Category: Science and Stuff,

All the times Donald Trump lied & tried to downplay the coronavirus pandemic

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

[Jan. 22:] “Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?”

The president responded: “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

…Trump, however, repeatedly told Americans that there was no reason to worry. On Jan. 24, he tweeted, “It will all work out well.” On Jan. 28, he retweeted a headline from One America News, an outlet with a history of spreading false conspiracy theories: “Johnson & Johnson to create coronavirus vaccine.” On Jan 30, during a speech in Michigan, he said: “We have it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment — five. And those people are all recuperating successfully.”

…[Jan. 31:] “Coronavirus,” Hannity said. “How concerned are you?”

Trump replied: “Well, we pretty much shut it down coming in from China. We have a tremendous relationship with China, which is a very positive thing. Getting along with China, getting along with Russia, getting along with these countries.”

…The Trump administration could have begun to use a functioning test from the World Health Organization, but didn’t. It could have removed regulations that prevented private hospitals and labs from quickly developing their own tests, but didn’t.

…On Feb. 10, he repeatedly said — in a speech to governors, at a campaign rally and in an interview with Trish Regan of Fox Business — that warm spring weather could kill the virus. “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away,” he told the rally.

On Feb. 19, he told a Phoenix television station, “I think the numbers are going to get progressively better as we go along.” Four days later, he pronounced the situation “very much under control,” and added: “We had 12, at one point. And now they’ve gotten very much better. Many of them are fully recovered.”

…He criticized CNN and MSNBC for “panicking markets.” He said at a South Carolina rally — falsely — that “the Democrat policy of open borders” had brought the virus into the country. He lashed out at “Do Nothing Democrat comrades.” He tweeted about “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer,” mocking Schumer for arguing that Trump should be more aggressive in fighting the virus. The next week, Trump would blame an Obama administration regulation for slowing the production of test kits. There was no truth to the charge.

Throughout late February, Trump also continued to claim the situation was improving. On Feb. 26, he said: “We’re going down, not up. We’re going very substantially down, not up.” On Feb. 27, he predicted: “It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” On Feb. 29, he said a vaccine would be available “very quickly” and “very rapidly” and praised his administration’s actions as “the most aggressive taken by any country.” None of these claims were true.

…The inconsistent and sometimes outright incorrect information coming from the White House has left Americans unsure of what, if anything, to do.

…“We’re talking about a much smaller range” of deaths than from the flu, he said on March 2. “It’s very mild,” he told Hannity on March 4. On March 7, he said, “I’m not concerned at all.” On March 10, he promised: “It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”

…Alex Azar, the secretary of health and human services, told ABC, “There is no testing kit shortage, nor has there ever been.” Trump, while touring the CDC on March 6, said, “Anybody that wants a test can get a test.”

…He brought up issues that had nothing to do with the virus, like his impeachment. He made clear that he cared more about his image than about people’s well-being, [emphasis: Peanut Gallery] by explaining that he favored leaving infected passengers on a cruise ship so they wouldn’t increase the official number of American cases. He also suggested that he knew as much as any scientist:

“I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

… In the United States, scientists expect that between tens of millions and 215 million Americans will ultimately be infected, and the death toll could range from the tens of thousands to 1.7 million.

At every point, experts have emphasized that the country could reduce those terrible numbers by taking action. And at almost every point, the president has ignored their advice and insisted, “It’s going to be just fine.”

Column: Here are all the times Donald Trump tried to downplay the coronavirus pandemic – Chicago Tribune

the nice lady with the emails was right, he’s going to get us killed.

Pence coronavirus memo gives questionable handshaking advice to staffers

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If you interact with an individual when they are without symptoms (asymptomatic), but who subsequently received a positive test, the risk of you becoming infected from that interaction is considered LOW,” the email advises. 

“You do not require testing, nor home isolation,” the email continues. “Active social distancing would be appropriate.”

Pence coronavirus memo gives questionable handshaking advice to staffers – AOL News

This from the man in charge of the pandemic response…. Oy!

From February 3, 2020: The Trump administration has made the US less ready for infectious disease outbreaks like coronavirus

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Over the past three years the administration has weakened the offices in charge of preparing for and preventing this kind of outbreak.

…It has slashed funding for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its infectious disease research. For fiscal year 2020, Trump proposed cutting the CDC budget by US$1.3 billion, nearly 20% below the 2019 level.

…Every year since taking office, Trump has asked for deep cuts into research on emerging diseases – including the CDC’s small center on emerging and “zoonotic” infectious diseases.

…It manages laboratory, epidemiologic, analytic and prevention programs, and collaborates with state and local health departments, other federal government agencies, industry and foreign ministries of health.

In 2018, Trump tried to cut $65 million from this budget – a 10% reduction. In 2019, he sought a 19% reduction. For 2020, he proposed to cut federal spending on emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases by 20%. This would mean spending $100 million less in 2020 to study how such diseases infect humans than the U.S. did just two years ago.

…The overall level of appropriations for relevant CDC programs is still 10% below what the U.S. spent in 2016.

…in 2018 the administration disbanded its own global health security team, which was supposed to make the U.S. more resilient to the threat of epidemics. 

…[The Trump administration] eliminated the National Security Council’s global health security and biodefense directorate, and reshuffled its team of world-class infectious disease experts. In response, two highly respected leaders in the field – Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, the NSC’s senior director for global health security and biodefense, and Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert – left the White House.

…Containing the first major Ebola epidemic in 2014-2016, which killed 11,000 people in West Africa, required an enormous global effort. Only 11 patients were treated for Ebola in the U.S., but that was because President Obama took the threat seriously, appointing an “Ebola czar” to coordinate U.S. preparedness and assistance.

The Trump administration has made the US less ready for infectious disease outbreaks like coronavirus

hmmm

From May 23, 2017: Trump’s plan to destroy the US science budget [Foreshadowing Alert!]

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His full budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year requests that billions of dollars be slashed from the agencies tasked with funding and conducting research that drives innovation and keeps Americans healthy and safe.

…Trump intends to cut nearly $5.8 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health — about 18 percent of the agency’s total budget. It also cuts hundreds of millions of dollars from infectious disease programs at the CDC, and an additional $841 million from the National Science Foundation, which funds basic scientific research.

… The budget proposal calls for $333 million in cuts to three CDC programs aimed at curbing the spread of infectious diseases.

…An additional $136 million in cuts for the CDC Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response — about 10 percent of the office’s budget. This is the CDC office that responds to public health emergencies like outbreaks, epidemics, or “chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.”

An 18 percent cut of $76.3 million to the CDC’s Center for Global Health, which coordinates international public health efforts aimed at eradicating infectious and chronic diseases worldwide.

…Apparently the Trump administration doesn’t believe in protecting American jobs when they’re science jobs. 

Here’s Trump’s plan to destroy the US science budget – The Verge

Aggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!

From Feb 11, 2018: How will CDC cuts affect health programs abroad and at home? [Overt Foreshadowing Alert!]

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently lost hundreds of millions of dollars in funding cuts, including a $750 million cut in December. On Friday, President Trump signed a bill that slashed $1.35 billion from its Prevention and Public Health Fund over the next 10 years.

…December’s tax reform law stripped $750 million dollars from the program, moving that money to the childhood Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, instead. And this week, President Trump signed a bill cutting $1.35 billion from the PPHF over the next 10 years. In addition, funding is not being renewed for global health initiatives which monitor outbreaks overseas[emphasis: Peanut Gallery]

…[PPHF is] a program to promote public health and also keep public and private healthcare costs from rising.

…So in terms of tackling Ebola, there was a supplemental aid package that was passed to try to help build infrastructure in countries to tamp down the outbreak and actually prevent future outbreaks. And so now, what’s happening with cutting that funding, is that it’s actually creating more of a risk in the future. If there’s another outbreak that we don’t have that infrastructure to prevent the outbreak from spreading.[emphasis: Peanut Gallery]

…[Question:] If the PPHF goes away. How much of the overall CDC budget is it?

…[Answer] It’s 12 percent of the CDC budget. So in terms of the fund itself I think in 2017 the fund was allocated about $931 million and about $891 million of that went to the CDC for preventive programs.

How will CDC cuts affect health programs abroad and at home? | PBS NewsHour Weekend

sigh…

Trump budget chief holds firm boldface lies about the effect of cuts to the CDC budget amid virus outbreak because, yes they are that classless and delusional

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Trump’s 2021 budget request ….proposed cutting Health and Human Services funding by $9.5 billion, including a 15 percent cut of $1.2 billion to the CDC and a $35 million decrease to the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund’s annual contribution.

Trump budget chief holds firm on CDC cuts amid virus outbreak | TheHill

hmmm

Health care workers getting sicker from coronavirus than other patients, expert says

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“Maybe it’s due to a higher dose of virus they’re receiving,” Hotez hypothesized in his Monday interview with CNN. 

Health care workers getting sicker from coronavirus than other patients, expert says – CNN

Whoa… that’s not good.

CNN’s fact checking is suspect these days. They run with too much sensationalist garbage to be taken at face value.

A World War I Vintage Helmet Bests A Modern Brain Bucket

On By peanutgallerynhIn Europe,, Military,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

In fact, a recent study done by a team of Duke University researchers finds that the 105-year-old “Adrian” helmet used by the French army in World War I can provide better blast protection than the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) widely used by the U.S. military.

…When those helmets were exposed to overhead blast waves that the 1915-era Adrian helmet outperformed the others. The Duke researchers point to the raised metal crest running from the front to the back of the Adrian helmet — a design feature also found on helmets used in those times by French firefighters — as a likely explanation for its superior protection from overhead blasts.

“The geometry of the helmet can make a big difference,” says Op ‘t Eynde. “I’m not sure a crest or something like it would work with a modern design, but just being aware of how the geometry might affect the way that the head and the brain might experience a shock wave is definitely something that I think should be kept in mind in helmet design.”

A World War I Vintage Helmet Bests A Modern Brain Bucket : NPR

huh

Trump’s war on truth takes a dangerous turn as he attacks the media’s coronavirus coverage

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Trump claimed on Monday that the coronavirus was “very much under control in the USA.” A day later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the virus’ spread to the US was inevitable. He said the stock market is “starting to look very good” even as the Dow was nosediving amid coronavirus anxiety.

Trump’s war on truth takes a dangerous turn as he attacks the media’s coronavirus coverage – CNN

mmhmmm

The ‘London Patient,’ Cured of H.I.V., Reveals His Identity

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Last March, scientists announced that Mr. Castillejo, then identified only as the “London Patient,” had been cured of H.I.V. after receiving a bone-marrow transplant for his lymphoma. The donor carried a mutation that impeded the ability of H.I.V. to enter cells, so the transplant essentially replaced Mr. Castillejo’s immune system with one resistant to the virus. The approach, though effective in his case, was intended to cure his cancer and is not a practical option for the widespread curing of H.I.V. because of the risks involved.

…He had been experiencing fevers, and the tests showed that they were the result of a Stage 4 lymphoma. “I will never forget my reaction as once again my world changed forever,” he said. “Once again, another death sentence.”

Years of harsh chemotherapy followed. Mr. Castillejo’s H.I.V. status complicated matters. Each time his oncologists adjusted his cancer treatment, the infectious-disease doctors had to recalibrate his H.I.V. medications, said Dr. Simon Edwards, who acted as a liaison between the two teams.

…They discovered that at a hospital in London was Dr. Ian Gabriel, an expert in bone-marrow transplants for treating cancer, including in people with H.I.V. Because of their last-ditch effort, Mr. Castillejo said, “We’re here today. You never, never know.”

Within a week, he met with Dr. Gabriel, who tried a third and final time to tap Mr. Castillejo’s own stem cells for a transplant. When that failed, Dr. Gabriel explained that Mr. Castillejo’s Latin background might complicate the search for a bone-marrow donor who matched the genetic profile of his immune system. To everyone’s surprise, however, Mr. Castillejo quickly matched with several donors, including a German one — perhaps a legacy from his half-Dutch father — who carried a crucial mutation called delta 32 that hinders H.I.V. infection.

…A year on, as he became stronger, he slowly began thinking about forgoing the H.I.V. medications to see if he was rid of the virus. He took his last set of antiretroviral drugs in October 2017. Seventeen months later, in March 2019, Dr. Gupta announced the news of his cure.

…So far, his body has shown no evidence of the virus apart from fragments the doctors call “fossils” and what seems to be a long-term biological memory of having once been infected.

The ‘London Patient,’ Cured of H.I.V., Reveals His Identity – The New York Times

wild!

Georgia Speaker urges public to stay home from Capitol amid COVID-19

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Georgia Speaker urges public to stay home from Capitol amid COVID-19

Washing one’s hands, avoiding coming within six feet of sick people, and staying home (both to take it easy and avoid getting other’s sick) is just good sense.

It’s also a total departure from the domestic cultural approach to illness. Americans are strongly discouraged from taking sick days, even when they are sick. The expectation is that a motivated worker will show up to work, no matter what.

Quite a shift!

Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 10,000 years of cultural interaction across Africa

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Media and Culture,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Ostrich eggshell beads are some of the oldest ornaments made by humankind, and they can be found dating back at least 50,000 years in Africa.

…”In the modern world, migration, cultural contact, and economic change often create tension,” says Sawchuk, “ancient peoples experienced these situations too, and the patterns in cultural objects like ostrich eggshell beads give us a chance to study how they navigated these experiences.”

…The ostrich eggshell beads reflect different responses to the introduction of herding between eastern and southern Africa. In southern Africa, new bead styles appear alongside signs of herding, but do not replace the existing forager bead traditions. On the other hand, beads from the eastern Africa sites showed no change in style with the introduction of herding. Although eastern African bead sizes are consistently larger than those from southern Africa, the larger southern African herder beads fall within the eastern African forager size range, hinting at contact between these regions as herding spread. “These beads are symbols that were made by hunter-gatherers from both regions for more than 40,000 years,” says lead author Jennifer Miller, “so changes—or lack thereof—in these symbols tells us how these communities responded to cultural contact and economic change.”

…This study shows that examining old collections can generate important findings without new excavation,” says Miller, “and we hope that future studies will take advantage of the wealth of artifacts that have been excavated but not yet studied.”

Ostrich eggshell beads reveal 10,000 years of cultural interaction across Africa

hmmmm

Stone-age ‘likes’: Study establishes eggshell beads exchanged over 30,000 years

On By peanutgallerynhIn Africa,, Media and Culture,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Lesotho is a small country of mountain ranges and rivers. It has the highest average of elevation in the continent and would have been a formidable place for hunter-gatherers to live, Stewart says. But the fresh water coursing through the country and belts of resources, stratified by the region’s elevation, provided protection against swings in climate for those who lived there, as early as 85,000 years ago.

…In Lesotho, archeologists began finding small ornaments made of ostrich eggshell. But ostriches don’t typically live in that environment, and the archeologists didn’t find evidence of those ornaments being made in that region—no fragments of unworked eggshell, or beads in various stages of production.

So when archeologists began discovering eggshell beads without evidence of production, they suspected the beads arrived in Lesotho through these exchange networks.

…Brian Stewart and colleagues establish that the practice of exchanging these ornaments over long distances spans a much longer period of time than previously thought.

…”These ornaments were consistently coming from very long distances,” Stewart said. “The oldest bead in our sample had the third highest strontium isotope value, so it is also one of the most exotic.”

Stewart found that some beads could not have come from closer than 325 kilometers from Lesotho, and may have been made as far as 1,000 kilometers away. His findings also establish that these beads were exchanged during a time of climactic upheaval, about 59 to 25 thousand years ago. Using these beads to establish relationships between hunter-gatherer groups ensured one group access to others’ resources when a region’s weather took a turn for the worse.

…”These exchange networks could be used for information on resources, the condition of landscapes, of animals, plant foods, other people and perhaps marriage partners.”

Stone-age ‘likes’: Study establishes eggshell beads exchanged over 30,000 years

Wild!

Gov. Jay Inslee to Mike Pence on coronavirus call: Stick to the science

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“I told him our work would be more successful if the Trump administration stuck to the science and told the truth.” [- Jay Inslee]

…Pence has required Cabinet officials and government experts to get his office’s clearance on public remarks about the virus, a move that swiftly sparked concerns from lawmakers who fear important information being suppressed.

“It is essential in times like these that experts are allowed to tell us what’s really going on in their own words,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) tweeted.

…[Inslee] has called Trump’s aversion to the wider use of wind energy “moronic,” blasted the administration’s “climate denial” and joined a host of liberal states who say they’ll work to uphold the Paris climate agreement Trump backed out of.

…[Trump] has thinned the ranks of government scientists, helped fuel anti-vaccine sentiment (although he did urge measles vaccinations) and rebuked his own officials’ nods to the threat of climate change while opposing many efforts to combat it.

One especially infamous clash with experts came when Trump showed a doctored hurricane chart in an apparent attempt to justify his tweet falsely warning that a storm was coming for Alabama. The [Trump controlled] National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration also issued an unsigned statement rebuking the local weather office that had corrected the record after Trump’s erroneous prediction. Career scientists were dismayed.

Gov. Jay Inslee to Mike Pence on coronavirus call: Stick to the science – The Washington Post

hmm

Pence Will Stifle Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials

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The decision to put Mr. Pence in charge was made on Wednesday after the president told some people that the vice president did not “have anything else to do,” according to people familiar with Mr. Trump’s comments.

…Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she had told Mr. Pence directly that she questioned his new role given that as governor, he had “slashed” the public health budget in Indiana.

…The president said that the virus could get worse or better in the days and weeks ahead, but that nobody knows, contradicting Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, one of the country’s leading experts on viruses and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

…“We are dealing with a serious virus,” Dr. Fauci said.

Dr. Fauci has told associates that the White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.

…Mr. Trump has told people that he considers Mr. Azar to be too “alarmist” about the virus.

Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials – The New York Times

hmmm

Garret Graves’ nutria bill passes the U.S. House; here’s what the bill would do

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, would broaden the scope of the Nutria Eradication and Control Act to include all states — not just Louisiana and Maryland, where the invasive, orange-toothed rodent has eaten away coastal marshes for decades.

…Nutria are one of many factors contributing to rapid land loss along Louisiana’s coast. The major causes include oil and gas exploration, sea level rise, soil subsidence and the loss of replenishing sediment since the Mississippi River was brought under control with levees.

…Gnawing away the roots of marsh plants, nutria leave little to hold the fragile landscape in place. More than 40 square miles of Louisiana’s coast have been turned into open water by nutria over the past two decades, according to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Garret Graves’ nutria bill passes the U.S. House; here’s what the bill would do | Environment | nola.com

hmmm