Free Republic

FORT THOMAS, Ky. -- Dozens of veterans were caught off guard Thursday when they were informed they were being discharged from an inpatient program at the Fort Thomas VA hospital. The domiciliary is being converted for use as an isolation space for COVID-19 patients.

Even a disease as far-reaching as the coronavirus hasn’t entirely crossed the chasm between red and blue America. In several key respects, the outbreak’s early stages are unfolding very differently in Republican- and Democratic-leaning parts of the country. That disconnect is already shaping, even distorting, the nation’s response to this unprecedented challenge—and it could determine the pandemic’s ultimate political consequences as well. A flurry of new national polls released this week reveals that while anxiety about the disease is rising on both sides of the partisan divide, Democrats consistently express much more concern about it than Republicans do, and they...

Use of Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, Mefloquine, Quinine, and Related Quinoline Drugs Risks Sudden and Lasting Neuropsychiatric Effects from Idiosyncratic Neurotoxicity The Quinism Foundation has warned of a risk of sudden and lasting neuropsychiatric effects from the use of antimalarial quinolines against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and has urged policy makers, physicians, and members of the public to be alert to such effects. “The same endosomotropic properties that likely underlie the effectiveness of quinoline antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine against the virus may also underlie their dangers, ” said Dr. Remington Nevin, MD, MPH, DrPH, a...

Revealed: Four senators dumped millions in stocks while Capitol Hill was being briefed on the coronavirus threat but BEFORE markets started tanking Richard Burr, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee which was directly briefed on coronavirus, sold up to $1.7m in stock between January and February. Dianne Feinstein, on the same committee, sold up to $6m in stock in same period. Kelly Loeffler, on the Senate Health Committee, sold up to $3.1m in stock starting on the day her committee was briefed by the CDC. James Inhofe sold up to $400k in stocks including real estate all on January 27....

GOP Rep. Doug Collins slammed primary rival Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Friday, saying he is “sickened” over new allegations that she sold off millions of dollars of stocks in the days before the coronavirus outbreak crashed the market. “People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain? I’m sickened just thinking about it,” Collins, R-Ga., tweeted Frida

New York State’s long-feared surge of coronavirus cases has begun, thrusting the medical system toward a crisis point. In a startlingly quick ascent, officials reported on Friday that the state was closing in on 8,000 positive tests, about half the cases in the country. The number was 10 times higher than what was reported earlier in the week. In the Bronx, doctors at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center say they have only a few remaining ventilators for patients who need them to breathe. In Brooklyn, doctors at Kings County Hospital Center say they are so low on supplies that...

Joe Biden is planning a regular shadow briefing on coronavirus to start as early as Monday to show how he would handle the crisis and address what he calls the lies and failures of President Trump. Biden gave a preview of what’s to come in a conference call with reporters Friday, where he listed a litany of false and misleading statements from Trump, who has been holding regular White House press conferences concerning coronavirus preparedness and response that have been broadcast live on all major networks. “President Trump stop saying false things, will ya?” Biden said. “People are worried they...

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room11:50 A.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  I had a very good telephone conversation — extremely good — with Senator Schumer a little while ago.  We’re working on various elements of the deal, and the Democrats are very much wanting something to happen, and the Republicans, likewise, are very much wanting something to happen.  And I think it will.I spoke with — at length with Mitch McConnell.  And there’s tremendous spirit to get something done, so we’ll see what happens.  But my conversation was very good with Senator Schumer.I thank you all for joining...

Governors in New York, California and other large states have ordered most businesses to shut and people to stay inside, with limited exceptions Here are highlights of the orders in the largest states.  New York: • Effective 8 p.m. on Sunday, all businesses that aren’t deemed essential must shut down their in-office personnel functions. Gov. Cuomo’s order exempts financial institutions, retailers, pharmacies, hospitals, news media, manufacturing plants and transportation companies, among others.• “Non-essential gatherings” of any size and for any reason are temporarily banned.• In public, people must keep at least six feet away from each other.• Residents 70 and...

Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of New York and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing.The President’s action makes Federal funding available for Crisis Counseling for affected individuals in all areas in the State of New York.Federal funding is also available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, for all areas in the State of New...

 MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURYSUBJECT:       Delegation of Functions Under 31 U.S.C. 5302By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:Section 1.  Delegation of Authority over the Exchange Stabilization Fund.  (a)  I hereby delegate the functions and authorities conferred upon the President by section 5302 of title 31, United States Code, to the Secretary of the Treasury for use of the Exchange Stabilization Fund in an aggregate amount of up to $50 billion.(b)...

HIYA KIDS! Hiya, Hiya, Hiya! No! It’s not the ANDROMEDA STRAIN! And no, we’re not “all gonna die.” If you have it—it might be nothing: a bad cold. Or, you might die. But not many people seem to have it. Those who die seem mostly old or sick. Not as many as get regular flu. And it’s nowhere near the reach and scope of SARS. Which was a whole ‘nuther panic, of and in itself. Forgotten. Because Precious Peach Obama was President, and liberal liars in the media never went near it—or him, in all his lying Glory. It seems...

KEY POINTS NASA detected four asteroids approaching Earth The biggest asteroid in the group measures 180 feet wide All four asteroids will approach Earth this weekend NASA’s automated asteroid tracking system has detected four near-Earth objects that are expected to approach the planet this weekend. According to the agency, the biggest asteroid in the group is about as big as the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. The first asteroid that will approach Earth this weekend has been identified by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) as 2020 FK. As indicated in CNEOS’ database, this asteroid has an estimated...

The Trump administration has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, officials said. The emergency declaration Friday from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) unlocks access to a nationwide pot of $42 billion in vital aid from the Disaster Relief Fund, as the number of confirmed New York cases soar and critical medical supplies remain scarce, according to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. “With no time to waste, the administration heeded the call and approved the nation’s first Major Disaster Declaration in response to the coronavirus, right here in...

1. Number every square on a roll. Hang a log book near the roll. Every person using paper from roll must record usage by numbers on roll. Identify the biggest users. Quarantine them for a day for each offense. 2. Visitors must bring their own. Remove yours before they go in. Organize a BYOTP party (bring your own toilet paper party) 3. Study your dogs' behaviour. They get by without toilet paper quite well. 4. Visit rest rooms in local shopping malls, fast food places. Check TP is available before you sit down. Steal as much as you can. Bad...

A second dog has tested positive for coronavirus in Hong Kong days after the first to contract the disease died. A German shepherd living in the Pok Fu Lam area on Hong Kong Island was sent to quarantine along with another mixed-breed dog from the same residence. It happened on Thursday after their owner was confirmed as being infected, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said in a statement. The mixed breed dog did not test positive for the virus and neither dog wwas showing any symptoms. The department added that it will continue to monitor both dogs and...

My obligatory Friday posting of a favorite song. Classic 90s nu-metal/post-grunge song from Korn, one of my favorites. Enjoy FReepers.

Amid the empty shelves and store closures, a Springfield Walmart had its own commotion going Wednesday afternoon. A baby was born in the toilet paper aisle of the Walmart at Sunshine and West Bypass. One Walmart customer didn't have a chance to get any of those groceries she came for, but she left with something much more special. "We were like oh my gosh, is this actually going to happen," said store manager Jessica Hinkle. Hinkle said the woman warned store associates that her last child came in just 30 minutes. When the woman's water broke in the toilet paper...

Swiss officer and military engineer Nicolas Doxat de Demoret — also referred to as Doxat de Moretz or Doxat von Morez — was beheaded on this date in 1738 for surrendering to a Turkish siege.

I got a big ole Bose speaker. Just took it out into the parking lot of my business and residence complex by my office and played it LOUD. Perhaps I'll do this nightly. Great version... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DADmZdbQ9x8