Today's News (2020/3/26)
Mar. 26th, 2020 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdItem nr. 10 probably pisses me off the most, because we are by far the state with the lowest growth rate in infections, we're testing more people per day than anyone else, using tests we developed here, and on and on and on and that bilious fuck in DC so completely can't fucking deal with it that he's going out there and doing shit like this. Fuck this guy, and fuck every. single. person. who voted for him.
----- 1 -----
Louisiana pastor defies coronavirus order, draws over 1,000 people to services
"The virus, we believe, is politically motivated," Tony Spell said. "We hold our religious rights dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says."
March 25, 2020, 10:21 AM PDT / Updated March 25, 2020, 10:37 AM PDT
By Janelle Griffith
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-pastor-defies-coronavirus-order-draws-over-1-000-people-n1168501
A Louisiana pastor is apparently defying the governor's order against gatherings of more than 50 people by hosting over 1,000 churchgoers at a service Sunday and bringing together hundreds at another service Tuesday, according to the pastor and local media.
The pastor, Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, said he does not believe his congregation is at risk of getting COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, according to CBS affiliate WAFB.
"It’s not a concern," Spell told the outlet. "The virus, we believe, is politically motivated. We hold our religious rights dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says."
Spell said 1,170 attended his service Sunday, according to WAFB.
"We have 27 buses on Sundays picking up people in a five-parish area," he said.
----- 2 -----
The ‘Let the Elderly Die’ Chorus
Some conservatives—including supposed ‘pro-lifers’—say we should quit social distancing. Is it the economy they want to help? Or the president?
by Jim Swift
March 26, 2020
https://thebulwark.com/the-let-the-elderly-die-chorus/
A crisis can reveal hidden aspects of people’s character, bringing to light decisiveness, patience, calm, and grit—or their opposites. The things people actually believe, the commitments they hold most dear, the things they really care about, can be exposed.
And what the coronavirus crisis has revealed about many Republicans and conservative commentators—and what they care about most—has not been pretty.
...
In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, however, some Republicans and conservative commentators have begun to make an argument more radical than “people will die.”
It’s this: People _should_ die.
----- 3 -----
Pro-Trump media have ramped up attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci
Written by Bobby Lewis
Research contributions from Kayla Gogarty
Published 03/24/20
https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/pro-trump-media-have-ramped-attacks-against-dr-anthony-fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the past 36 years, is a widely respected immunologist and major public face of the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19. Despite his credibility established over decades as a public health official, right-wing media have begun to launch attacks against “Dr. Doom Fauci,” blaming the medical expert for allegedly harming the economy and undermining President Donald Trump. Today, The New York Times reported that Trump is “losing his patience” with Fauci.
...
Bill Mitchell
twitter.com/mitchellvii
23 March 2020
No Dr. Doom Fauci at last 2 pressers. I know Trump White House reads my feed. I hope I helped to nudge that decision along. I've been advocating for his ouster for weeks. Guy was a Hillary mole.
I'm sure Trump was plenty pissed already without my help.
Bill Mitchell
twitter.com/mitchellvii
24 March 2020
Has anyone else noticed that every suggestion by Dr. Doom Fauci just happens to also be the worst possible thing for the economy?
That's not an accident folks.
That's Hillary.
----- 4 -----
Christian pastor who thought COVID-19 is just ‘mass hysteria’ is among the first in Virginia to die from virus
March 26, 2020
By Sky Palma
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/christian-pastor-who-thought-covid-19-is-just-mass-hysteria-is-among-the-first-in-virginia-to-die-from-virus/
One of the first deaths in Virginia from coronavirus was a 66-year-old Christian “musical evangelist” who fell ill while on a trip to New Orleans with his wife. As the Friendly Atheist’s Bo Gardiner points out, Landon Spradlin had previously shared opinions that the pandemic was the result of “mass hysteria” from the media.
----- 5 -----
Flatter or fight? Governors seeking help must navigate Trump
By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and JONATHAN LEMIRE
26 March 2020
https://apnews.com/f9fb8c41b7f8acc215e3ec78ca32210a
...
Facing an unprecedented public health crisis, governors are trying to get what they need from Washington, and fast. But that means navigating the disorienting politics of dealing with Trump, an unpredictable president with a love for cable news and a penchant for retribution.
Republicans and Democrats alike are testing whether to fight or flatter, whether to back channel requests or go public, all in an attempt to get Trump’s attention and his assurances.
At stake may be access to masks, ventilators and other personal protective gear critically needed by health care workers, as well as field hospitals and federal cash. As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., put it, “I can’t afford to have a fight with the White House.”
...
There’s no evidence that Trump has held up a governor’s request for assistance for personal or political reasons. Still aides say it’s understood that governors who say nice things about the federal response are more likely to be spared public criticism from the White House or threats of withheld assistance.
----- 6 -----
Yamiche Alcindor
twitter.com/Yamiche
6:43 PM · Mar 26, 2020
[I'd normally want video, but the tweeter is PBS NewsHour's Whitehouse corespondent]
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1243352869010649089
President Trump just claimed on Hannity that governors are asking for medical equipment (ie masks and ventilators) and other resources to fight the coronavirus that they don’t need.
“A lot of equipment is being asked for that I don’t think they will need,” Trump said.
----- 7 -----
Trump Campaign’s Threat on TV Licenses May Be Mostly Bluster
By Todd Shields, Jennifer Epstein, and Mario Parker
March 26, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-26/trump-campaign-s-threat-on-tv-licenses-may-be-mostly-bluster
The Trump re-election campaign told TV stations they could lose their operating licenses for airing an ad criticizing the president’s actions in the coronavirus crisis -- a challenge that may be more bluster than actual threat.
President Donald Trump’s campaign, in a letter on Wednesday, told stations in five battleground states to stop showing the ad from Priorities USA, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Failure to remove the ad “could put your station’s license in jeopardy” before the Federal Communications Commission, the campaign said in the letter. “Your station has an obligation to cease and desist from airing it immediately to comply with FCC licensing requirements.”
----- 8 -----
After Considering $1 Billion Price Tag for Ventilators, White House Has Second Thoughts
A deal with General Motors and Ventec Life Systems to produce tens of thousands of the critical lifesaving devices seemed imminent. Then the announcement was pulled back.
By David E. Sanger, Maggie Haberman and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
March 26, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/politics/coronavirus-ventilators-trump.html
WASHINGTON — The White House had been preparing to reveal on Wednesday a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems that would allow for the production of as many as 80,000 desperately needed ventilators to respond to an escalating pandemic when word suddenly came down that the announcement was off.
The decision to cancel the announcement, government officials say, came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive. That price tag was more than $1 billion, with several hundred million dollars to be paid upfront to General Motors to retool a car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., where the ventilators would be made with Ventec’s technology.
Government officials said that the deal might still happen but that they are examining at least a dozen other proposals. And they contend that an initial promise that the joint venture could turn out 20,000 ventilators in short order had shrunk to 7,500, with even that number in doubt. Longtime emergency managers at FEMA are working with military officials to sort through the competing offers and federal procurement rules while under pressure to give President Trump something to announce.
----- 9 -----
Governors frustrated with offer of ‘backup’
March 26, 2020
By David Nakamura, Josh Dawsey, Laura Vozzella and Robert Costa
The Washington Post
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/inslee-clashes-with-trump-over-his-leadership-on-federal-coronavirus-aid/
Tensions between President Donald Trump and governors from states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic are rising at a time when the White House is pushing to loosen restrictions on social distancing in parts of the country due to concerns that they are hurting the economy.
...
On Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, pleaded with Trump during a conference call with the governors to take more dramatic federal action to secure medical supplies for his state, one of the hardest hit, according to four people familiar with the call.
After Trump told the group that his administration was ready to be the “backup” for states in crisis, Inslee interjected: “We don’t need a backup. We need a Tom Brady,” a reference to the Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has been friendly with the president, said those familiar with the exchange, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conference call.
----- 10 -----
Trump: Inslee is 'a failed presidential candidate' who shouldn’t rely on the federal government for coronavirus help
26 March 2020 9:52pm update
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/coronavirus-daily-news-updates-march-26-what-to-know-today-about-covid-19-in-the-seattle-area-washington-state-and-the-nation/
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee “shouldn’t be relying on the federal government” for help with the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Thursday night.
In remarks on Fox News, the president said that his administration was delivering needed medical supplies from federal stockpiles to Washington and other states.
“But remember, we’re really a second line of attack,” Trump said. “The first line of attack is supposed to be the hospitals and the local government and the states, the states themselves.
“I mean, we have people like Gov. Inslee, he should be doing more, he shouldn’t be relying on the federal government,” Trump said.
“He was a failed presidential candidate, and you know, he’s always complaining,” Trump said, adding later: “We’ve really had some trouble with the state of Washington, the governor.”
- Louisiana pastor defies coronavirus order, draws over 1,000 people to services
- The ‘Let the Elderly Die’ Chorus
- Pro-Trump media have ramped up attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci
- Christian pastor who thought COVID-19 is just ‘mass hysteria’ is among the first in Virginia to die from virus
- Flatter or fight? Governors seeking help must navigate Trump
- "governors are asking for medical equipment... to fight the coronavirus that they don’t need."
- Trump Campaign’s Threat on TV Licenses May Be Mostly Bluster
- After Considering $1 Billion Price Tag for Ventilators, White House Has Second Thoughts
- Governors frustrated with offer of ‘backup’
- Trump: Inslee is 'a failed presidential candidate' who shouldn’t rely on the federal government for coronavirus help
----- 1 -----
Louisiana pastor defies coronavirus order, draws over 1,000 people to services
"The virus, we believe, is politically motivated," Tony Spell said. "We hold our religious rights dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says."
March 25, 2020, 10:21 AM PDT / Updated March 25, 2020, 10:37 AM PDT
By Janelle Griffith
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/louisiana-pastor-defies-coronavirus-order-draws-over-1-000-people-n1168501
A Louisiana pastor is apparently defying the governor's order against gatherings of more than 50 people by hosting over 1,000 churchgoers at a service Sunday and bringing together hundreds at another service Tuesday, according to the pastor and local media.
The pastor, Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, said he does not believe his congregation is at risk of getting COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, according to CBS affiliate WAFB.
"It’s not a concern," Spell told the outlet. "The virus, we believe, is politically motivated. We hold our religious rights dear and we are going to assemble no matter what someone says."
Spell said 1,170 attended his service Sunday, according to WAFB.
"We have 27 buses on Sundays picking up people in a five-parish area," he said.
----- 2 -----
The ‘Let the Elderly Die’ Chorus
Some conservatives—including supposed ‘pro-lifers’—say we should quit social distancing. Is it the economy they want to help? Or the president?
by Jim Swift
March 26, 2020
https://thebulwark.com/the-let-the-elderly-die-chorus/
A crisis can reveal hidden aspects of people’s character, bringing to light decisiveness, patience, calm, and grit—or their opposites. The things people actually believe, the commitments they hold most dear, the things they really care about, can be exposed.
And what the coronavirus crisis has revealed about many Republicans and conservative commentators—and what they care about most—has not been pretty.
...
In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, however, some Republicans and conservative commentators have begun to make an argument more radical than “people will die.”
It’s this: People _should_ die.
----- 3 -----
Pro-Trump media have ramped up attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci
Written by Bobby Lewis
Research contributions from Kayla Gogarty
Published 03/24/20
https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/pro-trump-media-have-ramped-attacks-against-dr-anthony-fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the past 36 years, is a widely respected immunologist and major public face of the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19. Despite his credibility established over decades as a public health official, right-wing media have begun to launch attacks against “Dr. Doom Fauci,” blaming the medical expert for allegedly harming the economy and undermining President Donald Trump. Today, The New York Times reported that Trump is “losing his patience” with Fauci.
...
Bill Mitchell
twitter.com/mitchellvii
23 March 2020
No Dr. Doom Fauci at last 2 pressers. I know Trump White House reads my feed. I hope I helped to nudge that decision along. I've been advocating for his ouster for weeks. Guy was a Hillary mole.
I'm sure Trump was plenty pissed already without my help.
Bill Mitchell
twitter.com/mitchellvii
24 March 2020
Has anyone else noticed that every suggestion by Dr. Doom Fauci just happens to also be the worst possible thing for the economy?
That's not an accident folks.
That's Hillary.
----- 4 -----
Christian pastor who thought COVID-19 is just ‘mass hysteria’ is among the first in Virginia to die from virus
March 26, 2020
By Sky Palma
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/christian-pastor-who-thought-covid-19-is-just-mass-hysteria-is-among-the-first-in-virginia-to-die-from-virus/
One of the first deaths in Virginia from coronavirus was a 66-year-old Christian “musical evangelist” who fell ill while on a trip to New Orleans with his wife. As the Friendly Atheist’s Bo Gardiner points out, Landon Spradlin had previously shared opinions that the pandemic was the result of “mass hysteria” from the media.
----- 5 -----
Flatter or fight? Governors seeking help must navigate Trump
By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and JONATHAN LEMIRE
26 March 2020
https://apnews.com/f9fb8c41b7f8acc215e3ec78ca32210a
...
Facing an unprecedented public health crisis, governors are trying to get what they need from Washington, and fast. But that means navigating the disorienting politics of dealing with Trump, an unpredictable president with a love for cable news and a penchant for retribution.
Republicans and Democrats alike are testing whether to fight or flatter, whether to back channel requests or go public, all in an attempt to get Trump’s attention and his assurances.
At stake may be access to masks, ventilators and other personal protective gear critically needed by health care workers, as well as field hospitals and federal cash. As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., put it, “I can’t afford to have a fight with the White House.”
...
There’s no evidence that Trump has held up a governor’s request for assistance for personal or political reasons. Still aides say it’s understood that governors who say nice things about the federal response are more likely to be spared public criticism from the White House or threats of withheld assistance.
----- 6 -----
Yamiche Alcindor
twitter.com/Yamiche
6:43 PM · Mar 26, 2020
[I'd normally want video, but the tweeter is PBS NewsHour's Whitehouse corespondent]
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1243352869010649089
President Trump just claimed on Hannity that governors are asking for medical equipment (ie masks and ventilators) and other resources to fight the coronavirus that they don’t need.
“A lot of equipment is being asked for that I don’t think they will need,” Trump said.
----- 7 -----
Trump Campaign’s Threat on TV Licenses May Be Mostly Bluster
By Todd Shields, Jennifer Epstein, and Mario Parker
March 26, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-26/trump-campaign-s-threat-on-tv-licenses-may-be-mostly-bluster
The Trump re-election campaign told TV stations they could lose their operating licenses for airing an ad criticizing the president’s actions in the coronavirus crisis -- a challenge that may be more bluster than actual threat.
President Donald Trump’s campaign, in a letter on Wednesday, told stations in five battleground states to stop showing the ad from Priorities USA, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Failure to remove the ad “could put your station’s license in jeopardy” before the Federal Communications Commission, the campaign said in the letter. “Your station has an obligation to cease and desist from airing it immediately to comply with FCC licensing requirements.”
----- 8 -----
After Considering $1 Billion Price Tag for Ventilators, White House Has Second Thoughts
A deal with General Motors and Ventec Life Systems to produce tens of thousands of the critical lifesaving devices seemed imminent. Then the announcement was pulled back.
By David E. Sanger, Maggie Haberman and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
March 26, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/politics/coronavirus-ventilators-trump.html
WASHINGTON — The White House had been preparing to reveal on Wednesday a joint venture between General Motors and Ventec Life Systems that would allow for the production of as many as 80,000 desperately needed ventilators to respond to an escalating pandemic when word suddenly came down that the announcement was off.
The decision to cancel the announcement, government officials say, came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it needed more time to assess whether the estimated cost was prohibitive. That price tag was more than $1 billion, with several hundred million dollars to be paid upfront to General Motors to retool a car parts plant in Kokomo, Ind., where the ventilators would be made with Ventec’s technology.
Government officials said that the deal might still happen but that they are examining at least a dozen other proposals. And they contend that an initial promise that the joint venture could turn out 20,000 ventilators in short order had shrunk to 7,500, with even that number in doubt. Longtime emergency managers at FEMA are working with military officials to sort through the competing offers and federal procurement rules while under pressure to give President Trump something to announce.
----- 9 -----
Governors frustrated with offer of ‘backup’
March 26, 2020
By David Nakamura, Josh Dawsey, Laura Vozzella and Robert Costa
The Washington Post
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/inslee-clashes-with-trump-over-his-leadership-on-federal-coronavirus-aid/
Tensions between President Donald Trump and governors from states hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic are rising at a time when the White House is pushing to loosen restrictions on social distancing in parts of the country due to concerns that they are hurting the economy.
...
On Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, pleaded with Trump during a conference call with the governors to take more dramatic federal action to secure medical supplies for his state, one of the hardest hit, according to four people familiar with the call.
After Trump told the group that his administration was ready to be the “backup” for states in crisis, Inslee interjected: “We don’t need a backup. We need a Tom Brady,” a reference to the Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has been friendly with the president, said those familiar with the exchange, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conference call.
----- 10 -----
Trump: Inslee is 'a failed presidential candidate' who shouldn’t rely on the federal government for coronavirus help
26 March 2020 9:52pm update
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/coronavirus-daily-news-updates-march-26-what-to-know-today-about-covid-19-in-the-seattle-area-washington-state-and-the-nation/
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee “shouldn’t be relying on the federal government” for help with the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Thursday night.
In remarks on Fox News, the president said that his administration was delivering needed medical supplies from federal stockpiles to Washington and other states.
“But remember, we’re really a second line of attack,” Trump said. “The first line of attack is supposed to be the hospitals and the local government and the states, the states themselves.
“I mean, we have people like Gov. Inslee, he should be doing more, he shouldn’t be relying on the federal government,” Trump said.
“He was a failed presidential candidate, and you know, he’s always complaining,” Trump said, adding later: “We’ve really had some trouble with the state of Washington, the governor.”
