ALF

Meaning I don't trust most politicians either party. I believe in bipartisan government which is not possible now.

I know, I know fake news ‘At War With No Ammo’: Doctors Say Shortage of Protective Gear Is Dire March 19, 2020 The Open Cities Community Health Center in St. Paul, Minn., is considering shutting down because it doesn’t have enough face masks. Doctors at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis are performing invasive procedures on coronavirus patients with loose fitting surgical masks rather than the tight respirator masks recommended by health agencies. At a Los Angeles emergency room, doctors were given a box of expired masks, and when they tried to put them on, the elastic bands snapped. With coronavirus cases soaring, doctors, nurses and other front-line medical workers across the United States are confronting a dire shortage of masks, surgical gowns and eye gear to protect them from the virus. In interviews, doctors said they were increasingly anxious, fearing they could expose not only themselves to the virus, but their families and others. “There’s absolutely no way to protect myself,” said Dr. Faezah A. Bux, an anesthesiologist in central Kentucky who in recent days had to intubate several elderly patients in respiratory distress without the respirator masks and protective eye gear recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Not only can I not protect myself, I can’t protect my patients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/health/coronavirus-masks-shortage.html

So PPE won't protect them ?

Why are healthcare workers and first responders dying and getting infected mainly NYC

So it's ok not to have a adequate supply of PPE to protect healthcare workers and first responders.

I give Trump credit for the China travel ban that saved many lives. Maybe he listened to Navarrow , but it spread here and cost the economy massive. Fact Checker Analysis Trump’s claim that he imposed the first ‘China ban’ The New York Times calculated that at least 430,000 people arrived in the United States on direct flights from China since Jan. 1, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after Trump imposed restrictions. Moreover, screening proceedings of travelers from China have been uneven and inconsistent, the Times said. In any case, the United States certainly was not the first country — by a long shot. We reviewed a list of country actions maintained by the Council on Foreign Relations and cross-checked with official announcements. Six countries imposed travel restrictions even before the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Jan. 30. Another six announced travel restrictions that same day, followed by 11 countries (besides the United States) announcing restrictions Jan. 31. But most countries imposed the restrictions immediately. By the time Trump’s restrictions took effect Feb. 2, an additional 15 countries had taken similar actions https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/07/trumps-claim-that-he-imposed-first-china-ban/

Yep just a slight increase in the budget deficit no problem

So there was no way possible to have lessened the pandemic in the US and disaster to the economy

Trump spent the past 2 years slashing the government agencies responsible for handling the coronavirus outbreak In 2018, for instance, the CDC cut 80% of its efforts to prevent global disease outbreaks because it was running out of money. Ultimately, the department went from working in 49 countries to just 10. Here are some other actions the Trump administration undertook to dismantle government-spending programs related to fighting the spread of global diseases, according to Foreign Policy: Shutting down the entire global-health-security unit of the National Security Council. Eliminating the US government's $30 million Complex Crises Fund. Reducing national health spending by $15 billion. Consistently attacking Mark Green, the director of the US Agency for International Development. https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cuts-programs-responsible-for-fighting-coronavirus-2020-2

Joe Biden: Trump is worst possible leader to deal with coronavirus outbreak Jan 27 , 2020 USA Today President has blithely tweeted that 'it will all work out well.' Yet the steps he has taken have only weakened our capacity to respond. To be blunt, I am concerned that the Trump administration’s shortsighted policies have left us unprepared for a dangerous epidemic that will come sooner or later. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/01/27/coronavirus-donald-trump-made-us-less-prepared-joe-biden-column/4581710002/

Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios. Navarro's grim estimates are set out in two memos — one dated Jan. 29 and addressed to the National Security Council, the other dated Feb. 23 and addressed to the president. The NSC circulated both memos around the White House and multiple agencie The "naivete, arrogance and ignorance" of White House advisers who disagreed with Navarro "put the country and the world in jeopardy," Bannon said, adding that Navarro was sidelined from the task force after the memo. The Jan 29 memo set out two stark choices "Aggressive Containment versus No Containment." Navarro compared cost estimates for the choices and wrote that the Council of Economic Advisers' estimates for stopping travel from China to the U.S. would be $2.9 billion per month. If the virus turned out to be a pandemic, that travel ban could extend 12 months and cost the U.S. $34.6 billion. Doing nothing (the "No Containment" option) could range from "zero economic costs" to $5.7 trillion depending on the lethality of the virus. On the high end, he estimated a scenario in which the coronavirus could kill 543,000 Americans. https://www.axios.com/exclusive-navarro-deaths-coronavirus-memos-january-da3f08fb-dce1-4f69-89b5-ea048f8382a9.html Wow , if only they took Peter Navarro serious back then

The CDC and FEMA should have testified before Congress on the need to fill the stockpile. They get paid big money and I blame them for not doing their job.

Reade wrote that she quit working for Biden to pursue a vocation in the arts and because she loves "Russia with all my heart" and rejected "the reckless imperialism of America" and what she saw as an anti-Russian view on Capitol Hill. https://www.salon.com/2020/03/31/a-woman-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault-and-all-hell-breaks-loose-online-heres-what-we-know/ hmmm , not that I would vote for Biden , just thought that was a interesting thing for her to say

Ranking the 7 Biggest Draft Mistakes of the Past 5 Years https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2884855-ranking-the-7-biggest-draft-mistakes-of-the-past-5-years?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral#slide0 Good to see that Bills were not on that list

U.S. May Get More Ventilators But Run Out Of Medicine For COVID-19 Patients This week, Vizient released data showing dramatic spikes in demand for sedatives, pain medications, paralytics, and other drugs that are crucial for patients who are on ventilators. According to Vizient's study, the rate at which those orders are filled is lagging far behind the demand. One complicating factor: "Injectable drugs take a long time to make," Kistner says. "For instance, there's a 21-day sterility period needed for all injectable drugs. So it's not something simple that you can do overnight." For a patient in acute respiratory distress, being put on a ventilator can be life-saving. It's also really unpleasant. "It is deeply uncomfortable," says Dr. Alix Morse, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Mass. Without those medications, Morse says, "Most people will reach for the [breathing] tube and try to grab it and pull it out. They may fight against having it in their mouth. And if they're working against a breathing machine it can actually damage their lungs." "Most of drug manufacturing is on a just-in-time schedule," Fox says. "It's pretty rare for companies to have more than a three-month supply, six-month supply on hand. And with the [COVID-19] surge, we are going to just burn through that at an incredible rate. A three-month supply could go in a week." https://www.kpbs.org/news/2020/apr/04/us-may-get-more-ventilators-but-run-out-of/ Just when I thought this virus couldn't scare me further I read this.

I tried to do a little research , now I'm really depressed. Ventilators Are No Panacea For Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Most coronavirus patients who end up on ventilators go on to die, according to several small studies from the U.S., China and Europe. The largest study so far to look at mortality among coronavirus patients on ventilators was done by the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre in London. It found that among 98 ventilated patients in the U.K., just 33 were discharged alive. Also, the coronavirus often does a lot more damage to a person's lungs than pneumonia associated with the flu. "There is fluid and other toxic chemicals, cytokines we call them, raging throughout the lung tissue," she says. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/02/826105278/ventilators-are-no-panacea-for-critically-ill-covid-19-patients

It's still a shame that the States and FEMA did not have a larger supply of PPE and ventilators in stock . The cost in lives and trauma to healthcare workers is terrible. The cost to the economy is beyond belief already.

Then a valid question for Trump to ask him

We didn’t have to have ventilator shortage — leaders chose not to prep for pandemic It’s a little late. Several years ago, after learning that the Empire State’s stockpile of medical equipment had 16,000 fewer ventilators than the 18,000 New Yorkers would need in a severe pandemic, state public-health leaders came to a fork in the road. They could have chosen to buy more ventilators to back up the supplies hospitals maintain. ­Instead, the health commissioner, Howard Zucker, assembled a task force for rationing the ventilators they already had. In 2015, that task force came up with rules that will be imposed when ventilators run short. ­Patients assigned a red code will have highest access, and other ­patients will be assigned green, yellow or blue (the worst), ­depending on a “triage officer’s” decision. In truth, a death officer. Let’s not sugar-coat it. It won’t be up to your own doctor. https://nypost.com/2020/03/19/we-didnt-have-to-have-ventilator-shortage-leaders-chose-not-to-prep-for-pandemic/ https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/task_force/reports_publications/docs/ventilator_guidelines.pdf Did Cuomo ever explain why he didn't buy more ventilators after the 2015 NY report ?

You are right General Motors to spend $20 billion through 2025 on new electric, autonomous vehicles https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/gm-to-spend-20-billion-on-new-electric-autonomous-vehicles.html The new rule cuts the year-over-year improvements expected from the auto industry, slashing standards that require automakers to produce fleets that average nearly 55 mpg by 2025. Instead, the Trump rule would bring that number down to about 40 mpg by 2026, bringing mileage below what automakers have said is possible for them to achieve. https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/490318-trump-administration-rolls-back-obama-era-fuel-efficiency-standards Even 40 mpg will need some electric to get the average that high.

Daryl Williams signed a 1 year, $2,250,000 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including a $250,000 signing bonus, $250,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $2,250,000. In 2020, Williams from spotrac very reasonable after he made $6M last season

It looks like the US is going to electric cars in a major way.

Did you watch the movie ? I did

If you have on Demand watch the 2011 movie Contagion about the spread of a fictional coronavirus 'Contagion' writer tells CNN that US is the 'sickest country in the world' despite questions on China's data "Contagion" screenwriter Scott Z. Burns offered his assessment of the ongoing pandemic that has hit the U.S. and criticized President Trump over his handling of the coronavirus. Burns' 2011 thriller "Contagion" has had a resurgence in viewership in recent months, as the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide. The film's plot is about a fictional pandemic and the health officials who struggle to contain the outbreak. Appearing on CNN on Friday, Burns was asked if he was "surprised" by the Trump administration's response to the virus in comparison to the fictitious administration in "Contagion," which anchor Anderson Cooper referred to as "responsible." "When we did the research for the movie, I went to the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] as their guest and it seemed to me at the time there that people were very aware of this and that, you know, there was solid preparation going on," Burns said. "When I was contemplating the movie and speaking to experts, the notion that, you know, the richest country in the world where we live would have a three-month head start and now finds itself as the sickest country in the world is something I would have never thought to put in a screenplay nor would I have contemplated the kind of response we've seen from the federal government in terms of testing or, you know, blaming other people. https://www.foxnews.com/media/contagion-screenwriter-cnn-us-sickest-country-coronavirus-outbreak-china-questions

In March, the economy shed 701,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics The unemployment rate inched up to 4.4%, from a near 50-year low of 3.5%. The labor market survey concludes in the middle of the month, so the March report didn't count the worst of the coronavirus effects on the economy, including many of the stay-at-home orders around the country. In the second half of last month, nearly 10 million Americans filed for first time unemployment benefits as the outbreak forced businesses to close and people to stay home. This development will be reflected in the April jobs report, which is due on May 8. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/economy/march-jobs-report-coronavirus/index.html