Governors in states that are hard hit by the pandemic (which will soon number 50 plus Puerto Rico and Guam) have to devote an intolerable amount of time to tip-toeing around Trump’s gigantic ego to get the help they need, according to articles in The Daily Beast and other outlets:
As the coronavirus pandemic has deepened, Democratic governors bearing the heaviest burdens are increasingly wary that if they complain too loudly about the federal response they will anger Donald Trump and risk losing critical support during a life-or-death crisis…
“I watched Gov. Cuomo [today] and he was very nice,” the president said of the man steering the state hardest hit by the virus. Cuomo had, moments earlier, conducted a press conference in which he scoffed at how insufficient the administration’s help in procuring ventilators had been.
“He had a choice… He refused to order 15,000 ventilators,” Trump said, referencing a recent column by Betsy McCaughey, a hardened Trump supporter and longtime health-care policy crusader on the right. “It says that he didn’t buy the ventilators in 2015 for a pandemic, established death panels and lotteries instead.”
Trump would go on to insist he was not blaming Cuomo. But the magnanimity was short lived. “It’s a two-way street,” Trump said of having the feds help states with a coronavirus response policy. “They have to treat us well, too.”
The thing about Cuomo not ordering the ventilators is 100% ass-covering bullshit. That can be assumed of anything that emanates from the piehole or keyboard of Betsy McCaughey, a liar and relentless shill for healthcare profiteers before she hitched her wagon to Trump’s pandemic management malpractice.
McCaughey and other operatives are likely digging through state records nationwide in search of deflection material for future Trump pandemic cock-ups. Excuses are all they’ve got. Besides breathtaking arrogance, a degree of petulance that would embarrass a toddler and mind-blowing chutzpah:
“If you’re good and respectful to [Trump], he will treat you the same—it’s that simple,” said one senior White House official. “The president has always said that he fights back when he needs to, and the situation with [Cuomo] is no different. If you keep that in mind, their sort of seesaw relationship during [coronavirus] doesn’t come as a surprise.”
Oh, fuck you, you fucking fuck. The “senior White House official” is right about one thing, though: it is unsurprising that Trump is allowing his extra-dainty feels to become a factor in delivering (or not) pandemic relief. If, after this revolting display of fragile narcissism, anyone dares to insinuate that women are too emotional to be good leaders in my presence, he’ll get punched right in the dick.
Open thread.
germy
“You treat me right, I’ll treat you right.”
Ryan
@germy:
Isn’t that a quid pro quo?
Jeffro
“fights back when he needs to”…even during a worldwide pandemic.
Now THAT’s the kinda guy I want leading my democracy! Oh yeah!! Thanks, ‘Muricans!
Immanentize
I think, Ms. Cracker, that you will be doing a lot of dick punching in Florida.
Please take videos.
WereBear
What set this off was undoubtedly Cuomo’s press briefings getting better ratings that tRump’s.
germy
PPCLI
People are focusing on Trump’s demands for flattery and praise and his savage response to even the mildest criticism.
But that isn’t the most important thing that is going on.
Trump is saying: Force your AG to drop her investigation of me, drop the court fight to see my tax returns, and do as I demand, or I will stand aside and do nothing while your people die. I may even take actions that actively make things worse for you. How much is investigating me worth to you?
germy
@PPCLI: President Lex Luthor.
Jeffro
@germy: lemme guess: the statement was along the lines of “Jesus, this president* is one incredibly dumb motherf…”
stinger
“I didn’t help you, so you said mean things about me, so now I’m not going to help you! Ha-ha, loozer!”
Jeffro
@PPCLI: Good point. Would not be surprised if Cuomo started raising this issue as well.
Benw
Related to Betsy: the number of people who have (consciously or unconsciously) thought, “this is the person I must protect at all costs, to the ruin of everything else” about Donald f’ing Trump is astonishing. And it continues to grow!
MattF
Trump hasn’t changed and isn’t going to. Asshole. Bully, liar, etc.
ETA: Bullshitter, criminal…
Mike in DC
What does being nicer to the president have to do with his decisions regarding saving American lives? I mean, it shouldn’t, right, because that would be insane. “Your governor was mean to me, you’re only getting 400 ventilators until you kiss my ass better.” This is some next level Idi Amin type shit.
stinger
@Jeffro: And her surely didn’t say that in the presence of the president*. So the WH is chock full of little tattle-tales — SOMEBODY ran and told on him.
Ohio Mom
Big day here in Ohio Family Land: Ohio Dad, the software engineer, is at his first day of his new job. It’s one day of orientation/training in the mostly closed office, then he’s working at home.
He’s very excited because it looks like a very nice job: interesting technical challenges, and he had a very good rapport with everyone he interviewed with.
i am more skeptical, because we’ve been through that whole economy crashing thing before and I know how it ends.
Plus, our luck here in southwest Ohio is running out, the virus has arrived in our corner of the state (when it started in Cleveland, I felt sheltered because that’s a good four hour drive away).
Still, it’s a fabulously sunny day here and I saw the neighborhood fox when I walked down the driveway at sunrise to get the paper. When I can live in the moment, I’m good.
SW
The most Trump can hope for is another four years in the White House. Then, if thousands of New Yorkers died because Cuomo didn’t kiss his ass hard enough a Nuremberg style trial in New York should seek justice for his victims and insist on the gallows.
Elizabelle
@Ohio Mom: You saw Quinn!
Best of luck to Ohio Dad with the new gig.
Suzanne
I read that Politico piece this morning about Trump basically knowing that everything’s going to have to be shut down past Easter, but wanting the governors to take the blame for it. What a profile in courage. I don’t know if I have ever hated him as much as I do right now.
I see that Prince Charles has COVID. I hope he kicks its ass.
Nicole
I saw the 15,000 ventilators thing floating on Twitter last night, I couldn’t figure out how people were so eager to say that was a failure on Cuomo’s part when it was in… 2015… which was… (checks notes)…years before COVID19 even existed.
I don’t know if it means anything, but my assorted right wing family members have all been very laudatory of how Cuomo is handling everything. They’re repeating plenty of dumb right wing talking points, but to a person, none of them have been criticizing Cuomo; they’ve been praising him. So I’ll get to see, via them, exactly how effective Trump is at the Cuomo bashing over the next few days I guess.
dmsilev
@germy: That’s a gross slander on Luthor, who (a) was a competent leader and (b) actually did divest himself of LexCorp when he became President.
Suzanne
@Ohio Mom: Congrats to him and to you!
I keep telling myself that this will all work out. I even believe it, most of the time. Hang in there.
germy
evodevo
@Ohio Mom: Good for y’all !! Glad to hear the news..
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Mike in DC: The United States elected a malignant narcissist to the highest office in the land. Many people helped that happen. We are now dealing with the inevitable results of what happens with THAT as President in a life-threatening crisis. Meanwhile Bernie has yet to end his campaign, because apparently HE is also a narcissist. This is my shocked face!…./s
AT this point I am sadly glad my parents and my husbands parents and stepdad are already gone. This would have terrified most of them, for good reason. Well back to work…at work.
Betty Cracker
@Ohio Mom:
There’s so much wisdom in that. I have to remind myself to do that constantly because giving in to worry and despair about things I can’t control not only doesn’t help but actively makes things worse. Best of luck to you all.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Ohio Mom: Congrats to him! That’s awesome news. Please stay safe.
terraformer
Just…amazing that the POTUS is actively, openly demanding that governors kiss his ring before he provides federal help during a fucking pandemic!
Speechless…
PPCLI
@Jeffro: I am certain that Cuomo will not interfere with the state AG investigations.
But it would be gubernatorial malpractice to make those investigations a topic of discussion right now, and I am certain Cuomo will say nothing on the topic so long as the crisis continues.
e julius drivingstorm
Why don’t we impeach that motherfucker!
Ohio Mom
Elizabelle: I hadn’t heard of Quinn, I followed your link and Yes, he is here in the Cincinnati suburbs!
I feel honored to have caught a glance of this embodiment of the spirit of quaratine, prudence and public spiritedness.
Suzanne
@terraformer: Every opportunity he has to show that he is a strong, wise, magnanimous leader…. he just does exactly the opposite. His comments about Mitt Romney in the past two days have been disgusting.
FlyingToaster
It’s not just Democratic governors.
Charlie Baker called him out publicly. Massachusetts isn’t going to get any help from the Feds; of course, we’re not expecting any. We’re relying on our med schools and our own damn selves, and trying to coordinate with our neighbors as best we can.
I can guarantee that Trump will try to “order” things to open for Easter. I encourage all the churches to open for Palm Sunday and Easter. We’ll extend our stay-at-home and non-essential-business-closure until April 26th, and then all the morons will be in quarantine or hospital while the rest of us can get back to normal.
Yes, it’s heartless of me, but I’m sick and fucking tired of the looming idiocracy.
Jeffro
@PPCLI: Yeah, maybe. Or maybe it would be good to highlight it for New York residents and the country at large, just so that they see who was responsible for denying them assistance in their most desperate hour.
All because they were ‘mean’ to him. All because they were carrying out fully-justified investigations. (Same thing with the House Dems and impeachment, btw).
WereBear
I work it every day.
Cats live in the Now.
Elizabelle
@Ohio Mom: Anne Laurie found Quinn, as she discovers many cool things for us.
#TeamQuinn
Betty Cracker
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone:
When Sanders announced he was “assessing” between primary dates, I thought it made sense to give him (his supporters, really) space to come to terms with the results. I mean, it was a stunning reversal from Nevada to Super Tuesday.
The Sanders campaign sailed out of Nevada with everyone thinking Sanders was going to run away with the nomination, and then POOF, just like that, it was gone. Even folks who loathe Sanders and (unfairly and inaccurately) lump all of his primary voters in with the Bros should be able to extend a little grace. “Sore winner” is a bad look, IMO.
BUT! I read this morning that Sanders wants the DNC to add a debate in April? Fuck that bullshit. GTFO.
Ohio Mom
Thanks all for the good wishes. I sent Ohio Dad off with a canister of disinfecting wipes ass good luck charm.
PenAndKey
Because McConnell and the rest of the GOP leadership and backers are more interested in stacking the courts with Federalists and dominionists than they are in running the country like the rule of law matters.
laura
@Ohio Mom: Good news is so refreshing! Best of luck to Mr. Ohio Mom.
senyordave
In case no one else wants to go there, I will. I hope that Trump gets coronavirus, survives, but is on a ventilator for the rest of his miserable life, gasping for breaths. And that goes for Quday, Usay, Javanka, Melanoma, and pretty much any other Trump save his younger son.
terraformer
@Suzanne:
Right? Like that softball question during the presser (from Alexander, was it?) – easy, peasy…and of course he responded like he always does, because the question included “bad” – and true! – numbers.
It all comes down to empathy – care and concern for others, being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to see the world from their standpoint. And Trump, and most R’s – don’t have it. Never did.
PPCLI
@Jeffro: Oh, this will not be forgotten. But like Michael Corleone, Andrew Cuomo is smart enough to know that timing is everything.
But just wait until *after* the christening…
cmorenc
Well, England survived some arrogant, incompetent, unwise kings, back when they were actual monarchs with far more arbitrary power than Donald Trump, and some fecklessly unwise Prime Ministers (Neville Chamberlain). And the US has survived some incompetent, fecklessly unwise Presidents (James Buchanan), though in both of those cases Britain and the US were fortunate to have two unusually competent-in-a-crisis leaders Lincoln, Churchill) to lead the country through the resulting clusterf**k mess
OTOH, other examples can be found where empires or nations were wrecked and destroyed by atrociously unwise leadership.
MattF
@Betty Cracker: Sanders joins the ‘limited behavioral repertoire’ category. You’d hope we’ve learned better about that particular pathology, and stay away.
lexilis
The past couple of days had lots of discussion about increasing SSI payments by $200 a month or so. Does anyone know if that made it to the final bill? Quite a few retirees (the poorest) were not required to file a tax return in 2018 so are not eligible for the $1200 check.
satby
@Ohio Mom: congrats and best of luck to Ohio Dad!
SFAW
@dmsilev:
And whose IQ was two orders of magnitude higher than the Moron-in-Chief’s
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
As I understand it, there was always supposed to be an April debate, as yet unscheduled. Is Bernie asking for that debate to happen, or to schedule an additional debate? I would like to see the debate cancelled, and I think Bernie is being selfish (and chasing donations) by continuing on, but I want to get the facts straight.
Ohio Mom
lexilis @46: Good question, and one of many good questions about what’s in the bill. I hope one of the big media outfits does a careful analysis.
SFAW
@Ohio Mom:
Excellent news!! Congrats to OhioDad and you!
Omnes Omnibus
That’s crazy talk.
Nicole
@lexilis: The text of the bill I think is supposed to be released later today, so will probably find out what made it in at that point. I keep seeing the $1200 payments phasing out after $75,000, but I don’t know if that means individual or family income, either.
WereBear
@PPCLI:
Made me LOL.
Gin & Tonic
@FlyingToaster:
I posted downstairs, Ukraine announced today that its nationwide quarantine/lockdown is extended to April 24. Easter is a very big deal in that country, so making people skip it is huge.
Baud
@Nicole:
I think the news this morning said phase out at $100K for single and $200K for joint filers.
Sab
Betsy McCaughey again. I am thinking bad thoughts about Andrew Sullivan.
laura
The demand for fealty to get basic medical equipment. If that don’t beat all. Each and every governor. Fifty of them. Plus Puerto Rico. All recast as president Zeleny. All expected to do him a little favor. Business as usual if your business is organized crime.
zhena gogolia
Omnes Omnibus
Accurate and very descriptive, but ew.
Baud
O. Felix Culpa
@zhena gogolia: Wow. Having had the misfortune of driving through Hartford at various times of the day, that’s impressive.
Ocotillo
Does anybody know if the vote by mail was included in the final approved package?
MazeDancer
@Betty Cracker:
Expertly said.
Also, applies to Bernie dragging out campaign.
Will take every precaution. But if it is not postponed, will get to polls for NY primary.
If I die because of it, please, someone adopt my cats.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: From what I’ve read, an unnamed DNC official told Politico a 12th debate was still being planned on March 5, i.e., before the last debate, before the current pandemic shit-storm landed with full force, and before Sanders got trounced in several additional contests. It’s just irresponsible to drag this out, IMO.
MattF
@Baud: I’ll just note that Thiessen in the WaPo really went overboard in his fury at Democrats daring to object to McConnell’s endgame ploy. No link, but I think he’s losing his grip.
zhena gogolia
@O. Felix Culpa:
Lamont’s been doing a good job, all things considered. He creates a sense of control and normality, even though I’m sure he doesn’t feel it.
Elizabelle
Less than an hour to my favorite screenwatching of the day.
Andrew Cuomo’s press conference. (And may he stay healthy.)
Shalimar
@PPCLI: Yeah, no kidding. Cuomo is notorious for being a mean, vindictive asshole behind the scenes. I think Trump is playing out of his league.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Socialist senator wants a fourth house. So his grift goes on.
Baud
@Betty Cracker: Agree. Not that surprised that Bernie is who I thought he was.
@MattF: Dems weren’t intimidated, even the conservative ones.
zhena gogolia
laura
@Omnes Omnibus: hey, I’m no Robert Caro but I was an avid reader of Spy Magazine. 😉
WaterGirl
@WereBear:
Well, in all fairness, Cuomo’s press briefings contained actual information and words that were true, so it’s not a level playing field.
notjonathon
By the way, it’s 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Guam. Guam, with 37 cases (plus 4 from ships now in Naval Hospital) as of today (3, then 5, then 9, etc.) is on virtual lockdown. Visitors and returning residents must agree to 14-day quarantine unless they bring certification that they are virus-free. People all over the island are being asked to stay in their homes except for necessary tasks.
Betty Cracker
Biden is criticizing the governor of Florida, who deserves it. We’ll see if Trump rushes to Governor Flopsweat’s defense. Wouldn’t be too sure. Governor Flopsweat is kind of on the outs with Trump, from what I’ve read.
Gravenstone
@Immanentize:
Technique is important for these things.
Betty Cracker
@notjonathon: Good point. Will correct now, and best of luck to Guam.
artem1s
@PPCLI:
I’ve been wondering if he can he make that WH run that Ghouliani could never pull off, maybe Biden’s second term? Does NY have term limits? Is Cuomo forced to leave office anytime soon? Maybe a Biden cabinet position? He’s gonna need a real hardass to run Commerce or Interior.
Nicole
@Baud: thank you! I was googling and googling and couldn’t find anything talking about joint filers. Baud! gets my vote purely for your Google skills alone.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MazeDancer:
if you read Rose Twitter, they’re salivating for Biden to physically collapse, in the belief that the Party and the Nation will at last turn to Bernie, and they’re belief is founding in…. trump’s approval approaching 48%
I saw Biden on TV yesterday. He was vague and empathetic. Not my idea of an ideal candidate, but he had Nicolle Wallace in tears. President Biden would have put Ron Klain* in charge of the Covid response.
*if not, as the latest twitter rumor goes, COS Andrew Cuomo
WereBear
@Elizabelle: Notably he is out and about, even with the social distancing.
Yes, I admit I am even more looking forward to this one…
L85NJGT
@laura:
He sent the GOP loyalist states ten year out of date FEMA supplies.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@PPCLI:
here’s hoping he and Tish James have… an understanding
CliosFanBoy
if it involves a rusty pitchfork then I am having the same thought.
zhena gogolia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Those ghoulish assholes.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: It’s sad to see an elderly, sick man being manipulated by selfish employees and family who’ve convinced him that he is championing his “movement,” not their gravy train. Were Sanders in private life, this cynical exploitation of an infirm, old man by grifters might merit an investigation into elder abuse.
Shalimar
@Baud: I am not heartened that Schumer was negotiating for Democrats based on whatever his priorities are, rather than using the clearly superior House bill for the Democratic position.
WereBear
@WaterGirl: Which is why I think Cuomo is beating him in the press briefing ratings. And he caught wind of it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Shalimar: Yeah, I am pretty sure he has some nefarious motive.
MattF
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: It’s delusional. Look, yes, Trump getting a grade of F minus is an improvement over his getting a grade of F minus minus, but that’s not a sign that we’re nearing a triumph for Sanders. It’s just not.
Frankensteinbeck
@PPCLI:
Possible, and something he would likely try under other circumstances, but in this case I doubt it. Trump’s ego is taking a brutal shellacking right now. His daily press conferences are blatantly about his pathetic, desperate need to be praised in public. In his dimwitted, superficial way he considers the stock market one of the biggest indicators of his success, and it fell like a lead weight all the way to the bottom. He’s stupid, incredibly stupid, and has no attention span. I think that right now all he can think about is his need to have his ass kissed.
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone:
His followers have declared that this proves he cares about saving the country from coronavirus more than being president, with the implication that Biden is the opposite. Even a lot of his ‘will vote blue no matter what’ followers live in Bizarro World.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
From Krugman, who spent a year flailing a dead horse and convincing a number of what we used to call Firebaggers that the stimulus was too small because Obama listened to Larry Summers instead of Christy Romer
Ksmiami
@senyordave: you’re nicer than me- a quick show trial and death by hanging or firing squad works for me
MazeDancer
@Shalimar:
By his friends. About his good days.
Also bullying, uncooperative, corrupt, and hard-headed.
Twitter had me so convinced Cynthia Nixon had a good chance, that instead of doing what I desired for the primary – writing in “Hilary Clinton” – that holding my nose and weeping, I voted for Cuomo.
Literally saying, out loud, as did so many others, “Cynthia Nixon is a fine actress but she has never run anything. What if there is a crisis?”
Thank heavens for Andrew and all his rotten traits. Keeping NY as safe as it can be.
artem1s
@WereBear:
The GOP’s whole strategy now is to paint the Orange Death’s Head as Presidential and the sole voice in leading the nation out of the COVID market crashing wilderness. And Twittler is more than happy to play the part – in his own twisted way. It’s definitely business as usual for the Pro-Death Party. Cuomo on the other hand is quickly becoming America’s Governor. Can’t have anyone stealing Il Douche’s thunder. This move to end the lock down in time for Easter – same bullshit. They think they can keep it under control until the general and get that massive asshole reelected. Next they are going to start pushing Bernie at us again. Just watch. And that magnanimous asshole is going to jump right into line with their playbook.
sdhays
Is Georgia under lockdown yet??
laura
@L85NJGT: how very “on brand” of him. Wonder what the mark up was.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MazeDancer: didn’t Nixon have a really good ad that featured her thoughtfully riding the subway through NYC neighborhoods? Kind of a preview of AOC’s breakthrough ad?
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Who is Simon? I feel like I should recognize him, but I’m not sure.
NotMax
@lexilis
Know that McConnell was pushing for the lowest tier who did file to receive $600 (grudgingly, no doubt, as he couldn’t muster up support to make it a nice round zero), not $1000, not $1200. Don’t know yet precisely how the Dem bill addresses the lower ends of the scale.
clay
@WaterGirl: Simon Pegg. The video is riffing on his role from Shaun of the Dead
EDIT: He was also in the recent set of Star Trek movies, Mission Impossible movies, Hot Fuzz, Ready Player One, a bunch of stuff…
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@Suzanne:
“Why, oh why couldn’t it have been Mum?”
-HRH Prince Chuck to Self While Quarantined
NotMax
@artem1s
The frickin’ Pope announced cancellation of Easter stuff in St. Peter’s Square like two weeks ago. Guess the Gingriches neglected to pass that tidbit on to the White House.
Cameron
As this is an open thread, I’d like to bring up a question that crossed my mind yesterday when I saw an item about USA keeping two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf to bully the Iranians. What will USA do if COVID-19 pops up on one or both of these ships? Sounds to me like the crews would be in big trouble.
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: You mean, you still had some capacity to be surprised by the exact extent of Bernie Sanders’s shit-headedness?
germy
JMG
@Cameron: There has already been a virus outbreak on one US Navy ship, but it is one based in San Diego and was in the Pacific. No idea what would happen in the Gulf.
Patrick Linnen
@Geminid
“When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” ~Maya Angelou
Wilmer is fully in on riding that ‘gravy train,’ just like last primary.
MazeDancer
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Don’t know, but likely. Fast forwarded through all ads.
Cynthia Nixon was a weak candidate because she was so unqualified. You don’t get to leap to running the state from having done nothing. Not even been working hard for labor in SAG or Actor’s Equity.
A really experienced candidate could have beat Cuomo. He was universally disliked.
But a not corrupt, not obnoxious Gov might not have gotten his hands instantly on 6K ventilators from “all over” that clearly fell off a truck somewhere.
WaterGirl
@clay: thank you! I don’t do scary movies, so I had no idea.
After decades of avoiding scary movies, I am now living in one. Thank goodness for all the awesome bit players supplied by Balloon Juice, or I might not be coping even this well.
TS (the original)
@e julius drivingstorm:
The man is insane with desire for praise. No person in the country should have to be crawling along the ground to get help from the Federal Government. If he is re-elected in November, the US is gone. How quickly everyone is reminded – there are red states and blue states and this president wants no part of more than 50% of Americans.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: She looks embalmed.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Shaun of the Dead isn’t really a scary movie.
germy
So Jared’s the one telling PEETUS to ignore Fauci?
clay
@WaterGirl: Shaun of the Dead isn’t ‘scary’ really, although there are some scary moments. It’s very funny. If you have even a mild tolerance of zombie gore, I’d highly recommend it.
And Hot Fuzz isn’t scary one bit.
Gravenstone
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Zero guarantees that it isn’t also Mum (or soon to be). All depends on where/how he was infected and what their interactions have been in the interim prior to his diagnosis.
hueyplong
@Betty Cracker: Pretty sure Trump would flame Biden instead of Florida’s GOPer governor, because he’s only running against one of them this fall.
But if I’m wrong, we’ve got a cheat code going forward, in that his pettiness about a perceived lack of fealty can be used to overcome even obvious strategic common sense.
germy
@WaterGirl:
NotMax
@clay
Also Absolutely Anything. Silly and goofy to da max but fun.
Immanentize
@Cameron: I’m sure Covid is on the ship’s. Sailors are not notorious for being shut-in introverts when given an opportunity for shore leave.
ETA but we will never hear about it unless a true crisis develops.
ziggy
Another good reason to get rid of the electoral college. EVERY American deserves the same consideration, regardless of whether they live in a blue, purple, or red state. Unfortunately, so far the blue states have been hit extra hard, and we’re not getting much help from the federal government. I can imagine that things might have gone differently if this had hit first in the southeast.
Gravenstone
@germy: Someone needs to take a baseball bat to that stupid, smarmy piece of shit. He’s causing untold damage in his role as Grima Wormtongue for his brain damaged FiL.
germy
https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-paramedic-cadet-as-she-battles-covid19
NotMax
@e julius drivingstorm
So is the road to the cemetery.
TS (the original)
@Gin & Tonic:
Australia has their major war remembrance day on April 25 – with marches and functions and dawn services etc. It has all been cancelled. All the services clubs, hotels who usually provide lunches and get togethers for the military folks were closed a couple of days ago.
Church services (actually all indoor meetings) for more than 100 are now banned until further notice. Marriages allow 5 people – the couple, the celebrant or preacher & 2 witnesses.
They haven’t close the bottle shops. Australians would probably start a revolution if they couldn’t buy beer.
WereBear
@MazeDancer:
Exactly my thinking.
Frankensteinbeck
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Krugman is a fantastic economist, although not perfect. He was wrong about the ‘double dip’ for example. Still, stellar, one of the best, deserves his awards. Competency does not translate and he’s shit about understanding politics.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
what the hell i love chuck schumer now
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Hmm. So Is it a takeoff on a scary movie, or on scary movies in general?
If so the whole thing would fly over my head because I wouldn’t understand any of the references.
Amir Khalid
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
I’ve heard that being the monarch is the job no one in that family wants.
NotMax
@Jim, Foolish Literalist
Mike Barr preparing court challenge in 3…2…1…
WaterGirl
@germy: And here we are.
Gin & Tonic
Maggie Habs’ Dad:
Feathers
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: In my corner of rose twitter, there was much cheering over the Senate bill and how it showed proof of how much leadership Bernie was showing. They actually thought he was the only one who could have possibly even have been interested in getting all those money to the people and anti corruption measures in the bill.
I don’t like to whack hornet’s nests, but they are sorely tempting me. Realizing I want an article about how he did nothing to put the bill together (not even freakin’ being there!), but that none of them would believe them.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: It is the story of a couple of blokes who are just trying to get to the pub, but a zombie apocalypse gets in the way.
Nicole
@Feathers: I saw on Twitter (so take with grain of salt) that Schumer was on Morning Joe today praising…. wait for it… Sen Warren for doing a lot to eliminate opportunities for corruption in the bill. I’m sure Rose Twitter will be delighted.
NotMax
@Feathers
See? He didn’t even have to be there. The mere thought he would show up and wag that finger enough to get everyone to fall into line.
//
Nicole
It’s Cuomo O’Clock!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt1kXnH4Qi8
trollhattan
Leadery leadership, leading.
germy
Nixon is providing updates:
Elizabelle
@Nicole: Thank you for that youtube link. C-Span had Florida’s De Santis up, and I just could not ….
Waiting on Andrew …
NotMax
Who will be the first right winger to say it?
“You think toilet paper is in short supply? Wait until these checks go out. Won’t be a T-bone steak in the market or a Cadillac left on the lot.”
NotMax
@WaterGirl
BTW, aware there was a 522 error for the site which cropped up last night?
MazeDancer
@Nicole:
Schumer was touting Warren like he was one of her surrogates.
Praised her 3 times, I think. For sure, twice.
Elizabelle
Cuomo arriving.
Feathers
@Amir Khalid: Nah, William is itching for it. In mid-March there was a columnist in the Daily Mail saying that a William regency might be necessary and yesterday another assuring the nation that he was ‘ready to step into the statesman role.’ Those things don’t get published without approval. From all evidence so far, he is an awful person and eager to be King.
Miss Bianca
@trollhattan: One of the worst things about that orange fucker is that he can manage to make me mad by making fun of *Mitt Romney*. Who is also be a fucker in his own way, but looks like a goddamn saint compared to Trump.
Elizabelle
“Follow the data. Follow the data. Follow the data.”
In discussing the projection models. 180 from failed CEO Trump.
Miss Bianca
@germy: Is there actual evidence for these assertions, I wonder?
Betty Cracker
@ziggy: I’ve wondered that too, but I don’t know if it would’ve made much of a difference if the first hotspot was in the former Confederacy. Trump’s response would be flailing, stupid and delayed no matter what. He’s mean-spirited AND incompetent.
Baud
@Miss Bianca: True dat. I was so happy when Obama beat him in 2012.
Feathers
@Nicole: But Sen Warren only does what she does to spite Bernie, so it counts as him doing it, amiright?
Elizabelle
@Feathers:
Prince William is an awful person? Really?? That’s harsh. What is your beef?
catclub
As usual, Trump just says the quiet parts loud. GWBush kneecapped
LA gov Landrieu after Katrina, but MISS gov Haley Barbour got treats.
Jeffro
@MattF: The kind of fury one gets from knowing one is on the wrong side of history AND getting closer to potentially dying in a pandemic that didn’t have to be a pandemic…
…but those darned Dems, y’know! Always so much easier just to blame them.
Thiessen’s on my DNR wish list.
Uncle Cosmo
@NotMax: Sometime next week he’ll push Reopening For Bidniz Day off another couple of weeks – & firm up his evilangelical base by very loudly blaming it on the scientists (read: pointy-headed inteleckchools & Coastal Eee-lites):
Orangecandyass, FOTUS (Fuckhead Of The U.S.).
Elizabelle
The NYC Parks have been a problem …. going to pilot closing streets in NYC.
Open streets, that people can walk through. Closed to cars; opened to pedestrians.
Mandatory playground social density. No basketball. No close contact sports. Voluntary basis for now, but if noncompliance they will close the playgrounds. Reluctantly.
Tdjr
This is interesting
PressThink
https://pressthink.org/
schrodingers_cat
@WereBear: Purity left is as unserious as RWNJs it seems.
Uncle Cosmo
@germy: That’s not an update, that’s a hit job. Proof?
Jeffro
@Gin & Tonic: Wow.
Can I just say for the 91st time how much I’m looking forward to um recycling some cheap beer at his final resting place?
(trumpov’s, not Clyde’s!)
trollhattan
@Miss Bianca:
Right? When you think Republicans can’t possibly dig any deeper they go and buy a brand new shovel. The Overton Window is somewhere in the Atlantic.
Jinchi
@Gin & Tonic: The most terrifying part of Trump’s tweet is that he links to Breitbart. This is where he’s getting his news. Toxic media has far too much reach into our politics.
Betty Cracker
@Tdjr: Did a post on that last week. [Link] Every single media outlet should adopt Rosen’s suggestions to protect public health.
danielx
Occurred to me that there is an easy response to the various conservative assholes who are all for ending isolation, sending all the olds out on ice floes, etc.
”Very well, Lt. Governor Patrick – can you name for us, here and now, which member of your family you’d be willing to sacrifice to support the stock market?”
germy
Jim, Foolish Literalist
posted without comment
trollhattan
@Jeffro:
Because it’s inevitable, just not nearly as soon as we’d pray for, I wonder what the attendance will be like at his funeral? I could easily see Jimmy Carter declining because he’s having his hair done. Hell, Bush the Lesser will probably be busy that day.
ziggy
Interesting how Cuomo’s CV updates have become must-see TV, even for those of us in other states!
Gin & Tonic
Prince George’s County (MD) public schools closed until April 27. It seems they’re not listening to the President.
Another Scott
@lexilis: They’re still working on the text in the Senate. It’s substantially different from the House bill released on Monday. Given the reality of COVID-19, it’s hard to see the House changing it, but we don’t know yet. We’ll have to hope that the next bills address things like that if it’s not in this bill.
TheHill:
The 63 page summary of the House bill made it explicit that the payments would not count in any benefit calculations (SSDI, etc.). Presumably that language is in this bill, but we’ll have to see.
[eta:] The House bill also made the payments independent of whether you’d filed a previous years tax return (you’d file one for 2020).
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
It’s a good rule of thumb.
Eolirin
@Frankensteinbeck: We had 60 democratic senators when the stimulus bill was passed. We could have done better with it. I remember Obama saying later that he had tried to get to a reasonable compromise in his starting position and that he shouldn’t have done that, that he should have started higher and let congress negotiate him down. He didn’t need to have as many tax provisions in there either, it could’ve focused more on direct aid. It was an error born mostly out of inexperience and uncertainty around the true severity of the problem. I don’t think there are many people who would have done better, but we were constrained by a desire to avoid crossing a threshold of 1 trillion dollars for what were essentially marketing reasons and not because of anything grounded in economics. It was a political failure and one of the few that wasn’t due to republican intransigence. We had the votes, we didn’t have the nerve and we weren’t treating the problem seriously enough.
Krugman wasn’t wrong in his critique. The stimulus was absolutely too small and we lost big in 2010 because of it. Though Citizens United did not help.
Elizabelle
@trollhattan: I hope Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter survive this pandemic. His health is fragile, and they are very community- and faith-oriented.
Gin & Tonic
@Jinchi: I wouldn’t dare actually click on one of Trump’s tweets.
Baud
@Eolirin:
We only had 59 votes at the time of the stimulus because the Republicans were holding up Franken. We needed (and got) Collins.
germy
@Miss Bianca:
He’s facing a budget crisis.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-state/cuomos-medicaid-dilemma.htm
He’s not refusing aid, as Ms. Nixon puts it.
Another Scott
@Betty Cracker: There was a glitch in JH map a couple of days ago where they were showing 20,000 cases in French Polynesia.
:-/
I hope that wasn’t a prediction, but given the realities of exponential growth… :-(
Cheers,
Scott.
Tdjr
@Betty Cracker: Thanks Betty. I missed it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Eolirin:
Nope. ARRA was passed in February, Al Franken wasn’t seated until July, Arlen Specter was still a Republican and demanding $10B for cancer research as the price of his vote (a fine cause, but not stimulative). Joe Lieberman was droning about the need for prudence and bipartisanship, and Claire McCaskill was bragging about eliminating “silly stuff”, and if they hadn’t been doing it, Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, Tim Johnson, Byron Dorgan, Blanche Lincoln, Kent Conrad, Max Baucus and/or Jim Webb would have. I’m probably missing a few. And that’s just the Senate, because they’re easier to keep track of. Nancy Pelosi told the White House at the outset that a trillion dollar ask would spook the blue dogs and set things back.
as ever, who is “we”?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud:
and Specter and Snowe, and those three might well have not been the toughest “gets”
Eolirin
@Baud: I had forgotten the timing on that but we could have passed a second aid bill once Franken was in, and we didn’t because we were treating the first bill as sufficient. It wasn’t.
Eolirin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The Democratic Party.
trollhattan
@Elizabelle:
Amazing people, the Carters. I too wish them the best, they certainly deserve it.
Elizabelle
Cuomo stressed their testing is set up in high density areas because they are hunting for positives.
Contrast that with Trump. For whom positive infections are a personal affront. (The fucker.)
Cuomo stresses again that it is beloved family members — the elderly, “my mother, your sister” — who are in greatest need and they’re committed to protecting them.
Take that, Dan Patrick. (Is he working in an Amazon warehouse yet? If not, why not?? And send Glen Beck and those other psychopaths over too.)
Cuomo stressing the physical closeness found in city life. One of the most dense, close environments in the country. … Our closeness makes us vulnerable. That spacial closeness …”
Red state Moron: Yep. It’s a blue state contagion.
Elizabelle
Now a tribute to Mario Cuomo and the sharing nature of New York.
The Thin Black Duke
@Eolirin: Obama was never good enough for some people.
Betty Cracker
@The Thin Black Duke: Including Obama himself, apparently.
Elizabelle
Cuomo’s biggest ask is for more ventilators. (A) they need them. (B) implicitly: fuck Trump. We could have been way more prepared.
He brings up the lack of a stockpile in Washington, and Trump not using the Defense Procurement Act.
=====
My comments: I think we will get some really good policies out of this pandemic, down the road.
And another of Trump’s greatest hits: “The federal government is not a shipping clerk.”
People in the future are just going to laugh at how clueless (and dangerous) he is. Because there are things only federal government can do, and Trump has failed his way through his whole (purloined) term.
I rather hope Charles Koch is in COVID19’s way. And all the psychopaths who weakened us so terribly.
catclub
No we didn’t. Al Franken did not get in until July.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Eolirin: so Joe Lieberman (or one of the other dozen names I listed, pick one) would’ve voted for a second round of stimulus if Obama had a) made a speech b) been angrier and louder c) not been such a ‘nice guy’ d) really waaaahnt’d it?
Ike Skelton? Dan Lipinski? Stephen Lynch? Charlie Stenholm? Melissa Bean? Bart Stupak? that’s off the top of my head, I don’t have the Blue Dog caucus membership at the tip of my fingers.
and by the time Franken was seated, we were deep in negotiations on health care reform. You think that should have been put on the back burner while we chased Blue Dog votes?
Just Chuck
@Shalimar:
And smart. I’ll take Cuomo any day. Hell, I’ll take Inanimate Carbon Rod.
Ksmiami
@trollhattan: Dude – they’re just fascists are this point so the Overton window has been shifted to the Elbe circa 1942
NotMax
@Elizabelle
Chapter heading in the future’s history texts:
The Trump Years
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
.
Eolirin
I can simultaneously think Obama was the best president we’ve had since FDR and think that the stimulus response was handled poorly. There could have been more done with mortgage relief too. He was an amazing president who also made mistakes.
We got the ACA passed, which was a heavier lift. I don’t see why passing more stimulus was so impossible.
schrodingers_cat
@Eolirin:
Perhaps you are right. Hindsight is 20/20. I think he did the best he could do. That doesn’t mean every thing he did was 100% optimal.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Eolirin:
now you’re changing the subject (you might be right)
and avoiding my question
reconciliation
ETA: and this kind of Green Lantern politics is one of the reasons the 2020 Dem primary was (and is) such a shitshow. How many of the Bernie Children (including the Idol of the Cult himself) believe Bernie is going to give us free health care by shouting?
oldgold
@Betty
Have you heard of the Kinsa Fever Map?
Kinsa’s smart thermometers daily report users’ temperatures back to the company’s databases, and that data is then compiled into graphs and maps of fevers across the United States. In the past, this data has been used to accurately predict the spread of influenza across the country.
Yesterday’ fever map is set out in this article. It really should be setting off alarms in Florida.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.inputmag.com/tech/kinsa-coronavirus-live-tracking-is-ahead-of-its-time-but-we-need-more-data/amp
Elizabelle
@NotMax: I am just hoping there’s a chapter called “The Great Wingnut Rapture of 2020: Peak Wingnut, without sufficient ventilators”
So hoping this will turn out to be a public service virus.
Just Chuck
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Stephen Lynch in Congress would be awesome.
condorcet runner-up
I know I’m a little late to this thread, but the Daily Beast calling Betsy McCaughey a “longtime health-care policy crusader on the right” is wildly misrepresenting what she really is, and borders on journalistic malpractice. The only thing she “crusades” for is denying healthcare to people who need it. She’s a ghoul and a shill for the worst elements of the GOP.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Okay, that does sound funny.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
here’s a book recommendation for anyone interested in the realities of the Stimulus of ’09. I was hoping when it was published it would be featured in the then-existing BJ book club, but apparently some drama blew that whole thing up. I was in Europe at the time and missed it.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Simon Pegg, star of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
It’s a hilarious movie. You don’t really need any references beyond the generic zombie movie. It’s gory but cartoonish. I probably wouldn’t watch it right now, though!
japa21
@Eolirin:
I would like to see your reasoning behind that. It was more the ACA that did in the Dems. The purity left were upset because it didn’t include a public option and the right because it had death panels. And the Dem candidates ran away from it.
Maybe it could have been larger, but unlikely under the circumstances.
As to a second stimulus, we only had 60 Dems for a few months and many of them were reluctant with the first one.
Baud
@Eolirin:
No, we tried. But Kennedy’s death and Brown’s election enabled the GOP to block future stimulus packages. We only had 60 votes for about 90 days, and we were passing health care reform.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Adding: If you count the Detroit rescue, “stimulus” was more than just the ARRA. It didn’t help Dems in MI or OH in 2010, but one of Obama’s gurus said that’s why BHO won those states in 2012.
Another lesson of the Obama era is that he couldn’t win elections when he wasn’t on the ballot, and moving forward, we (Dems and the broader left) need to step back from the cult of the Presidency.
Calouste
@NotMax: Wait until the shitgibbon dies. You won’t be able to find champagne anywhere.
clay
@WaterGirl: Here’s the trailer. It makes the movie seem a bit more frantic than it actually is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfcaZ4pC-4
Another Scott
@Cameron:
As COVID-19 spreads across fleet, Navy stops identifying ships with positive cases (from 2 days ago).
There ya go.
:-/
Cheers,
Scott.
sdhays
He’s not going to do that. He desperately wants to be able to do that, so he’s talking like he’s going to do that. But things are going to continue to get worse before they get better. Mar-a-Lago’s state is going to be swamped with cases right about that time. He’s going to be really upset (who would notice?), but the facts on the ground are going to stop him. He’ll just keep saying “2 more weeks”. As someone said last night, “2-3 more weeks” is going to become the new “Friedman Unit”.
Of course, when we do get over the peak, we are in real danger of him tripping over himself to stop the lockdowns prematurely.
Eolirin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yes, actually.
The failure to address the economic crisis we were still in while pivoting to an extremely protracted negotiation on a contentious issue was a collective mistake on the part of the Democratic Party, at the time it was happening. It wasn’t a matter of an individual failing to wave a magic wave correctly, it was a collective action problem that occurred at all levels of the party.
It was political malpractice and we paid a huge price for it. It’s only in retrospect of Ted Kennedy dying exactly when he did and being replaced by a republican, something that was really unforseeable, that this can be viewed as having worked out okay. But that pivot was tone deaf.
More concern was placed on stopping the free fall than getting the unemployment numbers down, or making people whole again from the housing market collapse. That was wrong on every level.
germy
Cuomo says pending Senate stimulus bill would be ‘terrible’ for New York
japa21
@Eolirin:
Please explain exactly how more could have been done stimulus wise. Please show your home work and exactly where the votes would have been to accomplish the deed.
Ruckus
@Mike in DC:
Yep. trump is a seriously depleted humanoid. Depleted of all normal levels of, well everything that makes a person not a shallow, absolutely narcissistic asshole.
Frankensteinbeck
@Eolirin:
Stopping the free fall and then getting the biggest social safety net increase since WW2 sounds like pretty good priorities to me. The number of people who owe their lives and their financial existence to the ACA is tremendous. Full disclosure: I am one of them.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Eolirin:
Well, you actually answered one question, I’ll give you that. Even if you did move the goal posts a bit
ETA: since we’ve wandered away from the post (mine) that sparked this discussion: Krugman had a weirdly personal grudge against Obama in the first couple of years, “He wasn’t the one we were waiting for…” “I tried to tell you…” He wasn’t exactly a PUMA (I don’t think), but he seemed to resent– emotionally, intellectually? I don’t know– the enthusiasm Obama inspired. Jon Stewart and Maureen Dowd had the same hang-up.
Nicole
@Feathers:
Holy cow, you speak fluent Rose Twitterese!
WaterGirl
@NotMax: If you have an idea what time that was (Eastern time) and how prevalent it was and how long that lasted, that would be super helpful.
All I know is that when i woke up at 1:30am, i had a text from John asking about the site. But no details. I poked around and it looks like there were no comments from 12:05 until 12:10 am, but that could be a coincidence.
Another Scott
@Eolirin: That’s not the way I remember it.
I love Krugman like a favorite uncle, but he was wrong on the politics, and he really wasn’t screaming with his hair on fire at the time that it was too small and we were all going to suffer for it for years to come because it was. Dean Baker, on the other hand, was screaming that the housing bubble bursting was a disaster and was going to kill the economy for a decade unless Congress did much, much more.
The biggest problem was that the economic data lagged for far too long. When they were drawing up the bill, they didn’t really know how bad it was (because they refused to listen to Baker and people like him). And by the time they understood, the window for doing anything serious about it had passed. McConnell and the GOP refused, as always, to enhance the safety net; Obama’s appointee on the housing board felt his only mandate was to protect the lenders (rather than people with mortgages); Fannie and Freddie blew up, etc., etc., etc.
Yes, more should have been done. And the economy is still suffering because of it. But given the very real political constraints, Obama got as much as he could.
Cheers,
Scott.
Raven Onthill
There is a bill. Reports are it’s a big few strings attached bill for the richest corporations, loans for small business, a too-small one time payment for individuals. David Dayen is apoplectic.
To her credit, Warren managed to get something for individuals, and reportedly Sanders managed to get gig economy workers included, but the overall deal stinks.
Meantime, we are still on track for genocide in the red states.
Cameron
@Another Scott: I think I would be one nervous sailor about this point.
James E Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Yes. The entire world of the Democratic Party, federal, state, and local, should have been focused on winning the 2010 midterms.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
I encountered it at 12:08 a.m. blog time. Next post (not from me) to show up on that thread was timestamped 12:27.
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: It is entirely possible that Florida already has hot spots. But how would anyone know?
Ruckus
@terraformer:
Any potus or this potus?
Because this potus is not a normal human being, not in any way, shape or form. The only time he surprises me is when he does anything normal. He’s never surprised me.
Frankensteinbeck
@Raven Onthill:
I think I’ll wait and see what actual bill passes, who votes for it, and whether it gets through the House. Also, I’m impressed that Sanders got anything included while not being there.
@James E Powell:
I’m not sure I agree with it, but given the gerrymandering horrors wreaked by the Republican 2010 wave, it’s a strong argument and not pulled out of your ass like some people’s.
Mandalay
I just read this in the comments section of a NYT article Trump to New York: Drop Dead. It’s only a second hand anecdote about Trump, but I find it chilling and plausible:
We mock the weakness of those like Rubio and Cruz who bow to a man they loathe, but the reality is that their professional lives would be close to death if they weren’t subservient.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@James E Powell: speaking for myself, I thought public opinion would move toward the ACA once it was passed. I was wrong.
And I still don’t think the votes were there for further stimulus. The idea that government spending somehow caused the crash was deeply, deeply ingrained even outside the GOP, and too many people couldn’t, and can’t, distinguish between “bail out” and “stimulus”
and, again getting back to my original post, you had to be in certain blogs and comment sections at the time to see the way the word “Krugman”–or more preciously “Dr Krugman” and “Professor Krugman”– was waved at Obama like a bloody toga by the fire-baggers, PUMAs and Naderites.
“public option” was similar shibboleth used to beat up on Corporate Democrats, a phrase they now use to identify the tepid and the neo-liberal
J R in WV
@FlyingToaster:
I’m so glad Liberty University has reopened…
Ruckus
@terraformer:
No one else in the world has trump’s glorious shoes. Hell, in trump’s world no one else has feet.
Miss Bianca
@germy: ah, so it’s basically a bs misrepresentation. Damn, I am getting tired of this crap from the left. We don’t *have* to follow the right down that particular road, people!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
meanwhile….
J R in WV
@senyordave:
I’m sure others agree with you. I would let Tiffany slide, she doesn’t seem to be nearly as bad as her elder bros and sister, as well as Barron. Let those guys establish their own selfhood and see what it looks like. Tiff is still in school, might turn out to be competent as what she studies. Or just hang out clipping coupons, even, a harmless lifestyle, idle rich.
Immanentize
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: But understanding Senate rules is HARD!!!
japa21
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I can’t even…
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@MazeDancer: we will make sure that they care cared for, But be careful! FYI and apropos of noting, Vermont Country Store and other online shops have plain white washable gloves that you can use for trips to the grocery, gas station, etc. The advantage is they are washable, inexpensive and will not use the disposable nitrile and latex gloves that are needed by health care workers and first responders.
Elizabelle
@J R in WV: Vectors for Christ! (Actually, Vectors for Mammon.)
Ruckus
@laura:
Bravo!
I’d only argue with one point. No gold leaf, to be authentic it has to be gold spray paint, the cheap kind, the $1 a can crap, where the price is for the can and gas, the “paint” is actually hazardous waste.
Immanentize
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: what a fat baby
I am smacked in my Gob. They should just issue their statement with a footnote calling out Pompeo and the US. I cannot imagine how much these freaks test the charity of other world leaders.
PS. I thought it was “Chinese” virus these days, not “Wuhan” virus? These jackasses can’t even get their racist dog whistles straight.
Immanentize
@J R in WV: law school for Tiffany!
mrmoshpotato
@Immanentize:
And remember that you can always kick a dick and knee some nuts. The arms will deserve some rest every now and then.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Immanentize: Wuhan sounds foreign enough, like “Hoo-Sane”. And for the ones who can’t make the leap, Rush and all the lesser Limbaughs will explain it to them
mrmoshpotato
@WereBear:
Imagine that. People wanting actual information in the middle of a crisis instead of Dump trying to suck his own dick.
J R in WV
@Cameron:
Already in the real world — The USS Theodore Roosevelt had 3 sailors test positive, they’ve been airlifted to a Navy hospital in Guam and their contacts on board are quarantined on board waiting to see if they turn positive.
Fortunately the Navy medical staff can take this stuff seriously. As long as CiCperv doesn’t notice them working that way!
Immanentize
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I bet the conversation went like this —
P: you must call it the Chinese virus
Leaders: That is Racist AF Mr. Secretary and is not the medical convention….
P: Well what about the Spanish flu, huh, huh?
Leaders: That influenza had nothing to do with Spain and its name caused great damage and suffering….
P: But Zika! EBOLA! THOSE WERE NAMED AFTER PLACES! CHECK MATE LIBTARDS! So, Wuhan it is! Wuhan virus!! Or nothing.
Leaders: What an Asshole.
Brachiator
Who are we talking about, Santa Claus? A vengeful and spiteful Santa Trump.
It is sobering to see how easily Trump is able to surround himself with toadies who understand exactly how to cater to him and seek to train others to follow their lead.
This shit is tiresome and hurts the country.
And yet it also continues to be sobering to see the degree to which Trump supports accept, deflect or excuse this infantile behavior on the part of their Dear Leader.
I’ve met people who fled authoritarian regimes who knew how to show deference in public, but who had revealed their true feelings in private to trusted friends.
And yet, here, in a democracy, there are people who profess their love, admiration and support for Trump despite his manifest and dangerous ego driven incompetence.
Sebasian
Give it a few more weeks and we will see mobs storming media buildings in NYC and LA.
Brachiator
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Thanks for this. Added to my reading list.
Ruckus
@Geminid:
Now that’s some snark.
In Bernie’s case I think elder abuse goes two ways.
J R in WV
@Eolirin:
Sorry, but Teddy Kennedy’s death was so far from unforseeable I don’t know how you can form the thought, much less type it. He had an aggressive Glioma brain tumor and fought a public battle with it for over a year.
Gin & Tonic
@Immanentize: State is covering itself in glory. Peace Corps volunteers basically recalled and terminated. My son, on a DoS-funded assignment in Ukraine was “offered” a homeward flight. Declined for any number of reasons, and decided he’s better off staying. So they’re terminating his DoS-funded health insurance, and today they told him they’re ending his stipend as of June 30 (he was supposed to be there, and get the stipend, through Sept.)
Ruckus
@Cameron:
Even on an aircraft carrier there is no “social distance.” It’s not as bad as smaller ships or subs but a full crew is approx 5000 people and they live and work close. It would spread like wildfire. There might not even be enough bodies to effectively run the ship and very quickly.
Ruckus
@TS (the original):
The only thing he wants from the 50% he seems to like is praise and money. The only thing he wants from the other 50% is to die – and give him money.
Redshift
@J R in WV:
The governor called and explained the situation to Falwell in very small words yesterday, so it seems more than likely that won’t happen. I was musing about it yesterday, wondering how even he could be as aggressively stupid to believe that having classes online but putting all the students into dorms and dining halls made any sense. Ms. Redshift immediately responded “he doesn’t want to give them refunds.”
Makes sense to me. Nothing matters more than the grift. He may have already spent the money on a pool boy, for all I know.
Just Chuck
@Brachiator:
It’s a cult. Treat it like that and things start making some sense. Some.
Redshift
@Brachiator:
Robot Santa from Futurama. Everyone’s on the naughty list. :-(
Redshift
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Apparently that wasn’t working well enough, or they wouldn’t have gone to “Chinese virus.” Making China the real enemy requires having “Chinese” in the name, anything less requires too much explaining for the pea-brains to make the connection automatically, I guess.
Just Chuck
Pompeo needs to be called a petty racist piece of shit. By the 6 other members of the G7. In front of every camera they can find.
Brachiator
@Just Chuck:
RE: And yet, here, in a democracy, there are people who profess their love, admiration and support for Trump despite his manifest and dangerous ego driven incompetence.
Too big to be a cult. And it is fed and sustained by the Republican Congressional leadership and by a crazed right wing media intent on insuring that Trump be supported.
But I guess it’s a cult for the media age. There is no tangible physical contact involved. Trump supporters got used to watching him on reality tv and now read his Twitter outbursts and laugh. They are entertained by him. And he mirrors their small minded view of the world. He provides comfort in being uninformed and bigoted. A Savior for Deplorables.
Ruckus
@Gin & Tonic:
I blocked his dumb ass. I wonder how many others have done the same? I see no reason to read his tweets or to listen to his speeches, they are as full of shit as he is. Which is 100%.
NotMax
@Just Chuck
Rev. Sun Myung Goon.
:)
James E Powell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I probably should have asked this before jumping in with my opinion, but why are we re-arguing 2009?
Another Scott
@J R in WV: TheHill:
It’s a bunch of irresponsible bluster by Falwell. He’ll back down or he’ll be in a world of hurt.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mo Salad
@J R in WV: CPA boy here recognized the clipping coupons phrase.
For the poors, it means grocery coupons.
For the wealthy, it means bond interest coupons.
D Gardner
@Ohio Mom: I hope all goes well for your whole family. I was interested to see that you are in SW Ohio, as am I. I am also a software engineer, but if I’m the one you refer to in your post, I didn’t realize you and I were married, nor did I know I had a new job today. I must keep better notes!
EthylEster
@Ohio Mom: I read that as “ass wipes” and was puzzled.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Thank you. Super helpful.
EthylEster
@Ohio Mom: I posted what’s below in a dead thread this morning.
Senate aid package quietly carves out billions intended for Boeing, officials say
Washington Post several hours ago.
EthylEster
@Ocotillo: I don’t think vote-by-mail is addressed by this financial stimulus package. I have read nothing that says that. But I would happy to be wrong. I am from WA. Voting by mail is excellent. You can read the voter pamphlet at your leisure and mark your ballot after talking to friends. For long ballots I might mark it over a week. And sometimes I change my mind. And the paper trail is just what we need now.
Brachiator
@Amir Khalid:
I’ve also read that Charles desperately wants to be king.
But who knows how reliable these reports are.
EthylEster
@Gin & Tonic: Maggie Habs’ Dad
This is the second time this asshole has spoken out recently. I wish he would STFU. I am not interested in what Trump fluffers say after they come to their senses. Just sit quietly and pray for forgiveness.
EthylEster
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Did you read down the Twitter thread? Someone says the party in question is not the one at Mar-a-Lago with Kim and Don Jr. Instead….from WaPo source.
At Trump National Golf Club LA Rancho Palos Verdes. 70 people were invited to a 70th birthday party of the former mayor, Susan Brooks, and mayor John Cruikshank, now have coronavirus. Janice Hahn, said she heard 17 people are now sick, unknown if from C19.
EthylEster
@Just Chuck: Hell, I’ll take Inanimate Carbon Rod.
An animate carbon rod sounds scary to me.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
It’s a big country and not everyone follows his every actual word. A lot of people get their
informationbullshit from faux news. And don’t know it’snot informationbullshit. He may/is the worst that the right has done in my lifetime, by a huge margin but he’s not alone in his hate, stupidity, blame, and bullshit. We sometimes wonder here how he got elected but he did because of his hate, that he shares with a lot of people. And assholes like Murdoch benefit and profit from his and their hate. And that profit is why they empower so many others to hate as well. trump isn’t a leader, he’s an example.Ruckus
@Just Chuck:
You do understand that the unhinged president has the nuclear codes don’t you? Did I mention unhinged?
rikyrah
@Ohio Mom:
Yeah Ohio Dad👏👏👏
rikyrah
@oldgold:
been following it since I first heard about it on Maddow
Mary Ellen Sandahl
Zowie! Nothing I like better than cool, restrained prose.
Laura, have I your permission to quote that all down the front of a t-shirt, please? For private non-profit use only! :-0