All This Panic Could Have Been Avoided If Trump Started Working On It In January

[Old 'N Chill]

What trump did is much, much worse than what Bush did pre-9/11. Bush could get a hindsight-is-2020 pass for not recognizing how powerful that terrorist attack would be. trump had every piece of evidence at its disposal to understand the threat of COVID-19. But as usual, trump dismissed that evidence. To it, reelection was more important. :doh

That's it in a nutshell!

 

[Indie guy]

What trump did is much, much worse than what Bush did pre-9/11. Bush could get a hindsight-is-2020 pass for not recognizing how powerful that terrorist attack would be. trump had every piece of evidence at its disposal to understand the threat of COVID-19. But as usual, trump dismissed that evidence. To it, reelection was more important. :doh

In hindsight, what Bush did after 9-11 was worse than what Trump's efforts on the virus. Remember it was Bush who diverted us to Iraq, and billions of dollars were spent on that boondoggle of a war which had absolutely no relation to the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

 

[SLC]

That is not the problem that is causing the panic.

The panic is caused by supply shortages (of everything), the lack of ICU beads and respirators, AND the stay-at-home orders and business shut down orders. Nothing any president could have done would completely prevent a sense of panic. Nothing. However well-prepared the Federal government was, you cannot tell some tens of million business owners to shutter their businesses and over a hundred million workers to stay home from work and somehow prevent a sense of anxiety and growing sense of panic.

The Clinton administration drastically reduced the number of hospital beds and ICU beds in the country by reducing medicare payments to small hospitals. Small community hospitals throughout the country had to shut their doors.

 

[Integrityrespec]

41 minute podcast and interview highlights in link. I did not get to listen to this, just saw it online and thought some here may be interested.



Author Max Brooks On COVID-19: 'All Of This Panic Could Have Been Prevented' : NPR

Trump hasn't need to use the Defense Production Act to force companies to produce mask an ventilators because companies have done so voluntarily. If you force the production then those companies waste time retooling before they can start production. We are gettting high numbers from the production we have from volunteers.

 

[NWRatCon]

I do not think the panic could have been prevented by anything short of an ability to see perfectly into the future. And it would have had to be foreseen a decade ago to have prepared for it in any manner that would have come close to adequate. I do concede that Donald Trump certainly should have immediately moved to replenish the Federal government's emergency medical supply stockpile that President George W. Bush had put into place and which was used up by President Barack Obama to fight H1N1.

Nice deception, there, my friend. That's not at all what the article states.

After 9/11, the federal Hospital Preparedness Program was created in 2002 to help hospitals plan for public health emergencies and terrorist attacks.

But as time passed, the program was steadily cut. In 2007, Congress trimmed $44 million from the program’s budget. In 2014, lawmakers cut $120 million.

Overall, money for the program has been slashed by about half since 2003, said John Auerbach, chief executive of the Trust for America’s Health.

Auerbach, who was Boston health commissioner for nine years, said he and other public health officials routinely pleaded with Congress to restore the spending.

He said lawmakers frequently offered the same response: “Do we still need that?”

 

[NWRatCon]

That is an incredibly nasty comment. It was the George W. Bush administration which put medical emergency preparedness into place back in 2006. It was because of that preparedness that Obama had the supplies necessary to respond to the H1N1 outbreak back in 2009. Partisan bickering never served to save a single life.

Nasty it may be, but inaccurate it is not.

Yes, the medical emergency preparedness stockpiles were established during the Bush administration and used, appropriately, during the Swine Flu epidemic. The failure to replenish them, however, belongs to Congress. The repeated examples of the need to do so have not swayed several Congresses, but particularly Republican ones (2007 and 2014). That cannot be refuted. Although I agree that partisan bickering is not useful, it is important to be historically accurate.

 

[iguanaman]

I do not think the panic could have been prevented by anything short of an ability to see perfectly into the future. And it would have had to be foreseen a decade ago to have prepared for it in any manner that would have come close to adequate. I do concede that Donald Trump certainly should have immediately moved to replenish the Federal government's emergency medical supply stockpile that President George W. Bush had put into place and which was used up by President Barack Obama to fight H1N1.

But no matter what, people would still be out of work and many businesses will be closed forever as a result of this. There still would have been a rush on grocery stores for household supplies and non-perishable foods. This disease is going to cause many of us to lose loved ones who may have survived less serious viral infections due to overwhelming our healthcare infrastructure. Nothing could have or would have completely prevented the sense of emotional panic and dread over this virus.

Maybe so but maybe not. There was a window before all 50 States got infected wasn't there?. That is water over the bridge now. On top of the worst pandemic in history we now need to deal with a insane President who is still in denial and still hampering the response to the crisis. His comments yesterday about an Easter miracle were totally wacko.

 

[PIPEWRENCH]

That is an incredibly nasty comment. It was the George W. Bush administration which put medical emergency preparedness into place back in 2006. It was because of that preparedness that Obama had the supplies necessary to respond to the H1N1 outbreak back in 2009. Partisan bickering never served to save a single life.

I think party bickering is the #1 reason for all our governments failings. I cannot believe the hate created by our 2 parties. This virus is a wake-up call. Next time it may be much worse.

 

[NWRatCon]

There are really two kinds of "panic": ones engendered by actual disaster, and those engendered by lack of confidence. FDR famously addressed the latter by saying "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

(1933 inaugural address, emphasis mine).

In this case, the actual disaster is as friend Felis Leo has described - the inevitable loss of employment as a result of the epidemic. But the worst part of this disaster has been the lack of "frankness and vigor" in the administration's (mostly Trump's) response. That is why the stock market reels every time Trump conducts a presser. That is what, more than anything, engenders the panic that has gripped so many. Good leadership, as FDR noted, is "met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory." Bad leadership, however, is what Americans have been subjected to. As Brooks put it

"All of this panic could have been prevented. ... If the president had been working since January to get the organs of government ready for this, we as citizens could have been calmed down knowing that the people that we trust to protect us are doing that."

And it is hard to improve upon this:

panic can spread much faster than a virus. And I think in addition to social distancing, we have to practice good fact hygiene. What I mean is we have to be careful what we listen to, what we take in — just as if it were a virus. And we have to be careful also what we put back out, as if we were spreading the virus. So we cannot pass along rumors. We cannot pass along misinformation. We must be critically careful not to scare people into doing irrational and dangerous things. So we need to listen to experts, the CDC, Dr. Fauci [director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases], the World Health Organization, our local public health officials. These are the front-line soldiers that are doing everything to keep us safe and are literally putting their lives on the line. These are the people we need to listen to. What we cannot listen to is random facts on the Internet supposedly, things that people are passing along to us, conspiracy theories. And I'm very sorry to say this, but I think that everything our president says at this point must be fact-checked.

 

[Cardinal]

That is an incredibly nasty comment. It was the George W. Bush administration which put medical emergency preparedness into place back in 2006. It was because of that preparedness that Obama had the supplies necessary to respond to the H1N1 outbreak back in 2009. Partisan bickering never served to save a single life.

And Trump dismantled everything built by past presidents that would have made a response to CV19 vastly more professional and efficient. Whatever the nature of the GOP from 2001-2008, that’s not the Republican Party of today. So Mach’s comment was apt: the currency generated by past Republicans has been spent.

Today’s GOP is going to choose to let the virus tear through the US population, killing an untold number people, because of some notion that it’ll bring the economy back. I know you know that’s not the Republican Party of twenty or even ten years ago.

 

[Waddy]

Maybe this is part of the reason the response has been so anemic; government red tape.

YouTube

 

[humbolt]

Epidemic response 101.

1). move quickly and aggressively.
2). test and isolate
3). Backtrace contacts, test, isolate.
4). Test test test test

This is why we didn’t have a SARS, MERS, EBola, H1n1, Etc.. pandemic. If we had worked with China and pressure them, put in a global testing regime then we’d be mildly inconvenienced at worst.

Its like a fire. Put it out early and it’s not big deal. Trump unplugged the fire alarm, threw out the extinguishers, went back to sleep and was shocked when he woke up to a house was on fire.

Move quickly? It took Obama 6 months to declare an H1N1 emergency. 6 months. That's called reality 101.

 

[3leftsdoo]

41 minute podcast and interview highlights in link. I did not get to listen to this, just saw it online and thought some here may be interested.

Author Max Brooks On COVID-19: 'All Of This Panic Could Have Been Prevented' : NPR

January of 2017!

THAT'S when Trump should have begun fighting this invisible menace that will kill all but a scant 99% or more of us!

:donkeyfla

& it's certainly true that Democrats haven't been inciting & spreading panic over everything since 2016...

...said no honest person ever.

 

[Medusa]

ı hate supporting trump and I dont want to do it either but the world has not witnessed such a case lookin like a film scenario and even if you closed all the borders somehow this would infiltrate into country .

 

[usaf77]

Who's panicking? I'm not "panicking". The only thing I'm worried about is the Pelosi mob adding home town pork to this stimulus bill and the thieves in both parties having used their inside information to dump their stocks. I want lists of every single one of them who used inside information for their own gain and I want Laws preventing any Politician from owning stocks, Or their spouses. Since when did politics become a family business? Scumbags!

 

[Aberration]

All this could have been avoided had we started in Nov. In fact none of this would be a problem if people weren’t dirty bastards and followed basic hygiene.

 

[Phys251]

In hindsight, what Bush did after 9-11 was worse than what Trump's efforts on the virus. Remember it was Bush who diverted us to Iraq, and billions of dollars were spent on that boondoggle of a war which had absolutely no relation to the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Separate issue. And we don't know what trump is going to do with all this.

 

[Vern]

That is good. I am not. The point I am making and I would argue is that most people are panicking due to being furloughed or permanently laid off and the uncertainty of not knowing when they will be able to go back to work, and if they do, whether they will have a job waiting for them. Most Americans do not have savings to cover cash emergencies. Thankfully I am not in that category, but I cannot live forever on my savings. The panic is not merely a matter of health, it is the fear of economic uncertainty and insecurity.

So let us pretend that Donald Trump had listened to his experts, never disbanded the CDC's Pandemic response team, and replenished the Federal emergency stockpile from the beginning of his tenure, and worked from around the clock from the time that this coronavirus appeared on our national intelligence's radar to build up the United States' medical infrastructure capacity to deal with the outbreak. Okay. Well, irrespective of that, tens of millions of workers would still be put on a stay-in-place order AND hundreds of thousands of businesses across the United States would have to be shuttered for an indeterminate length of time, because the goal is to flatten the curve of transmission.

We would still be facing the almost-certain prospect of a massive recession in order to combat the spread of this disease. There would be no realistic way around it, unless we are to be so callous as to say "Sayonara" to our friends and loved ones over 60, with compromised immune systems, or with preexisting cardiovascular and/or pulmonary disorders. Unless and until we are find some kind of quick-to-develop and distribute cure that in hindsight was just so incredibly obvious, we are stuck with a regimen that is going to brutally contract our nation's economy and will reverberate for years to come. Having a billion extra masks and a few tens of thousands of quickly-made new respirators would certainly have helped from the healthcare side for bettering capacity, but do nothing to cure the economic shock that is going to leave many people in this country in financial ruin.

er uh Felis, you're basically admitting the Federal govt was not "well-prepared" which was my response to your post. Thank you. Hey, you should come over to my thread about the flaming hypocrisy of republicans.

don't get me wrong, I fully support the effort. Its what they should be doing but I just cant help but suspect its only because a republican is president. I don't see any protests, claims of hyperinflation,dollar collapse, market to zero. And not only are republicans no longer worried about deficits as they hope to prevent a depression, they seem to be mad that they cant spend it as fast as they want to. Golly, that's not how I remember them during the Great Bush Recession. And the ongoing negotiations only show more republican hypocrisy. Democrats are not "conspiring to obstruct" the stimulus. they are simply trying to put some adequate controls on how the money is spent. This would be common sense even if Trump wasn't president. Its even more important with him in office.

Oh wait, you're already there avoiding the thread topic. Nevermind.

 

[Felis Leo]

er uh Felis, you're basically admitting the Federal govt was not "well-prepared" which was my response to your post. Thank you. Hey, you should come over to my thread about the flaming hypocrisy of republicans.

What on Earth do you mean "basically admitting," Vern? I already stated without prompting or cajoling by you or anyone else that the Federal government was ill-prepared and Donald Trump fell down on the job in almost every conceivable manner that he could have.

Now, was it your argument that if the Federal government was "well-prepared" to a realistic degree, that these business shut down orders and stay-in-place/social distancing orders would not be necessary? Because unless that is your argument, it is completely non-responsive to the point I was making. See below.

Oh wait, you're already there avoiding the thread topic. Nevermind.

Unless "avoiding the topic" is just another way of you saying "disputing the point being made" no I am not. The panic is caused not merely by the disease, but the economic shock and uncertainty millions upon millions of people now have as to how they are going to pay their bills in the coming weeks and months if businesses are forced to remain closed and people are required to remain socially isolated. Whatever your income level (I shall not inquire) you are presently in a privileged position of being able to continue to work and make an income, so you thankfully do not feel the pain. Not yet, anyway. I hope neither you or anyone you love or care about does.

 

[Vern]

What on Earth do you mean "basically admitting," Vern? I already stated without prompting or cajoling by you or anyone else that the Federal government was ill-prepared and Donald Trump fell down on the job in almost every conceivable manner that he could have.

Now, was it your argument that if the Federal government was "well-prepared" to a realistic degree, that these business shut down orders and stay-in-place/social distancing orders would not be necessary? Because unless that is your argument, it is completely non-responsive to the point I was making. See below.



Unless "avoiding the topic" is just another way of you saying "disputing the point being made" no I am not. The panic is caused not merely by the disease, but the economic shock and uncertainty millions upon millions of people now have as to how they are going to pay their bills in the coming weeks and months if businesses are forced to remain closed and people are required to remain socially isolated. Whatever your income level (I shall not inquire) you are presently in a privileged position of being able to continue to work and make an income, so you thankfully do not feel the pain. Not yet, anyway. I hope neither you or anyone you love or care about does.

You posted this

However well-prepared the Federal government was, you cannot tell some tens of million business owners to shutter their businesses and over a hundred million workers to stay home from work and somehow prevent a sense of anxiety and growing sense of panic.

I find it hard to believe you're not grasping my objection to what you posted. I responded with this. I'm clearly calling out your "well-prepared" comment. I coated thoroughly with "hot sauce".

first, I'm not seeing the shortages you're seeing. And I'm going to type this real slow for you because I think I've overestimated your intelligence but the Federal Govt was not "well-prepared". the guy in charge of the Federal govt not only ignored the intel that could have made the Federal govt "well-prepared" but he was also telling us it was a hoax. This is actually starting to remind me of bush ignoring the intel that could have prevented 9-11. He too pushed back at reality for his own agenda.

this was your deflecting response.

May I ask you something personal, Vern? Are you working right now?

and since I like you because I see so few actually intelligent conservatives so I answered your deflecting question. And again I brought up your "well-prepare" comment.

Because I like you felis I will answer your deflecting question. Yes I am working. Now can we get back your "well-prepared" comment that defies reality and ignores trump's gross incompetence?

You then posted a "tapestry of rhetoric" that again didn't address my issue with your "well-prepared" comment. And now I get the "feign umbrage" routine. I'm sorry I didn't see your post in an unrelated thread but you knew my point. I made it several times and it was quite clear. And that's why I call it the "feign umbrage" routine. And fyi, you've posted in the other thread I referenced but you've not responded to the thread topic which was my point. Is that going to take 3 posts for you to understand too?