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solarbirdToday got exciting. But don't ignore the other stories, particularly where Pompeo tells fundamentalists how they're going to do something about all human rights that aren't actually human rights, complaining explicitly about "things that we all know as Christian believers aren’t part of the inherent dignity of a human being became rights," which is the rhetoric they've long used to say "queer rights aren't rights," because same-sex relationships damage the inherent dignity of human beings. No, seriously, they spent decades on that.
They'll also be going after women's health care, and not just abortion, but also any kind of family planning and birth control. Probably that more loudly, in fact.
Also note Barr basically saying "never investigate the president again." That's not an idle threat.
----- 1 -----
Market And Business Ties Often Determine Where COVID-19 Supplies Go
April 11, 2020
Brian Mann
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/11/832176140/market-and-business-ties-often-determine-where-covid-19-supplies-go
The Trump administration has enlisted some of the biggest corporations in America to help expand the supply of medical equipment needed to fight COVID-19 – but many of those supplies aren't going to the cities and hospitals where they're needed most.
Instead, this public-private collaboration means that the marketplace and long-established business ties often shape decisions about who gets life-saving equipment, and who has to wait, NPR found.
While FEMA is doing some of the work, corporate and U.S. officials say the medical supply shortage nationwide is so vast and dire that the federal government can't handle it alone. They say companies are needed because of their expertise and facilities to ramp up shipments fast.
So, late last month, the Trump administration shifted much of the supply effort for the COVID-19 fight to corporations, including McKesson, Cardinal Health and Medline Industries.
...
But the majority of medical supplies procured by these companies aren't being handed out through FEMA or distributed on the basis of immediate need. Instead, the equipment is going first to companies' regular customers.
"We have existing contracts," said Medline's Greenberg. He noted that his firm stopped taking new orders from frontline health providers, even those in desperate need, as the pandemic escalated. "The inventory isn't there for Medline to service new customers."
This means a hospital with existing supply contracts with one of these companies before COVID-19 hit might get shipments of masks and gowns even when not facing a surge of sick patients.
Meanwhile, a hospital without that kind of relationship might have to wait, even if its doctors and nurses are at risk because they lack protective equipment.
----- 2 -----
Trump claims he, not governors, has authority on opening state economies
By Morgan Chalfant - 04/13/20
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/492503-trump-claims-he-not-governors-has-authority-on-opening-state
President Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts.
“For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,” Trump tweeted Monday morning.
“It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,” Trump continued. “A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!”
Trump did not cite any particular legal authority.
Legal experts who spoke to The Hill said that, while Trump can issue federal regulations to prevent the spread of diseases, he does not have the authority to reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local level.
----- 3 -----
Washington, Oregon and California to coordinate reopening of West Coast economies after coronavirus is contained
April 13, 2020
By Joseph O’Sullivan and Paul Roberts
Seattle Times business reporter
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/washington-oregon-and-california-to-coordinate-reopening-west-coast-economies-after-coronovirus-is-contained/
When Washington begins to reopen an economy largely locked down due to the coronavirus outbreak, the state won’t go it alone. Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday that such plans will be closely coordinated with Oregon and California to ensure the virus remains contained down the West Coast.
With health data suggesting that the spread of the coronavirus may be nearing a plateau in the U.S., public officials are under growing pressure to chart a path back to normality. The longer the state-by-state lockdowns last, the more economic hardship there will be. But dropping stay-at-home restrictions too soon might risk a second wave of infections.
The effort among the West Coast states is largely aimed at making sure the region has enough coronavirus test kits and the ability to trace the contacts of people who have been infected in order to closely monitor and contain outbreaks as society opens back up, Inslee said Monday.
“This pact is about what do we do after we reduce some of our social-distancing, stay-home initiatives,” said Inslee. “It’s more of the issue of how are we going to have, as consistent as we can, testing and contact-tracing initiatives.”
Such a pact wouldn’t necessarily delay a reopening of Washington’s economy if the other two states weren’t ready, said the governor: “I don’t think there’s a reason that that’s a risk.”
----- 4 -----
Washington, Oregon and California announce Western States Pact
April 13, 2020
https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/washington-oregon-and-california-announce-western-states-pact
Today, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future.
[Joint statement at link]
----- 5 -----
R.I. will join N.Y., N.J., three other states to create regional plan for restoring economy without spreading coronavirus
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
Posted Apr 13, 2020 at 4:14 PM
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200413/ri-will-join-ny-nj-three-other-states-to-create-regional-plan-for-restoring-economy-without-spreading-coronavirus
Gov. Gina Raimondo has joined forces with governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware to come up with a plan to restore the regional economy and get people back to work.
This announcement builds on the states’ ongoing regional approach to combating the pandemic, according to a statement from Raimondo’s office.
The group, composed of one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective chief of staff from each state, will work together to develop a regional plan to gradually lift the states’ stay-at-home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.
The council will create this plan using every tool available to ease social isolation without triggering renewed spread -- including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing. It will rely on the best available scientific, statistical, social and economic information, the statement said.
Raimondo said, “States are taking the lead as we fight to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives. I’m proud of the steps we’ve taken, and I’m constantly thinking about what it will take to safely reopen our economy. But we know that this virus does not recognize borders, and it’s clear we need a strong, coordinated regional approach to avoid a second wave of this disease..”
“Now it is time to start opening the valve slowly and carefully while watching the infection rate meter so we don’t trigger a second wave of new infections,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “This is not a light switch that we can just flick on and everything goes back to normal – we have to come up with a smart, consistent strategy to restart the systems we shut down and get people back to work, and to the extent possible we want to do that through a regional approach because we are a regional economy.”
----- 6 -----
Massachusetts Joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island's Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy
April 13, 2020
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/massachusetts-joins-new-york-new-jersey-connecticut-pennsylvania-delaware-and-rhode-islands
Recognizing that their states have one integrated regional economy, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware Governor John Carney and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo today announced Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is joining the multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work. This announcement builds on the states' ongoing regional approach to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coordinating group - comprised of one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective Chief of Staff from each state -- will work together to develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states' stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.
The council will create this framework using every tool available to accomplish the goal of easing social isolation without triggering renewed spread - including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing - and will rely on the best available scientific, statistical, social and economic information to manage and evaluate those tools.
----- 7 -----
Trump lashes out in grievance-filled briefing claiming 'total' authority as president
By Kevin Liptak and Jason Hoffman, CNN
Updated 9:41 PM ET, Mon April 13, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/politics/trump-coronavirus-defense-fauci/index.html
(CNN)President Donald Trump lashed out at criticism of his handling of the coronavirus crisis during a grievance-fueled appearance from the White House that featured a propaganda-like video he said was produced by his aides.
The appearance only affirmed the impression that some of Trump's chief concerns amid the global public health disaster are how his performance is viewed in the media and whether he's being fairly judged.
He clearly did not believe that was the case Monday. He stepped to the podium armed with a video meant to frame his response in a positive light after his initial handling of the crisis has come under increasing scrutiny.
After it aired, Trump grew increasingly irate as reporters probed the time line of his response, claiming the criticism wasn't fair and that he'd handled the outbreak effectively.
"Everything we did was right," Trump insisted after an extended tirade against negative coverage.
Pressed later about his authority to reopen parts of the country, Trump delivered an eyebrow-raising statement asserting absolute control over the country.
"When somebody is president of the United States, your authority is total," he said. He later added he would issue reports backing up his claim, which legal experts say isn't supported by the Constitution.
----- 8 -----
Josh Marshall
twitter.com/joshtpm
https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1249827976272916482
I don't know this reporter's name. But man, she would not let up even in the face of President Trump's attacks.
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
----- 9 -----
CSPAN
twitter.com/cspan
https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1249837741711544321
[EXTENDED TRANSCRIPT BY EDITOR]
twitter.com/kaitlancollins: "You said when someone is president of the United States their authority is total. That is not true. Who told you that?"
President Trump: "Okay, you know what we're gonna do? We're going to write up papers on this, it's not gonna be necessary, because the governors need us one way or the other, because ultimately it comes with the Federal government. That being said, we're getting along very well with the governors and I feel very certain that there won't be a problem. Yeah, please, go ahead."
Kaitlan Collins: "Has any governor agreed that you have the authority to decide when their states open back up..."
Trump: [interrupts] "I haven't asked anybody. Because I don't... You know why? Because I don't have to. Go ahead please."
Kaitlan Collins: "But who told the president has the total authority..."
Trump: [interrupts] Enough. Please.
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
----- 10 -----
Fact check: Trump claims it's his call on when to 'reopen' the country. He's wrong.
Only the states can give shutdown orders, and only the states can lift them, legal scholars say. Many governors agree.
April 13, 2020, 2:27 PM PDT
By Jane C. Timm and Pete Williams
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-trump-claims-it-s-his-call-when-reopen-n1182836
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he has complete authority to reopen the country for business after the devastating effects of the coronavirus, calling when and how to do so the "toughest" decision of his presidency even as governors and legal scholars contend that he has no such power.
"I'm going to put it very simply: the president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the United States calls the shots," Trump said Monday evening, pressed on his claim during a news briefing at the White House.
He asserted that "numerous provisions" of the U.S. Constitution give him the power to potentially overrule governors who have issued stay-at-home orders for their states, telling one reporter that he would provide a "legal brief" to prove it.
He continued: "When somebody’s the president of the U.S., the authority is total, and that’s the way it’s gotta be."
But experts — and the Constitution — say Trump is wrong. The authority to require businesses to close in a public health crisis is what is a known as a "police power," and it is reserved by the Constitution to the states, not to the federal government.
The president didn't shutter the country — governors did, using authorities afforded to the states to quarantine and isolate — and he can't simply announce its reopening.
"There's no statutory authority for the president to do that," Stanford University law professor Bernadette Meyler said. "And there's definitely no inherent constitutional authority.
----- 11 -----
Trump claims 'total authority' over state decisions
States on both coasts on Monday announced regional plans for reopening on their own timelines.
By JEREMY B. WHITE
04/13/2020
https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/04/13/trump-claims-total-authority-over-state-decisions-1275506
President Donald Trump, hours after governors on both coasts announced regional plans for reopening their states, asserted "total authority" over decisions about when and how to emerge after coronavirus shutdowns.
“When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total," Trump said at a press briefing Monday when asked about the governors' plans. "And that’s the way it’s got to to be. It's total. It’s total. And the governors know that."
"You have a couple bands of Democratic governors, but they will agree to it," Trump continued about the governors, who also include Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. "They will agree to it. But the authority of the president of the United States, having to do with the subject we’re talking about, is total.”
Trump's evening remarks followed a pair of tweets he sent earlier in the day saying reopening the country won't be up to governors. Leaders of states in the Northeast and West Coast representing nearly a third of the U.S. population subsequently announced plans to do just that on their own timelines.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown laid out their plans to gradually begin easing restrictions. The West Coast plan dropped shortly after the governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts said they would launch a coordinated effort to reopen.
----- 12 -----
G. Elliott Morris
twitter.com/gelliottmorris
13 April 2020
https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1249855909360275456
The Wisconsin GOP scored an own goal in last Tuesday's voter suppression efforts. Turnout in deep blue Milwaukee is up nearly 20% v 2018 and 2016, vote shares in key swing counties are around 5-10 percentage points more liberal and all but 3 counties have shifted to the left.
[FROM THREAD]
One hypothesis is that voters were turned off by the state Republican party's flagrant and transparent efforts to suppress the vote, so they turned out & voted against them. Another is that we can't reliably predict how the pandemic will change turnout patterns ahead of time.
----- 13 -----
Daniel Bice
twitter.com/DanielBice
13 April 2020
https://twitter.com/DanielBice/status/1249837663970111488
RESULTS: Both judges appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker -- Judge Paul Dedinsky and Judge Dan Gabler -- lose by at least 20 percentage points.
----- 14 -----
Barr sends a message: Don’t ever investigate the president again
By Editorial Board
April 13, 2020 at 11:15 a.m. PDT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/barr-sends-a-message-dont-ever-investigate-the-president-again/2020/04/13/d8855dda-7b70-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html
IN AN interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, which aired Thursday, Attorney General William P. Barr insisted that the Russia investigation was “one of the greatest travesties in American history,” a declaration that revealed either troublingly limited knowledge of the past or distressingly unchecked bias.
Worse, the attorney general is matching words with actions. Last year, he ordered an investigation of the Russia investigation, run by U.S. Attorney John Durham. On Thursday, he assured Ms. Ingraham that Mr. Durham would not just produce yet another report on the Russia probe but also “bring to justice people who were engaged in abuses,” raising the prospect that those involved would be “prosecuted.”
Mr. Barr insisted that federal officials started the Russia investigation “without any basis” and that errors investigators subsequently committed were not “mistakes or sloppiness” but reflected “something far more troubling.” Their motive, according to Mr. Barr: “to sabotage the presidency.” Intended or no, the message to Justice Department officials now and in the future is: Think twice about ever again investigating a presidential candidate, even if there is good reason to do so, and even if that good reason is the interference of a hostile foreign actor in a U.S. election.
----- 15 -----
The New York City bar goes after William Barr
By Jennifer Rubin Opinion writer
Feb. 13, 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/13/bar-goes-after-barr/
In a rare act of public challenge to the Trump administration, the New York City bar has written a remarkable letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz as well as the chairs and ranking minority-party members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees — Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The letter begins:
----- 16 -----
Virginia pastor who defiantly held church service dies of coronavirus
By Lee Brown
April 13, 2020
https://nypost.com/2020/04/13/virginia-pastor-who-held-packed-church-service-dies-of-coronavirus/
He practiced what he preached — then he died of coronavirus.
An evangelical pastor died of COVID-19 just weeks after proudly showing off how packed his Virginia church was — and vowing to keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital.”
In his last known in-person service on March 22, Bishop Gerald O. Glenn got his congregation at Richmond’s New Deliverance Evangelistic Church to stand to prove how many were there despite warnings against gatherings of more than 10 people.
“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus. You can quote me on that,” he said, repeating it a second time to claps, saying that “people are healed” in his church.
----- 17 -----
Mike Pompeo Says Unalienable Rights Commission Will Return Human Rights Policy to ‘Judeo-Christian Tradition on Which this Country Was Founded’
By Peter Montgomery
April 13, 2020
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/mike-pompeo-says-unalienable-rights-commission-will-return-human-rights-policy-to-judeo-christian-tradition-on-which-this-country-was-founded/
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined a conference call with conservative pastors hosted by the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins last Thursday. Pompeo told the pastors that he has two big projects: the high-level international conferences he has hosted to promote religious liberty around the world, and the Commission on Unalienable Rights.
The Commission on Unalienable Rights has generated alarm among human rights advocates and excitement among anti-LGBTQ religious-right groups that opposed the Obama administration’s promotion of LGBTQ human rights globally. In the past, the commission’s chair, conservative Harvard University law professor Mary Ann Glendon, has dismissed those concerns without allaying them.
Pompeo’s remarks on the FRC pastors call strongly suggest that he hopes the commission will do exactly what human rights advocates fear, which is to seek to limit what some conservatives call “human rights inflation,” especially the recognition of the rights of LGBTQ people.
Here’s what Pompeo said about the Commission on Unalienable Rights:
They'll also be going after women's health care, and not just abortion, but also any kind of family planning and birth control. Probably that more loudly, in fact.
Also note Barr basically saying "never investigate the president again." That's not an idle threat.
- Market And Business Ties Often Determine Where COVID-19 Supplies Go
- Trump claims he, not governors, has authority on opening state economies
- Washington, Oregon and California to coordinate reopening of West Coast economies after coronavirus is contained
- Washington, Oregon and California announce Western States Pact
- R.I. will join N.Y., N.J., three other states to create regional plan for restoring economy without spreading coronavirus [EDITOR: Initially called the Six State Council]
- Massachusetts Joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island's Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy [EDITOR: Now being called The Multi-State Council]
- Trump lashes out in grievance-filled briefing claiming 'total' authority as president
- She would not let up even in the face of President Trump's attacks
- "You said when someone is president of the United States their authority is total. That is not true. Who told you that?"
- Fact check: Trump claims it's his call on when to 'reopen' the country. He's wrong.
- Trump claims 'total authority' over state decisions
- The Wisconsin GOP scored an own goal in last Tuesday's voter suppression efforts.
- Both judges appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker -- Judge Paul Dedinsky and Judge Dan Gabler -- lose by at least 20 percentage points.
- Barr sends a message: Don’t ever investigate the president again
- The New York City bar goes after William Barr
- Virginia pastor who defiantly held church service dies of coronavirus
- Mike Pompeo Says Unalienable Rights Commission Will Return Human Rights Policy to ‘Judeo-Christian Tradition on Which this Country Was Founded’
----- 1 -----
Market And Business Ties Often Determine Where COVID-19 Supplies Go
April 11, 2020
Brian Mann
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/11/832176140/market-and-business-ties-often-determine-where-covid-19-supplies-go
The Trump administration has enlisted some of the biggest corporations in America to help expand the supply of medical equipment needed to fight COVID-19 – but many of those supplies aren't going to the cities and hospitals where they're needed most.
Instead, this public-private collaboration means that the marketplace and long-established business ties often shape decisions about who gets life-saving equipment, and who has to wait, NPR found.
While FEMA is doing some of the work, corporate and U.S. officials say the medical supply shortage nationwide is so vast and dire that the federal government can't handle it alone. They say companies are needed because of their expertise and facilities to ramp up shipments fast.
So, late last month, the Trump administration shifted much of the supply effort for the COVID-19 fight to corporations, including McKesson, Cardinal Health and Medline Industries.
...
But the majority of medical supplies procured by these companies aren't being handed out through FEMA or distributed on the basis of immediate need. Instead, the equipment is going first to companies' regular customers.
"We have existing contracts," said Medline's Greenberg. He noted that his firm stopped taking new orders from frontline health providers, even those in desperate need, as the pandemic escalated. "The inventory isn't there for Medline to service new customers."
This means a hospital with existing supply contracts with one of these companies before COVID-19 hit might get shipments of masks and gowns even when not facing a surge of sick patients.
Meanwhile, a hospital without that kind of relationship might have to wait, even if its doctors and nurses are at risk because they lack protective equipment.
----- 2 -----
Trump claims he, not governors, has authority on opening state economies
By Morgan Chalfant - 04/13/20
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/492503-trump-claims-he-not-governors-has-authority-on-opening-state
President Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts.
“For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,” Trump tweeted Monday morning.
“It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,” Trump continued. “A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!”
Trump did not cite any particular legal authority.
Legal experts who spoke to The Hill said that, while Trump can issue federal regulations to prevent the spread of diseases, he does not have the authority to reverse a public health restriction put in place at the state or local level.
----- 3 -----
Washington, Oregon and California to coordinate reopening of West Coast economies after coronavirus is contained
April 13, 2020
By Joseph O’Sullivan and Paul Roberts
Seattle Times business reporter
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/washington-oregon-and-california-to-coordinate-reopening-west-coast-economies-after-coronovirus-is-contained/
When Washington begins to reopen an economy largely locked down due to the coronavirus outbreak, the state won’t go it alone. Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday that such plans will be closely coordinated with Oregon and California to ensure the virus remains contained down the West Coast.
With health data suggesting that the spread of the coronavirus may be nearing a plateau in the U.S., public officials are under growing pressure to chart a path back to normality. The longer the state-by-state lockdowns last, the more economic hardship there will be. But dropping stay-at-home restrictions too soon might risk a second wave of infections.
The effort among the West Coast states is largely aimed at making sure the region has enough coronavirus test kits and the ability to trace the contacts of people who have been infected in order to closely monitor and contain outbreaks as society opens back up, Inslee said Monday.
“This pact is about what do we do after we reduce some of our social-distancing, stay-home initiatives,” said Inslee. “It’s more of the issue of how are we going to have, as consistent as we can, testing and contact-tracing initiatives.”
Such a pact wouldn’t necessarily delay a reopening of Washington’s economy if the other two states weren’t ready, said the governor: “I don’t think there’s a reason that that’s a risk.”
----- 4 -----
Washington, Oregon and California announce Western States Pact
April 13, 2020
https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/washington-oregon-and-california-announce-western-states-pact
Today, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future.
[Joint statement at link]
----- 5 -----
R.I. will join N.Y., N.J., three other states to create regional plan for restoring economy without spreading coronavirus
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
Posted Apr 13, 2020 at 4:14 PM
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200413/ri-will-join-ny-nj-three-other-states-to-create-regional-plan-for-restoring-economy-without-spreading-coronavirus
Gov. Gina Raimondo has joined forces with governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware to come up with a plan to restore the regional economy and get people back to work.
This announcement builds on the states’ ongoing regional approach to combating the pandemic, according to a statement from Raimondo’s office.
The group, composed of one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective chief of staff from each state, will work together to develop a regional plan to gradually lift the states’ stay-at-home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.
The council will create this plan using every tool available to ease social isolation without triggering renewed spread -- including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing. It will rely on the best available scientific, statistical, social and economic information, the statement said.
Raimondo said, “States are taking the lead as we fight to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives. I’m proud of the steps we’ve taken, and I’m constantly thinking about what it will take to safely reopen our economy. But we know that this virus does not recognize borders, and it’s clear we need a strong, coordinated regional approach to avoid a second wave of this disease..”
“Now it is time to start opening the valve slowly and carefully while watching the infection rate meter so we don’t trigger a second wave of new infections,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “This is not a light switch that we can just flick on and everything goes back to normal – we have to come up with a smart, consistent strategy to restart the systems we shut down and get people back to work, and to the extent possible we want to do that through a regional approach because we are a regional economy.”
----- 6 -----
Massachusetts Joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island's Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy
April 13, 2020
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/massachusetts-joins-new-york-new-jersey-connecticut-pennsylvania-delaware-and-rhode-islands
Recognizing that their states have one integrated regional economy, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware Governor John Carney and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo today announced Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is joining the multi-state council to restore the economy and get people back to work. This announcement builds on the states' ongoing regional approach to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coordinating group - comprised of one health expert, one economic development expert and the respective Chief of Staff from each state -- will work together to develop a fully integrated regional framework to gradually lift the states' stay at home orders while minimizing the risk of increased spread of the virus.
The council will create this framework using every tool available to accomplish the goal of easing social isolation without triggering renewed spread - including testing, contact tracing, treatment and social distancing - and will rely on the best available scientific, statistical, social and economic information to manage and evaluate those tools.
----- 7 -----
Trump lashes out in grievance-filled briefing claiming 'total' authority as president
By Kevin Liptak and Jason Hoffman, CNN
Updated 9:41 PM ET, Mon April 13, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/politics/trump-coronavirus-defense-fauci/index.html
(CNN)President Donald Trump lashed out at criticism of his handling of the coronavirus crisis during a grievance-fueled appearance from the White House that featured a propaganda-like video he said was produced by his aides.
The appearance only affirmed the impression that some of Trump's chief concerns amid the global public health disaster are how his performance is viewed in the media and whether he's being fairly judged.
He clearly did not believe that was the case Monday. He stepped to the podium armed with a video meant to frame his response in a positive light after his initial handling of the crisis has come under increasing scrutiny.
After it aired, Trump grew increasingly irate as reporters probed the time line of his response, claiming the criticism wasn't fair and that he'd handled the outbreak effectively.
"Everything we did was right," Trump insisted after an extended tirade against negative coverage.
Pressed later about his authority to reopen parts of the country, Trump delivered an eyebrow-raising statement asserting absolute control over the country.
"When somebody is president of the United States, your authority is total," he said. He later added he would issue reports backing up his claim, which legal experts say isn't supported by the Constitution.
----- 8 -----
Josh Marshall
twitter.com/joshtpm
https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1249827976272916482
I don't know this reporter's name. But man, she would not let up even in the face of President Trump's attacks.
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
----- 9 -----
CSPAN
twitter.com/cspan
https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1249837741711544321
[EXTENDED TRANSCRIPT BY EDITOR]
twitter.com/kaitlancollins: "You said when someone is president of the United States their authority is total. That is not true. Who told you that?"
President Trump: "Okay, you know what we're gonna do? We're going to write up papers on this, it's not gonna be necessary, because the governors need us one way or the other, because ultimately it comes with the Federal government. That being said, we're getting along very well with the governors and I feel very certain that there won't be a problem. Yeah, please, go ahead."
Kaitlan Collins: "Has any governor agreed that you have the authority to decide when their states open back up..."
Trump: [interrupts] "I haven't asked anybody. Because I don't... You know why? Because I don't have to. Go ahead please."
Kaitlan Collins: "But who told the president has the total authority..."
Trump: [interrupts] Enough. Please.
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
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Fact check: Trump claims it's his call on when to 'reopen' the country. He's wrong.
Only the states can give shutdown orders, and only the states can lift them, legal scholars say. Many governors agree.
April 13, 2020, 2:27 PM PDT
By Jane C. Timm and Pete Williams
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-trump-claims-it-s-his-call-when-reopen-n1182836
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he has complete authority to reopen the country for business after the devastating effects of the coronavirus, calling when and how to do so the "toughest" decision of his presidency even as governors and legal scholars contend that he has no such power.
"I'm going to put it very simply: the president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the United States calls the shots," Trump said Monday evening, pressed on his claim during a news briefing at the White House.
He asserted that "numerous provisions" of the U.S. Constitution give him the power to potentially overrule governors who have issued stay-at-home orders for their states, telling one reporter that he would provide a "legal brief" to prove it.
He continued: "When somebody’s the president of the U.S., the authority is total, and that’s the way it’s gotta be."
But experts — and the Constitution — say Trump is wrong. The authority to require businesses to close in a public health crisis is what is a known as a "police power," and it is reserved by the Constitution to the states, not to the federal government.
The president didn't shutter the country — governors did, using authorities afforded to the states to quarantine and isolate — and he can't simply announce its reopening.
"There's no statutory authority for the president to do that," Stanford University law professor Bernadette Meyler said. "And there's definitely no inherent constitutional authority.
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Trump claims 'total authority' over state decisions
States on both coasts on Monday announced regional plans for reopening on their own timelines.
By JEREMY B. WHITE
04/13/2020
https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/04/13/trump-claims-total-authority-over-state-decisions-1275506
President Donald Trump, hours after governors on both coasts announced regional plans for reopening their states, asserted "total authority" over decisions about when and how to emerge after coronavirus shutdowns.
“When somebody’s president of the United States, the authority is total," Trump said at a press briefing Monday when asked about the governors' plans. "And that’s the way it’s got to to be. It's total. It’s total. And the governors know that."
"You have a couple bands of Democratic governors, but they will agree to it," Trump continued about the governors, who also include Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. "They will agree to it. But the authority of the president of the United States, having to do with the subject we’re talking about, is total.”
Trump's evening remarks followed a pair of tweets he sent earlier in the day saying reopening the country won't be up to governors. Leaders of states in the Northeast and West Coast representing nearly a third of the U.S. population subsequently announced plans to do just that on their own timelines.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown laid out their plans to gradually begin easing restrictions. The West Coast plan dropped shortly after the governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts said they would launch a coordinated effort to reopen.
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G. Elliott Morris
twitter.com/gelliottmorris
13 April 2020
https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1249855909360275456
The Wisconsin GOP scored an own goal in last Tuesday's voter suppression efforts. Turnout in deep blue Milwaukee is up nearly 20% v 2018 and 2016, vote shares in key swing counties are around 5-10 percentage points more liberal and all but 3 counties have shifted to the left.
[FROM THREAD]
One hypothesis is that voters were turned off by the state Republican party's flagrant and transparent efforts to suppress the vote, so they turned out & voted against them. Another is that we can't reliably predict how the pandemic will change turnout patterns ahead of time.
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Daniel Bice
twitter.com/DanielBice
13 April 2020
https://twitter.com/DanielBice/status/1249837663970111488
RESULTS: Both judges appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker -- Judge Paul Dedinsky and Judge Dan Gabler -- lose by at least 20 percentage points.
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Barr sends a message: Don’t ever investigate the president again
By Editorial Board
April 13, 2020 at 11:15 a.m. PDT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/barr-sends-a-message-dont-ever-investigate-the-president-again/2020/04/13/d8855dda-7b70-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html
IN AN interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham, which aired Thursday, Attorney General William P. Barr insisted that the Russia investigation was “one of the greatest travesties in American history,” a declaration that revealed either troublingly limited knowledge of the past or distressingly unchecked bias.
Worse, the attorney general is matching words with actions. Last year, he ordered an investigation of the Russia investigation, run by U.S. Attorney John Durham. On Thursday, he assured Ms. Ingraham that Mr. Durham would not just produce yet another report on the Russia probe but also “bring to justice people who were engaged in abuses,” raising the prospect that those involved would be “prosecuted.”
Mr. Barr insisted that federal officials started the Russia investigation “without any basis” and that errors investigators subsequently committed were not “mistakes or sloppiness” but reflected “something far more troubling.” Their motive, according to Mr. Barr: “to sabotage the presidency.” Intended or no, the message to Justice Department officials now and in the future is: Think twice about ever again investigating a presidential candidate, even if there is good reason to do so, and even if that good reason is the interference of a hostile foreign actor in a U.S. election.
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The New York City bar goes after William Barr
By Jennifer Rubin Opinion writer
Feb. 13, 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/13/bar-goes-after-barr/
In a rare act of public challenge to the Trump administration, the New York City bar has written a remarkable letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz as well as the chairs and ranking minority-party members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees — Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.), Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The letter begins:
We write to express our deep concerns about the impartial administration of justice in connection with the prosecution of Roger Stone in federal court in Washington, D.C., and to call for immediate investigations by Congress and by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Recent actions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, a component of the United States Department of Justice, raise serious questions about whether the Department of Justice is making prosecutorial decisions based not on neutral principles but in order to protect President Trump’s supporters and friends. In our criminal justice system, a single standard must apply to all who are accused or convicted of violating the law — unequal treatment based on political influence is to be deplored in all cases but is especially dangerous if it emanates from the presidency.
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Virginia pastor who defiantly held church service dies of coronavirus
By Lee Brown
April 13, 2020
https://nypost.com/2020/04/13/virginia-pastor-who-held-packed-church-service-dies-of-coronavirus/
He practiced what he preached — then he died of coronavirus.
An evangelical pastor died of COVID-19 just weeks after proudly showing off how packed his Virginia church was — and vowing to keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital.”
In his last known in-person service on March 22, Bishop Gerald O. Glenn got his congregation at Richmond’s New Deliverance Evangelistic Church to stand to prove how many were there despite warnings against gatherings of more than 10 people.
“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus. You can quote me on that,” he said, repeating it a second time to claps, saying that “people are healed” in his church.
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Mike Pompeo Says Unalienable Rights Commission Will Return Human Rights Policy to ‘Judeo-Christian Tradition on Which this Country Was Founded’
By Peter Montgomery
April 13, 2020
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/mike-pompeo-says-unalienable-rights-commission-will-return-human-rights-policy-to-judeo-christian-tradition-on-which-this-country-was-founded/
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined a conference call with conservative pastors hosted by the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins last Thursday. Pompeo told the pastors that he has two big projects: the high-level international conferences he has hosted to promote religious liberty around the world, and the Commission on Unalienable Rights.
The Commission on Unalienable Rights has generated alarm among human rights advocates and excitement among anti-LGBTQ religious-right groups that opposed the Obama administration’s promotion of LGBTQ human rights globally. In the past, the commission’s chair, conservative Harvard University law professor Mary Ann Glendon, has dismissed those concerns without allaying them.
Pompeo’s remarks on the FRC pastors call strongly suggest that he hopes the commission will do exactly what human rights advocates fear, which is to seek to limit what some conservatives call “human rights inflation,” especially the recognition of the rights of LGBTQ people.
Here’s what Pompeo said about the Commission on Unalienable Rights:
But we have watched the State Department, this concept of human rights just be trampled upon where everything became a human right, and things that we all know as Christian believers aren’t part of the inherent dignity of a human being became rights, and we would send out cables all across the world saying, well, we have to go do this because that’s part of some right or human right, and it was—it ran—it didn’t have a moral underpinning or logic to it. And so, I set about creating a group that would study this, review this, and with the mission set to say, what are those unalienable rights? What are the set of God-given rights that every human being possesses by nature of their humanness? So, by middle of May or first of June, we will have that report come back. And I think it will return America’s understanding of human rights—at least at the State Department, I hope more broadly—back to the fundamental moorings of the Judeo-Christian tradition on which this country was founded, to take this idea of rights and human rights back to the foundational ideas that have made this civilization, this country here, so unique and so special. I’m really looking forward to having that report complete and then sharing that with my team and with the world.Pompeo has been a religious-right favorite since his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, when he publicly praised a Kansas pastor for a notoriously divisive legislative prayer that criticized America for having “worshipped other Gods and called it multiculturalism.” Pompeo has helped open doors in other countries to allow Ralph Drollinger, who runs Bible studies for members of Trump’s cabinet and conservative members of Congress, to take his fundamentalist ideology into the upper echelons of other governments, where he teaches public officials that the Bible requires them to support a range of right-wing public policies.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-14 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-14 09:36 pm (UTC)Kinda thought I would get to do other things with my life, but then Donkeyballs happened and now it's nope, my entire life is war, sucks to be me.