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

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

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

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

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

Click on photo to enlarge.

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

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

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

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Friday
Apr172020

The Commentariat -- April 17, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Anderson Cooper spoke with a couple of doctors to talk about Trump's death-to-Americans plan, and it's as bad as you already guessed. The administration is not just leaving it up to governors to decide when to authorize reopening various facilities in their states; he also is leaving it up to states to conduct & manage their own testing: a prerequisite to deciding what can be reopened. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York didn't have the money to do the testing (much less the expertise, I'd guess), and you can be sure most other states are in the same position. Besides the costs of the test kits themselves, testing will take a lot of personnel to conduct the tests & analyze them. States can't run deficits the way the feds can. In addition, testing uniformity throughout the nation is essential to make the results meaningful. As one of the doctors said on CNN, right now testing regimens vary not just from state-to-state but even from hospital-to-hospital within the same county. I'm not saying mike pence would have been a great president, but left to his own devices, it's not possible he would have done a worse job than Trump. Every GOP senator except Mitt Romney is responsible for this disaster. On the cusp of the pandemic, they had a chance to get rid of the worst president* in American history, and they blew it.

... the question of the 2020 election, as Trump and his party attempt to frame it: Are you manly enough to sneer at death, like real men do in the movies (which are fake, of course, but never mind that), or are you one of those pusillanimous patsies who quivers under the bed sheets like some avocado toast-eating intellectual, whining that we have to listen to the experts?... Donald Trump and the Republicans are going to turn the election into a red vs. blue culture war battle.... -- Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast @ 6:28 am ET Friday

LIBERATE MICHIGAN! -- Donald Trump tweet @11:22 am ET Friday

LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege! -- Donald Trump tweet at 11:22 am ET

LIBERATE MINNESOTA! -- Donald Trump tweet @11:28 am ET Friday ~~~

~~~ Aaron Rupar of Vox: "... Donald Trump can't help but sow division, even at a time when Americans are largely united in supporting stay-at-home orders and social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus.... These posts -- which are among the most dangerous of Trump's tenure -- appear to have been inspired by a segment he saw on Fox News minutes earlier.... Asked on Thursday if he thinks protesters in Michigan should listen to local officials like Whitmer, Trump said that such people listen to him instead. 'I think they're listening. I think they listen to me. They seem to be protesters that like me,' Trump said." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: AND, as Chuck Todd (of all people) pointed out, none of the Democratic-led states Trump targeted, even within the context of the limited testing available to them, has reached the point in the arc of infections & recoveries that Trump himself said yesterday evening must be met before they can be "liberated."

The New York Times' live updates of U.S. coronavirus developments Friday are here. "Facing mounting economic damage and with encouragement from President Trump, governors of some states have started to announce plans for businesses to tiptoe back into operation on May 1, even as cases surge in some parts of the country.... Beaches in Duval County, Fla., where infections appear to be flattening, will reopen with restrictions at 5 p.m. on Friday.... Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin said on Thursday that golf courses could open with certain restrictions and that for-hire lawn care could be carried out if it was performed by one person. Stores selling materials to make face masks can open for curbside pickup, he said." ~~~

Rachel Seigel & Thomas Heath of the Washington Post: "Stocks flashed green around the world as investors clung to early reports that an antiviral medicine appeared to successfully treat severe symptoms for coronavirus patients. The Dow Jones industrial average initially surged 600 points at Friday's open but was up 350 points, or 1.5 percent, within the hour. The Standard & Poor's 500 jumped 1.5 percent and Nasdaq composite climbed 0.85 percent. U.S. markets appeared headed toward their second straight week of gains, bouncing back from March lows that ended the 10-year bull market. The rally came a day after dismal economic numbers showed the United States had erased all job gains of the past decade due to the pandemic, which continues to force tens of millions of Americans to stay home and disrupt entire industries.... On Thursday, STAT news reported that severely ill coronavirus patients were responding well to remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug, at a Chicago hospital. The trial involved only 125 people and the preliminary results were not peer reviewed, but it was welcome news for investors looking for light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, and the economic recovery that will come with it. Gilead shares spiked nearly 8 percent after the open." A CNBC story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Mrs. McCrabbie: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN's medical correspondent was pretty unenthusiastic about the Gilead trial of remdesivir. She said what was reported was some doctors who were paid by Gilead speaking enthusiastically about the results. While it's possible the product will work well to curb symptoms, it's just as possible it won't. Remdesivir was initially designed to work to mitigate Ebola symptoms, and it didn't work.

Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: "Donald Trump found himself isolated among western leaders at a virtual G7 summit, as they expressed strong support for the World Health Organization after the US's suspension of its funding. Health officials around the world have condemned the US president's decision to stop his country's funding for the UN agency.... On Thursday, G7 leaders voiced their backing for the WHO and urged international co-operation. Immediately after the hour-long conference call, a spokesman for Angela Merkel said that the German chancellor had argued that 'the pandemic can only be overcome with a strong and co-ordinated international response'. The spokesman said Merkel 'expressed support for the WHO as well as a number of other partners'.... The White House insisted there was support for US criticism of the WHO in the G7 call, saying 'much of the conversation centred on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO. The leaders called for a thorough review and reform process.'"

The Majority of Americans Are Not as Dumb as Donald. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "New polling from Pew Research Center suggests that Americans are more likely to side with the experts than with Trump. By a 2-to-1 margin, they are more concerned that distancing measures will be rescinded too quickly than too slowly. There's a partisan split on the question, but not as big as you might think. Among conservative Republicans, views are about split. Among moderate Republicans, a large majority is more worried about moving too quickly than too slowly.... Americans also generally give Trump low marks on his handling of the pandemic -- particularly in terms of his presentation of its risks. A majority think that Trump has made the coronavirus outbreak seem better than it is.... Two-thirds of Americans, according to Pew's polling, think that Trump was too slow to take major steps to address the pandemic." The Pew report is here.

Also Not as Dumb as Dr. Phil. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "After Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, explained the White House's new guidelines for states to slowly reopen their economies in a three-phase process, Fox News host Laura Ingraham ... turned to Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, television psychologist to the masses. He acknowledged that the novel coronavirus is killing Americans -- more than 33,000 as of early Friday -- but also wondered why the economy would shut down over the pandemic but continues to function as people die from lung cancer, car crashes and pool drownings. (Unlike coronavirus, none of the causes of death listed by Dr. Phil are contagious.) The conflicting views, one from the most qualified source available on the topic and the other from a talk-show host with questionable credentials, highlighted again how expert advice on the novel coronavirus has frequently been undermined by celebrity doctors with little to no infectious disease experience." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: For those of you who thought Oprah Winfrey should run for president, let me remind you that she made Dr. Phil's career as a teevee personality.

Susan Demas of Michigan Advance writes an excellent column on the protest in Lansing, Michigan, against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

David Smiley of the Miami Herald: "When the Miami Herald sought information from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office last month about COVID-19 deaths in the epicenter of Florida's coronavirus outbreak, attorneys for the state health department moved to block the records from becoming public.... The Herald ... obtained the information Thursday after the county bucked Florida's Department of Health. But the episode is an example of how the administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis often has been unwilling or unable to provide crucial information about its coronavirus response -- and at times has actively tried to shield critical details about the depths of the crisis from becoming public.... In recent weeks, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration has refused to name the nursing homes experiencing coronavirus outbreaks, even as the number of cases in longterm care facilities has passed 1,300. The Department of Corrections had until Wednesday declined to acknowledge two inmate COVID-19 deaths at a privately run prison. And the Department of Health has been unwilling to disclose the extent of an undefined backlog of unresolved coronavirus tests at private labs."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Stupid Trump Tricks, Ctd. -- Generalissimo Trumpo Retreats

Peter Baker & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump told the nation's governors on Thursday that they could begin reopening businesses, restaurants and other elements of daily life by May 1 or earlier if they wanted to, but abandoned his threat to use what he had claimed was his absolute authority to impose his will on them. On a day when the nation's death toll from the coronavirus increased by more than 2,000 for a total over 30,000, the president released a set of nonbinding guidelines that envisioned a slow return to work and school over weeks or months. Based on each state's conditions, the guidelines in effect guarantee that any restoration of American society will take place on a patchwork basis rather than on a one-size-fits-all prescription from Washington that some of the governors had feared in recent days.... The 18-page document released by the White House provided mostly general guidance and did not confront some difficult questions, including how to finance the billions of dollars necessary for expanded testing; whether travel should be restricted between states; when the ban on international travel from Europe and elsewhere would be lifted; and how the states should deal with future shortages of protective equipment if the virus resurged in the fall. The guidelines assume the ability to quickly contain future outbreaks by quarantining sick people and their contacts, but they provide no specifics about how strained public health systems around the country will achieve that goal." ~~~

~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump released federal guidelines Thursday night for a slow and staggered return to normal in places with minimal cases of the novel coronavirus, moving to try to resume economic activity even amid an outcry from political and health leaders about the nation's testing capacity. Despite Trump's desire for a May 1 reopening, his plan does not contain a date for implementation and is a vague set of recommendations for a three-phased reopening of businesses, schools and other gathering places in jurisdictions that satisfy broad criteria on symptoms, cases and hospital loads. (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Gov. John Carney (D) of Delaware said on CNN that Delaware and other states do not have the capacity to do the "contact tracing" & other testing necessary to implement the guidance for reopening. As for the guidelines, they seem to be about as useful as your bidding an acquaintance goodbye with something like, "Be safe," or "Stay healthy."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. "President Trump told governors that some could begin reopening their states by May 1 or earlier if they wanted to, but backed down from his confrontation with them by making it clear that he would not seek to impose his will on when they reopen businesses, schools and everyday life.... 'The president will announce a plan in the works to drastically increase the capacity for state and local health departments to do core public health work like testing people, doing contact tracing,' said [a top government] official.... On a conference call Thursday morning, Mr. Trump repeatedly told House lawmakers that people around the country were raring to get the economy moving again. He drew attention to protests in some states, saying that Americans were angry. [Mrs. McC: You knew he would.] And he hinted that 29 states were ready to reopen, telling lawmakers he would have more to say later...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "The White House is exploring ways of drastically increasing coronavirus testing in the U.S., as ... Donald Trump's aides scramble to put measures in place that might make it feasible for him to meet his goal of reopening the economy in parts of the country by May 1, according to four people familiar with the efforts.... The push to ramp up testing reflects an acknowledgment by some of the president's advisers that, despite his insistence that testing is working well, there are problems with access and that significantly increasing the number of tests per day will be critical if the economy is going to reopen." (Also linked yesterday.) Mrs. McC: Apparently the White House's "explorations" have not led to the motherlode.

The Littlest King. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Sen. Mitt Romney is the only GOP senator who was not asked to be on ... Donald Trump's new bipartisan task force focused on reopening the country amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 100 lawmakers from both parties -- including all of Romney's Senate Republican colleagues -- were tapped to join 'the Opening Up America Again Congressional Group,' according to a list released by the White House Thursday. The President reviewed the list of which lawmakers would be on the task force before it was finalized, an official told CNN. Romney was not included and was not asked to be on the call with other senators Thursday, another official confirmed." Mrs. McC: Romney, of course, has had a long & successful career of running complex operations, like the Winter Olympics, and unlike some other senators and President* Trump, probably could make an actual useful contribution to any effort to reactivate sectors of the economy. ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait sees the irony in a president* abusing his power for petty political reasons against a Senator who voted to impeach him for his abusing his power for petty political reasons.

Cities to Trump: Save Lives, Pay Your Bills. Dave Levinthal of the Center for Public Integrity, republished by NBC News: "Here's how some city leaders say ... Donald Trump could immediately help them grapple with the coronavirus crisis: Pay bills they already sent his campaign committee months or years ago. Fourteen municipal governments -- from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Wildwood, New Jersey -- want Trump's campaign committee to clear a combined $1.82 million worth of public safety-related debt connected to Trump's 'Make America Great Again' campaign rallies, according to interviews with local officials and municipal records obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.... Many cities that hosted Trump rallies chose not to bill his campaign for police and public safety costs, explaining they have policies against doing so or didn't bother because of Trump's history of nonpayment.... Trump frequently touts his support for law enforcement.... But in a statement to Public Integrity, the Trump campaign indicated it's not responsible for reimbursing cities for police and public safety costs...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Steve Benen of MSNBC on Trump's threat to adjourn Congress: "Let's ... not forget that many of Trump's nominees are ridiculous and are currently stuck in committee because Senate Republicans aren't sure they can advance the president's picks in good conscience. It's probably why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) demurred yesterday in response to Trump's misguided threat.... Part of the problem is that Donald Trump has never fully familiarized himself with how the federal government works, and his civic blind-spots lead him to blurt out ideas he doesn't recognize as foolish. But the other part of the equation is nearly as important: Trump wants to appear strong and powerful, unaware of the extent to which these efforts backfire when he discovers that he doesn't have the authority he wishes he had." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate scheduled another two weeks of pro forma sessions Thursday, just a day after President Trump demanded senators either return to town or adjourn. The Senate is now slated to meet roughly every three days until May 4, when senators are expected to return to Washington.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Wednesday that he was extending the recess in consultation with medical professionals and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, Trump is out of luck. He can't make his horrible recess appointments because there's no recess. And tho the Hill story doesn't say so, he can't just adjourn the Congress, either. Under the Constitution, "in case of disagreement between the [two chambers of Congress], with respect to the time of adjournment, he [the president*] may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper." But the House & Senate agreed a long time ago to adjourn January 3, 2021. There's no disagreement between the House & Senate. So Trump has no Constitutional option to adjourn Congress.

Ryan Lizza of Politico describes attending a couple of Trump 5 p.m. shows. Note to White House reporters on how to get Trump to pick you to ask a question: give him a thumbs-up.

** Frank Rich of New York: "Nothing will stop Trump's attempts to grab power. His novel theory of presidential governance, as he himself has defined it, is to seize 'total' authority while bearing no responsibility. He will throw any power move against the wall to see if it sticks. When the coastal coalitions of governors chose to flatly ignore or, in Andrew Cuomo's case, mock his bid to set himself up as a king, he pivoted in a blink to his dead-on-arrival push to adjourn Congress so he could staff governmental vacancies with a new round of C-list hacks who wouldn't be subject to Senate approval. Every day a new tantrum, a new search for scapegoats for his catastrophic mismanagement of America's public-health catastrophe, and a new attempted end run around the rule of law."

How Not to Run a Rodeo. Isaac Stanley-Becker, et al., of the Washington Post (April 15): "The Trump administration has awarded bulk contracts to third-party vendors in recent weeks in a scramble to obtain N95 respirator masks, and the government has paid the companies more than $5 per unit, nearly eight times what it would have spent in January and February when U.S. intelligence agencies warned of a looming global pandemic, procurement records show.... Large U.S. companies such as Honeywell and 3M have received the biggest orders, but the Trump administration also has signed high-dollar deals with third-party vendors selling masks for many times the standard price. [FEMA] awarded a $55 million contract for N95s this month to Panthera Worldwide LLC, which is in the business of tactical training.... Panthera's parent company had not had any employees since May 2018.... It also has no history of manufacturing or procuring medical equipment.... Panthera Worldwide's parent company filed for bankruptcy last fall, and the LLC is no longer recognized in Virginia -- where it has its main office -- following nonpayment of fees...."

The Turbo-Tax Glitch. Heather Long & Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post: "Many Americans woke up Wednesday expecting to find a payment of $1,200 or more from the U.S. government in their bank account, but instead they realized nothing had arrived yet -- or the wrong amount was deposited. Parents of young children complained they did not receive the promised $500 check for their dependent children.... Several million people who filed their taxes via H&R Block, TurboTax and other popular services were unable to get their payments because the IRS did not have their direct deposit information on file, according to the Treasury, companies and experts." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The CARES Act Glitch. David Dayen in the American Prospect: "A charged-off account with overdraft fees or other debts attached to it [can] receive the IRS payments [distributed under the CARES Act], and then use them to offset those debts. Treasury officials told bank compliance officers in a webinar last week that 'there is nothing in the law that precludes that action,' seen as a green light to enable banks to take the CARES Act payments. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin knew about this for two weeks, after being directly informed by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). The Treasury Department has the authority under the CARES Act to write a rule exempting the direct payments from private debt collection by financial actors, including banks like USAA. Treasury has so far chosen not to do so.... [So, for instance,] USAA, the veteran-serving financial institution, took $3,400 in CARES Act payments from the family of a disabled veteran to offset an existing debt, denying the family emergency funds during a time of personal economic stress.... According to the wife of the veteran, a USAA representative told her in a phone conversation that they 'shouldn't have gotten into debt in the first place,' and refused to give back the $3,400 CARES Act payment." --s ~~~

~~~ Not a Glitch But a Feature. Josh Marshall of TPM: "We have some new data on which states are getting the biggest share of the forgivable loan funds (the biggest percentage of a state's payrolls covered) from the Payroll Protection Program, which is part of the CARES Act, the federal rescue bill. It turns out generally red and/or rural states are doing quite well while big blue states, which are among the hardest hit in the country, are doing much less well." Mrs. McC P.S. Thanks to Akhilleus for reminding us about that old Jim Nabors meme.

So Much Intelligence; So Few Brains to Use It. Times of Israel: “US intelligence agencies alerted Israel to the coronavirus outbreak in China already in November, Israeli television reported Thursday. According to Channel 12 news, the US intelligence community became aware of the emerging disease in Wuhan in the second week of that month and drew up a classified document.... US intelligence informed the Trump administration, 'which did not deem it of interest,' but the report said the Americans also decided to update two allies with the classified document: NATO and Israel specifically the IDF.... The intelligence also reached Israel's decision makers and the Health Ministry, where 'nothing was done,' according to the report. Last week, ABC News reported that US intelligence officials were warning about the coronavirus in a report prepared in December by the American military's National Center for Medical Intelligence."


Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago: "A coalition of seven Midwestern governors today announced they are working together to judge when best to start easing stay-at-home restrictions and reopen their states' economies. The move mirrors similar efforts on the West Coast and in the Northeast Corridor.... Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been reaching out to his Midwest counterparts to coordinate efforts. Today, the coalition becomes official, with Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Wisconsin's Tony Evers, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Eric Holcomb of Indiana and Kentucky's Andy Beshear signing on to a multistate pact."

Florida. Carol Miller of the Miami Herald: "The decades-long quest of Florida elder-care facilities to secure greater protections against negligence lawsuits may get a boost from the unlikeliest of events: a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.... A trade group for Florida's nearly 700 nursing homes is asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to extend the state's sovereign immunity provisions to the industry and other healthcare sectors during the course of the coronavirus pandemic. If the request is granted, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other providers would be protected against negligence suits. DeSantis is already doing the industry a favor by refusing to name nursing homes and ALFs where positive tests have occurred." --s

New York. Noah Higgins-Dunn, et al., of CNBC: "New York and other East Coast states are extending their shutdown of nonessential businesses to May 15 as officials grapple with how to reopen parts of the economy without leading to a resurgence in coronavirus cases, New York Gov. strong> Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. Cuomo announced the move at his daily briefing in Albany and via Twitter, saying 'New York on PAUSE' will be extended in coordination with other states." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jarrett Renshaw of Reuters: "New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has tapped high-powered consultants to develop a science-based plan for the safe economic reopening of the region that can thwart pressure from ... Donald Trump to move more rapidly, state government sources told Reuters.... McKinsey & Company is producing models on coronavirus testing, infections and other key data points that along with other research and expert opinions will help underpin decisions on how and when to reopen the region's economy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michigan. Just as I Suspected. Anna Nichols & Susan Demas of Michigan Advance: "More than 3,000 people -- including some brandishing Confederate and militia flags, as well as guns -- piled into downtown Lansing for hours on a snowy Wednesday. They were supposed to be there to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much of the event effectively turned into a pro-... Donald Trump rally.... Many had anti-Whitmer signs likening her to Adolf Hitler and calling for her removal from office. Nazi Germany was referenced in several signs. One sign used a swastika to claim Whitmer and Democrats as dictators taking away liberty from citizens, while some protestors had swastika tattoos.... Michigan has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus, with the fourth-most cases in the country, per Johns Hopkins University tracking." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Bickel took the photo April 13 during a press conference by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) at the Ohio Statehouse. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the protesters, "crowded together and yelling," are demanding an end to Ohio's stay-at-home order.

Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Uncertainty and fear over the economic impact of stay-at-home orders is fueling a sort of culture war between conservatives, whose political strength now comes from rural America, right now less affected by the virus, and liberals, whose urban strongholds have been most affected by it.... Like the tea party protests of 2009, the 'reopen' protests were heavily touted on conservative radio and Fox News, which helped fuel turnout, which then became part of the story." ~~~

~~~ Juan Cole: "Trumpism is a form of fascism, of course, but at its core is a whiny rebellion against the achievements of human and civil rights since the 1960s.... The puerile rebellion syndrome of Trumpism was on full display on Wednesday in Lansing, Michigan.... The two organizations backing the gridlock are allegedly funded in part by Trump's secretary of education Betsy DeVos, sister of mercenary warlord Erik Prince of former Blackwater fame (a buddy of Trump's).... They are behaving like vaxxers, whose reluctance to inoculate their children against deadly diseases puts everyone's children at risk.... This juvenile contrarianism aims to be a counter-revolution, de facto rolling back the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act and the National Environment Policy Act of 1969." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Cole is quite right. I would go further and say so-called conservatism, whether advocated by David Brooks of the NYT or practiced by Bart O'Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court, is the same damned thing: a "whiny rebellion" against the country's greatest achievements in the last half of the 20th century.

~~~ Peter Kafka of Vox: "Americans don't trust the government, and they don't trust the media. That trend has been evident for years, but the Trump era has accelerated it. Don't expect it to get better, says journalism critic Jay Rosen.... 'The fight to keep Americans from understanding what happened from December to March is going to be one of the biggest propaganda battles in American history,' he told me recently. 'The Republican Party and the Trump campaign and the MAGA coalition are going to have to produce confusion and doubt on a scale that is unlike anything you've ever seen before.'"--s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: A story about the dystopian nation of Trump's America is kind of perfect for someone named Kafka to write.


If the Virus Don't Kill You, the Mercury Will. Lisa Friedman & Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Thursday weakened regulations on the release of mercury and other toxic metals from oil and coal-fired power plants, another step toward rolling back health protections in the middle of a pandemic. The new Environmental Protection Agency rule does not eliminate restrictions on the release of mercury, a heavy metal linked to brain damage. Instead, it creates a new method of calculating the costs and benefits of curbing mercury pollution that environmental lawyers said would fundamentally undermine the legal underpinnings of controls on mercury and many other pollutants. By reducing the positive health effects of regulations on paper and raising their economic costs, the new method could be used to justify loosening restrictions on any pollutant that the fossil fuel industry has deemed too costly to control."

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows has officially been President Trump's fourth White House chief of staff for less than three weeks. In that time, he has shaken up the communications office, angering supporters of the press secretary he chose to replace. He has tried to put in place other speedy changes, hoping to succeed where his three predecessors failed. He has hunted aggressively for leaks. But administration officials say he has been overwhelmed at times by a permanent culture at the White House that revolves around the president's moods, his desire to present a veneer of strength and his need for a sense of control. It is why, no matter who serves as chief of staff, the lack of formal processes and the constant infighting are unavoidable facts of life for those working for Mr. Trump. In the case of Mr. Meadows, it has not helped him with his White House colleagues that the former North Carolina congressman, who has a reputation for showing his emotions, cried while meeting with members of the White House staff on at least two occasions." Via safari. An ABC News story is here.

Kara Scannell of CNN: "The federal Bureau of Prisons has notified Michael Cohen..., Donald Trump's former personal attorney, that he will be released early from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter and his lawyer. Cohen is serving a three-year sentence at the federal prison camp in Otisville, NY, where 14 inmates and seven staff members at the complex have tested positive for the virus. Cohen was scheduled for release in November 2021, but he will be allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence from home confinement, the people said. He will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine at the prison camp before he is released. Cohen was notified on Thursday of his pending release, and his lawyer, Roger Adler, confirmed it to CNN." Mrs. McC: Sure hope this irritates Trump.

Pete Williams of NBC News: "The federal judge overseeing the trial of longtime Trump associate Roger Stone on Thursday denied his motion for a new trial, which was based on a claim of juror bias. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Stone's lawyers failed to demonstrate that a woman selected as a juror was biased against ... Donald Trump, that she failed to disclose those views during jury selection and that she should not have been allowed to serve.... During a hearing in late February, two jurors testified that the woman -- later selected as the jury foreperson -- never tried to pressure them during deliberations to reach any particular conclusion or told them about news articles or internet postings she saw. To the contrary, one of the jurors said, the forewoman insisted that the jurors be more careful about one of the counts against Stone and that they make sure the government had met its burden of proof.... [Stone's] lawyers will almost certainly appeal his conviction and ask that he be allowed to remain out while the case is on appeal." Mrs. McC: Sure hope this irritates Trump.

Jake Sherman & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has spent nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funds renting an office from a longtime friend, adviser, campaign donor and legal client. Both men said in separate interviews Gaetz paid below market rent for the space -- although Gaetz later shifted, saying the rent was 'at or below market rate.' House rules explicitly state such arrangements are not allowed.... House rules state that all leases for district offices must be 'at fair market value as the result of a bona fide, arms-length, marketplace transaction. The Lessor and Lessee certify that the parties are not relatives nor have had, or continue to have, a professional or legal relationship (except as a landlord and tenant).'" Mrs. McC: But not as bad as keeping bribe money in the freezer!

Way Beyond the Beltway

Steve Hendrix & Ruth Eglash of the Washington Post: "Israel ran into another wall -- actually, the same wall -- in its quest to break a year-long political impasse early Thursday when another deadline passed without the country's main rival factions able to strike a deal and form a government. The two sides, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former army chief Benny Gantz, were still talking when midnight came and went, marking the end of Gantz's official window to assemble a ruling coalition. The rivals, spurred by the coronavirus crisis, have been struggling for weeks to agree on a power-sharing arrangement in which they would take turns in the prime minister's office." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

New York Times: "John Horton Conway, the English-born Princeton mathematician whose body of work ranged from the rigorously highbrow to the frivolously fun, earning him prizes and a reputation as a creative, iconoclastic and even magical genius, died on Saturday in New Brunswick, N.J. He was 82. His wife, Diana Conway, said his death, at a nursing home, was caused by Covid-19."

New York Times: "Brian Dennehy, a versatile stage and screen actor known for action movies, comedies and classics, but especially for his Tony Award-winning performances in 'Death of a Salesman' in 1999 and 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' in 2003, died on Wednesday in New Haven, Conn. He was 81."

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Wednesday
Apr152020

The Commentariat -- April 16, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Josh Dawsey & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "The White House released new guidance late Thursday afternoon for states to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, leaving the decisions up to governors to make on a statewide or county-by-county level. The guidance, which will be formally announced during a 6 p.m. news conference, doesn't lay out a specific timeline for relaxing social distancing restrictions. It lists a set of criteria -- such as testing and hospital capacity -- for state leaders to use in making their decisions." Mrs. McC: But Hans Nichols of NBC News says the guidance says very little about testing, and it certainly isn't a prerequisite for reopening portions of the economy. It does talk about "contact tracing." ~~~

     ~~~ Gov. John Carney (D) of Delaware said on CNN that Delaware and other states do not have the capacity to do the "contact tracing" & other testing necessary to implement the guidance for reopening.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. "President Trump told governors that some could begin reopening their states by May 1 or earlier if they wanted to, but backed down from his confrontation with them by making it clear that he would not seek to impose his will on when they reopen businesses, schools and everyday life.... 'The president will announce a plan in the works to drastically increase the capacity for state and local health departments to do core public health work like testing people, doing contact tracing," said [a top government] official.... On a conference call Thursday morning, Mr. Trump repeatedly told House lawmakers that people around the country were raring to get the economy moving again. He drew attention to protests in some states, saying that Americans were angry. [Mrs. McC: You knew he would.] And he hinted that 29 states were ready to reopen, telling lawmakers he would have more to say later...." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.

Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "The White House is exploring ways of drastically increasing coronavirus testing in the U.S., as ... Donald Trump's aides scramble to put measures in place that might make it feasible for him to meet his goal of reopening the economy in parts of the country by May 1, according to four people familiar with the efforts.... The push to ramp up testing reflects an acknowledgment by some of the president's advisers that, despite his insistence that testing is working well, there are problems with access and that significantly increasing the number of tests per day will be critical if the economy is going to reopen."

Cities to Trump: Save Lives, Pay Your Bills. Dave Levinthal of the Center for Public Integrity, republished by NBC News: "Here's how some city leaders say ... Donald Trump could immediately help them grapple with the coronavirus crisis: Pay bills they already sent his campaign committee months or years ago. Fourteen municipal governments -- from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Wildwood, New Jersey -- want Trump's campaign committee to clear a combined $1.82 million worth of public safety-related debt connected to Trump's 'Make America Great Again' campaign rallies, according to interviews with local officials and municipal records obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.... Many cities that hosted Trump rallies chose not to bill his campaign for police and public safety costs, explaining they have policies against doing so or didn't bother because of Trump's history of nonpayment.... Trump frequently touts his support for law enforcement.... But in a statement..., the Trump campaign indicated it's not responsible for reimbursing cities for police and public safety costs...."

Steve Benen of MSNBC on Trump's threat to adjourn Congress: "Let's ... not forget that many of Trump's nominees are ridiculous and are currently stuck in committee because Senate Republicans aren't sure they can advance the president's picks in good conscience. It's probably why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) demurred yesterday in response to Trump's misguided threat.... Part of the problem is that Donald Trump has never fully familiarized himself with how the federal government works, and his civic blind-spots lead him to blurt out ideas he doesn't recognize as foolish. But the other part of the equation is nearly as important: Trump wants to appear strong and powerful, unaware of the extent to which these efforts backfire when he discovers that he doesn't have the authority he wishes he had." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate scheduled another two weeks of pro forma sessions Thursday, just a day after President Trump demanded senators either return to town or adjourn. The Senate is now slated to meet roughly every three days until May 4, when senators are expected to return to Washington.... Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Wednesday that he was extending the recess in consultation with medical professionals and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, Trump is out of luck. He can't make his horrible recess appointments because there's no recess. And tho the Hill story doesn't say so, he can't just adjourn the Congress, either. Under the Constitution, "in case of disagreement between the [two chambers of Congress], with respect to the time of adjournment, he [the president*] may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper." But the House & Senate agreed a long time ago to adjourn January 3, 2021. There's no disagreement between the House & Senate. So Trump has no Constitutional option to adjourn Congress.

The Turbo-Tax Hitch. Heather Long & Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post: "Many Americans woke up Wednesday expecting to find a payment of $1,200 or more from the U.S. government in their bank account, but instead they realized nothing had arrived yet -- or the wrong amount was deposited. Parents of young children complained they did not receive the promised $500 check for their dependent children.... Several million people who filed their taxes via H&R Block, TurboTax and other popular services were unable to get their payments because the IRS did not have their direct deposit information on file, according to the Treasury, companies and experts."

Noah Higgins-Dunn, et al., of CNBC: “New York and other East Coast states are extending their shutdown of nonessential businesses to May 15 as officials grapple with how to reopen parts of the economy without leading to a resurgence in coronavirus cases, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. Cuomo announced the move at his daily briefing in Albany and via Twitter, saying 'New York on PAUSE' will be extended in coordination with other states." ~~~

~~~ Jarrett Renshaw of Reuters: "New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has tapped high-powered consultants to develop a science-based plan for the safe economic reopening of the region that can thwart pressure from ... Donald Trump to move more rapidly, state government sources told Reuters.... McKinsey & Company is producing models on coronavirus testing, infections and other key data points that along with other research and expert opinions will help underpin decisions on how and when to reopen the region's economy."

As I Suspected. Anna Nichols & Susan Demas of Michigan Advance: "More than 3,000 people -- including some brandishing Confederate and militia flags, as well as guns -- piled into downtown Lansing for hours on a snowy Wednesday. They were supposed to be there to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay home order during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much of the event effectively turned into a pro-... Donald Trump rally.... Many had anti-Whitmer signs likening her to Adolf Hitler and calling for her removal from office. Nazi Germany was referenced in several signs. One sign used a swastika to claim Whitmer and Democrats as dictators taking away liberty from citizens, while some protestors had swastika tattoos.... Michigan has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus, with the fourth-most cases in the country, per Johns Hopkins University tracking."

Steve Hendrix & Ruth Eglash of the Washington Post: "Israel ran into another wall -- actually, the same wall -- in its quest to break a year-long political impasse early Thursday when another deadline passed without the country's main rival factions able to strike a deal and form a government. The two sides, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former army chief Benny Gantz, were still talking when midnight came and went, marking the end of Gantz's official window to assemble a ruling coalition. The rivals, spurred by the coronavirus crisis, have been struggling for weeks to agree on a power-sharing arrangement in which they would take turns in the prime minister's office."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Protection measures against the coronavirus continued to tear through the employment ranks, with 5.245 million more Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The new filings bring the crisis total to just over 22 million, nearly wiping out all the job gains since the Great Recession. The total was a bit worse than the 5 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones.Though the most recent total, for the week ended April 11, represented a drop from the previous two weeks, it still showed that the damage to the U.S. labor market remains profound."

Reuters, via CNBC: "US housing starts plunge[d] 22.3% to 1.216 million in March."

Stupid Trump Tricks, Ctd.

Mrs. McCrabbie: It isn't just Trump's inaction that is causing additional havoc in a time of crisis; he is actively initiating counterproductive and superfluous policies and threats to further exacerbate the crisis.

Hey, Let's Create an Unnecessary Constitutional Crisis During a National Crisis! Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday called on the Senate to either confirm his nominees to vacancies across the administration or formally adjourn, threatening to use executive power to try and force both chambers of Congress to adjourn. The president offered a lengthy diatribe against what he described as congressional obstruction in confirming his nominees, which he argued was more urgent than ever amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate ... is not expected to return until May 4 but has been conducting pro forma sessions in the meantime, preventing Trump from making recess appointments.... The president threatened to use his 'constitutional authority' to adjourn both chambers of Congress, which would allow him to make recess appointments to vacant positions.... Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution grants Trump with the power to 'on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Colby Itkowitz & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "[Trump] spent several minutes [Mrs. McC: at the top] of his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday blaming Senate Democrats for blocking his nominations, even though most of the vacancies in the federal government are because Trump hasn't selected anyone to fill them. Several of his nominees haven't been given a confirmation hearing yet in the Republican-led Senate. Trump cited a never-exercised power the Constitution grants the president to adjourn Congress if leaders of the House and Senate can't agree on whether to adjourn." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Trump's impeachment lawyer, Jonathan Turley, wrote on Twitter, "The President just said that he may unilaterally adjourn Congress. This seems to be a reference to Article II, Section 3, which gives a president in 'extraordinary occasions' to convene or adjourn the Houses. This power has never been used and should not be used now.... The power to adjourn only applies 'in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment.' Pro forma sessions have been used by both Democratic and Republican houses to prevent recess appointments. I have long been a critic of such recess appointments. Senators of both parties should vote to support the congressional control over adjournment. Absent a 'disagreement' there is no presidential power to adjourn under Article II. A pandemic should not be an invitation for pandemonium. Indeed, we need regular order now more than ever." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump "reinstated" the other Constitutional crisis he created Monday -- saying he has "absolute control" over when and how states open up elements of their economies -- a position he backed off Tuesday, but essentially reiterated Wednesday, saying he could "shut down" any efforts by governors to defy his recommendations and punishing those who did. I'll get up a print story on this if one becomes available. But I heard Trump say it on the teevee, and Joy Reid of MSNBC reran the videotape later. You just can't have too many Constitutional crises during an actual existential crisis. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Apparently the press isn't too interested in King Donald's latest claims to royal prerogatives, but here are some outtakes of a transcript of yesterday's decrees:

If we're not happy, we'll take very strong action against a state or a governor. If we're not happy with the job a governor's doing, we'll let them know about it. As you know, we have very strong action we can take, including a close-down, but we don't want to do that.... We have the right to do whatever we want, but we wouldn't do that. But, no, we would have the right to close down what they're doing if we want to do that, but we don't want to do that, and I don't think there'll be any reason to do that, but we have the right to do that. -- Donald Trump, propaganda show, April 15

Vivian Salama, et al., of CNN: "In the first phone call convened between ... Donald Trump and some members of his newly formed business council, industry leaders reiterated to the President what public health experts and governors have been telling him for weeks: that there would need to be guarantees of ramped-up coronavirus testing before people return to work, according to one person briefed on the discussions. The call, one of a series with various sectors on Wednesday, was the first task force teleconference aimed at devising a strategy for reopening the country. The call lasted for about an hour and had dozens of participants from the banking, food, hospitality and retail sectors, many of whom lauded the President and his administration for their efforts to combat coronavirus and jump-start the economy, this person said." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Swan of Axios, speaking on MSNBC, said the "business task force" was a joke. Not a task force at all, it consists of Trump making phone conference calls to some business leaders. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You might describe this as Trump's once again flying by the seat of his pants, but it's less than that. It sounds like a bullshit session where a bunch of business leaders stroked Trump's ego and a few cautiously conveyed their real message: "My God! Don't kill our employees & customers!" ~~~

~~~ Update. Toljaso. Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's attempt to enlist corporate executives in a push to reopen parts of society amid the coronavirus pandemic got off to a rocky start Wednesday, with some business leaders complaining the effort was haphazard and warning that more testing needs to be in place before restrictions are lifted.... Across the business world, there was private unhappiness with how the White House handled the announcement of the advisory council -- which it has dubbed its 'Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups' -- and others warned that Trump's goal of a May 1 reopening date for much of the country was unrealistic.... Participants in the calls -- which took place in four rounds and included representatives from more than a dozen industries, including banking, sports, agriculture and health care -- painted a picture of a chaotic approach by the White House. 'Trump made it very clear he was ready to go on May 1,' a person who was on one of the afternoon calls said. The person ... added that Trump seemed to bask in the praise from CEOs, who repeatedly opened their comments with compliments for the president." ~~~

~~~ Annie Karni, et al., of the New York Times: "Some business leaders had no idea they were included until they heard that their names had been read in the Rose Garden on Tuesday night by President Trump. Some of those who had agreed to help said they received little information on what, exactly, they were signing up for. And others who were willing to connect with the White House could not participate in hastily organized conference calls on Wednesday because of scheduling conflicts and technical difficulties. In short, the rollout of what the president referred to last week as his 'Opening Our Country Council' was as confusing as the process of getting there. Instead of a formal council, what Mr. Trump announced on Tuesday was a watered-down version that included 17 separate industry groups, including hospitality, banking, energy and 'thought leaders.' And on Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers received emails inviting them to join another task force." ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Ruhle, et al., of NBC News: "While happy to participate, the vast majority of those on [Trump's supposed advisory] list were not informed that they would be named by the president and not told in advance what their roles might be. Some others, like Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, said they were told about the group by phone on Tuesday, just hours before the president spoke. And some emails simply went astray, with White House officials inviting former CEOs no longer in charge, in what appears to have been a last-minute effort to cobble together an announcement for Trump's daily news conference.... sources familiar with [Trump's Wednesday conference] call said the participating executives, about 50 in total, were not informed that their names would be included in any formal White House group or council." ~~~

~~~ Matt Stieb of New York highlights some amusing screw-ups in the rollout of these tasks forces or phone chats or whatever they are and whatever they're called. If Trump's objective was to portray the White House as a "Three Stooges"' or "Keystone Cops"-type of operation, then he has been a rollicking success.

James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "A draft national strategy to reopen the country in phases, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasizes that even a cautious and phased approach 'will entail a significant risk of resurgence of the virus.' The internal document, obtained by The Washington Post, warns of a 'large rebound curve' of novel coronavirus cases if mitigation efforts are relaxed too quickly before vaccines are developed and distributed or broad community immunity is achieved." Underlying WashPo story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ David Lim of Politico: "The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. plummeted by more than 30 percent over the past week, even though new infections are still surging in many states and officials are desperately trying to ramp up testing so the country can reopen. One reason for the drop-off may be the narrow testing criteria that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last revised in March. The agency's guidelines prioritize hospitalized patients, health care workers and those thought to be especially vulnerable to the disease such as the elderly. Health providers have been turning away others in part due to shortages of the swabs used to collect samples.... After being overwhelmed for weeks, commercial labs say they are now sitting with unused testing capacity waiting for samples to arrive." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Here's perhaps the most important reason mass testing (with reliable tests) is vital: ~~~

~~~ ** Arman Azad of CNN: "People might be most infectious with the novel coronavirus before they show symptoms, according to a study published Wednesday. The research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, adds to a growing body of evidence showing that seemingly healthy people are spreading the virus. 'We observed the highest viral load in throat swabs at the time of symptom onset, and inferred that infectiousness peaked on or before symptom onset,' the researchers wrote. They found that viral shedding -- when people may be able to infect others -- could begin two to three days before symptoms appeared. The amount of virus given off, though, appeared to decline after people began feeling sick."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie Update: Lawrence O'Donnell told a horrifying story of a new widow having to call 1-800-AUTOPSY to get her husband's body autopsied to find out if he had Covid-19.

George Conway in a Washington Post op-ed: "Among Donald Trump's many flaws as president is one that's as fundamental as any: He simply doesn't understand his job.... Trump made this clear during his briefing Monday, with an extraordinary series of statements about presidential power -- well, perhaps extraordinary for anyone but him.... Trump took a solemn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. After his years in the job, he ought to know something about that document.... In our federal system, the states aren't under Washington's control, the way a corporate subsidiary might be owned by, say, the Trump Organization. It's not just federalism that Trump misapprehends. It's grade-school-level civics that the president carries out laws.... Justice Hugo L. Black, then the court's leading textually oriented conservative, wrote [in Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)], 'The President's power, if any, to issue the order must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait: "When Congress enacted an emergency plan to send $1,200 checks to every American adult, Republicans joked that President Trump would want to sign his name on the checks. A few weeks later, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was exploring this outlandish desire, a reporter asked, '... Do you want to sign those checks?' Trump denied it: 'No. Me sign? No.' Last night, the Washington Post reported that Trump's name will be displayed on every check.... Trump's presidency has largely consisted of outrageously corrupt notions proceeding from fearful accusation to accepted reality.... Trump has never respected any meaningful distinction between the federal government and the Trump Organization. He expects every federal employee, especially its law-enforcement agents, to advance his personal political agenda. He has functionally mixed its budget with his own by having the government pour money into his properties, and he has treated its official powers as if they are his own personal chits. The authority he has gained through the emergency response to the coronavirus has vastly expanded the potential for corruption, and every sign indicates that Trump is already engaging in systemic abuse." Read on. (Also linked yesterday.)

Caitlin Emma of Politico: "... Donald Trump's halt to World Health Organization funding is illegal and violates the same federal spending laws as the Ukraine aid freeze that partly prompted his impeachment, House Democrats said on Wednesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump's decision is 'dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged,' without elaborating on what specific action might be taken." ~~~

From the New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday: "Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heaped praise on the World Health Organization Wednesday morning, saying that questions about what the group did during the pandemic should be left until 'after we get through this.' His comments on the 'CBS This Morning' program were at odds with President Trump's announcement Tuesday evening that he has ordered a freeze on American funding of the W.H.O., accusing the organization of a 'China-centric' bias and of contributing to deaths by covering up the spread of the virus.... His comments underscore the clash between Mr. Trump and his health care professionals." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "Thousands of Americans would be alive today if President Trump had spent more time listening to the World Health Organization instead of trying to destroy it. Trump's announcement that he will halt American funding for the W.H.O. just as the world is facing a raging pandemic is a dangerous attempt to find a scapegoat for his own failings. It is like taking away a fire department's trucks in the middle of a blaze.... [Trump's] own pandemic preparedness plan, which he characteristically has failed to implement, called for building support for the W.H.O. -- because it's a critical player to keep Americans safe. Yes, some of the complaints about the W.H.O. are valid.... But it has still managed the coronavirus crisis far better than the Trump administration.... Trump's main complaint about the W.H.O. is that it is too close to China, and there's some truth to that -- but Trump himself fawned over China's response to the pandemic.... If Trump insists on holding people accountable..., he can gaze in the mirror." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Yeganeh Torbati of ProPublica: "An internal memorandum written by U.S. officials and addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warns that cutting funding to the World Health Organization, as ... Donald Trump said he would do Tuesday, would erode America’s global standing, threaten U.S. lives and hobble global efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The memo, which was prepared before Trump's Rose Garden announcement, was written by officials within the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and includes a detailed list of how U.S. funding to the WHO helps countries in the Middle East control the pandemic."

Roman Papademetriou of Crooked: "A slew of polls now show that the public is becoming aware of how poorly Trump has handled this public health crisis, so Trump has returned to one of his favorite tactics: shifting the blame at all costs.... The WHO is only the latest victim of Trump's efforts to avoid responsibility and divert attention from his failures. Since the virus began spreading in the country, Trump has tried to pin the blame on a host of other scapegoats, while asserting 'I don't take responsibility at all.'" Papademetriou names six other Trump scapegoats: the media, Democratic governors, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, China and inspectors general. ~~~

~~~ ** "False Prophet." McKay Coppins of the Atlantic: "... in recent weeks, the president and his allies have been waging a dystopian campaign of revisionist history more brazen than anything they've attempted before.... Meanwhile, Trump and the party he's remade in his image are working overtime to undermine the journalists who are uncovering damaging details of his pandemic response.... On February 28, Donald Trump stood before a crowd of supporters in South Carolina and told them to pay no attention to the growing warnings of a coronavirus outbreak in America. The press was 'in hysteria mode,' the president said. The Democrats were playing politics. This new virus was nothing compared with the seasonal flu -- and anyone who said otherwise was just trying to hurt him. 'This is their new hoax,' Trump proclaimed.... Six weeks later, the coronavirus has killed more than 25,000 Americans, the U.S. economy has been crippled -- and Trump is recasting himself as a pandemic prophet."

Trump Lies about Everything. Toluse Olorunnipa & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "When President Trump publicly denied on April 3 that he wanted his signature on stimulus checks that would be sent to millions of Americans..., officials in the Treasury Department were already secretly working on a plan to get the president's name on the payments. Trump, who was reportedly musing about placing his signature on the checks as early as late March, defended the unprecedented move Wednesday. 'I don't know too much about it. But I understand my name is there,' Trump said. 'I don't know where they're going, how they're going. I do understand it's not delaying anything, and I'm satisfied with that. I don't imagine it's a big deal. I'm sure people will be very happy to get a big, fat, beautiful check and my name is on it.'... The effort to place his name on the checks was largely kept secret until this week, with top White House [and some senior IRS] officials in the dark until the plan became public.... After privately suggesting to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that he be allowed to formally sign the checks, Trump settled for having his name printed in the memo section, according to administration officials...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump, Mnuchin, et al., obviously know putting Trump's name on the stimulus checks was disgraceful. Otherwise, Mnuchin wouldn't have kept the plan secret & Trump wouldn't have lied about it. It's a lot like that $130K check to Stormy Daniels that Michael Cohen kept secret & Trump knew nothing about.

Masks for Us But Not for You. Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "In mid-March, a National Security Council team rushed to address ... a lack of masks to protect enough staff on the White House complex.... The effort resulted in a donation of hundreds of thousands of surgical masks from Taiwan.... The deal was sensitive in Taiwan, which had banned commercial exports of masks to protect supply for its citizens.... The bulk of Taiwan's goodwill shipment went to the Strategic National Stockpile, but 3,600 masks were set aside for White House staff and officials.... At the time, the U.S. government was discouraging the public from wearing masks, saying that healthy people didn't need them and that the gear should be saved for front-line medical workers most at risk of infection." Emphasis added.


The Prerogatives of a Princess. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Ivanka Trump ... has positioned herself as one of the leaders of the administration's economic relief efforts and one of its most vocal advocates of social distancing.... But Ms. Trump herself has not followed the federal guidelines advising against discretionary travel, leaving Washington for another one of her family's homes, even as she has publicly thanked people for self-quarantining. And effective April 1, the city of Washington issued a stay-at-home order for all residents unless they are performing essential activities. [The Kushners reside in a D.C. mansion.] Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner..., traveled with their three children to the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey to celebrate the first night of Passover this month..., even as seders across the country were canceled and families gathered remotely over apps like Zoom.... Mr. Kushner returned to the White House.... Ms. Trump has continued to work from Bedminster...."

Palace Intrigue. Dan Diamond & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "The White House is installing Trump campaign veteran Michael Caputo in the health department's top communications position, Caputo confirmed to Politico. The move is designed to assert more White House control over Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, whom officials believe has been behind recent critical reports about ... Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to two officials with knowledge of the move.... Caputo is an intense Trump loyalist whose recent book 'The Ukraine Hoax,' alleged a conspiracy behind Trump's impeachment. The high-level move comes after a series of news reports that portrayed Azar as warning Trump about the pending Covid-19 pandemic in January but having the president and his aides dismiss his concerns. Trump on Sunday tweeted that Azar 'told me nothing until later,' appearing to refute those reports."

Reversal of Fortunes? Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The Navy is looking into whether it can reinstate Capt. Brett E. Crozier, who was removed from command of the carrier Theodore Roosevelt after he pleaded for more help fighting a novel coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship, Defense Department officials said on Wednesday. Adm. Michael M. Gilday, the chief of naval operations, has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who is viewed as a hero by his crew for putting their lives above his career, officials said. 'No final decisions have been made,' Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the admiral, said in a statement on Wednesday.... But Admiral Gilday's decision could be upended by President Trump, who has not been shy about intervening in military personnel cases.... Navy officials insist that Admiral Gilday will make a decision based on the findings of the investigation into the Roosevelt crisis, and not on what he believes the president wants him to do."

Aaron Gregg, et al., of the Washington Post: "An emergency loan program intended to get money swiftly into the hands of small businesses has all but collapsed under an unprecedented crush of applications and a shortage of funds, overwhelming agency officials and prompting urgent calls for action on Capitol Hill. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL, a long-standing program run by the Small Business Administration (SBA), is separate from the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses that is the subject of a political fight on Capitol Hill. The federal government normally doles out EIDL loans to small businesses hurt by tornadoes and wildfires. On March 12, the SBA expanded the program to help entrepreneurs hurt by the coronavirus, offering low-interest loans of up to $2 million." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lucia Mutikani of Reuters: "U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades.... Retail sales plunged 8.7% last month, the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992.... Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales tumbling 8.0% in March. Compared to March last year, retail sales dropped 6.2%." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The NYT's live updates for Wednesday describes the drop in U.S. retail sales as "by far the largest in the nearly three decades the government has tracked the data."

USA Today has compiled state-by-state updates of coronavirus developments.

Adam Raymond of New York: "Protesters around the country have started gathering, some in groups that defy social-distancing recommendations, to register their disapproval for the ongoing economic shutdown tied to the coronavirus." Mrs. McC: While these protests may appear to be organic, my guess is that 99.9% of the protesters are Foxbots & 93.2% own MAGA hats.

Florida. Dave Zirin of the Nation: "Run by 74-year-old billionaire Friend-of-Trump Vince McMahon, WWE [World Wrestling Entertainment] has decided to resume live programming this week in the midst of the coronavirus, instead of doing safer bulk pretapings... to fulfill contractual requirements to the USA and Fox networks.... The decision to go to live-event programing comes after news this weekend that an unnamed on-air personality has tested positive for Covid-19.... In addition, McMahon is taking advantage of Florida's lax laws concerning Covid-19, enacted by their blithering goon of a governor, Ron DeSantis. WWE will be filming its live shows in the corrupt sinkhole of Orlando, where McMahon has received an 'essential business' label from the friendly Florida government.... As Alex Nazaryan of Yahoo News tweeted, 'Florida now has twice as many coronavirus cases (20,601) as South Korea (10,537). About 30 million more people live in South Korea than in Florida.'... Sure enough, the same day that McMahon announced that WWE would be doing live tapings in Florida, former Trump cabinet official Linda McMahon's (former WWE executive and Vince's spouse, of course) committed her Trump reelection PAC to spending $18.5 million in Florida in 2020.... It is a microcosm of a corrupt system in a state of profound decay." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In addition, Zirin said on MSNBC that Vince McMahon -- who is subjecting his employees to coronavirus exposure -- is a member of Trump's back-to-business council. No doubt McMahon will offer prudent advice.

Kentucky. Morgan Watkins, et al., of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Impatient protesters demanding Gov. Andy Beshear reopen Kentucky disrupted his televised Wednesday afternoon pandemic update, chanting, blowing horns and shouting into a megaphone outside the window of the briefing room and nearly drowning out his comments.... Protesters, some of whom appeared to be standing less than 6 feet apart from one another, chanted 'we want to work' and 'facts over fear.' They yelled non-stop throughout Beshear's one-hour press briefing, switching up chants and occasionally sounding a horn.... Similar crowds gathered this week near the state Capitols in [Lansing, Michigan,] Columbus, Ohio, and Raleigh, North Carolina."

Michigan. Allan Smith & Erin Einhorn of NBC News: "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed one of the most restrictive stay-at-home orders in the country late last week in hopes of containing the coronavirus outbreak in her state -- one of the hardest hit. The backlash has been immense. Michiganders, many from the more conservative areas of the state, believe Whitmer's latest order went too far.... [At least until the end of April,] Michiganders won't be allowed to travel to in-state vacation residences. They are not permitted to use a motor boat. Business restrictions have been tightened, including that large stores must close areas 'dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, or paint,' among other measures. Violators could be fined or charged with a misdemeanor, though the practicality of strict enforcement was unclear.... Prominent conservatives circulated a petition to have her recalled -- one that generated more than 200,000 signatures -- while more than 300,000 Facebook users joined a group titled 'Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine' in recent days." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Allan Smith: "Thousands of demonstrators descended on the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on Wednesday to protest Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's restrictive stay-at-home order, clogging the streets with their cars while scores ignored organizers' pleas to stay inside their vehicles. The protest -- dubbed 'Operation Gridlock' -- was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition and the Michigan Freedom Fund, a DeVos family-linked conservative group.... Demonstrators, on foot, were seen waving American, 'Don't Tread on Me' and Trump campaign flags. At least two Confederate flags were spotted. Protesters could be heard chanting 'Open up Michigan!' At one point, there was a 'lock her up' chant in reference to Whitmer.... 'We know this rally endangered people,' [Whitmer] said, adding that such activity 'will put more people at risks and could prolong how long we need to be in this posture.' She said it was a 'sad irony' that the protest may necessitate to a lengthening of the stay-at-home order."

New Jersey. A Gruesome Discovery. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "By Monday, the police in a small New Jersey town had gotten an anonymous tip about a body being stored in a shed outside one of the state's largest nursing homes. When the police arrived, the corpse had been removed from the shed, but they discovered 17 bodies piled inside the nursing home in a small morgue intended to hold no more than four people.... The 17 were among 68 recent deaths linked to the long-term care facility, Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II, including two nurses, officials said. Of those who died, 26 people had tested positive for the virus.... Of the patients who remain at the homes, housed in two buildings, 76 have tested positive for the virus; 41 staff members, including an administrator, are sick with Covid-19.... Andover Subacute is not alone. The coronavirus has swept through the New York region's nursing homes with devastating and deadly speed, killing thousands of residents at facilities struggling with staff shortages, increasingly sick patients and a lack of personal protective gear."

New York. Noah Higgins-Dunn, et al., of CNBC: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he is ordering all people to wear a face covering while in public as the state works to combat the nation's worst coronavirus outbreak. The executive order will take effect after a three-day grace period, Cuomo said at his daily news conference in Albany." According to Matt Stieb of New York, the order goes into effect Friday.

Southwest. Jennifer Hiller & Liz Hampton of Reuters: "Oil fields from Texas and New Mexico to Oklahoma and North Dakota are going quiet..... Fuel demand has plunged by as much as 30 million barrels per day (bpd) - or 30% - as efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic have grounded aircraft, reduced vehicle usage and pushed economies worldwide toward recession.... The governments of global oil producers and consumers are seeking to make unprecedented cuts to overall supply of some 19.5 million bpd. U.S. President Donald Trump heralded the deal to cut supply as one that would save hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. But oil prices fell again this week, dropping as much as 10% on Tuesday, because even those cuts may fail to stem the glut...Across the United States, up to 240,000 oil-related jobs will be lost this year[.]" --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Jacqueline Feldscher of Politico: "The Pentagon's inspector general 'could not definitively determine' whether the White House influenced the procurement process for a major cloud computing contract because senior Defense Department officials were barred from answering questions on the subject during interviews, according to a 313-page report released on Wednesday. Department personnel who evaluated proposals and awarded the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract were not pressured by any senior DoD leaders, the IG found. But investigators were unable to rule out whether the White House interfered with the contract award because DoD's general counsel instructed senior DoD witnesses not to verbally answer questions about communications between the White House and Pentagon because of 'the assertion of a "presidential communications privilege."'... Amazon sued DoD last year, alleging that the Pentagon made several mistakes in its evaluation of bids and that ... Donald Trump's public remarks disparaging Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos, improperly influenced the outcome."


Jenna McLaughlin of Yahoo! News: "The White House is still refusing to give Congress a reason for firing Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, as required by law, missing a deadline set by a bipartisan group of senators." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Bill & Don's Excellent Adventure. Erin Banco & Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "In a series of conversations last September, senior Department of Justice officials worked with representatives of the Australian government to hammer out an arrangement to win the release of a pair of Australian bloggers imprisoned in Tehran. At the same time those talks were taking place, Attorney General Bill Barr and his lieutenants were speaking to the Australians about ... getting their help as the Department of Justice looked into the origins of ... Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Barr's ... review has been widely seen as an attempt to discredit the Mueller investigation.... Just days before the culmination of talks in September -- which coincided with an official Australian state visit -- Trump himself pushed Prime Minister Scott Morrison to help Barr with this inquiry.... According to four sources ... the American government agreed to help facilitate the release of the Australian bloggers, in part by agreeing to pull back from pursuing the extradition of an Iranian scientist held in Australia.... The discussions between Washington and Canberra raise questions about why the Department of Justice engaged in a behind-the-scenes effort to help win the release of Australian hostages from Iran and whether the president's request to have the country assist in Barr's Russia inquiry influenced the department's decision-making." Via safari. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Joe Biden on Wednesday accused ... Donald Trump of throwing 'temper tantrums' rather than showing concern for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic, escalating his criticism of Trump following a series of exceedingly contentious White House briefings over the past few weeks. 'He likes to say he's a wartime president. Well, he needs to begin to step up and act like one,' Biden said during a virtual town hall with non-healthcare front-line workers. 'Not harangue the press for hours on end while people are dying....' The former vice president earlier this week lambasted Trump over his claim during a briefing that the president has 'total authority' to override state governors and reopen the country, tweeting that 'I am not running for office to be king.'"

Maggie Astor & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday, the latest in a string of prominent endorsements for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.... She left the timing of her announcement up to Mr. Biden's team, according to people familiar with the matter. There was no holdup or demand for concessions, these people said.... Since Ms. Warren ended her own campaign, she and Mr. Biden have spoken multiple times about policy issues, including Mr. Biden's plan to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 'One thing I appreciate about Joe Biden is that he will always tell you where he stands,' Ms. Warren said in her endorsement video. 'When you disagree, he'll listen -- not just listen, but really hear you and treat you with respect, no matter where you're coming from. And he has shown throughout this campaign that when you come up with new facts or a good argument, he's not too afraid or too proud to be persuaded.'" Emily Stewart of Vox has the story here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Axios: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren told MSNBC's 'The Rachel Maddow Show' Wednesday she would become former Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden's running mate if he asked her." Mrs. McC: One thing I appreciate about Elizabeth Warren is that she will always tell you where she stands.

George Conway & other Board Members of the conservative, anti-Trump Lincoln Project, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Publicly supporting a Democratic nominee for president is a first for all of us. We are in extraordinary times, and we have chosen to put country over party -- and former vice president Joe Biden is the candidate who we believe will do the same. Biden ... has our support. Biden has the experience, the attributes and the character to defeat Trump this fall. Unlike Trump, for whom the presidency is just one more opportunity to perfect his narcissism and self-aggrandizement, Biden sees public service as an opportunity to do right by the American people and a privilege to do so."

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Tuesday
Apr142020

The Commentariat -- April 15, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Hey, Let's Create an Unnecessary Constitutional Crisis During a National Crisis! Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday called on the Senate to either confirm his nominees to vacancies across the administration or formally adjourn, threatening to use executive power to try and force both chambers of Congress to adjourn. The president offered a lengthy diatribe against what he described as congressional obstruction in confirming his nominees, which he argued was more urgent than ever amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate ... is not expected to return until May 4 but has been conducting pro forma sessions in the meantime, preventing Trump from making recess appointments.... The president threatened to use his 'constitutional authority' to adjourn both chambers of Congress, which would allow him to make recess appointments to vacant positions.... Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution grants Trump with the power to 'on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper.'" ~~~

~~~ Colby Itkowitz & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "[Trump] spent several minutes [Mrs. McC: at the top] of his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday blaming Senate Democrats for blocking his nominations, even though most of the vacancies in the federal government are because Trump hasn't selected anyone to fill them. Several of his nominees haven't been given a confirmation hearing yet in the Republican-led Senate. Trump cited a never-exercised power the Constitution grants the president to adjourn Congress if leaders of the House and Senate can't agree on whether to adjourn."

~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Trump's impeachment lawyer, Jonathan Turley, wrote on Twitter, "The President just said that he may unilaterally adjourn Congress. This seems to be a reference to Article II, Section 3, which gives a president in 'extraordinary occasions' to convene or adjourn the Houses. This power has never been used and should not be used now.... The power to adjourn only applies 'in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment.' Pro forma sessions have been used by both Democratic and Republican houses to prevent recess appointments. I have long been a critic of such recess appointments. Senators of both parties should vote to support the congressional control over adjournment. Absent a 'disagreement' there is no presidential power to adjourn under Article II. A pandemic should not be an invitation for pandemonium. Indeed, we need regular order now more than ever." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump "reinstated" the other Constitutional crisis he created Monday -- saying he has "absolute control" over when and how states open up elements of their economies, a position he backed off Tuesday, but reiterated Wednesday. I'll get up a print story on this when one becomes available. You just can't have too many Constitutional crises during an actual existential crisis.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. "Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heaped praise on the World Health Organization Wednesday morning, saying that questions about what the group did during the pandemic should be left until 'after we get through this.' His comments on the 'CBS This Morning' program were at odds with President Trump's announcement Tuesday evening that he has ordered a freeze on American funding of the W.H.O., accusing the organization of a 'China-centric' bias and of contributing to deaths by covering up the spread of the virus.... His comments underscore the clash between Mr. Trump and his health care professionals." ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "Thousands of Americans would be alive today if President Trump had spent more time listening to the World Health Organization instead of trying to destroy it. Trump's announcement that he will halt American funding for the W.H.O. just as the world is facing a raging pandemic is a dangerous attempt to find a scapegoat for his own failings. It is like taking away a fire department's trucks in the middle of a blaze.... [Trump's] own pandemic preparedness plan, which he characteristically has failed to implement, called for building support for the W.H.O. -- because it's a critical player to keep Americans safe. Yes, some of the complaints about the W.H.O. are valid.... But it has still managed the coronavirus crisis far better than the Trump administration.... Trump's main complaint about the W.H.O. is that it is too close to China, and there's some truth to that -- but Trump himself fawned over China's response to the pandemic.... If Trump insists on holding people accountable..., he can gaze in the mirror."

Lucia Mutikani of Reuters: "U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades.... Retail sales plunged 8.7% last month, the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992.... Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales tumbling 8.0% in March. Compared to March last year, retail sales dropped 6.2%." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The NYT's live updates, linked above, describes the drop in U.S. retail sales as "by far the largest in the nearly three decades the government has tracked the data."

Jennifer Hiller & Liz Hampton of Reuters: "Oil fields from Texas and New Mexico to Oklahoma and North Dakota are going quiet..... Fuel demand has plunged by as much as 30 million barrels per day (bpd) - or 30% - as efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic have grounded aircraft, reduced vehicle usage and pushed economies worldwide toward recession.... The governments of global oil producers and consumers are seeking to make unprecedented cuts to overall supply of some 19.5 million bpd. U.S. President Donald Trump heralded the deal to cut supply as one that would save hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. But oil prices fell again this week, dropping as much as 10% on Tuesday, because even those cuts may fail to stem the glut.... Across the United States, up to 240,000 oil-related jobs will be lost this year[.]" --s

Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump stood in the Rose Garden on Tuesday evening and recited a list of dozens of prominent business and labor leaders who he said would be advising him in deciding when and how to reopen the country's economy.... Mr. Trump was vague about whether those on his list had all agreed to serve on the task force his administration has been struggling to put together over the past week. Some business leaders have been hesitant to attach their names to it in the middle of intense discussions in the White House about who would serve on a formal council, and what its mandate would be. It was also not clear if all of the companies and executives Mr. Trump mentioned had been asked in advance if they would serve in advisory roles to the White House. At least one person on the president's list, who asked not to be identified for fear of angering the White House, said that no request had been made to join the list and that there had been no advance notice of an announcement." Mrs. McC: Maybe you should check; your name may be on it.

George Conway in a Washington Post op-ed: "Among Donald Trump's many flaws as president is one that's as fundamental as any: He simply doesn't understand his job.... Trump made this clear during his briefing Monday, with an extraordinary series of statements about presidential power -- well, perhaps extraordinary for anyone but him.... Trump took a solemn oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. After his years in the job, he ought to know something about that document.... In our federal system the states aren't under Washington's control, the way a corporate subsidiary might be owned by, say, the Trump Organization. It's not just federalism that Trump misapprehends. It's grade-school-level civics that the president carries out laws.... Justice Hugo L. Black, then the court's leading textually oriented conservative, wrote [in Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)], 'The President's power, if any, to issue the order must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution.'" ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait: “When Congress enacted an emergency plan to send $1,200 checks to every American adult, Republicans joked that President Trump would want to sign his name on the checks. A few weeks later, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was exploring this outlandish desire, a reporter asked, '... Do you want to sign those checks?' Trump denied it: 'No. Me sign? No.' Last night, the Washington Post reported that Trump's name will be displayed on every check.... Trump's presidency has largely consisted of outrageously corrupt notions proceeding from fearful accusation to accepted reality.... Trump has never respected any meaningful distinction between the federal government and the Trump Organization. He expects every federal employee, especially its law-enforcement agents, to advance his personal political agenda. He has functionally mixed its budget with his own by having the government pour money into his properties, and he has treated its official powers as if they are his own personal chits. The authority he has gained through the emergency response to the coronavirus has vastly expanded the potential for corruption, and every sign indicates that Trump is already engaging in systemic abuse." Read on.

James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "A draft national strategy to reopen the country in phases, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasizes that even a cautious and phased approach 'will entail a significant risk of resurgence of the virus.' The internal document, obtained by The Washington Post, warns of a 'large rebound curve' of novel coronavirus cases if mitigation efforts are relaxed too quickly before vaccines are developed and distributed or broad community immunity is achieved." Underlying WashPo story linked below. ~~~

~~~ David Lim of Politico: "The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. plummeted by more than 30 percent over the past week, even though new infections are still surging in many states and officials are desperately trying to ramp up testing so the country can reopen. One reason for the drop-off may be the narrow testing criteria that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last revised in March. The agency's guidelines prioritize hospitalized patients, health care workers and those thought to be especially vulnerable to the disease, such as the elderly. Health providers have been turning away others in part due to shortages of the swabs used to collect samples.... After being overwhelmed for weeks, commercial labs say they are now sitting with unused testing capacity waiting for samples to arrive."

Aaron Gregg, et al., of the Washington Post: "An emergency loan program intended to get money swiftly into the hands of small businesses has all but collapsed under an unprecedented crush of applications and a shortage of funds, overwhelming agency officials and prompting urgent calls for action on Capitol Hill. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL, a long-standing program run by the Small Business Administration (SBA), is separate from the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses that is the subject of a political fight on Capitol Hill. The federal government normally doles out EIDL loans to small businesses hurt by tornadoes and wildfires. On March 12, the SBA expanded the program to help entrepreneurs hurt by the coronavirus, offering low-interest loans of up to $2 million."

Jenna McLaughlin of Yahoo! News: "The White House is still refusing to give Congress a reason for firing Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, as required by law, missing a deadline set by a bipartisan group of senators." --s

Bill & Don's Excellent Adventure. Erin Banco & Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "In a series of conversations last September, senior Department of Justice officials worked with representatives of the Australian government to hammer out an arrangement to win the release of a pair of Australian bloggers imprisoned in Tehran. At the same time those talks were taking place, Attorney General Bill Barr and his lieutenants were speaking to the Australians about ... getting their help as the Department of Justice looked into the origins of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Barr's ... review has been widely seen as an attempt to discredit the Mueller investigation.... Just days before the culmination of talks in September -- which coincided with an official Australian state visit -- Trump himself pushed Prime Minister Scott Morrison to help Barr with this inquiry.... According to four sources ... the American government agreed to help facilitate the release of the Australian bloggers, in part by agreeing to pull back from pursuing the extradition of an Iranian scientist held in Australia.... The discussions between Washington and Canberra raise questions about why the Department of Justice engaged in a behind-the-scenes effort to help win the release of Australian hostages from Iran and whether the president's request to have the country assist in Barr's Russia inquiry influenced the department's decision-making." Via safari.

Presidential Race. Maggie Astor & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday, the latest in a string of prominent endorsements for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.... She left the timing of her announcement up to Mr. Biden's team, according to people familiar with the matter. There was no holdup or demand for concessions, these people said.... Since Ms. Warren ended her own campaign, she and Mr. Biden have spoken multiple times about policy issues, including Mr. Biden's plan to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 'One thing I appreciate about Joe Biden is that he will always tell you where he stands,' Ms. Warren said in her endorsement video. 'When you disagree, he'll listen -- not just listen, but really hear you and treat you with respect, no matter where you're coming from. And he has shown throughout this campaign that when you come up with new facts or a good argument, he's not too afraid or too proud to be persuaded.'" Emily Stewart of Vox has the story here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Actual President Endorses Vice President Biden to Succeed Him, Says Placeholder Sucks:

Joe has the character and the experience to guide us through one of our darkest times and heal us through a long recovery. The other side has a massive war chest, the other side has a propaganda network with little regard for the truth. On the other hand, pandemics have a way of cutting through a lot of noise and spin to remind us of what is real and what is important. This crisis has reminded us that governments matter. -- President Barack Obama, in his endorsement of Joe Biden ~~~

~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "... with calibrated stealth, Mr. Obama has been considerably more engaged in the campaign's denouement than has been previously revealed. For months, he had kept in close contact with senior party officials, in hopes of preventing a repeat of the protracted and nasty 2016 primary race. Then, in the weeks after it became clear that Mr. Biden was the party's near-certain nominee, Mr. Obama -- telling a friend he needed to 'accelerate the endgame' -- had at least four long conversations with his former vice president's remaining rival, Senator Bernie Sanders. Mr. Obama's efforts to ease the senator out of the race played a significant role in his decision to end his bid and, on Monday, endorse Mr. Biden, according to people close to the Vermont independent.... Now, with the primary campaign over, Mr. Biden and his aides are eager to deploy the former president as quickly as possible, especially on fund-raising, as they race to compete with President Trump's small-donor juggernaut." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "It may have taken a once-in-a-century pandemic, but the Democrats are not in disarray. After presidential primary races in 2008 and 2016 that stretched across all 50 states, the 2020 contest ended on an altogether tidy note on Monday as Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on a live stream with Joseph R. Biden Jr. and told him: 'We need you in the White House.' The endorsement was quick in the making, full-throated in nature and offered a vivid illustration of how differently this election is unfolding from the often bitter last two Democratic nominating contests. 'The way Bernie did this was really helpful,' said former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont. 'There is clearly no animosity between the two of them and this will definitely make it easier for Bernie's supporters to vote for Biden.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


The New York Times' live updates for Tuesday's coronavirus developments in the U.S. are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here.

Lisa Mascaro & Laurie Kellman of the AP: "As ... Donald Trump spoke during his daily coronavirus briefing Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a stark warning for Americans to 'ignore the lies' and 'insist on the truth' while the U.S. assesses next steps in the crisis.... She [wrote in a letter to House Democrats] the president ignored early warnings about the virus and took 'insufficient' action that 'caused unnecessary death and disaster.' Because of his 'incompetent' reaction, she said, the economy is now a 'disaster.' 'The truth is a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility,' she wrote. It was a stunning missive from the California Democrat who typically reserves her most harsh criticisms of the president for private settings. The two are essentially no longer on speaking terms. 'The truth is, from this moment on, Americans must ignore lies and start to listen to scientists and other respected professionals in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones,' she wrote to colleagues. 'Our future will be healthy and prosperous if we no longer tolerate lies and deceit,' she wrote."

As the Chest Puffs & the Lips Flap

Projection AND Deflection. Michael Shear of the New York Times: "For weeks, President Trump has faced relentless criticism for having overseen a slow and ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic, failing to quickly embrace public health measures that could have prevented the disease from spreading.... So on Tuesday, the president tried to shift the blame elsewhere, ordering his administration to halt funding for the World Health Organization and claiming the organization made a series of devastating mistakes as it sought to battle the virus. He said his administration would conduct a review into whether the W.H.O. was responsible for 'severely mismanaging and covering up' the spread. 'So much death has been caused by their mistakes,' the president told reporters during a White House briefing. In effect, Mr. Trump was accusing the world's leading health organization of making all of the mistakes that he has made since the virus first emerged in China and then spread rapidly around the world.... He said the W.H.O. 'willingly took China's assurances to face value' and 'pushed China's misinformation.' But it was Mr. Trump himself who went out of his way to publicly and repeatedly praise the Chinese government for its handling of the virus at a time at the beginning of the year that his administration was negotiating a trade deal with China." An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Amber Philips of the Washington Post: "When Trump first floated cutting WHO funding last week, he acknowledged it might not be the best thing to do in a pandemic. But on Tuesday, he displayed no such hesitation." ~~~

~~~ Trump Threatened to Walk Out of His Own Press Briefing Because Press Asked Questions. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Following ... Donald Trump's aggressive attacks on the World Health Organization at Tuesday's coronavirus press briefing, several reporters pointed out that the WHO wasn't responsible for key failures of the U.S. government, including the ongoing shortage of COVID-19 tests in many regions of the country. The president quickly grew angry in response to the questioning -- and ultimately threatened to leave the press conference. 'It's up to the governors,' said Trump. 'It hasn't been up to the federal government.' One reporter pointed out that the governors 'are following your lead,' at which point Trump started shouting, 'If you keep talking I'll leave and you can have it out with the rest of these people ... just a loudmouth.'" ~~~

~~~ Trump Realizes It's Hard to Blame Governors for Covid-19 Deaths if He Pretends to Exercise "Absolute Power." Jill Colvin & Zeke Miller of the AP: "... Donald Trump said Tuesday he's open to some states 'reopening' before federal social distancing guidelines expire at the end of month, as he appeared to back off his claim of absolute authority to decide when the time was right to act. Hours after suggesting that the bipartisan concerns of governors about his assertion of power would amount to an insurrection, Trump abruptly reversed course, saying he would leave it to governors to determine the right time and manner to revive activity in their states. Trump said he would be speaking with governors, probably on Thursday, to discuss his plans. 'The governors are responsible,' Trump said Tuesday. 'They have to take charge.' Still, he insisted, 'The governors will be very, very respectful of the presidency.'... In a departure..., Trump ended his daily briefing without turning the mic over to federal health experts, who have cautioned against moving too quickly to restart economic activity..... Earlier Tuesday, Trump initially indicated he was relishing the fight with state officials -- particularly Democrats in hard-hit states -- who have voiced fears that the president's ambitious timetable could lead to a resurgence of a virus that is still killing more than 1,000 Americans a day.... Still, Trump warned [at his briefing] that he would be monitoring the performance of governors, and signaled he might blame them if he believes their actions slow the pace of what he hopes will be a robust economic recovery. 'If they don't do a good job we're going to come down on them hard,' Trump said."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Notice that Trumpty-Dumpty never says, "I was wrong to assert absolute power.” He just pretends he will magnanimously allow governors to try to control movement in their own states. What a dick.

Fauci States the Obvious as Trump Remains Delusional & Irresponsible. Lauran Neergaard & Julie Pace of the AP: "Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation's economy, adding a dose of caution to increasingly optimistic projections from the White House. 'We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we're not there yet,' Fauci said in an interview with The Associated Press.... Donald Trump has floated the possibility of reopening some areas by May 1 and said he could announce recommendations as soon as this week. Fauci said a May 1 target is 'a bit overly optimistic' for many areas of the country. Any easing off the strict social-distancing rules in place in much of the country would have to occur on a 'rolling' basis, not all at once, he said, reflecting the ways COVID-19 struck different parts of the country at different times." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Impatient with the economic devastation wrought by social distancing and other mitigation measures -- and fearful of the potential damage to his reelection chances -- Trump has been adamant in private discussions with advisers about reopening the country next month.... Inside the White House, it has been clear to officials since last week that there is no longer much of a debate -- at least with the president -- about starting the reopening process May 1.... 'Our country has to get open, and it will get open, and it'll get open safely and hopefully quickly -- some areas quicker than other areas,' Trump said at a Rose Garden news conference.... Trump&'s advisers are trying to shield the president from political accountability should his move to reopen the economy prove premature and result in lost lives, and so they are trying to mobilize business executives, economists and other prominent figures to buy into the eventual White House plan, so that if it does not work, the blame can be shared broadly, according to two former administration officials familiar with the efforts." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The moment I heard Trump was planning to assemble an "economic task force" to "help" him reopen the economy, I thought anyone dumb enough to add his name to the group would be blamed for participating in the high-profile death squad. ~~~

~~~ Matt Stieb of New York: "On March 13, the day that he announced social distancing measures after essentially ignoring the emerging crisis for over a month, President Trump responded to a question about accountability for the federal government's failure, saying, 'I don’t take responsibility at all.' Over 25,000 American deaths later, the president appears to be sticking to that philosophy. According to a report from the Washington Post, Trump's strategy for re-opening the economy involves bringing in several unofficial advisers so he can spread the blame around if the plan to reopen results in an immediate second outbreak and unnecessary death."

Michael Shear & Annie Karni of the New York Times weigh in on Trump's propaganda extravaganza: "President Trump turned Monday's daily coronavirus task force briefing into an aggressive defense of his own halting response to the pandemic and used a campaign-style video to denounce criticism that he moved too slowly to limit the deadly spread of the virus. For nearly an hour, Mr. Trump vented his frustration after weekend news reports that his own public health officials were prepared by late February to recommend aggressive social distancing measures, but that the president did not announce them until several weeks later -- a crucial delay that allowed the virus to spread. Mr. Trump broadly mischaracterized an article on his response to the coronavirus, published over the weekend in The New York Times, repeatedly insisting that the United States had very few cases of the virus in early January -- six weeks earlier -- and angrily mocking a suggestion that was never made: that he should have ordered all schools and businesses shut that month." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "There once was a time when President Trump made clear that governors were the ones mainly responsible for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. But that was Sunday. On Monday, he declared that he was really in charge and would make the decision about when and how to reopen the country. The president's reversal raised profound constitutional questions about the real extent of his powers and set him once again on a potential collision course with the states. For weeks, he sought to shift blame to the governors for any failures in handling the virus, presenting himself as merely a supporting player.... Asked what provisions of the Constitution gave him the power to override the states if they wanted to remain closed, he said, 'Numerous provisions,' without naming any.... 'For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government,' he wrote Monday morning on Twitter. 'Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect. It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons.'... Less than 24 hours before his decision-by-me tweets, he was still putting the onus for the pandemic response on the states.... Even at Monday's daily news briefing, he took further jabs at the governors. 'Many of them didn't do their jobs,' he said. 'We helped some of the ones who didn't know what they were doing.'" ~~~

~~~ Meagan Flynn & Allyson Chiu of the Washington Post: "When President Trump was asked during Monday's news briefing what authority he has to reopen the country, he didn't hesitate to answer. 'I have the ultimate authority,' the president responded, cutting off the reporter who was speaking.... Not only does the power Trump asserted have no basis in reality, experts said, but it's also completely antithetical to the Constitution, the concept of federalism and separation of powers -- whether during a time of emergency or not.... 'You won't find that written in the Federalist Papers anywhere,' Robert Chesney, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Washington Post.... 'Nope,' [Steve] Vladeck[, also of UT Law,] wrote [on Twitter], 'That would be the literal definition of a *totalitarian* government.'... Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston..., [said] there is no 'emergency clause' in the Constitution for presidential power.... Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted the full text of the 10th Amendment, which says any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government in the Constitution are reserved to the states. The federal government, she said, 'does not have absolute authority.' Appearing on CNN, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) ... [said] 'You don't become king because there's a federal emergency.'" An NPR story is here.

Mnuchin Caves Again to President* Me-Me-Me. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump's name be printed on stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is rushing to send to tens of millions of Americans, a process that is expected to slow their delivery by several days, senior agency officials said. The unprecedented decision, finalized late Monday, means that when recipients open the $1,200 paper checks the IRS is scheduled to begin sending to 70 million Americans in coming days, 'President Donald J. Trump' will appear on the left side of the payment. It will be the first time a president's name appears on an IRS disbursement.... The decision is another sign of Trump's effort to cast his response to the pandemic in political terms. Trump had privately suggested to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who oversees the IRS, to allow the president to formally sign the checks.... But the president is not an authorized signer for legal disbursements by the U.S. Treasury. It is standard practice for a civil servant to sign checks issued by the Treasury Department to ensure that government payments are nonpartisan.... Chad Hooper..., president of the IRS's Professional Managers Association..., said he was appalled by what he called 'an abuse of government resources.'" ~~~

AND Akhilleus has some thoughts on the Dear Leader's name being engraved upon the paper checks going to some who survived the Trumpandemic:

First, [Trump] had nothing to do with those stimulus checks. Zip. Zero. Nada. He was too scared of being in the same room with Nancy Pelosi so he stayed in his room watching imbeciles on Fox tell him he';s great. Second, if he had his way, that money would be going to him and his criminal, mooching family, not to people who need it. There is no bottom to this loathsome swine. -- Akhilleus, in today's thread

If some politician's name belongs on the checks (and it does not, largely because the checks are drawn on the accounts of millions of today's and tomorrow's U.S. taxpayers), then it would be Nancy Pelosi's name, or Chuck Schumer's, or Bernie Sanders' or Andrew Yang's or or or. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie     

A Plan Is in the Works. What a Concept! Lena Sun, et al., of the Washington Post: "A team of government officials -- led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- has created a public health strategy to combat the novel coronavirus and reopen parts of the country. Their strategy, obtained by The Washington Post, is part of a larger White House effort to draft a national plan to get Americans ... back to work. It gives guidance to state and local governments on how they can ease mitigation efforts, moving from drastic restrictions such as stay-at-home orders in a phased way to support a safe reopening. CDC and FEMA officials have worked on the public health response for at least the past week, and the resulting document has been discussed at the White House, including by members of the coronavirus task force.... President Trump wants a final plan on reopening the country ready within days so he can issue suggestions for some states to reopen May 1, officials said. 'The plans to reopen the country are close to being finalized,' Trump said at a White House briefing Tuesday.... The president has not committed to following the guidelines delineated in the draft." The report includes some recommendations in the draft plan.


Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "More than 80 percent of the benefits of a tax change tucked into the coronavirus relief package Congress passed last month will go to those who earn more than $1 million annually, according to a report by a nonpartisan congressional body expected to be released Tuesday. The provision, inserted into the legislation by Senate Republicans, temporarily suspends a limitation on how much owners of businesses formed as 'pass-through' entities can deduct against their nonbusiness income, such as capital gains, to reduce their tax liability. The limitation was created as part of the 2017 Republican tax law to offset other tax cuts to firms in that legislation. Suspending the limitation will cost taxpayers about $90 billion in 2020 alone, part of a set of tax changes that will add close to $170 billion to the national deficit over the next 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the nonpartisan congressional body." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.)

GOP Congressman Will Sacrifice Your Life for Trumponomics. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "An Indiana congressman said Tuesday that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the 'lesser of two evils' compared with the economy cratering due to social distancing measures. Speaking with radio station WIBC in Indiana, Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth asserted that, while he appreciated the science behind the virus' spread, 'it is always the American government's position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter.'... Hollingsworth's comments echo a growing desire among some Republicans -- including President Donald Trump -- to begin to ease the guidelines that have shuttered businesses and kept workers at home." Mrs. McC: Hollingsworth is 36 years old, appears fit, & is the 12th richest MoC. So probably not at a high-risk for complications from the coronavirus.

Ariana Cha of the Washington Post: "About 9,000 ... American health-care workers ... have had positive coronavirus tests as of April 9, according to a ... CDC analysis released Tuesday that provides an early snapshot of infections in health-care workers across the country. They are mostly white, female and in their 40s, the report found. Although most were not sick enough to be hospitalized, 27 died, the CDC said. As with the rest of the U.S. population, most of the deaths occurred among those age 65 or older. These numbers are believed to be a gross undercount of infections due to the continuing lack of available tests in many areas. Some regions and institutions are no longer testing health-care workers, reserving kits for the sickest patients." The story is free to nonsubscribers.

New York. Karen Matthews, et al., of the AP: "The official death toll from the coronavirus soared in New York City on Tuesday after health authorities began including people who probably had COVID-19, but died without ever being tested. Officials reported 3,778 'probable' deaths, where doctors were certain enough of the cause of death to list it on the death certificate, and 6,589 confirmed by a lab test. Combined, that would put the total fatalities in the city over 10,000. The change in the city's accounting of deaths came after officials acknowledged that statistics based only on laboratory-confirmed tests were failing to account for many people dying at home before they reached a hospital or even sought treatment."

"There's no value in" watching @realDonaldTrump's press briefings, @realDonaldTrump's press briefings, @NYGovCuomo says. "It could be a comedy skit..." -- Jesse McKinley, in a tweet @8:33 am ET Monday

Cuomo's been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everything, most of which should have been the state's responsibility, such as new hospitals, beds, ventilators, etc. I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won't happen! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet @10:07 am ET Monday

Not all that funny, but some good clips:


Lola Fadulu of the New York Times: "A federal court has struck down a 2018 Agriculture Department rule that reversed nutrition standards for sodium and whole grains in school meal programs once championed by the former first lady Michelle Obama. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland vacated the rule, concluding that it violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the 2018 rule differed significantly from the administration's 2017 interim rule setting up the final standards. The school breakfast and lunch rule is only the latest in a series of Trump administration regulations that have been struck down for violating the legal procedures that Congress set out for approving new regulations." Thanks to citizen625 for the link.

Richard Burr, Notorious Crook. Robert Faturechi of ProPublica: "The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, has come under fire in recent weeks for unloading stock holdings right before the market crashed on fears of coronavirus and for a timely sale of shares in an obscure Dutch fertilizer company. Now the North Carolina Republican's 2017 sale of his Washington, D.C., home to a group led by a donor and powerful lobbyist who had business before Burr's committee is raising additional ethical questions. Burr sold the small townhouse, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, for ... $900,000 -- to a team led by lobbyist John Green. That is tens of thousands of dollars above some estimates of the property's value by tax assessors, a real estate website and a local real estate agent. The sale was done off-market.... In 2017, the year of the sale, Green lobbied on behalf of a stream of clients with business before Burr's committees.... The legality of this sale hinges on whether the home was purchased for fair market value. If it was purchased for more than that, it would be considered a gift. Gifts of significant value from lobbyists are generally banned by Senate ethics rules, and those that aren't are typically required to be publicly disclosed. Neither Burr nor Green disclosed any such gifts. Gifts that are intended to influence official actions are illegal."

David Folkenflik of NPR: "Michael Bloomberg's short-lived presidential bid reignited a long-simmering dispute over the widespread use of nondisclosure agreements at American corporations -- especially at his own. His namesake company, Bloomberg LP, has used nondisclosure agreements broadly to conceal allegations and silence complaints from employees of sexual harassment or a hostile work environment, as published reports have documented. The story of one Bloomberg reporter and his wife showcases the widespread use of such legal restraints at the company -- and how far their reach can extend. Six years ago, Bloomberg News killed an investigation into the wealth of Communist Party elites in China, fearful of repercussions by the Chinese government. The company successfully silenced the reporters involved. And it sought to keep the spouse of one of the reporters quiet, too." You'll have to read on for the details. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

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