Coronavirus - are we all doomed?

[ColinEssex]

Has the USA lifted all restrictions now? We see news clips on the TV of something happening in America and it all seems normal with many people on the streets, no social distancing , no masks. For example, that black man who died in police custody, as usual it sparked other blacks to riot and smash up cars etc. All quite normal. Yet they are not 6 to 8 feet apart. I'm guessing shops and bars and restaurants are all open normally, as it seems social distancing doesn't apply in the USA.
As far as I can see, all is perfectly normal for the USA. What is the USA's secret of getting the country back to normal so quickly?
Is it the mass use of injecting bleach or taking quinine tablets as the Orange Clown has suggested?
Col

 

[Steve R.]

Has the USA lifted all restrictions now?

It is not a uniform national decision. It is up, in part, to the various state governments to undo the restrictions. In some cases, it is even the county governments and even mayors of cities to set or undo restrictions. Needless to say there is not one uniform answer to this question.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

In New Orleans, mayor Cantrell has posted strict distancing rules for restaurants, stores, and certain other events and they have opened for dining in, browsing through the shelves, etc. Suburban New Orleans is opening as well, though there the guidelines are merely strong suggestions. Not all businesses are open yet, but the traffic on the main roads has picked up considerably from only a month ago.

I have not talked with my cousins in Alabama lately but I hear they were talking about opening up as well. And my brother-in-law from Mississippi has not called us lately. However, the news is generally good.

 

[AccessBlaster]

California is in phase 2, some salons and other business are working at half capacity. California is not open for business despite rumors to the contrary.

Each state is like a country, they decide not Washington, DC.

 

[Isaac]

Col, your post gave me both sadness and a big laugh - I needed that. I can see how you get that impression. You are correct in that many places are much more open than they were before, and "social distancing" seems to be left more or less up to the individual, although some weak attempts (like signs on the floor of where to stand) are in place to try to encourage it, but no - we aren't all placed in bubble donuts to enforce it. And as others have said, some states haven't barely reopened at all, others have mostly.

As for the orange clown, he's already moved on to trying to regulate social media, as some of them have finally started reacting to his ridiculousness with some amount of censorship and/or clarifications. I think the sad reality is that coronavirus continues steadily in many areas, but he needs something new to distract! I can't believe it took Twitter 4 years to stop kowtowing to him, but then again … as you already know, he gets away with alooot. Some times he seems like a 3 yr old in a big man's body. I think being told "no" will do wonders for his maturation - much like an insolent child.

 

[AccessBlaster]

As for the orange clown, he's already moved on to trying to regulate social media, as some of them have finally started reacting to his ridiculousness with some amount of censorship and/or clarifications.

Is the President regulating social media or were they given a sweetheart deal by congress that should have never happened? Currently they are exempt from liability, General Electric and Ford Motor are not exempt so what's up with that?

Social Media were very concerned with the Russian hoax but sadly they are not so concerned with conservative views.

Just sayin.

 

[Isaac]

I see your point. But, I do think it is good to let 'platform'-based organizations be shielded from most liability. Because it is so different the idea of creating content vs. just passing it along.

 

[AccessBlaster]

I see your point. But, I do think it is good to let 'platform'-based organizations be shielded from most liability. Because it is so different the idea of creating content vs. just passing it along.

As long as they are left leaning, the minute a Fox news style media appears that will no longer be tolerated.

I am not intentionally arguing with you, it's just reality.

 

[Isaac]

No worries at all. I don't mind. I don't think it will be as bad as all that. Desire to accomodate and have users will supersede in the end. I have no trouble using Google for conservative purposes, nor my Cox internet. People might have worried the same would be true for that as well. If we allowed org's who are pure content passers-through, to be constantly sued, they (and the internet) would cease to exist. I think that law is basically a necessity to allow companies to feel free to host content without being liable for the content.
Who knows - maybe if what you said comes true, then the market will drive a new platform to come into being, one that's more conservative, or more agnostic. Who knows.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The whole thing was made worse by the USA's FCC decision to terminate net neutrality. Fewer regulations on the carrier means they get to do more of what they want even if what they want isn't necessarily good for the public.

 

[Isaac]

I may have to read up on that. I am not so familiar with that one.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Here it is, in a nutshell, from a well-known nut.

Net neutrality vs. its opposite has to do with how you treat ISPs - as simple service providers or as common carriers under interstate commerce laws. Look at the 3rd-5th paragraphs in the first heading under this link.

Net neutrality - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Isaac]

from the Wiki: >>> The term was coined by Columbia University media law professor Tim Wu in 2003 <<<

... in 2003 I had a law school Civ Pro professor at TJSL, she was all about the up and coming field of internet law. I can only imagine the sheer volumes of legal content that have been filled since then! I am sure they would fill a library. An exciting field to be sure.

 

[Steve R.]

As for the orange clown, he's already moved on to trying to regulate social media, as some of them have finally started reacting to his ridiculousness with some amount of censorship and/or clarifications. I think the sad reality is that coronavirus continues steadily in many areas, but he needs something new to distract! I can't believe it took Twitter 4 years to stop kowtowing to him, but then again … as you already know, he gets away with alooot. Some times he seems like a 3 yr old in a big man's body. I think being told "no" will do wonders for his maturation - much like an insolent child.

Your post presents a challenge for responding.

1. Trump is wrong with his threat to "regulate" social media and pointing that out is legitimate.
2. To say that COVID-19 continues in many areas is a vacuous truth. That is like saying that people will continue to die through auto accidents. Therefore Trump can be blamed for creating this "distraction". Auto accident deaths are part of regular risk in driving on the highway. Who the President is, is basically irrelevant.
3. The media is in outright war against Trump; they do not respect truth. While it is appropriate to call-out Trump for his inappropriate attempt to silence social media, there should be an equal if not more vigorous public push against these media abuses for attempting to censor conservative thought. The Washington Post and the New York Times, supposedly bastions of free speech purposely misconstrue and/or ignore conservative talking points. They act as the propaganda arm for the Democratic Party. On one hand, we see Trump respond to these manufactured attacks with a degree of unrestrained anger, but some commenting on Trumps obvious anger don't seem to take into account the constant barrage of unjustivied attacks on Trump (such as the attempted coup) including the need to condemn those inappropriately condemning Trump.

In summary, Trump is wrong with making a threat to suppress Twitter. Nevertheless, just as much time and effort should be devoted to condemning Twitter (and other media) for their brazen attempt to stack the deck against Trump.

 

[AccessBlaster]

In summary, Trump is wrong with making a threat to suppress Twitter. Nevertheless, just as much time and effort should be devoted to condemning Twitter (and other media) for their brazen attempt to stack the deck against Trump.

Exactly.

 

[Isaac]

Fair enough - I agree with much of what you have said. I guess my personal take on it is that, well, and this is only really addressing the 'legal' aspect of it admittedly,,the difference between the two is that one is actually wrong in the sense that he is about to try to do something that really should be illegal, or something along those lines, he is about to use his 'legal powers' to coerce something that ought not be.
Whereas news organizations are not guaranteed nor expected to be legally bound to any particular position NOR the absence thereof. They are and ought to be free to run their organizations as they see fit, political leanings and all. (my opinion).
And Fox is huge, successful, and does a reasonable job counteracting them - I mean it's not like there is zero counter effect.

I guess I would go as far as to agree with the points you are making on a moral level. To whatever extent the news organizations are knowingly twisting and perverting the facts or circumstances, that is certainly always a disappointment from what we expect from a good news organization. I am just thinking at more of a lawful level, but both perspectives are valuable.

One thing is sure - any notion that news organizations, including conservative ones, are neutral is long gone I guess.

 

[AccessBlaster]

One thing is sure - any notion that news organizations, including conservative ones, are neutral is long gone I guess.

"All the News That's Fit to Print," yup those days are long gone!

 

[ColinEssex]

If each state is deciding on its own policies regarding the virus, that's 50 little governments doing roughly the same thing. Presumably, each state controls most things within its borders.
That begs the question - what does Trump do exactly? We see he spends a lot of time arguing with the media, he says stupid things on Twitter, and he speaks sometimes to the press at the White House. He also signs things with a big black crayon and holds it up to show he can write his name.
Does he do anything useful?
Col

 

[Isaac]

Getting federal judges appointed is a big one that presidents still do.

 

[Steve R.]

If each state is deciding on its own policies regarding the virus, that's 50 little governments doing roughly the same thing. Presumably, each state controls most things within its borders.

There is tremendous irony in what you say. The federal government is supposed to be limited. Under the US Constitution, the powers not given to the federal government are reserved for the states. The federal government is supposed to be limited in scope. But over the years (mission creep) federal power has grown.

The irony is that when something like a pandemic hits the US everyone starts hysterically screaming that the federal government must do something. When there is no crisis, many complain the the President, in this case Trump, is acting dictatorial. Yet, when you look at the actions of some state governors, such as the Governor of Michigan (Gretchen Whitmer), they are the ones behaving as dictators.

PS: Just remembered this Trump malapropism. Trump said that he would let the governors decide when to remove the COVID-19 restrictions in their states. Well, that comment was out-of-place since it is a state power and not a federal power.
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You may complain about Trump making stupid comments, which he has on occasion; but you are overlooking the fact that Trump is being vilely attacked by the media. I hope that you have heard some of the incredibly loaded biased purported questions (actually accusations in disguise) that some reporters have made. Some of your anti-Trump angst needs to be pointed at those reporters and Twitter for attempting to suppress free speech. I believe that you might find the media in the US to be worse than Trump.