The Commentariat -- March 26, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
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.
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I just had a moment like this. ~~~
~~~ I hope stepping on my glasses won't ultimately kill me.
... 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." ~~~
~~~ 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.
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.
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.
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
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."
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 average that 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
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Politico: "Unemployment claims rose more than 1000 percent last week to 3.3 million, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic and government measures to limit its devastation brought huge swaths of the U.S. economy to a halt. It was the largest number, by far, of unemployment claims ever recorded for a single week since the government began collecting this data in 1967, and analysts predict more eye-popping numbers in the coming weeks as layoffs and bankruptcies continue through a crisis that economists are starting to compare to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The 3.3 million figure was seasonally adjusted. The raw numerical increase, 2.9 million claims, also shattered records. The previous record increase, in 1982, was about 700,000 claims." ~~~
~~~ Heather Long & Alyssa Fowers of the Washington Post: "The nation's unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in February, a half-century low, but that has likely risen already to 5.5 percent, according to calculations by Martha Gimbel, a labor economist at Schmidt Futures.... The true number of unemployed so far from the coronavirus is likely much higher than 3.3 million because a lot of workers are not allowed to apply for this particular benefit. Self-employed workers, gig workers, students, people who did not live in the state last year or workers fewer than six months last year are typically not eligible to apply for unemployment insurance in most states.... 'We may well be in a recession,' said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his first appearance on morning television. 'The first order of business is to get the virus under control and then resume economic activity.'"
Today's New York Times live updates for coronavirus developments are here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: AND I'm not certain the figures released today include every state. James Walker of Newsweek (March 24): "Ohio has faced 'unprecedented' demand for unemployment benefits this week -- but will not be releasing jobless claim numbers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, under a request from the Department of Labor."
Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Facing one of the worst economic downturns in American history, one that is unsparing in its trauma, the Senate late Wednesday unanimously approved a $2 trillion emergency relief bill that attempts to arrest the financial havoc caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers acted with unusual speed and cooperation to produce the largest economic rescue package in U.S. history. The sprawling legislation, which passed 96 to 0, would send checks to more than 150 million American households, set up enormous loan programs for businesses large and small, pump billions of dollars into unemployment insurance programs, greatly boost spending on hospitals, and much more.... [House] Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) announced a [House] vote to approve it Friday morning. President Trump said he intends to sign it immediately." This is an update of a story linked yesterday. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This is the biggest "deal" of Trump's (or any) presidency, and Donald Trump had nothing to do with it. He left all the negotiating to Steve Mnuchin and others. Mnuchin -- a former shady banker, hedge-fund manager & movie mogul -- is certainly experienced at making deals. Still, its fairly amazing -- and good for Americans -- that Trump ceded his vaunted but fake deal-making skills to the Treasury Secretary. The White House aides who manipulated Trump into butting out did the country at least one good deed. (Supposedly Trump eschewed the task because he couldn't stand to be in a room with mean ole Nancy Pelosi; I suspect there's more to it than that.) ~~~
~~~ New York Times Editors: "For a few hours on Wednesday, it seemed the Senate still could not muster the will to start pumping trillions of desperately needed dollars into the American economy. Four Republican senators -- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Rick Scott of Florida -- announced they had found a flaw in the economic stimulus legislation so grave that they would be forced to delay its passage. The proposed unemployment benefits, they said, were much too generous. Yes, that's right: They worried the federal government was in danger of doing too much to help low-income workers whose jobs are being sacrificed to save lives." The editorial goes on to relate how mean-spirited Lindsey, et al., are & to describe some of the flaws in the bill. ~~~
~~~ Eric Lipton & Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "Tucked into the largest bailout in United States history ... are a range of provisions that stand to benefit specific industries and interest groups.... While some industries and companies are benefiting from provisions tailored for them, others appear certain to get a piece of the pie through more general components of the bill.... Democrats proudly announced that they had won agreement on language to block President Trump, other government officials and their families from receiving assistance from a $500 billion fund to be administered by the Treasury Department. But it turns out that the provision might not preclude funds from going to companies owned by the family of ... Jared Kushner, while Mr. Trump's companies would not be barred from benefiting from other elements of the bill intended to help broad swaths of American business.... The deal specifically sets aside $17 billion for 'businesses critical to maintaining national security' -- a category seen as intended at least partly for Boeing, the troubled aircraft manufacturer and Pentagon contractor, whose name appears nowhere in the bill." ~~~
~~~ Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. The Never-Trump Provision. John Wagner & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "Businesses controlled by President Trump and his children would be prohibited from receiving loans or investments from Treasury Department programs included in a $2 trillion stimulus plan agreed to early Wednesday by White House and Senate leaders in response to the coronavirus crisis. The provision, which was touted by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in an early-morning letter to colleagues, would also apply to Vice President Pence, members of Congress and heads of federal departments, as well as their children, spouses and in-laws. During a television interview Wednesday morning, Schumer stressed that the provision applies not only to Trump but to 'any major figure in government.'... On Sunday, Trump was asked whether his business would abstain from any federal bailout. He did not give a clear answer. 'Everything's changing, just so you understand; it's all changing,' he said. 'But I have no idea.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Fred Imbert, et al., of CNBC: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 13% in two days as the White House and congressional leaders said they had agreed to a massive stimulus bill to combat the economic slowdown from the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-stock average climbed more than 2%, or 495.64 points, to 21,200.55 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was up by 1.1% and closed at 2,475.56. Wednesday marked the first time since February the Dow and S&P 500 closed higher in back-to-back sessions. Boeing shares rallied 24% to lead the Dow higher. A 9.2% gain in Nike also boosted the Dow. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.5%, however, to 7,384.30 as Facebook, Amazon Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all closed lower. Stocks came off their highs in the final minutes of trading after Sen. Bernie Sanders said he was prepared to 'put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the $500 billion corporate welfare fund.' At its session high, the Dow was up more than 6% while the S&P 500 gained as much as 5.1%."
The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday for coronavirus developments are here. “... in New York City..., the 1.8-million-square-foot Jacob K. Javits Convention Center -- which was scheduled to hold an expo for exotic flowers this week -- looked more like a front-line military depot as workers rushed to transform the complex to handle an imminent surge of patients. Governor Cuomo said that with cases doubling every three days in New York City alone, as many as 140,000 people might need urgent care in the next few weeks.... And the state was still in dire need of critical equipment.... When asked how he came up with April 12 as a target date [to ease social-distancing restrictions], Mr. Trump did not cite any scientific evidence. 'I just thought it was a beautiful time,' he said[.]" ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here. "The president embellished on a tweet he'd sent shortly before the daily White House news conference in which he alleged the media wanted to tank the economy to aid in his defeat come November. Like a political rally, he railed against the 'fake news' that want to see him fail even though the White House has done 'one hell of a job,' he said.... Trump dismissed the idea of widespread testing to save more lives. [Mrs. McC: This is bunk. Widespread testing is a prerequisite to analyzing the feasibility of "reopening the country," which Trump proposes to do.]... He went on to say that many states don't need that kind of robust testing and could reopen now because they are having little spread, indicating that he could call for lifting social restrictions geographically. [Mrs. McC: This is bunk, too.] (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Training a camera on a live event, and just letting it play out, is technology, not journalism; journalism requires editing and context. -- Veteran journalist Ted Koppel, to the New York Times ~~~
~~~ Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Since reviving the daily White House briefing -- a practice abandoned last year by an administration that bristles at outside scrutiny -- Mr. Trump and his coronavirus updates have attracted an average audience of 8.5 million on cable news, roughly the viewership of the season finale of 'The Bachelor.'... And the audience is expanding even as Mr. Trump has repeatedly delivered information that doctors and public health officials have called ill informed, misleading or downright wrong.... How to report on Mr. Trump's fabrications has long been a source of concern among journalists and press critics.... Now, the president's critics say, lives are at risk." ~~~
~~~ "Handle the President Like You Handle the Virus." Lloyd Grove & Maxwell Tani of the Daily Beast: "... top MSNBC anchors have already argued publicly that their own network should not air the president's pandemic musings in full. Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough tweeted during Trump's briefing on Monday that there was 'no public benefit to this briefing,' and the cable news networks should 'cut away.' MSNBC host Rachel Maddow ... also repeatedly called for news networks to stop carrying Trump's statements live, saying that the president's daily comments contribute to the spread of misinformation.... Privately, several staffers at CNN and MSNBC have acknowledged that airing Trump's pressers live and in full likely amplifies the spread of misinformation about the disease and its potential cure.... Acknowledging that Trump is frequently a source of misstatement, [an] NBC News insider added: 'I think the best way to handle the president in the briefing is that you handle the president like you handle the virus. He has to be contained and quarantined and his falsehoods have to be scrubbed so that they don't rub off on you.'"
"Trump to New York: Drop Dead." Jennifer Senior of the New York Times: "President Trump is treating each of our 50 states as individual contestants on 'The Apprentice' -- pitting them against one another for scarce resources, daring them to duke it out -- rather than mobilizing a unified national response to a pandemic.... Untold thousands will likely die absent federal intervention. And it needs to happen this instant -- not just for the good of [New York City], but for the nation. The president needs to set a precedent in his hometown.... The governor has already said that the state is 30,000 ventilators short. The only way to acquire the volume we need -- delivered at the speed we need -- is through federal intervention, which means sending us the bulk of the ventilators from the strategic national stockpile, which has roughly 20,000, and deploying the Defense Production Act to force private manufacturers to make more. But that's not what the president is doing. He refuses to use the Defense Production Act, fearing it'll put an undue burden on business, and he's keeping his federal stash under tight lock and key.... [New York has] 10 times the number of cases as Washington and eight times that of California." New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would ship the ventilators to other areas as needs move elsewhere. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Trump Plays Politics with Blue-State Lives. Asawin Suebsaeng, et al., of the Daily Beast: "The latest evidence of the delicate, sometimes impossible line that [Democratic] governors have been forced to walk [to mollify Donald Trump] came Tuesday, when the president took swipes at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a televised town-hall-style program on Fox News. 'I watched Gov. Cuomo [today] and he was very nice,' the president said of the man steering the state hardest hit by the virus. Cuomo had moments earlier, conducted a press conference in which he scoffed at how insufficient the administration's help in procuring ventilators had been. 'He had a choice... He refused to order 15,000 ventilators,' Trump said, referencing a recent column by Betsy McCaughey, a hardened Trump supporter and longtime health-care policy crusader on the right. 'It says that he didn't buy the ventilators in 2015 for a pandemic, established death panels and lotteries instead.'.... 'It's a two-way street,' Trump said of having the feds help states with a coronavirus response policy. 'They have to treat us well, too.'... Trump's comment resonated not only for how callous it seemed but also for how manufactured the evidence was that he was citing.... President Trump 'obviously didn't read the document he's citing -- this was a five-year-old advisory task-force report, which never recommended the state procure ventilators -- it merely referenced that New York wouldn't be equipped with enough ventilators for a 1918 flu pandemic,' said Dani Lever, director of communications for Cuomo." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A big part of Trump's problem with New York, of course, is that Gov. Cuomo is getting high marks & a lot of publicity for his daring, proactive response to the coronavirus, even as Trump is justifiably excoriated in stories appearing in nearly all major media outlets. For instance ~~~
~~~ Jesse McKinley & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: New York Gov. Andrew "Cuomo was once considered a bit player on the national stage, an abrasive presence who made his share of enemies among his Democratic Party peers. He was too much of a pragmatist for his party's progressive wing, too self-focused for party leaders and too brusque for nearly everyone. But now, he is emerging as the party's most prominent voice in a time of crisis. His briefings -- articulate, consistent and often tinged with empathy -- have become must-see television. On Tuesday, his address was carried live on all four networks in New York and a raft of cable news stations, including CNN, MSNBC and even Fox News.... Mr. Cuomo's handling of the crisis has fostered a nationwide following.... Mr. Cuomo's daily addresses have stood in stark contrast to the sometimes contradictory pronouncements coming from Washington. Mr. Cuomo's briefings have been filled with facts, directives and sobering trends...." (Also linked yesterday.)
My mother's not expendable. We're not going to accept a premise that human life is disposable. And we're not going to put a dollar figure on human life. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), responding to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's (R) suggestion that old folks sacrifice their lives for the economy ~~~
~~~ Media Matters: "Fox's Brit Hume says it's an 'entirely reasonable viewpoint' to expect that grandparents would be willing to die to protect the economy[.]" Mrs. McC: Hume is 76 years old. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "Republicans who once decried the Affordable Care Act as a harbinger of 'death panels' are now toying with cutting out the middleman and sentencing the country's oldest to death without bothering with any panels at all.... The poster boy of such stupidity is currently Dan Patrick, Texas' Republican lieutenant governor, who told Tucker Carlson on Monday night that he and America's other grandparents would be willing to risk their own lives if it meant America getting 'back to work' before the pandemic was contained adequately.... Patrick ... seems incapable of understanding that we can't conclude anything about the virus without widespread testing, which remains unavailable.... The problem with Trump and Patrick and [Jerry] Falwell [Jr. -- story linked below --] and all those who continue to believe that young Americans or Christian Americans or Americans in red states are somehow not susceptible to the same risks as the rest of us isn't just that it continues the sordid trend of pitting people against others that has been so politically disastrous for the nation. It also stands as a substitute for actually doing the many, many things that need doing right now, things that needed doing weeks ago, when they could have saved more lives." (Also linked yesterday.)
Close your eyes. You'll think you're listening to RealDonaldTrump. Thanks to PD Pepe for the lead: ~~~
Nathan McDermott & Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "... Donald Trump has in recent days criticized how China handled the coronavirus outbreak, saying Thursday that the 'world is paying a very big price for what they did.' But as the virus spread rapidly across China in the month of February, Trump repeatedly praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's response to the crisis, saying he's handled it 'really well' and that he was doing 'a very good job with a very, very tough situation.' CNN KFile review of Trump's public statements identified at least 12 occasions in which the President praised or projected confidence about China's response to coronavirus."
"All the Best People" Ain't So Funny Now. Jennifer Steinhauer & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Empty slots and high turnover have left parts of the federal government unprepared and ill equipped for what may be the largest public health crisis in a century, said numerous former and current federal officials and disaster experts. Some 80 percent of the senior positions in the White House below the cabinet level have turned over during President Trump's administration, with about 500 people having departed since the inauguration.... Of the 75 senior positions at the Department of Homeland Security, 20 are either vacant or filled by acting officials, including Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary who recently was unable to tell a Senate committee how many respirators and protective face masks were available in the United States.... Equally notable may have been the resignation last year of Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who was an early advocate for broad coronavirus testing and stronger mitigation policies. He was succeeded by Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, a noted oncologist, who has struggled during Senate hearings to explain some of his positions.... Between Mr. Trump's history of firing people and the choice by many career officials and political appointees to leave, he now finds himself with a government riddled with vacancies, acting department chiefs and, in some cases, leaders whose professional backgrounds do not easily match up to the task of managing a pandemic."
Noah Weiland & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The White House is preparing to use software provided by the technology giant Oracle to promote unproven coronavirus treatments, including a pair of malaria drugs publicized by President Trump, potentially before the government approves their use for the outbreak, according to five senior administration officials and others familiar with the plans.... Mr. Trump has tried to reassure Americans that what he has called a 'game changer' treatment is imminent, but his language has alarmed senior health officials and public health experts, who say that the Oracle program would amount to a sprawling, crowdsourced clinical trial without the usual controls of the F.D.A.... [Two] drugs are still being studied by the F.D.A. for their effectiveness in treating the virus.... Jared Kushner, as well as agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the F.D.A., are involved in the Oracle efforts, according to two senior administration officials.... On Tuesday afternoon, Dr. [Anthony] Fauci met with Drs. Deborah L. Birx, the White House's coronavirus coordinator, Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen M. Hahn, the F.D.A. commissioner, to go over their concerns with the Oracle project and review new Chinese data that indicated the drugs have no meaningful effect.... [A week ago,] to the surprise of top officials at the F.D.A., Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter that he would be holding a news conference 'to discuss very important news from the F.D.A. concerning the Chinese Virus!' Pleading with the White House, officials at the F.D.A. were able to hold it off..., forcing Mr. Trump to take his message to the next day's coronavirus task force news briefing, where he told reporters that chloroquine would be distributed to 'large groups of people' even before the government had concluded studying its safety and effectiveness." (Also linked yesterday.)
When we went to war, we didn't say, any company out there want to build a battleship? Who wants to build a battleship? -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on Trump's refusal to implement the Defense Production Act ~~~
~~~ Jeanne Whelen, et al., of the Washington Post: "A mad scramble for masks, gowns and ventilators is pitting states against each other and driving up prices. Some hard-hit parts of the country are receiving fresh supplies of N95 masks, but others are still out of stock. Hospitals are requesting donations of masks and gloves from construction companies, nail salons and tattoo parlors, and considering using ventilators designed for large animals because they cannot find the kind made for people. The market for medical supplies has descended into chaos, according to state officials and health-care leaders. They are begging the federal government to use a wartime law to bring order and ensure the United States has the gear it needs to battle the coronavirus. So far, the Trump administration has declined." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Farhad Manjoo of the New York Times on "how the world's richest country ran out of 75-cent face masks:... The answer ... involves a very American set of capitalist pathologies -- the rise and inevitable lure of low-cost overseas manufacturing, and a strategic failure, at the national level and in the health care industry, to consider seriously the cascading vulnerabilities that flowed from the incentives to reduce costs.... Few in the protective equipment industry are surprised by the shortages, because they've been predicted for years.... This month, Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services, testified that there are only about 40 million masks in the stockpile -- around 1 percent of the projected national need.... Like much of the rest of the apparel and consumer products business, face mask manufacturing has since shifted nearly entirely overseas [and mainly to China]... Hospitals began to run out of masks for the same reason that supermarkets ran out of toilet paper -- because their 'just-in-time' supply chains, which call for holding as little inventory as possible to meet demand, are built to optimize efficiency, not resiliency." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The most shocking thing to me still is the Trump administration's failure to start ramping up production of PPE in mid-January when intelligence agencies were telling Trump, pence & Cabinet officials that the virus was coming. Even if Trump wanted to keep the coronavirus a secret for political reasons, there's no excuse for not immediately arranging for & ordering vast quantities of these supplies to meet at least a large portion of the impending demand. In January, they knew disaster was coming, and they refused to address it. It's as if the Pentagon saw North Korean ICBMs in the air & decided not to launch anti-ballistic missiles because Trump said the ICBMs were fake since Little Kim was a friend of his. So then I read this: ~~~
~~~ Dan Diamond & Nahal Toosi of Politico: "... according to a previously unrevealed White House playbook, the government should've begun a federal-wide effort to procure that personal protective equipment at least two months ago. 'Is there sufficient personal protective equipment for healthcare workers who are providing medical care?' the playbook instructs its readers, as one early decision that officials should address when facing a potential pandemic.... Other recommendations include that the government move swiftly to fully detect potential outbreaks, secure supplemental funding and consider invoking the Defense Production Act -- all steps in which the Trump administration lagged behind the timeline laid out in the playbook.... The playbook also stresses the significant responsibility facing the White House to contain risks of potential pandemics, a stark contrast with the Trump administration's delays in deploying an all-of-government response and ... Donald Trump's recent signals that he might roll back public health recommendations.... It is not clear if the administration's failure to follow the NSC playbook was the result of an oversight or a deliberate decision to follow a different course." The story includes a copy of the playbook.
Let's Not Forget Mike Pompeo Is a Dick. John Hudson & Souad Mekhennet of the Washington Post: "Foreign ministers representing seven major industrialized nations failed to agree on a joint statement Wednesday after the Trump administration insisted on referring to the coronavirus outbreak as the 'Wuhan virus,' three officials from G-7 countries told The Washington Post. Other nations in the group of world powers rejected the term because they viewed it as needlessly divisive at a time when international cooperation is required to slow the global pandemic and deal with the scarcity of medical supplies, officials said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has brushed off criticism of his use of the term, saying it's important to point out that the virus came from the Chinese city of Wuhan and that China's government had a special responsibility to warn the world about its dangers." The Raw Story has a summary report here.
Elisha Fieldstadt of NBC News: "Health experts say it's no surprise that New Orleans is the center of the coronavirus crisis in hard-hit Louisiana after over a million people flocked to the city to celebrate Carnival for more than a month, culminating in Mardi Gras at the end of February. Gov. John Bel Edwards [D] requested a Major Disaster Declaration for the state Tuesday as the number of cases rose to 1,388 in 43 of Louisiana's 64 parishes, according to the state's Health Department. At least 46 people have died.... But New Orleans, with 567 of the state's cases -- 20 that led to death -- is by far the center of the pandemic in the state." (Also linked yesterday.)
Of Course They Are. Caroline Kelly of CNN: "Mississippi, Ohio and Texas are including abortions among nonessential surgical procedures that must be deferred or canceled as coronavirus cases flood the health care system." Mrs. McC: I wonder what would happen if you postponed an abortion for months.
Mississippi Governor Is Still at It. Nick Judin of the Jackson Free Press: "Gov. Tate Reeves signed an executive order early [Wednesday] evening superseding a patchwork of local bans on public gatherings in Mississippi and other heightened restrictions that several municipalities across the state have ordered or considered in the wake of COVID-19's spread inside Mississippi. The state reached 320 official cases today, up 300 percent since 80 known cases on Friday. The order seems to declare that most types of businesses in Mississippi are 'essential' and thus exempt from social-distancing requirements suggested in the order.... Notably, Reeves' executive order supersedes any orders by local mayors or other governing body in Mississippi that conflict with the businesses and organizations he deems exempt as 'essential' businesses.... The order exempts several broad categories of businesses including department stores, as well as 'offices' and any factories or manufacturing operations."
Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "A man suspected of planning to attack a Missouri hospital was killed during a shootout with F.B.I. agents, the authorities said on Wednesday. The deadly encounter took place on Tuesday afternoon in suburban Belton, Mo., after agents on a tactical team tried to arrest the man as part of a domestic terrorism investigation. It was not clear whether the man was killed by F.B.I. agents or died by suicide.... According to officials, Mr. Wilson had expressed racist and anti-government sentiments. He had been under F.B.I. scrutiny since September, and the authorities said that at one point he had considered attacking multiple targets, including a school with a large number of black students, as well as a mosque and a synagogue.... Last week, Belton's mayor issued a stay-at-home order for its residents. Authorities said Mr. Wilson said he felt compelled to act because of the mayor's order and intended to use a car bomb to cause mass casualties at the hospital." ~~~
~~~ Ben Makuch of Vice: "A domestic terrorism suspect in Belton, Missouri who allegedly planned to carbomb a hospital struggling with the coronavirus pandemic died while the FBI was trying to arrest him Tuesday.... The news comes at a time when counterterrorism experts have warned neo-Nazi extremists adhering to 'accelerationism' -- a hyper violent doctrine among the far-right seeking to hasten the collapse of society through terrorist acts -- have discussed using the global coronavirus pandemic to spur the disintegration of vulnerable governments dealing with the crisis.... The FBI said that Wilson was trying to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis."
<Journalism Saves Lives. Sharon Lerner of the Intercept: "After a public outcry..., Gilead Sciences on Wednesday announced that it has submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration to rescind the exclusive marketing rights it had secured for remdesivir, an antiviral drug that shows promise in treating Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. As The Intercept reported on Monday, the FDA had awarded Gilead seven years of exclusive marketing rights to the drug through the Orphan Drug Act, even though the statute was designed to induce pharmaceutical companies to make treatments for rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States."
Tejal Rao of the New York Times: "The victory garden movement began during World War I and called on Americans to grow food in whatever spaces they could -- rooftops, fire escapes, empty lots, backyards. It maintained that there was nothing more valuable than self-sufficiency, than working a little land, no matter how small, and harvesting your own eggplant and tomatoes.... When victory gardens came back to prominence during World War II..., so many people took the movement to heart that, at one point, it's estimated that home, school and community gardeners produced close to 40 percent of the country's fresh vegetables, from about 20 million gardens.... That idea resonates as trips to the grocery store become fraught with fears of coronavirus exposure, and shoppers worry that industrial agriculture could fail them during a pandemic."
"John Fogerty performs Creedence Clearwater Revival classics in the latest installment of Rolling Stone's 'In My Room,' a new series in which musicians perform from their homes in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic." ~~~
Worse Than Trump. Terrence McCoy & Heloísa Traiano of the Washington Post: "He said self-isolation was 'mass confinement.' He called the novel coronavirus a 'little cold.' He asked, if only people older than 60 are at risk, 'why close the schools?' This was Jair Bolsonaro, leader of Latin America's largest country, calling on Brazilians to return to jobs, public spaces and commerce amid the coronavirus pandemic, contradicting not only his own health officials, but also the global consensus on how to see countries through the pandemic without a crippling loss of life.... Alone before the camera, attacking the media, undermining political opponents, indulging talking points he's used since the crisis began even as the disturbing reality overtook his sanguine predictions.... 'It will pass shortly,' he predicted Tuesday. He called on businesses and schools to reopen. 'Our lives have to continue; jobs should be maintained.'... It's much the same argument that President Trump, whom Bolsonaro has often sought to emulate, is making in the United States. Rather than calming panic and confusion, Bolsonaro's pronouncements appear to be only fueling them.... The minister of health has warned the health system will collapse by the end of April."
Raphael Minder & Elian Peltier of the New York Times: "Across Western Europe..., the coronavirus ... has left some hospitals on the brink of collapse.... Out of Spain's 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, 5,400 -- nearly 14 percent — are medical professionals, the health ministry said on Tuesday.... In Brescia province, the center of Italy's outbreak, 10 to 15 percent of doctors and nurses have been infected and put out of commission, according to a doctor there.... And infected workers and their hospitals are increasingly being recognized as vectors for the spread of the virus." Mrs. McC: MEANWHILE, the Trump administration has failed to supply U.S. hospitals with protective equipment, criminally-negligent Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to trigger the Defense Production Act, keeps lying about supplies & deflecting responsibility to the states & suggests he'll soon order an end to social distancing recommendations, while the majority of the American people say he's doing a good job. (Also linked yesterday.)
<Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Prince Charles..., the heir to the British throne, has contracted the coronavirus, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday, adding that he had been suffering from mild symptoms since last weekend." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jesse Eisenger & James Bandler of ProPublica: "For almost two years [beginning in 2016, federal prosecutors had] investigat[ed] the opioid dispensing practices of Walmart, the largest company in the world. They had amassed what they viewed as highly damning evidence only to face a major obstacle: top Trump appointees at the Department of Justice.... The prosecutors' push to persuade [then-deputy attorney general, Rod] Rosenstein to revive the criminal case had failed.... [W]hen the prosecutors sought to indict a mid-level Walmart manager, the Trump officials blocked that, too.... That left potential civil claims. After the meeting with Rosenstein, Brian Benczkowski, the head of the criminal division, had told [prosecutors], 'You have a whopper of a civil case,' according to four people familiar with the investigation. But the civil case, too, was stymied by Trump appointees in the DOJ who continued to side with Walmart.... In its dealings with the DOJ, Walmart ... relied on Jones Day, an influential law firm that has salted officials throughout the Trump administration." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Jillian Ambrose of the Guardian: "The world's wind power capacity grew by almost a fifth in 2019 after a year of record growth for offshore windfarms and a boom in onshore projects in the US and China. The Global Wind Energy Council found that wind power capacity grew by 60.4 gigawatts, or 19%, compared with 2018, in one of the strongest years on record for the global wind power industry." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Graham Readfearn & Adam Morton of the Guardian: "The Great Barrier Reef has experienced a third mass coral bleaching event in five years, according to the scientist carrying out aerial surveys over hundreds of individual reefs.... It follows the worst outbreaks of mass bleaching on record killing about half the shallow water corals on the world's biggest reef system in 2016 and 2017." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
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