Did Experts and Officials Warn in 2018 US Couldn’t Respond Effectively to a Pandemic?

tulc

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Did Experts and Officials Warn in 2018 US Couldn't Respond Effectively to a Pandemic?
In late March and early April 2020, social media users revisited a 2018 tweet posted by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Senior Fellow Stephen Schwartz, in which he paraphrased a Washington Post article that reported the Trump administration had disbanded the National Security Council’s pandemic response team.

The tweet, dated May 10, 2018, read, “When the next pandemic occurs (and make no mistake, it will) and the federal government is unable to respond in a coordinated and effective fashion to protect the lives of US citizens and others, this decision by John Bolton and Donald Trump will be why.”
tulc(thought this was interesting)
 

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Al Touthentop

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I think somebody has already posted that Trump didn't actually disband anything. But it's a bit hard to get behind all of this Trump is the root of all evil even if one doesn't like him that much. The CDC got caught lying about the 2009 Swine Flu numbers and one wonders of they're not pulling the same shenanigans here.

This is some great reporting here.

Swine Flu Cases Overestimated?
 
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grasping the after wind

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This is why Trump has to be held responsible. He inherited a plan to deal effectively with the pandemic threat, but, he dismantled it. That imho was totally irresponsible.

What plan did he inherit?
 
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Sistrin

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I reject the OP premise as echoed in the article cited, that President Trump "bumbled" the response. That assertion amounts to simply another link in the paper-mache chain of self-righteous outrage perpetually pouring from the aggregate soul of the hate-Trump collective.
 
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Sistrin

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This article does not answer the question asked. And indeed, it defeats the very point you are trying to make by posting it.

From the article, quote:

"It’s impossible to assess the impact of the 2018 decision to disband the unit, she said."

A statement which acknowledges the logical and indeed entirely plausible condition "the unit" was completely superfluous and disbanding it had absolutely no effect on anything.

But I know, I know, hate Trump hate Trump hate Trump...
 
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grasping the after wind

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tulc

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(snip)
From the article, quote:

"It’s impossible to assess the impact of the 2018 decision to disband the unit, she said."

A statement which acknowledges the logical and indeed entirely plausible condition "the unit" was completely superfluous and disbanding it had absolutely no effect on anything.
(snip)
How about if we put that statement in context:
It’s impossible to assess the impact of the 2018 decision to disband the unit, she said. Cameron noted that biological experts remain at the White House, but she says it’s clear that eliminating the office contributed to what she called a “sluggish domestic response.” She said that shortly before Trump took office, the unit was watching a rising number of cases in China of a deadly strain of the flu and a yellow fever outbreak in Angola. (emph. added)
in context it seems she answered at least one thing disbanding it did. :wave:
tulc(hopes that helps)
 
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tulc

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What plan did that unit have to combat this virus? Why did we not implement it. One doesn't need a specific unit to exist in order to implement its already existing plans. (emph. added)
You don't need a fire alarm to fight a fire, but it's nice to have a warning that there's smoke somewhere in the house. Which is what that unit's job was. :sigh:
tulc(just a thought)
 
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Sistrin

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in context it seems she answered at least one thing disbanding it did.

She stated her opinion. Which, of course, you automatically and without question agree with because hate Trump.
 
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tulc

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She stated her opinion. Which, of course, you automatically and without question agree with because hate Trump.
hmmm...she knows what she's talking about so yeah, I'll admit, I do tend to listen to people who know what they're talking about. :wave:
tulc(does like people who know what they're talking about)
 
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Jamsie

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hmmm...she knows what she's talking about so yeah, I'll admit, I do tend to listen to people who know what they're talking about. :wave:
tulc(does like people who know what they're talking about)

*Existing statutory authorities tasking HHS to lead the federal government's response to an influenza pandemic are insufficient and often in conflict with another.
*Currently, there are insufficient funding sources designated for the federal government to use in response to a severe influenza pandemic.

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthe...5bd797500ea55be0724/optimized/full.pdf#page=1


"On Twitter and TV, Gottlieb, Bossert and Cohn, among others, struck an urgent tone, while the president insisted the virus was “very much under control in the USA,” even predicting in late February that the number of cases would be close to zero “within a couple of days” and falsely claiming that a vaccine would soon arrive. As of Thursday, the number of cases had sailed past 1,000 and a vaccine remains at least a year away."

Trump officials did sound the coronavirus alarm. They just don’t work there anymore.

"The intelligence community was warning of the danger posed by the novel coronavirus throughout January and February as the White House downplayed the threat and was slow to roll out nationwide measures, reports show."

Intel reports going back to January warned of coronavirus threat

"But according to a previously unrevealed White House playbook, the government should’ve begun a federal-wide effort to procure that personal protective equipment at least two months ago."

Trump team failed to follow NSC’s pandemic playbook
 
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Fantine

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I don't think that anyone here "hates" Trump. We are all Christians here.

We hate his behavior. We recognize that in his current position he is probably the greatest threat to humankind on the planet.

But if he were a private citizen, living in MaraLago, sleeping till noon, being driven around in golf carts, hobnobbing with the members paying his bills, we wouldn't give him a second thought. No one hates a menace when neutralized.
 
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jgarden

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In addition to disbanding the White House Pandemic office for which this President claims no knowledge and budget cuts to the CDC, the internal "Crimson Contagion Study" was conducted in 2019 to determine the capability of the departments of the federal government to respond to a pandemic!

Apparently both the White House and Congress were made aware of its findings, which was only further reinforced by the briefings from America's intelligence agencies to those in senior government positions of authority concerning the nature and spread of COVIR-19

While this President has repeatedly attempted to shift the blame for the glaring shortfalls in organization and resources onto the backs of the state governments, their governors were never privy to the classified "Crimson Contagion Study" not the briefings by America's intelligence agencies!

Less than a month ago, this same President was still denying that COVIR-19 represented a national threat and it wasn't until yesterday that the Republican Governors in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi felt that they could introduce statewide "lock-downs" without incurring Trump's disapproval!
 
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tulc

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So what about all the Democrats. They had inkling of all this knowledge too. Oh I forgot they were too busy trying to impeach Trump.
If you remember correctly, the House was trying to do it's job by passing a lot of legislation in 2019, only to have pretty much everything grind to a halt because the Republican controlled Senate was too busy trying to act as President Trumps defense team: House Democrats have passed nearly 400 bills. Trump and Republicans are ignoring them.
There’s a pervasive sense of legislative paralysis gripping Capitol Hill. And it’s been there long before the impeachment inquiry began.

For months, President Donald Trump has fired off tweet missives accusing House Democrats of “getting nothing done in Congress,” and being consumed with impeachment.

Trump may want to look to the Republican-controlled Senate instead. Democrats in the House have been passing bills at a rapid clip; as of November 15, the House has passed nearly 400 bills, not including resolutions. But the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee estimates 80 percent of those bill have hit a snag in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is prioritizing confirming judges over passing bills.
But it is kind of nice to see a "whataboutism" that actually uses the words "but what about" in it. :wave:
tulc(just thought he'd point that out)
 
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jgarden

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So what about all the Democrats. They had inkling of all this knowledge too. Oh I forgot they were too busy trying to impeach Trump.
Presumably the White House and federal government which this President promised would be staffed by "all the best people" should be able to "walk and chew gum" at the same time!

The President receives daily intelligence briefings unavailable to others and yet it has been the Democratic state governors of New York, Washington, California, Illinois, Michigan and Louisiana who have filled the leadership void left by the federal government!
 
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