The Ledes

Thursday, October 10, 2024

CNBC: “The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus. The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021.”

The New York Times' live updates of Hurrucane Milton consequences Thursday are here: “Milton was still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall to parts of East and Central Florida, forecasters said early Thursday, even as the powerful storm roared away from the Atlantic coast and left deaths and widespread damage across the state. Cities along Florida’s east coast are now facing flash flooding, damaging winds and storm surges. Some had already been battered by powerful tornadoes spun out by the storm before it made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane. In [St. Lucie] county [Fort Pierce], several people in a retirement community were killed by a tornado, the police said.... More than three million customers were without power in Florida as of early Thursday.” ~~~

     ~~~ Here are the Weater Channel's live updates.

CNN: “The 2024 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Han Kang, a South Korean author, for her 'intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.' Han, 53, began her career with a group of poems in a South Korean magazine, before making her prose debut in 1995 with a short story collection. She later began writing longer prose works, most notably 'The Vegetarian,' one of her first books to be translated into English. The novel, which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, charts a young woman’s attempt to live a more 'plant-like' existence after suffering macabre nightmares about human cruelty. Han is the first South Korean author to win the literature prize, and just the 18th woman out of the 117 prizes awarded since 1901.” The New York Times story is here.

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The Ledes

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Washington Post: “Hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, a spate of unusually strong and long-lived tornadoes touched down across the state, flipping tractor-trailers and ripping off roofs. The twisters surprised anxious residents, even as the storm’s eye still loomed. Authorities said there had been 'multiple' deaths after the intense and destructive tornadoes.” MB: I'm still on Florida's emergency-call list, and I received several calls from Lee County, urging me to shelter in place.

The Washington Post's live updates of Hurricane Milton developments are here: “Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as 'damaging hurricane-force winds,' coastal communities face a 'life-threatening' storm surge, the center said.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here: “Milton carved a path of destruction after crashing ashore Wednesday evening on Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall near Sarasota as the second powerful hurricane to pound the region in less than two weeks. The storm battered the state for much of the day, with heavy winds, pelting rain and a spate of tornadoes.... By around midnight, the storm had destroyed more than 100 homes, killed several people in a retirement community and ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.”

Washington Post: “The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to David Baker at the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind.... The prize was awarded to scientists who cracked the code of proteins. Hassabis and Jumper used artificial intelligence to predict the structure of proteins, one of the toughest problems in biology. Baker created computational tools to design novel proteins with shapes and functions that can be used in drugs, vaccines and sensors.”

Sorry, forgot this yesterday: ~~~

Reuters: “U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation.”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Wednesday
Apr082020

The Commentariat -- April 9, 2020

Late Morning Update:

Mike Wants to Be on the Teevee. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Vice President Mike Pence's office has declined to allow the nation's top health officials to appear on CNN in recent days and discuss the coronavirus pandemic ... in an attempt to pressure the network into carrying the White House's lengthy daily briefings in full. Pence's office, which is responsible for booking the officials on networks during the pandemic, said it will only allow experts such as Dr. Deborah Birx or Dr. Anthony Fauci to appear on CNN if the network televises the portion of the White House briefings that includes the vice president and other coronavirus task force members.... After Trump leaves the podium, CNN frequently cuts out of the White House briefing to discuss and fact-check what the President had said.... The Vice President's office has blocked all CNN appearances since last Thursday night."

Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump is preparing to announce a second coronavirus task force solely focused on reopening the nation's economy, multiple sources told CNN."

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "When an inspector general issued a report in December saying the investigation [into Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election] was properly founded, [AG Bill] Barr put out an extraordinary statement disagreeing with that. And now, Barr has gone quite a bit further.... 'What happened to him [Trump] was one of the greatest travesties in American history,' Barr said in a clip played on Fox News on Wednesday night. 'Without any basis, they started this investigation of his campaign, and even more concerning actually is what happened after the campaign -- a whole pattern of events while he was president ... to sabotage the presidency -- or at least have the effect of sabotaging the presidency.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's see: (1) Trump & Co. conspired with Russians, engaged in more conspiracies to cover up this & other conspiracies, lied a lot, & used Russian hacks against his opponent; (2) DOJ investigated but let Trump & most of his cronies off; (3) the "travesty" is the investigation. Either I'm crazy or Bill Barr is.

Patricia Cohen & Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "Another 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus outbreak continued its devastating march through the American economy, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The release came as the Federal Reserve said it could pump $2.3 trillion into the economy through new and expanded programs it announced on Monday, ramping up efforts to help companies and state and local governments suffering financially amid the coronavirus.... In just three weeks, more than 16 million U.S. workers have lost their jobs -- more losses than the most recent recession produced over two years." A CNBC story is here.

Jacob Pramuck of CNBC: "Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican push to unanimously pass a bill to put $250 billion more into a loan program for small businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. With only a few senators in the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to move the measure by a unanimous vote. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., objected to the request, stalling the legislation.... After Cardin rejected the measure, he called McConnell's move to pass the funding a 'political stunt.' He pushed for provisions including funding for Small Business Administration disaster assistance grants.... Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., then tried to unanimously pass a Democratic amendment. McConnell blocked it, and the Senate adjourned until Monday after a roughly 30-minute pro forma session."

IOKIYVote for Trump. Jonathan Chait: "'Mail-in voting is horrible. It's corrupt,' declared President Trump earlier this week. When a reporter asked how he could reconcile that position with the fact that he had personally voted by mail in the last election, Trump replied, 'Because I'm allowed to.' This perfectly circular logic -- if more voters were permitted to vote by mail, they would also be 'allowed to' -- seemed not to satisfy him. Trump has refined his view, explaining that casting a ballot by mail is fine for members of the military and senior citizens, but is 'ripe for fraud' when used by others[.]... Trump is not even attempting to formulate a facially neutral principle. He is simply asserting that members of the military and senior citizens -- constituencies that lean Republican -- can be trusted not to commit voter fraud, but that constituencies that might vote Democratic cannot.... (Trump campaign officials already confirmed this to Politico -- they will allow mail voting for senior citizens, but not others.) The travesty that was Tuesday's election in Wisconsin is his plan to win in November." Chait argues that Democrats don't seem to get what's going on & are about to miss their chance to leverage a "correction." ~~~

~~~ The Trump Model Works! Ed Kilgore of New York: "... seven states that generally discourage voting by mail but waive excuse requirements for Republican-leaning old folks are Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Coincidentally or not, these are all deep-red states carried by Trump in 2016, most of them by large margins (Texas, which went MAGA by nine points, was the closest). They appear to provide Trump's model for the country as a whole."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

** Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday, concluding a quest for the White House that began five years ago in relative obscurity but ultimately elevated him as a champion of the working class, a standard-bearer of American liberalism and the leader of a self-styled political revolution. Mr. Sanders's exit from the race establishes former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the presumptive nominee to challenge President Trump, and leaves the progressive movement without a prominent voice in the 2020 race.... With the public health emergency preventing both candidates from holding in-person campaign events, Mr. Sanders spent the last several weeks on the sidelines, delivering addresses via live stream and making occasional television appearances, while facing calls from fellow Democrats to exit the race and help unify the party behind Mr. Biden. Though Mr. Biden had been careful not to pressure Mr. Sanders, he had begun to move ahead as if the race were over, taking steps, for example, to begin his search for a running mate." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Holly Otterbein & David Siders of Politico: Sen. Sanders "announced his decision during an all-staff conference call Wednesday morning. The Vermont senator told his aides that this was not just a presidential campaign, but a movement, and to be proud of what they've accomplished." The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Dan Merica of CNN: "Former President Barack Obama played an active, albeit private, role in th Democratic presidential primary that effectively ended on Wednesday when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race. Obama and Sanders spoke multiple times in the last few weeks as the Vermont senator determined the future of his campaign, a source familiar with the conversation tells CNN. Sanders' decision to get out on Wednesday paves the way for Joe Biden ... to become the Democratic nominee.

Axios: "Joe Biden released a lengthy statement on Wednesday commending the progressive movement built by Bernie Sanders, who has officially suspended his campaign for president.... The end of the Sanders campaign means that Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Biden, who is seeking to win over Sanders' loyal supporters in the fight to defeat President Trump, was glowing in his praise for his last remaining challenger's campaign, which he said 'changed the dialogue in America.'" The post includes Biden's full statement. Biden's statement first appeared in Medium.

Trump Encourages Voter Suppression Because It Helps Republicans. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday directed Republicans to 'fight very hard' against efforts to expand mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.... 'Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn't work out well for Republicans.'... The president fiercely criticized mail-in voting as 'horrible' and 'corrupt' during the White House coronavirus task force's daily news conference Tuesday, but also conceded that he voted by mail in Florida's primary last month. Trump offered no legitimate explanation for the discrepancy between his position on mail-in voting and his personal voting habits, but insisted 'there's a big difference between somebody that's out of state and does a ballot, and everything's sealed, certified and everything else.' In other instances of mail-in voting, however, 'you get thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebody's living room, signing ballots all over the place,' Trump claimed.... The president's advice to vote in person contradicts his administration's social-distancing guidance...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Aaron Rupar of Vox: "... Donald Trump keeps saying the quiet part [out] loud when it comes to his opposition to mail-in voting.... [Wednesday morning's Trump] tweet [outlined in Forgey's story] marked the second time in just over a week that Trump basically gave up the game. During a Fox & Friends appearance on March 30, he explained his opposition to a Democratic proposal to include funding for mail-in voting in coronavirus stimulus legislation by saying, 'they have things, levels of voting, that if you ever agreed to it, you'd never have a Republican elected in this country again.'... Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, a Republican, said the quiet part even louder than Trump has. 'Vote by mail in my view is not acceptable,' Ralston said. 'This will be extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia.... This will certainly drive up turnout.'"

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments for Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.


CDC De-Trumpifies. Aram Roston & Marisa Taylor of Reuters: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed from its website highly unusual guidance informing doctors on how to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs recommended by ... Donald Trump to treat the coronavirus. The move comes three days after Reuters reported that the CDC published key dosing information involving the two antimalarial drugs based on unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science. Reuters also reported that the original guidance was crafted by the CDC after President Trump personally pressed federal regulatory and health officials to make the malaria drugs more widely available to treat the novel coronavirus, though the drugs in question had been untested for COVID-19.... Now the CDC website ... says: 'There are no drugs or other therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19.' The updated, and shortened, guidance adds that 'Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are under investigation in clinical trials' for use on coronavirus patients." (Also linked yesterday.)

Carl Zimmer of the New York Times: "New research [from two teams of 'viral historians'] indicates that the coronavirus began to circulate in the New York area by mid-February, weeks before the first confirmed case, and that travelers brought in the virus mainly from Europe, not Asia.... The research revealed a previously hidden spread of the virus that might have been detected if aggressive testing programs had been put in place. On Jan. 31, President Trump barred foreign nationals from entering the country if they had been in China during the prior two weeks. It would not be until ... March 11 when Mr. Trump said he would block travelers from most European countries. But New Yorkers had already been traveling home with the virus.... The United States fumbled in making its first diagnostic kits and initially limited testing only to people who had come from China and displayed symptoms of Covid-19.... The coronavirus genomes are also revealing hints of early cross-country travel [from Washington state to the East Coast]."

Gwynne Hogan of WNYC in the Gothamist: "New York City officials will begin to count suspected COVID-19 deaths of people who die at home following a WNYC/Gothamist report revealing a staggering number of such deaths that were not included in the official tally. In a statement, Stephanie Buhle, a spokeswoman for New York City's Health Department, said the city would no longer report only those cases that were confirmed by a laboratory test.... The new protocol is likely to add thousands to the toll.... [For instance, 280 New Yorkers died in non-hospital settings Monday], according to data from the Fire Department. While not all of those deaths are necessarily caused by COVID-19, it's a staggering increase over the average 25 home deaths the city usually saw on any given day before the pandemic swept the five boroughs."

Timothy Williams & Danielle Ivory of the New York Times: Chicago's Cook County jail "is now the nation's largest-known source of coronavirus infections, according to data compiled by The New York Times, with more confirmed cases than the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, a nursing home in Kirkland, Wash., or the cluster centered on New Rochelle, N.Y. The Cook County Sheriff's Office, which operates the jail, said Wednesday that 238 inmates and 115 staff members had tested positive for the virus. But those figures most likely downplay the actual problem, the jail acknowledged, because the vast majority of the jail's 4,500 inmates have not been tested.... The ballooning outbreak at the jail, southwest of downtown Chicago, appears to confirm the fears of many health officials, who warned that America's overcrowded and unsanitary prisons and jails would likely be a significant source of the virus's spread."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are in talks to avoid a nasty Senate floor fight between Democrats and Republicans that could leave a critical small-business loan program short on funds. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to ask for unanimous consent Thursday morning to approve an additional $250 billion for the popular Paycheck Protection Program, under which small businesses can get federally backed loans that will be forgiven if they keep workers on payroll during the coronavirus downturn. But Senate Democrats are threatening to object unless the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers agree to several concessions." Mrs. McC: You'll have to read on for the concessions Democrats want. Nothing about vote-by-mail.

Jonathan Allen of NBC News: "Two Democratic House committee leaders are demanding answers from the Trump administration about Jared Kushner's role in directing and redirecting the flow of life-saving medical equipment among private companies, various levels of government and hospitals in need. The demand came in a letter sent Tuesday, the day the Kushner-backed supply chain task force abandoned its "war room" at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's headquarters following the revelation that a 'partner' of the agency who worked in the area had tested positive for coronavirus. The letter was sent by Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., to FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor, giving an April 15 due date to provide files related to the efforts of Kushner.... The White House has routinely ignored requests from Congress for information...." Mrs. McC: If there's any chance Jared will end up in a dungeon in the Capitol Building, pleeeeeze proceed. It is vital that he be paraded before Congress in a black-and-white striped prisoner's uniform with a little pillbox cap.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A top House committee chairwoman is proposing legislation that would undo ... Donald Trump's move to sideline the federal watchdog originally tapped to oversee the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, along with Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), offered a bill Wednesday that would expand the roster of officials permitted to lead the oversight effort, ensuring that Trump's incursion on the panel would not prevent the original pick -- Pentagon watchdog Glenn Fine -- from keeping the position." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "I'll Be the Oversight." Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump is coming under bipartisan scrutiny in Congress after he ousted two inspectors general and publicly criticized a third -- actions that have left lawmakers wrestling yet again with an administration that has repeatedly flouted efforts at independent oversight since Trump took office.... But lawmakers also are aware that they are, again, confronting a president who has repeatedly defied oversight by the legislative branch raising questions about whether new safeguards established amid the pandemic will be effective against Trump. The president has shown little hesitation in dismissing independent watchdogs, ignoring congressional subpoenas and barring current and former administration officials from cooperating with investigations." ~~~

~~~ Ashley Parker & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump has lambasted governors whom he views as insufficiently appreciative. He has denigrated -- and even dismissed -- inspectors general who dared to criticize him or his administration. And he has excoriated reporters who posed questions he did not like. The coronavirus pandemic has crystallized several long-standing undercurrents of the president's governing ethos: a refusal to accept criticism, a seemingly insatiable need for praise -- and an abiding mistrust of independen entities and individuals. Those characteristics have had a pervasive effect on the administration's handling of the crisis, from Trump's suggestions that he might withhold aid from struggling state governments based on whether he is displeased with a governor to his repeated refusal to take responsibility for shortcomings in the laggard federal response." The report goes on to describe Trump in accurate, unflattering terms, largely by using his own bad behavior against him.

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Attorney General William P. Barr said Wednesday that some of the government-imposed lockdown measures meant to control the spread of covid-19 were 'draconian' and suggested that they should be eased next month. In an interview with Fox News's Laura Ingraham, Barr, long a proponent of executive power, said the government -- and in particular state officials -- had broad authority to impose restrictions on people in cases of emergency. But he said the federal government would be 'keeping a careful eye on' the situation, and stressed that officials should be 'very careful to make sure that the draconian measures that are being adopted are fully justified.'... When the White House's social distancing guidance expires [at the end of April], Barr said, 'I think we have to consider alternative ways of protecting people.' The comments were particularly notable because during his lengthy career, Barr has been a champion of a strong executive branch of government -- frequently drawing criticism from civil liberties' advocates."

Jeff Brady of NPR: "Some local officials are disappointed the federal government will end funding for coronavirus testing sites this Friday. In a few places those sites will close as a result. This as criticism continues that not enough testing is available.... A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tells NPR, 'Many of the Community-Based Testing Sites (CBTS) are not closing, but rather transitioning to state-managed sites on or about April 10.'" --s ~~~

~~~ Matt Stieb of New York explains how counterproductive closing the testing sites is to the federal government's own goal of reviving local economies.

Tom Gjelten of NPR: "In a development that could challenge the Constitution's prohibition of any law 'respecting an establishment of religion,' the federal government will soon provide money directly to U.S. churches to help them pay pastor salaries and utility bills. A key part of the $2 trillion economic relief legislation enacted last month includes about $350 billion for the Small Business Administration to extend loans to small businesses facing financial difficulties as a result of the coronavirus shutdown orders. Churches and other faith-based organizations, classified as 'businesses,' qualify for aid under the program, even if they have an exclusively religious orientation.... In introducing the new SBA program, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Pence and President Trump 'made sure' that churches would be included in the program." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Josh Margolin & James Meek of ABC News: "As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China';s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. Concerns about what is now known to be the novel coronavirus pandemic were detailed in a November intelligence report by the military's National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), according to two officials familiar with the document's contents.... 'Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event,' one of the sources said of the NCMI's report. 'It was then briefed multiple times to' the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's Joint Staff and the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)

Modly's Last Hurrah Cost Taxpayers a Quarter Million Dollars. Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "For taxpayers, the cost of [Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly's] flight [to & from Guam] alone was at least $243,151.65, according to a Navy estimate."

Dan Mangan & Thomas Franck of CNBC: "Sen. Kelly Loeffler [R-ich] of Georgia on Wednesday said that she and her CEO husband Jeff Sprecher will liquidate their individual stock share positions and related options after weeks of criticism of the couple for selling millions of dollars in stock amid the coronavirus pandemic. Loeffler on Wednesday reiterated her defense of the prior stock sales as legally and ethically proper, and her claim that the couple's trading was handled by third parties authorized to buy and sell securities without telling the couple in advance. And she said that she and Sprecher, who is the chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, are selling off the individual shares not because she had to, but because she wanted to avoid further controversy. Loeffler, who is the richest member of the Senate, said in a Wall Street Journal opinion page article announcing her decision that her stock holdings would be converted to mutual funds and exchange-traded funds by third-party advisors who handle her investments."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Jane Bradley of the New York Times: "As the United States and European Union countries compete to acquire scarce medical equipment to combat the coronavirus, another troubling divide is also emerging, with poorer countries losing out to wealthier ones in the global scrum for masks and testing materials. Scientists in Africa and Latin America have been told by manufacturers that orders for vital testing kits cannot be filled for months, because the supply chain is in upheaval and almost everything they produce is going to America or Europe. All countries report steep price increases, from testing kits to masks."

A Holy Week Lesson

Kansas. Matthew Chapman of RawStory: "On Wednesday, Republicans on the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council voted to overturn Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's executive order restricting attendance at church and funereal services to 10 people or less. The decision came after GOP state Attorney General Derek Schmidt warned that the order is unconstitutional. Schmidt declared the order to be 'sound public-health advice that Kansans should follow' but advised state police not to enforce it." --s ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You might think killing off god-fearing Christians (and endangering the lives of others) is kind of an odd way to celebrate the Resurrection, but your theology is all wrong: ~~~

~~~ Edward Moreno of the Hill: "A Louisiana pentecostal pastor who is refusing to abide by the state's 'stay at home' order said 'true Christians' see death as a 'welcome friend.' 'Like any zealot or like any pure religious person, death looks to them like a welcome friend. True Christians do not mind dying. They fear living in fear,' Rev. Tony Spell, pastor of Life Tabernacle Church, told TMZ.... Spell was arrested on March 31 and charged with six misdemeanors for violating an executive order by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) banning gatherings of more than 10 people. Central, La., Police Chief Roger Corcoran Spell's decision was 'reckless and irresponsible.' The pastor eportedly held services again on Sunday, with hundreds of parishioners turning out to his church near Baton Rouge." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If we assume, for argument's sake (and because of the odds for it), that Pastor Tony there is also a right-to-lifer, then the theology would be that the one and only purpose to human life is to get through this world and on to heaven. There is actually some internal consistency to this belief as Christians believe that Jesus' birth, life and death was all one divine plan AND Christians do see Jesus as a role model.


MEANWHILE, in Virginia. Sarah Burris of RawStory: Jerry Falwell Jr. told a right-wing commentator Wednesday "that there were two arrest warrants open for reporters who came onto Liberty University's campus. Upon further examination of the warrant, the police officer who signed the warrant was Detective/Sgt. A.B. Wilkins 206 LUPD. The LUPD is ... the police department under the authority of Liberty University.... No judge appears to have signed the warrant nor is there a judge mentioned.... The warrant also doesn't appear to be certified by the clerk that it was submitted to the court.... The accused reporters, ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis and a New York Times photographer Julia Rendleman were accused of trespassing on the campus." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's all get us some badges & sticks and start passing out warrants to everybody who pisses us off. I'm starting with that lady who has littered her yard with the same raggedy Trumpence sign since 2016. $500 fine payable on demand.

Katie Jones of Visual Capitalist has a great study on media consumption habits by generation during the pandemic. Great graphics. --s

Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, here's an opinion piece, dated April 6, by winger John Fund & Prof. Joel Hay in the right-wing National Review about how Sweden appears to be doing the right thing by avoiding most mandated social distancing: "While gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited and high schools and colleges are closed, Sweden has kept its borders open as well as its preschools, grade schools, bars, restaurants, parks, and shops." ~~~

     ~~~ AND here's an article, dated April 7, by Sinéad Baker in Business Insider is "now bracing for a surge in [coronavirus] cases." ~~~

     ~~~ AND here's an article, dated April 8, by Paulina Neuding & Tino Sanandaji in the Washington Post: "There are indications that Sweden is experiencing a higher death toll than its neighbors. While the Scandinavian countries reported their first fatalities at roughly the same time, Sweden as of April 8 had 687 fatalities, Denmark 218 and Norway 93. In per capita terms, Sweden is faring clearly worse than Norway and increasingly worse than Denmark.... There are now alarming reports that the virus has spread to one-third of nursing homes in Stockholm, which has resulted in rising fatalities." Mrs. McC: I'm thinking of the value of confederate opinion.


Naomi Jagoda of the Hill: "The Treasury Department's inspector general's office on Wednesday sent a report about the department's handling of House Democrats' request for President Trump's tax returns to key lawmakers. Deputy Inspector General Richard Delmar, who is currently the acting IG for Treasury, said in an email to The Hill that his office's 'inquiry report' was sent to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), who requested the report, as well as the committee's top Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas). The contents of the report were not immediately known."

(** for those of a certain age) Matt Schudel of the Washington Post: "Linda Tripp, a key figure in the presidential sex scandal that nearly brought down the administration of Bill Clinton over his affair with onetime White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky, leading to the president's impeachment in 1998, died April 8. She was 70. The death was confirmed by her son, Ryan Tripp, who declined to discuss other details. Acquaintances said she had been hospitalized for breast cancer. Ms. Tripp was praised as a whistleblower by some for calling out presidential misbehavior with an intern in the Oval Office, and was vilified by others as a snitch who betrayed her friendship with Lewinsky in an effort to bring down a president." Tripp's New York Times obituary is here.

News Lede

New York Times: "The body of an 8-year-old grandson of former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend of Maryland who went missing with his mother in a canoe last week was recovered in the Chesapeake Bay on Wednesday, two days after his mother's body was found, the authorities said. The Maryland Natural Resources Police said that the body of the grandson, Gideon McKean, was found 2,000 feet from where the body of his mother, Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, was recovered on Monday."

Comments Off
Tuesday
Apr072020

The Commentariat -- April 8, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday, concluding a quest for the White House that began five years ago in relative obscurity but ultimately elevated him as a champion of the working class, a standard-bearer of American liberalism and the leader of a self-styled political revolution. Mr. Sanders's exit from the race establishes former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the presumptive nominee to challenge President Trump, and leaves the progressive movement without a prominent voice in the 2020 race.... With the public health emergency preventing both candidates from holding in-person campaign events, Mr. Sanders spent the last several weeks on the sidelines, delivering addresses via live stream and making occasional television appearances, while facing calls from fellow Democrats to exit the race and help unify the party behind Mr. Biden. Though Mr. Biden had been careful not to pressure Mr. Sanders, he had begun to move ahead as if the race were over, taking steps, for example, to begin his search for a running mate." ~~~

     ~~~ Holly Otterbein & David Siders of Politico: Sen. Sanders "announced his decision during an all-staff conference call Wednesday morning. The Vermont senator told his aides that this was not just a presidential campaign, but a movement, and to be proud of what they've accomplished." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Here's a statement from Joe Biden.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A top House committee chairwoman is proposing legislation that would undo ... Donald Trump's move to sideline the federal watchdog originally tapped to oversee the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law. House Oversight and Government Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, along with Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), offered a bill Wednesday that would expand the roster of officials permitted to lead the oversight effort, ensuring that Trump's incursion on the panel would not prevent the original pick -- Pentagon watchdog Glenn Fine -- from keeping the position."

Trump Encourages Voter Suppression Because It Helps Republicans. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday directed Republicans to 'fight very hard' against efforts to expand mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.... 'Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to statewide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesn't work out well for Republicans.'... The president fiercely criticized mail-in voting as 'horrible' and 'corrupt' during the White House coronavirus task force's daily news conference Tuesday, but also conceded that he voted by mail in Florida's primary last month. Trump offered no legitimate explanation for the discrepancy between his position on mail-in voting and his personal voting habits, but insisted 'there's a big difference between somebody that's out of state and does a ballot, and everything's sealed, certified and everything else.' In other instances of mail-in voting, however, 'you get thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebody's living room, signing ballots all over the place,' Trump claimed.... The president's advice to vote in person contradicts his administration's social-distancing guidance...."

CDC De-Trumpifies. Aram Roston & Marisa Taylor of Reuters: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed from its website highly unusual guidance informing doctors on how to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs recommended by ... Donald Trump to treat the coronavirus. The move comes three days after Reuters reported that the CDC published key dosing information involving the two antimalarial drugs based on unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science. Reuters also reported that the original guidance was crafted by the CDC after President Trump personally pressed federal regulatory and health officials to make the malaria drugs more widely available to treat the novel coronavirus, though the drugs in question had been untested for COVID-19.... Now the CDC website ... says: 'There are no drugs or other therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19.' The updated, and shortened, guidance adds that 'Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are under investigation in clinical trials' for use on coronavirus patients."

Tom Gjelten of NPR: "In a development that could challenge the Constitution's prohibition of any law 'respecting an establishment of religion,' the federal government will soon provide money directly to U.S. churches to help them pay pastor salaries and utility bills. A key part of the $2 trillion economic relief legislation enacted last month includes about $350 billion for the Small Business Administration to extend loans to small businesses facing financial difficulties as a result of the coronavirus shutdown orders. Churches and other faith-based organizations, classified as 'businesses,' qualify for aid under the program, even if they have an exclusively religious orientation.... In introducing the new SBA program, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Pence and President Trump 'made sure' that churches would be included in the program." --s

Josh Margolin & James Meek of ABC News: "As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China's Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. Concerns about what is now known to be the novel coronavirus pandemic were detailed in a November intelligence report by the military's National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI).... 'Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event,' one of the sources said of the NCMI's report. 'It was then briefed multiple times to' the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's Joint Staff and the White House."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "U.S. authorities on Tuesday reported 30,700 more people infected with the novel coronavirus and over 1,800 more deaths -- the highest daily death toll so far. But amid the grim data, some officials said they saw grounds for hope that the pandemic's devastation would at least not be as bad as the direst projections." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here.

William Wan & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "A leading forecasting model used by the White House to chart the coronavirus pandemic predicted Monday that the United States may need fewer hospital beds, ventilators and other equipment than previously projected and that some states may reach their peak of covid-19 deaths sooner than expected. That glimmer of potential good news came on the same day New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said his state may already be experiencing a 'flattening of the curve.' New York reported 599 new deaths Monday, on par with Sunday's count of 594 and down from 630 on Saturday. Experts and state leaders, however, continued to steel themselves for grim weeks ahead, noting that the revised model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington conflicts with many other models showing higher equipment shortages, deaths and projected peaks." Access is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Marina Villeneuve, et al., of the AP: "New York state reported 731 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, its biggest jump since the start of the outbreak, dampening some of the cautious optimism officials have expressed about efforts to stop the spread of the virus. The state's death toll grew to 5,489. The alarming surge in deaths comes as new hospital admissions have dropped on average over several days, a possible harbinger of the outbreak finally leveling off. [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo [D] said the death tally is a 'lagging indicator' that reflects the loss of critically ill people hospitalized earlier. 'That's 731 people who we lost. Behind every one of those numbers is an individual. There's a family, there's a mother, there's a father, there's a sister, there's a brother. So a lot of pain again today for many New Yorkers,' Cuomo said at a briefing at the state Capitol."

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. "President Trump lashed out on Tuesday at the World Health Organization, creating a new enemy to attack.... 'We're going to put a hold on money spent to the W.H.O.; we're going to put a very powerful hold on it and we're going to see,' Mr. Trump said, accusing the organization of having not been aggressive enough in confronting the dangers from the virus. 'They called it wrong. They call it wrong. They really they missed the call.' In effect, Mr. Trump was attempting to blame the W.H.O. for the very missteps and failures that have been leveled at him and his administration.... In fact, the W.H.O. was sounding the alarm in the earliest days of the crisis, declaring a 'public health emergency of international concern' a day before the United States secretary of health and human services announced its own public health emergency and weeks before Mr. Trump declared a national emergency because of the virus.... Mr. Trump ... accus[ed] the organization of 'not seeing' the outbreak when it started in Wuhan, China.... In fact, the W.H.O. repeatedly issued statements about the emergence of the virus in China and its movement around the world." Mrs. McC: WTF is a "very powerful hold"?

Washington Post live updates for coronavirus developments Tuesday are here.

Nobody has done more testing ... If (other countries) did the kind of testing proportionally that we are doing, they'd have many more cases than us. -- Donald Trump, Monday briefing

That's flat wrong. -- AP ~~~

~~~ Keep on Lyin'. Hope Yen & Christopher Rugaber of the AP: "Defending his administration's response to the coronavirus..., Donald Trump falsely asserted that travelers at U.S. airports are being routinely tested for COVID-19, made groundless accusations against a government watchdog and wrongly claimed the Obama administration did nothing during a flu pandemic. Meanwhile, with many businesses shuttered during the outbreak, Trump claimed his daughter Ivanka created over 15 million jobs for the U.S. That's a complete illusion."

Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "If hydroxychloroquine becomes an accepted treatment, several pharmaceutical companies stand to profit, including shareholders and senior executives with connections to the president. Mr. Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine." Read on for more on the excellent "experts" upon whom Trump is relying. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kyle Cheney & Connor O'Brien of Politico: "... Donald Trump has upended the panel of federal watchdogs overseeing his implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, tapping a replacement for the Pentagon official who was supposed to lead the effort. A panel of inspectors general had named Glenn Fine -- the acting Pentagon watchdog -- to lead the group charged with monitoring the coronavirus relief effort. But Trump Monday removed Fine from his post, instead naming an EPA inspector general to serve as the temporary Pentagon watchdog." Mrs. McC: Couldn't be any hankypanky afoot here, could there? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ From the WashPo's live updates Tuesday: "Trump cast his decision to remove Glenn Fine from his position as the Defense Department's acting inspector general as simply cleaning house of Obama-era holdover appointments, saying those officials could be biased.... [Fine's] ... removal as the Pentagon's top watchdog made him ineligible [to lead a cross-agency committee of inspectors general overseeing the coronavirus package]. 'We have a lot of IGs in from the Obama era. And as you know, it's a presidential decision...,' Trump said.... 'But when we have, you know, reports of bias and when we have different things coming in -- I don't know Fine. I don't think I ever met Fine. I heard the name. I don't know where he is -- maybe was from Clinton,' Trump added. Fine was appointed by President Bill Clinton as inspector general of the Justice Department at the end of his administration. He stayed on through President George W. Bush's term and through most of President Barack Obama's. He served as acting Pentagon inspector general for more than four years." ~~~

~~~ Charlie Savage & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump moved on Tuesday to oust the leader of a new watchdog panel charged with overseeing how his administration spends trillions of taxpayer dollars in coronavirus pandemic relief, the latest step in an abruptly unfolding White House power play against semi-independent inspectors general across the government.... The questions of accountability and loyalty within the government have been persistent themes in the past three years as Mr. Trump has repeatedly waged war with what he calls 'the deep state.'... In removing Mr. Fine from his role overseeing pandemic spending, Mr. Trump targeted a former Justice Department inspector general who earned a reputation for aggressive independence in scrutinizing the F.B.I.'s use of surveillance and other law enforcement powers in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.... A group of inspectors general led by Michael E. Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general, will determine who will replace Mr. Fine as chairman of the new pandemic oversight committee.... Mr. Horowitz had praised [Mr. Fine] as 'uniquely qualified' to run oversight of 'large organizations.'... Democrats immediately condemned Mr. Fine's sudden ouster as 'corrupt,' in the words of Senator Chuck Schumer of New York...." ~~~

~~~ Jennifer McLaughlin, et al., of Yahoo! News: "Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis issued a rare public rebuke of President Trump Tuesday over his decision to fire Glenn Fine, the Pentagon inspector general charged with overseeing implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. 'Mr. Fine is a public servant in the finest tradition of honest, competent governance,' Mattis told Yahoo News in an email. 'In my years of extensive engagement with him as our Department of Defense's acting Inspector General, he proved to be a leader whose personal and managerial integrity were always of the highest order.'"

** Fair Winds! Jim Sciutto, et al., of CNN: "Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday, a day after leaked audio revealed he called the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt 'stupid' in an address to the ship's crew, according to a US official and a former senior military official. The Navy and Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Undersecretary of the Army James McPherson has been tapped to succeed Modly, a US official and a defense official tells CNN. McPherson is a retired rear admiral and was the former judge advocate general of the Navy.... Late Monday night, Modly apologized in a statement for calling Crozier 'stupid' in his earlier remarks.... Defense Secretary Mark Esper [had] ordered Modly to apologize...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

About Those Masks, Etc.

Noam Levey of the Los Angeles Times: "Although President Trump has directed states and hospitals to secure what supplies they can, the federal government is quietly seizing orders, leaving medical providers across the country in the dark about where the material is going and how they can get what they need to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Hospital and clinic officials in seven states described the seizures in interviews over the past week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is not publicly reporting the acquisitions, despite the outlay of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, nor has the administration detailed how it decides which supplies to seize and where to reroute them. Officials who've had materials seized also say they've received no guidance from the government about how or if they will get access to the supplies they ordered.... Trump and other White House officials, including ... Jared Kushner, have insisted that the federal government is using a data-driven approach to procure supplies and direct them where they are most needed." Mrs. McC: Yeah, you just have to trust Don & Jared, Inc.

Mary Ellen Klas & Ben Wieder of the Miami Herald: "When Florida belatedly realized last week that its COVID-19 problem was going to cascade into a statewide crisis, the state Division of Emergency Management embarked on a frantic, frenzied attempt to buy N95 masks..., negotiating more than half a billion in purchase orders in just the past week. The biggest deal by far was a $225 million purchase order -- 30 million masks at $7.50 a piece -- agreed to March 30. It was brokered through a Miami lobbyist, Manny Reyes, son of the Miami commissioner, Manolo Reyes. In normal times the masks might cost anywhere from 58 cents to $1.25 per unit. The deal fell apart for the same reason dozens of other deals have dissolved: the state's chaotic and cutthroat procurement process clanging up against a drained national supply.... [And] Florida's late start in obtaining medical supplies may have put it at a distinct disadvantage.... Many of [the state's] purchase orders, like the deal involving Reyes, vanished into thin air.... None of the 90 million masks promised in the flurry of orders have [has!] materialized."

Marshall Allen of ProPublica: "Olga Matievskaya and her fellow intensive care nurses at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey were so desperate for gowns and masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus that they turned to the online fundraising site GoFundMe to raise money. The donations flowed in -- more than $12,000 -- and Matievskaya used some of them to buy about 500 masks, 4,000 shoe covers and 150 jumpsuits. She and her colleagues at the hospital celebrated protecting themselves and their patients from the spread of the virus. But rather than thanking the staff, hospital administrators on Saturday suspended Matievskaya for distributing 'unauthorized' protective gear."

Rebecca Ribley of WKOW Madison: "A bobblehead honoring Dr. Anthony Fauci ... has raised $100,000 for the American Hospital Association's 100 Million Mask Challenge. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Milwaukee, released the bobblehead last week. It features Fauci wearing a suit, making the 'flatten the curve' gesture[, s]ignaling to the country that it's best to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic.... Overnight the bobblehead became the museum's all-time best seller.... $5 from every Dr. Fauci bobblehead sold to the American Hospital Association in support of the 100 Million Mask Challenge." Mrs. McC: Should further piss off our Narcissist-in-Chief. And I thought Trump might send Fauci to London to visit the PM. Now, it looks more like Siberia.


John Eligon, et al., of the New York Times: "The coronavirus is infecting and killing black people in the United States at disproportionately high rates, according to data released by several states and big cities, highlighting what public health researchers say are entrenched inequalities in resources, health and access to care. The statistics are preliminary and much remains unknown because most cities and states are not reporting race as they provide numbers of confirmed cases and fatalities. Initial indications from a number of places, though, are alarming enough that policymakers say they must act immediately to stem potential devastation in black communities." A Washington Post story is here; it is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

~~~ Liz Crampton of Politico: "Most of the 42 million Americans who receive food stamps aren't allowed to use them to shop for groceries online -- and some lawmakers and state governments are rushing to change that as the newly jobless flood onto the rolls of the nutrition assistance program. Only six states allow online purchases with benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Of those, Alabama and Nebraska launched online shopping only in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic erupted." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't just food-stamp shoppers. I am a super-experienced online shopper, so I thought I'd be just the person to buy all or most of my groceries online. But even the grocery stores in my area that have pick-up shopping (and not all of them do) do so on a reservation system that is always full-up & not open to reservations at all -- even days ahead.

Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The Dow lost 26.13 points, or 0.12%, to 22,653.86. The S&P 500 fell 0.16% to 2,659.41. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33% to 7,887.26. Stocks gave up a massive rally from earlier in the day as Wall Street assessed the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak."

Jonathan Chait: "As House Democrats set to work on the next round of economic relief legislation, they face a more urgent choice than they seem to realize. If they send that bill to President Trump without measures guaranteeing voting rights during the pandemic, they are signing a death warrant for the 2020 election. A vision of the future sits before us in Wisconsin.... Trump may be able to win by following the Wisconsin Republican strategy of using the virus to suppress urban voting.... [But] once Republicans grasp that they need legislation to avert an economic catastrophe, Democrats will have leverage to force them to accept measures to protect voting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Garrett Epps of the Atlantic: "... the Supreme Court of the United States..., when social distancing and lockdowns spread across the nation, simply closed its doors, largely ceased operations, and disappeared. The Court has, as of last Friday, canceled two months' worth of oral argument and provided no word on when, or how, it will take up its calendar again.... Of course, the unseen, unheard justices are -- somewhere, somehow -- deciding cases.... Monday night, the Court unveiled a 5-4 decision saying that while the justices are staying safe at home, thousands of voters in Wisconsin must either risk infection by defying a stay-at-home order or forfeit their right to vote in important state elections.... The Court's order, as opposed to its mollifying bromides, directs that voters who have not yet received their absentee ballot will not be allowed to vote -- unless they leave their home and go to a crowded polling station, potentially contracting the virus or infecting the many older poll workers, terrified but present to do their duty."

~~~ I'm disgusted. I requested an absentee ballot almost three weeks ago and never got it. I have a father dying from lung disease, and I have to risk my life and his just to exercise my right to vote. -- Jennifer Taff, pictured above holding sign, to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photographer Patricia McKnight ~~~

Wisconsin. Elise Viebeck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of voters stood in lines that stretched for blocks in several Wisconsin cities Tuesday morning to cast their ballots amid fears about the spread of the coronavirus, a chaotic start to elections in the state that went forward only after a last-minute legal battle. Morning scenes at the polls across Milwaukee -- which was able to open only five polling locations, down from 180 -- underscored the near-unprecedented challenge facing election administrators one day after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers sought to suspend in-person voting in light of the covid-19 pandemic, an order that was quickly reversed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The decision was a victory for the state's GOP-controlled legislature, which had declined to postpone the election and filed a legal challenge to Evers's order, arguing it exceeded the governor's constitutional authority." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders are on the ballot in Wisconsin, but the main event is the State Supreme Court race between the conservative incumbent justice, Daniel Kelly, and a liberal challenger, Jill Karofsky. The winner will be in position to cast a deciding vote on a case before the court that seeks to purge more than 200,000 people from Wisconsin's voter rolls -- in a state where 2.6 million people voted in the last governor's race. When the matter was first before the court in January, Mr. Kelly recused himself, citing his upcoming election. He indicated he would 'rethink' his position following the April election, which comes with a 10-year term.... It is the latest example of what many in the state see as a decade-long effort by Wisconsin Republicans to dilute the voting power of the state's Democratic and African-American voters." ~~~

~~~ From the Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday: "At the daily White House coronavirus briefing, President Trump was asked who should be held responsible if Wisconsinites become ill after standing in long lines to vote. 'Look, all I did was endorse a candidate,' Trump said. 'I don't know anything about their lines. I don't know anything about their voting.' On Twitter this morning, Trump encouraged voters to go to the polls to support Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly. He claimed that until he endorsed Kelly, Democrats had not raised concerns about delaying the primary.... Trump endorsed Kelly in January. On April 3, the president tweeted his support for him. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) pushed for mail-in voting on March 27, but talk of delaying the election didn't start until a few days ago. When pressed on how standing in line to vote squared with social distancing recommendations, Trump said the Democrats in charge at the state level would have to answer that." ~~~

~~~ Natasha Korecki of Politico: "... somehow in the midst of a deadly pandemic that has led more than a dozen states to delay their elections, Wisconsin is asking its citizens to come out and vote Tuesday. This is what the complete collapse of a state's political system looks like.... The scorched earth politics that led to this moment dates back long before the polarization of the Trump era. Hundreds of millions of dollars -- much of it from outside groups -- have poured into state races since 2010, when [former Gov. Scott] Walker's [R] first election as governor kicked off years of acrimony that infected the state's political culture at every level." Mrs. McC: "Pretty much a both-siderism take. Being as generous as possible to Republicans, I'd hold confederates 98% responsible for forcing this election in the midst of a pandemic. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Yeah But. From the Washington Post's live updates Tuesday: "Dressed head-to-toe in personal protective equipment, Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) stood at a polling place in Racine County on Tuesday and assured voters that it was safe to go to the polls. Vos -- wearing protective gloves, a mask and a gown -- worked as an election inspector at the state's planned primaries, one day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers's executive order suspending in-person voting in Tuesday's elections, which launched a final scramble for election officials to prepare polling places and protect voters and workers." Includes photo of Vos geared up in PPE telling voters it's "incredibly safe" to vote. Mrs. McC: I didn't think I hoped anybody would catch the virus. I'm having a hard time with the brotherly love thing here.

Texas. John Kruzel of the Hill: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with Texas over its bid to restrict abortion access amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower court order halting the restrictions, saying the previous ruling had not adequately considered the temporary burden on abortion access in light of the measure's medical benefits.... Judges Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee, and Jennifer Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with Texas. Judge James Dennis, a Clinton appointee, dissented." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Idaho. Give Me Liberty AND Give Me Death! Mike Baker of the New York Times: "In a state with pockets of deep wariness about both big government and mainstream medicine, the sweeping restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus have run into outright rebellion in some parts of Idaho, which is facing its own worrying spike in coronavirus cases. The opposition is coming not only from people like [Aamon] Bundy, whose armed takeover of the Oregon refuge with dozens of other men and women in 2016 led to a 41-day standoff, but also from some state lawmakers and a county sheriff who are calling the governor's statewide stay-at-home order an infringement on individual liberties.... Many of the latest claims about the Constitution have come from Idaho's northern panhandle, where vaccination rates for other diseases have always been low and where wariness of government is high." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Excuse our arrogance as New Yorkers -- I speak for the mayor [de Blasio] also on this one -- we think we have the best health care system on the planet right here in New York. So, when you're saying, what happened in other countries versus what happened here, we don't even think it's going to be as bad as it was in other countries. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-Ny), March 2 ~~~

~~~ New York. David Goodman of the New York Times: "For many days after the first positive test [for the coronoavirus], as the coronavirus silently spread throughout the New York region, [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo, [Mayor Bill] de Blasio and their top aides projected an unswerving confidence that the outbreak would be readily contained.... From the start, Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Cuomo projected as much concern about panic as they did about the virus.... From the earliest days of the crisis, state and city officials were also hampered by a chaotic and often dysfunctional federal response, including significant problems with the expansion of coronavirus testing, which made it far harder to gauge the scope of the outbreak.... Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and former commissioner of the city's Health Department..., said that if the state and city had adopted widespread social-distancing measures a week or two earlier..., then the estimated death toll from the outbreak might have been reduced by 50 to 80 percent.

Missed this when safari posted it the other day. It's a short course on how dumb and dangerous a person is when s/he rejects science & common sense in favor of the personal preferences of the Dear Leader:


Kaitlan Collins & Kate Bennett of CNN: "White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is leaving the job without ever having briefed the press. CNN has learned she is returning to the East Wing as first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff as ... Donald Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows shakes up the communications team in the West Wing. Kayleigh McEnany, who served as Trump's 2020 campaign spokeswoman, will replace Grisham as White House press secretary, according to two sources familiar with the situation.Meadows is also tapping Alyssa Farah, the current spokeswoman for the Defense Department, to be the director of strategic communications, the two sources said. Ben Williamson, a Meadows staffer, will become the senior communications adviser." Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. Mrs. McC: The best thing to do during a completely mismanaged international crisis is have a major staff shakeup. This should set the sinking ship aright. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times has more. "Ms. McEnany has been a vocal defender of Mr. Trump on television, the main role the president has long believed the press secretary should play, according to current and former advisers. Her hiring is the first major personnel move by the incoming White House chief of staff, former Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kaczynski & Nathan McDermott of CNN: "New White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeatedly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus in comments made in February and March, a CNN KFile review has found. In radio and television appearances, McEnany, in her role as spokeswoman for ... Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, said the administration had the rapidly spreading coronavirus "under control" and said that because of travel restrictions enacted by the President, 'we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here.' She also said Democrats were 'actively rooting against what's in the best interest of America,' including rooting for coronavirus to take hold. She said coronavirus, like the Russia and Ukraine scandals, was being used to take down Trump."

~~~ Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast runs down some of McEnany's greatest hits like, "Trump has never lied to the American people." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Burgess Everett & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Sen. Chuck Grassley is working on a bipartisan letter addressed to ... Donald Trump demanding an explanation for the firing of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, according to aides in both parties. The Senate Finance Committee chairman is still working to secure cosponsors for the letter, a Republican aide said. The letter will focus on Atkinson's Friday firing amid a broader purge by the president of inspectors general. The letter is supported by Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine."

News Lede

Rolling Stone: "John Prine, who for five decades wrote rich, plain-spoken songs that chronicled the struggles and stories of everyday working people and changed the face of modern American roots music, died Tuesday at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was 73. The cause was complications related to COVID-19, his family confirmed to Rolling Stone."

Comments Off
Monday
Apr062020

The Commentariat -- April 7, 2020

Afternoon Update:

** Fair Winds! Jim Sciutto, et al., of CNN: "Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday, a day after leaked audio revealed he called the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt 'stupid' in an address to the ship's crew, according to a US official and a former senior military official. The Navy and Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Undersecretary of the Army James McPherson has been tapped to succeed Modly, a US official and a defense official tells CNN. McPherson is a retired rear admiral and was the former judge advocate general of the Navy.... Late Monday night, Modly apologized in a statement for calling Crozier 'stupid' in his earlier remarks.... Defense Secretary Mark Esper [had] ordered Modly to apologize...."

John Kruzel of the Hill: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with Texas over its bid to restrict abortion access amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower court order halting the restrictions, saying the previous ruling had not adequately considered the temporary burden on abortion access in light of the measure's medical benefits.... Judges Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee, and Jennifer Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with Texas. Judge James Dennis, a Clinton appointee, dissented."

William Wan & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "A leading forecasting model used by the White House to chart the coronavirus pandemic predicted Monday that the United States may need fewer hospital beds, ventilators and other equipment than previously projected and that some states may reach their peak of covid-19 deaths sooner than expected. That glimmer of potential good news came on the same day New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said his state may already be experiencing a 'flattening of the curve.' New York reported 599 new deaths Monday, on par with Sunday's count of 594 and down from 630 on Saturday. Experts and state leaders, however, continued to steel themselves for grim weeks ahead, noting that the revised model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington conflicts with many other models showing higher equipment shortages, deaths and projected peaks." Access is free to nonsubscribers.

Kaitlan Collins & Kate Bennett of CNN: "White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is leaving the job without ever having briefed the press. CNN has learned she is returning to the East Wing as first lady Melania Trump's chief of staff as ... Donald Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows shakes up the communications team in the West Wing. Kayleigh McEnany, who served as Trump's 2020 campaign spokeswoman, will replace Grisham as White House press secretary, according to two sources familiar with the situation.Meadows is also tapping Alyssa Farah, the current spokeswoman for the Defense Department, to be the director of strategic communications, the two sources said. Ben Williamson, a Meadows staffer, will become the senior communications adviser." Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. Mrs. McC: The best thing to do during a completely mismanaged international crisis is have a major staff shakeup. This should set the sinking ship aright. ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times has more. "Ms. McEnany has been a vocal defender of Mr. Trump on television, the main role the president has long believed the press secretary should play, according to current and former advisers. Her hiring is the first major personnel move by the incoming White House chief of staff, former Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina." ~~~

~~~ Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast runs down some of McEnany's greatest hits like, "We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here," in response to Trump's travel ban, and "Trump has never lied to the American people."

Kyle Cheney & Connor O'Brien of Politico: "... Donald Trump has upended the panel of federal watchdogs overseeing his implementation of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, tapping a replacement for the Pentagon official who was supposed to lead the effort. A panel of inspectors general had named Glenn Fine -- the acting Pentagon watchdog -- to lead the group charged with monitoring the coronavirus relief effort. But Trump on Monday removed Fine from his post, instead naming an EPA inspector general to serve as the temporary Pentagon watchdog." Mrs. McC: Couldn't be any hankypanky afoot here, could there?

Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "If hydroxychloroquine becomes an accepted treatment, several pharmaceutical companies stand to profit, including shareholders and senior executives with connections to the president. Mr. Trump himself has a small personal financial interest in Sanofi, the French drugmaker that makes Plaquenil, the brand-name version of hydroxychloroquine." Read on for more on the excellent "experts" upon whom Trump is relying.

Elise Viebeck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of voters stood in lines that stretched for blocks in several Wisconsin cities Tuesday morning to cast their ballots amid fears about the spread of the coronavirus, a chaotic start to elections in the state that went forward only after a last-minute legal battle. Morning scenes at the polls across Milwaukee -- which was able to open only five polling locations, down from 180 -- underscored the near-unprecedented challenge facing election administrators one day after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers sought to suspend in-person voting in light of the covid-19 pandemic, an order that was quickly reversed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The decision was a victory for the state's GOP-controlled legislature, which had declined to postpone the election and filed a legal challenge to Evers's order, arguing it exceeded the governor's constitutional authority." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait: "As House Democrats set to work on the next round of economic relief legislation, they face a more urgent choice than they seem to realize. If they send that bill to President Trump without measures guaranteeing voting rights during the pandemic, they are signing a death warrant for the 2020 election. A vision of the future sits before us in Wisconsin.... Trump may be able to win by following the Wisconsin Republican strategy of using the virus to suppress urban voting.... [But] once Republicans grasp that they need legislation to avert an economic catastrophe, Democrats will have leverage to force them to accept measures to protect voting."

Natasha Korecki of Politico: "... somehow in the midst of a deadly pandemic that has led more than a dozen states to delay their elections, Wisconsin is asking its citizens to come out and vote Tuesday. This is what the complete collapse of a state's political system looks like.... The scorched earth politics that led to this moment dates back long before the polarization of the Trump era. Hundreds of millions of dollars -- much of it from outside groups -- have poured into state races since 2010, when [former Gov. Scott] Walker's [R] first election as governor kicked off years of acrimony that infected the state's political culture at every level." Mrs. McC: "Pretty much a both-siderism take. Being as generous as possible to Republicans, I'd hold confederates 98% responsible for forcing this election in the midst of a pandemic.

Idaho. Give Me Liberty AND Give Me Death! Mike Baker of the New York Times: "In a state with pockets of deep wariness about both big government and mainstream medicine, the sweeping restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus have run into outright rebellion in some parts of Idaho, which is facing its own worrying spike in coronavirus cases. The opposition is coming not only from people like [Aamon] Bundy, whose armed takeover of the Oregon refuge with dozens of other men and women in 2016 led to a 41-day standoff, but also from some state lawmakers and a county sheriff who are calling the governor's statewide stay-at-home order an infringement on individual liberties.... Many of the latest claims about the Constitution have come from Idaho's northern panhandle, where vaccination rates for other diseases have always been low and where wariness of government is high."

~~~~~~~~~~

Confederates Will Do Anything & Everything to Disenfranchise Democrats

If you live in Wisconsin, your primary election is today.

Stupid AND Irresponsible. Molly Beck & Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "The Wisconsin Supreme Court reinstated Tuesday's election Monday, five hours after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called it off because of the widening coronavirus pandemic. In a brief 4-2 ruling, the court undid an emergency order that Evers issued that would have closed the polls. Their decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Republican lawmakers. Monday's on-again, off-again election triggered chaos across the state as election officials told clerks to continue preparing for an election because they did not know whether the polls would open. Before the court acted, at least two local government leaders as of Monday afternoon issued their own orders to block in-person voting.... Four conservatives -- Chief Justice Patience Roggensack and Justices Rebecca Bradley, Brian Hagedorn and Annette Ziegler -- were in the majority. Liberal Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet were in dissent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Wait, Wait! It gets way worse! ~~~

~~~ Astead Herndon & Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times: "Wisconsin voters will face a choice between protecting their health and exercising their civic duty on Tuesday after state Republican leaders, backed up by a conservative majority on the state's Supreme Court, rebuffed the Democratic governor's attempt to postpone in-person voting in their presidential primary and local elections. The political and legal skirmishing throughout Monday was only the first round of an expected national fight over voting rights in the year of Covid-19.... In a 5-4 vote, the majority [of the U.S. Supreme Court] ruled [late Monday] against their attempt to extend the deadline for absentee voting in Tuesday's elections, saying such a change 'fundamentally alters the nature of the election.' The court's four liberal members dissented, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writing that 'the court's order, I fear, will result in massive disenfranchisement.'... What happens in Wisconsin has far broader implications for both parties.... Many Democrats have advocated a universal vote-by-mail system in November. Republicans in several states and the president himself are pushing for as much in-person voting as possible." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It occurs to me that, in the short run, Republicans may be shooting themselves in their collective big foot. Republican voters are older voters, and it makes sense that, since the coronavirus poses the greatest danger to them, they are the voting bloc most likely to skip the trip to their polling places. ~~~

~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox: "The Supreme Court's Republican majority, in a case that is literally titled Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, handed down a decision that will effectively disenfranchise tens of thousands of Wisconsin voters.... The decision carries grave repercussions for the state of Wisconsin -- and democracy more broadly. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg notes in her dissent, 'the presidential primaries, a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, three seats on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, over 100 other judgeships, over 500 school board seats, and several thousand other positions' are at stake in the Wisconsin election.... The April 7 election is shaping up to be a trainwreck. Most poll workers have refused to work the election, out of fear of catching the coronavirus.... Judge William Conley, an Obama appointee to a federal court in Wisconsin, ordered the deadline for receiving ballots to be extended to 4 pm on April 13. In response to this order, the Republican Party asked the Supreme Court to modify Conley's decision to require all ballots to be postmarked by April 7.... The Supreme Court's Republican majority granted the GOP this very specific request.... Tens of thousands of voters are not expected to even receive their ballots until after Election Day, effectively disenfranchising them through no fault of their own.... The Supreme Court's decision in Republican is the capstone of a weeks-long effort by the Republican Party to make it difficult for voters to actually cast a ballot in Wisconsin."

Congratulations! Great Job!

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments for Tuesday are here. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. "Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who warned that this week could be the 'Pearl Harbor' of the coronavirus, sounded a more optimistic note Tuesday, saying that deaths in the United States could fall under the range of 100,000 to 240,000 suggested by the White House. 'That's absolutely my expectation, and I feel a lot more optimistic again because I'm seeing mitigation work,' Adams said during an appearance on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' in which he highlighted the social distancing efforts of Washington state and California."

** You should say 'congratulations, great job,' instead of being so horrid in the way you ask a question. -- Donald Trump, to a female reporter Tuesday in response to a legitimate question about the dearth of coronavirus tests (video at the link is worth watching) ~~~

~~~ Brianna Ehley & Alice Ollstein of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday blasted his health department's watchdog for a new report revealing supply shortages and testing delays at hospitals responding to the coronavirus crisis, claiming the findings were inaccurate and politically motivated. 'It's just wrong,' Trump said during a briefing of the White House coronavirus task force, without providing evidence detailing what was incorrect. 'It still could be her opinion. When was she appointed? Do me a favor and let me know. Let me know now...,' the president said.... Trump's comments were directed at Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi Grimm and prompted by a report based on interviews with administrators from 324 hospitals and health systems between March 23 to March 27. Grimm was appointed to the post in January. The career official joined the inspector general's office in 1999.... The report found many hospitals lacked enough thermometers to monitor the temperatures of its own staff and a sufficient number of masks to protect their workers.... Hospitals also reported shortages of ventilators, IV poles, bed sheets, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and other basic equipment.... HHS Assistant Secretary for Health [Mrs. McC: and Major Chickenshit] Brett Giroir refused to defend Grimm at the briefing.... Giroir also complained that he only learned about the findings from the media on Monday, suggesting that the inspector general's office was 'ethically obliged' to more quickly inform him of problems. The report casts a different light on conditions Trump administration officials have portrayed as improving thanks to their response to the pandemic." ~~~

~~~ Dan Diamond & David Lim of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday said that 3M would produce 166.5 million masks over the next three months, cementing a commitment from a company the administration had blamed for exacerbating a shortage for health workers responding to the coronavirus pandemic.... The new 3M masks are overwhelmingly N95 and KN95 masks and will go toward frontline workers, the official said. The White House and 3M had sparred in recent days over accusations the mask-maker was prioritizing sales to other countries. Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on Thursday in an effort to ramp 3M's production." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Wait a minute. I'm confused. Trump had to invoke the dreaded DPA to get 3M to produce more masks for American healthcare workers because there is a shortage in the U.S., but he "blasted" an inspector general for a report that said, in part, that there aren't enough masks for American healthcare workers?? Congratulations, great job. ~~~

~~~ Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has said he asked US pharmaceutical companies working on experimental coronavirus drugs to approach Boris Johnson's doctors and offer their help, after it emerged that the British prime minister was in intensive care. In an evening press briefing, Trump did not name the companies or the drugs, but earlier in the day he held a conference about therapeutic drugs with the heads of four US pharmaceutical and biotech companies: Amgen, Genetech, Gilead, and Regeneron." Mrs. McC: Trump could solve his problems with Dr. Anthony Fauci by sending Fauci to London to minister to Johnson.

~~~ Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump said Monday that he had a 'friendly' and 'warm' conversation with former Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic frontrunner, regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak. 'We had a really wonderful, warm conversation,' Trump told reporters at a regular White House briefing Monday evening on COVID-19.... 'He gave me his point of view and I fully understood that. We just had a very friendly conversation,' Trump said, adding that the call lasted roughly 15 minutes. 'It was really good, really nice,' Trump continued. 'I appreciate his calling.'... 'We agreed that we weren't going to talk about what we said,' Trump said. 'He had suggestions. It doesn't mean that I agree with those suggestions.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Uh-Oh. Connor O'Brien & Lara Seligman of Politico: "... Donald Trump pledged Monday to 'get involved' in the Navy's decision to fire of the aircraft carrier commander who sounded the alarm about an outbreak of coronavirus on his ship. 'I'm going to get involved and see exactly what's going on there,' Trump told reporters. 'Because I don't want to destroy somebody for having a bad day.' The news that Trump may intervene in the case could spell trouble for acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who made the decision to fire Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, for broadly emailing a letter last week requesting assistance as more crew members tested positive for the coronavirus. Modly was already under fire on Monday after leaked audio revealed a profanity-laced speech to the Roosevelt crew on Sunday in which he called the former commander's decision to write the letter 'naive' and 'stupid.' A transcript, as well as the audio of Modly's remarks to the crew, were leaked to several media outlets Monday. Modly did not share his remarks with the White House or Defense Secretary Mark Esper's office ahead of time...." ~~~

     ~~~ Barbara Starr, et al., of CNN: "The Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly blasted the now ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt as 'stupid' in an address to the ship's crew Monday morning, in remarks obtained by CNN. Modly told the crew that their former commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, was either 'too naive or too stupid' to be in command or that he intentionally leaked to the media a memo in which he warned about coronavirus spreading aboard the aircraft carrier and urged action to save his sailors. The acting secretary accused Crozier of committing a 'betrayal' and creating a 'big controversy' in Washington by disseminating the warning so widely....Modly's use of the word 'betrayal' is a loaded because saying an officer has betrayed the Navy is a court martial offense.A defense official familiar with Modly's remarks offered his opinion of Modly's address, saying the acting secretary 'should be fired. I don't know how he survives this day.'" Mrs. McC: Modly of course made his remarks before more-or-less the same crew that cheered Crozier as he left the ship. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "Like much in the Trump administration, what began as a seemingly straightforward challenge -- the arrival of coronavirus onboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier -- has now engulfed the military, leading to far-reaching questions of undue command influence and the demoralization of young men and women who promise to protect the country. At its heart, the crisis aboard the Theodore Roosevelt has become a window into what matters, and what does not, in an administration where remaining on the right side of a mercurial president is valued above all else.... In an emailed statement late Monday, Mr. Modly apologized 'for any confusion' his choice of words during his remarks to the Roosevelt crew may have caused. 'I do not think Capt. Brett Crozier is naïve or stupid,' Mr. Modly said in the statement. But his earlier remarks had echoed comments by the president, who on Saturday had lashed out at Captain Crozier as well."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's see, you said Capt. Crozier was either too naive or too stupid, but we're all "confused" because that doesn't mean Crozier is naive or stupid. I think we understood you the first time. BESIDES, if anyone was "confused," you cleared that up earlier in the day, didn't you? ~~~

     ~~~ Rebecca Kheel of The Hill: "Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said on Monday he stands by [his] speech...'The spoken words were from the heart, and meant for them,' Modly continued. 'I stand by every word I said, even, regrettably any profanity that may have been used for emphasis.'" --s ~~~

     ~~~ CNN has the transcript as delivered of every word Modly meant, tho it leaves out at least one "fucking." If you wonder if this was a "political" speech delivered to our supposedly apolitical military, Modly said, "Vice President of the United States Joe Biden suggested just yesterday that my decision was criminal." In fact, what Biden said was that removing Crozier was "close to criminal" and that Crozier "should ... have a commendation rather than be fired."

** "When a Narcissist Runs a Crisis." Jennifer Senior of the New York Times: "Narcissistic personalities like Trump harbor skyscraping delusions about their own capabilities.... The grandiosity of narcissistic personalities belies an extreme fragility.... They're too thin skinned to be told they're wrong.... Narcissistic leaders never have, as Trump likes to say, the best people. They have galleries of sycophants.... Trump could have assembled a first-rate company of disaster preparedness experts. Instead he gave the job to his son-in-law, a man-child of breathtaking vapidity. Faced with a historic economic crisis, Trump could have assembled a team of Nobel-prize winning economists or previous treasury secretaries. Instead he talks to Larry Kudlow, a former CNBC host.... Narcissistic personalities love nothing more than engineering conflict and sowing division.... Trump is pitting state against state for precious resources, rather than coordinating a national response.... Every aspect of Trump's crisis management has been annexed by his psychopathology. As Americans die, he boasts about his television ratings. As Americans die, he crows that he's No. 1 on Facebook, which isn&r't close to true." Read the whole column. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: Over the weekend, former ABC News anchor Carole Simpson pointed out on MSNBC that one of the effects of Trump's late afternoon teevee show is to preempt many local news reports, which prevents viewers from hearing how many of their neighbors are sick & dying of Covid-19.

James Hamblin of the Atlantic: "Two weeks ago, French doctors published a provocative observation ... [that] six patients with COVID-19 [who took a cocktail of] ... hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin ... tested negative for the virus [after six days]. The report caught the eye of the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, who has since appeared on Fox News to talk about hydroxychloroquine 21 times. As Oz put it to Sean Hannity, 'This French doctor, [Didier] Raoult, a very famous infectious-disease specialist, had done some interesting work at a pilot study showing that he could get rid of the virus in six days in 100 percent of the patients he treated.' Raoult has made news in recent years as a pan-disciplinary provocateur; he has questioned climate change and Darwinian evolution. On January 21, at the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Raoult said in a YouTube video, 'The fact that people have died of coronavirus in China, you know, I don't feel very concerned.' Last week, Oz, who has been advising the president on the coronavirus, described Raoult to Hannity as 'very impressive.' Oz told Hannity that he had informed the White House as much.... Over the course of these two weeks, the president of the United States has become the world's most prominent peddler of medical misinformation.... On Saturday, Trump ... said, 'so there's a study out there that says people that have lupus haven't been catching this virus. Maybe it's true; maybe it's not.' There is no such study." The article is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

~~~ The Plot Thickens??? Donald Shaw of Sludge: "It's unclear why Trump has been such a proponent of hydroxychloroquine, but one answer may lie with the millions of dollars in political support he has received from the founder of a pharmaceutical industry-funded group that has been pushing him to make the drug available. On March 26, Job Creators Network, a conservative dark money nonprofit, launched a petition, a series of Facebook ads, and a blast text message campaign calling on Trump to 'cut the red tape' and immediately make hydroxychloroquine available to treat patients.... The Job Creators Network was founded in 2011 by billionaire Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, a major GOP donor who spent more than $7 million through outside groups to help elect Trump in 2016. Marcus has said that he plans to spend part of his fortune to help re-elect Trump in 2020. Job Creators Network has been funded by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a drug industry trade that counts among its members leading hydroxychloroquine makers Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Bayer." ~~~

~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "It just so happens that one of the largest manufacturers of the drug, Novartis, previously paid Trump's now-incarcerated former personal attorney Michael Cohen more than $1 million for healthcare policy insight following Trump's election in 2016.... After details of the deal were leaked by the now-jailed Michael Avenatti..., the company&'s CEO issued a public apology saying Novartis 'made a mistake' in contracting with the president's personal attorney.... Cohen is currently in federal prison serving a three-year sentence for campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. Novartis, on the other hand, just agreed to donate up to 130 million doses of the unproven drug to help fight COVID-19."

~~~ When Orange Trees Grow in Siberia. Jonathan Chait: "... [Trump's promotion of hydroxychloroquine] augurs more broadly about [his] disdain for public-health expertise.... Over the last two days, Trump has visibly balked at social-distancing guidelines and renewed his impatience to reopen the economy soon. His demand to produce a silver-bullet wonder drug right away seems both to grow out of his dissatisfaction with public-health authorities and is feeding into his skepticism of them.... Whether [Rudy] Giuliani and [Peter] Navarro are even qualified to advise the president in their stated areas of expertise -- law and economics, respectively -- is a matter of serious dispute. For both to emerge as self-styled medical authorities during a pandemic is beyond unnerving." (Related stories linked yesterday.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Chandelis Duster of CNN: "White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday said he was qualified to engage and disagree with Dr. Anthony Fauci on the use of an anti-malarial drug as a coronavirus treatment -- which is not yet proven as effective.... 'Doctors disagree about things all the time. My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I'm a social scientist,' he told CNN's John Berman on 'New Day.' 'I have a Ph.D. And I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it's in medicine, the law, economics or whatever.'" Mrs. McC: I don't think you do. ... Navarro reminds me of this car reservations clerk. (wherein I play the part of Jerry): (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Navarro Is Sometimes Right. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A top White House adviser starkly warned Trump administration officials in late January that the coronavirus crisis could cost the United States trillions of dollars and put millions of Americans at risk of illness or death. The warning, written in a memo by Peter Navarro, President Trump's trade adviser, is the highest-level alert known to have circulated inside the West Wing as the administration was taking its first substantive steps to confront a crisis that had already consumed China's leaders and would go on to upend life in Europe and the United States. 'The lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless in the case of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak on U.S. soil,' Mr. Navarro's memo said. 'This lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.' Dated Jan. 29, it came during a period when Mr. Trump was playing down the risks to the United States, and he would later go on to say that no one could have predicted such a devastating outcome.... [The memo] reached a number of top officials as well as aides to Mick Mulvaney, then the acting chief of staff, they said, but it was unclear whether Mr. Trump saw it."

Mehdi Hasan of The Intercept brings all of the receipts in a bid to remember (and never forget) how monumentally reckless Republicans have been in this Covid-19 disaster. Read on. --s

Mrs. McCrabbie: Way back early yesterday morning, when I was still thinking I'd make my own face masks, it occurred to me that the black fabric I planned to use might make me look like a burglar. So what? thought I, nobody will really take an old lady for a robber. Not everyone has the luxury of "presumed innocence by reason of demography": ~~~

~~~ Aaron Thomas in a Guardian op-ed: "On Saturday I thought about the errands I need to run this week, including a trip to the grocery store. I thought I could use one of my old bandanas as a mask. But then my voice of self-protection reminded me that I, a Black man, cannot walk into a store with a bandana covering the greater part of my face if I also expect to walk out of that store. The situation isn't safe and could lead to unintended attention, and ultimately a life-or-death situation. For me, the fear of being mistaken for an armed robber or assailant is greater than the fear of contracting Covid-19."

Fred Imbert & Yun Li of CNBC: "Stock futures pointed to a Tuesday opening jump in early morning trade, building on a steep rebound in the previous session. At around 8 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 762 points, pointing to a gain of more than 600 points at Tuesday's open. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures also pointed to strong opening gains.... Stocks surged on Monday as a slew of coronavirus headlines pointed to a potential stabilization in the U.S. The Dow soared 1,600 points, posting its third biggest point gain ever. The S&P 500 jumped 7% to its highest level since March 13. With Monday's rally, the S&P 500 bounced about 20% from its 52-week low on March 23."

Tia Mitchell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "U.S. Sen. David Perdue's financial portfolio saw heavy trading during the month of March, a period during which Congress passed three different spending bills to address the spread of COVID-19 and the markets took a turn for the worse.... Compared with the 26-month period before the coronavirus swept across America, Perdue&'s portfolio activity has increased nearly threefold.... For example, he made a number of purchases of stock in DuPont de Nemours, a chemical company that supplies personal protective equipment used by people trying to avoid exposure to the virus. That includes buying shares worth as much as $65,000 on Jan. 24, the same day that the Senate held a members-only briefing on the novel coronavirus." --safari: Even if the stock trading were legal, Perdue has clearly more concentrated on his own financial well-being than serving the public.

New York. Liam Stack of the New York Times: "The [Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Upper Manhattan, the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of New York], which describes itself as the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, said on Monday that its 600-foot-long nave and equally large subterranean crypt would be turned into an emergency hospital as part of the fight against the pandemic. Nine climate-controlled medical tents capable of holding a total of at least 200 patients will be erected inside the cathedral by the end of the week, said the Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, the dean of the cathedral.... The field hospital will be staffed with personnel from Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, which sits next door to the cathedral complex...."

Michigan. John Bowden of The Hill: "Hundreds of staff at a Detroit-area hospital system have tested positive for coronavirus, the hospital's chief clinical officer said Monday evening. Nonprofit news site BridgeMI.com reported that Dr. Adnan Munkarah of the Henry Ford Hospital Campus confirmed 731 cases of the coronavirus among employees at the hospital, accounting for 2 percent of the hospital system's 31,600 employees. As many as 1,500 at another hospital system in the state have reported symptoms similar to coronavirus, though those numbers are not confirmed cases." --s

>Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Major supermarket chains are beginning to report their first coronavirus-related employee deaths, leading to store closures and increasing anxiety among grocery workers as the pandemic intensifies across the country. A Trader Joe's worker in Scarsdale, N.Y., a greeter at a Giant store in Largo, Md., and two Walmart employees from the same Chicago-area store have died of covid-19 ... in recent days, the companies confirmed Monday. Though more than 40 states have ordered nonessential businesses to close and told residents to stay home to stem the spread of the virus, supermarkets are among the retailers that remain open. Thousands of grocery employees have continued to report to work as U.S. infections and death rates continue to climb, with many reporting long shifts and extra workloads to keep up with spiking demand. Many workers say they don't have enough protective gear to deal with hundreds of customers a day. Dozens of grocery workers have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent weeks."

Capitalists Are Awesome. Jim VandeHei & Mike Allen of Axios: "Top CEOs, in private conversations and pleas to President Trump, are warning of economic catastrophe if America doesn't begin planning for a phased return to work as soon as May, corporate leaders tell Axios.... Several of these leaders told us they want to have a hard national conversation about tradeoffs involved in any widespread lockdowns beyond the middle of next month. They know most wouldn't return until June or later, but fear a lack of urgency on many going back sooner. They realize it sounds callous to talk about work when people are scared of death, but believe it's an urgent debate the nation needs." --s

Jason Wilson of the Guardian: "Neo-Nazi groups in the US are looking for ways to exploit the coronavirus outbreak and commit acts of violence, according to observers of far-right groups, law enforcement, and propaganda materials reviewed by the Guardian. The watchdog group the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) raised the alarm last week about opportunism from far-right so-called 'accelerationist' groups who believe sowing chaos and violence will hasten the collapse of society, allowing them to build a white supremacist one in its place." --s

Rowena Mason of the Guardian: British Prime Minister "Boris Johnson remains in intensive care but without the need for a ventilator, as [Foreign Secretary] Dominic Raab prepares for his first day in charge of the country, [Cabinet Minister] Michael Gove has said.... Hours after his comments, Gove said he [himself] was now isolating at home because a member of his family had been displaying Covid-19 symptoms since Sunday. He will not be able to take the government's daily press conference in No 10 but can still chair and attend meetings from home."

~~~ BBC News: "Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care in hospital after his coronavirus symptoms 'worsened', Downing Street has said. Mr Johnson has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputise 'where necessary', a spokesman added. The prime minister, 55, was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital in London with 'persistent symptoms' on Sunday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times live updates: "Earlier Monday, British officials had given assurances that [Johnson] was healthy enough to run the country, but some unease arose over a lack of information on his condition. Mr. Johnson wrote Monday on Twitter from a hospital in London that he was 'in good spirits,' and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for him, said Mr. Johnson was working from his bed and remained 'in charge' of the government. But Mr. Raab admitted that he had not spoken to the prime minister since Saturday, and some commentators expressed concern about the persistence of virus symptoms about 10 days after the prime minister's case was diagnosed.... Mr. Johnson was initially criticized for his slow response to the outbreak, but later moved to place Britain under a virtual lockdown, closing all nonessential shops, banning meetings of more than two people, and requiring people to stay in their homes, except for trips for food or medicine." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

Washington Post: "Authorities on Monday recovered the body of a member of the Kennedy family who, along with her young son, went missing in the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police. The body was identified as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40. Police said the search for her 8-year-old son, Gideon, will resume Tuesday. Police said McKean's body was found 2½ miles south of the waterfront home of McKean's mother in Shady Side, Md., where the McKean family had been staying to isolate from the novel coronavirus."

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