Ever since Illinoisans were asked to stay at home by our governor in March, a new trend has popped up – people celebrating birthdays or other milestones by driving past the house of the honored person, sometimes honking horns and displaying signs.
It’s meant to be a nod to normalcy in these decidedly abnormal times, as well as an acknowledgment of celebrations that can’t be held at homes or restaurants for the time being. I don’t know if it’s happening only in the Chicago area or also elsewhere, but it’s a nice gesture during these trying times.
Like everyone else, I hate being stuck at home this much – although I do understand why it’s necessary, and I’ll abide by it. This is part of why I get irritated with the anti-lockdown protesters – it’s not just that they might further the spread of the coronavirus, thus leaving us in lockdown limbo longer, but also that there’s somehow this narrative that those of us in support of shelter-in-place love being at home all the time. As if we have to like a policy in order to abide by it.
I don’t. I hate it. But I get it. And because I know it needs to be done, no matter how much it sucks, I am, like anyone else going stir crazy and getting tired of Netflix, looking for any little scraps of cheer to make my days less grim. And while I normally take the cynical journalist approach to corny stories of good news on the evening news, I did smile over the weekend when my local NBC affiliate showed a parade of cars trundling through a Chicago suburb in order to make a little kid smile.
This particular kid was turning five, and he’s a car guy (boy?). His mom, wanting to make his birthday feel special in a time in which celebrations are a no-go for quite understandable reasons, got creative. She put the word on social media that her little dude loved cars, and if any local gearheads needed an excuse for a weekend drive, maybe they could parade past the house in their cool cars and honk and wave?
And they came in their Corvettes and Chevy trucks and Mustangs (no, no one spun into a lawn. This wasn’t Cars and Coffee), all to brighten a boy’s day because we can’t live our lives normally until we get this virus under control.
Go ahead, watch the video and play car spotter. And see if you don’t get a smile on your face, just for a minute.
The news is almost all grim these days, as one would expect. But sometimes we get something good, and it’s okay to smile, if only for a second.
[Image: Chevrolet/General Motors]
That is so cool! Some pretty nice cars turned up!
With everything shut down people are looking for something, heck anything to do other then Netflix. Drive past some random kids house in your pride and joy? Sure why not! Smiles all around so its a win-win. Gas is cheap too.
“Like everyone else, I hate being stuck at home this much – although I do understand why it’s necessary, and I’ll abide by it. This is part of why I get irritated with the anti-lockdown protesters – it’s not just that they might further the spread of the coronavirus, thus leaving us in lockdown limbo longer, but also that there’s somehow this narrative that those of us in support of shelter-in-place love being at home all the time. As if we have to like a policy in order to abide by it.”
It is not a matter of “liking” the lockdown. The protesters want to live too, and they want to work, and support their families, and they don’t want to see the nation fall into an economic depression. Many people understand that poverty is devastating. They are making a different risk assessment than the author, who assumes the lockdown is essential to fight the virus. Many people, and entire nations, disagree. People are not willing to wait forever while their jobs are lost and their life’s saving are destroyed and they descend into poverty. Agree or disagree, it is a legitimate point of view that has nothing to do with “liking” the lockdown.
“The protesters want to live too, and they want to work, and support their families, ”
no, they want *other* people to go back to work to serve them. e.g. so they can get a hair cut, or stuff their faces with fast food, etc.
JimZ, that doesn’t even make sense. Guess what, some of those people protesting own hair salons and restaurants. But hey, somehow you know what is in the minds of others.
I would sure read the hell out of any link describing what the “protesters” do when they’re not being paid to “protest”
“I would sure read the hell out of any link describing what the “protesters” do when they’re not being paid to “protest””
sit and watch Fox News. and now OANN too.
I’m not joking. There’s this disturbing trend of suburban wannabes who think wearing camo hats and jackets, putting TenPoint and Punisher decals on their trucks, and talking with a phony drawl makes them rugged good ol’ boys.
they look and sound just as ridiculous as the kids I went to high school with in the ’90s who wore baggy clothes and tried to act like they were “gangstas,” they just don’t know it.
I get that hair salon and restaurant owners are hurting. That sucks. People catching this illness from being at their establishments would suck worse.
That’s the thing, nothing can open up until the question of liability is answered
…That’s the thing, nothing can open up until the question of liability is answered…
Trump gave the meat packing industry a get-out-of-jail-free card with that one. I do get the need for keeping to food supply running. But that could have been done with the plants following the CDC guidelines that were presented to them. But they were presented as voluntary. They needed to be made mandatory. But no, the profits of the plant were put way over the health of the workforce. And that did not need to happen. The plants could be made much safer, but we can’t have lower production getting in the way now can we?
Insult to injury, in Iowa any worker who does not go to work for fear of their lives will be denied unemployment benefits. So, choose your income or, possibly, your life. The Orange Idiot signed the death warrant for a small but significant percentage of the meat plants’ workforce. Ultimate irony: I’ll bet most of these workers voted for the jerk in the first place.
golden2husky, I would really like to see how well these “free passes” hold up in court against the class actions that are sure to follow. It’s going to get really interesting
“But hey, somehow you know what is in the minds of others.”
I don’t have to read their minds, those fat a$$es wrote it on the signs they were waving around.
Normally, I’d agree with encouraging dissenting viewpoints, but when virtually all the science suggests lockdowns are necessary to prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed — even in rural areas — it’s hard to argue against that. So far, any science that has taking a different view has been shown to be flawed/incorrect. That’s not censorship — rather, it’s good science trumping over bad.
Sometimes there is no “other side.” That doesn’t mean we can’t criticize specific policy — I generally approve of our governor’s response, but I have a few nitpicks, and I can see why Michiganders thought Whitmer went a step too far — but if the science says “if we don’t do X, Y will happen, and there’s no alternative” you sorta have to follow that to mitigate the danger.
Believe me, I feel bad for all those who had to shutter a business and/or have lost income during this pandemic. But it’s not the fault of the governor’s that they had to shut things down to minimize the disaster. It’s the fault of the virus for being so easily transmissible and so dangerous (especially because it can be spread by the presymptomatic and the asymptomatic. If that wasn’t the case, we probably wouldn’t need to lock things down).
I’m tired of staring at the same walls. But if staying in for 30 more days brings us back to normalcy more quickly, I’ll do it.
Tim, it’s nice that someone who works from home tells those that don’t what to think. The lives of most of the country will be destroyed. Your condescending know it all attitude in your post is the reason most of the usual visitors have left. The quality of the discussions has also several deteriorated.
Tim,
The WHO has taken the “other side.” They are endorsing the Swedish “no lockdown “ approach. Agree or disagree, but saying there is no legitimate science behind the no lockdown argument is clearly untrue, unless the WHO is to be ignored or suppressed, rather than debated.
Tim Healey, do you know there is “science” contradicting the lock down measures and that perhaps it was a huge mistake? What’s interesting about “the science” is far leftists refuse to accept “the science” of biology.
Link please describing how “leftists refuse to accept “the science” of biology.”
“Link please describing how “leftists refuse to accept “the science” of biology.””
you’ll just get some religious drivel.
You boys have got to tell Hannity to provide links if he expects you to do his bidding on the net. It’s called credibility
Mentioning the words “credibility” and “Hannity” in the same sentence is comical.
FreedMike, I had to type it three times because my keyboard kept jamming typing “credibility” after “Hannity”. It kept coming out “liar” ;-)
I should add that areas that have lifted lockdown too early are now seeing a second wave. If you reopen too soon, you just end up locked back down again. Better to take the bitter pill up front, so you don’t have to do it again.
“I should add that areas that have lifted lockdown too early are now seeing a second wave.”
I’m not sure which places you are referring to, but I’d caution against anywhere declaring a “second wave” happening in a place that lifted restrictions less 15 days before that.
Tim,
There are entire nations who have looked at the same data and come to a different conclusion. They are not ignoring science. They are not interested in killing their population. There is another approach, which many people, including many scientists, believe is the better one. It is a legitimate scientific and policy position. Viruses aren’t the only killers. Poverty kills too.
Is poverty contagious? I didn’t know
Oh wait, swimming pools and car wrecks kill too, Thanks “Dr.” Phil, I forgot
Poverty is indeed contagious when it strikes where there wasn’t poverty previously.
One need only look at communities that had functioning economies 50-60 years ago, that now have little in the way of economic activity.
Plenty of them in the rural parts of the US that depended on jobs relating to clothing/textiles, furniture manufacturing, etc.
Really? So, science has isolated and identified the poverty virus? That’s a study I’d love to read
I guess that would make wealth the vaccine. I’ll take some of that vaccine, please
The vaccine to poverty is growing up poor.
When your mother darns your socks when they have holes in them, and buying a hot lunch at school instead of brown-bagging it is a treat.
Riding a bicycle to school instead of getting a ride in a car… delivering newspapers from the age of 9, in the rain, wind, heat, frost, while getting up earlier than any of your friends. Wearing your older brother’s hand-me-down clothes.
When you know the value of a dollar because you once worked for about a dollar an hour, you will be careful with your money, not waste it, and never be poor.
And you’ll never lease something stupid like a new Escalade, BMW or Mercedes, even if you can.
RHD, sounds just like my upbringing and we were far from poor. It’s called “being raised right”
I never leased an Escalade, but I did buy a Corvette when I was young, dumb
You expect a second wave when a lockdown ends, whenever that is. That is one reason why many countries have chosen not to do it. Instead, they are building herd immunity and doing everything they can to protect old people and other vulnerable people, while allowing younger healthy people to work. Favor it or oppose it, it is a policy based upon scientific opinion and weighs the damage caused by economic devastation.
Tim, you get it. I have to laugh at the people here who are in favor of the anti-lockdown protests. I’d bet 99.9995% of them mock protesters when they march for the climate or against assault weapons. Despite the criticism your post received from the FoxFront here, it makes perfect sense. Yes, losing your income is horrible – whether it is from a virus or corporate beancounters more concerned with max profits for themselves over the well-being of their workforce. But right now, separation is the only real tool we have. I hope that changes in the near future but business as usual is a recipe for a resurgence of the virus. Since this started with just a few cases, how can we expect this not to return? Separation bought breathing room for our medical infrastructure; anybody who thinks it will “end” the virus is mistaken.
@thelaine
So why do some of them carry guns too? Poverty kills, viruses kill and so do guns.
Why won’t they just stay home and wait like the rest of the world.
MeJ
The rest of the world is not necessarily staying home, and the World Health Organization just endorsed the policy of Sweden, which did not lock down its economy and destroy the livelihoods of its citizens.
“WHO lauds Sweden as a ‘model’ in coronavirus fight for resisting lockdown.”
https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/who-lauds-sweden-as-model-for-resisting-coronavirus-lockdown/
We’ll know exponentially more once the dust settles, after the 2nd or 3rd wave, if there are any.
Except it’s starting to look like we did it just to save the very old, very ill, and or weakened immunity.
Then it was well worth it! Just kidding..
Or not.
I think the point is to protect them as best we can, regardless, without the collateral economic devastation.
Thelaine just keeps prattling on (and on, and on, and on, ad infinitum) about “collateral economic devastation.
Curiously enough, he never posts anything PROVING how much less devastating the approaches he favors would be. What’s the lesser hit on the economy, thelaine – 3%? 4%? 10.5%?
But he won’t do that. Why? Because the guy knows full well there is no way to prove how much less devastating his approach would be. There’s no way to model it. But he prattles on, undaunted. And he also can’t prove how many more people would die because of his approach – which also has a severe economic impact as well, a fact he blissfully ignores.
If you ask me, he’s just looking for attention – which lord knows he’s getting.
Freedmike:
The economic shutdown is a measure that is unprecedented in America’s almost 250 year history, although we have had many, many pandemics. Prove that the wuhanvirus is so much worse than what has come before, that we need to destroy our economy in order to fight it.
Please put aside your terror and try to think clearly. “He” has a legitimate, but minority, point of view, which “he” has been arguing for about five weeks. “He” is gratified that the World Health Organization shares “his” view on this issue.
The World Health Organization just endorsed the policy of Sweden, which did not lock down its economy and destroy the livelihoods of its citizens.
“WHO lauds Sweden as a ‘model’ in coronavirus fight for resisting lockdown.”
https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/who-lauds-sweden-as-model-for-resisting-coronavirus-lockdown/
That same organization is predicting that hundreds of thousands of children across the world will die due to the economic lockdowns. Perhaps that is why they have belatedly come down against them.
I do not know why anyone should have to “prove” that shutting down economic activity by force is more damaging than not shutting down economic activity by force.
“JP Morgan has sharply revised down its already dark forecast for second quarter economic growth. It now expects U.S. gross domestic product will shrink a staggering 40% in the second quarter on an annualized basis.”
“With these data in hand we think the April jobs report could indicate about 25 million jobs lost since the March survey week, and an unemployment rate around 20%,” they said.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pedrodacosta/2020/04/09/jp-morgan-now-sees-40-plunge-in-gdp-unemployment-surge-to-20/#1a6df35e436c
No, Freedmike, I will never stop arguing this issue, here and elsewhere. Many people are in an information quarantine, and have no tolerance for dissent or diversity of opinion. They have a totalitarian mindset, and yearn to silence voices with which they disagree, often in the name of “science.” They have the exact same reaction to people who dispute the apocalyptic global warming narrative.
We are talking about the future of our nation. It is worth discussing. I sincerely hope you never become poor, particularly as a result of a government mandate, but you should think about those who have and will. The damage is going to be extraordinary, and every day of lockdown makes it worse. God bless the protesters. They are fighting for the survival of their families.
Yeah, pretty much what I expected…400 words, not one of which answers my questions or proves his case.
Tilt on, Senor Quixote!
…So why do some of them carry guns too? Poverty kills, viruses kill and so do guns.
Why won’t they just stay home and wait like the rest of the world…
Carrying their firearms is just part of their “the gov’t ain’t tellen me what to do” FU message. Too bad they ignore the fact that working for the overall wellness of the population at large is part of what good government is all about.
People are losing their jobs by the tens of millions. They are looking at losing their homes, savings, pensions and businesses built over a lifetime. Many have spouses and dependents who rely on them. They are despairing and becoming desperate. They are protesting a government policy that is crushing them. It is an understandable reaction, and it is going to continue to grow.
I am in total meltdown. How Sweden does not trust science? Isn’t Sweden the role model for us idiots to follow (according to our Masters).
Indeed, ILO
Sweden’s death rates are higher then average but appears to have leveled off: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52395866
Their concept was this (from the article): “A core aim was to introduce less stringent social distancing measures that could be maintained over a long period time.”
Basically give people a little freedom so they don’t completely revolt. The US tried this at first but it didn’t work since a few bad apples spoiled it. For example boat ramps here FL where I live: these were originally open but then closed once people started gathering and having parties at sandbars.
By the end of May, I think basically everywhere is going to be under the Swedish concept. Whether Sweden was right or wrong to take this approach from the start probably won’t be known until the end of 2021.
JMII, thank you for that insight. Americans tend to be selfish, entitled douches. Here in So Cal, people flocked to the beaches in Orange County (which weren’t closed) during our recent heat wave.
Well, now the governor has closed all state beaches as a result of 50,000+ idiots that just don’t think rules apply to them.
These will be the same people screaming about the government not doing enough when they are gasping for their last breath.
The only legitimate purpose of social distancing is to slow the spread of the virus so that hospitals can keep up. Otherwise, you get what they had in Europe — patients on the floor in hallways.
Driving around with your windows rolled up poses no risk to anyone. Neither does going outdoors as long as you keep your distance from others. The latter is harder to do in some places (e.g. NYC) than others (e.g. rural Wyoming). Orders simply to stay at home, with no thought for whether they accomplish this goal, do at least as much harm as good. This concept seems to be beyond the mental capacity of some governors.
Long term solutions are limited. On the bright side, there are reports that a drug developed to fight ebola may help with corona. Unfortunately, there are other reports that it doesn’t. A vaccine may not be feasible if the virus mutates into many different strains. (That’s why there is no vaccine for the common cold.) With luck, the new strains may be weaker. In the end, it may come down to survival of the fittest. The sad fact is that many diseases, easily survived by patients otherwise in good health, are fatal for patients in poor health. Here in Arizona, 75% of the deaths are to those over age 65 and 90% to those over 55. (I’m approaching 75 and my wife is almost 73.)
While some people are just tired of sitting at home, the majority who want to resume normal life are desperate for cash. They can’t feed their families and are close to becoming homeless. Landlords and lenders have been forced to offer forbearance but that’s only for a short time and, at the end, the missed payments are due in full which will be impossible for people just coming off months of unemployment. What they need is no limit on their credit cards for food and other essentials and interest capped at zero, or nearly so, until the economy recovers. Ditto for commercial loans. The only way to get through this while preserving a functional economy for after the virus is to take each other’s IOUs and wait patiently for repayment.
Kendahl,
There is no evidence in the US of hospitals being overwhelmed. The only place we got at or near capacity was in NYC for a couple of weeks. In the rest of the country, the main problem is under-utilization. Health care workers are getting laid off. Hospitals are in danger of closing, particularly in rural areas. The rationale for the economic shutdown cannot be sustained in the face of the facts.
The fact that many of the country’s hospitals are not overwhelmed at the moment can be attributed to the efficacy of the social distancing effort. If we chose to do nothing, or very minimal effort, what do you think the outcome would be? Small, rural areas with very modest sized hospitals can be easily overwhelmed. Even large metro area hospitals would become overloaded. Do we need to see more dead in the street Katrina-style? Stay tuned – the order to force people to work in virus-breeeder meat plants will be a great test.
This. Thelaine and his ideological Sancho Panzas love to prattle on about how they were right, to wit: “See, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the hysterics said it would be.”
Of course, it hasn’t been as bad as everyone said it would be because of social distancing, which they also disdain.
This, of course, is like a guy who weighs 320 pounds, smokes, and eats McDonalds every day deciding on a doctor’s advice to lose a hundred pounds and exercise, and saying to himself on his 75th birthday, “see, the doctor was wrong when he said I would die when I was 60.”
Same line of thinking: Reagan critics who said, “see, he was wrong about the Soviets being bent on world domination – they collapsed instead, so we were right all along.” Of course, they collapsed at least in some part due to the policies of the guy they are criticizing. But don’t let that get in the way of a good rant!
Think this is accidental? Nope. If you’re making an intellectually dishonest argument, you hedge your bets. The line of thinking, no doubt, was “hey, when this turns out to be not as awful as everyone thought, I’ll just say ‘see, I was right.\'”
It’s absolutely transparent. If it wasn’t concerning a deadly disease, it’d be funny.
Just like you hear that all the doomsday environmental scenarios that don’t ultimately seem to happen, say like acid rain. Today’s kids don’t hear that phrase because real steps were taken to greatly reduce the problem. Yet the ignorant choose to ignore that “Action” took care of a problem well enough that it isn’t a problem anymore. This is the same thing. Inaction would make Covid-19 far worse than we are seeing now. How such basic reasoning fails to penetrate is beyond me. We have become so polarized that even a medical/economic/social disaster is fodder.
How about the ozone layer depletion? Remember how it fixed itself? Yeah, after governments around the world outlawed chlorofluorocarbons
so many of the world’s problems are caused by stupid people who think they’re the Smartest Mother****ers In The Room.
there’s a reason the study done by Dunning and Kruger gets cited a lot.
If normal means life and the economy as it was in January 2020, the reality is there will NOT be a return to normal in the next year or two, if ever.
The economic consequences will be with us for a long time.
This is a real problem. ANYONE can legitimately criticize the government policies in any country to deal with this.
For example, Trump was panned for banning travel to China. Racist! Probably saved lives.
One could pan the US goverment for not forcing the lockdown earlier–it would probably have saved lives and flattened the curve.
On the other hand, one can pan the state governments for enforcing an overly restrictive lockdown that has (or soon will be evident to those who don’t think so) destroyed the US economy, and consequently the world economy.
This is an unprecedented disaster. They’ve happened in history before, but not to US. Also, in the past, the standard of living was conisiderably lower, people didn’t have as far back to fall.
Because it is an unprecendented disaster, it’s possible that even I may be mistaken. But knowing what I know NOW (which is not much, as other than death stats and general news, I don’t spend much time on this), if I was dictator of the US, in late January, I would have ordered that EVERYONE leaving their home MUST have a mask or face covering, or face a fine. I would have banned all mass get togethers (sports, concerts, conventions, meetings), I would have closed all bars and food service, and I would have required all people at their place of employment to wear a mask.
That would have been pretty draconian, but economically more sustainable.
I’m the first to concede, I could be wrong.
The measures have flattened the curve; they have saved lives, though it is hard to quantify. In MIchigan, the average age of a fatality is 73, the median is 76 (or vice versa). 80% are over 60. Many of them would have died in the near future, as harsh as it is to say so. Michigan has over 3500 dead, third highest in the US. 75% in metro Detroit.
Neighboring Ohio, led by a Republican, acted relatively earlier. The even delayed the primary. Their infection and death stats are about 20-25% of Michigan’s.
Greece, which has been in a DEPRESSION for the past 6 years, enacted draconian measures. Their deaths and death rate is the lowest in the European Union. Pretty impressive for one of the poorest (non-former Soviet bloc) nations in the EU.
Sweden though may have done the best thing in the long run, balancing the needs of the economy against the need to preserve the health care system and save the elderly. However, in a world depression, Sweden still gets sucked in.
Even as I understand our economy has been destroyed by this virus and the policies to contain it, what burns me up is seeing people without masks out and about.
It’s not that the mask protects the wearer (it does to some extent). It is that the mask limits your germs, and thus protects those around you.
Finally, we all recognize that COVID-19 is much more fatal to the elderly, and to those with compromised health for whatever reason.
Well, this is a car site. But cars affect the economy. THe US economy was compromised in many ways going into the crisis by our MASSIVE debt, and the large number of people and money involved in useless activities, mooching off productive people (that’s you rich finance types).
Also, this crisis has shown how impotent we have become, thanks to our elite’s pursuit of “low cost” and “optimal”. The very China were the virus originated, the US depends on for everything from masks to plastic totes to the feed chemicals for generic drugs. That’s right, TTAC readers. By 2003, the last US aspirin plant, last Vitamin C plant, last penicillin plant in the US closed, according to Rosemary Gibson, author of China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China.
We are in a bad place. For most of us (the healthy), it will get worse. Sorry. If you and yours are healthy, be thankful and enjoy this quiet time as best you can.
That’s my TWENTY-two cents.
The key f**kup I pin directly on Trump (aside, of course, from his daily verbal diarrhea, which is about as useful as a guy with cirrhosis doing tequila shots) is the utter and inexplicable failure to get testing kits deployed in numbers.
Imagine how much economic chaos could have been prevented simply by making these universally available.
Otherwise, the actions the administration has taken are largely common sense. Too bad the guy at the top undermines the smart, competent people working for him.
I’m skeptical about improvised masks. I have yet to see a persuasive argument that they do any more good than a screen door on a submarine. To protect others, the filtration system should be N95 and the mask needs to fit tightly so that exhalations can’t bypass the filter. To protect the wearer, the mask must start out sterile for each wearing. Bandanas and tee shirt pieces don’t satisfy these criteria.
Testing is important but you can’t test without supplies for the test kits and they come from China. (Sole sourcing of critical supplies, especially if they are out of your control, are a wider problem than the pandemic.) I think a more valid criticism is insufficient stockpiles of PPE. Note that orders of PPE have been rejected on delivery because they had been ruined by poor storage practices.
Social distancing is important but locking everyone indoors is a pointless overreaction. Outdoors is safe with a few feet separation. Social distancing isn’t even relevant between members of the same household. They aren’t going to wear masks at home and designate a different room for each family member. Even that wouldn’t help unless they turned off the forced air heating and air conditioning system.
“there’s somehow this narrative that those of us in support of shelter-in-place love being at home all the time” Well, guess what we are irritated there’s somehow this narrative that those of us who do NOT support of shelter-in-place are ignorant, uncooperative rubes who don’t care about others. The truth is we see the dangers giving the government this much power, we see what was the best economy this country may have ever experienced, having grown in three years, destroyed in one month, and we see would basic Constitutional freedoms being torn up and far left radical socialist ideas taking root. THAT my friend is why we protest. Get it?
Yeah, I get it, being a Libertarian is great if it only involves you and your family under one roof, but in a society where ideally the common good and the well being of all it’s citizens is the basis of it’s laws and constitution it doesn’t work so well
…The truth is we see the dangers giving the government this much power, we see what was the best economy this country may have ever experienced, having grown in three years, destroyed in one month, and we see would basic Constitutional freedoms being torn up and far left radical socialist ideas taking root. THAT my friend is why we protest. Get it?…
One, the growth period is essentially a straight line since the 2008 recession, so stop giving credit for everything to your fearless leader. Google “stock market performance by president”…its all there and its raw unbiased data.
Two, basic Constitutional freedoms being torn up – I guess you have not been paying attention to what COVID-45 has been doing for the last three years. As the saying goes, if you’re not angry you are not paying attention.
Three, young people under the age of 40 have an overwhelmingly unflattering view of our current capitalistic society and are looking elsewhere. The fact that capitalism is failing younger people is the very reason why progressives are growing in such rapid numbers. Want to protect capitalism? Stop operating it in such a manner that only a few benefit from it.
The “growth” was superficial.
Wall St got bailed out. Eventually some of it flowed to Main Street.
The debt doubled under Obama. It will double under Trump.
Big finance has ruined the USA. It’s hollowed out our country. Elsewhere here some one criticizes Trump for not making available testing kits.
Is the lack of kits due to Trump/Federal government’s incompetence? Or is it that they are simply not available? If not available, why? Is it because US cannot make them?
Is it that perhaps they are made in other countries, other countries can’t make more, and won’t sell to the US?
The Dow 29,000 plus was great–if you SOLD the DOW in January. It was an illusion. Now with Corona, the tide is going out—and you can see all the boulders and crap that were on that nice looking sandy beach.
But, I’m all for joyriding in old cars to get out! I will be when the sun is out :)
Well, one thing I think everybody can agree on is this: We must diversify our supply chain – we are overdependent on China and others for essential materials. Covid-19 made that pretty clear…
Since the lockdown, in Metro Detroit, on nicer days, I have seen a lot of nice older cars that normally don’t come out until May/June.
Traffic is down, but joyrides/cruising are up! Two weeks ago, I thought perhaps I was in jr high in the late 70s, as I saw a small bumper C3 Corvette go down my residential street. Common enough back in the day on Long Island.
Fairly interesting–but right behind it was his pal in a great looking 72 Trans Am!
The preeminent performance icons of the late 1970s….
Joyrider is becoming the one safe social gathering that’s still fun to do :)
Yes, joyriding is! That will be something to look forward to as the weather improves.
The one hair salon owner I know (works in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) is having a very rough time during this. She either needs someone to regularly cut checks to her (without a ton of application red tape) or a way to reasonably reopen.
IMO, the government response to this *at all levels* has been terrible. Very few are getting the support they need. One side’s attitude is “go back to work and hope for the best” and the other side is “well, that’s too bad but we don’t know what else to do”.
The best analogy I can come up with for this is a natural disaster, the difference being that this particular disaster affects the entire country at the same time.
Given how badly the government bungled other natural disasters, it’s not surprising that no one’s happy with how they’re handling this one.
If you live in a place where people in suits take public transportation; COVID-19 is serious concern. Public transportation has single points of entry that everyone has to go through, the infected and the non-infected. Expect stay home orders, masks, and social distancing to stay around in such places, most major metropolitan cities. If you live someplace that has two stoplights for traffic control, two grocery stores, and half the county employees are related to each other; COVID-19 is much less a concern to you. Lifting orders in more rural areas make more sense. For me to take the subway to my corporate headquarters costs $8-10 round trip. Driving is $20-30 in tolls round trip and 30$ for parking. I’ve done that once since the lock-down started. Welcome to the city. (VA 67 to I-66 to Wilson BLVD for our DC readers.) Next time,my boss gets an email or face time meeting. This is easily a red state/blue state debate. Hint: the blue states have public transportation systems that work; trains, buses, and subways.
Fully expecting poo flinging in 3,2,1…
Denmark announced widespread closures on March 11 and was among the first in Europe to close borders, shops, schools and restaurants, and to ban large gatherings. Norway began introducing travel restrictions in mid-March and has since closed schools and daycare centers, banned the use of vacation properties, canceled events and closed businesses such as hair and beauty salons.
The death rate in Sweden has now risen significantly higher than many other countries in Europe, reaching more than 22 per 100,000 people, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, controlled for population.
By contrast, Denmark has recorded just over seven deaths per 100,000 people, and both Norway and Finland less than four.
Source: CNN Denmark has recorded just over seven deaths per 100,000 people, and both Norway and Finland less than four. Perhaps not a good idea after all.
Exactly. What the Freedom ‘N Whiskey crowd doesn’t get is that social distancing isn’t about preventing people from dying per se – that’s the ultimate goal, but you get there primarily by making sure that the people who get this rotten thing can get proper care. With that care, they stand a good chance at surviving; without it, the chances get a LOT slimmer. And the only way to make sure that care can be provided is to keep as many people out of hospitals as you can. That’s where social distancing comes in.
People are going to catch the virus with or without social distancing – that’s biology; the only question is how many of them show up to hospitals at any given point. Social distancing just makes the hospitals’ load more manageable.
I wonder how much Freedom ‘N Whiskey they’d be toasting to if they came down with this virus and showed up to a hospital, only to be told there was no way of treating them there. They’d probably blame liberals.
Hey, trash the protestors all you want, but leave whiskey out of this!
Some of us are thoroughly enjoying our social distancing with a glass of bourbon on our porches….
Ditto, I’ve just about run through my decanter of Jim Beam myself. Time for a refill!
I was going to comment on the Illinois car parade but somehow this isn’t the thread to do so.
So I’ll comment that two weeks ago a beloved member of our church turned 78 and we held a car parade to wish him well.
That sounds like a nice celebration :)