Trump VS COVID-19 Threat

[Jayjay]

Way back at the start of 2017, his DOJ supposedly launched investigations of discrimination against Caucasians. I, as a proud and pink American, am breathless to find out the many insidious ways I've been held back. PLM!!

I for one think those caucasians should go back to Caucasia where they came from, and take their virus with them.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Please don't denigrate Caucasians. We invented cottage cheese, my friend.

 

[lpetrich]

That press conference contained some interesting tidbits, like the House leadership considering voting by surrogate. Would each Congressmember send a staffer to physically cast a vote for that Congressmember? Also that the House Progressive Caucus plans to do business online, so it won't have to meet in person.

 

[lpetrich]

Ocasio-Cortez comes out against interim coronavirus relief bill | TheHill

"We have not seen the final text of this bill. But what I can say is that if it matches up with what has been reported, I will not support this bill, personally," Ocasio-Cortez said during a call with progressive groups.

"It is insulting to think we can pass such a small amount of money in the context of not knowing when Congress is even going to reconvene and pass such a small amount of money, pat ourselves on the back and then leave town again," Ocasio-Cortez said.

...
"It's going to be very difficult to support a package that doesn't have some of the desperate relief that we need for state and local governments, for people," Jayapal said during Monday's call with progressives.

"I want to wait to see what's exactly in the package, but we have a couple of days to continue to try to influence the direction that we take. And I hope that we can push hard, both in this interim package and in the next CARES 2 package, to recognize that we just have not gotten relief to people," Jayapal said, referring to follow-up legislation to the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Trump signed into law on March 27.

AOC also wants recurring payments of $2000/month, with $1000/month for each child.

 

[lpetrich]

Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have her eye on a Senate seat? - CNNPolitics - lots of speculation, and AOC herself won't confirm or deny any such rumors.

Ocasio-Cortez, House progressives criticize interim coronavirus bill

“As the person who's representing the most impacted district in the country, my constituents are upset. My constituents were upset about the first package,” she told reporters. “In my district and in New York City and in our community, we've had more deaths than 9/11. Multiple times of 9/11 have happened in the time since Congress has recessed. So I'm not here with the luxury of time.”

“I’m not here for a $5 bill. I’m not. And I will not insult my community,” she said.

...
“We have real concerns about giving away leverage now without getting some of the priorities that we need,” she said. "It’s going to be very difficult to support a package that doesn’t have some of the desperate relief we need for state and local governments, for people."

... (Rep. Rashida Tlaib)
“The lack of transparency on what's going to actually be in this package is — I’m taken aback by it,” she said. “I want to know exactly what's there, especially because we're not having committee hearings. These are conversations happening behind closed doors.”

“Ideas That Are Lying Around” on Twitter: ""If you're worried about the deficit...let's roll back that $2 trillion tax cut. If you're worried about the deficit...let's raise some taxes. Let's make sure Jeff Bezos pays what he needs to pay to contribute to this country." -@AOC #PutPeopleFirst https://t.co/4er4UsOmDs" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Rent doesn’t wait on Congress.
I understand the idea of an “interim” patch bill, but if Congress doesn’t know when it will next convene, we need to vote on a bigger fix now.
We need WAY more for PPP, $2000 monthly cash payments (plus $1k for each child), & cover health bills." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "It is simply outrageous that Congress is considering voting on a small, patchwork bill after being out of session for a MONTH and recessing again without knowing when we will next convene.
Thousands of people are DYING. PPP will quickly run out again. We need a bigger bill." / Twitter

 

[hyzer]

God, please infect every single Trump voter! NOW

 

[ideologyhunter]

Prayers from TFT are not heard by God or any of His associates.

 

[Emily Lake]

I just have a tough time wrapping my head around the utility of wishing ill on anyone, no matter how much you disagree with their beliefs.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Tom Nichols on Twitter: "One thing that genuinely does mystify me, with no snark: Trump is one of the least masculine, least adult people in public life. Needy, whiny, defensive, pleading, scared of women, terrified of more powerful men.
I am at a loss about why his base sees him as manly or strong." / Twitter[/url]

I think they see themselves. They see the wealthy version of who they would have become had the world not conspired against them. It’s every underachiever’s excuse.

Right on the money. Like when we were all in 8th grade.

Tom Nichols on Twitter: "One thing that genuinely does mystify me, with no snark: Trump is one of the least masculine, least adult people in public life. Needy, whiny, defensive, pleading, scared of women, terrified of more powerful men.
I am at a loss about why his base sees him as manly or strong." / Twitter[/url]

I think they see themselves. They see the wealthy version of who they would have become had the world not conspired against them. It’s every underachiever’s excuse.

I always figured it was more about race. More than anything else Trump supporters are racists who believe in the myth of the U.S. and it being a historically 'white' nation. Trump's campaign gave credence to his desire to restore America's former 'greatness', or in other words his desire to stop helping people of colour.

Historically, it's times like these, when people have real economic problems, that their xenophobia flares up and they become susceptible to demagogues. It's a lot easier to believe that your country is broken, and that you can fix it by screwing over people who aren't like you, than admitting that you're incompetent, and that your life is going nowhere. These people don't want a leader who is going to fix their problems, they want a leader who is going to break all of the people that they blame for their problems.

And that too.

 

[lpetrich]

Did Trump Tweet in 2009 That He Would 'Never Let Thousands of Americans Die From a Pandemic'?

He allegedly tweeted:

Obama’s handling of this whole pandemic has been terrible! As President, ALL responsibility becomes yours during a crisis like this, whether or not you’re entirely to blame. John McCain, and for that matter myself, would never let thousands of Americans die from a pandemic while in office.

But there is no evidence of it before April 2020. So it is a fake. But there are some rather interesting real tweets from him:

Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "Leadership: Whatever happens, you're responsible. If it doesn't happen, you're responsible." / Twitter
2013 Nov 8

"In contrast, Trump said in March 2020 that, “I don’t take responsibility at all” when asked about the lack of testing in the United States for COVID-19."

Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "Biden/Obama were a disaster in handling the H1N1 Swine Flu. Polling at the time showed disastrous approval numbers. 17,000 people died unnecessarily and through incompetence! Also, don’t forget their 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare website that should have cost close to nothing!" / Twitter
2020 Apr 17

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 12,469 people died in the United States from the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, not 17,000. Obama’s approval rating also wasn’t “disastrous.” A poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC News over the course of several months in 2009 showed that Obama’s approval rating for his handling of the H1N1 pandemic ranged from the high 60s to the high 50s. Also, the “Obamacare” website cost much less than $5 billion.

 

[lpetrich]

Nurses, surgeons, janitors: the first US health workers to die from Covid-19 | US news | The Guardian

Here's what a responsible politician is like:
Rep. Katie Porter on Twitter: "Along with my staff, I make calls to constituents ... / Twitter

Along with my staff, I make calls to constituents to personally respond to their contacting my office. So many people are reaching out, and I wanted to hear their stories and offer help. Here are my key takeaways:

Thread https://t.co/S1kP4ZE6qg

2/X People are scared and are struggling to get accurate information. Many are asking for the first time in their lives for government assistance; they need support and encouragement. My office is ready to work with our community.

3/X Small businesses are struggling with lost income. Most are closed. I talked to a non-profit founder who received his EIDL money (economic injury disaster loan) through the SBA a week ago. Most businesses are waiting—and worried.

4/X Hearing these hardships is a powerful testament to the need for Congress to act immediately to increase funding for the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) and to do oversight of the SBA and Treasury so everyone has equal opportunity to get help.

5/X Nearly every constituent appreciated our connecting them to the Small Business Development Center in Irvine and thanked their staff for being terrific resources with one-on-one services and webinars. Find your local help:
Small Business Administration

6/X In my calls, I’ve also spoken to constituents who have expertise to share. A retired nurse manager with experience in catastrophe planning had great ideas about expanding the health workforce to complement the California Health Corps.

7/X Some folks also write to me to express gratitude to our frontline/essential workers. In talking to those employees, I hear how important it is to advance my Mental Health Parity bill as part of the response to the pandemic.

8/8 I’m getting on the phone to make another batch of calls now. There is no substitute for hearing the voices of our neighbors. No briefing, news stories, or social media feed can convey the pain—and strength—of Americans in the face of COVID-19.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump rips CNN reporter for 'self-congratulation' question: 'You don't have the brains you were born with' | TheHill

President Trump vs. Jeremy Diamond of CNN:

Today we hit the grim milestone of more than 40,000 Americans now having died from the coronavirus. Can you explain then why you come out here and you are reading clips and — and showing clips of praise for you and for your administration? Is this really the time for self-congratulation?" Diamond asked.

"Well, I will tell you this, what I'm doing is I'm standing up for the men and women that have done such an incredible job," Trump responded. "Not for me, for the men and women, admirals, vice president, if I might, but all of the men and women. Thousands, tens of thousands of them that build hospitals in New York and New Jersey and all over this country in record time. They'd throw up 1,000 beds in 4 days. I'm sticking up for those people. Those people have been incredible. I'm also sticking up for doctors and nurses and military doctors and nurses."

"But the clips that you played and what you read earlier was praising you and your administration. Why is now the moment to do that? On the day more than 40,000 Americans have now died?" Diamond said.

"Those people have been just absolutely excoriated by some of the fake news like you. You're CNN. You're fake news. And let me just tell you, they were excoriated by people like you that don't know any better because you don't have the brains you were born with. You should be praising the people that have done a good job, not doing what you do," Trump said.

"Look, you're never going to treat me fairly, many of you, and I understand that," the president added. "I got here with the worst, most unfair press treatment they say in the history of the United States for a president. They did say Abraham Lincoln had very bad treatment."

What a big baby. He deserves the 25th Amendment for his immaturity.

Some days before, a reporter had asked him about his "happy talk".

"These people have done an incredible job," Trump said, pointing to others who were on the stage. "This is not happy talk. Maybe it's happy talk for you. It's not happy talk for me. We are talking about death."

"Thousands of people have died," he added. "These are the saddest news conferences that I've ever had. I don't like doing them. You know why? Because I'm talking about death."

"That's not a fair question," Trump said toward the end of the exchange. "When you ask a question like that it's very insulting to a lot of great people."

What a weenie.

 

[lpetrich]

Health care workers block protesters challenging stay-at-home order in Denver | TheHill

Health care workers blocked protesters challenging stay-at-home orders in Denver on Sunday, according to video and photos shared on social media.

Images posted on Facebook by photographer Alyson McClaran show two health care workers in scrubs and masks standing with arms crossed in the street, blocking the protesters in a counter demonstration.

 

[Keith&Co.]

I just have a tough time wrapping my head around the utility of wishing ill on anyone, no matter how much you disagree with their beliefs.

It's their beliefs that are the exact pronlem, and while i do not wish anyone DIE of C-19, i think much of the nation's interests would be advanced if C-19 became a real and immediate personal issue for these asshats.
Other people's deaths aren't moving them, how about a bit of fear?

Let them beg for treatment from one of the doktors they identify as conspirators, or at least stooges of the librrrul conspiracy for a while. Then hand them their protest sign on the way out.

 

[ideologyhunter]

(My daydream...) How about including protest activity in the triage process? "Here's an eighty-five year old widower with no dependents. Now experiencing extreme shortness of breath. And over here, doctor, is a 32-year-old mother of three. Hardly breathing. You might recognize her from the demonstrations last week. She endangered my life, your life, and the widower's life. But it's your call. Respirator 27 is available for the next patient."

 

[crazyfingers]

https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2020/04/20/baystate-health-hospital-mask-order-coronavirus

What the chief physician at a Massachusetts hospital had to do to make sure his order of PPE's weren't confiscated by the Feds.

Upon arriving at the airport, Artenstein says he and his team were “jubilant” to arrive to see pallets of respirators and masks being unloaded. However, before they could transfer the money for the order (more than fives times the usual amount for such a shipment), Artenstein says two FBI agents — apparently concerned the masks could be headed to the black market — arrived and began questioning him.

“I tried to convince them that the shipment of PPE was bound for hospitals,” Artenstein wrote in the NEJM article. “After receiving my assurances and hearing about our health system’s urgent needs, the agents let the boxes of equipment be released and loaded into the trucks.”

But they still weren’t in the clear; after several hours of waiting, Artenstein told WBUR that he learned the Department of Homeland Security was considering utilizing their option to redirect the order — forcing him to make some “quick calls” to their congressman, Rep. Richard Neal, to prevent its seizure.

 

[lpetrich]

Nguyen #fbpe #fbr on Twitter: "GOP Governor Larry Hogan bought test kits from South Korea. Trump isn’t happy about it
Trump wants "the states to take the lead, and we have to go out and do it ourselves, and that’s exactly what we did,” Hogan said https://t.co/dD1oKSo1Lo" / Twitter
Trump attacks Gov. Hogan for following his coronavirus testing advice - Vox

Governor Larry Hogan on Twitter: "On Saturday, First Lady Yumi Hogan and I stood on the tarmac at @BWI_Airport to welcome the first ever Korean Air passenger plane, carrying a very important payload of LabGun #COVID19 test kits which will give MD the capability of performing half a million coronavirus tests. https://t.co/Elf0ADIRnJ" / Twitter

Governor Larry Hogan on Twitter: "Each part of this international collaboration was unprecedented, and required an amazing team effort. I want to sincerely thank our South Korean partners for assisting us in our fight against this common, hidden enemy. https://t.co/X2CrTM1vL8" / Twitter

Governor Larry Hogan on Twitter: "The most critical building block of our recovery plan for Maryland is the ability to do widespread testing. The incredible success of this operation has not only put us on track to achieve that goal, but it will literally help save the lives of thousands of Marylanders." / Twitter

Good to see a Republican act responsible and sound responsible. So unlike the big baby in the White House.

Aaron Rupar on Twitter: ""The governor of Maryland didn't really understand. He didn't really understand what was going on" -- Trump begins the April 20 #TrumpPressBriefing by attacking Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, who has been critical of the federal coronavirus response. https://t.co/OTMwj6v5Sp" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Experts say the US needs to triple its testing capacity before it will be safe for businesses to reopen, but the number of tests completed daily has remained largely flat for the past month. Trump doesn’t seem to have an answer to this puzzle other than to turn the tables on governors.

For instance, on Monday Trump trolled governors by flipping through a packet of papers that he said contained information about how they can better utilize lab capacity in their states.

Aaron Rupar on Twitter: "Trump touts the US during the highest overall number of coronavirus tests but hasn't mentioned that the country also has the most deaths https://t.co/n7cPdGsWgd" / Twitter

JM Rieger on Twitter: "Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan:
“Most of the governors already knew where the lab facilities were in their states. …most of the ones that they sent me in Maryland were all federal facilities…none of which were state-owned labs or facilities where we could actually do any testing." https://t.co/UpO2IbeBDw" / Twitter
Eek.

Aaron Rupar on Twitter: "Trump suggests that demands for more testing, just like requests for ventilators, are part of a political conspiracy meant to take him down -- not necessary measures to respond to a virus that has killed more than 40,000 Americans https://t.co/uFFBnqwgQP" / Twitter
He deserves the 25th Amendment.

Aaron Rupar on Twitter: ".@GeoffRBennett: In March we were promised 47 million tests. Roughly 4 million people have been tested. What happened?
HHS OFFICIAL GIROIR: "If the machines are not utilized and organized at that level, then they are not being utilized to its fullest." https://t.co/1bdseY5j5m" / Twitter
Trying to shift the blame to the states. Trump himself soon returned and said “The governor of Maryland could’ve called Mike Pence and saved a lot of money,” Trump said. “I think he needed to get a little knowledge.”


Aaron Rupar on Twitter: "Trump hypes possible coronavirus therapies and vaccines but conspicuous by its absence is any mention of hydroxychloroquine, the potentially fatal and unproven drug he spent weeks hyping https://t.co/a6b2hCgpf6" / Twitter
Hmmm... that suggests that he is conceding that (hydroxy)chloroquine is not that great.

 

[lpetrich]

SocialSecurityWorks on Twitter: ""It's not about what the deficit is, it's about what we spend it on.
Do we spend money where we need to spend money, on lifting people out of poverty, on ensuring equity, on ensuring racial justice?"
- @PramilaJayapal https://t.co/Ld48UoaWb7" / Twitter

SocialSecurityWorks on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC is right! We need real coronavirus relief - not crumbs for the people while corporations get huge bailouts. #PutPeopleFirst https://t.co/cxyiskRcFd" / Twitter
AOC:

We have to make sure that we demand meaningful change and meaningful assistance for working families.

That means everyone who needs to go to a hospital can go to a hospital without their last words before being intubated being "How much is this going to cost me?"

Trump’s efforts to blame Obama for the coronavirus make absolutely no sense - Vox -- it's a knee-jerk reaction on his part, I think. He refuses to accept blame for *anything*.

 

[lpetrich]

Stay-home orders: What the anti-stay-at-home protests are really about - Vox

They’re part of a Trumpian strategy from some conservative groups to reshape public opinion.

Anti-social distancing and anti-stay-at-home order rallies are cropping up across the country, reminiscent of the early days of the Tea Party, when well-funded right-leaning groups lit a fire under an already outraged Republican base and helped ignite a political movement.

In fact, Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, a right-leaning advocacy group that helped support the Tea Party movement back in 2009, said in an interview that “this has the same DNA [as] the Tea Party movement.”

...
The displays are tapping into Trump’s main message on the coronavirus pandemic: Governors are to blame for the crisis, not him. As the president ratchets up his reelection efforts, his argument is an effort to simultaneously put the brunt of responsibility for the coronavirus catastrophe on the shoulders of his political opponents while maintaining that he holds “total authority” over the pandemic and the states facing it.

It’s an argument that resonates best in rural, redder parts of the country, which have not yet been hit as hard by the pandemic as blue, urban areas. Trump himself has said, “We’ll be opening some states much sooner than others,” despite pushback from legislators and business leaders alike about the current lack of mass testing.

So he prefers deflecting blame to showing a sense of responsibility. 25th Amendment for him. Did Winston Churchill sound like him? FDR?

FDR didn't dismiss Japan's attack of Pearl Harbor as "the Republicans' new hoax".

And it’s a message of division, designed to pit Republican-voting areas of states against their Democratic-voting neighbors, even rural Republicans against urban Republicans. All this is to activate white rural voters who supported Trump in 2016 and who he’ll need again in 2020.

For some on the right, the plan seems simple: vilify Democratic governors and agitate for the end of shutdown orders. Then “reopen the economy” and spur a massive turnaround in the nation’s economic prospects just in time for Trump to be reelected in November. If the pandemic recedes, he can claim he was entirely responsible; but if people continue to die, he can place the blame on Democratic governors.

It's part of a strategy to re-elect him by making Democrats seem like disease-ridden, job-destroying villains.