The Commentariat -- February 26, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
From the Washington Post's live updates on coronavirus developments @4:30 pm ET Wednesday: "Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) who served as the health and human services secretary in Bill Clinton's administration, chastised Trump over his planned news briefing this evening, arguing that only medical professionals and scientists should be speaking to the public about the coronavirus. Shalala said during an appearance on MSNBC that this was especially so when it comes to Trump. 'This is an anti-science administration,' she said. 'The last person the American people trust is the president of the United States talking about science.'" Mrs. McC: Sorry, the link no longer works & I can't retrieve the text.
Trump to Hold Presser to Misinform Public about Health Crisis. Noal Weiland & Emily Chocrane of the New York Times: "President Trump blamed the media on Wednesday for 'doing everything possible' to make the coronavirus 'look as bad as possible,' even as he said his administration was 'doing a great job' with a virus that the Centers for Disease Control said would inevitably hit American shores. Mr. Trump set a 6 p.m. White House news conference to discuss the virus with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But his reassurances have not calmed global markets, which were down sharply overseas Wednesday morning. A day after its worst one-day slide in two years, the S&P 500 closed down 3 percent on Tuesday, a decline that put the index deeper in the red for 2020. With cabinet secretaries fanning out on Capitol Hill, Wednesday promised more sharp questioning about the administration's preparedness for a virus that has now infected more than 81,000 people globally and killed more than 2,700." A Hill report is here. Mrs. McC: Maybe McQuack will be arrested for practicing medicine without a license. Meanwhile, shame on news media for reporting news.
Intel Community to Mislead and/or STFU. Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "... Donald Trump is tightening his grip on the intelligence community as part of a post-acquittal purge of career officials and political appointees deemed insufficiently loyal, and the abrupt firing of his last intel chief is only the tip of the iceberg, current and former intelligence officials say.... But it also revealed a deeper trend: namely, the steps Trump has taken to shield the public from intelligence that could be politically damaging for him, and keep the flow of information coming out of the agencies firmly under his control.... The NSA, CIA, and Pentagon have been urged by the White House not to share information about Russia and Ukraine with lawmakers, while the 'Gang of Eight' senior members of Congress were bypassed leading up to at least one major intelligence operation. And intelligence community leaders have backed out of the public portion of the annual worldwide threats hearing, fearing Trump's wrath if their assessments don't align with his."
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Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "The Democratic presidential candidates delivered a barrage of criticism against their party's emerging front-runner, Senator Bernie Sanders, at a debate on Tuesday night, casting him as a divisive figure with unrealistic ideas, even as they continued to batter Michael R. Bloomberg for his extreme wealth, his record on policing and his alleged behavior toward women. Mr. Sanders, in his first debate since a smashing victory in the Nevada caucuses last weekend, cut a combative but perhaps not a commanding figure, firmly defending his left-wing agenda on subjects like health care and foreign policy against attacks from all sides. The forum plunged repeatedly into an unsightly spectacle of flailing hands and raised voices, and even outright chaos, with candidates talking over one another and the moderators struggling and failing at times to direct an orderly argument." ~~~
~~~ Marc Caputo & Noland McCaskill of Politico look at the "key moments." ~~~
~~~ Emily Stewart, et al., of Vox: "There was a lot of yelling at the Democratic debate in South Carolina on Tuesday, to the point that sometimes it was really unclear what was going on." ~~~
~~~ Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "Well, that was loud." ~~~
~~~ AND, in criticizing Bernie Sanders' 2007 vote to protect gun manufactrers from liability, Joe Biden said 150 million people (presumably Americans affected by Bernie's vote) had died since then from gun violence. Were that true, there's a good chance you would be too dead to read this. If you had survived, nearly half your neighbors would be dead. There would be regular shoot-outs on local streets. It's clear Biden doesn't listen to what he says because making a mistake like that is one thing; not realizing what a ridiculous mistake it is is another. ~~~
~~~ Here's the highlights reel:
The New York Times' debate snark-a-thon is here. It includes a live videofeed of the debate. Here's Politico's live analysis. It also includes a live videofeed.
The Boston Globe Editors endorse Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination.
You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country. We have very few people with it, and the people that have it are, in all cases, I have not heard anything other -- the people are getting better, they're all getting better. -- Donald Trump, Tuesday ~~~
~~~ Pam Belluck & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "The coronavirus almost certainly will begin spreading in communities in the United States, and Americans should begin preparations now, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. 'It's not so much of a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen,' Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a news briefing. In the event of an outbreak, communities should plan for 'social distancing measures,' like dividing school classes into smaller groups of students, closing schools, canceling meetings and conferences, and arranging for employees to work from home." (Also linked yesterday.) Bloomberg, via Yahoo!, has the story here. ~~~
~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: “Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) ... told senior Trump administration officials Tuesday that they are not adequately prepared for the possibility the coronavirus may spread more widely in the United States. Romney confronted administration officials at a private briefing on Capitol Hill about the same time that President Trump downplayed concerns about spreading infections, telling reporters in New Delhi the situation is 'under control' and is a 'problem that's going to go away.'... 'At this stage, I think we are substantially underinvesting in what would be appropriate for a setting which could be serious,' he [said'.... 'I think we should be pulling out all the stops,' he said." ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The Department of Homeland Security is coordinating the U.S. government's response to the increasing threat of the novel coronavirus. The agency has also been under the control of acting head Chad Wolf for more than four months, with no full-time replacement selected. And Wolf's testimony Tuesday morning wasn't exactly confidence-inspiring -- particularly for one GOP senator. Appearing in front of a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Wolf was on the receiving end of a brutal line of questioning from Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.). Throughout the exchange, Wolf struggled to produce basic facts and projections about the disease." Mrs. McC: If you have access to the WashPo, the article is worth reading. Wolf was entirely unprepared to answer the most basic questions about the virus. This could become Make America Hurricane Katrina Again. ~~~
~~~ Fred Imbert of CNBC: "National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow tried on Tuesday to assuage concerns over the cornavirus and its impact on the U.S. economy. 'We have contained this. I won't say [it's] airtight, but it's pretty close to airtight,' Kudlow told CNBC's Kelly Evans.... He added that, while the outbreak is a 'human tragedy,' it will likely not be an 'economic tragedy.' 'There will be some stumbles. We're looking at numbers; it's a little iffy,' Kudlow said. 'But at the moment ... there's no supply disruptions out there yet.'" ~~~
~~~ Steve M.: "But Tucker Carlson knows it's time for the right to seize the initiative and do what right-wingers always do when something bad happens: blame it on liberals.... 'He said:... "Countless publications wagged their fingers in the face of readers, and told them it was irrational, probably immoral in fact to worry about the coronavirus than the annual flu. Identity politics trumped public health and not for the first time. Wokeness is a cult. They would let you die before they admitted that diversity is not our strength."'... Rush Limbaugh also seized the moment -- and leveled the exact opposite charge at liberals, or at least at the 'liberal media': They're being overly alarmist.... Trumpism is popular among the untraveled; they're suspicious of people who gad about the planet rather than settling into a small town or gated retirement village. They'll regard this as a disease of rootless cosmopolitanism -- or, rather, as a disease rootless cosmopolitans have spread to simple, decent, travel-averse Volk." ~~~
~~~ James Hamblin of the Atlantic explains why (1) you're likely to contract a strain of coronavirus and (2) it isn't apt to kill you. Quite a helpful article.
Trump Tries to Stifle Female Judge & Justices:
Darren Samuelsohn & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge swung back at ... Donald Trump on Tuesday over his heated criticism of the Roger Stone case, warning that the president's commentary about his longtime associate's conviction had helped fuel threats to the jury. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson cited Trump's public comments and Twitter posts, as well as an accompanying campaign from the president's conservative media allies to identify and critique the jury, as one of the reasons for her decision to clamp down on public access to a hearing on Stone's request for a new trial. 'Any attempt to invade the privacy of the jurors or to harass or intimidate them is completely antithetical to our entire system of justice,' Jackson said before issuing a ruling that cleared the courtroom..., highly unusual hearing that featured testimony from the jury foreperson and two other members of the Stone jury. Not long after Jackson made her remarks, Trump tweeted three times in rapid fashion about the judge and the Stone jury. 'There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case. Look at her background. She never revealed her hatred of "Trump" and Stone,' he wrote in one post. 'She was totally biased, as is the judge. Roger wasn't even working on my campaign. Miscarriage of justice. Sad to watch!' The president also posted comments from a conservative lawyer complaining that Stone's jury wasn't impartial and a link to a Fox News story with a headline suggesting Jackson's bias 'may have jeopardized the whole trial.'" ~~~
~~~ Update. The New York Times story is here.
~~~ Eli Okun of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday slammed Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying both should recuse themselves from cases involving him or his administration. His comments at a press conference in India -- and previous tweets to the same effect -- came after Sotomayor criticized the court's conservative majority for granting a number of the administration's emergency stay requests.... Riffing off Laura Ingraham's commentary on her Fox News show, Trump used Sotomayor's dissent as a jumping-off point to hit the pair of liberal justices." (Also linked yesterday.) Update: The New York Times story is here. ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Chait: "'She's trying to shame people with a different view into voting her way, and that's so inappropriate,' Trump complained. In other words, Sotomayor' offense is to try to make arguments in her written dissents that persuade other justices to change their minds. That is not a cause for recusal, it is literally the job description for a Supreme Court justice. It is true that Ginsburg clumsily opined on Trump during the campaign (probably assuming, as many people did, he was bound to lose). That is certainly a form of bias that detracts from the image of nonpartisanship the court attempts to project. On the other hand, Trump appointed two members of the Supreme Court. A third justice, Clarence Thomas, currently has a spouse working for his administration, where she is at this moment helping lead a purge of putatively disloyal officials and attempting to replace them with a list of right-wing lunatics."
Muslim-Ban Prez Praises Anti-Muslim PM. Anne Gearan, et al., of the Washington Post: "As violence erupted in the streets Tuesday over a citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, President Trump defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's record on religious tolerance.... 'We did talk about religious freedom, and I will say that the prime minister was incredible in what he told me. He wants people to have religious freedom and very strongly,' Trump said during a news conference that capped the public portion of his largely ceremonial visit.... The bonhomie and praise for Modi's leadership was all the more striking for its contrast with an apparent communal riot between Hindus and Muslims.... At least 13 people were killed, including a police officer, in clashes in the capital city during Trump's visit. The violence began when supporters of the citizenship law confronted opponents of the measure. Heavy police presence in the affected areas failed to stem the violence.... The U.S. State Department has repeatedly expressed concerns about the crackdown in Muslim-majority Kashmir after Modi revoked its autonomy. The citizenship law along with India's other actions have drawn bipartisan criticism in Congress...."
Jim Acosta Is Tired of Trying to Reason with Donald Trump:
Mr. President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes. -- Jim Acosta of CNN, to Donald Trump, after Trump questioned CNN's credibility ~~~
~~~ Eli Okun: "... Donald Trump was half a world away from his usual Washington fights on Thursday but couldn't resist a press conference spat with an old standby from back home: CNN's Jim Acosta. A question from Acosta at Tuesday's news conference in New Delhi about foreign electoral interference and Trump's new acting director of national intelligence quickly degenerated into a splatter of cross-talk once the president took aim at CNN's credibility." The exchange starts at 30:05 minutes in this video. Trump seems very low-energy throughout the presser. (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Stern of USA Today: "'Things have only gotten worse since Trump survived his Senate impeachment trial. For a start, [AG Bill] Barr has said that he must personally approve any investigation into corruption by a presidential candidate or campaign.... No agent or prosecutor is going to tap the attorney general on the shoulder to ask permission to investigate the man Barr lives to protect. That means Trump and his campaign can solicit assistance from foreign adversaries in this year's presidential election, and no one will stop them.... If Trump can harness the power of the U.S. Department of Justice to do his personal bidding, we are no longer the America we thought we were. If we cannot rely on the U.S. Department of Justice to do the right thing, we are lost." --s
Undergrad May Fire Veteran Admin Officials. Daniel Lippmann & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "The White House has hired a college senior to be one of the top officials in its powerful Presidential Personnel Office, according to three administration officials familiar with the matter. James Bacon, 23, is acting as one of the right-hand men to new PPO director John McEntee, according to the officials. Bacon, a senior at George Washington University pursuing a bachelor's degree, comes from the Department of Transportation, where he briefly worked in the policy shop. Prior to that role, while still taking classes, he worked at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he was a White House liaison.... At HUD, he distinguished himself as Secretary Ben Carson's confidential assistant, according to two other administration officials.... Bacon will be PPO's director of operations overseeing paperwork and will assist on vetting. The role was previously filled by Katja Bullock, who is in her late 70s and was a veteran of the office in both Bush administrations, as well as the Reagan administration." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: But I'm sure Bacon is a sensitive kid with good judgment. Seriously, I found it alarming that McEntee, the 29-year-old former Trump "body man," would be snooping around looking for communists never-Trumpers to oust, but "college student" is ridiculous.
Matthew Daly of the AP: "Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a pair of Republican bills that would ban most late-term abortions and threaten prison for doctors who don't try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions. The measures have been defeated multiple times in recent years, but Senate Republicans pushed for renewed votes to allow GOP lawmakers to make an election-year appeal to conservative voters."
News Ledes
USA Today: "In one of the worst shootings in Wisconsin history, six people were killed during a shooting rampage on the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors on Wednesday afternoon, according to multiple sources who spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The New York Times' live updates of developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here." The Journal Sentinel front page has links to numerous related stories.
The New York Times' live updates of developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here.
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Reader Comments (20)
For Shits ‘N Giggles —
If interested, turn off the sound, enable your closed captioning and sample the debate that way.
UNCLE DICK IN THE DEER STAND
Henny Penny, the sky is falling pretty much sums up the raucous rabble rousing debate last night. Amy's Uncle Dick might have given them some good advice: when you are in a deer stand you need to be very still and quiet while waiting––sometimes for hours–– for your prey to emerge and then–- aim. click and fire. The display––sorry–- the debaters should have heeded some of Uncle Dick's maneuvers; instead they were like school children who know the answer and with raised hands say, "Pick me! Pick me! I blame the moderators who lay out the rules and then don't follow them. I'd ban all hand waving––"You will speak when I call upon you"––ah, but then we couldn't have as much fun as Stephen Colbert has in acting it all out.
The best comment was from a twenty-something black woman who was asked by a reporter whom she would be voting for and when she answered, "Sanders" the reporter said, "Isn't that going to shake things up a lot?" She took her time answering–-just glared at him for a few moments and then very forcefully said:
"We need to shake things up! Our future is at stake here!"
And from Michael Stern ( see above)––expresses what I mentioned the other day only perhaps more succinctly:
" If Trump can harness the power of the U.S. Department of Justice to do his personal bidding, we are no longer the America we thought we were. If we cannot rely on the U.S. Department of Justice to do the right thing, we are lost." -
Here's the link to the NYT's snark-a thon which is so much fun to read (the link above takes you elsewhere):
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/26/opinion/democratic-debate-winners-losers.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
dr. john campbell uk is right there on google, no deep search needed. His web page shows his videos on youtube.
his video today 2/26/2020 is important and factual. It cites an article from the los Alamos labs which uses epidemiologic and mathematical models to explain and predict the covid-19's behavior.
I think everyone here should read and absorb it.
While the news is grim, this is a factual, helpful antidote to the way one has to pick out what matters and what does not from other news sources.
A revealing piece by Bill Blum (Truthdig) on "The Despicable Red-Baiting of Bernie Sanders."
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-despicable-red-baiting-of-bernie-sanders/
Just in: Here in CT its universities are bringing back students studying abroad and intend to suspend those classes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.wtnh.com/news/health/amid-coronavirus-concerns-fairfield-university-closing-study-abroad-program-in-italy-requiring-students-to-leave-the-country/
I'm going to step out on a limb here and predict that the Orange Menace will ultimately relent about the seriousness of the viral pandemic, thereby canceling the election because of the risk to public health (his) and declare himself a second term.
@unwashed: That sounds crazy! And yeah, it could happen.
I think the red-baiting is despicable, but the fact that he has a socialist bent and is Jewish is not why I don't support him, until I must... I think he is so grumpy, I don't like his wife (who killed off a college--)and I absolutely know that the majority in this country do not see how his pie-in-the-sky fantasies of free college and healthcare can come to pass, especially in this toxic environment. If having the House and not the Senate means total paralysis and no removal of a criminal president, how can things get better with Bernie in charge? His followers are horrible and not good for our country's mental and physical health. They have proved they aren't pro-country, they are simply pro-Bernie. They stayed home. They are fair-weather voters. I am unsure what comes next: my candidate is not making a difference in voting patterns, and she is clearly the one with the brains and outlook for the job. I am super-sad that I won't see a woman president in my lifetime. Sigh--
Many on NYC subways & streets have been wearing masks since first
announced. My aquatics instructor said she has one with an animal (rabbit?) on it. The subway.- which I’m currently traveling, is (always) a viral / bacterial incubator. No strategies in site from despotus nor from our mayor de-nauseo Be well, all.
Amen Jeanne! The Senate is everything. It controls Court appointments. Trump is devastating the Courts and it will be so for decades. I grant that none of the presidential candidates are setting the room on fire with their charisma. That's comes once in decades. Go for temperament, smarts, judgement. Just don't pick the guy who brings his own gasoline and lighter to the party. He is a huge target. Sanders is the dream candidate for Trump and his cult. I can't imagine Bernie meeting with any, even friendly, heads of state. He's been so immersed in his righteousness for so long, compromise is anathema. We haven't even started talking about a VP if he wins the nomination.
Coming to right wing radio waves soon: The coronavirus is just like global warming, a Chinese Hoax. Sick and dead people? Paid actors of the DNC. Global conspiracy to dent the armor of the Dear Leader...
I wish I lived in a world where this scenario would be beyond fiction...
Also, too, can't have those canvassers going out door-to-door spreading germs. 2020 Census - cancelled per POtuS.
This is good: Seth Meyers has a good old time ridiculing Cable News for "unhinged" Sander's coverage.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/seth-meyers-ridicules-cable-news-for-unhinged-sanders-coverage-video/
@Anonymous: I'd love to watch the Bernie & Bibi show. Maybe they can bring in Larry David to arbitrate. Those guys (accidentally typed "goys"; that's not right!) would make every Trump show look like the boring crap it is. Unfortunately, Bibi may be in jail by the time the next inauguration rolls around.
Fatty Glossary Pt. 1 (Deadly virus edition)
“We’ve got it all under control”:
“I have no idea what I’m talking about, but if people die, it’s a Democrat problem. Remember, Obama LOVED Ebola.
@Jeanne —
I concur re: Bernie. He’s a lousy listener (except to himself). Was watching bits of the debate - and each candidate - sans sound, which I found fascinating.
Re: Sanders: Teeth clenching. Face like a blushing balloon on the cusp of bursting. Such anger (I distinguish this from passion) conveyed! Impatient, interrupting a la “Call on *me*” while others are speaking - - although last night I was so disgusted by like behavior from *all* that I turned it off. But I did, with and without audio, find Buttigieg - still - the composed one (unless he’d thrown a fit after I’d quit). They struck me as toddlers, furious cuz they couldn't have their milk and cookies before their poopy diapers were changed. I, likewise, remain uneasy about Sanders’ wife’s university roles and surprised I’ve not heard anything made of this.
I also (re: an earlier post of yours) have been concerned about Adam Schiff’s safety, and that if his family.
From Hattie AKA “Bartie”!
(Was without reading glasses, thumb-typing my cell on the subway.)
Anonymous —
<< . . . Go for temperament, smarts, judgement. Just don't pick the guy who brings his own gasoline and lighter to the party . . . Sanders is the dream candidate for Trump and his cult. >>
My sentiments exactly, if more articulately expressed.
Anonymous —
<< . . . Go for temperament, smarts, judgement. Just don't pick the guy who brings his own gasoline and lighter to the party . . . Sanders is the dream candidate for Trump and his cult. >>
My sentiments exactly, if more articulately expressed.
Safari —
<< I wish I lived in a world where this scenario would be beyond fiction. >>
Me Too
(sorry for redundancies, above)