The Commentariat -- April 13, 2020

Afternoon Update:

When somebody's the President of the United States, the authority is total. -- Direct from the Horse's Ass (no link)

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

** Felicia Sonmez & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who ended his White House bid last week, said Monday that he is endorsing former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Sanders made the announcement on a live stream hosted by Biden examining the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic. 'Joe, I know that there is an enormous responsibility on your shoulders right now, and it is imperative that all of us work together,' Sanders said on the live stream. Biden responded: 'Your endorsement means a great deal. ... I look forward to working with you. And I am going to need you badly.'"

Trump Claims He's the Boss. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts. 'For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,' Trump tweeted Monday morning. 'It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,' Trump continued. 'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' However, legal experts who spoke to The Hill said that, while Trump can issue federal regulations to prevent the spread of diseases, he does not have the authority to reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local level." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This may sound strange coming from the leader of the states' rights/Tenther party, but it is not the stretch it might appear to be. Rather, Trump's assertion is a subset of the controlling principle, "I have an Article II right to do whatever I want."

Trump: "I Am the Oversight." Neil Barofsky in a New York Times op-ed: "More than $2 trillion is about to head out the door, committed in a single news release last week by the Federal Reserve Board. In that release, the Federal Reserve announced how it and the Treasury Department intend to leverage just a portion of the $454 billion that Congress gave the department in the ... CARES Act, with the potential of trillions more in lending to come.... We need to ensure that this government aid is not being stolen, wasted or given to political cronies. And we need to make sure that the public is aware of how and to whom those trillions are distributed. In short, we need watchdogs.... Congress has leverage -- and must use it.... For the CARES Act, Congress demanded the same watchdog function within Treasury -- but so far, that dog is still in the pound.... President Trump included a signing statement to the CARES Act that suggested he would limit the ability of the new inspector general to reveal to Congress efforts by his administration to obstruct or impede his inquiries. Some are also raising questions about the president's intended nominee for the job, Brian Miller."

Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "The Navy announced on Monday morning that a crew member on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the ship formerly led by Captain Brett Crozier before his ouster, had died from COVID-19 earlier in the day. The sailor, whose name is currently being withheld, tested positive for the coronavirus on March 30 and was moved to the ICU on Naval Base Guam last Thursday, according to the Navy. On the day the sailor had tested positive, Crozier wrote a letter to Navy leadership pleading for assistance on the outbreak of COVID-19 on his ship, which had infected more than 100 members of his crew at that point."

Phoning It In. Fadel Allassan of Axios: "The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments via teleconference in May, it announced Monday.... It's the first time the court will hear cases remotely -- and it'll allow the media to listen in as well -- marking a huge step for the notoriously technophobic branch of government amid the coronavirus crisis. The 10 cases on the docket, which were previously indefinitely postponed, will now take place on May 4-6 and 11-13."

Josh Smith of Reuters: "South Korea reported on Monday that at least 116 people initially cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again, although officials suggested they would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing new outbreaks.... Officials are still investigating the cause of the apparent relapses. But Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), has said the virus may have been reactivated rather than the patients being re-infected. Other experts said faulty tests may be playing a role, or remnants of the virus may still be in patients' systems but not be infectious or of danger to the host or others. The 116 cases is more than double the 51 such cases South Korea reported a week earlier." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: What worries me the most about Trump's "reopening America" is that something like 90% of Americans -- myself probably included -- have never been exposed to the coronavirus; ergo, the vast majority of Americans could not have built up immunities. Since I have no medical training, perhaps my concern is exaggerated or baseless, but I see no end to the danger until a vaccine is widely available (and we can look forward to a mad rush to get the vaccine when the first vials roll off an assembly line).

** Mathew Cole & Alex Emmons of The Intercept: "Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm Blackwater and a Trump administration adviser, has sought in recent months to provide military services to a sanctioned Russian mercenary firm in at least two African conflicts, according to three people with knowledge of the efforts. Prince, who is the brother of Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, met earlier this year with a top official of Russia's Wagner Group and offered his mercenary forces to support the firm's operations in Libya and Mozambique, according to two people familiar with Prince's offer.... 'The conflicts of interest are deep and threaten democracy when you have a free agent going between the U.S. and its main power rivals,' said [Sean] McFate [a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council]. 'It would never clear an intelligence community background check. This is a dangerous thing for any democracy.'" --s

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronoavirus developments Sunday are here. The Washington Post's Monday updates are here.

Joe Biden, in a New York Times op-ed, describes his plan to safely "reopen America." Mrs. McC: Biden's methodical plan differs greatly from Trump's, which is "when I say so. we'll just do it." That's not the title of Trump's plan; that's the whole plan. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Nancy Cook of Politico: "With the White House moving to reopen the economy as early as May 1, top officials have yet to coalesce around a single plan to allow Americans and businesses to safely resume work as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Instead, senior administration officials are engaged in an earnest yet scattershot effort to support ... Donald Trump's long-expressed desire to revive the downward-spiraling economy and stabilize the volatile financial markets in the middle of an election year." A New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ David Beavers of Politico: "Governors and top health experts on Sunday raised doubts about ... Donald Trump's goal of starting to reopen the U.S. economy as early as next month, warning that moving too quickly could lead to a worsening of the coronavirus pandemic." A related Washington Post story is here. It is free to nonsubscribers.

Simon Tisdall of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic ... has been fiercely criticised at home as woefully inadequate to the point of irresponsibility. Yet also thanks largely to Trump, a parallel disaster is unfolding across the world: the ruination of America's reputation as a safe, trustworthy, competent international leader and partner.... 'The Trump administration's self-centred, haphazard, and tone-deaf response [to Covid-19] will end up costing Americans trillions of dollars and thousands of otherwise preventable deaths,' wrote Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard. 'But that's not the only damage the United States will suffer. Far from "making America great again", this epic policy failure will further tarnish [its] reputation as a country that knows how to do things effectively.' This adverse shift could be permanent, Walt warned." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Ursula Perano of Axios: "Reporting from ... media outlets has revealed that Trump and his administration were repeatedly warned about the threat that the virus could pose to American lives and the economy. Earlier action could have curbed the spread." Perano compiled a handy list of ten times Trump & his administration were warned about the coronavirus pandemic.

Jacob Knutson of Axios: "Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday that 'no one is going to deny' that more lives could have been saved during the coronavirus crisis if the Trump administration had implemented social distancing guidelines prior to March.... 'We make a recommendation. Often the recommendation is taken. Sometimes it's not. But it is what it is. We are where we are right now.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. We Are All Surprised. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump publicly signaled his frustration on Sunday with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci ... after the doctor said more lives could have been saved from the coronavirus if the country had been shut down earlier. Mr. Trump reposted a Twitter message that said 'Time to #FireFauci' as he rejected criticism of his slow initial response to the pandemic.... In reposting the message, Mr. Trump added: 'Sorry Fake News, it's all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up.'... Mr. Trump did not 'ban China,' but he did block foreign nationals who had been in China in the past 14 days from coming into the United States starting on Feb. 2. Despite the policy, 40,000 Americans and other authorized travelers have still come into the country from China since then.... The tweet came amid a flurry of messages blasted out by the president on Sunday defending his handling of the coronavirus, which has come under sharp criticism, and pointing the finger instead at China, the World Health Organization, President Barack Obama, the nation's governors, Congress, Democrats generally and the news media.... Experts have said the limits [on travel from China] were useful mainly to buy time that the administration did not then use to ramp up widespread testing and impose social distancing policies...." A CNN story is here. ~~~

      ~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "... what Fauci said is that ... Trump's China ban was too little too late. By the time the shutdown happened, the U.S. already had the virus, and it was spreading.... More than China should have been shut down at the end of January. But even that may not have been enough. Fauci said in the interview that ... the U.S. [was] past the point of trying to stop it from reaching U.S. borders and should have switched immediately to mitigation. What Fauci also said, and many have observed, is that ... no significant action was taken in the month of February. Fox News was reporting it was all hype through the first week of March. The president similarly was saying it was nothing more than the flu well through the end of February. It wasn't until March that states began shutting down." ~~~

     ~~~ How Donald Celebrated the Resurrection. Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump spent much of this Easter weekend ... in a rather predictable fashion: working the phones and rage-tweeting The New York Times and Mike Wallace's son.... Over the weekend, the president ... began dialing various close advisers and associates to ask them their opinion on how soon he should 'open' the U.S. economy.... 'What do you think of Fauci?' the president repeatedly worked into his phone conversations.... At one point this weekend, Trump remarked that he's made Fauci a 'star' and that barely anybody would have known who the doctor was were it not for the president putting him front and center in the administration's coronavirus response.... 'Just watched Mike Wallace wannabe, Chris Wallace, on @FoxNews. I am now convinced that he is even worse than Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Meet the Press(please!), or the people over at Deface the Nation[. Trump tweeted]."

Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has acknowledged the need to ramp up testing, but on Sunday his tone was cautious: Having an inaccurate test is worse than not having a test at all. Going forward, Hahn said on ABC's 'This Week,' 'further ramping up testing, both diagnostic as well as the antibody tests, will really be necessary as we move beyond May into the summer months and then into the fall.' The doctor added that the United States has done more than 2 million tests, but stated: 'We need to do more. No question about that.'" Mrs. McC: Notice that this is not a "plan" but an "aspiration" or an on-air "plea" to the Dear Leader. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

No Way to Run a Crisis Response. Anita Kumar & Gavin Bade of Politico: "The federal government's haphazard approach to distributing its limited supplies has left states trying everything -- filling out lengthy FEMA applications, calling Trump, contacting Pence, sending messages to Jared Kushner..., and trade adviser Peter Navarro, who are both leading different efforts to find supplies, according to local and states officials in more than half dozen states. They're even asking mutual friends to call Trump or sending him signals on TV and Twitter. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. 'This is not something that we should ever be faced with,' Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said in an interview. 'It really is the federal government's responsibility to build those stockpiles, and distribute those during the time of crisis.'... The confusion is indicative more broadly of how Trump and his administration have responded to a number of crises. The president often bounces from one issue to the next, reacting to the headlines of the day. Record turnover rates and competing power centers have hampered long-term planning.... Frustrated governors are now considering whether to create a multi-state consortium to oversee the purchase and distribution of supplies."

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "The bishop who delivered the Good Friday Easter blessing at the White House has in the past come under fire for anti-LGBTQ comments. Bishop Harry Jackson conducted the Easter blessing at the White House on Friday and was introduced by President Trump as a 'highly respected gentleman.' But Jackson has been in the national spotlight for anti-LGBTQ rhetoric throughout the past decade. In 2011, he spoke with the Sons of Liberty Radio and called the push for marriage equality 'a Satanic plot.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "The story of the [USS] Theodore Roosevelt encapsulates, aboard a single aircraft carrier, Mr. Trump's tumultuous three and a half years as commander in chief. The episode shows how the military, the most structured and hierarchical part of the government, has tried to adjust to an erratic president, and how in a hollowed-out leadership, acting secretaries have replaced those confirmed by the Senate.... The aircraft carrier [Capt. Brett Crozier] commanded ... was docked in Guam as the coronavirus raced unchecked through its narrow corridors. The warship's doctors estimated that more than 50 crew members would die, but ... Crozier's superiors were balking at what they considered his drastic request to evacuate nearly the entire ship. Captain Crozier was haunted by the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship of 2,600 passengers in individual cabins where the virus had killed eight people and infected more than 700. The situation on his ship had the potential to be far worse: nearly 5,000 sailors crammed in shared berths.... On March 30, after four days of rebuffs from his superiors, Captain Crozier [wrote an e-mail] to 20 other people, all Navy personnel in the Pacific, asking for help.... Three weeks later, the fired captain is battling the coronavirus himself, 584 other crew members have tested positive and the acting Navy secretary [Thomas Modly] has resigned." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As I surmised from the git-go, Crozier had already approached his superiors in an effort to mitigate the situation aboard the TR, even though the Navy Department implied otherwise when Modly relieved Crozier of his command. ~~~

~~~ Audrey McNamara of CBS News: "The U.S. Navy on Saturday confirmed 103 new cases of the coronavirus onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, bringing the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier's positive cases to 550.... The Navy said that in response, 3,696 sailors have moved ashore, which includes 518 who were taken off the ship since Friday. In new COVID-19 guidance issued on Friday, the Navy said 'individuals identified as having confirmed or probable COVID-19 will be placed under isolation and evacuated off the ship as soon as practical if developing more severe symptoms.'... Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on 'CBS This Morning' on Friday that a reinstatement of Crozier is not off the table, and no decision will be made until an investigation is complete."

Justine Coleman of The Hill: "All 50 states are under a major disaster declaration for the first time in U.S. history, after President Trump approved Wyoming's declaration Saturday.... The final disaster declaration occurred on the same day U.S. surpassed Italy to become the country with the most deaths from the virus.... Trump praised the declarations in a tweet Sunday, saying, 'We are winning, and will win, the war on the Invisible Enemy!'" --s

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: Sen. Tom Cotton [R-Ark.], "who floated a conspiracy theory which said the Chinese government created Covid-19 in a weapons lab, claimed on Saturday that since he first learned of the outbreak, in mid-January, 'common sense has been my guide'.... The virus is believed to have originated in a market in Wuhan in which wild animals were sold." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Cotton has two degrees from Harvard. Harvard either doesn't have a required class that teaches logic and ethics (which might help students develop so-called "common sense," or Cotton flunked. The number of prominent confederates who come out of Harvard & Yale law is striking. I can't imagine why the schools remain prestigious. Obviously, they suck.

Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Next to health-care providers, no workforce has proved more essential during the novel coronavirus pandemic than the 3 million U.S. grocery store employees who restock shelves and freezers, fill online orders and keep checkout lines moving. Although the public health guidelines are clear -- steer clear of others -- these workers are putting in longer shifts and taking on bigger workloads. Many report being stressed and scared, especially as their colleagues fall ill.... At least 41 grocery workers have died so far.... Thousands more have tested positive for the virus. Now workers across the country are staying home or quitting altogether, according to interviews with more than a dozen employees, leaving many markets short-staffed and ill-prepared to deal with demand."

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Pope Francis advocated for a universal basic income amid the coronavirus pandemic in an Easter letter to leaders of social movements and organizations around the world. 'This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,' he wrote. 'It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.' In his message the pope acknowledged that the pandemic and subsequent economic shutdowns have hit 'twice as hard' for those without any legal guarantee of protection." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post has a photo slideshow of how Christians around the world, including Pope Francis, celebrated Easter this year.

Clifford Krauss of the New York Times: "Oil-producing nations on Sunday agreed to the largest production cut ever negotiated, in an unprecedented coordinated effort by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States to stabilize oil prices and, indirectly, global financial markets. Saudi Arabia and Russia typically take the lead in setting global production goals. But President Trump, facing a re-election campaign, a plunging economy and American oil companies struggling with collapsing prices, took the unusual step of getting involved after the two countries entered a price war a month ago. Mr. Trump had made an agreement a key priority. It was unclear, however, whether the cuts would be enough to bolster prices."

Rebecca Kheel of The Hill: "Supporters of a treaty meant to reduce the risk of accidental war are sounding the alarm President Trump could withdraw from the agreement as the world's attention is consumed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Open Skies Treaty allows the pact's 35 signatories, including the United States and Russia, to fly unarmed observation flights over each other's territories with the intention of providing transparency about military activities to avoid miscalculations that could lead to war.... A House aide told The Hill that Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week agreed to a withdrawal despite two planned National Security Council (NSC) meetings on the issue being canceled in February and March." --s

Presidential Race. Beth Reinhard of the Wasihngton Post: "A California woman who last year said Joe Biden touched her neck and shoulders when she worked in his Senate office in 1993 is now accusing him of sexually assaulting her that year in a semiprivate area of the Capitol complex, an allegation the Biden campaign strongly denies.... President Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. and his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, sought to inject Reade's allegation into the presidential campaign on Saturday by accusing the media on Twitter of not covering it.... The Post found no other allegations against him as serious as [Tara] Reade's. More than a dozen women, by contrast, have accused Trump of forced kissing, groping or sexual assault, and he has been recorded on audio boasting about grabbing women between their legs."

Beyond the Beltway

** Virginia. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Sunday that he signed a series of new measures into law aimed at expanding access to voting in the commonwealth. The new legislation will establish Election Day as a holiday, remove the requirement that voters show a photo ID prior to casting a ballot and, expand early voting to be allowed 45 days before an election without a stated reason.... The new legislation also repeals the current Lee-Jackson day holiday which honored Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson as "defenders of causes.' Both men owned slaves and fought to preserve slavery in the US.... Several states and cities have already made Election Day a civic holiday, including Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky and New York. State offices typically close, though it depends on the state whether employees are entitled to paid time off to vote. Proponents say making Election Day a holiday could improve voter turnout. But Election Day may not become a federal holiday anytime soon -- it's drawn deep division along party lines. In January 2019, Democrats proposed a sweeping bill that would make Election Day a national holiday among other measures. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the measure would pay government workers to "hang out at the polls during an election" or campaign for candidates."

News Ledes

Reuters: "At least six people were killed on Sunday as a strong storm system swept across Mississippi and Louisiana, spinning off more than a dozen tornadoes and leaving behind a path of destruction, state and local authorities said. The storms hit on Easter Sunday as residents across the U.S. South, like most Americans, were under strict 'stay-at-home' orders by the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana due to the nationwide coronavirus pandemic. All six fatalities were recorded in Mississippi, the state's emergency management agency said on Twitter, and tornado warnings remained in place across several counties into the evening." ~~~

~~~ Update. Weather Channel: "At least 32 people were killed as severe weather and strong tornadoes continued to slash across the South on Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and leaving more than a million customers without electricity. There were more than 40 reports of tornadoes as the storms that began on Easter Sunday tore a deadly and destructive path from Texas and Arkansas, across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia and into the Carolinas and Tennessee."

Comments

[Akhilleus]

I see that little donnie’s very clever nickname for one of the Sunday morning talk shows is “Deface the Nation”.

Terribly difficult to read things like this and not immediately think: PROJECTION!

[Ken Winkes]

Found this one fascinating:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/science/putin-russia-disinformation-health-coronavirus.html?

The parallels between Putin's methods and the weekend twitter storms are both eerie and obvious.

What's next? Going after the OED?

Oh, that's right. Orwell already covered that one...

[Ken Winkes]

Probably stumbling late to what has been obvious to everyone else for a long time, but this Pretender urge to withdraw from established treaties, from agreements calculated to meld multiple interests groups into what is best for everyone, parallels (lotsa parallels this AM), maybe originates in, the symptoms of NPD we've become so familiar with in the last four years.

The take my ball and go home mentality that suggests we all live in splendid isolation, that neighborhoods and communities do not exist, that we do not share interests with others and that we can can bully our way to dominance, also puts me in mind of the way conservatives selectively wave the states' right flag, often hard to distinguish from the Confederate flag, despite that flag's awful and telling history.

Though hardly the only reason for our hit and mostly miss response to the Covid-19 pandemic, our unwillingness to mount a nation-wide, coordinated effort against the virus might reflect a long-standing national NPD disorder that has tragically played out from time to time on both the international and national stages.

(If I were to wildly substitute "guns" for "ball" in that earlier sentence, the connection between 21st C. American conservative and NPD is even tighter.)

[safari]

Really disappointed how reporters have let the Trump Crime Family completely skate on opening up their bed bug-ridden hotels to alleviate pressures on hospitals. Offering up rooms to health care workers would be a huge political boon & a marketing ploy, but the Trump's are too fucking cheap to pretend to care. Other hotels have offered up services for free or discounted prices, but the poor 'billionaire' family can't find any charity in their cold hearts, even while their hotel beds sit empty. The fact the family hasn't offered up a dime is both amazing and completely predictable for the worst grifter family ever.

Maybe they could at least offer up some donations from the Trump Foundation?

Oh right....

https://www.newsweek.com/how-new-york-city-hotels-are-doing-their-part-during-covid-19-outbreak-1496937

[Forrest Morris]

Here's a new word to add to your dictionary of trumpisms:

Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

[Akhilleus]

Ken,

The states’ rights card is only played when it helps confederate causes (or piques their Dear Leader’s feckless and desultory interests). In cases of states attempting to use their rights to attempt anything the Party of Traitors finds inimical to their favorite goals (denying healthcare, providing protection and special services to corporations and the wealthy, stealing elections, making abortions illegal and punishing those who perform them with prison time, aiding the poor and unemployed, formulating humane immigration policies, etc.), all of a sudden states’ rights and the concept of federalism, become the work of the devil and Daddy Big Government Run By Jesus Approved Wingers has to lay down the law.

It’s just a more cynical and hypocritical version of “Hurray for me, and fuck you”.

[Akhilleus]

Forrest,

Hahahaha. Good one. I’m looking forward to seeing a a picture of Fatty making one of his stupid asshole faces right next to that entry.

[PD Pepe]

How Mitch McConnell Became Trump's Enabler-in-Chief by Jane Mayer:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/how-mitch-mcconnell-became-trumps-enabler-in-chief

[Jeanne]

Thank you, Forrest! Am of course stealing, but giving you anonymous credit...

I spent an entire day NOT hearing or reading a word from "sphincter-mouth" yesterday-- (that term from a commenter of Charlie's--) It was AWESOME!!

[citizen625]

As a 'Land-Grant' man higher education-wise, your comments about Cotton as an example of the bereft moral instruction indicative of the Ivy League's best and brightest hit home. According to https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-20-colleges-took-in-28-of-donations-to-universities-last-year-they-educate-16-of-undergrads-2019-02-11, twenty schools got 28% of total donations to college last year. What do you think they get from federal research funding, as a percentage of total available? These guys are the microcosm reflecting the macrocosm of the few taking from the many. With no conscience or morality. Look at Koboch in Kansas; look at the guys who gave North Dakota to the Frackers, all Ivy leaguers. Too many of them only care about winning. Sheryl Sandberg, same ethos. Defenders of the tobacco business and the military industrial complex. Institutionalized sociopathology. Go look at their chemistry and science lab facilities. Imagine if their tax deductible facilities were shared with the many at the expense of the few. Imagine.

[periscope]

Biden's "no malarkey" campaign to "restore decency to the office of president" has met a major challenge in the Tara Reade story. I think the capacity of the democratic party to bury, discredit, twist and repress the implication put forth by the repugs that Biden is no more morally flawed than their main mad man will become a another disappointment for the electorate (although there is no comparing anyone to the utter reprobate filth of the OM). But that isn't the biggest stumbling block I see on the road ahead. When Biden reveals his female VP pick, how will the media interrogate her about what she thinks of the alleged Reade assault? How does she navigate between being a supporter of the #MeToo movement and working for a man who may lie about that event? Will the media associate Brett Kavanaugh's appointment hearing about Dr. Ford's assault with Biden's. Will the democratic party and any main stream media support of Biden's position on the matter become another opportunity for the republicans to call democrats hypocrites? I see the Reade story as an IED in the road that the democrats will have to drive over at some point. If Biden is a real human being he will come clean and ask forgiveness.
Expectations? I haven't even put a candle in the window.

[unwashed]

I need to correct my previous post about ordering elastic cord and cord locks from McMaster-Carr. I received notification on Sat. that the locks have been shipped for delivery this week. I got a personalized email this morning stating, "Due to increased demand caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus, we have canceled the elastic cord from your order. We expect the supply of this item will continue to be disrupted and delivery is uncertain. I apologize we cannot get you the item you need."

Should I interpret that to mean that it's 'Made in China'? Or, FEMA bought it all for distribution through other parties at a higher price? What'll it be - $20 instead of 20¢ a foot?

I guess it's time to start scrounging through the underwear drawer.

[Forrest Morris]

@Ak:
How about one that describes supporters of the ignoranus one?
Bozone(noun): the substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

[Ken Winkes]

Periscope,

Based on this NYTimes account, which might have already been linked here, I believe it's premature for Biden to "come clean and ask forgiveness."

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/us/politics/joe-biden-tara-reade-sexual-assault-complaint.html

I understand that times are a'changing, but there are often wheels within wheels when sexual assault is publicly reported nearly three decades after the event, especially when the accused is a public figure with so much to lose.

Not saying that skepticism should automatically keep pace with time elapsed but according to the NYTimes, which does support Biden (one of the wheels, certainly), Reade's story seems a bit thin.

Of course, thin has proven to be more destructive to Democrats than to Repugnants...

[periscope]

@ Ken,
First, Biden is not speaking directly to the issue, his campaign spokespersons are making categorical statements.
Sure, Reade's story is "thin", and you might say "late" (why now and not in 2006?). This is the same rationale the defenders of Brett Kavanaugh used in his defense. The difference between Reade's not coming out in 2006 but waiting till now is the #MeToo movement. Lets not forget the many respected public figures that were brought low and exited the stage when their behaviors were revealed in this new light (e.g. Garrison Keilor, Al Franken). I fully expect the main stream media, the DNC, and possibly the Biden campaign to relegate the whole episode to Reade being another "hysterical woman". Maybe both party's have a pussy grabber candidate.

Just as Kavanaugh would have garnered a lot more public respect had he responded to Ford's testimony by acknowledging his weakness, apologized, and explained how he had become a better person over 30 years, he didn't. He bought into the party's witch hunt line. Will Biden be different? That's the dark cloud question ahead.

[Marie Burns]

@Ken Winkes: I find Reade's claim completely plausible, which is not to say I'm convinced it's true. Remember, the alleged assault took place about two years after Biden's appalling treatment of Anita Hill (and other women willing to testify) during the Clarence Thomas hearings.

I remember the "good old days." Working women -- especially single working women -- were treated as sluts (after all, we were prostituting ourselves by receiving pay for services instead of doing something wholesome like volunteering for the Red Cross), so we were fair game. Going to work was always "uncomfortable."

This is not to say that every man treated us like meat; not at all. But in an office of any size, there was always at least one.

BTW, over the last two days both the NYT & the WashPo covered Reade's story, and I linked both reports.

[Akhilleus]

Forrest,

Maybe we can find some naturally occurring Cloddo-floggo-carbons to break down the bozone layer. More than likely however, it would be preferable for the bozos to all be required to wear clown shoes and bulbous red noses. Oh wait. We don’t need those to identify the bozos. MAGA hats are a dead giveaway for inhabitants of the bozone layer.

[Ken Winkes]

Periscope and Bea,

Didn't mean to say or imply I'm dismissing Reade's story, just believe it's too early yet for Biden to acknowledge and apologize for behavior that is still has legitimate questions swirling around it.

Certainly we bring our experiences with us, and my own experience of one wholly unfounded sexual harrassment allegation--the only one in my career--from a teacher I was correctly criticizing for her work possibly flavors my view.

[Monoloco]

The scene would be remarkable even in a less macho culture. Argentina's paper of record, Clarin, reports a meeting in which the head of state is dazed by the sheer human cost of the disaster unfolding among the poorest of his people.

Translated from the Spanish: "Suddenly, the large meeting room full of attendees fell silent. The President of the Republic was in tears. Not many, but tears nonetheless. A President does not usually show such emotion in front of guests in his office. The coronavirus crisis has sent Argentine politicians into shock."

It's shocking to see a leader express such raw human emotion. But somehow reassuring.

https://www.clarin.com/politica/coronavirus-argentina-escenas-dramaticas-politica-shock-pandemia_0_w8K9LoGPE.html

[Ken Winkes]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/rex-huppke/ct-coronavirus-trump-states-governors-reopen-10th-amendment-huppke-20200413-riborwa66bdctdjhfooq7b3vq4-story.html

Huppke strikes again!

[Ken Winkes]

This one really pissed off my doc daughter in law.

It may have the same effect on you.

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2020/04/rage-against-the-poor-americans-mock-trumps-new-council-to-reopen-america-panel/

Her comment: "Sorry to spread around bad news but I saw this today & thought folks should know just how little Trump thinks about Americans by who he has chosen for his council to reopen the country - wealthy white cronies & his kids without a single public health expert or economist. We need a landslide in November ..."