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Look, the bottom line is that given the obvious unpopularity of right wing leadership on most popular online outlets (most news media, especially online, Reddit

Look, the bottom line is that given the obvious unpopularity of right wing leadership on most popular online outlets (most news media, especially online, Reddit, Twitter, etc) literally anything that they do is going to be criticized. Probably better to avoid posting about them on HN. You're going to hear about everything negative that they do, but you are unlikely to hear much about the positive steps that they take. 2 examples: 1. Trump ordered millions of masks from 3M weeks ago. Did you hear about that? [0] 2. Trump is proposing payroll tax cuts until the end of the year [1]. Did you hear about that? My point isn't to defend anyone, just to emphasize that any news you hear about what politicians are doing is likely to be heavily skewed towards negativity, even when undeserved, so take your propaganda of choice (left and right) with a hefty grain of salt. 0. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-3m-coronavirus-pandemic-mask-order-billion-sales-boost-profit-2020-3-1028956217 https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-3m-cor... 1. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/trump-says-hes-working-on-a-payroll-tax-cut-to-help-us-workers-amid-coronavirus-outbreak.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/trump-says-hes-working-on-a-...

pbourke 7y ago
1. This is a required response to the crisis, not something noteworthy. They're ordering masks because they didn't have enough and as we see now they're already running low. 2. How in the hell is yet another tax cut a positive development? How will that affect the course of the crisis? Even as an economic measure, it will help no one who loses their job. Just asinine.
- allovernow 7y ago
  >This is a required response to the crisis, not something noteworthy. They're ordering masks because they didn't have enough and as we see now they're already running low. The president was under no obligation to order masks. There is no precedent. It was a legitimately good decision that is worth of praise, despite the various errors that the administration has already made. The executive branch is attempting to use the market to incentivize sick leave and stimulate the economy by making business cheaper. There's a phenomenon known as the laffer curve that I encourage you to look up. The first point in particular is what I'm talking about. It helps to take off the partisan goggles once in a while. If they'd done nothing they be criticized too. Also don't forget that the administration very early on shut down travel with China - and some of the press (and political opponents like Schumer) did not hesitate with accusations of xenophobia. It's possible for dumb and/or shitty people to do good things.
netsharc 7y ago
The problem with right wing anything is that they often bend the truth. Even you did this in your comment, you say Trump ordered millions of masks weeks ago, but the linked article is not 2 weeks old (it's 9 days old at the most) and the headline has the words "plans to", and the body says 3M hasn't had anyone from the admin contact them.
- allovernow 7y ago
  Excellent example! From the article linked >A 3M spokesperson told the Star Tribune that the company was "not yet under contract for the volume mentioned" by Pence, but it was preparing to respond to the government's request for a proposal for respirators. Note the sly language. Not under contract for the volume mentioned. Not sure where you saw they haven't been contacted, but the spin here is clear. This is a negotiation but it is presented with enough ambiguity for people to see what they want to see. It is patently naive to believe that only the other party is guilty of bending truth.
  - netsharc 7y ago
    OK, I missed the "r" in "contract" and read "contact". But what happent to the "weeks" you previously said? > It is patently naive to believe that only the other party is guilty of bending truth. I know, Obama "bent the truth" too, Sanders does it. I don't know about the rest of HN, but I'm honest enough to judge people based on what they say, independent of their "football team" affiliation. I'm guessing the majority of HN/the Internet is like that, and that's why there's "obvious unpopularity". The left has standards, while the right's standard is "Anything we do is defensible". Trump assaults women? The left says: "Leave!", the right says: "Lies!". Al Franken grabbed women's buttocks? Both sides says "Leave!"...

pbourke 7y ago

1. This is a required response to the crisis, not something noteworthy. They're ordering masks because they didn't have enough and as we see now they're already running low. 2. How in the hell is yet another tax cut a positive development? How will that affect the course of the crisis? Even as an economic measure, it will help no one who loses their job. Just asinine.

allovernow 7y ago
>This is a required response to the crisis, not something noteworthy. They're ordering masks because they didn't have enough and as we see now they're already running low. The president was under no obligation to order masks. There is no precedent. It was a legitimately good decision that is worth of praise, despite the various errors that the administration has already made. The executive branch is attempting to use the market to incentivize sick leave and stimulate the economy by making business cheaper. There's a phenomenon known as the laffer curve that I encourage you to look up. The first point in particular is what I'm talking about. It helps to take off the partisan goggles once in a while. If they'd done nothing they be criticized too. Also don't forget that the administration very early on shut down travel with China - and some of the press (and political opponents like Schumer) did not hesitate with accusations of xenophobia. It's possible for dumb and/or shitty people to do good things.

netsharc 7y ago

The problem with right wing anything is that they often bend the truth. Even you did this in your comment, you say Trump ordered millions of masks weeks ago, but the linked article is not 2 weeks old (it's 9 days old at the most) and the headline has the words "plans to", and the body says 3M hasn't had anyone from the admin contact them.

allovernow 7y ago
Excellent example! From the article linked >A 3M spokesperson told the Star Tribune that the company was "not yet under contract for the volume mentioned" by Pence, but it was preparing to respond to the government's request for a proposal for respirators. Note the sly language. Not under contract for the volume mentioned. Not sure where you saw they haven't been contacted, but the spin here is clear. This is a negotiation but it is presented with enough ambiguity for people to see what they want to see. It is patently naive to believe that only the other party is guilty of bending truth.
- netsharc 7y ago
  OK, I missed the "r" in "contract" and read "contact". But what happent to the "weeks" you previously said? > It is patently naive to believe that only the other party is guilty of bending truth. I know, Obama "bent the truth" too, Sanders does it. I don't know about the rest of HN, but I'm honest enough to judge people based on what they say, independent of their "football team" affiliation. I'm guessing the majority of HN/the Internet is like that, and that's why there's "obvious unpopularity". The left has standards, while the right's standard is "Anything we do is defensible". Trump assaults women? The left says: "Leave!", the right says: "Lies!". Al Franken grabbed women's buttocks? Both sides says "Leave!"...