Derek Lowe On The Latest Chloroquine/Azithromycin Trial From France

The good news is that trials of ydroxychloroquine/azithromycin to treat COVID-19 are underway in New York so the French doctor will be overtaken by science.

The bad news is, well, not so good. Trial results promising, methodology and Dr. Raoult himself lacking in credibility:

This is going to be a long post on the whole issue, so if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, here’s the summary: these new results are still not from randomized patients and still do not have any sort of control group for comparison. The sample is larger, but it’s still not possible to judge what’s going on. And on further reading, I have doubts about Dr. Raoult’s general approach to science and doubts about Dr. Raoult himself. Despite this second publication, I am actually less hopeful than I was before. Now the details.

I have been shifting into the Chloroquine Bears camp on this for obvious reasons - first, if it was an overnight miracle cure we'd have heard rumors and innuendo from the NYC effort. And second, this protocol is hardly a secret - the Chinese and South Koreans have approved it in their hospitals in late February and Medical Twitter has buzzed about it since then (including a "Hands off your malaria pills" PSA in Nigeria!).

The silence starts to become deafening after a while. Doesn't mean it won't work, but it won't be a Game Over treatment either. Well, that's my current guess, which is no doubt influenced by a third day with no sunshine.

YES: To paraphrase Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad", "I am the sunshine!". Although not lately. But I hear the Comeback Pony whinnying in the barn!

Comments

[sbwaters]

Foist.

[sbwaters]

Herding people over from the last thread.

[Melinda]

Wilhelm tackling the critical:

Matt Walsh
@MattWalshBlog
For all the folks constantly yelling about fascism, here it is. In the flesh.

Matthew Schmitz @matthewschmitz
De Blasio: churches and synagogues that hold worship services may be closed permanently

https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1244399242942218242

[hrtshpdbox]

Who's got a better bead on R&B, the African-American on the left, or the Jewish guy on the right? Seems like a particularly easy question once you know that the black fellow is the great blues musician Little Walter. But it's a tough call anyway because the other guy is Leonard Chess, the founder of the towering R&B record label Chess, and someone who really knew his music - he didn't just own a record company, he searched the countryside for blues giants, virtually dragged them into his studios, and recorded them for posterity. Leonard Chess's love of R&B is, in a lot of cases, the sole reason that plenty of great musicians ever got inside a recording studio - without him big slices of American R&B are lost.

I think it's interesting to ponder all of the different hands, and influences, that go into the music (or entertainment) of a great country. Take Heartbreak Hotel, for instance.

People sometimes think Elvis wrote his own songs, but he only wrote a few. He'd do standards, or people wrote for him. Hound Dog, certainly, is an odd song for him to do, as a "hound dog" is supposed to be a no-good cheatin' man. Before it was a hit for Elvis, it was a great (and more appropriate) blues track done by Big Mama Thornton:

And, as you can see, the tune was penned by the phenomenal songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (two more Jewish guys), who studied Thornton and wrote the song with her in mind. If you haven't heard it, you should check it out - it is raucous. When Elvis decided to do the song, Lieber and Stoller huddled with him and helped on the arrangement.

I think that's a good example of the mixing pot - two east coast Jewish guys write a song for a Houston blues singer, which they further adapt for a Memphis rockabilly singer. And ain't that America, for you and me, little pink houses and such.

[hrtshpdbox]

"Take Heartbreak Hotel, for instance."

Duh, s/b Hound Dog, obvs, lol.

[Captain Hate]

Willowed

@phalangesmd? Wasn't he a pseudonym created by Phoebe in Friends?

I think that's correct. At first I thought Seinfeld but you're correct.

Good musical insight, box. Btw that Dave Mason album happened after he toured with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, at the same time that all the eventual Derek and the Dominoes did, and was strongly influenced by that.

[Melinda]

Duane was sitting in with Delaney & Bonnie during the same time, I believe.

[Threadkiller]

Thanks for posting that email, amom.

Plaquenil which has weak ACE2 blockade doesn't appear to be a savior of any kind in our patient population.

I hope the results change in that statistic. The mention of ACE2 reminded me to ask what the thoughts were on taking ACE inhibitors like losartan. I thought I read here last week that they may be detrimental when it comes to Covid.

[anonamom]

Eileen Guo
@eileenguo
· 21h
#Wuhan residents estimate, based on calculations of cremations and urns now being returned to families, that between 42k-46k (!!) died in city + surrounding areas in the 2.5 months of lockdown. Far more than official figure of 2535 deaths. #COVID19

[MissMarple2]

@AFP_Sport
·
1h
#BREAKING The postponed #TokyoOlympics will start on July 23, 2021, organisers say

[henry]

@vickymckenna

Elections Commission holds emergency meeting on whether to investigate Dane, Milwaukee county clerks for advising voters to break the law

(Via 27 News NOW)

https://twitter.com/vickimckenna/status/1244607267737145346?s=21

[MissMarple2]

CBS4 Indy
@CBS4Indy
·
1h
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams listed Indianapolis as one of the emerging hotspots for the coronavirus. He says other emerging hotspots are New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Miami. https://cbs4indy.com/news/us-surgeon-general-names-indianapolis-among-emerging-hotspots-for-coronavirus/
#4YourMorning
======================
Emerging hot spots:

Indianapolis
New Orleans
Chicago
Detroit
Los Angeles
Miami

I thought I had heard that when I first woke up this mornimg.

[Rocco]

I've read some encouraging things about Raoult. And treating 1004 patients with only 1 death sounds pretty hopeful to me.

https://mobile.twitter.com/raoult_didier/status/1244237477826703360

[anonamom]

TK, my suspicion is that the hydroxychloroquine needs to be taken early--before a person gets to the "I need a ventilator" stage.

I don't think its major benefit is the ACE2 blockade, but its ability to facilitate zinc's entrance into cells , which stops the RNA transcriptase from making more virus.

So, that explains the success of the guy who treated the 699 outpatients from his office, keeping 140 (the 20% who end up there) of them out of the hospital (if his report is to be believed. I have no reason to doubt him.)

Basically--stop it in your nose , before it gets to your lungs.
I'm all in on that!

[Marlene]

Good Morning! hrtshpdbox... I actually knew that fun fact about Hound Dog. During the daughter's college orientation week-end,workshops were given to the parents and we signed up for an interesting music workshop. The presenter played the Big Mama Thornton record and it is raucous for sure.

[boris]

"The mention of ACE2 reminded me to ask what the thoughts were on taking ACE inhibitors like losartan"

On a low dose ACE inhibitor I looked into that a bit. Seems adapting to ACE inhibitor may increase the population of ACE receptors and that helps the virus penetrate and infect those cells.

So at this point discontinuing the ACE inhibitor would have no short term benefit.

[Neo]

There is a story , apocryphal , that one of the FDA's New Drug Approval guys used to drive exactly 55mph in the left lane of the DC Beltway at rush hour. , Because it was the Law , and gd , he was going to enforce the Law , whatever the consequences

[boris]

"my suspicion is that the hydroxychloroquine needs to be taken early--before a person gets to the "I need a ventilator" stage"

If true then restricting it's use to critical "nothing to lose" patients would be less effective than promoting early use.

[Extraneus]

if it was an overnight miracle cure we'd have heard rumors and innuendo from the NYC effort.

Not to mention China and Italy.

Btw, is today the day we start to see data from the NYC trial?

[jimmyk]

I sure hope the NYC trial isn't using Plaquenil on the most critical cases, if that's where it's not effective. I can imagine that happening if there's a limited supply of the drug.

[rse]

TK-

I have found this site helpful and he did a story within last few weeks on that ACE inhibitor story and how dangerous it would be to discontinue on that basis.

https://theskepticalcardiologist.com/ is the general site since it has plenty of good info in general. Hubby has gotten a kardio machine so he can email HR and that he is staying out of afib to his cardiologist.

[rse]

https://theskepticalcardiologist.com/covid-19-and-sars-cov-2/ has the ace link and other helpful info.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

via Don Surber:

"If you are receiving Social Security benefits but didn’t file taxes in 2018 or 2019, you will be eligible to receive a stimulus check without a tax return based on data available to the IRS from your annual Social Security benefits statement. The government will send you a direct deposit or check using the information from your Form SSA-1099 Social Security Benefit Statement or your Form RRB-1099 Social Security Equivalent Benefit Statement. You will not have to file a 2019 tax return to get a stimulus check."

[anonamom]

willowed

This ain't "the flu".

From my cousin, an ER doc:

Reposted from another group. Interesting but horrific read for those on the front line. Prayers for all of you on the front line!

"I am an ER MD in New Orleans. Class of 98. Every one of my colleagues have now seen several hundred Covid 19 patients and this is what I think I know.

Clinical course is predictable.
2-11 days after exposure (day 5 on average) flu like symptoms start. Common are fever, headache, dry cough, myalgias(back pain), nausea without vomiting, abdominal discomfort with some diarrhea, loss of smell, anorexia, fatigue.

Day 5 of symptoms- increased SOB, and bilateral viral pneumonia from direct viral damage to lung parenchyma.

Day 10- Cytokine storm leading to acute ARDS and multiorgan failure. You can literally watch it happen in a matter of hours.

81% mild symptoms, 14% severe symptoms requiring hospitalization, 5% critical.

Patient presentation is varied. Patients are coming in hypoxic (even 75%) without dyspnea. I have seen Covid patients present with encephalopathy, renal failure from dehydration, DKA. I have seen the bilateral interstitial pneumonia on the xray of the asymptomatic shoulder dislocation or on the CT's of the (respiratory) asymptomatic polytrauma patient. Essentially if they are in my ER, they have it. Seen three positive flu swabs in 2 weeks and all three had Covid 19 as well. Somehow this ***** has told all other disease processes to get out of town.

China reported 15% cardiac involvement. I have seen covid 19 patients present with myocarditis, pericarditis, new onset CHF and new onset atrial fibrillation. I still order a troponin, but no cardiologist will treat no matter what the number in a suspected Covid 19 patient. Even our non covid 19 STEMIs at all of our facilities are getting TPA in the ED and rescue PCI at 60 minutes only if TPA fails....
...Disposition
I had never discharged multifocal pneumonia before. Now I personally do it 12-15 times a shift. 2 weeks ago we were admitting anyone who needed supplemental oxygen. Now we are discharging with oxygen if the patient is comfortable and oxygenating above 92% on nasal cannula. We have contracted with a company that sends a paramedic to their home twice daily to check on them and record a pulse ox. We know many of these patients will bounce back but if it saves a bed for a day we have accomplished something. Obviously we are fearful some won't make it back.

We are a small community hospital. Our 22 bed ICU and now a 4 bed Endoscopy suite are all Covid 19. All of these patients are intubated except one. 75% of our floor beds have been cohorted into covid 19 wards and are full. We are averaging 4 rescue intubations a day on the floor. We now have 9 vented patients in our ER transferred down from the floor after intubation.

Luckily we are part of a larger hospital group. Our main teaching hospital repurposed space to open 50 new Covid 19 ICU beds this past Sunday so these numbers are with significant decompression. Today those 50 beds are full. They are opening 30 more by Friday. But even with the "lockdown", our AI models are expecting a 200-400% increase in covid 19 patients by 4/4/2020...
...Treatment
Supportive

worldwide 86% of covid 19 patients that go on a vent die. Seattle reporting 70%. Our hospital has had 5 deaths and one patient who was extubated. Extubation happens on day 10 per the Chinese and day 11 per Seattle.

Plaquenil which has weak ACE2 blockade doesn't appear to be a savior of any kind in our patient population. Theoretically, it may have some prophylactic properties but so far it is difficult to see the benefit to our hospitalized patients, but we are using it and the studies will tell. With Plaquenil's potential QT prolongation and liver toxic effects (both particularly problematic in covid 19 patients), I am not longer selectively prescribing this medication as I stated on a previous post.

We are also using Azithromycin, but are intermittently running out of IV...

...We are currently out of Versed, Fentanyl, and intermittently Propofol. Get the dosing of Precedex and Nimbex back in your heads.

One of my colleagues who is a 31 yo old female who graduated residency last may with no health problems and normal BMI is out with the symptoms and an SaO2 of 92%. She will be the first of many.

I PPE best I have. I do wear a MaxAir PAPR the entire shift. I do not take it off to eat or drink during the shift. I undress in the garage and go straight to the shower. My wife and kids fled to her parents outside Hattiesburg. The stress and exposure at work coupled with the isolation at home is trying. But everyone is going through something right now. Everyone is scared; patients and employees. But we are the leaders of that emergency room. Be nice to your nurses and staff. Show by example how to tackle this crisis head on. Good luck to us all."

[Extraneus]

Trump: 'I Wouldn't Mind Running Against Andrew'

I wouldn't mind running against Andrew. I've known Andrew for a long time. I wouldn't mind that, but I'll be honest, I think he'd be a better candidate than sleepy Joe I wouldn't mind running against Andrew. I don't mind running against Joe Biden.

I watch these critiques of me, and they're highly sophisticated critiques, you know, where they're written out, 'Joe Biden has said,' and then they put this very highly sophisticated statement out. I said, Joe Biden didn't write that statement and Joe Biden doesn't even, I guarantee he didn't even see that statement. So no, I think probably Andrew would be better.

[boris]

Dave Mason's "Alone Together" was highly regarded by the musicians I hung around with back then. The band I played in did Look at You Look at Me and I learned the guitar part note for note. That song got really fun to play about the 3:20 mark.

[James D.]

@MattWalshBlog
For all the folks constantly yelling about fascism, here it is. In the flesh.

Matthew Schmitz @matthewschmitz
De Blasio: churches and synagogues that hold worship services may be closed permanently

We're going to hit a point where a majority of the citizenry is going to decide that 1-2 million deaths would have been a preferable price to pay, rather than do what we've done and put near-absolute power into the hands of our elected officials.

I'm pretty much there now.

[MissMarple2]

Extraneus,

Trump has been a fixture in Manhattan since at least 1980. I am absolutely convinced his private intelligence has clued him in on the Cuomos.

If Trump "wouldn't mind running" against Andrew Cuomo, I can almost guarantee you that he is chomping at the bit to do so.

[Extraneus]

Trump Slams MSM And 'Sick Puppy' Pelosi; Says COVID-19 To Peak 'Around Easter'

[Extraneus]

I don't know, MM. I think Cuomo is the Dem with the best chance of beating him, if he can get the nomination without too much bloodletting. Maybe Trump is trying to cause problems with the Bernie bros.

[D]

Cuomo has a lot of hidden baggage with corruption involving people he is associated with in New York.
It derailed his dad and it will eliminate him as a candidate.
Again the convention will sort out the Dem mess.
New York primary moved to June 28th.
Biden can’t increase his delegate count.

[D]

Ext:
No Dem can beat Trump and the all the Dems know it.
Whoever it is will be the sacrificial lamb.
2024: different scenario.

[GUS]

It amazes me how docile people have been over this.
Blather all you like about, how dangerous this outbreak is.

OUR RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ALL OF US.

That's ok. Trust the government. They care about you.

Baaaaaaaa baaaaaaa

[sbwaters]

After four terms in office, Mario Cuomo was not the same person as during his first term.

Dad was not derailed. It was simply time.

Certainly there was baggage and corruption around him, but I'd look more to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his ilk rather than at Mario.

[Rocco]

I love Dave Mason and I remember our discussion about his version of All Along the Watchtower Love it! And I've heard it said that the best blues player ever was whiter than white, an albino matter of fact. Not sure I agree with that but I love this song by Johnny Winter.

[sbwaters]

Besides, back then Mario would invite all us newspaper editorialists to his official mansion for booze and the annual unveiling of the budget.

What's not to like?

[cathyf]

I would be a lot more convinced that this is real if the Democrats were acting like it was real. That would mean:

1) Putting food in reused bags would outlawed. Bringing used bags into a grocery store was outlawed.

2) Planned Parenthood was shut down.

3) Money for the Kennedy Center was not in the bailout law and had never been in the bailout bill.

Change my mind, Democrats.

[Extraneus]

The April 30 social distancing announcement didn't seem to hurt the stock market.

[sbwaters]

Change my mind

Umm ... OrangeManBad?

[Extraneus]

Nice link to Johnny Winter, Rocco.

[Melinda]

cathyf-

You left out just one.

4) Do not put magnets up your nose in the name of 'science'.

[Neo]

Johnson & Johnson said on Monday it made a $1 billion deal with the U.S. government to create enough manufacturing capacity for more than 1 billion doses of a vaccine it is testing to fight the new coronavirus that has killed more than 34,000 people around the world.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-johnson-johnson/jj-u-s-government-plan-one-billion-doses-of-coronavirus-vaccine-idUSKBN21H1OY?il=0

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Question on FB: with duh for an answer.

The corona Virus traveled entire world from Wuhan but it did not reach Beijing and Shanghai. Close ally Russia barely affected. Can anybody shed light?

Duh the numbers are incorrect. But still an interesting factotum.

[Neo]

We Don't Discriminate, We Hate Everybody
All out-of-state passenger vehicles, not just those from New York, entering Rhode Island at the southern border with Connecticut will be asked to stop at information centers where they must provide contact information and self-quarantine for 14 days if they plan to stay, Gov. Gina Raimondo and the head of the state police said Sunday.

[Neo]

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts scored a #1 hit with Merrill's song in 1982. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Alan Merrill has died in New York at the age of 69 as a result of the coronavirus

[Melinda]

From last night....:

Coronavirus Updates - Alexander Higgins
@kr3at
BREAKING: The U.S. Justice Department has officially opened an investigation into insider trading by U.S. Senators who sold stocks after classified #coronavirus briefings.

GOP Senator Richard Burr has hired a lawyer.
cnn.com/2020/03/29/pol…

https://twitter.com/kr3at/status/1244469043706376192

The other three are mentioned, but Burr's on this because his lawyer spoke up on camera.

[Jim Eagle]

Frederick is doing remote learning at his desk in his bedroom. Right now it is Philosophy. No text book but rather slides and Google Classroom. In the program they are using, if he asks a question or answers one, he comes up on everyone else's screen. At tiimes Zoom, the program they are using, shows all the class in real time on the screen.

Next class is Chemistry and we are evacuating the house as he sets up his expirement in the kitchen:)

[Jane]

Yippee Steph! I hope that's truer than florida liquor stores closing down.

Went to Walmart (actually wore gloves because of the carts.) They had everything but hand sanitizer altho I got the last pack of hand wipes.

[Melinda]

Steph-

Another on the death total in Wuhan: How many were just from causes associated with welding apartment building front doors shut for three weeks? No idea of the door count, but that data point exists.

[Jane]

my suspicion is that the hydroxychloroquine needs to be taken early

The problem is you can't get it.

I took 6 pills a week or 2 ago - before anyone believed me that it worked. But it was 4 years old - so who knows?

[Melinda]

Separate note, looks like Maduro (I will introduce the typo I just corrected as my new nickname for him, Madure) lost one or two of his institutional "Five Senses":

Derek Dunn
@DunnJDerek
Bill Barr doing nothing except arresting the spy chief of one of the world's most corrupt nations...

Wonder how many American officials he bought in order to see them look the other way on their international crimes?

DawsonSField @DawsonSField
Former Venezuelan Military Intel general Hugo Carvajal negotiating to surrender to US authorities! Terrorism, drug smuggling, money laundering, & probably has the goods on Hezbollah, Iran, Russia & China coordination with Venezuela.
ht @LJ20175 in.reuters.com/article/usa-ve…

https://twitter.com/DunnJDerek/status/1244606349465526273

[GUS]

Don't worry, the government would NEVER violate your rights. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

[Rocco]

Amom, my wife works in surgical daycare so she's more concerned about our daughter in the ICU. Christina said she wears regular clothes to work and then dresses into scrubs when she gets there. After work she changes into her regular clothes before leaving and when she gets home, she enters through a workshop into her laundry room where everything gets washed asap. Then she showers down there before greeting her two boys and hubby upstairs. She only works 2-12 hr shifts a week so she's not at it like a lot on the front lines.

[Threadkiller]

Thank you, amom, Boris, and rse!

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Sorry about that liquor warning yesterday, but I did post about two minutes later that it was likely a satire site. Had to do some research to find it was.

The SS and SSDI info is from the dreaded AARP website. I don't belong and won't belong to that group of shysters.

[Jim Eagle]

I just got an email from HSS (Hospital for Special Surgery) where I got my knee replacement. That and hip and shoulder replacements is basically all they do, and do it extremely well. They are stopping non emergency procedures and focuing on helping out the other non-CoVid19 medical cases. Frees up beds and facilities for the other hospitals that handle virus cases.

I guess this is happening all over the Metro NY area since it is 50% of all CoVid19 cases reported.

[Threadkiller]

I listened to a portion of a Massie interview this morning. Apparently the intended path for the bill to pass the House was to involve Pelosi and one person on the floor. No other representatives. I think that explains why she sent everyone home early.

Massie knew that a 4th bill was in the works so part of his strategy was to make sure that Pelosi didn’t get comfortable keeping everyone home while passing some new spendapalooza that probably would have a small hurdle of a skeleton crew Senate that would, at that point, play their own unanimous consent game. After Trump threatened to destroy Massie in the primary I would be real curious to see which Republican Senator would have shown the backbone that Massie did.

Massie said he told leadership that if they attempt a 4th bill using the same unconstitutional procedures he will ask for a recorded vote again. They can count on it. He said that he actually hoped that Trump would see it as a point of leverage that Trump could tout in order to keep the Pelosi from being so arrogant. Essentially the GOP house members are in the driver’s seat by controlling the voting process, instead of the Dems. And by “controlling” I mean that they can demand it is done lawfully.

We will see what happens next.

[Manuel Transmission]

A note from MT Jr and his tribe that puts a good light on this otherwise dismal situation.

=====================

I’m going to make a prediction to the MT clan. I believe that parents in general are seeing how they kids are learning more by being at home and their stress level has decreased while the social issues have finished almost completely usually triggered by the teachers. My prediction is that there will be a surge of families changing to online learning as the work dynamic changes for many Americans. I also predict that companies will realize the amount of money they are saving having people work from home surpasses the need of office space since office space is so expensive. Plus the utilities, parking, cleaning, etc.. this will also play in homeschooling.
Lastly, I believe the school districts will realize just how broken their system is and they will be forced to finally look under the hood at what the teachers are or aren’t teaching.

=================

To add to that, we know that Gdtr has suffered mightily with her 2nd grade teacher at her Montessori school. With suggestions from us and some preliminary homeschooling before the lockdown, she is now doing 5th grade geometry and writing compositions with introduction/body/conclusions format.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Dave Scipio
33 mins ·

Observations in the Plague year
1. Our government is sclerotic, senile, ancient and completely incapable of thought; they are a drain on America, our creativity, our ability to meet current challenges or achieve new ones. The only tools they have are reducing liberty and spending money we don’t have in the fantasy that throwing money at a problem – ANY problem – will fix it.
2. Out of the box thinking – Trump thinking – is anathema to Congress, the Judiciary, most governors and big-metro mayors. This is because of #1, above.
3. The idea of implementing things that will HELP Americans address the present or the future successfully is beyond them.
4. The only things I have noticed from Congress since Corona started are increases in whining, pork and fundraising.
5. Out of the box thinking is required for two reasons:
a. This virus is an out-of-the-box problem. The ONLY one coming up with ideas on addressing it is Trump. Everyone else is pontificating, hiding ventilators, hiding masks, complaining about xenophobia, and generally whining to a somnolent enemedia, whining to their idiotic political base, or complaining about the only things working
b. With the burst of the globalism bubble over the past few years due to the intelligence and actions of Trump, the BREXIT voters and Americans with children (which basically excludes Democrats), and with the virus, it has become obvious to all thinking people across the West (which excludes the American and EU political establishments) that our post-war order and governments have become everything we neither want nor need in the 21st Century: Slow, unthinking, traditional to the point of tribalism – and completely unable to deal with the modern world. Why?
c. WE. ARE. TOO. BIG.
6. ONLY secession will fix these problems.
a. DC is a net-negative on America and Americans and our futures.
b. Half the country wants to be free to pursue our birthright, to be left alone, to progress, explore, invent, to raise our kids …. To LIVE
c. Have the country wants to have the government (ie other taxpayers) GIVE them everything by taking it from the first half.
7. If the federal response to corona – whine about what works, spend like drunken sailors, give themselves raises, and whine about or stop the ONLY person at least TRYING to fix the damn problems – is all they’ve got – AND IT DEMONSTRABLY IS – then WE DO NOT NEED THEM.

IT IS TIME TO GO.

[James D.]

Lastly, I believe the school districts will realize just how broken their system is and they will be forced to finally look under the hood at what the teachers are or aren’t teaching.

I don't believe that will happen except literally at gunpoint, and maybe not even then.

[Extraneus]

Does Cuomo have pierced nipples?

Eight sex offenders — including 3 child rapists — released in NY Gov. Cuomo’s coronavirus jailbreak

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I was with MT Jr right up until his last paragraph, Manny.

To quote that old commie Upton Sinclair;
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

[Melinda]

Ext.

Yes. Next?

[GUS]

So the spend trillions more, let violent criminals go free.

And you get to shut your fucking mouth and stay in your home under house arrest.

LAND OF THE FREE.......tell me I'm wrong SHEEPIES.

[sbwaters]

I took 6 pills a week or 2 ago

No problem except have cleaned the fish tank three times since then.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

From jimmyk last thread,
--No revisions, but they changed the format of the graphs so you can't see the exact number. But clearly leveling off, both new cases and deaths. Scroll to the last charts.--

Yeah. But not only did they change the graphs they don't match the old ones.
I was going to comment last night that we hadn't seen an absolute decline in new deaths previously because the old bar graph showed exactly that.
The new lineal graph shows eight separate days that new deaths declined from previous days. Which one is correct? Who knows.

[Threadkiller]

David Limbaugh
@DavidLimbaugh
·
1h
At the risk of further revealing my ignorance, which I’m hereby preemptively admitting, I have a Q: If it’s true that an infected person spreads a virus by coughing or sneezing (and not merely breathing) how can asymptomatic people spread it — other than through touching things?

[Old Lurker]

"I took 6 pills a week or 2 ago

No problem except have cleaned the fish tank three times since then."

I was wondering if the toilet bowl looks cleaner?

[clarice]

My granddaughter's school has a large fabrication plant on site, and 2 alums (young women doctors) and a team of staff and teachers have created and manufactured hundreds of visors and masks for medical staff on HI using available materials.

[Extraneus]

Eew.

[Old Lurker]

Clarice, the 11th & 12th grade robotics lab at Bullis School in Potomac is turning out ventilators. Basically a simple device that squeezes the balloon thingy that EMTs use but have to squeeze by hand.

[henry]

OL, I don’t think Tidy Bowl is a cure. Plus it leaves a boat in there.

[Old Lurker]

They are also using 3D printers to turn our respirator frames.

But I might have mixed up my schools in those two stories...but both are happening.

[Old Lurker]

Henry, I was just thinking about the excess pills already taken...

[peter]

Lovin' the references to Big Mama Thornton. We have two compilation CDs of hers--great lady, shame she died so young, doubtless her considerable BMI had something to do with it.
Also love Little Walter and that Dave Mason LP? Wore the grooves off of it back in college. Funny, but despite his creds, Dave Mason has for decades toured as a solo act in lower tier venues--saw him in the 90s playing in a shutdown roller rink in Greenport, NY.

[Threadkiller]

Any opinions on Todd Starnes? He is a radio host in New York. I am listening online waiting for another Massie interview.

https://www.toddstarnes.com/live/

He visited a Brooklyn hospital after hearing constant coverage that New York hospitals had become a “war zone”. His cell phone footage showed a different story. He wasn’t dismissing the severity of the situation; just pointing out the media hype.

He asked a pretty good question, IMO. What was the previous rate of death per day in America prior to Covid?

[Buckeye]

No Dem can beat Trump and the all the Dems know it.
Whoever it is will be the sacrificial lamb.

Not takin’ this to the bank.

ANYTHING can happen between now and November, and given current circumstances, likely will.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

This is the simplest and most easily interactive site I've found for projections re Covid; It's funded by the Gates but not sure they have any active role in it.
The clear leveling jimmy and I see in the stats they see as a mere pimple on a swelling curve.
The nice thing is they give a projected range and a median number for each individual date going forward so we will be able to check their projections against reality.
It's interesting to note the large range the various inputs produce. The peak daily death rate is projected to be between 1180-3488 while total deaths over time is projected to be between 34,000 and 144,000. Presumably those ranges include different R0 numbers and mortality rates and "the continuation of strong social distancing measures and other protective measures".

As far as a clear leveling I suspect it may not be because of places like New Orleans and Detroit and maybe LA that are just now starting to ramp up and the lull is only temporary as NY and WA slow down.
A few days should make that clear.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--He asked a pretty good question, IMO. What was the previous rate of death per day in America prior to Covid?--

It's great enough that the small number of Covid deaths so far would be a tiny lost signal in the ocean of noise and natural variation.

[clarice]

Passover is near and it's normally a group event, but in my mother's senior residence it cannot be so they are handing out kits with everything to celebrate in them(Seder plates, symbolic foods, abridged haggadah, grape juice) to any resident who asks for one and model seder videos. Very creative

[Buckeye]

Not sure I agree with that but I love this song by Johnny Winter.

Rocco

Saw Johnny in 72 at a dive on campus. That was one of the tunes he played that night:)

[BariJerry]

I am one of the teachers having to teach at home. I only have about 50% participation from my students. My online curriculum is awesome.

My Superintendent decided we could not give a "0" for missing work. We have to mark it as "Missing" and contact the parent/student to do the work. SO I spend most of my time trying to contact parents who didn't give a proper email address or phone number when they signed their kid up for school.

I even hunted a parent down on Facebook and messaged them about getting a proper email. No response, though they have posted since.

All of this to say that while JOM has a high percentage of involved parents (from the postings) that is not the case for many parents. The modern student is very different than years ago (started teaching 27 years ago). Actually I should say parents are very different, students will try and get away with what you allow them to.

[Stephanie Nene Not Your Normal Granma]

Hardware stores are open in the US, but politicians are considering a ban on the sale of rope.

[Captain Hate]

TK,

I've listened to Starnes a few times. I like him fine as a straight shooter plus he has Tammy Bruce sub for him.

[Extraneus]

How To Disinfect Groceries & Takeout Food

[clarice]

IMG SRC=<"https://static.pjmedia.com/instapundit/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-30-at-11.12.14-AM.png">

[Extraneus]

Clarice's img:

(Click to open.)

[Captain Hate]

Michael Reagan @ ReaganWorld

I've never seen any POTUS even my father that could do a Q and A like trump and have a grasp of every questions asked without using notes This is why we hired a business person to be president Public Private partnership is going to save us

[Neo]

Good Driving Is No Accident
https://twitter.com/CHP_GoldenGate/status/1243586312692592640

[anonamom]

rse, all that guy says is "Don't stop your Ace inhibitor."
Meaning--don't stop treating your high blood pressure.
DUH!

How about transitioning to one of the MANY other drugs to treat hypertension??

[rse]

https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/03/troll-bidenbunker-daniel-greenfield is very good.

[anonamom]

MT--I’m going to make a prediction to the MT clan. I believe that parents in general are seeing how they kids are learning more by being at home and their stress level has decreased while the social issues have finished almost completely usually triggered by the teachers. My prediction is that there will be a surge of families changing to online learning as the work dynamic changes for many Americans. I also predict that companies will realize the amount of money they are saving having people work from home surpasses the need of office space since office space is so expensive. Plus the utilities, parking, cleaning, etc.. this will also play in homeschooling.
Lastly, I believe the school districts will realize just how broken their system is and they will be forced to finally look under the hood at what the teachers are or aren’t teaching.

I said EXACTLY that when this started.

IMGINE how much less stressful every single day will be , not having to to have Susie and Billy up and dressed and fed and lunch made and belongings gathered and dropped off from car pool at 7:45!
And then when you see how much more they learn when they take just two measly hours a day to do their work.

I know this because my kids went to Montessori schools, and that's all they ever did--two hours max a day of what we all would call "class work."
When you do it on your own, and get help instantly in the areas you need--you learn LOTS.

Then add to that not having to counter all the PC/alarmist stuff these poor kids get from public school.
Probably independent/parochial ones these days as well.

No more anxious/depressed kids cutting themselves, or thinking they are boys when they are girls or vice versa.
It all is of one wad of PC craziness.

WIN WIN, I say!

[BariJerry]

Wish my students would work 2 hours a day...just saying...

[Narciso]

Latest burst from the slow jo bunker has him ravimg about the 'daniel outbreak' as the critical drimker say 'dont know'

[Narciso]

That was one of the crisis he overcame like the iran deal and the auto manufacturing.

[matt - deplore me if you must]

Something my sister wrote this morning that resonates with me:
I think this will resonate with many of you.

Who goes next
Who will be gone for good
Does anybody have a say in this
Is there anyone who
understood
Now I can’t look you up
And I won’t let you down
Out on the highway where we
used to ride
there’s
nothin’ but ghosts
running ‘round
You know that bar
down on Third
We used to go there sometimes
Standing over the jukebox
all night
Nobody paid us no mind
You played the rhythm and blues
I liked the Bakersfield sound
But all the regulars
stopped coming ‘round there
Nothin’ but ghosts
in this town
I try to sleep through the night
Too many questions and lies
And it ain’t natural to
wake up crying
I sure do miss you
sometimes
But we can rise above ghosts
Have faith the world
will not end
We gotta hold on ‘til the storm
blows over
‘Til we hold each other
again
A little while before the storm
blows over
We’ll hold each other
again.
3.30.2020

[Extraneus]

Macy's to furlough majority of its 130,000 workers this week after losing 'majority' of sales

[MissMarple2]

pic.twitter.com/nzWJ8ViwbZ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2020

Video at the link.

[MissMarple2]

On #NationalDoctorsDay, we recognize the remarkable men & women who treat their fellow Americans, find cures for the diseases & illnesses we face, and never waver in their efforts to treat every patient with the dignity, respect, and empathy they deserve. https://t.co/7PRogpEVTP

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2020

[MissMarple2]

The President retweeted this video but I couldn't get it to post. I think it's pretty crummy that this site won't post a Sept. of Defense video.

I am going to try to post it from the Periscope link. It's the USS Comfort coming in to New York Harbor.

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1vOxwoYYzqdxB?t=139