The Commentariat -- April 3, 2020

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. "At least one million [coronavirus] infections have been detected worldwide, but experts suspect the true number is far larger because of asymptomatic cases and delays in widespread testing. The Australian medical chief estimated that there are between five million and 10 million cases. As Beijing and Washington declared a détente in their sniping, it emerged that the C.I.A. had been warning the White House since at least February that China was vastly underestimating the scale of the crisis, limiting the usefulness of its data in predictive models.

[Leader of the Free World Gets High Marks.] "Germany has been held up as a model across Europe as its laboratories work around the clock to process coronavirus tests, a key measure that has resulted in its relatively low number of casualties.... Chancellor Angela Merkel returned to her office on Friday, ending 14 days in quarantine after a doctor who administered a vaccine to her tested positive. The chancellor has seen her approval ratings jump over her government's handling of the crisis."

The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Friday are here. "China on Thursday named Li Wenliang -- the Wuhan doctor killed by covid-19 after warning about the deadly new disease -- a 'martyr,' the highest honor Beijing bestows on citizens who die in service of the country. The announcement comes as Beijing and Washington wrestle over Li's legacy, with both sides trying to own the narrative. U.S. lawmakers are planning to introduce a bill named for Li that will empower the Trump administration to sanction foreign officials who spread misinformation about the coronavirus. In China, alarms raised by Li and other doctors about the new virus in Wuhan were initially suppressed by local officials. As the death toll rose, the official line changed, and Li was praised as a hero at the national level."

This is happening daily in New York City (and in other hard-hit cities around the world:

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, et al., of the New York Times: "In cities across America, many lower-income workers continue to move around, while those who make more money are staying home and limiting their exposure to the coronavirus, according to smartphone location data analyzed by The New York Times. Although people in all income groups are moving less than they did before the crisis, wealthier people are staying home the most, especially during the workweek. Not only that, but in nearly every state, they began doing so days before the poor, giving them a head start on social distancing as the virus spread, according to aggregated data from the location analysis company Cuebiq, which tracks about 15 million cellphone users nationwide daily."

Abby Goodnough & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is close to recommending that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public, a change in position that reflects new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms and new data suggesting the United States is not yet slowing the rate of infections."

Nancy Cook & Dan Diamond of Politico: "The Trump White House is doubling down on a strategy to govern the coronavirus pandemic: pushing authority and responsibility for the response onto the states.... The approach could give the White House an opportunity to extract Trump from future criticism as the virus spreads throughout the nation and threatens to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans." --s

Rachana Pradham of Kaiser Health News: "A coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories and introduced with considerable fanfare by President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden news conference this week is giving state and local health officials very little added capacity to perform speedy tests needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.... Yet a document circulated among officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week shows that state and local public health labs were set to receive a total of only 5,500 coronavirus tests." --s

Nepotism Normalized. Maggie Severns of Politico: "Jared Kushner's family business could be a prime beneficiary of a provision in the federal recovery bill that allows owners of apartment buildings to freeze federal mortgage payments on low- and moderate-income properties. Kushner Companies, the real estate firm started in 1985 by Kushner's father, Charles, controls thousands of low- and moderate-housing units across the country, some of which are funded through an $800 million federally backed loan the firm received in 2019." --s

Dara Lind of ProPublica: "For the first time since the enactment of the Refugee Act in 1980, people who come to the U.S. saying they fear persecution in their home countries are being turned away by Border Patrol agents with no chance to make a legal case for asylum. The shift, confirmed in internal Border Patrol guidance obtained by ProPublica [is] the biggest step the administration has taken to limit humanitarian protection for people entering the U.S. without papers..., [allowing] Border Patrol agents to simply expel migrants with no process whatsoever for hearing their claims. The administration gave the Border Patrol unchallengeable authority over migrants seeking asylum by invoking a little-known power given to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. public health agency, to ban the entry of people or things that might spread 'infectious disease' in the U.S." --s

Chad Garland of Stars & Stripes reports on Capt. Brett Crozier's sendoff after the Navy relieved him of his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. More on Crozier's removal linked below.

Mark Niquette & Michael Sasso of Bloomberg: "The Small Business Administration has bumped up to 1% the interest rate lenders may charge small businesses under a $350 billion U.S. relief program after lenders complained that the previous approved rate of 0.5% was below even their own cost of funds.... Banks and other lenders that are key to carrying it out had said they lacked guidance on how to complete the loans, including what documentation is required from borrowers and how to verify it.... The program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, is central to help small businesses survive the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak..." --s (Firewalled.)

Daniel Lippman, et al., of Politico: "The White House is close to selecting a nominee to be the Pentagon's policy chief, following the ouster of John Rood in February as part of President Donald Trump's loyalty purge. Douglas Macgregor, a retired Army colonel and frequent Fox News commentator, and Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general, former state bureaucrat and also a Fox News regular, are the leading candidates for the job of undersecretary of defense for policy[.]" --s

Andrew Desiderio & Besty Woodruf Swan of Politico: "A key Senate committee is vowing to press forward with its investigation targeting former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter, despite logistical challenges posed by the global coronavirus pandemic. The probe, which Democrats vigorously oppose, has fueled tension among the Senate's ranks, even breaking out into a rare and previously unreported verbal altercation between senators during a classified briefing.... Democrats have said the investigation targeting Hunter Biden threatens the integrity of the 2020 election and undermines U.S. national security, saying it could aid Russian intelligence.... Meanwhile, the delayed timeline for the investigation makes it likely that any information related to Hunter Biden could be released closer to Election Day." --s

Florida's 'Sh!t Sandwich'. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Already anxious about Trump's chances in the nation's biggest swing state, Republicans now are dealing with thousands of unemployed workers unable to navigate the Florida system to apply for help. And the blowback is directed straight at Trump's top allies in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.... Privately, Republicans admit that the $77.9 million system that is now failing Florida workers is doing exactly what Scott designed it to do -- lower the state's reported number of jobless claims after the great recession. 'It's a sh-- sandwich, and it was designed that way by Scott,' said one DeSantis advisor.... 'It was about making it harder for people to get benefits or keep benefits so that the unemployment numbers were low to give the governor something to brag about.'" --s

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Lena Sun & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The White House is expected to urge Americans to begin wearing cloth masks or face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, in a reversal of its earlier recommendations. President Trump said Thursday at a coronavirus task force briefing that 'a recommendation is coming out' but 'I don't think it will be mandatory. If people want to wear them, they can.' Vice President Pence, who heads the task force, confirmed the guidance would be released in 'coming days.' However, a White House official said the administration is considering guidance that it is 'narrowly targeted to areas with high community transmission' and the matter remains under discussion." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Elizabeth Cohen of CNN: "A prestigious scientific panel told the White House Wednesday night that research shows coronavirus can be spread not just by sneezes or coughs, but also just by talking, or possibly even just breathing. 'While the current [coronavirus] specific research is limited, the results of available studies are consistent with aerosolization of virus from normal breathing,' according to the letter, written by Dr. Harvey Fineberg, chairman of a committee with the National Academy of Sciences. Fineberg told CNN that he will wear start wearing a mask when he goes to the grocery store.... His letter explains that research at a hospital in China shows the virus can be suspended in the air when doctors and nurses remove protective gear, or when floors are cleaned, or when staff move around. Research by the University of Nebraska shows that genetic material from the virus was found in patients' rooms more than 6 feet away from the patients, according to the letter. Fineberg said it's possible that aerosolized coronavirus droplets can hang in the air and potentially infect someone who walks by later." (Also linked yesterday.)

James Glanz, et al., of the New York Times: "Stay-at-home orders have nearly halted travel for most Americans, but people in Florida, the Southeast and other places that waited to enact such orders have continued to travel widely, potentially exposing more people as the coronavirus outbreak accelerates, according to an analysis of cellphone location data by The New York Times." Mrs. McC: The maps & charts that are part of this report paint a damning picture of bad behavior by people living in confederate areas of the country. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Orion Rummier of Axios: "Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci recommended on Thursday that all states across the U.S. implement stay-at-home orders, at a CNN town hall.... The recommendation stands in contrast to President Trump's calls for 'flexibility.' Nearly 4o states have issued stay-at-home orders to promote social distancing as a way to combat the novel coronavirus — but the orders vary in strictness and duration.... 'I don't understand why that's not happening," Fauci said ... of a nation-wide stay-at-home order. '... We really should be.'"

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 701,000 in March, according to Labor Department numbers released Friday that only begin to show the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus crisis. It was the first decline in payrolls since September 2010 and came close to the May 2009 financial crisis peak of 800,000. Some two-thirds of the drop came in the hospitality industry, particularly bars and restaurants forced to close during the economic shutdown. That headline number reflects the count from establishments the government surveyed for its report. The household survey, which asks individual residences about their employment situation, showed a plunge of nearly 3 million. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% -- from 3.5% -- its highest level since August 2017 as employers just began to cut payrolls ahead of social distancing practices...."

Anneken Tappe of CNN: "The last three weeks have marked one of the most devastating periods in history for the American job market, as first-time claims for unemployment benefits have surged more than 3,000% since early March.... 6.6 million US workers filed for their first week of unemployment benefits in the week ending March 28 -- a new historic high. That was far greater than economists had expected.... Unemployment claims at this level suggest a severe job market decline hardly any American alive has ever seen in their lifetimes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' business updates are here. "More than 6.6 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, setting a grim record for the second straight week. The latest claims brought the two-week total to nearly 10 million. The speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent. Until last month, the worst week for unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.

"Oil prices spiked, lifting shares of energy companies, after President Trump said on Thursday that he expected the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia to announce oil production cuts.... Mr. Trump said in a tweet that he had spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had spoken with President Vladimir V. Putin.... The Kremlin denied that Mr. Putin had spoken to the Saudi crown prince, as Mr. Trump had said in his Twitter message. 'No, there was no conversation,' Dmitri S. Peskov, spokesman for Mr. Putin, told the Interfax news agency." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I find it a-mazing that "the stock market" continues to respond to Trump's fake news. And, sure enough ...,

~~~ Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: "Leaning on two authoritarian leaders he has befriended as president, Mr. Trump spoke this week with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, urging them to bolster prices by cutting their domestic oil production. In two tweets on Thursday, Mr. Trump said that he expected they would jointly cut output by as much as 15 million barrels in a move that he said would 'be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!'" But there's no evidence such a deal is actually in the offing. "The picture emerged of a president eager to find some good economic news amid the pain of a largely shuttered domestic economy, and of an embattled Saudi leadership feeling financial strain of its own, perhaps seeking the favor of Mr. Trump. Analysts said the major outstanding question was how Moscow, which has been waging a price war with Riyadh, will respond." ~~~

~~~ Fred Imbert & Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "Stocks rose Thursday as oil's biggest one-day rally on record eased concern about financial and job losses in the energy sector. It was a volatile session as investors weighed a massive spike in unemployment claims that showed the growing negative impact shutdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus are having on the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 469.93 points higher, or 2.2%, at 21,413.44. The S&P 500 was up 2.3% at 2,526.90 while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.7% to 7,487.31. At its session high, the Dow was up 534 points, or more than 2%. At its low of the day it was down more than 200 points."

Finally. Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "The White House announced Thursday that ... Donald Trump is invoking the Defense Production Act to clear up supply-chain issues encountered in the manufacturing of ventilators and to ensure the production of additional N95 face masks. Thursday's orders come amid increased fears of ventilator shortages and personal protective equipment around the country.... The order, which came in the form of a presidential memorandum, directs the supply of materials to make ventilators to six companies: General Electric Co., Hill-Rom Holdings Inc., Medtronic Public Limited Co., ResMed Inc., Royal Philips N.V. and Vyaire Medical Inc. It also directs acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to 'use any and all authority available under the Act to facilitate the supply of materials' to these companies. A second order invokes the Defense Production Act to authorize Azar and Pete Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to 'use any and all authority available under the Act to acquire' N95 respirators from 3M." Mrs. McC: Of course Trump & Kushner think hospitals don't really need the life-saving equipment. ~~~

Massive amounts of medical supplies, even hospitals and medical centers, are being delivered directly to states and hospitals by the Federal Government. Some have insatiable appetites & are never satisfied (politics?). Remember, we are a backup for them. The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit. -- Donald Trump, in tweets Thursday

"Long before the crisis hit"?? You mean when you were saying you had the disease under control & soon the number of victims would be down to zero? That's when the "complainers should have stocked up"? -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~

~~~ James E. Baker, a former NSC advisor, in a New York Times op-ed, castigates Trump for not using the full force of the Defense Production Act & other tools in his arsenel "to close the supply gap, allocate resources among states, and prepare for the production and distribution of the vaccine to come.... Its use is not as extraordinary as some suggest.... The Defense Department alone uses the prioritization authority some 300,000 times a year, while the government uses Title III incentives 20 to 30 times per year."

Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "In the three weeks since declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, President Trump has delivered a dizzying array of rhetorical contortions, sowed confusion and repeatedly sought to cast blame on others. History has never known a crisis response as strong as his own, Trump says -- yet the self-described wartime president claims he is merely backup. He has faulted governors for acting too slowly and, as he did Thursday, has accused overwhelmed state and hospital officials of complaining too much and of hoarding supplies. America is winning its war with the coronavirus, the president says -- yet the death toll rises still, and in the best-case scenario more Americans will die than in the wars in Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq combined. The economy is the strongest ever and will rebound in no time, he says -- yet stock markets have cratered and in the past two weeks a record 10 million people filed for unemployment insurance.... He sometimes scolds reporters who question his version of events. The result is chaotic." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump relies on Trumpbots not to have the "first-rate intelligence ... to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function," as F. Scott Fitzgerald posited, but to have no memory whatsoever & to accept whatever Trump says at the moment as the true thing -- until it changes. Consistency is not a hobgoblin that unsettles their little minds.

Caroline Kelly & Jason Hoffman of CNN: "The White House released a letter from ... Donald Trump attacking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in starkly personal terms on Thursday -- just moments after the President said that 'this is not the time for politics' ... at the White House daily coronavirus briefing.... 'I've known you for many years but I never knew how bad a Senator you are for the state of New York, until I became President,' Trump wrote to Schumer, disparaging his request as 'Democrat public relations letter and incorrect soundbites, which are wrong in every way.'... Trump claimed that if Schumer had spent less time on impeachment, New York might not have been 'so completely unprepared for the invisible enemy.'... Trump had attempted to keep the letter from being sent out after speaking with Schumer on the phone Thursday afternoon.... [Schumer had] called on the administration to select "one person, a military person, a general who knows how to deal with logistics and order mastering, who knows command and control.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's look at that sequence. (1) Deranged Prez* dictates an insane letter to a high government official. (2) Prez* speaks to official; official peels deranged Prez* off wall. (3) Prez* tells staff to hold back insane letter. (4) Prez* goes to press briefing. (5) Staff releases insane letter. Conclusion: Prez* has no control over himself or his staff.

"A Textbook Propaganda Campaign. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "A review of hundreds of hours of programming and social media traffic from Jan. 1 through mid-March -- when the White House started urging people to stay home and limit their exposure to others -- shows that doubt, cynicism and misinformation about the virus took root among many of Mr. Trump's boosters in the right-wing media as the number of confirmed cases in the United States grew. It was during this lull -- before the human and economic toll became undeniable -- when the story of the coronavirus among the president's most stalwart defenders evolved into the kind of us-versus-them clash that Mr. Trump has waged for much of his life. Now, with the nation's economic and physical health in clear peril, Mr. Trump and many of his allies on the airwaves and online are blaming familiar enemies in the Democratic Party and the news media." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Enrich, et al., of the New York Times: "With some of its golf courses and hotels closed amid the economic lockdown, the Trump Organization has been exploring whether it can delay payments on some of its loans and other financial obligations, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Representatives of Mr. Trump's company have recently spoken with Deutsche Bank, the president's largest creditor, about the possibility of postponing payments on at least some of its loans from the bank. And in Florida, the Trump Organization sought guidance last week from Palm Beach County about whether it expected the company to continue making monthly payments on county land that it leases for a 27-hole golf club.... The company ... has opted to keep some of its properties open absent government orders to close, in contrast with the widespread shutdowns by some larger hotel chains."

Peter Baker & others at the New York Times take a stab at analyzing Jared Kushner's contributions to the White House's coronavirus response chaos. "At one of the most perilous moments in modern American history, Mr. Kushner is trying in a disjointed White House to marshal the forces of government for the war his father-in-law says he is waging. A real estate developer with none of the medical expertise of a public health official nor the mobilization experience of a general, Mr. Kushner has nonetheless become a key player in the response to the pandemic.... Mr. Kushner has embedded dozens of political appointees and recruits from the private sector in critical spots like FEMA. His 'impact team,' as he calls it, has been nicknamed the Slim Suit Crowd for its sartorial preferences by khaki-wearing FEMA veterans.... [A] senior official described the Kushner team as a 'frat party' that descended from a U.F.O. and invaded the federal government." ~~~

~~~ "Jared Kushner Is Going to Get Us All Killed." Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times seems a little skeptical that Jared is helping. According to Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair, Kushner said, "'I'm doing my own projections, and I've gotten a lot smarter about this. New York doesn't need all the ventilators.' (Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top expert on infectious diseases, has said he trusts Cuomo's estimate.) Even now, it's hard to believe that someone with as little expertise as Kushner could be so arrogant, but he said something similar on Thursday, when he made his debut at the White House's daily coronavirus briefing[.]... It's hard to overstate the extent to which this confidence is unearned.... Now, in our hour of existential horror, Kushner is making life-or-death decisions for all Americans, showing all the wisdom we've come to expect from him. 'Mr. Kushner's early involvement with dealing with the virus was in advising the president that the media's coverage exaggerated the threat,' reported The Times." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: To be clear, "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday [said that] ... at the rate the state was using ventilators for coronavirus patients, it would run out in just six days." As Cuomo said during his Thursday presser, ventilators are expensive & New York State is broke. Therefore, it makes no sense that he would be begging to purchase ventilators the state & New York City don't need. But that punk Jared has the gall to accuse Cuomo of exaggerating.

What a lot of the voters are seeing now is that when you elect somebody to be a mayor or governor or president, you're trying think about who will be a competent manager during the time of crisis. This is a time of crisis, and you're seeing certain people are better managers than others. -- Jared Kushner, at Thursday's White House coronavirus briefing

Finally, Kushner says one true thing. Of course, his point was that Trump was doing a better than governors, but an AP poll shows that the majority of Americans know better. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Mrs. McCrabbie: I believe it was safari who was wondering a few days ago whatever had happened to "presidential advisor" Ivanka Trump. Well, now we know. She is putting her valuable time to good use for the American people! ~~~

~~~ Tasos Kokkinidis of the Greek Reporter: "... Ivanka Trump said Tuesday she's mostly working from home during the coronavirus outbreak while also caring for her three children, learning to play guitar -- and now studying Greek mythology. Ms. Trump said she has been using the time 'to expand my own mind and explore things I normally wouldn't have prioritized.' That includes free online courses in Greek and Roman mythology, and learning to play the guitar." (Also linked yesterday.)

William Wan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Leading disease forecasters, whose research the White House used to conclude 100,000 to 240,000 people will die nationwide from the coronavirus, were mystified when they saw the administration's projection this week.... White House officials have refused to explain how they generated the figure.... They have not provided the underlying data so others can assess its reliability or provided long-term strategies to lower that death count. Some of President Trump's top advisers have expressed doubts about the estimate.... Anthony S. Fauci ... told others there are too many variables at play in the pandemic to make the models reliable.... Jeffrey Shaman, a Columbia University epidemiologist whose models were cited by the White House, said his own work on the pandemic doesn't go far enough into the future to make predictions akin to the White House fatality forecast."

Lara Seligman & Bryan Bender of Politico: "Defense Secretary Mark Esper is under fire for the Pentagon's response to the coronavirus pandemic as lawmakers, national security experts and people throughout the Defense Department's ranks fault him for a slow and uneven approach to the outbreak. Esper is coming under scrutiny for punting tough choices over how to slow the virus to local commanders, resulting in a hodgepodge of rules driven more by concerns over readiness than the need to contain the virus. Several military officials expressed frustration with a lack of top-down planning and guidance on decisions from buying equipment to social distancing."

Navy Brass Punishes Captain for Trying to Save U.S. Lives. Courtney Kube of NBC News: "The Navy announced it has relieved the captain who sounded the alarm about an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Capt. Brett Crozier, who commands the Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier with a crew of nearly 5,000, was relieved of his command on Thursday, but he will keep his rank and remain in the Navy." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update. Quint Forgey of Politico: "Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said Friday ... that Crozier did not follow the proper chain of command in reporting his concerns, which Modly claimed were already being addressed at the time [Capt. Brett] Crozier sent his letter. Modly also faulted Crozier for sending the letter, which contained no classified information, over 'non-secure, unclassified email' and copying 'a broad array of people' on the correspondence. Crozier should have instead conveyed his warning via the 'direct line' Modly said he established between them 'way before his letter was written.' The remarks from the acting secretary came shortly after several videos began circulating on social media Friday morning showing Crozier disembarking from the carrier while a throng of crew members cheered his name and offered loud applause for their former commanding officer." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Just guessing here, but I suspect Crozier did "follow the proper chain of command" before he sent his letter, but got no satisfactory response. The fact that Modly said the problem was "already being addressed" suggests this is true: the brass would not be "addressing a problem" if they didn't know it existed.

PLAN AHea. Catherine Garcia of the Week: "In September, the Trump administration ended a $200 million pandemic early-warning program called PREDICT that trained scientists in laboratories around the world on how to find and respond to viruses that could spread from wild animals to humans. The program was launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2009, in response to the 2005 global spread of the H5N1 bird flu.... Over the course of the project [scientists] identified 1,200 viruses that had the ability to turn into pandemics, including more than 160 novel coronaviruses. Nearly 7,000 people in 30 countries were trained through PREDICT, including employees of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. That lab went on to identify SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.... PREDICT was funded twice, each time for five years, and although it ended in September, USAID on Wednesday granted an emergency extension to the program; experts will spend the next six months assisting foreign labs working to combat COVID-19."

"Utter Chaos." Stephanie Ruhle, et al., of NBC News: "Millions of small businesses are anxiously awaiting their slices of a $350 billion relief program that forms part of the government's $2 trillion economic support package. However, with just hours to go before launch, it wasn't until Thursday night that banks received their 31 pages of guidance from the Treasury Department on how to lend the money -- and some haven't even decided whether they can participate on the opening day. In a strongly worded statement, one of the nation's biggest lenders [Chase Bank] said the much-touted relief program for small business owners wasn't ready for prime time.... At a White House news briefing Thursday afternoon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin maintained that the program is ready to go, and said he wasn't aware of the complaints." Mrs. McC: "I haven't heard that" seems to be the go-to answer by Trump & the Trumpets when reporters ask obvious questions about well-reported administration missteps. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. The Check Is Not in the Mail. Kasie Hunt & Alex Moe of NBC News: "The first Americans to get relief payments from the government under the coronavirus legislation signed into law last month won't see the money until at least the week of April 13, according to new estimates from the Trump administration provided to House Democrats. Many people who don't have direct deposit information on file with the IRS might have to wait months to get the money."

Sheryl Stolberg & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi, moving aggressively to scrutinize the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, said Thursday that she would seek to create a special bipartisan committee to oversee all aspects of the government's response, including how it distributes more than $2 trillion in emergency aid. The announcement, which drew immediate objections from President Trump and the top House Republican, came as leaders were struggling to determine how Congress could perform its most basic functions -- both legislating and acting as a check on a president who has consistently stonewalled attempts at oversight -- when lawmakers were scattered around the country with the Capitol shuttered. The plan to create a select committee, which would require a House vote, reflects a particular sense of urgency among Democrats.... Ms. Pelosi said the panel would have subpoena power, meaning it could demand testimony and documents from the Trump administration. That raised the prospect of a new round of constitutional showdowns between Mr. Trump and the Democrat-led House...."

DeSantis Wins Pandering Prize. And It's a Killer. Sebastian Murdock of the Huffington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) undercut his own stay-at-home order by exempting religious services from that necessary step to slow the spread of the coronavirus.... If the governor had finally decided to take the threat seriously, his order carved out a large exception for religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and other houses of worship, which are deemed to be 'essential business' and thus exempt from the stay-at-home mandate." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times: "Hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order Wednesday, he quietly signed another one that appeared to override restrictions put in place by local governments to halt the spread of coronavirus. However, DeSantis on Thursday said the amendment he signed does the reverse, instigating another round of confusion over the intent of his directives. The second order, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, said that new state guidelines taking effect Friday morning 'supersede any conflicting official action or order issued by local officials in response to COVID-19.' It seemed to suggest that counties and cities could not place limitations that would be more strict than the statewide guidelines.... But then DeSantis said late Thursday that this was not the case. 'If (local governments) want to do more, they can do more in certain situations, he told reporters.... His office didn't respond to multiple requests for clarification." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This confusion -- "certain situations"??? -- is surprising, of course, because Donald Trump certified that DeSantis is a "great governor who knows exactly what he's doing."

~~~ Also. Joseph Fried of the New York Times: "Kevin Thomas Duffy, a federal judge who presided over decades of high-profile trials in Manhattan, including those of mob bosses, radical revolutionaries and the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, died on Wednesday in Greenwich, Conn. He was 87. A longtime colleague and friend, P. Kevin Castel, said the cause was Covid-19...."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Paul Blest of Vice: "Leaked notes from an internal meeting of Amazon leadership ... reveal company executives discussed a plan to smear fired warehouse employee Christian Smalls, calling him 'not smart or articulate' as part of a PR strategy to make him 'the face of the entire union/organizing movement.'... The discussion took place at a daily meeting, which included CEO Jeff Bezos, to update each other on the coronavirus situation.... They discussed encouraging Amazon executives to use Smalls to discredit the wider labor movement at Amazon.... Amazon fired the warehouse worker Smalls on Monday, after he led a walkout of a number of employees at a Staten Island distribution warehouse.... Smalls ... claims he was singled out after pleading with management to sanitize the warehouse and be more transparent about the number of workers who were sick." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I heard an interview of Smalls on cable news, and he seemed "good enough, smart enough" and articulate enough to me. But it is inspiring to know that the richest man in the world is sitting around with the suits thinking up ways to trash an employee who wants to save the lives of workers who break their backs for Amazon -- for as little as $15/hour.

Presidential Race

Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Thursday declined to postpone Wisconsin's scheduled April 7 presidential primaries amid widespread worries that holding elections during the coronavirus pandemic could risk public health and curtail access to the polls. The ruling from U.S. District Judge William M. Conley means Wisconsin will remain the only one of 11 states originally scheduled to hold contests in April that has not postponed or dramatically altered voting amid the pandemic. However, in a 53-page ruling, Conley extended the deadline for absentee ballots to be requested by voters from Thursday to Friday, and extended the deadline for completed ballots to be received by local election officials by six days: from 8 p.m. on April 7 to 4 p.m. on April 13. He also prohibited the state from enforcing the requirement that absentee ballot envelopes bear a witness signature when voters include a statement that they were unable to obtain one safely. Conley made clear that he disagreed with the state's decision to go forward with the election, but he explained that he was constrained to consider only the constitutional rights of voters -- not public health."

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Democratic National Committee on Thursday postponed its national convention because of the coronavirus, moving it from mid-July to mid-August.... The convention will still be held in Milwaukee, as planned, the week of Aug. 17, officials said, a week before Republicans plan to gather in Charlotte, N.C., to renominate President Trump." A TPM story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Senate Race. Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "President Trump's campaign is demanding that Jeff Sessions, the former Attorney General, stop attaching himself to the president in his effort to win back his old Senate seat in Alabama, after Mr. Sessions distributed a campaign mailer that mentioned the president 22 times. In an unusual letter to the Sessions campaign, which was obtained by The New York Times, the Trump campaign called Mr. Sessions' claim that he is the president's top supporter 'delusional.'... Mr. Trump has endorsed Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach, over Mr. Sessions in the runoff to be the Republican nominee taking on the incumbent Democrat, Senator Doug Jones, in the fall. The runoff is currently scheduled for July 14." The Hill has a summary story here. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Authorities continued searching Friday for two members of the Kennedy family who disappeared in the Chesapeake Bay after they had set out in a canoe to retrieve a ball in the water -- a mission that family said 'turned from rescue to recovery.' Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, and her 8-year-old son Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean went missing near Annapolis on Thursday evening while the family had gathered at a waterfront house owned by McKean's mother, family and authorities said."

AP: "Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including 'Lean On Me,' 'Lovely Day' and 'Ain't No Sunshine,' has died from heart complications, his family said in a statement to The Associated Press. He was 81. The three-time Grammy Award winner, who withdrew from making music in the mid-1980s, died on Monday in Los Angeles, the statement said. His death comes as the public has drawn inspiration from his music during the coronavirus pandemic, with health care workers, choirs, artists and more posting their own renditions on 'Lean on Me' to help get through the difficult times."

The Commentariat -- April 2, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Navy Brass Punishes Captain for Trying to Save U.S. Lives. Courtney Kube of NBC News: "The Navy announced it has relieved the captain who sounded the alarm about an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Capt. Brett Crozier, who commands the Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier with a crew of nearly 5,000, was relieved of his command on Thursday, but he will keep his rank and remain in the Navy."

Elizabeth Cohen of CNN: "A prestigious scientific panel told the White House Wednesday night that research shows coronavirus can be spread not just by sneezes or coughs, but also just by talking, or possibly even just breathing. 'While the current specific research is limited, the results of available studies are consistent with aerosolization of virus from normal breathing,' according to the letter, written by Dr. Harvey Fineberg, chairman of a committee with the National Academy of Sciences. Fineberg told CNN that he will wear start wearing a mask when he goes to the grocery store.... His letter explains that research at a hospital in China shows the virus can be suspended in the air when doctors and nurses remove protective gear, or when floors are cleaned, or when staff move around. Research by the University of Nebraska shows that genetic material from the virus was found in patients' rooms more than 6 feet away from the patients, according to the letter. Fineberg said it's possible that aerosolized coronavirus droplets can hang in the air and potentially infect someone who walks by later."

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Democratic National Committee on Thursday postponed its national convention because of the coronavirus, moving it from mid-July to mid-August.... The convention will still be held in Milwaukee, as planned, the week of Aug. 17, officials said, a week before Republicans plan to gather in Charlotte, N.C., to renominate President Trump." A TPM story is here.

"A Textbook Propaganda Campaign. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "A review of hundreds of hours of programming and social media traffic from Jan. 1 through mid-March -- when the White House started urging people to stay home and limit their exposure to others -- shows that doubt, cynicism and misinformation about the virus took root among many of Mr. Trump's boosters in the right-wing media as the number of confirmed cases in the United States grew. It was during this lull -- before the human and economic toll became undeniable -- when the story of the coronavirus among the president's most stalwart defenders evolved into the kind of us-versus-them clash that Mr. Trump has waged for much of his life. Now, with the nation's economic and physical health in clear peril, Mr. Trump and many of his allies on the airwaves and online are blaming familiar enemies in the Democratic Party and the news media."

Maggie Haberman & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "President Trump’s campaign is demanding that Jeff Sessions, the former Attorney General, stop attaching himself to the president in his effort to win back his old Senate seat in Alabama, after Mr. Sessions distributed a campaign mailer that mentioned the president 22 times. In an unusual letter to the Sessions campaign, which was obtained by The New York Times, the Trump campaign called Mr. Sessions' claim that he is the president's top supporter 'delusional.'... Mr. Trump has endorsed Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach, over Mr. Sessions in the runoff to be the Republican nominee taking on the incumbent Democrat, Senator Doug Jones, in the fall. The runoff is currently scheduled for July 14." The Hill has a summary story here.

DeSantis Wins Pandering Prize. And It's a Killer. Sebastian Murdock of the Huffington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) undercut his own stay-at-home order by exempting religious services from that necessary step to slow the spread of the coronavirus.... If the governor had finally decided to take the threat seriously, his order carved out a large exception for religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and other houses of worship, which are deemed to be 'essential business' and thus exempt from the stay-at-home mandate."

Anneken Tappe of CNN: "The last three weeks have marked one of the most devastating periods in history for the American job market, as first-time claims for unemployment benefits have surged more than 3,000% since early March.... 6.6 million US workers filed for their first week of unemployment benefits in the week ending March 28 -- a new historic high.That was far greater than economists had expected.... Unemployment claims at this level suggest a severe job market decline hardly any American alive has ever seen in their lifetimes." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' business updates are here. "More than 6.6 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, setting a grim record for the second straight week. The latest claims brought the two-week total to nearly 10 million. The speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent. Until last month, the worst week for unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.

"Oil prices spiked, lifting shares of energy companies, after President Trump said on Thursday that he expected the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia to announce oil production cuts."

James Glanz, et al., of the New York Times: "Stay-at-home orders have nearly halted travel for most Americans, but people in Florida, the Southeast and other places that waited to enact such orders have continued to travel widely, potentially exposing more people as the coronavirus outbreak accelerates, according to an analysis of cellphone location data by The New York Times." Mrs. McC: The maps & charts that are part of this report paint a damning picture of bad behavior by people living in confederate states.

Mrs. McCrabbie: I believe it was safari who was wondering a few days ago whatever had happened to "presidential advisor" Ivanka Trump. Well, now we know. She is putting her valuable time to good use for the American people! ~~~

~~~ Tasos Kokkinidis of the Greek Reporter: "... Ivanka Trump said Tuesday she's mostly working from home during the coronavirus outbreak while also caring for her three children, learning to play guitar -- and now studying Greek mythology. Ms. Trump said she has been using the time 'to expand my own mind and explore things I normally wouldn't have prioritized.' That includes free online courses in Greek and Roman mythology, and learning to play the guitar."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: It's always heartening when a big movie star takes time out to (write and) read a children's book filled with sage advice to help us out during these trying times. So gather the little kiddies around (or perhaps keep them at a distance of 6 feet), explain bleeps to them, and enjoy! Thanks to -- well, a lot of people -- for the link(s):

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. "The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases edged toward 1 million and deaths neared 50,000 as the outbreak continued to hit the United States, Italy, France and Spain especially hard. Elsewhere, officials battled to maintain earlier successes in the fight against the novel coronavirus, weighing the desire to resume normal business operations against the risk of triggering new cases.... In China, a county of 600,000 people in Henan province has been placed on lockdown, illustrating the dangers of declaring victory too soon as authorities grow anxious to restart economic activity without unleashing a new wave of infections."

Mrs. McCrabbie: One central thing to remember about the coronavirus crisis is that Trump is not only incompetent to handle it, he also is actively & purposely obstructing mitigation of the disease. An ancillary thing to remember is that reporters can't get their heads around this. The writer who best conveys this today is ~~~

~~~ ** Ryan Cooper of the Week: "President Trump is finally starting to take the novel coronavirus pandemic seriously, America's top political reporters inform us.... Have these people been locked in a bunker for the past three years?... To begin with, Trump has still not taken the kind of sweeping action that would put force behind this new 'serious' pose. He has not demanded recalcitrant Republican governors implement lockdowns to keep the virus from spreading.... He has refused to re-open ObamaCare enrollment.... He has not used Defense Production Act powers to take control of the medical supply chain.... He has not demanded Congress set up remote voting measures so they can pass more vitally-needed legislation. In other words, Trump is continuing to botch the coronavirus response just as he has from the start.... And that is because of who Trump is: by far the most ignorant, deluded, shameless, and incompetent person ever to serve as president.... But the sheer enormity of the Trump presidency -- the world's most powerful office being filled by a gormless reality-TV halfwit -- clearly cannot fit into the minds of America's important political reporters."

Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "As state governors pleaded with the administration help them battle the outbreak, there was a race within the White House to convince Trump to back off his Easter deadline to reopen the economy, according to a report from Vanity Fair.... The aftermath of Trump's hasty deadline 'consumed the West Wing during the critical week that governors were pleading with the White House to deliver medical supplies before hospital systems began to collapse,' [Gabriel] Sherman [of Vanity Fair] writes. 'Dr. Fauci, Senator Lindsey Graham, and others raced to convince Trump that an Easter opening would be a cataclysmic error that could cost millions of lives.'... Read Sherman's report over at Vanity Fair." ~~~

~~~ Steve M. republishes another aspect of Sherman's report. Steve comments: "According to Vanity Fair's Gabriel Sherman, Donald Trump is so serious about being a 'wartime president' that he's ... replicated the backstabbing chaos of the 2017 White House.... We're in a once-in-a-century crisis and this is what's going on in the White House: battles for power, power vacuums where power should reside, duplicate and conflicting centers of power, and the president relying primarily on people who came to the job with exactly zero expertise relevant to the current crisis."

From the Washington Post's live coronavirus updates for Wednesday: "Vice President Pence issued a dire prediction of the spread of the coronavirus, saying Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, 'may be the most comparable area to the United States at this point.'... Italian officials on Wednesday reported 727 new deaths, with the fatality rate slowing but raising the nation's toll to 13,155, highest in the world." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Betsy Klein, et al., of CNN: "Vice President Mike Pence sought to cast blame on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and China Wednesday when asked why the US was so late in understanding the enormity of the coronavirus pandemic.... The vice president denied Trump had minimized the crisis early on, despite repeated statements casting the virus as a problem that would be easily solved. 'I don't believe the President has ever belittled the threat of the coronavirus,' Pence said.... US health officials from the CDC took active steps starting in January to prepare for the outbreak as information trickled out of China. Members of Trump's Cabinet also got involved and started briefing lawmakers. While public health officials and medical experts raised the alarm, Trump downplayed their concerns and injected controversial and unproven theories into the conversation." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Chait: "The term 'Orwellian' has been cheapened over the years, but this lie absolutely fits the tradition of 'we have always been at war with Eastasia.'... There's a pretty good chance Trump will start downplaying the virus again, when he grows impatient with waiting it out and decides to listen to Larry Kudlow again. And when the next turn happens, Pence will be there to shake his head vigorously and deny Trump ever took any positio other than the current party line."

Here's Another Reason We're Doomed. Adam Cancryn & Dan Diamond of Politico: "... Jared Kushner has emerged as perhaps the most pivotal figure in the national fight against the fast-growing pandemic. What started two-and-a-half weeks ago as an effort to utilize the private sector to fix early testing failures has become an all-encompassing portfolio for Kushner, who, alongside a kitchen cabinet of outside experts including his former roommate and a suite of McKinsey consultants, has taken charge of the most important challenges facing the federal government: Expanding test access, ramping up industry production of needed medical supplies, and figuring out how to get those supplies to key locations.... The crisis response team built by the president's son-in-law is distinct from the White House task force led by Pence, and has adopted an all-out, ad-hoc attitude toward beating back the coronavirus pandemic, heedless of normal government boundaries and, to some extent, conflicts of interest." Akhilleus has something to say about Kushner, et al., in today's Comments.

How Trumpbots Respond to Prudent Warnings. Katie Benner & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases..., will receive enhanced personal security after receiving threats..., officials said on Wednesday. Dr. Fauci has been the Trump administration's most outspoken advocate of social distancing rules that have shuttered the nation's schools, forced businesses to close, kept people in their homes and battered the United States economy. That has made him a target of online conspiracy theorists who have accused Dr. Fauci, a longtime scientist and civil servant who has served presidents of both parties, of trying to undermine Mr. Trump during a year in which the president is fighting for re-election." ~~~

~~~ Kate Bennett & Evan Perez of CNN: "Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top medical expert on the coronavirus pandemic and a member of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force, is facing threats to his personal safety and now requires personal security from law enforcement at all times, including at his home, a source confirms to CNN." --s

From the New York Times' live coronavirus updates for Wednesday: "Speaking at his near-daily White House coronavirus briefing, President Trump said on Wednesday that he still has no plans to institute a national 'stay at home' order that would apply in states whose governors have not mandated strict social distancing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So Wednesday, Trump lined up his AG, Defense Secretary, his National Security Advisor (I think) & a buncha brass to open his coronavirus briefing with an announcement having nothing to do with the coronavirus. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "Trump administration officials announced Wednesday that the U.S. military would send naval ships and aircraft to the Caribbean as part of an enhanced counternarcotics operation." ~~~

Reporter asks Trump a question about reports of increased domestic violence.
Trump: Mexican violence?
Reporter: Domestic violence.
Trump: Oh.
     -- Geoff Bennett of NBC News, in a tweet

Jim Acosta of CNN: "Despite White House claims that ... Donald Trump and the administration did everything right in response to the coronavirus, a source close to the task force said tougher social distancing measures implemented earlier in the pandemic could have blunted the severity of the current crisis.... A Trump adviser working with White House officials on messaging for the pandemic response said Trump 'took a gamble' that warmer weather would cause the virus to dissipate, siding with aides who were pushing back on the dire warnings coming from doctors on the coronavirus task force....The adviser said the President took a gamble 'and got it wrong' in reference to Trump's decision to ignore the predictions from the administration's own experts. 'He analyzed the data and opinions of experts and sided with the one that said warm weather will likely slow the virus,' the adviser added." Mrs. McC: Trump "analyzed the data"? Ha ha ha.

Department of State Press Release: "The United States is committed to the global fight against COVID-19. We are a generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action across the world, but we cannot do it alone.... As a follow-up to the March 30 phone call between President Trump and President Putin, the United States has agreed to purchase needed medical supplies, including ventilators and personal protection equipment, from Russia, which were handed over to FEMA on April 1 in New York City." --s

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The government's emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies is running low and is nearly exhausted due to the coronavirus outbreak, leaving the Trump administration and the states to compete for personal protective equipment in a freewheeling global marketplace rife with profiteering and price-gouging, according to Department of Homeland Security officials involved in the frantic acquisition effort.... Two DHS officials said the stores kept in the Department of Health and Human Service's Strategic National Stockpile are nearly gone, despite assurances from the White House that there is availability.... President Trump said during Tuesday's White House briefing that the administration has nearly 10,000 ventilators on reserve and that authorities are ready to deploy the lifesaving equipment rapidly to coronavirus hotspots in coming weeks. He also said large amounts of PPE were being shipped directly from manufacturers to hospitals. But the DHS officials said the stockpile has not been able to handle the load.

"Forbes reported that U.S. vendors have sold 280 million masks -- mostly into the export market -- and that U.S. states and local governments were outbid in the frenzy. There are few signs the Trump administration is making efforts to stop the export shipments or seize the supplies for use in U.S. hospitals, despite statements from Attorney General William P. Barr last week that U.S. wholesalers hoarding masks and other supplies would get 'a knock on your door.'" Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump has repeatedly assured Americans that the federal government is holding 10,000 ventilators in reserve to ship to the hardest-hit hospitals around the nation as they struggle to keep the most critically ill patients alive. But what federal officials have neglected to mention is that thousands more of the lifesaving devices are unavailable after the contract to maintain the government's stockpile lapsed late last summer, and a contracting dispute meant that a new firm did not begin its work until late January. By then, the coronavirus crisi was already underway.... Experts say ... they cannot be stored for lengthy periods without maintenance. So few are surprised that as the nation's hospitals scramble to pull together every usable ventilator they can find, some have come out of storage with depleted batteries, missing oxygen hoses and other issues. California recently discovered that 170 of its ventilators arrived broken, disputing the claim from the Department of Health and Human Services that all of the ventilators shipped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were ready to use." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Ellen Mitchell of the Hill (March 31): "The Pentagon has not shipped out any of the 2,000 ventilators it offered to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this month because HHS has not yet provided a shipping location, multiple outlets reported on Tuesday. Though the Defense Department had planned to deliver an initial 1,000 ventilators, HHS asked the department to wait, Lt. Gen. Giovanni Tuck, the Pentagon's top logistics official, told a small group of reporters.... Defense Secretary Mark Esper had announced two weeks ago that the Pentagon would give the deployable ventilators and 5 million respirator masks to HHS in response to the coronavirus pandemic." Mrs. McC: And who knows how many of those 2,000 ventilators are in good working order? ~~~

~~~ David Smith of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has admitted the US government's emergency stockpile of protective equipment is nearly exhausted because of the extraordinary demands of the coronavirus pandemic.... The president had urged states to 'make a deal' and buy personal protective equipment (PPE) directly from manufacturers.... But Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, has complained that Fema contributes to a bidding war between states for ventilators, likening the situation to eBay." --s

~~~ Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post (March 31): "As states across the country have pleaded for critical medical equipment from a key national stockpile, Florida has promptly received 100 percent of its first two requests -- with President Trump and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis both touting their close relationship. States including Oklahoma and Kentucky have received more of some equipment than they requested, while others such as Illinois, Massachusetts and Maine have secured only a fraction of their requests.... There's no direct evidence that Republican states are receiving more favorable treatment overall, and some GOP-led states such as Georgia have had trouble filling their requests. But Trump has contributed to the sense that politics could be a factor by publicly attacking Democratic governors who criticize his handling of the public health crisis."> Mrs. McC: "No direct evidence"?? What about this, from the same report?:

"'The president knows Florida is so important for his reelection...,' said [a White House] official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be frank. 'He pays close attention to what Florida wants.'"

Turns Out the Trump Administration Can Plan for Some Covid-19 Supplies. Marty Johnson of the Hill: "The Pentagon is looking into providing an additional 100,000 military-style body bags for civilian use, as the expected death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continues to rise. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has requested 100,000 body bags, officially called human remains pouches, and the Pentagon is looking to buy more body bags, as it dips into its stockpile of 50,000, Bloomberg reports."

Fred Imbert & Maggie Fitzgerald of CNBC: "Stocks sank on Wednesday as Wall Street kicked off the second quarter on a sour note amid concerns the coronavirus will keep the economy shut down longer than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 973.65 points lower, or 4.4%, at 20,943.51. The S&P 500 slid 4.4% to 2,470.50 along with the Nasdaq Composite, which closed at 7,360.58. The major averages hit their session lows in the final minutes of trading, with the Dow briefly falling more than 1,100 points." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Idrees Ali & Phil Stewart of Reuters: "The U.S. Navy on Wednesday declined to rule out punishing the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt [Captain Brett Crozier], who wrote a scathing letter to Navy leadership asking for stronger measures to control a coronavirus outbreak onboard." --s

Joseph Gerth of the Louisville Courier Journal: "... Mitch McConnell made a stunning admission Tuesday when he went on the 'Hugh Hewitt Show' and acknowledged that ... Donald Trump has botched the federal government's response to the coronavirus. Oh, he didn't come right out and say, 'Trump has screwed this up.' Oh heavens no.... But here's what he said in explaining how Trump responded in the early days of the pandemic: 'It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment.'... People don't make excuses for their friends who have done nothing wrong. If, in fact, Trump's response had been 'perfect' or 'great' or '10 out of 10,' McConnell would have never, ever needed to cover for misstep after misstep that has led to a lack of sufficient testing, far too few masks, respirators, face shields and gowns to protect our doctors, nurses and first responders -- and far too few ventilators as the pandemic rages." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Fred Barbash of the Washington Post: Florida "has become a coronavirus hot spot.... The number of people testing positive for covid-19 has accelerated rapidly, nearly doubling in the past four days, with 3,274 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 6,741 as of Tuesday evening.The number of people testing positive for covid-19 has accelerated rapidly, nearly doubling in the past four days, with 3,274 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 6,741 as of Tuesday evening.... On Tuesday, [Gov. Ron] DeSantis [R] said at a news conference that he had no plans to issue a statewide order because the White House had not told him to do so.... For this, he won praise from President Trump who called him 'a great governor who knows exactly what he's doing.'" Mrs. McC: Worth noting: those models Trump was touting yesterday where "only" just less than a quarter-million Americans will die from Covid-19 are predicated on the supposition that all states are under stay-at-home orders by the end of this week. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ ** UPDATE. Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Wednesday that he will sign an executive order requiring the state's residents to limit their movement outside of their homes in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. DeSantis had faced mounting pressure to issue such a directive, as at least 30 other states have issued stay-at-home orders and a number of counties in Florida have implemented their own mandates seeking to limit nonessential activities." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Another GOP Governor Embarrassed into Not Killing off Residents. Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said Wednesday he will be issuing a shelter-in-place order in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Kemp said he will sign the order Thursday and it will go into effect Friday, running through April 13. Kemp also announced all k-12 public schools will be closed throughout the rest of the school year. 'I want to encourage my fellow Georgians to hang in there, I know you are tired of this. I know you want to return to business as usual, but we must first overcome the obstacles we have in our path,' Kemp said at his briefing. Kemp reported 4,638 cases and 139 deaths statewide." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. As Rachel Maddow pointed out, it's not really Kemp's fault that he didn't issue the order sooner because he just now found out "that individuals can be infected and begin to spread coronavirus earlier than previously thought -- even if they have no symptoms. From a public health standpoint, this is a revelation and a game changer." Maybe Kemp was preoccupied trying to stop Sherman's march to the sea. Or emancipated people from voting. Whatever.

Colorado. Ernest Luning of Colorado Politics: "The El Paso County Republican Party asked in a social media post Wednesday whether its followers believe the coronavirus is a hoax meant to manipulate the public -- a suggestion that drew swift and widespread condemnation from other Republicans. 'Hello El Paso County! Do you believe that the Coronavirus is a PSYOP (Psychological Operation)? Post your answer... the definition of (PSYOP) is below,' the post read.... The Facebook post remained online only briefly, until state GOP officials asked Vickie Tonkins, the El Paso County party's chairman, to take it down.... 'I posted a question. I'm sorry people couldn't answer it,' [Tonkins] said. 'Don't get all offended.'" --s

But What Does Devin Nunes Think? Zachary Petrizzo of Mediaite: "Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) stated that it is 'overkill' for schools in his home state of Califonia to be closed in light of the coronavirus pandemic on Laura Ingraham's Fox News program late Tuesday night -- further downplaying the severity of COVID-19." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Heather Long of the Washington Post: "The Treasury announced late Wednesday that Social Security beneficiaries who typically do not file a tax return will automatically get the $1,200 payment. The announcement is a reversal from earlier in the week when the Internal Revenue Service said everyone would need to file some sort of tax return in order to qualify for the payments. Democrats and some Republicans criticized the IRS for requiring so many extra hurdles for this vulnerable population to get aid when the government already has their information on file.... More than 15 million Americans on Social Security do not file an annual tax return because their income is so low, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.... Beyond the tax-filing hurdle, millions of other Americans are realizing that they don't qualify for a coronavirus relief check."

Jeanne Sahadi of CNN provides a primer on "what small businesses need to know about the government's new forgivable loan program."

Presidential Race

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday night called for moving the Democratic National Convention from mid-July to August, making him the most prominent member of his party to say the convention must be rescheduled because of the coronavirus outbreak. 'I doubt whether the Democratic convention is going to be able to be held in mid-July, early July,' Mr. Biden told Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show.' 'I think it's going to have to move into August.'... Senior Democratic officials believe Mr. Biden would much prefer to hold a traditional convention attended by thousands as opposed to a virtual convention in which he receives the party's presidential nomination without a made-for-television event. President Trump, who like Mr. Biden hopes to have his nomination be a televised coronation, has pushed Republicans to maintain plans for their convention, which is set to take place in August in Charlotte, N.C." The Hill's story is here.

This. Is. Stupid. Alex Seitz-Wald & Shaquille Brewster of NBC News: "Wisconsin has ordered residents to stay at home, shuttered non-essential businesses, and banned 'all public and private gatherings of any number of people' -- but is still planning to proceed with an election Tuesday amid the coronavirus crisis. Every other state that was supposed to hold a presidential primary contest in late March or April has postponed their elections or switched to vote-by-mail, leaving perhaps the most critical battleground state in the country alone in a now deserted stretch of the electoral calendar. Bernie Sanders, who is to face off against Joe Biden in the election, joined calls to delay the primary Wednesday, but the state's Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders have resisted calls to move the election, prompting lawsuits, strains on election infrastructure and outcry that voters will have to choose between their health and their right to vote.... [Joe] Biden has not yet commented on whether he believes the election should proceed." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Joe vs. the Vocano. Joe 1. Volcano 0. Jonathan Chait: "President Trump, having stopped dismissing the threat of the coronavirus and calling criticism of his laggard response 'their new hoax,' has begun insisting everybody was shocked [link fixed]. 'It's something that nobody expected,' he has said. Conservative pundits have picked up this revisionist history.... 'Generalized "Trump didn't take this seriously enough!" stuff is ignoring the timeline, wherein every major Democrat didn't take it very seriously until early March either,' insists Ben Shapiro. One example of a major Democrat who took this seriously would be Joe Biden, who, as the party's presumptive presidential nominee, is arguably the major Democrat. Biden wrote an op-ed on January 27 warning that Trump had left the country unprepared to handle the coronavirus outbreak, and proposing steps to counter it. One of his main advisers, Ron Klain, wrote an op-ed making similar points five days before that."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Hospital administrators are often portrayed as heartless beancounters who care nothing for patients and everything for the bottom line. I'd like to think that's an unfair portrait of the majority of them. But then you read anecdotes like this one from Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: Healthcare workers are "superheroes [who] are at risk partly because we sometimes send them into battle without adequate personal protective equipment, or P.P.E. This should be a national scandal, and now hospitals are compounding the outrage by punishing staff members who speak up or simply try to keep themselves safe. In Bellingham, Wash., an E.R. doctor, Ming Lin, pleaded on social media for better protections for patients and the staff at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, where he had worked for 17 years. 'I do fear for my staff,' Dr. Lin warned. 'Morally, I think when you see something wrong, you have to speak out.' The hospital responded by

EU. Jennnier Rankin of the Guardian: "The European Union has weathered the storms of eurozone bailouts, the migration crisis and Brexit, but some fear coronavirus could be even more destructive. In a rare intervention Jacques Delors, the former European commission president who helped build the modern EU, broke his silence last weekend to warn that lack of solidarity posed 'a mortal danger to the European Union'." --s

Brazil. Dom Phillips of the Guardian: "Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro is facing a growing backlash over his handling of the coronavirus crisis, with the state governors responsible for more than 200 million of the country's 210 million people refusing to follow his commands over the pandemic. Bolsonaro has repeatedly played down the dangers of Covid-19 and last week urged Brazilians to get back to work.... The president has argued the damage caused by shutting down Brazil's economy will be worse than that caused by the virus, and has also suggested state governors were inflating the numbers of coronavirus victims to justify restrictive lockdown measures. But as well as facing a rebellion from regional chiefs, Bolsonaro now also appears increasingly isolated from his own cabinet." --s

Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "Through rampant overfishing, pollution and coastal destruction, humanity has inflicted severe damage on the oceans and its inhabitants for centuries. But conservation successes, while still isolated, demonstrate the remarkable resilience of the seas. The scientists [in a new major scientific review] say there is now the knowledge to create an ocean renaissance for wildlife by 2050 and with it bolster the services that the world's people rely on, from food to coastal protection to climate stability. The measures needed, including protecting large swathes of ocean, sustainable fishing and pollution controls, would cost billions of dollars a year, the scientists say, but would bring benefits 10 times as high." --s

Way Beyond the Beltway

Israel. Rosie Perper of Axios: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly shared a clip from the 2007 Hallmark mini-series 'Pandemic' and claimed it as evidence that Iran is concealing its real coronavirus death toll and is dumping dead bodies into trash piles.... Netanyahu discussed the clip during a conference call with his Cabinet ministers on Monday night, claiming that it showed Iranian soldiers loading coronavirus victims into garbage trucks and disposing of them in a ditch. Two ministers who were on the call [said] that Netanyahu claimed that his national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, had initially shown him the video." --s

News Lede

New York Times: "Ellis Marsalis, a pianist and educator who became the guiding force behind a late-20th-century resurgence in jazz, while putting four musician sons on a path to prominent careers, died on Wednesday. He was 85. The cause was complications of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, his son Branford said in a statement, which did not specify where he died. Mr. Marsalis spent decades as a working musician and teacher in New Orleans before his eldest sons, Wynton and Branford, who embodied a fresh-faced revival of traditional jazz, gained national fame in the early 1980s."

The Commentariat -- April 1, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: It's always heartening when a big movie star takes time out to (write and) read a children's book filled with sage advice for these trying times. So gather the little kiddies around, explain bleeps to them, and enjoy! Thanks to -- well, a lot of people -- for the link(s):

From the Washington Post's live coronavirus updates for Wednesday: "Vice President Pence issued a dire prediction of the spread of the coronavirus, saying Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, 'may be the most comparable area to the United States at this point.'... Italian officials on Wednesday reported 727 new deaths, with the fatality rate slowing but raising the nation's toll to 13,155, highest in the world."

From the New York Times' live coronavirus updates for Wednesday: "Speaking at his near-daily White House coronavirus briefing, President Trump said on Wednesday that he still has no plans to institute a national 'stay at home' order that would apply in states whose governors have not mandated strict social distancing."

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The government's emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies is running low and is nearly exhausted due to the coronavirus outbreak, leaving the Trump administration and the states to compete for personal protective equipment in a freewheeling global marketplace rife with profiteering and price-gouging, according to Department of Homeland Security officials involved in the frantic acquisition effort.... Two DHS officials said the stores kept in the Department of Health and Human Service's Strategic National Stockpile are nearly gone, despite assurances from the White House that there is availability.... President Trump said during Tuesday's White House briefing that the administration has nearly 10,000 ventilators on reserve and that authorities are ready to deploy the lifesaving equipment rapidly to coronavirus hotspots in coming weeks. He also said large amounts of PPE were being shipped directly from manufacturers to hospitals. But the DHS officials said the stockpile has not been able to handle the load.

"Forbes reported that U.S. vendors have sold 280 million masks -- mostly into the export market -- and that U.S. states and local governments were outbid in the frenzy. There are few signs the Trump administration is making efforts to stop the export shipments or seize the supplies for use in U.S. hospitals, despite statements from Attorney General William P. Barr last week that U.S. wholesalers hoarding masks and other supplies would get 'a knock on your door.'" Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump has repeatedly assured Americans that the federal government is holding 10,000 ventilators in reserve to ship to the hardest-hit hospitals around the nation as they struggle to keep the most critically ill patients alive. But what federal officials have neglected to mention is that thousands more of the lifesaving devices are unavailable after the contract to maintain the government's stockpile lapsed late last summer, and a contracting dispute meant that a new firm did not begin its work until late January. By then, the coronavirus crisis was already underway.... Experts say ... they cannot be stored for lengthy periods without maintenance. So few are surprised that as the nation's hospitals scramble to pull together every usable ventilator they can find, some have come out of storage with depleted batteries, missing oxygen hoses and other issues. California recently discovered that 170 of its ventilators arrived broken, disputing the claim from the Department of Health and Human Services that all of the ventilators shipped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were ready to use."

Fred Imbert & Maggie Fitzgerald of CNBC: "Stocks sank on Wednesday as Wall Street kicked off the second quarter on a sour note amid concerns the coronavirus will keep the economy shut down longer than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 973.65 points lower, or 4.4%, at 20,943.51. The S&P 500 slid 4.4% to 2,470.50 along with the Nasdaq Composite, which closed at 7,360.58. The major averages hit their session lows in the final minutes of trading, with the Dow briefly falling more than 1,100 points."

Another GOP Governor Embarrassed into Not Killing off Residents. Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said Wednesday he will be issuing a shelter-in-place order in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Kemp said he will sign the order Thursday and it will go into effect Friday, running through April 13. Kemp also announced all k-12 public schools will be closed throughout the rest of the school year. 'I want to encourage my fellow Georgians to hang in there, I know you are tired of this. I know you want to return to business as usual, but we must first overcome the obstacles we have in our path,' Kemp said at his briefing. Kemp reported 4,638 cases and 139 deaths statewide."

Joseph Gerth of the Louisville Courier Journal: "... Mitch McConnell made a stunning admission Tuesday when he went on the 'Hugh Hewitt Show' and acknowledged that ... Donald Trump has botched the federal government's response to the coronavirus. Oh, he didn't come right out and say, 'Trump has screwed this up.' Oh heavens no.... But here's what he said in explaining how Trump responded in the early days of the pandemic: 'It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment.'... People don't make excuses for their friends who have done nothing wrong. If, in fact, Trump's response had been 'perfect' or 'great' or '10 out of 10,' McConnell would have never, ever needed to cover for misstep after misstep that has led to a lack of sufficient testing, far too few masks, respirators, face shields and gowns to protect our doctors, nurses and first responders -- and far too few ventilators as the pandemic rages."

Fred Barbash of the Washington Post: Florida "has become a coronavirus hot spot.... The number of people testing positive for covid-19 has accelerated rapidly, nearly doubling in the past four days, with 3,274 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 6,741 as of Tuesday evening. The number of people testing positive for covid-19 has accelerated rapidly, nearly doubling in the past four days, with 3,274 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 6,741 as of Tuesday evening.... On Tuesday, [Gov. Ron] DeSantis [R] said at a news conference that he had no plans to issue a statewide order because the White House had not told him to do so.... For this, he won praise from President Trump who called him 'a great governor who knows exactly what he’s doing.'" Mrs. McC: Worth noting: those models Trump was touting yesterday where "only" just less than a quarter-million Americans will die from Covid-19 are predicated on the supposition that all states are under stay-at-home orders by the end of this week. ~~~

     ~~~ ** UPDATE. Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Wednesday that he will sign an executive order requiring the state's residents to limit their movement outside of their homes in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. DeSantis had faced mounting pressure to issue such a directive, as at least 30 other states have issued stay-at-home orders and a number of counties in Florida have implemented their own mandates seeking to limit nonessential activities."

This. Is. Stupid. Alex Seitz-Wald & Shaquille Brewster of NBC News: "Wisconsin has ordered residents to stay at home, shuttered non-essential businesses, and banned 'all public and private gatherings of any number of people' -- but is still planning to proceed with an election Tuesday amid the coronavirus crisis. Every other state that was supposed to hold a presidential primary contest in late March or April has postponed their elections or switched to vote-by-mail, leaving perhaps the most critical battleground state in the country alone in a now deserted stretch of the electoral calendar. Bernie Sanders, who is to face off against Joe Biden in the election, joined calls to delay the primary Wednesday, but the state's Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders have resisted calls to move the election, prompting lawsuits, strains on election infrastructure and outcry that voters will have to choose between their health and their right to vote.... [Joe] Biden has not yet commented on whether he believes the election should proceed."

What Does Devin Nunes Think? Zachary Petrizzo of Mediaite: "Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) stated that it is 'overkill' for schools in his home state of California to be closed in light of the coronavirus pandemic on Laura Ingraham's Fox News program late Tuesday night -- further downplaying the severity of COVID-19."

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of the coronavirus pandemic for Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here.

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday is here. "The top government scientists battling the coronavirus estimated Tuesday that the deadly pathogen could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans, in spite of the disruptive social distancing measures that have closed schools, banned large gatherings, limited travel and forced people to stay in their homes. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, and Dr. Deborah L. Birx, who is coordinating the coronavirus response, displayed that grim projection at the White House on Tuesday, calling it 'our real number' but pledging to do everything possible to reduce those numbers even further.... President Trump, who on Sunday extended for 30 days the government's recommendations for slowing the spread of the virus, made it clear that the data compiled by Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx convinced him that the death toll would be even higher if the restrictions on work, school, travel and social life were not taken seriously by all Americans. The data released on Tuesday was the first time that Mr. Trump's administration has officially estimated the breadth of the threat to human life from the coronavirus, and the disease it brings, known as Covid-19. In the past several weeks, Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci have resisted predicting how many people might die in the pandemic, saying that there was not enough reliable data.

"President Trump said at his daily White House coronavirus briefing that 'this is going to be a very painful, very very painful two weeks,' but that Americans will soon 'start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel.' 'I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. We're going through a very tough few weeks,' Mr. Trump said, later raising his two weeks to three. Striking perhaps his most somber tone on the subject to date, Mr. Trump said the virus is a 'great national trial unlike any we have ever faced before.'... Mr. Trump, who spent weeks downplaying the threat of the virus -- and who has retreated from his recent suggestion that social distancing could be scaled back in mid-April -- congratulated himself for projections showing that public health measures may dramatically limit the national death toll." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's main story, by Philip Rucker & William Wan, on the presser is here. ~~~

~~~ An AP story, by Aamer Madhani & others, on Tuesday's White House coronavirus briefing, is here. "It was an abrupt reversal for Trump, who spent much of last week targeting April 12 as the day he wanted to see Americans 'pack the pews' for Easter Sunday services. Trump called the data 'very sobering,' saying it was his understanding that 100,000 deaths was a minimum that would be difficult to avoid. He also sought to rewrite his past minimization of the outbreak, saying he rejected those who compared the new coronavirus to the flu -- when in fact he repeatedly did so publicly." ~~~

~~~ In the Alternative Universe of the Dear Leader. Daniel Dale, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump tried Tuesday to cast himself as the wise leader who rejected the advice of a 'group' of people who had portrayed the coronavirus as a mere flu and had argued that life should go on as normal. He did not mention that he had been the most powerful member of that group. Trump's marathon coronavirus press conference included the usual barrage of specific false claims. But it was more notable for the dishonesty of the broad story he was telling -- an audacious attempt to erase the memory of his relentless efforts to suggest the coronavirus was not a crisis.... He also made a claim that he prevented a much higher death toll, as high as 2.2 million, by taking the virus much more seriously than some other intelligent people.... 'A lot of people have said..., "Ride it out. Don't do anything, just ride it out and think of it as the flu." But it's not the flu. It's vicious,' he said. Trump himself repeatedly told Americans in January and February to think of the coronavirus as the flu.... Asked Tuesday about the period when he was downplaying the coronavirus, Trump said that, during that time, 'people didn't know that much about it, even the experts.'... Trump also accused New York on Tuesday of getting off to a 'very late start' in fighting the virus -- implicitly contrasting New York's leaders with himself.... Trump claimed that it was unknown early on how contagious the coronavirus was.... Since late January and February researchers and health experts were warning the virus was likely highly contagious." ~~~

~~~ At about a minute in, Brian Williams begins a sickening reprise of Trump's Tuesday presser:

Harry Stevens & Shelly Tan of the Washington Post: "As cases increased and stocks tumbled, the presiden's attitude toward the threat of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has evolved from casual dismissal to reluctant acknowledgment to bellicose mobilization. Below, we trace the winding path of the president's response to the virus, in his own words." ~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats reassured and inspired the nation through Depression and war. During impeachment last fall, President Trump fancied himself likewise addressing Americans 'perhaps as a fireside chat on live television.'... I have therefore taken the liberty of drafting for Trump a fireside chat for our times -- using entirely his own words. [The chat begins,] The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We have it totally under control. I'm not concerned at all. It's one person coming in from China. We pretty much shut it down. It will all work out well. We're in great shape. Doesn't spread widely at all in the United States because of the early actions that myself and my administration took. There's a chance it won't spread. It's something that we have tremendous control over.... [The chat ends,] So you're talking about 2.2 million deaths. If we could hold that down ... between 100,000 and 200,000, and we all together have done a very good job. START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!! FORD, GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!! Invoke 'P'. I want our life back again. It was nobody's fault. No, just things that happened. I don't take responsibility at all."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "... the Defense Production Act has been used to place hundreds of thousands of orders by President Trump and his administration to ensure the procurement of vital equipment, according to reports submitted to Congress and interviews with former government officials. Yet as governors and members of Congress plead with the president to use the law to force the production of ventilators and other medical equipment to combat the coronavirus pandemic, he has for weeks treated it like a 'break the glass' last resort, to be invoked only when all else fails. 'You know, we're a country not based on nationalizing our business,' Mr. Trump said earlier this month.... The law's frequent use ... has prompted those most familiar with it to question why the administration has been so hesitant to tap it for a public health emergency that as of Tuesday has killed more than 3,60 Americans and sickened 181,000. 'What's more important? Building an aircraft carrier or a frigate using priority ratings or saving a hundred thousand lives using priorities for ventilators?' said Larry Hall, who retired in August as the director of the Defense Production Act program division at [FEMA]...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'd invest in another hypocrisy meter (Trump broke my old one long ago), but in fairness to Trump, I don't think he has any idea he's used the Defense Production Act many times. Any time he may have signed a document authorizing its use, he probably considered it another manifestation of his "Article II right to do whatever I want" without understanding what he was authorizing. Who knew the government could be so complicated?

The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. "On Tuesday, the number of reported coronavirus deaths in the United States for the first time topped 800 in a day, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. The total U.S. death count exceeds 3,700, which is more than the numbers reported by China. The previous highest U.S. daily toll was more than 500. Most deaths Tuesday were in New York, where 332 people were reported dead. Michigan reported 75 deaths, New Jersey reported 69 and Louisiana reported 54. Nationwide, there were more than 24,000 new confirmed cases reported Tuesday. The new total did not include deaths from Washington, where officials are working to fix a glitch in the health department's system for tracking the outbreak.

"The [federal] Bureau of Prisons is restricting all federal inmates to their cells, with limited exceptions, for the next two weeks to try to reduce the spread of the coronavirus behind bars, authorities announced Tuesday.... Attorney General William P. Barr also directed the bureau to increase the use of home confinement for those who had already served a substantial portion of their sentence, were deemed to pose no threat and might suffer from preexisting conditions that would make them particularly vulnerable."

~~~ "Not Winning." David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "... the other three countries with the world's largest number of confirmed [coronavirus] cases -- Italy, China and Spain -- were all making significant progress at a similar point in their outbreaks. But the response in the United States has been slow and uneven.... The United States is badly behind. Both South Korea and the United States had their first confirmed case around the same day, in late January.... South Korea has suffered only about 150 deaths, one-twentieth as many as the United States." Mrs. McC: I don't think you people believed me yesterday when I linked to Leonhardt's column without posting the graph! Now do you believe Trump has established a new definition of "American exceptionalism"? (Also linked yesterday.)

Boston Globe Editors: "Catastrophic decisions in the White House have doomed the world's richest country to a season of untold suffering. The United States, long a beacon of scientific progress and medical innovation with its world-class research institutions and hospitals, is now the hub of a global pandemic that has infected at least 745,000 people and already claimed more than 35,000 lives worldwide.... Much of the profound impact [the novel coronavirus] will have here in the United States was preventable.... What we have instead is a president epically outmatched by a global pandemic.... [We] have a White House marred by corruption and incompetence, whose mixed messages roil the markets and rock their sense of security. Instead of compassion and clarity, the president, in his near-daily addresses to the nation, embodies callousness, self-concern, and a lack of compass." Mrs. McC: Not sure why this editorial came up for me -- could be a freebie, could be I'm under my limit. Anyway, it's mighty damning & worth a read if you can access it.

Cristina Alesci & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "As he was facing intense criticism for a lack of adequate testing..., Donald Trump announced in the Rose Garden in mid-March that the federal government would partner with private companies to set up drive-thru coronavirus testing sites. He invited chief executives from Target, Walgreens, Walmart and CVS to the microphone and showered them with praise over the new effort.... But the President's celebrated announcement hasn't come close to being fulfilled. While these retailers have approximately 30,000 locations combined, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that there are only five locations from these major retailers that are currently offering drive-thru testing -- and none are [is!] open to the general public." Mrs. McC: This pie-in-the-sky project was part of one of Jared Kushner's shadow side deals, so you knew from the git-go it would be a flop. But a grift with potential!

No, the Right Hand Doesn't Know What the Left Hand Is Doing. Natasha Bertrand, et al., of Politico: ">Last week, a Trump administration official working to secure much-needed protective gear for doctors and nurses in the United States ... [was] informed by the puzzled voices on the other side of the line that a U.S. shipment of the same supplies, the second of two so far, was already on its way to Bangkok. Trump aides ... immediately put the shipment on hold while they ordered a review of U.S. aid procedures.... The incidents have spurred the Pence-led coronavirus task force to scrutinize all of USAID's deliveries to countries requesting personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to fight the outbreak, according to people directly involved in the discussions.... The administration has also placed a moratorium on overseas shipments of USAID's stockpiles of protective gear and is asking that the equipment be sent to the U.S. instead, other officials said.... 'The problem is, there's not one person who's in charge of this, which is why we're instituting a review process that is led by the White House coronavirus task force,' a person directly involved with the review said."

Lena Sun & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "Federal officials debating whether to recommend that face coverings be routinely worn in public are responding to increasing evidence that infected people without symptoms can spread the coronavirus, according to internal memos provided to the White House by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Simple cloth masks that cover the mouth and nose can prevent virus transmission from such individuals when they are out buying groceries or seeking medical care, according to the memos obtained by The Washington Post. But the documents note that widespread public use of masks is not culturally accepted in the United States the way it is in many Asian countries, where face coverings helped reduce the spread of the virus. The memos were drafted in recent days by the CDC and sent to officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House coronavirus task force for consideration of masks as an additional measure to slow the pandemic." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I went to the grocery store at 6 am Tuesday, and at least half the people there -- including me -- were wearing masks or some other kind of mouth & nose covering. I found the look "culturally acceptable."

Sadly, This Is Not an April Fool's Joke. Susannah Luthi of Politico: "The Trump administration has decided against reopening Obamacare enrollment to uninsured Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, defying calls from health insurers and Democrats to create a special sign-up window amid the health crisis.... Donald Trump and administration officials recently said they were considering relaunching HealthCare.gov, the federal enrollment site, and insurers said they privately received assurances from health officials overseeing the law's marketplace. However, a White House official on Tuesday evening told Politico the administration will not reopen the site for a special enrollment period, and that the administration is 'exploring other options.'" Mrs. McC: They're just meaner than a pack of junkyard dogs.

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "New information from the IRS on Monday shines more light on what people can do to get the checks from the government as quickly as possible while many families worry about paying the bills and buying food during the coronavirus crisis that has cost millions of people their jobs. For Americans eligible for stimulus cash under the new relief law, the fastest way to receive it is to make sure they've filed a tax return for 2019 or 2018 with bank information so the government can directly deposit the money. The IRS says it will use a person's 2019 return to calculate eligibility and automatically send the money to those who qualify. If they haven't filed a 2019 return, it'll be based on the 2018 return. The agency said it would publish additional information about the new forms soon on irs.gov/coronavirus. Mrs. McC: If your income fluctuated considerably from 2018 to 2019, seems as if some strategic filing decision might be in order. (Also linked yesterday.)

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "The captain of the nuclear aircraft carrier the USS Theodore Roosevelt is begging for help while the coronavirus quickly spreads among the crew. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that between 150 and 200 sailors have tested positive for COVID-19 on the carrier of more than 4,000. Capt. Brett Crozier wrote a four-page letter begging the Navy for help while they're docked in Guam." (Also linked yesterday.)

Mitch McConnell on How to Blame Democrats for the Crisis. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blamed the Democrats' push to impeach President Trump in January for distracting the Trump administration from the threat posed by the coronavirus. 'It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment,' McConnell said in an interview on 'The Hugh Hewitt Show.'" ~~~

~~~ George Conway in a Washington Post op-ed: "There should have been shame enough ... in turning the Senate impeachment trial into a sham by refusing to hear a single live witness. But it turns out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was just getting started. On Tuesday, he added to the disgrace by claiming that impeachment distracted officials from dealing with the coronavirus..... This is gaslighting of the highest order.... The impeachment trial ended on Feb. 5. In reality, it was over before it even started, thanks in large part to McConnell. The only drama was about whether there'd be any witnesses -- and that ended on Jan. 31, when the Senate voted not to hear testimony. That left plenty of time to deal with the virus. And ... impeachment didn't consume the government. Trump managed to get to Mar-a-Lago at least four times in January and February.... He held five campaign rallies around the country during the impeachment trial.... Most importantly, impeachment didn't keep U.S. intelligence agencies from warning the president and Congress in January and February about the danger of the virus.... The problem wasn't impeachment -- it was the president."

Tia Mitchell & Chris Joyner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler's [R-Ga.] most recent financial disclosures show that millions of dollars in stocks were sold on her behalf at the same time Congress was dealing with the impact of the coronavirus. The largest transactions -- and the most politically problematic -- involve $18.7 million in sales of Intercontinental Exchange stock in three separate deals dated Feb. 26 and March 11. Loeffler is a former executive with ICE, and her husband, Jeff Sprecher, is the CEO of the company, which owns the New York Stock Exchange among other financial marketplaces. During the same time period reflected on reports filed late Tuesday, the couple also sold shares in retail stores such as Lululemon and T.J. Maxx and invested in a company that makes COVID-19 protective garments.... Previous reports -- which have put Loeffler in the national spotlight -- covered her trading during [only] the first six weeks of 2020.... The newer stock sales came as the broader markets were diving, and they are likely to fuel allegations that Georgia's new senator used her insider knowledge about the severity of the pandemic to dump holdings while simultaneously releasing statements about the strength of the American economy and complimenting ... Donald Trump on his response. The STOCK Act, a law that went into effect in 2012, makes it illegal for senators to use inside information for financial gain."

From the Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday: "New York City's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic passed 1,000 on Tuesday, according to the city health department, as officials warned that it could be nearly another week before the outbreak peaked.... Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Tuesday pleaded with President Trump to send thousands more ventilators to treat people with severe cases of covid-19, and called on oral surgeons, plastic surgeons and veterinarians to offer up their devices as well.

"Louisiana reported by far its largest number of new coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period Tuesday afternoon, with reported infections and deaths each jumping about 30 percent, as state leaders renewed calls for residents to comply with social distancing rules, and crackdowns on violators continued.

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is in regular communication with the White House's coronavirus task force and that, to this point, it has not recommended a stay-at-home order for the state.... President Trump was asked during a White House briefing about DeSantis's comments. He dodged the question by saying that the governor 'knows exactly what he's doing' and punted to Vice President Pence." ~~~

~~~ Actually, DeSantis Doesn't Seem to Know Exactly What He's Doing. ... Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau: "Ali Mokdad, a professor at the University of Washington ... [and] an epidemiologist advising the White House..., told the Herald/Times that he told DeSantis' surgeon general, Scott Rivkees, that the state should issue a blanket stay-at-home order mandating the closure of non-essential businesses and social distance to slow the spread of the coronavirus. DeSantis expressed surprise about the [Herald/Times] story, which had been published Tuesday hours before his news conference. 'Who recommended that?' he asked the reporter. After given more explanation, DeSantis said he has heard no such direction from anyone with the White House Task force team."

Jeremy Stahl of Slate: "While the federal response [to the pandemic] led by ... Donald Trump largely sought to keep the public in the dark about the extent of the crisis, [New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo's briefings are hailed as the most reliable source of public information in the country. But in recent days, it's become clearer and clearer that Cuomo's initial response to the crisis lagged behind that of some of his fellow Democratic governors -- most notably Washington's Jay Inslee and California's Gavin Newsom. Newsom and Inslee both reacted more swiftly and forcefully to the crisis in ways that are saving lives on the West Coast...."

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Tennis courts in Queens that are part of the U.S. Open complex will reportedly be turned into temporary hospitals as New York City works to relieve pressure on medical centers struggling to manage an influx of patients due to the coronavirus pandemic. An indoor training area at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is expected to house 350 medical beds starting Tuesday, a USTA spokesman told The Wall Street Journal." (Also linked yesterday.)

Some Setbacks for Misogynists. Alice Ollstein of Politico: "Federal judges on Monday lifted restrictions Texas, Ohio and Alabama imposed on abortion during the coronavirus pandemic in decisions that could have repercussions for several more Republican-led states that have deemed the procedure non-essential during the crisis.... Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma are among the other states that recently moved to suspend access to the procedure as the pandemic intensified, arguing it would preserve desperately needed medical supplies." (Also linked yesterday.)

Bethany Biron of Business Insider: "As Hobby Lobby continues its mission to keep doors open in the face of the coronavirus, the arts-and-crafts retailer is quietly reopening stores around the country, defying states' stay-at-home policies. On Monday, the company resumed business in several states where it had been forced to temporarily close. A March 28 memo obtained by Business Insider equipped managers with talking points for 'how to respond and communicate if visited by a local authority that asks why we are open.' In a separate leaked note sent last week, executives wrote that the company 'is going to make every effort to continue working the employees.' The reopenings include stores in Ohio and Wisconsin -- which both enacted strict shelter-in-place orders on March 24 -- where nearly all Hobby Lobby locations have been reopened after shuttering for only one week.... Elsewhere, in states such as Colorado and North Carolina -- which enacted stay-at-home protocols in the past few days -- Hobby Lobby is avoiding shutting down altogether, insisting it is 'essential' because it sells educational materials and products for home-based businesses."~~~

     ~~~ BUT, But, how could this be? Hobby Lobby is a totally "Christian company" dedicated to "Christian principles" and rabid advocates for "life." Of course the company does seem to think you should knit or tat instead of having sex for any reason other than procreation, making crafts supplies "essential."

Brian Stelter of CNN: "CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Covid-19. He is feeling well, and will continue to anchor his 9 p.m. program ... from his home.... 'I have been exposed to people in recent days who have subsequently tested positive and I had fevers, chills and shortness of breath,' he wrote [on Twitter].... Cuomo was most recently at CNN's offices in the Hudson Yards neighborhood of New York City last Friday. He anchored from his home on Monday, and interviewed his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo."

Alexandra Petri of the New York Times: At the prompting of [Gui] Cavalcanti -- "the founder of the Open Source COVID19 Medical Supplies, a Facebook group that is crowdsourcing solutions to address the diminishing stock of medical equipment around the world -- ... the world's open-source enthusiasts have banded together to dig up and catalog blueprints of critical do-it-yourself gear and tools that can save lives. Mr. Cavalcant ... initially intended to focus on ventilators. A front-line surgeon in the Bay Area convinced him to go after the low-hanging fruit: sanitizer, gloves, gowns and masks for medical professionals. Stacks of ventilators wouldn't do the public any good if there were no health care workers to operate them.... In just over two weeks, the Facebook group has grown to nearly 50,000 people. Members share their designs or mock-ups for various pieces of equipment, and offer moral support and encouragement." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Yes, There Are Leaders Worse Than Trump

(1) Joanna Kakissis of NPR: "The Central Asian country of Turkmenistan claims it has no coronavirus cases. But if you happen to utter the word 'coronavirus' while waiting, say, for the bus in the white-marbled capital Ashgabat, there's a good chance you'll be arrested. That's because the Turkmen government, run since 2006 by the flamboyant dentist-rapper strongman Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has reportedly banned the word, according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF)."

(2) From today's New York Times live coronavirus updates: "Putting even more pressure on a news media sector already under assault by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's Supreme Court released an order Tuesday night requiring news organizations to publish everything that the government says about the coronavirus.... Anyone who creates a panic can be punished by up to a year in jail, the court said. The Indian ruling echoes the actions of other governments, who have used the pandemic as a pretext to grab power or impose authoritarian restrictions.

"Global desperation to protect front-line medical workers battling the coronavirus epidemic has spurred a mad international scramble for masks and other protective gear. Governments, hospital chains, clinics and entrepreneurs are scouring the world for personal protection equipment they can buy or sell -- and a new type of trader has sprung up to make that happen. The market has become a series of hasty deals in bars, sudden calls to corporate jet pilots and fast-moving wire transfers among bank accounts in Hong Kong, the United States, Europe and the Caribbean.... Wholesale costs for N95 respirators, a crucial type of mask for protecting medical workers, have quintupled. Trans-Pacific airfreight charges have tripled. 'It's a global free-for-all, trying to get capacity,' said Eric Jantzen, the vice president for North America at Vertis Aviation, an aircraft and air cargo brokerage based in Zurich. 'And the prices reflect that.'"