Pierce: Who the Hell Wants Another Four Years of This?

[mcar]

Who the Hell Wants Another Four Years of This?
Will the deserted subways be enough? Will the empty arenas and ballparks be enough? Is the plunging stock market enough? When the ambulances start hauling away the old folks down the block, will that be enough?

BY CHARLES P. PIERCE
MAR 9, 2020

As the weekend rolled on, and as the president*’s deranged performance at the Centers for Disease Control became an iconic moment in executive incompetence, I remembered reading something in The New York Times during the Obama Administration about a guy who went all over the world, and deep into the boondocks, to help various countries fight malaria. So, in a desperate attempt to escape into the past, I looked it up again.

After a knee-to-knee chat with this hamlet’s chief in the local malaria clinic as rain hammered the tin roof, Rear Adm. R. Timothy Ziemer reached into his pocket for his usual thank-you gift. The clinic was well run, and there was a big turnout of mothers grateful for the free mosquito nets. Accepting the thick gold-colored coin with President Obama’s face on it, the chief looked as thrilled as if he had won the Presidential Medal of Freedom...

...

Gee, I wondered, whatever happened to that guy, and why isn’t he working on our current pandemic? From the Washington Post:

The top White House official responsible for leading the U.S. response in the event of a deadly pandemic has left the administration, and the global health security team he oversaw has been disbanded under a reorganization by national security adviser John Bolton. The abrupt departure of Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer from the National Security Council means no senior administration official is now focused solely on global health security. Ziemer’s departure, along with the breakup of his team, comes at a time when many experts say the country is already underprepared for the increasing risks of a pandemic or bioterrorism attack.

...

Is this enough? Truly, is this enough for the country that looked at itself after eight years of a competent presidency and decided to hand things over to a vulgar talking yam? Are the vacant airports and deserted subways enough? Will the empty arenas and ballparks be enough? Is the plunging stock market enough? When the ambulances start hauling away the old folks down the block, will that be enough? How in god’s name can anyone vote for four more years of this, four more years of a choleric fatburg of a man who calls a press conference about a global health emergency and asks a reporter for Fox News how the ratings were for his last town hall? How does that man carry a precinct, let alone a state, let alone the country? Christ, even Ted Cruz is doing the right thing here.

Instead, we have scientists standing around him at the CDC, nodding in unison at the president*’s idiocies. We have the surgeon general on television, telling an astonished George Stephanopoulos that the president* is in better shape than he is, despite the obvious fact that the president* is entering Mr. Creosote territory. There are rising calls now for the declaration of a national emergency. Which raises a terrifying question: do you want this president* and this executive branch declaring a national emergency, with all the special powers that entails? Hand sanitizer and fist-bumps seem a lot safer.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a31283098/president-trump-coronavirus-response/

[2naSalit]

1. K&R

[matt819]

2. He even acknowledges that even Ted Cruz is doing the right thing

Yeah, okay, but. . .

Anyone wanna take bets on the likelihood that, once out of self-quarantine, Cruz will fall in lock-step behind trump?

That's one point.

The others.

Cruz can afford to self-quarantine because the Senate doesn't actually do anything and yet he still gets a paycheck. And there's no penalty for not showing up when there is work to be done. Think that might cross his mind when he considers those less fortunate? No, I didn't think so either.

Was Cruz tested? If so, was he found to have the disease? If he was tested and found not to have the disease, then this is a stunt. Anyone put this past Cruz? No, me either.

[Tipperary]

4. He has no symptoms so he has not been tested.

[CaptYossarian]

39. To be fair, it was Dr. Seuss Week.

He had to catch up on his reading.

[Newest Reality]

3. Exactly!

We don't want any of that.

The SPECIAL POWERS is what Trump is after and that should be very clear and obvious to anyone who has been watching him carefully. A national emergency would provide him with another tool to smash and grab anything he possibly can that might be currently limited by the Constitution.

All the invectives being slung at Trump tend to serve to belie his capacity to play us, the country, his followers, etc. like any good confidence man would and confidence men work on that assumption: If you don't know he's a confidence man, you are the mark. It is better for him to think of him as incompetent, a fool, merely self-absorbed, demented, narcissistic, belligerent, etc. While he may be all of those and more and deserves criticism, they could just as well work as a confidence tool, (well, he is too stupid to do x) which is very common for those types of confidence players. You have to think they are something they are not and acting is very important. When you have the method acting down, it comes naturally and you are as concerned with your public image as people might think. You simply continue to test market your strategies, see how they fly, and adjust as needed. That's the art of the steal.

Meanwhile, he has his sights set on transforming the office he is in into a vehicle for an endless dictatorship, (they usually pass it on to their spawn) and I think there may be enough evidence to support that. Look how far he has come? A complete idiot can't do that that well and you wouldn't expect one to pull off a slow-motion coup, either. Do not underestimate this tyrant.

[coti]

5. It's hilarious that he's too stupid to realize that this could be a means to power for him.

Instead, it's all about egos and whose "fault" it is. Even as a dictator, he's a total failure.

[stopwastingmymoney]

34. I'm grateful for that, nt

[wnylib]

45. Do you really believe that he is

too stupid to know how to turn something to his advantage? Hasn't he been doing that all his life? He's a pro at it.

Initially I thought he was just doing his usual trick of creating an alternate reality about a negative situation in order to maintain a falsely positive image of himself and how well he is doing. No tests, no crisis, no need to worry.

But, given his dictatorial inclinations and ambition, it is more likely that he is setting up something to fall back on if it looks like he will actually lose in November. A national emergency, with the powers it conveys, would be a backup to the threat of losing office.

He might have overplayed his hand, though, if the people blame him directly for his initial lack of handling this crisis appropriately causing it to spread and worsen.

[wnylib]

44. Spot on.

[brush]

56. Nah. He's just an incompetent but incredibly lucky boob with a complicit AG...

Senate and repug party—not to mention Putin and Comey. He's the luckiest, dumb SOB ever.

Just compare his handling of this virus crisis compared to that of Italy's PM or South Korea's president. They took bold, definitive action that inspired confidence among their populace towards their leadership. Meanwhile we're told that the virus will go away like a miracle and people with it will get well and can even go to work.

His luck is running out though. He's not going around asking "How's your 401k" lately.

[lagomorph777]

6. Oh, shit! It's Mr. Creosote!

I'll have the lot ... of them removed!

[Poiuyt]

25. Better bring a bucket

[lagomorph777]

26. They all make me puke.

And explode.

[cos dem]

36. Just need to feed him a wafer-thin mint.

I

[CaptYossarian]

40. I was thinking of another Monty Python reference when he mentioned seniors

in ambulances.

"Bring out your dead!" from the Holy Grail.

That seems to be where we're headed with our "Nero". (What a dunce.)

[gratuitous]

7. Oh, and one other thing . . .

For the folks - and you know who you are - stockpiling supplies because of this outbreak, never, ever, again look down on people fleeing war and famine.

[IronLionZion]

8. That's a very good point

People anywhere would like to survive in crisis and help their children and loved ones.

[C Moon]

12. Not only stockpiling, some were buying in mass quantities and selling on eBay.

It sure doesn't take a lot to see humans at their worst.

[ramen]

28. Good old disaster capitalism. God, people are assholes nt

[CaptYossarian]

41. I'd rather have my own stuff than have some dimwit throw paper towel at me.

And no, I'm not stockpiling.

When all of this is done, we can send our surplus to Puerto Rico--the unknown Americans.

[Trueblue Texan]

43. I can vouch there is something to this...

I went to Sam's yesterday. One of the supplies I had to buy was toilet paper because I'm actually almost out of it. There were two giant packs left out of an entire aisle. The clerk said that was all they had left. I also needed sanitizing wipes for work--I work in geriatric home health. I REALLY need those wipes. The company supplies wipes, but not in the quantities I use them, especially now. But there were no wipes to be had at Sam's. Sold out, the clerk said. People were all over those aisles, looking for basics. Scary.

[renate]

13. a million times this

Thank you for making this very important point.

[llmart]

14. Thank you for that!

So much for caring about your fellow man. It's the "I've got mine, the hell with the rest of you" attitude which is prevalent in people of both parties. Yes, this time it truly is both siderism.

[mcar]

18. I just reposted that on my FB page

[wnylib]

46. I never have.

[wnylib]

49. Never have looked down in people

fleeing war and famine, that is.

But, as a senior with a medical predisposition to virus vulnerability, yes, I have increased the amount of wipes, canned goods, and necessary daily items that I usually have, in case it becomes necessary to avoid going on public transportation to public places to pick them up.

Not to the point of hoarding huge amounts, but enough to get through several weeks if need be. I consider it a sensible and prudent precaution.

[gratuitous]

57. Then I may not have been talking to you

[wnylib]

59. Or to anyone else over 60 since

the CDC now advises us to stock up and stay home.

A lot of us here at DU fall into that group.

[bobbieinok]

9. Rear Adm Anthony Ziemer---great fighter of pandemics fired by Trump, unit disbanded

Could someone post a separate thread on him?

Pierce's info in this essay is mind-blowing!!

[Karadeniz]

10. Was it Barnum who said no-one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the

American people? Maybe that newspaper guy.

[BamaRefugee]

11. Nothing is ever enough for Trumpers. This is post #871,206 prediciting Trump's demise. Never happens

[not fooled]

15. Yeah

Another explanation for red don's carelessness now is that he's certain he's got the presidency locked down in his favor for the next term.

[BamaRefugee]

17. Yep. You think coronavirus is bad? Wait til we see the virus Putin puts in voting machines.

[calimary]

16. Putin, that's who!

[world wide wally]

19. Their joke has become deadly

[demigoddess]

20. I read that they are flying empty airplanes around just so they the airlines do not loose their

places in schedules or airports or however you put it. Is that a story from the Onion? or the stupidity of humans run amok? If they are actually doing that it is the stupidest thing imaginable and will give us lots of pollution for absolutely no reason.

[LymphocyteLover]

22. I saw that. It's mind boggling. Not the Onion.

Apparently these slots are valuable though someone said they should shut that system down for now because it's such a waste. Don't know if they will or not...

[Haggis for Breakfast]

33. Meanwhile, airlines all over the globe are cutting back on flights.

[stopwastingmymoney]

35. Paying for fuel and crew with no ticket revenue?

How long can they keep that up?

[LymphocyteLover]

21. LOL to "Mr Creosote territory"... but otherwise, this is an utter horror show

[erronis]

23. And with the Deranged Orange One calling a national emergency, say good-bye to any freedoms

Expect to see some liberties lost soon.

My post: WaPo: The U.S. government couldn't shut down the Internet, right? Think again.

[luvallpeeps]

24. "vulgar talking yam"

Help me, lord. I ain't in the mood to laugh.

[3Hotdogs]

30. That may be the best description, yet.

Better than Gropenfuhrer.

[wnylib]

50. That was my favorite expression

in this article. Will have to remember and use it. The talking yam.

[Hekate]

27. Jesus Wept

[warmfeet]

29. His pathetic supporters want another four years of this.

I will never forget.

And forgiving, not so much.

[Demonaut]

31. trump will lay the full blame at boltons feet, and never admit he's the one to share the blame

[brush]

58. Bolton, the ultimate example of non-patriotism. He had his chance to step forward...

to help save is country by testifying but he preferred saving his trump dirt for his book, but now trump has halted his book's publication.

[certainot]

32. according to trump's base's intellectual and moral leader, limbnaugh, everything is fantastic

[Cha]

37. Thank you for Pierce, mcar

[BlancheSplanchnik]

38. I'm terrified he could call a National Emergency.

That would be bad.

[Danascot]

42. Trump has fulfilled Reagan's dream

Trump's government is the problem.

[Blue_Tires]

47. GOD DAMN IT I DIDN'T EVEN WANT THE FIRST FOUR YEARS

[Laelth]

53. I hear that.

-Laelth

[colsohlibgal]

48. His Core Is With Hm 100%

The question is how big this core is....but they would stay with him even if he did gun down someone on 5th Avenue.

An NBC Reporter asked a 30 something Female Trump fan if she thought this new Virus was a hoax and she answered of course it is......his devotees believe every lie and fabrication their hero blurts out. Their lock step with the Orange Thing is total. He could tell them the moon was made out of Green Cheese and they would believe it totally.

If as we indeed beat Twitler and we pry him out of the White House we will need to deprogram them.....not unlike the Axis powers had to do post WWll.

[FakeNoose]

54. Chump's "core" supporters be like ...

[dem4decades]

51. Remember when Bush got rid of the Terrorism Czar Richard Clarke because Clinton created the position

Then 911 happened, same damn thing.

[Laelth]

52. +1 for the word "fatburg."

Sometimes, it is better to laugh than to cry.



-Laelth

[Texin]

55. God, I love this guy. But his last sentence about declaration of a *national emergency* by this

fatwad is enough to bring everyone up short. Frankly though, I think we may very well be headed that way. He's a true authoritarian. I actually well and truly believe that this cretin will use a national emergency declaration to cancel this election. Oh, he may wait until the summer when the virus has probably really gotten going strong here to do it, but I think that's where we're headed. And who's to stop him? Certainly not Moscow Mitch or the other rethuglican strongmen that throng his vile corruped pile of human* blob.

Frankly, the only hope I think any decent American really has left any longer from the monstrosities is the virus itself. It won't discriminate about whom it infects. Reptilian McConnell will probably borrow Cheney's secret bunker to wait out the pandemic, and he'll probably take all the other rethug bobbleheads who follow him around like a bunch of lemmings in his cadre. I believe as they see his numbers tanking as the economy absorbs hit after hit, and death tolls mount, he will certainly have every reason to cancel everything. But, maybe he's already been exposed (hopefully, over and over and in short shrift) to the Covid19 bug, since he's been so cavalier about shaking hands and circulating among those on the rope lines. No doubt he's washed his hands (or had someone do that for him more likely), since he is a self-avowed germaphobe, but maybe he didn't do a good enough job. That and cholesterol might do the trick, since he clearly eats junk to self soothe.

[riversedge]

60. oh, I wish the #maga crowd would read this

[Celerity]

61. kick