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Take a Step Back America...

Facts are political these days. I don't watch cable news but the numbers are pretty staggering. At this point I'm sure the sobering thoughts of closed schools and businesses, overrun hospitals has entered our minds. It's best not to panic, wash your hands
 
Pence was on Chuck Todd’s show this morning and was asked to name a Democrat who said something irresponsible and he couldn’t name one name. Can you?

Let’s not pretend that if this happened during Obama’s presidency that your boy trump would not have been tweeting up a storm of insults. That’s basically how he became the republican nominee.
The newscasts are filled with them. Turn on almost any national new cast and you will see one.
 
But to you, balanced is only what you agree with. Am I right?
Balance to “me” would be covering the new virus for what it is, a new virus that has symptoms so mild for many, they don’t even know they are sick. With a mortality rate that appears to be higher than the flu, 2.3% verses .1%, but given the symptoms for many appear to be very mild, this may be overstated. Although caution and observation are warranted, this virus could end up being the equivalent of a mild flu strain. Similar precautions to the flu should be taken, except that there is no vaccine yet. Given that the flu has already killed as many as 46,000 people in the US alone this year, compared to 2,000 world wide for this new virus, we urge you to get a flu shot since one is available.

To “me”, this conveys information and puts it into perspective based on what is known so far, and doesn’t incite panic. This is not what I’m seeing. I don’t think it is partisan, and I don’t think there is any conspiracy. Just lazy, sensationalized reporting, which unfortunately is pretty typical these days.

And no, I don’t mind at all when people disagree with me, and I am not afraid to change my mind if facts/data warrants it.
 
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Balance to “me” would be covering the new virus for what it is, a new virus that has symptoms so mild for many, they don’t even know they are sick. With a mortality rate that appears to be higher than the flu, 2.3% verses .1%, but given the symptoms for many appear to be very mild, this may be overstated. Although caution and observation are warranted, this virus could end up being the equivalent of a mild flu strain. Similar precautions to the flu should be taken, except that there is no vaccine yet. Given that the flu has already killed as many as 46,000 people this year, compared to 2,000 for this new virus, we urge you to get a flu shot since one is available.

To “me”, this conveys information and puts it into perspective based on what is known so far, and doesn’t incite panic. This is not what I’m seeing. I don’t think it is partisan, and I don’t think there is any conspiracy. Just lazy, sensationalized reporting, which unfortunately is pretty typical these days.

And no, I don’t mind at all when people disagree with me, and I am not afraid to change my mind if facts/data warrants it.
46k deaths compared to 2k seems remarkable unless you consider the amount of people exposed to corona virus vs the flu. We are at the beginning stages of this and with 14 day incubation period we have no clue what things will look like in 2 weeks.
 
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The coronavirus is a big deal. You know how we know that, look at the efforts that governments all over the world have taken in response. Consider what the two largest economic powers have done.

China nearly brought its entire country to a halt. Quarantined cities of millions of people. Built massive hospitals in a matter of days to treat people.

The US shutdown all travel between the two countries - something that has never been done. President Trump has talked about what an extreme measure this was but one that has helped slow the spread. Look at the level of effort and response that the administration, CDC etc are going through to further contain and track down any individuals that may have contracted the virus. Look at the efforts that countries and pharmaceutical companies worldwide are going through to find a vaccine (Trump is meeting later today with the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world at the White House). These are not routine efforts being performed for just another flu.

I have stockpiled nothing but I can’t say that I blame people for feeling that it would be in their best interest. The same thing happens whenever there is a threat of a hurricane - people stock up on supplies that they believe they will need, it happens like clockwork.
 
I know next to nothing about biology, but when a country like China virtually shuts down its economy for a month in an attempt to shut down an epidemic I take notice. I assume from that that the Chinese are more afraid of the epidemic than they are shutting down their economy for an extended period of time. It seems likely, however, that we have about 6 weeks before warmer weather will slow down the virus for this season if this virus acts consistently with many other similar viruses. Hopefully, the virus does not mutate in a bad way in the meantime and we get an effective vaccine before the next season arrives.
 
And there are plenty on the radical right who don't care about America either.

Not even close to what is on the left. The "radical" left is.... the left. Is the Democrat Party. The Democrat party nominee will be the Marxist Bernie.

At least the "radical" right understands that this nation has laws and borders and the both should be enforced. Democrats? Not so much.
 
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OP maybe you need to tell China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran, etc this because they’ve shut everything DOWN.

Just your typical overreaction? US Media causing it?

Look the point is not to “freak out” but we absolutely must prepare.
I completely agree that we need to be prepared on an appropriate level. Those countries are right to quarantine because that’s where they are right now in the level of spread of the virus. Just like airports are right to screen and hold suspicious cases entering their countries. If this virus hit the country I currently live in it’d spread to the whole country very quickly. I’m not in America so I’m hoping the stuff I see online is just the overdramatization of the sentiment. The US isn’t at the point of these other countries and is currently doing things that are necessary. I’m just saying people suggesting that everyone in America needs to stock up on meds and food like it’s the 2nd ice age need some perspective. If it’s in your community act appropriately but if it’s not you don’t have to act like it is, all I’m saying. Having some cough and cold meds at home is probably common for most of us anyway. Guess it’s different for me as I’m dealing with a measles and cholera outbreak in our state as well as hoping the polio and Dengue Fever cases don’t become outbreaks.
 
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The problem is nobody knows when something is over hyped or hyped just enough. I will give you an example. What if people in 1939 listened to other people warning the world about Adolph Hitler. There were certainly hundreds of media outlets telling the world he was a problem. But, nobody listened. It is the same with Global Warming or Climate Change. Scientist have been beating the drum that it is real, but a significant portion of the population REFUSE to believe it. Who knows who is right? I choose to believe the scientists and the doctors. Not people who don't know diddley.

I don’t know diddley. Who’s Diddley?
 
I'm 42 years old never been hospitalized, never had a broken bone, played football as a kid. Grew up fishing and swimming in the congaree river any time I wanted. I've worked outside my whole adult life in the weather and elements and loved it. Never been crazy about vaccines never needed to. Rarely ever even gotten a checkup. I just got finished with an eight day stay in ICU at Lexington medical center. I almost died. My arterial oxygen was at 67%. I had the flu, bacterial pneumonia, and viral pneumonia. I lost 32 lbs in eight days. I was severely dehydrated. I have been stabbed like a pincushion for days and will still be weeks away from full recovery. The thing I noticed from those excellent healthcare pros who's opinions matter to me now more than ever is that they are scared. Their hospital is slammed full of sick people already and they know more are on the way. They all agree this is the worst flu season many of them have ever seen. I thinks it's time people start to take this thing a little more serious and protect themselves.
First off, I’m glad you’re getting better. That sounds terrible.

I call on hospital pharmacies, including Lexington. In fact, I was there last week, as well as, Baptist, Richland, and Providence. I asked them all about the coronavirus and the flu. They all say they have every thing they need in place and quickly move on to other various issues they face daily that are more pertinent. The flu has been worse this year, but none of them expressed the level of concern you mention. And believe me, pharmacy has their finger on the pulse when it comes to this. They know more about what’s going on regionally and nationally than physicians and nurses do.
 
The problem is nobody knows when something is over hyped or hyped just enough. I will give you an example. What if people in 1939 listened to other people warning the world about Adolph Hitler. There were certainly hundreds of media outlets telling the world he was a problem. But, nobody listened. It is the same with Global Warming or Climate Change. Scientist have been beating the drum that it is real, but a significant portion of the population REFUSE to believe it. Who knows who is right? I choose to believe the scientists and the doctors. Not people who don't know diddley.
I’m definitely not in the group that refuses to believe in climate change. I believe in science. But, if you believe that scientists are not corrupt or political, then you are just as naive as the ones refusing to believe them. You can find a scientist that can refute another scientist’s findings on almost every issue. Hell, a good example is the fool that reported fake findings on vaccinations being linked to autism in the early 2000’s. People still believe his garbage even though he’s been embarrassingly exposed as a fraud.
 
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Pence was on Chuck Todd’s show this morning and was asked to name a Democrat who said something irresponsible and he couldn’t name one name. Can you?

Let’s not pretend that if this happened during Obama’s presidency that your boy trump would not have been tweeting up a storm of insults. That’s basically how he became the republican nominee.
I typically think all politicians are worthless, so I say this out of frustration because I hear it all the time. If we were coming off of 8 years of a republican doing the same damage as Obama, Trump would have ran as a Democrat and he’d likely be your boy at this point.

People seem to think that republicans support Trump because he represents everything that a republican voter is looking for in a candidate. There has never been a candidate that will completely embody everything I believe and there never will be. It’s funny because most people who base their ballot on social issues like race and abortion that will always be an issue don’t realize that if you look at what the person will do for you as a whole, you might see that 80% of what a certain candidate believes is far better than the person screaming that they will be the one to somehow change abortion and race sentiment in America. Okay, that’s it. Back to the original discussion.
 
italy-corona-768x496.png
I completely agree that we need to be prepared on an appropriate level. Those countries are right to quarantine because that’s where they are right now in the level of spread of the virus. Just like airports are right to screen and hold suspicious cases entering their countries. If this virus hit the country I currently live in it’d spread to the whole country very quickly. I’m not in America so I’m hoping the stuff I see online is just the overdramatization of the sentiment. The US isn’t at the point of these other countries and is currently doing things that are necessary. I’m just saying people suggesting that everyone in America needs to stock up on meds and food like it’s the 2nd ice age need some perspective. If it’s in your community act appropriately but if it’s not you don’t have to act like it is, all I’m saying. Having some cough and cold meds at home is probably common for most of us anyway. Guess it’s different for me as I’m dealing with a measles and cholera outbreak in our state as well as hoping the polio and Dengue Fever cases don’t become outbreaks.

Italy went from NOT “like those other countries” to one of the main ones in like 4 days.

The above chart is freaking scary. In all probability, 30 days from now will look frightening.
 
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I’m definitely not in the group that refuses to believe in climate change. I believe in science. But, if you believe that scientists are not corrupt or political, then you are just as naive as the ones refusing to believe them. You can find a scientist that can refute another scientist’s findings on almost every issue. Hell, a good example is the fool that reported fake findings on vaccinations being linked to autism in the early 2000’s. People still believe his garbage even though he’s been embarrassingly exposed as a fraud.
Nevertheless, play the odds. You should believe people who know the subject. Not people who know nothing...and refuse to learn. But, my argument was that it is not always easy to tell the wheat from the chaff. Be informed. Make an informed decision. Don't get your information from Rush Limbaugh who doesn't know jack shit.
 
italy-corona-768x496.png


Italy went from NOT “like those other countries” to one of the main ones in like 4 days.

The above chart is freaking scary. In all probability, 30 days from now will look frightening.
Would buying up tons of meds and food and stock piling have stopped that? From a governmental level we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. “Those other countries” are having to quarantine cities. Is that the level America is at? If so by all means stock pile and stay in doors. Part of that graph is that once countries pop positive for the virus usually testing increases dramatically thus helping catch more cases. Also you have to realize this is a highly contagious RESPIRATORY virus which is why we must check people who have severe pneumonia or unusual outbreaks of flu like illnesses. Look at China, they been decreasing in new cases and then took a bump back up yesterday.

Just because I ask for people to act reasonable doesn’t mean I think this isn’t a highly contagious virus. The thing is even with checking borders this will still spread because not everyone will show symptoms. We could blood test every single person into the country and you’d catch a lot of asymptomatic or not yet symptomatic people; yet still not 100%. I’m confused why acting reasonably equals not taking something serious. With a virus this contagious there is only so much you can do to stop it, unfortunately, and we are fortunate it isn’t killing at a higher rate.

This is a very contagious respiratory virus that can kill people given the right host, but if there isn’t an outbreak in your city you simply need to do the same precautions as every flu season. Included in this is if you’re over 65 or having chronic medical conditions avoid large crowds or potentially sick people. We don’t need over reactions that lead to people with low likelihood crowding ERs and clinics, while instead have people with a high likelihood get tested ASAP. In my clinic I dont admit every single person with an upper respiratory infection to the hospital or even give them antibiotics if not needed; that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re sick.

In Italy, it looks like the virus was there weeks before they found out, mid- January or so, given that there is a strain of the virus there with genetic differences when compared to the original strain, with the original strain from China also found in Chinese tourists in Italy. This thing spread before they knew they had it and before they started suspending Chinese flights. Then they started aggressively checking leading to that spike in your graph. Unfortunately for them it was already there and they just didn’t know what they had. Travel history is the most important risk factor right now and that’s where America must be super vigilant.
 
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I'm 42 years old never been hospitalized, never had a broken bone, played football as a kid. Grew up fishing and swimming in the congaree river any time I wanted. I've worked outside my whole adult life in the weather and elements and loved it. Never been crazy about vaccines never needed to. Rarely ever even gotten a checkup. I just got finished with an eight day stay in ICU at Lexington medical center. I almost died. My arterial oxygen was at 67%. I had the flu, bacterial pneumonia, and viral pneumonia. I lost 32 lbs in eight days. I was severely dehydrated. I have been stabbed like a pincushion for days and will still be weeks away from full recovery. The thing I noticed from those excellent healthcare pros who's opinions matter to me now more than ever is that they are scared. Their hospital is slammed full of sick people already and they know more are on the way. They all agree this is the worst flu season many of them have ever seen. I thinks it's time people start to take this thing a little more serious and protect themselves.

Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. Good luck!
 
The newscasts are filled with them. Turn on almost any national new cast and you will see one.
Surprised if that's true on Pence. I don't watch Chuck Todd, but how about the leaders of the Democratic party? Pelosi and Schumer both tried to hammer Trump on this.
 
Would buying up tons of meds and food and stock piling have stopped that? From a governmental level we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. “Those other countries” are having to quarantine cities. Is that the level America is at? If so by all means stock pile and stay in doors. Part of that graph is that once countries pop positive for the virus usually testing increases dramatically thus helping catch more cases. Also you have to realize this is a highly contagious RESPIRATORY virus which is why we must check people who have severe pneumonia or unusual outbreaks of flu like illnesses. Look at China, they been decreasing in new cases and then took a bump back up yesterday.

Just because I ask for people to act reasonable doesn’t mean I think this isn’t a highly contagious virus. The thing is even with checking borders this will still spread because not everyone will show symptoms. We could blood test every single person into the country and you’d catch a lot of asymptomatic or not yet symptomatic people; yet still not 100%. I’m confused why acting reasonably equals not taking something serious. With a virus this contagious there is only so much you can do to stop it, unfortunately, and we are fortunate it isn’t killing at a higher rate.

This is a very contagious respiratory virus that can kill people given the right host, but if there isn’t an outbreak in your city you simply need to do the same precautions as every flu season. Included in this is if you’re over 65 or having chronic medical conditions avoid large crowds or potentially sick people. We don’t need over reactions that lead to people with low likelihood crowding ERs and clinics, while instead have people with a high likelihood get tested ASAP. In my clinic I dont admit every single person with an upper respiratory infection to the hospital or even give them antibiotics if not needed; that doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re sick.

In Italy, it looks like the virus was there weeks before they found out, mid- January or so, given that there is a strain of the virus there with genetic differences when compared to the original strain, with the original strain from China also found in Chinese tourists in Italy. This thing spread before they knew they had it and before they started suspending Chinese flights. Then they started aggressively checking leading to that spike in your graph. Unfortunately for them it was already there and they just didn’t know what they had. Travel history is the most important risk factor right now and that’s where America must be super vigilant.
Well said.
 

Being critical of how the Administration is handling the virus containment is fine, in fact it is their job to do so. Those comments hardly qualify as treason or fear mongering or irresponsible, and certainly do not indicate that the dems are hoping that millions get the virus.

We are already seeing this morning that the numbers that trump had been sharing were extremely understated. Overnight we went from two states to seven states with positive cases.
 
Being critical of how the Administration is handling the virus containment is fine, in fact it is their job to do so. Those comments hardly qualify as treason or fear mongering, and certainly do not indicate that the dems are hoping that millions get the virus.

We are already seeing this morning that the numbers that trump had been sharing were extremely understated. Overnight we went from two states to seven states with positive cases.

So you think Pelosi and Schumer's point was to be critical of how the administration is handling the virus? You are being naive if you do. They were trying to use this to their political advantage. These are the same people who had zero problem trashing a man and his family with some BS claim of sexual harassment from 34 years ago just to keep Trump for getting a SCOTUS pick.

Do you think it helps when NY Times columnists refer to this as "Trump Virus"? I'm sure the leaders of the Democratic party have come out against this, right?

I have NO problem with Trump or any president trying to downplay this. That's exactly what he should be doing. Let everyone know how to prepare and protect themselves while explaining that there is no reason to panic.
 
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So you think Pelosi and Schumer's point was to be critical of how the administration is handling the virus? You are being naive if you do. They were trying to use this to their political advantage. These are the same people who had zero problem trashing a man and his family with some BS claim of sexual harassment from 34 years ago just to keep Trump for getting a SCOTUS pick.

Do you think it helps when NY Times columnists refer to this as "Trump Virus"? I'm sure the leaders of the Democratic party have come out against this, right?

I have NO problem with Trump or any president trying to downplay this. That's exactly what he should be doing. Let everyone know how to prepare and protect themselves while explaining that there is no reason to panic.

they are doing their job, it is exactly what their constituents elected them to do. There was nothing “irresponsible” about what they said. And it certainly did not fall into the fear mongering category.

Do you also have a problem with trump politicizing the virus? I doubt it.
 
The coronavirus is a big deal. You know how we know that, look at the efforts that governments all over the world have taken in response. Consider what the two largest economic powers have done.

China nearly brought its entire country to a halt. Quarantined cities of millions of people. Built massive hospitals in a matter of days to treat people.

The US shutdown all travel between the two countries - something that has never been done. President Trump has talked about what an extreme measure this was but one that has helped slow the spread. Look at the level of effort and response that the administration, CDC etc are going through to further contain and track down any individuals that may have contracted the virus. Look at the efforts that countries and pharmaceutical companies worldwide are going through to find a vaccine (Trump is meeting later today with the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world at the White House). These are not routine efforts being performed for just another flu.

I have stockpiled nothing but I can’t say that I blame people for feeling that it would be in their best interest. The same thing happens whenever there is a threat of a hurricane - people stock up on supplies that they believe they will need, it happens like clockwork.
Respectfully disagree.

Just because a government takes extreme action, doesn't mean it's serious issue. It means the government is covering its butt and showing the public it is erring to it's well being. No one can contest that. It's the same reason schools were closed for a week a couple of years ago when there was a 1 day ice storm in SC and the streets were clear the next day. Government officials are risk adverse.

How long did the virus impact Wuhan before the global community was aware of the issue? By the time most governments took action, thousands upon thousands of travelers had come into and out of the Chinese province.
 
they are doing their job, it is exactly what their constituents elected them to do. There was nothing “irresponsible” about what they said. And it certainly did not fall into the fear mongering category.

Do you also have a problem with trump politicizing the virus? I doubt it.
You mean do I have a problem with him calling out the Dems for politicizing it? No. I do not. It's all about perspective I suppose.
 
You mean do I have a problem with him calling out the Dems for politicizing it? No. I do not. It's all about perspective I suppose.

Again, Pelosi and Schumer are doing their jobs. If they disagree with something the president does - like putting a man who does not believe in science in charge of our virus defense - they are allowed to criticize it. Their comments were not fear mongering, or inappropriate, or reckless, and they were certainly not a "hoax" as the president said.

And Trump was politicizing it before any dem said anything. He has been saying all along that his decision to ban travel from china on Jan 31st is the reason we dont have to worry (even though we do), and every time he has mentioned that the dems fought him on it. That is politicizing the virus as well.
 
Nevertheless, play the odds. You should believe people who know the subject. Not people who know nothing...and refuse to learn. But, my argument was that it is not always easy to tell the wheat from the chaff. Be informed. Make an informed decision. Don't get your information from Rush Limbaugh who doesn't know jack shit.
Frauds and biased people are not always as obvious as Rush Limbaugh though. That was my point.
 
The radical right is a minuscule and insignificant portion of the total population, and the radical left is a significant and growing portion of the population. Stop being tone deaf
Ok, so that means you have Reliable Data to justify this statement? Cause a champion for Radical Right; Shaun, Laura, The Donald, Tucker & Rush (To Name a few), daily, presents something totally different!
My point which you failed to acknowledge is In Our Country There Are Radical Left & Right Doing Anti-American Things! Odviously, you are part of the “Insignificant & Minuscule Radical Right!” Signed, Had To Deal With That “Insignificant” Crowd Since 1958!
 
So just checked the news.. we went from 1 to 6 deaths overnight...

Id bet its already in all 50 states but just hasn't finished incubation yet..
 
So just checked the news.. we went from 1 to 6 deaths overnight...

Id bet its already in all 50 states but just hasn't finished incubation yet..

And it was in a nursing home. Big difference in being 90 years old and a heck of a lot younger.
 
One of the problems here and IMHO is indicative of the HUGE damage Trump has done to this country is on display in this thread. Trump will attack ANYTHING and ANYONE who disagrees with him. Hell, he said as much to Barbara Walters in an interview... He always attacks anyone who may be an enemy's credibility... then when they say something, no one knows whether to believe then or not. And he's done a fine job of it.

Our intelligence agencies, the FBI, congress, the press, our diplomatic corps, FEMA, federal judges, the CDC, hell, even the National Hurricane Center can't be believed because THEY ARE ALL OUT TO GET TRUMP. And his base absolutely believes this. They swallow ANYTHING Trump puts in their mouths (and yes, I mean that the way you think I do).

The problem is that when something comes along, who do we believe? Trump is telling us that its no big deal while he's shutting down travel between countries and the US (that kind of sounds like a big deal). So when the CDC and the media try and report things... OF COURSE no one believes them.
 
There is a comparison, of sorts. Obama had to deal with the H1N1 outbreak in 2009.
Trump has handled this quickly and as efficiently as possible. He has been slammed early; when putting in travel restrictions. Now, the same people are saying he didn't act soon enough. Which is it? Doesn't matter when the msm has your back. People have"micronized" memory.
 
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There is a comparison, of sorts. Obama had to deal with the H1N1 outbreak in 2009.
Trump has handled this quickly and as efficiently as possible. He has been slammed early; when putting in travel restrictions. Now, the same people are saying he didn't act soon enough. Which is it? Doesn't matter when the msm has your back. People have"micronized" memory.

I actually agree here. If he'd just shut up, he'd be doing great... Shutting off travel to the countries in question was a good start. Getting the Fed to drop interest rates... ditto. Forming up a committee to take action fast before things got bad is a good idea too. He's doing all the right things. Doing all these things before the virus hits shows what a big deal it is.

Then standing up there and telling us that there's nothing to worry about and that the virus is not a big deal is just plain stupid...and typically Trump. The man's a born liar and lies when the truth would serve just as well or better. Anyone with a modicum of good sense knows this could get ugly. Not as a threat to our country, but several million American's could potentially die from this. That's more American's dead that have died in every war in our history. That's a big deal.

And all Trump has to do to come out a winner here is just stand there and say very little. Say something like American has always put aside differences to stand together in times of crisis... We'll get through this together.... You get the idea. Not going to happen though... When anyone else would take the opportunity to unite us... you can bet your ass that Trump will be there stoking conspiracy theories and dividing the country even more. It's what he does.
 
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