I was re-reading Robert Reich’s Aftershock, and he poses this hypothetical candidate who has the US simply default on debts to China as part of a larger nationalistic economic reform. I’ve been watching Trump and the right wing’s “blame China” stuff. I’m pretty worried this is a first step in something much wilder, like claiming the US doesn’t have to pay interest on debts held to hold China “accountable” and offset the cost of the “stimulus”.
Am I out of my gourd here? Am I right to be concerned the president blows up the fucking economy wholesale?
Praise sweet baby supply chain jeebus. Things may be slightly easing here. The toilet paper aisle in my local supermarket was overflowing this afternoon!
In a grim assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump on Saturday predicted that the coming week would be “one of the toughest weeks” of the outbreak. At the same time, the president expressed frustration with the toll social distancing measures are taking on the economy, saying “we cannot let this continue.”
With data projecting cases in several regions hitting their peaks within seven days, the president told reporters that the United States could see its deadliest week since the coronavirus outbreak began.
“There’s going to be a lot of death, unfortunately. There will be a lot of deaths,” the president said at a briefing of the White House coronavirus task force.
Boris Johnson is in hospital “for tests”. If someone who tested positive ten days ago and certainly has the means and motivation to avoid it for quite a while is hospitalized, then that doesn’t sound good at all.
I had to go to he Union Square Green Market. There is an organic baker that sells dense, good-tasting, unsliced bread there. One of their loaves had just lasted me for the past three weeks. I had another loaf ready in the freezer, but why take chances?
The Green Market was fenced off. There were a series of signs attached to the fencing. One read:
ATTENTION
If any one of these apply:
A diagnosis of Coronavirus
Two of these symptoms: a fever within the past 24 hours, a new cough, a new onset of shortness of breath
You have in the past 14 days: Had direct exposure to someone with confirmed Coronavirus, Been told to self-quarantine.
DO NOT ENTER
So, taken literally, no one should have gone in. I waited in line for approximately 15 minutes. We all stood approximately 6 feet apart.
When I was let in, it was much more pleasant than usual. Rather than having a solid wall of people to negotiate, everyone was widely spaced-out and I could walk immediately to where I wanted to go.
I bought a sourdough spelt loaf. It smelled good and was as heavy as a brick.
Using the MTA’s app, I checked the train situation for Union Square. There would be no R trains within the next half hour. There have been service cut-backs due to staff shortages. So I decided to do the rest of my grocery shopping in the area and see if the situation would be improved by the time I was finished.
Garden of Eden had put up make-shift plastic shields for all it’s cashiers. My cashier was wearing a mask. Through the mast and the plastic sheeting I could not understand a word she said.
And I have TWO people that want to buy merch from me from FB Marketplace - WTF?
Actually, the first one is in Zion, IL and is willing to wait till this is over (!) to send the merch. The other…welll, I didn’t know where they are and they were asking more about what’s in the pictures - it’s vintage craft and sewing notions - and I thought, “WHAT is this person thinking of? Going to the post office or going out to meet or having them come to my house or vice-versa - DURING A PANDEMIC?” So, I asked what more they wanted to know, and THEN said it was a moot point, and sent them the link above. Then they got nasty with me for trying to educate them and because I think I made them feel dumb. Or else they’re just dumb. I dunno.
I mean, isn’t it just COMMON SENSE to realize that picking up stuff from Facebook Marketplace, even a porch-pick-up paid with Paypal, is NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL?
