Wuhan Coronavirus: Megathread - Got too big

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Based Dilbert Merchant has covered this, actually. Trump didn't react like their theoretical perfect President Hillary would have reacted in the perfect world that exists only in their minds, so he falls short. It's a logical fallacy, but it drives them bugfuck nuts.
I've actually seen this in action. I was discussing the fact that I don't particularly want to vote for either Biden or Trump with someone online and it went something like this.

Guy: Are you going to do your moral duty and vote against Trump?
Me: Probably not. I don't really like either of them.
Guy: Don't you think Biden would've done a better job with Corona?
Me: I have no fucking idea what Biden would've done or not done.
Guy: Then you're an idiot.

Biden isn't Hillary, but... you get the point.
 
But. I mean. Yes I guess I get it. I sure do get why cats were used in the past, I played dorf fortress too. But. Do supermarkets and restaurants around there keep cats too? If not. Which I hope is the truth. That would explain the fact that we stoped using cats for such purposes once we figured other, more hygienic ways of keeping rats out. Which would bring into question why bodegas don't simply properly maintain their shops. And if they do... Dude. That's fucked up.
Vermin are endemic to cities, all cities. You are never going to get rid of them, not completely. The best you can hope for is to control them. New York City does a piss poor job of it. The city government decreed the use of plastic trash bags (which rats easily chew through) for garbage pick up as opposed to metal garbage cans. There is no ongoing campaign to teach new immigrants not to dispose of trash like chicken bones in the street. The subway is a rat's dream with trash, half-eaten food and lots of nice places to hide (rats learned to avoid the third rail and can sense the arrival of train from vibration). Rat's are also extremely smart and adaptable. Cats, which are also smart, don't usually go one-on-one against rats as a rat has formidable teeth that can inflict considerable damage, not to mention disease.

Mice are altogether another issue. Cats will kill them for sport and mice can destroy hundreds of dollars worth of stock in a week. So keeping a cat to remove mice and discourage rats makes sense because even if they don't kill the rats it's easier to spot where they come in so you can cover the hole(s) with steel wool/metal and cage/eliminate them (I don't approve of poison because a rat will crawl off to die in an inaccessible nook, stinking up the place and they have learned to avoid spring traps).
A lot of restaurants like to have alley cats living out back by the dumpsters to catch rats. They don't keep them inside, but will set up food for them out back to keep them hanging around to catch rodents.

We did this with a feral cat when I worked at an animal feed store and it works pretty well. It's a mutually beneficial relationship and helps out cats that are too wild to keep indoors. It's like the one job you can actually get a cat to do.
I had a professor who was fond of saying civilization as we know it wouldn't have been possible without the domestication of cats, dogs and bees. When humans started farming and kept grains stores it attracted rodents, which in turned attracted cats. We kept them around, eventually bringing them indoors.
 
That makes sense. I need to watch his stuff more.

Clinton would probably just ordered a drone bombing campaign to slow the spread.

"We'll go world wide to stop the Corona."

The media would have covered up for her. The fact that the EU is freaking the fuck out probably wouldn't have allowed them to completely ignore it in the US like Obama ignored SARS, but they definitely wouldn't have intentionally terrorized the US populous into the reactions we've been seeing.
 
This is going to go over real fucking well.

Oregon governor Kate Brown extends lockdown date to JULY 6TH!

Oregon only has a total of 104 deaths. Unbelievable!


Sauce

Jesus Fucking Christ. This twat can't let go of her power trip. Wait until the pushbacks in her state turn violent. Some of these little Hitlers simply aren't getting the message.

It’s official: people are starting to unperson me for daring to tell them the virus isn’t the plague, we’re not all going to die, and that protests aren’t about haircuts but about people not being able to survive without money and food. Apparently people don’t like it when you tell them they’re condemning hundreds of millions to starve to death with their selfish “everyone stay in your bunkers forever” NEET logic.

These people simply can't handle the truth.

Last week wrote about the letter, full of facts and figures, I wrote for a local paper. Put a copy of it here. Editor thinks it's great, wanted to print it. Agreed. Looked at the paper Thursday night. Nope. Same reason, I think - too much truth for a lot of people here to handle.

How are people "unpersoning" you? Unfriending on Facebook? Not answering emails? These are the people you don't to be connected with anyway. Just less of them, their bullshit, and their problems to deal with. Fuck them. Hey, you're good here. 👍
 
Oh boy, how many of those morons that stormed a fucking national park bird sanctuary or whatever the fuck it was are still active in Oregon? Round two is coming soon I feel.
 
But. I mean. Yes I guess I get it. I sure do get why cats were used in the past, I played dorf fortress too. But. Do supermarkets and restaurants around there keep cats too? If not. Which I hope is the truth. That would explain the fact that we stoped using cats for such purposes once we figured other, more hygienic ways of keeping rats out. Which would bring into question why bodegas don't simply properly maintain their shops. And if they do... Dude. That's fucked up.
The NYC rat problem is severe. You can't just maintain good hygiene and put out a few traps in a bodega and not have rats. I believe bodega cats are technically against health code, but everyone looks the other way because you either have bodega cats or bodega rats.
 
So someone I know got antibody test. He tested positive, but the email with result stated that the test is not specific for COVID-19 and it might mean he was infected with other coronavirus in the past. Also it wasn't approved by FDA (it was offered by local urgent care). I don't know what to think about it. Is there any COVID-19 specific antibody test?

AFAIK, all the current commercially available tests aren't FDA-approved yet; it's possible/probable that the urgent care used one of those, since the ones the CDC provides are harder to come by. If that's the case, the disclaimer is likely there since they can't actually state it's accurate, since the FDA hasn't approved it yet.

As to whether or not it really is accurate...hard to say. Could be 99% accurate, could be 95% accurate, could be 80% accurate or worse. It's probably on the higher side, but there's no guarantees.
 
I asked for the type of test, and it was Quest Diagnostics test if it helps. I wonder what the random testing for antibodies really shows. They listed several other coronaviruses that might have given him positive result, and so how they can be sure in case of the random testing?
 
It hurts my head trying to follow your anecdotes on Spanish politics. Not really a suprise then that fingers are being pointed everywhere, my question to them would be why they don't work together to glass Chinese investments?

Logical fallacies are great motivators to people who can't/won't follow through all the way on a line of thinking. See; emotional rationale.

Cats love it. After how many thousands of years coexisting with humans, dogs have become "mams best friend." It makes sence that cats, who have also coexisted with humans for at least a few thousand, if not more, have also adapted.

That's simple. The PP. (The mainstream right wing party behind all these fingerpointing.) Is led by a caval of people with MILLIONS of dollars in illicit chinese investments. They'd be glassing themselves. As for why Vox not only isn't fighting them on it but is instead at the forehead of this shit... That's a more complicated matter.

Let me try to go over current spanish politics in a nutshell: so as you know. Dictatorship ended in monarchy, and due to foreign pressure (not that our media will ever admit it) the new monarch Juan Carlos I decided not getting murdered was the better part of valor and turned to "constitutional monarchy" under democratically elected representatives (that is, the british model.) The 1st ellections were a mess and the constitution kinda reflects it. But with the newly revamped ellectoral system (notorious for its lack of transparency and... let's say "suspicious incidents" in the early years. Aside for having a way of measuring points that is bloody retarded as we'll talk about later.) Suddently 2 parties (which just so happened to have close ties to the ruling class at the time, ejem) rose into a 2 party system.

-To the right, PP, formerly known as AP. Party created by Fraga (minister of franco) with the purpose of fighting for fascism and "the values of the regime" democratically. Which suspiciously was a massive failure on the 1st ellection yet went on to be the majority party on some... less than transparent... later ellections. They also suspiciously erased their manifesto just as they won for the first time. Almost as if someone higher than them in status (like a monarch... possibly. Not pointing any fingers) realized spain might have issues if an openly fascistic party entered the government in peculiar circumstances. Almost.

-To the left PSOE. PSOE was the name of the socialist party which dominated spanish elections during the 2nd spanish republic. PSOE is also the name of the current majority center left party which was built after the 1st ellections out of entirely new leaders which had no ties to the original nameholder and followed none of their values... Yeah the corruption and fraud was brazen until aznar. Then technology made it progressively harder to cheat thankfully.

So those 2 parties dominated spanish politics until Rajoi. Except for 2 regions. Basque country and Catalonia. This is because of how points are counted. Let me go over that: You know how spain has different autonomies. Right? Well the way spain counts points is that how much the votes count depends on autonomies. We have "circumscriptions", which means every province accounts for X seats. So if a party gets those provinces, even if they get 0 votes elsewhere, they get those X seats. This is important because who gets to the government isn't decided purely by votes. But by seats. So if, say, there were to be 2 independist parties that dominated 2 autonomies. They'd actually get an abhorrently large amount of power on deciding who governs compared with the other autonomies. You know. Exactly what's happened. This isn't even the worst part of how seats are counted btw. The system also gives an outrageously large amount of seats to the most voted party and an only slightly ess outrageously large amount of seats to the 2nd one. So 3rd parties are doomed to have a comparatively extremely minor amount of power even if they're only 3rd by like 10 votes. Although to be fair it's still nowhere near as shit as the american system. Which at least doesn't give ridiculous power to certain autonomies (I said X because it varies by province. A lot. Certain provinces like madrid have way more power than others like cadiz.) But fuck me every other issue you got multiplied by a thousand. Point is this means we gotta talk about the basques and catalonia:

-PNV, the Nationalist Basque Party: they're the current party dominating Basque country. They're technically right wing but they are willing to deal with the left if it suits their goals. And unlike all the rest of our right wings they are notoriously sane, so it's no wonder they've managed to stay in power so long. They... They are seriously our only relatively sane, competent and overall not awful party. It's a fucking pity you can only vote them from Basque country really. Well that and that they want to segregate. I don't want them to segregate I want them to rule damnit!

-Tripartito: catalonia instead is... shit. "Tripartito" means 3 party system. It's called that way because the 3 major catalonian parties unified under it, with the globalist right wing at the head. As such while they're supposedly 3 catalonia is actually controled by 1 single unified caste. Which as you can imagine means they've been notoriously corrupt and shit. They're probably the worst spanish party. Even when compared with the PP.

OK, you might think. But where does Vox get into it?! Well. Now we're getting into that. This pseudo 2 party system was maintained until Rajoi. Then it changed. Why? Well. Let me tell you about the spanish antichrist Pablo Iglesias.

Pablo Iglesias was a university teacher who got sick of the cuts, corruption and bullshit at display in spanish politics. So he started getting into the media as a comentator to call it out. The right wing hated him, profoundly, for it. Taking into account that spanish media is dominated by the corrupt conglomerate of A3media with heavy political ties you can imagine why, he was an intruder, and one who wasn't afraid to call the media's bullshit. Specially when Rajoi manufactured his own economic crisis to try to hide his dirty deals. Iglesias fucked the PP's plans thoroughly.

And so the spanish strain of Trump Derangement Syndrome, directed at Iglesias, started. But much like with Trump that only gave him power. And so he created Podemos. The first spanish party to have proper internal primaries and regional votes. This only made the rhetoric worse. Which only made them stronger. Podemos has a serious issue with femenazism, specially due to Errejon's clique. But hilariously they just segregated (and failed miserably at overtaking Iglesias) so we'll see if it gets better. They also have a lot of TDS sufferers amongst their voters but the party itself seem to be less inclined towards that.

Overall I'd say Podemos is like the definition of a lesser evil. But that's not why they matter. They matter because they got a lot of votes. Enough to become a strong third party. This on the first ellection cut the votes in a way that turned rajoi into an "absolute majority" due to the left being cleaved in 2 while the right was unified (and how votes are counted. Which is to say bullshitily) but it shook up Spain's political system greatly. The PSOE now couldn't just trust being the default left. They needed to compete. This broke bipartidism, greatly. Which is why I say that even if I hated Podemos' ideology I'd still love that they happened.

More importantly, far from showing real strength in their unity. Rajoi's PP's second term was actually disastrous for the right wing. Most spaniards had voted against him, and vehemently didn't recognize him, he acted like a tyrant in response and tried to win through censorship and police action, which in catalonia turned the mosso's to abuse. Spain practically broke. And the right broke definitely due to it. And so, minor parties tried to fill the new gap. In order:

-Ciudadanos was the first one. It was an obvious Gayop to try and fragment the left further. They claimed to be "centrists" and fight for left and right wing interests. Yet every single one of their members was an ex-PP politician which just so happened to have close ties to the PP's inner circle of higherups, and they "misteriously" just so happened to align perfectly with the PP on everything they voted... Yeah. So it was no wonder it failed and is now merging back into the PP. They don't matter anymore.

-Finally. Vox. Sorry to take this long to get to this point. But, it was necessary. Because I am going to ask you to tell me how to answer your question. So. Vox was created claiming they'd go against the PP and were extremist right wingers who thought the PP was too moderate. They pandered to the extremists from day 1 and used their rhetoric. But, there's a problem.

Slowly but surely PP elements entered the party. Even worse the first to do so was Aguirre. Who is NOTORIOUS for her corruption. Literally every single person she's ever mentored or worked with has been condemned for corruption. And every single time she's had some obvious ties yet misteriously the evidence against her kept just never being quite enough... Yeah. They might as well have asked Hilary Clinton to join. Actually that fits too well. Anyway. Point is add to that the fact that they've backed the PP's candidates on all ellectoral issues and you start to spot a patter. That being said they're also notorious for spewing conspiracy shit. So... It's weird honestly. It's weird because at least they seemed sensible at times, voting for the right shit even if it was more left-ish, and unlike the PP on most issues they go clearly with no lies (until very recently with the twitter photoshop bullshit when they've gone full retard.) and haven't yet gotten caught stealing, yet also they just devolved like a week ago into voting no on anything the left ever proposes on principle and going even more apeshit than anything we've seen before. So, here's the options:

-Some claim Vox, much like ciudadanos, was a gay op, only against the extremist right instead of the moderate right, and when their handlers realized they were cutting into the PP's vote they told them to go apeshit and that's why they're now Alex Jones tier crazy.

-Some claim they are just stupid and crazy and trying to imitate Trump (which to be fair they did in the past. While also attacking him for sanctioning spain. Because of course...) and as his anti-china rhetoric goes more and more apeshit their anti-left rhetoric must follow.

-Some just think they're literally trying to fuel the crazies into kickstarting a second civil war.

I'm sure there's more options but I haven't heard them yet. So. You fucking tell me why Vox isn't pointing at china. It could be anything really. Spin the stupid roulette and see where this ends! I don't fucking know I'm trying to figure it out myself and up until a few weeks ago was one of the idiots that was happy thinking they might bring sanity to the right wing.

So yeah... Welcome to the jamón fields, motherfucker.
 
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I asked for the type of test, and it was Quest Diagnostics test if it helps. I wonder what the random testing for antibodies really shows. They listed several other coronaviruses that might have given him positive result, and so how they can be sure in case of the random testing?

I don't know enough about the mechanics of how the tests actually work, so I can't help on that front, but I haven't seen any articles on the Quest test that seem to question it's reliability. Quest's one of the big players in the medical testing game, not some fly-by-night opportunist; they do cancer screenings, blood work, all kinds of medical tests for hospitals all over the world. I'd at least be reasonably confident in the result, but YMMV.
 
I don't know enough about the mechanics of how the tests actually work, so I can't help on that front, but I haven't seen any articles on the Quest test that seem to question it's reliability. Quest's one of the big players in the medical testing game, not some fly-by-night opportunist; they do cancer screenings, blood work, all kinds of medical tests for hospitals all over the world. I'd at least be reasonably confident in the result, but YMMV.
It's on their official website.

official Quest website

From their FAQ said:
Positive results may be due to past or present infection with non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains, such as coronavirus HKU1, NL63, OC43, or 229E.
 
The city government decreed the use of plastic trash bags (which rats easily chew through)
Years back Edinburgh had a similar thing - trash bags. For anyone who doesn’t know Edinburgh the city centre is all tenement blocks and tenants were supposed to hold trash in the flats until bin day then put it out on the pavements. Since no one in their right minds wants a weeks worth of nappies and trash in the house bags just got dumped in piles on the streets all week. By bin day those piles would be ten feet high and if you walked past them early morning you’d hear all sorts of vermin munching away.
So eventually the council brought in massive bins which they put on the streets (This triggered a massive bout of REEEEEE because parking in Edinburgh City centre is like gladiatorial combat as it is and those bins took parking spaces. the rat population plummeted. It just nose dived. You rarely see them now, of course they’re still there but you do t see them everywhere.


So someone I know got antibody test. He tested positive, but the email with result stated that the test is not specific for COVID-19 and it might mean he was infected with other coronavirus in the past. Also it wasn't approved by FDA (it was offered by local urgent care). I don't know what to think about it. Is there any COVID-19 specific antibody test?
There’s one being developed by KTH and scilifelab that seems very reliable.

Slaughterhouse spergery. So, I know someone who is a retired vet and used to do a lot of work and inspections with food packing and abbatoirs. Nowadays I think environmental health does it, but it used to be vets. Guy is nearing 80 and absolutely sharp as a tack and brilliant to talk to. He should write a book.
Anyway: he tells me that just for respiratory illness he reckons 4-5x usual prevalence. The air inside these places is cold and thick with spray and aerosols. They used to be notorious for outbreaks.
The list of hideous stuff you can pick up in abbatoirs and meat packing is horrific. Brucellosis is largely gone in the Uk now, but Q fever popped up in Strathclyde a few years back. Also every parasite known to humanity, a form of skin rash that’s from being exposed to gut contents, campylobacter, listeriosis, meningitis of various causes, Orf, streptococcus, staphylococcus, salmonella, psittacosis, and several more that I can’t remember.
Lung infections And poor lung function are apparently rife, as are conditions like chronic bronchitis and asthma. He also said that in some countries they spray meat with chlorine which creates another layer of crap for workers to deal with.
 
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So someone I know got antibody test. He tested positive, but the email with result stated that the test is not specific for COVID-19 and it might mean he was infected with other coronavirus in the past. Also it wasn't approved by FDA (it was offered by local urgent care). I don't know what to think about it. Is there any COVID-19 specific antibody test?

There is 1 coronavirus that is counted as part of the strais of "the flu" in past years (yeah btw the flu=/=influenza. The disease is counted by symptoms, not phylogenetics) but it is an outlier and fairly different from most coronas. I can't find details but I'm guessing they mean the antybodies for SARS and/or MERS might be reacting to it. In which case, unless your friend has been to the middle east or china, he's probably immunized for corona-chan.

EDIT:
It's on their official website.

official Quest website

229E IS the coronavirus I was talking about. So if they let that one go under the radar that's abhorrent negligence bordering on malpractice. Most people have fought 229E. IT'S LITERALLY PART OF THE COMMON FUCKING COLD FFS! If 229E Antibodies trigger the test it's worthless.

ESIT 2: about the abbatoirs.
Years back Edinburgh had a similar thing - trash bags. For anyone who doesn’t know Edinburgh the city centre is all tenement blocks and tenants were supposed to hold trash in the flats until bin day then put it out on the pavements. Since no one in their right minds wants a weeks worth of nappies and trash in the house bags just got dumped in piles on the streets all week. By bin day those piles would be ten feet high and if you walked past them early morning you’d hear all sorts of vermin munching away.
So eventually the council brought in massive bins which they put on the streets (This triggered a massive bout of REEEEEE because parking in Edinburgh City centre is like gladiatorial combat as it is and those bins took parking spaces. the rat population plummeted. It just nose dived. You rarely see them now, of course they’re still there but you do t see them everywhere.



There’s one being developed by KTH and scilifelab that seems very reliable.

Slaughterhouse spergery. So, I know someone who is a retired vet and used to do a lot of work and inspections with food packing and abbatoirs. Nowadays I think environmental health does it, but it used to be vets. Guy is nearing 80 and absolutely sharp as a tack and brilliant to talk to. He should write a book.
Anyway: he tells me that just for respiratory illness he reckons 4-5x usual prevalence. The air inside these places is cold and thick with spray and aerosols. They used to be notorious for outbreaks.
The list of hideous stuff you can pick up in abbatoirs and meat packing is horrific. Brucellosis is largely gone in the Uk now, but Q fever popped up in Strathclyde a few years back. Also every parasite known to humanity, a form of skin rash that’s from being exposed to gut contents, campylobacter, listeriosis, meningitis of various causes, Orf, streptococcus, staphylococcus, salmonella, psittacosis, and several more that I can’t remember.
Lung infections And poor lung function are apparently rife, as are conditions like chronic bronchitis and asthma. He also said that in some countries they spray meat with chlorine which creates another layer of crap for workers to deal with.

I don't know about britain but in spain that's half true. And this is why it freaks me the fuck out to see corona explode there. Here's an official doc on everything that can come out of a meat processing plant:


As you can see. Pretty much anything. But also as the doc says. We started heavily regulating measures to fix this shit in 1997. And have only gotten stringent since. And at this point most meat packing plants are actually very safe so long as they follow proper procedure.

Shit is. As soon as people relax with the procedures, we get another fucking outbreak. Like fucking clockwork. I know this shit because working for hospital unions we get to warn industry unions whenever we spot such outbreaks. Thankfuly I haven't spotted one myself, but I got warned, and I've seen other province deal with that one recent fuckup.

People really don't understand just how quickly 1 single meat processing plant getting infected can turn into a pandemic. It's actually horrifyingly fast. So when I see corona spread like that, my immediate question is how it soread like that, and What else might be following her. 'cause if proper procedure was being followed not even corona would pass. And if it isn't... Oh lord. Oh mother of god that can turn real ugly real fast.
 
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Folks, early on in this thread recommended people who wanted new computers/TVs/electronic gadgets get them soon, since supplies from China may be cut off. Got that computer, sitting in a box.

But have noticed there seems to be no shortage of electronic gadgets available. So many that retailers are running sales. Got a 32" TV from Best Buy last night for $89, free delivery. Replacing one of the same kind am giving kid for her upcoming moveout.

Was there THAT much product in the pipeline? Was there THAT much product in warehouses? Or are supplies going to dry up all of a sudden? Have no idea. Welcome any ideas/suggestions/hypotheses. because this has been a surprise, even more of a surprise than people going apeshit for water and paper products.
 
The NYC rat problem is severe. You can't just maintain good hygiene and put out a few traps in a bodega and not have rats. I believe bodega cats are technically against health code, but everyone looks the other way because you either have bodega cats or bodega rats.
NYC doesn't have to have a severe rat problem, countless pest control experts, scientists and their public health department have advised the city what to do in order to control it. I mean I know what do about it and I'm just someone with a relative that has a Terminix franchise.

I live near a school that has a huge colony of rats living in it due to the awful food they serve that most kids refuse to eat. It ends up in plastic garbage bags that get picked up every other day but not before serving as a buffet for the rat colony. I'm fascinated by rats so I have watched then go through the small alley in the building next door to the school over to the parking lot two doors away, up the wall and into another building's alleyway that leads to another street and then a group of rats cross the street every night when traffic is slow to head down the stairs into the subway station to feast on their buffet. I came out of that station one night to find a group of track workers getting off their shift absolutely gobsmacked rats were crossing the street in droves and ignoring us.

If the school stored the trash in secure metal containers before it was picked up and the subway station did the same this colony would shrink and cease to be a problem but instead NYC blows eight million on a metal health initiative with no-show jobs for De Blasio cronies. So this is why we have a severe rat and crazy people problem.

edit to avoid multi-posting:

229E IS the coronavirus I was talking about. So if they let that one go under the radar that's abhorrent negligence bordering on malpractice. Most people have fought 229E. IT'S LITERALLY PART OF THE COMMON FUCKING COLD FFS! If 229E Antibodies trigger the test it's worthless.
So, it's a common cold coronavirus. Might having antibodies to it give some protection against the China virus? Like you get sick but not violently sick. Just a thought.
 
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Folks, early on in this thread recommended people who wanted new computers/TVs/electronic gadgets get them soon, since supplies from China may be cut off. Got that computer, sitting in a box.

But have noticed there seems to be no shortage of electronic gadgets available. So many that retailers are running sales. Got a 32" TV from Best Buy last night for $89, free delivery. Replacing one of the same kind am giving kid for her upcoming moveout.

Was there THAT much product in the pipeline? Was there THAT much product in warehouses? Or are supplies going to dry up all of a sudden? Have no idea. Welcome any ideas/suggestions/hypotheses. because this has been a surprise, even more of a surprise than people going apeshit for water and paper products.

Everyone's taking advantage of the $1,200 trumpbux. I went to Sam's Club the other day and it was wall to wall with people either buying 65+ inch TVs and PS4s or whole flatbeds of Keystone Light 30 packs. Or both.
 
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