The Commentariat -- April 14, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Actual President Endorses Vice President Biden to Succeed Him:

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 o 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." ~~~

~~~ 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.'"

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."

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."

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.

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here.

When somebody's the President of the United States, the authority is total. -- Direct from the Horse's Ass, White House press propaganda briefing, Monday (no link) ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday used the White House briefing room to lash out at critics of his response to the coronavirus outbreak, rattling off a litany of grievances about press coverage and airing a reel of cable news footage that portrayed his actions in a positive light. The president sought to use a briefing ostensibly intended to inform the American public about the latest developments in the battle against the virus to frame his handling of the pandemic as a success. He bristled at any criticism and picking a fight with journalists in the room before experts delivered any update on the disease that has killed more than 22,000 people in the U.S.... Monday's press briefing marked a striking extension of his defense, using the briefing room to air a campaign-style clip and complaining repeatedly that he has not received a fair amount of praise in news stories. 'The press has not treated these incredible people who have done such a great job -- they haven't treated them fairly. They're way off. We were way ahead of schedule,' Trump said. 'Everything we did I was criticized because I was too early.'... The White House's promotional video highlighted only one administration action in the whole month of February, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shipped its first testing kits.... The apparent blurring of White House business with campaign promotion promptly drew the attention of ethics watchdogs." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Sandler of Forbes: "... the president on Monday deviated from the normal White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing to play a campaign-style video montage defending his coronavirus response and afterward lashed out at reporters for questioning his actions. Interspersed with clips from media outlets and graphics, the text of the video, which was played on screens behind the podium, read: 'The media minimized the risk from the start, while President Trump took decisive action, even as partisans sniped and criticized. Bipartisan governors recognize the president's support.' The video used a Fox News segment from a March 26 episode of 'Hannity' that showed guests on CBS and NBC saying the coronavirus was not an immediate threat to the U.S. in January. After the section on the media, the video cuts to a timeline, highlighting Trump's January 31 travel ban on Chinese foreign nationals and his March declaration of a national emergency. The timeline skips over February entirely and when asked by a reporter what actions he took in that month, Trump said 'a lot' and called the reporter a 'fake.'... When asked who produced the video, Trump said it was put together by staff inside the White House." ~~~

~~~ Ted Johnson of Deadline: "CNN and MSNBC cut away from Donald Trump's coronavirus press briefing on Monday, with anchors protesting that the White House was using the time to air a campaign-style 'propaganda' video to defend and praise the president's response to the crisis.... On CNN, John King said, 'To play a propaganda video at taxpayer expense in the White House briefing room is a new -- you can insert your favorite word here -- in this administration.'... [Both networks] eventually returned to the briefing as Trump took questions from reporters.... The video appeared to have been motivated by a New York Times report over the weekend -- He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump's Failure On the Virus [also linked here Sunday]. Trump sent out multiple tweets throughout Sunday bashing the Times for the report.... The video featured clips that tried to highlight where Trump took decisive action during the crisis, as well as quotes of praise for his response coming from political figures such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Gavin Newsom. But the clips were cherry picked. They did not include moments in January and February where the president downplayed the threat of the virus.... After CNN cut away from the briefing, John King ran through a list of dates where Trump minimized the impact of the virus....

"Trump sparred with CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid, who pressed him on what the administration did through the month of February. 'The entire month of February, your video has a complete gap,' she said. 'What did your administration do in February in the time that your travel ban bought you?' 'We did a lot,' Trump responded, before telling her, 'Look, you know you're a fake. You know that the whole network, the way you cover it is fake.' He also called her 'disgraceful.'" ~~~

~~~ Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House sought to tamp down speculation Monday that President Trump would fire the nation's top epidemiologist in the middle of the pandemic, but concern over an Easter presidential retweet attacking Anthony S. Fauci continued to reverberate as many of the president's allies and critics warned that such a move would be counterproductive.... On Monday, Trump dismissed those concerns as if he had not initially sparked them when he retweeted a message Sunday night that included the hashtag #FireFauci. 'Today I walk in and I hear I'm going to fire him,' Trump said during the White House daily press briefing. 'I'm not firing. I think he's a wonderful guy.'... At the news briefing, Fauci appeared to back away from some of the comments about the coronavirus response that had drawn Trump's scorn -- describing his Sunday remarks to CNN as 'a poor choice of words.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Isn't it odd how Trump can't seem to remember blasting somebody yesterday but is the elephant who never some perceived slight someone laid on him years ago? ~~~

~~~ Susan Page of USA Today: "President Trump late Monday turned a White House briefing on the coronavirus into a fervent defense of his actions to respond to the deadly pandemic and an attack on reporters who posed skeptical questions.... The extraordinary performance came amid signs of a looming showdown between the White House and some of the nation's governors about when it will be safe to reopen business and schools.... He blasted the news media for what he called unfair accounts that had raised questions about his leadership. He said that 'nobody' had asked for ventilators, an inaccurate claim." ~~~

~~~ Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "... in the middle of this deadly pandemic that shows no obvious signs of abating, the president made clear that the paramount concern for Trump is Trump -- his self-image, his media coverage, his supplicants and his opponents, both real and imagined.... Trump has always had a me-me-me ethos, an uncanny ability to insert himself into the center of just about any situation. But Monday's coronavirus briefing offered a particularly stark portrait of a president seeming unable to grasp the magnitude of the crisis -- and saying little to address the suffering across the country he was elected to lead." The article is free to nonsubscribers. Mrs. McC: Worth reading because Parker reproduces a few of key exchange with reporters. ~~~

~~~ Daniel Dale, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump delivered another litany of false and misleading claims on Monday at a White House coronavirus briefing during which he repeatedly accused the media of dishonesty. Trump delivered an indignant screed about claims that he was slow in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, repeatedly citing the travel restrictions on China he announced in late January and began in early February. Yet his defense did not address his public downplaying of the virus into March, how his administration was slow to deploy the tests experts believe might have helped contain the outbreak, or how the administration waited critical weeks to make large orders of critical equipment. Trump also falsely claimed he has 'total' authority over states' coronavirus restrictions, falsely claimed he had inherited broken coronavirus tests, falsely claimed ... Joe Biden apologized for having called him xenophobic, falsely claimed that governors have stopped talking about a need for ventilators, and falsely claimed he banned travel from Europe. Here's our preliminary rundown of his claims and the facts that go with them." ~~~

~~~ "L'état, C'est Moi." Jeremy White of Politico: "... Donald Trump, hours after governors on both coasts announced regional plans for reopening their states, asserted 'total authority' over decisions about when and how to emerge after coronavirus shutdowns. 'When somebody's president of the United States, the authority is total,' Trump said at a press briefing Monday when asked about the governors' plans. 'And that's the way it's got to to be. It's total. It's total. And the governors know that.... They can't do anything without approval of the president of the United States,' Trump said at the briefing." ~~~

~~~ Tim Craig & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "President Trump declared Monday that he has 'total' authority and 'calls the shots' when it comes to deciding how and when to lift the pandemic restrictions and reopen the economy, even as [groups of] governors on both coasts proceeded with their own plans and asserted their own powers.... [Trump] also suggested that if a governor declined to go along, he or she would pay a price. 'If some states refuse to open, I would like to see that person run for election,' Trump said.... [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo [D-NY] said he would challenge the White House in court if Trump pushes to reopen businesses without enough safeguards to protect public health. Earlier in the day, Cuomo was joined via phone by governors from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island as they formed a pact to coordinate on an eventual end to their states' restrictions. Later, Cuomo announced that Massachusetts, led by Gov. Charlie Baker (R), was joining the group.... On the West Coast, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington also announced a pact to work together to tamp down the ongoing outbreak and carefully restart the economy in their states." The article is free to nonsubscribers. A CNN story is here. ~~~

~~~ Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts. '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. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,' Trump tweeted Monday morning. 'It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,' Trump continued. 'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' However, legal experts who spoke to The Hill said that, while Trump can issue federal regulations to prevent the spread of diseases, he does not have the authority to reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local level." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This may sound strange coming from the leader of the states' rights/Tenther party, but it is not the stretch it might appear to be. Rather, Trump's assertion is a subset of the controlling principle, "I have an Article II right to do whatever I want." Update: And the president* who claims his "authority is total." The other key to the Trump doctrine is that while his "authority is total," he takes no responsibility at all. He has variously blamed China, the Obama administration and, of course, governors for his screw-ups.

Trump: "I Am the Oversight." Neil Barofsky in a New York Times op-ed: "More than $2 trillion is about to head out the door, committed in a single news release last week by the Federal Reserve Board. In that release, the Federal Reserve announced how it and the Treasury Department intend to leverage just a portion of the $454 billion that Congress gave the department in the ... CARES Act, with the potential of trillions more in lending to come.... We need to ensure that this government aid is not being stolen, wasted or given to political cronies. And we need to make sure that the public is aware of how and to whom those trillions are distributed. In short, we need watchdogs.... Congress has leverage -- and must use it.... For the CARES Act, Congress demanded the same watchdog function within Treasury -- but so far, that dog is still in the pound.... President Trump included a signing statement to the CARES Act that suggested he would limit the ability of the new inspector general to reveal to Congress efforts by his administration to obstruct or impede his inquiries. Some are also raising questions about the president's intended nominee for the job, Brian Miller." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sarah Ferris & Heather Caygle of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed ... Donald Trump during a private call with her caucus Monday, saying he was putting Americans in grave danger if he rushes to reopen the economy at the end of this month. Pelosi sharply criticized Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, telling Democrats it was 'almost sinful' how his administration had failed to live up to promises to make testing available to all Americans and quickly address the mask, gown and glove supply shortage in hospitals across the country.... Pelosi's criticism of Trump comes as White House officials have signaled they are hoping to reopen the economy as early as May 1 -- a timeline that has alarmed Democrats and public health experts alike.” ~~~

~~~ Heather Caygle & Sarah Ferris: "As ... Donald Trump beams into American homes with his daily coronavirus briefings, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided the best way to counter him is to be everywhere -- even if that means doing so from her San Francisco kitchen. Almost daily, Pelosi pops up on one network or another -- even cycling through the late-night talk show junket -- dropping in for interviews from a computer propped up on a dining room table that sits just off her West Coast kitchen. For Pelosi, leading the counterprogramming is the most effective antidote to Trump's nearly daily briefings. Since first joining the news conferences a month ago, Trump has been repeatedly criticized for peppering his appearances with falsehoods during the briefings, which often stretch beyond two hours. And even as former Vice President Joe Biden becomes the presumptive Democratic nominee, it's Pelosi who remains the most prominent face of opposition against Trump."

Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "The Navy announced on Monday morning that a crew member on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the ship formerly led by Captain Brett Crozier before his ouster, had died from COVID-19 earlier in the day. The sailor, whose name is currently being withheld, tested positive for the coronavirus on March 30 and was moved to the ICU on Naval Base Guam last Thursday, according to the Navy. On the day the sailor had tested positive, Crozier wrote a letter to Navy leadership pleading for assistance on the outbreak of COVID-19 on his ship, which had infected more than 100 members of his crew at that point." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Samantha Gross of the Miami Herald: "Count professional wrestling among the essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies that can stay open despite coronavirus-related restrictions statewide. WWE will continue taping and airing live from the empty WWE Performance Center near Orlando even during the state's month-long 'shelter-in-place,' which Gov. Ron DeSantis announced April 1." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is insane. Late-night entertainment teevee isn't an essential business, either, but most of the late-night figured out a way to punt -- while still sheltering in place and maintaining social distance. Unless the WWE performers are going to wrestle with their consciences instead of their fake opponents, they are going to have nearly as much social contact as sex workers & their partners. ~~~

~~~ The Very Rich Are Different from You and Me. Charles Rabin & Aaron Leibowitz of the Miami Herald: "Fisher Island -- an exclusive enclave of multimillion-dollar condos and homes and one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in the country -- has purchased thousands of rapid COVID-19 blood test kits from the University of Miami Health System for all of its residents and workers. The private island, set along Government Cut and nestled between Miami and Miami Beach and accessible only by boat or helicopter, worked out a deal with UHealth to make the tests available to the 800 or so families that live there, and all the workers who maintain the property and patrol its streets. The purchase and availability of the testing are in sharp contrast to much of the rest of the state, where only about 1 percent of the population has been tested for the deadly virus that has caused a global pandemic. Most people who want a test have to meet certain criteria during a screening. Then an appointment must be set up, which generally means a lengthy wait in line. Those without vehicles can't even access drive-thru testing sites." The article is free to nonsubscribers. Mrs. McC: The rest of you shlubs can console yourselves sitting home & watching wrestlers give each other Covid-19.

Illinois. Mary Ann Ahern of NBC 5 Chicago: "A poll worker who was stationed at a Chicago voting site on election day died from the coronavirus, the Chicago Board of Elections said Monday. The person was a city employee who was working the March 17 election at the Zion Hill Baptist Church in the city's 17th Ward, officials said Monday. City officials identified him as Revall Burke. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Burke, 60, died on April 1. He was a 'hardworking, health-conscious ex-Marine,' Patch reported.... Voters and polls workers who were at the polling place ... received letters informing them that a person who voted there in person on election day tested positive for the coronavirus.... [Gov. J.B.] Pritzker [D] and the Chicago Board of Elections traded barbs on election day ... over the Board's claim that he denied its request to postpone the election or move to all mail-in ballots."

"South Dakota Is Not New York City." Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "As governors across the country fell into line in recent weeks, South Dakota's top elected leader stood firm: There would be no statewide order to stay home. Such edicts to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Kristi L. Noem said disparagingly, reflected a 'herd mentality.' It was up to individuals -- not government -- to decide whether 'to exercise their right to work, to worship and to play. Or to even stay at home.' And besides, the first-term Republican told reporters at a briefing this month, 'South Dakota is not New York City.' But now South Dakota is home to one of the largest single coronavirus clusters anywhere in the United States, with more than 300 workers at a giant pork-processing plant falling ill.... The company was forced to announce the indefinite closure of the facility Sunday, threatening the U.S. food supply... [Despite pleas that she impose a shelter-in-place order], she used a media briefing Monday to announce trials of a drug that President Trump has repeatedly touted..., despite a lack of scientific evidence. 'It's an exciting day,' she boasted, repeatedly citing her conversations with ... Jared Kushner."

Virginia. Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist: "The last time Bishop Gerald O. Glenn delivered a sermon at Richmond, Virginia's New Deliverance Evangelistic Church, which he founded, he proudly proclaimed how full the church was despite the threat of COVID-19. He didn't give a damn that gatherings were supposed to be limited to 10 people. 'I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus...,' he said, repeating it a second time to claps, saying that 'people are healed' in his church. On Sunday, the church announced that Glenn had died of COVID-19.... The church has removed his final sermon from YouTube." Glenn's widow is ill with the virus. Emphasis original.

Wisconsin's Supreme GOP Hypocrites. Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "When the state Supreme Court took up ;Gov. Tony Evers' last-minute order to delay the April 7 election, they didn't have to worry about one possible consequence of their decision. No matter what, they wouldn't be joining thousands of other voters standing in line at the polls the next day. That's because all seven justices had already voted absentee, either by going in early and voting in person or by mailing in ballots.... In the previous five elections, a majority of the justices voted in person at the polls on election day.... The justices voted along ideological lines, with the four conservative opposing Evers' order and the two liberals voting to uphold it. Justice Daniel Kelly [a Scott Walker appointee,] did not participate in the case because he was on the ballot, running for a full 10-year term against Dane County Judge Jill Karofsky, a liberal."

2020 Elections

** Felicia Sonmez & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: “Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who ended his White House bid last week, said Monday that he is endorsing former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Sanders made the announcement on a live stream hosted by Biden examining the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic. 'Joe, I know that there is an enormous responsibility on your shoulders right now, and it is imperative that all of us work together,' Sanders said on the live stream. Biden responded: 'Your endorsement means a great deal. ... I look forward to working with you. And I am going to need you badly.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Benjamin Swasey of NPR: "Joe Biden has won the Wisconsin Democratic primary, The Associated Press projects. The former vice president was already the party's presumptive presidential nominee, after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign last week.... Sanders had [Mrs. McC: decisively] won the Wisconsin primary in 2016 over eventual nominee Hillary Clinton." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: According to Google, with about 99 percent reporting, Biden won about 63 percent of the vote to Sanders' 32 percent, with the rest of the vote going to other candidates. I believe Steve Koranacki said on MSNBC last night that Biden won every Wisconsin county.

Eric Bradner of CNN: "Democrats claimed victory Monday in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that Republicans insisted on holding last week despite the coronavirus pandemic. Liberal Dane County Judge Jill Karofsky defeated conservative Justice Daniel Kelly, an incumbent backed by ... Donald Trump, in a race for a 10-year seat on the state's Supreme Court. Karofsky declared victory and Kelly conceded Monday evening as votes were still being counted in the close contest. The outcome is an embarrassment for state and national Republicans, who had blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' bid to postpone the election or have it conducted entirely by mail and had fought in court against rules that would have made it easier to cast absentee ballots -- leaving Wisconsin the only state to go forward with in-person voting in April. A federal judge had ordered Wisconsin to wait six days before counting the votes cast last Tuesday, giving absentee ballots that were postmarked by election day time to arrive at clerks' offices." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Forcing the six-day waiting period also would have reduced the number of live coronavirus organisms. ~~~

~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The victory, by upward of 120,000 votes as of Monday night, came as a shock to Republicans and Democrats alike in Wisconsin, where contests for president, governor and the state's high court in the last four years have all been decided by about 30,000 votes or less.... The decisive Democratic win offered a signal that the party, highly energized and mobilized heading into 2020, could organize and execute a winning get-out-the-vote program against strident Republican efforts to limit voter turnout in a narrowly divided state widely expected to be crucial in this fall's presidential election." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

~~~ Jim Rutenberg & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times outline how the confederate Supremes, led by Brett Kavanaugh, "curtailed the right to vote in Wisconsin." Mrs. McC: The Supremes' decision was a feature, not a bug of some ideological preference of conservojustices.

Phoning It In. Fadel Allassan of Axios: "The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments via teleconference in May, it announced Monday.... It's the first time the court will hear cases remotely -- and it'll allow the media to listen in as well -- marking a huge step for the notoriously technophobic branch of government amid the coronavirus crisis. The 10 cases on the docket, which were previously indefinitely postponed, will now take place on May 4-6 and 11-13." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Josh Smith of Reuters: "South Korea reported on Monday that at least 116 people initially cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again, although officials suggested they would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing new outbreaks.... Officials are still investigating the cause of the apparent relapses But Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), has said the virus may have been reactivated rather than the patients being re-infected. Other experts said faulty tests may be playing a role, or remnants of the virus may still be in patients' systems but not be infectious or of danger to the host or others. The 116 cases is more than double the 51 such cases South Korea reported a week earlier." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: What worries me the most about Trump's "reopening America" is that something like 90% of Americans -- myself probably included -- have never been exposed to the coronavirus; ergo, the vast majority of Americans could not have built up immunities. Since I have no medical training, perhaps my concern is exaggerated or baseless, but I see no end to the danger until a vaccine is widely available (and we can look forward to a mad rush to get the vaccine when the first vials roll off an assembly line). (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marc Lipsitch, an immunologist, has an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times on research into immunity from the novel coronavirus & other viruses. He also explains the phenomemon of "herd immunity": "As more and more people become immune to the virus, an infected individual has less and less chance of coming into contact with a person susceptible to infection. Eventually, herd immunity becomes pervasive enough that an infected person on average infects less than one other person; at that point, the number of cases starts to go down. If herd immunity is widespread enough, then even in the absence of measures designed to slow transmission, the virus will be contained -- at least until immunity wanes or enough new people susceptible to infection are born." Mrs. McC: Me, I'm still thinking bubonic plague.

** Matthew Cole & Alex Emmons of The Intercept: "Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm Blackwater and a Trump administration adviser, has sought in recent months to provide military services to a sanctioned Russian mercenary firm in at least two African conflicts, according to three people with knowledge of the efforts. Prince, who is the brother of Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, met earlier this year with a top official of Russia's Wagner Group and offered his mercenary forces to support the firm's operations in Libya and Mozambique, according to two people familiar with Prince's offer.... 'The conflicts of interest are deep and threaten democracy when you have a free agent going between the U.S. and its main power rivals,' said [Sean] McFate [a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council]. 'It would never clear an intelligence community background check. This is a dangerous thing for any democracy.'" --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jesse Eisenger of ProPublica: "Walmart, a defendant in the massive lawsuit brought by states and municipalities around the country that accuses a broad range of companies of lax controls over opioid sales, failed to reveal that it had been under criminal investigation for similar conduct, according to plaintiffs in the case. Linda Singer, a partner at Motley Rice, which represents multiple states, counties and municipalities in the litigation..., cited a recent ProPublica article that revealed that the U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Texas sought to charge the company criminally for its opioid dispensing practices. Walmart, which denies any criminality, avoided the charges by appealing to Trump appointees at the Justice Department, who repeatedly overruled the Texas prosecutors." --s

The Commentariat -- April 13, 2020

Afternoon Update:

When somebody's the President of the United States, the authority is total. -- Direct from the Horse's Ass (no link)

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here.

** Felicia Sonmez & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who ended his White House bid last week, said Monday that he is endorsing former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Sanders made the announcement on a live stream hosted by Biden examining the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic. 'Joe, I know that there is an enormous responsibility on your shoulders right now, and it is imperative that all of us work together,' Sanders said on the live stream. Biden responded: 'Your endorsement means a great deal. ... I look forward to working with you. And I am going to need you badly.'"

Trump Claims He's the Boss. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts. '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. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,' Trump tweeted Monday morning. 'It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,' Trump continued. 'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' However, legal experts who spoke to The Hill said that, while Trump can issue federal regulations to prevent the spread of diseases, he does not have the authority to reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local level." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This may sound strange coming from the leader of the states' rights/Tenther party, but it is not the stretch it might appear to be. Rather, Trump's assertion is a subset of the controlling principle, "I have an Article II right to do whatever I want."

Trump: "I Am the Oversight." Neil Barofsky in a New York Times op-ed: "More than $2 trillion is about to head out the door, committed in a single news release last week by the Federal Reserve Board. In that release, the Federal Reserve announced how it and the Treasury Department intend to leverage just a portion of the $454 billion that Congress gave the department in the ... CARES Act, with the potential of trillions more in lending to come.... We need to ensure that this government aid is not being stolen, wasted or given to political cronies. And we need to make sure that the public is aware of how and to whom those trillions are distributed. In short, we need watchdogs.... Congress has leverage -- and must use it.... For the CARES Act, Congress demanded the same watchdog function within Treasury -- but so far, that dog is still in the pound.... President Trump included a signing statement to the CARES Act that suggested he would limit the ability of the new inspector general to reveal to Congress efforts by his administration to obstruct or impede his inquiries. Some are also raising questions about the president's intended nominee for the job, Brian Miller."

Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "The Navy announced on Monday morning that a crew member on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the ship formerly led by Captain Brett Crozier before his ouster, had died from COVID-19 earlier in the day. The sailor, whose name is currently being withheld, tested positive for the coronavirus on March 30 and was moved to the ICU on Naval Base Guam last Thursday, according to the Navy. On the day the sailor had tested positive, Crozier wrote a letter to Navy leadership pleading for assistance on the outbreak of COVID-19 on his ship, which had infected more than 100 members of his crew at that point."

Phoning It In. Fadel Allassan of Axios: "The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments via teleconference in May, it announced Monday.... It's the first time the court will hear cases remotely -- and it'll allow the media to listen in as well -- marking a huge step for the notoriously technophobic branch of government amid the coronavirus crisis. The 10 cases on the docket, which were previously indefinitely postponed, will now take place on May 4-6 and 11-13."

Josh Smith of Reuters: "South Korea reported on Monday that at least 116 people initially cleared of the new coronavirus had tested positive again, although officials suggested they would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing new outbreaks.... Officials are still investigating the cause of the apparent relapses. But Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), has said the virus may have been reactivated rather than the patients being re-infected. Other experts said faulty tests may be playing a role, or remnants of the virus may still be in patients' systems but not be infectious or of danger to the host or others. The 116 cases is more than double the 51 such cases South Korea reported a week earlier." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: What worries me the most about Trump's "reopening America" is that something like 90% of Americans -- myself probably included -- have never been exposed to the coronavirus; ergo, the vast majority of Americans could not have built up immunities. Since I have no medical training, perhaps my concern is exaggerated or baseless, but I see no end to the danger until a vaccine is widely available (and we can look forward to a mad rush to get the vaccine when the first vials roll off an assembly line).

** Mathew Cole & Alex Emmons of The Intercept: "Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm Blackwater and a Trump administration adviser, has sought in recent months to provide military services to a sanctioned Russian mercenary firm in at least two African conflicts, according to three people with knowledge of the efforts. Prince, who is the brother of Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, met earlier this year with a top official of Russia's Wagner Group and offered his mercenary forces to support the firm's operations in Libya and Mozambique, according to two people familiar with Prince's offer.... 'The conflicts of interest are deep and threaten democracy when you have a free agent going between the U.S. and its main power rivals,' said [Sean] McFate [a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council]. 'It would never clear an intelligence community background check. This is a dangerous thing for any democracy.'" --s

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronoavirus developments Sunday are here. The Washington Post's Monday updates are here.

Joe Biden, in a New York Times op-ed, describes his plan to safely "reopen America." Mrs. McC: Biden's methodical plan differs greatly from Trump's, which is "when I say so. we'll just do it." That's not the title of Trump's plan; that's the whole plan. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Nancy Cook of Politico: "With the White House moving to reopen the economy as early as May 1, top officials have yet to coalesce around a single plan to allow Americans and businesses to safely resume work as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Instead, senior administration officials are engaged in an earnest yet scattershot effort to support ... Donald Trump's long-expressed desire to revive the downward-spiraling economy and stabilize the volatile financial markets in the middle of an election year." A New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ David Beavers of Politico: "Governors and top health experts on Sunday raised doubts about ... Donald Trump's goal of starting to reopen the U.S. economy as early as next month, warning that moving too quickly could lead to a worsening of the coronavirus pandemic." A related Washington Post story is here. It is free to nonsubscribers.

Simon Tisdall of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic ... has been fiercely criticised at home as woefully inadequate to the point of irresponsibility. Yet also thanks largely to Trump, a parallel disaster is unfolding across the world: the ruination of America's reputation as a safe, trustworthy, competent international leader and partner.... 'The Trump administration's self-centred, haphazard, and tone-deaf response [to Covid-19] will end up costing Americans trillions of dollars and thousands of otherwise preventable deaths,' wrote Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard. 'But that's not the only damage the United States will suffer. Far from "making America great again", this epic policy failure will further tarnish [its] reputation as a country that knows how to do things effectively.' This adverse shift could be permanent, Walt warned." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Ursula Perano of Axios: "Reporting from ... media outlets has revealed that Trump and his administration were repeatedly warned about the threat that the virus could pose to American lives and the economy. Earlier action could have curbed the spread." Perano compiled a handy list of ten times Trump & his administration were warned about the coronavirus pandemic.

Jacob Knutson of Axios: "Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday that 'no one is going to deny' that more lives could have been saved during the coronavirus crisis if the Trump administration had implemented social distancing guidelines prior to March.... 'We make a recommendation. Often the recommendation is taken. Sometimes it's not. But it is what it is. We are where we are right now.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. We Are All Surprised. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump publicly signaled his frustration on Sunday with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci ... after the doctor said more lives could have been saved from the coronavirus if the country had been shut down earlier. Mr. Trump reposted a Twitter message that said 'Time to #FireFauci' as he rejected criticism of his slow initial response to the pandemic.... In reposting the message, Mr. Trump added: 'Sorry Fake News, it's all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up.'... Mr. Trump did not 'ban China,' but he did block foreign nationals who had been in China in the past 14 days from coming into the United States starting on Feb. 2. Despite the policy, 40,000 Americans and other authorized travelers have still come into the country from China since then.... The tweet came amid a flurry of messages blasted out by the president on Sunday defending his handling of the coronavirus, which has come under sharp criticism, and pointing the finger instead at China, the World Health Organization, President Barack Obama, the nation's governors, Congress, Democrats generally and the news media.... Experts have said the limits [on travel from China] were useful mainly to buy time that the administration did not then use to ramp up widespread testing and impose social distancing policies...." A CNN story is here. ~~~

      ~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "... what Fauci said is that ... Trump's China ban was too little too late. By the time the shutdown happened, the U.S. already had the virus, and it was spreading.... More than China should have been shut down at the end of January. But even that may not have been enough. Fauci said in the interview that ... the U.S. [was] past the point of trying to stop it from reaching U.S. borders and should have switched immediately to mitigation. What Fauci also said, and many have observed, is that ... no significant action was taken in the month of February. Fox News was reporting it was all hype through the first week of March. The president similarly was saying it was nothing more than the flu well through the end of February. It wasn't until March that states began shutting down." ~~~

     ~~~ How Donald Celebrated the Resurrection. Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump spent much of this Easter weekend ... in a rather predictable fashion: working the phones and rage-tweeting The New York Times and Mike Wallace's son.... Over the weekend, the president ... began dialing various close advisers and associates to ask them their opinion on how soon he should 'open' the U.S. economy.... 'What do you think of Fauci?' the president repeatedly worked into his phone conversations.... At one point this weekend, Trump remarked that he's made Fauci a 'star' and that barely anybody would have known who the doctor was were it not for the president putting him front and center in the administration's coronavirus response.... 'Just watched Mike Wallace wannabe, Chris Wallace, on @FoxNews. I am now convinced that he is even worse than Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Meet the Press(please!), or the people over at Deface the Nation[. Trump tweeted]."

Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has acknowledged the need to ramp up testing, but on Sunday his tone was cautious: Having an inaccurate test is worse than not having a test at all. Going forward, Hahn said on ABC's 'This Week,' 'further ramping up testing, both diagnostic as well as the antibody tests, will really be necessary as we move beyond May into the summer months and then into the fall.' The doctor added that the United States has done more than 2 million tests, but stated: 'We need to do more. No question about that.'" Mrs. McC: Notice that this is not a "plan" but an "aspiration" or an on-air "plea" to the Dear Leader. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

No Way to Run a Crisis Response. Anita Kumar & Gavin Bade of Politico: "The federal government's haphazard approach to distributing its limited supplies has left states trying everything -- filling out lengthy FEMA applications, calling Trump, contacting Pence, sending messages to Jared Kushner..., and trade adviser Peter Navarro, who are both leading different efforts to find supplies, according to local and states officials in more than half dozen states. They're even asking mutual friends to call Trump or sending him signals on TV and Twitter. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. 'This is not something that we should ever be faced with,' Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said in an interview. 'It really is the federal government's responsibility to build those stockpiles, and distribute those during the time of crisis.'... The confusion is indicative more broadly of how Trump and his administration have responded to a number of crises. The president often bounces from one issue to the next, reacting to the headlines of the day. Record turnover rates and competing power centers have hampered long-term planning.... Frustrated governors are now considering whether to create a multi-state consortium to oversee the purchase and distribution of supplies."

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "The bishop who delivered the Good Friday Easter blessing at the White House has in the past come under fire for anti-LGBTQ comments. Bishop Harry Jackson conducted the Easter blessing at the White House on Friday and was introduced by President Trump as a 'highly respected gentleman.' But Jackson has been in the national spotlight for anti-LGBTQ rhetoric throughout the past decade. In 2011, he spoke with the Sons of Liberty Radio and called the push for marriage equality 'a Satanic plot.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "The story of the [USS] Theodore Roosevelt encapsulates, aboard a single aircraft carrier, Mr. Trump's tumultuous three and a half years as commander in chief. The episode shows how the military, the most structured and hierarchical part of the government, has tried to adjust to an erratic president, and how in a hollowed-out leadership, acting secretaries have replaced those confirmed by the Senate.... The aircraft carrier [Capt. Brett Crozier] commanded ... was docked in Guam as the coronavirus raced unchecked through its narrow corridors. The warship's doctors estimated that more than 50 crew members would die, but ... Crozier's superiors were balking at what they considered his drastic request to evacuate nearly the entire ship. Captain Crozier was haunted by the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship of 2,600 passengers in individual cabins where the virus had killed eight people and infected more than 700. The situation on his ship had the potential to be far worse: nearly 5,000 sailors crammed in shared berths.... On March 30, after four days of rebuffs from his superiors, Captain Crozier [wrote an e-mail] to 20 other people, all Navy personnel in the Pacific, asking for help.... Three weeks later, the fired captain is battling the coronavirus himself, 584 other crew members have tested positive and the acting Navy secretary [Thomas Modly] has resigned." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As I surmised from the git-go, Crozier had already approached his superiors in an effort to mitigate the situation aboard the TR, even though the Navy Department implied otherwise when Modly relieved Crozier of his command. ~~~

~~~ Audrey McNamara of CBS News: "The U.S. Navy on Saturday confirmed 103 new cases of the coronavirus onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, bringing the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier's positive cases to 550.... The Navy said that in response, 3,696 sailors have moved ashore, which includes 518 who were taken off the ship since Friday. In new COVID-19 guidance issued on Friday, the Navy said 'individuals identified as having confirmed or probable COVID-19 will be placed under isolation and evacuated off the ship as soon as practical if developing more severe symptoms.'... Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on 'CBS This Morning' on Friday that a reinstatement of Crozier is not off the table, and no decision will be made until an investigation is complete."

Justine Coleman of The Hill: "All 50 states are under a major disaster declaration for the first time in U.S. history, after President Trump approved Wyoming's declaration Saturday.... The final disaster declaration occurred on the same day U.S. surpassed Italy to become the country with the most deaths from the virus.... Trump praised the declarations in a tweet Sunday, saying, 'We are winning, and will win, the war on the Invisible Enemy!'" --s

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: Sen. Tom Cotton [R-Ark.], "who floated a conspiracy theory which said the Chinese government created Covid-19 in a weapons lab, claimed on Saturday that since he first learned of the outbreak, in mid-January, 'common sense has been my guide'.... The virus is believed to have originated in a market in Wuhan in which wild animals were sold." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Cotton has two degrees from Harvard. Harvard either doesn't have a required class that teaches logic and ethics (which might help students develop so-called "common sense," or Cotton flunked. The number of prominent confederates who come out of Harvard & Yale law is striking. I can't imagine why the schools remain prestigious. Obviously, they suck.

Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Next to health-care providers, no workforce has proved more essential during the novel coronavirus pandemic than the 3 million U.S. grocery store employees who restock shelves and freezers, fill online orders and keep checkout lines moving. Although the public health guidelines are clear -- steer clear of others -- these workers are putting in longer shifts and taking on bigger workloads. Many report being stressed and scared, especially as their colleagues fall ill.... At least 41 grocery workers have died so far.... Thousands more have tested positive for the virus. Now workers across the country are staying home or quitting altogether, according to interviews with more than a dozen employees, leaving many markets short-staffed and ill-prepared to deal with demand."

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Pope Francis advocated for a universal basic income amid the coronavirus pandemic in an Easter letter to leaders of social movements and organizations around the world. 'This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,' he wrote. 'It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.' In his message the pope acknowledged that the pandemic and subsequent economic shutdowns have hit 'twice as hard' for those without any legal guarantee of protection." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post has a photo slideshow of how Christians around the world, including Pope Francis, celebrated Easter this year.

Clifford Krauss of the New York Times: "Oil-producing nations on Sunday agreed to the largest production cut ever negotiated, in an unprecedented coordinated effort by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States to stabilize oil prices and, indirectly, global financial markets. Saudi Arabia and Russia typically take the lead in setting global production goals. But President Trump, facing a re-election campaign, a plunging economy and American oil companies struggling with collapsing prices, took the unusual step of getting involved after the two countries entered a price war a month ago. Mr. Trump had made an agreement a key priority. It was unclear, however, whether the cuts would be enough to bolster prices."

Rebecca Kheel of The Hill: "Supporters of a treaty meant to reduce the risk of accidental war are sounding the alarm President Trump could withdraw from the agreement as the world's attention is consumed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Open Skies Treaty allows the pact's 35 signatories, including the United States and Russia, to fly unarmed observation flights over each other's territories with the intention of providing transparency about military activities to avoid miscalculations that could lead to war.... A House aide told The Hill that Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week agreed to a withdrawal despite two planned National Security Council (NSC) meetings on the issue being canceled in February and March." --s

Presidential Race. Beth Reinhard of the Wasihngton Post: "A California woman who last year said Joe Biden touched her neck and shoulders when she worked in his Senate office in 1993 is now accusing him of sexually assaulting her that year in a semiprivate area of the Capitol complex, an allegation the Biden campaign strongly denies.... President Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. and his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, sought to inject Reade's allegation into the presidential campaign on Saturday by accusing the media on Twitter of not covering it.... The Post found no other allegations against him as serious as [Tara] Reade's. More than a dozen women, by contrast, have accused Trump of forced kissing, groping or sexual assault, and he has been recorded on audio boasting about grabbing women between their legs."

Beyond the Beltway

** Virginia. Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Sunday that he signed a series of new measures into law aimed at expanding access to voting in the commonwealth. The new legislation will establish Election Day as a holiday, remove the requirement that voters show a photo ID prior to casting a ballot and, expand early voting to be allowed 45 days before an election without a stated reason.... The new legislation also repeals the current Lee-Jackson day holiday which honored Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson as "defenders of causes.' Both men owned slaves and fought to preserve slavery in the US.... Several states and cities have already made Election Day a civic holiday, including Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky and New York. State offices typically close, though it depends on the state whether employees are entitled to paid time off to vote. Proponents say making Election Day a holiday could improve voter turnout. But Election Day may not become a federal holiday anytime soon -- it's drawn deep division along party lines. In January 2019, Democrats proposed a sweeping bill that would make Election Day a national holiday among other measures. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the measure would pay government workers to "hang out at the polls during an election" or campaign for candidates."

News Ledes

Reuters: "At least six people were killed on Sunday as a strong storm system swept across Mississippi and Louisiana, spinning off more than a dozen tornadoes and leaving behind a path of destruction, state and local authorities said. The storms hit on Easter Sunday as residents across the U.S. South, like most Americans, were under strict 'stay-at-home' orders by the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana due to the nationwide coronavirus pandemic. All six fatalities were recorded in Mississippi, the state's emergency management agency said on Twitter, and tornado warnings remained in place across several counties into the evening." ~~~

~~~ Update. Weather Channel: "At least 32 people were killed as severe weather and strong tornadoes continued to slash across the South on Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and leaving more than a million customers without electricity. There were more than 40 reports of tornadoes as the storms that began on Easter Sunday tore a deadly and destructive path from Texas and Arkansas, across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia and into the Carolinas and Tennessee."

The Commentariat -- April 12, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Joe Biden, in a New York Times op-ed, describes his plan to safely "reopen America." Mrs. McC: Biden's methodical plan differs greatly from Trump's, which is "when I say so. we'll just do it." That's not the title of Trump's plan; that's the whole plan.

Simon Tisdall of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic ... has been fiercely criticised at home as woefully inadequate to the point of irresponsibility. Yet also thanks largely to Trump, a parallel disaster is unfolding across the world: the ruination of America's reputation as a safe, trustworthy, competent international leader and partner.... 'The Trump administration's self-centred, haphazard, and tone-deaf response [to Covid-19] will end up costing Americans trillions of dollars and thousands of otherwise preventable deaths,' wrote Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard. 'But that's not the only damage the United States will suffer. Far from "making America great again", this epic policy failure will further tarnish [its] reputation as a country that knows how to do things effectively.' This adverse shift could be permanent, Walt warned."

Jacob Knutson of Axios: "Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday that 'no one is going to deny' that more lives could have been saved during the coronavirus crisis if the Trump administration had implemented social distancing guidelines prior to March.... 'We make a recommendation. Often the recommendation is taken. Sometimes it's not. But it is what it is. We are where we are right now.'"

Rishika Dugyala of Politico: “FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has acknowledged the need to ramp up testing, but on Sunday his tone was cautious: Having an inaccurate test is worse than not having a test at all. Going forward, Hahn said on ABC's 'This Week,' 'further ramping up testing, both diagnostic as well as the antibody tests, will really be necessary as we move beyond May into the summer months and then into the fall.' The doctor added that the United States has done more than 2 million tests, but stated: 'We need to do more. No question about that.'" Mrs. McC: Notice that this is not a "plan" but an "aspiration" or a "plea" to the Dear Leader.

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "The bishop who delivered the Good Friday Easter blessing at the White House has in the past come under fire for anti-LGBTQ comments. Bishop Harry Jackson conducted the Easter blessing at the White House on Friday and was introduced by President Trump as a 'highly respected gentleman.' But Jackson has been in the national spotlight for anti-LGBTQ rhetoric throughout the past decade. In 2011, he spoke with the Sons of Liberty Radio and called the push for marriage equality 'a Satanic plot.'"

Rebecca Klar of the Hill: "Pope Francis advocated for a universal basic income amid the coronavirus pandemic in an Easter letter to leaders of social movements and organizations around the world. 'This may be the time to consider a universal basic wage which would acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,' he wrote. 'It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights.' In his message the pope acknowledged that the pandemic and subsequen economic shutdowns have hit 'twice as hard' for those without any legal guarantee of protection."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. McC: I got a late start this morning & added several links between about 8:30 & 9:30 am ET. If you stopped by earlier, you might want to skim the page for additions.

The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments in the U.S. Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Washington Post live updates for Saturday are here. "The United States' covid-19 death tally is now the highest in the world, eclipsing Italy's toll on Saturday, despite experts calling the U.S. figure 'an underestimation.' The U.S. toll is now 19,424, with nearly half a million confirmed cases, surpassing Italy's total of 18,849. Italy has 147,577 infected with the virus. Despite the country's large elderly population, experts had previously forecast that Italy's staggering toll was not an outlier so much as a preview of what other countries could expect. The steady taraclimb of cases has slowed, and the Mediterranean country is now preparing to reopen." (Also linked yesterday.)

Today in Trumpian Incompetence

Eric Lipton, et al., of the New York Times: "Throughout January, as Mr. Trump repeatedly played down the seriousness of the virus and focused on other issues, an array of figures inside his government -- from top White House advisers to experts deep in the cabinet departments and intelligence agencies -- identified the threat, sounded alarms and made clear the need for aggressive action. The president, though, was slow to absorb the scale of the risk and to act accordingly, focusing instead on controlling the message, protecting gains in the economy and batting away warnings from senior officials. It was a problem, he said, that had come out of nowhere and could not have been foreseen.... Dozens of interviews with current and former officials and a review of emails and other records revealed many previously unreported details and a fuller picture of the roots and extent of his halting response as the deadly virus spread[.]" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This is a long & damning piece that clearly demonstrates how a "team of incompetents" a/k/a "all the best people" led by a volatile narcissist is a tremendous threat to U.S. security -- as if you didn't know. ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Shear of the New York Times: Here are five key takeaways from the report linked above. "Intelligence agencies and the N.S.C. produced early warnings.... In recent days, Mr. Trump has denied that he saw [a January 29] memo [by Peter Navarro warning that half-a-million Americans could die] at the time. But The Times report reveals that aides raised it with him at the time and that he was unhappy that Mr. Navarro had put his ideas in writing.... An official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went public with dire warnings too soon, sending stocks tumbling and angering Mr. Trump, who pushed aside his health and human services secretary and put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the response. [Mrs. McC: That "too soon" merits air quotes.]... Officials repeatedly expressed concern about the lack of aggressive action to deal with the virus.... The president was surrounded by divided factions in March even as it became clearer that avoiding more aggressive steps to stop the spread of the virus was not tenable."~~~

     ~~~ Eric Lipton of the NYT: "As the coronavirus emerged and headed toward the United States, a extraordinary conversation was hatched among an elite group of infectious disease doctors and medical experts in the federal government and academic institutions around the nation. Red Dawn -- a nod to the 1984 film ... -- was the nickname for the email chain they built.... Here are key exchanges from the emails, with context and analysis, that show the experts' rising sense of frustration and then anger as their advice seemingly failed to break through to the administration, raisin the odds that more people would likely die."

Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "Interviewed at Davos, [Switzerland, at] a gathering of global elites in the Swiss Alps, the president on Jan. 22 played down the threat posed by the respiratory virus from China, which had just reached American shores in the form of a solitary patient in Washington state. 'We have it totally under control,' Trump said on CNBC. 'It's one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine.' When Trump spoke in Switzerland, weeks' worth of warning signs already had been raised. In the ensuing month, before the president first addressed the crisis from the White House, key steps to prepare the nation for the coming pandemic were not taken. Life-saving medical equipment was not stockpiled. Travel largely continued unabated. Vital public health data from China was not provided or was deemed untrustworthy. A White House riven by rivalries and turnover was slow to act. Urgent warnings were ignored by a president consumed by his impeachment trial and intent on protecting a robust economy that he viewed as central to his reelection chances."

Calvin Woodward of the AP: "For several months..., Donald Trump and his officials have cast a fog of promises meant to reassure a country in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump and his team haven't delivered on critical ones. They talk numbers. Bewildering numbers about masks on the way. About tests being taken. About ships sailing to the rescue, breathing machines being built and shipped, field hospitals popping up, aircraft laden with supplies from abroad, dollars flowing to crippled businesses. Piercing that fog is the bottom-line reality that Americans are going without the medical supplies and much of the financial help they most need from the government at the very time they need it most -- and were told they would have it.... Bold promises and florid assurances were made, day after day, from the White House and a zigzagging president who minimized the danger for months and systematically exaggerates what Washington is doing about it. 'We're getting them tremendous amounts of supplies,' [Trump] said of health care workers. 'Incredible. It's a beautiful thing to watch.' This was when Americans were watching something else entirely -- doctors wearing garbage bags for makeshift protection." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration still has no clear plan for ending the coronavirus crisis, but it does have many task forces. There is the official task force led by Vice President Pence.... There is the 'Opening Our Country Council,' an economic task force announced Friday.... There is the group that reports directly to ... Jared Kushner, a cadre dismissively dubbed 'the shadow task force' that helps Kushner with his roving list of virus troubleshooting. And there is also the 'doctors group,' a previously unreported offshoot of the original task force..., created in part to push back against demands that the health experts view as too reckless. In theory, the task forces are all working toward the same goal: defeating the novel coronavirus and getting the nation back to work -- and life -- as quickly as possible. But the reality is far more complicated: a bureaucratic nesting doll of groups with frequently competing aims and agendas." ~~~

<~~~ Ezra Klein of Vox (April 10): "In different ways, all [the major] plans ... for what comes after social distancing ... say the same thing: Even if you can imagine the herculean political, social, and economic changes necessary to manage our way through this crisis effectively, there is no normal for the foreseeable future. Until there's a vaccine, the United States either needs economically ruinous levels of social distancing, a digital surveillance state of shocking size and scope, or a mass testing apparatus of even more shocking size and intrusiveness."

Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "... the coronavirus crisis is shaking the foundation of the U.S. Postal Service in new and dire ways. The Postal Service's decades-long financial troubles have worsened dramatically, as the volume of the kind of mail that pays the agency's bills -- first-class and marketing mail -- has withered during the pandemic. The USPS needs an infusion of money, and President Trump has blocked potential emergency funding for the agency that employs around 600,000 workers, repeating instead the false claim that higher rates for Internet shipping companies Amazon, FedEx and UPS would right the service's budget. Trump threatened to veto the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or Cares Act, if the legislation contained any money directed to bail out the postal agency, according to a senior Trump administration official and a congressional official...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The entire federal government revolves around Trump's petty biases, and his antipathy for the USPS is one of them.

Jonathan Allen, et al., of NBC News: "... for some government officials familiar with the supply-chain end of the coronavirus fight, [a deal with DuPont to make & sell Tyvek bodysuits at an elevated price] was yet another example of Trump's task force serving industry, as the White House tried to corner the market on medical supplies. For weeks, Trump has resisted pressure to use the full power of his office to temporarily turn the private sector into an arm of the federal government in a national emergency. But he and his lieutenants instead have used the crisis to make federal assets and personnel ancillary to industry.... In doing so, the vice president's coronavirus task force -- mostly through a supply-chain unit led by Admiral John Polowczyk and heavily influenced by White House adviser Jared Kushner -- has favored some of the nation's largest corporations and ignored smaller producers of goods and services with long track records of meeting emergency need.... They have also operated almost entirely in the dark.... The story of the supply-chain group, a power center within the larger task force run by Vice President Mike Pence, is one of chaos, secrecy and ineptitude..., officials said."

This. Is. Nuts. Jay Hancock, et al., of Kaiser Health News in the Daily Beast: "... executives at ... beleaguered [hospital] systems are blasting the government's decision to take a one-size-fits-all approach to distributing the first $30 billion in emergency grants. HHS confirmed Friday it would give hospitals and doctors money according to their historical share of revenue from the Medicare program for seniors -- not according to their coronavirus burden.... States such as Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana, which the pandemic has touched relatively lightly, are getting more than $300,000 per reported COVID-19 case..., according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. On the other hand, New York, the worst-hit state, would receive only $12,000 per case.... HHS 'has failed to consider congressional intent' in distributing the $30 billion by not accounting for 'the number of COVID-19 cases hospitals are treating,' New Jersey Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker and Rep. Bill Pascrell said in a Friday letter to [HHS Secretary Alex] Azar." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Screw American Workers, Ctd. Dave Jamieson of the Huffington Post: "The Trump administration announced Friday afternoon that employers outside of the health care industry generally won't be required to record coronavirus cases among their workers, a decision that left some workplace safety advocates incredulous. COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is classified as a recordable illness, meaning employers would have to notify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration when an employee gets sick from an exposure at work. But the nation's top workplace safety agency now says the majority of U.S. employers won't have to try to determine whether employees' infections happened in the workplace unless it's obvious. 'OSHA is kidding, right?' tweeted David Michaels, who helmed OSHA throughout the presidency of Barack Obama. It is not a joke. OSHA, which is part of the Labor Department, released an enforcement memo Friday spelling out the recording rules.... [The policy] could leave both them and the government in the dark about emerging hotspots in places like retail stores or meatpacking plants." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: OSHA is part of the Labor Department. Jamieson: "The Labor Department, under Trump and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, has portrayed those kinds of employer [reporting] obligations as burdensome red tape." In a WashPo story linked yesterday, we learned that Eugene Son of Nino "has used his department's authority over new laws enacted by Congress to limit who qualifies for joblessness assistance and to make it easier for small businesses not to pay family leave benefits. The new rules make it more difficult for gig workers ... to get benefits, while making it easier for some companies to avoid paying their workers coronavirus-related sick and family leave...." So we don't care if you get sick at work and if your job makes you sick, you're not going to get unemployment benefits. ~~~

~~~ Screw "Essential Workers." Franco Ordoñez of NPR: "New White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is working with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to see how to reduce wage rates for foreign guest workers on American farms, in order to help U.S. farmers struggling during the coronavirus, according to U.S. officials and sources familiar with the plans. Opponents of the plan argue it will hurt vulnerable workers and depress domestic wages.... The nation's roughly 2.5 million agricultural laborers have been officially declared 'essential workers' as the administration seeks to ensure that Americans have food to eat and that U.S. grocery stores remain stocked." --s

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "Top GOP leaders in Congress said Saturday they would not negotiate with Democrats and instead insisted lawmakers approve more money for a small business lending program for firms impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) released a joint statement Saturday morning saying they would not agree to any compromise with Democrats that changed their proposal to add $250 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, which is being run by the Small Business Administration.... Democrats don't want to sign off on the $250 billion increase without also adding hundreds of billions for hospitals, cities, states and food stamp recipients. They also want ensure half the proposed $250 billion goes through community banks, emergency grants and other programs aimed at underserved communities." A Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tara Golshan of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is a full-time senator again, and he wants Democrats to back legislation that would cover health care for all during the coronavirus pandemic. Sanders and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) proposed an emergency version of their signature 'Medicare for All' legislation on Friday: the Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act, which would have Medicare reimburse all out-of-pocket costs for both insured and uninsured Americans throughout the coronavirus pandemic.... The two lawmakers want a federal backstop for the millions of Americans who have lost their health insurance due to unemployment in recent weeks, as well as some financial aid for the potentially high costs of hospitalization and treatment for COVID-19 patients."

Florida. A Deadly Spring Break. Patricia Mazzei & Frances Robles of the New York Times: "Weeks before Florida ordered people to stay at home, the coronavirus was well into its insidious spread in the state, infecting residents and visitors who days earlier had danced at beach parties and reveled in theme parks. Only now, as people have gotten sick and recovered from -- or succumbed to -- Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has the costly toll of keeping Florida open during the spring break season started to become apparent. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has blamed travelers from New York, Europe and other places for seeding the virus in the state. But the reverse was also true: People got sick in Florida and took the infection back home.... Slow action by Florida's governor left local leaders scrambling to make their own closure decisions during one of the busiest and most profitable times of the year for a state with an $86 billion tourism economy. The result was that rules were often in conflict, with one city canceling a major event while a neighboring city allowed another event to continue.... With little testing available, local officials made decisions blindly." Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Nehamas & Daniel Chang of the Miami Herald: "Florida is significantly under-reporting the state's COVID-19 testing backlog, a blind spot in the data that could obscure the pandemic's size and hamper efforts to decide when it's safe to end restrictions such as social distancing -- even as Gov. Ron DeSantis touts the state's transparency when it comes to coronavirus. On its public website, the Florida Department of Health says about 1,400 people statewide are waiting for their test results. But that's an undercount, the department acknowledged in response to questions from the Miami Herald. And it's likely a massive one. That's because the state only reports the number of Floridians waiting to hear back from state labs, not private ones -- and those private labs are completing more than 90% of Florida's tests. The state website doesn't say that its figures exclude the vast majority of pending tests for the novel coronavirus." ~~~

~~~ Daniel Chang of the Miami Herald: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' general counsel called a representative of the Miami Herald's law firm seeking to quash a public records lawsuit that would force the state to divulge the names of all elder-care facilities that have had a positive test for the coronavirus. The back-door pressure -- through an attorney that had no involvement in the case -- paid off. The law firm, Holland & Knight, told Sanford Bohrer, a senior partner with decades of representing the Miami Herald, to stand down and abandon the lawsuit.... The state has yet to provide a legal justification for its refusal to provide records. Under Florida's public records law, records are considered public unless the custodian can provide a legal basis for withholding them." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Sallah & Scot Pham of BuzzFeed News: "Just weeks after a coronavirus outbreak in a Florida assisted living facility, the state's most powerful nursing home organization sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis with an urgent request: Grant the homes sweeping protections from legal claims arising from the viral scourge. The response: DeSantis is considering it. In one of the first such requests in the country, the governor's office is consulting with some of the state's top lawyers to see if such immunity can be provided to nursing homes and other healthcare providers, the chief of Florida's top healthcare agency told members of the Florida Health Care Association on Thursday." ~~~

~~~ Steve Contorno & Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times: "From New York to Ohio to California, the nation's governors are leading the way during the coronavirus crisis, using their offices to provide residents with consistent messages that promote public safety. Then there's Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. A month into an international pandemic, the leader of the nation's third-largest state has confounded with conflicting orders. DeSantis has made erroneous claims -- like on Thursday when he suggested no one under the age of 25 has died from the coronavirus in the United States. He has pushed unproven medical cures while dismissing advice from health experts. He has shared wrong information, potentially affecting millions of people, that went uncorrected for hours.... The approval ratings of most governors have soared during the crisis. DeSantis, one of America's most popular governors a few months ago, has seen his support plummet. One poll found him the third-worst rated governor at handling the coronavirus in the country."

Kansas. A Safer Easter Sunday for Kansans. Jason Breslow of NPR: "The Kansas Supreme Court has voted to uphold an executive order by the state's governor limiting the size of church gatherings on Easter Sunday, ending a dramatic legal clash in which the court was asked amid a global pandemic to decide between public health and religious liberty. In a ruling issued on Saturday, the court said Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly was within her rights when she announced an order on Tuesday limiting religious gatherings in the state to 10 people. The ruling came after an extraordinary morning session in which the court's seven justices heard oral arguments via videoconference in order to comply with social distancing guidelines.... Republican leaders on the state's Legislative Coordinating Council [had] voted to revoke the order, calling it a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion and an example of executive overreach."

Mississippi. Asthon Pittman of The Jackson Free Press: "All 'elective surgeries,' including abortions, will cease in Mississippi for the next two weeks under a new executive order, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday. The governor claimed that the move will free up personal protective equipment for hospitals to use as they deal with an escalating number of COVID-19 cases statewide.... [T]he number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases climbed to 2,469...Mississippi boasts the highest infant mortality rate in the country.... African American infants have nearly twice the mortality rate as white infants in Mississippi.... On April 3, the Jackson Free Press first reported that Reeves signed a proclamation declaring that April is 'Confederate Heritage Month,' celebrating the four-year period when Mississippi seceded from the Union in order to preserve slavery." --s ~~~

~~~ Texas. Alice Ollstein of Politico: "Abortion rights advocates asked the [U.S.] Supreme Court on Saturday night to overturn part of the Texas governor's sweeping ban on abortions during the coronavirus pandemic -- the first of similar restrictions to reach the high court. Texas and several Republican-led states that have long led the legal battle to restrict abortion have sought to cut off access as the health crisis escalated in recent weeks, contending the procedure would drain medical resources. The new petition to the Supreme Court sets up a key test of how the more conservative roster of judges will address the right to an abortion established in Roe v. Wade."

Josh Marshall of TPM on a "sign of the times": a scam in which the scammers claimed to have a cache of 39 million N95 masks available for sale to US entities.

Here are SNL's opening credits & Tom Hanks' monologue, both of which are also signs of the times. The opening credits feature SNL musical producer Hal Willner, who died this week, probably of Covid-19. ~~~

~~~ This SNL tribute to Willner is really sweet.

** U.K. Rowena Mason of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson has left hospital after spending a week in hospital with Covid-19 and will go to Chequers to continue his recovery. The prime minister was being treated at St Thomas' hospital in south London and had spent time in the hospital's intensive care unit after his situation deteriorated. A No10 spokesman said: 'The PM has been discharged from hospital to continue his recovery, at Chequers'."

Vatican. Pope Francis Is Smarter Than Your Average Kansas Republican. Martin Farrer of the Guardian: "The pope and other Christian leaders are preparing to give their annual Easter addresses over the internet as churches stand empty and countries around the world continue to extend lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus. Pope Francis will break with centuries of tradition and livestream his Easter Sunday mass to allow the world's 1.3 billion Catholics to celebrate their holiest holiday."

2020 Elections

AP: "Joe Biden has won the Alaska Democrats' party-run presidential primary, beating Sen. Bernie Sanders days after Sanders suspended his campaign. Biden beat Sanders Saturday 55.3% to 44.7%. A total of 19,759 votes were cast. Biden gets 11 delegates and Sanders gets 4. Sanders would have won more delegates but after ending his bid for the nomination last week, Sanders is no longer eligible to win delegates based on the statewide vote in primaries and caucuses, according to Democratic National Committee rules.... The Alaska primary originally was scheduled for April 4, but concerns with COVID-19 upended plans. In response, the party, which had planned to offer voting by mail and at in-person locations, went exclusively to a vote-by-mail system. The primary itself was new to Alaska Democrats, who moved from their traditional caucuses to a primary for this year's race.... It used rank-choice ballots. The party said it sent in early March ballots to every person who was registered as a Democrat as of mid-February, more than 71,000."

Biden Will Have to Address This Now. Lisa Lerer & Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "A former Senate aide who last year accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of inappropriate touching has made an allegation of sexual assault against the former vice president, the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee this fall. The former aide, Tara Reade, who briefly worked as a staff assistant in Mr. Biden's Senate office, told The New York Times that in 1993, Mr. Biden pinned her to a wall in a Senate building, reached under her clothing and penetrated her with his fingers. A friend said that Ms. Reade told her the details of the allegation at the time. Another friend and a brother of Ms. Reade's said she told them over the years about a traumatic sexual incident involving Mr. Biden. A spokeswoman for Mr. Biden said the allegation was false. In interviews, several people who worked in the Senate office with Ms. Reade said they did not recall any talk of such an incident or similar behavior by Mr. Biden toward her or any women. Two office interns who worked directly with Ms. Reade said they were unaware of the allegation or any treatment that troubled her. Last year, Ms. Reade and seven other women came forward to accuse Mr. Biden of kissing, hugging or touching them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.... No other allegation about sexual assault surfaced in the course of [the Times' extensive] reporting, nor did any former Biden staff members corroborate any details of Ms. Reade&'s allegation. The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden."

Montana Governor's Race. Don Pogreba of The Montana Post: "[T]he campaign for Montana Attorney General Tim Fox accused Greg Gianforte, our current US House Representative and his rival for the GOP nomination for governor, of financing his campaign by insider trading capitalizing on COVID-19.... It's an incredible claim, no doubt based on the research that shows Gianforte, rather than putting his investments into a blind trust as promised, has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past three months in companies hoping to profit from COVID-19, including the French manufacturer of Hydroxychloroquine.... [I]t's incomprehensible to me that it's not of news value that the sitting Republican Attorney General just accused the sitting Republican Congressional representative of breaking the law and of profiteering off a global crisis that has killed 16,000 Americans in only a few weeks." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Fox's accusation seems un-possible. Gianforte seems like such a nice guy who would not do anything even slightly criminal -- like, say, bodyslam a specs-wearing reporter for asking him a legitimate question.

Ashley Cullins of The Hollywood Reporter: "Journalists, litigants and even actor Tom Arnold for years have been trying to get their hands on unaired footage from The Celebrity Apprentice that allegedly incriminates Donald Trump -- and on Thursday a New York federal judge ordered MGM to hand over tapes in a lawsuit over an alleged multilevel marketing scam. Whether they're those tapes remains to be seen.... Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who accuses Trump of sexually assaulting her in 2007, is also fighting to get unaired footage in her defamation lawsuit. Multiple former contestants, including Arnold and Penn Jillette have said Trump regularly made sexist and 'racially insensitive' comments on set." --s

Beyond the Beltway

U.K. Eeew News. Allison Quinn & Blake Montgomery of the Daily Beast: "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange fathered two children with a lawyer who was helping him fight extradition to the U.S. while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, according to The Daily Mail. The lawyer, Stella Morris, told the Mail that she had decided to come forward about the relationship now because she fears for his life as long as he is in the high-security Belmarsh prison. Assange has been at the prison in London since last spring, when he was sentenced to 50 weeks. The Mail also cited court records regarding the United States' attempted extradition of Assange that mentioned the two young children." Mrs. McC: Can't imagine why the Ecuadorians wanted to get Assange out of there.