![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdMore on Donkeyballs Donald Trump's war on Michigan in particular - see previous about about his war on Washington State. But also, the building conspiracy theories and reaction against doing anything about the virus.
The right is more than happy to let millions die. Particularly if they're us.
Also, several more power grabs and looting opportunities under the COVID-19 failures. Here's the list.
----- 1 -----
After Trump Attacks Whitmer, She Says Vendors Aren't Sending Desperately Needed Coronavirus Supplies
"They're being told not to send stuff to Michigan."
WWJ News
March 27, 2020
https://wwjnewsradio.radio.com/articles/after-trump-attacks-whitmer-she-says-fed-supplies-delayed
(WWJ) After President Donald Trump issued scathing comments about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying she's "not stepping up," and "doesn't know what's going on," she told WWJ 950 the state is having trouble getting the equipment they need to fight the novel coronavirus.
"What I've gotten back is that vendors with whom we've procured contracts -- They're being told not to send stuff to Michigan," Whitmer said live on air. "It's really concerning, I reached out to the White House last night and asked for a phone call with the president, ironically at the time this stuff was going on."
The other stuff was Trump speaking with Sean Hannity on FOX News about Whitmer, a Democrat who has said very pointed things about the federal government's lack of coordinated response to the coronavirus crisis. Trump said of Whitmer, "She is a new governor, and it's not been pleasant ... "We've had a big problem with the young — a woman governor. You know who I'm talking about — from Michigan. We don't like to see the complaints."
Michigan's request for disaster assistance has not yet been approved by the White House, and Trump told Hannity he's still weighing it.
----- 2 -----
Rush Limbaugh: Health experts are part of the the "Deep State"
Media Matters
twitter.com/mmfa
https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/1243586823080808462
“We didn't elect a president to defer to a bunch of health experts that we don't know. And how do we know they're even health experts?"
[much longer quote at link]
----- 3 -----
U.S. cities report acute shortages of masks, test kits, ventilators as they face coronavirus threat
March 27, 2020
By Nick Miroff
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/u-s-cities-have-acute-shortages-of-masks-test-kits-ventilators-as-they-face-coronavirus-threat/
Nearly 90% of U.S. mayors who responded to a national survey on coronavirus preparedness said they lack sufficient tests kits, face masks and other protective equipment for their emergency responders and medical workers, while 85% said they do not have enough ventilators for their hospitals – critical shortages that could lead cities and towns to be quickly overwhelmed should the virus spread through their communities.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors survey, published Friday, was conducted from March 20 to March 24 and includes data from 213 U.S. cities in 41 states and Puerto Rico, representing a combined population of 42 million. The shortages of essential items and equipment the cities are facing have “reached crisis proportions,” according to the report.
----- 4 -----
Bernie Beats Trump
twitter.com/doctorow
27 March 2020
https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1243307467565453312
The US is now the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic, henceforth known as the Mar-a-Lago Virus. It has the highest number of infections of any country in the world.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
[THREAD]
----- 5 -----
Parker Molloy
twitter.com/ParkerMolloy
27 March 2020
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1243600584680366082
However, some of the replies I’m seeing on this/other posts of people sharing stories... just really wtf kind of stuff.
I’ve been noticing this more: Trump supporters just diving into people’s mentions to chide them about why they should be taking the drug he recommended
[THREAD above and below this but mostly below this]
----- 6 -----
The bad news for Trump, amid his coronavirus poll bump
By Aaron Blake
March 27, 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/27/bad-news-trump-amid-his-coronavirus-poll-bump/
On its surface, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll is the latest to offer good news for President Trump. His approval rating has reached a new high — as it has in other polls this week — and the overall view of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak is yet again positive.
But this poll, perhaps more than others, suggests just how temporary that bump might be.
In the poll, 48 percent approve of Trump’s overall job performance — the first time his approval has been higher than his disapproval (46 percent) in any Post-ABC poll. His approval on his handling of the coronavirus is 51 percent, vs. 45 percent negative. All of that is in line with other polls.
But the Post-ABC poll asked one very specific question on the coronavirus that doesn’t reflect so favorably on Trump. It asked people whether they thought Trump was too slow to respond to the crisis or whether he reacted with the right speed. Fully 58 percent of people said he was too slow, while just 38 percent said he reacted as quickly as he should have.
----- 7 -----
Citing virus, EPA has stopped enforcing environmental laws
March 26, 2020
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
The Associated Press
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/citing-virus-epa-has-stopped-enforcing-environmental-laws/
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday abruptly waived enforcement on a range of legally mandated public health and environmental protections, saying industries could have trouble complying with them during the coronavirus pandemic.
The oil and gas industry were among the industries that had sought an advance relaxation of environmental and public health enforcement during the outbreak, citing potential staffing problems. The EPA’s decision was sweeping, forgoing fines or other civil penalties for companies that failed to monitor, report or meet some other requirements for releasing hazardous pollutants.
The move was the latest, and one of the broadest, regulation-easing moves by the EPA, which is seeking to roll back dozens of regulations as part of President Donald Trump’s purge of rules that the administration sees as unfriendly to business. Civil and criminal enforcement of polluters under the administration has fallen sharply.
Former Obama-era EPA chief Gina McCarthy, now president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the announcement “an open license to pollute.”
----- 8 -----
Barry Schapiro, MD, FAAOS
twitter.com/bschapiroMD
27 March 2020
https://twitter.com/bschapiroMD/status/1243614548420165641
On March 6th, VP Mike Pence promised 1.1 million tests by the end of the week. We are now 3 weeks past his stated timetable and we’ve only completed half of what was promised.
You shouldn’t be “pleased.” You failed and people are dying as a result. This is on you.
[EMBEDDED TWEET]
Mike Pence
twitter.com/Mike_Pence
Mar 26 2020
I’m pleased to report that Coronavirus testing is available in all 50 states and over 500,000 tests have been performed. Thank you twitter.com/ahahospitals and hospitals across the Country for helping to get Americans tested.
----- 9 -----
‘Foolishness and Foolery’
Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
By Ashton Pittman
March 26, 2020
https://www.mississippifreepress.com/mississippi-governor-overrides-mayors-covid-19.html
Roadside mannequins are inviting residents of Moss Point, Miss., to resume shopping at a local clothing store, restaurants are returning their dine-in services, and churches are re-opening their doors for services. Mayor Mario King described the burgeoning renewal in commerce and social life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic today as it swirled around him in his Gulf Coast town after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order Tuesday that overruled local measures meant to stop the virus’ spread.
“His order completely makes our order null and void,” King, who closed businesses he deemed non-essential last week, told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday afternoon. “So barbershops and salons are open today. People are actually at church making up Bible studies lost on Wednesday, so they’re having Thursday Bible studies. There are restaurants that re-opened their dine-in services today. … I understand they’re just trying to make a dollar, but if one person sneezes who has COVID-19 and someone else comes in, they’re possibly exposed to that. So his order puts our people at risk.”
Moss Point is located in Jackson County, which ranks no. 7 for the most novel coronavirus infections statewide, and where State officials confirmed an additional four cases this morning.
----- 10 -----
Alabama Gov. Refuses To Issue Shelter In Place Order: ‘We Are Not California’
By Cristina Cabrera
March 27, 2020
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/alabama-governor-refuse-shelter-in-place-order-not-california
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said during a new conference on Thursday that she would not issue a shelter in place order that 21 other states have enacted to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
“Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York state, we are not California,” Ivey told a reporter who had asked about a potential order. “And right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.”
The governor asserted that businesses need to stay open to provide food, medical supplies and jobs.
“We’ve got have all the materials that are needed to keep Alabamians working as much as we can,” she said.
----- 11 -----
GOP governor breaks with Trump: 'We're not going to be up and running by Easter'
Trump has floated Easter as a target date to relax social distancing guidelines.
By STEPHANIE MURRAY
03/27/2020
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/gop-charlie-baker-coronavirus-trump-151875
BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday his state will not be back to normal by Easter, bucking President Donald Trump's suggestion that the country could loosen social distancing guidelines by the April 12 holiday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"The information we're getting from public health experts and from health care providers here in Massachusetts — yeah, no," Baker, a Republican, said during a Friday morning press conference in Boston. "We're not going to be up and running by Easter, no.”
----- 12 -----
Analyzing the Patterns in Trump’s Falsehoods About Coronavirus
For months, the president has downplayed the severity of the pandemic, overstated the impact of his policies and potential treatments, blamed others and tried to rewrite the history of his response.
By Linda Qiu
March 27, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-factcheck.html
Hours after the United States became the nation with the largest number of reported coronavirus cases on Thursday, President Trump appeared on Fox News and expressed doubt about shortages of medical supplies, boasted about the country’s testing capacity, and criticized his predecessor’s response to an earlier outbreak of a different disease.
“I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators,” he said, alluding to a request by Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. The president made the statement in spite of government reports predicting shortages in a severe pandemic — and he reversed course on Friday morning, calling for urgent steps to produce more ventilators.
Speaking on Fox on Thursday, Mr. Trump suggested wrongly that because of his early travel restrictions on China, “a lot of the people decided to go to Italy instead” — though Italy had issued a more wide-ranging ban on travel from China and done so earlier than the United States. And at a White House briefing on Friday, he wrongly said he was the “first one” to impose restrictions on China. North Korea, for one, imposed restrictions 10 days before the United States.
He misleadingly claimed again on Friday that “we’ve tested now more than anybody.” In terms of raw numbers, the United States has tested more people for the coronavirus than Italy and South Korea but still lags behind in tests per capita.
And he continued to falsely claim that the Obama administration “acted very, very late” during the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 and 2010.
These falsehoods, like dozens of others from the president since January, demonstrate some core tenets of how Mr. Trump has tried to spin his response to the coronavirus epidemic to his advantage. Here’s an overview.
----- 13 -----
Free For All
States in chaotic scramble for supplies without federal COVID leadership
26 March 2020
Rachael Maddow
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/states-in-chaotic-scramble-for-supplies-without-federal-covid-leadership-81303621644
Rachel Maddow shows how the lack of coordinating leadership from the Trump administration has allowed the market for medical supplies to spin out of control, forcing states to compete against each other as well as federal agencies, driving up prices and hindering the smart distribution of available resources.
[VIDEO at link]
----- 14 -----
Canada 'strongly opposed' to U.S. stationing troops near shared border
U.S. news report says Trump plans to drop the proposal
Catharine Tunney, Alexander Panetta, Philip Ling · CBC News
Posted: Mar 26, 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-trump-border-coronavirus-1.5510853
The federal government says it's "strongly opposed" to the idea of sending American troops to the border to intercept illegal migrants as part of the United States' response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is an entirely unnecessary step, which we would view as damaging to our relationship," said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland this morning, following the first public report from Global News that White House officials are thinking about stationing soldiers near the Canadian border.
"Canada is strongly opposed to this U.S. proposal and we've made that opposition very, very clear to our American counterparts.
She then paused and shrugged before continuing: "At the end of the day, every country takes it own decisions but ours is an important and valued partnership and we are making clear Canada's position."
----- 15 -----
Trump Claims Power to Gag Watchdog Overseeing Virus Stimulus
By Josh Wingrove and Saleha Mohsin
March 27, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-28/trump-claims-power-to-gag-watchdog-overseeing-virus-stimulus
Donald Trump said the inspector general who’ll oversee hundreds of billions in aid to curb economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic cannot tell Congress if the government stonewalls his office without the president’s approval.
In a statement issued Friday to accompany his signature on the bill, Trump said the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, or SIGPR, cannot go to Congress if refused information by agencies about loans and investments made by the Treasury secretary.
Creation of the oversight post was a key concession by Senate Republicans during the bill’s hasty development, sought by Democrats to ensure oversight over hundreds of billions of dollars in potential loans and spending.
The inspector general will have the authority to seek information from government agencies, and report to congress any refusal of a reasonable request. Trump said in the statement that he won’t let that happen without his approval.
The right is more than happy to let millions die. Particularly if they're us.
Also, several more power grabs and looting opportunities under the COVID-19 failures. Here's the list.
- After Trump Attacks Whitmer, She Says Vendors Aren't Sending Desperately Needed Coronavirus Supplies
- Rush Limbaugh: Health experts are part of the the "Deep State"
- U.S. cities report acute shortages of masks, test kits, ventilators as they face coronavirus threat
- The US is now the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic
- I’ve been noticing this more: Trump supporters just diving into people’s mentions to chide them about why they should be taking the drug he recommended
- The bad news for Trump, amid his coronavirus poll bump
- Citing virus, EPA has stopped enforcing environmental laws
- Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
- Alabama Gov. Refuses To Issue Shelter In Place Order: ‘We Are Not California’
- GOP governor breaks with Trump: 'We're not going to be up and running by Easter'
- Analyzing the Patterns in Trump’s Falsehoods About Coronavirus
- Free For All
- Canada 'strongly opposed' to U.S. stationing troops near shared border
- Trump Claims Power to Gag Watchdog Overseeing Virus Stimulus
----- 1 -----
After Trump Attacks Whitmer, She Says Vendors Aren't Sending Desperately Needed Coronavirus Supplies
"They're being told not to send stuff to Michigan."
WWJ News
March 27, 2020
https://wwjnewsradio.radio.com/articles/after-trump-attacks-whitmer-she-says-fed-supplies-delayed
(WWJ) After President Donald Trump issued scathing comments about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying she's "not stepping up," and "doesn't know what's going on," she told WWJ 950 the state is having trouble getting the equipment they need to fight the novel coronavirus.
"What I've gotten back is that vendors with whom we've procured contracts -- They're being told not to send stuff to Michigan," Whitmer said live on air. "It's really concerning, I reached out to the White House last night and asked for a phone call with the president, ironically at the time this stuff was going on."
The other stuff was Trump speaking with Sean Hannity on FOX News about Whitmer, a Democrat who has said very pointed things about the federal government's lack of coordinated response to the coronavirus crisis. Trump said of Whitmer, "She is a new governor, and it's not been pleasant ... "We've had a big problem with the young — a woman governor. You know who I'm talking about — from Michigan. We don't like to see the complaints."
Michigan's request for disaster assistance has not yet been approved by the White House, and Trump told Hannity he's still weighing it.
----- 2 -----
Rush Limbaugh: Health experts are part of the the "Deep State"
Media Matters
twitter.com/mmfa
https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/1243586823080808462
“We didn't elect a president to defer to a bunch of health experts that we don't know. And how do we know they're even health experts?"
[much longer quote at link]
----- 3 -----
U.S. cities report acute shortages of masks, test kits, ventilators as they face coronavirus threat
March 27, 2020
By Nick Miroff
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/u-s-cities-have-acute-shortages-of-masks-test-kits-ventilators-as-they-face-coronavirus-threat/
Nearly 90% of U.S. mayors who responded to a national survey on coronavirus preparedness said they lack sufficient tests kits, face masks and other protective equipment for their emergency responders and medical workers, while 85% said they do not have enough ventilators for their hospitals – critical shortages that could lead cities and towns to be quickly overwhelmed should the virus spread through their communities.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors survey, published Friday, was conducted from March 20 to March 24 and includes data from 213 U.S. cities in 41 states and Puerto Rico, representing a combined population of 42 million. The shortages of essential items and equipment the cities are facing have “reached crisis proportions,” according to the report.
----- 4 -----
Bernie Beats Trump
twitter.com/doctorow
27 March 2020
https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1243307467565453312
The US is now the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic, henceforth known as the Mar-a-Lago Virus. It has the highest number of infections of any country in the world.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
[THREAD]
----- 5 -----
Parker Molloy
twitter.com/ParkerMolloy
27 March 2020
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/1243600584680366082
However, some of the replies I’m seeing on this/other posts of people sharing stories... just really wtf kind of stuff.
I’ve been noticing this more: Trump supporters just diving into people’s mentions to chide them about why they should be taking the drug he recommended
[THREAD above and below this but mostly below this]
----- 6 -----
The bad news for Trump, amid his coronavirus poll bump
By Aaron Blake
March 27, 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/27/bad-news-trump-amid-his-coronavirus-poll-bump/
On its surface, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll is the latest to offer good news for President Trump. His approval rating has reached a new high — as it has in other polls this week — and the overall view of his handling of the coronavirus outbreak is yet again positive.
But this poll, perhaps more than others, suggests just how temporary that bump might be.
In the poll, 48 percent approve of Trump’s overall job performance — the first time his approval has been higher than his disapproval (46 percent) in any Post-ABC poll. His approval on his handling of the coronavirus is 51 percent, vs. 45 percent negative. All of that is in line with other polls.
But the Post-ABC poll asked one very specific question on the coronavirus that doesn’t reflect so favorably on Trump. It asked people whether they thought Trump was too slow to respond to the crisis or whether he reacted with the right speed. Fully 58 percent of people said he was too slow, while just 38 percent said he reacted as quickly as he should have.
----- 7 -----
Citing virus, EPA has stopped enforcing environmental laws
March 26, 2020
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER
The Associated Press
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/citing-virus-epa-has-stopped-enforcing-environmental-laws/
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday abruptly waived enforcement on a range of legally mandated public health and environmental protections, saying industries could have trouble complying with them during the coronavirus pandemic.
The oil and gas industry were among the industries that had sought an advance relaxation of environmental and public health enforcement during the outbreak, citing potential staffing problems. The EPA’s decision was sweeping, forgoing fines or other civil penalties for companies that failed to monitor, report or meet some other requirements for releasing hazardous pollutants.
The move was the latest, and one of the broadest, regulation-easing moves by the EPA, which is seeking to roll back dozens of regulations as part of President Donald Trump’s purge of rules that the administration sees as unfriendly to business. Civil and criminal enforcement of polluters under the administration has fallen sharply.
Former Obama-era EPA chief Gina McCarthy, now president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the announcement “an open license to pollute.”
----- 8 -----
Barry Schapiro, MD, FAAOS
twitter.com/bschapiroMD
27 March 2020
https://twitter.com/bschapiroMD/status/1243614548420165641
On March 6th, VP Mike Pence promised 1.1 million tests by the end of the week. We are now 3 weeks past his stated timetable and we’ve only completed half of what was promised.
You shouldn’t be “pleased.” You failed and people are dying as a result. This is on you.
[EMBEDDED TWEET]
Mike Pence
twitter.com/Mike_Pence
Mar 26 2020
I’m pleased to report that Coronavirus testing is available in all 50 states and over 500,000 tests have been performed. Thank you twitter.com/ahahospitals and hospitals across the Country for helping to get Americans tested.
----- 9 -----
‘Foolishness and Foolery’
Churches, Stores Reopen As Governor Overrides Mayors’ COVID-19 Orders
By Ashton Pittman
March 26, 2020
https://www.mississippifreepress.com/mississippi-governor-overrides-mayors-covid-19.html
Roadside mannequins are inviting residents of Moss Point, Miss., to resume shopping at a local clothing store, restaurants are returning their dine-in services, and churches are re-opening their doors for services. Mayor Mario King described the burgeoning renewal in commerce and social life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic today as it swirled around him in his Gulf Coast town after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order Tuesday that overruled local measures meant to stop the virus’ spread.
“His order completely makes our order null and void,” King, who closed businesses he deemed non-essential last week, told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday afternoon. “So barbershops and salons are open today. People are actually at church making up Bible studies lost on Wednesday, so they’re having Thursday Bible studies. There are restaurants that re-opened their dine-in services today. … I understand they’re just trying to make a dollar, but if one person sneezes who has COVID-19 and someone else comes in, they’re possibly exposed to that. So his order puts our people at risk.”
Moss Point is located in Jackson County, which ranks no. 7 for the most novel coronavirus infections statewide, and where State officials confirmed an additional four cases this morning.
----- 10 -----
Alabama Gov. Refuses To Issue Shelter In Place Order: ‘We Are Not California’
By Cristina Cabrera
March 27, 2020
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/alabama-governor-refuse-shelter-in-place-order-not-california
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said during a new conference on Thursday that she would not issue a shelter in place order that 21 other states have enacted to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
“Y’all, we are not Louisiana, we are not New York state, we are not California,” Ivey told a reporter who had asked about a potential order. “And right now is not the time to order people to shelter in place.”
The governor asserted that businesses need to stay open to provide food, medical supplies and jobs.
“We’ve got have all the materials that are needed to keep Alabamians working as much as we can,” she said.
----- 11 -----
GOP governor breaks with Trump: 'We're not going to be up and running by Easter'
Trump has floated Easter as a target date to relax social distancing guidelines.
By STEPHANIE MURRAY
03/27/2020
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/gop-charlie-baker-coronavirus-trump-151875
BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday his state will not be back to normal by Easter, bucking President Donald Trump's suggestion that the country could loosen social distancing guidelines by the April 12 holiday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"The information we're getting from public health experts and from health care providers here in Massachusetts — yeah, no," Baker, a Republican, said during a Friday morning press conference in Boston. "We're not going to be up and running by Easter, no.”
----- 12 -----
Analyzing the Patterns in Trump’s Falsehoods About Coronavirus
For months, the president has downplayed the severity of the pandemic, overstated the impact of his policies and potential treatments, blamed others and tried to rewrite the history of his response.
By Linda Qiu
March 27, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-factcheck.html
Hours after the United States became the nation with the largest number of reported coronavirus cases on Thursday, President Trump appeared on Fox News and expressed doubt about shortages of medical supplies, boasted about the country’s testing capacity, and criticized his predecessor’s response to an earlier outbreak of a different disease.
“I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators,” he said, alluding to a request by Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. The president made the statement in spite of government reports predicting shortages in a severe pandemic — and he reversed course on Friday morning, calling for urgent steps to produce more ventilators.
Speaking on Fox on Thursday, Mr. Trump suggested wrongly that because of his early travel restrictions on China, “a lot of the people decided to go to Italy instead” — though Italy had issued a more wide-ranging ban on travel from China and done so earlier than the United States. And at a White House briefing on Friday, he wrongly said he was the “first one” to impose restrictions on China. North Korea, for one, imposed restrictions 10 days before the United States.
He misleadingly claimed again on Friday that “we’ve tested now more than anybody.” In terms of raw numbers, the United States has tested more people for the coronavirus than Italy and South Korea but still lags behind in tests per capita.
And he continued to falsely claim that the Obama administration “acted very, very late” during the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 and 2010.
These falsehoods, like dozens of others from the president since January, demonstrate some core tenets of how Mr. Trump has tried to spin his response to the coronavirus epidemic to his advantage. Here’s an overview.
----- 13 -----
Free For All
States in chaotic scramble for supplies without federal COVID leadership
26 March 2020
Rachael Maddow
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/states-in-chaotic-scramble-for-supplies-without-federal-covid-leadership-81303621644
Rachel Maddow shows how the lack of coordinating leadership from the Trump administration has allowed the market for medical supplies to spin out of control, forcing states to compete against each other as well as federal agencies, driving up prices and hindering the smart distribution of available resources.
[VIDEO at link]
----- 14 -----
Canada 'strongly opposed' to U.S. stationing troops near shared border
U.S. news report says Trump plans to drop the proposal
Catharine Tunney, Alexander Panetta, Philip Ling · CBC News
Posted: Mar 26, 2020
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-trump-border-coronavirus-1.5510853
The federal government says it's "strongly opposed" to the idea of sending American troops to the border to intercept illegal migrants as part of the United States' response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is an entirely unnecessary step, which we would view as damaging to our relationship," said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland this morning, following the first public report from Global News that White House officials are thinking about stationing soldiers near the Canadian border.
"Canada is strongly opposed to this U.S. proposal and we've made that opposition very, very clear to our American counterparts.
She then paused and shrugged before continuing: "At the end of the day, every country takes it own decisions but ours is an important and valued partnership and we are making clear Canada's position."
----- 15 -----
Trump Claims Power to Gag Watchdog Overseeing Virus Stimulus
By Josh Wingrove and Saleha Mohsin
March 27, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-28/trump-claims-power-to-gag-watchdog-overseeing-virus-stimulus
Donald Trump said the inspector general who’ll oversee hundreds of billions in aid to curb economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic cannot tell Congress if the government stonewalls his office without the president’s approval.
In a statement issued Friday to accompany his signature on the bill, Trump said the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, or SIGPR, cannot go to Congress if refused information by agencies about loans and investments made by the Treasury secretary.
Creation of the oversight post was a key concession by Senate Republicans during the bill’s hasty development, sought by Democrats to ensure oversight over hundreds of billions of dollars in potential loans and spending.
The inspector general will have the authority to seek information from government agencies, and report to congress any refusal of a reasonable request. Trump said in the statement that he won’t let that happen without his approval.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-28 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-28 06:59 pm (UTC)Anything that can be looted, will be looted.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 12:40 am (UTC)The latest attack - making DC split a small pot of stimulus/response funding with the other four US territories instead of the more common practice of treating DC as a state for Federal funding purposes.
This despite the fact DC is completely surrounded by two states each of which are approaching (if not past) 1000 confirmed cases (of course more unconfirmed and asymptomatic) and full of people still going in and out of DC.