Covid 19 Updates Part 2

[Alan Klein]

There's enough doom and gloom going around. That doesn't help.

Yeah, we know you're a jokester. 

Happy April fools'. 

[LesPalenik]

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Bloomberg spent $188 million on his presidential campaign, including $132 million on television ads, $8.2 million on digital ads, $3.3 million on polling, $1.5 million on rent, and $757,000 on airfare, including $646,000 for a private jet.

Assuming $15 as an average price for a pizza, $188 million would buy over 12 million pizzas. That could feed all people in Missoula, MT for half a year.

[chez]

My point is that it does not take that much disrupt the food chain, and large governments, anywhere in the world, are often slow to react to anything. 

If people cant get food because of strikes and too many individuals calling out sick causing stores to close down, things will go to hell a lot faster then the reaction time from the government. 

Most only have three days of food in their house.  With the hoarding recently, maybe the average is a little higher now, but not that much.  If my local stores close, I would predict looting would start before the local government actually figured out how to solve the problem. 

And once looting of a grocery starts, it spreads to other types of stores real fast. 

By the way, if anyone thinks I'm crazy here, go back and look at what happened in Ferguson, and bare in mind that there was no major catastrophe at the time.  People were not starving, they were not dying, they were not being attacked, it was a media driven panic and looting happened pretty damn fast.

I guess it can happen, but it has not. We can dream up all sorts of scenarios...we have time on are hands, time on the net to create all sorts of "the sky is falling" scenarios...but I just don't see anything out of the norm here. The government quickly nipped the hurding in the bud by limiting crucial items to 1 or 2 per person...so the shelves are stocked every time I go shopping. We have senior hour which makes it much less crowded...in fact many isles have no one in them. The staff ensures people coming into the store are well,spaced, give you a freshly sterilized buggy and workers in the store wear masks and gloves and have plexiglass shield between cashiers and customer. I pay by tapping so I don't need to touch any keypads, and there tons of hand cleaners throughout the store.

I feel safe going shopping for groceries and the workers in the store are doing everything they can to make it safe for the customers and workers. Too boot, a major grocery chain gave their workers a $2 / hour increase in appreciation for working during these times.

Things work if everyone buys into the plan. When people get mixed messages from various sources, then they get confused and buyin is difficult. This is where strong leadership is needed...not any politicking or grand standing to gain support for upcoming elections.

[Alan Klein]

Thanks for the correction. 

My Dad use to collect Roosevelt dimes as a hobby.  He couldn't afford to give them away.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Yeah, we know you're a jokester. 

Happy April fools'.

It works best when not expected...

[faberryman]

There is no indication that this is an April Fools joke:

"Don't Nag Your Husband During Lockdown, Malaysia's Government Advises Women"

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/01/825051317/dont-nag-your-husband-during-lock-down-malaysias-government-advises-women

[LesPalenik]

My wife had been going to the supermarket.  However, since the new predictions, she's gotten scared.  I haven't been there at all hiding out for the last two weeks at home except to go out to the park and shoot pictures once and get gas another time.  We can't get though to the food store for ordering.  If you do, they put you on hold forever, then the line goes dead.

Alan, look at it as a great opportunity to brush up on your cooking skills and try some new recipes. More fun than going to a restaurant.

[William Walker]

By the time this thing is over, there won't be enough cheese left for a mouse to get a tooth in.

That is because Joe Kitchen has got all the cheese...!

[faberryman]

Trump has decided not to open a special enrollment period under the ACA (Obamacare) so that people who have recently lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus can more easily purchase replacement medical insurance. I am sure there are good reason for not doing so, but they escape me for the moment.

Please note that this article appears in the New York Times and may or may not be true depending on your political preferences.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/upshot/obamacare-markets-coronavirus-trump.html

[JoeKitchen]

Trump has decided not to open a special enrollment period under the ACA (Obamacare) so that people who have recently lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus can more easily purchase replacement medical insurance. I am sure there are good reason for not doing so, but they escape me for the moment.

Please note that this article appears in the New York Times and may or may not be true depending on your political preferences.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/upshot/obamacare-markets-coronavirus-trump.html

Not entirely fake, but not entirely true. 

Other news outlets are reporting that the exchanges will be open to those who recently became unemployed, but not to the overall public. 

I would expect the reason being that if a lot of sick people suddenly signed up on the exchanges, it would drastically increase the prices of coverage and send the whole thing into a death spiral. 

[JoeKitchen]

That is because Joe Kitchen has got all the cheese...!

That could be the case by the end of this.  I have more rennet coming.   

[LesPalenik]

That could be the case by the end of this.  I have more rennet coming.   

Yeah, you should send one pound to each active poster on this forum.

[Jonathan Cross]

Exercise is on the vegetable patch and making soup from the end of the winter spinach (with coconut and nutmeg) and from the last of the winter squash, both for the freezer.  My wife thinks I have hamster in my ancestry.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

[Alan Klein]

There is no indication that this is an April Fools joke:

"Don't Nag Your Husband During Lockdown, Malaysia's Government Advises Women"

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/01/825051317/dont-nag-your-husband-during-lock-down-malaysias-government-advises-women

Unfortunately, Frank, my wife isn't Malaysian.   

[JoeKitchen]

Getting back to the topic at hand, pastors are now being arrested for holding services. 

First, just to clarify, I don't think they should be doing so at this time.  Also, as an extreme non-religious person, I am not really itching to get to mass. 

However, letting criminals go free and refusing to arrest those who break laws while at the same time arresting pastors for holding services (supported by the 1st amendment with freedom of religion and freedom of assembly) is not going to go over well. 

If this continues, it's going to get tense. 

[faberryman]

Getting back to the topic at hand, pastors are now being arrested for holding services. 

First, just to clarify, I don't think they should be doing so at this time.  Also, as an extreme non-religious person, I am not really itching to get to mass. 

However, letting criminals go free and refusing to arrest those who break laws while at the same time arresting pastors for holding services (supported by the 1st amendment with freedom of religion and freedom of assembly) is not going to go over well. 

If this continues, it's going to get tense.

These are very isolated cases. Most priests, pastors, etc. have good sense, and if they don't, their congregants do. Snake handlers, however, do not see much additional risk in holding services during a pandemic.

[JoeKitchen]

These are very isolated cases. Most priests, pastors, etc. have good sense, and if they don't, their congregants do. Snake handlers, however, do not see much additional risk in holding services during a pandemic.

To you or I, this makes perfect sense. 

To the zealots, well good luck that! 

The narrative I described is already being used by other religious people I know. 

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Surely the riches country in the world won't let its citizens starve. Who's going hungry here.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/31/business/food-supply-disruption-coronavirus-us/index.html

"What happens to our food supply if American farmers can't farm?"

American farmers are concerned.

The coronavirus pandemic is posing a threat to their livelihoods, as it is for many others across the globe. But unlike some shelf-stable goods producers, farmers have very little flexibility. They're on a strict planting and harvesting schedule and cannot ramp up or decrease production at will.

[faberryman]

Not entirely fake, but not entirely true. 

Other news outlets are reporting that the exchanges will be open to those who recently became unemployed, but not to the overall public. 

I would expect the reason being that if a lot of sick people suddenly signed up on the exchanges, it would drastically increase the prices of coverage and send the whole thing into a death spiral.

The article mentioned that 12 states which operate their own markets have open enrollment. Trump's decision only affects the 38  states that participate in healthcare.gov.

I have not seen any stories about insurance premium increases. They are inevitable. We may very well see the uninsured ranks growing soon.

[JoeKitchen]

Going back to my previous post about how I do not think it is wise to criticize most politicians right now, most.

But De Blasio is an exception. 

DAs blast de Blasio as violent offenders set for release from Rikers despite mayor's promise

"New York City prosecutors blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio after he appeared to go back on a vow that domestic violence and sex offenders would not be included among those released from the Rikers Island correctional facility due to the coronavirus pandemic."

He is seeking to let domestic violence offenders out.   

I hate to say it, but some woman will unfortunately be beaten to death by her POS husband if he does, because that is what those type of men do.  I photographed a battered women's shelter a few years back and the lengths they go for security are immense because it is all too common for the husbands to search out their wives and beat them to death.  There is no way to sugar coat this; you cant rest your hopes on the good conscience of these type of men that they wont get out of hand during this pandemic because they have no conscience. 

The only bright side is that this will end his career if he goes ahead with it. 

Yeah, we've reached the point of insanity.  Last week, you guys had an argument, that I disagreed with, but a valid argument none the less.  These measures are destroying that.