It's virus time, guyz. Welcome to Pandemic.

[K2000]

I'm in NYC and we were in total lockdown and then partial lockdown for months. Meanwhile, other states like Florida were wide open, and there is a big NY to FL pipeline of retirees, vacationers and relatives. Thousands of people go back and forth every week. The "every state decide for themselves" non-strategy at the federal level has been a disaster. It's "Whack-a-Mole" because the virus isn't influenced by state boundaries. If the entire US went on partial lockdown (or full lockdown in some places, partial lockdown in others) for one month, the virus would be virtually eliminated, in one month's time. The logical time to do that would have been during summer vacation when schools are closed. But Trump seems to be incapable of asking Americans to sacrifice, or do anything difficult or whatever. Trump can't force states to lock down (maybe he can, I don't think so) but he can publicly pressure states to cooperate, and the public pressure to play along would be intense.

If Biden wins, maybe he will do that - have a nationwide shut-down. February would be a good month to do that, since most of the nation slows down during that time, I think.

Imagine after Pearl Harbor if the president had said "This is really Hawaii's problem" or after Hurricane Katrina "every state is on their own". WTF is the point of having a United States if the president can't get states to act in unison.

Republicans wanted to elect an outsider with no government experience. Big surprise: Trump is worthless during a crisis. Less than worthless, Trump made things worse, by making states bid against each other for PPE, telling people the pandemic is a hoax, etc etc.

[D.o.S.]

Teachers don't get paid in the summer break (if they do get paychecks, it's because they spread their paychecks out over 12 months instead of 10). It's not fair to expect teachers to use unpaid vacation time to decide how to conduct school during the pandemic. Teachers aren't trained in technology and they never have been... when I was a kid in school, someone else (the AV guy) brought a filmstrip projector into the classroom and ran the movies, not the teachers. It's always been that way.

Also, one of the difference between in-person school and other essential businesses is the factor of working mainly with children, who don't always behave or follow instructions.

Not trying to cast any shade, this is a really tough time for parents, kids and school districts. I feel bad for kids going into their senior year of high school - they are losing out on a lot of social interaction, and many of them will enter a job market that is totally screwed.

Meh. I finished university in the wake of the financial crisis, and no one's ever said a bad thing about the Millenials.

[Chankgeez]

Imagine after Pearl Harbor if the president had said "This is really Hawaii's problem" or after Hurricane Katrina "every state is on their own". WTF is the point of having a United States if the president can't get states to act in unison.

That's a constitutional/states' rights issue.

Republicans wanted to elect an outsider with no government experience. Big surprise: Trump is worthless during a crisis. Less than worthless, Trump made things worse, by making states bid against each other for PPE, telling people the pandemic is a hoax, etc etc.

Bigger surprise: I'm sure nobody who voted for Trump even thought about that.

[cosmicevan]

Buckle up for the next doozie from 2020...here comes Laura