Another imagined scenario I was thinking about today:
The Occupy movement decides T needs reminding of certain basic things. So they gather and mobilize in DC, in front of the White House. (Not sure how the blocks around it are laid out, but I'd love to have them all the way around)
They take turns reading aloud the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and any other pertinent documents. They use their wonderful human loudspeaker system to pass the word along. Witnessing and further spreading words and pics are professional journalists, professional photographers, social media folks, and possibly some international observers.
Occupy is completely civil, and the self-proclaimed anarchists, white supremacists, and alt-righters are nowhere to be seen.. No one has any weapons. There might be some aikido practitioners, mimes, and those huge protest puppets to quietly and humorously deter any troublemakers.
T can't stand it, and does at least one of the following:
--in a fit of pique, he does a Rumplestiltkin, and stomps 'round in circles until he's created an opening, into which he falls, never to be seen again;
--he hides out in Dick Cheney's old "undisclosed location" in the WH, begging someone to call in a big, bestliest helicopter so he can quit and head to Mar-a-lago;
--he writes "I QUIT" and his signature all over the walls of the Oval Office, runs off to the local McDonalds, and sends out a tweet storm about how badly the world has treated him, while he eats many comfort Big Macs;
Who is Hope Hicks in this guy's life? She has the virus, is sick and is reported to have flown around to the debate/argument thing with him and various family members of his. There's also discussion of betting on the course of illness should he get sick. Which would be uncharitable except for schadenfreude* and hope.
*schadenfreude: malicious enjoyment of the suffering of others.
Longtime employee in the Trump Organization, including a stint as Donald Trump's personal assistant. She was the press secretary for his campaign and part of the Trump administration*'s communication office. She left in 2017 and returned in 2020.
Yeah, that just flashed on TV. I hope Barron's ok, and has someone kind and sensible to be with him. I know he's not a little kid, anymore, but he's in a bad situation to begin with.
I know I should want a speedy recovery for anyone affected but I worry that unless Trump is seriously ill it will only add to the problem of people not taking the virus seriously. On the other hand if he dies or is permanently incapacitated then who knows what the redcaps will do. The conspiracy theories will be worse than anything seen so far.
Possibly, it might get some people thinking "wow, if even the president can get it...where do I get a mask?"
But yeah, some people will think "OMG, he's fallen prey to the hoax", or "they've purposely infected with something via a vaccine", or "have they threatened his family?", etc.
The tweet he sent as an announcement sounds (on the surface, anyway) like he's acknowledging he and M actually have it, and he's taking it seriously. What he *really* thinks...
*Maybe* there's a nano-fraction of a chance that he and/or the people around him will take Covid more seriously, and encourage others to do so.
Well, some of them should self-isolate, just on general principles.
But I was mostly thinking of anyone who might be able to, say, ease White House pressure on the CDC and be much more supportive on them. Or anyone, of any rank, who might be able to nudge someone else to do that.
I wonder if he really has got it. It might turn out to be another sneaky political move. If he bounces out in two weeks' time saying: "See, I told ya it was nothing!" it might give him a boost.
I wonder if he really has got it. It might turn out to be another sneaky political move. If he bounces out in two weeks' time saying: "See, I told ya it was nothing!" it might give him a boost.
That sounds too complicated for Trump. He doesn't do smart.
I know I should want a speedy recovery for anyone affected but I worry that unless Trump is seriously ill it will only add to the problem of people not taking the virus seriously. On the other hand if he dies or is permanently incapacitated then who knows what the redcaps will do. The conspiracy theories will be worse than anything seen so far.
I don't believe in wishing people a speedy recovery unless I mean it. The cold political calculation is that it would be better for him to die of this illness. Everything can be turned into a conspiracy, of course, but this is much better than him being shot. Also, if he's still around post-defeat and dragged out Court battles, he will remain a malign influence on the GOP and the loopy right and delay the development of a relatively sane conservative political force in America.
After White House officials learned of Hicks’s symptoms, Trump and his entourage flew Thursday to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminster and delivered a speech. Trump was in close contact with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters, at a roundtable event.
The president did not wear a mask Thursday, including at the events at his golf course and on the plane, officials said. He was tested after he returned to the White House, but he also appeared on Sean Hannity’s TV show from the residence by telephone.
It might be a separate thread re disingenuous prayers and well wishes for the recovery of someone whose demise might be best for all. Did people pray for Saddam Hussein, Gadaffi, Pol Pot, Mao? Or do we pray for the recovery of specific people whom we have something in common with?
And now RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel has tested positive for COVID-19.
Let's also remember that new Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was with Donald Trump last Saturday and then met with Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans on Monday.
Doing the contact tracing on President* Super-Spreader is going to be tough.
I behold Caligula. He believes himself a god. He lusts after his daughter. He exceeds Caligula: his Senate has more than one horse's ass. Though Melania reminds me of Agrippina.
I wonder if he really has got it. It might turn out to be another sneaky political move. If he bounces out in two weeks' time saying: "See, I told ya it was nothing!" it might give him a boost.
My other thought was: maybe it is an even sneakier move. He hasn't got it at all, and he won't be seen for weeks and we shall get bulletins saying he is quite seriously ill. Then he will try to claim that the election should not go ahead as it isn't fair that he can't campaign.
I wonder if he really has got it. It might turn out to be another sneaky political move. If he bounces out in two weeks' time saying: "See, I told ya it was nothing!" it might give him a boost.
Lying about this would be in his wheelhouse. But the worst case scenario politically and heath wise, is that he has a verifiable, but mild case. He could then leverage that to support the bullshit he's ben spewing thus far.
Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, announced Friday he tested positive for Covid-19, just days after meeting in person with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday.
For those who are unfamiliar, Mike Lee sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. That committee has twelve Republican members and ten Democrats. Given the way Mitch McConnell is trying to push the Barrett nomination through the Senate with all undeliberate speed, this could cause problems if another Republican member has to take leave.
Trump could never bring himself to confess to the weakness of getting infected with COVID if it weren't so. He is not capable of pretending to something he considers a weakness, even for strategic reasons. It would be an intolerable ego-loss to him. Which is actually a blessing, as he'd be even more dangerous if he had any self control in that way. It would allow him to strategize more effectively and do even greater damage.
“The biotechnology company Regeneron released a report earlier this week on its experimental coronavirus antibody cocktail, which the president is now taking to treat his symptoms.”
The last half of that article is the full text of a letter he sent to students, faculty, and staff.
Fr. Jenkins is also notable from his New York Times opinion piece back in May, "We're Reopening Notre Dame. It's Worth the Risk". That also didn't work out so well. My take on this is that Fr. Jenkins simply will not learn this lesson and probably isn't suited to running an institution which ostensibly teaches others.
My guess is that the Amy Coney Barrett Rose Garden event is going to be studied by future epidemiologists as a cautionary tale.
Yup. Tangentially, I'm still trying to figure out why so many news outlets refer to him as "Reverend". Are there circumstances in which that's a proper way to address a Roman Catholic priest? IME, Episcopal priests tend to use "Reverend", even at a high up the candle church.
And Fr. Jenkins signed that letter with "Fr." rather than "Rev.".
I know I should want a speedy recovery for anyone affected but I worry that unless Trump is seriously ill it will only add to the problem of people not taking the virus seriously. On the other hand if he dies or is permanently incapacitated then who knows what the redcaps will do. The conspiracy theories will be worse than anything seen so far.
I don't believe in wishing people a speedy recovery unless I mean it. The cold political calculation is that it would be better for him to die of this illness. Everything can be turned into a conspiracy, of course, but this is much better than him being shot. Also, if he's still around post-defeat and dragged out Court battles, he will remain a malign influence on the GOP and the loopy right and delay the development of a relatively sane conservative political force in America.
I still reckon I'm right, but aggro and "telling it like it is" are also machismo style displays of testosterone. I am quite possible incapable of not saying the above.
I think somebody calculated that it was better to move him immediately than to wait until the (likely, foreseeable) complications arose. An ambulance at the White House is not a good look. And it's doubtless easier to control the flow of information at Walter Reid than at the White House, where everyone leaks like a sieve.
For a moment, I played with the idea of someone at the hospital (or several someones) just happening to have the camera and the audio recorder on their phone enabled...
But that alone might cost them their job, and bring legal trouble. Worse, if they actually posted/published it.
Comments
The Occupy movement decides T needs reminding of certain basic things. So they gather and mobilize in DC, in front of the White House. (Not sure how the blocks around it are laid out, but I'd love to have them all the way around)
They take turns reading aloud the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and any other pertinent documents. They use their wonderful human loudspeaker system to pass the word along. Witnessing and further spreading words and pics are professional journalists, professional photographers, social media folks, and possibly some international observers.
Occupy is completely civil, and the self-proclaimed anarchists, white supremacists, and alt-righters are nowhere to be seen.. No one has any weapons. There might be some aikido practitioners, mimes, and those huge protest puppets to quietly and humorously deter any troublemakers.
T can't stand it, and does at least one of the following:
--in a fit of pique, he does a Rumplestiltkin, and stomps 'round in circles until he's created an opening, into which he falls, never to be seen again;
--he hides out in Dick Cheney's old "undisclosed location" in the WH, begging someone to call in a big, bestliest helicopter so he can quit and head to Mar-a-lago;
--he writes "I QUIT" and his signature all over the walls of the Oval Office, runs off to the local McDonalds, and sends out a tweet storm about how badly the world has treated him, while he eats many comfort Big Macs;
and all the people of the world say "Amen".
Here you go - https://youtu.be/q9_6-b_-4ys
*schadenfreude: malicious enjoyment of the suffering of others.
Longtime employee in the Trump Organization, including a stint as Donald Trump's personal assistant. She was the press secretary for his campaign and part of the Trump administration*'s communication office. She left in 2017 and returned in 2020.
:votive: for everyone affected by Covid.
Possibly, it might get some people thinking "wow, if even the president can get it...where do I get a mask?"
But yeah, some people will think "OMG, he's fallen prey to the hoax", or "they've purposely infected with something via a vaccine", or "have they threatened his family?", etc.
The tweet he sent as an announcement sounds (on the surface, anyway) like he's acknowledging he and M actually have it, and he's taking it seriously. What he *really* thinks...
*Maybe* there's a nano-fraction of a chance that he and/or the people around him will take Covid more seriously, and encourage others to do so.
But I was mostly thinking of anyone who might be able to, say, ease White House pressure on the CDC and be much more supportive on them. Or anyone, of any rank, who might be able to nudge someone else to do that.
I'm glad to see you're not self-isolating, Eutychus, at least not from this forum anyway. Nice to see you.
:irony (In the American sense.):
He was sweating a lot and on stage at the debate, but maybe that’s normal for him. He is obese.
That sounds too complicated for Trump. He doesn't do smart.
If and when he gets better, we can count on there to be a lot of Christian nationalist bullshit along the 'God has spared him for this' lines.
Ah, but see the part in Revelation about the Beast suffering an injury and then being revived by the False Prophet!
I don't believe in wishing people a speedy recovery unless I mean it. The cold political calculation is that it would be better for him to die of this illness. Everything can be turned into a conspiracy, of course, but this is much better than him being shot. Also, if he's still around post-defeat and dragged out Court battles, he will remain a malign influence on the GOP and the loopy right and delay the development of a relatively sane conservative political force in America.
Trump himself has verified his (and Melania's) positive test results via Twitter (because how else would he do it?).
And because he doesn't care about anyone but himself:
Let's also remember that new Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was with Donald Trump last Saturday and then met with Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans on Monday.
Doing the contact tracing on President* Super-Spreader is going to be tough.
My other thought was: maybe it is an even sneakier move. He hasn't got it at all, and he won't be seen for weeks and we shall get bulletins saying he is quite seriously ill. Then he will try to claim that the election should not go ahead as it isn't fair that he can't campaign.
Judge Barrett herself had tested positive for COVID-19 during the summer and since recovered.
For those who are unfamiliar, Mike Lee sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. That committee has twelve Republican members and ten Democrats. Given the way Mitch McConnell is trying to push the Barrett nomination through the Senate with all undeliberate speed, this could cause problems if another Republican member has to take leave.
He will certainly try to spin it, though.
Perhaps she will suffer a relapse.
Someone who was at the nomination has tested positive.
"Notre Dame President Apologizes for Not Wearing Mask at Amy Coney Barrett Nomination. Photos and videos showing Jenkins not wearing a mask and shaking hands with others at the event surfaced on social media."
The last half of that article is the full text of a letter he sent to students, faculty, and staff.
Sounds like desperation.
Fr. Jenkins is also notable from his New York Times opinion piece back in May, "We're Reopening Notre Dame. It's Worth the Risk". That also didn't work out so well. My take on this is that Fr. Jenkins simply will not learn this lesson and probably isn't suited to running an institution which ostensibly teaches others.
My guess is that the Amy Coney Barrett Rose Garden event is going to be studied by future epidemiologists as a cautionary tale.
It's not a vaccine. It's a (combination of) monoclonal antibodies.
Vaccines train the body's immune system to produce its own antibodies. mab drugs just dump a load of antibodies in to the system.
You vaccinate healthy people to stop them getting ill. This is a treatment for sick people.
And Fr. Jenkins signed that letter with "Fr." rather than "Rev.".
I still reckon I'm right, but aggro and "telling it like it is" are also machismo style displays of testosterone. I am quite possible incapable of not saying the above.
But that alone might cost them their job, and bring legal trouble. Worse, if they actually posted/published it.