Those Tyrannical Masks
by Matt Davies
twenty-six things tagged “covid”
When Does It End?
COVID Theater has become a sad thing to behold these days. Do we still wear masks? If transmission is mostly airborne, why do we get to take them off at restaurants to eat our food when droplets from a sneeze can travel in excess of 25 feet? What’s all this talk about a second booster? Is Omicron something to worry about? How bad is it really?
“We should all be concerned about omicron, but not panicked,” Biden said, emphasizing that vaccinated individuals, especially those with a booster shot, are “highly protected” against the virus.
I see. Well this is very practical and actionable advice, for I was planning on being distressed myself before I read that.
Mike Dawson expresses the mood I’ve picked up from most of my friends and family (all of whom, I’m happy to say, are vaccinated because they are responsible adults and not selfish, stupid, and insolent bloody children who are determined to make this nightmare last as long as possible because of their expertise in infectious diseases.)
Together A
“Fear can be a funny thing; it doesn’t always shine a flattering light. It can make us forget that others are scared too.”
The author tells a short and lovely story about the pandemic, isolation, hope, the value of community, nature, and so many other things for such a short book. It is told through the experience of his grandpa (and his grandpa’s doggy). It made me think of my own grandmother and how (a) we are not meant to be alone and (b) how loneliness is especially devastating for older people.
Really loved his drawing/art style as well. Lovely stuff 💗
Aaron Rodgers
The sentiment inside The Orange Sphere of Shit, by this genius (who is treating himself with Ivermectin.)
QL made some observations:
- This is an incomplete pass.
- It’s probably unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
- It’s at least intentional grounding.
- It does no good, only hurts the rest of the team.
- The vaxxed player would be wearing a cup (you know, because they’re actually protected).
- What makes it “accurate” is that the whole point is to hurt another person.
That’ll show 'em.
“Crowded, Compartmentalized, Sticky, Spatially Inhomogeneous”
In college, I remember being blown away by a huge, physical map of metabolic pathways our Biochemistry professor once brought into class. It looked like this:
Here it is online. Kinda like a Google Maps of cellular reactions. It was impressed upon us that the interior of a cell (especially a eukaryotic one) is a really, really busy and tight and ‘goopy’ place: “crowded, compartmentalized, sticky, spatially inhomogeneous”. As that paper notes, this messy, “macromolecular crowding” helps your proteins fold properly (among several other factors.) This was a bit hard for me to appreciate since, up to then, I was only accustomed to images of cells from a light microscope or vastly simplified illustrations school texts.
I was somehow reminded of all of that after seeing some astounding paintings by Professor David S. Goodsell (Wiki, Twitter, Website). He calls the series “Molecular Landscapes.” Here are a few related to the pandemic we’ve been through.
SARS-CoV-2 and Neutralizing Antibodies, 2020
Acknowledgement: David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank and Springer Nature; doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-025. The painting was commissioned for the cover of a special COVID-19 issue of Nature, presented 20 August 2020, and is currently in the collection of the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences.
(Unknown Title)
Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell
Coronavirus, 2020
Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank; doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-019. This painting depicts a coronavirus just entering the lungs, surrounded by mucus secreted by respiratory cells, secreted antibodies, and several small immune systems proteins. The virus is enclosed by a membrane that includes the S (spike) protein, which will mediate attachment and entry into cells, M (membrane) protein, which is involved in organization of the nucleoprotein inside, and E (envelope) protein, which is a membrane channel involved in budding of the virus and may be incorporated into the virion during that process. The nucleoprotein inside includes many copies of the N (nucleocapsid) protein bound to the genomic RNA.
SARS-CoV-2 Fusion, 2020
Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank; doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-026. This painting depicts the fusion of SARS-CoV-2 (magenta) with an endosomal membrane (green), releasing the viral RNA genome into the cell cytoplasm (blue), where it is beginning to be translated by cellular ribosomes to create viral polyproteins. The painting includes speculative elements that are designed to highlight the process, most notably, multiple states of the viral spike protein are shown.
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine, 2020
Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell, RCSB Protein Data Bank; doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-027. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines developed for the COVID-19 pandemic are composed of long strands of RNA (magenta) that encode the SARS-CoV-2 spike surface glycoprotein enclosed in lipids (blue) that deliver the RNA into cells. Several different types of lipids are used, including familar lipids, cholesterol, ionizable lipids that interact with RNA, and lipids connected to polyethylene glycol chains (green) that help shield the vaccine from the immune system, lengthening its lifetime following administration. In this idealized illustration, all of the lipids are arranged in a simple circular bilayer that surrounds the mRNA and the PEG strands have both extended and folded conformations. In reality, the structure may be less regular, as suggested in the NanoLetters paper […]
A Timeline of Cruelty, Denial, and Ineptitude by Lloyd Doggett More Pasta
May 2018
The Trump Administration disbands the White House pandemic response team.
July 2019
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) epidemiologist embedded in China’s disease control agency left the post, and the Trump Administration eliminated the role.
Oct. 2019
“Currently, there are insufficient funding sources designated for the federal government to use in response to a severe influenza pandemic.” [Source: The results of a Department of Health and Human Services 2019 influenza pandemic simulation]
Jan. 22, 2020
“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”
Jan. 24, 2020
Trump praises China’s handling of the coronavirus: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
Jan. 28, 2020
“This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency…This is going to be the roughest thing you face” Trump’s National Security Advisor to Trump
Jan. 30, 2020
“The lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless in the case of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak on US soil… This lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.” [Memo from Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro]
Feb. 2, 2020
“We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”
Feb. 7, 2020
“It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu… This is deadly stuff” [Trump in a private interview with Bob Woodward from The Washington Post made public on Sept. 9, 2020]
Feb. 10, 2020
“I think the virus is going to be—it’s going to be fine.”
Feb. 10, 2020
“Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”
Feb. 24, 2020
“The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… the Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
Feb. 25, 2020
“CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus.”
Feb. 25, 2020
“I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.”
Feb. 26, 2020
“The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”
Feb. 26, 2020
“We’re going very substantially down, not up.”
Feb. 26, 2020
“Well, we’re testing everybody that we need to test. And we’re finding very little problem. Very little problem.”
Feb. 26, 2020
“This is a flu. This is like a flu.”
Feb. 27, 2020
“It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
Feb. 27, 2020
“The ineptness with which the Trump Administration approached this problem is not only serious, it can be deadly if not changed in the approach.” – Rep. Lloyd Doggett [During a hearing, Rep. Doggett questions HHS Sec. Azar on Trump’s refusal to take this virus seriously, warning about mask and test shortages]
Feb. 28, 2020
“We’re ordering a lot of supplies. We’re ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn’t be ordering unless it was something like this. But we’re ordering a lot of different elements of medical.”
March 2, 2020
“You take a solid flu vaccine, you don’t think that could have an impact, or much of an impact, on corona?” [Trump to health officials who answered “No.”]
March 2, 2020
“A lot of things are happening, a lot of very exciting things are happening and they’re happening very rapidly.”
March 4, 2020
“Now, and this is just my hunch, and — but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this. Because a lot people will have this and it’s very mild.”
March 4, 2020
“If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work — some of them go to work, but they get better.”
March 5, 2020
“I NEVER said people that are feeling sick should go to work.”
March 5, 2020
“The United States… has, as of now, only 129 cases… and 11 deaths. We are working very hard to keep these numbers as low as possible!”
March 6, 2020
“I think we’re doing a really good job in this country at keeping it down… a tremendous job at keeping it down.”
March 6, 2020
“You have to be calm. It’ll go away.”
March 6, 2020
“Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They’re there. And the tests are beautiful… the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This was not as perfect as that but pretty good.”
March 6, 2020
“I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”
March 6, 2020
“I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault.”
March 7, 2020
"No, I’m not concerned at all.
March 8, 2020
“We have a perfectly coordinated and fine-tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus.”
March 9, 2020
During a news conference, White House officials said the U.S. will have tested one million people that week and thereafter would complete 4 million tests per week. By the end of the week, the CDC had only completed a paltry 4,000 tests.
March 10, 2020
“Just stay calm. It will go away.”
March 11, 2020
The World Health Organization categorizes the coronavirus as a pandemic due to its alarming spread and severity.
March 11, 2020
“It goes away…It’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths.”
March 12, 2020
“The system is not really geared to what we need right now…That is a failing. Let’s admit it.” [Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to Congress]
March 12, 2020
“You know, you see what’s going on. And so I just wanted that to stop as it pertains to the United States. And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve stopped it.”
March 13, 2020
“I don’t take responsibility at all.”
March 13, 2020
The Atlantic reports that less than 14,000 tests have been done in the ten weeks since the Administration had first been notified of the virus, though Mike Pence had promised the week prior that 1.5 million tests would be available by this time.
March 14, 2020
“I’d rate it a ten,” [Trump’s rating of his coronavirus response]
March 15, 2020
“Relax”
March 15, 2020
“This is a very contagious virus. It’s incredible. But it’s something that we have tremendous control over.”
March 16, 2020
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment-try getting it yourselves,”
March 17, 2020
“The only thing we haven’t done well is get good press.”
March 17, 2020
“I felt like it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
March 19, 2020
I intended “to always play it down.” [Trump in a private taped interview with Bob Woodward, made public on September 9]
March 20, 2020
“I say that you’re a terrible reporter, that’s what I say. I think it’s a very nasty question, and I think it’s a very bad signal that you’re putting out to the American people.” [Response to reporter’s question: “What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?”]
March 22, 2020
“WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF.”
March 24, 2020
“I’m also hopeful to have Americans working again by that Easter - that beautiful Easter day.”
March 24, 2020
“We’ve never closed down the country for the flu,” Trump said. “So you say to yourself, what is this all about?”
March 24, 2020
“They have to treat us well, also. They can’t say, ‘Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that.’”
March 25, 2020
“The faster we go back, the better it’s going to be.”
March 26, 2020
The United States becomes the country with the most confirmed coronavirus cases. A title it keeps for the remainder of Trump’s time in office.
March 26, 2020
“Congratulations AMERICA!” [On Senate passage of third relief bill]
March 26, 2020
“I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’”
March 26, 2020
“We’ve had a big problem with the young, a woman governor from — you know who I’m talking about — from Michigan,”
March 27, 2020
“I love Michigan, one of the reasons we are doing such a GREAT job for them during this horrible Pandemic. Yet your Governor, Gretchen “Half” Whitmer is way in over her head, she doesn’t have a clue. Likes blaming everyone for her own ineptitude!”
March 27, 2020
“Mike, don’t call the governor of Washington. You’re wasting your time with him…”
March 27, 2020
“I want them to be appreciative. We’ve done a great job.”
March 27, 2020
“We’re doing a great job for the state of Washington and I think the Governor…he’s constantly chirping and I guess complaining would be a nice way of saying it.”
March 29, 2020
“Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door? How do you go from 10,000 to 300,000?”
March 29, 2020
“Unfortunately the enemy is death. It’s death. A lot of people are dying. So it’s very unpleasant.”
March 30, 2020
“Stay calm, it will go away. You know it – you know it is going away, and it will go away, and we’re going to have a great victory.”
March 30, 2020
“I think New York should be fine, based on the numbers that we see, they should have more than enough. I mean, I’m hearing stories that they’re not used or they’re not used right.”
March 30, 2020
“I haven’t heard about testing in weeks. We’re testing more than any other nation in the world. We’ve got these great tests…But I haven’t heard about testing being a problem.”
March 30, 2020
“We inherited a broken test — the whole thing was broken.”
March 31, 2020
“…it’s not the flu. It’s vicious.”
April 1, 2020
“They have to treat us well, also. They can’t say, 'Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that.” [Trump’s response to governors who were pleading for medical gear and ventilators to treat surging coronavirus hospitalizations]
April 2, 2020
“Massive amounts of medical supplies… are being delivered directly to states…Some have insatiable appetites & are never satisfied (politics?). The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit.”
April 2, 2020
“…the Federal Government is merely a back-up for state governments.”
April 3, 2020
“I’m feeling good. I just don’t want to be doing – somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful resolute desk, the great resolute desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don’t know, somehow I don’t see it for myself. I just don’t. Maybe I’ll change my mind.”
April 5, 2020
“FEMA, the military — what they’ve done is a miracle…And you should be thanking them for what they’ve done, not always asking wise-guy questions.” [Trump’s response to a reporter when asked about slow government response to coronavirus]
April 6, 2020
“LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!”
April 6, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 10,000
April 7, 2020
“So, you know, things are happening. It’s a – it’s – I haven’t seen bad. I’ve not seen bad.”
April 7, 2020
“You are not going to die from this pill…I really think it’s a great thing to try.” [Trump promoting Hydroxychloroquine, not FDA approved to treat coronavirus]
April 7, 2020
“That was a flu. OK. So you could say that I said it was a flu, or you could say the flu is nothing to – sneeze at,” [Regarding Spanish Flu]
April 8, 2020
“I read about it maybe a day, two days ago… It was a recommendation that he had, I think he told certain people on the staff, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t see it.” [Trump referring to Peter Navarro’s January warning]
April 9, 2020
“I couldn’t have done it any better,” [When asked if his coronavirus response could have been better]
April 11, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 20,000
April 13, 2020
“But I guess I’m doing OK, because, to the best of my knowledge, I’m the President of the United States, despite the things that are said.”
April 14, 2020
“Enough!” [When a reporter questioned his claim that his authority as president is “total”]
April 14, 2020
“[w]hen somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total.”
April 15, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 30,000
April 15, 2020
As Trump focuses on reopening, a leaked CDC and FEMA report warns of “significant risk of resurgence of the virus” with phased reopening.
April 19, 2020
“Now we’re going toward 50, I’m hearing, or 60,000 people [dead from the coronavirus]”
April 20, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 40,000
April 22, 2020
“If [coronavirus] comes back though, it won’t be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain…it’s also possible it doesn’t come back at all.”
April 23, 2020
“I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
April 23, 2020
“So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether its ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said, that hasn’t been checked but you’re gonna test it. And then I said, supposing it brought the light inside the body, which you can either do either through the skin or some other way…”
April 23, 2020
“You see states are starting to open up now, and it’s very exciting to see,”
April 23, 2020
Over 26 million jobless claims have been filed
April 24, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 50,000
April 26, 2020
“The people that know me and know the history of our Country say that I am the hardest working President in history.”
April 27, 2020
“I can’t imagine why,” [Trump’s response to the influx in poison control calls about disinfectant]
April 29, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 60,000
April 29, 2020
“It’s gonna go away, this is going to go away.”
May 3, 2020
“Look, we’re going to lose anywhere from 75,000, 80,000 to 100,000 people,”
May 5, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 70,000
May 5, 2020
Consumer debt hits an all-time high
May 5, 2020
“Well run States should not be bailing out poorly run States, using CoronaVirus as the excuse!”
May 5, 2020
“I always felt 60, 65, 70, as horrible as that is. I mean, you’re talking about filling up Yankee Stadium with death! So I thought it was horrible. But it’s probably going to be somewhat higher than that,”
May 5, 2020
“There’ll be more death, that the virus will pass, with or without a vaccine. And I think we’re doing very well on the vaccines but, with or without a vaccine, it’s going to pass, and we’re going to be back to normal,”
May 5, 2020
“I don’t want to be Mr. Gloom-and-Doom. It’s a very bad subject… I’m not looking to tell the American people when nobody really knows what’s happening yet, ‘Oh, this is going to be so tragic.’”
May 6, 2020
The Brookings Institution reports that children were “experiencing food insecurity to an extent unprecedented in modern times” and “40.9 percent of mothers with children ages 12 and under reported household food insecurity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Republicans block proposals to expand food stamps.
May 6, 2020
“Sporadic for you, but not sporadic for a lot of other people.” [Trump’s response to a nurse telling him that equipment supply has been “sporadic”]
May 7, 2020
Over 33 million jobless claims have been filed
May 8, 2020
“This is going to go away without a vaccine. It is going to go away. We are not going to see it again.”
May 9, 2020
“This is going to go away without a vaccine.”
May 11, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 80,000
May 11, 2020
“Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!”
May 11, 2020
“We have met the moment and we have prevailed,”
May 14, 2020
“Could be that testing’s, frankly, overrated. Maybe it is overrated.”
May 14, 2020
“Don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,”
May 15, 2020
"Vaccine or no vaccine, we’re back. And we’re starting the process. In many cases, they don’t have vaccines and a virus or a flu comes and you fight through it.
May 16, 2020
“We’ve done a GREAT job on Covid response, making all Governors look good, some fantastic (and that’s OK), but the Lamestream Media doesn’t want to go with that narrative, and the Do Nothing Dems talking point is to say only bad about “Trump”. I made everybody look good, but me!”
May 18, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 90,000
May 19, 2020
“When we have a lot of cases, I don’t look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing… Because it means our testing is much better. I view it as a badge of honor, really, it’s a badge of honor.”
May 21, 2020
USA Today reports that home mortgage delinquencies surged by 1.6 million in April, the largest single-month jump in history.
May 22, 2020
Over 38 million jobless claims have been filed
May 27, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 100,000
May 29, 2020
“We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization”
June 6, 20202
U.S death toll passes 110,000
June 6, 2020
“Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country…This is a great day for him. It’s a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality.” [Trump referring to George Floyd, who was murdered on May 25, 2020.]
June 15, 2020
“At some point this stuff goes away and it’s going away.”
June 17, 2020
“It’s fading away. It’s going to fade away.”
June 18, 2020
“And it is dying out. The numbers are starting to get very good.”
June 20, 2020
“Testing is a double-edged sword… When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases, so I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”
June 22, 2020
U.S death toll passes 120,000
June 23, 2020
“Cases are going up in the U.S. because we are testing far more than any other country, and ever expanding. With smaller testing we would show fewer cases!”
June 23, 2020
“It’s going away,”
June 25, 2020
“The number of ChinaVirus cases goes up, because of GREAT TESTING, while the number of deaths (mortality rate), goes way down. The Fake News doesn’t like telling you that!”
June 25, 2020
“Coronavirus deaths are way down. Mortality rate is one of the lowest in the World. Our Economy is roaring back and will NOT be shut down. “Embers” or flare ups will be put out, as necessary!”
June 30, 2020
The U.S. has just 4% of the global population, but 25% of global coronavirus cases and the second-highest death rate per capita.
July 1, 2020
“I think we’re going to be very good with the coronavirus.” “I think that, at some point, that’s going to sort of disappear, I hope.”
July 6, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 130,000
July 7, 2020
“I think we are in a good place.”
July 7, 2020
The president predicted that in the next two to four weeks, “I think we’re going to be in very good shape.”
July 8, 2020
“In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November election, but it is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!”
July 8, 2020
“I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking school [sic] to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!”
July 18, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 140,000
July 19, 2020
“I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world”
July 19, 2020
“Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day”
“They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test”
July 21, 2020
“You will never hear this on the Fake News concerning the China Virus, but by comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well - and we have done things that few other countries could have done!”
July 27, 2020
“America will develop a vaccine very soon, and we will defeat the virus. We will have it delivered in record time.”
July 28, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 150,000
July 28, 2020
“He’s got this high approval rating. So why don’t I have a high approval rating with respect – and the administration – with respect to the virus?” (Trump referring to Anthony Fauci)
Aug. 1, 2020
“Wrong! We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases,” (Donald Trump in a retweet of Anthony Fauci saying the U.S. has seen more cases than European countries because it only shut down a fraction of its economy amid the pandemic)
Aug. 3, 2020
“I think we are doing very well and I think … as well as any nation,”
Aug. 3, 2020
“They are dying. That’s true. And you — it is what it is.”
Aug. 3, 2020
“OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!”
Aug. 3, 2020
“Right now I think it’s under control.”
Aug. 3, 2020
“You know, there are those that say you can test too much, you do know that.”
Aug. 4, 2020
“…we have among the lowest numbers.” - White House Press Briefing
Aug. 5, 2020
“If you look at children, children are almost - and I would almost say definitely - but almost immune from this disease.”
Aug. 5, 2020
“We’re supplying the world now with ventilators. You go back four months, we didn’t have any.” - Fox and Friends
Aug. 5, 2020
“It will go away like things go away”
Aug. 6, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 160,000
Aug. 12, 2020
U.S. reports the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in one day since mid-May
Aug. 16, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 170,000
Aug. 19, 2020
New York Times report reveals that in December 2020 that Trump yelled, “You’re killing me! This whole thing is! We’ve got all the damn cases…I want to do what Mexico does. They don’t give you a test till you get to the emergency room and you’re vomiting,” at Jared Kushner during an August 19, 2020 meeting.
Aug. 22, 2020
“Many doctors and studies disagree with this!” (Donald Trump in a quote tweet of a Twitter moment stating that the FDA is revoking hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, as they are “unlikely to be effective”)
Aug. 22, 2020
“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”
Aug. 23, 2020
The President claims that ballot drop boxes are a “voter security disaster” and a “big fraud,” “possible for a person to vote multiple times” and that they aren’t “Covid sanitized.”
Aug. 26, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 180,000
Aug. 31, 2020
“We’ve done a great job in Covid but we don’t get the credit.”
Aug. 31, 2020
Over Six million Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sept. 4, 2020
There will be a vaccine “before the end of the year and maybe even before Nov. 1. I think we can probably have it sometime in October.”
Sept. 9, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 190,000
Sept. 10, 2020
“I really do believe that we are rounding the corner. The vaccines are right there”
Sept. 10, 2020
“This is nobody’s fault but China.”
Sept. 10, 2020
“We’ve possibly done the best job”
Sept. 10, 2020
“We have rounded the final turn”
Sept. 10, 2020
“I think that we’ve probably done the best job of any country”
Sept. 14, 2020
Trump was asked if he is afraid of Coronavirus risk at his rallies: “I’m on a stage, it’s very far away, so I’m not at all concerned.”
Sept. 16, 2020
“If you take the blue states out, we’re at a level I don’t think anybody in the world would be at.”
Sept. 16, 2020
Reporter: “[The head of the CDC] said that the vaccine for the general public wouldn’t be available until next Summer or maybe even early fall. Are you comfortable with that timeline?” Trump: “I think he made a mistake when he said that. That’s just incorrect information.”
Sept. 19, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 200,000
Sept. 21, 2020
“Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system. But [the virus] affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing. By the way, open your schools everybody, open your schools.”
Sept. 21, 2020
“We’re rounding the corner,” “With or without a vaccine. They hate when I say that but that’s the way it is. … We’ve done a phenomenal job. Not just a good job, a phenomenal job. Other than public relations, but that’s because I have fake news. On public relations, I give myself a D. On the job itself, we take an A+.”
Sept. 21, 2020
“In some states, thousands of people — nobody young. Below the age of 18, like, nobody. They have a strong immune system, who knows? Take your hat off to the young, because they have a hell of an immune system. But it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing. By the way, open your schools everybody, open your schools.”
Sept. 23, 2020
“I think we’re rounding the turn very much.”
Sept. 28, 2020
"And I say, and I’ll say it all the time: We’re rounding the corner. And, very importantly, vaccines are coming, but we’re rounding the corner regardless. But vaccines are coming, and they’re coming fast. "
Sept. 29, 2020
"Well, so far we have had no problem whatsoever. " [Trump referring to the thousands of people attending his rallies]
October 2, 2020
Trump and the First Lady test positive for Coronavirus. More than a dozen White House staff and aides test positive shortly thereafter.
Oct. 5, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 210,000
Oct. 5, 2020
“Don’t be afraid of Covid.”
Oct. 6, 2020
“Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu, Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” [Source: Trump Tweet and Facebook Post, both were taken down]
Oct. 10, 2020
“But it’s going to disappear; it is disappearing.”
Oct. 11, 2020
“…We have done a “phenomenal” job, according to certain governors. Many people agree…And now come the Vaccines & Cures, long ahead of projections!”
Oct. 12, 2020
“Under my leadership, we’re delivering a safe vaccine and a rapid recovery like nobody can even believe. And if you look at our upward path, no country in the world has recovered the way we’ve recovered economically or otherwise, not even close.”
Oct. 12, 2020
“I went through it. Now, they say I’m immune. I can feel—I feel so powerful.”
Oct. 12, 2020
“When this first came out, if we didn’t do a good job, they predicted 2.2 million people would die, we’re 210,000. We shouldn’t be at, one, it’s China’s fault. They allowed this to happen.”
Oct. 15, 2020
“Excess mortality, we’re a winner on the excess mortality. And what we’ve done has been amazing. And we have done an amazing job. And it’s rounding the corner and we have the vaccines coming, and we have the therapies coming.”
Oct. 18, 2020
“He’ll listen to the scientists… If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression instead — we’re like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers.” [Trump referring to Biden]
Oct. 19, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 220,000
Oct. 19, 2020
“People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone. They’re tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots…Fauci is a nice guy. He’s been here for 500 years.”
Oct. 19, 2020
“They are getting tired of the pandemic, aren’t they? You turn on CNN, that’s all they cover. ‘Covid, Covid, Pandemic, Covid, Covid.’ You know why? They’re trying to talk everybody out of voting. People aren’t buying it, CNN, you dumb bastards.”
Oct. 20, 2020
Politico reports that The White House is considering slashing millions of dollars for coronavirus relief, HIV treatment, screenings for newborns and other programs in Democratic-led cities that President Donald Trump has deemed “anarchist jurisdictions.”
Oct. 22, 2020
“We are rounding the turn (on coronavirus). We are rounding the corner.”
Oct. 24, 2020
"Turn on television: ‘covid, covid, covid, covid, covid.’ A plane goes down, 500 people dead, they don’t talk about it — ‘covid, covid, covid, covid,’ “By the way, on November 4th, you won’t hear about it anymore.”
Oct. 26, 2020
“Cases up because we TEST, TEST, TEST. A Fake News Media Conspiracy. Many young people who heal very fast. 99.9%. Corrupt Media conspiracy at all time high. On November 4th., the topic will totally change. VOTE!”
Oct. 26, 2020
“We have made tremendous progress with the China Virus, but the Fake News refuses to talk about it this close to the Election. COVID, COVID, COVID is being used by them, in total coordination, in order to change our great early election numbers. Should be an election law violation!”
Oct. 27, 2020
“So they brought it down now, immunity, from life to four months. And you know now with them, you can’t watch anything else. You turn on… COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. Well, we have a spike in cases. You ever notice, they don’t use the word death. They use the word cases, cases. Like, “Barron Trump is a case.” He has sniffles. He was sniffling. One Kleenex, that’s all he needed. One, and he was better. But he’s a case”
Oct. 27, 2020
“November 4th. On November 4th, you’ll hear, “It’s getting better. It’s getting better.” You watch. No, no, they’re doing heavy COVID because they want to scare people, and people get it.” [Trump referring to news media]
Oct. 28, 2020
“Covid, Covid, Covid is the unified chant of the Fake News Lamestream Media. They will talk about nothing else until November 4th., when the Election will be (hopefully!) over. Then the talk will be how low the death rate is, plenty of hospital rooms, & many tests of young people.”
Oct. 30, 2020
“More Testing equals more Cases. We have the best testing. Deaths WAY DOWN. Hospitals have great additional capacity! Doing much better than Europe. Therapeutics working!”
Oct. 30, 2020
Nine million Americans have now been infected by the coronavirus.
Oct. 30, 2020
“Our doctors get more money if someone dies from Covid,” and so “when in doubt choose Covid.”
Nov. 1, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 230,000
Nov. 1, 2020
“Biden wants to LOCKDOWN our Country, maybe for years. Crazy! There will be NO LOCKDOWNS. The great American Comeback is underway!!!”
Nov. 2, 2020
“Joe Biden is promising to delay the vaccine and turn America into a prison state—locking you in your home while letting far-left rioters roam free. The Biden Lockdown will mean no school, no graduations, no weddings, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas, no Fourth of July”
Nov. 2, 2020
“We have more Cases because we have more Testing!”
Nov. 9, 2020
“If Joe Biden were President, you wouldn’t have the Vaccine for another four years, nor would the @US_FDA have ever approved it so quickly. The bureaucracy would have destroyed millions of lives”
Nov. 10, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 240,000
Nov. 11, 2020
U.S. hits a record 140,000 COVID-19 cases per day
November 11, 2020
Texas hits 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases
Nov. 18, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 250,000
Nov. 19, 2020
Last Coronavirus Task Force press briefing under the Trump Administration.
Nov. 24, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 260,000
Dec. 2, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 270,000
Dec. 7, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 280,000
Dec. 8, 2020
“Before Operation Warp Speed, the typical time [for vaccine approval] could be infinity.”
Dec. 8, 2020
Trump continues holding White House holiday parties despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to limit indoor gatherings and curtain travel amid the spike in virus infections. Masks are not required, according to guests.
Dec. 9, 2020
3,103 U.S. COVID-19 deaths in one day
Dec. 10, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 290,000
Dec. 14, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 300,000
Dec. 17, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 310,000
Dec. 22, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 320,000
Dec. 22, 2020
“Distribution of both vaccines is going very smoothly. Amazing how many people are being vaccinated, record numbers. Our Country, and indeed the World, will soon see the great miracle of what the Trump Administration has accomplished. They said it couldn’t be done!!!”
Dec. 25, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 330,000
Dec. 30, 2020
As recently as mid-December, the Trump administration touted an ambitious goal: 20 million COVID-19 vaccinations by the year’s end. A CDC tracker shows only about 2 million people have been vaccinated so far.
Dec. 31, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 340,000
Dec. 31, 2020
Trump tweets, “The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!”
Dec. 31, 2020
HHS awards a contract to a private firm to review COVID-19 tests in an attempt to bypass scientists at the FDA.
January 1, 2020
U.S. surpasses 20 million confirmed COVID-19 cases
January 3, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 350,000
January 3, 2020
“Something how Dr. Fauci is revered by the LameStream Media as such a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work. Gee, could this just be more Fake News?”
January 3, 2020
“The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of @CDCgov’s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low. “When in doubt, call it Covid.” Fake News!” Fauci responds, "“The deaths are real deaths. All you need to do is go out into the trenches…”
January 3, 2020
Trump tweets, “The vaccines are being delivered to the states by the Federal Government far faster than they can be administered!”
January 4, 2020
CDC reports that 4.6 million people have been vaccinated.
January 6, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 360,000
January 6, 2020
Trump mob storms Congress. Officials reported at least 3,963 new coronavirus deaths in the US, a new single-day record.
January 9, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 370,000
January 12, 2020
HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced that the federal government would begin releasing vaccine doses that had been held in reserve for second shots, but no such reserve existed. His false announcement raised false hopes among state and local officials.
January 13, 2020
U.S. death toll passes 380,000
January 14, 2020
The Trump administration promised to have 20 million people given their first shot by the end of 2020. Two weeks later, they have administered just over 11 million.
January 15, 2020
12 million doses of vaccine administered.
January 16, 2020
U.S. death tool passes 390,000
January 18, 2020
Washington Post reports that emergency PPP loans were provided for organizations that spread misinformation about coronavirus and vaccination.
January 20, 2020
Each day in January, covid-19 killed an average of 3,100 people in the United States — one every 28 seconds.
January 20, 2021
Trump’s term in office saw over 25 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, over 400,000 of which resulted in death.
President-elect Joseph R. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are sworn into office.
“That ambulance outside that stadium could have saved at least ten lives a day,” said Ishan Singh, a cricket fan in Delhi. “These players are thieves. Given a chance, they will rob wood from the cremations and sell it in the market.”
Value™ must be delivered to stakeholders at any and all cost 🏏
Good Old Iowan Common Sense
As of the 4th of February 2021, and under its Governor’s wise, prescient, expert and data-driven leadership, Iowa ranks 47th in the nation for the number of vaccines administered 💯
Iowa has received 446,825 doses of vaccine and has administered 266,777 doses, or just under 60% of vaccines received, the CDC reported Thursday. The state has the sixth-lowest rate of administered vaccine per capita in the nation.
“We’re averaging about 60% in getting the vaccines administered and that’s not where we need to be,” Reynolds said. “We want to do better. We know we can do better.”
We certainly can. The number of COVID-related deaths in Iowa stood at 5,033 as of this date. The very next day, our fearless Governor signed a Public Health Disaster proclamation that, compared to its predecessor, ended mask mandates and removed all limits on public gatherings.
In time for the Super Bowl, of course.
All of these relaxations at this stage of the pandemic make about as much sense as wearing underwear constructed out of nails and thumbtacks. If anything, Iowa should be enhancing precautions during the next several weeks, as long as the colder temperatures and drier air may be driving greater transmission of the virus. What is the scientific justification for what Reynolds has declared in the emergency declaration? It’s unclear. Seems like someone may owe Iowa an explanation.
Other the the usual bullshit conservative pabulum about freedom and small businesses and bootstraps and moochers and handouts, I don’t expect any explanation that makes sense.
On Chernobyl and COVID
any history of COVID-19 in the US should really start off with an anecdote about how the chernobyl miniseries came out in 2019 and there was immediately a conclave of pundits smugly declaring that we would never respond to a disaster with such epic and malicious mismanagement
Idiots Out Walking Around - III
At the Iowa Statehouse. Via State Senator Joe Bolkcom. Installments One and Two (the latter features the verysame “Informed Choice” idiots.) More on this tantrum by The Register.
Indian man wears gold face mask to ward off coronavirus
And here’s our man, Shankar Kurhade, modeling my 2021 strategy given how confident I am in my state’s government fucking up vaccine distribution.
“I want you to take a step back and COVER YOUR FACE”
I wish they would blare portions of Tom Cruise’s COVID meltdown at all grocery stores in my lovely state. Someone on /r/desmoines posted an anti-masker patriot at our Costco who could use this message.
I’m on the phone with every f–king studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs you motherf–kers.
I don’t ever want to see it again, ever! And if you don’t do it you’re fired, if I see you do it again you’re f–king gone. And if anyone in this crew does it – that’s it, and you too and you too. And you, don’t you ever f–king do it again.
That’s it! No apologies. You can tell it to the people that are losing their f-ing homes because our industry is shut down. It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education.
That’s what I sleep with every night. The future of this f–king industry! So I’m sorry I am beyond your apologies. I have told you and now I want it and if you don’t do it you’re out. We are not shutting this f–king movie down! Is it understood?
If I see it again you’re f–king gone — and you are — so you’re going to cost him his job, if I see it on the set you’re gone and you’re gone.
That’s it. Am I clear?
Do you understand what I want? Do you understand the responsibility that you have? Because I will deal with your reason. And if you can’t be reasonable and I can’t deal with your logic, you’re fired. That’s it. That is it.
I trust you guys to be here. That’s it. That’s it guys. Have a little think about it. . . [inaudible].
That’s what I think of Universal and Paramount. Warner Brothers. Movies are going because of us. If we shut down it’s going to cost people f–king jobs, their home, their family. That’s what’s happening.
All the way down the line. And I care about you guys, but if you’re not going to help me you’re gone. OK? Do you see that stick? How many meters is that?
When people are standing around a f–king computer and hanging out around here, what are you doing? And if they don’t comply then send their names to Matt Spooner. That’s it.
The Joke
Trump has been saying the pandemic has been totally under control since January, and said it would just “go away” in February.
He reiterated this in March as the virus surged, and insisted we had “perfect” tests that anyone could get after reports of faulty tests. He said he wanted pandemic-related shutdowns to end by Easter so churches could be “packed” while claiming Hydroxychloroquine would be a miracle cure for COVID-19.
In April he continued to promote Hydroxychloroquine without evidence and suggested we could inject disinfectants or use UVC light inside the body to kill the virus, and right up through May Trump was discouraging the use of masks and refused to require them anywhere, with him and Pence famously flouting requirements at hospitals and factories. Trump also claimed he was taking Hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic against the disease. At this point they were even planning to dismantle their own COVID-19 task force.
In June they were still insisting it was under control while fighting the FDA’s revocation of authorizations for Hydroxychloroquine, and denying that there was a second surge happening. They instead blamed the high infection statistics on there being more testing, and Trump suggested slowing down testing to improve the stats, noting he does not joke.
Rolling into July he still insisted he had things under control, claiming they had done an incredible job, as the White House nuked a trove of data previously available through the CDC while Trump was still hyping Hydroxychloroquine and his son was temporarily suspended from Twitter for continuing to spread disinformation about it.
Even in August, Trump claimed COVID-19 was totally under control, and the ~150k dead with a simple “it is what it is,”, and reiterated that the virus would go away all on its own. He finally encouraged the wearing of masks, but ignored all guidelines during his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican Convention.
In September Trump was saying that COVID-19 hurt “virtually nobody”, and openly disputed the CDC’s own claims about the effectiveness of masks.
In October Trump got COVID-19, and while still undergoing treatment, went on a quick spin around the hospital to wave to his supporters outside. He was discharged to the White House after only three days, posing for photo-ops without a mask. At this point White House officials finally concede that “we’re not going to control the pandemic.”. This would be the last time the COVID-19 task force would formally meet.
Since then Trump has pretty much avoided any and all public appearances except to complain about the election. November marked the point where a quarter of a million Americans had died of COVID-19. There are now more people dying each day of COVID-19 than died in the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 or in the Invasion of Normandy.
That’s the joke.
Elite Strike Force Team Sidekick tests positive for COVID.
She then proceeded to attend a WH Party, of course.
President Trump’s lawyer Jenna Ellis has informed associates she tested positive for the coronavirus, multiple sources tell Axios, stirring West Wing fears after she attended a senior staff Christmas party on Friday.
“She had the nerve to show up at the senior staff Christmas party knowing everyone was furious with her for constantly stirring Trump up with nonsense,” said a senior administration official.
Because she sat right next to the Fearless Team Leader, and because I am a child:
We can’t rule out that Rudy’s fart gave Jenna Ellis Covid
Fearless Leader of the Elite Strike Force Team tests positive for COVID.
Mr. Giuliani appeared on Fox News earlier on Sunday. Speaking with the host Maria Bartiromo via satellite, Mr. Giuliani repeated baseless claims about fraud in Georgia and Wisconsin on “Sunday Morning Futures.” When asked if he believed Mr. Trump still had a path to victory, he said, “We do.”
On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said that a four-hour hearing last Wednesday with a roomful of unmasked witnesses had all the ingredients of a super-spreader event.
“That hearing last week was reckless, it was unnecessary and didn’t change a thing,” she said. “It’s action like this that threatens our ability to open up some of these businesses.”
Idiots Out Walking Around - II
Informed Choice Iowa is a group that “unites Iowans seeking to preserve their medical freedoms.” They are “pro-science” folk that count “ex-vaxxers”, “selective vaxxers”, “non-vaxxers”, and “vaxxers” among their members. I’m guessing that this list doesn’t include a single practicing physician.
And here’s them celebrating their freedoms, by which they mean a blatant disregard for the science they claim to love and the Iowans they claim to serve. Need confirmation but I hear that eating at least two tubes of toothpaste is on the agenda for their next idiot congregation.
Here’s a local news story about this superspreader event.
Idiots Out Walking Around
Reynolds said election victories for Republicans in the state this week show Iowans support her approach. “It was a validation of our balanced response to COVID-19, one that is mindful of both public health and economic health,” Reynolds said.
Because political victories, not cases or deaths, should inform and ‘validate’ one’s strategy when dealing with a raging pandemic.
A Summary of Iowa’s Covid-19 Response
See also: The time-tested stratagem of going La La La La La. Here’s the entire conference.
Should I Be Worried
is a simple and aptly-named COVID tracker that uses data from Johns Hopkins. As of September 1st 2020, my state of Iowa is #1 (woohoo!) with a 7-day infection rate of 261/100,000 people (“there might be 2 to 6 times as many recent infections”) and an R0 rate of 1.7. “Over the past 30 days, 246 people in Iowa have died of Covid-19. If Iowa remains on its current trajectory, expect to see more than three times as many deaths from Covid-19 over the next 30 days.” That’ll show 'em.
Welcome to the Freedom Cafe!
👏 👏 👏 (cached)
Every “safety plan” I’ve seen that would allow public schools to reopen requires that kids behave in ways that no child has ever behaved in the history of children.
Yep. And the tweet was in the context of school openings, but college towns like Ames and Iowa City, are no exceptions (like she continues.) I say we continue to doubt the science, exercise absolutely no discipline in the interest of the economy (because the Communist Kiwis maintain zero interest in restoring theirs as quickly as possible), yell at people who wear masks, fight Big Government telling us what to do, expect maturity and restraint from children and teenagers, have no bloody plan, defend our effete leaders who institute weak policies that are too little and too late, control the numbers and the narrative, and just continue to be awesome ♥️ That’ll show 'em. We’re only beginning to get tired of winning folks.
How to Respond to a Pandemic
And don’t forget to vote to privatize and abolish the Fire Department by calling their experience and credentials into question!
On Masks
Bill Burr on The Joe Rogan Experience:
BURR: I don’t want to start this bullshit. I’m not gonna sit here with no medical degree, listening to you with no medical degree, with an American flag behind you smoking a cigar, acting like we know what’s up, better than the CDC. All I do, is I watch the news once every two weeks - I’m like, “Mask or no mask? Still mask? Alright, mask!” That’s all I give a fuck about. I don’t care. I just love how wearing a mask became like this fucking like soft thing that you were doing… like being courteous…”
ROGAN: It’s for bitches1.
BURR: Why is it for bitches? That’s just so stupid.
ROGAN: (Fakes weak cough)
BURR: Oh God you’re so tough with your fucking open nose and throat and your five o’clock shadow. This is a man right here! A man doesn’t wear a mask.
Rogan’s immediate response somehow reminded me of the “infantile phallocentric Nietzscheanism that is destroying modern human culture” from one of my favorite articles.
“Even in my darkest moments in 2016, I didn’t picture myself in 2020 casually telling Matt that I’m making dinner from our pandemic rations because I forgot to get groceries before the police curfew.”
David Lynch summarizes what it feels like right now
COVID-19 Map
Found this map when Googling “coronavirus india”. Looks like it’s maintained by the WHO and is pretty up-to-date. They have a daily update page.
At the time of this writing, there are 110,029 confirmed cases, with 3,817 deaths in 105 countries. China, South Korea, Iran, France, and Germany account for 95% of the total number of cases and in that order.