I have an idea about a volunteer...

Seeing this story, here's an idea: let's start with trump as the grandpa who's willing to risk his life, as sort of a test case.

And once we see how it works out, we can go from there.

Anyone know if he's interested?

By the way, wasn’t it this same group of people who warned of “death panels” under Obamacare? And now they’re making unilateral decisions without even having the decency of a panel.

These folks are unreal. Why anyone. Any. One. Votes for these old white guys with the stupidest motivations is beyond me...

SE Cupp compares Trump crisis response to Obama and Bush

This. He’s unfit, and should be removed from office.

This should be the moment where people realize he’s not fit to lead

Not that there haven’t been others, but this one, at a moment where we need someone to lead and reassure us all that things will work out, he fails miserably.  Heck tell us we’re Americans and we’re resilient.  Tell us you have a plan.  Heck, talk about how you great you are.  But whatever you do, don’t dismiss the question, and move on.



“What can you do to reassure Americans?”

“You’re a terrible reporter”



If we apply the logic that he only says things to apply to him, then he’s a terrible occupier of the Oval Office.  Cause he ain’t (and has never been) a president.



He’s unfit and inept.



How anyone can still support this reality tv persona and expect he’s doing *anything* other than being that persona, how they can believe this isn’t only about ego and their own ignorance....sigh.  This is what we’ve become.  The great nation that has mostly been stewarded by people who would stand tall in big moments and tell us we will get through this, who believed in American exceptionalism, has mostly succumbed to this con man, who is only in it for himself.



I know, I’m yelling into the wind. Facts are in your face, yet you ignore them and listen to whatever shit spills out of his mouth.

It’s always about money

I just read the article linked below. In summary, there's a bullshitty fringe group that is taking on established science.

Why would they do this? Given the theme of the article, I would argue its about money (and power). The head "mismanaged" the money and now they're having to lay people off. 

And the major oil companies stopped funding this junk science. So there's not as much money coming in (because, you know, they figured out climate change is real and they're contributing to it). 

They note that one of the climate change denier scientists they wanted to use is a whackadoodle pedaphile. 

But one of the most amusing points made is that they brought in a 19 year old to be the antithesis of Greta Thunberg - you know the student activist who is bringing attention to global climate change?

Yeah, heartland *hired* her to be the voice of anti-science. And she turned out to have ties to a neo Nazi group. 

Because that's apparently how this works these days. Don't vet anyone, just put people out there to represent your cause. 

So they actively try and discredit science to promote an agenda that's profitable. Delightful. 

So as a note to the wise reader, be careful with information you hear. There is no "other side" to science. Sure there can be (educated) guesses (and lots of debate) as to what caused it and how to combat it. But don't doubt the core science. 

People are constantly lying to get your money - or money that could be otherwise spent to help you and secure your future. Don't let them get away with it. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heartland-institute-staff-layoffs-climate-change-denial_n_5e6302a6c5b6670e72f85fa5?guccounter=1&guc

Sent from my iPad

Star Trek Picard

We're 8 episodes into the 10 episode arc of the life of Jean-Luc Picard, well after the voyages of the Next Generation.  And I have to say that I'm finding it totally enjoyable.

Jean Luc (or annoyingly "JL") starts off as a broken old man, working in the vineyards after his stint in Starfleet, and some less-than-stellar experiences in the end.  Its interesting to see him develop his character and act less aged, and regain that spark that made him the inimitable captain.

The crew is interesting and has a fair amount of depth to them.  You feel something for them, and its worth it in a way. 

And I love the way it connects to the treks that came before.  There's a link to Voyager, and 7 of 9.  There's a link to TOS and the way the Romulans were presented.  You've got the Vulcan/Romulan link.  There's the Irumadic syndrome Picard has, and that we learn about in the last episode of Next Gen.  There's a link to Hugh the individual Borg.  There's a link to the AI in Discovery (or at least there seems to be).

And then there's Soji, the android, who appears to be related to Data - or is it Lore?

And there surely is some connection back to Q.  All the signs point that way.

Now its fun to go back and watch various episodes of TNG, VOY, and TOS that are called out in the story.  It helps understand this complicated story.  Its really cool.

As for the comment that this is somehow not trek, I have to disagree.  This is certainly not TNG - this is a darker, more pessimistic concept.  Certainly after war with the Borg, the Dominion, and other events, this has to have reshaped the utopia. 

And besides, there are certainly undertones of this darker world in the other shows - but they are presented in a more subtle way in general.  They just don't dwell on it.  Corruption, double agents, conniving, deceit. These were all shown in Starfleet.  And DS9 was no walk in the park; it was certainly dark and had an unusual tone.  So this is an extension of that.

I would say overall that CBS has done a really amazing job with the Star Trek franchise.  I have to imagine that Gene Roddenberry would be surprised at what its become - but you have to change with the times.  Maybe he would have seen that too.

Trumps continuing failure. Our national nightmare.

I posted recently that Mr Trump is failing in his response to the Coronavirus.

I wanted to expand in this a little.

He was ill-prepared to handle it. He reduced funding for responding to any global threat, and eliminated high-ranking roles that were established under Obama.

And then, he proceeds to blame Obama for this. Which (a) is false and (b) is something he could have rectified, I dunno, anytime in the three years since he took the job. So blaming someone else from many years ago is an outright lie. This comes right back to "this isn't my fault" blame shifting.

Then, there's his talks, like the one shown in this picture. This is a public health crisis. But never one to miss a bit of self promotion, he's wearing his stupid fucking hat. And at some point during his ramblings, he talks about how great he is and how he understands this stuff, and maybe how he could have been a doctor (that's how I interpreted it, others thought he meant something else).

How Bout caring about Americans who may get sick and die, rather than just about yourself?

And finally, the CDC, as it does, creates their worst-case scenario. This type of information had previously been made public for other crises. Because, of course, their job is to be scientists. To gather information, so informed decisions can be made by public and private health organizations.

But in this case, they were instructed not to release it. A copy leaked to the N.Y. Times. They called the CDC with questions, and were greeted with questions about how they obtained it - and were told outright that questions would have to go through the Whitehouse.

Information that should be made available to the public is now being politicized. Specifically for trumps gain.

He does not care about anything or anyone. Except of course himself. He wants to be re-elected and be made supreme leader. And the only way he can accomplish this is by controlling the information and lying to us.

So as I said before, if you are still buying what this snake oil salesman is touting then its on you.

You are part of a cult.

Leadership

The juxtaposition is jarring. Truman felt responsible for everything that happened under his watch.

Trump not so much. Whatever it is, it's not his fault. He didn't do it. Just watch yesterday's press conference for a lesson on how *not* to lead.

Anyone who still believes in this guy is simply a lost cause at this point. Trump has nothing to offer - and has failed, miserably, at managing a crisis.

He himself has been enraged that this virus is affecting his re-election chances. Not that people are sick. Not that we have a pandemic. Not even that our economy could (and will!) suffer.

He was mildly concerned that the market was down, but only because he was pinning part of his campaign on the fact that the economy is great!

He's a selfish fool. "Me! Me! Me!" Is all he's got. And if you don't see it, then please go buy more toilet paper and fill your ears with it.

—-
"The buck stops here" is a phrase popularized by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with the phrase on his desk in the Oval Office. The phrase refers to the notion that the President has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions.