The US Hamster Wheel

[Boac]

He will not see it, Alison - he has TDS. We are merely pointing out what an arse the Chump is

[Boac]

26/2
“COVID-19 (Coronavirus) cases would be down next to zero in a couple of days.”

It's going so well, isn't it, Ben, or do you 'prefer' not to see? In the REAL world it is now 1/3.

Trump said additional cases in America were "likely" but cautioned the public not to "panic."
"Additional cases in the US are likely," Trump said, "but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover."

[barkingmad]

Hopefully it’ll discourage the Chump from travelling around the world shaking hands with strangers in furrin’ countries?

It might also protect the fairer sex from his unwelcome and unwholesome attentions.

Anyway, those lovely folks who operate for the TSA will be able to spot any infectious aliens without the use of non-contact IR thermometers nor any other technology. With their superior customer handling skills they’ll spot a ‘rum un’ at 100 yards distance?

If things get serious in the USA I suppose the immigration & customs folks could always retrain the fruit-sniffing dogs to detect the lagervirus smugglers!

[Boac]

From CNN - 65 confirmed cases in the US as of 0300Z yesterday - but it is all a Democrats' plot, so don't tell the Chump:

"An older adult woman from California is the second case of unknown origin of the novel coronavirus, health officials in Santa Clara County said Friday.
The patient didn't have any relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient, said Dr. Sara Cody, director of the county's public health department.
The patient is a resident of the county, officials said.

"This new case indicates that there is evidence of community transmission, but the extent is still not clear," Cody said. "I understand this may be concerning to hear, but this is what we have been preparing for. Now we need to start taking additional actions to slow down the spread of the disease."
The woman had been hospitalized for a respiratory illness and her infectious disease doctor on Wednesday requested a coronavirus test. The case is not related to two others in the county, officials said.

A Seattle-area school was closed for cleaning after a staff member's relative was tested for coronavirus
"The virus is here present at some level, but we still don't know to what degree," Cody told reporters.
Another case in Oregon reported Friday is thought to be from community transmission but health officials there said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention needs to confirm the state's positive test result.
The person is from Washington County and is being treated at a Kaiser Permanente hospital.
The Oregon patient is thought to be the third case of community spread in the United States.

One California patient in serious condition
The CDC this week updated its testing criteria after a Solano County, California, woman wasn't tested for days after being hospitalized. The patient is in serious condition and has been intubated, according to California Rep. John Garamendi.
The Solano County case has puzzled health officials, who say they have not been able to trace where she contracted the virus.
The CDC has thoughts about soul patches and mutton chops. And they have to do with using face masks

"This does appear to be a person who genuinely did acquire their illness in the community," Solano County Public Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas said in a news conference Thursday.
Solano County and Santa Clara County are about 90 miles apart. The new patient has not traveled to Solano County, officials said.
The Solano County patient, who is being treated at UC Davis Medical Center, could be the first instance of "community spread" of the virus, the CDC said Wednesday.
The patient was transferred to UC Davis from a Northern California hospital last Wednesday but wasn't tested until Sunday, after doctors at UC Davis persisted in the request. Both hospitals said there was no initial testing administered because the patient didn't fit existing CDC criteria for coronavirus.

That guidance has now changed, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said.
"As soon as that case was recognized, we met and we revised our case definition for persons under investigation," Redfield said. "Today, that has been posted (to the CDC website) along with a new health advisory that the recommendation should be when a clinician or individual suspects coronavirus, then we should be able to get a test for coronavirus."
There are 65 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, according to health officials, but no deaths."

UPDATE:https://www.worldometers.info/coronavir ... ronavirus/

[BenThere]

Alison, I don't claim a crystal ball view of where Covid-19 ends up. If the intensity of identified carriers increases alarmingly I'll certainly adjust my assessment, but based on facts, not hysteria. America has just recorded its first few coronavirus fatalities, even though we are the largest recipient of foreign travelers in the world. Everyday flu claims exponential multiples of that. But I agree with you on one point, it's still early in the game. I tend to be skeptical of doomsday predictions before they materialize. Climate change/Global warming is a case in point. I want a little more proof. Nevertheless, I'm taking additional precautions. I leave for Mexico on Wednesday and I recognize the Cancun airport is a gathering place for thousands of people from every corner of the world. I'm taking heed of the advice to keep sanitized, avoid breath and skin contact with strangers, try not to touch handrails and doorknobs, giving everyone as wide a berth as possible, and stay informed of the latest developments.

If worse comes to worse I can hole up with a couple of nice terraces, a fine outdoor kitchen and barbecue, several pools and a white sand beach, a view of the magnificent jungle, a magnificent wife, and a big bottle of Tequila. That's all I need.

In answer to another part of your post regarding scarcity of ICUs, I've never felt anything less than the highest level of medical care in the US, especially around where I live in Michigan, within minutes of a very highly rated medical complex in Ann Arbor, and a fully equipped and staffed hospital, also highly regarded, that I could walk to from my house. I choose from excellent medical facilities at the University of Michigan medical complex and the St. Joseph hospital network where my personal physician is attached. I can't imagine better general healthcare availability, resources, highly qualified medical staff, and responsiveness than I have available to me. And I don't have gold-plated health insurance, just government's senior Medicare supplemented by the insurance provided as part of my military retirement compensation. It works for me as my annual family cost does not in any case exceed my $1,000 US deductible, prescriptions included. I don't want that changed. And I've never heard of a shortage of ICUs around here, though that could change with a true pandemic. If I need any level of medical care I can access it in minutes.

I predict a vaccine will emerge or the coronavirus will run out of steam at some point. I'll bet you though, that when a vaccine becomes widely available it will have been developed either in the US or Israel. And my guess is that President Trump will not allow it to be manufactured in China.

[Boac]

You don't need to worry, Ben. god told you the cases would be near zero by now.

[BenThere]

god told you the cases would be near zero by now

.

So when did I ever say anything about God? Are you projecting what you think I think? What I think is actually that you're swimming in the chum waters of Trump obsession and if you don't get a grip that will consume you. Try as I might, God hasn't spoken to me, though throughout my life I sense there has been a hand on my shoulder leading through the shoals.

Further, I never thought or expressed that the cases of coronavirus in the US would be zero. Where did you pull that from? Huffington? MSNBC? BBC? Quite frankly, while I respect your right to express the way you see things, and consider what you write, my overall conclusion is that you are seriously deluded.

But carry on. Public discourse conducted by tolerant people eager to assess the ideas of others, and make their choices, is the font of the beautiful civilization we have, for now.

[Boac]

I never mentioned God, Ben. Read the post and you know who I am talking about. You do appear to behind the well-known '8 ball', Ben.

"Where did you pull that from?" I told you already, god spake on 26/2. Do you want the (electronic) tablet of stone to check?

"But carry on." - thank you for the pink chit. I shall.

[llondel]

The dentist office next door to us has a notice on the door requesting that anyone with any hint of any respiratory disease phone or email them and they'll gladly reschedule their appointment. I'm guessing that sticking my head in their door and coughing wouldn't go down too well.

[John Hill]

. And my guess is that President Trump will not allow it to be manufactured in China.

Why would he do that?

[Boac]

Yes - that would be even more stupid than he is right now. Ben's logic?

[Boac]

A view worth reading https://www.euronews.com/2020/03/02/tru ... us-outbrea

"We had cautioned that delaying impeachment could be a risk because a delay in containment would cause the ballooning of a sense of unlimited power and impunity. Rapid progression after such a delay maximised the potential for paranoia and narcissistic rage, while the combination of impeachment and acquittal created conditions for a heightened desire for revenge. Now, the president is replacing those who offer information he does not wish to hear and controlling information where lives may be lost. There is a dangerous coronavirus outbreak looming - made worse because of a possibly more dangerous pandemic. With each failure to contain the president psychologically, there is a worsening of symptoms, accompanied by “loss of insight” about what is wrong and a push for the reality that is inside one’s head.

Persons with non-psychotic disorders can develop delusions under pressure, as the overwhelming need to believe in an alternative reality makes fantasy real for them. They then become more likely to spread their symptoms, as a delusional person who truly believes in one’s delusions can be very convincing. People speak of puzzling features emerging even from formerly respectable attorneys and lawmakers surrounding the president, and ask what is inducing them to aid and abet him. While there may be many reasons for this, when the level reaches the point of irrationality, we must consider contagion. Shared psychosis, or mass hysteria, is what we expect to happen from allowing a severely impaired, influential person, who has gone untreated, wide and constant, unmitigated exposure to supporters and the public.

Many say that Donald Trump is not a departure from the values of the Republican Party but its culmination. Our own study showed differences in political party contribution to violent death rates, even when controlling for policy, suggesting differences in levels of health and not simply ideology. These seal the third condition for widespread shared psychosis: it provides the fertile ground, or an environment that facilitates the spread of cognitive distortions, delusions, and other mental symptoms. A refusal to have even a serious discussion about the issue contributes to allowing what others have called a “cult” or “fascism” to take hold in the first place. Psychological conditioning through media manipulations, containment within social media bubbles and orchestration of alternative belief systems through the president’s incessant tweets, hypnotic rallies, and group conformity, only make it worse.

Why is awareness of the transmission of mental symptoms important? An open conversation about a natural phenomenon can enhance understanding and allow correct identification of the problem. Furthermore, the spread of mental symptoms may not only contribute to physical disease but acceptance of something much worse. As the US president grows more symptomatic, our window of being able to intervene is also rapidly closing. People keep asking, "what is it going to take for the public to realise that he is unwell?" The problem is, the sicker he becomes, those under his influence will see it less as a problem - and this has been the trend. The coronavirus epidemic will become more deadly because of poor mental health and capacity rather than because of the organism itself.

In cases of shared psychosis, the required intervention is to remove contact with the symptom-inducing individual. The symptoms in the induced individuals then usually subside as dramatically as they have appeared. Even if a full intervention was not possible, we can strengthen resistance in society (as we would support the immune system in a body. Honesty, transparency, and education about what we are dealing with can lessen the induction of false beliefs and help us to contain both kinds of pandemics before it is too late."

[Boac]

Thank the Lord he may be waking up:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... gency.html

[boing]

BOAC

A clear case of politico-psychotic disorder. The person that wrote this BS should be locked up. Complete confabulation of weirdly unassociated ideas.
For example, please parse this pseudo-scientific ramble and give me some idea what this actually means.

Many say that Donald Trump is not a departure from the values of the Republican Party but its culmination. Our own study showed differences in political party contribution to violent death rates, even when controlling for policy, suggesting differences in levels of health and not simply ideology. These seal the third condition for widespread shared psychosis: it provides the fertile ground, or an environment that facilitates the spread of cognitive distortions, delusions, and other mental symptoms. A refusal to have even a serious discussion about the issue contributes to allowing what others have called a “cult” or “fascism” to take hold in the first place. Psychological conditioning through media manipulations, containment within social media bubbles and orchestration of alternative belief systems through the president’s incessant tweets, hypnotic rallies, and group conformity, only make it worse.

When you get to a " widespread shared psychosis" it is beginning to sound like the claim that they are the only sane people in society, everyone else is nuts.

.

[Boac]

"politico-psychotic disorder." Congratulations on a new phrase, Boing. "The person that wrote this BS should be locked up."

What difficulty did you have with
"A refusal to have even a serious discussion about the issue contributes to allowing what others have called a “cult” or “fascism” to take hold in the first place. Psychological conditioning through media manipulations, containment within social media bubbles and orchestration of alternative belief systems through the president’s incessant tweets, hypnotic rallies, and group conformity, only make it worse.", Boing? Just ignore the rest of the article?

PS I didn't write it.

[prospector]

We know you have little respect for POTUS, but after watching the Democrat debates I do believe the world will be a better place if he gets a second term.

Can we have your opinion of who would be a better POTUS from the Democrat hopefuls???

[Boac]

Pros - you need to catch up on what I have said about the Dems. It's all here - just a little effort required.

[Alisoncc]

So what hope is there in the US in containing the spread of coronavirus if being a responsible citizen is going to cost you big time.

A quote from CNN.

We need comprehensive coverage -- even if temporary -- to address the threat of Covid-19.

Without a comprehensive solution, the story of Osmel Martinez Azcue will be the first of what promises to be many more in the wake of Covid-19. The Miami Herald reported that Azcue was charged over $3,000 for being responsible and visiting the hospital to be screened for the novel coronavirus following a feverish return from China, the virus' epicenter.
............
Worries that they will confront bills like this will deter many from seeking appropriate care and put more people at risk.

[Boac]

Don't forget. Alison, god tried to blame the Democrats for the spread, but failed, and now he is trying to blame the Fed.

[barkingmad]

Those who cannot remember the past..........

Interesting flashback to the last century here;



He still has a very faithful following whether you like or loathe him. Not very complimentary about Japan nor Saudi Arabia?

And really grumpy when the sheikhs wouldn’t help out with some minesweepers! If I were MbS I might think hard about for how long the support might last.

And please boac and Benthere don’t get your catapults out and start firing at each other, my attention span is seriously shortened when the playground invades what is a serious space...........