Today's News (2020/5/12): Co-co-co-co-COVID breaker! edition

UPDATED: If you did not see 16 stories, this is new. Reload. New item is article 14.
This is the COVID-19 edition. Second post will be all the power grabs. Last story kind of serves as a transition piece.

1. We literally left them a 69-page Pandemic Playbook.... that they ignored
2. Fact check: McConnell claims Obama didn't leave Trump a pandemic 'game plan.' Obama left a 69-page playbook
3. Here is the 2016 Pandemic Playbook if you are interested.
4. Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities
5. Dr. Fauci to Washington Sen. Murray: 'Pretty dire' consequences in reopening too early
6. Now that's three CDC studies—from a Chinese restaurant, a Korean call center, and an American choir practice—all finding that talking, laughing, singing in close quarters, in unventilated interiors, for many hours, is the perfect storm for a COVID super-spreader event.
7. Jay Inslee: How contract tracing in Washington State will work [EDITOR: bolded because of MAGAt botnet, and sabotage intent in replies on Twitter]
8. Inslee announces contact tracing initiative
9. Gov. Jay Inslee relaxes COVID-19 rules in Washington counties that oppose him
10. Rand Paul: Huge number of meatpacking plant infections is actually a good thing
11. In Yakima County, car cruisers and the mayor of Selah openly flout stay-home orders
12. Fox News Host Calls on ‘Healthy People’ to ‘Have Some Courage’ and Get Infected With Coronavirus [EDITOR: Sabotage]
13. AP-NORC poll: Majority disapprove of coronavirus protests
14. Cop who made video on "tyrannical" COVID-19 arrests placed on paid leave
15. White House to require staffers to wear masks in West Wing
16. As coronavirus roils the nation, Trump reverts to tactic of accusing foes of felonies

( The articles )

Today's News (2020/5/12): Here Come the Show Trials Edition

So the weaponised DOJ and GOP Senate will spend the rest of the year making up crimes by Democrats to investigate. That'll be fun. How the Supreme Court comes down on the cases argued before it today will either extend a lifeline to the republic or end it, depending upon how willing the Republican majority is to say the President is above the law, as Donkeyballs' lawyer asked them to do, full stop. Can't wait for that decision to come down. (See also: Cascadia now.)

Also, various other articles that without Donkeyballs Donald and COVID-19 would be really, really big deals. But aren't in this context, I guess.

1. Donkeyballs Donald accuses prominent journalist of murder
2. Trump administration weaponises declassification
3. Republicans plan to spend at least $20 million to combat voting rights lawsuits in 2020
4. The US House’s Supreme Court defense of its Trump investigation was a disaster
5. U.S. judge puts on hold Justice Dept. move to dismiss Michael Flynn’s guilty plea to hear outside groups’ challenges
6. Family seeks answers in fatal police shooting of Louisville woman in her apartment
7. US says Washington state overstepped with oil train law
8. Anti-LGBTQ Firm Tries to Disqualify Judge Because He Won’t Let It Misgender Trans Kids

( The articles )

I don't think it'll work.

Maybe I'm feeling particularly pessimistic today, but I'm looking at the contact tracing document Govenor Inslee put out, and it's quite basic and scientifically sound - really very standard - and I'm pretty sure that between the smaller group who will actively work to sabotage it and the larger group of people who will absolutely refuse to cooperate that it's absolutely not going to work. Not even here.

Maybe I'll feel better about it tomorrow.

https://medium.com/wagovernor/inslee-announces-contact-tracing-initiative-e8cc76da1e8c