October COVID Surprise: So Much Bullshit, So Little Time [UPDATE-4]

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Here’s a new post because the last post’s comment thread is now unwieldy, and there’s more fresh bullshit to wade through.

I have been wading through a bunch of material but don’t have anything ready for publication. Community members still need some white space in which to discuss the latest Trump bullshit.

Have at it — I’ll add content here shortly with any future updates to follow at the bottom of this post.

~ ~ ~

Trump’s little joy ride this evening did himself no favors. His body’s under huge stress and he doesn’t appear to recognize this, even if the Regeneron multi-antibody therapy is working.

There’s a dearth of news about that antibody cocktail’s success under compassionate use with other COVID patients. Regeneron released information about a study in which 275 out of a total 1100 participants received this therapy.

What’s weird about the antibody cocktail is that they didn’t release a study with data but a goddamned press release on Tuesday September 29, at 4:01 p.m.

Conveniently one minute after market close but before the debate, and potentially after some persons in the White House knew they were COVID-positive.

The steroid Trump received — dexamethasone — was the next appropriate step in the protocol for COVID based on Trump’s depleted oxygen levels, which means the antibody cocktail wasn’t working as quickly or as well as needed.

Dexamethasone would have been dispensed because Trump’s oxygen level fell substantially; when asked, Conley said his level had not fallen into the low 80s — a level which would be cyanotic. This means Trump’s O2 probably did fall to 85% and likely needed oxygen and the steroid to prevent cyanosis.

A study this summer showed this steroid helps some patients:

RESULTS
A total of 2104 patients were assigned to receive dexamethasone and 4321 to receive usual care. Overall, 482 patients (22.9%) in the dexamethasone group and 1110 patients (25.7%) in the usual care group died within 28 days after randomization (age-adjusted rate ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75 to 0.93; P<0.001). The proportional and absolute between-group differences in mortality varied considerably according to the level of respiratory support that the patients were receiving at the time of randomization. In the dexamethasone group, the incidence of death was lower than that in the usual care group among patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (29.3% vs. 41.4%; rate ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.81) and among those receiving oxygen without invasive mechanical ventilation (23.3% vs. 26.2%; rate ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.94) but not among those who were receiving no respiratory support at randomization (17.8% vs. 14.0%; rate ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.55).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those receiving no respiratory support.

Source: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2021436

But Trump is NOT receiving respiratory support consistently based on yesterday’s photos and proof-of-life video, this evening’s his stunt ride as well as the sketchy information his physicians have given. The steroid would not be as beneficial to him as it would be to patients on ventilators.

To my knowledge Trump’s physicians have already shot their COVID arsenal. If Trump has additional difficulty breathing he’ll likely be put under anesthesia into an induced coma and intubated. If he gets to that point he won’t have a choice about it because his low oxygen level could cause a cascade of organ failures — a crash.

We can deduce his lungs are compromised because of Dr. Conley’s hedging about their appearance (“There’s some expected findings, but nothing of any major clinical concern,” he said).

It’s likely Trump’s being monitored for cardiac symptoms given the use of ultrasound and the frequency with which COVID causes myocarditis. We can’t rule out the possibility Trump had cardiac symptoms when he went on an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed last November which may mean he’s at greater risk of myocarditis.

And it’s likely Trump’s got some degree of COVID brain as well, which the steroid will make worse — he’ll have cloudy thinking but with mania. A number of doctors from different fields have expressed concerns about dexamethasone’s affect on Trump’s capacity given the possibility of mania, delirium/confusion while under its influence.

We don’t even know yet if Trump has been free of fever without antipyretic medication.

I’m not a doctor, but none of this suggests to me that Trump will be ready to be released from Walter Reed tomorrow, joy ride or not.

Any future updates to follow at the bottom of this post.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE-1 — 10:00 A.M. 05-OCT-2020 —

The cover-up continues. One of the White House correspondents, Michael D. Shear, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now disclosing the White House has not made any effort to reach out to him as part of contact tracing. (Open pic link below to launch tweeted video clip of interview with Shear.)

There has been no mention of the White House or members of the Centers for Disease Control reaching out to anyone else who was in attendance at the Barrett ‘Rose Garden Massacre’ where it’s believed more than a couple people were infected.

As Marcy noted in Twitter, it looks increasingly like Trump was infected on Thursday or Friday, 24-25 September, and that he may be responsible for a number of the cases associated with the Barrett ‘Rose Garden Massacre’.

But this also means Trump was infectious at the debate and may have knowingly attempted to infect his opponent, Joe Biden.

Melania also tested positive and was the only family Trump family member to wear a mask, though she did so while seated in the audience and not while on the debate stage upon Trump’s entrance. Was she told not to wear a mask on stage not only because Trump is anti-mask but because Trump wanted to increase the viral load on the stage?

This isn’t just a case of indifference like that Trump showed yesterday by taking a joy ride in the presidential limousine, forcing Secret Service personnel into a hermetically-sealed vessel in which they could not escape any of his aerosolized exhalation which may have escaped his mask.

It’s a deliberate effort to avoid handling the COVID-19 outbreak surrounding Trump, and a deliberate effort to hurt the election process by biological assault against an opposing candidate.

Back in April when the White House COVID-19 Task Force was working on a national plan to respond to the pandemic, there was a pointed effort not to roll out a national plan:

… Against that background, the prospect of launching a large-scale national plan was losing favor, said one public health expert in frequent contact with the White House’s official coronavirus task force.

Most troubling of all, perhaps, was a sentiment the expert said a member of Kushner’s team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically. “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy,” said the expert.

That logic may have swayed Kushner. “It was very clear that Jared was ultimately the decision maker as to what [plan] was going to come out,” the expert said….

It was Kushner’s political calculus, with Trump’s implicit imprimatur, to allow Americans in blue states to sicken and to die without testing or other federal public health assistance because their states didn’t support Trump.

Who is responsible for the political calculus to allow members of Congress, White House staff and correspondents, Trump campaign team members, spouses and children, to be exposed to COVID-19 without any attempt to trace the source of the infection, to avoid making Trump look bad?

Any future updates to follow at the bottom of this post.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE-2 — 11:00 A.M. 05-OCT-2020 —

Uh-huh.

Reported through a Murdoch-owned outlet:

WASHINGTON—President Trump didn’t disclose a positive result from a rapid test for Covid-19 on Thursday while awaiting the findings from a more thorough coronavirus screening, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Trump received a positive result on Thursday evening before making an appearance on Fox News in which he didn’t reveal those results. Instead, he confirmed earlier reports that one of his top aides had tested positive for coronavirus and mentioned the second test he had taken that night for which he was awaiting results.

“I’ll get my test back either tonight or tomorrow morning,” Mr. Trump said during the interview. At 1 a.m. on Friday, the president tweeted that he indeed had tested positive.

Who are those “persons familiar with the matter” — Kushner? Others who’ve been covering Trump’s ass as well as their own because they have a vested interest in not getting embroiled in lawsuits or investigations?

Meanwhile,

We’ve seen feedback leaking out across Twitter indicating staff and their network are very unhappy with how the White House has handled this outbreak and Trump’s joy ride which risked the health of Secret Service agents for a campaign stunt.

How do we reconcile what WSJ reported when other details don’t stack up and staffers are fearful and unhappy?

Any future updates to follow at the bottom of this post.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE-3 — 11:30 A.M. 05-OCT-2020 —

By the way, lest we forget: as of this update there have been 209,603 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.

The country is on track to exceed 210,000 deaths from COVID-19 within the next 24-48 hours.

There were an estimated +618,756 new cases this past week, compared to less than 1,000 around the Pacific Rim countries.

I think I predicted 200,000 deaths by Election Day. I guess I was wrong, putting too much faith in state governments and in Americans to take the right measures to protect themselves since the Trump administration is intent on failing them.

The cherry on top of this disaster: Team Trump is now attacking Joe Biden for not having COVID-19 — utter insanity.

Any future updates to follow at the bottom of this post.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE-4 — 11:40 A.M. 05-OCT-2020 —

I wish somebody could shut down this firehose.

Press Secretary McEnany attacked the media yesterday.

She should have self-isolated after being in contact with multiple infected persons but no. She deliberately attacked the press by exposing them to a biological agent during her maskless briefing.

I mean we’ve seen some hacks come and go as press secretary but I don’t recall any of them being this malicious with the people who are the reason they have a job at all.

Any future updates to follow at the bottom of this post.

~ ~ ~

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233 replies
  1. pdaly says:

    Thanks, Rayne. I post by laptop and notice it takes longer to get to the bottom of threads. I cannot image scrolling via smart phone. Nevertheless a good problem to have. Long live this blog.

  2. Nehoa says:

    Have just been overwhelmed.The message going forward is that we can do so much better without DJT. Three months is just too long.

    • bmaz says:

      Kyle Shanahan is an offensive genius why?

      And I do not mean to be flippant, have the same question as to Kliff Kingsbury here.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        Wasn’t looking so genius tonight. There is a reason Mullens is a backup.

        Did you get a chance to look at the hurdle touchdown by Aiyuk ? That’s is a highlight reel worthy one.

        We are REALLY beat up with injuries.

      • TomAmes says:

        As someone that attended Tech at the same time as a Kliff and has followed his career, I’d be hard pressed to disagree. He’s the son of a coach and a smart enough guy, but he and a slew of others have benefited greatly by being coached/mentored by an actual offensive genius.

      • Molly Pitcher says:

        The terrifying thing is he really means it !! We are looking at a cult member who is worshiping the President of the United States.

        • Alan Charbonneau says:

          The white guy with the beard is Brent Terhune
          @BrentTerhune. He posted a video pretending to be the owner of one of the boats that capsized in the Lake Travis boat parade. It’s hysterical

          He had “too many MAGA flags on the boat, I never thought I’d say that” and “the wind picked up and the current shifted, and I couldn’t tell what was port and what was starboard a bunch of other nautical terms happened”

          https://twitter.com/BrentTerhune/status/1302370759705268229?s=20

        • Eureka says:

          Brent Terhune’s videos are pretty funny (the ones I’ve seen end in a hacking cough signature). He’s like a redneck-interpretive Sarah Cooper.

  4. Nehoa says:

    I was living in China when Trump was elected. First, as I explained how he got elected without the popular vote, I was cautioned how that was dangerous talk.
    Then I was advised as to how the Chinese government would F with him.
    Now they have food issues. Not the case 4 years ago. China deserves to be respected. Trump has no idea how to do that.

  5. Duke says:

    Based off the fictional timeline and the treatment implemented I would say the team of physicians has decided that Trump himself is the virus and they are treating the nation for the infection.

    Colchicine would have been a much better early prophylaxis for the cytokine storm.

  6. pdaly says:

    This article in The Atlantic by staff writer Sarah Zhang, goes through the current logistical nightmare that is going to take place if we eventually have several viable COVID19 vaccines.
    This is irrespective of whether they are EFFECTIVE:

    Two of the faster to produce mRNA vaccines require storage on dry ice, because they are very fragile at warmer temperatures. They require two doses separated by 21 or more days apart. They are not interchangeable, so a hospital will have to have both on hand, and a centralized registry will have to keep track of what a patient received in order to know how to complete the vaccine schedule.

    Another one is a one shot vaccine.

    Researchers are looking for ways to make vaccines that will be stable with more standard refrigeration, but they take longer to produce.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/09/covid-19-most-complicated-vaccine-campaign-ever/616521/

  7. William Bennett says:

    >“So it’s been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about Covid,” Trump said in the video released on his Twitter page. “I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn’t the let’s read the book school and I get it. And I understand it. And it’s a very interesting thing. I’m gonna be letting you know about it.”

    Once again, the Republican Golden Rule: “It isn’t real until it happens to me”

      • posaune says:

        I hope at least a few of the 206 $250K donors ask for their money back. Or at least sue for damages.

      • madwand says:

        Actually it’s the Chinese”s fault as my Senator likes to tell all of us, they hid important information from us that would have given us more time to do WHAT? How different would Republicans, president, senators, governors have acted if they knew in December, or even November? They would have waited just as they did until it became a crisis that could not be denied, ignored science, ignored experts, ignored response plans, and acted in their political interests, which is exactly what they did when they did find out. For the life of me I cannot figure out how Republicans would have acted differently, maybe its just me.

        • Rayne says:

          It’s an insult to our intelligence community as well as the intelligence of the general public to believe it’s the fault of China that we didn’t know about the emergence of a mysterious pneumonia-like illness.

          A Chinese media outlet published an English-language report about it before New Year’s Day, which means our intelligence community probably had information about the illness before that. (We know they did — the general public can deduce this on their own knowing the Chinese media openly discussed it.)

          Team Trump simply wants to blame the pandemic on somebody, anybody, other than themselves and specifically, not Trump. This is malignant narcissism’s M.O.: everything is about them personally, everything good is theirs, everything bad is somebody else’s fault/problem.

          The sad part is that 35-40% of the U.S. is so fucking racist they will cling to whatever excuse this narcissist and his administration offers so as not to shatter their worldview that white power is superior.

          And every other nation knows and understands this except the UK which is just as racist, just as poisoned.

        • quebecois says:

          Lovely, isn’t it?

          Once again, this morning, that Pence panic hit as I was looking for Trump updates…

        • Valley girl says:

          Hey! I had what amounted to a mini-vacation a few weeks ago. I found an online version of The Count of Monte Cristo. I enlarged the type so I could read it (cataract problems) at the computer. I found it spell-binding, a much needed break from Trump-inflicted trauma. I wish I could find something comparable right now!

        • madwand says:

          I thin I agree. It is certainly not about Republicans being responsible. Republicans have asked to lead , indeed even implied they had a mandate to do so and when leadership has demanded responsibility and accountability, they have declined, preferring obfuscation.

          The very least we can expect is good judgment, leading by example, following protocols and experts. Republicans have exempted themselves from all of this, preferring false narratives. We are anywhere from the laughingstock of the world to a source of wonderment of how low we can go.

          Then you have to wonder about the judgement of a would be Supreme Court Justice, a mother, who would bring her children to linger in a mask free environment maskless themselves with people who would later test possible. Boggles the mind and this woman is going to exercise “judgment” over the rest of us. For one I would like to know everything I can about the Barrett family’s previous exposure to covid. Who knows maybe one of the kids was a super spreader.

    • Raven Eye says:

      He seems to be saying that He now knows more than all the generals — scratch that — doctors, and only He can solve this.

      America is on tenterhooks — waiting for the stone to be rolled away and for Him to step out from Walter Reed (?!?!)

  9. chuck says:

    Have any of the medical team taken into consideration adverse side effects related to patients having jungle-allergic bone spurs?

  10. ThoughtMail says:

    No mention on this blog of last Monday’s Rose Garden speech about COVID testing. Astonishingly, Trump and the others spoke from podia separated OUTSIDE by 20 feet! It appears from the following Twitter thread that DJT and Pence KNEW that Trump was already positive the day before the debate. And that he went into the debate probably hoping to infect Biden, who wouldn’t get anything like the medical treatment that POUTUS would. This is disgraceful and criminal.

    Look at the Twitter thread here:
    https://twitter.com/grudging1/status/1312792983398424578

    (video of the event linked in too: Youtube)

    • ThoughtMail says:

      THIS is why they refuse to say when Trump last tested negative. It would be the proof that they knew he was COVID positive when he went into the debate. It also explains why Melanomia was wearing a mask during the debate (she may at least have an iota of respect for the humans that she was sitting with).

    • Rugger9 says:

      It was mentioned, but briefly and then buried by other BS. However, compare and contrast to other similar briefings and it’s clear they knew in the WH that DJT was infected.

    • madwand says:

      Yeah I’ve been thinking the same thing, wondering why only Melania had a mask and why the other Trumps pointedly refused to wear a mask. Melania had it and the other Trumps were providing cover, the reasoning being that no one would be stupid enough not to wear a mask if they knew Trump was infected. Or would they if the stakes were high enough? I’ve also thought he had to know by Monday he was infected and is Trump so immoral as to deliberately infect Biden? Apparently he would also have infected Conway and Christie, who by the way checked himself into Morristown Memorial in NJ yesterday. Perhaps desperate times for the Trumps result in desperate measures.

      • MissingGeorgeCarlin says:

        As somebody said: “If you view DJT’s actions through the eyes of a demented criminal who will go to prison if he loses the election….it all makes sense.”

  11. d4v1d says:

    Julia Belluz on Vox has a piece that is very much in agreement, citing particularly that the steroid has psychiatric side effects, and that remdesivir and regeneron combo has only been tested on hamsters.

    • d4v1d says:

      From a practical – not ideological – standpoint, we are in the article 25 red zone. The next step in treatment could well be intubation, and I cannot see DJT acquiescing to a medically induced coma. He’d rather die, which would not be good for the country, so a determined attempt by the white house to coerce such acquiescence is probably going to prove necessary…soon. But Pence et al have a tiger by the tail; the rabid Trump cult has been mobilized, and they are armed, delusional, and dangerous.

      • Mitch Neher says:

        So . . . You just scared me a very great deal.

        It does figure that Trump worshippers will find some way to blame The Deep State for . . . Nope. I refuse to complete that sentence. Too scary.

      • P J Evans says:

        If the doctors decide he need intubation, he’s not going to be given a choice. They’ll sedate him first.

    • Chris.EL says:

      and now it still hasn’t been tested on humans — go hamsters/mini Queens rats … can’t help myself

      • ducktree says:

        Oh gawd! You’ve just spoiled my lunch with a mental image of Trump as a mole rat Queen . . . cannot unsee that picture. Blech!

        It’s really rather astute, if you just put an toupee of dry grass on the Queen it would be difficult to tell them apart.

  12. PeterS says:

    More generally on covid, the source I use for numbers (worldometers.info) has a column for “serious/critical” each day. I don’t know if this means patients in the ICU on the relevant day or something else (?). The number has been hovering around 14,100 for several weeks, but now seems to be edging up. This doesn’t look good for future daily deaths.

    I hope the number of Americans taking this virus seriously is also edging up.

  14. Ruthie says:

    I had just turned on the news when Trump’s motorcade was leaving Walter Reed yesterday. At the time they announced (erroneously, obviously) that he was returning to the WH, which I thought was bizarre given what we’d learned about his condition during the day. A few hours later, I turned on the tv again, and CNN was calling his stunt “a joyride”. When I finally wrapped my brain around why he’d actually gone out, I thought his behavior was even more bizarre. Did anyone other than him, perhaps addled more than normal by his meds, think it would be a good idea, even as a PR stunt? The move has been pretty harshly condemned by most journalists and doctors. Other than with his cult followers, I don’t see this playing well.

    • Alan Charbonneau says:

      Even Don Jr thinks his dad is acting crazy.

      https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/10/don-jr-thinks-trump-is-acting-crazy-presidents-covid-joyride-has-family-divided

      “There is a long history in the Trump family of denying serious illness. According to a Trump family friend, Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr., insisted on working even after his Alzheimer’s disease advanced in the 1990s. ‘To retire is to expire!’ Fred Sr. would say. The friend said that as Fred Sr.’s disease worsened––he once came down the stairs wearing three neckties––the family created a system so that Fred could think he was still running the Trump Organization. Every day Fred Sr. would go to the office in Brooklyn and they would give him blank papers to sort through and sign. The phone on Fred’s desk was set up so that it could only dial out to his secretary. ‘Fred pretended to work,’ the family friend said.’ “

      Signing blank papers. Like father, like son

  16. William Bennett says:

    Most annoying to me is that many of my lefty friends are still clinging to “this is their grand plan hoax to turn the election around!” I still don’t buy it. I think the real story is in “arrived too late to be tested before the debate.” That’s the tell. If ever there were an official excuse with the unmistakeable stink of Trumpian prevarication all over it, that one is right up there with Bone Spurs. Consider: they couldn’t POSSIBLY cancel out the first debate under the headline “Trump fails CV test!” And they couldn’t possibly drop the plan of having his entourage unmasked (pun unintended, and where’s Edgar Allen Poe when you need him) during the debate because mocking Biden for masking was an essential part of Trump’s schtick. And then they couldn’t get their timeline story straight afterwards–it still doesn’t add up.

    You want schadenfreude, just imagine the panic in the inner court on debate night. Check the expression on Melania’s face, her posture with CV+ hubby on the debate stage, for a taste. They knew he was positive then, I guarantee it. They aren’t rolling out some grand plan, they’re scrambling to somehow stay afloat. This is the real torpedo-below-the-waterline and they armed it and pointed it right at themselves.

    • bmaz says:

      I brought out the Poe a day or two ago on Twitter by saying that Trump should be isolated behind the Cask Of Amontillado.

      • William Bennett says:

        Poor Mis-Fortunato. While Montresor listens for a reply but hears only the jester’s bells ringing.

      • William Bennett says:

        I had to go back and re-read it to confirm my memory of the moment:

        “How long have you had that cough?” “Ugh! ugh! ugh! –ugh! ugh! ugh! –ugh! ugh! ugh! –ugh! ugh! ugh! –ugh! ugh! ugh!” My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes. “It is nothing,” he said, at last. “Come,” I said, with decision, “we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi –” “Enough,” he said; “the cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.”

        Oh my.

        • John Lehman says:

          Lawrence Tribe comparing the situation to “Masque of the Red Death”
          We’ve got to squeeze a Raven metaphor in here somewhere….mmm Baltimore?

        • Eureka says:

          Maybe longer… a couple years back, Mueller-investigation era, I called up Poe with Trump’s reactions to (or dances with) the tell-tale heart of bad press (or bad news he was getting firehosed with via the JDA). It’s not decompensating paranoia if he knew he did it…all…and then some…

          Someone could probably do a nice course on the thematic and textual recurrences with Poe & this guy & our timeline.

        • John Lehman says:

          LOL

          Though the thread already has an initial outline.

          “Murders in the Rue Morgue”
          Plenty of MAGA knuckle draggers around to play the part.

          Though not so funny is the mystery of the reality of inevitability of death…

          ….Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
          Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

          Weird how close the word “covid” is to corvid.
          ….Eureka you might have a serious point.

    • Rayne says:

      That’s why the First Couple were yanking on each other’s hands on the stage — not their usual he-grabs-she-pulls-away — and why she wore a mask sitting down in the guest row.

      When exactly did Melania test positive? When did she last test negative?

      • bg says:

        I did read that Melanoma took her mask off after she sat down. He gas lit himself, and I guess the whole entourage is forced to go along. The doctors have no control, he tells them what they are allowed to say. I really do not want him to die before Nov. 3. At this point I would like him to be too sick to do much, but I can’t stand the drama of a state funeral before the election.

        • Rugger9 says:

          It’ll take a change in administrations, but does anyone else think that our WH doctor will not face a hearing or two (he’s USN as well) about letting POTUS run the show? It’s one thing to let patients have a say in treatment options, but this was rank irresponsibility that should affect his license.

    • BobCon says:

      I was also floored by people saying this was all a clever game.

      Part of it is some people just like to think of themselves as clever nihilists. I think it’s related to the people who like to point to the minority who are diehard Trumpers as if that by itself signifies something.

      Another part is people who rightly see Trump as a guy very capable of a lot of bad things but don’t see the major limits to what he can do. He is not an idiot (at least maybe until now) but he is never about the secret reveal. The only people who are ever surprised by him are the pundits and pseudo-braniacs who refuse to believe the awful things he tells us.

      • William Bennett says:

        The thing is, creating an aura of ruthless deviousness is a standard item in the authoritarian-dictator/mob-boss toolbox. The fear of What Will They Do To Me? is how they maintain discipline. It inhibits potential dissenters, and it also attracts followers who admire those qualities. Why “Winning” was such a powerful slogan among people who feel like they’ve been handed the Loser ticket by life: they want to be on the other side for once, and that’s the attraction of the guy who’s gonna do whatever underhanded thing it takes to win no matter what.

        That’s how you get authoritarianism up and running. But I think it’s Arendt who points out that it works only until it doesn’t, and what breaks it down quite rapidly is when the charismatic leader is revealed as a loser. That’s why this situation is so dangerous to them. A big part of the dynamic—as represyented in any number of mobster movies—is that your enemies HELP you construct the aura of dangerousness. “It has to be a hoax, they control all events, they will punish us, etc etc etc.” The Great and Powerful Oz, all-seeing, all-knowing.

        So he can’t afford any little Toto yanking back the curtain on what a little man he truly is–those limitations, as you say. The tax docs were a step, but they’d already worked out an immunization plan for that. This current episode is FAR more dangerous to them in this respect. They’ve spent months equating “strength” with ignoring the virus, refusing to wear a mask, above all mocking their opponents–and Biden particularly–for observing the rules. Now look who’s sick and who isn’t. Who’s in the hospital (weak weak weak eek!) and who isn’t. And how hard they’re scrambling to fight that impression off (toxic motorocade!)

        This whole episode is already verging on the threshold of undoing the illusion of quasi-magical power and invulnerability. They MIGHT be able to turn it around by Trump Emerging Victorious Over The Virus, but if you look at the reactions even INSIDE the bubble it’s not trending that way. They’ve flipped with astonishing rapidity to “The Serious Problem We All Face,” and “We’re All In This Together.” But it’s far too late, they’re leveraged way too deeply in the opposite position and the big sell-off we’re starting to see is only going to debase that investment all the more devastatingly.

        So just going anywhere near a ploy like this on purpose, only weeks before the election, would be insanely risky. Which is why I can’t give the “hoax” theory any credence, but more importantly it’s why we shouldn’t be indulging in it. Because doing so is feeding more energy into the authoritarian script FOR them. The people doing it think they’re being all sharp and seeing through the fiendish plot, when actually they are helping create the power they claim to be resisting. So just stop, sez I. Hand ’em an anchor, not a life-preserver.

        • Troutwaxer says:

          Cheating aside, I think at this point their only chance of winning the election will be if Trump resigns more-or-less immediately, and Pence then fires everyone but Fauci and brings out a fast-working and realistic plan to bring the infection rate down. The obstacles to making this work, of course, involve the already-appointed Trumpians who’d rather ride the plan down in flames than change the plan, so I’m not sure the plan is executable, but it’s the only plan I can see.

          The simple facts say we’re going to spend the next month hearing all about the high-ranking people who came down with COVID-19… and a couple of them may die. The only thing that can counter this is a Trump resignation and Pence doing something to really take charge!

        • Troutwaxer says:

          On one hand, you’re absolutely right. On the other hand, we don’t know what Pence really thinks. Is he biting his tongue and going along with Trump’s policies, or is he enthusiastic about them? On the gripping hand, have his ideas on the whole thing changed since Trump got infected? There’s no way to know.

        • PieIsDamnGood says:

          He oversaw an HIV outbreak by ignoring reality when he was governor. Don’t hold your breathe.

        • Troutwaxer says:

          I know. I suspect that HIV is a religious issue for him, and COVID is not, which might affect his performance if he ever had a chance to really address COVID.

          But Pence aside, I don’t hold much hope. I have no doubt that Trump will find exactly the wrong thing to do, whatever it may be, and turning things over to Pence for the good of the party just isn’t in the man. In terms of Republicans getting their shit together, Pence is a side-show unless Trump is in a coma.

  18. Alan Charbonneau says:

    Late last night I saw that Billy Barr has decided to quarantine and that Kellyanne Conway’s daughter has tested positive. I’m expecting more announcement like this over the next few days.

    I don’t wish covid on anyone, but if McConnell or Barr gets it, I’ll be less upset than if my next door neighbor is testing positive. I wish I lived in a world where that wasn’t the case.

  19. bmaz says:

    Not really a surprise, but Sheldon Whitehouse was just on Morning Joe that the pressure is so immense that if McConnell has to wheel sick Covid Republican Senators in on gurneys with IV’s attached to get Amy Covid Barrett confirmed, he will do it.

    • klynn says:

      We are in the midst of a terrible national security threat and Mitch just plans to ignore it by adding to it.

    • William Bennett says:

      Biden over Trump +14 after the debate debacle. McConnell sees what’s coming. They’re all scrambling. The fact that it was Barrett’s nomination party in the Rose Garden that was the super-spreader event verges on Sophoclean. The Greeks knew Fate has a vicious sense of irony. Does McConnell sense Divine Justice in the offing?

      • bg says:

        I give credit to the Universe. When RBG and Helen Reddy showed up in the spirit world the same week Amy was loosed in the garden, the Universe said, “Sit down white boys.” She ain’t having it.

        • Savage Librarian says:

          The 3 people I knew who died this year who had other conditions, but also Covid 19, were all decent, kind, hard working people. They were also Republicans. The person who had it and survived is a Democrat, also a decent, kind, hard working person. Go figure. Somehow we need to find a way to all come back together and make our government work better. Greed, power grabs, and lies by the nastiest of politicians won’t do it. I am so looking forward to VOTING!

        • Duke says:

          “the Universe said, ‘Sit down white boys.’ She ain’t having”

          n, the Universe said, “Sit down white boys.” She ain’t having it”

          There is no BDE in the GOP.

          BULLIES are all insecurities wrapped in a tortilla with garden style shit flavored salsa to make a very violent post burrito experience.

          Koolaid drinkers a beginng to look for the facilities but are finding no Toilet paper in the stalls after it is too late.

    • Epicurus says:

      McConnell seems much like Guiness’s character Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai at first insisting that ill British prisoners not be forced to work the Japanese bridge but then pleading, in his own way, with the ill prisoners to work so the bridge could be finished on time. Last line of the movie by the doctor: “Madness”.

    • BobCon says:

      The politics of this are really curious to me. I tend to assume they don’t trust a Roberts directed court and are willing to roll the dice on beating a court packing measure.

      This assumes the hard right justices can show enough political wisdom to avoid things like backing executions of abortion providers, and I find that dubious.

      It’s also possible, I guess, that they think someone like Thomas is not going to last four years and they want a buffer.

      • Jenny says:

        Old energy hanging onto old beliefs. An imbalanced old patriarchal belief system with centuries-old painful and disruptive divisions, expressing ideologies that certain groups want to control other people through religion and politics.

        Desiring to conquer others under strict rule, these beliefs tend to favor the white male of one social level or another. A strategy to control, this includes males dictating women’s rights by choosing what is best for women regarding reproductive rights, and those women who agree with the old patriarchal belief system, ought to be involved in that which influences or directs public policy and political platforms. These groups have for eons directed the path of humanity, now it is coming to an end.

        Fear mongers need hero-worship to retain power. In The Wizard of Oz the curtain pulled back exposed a weak man. Curtains are opened everyday revealing fear based leaders disrespecting We the People because they choose party over people. Antiquated rules, traps and energy.

        We the People are experiencing evolution, revolution – revolution, evolution. Through discomfort, change emerges.

        • Chris.EL says:

          … that always gets me: the ruling over women (girls too) thou shalt not [abort]. Humans will, most likely, always achieve the procedure; desperation finds a way.

          Had no idea (until recently) of the kinds of restrictions women are subjected to in Saudi Arabia: can’t drive, need male relative permission !!! to do thing like leave the country!!!

    • BobCon says:

      I think the eventual revelation will be that this is not the first major infection scare in the White House and the reason they thought this one could be covered up was that they covered up others.

      As long as the cases were said to be limited to the Secret Service and other people outside the inner circle, they counted on the White House press to treat it like it didn’t matter.

    • MB says:

      Oh no, are they now going to recall Stephanie Grisham back to hold the job title without actually doing the work? At least she was smart enough not to want to get up in public and lie on a daily basis to the press.

  24. Wm. Boyce says:

    And how about the potential liability lawsuits in the taxpayer’s future against the government for gross negligence in having an unsafe workplace? Don’t know how it will work exactly, but just wait for it.

    • bmaz says:

      No. Such suits are almost unwinnable because to win you need to prove up direct causation. That is not really possible as to Covid. The scare about granting immunity as to Covid litigation is ALL about protecting insurance carriers that might have to defend said suits, but NOT because they are in fear of really losing them.

      • timbo says:

        Actually, the genome of the viruses can be used as fingerprinting the actual vectors of transmission. Not sure how expensive that is at this point but it can be done…although the cost to do it… and the high bar of actually being permitted to get a sample from defendants, etc is likely incredibly high. But, yes, direct negligence by an individual might be able to be differentiated if enough time and resources are put to the task. That having been said, anyone would likely be correct in assuming that insurance agreements give the insurer an easy out clause when it comes to pandemics.

  25. FL Resister says:

    What we have known since the beginning of the outbreak in the US is that the Republicans and the Democrats have treated this virus very differently.
    Back in March, there was general agreement that the Trump-GOP strategy to brazenly ignore the preventive measures defined by the medical community would eventually result in increased Covid-19 infections within the Republican ranks.
    And here we are.

    Even before Trump’s “stand by” order at the debate, we have been worrying about mobilization of the heavily-armed militias that have been actively practicing warfare techniques at their hideaway “bases” for decades. We have seen them show up at BLM protests and have witnessed the police making way for them, particularly obviously in Kenosha where a 17-year old possessing an automatic firearm killed two unarmed people in the street and injured several others before being allowed to walk away — all caught on video.

    Whether Trump survives Covid or not, Trump’s joy ride stunt yesterday before just a small number of these folks serves the purpose of sending a message to them all.
    I just hope that the FBI is up to the task of keeping an eye on AG Barr, and our intelligence community is seriously working behind the scenes to watch these groups and to plan for homegrown terrorist attacks not only around the election, particularly in densely populated Democratic areas that would prevent them from voting, but also in the period between the election and inauguration.

    I don’t think I’m being overly alarmist; nor do I think a lot of people here and in our intelligence community think this is an outlandish possibility. At this point, it feels as if I’m stating the obvious.
    If it’s pretty plain to me, who just gets information from public sources, then I am sure that there are some pretty important people with the actual power to do something about this whose warning lights are flashing Code Red.

    • vvv says:

      TV news tonight reported on a lawsuit brought against that teenage shooter, also naming as defendants, “The Boogooloo”.

      On another channel’s report on “The Boogooloo”, one of those clowns said they are not really an organization but more like, “a flag you pick up”, essentially describing a belief.

      Reminded me of the way Antifa is described.

  26. What Constitution? says:

    I don’t know how Senator Collins can hope to match her post-impeachment moment by now expressing her belief that “the President will learn from the experience” of contracting Covid after yesterday’s “I’ll have some Secret Service guys drive me around to wave to the Proud Boys outside” stunt, it must be truly “troubling” for her.

  27. holdingsteady says:

    Thanks so much for these posts, Rayne, and to all of the commenters keeping up with these insane situations.

    There is a typo at the end of update 3 where now should be not. (About Joe Biden not testing positive).

    Also, for anyone who enjoys Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson, he’s got another one of his scathing commentaries up on the daily beast today.

    Thanks again for your work!

      • holdingsteady says:

        Thanks, funny!
        The course of that virus is now not steered in Joe’s direction, haha
        (since according to Dr. Conley that virus must watch the news? – such a weird thing of Conley to say that the course of the virus can be steered according to his comments, crazy )

    • P J Evans says:

      One of them is officially the deputy press secretary.
      There are more cases at the WH than in all of NZ. How many more will there be, given that they aren’t tracing contacts and still haven’t admitted that Trmp had it by Tuesday?

  29. Valley girl says:

    typo? Update 3 “Team Trump is now attacking Joe Biden for now having COVID-19” = “not having” …..?

  30. Parker Dooley says:

    I have not noticed any mention in the media or here about the well known effects of hypoxia on thought processes and euphoric thinking. On top of the effects of dexamethasone and narcissistic personality disorder! Hope whoever is carrying that “football” is prepared to refuse an illegal order from a compromised C-inC.

  31. Rapier says:

    #11 on this lists summary of Umberto’s Eco’s summary of fascist traits.
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/11/umberto-eco-makes-a-list-of-the-14-common-features-of-fascism.html

    Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”

    The original here. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1995/06/22/ur-fascism/

    The point is many want to risk getting Covid, or actually being infected because it’s heroic to do so. That is the best way to understand the motives here. Take your chances, Risk sickness and even death to prove your strong and heroic. No cowering and hiding behind masks. It’s pure fascism on its face. It doesn’t represent fascism. It is fascism.

    In the past one might have expected our Christian churches to urge everyone think of others. Think of the others they might infect. Now for the most part this does not appear to even enter the mind of American Christians. It’s just ‘fuck you if I happen to give you Covid, weakling, loser’. The moral and ethical collapse of American Christianity is complete. With the pièce de résistance being Bill Barr claiming for same Christians absolute moral superiority. Jesus and Trump are going to fuck you losers up.

    • ducktree says:

      Coinkadentally, Papa Francesco’s new encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”, he speaks directly to that idea. Further by way of C.P. Pierce at esquire.com (paywalled):

      ***
      As is customary, the encyclical is broken into numbered parts. This is a particularly relevant passage, at least to me.

      Things that until a few years ago could not be said by anyone without risking the loss of universal respect can now be said with impunity, and in the crudest of terms, even by some political figures. Nor should we forget that “there are huge economic interests operating in the digital world, capable of exercising forms of control as subtle as they are invasive, creating mechanisms for the manipulation of consciences and of the democratic process. The way many platforms work often ends up favouring encounter between persons who think alike, shielding them from debate. These closed circuits facilitate the spread of fake news and false information, fomenting prejudice and hate.”

      The most interesting thing about this section of the encyclical is its number.

      It’s 45.

  32. harpie says:

    THE HOLY MORAL BUSYBODY MARCHERS test positive:

    https://twitter.com/Olivianuzzi/status/1313170750405255168
    1:34 PM · Oct 5, 2020

    NEWS: @NYMag has confirmed that Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California has tested POSITIVE for COVID-19. Pastor Laurie was at the Prayer March on the Mall with Mike Pence and Franklin Graham and the ACB Rose Garden Federalist Society ACB event later that day. […]

  34. Molly Pitcher says:

    Trump just tweeted :

    @POTUS tweeted.”Feeling really good!” “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”

    I wonder how many more that tweet will kill? I think the ‘roids have taken hold.

  35. klynn says:

    Can’t the city of DC do contact tracing that would encompass the WH now that so many WH staff have been infected?

    • Raven Eye says:

      DC stuff doesn’t work in federal facilities. I remember one federal building where the exterior emergency exit doors, at the bottom of staircases, opened inward. Nothing could be done by DC

    • Rugger9 says:

      Probably not, given how desperate the WH is about hiding information. The most they could do (and frankly, should do) is assume everyone at the WH is infected and proceed accordingly. However the WH can throw all sorts of sand into those gears starting with “critical” staff and federal property, etc.

      The funniest explanation for DJT’s debate smackdown was that Biden had “magic contact lenses” on, according to a MAGA type that was part of a focus group.

      • Chris.EL says:

        Yay for Joe and his (alleged) “magic contact lenses” whatever the FLOCK those are???

        now, tiny me, I have a theory; it’s based on my rudimentary understanding that cats and dogs get viruses in the corona shape too.

        In dogs it may be the same or related to “kennel cough” – not sure – but early this year – before California’s March lockdown – once I recovered from the flu – I had a slight cough (somewhat unmanageable) for days. Thought it was peculiar – I’ve never smoked.

        I have had significant exposure to cats and dogs for over 50 years; Trump has not been around pets, Joe has.

  36. ThoughtMail says:

    I’ve always been tolerant of ambiguity.

    News flash: Everyone dies. For some, sooner is more salutary than later.

    • ThoughtMail says:

      To state clearly what might be obvious: I’ve always been fascinated by re-entrant metacognition.

  37. Bobster33 says:

    Trump tweeting = Trump is o.k
    Trump not tweeting = Trump not well.

    Trump took a break over the weekend. Some have suggested that the latest Trump tweets have proper grammar and spelling so they are not his.

    • P J Evans says:

      He doesn’t usually tweet in all-caps, either. (Yes, his spelling is horrendous. I’d describe him as semi-literate at best, and functionally illiterate, since he seems to get all his news via spoken-word sources.)

      • Nehoa says:

        I have always thought that Trump has a reading problem. Not quite dyslexia, but some difficulty. It would explain so much.

        • BeingThere says:

          Trump is too vain ro wear glasses. I bet he’s not been able to read much for the last 30+ years (very large font on phone?). At 75 if his eyesight is stil functional he sure seems not to read much.

        • P J Evans says:

          large-print notes and memos – and that laundry-marker that he signs docs with, because he apparently can’t see/use a regular pen.

  38. RacerX says:

    As some of you may remember, my wife lost her mother to COVID 19 early in the pandemic. Mom was a sweet, apolitical woman who loved everyone. Now my Aunt and Uncle in Texas have the virus. They’re both Trump supporters, as are most of their extended family of kids and grandkids, who have been visiting them off and on throughout the pandemic. This is so sad, and it should have also been so preventable. I’ve sent them wishes for quick and complete recoveries, but I didn’t mention all the precautions they could and should have taken. I only hope that after this, my mother will still have a sister and a brother-in-law. This is all Trump’s fault.

    • RacerX says:

      Update: One of my cousins finally requested police intervention because my aunt & uncle refused to seek treatment, and they were transported to the hospital. My uncle is also reportedly suffering from pneumonia. Still trying to get more details/updates, but things sound pretty grim.

      • Eureka says:

        Sorry to hear that, glad they at least got some medical attention. If one or both returns home and there are still concerns, your cousin can contact (the local county equivalent of) Adult Protective Services for continued follow up (as appropriate). (Might help with peace of mind if nothing else.)

        Adding: if one or both was admitted to the hospital, cousin can ask to speak to the case manager/social worker/discharge planner (different titles similar role) and that person could help get cousin that info/referral.

  39. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Hide away in the U.P. for a few days, and everything falls apart. Trump isn’t going “home,” unless your home has a fully-staffed hospital room and diagnostic equipment, which has on call the best military and private-sector medical experts in the United States. Trump is substituting a full hospital setting for, in effect, a small hospital setting: he’s not going home to suburbia.

    I’d like to see the studies that say a patient is literally free of Covid-19 – as claimed by Conley – after a few days of an experimental drug regimen. I don’t think that’s how viruses or currently available drugs operate.

    But the claim illustrates how much Trump’s medical staff is hamstrung between legitimate HIPAA issues and releasing only information pre-approved by Trump. As always, Trump only approves disclosures that make him look good. Other facts need not apply. But in maneuvering among the obvious conflicts that creates, Conley, like his predecessor, has shown himself willing to lie and deceive in order to please his patient. I hope he’s a better physician than he is a liar.

    If Trump recovers, it’s not because he’s a tough, dominant guy. It’s because he is lucky – he has multiple co-morbidities – and because he has the best health care in the world. Health care that he is fighting to take away from millions of Americans. Democrats might make an argument about that. They might also make an argument about the trail of Covid tears his mishandling of Covid-19 has left in it wake. His own WH and its communications department are ghost towns because of the many cases and fears of infection he creates just by breathing in and breathing out.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        Thanks. Hope the smoke is clearing where you are and that life is beginning to return to normal.

        To recap that past week, I agree with those who surmise that Trump was infected ten days or so ago, he knew he was positive at least by last Monday, and he intentionally infected people because he could not show weakness and because he needed the money. As a psychopath, he is incapable of caring and actively despises those who do.

        Trump was already suffering at least moderate symptoms or he would never have gone to Walter Reed, and had serious-level symptoms while there. As Trump’s niece keeps trying to tell us, Trump is as afraid of being regarded as sick as he is of being bankrupt.

        As Rayne has said, Trump is being Trump. How would you know whether he’s suffering steroid-induced dementia or psychosis when he is normally so destructive of self and others. No one able to say No to Trump still works for him, so joy rides are the order of the day – as is going “home.”

        And, ever the optimist, I do wish the MSM would be a tad less credulous about how long Trump has been infected, how long he’s been treated, what his symptoms, prognosis, and dysfunction really are. Congress needs to step up and demand more disclosure by any sitting president: health, financial, conflicts, ad nauseum.

        • vicks says:

          Ronna McDaniel’s timeline might be helpful, her last contact was with Trump on 9/25; she was said to have left the Whitehouse on 9/26 to isolate after learning a family member had tested positive. There is no way in hell that those responsible for the health and safety of the President of the United States just sat on their hands after learning Trump had been in close contact with someone who was at high risk for spreading the virus, it seems obvious that there were tests, and lots of them.
          I also seriously doubt that Ms. McDaniel waited 2 days for any test result unless it was the one she took and then used to make the announcement that she was positive.
          The whole thing stinks, and rather than the it being the wake up call it should have been it it looks like once again instead of team Trumps admitting they were wrong they are going to double down and force others to suffer.
          I’m shifting my response to Trump’s outcome from this virus to neutral. After giving it some thought, if there is any chance of turning this thing around it won’t happen by placing Trump’s life above the lives of others.

        • Molly Pitcher says:

          Well the last two days the smoke has not been visible, but all the cars are covered with ash again from the previous week.

          Typhoid Trump’s Dr slipped today and said that “We are not out of the woods until Monday”, meaning next Monday, which would mean that he tested positive LAST Monday, before the debate.

          Tell me that going without contact with the modern world made you feel normal for a few days ? I don’t think I could do it, I would have anxiety attacks about what was happening that I didn’t know about. I want to know what it was like to come out of the woods to review the days missed ?

    • ThoughtMail says:

      So very relieved that you’re okay, and back. In this chaotic time, unexplained absence does indeed make fond a heart.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        The U.P. is part of Sherwood North, but there are places intentionally deficient in mod cons.

        • P J Evans says:

          it can be wonderful being away from them. (My parents had a cabin in the Sierra, with minimal mod cons – namely running cold water and a fridge that ran on bottled gas; everything else was pre-utility. You appreciate electric lights and water heaters after a few days in the 19th century.)

  40. bg says:

    Everyone who has an older pet knows steroids are given to try to boost appetite, it is really a fairly short term option and can’t be used day after day. I don’t know about dexamethasone, but I suppose there is a suggested limit on how much and how often that can be given. Gaslighting is not fun.

    • Rugger9 says:

      Kevin Drum over at Mother Jones is a cancer survivor who talks about the evil Dex, but he had a post this week noting that it really gets bad with long term use, not so much short term.

      His column is usually at the bottom of the MJ front page.

    • Hika says:

      The fundamental therapeutic use of steroids is as anti-inflammatories. The use of dexamethasone in treating Covid-19 is also as an anti-inflammatory but also for immune system suppression (at high doses) to lower the auto-immune inflammation of cytokines.

      • Hika says:

        Above is a bit garbled, but essentially steroids are administered to reduce inflammation. High doses can reduce immune response which can be beneficial if your immune system is over-reacting which is common in Covid cases.
        The effect on appetite is one side-effect (among quite a few), albeit usually beneficial for an old dog.

    • harpie says:

      Trump/Pence will continue to use the war metaphor. I read somewhere that this is actually their PLAN…
      …warrior…fortress, etc. So what are the odds that at some point Trump slips and calls those who have “lost the battle” with the virus “losers” and “suckers”?

        • harpie says:

          A WALL for Mike:

          “I fart in your general direction” – Monty Python

          https: [broken] //www. [broken] youtube.com/ [broken] watch?v= [broken] FWBUl7oT9sA

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      What part of “too bad” do you not understand, Mike? Committing negligent homicide by ignoring basic health precautions during a pandemic is a specialty of you and your boss, not those who want to replace you.

  43. harpie says:

    HOW is it POSSIBLE that Trump Administration just decides NOT to contact trace the 9/26 event?
    …and that they’ll get away with this MALPRACTICE!

    • klynn says:

      With all the people getting sick, there will be contact tracing that will trace back to Trump. It will be contact tracing initiated by individuals.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        I think that’s right. The Trump administration doesn’t do a lot of normal stuff because it’s incompetent as hell. But here and in many other places, it doesn’t do things because it’s hiding its corruption.

        The most basic tracing would almost certainly reveal that Trump was patient zero. Trump reminds me of Himiko, Queen of Yamatai, in the 2018 remake of Tomb Raider. Reputed to have power over life and death, the queen is found to be just a plague carrier, whose touch turns friend and foe alike into dust.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      To paraphrase Anand Ghiridaradas, psychopaths gonna psychopath. Systems built around checks and balances don’t work when one party throws them out and the other can only wait until after the election to do anything about it. Oh, and when the party that throws them out also works for decades to corrupt the judiciary that might put brakes on breaking norms and rules.

    • ThoughtMail says:

      A Chris Cuomo commentary tonight:

      White House staff have been left for dead. (or words very close to that)

      That’s going to scan pretty well with US Marines Thought bubble: you mean my people are just going to leave my injured or dead body in the field? Got it.

  44. earlofhuntingdon says:

    I think this has been said here, but note to the MSM: fat, bearded Trump followers armed with long and short guns and baseball bats are not “militia.” They do not report to state or federal officials. They are “armed gangs.” Please use the correct terminology, MSM.

    • Raven Eye says:

      If the MSM wants to be reasonably accurate, but a little more polite, they can use the term “vigilante”. (Reading US history, just the term “vigilance committee” makes my skin crawl.)

      • Rugger9 says:

        The only time I’m aware of where vigilance committees worked was in San Francisco during the Barbary Coast days when the cops were compromised criminals as well. But, that’s it and even that success could be debated.

        • Epicurus says:

          Daniel Boorstin wrote an interesting trilogy called “The Americans”. I would recommend it to everyone. Makes one think. The second book is about the National Experience. Chapter 12 is The Natural Law of Transient Communities: Vigilantism and Majority Rule. Worth a read.

        • earlofhuntingdon says:

          Daniel Boorstin, like David McCullough, writes quintessential establishmentarian history. If he is critical of something, it’s because the academy is already more critical of it. For something more critical of the establishment’s preferences, the first two places i would look are Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky.

        • Epicurus says:

          I was offering Rugger9 a source describing where US vigilance committees worked and why. If I knew such references existed in Zinn and Chomsky works I would have suggested those also.

  45. quebecois says:

    Getting off the helicopter, Trump walked in with a mask. He appeared at the balcony without his mask, to better infect the staff. Yes, he learned a lot.

  47. Fran of the North says:

    Took mom home to FL a couple of weeks ago via US commercial air. Quarantined down there for 2 weeks before flying back to the North just to do the Q thing again at the cabin before going home next weekend.

    What gobsmacked me silly was a short trip I took to the gulf while down there. On the 40 mile or so drive, I saw 3 different “Trump Merch” stores set up, flags a flyin’ and lawn signs a poppin’.

    I wonder how much of that grift makes its way back to the GrOTUS?

  48. nvg says:

    “If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” Katie Miller, Pence’s spokeswoman, said Monday.”

    Is Ms Miller so unaware of history that links the ‘Flying Fortress‘, the ‘B-17, and its Plexiglass Nose Production‘ to Andrews Air Force Base and ‘The Swooze’?

    Pence and Miller are flying out of Andrews to a debate where plexiglass would save lives. If the answer is still ‘No’, then the rallying cry could become ‘Flying Fortress Harris’ for Vice President.

  49. MissingGeorgeCarlin says:

    Many thanks to the EW folks for helping to keep me sane through this horrific nightmare. I’d like to add two tweets where DJT appears to have difficulty breathing/wincing in pain. Watch his beady eyes….this con man sees it all slipping away. He is desperate….

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1313263278613827585
    https://twitter.com/i/status/1313269210471112705

    Also, Tim O’Brien’s thought provoking tweet re: Herman Cain

    A humbling Herman Cain/coronavirus timeline:

    6/24: Attends Trump rally, maskless
    7/2: Tests positive for Covid-19
    7/10: Says he’s improving
    7/15: Says his doctors seem happy
    7/27: Says he’s really getting better
    7/30: Dies

  50. punaise says:

    Trump should have borrowed the pontiff’s vehicle for his little joyride: at least he wouldn’t have risked infecting the Secret Service all alone inside the Dope-mobile.

    • Fran of the North says:

      Isn’t asking a doxer to take down a post similar to asking a horse thief to pleas close the barn door after he’s done? And given his social media reach, even having a post up for 10 minutes probably means that thousands of his followers have read the post.

      At what point do previous violations of the TOS lead to permanent loss of service? For you and me, probably WAY before this. For Trump, we’re still waiting for a boundary to be formulated, much less crossed.

  55. Ollie says:

    sigh. I just got restricted by Twitter for 12 hours. I don’t care. I just lost it this am and was like all caps and using bad language to trump, directly. My little Mr. Baby, my 2+ year old feline has the runs and throwing up. He seems better but omg…..he’s a long hair and well let’s just say it was a shitty situation, lol.

    I’ve had a twitter account since 2009 and I’ve used more fu’s today than all the years I’ve been using it. HAHA I hate trump so much. He really pushes my ptsd, seriously. I hope this comment is lost in all of the others; I’ve nothing really to say except how much I hate trump and VOTE VOTE VOTE. yeah. sad times.

    Van Halen has died. rip and thanks for the years of entertainment.

    • skua says:

      The stables have been burnt down and now Zuck decides to close one of the stable doors?

      That man is a true patriot. He deserves our thanks and respect.

      /sarcasm & bile

    • vvv says:

      Y’know … I recall no mention of him quarantining when his wife was diagnosed 5 months ago – did I miss that?

  59. Alan Charbonneau says:

    Salud Carbajal, a California Democrat, has contracted coronavirus, he announced on social media Tuesday evening..
    “I hope this serves as a reminder of how easily this virus can spread. I followed every precaution, including wearing a mask, social distancing, and hand-washing and unfortunately was still exposed. It is incumbent on every single one of us to take careful precautions in order to protect the health and safety of those around us.”

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/politics/salud-carbajal-tests-positive-for-covid/index.html

  60. Midtowngirl says:

    I know it sounds like a whackadoo snake oil type claim, but how many of you guys know about flushing your nose with .5% to 1% Povidone Iodine solution to help stay Covid-free? It’s the subject of clinical trials, and many, many reports and articles, (NIH, JAMA and others). Briefly, the iodine solution kills 99% of Covid cells in the nasal cavities and back of the throat within 15 seconds, and continues to be effective up to 2 hours. It has been shown to reduce the viral load of patients already infected. Dentists and Head and Neck Surgeons have begun adopting it as protocol for patients prior to appointments.

    Before you dismiss me as a crackpot, lol,
    Here’s just the top few of 15,000+ links when “covid iodine” is Googled:

    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2770785

    https://today.uconn.edu/2020/06/uconn-health-researchers-find-simple-oral-rinse-can-inactivate-covid-19-virus/

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04364802

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7244430/

    https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.07.20180448v1

    Why isn’t this common knowledge?? It’s cheap, readily available, safe, and EFFECTIVE. I hope and pray that someone in Joe’s camp is hip to this, and has him flushing nightly. I do, and make sure everyone I care about does the same.

    • Rayne says:

      This kind of approach is like emergency birth control — it’s good only as a last ditch effort *immediately* after known exposures, not suitable as a prophylactic. Because it’s not something easily performed by all persons and may come with risks, it shouldn’t be widely encouraged; one need only look at how many people have problems using neti pots for sinus infections. I’d be worried that individuals who aren’t properly instructed might actually push viruses further into sinuses.

      • P J Evans says:

        When I get water in my nose, I start sneezing. Not about to put anything else in it. (It was bad enough when I used medical aerosols.)

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