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A misunderstanding of covid?

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TeleTracking is overtaking it. Michael Zamagias started the company, and is a big financial supporter of Trump. They’re located in Pittsburgh.

Define "big financial supporter", because Zamagias is a small fry. I'm sure he's a "big financial supporter" of many politicians, like most CEOs who do work for the government.

I know a few people that worked under him. Shadiness and corruption is par for course.

I have no idea if he's corrupt or shady, but I know several people that work there, including the CFO and she's as straight as they come. I can't say I've ever heard what you are saying.

I think it's terrible if people are going to tear him down because he got a contract from the Trump administration. Maybe his software and technology are better. The CDC seems fine with the decision and admitted they struggled to get timely data from hospitals. They will still have access to the data.

How about we let the company do it's job before we cry foul because you don't like the president?
 
Let’s be honest -
He’d have stayed out of the way and let the experts guide policy -
It would have a hell of a lot better than actively working against mitigation efforts and continuing to want less testing
Unfortunately the president isn’t the individual making any of the calls. So it really doesn’t matter who is in office. For this issue, the power and responsibility is in the hands of the governors. Could the president influence/guide/potentially lead? Of course. But we have 50 different governors doing and implementing policies 50 different ways. In essence, a cluster. There is no ability to close state borders or align on social distancing, masks, quarantine periods, etc. The president (of either party) can’t resolve that.
 
Unfortunately the president isn’t the individual making any of the calls. So it really doesn’t matter who is in office. For this issue, the power and responsibility is in the hands of the governors. Could the president influence/guide/potentially lead? Of course. But we have 50 different governors doing and implementing policies 50 different ways. In essence, a cluster. There is no ability to close state borders or align on social distancing, masks, quarantine periods, etc. The president (of either party) can’t resolve that.
One reason that 50 governors have 50 policies is that the administration has consistently refused to take the lead and make decisions that will coordinate efforts. Governors have been told they are on their own, and some have banded together to coordinate some aspects of their responses. There is a role for the president in all of this, and this president has refused to accept it - leaving it to the states.
 
You're right.. Biden saying to wear a mask would have alienated that crowd against wearing masks even more than they are now.. it would just be a bigger communist conspiracy than it is now...
What I'm more curious about is whether more of that crowd would have worn masks if the Donald had strongly urged them to so from the beginning... war time president.. asking war time like sacrifices of his base...
We're stuck with two polarized corrupt incompetent parties... dumb and dumberer.. what's it going to take to free from this two party stranglehold ?

The answer is campaign finance reform. Make it illegal to openly buy our politicians.
 
Unfortunately the president isn’t the individual making any of the calls. So it really doesn’t matter who is in office. For this issue, the power and responsibility is in the hands of the governors. Could the president influence/guide/potentially lead? Of course. But we have 50 different governors doing and implementing policies 50 different ways. In essence, a cluster. There is no ability to close state borders or align on social distancing, masks, quarantine periods, etc. The president (of either party) can’t resolve that.
Ppe distribution , cotton swab and reagent , and a coherent national strategy of masking , criteria for opening and closing -
And massive investment to ensure schools are safe and equipped to reopen safely for kids and teachers -
Frankly - a national standard for track and trace and testing and lab investments would have been the minimum of Competence .

I mean - 20 million out of work - seems like a good time to hire a ton of temp workers to implement
 
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Actually, I vote in every election. I've been a registered voter for 38 years and I've voted in 38 general elections and, iirc, 36 primaries. I do admit that I skipped a couple primaries back years ago in "off" years when there were actually no contested races on my parties ballot.

Honestly, I don't see why you bother. If you truly don't think the government can possibly be better no matter who is in charge, then just don't vote.

Of course, pretty much every "both sides!" person I know is actually just a closeted Republican and I'm assuming that's the case for you as well. Just own it, bro. Pop some hydroxycholoroquine and put on a MAGA hat. You're not fooling anyone.
 
You're right.. Biden saying to wear a mask would have alienated that crowd against wearing masks even more than they are now.. it would just be a bigger communist conspiracy than it is now...
What I'm more curious about is whether more of that crowd would have worn masks if the Donald had strongly urged them to so from the beginning... war time president.. asking war time like sacrifices of his base...
We're stuck with two polarized corrupt incompetent parties... dumb and dumberer.. what's it going to take to free from this two party stranglehold ?

At least with respect to mask wearing, it's not fair to say there are two incompetent groups.

If some people won't wear masks because of Biden, that's on them. If the same group would wear masks but don't because their leader hasn't asked them to, that's on both them and their leader.

The problem is the same group in both scenarios.
 
I see a prominent theme in this thread, "do what the experts say". The problem is there are no Covid-19 experts. Thus we have a wide variety of opinions as to what is safe and not safe, what to do and what not to do.
 
The answer is campaign finance reform. Make it illegal to openly buy our politicians.
The two parties are conspiring together to exclude other parties (they took over debates from League of Women Voters after LWV allowed Perot to debates.. that'll never happen again)... these co conspirator parties will never pass serious finance reform, as it would undermine their two party strangle hold on power... hope I'm wrong about that...
 
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Ppe distribution , cotton swab and reagent , and a coherent national strategy of masking , criteria for opening and closing -
And massive investment to ensure schools are safe and equipped to reopen safely for kids and teachers -
Frankly - a national standard for track and trace and testing and lab investments would have been the minimum of Competence .

I mean - 20 million out of work - seems like a good time to hire a ton of temp workers to implement
So when the president and secretary of education said to go back to school (a national guideline/strategy) and some governors said “sign us up” and others said “we aren’t putting our children at risk” that is a result of a lack of control and a result of our federal vs state system. It has gone on since the foundation of our country. Otherwise, we would follow the federal direction.

We have a systemic issue where everything is right or left. Either you agree with one side and radically endorse or you blatantly oppose and refuse to follow. If I agree with going back to school then I’m a conservative republican and the strategy makes sense because we need to put education at the top of the list. If I tell you I am not going to put my children at risk because the school won’t be safe enough then I’m a liberal democrat. There is no room for a civil discussion around partnering and aligning within our country.

Your point about masks just reinforces it. So a national guideline for wearing masks is created. Who enforces it? Law enforcement. Who are managed by ... oh, state and local municipalities. Who will choose on their own whether they agree or disagree and follow the federal guideline.

There is a lack of leadership at all levels of our government right now and within both parties. I work for a global company and literally video every day with people from Europe, Asia, South America. My APAC counterpart today (who used to live in the US) asked me, “what the hell is going on over there? Who removes a police force from the center of a major city like Seattle and let’s lawlessness ensue?” That wasn’t a presidential decision. We look like idiots in the eyes of the world right now and it starts at the top, but let’s not pretend that it is one persons fault and/or one parties fault.
 
I see a prominent theme in this thread, "do what the experts say". The problem is there are no Covid-19 experts. Thus we have a wide variety of opinions as to what is safe and not safe, what to do and what not to do.
There are plenty of infectious Disease and epidemiology experts

The social scientist advising the president isn’t among them
 
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So when the president and secretary of education said to go back to school (a national guideline/strategy) and some governors said “sign us up” and others said “we aren’t putting our children at risk” that is a result of a lack of control and a result of our federal vs state system. It has gone on since the foundation of our country. Otherwise, we would follow the federal direction.

We have a systemic issue where everything is right or left. Either you agree with one side and radically endorse or you blatantly oppose and refuse to follow. If I agree with going back to school then I’m a conservative republican and the strategy makes sense because we need to put education at the top of the list. If I tell you I am not going to put my children at risk because the school won’t be safe enough then I’m a liberal democrat. There is no room for a civil discussion around partnering and aligning within our country.

Your point about masks just reinforces it. So a national guideline for wearing masks is created. Who enforces it? Law enforcement. Who are managed by ... oh, state and local municipalities. Who will choose on their own whether they agree or disagree and follow the federal guideline.

There is a lack of leadership at all levels of our government right now and within both parties. I work for a global company and literally video every day with people from Europe, Asia, South America. My APAC counterpart today (who used to live in the US) asked me, “what the hell is going on over there? Who removes a police force from the center of a major city like Seattle and let’s lawlessness ensue?” That wasn’t a presidential decision. We look like idiots in the eyes of the world right now and it starts at the top, but let’s not pretend that it is one persons fault and/or one parties fault.
Lots of words to not actually say anything
 
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Lots of words to not actually say anything
Please feel free to click ignore. I find your football discussion insightful but your smug know it all approach with respect to everything else tiring. Keep pushing your one sided agenda though. It’s people like you who refuse to find a middle ground that continue to be part of the problem instead of part of the solution. :(
 
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I'm confused..
I'm seeing Sweden listed as 5th highest deaths per million residents as of July 16.. higher than USA and 140 other countries...
And that's "succeeding" ?
I think if you're in the top five for death, then yes your policies are fair game to be labeled as a cautionary tale.. I mean top 5?.. it's not like they are even middle of the pack.. in fact, they are really doing well at death.. why is that even a debate ?.. how can that article have the word "succeeded" in it ?.. my brain hurts..
Alternative "facts" .. or am I missing something ?
 
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Please feel free to click ignore. I find your football discussion insightful but your smug know it all approach with respect to everything else tiring. Keep pushing your one sided agenda though. It’s people like you who refuse to find a middle ground that continue to be part of the problem instead of part of the solution. :(
"The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open...When he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school. The science should not stand in the way of this.
 
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"The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open...When he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school. The science should not stand in the way of this.
Donald Trump would be an unemployed Used Car Salesman if he wasn’t born into wealth.
 
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I'm confused..
I'm seeing Sweden listed as 5th highest deaths per million residents as of July 16.. higher than USA and 140 other countries...
And that's "succeeding" ?
I think if you're in the top five for death, then yes your policies are fair game to be labeled as a cautionary tale.. I mean top 5?.. it's not like they are even middle of the pack.. in fact, they are really doing well at death.. why is that even a debate ?.. how can that article have the word "succeeded" in it ?.. my brain hurts..
Alternative "facts" .. or am I missing something ?

The article is about how the media chooses sides. The author is asking why they singled out Sweden and not NYC, Belgium, Italy, or Spain.
 
The article is about how the media chooses sides. The author is asking why they singled out Sweden and not NYC, Belgium, Italy, or Spain.
The writer had an agenda..
Those are literally the ONLY places with higher death rates than Sweden.. and the use of the word "succeded" is complete spin, and Sweden ranking in top 5 death rate never mentioned..
Hey, sure, you likely think it's some kind of media bias when you read an article that Kevin Stallings did a poor job coaching at Pitt, because gee there were at least two other D1 coaches that also sucked ?
Yes, other coaches sucked worse.. still, criticism of Stallings doesn't indicate some kind of bias against Kevin.. does it ,.. I'm sure many folks in Italy and Belgium are slamming their leadership..
Sweden is in top 5 of death rate.. period.. they deserve all the criticism they get.. and not the phrase "succeeded"..
 
OMG.. with a bit of the Google, there are so many articles that have been written over the past 6 months that are critical of Italy and their covid response..
But folks getting bent out of shape about a "bias" if Sweden is criticized too ? Did I mention Sweden is 5th in death rate ?.. they'll tell you Sweden is a "success" because it fits their narrative..
Seriously ? Talk about "bias"..
 
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Honestly, I don't see why you bother. If you truly don't think the government can possibly be better no matter who is in charge, then just don't vote.


I certainly never said the government can't do any better, so congratulations I guess for knocking over that strawman. You never know when one of those will jump up and clobber you!

For a whole myriad of reasons Joe Biden is an awful Presidential candidate, which is probably why when he's run before he was a spectacular flop and why the main reason that he won this time is that Bernie Sanders scares the crap out of the party power brokers. Seriously, is there anyone outside of immediate family members that looks at Joe Biden and thinks "damn, that's exactly the person we need leading this country?" The fact is that most people aren't going to vote for Biden because they think he's the answer, they are going to vote for him because he isn't Donald Trump. He's the lessor of two evils. Hooray!

Of course every "Joe Biden is just swell" person is a closeted Democrat. Just admit it, you'd vote for Joe Stalin if he had the Democratic Party nomination. Just own it. Put on your hammer and sickle hat and tell everyone that the government will make it all right if they just let them.
 
I certainly never said the government can't do any better, so congratulations I guess for knocking over that strawman. You never know when one of those will jump up and clobber you!

For a whole myriad of reasons Joe Biden is an awful Presidential candidate, which is probably why when he's run before he was a spectacular flop and why the main reason that he won this time is that Bernie Sanders scares the crap out of the party power brokers. Seriously, is there anyone outside of immediate family members that looks at Joe Biden and thinks "damn, that's exactly the person we need leading this country?" The fact is that most people aren't going to vote for Biden because they think he's the answer, they are going to vote for him because he isn't Donald Trump. He's the lessor of two evils. Hooray!

Of course every "Joe Biden is just swell" person is a closeted Democrat. Just admit it, you'd vote for Joe Stalin if he had the Democratic Party nomination. Just own it. Put on your hammer and sickle hat and tell everyone that the government will make it all right if they just let them.

Joe Biden's been running for president since the mid 80s and nobody ever wanted him. And when I say nobody, I mean absolutely nobody. Now, we get the senile version as the democratic candidate.

It's disgusting and embarrassing how bad politics have become in this country. Your choices for president are dumb and dumber.

Nobody worth a sh!t will run. If you don't fellate your party's base you can't win the primary and an independent has no chance.
 
The article is about how the media chooses sides. The author is asking why they singled out Sweden and not NYC, Belgium, Italy, or Spain.
The reason that the NYTimes article focused on Sweden is because Sweden took a different approach, as everyone knows. And the reporter was comparing the results of Sweden's approach with the results of its neighbors. It was not bias against Sweden and its approach, is was an analysis of that different approach. Sweden singled itself out by choosing a different path to combat the virus.
 
Is it actually a campaign if you never actually file paperwork ?


Souf, we may have jumped off the bandwagon a little too soon!

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/07/kanye-west-is-officially-on-the-ballot-in-oklahoma.html

"A public affairs officer for the Oklahoma Board of Elections told New York that a representative for West showed up at the Oklahoma Board of Elections with a properly executed statement of candidacy and the $35,000 filing fee. This was the last day that independent presidential candidates could file to appear on the ballot in the Sooner State."

"On Thursday morning, West filed his formal statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. The document is required for any candidate for federal office who spends at least $5,000 campaigning."
 
With the uptick in testing/contact tracing the US's CFR (case fatality rate) is dropping. We're now sitting at 3.9% according to JHU.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Not trying to hype it, just trying to provide some context - we sit below

Japan
Finland
Germany
Denmark
China
Switzerland
Canada
Spain
France
Italy
UK

Considering we aren't considered a "healthy" country by this metric -
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-co...ed-healthiest-country-according-to-new-report and this study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK154469/

What is an acceptable CFR in your opinion for a country of our size and demographic?
 
The reason that the NYTimes article focused on Sweden is because Sweden took a different approach, as everyone knows. And the reporter was comparing the results of Sweden's approach with the results of its neighbors. It was not bias against Sweden and its approach, is was an analysis of that different approach. Sweden singled itself out by choosing a different path to combat the virus.
You seem unable to digest my comments..
Media has also been very critical of that very small number of countries that have higher death rate than Sweden.. Google it if you don't believe me.. it's not hard to do...if you do, you will find that you are flat out wrong that only Sweden has been singled out for criticism.. You're wrong...
Tell me..do you agree with the article that Sweden is a "success" with their 5th highest death rate (and climbing) ?
So you honestly think that Sweden sitting at 5th highest death rate is above criticism? Sure Italy and Belgium sucked at their very different efforts... Can you admit Swedens plan ALSO failed ?
Your article says Sweden "succeded" right in the headline, and you can't see it as a spin job ?
That seems text book bias to me..
You can't see that it seems...
I guess we'll agree to disagree...
 
I get it.. it was " you had me at ' Sweden succeeded ' " ... You're buying whatever came after that..
 
Just 4 days ago NYT had article that Italian health care official was fired for raising alarms about covid.. very critical..

Wait, but say that the NYT is ONLY picking on Sweden because.. um.. because.. it doesn't fit your narrative I guess....

So I'm confused...

And how you can bend reality to say Sweden policy has not been a failure is impressive..
 
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The writer had an agenda..
Those are literally the ONLY places with higher death rates than Sweden.. and the use of the word "succeded" is complete spin, and Sweden ranking in top 5 death rate never mentioned..
Hey, sure, you likely think it's some kind of media bias when you read an article that Kevin Stallings did a poor job coaching at Pitt, because gee there were at least two other D1 coaches that also sucked ?
Yes, other coaches sucked worse.. still, criticism of Stallings doesn't indicate some kind of bias against Kevin.. does it ,.. I'm sure many folks in Italy and Belgium are slamming their leadership..
Sweden is in top 5 of death rate.. period.. they deserve all the criticism they get.. and not the phrase "succeeded"..
You are wrong! What two other coaches sucked more than Stallings?
 
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For a whole myriad of reasons Joe Biden is an awful Presidential candidate, which is probably why when he's run before he was a spectacular flop and why the main reason that he won this time is that Bernie Sanders scares the crap out of the party power brokers. Seriously, is there anyone outside of immediate family members that looks at Joe Biden and thinks "damn, that's exactly the person we need leading this country?" The fact is that most people aren't going to vote for Biden because they think he's the answer, they are going to vote for him because he isn't Donald Trump. He's the lessor of two evils. Hooray

This is exactly how millions of people justified voting for and subsequently supporting Trump. It's actually how Trump sells himself as he stares down a -15 favorability rating heading into the election. He knows he sucks at his job, and can't even pretend to be likeable, so the only thing he can do is try to dirty up everyone else.

Congratulations, you played yourself.

Also, I was a Republican voter for 12 years. Their 180 on nearly every issue that I cared about - the deficit, national security, good governance, anti-corruption - is why I'm done with them. Of course, many people would say I was fooled - a Kool Aide drinker all along and the GOP as it existed in my mind was never reflected in reality. Nevertheless, I'm part of a huge cluster of high-earning suburban voters that is pissed. You saw what we could do in 2018. Prepare for a repeat.

The Stalin comment is ridiculous hyperbole. The Democratic Party roundly rejected Bernie Sanders, and, by extension, his policies of wealth redistribution. Biden is a generic Democrat and would be considered center-right in every representative government on Earth. Trying to portray him or most Democratic voters as Communists makes you sound like a child.
 
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There is this:

Dr. Thomas File, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America released a statement saying: “Placing medical data collection outside of the leadership of public health experts could severely weaken the quality and availability of data, add an additional burden to already overwhelmed hospitals and add a new challenge to the U.S. pandemic response.”

And this:

"In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on Tuesday, four of the CDC’s former directors expressed concerns that the Trump administration will politicize data and continue to undermine health experts. Furthermore, information sent to the new database will not be open to the public which raises questions about how researchers, health officials, and reporters will be able to access data. Among several things that haven’t been made clear in this new system, is how the CDC will be involved and what its role will be in helping understand the data collected."

Lack of transparency is the opposite of what is needed in this situation.
And so the hiding begins
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/17/education-democrats-cdc-director-congress-367935
 
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