;)
The Commentariat -- March 21, 2020
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates on coronavirus developments for Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. Both are free to nonsubscribers. ~~~
~~~ "We Have Very Good Liquids." From the Times' updates: "The White House signaled Saturday that American companies were increasing efforts to restock hospitals with crucial supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, but it again stopped short of more assertive steps that some state and local leaders have been demanding.... On Saturday, [Trump] said that he had not used the Defense Production Act because companies were stepping up voluntarily, citing Hanes and General Motors, which will make masks.... Other companies the administration announced coordination with include Honeywell and 3M. Mr. Trump also said Pernod Ricard USA had repurposed production facilities in four states to manufacture hand sanitizer, with the first delivery expected on Tuesday. The president suggested that masks don't always need to be thrown away, but can be sanitized, saying, 'We have very good liquids for doing this.'... Under increasing pressure to detail exactly when he learned that the spread of coronavirus would be a problem, Mr. Trump claimed that he first knew about the virus around the time he ordered border closures in late January." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If he knew about it on January 31 (and in fact, he began receiving briefings weeks earlier -- see Shane Harris's WashPo report, linked below), why was Trump saying "as recently as Feb. 27: 'It's going to disappear. One day -- it's like a miracle -- it will disappear.'"
~~~ From the WashPo's live updates: "Anthony S. Fauci ... was asked at the daily White House coronavirus news briefing about an hours-earlier tweet by Trump that claimed the FDA was working on a combination of an anti-malaria drug and an antibiotic that could treat the infection. 'I'm not totally sure what the president was referring to,' Fauci said, but said he believes Trump was referring to one anecdotal study that showed that combination could be effective.... Trump was no longer present when he said that.... 'I feel like, as the expression goes, what do we have to lose?,' Trump said [earlier in the briefing].... 'Because, you know, I feel very I feel very good about it. Tony would feel, you know, like he' like samples done in a certain way. And I understand that many doctors agree with it. We don't have much time.'... Vice President Pence addressed the news that a member of his staff had tested positive for the coronavirus and said because of that he and his wife, Karen, would be tested later in the day." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump either has a financial interest in these drugs or he is controlled -- that is, "controlled," not "advised" -- by people who do. ~~~
~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Anthony Fauci as "a national treasure." ~~~
~~~ BUT Kevin Drum of Mother Jones disputes the notion that Anthony Fauci is our "truthteller-in-chief." Mrs. McC: Drum's caution is worth heeding.
Jessica Williams of the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: "On March 10, Natasha Ott, 39, felt the beginnings of a cold coming on. She had a slight fever. Crescent Care, her employer, had only a handful of tests for the new strain of coronavirus on hand.... When her symptoms didn't shake, she did take the test on Monday. By Thursday, she felt 'something in her lungs,' she told longtime partner Josh Anderson.... On Friday, Anderson found Ott dead in her kitchen. Her test results have still not come back.... Anderson ... said the dearth of tests shows how ill-equipped New Orleans is to handle a pandemic that has already claimed 16 lives and infected nearly 600 people across the state."
Carolyn Johnson & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Health officials in New York, California and other hard-hit parts of the country are restricting coronavirus testing to health care workers and people who are hospitalized, saying the battle to contain the virus is lost and the country is moving into a new phase of the pandemic response. As cases spike sharply in those places, they are hunkering down for an onslaught, and directing scarce resources where they are needed most to save people's lives. Instead of encouraging broad testing of the public, they're focused on conserving masks, ventilators, intensive care beds -- and on getting still-limited tests to health care workers and the most vulnerable. The shift is further evidence that rising levels of infection and illness have begun to overwhelm the health care system." Access to this story is free. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You could believe these health officials or you could believe Trump, who told a reporter yesterday, 'I'm not hearing that.'" ~~~
~~~ Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "U.S. hospitals are warning that they are so strapped for cash that without some financial relief, they will be unable to meet their payrolls in a matter of weeks and some could be forced to close just as coronavirus cases are surging. The American Hospital Association and three hospital chief executives spanning the country said in a conference call Saturday that a federal directive this week to cancel elective procedures -- to conserve scarce resources for patients with covid19 -- is halting the type of services that produce the most revenue. And their ability to buy critically needed supplies -- from protective gear to more hospital beds -- is being stymied by the fact that private vendors are requiring hospitals to pay cash upon delivery, which they say they lack the money to do. The American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association are jointly urging Congress to provide hospitals and health systems $100 billion in emergency aid. The Federation of American Hospitals, the trade group for for-profit hospitals, issued a call Friday night for at least $225 billion in aid."
Marianne Levine, et al., of Politico: "Senate negotiators and the White House on Saturday are scrambling to reach an accord on a stimulus package that's likely to exceed $1 trillion, staring down an aggressive timeline to deliver relief amid the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak.... Senate Republicans ... deliver[ed] their latest bid to Democrats on the biggest remaining sticking point: Unemployment insurance. The two sides huddled separately as Republicans and White House officials await the next steps from Democrats, who are seeking longer-term benefits for furloughed workers, rather than direct payments as GOP leaders have pushed. 'I had a very good conversation with [Treasury Secretary Steven] Mnuchin and we are making good progress on many of the issues Democrats care about,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Saturday."
Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post Has Had Enough: "More and more each day, President Trump is using his daily briefings as a substitute for the campaign rallies that have been forced into extinction by the spread of the novel coronavirus. These White House sessions -- ostensibly meant to give the public critical and truthful information about this frightening crisis --; are in fact working against that end." Sullivan reprises some of Trump's most blatant lies & propaganda lines.
Rachel Maddow Has Had Enough. Joseph Wulfsohn of Fox "News": "MSNBC host Rachel Maddow urged television networks not to air White House updates on the coronavirus outbreak, claiming 'misinformation' from President Trump will 'cost lives.' 'I know we ought to be getting used to this kind of thing by now, but I'm not,' Maddow began Friday night. 'President Trump today, again, just flat-out wrong in public about this malaria drug that has gotten stuck in his mind, quite some distance from the facts.'" Mrs. McC: Other than describing Maddow as a person "best known for promoting the Russia collusion narrative that tied the Trump 2016 campaign to the Kremlin," Wulfsohn mostly gets the story right. See also PD Pepe's commentary in today's thread.
~~~~~~~~~
Julie Bosman & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "America plunged into a deeper state of disruption and paralysis on Friday as New York and Illinois announced a broad series of measures aimed at keeping tens of millions of residents cloistered in their homes, following similar actions by California and a patchwork of restrictions from coast to coast.... Forty-five states have closed all their schools and the other five have closed at least some of them.... New York State has become the center of the outbreak, as its confirmed coronavirus cases have jumped to more than 7,000 and health officials have flagged with urgency a looming shortage of hospital beds and equipment...."
Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion. Nobody has ever seen anything like this before.... Nobody in their wildest dreams would think we need tens of thousands of ventilators. -- Donald Trump, press briefing Thursday
The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. Stock Market starting to look very good to me! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet February 24, after receiving many daily briefings warning of an impending pandemic
China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet January 24, after receiving briefings that China was lying about the number of people who will ill or had died ~~~
~~~ ** A Rough Draft of History. Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "U.S. intelligence agencies were issuing ominous, classified warnings in January and February about the global danger posed by the coronavirus while President Trump and lawmakers played down the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of the pathogen, according to U.S. officials familiar with spy agency reporting.... Intelligence agencies 'have been warning on this since January,' said a U.S. official who had access to intelligence reporting that was disseminated to members of Congress and their staffs as well as to officials in the Trump administration.... 'Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were -- they just couldn't get him to do anything about it,' this official said. 'The system was blinking red.'... At a White House briefing Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said officials had been alerted to the initial reports of the virus ... on Jan. 3. The warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies increased in volume toward the end of January and into early February.... The surge in warnings coincided with a move by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to sell dozens of stocks worth between $628,033 and $1.72 million.... Inside the White House, Trump's advisers struggled to get him to take the virus seriously.... But Trump resisted and continued to assure Americans that the coronavirus would never run rampant as it had in other countries." The Hill has a summary report here. ~~~
When the President of the United States refuses to read his intelligence reports, unfortunately lots and lots of people die. That is reality. This is not a reality tv show. And, to all those who have enabled him and placated him, you have blood on your hands. -- Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in a tweet
** Frank Rich of New York: "The president ... continues to lie to Americans daily about the most basic imperatives of a public-health catastrophe, and presides over an administration staffed with incompetent, third-tier bootlickers and grifters. And I am not just talking about Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, and Wilbur Ross. There are now three college seniors serving in White House positions, thanks to a new purge of ostensibly disloyal staffers being conducted by Trump's former body man, the 29-year-old John McEntee, recently installed as director of the Presidential Personnel Office.... If America rises to the occasion, it will be despite [Trump], not because of him. We're at the point where even if Trump were to start telling the truth, no one except the most mad-dog MAGA-ites would believe him.... Trump's nonstop lies -- and those of toadies like Pence -- are not just intended to cover up the many failures to prepare for the looming apocalypse ('I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic'), or to blame those failures on China and Obama, or to luxuriate in unearned self-congratulation ('I'd rate it a 10'). What the lies are doing now is throwing gasoline on the gathering fire."
Brett Samuels of the Hill: "An official working for Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office announced Friday. 'This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus,' Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, said in a statement. 'Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual. Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Dozens of employees who work across the nation's federal agencies have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, adding to the surging count of well over 10,000 confirmed cases in the United States. Experts expect the number of cases to continue rising as more tests are made available -- and the federal government's millions of employees are just as exposed as the American public at large. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands, of other government employees have quarantined themselves either out of precaution or because they are exhibiting symptoms of the disease. But if the Trump administration has a unified policy on how it is handling the grim march of the virus within its own ranks, it isn't sharing it.... The result is a confusing jumble of messages that has angered federal workers and those who represent them. There are no clear directions for reporting disclosures of coronavirus throughout the federal government, leaving each individual agency to determine how to share information about known cases -- who gets to know, how soon they should be informed and how often they require updates."
** David Lynch & Heather Long of the Washington Post: "The U.S. economy is deteriorating more quickly than was expected just days ago as extraordinary measures designed to curb the coronavirus keep 84 million Americans penned in their homes and cause the near-total shutdown of most businesses. In a single 24-hour period, governors of three of the largest states -- California, New York and Illinois -- ordered residents to stay home except to buy food and medicine, while the governor of Pennsylvania ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. Across the globe, health officials are struggling to cope with the growing number of patients, with the World Health Organization noting that while it required three months to reach 100,000 cases, it took only 12 days to hit another 100,000. The resulting economic meltdown, which is sending several million workers streaming into the unemployment line, is outpacing the federal government's efforts to respond." ~~~
~~~ Heather Long & Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post (March 19): "U.S. workers are getting laid off at an unprecedented pace as the coronavirus outbreak shuts down much of the economy, and the government safety net to help the newly jobless appears ill-equipped to handle the surge in the unemployed. More than a million workers are expected to lose their jobs by the end of March, economists say, a dramatic turnaround from February, when the unemployment rate was near a record low. Ball State University economist Michael Hicks predicts this month could be the worst for layoffs in U.S. history.... On Monday, there were so many people trying to file for unemployment insurance in New York, Oregon and elsewhere that the websites crashed, workers say.... So far, the wave of coronavirus-related layoffs has disproportionately hit service workers in typically lower-paying jobs. Many lack adequate savings...." And many out-of-work people don't qualify for unemployment benefits.
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senators are racing the clock as they try to clinch a deal on a massive stimulus package to address fallout from the coronavirus outbreak rattling the nation. The Senate is holding a rare weekend session starting at noon on Saturday for lawmakers to attempt to hammer out an agreement on a bill that is expected to cost at least $1 trillion." ~~~
~~~ ** Paul Van de Water of the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities: "The Senate Republican proposal for a third bill to address the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis is woefully inadequate to meet the extraordinary challenges now facing the nation. Its centerpiece -- direct cash payments to households -- would miss the lowest-income households entirely and give millions of low- and moderate-income households much less than those who are better off. And the proposal ignores the dire need to expand health coverage, help those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet, avert a rise in evictions and homelessness, and close the large state budget shortfalls that will soon emerge."
Fred Imbert & Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "Stocks attempted to rally on Friday, but failed, concluding one of the most volatile weeks on Wall Street ever as investors grapple with mounting fears over the coronavirus' economic blow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 913.21 points lower, or more than 4%, at 19,173.98 after rallying more than 400 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 slid 4.3% to 2,304.92. The Nasdaq Composite closed 3.8% lower at 6,879.52 after jumping more than 2%. The Dow dropped more than 17% for the week, its biggest one-week fall since October 2008, when it slid 18.2%. The S&P 500 lost more than 13% week to date after dropping another 11.5% last week. The Nasdaq fell 12.6%. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had their worst weekly performances since the financial crisis in 2008. The 30-stock Dow is now 35.2% below its all-time high level from February, while the S&P 500 is 32.1% below its high." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ From Friday's New York Times coronavirus updates: "Friday's drop [in market values] meant that the Dow Jones industrial average closed below where it stood on the day before Mr. Trump was inaugurated, erasing the so-called 'Trump bump' that the president has cited as evidence of the success of his presidency. The S&P 500 isn't far from that mark as well....
"New York's governor told the state's residents to stay indoors and ordered nonessential businesses to keep workers home. The Federal Reserve moved to backstop some municipal money market funds, and the U.S. is extending the tax filing deadline to July 15.
Donald Trump held another press briefing, where everybody huddled together behind the podium. He & that dick Mike Pompeo both referred to the "Chinese virus." "During the hourlong briefing, Mr. Trump grew increasingly confrontational with reporters who asked him to detail his message to Americans who were shaken by their lives being upended and scared at the spread of the virus. 'It is a bad signal that you are putting out to the American people,' he admonished a reporter from NBC who asked what the president would say to frightened citizens. 'You want to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism. Let's see if it works. I happen to feel good about it....'... Mr. Trump signaled Friday that the federal government was mobilizing industry to provide urgently needed resources to help halt the spread of the virus, but he did not specify what steps he had taken.... Deborah Birx, who is leading the administration's coronavirus response, detailed a 'concerning trend' from Italy: the mortality rate in males is twice as high as females in every age group affected by the virus." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Jonathan Chait lists what he rates the five "Scariest Moments From Trump's Coronavirus Briefing Today." No. 5: "Trump is unaware that people can't get tests. For weeks, coronavirus tests have been so difficult to come by that even patients with severe symptoms and proved contact with contagious people have been unable to get them. Stories about the testing failure are ubiquitous. Trump replied, 'I'm not hearing that.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Three things. (1) "I'm not hearing that" is a version of Trump's well-worn response to questions he doesn't want to answer: "I haven't heard that" is the usual form. (2) It's virtually impossible that "I'm not hearing that" is true. It's been a top headline in every major newspaper & a top subject of newscasts. He has had a couple of conference calls with governors & claims to have spoken to them individually many times over the past week. They told him their states were desperate for supplies, space for beds & staff. (3) "I'm not hearing that" should have been the moment mike pence passed a note to an aide to gather the Cabinet for the purpose of invoking the 25th Amendment. ~~~
~~~ Real-Time Fact-Checking. "The Answer Is No." Anthony Fauci responds to Trump's claim, made again Friday -- after having been corrected Thursday -- that an anti-malaria drug is "very effective" at mitigating Covid-19 symptoms: ~~~
~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "It was the journalistic equivalent of a layup, an opportunity for President Trump to utter a sound bite to soothe an anxious nation's fears and concerns amid a pandemic. Instead, Trump turned an exchange at a news conference into something very different -- a jarring attack on the news media in general and the reporter who asked the question in particular. NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander started the exchange by asking Trump whether he 'may be giving Americas a false sense of hope' by touting drug therapies that health-care experts have said are unproved as treatments for the coronavirus. 'No, I don't think so,' Trump replied. 'It may work, it may not work.... I feel good about. That's all it is, it's a feeling.' Alexander shifted gears by citing the growing toll of the illness and asking Trump, 'What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now and are scared?' Rather than offering reassurance, Trump went after Alexander and his employer. I'd say that you're a terrible reporter, that's what I'd say,' he said.... 'I think it's a very nasty question, and I think it's a very bad signal that you're putting out to the American people,' he said, pointing accusatorily at Alexander. 'The American people are looking for answers, and they're looking for hope. And you're doing sensationalism. And the same with NBC and Concast -- I don't call it Comcast, I call it Concast.' He went on for several more moments in this vein, his voice rising steadily before concluding, 'You should be ashamed of yourself.'" ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post has a full rundown & analysis of the exchange between Peter Alexander and Donald Trump, with a Tony Fauci cameo: "... the exchange epitomized just how out of tune Trump is with actual developments and his top health officials." In a tweet, Alexander has a shorter version: "I offered both Pres Trump and VP Pence an opportunity to reassure Americans. Simple question: 'What do you say to Americans who are scared?' Trump, to me: 'I say, you're a terrible reporter.' Pence, an hour later: 'Don't be afraid. Be vigilant'." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Trump Finds More Americans Whose Health He Can Endanger. Katie Thomas & Denise Grady of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's boosterish attitude toward the drugs has deepened worries among doctors and patients with lupus and other diseases who rely on the drugs, because the idea that the old malaria drugs could work against the coronavirus has circulated widely in recent weeks and fueled shortages that have already left people rushing to fill their prescriptions. 'Rheumatologists are furious about the hype going on over this drug,' said Dr. Michael Lockshin, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. 'There is a run on it and we're getting calls every few minutes, literally, from patients who are trying to stay on the drug and finding it in short supply.' Th moment of discord between Mr. Trump and [Dr. Anthony Fauci,] one of the nation's most trusted authorities on the coronavirus was a clash between opinion and fact." Mrs. McC: It's likely Trump heard these rumors from one of his "advisors"; so, you know, fuck science. I'm the President* & Article II says I don't have to speak responsibly or truthfully. ~~~
~~~ ** Jennifer Senior of the New York Times: "It is ... time to call the president's news conferences for what they are: propaganda.... We're witnessing the falsification of history in real time.... If the public wants factual news briefings, they need to tune in to those who are giving them: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, whose addresses appear with English subtitles on Deutsche Welle. They should start following the many civic-minded epidemiologists and virologists and contagion experts on Twitter, like Harvard's Marc Lipsitch and Yale's Nicholas Christakis, whose threads have been invaluable primers in a time of awful confusion." ~~~
~~~ Robert Mackey of the Intercept (March 19): "Deprived of rallies, Donald Trump has turned the daily White House briefings on the novel coronavirus pandemic sharply political in recent days, seizing the podium from health experts to air grievances, make false promises about drug treatments, and rile up his base." ~~~
~~~ Andy Kroll of Rolling Stone: " Instead of the Trump campaign rally, it is the president's daily press briefing about the pandemic that poses a unique threat to reliable information and public trust in the middle of a global and fast-spreading crisis.... It's time to stop carrying his coronavirus briefings live. Cover them, edit out the bad information, and give the American people only the essential information (such as Dr. Fauci's warnings and updates) that they need to deal with the crisis. To continue to air them in real-time, unedited, is to actively confuse and mislead the American public." ~~~
~~~ In Case You Think That's a Bad Call.... Eli Yokley of Morning Consult: "Perceptions of ... Donald Trump's handling of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic jumped this week as his administration, Congress and state and local officials took more dramatic steps to contain the contagion presently spreading across the nation. A Morning Consult poll conducted Tuesday through Friday found 53 percent of voters approve of Trump's handling of the spread of coronavirus, compared with 39 percent who disapprove. Taken together, it marks an increase of 10 percentage points in net approval of his coronavirus response since polling conducted March 13-16."
Erik Ortiz of NBC News: "A longtime employee of NBC News died Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said in an email to staff members. Larry Edgeworth, 61, who worked in an equipment room at NBC News' 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York, also suffered from other health issues, according to his wife, Crystal.... Edgeworth previously spent 25 years at NBC News working as an audio technician, during which he was well-known to many network correspondents with whom he traveled around the world." Mrs. McC: NBC News' Katy Tur gave an on-air eulogy for Edgeworth, who she said often worked as her soundman. I'm guessing he worked with Peter Alexander, too. (Also linked yesterday.)
** Taylor Telford & Thomas Heath of the Washington Post (from the live market updates for Friday): "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that the administration has moved the IRS deadline for filing taxes from April 15 to July 15 due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus. The new deadline will give millions of taxpayers more time to fill out their tax forms as coronavirus upends daily life across the country. Mnuchin made the announcement on twitter, citing President Trump's directive." Mrs. McC: This is a big deal for Mrs. Procrastinator here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Dareh Gregorian of NBC News on Sen. Richard Burr's amazing financial dealings. (Related stories linked yesterday.) "Disclosure records reviewed by NBC News show that three other senators sold major holdings around the same time, including Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and James Inhofe, R-Okla. Asked about the stock sales Friday..., Donald Trump singled out Feinstein, a Democrat, and then said he knew all the senators involved and 'I find them to be honorable people.' Feinstein and her husband shed up to $6 million worth of stock in Allogene Therapeutics, a biotech company, between the end of January and Feb. 18, disclosure records show. A Feinstein spokesman told NBC News on Friday that she 'did not sell any stock. The transactions you're referencing were made by her spouse. All of Senator Feinstein's assets are in a blind trust, as they have been since she came to the Senate. She has no involvement in any of her husband's financial decisions.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Kiss of death: Donald Trump calls you an honorable person. ~~~
~~~ David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "Several readers have asked about the other senators who sold stock during the same period, including Dianne Feinstein (a California Democrat), James Inhofe (an Oklahoma Republican) and Ron Johnson (a Wisconsin Republican). But none of their trades look particularly suspicious. Feinstein has said that she did not attend the Jan. 24 briefing; her stock was in a blind trust, which means she didn't make the decision to sell; and the transaction lost her money, because the trust was selling shares of a biotechnology stock, the value of which has since risen. Inhofe's transactions were part of a systematic selling of stocks that he started after he became chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Johnson sold stock in his family's plastic business, as part of a process that has been occurring for months; his sale also occurred well after stock market began falling." Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ Update. Melanie Zanona of Politico: "Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) on Friday asked the Senate Ethics Committee to review stock sales he made weeks before the markets began to tank in response to the coronavirus pandemic --; a move designed to limit the fallout from an intensifying political crisis. Burr, who chairs the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, defended the sales, saying he 'relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks' and disputed the notion he used information that he was privy to during classified briefings on the novel coronavirus.... Burr, who is retiring at the end of 2022, has faced calls to resign from across the ideological spectrum.... The Ethics Committee ... is notoriously slow and rarely takes punitive action against its peers, but with the Capitol focused on battling coronavirus..., the probe could move at even more of a snail's pace.... Burr has acknowledged making at least one financial decision based on what he's heard from federal officials: he said in 2009 that he encouraged his wife to withdraw cash from the ATM after hearing from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson amid the 2008 financial crisis." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you still think it's a good idea to let the Senate Ethics Committee handle Burr's insider trading transgressions, you might want to read Akhilleus's commentary at the top of today's thread.
Abigail Abrams of Time: "Danni Askini started feeling chest pain, shortness of breath and a migraine all at once on a Saturday in late February.... Askini was given a final test on the seventh day of her illness, and once doctors helped manage her flu and pneumonia symptoms, they again sent her home to recover. She waited another three days for a lab to process her test, and at last she had a diagnosis: COVID-19. A few days later, Askini got the bills for her testing and treatment: $34,927.43.... Public health experts predict that tens of thousands and possibly millions of people across the United States will likely need to be hospitalized for COVID-19 in the foreseeable future.And Congress has yet to address the problem. On March 18, it passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which covers testing costs..., but it doesn't do anything to address the cost of treatment." --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Kansas City Star Editors: "The chairman of the Riley County Commissioners [Republican Marvin Rodriguez] suggested this week that the global coronavirus pandemic is not a problem locally because unlike in Italy, there are not a lot of Chinese people living in central Kansas, according to two other officials who attended the meeting Wednesday night.... But, does he understand why it's dangerous to Asian Americans to talk like that, and that there has been an increase in reported attacks? 'Well, they say it came out of China,' he answered, 'and I'm not putting it past the Chinese government in communist China.... Normally, this kind of thing spreads slowly,' he answered, so 'I put two and two together. I've been around a long time, girl.'" --s (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Craft distilleries, hearing the call of duty to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, are adding a new product to their lineup of gins, whiskeys and rums: hand sanitizer. Many are reporting extraordinary demand for the product, which has been hard, if not impossible, to find on store shelves. Yet many distilleries are giving away hand sanitizer for free, despite losing sales of their traditional spirits because of the closing of restaurants, bars and their own tasting rooms. Litchfield Distillery in Litchfield, Conn. said it had been inundated by hundreds of calls from people clamoring for a few of the roughly 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer it produced this week using the same alcohol it typically uses to make gin, bourbon and vodka.... Jack Baker, an owner of the distillery..., said on Thursday night ... the calls had come from health care workers, police departments, soup kitchens and homeless shelters." Thanks to unwashed for the link.
Helpful Hint??? Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Toilet paper is disappearing from store shelves as panicked shoppers stock up due to the coronavirus outbreak. But actor& Troy Evans, who plays Detective Barrel Johnson on 'Bosch' and has appeared on 'Veep' and 'ER,' says he can wipe out the problem. Evans, who served in Vietnam, posted a Facebook video that shared a trick he learned while in the service, one that can help people clean up after doing their business with just a single square of precious TP. Fair warning: This is an absolute last resort[.]" Mrs. McC: Uh, thanks to unwashed for the link. BTW, if you haven't seen "Bosch," it's a pretty good police procedural available on Amazon Prime, tho I can't stand the title character, played by Titus Welliver who keeps posing for profile shots as if he thinks he should be the emperor on a Roman coin.
AND the Locusts Are Coming. Kaamil Ahmed of the Guardian: "The locust crisis that has now reached 10 countries could carry on to endanger millions more people, forecasters have said. Climate change created unprecedented conditions for the locusts to breed in the usually barren desert of the Arabian gulf, according to experts, and the insects were then able to spread through Yemen, where civil war has devastated the ability to control locust populations."
Presidential Race
Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael R. Bloomberg is abandoning plans to form a new super PAC for the presidential race and pay his field organizers through November, instead opting to give $18 million to the Democratic National Committee for the party's battleground states program.... The Bloomberg memo said new D.N.C. staffing would be 'drawing in part from our own incredibly experienced and talented organizing staff.'" Mrs. McC: I hope so, because we know for sure the DNC doesn't know WTF it's doing. ~~~
~~~ An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
New York Times: "Kenny Rogers, a prolific singer who played a major role in expanding the audience for country music in the 1970s and '80s, died on Friday at his home in Sandy Springs, Ga. He was 81." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Chet Huntley & David Brinkley played "Ruby" at the end of an NBC News evening broadcast in 1969. The implied statement probably helped erode middle-America's support for the Vietnam War.
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Reader Comments (17)
Senator Richard Burr, assisted by his insider information on the likely progression of the coronavirus, knowledge gained by his position as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, information carefully hidden from the public, made financial moves that greatly improved his personal wealth. Now that these moves have been made public, it’s looking bad for Burr, but not to be concerned, he is now asking the confederate controlled Senate to “investigate” his dealings.
Give me a sec here. Hahahahahahaha.
The corrupt McTurtle senate that gave a pass to a lying traitor? That senate? Burr has nothing to worry about, which, of course he is counting on. They exonerated Fatty despite enough evidence to convict every member of the worldwide Cosa Nostra, their wives, kids, dogs, cats, everyone they’ve ever met, and descendants who haven’t even been born yet to the seventh grandson of the seventh daughter. Think they’ll care about ol’ Dicky making a few mill on the side?
Fuck no.
PD,
Your story about Joe’s trip to the Stop & Shop sounded to me a bit like a Frank Capra movie. Average Americans who, unlike the rich, powerful sociopaths at the top of the food chain, know what it’s like to not have everything they want exactly when they want it, and have an appreciation of what it means to stick together through hard times, unlike the Orange Menace, who would toss his own kids into shark infested waters if he was in trouble and thought it would save him.
The film I’m thinking of is “Meet John Doe”, specifically, the ending, where Edward Arnold, the manipulative, authoritarian Trump character, the wealthy Mr. Norton, tells the Gary Cooper character that sacrificing himself for the greater good would make no difference because he has arranged with his toadies to make sure no one would ever find out about it. His plan is unraveled when the “little people”, average Americans show up. The newspaper editor, played by the wonderful James Gleason, throws it in the faces of the scheming big shots, “There ya are, Norton. The People. Try and lick that.”
My fervent hope is, as difficult as it seems right now, that Fatty will finally be brought down by average Americans through the democratic process he so despises and fears, the same ones he spits on, when we vote his fat ass out of office.
https://youtu.be/-GQul0mmxyI
Chicago doctor Emily Landon’s coronavirus comments struck a chord with anxious Americans - The Washington Post
“It’s really hard to feel like you’re saving the world when you’re watching Netflix from your couch. But if we do this right, nothing happens,” Landon said. “A successful shelter-in-place means you’re going to feel like it was all for nothing, and you’d be right: Because nothing means that nothing happened to your family. And that’s what we’re going for here.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/20/emily-landon-coronavirus/
News Brief | The Onion
“Richard Burr Wondering When Profiting Off Mass Suffering Suddenly Became A Crime In This Country”
https://politics.theonion.com/richard-burr-wondering-when-profiting-off-mass-sufferin-1842428330
when “sheltering-in-place” cannot find shelter -
“If We Want to Beat Coronavirus, We Need Housing for Everyone” | Mother Jones
https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/03/diane-yentel-housing-is-healthcare-we-wont-contain-this-pandemic-until-everyone-has-a-home/
“Gotcha”, my ass.
Supporters of crimes and lies are already rewriting history regarding NBC reporter Peter Alexander’s entirely legitimate questioning of the Liar-in-Chief, who has gotten away (literally) with murder by spreading false rumors since day one about a public health hazard he knew was shaping up to be the worst in a hundred years. Now, all of a sudden, Alexander’s question—a very simple one (might even call it a softball question since he lobbed it in so that a normal, decent, read: not-guilty, leader, or I should say a REAL leader, could have hit it out of the park) has become a vile, malicious “gotcha” question.
Lemme clear something up for these fucking bootlickers. A true gotcha question is one designed to catch someone by surprise, maybe a bit unfairly in that no answer would be entirely satisfactory. Not in any possible universe could this be called a gotcha question. If so, then asking your mechanic, who is working on your car, whether you’d be able to drive it again is a gotcha question. Asking your kid if he’s done his homework is a gotcha question. Asking the H&R Block lady whether the tax returns she prepared for you will keep the IRS from your door is a gotcha question.
Asking the president (or even a president*) to offer some words of reassurance, in light of repeated lies, to the American people that might give them some hope that those in charge are not blowing additional smoke up the nation’s collective posterior, is not a gotcha question. It’s the single most important question on the minds of hundreds of millions of people right now. But it’s one that this reprehensible little creep cannot answer. So instead, as predictable as stink after a fart, he attacks the questioner. And just as predictably, the running dog, boot licking lackeys in the media bark and bully right along with him.
If this is how you make America great, then the founders were all wrong. They should have written “We the leaders, have a bridge to sell you. Act now!”
The "Gotcha" that got to the Pretender in Alexander's question may have been in its perceived snideness.
If all the reassurance you've previously offered has turned out to hokum, and reported as such--no pandemic, plenty of tests, game-changing drugs, one after another, one even contradicted by your own expert as you stood next to him, helplesslessly glaring in his direction--and you're asked to provide something that passes for the reassurance you've been repeatedly criticized for failing to supply, it could seem snottily gotcha-like to the tantrum-prone.
What happens when someone who knows little and has skated through life by substituting lies for knowledge runs out of lies while being held to public account?
That's an easy one: When lies won't do the trick, all that is left is the bully.
Rachel was visibly furious throughout her program last night at the incompetence and asininity of this administration's handling of this pandemic and her three guests were all from the health field who concurred with her assessment if not going further with their fury. She railed against these cockamamie pressers and urged the networks to stop putting them on. And at the end of her program she, like all the other MSNBCers, gave her homage to Larry Edgewater, the beloved audio-tech who died from this virus–- and she wept.
I found Trump's exchange with Peter Alexander outrageous but also telling: it hit a cord and that cord is the one that starts to circle around Fatty's neck whenever a "truth" is exposed that in turn exposes HIS lies.
I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night––once again; this virus has invaded all our lives but especially those that put themselves in harm's way to try and save those lives. I have got to keep the following words tucked away for these rainy days–-and it isn't easy:
“There ya are, Norton. The People. Try and lick that.”
and thanks for that, Ak!
The "gotcha" portion must have been when Peter Alexander stated the known facts of number of cases and number of deaths. Some might say he "reported" them. trump's attack was against the truth. Mr. Alexander was just the vehicle.
My morning dream:
Strikes me that it's not just America's poor and lower middle class (nearly half the population) who have been living on the edge.
The suddenly dire position many big and apparently successful businesses (airlines and the energy giants, two instances in the news) tells us they also don't have their equivialent of 400 dollars in the bank to weather a crisis.
But unlike those that never had, many purportedly successful--or so says the stock market--American businesses have been infected with the vulture capitalism virus, essentially raiding their own companies in the forms of stock buy-backs, profit distributions to shareholders and massive payouts to management, exhausting their surplus, living hand to mouth, borrowing like there was no tomorrow, and leaving little or nothing for a rainy day.
In other words, companies have been used as cash machines for the already rich...greatly aggravating the still-growing gap between the very rich and the rest.
Wouldn't simple fairness suggest that those who have profited from these short-sighted practice, not the rest of us, should be doing the bailing?
It goes without saying that, were the tables turned and say, Hillary were President, the GOP would dig their heels in, sabotage any legislative bailout, doom many Americans...and deep-six any reelection chances.
Democrats have a huge decision to make in the coming days.
Trump needs to go.
This is so strange, the new normal-- When I read the comments, I feel like I am conversing with friends, even though I have never met any of you in person. Please keep it up as our political environment looks more and more like Wonderland... I just did our census document-- I feel like a true citizen. I wonder how the residents of the White House fill theirs out... there's no fill-in line for "I really don't care, do you?"
Safari,
Too dim perhaps, but need a little more explantion.
I don't believe you're implying that Democrats should act like Republicans did in Obama's first term and get in the way of measures that will alleviate the current crisis, are you? Even then, while following Ted Kennedy's death they did get the Senate and later the 2010 House, Obama was re-elected in 2012.
When something as visible as death is the result, I don't see obstruction to be easy path to political advantage, so I'm guessing that's not what you mean...
Hospitals are desperate for funds and some may close, we are arguing about bailing out airlines and hotels. What's wrong with this picture?
In the process of reading this article, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/nyregion/coronavirus-airport-workers-ny-nj.html?searchResultPosition=1, about the layoffs by OTG at the NYC area airports the thought occured to me about all the other cheaps suits like our presidents: what if they are falsely claiming illness or whatnot for self quarentining. We won't remember in three months they left their jobs and everyone they're responsible for and responsible to. Matt Gaetz or Port Authority’s executive director, Rick Cotton have zero downside unless someone publishes their medical records. Lots of people milk public sympathy; they have a good example in President Bone Spurs. I think we may get sympathy fatigue because the very same people who supported the Orange Menace now want public largess. These people now expect to socialize the costs and privatize the benefits because they feel entitled.
It may well be that this pandemic exposes our leaders as the self-dealing, empty suits they are and that may lead to a renaissance in an appreciation for the goodness in common folk.
Thank you, Marie, for adding Kevin Drum's piece here because when I listened to Fauci's answer yesterday I thought–-yup–-he's placating this president whose large bulk was hovering over him like a dark storm cloud ready to burst.
"DR. FAUCI: No, there really isn’t that much of a difference in many respects with what we’re saying. [ BULLSHIT!] The President feels optimistic about something — his feeling about it. What I’m saying is that it might — it might be effective. I’m not saying that it isn’t. It might be effective. But as a scientist, as we’re getting it out there, we need to do it in a way as — while we are making it available for people who might want the hope that it might work, you’re also collecting data that will ultimately show that it is truly effective and safe under the conditions of COVID-19. So there really isn’t difference. It’s just a question of how one feels [FEELS???] about it."
So Maureen might very well FEEL that Fauci is indeed a national treasure, but I'd prefer someone who isn't quite so "feeling" oriented.
So, after all these briefings and events, who's in charge?
Trump?
Jared?
Fauci?
Birx?
Azar?
Oh yeah, Pence?
FEMA?
HHS?
NSC?
CDC?
None of the above?
Believe it or not the USG actually has a pandemic plan, has for years. But the USG is not implementing even parts of it. People used to complain that "the interagency" (i.e., NSC process) was broken. Now it's pretty clear it is dead and DiJiT's leadership(?) style is what killed it.
Also -- references to the Defense Production Act (DPA) usually refer to it as the "1950 Korean War era law." In fact, it was totally revised in 2015/16, in "the interagency" process, so is not really archaic and creaky.