News and politics and the virus

[Deleted]

Remember when there were news reports from all over the world about what was happening? Now what we get is either politics or virus. Has the world stopped?

Another thing. For the first time in 60 years, I haven't watched the dem convention and won't watch the repub convention, either. Even if they were "real" conventions, I doubt that I'd be inclined to watch, mainly because there's nothing new happening at them.

The dems have 17 "keynote" speakers? How's that possible? Keynote is keynote. There's one. And does anybody remember when the candidates were actually nominated during the conventions, then ballots were cast for the nominees, then the candidate named his choice for veep?

It was rare that there was more than one ballot to choose a nominee, but at least getting there was interesting. Now it's preordained according to state primaries and caucuses and like watching a game show or a sitcom with canned responses/laughter.

Guess I'm just getting so old that I'm too cynical and jaded to believe much of anything anymore...not even the "half of what you read" and "none of what you hear."

The virus isn't a health problem anymore; it's a political problem. What?

Rant over.

[Ryan]

Honestly I'm just so sick of all this stuff.  I am sick of the GOP with their anti-mask policy and their dismissing of the virus.  I'm sick of the dems and their constant whining about everything.  I'm sick of both parties for basically just taking the opposite stance on wherever the other party does.  I'm sick of the US people for being so stupid to align themselves with all these moron politicians that do not care about them....to the point where they have probably lost friends/family because of some stupid view they have on politics.

I'm pretty firmly in the middle, but don't think DT has done a good job.  I also don't think Hillary would've done that much better of a job because you can't control all these people.  

What I think will be interesting is how the tone will change assuming Biden wins.  You know it and I know it, the numbers could be the same and all the sudden the outlook on the virus will be much better after the election.  

[happyhoix]

Aug 19, 2020 13:08:38 GMT -5 Ryan said:

Honestly I'm just so sick of all this stuff.  I am sick of the GOP with their anti-mask policy and their dismissing of the virus.  I'm sick of the dems and their constant whining about everything.  I'm sick of both parties for basically just taking the opposite stance on wherever the other party does.  I'm sick of the US people for being so stupid to align themselves with all these moron politicians that do not care about them....to the point where they have probably lost friends/family because of some stupid view they have on politics.

I'm pretty firmly in the middle, but don't think DT has done a good job.  I also don't think Hillary would've done that much better of a job because you can't control all these people.  

What I think will be interesting is how the tone will change assuming Biden wins.  You know it and I know it, the numbers could be the same and all the sudden the outlook on the virus will be much better after the election.  

Yeah, exactly like how the Economy was in the shitter up until Trump took office, and overnight it became red hot, the best the country has ever seen. In fact, it wasn’t much different than the last six months of Obama’s, up until it ran right off the cliff due to COVID.

If Biden does win my hope is that he appoints a bunch of dems and a bunch of republicans and really hammers on working in a bipartisan way on a slew of important issues. I hope all the politicians start actually working and we don’t hear a peep out of them until 2022. And I hope every celebrity who thinks their opinion matters will shut up too.

[Lizard Queen]

I am in the middle, but the way the Republicans have acted in the last decade (*cough--McConnell), they'll be lucky if they ever get another vote from me again.
And Hilary would've done much, much better.

[Deleted]

Y'all are missing something. trump has his followers for sure and most of America, too, thinking that the economy and the stock market are the same thing. If the market it going great guns, then the economy is going great guns. Doesn't work that way.

And don't forget that during his campaign he commented that nobody cares about the deficit because if it gets too high, what the heck, we can just declare bankruptcy. Wish I could remember when and where he said it, but I can't. I do remember it, remember seeing him on the news when he said it.

He needs to write a sequel to The Art of the Deal and call it The Art of the Con--Filing Bankruptcy to Save Your Financial Azz!

[Deleted]

As to the original question, I occasionally watch BBC or Al Jezera to find out what else is going on in the world. Sometimes they also have interesting opinions about US problems.

Trump is whining they are having the USPS hearings during his convention. I think that's a brilliant idea. 

He's also told people not to buy Goodyear tires today. Um, didn't he have voters in Ohio? Oops... 

[bobosensei]

I have been watching the DNC, but I'm not sure it is making me feel any better.  They did show last night, nominations for both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden and then each state provided their vote.  I didn't see what the totals ended up, but there were definitely votes for Bernie.  But it sort of felt staged because everything has already been lined up with people that were backing Biden to speak.

I want to know where the discussion of the stimulus, enhanced unemployment, and eviction protection went?  All I hear now is about the post office.  

[bobosensei]

Aug 19, 2020 14:08:05 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

He's also told people not to buy Goodyear tires today. Um, didn't he have voters in Ohio? Oops... 

It is so gross how he tries to use his position to influence purchasing.  And you are right, I hope he pissed off everyone that works with and for Goodyear tires.

And from what I heard he didn't even have a valid complaint against them anyway.

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2020 14:08:05 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

As to the original question, I occasionally watch BBC or Al Jezera to find out what else is going on in the world. Sometimes they also have interesting opinions about US problems.

Trump is whining they are having the USPS hearings during his convention. I think that's a brilliant idea. 

He's also told people not to buy Goodyear tires today. Um, didn't he have voters in Ohio? Oops... 

I often watch BBC, but shhhhh! don't tell anybody that I watch Al Jazeera. I won't tell on you, either. Lordy! We'd get strung up, drawn and quartered!

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2020 14:15:45 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:08:05 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

He's also told people not to buy Goodyear tires today. Um, didn't he have voters in Ohio? Oops... 

It is so gross how he tries to use his position to influence purchasing.  And you are right, I hope he pissed off everyone that works with and for Goodyear tires.

And from what I heard he didn't even have a valid complaint against them anyway.

Since when does he have to have a valid complaint?

[billisonboard]

At political or industrial conventions and expositions and at academic conferences, the keynote address or keynote speech is delivered to set the underlying tone and summarize the core message or most important revelation of the event. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynote

The Republican Party is in lockstep with one leader who is amassing power unto himself. The Democratic Party is sending a message they are the alternative.

[Gardening Grandma]

Aug 19, 2020 13:58:37 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I am in the middle, but the way the Republicans have acted in the last decade (*cough--McConnell), they'll be lucky if they ever get another vote from me again.
And Hilary would've done much, much better.

 If Hillary were president, the Republicans would be holding their 11th investigation into why 300 Americans had died from Covid.   The pandemic team would have been in place and their recommendations followed.  Dr Faucci would. be a rock star (he is anyway).  And, yes, we would not be the laughingstock of the world due to our piss poor response to the virus.

[TheOtherMe]

The votes case for Sanders were because that is what the delegates had pledged to do.  Sanders won the caucus here in Iowa.  The vote last was 35 for Sanders and 34 for Biden.  

My understanding is that if the first vote does not determine the candidate, the negotiations begin and delegates are no longer bound by caucuses/primaries.

I liked watch the roll call of votes.  It went much faster than at an in person convention.  I liked seeing the various backgrounds from each state.  I did not miss all the crazy outfits and time consuming speeches from each state when casting votes.

The national anthem on Monday was beautiful.

The virtual convention has given time limits to speakers and the speakers are sticking to them.  This way the sessions are not running in to the middle of the night.

I will not watch the GOP convention as I turn the channel when djt is on.

Hillary Clinton would have been much better than djt.  She has empathy for other humans.  He has none.  He thinks about no one except himself.

[billisonboard]

Aug 19, 2020 12:44:37 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

...
It was rare that there was more than one ballot to choose a nominee, but at least getting there was interesting. Now it's preordained according to state primaries and caucuses and like watching a game show or a sitcom with canned responses/laughter.

...

Yes, it used to be the political elite would decide who the nominee would be and conventions were the reveal party to let the country know who they had selected. Want to go back to that?

[TheOtherMe]

Not me.

I don't like the caucus system which is what is used here.  Anyone can theoretically participate but people who work evenings, people who don't drive after dark, etc. do not attend.

I prefer the primary system where each vote counts the same.

Iowa loves it's first in the nation caucus and is going to fight to keep it because of all the money it brings to the state.

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2020 14:15:45 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:08:05 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

He's also told people not to buy Goodyear tires today. Um, didn't he have voters in Ohio? Oops... 

It is so gross how he tries to use his position to influence purchasing.  And you are right, I hope he pissed off everyone that works with and for Goodyear tires.

And from what I heard he didn't even have a valid complaint against them anyway.

Someone posted on Twitter that the limos the president drives around in have some sort of special Goodyear tires and asked if they would be removing them.  lol 

[Deleted]

I like to get the news from sources outside the US. Some of it makes my eyes glaze over such as the contested election in Belarus and some of it is still Trump and COVID-19 but it's a different point of view. The BBC is good if you want it in English. Tagesschau from Erste Deutsche Fernsehen is good in German- it's video, too, so those of us who aren't that fluent can figure it out for the pictures!

[haapai]

Aug 19, 2020 14:26:41 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

Aug 19, 2020 13:58:37 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

I am in the middle, but the way the Republicans have acted in the last decade (*cough--McConnell), they'll be lucky if they ever get another vote from me again.
And Hilary would've done much, much better.

 If Hillary were president, the Republicans would be holding their 11th investigation into why 300 Americans had died from Covid.   The pandemic team would have been in place and their recommendations followed.  Dr Faucci would. be a rock star (he is anyway).  And, yes, we would not be the laughingstock of the world due to our piss poor response to the virus.

I want to believe this but can't convince myself that the multiple ways that the CDC screwed up their initial response to the pandemic were all the result of political pressure.  With a halfway competent POTUS instead of a POS, we'd be asking why sentinel testing failed so badly, why we didn't use the WHO test, and how in the hell we could have manufactured and distributed a contaminated test. 

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Aug 19, 2020 15:51:26 GMT -5 haapai said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:26:41 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

 If Hillary were president, the Republicans would be holding their 11th investigation into why 300 Americans had died from Covid.   The pandemic team would have been in place and their recommendations followed.  Dr Faucci would. be a rock star (he is anyway).  And, yes, we would not be the laughingstock of the world due to our piss poor response to the virus.

I want to believe this but can't convince myself that the multiple ways that the CDC screwed up their initial response to the pandemic were all the result of political pressure.  With a halfway competent POTUS instead of a POS, we'd be asking why sentinel testing failed so badly, why we didn't use the WHO test, and how in the hell we could have manufactured and distributed a contaminated test.  

I could be wrong but I seem to recall that "we" didn't want to use anything WHO was producing. I say "we" but I really mean DT. I think he was hell bent against it?

[Lizard Queen]

Aug 19, 2020 15:51:26 GMT -5 haapai said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:26:41 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

 If Hillary were president, the Republicans would be holding their 11th investigation into why 300 Americans had died from Covid.   The pandemic team would have been in place and their recommendations followed.  Dr Faucci would. be a rock star (he is anyway).  And, yes, we would not be the laughingstock of the world due to our piss poor response to the virus.

I want to believe this but can't convince myself that the multiple ways that the CDC screwed up their initial response to the pandemic were all the result of political pressure.  With a halfway competent POTUS instead of a POS, we'd be asking why sentinel testing failed so badly, why we didn't use the WHO test, and how in the hell we could have manufactured and distributed a contaminated test. 

I think that, with a pandemic response team at the helm, things would have gone much, much better. Perhaps even better worldwide, you know, since the US used to be world leaders instead of shirking any and all responsibility. I know it wasn't the fault of the US, but we could I done much, much more to help prevent this from getting so wide-spread.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 19, 2020 15:51:26 GMT -5 haapai said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:26:41 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

 If Hillary were president, the Republicans would be holding their 11th investigation into why 300 Americans had died from Covid.   The pandemic team would have been in place and their recommendations followed.  Dr Faucci would. be a rock star (he is anyway).  And, yes, we would not be the laughingstock of the world due to our piss poor response to the virus.

I want to believe this but can't convince myself that the multiple ways that the CDC screwed up their initial response to the pandemic were all the result of political pressure.  With a halfway competent POTUS instead of a POS, we'd be asking why sentinel testing failed so badly, why we didn't use the WHO test, and how in the hell we could have manufactured and distributed a contaminated test. 

Last fall, when things were heating up in China, Trump pulled the epidemiological envoy we had there to keep an eye on things in China.  MERE MONTHS before the pandemic hit.  

I am not convinced they might have kicked Trump’s butt into gear any faster though....but there might have been more preparation done on the state front.  

[Tennesseer]

Aug 19, 2020 14:00:26 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

Y'all are missing something. trump has his followers for sure and most of America, too, thinking that the economy and the stock market are the same thing. If the market it going great guns, then the economy is going great guns. Doesn't work that way.

And don't forget that during his campaign he commented that nobody cares about the deficit because if it gets too high, what the heck, we can just declare bankruptcy. Wish I could remember when and where he said it, but I can't. I do remember it, remember seeing him on the news when he said it.

He needs to write a sequel to The Art of the Deal and call it The Art of the Con--Filing Bankruptcy to Save Your Financial Azz!

trump also claimed when the stock market goes up it, in a way, erases the national debt. 

 

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2020 17:02:59 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:00:26 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

Y'all are missing something. trump has his followers for sure and most of America, too, thinking that the economy and the stock market are the same thing. If the market it going great guns, then the economy is going great guns. Doesn't work that way.

And don't forget that during his campaign he commented that nobody cares about the deficit because if it gets too high, what the heck, we can just declare bankruptcy. Wish I could remember when and where he said it, but I can't. I do remember it, remember seeing him on the news when he said it.

He needs to write a sequel to The Art of the Deal and call it The Art of the Con--Filing Bankruptcy to Save Your Financial Azz!

trump also claimed when the stock market goes up it, in a way, erases the national debt. 

 

Say whaaaaat?

[Deleted]

When we lived in the UP, some Canadian channels were included with our cable, and we watched The National on Canadian TV every night at 9. It was a real eye-opener to hear and see the Canadian take on US news.

[happyhoix]

Aug 19, 2020 14:15:45 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:08:05 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

He's also told people not to buy Goodyear tires today. Um, didn't he have voters in Ohio? Oops... 

It is so gross how he tries to use his position to influence purchasing.  And you are right, I hope he pissed off everyone that works with and for Goodyear tires.

And from what I heard he didn't even have a valid complaint against them anyway.

Trumps complaint is that Goodyear held some kind of training class where they reviewed proper workplace behavior. As an example of what you can’t wear, they said MAGA hats.

Trump was pissed. What he doesn’t get is that pretty much every company won’t let their employees wear political, religous or offensive clothing.

[thyme4change]

World news

Belarus is a mess because Lukashenko is being a corrupt a-hole.

UK and Europe still don't have a trade agreement, because the British are being a-holes.

19 countries are seeing their Covid rates rising. Covid is an a-hole.

China is flooding, but they are still lying about their Covid numbers, because dictators are a-holes.

The Amazon is on fire (so is CA and NV). Because 2020 is an a-hole.

Africa is being itself, overthrowing leaders and protesting and whatever. But we never notice, because we are all a-holes.

[Deleted]

Thank you, thyme4change. That covers just about everything I wanted to know about the world today. Very enlightening

[Tennesseer]

Aug 19, 2020 17:30:16 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Aug 19, 2020 14:15:45 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

It is so gross how he tries to use his position to influence purchasing.  And you are right, I hope he pissed off everyone that works with and for Goodyear tires.

And from what I heard he didn't even have a valid complaint against them anyway.

Trumps complaint is that Goodyear held some kind of training class where they reviewed proper workplace behavior. As an example of what you can’t wear, they said MAGA hats.

Trump was pissed. What he doesn’t get is that pretty much every company won’t let their employees wear political, religous or offensive clothing.

trump tweeted to boycott Goodyear products. All of the presidential vehicles along with secret service vehicles have Goodyear tires. Expect to see all those vehicles jacked up to remove the Goodyear tires.

Not!

[thyme4change]

Aug 19, 2020 17:56:30 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

Thank you, thyme4change. That covers just about everything I wanted to know about the world today. Very enlightening

I should start a news site.

"Asshole news in 3 minutes or less"

I'm sick of all this feel good bullshit.

[thyme4change]

Aug 19, 2020 17:58:59 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Aug 19, 2020 17:30:16 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Trumps complaint is that Goodyear held some kind of training class where they reviewed proper workplace behavior. As an example of what you can’t wear, they said MAGA hats.

Trump was pissed. What he doesn’t get is that pretty much every company won’t let their employees wear political, religous or offensive clothing.

trump tweeted to boycott Goodyear products. All of the presidential vehicles along with secret service vehicles have Goodyear tires. Expect to see all those vehicles jacked up to remove the Goodyear tires.

Not!

Goodyear tweeted that the thing going around wasn't theirs.

Although, their statement didn't directly contradict what the image said. So...