COVID-19 2020

[grateful]

U.S. COVID update: Daily cases rising at fastest rate since pandemic began

- New cases: 190,190
- Average: 153,792 (+10,819)
- States reporting: 47/50
- In hospital: 68,290 (+1,099)
- In ICU: 16,477 (+224)
- New deaths: 2,104
- Average: 1,396 (+54)

Data: https://t.co/YDZSbYO7l7

[Justin Tonation]

fresh wave of bad reviews for yankee candles (Twitter link)




Here's a plot of the "no smell" complaints for the top three Yankee Candles on Amazon. (also Twitter)

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

^^ See how that overlays with coronavirus surges.

[Starsky]

Why wasn’t this done in February

Government incompetence

And it’s an expensive government we pay for…

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-08ee41d8e7c0af1ad8b4dfb7b434ea61

[grateful]

Why wasn’t this done in February

Government incompetence

And it’s an expensive government we pay for…

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-08ee41d8e7c0af1ad8b4dfb7b434ea61

Wait. Which is it? The government is too expensive,  or the government should have spent all this money a year ago?

[Vas Deferens]

"The answer goes back to the U.S.'s approach at the start of the pandemic. The U.S. government — under both Trump and Biden — didn't oversee and pay for universal at-home testing the way it did with vaccines."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/10/1062700278/how-the-u-s-got-on-the-slow-track-with-at-home-covid-tests

Why wasn’t this done in February

Government incompetence

And it’s an expensive government we pay for…

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-08ee41d8e7c0af1ad8b4dfb7b434ea61

[Starsky]

Why wasn’t this done in February

Government incompetence

And it’s an expensive government we pay for…

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-08ee41d8e7c0af1ad8b4dfb7b434ea61

Wait. Which is it? The government is too expensive,  or the government should have spent all this money a year ago?

It’s both.

[grateful]

Why wasn’t this done in February

Government incompetence

And it’s an expensive government we pay for…

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-joe-biden-health-jen-psaki-08ee41d8e7c0af1ad8b4dfb7b434ea61

Wait. Which is it? The government is too expensive,  or the government should have spent all this money a year ago?

It’s both.

I feel like you have to choose between large, interventionist government, or small, laissez faire government. You can't really have both (or neither). Otherwise you just look like someone who likes to criticize everything.

[Starsky]

You can have a small government that does the things it’s supposed to do.

I mean giant bailouts for corporations is not something- typically- I think government should do.

Putting out covid test kits 18 months into a pandemic that has killed a million Americans seems like a nobrainer and will save government money.

[grateful]

But why should the government even be providing free test kits at all? Consumers who want them should just go and get them. Making them free won't have a huge impact on whether or not they're used. IF the government mails every household a test kit, nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of them will be wasted. Is that the way small government should work?

[Yada]

Big fan of all the disposable masks and a few hundred million unused tests being thrown in a dump taking 100s of years to decompose.

[grateful]

The Mountain Goat
https://fb.watch/a3lIKmMyeo/

[Starsky]

Not really opining on whether they should be mailed to people or free.

Beyond my pay grade.


I just don’t think they are widely available enough.

They should at the very least be widely and easily available and inexpensive to encourage their use.

Why? Public health.

I don’t really get your thinking. Me saying government is wasteful doesn’t preclude one from saying government ought to spend money on something.

These kind of arguments remind me of people who come down on Springsteen cause he is rich or people who think you can’t be interested in the environment and take a plane. It’s all about nuance.

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

hasn't some boardie been beating this 'free and easy' testing since May of 2020

[Dejecty-hatch lııllı|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llıl]

The Mountain Goat
https://fb.watch/a3lIKmMyeo/

is he immortal now?  Keeps saying that he's not going to die