Government Response to Coronavirus 4: The Reality Show From Hell

[GreyhoundFan]

18 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

I am frankly surprised, I didn't think anything was too far fetched for Fox.

OAN will probably snap them up.

[Cartmann99]

Texas to allow some into restaurants and retail on May 1

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott outlined Monday a slow reopening of one of the world’s largest economies amid the coronavirus pandemic, allowing restaurants, retailers, movie theaters and malls to start letting customers trickle into their establishments starting Friday.

The move comes as Texas and other states process a record-high surge in jobless claims and as food banks have seen demand spike. Conservatives in Texas and supporters of President Donald Trump have amplified calls to get the state and country back to work. Texas was just one of several governors to reveals plans on how to do just that on Monday.

“Just as we united as one state to slow COVID-19, we must also come together to begin rebuilding the lives and the livelihoods of our fellow Texans,” Abbott said.

The Republican Abbott’s plan allows those establishments to let in customers up to 25% of capacity as long as they follow social distancing guidelines. Those in counties that have reported fewer than five cases of the coronavirus will be able to serve customers at a 50% threshold unless officials see a spike in new cases.

Abbott also said he will let his month long stay-at-home order expire on April 30. Bars, barbershops, hair salons and gyms remain closed, as do universities and schools for more than 5 million children.

Abbott began easing some of restrictions last week, starting with reopening state parks, allowing “retail-to-go” and letting doctors to perform nonessential surgeries.

Abbott has been under some pressure for a quicker reopening but chose a cautious route intended to avoid a spike in new cases. His plan will likely be met with caution in the state’s largest cities, where officials have been more aggressive restrictions and expressed concern that Texas ranks near the bottom per capita in testing.

“The virus is still here,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat. “I know people want to open up, I got that .... The people who are riding the bus, or riding the (train), working on the front line, what they are asking for, is not necessarily when are we going to open, but, ‘Mayor what are you going to do to keep us safe?’”

Abbott said his order on business capacity can be enforced through fines or threats of 180 days in jail for business owners for violations. Or a regulated business could lose their license to operate

Abbott’s new order also means cities like Houston and Austin, which have required people wear to masks when in public, cannot punish any violators with penalties. However, Abbott urged people to continue wearing masks and said anyone still nervous about going out in public should stay home.

“If you want to continue to stay at home, stay at home,” Abbott said.

A key part of Abbott’s plan is a promise of boosting testing and tracking outbreaks, including building a team of 4,000 contact tracers by May 11. The new rules could be expanded to more businesses if the next two weeks do not show sharp increases in the number of people hospitalized or dying from COVID-19.

In a series of radio and television interviews last week, Abbott assured that life would start getting back to normal in May, promising both a “strategic” approach along with hints of a “massive” reopening. But the plan outlined Monday is a more cautious approach that some other states have taken, with a promise of greater expansion if things go well.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s aggressive moves last week to reopen that state left many business owners confused and drew rare rebukes from conservatives, including Trump, that it was too much, too fast.

“We’re not just going to open up and hope for the best,” Abbott said. “Opening Texas must occur in phases.”

Americans remain overwhelmingly in favor of stay-at-home orders and other efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A majority of Americans also say it won’t be safe to lift social distancing guidelines anytime soon.

According to state health officials, Texas had more than 25,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, with 663 deaths and more than 11,100 deemed recovered. The number of infections is likely higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and be life-threatening.

___

While I was checking today's data for the state of Texas, I saw this:

Spoiler

The conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day with this.

[CTRLZero]

The State of Washington will start easing restrictions on outdoor activities.  From Governor Inslee's website:
 

Quote

 

Gov. Jay Inslee announced today a partial re-opening of some outdoor recreation activities.

As of Tuesday, May 5, some outdoor recreation will be allowed with appropriate safety precautions, including: fishing; hunting; playing golf; and day use at state parks, state public lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources and at state Fish and Wildlife areas.

“Outdoor recreation is one of the best things we can do to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being for Washingtonians during a time of great stress and isolation," Inslee said. "And springtime in our state is Washington at its best and people want to be out enjoying outdoor activities in a safe and responsible way.

“If we see a sharp uptake in the number of people who are getting sick or are not following appropriate steps, then we won’t hesitate to scale this back again. This is not a return to normal. This is only a beginning phase of relaxing outdoor recreation restrictions.”

Public gatherings, events, team sports and camping, among other things, are not resuming at this time.

 

We listened to Governor Inslee's portion of the press conference as he outlined what sorts of activities would be allowed.  My husband is thrilled that golf courses are reopening with restrictions (i.e., twosomes only unless same household).  I appreciated all the examples and cautions that Governor Inslee gave, such as warning that if there is an uptick in the cases, he's shutting down again. 

Our local trail system has not been shut down during this pandemic, and we use it frequently.  We have seen no instances of people behaving unsafely.  In fact, people seem to go out of the way to be courteous and keep distant.  I'm sure there are scofflaws, but we haven't really seen any of that yet. 

[Ozlsn]

I will not die of stupid

The opposite of Florida Man talking about why he's staying locked down in Florida.

Spoiler

Someday, I’m going to die.

This, I grudgingly accept. I have no idea how it’s going to happen. Maybe I will die of having a tree fall on me, of eating tainted shellfish, or of being struck by lightning. But this much I guarantee. I will not die of having wagered my life that TV carnival barkers, political halfwits and MAGA-hat-wearing geniuses know more than experts with R.N.s, M.D.s, and Ph.D.s after their names.

In other words, I will not die of stupid.

Not that there aren't plenty of opportunities to do so. Indeed, in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the question of when and how the nation's economy should be reopened, we seem to have tapped the U.S. Strategic Stupid Reserve. The result has been a truly awe-inspiring display of America's matchless capacity for mental mediocrity.

Surveys show, for instance, that a solid majority of Americans (63 percent according to a CBS News poll) are more worried about reopening the country too fast and worsening the pandemic than opening it too slowly and worsening the economy. Yet a noisy minority of protesters is furious at government for trying to keep them healthy. They demand their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of acute respiratory distress.

Meantime, there's Dr. Phil, opining on Fox "News" that "45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes, 360,000 a year from swimming pools, but we don't shut the country down for that." Turns out he's off a smidge on the number of drownings, which is actually fewer than 4,000. And who knew swimming pools, car accidents and cigarettes were contagious?

Then you have governors like Brian Kemp of Georgia and Ron DeSantis of Florida rushing to reopen their states in defiance of medical advice. "COVID-19 is not here, bro," one surfer assured a Jacksonville TV news crew. Doesn't that take a load off your mind?

And let's not forget Las Vegas, where Mayor Carolyn Goodman went on CNN to demand the reopening of casinos, suggesting her town could be a "control group" to find out if social distancing works -- the gambling capital playing craps with the lives of its own people. Not that Goodman would wager her own life. Asked by Anderson Cooper if she would visit the reopened casinos, she demurred, saying she has to get home to her family.

But here's the thing. There's been a lot of talk over who has the power to reopen America's economy. Well, it doesn't belong to the president, nor to the governors. It doesn't even belong to business owners. No, ultimately, it belongs to me. And to you. It belongs to us, as consumers.

After all, the president and the governors can issue all the orders they want, the owners can remove all the padlocks, but none of it matters if customers are too afraid to walk back through the doors. And I am. I have no idea how many consumers I represent, but I suspect it's more than a few.

I get that businesses are suffering. But I refuse to eat in a crowded restaurant, sit in a packed movie house or fly on a full flight again until I feel I can do so safely. And I am emphatically not assured by TV carnival barkers, political halfwits and MAGA-hat-wearing geniuses.

No, I need to hear from serious, credible people. I need to know sufficient testing has been conducted and that they feel the virus is no longer a threat. If other people want to die of stupid, I can't stop them. But if America wants its economy back -- this part of its economy, at least -- it better do whatever is necessary to persuade Dr. Anthony Fauci it's time to give the all-clear.

Look for me two weeks after that.

Seriously - support local business as much as is possible, but safely. 

[GreyhoundFan]

The Lincoln Project has a new video about Twitler's response to COVID-19:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[47of74]

The State of Iowa to people working in the state: Fuck You.

Quote

Iowa is warning laid off workers that they will lose their unemployment benefits if they refuse to return when their employer calls them back to work.

Gov. Kim Reynolds is moving to partially reopen 77 of the state's 99 counties Friday, relaxing restrictions that were intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Restaurants, some bars, malls, fitness centers, and retail stores are expected to open their doors for the first time in weeks.

Iowa Workforce Development is warning that failing to return to work out of fear of catching the virus without a valid excuse will be considered a voluntary quit, which disqualifies workers from receiving unemployment benefits.

All this despite the fact that Iowa has one of the fastest growths in infection in the country.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Why is Jared involved in anything?

 

[GreyhoundFan]

It's interesting which states are not cooperating with neighbors.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

23 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

It's interesting which states are not cooperating with neighbors.

DAE think maybe this is the beginning of a formal split at some point?  Maybe we've gotten too big for a federal government to make sense the way it was and maybe we need to subdivide in some way.  I'm not saying 50 seperate countries, but seeing these regional alliances makes me wonder if this is where we're headed and if maybe we should explore what a different type of union(s) would look like.

[GreyhoundFan]

The Rs just have to be as disgusting as possible:

 

[AmericanRose]

58 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

DAE think maybe this is the beginning of a formal split at some point?  Maybe we've gotten too big for a federal government to make sense the way it was and maybe we need to subdivide in some way.  I'm not saying 50 seperate countries, but seeing these regional alliances makes me wonder if this is where we're headed and if maybe we should explore what a different type of union(s) would look like.

I would be totally okay with that!

[47of74]

2 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

DAE think maybe this is the beginning of a formal split at some point?  Maybe we've gotten too big for a federal government to make sense the way it was and maybe we need to subdivide in some way.  I'm not saying 50 seperate countries, but seeing these regional alliances makes me wonder if this is where we're headed and if maybe we should explore what a different type of union(s) would look like.

I wouldn't blame any state for leaving at this point.  I really don't.  I'm so glad my grandpa who fought in the Pacific in WWII didn't live long enough to see all this.

I know with the dipshit teabaggers and their Governor here in Iowa the entire state isn't likely to go anywhere but I'd just settle for the 1st and 2nd Congressional districts being allowed to leave and join either Minnesota, Illinois, or even (gasp) Wisconsin.  Hell she and her buddies already consider anything east of Tiffin to be some other state.  

 

[GreyhoundFan]

This is infuriating: "The U.S. plans to give $500 billion to large companies. It won’t require them to preserve jobs or limit executive pay."

Spoiler

A Federal Reserve program expected to begin within weeks will provide hundreds of billions in emergency aid to large American corporations without requiring them to save jobs or limit payments to executives and shareholders.

Under the program, the central bank will buy up to $500 billion in bonds issued by large companies. The companies will use the influx of cash as a financial lifeline but are required to pay it back with interest.

Unlike other portions of the relief for American business, however, this aid will be exempt from rules passed by Congress requiring recipients to limit dividends, executive compensation and stock buybacks and does not direct the companies to maintain certain employment levels.

Critics say the program could allow large companies that take the federal help to reward shareholders and executives without saving any jobs. The program was set up jointly by the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury.

“I am struck that the administration is relying on the good will of the companies receiving this assistance,” said Eswar Prasad, a former official at the International Monetary Fund and economist at Cornell University. “A few months down the road, after the government purchases its debt, the company can turn around and issue a bunch of dividends to shareholders or fire its workers, and there’s no clear path to get it back.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended the corporate aid program, asserting that the lack of restrictions on recipients had been discussed and agreed to by Congress. “This was highly discussed on a bipartisan basis. This was thought through carefully,” Mnuchin said in an interview with The Washington Post. “What we agreed upon was direct loans would carry the restrictions, and the capital markets transactions would not carry the restrictions.”

Democrats asked for restrictions on how companies can use the money from the central bank’s bond purchases but were rebuffed by the administration during negotiations over the Cares Act, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. The spokesman said Democrats won meaningful concessions from the administration on reporting transparency in the final agreement. (Transparency requirements do not apply to the small-business loans, the biggest business aid program rolled out to date.)

Mnuchin also said the program had already bolstered investor confidence in U.S. capital markets, which in turn helped firms raise capital they used to avoid layoffs.

“The mere announcement of these facilities, quite frankly, led to a reopening of a lot of these capital markets,” Mnuchin said in an interview. “Even before these facilities are up and running, they’ve had their desired impact of having stability in the markets. Stability in the markets allows companies to function, and raise money and allows them to keep and retain workers and get back to work."

The corporate debt purchases by the Fed stand in stark contrast with other portions of the federal aid for U.S. businesses that come with requirements to protect jobs or limit spending.

The Paycheck Protection Program, which offers $659 billion for small businesses, requires companies to certify funds will be used to “retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments, and utility payments.”

The “Main Street” program offering up to $600 billion to “mid-size” businesses — with 500 to 10,000 employees — forbids companies from issuing dividends and places limits on executive compensation, according to a term sheet issued by the Fed. Those restrictions are in effect until 12 months after the loan is no longer outstanding. The companies must also “make reasonable efforts” to maintain payroll and retain employees.

Likewise, the $46 billion program for airlines, air cargo companies and national security, forbids dividends and places limits on executive pay. Its requirement on retaining employment is more rigorous, however. Companies are supposed retain at least 90 percent of their employees.

The first version of the Fed program to buy bonds from large companies, known as the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility, probably would have compelled recipients of the aid to limit executive pay and dividends. That version of the program, described in a March 23 term sheet issued by the Fed, offered direct loans and bond purchases to companies. Under the Cares Act, the federal programs offering direct loans must set restrictions on company dividends and CEO pay; those that only buy corporate bonds do not. Both are forms of lending, though bonds are more easily resold.

But on April 9, the Fed altered the design of the program to exclude direct corporate lending. The Fed program will still essentially lend money to large companies — by buying their bonds — but the Fed will not be compelled by the Cares Act to ensure companies abide by the divided and CEO pay rules.

“The change to the term sheet between March and April is the smoking gun on the Fed’s own culpability here,” said Gregg Gelzinis, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank. “The basic principle of the Cares Act was that if we’re going to provide taxpayer funding to private industry, we need conditions to make sure it is in the public interest. This violates that principle.”

Bharat Ramamurti, an aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) appointed to the board overseeing the bailout, said in a statement: “Big corporations have shown time and again that they will put their shareholders and executives ahead of their workers if given the choice. That’s why I’m so concerned that the Treasury and the Fed have chosen to direct hundreds of billions of dollars to big companies with no strings attached.”

A spokesman for the Federal Reserve declined to comment. The Federal Reserve’s board of governors unanimously approved the new bond purchasing program on March 22. The Federal Reserve has said it will only purchase the bonds of firms above a certain grade. The issuer of the bond also has to meet the conflicts-of-interest requirements in the Cares Act, which preclude federal lawmakers or their relatives from benefiting financially from the government bailout.

In the interview, Mnuchin also said many companies are ceasing stock buybacks and are likely to use the additional capital to retain workers.

“A lot of companies have stopped their share buybacks and slashed their dividends, because they need that capital to invest in their business. Even though these restrictions don’t necessarily apply, that’s already happening,” Mnuchin said.

Some experts disputed that assertion. “Some companies have ceased buybacks and dividends and some haven’t. We shouldn’t have to keep our fingers crossed,” Gelzinis said.

It is unknown what the terms will be for the Fed lending under the program, or how favorable they will be for recipients. The term sheet says only that they will depend on the company and be “informed” by market conditions.

Companies selling their bonds to the central bank are expected to be primarily investment grade, publicly traded firms and therefore subject to more disclosure and oversight than those that are privately held. Patricia C. Mosser, a former senior official at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said these corporations are scrutinized by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, private investors and the credit rating agencies.

“It’s true that there’s nothing stopping these companies from continuing to pay stock dividends. You may not like that, and I have sympathy for that position,” said Mosser, now a professor at Columbia University. “But it’s easier to unmask bad behavior in public companies. Large companies certainly don’t do everything right, but they have to admit publicly how they pay top executives; where their profits go; and how they use them. That history of disclosure and oversight means the risk of not being repaid is lower.”

The weaker restrictions on recipients of the Fed’s lending program may be partially justified, said Nathan Tankus, research director at the Modern Money Network, which studies monetary policy. The corporate bonds that the Fed is purchasing from companies can be resold, whereas direct loans establish an agreement between the company and the government that makes the asset less valuable to the central bank, Tankus said.

“Purchases of debt are a slightly more arm’s-length transaction than the loan, which is forming a bilateral relationship,” Tankus said. “But this is really just the fig leaf the Fed can use to justify lifting the restrictions.”

 

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

It's interesting which states are not cooperating with neighbors.

Are there actually protocols for dissolution of the Union? (This is mostly curiosity tbh - there certainly weren't before the Civil War). 

7 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

DAE think maybe this is the beginning of a formal split at some point?  Maybe we've gotten too big for a federal government to make sense the way it was and maybe we need to subdivide in some way.  I'm not saying 50 seperate countries, but seeing these regional alliances makes me wonder if this is where we're headed and if maybe we should explore what a different type of union(s) would look like.

I think if there were competent federal government at this point this wouldn't be happening, or at least not to the extent it is. Interesting times.

[GreyhoundFan]

I guess Mother didn't tell him to wear a mask: "Pence meets with Mayo Clinic patients, staff while not wearing face mask"

Spoiler

Vice President Pence visited the Mayo Clinic Tuesday and spoke with patients and staff while not wearing a face mask, an apparent violation of the medical center’s policy during the coronavirus pandemic and a decision that also appears to run contrary to the Trump administration’s recommendations for combating the outbreak.

In video footage of the visit posted online by PBS NewsHour, Pence can be seen standing and having a conversation in a room of the renowned clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he participated in a roundtable discussion and toured facilities that are supporting covid-19 research.

Of the more than half a dozen people visible in the video, Pence is the only one not wearing a face mask.

Asked by reporters later about his decision not to wear a mask, Pence noted that he is frequently tested for coronavirus and so didn’t need to wear one.

“As vice president of the United States, I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” Pence said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance states that masks are helpful for preventing the transmission of the coronavirus because even people who do not show symptoms can still spread the virus, particularly in “public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” The agency does not address whether someone who has recently been tested should wear a mask.

Pence’s office declined to provide further details about when the vice president was last tested as well its discussions with the Mayo Clinic.

“Since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers these incredible health-care personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you,” Pence said.

It was unclear how wearing a mask would have prevented Pence from being able to look Mayo Clinic staffers in the eye, since the coverings typically only cover the lower part of one’s face.

In a notice posted on its website earlier this month, the Mayo Clinic stated that as of April 13 it is “requiring all patients and visitors to wear a face covering or mask to help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

“Patients and visitors are asked to bring their own face covering or mask to wear,” the clinic said in the notice. “If a patient or visitor does not have a mask, Mayo Clinic will provide one.”

The Mayo Clinic confirmed Tuesday afternoon in a now-deleted tweet that it had communicated its masking policy to the vice president and his team.

“Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy before his arrival today,” read the tweet.

The Mayo Clinic did not offer any further details, and its press office did not respond to a request for comment on why Pence was allowed to enter while not wearing a mask and why the tweet was deleted.

The CDC has recommended that health care workers and other medical first responders wear surgical masks or N95 respirators, while others should wear cloth face coverings “in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain” given the risk of asymptomatic spread of the novel coronavirus.

President Trump, however, has chafed at the notion of wearing a mask and declared that he would choose not to — even as he was announcing the new federal mask-wearing guidance earlier this month.

“You don’t have to do it,” he said at the time. “They suggested for a period of time. This is voluntary. I don’t think I am going to be doing it.”

Trump and Pence have regularly led coronavirus task force briefings where they have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other administration officials, none of them wearing face coverings.

And at an event in the East Room of the White House later Tuesday, Trump joked that he would “get in trouble” after he adjusted the microphone for another speaker.

The Democratic super PAC American Bridge sharply criticized Pence over his decision not to wear a mask on his visit to the Mayo Clinic, arguing that the vice president “just didn’t care enough about the health and safety of doctors, nurses, and patients to follow their guidance.”

“Pence, like Donald Trump, thinks the rules don’t apply to him, and he’s proven time and again that he can’t be trusted to take this crisis seriously,” American Bridge spokesman Kyle Morse said in a statement.

 

[47of74]

1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I guess Mother didn't tell him to wear a mask: "Pence meets with Mayo Clinic patients, staff while not wearing face mask"

  Reveal hidden contents

Vice President Pence visited the Mayo Clinic Tuesday and spoke with patients and staff while not wearing a face mask, an apparent violation of the medical center’s policy during the coronavirus pandemic and a decision that also appears to run contrary to the Trump administration’s recommendations for combating the outbreak.

In video footage of the visit posted online by PBS NewsHour, Pence can be seen standing and having a conversation in a room of the renowned clinic in Rochester, Minn., where he participated in a roundtable discussion and toured facilities that are supporting covid-19 research.

Of the more than half a dozen people visible in the video, Pence is the only one not wearing a face mask.

Asked by reporters later about his decision not to wear a mask, Pence noted that he is frequently tested for coronavirus and so didn’t need to wear one.

“As vice president of the United States, I’m tested for the coronavirus on a regular basis, and everyone who is around me is tested for the coronavirus,” Pence said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance states that masks are helpful for preventing the transmission of the coronavirus because even people who do not show symptoms can still spread the virus, particularly in “public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” The agency does not address whether someone who has recently been tested should wear a mask.

Pence’s office declined to provide further details about when the vice president was last tested as well its discussions with the Mayo Clinic.

“Since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers these incredible health-care personnel and look them in the eye and say thank you,” Pence said.

It was unclear how wearing a mask would have prevented Pence from being able to look Mayo Clinic staffers in the eye, since the coverings typically only cover the lower part of one’s face.

In a notice posted on its website earlier this month, the Mayo Clinic stated that as of April 13 it is “requiring all patients and visitors to wear a face covering or mask to help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

“Patients and visitors are asked to bring their own face covering or mask to wear,” the clinic said in the notice. “If a patient or visitor does not have a mask, Mayo Clinic will provide one.”

The Mayo Clinic confirmed Tuesday afternoon in a now-deleted tweet that it had communicated its masking policy to the vice president and his team.

“Mayo Clinic had informed @VP of the masking policy before his arrival today,” read the tweet.

The Mayo Clinic did not offer any further details, and its press office did not respond to a request for comment on why Pence was allowed to enter while not wearing a mask and why the tweet was deleted.

The CDC has recommended that health care workers and other medical first responders wear surgical masks or N95 respirators, while others should wear cloth face coverings “in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain” given the risk of asymptomatic spread of the novel coronavirus.

President Trump, however, has chafed at the notion of wearing a mask and declared that he would choose not to — even as he was announcing the new federal mask-wearing guidance earlier this month.

“You don’t have to do it,” he said at the time. “They suggested for a period of time. This is voluntary. I don’t think I am going to be doing it.”

Trump and Pence have regularly led coronavirus task force briefings where they have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other administration officials, none of them wearing face coverings.

And at an event in the East Room of the White House later Tuesday, Trump joked that he would “get in trouble” after he adjusted the microphone for another speaker.

The Democratic super PAC American Bridge sharply criticized Pence over his decision not to wear a mask on his visit to the Mayo Clinic, arguing that the vice president “just didn’t care enough about the health and safety of doctors, nurses, and patients to follow their guidance.”

“Pence, like Donald Trump, thinks the rules don’t apply to him, and he’s proven time and again that he can’t be trusted to take this crisis seriously,” American Bridge spokesman Kyle Morse said in a statement.

 

If that fucker caught something because he didn't wear a mask he abso fuckling lutely has no one to blame but himself.  I sure as hell hope he didn't infect anyone.

Here in Iowa Gov. Kimmy (R-Koch Brothers) wants churches to open up again.  Religious leaders are saying not so fast Kimmy.

Quote

A group of religious leaders spanning several Christian denominations released a joint statement on Tuesday, saying that their congregations and members should still refrain from in-person religious gatherings for the time being.

The statement, signed by bishops, reverends, and others from Presbyterian, Episcopal, United Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, Baptist, Mennonite, and other denominations, said that they were concerned about Gov. Kim Reynolds' recent decision to allow spiritual and religious gatherings statewide starting on May 1. The leaders said they learned of the governor's decision "with surprise."

The 21 church leaders said that they are recommending that congregations and members do not gather in person, but continue to use technological means to worship at a distance. They said that decisions to return to in-person services will be based on science and guidance from public health officials.

"It is by our faith that we are compelled to love our neighbor. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, that love comes to expression by remaining physically apart. Loving our neighbor, and thereby the whole community, includes putting public health and the well being of others ahead of the natural desire to be physically present together in community and in worship," the statement read.

Even Iowa's four Catholic Bishops aren't planning to resume public masses anytime soon which kind of surprised me how tight they are with the GOP these days.

[JMarie]

3 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Asked by reporters later about his decision not to wear a mask, Pence noted that he is frequently tested for coronavirus and so didn’t need to wear one.

That's like saying someone gets tested for STDs frequently, so condoms aren't necessary.  Plus, that's a waste of tests that are so vitally needed by others.

[Audrey2]

3 hours ago, 47of74 said:

If that fucker caught something because he didn't wear a mask he abso fuckling lutely has no one to blame but himself.  I sure as hell hope he didn't infect anyone.

Here in Iowa Gov. Kimmy (R-Koch Brothers) wants churches to open up again.  Religious leaders are saying not so fast Kimmy.

 

1. oh, I don't know... I can think of one person that I don't want Pence to socially distance himself from it all if he happens to catch this... I think he needs to give lots of hugs and handshakes to a certain mango moron. Then we can see which treatment Trump gives himself!

2. The sensible church denominations, like the ones you've listed, will not hold church services. The non-denominational and the real Fendi churches are the ones chomping at the bit to open. These followers are the ones screaming the loudest about their religious freedom ( and their pastors freedom to collect tithes).

[47of74]

1 hour ago, Audrey2 said:

1. oh, I don't know... I can think of one person that I don't want Pence to socially distance himself from it all if he happens to catch this... I think he needs to give lots of hugs and handshakes to a certain mango moron. Then we can see which treatment Trump gives himself!

2. The sensible church denominations, like the ones you've listed, will not hold church services. The non-denominational and the real Fendi churches are the ones chomping at the bit to open. These followers are the ones screaming the loudest about their religious freedom ( and their pastors freedom to collect tithes).

Yeah good point about who he shouldn’t social distance from.  I wonder if Mother (Mrs. Pence) would make Pence sleep in another time zone if he did get infected. 

 

[47of74]

Looks like deBlasio stepped in it now...

Yeah, don't single minority groups out especially when this country is full of Branch Trumpvidians who would totally reenact Kristilnacht if they thought they could get away with it or even if they don't.

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

One more reason to have direct deposit -- you won't have to read Twitler's letter: "His name on stimulus checks, Trump sends a gushing letter to 90 million people"

Spoiler

President Trump pushed to have his name printed on the economic stimulus payments the IRS is sending to tens of millions of Americans. Now he’s written a gushing letter to almost 90 million people, with his jagged signature in thick black pen.

The one-page letter, with one side printed in English and the other in Spanish, was required by the coronavirus economic package approved by Congress as a record of a deposit from the Treasury Department. The law does not say who should mail the letter.

If the money went to the wrong person, came in the wrong amount or didn’t arrive at all — all scenarios that have befallen taxpayers in recent weeks — the government is giving them proof of its intent.

But in classic Trump style, the letters now arriving in mailboxes across the country carry no shortage of brio, underscoring the president’s penchant for personalizing his administration’s response to the pandemic.

“My Fellow American,” begins the letter, on a copy of White House letterhead, arriving in an envelope from the Treasury Department and the IRS from Austin. “Our great country is experiencing an unprecedented public health and economic challenge as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Our top priority is your health and safety.”

“As we wage total war on this invisible enemy,” Trump continues, “we are also working around the clock to protect hardworking Americans like you from the consequences of the economic shutdown.”

Trump thanks a bipartisan Congress for fast-tracking $2.2 trillion in economic relief, announces the amount of the check the recipient is getting and ends by waxing eloquent about America — sliding just to the edge of his famous campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

“Just as we have before, America will triumph yet again — and rise to new heights of greatness,” the president wrote.

This is the first time a president’s name is appearing on millions of paper stimulus checks, which are going out now to people for whom the IRS does not have direct-deposit information.

But previous presidents have sent letters like Trump’s. President George W. Bush included his name in letters announcing economic stimulus payments in 2001, when his administration issued tax-refund checks following a tax-cut package, and 2008, when it issued payments to head off the recession.

Both came from the IRS, addressed “Dear Taxpayer,” and displayed Bush’s name prominently, leading Democrats to cry foul that a government agency was stepping into politicking.

But the mention was brief, and those letters focused far more than Trump’s on how payments were determined. They included details and charts for taxpayers to figure out for themselves whether they were eligible to receive the money, and whether the payments were accurate.

Trump’s letter offers scant information about the stimulus payments. And its tone is rubbing some people the wrong way, particularly because many have had problems accessing the two stimulus portals online, have not received payments or got smaller checks than they are eligible for.

Some people who contacted The Washington Post about the letter complained that it smacked of politics, with its “The White House, Washington” letterhead.

“Worried that I had been selected for an audit, or some other misfortune, I quickly opened it,” Chris Helmsworth emailed from Portland, Ore. “Inside was a letter from the White House, signed with Trump’s childlike scrawl, telling me about how he was bringing the country together! I have to wonder how much personal protective equipment could have been purchased with what it cost for Trump to send out this vanity letter.”

A Virginia reader, who agreed to have his comments published on the condition of anonymity because he is an out-of-work contractor and doesn’t want to risk his chances of getting work again, wrote in an email, “Having worked in the political direct mail field for over four years I immediately recognized it for what it was — a campaign letter,” the reader emailed. “As I read it I got sick to my stomach. My tax dollars paid for this sham.”

A Treasury Department spokeswoman said in an email: “The letter serves as Notice of the payment, and as a message from the President during these unprecedented times.”

The letter includes a line under Trump’s signature with a toll-free number, 800-919-9835, to call for assistance. But right now, the “Economic Impact Payment” telephone line has no real person at the other end. It’s an automated system that tells callers to go to the IRS website, irs.gov, for more information. With a vastly reduced staff because of stay-at-home orders, the agency’s phone lines have been down for weeks, unable to provide a real person to hear complaints or take reports of missing or incorrect stimulus payments.

The Cares Act required the administration to mail a letter to a taxpayer’s last known address 15 days after a stimulus payment is sent. The letter is supposed to indicate the method by which a payment was made (direct deposit or check, for instance), the amount of the payment and a phone number for the “appropriate point of contact” at the IRS to report any issue.

The legislation, signed into law March 27, provides a $1,200 refundable tax credit for individuals and $2,400 for joint taxpayers. There is an additional payment of $500 for every dependent child under 17.

A Treasury official said Tuesday that 89.5 million payments have been delivered so far, most of them through direct deposit, with paper checks en route now at a rate of 5 million a week for those whose bank information the IRS doesn’t have.

 

[fraurosena]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

A good one from Dana Milbank: "Trump tests his most promising coronavirus antidote: Lies"

Spoiler

In his “whole of America” approach to fighting the pandemic, President Trump has begun clinical trials testing his most promising antidote: Can the novel coronavirus be killed with a lie?

Trump has at times speculated that the virus could be killed by an antimalarial drug and an antibiotic, or by ingesting bleach or other household disinfectants. But he has never abandoned the regular application of disinformation as his primary defense against the coronavirus.

“Some health experts say the U.S. needs 5 million tests per day by June in order to safely reopen,” NBC’s Kristen Welker told Trump in an East Room Q&A Tuesday afternoon. “Can you get to that benchmark?”

“We have tested much more than anybody else times two,” Trump replied. “We’ve tested more than every country combined.” He went on to say, “We inherited a very broken test, a broken system and a broken test, and within a short period of time we were setting records. We have done more than the entire world combined.” And he said the United States would “very soon” surpass 5 million tests per day — a figure beyond his own administration’s rosy forecasts.

Let’s leave aside the credibility of Trump’s claim that the U.S. would “very soon” test more people each day than the country has managed to test in all of the past four months. And set aside, for the moment, Trump’s claim to have inherited a “broken” test for a virus that did not exist when he took office.

Focus on just one of his falsehoods: his statement that the country has done more tests “than the entire world combined.” Trump has said this over and over, and it has been corrected over and over, for it is demonstrably false.

According to an updated tally by Worldometers, the United States, after a painfully slow start, has done 5.8 million tests. But the rest of the world has combined done far beyond that number. Russia alone reports 3.1 million, Germany 2.1, Italy 1.8, Spain 1.3, the United Arab Emirates 1.1 million, and other countries have performed well more than 10 million additional tests. And the Worldometers testing tally doesn’t even include China.

Yet this disinformation, which in its repetition has become an obvious lie, is at the core of Trump’s coronavirus response. As he pushes to reopen commerce and schools, the country is relying on luck (a viral lull during the summer) and the ability to test people and track the spread. Though we are accustomed to Trump’s nonsense, we are now in a position where lives depend on the capability of a testing system Trump has repeatedly and consistently misrepresented.

Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler and his colleagues explore Trump’s tendency to double down on falsehoods in their forthcoming book, “Donald Trump and His Assault on the Truth.” “One hallmark of Trump’s dishonesty is that if he thinks a false or incorrect claim is a winner, he will repeat it constantly, no matter how often it has been proven wrong,” they write. Though “many politicians are embarrassed,” Trump “keeps going long after the facts are clear, in what appears to be a deliberate effort to replace the truth with his own, far more favorable, version.”

By coincidence, as Trump was repeating his nonsense about testing, Hillary Clinton was endorsing Joe Biden in a webcast. It was a rough production: The audio and video were out of sync, and Biden kept touching his face (in the middle of a pandemic!). But Clinton made the case that restoring transparency should be at the core of Biden’s challenge to Trump. “Trust is the glue that holds a democracy together and right now we are in an age of deliberate disinformation, and the reason for that is to destroy trust,” she said. “If you cant believe what your leaders say, if you’re told not to believe what the press says. . . . Then you can’t trust each other enough to solve the problems that we jointly face.”

That question may be litigated in November, but Trump’s disinformation will likely do battle with the virus before then. On Tuesday, Trump showed support for commentators Diamond and Silk after they were dropped by Fox News over their repeated nonsense about the virus: suggestions that the “deep state” is to blame, that the virus is “engineered” and that people should go “out in the environment,” not shelter in their homes. Most recently, the pair hosted a scientist — part of the fire-Anthony-Fauci crowd — who argues that the coronavirus can be cured not with vaccines but with vitamin supplements.

“I love Diamond & Silk, and so do millions of people,” Trump tweeted in their defense.

Now the country, fed a diet of such disinformation about the virus, is preparing to reopen workplaces based on the false assurance — 5 million tests a day! More than the rest of the world combined! — given by Trump’s repeated lies. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[CTRLZero]

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

One more reason to have direct deposit -- you won't have to read Twitler's letter:

Gads, we have direct deposit and still weren't able to escape receiving this letter!  It was ironic to receive a physical letter, delivered by the US Postal Service, at about the same time that Trump was being obnoxious about the USPS (asking them to quadruple rates, etc.).   I was tempted to mail it back to him, and still might!