Flat as in shooting up
They’re just lying to Oklahoma to trick everyone into going.
During a White House roundtable meeting called “Fighting for America’s Seniors” on Monday afternoon, Vice President Mike Pence blatantly lied to reporters about the trajectory of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, where President Trump is scheduled to hold a large campaign rally on Saturday.
“In a very real sense, they’ve flattened the curve,” Pence claimed of that state. “And today their hospital capacity is abundant, the number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously and we feel very confident going forward with the rally this coming weekend.”
In fact, Oklahoma reported 225 new cases of COVID-19 this past Saturday, its highest one-day total since the pandemic began. On Sunday, Tulsa County reported 89 new cases, the largest single-day increase since the state had its first case on March 6th.
So what’s the very real sense in which they’ve flattened the curve? Is “very real sense” a synonym for “lie”?
That…doesn’t look flat.
Well…
I suppose that, from a particular perspective, a curve which turns into a straight line has been ‘flattened’; even if that straight line is almost vertical.
He said the curve had been flattened. He didn’t say it was horizontal.
That’s what they call Oklahoma horizontal. (Not really; I just made that up, but since I’m from Oklahoma, I think I’m entitled.)
Cyanide and Happiness had the same thought: http://explosm.net/comics/5585/