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Monday

Mar232020

The Commentariat -- March 24, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Wowza! Fred Imbert & Thomas Franck of CNBC: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared on Tuesday, logging its best day in 87 years as investors bet U.S. lawmakers would deliver soon a stimulus bill to rescue the economy from the damage caused by the coronavirus and shutdowns designed to stop its spread. It was a historic bounce coming amid a historic sell-off. The 30-stock average closed 2,112.98 points higher -- or more than 11% -- at 20,704.91, notching its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933. The S&P 500 rallied 9.4% to 2,447.33 for its best day since October 2008. The Nasdaq Composite surged 8.1% to 7,417.86, its best day since March 13. Both the Dow and S&P 500 rebound off their lowest levels since late 2016."

Cross of Gold. Quint Forgey, et al., of Politico: "Top Trump administration officials on Tuesday signaled that they were already laying the groundwork to reopen the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic -- a task that ... Donald Trump revealed he would like to accomplish by mid-April. 'I'd love to have it open by Easter, OK? I would love to have it open by Easter. I will tell you that right now,' Trump said from the White House Rose Garden, where he and members of the administration's coronavirus task force participated in a virtual town hall on Fox News. 'It's such an important day for other reasons, but I'll make it an important day for this, too,' he added. 'I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.' [April 12] Trump's comments came hours after Vice President Mike Pence told conservative leaders on a private call that White House aides were discussing ways to encourage businesses to reopen and healthy Americans to return to work at the end of the current 15-day period, during which administration officials have asked Americans to avoid social gatherings with more than 10 people and stay home as much as possible." ~~~

~~~ Robert Schlesinger in an NBC News opinion piece: Explicitly cutting against health experts' advice, Trump is embracing the chic new philosophy of the economic right: Death happens, live with it.... This might be Trump's greatest pivot yet: turning the self-anointed pro-life party into one of death-tolerance. It's true that all public policy involves some level of cost-benefit analysis, but few people really think Trump is capable of such nuance. Even if he were, how could we really analyze those costs? We haven't taken the infection curve's measure, let alone started to bend it.... The Donald Trump who [briefly] pivoted and took coronavirus seriously was never long for this world. He remains saddled with the problems that made him dangerously insufficient to the challenges in the first place, including a lack of credibility that compounds at the geometric rate of the virus itself, a baseless and bottomless self-certainty and a child-like impatience.... The now-daily news conferences that seem to be the main result of his turn as a 'wartime president' have only spun up the pace of his bunkum...." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Schlesinger believes the only hope is that Trump still has a week to "pivot back" to taking a responsible position. I suspect the only way that will happen is if Trump himself gets at least a mild case of Covid-19. I don't wish anyone ill health, but this would be a good time for Trump to get a hacking cough that nearly takes his breath away.

~~"Ill Be the Oversight."~~ Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House has agreed to allow enhanced scrutiny over a massive loan program that is a centerpiece of the Senate's $2 trillion coronavirus economic package, two people briefed on the discussions said, taking steps to address a major Democratic concern and potentially pave the way for a vote by Tuesday night.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also struck a positive tone in remarks on the Senate floor, in a marked shift from days of bitter partisan wrangling...."

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump has praised Dr. Anthony S. Fauci as a 'major television star.' He has tried to demonstrate that the administration is giving him free rein to speak. And he has deferred to Dr. Fauci's opinion several times at the coronavirus task force's televised briefings. But Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, has grown bolder in correcting the president's falsehoods and overly rosy statements about the spread of the coronavirus in the past two weeks -- and he has become a hero to the president's critics because of it. And now, Mr. Trump's patience has started to wear thin." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Actually, the first sign that Trump's patience with Fauci has worn thin was when Trump called Fauci a "major television star." Trump squirms when his underlings appear to outshine him. Trump fired Steve Bannon not long after Bannon starred on the cover of Time.

First, Kill All the Old Folks. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Everyone is talking about Dan Patrick's on-air death plea. Patrick, the lieutenant governor of Texas, touched off an outpouring of anger when he declared to Tucker Carlson that people like him -- grandparents in their twilight years -- should risk death so people can stop social distancing to avert economic calamity.... Patrick's plea to Carlson was inspired by Trump himself. As Patrick noted, his 'heart is lifted' by Trump's suggestion that it might be time to go back to work.... It captures something essential about President Trump.... Right now, Trump is actively considering relaxing federal recommendations on social distancing. As Trump put it, 'we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.' Health experts are screaming warnings.... Trump may have adopted the idea that 'the cure is worse than the disease' almost verbatim from a segment on Fox News, which has pushed this line relentlessly.... Trump would not put it quite [the] way [Patrick does]. But this, at bottom, is what he's asking us to accept." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry, Greg, I see no indication Fat Old Grandpa Donald is willing to sacrifice himself for the kids & the economy.

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Jabari Young of CNBC: "The International Olympic Committee postponed the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, officials announced Tuesday. The event was scheduled to start July 24 in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday he and the head of the International Olympic Committee agreed to delay the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo for about a year. The games will take place 'no later than summer 2021,' according to a statement from the IOC."

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. From the WashPo updates:

London: "In an address to the nation on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered Brits to stay at home,' while outlining strict measures that would only allow people to leave their homes to exercise, shop for essential items and travel to and from work 'where absolutely necessary.' But on Tuesday, confusion continued to swirl. Photos on social media showed people sandwiched together in subway carriages as many still attempted to travel across the city to get to work. The photos raised questions about how the government intends to support those who are self-employed and sparked debate over who should still be going into the workplace."

This will CHILL every Democrat on the Hill being asked to vote for the Phase 3 stimulus package: 'I'll be the oversight,' Trump says. Remember, last night the president would not rule out stuffing his own pockets with taxpayer bailout money for his private hotels. -- James Hohmann, in a tweet, Monday (thanks to NiskyGuy for the lead) ~~~

~~~ From Monday's New York Times' live updates on coronavirus developments: "President Trump, in a nearly two-hour coronavirus briefing, hinted on Monday that the economic shutdown meant to halt the spread of the virus across the country would not be extended. 'Our country wasn't built to be shut down,' he said. 'America will again and soon be open for business,' the president added, without providing a timeline for when he believes normal economic activity could resume.... He later added, 'I'm not looking at months, I can tell you right now.'... He compared deaths from the novel coronavirus so far to deaths from other causes -- influenza and car accidents.... Estimates from ... scientists place the potential deaths in a range from several hundred thousand to several million deaths, substantially more than annual deaths from car accidents and flu combined.... Mr. Trump continued to push two traditional malaria medications, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, in combination with a common antibiotic, azithromycin, as a treatment for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, despite caution by the government's top doctors.... A hospital system in Arizona reported on Monday that a man died and his wife was in critical condition after the couple self-medicated with chloroquine." ~~~

~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "As he watches stock prices plummet and braces for an expected surge in unemployment, Trump has received urgent pleas from rattled business leaders, Republican lawmakers and conservative economists imploring him to remove some of the stringent social distancing guidelines that he put in place for a 15-day period ending March 30, according to several people with knowledge of the internal deliberations. . [At his press briefing Monday, ] Trump predicted 'we're going to be opening our country' in a shorter time frame than months.... Trump drew parallels to the flu season, which he said was on pace to be responsible for the deaths of some 50,000 Americans, as well as to car crashes -- comparisons that [Anthony] Fauci and other experts have dismissed as examples of false equivalency.... Democrats criticized Trump for his scattershot messaging. 'He's a notion-monger, just tossing out things that have no relationship to a well-coordinated science-based government-wide response to this,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said." The story is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

~~~ Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Monday said he is considering scaling back steps to constrain the spread of the coronavirus in the next week or two because of concerns that the impact on the economy has become too severe. But loosening restrictions on social distancing and similar measures soon probably would require him to override the internal warnings of senior U.S. health officials, including Anthony S. Fauci, who have said that the United States has not yet felt the worst of the pandemic, according to several people with knowledge of the internal deliberations." The story is free to nonsubscribers. Mrs. McC: I don't think Fauci attended Monday's briefing.

~~~ Myah Ward of Politico: "The White House Correspondents Association on Monday said a reporter who was at the White House multiple times over the last two weeks is suspected to have coronavirus, according to an email from the organization. The reporter was at the White House on March 9, 11, 16 and 18, and the WHCA is encouraging all journalists present at the White House during those days to 'review public health guidance, consult their medical professionals and take the appropriate next steps.... We ask again that all members who can stay home or work remotely please do so. Please do not come to the White House if you do not have a workspace or an assigned seat on that day. And please DO NOT come into the White House if you are feeling at all ill,' the statement said.... And the WHCA has issued new protocol for White House journalists, cutting the number of available press room seats in half -- leaving a half-empty briefing room as ... Donald Trump addresses the nation about the pandemic. On Monday..., the WHCA issued even stricter guidelines, cutting the seats from 25 to 14 reporters." ~~~

~~~ Jim Tankersley, et al., of the New York Times: "As the United States entered Week 2 of trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus by shuttering large swaths of the economy, President Trump, Wall Street executives and many conservative economists began questioning whether the government had gone too far and should instead lift restrictions that are already inflicting deep pain on workers and businesses. Consensus continues to grow among government leaders and health officials that the best way to defeat the virus is to order nonessential businesses to close and residents to confine themselves at home.... Relaxing those restrictions could significantly increase the death toll from the virus, public health officials warn. Many economists say there is no positive trade-off -- resuming normal activity prematurely would only strain hospitals and result in even more deaths, while exacerbating a recession that has most likely already arrived." ~~~

~~~ David Fahrenthold, et al., of the Washington Post: "Before Trump called for reevaluating lockdowns, [local officials] shuttered six of his top-earning clubs and resorts[.]... So far, the Trump Organization has closed hotels in Las Vegas; Doral, Fla.; Ireland; and Turnberry, Scotland -- as well as the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and a golf club in Bedminster, N.J.... Another of Trump's golf clubs, in Aberdeen, Scotland, appeared likely to shut down soon, after an order from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that 'nonessential' shops should close and that people should leave home only to buy food, buy medicine or exercise alone. Even the Trump properties that remain open have been sharply affected: In Chicago, New York and Washington, the restaurants have closed, cutting off a key source of revenue."

Tucker Higgins of CNBC: "... Donald Trump on Monday unleashed a barrage of posts spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, chastising the World Health Organization for its early messaging, attacking his political enemies and the media, and promoting a dubious article that suggested a miracle cure was at hand.... The president ... retweeted, or posted to his own account, a number of replies, including one from a man named Chuck Callesto, who is identified as a 'Digital Real Estate Manager,' promoting a possible cure. 'They should take a SERIOUS LOOK at this...' Callesto wrote in the tweet posted to the president's account, with a link to a story with the headline 'REPORT: French Doctor Reports 100 % Cure Rate Using Malaria Drug to Treat Corona Virus.' There is no known cure or treatment for coronavirus, though scammers have sought to cash in on the panic it has caused.... In other messages, including tweets and retweets, the president attacked former Vice President Joe Biden..., as well as The New York Times, the WHO, and China, which he suggested was manipulating health data."

Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "... as the coronavirus crisis threatens his presidency, and upends his campaign for reelection, Trump is rapidly losing patience with the medical professionals who have made the case day after day that the only way to prevent a catastrophic loss of life is to essentially shut down the country -- to minimize transmission and 'flatten the curve' so hospitals aren't overwhelmed with critical patients. The president also has been furious that his efforts to halt the harrowing drop in the stock market have so far proven ineffective. He has been calling friends and economists at all hours and berated aides and reporters who try to persuade him to recognize the severity of the outbreak."

David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's refusal to invoke the Defense Production Act to commandeer resources for the federal government is based on a bet that he can cajole the nation's biggest manufacturers and tech firms to come together in a market-driven, if chaotic, consortium that will deliver critical equipment -- from masks to ventilators -- in time to abate a national crisis. Over the past five days, after weeks of minimizing the virus and dismissing calls to organize a national response, administration officials have been pulling executives into the White House Situation Room, and connecting them by phone, in a desperate effort to unlock existing supplies and ramp up new production.... But it is far from clear that the effort to enlist companies like General Motors, Apple and Hanes, just a few of the firms that have promised to free up existing supplies of masks or repurpose 3-D printers to produce ventilator parts, constitutes an effective strategy.... The White House has not said who will set the priority list for deliveries. And it is not clear that any of it will arrive in time for the cities and the states that are hit the hardest, including New York....

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the heads of major corporations have lobbied the administration against using the act. They say the move could prove counterproductive, imposing red tape on companies precisely when they need flexibility to deal with closed borders and shuttered factories. Mr. Trump and the director of his national economic council, Larry Kudlow, as well as [Jared] Kushner, were persuaded by those arguments, administration officials said." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Actually, It's All About Corporate Interests. Sharon Lerner & Lee Fang of the Intercept: "[Monday] afternoon, the Food and Drug Administration granted Gilead Sciences 'orphan' drug status for its antiviral drug, remdesivir. The designation allows the pharmaceutical company to profit exclusively for seven years from the product, which is one of dozens being tested as a possible treatment for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.... Experts warn the designation, reserved for treating 'rare diseases,' could block supplies of the antiviral medication from generic drug manufacturers and provide a lucrative windfall for Gilead Sciences.... But a loophole [in the 1983 Orphan Drug Act] allows drugs that treat more common illnesses to be classified as orphans if the designation is given before the disease ... affect[s] ... 200,000 people in the U.S.... [Gilead] maintains close ties with ... Donald Trump's task force for controlling the coronavirus crisis. Joe Grogan, who serves on the White House coronavirus task force, lobbied for Gilead from 2011 to 2017 on issues including the pricing of pharmaceuticals.... [Monday], Gilead abruptly announced that it would no longer provide emergency access to remdesivir, telling the New York Times that 'overwhelming demand' left it unable to process requests for the drug through its compassionate use program. Hours later, the Food and Drug Administration gave the drug orphan status. Almost immediately, Gilead's stock price shot up." Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ Tom Krisher & Hope Yen of the AP: "... Donald Trump is falsely asserting how quickly automakers including GM, Ford and Tesla can manufacture ventilators to help fill an acute U.S. shortage of the medical equipment for coronavirus patients. Ford and GM have yet to start production, and it would take them months, if not longer, to begin production, if it's even possible. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Thomas Fuller, et al., of the New York Times: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that California would be short about 17,000 hospital beds, raising his previous estimate of a 10,000-bed shortfall. The state was also short 1 billion protective gloves and hundreds of millions of masks, he said. And the pace of testing remains stubbornly slow in California. New York State, with half the population, has conducted twice as many tests for the virus as the Golden State.... Mr. Newsom said the state was ... chartering flights to China to procure protective equipment and expressed concern for smaller states that might not have the same purchasing power. Warning that America could be just days behind Italy, where the virus has claimed thousands of lives, officials in California have rushed to reopen hospitals that had been shuttered, buy motels to house the state's more than 150,000 homeless people, and retrofit college dormitories to serve as hospital wards."

Fred Imbert of CNBC: "Stocks fell sharply on Monday as U.S. lawmakers failed to push through massive fiscal stimulus to curtail the economic blow from the coronavirus. Talks are ongoing, but investors believe the longer Washington waits, the greater the damage to the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 582.05 points lower, or down 3.1%, at 18,591.93, its lowest closing level since November 2016. The S&P 500 slid 2.9% to 2,237.40. The Nasdaq Composite was down just 0.3% at 6,860.67 as investors began making small bets on technology stocks." This is an update of a story linked earlier. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Have Press, Will Print. Neil Irwin of the New York Times: "The extraordinary actions of the Federal Reserve on Monday morning can be boiled down to two sentences: There is a rapidly developing shortage of dollars across the economy. And the Fed will do anything it needs to, on any scale imaginable, to end this shortage. Its announcement was phrased in the dry bureaucratese typical of statements from a central bank. But it contains a powerful idea. The Fed, the one entity in the world with the power to create dollars out of thin air, has every intention of doing so at whatever magnitude is necessary to try to reduce the severity and limit the duration of the coronavirus economic crisis." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' market updates for Monday are here. "Investors remained focused on the political stalemate in the U.S. Senate that has slowed a rescue plan for the American economy. The S&P 500 fell more than 4 percent, even after the Fed unveiled its new bond buying program." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate leaders and the Trump administration appeared closer to reaching bipartisan agreement Monday evening on a massive stimulus bill that could inject $2 trillion into the economy to blunt the impacts of the coronavirus. After a day of partisan rancor and posturing on Capitol Hill, the outlook grew markedly more positive later in the afternoon, when offers and counteroffers were exchanged. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) convened Democrats on a conference call and told them he was hopeful about striking a deal by the end of the day, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal details.... Democratic concerns have focused on a $500 billion funding program Republicans want to create for loans and loan guarantees, with some Democrats calling it a 'slush fund' that lacks any oversight because the Treasury Department would have broad discretion over who receives the money. Asked about this Monday evening, Trump responded, 'I'll be the oversight.'"

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate on Monday failed to advance a massive coronavirus stimulus package for the second time in as many days. Senators voted 49-46, falling short of the three-fifths support necessary to move forward with a 'shell' bill, which the text of the agreement would ultimately be swapped into. Democratic Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.) broke with the party to vote in support of the measure." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

From the Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Monday: "U.S. states on Monday reported more than 100 deaths from the novel coronavirus, pushing the country's total death toll past 500 and marking the first time single-day fatalities have risen into the triple-digits since the pandemic reached U.S. soil. The virus has now claimed lives in at least 34 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and has infected more than 41,000 people nationwide, according to tracking by The Washington Post.

@12:19 pm ET: "Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Monday that her husband, John Bessler, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, has coronavirus. After sharing the news on Twitter, Klobuchar elaborated on her husband's situation during a previously planned conference call advocating vote-by-mail options in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. 'I just wanted to reiterate that one of the hardest things about this disease is he's in the hospital -- he's been there a few days -- and I can't even be by his side,' Klobuchar said. 'I think many families in America are now experiencing this and things that are much, much worse.' She said it took five days to get her husband's test back.... Klobuchar said in a statement that she and her husband have 'been in different places for the last two weeks and I am outside the 14-day period for getting sick.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Amber Phillips of the Washington Post on Rand Paul's decision to go about business as usual while he was awaiting coronavirus test results (he tested positive). There's this, for instance: "Paul had part of his lung removed last year after an attack by a neighbor. Between that and his medical background, you might think he'd be extra sensitive to the implications of spreading it. Wouldn't he understand how dangerous being around other people, including older senators, could be if there was even the remote possibility he had the virus?" Mrs. McC: Phillips doesn't say where "home" is. I assume Paul has some sort of living quarters in the D.C. area, but is that where "home" is? Or did he fly to his old Kentucky home? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: In case, like me, you thought it was probably safe to touch possibly-contaminated stuff after three days, here's a story to give you pause: ~~~

~~~ William Feuer of CNBC: "The coronavirus survived for up to 17 days aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, living far longer on surfaces than previous research has shown, according to new data published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study examined the Japanese and U.S. government efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreaks on the Carnival-owned Diamond Princess ship in Japan and the Grand Princess ship in California. Passengers and crew on both ships were quarantined on board after previous guests, who didn't have any symptoms while aboard each of the ships, tested positive for COVID-19 after landing ashore. The virus 'was identified on a variety of surfaces in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infected passengers up to 17 days after cabins were vacated on the Diamond Princess but before disinfection procedures had been conducted,' the researchers wrote, adding that the finding doesn't necessarily mean the virus spread by surface.... Researchers from the National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University previously found that COVID-19 can last up to three days on plastic and stainless steel. That study also found that the amount of the virus left on those surfaces decreased over time."

Sabrina Tavernise & Richard Oppel of the New York Times: "As the coronavirus upends American life, Chinese-Americans face a double threat. Not only are they grappling like everyone else with how to avoid the virus itself, they are also contending with growing racism in the form of verbal and physical attacks. Other Asian-Americans -- with families from Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar and other places -- are facing threats, too, lumped together with Chinese-Americans by a bigotry that does not know the difference.... Many described being yelled at in public -- a sudden spasm of hate that is reminiscent of the kind faced by Muslim-Americans and other Arabs and South Asians after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But unlike 2001, when President George W. Bush urged tolerance of Muslim-Americans, this time President Trump is using language that Asian-Americans say is inciting racist attacks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: "Wary of a long, confined spring, city dwellers are fanning out to vacation rentals, their own second homes, or anywhere else they can find.... It's an instant national ethical dilemma, exacerbating already-tense relationships between rich and poor, urban and rural, and, in the case of Hawaii, largely white outsiders and more diverse locals.... Destinations known for welcoming visitors are now closing themselves off.... Hawaii announced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all incoming travelers. Southeast Utah has prohibited lodging for nonessential visitors.... History shows that may be the correct call. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, Gunnison, Colo., erected barricades over its highways ... and quarantined anyone who entered. Neighboring towns were decimated, but Gunnison's losses were low.... So, before relocating, consider whether farther truly equals safer, especially if you'll be far from the kind of vast medical corps found in major cities, as well as friends and neighbors to count on in an emergency." ~~~

~~~ Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post writes a related story: "In recent weeks, wealthy city dwellers hoping to escape the novel coronavirus have been fleeing to their second homes, exacerbating long-standing tensions between locals and summer residents. While those from out of town feel they have the right to use property that they own and pay taxes on, year-round residents worry that the new arrivals could be carrying the disease, and that local hospitals aren't equipped to handle an outbreak.... From the Catskills to Wisconsin's Door County, communities whose economies usually revolve around seasonal visitors are now asking them to stay away. Over the weekend, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) urged people with cottages on the Jersey Shore to 'stay at your primary residences,' while Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) warned that those with property on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard should 'stay on the mainland.'"

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Ben Smith of the New York Times: "... for two crucial weeks in late February and early March, powerful Fox hosts talked about the 'real' story of the coronavirus: It was a Democratic- and media-led plot against ... Donald J. Trump. Hosts and guests, speaking to Fox's predominately elderly audience, repeatedly played down the threat of what would soon become a deadly pandemic. The person who could have stopped the flow of misinformation was ... Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of the Fox Corporation. But he wasn't paying much attention.... The most-watched news channel in America has become, since the fall of its powerful founder, Roger Ailes, much more like the Trump White House: a family business where it's not entirely clear who is in charge.... even [Lachlan's] allies told me they no longer think he has the political savvy or the operational skills his job demands." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Ben Smith: "If you were watching some of the commentators on Fox News and Fox Business in the first 10 days of March, you wouldn't have been too worried about the coronavirus -- it would be no worse than the flu, and the real story was the 'coronavirus impeachment scam. Many of the networks' elderly, pro-Trump viewers responded to the coverage and the president's public statements by taking the virus less seriously than ... everyone else had. Public health experts have said that some of them may die as a result.... But one elderly Fox News viewer ... took the threat seriously: The channel's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, who was to celebrate his 89th birthday on March 11. On March 8, as the virus was spreading, the Murdoch family called off a planned party out of concern for the patriarch's health, according to a person familiar with the cancellation.... The canceled party is perhaps the most glaring instance of the gap ... between the elite, globally minded family owners of Fox...." ~~~

~~~ Benjamin Fearnow of Newsweek: "TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz touted a 'game-changer' drug combination as a potential 'treatment' for the coronavirus Monday on Fox & Friends, and less than an hour later on the program, the U.S. Surgeon General warned viewers against seeking dubious remedies. Surgeon General Jerome Adams appeared on the Fox News morning show after Oz did, and criticized co-host Steve Doocy and the daytime TV doctor for promoting coronavirus 'treatments' that are clinically untested in the United States. Earlier in the program, Oz, who is also a Columbia University professor, gushed over a French doctor's recent tests that used a malaria treatment, a hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin combination, in hopes of finding a coronavirus treatment. Adams warned Doocy and Fox News viewers to stop talking about pursuing treatments and vaccines and to start talking about halting the current spread of COVID-19.... In a segment Oz later aired on his own Fox program Monday, he introduced the potential wonder drug to his audience." Mrs. McC: Looks as if Doc Adams is trying to get his creds back after claiming Trump was healthier than he.

Judith Mischke of Politico: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel's first coronavirus test came back negative, her spokesperson said on Monday.... A single negative test result does not necessarily mean a person is not carrying the virus, as the specimen might have been collected at a very early stage of the infection. The German chancellor is currently working from home in self-isolation after being informed late Sunday that a doctor who gave her a pneumococcal vaccination last Friday tested positive for the virus over the weekend."

Pamela Constable & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "In a sign of mounting frustration with Afghanistan's leaders, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced early Tuesday that the United States would cut $1 billion in aid to the country because of its inability to form a unity government to negotiate with the Taliban. Pompeo said that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, had failed to set aside their differences, just hours after meeting the two men in a quickly arranged visit to Kabul.... ... 'We are prepared to reduce by another $1 billion in 2021,' Pompeo said, emphasizing that the two leaders' intransigence would not delay America's withdrawal plans."

Second Circuit Upholds First Amendment v. Trump; Trumpist Judges Dissent. Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court in New York on Monday let stand a ruling that prevents President Trump from blocking critical voices from the Twitter account he uses to communicate with the public. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit denied the Trump administration's request to revisit an earlier holding that Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked individual Twitter users who were critical of the president or his polices.... Two judges, nominated to the bench by Trump, disagreed with the decision and would have reconsidered the earlier ruling."

Presidential Race

There are no primary elections today. (The NYT shows a tentatively-scheduled Republican primary in American Samoa.)

Zach Montellaro of Politico: "Bernie Sanders has won the Democrats Abroad primary, netting a handful of delegates but doing little damage to Joe Biden's big lead. Sanders won 58 percent of the vote, which included just under 40,000 Americans living abroad, and Sanders will be awarded nine delegates to the national convention over the summer, according to the release from Democrats Abroad. Biden won 23 percent of the vote and will take home four delegates." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Terrence McNally, the four-time Tony Award-winning playwright whose outpouring of work for the theater dramatized and domesticated gay life across five decades, died on Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla. He was 81. The cause was complications of the coronavirus, according to his husband, Tom Kirdahy. Mr. McNally had chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and had overcome lung cancer."

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Sunday

Mar222020

The Commentariat -- March 23, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' market updates are here. "Investors remained focused on the political stalemate in the U.S. Senate that has slowed a rescue plan for the American economy. The S&P 500 fell more than 4 percent, even after the Fed unveiled its new bond buying program."

Amber Phillips of the Washington Post on Rand Paul's decision to go about business as usual while he was awaiting coronavirus test results (he tested positive). There's this, for instance: "Paul had part of his lung removed last year after an attack by a neighbor. Between that and his medical background, you might think he'd be extra sensitive to the implications of spreading it. Wouldn't he understand how dangerous being around other people, including older senators, could be if there was even the remote possibility he had the virus?"Mrs. McC: Phillips doesn't say where "home" is. I assume Paul has living quarters in the D.C. area, but is that where "home" is? Or did he fly to his old Kentucky home?

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Ben Smith of the New York Times: “... for two crucial weeks in late February and early March, powerful Fox hosts talked about the 'real' story of the coronavirus: It was a Democratic- and media-led plot against ... Donald J. Trump. Hosts and guests, speaking to Fox's predominately elderly audience, repeatedly played down the threat of what would soon become a deadly pandemic. The person who could have stopped the flow of misinformation was ... Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of the Fox Corporation. But he wasn't paying much attention.... The most-watched news channel in America has become, since the fall of its powerful founder, Roger Ailes, much more like the Trump White House: a family business where it's not entirely clear who is in charge.... even [Lachlan's] allies told me they no longer think he has the political savvy or the operational skills his job demands."

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The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. Both are free to nonsubscribers.

Fred Imbert of CNBC: "U.S. stock futures surged on Monday, erasing steep overnight losses after the Federal Reserve unveiled new measures to keep markets working properly. Wall Street awaited Washington lawmakers to agree to an economic stimulus and rescue plan to cushion the blow from the coronavirus outbreak. As of 9:02 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up more than 400 points, or 2.4%. S&P 500 futures were up by about 2.6% Nasdaq 100 futures traded 3% higher. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF was off by 2.8% in premarket trading." This is an update of a story posted an hour earlier which read, "Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped more than 600 points. ;S&P 500 futures were off by about 3.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures declined by 2.8%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF was off by 3% in premarket trading." CNBC's live market updates are here. ~~~

~~~ Sylvan Lane of the Hill: "The Federal Reserve on Monday announced a drastic expansion of its efforts to bolster the U.S. economy and stabilize financial markets plunging due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets Fed monetary policy, announced Monday it would purchase an unlimited amount of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities and open three new facilities to purchase corporate and municipal debt. The moves are the Fed&'s latest steps down a path of unprecedented intervention in the U.S. economy, intended to keep credit flowing to households and businesses amid an economic calamity caused by the coronavirus pandemic."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) attempt to set up a Monday morning vote on the stimulus package, effectively delaying the vote until the afternoon. McConnell had vowed earlier Sunday that he would force a second procedural vote related to the stimulus package at 9:45 a.m., 15 minutes after the markets open. But when McConnell tried to lock in that time, Schumer objected, denying the GOP leader the consent he needed to enact his plan."

Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats blocked a massive coronavirus stimulus bill from moving forward Sunday as partisan disputes raged over the legislation that's aimed at arresting the economy's precipitous decline. Lawmakers had hoped to pass a massive $1.8 trillion bill by Monday but Sunday night they were scrambling to revive talks, with the stock market poised for another sharp drop and households and businesses fretting about an uncertain future. Negotiations continued even as the initial procedural vote fell short, with 47 senators voting in favor and 47 opposed. The tally was well short of the 60 votes that were needed to move forward. The number of 'aye' votes was especially low because five Republicans are quarantined over coronavirus fears.... 'The legislation had many, many problems,' Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. 'At the top of the list, it included a large corporate bailout provision with no protections for workers, and virtually no oversight.'" The article is free for nonsubscribers. (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Congressional lawmakers are feuding over a central component of the massive economic relief package being debated by the Senate..., in part because the Treasury Department would have broad discretion over where the mone would go. President Trump already has said he wants the money to be used to rescue the cruise ship and hotel industries..., but at a press conference on Sunday refused to say whether his own hotel properties would apply for the funding. 'There's too much money with no oversight,' Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) told reporters Sunday.... Democratic lawmakers and labor groups say the GOP plan amounts to a 'corporate bailout' that could reward business recklessness and hurt workers. Democratic leadership has demanded funding for corporations include protections related to workers, such as ensuring their job security and health care, pensions, and 401(k) contributions, as well as prohibitions on discharging their collective bargaining agreements." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: IOW, this is sort of Munchkin's Syndrome by Proxy. Giving complete discretion to Mnuchin is the same as giving complete discretion to the man who has no discretion at all: Donald Trump. Do you think Mnuchin will say "no," when Donnie Junior phones up with an ask for billions of dollars to bail out the underwater Trump resorts? Ha!

~~~ ** Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) was on MSNBC & described the bill that failed as "the worst of the worst" massive slush fund, which authorized Mnuchin & Trump to dole out money to whomever they chose without revealing who the recipients were, without restrictions on executive bonuses & stockholder dividends, and with no protections for workers. Merkley said at the last minute McConnell stripped out restrictions & conditions to create this Trumperiffic slush fund. ~~~

~~~ Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that House Democrats would draft their own coronavirus stimulus bill after all sides failed to reach a deal on a massive proposal being negotiated in the Senate." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sarah Ladd of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Sen. Rand Paul has tested positive for the coronavirus, he announced on Twitter Sunday. 'Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19,' Paul wrote on Twitter. 'He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events. He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.'... According to the tweet, no staff has had contact with Paul since his D.C. office began working remotely 10 days ago." Mrs. McC: I wonder if this means Randy won't be able to vote against the trazillion-dollar stimulus package Congress is negotiating, as he did against the last relief bill, a vote he also delayed so he could grandstand a nonsense amendment. Also nice he could get a test even tho he's asymptomatic, while ordinary people with symptoms still can't get the test in many parts of the country. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Romney's in isolation? Gee. That's too bad. -- Donald Trump, at his press conference Sunday ("The reporter asked the president if he could 'detect sarcasm' in his voice. 'No,' Trump answered. 'None whatsoever.'") ~~~

~~~ Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Republicans gathered for a closed-door caucus lunch when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) broke the news ... [that] Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), had tested positive for the coronavirus.... The first known case of a senator contracting the disease set off a domino effect throughout the chamber as colleagues tried to recall the last time they were in close contact with Paul, who was in the Capitol complex as recently as Sunday. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters on Sunday afternoon that senators would have to weigh whether or not they would need to self-quarantine. Only hours later, he announced that he would.... He was preceded by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who became the first senator to announce he or she would self-quarantine because of Paul.... Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) are already self-quarantined for exposure unrelated to Paul.... After McConnell's announcement, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) made an observation to his colleagues during the lunch: That he had seen Paul in the Senate gym just that morning. The disclosure sparked two questions: Why was the Senate gym still operating while gyms across the country have shuttered, and why had Paul decided to come to the Capitol even though he was awaiting test results." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Got that? Rand Paul is a self-accredited medical doctor who thought it was a good idea to leave his sweat all over gym equipment used by old folks while awaiting the results of a coronavirus test. He should disaccredit himself.

Thomas Burr of the Salt Lake Tribune: "Rep. Ben McAdams [D-Utah], who has a confirmed case of COVID-19, said Sunday night that he was admitted to the hospital Friday evening after suffering 'severe shortness of breath.'... McAdams, who said last Wednesday that he had contracted the novel coronavirus, said he was following public health guidelines when he phoned the COVID-19 hotline after his breathing grew worse." The story is free to nonsubscribers.

Trump Has Not Learned Anything. It's Still All About Trump. Brett Samuels & Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "President Trump is suggesting he might lift restrictions intended to prevent the spread of coronavirus if the economic pain from the measures becomes too great.... 'WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF,' Trump said in a late night tweet. 'AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!'... Trump on Monday morning retweeted several accounts that urged the loosening of those restrictions in the name of getting Americans back to work.... Vice President Pence said at a briefing on Sunday that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be issuing new guidelines allowing workers who may have self-quarantined or been exposed to the virus to return to their jobs more quickly by wearing masks. The guidance, paired with Trump's new tone, previews a looming clash between the president, who has tied his reelection bid closely to the strength of the economy, and public health experts who have insisted that social distancing measures and changes to daily life may drag on for weeks or months to avoid a soaring number of infections and deaths." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Social distancing is not a "cure," Donald You Ignorant Prick. It's a preventive measure designed to limit the number of people who get sick & die as well as to "flatten the curve" so that fewer people get sick at the same time, straining healthcare personnel & facilities. Trump seems to think letting the virus have its way will be good for the economy and get him re-elected.

Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "In response to a reporter's question on whether he would reach out to any former presidents (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama or Jimmy Carter), Trump implied that wasn't in the cards. 'I think we're doing an incredible job. So I don't want to disturb them, bother them,' he said at the White House coronavirus task force briefing. 'I don't think I'm going to learn much and, you know, I guess you could say that there's probably a natural inclination not to call.' The president instead pointed to his approval numbers on the job his administration is doing -- 55 percent of respondents approve of Trump's management, a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found -- and boasted having 'the best people in the world.'... On Sunday, Trump did extensively cite one former president during his extended press briefing. In discussing the sacrifices he made in becoming president, Trump repeated a tale about ... George Washington having two desks -- one for his business, one for his presidential work. Historians have debunked that story." Mrs. McC: Trump is right about one thing: he isn't going to learn much. He never does.

I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time. -- Anthony Fauci, on how he responds when Trump says something that isn't "true & factual," in an interview with Science

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Sunday said the National Guard had been activated in New York, California and Washington.... Trump said the federal government would fund '100 percent' of the National Guard units carrying out approved missions in those states.... The president said various additional medical supplies would be shipped out to those states in the coming days and that troops would help construct additional medical facilities at specified sites in each state. New York will receive four federal medical stations with 1,000 hospital beds, while California will receive eight medical stations with 2,000 beds and Washington will receive several stations and 1,000 beds. Trump also touted the shipment of tens of thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment from the national stockpile to those states, including gloves, masks and gowns.... Trump has repeatedly urged governors to try to acquire supplies independently and said the federal government would assist them as needed. But governors have expressed frustration that the federal government has in some cases outbid them and called on Trump to lead the supply chain efforts." Mrs. McC: No way to know how much of this is true or when states might actually receive the protective covering.

Robert Costa & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "President Trump's response to the >coronavirus pandemic sparked uproar and alarm among governors and mayors on Sunday as Trump and his administration's top advisers continued to make confusing statements about the federal government's scramble to confront the crisis, including whether he will force private industry to mass produce needed medical items.... Trump -- who has sought to cast himself as a wartime leader -- reacted to criticism that his administration has blundered with a torrent of soaring boasts and searing grievances. He tweeted that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) and others 'shouldn't be blaming the Federal Government for their own shortcomings. We are there to back you up should you fail, and always will be!' Trump changed his tone at an evening news conference, however, touting an 'amazing' relationship with New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) and saying governors he spoke with on Sunday will be 'very happy' with the upcoming federal response." A related NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Alice Ollstein of Politico: "Governors, mayors and front-line health care workers ... said Sunday they have not received meaningful amounts of federal aid, including the shipments of desperately needed masks and other emergency equipment that administration officials say they have already dispatched.... 'We are desperate,' New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy [D] told ABC Sunday morning. 'We've had a big ask into the strategic stockpile in the White House. They've given us a fraction of our ask.' Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer [D] ... [said] her state's hospitals ... are struggling with serious shortages of both test kits and protective equipment for medical workers. The shortages have forced hospitals to adopt risky practices like reusing masks and having staff wear bandanas when no mask is available.... 'We've gotten no indication of any factory on 24/7 shifts. We've gotten no shipments,' New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on NBC. 'I can't be blunt enough: If the president does not act, people will die who could have lived otherwise.' De Blasio also called on the president to mobilize the military's health care workers to immediately deploy to coronavirus hot spots like his own city.... Trump ... tweeted Sunday morning that he has given a handful of car companies 'the go ahead' to make ventilators and other unnamed 'metal products' for hospitals, but gave no indication of a timeline or quantity. Converting factories from making cars to making medical equipment cannot happen immediately, and could take several months. In the meantime, hospitals need immediate help." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: "Metal products"?? What? Lead-lined caskets?

Nancy Cook of Politico: "... Donald Trump spent the weekend vacillating between casting himself as an empathetic leader and wartime president.... But above all, he still wants credit. Credit for cutting off travel from China. Credit for giving up money to run for office. Credit for uniting the nation. During three collective hours of briefings on Saturday and Sunday, the president extolled his administration's 'extraordinary mobilization in our war against the virus,' dropped superlatives while describing efforts to offset testing shortages and move a major economic stimulus bill on Capitol Hill and trumpeted a national emergency he declared over a week ago. 'There's never been anything like we're doing on the Hill right now,' he told reporters in one of many laudatory passages."

The New York Times live updates of coronavirus developments for Sunday are here. "Peter T. Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency..., President Trump's top emergency management official, confronting growing cries from governors and other elected officials for more hospital masks, ventilators and other medical supplies, said on Sunday that localities not severely affected by the outbreak would simply have to wait.... [New York Gov. Andrew] Cuomo also said that FEMA would erect four hospitals inside the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan.

"[American Dimwits.] As Americans clean and sterilize countertops, doorknobs, faucets and other frequently touched surfaces in their homes, many people are then tossing disinfectant wipes, paper towels and other paper products into the toilet. The result has been a surge in backed-up sewer lines and overflowing toilets, say plumbers and public officials, who have pleaded with people to spare the nation's pipes from further strain." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Just saw another portion of Cuomo's daily briefing. That's presidential! And, in a way, entertaining. Cuomo is not taking any crap, either from irresponsible New Yorkers or from the useless President*. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates are here. "President Trump last week claimed he is using the Defense Production Act to push companies to produce crucial medical equipment for hospitals.... 'I invoked the Defense Production Act, and last night, we put it into gear,' Trump said at Friday's coronavirus task force briefing. But two days later, his FEMA chief said that's not the case. 'No. We haven't yet,' FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor said Sunday on CNN's 'State of the Union.' Not [long] after Gaynor's appearance on CNN, Trump on Sunday sent a tweet that added further confusion to the situation. 'Ford, General Motors and Tesla are being given the go ahead to make ventilators and other metal products, FAST! @fema Go for it auto execs, lets see how good you are?' Trump tweeted. [Mrs. McC: Congrats on that punctuation, Donnie.]

"D.C. officials are trying to thin crowds around the Tidal Basin, where cherry blossom trees nearing their peak bloom continue to draw many spectators in defiance of calls by officials to practice social distancing. Police will close major roads to traffic in the westernmost part of the Mall between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. and are urging pedestrians to keep their distance, too." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marisa Taylor of Reuters: "Several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, the Trump administration eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China.... The American disease expert, a medical epidemiologist embedded in China's disease control agency, left her post in July, according to four sources with knowledge of the issue. The first cases of the new coronavirus may have emerged as early as November, and as cases exploded, the Trump administration in February chastised China for censoring information about the outbreak and keeping U.S. experts from entering the country to help.... The American expert, Dr. Linda Quick, was a trainer of Chinese field epidemiologists who were deployed to the epicenter of outbreaks to help track, investigate and contain diseases. As an American CDC employee, they said, Quick was in an ideal position to be the eyes and ears on the ground for the United States and other countries on the coronavirus outbreak, and might have alerted them to the growing threat weeks earlier. No other foreign disease experts were embedded to lead the program after Quick left in July, according to the sources."

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department this weekend brought its first case of alleged fraud stemming from the coronavirus crisis, convincing a federal judge in Texas to issue a restraining order Sunday to block a website that claimed to be distributing vaccines. In court documents, the department alleged the operator of the site, coronavirusmedicalkit.com, was facilitating a wire-fraud scheme, 'intentionally making false statements' about the vaccines, which do not exist. 'The website falsely claims that the World Health Organization is giving away free vaccine kits and that individuals who visit the website can order such a kit by paying $4.95 for shipping,' the Justice Department wrote.... A Justice Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, said officials do not know who created the site, and it was possible it was registered with NameCheap by someone using a fake name or other cyber tools to hide their identity. The restraining order, the official said, also covers NameCheap, though there is no allegation the company has committed a crime."

Sasha Pezenik of ABC News: "Critical medical gear is still in short supply as the nation grapples with new coronavirus, and while Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor said masks are in the midst of shipping from the national stockpile, he could not provide details on a concrete timeline. 'They're shipping today, they shipped yesterday, they'll ship tomorrow,' Gaynor said on ABC's 'This Week' Sunday. 'When you say "they," how many? Which masks? The new masks?' Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz pressed. 'I mean, it is hundreds of thousands of millions of things that we're shipping from the stockpile. I can't give you the details about what every single state or what every single city is doing,' Gaynor said. 'But I'm telling you that we are shipping from our national stockpile, we're shipping from vendors, we're shipping from donations. It is happening. The demand is great.'" Read on. Mrs. McC: It doesn't get better. All we know for sure is that Trump has added another side-stepping shuffler to his bigsong-and-dance show. (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida Republicans Are So Helpful in a Crisis. Miami Herald Editors: "With Florida's economy crashing under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis is working overtime to preserve our status as the world's leading exporter of political comedy. Friday, DeSantis mounted the bully pulpit to present House Speaker Jose Oliva, with a baseball bat inscribed with the words 'Slayer of the healthcare industrial complex.' It was a sophomoric bit of messaging on any day. It was inexcusably tone-deaf when the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Florida topped 500. At least 10 people had died since the crisis began.... Unfortunately, DeSantis, who despite trying to appear large and in charge in front the microphone and TV cameras..., has been a timid leader in the face of the growing scourge -- and growing number of deaths -- from the disease in his state." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Lake Okeechobee News: At the March 20 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission, Commissioner Bryant Culpepper recommended blow-drying your nose to kill the coronavirus. Culpepper learned this excellent technique on the righty-right-wing One America News. Mrs. McC: I'm waiting for Trump -- an OAN fan -- to recommend the method in his next briefing. Good luck, Tony Fauci! (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ ** Update. Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist: "For what it's worth, Culpepper is now apologizing -- sort of...." Well-worth reading Mehta's entire post. P.S. Before you click on the link, try to imagine what Culpepper looks like. Bet you get it right. Many thanks to Hattie for the link.

~~~ MEANWHILE, the Kids Are All Right: ~~~

Leader of the Free World Shelters in Place. Katrin Bennhold & Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "Germany on Sunday barred groups of more than two people from gathering, except for families, and Chancellor Angela Merkel later said she herself was going into isolation because her doctor had tested positive for the coronavirus.... The chancellor will be tested regularly in coming days while carrying out her duties from home.... In the absence of a vaccine or a cure, she said, it is up to people to curtail their interactions, she said. 'Our own behavior,' she said, 'is currently the most effective antidote we have: to reduce public life as much as is possible, to reduce contact with people through whom the virus could be transmitted.' 'In short,' she said, 'that's how we save lives.' The chancellor, a trained scientist, has won wide praise for her calm and transparency during the crisis."

Dominic Patten of Deadline: "Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in prison. Just days after being transferred to the Wende Correctional Facility from NYC's Rikers Island, the Oscar winning producer and convicted rapist is now in medical isolation, an Empire State law enforcement official confirms to Deadline."

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Saturday

Mar212020

The Commentariat -- March 22, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Negotiations sputtered in the Senate on Sunday over an enormous stimulus bill to keep the economy afloat during the coronavirus crisis, threatening at times to devolve into all-out partisan warfare even as a desperate nation sought relief. But the sheer magnitude of the potential calamity kept lawmakers at the bargaining table as negotiators on both sides said they must deliver to slow the financial landslide that is disrupting millions of businesses and households by the day. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed an initial procedural vote on a $1.8 trillion bill as it became clear it would fail due to Democratic opposition, moving the vote from mid-afternoon to evening to allow more time for talks." The article is free for nonsubscribers.

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I accidentally switched to a news station a while ago & there was Trump giving a "briefing." The only thing I heard him say to "reassure" us that all was well before I switched to another channel: "I've signed everything that needs to be signed so it's going to get done." (Probably a slight paraphrase.) What??? That ignoramus is so out of his depth. It's as if he thinks the president job is presiding over parades & signing papers an aide puts in front of him. Now that there won't be any parades, it's down to "signing everything that needs to be signed." If, like Trump, you think the presidency is a job for a moron, then Trump is qualified.

Sarah Ladd of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Sen. Rand Paul has tested positive for the coronavirus, he announced on Twitter Sunday. 'Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for COVID-19,' Paul wrote on Twitter. 'He is feeling fine and is in quarantine. He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.'... According to the tweet, no staff has had contact with Paul since his D.C. office began working remotely 10 days ago." Mrs. McC: I wonder if this means Randy won't be able to vote against the trazillion-dollar stimulus package Congress is negotiating, as he did against the last relief bill, a vote he also delayed so he could grandstand a nonsense amendment. Also nice he could get a test even tho he's asymptomatic, while ordinary people with symptoms still cannot get the test in many parts of the country.

Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that House Democrats would draft their own coronavirus stimulus bill after all sides failed to reach a deal on a massive proposal being negotiated in the Senate."

Includes remarkable advice on how to avoid the Trumpinfluenza.

~~~ Lake Okeechobee News: At the March 20 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission, Commissioner Bryant Culpepper recommended blow-drying your nose to kill the coronavirus. Culpepper learned this excellent technique on the righty-right-wing One America News. Mrs. McC: I'm waiting for Trump -- and OAN fan -- to recommend the method in his next briefing. Good luck, Tony Fauci!

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Rachel Abrams, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Saturday sought to assure an anxious American public that help was on the way to overwhelmed hospitals, and that private companies had agreed to provide desperately needed medical supplies to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus.... Mr. Trump on Saturday continued to resist calls to use the Defense Production Act, a Korean War era[*] law that empowers the federal government to exert control over the private sector to meet national defense needs and ensure that supplies get to where they are most needed, regardless of the business plans of the companies involved.... Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Pence would say when the masks would be ready.... Executives in the medical supply industry said that while they are rushing to accelerate their output of face masks, it could take months to ramp up.... Companies are struggling to quickly expand their mask-making capacities, in part because of broken overseas supply chains and some countries' restrictions on exporting protective gear during the crisis.... American companies are finding their supply chains frozen.... Industry officials have been warning for years about the perils of relying on foreign supply chains for essential medical supplies.... There have been scattered signs of progress at addressing the mask shortage. At a news conference on Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said the state was purchasing 2 million N-95 masks from American and foreign companies. He said the state was paying a rich price for the coveted masks: $4 apiece for products that normally go for 80 cents. 'It's price-gouging,[*] but we need them,' Mr. Cuomo said. 'And most of these are coming from overseas.'" ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: As Patrick pointed out at the end of yesterday's thread, "references to the Defense Production Act (DPA) usually refer to it as the '1950 Korean War era law.' In fact, it was totally revised in 2015/16..., so is not really archaic and creaky." And, as I'll point out, the act prohibits price-gouging: "... no person or company shall accumulate designated material in excess of the reasonable demands of business, personal or home consumption, or for the purpose of resale at prices in excess of prevailing market prices." Maybe one reason Trump won't trigger the act is that he thinks price-gouging is a good business practice. And who better to gouge than ignorant taxpayers? ~~~

~~~ Plus, the NYT report suggests Trump & Pence either don't know what they're talking about or are purposely flim-flamming the public (yeah, I know you're surprised): "Speaking at a White House briefing with Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence said the federal government had placed orders for 'hundreds of millions' of the N-95 face masks that can shield medical workers from the virus. Mr. Trump said the clothing company Hanes was among those that had been enlisted to start churning out masks, although the company said they would not be the N-95 masks that are most effective in protecting medical workers.... Mike Bowen, whose company, Prestige Ameritech, makes masks in a factory in North Richland Hills, Tex., said that he told officials in the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations that about 95 percent of surgical masks are manufactured outside the United States, including by American companies that moved factories overseas to reduce costs. Mr. Bowen said he had repeatedly told federal officials that American hospitals would be at the mercy of other countries in a pandemic. 'Aside from sitting in front of the White House and lighting myself on fire, I feel like I've done everything I can,' Mr. Bowen said." Standard surgical masks are ones you could make at home on your trusty sewing machine (and some Americans are doing just that), but the N-95 masks look more like fancy versions of the dust masks you buy at the paint store & you can't just knock them out in your craft room.

~~~ In addition, the report makes the Trump administration effort seem scattershot at best: &"Executives at Parkdale Mills, a company in Gastonia, N.C., that provides yarn to Hanes, received a call a few days ago from Peter Navarro, Mr. Trump's trade adviser. He wanted to know if the company could make masks." Since when does a high government official cold-call suppliers? I suppose Trump -- who has no idea of how the government should work in a crisis -- ordered Navarro to get out his phone & start calling around. There are procurement officers throughout the government who do this for a living, but who knows if they've received orders to procure masks, gowns, gloves, etc.? ~~~

~~~ ** Here's Dan Diamond of Politico with evidence to back up my suppositions: "After months of minimizing the threat to the United States..., Donald Trump jumped feet-first into the coronavirus fight this week with vows of quick fixes to the testing problem, claims about potential cures, and efforts to rope in agencies that had inexplicably been excluded, like FEMA. The show of action played well in the White House briefing room and with the public, but has had a different impact behind the scenes. Health-agency officials and outside advisers to the administration, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described a chaotic situation in which leaders rushed to address presidential requests that sometimes seem to come on a whim while losing focus on longer-term challenges. Trump's drive to announce unfinished initiatives created a 'need to make good on half-baked promises,' said one senior official -- who, like other Americans, learned about some initiatives only when the president announced them at the White House podium. For instance, no one in the White House had devised a national strategy for obtaining and distributing the necessary supplies in the likely months-long fight against the pandemic that lies ahead, said three people with knowledge of the planning efforts.... Inside the Trump administration, officials are continuing to sort out which teams are responsible for elements of coronavirus response, of an ever-shifting patchwork of alliances and strategy, while working to manage the president's unpredictable requests." Read on. ~~~

~~~ "For of All Sad Words of Tongue or Pen...." Max Boot of the Washington Post: "The coronavirus is the most foreseeable disaster in history -- and so is President Trump's inability to rise to the occasion.... Because of Trump's negligence, the United States lost two months of response time -- precious days that should have been used to test the population, produce more N95 masks and ventilators, and build new hospital beds.... I weep in anger and frustration imagining what might have been if Hillary Clinton -- a sane, sensible adult -- had won.... It was precisely because we were afraid of how Trump would mishandle his weighty responsibilities that some 'Never Trump' conservatives supported Clinton in 2016.... I blame the voters who elected him -- and the senators who refused to impeach him. They should have known better. Because they didn't, we will all pay a fearful price."

Veronica Stracqualursi & Jason Hoffman of CNN: "Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence have both tested negative for coronavirus, his spokeswoman announced Saturday evening."

The New York Times' live updates on coronavirus developments for Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. Both are free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ "We Have Very Good Liquids." From the Times' updates: "The White House signaled Saturday that American companies were increasing efforts to restock hospitals with crucial supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, but it again stopped short of more assertive steps that some state and local leaders have been demanding.... On Saturday, [Trump] said that he had not used the Defense Production Act because companies were stepping up voluntarily, citing Hanes and General Motors, which will make masks.... Other companies the administration announced coordination with include Honeywell and 3M. Mr. Trump also said Pernod Ricard USA had repurposed production facilities in four states to manufacture hand sanitizer, with the first delivery expected on Tuesday. The president suggested that masks don't always need to be thrown away, but can be sanitized, saying, 'We have very good liquids for doing this.'... Under increasing pressure to detail exactly when he learned that the spread of coronavirus would be a problem, Mr. Trump claimed that he first knew about the virus around the time he ordered border closures in late January." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If he knew about it on January 31 (and in fact, he began receiving briefings weeks earlier -- see Shane Harris's WashPo report, linked yesterday), why was Trump saying "as recently as Feb. 27: 'It's going to disappear. One day -- it's like a miracle -- it will disappear.'"

Jennifer Hausen of CNN: "North Korea said President Donald Trump sent Kim Jong Un a personal letter in which he expressed his willingness to help with 'anti-epidemic work,' according to North Korea state-run media KCNA early Sunday." --s

In Trump's "War," the Soldiers Have No Armor. Melissa Bender in & Ryan Goodman of Just Security: "On Wednesday..., Donald Trump said the United States is at 'war' with the coronavirus and that he's 'in a sense, a wartime president.' We agree. And that's even more reason to address the glaring fact that healthcare workers are serving on the coronavirus frontlines without sufficient armor to protect themselves. The safety of these men and women should rank among the top priorities in the campaign to stop the pandemic.... It would be good, to say the least, for a senior Trump administration official to have the confidence to hold a ... public meeting with the pandemic's frontline medical staff.... What aggravates the problem in the war against the coronavirus is that administration officials knew ahead of time of these shortages. Tim Morrison, John Bolton's former deputy at the National Security Council, has touted the work he did including a report titled the National Biodefense Strategy of 2018. What Morrison does not mention is that the 2018 report identified the need to 'establish manufacturing surge capacity' for PPE in anticipation of a pandemic -- a statement on paper that was never implemented by the administration." ~~~

~~~ From the WashPo's live updates: "Anthony S. Fauci ... was asked at the daily White House coronavirus news briefing about an hours-earlier tweet by Trump that claimed the FDA was working on a combination of an anti-malaria drug and an antibiotic that could treat the infection. 'I'm not totally sure what the president was referring to,' Fauci said, but said he believes Trump was referring to one anecdotal study that showed that combination could be effective.... Trump was no longer present when he said that.... 'I feel like, as the expression goes, what do we have to lose?,' Trump said [earlier in the briefing].... 'Because, you know, I feel very I feel very good about it. Tony would feel, you know, like he'd like samples done in a certain way. And I understand that many doctors agree with it. We don't have much time.'... Vice President Pence addressed the news that a member of his staff had tested positive for the coronavirus and said because of that he and his wife, Karen, would be tested later in the day." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump either has a financial interest in these drugs or he is controlled -- that is, "controlled," not "advised" -- by people who do. ~~~

~~~ Hannah Kuchler of the Financial Times: "The only US drugmaker that makes a potential treatment for the coronavirus that was touted by President Donald Trump raised the price by almost 100 per cent in January, as the virus caused havoc across China. Rising Pharmaceuticals ... increased the price of chloroquine -- an antimalarial, which is one of the drugs that is being tested against Covid-19 -- on January 23, according to data from research firm Elsevier. The drug price rose 97.86 per cent to $7.66 per 250mg pill and $19.88 per 500mg pill. But Rising said the price rise was 'coincidental' and it restored the old price once it realised that the drug might be in demand because of the outbreak." [Firewalled] --s ~~~

~~~ AFP: "Authorities in Nigerian megacity Lagos said on Friday that hospitals had seen cases of chloroquine poisoning after ... Donald Trump touted the drug as a treatment against the coronavirus.... The drug has recently been used to treat coronavirus patients in China and in France, where some researchers said it showed great promise, though scientists agree that only more trials would determine if it really works and is safe. Health officials in Lagos said that there had already been claims online pushing chloroquine as a treatment and that Trump's message had seen interest surge." ~~~

~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Anthony Fauci as "a national treasure." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ BUT Kevin Drum of Mother Jones disputes the notion that Anthony Fauci is our "truthteller-in-chief." Mrs. McC: Drum's caution is worth heeding. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lizzie Presser of ProPublica: "I spoke to a respiratory therapist [in New Orleans], whose job is to ensure that patients are breathing well.... Since last week, he's been running ventilators for the sickes COVID-19 patients. Many are relatively young, in their 40s and 50s, and have minimal, if any, preexisting conditions in their charts.... 'This is knocking out what should be perfectly fit, healthy people. Patients will be on minimal support, on a little bit of oxygen, and then all of a sudden, they go into complete respiratory arrest, shut down and can't breathe at all..." The full description is really scary. --s ~~~

~~~ Jessica Williams of the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: "On March 10, Natasha Ott, 39, felt the beginnings of a cold coming on. She had a slight fever. Crescent Care, her employer, had only a handful of tests for the new strain of coronavirus on hand.... When her symptoms didn't shake, she did take the test on Monday. By Thursday, she felt 'something in her lungs,' she told longtime partner Josh Anderson.... On Friday, Anderson found Ott dead in her kitchen. Her test results have still not come back.... Anderson ... said the dearth of tests shows how ill-equipped New Orleans is to handle a pandemic that has already claimed 16 lives and infected nearly 600 people across the state." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Mrs. McC: Odd. The veep & Mrs. veep got their test results back within hours. ~~~

~~~ Carolyn Johnson & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Health officials in New York, California and other hard-hit parts of the country are restricting coronavirus testing to health care workers and people who are hospitalized, saying the battle to contain the virus is lost and the country is moving into a new phase of the pandemic response. As cases spike sharply in those places, they are hunkering down for an onslaught, and directing scarce resources where they are needed most to save people's lives. Instead of encouraging broad testing of the public, they're focused on conserving masks, ventilators, intensive care beds -- and on getting still-limited tests to health care workers and the most vulnerable. The shift is further evidence that rising levels of infection and illness have begun to overwhelm the health care system." Access to this story is free. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You could believe these health officials or you could believe Trump, who told a reporter Friday, 'I'm not hearing that.'" ~~~

~~~ Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "U.S. hospitals are warning that they are so strapped for cash that without some financial relief, they will be unable to meet their payrolls in a matter of weeks and some could be forced to close just as coronavirus cases are surging. The American Hospital Association and three hospital chief executives spanning the country said in a conference call Saturday that a federal directive this week to cancel elective procedures -- to conserve scarce resources for patients with covid19 -- is halting the type of services that produce the most revenue. And their ability to buy critically needed supplies -- from protective gear to more hospital beds -- is being stymied by the fact that private vendors are requiring hospitals to pay cash upon delivery, which they say they lack the money to do. The American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association are jointly urging Congress to provide hospitals and health systems $100 billion in emergency aid. The Federation of American Hospitals, the trade group for for-profit hospitals, issued a call Friday night for at least $225 billion in aid." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Trump Coronavirus Propaganda Machine Tries to Involve All Top Officials. Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "The White House is launching a communications plan across multiple federal agencies that focuses on accusing Beijing of orchestrating a 'cover-up' and creating a global pandemic, according to two U.S. officials and a government cable obtained by The Daily Beast. The cable, sent to State Department officials Friday, lays out in detail the circumstances on the ground in China, including data on coronavirus cases and deaths, the local business environment and transportation restrictions. But it also issues guidelines for how U.S. officials should answer questions on, or speak about, the coronavirus and the White House’s response in relation to China. The talking points appear to have originated in the National Security Council.... Two U.S. officials working on the administration's coronavirus response said the White House is pushing federal agencies to stick closely to the national security council';s talking points, especially when senior officials take to the podium, to ensure continuity with President Trump." ~~~

~~~ Adam Silverman of Balloon Juice suggests maybe pissing off China is not a good plan: "I cannot tell you how GALACTICALLY FUCKING STUPID THIS IS!!!!... What these geniuses on the National Security Staff on the National Security Council and others within the administration, including the President, who think this is a good fight to pick seem to have forgotten is THAT ALL OF THE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT – GLOVES, MASKS, FACE SHIELDS, GOWNS -- AND THE PRECURSORS FOR ALMOST ALL OF OUR PHARMACEUTICALS COME FROM THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA!!!!! And that If you piss Xi off right now, he can destroy us just by shutting off the supply chain! Not one bit of this futile, stupid effort will do A DAMN THING TO HELP A SINGLE AMERICAN OR ANYONE ELSE ANYWHERE ELSE SURVIVE THE SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 PANDEMIC OR THE ECONOMIC DAMAGE THAT IS A RESULT!!!!!" Emphasis original.

Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post Has Had Enough: "More and more each day, President Trump is using his daily briefings as a substitute for the campaign rallies that have been forced into extinction by the spread of the novel coronavirus. These White House sessions -- ostensibly meant to give the public critical and truthful information about this frightening crisis -- are in fact working against that end." Sullivan reprises some of Trump's most blatant lies & propganda lines. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rachel Maddow Has Had Enough. Joseph Wulfsohn of Fox "News": "MSNBC host Rachel Maddow urged television networks not to air White House updates on the coronavirus outbreak, claiming 'misinformation' from President Trump will 'cost lives.' 'I know we ought to be getting used to this kind of thing by now, but I'm not,' Maddow began Friday night. 'President Trump today, again, just flat-out wrong in public about this malaria drug that has gotten stuck in his mind, quite some distance from the facts.'" Mrs. McC: Other than describing Maddow as a person "best known for promoting the Russia collusion narrative that tied the Trump 2016 campaign to the Kremlin," Wulfsohn mostly gets the story right. See also PD Pepe's commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. The Miraculous Conversion of Lou Dobbs. Matt Wilstein of the Daily Beast: "Friday night's edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight opened with a message from fill-in host David Asman. 'Lou is in self-quarantine tonight,' Asman told viewers. 'We just learned that one of his team members has tested positive for COVID-19.'... Dobbs appears to be taking the coronavirus threat to his own health seriously after weeks of following the Fox News line that appeared to claim the virus was an overblown 'hoax' perpetrated by the media. He only changed his tune to start praising President Trump's response to the crisis earlier this week when it was no longer possible to ignore the reality on the ground. Less than two weeks ago, even as he reported that the virus had infected 113,000 people in 111 countries and territories around the world, Dobbs was accusing the 'national left-wing media' of 'playing up fears of the coronavirus' in order to drive down the stock market."

Wesley Bruer & Kelly Mena of CNN: "The US Food and Drug Administration announced it has authorized the use of the first rapid diagnostic test that could detect the novel coronavirus in approximately 45 minutes. The authorization was made Friday and tests will begin shipping next week, according to a statement from California-based Cepheid, the company manufacturing the tests."

Surprise! Bill Barr Wants to Habeas Your Corpus. Betsy Swan of Politico: "The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies -- part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States. Documents reviewed by Politico detail the department's requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted. Politico also reviewed and previously reported on documents seeking the authority to extend deadlines on merger reviews and prosecutions.... The DOJ requests -- which are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House -- span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated.... The move has tapped into a broader fear among civil liberties advocates and Donald Trump's critics -- that the president will use a moment of crisis to push for< controversial policy changes." ~~~

~~~ Peter Wade of Rolling Stone: "... the asks from the Department of Justice ... demonstrate how much this White House has a frightening disregard for rights enumerated in the Constitution.... Enacting legislation like the DOJ wants would essentially suspend habeas corpus indefinitely until the emergency ended.... As coronavirus spreads through the country, activists are calling on politicians in office to release prisoners and immigrants held in detention centers, both of which can be a hotbed of virus activity with so many people in close quarters and limited or non-existent supplies of soap, sanitizer, and protective equipment. Some states have already begun to do so. But with this, the Trump administration is taking steps to hold more people in prisons for an undetermined amount of time -- showing their priority is not saving lives but giving themselves more power."

Marianne Levine, et al., of Politico: "Senate negotiators and the White House on Saturday are scrambling to reach an accord on a stimulus package that's likely to exceed $1 trillion, staring down an aggressive timeline to deliver relief amid the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak.... Senate Republicans ... deliver[ed] their latest bid to Democrats on the biggest remaining sticking point: Unemployment insurance. The two sides huddled separately as Republicans and White House officials await the next steps from Democrats, who are seeking longer-term benefits for furloughed workers, rather than direct payments as GOP leaders have pushed. 'I had a very good conversation with [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin and we are making good progress on many of the issues Democrats care about,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Saturday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maggie Severns & Katy O'Donnell of Politico: "A Politico review of stock sales and purchases reported by members of Congress and senior aides found that while none had engaged in sales of the magnitude of [Sens. Richard] Burr [R-N.C.] and [Kelly] Loeffler [R-Ga.], several had traded shares at times or in industries that bore a relationship to the coronavirus threat. Previously unreported lawmakers who sold assets in the weeks leading up to the market crash include Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), who unloaded thousands of dollars of stock in Alaska Air and Royal Caribbean cruises. A senior aide to Sen. Mitch McConnell made a mid-January purchase of Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company that had four days earlier announced it would begin developing a coronavirus vaccine. And an aide to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sold off stock in companies including Delta Airlines in late January and later bought stock in Clorox, Inc., which makes bleach and sanitary wipes.... Lawmakers in both chambers were being briefed via both classified and non-classified meetings about the coronavirus in late January and February...." There's more. ~~~

~~~ Kevin Stankiewicz & Tucker Higgins of CNBC: "GOP Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., purchased between $100,000 and $250,000 of stock in a fund invested in health sciences companies in late January, just days after attending a briefing on the federal government's response to the coronavirus.... The fund, which owns shares in pharmaceutical developers and medical device manufacturers, has outperformed the broader market slightly since Hoeven's purchase.... Kami Capener, a spokesperson for the senator, said in a statement that ... Hoeven approved the purchase weeks beforehand. In response to a request for documentation that could substantiate that timeline, Capener forwarded an email sent to her by ... a financial advisor ... on Friday. Mayer did not respond to an emailed inquiry asking about when he made the recommendation to Hoeven and when Hoeven approved the purchase." --s

Becky Dernback of Mother Jones: "[W]orking from home isn't possible for emergency personnel like paramedics, nurses, and public health workers who are on the front lines of the fight against the virus. Some states and cities are providing child care for emergency workers so they can do their jobs. Minnesota and Vermont have now officially designated another group of workers as emergency personnel: grocery clerks. This means the workers hurrying to stock shelves and check out customers in those states will also receive free child care.... Grocery clerks are often underpaid and underappreciated. As they brave the daily crowds of people rushing to stock up their pantries, and risk infecting themselves through contact with so many customers, their essential role in a functioning society has become clearer than ever." --s

Leslie Josephs of CNBC: "Flights into major New York City-area airports were briefly halted on Saturday, as the coronavirus continues to cause staffing issues at air-traffic control facilities around the country, the Federal Aviation Administration said. An air traffic controller-trainee based at a control center on Long Island tested positive for the virus, COVID-19, the FAA said. The trainee hadn't been in the facility since March 17 but the agency is working with local health authorities to sanitize and clean affected areas. The center is operational, it said."

Hunter Walker & Jana Winter of Yahoo! News: "White supremacists discussed plans to weaponize coronavirus ... according to a weekly intelligence brief distributed by a federal law enforcement division on Feb. 17.... [O]n Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has become popular with neo-Nazis..., the white supremacists suggested targeting law enforcement agents and 'nonwhite' people with attacks designed to infect them with the coronavirus.... [T]he extremists discussed a number of methods for coronavirus attacks, such [as] spending time in public with perceived enemies, leaving 'saliva on door handles' at local FBI offices, spitting on elevator buttons and spreading coronavirus germs in 'nonwhite neighborhoods.'" --s ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Gee, Donald, maybe they're not your friends, after all.

Iraq. Qassim Abdul-Zahra & Samya Kullab of AP: "The economic fallout from the coronavirus coupled with a sudden drop in oil prices is threatening to catapult Iraq into an unprecedented crisis." --s

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