"Moscow" Mitch, the Senate Majority leader with a Russian oligarch in his back pocket, is proud of his title of The Grim Reaper.

So now that the Senate Majority Leader has to look at the financial damage a virus the president wanted to make disappear into the flu statistics has done to the Blue States he doesn't want to have anything to do with it. He wants the states with the largest populations of the country to declare bankruptcy. Sounds like Trump has McConnell is his back pocket.

Everything is politics with McConnell and Trump. If a Democrat yelled they were going to be hit by an oncoming truck as they cross the street, they would first attempt to decide if it was a political advantage.

Senate Majority (click here) Leader Mitch McConnell calls himself the "Grim Reaper," vowing to kill whichever bill that he labels as socialist legislation, including a bill that pushes for election security.

McConnell absolutely is a partisan hack. That is all he is. He is probably the most corrupt member of congress between his spouse and his family which think nothing of coveting the federal treasury or the Chinese treasury, too.

Elaine Chao, (click here) the transportation secretary, oversees the American maritime industry. Her family’s shipping company, Foremost Group, has deep ties to the Chinese elite.

Most of the commerce by the Foremost Group is commodities to China. China has sponsored the growth of the company and the building of some of it's ships. That is probably just interesting and whether there are ethical issues isn't really clear, although it is known Foremost donates to the couple and McConnell's campaign regularly.

When the Department of Transportation Secretary assigns a special envoy to find spending for Kentucky it is a huge ethics violation. But, what difference does it make? None. She is still there and so is Mitch.

Credit...

June 10, 2019
By Tucker Doherty and Tanya Snyder

A certificate (click here) being presented to Ms. Chao in her role as an international adviser to the city of Wuhan.

Elaine Chao, (click here) the transportation secretary, oversees the American maritime industry. Her family’s shipping company, Foremost Group, has deep ties to the Chinese elite.

The Transportation Department under Secretary Elaine Chao designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and other priorities from her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, paving the way for grants totaling at least $78 million for favored projects as McConnell prepared to campaign for reelection.

Chao’s aide Todd Inman, who stated in an email to McConnell’s Senate office that Chao had personally asked him to serve as an intermediary, helped advise the senator and local Kentucky officials on grants with special significance for McConnell — including a highway-improvement project in a McConnell political stronghold that had been twice rejected for previous grant applications....

The deadly spring. The bodies of severe climate are adding up.

April 22, 2020
By Doyle Rice and Jessica Flores

Current weather pattern (click here) The storm system slowed and formed a vortex which increased it's surface wind speed.

At least five people were killed (click here) when severe storms ripped through southern states Wednesday night, after weeks of extreme weather that killed more than two-dozen people and destroyed hundreds of homes.

A tornado in Marshall County, Oklahoma killed one person and damaged at least two businesses.

Robert Chaney, Marshall County Emergency Management Director, said the person's body was found near J&I Manufacturing, a trailer factory about six miles southwest of Madill where the storm hit the Oklahoma Steel and Wire plant.

At least three people were killed when apparent tornado in southeast Texas touched down about 6 p.m. near Onalaska, about 75 miles north of Houston, the Polk County Emergency Management System said in a statement....

The underhanded political agenda of Donald Trump includes taking control of the media to begin a federal propaganda network.

It is completely clear that Trump's idea of "Fake News" is to create the demand among Americans for a new national media.

The level of corruption instilled in the federal government by Trump is unprecedented.

April 22, 2020
By Ben Schreckinger

Michael Pack, President Donald Trump’s nominee (click here) to lead a federal media organization has been funding his own private film company with donations from a nonprofit that he runs.

Voice of America (click here) director Amanda Bennett seems, at first glance, to be the perfect target for a Donald Trump attack on the mainstream media: A former Philadelphia Inquirer editor, wife of ex-Washington Post owner Donald Graham and Barack Obama appointee, Bennett has strived to maintain VOA’s independence from the White House during the Trump era.

So when Trump and his aides began attacking VOA earlier this month, stirring up anger on the right, the broadcaster and its leader seemed like another shrewdly chosen foil for rallying his populist base against Washington elites. But since then, a deeper motive has emerged: Trump is using the dispute to demand the confirmation of conservative activist and filmmaker Michael Pack, a close associate of Steve Bannon, to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA....

Hydroxychloroquine?

I am confident Trump would write an Executive Order to allow all those in the right-wing media advocating Hydroxychloroquine their own experiment in personally taking it as a prophylactic. Like a vitamin every day. If they are advocating taking it by others, why not use it themselves, right Don? If the experiment goes well it can be an over the counter drug since it is so cheap. I am sure Don's Pharma friends will love it.

April 22, 2020
By Aaron Blake

For weeks, President Trump’s allies (click here) have defended his early effort to downplay the coronavirus threat by saying he was just being optimistic — a cheerleader for the country — and that it didn’t actually affect the response.

But a new flap reinforces the potential danger of Trump’s see-no-evil approach to the combating the virus, because it recalls when his allergy to bad news and dire predictions might have cost us valuable time early in the fight.

Trump on Wednesday morning took issue with the media’s portrayal of comments from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield. In a Washington Post interview published Tuesday, Redfield had warned that a second wave of the virus this winter could actually be worse than the one we are currently riding.

“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” Redfield told The Post’s Lena H. Sun. He added, “We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time."...

Nursing homes can made immediate changes to protect their residents.

Nursing homes nationally need to make every room a private room.

Residents should be taught about the "social distancing" the rest of the country is practicing. In that lies the idea that those willing and able to social distance can still attend their facilities activities, such as bingo and karaoke. But, there are going to be activities that can no longer take place such as checkers, chess, and board games.

Connecting nursing home residents to the real world is important. They are full of wisdom and they can be interested in the way the world is coping with the novel virus. As a group, they can write letters or make phone calls to Washington, DC to express their unhappiness with things as they are now and concern for the future of their grandchildren. They can be vital messengers about this national emergency. They should not feel helpless in the face of this disease. They know they are fragile and to give them emotional strength will improve their daily lives. Expressing their love of their family is another way to bring a quality of life to them.

Additionally, the residents can no longer eat as a group, but, will have to receive their meals at their private rooms.

Our nursing room residents should be first on the list of testing as well as the staff. Two negative tests at least one day apart ensure the best understanding of their status.

They are important people. They have wisdom and insight on a far longer timeline than the other generations in the USA. They should be valued for their contribution to our lives to ensure those that care for them is matched to their challenge to longevity from SARS-CoV-2.

Eye exams will ensure the ability of these residents to enjoy reading books and magazines found in a facility library. The residents need to understand the important role of an ombudsman and their rights to complain about their care if needed. 

I would hesitate to plan outings with residents that cannot accommodate social distancing. Families are to understand the issues the residents face with this virus and any family outings have to accommodate safety of all kinds, including protection from the novel virus.

The daily afternoon "Trump Show" is about maintaining the strong man image used to defame everyone that oppose him including national media.

The real headlines from the daily evening "Trump Show" is "JOURNALISTS SUCCESSFULLY MANIPULATED BY TRUMP COMPLAINING ABOUT FAKE NEWS IN THE WASHINGTON POST ABOUT DR. REDFIELD."

Journalists attending the White House Daily Briefing of the national health emergency should be drilling Trump on his actions across the spectrum, including lies he tells the American public. 

Dr. Redfield clarified that the Washington Post did not quote him wrong. The only criticism by Redfield was that he didn't work his message well. No apology, of course, with a clarification of his concerns and focus. How were we to know it was a statement to drive Americans to take the flu shot to reduce the impact of the annual flu?

Someone or the entire room should have demanded Trump to apologize to the Washington Post for lying about the reporting of Dr. Redfield's concerns for the autumn in the USA. IMMEDIATELY WITH VIBRANT OPPOSITION THAT CAN RESULT IN BEING THROWN OUT OF THE ROOM. Then continue reporting the obvious lies of Trump. Put Bezos in the room with his journalist and he can call Trump a liar.

Jeff Bezos should wear a mask to ensure he isn't effected by Trump's non-symptomatic infection.

Why is he allowed to get away with this?

FOX News is the truly Fake News network.

Jeff Bezos should sue Trump for defamation and FOX News for endangering the American people. Include the FCC and whoever is running the agency at the moment, too.

The list of people that need to be made whole again by Trump's antics is getting longer. Now, it is not only a USA Navy Captain, it is also the director of an agency that was working to save American lives. I am afraid the Congress is going to have to legislate the return of these people back into their jobs. We can't achieve an end to this virus without Dr. Bright. It won't happen for the USA otherwise.

Trump is such a liar and his lies are killing Americans. And don't forget the infotainment industry that foments the lies Trump tells. Why isn't FOX News considered an essential company? Health directors in every state can demand the disinformation to stop and remove them from the airwaves if necessary. People are dying because of the lies the right-wing is fomenting.

4 December 2003

...Two Rwandan journalists (click here) have been sentenced to life in prison and a third to 35 years for their roles in fuelling the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus were murdered.

The sentencing ends a landmark three-year trial that highlighted what became known as the "hate media" during the tragic period in the African country's history.

The international criminal tribunal for Rwanda, which is being held in Tanzania, heard how the media played a major role in inciting extremists from the Hutu majority to carry out the 100-day slaughter of ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus....

What is so different? Death is death.

April 22, 2020
By Kaitlan Collins, Jeremy Diamond and Betsy Klein

The director of the office (click here) involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine says he was abruptly dismissed from his post in part because he resisted efforts to widen the availability of a coronavirus treatment pushed by President Donald Trump.

Dr. Rick Bright had led BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, since 2016 until Tuesday, when was reassigned to a narrower position. He also announced he will file a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general.

"I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit," Bright said in a lengthy statement issued Wednesday. "I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science -- not politics or cronyism -- has to lead the way."

He cited "clashes with political leadership" as a reason for his sidelining, as well as his resistance to "efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections."...

April 21, 2020

An autopsy report has revealed (click here) the first COVID-19-related death in the United States happened weeks earlier than previously thought.

Officials in Santa Clara County, California, said Tuesday two people died at home on Feb. 6 and Feb. 17. The Medical Examiner-Coroner received confirmation Tuesday that tissue samples sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested positive for the virus, officials said.

Before this, the first U.S. death from the virus had been reported on Feb. 29 in Kirkland, Washington. 

There may be more information about the blood clotting noted by doctors regarding COVID-19.

It was about a week ago I read a news article whereby the EMTs in New York City were reporting an increase in heart attacks. Heart attacks can occur for several reasons, such as plague occlusions and the like, but, blood clots can be a determining factor as well.

I have to also wonder about any increase incidence of brain strokes. Has there been an increase of strokes and quite possibly an anticoagulant protocol used in the ER to end the stroke?

He may have answers to why it is so difficult to find the needed supplies for testing.

April 22, 2020
By Eric Roston

John Sterman (click here) has spent his life explaining why big systems fail.

A professor at MIT Sloan School of Management since the early 1980s, his research extends from global supply chain disruptions to the collapse of the biosphere. He literally wrote the book on how to manage complexity, Business Dynamics, and has guided generations of MBA students and executives. Now he focuses on sustainability and climate change.

Sterman likes to start his presentations with a devastating assessment of how well facts, diagrams and figures change people’s minds: “Research,” he deadpans, “shows that showing people research doesn’t work.”

What does work is playing games. The latest game takes the shape of an easy-to-use, deceptively sophisticated model called En-ROADS that turns hypothetical policy scenarios into climate impacts, projected out to the year 2100....

There is a good chance SARS-CoV-2 is attacking the enzymes of the clotting cascade.

This is NIH:

NIH might be positioned to answer these issues. Matching genome to enzyme may reveal the secrets of this virus.

Crit. Rev, Biochem. Mol. Bol. 2015: 50(4), 326-336.
Stephanie A. Smith, Richard J. Travers, and James H. Morrissey

The plasma coagulation system (click here) in mammalian blood consists of a cascade of enzyme activation events in which serine proteases activate the proteins (proenzymes and procofactors) in the next step of the cascade via limited proteolysis. The ultimate outcome is the polymerization of fibrin and the activation of platelets, leading to a blood clot. This process is protective, as it prevents excessive blood loss following injury (normal hemostasis). Unfortunately, the blood clotting system can also lead to unwanted blood clots inside blood vessels (pathologic thrombosis), which is a leading cause of disability and death in the developed world. There are two main mechanisms for triggering the blood clotting, termed the tissue factor pathway and the contact pathway. Only one of these pathways (the tissue factor pathway) functions in normal hemostasis. Both pathways, however, are thought to contribute to thrombosis. An emerging concept is that the contact pathway functions in host pathogen-defenses. This review focuses on how the initiation phase of the blood clotting cascade is regulated in both pathways, with a discussion of the contributions of these pathways to hemostasis versus thrombosis.

From the Mayo Clinic:

Hypoxemia (click here) is a below-normal level of oxygen in your blood, specifically in the arteries. Hypoxemia is a sign of a problem related to breathing or circulation, and may result in various symptoms, such as shortness of breath.

Hypoxemia is determined by measuring the oxygen level in a blood sample taken from an artery (arterial blood gas). It can also be estimated by measuring the oxygen saturation of your blood using a pulse oximeter — a small device that clips to your finger.

Normal arterial oxygen is approximately 75 to 100 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Values under 60 mm Hg usually indicate the need for supplemental oxygen. Normal pulse oximeter readings usually range from 95 to 100 percent. Values under 90 percent are considered low.

Spot checking oxygen levels, as with a SARS-CoV-2 victim with a low oxygen level by operating a mobile phone without confusion, is a problem with measurement, not the patient. If COVID-19 is causing sporadic attacks on body systems with blood clots, other than the respiratory system attack, it is not a brand new phenomenon. There are cancers that cause blood clots that cannot be accommodated by injectible anti-coagulants such as Exonaparin (Lovenox) or Dalteparin (Fragmin).

Scientists working to save people's lives at the CDC and WHO need to think outside the box and find the aspect of the clotting factor this virus is attacking. It is no different than the frequent reporting of positive COVID-19 cases that have red eyes. All these issues speak to a virus that can attack the blood content of the host. The lungs are noted to be inflamed. That is basically a more systemic reaction to the same type of component causing red eyes.

The people admitted to the ICU must have an atrial line put in to accurately know the circulatory oxygen level.

There is no doubt patients admitted to the hospital that need to be given a strong anti-inflammatory such as prednisone and subcutaneous heparin every 12 hours. They also need broad-spectrum antibiotics to help the body to prevent an internal environment that is conducive to bacterial infection.

There needs to be a STANDING REGIME for physicians and nurse practitioners to implement as required to SUPPORT the body while any other measures of therapeutics are ordered to provide on the case by case symptoms.

If there are particular characteristics of the infection noted by professionals over and over those are COMPLICATIONS that can lead to death. Those complications have to be headed off at the point of diagnosis whether the symptoms are present or not at that time.

April 22, 2020
By Ariana Eunjang Cha

...Many are also reporting bizarre, (click here) unsettling cases that don’t seem to follow the textbooks they’ve trained on. They describe patients with startlingly low oxygen levels — so low that they would normally be unconscious or near death — talking and swiping on their phones. Asymptomatic pregnant women suddenly in cardiac arrest. Patients who by all conventional measures seem to have mild disease deteriorating within minutes and dying at home.

With no clear patterns in terms of age or chronic conditions, some scientists now hypothesize that at least some of these abnormalities may be explained by severe changes in patients’ blood....

There are cancers caused by virus:

This is from MD Anderson:

April 2018
By Kellie Bramlet Blackburn

Researchers know that there are several viruses (click here) that can lead to cancer. For example, the human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical and several other cancers. And hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Studying viruses and cancer is helping researchers develop vaccines and other ways to reduce cancer risk. We spoke with Harrys Torres, M.D., associate professor of Infectious Diseases, to learn more. Here’s what he had to say.

How do viruses cause cancer?

Viruses are very small organisms. They are made up of genes – DNA or RNA – surrounded by a protein coating. There are several oncoviruses (oncology virus), or viruses that causes cancer:...

Understanding the genome of this virus and the patients susceptible to it's impacts in the human body is to know exactly where this virus finds success.

This won't go over well, but, are there any human beings that are deceased and have indicated in their "donation of organs" document which provides for autopsy by researchers. Sometimes people will allow scientific investigation with their bodies. I would expect that to be somewhat revealing not just to causes but the interaction of the virus with body tissues of all kinds.

The other question I have is the origin of the virus. Do we know if this virus is exclusive to an animal? Does the genetics of the original animal include other genus and species or is this virus exclusive to a particular genus-species? In other words, if this virus jumped from a bat to humans, are there other animals that are carrying this virus and have they overcome the infection or died?

This is off-topic, but, is important at this point in history.

There is something that has bothered me about some primate research in China (I am sure China is not the only country.) that uses human tissue in gene splicing (click here) with other species. This begins to speak to the need for international agreements that limit any use of human tissue in research. It is my concern that when any aspect of the human genome is used in gene splicing with other species the danger of these viruses is more likely. There needs to be international conventions on the use of human tissue and also of artificial intelligence. In my opinion, when humans believe they have control over these new realities they are fooling themselves and don't understand the power of replication and reproduction.

This highly sophisticated research should be solving problems not simply carried out of curiosity. Where human genes are spliced into another genome of an animal what then is the final product of such research and will it provide more danger than benefit?

Earth Day 2020

I have great hope the new bill passed by the US Senate will find the right people to receive those monies.

I sincerely believe when these monies are available the small businesses truly in need will receive them. In that is the reality the pressure to reopen will diminish.

The $2.2 trillion law passed by the legislature before this bill sadly was misdirected. That is exactly the problem with the idea of reopening before the hospitals are able to respond to any increase in COVID-19 cases. The small businesses that are addressed in this bill have a great deal of pressure to open as soon as possible. Their proprietors are also disillusioned by the failure of the earlier law to reach them.

The skepticism of people in the USA regarding survival measures such as a $2.2 trillion dollar law actually helping them is considerable. And why? Because when large amounts of money are to be distributed by Congress into an economic effort to stabilize a failing economy those monies never make it to the small businesses that 50% of the workforce relies on for their income.

I find the misdirection of the monies in that huge spending bill disgusting. Americans are disgusted in the way corruption easily finds its way into federal law.

It is my full expectations that with the leadership of Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi the REAL NEED in the small business community is finally addressed. I fully expect the misdirected funds will be coming back to the US Treasury. Those returned funds MUST support the companies they were intended to benefit. When these businesses receive the monies they need, the pressure to reopen will diminish and their workers will be safe at home.

New York Times Live Updates

April 21, 2020

The Senate on Tuesday passed a $484 billion coronavirus (click here) relief package that would replenish a depleted loan program for distressed small businesses and provide funds for hospitals and coronavirus testing, approving yet another huge infusion of federal money to address the public health and economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

The measure was the product of an intense round of bipartisan negotiations between Democrats and the Trump administration that unfolded as the small business loan program created by the stimulus law quickly ran out of its initial $349 billion in funding. The program ran dry before many companies were able to have their applications approved, collapsing under a glut of appeals from desperate businesses struggling to stay afloat....

There is a huge communication gap between the president and the states.

I am going to try to straighten this out with my fingers crossed.

To begin the word "reagents" is pronounced "re-a-gents." Merrium-Webster probably does this better, re·​agent | \ rē-ˈā-jən (click here to listen).]

Secondly, the president is stating there are large numbers of "platforms" not utilized by the governors, with LabCorp (click here) and another commercial lab and the name escapes me but I think it begins with a Q.

The platforms for testing is not the issue. Obviously, it is not the issue as the president is attempting to tell the governors they are wasting money.

The problem is that the SPECIMENS needed to be tested DO NOT HAVE THE LABORATORY MEDIUM to replicate the virus and come to a definitive diagnosis. THE LABORATORY MEDIUM are the REAGENTS. These reagents are not the transfer medium, they are the living substance that will provide a clear understanding of the RNA that replicates in the DNA.

The process used IN THE LAB is seeking cDNA (synthetic DNA).

I am borrowing this illustration from Wikipedia. I hope it is understandable in realizing what is occurring in the dynamics of finding a POSITIVE result.

Below is from a list of professionals that use this process to identify SARS-CoV-2.

Comments sent out on Thursday 2nd April 2020

Prof Robin May, Professor of Infectious Disease and Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, said:

“SARS-COV-2 is an RNA virus, (click here) which means that its genome is based not on DNA, but on RNA (a closely-related molecule).  Detecting the virus relies on specifically detecting a ‘sequence’ of RNA that is unique to this virus, converting it into DNA and then amplifying that DNA (essentially, making copies of it) via a process called PCR (polymerase chain reaction).  The conversion of RNA to DNA requires one enzyme (reverse transcriptase) and then amplifying the DNA requires another (polymerase).  Both of these enzymes are biological molecules that have to be produced (typically in bacteria), then purified, usually only in small scale.  Normally, demand for these enzymes is very steady and relatively low, so scaling up to the massive quantities that are required for COVID19 testing takes time.  In addition, it is critical to ensure ‘quality control’ of the extraordinarily large number of kits that must be produced, to minimise the risk of false positive/negatives.  Tackling all of these rate-limiting steps together to eliminate all of the bottlenecks is the primary reason why testing has been relatively slow to roll-out so far.”

The illustration shows the process of the RNA in its use of reverse transcriptase in creating nucleic chains of DNA. Literally, the enzyme acts as a zipper and brings the RNA and DNA together to replicate the virus.

Basically, very basically, the MEDIA used to grow the cDNA is a living solution. These are not simply chemicals in a tube. So, reverse transcriptase is an enzyme found in living beings. It is put into the media along with a purified polymerase to allow the RNA VIRUS to feel at home and begin a chain reaction that produces cDNA that reveals it's presence. I took license with some of this, but, this is basically the idea. 

The problem today in the USA is that these biological elements of the test media are not yet in qualities that can result in large numbers of tests required to test all Americans to the maximum.

HOWEVER.

There is a revolution happening in this method of testing for some time now. I would not be surprised if there is a new technology that is going to be introduced within a matter of weeks that solves the problems currently experienced in the USA. Below is a discussion between scientists that demonstrate sensitivity to this idea. Viruses are an important part of medical research because they are so disruptive to any country, both socially and economically and that does not even begin to count the number of people that were killed by viruses.

Just the title to this professional article relays the idea of frustration with the status quo.

J Clin Microbiol. 2013 Jan; 51(1): 2–8. Richard L. Hodinka and Laurent Kaiser. "Is the Era of Viral Culture Over in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory?"

...In the fast-paced medical world (click here) of wanting or needing an immediate and accurate diagnosis, viral culture has lost its place and relative importance in diagnostic virology. To me, as a director of a busy hospital-based clinical virology laboratory, there is nothing more disheartening than to invest considerable time, labor, and resources in test systems that yield less-than-adequate results in a less-than-timely fashion. In such a setting, the impact on clinical care and patient management is diminished and the overall effectiveness of the laboratory is called into question by those who use its services. Within the past 3 decades, we have experienced a significant change in the diagnostic landscape with the development of a variety of molecular technologies designed to rapidly and accurately detect, differentiate, and quantify many different viruses of medical importance. Led by real-time PCR, applications of these molecular methods appear endless and their use is now commonplace in larger academic medical centers and tertiary-care facilities and is expanding into smaller laboratories and even to the point of care as simpler and more accessible testing platforms come to market....

The idea of CHANGING methods receives a lot of resistance simply because it is new and UNPROVEN. If there is a testing regime that can be used to test everyone on the horizon I would not be surprised if the new method is being scrutinized in a more rapid method to improve the circumstances in the USA.

I really want people to understand the depth of knowledge these professionals have in their understanding of life. They know there is a delicate balance in the human body that consists of a wide array of knowledge of biochemistry. When a physician makes decisions about therapeutics, be they biochemical or physical therapy, they do so with a deep understanding of the human body. THE REASON these processes take so much time to develop, such as vaccines, is because of that depth of knowledge and COMPLETE NEED to understand what a vaccine does to that graceful balance of the body's biochemistry.

To put this in the simplest terms possible, the states are unable to use the large numbers of platforms because they don't have enough of the STUFF needed to process THE SAMPLE of the virus from the patient.

I suppose the USA can isolate itself and take back all it's money, but, the adverse effects of that idea will come to roost.

• The World Health Organization (WHO),(click here) founded in 1948, is a specialized agency of the United Nations with a broad mandate to act as a coordinating authority on international health issues.
• The U.S. government (U.S.) has long been actively engaged with WHO, providing financial and technical support as well as participating in its governance structure.
• The U.S. has been the largest contributor to WHO.
• WHO faces challenges including a broad mandate with limited, inflexible funding, and bureaucratic complexity. It has instituted changes to address prior weaknesses in its health emergencies program, and has played a major role in responding to a number of outbreaks recently.
• WHO is currently helping coordinate a worldwide response to COVID-19, which it declared to be public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on January 30, and a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
• In April, the White House announced it would be suspending financial support for WHO pending a review of the organization’s activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with President Trump stating the U.S. contributes “between $400 million and $500 million per year to the WHO.” Assessed contributions from the U.S. to the WHO have ranged from $107 to $119 million over the last decade. The U.S. has also made additional voluntary contributions, ranging from $102 to $401 million per year....
• ...The agency has played a key role in a number of global health achievements, such as the Alma-Ata Declaration on primary health care (1978), the eradication of smallpox (formally recognized in 1980), the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (adopted in 2003), and the 2005 revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR), an international agreement that outlines roles and responsibilities in preparing for and responding to international health emergencies....
• ...WHO has two primary sources of revenue:
• • assessed contributions (set amounts expected to be paid by member-state governments, scaled by income and population) and
  • voluntary contributions (other funds provided by member states, plus contributions from private organizations and individuals).
  Most assessed contributions are considered “core” funding, meaning they are flexible funds that are often used to cover general expenses and program activities. Voluntary contributions, on the other hand, are often “specified” funds, meaning they are earmarked by donors for certain activities....

April 20, 2020

Strong to severe thunderstorms (click here) are taking aim in parts of the Southeast today as an area of low pressure tracks eastward.

The lingering threat of severe storms today is in parts of northern and central Florida. Damaging wind gusts and hail are the main concerns, but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has issued a pair of watches:

-A tornado watch remains in effect until 11 a.m. EDT for parts of northeast Florida to coastal Georgia. This watch area includes Jacksonville, Florida.

-A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 3 p.m. EDT for a large part of central Florida, including Daytona Beach, Orlando and the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro areas.

A few strong to severe storms with gusty winds or hail could linger over northern and central parts of Florida into the afternoon hours.

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

April 19, 2020
By Karen DeYoung, Lena H. Sun and Emily Rauhala

More than a dozen (click here) U.S. researchers, physicians and public health experts, many of them from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were working full time at the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization as the novel coronavirus emerged late last year and transmitted real-time information about its discovery and spread in China to the Trump administration, according to U.S. and international officials.

A number of CDC staff members are regularly detailed to work at the WHO in Geneva as part of a rotation that has operated for years. Senior Trump-appointed health officials also consulted regularly at the highest levels with the WHO as the crisis unfolded, the officials said.

The presence of so many U.S. officials undercuts President Trump’s assertion that the WHO’s failure to communicate the extent of the threat, born of a desire to protect China, is largely responsible for the rapid spread of the virus in the United States....

...But the president, who often touts a personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and is reluctant to inflict damage on a trade deal with Beijing, appears to view the WHO as a more defenseless target.

In a statement provided to The Washington Post after online publication of this article, Caitlin B. Oakley, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, confirmed that in January, HHS had 17 staff members, including 16 from the CDC, at the WHO, “working on a variety of programs, including covid-19 and Ebola.” She emphasized that the staff members were not “decision-makers.”...

I might add, the idea U.S. researchers, physicians, and public health experts are not decision-makers of US policy is throughout the practice of those professionals. They have a "practice" and have the skills to investigate and report the truth, but, those facts are submitted to government authority to protect the people that the government provides protection.

We see a level of dismissal of the truth in the federal government of the USA in regard to the climate crisis. That dismissal of the truth has translated into politics for decades rather than policy. The idea Trump was playing politics with a deadly virus is more than unconscionable, it is an assault against the American people for his own politics.

The understanding that scientists once employed directly in China were removed is a very worrisome reality considering the attempt by Trump to turn COVID-19 into the common flu. Americans could have received the warning far earlier than even the WHO if those scientists were in place.

"Good Night, Moon"

The waning crescent

26.8 days old moon

8.0 percent lit

The USA is back!

April 17, 2020
By Jennifer Leman

May 27. (click here) That's the tentative date that NASA will send astronauts Bob Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station. If all goes according to plan, they will launch at 4:32 p.m. from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency announced April 14.

It will be the first time American astronauts will be launched aboard an American-built rocket from American soil since the final launch of the space shuttle in 2011. NASA astronauts currently grab a lift to the ISS aboard Roscosmos' Soyuz rockets, which launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan....