DL Open Thread: Thurs., April 16, 2020
DeMatteis To Delaware Prisoners: Just Die Already. They can make masks, they are making masks, they just can’t have any. This is a real quote from Carney’s favorite fixer on what she perceives to be a low number of positive cases in the prison system:
“Pretty remarkable, right?” said Delaware Department of Correction Commissioner Claire DeMatteis on Wednesday. “Other states have had dozens and hundreds and thousands.”
Other states have, to put it mildly, a whole lot more people in them than Delaware. A complete lack of empathy and common sense. I’d have expected that from Jim Vaughn, but not Claire DeMatteis.
Small Business Loan Fund Runs Out. As Stephanie Ruhle points out, a lot of the money ‘went to the savviest, not the neediest’. If you don’t have a ‘relationship with your bank’, you’re screwed.
Banks Can Take Stimulus Checks If Accounts Overdrawn. Relief for banks is paramount, of course. BTW, Some more IRS stimulus follies.
Trump Threatens To Adjourn Congress In Order To Make Appointments. He apparently got a bug up his yu-u-u-ge butt about something someone said on the Voice Of America. And his guy hasn’t been confirmed. His guy? A conservative filmmaker who has had two films produced by, wait for it, Steve Bannon.
Everything Falls Apart, Ctd.: The latest carnage: 639,644 confirmed cases and 30,985 deaths in the US. Looks like Trump’s Reopening The Country Group is falling apart before it gets started. CEO’s demand more testing before reopening.
Kentucky Rethugs Pass Voter Suppression Legislation. Actually, they overrode a series of gubernatorial vetoes to do it. And bragged about it. The criminal conspiracy continues in broad daylight.
Arizona Looks Ready To Turn Blue. The polling has been consistent in both the presidential and senatorial contests. Don’t think Trump’s pandemic response will help him in a state with so many seniors.
What do you want to talk about?
5.2 million more Americans filed for unemployment in the past week:
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-weekly-jobless-claims-labor-market-unemployment-filings-recession-coronavirus-2020-4
We’ve now lost all the jobs created since the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
The millions laid off also lost their healthcare insurance (assuming they had any), estimate are next year premiums will rise by 40% due to the virus, suspect that will keep many millions more uninsured. American healthcare is a failure in many ways, and it’s going to get much worse. We need universal coverage and an end to the insurance companies being involved in healthcare, and we’re not going to get it.
We’ve got a better chance of getting it now that we’ve seen the results of this pandemic. If insurance premiums are gonna rise 40%, there will be a whole lot less people ‘loving’ their private insurance.