“Covid is all about privilege. The more privilege you have, the more you can ignore some of the rules of Covid."
President Trump's care illustrates that fact in spades. By @caseymross & @priyanka_runwal. https://t.co/jgRgFiErnn— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 6, 2020
At least one of those groups got to see @smashmouth!
— $750 Mask (@TimMurphyTalks) October 6, 2020
It's critical that the White House break chains of transmission by identifying cases and their contacts and implementing isolation and quarantine. If the outbreak is not contained, we will start to see the next round of positives toward the end of the week.
— Caitlin Rivers, PhD (@cmyeaton) October 6, 2020
Coronavirus has killed more Americans than Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan and World War I combined https://t.co/8kPdL4ht9T
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) October 7, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose advocacy of public health guidelines to fight the coronavirus has conflicted with President Trump’s downplaying of the pandemic, said the recent rash of infections at the White House could have been prevented https://t.co/dev9IfoUku pic.twitter.com/G47KK5kzDM
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
Your regular reminder that if public health departments don't get money for vaccine distribution soon, we're not getting out of this pandemic. https://t.co/gt7j2jZSRB
— Emily Kopp (@emilyakopp) October 6, 2020
The government scientist Rick Bright has resigned from the NIH, alleging top federal health officials blocked his efforts to roll out a plan aimed at better identifying and testing people with the coronavirus.https://t.co/KUBEkp8ZxL
— NPR (@NPR) October 7, 2020
Former CDC Director Bill Foege — "the Babe Ruth of public health," per @DrTomFrieden — privately urges sitting director Bob Redfield to fix what he allowed the White House to break — the reputation & standing of the public health agency. https://t.co/0KEqgearI3
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) October 6, 2020
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See where COVID-19 infections are trending ⬆️ or ⬇️ relative to the size of the outbreak in each country https://t.co/z9Ax0JkST2 pic.twitter.com/IOyff8ackW
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
⚡ Russia confirmed 11,115 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, bringing the country’s official number of cases to 1,248,619 https://t.co/I4kGszYWfq
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) October 7, 2020
Europe experiencing 'pandemic fatigue' and must revive efforts to fight virus, says World Health Organization https://t.co/TRCMVb6ool
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 6, 2020
Hospitals in Spain are under pressure as the country grapples with the pandemic's second wave. @manufernandezap and @aritzparra chronicle how medical staff are coping with the troubling rise in COVID-19 cases. Full story: https://t.co/KGv2sGkqkQ pic.twitter.com/iJvH3K4lNu
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 6, 2020
Row over level of Irish coronavirus restrictions, as government rejects advice of its public health officials https://t.co/URGP3WDuFQ
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 6, 2020
India's coronavirus infections rise to 6.76 million https://t.co/VHYU6tyWA9 pic.twitter.com/gTttkkql3c
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
Sri Lankan authorities ban public gatherings as a cluster of COVID-19 expands. Elsewhere in Asia, authorities issue guidelines for religious festivals in India and virus restrictions will be eased at midnight in New Zealand's largest city. https://t.co/XUL62SbPRc
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 7, 2020
Malaysia PM Muhyiddin tests negative for COVID-19: PM's office https://t.co/ECPf86OIgf pic.twitter.com/FgSb3V0kQh
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
Australia's Victoria state reaches lower infection milestone https://t.co/9sZ5yvQFBR pic.twitter.com/cabHOEwTGo
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
Mexico reports 4,828 new coronavirus cases, 471 more deaths https://t.co/OfzERPSPIp pic.twitter.com/zk5bVN0ZTU
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
======
The FDA posted standards on their web site for makers of COVID-19 vaccines after the White House blocked their formal release. The FDA said vaccine makers should follow trial participants for at least two months, likely precluding a vaccine before Nov. 3. https://t.co/iOziv1xcyv
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 6, 2020
If there was a war between FDA and the White House over vaccine safety requirements, the FDA just won it https://t.co/3m6PbGItFK
— Maggie Fox (@maggiemfox) October 6, 2020
As some companies close in on unveiling their initial findings, the following is what we know about the race to deliver vaccines to help end the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over a million lives https://t.co/CuaRFDflKJ by @CarlODonnell26
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
SARSCoV2 transmission rebounds quickly after physical distancing rules are relaxed https://t.co/zu8Ly3kxnF via @medical_xpress
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 6, 2020
Trump was treated with dexamethasone. Here’s what's known about its risks and side effects https://t.co/TDPQaLvigL pic.twitter.com/eTQNfCNNjg
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 6, 2020
China's experimental COVID-19 vaccine appears safe – study https://t.co/ILf2QiXu13 pic.twitter.com/8H7JtFvTGI
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
Russia’s second candidate vaccine against the coronavirus will be tested on six times the original number of volunteers as part of final clinical trials for safety and effectivenesshttps://t.co/A0Jw8NjzdJ
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) October 6, 2020
There are so many COVID "long-haulers" in NYC that Mount Sinai's new center for post-COVID care has become overwhelmed by patients seeking care. COVID symptoms persist for months for many patients who complain of breathing difficulties, fatigue, headaches & several other problems https://t.co/vixu0G8klL
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 6, 2020
Trump has known the CEO for years. He’s a member at Trump’s Bedminster N.J. golf club, where Trump had attended a fundraiser before testing positive. Trump’s conflicts of interest are so broad that they frequently create their own conspiracy theory coincidences
— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) October 6, 2020
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Six U.S. states report record COVID hospitalizations, new restrictions in place https://t.co/NwRpcLezUh pic.twitter.com/ZSU4xQ05os
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 7, 2020
insulting people for wearing masks at a time when *85 percent* of Americans are wearing masks seems like a real great strategy by the GOP.https://t.co/bYLWUudDrD
— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) October 6, 2020
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issues a new order limiting the size of public indoor gatherings to stem the spread of COVID-19. The state has become one of the worst hot spots over the last month with experts attributing the spike to colleges and schools. https://t.co/HjzuYbVko3
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 6, 2020
From @CDCgov :
"In Arizona, decreases in daily #COVID19 cases…after widespread sustained community mitigation measures that promoted social distancing…number of cases began to decrease approx 2 wks after local officials began mandating mask wearing" ?https://t.co/UNl8iz7p0s— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 6, 2020
geez why is biden suddenly up 25 points with the elderly I don’t get it
— kilgore trout, acting president (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 6, 2020
YY_Sima Qian
Yesterday, China reported 0 new domestic confirmed cases and 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases, 7 new imported confirmed cases and 24 imported asymptomatic cases:
* Chengdu in Sichuan Province – 3 confirmed cases (all previously asymptomatic), all Chinese nationals returning from Iraq (via Qatar); 6 asymptomatic cases, 5 Chinese nationals returning from Iraq (via Qatar) and 1 from the Philippines
* Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 2 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Nepal and Zambia; 11 asymptomatic cases, 6 Chinese nationals returning from Bangladesh, 3 from Nepal, and 2 each returning from Ethiopia and Singapore
* Foshan in Guangdong Province – 2 asymptomatic cases, 1 Chinese national returning from Argentina and the US
* Shanghai Municipality – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Russia
* Taiyuan in Shanxi Province – 1 confirmed case, a Chinese national returning from Poland
* Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 asymptomatic case, 1 Chinese national each returning from the US and Zambia
* Fuzhou in Fujian Province- 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Japan
* Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
* Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the Philippines
Today, the city reported 11 new cases, 9 from local infection, source of infection not yet identified for 3 of the local cases.
Mary G
California over all is doing a bit better 2.8% positive tests, but here in the OC we’ve popped up some and will not be allowed to open up more right now. It is discouraging.
Amir Khalid
The Malaysian Government will implement conditional movement control orders in the districts of Sandakan, Tuaran, and Papar in Sabah, and in Klang, the royal seat of Selangor, all effective 12:01am on Saturday, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced today.
Brachiator
Trump may be able to get the best care in the world, but he still got the virus. And he also demanded experimental treatment that may not help him at all. Worse, he and the fools around him allowed staffers and scores of other people to be exposed to the virus. And many of these people have no special privilege or ability to jet to top hospitals should they actually become infected and ill.
Trump’s actions are ultimately not about privilege. They are a monumental betrayal of public trust and an abuse of power.
Amir Khalid
@Amir Khalid:
Ismail Sabri also announced that the Deparment of Prisons has been directed to revise its SOP for handling prisoners, in light of the outbreaks in prisons in Sabah and Kedah that are driving the current surge in infections.
low-tech cyclist
“Stupid and contagious” – Nirvana
NotMax
FYI.
David C
The FDA Guidance release is huge and emphasizes the Agency’s independence. Their Briefing Book had the important information – once that was out and available to the AdComm there was no reason to sit on the Guidance. Bureaucrats know how to bureaucrat.
WereBear
I installed the NY COVID Alert app on my smartphone. For NY or NJ or anyone who comes into the area, I think.
This looks like a smart, anonymous, way to handle things. I know I felt better taking Mr WereBear out of his vault yesterday, and going into crowded spaces knowing we had an alert going on.
Note to self: no more blood draws Monday morning!
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. 489 new cases were reported today, for a cumulative reported total of 13,993 cases.
487 new cases, including 20 non-Malaysians, are from local infection. Sabah has the most new cases (282), followed by Kedah (153) and Selangor (20). (State-by-state breakdown to follow.) Two new cases are imported.
74 more patients recovered and were discharged, for a total of 10,501 patients recovered — 75.04% of the cumulative reported total. 3,351 active and contagious cases are currently in hospital; 40 are in ICU, 13 of them on ventilators.
No new deaths were reported today. The total remains at 141 deaths — 1.01% of the cumulative reported total, 1.32% of resolved cases.
mrmoshpotato
That’s. Fucking. Awesome.
Matt McIrvin
That the Republican Party would be so openly contemptuous of the well-being of old people honestly baffles me. You don’t go out of your way to kill your core voters! Well, I guess they aren’t their core voters any more.
mrmoshpotato
@Matt McIrvin: Grandma’s dying wish is for the stock market to go through the roof.
r€nato
gosh it’s almost like science works or something
r€nato
Off topic but this is really worth reading. I had to answer one easy question to get past the paywall
Why Europeans No Longer Dream Of America
OzarkHillbilly
@r€nato: Too bad it doesn’t work on Republicans.
Morfydd
Germany reports 2828 new cases, bringing the total to 306,086, and 16 new deaths, bringing the total to 9562. Information is updated daily at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/478220a4c454480e823b17327b2bf1d4 which is run by the Robert Koch Institute.
It looks like central Berlin is currently a hotspot, and new rules coming in Saturday include new limit on numbers of people who can meet and a curfew 11pm-6am, hoping to avoid a full lockdown. Elsewhere in the country smaller hotspots include an outbreak in a senior facility and another in a slaughterhouse.
Matt McIrvin
@OzarkHillbilly: The Feynman quote is apropos: “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.” The same applies to public health. I think a lot of them are so high on their own supply that they honestly don’t get it.
Trump’s dad was a big devotee of Norman Vincent Peale, and the idea that positive thinking could overcome anything. It seems to be a big thing in the Trump cult, the idea that you can bend reality with mind power or superior manliness. Of course, if you’ve got a lot of money you can buy your way out of some consequences. But there are limits.
satby
@r€nato: I was blocked by “choose your subscription to read”. Too bad, it would have been interesting. Though we all probably know the reasons anyway.
r€nato
@satby: when I went there, I had to answer an easy question and I got in.
Huh. Try incognito mode in Chrome?
It’s not about Trump, in fact I don’t think he gets a single mention. It’s about the death of the American dream and upward mobility. The fear of losing everything to a single illness and the soaring cost of higher education. The obscenely wealthy getting even wealthier while everyone else struggles to keep their heads above water and they’re the lucky ones, the rest are drowning while capitalist looters scavenge what they can from them on their way down. The anti-immigrant paranoia and rhetoric.
America has lost so much from that last one alone. I have spent a fair amount of time in Europe in my life and the two most common comments about America are: “you are such a rich country, you can afford to give everyone healthcare” and “you are a nation of immigrants”. Well now we are giving the finger to immigrants and those on the outside looking in are not paying attention to whether the rhetoric is targeting “just the illegals”. Canada is looking much better to those who like some of what the US has to offer but don’t want to actually live there thanks to the way things have gone. Canada welcomes immigrants, Canada speaks English, Canada has opportunities, Canada has universal healthcare and sensible governance.
In case anyone cares, we are in the midst of a permanent move to Italy and I couldn’t be happier. It is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I wish I could say the timing is perfect but it is not quite that because it won’t happen before the election. But it will happen not long after. So, almost perfect timing.
lowtechcyclist
Just think, they used to say they were the “pro-life” party.
r€nato
@lowtechcyclist: #AllLivesMatter sure had a short shelf life
“pro-life” was always a lie. The truth of that assertion – like much that is rancid about America – has been laid bare for all to see in the year of Covid-19.
Amir Khalid
The breakdown of Malaysia’s new cases. 281 cases in Sabah, comprising 183 persons screened in the community, 71 symptomatic persons, 22 close contacts of other cases, two from the Laut cluster, two detected in hospital-admission screening, one detected in a hospital referral screening, one detected in pre-surgery screening, and one police detainee. 153 cases in Kedah, comprising139 from the Tembok cluster im Alor Setar Prirson and 14 from the Bah Sintok cluster on the Universiti Utara Malaysia campus. 19 cases iin Selangor, comprising seven people returning from high-risk zones (including one from the Selasih cluster), four from the Jalan Meru cluster, three symptomatic persons, two from the Benteng PK cluster, one from the Embun cluster, one close contact of amother case, and one voluntary screening.
Seven cases in Penang state, comprising six from the new Remand Prison cluster and one close contact of another case. Six cases in Johore, comprising five people returning from high-risk zones ad one from the Selasih cluster. Four cases in Perak, comprising two from the new Bah Puchong cluster, one person returning from a high-risk zone, and one close contact of another case.
Three cases in Terengganu, comprising two close contacts of other cases and one from the Bah Tanjung cluster. Three cases in KL, comprising one person screened after travelling to Sarawak, one person screened pre-surgery, and one person screened before getting married. Three cases in Sarawak, comprising two persons returning from high-risk zones and one person screened at a domestic port of entry. Two cases in Pahang, comprising one person screened ahead of travelling abroad and one screened pre-surgery. Two in Putrajaya, comprising one close contact of another case, and one person screened on admission to hospital. One case in Negeri Sembilan, detected in pre-surgery screening. And one case in Kelantan, a close contact of another case.
The two imported new cases are one Malaysian returning from India and a non-Malaysian arriving from the Maldives.
Geminid
@r€nato: check out the recent article “Joe Biden is the Pro-life Candidate,” by D.J. Mcquire, in Bearing Drift, a journal published by self-described Virginia conservatives. McGuire makes a very persuasive arguement.
Sloane Ranger
Yesterday in the UK.
There were 14,542 new cases. up 2000 from the day before. The note about the backlog has disappeared from the website so these might all be genuine new cases. Broken down,
England had 12,648 (up @2000)
Northern Ireland had 669 (up @50)
Scotland had 800 (up @100)
Wales had 425 (down @175).
The Scottish First Minister will shortly announce new restrictions for Scotland but the news is saying these are unlikely to include a full lockdown. British government still mulling over options for England. They are looking at a three-tier approach basing the level of restrictions on the number of cases per 100,000 of population. If they go this route at least it’s an objective test.
Deaths – 76. Up from yesterdays low level, 63 occurred in England, 1 in Northern Ireland, 2 in Scotland and a horrifying 10 in Wales (given their small population.)
Testing – 273,100 tests were processed out of a capacity of 313,802. A new issue with testing here has come up as Roche has announced a supply chain failure caused by a move to a new warehouse. This will not only affect coronavirus testing but tests for other serious conditions such as cancer. They are saying it will take 2 weeks to fix.
Hospitalisations – The number of people in hospital on 4 October (the most recent UK wide figure available) was 2833 and the number on ventilators on the 5th was 393. The number of people admitted to hospital in England last Sunday was 478, a 25% increase from the day before.
La Nonna
@r€nato: Having been here in Italy since 2010, I’m sure you’ll love it….not perfect, but so much less stressful to live without gun violence, and the threat of bankruptcy or homelessness due to medical costs. And, the food, wine, sunshine, culture, people!
r€nato
@La Nonna: been my dream since as far back as I was old enough to have such ideas. 10, 12 yrs old? I spent many summers in my youth in Florence. Around 2002 I claimed my JS citizenship. I’ve done several rather smart things in my life and that one is in the top 3. Originally did it for sentimental reasons but as it turns out that was a life-changing event. Also it was much cheaper and easier back then, than it is now. It’s very interesting to me how many more Americans these days are now interested in seeing if they can obtain citizenship in an EU nation, a notion that at the time I did it was rather foreign to many (see what I did there) and as well many thought that a US citizen could not be a dual. The morning after the last debate my cousin texted me to ask about more info on dual citizenship.
Can. Not. Wait. As I have gotten older – and particularly since a cycling accident in May 2019 – the importance of universal healthcare has really made this move about a lot more practical considerations than sentimental reasons and good food and good wine and leaving behind the dog-eat-dog FYIGM capitalism of the USA
Good thing we won’t need jobs over there, though. Another thing I like about Italy: if one *can* find a job, and not one of these temporary six-month work contracts that many employers ruthlessly exploit… one can live a decent life and even have money and free time for vacations. One won’t get rich but one will never have to worry about medical debt or having to work three jobs just to barely get by. No such thing as a medical debt GoFundMe over there.
Americans have this insane idea that it’s completely normal for wealthy corporations to pay wages that barely qualify as starvation wages, without even the benefit of a halfway decent health insurance plan. Meanwhile the same wealthy corporation is paying out literally billions in dividends every quarter. There is a direct line between exploiting the workforce and these dividends, they are extracted from the labor force. Marx was right about a few things but good luck getting an even cursory examination of what Marx was on about in any high school in the US. It’s almost like the capitalists are deathly afraid of what the proles might do if they realized what’s really going on behind the scenes.
lowtechcyclist
@r€nato:
Yeah, maybe they could go with #oldlivesdontmatter.
Agreed. I’ve been banging that drum myself for months – back in June or July, I even took a few minutes to see what the websites of the major “pro-life” orgs had to say about the Covid-19 death toll. The answer was: usually nothing. If they mentioned Covid-19 at all, it was as an obstacle that they couldn’t let interfere with their fight for the unborn baybeez. Apparently it didn’t even cross their minds that Covid-19 had something to do with life and death.
@Geminid:
I’ll have to check it out, but my main thought is that with respect to the lives of those who’ve already been born, the Democratic Party is and always has been the more pro-life party, and it’s never even been close, at least not during my lifetime.
r€nato
@lowtechcyclist: if one is truly pro-life then one must be in favor of universal healthcare.
If one is not in favor of it, then “pro-life” is simply about controlling women’s bodies and sex lives.
As one of my college profs loved to say… period, paragraph, end of story. #preachingtothechoir
lowtechcyclist
@satby:
The graph in this tweet answers the question in one quick look.
It looks at how much of a year’s median income of a male with a family of four went to housing, transportation, health care, and college between 1985 and 2018.
In 1985, those four major expenses ate up 30 weeks’ pay. In 2018, they ate up 53 weeks’ pay.
Of course, a lot more women are in the work force now than was the case in 1985. But for most, that hasn’t resulted in greater security; all that’s done is helped families stay even (if that) economically, while losing a shitload of free time.
r€nato
@lowtechcyclist:
If only these stupid millennials would stop buying a new iPhone every year and stop going to Starbucks and stop eating avocado toast, they wouldn’t have these problems. #shitboomerssay
I was very fortunate to be part of the last generation that had access to affordable college.
American capitalism has largely run out of profitable opportunities and now is all about grifting and looting. Give corporations fat tax cuts so that they can do stock buybacks to lift share prices. “Financial engineering”. Payday loan stores, car title loan stores. Education loans. Ordinary people can’t afford their monthly bills, forget about a rainy day fund? No problem, offer them more debt at really low interest rates! Or, not very low interest rates.
Has anybody given a thought to how much life support the US economy has been on since 2009? Rock-bottom interest rates, when the Fed tried to raise them a year-ish ago they had to quickly reverse course. Trillions of dollars conjured out of thin air to buy shit assets to keep banks afloat and the Fed is still holding much of them. Quantitative easing. Oh but if you just give people money that’s bad, hyperinflation will result and people will lose the incentive to work *massive eyeroll*
Wanna fix American capitalism? Start with a healthy dose of communist solutions: hang a few capitalists (start with Big Pharma CEOs who are making a killing on fucking insulin, maybe a Koch and Mercer heir for good measure, can’t forget the 0.0001% billionaires) and confiscate their wealth as a lesson to the rest. Abolish billionaires. Rough up white collar criminals when they are arrested and make them do perp walks and serve truly hard time, just like what happens to the proles. Not even kidding here.
When I move I will re-register as a Democratic Socialist and start making donations to the tiny DS party where I once lived. My donations to them will have a far greater effect than they will donating to the Democrats, who frankly will likely return to corporatist form once Trump is evicted from the WH. News flash, Biden ain’t gonna do shit to advance the ball on universal healthcare. Fuckin’ tired of being asked to choose between half a shit sandwich and the shit hoagie. Somebody needs to start seriously talking about these ideas to inject some democracy into economics, tinkering around the edges of how US healthcare is paid for is putting a band-aid on a severed femoral artery. That Americans have to literally go abroad (Canada and Mexico) because their life-saving medicines are unaffordable is (or rather, should be) a national scandal and abundant evidence that the US healthcare system is fundamentally broken and badly needs radical reform.
lowtechcyclist
@r€nato:
And anti-war in all but the most exceptional cases, in favor of gun control and mass transit, and a bunch of other things besides.
There’s that, but I don’t think that’s even the main thing.
What I see is that it’s mostly about being able to claim the moral high ground, having what they regard as a trump card to pull out anytime they need it to prove that they’re on the side of right and good, and we liberals are on the side of evil and baby-murder.
The history is actually pretty clear: they realized (even as they wanted to perpetuate segregation in the 1960s and 1970s) that to everyone else, it made them look like the bad guys. (Which they were.) So abortion is what they ultimately latched onto, to flip that script and turn themselves into the good guys.
Its utility is that it gives them a justification to dismiss us entirely rather than having to actually address any arguments we make about anything. It’s been handy for them, but like you say, the Year of Covid-19 has exposed its hollowness. Game over.
r€nato
@lowtechcyclist:
In the past I have scorned single-issue voting but I’ve come to see the light with universal healthcare as my single issue because you invariably get all the good stuff with any politician who supports it.
Ruckus
@Mary G:
I’m in northeastern LA county and my very rough approximation of mask wearing is less than 50% outside of buildings but because they are required in buildings 100% inside. I live in a seniors apt complex and even here there are people who don’t wear them. Most do outside but not all. Most women are, so most of the non wearers are old men. Don’t know if they don’t care or are just assholes but that’s my experience.