‘We’re Not A Shipping Clerk‘. Of course not. Not at a time when there is a critical shortage of surgical masks, testing equipment, and ventilators at medical facilities facing the worst pandemic since at least 1918. Not when the President has the authority to mobilize industry to produce such products, but has chosen not to do so. Instead, Trump expects governors and other officials to fight with each other over the paltry amount of available product. Of all of his derelictions of duty, this perhaps is the most unforgivable. It is the federal government’s duty to take the lead in this crisis and, yes, get the supplies where they are needed. The bottom line is, all this happy talk about the wonderful quantities of masks and ventilators being produced, they are not being produced in anywhere near enough quantities if they’re being produced at all and they are not getting to the healthcare workers on the frontlines. Trump is gonna run for reelection by blaming, among others, the governors? The mind reels.
Rethug Senators Used Inside Info To Sell Stocks. At least two of them, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Kelley Loeffler of Georgia. I’ll goddamnguarantee you they’re not the only ones. If we had a Justice Department, they would be facing indictment. Remember, kids, the Rethuglican Party is a criminal conspiracy. Even Tucker Carlson, who is sounding more and more like Lee Atwater on his deathbed, has called for Burr to resign.
McConnell’s Plan: More Corporate Bailouts, Crumbs For The Poor. Many who earn under $40K would receive no relief whatsoever. But airlines would be bailed out just a couple of years after their executives plunged the tax windfall that Trump gave them into stock buybacks. Why not let ’em go bankrupt like ordinary citizens? They won’t disappear, not without fleets of planes for collateral. Which reminds me, why should Boeing get one penny of federal money? The company knowingly placed passengers and crew at risk and lied about it. Make them go through bankruptcy as well.
Everything Falls Apart, Ctd. When I wrote yesterday’s piece, the United States was at 9415 reported cases and 150 deaths. 24 or so hours later, the numbers are 14,250 reported cases and 205 deaths. We blew past South Korea and France on the carnage index. We project to have well over 20,000 reported cases by day’s end, and who knows how many deaths. The Trump Administration response? A request from the Department of Labor to delay the release of states’ release of unemployment figures. There can only be one reason: To keep Trump from looking even worse than he has already shown himself to be:
Oh yeah, Cali’s on lockdown.
I’m 69 years old. I’ve never seen anything approaching this.
What do you want to talk about?