Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Cory Gardner calls for a probe of "mismanagement" at the Strategic National Stockpile.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/490992-gop-senator-calls-for-investigation-into-mismanagement-of-strategic

[THE_WIZARD_]

Something stinks...and I don't mean DSL's BO...

[Whitley]

How bad is it that your boy got trounced by "the zombie corpse of Joe Biden"? Two months ago you were crowing about how Biden didn't have any field offices while Bernie had big operations in all the states.

I will be honest I didn't think the Dem establishment had it in them. They were a fractured mess and looked like they were going to be splintered much like the Republican base was in 2016. As long as that was the case the Sanders camp had the right idea that getting 30-40% of the vote in a fractured field would be enough to get at least a strong plurality perhaps majority of the delegates given the rules set up in the primary. And for 3 states it worked beautifully.

In Nevada, their get out the latino vote worked as well as you could have hoped for, and Sen Sanders absolutely crushed Biden there. One of the big knocks against Sanders camp last time was his supporters were not a diverse group. The campaign worked to change that narrative and it paid off in Nevada and California in spades. Going into South Carolina, the Biden camp was on life support. Bernie had won the first three states and there was real momentum. There were some polls showing that the race was tightening and it looked like Bernie would be close.

Then came Rep Clyburn's endorsement. That is the moment that saved the Biden campaign. If Biden struggles (even if it is a win) then I don't think the behind the scenes deals cut happen. But Clyburn was able to move people in South Carolina to Biden and he won big time. So that breathed new life into the Biden campaign. That allowed President Obama to call Mayor Pete's campaign and tell him that his leverage will never be higher. So they cut a deal (and I will be really interested to see Pete gets out of it), and with Pete's endorsement the money problems for the Biden campaign fade away (since Pete had what 45 billionaires donating to his campaign). Sen Klobaucher drops out of the campaign (shocking since it looked like she would win Minnesota) and endorses Biden as well. They dust Beto off and have a huge rally down in Texas.

The other narrative is the power of the earned media in the MSM. With the Biden win in South Carolina they started touting that Biden was coming back....Look out here comes the scrappy VP from Scranton. Not surprising considering a couple things, the first is that the media always wants the race to be close so more people will be watching and second in MSM rarely are any progressives on to give their points when it is talking heads time (and that is most of cable news---one side says one thing and the other says another and we can't tell them apart).

Now, what Bernie should have done is a couple things.

Number one, he should have said that his positions are not radical not implementing theses positions is radical. M4A has been in the majority in 20 consecutive primaries this year. And it has not even been close. It is radical to not support it, it is radical to say that even if M4A got through that he (Biden) would not sign it. It is not radical to say there is a growing income inequality in this country. Hell just look at the stimulus package that was just passed. It is radical to say (and this was at Biden's first fundraiser) that nothing is going to fundamentally change.

And he should have been willing to thread the needle (like Trump did in 2016), and say that he couldn't guarantee his supporters would automatically vote for the nominee if it was not him. Say yes I will go out and campaign for whoever the nominee is but that Biden, while being a good friend (because you know he is going to say), is a lesser version of HRC and we already saw how that played out. That Biden is on the record of wanting to cut into the social safety new programs. That he will not address the problems that led to a Trump presidency.


If you take a look at recent polls, there are some serious problems for Biden once you get past the top line. 53% of Trump supporters are very excited to be supporting him. That sits at 24% for Biden voters (the lowest ever recorded by an ABC News poll). In another poll 43% of Biden supporters have said they could be persuaded to vote for another candidate (compared to 17% for Trump voters). Those are troubling marks at best.

Biden's coalition is basically the HRC coalition. That was not enough to win in 2016. And it is not going to be enough to win 2020. Now, I know I will hear but there is not the hatred of Biden that there was for HRC. That is true, but the Biden supporters are less excited than the HRC supporters were (even at her low point of excitement <September 2016> it was at 32%).

Lots of time to go, but I would say right now the election is Trump's to lose.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Detroit bus driver posted a video to Facebook two weeks ago complaining about a coughing passenger and how drivers weren't being given adequate protection. Yesterday he died from COVID-19

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/detroit-bus-driver-who-posted-video-about-coughing-rider-dies-n1175886

[froot loops]

It wasn't the establishment, Biden had no money and he was going to win big in South Carolina. You have to get out of the Bernie Bubble. You are operating under the assumption that all of these moderate candidates that had no chance to win were obliged to stay in the race so Bernie could win in a fractured convention. You are mad because they dropped out. Candidates who can't win normally drop out. You are speaking like a Bernie Brother about the establishment. Give it a fucking rest. Newsflash to you, black voters are not the the establishment. Klobuchar had no chance, Buttigieg had no chance.

You could have listened to DSL 5 months ago on how it was going to play out. Biden was destined to get whipped in Iowa and NH and he was going to win South Carolina. Your numbers were never feasible. In the simplest terms possible, the progressive lane is one third of the voters and the moderate voters is two thirds. Your argument about bringing out all of these new voters was bs, it didn't work. It wasn't the establishment's fault.

If Biden loses, it will likely be because you Bernie Bros aren't voting for him. A sizable amount of Bernie Bros will sit at home and pout about the establishment or worse they will vote for Trump because you guys are nihilists.

You are the problem, the race was decided decisively so get behind Biden. If you won't, you are a Trump supporter. Period.

[iam416]

Ohio update. Cases: 2902 ==> 3312 (14.4%); Deaths, 65 ==> 81 ==> 91 (11%); Hospitlizations 679 ==> 802 ==> 895 (11.6%); ICUs 222 ==> 260 ==> 298 (14.6%).

Today was a pretty good day.

[iam416]

In the simplest terms possible, the progressive lane is one third of the voters and the moderate voters is two thirds. Your argument about bringing out all of these new voters was bs, it didn't work. It wasn't the establishment's fault.

This is the reality. Bernie can only win at 30-35% of the vote and that requires a bunch of non-socialists splitting the vote. That's not someone who was robbed. That's a Socialist non-Democrat candidate bithcing about the fact that a huge majority of Democrats favor a Democrat over someone who is not a Democrat.

[Hannibal]

Bernie would get way more than 30-35% of the vote. Most people do not identify as Socialist, but lots of people will still vote for one.

[iam416]

I was referring to the D Primary vote.

[AlabamAlum]

My truck has been sitting so long that I had to jump the battery.

[CGVT]

My car had been overheating. I drove the shit out of it driving Uber on the weekends until I quit the Friday before St Paddy's day to avoid the Krona. 2005 Highlander with 280k miles on it. I took it to the shop and got it fixed. It needed a new timing belt and water pump. I hated to put 1000 bucks into it, but I have kept it in pretty good shape and will probably get another 100k miles out of it. The only problem is that it aged out of the Uber window, so if I go back to being a weekend drunkard's taxi I'm gong to have to buy something else to drive. I guess I'll save a few grand and then buy a beater Uber mobile when this all passes by. I expect I'll have plenty of time to save some cash before it will be safe to hit the road again.

[Whitley]

This is the reality. Bernie can only win at 30-35% of the vote and that requires a bunch of non-socialists splitting the vote. That's not someone who was robbed. That's a Socialist non-Democrat candidate bithcing about the fact that a huge majority of Democrats favor a Democrat over someone who is not a Democrat.

Well, considering Mayor Pete dropped out before Super Tuesday (no one that has won a state has ever dropped out before Super Tuesday) that was a big surprise though it made some sense since he didn't have a path going forward. I suspect that President Obama calling him and telling him that this was his max point of leverage had something to do with it. Pete is a lot of things (and Obama-lite) but he is smart and I suspect he knew that getting out then would be good for him. Now, he has a standing for being more well known and running a good campaign and is held is good regard with the powers currently in power on the national Dem level.

Sen Kloubacher was a bit of a surprise as well considering her home state was voting on Tuesday but her endorsement meant a lot to Biden in Minnesota.

As I have said before congrats to the Dem establishment for coalescing around the corpse that is Biden. And yes, African-Americans spoke but without the behind the scenes moves (Pete and Amy dropping out), I doubt Super Tuesday goes overwhelmingly for Biden like it did. As I said, I didn't think they had it in them to pull off Amy and Pete dropping out right before then.


Froot-

1) You don't know how I voted, but to ease your mind-- I voted for HRC in 2016 (holding my nose to do it) because Trump is that awful. But if you go back through the posts, you will see I thought was the wrong candidate. Setting aside the establishment candidate in a year where people wanted serious change. She never articulated why people should vote for her. It was all I am not Donald Trump--so vote for me.

2) Flash forward to the present day. Why is Joe Biden's vision of the future? I mean he has said (to his fundraisers) that nothing is going to change. why is he running? Where is he right now in this time of crisis?

3) Biden (assuming he is the nominee right now) has already said that he would veto M4A even if it reached his desk as president. He is against a wealth tax, helping student loan debt (I have no sympathy for them), the idea of free college (which is further than I would go but I think you could pay tuition up to 10k for full time students....but I am getting into the weeds here), even Green New Deal.

And he was for/still supports: Iraq War 2, NAFTA, TPP, helped make permanent normal trade relations with China, Wall Street bailout, repeal of Glass Steagall, Patriot Act (a failure on all Dem except Sen Feingold and Sen Sanders), still thinks the jury is out on mary jane being a gateway drug.


So unless Biden changes on something (and it is possible), he is against all the issues I care about. And is unable to admit he made mistakes in the past (just like HRC). I know I am not voting for Trump, but Biden hasn't done anything to earn my vote either (but he could). Maybe I will write someone in--maybe I will leave it blank.


Let's be honest here. The Democrat party is trying to realign itself to be the party of the suburbs, African-Americans and those that value cultural identity politics. And Corporation/donor class owns nearly everyone in both parties.

[froot loops]

Yeah if you sit it out, you are a little whiner who should refrain from criticizing Trump. You are the problem, not Biden.

[Jeff Buchanan]

So, in the good news department you may have heard of "Convalescent Serum." Interesting stuff some of my medical buddies have been emailing back and forth on it. This isn't a new idea. In fact, WHO, in collaboration with multiple other health organizations did a good deal of study on it with EBOLA.

It even goes back to "antitoxins" administered from whole blood from convalescing patients to significantly lower the fatality rate of Diphtheria. That was in 1905! It worked although the medical community didn't understand the humoral immune system back then. When it was first tried v. Diphtheria, it worked ..... except 12 kids died after it was administered to them. That event resulted in strict protocols for the use of antitoxins - now known as antibodies that appear during the convalescent period of disease. There has been extensive work in the use of anti-bodies in treating difficult to manage infections. It's not all great news but it is positive news in the face of COVID-19

The current debate involves the FDA's role in approving it for COVID-19 (it is approved but in limited situations - I'll get to that) and whether or not research protocols should be followed when it is administered. The strict testing protocols are the reasons. There is such a thing as "Emergency Use" and convalescent serum of EBOLA survivers was used under those provisions and obviously it worked.

So, what's the hold up? Right now, the FDA has approved it for critically ill COVID-19 patients or those with life threatening symptoms. These definitions are tightly defined in the FDA documents and are all lab and diagnostic testing dependent. I'll save you the details - ask and I'll PM you. Also, research records in controlled testing in the past indicate that some patient's get worse when antibody containing serum's are administered to sick patients who don't respond to conventional measures. This is called "serum sickness." It can be fatal and it was for those 12 kids who died. Hence, caution is advised.

Some experts think the risk is worth taking given the current COVID-19 circumstance. Others think you absolutely must proceed with caution and that is why WHO developed these research protocols. My take and that among colleagues who I have spoken with recently about this is that there is middle ground here. There must be record keeping that will facilitate case controlled studies that will facilitate informed decision making about the efficacy and safety of convalescent serum for COVID-19 patients. You can do this ad-hoc but it has to be done. Otherwise the medical community looses detail necessary for future applications of this kind of therapy.

You're going to see the news talk about miracle cures and everyone will want this therapy preventatively (that did not work for EBOLA) or once they have early symptoms and are subsequently tested + for COVID-19 (that did work for EBOLA - but with mixed results; Also mixed results for critically ill EBOLA patients). All of this bodes for a measured approach to convalescent serum. We'll get there. All of this requires calmness and patience and the medical community can exercise that ..... some of the time and when it's not put under pressure to do something NOW.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Believe this is the second article in the Post in as many days to intelligently estimate closer to 40,000-45,000 died in Wuhan instead of 2,600, 16 times the "official" number. Wuhan citizens themselves are telling foreign journalists that they've all noticed how the city's crematoriums are running non-stop. And the number of funerary urns being shipped to the city is way beyond what the disaster ought to have called for.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinese-families-should-be-sweeping-graves-now-but-thousands-still-havent-buried-their-dead/2020/04/03/5a6daa50-7234-11ea-ad9b-254ec99993bc_story.html