Thursday - March 12, 2020

Everybody Is Kung Flu Fighting

“We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear”
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general

Someday, hopefully in April, this will all pass, and things will be normal again. But it may not be until May or June or later. And things won’t be normal anytime soon.

Maybe the massive shutdown of daily life will prove to be an overreaction. Maybe the virus, while contagious, isn’t that harmful. But the die is cast. Everything is shutting down.

No more hockey either. Like the NBA, the NHL just canceled the rest of the season. Aww crap.

And that’s about that needs to be said, other than random reports from here and there as the bodies pile up. If they do. And I hope they don’t. But “social distancing” is going to be the new watchword for the next few months.





I’m going to go to the grocery store again and buy up lots of everything that can be frozen or stored. If there is anything left. Because I’m a cynical semi-pessimist, I fully expect to encounter a near-panic situation when I get there.

Oh, the Dems came up with their own Mo Gibbs Wish List package too -

House Democrats late Wednesday unveiled a 124-page spending measure to address the coronavirus pandemic meant to aid workers and families set to have their lives disrupted.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill Thursday and, while it is poised to pass under the House Democratic majority, it’s not clear yet whether Senate Republicans will take it up before Congress is set to adjourn for a week-long recess.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said earlier Wednesday the price tag for the measure would be in the billions. A summary released by the House Appropriations Committee included some of the costs.

The House measure includes provisions that would entitle workers to paid sick leave and added time off for coronavirus patients and and establish a federal funding for “emergency leave” for people quarantined by the illness or caring for others affected.

It also would expand food stamps and unemployment insurance for those impacted by the coronavirus and the school and business closures it has caused, as well as aim to provide meals to children who normally get lunch at school. The measure also provides aid to states coping with increased medical costs for the poor.

Well, I suppose that won’t hurt, and it’s all fiat currency anyway, so what the heck.

I was going to post yesterday on how NYC and Seattle are planning on keeping their schools open no matter what, as they’re more social assistance centers than they are learning institutions. Let’s see if that idea lasts longer than the first provable school kid infection vector.

... and the stock market is tanking again OF COURSE.  >2000 points down one day, >1000 points up the next, now it’s down >1800 points and it’s not even 10am. Aside from being totally overvalued, the market is totally over-reactive. It’s all a dream anyway, so why not just dream “and then the wicked witch Wuflu put the whole castle to sleep for 100 years 60 days”, AND JUST PARK IT.

U.S. stocks plummeted at opening Thursday after President Trump’s speech Wednesday night failed to calm investors’ fears about the coronavirus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.43%, for a loss of 1,749 points, at opening.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite were also down at opening, 6.62% and 6.49%, respectively.

At the market opening, the price for crude oil is down by more than 7% and trading at roughly $30 a barrel.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/12/2020 at 08:53 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
• Comments (0) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner