accomplishment had come at a tremendous cost: the lockdown of much of the national economy, Great Depression levels of unemployment, the shift to online schooling for millions of children, families denied final visits to dying loved ones. Still, these sacrifices had delivered the desired result. Had that progress continued, the American people—and the American economy—could have likely foreseen a further decline in cases and perhaps a near end to the pandemic, even before a vaccine. But that’s not what happened. On June 24, the number of infections surpassed the April 24 peak. On June 25, the number surpassed that of June 24. On June 26, the country suffered almost 46,000 new infections—nearly 10,000 more in one day than on the worst day in April. All of the sacrifices of the past weeks have been thrown away. The first coronavirus spike, in late April, can be blamed on President Donald Trump’s negligence. The second spike, in June, is his own doing. This is Trump’s plague now. A Washington Post report on June 27 captures Trump’s culpability with horrible aptness. The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been enforcing social-distancing rules, and for good reason. From June 1 to June 15, new COVID-19 cases in the state jumped from 67 in a day to 186. In advance of Trump’s rally in Tulsa on June 20, city employees affixed do not sit here please stickers to every other seat in the stadium venue. Trump campaign workers were captured on video removing the stickers so that Trump could cram attendees closer together. On June 26, Oklahoma reported 396 new infections in a single day. Trump’s rally may not directly account for all those new cases. But Trump’s elevation of the needs of his own ego over the well-being of even his strongest supporters is profoundly implicated in the virus’s powerful June comeback. Even before the viral peak on April 24, Trump urged the reopening of the U.S. economy. On April 16, Trump convened the nation’s governors by conference call to press them to lift restrictions by May 1. The White House that day also released a set of highly permissive guidelines to inform the process, recommending a three-phased plan to begin after states had established a 14-day “downward trajectory of documented cases.” But how steep a decline? Many decisions were left to the governors, at least ostensibly. “You’re going to call your own shots,” Trump told the governors on the call. “You’re going to be calling the shots. We’ll be standing right alongside of you, and we’re going to get our country open and get it working. People want to get working.” At the time, this show of deference to the governors looked like a political retreat by the president. Days earlier, Trump had declared that he alone had “total authority” to reopen the economy—and it would be “the biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.” But the deference soon proved a sham. Trump was set on the widest and earliest possible opening, and he exerted the immense political power of his office to get his wish. In mid-April, protesters—many of them openly brandishing weapons—assembled at the capitols of Democratic-governed states to demand immediate reopening. Trump tweeted his support. “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!” From mid- to late April, the trajectory of infections in states such as Georgia, Florida, and Texas was relatively flat, not down. Despite that, Trump cheered for governors to reopen fast and faster. On April 29, Trump declared that federal social-distancing guidelines would be “fading out.” “I am very much in favor of what they’re doing,” Trump said in the Oval Office about the southern and western governors who were racing to reopen by May 1. The governors were responding to political pressures from local business owners, yes. But they were also obeying the president’s wishes and yielding to pressure from right-wing media. At first, Fox News hosts and guests had dismissed COVID-19 as a Democratic plot against the Trump economy. Just one example of many: On March 9, Sean Hannity said, “They’re scaring the living hell out of people. And I see them again as like, ‘Oh, okay, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax.’” Then, in mid-March, the network abruptly switched its editorial line. Hosts not only voiced concern, but adamantly denied that they had ever done otherwise. “This program has always taken the coronavirus seriously, and we’ve never called the virus a hoax,” Hannity said on March 18. But as Trump pressed for reopening, the Fox News line shifted again. Hosts and guests tumbled over one another to demand more reopenings, faster, bigger—and to pooh-pooh any continuing danger from coronavirus. “The virus just isn’t nearly as deadly as we thought it was, all of us, including on this show. Everybody thought it was, but it turned out not to be,” Tucker Carlson said on his program April 27. On April 29, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on the Hannity program to tout his state’s triumph over the virus. “We know who the vulnerable populations are. We know, if you look at the statistics for people under 50 who don’t have chronic conditions, I mean, you have an extremely low chance of death from this virus and those situations. We know how to protect folks and social distance between those two groups, and so I think there’s a lot of things we’ve learned over the last six weeks. So I think we can take a step forward here in May, continue to build on that, and get America back.” On May 3, Trump staged his notorious town hall in the Lincoln Memorial—a site usually forbidden to be used for partisan purposes, but accessed by Trump via a special exemption. Trump used the occasion to exhort governors to reopen even faster than the guidelines had laid out. “There’s not too many states that I know of that are going up. Almost everybody is headed in the right direction,” he said. “We’re on the right side of it, but we want to keep it that way, but we also want to get back to work.” He praised states that were moving quickly to reopen their economies—and singled out Virginia as a state that was moving too slowly. By this time, Republican-led states had begun letting their stay-at-home orders lapse, starting with Georgia on April 23. Trump initially praised the Georgia plan, then criticized it—but ultimately approved it. Texas followed on May 1. Florida launched the first phase of its reopening on May 4. Trump promised vaccines by the end of the year, and a surging economy by the third quarter of 2020. And if anything contradicted all this happy talk, the president had his answer ready. “The only reason the U.S. has reported one million cases of CoronaVirus is that our Testing is sooo much better than any other country in the World,” Trump tweeted on April 29. “Other countries are way behind us in Testing, and therefore show far fewer cases!” As Trump had hoped, good news began to arrive in the early part of May. Cases were trending down, as were deaths. On May 11, he tweeted: “Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!” Trump ran another victory lap on May 17. “Doing REALLY well, medically, on solving the CoronaVirus situation (Plague!). It will happen!” That same day he added: “The number of Coronavirus cases is strongly trending downward throughout the United States, with few exceptions. Very good news, indeed!” That was fateful timing. The COVID-19 news from mid-May on would almost all be bad. What went wrong? Early reopening could only have worked if stringent safety measures, including the use of face masks and social distancing, were incorporated. Yet the president sabotaged the reopening he himself had forced. Throughout his presidency, Trump has subordinated rational policy in order to provoke virulent culture wars. And the mask has become a rallying symbol for his supporters. Trump never wears a mask in public, and he has mocked Joe Biden for wearing one. “I see Biden. It’s like his whole face is covered. It’s like he put a knapsack over his face. He probably likes it that way,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal on May 21. The Journal’s Michael C. Bender then followed up. He remarked that Trump often negatively commented on masks, especially when worn by White House reporters. “Do you view that as a protest of you? Do you feel like people wear masks to show their disapproval of you?” Trump allowed that it could be—then attacked the health hazards of masks—then expressed indifference whether his supporters wore them or not. Rush Limbaugh mocked the mask as a “symbol of fear” on May 15. The former Fox anchor Brit Hume joined in. On May 27, a writer at the pro-Trump web publication The Federalist posted a piece headlined, “Mandatory Masks Aren’t About Safety, They’re About Social Control.” The author, Molly McCann, warned: “If everyone is wearing a mask, it telegraphs a society-wide acceptance that the status quo has changed.” That morning, a pro-Trump writer named Lee Smith tweeted a link to the article, amplifying McCann’s paranoia. “Terrific @molmccann piece in @FDRLST — masks aren’t about public health but social control. Image of Biden in black mask endorses culture of silence, slavery, and social death.” Smith is a major figure in the pro-Trump media landscape. Formerly a Middle East correspondent for Bill Kristol’s Weekly Standard—and still connected to the eminently mainstream Hudson Institute—he has plunged deep and thick into the pro-Trump cause. In the early morning of May 28, Smith’s tweet got a retweet from Trump himself. You might not imagine that there would be much room to escalate anti-mask rhetoric from “silence, slavery, and social death.” You would be wrong. An Arizona city councilman derisively appropriated George Floyd’s dying words, “I can’t breathe,” to mock mask-wearing. Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump adviser, found a way to go even further than that on his June 23 radio program. Caller: I wanted to discuss what I call the Democrat Islamo-Maoist masks that their dictators demand. Sebastian Gorka: You mean the COVID burqas, the COVID masks. … You know, there’s something inhuman about it, isn’t there? The idea that you cover the face. Not only does it dehumanize the individual in that interaction with another human being, but also it is, you’re right, an act of submission. Millions of citizens obeyed the cues from Trump, the right-wing media, and the medical crackpots who predominate Facebook. While the great majority of Americans approve of mask wearing in public, only 40 percent of Republicans do. On June 20, a short video showed up on Twitter of a middle-aged man in shorts trying to enter a Florida Walmart unmasked. When a masked store employee politely reminded the customer of store rules, the man shoved the employee so hard that the shover actually fell over from his own momentum. The customer got up and pushed the same employee again to force his way in. Perhaps the customer was carrying one of the fake “anti-mask exemption cards” now circulating on the internet and social media for printing at home. As the United States nears the Fourth of July, the disease is reviving. Some Trump supporters want to blame the Black Lives Matter protests for the spike. But the states that mounted the largest protests have seen caseloads decline since George Floyd’s death. Minnesota reported 645 new cases on May 26, then 493 on June 26. New York recorded 1,044, then 804 on the same dates. Washington, D.C.’s 109 cases on May 26 fell to 26 by June 26. Granted, not everybody who protested in those places lived in those places, so perhaps some demonstrators carried the virus to other states. But there’s certainly no obvious link yet. Meanwhile, JPMorgan has found powerful connections between rising restaurant spending and, three weeks later, increasing COVID-19 infections. The disease is spiking in places precisely where state governments hastened to reopen bars, casinos, restaurants, shopping malls, and other indoor places of entertainment. Phoenix, Houston, and other southern cities are suddenly reporting caseloads that look like New York City at its worst. Florida reported nearly 9,000 new infections on June 26, nearly equaling some of New York’s worst days. Texas recorded almost 6,000 new cases that day. Arizona reported nearly 3,400 new cases on June 26 and now suffers more cases per capita than Brazil or any country in Europe. In the face of this worsening crisis, Trump is not taking action; he’s instead shifting the goalposts: Don’t pay attention to the case rate, he now argues. Look at the death rate. Last week, he tweeted: “Coronavirus deaths are way down. Mortality rate is one of the lowest in the World. Our Economy is roaring back and will NOT be shut down. ‘Embers’ or flare ups will be put out, as necessary!” But deaths lag behind infections, and a rise in cases in late June warns of more deaths to come in late July. We’re already well past the death toll of 100,000 that Trump predicted at his Lincoln Memorial town hall only eight weeks ago. Trump’s hopes for a third-quarter economic recovery are also blighted. Spending data suggest that the upward trajectory of May and early June has halted and reversed in the states that have opened. The slight uptick in employment in May now may prove abortive. For millions of American families, the hardest reckoning arrives on July 31, when the federal government stops supplementing state unemployment insurance benefits. Those who have kept their jobs face other hardships. Will schools reopen in September? It looks more and more doubtful. At the onset, the pandemic was aggravated by Trump’s negligence and indifference. He had dismantled the country’s pandemic preparedness. He denied the disease for two months. He made one crucial mistake after another. Even so, Trump could plausibly shift at least some blame for the arrival of the disease. The pandemic did originate outside of the U.S., China did cover up the disease, and the World Health Organization did enable China. Trump could also argue that even those countries with the best responses were hit hard for many weeks. But what has happened in the U.S. in June, and what will happen in July, is entirely Trump’s fault. The president’s approach to the virus has been guided by his lifelong beliefs: It’s just as real to say you have done a good job as to do a good job. Denying you failed is just as real as actually succeeding. This time, though, reality will not be blustered away. Tens of thousands are dead, and millions are out of work, all because Trump could not and would not do the job of disease control—a job that includes setting a positive example to those Americans who trust and follow his leadership. Across the rest of the developed world, COVID-19 has been ebbing. As a result, borders are reopening and economies are reviving. Here in the U.S., however, Americans are suffering a new disease peak worse than the worst of April. How lethal will this new peak be? We will learn that the way we seem to learn everything in this era of Trump: the hard way. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/this-is-trumps-plague-now/613633/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterion Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 7 hours ago, JFK-1 said: These guys really are trying to drive him over the edge. Or should I say even further over the edge. I truly hope he sees this stuff, the laugh track will have him apoplectic, turning the air orange. His niece mentioned that he can't handle being laughed at. That is tremendous. 👏 Some smart minds working on TLP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETTY29 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Sure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruyff Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 15 minutes ago, DETTY29 said: Sure? Tear gas and rubber bullets on a bunch of middle aged housewives. Jesus fecking christ, America has absolutely lost the plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maple Leaf Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 10 hours ago, JFK-1 said: Obviously things have dived even further South since this article was published. Current numbers are even worse than the ones quoted. This Is Trump’s Plague Now The first coronavirus spike, in late April, can be blamed on the president’s negligence. The second spike, in June, is his own doing. David Frum Staff writer at The Atlantic JUNE 29, 2020 It's worth pointing out that David Frum is a lifelong conservative, following in the footsteps of his staunchly conservative mother, Barbara Frum. He never let himself fall into the Trump cult. Also, that article was written three weeks ago. The situation in the USA is much worse now. Trump's Plague indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 6 hours ago, Cruyff said: Tear gas and rubber bullets on a bunch of middle aged housewives. Jesus fecking christ, America has absolutely lost the plot. It's troubling to contemplate how far Trump would be willing to go as the pandemic spirals further out of control and it may begin getting through that his chances of being re-elected are becoming slimmer. He's one of those people who can't project far ahead what the consequences of his actions may be on him personally. He presumably knows a lot more of his activities are going to come to light if/when he's rejected from that office possibly just months from now. He wont be able to fire investigators nor hinder investigations then. Plus the current enablers will disappear from his radar as everyone tries to pretend they didn't know or could do nothing about it. Stone is lucky he was sentenced before not after Trump is out. There are others who will be facing charges at a later date when he wont be there to commute sentences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cade Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 He's doubling down, promising to send hundreds more Federal agents to big cities. I'd be very surprised not to see local police having to protect the citizens from the Feds in the next few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey J J Jr Shabadoo Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 It's unbelievable someone that thick can get that job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 24 minutes ago, Cade said: He's doubling down, promising to send hundreds more Federal agents to big cities. I'd be very surprised not to see local police having to protect the citizens from the Feds in the next few days. Yes he is, and I can't fathom what he thinks this will accomplish. There's a very good chance it could become disastrous. The cities he's forcing this on are worried. Trump to send 'surge' of hundred of federal agents to cities Quote Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot confirmed on Tuesday that federal agents would be deployed to her city to beef up local police. "We welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship," Ms Lightfoot told a news conference, warning that the federal officers should not try the same tactics they have used in Portland. FULL ARTICLE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFK-1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 20 minutes ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said: It's unbelievable someone that thick can get that job. What are you talking about? He's a "very stable genius" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 32 minutes ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said: It's unbelievable someone that thick can get that job. I know. At least hes less harmless than say Bush. What is Trumps kill rate in comparison to other Presidents I wonder 9n the offended list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3,431
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.