Thursday
Mar262020
The Commentariat -- March 27, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Paul Kane, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House of Representatives voted Friday to approve a massive $2 trillion stimulus bill that policy makers hope will blunt the economic destruction of the coronavirus pandemic, sending the legislation to President Trump for enactment. The legislation passed in dramatic fashion, approved on an overwhelming voice vote by lawmakers who'd been forced to return to Washington by a GOP colleague who had insisted on a quorum being present. Some lawmakers came from New York and other places where residents are supposed to be sheltering at home. The procedural move by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) drew bipartisan fury...." The Hill's story is here. Mrs. McC: This was Massie's way of compromising the health of other members of Congress, their families & others they may have come in contact with.
David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump lashed out at General Motors on Friday, blaming it for overpromising on its ability to make new ventilators for critically ill coronavirus patients and threatening to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel the company to do so. In a series of tweets, the president emphasized the urgent need for the ventilators, an abrupt change of tone from the night before, when he told Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, that states were inflating their needs.... With the Federal Emergency Management Agency still evaluating a $1.5 billion proposal from those companies, Mr. Trump declared that General Motors 'MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!!' He added, 'FORD, GET GOING ON ventilators, FAST!!!!!!' Within an hour, General Motors and Ventec announced that they would begin producing ventilators at the Kokomo plant, and that the machines would be 'scheduled to ship as soon as next month.' But the statement offered no estimates of numbers and ... or whether the Trump administration would be buying and distributing the machines."
Mrs. McC: Specs fixed.
From the New York Times live updates of coronavirus developments Friday: "President Trump on Friday attacked Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, for threatening to hold up passage of a $2 trillion stimulus package scheduled for a House vote at noon. Calling Mr. Massie, a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, a 'third rate Grandstander,' Mr. Trump defended the economic stabilization bill passed unanimously in the Senate on Wednesday, and said Mr. Massie should be booted from the Republican Party. House leaders will try at noon to pass the measure by voice vote, but they could fail if Mr. Massie follows through on his threats to object. That would mean a majority of the chamber would have to cast votes in person."
Brett Murphy & Letitia Stein of USA Today: "... America's chance to contain the coronavirus crisis came and went in the seven weeks since U.S. health officials botched the testing rollout and then misled scientists in state laboratories about this critical early failure. Federal regulators failed to recognize the spiraling disaster and were slow to relax the rules that prevented labs and major hospitals from advancing a backup.... The nation's public health pillars -- the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration -- shirked their responsibility to protect Americans in an emergency like this new coronavirus, USA TODAY found in interviews with dozens of scientists public health experts and community leaders, as well as email communications between laboratories and hospitals across the country.... CDC leaders not only bungled their role in developing the first coronavirus test permitted in the country, they also misrepresented the efficacy of early solutions to state health authorities."
As They Lay Dying. Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press: "Roadside mannequin are inviting residents of Moss Point, Miss., to resume shopping at a local clothing store, restaurants are returning their dine-in services, and churches are re-opening their doors for services ... after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order Tuesday that overruled local measures meant to stop the virus' spread.... Despite the order's clear wording, Reeves' office has seesawed back and forth on what exactly it does. On Wednesday night, the governor's office claimed to other media that a Jackson Free Press report on the order, discussed on the Rachel Maddow Show, was incorrect in reporting that it supersedes local orders. By Thursday afternoon, though, Reeves himself confirmed the reporting at a press conference and then issued a follow-up supplement to the executive order confirming that it does indeed supersede local orders that interfere with the 'essential' businesses."
Trumpsters Take on Fauci. Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "A cadre of right-wing news sites pulled from the fringes in recent years through repeated mention by President Trump is now taking aim at Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert.... [Trump] has found support from a chorus of conservative commentators who have cheered his promise to get the U.S. economy going again as well as his decision to tout possible coronavirus treatments not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 'The president was right, and frankly Fauci was wrong,' [pre-eminent medical expert] Lou Dobbs said Monday on his show on the Fox Business Network, referring to the use of experimental medicine.... The smear campaign taking root online, and laying the groundwork for Trump to cast aside the experts on his own coronavirus task force, relies centrally on the idea that there is no expertise that rises above partisanship, and that everyone has an agenda."
~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I stepped on my specs. All typos till I get them repaired due to astigmatism. Past typos due to carelessness.
New York Times live updates of coronavirus developments for Friday are here. "Congress was set to take up a $2 trillion economic stabilization plan designed to save jobs and bail out companies that will also fundamentally transform the relationship between the government and private industry. In a sign of the times, the House is expected to approve the measure on Friday by voice vote, rather than having hundreds of lawmakers travel from their homes and violate restrictions on mass gatherings.
"Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the coronavirus and is suffering mild symptoms, the British government said on Friday. He is the first leader of a major Western country known to have contracted the virus." ~~~
~~~ Washington Post live updates for Friday are here.
New York Times live updates of coronavirus developments for Thursday are here. "In the United States, at least 81,321 people are known to have been infected with the coronavirus, including more than 1,000 deaths -- more cases than China, Italy or any other country has seen, according to data gathered by The New York Times.... The United States ... is a sprawling, cacophonous democracy, where states set their own policies and President Trump has sent mixed messages about the scale of the danger and how to fight it, ensuring there was no coherent, unified response to a grave public health threat. [Full story by Don McNeil of the NYT here.]
“President Trump said on Thursday that the Navy hospital ship U.S.N.S. Comfort will disembark on Saturday from Norfolk, Va., and arrive at Manhattan's Pier 90 on Monday, three weeks earlier than expected. The ship should bolster the capacity of New York's hospitals, which are straining with patients suffering from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Mr. Trump said that he would personally see off the ship. 'I'm going to go out and kiss it goodbye,' he said -- a photo opportunity that would mark his first departure from the White House in weeks." Access to the updates is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~ Washington Post live updates are here. Access is free. (Also linked yesterday.)
Abigail Hauslohner, et al., of the Washington Post: "... just two months after America's first confirmed case..., the coronavirus has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States, a toll that is increasing at an alarming rate.... Experts fear the worst is still to come, pointing to a rapid acceleration of cases in communities across the country. The Washington Post is tracking every known U.S. death, analyzing data from health agencies and gathering details from family and friends of the victims." The story is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday.)
You're going to lose more people by putting a country into a massive recession or depression. -- Donald Trump, making up stuff Tuesday ~~~
~~~ Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "Though the question of the overall impact of recessions on mortality remains unsettled, experts disputed Mr. Trump's claim that an economic downturn would be more deadly than a pandemic. (The White House did not respond when asked for the source of the president's conjecture.)... For the general population, studies have found that death rates from other causes were either unchanged or actually decreased [during economic downturns].... In comparison, projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that deaths from the coronavirus in the United States could range from 200,000 to 1.7 million.... [Also,] if efforts to mitigate the coronavirus abate and cases and deaths spiral out of control, the economy would also be affected by self-imposed lockdowns."
Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "Tensions between President Trump and governors from states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic are rising at a time when the White House is pushing to loosen restrictions on social distancing.... The president's upbeat assessment ... has distressed the leaders in states where the virus is spreading exponentially.... On Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) pleaded with Trump during a conference call with the governors to take more dramatic federal action to secure medical supplies for his state.... After Trump told the group that his administration was ready to be the 'backup' for states in crisis, Inslee interjected: 'We don't need a backup. We need a Tom Brady.'... Trump responded defensively, two ... people said, and told Inslee that he and the federal government have already done much for Washington and other states in recent days, ticking off several initiatives.... At a White House news briefing, Trump called reports of tension on his call with the governors 'fake news,' insisting that Brady's name was raised 'in a positive way.'... 'I would say one person -- a little, tiny bit of a raising of a voice, a wise guy a little bit,' Trump said, without identifying the governor. 'But he's usually a big wise guy -- not so much anymore. We saw to it he wouldn't be anymore.'" ~~~
~~~ Dartunorro Clark of NBC News: "... Donald Trump told America's governors in a letter on Thursday that his administration will soon set new social distancing guidelines as the coronavirus pandemic worsens. Trump said in the letter that new coronavirus testing capabilities would allow his administration to identify 'high-risk, medium risk and low-risk' counties. And these new guidelines will assist governors and other officials to decide on 'maintaining, increasing or relaxing social distancing and other mitigation measures they have put in place.' The president said by doing 'robust surveillance testing,' officials will be able to 'monitor the spread of the virus throughout the country.'" Mrs. McC: Oh, I'm sure the testing with be just as "robust" as it has been until now. Thanks to Bobby Lee for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) A reproduction of Trump's letter, via NPR, is here.
... you don't make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline. -- Dr. Anthony Fauci, on CNN Wednesday night ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Kristof & Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "We created an interactive model [included on the linked page] with epidemiologists to show why quickly returning to normal could be a historic mistake that would lead to an explosion of infections, hospitalizations and deaths.... A skeptic will note that these measures don't seem to prevent a surge in infections so much as delay them (in some cases so that the impact is pushed beyond the period that this model tracks). There's something to that: We may see a resurgence whenever we let up, at least until we have a vaccine or herd immunity. Yet social distancing still is beneficial in two ways. First, we can use the time to buttress hospitals and test treatments. Second, interventions can flatten the curve and spread infections over a longer period of time, so that the health care system does not become overwhelmed." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I suppose if someone showed the chart above to President Me-Me-Me, it would make no difference, as he doesn't give a fig how many people he kills in the name of Trump.
Elena Renken of NPR: "Over a thousand people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, and over a third of those deaths have taken place in New York. Nearly half the confirmed cases in the United States are in New York. The state has become a coronavirus hot spot -- anyone leaving New York City is being asked to self-quarantine for two weeks.... Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House coronavirus task force, says other states need to prepare to take on outbreaks of this scale."
David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "The White House had been preparing to reveal on Wednesday a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems that would allow for the production of as many as 80,000 desperately needed ventilators to respond to an escalating pandemic when word suddenly came down that the announcement was off. The decision to cancel the announcement, government officials say, came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive. That price tag was more than $1 billion, with several hundred million dollars to be paid upfront to General Motors to retool a car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., where the ventilators would be made with Ventec's technology.... And they contend that an initial promise that the joint venture could turn out 20,000 ventilators in short order had shrunk to 7,500, with even that number in doubt.... 'Ford, General Motors and Tesla are being given the go ahead to make ventilators and other metal products, FAST! @fema,' [Donald Trump falsely] wrote [last Sunday]." ~~~
~~~ So Then. Allyson Chiu & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "President Trump cast doubt Thursday on New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's assertion that his state, which has become the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, will need 30,000 ventilators to properly care for the influx of patients anticipated to flood hospitals in coming weeks. 'I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they're going to be,' Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a phone interview. 'I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go into major hospitals sometimes they'll have two ventilators, and now all of a sudden they're saying, "Can we order 30,000 ventilators?"'" Mrs. McC: Yeah, two sounds good.
A Fake Excuse Falls Apart. Richard Harris of NPR: "When asked why the United States didn't import coronavirus tests when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ran into difficulty developing its own, government officials have frequently questioned the quality of the foreign-made alternatives. But NPR has learned that the key study they point to was retracted just days after it was published online in early March. Top officials in the Trump administration have alluded to this study, including Dr. Deborah Birx, who coordinates the White House coronavirus task force. 'It doesn't help to put out a test where 50% or 47% are false positives,' she said at a White House briefing on March 17, explaining why health officials didn't accept tests from other countries. Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn cited the figure as well during an interview on Morning Edition on Friday.... 'Scientists shouldn't be depending on the results of as scientific paper when the authors are saying through the retraction that they do not have confidence in the results,' says Dr. Steven Goodman, professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford."
Mrs. McCrabbie: NiskyGuy wrote in yesterday's Comments, "... I heard MA governor Charlie Baker (R rational) ... [say] MA had a contract for PPE, had cut a check, when the vendor called to say that FEMA had outbid the state, and the supplies were going to the Feds. How the fuck does that line up with trump's 'The states should be getting the stuff on their own' ??!!??!!??!" I looked in vain to find a print version of the story, which Rachel Maddow also featured on her show. However, I found this week-old report: ~~~
~~~ "Trump Chuckled." Eliza Relman of Business Insider (March 20): "During a conference call with governors on Thursday [a week ago], Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told Trump his state was denied three major orders of equipment because the federal government had outbid him.... 'We took very seriously the push ... that we should not just rely on the stockpile, that we should go out there and buy stuff and put in orders and try to create pressure on manufacturers and distributors, and I gotta tell you that on three big orders, we lost to the feds.' Baker, a moderate Republican, added, 'I've got a feeling that if someone has the chance to sell to you and to sell to me, I am going to lose on every one of those.' Trump chuckled at that and then said the federal government probably offered the manufacturers a better price.... Later on the call, after the New Mexico government made a similar complaint, Trump said he would tell FEMA to ensure state orders aren't turned down over a conflict with his administration."
SEIU-UHW: "The Service Employees International Union -- United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) has located 39 million critically needed N95 masks and is connecting states, counties, health systems and individual hospitals to the supplier so they can purchase them in quantity. The 3M™ N95 masks (model 1860) are cleared for use as surgical masks and are approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
** Rebecca Beitsch of The Hill: "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a sweeping suspension of its enforcement of environmental laws Thursday, telling companies they would not need to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus outbreak. The temporary policy, for which EPA has set no end date, would allow any number of industries to skirt environmental laws, with the agency saying it will not 'seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations.'... The memo says companies should try to minimize 'the effects and duration of any noncompliance' with environmental laws, and should also keep records of their own noncompliance, along with identifying how the coronavirus was a factor." --s
Mark Miller of the New York Times: "Medicare already covers its enrollees for much of what they might need if they contract the [corona]virus and become seriously ill -- and it has expanded some services and loosened some rules in response to the crisis. Here's a look at what enrollees can expect from Medicare, some problems to look out for and some additional changes that advocates think still need to be made." Mrs. McC: Not sure if this is a freebie; if not, MSN has reprinted the story here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jesse Drucker of the New York Times: "The federal government's planned $2 trillion economic rescue package ... includes a potential bonanza for America's richest real estate investors.... [Donald] Trump and [Jared] Kushner, as well as other wealthy real estate developers, have the potential to score big tax savings.... Senate Republicans inserted an easy-to-overlook provision on page 203 of the 880-page bill that would permit wealthy investors to use losses generated by real estate to minimize their taxes on profits from things like investments in the stock market. The estimated cost of the change over 10 years is $170 billion.... A draft congressional analysis this week found that the change is the second-biggest tax giveaway in the $2 trillion stimulus package.... Among the possible beneficiaries of the change are real estate investors in President Trump's inner circle."
Noah Lanard of Mother Jones: "For the third time in three days, people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were pepper-sprayed on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic raises tensions within immigration jails. All of the pepper-spraying incidents have occurred at detention centers run by the private prison giant GEO Group.... A draft of a court declaration from Mariel Villarreal, an immigration attorney at Pangea Legal Services..., states that the pepper-spraying occurred as women received a presentation about the coronavirus [Wednesday] morning. '[My client] stated that the women's questions were going unanswered and their concerns were being ignored by the officers.'" Thanks to Hattie for the link.
Blair Miller of ABC Denver 7: "Six Republican state lawmakers from Douglas County [Colorado] -- including the House and Senate minority leaders and a senator who has COVID-19 and is quarantined at his second home in California -- called for county commissioners to terminate the county's relationship with the Tri-County Health Department after it issued a stay-at-home order Wednesday morning.... The lawmakers said they felt the order was 'heavy-handed' and should not have come from the health department, though it has the authority to issue such an order." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Lucas Sullivan of the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch: "Pharmacists across Ohio this week provided details to The Dispatch of questionable prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, or chloroquine, that have poured in from doctors in the past week. The prescriptions were filed as soon as an hour after ... Donald Trump promoted them last Thursday as a possible treatment for coronavirus.... The Dispatch interviewed 12 pharmacists from across the state who work in major hospitals, chain stores and independent stores. Each said in the past week that they had received six to eight questionable prescriptions from dermatologists, OB/GYNs, dentists and allergists. The state has now moved to restrict prescribing so only patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 can receive the drug." (Also linked yesterday.)
A.J. Vicens of Mother Jones: A large company owned by Kushner Companies is pressing tenants to pay their full rents on time by "credit or debit card ... for a fee, or by e-check without additional charge." The emails to renters also said the company would close gyms & provide fewer maintenance services during the coronavirus crisis. Thanks to Hattie for the link.
Claudio Cancelli & Luca Foresti of Corriere Della Sera [Italy], via TPM: "Nembro, in the province of Bergamo, is the municipality most affected by Covid-19 in relation to the population.... The number of deaths officially attributed to Covid-19 is 31.... In this case, the number of abnormal deaths compared to the averagethat Nembro recorded in the period of time in consideration is equal to 4 times those officially attributed to Covid-19.... The numbers of Nembro also suggest that we must take those official deaths and multiply them by at least 4 to have the real impact of Covid-19 in Italy, at this moment." [Emphasis added] --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I have heard & read anecdotal evidence that the same undercount is occurring in the U.S.
Karen McVeigh of the Guardian: "The fight to ban plastic bags, many of which end up polluting oceans and rivers, has taken a step backward as conservative US think-tanks exploit the fear of Covid-19, campaigners have said. Articles warning that reusable cloth bags are worse than plastic ones for spreading coronavirus have been linked to major rightwing nonprofits such as the Manhattan Institute, and contain misinformation aimed at defeating or repealing plastic bag bans, said Greenpeace USA.... Last week a number of US states and cities nevertheless took the decision to roll back plastic bag bans, citing the coronavirus." --s
Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "One of the first deaths in Virginia from coronavirus was a 66-year-old Christian 'musical evangelist' who fell ill while on a trip to New Orleans with his wife. As the Friendly Atheist's Bo Gardiner points out, Landon Spradlin had previously shared opinions that the pandemic was the result of 'mass hysteria' from the media. On March 13, Spradlin shared a misleading meme that compared coronavirus deaths to swine flu deaths and suggested the media is using the pandemic to hurt Trump."
Bradley Bowman, et al. of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies: "As the Coronavirus crisis escalated earlier this month in the United States, Moscow repeatedly sent Tu-142 long-range reconnaissance aircraft to probe America's homeland defenses. The incursions into the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) air defense identification zone (ADIZ) demonstrated Moscow's continued aggressive policy toward the United States and underscored the need to maintain U.S. military readiness, even in the midst of an historic pandemic. This month, Moscow tested U.S. and Canadian homeland aerospace threat detection and reaction three times over a one-week period." --s
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terrific interview - oh-so grateful to them both:
“Dr. Fauci Answers Trevor Noah’s Questions About Coronavirus | The Daily (Social Distancing) Show“ | YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3jiM2FNR8
Marie,
As a lifelong esurient reader, “Time enough at last” has always been one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes. And although I’m guessing you weren’t ensconced in a bank vault while Little Rocketman Kim sent a thermonuclear love letter to his fat orange bestie, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to replace your specs in (I hope) short order. I know when I misplace my reading glasses (often to find them perched on my brow—duh), I feel like Groucho trying to focus on that contract in “A Night at the Opera”... “If my arms were a little longer I could read it. You haven’t got a baboon in your pocket, have you?” (Fatty has a half baboon right next to him Most of the time. Or maybe it’s the other way around.)
I tend to have half a dozen reading glasses in various states of decency hanging about, but almost always invisible when I really need them. Co-workers used to stop by my office with mislaid pairs on a regular basis. Then again, not being able to read (sans the squinty technique) about the latest atrocities regarding the Trump Virus might not be all that bad, at least for a day or so.
How long before Dr. Fatty starts dissing inconvenient (to his dreams of personal glory) medical advice as “socialist distancing”?
Off topic:
Marie, are you any relation to Iris Pangburn?
Leaders lead. They don’t offer to be the backup. But only if it’s like, ya know, necessary.
Amazing, the startling lack of Trump’s self awareness. On a call with actual leaders of states hit hard by a virus he did nothing to prevent, he takes a back seat, saying he could maybe be a backup. Then, when called on this feeble, impotent posture, pretends to be a tough guy by tossing out insults. It truly is the only thing he’s good for. A squeaky, greedy, cowardly, impuissant piece of shit.
Looks like the Drumpfian "Blame Game" is coming into view. It's two-fold:
First, blame the states and their governors. This tactic has been clear as day for a while now.
The second I hadn't seen so clearly, but it's an old GOP canard: Blame the federal government. This seems ironic, because Drumpf is supposed to be the head of said government. But it sure looks like Grover Norquist or Newt Gingrich (or Steve Bannon?) has been in his ear lately, reminding the Dotard that MAGA cultist have been trained to hate the federal government, because it's inefficient and wastes tax dollars and distributes resources to Other people. This would explain why the federal government is dragging its feet in nearly every area of response, especially the Defense Production Act. Why should people rely on the federal government to come to help? They don't want a nanny providential state like those weak Europeans. Americans should buck up, grab them boot straps and forge into the unknown.
Movement Conservatism: Pass the buck, take no responsibility & pray to the dollar.
On another note: Because The Orange Menace is a predictable sociopath, one of his campaign rallying cry talking points come November is going to pick out one of the higher end mortality rates reported (I've seen 2.2 million possible deaths*), then he'll predictably underreport and fudge the actual numbers, choosing one WAY lower than reality, and then wail to his cult members about how the MSM wanted to sow panic, they're the enemy of the people and can't be trusted, and Dear Leader stable genius actually SAVED millions of people, but no one wants to give him credit for the AmAzIng job he did. And the MSM won't even know how to cover it.
*https://www.democracynow.org/2020/3/18/headlines/researchers_left_unchecked_coronavirus_could_kill_22_million_in_us
Upon reflection, I may have conflated Governor Baker’s sentiment with another governor’s words. I can almost hear Governor Cuomo saying: “We signed the contract. We cut the check.” The insanity of FEMA outbidding the states THAT ARE TRYING TO DO WHAT THEY WERE TOLD TO DO... That is unparalleled leadership.
@safari: you got it! Blame the states and governors and then, by george, right out of the Bannon playbook, blame the government.
Somehow, and I suppose it's because I believed someone or something would stop this fool, I am still bowled over by his actions. For him to castigate certain governors because they aren't licking his sorry ass, is shocking to me in this time of crisis. For him to deal with this pandemic in a personal, political way is immoral and dangerous. Even without my reading glasses, which thankfully are still intact, (my sympathies to Marie) I see real evil in this head of a snake.
And I was thinking of our other matter of deep concern which is that little ole thing called "Climate change". When this virus can finally be contained, we need to forge headlong into this other catastrophe that has been put on the back burner. We do notice that the lack of vehicles on our roads have reduced air pollution––ya think?????
By the by––Boris Johnson has just tested positive.
Chasing Bumfuck.
Bea,
My acquaintance with the word goes back to the early 1970's, when I was on a backpacking trip into the Idaho Sawtooths with a college classmate and good friend.
He sprang it on me, he told me yesterday when I asked him where he had first heard the word, as we neared Idaho City. It was one of the very memorable aspects of that trip, the wonderful word new to me at the time, the glorious mountains with their jagged peaks and cold snow fed lakes, and the equally glorious very hot water Nixon was in that summer.
Asked my friends then where he first heard the word but didn't remember his answer so asked him again yesterday.
His answer: "I think I saw it in an improvised play in Portland years earlier, not specifically about Idaho, but about small towns with few redeeming qualities."
So....still can't identify the original American bumfuck, but where ever it is, it's been around for a long time.
The Orange Menace is coming apart. For the first time in his life, he is up against something he cannot bully, bludgeon, boss around, lie about, or pretend doesn’t exist (oh, he will continue to try these old Trump standbys, but it’s hard to lie about death and impossible to pretend that bodies are invisible). He can’t buy it off or threaten it. He is simply incapable of dealing with this crisis.
Daddy can’t come to the rescue, nor Fox; neither can his lackeys on the Supreme Court or in the a Congress, (they can’t rule against it or pass legislation outlawing it) and he’s got no chance of feeding his addiction to unalloyed adulation and slavish, unquestioning approval from the MAGA morons at one of his Bund rallies where he can strut and primp and preen and attack the usual straw men, blaming everyone but himself for the unholy mess he has caused, and see only delirious, adoring faces looking up at him and howling with joy at his every ignorant, racist, narcissistic lie.
This has been his drug of choice since this whole thing started and he’s now hopelessly addicted, with no chance of scoring now that his new enemy doesn’t give a shit about what he says or thinks or does.
He can’t demagogue the problem, can’t promise to build a big beautiful wall and make the virus pay for it.
And like a hopeless alcoholic, he can manage only the occasional whiff of booze from his White House sycophants, but without the necessary quart of hard stuff to calm his nerves and allay his fears, he’ll become ever more unstable and unhinged.
Basically, he’s fucked.
The Deep State strikes again.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/climate/trumps-environmental-rollbacks-staff-scientists.html?
Thank goodness for the Deep State.
There is the possibility that the reason Trump had no role in the biggest legislative deal in american history is that he is seriously non compos mentis at this time. I cannot stand watching those so called press releases because it looks to me that he has no connection to reality at all. He is unaware that going back to business as usual will kill people. He is an immediate danger to society and must be removed from his position. Now.
Yes I know everybody knows this. I just had to write it down.
It's Akhilleus' fault: he wrote "esurient" and my brain immediately returned to the times when my grandmother took me to hear church latin: "esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimissit inanes". I 'm sure this has not come up in my mind for at least several decades. So memory can be deep and permanent. But Trump's memory? It's gone, he's demented, he's gotta go.
Trevor Noah's interview with Dr. Fauci contains the most informative and useful information I've come across (should I be worried about food containers from the grocery store, etc.) Thank you, Hattie & Marie, for posting this. Not one mention, pro or con of president me, me, me.
Here is a Daily Show video on Fox New's attacks on...Biden?
Tales From the (White House) Crypt
That title, sans WH location, refers to an infamous comic book published in the 50s that concentrated its energies solely on crime and horror.
Just like Trump!
The comics were neutralized by congressional action stemming from groups aligned against comic books generally and specifically outraged by lurid images of gory mayhem in the EC comics line.
Congress, back then, took action at what was thought by some to be a potential danger to young minds. Today, Congress, at least the parts controlled by Trumpish oafs and treasonous parasites, cheers on the actual danger to human life threatened by the Orange Menace, whose menace factor doubles every day or so.
Those old EC comics featured scary looking ghouls as the hosts for each story, usually holding skulls or scythes and dripping blood and gore. Trump would be a perfect replacement for The Old Cryptkeeper.But unlike those fictional creatures, he is an actual killer who thrives on chaos and fear.
Today I read a piece about the angst certain wingers are feeling about their Dear Leader encouraging Americans to forget all about precautionary measures to prevent minor things like, oh, I dunno, death?
The article suggests that there are those on the right worried that they might not get another four years to anally scrape the country, opining that Dr. Fatty’s plan might not be the best course of action since it “...could be imprudent to inject more uncertainty into an already unpredictable crisis.”
Wait. What? Where have these idiots been hiding out? Injecting uncertainty into (and causing) unpredictable crises is WHAT HE DOES. It’s pretty much all he does. It’s what he’s best at.
Duh.
I’m still thinking that the OM is much scarier and more horrific than any fantasy monster. Freddy Krueger? Pshaw. A piker next to this beast from confederate hell.
https://images.app.goo.gl/EzZTq1Hnbhc6KDcB8
From Bob Burnett's latest column in Daily Kos:
"On March 25, NYU Economics Professor Nouriel Roubini (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/25/coronavirus-pandemic-has-delivered-the-fastest-deepest-economic-shock-in-history) spoke of the timetable:
"[E]very component of aggregate demand – consumption, capital spending, exports – is in unprecedented freefall... The contraction that is now under way looks to be neither V- nor U- nor L-shaped (a sharp downturn followed by stagnation). Rather, it looks like an I: a vertical line representing financial markets and the real economy plummeting....Not even during the Great Depression and the second world war did the bulk of economic activity literally shut down, as it has in China, the US and Europe today."
Hold on tight, we're entering rough water."
Indeed we are.
Victoria,
“Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes".
And then there’s “ Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles.”
Ah, if only. Mirabile dictu.
(Excellent memory. The stuff we learned when we were young is never out of reach. As a onetime altar boy, I still recall whole pages of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, even if I can’t remember where I put my reading glasses ten minutes ago.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWFr6khY2U4
Watch this: have kleenex ready.
a description of the consequences for not having ventilators
Can’t seem to capture Trevor Noah’s “Moment of Zen” following last night’s interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
If one of ya’ll can post it . . . pitifully priceless.
Can't find the source, but this just arrived in my in-box:
"Those who hate old people should never be allowed to be one."
Take that, grumpy Fox watching, Right Wingers!
Here's Trevor's show that Hattie mentioned. Watch to whole thing or just zip to the end for the Zen.
@ akhilleus: "Basically he's fucked"
Yes, just like the captain of the Titanic.
Massie's fuzzy math:
Since there are more Democrats than Republicans in the House, maybe he figgered he'd be killing more of them'uns.
A particularly fine Egan column, I thought.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/opinion/coronavirus-seattle.html?
@Cowichan
It the Pretender had captained the Titantic, he would have commandeered the first lifeboat off the ship.
unwashed re: “watch to whole thing or just zip to the end for the Zen.”
Thank you! (Never - doh - occurred to me.)
And this, sent to my by a cowboy poet friend who has cowboy poet contacts way Down Under:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia0bfWbOLjY&feature=youtu.be
More on what too few Americans already know:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/opinion/coronavirus-trump-evangelicals.html?
One more try for justice: The Miami Herald reports a Federal judge has told the state that if they don't fix the ex-felon voting mess "I will".
I'm sure this will be appealed.
Though we don't need ventilators and government shouldn't interfere with the private market, guess we're going to get those ventilators we don't need by at long last invoking centralized economic planning.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/trump-orders-general-motors-to-make-ventilators-under-defense-production-act.html
But I'll bet this gang of imbeciles can screw this up too.
Can someone please throw a shoe at the orange menace?
Don’t know if this will transfer:
“Dr. Fauci unveils a mask that could save millions of lives”
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/fow9w9/dr_anthony_fauci_unveils_a_mask_that_could_save/
Your last item, about Tu-104 flights over US territory is an old RWNJ canard. See Wikipedia - Treaty on Open Skies. The concept was originally proposed by the Soviet Union but rejected by the US until 1989. It was signed by that flaming radical President George H.W. Bush. 35 nations are members. Trump wants to withdraw from it, which is stupid, of course.
From my family practice doc daughter-in-law this evening:
(Our county is in the middle of the NYTImes list of covid cases per 1000.)
She said, "Not trying to create panic, just awareness. The amount of information we are dealing with daily is overwhelming and frankly frightening for those of us in healthcare. I have been trying to share only the best information I find to help everyone I know continue to make good decisions about shelter in place/social distancing practices. Based on the above, and data from China, it is clear we will need to continue these measures for at least 4 weeks after peak - so another 7-8 weeks. And sure as s--- not by Easter!"