US Politics Thread

[Federberg]

Interesting thing about this Tara Reade accusation against Biden. She changed her story from previous tellings. What to make of it? Loses a bit of credibility for me. Personally I would be searching for offshore accounts suddenly getting large payments in during an election year... Not the level of consistency seen in several of the accusations against Trump by the way. Anyway, no one is changing their positions because of this. It just becomes which pussy grabber you prefer I guess!

Nevada County woman says Joe Biden inappropriately touched her while working in his U.S. Senate office

A Nevada County woman has added her voice to a recent spate of allegations that former vice president and possible presidential candidate Joe Biden touched her when she worked in

www.theunion.com

 

[britbox]

I never did ask... I'm interested to know what you felt was unfair or unreasonable in the article. Please elaborate

Actually, the easier question to answer is what was fair and reasonable about it. Virtually nothing. Total trash.

I can't be bothered picking through it all, but here are a few highlights from the first quarter of it.

The United States is on trajectory to suffer more sickness, more dying, and more economic harm from this virus than any other comparably developed country.

Not it isn't, when you take deaths per 1 million of population, it's far lower than many developed countries.

The utter unpreparedness of the United States for a pandemic is Trump’s fault.

No, it isn't. The US wasn't prepared for a Pandemic of this nature before Trump. If it was, then why were all the states short of ventilators, protective equipment?

It's not a US-centric issue... no countries were prepared for this. South Korea was probably best prepared because they got caught with their pants down over MERS.

That states are bidding against other states for equipment, paying many multiples of the pre-crisis price for ventilators, is Trump’s fault.

Not Trump's fault at all. He explicitly told the States not to do this and source ventilators through the Federal government.

Air travelers summoned home and forced to stand for hours in dense airport crowds alongside infected people? That was Trump’s fault too.

Trump probably has zero control over international airports falling outside US jurisdiction. By the way, nearly all countries have called civilians to return home.

Ten weeks of insisting that the coronavirus is a harmless flu that would miraculously go away on its own? Trump’s fault

Trump didn't spend ten weeks insisting coronavirus was a harmless flu.

The refusal of red-state governors to act promptly, the failure to close Florida and Gulf Coast beaches until late March? That fault is more widely shared, but again, responsibility rests with Trump

Not sure why closing a local beach, playground or similar facility would be the job of the President. What are mayors, local councils, governors paid to do? The centralized Federal advice was clear.

The lying about the coronavirus by hosts on Fox News and conservative talk radio is Trump’s fault

Barely worthy of a response. Is CNN's lying the responsibility of Joe Biden? No. It's the responsibility of CNN.

The severity of the economic crisis is Trump’s fault

The guy can't have it both ways. You either shut down for health reasons or ride it out for economic reasons. He doesn't qualify his statement.

The firing of a Navy captain for speaking truthfully about the virus’s threat to his crew? Trump’s fault.

I wasn't aware Trump fired him

This country—buffered by oceans from the epicenter of the global outbreak, in East Asia; blessed with the most advanced medical technology on Earth; endowed with agencies and personnel devoted to responding to pandemics—could have and should have suffered less than nations nearer to China.

Like most of Europe. Maybe if the Chinese hadn't covered this up for weeks with a complicit WHO then the US and Europe would have been far better prepared to mitigate.

Instead, the United States will suffer more than any peer country.

Reaching.

It didn’t have to be this way. If somebody else had been president of the United States in December 2019—Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush, Mike Pence, really almost anybody else—the United States would still have been afflicted by the coronavirus. But it would have been better prepared, and better able to respond.

Jeb Bush? You can tell this guy was on the Bush Family payroll.

The whole article is utter trash. That was just a bit of it. I'd be here all day picking through it all. Just click on the author to view previous articles and you'll see the agenda straight away. Lame journalism - not worth reading twice.

 

[Federberg]

Actually, the easier question to answer is what was fair and reasonable about it. Virtually nothing. Total trash.

I can't be bothered picking through it all, but here are a few highlights from the first quarter of it.



Not it isn't, when you take deaths per 1 million of population, it's far lower than many developed countries.



No, it isn't. The US wasn't prepared for a Pandemic of this nature before Trump. If it was, then why were all the states short of ventilators, protective equipment?

It's not a US-centric issue... no countries were prepared for this. South Korea was probably best prepared because they got caught with their pants down over MERS.



Not Trump's fault at all. He explicitly told the States not to do this and source ventilators through the Federal government.



Trump probably has zero control over international airports falling outside US jurisdiction. By the way, nearly all countries have called civilians to return home.



Trump didn't spend ten weeks insisting coronavirus was a harmless flu.



Not sure why closing a local beach, playground or similar facility would be the job of the President. What are mayors, local councils, governors paid to do? The centralized Federal advice was clear.



Barely worthy of a response. Is CNN's lying the responsibility of Joe Biden? No. It's the responsibility of CNN.



The guy can't have it both ways. You either shut down for health reasons or ride it out for economic reasons. He doesn't qualify his statement.



I wasn't aware Trump fired him



Like most of Europe. Maybe if the Chinese hadn't covered this up for weeks with a complicit WHO then the US and Europe would have been far better prepared to mitigate.


Reaching.



Jeb Bush? You can tell this guy was on the Bush Family payroll.

The whole article is utter trash. That was just a bit of it. I'd be here all day picking through it all. Just click on the author to view previous articles and you'll see the agenda straight away. Lame journalism - not worth reading twice.

Oh I know who Frum is. I was just curious to see where you landed on the article.

 

[brokenshoelace]

LOL.....right, and the Republican base consists of the dumb ones.

Statements like "Biden is a very ethical person" are a great example of how terribly misinformed the Democratic electorate is. It truly is amazing.

I'm terrified to agree with you but Biden being a very ethical person is "Trump talking about the Coronvarius" level clueless.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Need to be careful when saying any politician is ethical. He indulged in blatant plagirism in his 1988 campaign. When you read from the wiki page it may not sound like a big deal for you. But, if you see the videos of Kinnock and Biden giving the same speech side by side, it will remind you the speeches of Melania and Michelle played side by side recently.

On top of it, Biden got an F in an university course for plagirism as well.

Again, the standards for American presidents are the lowest forms of standards out of any high-ranking position anywhere, which is terrifying. Moxie - and I'm not singling her out - was championing Hilary Fucking Clinton a few years ago. Corruption, lies, theft, sexual assault, and war crimes just get casually swept under the rug. It's pretty incredible really.

 

[brokenshoelace]

The coronavirus was a tad more serious than I (and many others including left-wing outlets in early February) thought, but it's becoming clearer by the day that it's nowhere near as bad as was advertised a few weeks ago. Looking back I was about 80% correct.....the only place that has suffered to a remarkable degree has been New York City, and that's because of high population density and ill-prepared/incompetent Democratic leadership.

This is so fucking predictable.

You don't get to condescend for weeks and backtrack this easily..

You eat shit and like it.

 

[brokenshoelace]

As regards Biden... somebody (anybody) sell this guy? without using the word "Trump" in the pitch... The silence is deafening to date.

Come November, he'll be just as incoherent as Trump, making for some pretty comical debates? That's the best I can come up with, and I still had to use Trump.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

This maybe Biden's only hope.

 

[calitennis127]

Interesting thing about this Tara Reade accusation against Biden. She changed her story from previous tellings. What to make of it? Loses a bit of credibility for me. Personally I would be searching for offshore accounts suddenly getting large payments in during an election year... Not the level of consistency seen in several of the accusations against Trump by the way.

Oh yeah, those stories haven't changed at all.....they've been completely consistent.

But, anyhow, the larger point here is that sexual abuse of women is a much more prevalent problem among Democratic men than it is among Republican men. It's not even close actually. If you want to point at Trump (assuming you believe the allegations are true), that's fine. But he was bred in the NYC Democratic culture and lived most of his life as a part of it. The fact is, when you look at the rap sheet of Democrats versus Republicans when it comes to sexually abusing women, it's not even close. Democrats are the far worse offenders. These accusations against Trump (and Kavanaugh) are a first-class example of projection. They're a huge distraction from the genuine problem.

 

[calitennis127]

I'm terrified to agree with you but Biden being a very ethical person is "Trump talking about the Coronvarius" level clueless.

The problem for you in insisting that Trump was clueless is that his remarks have mirrored those of the revered Dr. Fauci at every turn. You can't say that Trump needs to listen to the experts but then get mad at him when they don't do what you think is right. Review Dr. Fauci's remarks in January and February and then tell me that he has been clueless. If you do, at least you're being consistent. All Trump has done is follow Fauci's lead, as Fauci himself explained yesterday at the press conference.

Also, Trump was condemned by the Democrats and the major media for his January 31 travel ban. In that sense, he was ahead of the curve on this issue.

 

[calitennis127]

This is so fucking predictable.

You don't get to condescend for weeks and backtrack this easily..

You eat shit and like it.

Lol.....this is hilarious. Have you paid any attention to what has been going on in the United States or in the world more generally? Both the IMHE model in the U.S. (used by the Trump administration) and the Imperial College study in the UK were wildly, wildly off in their predictions (both said that the death toll would be much higher than it will be and have had to revise their predictions). I never threw out any outlandish numbers in the opposite direction, so there is nothing to hold me to, except my tone of skepticism.

Sweden has followed my approach and has had far more success than most places.

Also, I am not convinced that the COVID death reporting in the U.S. is accurate.....deaths from pneumonia are drastically down in 2020 and it appears that many hospitals are reporting deaths casually as resulting from coronavirus when in fact it was not the main cause. Dr. Birx actually admitted to this.

 

[Moxie]

Again, the standards for American presidents are the lowest forms of standards out of any high-ranking position anywhere, which is terrifying. Moxie - and I'm not singling her out - was championing Hilary Fucking Clinton a few years ago. Corruption, lies, theft, sexual assault, and war crimes just get casually swept under the rug. It's pretty incredible really.

You are a "glass-is-half-empty" kind of a guy, even in tennis. I'm ok with that. That's you. But we don't all have to share your dark view of the world and of politicians.

 

[Moxie]

Lol.....this is hilarious. Have you paid any attention to what has been going on in the United States or in the world more generally? Both the IMHE model in the U.S. (used by the Trump administration) and the Imperial College study in the UK were wildly, wildly off in their predictions (both said that the death toll would be much higher than it will be and have had to revise their predictions). I never threw out any outlandish numbers in the opposite direction, so there is nothing to hold me to, except my tone of skepticism.

Sweden has followed my approach and has had far more success than most places.

Also, I am not convinced that the COVID death reporting in the U.S. is accurate.....deaths from pneumonia are drastically down in 2020 and it appears that many hospitals are reporting deaths casually as resulting from coronavirus when in fact it was not the main cause. Dr. Birx actually admitted to this.

Did Sweden call you? That's a bit of hubris as a statement. However, some in Sweden don't think it's the right call. Their cases are on the rise:

Sweden: 22 Scientists Say Coronavirus Strategy Has Failed As Deaths Top 1,000

Sweden's relatively relaxed approach to controlling the spread of the virus has come under fire from 22 researchers who have publicly criticized the strategy.

www.forbes.com

I did a little research. Sweden's closest neighbors, Denmark, Finland and Norway, who went into lockdown fairly early, are considering they might get out soon. Look where they stand relative to each other in new cases today:

COVID Live Update: 180,845,468 Cases and 3,917,897 Deaths from the Coronavirus - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

 

[brokenshoelace]

You are a "glass-is-half-empty" kind of a guy, even in tennis. I'm ok with that. That's you. But we don't all have to share your dark view of the world and of politicians.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA.

Excuse me, but are you out of your fucking mind?

I point out that many of these politicians are literal war criminals, corrupt, unethical, thieves, etc.. and your reaction is "awww just like in tennis, he's focusing on the negatives."

Yes, because killing thousands of women and children is the same as missing a down the line forehand. That's the stupidest thing I've read on this thread, and considering it's 80% Cali shitposts, that says a lot. Please, take a hard long look in the mirror and get better as a human being if you're able to so easily disregard these issues.

"Your politicians"? Your politicians boiled down to Trump vs. Biden. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about your politicians, then you deserve either of these men as your president.

Jesus that's dumb.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Also, I am not convinced that the COVID death reporting in the U.S. is accurate.....deaths from pneumonia are drastically down in 2020 and it appears that many hospitals are reporting deaths casually as resulting from coronavirus when in fact it was not the main cause. Dr. Birx actually admitted to this.

LMAOOOO.

Reality literally hits this guy in the face and he's like "I'm not convinced this is accurate." Of course you're not. Not when reality has forced you to eat shit.

So again, eat shit, and like it.

 

[Moxie]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA.

Excuse me, but are you out of your fucking mind?

I point out that many of these politicians are literal war criminals, corrupt, unethical, thieves, etc.. and your reaction is "awww just like in tennis, he's focusing on the negatives."

Yes, because killing thousands of women and children is the same as missing a down the line forehand. That's the stupidest thing I've read on this thread, and considering it's 80% Cali shitposts, that says a lot. Please, take a hard long look in the mirror and get better as a human being if you're able to so easily disregard these issues.

"Your politicians"? Your politicians boiled down to Trump vs. Biden. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about your politicians, then you deserve either of these men as your president.

Jesus that's dumb.

Fine, but then where does this nihilism get you? Should we all just go live off the grid because there is no one we can trust to care about the welfare of others and therefore we can't actually live in a civilized society? If all politicians are corrupt, and we're all patsies for believing them, then what do we have? What's your alternative solution?

 

[calitennis127]

Did Sweden call you? That's a bit of hubris as a statement. However, some in Sweden don't think it's the right call.

Obviously what I meant is that they took the kind of approach that I advocated from the start. I have maintained from the beginning that we are talking about a policy (i.e. social distancing) that increasingly is having grave socioeconomic consequences. The question to me has always been whether the social and economic costs of the policy are worth it. As each day passes, I think the answer is more and more clear that it is no. You may be interested in taking a look at the Twitter page of former NYT reporter Alex Berenson. He has lost all of his old friends by being a contrarian but he is making a very strong case that the current policies are unproven and highly questionable.

I did a little research. Sweden's closest neighbors, Denmark, Finland and Norway, who went into lockdown fairly early, are considering they might get out soon. Look where they stand relative to each other in new cases today:

COVID Live Update: 180,845,468 Cases and 3,917,897 Deaths from the Coronavirus - Worldometer

Live statistics and coronavirus news tracking the number of confirmed cases, recovered patients, tests, and death toll due to the COVID-19 coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Coronavirus counter with new cases, deaths, and number of tests per 1 Million population. Historical data and info. Daily...

www.worldometers.info

There is also a new study out of Germany indicating that the current policy of social distancing might be doing more to spread the coronavirus than stop it:

"A virologist from the University of Bonn is using the hard-hit region of Heinsberg, Germany, as a living laboratory to study the coronavirus.

Professor Hendrik Streeck is leading a study on the region, which has been dubbed "Germany's Wuhan" because of its large number of coronavirus cases.

Heinsberg has been under strict lockdown, and has a peculiar series of characteristics that make it rife for examination — it has a proportionately high number of cases for the country, but a disproportionately low death rate from the disease.

Streeck and his team are attempting to root out the sources of infection by studying residents of the northwestern region. Speaking to press on Tuesday, he said most cases of coronavirus in Heinsberg originated from people being close together for a significant period of time, and not from touching surfaces with virus particles on them. "

Germany's had more than 113,000 coronavirus cases, but fewer than 3,000 deaths. Scientists are hoping to unlock why.

Heinsberg has been called "Germany's Wuhan" because of its high number of coronavirus cases.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[calitennis127]

LMAOOOO.

Reality literally hits this guy in the face and he's like "I'm not convinced this is accurate."

It's not my fault you only have a surface knowledge of the issues at hand. Let me give you a little dose of reality since your sources are completely misinforming you.

First, some images from American hospitals.....does this look like a healthcare system that is overrun with patients it can't treat? You can see yourself dancing around the 8-second mark:



And then this one.....this is clearly the scene from a horrific health environment:



And, for good measure, one more.....clearly signs of an existential health crisis that is impossible to describe:

 

[calitennis127]

Reality literally hits this guy in the face and he's like "I'm not convinced this is accurate."

It's also funny to see that you did not address the point about how the IMHE model (assuming you even know what that is) has had to be revised over and over, and the projected death total has gone down by 40,000.

As for excessive counting of the COVID deaths, it is becoming clear that's what is going on, even if you don't want that to be the case so you can bash Trump.

NYC Adds Nearly 4,000 People Who Never Tested Positive To Coronavirus Death Tolls

NYC Adds Nearly 4,000 People Who Never Tested Positive To Coronavirus Death Tolls

New York City added nearly 4,000 people who never tested positive for the coronavirus to its death toll Tuesday.

dailycaller.com

Feds classifying all coronavirus patient deaths as ‘COVID-19’ deaths, regardless of cause

The federal government is classifying the deaths of patients infected with the coronavirus as COVID-19 deaths, regardless of any underlying health issues that could have contributed to the loss of someone’s life.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, said the federal government is continuing to count the suspected COVID-19 deaths, despite other nations doing the opposite.

“There are other countries that if you had a pre-existing condition, and let’s say the virus caused you to go to the ICU [intensive care unit] and then have a heart or kidney problem,” she said during a Tuesday news briefing at the White House. “Some countries are recording that as a heart issue or a kidney issue and not a COVID-19 death.

“The intent is … if someone dies with COVID-19, we are counting that,” she added.

Feds classifying all coronavirus patient deaths as ‘COVID-19’ deaths, regardless of cause

The federal government is classifying the deaths of patients infected with the coronavirus as COVID-19 deaths, regardless of any underlying health issues that could have contributed to the loss of …

nypost.com

 

[Moxie]

Obviously what I meant is that they took the kind of approach that I advocated from the start. I have maintained from the beginning that we are talking about a policy (i.e. social distancing) that increasingly is having grave socioeconomic consequences. The question to me from the start has been whether the social and economic costs of the policy are worth it. As each day passes, I think the answer is more and more clear that it is no. You may be interested in taking a look at the Twitter page of former NYT reporter Alex Berenson. He has lost all of his old friends by being a contrarian but he is making a very strong case that the current policies are unproven and highly questionable.

Why do you always make claims like these that you have no idea about? How do you know that Alex Berenson has lost all of his old friends? Stop with the crazy editorials, please, and keep to the point. Thank you.

There is also a new study out of Germany indicating that the current policy of social distancing might be doing more to spread the coronavirus than stop it:

"A virologist from the University of Bonn is using the hard-hit region of Heinsberg, Germany, as a living laboratory to study the coronavirus.

Professor Hendrik Streeck is leading a study on the region, which has been dubbed "Germany's Wuhan" because of its large number of coronavirus cases.

Heinsberg has been under strict lockdown, and has a peculiar series of characteristics that make it rife for examination — it has a proportionately high number of cases for the country, but a disproportionately low death rate from the disease.

Streeck and his team are attempting to root out the sources of infection by studying residents of the northwestern region. Speaking to press on Tuesday, he said most cases of coronavirus in Heinsberg originated from people being close together for a significant period of time, and not from touching surfaces with virus particles on them. "

Germany's had more than 113,000 coronavirus cases, but fewer than 3,000 deaths. Scientists are hoping to unlock why.

Heinsberg has been called "Germany's Wuhan" because of its high number of coronavirus cases.

www.businessinsider.com

I don't think I read this at all in the way that you did. Just because we're less likely to catch the disease from surfaces than from aspirations in public certainly doesn't imply that going out in public is OK. I think we all already understand this. It's each other that we're most in danger from, not surfaces. And your article is about a town where a lot of people have the virus, but fewer have died from it. So what are the mitigating factors? That Heisberg residents have overall good health? That they are younger? It doesn't really answer, or even address these questions. However, it does say that they are in lockdown, and they've avoided a disaster, so that doesn't support your case for normalization, really.