;)
The Commentariat -- May 6, 2020
Late Morning Update:
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "President Trump, contradicting his comments from Tuesday, said the White House coronavirus task force would 'continue on indefinitely,' though perhaps with different members. His announcement, made on Twitter, came one day after Vice President Mike Pence, who has led the group for two months, said it would probably wrap up its work around the end of the May. 'We will have something in a different form,' Mr. Trump later told reporters on Tuesday during a trip to Arizona. But in a series of Wednesday morning tweets, Mr. Trump appeared to contradict that, and emphasized his desire to reopen the economy despite a continued rise in coronavirus cases and public health warnings that more commerce will mean more deaths.... 'We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate' he said.... Mr. Trump frequently reacts to news coverage of his decisions, and reports on Tuesday that he might wind down the task force drew sharp criticism." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I don't know why mean MSNBC host Chris Hayes keeps complaining that Trump has no plan. Could it be because the administration retracts major announcements within 24 hours? Anyhow, I don't think any of this stuff is up to Trump. I suspect that the federal government is being run by a 21-year-old college intern assigned to Jared Kushner's staff. When the intern starts to get the hang of things & makes a sensible decision or two, his term is up, and a new, green intern takes over. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates Wednesday are here.
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Private payrolls hemorrhaged more than 20 million jobs in April as companies sliced workers amid a coronavirus-induced shutdown that took most of the U.S. economy offline, according to a report Wednesday from ADP [Research Institute]. In all, the decline totaled 20,236,000 -- easily the worst loss in the survey's history going back to 2002 but not as bad as the 22 million that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting. The previous record was 834,665 in February 2009 amid the financial crisis and accompanying Great Recession."
Jonathan Chait: "Last night, ABC's David Muir asked Trump, 'What did you do when you became president to restock those cupboards that you say were bare?' Trump replied...: 'Well, I'll be honest. I have a lot of things going on. We had a lot of people that refused to allow the country to be successful. They wasted a lot of time on Russia, Russia, Russia. That turned out to be a total hoax. Then they did Ukraine, Ukraine, and that was a total hoax, then they impeached the president of the United States for absolutely no reason, and we even had 197-to-nothing vote by the Republicans.'... There remains the problem that Trump was fully vindicated of the Ukraine hoax by a unanimous vote of the Republican party -- which of course no longer includes Mitt Romney -- on February 5, yet he continued to dismiss and deny the coronavirus for weeks thereafter. The answer to this will probably come later, when Democrats investigate his incompetent handling of the pandemic, and Trump reveals that the Coronavirus Hoax prevented him from focusing on the coronavirus."
~~~~~~~~~~
Donnie Takes a Field Trip
Trump Shows off Face-Mask Plant by Not Wearing Face Mask. Natch. Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump emerged from his White House bubble Tuesday after weeks of sheltering-in-place, breaking a lengthy self-isolation for a cross-country trip to Arizona that he hoped would signal to the rest of the country a return to normal is imminent. 'The people of our country should think of themselves as warriors,' Trump said before boarding Air Force One for the first time since the end of March.... Even Trump appeared to acknowledge that a rise in cases or even deaths might accompany any reopening efforts. 'Will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open,' he said during a roundtable discussion inside the Phoenix plant.... The day trip to Arizona highlighted a Honeywell facility that manufactures N95 masks, though the state is also a critical battleground Trump hopes to win in November's general election. He began an address at the factory by recalling his 2016 election win. Even though Trump was touring a facility that produces the face coverings used by health care workers and others..., Trump himself did not wear a mask as he toured the factory floor or spoke with workers. A White House official said they were advised masks weren't necessary, though a sign at the facility instructed workers to wear them.... He was not scheduled to visit with coronavirus patients or families of those who have died from the disease. He said last week he's only spoken to a few Americans who have lost loved ones to the virus. Instead, Trump said he would 'pay my respects' to Honeywell, the multinational Fortune 100 conglomerate." ~~~
~~~ Trump did wear safety glasses! Of course, glasses protect Trump; masks protect others. ~~~
~~~ Jordyn Phelps & Ben Gittleson of ABC News: In an interview in Phoenix, ABC "World News" anchor David Muir asked Donald Trump, "'Do you believe that's the reality we're facing that -- that lives will be lost to reopen the country?' 'It's possible there will be some because you won't be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is,' Trump said. 'But at the same time, we're going to practice social distancing, we're going to be washing hands, we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've learned to do over the last period of time.'" Mrs. McC: The reporters cavalierly describe Trump's bargain with the devil as a "cost-benefit analysis." ~~~
Althea LeGaspi of Rolling Stone: "As Trump toured the factory, which is producing N95 masks for the federal government, he and other officials wore safety glasses but did not wear masks.... At one point on the tour, workers blasted Guns N' Roses' cover of the James Bond theme song from Wings, 'Live and Let Die." Thanks to NiskyGuy for the heads-up. Mrs. McC: Rolling Stone & other news outlets that ran items on "Live & Let Die" emphasized its ironic symbolism related to Trump's refusal to wear a mask in a place where masks are required. But to me the sarcastic message the song conveys is that Trump more-or-less admitted while in Arizona that he plans to "live" himself and "let other people die." It appears Ian Fleming intended the title (and the novel) to have a meaning similar to what I've suggested. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump made this "cost-benefit analysis" in Phoenix on the day Arizona had its highest single-day death count from Covid-19. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, if you are one of the "costs" who is "affected badly" by the coronavirus pandemic, blame your governor. Trump is so done with your annoying health problems and all these phony public health handwringers. ~~~
~~~ In the Midst of Pandemic, Trump to Disband Response Team. Ben Tracy, et al., of CBS News: "Discussions are underway about winding down the work of the Coronavirus Task Force, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters Tuesday, even as the number of deaths and new cases continue to mount, generally plateauing but not declining, as states begin to reopen. The administration's work on testing and bolstering the national stockpile will continue, Pence said, with some of that work being moved back to agencies.... '... it really is all a reflection of the tremendous progress we've made as a country. The president stood up the White House Coronavirus Task Force to marshal -- in January -- to marshal a national response.'... The vice president's announcement apparently had not reached Dr. Anthony Fauci.... Fauci told CBS News only moments before Pence spoke that he had just been at a task force meeting, and no one had said anything to him about disbanding the task force." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Jason Hoffman of CNN: "President Trump sidestepped a question from CNN today on whether it was the right time to wind down the coronavirus task force. Trump said that the country was looking towards 'other phases' and that the country is starting to open up. 'I think we're looking at phase two and we're looking at other phases. The country is starting to open up, the task force has done a phenomenal job,' Trump said. When pressed if Trump needed to continue to meet with the task force in order to get scientific expertise, Trump said that he thinks that there will be 'a different group' that is working towards 'safety and opening.'" ~~~
~~~ Trump Washes Hands of Downer Team, Turns the Page. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The decision to disband the task force, which includes medical experts, public health officials and leaders from various government agencies, is the clearest indicator yet that the White House is ready to turn the page to focus on the economy, even as doing so could lead to a spike in infections.... 'It's like disbanding the war cabinet in the middle of a war,' said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health at Georgetown University.... Dissolving the coronavirus task force may further complicate the reopening process, as there will be no singular federal body to advise states on best practices or when to snap back into more rigorous distancing."
No, This Is Not Normal. Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump said he was allowing Dr. Anthony Fauci to testify before the Republican-led Senate but not the Democrat-led House, calling it a 'set up.' 'The House is a bunch of Trump-haters,' Trump claimed as he was departing the White House for Arizona for a tour of a Honeywell plant. Trump's remarks amounted to an admission that he was looking to prevent Democrats from conducting their oversight duties when it comes to his administration's coronavirus response, even as he's willing to allow Republicans to proceed. Last week, the White House said its attempts to block Fauci from testifying were due to scheduling and time-management issues, which Trump did not mention on Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Fauci works for the NIH, not the White House. I don't think Trump has the actual authority to tell him when & where he can testify. The political dynamic is, of course, different.
Yasmeen Abutaleb & Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "The coronavirus response being spearheaded by President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has relied in part on volunteers from consulting and private equity firms with little expertise in the tasks they were assigned, exacerbating chronic problems in obtaining supplies for hospitals and other needs, according to numerous government officials and a volunteer involved in the effort.... Although some of the volunteers have relevant backgrounds and experience, many others were poorly matched with their assigned jobs, including those given the task of securing personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospitals nationwide, according to a complaint filed last month with the House Oversight Committee.... The document alleges that the team responsible for PPE had little success in helping the government secure such equipment, in part because none of the team members had significant experience in health care, procurement or supply-chain operations. In addition, none of the volunteers had relationships with manufacturers or a clear understanding of customs requirements or Food and Drug Administration rules, according to the complaint and two senior administration officials.... The team's problems underscore a broader pattern of missteps and missed opportunities that has plagued the Trump administration as it struggles to cope with the pandemic." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jared's team did seem to do well at prioritizing PPE requests and tips from "conservative journalists friendly to the White House" like Jeanine Pirro & Brian Kilmeade of Fox "News." As we surmised when we first got wind of Jared's Junior G-Force, the operation was bent. It comes as no surprise that of the many projects Trump assigned to Jared, kleptocracy coordination is a top priority. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Uh, the "lack of expertise" starts at the top with the Boy Wonder & Daddy Dearest. But it is sort of perfect that Unqualified-for-Anything Jared would pick inexperienced "helpers" to manage a task essential to the nation. Since these guy were "consultants" and/or worked for private equity firms, they probably have elite general educations, which made Jared think they could do anything, just as he thinks he can. Update: Anderson Cooper described these volunteers as "friends & associates" of Kushner's, though the WashPo article does not. ~~~
~~~ Update: Nicholas Confessore, et al., of the New York Times now have the story, too, of "... a team of roughly a dozen young volunteers, recruited by ... Jared Kushner, and overseen by a former assistant to ... Ivanka Trump.... Many of the volunteers were told to prioritize tips from political allies and associates of President Trump, tracked on a spreadsheet called 'V.I.P. Update,' according to documents and emails obtained by The New York Times.... [Ivanka's former aide] Rachael Baitel, a 2014 Princeton graduate..., told volunteers to prioritize leads from the politically connected.... Few of the leads, V.I.P. or otherwise, panned out, according to a whistle-blower memo written by one volunteer and sent to the House Oversight Committee.... The fumbling search for new supplies -- heralded by Mr. Trump and Mr. Kushner as a way to pipe private-sector hustle and accountability into the hidebound federal bureaucracy -- became a case study of Mr. Trump's style of governing, in which personal relationships and loyalty are often prized over governmental expertise, and private interests are granted extraordinary access and deference." A bit more on Jared & His Friends below. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: My only regret is that, what with their prior legal difficulties not yet resolved, Lev & Igor probably have not been able to get in on the PPE scamopalooza, operando that fit their modus to a tee. On the other hand, while social distancing persists, ankle bracelets are no impediment. We may yet hear more of Frick & Frack.
Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "Attorney General William Barr made a last-minute push Monday to persuade the administration to modify its position in the Obamacare dispute that will be heard at the Supreme Court this fall, arguing that the administration should pull back from its insistence that the entire law be struck down. With a Wednesday deadline to make any alterations to its argument looming, Barr made his case in a room with Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, members of the Domestic Policy Council, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and several other officials. The meeting ended without a decision and it was not immediately not clear if any shift in the Trump administration's position will emerge. Barr and other top advisers have argued against the hard-line position for some time, warning it could have major political implications if the comprehensive health care law appears in jeopardy as voters head to the polls in November." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Notice that Barr doesn't care a whit about many Americans' ability to get semi-affordable health insurance; instead, he wants to kid voters into thinking Trump won't kill Obamacare if he's re-elected.
** Yasmeen Abutaleb & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: Dr. Rick Bright, "a former top vaccine official removed from his post last month, alleged in a whistleblower complaint on Tuesday that he was reassigned to a less prestigious role because he tried to 'prioritize science and safety over political expediency' and raised health concerns over a drug repeatedly pushed by President Trump and other administration officials as a possible cure for coronavirus.... Bright portrays himself in the 89-page complaint as one of the administration's health officials trying to sound the alarm about the virus as early as January. He said he called for the rapid development of treatments and vaccines, as well as the stockpiling of additional N95 masks and ventilators, at a time when HHS political leadership, including Secretary Alex Azar, appeared to him to be underestimating the threat. He also notes that he clashed with his boss, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS Robert Kadlec, for at least two years, according to the complaint. Bright alleged that Kadlec and others pressured him to buy drugs and medical products for the nation's stockpile of emergency medical equipment from companies that were linked politically to the administration and that he resisted such efforts." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Time after time, I was pressured to ignore or dismiss expert scientific recommendations and instead to award lucrative contracts based on political connections. -- Dr. Rick Bright, in his whistleblower complaint ~~~
~~~ Cracking the Kleptocracy. Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: Dr. Rick Bright "said Tuesday that top administration officials repeatedly pressured him to steer millions of dollars in contracts to the clients of a well-connected consultant.... Bright ... said in a formal whistle-blower complaint that he had been protesting 'cronyism' and contract abuse since 2017.... Questionable contracts have gone to 'companies with political connections to the administration,' the complaint said, including a drug company tied to a friend of Jared Kushner's.... The complaint says top Department of Health and Human Services officials, including Dr. [Robert] Kadlec, who oversees the strategic national stockpile, overruled scientific experts while awarding contracts to firms represented by the consultant, John Clerici." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As with many of the Tales of Trump, the journalist's dilemma is to decide whether to lead with the incompetence or the corruption. Today, in both the Kushner & Bright fiascos, the Washington Post has chosen incompetence, while the Times has gone with corruption.
~~~ A Politico story is here. A Daily Beast story is here. Bright's complaint, via Bright's attorneys, is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jon Swaine, et al., of the Washington Post: "After Robert Kadlec was confirmed as President Trump's top official for public health preparedness in 2017, he began pressing to increase government stocks of a smallpox vaccine. His office ultimately made a deal to buy up to $2.8 billion of the vaccine from a company that once paid Kadlec as a consultant, a connection he did not disclose on a Senate questionnaire when he was nominated.... The 10-year contract is part of an effort by Kadlec to bolster the nation's stockpile of defenses against biological and chemical weapons, a focus he made a priority over preparing for a natural pandemic.... Kadlec scaled back a long-standing interagency process for spending billions of dollars on stockpile purchases, diminishing the role of government experts and restricting decision-making to himself and a small circle of advisers...." Thanks to Patrick for the link. See also his comments yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Luckily, we have Stephen Colbert to explain everything: ~~~
Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's latest red line for the next phase of coronavirus legislation -- a payroll tax cut for workers — has few fans in Congress even among Republicans, further complicating the path toward a new rescue package as House Democrats rush to release their own plan as early as next week. As senators returned to Washington this week to an unusually sparse and eerie Capitol, resistance began to mount against Trump's favored form of putting more money into workers' pockets, with lawmakers noting that a payroll tax cut helps only those gainfully employed at a time when record numbers of Americans are filing jobless claims. The payroll tax funds the Social Security and Medicare programs." Politico has a story here. More from the story:
Rather than indulging Trump's insistence on a payroll tax cut, GOP senators have instead shifted their focus to liability protections for businesses, demanding that they be protected from what Republicans view are frivolous lawsuits as private employers try to reopen their doors in the coming weeks. Top Democrats have said they will oppose such sweeping protections, on which Republicans are insisting in exchange for another massive infusion of state and local aid. The standoff shows no immediate signs of abating, as House Democrats assemble a massive new rescue package expected to exceed $2 trillion that would include around a $1 trillion commitment for states, cities and municipalities.... The parties' diverging priorities threaten to make finding consensus much more difficult this time around. ~~~
~~~ Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "This is totally normal. Republicans would typically be in favor of a tax cut, but a payroll tax cut wouldn't help the rich very much so they're against it. The only thing that's really on their agenda is protection for businesses from lawsuits. Meanwhile, Democrats are interested solely in measures that help ordinary people: state and local bailouts, housing, food, unemployment insurance, etc. This is exactly how Coronavirus 3.0 went. It's amazing how candid Republicans are about caring only for business bailouts and letting Democrats worry about regular people." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Hard to say if Trump (1) is too dumb to figure out that a payroll tax cut doesn't help people with no pay, or if he (2) knows it and just doesn't give a damn. But there's an Option (3), and I'm betting on that: only half of the payroll tax is paid by employees. Employers pay the other half, so businesses that are still operating have to pay their half of the tax for workers still on the payroll. Some of Trump's properties have closed, but many are still open or partially open. So Trump has to pay the payroll tax.
The New York Times' coronavirus updates for Tuesday, linked next, include an item on the "surreal scene" at the Capitol where the Senate has returned to work. Best sentence: "Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, the sole senator to have tested positive for the virus, was among the only senators walking around without a mask." Mrs. McC: Won't be the first time Li'l Randy has spit on his colleagues. But it might be the most lethal. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Berkeley Lovelace of CNBC: “The coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, over four months ago has since mutated and the new, dominant strain spreading across the U.S. appears to be even more contagious, according to a new study. The new strain began spreading in Europe in early February before migrating to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, becoming the dominant form of the virus across the globe by the end of March, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory wrote in a 33-page report published Thursday on BioRxiv. If the coronavirus doesn't subside in the summer like the seasonal flu, it could mutate further and potentially limit the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines being developed by scientists around the world, the researchers warned.... The study has yet to be peer-reviewed, but the researchers noted that news of the mutation was of 'urgent concern' considering the more than 100 vaccines in the process of being developed to prevent Covid-19." Mrs. McC: I am not a scientist, but this would seem to explain why the infection rate & death toll in the U.S. East Coast were higher than those on the West Coast, where at least the early cases came from the less-contageous Wuhan strain.
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. "Coronavirus in the United States now looks like this: More than a month has passed since there was a day with fewer than 1,000 deaths from the virus. Almost every day, at least 25,000 new cases are identified, meaning that the total in the United States -- which has the highest number of known cases in the world wit more than a million -- is expanding by 2 to 4 percent daily.... It is rampaging through nursing homes, meatpacking plants and prisons, killing the medically vulnerable and the poor, and new outbreaks keep emerging in grocery stores, supermarkets or factories, an ominous harbinger of what a full reopening of the economy could bring. 'If you include New York, it looks like a plateau moving down,' said Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine. 'If you exclude New York, it's a plateau slowly moving up.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
New York Times: "More than 1,186,900 people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 68,800 have died, according to a New York Times database. More than 1,000 additional deaths have been announced every day since April 2.... In recent weeks, more than 20,000 new cases have been announced across the United States each day, keeping the country on a stubborn plateau instead of the sharp downward curve scientists had hoped for." This analysis breaks down & highlights developments in various regions & particular localities throughout the country. It appears to be updated daily. (Also linked yesterday.)
Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "States across the country are moving swiftly to reopen their economies despite failing to achieve benchmarks laid out by the White House for when social distancing restrictions could be eased to ensure the public's safety during the coronavirus pandemic. These governors' biggest cheerleader is President Trump.... Trump and some of his aides have backed away from their own guidelines, opting instead to hail the broad economic reopening that health experts say has started too quickly. The dichotomy comes as the White House also tried to distance itself from a draft federal government report predicting an explosion of new coronavirus cases and 3,000 daily deaths by June 1.... While the president said on April 23, he was 'not happy' with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) for the defying the guidelines, it took him only a week to deny his own remarks. 'I didn't say that,' Trump said Friday when his quote about Kemp was read back to him. 'I said I didn't like the particular place -- a spa, a tattoo parlor. No, no, I think it's wonderful.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Arizona. Best to Hide the Evidence of a Crime Against Humanity. Rachel Leingang of the Arizona Republic: "The Arizona Department of Health Services told a team of university experts working on COVID-19 modeling to 'pause' its work, an email from a department leader shows. The modeling team of about two dozen professors at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona was compiling the most robust public model in Arizona of COVID-19. The email, from DHS bureau chief of public health statistics S. Robert Bailey, came on Monday evening, after Gov. Doug Ducey [R] announced plans to begin easing social distancing in the coming days.... The universities' model had shown that reopening at the end of May was the only scenario that didn't dramatically increase cases."
New York. Marina Villeneuve & Michael Hill of the AP: "New York state is reporting more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as the state faces scrutiny over how it's protected vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic. At least 4,813 people have died from COVID-19 in the state's nursing homes since March 1, according to a tally released by Cuomo's administration late Monday that, for the first time, includes people believed to have been killed by the coronavirus before their diagnoses could be confirmed by a lab test." Mrs. McC: It's been widely reported that these facilities don't have enough professional nurses & other trained staff to care for residents. So why are they called "nursing homes" if they have few nurses and "care facilities" if they have few staff to care for residents? (Also linked yesterday.)
Texas. Olivia Messer of the Daily Beast: "During a private call on Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott admitted that 'every scientific and medical report shows' state reopenings 'ipso facto' lead to an increase in novel coronavirus cases, even as he publicly announced plans that same week to end an executive stay-at-home order in the state.... 'The more that you have people out there, the greater the possibility is for transmission,' Abbott said on the call, which a spokesperson confirmed was authentic.... Abbott's public statements so far have largely only mentioned that Texas may see an increase in the numbers due to increased testing capacity, rather than increased contact." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I suppose we might be generous & pretend that Abbott, Trump, Christie, Patrick, et al., are simply following the utilitarian philosophy that "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." (Akhilleus Patrick (per Ken W.) may have mentioned utilitarianism within the last few days.) But in fact, we know that Trump & most other proponents of the "great reopening" are thinking "it is the greatest happiness for me that is the measure of right and wrong." And the problem with this philosophy -- or what ABC reporters call a cost-benefit analysis -- is that that it doesn't recognize the rights of those whom the reopeners will sicken and kill to advance the good fortunes of the survivors. Rather, they take a Darwinian, animalistic approach: survival of the fittest. The whole of moral, religious & judicial history rejects and abhors the Trumpian, Darwinian view.
Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer began testing multiple versions of an experimental coronavirus vaccine in healthy young people in the United States this week, a first step toward establishing the safety, dosage and most promising candidate to take into larger trials that will test effectiveness. In an unusual trial design that signals the pressing need to find a vaccine against covid-19, Pfizer is initially testing four versions of the vaccine, side by side. Typically, companies spend years on animal experiments and select a single promising candidate to put into human testing, but the drugmaker decided to create a flexible trial that could rapidly sift out the best option." An NPR story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
U.K. Sex in the Time of Coronavirus. Heather Stewart of the Guardian: "Prof Neil Ferguson, the epidemiologist whose modelling helped shape Britain's coronavirus lockdown strategy, has quit as a government adviser after flouting the rules by receiving visits from his lover at his home. Ferguson runs the group of scientists at Imperial College London whose projections helped persuade ministers of the need to impose stringent physical distancing rules, or risk the NHS being overwhelmed.... The Daily Telegraph revealed that Antonia Staats had crossed London from her family home to visit him on at least two occasions since lockdown measures were imposed, on 30 March and 8 April." According to the headline of the Telegraph story, which is firewalled, Staats is married and -- according to the small portion of the story available to nonsubscribers, "lives with her husband and their children in another house." Mrs. McC: Physical appearances are subjective, of course, but the photo of Staats atop the Telegraph article presents her as a very attractive, sexy woman, IMO. Ferguson, by my lights, looks like a geeky numbers cruncher, balding & bespectacled, so good on him, I guess.
Emma Loop of the BuzzFeed News: "The office of former president Barack Obama privately blasted a congressional investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son, as well as alleged Ukrainian election interference, calling it an effort 'to give credence to a Russian disinformation campaign,' according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed News. In March, Obama's office told the National Archives and Records Administration -- which maintains presidential records -- that a request from two top Republican senators for Obama administration documents related to Ukraine was improper. 'It arises out of efforts by some, actively supported by Russia, to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine,' said the letter, dated March 13.'... The November request for records came from Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson.... The letter from Obama adds to Democratic criticism of the Senate probe as being a politically motivated effort to damage Biden's presidential campaign.... However, Obama ultimately agreed that the records could be released 'in the interest of countering the misinformation campaign underlying this request,' according to the letter, which was provided to BuzzFeed News by his office...." The article reproduces the letter, which was written on stationery of "The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama" & is signed by the "Records Representative to President Obama." ~~~
~~~ Presidential Race
New York. Thanks, Andrew Yang! Kendall Karson of ABC News: "... after bitter intraparty feuding and some legal wrangling, the second-most delegate rich state's presidential nominating contest is back on, for now. A federal judge in the Southern District of New York ordered election officials late Tuesday night to restore the presidential primary, set for June 23, and reinstate all the former candidates on the ballot who were previously removed as a result of suspending their campaigns. In late April, New York state election officials nixed the Democratic presidential primary, citing the threat of the coronavirus, a controversial move that inflamed supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ... and the progressive wing of the party. The decision to forgo the primary entirely immediately prompted a legal challenge from a former presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, among other plaintiffs, who were seeking to be Yang delegates at the convention."
Yelling the Quiet Part. Brett Samuels: "President Trump rejected the idea of granting statehood to the District of Columbia, arguing in a new interview it would be too politically beneficial to Democrats. 'D.C. will never be a state,' Trump told The New York Post during an Oval Office interview on Monday. 'You mean District of Columbia, a state? Why? So we can have two more Democratic -- Democrat senators and five more congressmen? No thank you. That'll never happen.' The District has a population of roughly 700,000, which is more than that of Wyoming or Vermont. The District does not have any voting power in Congress, as it has no senators and one nonvoting delegate in the House.... Should it become a state, the District would receive one House member based on its current population." Mrs. McC: Trump either has no idea of how representatives are apportioned, or he feels he's surrounded by five times as many black people as he is. (Also linked yesterday.)
Pete Williams & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Tuesday was treated for a gallstone that was causing an infection, the court said in a statement. She underwent nonsurgical treatment for a benign gallbladder condition at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. The condition was detected Monday after the court's historic telephone session for oral argument. Tests confirmed that a gallstone migrated to her cystic duct, causing a blockage and infection. Ginsburg, 87, is 'resting comfortably' at the hospital and expects to remain there for a day or two the court said." Mrs. McC: Williams told Rachel Maddow that Ginsburg intends to join Wednesday's teleconferenced Court arguments from the hospital.
Way Beyond the Beltway
Amberin Zaman of Al-Monitor: "A star-studded team of global lawyers [including Alan Dershowitz] have taken on the case of Azeri-Turkish billionaire Mubariz Mansimov Gurbanoglu, saying they will investigate possible human rights abuses against the shipping magnate who has been held on terrorism charges in an Istanbul prison since March 17.... By retaining Dershowitz, Gurbanoglu may as a last resort be hoping to leverage his connections to Trump, who ostensibly would intervene with Erdogan on the businessman's behalf. Gurbanoglu attended Trump's inauguration and was the first customer when Trump Towers opened in Istanbul in 2009, snapping up eight apartments, according to The Black Sea." --s
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More on Dr. Kadlec, procurer, from the Dr. Bright article in the NYTimes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/us/politics/rick-bright-
coronavirus-whistleblower.html?
Sounds like Kadlec's business relationships with some of his buddies were so tight he might have run a fever. No social distancing there.
Every time I see the initials RBG connected with a hospital I shudder. Does anyone doubt for a minute Mitch would have hearings for the next SCOTUS justice scheduled by the time her body was wheeled into the morgue?
Music playing in the background of the mask factory tour: Live and Let Die.
It sounds as if it is the workshop speaker system. Hard to tell if it just happened to be on the radio / playlist or whether they were playing it for their esteemed visitor.
Lest anyone think too highly of the intelligence of the American people (why does H. L. Mencken's "Sahara of the Bozart" come to mind?), here are the latest poll numbers. The Pretender's approval ratings are up again, as near as I can tell bumped by his recommendation of that Lysol cocktail.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/politics/donald-trump-approval-rating-coronavirus/index.html
And Bea, you can blame Patrick for the Bentham and Ken and a host of his pinkos predecessors like Bentham, Mills and Marx (Karl) for that "greatest good" thing.
Milbank performs an obvious but nonetheless revealing trick:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/05/i-believe-i-am-treated-worse-trump-says-as-if/
I wonder if Live & Let Die was just to troll our Dear Leader - would be a perfect way since it would go completely over his head.
On a sadder more personal note I just learned that a security guard where I work died from the virus last week. I am heartbroken. Worse yet, reports are that he got it through contact with someone there (most are home but there is some work that can only be done on site). I’ve been working from home since mid-March - no way I’m going back any time soon.
@Rockygirl: Yeah, if anything, he would have taken it as a compliment: comparing him to heroic figure James Bond.
PRESSED BY THE PRESSERS:
Reporter: Do you believe many more lives will be lost if we open the country?
Trump: Say what? You people make my life a living hell, you know that don't you–-mealy mouthed fake news–-I bring sunny days and you people insist on reporting how dark and cloudy everything is. What's a few thousand lives lost compared to a failing economy–-especially if it would prevent me from serving four more glorious years––that Lincoln cabal whose members are all LOSERS--YOU KNOW THAT DON'T YOU? moon-face Conway–-do you see this guy? Ugly as sin–-don't know how Kellyann can do the Can-Can with this guy–-he's a disaster! and that Rick Wilson–-another real loser–-pathetic! "mourning in America"–-I'll give you some mourning and it won't be pretty, I'll tell you that!
Reporter: Excuse me, sir, but are you saying you are willing to sacrifice lives in order to win an election?
Trump: You might say that, I couldn't possibly.
Reporter: I believe that's a line from "House of Cards", sir. Let me rephrase the question: Are you saying that you consider your agenda more important than American lives?
Trump: See? Another nasty question–-where do you fake news nincompoops come up with this stuff? you don't listen–-you twist my words–-you're done. Next? you in the back row.
The back row "you". How, Mr. President, are you able to get away with all your fabrications, lies, scams, heartless agendas–-we fake news folk beg for an answer.
Trump: When you're a star they let you do it.~~~~~~~~~~~~
He lifts his face and sticks out his chin like Mussolini ; his look is one of sober triumph. There is a thin sharp light like the edge of an old knife as he retreats.
A Nation of Selfish Weenies
Some years ago, while watching a 1997 World Series game between the Cleveland Indians, an American League team since 1901, and the Florida Marlins, a National League team only in existence for four years, I saw a sign held up by an indignant looking Marlins fan. The sign demanded a World Series victory for his nascent team. “We‘ve waited long enough!” the sign proclaimed. I wondered how Indians fans, who hadn’t won a World Series since 1948, probably 30 years before the pissed off sign holder was born, felt about this demand for instant gratification.
The current pandemic, made exponentially worse by the ignorance and indolence and now the juvenile impatience of the little king and his court of grifters, losers, and liars, has kept many Americans, at least the ones who aren’t essential workers and who feel an obligation to their families and neighbors, in a semi-lockdown state since about the middle of March, not even two months. But that’s way more than the screaming weenies can take. They’ve waited long enough...to go to the beach or have their nails done or to strut around the grocery store unmasked, coughing on the kale.
Long gone is an America that believed in shared sacrifice at times of national crises. As the Decider’s war of choice was ramping up to its eventual state of international chaos and horror, he encouraged Americans to “go shopping”. The latest ☠️ president* (all ☠️ presidents in this century, so far, are asterisk worthy) is even worse.
This is the direct result of a culture of hatred of norms, of decency, of respect for law and other human beings that don’t look, think, and act like them. A culture perpetuated and promulgated by selfish ignoramuses whose mantra is “Fuck that! What about me?”
Their leader is the avatar of such thinking, an infant, for whom the smallest amount of time to wait for his ba-ba is too long.
He’s waited too long for this stupid pandemic to be over. Hmmmph.
Just imagine the Americans who held out for years through a depression and a world war being told that their descendants couldn’t hold it together for seven weeks before demanding to do whatever the hell they wanted. And worse, they threatened to shoot people if they didn’t get their ba-bas quickly enough.
Well, to quote Hattie: F*** that motherf***ing f***ety-f***:
Poor guy, forced to live in a gorgeous, historical mansion, waited upon hand and foot, with nothing he has to spend his money on (the Obamas bought their own food-- what about the gross orange monster and his uncaring wife and grasping children?)and every opportunity to clean up by looting the treasury of the US-- my heart bleeds. At the "end" of this regime, if it EVER ends, I won't have a tooth in my head, worn down by the constant grinding and clenching. (And, as it happens, POS people attract POS people, so we have an oversupply, led by POS McConnell and his POS wife, and especially, the POS who auditioned successfully to be the POS AG, and the POS SC justices.)
We can't expect POS people to be anything but, and they don't disappoint.
@Akhilleus: Nice anecdote & development thereof. One thing you say is that we've descended into a culture that hates norms, and I'd suggest that's only partially right.
I was watching Masterpiece Theater's "World on Fire" WWII fictional series Sunday, and the wealthy, uptight conservative matron character uttered a complaint that confederates here make: "I just want things to get back to normal."
What they mean by "back to normal" is a return to a class system where they're the unquestioned elite who merit special privileges and respect by dint of their being the unquestioned elite. And that's a "normal" that won't come back, even as they try everything they can to force it. It's true they'll win a lot of battles and in this country they may appear to win the war, but they'll never get the respect and admiration they think they deserve. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, et al., will persist.
The Trump Death Clock is an actual thing now: https://trumpdeathclock.com) and my bet is that it soars past 100,000.
If Drumpf is somehow reelected, he'll be presiduncing* amid thousand of daily deaths like it's normal, because if he's not doing shit now (talking about disbanding the useless 'task force' in the FU&K!NG middle of it!) he sure as HELL won't be taking any action later.
All I can imagine is an orange Nero with dilated pupils and beady eyes calling out to Kellyanne Conjob to bring him more manufactured fake news about his superb ratings while America literally slow burns like a brush fire.
Every enemy of America is going to root like hell this psycho gets reelected because it will literally trigger the bell toll on what's left of our leadership role in the world. From then on, we'll be a pseudo-fascist mafia state with military bases sprawling across the world.
17 minutes as respite from the daily grind
“Bolero”
performed on a huge barge at the harbour in Marsailles in 1997
exquisite choreography & dancing / give it time to unfold / enjoy
Choreography: Roland Petit
Dancers: Lucia Lacarra & Massimo Murru
Music: Maurice Ravel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ2chcGOJgY
Thanks, Hattie-- I look forward to viewing tonight--
“New York’s patron saint of PPE went $600,000 in debt to outfit workers — and hospitals keep turning her down”
a tutorial for little lord kushner
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-york-hospitals-ppe-rhonda-roland-shearer/2020/05/05/d8e4bc16-8bb6-11ea-8ac1-bfb250876b7a_story.html
After listening to Hattie's wonderful classical listen to Spanky and our Gang singing about giving a damn about our fellow man: Nowadays the people who make the clocks run and are forgotten but maybe--just maybe will be given a leg up after this crisis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFwfe4Sjvmw
PD -
Thought I was gonna be seeing Alfalfa, Buckwheat and Darlene on that tiny retro teevee.
I also hope some good will rise up from this catastrophic clusterfuk.
Preferably (selfishly) in my (covid/dictatorship-free) lifetime.
Thank you for posting this.
Since we’re trading songs in the middle of the Trumpademic, here’s my contribution. It’s a different sort of Bolero. Not Ravel’s but Beck’s, as in Jeff Beck. The other guitarist is another little known guy named Jimmy Page. About 1:39 in you’ll hear a scream at the top of a drum break. It’s Keith Moon. Yeah, that Keith Moon. A psycho but great on the skins.
You can’t listen to this thing and not smile.
https://youtu.be/nmO0OZC6Ifk
Akhilleus-
Beck + Page + Moon: YESSS!
And immediately following, “Stairway To Heaven” with Clapton.
After that, a free-for-all of “Layla” and then . . .
Thanks for the contact-high. :)