Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[Alan Klein]

It's getting hotter.

Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who represent New York in the U.S. Senate, have called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign as he faces multiple sexual harassment allegations and a scandal stemming from his handling of the Covid-19 crisis.

Schumer and Gillibrand, both Democrats, are the most prominent officials yet to call for Cuomo’s resignation. Their statement added further momentum to a growing tide of Cuomo’s fellow Democrats urging him to leave office.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/us-sens-schumer-and-gillibrand-call-on-new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-to-resign.html

[Robert Roaldi]

It's getting hotter.

Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who represent New York in the U.S. Senate, have called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign as he faces multiple sexual harassment allegations and a scandal stemming from his handling of the Covid-19 crisis.

Schumer and Gillibrand, both Democrats, are the most prominent officials yet to call for Cuomo’s resignation. Their statement added further momentum to a growing tide of Cuomo’s fellow Democrats urging him to leave office.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/us-sens-schumer-and-gillibrand-call-on-new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-to-resign.html

What's your fascination with Cuomo? Who cares about Cuomo, he's just another politician. Nobody is going to cry over Cuomo if he does the perp walk. Is this just some childish antic on your part because he happens to be a Democrat? I haven't heard a peep out of you about that ridiculous MTG in Georgia, she's at least as reprehensible as Cuomo. Do you think everything but everything is about partisan politics? Or are you just trolling again?

[faberryman]

...stimmy money...

Stimmy money? Seriously?

[Alan Klein]

What's your fascination with Cuomo? Who cares about Cuomo, he's just another politician. Nobody is going to cry over Cuomo if he does the perp walk. Is this just some childish antic on your part because he happens to be a Democrat? I haven't heard a peep out of you about that ridiculous MTG in Georgia, she's at least as reprehensible as Cuomo. Do you think everything but everything is about partisan politics? Or are you just trolling again?

Cuomo was the anti-Trump.  The press loved him so much they gave him an Emmy for his Covid news conferences.  He blasted Trump over COvid and other infractions such as grabbing.  So it's poetic payback to see him squirming over his lies about sex and Covid statistics.  It reminds people that Trump wasn't the guilty one regarding Covid mistakes and lies, but his very tormenters.  Of course, you'd rather not look at that.  It goes against your playbook about Trump and how good Democrats leaders are.  I understand.  You can criticize but you can't handle criticism.

[Alan Klein]

Stimmy money? Seriously?

Well the IRS calls stimulus Economic Impact Payments.  But stimmy has a nice ring to it. It rhymes with "bennies".

[digitaldog]

Well the IRS calls stimulus Economic Impact Payments.  But stimmy has a nice ring to it. It rhymes with "bennies".

[Peter McLennan]

Attached is the view from the Kootenay Lake Ferry - the longest free ferry in the world.  It crosses the lake about an hour north of where I live and I use it frequently. Hey, it's free and I'm a "socialist".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kootenay_Lake_Ferry#:~:text=The%20Kootenay%20Lake%20Ferry%20is,scenic%20ferry%20in%20the%20world.

One day in the summer of 2016, I noticed three motorcycles with Virginia tags parked on the boat and, being a life-long biker, I sidled over and began a conversation with them.  Now, when I travel in the US, I studiously avoid politics.  But this was different.  This was MY country, and I could say whatever I liked.

So I did.  I said "How in hell can you guys even consider electing Trump as your president?  As anyone can plainly see, he's an asshole.  And if anybody knows assholes, it's you Americans, who basically invented the word".

Two of the riders left at this point (wisely), but one remained. You can imagine by this point that he was an ardent Trump supporter, and I vociferously illuminated Trump's assholity and his demonstrable lack of qualifications for the gig.  The rider from Virginia was quite adamant that I was wrong and we spent the entire 35 minute voyage arguing about Trump.  He preferred to prove me wrong rather than join his friends on the upper deck. He never once moved from the car deck to enjoy the view, one he'd never see again.

Whether I won the argument or not is irrelevant, but I do know one thing. He was too dumb to abandon prejudiced politics and open his eyes to the beauty around him.

[faberryman]

Cuomo was the anti-Trump.  The press loved him so much they gave him an Emmy for his Covid news conferences.  He blasted Trump over COvid and other infractions such as grabbing.  So it's poetic payback to see him squirming over his lies about sex and Covid statistics.  It reminds people that Trump wasn't the guilty one regarding Covid mistakes and lies, but his very tormenters.  Of course, you'd rather not look at that.  It goes against your playbook about Trump and how good Democrats leaders are.  I understand.  You can criticize but you can't handle criticism.

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

[Robert Roaldi]

Cuomo was the anti-Trump.  The press loved him so much they gave him an Emmy for his Covid news conferences.  He blasted Trump over COvid and other infractions such as grabbing.  So it's poetic payback to see him squirming over his lies about sex and Covid statistics.  It reminds people that Trump wasn't the guilty one regarding Covid mistakes and lies, but his very tormenters.  Of course, you'd rather not look at that.  It goes against your playbook about Trump and how good Democrats leaders are.  I understand.  You can criticize but you can't handle criticism.

Sounds like you're trying too hard to convince yourself. As of this morning US Covid deaths have reached 545,000+, wildly outnumbering other countries, a lot of it due to the utter failure of Trump's non-policies. You can play your word games if you like, but people can count.

[Alan Klein]

Sounds like you're trying too hard to convince yourself. As of this morning US Covid deaths have reached 545,000+, wildly outnumbering other countries, a lot of it due to the utter failure of Trump's non-policies. You can play your word games if you like, but people can count.

A lot of it due to the decisions of governors.  A lot of due to China. What's your point?

[faberryman]

A lot of it due to the decisions of governors.  A lot of due to China. What's your point?

Don't forget the bats and pangolins, most of whom are communists, in your effort to deflect attention away from Trump's nonfeasance and malfeasance resulting in the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. And then of course there is the wind, which has heretofore largely escaped blame for blowing the virus around and infecting people. Did I mention the rotation of the earth?

[Alan Klein]

Don't forget the bats and pangolins, most of whom are communists, in your effort to deflect attention away from Trump's nonfeasance and malfeasance resulting in the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. And then of course there is the wind, which has heretofore largely escaped blame for blowing the virus around and infecting people. Did I mention the rotation of the earth?

A stupid post.

[Robert Roaldi]

A lot of it due to the decisions of governors.  A lot of due to China. What's your point?

Your head's in the sand. Nobody's response was perfect, it was never going to be, but Trump and his arse-licking GOP cohort played with people's lives just to carve out a specific political niche, a very cynical move with no regard whatsoever for their followers who were (and are) regarded as cannon fodder. For someone who claims to not trust politicians, you are spectacularly naive.

Worldometer reports 2,650,000 total worldwide deaths  and the US with only 4% of the world's population has had 20% of the world's deaths. You can continue to type "China" and "governors" all you want, people can count.

Leave the cult, you'll feel better.

[Alan Klein]

Your head's in the sand. Nobody's response was perfect, it was never going to be, but Trump and his arse-licking GOP cohort played with people's lives just to carve out a specific political niche, a very cynical move with no regard whatsoever for their followers who were (and are) regarded as cannon fodder. For someone who claims to not trust politicians, you are spectacularly naive.

Worldometer reports 2,650,000 total worldwide deaths  and the US with only 4% of the world's population has had 20% of the world's deaths. You can continue to type "China" and "governors" all you want, people can count.

Leave the cult, you'll feel better.

I've said over and over in posts here that the mask became a political symbol for both sides.  The Democrats were willing to sacrifice the economy knowing that was Trump's ace-in-the-hole for re-election.  The economy was booming before Covid.  So the Democrats wanted to do anything to make it bad for the election.  So the argument became if you didn't shut everything down to save people, you were heartless, just as you claiming now.  You refuse to consider the damage to the economy because it was politically expedient to look only at health.  Politically, it worked, even though Trump had little to say about what gets shut down and when.  That was up to the governors 

Of course, governors who weren't running for election had to deal with their states' economies as well as the health issue of their residents.  So governors were actually the ones who ordered shutdowns, or not, based on their own state's economic and health needs and political situations.  The charges were so one-sided by the biased press that they gave the NY governor an Emmy even though his decision was responsible for killing many seniors.  Of course, you don't want to talk about Cuomo, because it goes against your political storyline against Trump.  Or maybe how California's governor Newsom, who may be recalled for his lousy performance and hypocrisy,  In any case, we get it.  Future historians will have to deal with the truth at that time when they write it.  Meanwhile, we'll be dealing with all the negative economic fallout long after Covid is just a memory.  People will be demanding who let the economies get destroyed.  Will Democrats have the honor to stand up and take the responsibility claiming health was more important?

[jeremyrh]

I've said over and over in posts here that the mask became a political symbol for both sides.  The Democrats were willing to sacrifice the economy knowing that was Trump's ace-in-the-hole for re-election.  The economy was booming before Covid.  So the Democrats wanted to do anything to make it bad for the election.  So the argument became if you didn't shut everything down to save people, you were heartless, just as you claiming now.  You refuse to consider the damage to the economy because it was politically expedient to look only at health.  Politically, it worked, even though Trump had little to say about what gets shut down and when.  That was up to the governors 

Of course, governors who weren't running for election had to deal with their states' economies as well as the health issue of their residents.  So governors were actually the ones who ordered shutdowns, or not, based on their own state's economic and health needs and political situations.  The charges were so one-sided by the biased press that they gave the NY governor an Emmy even though his decision was responsible for killing many seniors.  Of course, you don't want to talk about Cuomo, because it goes against your political storyline against Trump.  Or maybe how California's governor Newsom, who may be recalled for his lousy performance and hypocrisy,  In any case, we get it.  Future historians will have to deal with the truth at that time when they write it.  Meanwhile, we'll be dealing with all the negative economic fallout long after Covid is just a memory.  People will be demanding who let the economies get destroyed.  Will Democrats have the honor to stand up and take the responsibility claiming health was more important?

Still haven't got the point, eh Alan?  Slowly .....  you can't choose "economy or covid".  If you open up the economy too soon, lots of people die, and guess what - the economy crashes!

[LesPalenik]

I've said over and over in posts here that the mask became a political symbol for both sides.  The Democrats were willing to sacrifice the economy knowing that was Trump's ace-in-the-hole for re-election.  The economy was booming before Covid.  So the Democrats wanted to do anything to make it bad for the election.  So the argument became if you didn't shut everything down to save people, you were heartless, just as you claiming now.  You refuse to consider the damage to the economy because it was politically expedient to look only at health.  Politically, it worked, even though Trump had little to say about what gets shut down and when.  That was up to the governors 

Of course, governors who weren't running for election had to deal with their states' economies as well as the health issue of their residents.  So governors were actually the ones who ordered shutdowns, or not, based on their own state's economic and health needs and political situations.  The charges were so one-sided by the biased press that they gave the NY governor an Emmy even though his decision was responsible for killing many seniors.  Of course, you don't want to talk about Cuomo, because it goes against your political storyline against Trump.  Or maybe how California's governor Newsom, who may be recalled for his lousy performance and hypocrisy,  In any case, we get it.  Future historians will have to deal with the truth at that time when they write it.  Meanwhile, we'll be dealing with all the negative economic fallout long after Covid is just a memory.  People will be demanding who let the economies get destroyed.  Will Democrats have the honor to stand up and take the responsibility claiming health was more important?

Regardless, USA has been hit with covid consequences in an extraordinary way, both in terms of deaths and also economically. Somebody has to take responsibility for this failure. Usually it is the guy on the top.

[Alan Klein]

Still haven't got the point, eh Alan?  Slowly .....  you can't choose "economy or covid".  If you open up the economy too soon, lots of people die, and guess what - the economy crashes!

Governors, as was President Trump, are trying to thread the needle between saving lives and saving their economies, just like the British PM and leaders everywhere.  It's pretty awful to claim leaders are killing people because they've been dealt an impossible hand caught in the horns of a dilemma.  They are trying to predict the right moves in an unpredictable and impossible situation.  Everyone one of them has opened their economies to one degree or another where chances have been taken.  In all cases, I bet, there have been additional deaths and transmission. 

It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing situation.  It never is in any other safety situation leaders decide.  Otherwise, we'd shut down private automobiles to reduce traffic deaths and you would pay for sprinklers in your house to stop fires from spreading, but you don’t because of the economic impact on your wallet.   So the public is willing to take deaths and illnesses.  Otherwise, society could never proceed.  The whole argument this time is saturated with politics.  No one wants to discuss it rationally because they have a political ax to grind.  That's unfortunate because that causes mistakes and stupid policies. 

[Alan Klein]

Regardless, USA has been hit with covid consequences in an extraordinary way, both in terms of deaths and also economically. Somebody has to take responsibility for this failure. Usually it is the guy on the top.

Trump's gone.  Will Biden take responsibility when the economy collapses into an inflationary depression due to all his printing, Democrat spending in Congress, and bad economic policies fostered on us by Treasury Secretary Yellen? Why aren't you blaming the governors who are making the rules in their states? Biden isn't making those rules, nor did Trump.  In my state of New Jersey, it's been Gov Murphy who's made all the rules.  He's responsible, not Biden and not Trump. 

[faberryman]

I've said over and over in posts here that the mask became a political symbol for both sides.  The Democrats were willing to sacrifice the economy knowing that was Trump's ace-in-the-hole for re-election.  The economy was booming before Covid.  So the Democrats wanted to do anything to make it bad for the election.  So the argument became if you didn't shut everything down to save people, you were heartless, just as you claiming now.  You refuse to consider the damage to the economy because it was politically expedient to look only at health.  Politically, it worked, even though Trump had little to say about what gets shut down and when.  That was up to the governors.

That is so preposterous it beggars belief.

Of course, governors who weren't running for election had to deal with their states' economies as well as the health issue of their residents.  So governors were actually the ones who ordered shutdowns, or not, based on their own state's economic and health needs and political situations.  The charges were so one-sided by the biased press that they gave the NY governor an Emmy even though his decision was responsible for killing many seniors.  Of course, you don't want to talk about Cuomo, because it goes against your political storyline against Trump.  Or maybe how California's governor Newsom, who may be recalled for his lousy performance and hypocrisy,  In any case, we get it.  Future historians will have to deal with the truth at that time when they write it.  Meanwhile, we'll be dealing with all the negative economic fallout long after Covid is just a memory.  People will be demanding who let the economies get destroyed.  Will Democrats have the honor to stand up and take the responsibility claiming health was more important?

Whatabout Cuomo and Newsome. Typical deflection. How come you never whatabout any of the 27 Republican governors who pledged fealty to Trump and did his bidding?

[jeremyrh]

Trump's gone.  Will Biden take responsibility when the economy collapses into an inflationary depression due to all his printing, Democrat spending in Congress, and bad economic policies fostered on us by Treasury Secretary Yellen?

I doubt it but since those things are unlikely to happen it doesn't really matter.