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.
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." ~~~
~~~ 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."
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.
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." ~~~
~~~ 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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Reader Comments (24)
So the trump administration is coordinating its messaging to piss off the Chinese government, one of the key sources of information on Covid-19. What could possibly go wrong?
So what’s this new chapter in the ongoing horror show that is the Trump Virus? Fatty is pissed that the Chinese cover up was better than his cover up? Is he taking notes for his next con?
Meanwhile, as fingers are pointed, screeds are spat out, lies are told about a chimerical super cure, the Trump Virus marches on.
I’m reminded of Randy Newman’s meditation (“Great Nations of Europe”) on how even those who wield unbridled power can themselves be bulldozed into the ground by some bug from the other side of the world (especially if you sit on your fat ass for months letting it get up a good head of steam).
From where you and I are standing
At the end of a century
Europes have sprung up everywhere as even I can see
But there on the horizon as a possibility
Some bug from out of Africa might come for you and me
Destroying everything in its path
From sea to shining sea
Like the great nations of Europe
In the sixteenth century
https://youtu.be/jxNQxu7PWKM
You think Fatty will be even more pissed that a microscopic virus can be more toxic than he is? At least he can take pride in the fact that it could now legitimately be called the Trump Virus.
If you can't bring yourself to watch the Corona Virus Task Force press briefings but would like to get a sense of their tone, here are two samples that nicely capture what is going on up there on the dais when these officials address the nation.
Both videos are very brief, so do take the time to watch them.
https://youtu.be/H6nvuI5-nB0
https://youtu.be/gjtUBcz78to
Adam Silverman points out the even more immediate and lethal consequence of pissing off China, interrupting the supply chain. The title on his page says it all:
COVID-19 & National Security Part IV: Do Not Turn Challenges Into Threats and Competitors Into Enemies During a Crisis!
From the Daily Beast article, quoting the diplomatic cable:
“Instead, the... government hid news of the virus from its own people for weeks, while suppressing information and punishing doctors and journalists who raised the alarm. The Party cared more about its reputation than its own people’s suffering.”
Self-aware much?
Don't know if we'll ever fight out how well North Korea is dealing with the Virus.
Only two things are sure. The DMZ and all Kim Jong Un's rockets didn't keep it out of their paradise, and the hapless Pretender's offer of "help" had to prompt a few smiles on some usually very serious faces.
For your listening/watching pleasure
https://youtu.be/s3A5CKkbH1o
(Sorry for no clickable link - Using an iPad, which has crappy/no html functionality)
The Pandemic has cancelled the 2020 SxSw film Festival but we can view these films on line. Here is one of the selected films and it's a doozy–––extraordinary! Please watch.
HYSTERICAL GIRL––the story of Freud's Dora (and other "Dora's" in our modern age like Anita Hill, Blase Ford, ––the list is endless)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/freud-film-sxsw-canceled-coronavirus.html?searchResultPosition=1
If I've followed well enough, the first country the USA has offered to help with the pandemic is...*checks notes*...North Korea.
Safari,
And anyone want to bet Russia--about which we know almost as little about the pandemic's ravages as we do about what's happening in North Korea-- will get the next risible aid offer?
Good buddies gotta stick together.
I haven't seen anything to indicate Trump was pissed enough with Kim and North Korea to offer our expert assistance with the C19 virus.
Rockygirl,
Thanks for that jolt on this Sunday morning, Love in the time of Trump Virus. We may all be hiding out and living on peanut butter soon (I guess most of us are already hiding out). Meanwhile, Fatty and his band of murderous liars are still “foolin’ around”.
I read that David Byrne wrote this song while living in Alphabet City in the mid to late 70s. I was across town in the West Village at the time, but I can see where he’d get that cozy post-apocalyptic feeling living there back then. I understand it’s hip and gentrified (and expensive) now.
I remember looking at an apartment in Alphabet City. When the landlord turned on the lights, an army of giant cockroaches scattered for the cracks in the walls. I decided I’d prefer not to have to arm wrestle the roaches to see who got to sleep in the bed each night, so I decided. And now the cockroaches are in the White House, running for their hidey holes whenever truth and facts threaten their partying and their dirty disco dancing.
In November, we can all decline to live in a place infested with and riven by cockroaches.
Declined, not decided (although a decision was made). Damned autocorrect.
Think we can autocorrect Fatty?
Our (dimwit Americans) use of the toilet as a means of disposal is curious phenomenon. It's like an exception to the notion of 'object permanence', what psychologists say we develop early in childhood. Flush out of sight means gone forever - right? Oops, its coming back.
My nightmare was confirmed by a recent New England Journal of Medicine study on the longevity of COVID virus on surfaces (up to 72 hours on metal and plastic). The nightmare is where the high school kid that stocks the produce and dairy aisles in my supermarket is an asymptomatic super-spreader. I'm sure he/she wasn't tested or wears PPE. I won't comment on those neurotic shoppers who are compelled to examine each an every square centimeter of produce then put it back. So, I hope everyone is treating packaged goods and produce from the store as if it were contaminated with radioactive dust - and DON'T throw the wipes in the toilet.
@ Ken re: yesterday's comment
Sorry, just got around to seeing your reply. My thought was indeed ill-developed, sent off in transit.
I didn't mean to imply Democrats should bomb the relief effort like Republicans surely would (and tried when Obama got elected, in part leading to the midterm wipe out he experienced). I meant to just put an emphasis on the huge weight of this legislation, essentially making or breaking families, companies, industries, and a presidency, and make sure they game out every option to maximize their gains and shift all the pains.
So far it seems the Dems are totally absent from the PR battle, where most of the war is won with low info. America, so hopefully all their silence is being spent studying Game Theory in the basement of the Capitol. Pelosi is playing a really strong hand, we're going to have to trust she uses it. And then lets everyone know about it in a prolonged PR blitz.
Safari,
Quite. Democrats HAVE been losing the PR war. Maybe they don’t want to make it look like they’re engaging, confederate-like, in a propaganda pissing contest, but that doesn’t mean they should keep quiet about the horrors being inflicted upon the nation by a uniquely unqualified, unmitigated disaster of a president and the liars who prop him up.
Here’s the way this normally works: Republicans get away with the most heinous, unconstitutional, unethical, immoral, illegal crap and wait for Democrats to come along and clean things up. Then the right-wing propaganda machine goes into overdrive, blaming Democrats for the chaos, then taking credit for fixing the problems caused by America-hating, commie, gay, immigrant, minority, moocher loving Democrats. They all get re-elected, stealing a few extra seats into the bargain, and the cycle repeats itself.
Part of the problem (a huge part, actually) is that there IS no liberal media. The left has nothing even distantly approximating what Republicans have in terms of a hyper partisan media juggernaut, dedicated to spreading lies, dangerous propaganda, and conspiracies on a 24/7 basis. The MSM has been effectively cowed, neutered, spaded, and otherwise disemboweled by a generation’s worth of insidious and false attacks by the right.
Had Obama discovered the cure for cancer during his tenure, The NY Times headline would have been “Medical experts express extreme skepticism about so-called cure. Mitch McConnell warns public not to trust liberal lies”.
Democrats themselves have been backed off far too often. Remember when Mike Dukakis refrained from referring to himself as a liberal because Democrats allowed ratfuckers like Manafort, Stone, Atwater, Reagan, Bush, and the army of right-wing liars to define the term down for Americans?
We simply cannot allow the ignorant, murderous cretins in this administration, and their congressional and media toadies to rescue the Orange Menace from yet another epic disaster by claiming that he knew all along how bad the Trump Virus would be and is winning the war against it.
Democrats are the adults in the room, now trying to clean up this mess, but if the public buys the confederate line of bullshit (AGAIN), we may find ourselves with four more years of horror.
So if I want to be tested but am not exhibiting symptoms, I can just ask for the Rand Paul package?
Speaking of "ignorant, murderous cretins" here is a story about a researcher who found that violent deaths increased whenever Republicans were put in charge for the past century. And it doesn't even include all the violence since Trump got into the White House.
@wto re: test packet -
I reply - with personal knowledge - that you’d receive compassion and generosity only from *Ru* Paul.
@periscope wrote, "The nightmare is where the high school kid that stocks the produce and dairy aisles in my supermarket is an asymptomatic super-spreader." My assumption is that young Corona Charlie is sneezing & coughing on the cookies. I'm not eating "fresh" uncooked vegies till this is over unless I grow them myself. I didn't do it entirely with my last grocery-shopping trip -- about two weeks ago -- but every damned box, bottle & package, is getting a spritz of Lysol (including the Lysol bottle) from now on. I am not by nature or personal history a clean-freak, but I've decided to freak out for the duration of the Trumpinfluenza.
No surprise at Rand Paul, other politicos, or marquee types getting tested with prompt results. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with a version of the old saying: "Them what has, gets."
Wto and Hattie,
I will bet you that Fatty and his nasty brood of nepotistic moochers, including the half-pence and his cohort, Pompey, DeVos, Barr, and the rest of the crooks, get tested daily, despite the dearth of testing kits for average Americans (especially since Marred-a-Lago, that shithole down in Florida, appears to be a hotbed of the Trump Virus). If it seems funny that so many well connected pols routinely announce that they’ve tested either positive or negative, it’s a clear sign that these fuckers (like the Littlest Hypocrite, Man ‘O the People, “libertarian” douchebag, L’il Randy) get tested whenever they want, even when they’re asymptomatic.
If you listen to Hypocrite-in-Chief, Dr. Fatty, he’s been telling reg’lar ‘mericans (ie, not ruling class big shots) to stay home and not worry about being tested, especially if there’s no symptoms. Of course this is only in the last few days when the infection total is up over 31,000 and he realized he had to redirect his lies.
The “Rand Paul Package”, as you so aptly referred to it, would be unavailable to you unless you could demonstrate your value to Dr. Fatty’s re-election ratfucking. Sorry.
And while we’re on the subject of hypocrites who cover their own asses as they let others die, here’s hoping that Li’l Randy coughed on McTurtle’s covfefe cup just before he tested positive. You know if McConnell tested positive, he’d empty out an entire hospital, ER, ICU, and NICU so as to ensure that every medical professional in the place was focused solely on saving his treasonous ass.
Akhilleus & Mrs. Bea (<= kinda sounds like a network series: forensic siblings searching for evidence of GOP humanity)
AK - Totally enjoying *Dr.* Fatty”. Poor deflated (ego, not physio) dude needs a promotion, no? And I like how it highlights, mocks his charlatanism. Thanks!
Mrs McC - “Trumpinfluenza”. Yes! I aim to borrow and footnote. Might even precede with “Lumpen” as visual em-belly-ish-ment.