;)
The Commentariat -- October 6, 2020
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Reality Chex is still bobbing up & down, but the "down" doesn't last long. However, be sure to save your comments because this also happens when you're trying to post them.
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
John Bowden & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "White House senior adviser Stephen Miller has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently self-quarantining, The Hill has confirmed. Miller said he began a period of self-isolation several days ago before receiving a positive test for the coronavirus on Tuesday."
Biden's Gettysburg Address:
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A remarkable contrast with Benito Trumpolini scowling from the balcony yesterday.
Erica Werner & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Tuesday that he was withdrawing from economic relief talks until after the election, abruptly ordering Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to stop negotiating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In a series of tweets posted less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital, Trump accused Pelosi of failing to negotiate in good faith, after she rejected an opening bid from Mnuchin in their latest round of talks.... 'I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hard-working Americans and Small Business,' Trump wrote. The pronouncement was so stunning that Pelosi told Democratic colleagues on a conference call that the president's sudden change in position might be connected to the steroids he's taking as he battles coronavirus.... The pronouncement came just hours after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said in a speech that more economic stimulus was needed.... Three days ago..., follow[ing] his first night in the hospital..., [Trump] wrote on Twitter 'OUR GREAT USA WANTS & NEEDS STIMULUS. WORK TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. Thank you!'" Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This cannot be a bully taking his marbles & going home because Trump has lost his marbles. So it's a blackmailer telling needy people, "Vote for me or you won't get your measly government handouts." It's just plain mean. ~~~
~~~ Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, delivered a blunt message to Congress and the White House on Tuesday: Faced with a once-in-a-century pandemic that has inflicted economic pain on millions of households, go big. Hours later, President Trump delivered his own message: Forget it.... The Fed chair, who has increasingly called for more government help, said policymakers should err on the side of injecting too much money into the economy rather than too little.... In a series of conflicting tweets, the president said the economy was 'doing very well' and coming back 'in record numbers,' suggesting that no additional help was needed while also saying that he would wait until after the election to 'pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.' While the chances of Congress reaching a deal on another package were already slim, Mr. Trump's directive sent markets swooning as the reality sank in that the economic recovery, which is slowing, would not get another jolt before Nov. 3. The S&P 500 fell more than 1 percent soon after Mr. Trump's tweet...."
Florida. Special! Today Only! Really. Gary Fineout of Politico: "Florida extended the deadline for voter registration after the state's online portal crashed under the weight of heavy traffic hours before the Oct. 5 deadline. Registration will be open for an additional seven hours, from noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Secretary of State Laurel Lee said in a written statement. The move should short-circuit a lawsuit that civil rights and voting groups were preparing to file early Tuesday. Lee met with Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday to review trouble with the portal. In a written statement, she said the site's failure appeared to be linked to 'unprecedented volume and traffic' and that her office 'will work with our state and federal law-enforcement partners to ensure this was not a deliberate act against the voting process.' The portal went down Monday afternoon, hours before the midnight deadline for registering."
Lolita Baldor of the AP: "Top military leaders are under self-quarantine after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for the coronavirus, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, was among those affected, U.S. officials said. Military leaders who were in contact with Adm. Charles W. Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, have been tested, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement. None have [Mrs. McC: has] exhibited symptoms or have so far tested positive." ~~~
~~~ Update. Courtney Kube of NBC News: "Seven members of the eight-member Joint Chiefs of Staff are now quarantining after they attended a Pentagon meeting Friday with a Coast Guard admiral who has since tested positive for Covid-19, said three defense officials. The only member of the Joint Chiefs who is not in quarantine, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger, was traveling last week and missed the meeting. Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Gary Thomas attended in his place and is now in quarantine."
AP: "Michelle Obama is going after ... Donald Trump in a scathing new video that accuses him of 'willful mismanagement' of the coronavirus crisis and of racism. She calls on Black and all young voters not to 'waste' their votes. In the video, released Tuesday by Joe Biden's campaign, Mrs. Obama notes that more Americans have died from COVID-19 than died in the Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Korean wars combined. She charges that with respect to the virus, 'our commander in chief, sadly, has been missing in action.'" ~~~
The New York Times' live Trumpidemic updates Tuesday are here: "President Trump announced on Tuesday that he is planning to attend next Thursday's debate in Miami against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. despite his continued struggle with the coronavirus and unresolved questions about the event's rules. 'FEELING GREAT!' he added in a separate Tweet. By midday Monday, Mr. Trump made it clear he would soon be moving forward with his campaign, even as medical experts warned that the course of his illness is unpredictable in a man of his age and weight." The Hill's story is here. Mrs. McC: If indeed Trump does show up, he should be wheeled in in a hermetically-sealed plexiglass box. Okay with me if he says, "Mmbeep-beep."
Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday continued to downplay the coronavirus and suggested the United States should learn to live with the pandemic, posting to Twitter hours after returning to the White House from being hospitalized with Covid-19. In his morning tweet, the president likened the highly contagious disease to the seasonal flu, reprising a misleading comparison he repeatedly invoked in the early stages of the U.S. outbreak. 'Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu,' Trump wrote in a post that was later flagged by Twitter for violating the platform's coronavirus misinformation policies. 'Are we going to close down our Country?' Trump wrote. 'No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!'... Over the past 10 years, an average of just under 36,000 Americans have died annually from the flu." ~~~
~~~ Update. Donie O'Sullivan of CNN: "Facebook on Tuesday removed a post from President Trump in which he falsely claimed that Covid-19 is less deadly than the seasonal flu. Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the company removed the post for breaking its rules on Covid-19 misinformation.... While battling his own bout of the disease, he has continued to dishonestly downplay the severity of the virus... The President also posted the same message on Twitter. That post is still live, but Twitter has appended a message to the Tweet stating it violated the company's rule on spreading misleading information related to Covid-19."
Peter Alexander of NBC News: "A military valet who comes in contact with Trump tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend, a person familiar with the matter tells NBC News." This is part of a liveblog on Trump's condition.
Arkansas. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "The chairman of the Craighead County Republican Committee in Arkansas has died from complications while fighting the coronavirus, reported KAIT8 News. Steven Farmer's GOP committee hosted a social gathering with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who just recovered from COVID-19, in mid-September. The Reagan Day event was photographed extensively, and it showed very few masks being worn and no social distancing."
~~~ Thanks to Ken W. for the link.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
"Toxic Positivity." Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump returned to the White House on Monday night, staging a defiant, made-for-television moment in which he ripped off his face mask and then urged the nation to put aside the risks of the deadly coronavirus that has swept through his own staff and sent him to the hospital for three days. Just hours after his press secretary and two more aides tested positive, making the White House the leading coronavirus hot spot in the nation's capital, Mr. Trump again dismissed the pandemic that has killed 210,000 people in the United States.... Even afflicted by the disease himself, the president ... appeared unchastened as he pressed America to reopen and made no effort to promote precautions. The regret-nothing approach demonstrated that the president intended no pivot in his handling of the pandemic despite his own medical crisis. The message, in effect, was that Americans should live their lives and not worry about catching the virus because 'we have the best medicines in the world,' never mind that he has had access to experimental treatment and high-quality health care not available to most people.... Mr. Trump pressured his doctors to release him from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Maryland, but it did not indicate that he had escaped jeopardy, only that he could be treated at the White House, where he has 24-hour medical care." Includes video of Trump's claiming he's a hero. A Washington Post story is here.
From Monday's Washington Post live elections updates: "Trump was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center early Monday evening and arrived back at the White House after being diagnosed last week with covid-19, experiencing a fever and being given supplemental oxygen treatments. As he left Walter Reed, Trump gave a thumbs up to reporters and ignored questions about how many White House staffers are sick and whether he is a 'superspreader.' 'Thank you very much, everybody,' Trump said, giving a slight wave before heading into his motorcade and taking off for the White House in Marine One. After arriving back at the White House, Trump stood on the Truman Balcony, the second-floor balcony facing the South Lawn, took off his face mask, gave a double thumbs-up and saluted the soldiers down below. He then stood at the balcony for a few minutes before entering the White House." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to a few teevee hosts (Rachel Maddow & Anderson Cooper), Trump could be seen gasping for breath after climbing the stairs to the Truman Balcony. The hosts also said Trump's Triumphant Return was so fake that he went inside -- maskless with aides nearby, of course -- & came back out for Take 2. From my teevee, I couldn't quite make out the heavy breathing. To me, he just looked like Mussolini on the balcony overlooking Rome's Piazza Venezia.
From Monday's New York Times live updates of Covid-19 developments: "President Trump's physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, said on Monday that the president would return to the White House after having spent three nights at the Walter Reed medical center, although he was not 'out of the woods yet' in his fight against Covid-19. 'Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve,' Dr. Conley said. 'He's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria.' The president's doctors evaded some key questions about the president's condition, including his lung function and the date of his last negative coronavirus test." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jack Shafer of Politico: Donald Trump "wants you to believe that all is well because he's 'getting great reports from the doctors,' as he said in a Sunday video from Walter Reed. If he's really getting such great reports from the docs, he must be the first sick person in history to conceal the actual evidence that he's getting better. All we really know for sure is that he's ill and that he and his doctors continue to cover up the extent of his illness. It's a very sick administration."
CNN ran a chyron this morning that read, "Trump makes reckless return to WH..." It's unusual for the news networks (don't know about Fox) to air judgment-loaded chyrons. ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN (who is an opinion writer): "A strongly medicated ... Donald Trump bolted from his VIP hospital bubble Monday, staging a bizarre White House comeback that included an irresponsible mask removal and a reckless pronouncement there is nothing to fear from Covid-19, which has already killed 210,000 Americans. His actions show him, if anything, entrenched deeper in denial over the virus than ever before and more committed to trashing scientific protocols that could slow the pandemic. 'We're going back. We're going back to work. We're gonna be out front. As your leader I had to do that. I knew there's danger to it but I had to do it,' Trump says in a strange campaign video whipped up by aides within an hour of his return to the White House, in which the President framed himself as a warrior who took on the virus and won. 'I stood out front. I led. Nobody that's a leader would not do what I did. I know there's a risk, there's a danger,' Trump said, despite his doctors earlier saying he is still not fully 'out of the woods' in his fight with the virus."
I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago! -- Most Irresponsible Person in the U.S., in a tweet Monday afternoon ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McC BTW: According to the NYT report by Katie Thomas & Roni Rabin, linked below, "Steroids [like the dexamethasone Trump is taking] may ... give a false impression of the patient's state. The drugs are also known to affect mood, causing euphoria or a general happiness. Steroids can also disrupt sleep, leading to insomnia, irritability or depression. In some cases they may cause psychiatric effects, leading to feelings of grandiosity and mania, or even delirium and psychosis." So Trump's feeling so well is very likely to be drug-induced, not that Trump doesn't suffer from most of these affects in his "natural" state. ~~~
~~~ Even Don Junior Think Dad Has Lost It. Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair, (mostly) republished in LG&$: "'Don Jr. thinks Trump is acting crazy,' one of the sources told me.... According to sources, Don Jr. has told friends that he tried lobbying Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, and Jared Kushner to convince the president that he needs to stop acting unstable. 'Don Jr. has said he wants to stage an intervention, but Jared and Ivanka keep telling Trump how great he's doing,' a source said. Don Jr. is said to be reluctant to confront his father alone. One area where the family seems united is over the president's manic tweeting early Monday morning. After Trump sent out more than a dozen all-caps tweets, the Trump children told people they want Trump to stop. 'They're all worried. They've tried to get him to stop tweeting,' a source close to the family told me."
~~~ Gina Kolata & Roni Rabin of the New York Times: "Scientists, ethicists and doctors were outraged by the president's comments about a disease that has killed nearly 210,000 people in the United States.... Experts pointed out that Covid-19 has 'dominated' the lives of millions of Americans, particularly Black and Latino people who have been hit with devastating force by the virus. The death rate for Black Americans diagnosed with Covid-19 is more than twice the rate for white Americans.... The president has had access to a suite of treatments that few others have, including an antibody cocktail that is still in clinical trials and has not yet been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. And unlike average Americans, many of whom were unable to get tested for the virus or who got care in hospitals overwhelmed by patients sick with Covid, Mr. Trump has had a full team of specialists devoted to his needs.... To patients who were not as fortunate as the president, his message was distressing." ~~~
Axios: "Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told the Houston Chronicle that President Trump 'let his guard down' when it came to the coronavirus and has created 'confusion' by trying to downplay the severity of the pandemic.... Cornyn is a high-ranking Republican senator who is closely aligned with Trump and has rarely criticized the president. Cornyn is in a tighter-than-expected re-election race against Air Force pilot and Democrat MJ Hegar.... 'I think he let his guard down, and I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not still with us -- I think he got out over his skis and frankly, I think it's a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self discipline,' Cornyn said."
~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Americans of all political stripes wished President Trump well in his battle with covid-19. Now he is repaying our compassion with reckless disregard and callous contempt for the well-being of anybody but himself."
He hosted a super-spreader event to honor a justice who would have the government control your body but refuse the duty to care for it, and when the virus he helped go around came around, he availed of the healthcare he would deny others, financed by the taxes he refuses to pay. -- Anand Giridharadas of the Ink (thanks to Lawrence O'Donnell for the lead)
~~~ Trump's Covid-19 Policy, Explained. Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "A regime dedicated to creating its own reality doesn't just use language to lie. To truly animate lies, those in power must behave as if they're true, no matter who gets hurt. For the past seven months, Donald Trump's big lie has been that the coronavirus isn't as dangerous as scientists say, and that his administration has the virus under control. To sustain this lie, Trump's circle has had to reject the mitigation and containment strategies that many other countries have used to get a handle on the pandemic, because those strategies are tangible reminders of the threat the virus poses."
This is a total abdication of responsibility by the Trump administration, said , a public health expert at Boston University, who has advised the City of Boston on contact tracing. The idea that we're not involving the C.D.C. to do contact tracing at this point seems like a massive public health threat. -- Dr. Joshua Barocas, a public health expert ~~~
~~~ More News from the White House Hot Zone. "A Total Abdication of Responsibility." Apoorva Mandavilli & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Despite almost daily disclosures of new coronavirus infections among President Trump's close associates, the White House is making little effort to investigate the scope and source of its outbreak. The White House has decided not to trace the contacts of guests and staff members at the Rose Garden celebration 10 days ago for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, where at least eight people, including the president, may have become infected, according to a White House official familiar with the plans. Instead, it has limited its efforts to notifying people who came in close contact with Mr. Trump in the two days before his Covid diagnosis Thursday evening. It has also cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has the government's most extensive knowledge and resources for contact tracing, out of the process."
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Read on. It doesn't get better. Despite the fact that the White House says that whatever it is they're doing in regard to contract tracing is being directed by Dr. Sean Conley, an osteopath, Conley himself said, according to CNN, that he had nothing to do with contract tracing.
Brett Samuels & Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive for COVID-19, she said Monday, making her the latest person in President Trump's orbit to contract the virus. 'After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms. No reporters, producers or members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House Medical Unit,' she said in a statement." Mrs. McC: According to CNN, two people on McEnany's staff also tested positive. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ From the Washington Post's live election updates: "Less than a day before she tested positive for the coronavirus, McEnany declined to wear a mask while talking with reporters outside the White House."
The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "About two-thirds of U.S. states reported an increase in new coronavirus cases in the past week, according to data tracked by The Washington Post, indicating that colder temperatures in much of the country may be driving people indoors and helping to spread the virus. Several states in the once hard-hit Northeast were among those posting their largest new-case counts in months. But many of the sharpest increases per capita came in the Midwest and Mountain West, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Utah and the Dakotas." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "Two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took down a statement about airborne transmission of the coronavirus, the agency on Monday replaced it with language citing new evidence that the virus can spread beyond six feet indoors. 'These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation,' the new guidance said. 'Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising.'... Notably, the C.D.C.'s new guidance softens a previous statement referring to the coronavirus as 'an airborne virus,' a term that may have required hospitals to treat infected patients in specialized rooms and health care workers to wear N95 masks anywhere in a hospital. The new advice instead says the virus can 'sometimes be spread by airborne transmission' and can be spread by both larger droplets and smaller aerosols released when people 'cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe.'"
** Sharon LaFraniere & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Top White House officials are blocking strict new federal guidelines for the emergency release of a coronavirus vaccine, objecting to a provision that would almost certainly guarantee that no vaccine could be authorized before the election on Nov. 3, according to people familiar with the approval process. Facing a White House blockade, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking other avenues to ensure that vaccines meet the guidelines. That includes sharing the standards with an outside advisory committee of experts -- perhaps as soon as this week -- that is supposed to meet publicly before any vaccine is authorized for emergency use. The hope is that the committee will enforce the guidelines, regardless of the White House's reaction." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So the guy who is telling us the pre-election vaccine is totally safe is the same guy who told us Monday that we shouldn't fear the coronavirus, shouldn't let it "dominate" us & might make us feel better than we've felt in 20 years. ~~~
~~~ Adam Cancryn of Politico: "A White House decision to halt release of new standards for emergency authorization of a Covid-19 vaccine came after officials close to ... Donald Trump told the FDA that the pharmaceutical industry had objected to the tougher requirements, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. The White House cited the private-sector opposition as a chief reason for blocking the guidelines, which aim to hold companies' vaccines to a higher bar for safety and effectiveness and would likely push any authorization beyond Election Day, they said. The fact that the president was siding with drug makers over his own regulators in shelving the guidance -- which has not been previously reported -- adds a new dimension to concerns about White House interference in the FDA...." Mrs. McC: Ah, well, that's better. Let the regulated control the regulators.
~~~ Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "Nearly a third of hospitalized Covid-19 patients experienced some type of altered mental function -- ranging from confusion to delirium to unresponsiveness -- in the largest study to date of neurological symptoms among coronavirus patients in an American hospital system. And patients with altered mental function had significantly worse medical outcomes, according to the study, published on Monday in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology." Mrs. McC: But in Trump's case, how will we tell?
Dan Diamond of Politico: "In early September, as many school districts were still deciding whether to hold in-person classes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altered the title of a scientific report on the coronavirus and removed words like 'pediatric' from its text, days after a Trump administration appointee requested similar changes, according to emails obtained by Politico. That request -- issued by then-public affairs official Paul Alexander -- came amid ... Donald Trump's broader push to reopen schools, with the president issuing demands on Twitter the prior day that 'Democrats, OPEN THE SCHOOLS ( SAFELY),' and holding a press conference that touted data on the relatively low risk of Covid-19 for children." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Presidential Race, Etc.
Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "As President Trump battled the coronavirus on Monday, Joseph R. Biden Jr. ventured onto the campaign trail, where he wished the president a speedy recovery but criticized his leadership, suggesting that he bore some responsibility for his positive test after flouting public health guidelines around masks and social distancing. During campaign stops in Miami and later at a town hall event hosted by NBC News, Mr. Biden sought to draw contrasts with his rival on some of the most searing matters of the day for South Florida voters, denouncing Mr. Trump's stewardship of the pandemic and lashed him for embracing autocrats. 'Anybody who contracts the virus by essentially saying masks don't matter, social distancing doesn't matter, I think is responsible for what happens to them,' Mr. Biden said at the town hall, asked whether Mr. Trump shouldered some responsibility for contracting the virus. 'Quite frankly, I wasn't surprised,' he said in response to another question. Mr. Biden ... traveled to Miami to speak to Haitian-Americans, Cuban-Americans and others from immigrant backgrounds, working to strengthen his standing with a range of constituencies in a state widely regarded as a must-win for Mr. Trump." A Washington Post story is here.
From Monday's Washington Post's live election updates: "En route to campaign stops in South Florida, [Joe] Biden said he would listen to experts to gauge whether it would be safe for him and Trump to participate in the second presidential debate next week. Trump was hospitalized Friday night after testing positive for the coronavirus. Biden so far has tested negative but shared the stage with Trump for a prolonged period during the first presidential debate last Tuesday, when the president may have already been infected.'I'll do whatever the experts say,' Biden said before boarding his campaign plane Monday morning in Delaware. 'I think we should be very cautious.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Biden Has 16-Point Lead Over Trump. Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Joe Biden's advantage over ... Donald Trump has expanded and the former vice president now holds his widest lead of the cycle..., according to a new nationwide CNN Poll conducted by SSRS. Among likely voters, 57% say they back Biden and 41% Trump in the poll that was conducted entirely after the first debate and mostly after the President's coronavirus infection was made public. Regardless of Biden's national lead, the race for the White House will ultimately come down to a handful of swing states that will drive the outcome in the Electoral College.... Likely voters broadly prefer Biden over Trump on a number of issues that voters consider critically important in the race, including the coronavirus outbreak (59% prefer Biden, 38% Trump), health care (59% to 39%), racial inequality in America (62% to 36%), nominations to the Supreme Court (57% to 41%) and crime and safety (55% to 43%). The two are about even over who would better handle the economy (50% say Biden, 48% Trump)...." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Don't get too excited. As Robert Gibbs pointed out on MSNBC last night when they were discussing Biden's 14-point lead in an NBC/WSJ poll, Hillary Clinton had a 14-point lead over Trump at this point in the 2016 race.
Chelsea Janes, et al., of the Washington Post: "The vice-presidential debate set for Wednesday will feature plexiglass barriers between Vice President Pence (R), Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and the moderator, organizers said Monday, amid a growing dispute over whether in-person debates should be held at all. The Commission on Presidential Debates agreed to the request from the Biden campaign. The Trump team did not object, though 'they didn't want the vice president surrounded by plexiglass,' said commission co-chairman Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. "They don't want to have him in what looks like a box.' Top Pence advisers said late Monday they did not support plexiglass for their candidate and that discussions were ongoing."
Is Anybody Running the Trump Campaign? Eric Bradner, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's campaign canceled its planned television advertising in Iowa and Ohio this week, focusing its spending on states where Trump is behind even as polls show he is neck-and-neck with Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the two Midwestern states. Trump's campaign canceled its ad reservations of $2.5 million in Ohio and $820,000 in Iowa this week, according to ad-tracking firm CMAG. It'll be his third consecutive week without television ads in Iowa and Ohio. The moves come even as public polls suggest Trump needs to shore up support in the two states that he won by about 9 percentage points each in 2016.... Biden's campaign has made limited plays for Iowa and Ohio -- a state that was one of the nation's most important battlegrounds until recent elections, but has drifted in Republicans' favor in recent years."
David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Trump campaign aide Erin Perrine on Monday suggested that ... Donald Trump is a better leader than Democratic candidate Joe Biden because he has the 'firsthand experience' of being infected with COVID-19." Mrs. McC: Perrine did not address the fact that Biden has firsthand experience being a human being while Trump does not. Anyway, this is the dumbest candidate's argument I've heard in a while. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
South Carolina. Supreme Suppression. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Monday night agreed with South Carolina Republicans and said mail-in ballots must contain a witness's signature, something federal courts had said should be waived because of the coronavirus pandemic. The high court made one concession, saying ballots already sent in without a witness should be counted. Tens of thousands of ballots have been sent to voters across the state. The court's brief order did not list any objecting justices. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch said they would have granted the request in full, meaning the ballots already in without a witness signature would not be counted." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is a pretty good indication that the Supremes will be hard-nosed advocates for voter suppression. Biden will have to win by a lot.
Trump Invited Hate Group Leader to Covid Superspreader. Emily Holden of the Guardian: "The head of a conservative Christian non-profit organization that has been designated an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) attended the White House event announcing Donald Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the supreme court.... Michael Farris, who is CEO and general counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), is seen in videos speaking closely with the Republican senator Mike Lee, who has since tested positive for the coronavirus along with a number of other attendees. Farris also spoke with the Louisiana Republican congressman Mike Johnson, the head of the conservative Republican study committee who, before his election to Congress, was senior attorney and spokesman for ADF." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe I'll have to start the XAnon conspiracy theory, wherein Trump is secretly trying to save the U.S. from the Republican party & right-wing hate groups. Part of his closely held plan to disintegrate these reprobates is to make them all sick. Now I'm so ashamed of having accused him of being a treacherous junior KGB agent.
Ed Shanahan & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "After months of delays, President Trump's son Eric was questioned under oath on Monday as part of a civil investigation by New York's attorney general into whether the Trump family's real estate company committed fraud.... And while the interview was not made public, the mere fact that it happened before Election Day was a victory for the attorney general, Letitia James.... The attorney general's investigation is focused on whether the Trump Organization inflated its assets to get bank loans and tax benefits."
Buh-bye to a Bigot. Pete Williams of NBC News: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who gained national attention five years ago when she cited her religious beliefs in refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Although the court was apparently unanimous in refusing to hear her appeal, two of the conservative justices said the 2015 ruling making same-sex marriage the law of the land amounted to a 'cavalier treatment of religion.' Davis 'may have been one of the first victims' of the decision, 'but she will not be the last,' wrote Clarence Thomas fo himself and Samuel Alito." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Mike Ives of the New York Times: "John David McAfee, an antivirus software pioneer who fled Belize in 2012 ahead of a murder investigation there, has been arrested in Spain on tax evasion charges, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. Mr. McAfee, 75, is a Silicon Valley legend who earned millions from the computer virus-fighting software company that still bears his surname. In 2012, he disappeared from his home in Belize after the local police sought him for questioning over the death of his neighbor. He resurfaced in Guatemala City a few weeks later, then largely dropped out of the public eye for years -- until 2016, when he attempted to run as a Libertarian candidate for president of the United States. The Justice Department said on Monday that Mr. McAfee’s extradition from Spain to the United States was 'pending.'"
News Ledes
Weather Channel: "Hurricane Delta - a tiny, but intense Category 4 hurricane - is closing in on a potentially catastrophic strike on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, including Cancún and Cozumel, and thereafter is a significant danger to the U.S. Gulf Coast beginning later Friday. Residents from the extreme upper Texas coast and Louisiana to Alabama should be checking frequently for important forecast updates and have their hurricane plans ready to go."
Rolling Stone: "Eddie Van Halen, the legendary guitar innovator and virtuoso who led Van Halen through five decades and three lead singers, establishing himself as one of the all-time great players in rock history, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 65."
New York Times: "The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez on Tuesday for their discoveries that have bettered understanding of the universe, including work on black holes. Dr. Penrose was awarded half the prize 'for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity,' the committee said. The second half was split between Dr. Genzel and Dr. Ghez 'for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy,' the committee said." A CNN story is here.
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Reader Comments (17)
Because we’re fed a constant stream of lies by everyone and anyone even vaguely connected to the Orange Monster, we have no idea what’s really going on (and we won’t, at least not officially). But I’m gonna go waaay out on a limb and say that he is still infected, meaning he can still infect others. Which is why he’s not quarantined, not in the hospital, and still not wearing a goddam mask.
This is not just reckless disregard for the well being of all those surrounding him, many of whom are now infected as well—BY HIM. This is wanton criminal negligence.
Can we get a running count on all the times this fucking sociopath has been wantonly criminally negligent? Has put his desires and wants, however superficial and cavalier, ahead of the lives of others? The list would make Leporello’s catalog of Don Giovanni’s conquests seem like a jotting on the back of a napkin.
This scumbag is still sick. But no one has the guts to tell him to quarantine his fat infected ass until he is completely cleared of the virus.
And if he loses (that is, doesn’t succeed stealing the election), this Covid episode will be his excuse. Oh, along with the whole thing being rigged against him.
When I first started referring to Trump as the Orange Monster, he had already established a lengthy resume of monstrous acts. I won’t bother to recount the litany, you are all too familiar with his monstrosity. But the word itself (even its dictionary definition) too often seems to point to a frightening, but mythological or fantasy, creature.
The Trump Monster is all too real. No fantasy involved in 200,000 plus deaths, the willful destruction of democracy and the degradation of the United States, solely so he can feed his ego and chisel a few bucks. If that isn’t monstrous, then Mitch McConnell is a decent human being.
But it’s important to remember that he truly is a horrible, frightening, creature. Deformed in so many ways. And it behooves all Americans to beware anything he says and does. The word comes from the Latin verb monere, to warn. It’s noun form, monstrum, refers to an evil omen. You got that right. He opens the orange pie hole?
Run.
You’ve been warned.
One other thing. While I’m on about words, I have a word or two to say about “irresponsible”. As with so many words used to describe the actions of a monster without antecedent, “irresponsible“, on its own, seems woefully inadequate. Marie’s reference to Fatty as “the most irresponsible person in America” does a much better job of qualifying and ranking his obscene level of irresponsibility.
But too often, left hanging out there by itself, “irresponsible” seems to indicate a teenager who doesn’t pick up after himself, or a coworker who shows up at meetings unprepared. Or a guy whose car is in permanent shitbox condition because he doesn’t take care of it.
Trump’s irresponsibility seems to exist on a scale outside the powers of even editors at the OED to rightly limn.
Two of the many things that Trump benefits from are the essential decency of so many people who try to write about him, and the fact that the heretofore unexplored depths of disgraceful behavior, debauchery, and rabid treachery emanating from the Trump hive have posed serious challenges to those attempting to properly accommodate the unprecedented nature of this awful creature. For years, for instance, too many have been loath to even call him a liar, which is a little like not wanting to refer to the Hiroshima bomb as anything more than a big firecracker.
Likewise, the improper employment of a word like “irresponsible”, sans further explanatory exposition, lets him off like a crazy person shoving waiting passengers in front of subway trains who is described as being ungentlemanly.
I’m tempted to call this a kvetch, but it’s not. Too many people don’t seem have a good handle on how best to describe the national disgrace that is Donald Trump. Now more than ever, words matter.
Oval Office Occupier’s taxes have been out of the news cycle starting with the debate and continuing through the R leadership outbreak. The outbreak seems too widespread to be a ruse, given their normal level of organization, but when the put their empty souls into it they can pull off some evil shit. The OOO probably has it but we certainly can’t be sure.
Not all of it gold, but this old teacher really liked what Mr. Myers said about the difference between school and book learning....just one of the Pretender remarks to which he gave a "closer look."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzSb0A9fl70
From the CNN article on its recent poll (linked above) showing Biden's lead expanding:
"Regardless of Biden's national lead, the race for the White House will ultimately come down to a handful of swing states that will drive the outcome in the Electoral College."
We all knew that, but this morning it struck me as a particularly damning indictment of our purported democracy where all men are created equal but because their bank accounts and votes--often related--aren't, the power they have to influence events stops at their birth.
Made me wonder if that was why Repubicans are so eager to protect fetal tissue? I've never understood it, but maybe it's because they have long realized what I just figured out: The only time our God-given rights are untrammeled is when we are still in the womb.
Fully expect that argument to emerge at the Senate Amy Barrett nomination hearing next week.
Ken,
Even in the womb, our rights can be curtailed or destroyed by R’s who work day and night, with much success, in blood red states to deny pregnant mothers timely and effective healthcare.
Babies will still be born, as they have been for millions of years, but for those mothers of the wrong color, the wrong economic bracket, and, most dangerous of all, the wrong color state, they might as well be giving birth before the advent of modern medicine and prior to the development of vital neonatal care.
It’s not enough for confederates to screw those babies once they’re out in the world, they give themselves a head start by stomping them in utero.
And now they’re finally able to tip thd balance in the Supreme Court by asserting that they, not the mother, have control of their bodies. They may (no, will) deprive women of the right to choose how their lives will go, but, in addition to that, they’ll then deprive them of the medical care necessary to go through a healthy pregnancy, childbirth, and life, and deny those same “privileges” to their babies. At least until some cop shoots them for being who they are.
Rights are only for certain people. Under confederate control they ARE alienable.
Biden did very well in the "outside" Town Hall last night. His answers to the questions asked by undecided voters were lengthy, concise and always sugared with a sprinkle of Joe's home-spun stories. I wonder if these "undeciders" understand the deep division between a man like Biden and a man–-nay, I'll use Ak's "monster"; a man and a monster vying for that place at the top. If this were a fairy tale it's ending would render the monster a fatal blow–-but our ill winds harbor dark clouds and I worry that OUR tale is fraught with hurdles.
Anand's words: "He hosted a super-spreader event to honor a justice who would have the government control your body but refuse the duty to care for it, and when the virus he helped go around came around, he availed of the healthcare he would deny others, financed by the taxes he refuses to pay. "
In a nutshell!
Akhilleus,
You're right, of course. As you could tell, I was just joshing a little.
Your references skin color and economic status are very much to the point, and the unterine situation becomes even more complicated if we take into account not just the genetic but the epigenetic consequences of fetal parentage, the who, the where and the how the parents themselves have lived.
Of course, that immense arrage of complicated variables is fully taken into account by the daunting complexity of Republican moral and political theory.
I think the super-spreader should now travel like Mitt Romney's dog------strapped to the roof of that SUV sos he doesn't endanger the lives of drivers and secret service inocents. Oh, I forgot, the hairdo.
Just received this from a friend:
ILDuce on the Balcony:
I didn’t notice The Don panting as Rachel did, but it seemed obvious to me that he was wearing a corset.
Usually when his jacket is buttoned, it’s stretched tight across his gut — but last night he looked tapered and buff. Can’t have lost that much flab in hospital.
PS: you’d think he could afford a decent tailor.
PPS: maybe that’s why he was panting.
PPPS: on the other hand, maybe the real reason for his trip to Walter Reed was liposuction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I, on the other– other hand did notice Fatty's heavy breathing but it was the makeup that caught my eyes–-put on heavily so that he looked like he just got back from the Bahamas. If it's true that his children want an intervention––"Dad–-for christ's sake what the hell!!" then it's time for a few brews to toast the charade.
And @Ken: your last post––a literary marvel–-love it!
Square space is out to get me!
@Forrest Morris: Don't take it personally. It's out to get us all. I think it's been 24 hours since Squarespace last asked me to contact them if I had more problems, and I do and I did. In fact, I've contacted them twice.
Here's a fakey excuse if I ever heard one: Trump had to get out of the hospital because he was bored. That's been reported by several outlets, including the Washington Post. Now, that's certainly possible for you and me if we're feeling better & we have a loud-mouthed roommate who attracts a bunch of obnoxious visitors & about 7 teevee channels & we left in an ambulance & have nothing to read except the hospital's dog-eared, virus-saturated paperback copy of "TheThornbirds" & maybe a "New Jersey Today" magazine.
But Trump has a well-appointed suite of rooms at Walter Reed. He can get about anything he wants except maybe Big Macs & fries. He has a telephone where he can call his cheesy friends & yell at aides & tweet stupid stuff & lies. He has a teevee where he can watch Fox "News" to his heart's content. He has blank sheets of paper he can sign for photo-ops. It's true Melanie isn't nearby, but I think that's usually the case no matter where Donald is. "Bored" is not the reason Trump wanted to get out of the hospital.
Square Space should change the name to "Red Red Robin", as it just keeps "Bob, Bob, Bobbing along.
Marie,
Aieeee! Dog-eared, coffee (or something, it’s a hospital after all) stained copy of “The Thornbirds” would cause me to self-release, or relapse, one or the other.
Hospital and doctors’ waiting rooms aren’t much better, unless you’re big on three year old Us Magazine issues that feature an in-depth, minute by minute timeline of a day with the Kardashians (instant catatonia!).
Although I once found a copy of the “Aeneid” buried under some Good Housekeeping mags. Eureka! It was one of those places where your appointment is for 2:00 and you don’t see the doctor until 4:30. When the assistant came out to call my name (which I had almost forgotten), I asked her for a few more minutes. “Dido is just about to kill herself with Aeneas’ sword!”
She was unimpressed.
Did Fatty read anything while hospitalized? Besides his own tweets?
Nah. Maybe I should have pointed Dido in his direction. “Your majesty, before you do yourself in with that sword, I have a favor to ask...”
A comment to a WaPo article about Trumpistas claiming that their guy beat the virus, whattaman:
'A film about this should be called "Triumph of the Swill." '
“Triumph of the Swill”. I like it. And instead of an opening with Hitler coming down from the heavens like a Teutonic god, we can have Fatty grabbing on to a McDonalds tray while he floats through a tunnel filled with toilet water, garbage, and fecal matter. His natural habitat.