DL Open Thread: Saturday, May 2, 2020
‘Investigate Tara Reade’s Allegations’: I agree. Just do it. And quickly. Biden could have made it a lot easier by being responsive and supportive of a check into his document trove at UD for references to Reade, but he either played the clueless geezer card or was a clueless geezer. If he was playing the card, then we should find out why. Not that it makes me any more comfortable running this clueless geezer for President.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today announced a series of initiatives to help Michigan workers and their families during the ongoing pandemic, including the ‘Futures For Frontliners’ program to provide a tuition-free pathway to college or a technical certificate to essential workers who don’t have a college degree. This includes workers like the ones staffing our hospitals and nursing homes, stocking the shelves at grocery stores, providing child care to critical infrastructure workers, manufacturing PPE, protecting public safety, picking up trash, or delivering supplies.
A modern-day GI Bill. That’s great Democratic public policy right there. D elected officials from all over the country should take note
White House Blocks Fauci From Testifying In House. Legal Experts Respond. I don’t see Fauci making it through the pandemic in this Administration. May not make it through next week.
Everything Falls Apart, Ctd. Global. US. The latest carnage: 1,104,161 confirmed cases and 65,068 deaths in the US. Another 2000 deaths yesterday.
Trump’s Supporters Will Kill When He Tells Them To. I admit, this is something that scares me. The analogies between what happened in Yugoslavia and what is happening here are striking:
But the most important and troubling symptom is the open and ceaseless commitment to conflict meant to culminate in transformative, cathartic violence; this marks the beginning of collective self-actualization. As we bear witness to armed white American militias storming or protesting outside government institutions, it is clear that the chaos and tragedy of Covid-19 are being used by Trump and the GOP to enhance the conflict and accelerate the birth of a new, greater America. At the heart of every nationalist mythology is some kind of a rebirth, usually bloody and requiring sacrifices, preferably of the weak and the doubtful.
‘Modern Slaves’: Meat Plant Workers In The Crosshairs. An absolute must-read. 114 years after Upton Sinclair (who summered in Arden, BTW) wrote The Jungle, workers remain expendable fodder for the industry. BTW, and this comes as no surprise, these horrible corporations are being granted immunity from liability stemming from Trump’s declaration that this is an essential industry. For workers, there is no justice. This has been going on in Delaware’s poultry plants forever, and it’s something that virtually nobody ever talks about. It just–is.
Check Out Which Accused Crooks Got Healthcare Stimulus Money. Might just have to break out my copy of The Royal Scam…
Is Governor’s Emergency Covid-19 Order Constitutional? A law professor discusses its ramifications.
What do you want to talk about?
Coons has worked hand in glove with McConnell to stack the federal courts with partisan ideologues. But he isn’t sure about returning to DC to help McConnell out now:
“What a dangerous and ill-conceived idea,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who is discussing with his wife and staff whether to return next week. “I have some colleagues that are seriously considering not returning because there’s nothing on the agenda yet that requires us to be there.”
As Matt Ygelsias has pointed out, the real goal of the Biden accusations is to get him to release all his records so they can comb through it for more attack material.
Also, remember the LBJ story related by Hunter S. Thompson:
Something Carney lacks the balls to do: Arrest protesters who violate social distancing and lockdown order.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Protesters-in-Sacramento-and-San-Francisco-defy-15240894.php
It’s true. Driving past the ludicrous protest yesterday, at least 75% of the attendees did not have the masks on that state law mandates. Where was the enforcement? Several cops there as well, doing nothing. At least one was guiding traffic so I could make my way home through the fascists.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/jxxhqbwzlqyvwdovq5qw.jpg