DL Open Thread: Fri., April 10, 2020

WHERE ARE THE TESTS? Perhaps the biggest lie, among all the lies that the President repeats daily, is that we have the best testing program in the world. Along with, you know that ‘Everybody who wants a test can get a test’ lie. Do you know what percentage of Americans have had a coronavirus test? 0.7%.  If you watched Trump’s mercifully-truncated monologue yesterday, he repeated the canard (doesn’t that mean ‘duck’ in French?) that massive testing is unnecessary. He doesn’t want massive testing because it would reveal the true scope of the pandemic here.  Nobody expects everybody to be tested.  But seriously, the country with the worst outbreak of the pandemic has not tested 99.3% of the population?  Not enough spinning to turn that lie into an accolade for Le Grand Orange.   Or, as canard-in-chief, duck l’orange.

Everything Falls Apart, Ctd.  The latest carnage: 466,396 cases and 16,703 deaths in America.  Florida unemployment fiasco creates more danger of infection due to long lines.  

Trump Wants To Reopen Country Next Month.  He realizes just how precarious he is politically.  He’s willing to risk the country’s health in order to throw a Hail, Mary to save the economy and his political fortunes.  Which reminds me, this proposed coronavirus economic task force? Mark Meadow, Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow will be part of it.  Health concerns will take a back seat.  Bill Barr prepares to do his part. A May reopening ain’t gonna happen, according to the Surgeon General.

Let’s close out the week with a diversion or two:

More on the Lincoln Project.

What do you want to talk about?