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Akousticplyr

Lifer
Oct 12, 2019
1,155
5,712
Florida Panhandle
So I’m on voluntary isolation at home. Which means I have too much free time. I am definitely not intending to start a political debate. I just felt compelled to share my thoughts on one aspect of what people can do during a crisis. In a nutshell, we are going to be alright. I remain optimistic that out of great adversity, people will always come together.

I think it is safe to say that we have seen a lot of division recently...or maybe it’s not as bad as the Internet and social media makes it seem.... But wow it sure feels like the Republic was coming apart at the seams. Now this pandemic hits.

Regardless, if there is going to be something positive to come out of this, I have faith in humanity and really do believe that we will all get through this together.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is ignore all the haters who stare down a soda straw and nitpick trivial things across the aisle in both directions while losing the 30,000 foot view. Keep focus on taking care of yourselves, your loved ones, your neighbors and complete strangers. Take the advice of the experts we have entrusted our safety to- stick to the guidelines they recommend.

Order takeout from your favorite restaurants. Leave bigger tips. Buy crowlers from your local breweries. Call your parents or your kids.

Who knows, history may record this as our generation’s finest hour?

Thanks for listening.
Fred.jpg
 

docrameous

Can't Leave
May 6, 2019
368
993
Colorado
I do think it is a great opportunity to pull together. I worked in the relief effort after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and was so impressed how people helped each other and shared resources.

So on our street I am passing the word that if anyone needs help or is short of anything, we want to know. We don’t have a huge stockpile of stuff, but I’d rather share from what we have than know that my neighbor is suffering.
 
Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
I love this. Also, I'm heartened by the fact that our local communities and even corporations are taking the lead on fighting this, especially since our federal government seems to have no idea what they're doing.

Just out of absolute curiousity, I swear this is not intened to create a political debate. Why do you feel that they don't know what they're doing? Wouldn't it be the job of your local goverments to handle problems as they occur in your local area?

What would musicman do if he was the feds? Haha
 
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musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,052
Cincinnati, OH
Just out of absolute curiousity, I swear this is not intened to create a political debate. Why do you feel that they don't know what they're doing? Wouldn't it be the job of your local goverments to handle problems as they occur in your local area?

What would musicman do if he was the feds? Haha
Thank God that isn't the case! lol! Seriously though, I agree that it's partially the responsibility of our local governments to handle this, as on a case-by-case basis, it's a local issue. But I would argue that responding to a national crisis of this magnitude, which has the power to crash our economy and affect our national defense systems, is at the core of what the federal government was originally designed to do. I also feel that the nature of a pandemic such as this requires a strong federal response, as measures enacted by states have limited effectiveness when neighboring states are not enacting the same measures. This requires a more uniform response nationwide. And I have not been heartened with the response of our elected officials in Washington, particularly the executive branch. There has been some improvement lately, but for weeks it seemed to me that the threat was not taken seriously, in direct opposition to scientific data. There have also been a number of decisions made in the past few years that have left us less prepared for this than we could have been.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,364
Wow, where do you all live? Folks around here are going out of their way to avoid each other. Companies are dispersing groups of more than ten people and have mandated that no one is to be within six feet of one another.
 

Sonorisis

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 24, 2019
853
4,578
Just out of absolute curiousity, I swear this is not intened to create a political debate. Why do you feel that they don't know what they're doing?


  • December 31: Health officials in Wuhan, China, post a notice about investigating a pneumonia outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that it “was informed of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause.”
  • January 14: Two cases of Coranavirus (COVID19) reported in the US.
  • January 21: Dr. Nancy Messonnier, a senior CDC official handling the response to respiratory diseases, tells reporters, “We do expect additional cases in the United States and globally.”
  • January 22: Trump says he isn’t worried that the outbreak could turn into a global pandemic, “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
  • January 24: Trump posts his first of many misleading tweets about the coronavirus. He praises the Chinese government for its “transparency” handling the outbreak and says, “it will all work out well.”
  • January 25: The WHO says there are more than 1,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
  • January 31: Two weeks after the first reported cases in the US, Trump administration declares a public health emergency in the United States because of the coronavirus and blocks foreigners who visited China from entering the country.
  • February 1: The WHO says there are more than 10,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
  • February 6: The WHO says there are more than 25,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
  • February 7: Trump tweets that China “will be successful” in stopping the coronavirus, “especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.”
  • February 10: At a political rally in New Hampshire, Trump mentions the coronavirus and says it “looks like, by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”
  • February 14: One month since first reported cases in US
  • February 15: The WHO says there are more than 50,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
  • February 19: The WHO says there are more than 75,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
  • February 24: Trump tweets, “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA.”
  • February 25: Messonnier, the CDC official, says it is inevitable that the coronavirus will spread in the US and that Americans need to prepare for disruptions to their daily lives.
  • February 25: Trump tells reporters during his trip to India that the virus is “a problem that’s going to go away.”
  • February 26: At a White House press conference, Trump contradicts the assessment from the CDC that the virus will definitely spread throughout the US. Trump says, “I don’t think it’s inevitable. I think that there’s a chance that it could get worse, a chance it could get fairly substantially worse, but nothing’s inevitable.”
  • February 27: The WHO says there are more than 82,000 confirmed cases worldwide.
  • February 28: At another political rally Trump tells supporters, “The Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. They're politicizing it.” Then Trump called the coronavirus “their new hoax.”
  • February 29: Health officials in Washington state announce the first coronavirus death inside the United States. Forty-six (46) days after the first reported cases in the US, Trump conceded that “additional cases in the United States are likely.”
  • March 5: Vice President and Chief Brown Noser Mike Pence admits we don't have enough tests.
  • March 6: Trump lies (again) and says "Anyone who wants a test, can get a test."
  • March 14: Two months since first reported cases in the US.
  • March 18: Sixty-four (64) days after the first reported cases in the US and we are still asking “Where are the tests?”
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
We as a country is totally fucked. We will see at least 30% unemployment. Small businesses are screwed and thousands will close. The world was not ready for this .
Our economy iss going to be devastated and millions will lose their pensions and retirement accounts.
AIG insures all those accounts they never had the money to back them. They were too busy playing the credit default market which is in the trillions.

People have no clue how fucked we are. I moved to mostly cash months a go because I had a bad feeling the markets were way to high and the private lending I was doing made me nervous as people were paying late.

I am buying only food and essentials till this gets under control.
 
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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,400
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I do think it is a great opportunity to pull together. I worked in the relief effort after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and was so impressed how people helped each other and shared resources.

So on our street I am passing the word that if anyone needs help or is short of anything, we want to know. We don’t have a huge stockpile of stuff, but I’d rather share from what we have than know that my neighbor is suffering.
I think a lot of people are realizing how interconnected and interdependent we are all. And it's got nothing to do with what people believe or think society should be like.
 
Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
Thank God that isn't the case! lol! Seriously though, I agree that it's partially the responsibility of our local governments to handle this, as on a case-by-case basis, it's a local issue. But I would argue that responding to a national crisis of this magnitude, which has the power to crash our economy and affect our national defense systems, is at the core of what the federal government was originally designed to do. I also feel that the nature of a pandemic such as this requires a strong federal response, as measures enacted by states have limited effectiveness when neighboring states are not enacting the same measures. This requires a more uniform response nationwide. And I have not been heartened with the response of our elected officials in Washington, particularly the executive branch. There has been some improvement lately, but for weeks it seemed to me that the threat was not taken seriously, in direct opposition to scientific data. There have also been a number of decisions made in the past few years that have left us less prepared for this than we could have been.

Yes sir,

Establish and protect our borders.
(From covid19)

Handle dispuites between states
(Over covid19)

Keep a standing army
(Even during an outbreak of covid19)

I agree that the federal goverment should be accountable for those things at a minimum. That's pretty involved when you think about it. I really am impressed with the non partisan work going on, almost even with the media.

"Everybody was kungflu fighting"...
 
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gervais

Lifer
Sep 4, 2019
2,078
6,973
39
Ontario
I
We as a country is totally fucked. We will see at least 30% unemployment. Small businesses are screwed and thousands will close. The world was not ready for this .
Our economy iss going to be devastated and millions will lose their pensions and retirement accounts.
AIG insures all those accounts they never had the money to back them. They were too busy playing the credit default market which is in the trillions.

People have no clue how fucked we are. I moved to mostly cash months a go because I had a bad feeling the markets were way to high and the private lending I was doing made me nervous as people were paying late.

I am buying only food and essentials till this gets under control.
I hope you are very wrong for everyone's sake
 

musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,052
Cincinnati, OH
Yes sir,

Establish and protect our borders.
(From covid19)

Handle dispuites between states
(Over covid19)

Keep a standing army
(Even during an outbreak of covid19)

I agree that the federal goverment should be accountable for those things at a minimum. That's pretty involved when you think about it. I really am impressed with the non partisan work going on, almost even with the media.

"Everybody was kungflu fighting"...
Yep. I've been pretty impressed too. I think people are realizing that the fallout here, in terms of both human life AND economic damage, has the potential to be much worse if we don't take these extreme measures. They also may seem extreme to us now, but many of the things we are doing are exactly what was done on a local level in the 1500s during the plague. This time, though, we have the benefit of mass communication and scientific knowledge, so we should be able to be much more successful at fighting this.
 

musicman

Lifer
Nov 12, 2019
1,119
6,052
Cincinnati, OH
I think a lot of people are realizing how interconnected and interdependent we are all. And it's got nothing to do with what people believe or think society should be like.
That's one of my hopes with this. Perhaps we will put aside our considerable differences of opinion and realize that we are all in this together, and we all have much more in common than we may think. And that applies to both our situation in the US and the situation across the entire world.
 

Akousticplyr

Lifer
Oct 12, 2019
1,155
5,712
Florida Panhandle
I find myself wishing some of our predecessors from the home front of WWII left behind more "Lessons Learned" notebooks. They certainly figured out how to adjust their day to day lives due to extreme rationing and the "total war" posture we adopted.

I'm sure they figured out many clever and valuable things that unfortunately may be lost forever as that generation shuffles off this mortal coil.

I hope we don't get remotely close to that total war posture, but then again thinking about it never hurts.
 
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May 2, 2018
3,749
28,682
Bucks County, PA
Now that we are all shut-ins we can really dive deep into our stockpiles of delicious blends. I can also attend to those projects around the house that I’ve been putting off.

Hell, I was planning on becoming more antisocial anyways!?☕
 
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