Posts on Thursday, March 26, 2020
A former Senate staffer for Joe Biden has credibly accused the Democrat of sexual assault, but you wouldn’t know it if you relied in the corporate media for your news.
Tara Reade described the alleged sexual misconduct in a graphic interview this week with lefty podcaster Katie Halper.
She first brought up Biden’s inappropriate touching last April, saying he did things like “put his hand on my shoulder and run his finger up my neck” when she worked in his Senate office in 1993. “I would just kind of freeze and wait for him to stop doing that,” (Snip)
she left her job on bad terms in August of 1993 after she
There were over 74,000 cases of coronavirus in the United States as of Thursday midday. About half were in New York -- almost 10 times more than any other state. Why has the outbreak hit New York so much harder than other places? Health experts said the answers are largely specific to the New York metropolitan area -- its density and population, primarily -- but they are also a warning to other states that think they may be spared. (Snip) At all times of day, New Yorkers pack together on the subway, bump into each other on sidewalks and brush knees at bars
On Feb. 13, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out an email with what the author described as an 'URGENT' call for help. The agency was struggling with one of its most important duties: keeping track of Americans suspected of having the novel coronavirus. It had 'an ongoing issue' with organizing—and sometimes flat-out losing—forms sent by local agencies about people thought to be infected. The email listed job postings for people who could track or retrieve this paperwork.(Snip) The documents—mostly emails—provide a behind-the-scenes peek into the messy early stages of the U.S. response
President Trump said Thursday that he planned to 'kiss' the USNS Comfort goodbye as it sets sail for New York City to aid the city with the coronavirus crisis. 'I think I'm going to go out and, I'll kiss it goodbye, I'll go to - it's in Virginia as you know, and I will go and we'll be waving together, because I suspect the media will be following,' Trump told reporters at the White House briefing.Several moments after the president made the comments, the White House announced that he was serious and would travel to the Norfolk Naval Station on Saturday to 'bid bon voyage to the hospital ship,'
The White House response coordinator for the coronavirus task force said Thursday that extreme predictions about the pandemic don't line up with the incoming data, while also pushing back against unfounded rumors that could alarm the public. Dr. Deborah Birx said 19 of all 50 states with confirmed cases have low levels of the outbreak.(Snip)Birx also pushed back against rumors of changes to do-not-resuscitate policies, saying such falsehoods could scare the public. Hospitals across the United States are reportedly discussing the possibility of a blanket do-not-resuscitate policy for infected patients to prevent the virus from spreading.
Former Vice President Joe Biden hosted a “Happy Hour with Young Americans” livestream Wednesday night and only 2,800 people tuned in, according to a CBS news reporter.(Tweet) Meanwhile, millions and millions and millions of Americans, some 12 million on TV alone, and millions more online, are watching President Trump’s daily press briefings about the coronavirus. The far-left New York Times, which is obviously worried about how these briefings have improved the president’s job approval rating, is now openly suggesting the briefings not be broadcast live, so that the fake news media can filter out
President Trump claimed Iran and China are rooting for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.Trump jabbed Biden during a press conference with members of the White House coronavirus task force on Thursday, claiming it would be China's or Iran's "best dream" to negotiate with Biden instead of Trump. "We made a [trade] deal with China, and we're going to do another one, it looks like. They want to do it very badly. Maybe they'll want to wait, like Iran, to see whether or not Trump gets beaten in the election because would they love to negotiate with Biden or somebody else other than me. They would love it.
In this uncertain world, one thing we can always trust to be a constant is unerring ability of Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew, to say utterly bizarre things. On Tuesday she was at it again, tweeting a pair of extraordinary messages suggesting that “Mother Nature” had unleashed the coronavirus on humankind to punish us for not looking after the planet. Little did she know at the time of her social media fusillade, her former brother-in-law Prince Charles was already suffering from the virus. Charles had seen the Queen two weeks earlier prompting fears that the virus could spread
The White House criticized Wednesday the Seattle-area NPR station’s recent decision to stop airing the coronavirus task force press briefings.
“It’s not surprising, but also a failure of their duty to the American people, that some media outlets would choose to block their audiences from receiving accurate, up-to-date information on President Trump’s whole-of-government approach to slowing the spread of COVID-19,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told Daily Caller. (snip) KUOW, the NPR station broadcasting across Washington’s Puget Sound, announced Tuesday night that they “will not be airing the briefings live due to a pattern of false or misleading information that cannot be fact checked in real time.”
Presidential candidate Joe Biden has narrowed down his list of potential running mates to a small group of women in recent weeks after pledging that his nominee for vice president would be female during the last Democratic debate earlier this month. Biden reportedly told former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is in his "top three" picks for the role of his running mate, and according to Mediaite, Reid has expressed his support for her as the former vice president's vice presidential nominee. Reid believes Cortez Masto, the first Latina Senator in the U.S., will help
Two caveats: One, this article puts the cart well before the horse because we have not yet seen the worst of China Virus 19; yet this article focuses on the day after the crisis is declared over. After all, Trump’s critics and all “Monday Morning Quarterbacks” always complain after the fact that others did not plan earlier. Two, if President Trump is not reelected in November, this article is pointless because our future relations with China will be the least of America’s problems. With that duly noted … China Virus 19 has brought home to more Americans than ever before that we absolutely have to divorce from China.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) expressed outrage on Thursday that the cash payment portion of the economic relief package, which the Senate unanimously passed Wednesday night, does not extend to noncitizens.The Senate unanimously approved of the historic coronavirus emergency relief measure on Wednesday evening after days of partisan battles. As many Republican leaders have stated, the passed bill remains virtually the same as the original bill Democrats rejected on Sunday. It provides aid for small businesses, creates a lending aid program, and delivers cash assistance directly into the pockets of American citizens.The bill will provide most American adults
Stocks surged higher on Thursday, the third consecutive day of gains for Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, despite the release of data showing a record jump in jobless claims.The Dow rose 1,351.62 points, a 6.38 percent gain. The S&P 500 climbed 6.24 percent. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 5.6 percent. The smaller company focused Russell 2000 index soared 6.3 percent. The Dow is now up more than 20 percent from its recent low, ending the bear market after 11 days and putting the blue-chip index back into bull market territory. It’s not clear how long the new bull market will last.
Of nine leaders and institutions rated by Americans in a new poll on their response to the novel Wuhan Coronavirus, the media fared the worst, and it’s not even close. According to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday, the media was the only institution that scored a negative approval rating among the public with only 44 percent of Americans approving of the way the media has covered the virus. Fifty-five percent disapprove making for a -11 percent rating. Gallup also gathered approval ratings for U.S. hospitals, schools and daycares, state governments, employers, government health agencies such as
Undocumented workers have long filled thousands of jobs in Massachusetts on construction sites, in restaurant kitchens and on cleaning crews. And like their coworkers, many have been laid off as efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus bring everyday life to a standstill. But there's one crucial difference: Undocumented immigrants can't access unemployment benefits.
Three people who call the Boston area home, but have no legal status, shared their fears with WGBH News about surviving without a paycheck and, during a worsening public health crisis, being fearful of accessing medical help.
President Trump lead another Coronavirus task force briefing from the White House on Monday evening. The President was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, US Attorney General Bill Barr and others. Trump signed a second executive order to providing authority to address hoarding and price gouging that threatens the supply of medical supplies.Attorney General Bill Barr put hoarders on notice and said they will get a knock on the door if they are sitting on a large amount of supplies.“We have started to see some evidence of potential hoarding and price gouging,”
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever conceived. Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the vast collection of development and investment initiatives would stretch from East Asia to Europe, significantly expanding China’s economic and political influence, Some analysts see the project as an unsettling extension of China’s rising power, and as the costs of many of the projects have skyrocketed, opposition has grown in some countries. Meanwhile, the United States shares the concern of some in Asia that the BRI could be a Trojan horse for China-led regional development and military expansion.
On the heels of more than three million new unemployment claims, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calls in to CNBC for a phone interview to discuss the coronavirus relief bill that passed last night.
Mnuchin was asked about his reaction to seeing the 3.28 million new unemployment claims reported for the past week during the interview. Mnuchin said, “To be honest, I think these numbers right now aren’t relevant whether they’re bigger or shorter in the short term.” WATCH: (Video)
Yikes, the text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) has been released (full pdf below). The Senate took H.R.748 stripped it out, and replaced the text with this bill. The full 50 page senate record of the activity is available here.
Digging in now. However, at first blush the size of the spending seems to be a considerable state budget deficit bailout [similar to how Obamacare removed the healthcare pension liabilities from unions]. Here’s the BILL:
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
sentinels won't abandon post for
coronavirus: 'We are always here' replies
sentinels won't abandon post for
coronavirus: 'We are always here' replies
The ever-vigilant eyes of 3rd U.S. infantry troops before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will not blink before the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Army troops told a local CBS affiliate that rain, sleet, snow — or deadly viruses — cannot stop their watch over Arlington National Cemetary’s iconic memorial.
“For us, it doesn’t matter if it’s a hurricane, or if it’s the coronavirus.” Capt. Harold Earls said Monday. “We are always here, we are always guarding.”
The alert from FlightRadar24.com popped up on aviation enthusiasts’ smartphones early this morning: the Antonov AN-225 was finally on the move, after 18 long months of inactivity. Those who know the monster cargo airplane and eagerly track its global delivery movements—myself included—long ago set up alerts with the flight-tracking website for every time the big airplane takes off. However, since it entered a major maintenance and upgrade program in October 2018, it’s been nothing but stony silence.
China cashes in off coronavirus,
selling Spain $467 million in
supplies, some of them substandard replies
selling Spain $467 million in
supplies, some of them substandard replies
As the novel coronavirus sweeps across the world, some countries are finding themselves in a difficult situation.
Low on supplies or money, traditional American allies like Spain, Italy, France and Japan have had to turn to China for help.
"China creates the poison and sells the solution to it," foreign affairs expert Gordon Chang told Fox News.
China has used its money, medical equipment and teams of doctors and nurses in a high-stakes campaign to show the world that while the United States scrambles to contain the novel coronavirus within its borders, China is busy moving in on some of America's closest allies.
"Never let a good crisis go to waste," Dimitar Bechev,
On Sunday afternoon, nearly two weeks into his self-imposed isolation at home in Delaware, Joe Biden joined a private conference call for 72 donors from the Atlanta area. Biden, now the all-but-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in a race frozen by the coronavirus, had recently been taking heat for his relative absence in the national conversation while Donald Trump’s inept response to the crisis flooded cable TV and headlines. (“Where is Joe Biden?,” went the refrain from frustrated Bernie Sanders supporters, some jittery Biden fans, and plenty of Trumpy trolls.) On the phone — a substitute for the in-person address he’d been scheduled to give donors
On Tuesday, President Trump, Vice President Pence, Deborah Birx, and Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome Adams sat down for a Fox News virtual town hall. It was the most-watched town hall in cable news history, with around 4.4 million viewers. Americans are obviously hungry to hear information directly from those people who will make decisions about how our country approaches the coronavirus situation.
In addition to the town hall, President Trump has been making himself and his team available every day for press conferences. While the President is always going to be Trump-esque, he’s learned the virtue of gracefully stepping aside so that the experts can speak directly to the public.
Secretary of State Simon: Minnesota
should prepare for 'a different kind of election'
amid COVID-19 replies
should prepare for 'a different kind of election'
amid COVID-19 replies
With the COVID-19 pandemic and a major upcoming election, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said Minnesotans should prepare for "a different kind of election." (snip) "Whatever option we use, we'll do this thoughtfully and carefully," Simon said. "No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote."
Donald Trump plays a different game of chess. He thinks several moves ahead, as any chess master would, but he also plays multiple games simultaneously. He contends with a confrontational media, an insatiable Democratic House leadership, and ill prepared state government–managed health care facilities. Trump would be amazed should he get true bipartisan support in his effort to stem the coronavirus crisis.
Trump chose to express his desire for a return to normal. He hoped America could reopen by Easter. The media immediately rushed to condemn him. But when his tweet Sunday evening was sent out,
Sometimes phenomena flare into public consciousness, crowd out other concerns, then disappear. Only later we realize that judicious assessment of the evidence might have saved a great deal of distress.
There are disturbing clues that the Brazilian Zika scare might have been one such phenomenon, fueled by fear, haste, and fallacious conclusions instead of scientific rigor. (Graphic)The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a global emergency in 2016 and introduced drastic measures. (Snip)One of the first microcephaly babies to arouse suspicion of a viral cause was a non-identical twin whose brother was completely normal. Microcephaly is usually an inherited genetic condition or
Hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic are engaged in a heated private debate over a calculation few have encountered in their lifetimes — how to weigh the “save at all costs” approach to resuscitating a dying patient against the real danger of exposing doctors and nurses to the contagion of coronavirus... Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago has been discussing a do-not-resuscitate policy for infected patients, regardless of the wishes of the patient or their family members...
Epidemiologist Behind Highly-Cited
Coronavirus Model Admits He Was Wrong,
Drastically Revises Model replies
Coronavirus Model Admits He Was Wrong,
Drastically Revises Model replies
Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, who created the highly-cited Imperial College London coronavirus model, which has been cited by organizations like The New York Times and has been instrumental in governmental policy decision-making, offered a massive revision to his model on Wednesday.
Ferguson’s model projected 2.2 million dead people in the United States and 500,000 in the U.K. from COVID-19 if no action were taken to slow the virus and blunt its curve. Ferguson thus dropped his prediction from 500,000 dead to 20,000.
The Trump administration, state officials and even individual hospital workers are now racing against each other to get the necessary masks, gloves and other safety equipment to fight coronavirus — a scramble that hospitals and doctors say has come too late and left them at risk. But according to a previously unrevealed White House playbook, the government should’ve begun a federal-wide effort to procure that personal protective equipment at least two months ago.
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak some places have fully embraced wearing face masks, and anyone caught without one risks becoming a social pariah. But in many other parts of the world, from the UK and the US to Sydney and Singapore, it's still perfectly acceptable to walk around bare-faced. Why some countries embrace masks while others shun them is not just about government directives and medical advice - it's also about culture and history. But as this pandemic worsens, will this change? The official word on face masks Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the official advice from
President Trump’s job approval numbers are surging to the best figures of his 3.5 year-old presidency. According to the RealClearPoltiics poll of polls, Trump’s approval rating sits at a very healthy 47 percent, beating his previous record of 46 percent by a full point.
What’s more, Trump’s disapproval ratingdipped to 49.5 percent, his best showing since February of 2017, the month after he assumed the presidency. In fact, this is the first time his disapproval rating has been below 50 percent since February of 2017. Here’s some context…Ten days ago, Trump’s average approval rating was three points lower at 44 percent, while his disapproval rating
MILAN - Italian researchers are looking at whether a higher than usual number of cases of severe pneumonia and flu in Lombardy in the last quarter of 2019 may be a signal that the new coronavirus might have spread beyond China earlier than previously thought. Adriano Decarli, an epidemiologist and medical statistics professor at the University of Milan, said there had been a “significant” increase in the number of people hospitalized for pneumonia and flu in the areas of Milan and Lodi between October and December last year. He told Reuters he could not give exact figures but “hundreds” more
President Trump pushed back at CBS reporter Paula Reid on Wednesday when she pushed the usual "nonpartisan experts say you're all wrong" line on him. After the live briefing, CNN host Wolf Blitzer turned to in-house analysts Daniel Dale -- the "fact checker" -- and Gloria Borger. Dale didn't check any facts, lamely noticing that Trump can't have any rallies, but he repeats his catch phrases like "big beautiful wall." Thanks, genius. Then Wolf Blitzer turned to Borger to lament the attack on those Nonpartisan Journalists. (Video)
The Trump administration unsealed sweeping indictments against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and members of his inner circle on narco-terrorism charges on Thursday, a move that dramatically escalates the U.S. bid to force the authoritarian socialist from power.
The indictment, which officials said was a decade in the making, comes as supporters of the U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition movement to oust Maduro is fading, particularly as the outbreak of the coronavirus has effectively halted calls for citizens to turnout in the streets.
President Trump's reelection campaign has threatened to sue television networks if they continued airing a political ad the president's team claims is "misleading." Priorities USA, a liberal super PAC, crafted the ad, titled “Exponential Threat,” which has caused a stir among Trump's campaign. The ad spliced together comments the president has made regarding the coronavirus throughout the ongoing pandemic alongside a graphic depicting the rise in cases in the United States. A recent remark from Trump is highlighted in the ad, which is airing on networks in battleground states such as Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and shows him appearing to call the coronavirus a "hoax."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Calista, the US ambassador to the Vatican, have been trapped in Italy while under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report.“Italy is a very sobering experience,” Gingrich told Fox 5 New York. “Everything is closed down. The only thing that is open are grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations.”About 70,000 people have been infected by COVID-19 in Italy, which has been under a nationwide lockdown for two weeks. On Wednesday, the country reported 5,210 new cases and 683 deaths.
Never let a crisis go to waste, right? California is really ramping up its efforts to control the population after a couple dozen people died from the Coronavirus. Governor Gavin Newsom recently said he was considering martial law after 12 people died from the Coronavirus.Now a California police department is planning on using drones with night vision cameras and loudspeakers to monitor the population amid the Coronavirus shutdown after approximately 28 confirmed deaths in the state.
Oconomowoc farmer's restaurant customers
are struggling,so he's getting eggs to groceries, charity replies
are struggling,so he's getting eggs to groceries, charity replies
When Michael Gutschenritter started Three Brothers Farm in Oconomowoc in 2013, he started small. As he made connections with chefs and restaurants, his business grew and his eggs became staples at local groceries and some of the area’s busiest restaurants.
Last month, he doubled the number of laying hens on the farm, where they’re now producing about 2,500 eggs per day.
Then in a matter of days, as restaurants shifted their business models due to the coronavirus pandemic, so did Gutschenritter. Groceries are now his main customers, and he’s working with other farmers to get products to people.
Hanover Twp.—According to Gerrity’s Supermarkets co-owner Joe Fasula, one woman’s attempt at a prank will cost the store over $35,000 worth of produce. In a post uploaded to the Gerrity’s Facebook page on Wednesday, Fasula says that a woman known in the Hanover Township area as a “chronic problem in the community” entered the Luzerne County store around 2:20 p.m. and proceeded to cough all over the produce section, as well as parts of the bakery, meat case and grocery. The woman was removed from the store as quickly as possible by Gerrity’s employees, and Fasula says that he’s been in contact
Kathy Griffin accused President Trump of lying and slammed his coronavirus task force from a hospital isolation ward.The 59-year-old comedian claimed she was showing “unbearably painful” symptoms of COVID-19 before landing in the hospital where she tweeted a photo of herself lying in a hospital bed wearing a mask.Griffin was responding to a tweet by the president about testing being done for the coronavirus, claiming he was not telling the truth.“Just reported that the United States has done far more ‘testing’ than any other nation, by far!” Trump tweeted. “In fact, over an eight day span, the United States now does more testing than what South Korea
A super PAC ad supporting 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden accused President Donald Trump of failure concerning the coronavirus pandemic.The seven-figure ad, created by pro-Biden Unite the Country PAC, will reportedly run nationally on select broadcast and cable programs except for Fox News. “Crisis Comes” discusses past crises that the United States has experienced, referencing how former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan handled them. “Crisis comes to every presidency — we don’t blame them for that,” the ad said. “What matters is how they handle it.”
Whew. A lot of pot-shop and liquor-store customers and owners were worried plenty.
In panic buying in recent weeks because the coronavirus might shutter both types of shops, they reported sales increases of 20% to 30%, and sometimes more.
But good news!
Pot shops and many, if not most, liquor stores in this state are considered “essential businesses” and can stay open under Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order issued Monday.
Steve Sisolak, the leftist governor of Nevada, decided to play doctor by banning the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two drugs that are being used elsewhere to treat COVID-19. (snip) Ted Cruz could tell what Sisolak's ban was really about -- Getting Trump -- and he said something. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal:
On Wednesday, Cruz wrote on Twitter: “During this crisis, we should listen to the science & the medical professionals,” Cruz tweeted on Wednesday. “The opposite approach: the Governor of Nevada, practicing medicine w/o a license
Two of the Navy’s newest aircraft carriers require a unique system to keep the toilets unclogged and cost $400,000 to fix each clog, a government watchdog said in a report released Tuesday. The USS Gerald R. Ford and USS George H.W. Bush, both based in Virginia, were constructed with a toilet system similar to those used on a commercial plane. But with 4,000 people on board the ship, the toilets require an acid flush of the system. “While each acid flush costs about $400,000, the Navy has yet to determine how often and for how many ships this action will need to be repeated,
Shantell Pablo heaved a big sigh and shrugged as she headed back to her 18-wheeler during a break at the service plaza along Interstate 70 Wednesday morning between Lawrence and Kansas City.
“I’m just ready for everything to be over,” said the 27-year-old trucker from Metairie, Louisiana, who was hauling a load of dry goods from Chicago to Colorado and then on to Texas. “During this time, it has been very difficult for all of us, especially us truckers. It’s put a lot of stress on all of us.”
Whatever happened to Dan Quayle?
replies
He was the 44th vice president of the United States in the George H.W. Bush administration, but for the last 20 years, Dan Quayle has stayed mostly away from the unfriendly glare of political life.
I called him to get his thoughts on the coronavirus and the current political scene.
On the virus and the approach to it by the Trump administration, Mr. Quayle said, “I think they’re doing a very good job. They know what they’re doing.”
“There’s no cure.”
People are frightened when they hear these words. I know I was.
For those of you who don’t know my story, after surviving a medical error in 2015 only to be diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, I found myself without the luxury of time to wait for a potentially life-saving treatment to be approved.
Sound familiar? Millions of Americans right now are unfortunately experiencing my same fear—as we don’t have the luxury of waiting months or even years for a coronavirus cure to be approved. Although the coronavirus is certainly different than cancer, it’s still the same invisible enemy of death.
An overwhelming majority of Americans are worried about the financial effects of state and local measures imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, yet the Democrats continue to dither over an economic stimulus bill. A new Harris poll reveals that 91 percent of Americans are “increasingly concerned” about the economy. Late Wednesday, the Senate finally passed an emergency relief package but only after overcoming a threat by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to put a hold on the bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says the lower chamber won’t take up the measure until Friday, and the Democratic governor of New York has demanded additional allocations for his state
Have you seen the “Reelect Trump” commercials appearing daily on your TV? No, not those produced by the president’s campaign. They’re the marathon press conferences he’s been having in the White House briefing room, standing aside members of the administration’s coronavirus task force.
There has never been anything like them. A lot of Americans may be put off by the gruff, in-your-face, even braggadocious manner of leadership exercised by Donald Trump. They may not believe everything they hear this president say. But seeing a 73-year-old tycoon with a reputation for self-promotion, who could be doing any kind of work or
FBI Kills Terror Suspect Planning to
Bomb Hospital Over Government
Response to the Coronavirus replies
Bomb Hospital Over Government
Response to the Coronavirus replies
The FBI says a man killed by agents in Belton, Missouri, on Tuesday night was a terrorist suspect who was actively planning to bomb a hospital amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The suspect, 36-year-old Timothy Wilson, was killed by FBI agents while picking up what he believed to be a bomb for use in the attack, the FBI announced in a press release on Wednesday.
The suspect was motivated "by racial, religious, and anti-government animus" and had been "the subject of a months-long domestic terrorism investigation," according to the FBI. No other details regarding the suspect's motive were provided.
The entire political focus of yesterday’s news cycle was the legislative imbroglio between Republicans and Democrats over the coronavirus rescue package. (Snip) Do we really need to intensify the shutdown before we understand the data and projections of the actual virus itself?
Given that the virus was discovered in Wuhan on November 17 (at the latest), when did coronavirus really begin in this country? Roughly how many cases do we think occurred before we began testing during the first week in March, and how many fatalities occurred? How many of the presumed flu deaths, and particularly the presumed pneumonia deaths during what was thought of as a bad flu season, were
The COVID-19 pandemic is a legitimate crisis we should take seriously, but our response to this virus is putting us on course for a far worse disaster. The instructions from the CDC, the World Health Organization, and all government officials at the federal, state, and local levels are ringing out with one clear message. We’ve all heard it: Wash your hands with soap and water, don’t touch your face, and stay home. Two of these three are sound advice but instructing everyone to stay home instead of going to work is not going to end well if we attempt to do it for more
As we were preparing to gather with family for dinner while sheltering from the coronavirus, an email arrived from a reader. Its subject line was “I-m-a-g-i-n-e.” Attached was a video of Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful” at the Republican National Convention in 1984 at Dallas. That was the convention that handed up President Reagan for the campaign in which he won a second term with a victory in 49 of the 50 states. What a unifying moment.
We plan to share the video over dinner with our children, and why not with our readers, of whom we have been thinking constantly during this travail.
Before you even begin to read this post, remember what Hillary Clinton, the voice of the left in 2015, said about sexual assault allegations: “Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported.” With that fixed in your mind, it’s time to talk about Joe Biden. (snip) Up until spring 2019, when he began his presidential run, Joe Biden seemed immune. That was when, Lucy Flores, a Bernie Sanders supporter, claimed that, in 2014, when he was still Vice President, Joe Biden touched her inappropriately and kissed her head at a campaign rally.
Epochal events like the coronavirus pandemic can change an awful lot of things in politics, as in other areas of life. Some pols lucky (or unlucky) enough to be in the spotlight are going to get a lot more public exposure than you could buy with a billion dollars worth of ads; some will do very well with all that exposure, while others may not. One who has done conspicuously well is suddenly appearing in prediction markets for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination:(Snip for tweet)And that has led a few conspiracy theorists (mostly conservatives, who figure anything negative about the presumptive presidential nominee
Ford Motor Company, GE Healthcare and 3M have started pooling their resources together to make ventilators, respirators and face shields to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.
“We were the arsenal of democracy during two world wars,” Executive Chairman Bill Ford explained during his appearance Tuesday on the “Today Show.” We built iron lungs for polio patients. Whenever we’re called on, we’re there.” “We’re going into our parts bin to see what can be done,” he added. “We’re a very opportunistic company.”
Virus Heroes and Zeros
replies
We’re probably at the end of the beginning of the great Chinese coronavirus insanity, and in not-to-long, we’ll be back to work, despite the people screaming that Trump wants to kill all the old people to please Wall Street fatcats because of course he does. We’ll also soon be assessing blame.
There’s lots of blame because there are a lot of stupid people and institutions who should be blamed. There are also heroes. I wrote about them the other day. But most of the people you recognize from the idiot box were zeros.
The list of zeros must begin with the media, as if that’s a shock.
Robert Levinson, a former FBI special agent who disappeared while traveling on Iran’s Kush Island in 2007, has “died while in Iranian custody,” his family announced Wednesday.
“We recently received information from U.S. officials that has led both them and us to conclude that our wonderful husband and father died while in Iranian custody,” his widow, Christine Levinson, said in a statement signed by other members of his family. “We don’t know when or how he died, only that it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
President Trump at the daily White House briefing on the coronavirus Wednesday evening called Levinson "a great gentleman"
In the wee hours of Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate finally passed the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill after a great deal of Democrat stalling and a futile effort by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put forward a separate bill jam-packed with liberal Christmas wish-list items. The bill provides crucial relief to businesses struggling with the social distancing strategy of stopping the spread of the coronavirus. It now heads to the House.
The stimulus bill is far from perfect, but its passage unmasked Pelosi's tactics as a disgraceful waste of time during this crisis. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) slammed the speaker
We are living through what may be the worst and most elemental fear human beings can experience — the fear of invasion.
And the invader isn’t a human aggressor that can be repelled with military force — but an invisible and not-exactly-alive viral contagion that somehow gets inside your body or the body of your loved ones and attacks from within even as it continues to spread its damage from without. This is the horror of the novel coronavirus.
For Americans especially prone to that specific fear, there is almost no piece of coronavirus news that doesn’t trigger a renewed sense of panic.
Last week, when their “health weather” map debuted, I noted that it was nifty but that it’d be nice to be able to see at a glance on the map whether fevers are becoming more or less common. Kinsa added that feature (“Trends”) yesterday. As you can see above, there’s a band of counties in Colorado and New Mexico that are showing a modest increase but otherwise the fever rate is declining practically everywhere coast to coast. Dark blue areas reflect the steepest decline.
The Moralizing Cuomo Brothers
replies
Turn on the TV these days and you are bound to catch one of the Cuomo brothers inveighing against the “selfish.” Chris Cuomo on CNN harangues any one who dares suggest that America restart its economy, while Andrew Cuomo delivers lectures on the importance of staying home lest one expose the elderly to illness. Both brothers have inherited their father’s penchant for high and moralistic rhetoric. They have also inherited his incoherent moral philosophy.
Mario Cuomo was given to flowery denunciations on many subjects, but not abortion. There he would fall silent and simply say that he is “personally opposed” to it.
A piece published in The Atlantic made the argument this week that the "idea" of former Vice President Joe Biden is enough to defeat President Trump in November and that in order to do so, Biden would simply have to "stay alive."
"Democrats need little from the front-runner beyond his corporeal presence," Atlantic contributing writer Alex Wagner wrote on Tuesday in a piece titled "Stay Alive, Joe Biden."
Wagner suggested that Democratic voters are so eager to oust Trump that Biden's ongoing campaign has less weight than his decades-old familiarity.
One of the cornerstones of the Senate coronavirus stimulus package is the direct payment of money from the federal government to American individuals and families.
In the middle of the bill's hundreds of pages are details regarding exactly who can expect to receive money and how much they can expect. Here is a breakdown. Who is eligible? The bill makes clear that everyone is eligible except for nonresident aliens and those who can be used as the basis for deductions for another person.
"Seniors, veterans, the unemployed and low-income Americans would be eligible too," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.
The Red Tape Pandemic
replies
Coronavirus is frightening.
I'm working from home, practicing "social distancing." Experts say it'll help "flatten the curve" so fewer people will be infected simultaneously. Then hospitals won't be overwhelmed.
But the infection rate grows. Doctors and hospitals may yet be overwhelmed.
It didn't have to get to this point.
Coronavirus deaths leveled off in South Korea.
That's because people in Korea could easily find out if they had the disease. There are hundreds of testing locations -- even pop-up drive-thru testing centers.
Because Koreans got tested, Korean doctors knew who needed to be isolated and who didn't. As a result, Korea limited the disease without mass quarantines and shortages.
COVID-19—is there anything the coronavirus can’t do? Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) seem to think it should make the feds tell the states how to run their elections.
They’ve introduced a bill that would do just that. S. 3529, the “Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020” is aptly named because it could bring an electoral disaster in November. Not only is it unnecessary, but it would also make it easier to fiddle with election results.
Under our Constitution, Congress sets the time, place, and manner of federal elections, but it is the states and particularly county governments that actually administer the elections. Our Founders designed this structure
For days and days it looked like Black Friday at Costco. Or, as the Instagram account "CostcoBuys" put it, "Panic at the Costco."
Well put. [Tweet]
Yes, well.
Customers lined up around stores to buy things they most certainly did not want to run out of in the case they'd be under quarantine for days on end.
They looked in vain for toilet paper: [tweet]
And the rolled gold was increasing in value in the eyes of the hoarders. As a joke, this toilet paper roll was put in the fine jewelry section of Costco with a $200 price tag. [Tweet]
Gov. Gavin Newsom says
state won't issue guidance on
whether gun stores are essential businesses replies
state won't issue guidance on
whether gun stores are essential businesses replies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will not offer official guidance on whether gun stores can be classified as essential businesses and remain open during the state's shelter-in-place order.
Newsom was asked about the issue after Los Angeles County reversed course on a move to close gun stores amid the spread of coronavirus in the region and the county's shelter-in-place order. L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva initially ordered the closing of gun stores, but legal counsel for the county determined gun stores are essential businesses and must remain open. Villanueva then rescinded the order.