Coronavirus Outbreak...

[Darfius]

While you guys rearrange political deck chairs on the Titanic, here is some useful information from a highly qualified doctor about what exactly the virus is, what it does (why it isn't the flu), how it kills and the threat it represents.

[Mountain Man]

First you toss out this misrepresentation of what I said:

Absolutely amazing. The holder of the highest office in the land says, "if the leadership doesn't teat me the way I want to be treated, to hell with the Americans living there, we shouldn't reach out, and the response is "well done."

And then without a hint of irony or self-awareness, you tell another poster:

There is a cadre here that delights in misrepresenting positions and then clinging stubbornly and unashamedly to their misrepresentations, no matter how much you attempt to clarify.

I mean, really...

[lilpixieofterror]

First you toss out this misrepresentation of what I said:


And then without a hint of irony or self-awareness, you tell another poster:


I mean, really...

[carpedm9587]

While you guys rearrange political deck chairs on the Titanic, here is some useful information from a highly qualified doctor about what exactly the virus is, what it does (why it isn't the flu), how it kills and the threat it represents.

Overall, not bad. I was a bit concerned about his use of "airborne." "Airborne" has a very particular meaning with respect to viruses and, AFAIK, SARS CoV-2 is not airborne in that sense. But he was clear that he was talking about droplets as a result of coughing/sneezing within 6 feet, and that much is correct. The rest I thought was reasonably well done - though I'm not sure what the "pimp" tangent contributed.

[little_monkey]

Regardless of what you intended to imply, you're still talking in terms of worst case scenarios.

No, I'm not. Here's a worse scenario than what I proposed: a man knowing he is infected goes to a convention and deliberately infected as many people he can. One can imagine dozens of scenarios worse than the one I presented. You made a huge blunder in making an assumption that wasn't there and you don't have the integrity to admit. Done with you.

[firstfloor]

You have to admire the President's candor. He's saying what a lot of politicians think but don't have the guts to actually say. His honesty is rather disarming. You also have to admire his wisdom in putting Mike Pence, a more honorable than average politician, in charge of this task force and who the President knows is willing to go against the President's impulses.

Well done.

In the UK we are all remaining at home, not mixing with anyone else except our own household. This is the end of our first week in this mode.

Exhibition centres in several big cities are being made into temporary covid wards; potentially 4000 beds in London alone.

Hospitals are already desperate for supplies of PPE and ventilators are in short supply. Nurses report that they have never seen patients crash and die so quickly.

There is tremendous danger in underestimating this disease. Whatever precautions you are taking now, are very likely to be totally inadequate. There is no room for optimism.

[Mountain Man]

One can imagine dozens of scenarios worse than the one I presented.

Going by that logic, literally nothing can be considered a worst case scenario because one can always imagine something worse.

[firstfloor]

44 Italian doctors have died from covid, so far.

[carpedm9587]

Going by that logic, literally nothing can be considered a worst case scenario because one can always imagine something worse.

MM: You've reached the highest point on the mountain
Little Monkey: No I haven't, I can point to dozens of spots that are above me on the mountain.
MM: By that logic, this mountain is infinitely high.

[carpedm9587]

44 Italian doctors have died from covid, so far.

[Mountain Man]

MM: You've reached the highest point on the mountain
Little Monkey: No I haven't, I can point to dozens of spots that are above me on the mountain.
MM: By that logic, this mountain is infinitely high.

You excel at the straw man fallacy, don't you?

[carpedm9587]

You excel at the straw man fallacy, don't you?

You excel at avoiding the obvious argument in front of you and simply diverting into handwaving, don't you?

The argument offered is a solid parallel to what you just did with LM (assuming that the existence of worse cases implies an infinite number of them), but this is going to go down the usual rat hole with you because you are congenitally incapable of admitting a logical error - so I'll leave the last word to you.

[Zara]

White House adviser Dr. Birx presents an optimistic overview of the current situation. Naturally, liberals have turned on her.

On Wednesday, they were upset that President Trump called her "Deborah" after calling her male counterpart "Dr. Fauci." By Thursday, they started turning on her because she decided to use some of her screen time at the daily Coronavirus task force briefing -- which, astoundingly, many of them want partially censored -- to caution against hysteria based on worst-case-scenario modeling and projections.

...

But the knives had already started to get unsheathed, as lefty Twitter decided that because she wasn't engaging in sufficiently alarmist pessimism -- and was politely scolding the media and other doomsayers -- she'd gone in the tank for Trump. '

Is this the same expert that said that the US is likely to have 20,000 deaths from the pandemic?

[carpedm9587]

Is this the same expert that said that the US is likely to have 20,000 deaths from the pandemic?

Did she? Do you have a reference for that? I thought she was saying she expected it to be more in that magnitude than the million death projections some were making, but I can't find the quote.

Those on the left have to be careful not to slip into the habits so many on the right slip to. Many of them immediately disparage someone who speaks out against Trump, accepting whole false narratives or exaggerating minor points so as to tear them down. It has happened with Tillerson, Kelly, Mattis, Vindman, and several others. Three of these men served our country for years with distinction and, by all accounts, are honorable and truthful men - but they were torn down anyway because they had the audacity to speak negatively about Trump. Those on the left should be careful not to adopt that approach for someone who happens to speak in favor of Trump. Generally, Birx has an excellent background and reputation. Her work with HIV control is impressive. She is a data-driven, no-nonsense scientist. I doubt she would say things just to curry favor with Trump (unlike most of the rest of the GOP leadership, and even governors like Newsom. She is a scientist first, as best I can tell - not a politician.

[firstfloor]

Are we over reacting?

https://www-spectator-co-uk.cdn.ampp...s-we-think/amp

The Spectator is a British weekly, on the right politically, and tends to align with the British Conservative Party.