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Well, Gee! Maybe This had a Hand in Creating the Pandemic?

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
In before Tucker Carlson, the information that has just now been released to the public is certain to be used by the right as reason to claim Trump did not play a decisive role in the deaths of over 400,000 people from COVID. Make of that fact according to your own understanding of reality.​

From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — A federal watchdog has found that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which drew national attention last year when the Trump administration fired its director, has been used for the past 10 years as a “slush fund” to cover expenses unrelated to its core mission of fighting health threats like Ebola, Zika and the coronavirus.

The 223-page report, issued Wednesday by the Office of Special Counsel, found that the Department of Health and Human Services diverted millions of taxpayer dollars intended for BARDA to finance vaccine research and pandemic preparedness into other government activities, and failed to inform Congress — a potential violation of federal law.​

Reading the Times article in full is an absolute must for anyone interested in an accurate understanding of all the factors that came into play allowing a pandemic to sweep America. And if you really know how these things used to unfold before Trump, then you already know this will help you understand how that pandemic was also allowed to sweep the whole world, not just America.

Of course, the usual folks have already begun yelling Trump is off the hook now.

There is so much radioactive cunning in that, I'm not even going close to addressing that lie without first bracing myself for gamma rays from the right.

So, here's something people who never in their lives even have had a chance at making it to the top of any organization are most likely to fail to understand. At least, what follows is the 'law' of it. The reality is the same as it always is: No one is in a better position to break any 'law', formal or otherwise, than those who have power, celebrity, or money. I'm glad some people in such positions apparently do not.

The top always bears 100% total responsibility for the consequences of anything done by those below them with the sole exception being there is no conceivable way they could have used their power and influence to have changed what those people did or did not do, nor to have even used their knowledge at the time as warning to resign before the people below them did or did not do it.

At most, someone else is also responsible for those consequences. But nothing diminishes the top's complete responsibility, and nothing can ever logically do so.

In effect, if you are on top, you're totally responsible, unless you can correctly argue your position was solely and honorary one, and you had no involvement, nor could have had any involvement, in what the people in your organization were up to.

Anyone want to argue Trump was solely an honorary president? After all, he did spend 315 days on the golf course. And that's just for starters. Maybe someone thinks they could make a case?




 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
10 years = Obama + Trump

It's a sad day when something as simple as that needs to be pointed out. Thanks, Sunrise. Some folks would not have understood that. And some still won't. But at least you tried.

Everyone who is interested in fairly evaluating this news will need to weigh according to their understanding how this ought to affect their judgement of both Obama's and Trump's time in office, to again state the obvious.
 

Heyo

Veteran Member

The 223-page report, issued Wednesday by the Office of Special Counsel, found that the Department of Health and Human Services diverted millions of taxpayer dollars intended for BARDA to finance vaccine research and pandemic preparedness into other government activities, and failed to inform Congress — a potential violation of federal law.​
Diverting taxpayer money - I think that is now legal in the US by precedent. Trump diverted DOD money to the wall without consequence.
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Diverting taxpayer money - I think that is now legal in the US by precedent. Trump diverted DOD money to the wall without consequence.

Can Trump plausibly claim he notified Congress? Wouldn't that be enough to make it legal?
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
Can Trump plausibly claim he notified Congress? Wouldn't that be enough to make it legal?
I don't know. Trump wasn't called out for it. Maybe some other executive should try to do it and inform his superior that he did it. Would be interesting to see what the courts think.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Anyone want to argue Trump was solely an honorary president?

After all, he did spend 315 days on the golf course
Having him play golf might have been a good way to avoid more damage to the US

Note: Again a beautiful Song. Since corona I am not such a fan of China, but due to your songs, I get some positive thoughts about China again. Thanks
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Having him play golf might have been a good way to avoid more damage to the US

Note: Again a beautiful Song. Since corona I am not such a fan of China, but due to your songs, I get some positive thoughts about China again. Thanks

I'm glad you like those songs as much as I've come to enjoy them. Other than that, I make an effort these days to keep in mind the Chinese Government and the Chinese people are two almost entirely different topics in so many relevant ways, and then to distinguish between the two when talking about either of them.

It helps me to remember to do that each time I read a new report about the growing danger and too often, reality, of violence to Asian Americans that began with Trump's fateful decision to blame the virus on "China".
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
It's not that simple. The people involved were republicans from what I can tell. Which makes sense, they're crooked and bought by corporations/capitalists.

What you're saying might be worth more consideration that it currently is worth if you had somehow resisted whatever urge you might have felt to state that one view was "not that simple", then immediately go on to assert a 'too simple' view as its replacement.

What the right does routinely looks no better when the left does it routinely.


If you disagree with me, that's fine. Just don't expect an argument. You stated your opinion. I stated mine. I'm done arguing these days when arguments make less difference than they ever did. I almost never read them unless it's to see if there's anything in them worth passing along to the mods.
 

Daemon Sophic

Avatar in flux
So, they diverted funds from “its core mission of fighting health threats like Ebola, Zika and the coronavirus.”
What did they divert it to?

Their own bank accounts?
Their own pet projects at home?
Not that I can currently think of any diversion which could be considered as honorable or foresightful. But it certainly is an important question to ask.

How about .... “diverted to a more specific set of high level research teams, focused soley on SARS-CoViD-2 research, at the expense of BARDA’s more generalized approach.”
:shrug:

:cool:

:D
ha-i-kill-me.jpg
 
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