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Author Topic:   The Right Side of the News
Percy
Member
Posts: 22391
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(1)
Message 5446 of 5796 (873500)
03-16-2020 11:56 AM
Reply to: Message 5444 by Faith
03-16-2020 11:24 AM


Re: Trump Refuses Responsibility for Extant Policies
Faith writes:
So he delegated responsibility to others and forgot about it, SO WHAT?
So it will cost lives. Is maintaining the pretense of Trump's pristine and perfect leadership skills more important than people's lives?
May as well take this opportunity to mention what's going on here locally. This is for people generally and not part of the reply to you.
Massachusetts, a state next door, has closed all schools, bars and restaurants. Here in New Hampshire the schools are closed but bars and restaurants remain open. I've been in PT for a minor tennis injury, and they're shutting down for at least two weeks except for priority cases such as post surgical PT.
Grocery store shelves were mostly cleared out of paper products, but then they started placing limits on how much you could buy at a time and the situation has improved. Strangely, chicken is cleaned out, but there's plenty of pork, steak, ham, ribs, etc. All the other food aisles seem well stocked. Liquor stores are experiencing a run, primarily beer and hard liquor, wine not so much.
Masks and hand sanitizer are unavailable. Because the pandemic is viral, not bacterial, any non-alcohol hand sanitizer will not work against the coronavirus. If you can't get any alcohol based hand sanitizer then buy alcohol and dilute it down to about 60%. Dish soap is also effective as it attacks the viral membrane and in effect dissolves it.
My wife's place of work shut down this morning. Shortly after she fetched her laptop and monitors and brought them home they locked down the building. She'll be working from home for at least the next two weeks. She's installed herself in the living room. The quietude of my retirement is gone and I guess I'll have to stop dancing around naked because I never let her find out about that, oh woe is me!
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5444 by Faith, posted 03-16-2020 11:24 AM Faith has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5447 by jar, posted 03-16-2020 12:00 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
jar
Member (Idle past 394 days)
Posts: 34026
From: Texas!!
Joined: 04-20-2004


(1)
Message 5447 of 5796 (873502)
03-16-2020 12:00 PM
Reply to: Message 5446 by Percy
03-16-2020 11:56 AM


Re: Trump Refuses Responsibility for Extant Policies
Percy writes:
The quietude of my retirement is gone and I guess I'll have to stop dancing around naked because I never let her find out about that, oh woe is me!
Within reason; remember the 24th of March is the New Moon and if we all don't go out and dance about naked it might never come back.
Think about the children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Sister's Website: Rose Hill StudiosMy Website: My Website

This message is a reply to:
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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 5448 of 5796 (873504)
03-16-2020 12:09 PM
Reply to: Message 5387 by Faith
03-15-2020 12:21 PM


Re: Some validation of McCarthy
Here's the article I found:
The article was written by Steve Usdin. I want to say I've heard the name before, but an internet search didn't bring up anything I remember. Perhaps the name was mentioned in articles I've read about Alger Hiss or the Verona project.
At any rate, Usdin's apparent certainty that Alger Hiss spied for the Soviet Union and that I F Stone's relationship with the KGB needs some kind of explanation. Although a very good case can be made that Hiss did, in fact, spy for the Soviet Union, the case is not absolutely clear and the Vassiliev documents (the subject of the linked article) have turned out to be as murky as everything else in the Alger Hiss case.
Nonetheless, as I said, there is good evidence that Hiss was a spy and I could just accept Usdin's certainty as "people taking sides," but the allegations against Stone are extremely weak tea. That Usdin seems certain that Stone had some 'splainin' to do does, I think, show that Usdin does let partisan leanings cloud his judgement, and that he doesn't seem to realize that bringing up Stone would bring into question his judgement makes me doubt somewhat his reliability,
On the other hand, Usdin has had a book published by Yale University Press which is no small thing, so there's that.
Be that as it may, Usdin isn't justifying Mccarthy -- just the opposite. He's concerned that acknowledging the existence Communist spies in the US government is unreasonably dismissed because some think it would be seen as justifying McCarthy's witch hunt. There are some in the anti-Communist movement who criticize Mccarthy precisely because his excessive circus badly discredited the anti-Communist movement.
Edited by Chiroptera, : No reason given.

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5387 by Faith, posted 03-15-2020 12:21 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5449 by Faith, posted 03-16-2020 10:44 PM Chiroptera has replied

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 5449 of 5796 (873546)
03-16-2020 10:44 PM
Reply to: Message 5448 by Chiroptera
03-16-2020 12:09 PM


Re: Some validation of McCarthy
THE VERONA PROJECT!!! THAT's what I couldn't remember. Well, that's a relief, thanks.
Yes it's not quite that Usdin justifies McCarthy but the concern that information about spies in the US government is unreasonably dismissed for fear of justifying him gives some credibility to him. And I think it should. Circus or not, excessive or not, there WERE spies in the US government and there were plenty of Communists in Hollywood and elsewhere in the country. Their influence has only grown over the last few decades. We are now reaping the effects of Communist influence.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5448 by Chiroptera, posted 03-16-2020 12:09 PM Chiroptera has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5453 by Chiroptera, posted 03-17-2020 9:38 AM Faith has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22391
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


(4)
Message 5450 of 5796 (873553)
03-17-2020 7:03 AM


Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?
This morning I listened to a horror story on BBC as their financial program gathered stories from correspondents across the EU describing how life has been affected. They described the difficulties people and businesses are facing and will face in the coming months. It was mentioned that airlines are only weeks away from bankruptcy. Will airlines survive? Without airlines can airports, the airlines essential partner, survive? What will be the impact on the railroad industry and trucking?
Transportation infrastructure is essential for the movement of people and goods, but during this period of restricted movement it is the transportation of goods that is most essential. While we lockdown in place we must still be able to buy food and essential products at the grocery and home supply stores.
People in many industries are already being laid off. Bars and restaurants are the most common example, and as airlines reduce scheduling by around 80% the retail stores in airports will be shutting down and laying off employees. How will those suddenly without jobs afford their rents and mortgages? Bankruptcies of both people and businesses will not be far behind. How will the banking industry withstand the onslaught of bankruptcies?
Some businesses are being compassionate at the moment. The Boston Celtics, the local basketball team, has announced that employees will continue to be paid through the end of the season, but the people who man the food and concession stands at the Boston Garden (the arena is called the Garden) are not employees of the Celtics.
I could go on, but I'll stop. Is this a worst case scenario? I don't know. It is the scenario I imagined but only alluded to in my Message 5319, written about a week ago just after the WHO declared a world pandemic. This is quickly sprinting past just a major health concern to become a world wide economic disaster affecting life very severely in the short term and very significantly for years to come in the longer term.
It is appropriate to ask whether this lockdown is worse than the resulting economic disaster. What if government, instead of a lockdown, put its full force and power behind the production and distribution of masks, gloves and effective sanitizer? Would that approach cause ten thousand more deaths? A hundred thousand? A million? More? Would an overburdened health industry result in even more deaths of people unaffected by the coronavirus but unable to obtain the necessary care? And on the other hand, how many deaths will economic depression for years cause?
I don't have the answers, but I do hope that those at all levels of government and business who are not up to the demands of this crisis move aside to allow the most competent, the experts, to handle things.
How long will this last? I don't know, but Major League Baseball is talking about a June resumption. I hope that's not optimistic.
--Percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 5452 by Chiroptera, posted 03-17-2020 9:35 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 5454 by AZPaul3, posted 03-17-2020 12:16 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 5455 by Hyroglyphx, posted 03-17-2020 12:44 PM Percy has seen this message but not replied
 Message 5508 by Percy, posted 03-20-2020 10:55 AM Percy has replied

  
Percy
Member
Posts: 22391
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 5451 of 5796 (873558)
03-17-2020 9:30 AM


How We Could Be Affected
The New York Times today has a piece outlining what could be the economic consequences of the shut down of most aspects of daily life for a considerable period of time: One Simple Idea That Explains Why the Economy Is in Great Danger - The New York Times
Briefly summarizing, no modern economy has ever experienced anything like this before. In the US $2.1 trillion is spent every year on transportation (air, train, car, Uber, etc., but not the cost of purchasing automobiles), recreation, food (not groceries brought home), and accommodations. It is not a simple matter of saying, "If we're shut down for 10% of the year then that would cost $0.21 trillion," because lost income would leave people much less able to spend money on these things.
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Grammar.

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 5452 of 5796 (873559)
03-17-2020 9:35 AM
Reply to: Message 5450 by Percy
03-17-2020 7:03 AM


A competent government could probably soften the consequences.
Unfortunately, we have Trump.
Paul Krugman's column this morning:
Step Aside for Powell and Pelosi
The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans haven't really been active in trying to figure out how to handle the economic fallout from coronavirus - not surprising since they've long ago sidelined actual economic experts - along with anyone who has any expertise in any field - in favor of charlatans purveying their favored mythologies.
All movement on this has been due to action taken by the Fed and the Democratic leadership.
But last week, as the House drafted and then passed an economic relief bill one that was helpful, if still clearly inadequate it was almost entirely a Democratic effort. Democratic staff members put together the key elements of the bill paid sick leave for many (though not enough) workers, enhanced unemployment benefits, increased federal contributions for Medicaid and more.
The Senate probably will eventually pass Pelosi’s bill. But with all signs pointing to a steep economic dive, we need a much bigger stimulus package perhaps along the lines being developed by Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader as soon as possible. This package shouldn’t include tax cuts; it should focus overwhelmingly on cash grants, perhaps a basic grant to every legal resident plus additional grants to those in special need.
Edited by Chiroptera, : Fixed tags.

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

This message is a reply to:
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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 5453 of 5796 (873560)
03-17-2020 9:38 AM
Reply to: Message 5449 by Faith
03-16-2020 10:44 PM


Re: Some validation of McCarthy
THE VERONA PROJECT!!!
Oops! That should be Venona, not Verona.
My fault. I made the typo.

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5449 by Faith, posted 03-16-2020 10:44 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5457 by Faith, posted 03-17-2020 6:23 PM Chiroptera has not replied

  
AZPaul3
Member
Posts: 8513
From: Phoenix
Joined: 11-06-2006
Member Rating: 5.3


(4)
Message 5454 of 5796 (873591)
03-17-2020 12:16 PM
Reply to: Message 5450 by Percy
03-17-2020 7:03 AM


Re: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?
We have all seen the flatten the curve graphic and assume we know what it means. But there is a devil in its details. If we are successful in flattening the curve we will have spread the peak of the infection rate so as to not overwhelm our healthcare capacity. This is a good thing but it comes at, what could be, an enormous cost by lengthening the economic hit to be suffered. The longer we can flatten the curve the more people/businesses will fall into economic distress and bankruptcy.
Numbers I’ve seen indicate that in the USA the steep rise in infection rate is matching that seen in Italy and will overwhelm our domestic healthcare capacity by mid-April with, maybe, another 60 days of increasing exponential growth in the infection rate before it peaks in June. But that is not where infection stops. That is where the rate of increase peaks. Thousands, then hundreds, of new cases will continue *daily* for another 3-4+ months.
We can flatten the curve to (hopefully) keep the peak rate from overwhelming our healthcare capacity but, without a vaccine (still 12-18 months away and another 12-18 months to effectively distribute into the bulk of the population), that will push thousands of new infections every month well into 2021+.
So, how long can we socially distance our entire society and at what cost? At what cost if we don’t?
The entire world will suffer a protracted economic recession in the next 6 months with (classic) economic depression looming in the future (maybe). The good news is the rent on my apartment will probably not increase this next January if I’m still here.

Eschew obfuscation. Habituate elucidation.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5450 by Percy, posted 03-17-2020 7:03 AM Percy has seen this message but not replied

  
Hyroglyphx
Inactive Member


Message 5455 of 5796 (873599)
03-17-2020 12:44 PM
Reply to: Message 5450 by Percy
03-17-2020 7:03 AM


Re: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?
All absolutely astute observations, Percy. Its not just what a pandemic does physically its what kind of break down to the entire system it causes in the fallout. The economic impact is so far-reaching and pervasive.
This should be the world's wake up call as to the power of preparedness. We should consider this a dry run for a truly horrific pandemic. Keeping things into perspective, this is pretty mild when compared to some of the nastier strains of viruses in existence that are presently dormant and suppressed. Had something like a terrible hemorrhagic fever like Ebola been released worldwide, it would be by orders of magnitude worse than this. Thankfully we were able to stop that one dead in its tracks, but this should really highlight our vulnerability and there is nothing to say that it or something far worse can't come down the pipeline.
Its been a cascading effect, spilling into every sector of our lives.
Every nation on Earth needs to learn from the mistakes that we've already made.

"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it" -- Thomas Paine

This message is a reply to:
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Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 5456 of 5796 (873617)
03-17-2020 6:03 PM


Moscow Mitch still packin' the courts
Just a reminder that coronavirus hasn't slowed down Republican shenanigans.
From the New York Times:
McConnell Has a Request for Veteran Federal Judges: Please Quit
Running out of federal court vacancies to fill, Senate Republicans have been quietly making overtures to sitting Republican-nominated judges who are eligible to retire to urge them to step aside so they can be replaced while the party still holds the Senate and the White House.
I wonder how many of these judges would deliberately wait until after the elections to retire because they have too much integrity to want to be replaced by political hacks?

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 5457 of 5796 (873620)
03-17-2020 6:23 PM
Reply to: Message 5453 by Chiroptera
03-17-2020 9:38 AM


Re: Some validation of McCarthy
No problem, I found out it's Venona when I searched on it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5453 by Chiroptera, posted 03-17-2020 9:38 AM Chiroptera has not replied

  
JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


(1)
Message 5458 of 5796 (873634)
03-17-2020 8:04 PM


Arguing that Republicans couldn't manage an economy if they wanted to
Trump Is Running a Pandemic Response Like a Business, With Disastrous Results
quote:
At every step of the way, Trump and the conservative media have treated the coronavirus as a PR problem, a political problem, and a business problem. They have tried to downplay the severity of the disease, tell people to continue life like everything is normal, continue flying and going on cruise lines, and boost the markets however possible. Friday’s bizarre press conference was little more than an infomercial for some of the top health-related businesses in the Dow Jones average, with a parade of CEOs talking about their commitment to doing vague somethings about the pandemic right before the closing bell. It worked, at least for now: the Dow surged as a result of the upbeat corporate presentation. For weeks now the administration has slow-played testing under the theory that lower reported numbers would somehow look better and magically change the actual reality on the ground until the problem went away.
Like so much of modern American business culture, the ethic here is short-sighted and self-serving at best, and cruel, callous, and malevolent at worst. Today’s fast-moving capital markets are explicitly designed to be reactive rather than proactive, and every incentive built into them is to push for growth at all costs. Problems are meant to be pushed to the side and out of sight so the good times can keep rolling at the top; inconvenient costs are externalized and socialized on the backs of workers, the impoverished, and the environment. In the best of times, this dynamic creates massive inequalities and injustices that the market doesn’t notice, because the victims most affected are insignificant toand go unnoticed bythe invisible hand. In the worst of times, however, it utterly hobbles a society’s ability to respond to crises that require active management before they can be directly felt in the marketplace.

Replies to this message:
 Message 5459 by Faith, posted 03-18-2020 3:59 AM JonF has replied
 Message 5461 by dwise1, posted 03-18-2020 11:52 AM JonF has not replied

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 5459 of 5796 (873645)
03-18-2020 3:59 AM
Reply to: Message 5458 by JonF
03-17-2020 8:04 PM


Re: Arguing that Republicans couldn't manage an economy if they wanted to
What on earth is that guy blathering on about? The Friday press conference brought out some innovative ideas on how the private sector could work with government on the various needs concerning the pandemic. I thought it was rather ingenious and could be very productive.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5458 by JonF, posted 03-17-2020 8:04 PM JonF has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5460 by JonF, posted 03-18-2020 8:57 AM Faith has not replied

  
JonF
Member (Idle past 168 days)
Posts: 6174
Joined: 06-23-2003


Message 5460 of 5796 (873649)
03-18-2020 8:57 AM
Reply to: Message 5459 by Faith
03-18-2020 3:59 AM


Re: Arguing that Republicans couldn't manage an economy if they wanted to
The Friday news conference was a shit show, with Trump lying his ass off and the experts flailing to contradict him without angering him.
ABE I note you have nothing to say about Republican inability to manage an economy.
Edited by JonF, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 5459 by Faith, posted 03-18-2020 3:59 AM Faith has not replied

  
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