"You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine."
-
@Jolly said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
If Pelosi believes the president should have done something at the beginning, when exactly does she think was the ‘beginning’?
Well, it certainly wasn't on Feb 24th, when she advised people to visit Chinatown, as it was perfectly safe.
I wonder how many lives were lost and how many more cases were positive as a result of this advice????
Link to videoIt also seems to me that around that timeframe, New York mayor, Big Bird was telling people to go out and eat and enjoy themselves.
But nobody listens to them, right? Cause they're not the President.
-
@89th said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
And this shows the root of the problem. He would say one thing, then say the opposite later. Over and over. From "This will never be a pandemic" to "I always knew this would be a pandemic". From "people should stay home" to "fight stay at home orders". From "this will be over soon" to "this could last years". Having a coherent message erring on the side of caution, instead of contradictory one, would've helped lower the death count.
You keep repeating the same thing over. Repeating it doesn't make it relevant.
As the old saw goes, "Never pay attention to what a politician says; pay attention to what he does."
Or, in this case, what you claim he didn't do.
What specific action should Trump have taken?
-
I'll chime in here with the preface that my key criticism of Trump is that he's just not intellectually up to the job of governing. I also often argue that the role of the President in governing the U.S. is much more limited than people act like it is.
It's interesting that the argument now is - "well, the President actually can't do much here." Convenient - but I don't disagree that much. Powers to carry out specific actions are limited, but there is massive opportunity and responsibility to rally the country.
Now, on what he could do. It's a litany of tactical things that point to the fact that the white house didn't take this serious enough until pretty late. Example - PPE:
https://apnews.com/090600c299a8cf07f5b44d92534856bcAfter the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment.
A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies largely waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers.
You can argue whose fault it was that the stockpile was low (a good case to be made for Trump, a reasonable one for Obama). But why wait until, I think it was March-21 to place orders for N-95 masks?
-
@George-K said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
And how did that demand for ventilators work out? Was there a shortage?
George - is your implicit argument here that we didn't need as many ventilators as we thought - so what a waste of time and effort? Similarly PPE isn't that important, it was/is going to be a waste of time anyways?
I don't want to put words in your mouth, so help me unpack that.
-
@George-K
Many times what the President says will have a greater impact than what he does. Words are actions, in that sense.Like it or not, he sets the tone for how many citizens will treat the seriousness of a potential pandemic threat as well as for how many state and local officials might respond with local orders.
So whether it be through a signed action (e.g., executive order) or through a coherent message of caution and communication of the short term pain but long term benefits of shutting things down sooner rather than later, there are many things Trump could've done (and said) that would've enabled citizens and local governments to take action sooner than they did...which would've helped prevent some of the deaths we have now seen.
-
@xenon said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
I'll chime in here with the preface that my key criticism of Trump is that he's just not intellectually up to the job of governing.
Well... up to the point where China and WHO fucked us in the ass, he was doing a pretty damn good job in my book.
-
@Improviso said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
@xenon said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
I'll chime in here with the preface that my key criticism of Trump is that he's just not intellectually up to the job of governing.
Well... up to the point where China and WHO fucked us in the ass, he was doing a pretty damn good job in my book.
It's curious - he was praising Xi pretty hard until the end of Feb. On transparency - lol. Raise your hands if you believed China was being transparent at any point.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/trump-china-coronavirus-188736
-
George - your premise that the things he says don’t have real world effects and can therefore be swept aside seems pretty obviously wrong.
As for actions, the administration fucked up testing, was late in treating equipment procurement as the emergency it was (and is) and remains insufficiently prepared for reopening. He lives too much by the news cycle to ever get ahead of this.
Let me turn the question around - what part of our covid response did we really get right?
-
My main problem isn't with what Trump's administration has done, it's been his appalling communication.
He's contradicted himself, Tweeted really stupid things that undermine his own government's policies, and during some of the briefings has gone on truly bizarre flights of fantasy. This stuff has encouraged people who think this is all some deep-state conspiracy to do Christ-alone-knows-what. The single most important job you have in a briefing is to be clear. This isn't an election rally, he's supposed to be addressing a national crisis.
And no, I don't think he's done a fantastic job with his actions either, but to be fair to him, most countries have fucked this up.
Yes, I think Biden's shit as well, so don't bother.
-
George - is your implicit argument here that we didn't need as many ventilators as we thought - so what a waste of time and effort? Similarly PPE isn't that important, it was/is going to be a waste of time anyways?
I don't want to put words in your mouth, so help me unpack that.
I didn't say anything about PPE, to be sure. Perhaps someone who has a better understanding of how these contracts work can tell me if this was truly negligence on the part of the Obama/Trump administrations in not securing them vs them not being available (see Improv's comments above).
As to ventilators, Cuomo claimed that NY would need, iirc, 40,000 ventilators (the number might be wrong, but it's the correct order of magnitude). And yet, lo and behold, at the beginning of May, New York was shipping them elsewhere. They came nowhere close to needing 40K. The peak need in early April was ... 5,000.
As to projecting other needs, how did that need for 140K ICU beds work out? New York needed 23,000.
[snark] Of course, those needs were mitigated by having about 5,000 die in nursing homes by being exposed. [/snark]
The future's hard to predict, isn't it?
-
@xenon said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
I'll chime in here with the preface that my key criticism of Trump is that he's just not intellectually up to the job of governing.
Theres two reasons for that... the first reason is because you formed your opinion of him from what the media tells you to think, and the second reason is because you don't know how to tell who is and who is not "intellectually up to the job".
That's laughable, anyway. That is the argument used by elitist snobs.
-
Is that what was meant by this being a family forum - we post pictures of our mentally disadvantaged relatives?
-
@89th said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
@Jolly while that timeline has bias smeared all over it, it does include a number of actions Trump took that were good. I've never argued against that. Which leads me to...
@Larry Incorrect, indeed that is exactly what I've been saying all along. It just triggered your TDS, but my message has been the same. You can view the start of this in Post 63 of the US has Shitloads thread and follow my comments there as well as in this thread. It's been the same message all along. Don't let your TDS blind you. I've been apolitical the entire time.
The bottom line also remains the same. We now have over 90,000 american deaths, and my position is this number would be smaller had the president not taken a "not as bad as the flu" position in early/mid March and had he advocated for stricter social distancing earlier, it would've helped lower the exponential growth we have seen since. None of this is even debatable, really. But go ahead...let the TDS "most competent president of our lifetime" kick in.
I admitted bias and asked for refutation. Is the timeline factually correct?
-
@xenon said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
@Improviso said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
@xenon said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
I'll chime in here with the preface that my key criticism of Trump is that he's just not intellectually up to the job of governing.
Well... up to the point where China and WHO fucked us in the ass, he was doing a pretty damn good job in my book.
It's curious - he was praising Xi pretty hard until the end of Feb. On transparency - lol. Raise your hands if you believed China was being transparent at any point.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/trump-china-coronavirus-188736
Skippy,
At that point, we're still wondering whether we were being lied to, or not.
Secondly, do you really want to piss on the guy who can put a stop on the PPE pipeline?
-
@George-K said in "You're damn right I'm taking hydroxychloroquine.":
George - is your implicit argument here that we didn't need as many ventilators as we thought - so what a waste of time and effort? Similarly PPE isn't that important, it was/is going to be a waste of time anyways?
I don't want to put words in your mouth, so help me unpack that.
I didn't say anything about PPE, to be sure. Perhaps someone who has a better understanding of how these contracts work can tell me if this was truly negligence on the part of the Obama/Trump administrations in not securing them vs them not being available (see Improv's comments above).
As to ventilators, Cuomo claimed that NY would need, iirc, 40,000 ventilators (the number might be wrong, but it's the correct order of magnitude). And yet, lo and behold, at the beginning of May, New York was shipping them elsewhere. They came nowhere close to needing 40K. The peak need in early April was ... 5,000.
As to projecting other needs, how did that need for 140K ICU beds work out? New York needed 23,000.
[snark] Of course, those needs were mitigated by having about 5,000 die in nursing homes by being exposed. [/snark]
The future's hard to predict, isn't it?
Get Your Business Ready for Federal Contracting
Each year, the government awards hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contracts to businesses to meet the needs of federal agencies and the military. The government’s goal is to award at least 23 percent of those contracts to small businesses.To sell your products or services to the federal government, your business must meet specific requirements. Although the contracting process can seem complicated and overwhelming at first, the government provides lots of information and tips to help you learn to compete as a federal contractor.
Find Sources of Federal Contracts
There are several different ways you can find opportunities to do business with federal agencies and the military. You can use these resources to get a sense of the federal marketplace for the products or services your business offers.Sign up for notifications from and search the Contract Opportunities Search Tool on beta.SAM.gov, which is now the official database of federal contracting opportunities.
Become part of the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedules Program.
Find contracts through individual agencies’ Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
Become a subcontractor by working for another company that already has a contract with the federal government. This is a good way to introduce your company to contracting with the government and to build a track record of success.
Prepare Your Business for Federal Contracting in 8 Steps
Make sure you read through all of the steps in the list before getting to work. This will help you understand your timeline and what to expect from the process. You may also choose to reorder these steps to fit the specific needs and timing of your work.Decide if federal contracting is a good idea for your business. Consider factors including whether your company has enough time and resources to invest in the process. GSA’s Vendor Toolbox can help you make the decision.
Research the demand and pricing for your product or service within the government. Determine demand for your products or service with the Contract Opportunities Search Tool on beta.SAM.gov or the GSA Forecast of Contracting Opportunities Tool. And use the Contract-Awarded Labor Category (CALC) site to get an idea of hourly labor rates in federal contracts.
Avoid costly errors and potential legal problems by researching the regulations and laws for federal contractors. The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers resources that can help you learn about the responsibilities of federal contractors. You can also contact a Procurement Center Representative (PCR) for assistance and counseling.
Create a business plan. It should include a marketing plan, staffing details, and a calculation of how much money you expect your business to gain from the contract.
Look up the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for your industry. You must know your six-digit NAICS code to compete for federal contracts.
Determine whether your business is eligible for any special labels (set-aside types) or programs. If so, you can compete for additional contracts that are “set aside” by the government for small and/or disadvantaged businesses. You may also receive preferential treatment when competing for contracts, depending on the specific set-aside type(s) you qualify for.
Register for a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) code. You must have a nine-digit DUNS code to compete for federal contracts. The government uses this code to track your company’s credit record. This system is managed by Dun & Bradstreet, which is a private company. Registration is free for federal contractors.
Register in the System for Award Management (SAM). You must have a SAM account to compete for federal contracts. The government uses this system to store information about your business, including certifications, so it’s important to keep your SAM profile updated. Registration is free.
Note: While learning about contracting, you may see information online about the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), however, this system was replaced by SAM. Currently, contractors only need to register in SAM.