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  • Posted by freedomforall 4 years ago
    Yes, blaming Trump is irrational. But the media and Dems have been irrational for decades and have been blaming Trump for everything since November 2016, so this is not a surprise.

    Screaming about Chinese biological weapons?
    First, there must be a smoking gun. Iron-clad proof. There is none evident at this time.
    Second, many other countries have programs that are at least similar on the surface to the one the Chinese have. Those countries won't point the finger at China because without iron-clad evidence, they could be accused of being just as guilty as China.
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    • Posted by TheRealBill 4 years ago
      Yeah the notion that this is a bioweapon is as groundless as the "But, Muh Russians" ones. That part of the world is just a hotbed of viral outbreaks like this. Even Spanish Flu came from Asia and is widely suspected to be from China specifically. Just something about that environment seems to breed viruses - corona viruses in particular.

      On that note, how long until the Democrats start blaming Russia? My partially tongue-in-cheek guess would be the moment polls show Trump favorability going up because of it.

      The said, I'm not terribly concerned about SARS-CoV-2. I've chosen to follow the details and data and the media and politicians are overplaying it - again. It would be comical if it weren't so consequential that you see people say we can't trust the Chinese data and claim orders of magnitude more are infected than is reported, then "trust" the mortality rate - because you can scare people with that.

      But fear sells as well as sex when it comes to media. Telling people to be more cleanly and cautious sin interactions, avoid travel when necessary, and clean their rooms is not as salacious as "OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE/GET SICK".

      Indications are that the mortality rate is under 1% and possibly as low as .5% or less in countries w/a proper infrastructure. The R0 is not as high as many other outbreaks and pandemics - meaning it isn't as contagious as the media wants to claim. The "OMG it might have a there week incubation period!!1!" cries are bunk as well. In the data, 95% of confirmed cases are symptomatic within 11 days, and half of confirmed cases have them symptomatic in 2-5 days.

      Personally, I do suspect there are big problems w/the data in China - but of a different type. I suspect they are too high. While the Chinese government has tried to fiddle with data, there is a big flaw in their criteria. The vast bulk of their "confirmed" cases are "confirmed" via symptom - not virology tests.

      This matters because this started in and has run through their flu season, and the primary major symptoms are identical to flu. You can walk in, present your flu symptoms, and be "confirmed" as having SARS-CoV-2 in China. Now on the one hand, basic treatment is basically the same. On the other, that skews data.

      That isn't to even remotely say we should dismiss it, just use a healthy dose of skepticism for the big claims.
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    • Posted by term2 4 years ago
      Its very suspicious that there is a biological weapon lab just a few miles from where the coronovirus seems to have started. It doesnt make sense though that they would deliberately release something like this. More likely it was an accident
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  • Posted by Joseph23006 4 years ago
    It's all for the same reason that George Bush was blamed for 911 and Katrina, it's those evil Republicans, or Christians, or just plain conservatives! Natural or manmade disasters are never the fault of Democrats, or leftists, or liberals, it just doesn't happen. If King Edward could not make the tide recede to the ridicule of his retainers proving he was a mere mortal, that means a President can not stop rising seas, hurricanes, earthquakes, or diseases of any kind. President Obama was never, as I recall, blamed for natural phenomena but he wa a Democrat!
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  • Posted by $ blarman 4 years ago
    It's hysterical and irrational, definitely. Unreasonable and irresponsible? Par for the course for these idiots. But dumbest? Nah. That one in my book is still either Nancy Pelosi's "We have to pass it to see what's in it" (referring to the ACA) or Hank Johnson's concerns about Guam tipping over.

    That being said, I am curious why we aren't trying to expose the origins of the virus. I've seen some suggestions that it was stolen from a US facility and then modified in Wuhan. I've seen others claiming it was stolen from a Canadian facility and then modified in Wuhan. There's no question it is a man-made virus and it shares similarities to several others which have also - not coincidentally - started in China.

    My hope is that this will be the final straw and the US will revoke Most Favored Nation trade status with China. It was a mistake to grant it in the first place given their theft of intellectual property, cyber warfare, and currency manipulation. Maybe we can finally use it to encourage them to come into the 21st century.
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    • Posted by ewv 4 years ago
      Why would China coming into the 21st century be any better than they were in the 20th century? China should be denied 'most favored' status in trade and a lot more than But the most guilty are those in this country who made it policy for us to be dependent on China.
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  • Posted by $ Stormi 4 years ago
    Have you notice the Republicans backing away from blaming China, because they threathen to withhod the antibiotics and anti-virals that morons in Congress allowed, with help from industry, to b econcentrated with our enemy? Of course, how many Dems seem to havae links to China for their own profits. And never forget, they had Hillary's e-mails forwarded to them, so they know mroe about her than our own government. God forbid she should ever get in office, they could blackmail her from day one.
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  • Posted by $ 4 years ago
    Uh oh! the first 2 people in my county testing presumptively positive for the Coronavirus are from my little city of 28,000! Seems they feel they got exposed at the Livestock Show & Rodeo in Houston.
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  • Posted by Ben_C 4 years ago
    My take is that this is exactly the reason why we do not want the government to control health care. Putting aside conspiracy theories and premises such as "The Hunger Games" I look at it as a consumer supply and demand model.
    We have had pandemics in my field. I am a 1968 graduate from veterinary school. In the late seventies we had a Parvo epidemic in the canine species. Some of you my age may remember. Without getting too deep in the weeds we recognized where it came from and what it did to our patients. A lab test was developed early on to confirm or rule out the disease. Multiple vaccine companies sprung into action to develop an effective vaccine to protect the dogs. It worked. While I have other issues with these companies they did a great job bringing a product to market that stemmed the tide. This took months, not years, AND without the government mucking things up. Strictly private enterprise and capitalism doing what it does best - solving problems.
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  • Posted by term2 4 years ago
    Something tells me that the fears are overblown about this virus. Since regular run of themill influenza is far more dangerous to the same group that they are directing the fear at, My "fear" is more directed to that rather than the corona virus. Keeping up my immune system, and staying away from people who are sick with any kind of cold symptoms is always a good way to help keep disease free.
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  • Posted by Snakecane 4 years ago
    Blame is the usual tool of the socialists. Just wait till the coming economic debt bubble bursts as I expect it will soon. President Trump and free enterprise itself will be blamed by those in complete ignorance of what has been going on for decades. The Fed has been attempting to cover up the debt crisis, and is just pouring gasoline on the fire. Politicians refuse to face it, and when it all comes down into a grave and destructive bankruptcy depression, free enterprise will be the scapegoat. Then what?
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 4 years ago
    A Trump-hating lib would tell you that blaiming the Chinese is racist. Just like Quid Pro Qoe Joe said Trump protecting us by putting a temporary stop to foreigners entering this country is racist.
    Watching Fox News last night, me dino learned of an Italian mayor who stated that everyone should go out of their way to hug a Chinese person. That was a month ago. Now he is infected by the Coronaviris.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 4 years ago
    California Governor Newsome, to his credit, gave high marks to the Trump administration for doing all the right things in responding to the virus threat. His primary concern was about the repatriation of California residents trapped on a cruise ship.

    On the flip side of common sense was the Bernie Sanders idiocy about China travel bans being "racist," and how the "remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers was "criminal." Every single imbecilic thing out of his mouth about the corona virus was a strategy for the fastest spread of the disease possible.
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  • Posted by wmiranda 4 years ago
    30 dead to Cornavirus in US since December.
    34,000 dead of flu in the US since flu season began, mostly a yearly event. No crisis there. After all, it's only the flu, right?
    Blaming Trump sounds like political desperation with media assistance. Blaming slow response is also inaccurate because actions were taken much sooner than Obama ever did to any of the "pandemics" he faced during his administration.
    The long time director of the CDC seems to be saying they were not as prepared as they could have been. Instead, he should be saying "mea culpa" since he was in charge all along and didn't prepare. Trump should be saying "You're fired".
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  • Posted by minesayn 4 years ago
    I don't think people are blaming Trump for the coronavirus outbreak. I think they may be saying that his response to this pandemic is to downplay it and his handling of it has been slipshod with his waffling statements.

    Since no one has really had any exposure to this virus (and thus no vaccine to counteract it), no one has immunity to it.Therefore, the suggestion to wash hands thoroughly, sanitize surfaces, avoid crowds, etc. is valid.
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  • Posted by ewv 4 years ago
    "Chinese official blames coronavirus outbreak on US military"

    By Bob Fredericks New York Post March 12, 2020

    "... Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian claimed Thursday that the US military might have brought the COVID-19 virus to the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged in December.

    " 'When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!' Zhao tweeted in English in one of a series of tweets critical of the US..."

    https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/chinese...
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    • Posted by $ 4 years ago
      I think China created just what they wished to happen. Market's dropping. People are emptying out the stores of groceries, cleaning supplies, and water.
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      • Posted by mccannon01 4 years ago
        "Market's dropping. People are emptying out the stores of groceries, cleaning supplies, and water." Hah, it's like a pre-taste of possible things to come. America gets a glimpse of Venezuela and Zimbabwe when they voted in socialism. I'm sure we're going to recover from this virus fairly quickly, but hopefully in time for the November election. The Neo Communists and their sycophants in the MSM are depending on a continued economic disaster to unseat Trump and the mantra will be to blame capitalism and Trump. The scary thing is there are a lot of sheeple that will swallow that mantra whole.

        I'm not so sure China created this to happen now. I think more likely they were experimenting with weaponizing a flu virus and it got out.
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        • Posted by ewv 4 years ago
          mccannon01: "Neo Communists and their sycophants in the MSM are depending on a continued economic disaster to unseat Trump and the mantra will be to blame capitalism and Trump."

          In times of national emergency from an external cause the country typically rallies behind the president. After 911 the left deferred to that, backed off, and then heavily lost. They don't seem willing to make that "mistake" again.

          mccannon01: "I'm not so sure China created this to happen now. I think more likely they were experimenting with weaponizing a flu virus and it got out."

          It would not be surprising if they did something deliberately, but there is no evidence for it and it remains another speculative conspiracy theory. "Never automatically ascribe conspiracy to what is easily explained by incompetence." The Moratorium on Brains is in effect.
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          • Posted by mccannon01 4 years ago
            "In times of national emergency from an external cause the country typically rallies behind the president." History backs you up on this for the most part, but this time the Presidents detractors hold a hatred I haven't seen in my lifetime and I believe would do anything to prevent a rally around him and will do everything they can to create a rally around themselves. I see hacks in the media sniping and nit picking at Trump for anything no matter how specious and twisted their point is. Time will tell if history repeats or if this is something new.

            "Never automatically ascribe conspiracy to what is easily explained by incompetence." Nice. I like that.
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      • Posted by $ 4 years ago
        My only reaction is that I locked all four of my gates and I'll defend my home against any who try to climb my fences, all around this City Block I live on.
        Aren't alarm systems great? My dogs are better!
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    • Posted by $ 4 years ago
      IS THAT WHY THE DOCTOR WHO DEVELOPED THE VIRUS IN HIS LAB DIED FROM IT? I DOUBT THAT'S WHAT HE DIED FROM.
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      • Posted by $ 4 years ago
        It has just dawned on me why the President is taking such wonderful precautions. He is setting this up for future presidents to be able to exercise these things and to improve our archaic methods for a Pandemic. I think his precautions are great. Having worked most of my life in the health care system, I know a lot about emergencies...like all our hurricanes here on the Gulf Coast.
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