DL Open Thread: Fri., March 20, 2020
‘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?
We are seeing our elected officials’ true colors, and for many that color is yellow.
The notion that the states should fend for themselves with respect to medical supplies cannot possibly be due solely to ignorance. Stepping in when a crisis hits is one of the core functions of the federal govt. Someone with the president’s ear is lining their pockets.
Just wait until we hear that “Way of the world” line when the .001%s start getting their vaccines first.
Two other senators dumped stocks around the same time, according to the NYTimes: Oklahoma flat-earther James Imhofe and corporadem Dianne Feinstein.
I don’t like Feinstein at all, but hers was a single transaction — sold stock in a biotech company.
Burr and Loeffler engaged in multiple transactions, meaning they were dumping as a broad-based strategy.
Guess which one Fox News led with?
Just about to head over to the DMV and wait in line with a bunch of other people like myself, who may, or may not be spreading the CV.
Glad to know that John Carney thinks we should all be risking our lives as well as those of the DMV employees in order to keep up on some trivial bureaucratic red tape….Maybe his next opponent will take note of this inaction.
Outside of an inspection, all other DMV services can be completed on line. Recently did Dr Lic and registration renewal online. Received both in mail a week later.
My wife’s tags expired and she wasn’t liable for an inspection. All taken care of by mail.
But, you know, trolls are gonna troll.
Work truck and trailer had to be physically inspected because it had been two years. I even called before hand and there was no mention of any kind of waiver etc..
The guys in the inspection lane, and the lady who takes the payment were all pissed that they still had to be there. I apologized to them and they seemed appreciative . The lady said, “even the courthouse is closed”….People are mad.
Oh, and the place was packed inside….probably more than fifty people…which is supposedly against the rules at this point.
This is the only message on the DMV website:
“Important Message from Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles
Due to current health concerns, our regular Wednesday hours are changing on March 18 and March 25, 2020. The new hours will be 8:00am-4:30pm. This may be extended depending on the fluidity of this situation. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Agree with the suggestion of the extension, the environment can wait, lol.
New message from DMV:
DMV Locations Move to Kiosk, Drive-Through
and Appointment Only
Effective Monday, March 23, all four Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) locations will go to kiosk, drive-through and emergency appointment only. Dealer paperwork can be dropped off for processing and picked up when notified. Inspection lanes will remain open as no personal interaction is required, and the drive through windows at each location will have additional staff working to process DMV-related transactions. At no time will there be more than 10 people permitted in DMV lobbies.
My auto tags expire April 4, and I’ll need an inspection. DMV has already waived late fees for expired registration, but I’d still get a ticket if I was pulled over. I’d like to see tags extended for a few months.
Will be interesting to see what happens when those happy slappy spring breakers get home, same for the red states where there is no restrictions of any sort on public gatherings. This has yet to get into high gear, but it will. I expect the Trump administration will proceed with it’s usual top flight incompetence, muttering about “the Chinese Virus” all the way.
Carney is to announce statewide testing, but only for those with symptoms, which means it will do no good. Estimated 80% of those with virus show no symptoms but still spread the virus.
I’d say it’s a half-assed reaction, but it’s less than that.
Think I just read that, among the new Delaware positives, were people who had attended that Boston biotech conference that became a hotbed of infection. Would’ve been nice if those from Delaware who attended had been tested here before they turned up as positive. Could’ve kept the numbers down.
BTW, I don’t know who shops for the governor’s groceries, but it he wants to see social distancing NOT being practiced, he should send one of his food tasters into any grocery store in the state. Everybody there is at risk.
I can’t emphasize this strongly enough. GOVERNOR: IF YOU FAIL TO INSIST THAT GROCERY STORES AND PHARMACIES EMPLOY SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES, THE RAPID SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS IS INEVITABLE, AND PEOPLE MIGHT FIND THEMSELVES WITH NO GROCERY STORES OR PHARMACIES TO TURN TO.
Please, do something.
New England was well into this virus at that time so it points out how foolish Delaware has been to even now not test asymptomatic people with known exposure – close contact for more than 10 minutes is the rule.
We sat back saying oh, just the UD person so we know it was not community spread until it was.
And grocery stores or any of the remaining essential businesses need to practice and enforce the distancing rule. And for the county, muni,and state government-owned parks too.
There has to be a way to monitor them for compliance that may feel intrusive but our lives may depend on it.
The two food stores I was in yesterday were not enforcing the distancing rule. The Newark co-op has just set Tues and Thurs 9-11 am as shopping for vulnerable only (elderly and those with compromised immune systems) and are limited total numbers allowed in the store at a time. I hope they are also monitoring the line outside for the distancing rule. I know they already have staff on cleaning sterilization duty so that can be a part of the rotation.
Either his Secretary of health is obtuse or he is refusing to listen to the science because the perception for open-for business and economic health are his priorities.
It is his legacy now. As a follower and ignoramus not a leader we can be proud of or trust very much at this point.
Just saw that Lou Dobbs is in self-quarantine after a show staffer tested positive. Karma ran over his dogma.