As we’ve already reported, the Texas Medical Center halted reporting all COVID-19 data after some kind of agreement with Greg Abbott to continue allowing elective surgeries even after his statewide order that shut down those elective surgeries to free hospital capacity for infected patients.  TMC halted that reporting just as it reached 100% base capacity and forecast overrunning surge capacity in days.

Well, TMC started reporting the data again last night, but OMITTED ICU and hospital capacity data.  A before and after example is below.  Doctors in

Before and After

TMC have been ringing the alarm bells for weeks, and management was accurately reporting data and also sounding the alarm until everything stopped Thursday.  The Houston Chronicle has now picked up the story as well as other local media.  Frankly, this entire episode is shameful; corruption has moved from Austin and the governor’s mansion to the largest medical center in the world.

Our legacy will be determined by how we respond to this crisis.  I’m not hopeful as the cancer of Trump has metastasized from Queens to Houston.

Trump denies being briefed about about the Russian-Taliban bounty plot.  I guess maybe it didn’t get included on the half page of briefing he gets with no three-syllable words.

He has some interesting ideas about it.

Trump tweeted that “there have not been many attacks” on US troops by Taliban fighters as his evidence that the reported intelligence may be “phony.”

Okay, Buddy, you don’t need to be passing out the Phony Awards.

Trump was briefed on the intelligence findings and the White House’s National Security Council held a meeting about it in late March, according to the Times, citing officials briefed on the matter.

I’m almost dead solid certain that Trump doesn’t remember the meeting. I’d be willing to give him that. Truly, anything that happened before yesterday afternoon doesn’t exist.

And, there is the off-chance that the military/intelligence didn’t tell him because of his close relationship with Putin, which includes passing along state secrets.  Or maybe they didn’t tell him because he screws. everything. up.

We do need to find out.

You can erase it from Twitter but somebody always makes a copy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrLMJkHvlC8

Now they are trying to say Grandpa Golfer was just making a joke.

It’s all a joke.

To be a Republican, you have to have a humorectomy. It’s required. Have you ever seen a Republican humorist? No, you have not. That’s not how humor works. Humor works when you make fun of yourself, which fragile Republican egos simply cannot do, or when the powerless make fun of the powerful, which is opposite of what Tump did when he mocked a handicapped journalist.  There’s a term for that.  It’s called “punching down.” Don’t do it. It’s not funny.

Republicans can’t joke. They do not know how. So screw that excuse.

In an alarming turn of events, management of the Texas Medical Center in Houston has halted the reporting of real time COVID-19 data.  They haven’t reported new data since Thursday.  That’s right, folks; as COVID-19 new case rate goes almost vertical and ICUs are being overrun, TMC has halted real time data reporting.  Why, you ask?  Apparently, the heads of TMC cut a deal with Greg Abbott.  As we know, Abbott awoke from his Stupid Coma on Thursday and shut down all elective surgeries in the state to relieve the load on hospitals in the state.  He also ordered bars throughout the state to close again after he had stupidly allowed them to reopen starting in May.

Doctors within TMC have been ringing the alarm bells for weeks as new case rate increased.  Leadership also provided public warnings about capacity, reporting that they were going to exceed surge ICU capacity by the first week of July.  Late Thursday, though, TMC management reversed themselves, saying they had plenty of capacity.  What happened?  I’m hearing that Abbott built in a huge loophole in his shutdown policy to allow elective surgeries in TMC and affiliates as long as the hospitals have “enough capacity”.  Apparently “enough capacity” is pretty damn vague.  Methodist Hospital even sent out a “don’t worry, be happy” post on Thursday that they had plenty of room and elective surgeries (translated “very profitable”.  As I’m sure is a complete coincidence, TMC simultaneously halted realtime reporting of COVID-19 case rates and ICU capacity utilization in Houston.  Hmm.

All of this is going on as ICU capacity at TMC and other is overrun.  TMC hospitals are even moving adult patients into Texas Children’s hospital, turning kids away.  It’s like we’ve fallen down the rabbit hole into the Greg Abbott version of Trumpland.  I continue to shake my head at the willful ignorance and magical thinking coming from our elected leadership.  It’s an alternate reality where Abbott/Patrick/Paxton & Company run us into a brick wall at 100 miles an hour only for them to say, “Oops, that didn’t work.”  My jaw is aching from dragging on the floor.

Jesus.

Louie Gohmert says he’s still refusing to wear a mask, even though it’s been mandated by the congressional physician.

“I don’t have the coronavirus, turns out as of yesterday I’ve never had it,” Gohmert said about his reasoning for not wearing a mask.

Gohmert says that he’s “routinely tested,” as are my nerves when he speaks, but he won’t wear a mask until he tests positives.  So, if he gets the virus at 3:30 one afternoon, you are just totally out of luck if he gets near you for the rest of the day.  He probably doesn’t understand this because it’s complicated, but you don’t get a 24 hour guarantee with a test.

“I keep being tested and I don’t have it,” he said. “So I’m not afraid of you, but if I get it I’ll wear a mask.”

Well, see, you shouldn’t be afraid of me because I’m wearing a damn mask and throwing my feet in reverse when I see you, Louie.

Thanks to Mel for the heads up.

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Thanks to Deb T for the heads up.