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March 2020
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George Rebane

When there’s a problem, don’t bet against government as being its source.

For the Rebanes today is HD23.  Given the comment stream under the 26mar20 posting of HDD, in addition to sharing my own hunker down doings, I am going to make this an ongoing repository of readers’ experiences, views, and opinions concerning the Covid19 pandemic.  Hopefully we will draw strength and get a laugh or two from each other’s fears, feats, and foibles as we cope and spend time with family (and friends?) in close quarters for the duration.

Jo Ann and I have taken this time to finish long-languishing projects, add to our already extensive reading lists, and continue our normal intercourse with family and friends through new means of distance socializing.  My own direction has been, unsurprisingly, to look at our cultural changes and public policies that are driven by the current social distancing and economic slowdown.   When we emerge on the other side, things are going to be markedly different in how we conduct our lives.  I intend to offer a structured list of the affected areas which I hope will draw some stimulating discussion and, of course, expansion from the fertile minds of RR readers.

In the meantime, I share with you the scariest news I’ve heard about C19 that was just published by the LA Times (here or here) – the virus is definitely and pervasively transmitted by aerosols exhaled by pre-symptomatic infected people, aerosols which can dwell for hours suspended in the air we breathe.

An interim C19 ‘vaccine’?  On the more hopeful side, the biggest and most suppressed news is about the efficacy of hydro-chloroquine (HCQ) in protecting against C19 onset, and the combination of HCQ and azithromycin (AZM) in treating the disease after onset of symptoms.  Multiple reports have now emerged about the successes in the use of these drugs in controlled hospital settings here and abroad. (here and here)  So here’s an idea for a possible interim C19 vaccine from Dr Rebane (PhD NOT MD) – administer a sequence or combination of (weakened if possible) C19 virus and/then HCQ, either one after the other, say, a day apart, or together in a cocktail.  The hopeful idea being that the virus would set off the body’s natural mechanism for producing C19 antibodies, and the presence of HCQ would ameliorate the onset of the disease, allowing the individual to recover with an effective level of immunity.  I wouldn’t recommend this to people with pre-existing medical conditions that already make them more vulnerable to C19.  Anyway, as always, readers’ thoughts on this are most welcome.

On the more mundane side, it’s worth noting with some alarm that our stores continue to be out of sanitary and paper products.  Hunker down hoarding continues to take its toll on many things, and now more than ever since President Trump has extended the HD advisory to last through April.


Finally, my little fevered brain, long used to noodling about technical esoteria, has been working on a home-brewed epidemiological spreading model in order to examine quantitatively the effects of certain epidemic response policies and the potential impact of medical interventions.  So, as a systems modeler I read a couple of papers on such models and found them unnecessarily obtuse, and altogether unavailable for simply downloading and playing with them.  I call my home brew Epidyne2 which has at least the complexity of the models used by the big kids, and can answer most (all?) the same questions.  Right now I’m going through the final phases of debugging and testing the code, and I’ll share the complete model in spreadsheet form so that anyone who is interested can play with it.  The spread of a contagious disease in a constrained population is a fascinating and highly non-linear process, and also very revealing when you get to play with what I will offer as a perhaps not-so-toy tool.

Anyway, to whet your curiosity, here’s an output plot of a test run.  In this scenario the total vulnerable and uninfected population (popU) numbers 100M (say, the approx US pop who don’t isolate themselves and remain vulnerable).  The disease starts with the introduction of 1,000 infected people (popI).  The timescale (horizontal axis) is in weeks.  The reproduction rate of the disease (rI) is variable, and is a function of the various population cohorts that employs some nice mathematics to account for what epidemiologists call ‘herd immunity’ which plays a critical part in how contagious diseases spread in a population.

Epidyne2_01

The plot displays five population cohorts over a period of 60 weeks – popTot (cyan) is the total vulnerable population which in this scenario remains constant, but which can also be varied to study the effects of different levels of time-dependent imposed quarantines and self-isolation. popU (blue) is the uninfected population.  popI (red) is the infected population (here we take the C19 experience that once a person becomes infected, he will take nI = 4 weeks to either die or recover and be immune.  The recovered cohort is popR (green), and the dear departed is popD (black).

Here we see that the disease plays itself out in less than 25 weeks from onset.  The maximum number infected (popI) will number about 62M in week 18.  The appropriately time-lagged recovered (popR) and deceased (popD) cohorts stabilize at 72.5M and 2.25M respectively.  In this scenario I have set at two the max weekly reproduction rate (rImax) per pre-symptomatic person and the death rate (rD) at 3%.  This rate will reduce as herd immunity takes effect.  And, as shown, the disease plays itself out with approximately 25M having never been infected.

For those who can’t wait for my post on Epidyne2, and want to examine in more detail, or perhaps even program up the model in spreadsheet form (a formidable undertaking), I will offer the iterative equations in an update to this post.

[Update] Here is the complete Epidyne2 model that can be programmed into Excel.  Click on image to get a more readable version.

Epidyne2Model_200329

Posted in , , ,

116 responses to “Hunker Down Diary – 30mar20 (updated)”

  1. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    . I was considering the ‘unhoused individuals’ today and noticing fewer but crazier examples. It occurred to me that the lack of hubbub of everyday life is going to send them off the deep end. No occasional dollars to buy drugs and beer, no humanity to watch. OTOH, I betcha that you’ll read epidemiology papers in a few years about the spread of the virus via temporary sheltering of them. Stick a bunch of outdoors life enthusiasts in an enclosed area and, voila’, virus spread. Time to inundate the local hospital. It would be a helluva thing if HH ended up with 100% of the ventilators.
    . There must be somebody out there applying machine learning against epidemic models. Obviously a person could write a big ol’ model, put some knobs on various public policies, and run it for a few million iterations. You do have to wonder if anything like that acts like real life at all but it would be an interesting exercise.
    . What to do with the Trumpbux. I’m bored with the idea of military-appearing rifles so a breakdown lever action in .223 might be just the thing. In stainless, Maybe a leather fringe coat. In the upcoming apocalypse a person needs to live it in style.
    . Personally I’m keeping an eye on nursing, supply chain guys, and New York city forums. Forewarned is forearmed (or is it fourarmed? kind of a cut-rate Ganesh).
    . The virus hanging in the air thing has been known for some time, although I haven’t seen much interest in indirect vented eye protection to wear while shopping for canned vegetables. It’s even available at Amazon, so beat the rush. Now that Fauci admitted that N95 masks are a good thing and that they were fibbing, reuse protocol will become all the rage.

    Like

  2. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    GeorgeR@OP
    I’d be happy to look at the equations. I have to admit that my approach would be to brute force some sort of particle system (particles being people of course, just like Soylent Green). Heck, with enough rented computer, I suppose a person could treat each virus as it’s own agent.

    Like

  3. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    . Here’s a thought. What’ll be the effect of the Wuhan Virus on the census? You could also make an argument for all staunch California Republicans to ignore the census, maybe counteract the illegal alien count in getting US House members.

    Like

  4. George Rebane Avatar

    scenes 1241pm – As you will see, Epidyne2 is pretty much brute force, and therefore very practical. Most of the professional models mess with 50Kft level theory which consist of a set of linear differential eqns that succumb to analytical solutions having eigenvalues and such – very impractical. The real world is highly non-linear with input functions and time-series which require numerical solutions through iterative approaches like Epidyne2. I look forward to your comments.
    BTW, my current report on aerosol transmission is not an epiphany, it confirms that which I reported days ago in a manner that I, and apparently everyone else, have not witnessed in such a profound expression. Exhaled C19 viruses wafting for hours (not minutes) in infectable concentrations is disturbing news indeed.

    Like

  5. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: GeorgeR@1:06PM
    It would be interesting to get a real-deal expert on the telly to talk about virus hang time, lifetime on surface, effect of temperature/sunlight etc. There is bound to be an ex Biopreparat employee who has all this information at their gloved fingertips. I would trust that source more than some NIH talking head.
    Be careful at the store and check your mask fit.

    Like

  6. Walt Avatar

    Libs showing their true colors.
    But I’m sure there is a known Proggy here(maybe two) who
    would cheer her on.
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/top-hospital-executive-fired-for-mocking-trump-supporters/
    “Laura Krolczyk, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s vice president for external affairs, was fired last week by the hospital, according to spokeswoman Annie Deck-Miller in a statement to Buffalo News.
    “Trump supporters need to pledge to give up their ventilators for someone else … and not go to the hospital,” Krolczyk replied.
    LaTrovato responded once more and said, “I think they should be the only ones in packed churches on Sunday.”
    “They should barricade themselves in there and ride this out,” Krolczyk said. “

    Like

  7. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Walt
    We ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Imagine what they will be like on week 4 on the new 4 1/2 week projection of the Great Hunkering Down. Man, they will be all weak-kneed and shaking in fear and ending up like a tub of Jell-O at this rate. Bet they don’t make it to April 27. Heck, I wonder if they will make it to April Fools Day. Strawberry Festival @ Fairgrounds cancelled for year. And don’t forgot all those Sports Junkies. Talk about withdrawal symptoms. Yep, it’s going to get interesting to watch.
    Homebound: 28 Days Later. Kinda nice watching those anvils hitting Wile E Coyote on the head, complete with the big egg sized welt on top of the mellon.
    —————
    Paraphrase a couples of sentences I heard. A little birdie told me…
    “What is with this toilet paper panic? White suburban people racing out to buy big packages of toilet paper. Is this what our nation has become? The American people are crazy.”
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10219217133712231&set=a.1026208368539&type=3&theater

    Like

  8. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    The chi coms are working hard to erase the facts –
    Dr. Ai Fen, director of emergency management at Wuhan Central Hospital and one of the first doctors to blow the whistle on the coronavirus epidemic at a time when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was desperate to conceal it, has reportedly vanished.
    She began speaking out against the CCP two weeks ago, beginning with an interview that Chinese censors relentlessly suppressed.
    Ai’s interview in early March was a courageous indictment of Communist Party leadership for concealing the epidemic, and especially for denying that the Wuhan virus could be transmitted between humans. She said doctors in Wuhan knew the virus could pass between humans weeks before the CCP admitted it to the world, and blamed herself for failing to speak out despite orders to keep quiet.
    Of her early role in attempting to spread the word about the coronavirus, Ai said: “I am not a whistleblower. I am the one who provided the whistle.”
    The CCP’s censorship machine went into overdrive stamping out Ai’s interview, hunting it down and deleting it as it spread through social media and forcing the paper that interviewed Ai to effectively pretend the interview never happened.
    Australian media noted over the weekend that Ai has “disappeared,” as 60 Minutes Australia put it.
    https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2020/03/30/australian-report-wuhan-whistleblower-dr-ai-fen-has-disappeared/
    😉

    Like

  9. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    HD Diary.
    Thoughts of a madman:
    -Why don’t they just call it distancing. We all know what they means.
    -My Internet has been as bad as dialup lately, Unstable would be an accurate observation. I know exactly why. It started as soon as The People got their TP. Now, it got worse. No sports on TV, everybody ordered to shelter-n-place and now you idiots are binge streaming Netflix. Stop it. Think of us ole po’ folk for once. Greedy things you are.

    Like

  10. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Creepy grampa joe got in front of a mic again –
    “I think people should check that because there’s something going on. I don’t think it’s hoarding. I think it’s maybe worse than hoarding,” he said. “Check it out. I don’t know. I think that’s for other people to figure out.”
    “Are they going out the back door?” he added.
    A mask manufacturer present at the briefing backed up those numbers.
    The fact that crucial media supplies are being stolen from hospitals, the fact there is a black market for this stuff, is not news.
    No less than Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke of it about three weeks ago, and there have been all kinds of reports about this problem, and not just here in America, but elsewhere in the world.
    There is nothing controversial about what Trump said, especially in light of the news that doctors themselves are reportedly “hoarding” the anti-malaria drug that looks promising in treating the coronavirus.
    By any sane measure, the president is absolutely correct to call attention to this problem, but China Joe Biden doesn’t think it’s a problem, so he’s screaming about it being a conspiracy theory.
    In a statement released Sunday, the same guy who declared Trump’s prescient travel bans racist, said Trump’s concerns about mask stealing are “ridiculous and completely false.”
    “Today’s conspiracy mongering by our President is among the most reckless and ignorant moves he has made during this crisis, and there have been many,” the statement read in part.
    This is utterly bizarre.
    The Democrat governor of New York has been concerned about this for weeks…
    There are news reports from all around the country about this theft…
    A hospital that can only hold so many patients increases its order times ten…
    But Biden’s still popping off about “conspiracy mongering” in the face of all this evidence, which is not only brazenly political, but dangerous.
    It only makes sense, given human nature and our current predicament (not to mention media reports), that there’s a black market for this stuff at worst and that people are hoarding this stuff for themselves and their families as best, but Slow Joe doesn’t want anything done about it, even though it may cost people their lives.
    What’s more, if you click on those links, in some cases, you have healthcare professionals themselves worrying about this theft, and for good reason: they don’t want to get sick, and when more of them get sick, fewer sick people can be treated.
    Should we not be listening to the people on the front lines, Joe?
    But no one in the media will ask him this, just like no one in the media will ask him about his deadly opposition to Trump’s vital travel bans.
    And, of course, the fake news media are also attacking Trump for expressing concern over something they themselves have reported on.
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/biden-dismisses-numerous-reports-mask-theft-accuse-trump-conspiracy-mongering/
    😉
    Democrats sure got it good.

    Like

  11. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Wimbledon was scheduled to start June 29th, we may be hunkering down longer than we think –
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2020/03/30/wimbledon-canceled-due-coronavirus-says-german-tennis-official/5085866002/
    😉

    Like

  12. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    The chi coms emperor xi has no clothes –
    Boris Johnson’s government is reportedly furious with China’s handling of the coronavirus, with UK officials quoted on Sunday warning that Beijing faces a “reckoning” once the COVID-19 crisis is over.
    UK government officials believe China is spreading disinformation about the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in its country, the Mail on Sunday reports.
    The newspaper says scientists have warned Johnson that China could have downplayed its number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus “by a factor of 15 to 40 times.” China had reported just 81,439 at the time of writing.
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/boris-johnsons-government-reportedly-furious-075257081.html
    😉

    Like

  13. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    The chi coms are still what they are and we pay the price –
    The Netherlands is the latest country to reject China-made coronavirus testing kits and other protective gear, calling the items substandard and raising serious questions about the quality of the supplies Beijing is selling to the world.
    The Netherlands joins Spain, Turkey, Georgia, and the Czech Republic in their concerns over masks and test kits. The claims come as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surge in the United States and Europe, highlighting the dependence many countries have on Chinese imports.
    https://www.foxnews.com/world/netherlands-becomes-latest-country-to-reject-china-made-coronavirus-test-kits-gear
    😉

    Like

  14. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Good thing.
    J&J, Moderna sign deals with U.S. to produce huge quantity of possible coronavirus vaccines
    https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN21H1OY
    Like most big problems, it’ll be solved as a series of small solutions.

    Like

  15. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Looks like garcettis fresh organic arugula jones aint gonna get a fix –
    L.A. Mayor Listens …
    Shuts Down Farmer’s Markets
    https://www.tmz.com/?adid=TMZ_Web_Nav_News
    😉

    Like

  16. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Might want to throw another can of vegetables in the cart next time at the store.
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-27/food-workers-getting-sick-is-the-latest-threat-to-world-supply
    Not to overstate the situation, just thinking out loud.
    A thing I’m not seeing…it would be an interesting angle if there were an executive order to not export food. If it really does hit farm workers and distribution networks at the supply end, I could see a worldwide shutdown of food exports. A big problem for some countries.

    Like

  17. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Not a bad video
    Whistleblowers silenced by China could have stopped global coronavirus spread | 60 Minutes Australia
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEQcvcyzQGE
    Although it’s not clear to me how Donald Trump was involved, someone will find a way.

    Like

  18. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    That’s not helpful @730 There are lots of idled workers who need to work. God Bless the truckers!

    Hey Dr R, that post about the effects on views I did is already coming true. OH MY what will the socialist dems do!
    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/harvard-harris-poll-5-in-6-americans-want-to-end-immigration-from-mexico/
    😉

    Like

  19. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Confessions of a warehouse worker
    ‘Warehouse Work in an Age of Contagion’
    “As regular readers of Quillette will know, I work at a warehouse in West Sacramento, California, where every workday I toil in close quarters with dozens of other employees. In the days before the advent of the novel coronavirus pandemic, that wasn’t a problem. Now, however, it’s a little bit frightening. Last week, along with all other members of the company’s workforce, I received an email informing me that a supplier of surgical masks for all warehouse workers hasn’t yet been found. In the meantime, employees are improvising. People are covering their faces with bandanas, like stagecoach bandits in the Old West. Others are wearing ski masks, like contemporary bank robbers. Some wear scarves around their faces, even though the weather is fairly warm now. And some have even managed to procure actual facemasks. But most of the employees, like me, work uncovered.“
    https://quillette.com/2020/03/30/warehouse-work-in-an-age-of-contagion/

    Like

  20. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Nevada County count up to 21. 15 in the ‘East County’.
    Since Truckee is about the size of GV + NC, what’s the deal?
    Unlike LA, NYC, northern Italy, you can’t blame a large Chinese population with plane tickets.
    Is it just a statistical anomaly (EZ to do with small numbers) or the fabled vacation home invasion at work?

    Like

  21. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    moi: ” the fabled vacation home invasion at work?”
    George, maybe you need to whistle up another Quad 50, although I’m not sure where to place it.

    Like

  22. Walt Avatar

    Scenes.. The AG. inspection station on 80?

    Like

  23. George Rebane Avatar

    scenes 927am – Not sure it will come to that, but history tells us that the spread of plagues in the real old days (13th, 14th centuries) people took matters into their own hands to stop travelers from reaching their towns and cities.

    Like

  24. Walt Avatar

    No,,no…. Scratch that. The West bound rest stop at the summit.

    Like

  25. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Scenes @ 7:50 pm
    “Not a bad video”……. “Although it’s not clear to me how Donald Trump was involved, someone will find a way.”
    As sure as night follows day, The Queen of the Damned has started with the ole “We need an investigation into what did Trump know and when did he know it.”

    Like

  26. Don Bessee Avatar
    Don Bessee

    Americans are still feeling good about things –
    The present situation component fell from 169.3 to 167.7, a small decline to a still historically elevated level, indicating that U.S. consumers felt comfortable with their jobs and business conditions even as many parts of the economy began to shut down in March.
    https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2020/03/31/u-s-consumer-confidence-holds-up-better-than-expected/
    😉

    Like

  27. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Part 2: “Although it’s not clear to me how Donald Trump was involved, someone will find a way.”
    Montage of Mayor Wilhelm.
    https://news.grabien.com/story-compilation-nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio-downplaying-covid-19-le
    PELOSI LAST MONTH IN SAN FRAN’S CHINATOWN DURING CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: ‘COME JOIN US!’
    ‘We do want to say to people, come to Chinatown, here we are … come join us’
    https://news.grabien.com/story-pelosi-last-month-san-frans-chinatown-during-coronavirus-out
    NEW ORLEANS EMS OFFICIAL A WEEK BEFORE MARDI GRAS.: DON’T WORRY, THERE’S NO CORONAVIRUS AROUND US
    ‘There is no concern at this time for coronavirus in our region … the risk for us is very low
    And on and on it goes.
    Well, I for one am glad I don’t listen to those fools. Safety first and all that.
    —————————————
    March has been a long month.
    OBSERVATIONS ON THE GREAT HUNKERING (8)
    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/03/observations-on-the-great-hunkering-8.php

    Like

  28. George Rebane Avatar

    re BillT 1027am – One should also counter Pariah Pelosi, ‘How many did you kill by inviting people to gather in large groups and infect each other?’

    Like

  29. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Some don’t listen to us hunkering downers. A girl is going to do what a girl is going to do.
    New Jersey woman charged with violating stay-at-home order after throwing Molotov cocktail at boyfriend’s house
    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/new-jersey-woman-charged-with-violating-stay-at-home-order-after-throwing-molotov-cocktail-at-boyfriends-house
    If this Great Hunkering Down continues for a couple more months’ expect wholesale (mass) non-compliance.
    ———————
    “National gas average is $1.99/gal. Bummer man. Cheap gas and nowhere to go.”—Thoughts of a Madman.

    Like

  30. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    I am old enough to remember when crisis meant impeachment.
    ‘Just two months ago, ‘crisis’ meant impeachment’
    http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0320/lowry033120.php3
    ————————
    VDH: ‘Coronavirus: The California Herd’
    “By now, California should be, as predicted in so many models, ground zero of infection.”
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-california-herd-immunity/

    Like

  31. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    billT@12:27
    “THE GREAT HUNKERING”
    That’s brilliant, whoever the author is. I declare that the official name of the era, or at least stage 1 of something bigger.

    Like

  32. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Somebody should get a little trophy for this.
    https://i.redd.it/yzajtwnqw1q41.jpg

    Like

  33. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Take it for what it’s worth.
    https://news.yahoo.com/suspected-sars-virus-and-flu-found-in-luggage-fbi-report-describes-chinas-biosecurity-risk-144526820.html
    of course, the absolutely most important thing is brought up:
    “But the FBI’s focus on China and Chinese scientists is also raising concerns among some academics, who fear it smacks of profiling. “I am concerned that the current trend in national security is toward profiling against people of Chinese descent,” said Nicholas Evans, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who specializes in medical ethics. “That’s not only racist, it’s bad practice. FBI and other intelligence and law enforcement attempts at profiling have very often been harmful without making us any safer.””
    Now, if the smuggler was only a man in a dress, we could get a two-fer.

    Like

  34. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    Just one of those things you run into.
    https://twitter.com/SalihHudayar/status/1244417505931808773

    Like

  35. George Rebane Avatar

    scenes 157pm – Great pick-up; have you seen any major outlet reporting on this? Clearly CDC and NIH were asleep at the switch even after SARS hit. But the thing that’s clear to all the nation’s leftwingnuts (especially our local ones) is that the whole thing is Trump’s fault.

    Like

  36. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    WALSH: Politicians Are Seizing Virtually Unlimited Power. Do You Think They’re Ever Going To Relinquish It?
    “Over the weekend, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that “synagogues” and “churches” that disobey his order to remain shut down may be closed permanently as punishment. One can’t help but notice that the good mayor conspicuously omitted one type of worship facility from this dire warning. But whether mosques are exempt or not, the bigger issue is that Bill de Blasio certainly does not have the authority to permanently close places of worship as a punitive measure for defying his commands. He has the word “mayor” in front of his name, not “sultan” or “king” or “supreme leader.” And the First Amendment still exists, even if he’d prefer to pretend otherwise………
    The really worrisome thing is that so many citizens of this country seem to be accepting this state of affairs without question. Indeed, those who question it are liable to be shouted down by the unquestioning. I suppose the latter camp believes the government will kindly relinquish its dictatorial powers once this crisis is at an end. But history reveals them as gullible fools. Governments never give up power once attained. They only seek to normalize it and bide their time until even the questioning get used to it.“
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-politicians-are-seizing-virtually-unlimited-power-do-you-think-theyre-ever-going-to-relinquish-it?

    Like

  37. Walt Avatar

    Dear Diary. It’s a good day for a slab of ribs and tater salad.
    Heck. We may even just open one of those Wiese food tubs just for kicks. This pandemic IS what we stashed them away for GOD knows how long ago,,, right? Just for a side dish. Southwest rice?
    There are perks to not living in the concrete jungle and suburbia. No busybody snitch to call the cops ratting you out for being outside. (the scanner tells the story)

    Like

  38. Bill Tozer Avatar
    Bill Tozer

    Pentagon has not yet sent 2,000 ventilators due to lack of shipment location
    https://thehill.com/policy/defense/490484-pentagon-has-not-yet-sent-2000-ventilators-due-to-lack-of-shipment-location
    I don’t care. It’s all Orange Man Bad’s fault.

    Like

  39. scenes Avatar
    scenes

    re: GeorgeR@3:28
    “have you seen any major outlet reporting on this? ”
    Nah. I expect that if they do, it’ll be about how Trump read this article 13 years ago and didn’t act on it.
    Some odds ‘n ends
    https://twitter.com/jenniferatntd/status/1244272262284554241
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msrqE87yTRs
    https://www.amazon.com/April-Story-Thermometer-Non-Contact-Temperature/dp/B085S1SCXQ/
    According to a redditor, this last one sez: “In essence the writing that goes down vertically states I wish your whole family dies. The horizontal writing states I wish when there is what we call red events aka weddings there will be white events aka funerals and when there is white events there will be red. It’s a really bad jinx to say your family will never have peace”.
    Gotta love that in addition to the 5:1 price increase on what is probably a defective thermometer.

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    A decent way to keep track of the WHO’s public opinion.
    https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports

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  41. Walt Avatar

    You would think this guy is the emperor of China, or WWII Japan.
    https://www.rappler.com/nation/256457-duterte-draws-flak-saying-frontliners-lucky-die-philippines
    “MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has drawn strong criticism for romanticizing the deaths of medical personnel on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak in the country when he said they were “lucky” to die in the service of the Philippines.”
    But will our resident LIBS do the same for his majesty Gavin Nesom? They blindly follow the DEM donkey and gleefully pick up whatever it drops as it is.

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  42. Don Bessee Avatar
  43. Walt Avatar

    Those Calif. LIB bastards….
    “Supervisor David Rabbitt defended Godley, citing his hard work. He called for more lax rules for public servants like Godley or health care professionals.”
    https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-official-admits-beach-visit-coronavirus
    ““I want my top people who are responding to this crisis to be of sound mind, body and health,” Rabbitt added. “And if that means going to the coast to feel better, I’m all for it.”
    That’s the Putin Commie government perk system.
    They can go home and “rest” like everyone else.

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    New story in Consumer Reports on household cleanser v. virus had a paragraph:
    “And toilet paper and paper towels will continue to be scarce. “The paper companies are struggling to meet demand,” Flickinger says. “They’re supplying about 25 percent of what retailers are ordering.” Your best bet is to ask the store manager when the trucks make their deliveries and be there when they’re unloading.”
    How much damm TP did people buy for pity’s sake? I figured that the end of the supply chain emptied in a pulse and then everything would calm down. Go figure.
    From da BBC
    Coronavirus: India’s pandemic lockdown turns into a human tragedy
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52086274
    I wonder if these highly vaunted epidemic models take into account the tendency of people to get out of Dodge? That in itself sounds like an interesting bit of math being one of those crazy non-linear behaviors that bounces up against limits.
    Things seem pretty quiet in Hunkertown.

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    Hang on, did I think to put up this link?
    How resilient is the United States’ food system to pandemics?
    Andrew G. Huff et alia
    https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/How-resilient-is-the-US-food-system-to-pandemics-huff.pdf

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    Another one of those finds on the net.
    https://twitter.com/WBYeats1865/status/1244821557253255169

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