;)
The Commentariat -- May 18, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Jane Timm of NBC News: "... Donald Trump on Monday said he has been taking hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for COVID-19 that he has vigorously promoted. 'A lot of good things have come out about the hydroxy.... You'd be surprised at how many people are taking it,' Trump said at the White House.... I'm taking it hydroxychloroquine, right now.' The president said he has been taking the drug for 'a couple weeks' and that it was prescribed by the White House doctor. The FDA has warned against its use for COVID-19 outside of a hospital setting due to a risk of serious heart problems." Mrs. McC: He also is imbibing prodigious gulps of bleach, doctor-presribed, of course.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here.
Mrs. McCrabbie: I didn't bother to read this piece in Sunday's Washington Post by Ashley Parker & Phil Rucker, but I guess ti should have. I might think Rucker took my criticism to heart: "President Trump has proclaimed the latest phase of pandemic response the 'transition to greatness.' But Trump appears poised to preside over the eventual transition more as a salesman and marketer than a decider. The United States under Trump has also retreated from its historic position of global leadership, declining, for instance, to participate in a coronavirus summit with other nations earlier this month. Amid a once-in-a-century deadly pandemic, Trump has inserted his ego squarely into the U.S. response while simultaneously minimizing his own role -- deferring critical decisions to others, undermining his credibility with confusion and misinformation, and shirking responsibility in what some see as a shrinking of the American presidency."
Trump Is So Corrupt He Doesn't Know He's Corrupt. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "After former top vaccine official Rick Bright maintained Sunday that the federal government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been slow and chaotic, President Trump responded in a late-night tweetstorm, saying that whistleblowers like Bright are 'causing great injustice and harm' to the nation. In an interview with '60 Minutes,' Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, criticized the government for failing to have a clear plan in place to address the totality of the American outbreak.... Shortly after the program aired, Trump took to Twitter to again describe the concerns of Bright, who led BARDA for four years, as complaints from a 'disgruntled employee,' and he reiterated his long-standing call to undo protections for whistleblowers." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, when someone points to wrongdoing and/or incompetence in the Trump administration, it causes "great harm to the nation." That doesn't even make any sense. Most taxpayers want their tax dollars to be used effectively, and if someone is screwing up, they expect others to call attention to it & correct the errors. But Trump thinks the malfeasance is not the corruption or incompetence but the act of reporting corruption or malfeasance.
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post:"President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department [Steven Linick] constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.... House Democrats have discovered that the fired IG had mostly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's widely criticized decision to skirt Congress with an emergency declaration to approve billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia last year, aides on the Foreign Affairs Committee tell me.... 'We don't have the full picture yet, but it's troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed,' [Rep. Eliot] Engel [D-N.Y.] said in the statement to me.... The [arms sale to Saudis] was condemned by lawmakers in both parties who have increasingly been turning on continued U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which stretches back to the last administration and has unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe. Congress subsequently voted to block the arms sales, with some Republican support, but Trump vetoed the effort." ~~~
~~~ A related CNN report, by Zachary Cohen, is here.
Morgant Chalfant of the Hill: "Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he does not expect a criminal investigation of former President Obama or former Vice President Joe Biden to result from the probe undertaken by U.S Attorney John Durham. 'Based on the information I have today, I don't expect Mr. Durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man,' Barr told reporters at the Justice Department. 'Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.' Barr was asked about President Trump's recent remarks encouraging investigations into Obama and other officials from the previous administration. The president suggested they were involved in criminal wrongdoing in connection with the FBI's investigation into Russian interference.... 'What happened to the president [Trump] in the 2016 election and throughout the first two years of his administration was abhorrent,' Barr told reporters Monday. 'It was a grave injustice and it was unprecedented in American history.'" A Washington Post report is here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So, at least so far, Barr has decided fake "Obamagate' are a bridge too far. We'll see if he changes his mind in the weeks before the November election.
Nick Valencia of CNN: "A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism of the top health agency in the latest sign of growing tension between the CDC and the White House. 'We should remind Mr. Navarro that the CDC is a federal agency part of the administration. The CDC director is an appointed position, and Dr. (Robert) Redfield was appointed by President (Donald) Trump,' the official told CNN. 'If there is criticism of the CDC, ultimately Mr. Navarro is being critical of the President and the man who President Trump placed to lead the agency.'"
Katie Benner & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Federal investigators found cellphone evidence that links Al Qaeda to last year's deadly shooting at a United States military base in Pensacola, Fla., according to two American officials briefed on the investigation. The F.B.I. found that the gunman, Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi Air Force cadet training with the American military, had communicated with a Qaeda operative who had encouraged the attacks, according to the two officials, who were not authorized to speak about it publicly ahead of an 11 a.m. news conference by Attorney General William P. Barr. The F.B.I. uncovered the links after recently bypassing the security features on at least one of Mr. Alshamrani's two iPhones without help from Apple, according to the officials." A CNN report is here.
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The U.S. economy could shrink by upwards of 30% in the second quarter but will avoid a Depression-like economic plunge over the longer term, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told '60 Minutes in an interview aired Sunday. The central bank chief also conceded that jobless numbers will look a lot like they did during the 1930s, when the rate peaked out at close to 25%[.]" The full transcript & a video of Powell's "60 Minutes" appearance is here.
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Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Moderna, the Massachusetts biotechnology company behind a leading effort to create a coronavirus vaccine, announced promising early results from its first human safety tests Monday. The company plans to launch a large clinical trial in July aimed at showing whether the vaccine works. The company reported that in eight patients who had been followed for a month and a half, the vaccine at low and medium doses triggered blood levels of virus-fighting antibodies that were similar or greater than those found in patients who recovered. That would suggest, but doesn't prove, that it triggers some level of immunity. The antibody-rich blood plasma donated by patients who have recovered is separately being tested to determine whether it is an effective therapy or preventive measure for covid-19. Moderna's announcement comes days after one of its directors, Moncef Slaoui, stepped down from the board to become chief scientist for Operation Warp Speed, a White House initiative to speed up vaccine development. Watchdogs called out Slaoui's apparent conflict of interest, noting he owns Moderna stock options worth $10 million." The story is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's uncanny the way Trump manages to taint even good news with his predilection for corruption.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here.
Trump Is Projecting Again. Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed his predecessor as 'grossly incompetent,' a day after former President Barack Obama said leaders weren't 'even pretending to be in charge' amid the coronavirus pandemic.... [President Obama] didn't name names, but the implication was clear.... 'Look,' [Trump said of Obama,] 'he was an incompetent president. That's all I can say. Grossly incompetent.'... [Trump's] brief comments on Sunday come as he pushes the unfounded 'Obamagate; conspiracy theory...."
Felicia Sonmez & Darryl Fears of the Washington Post: "Tensions between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spilled out into public view on Sunday as a top adviser to President Trump criticized the public health agency's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.The comments by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro are the latest signal of how the Trump administration has sought to sideline the CDC. The agency typically plays the lead role in public health crises, but in recent weeks it's had its draft guidance for reopening held up by the White House, leaving states and localities to largely fend for themselves.Speaking on NBC News's 'Meet the Press,' Navarro sharply criticized the CDC over its production of a flawed coronavirus test kit that contributed to a nationwide delay in testing.... Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, whose agency oversees the CDC, pushed back against Navarro's criticism in an interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation.'" The article is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "Two of ... Donald Trump's top officials are now pointing the finger at the administration's own scientists and Americans' pre-existing health conditions to explain the country's world-leading Covid-19 death toll. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar suggested Sunday that underlying health conditions, including among minorities, were one reason for the high American death toll -- nearly 90,000 as of Sunday evening. And Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro added the government's own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to its list of scapegoats alongside China and the Obama administration. The White House has been escalating its effort to recast the narrative of its own chaotic response to the crisis as it aggressively pushes to reopen the country, a process vital to the fortunes of millions of people who have lost their jobs in lockdowns and its own political prospects in November.... The United States accounts for about 4.25% of the world's population, but currently has about 29% of the confirmed deaths from the disease...."
If you want to know how much your neighbors are sheltering in place, this Washington Post map has an interactive county-by-county breakdown based on cellphone location information.
WPVI Philadelphia: "Drexel [University]'s experts ... used real-life numbers to estimate how many lives were saved [by shutdowns & social distancing], and how many hospitalizations didn't happen in 30 cities around the country[.] For Philadelphia, it estimates that 45 days of being shut down, and doing social distancing spared 62-hundred lives, and kept 57-thousand people out of hospitals than if life went on as usual. There were sizable results in other cities - in Baltimore, the model estimates nearly 23-hundred fewer deaths. In Dallas, 10-thousand lives saved, while in New York City, 25-thousand lives may have been saved by changing our behavior."
Europe. Kate Connolly of the Guardian: "The mayor of Athens has said he will 'liberate' public space from cars. His counterpart in Paris says it is out of the question for the city to return to pre-coronavirus traffic and pollution levels. In Berlin, 14 miles (22 km) of new bike lanes have appeared almost overnight. Around the world, from Dublin to Sydney, cities are being radically reshaped in favour of cyclists and pedestrians as empty streets give authorities the opportunity to implement and accelerate large-scale projects. Cycling advocates and environmental activists are urging governments to ensure the revival is long-term and lasts beyond the pandemic, for fear of a pushback by the car lobby." --s
** Josh Lederman & Andrea Mitchell of NBC News: Steve Linick, "the State Department inspector general who was removed from his job Friday [by Donald Trump, at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 'recommendation,'] was looking into whether ... Pompeo made a staffer walk his dog, pick up his dry cleaning and make dinner reservations for Pompeo and his wife, among other personal errands, according to two congressional officials assigned to different committees. The officials said they are working to learn whether former Inspector General Steve Linick may have had other ongoing investigations into Pompeo. The officials say the staffer who was alleged to have been made to do personal tasks is a political appointee who was serving as a staff assistant. CNN reported last year that congressional Democrats were investigating a different complaint, this one from a whistleblower, alleging that Pompeo's diplomatic security agents were made to perform similar personal tasks. The House first obtained details of the inspector general investigation late last week after learning of Linick's sudden removal." The Washington Post report is here. ~~~
~~~ Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo swatted away questions about his use of government resources again and again last year.... But his record is now coming under fresh scrutiny after President Trump told Congress on Friday night that he was firing the State Department inspector general -- at Mr. Pompeo's private urging, a White House official said.... Democrats and other critics of Mr. Pompeo say the cloud of accusations shows a pattern of abuse of taxpayer money -- one that may mean lawmakers will be less willing to give the administration the benefit of the doubt as congressional Democrats begin an investigation into Mr. Linick's dismissal.... Mrs. Pompeo has accompanied Mr. Pompeo on several long trips overseas.... Other secretaries of state have occasionally traveled with spouses, but some officials in the State Department say Mrs. Pompeo, a former bank executive, has played an unusually active role in running meetings and accompanying her husband on official business."
Andrea Shalal, et al. of Reuters: "U.S. lawmakers and officials are crafting proposals to push American companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules, and carefully structured subsidies. Interviews with a dozen current and former government officials, industry executives and members of Congress show widespread discussions underway - including the idea of a 'reshoring fund' originally stocked with $25 billion - to encourage U.S. companies to drastically revamp their relationship with China.... U.S. reliance on China-made products ... accounted for some 18% of overall imports in 2019." --s
Presidential Race
Yesterday we learned from the NYT that Donnie Junior (Dumb) "on Saturday posted a social media message suggesting Joseph R. Biden Jr. was a pedophile, an incendiary and baseless charge that illustrates the tactics the president is turning to as he attempts to erase Mr. Biden's early advantage in key state polls." Now, we learn that Eric (Dumber) is playing, too: ~~~
~~~ Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "Eric Trump claimed Saturday that the coronavirus will 'magically' vanish after the November election and allow the country to fully reopen -- an assertion that has no basis in science and is contradicted by health experts worldwide. In an interview with Fox News's Jeanine Pirro, Trump suggested the president's critics were using the pandemic to undermine his father's rallies, calling it a 'cognizant strategy' that would cease once it was no longer politically expedient.... The Biden campaign pushed back against Trump's comments.... 'We're in the middle of the biggest public health emergency in a century, with almost 90,000 Americans dead, 1.5 million infected, and 36 million workers newly jobless,' said Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield in a statement. 'So for Eric Trump to claim that the coronavirus is a political hoax that will 'magically' disappear is absolutely stunning and unbelievably reckless.'... President Trump himself has acknowledged the pandemic will remain a public health problem for months." An Axios story is here. Mrs. McC: It would be quite sad if a hoax made Dumber really sick.
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Heather Vogell of ProPublica: "Among the toxic contributors to the financial crisis of 2008, few caused as much havoc as mortgages with dodgy numbers and inflated values. Huge quantities of them were assembled into securities that crashed and burned, damaging homeowners and investors alike.... Twelve years later, there's evidence something similar is happening again. Some of the world's biggest banks -- including Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank -- as well as other lenders have engaged in a systematic fraud that allowed them to award borrowers bigger loans than were supported by their true financials, according to a previously unreported whistleblower complaint submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission last year. Whereas the fraud during the last crisis was in residential mortgages, the complaint claims this time it's happening in commercial properties like office buildings, apartment complexes and retail centers." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If there's a scam to be had, scammers will have it.
Beyond the Beltway
Washington State. Jim Brunner & Joseph O'Sullivan of the Seattle Times: "Controversial Spokane Valley state Rep. Matt Shea, who was suspended from the House Republican caucus after an investigation concluded he had engaged in domestic terrorism, will not seek reelection this fall. Shea did not file to run again for the Legislature as the candidate filing deadline for the August primary expired Friday afternoon, said Mike McLaughlin, elections manager for the Spokane County Auditor's Office. Shea did, however, file to run as a Republican precinct committee officer. The surprise development came after Shea had for months defiantly refused calls from Republican and Democratic leaders to resign, vowing to fight on and not bow down to what he called 'a coup' against him. Shea's decision came after a House-commissioned investigation released in December concluded the lawmaker planned and participated in domestic terrorism against the United States with his involvement in a trio of standoffs against the government." --s ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's comforting to know that at least Washington state Republicans have some standards: they would prefer their elected officials were not terrorists.
Way Beyond
Israel. Oliver Holmes of the Guardian: "Benjamin Netanyahu has been sworn in as Israel's prime minister, heading a unity government in which he will rotate the leadership with his former rival, Benny Gantz, in a deal that could see the annexation of large parts of the West Bank.... The Netanyahu-Gantz deal also hints at the potential annexation of parts of the Palestinian territories this summer, stating that Netanyahu could bring Donald Trump's 'vision for peace' to the cabinet for discussion from 1 July." --s ~~~
~~~ Juan Cole: "The new government is a catastrophe.... It will encourage Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu to continue to dismantle Israeli democracy.... Netanyahu will be emboldened in his plan to annex some 30 percent of the Palestinian West Bank.... The usually cautious King Abdullah II of Jordan warned of 'massive conflict' were Netanyahu to follow through.... It will sideline the 20% of Israelis who are of Palestinian heritage and who have 15 seats in the 120-member Knesset or Israeli parliament. They had been on the brink of being admitted to the Israeli political game, but now will be completely marginalized. The US corporate press won't tell you this, but the reason for the inability to form a government was Israeli racism." --s
News Lede
New York Times: "Ken Osmond, who played the duplicitous teenager Eddie Haskell on the long-running sitcom 'Leave It to Beaver,' one moment a smarmy young man when talking to parents, the next moment a devilish troublemaker when the adults were out of sight, died on Monday at his home in ... Los Angeles. He was 76."
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Reader Comments (16)
I see Pompeo warns China not to interfere with U. S. journalists in Hong Kong.
Imagine I"ll wake up tomorrow morning to him warning Russia not to interfere in our domestic politics or elections.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/17/russia-is-interfering-our-elections-again-trump-supporters-are-emulating-russian-tactics/
I did say “imagine.”
There are, as Akhilleus often says, traitors in our midst. Despite all my years of experience with people of all political persuasions, I had no idea until recently how evil and widespread the Right in this country has become.
Can't remember enough German to say, "Anything for a buck," in that language, but however it goes I imagine (again!) it was a common thought in Germany in the early 1930's, as it is in Putin's Russia today.
It sure is here, which is one big reason the Right has moved from the fringe to the Republican Party's center stage.
They’re only kidding...
Little Dracula accuses Joe Biden of being a pedophile. No evidence, of course, for such an outrageous claim (there never is with the Soiled Family). Then he says “Oops, only kidding. It was a joke!”
Who jokes about child sexual abuse? Who? To think that was perfectly okay you’d have to be a despicable, disgusting scumbag. Or a Trump. But I repeat myself.
In any sort of universe where justice prevailed, these reprehensible animals would all be on trial for a plethora of offenses ranging from schemes and scams, thievery and treason, all the way up to crimes against humanity. And after being found guilty on all counts, with a few extra added on in case any additional criminal acts were overlooked (it’s hard to keep track of all the goings on in an active crime family), what would this sulfurous little prick say in his defense?
Just kidding? The whole thing was a joke?
Yes. Eric. Your whole family is a joke. Just not the ha-ha kind.
More jokes...
So Alex Azar has come up with the reason his administration has the worst record of any Of the world’s developed nations in dealing with a deadly pandemic: black people.
Hasn’t this been the go-to reason, according to confederates, for everything bad in this country since Ronald Reagan was telling Republican bedtime tales about welfare queens swanning around in Cadillacs? C’mon, Alex, can’t you try to be just a little more creative with your lies and excuses for not doing your job? (Talk about swanning around.)
What is this asshole again? Secretary of HEALTH and HUMAN services??
What a joke. They don’t even try to pretend anymore.
Don't get too complimentary about Washington State Republicans, Bea.
To my eastern Washington sister's great satisfaction, Shea might be gone, but a nut job named Loren Culp, also from eastern Washington, is making a bid for governor on the Republican ticket. Wouldn't know much about him but his yard signs are popping up on farmsteads here at the mouth of the Skagit River, so looked him up.
He hails from Republic (no kidding) in the northeastern part of the state, where after Washington State voters passed some sensible gun laws a few years ago he and other locals (locos) led an effort to turn their fair hamlet into a sanctuary town for gun nuts.
Don't know how that turned out, and don't think he has much chance in the fall, but like I noted above his mere presence on a Republican ballot is another sign of how deeply the Right is now entrenched in the Republican Fascist Party.
It does indeed appear that the Republican Party and its cousin in Israel is now, visibly and authentically aligned with racism, vulgarity, sexism and brutality. Although in this country that may excite their base but many don't like it and are reconsidering their loyalty. Yet in a yonder hill county some bloke gets his motor running with the idea that Biden is a pedophile and spreads the news at the bar that night rousing up the "one more for the road" crew who next day get their guns, their gummy bears, gas up their trucks and reckon to venture forth and cause havoc somewhere–-they are that pissed. This is a big problem for the GOP, which has long based its marketing on "values"–- family style.
And finally we might wipe that big ole "hail fellow, fare well" smile off BIG Mike. Such a wheeler dealer, talk about "sucking on the government teat," a coinage Allen Simpson once described for Medicare, and Social Security recipients.
FUN FAMILY FACT:
A cousin of Joe's has been trying to sell her beautifully restored 18th century home for some time and had almost given up of ever accomplishing that during this pandemic. Lo and behold a buyer came forth yesterday and bought it––with cash–-the name of this buyer: Gumbah––and that made this cousin, an Italian American, once again believe in the old Italian way of doing business––short, sweet and no holes/holds barred.
P.S. I forgot to add to the real estate purchase tale above: The buyer–-"do me a favor though"–- bought the house 10,000 short of list price and Gumbah is in the sanitation business just like Tony Soprano who always tried to seize opportunities when they presented themselves. I'm guessing a whole lot of purchase power is going on during this time–-more than has been reported.
Craig Murray points out the fundamentally corrupt dynamic driving the R administration's approach to research on the novel coronavirus:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/05/profiting-from-coronavirus/
What I hear from Eric Trump is an accidental admission that Donald can't handle the virus so we should all vote for Joe.
I guess Linick pointing out that tax payer money shouldn't be going to picking up dog poop for Mr and Mrs P was causing "great harm to the nation" too. That's why he had to go.
On Bright and the succession of inspector generals firings:
Our resident classicist, Akilleus, may have been even more surprised than I was to discover the Pretender is also steeped in the classics.
Here in an old Huffington Post article is a history of the kill the messenger meme.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/shakespeare-dont-like-the_b_679084
Obviously, the Pretender studied much harder in school than we thought.
Sophocles? Shakespeare?
Who knew?
And then this from the Pretender State Department stooge:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/pompeo-says-he-didnt-know-fired-inspector-general-was-investigating-him/2020/05/18/3ab08dca-9923-11ea-b60c-3be060a4f8e1_story.html#comments-wrapper
From the stooge in the Injustice Department:
Barr is trying to thread the needle here. He won't investigate Obama or Biden for "Obamagate," but he will do all short of that to undermine his own justice departments' role in revealing the Pretender-Russia connections.
Sow doubt, stir the pot, creep close to the edge of infamy but don't poke the hornets' next.
If Obama were to testify on these matters on national TV before November that would be curtains for this bunch of bozos.
Much better to hide behind the safety of smear and implication.
Cowards are good at that.
WTF!? Is this the epitome of oxymorons? McTurtle names Rubio as replacement for Burr at Senate Intelligence Committee?
Anyone want to bet the Pretender doesn't have a stake in the manufacture, distribution or sales of his magic pill?
Probably washes it down with some leftover Pretender wine.
oh pleeze pleeze pleeze!!! have trump have cardiac problems with chloroquine! oh, how I want to see him keel over on the floor!
A second thought, which should have been first.
He's not taking hydroxychloroquine. He lied about that too.
But I'll stick by the huckster part of my previous post.