Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

I'd say 70% of the ones I've worked with over the last 30+ years lean right, not that I have ever done a poll.
You did mention you were in NY and Cali....

 

With lawyers, it depends upon their area of practice (and, as in every case, their upbringing). PI lawyers tend to be more liberal than, say, their nemesis, insurance defense lawyers. Criminal defense lawyers are interesting. Public defenders are uniformly idealistic and liberal. Private criminal defense lawyers tend that way, but I’ve known some who think Limbaugh is too liberal. I’ve carved out the great swath of moderate left to moderate right, whose differences aren’t worth raising your hackles over and with whom you can reason and compromise.

 

Glo Germ powder:

 

If I used that, me and my equipment (balls and what not) would be glowing all over the place.

Kids would probably get a big laugh out of it.

 

Going with your example, I don't think there are many on the young earth view of the world either, yet we had the GW admin order the removal of references to geology in the Grand Canyon for exactly that reason, as well as compel them to sell a young earth version of creation of the canyon in their gift shop (as one easy example off the top of my head).

That's just baseless nut job crazy stuff yet it was done.

On more recent notes, there has been a TON of anti-science claims and initiatives from Pub leaders wrt Climate change and the environment. No news there of course. The problem is that it does adversely impact rational decision making.

Where there are differing takes on current science, coming from scientists, I applaud it. That's the scientific method at work.

When it comes from politicians, or heavily biased media on either side, it's not a good thing.

Or even just from reporters trying to summarize some findings in a headline and misleading their audience. That happens regularly without intentional bias involved. Just ignorance and a frenzy to be the first to publish.

 

Biologist Carl Bergstrom on coronavirus, misinformation and why we weren't prepared

Sorry if this is a duplicate. Great article on the whole picture.

 

This is probably the best explanation for why New York is suffering so much. The localized pandemic there was seeded at least as early as mid-February, since the genomes of the first known patient go back to early March.

So, the social distancing/shut downs came way too late there.

And, this illustrates the danger of the latest assessments that, based on the numbers, we have overreacted and need to open sooner.

 

Especially if your balls were glowing.

 

Also multiple independent studies have discovered that much of the transmission started with people of European descent, not Chinese.
Thought that was really interesting. Despite my fears of disease, ti is absolutely a fascinating subject.

 

Bergstrom link says:

“There was a denial and refusal to act that lost us some time, and that’s part of what happened. But we also didn’t have the resources in place to respond to a pandemic in terms of our coordination structure,” Bergstrom said. “There’s a ‘not on my watchism,’ which involves a choice between doing a politically unpopular thing to provide funding for pandemic preparedness that might not come, or avoid doing that and slash whatever is there. These are perceived as once-in-a-century catastrophes.”

He argues that the government must play a central role in planning and responding to such catastrophes, and that advocates of small-government philosophy should understand this kind of planning is akin to raising a military.


“There are some collective action problems that even the Chicago-school economists acknowledge will not be adequately solved by the market,” he says. “No one expects us to raise a powerful standing army based on private market forces (and) we consider that a central role of the government to provide national defense. Pandemic preparedness is the same.”

He also suggests that current lockdowns may need to last past the summer in some areas, unless we can increase testing capacity.

“My personal feeling is that we either have a long lockdown ahead of us, or we’ll get testing capacity way up.”

 

That was the link.

We need to find people with antibodies and track how long the antibodies last.

 

As More Death Data Becomes Available, COVID-19 Looks Less and Less Like the Flu

 

I just went off of what you wrote. I think it was the NYT article, correct?

Def have to track antibodies. There is no guarantee that because people get covid that effective antibodies will keep them protected. And even if they do, for how long. Serology is far outside my wheelhouse but there's no doubt still so much to be figured out.

 

So my tow-truck driver 2 weeks ago who told me it was no worse than the flu was wrong? Never woulda thunk it.

 

Hard to say, I've also always worked in academic centers with residents and whatnot, so it could also just reflect the widespread liberalism in academia as well.

Idk about you, but I don't typically show my equipment to kids

 

Oak, they arrest adults for things like that. Just say be careful

 

Wait. That's not normal?

 

!. I will say this one final time. I made no intentional attempt to mischaracterize anyone. Your feeling it was intentional is insulting, but hat is on you.
2. Again, I did not back pedal. What "Trump defenders" do is on them, but you accused me of it, and can't cite where I actually did it.
3. I am not clueless what "Trump Defenders" have been claiming for weeks. I have called several out for some of their claims. (You can look it up. I wont do it for you.)
4. I have never really spoken about the ban until this specific part of the conversation. You wont find a single example of me giving Trump any credit for any of that. I think the ban was to light and should have maybe tested people before boarding flights. Not sure if that is legally or logistically possible, but that would have been my first avenue. I do think it is silly that we argue over the semantics of the word "ban". There is a ban. It just isn't broad enough in my opinion.
5. I credited my democratic governor with doing a great job with the storm and now Corona, but also made two small defenses of Trump, and somehow I am lumped in as "stock and trade for partisan arguments"

I know some partisans are totally confused when someone gives both sides credit, but that is not my problem.

Lets just tip our hats and part ways here my friend. You have me pretty wrong as a "Trump defender", but think what you wish.

 

Sometimes I think there are people on this board who would welcome an incompetent president.