Do you enjoy wasting my time?

Why are your knickers always in a twist about it?

If the thread is open, I will comment on it.
If you don't like it, cry more.

The administrations of normal presidents are quite adept at multitasking... nothing new.

If you think a Joe Biden administration will be so laser focused on "a serious epidemic, not to mention pandemic, to deal with through 2021, at least," that they won't be able to continue handling ongoing investigations, then perhaps you neither know Joe nor those group of Americans that have made it their career to serve this country that we refer to as our United States government... the largest employer in the world.

You may very well be right about that, Kick … if there wasn't a serious epidemic, not to mention pandemic, to deal with through 2021, at least.

The amazing thing about an administration having a huge cabinet of diverse and talented people along with multiple divisions spanning a myriad of specialized departments is that a great number of issues can be dealt with simultaneously... and by design too. The administrations of normal presidential administrations are quite adept at multitasking... nothing new.

I hope you won't be too disappointed when he imbues his AG with a laser focus - not on Trump but on what Trump left in his wake.

I hope you won't be too disappointed when I tell you that in order to clean up the international and domestic mess that Trump has made, some of that focus is going to naturally require investigation into the crossfire hurricane, much of which continues robustly and without abatement.

I know, right!?

Donald Trump whines that the WHO didn't tell him about that pandemic that Trump claimed he knew very early was a pandemic. He's also "ordering" the governors of the states to handle the pandemic he knew about that no one told him about while tweeting for insurrection against those same governors.

Pay no attention to those 70 days Trump, the Fox talking heads, and the useful idiots downplayed the pandemic because the entire thing is just an overblown hoax that Trump alone has fixed unless, of course, your loved one died because of Obama's bad tests and Governor Cuomo being unprepared without enough ventilators and asking us for too many when we're happily sending them to Moscow.

Any questions?

Should Biden win the presidency, the biggest mistake he could possibly make would be to turn a blind eye to the lawless presidency of Donald Trump …

I hope you won't be too disappointed when he imbues his AG with a laser focus - not on Trump but on what Trump left in his wake.

Because, they will both be too busy cleaning up a mess - internationally and domestically, not to mention a pandemic - on the grande scale of the Augean Stables, AGAIN!

Sorry, Wisconsin, maybe Trump will call on you later...the day isn’t over!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/17/liberate-michigan-trump-constitution/

His tweet to “LIBERATE VIRGINIA” also includes a call to protect the 2nd Amendment...so not only is he calling for an insurrection; he’s calling for an ARMED insurrection!

All you pie lovers ought to get onto a marvelous pie crust system my wife got from ATK. It's basically saltine crackers and butter, it's ridiculously simple and easy, and adapts well to needs of diabetics as a fringe benefit.

I know, right!? Yes, sir... you can make a wicked good pie crust from saltine crackers and butter, but remember to use unsalted butter if you're salt averse since there's a healthy (unhealthy) dose of salt in the crackers already.

Reminds me of good old fashioned 6-ingredient Depression era Soda Cracker Pie. The "secret" 7th ingredient I add is chocolate.

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/soda-cracker-pie

Oh, Lord. It just hit me square in the face (pun intended) that I am discussing pie with Stucki.

A now, time for wine. :)

One of the criticisms being directed to the WHO - by ill-informed presidents and journalists - is that the WHO was late in advising that there was human-to-human transmission with this novel coronavirus.

That criticism is as ill-informed as it is ridiculous. Of course there is human to human transmission with this new respiratory pathogen. And, the very first guidance that the WHO put out on 10 January advised that all of the usual respiratory precautions and protocols be practiced, especially in health and occupation environments, to prevent human to human transmission.

What the WHO did not know was how effective this new coronavirus could be transmitted at the community level because not all coronaviruses are effectively transmitted at the community level.

During the second week, some people will successfully fight off the virus and start to get better. This is apparently largely because the virus has remained at the back of the throat and the back of the nasal passages, and has not moved deeper into the body.

Other people, for whatever reason, start having a harder time, and while initially start feeling better, suddenly relapse when the virus moves down into the lungs.

It's at this point that their bodies in a last ditch effort to fight the virus, develop an inflammatory response, particularly in the lungs which is the cause of pneumonia, thus requiring to be put on a ventilator. These are also the people most likely to be helped by blood plasma antibody therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, etc.

Once on a ventilator, two new groups emerge. Those whose body makes it through the inflammatory response and get better. The other group being those whose other organs like the kidneys and liver begin shutting down as well, and therefore eventually unfortunately succumb to the virus, do not recover and die.

The twin key dangers of this virus then are 1) It is highly contagious, more so than even the flu. 2) It specifically targets the respiratory system with a vengeance.

I think you're right - this virus does seem to be very infectious and less deadly than the numbers show. But, there is still so much that is not yet known about how this virus behaves and why there is such a wide range of immune responses to it.

Everyone is talking about when a vaccine will be ready but I still wonder if an effective one will be found at all.

Europe is getting pretty hard hit and they seem to have superior public health infrastructure. I personally think this virus is just much more infectious and less deadly than the numbers show or the experts have predicted. This is a very good sign. It means it is blowing through much faster than expected and we might achieve herd immunity quicker...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-putting-together-post-election-transition-team-talks-cabinet-makeup-n1185926?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign&utm_term=First%20Read

This give us a bit of a window into how Biden is preparing and how he will govern.

So, according to this study about 6% were symptomatic.

The TR is a huge ship with a population like many not so small towns. It would be interesting to find out how much of the transmission may be been due to the 6%.

Where on board were these symptomatic sailors based. Did they have collective access to all areas of the carrier?

Here's a political piece from Defense One with a detailed look at what happened during the week in which Captain Crozier was relieved of duty:
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2020/04/inside-wild-final-week-acting-navy-secretary/164710/?oref=defense_one_breaking_nl

Many of the societies that went to masks early have had some evidence of a flatter curve. Everyone does it, it helps even if you are not specifically protected by wearing one.

I'm wondering if the lower infection rates of those societies making use of face coverings early had more to do with superior public health infrastructure and a much higher capacity for case finding, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine.

If I start wearing a face covering when I go to the grocery store it will probably be because I don't want to be the only one not wearing one!

Here is the first study to come out of random testing in the bay area. I would not put stock in their absolute numbers as there is some testing bias (participants were recruited on Facebook) but it does show that the infection rate is very likely much much higher than the official tested, or even estimated, numbers show.

You too!

My pantry is always well stocked...I live in a tornado alley.

I have been making quite a few pies. Fish, chicken and blueberry so far. Blueberries freeze really well. I cheat on the pie crust - the rest is super easy.

This is the link for the concert tomorrow.

I think they'll have no problem making up the shortfall.

Don't forget the WHO/Global Citizen 'One World Together At Home' concert on Saturday!

i read the WHO report. seems they barely gave donald's funding cut any attention at all.

JL

I don't have much faith in masks either...at least not the kind you can find outside a hospital or microbe lab. Be that as it may, the official line in my State and County is 6' separation and wear a "homespun" mask when out in public...and don't go out in public spaces except when absolutely necessary.

The three weeks was on food that was supposed to last 2 weeks. I have very little appetite. Even so, I think I'm picking up weight. Lack of exercise due to marginal weather and a closed gym.

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331773/WHO-2019-nCoV-Adjusting_PH_measures-2020.1-eng.pdf

The team will be focused on transition strategies and how and when to come out of lockdowns safely.

That is pretty good. I can't go much longer than 5 days but, it's a work in progress, I guess.

It's limited, you know, to how many bags I can carry home. The market is right next door and I seem to be getting weaker. :(

I'll try harder.

And, one of the things I have learned from watching the WHO COVID-19 press briefings is that they have stopped using the phrase 'social distancing' in favour of physical distancing because it is important to be physically apart but socially connected.

On Thursday I had to make a quick revisit for toothpaste. Very few shoppers had either gloves or masks, and most of staff were doing the same. Sole exceptions: those employees manning the deli and the pharmacy. A very noticeable difference. On the plus side, the place was nearly empty...plus in the disease transmission sense, not the economic sense.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/opinion/wisconsin-coronavirus-elections-mail.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

Is speaker Pelosi trying to ensure that states get the necessary funding to put in place mail-in ballot systems for November as part of the coronavirus response funding bills?

I understand many states do this already in large part and it really isn't that hard to put in place and make it secure. Has the situation changed for the better since you last wrote about it in detail?

President Trump has no national plan for testing or anything else nor even the inclination to provide one.

The director general of the WHO, Dr. Tedros has repeatedly stressed the importance of global solidarity in the fight against this virus.

He explained that unity at the national level spurs cooperation at the regional level which in turn allows for global solidarity.

A national plan that entails a massive investment in public health architecture, testing, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine capacity and community education and empowerment seems essential.

In the absence of such a national plan, how can peoples' lives and livelihoods be protected?

Science, solutions and solidarity.

. Experts are predicting that the true unemployment rate now stands somewhere between 13 percent and 20 percent. In the depths of the Great Recession, it only ever hit 10 percent, by comparison.

But, is that really a meaningful comparison. I mean, the Great Recession happened because of a global financial crisis while this economic downturn has been artificially and deliberately forced in response to a health crisis.

It just seems that the conversation going on about unprecedented job loss, largely temporary or otherwise, needs to be couched not in the usual financial terms but rather in terms of a national and international health crisis.

In other words, the usual remedies to contain a financial crisis just don't apply here.