Virus thread, the political one.

[monadnocky]

My brother in Ann Arbor shared this post:

Attachment 115163

So angry, eloquent and full-hearted.

Shout out to all the front line workers, especially our medical workers.

This is amazing.
I can't believe that there are people out there who are not related to anyone, or know anyone, who is employed in direct service healthcare. It's the only way I can possibly imagine that anyone would feel any differently.

[j44ke]

I think there are all kinds of people out there.

Remember the discussion in one of these Covid threads where the most abstract aspect of this whole process of social distancing is when it works. When the large numbers of fatalities waved before the masses as a warning of what could happen if people don't stay home, don't keep their distance, fail to materialize even in the hardest hit areas - that success of social distancing will be the biggest obstacle to getting people to continue following its guideline. Well, it's starting. This has been too successful. And the increases in rural areas have been too slow. Joblessness and economic hardship look much larger to a lot of people than Covid19 infection, partly at least because of the sacrifices and hard work of the medical profession and the willingness of large numbers of people in hard hit areas to obey social distancing regulations.

You don't see any alligators around here.

[SpeedyChix]

My brother in Ann Arbor shared this post:

Attachment 115163

So angry, eloquent and full-hearted.

Shout out to all the front line workers, especially our medical workers.

Thanks for posting this. It is eloquent and needed sanity. Yesterday's sh!tshow of a protest rally left me in a empty and hollow place for the hope of humanity.

Does your brother know if she works in Ann Arbor? or SE Michigan? Thanks. I'd like to share w/o the name but attribute it to a region of the state.

[davids]

I think there are all kinds of people out there.

Remember the discussion in one of these Covid threads where the most abstract aspect of this whole process of social distancing is when it works. When the large numbers of fatalities waved before the masses as a warning of what could happen if people don't stay home, don't keep their distance, fail to materialize even in the hardest hit areas - that success of social distancing will be the biggest obstacle to getting people to continue following its guideline. Well, it's starting. This has been too successful. And the increases in rural areas have been too slow. Joblessness and economic hardship look much larger to a lot of people than Covid19 infection, partly at least because of the sacrifices and hard work of the medical profession and the willingness of large numbers of people in hard hit areas to obey social distancing regulations.

You don't see any alligators around here.

I remember noticing this the first time around Y2K prep. After the fact, so much of the press/blowback was, like, "What the hell? Why did we make such a big deal out of this nothing burger?"
Hey idiots, it was a nothing burger because I - and 100,000 other IT people - worked our asses off to make sure the world didn't sputter to a halt.
But how do you prove the negative?

[davids]

Thanks for posting this. It is eloquent and needed sanity. Yesterday's sh!tshow of a protest rally left me in a empty and hollow place for the hope of humanity.

Does your brother know if she works in Ann Arbor? or SE Michigan? Thanks. I'd like to share w/o the name but attribute it to a region of the state.

I don't even know if she's a friend of his, virtual or otherwise! Search "Amy Elizabeth" and share her post. I did.

[theflashunc]

Yesterday in southwest Michigan I looked out the window to see the ground covered in snow. It didn't last even though it stayed cold all day because the sun came out and hits it at less of an angle. My wife commented after seeing the protest in the news that no intelligent Michigander puts plants out before Memorial Day. And we live in the very south only a few miles from the Indiana border.

When I saw the pictures of the protest, I could see confederate flags and guns and thought how ironic it is that these people that value individual freedom over what is best for citizens as a whole worship a dictator-wana-be.

There is an unspoken consistency in all of this though that gets to the fundamental rot in modern conservatism. If you spend 40 years cultivating a voter base that relies on dog whistle racism and pretty thorough othering -- and a tacit statement that, yes, only white working class voters are the real Americans -- it validates all of the feelings of resentment and sense this country was "taken" from them. Then the guy comes along who not says the quiet part loud, but actively encourages this group's absolute worst impulses. Hell, the man is making apologia for Neo Nazis for Pete's sake. It's also why the Stars and Bars really is about hella racism. But that's another conversation for another time.

I agree its a cognitive dissonance of a pretty high order, but they love the guy because he tells them it's okay to be a shitty person basically, and that American freedom is basically their right to be an asshole whenever they want, to whomever they want, and not apologize for it. And maybe most importantly, that's a right reserved only for them, not the "Other."

And because of idiocy like this, people will die.

[bcm119]

I'm in the camp who believes that Trump's bumbling speeches are far more orchestrated than most give him credit for. He isn't stupid, or at least the people advising his every move aren't.

His latest "gaffe" was declaring he had absolute authority to reopen the economy. I think the purpose of this was to explicitly establish that he does *not* have authority to reopen the economy, so now he can begin to beat the drum for reopening with the appearance of being blocked by democratic governors.

The base will be able to say: the economy didn't have to be this bad! Trump wanted to open it up way back in May!

[BBB]

Ah don't you love self-entitlement...

Ivanka Trump defies social distancing to celebrate Passover at golf club | Ivanka Trump | The Guardian

[caleb]

I'm in the camp who believes that Trump's bumbling speeches are far more orchestrated than most give him credit for. He isn't stupid, or at least the people advising his every move aren't.

His latest "gaffe" was declaring he had absolute authority to reopen the economy. I think the purpose of this was to explicitly establish that he does *not* have authority to reopen the economy, so now he can begin to beat the drum for reopening with the appearance of being blocked by democratic governors.

The base will be able to say: the economy didn't have to be this bad! Trump wanted to open it up way back in May!

His instinct is always to create an adversary to set the agenda. I suspect his cold-sweat-nightmare is everyone standing back and asking him what should be done.

[crumpton]

“Opening up America again”?? I’m no English major but ‘again’? Oh... I get it. This new White House PPT slide set will be useful for the next few years.

[caleb]

There is an unspoken consistency in all of this though that gets to the fundamental rot in modern conservatism. If you spend 40 years cultivating a voter base that relies on dog whistle racism and pretty thorough othering -- and a tacit statement that, yes, only white working class voters are the real Americans -- it validates all of the feelings of resentment and sense this country was "taken" from them. Then the guy comes along who not says the quiet part loud, but actively encourages this group's absolute worst impulses. Hell, the man is making apologia for Neo Nazis for Pete's sake. It's also why the Stars and Bars really is about hella racism. But that's another conversation for another time.

I agree its a cognitive dissonance of a pretty high order, but they love the guy because he tells them it's okay to be a shitty person basically, and that American freedom is basically their right to be an asshole whenever they want, to whomever they want, and not apologize for it. And maybe most importantly, that's a right reserved only for them, not the "Other."

And because of idiocy like this, people will die.

Tom Edsall, whose column I primarily skim as a social science gossip rag, had an interesting quotation yesterday from Charles Murray (not someone I usually keep up with) in a podcast where he described his conversation with many people from Trump's base.

One of the things that struck me most were people who say, “You don’t understand. We don’t particularly like Donald Trump. We are not defending his character, or anything like that. He’s our murder weapon.” And I think that is a pretty short and accurate way of saying what function Trump served.

There's a danger in over-emphasizing the cult of personality dynamic to Trump's base. Sure, there are some who feel genuine affection for him. But I suspect the dynamic Murray describes is the dominant one: Trump is a functional expression of the animus that his base feels toward immigrants and elites and the general state of the world. There's not supposed to be a policy platform, it's furry all the way down.

When only 7-9% of the electorate really cares about fiscal conservatism as a voting issue, it's clear that the right needs this furry to create a winning coalition. It's all so much pearl clutching for those fiscal conservatives to be appalled that the numerical majority of their coalition realized they could in fact run the show.

[theflashunc]

I'm in the camp who believes that Trump's bumbling speeches are far more orchestrated than most give him credit for. He isn't stupid, or at least the people advising his every move aren't.

On the other hand, the guy couldn't make money running a casino, which is essentially a license to print money. I wouldn't oversell he's playing 11th dimension chess here.

[beeatnik]

The 1990 Playboy interview compelled me to conclude the same.

The 199 Playboy Interview With Donald Trump

I'm in the camp who believes that Trump's bumbling speeches are far more orchestrated than most give him credit for. He isn't stupid, or at least the people advising his every move aren't.

His latest "gaffe" was declaring he had absolute authority to reopen the economy. I think the purpose of this was to explicitly establish that he does *not* have authority to reopen the economy, so now he can begin to beat the drum for reopening with the appearance of being blocked by democratic governors.

The base will be able to say: the economy didn't have to be this bad! Trump wanted to open it up way back in May!

[Sbti]

Monday:
"Let me just tell you very simple. I’m going to put it very simply. The president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the United States calls the shots."

Today: "You are going to call your own shots," I've gotten to know almost all of you, most of you I've known and some very well. You are all very capable people, I think in all cases, very capable people. And you're going to be calling your shots."

[ides1056]

My brother in Ann Arbor shared this post:

Attachment 115163

So angry, eloquent and full-hearted.

Shout out to all the front line workers, especially our medical workers.

This was forwarded by a doctor friend in NYC: I’m an E.R. Doctor in New York. None of Us Will Ever Be the Same. - The New York Times

[ides1056]

Tom Edsall, whose column I primarily skim as a social science gossip rag, had an interesting quotation yesterday from Charles Murray (not someone I usually keep up with) in a podcast where he described his conversation with many people from Trump's base.



There's a danger in over-emphasizing the cult of personality dynamic to Trump's base. Sure, there are some who feel genuine affection for him. But I suspect the dynamic Murray describes is the dominant one: Trump is a functional expression of the animus that his base feels toward immigrants and elites and the general state of the world. There's not supposed to be a policy platform, it's furry all the way down.

When only 7-9% of the electorate really cares about fiscal conservatism as a voting issue, it's clear that the right needs this furry to create a winning coalition. It's all so much pearl clutching for those fiscal conservatives to be appalled that the numerical majority of their coalition realized they could in fact run the show.

Steve Bannon did mention that he had declared war on anyone who wasn't with him. I took him at his word, at least that one.

[giordana93]

regarding the eloquent post by the Michigan nurse, I poked around until I found it, then made the mistake of reading comments. I need to just say no on that. Anyway, I found this gem:

Another paid actress hiding behind a mask.
Pathetic.

Just when I think there is hope, someone comes along with a sucker punch. We are so far from the end of this. Reckon about hairpin 2 or 3 on the way up l'Alpe d'Huez. Stay safe everyone.

[Sbti]

Raging lunatic red hatters. Breathing all over each other then heading back home to wherever. See y'all in church.

[Mabouya]

Raging lunatic red hatters. Breathing all over each other then heading back home to wherever. See y'all in church.

They're protected by the shield of faith. (or so I hear)

I sure hope that isn't a recent picture.

[COVRTDESIGN]

They're protected by the shield of faith. (or so I hear)

I sure hope that isn't a recent picture.

(shakes head) Despite warnings, churchgoers explain why they're still going to services - CNN Video