Posts on Saturday, April 18, 2020
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge on Saturday blocked Kansas from limiting attendance at in-person religious worship services or activities to 10 people or fewer to check the spread of the coronavirus, signaling that he believes that it's likely that the policy violates religious freedom and free speech rights.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita prevents the enforcement of an order issued by Gov. Laura Kelly if pastors and congregations observe social distancing. The judge's decision will remain in effect until May 2; he has a hearing scheduled Thursday in a lawsuit filed against Kelly by two churches and their pastors.
Contamination at CDC lab was likely
cause of critical early delays in
rolling out coronavirus testing replies
cause of critical early delays in
rolling out coronavirus testing replies
Contamination in manufacturing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention test for the coronavirus caused weeks of delays that slowed the US response to the pandemic, multiple health officials have told CNN, a problem that stemmed in part from the CDC not adhering to its own protocols, according to a US Food and Drug Administration spokesperson. "CDC made its test in one of its laboratories, rather than in its manufacturing facilities," the FDA spokesperson told CNN on Saturday. "CDC did not manufacture its test consistent with its own protocol."(Snip) In mid-February, the CDC was uncertain whether its test was malfunctioning due to a design issue
During my reelection campaign for Congress in 2012, I traveled throughout my expansive district and knocked on many doors. Some people I met responded, “I’m sorry, I’m not a citizen so I don’t vote.” This was puzzling since I was knocking on their door precisely because their name was on a voter registration list provided to me by the state.
I also visited empty lots, addresses with multiple names, and mailboxes (not residences) matching the names on my voter rolls. How did those names get on the list?
I thought about those visits as I recently heard former Vice President Joe Biden endorse
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) is one of the few governors that decided not to issue a stay-at-home order during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Her decision was based on the fact that her state had very few cases and she did not want to trample on South Dakotans' civil liberties.
Critics are now citing an outbreak at the Sioux Falls Smithfield Foods, which had 438 employees test positive for the virus, as a reason to issue a lockdown. Another 107 people who came into contact with the processing plant also tested positive. As of now, the state has 1,311 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus and seven deaths.
Imagine a time when liberals dominate the late night talk show circuit, American society is ripped apart by politics and issues, and a Republican hated by the media launches a campaign for president.
And then the Republican enjoys help from some of the most famous entertainers in the land.
In his autobiography, For Laughing Out Loud, Ed McMahon described himself in 1968 as a “great admirer” of Hubert H. Humphrey. Today, younger generations may know Humphrey as the namesake of a huge, drafty, and retired covered stadium. In the 1960s, however, Humphrey played the role filled by Henry Wallace before him and George McGovern after.
New Drug Combating Wuhan Coronavirus
Yield Excellent Results...And the Dow Surged
Because of It replies
Yield Excellent Results...And the Dow Surged
Because of It replies
We may not have a vaccine yet, but a new drug combating the symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus disease has yielded excellent results. The company Gilead Sciences has developed a new anti-viral for severe COVID-19 patients that was tested on 125 people selected by The University of Chicago Medicine. Most of the patients were discharged, while two sadly passed away. We need all the good news we can get as the nation has undergone a lockdown to curb the spread. Some 29 states are either going to enter the initial phases of re-opening some aspects of their respective economies or are on the cusp of doing so. That’s good.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Breitbart News on Saturday that he is moving to reopen his state’s economy starting next week because the United States depends on Texas’s success to thrive.Abbott, in an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel, said that Texas is “the economic engine of America” and must reopen now that the coronavirus crisis is in decline. Texas, he noted, is the world’s 10th largest economy on its own.“As you and your listeners probably know, Texas has always been ranked number one in the United States for creating jobs and for leading in economic development and for gross domestic product.
President Donald Trump on Friday called a judge’s decision to deny Roger Stone a new trial a “disgraceful situation,” and amplified a tweet calling for the GOP operative’s pardon.
Stone faces a “death sentence” if he is sent to prison due to the coronavirus pandemic, he told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview hours before Trump’s tweet.
“At 67 years old with some underlying health problems including a history of asthma, I believe with the coronavirus it is essentially a death sentence,” he said.
Several high-profile federal inmates have recently been released from prison due to concerns about COVID-19, Carlson noted.
Sophie Lewis, a scholar at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research and a frequent speaker at American universities, wrote an article suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic should push Americans to abolish the family.
In an opinion editorial published by Open Democracy in late March, Lewis argues that “the private family qua mode of social reproduction still, frankly, sucks. It genders, nationalizes and races us. It norms us for productive work. It makes us believe we are ‘individuals’…”
“We deserve better than the family. And the time of corona is an excellent time to practice abolishing it,” she adds.
“As feminists for decades have excavated,
States have begun reacting to President Trump’s plans to reopen the U.S. and many coastal towns are lifting beach access restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus. As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the green light for some beaches and parks in the Sunshine State to reopen, lockdown-weary residents flocked to take advantage. In other coastal towns such as North Carolina’s Emerald Isle, the announcement of a pending reopening came after a stunning protest as residents had grown frustrated with what they saw as a violation of their rights. (Tweet) One man was seen in video and photos taking a patriotic stand against the town’s restrictions.
Earlier this week the Senate Judiciary Committee released key material related to the Obama FISA Abuse Scandal. The documents included transcripts and material related to the Committee’s investigation into Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) actions leading up to and during the Spygate scandal.The information included transcripts of undercover FBI spies interviewing George Papadopoulos in 2016. On Friday night investigative journalist John Solomon joined Lou Dobbs to discuss the ongoing Crossfire Hurricane or Spygate scandal.
Convicted former Trump campaign official Roger Stone appeared on Fox News late Friday to participate in what was his first interview since his gag order was released and could very well be his last interview before he’s hauled off to prison in two weeks for the crime of having “supported Trump,” as FNC host Tucker Carlson put it.
During the interview, he bemoaned his 40-month prison sentence as “essentially a death sentence,” lamented the White House’s apparent refusal to pardon him and noted the unfairness of his request for a new trial being rejected.
Texas Lt. Gov Patrick says it’s time for Congress
to take a pay cut, show Americans ‘you’re with
us’ replies
to take a pay cut, show Americans ‘you’re with
us’ replies
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is calling on Congress to show solidarity with Americans hurt by the coronavirus crisis and take a pay cut.
With millions of people across the nation facing financial hardship due to government decisions to shut down the economy, Patrick believes members of Congress who “are not hurt” by the same constraints should stand with citizens, telling Fox News host Laura Ingraham that it’s high time lawmakers in Washington “feel some of this pain.”
The Republican lawmaker noted on “The Ingraham Angle” Friday that Texans are ready to get back to work and a slow, safe reopening is being planned by state officials.
The Trump administration is reportedly going to court in order to complete the U.S.-Mexico border wall, not letting the coronavirus pandemic get in the way of its most lauded campaign goal.
While the coronavirus crisis has altered the way of life for most of the country’s workforce, the Trump administration is only gaining steam in its effort to build barriers along the southern border, according to federal court records reviewed by Reuters. The White House repeatedly turned to the courts to seize land from private owners.
The administration has opened 41 federal court cases to obtain land along the southern border in the past year.
Comrade deBlasio Introduces New
York City Snitching Program – Take a
Photo of Non-Compliant Behavior… replies
York City Snitching Program – Take a
Photo of Non-Compliant Behavior… replies
Comrade Bill deBlasio in New York City is making it easier than ever to snitch on your neighbors. If you happen to spot someone not obeying social isolation orders, or if you spot someone without a mask, the mayor is now asking people to take a picture of the rebellious activity and text it to the New York Division of Compliance Monitoring. (Snip) Comrades, please note: in the interests of the state any pictures showing non-compliant NYC activities can be sent by any concerned citizen with a phone from any location.
An illegal alien MS-13 Gang member accused of murdering a 14-year-old girl in Marietta, Georgia, was previously freed into the United States interior after arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Brayan Segura, a 15-year-old illegal alien from El Salvador, was arrested and charged with stabbing 14-year-old Janina Valenzuela to death, as Breitbart News reported last week. Segura allegedly admitted to murdering Valenzuela as part of his initiation into the MS-13 gang, alleging that the girl was a member of the rival 18th Street Gang.
According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, Segura first came to the U.S. through the southern border near Roma, Texas.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick announced Thursday that he would be donating $100,000 to a coronavirus relief fund for minority groups. Kaepernick took to Twitter to pledge his donation to the Know Your Rights Camp COVID-19 Relief Fund. “Join us in our mission to help address the disproportionate affect the pandemic is having on our communities,” he said in the post. There were 671,425 reported coronavirus cases and 33,286 deaths in the U.S. as of Friday morning. But, according to a Washington Post report from earlier this month, African Americans are dying at a “disproportionately high rate.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Friday that the state will use President Trump’s plan to reopen the nation as its “baseline,” but he added that the state may vary in its approach.
“I think there’s a number of things if you look at the president’s — what the president put out in terms of the different stages,” he told reporters at Friday’s press conference.
“We will obviously use that as kind of a baseline,” he continued, noting that the state’s decisions could vary.
It does not mean that Florida’s going to do “every single thing they say or not say, but that’s a pretty good baseline,” DeSantis explained.
A professor at the University of North Texas claims in a lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom that he was fired for saying that “microaggressions” are “garbage.” A “microaggression,” in the language of left-wing academia, is a small and often unintentional slight that allegedly contains prejudicial judgments.
According to a report by The College Fix, Professor Nathaniel Hiers of the University of North Texas claims in a lawsuit that he was fired from his position as a full-time math professor over his criticism of the concept of “microaggressions.”
Breitbart News reported in 2019 that Columbia University professor Derald Sue, who helped to popularize the concept of “microaggressions,”
China has long dreamed of being the dominant power on the planet. Until recently, it seemed well on the way to succeeding, with the stamp “Made in China” appearing on nearly a third of the world’s manufactured goods. What a difference a pandemic makes. On Friday, Chinese officials said their country’s economy shrank by 6.8 percent from January to March 2020, compared with one year ago. The “China Dream” of dictator Xi Jinping is now on life support, in grave danger of succumbing to the same novel coronavirus that he and his fellow communists have unleashed upon the world.
Fifteen House Democrats have called to replenish the small business relief fund despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) objections.
On Thursday morning, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) small business relief fund, otherwise known as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), officially ran out of money.
The PPP’s loss of funding sparked outrage from congressional GOP leaders such as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
(Snip) As Speaker Pelosi continues to object to a clean refunding of the small business relief fund, House Democrats broke with the Democrat leader to call for immediate refunding of the PPP.
Last week, American Thinker published “NPR proves true AG Barr’s claim the media is on a ‘jihad’ against hydroxychloroquine.” Subsequent events have proven how wrong NPR was when it used a Houston doctor's reliance on hydroxychloroquine as a vehicle to attack the drug.
If you don't want to read the post linked above, here's a quick summary: Laura Ingraham interviewed Attorney General Bill Barr. In addition to calling the Russia hoax “one of the greatest travesties in American history”, Barr touched on COVID-19.
One thing Barr found bizarre was how the media ignored informing Americans in favor of discrediting President Trump. Barr specifically noted the media’s response to Trump’s hope
Catherine Herridge confirmed recently that the FBI ignored warnings that the primary evidence used in securing a FISA warrant against Carter Page, Christopher’s Steele’s “dossier,” is unreliable “Russian disinformation.” Herridge is as fine an investigative reporter as they come, but my gut reaction was, “Haven’t we known that for years now?”
Then reality smacked me in the face, and I remembered: we’re still pretending as a country that Barack Obama’s FBI and CIA didn’t work with Fusion GPS, Hillary Clinton, and the Democrat party to frame Donald Trump as an agent of the Russian government.
I suppose the longer the attempted coup against the president has endured,
The first cases identified of the Wuhan coronavirus may have occurred south of Wuhan in September, a team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge found. The South China Morning Post reported the findings on Thursday.
In a newly published study, which has not been peer-reviewed, researchers investigating the virus’s origin analyzed global viral samples and concluded that the virus must have first infected humans between September 13 and December 7.
“The virus may have mutated into its final ‘human-efficient’ form months ago, but stayed inside a bat or other animal, or even human, for several months without infecting other individuals,” University of Cambridge geneticist Peter Forster
Glenn Reynolds linked a story about a fact-checker at the Washington Post who ignored facts to defend WHO. The Instapundit then said, "The WHO is in China’s pocket, and so is the Washington Post."
COVID-19 -- the Red Chinese Disease -- has awoken Americans and the rest of the world to the fact that Red China now dominates the world. While the United States was busy fighting a Global War on Terrorism, Red China was using its trade surplus with the United States to buy influence across the world.
The seminal event of 2001 was not 9/11 but rather 12/11, the day in December 2001 when Red China joined the World Trade
Some language, some very specific wording, has a very specific meaning in the United States of America. One of those words is “rebellion”; and it carries a deeper meaning to a nation of American citizens born into the idea of individual rights, liberty and freedom.All of the various restrictions coming from state governors in response to the COVID-19 do not come from State House and/or State Senate decisions. These are not laws.
(Snip)All of the rules are arbitrary, and many of these rules will be challenged in court.
However, until those court challenges take place, the only option for a redress of grievance comes in the form of public
In the background of lessons being learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, stay tuned for a new MAGA-minded small farm program in the agricultural industry similar in construct to how President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin created the parallel banking system using community banks and credit unions. Domestic food security is national security.
Today President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue revealed a $19 billion U.S. farm relief program which includes the Dept. of Agriculture purchasing $3 billion in farm products from the fresh supply chain to support those impacted by the collapse of the restaurant, hotel, school and cafeteria demand (food away from home). WATCH:
Friday on MSNBC, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she was “satisfied” with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden’s denial of the sexual misconduct allegations from a former staff assistant Tara Reade.
Ari Melber asked, “Final question on a different issue as you know there was an accusation of misconduct against Joe Biden. He’s publicly denied it. He’s the Democratic nominee. Are you satisfied with his answer?”
Pelosi said, “Yes, I am. I’m very much involved in this issue. I always want to give the opportunity that women deserve to be heard. I am satisfied with his answer, yes.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar on Friday unveiled legislation aimed at providing relief to "the millions of Americans currently at risk of housing instability and homelessness" by canceling all rent and home mortgage payments for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The coronavirus crisis is more than just a public health crisis — it's an economic crisis," Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement. "Minnesotans are losing jobs, getting their hours reduced, and struggling just to put food on the table. We must take major action to protect the health and economic security of the most vulnerable." "Congress has a responsibility to
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- What to do when your family lives on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, but the border is closed for non-essential travel?
Have a family get together *at* the border -- all while not only maintaining social distancing, but international boundary distancing as well.
Gavin Willis is originally from Lynden, Wash., but now lives with his wife in British Columbia. His brother and wife also live in B.C., but the rest of their family remains in Lynden.
"For people who live right along the border, crossing is often a weekly or daily occurrence," Willis said. "So when the US and Canadian governments
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) introduced the NO PORK Act on Friday, which would strip the $350 million in refugee funding in the CARES Act and redistribute it to the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
Gaetz introduced the Negating Outlandish Pork in Our Reinvestment Kit Act, or NO PORK Act, to rescind a Democrat provision that the Florida conservative contends would radically reshape America to fit their leftist agenda.
Congressman Gaetz said in a statement on Friday: It is unacceptable that Democrats have chosen to use the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to socially reengineer our country to conform to their agenda.
The big unresolved question of the Trump era is simple: What happens when Donald Trump’s presidency is over? Has the Republican Party really become more “populist,” or will the GOP revert to the neoliberal, neoconservative status quo?
The coronavirus has brought this question into focus like never before. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a supposed populist of the Left, dropped out in a humiliating and shameful surrender, right in the middle of an economic catastrophe that threatens to wipe out what is left of the working class he claims to champion.
The 2020 presidential race is about to be hit by an O-bomb.Former President Barack Obama is champing at the bit to jump into the campaign fray on behalf of his vice president Joe Biden, and is sharpening his knives for President Trump, his aides and advisors told The Post.“He is very eager to do this,” said a former senior Obama official who remains in regular touch with his old boss. “I certainly expect President Obama to be very active.”Though Obama has followed the tradition of past presidents in avoiding day-to-day criticism of his successor,
If Joe Biden were a normal candidate, it seems it would be a breeze for any Democrat to endorse him.
Not the case for the Obamas.
Michelle Obama is in "talks" with the Biden team on all the conditions necessary to obtain her endorsement.
According to Fox News:
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s team is speaking with former first lady Michelle Obama about winning her endorsement and having her play a role in his campaign, according to a report. Former President Obama endorsed Biden last week soon after Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race and Biden emerged as the apparent Democratic nominee.
The coronavirus has given criminals a new deadly weapon: saliva. Spit-slinging sickos are declaring they are infected with COVID-19 and spraying their targets with sneezes, coughs or sputum. “Bitch, now you have coronavirus,” Jason Mason, 28, told four NYPD officers last Wednesday as he spit on them from inside a holding cell, police said. Cops said he was collared after being caught with a knife in a suspected drug deal. In a possible hate attack, three Hasidic teens purposely sneezed on Muslim firefighter Omar Sattar in Borough Park last month, The Post learned. Sattar tested positive nine days after the incident,
No one should kid themselves. We’re not at the end of the COVID-19 epidemic. We’re not even at the beginning of the end. But to paraphrase Winston Churchill, we are approaching the end of the beginning; and that means the severe social distancing restrictions, which were imposed to achieve certain goals in the early stage of pandemic response, can and should be adjusted in recognition of our growing ability to deal with the disease in a more targeted way.
As always, context is important. The extraordinary social distancing measures were designed to slow the spread of the virus. They were a hedge against the worst-case scenario –
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has repeatedly promised to fix New York’s archaic unemployment-insurance system, which has been overwhelmed by an unprecedented wave of claims. The state has partnered with Google to overhaul the online application, staffed call centers with thousands of additional workers and expanded their call-volume capacity, and vowed to address outstanding unemployment claims within 72 hours. Carly Keohane has yet to benefit from any of those improvements. Ms. Keohane, who lost her waitressing job in Rochester, N.Y., has been waiting a month to receive $2,124 in unemployment payments as a direct deposit into her bank account. But the
Let freedom ring
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We’re beating it. We’re beating the Coronavirus.
On second thought, let’s call it the Chinese Virus after the place it originated and the communists whose stupidity and mendacity inflicted it upon the world. If the Spanish deserve credit for a virus that didn’t even start in their country, then the Chinese surely deserve credit for one that did.
The virus is well past its peak in Europe, especially in hard-hit Italy and Spain. America is a week or two behind the European infection and death curves due to President Trump’s prescience and courage in imposing travel bans which were widely mocked at the time by TDS sufferers, some of whom
“The … crisis we face is unparalleled in modern times,” said the World Health Organization’s assistant director, while its director general proclaimed it “likely the greatest peacetime challenge that the United Nations and its agencies have ever faced.” This was based on a CDC computer model projection predicting as many as 1.4 million deaths from just two countries.
So when did they say this about COVID-19? Trick question: It was actually about the Ebola virus in Liberia and Sierra Leone five years ago, and the ultimate death toll was under 8,000.
With COVID-19 having peaked (the highest date was April
Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi is at home in her San Francisco mansion during the California lockdown doing appearances on late night television while American workers and business owners go broke.As of Thursday Speaker Pelosi would not approve more funding for small business.Last week, Democrats blocked the $250 billion replenishment of the Paycheck Protection Program prompting Pelosi to partake in a parade praising partisan Democrats for blocking the program.And on Thursday the Small Business Association announced they officially ran out of money for their loan program to America’s small businesses.
On April 10, an underground documentary with no publicity landed on YouTube and amassed one million views in 24 hours. Despite YouTube’s efforts to hide it, Out of Shadows continues to attract more than a million viewers a day, lifting the mask “on how the mainstream media and Hollywood manipulate and control the masses by spreading propaganda throughout their content.” “Why do you believe what you believe?” asks Mike Smith, a former star stuntman for Hollywood action films, who produced and self-funded the film. Mike tells the story of how he began delving into the messages of the high-budget films he worked on, after an injury sidelined him.
Heads up, consumers: When running the essential errand that is grocery shopping during the coronavirus epidemic in the U.S., there’s no need to wipe down the food packaging after you’ve returned home, according to a federal agency. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) attempted to quell Americans’ fears that their food packaging may be contaminated with the novel coronavirus, as recent studies have suggested it can live on certain surfaces between hours and days.
President Trump announced that he will deliver the U.S. Military Academy commencement speech next month as both he and his campaign express hope that he can resume campaign rallies ahead of the November election. The president has left Washington only once during the past month as he took charge of the coronavirus crisis.His guidelines on social distancing urge people to avoid all but essential travel. But on Friday, a day after unveiling a road map for states to begin lifting restrictions, he announced he will travel to West Point for the May 23 ceremony.
Left-wing Hollywood stars are melting down over President Donald Trump’s calls to “liberate” three Democrat-led states where residents have risen up in protest, demanding that governors re-open the economies and relax restrictions on physical movement.Celebrities recoiled at the president’s show of support on Friday, calling the commander in chief “deranged,” “terrifying,” and a “madman.”President Trump fired off three tweets in which he pushed for the liberation of Michigan, Minnesota, and Virginia, all of which are run by Democrat governors. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing a rising tide of criticism for her handling of the coronavirus crisis with residents protesting against what they see
Why Did the NIH Fund Wuhan Labs?
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Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has asked an obvious question, one that has not Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has asked an obvious question, one that has not come up at the daily White House coronavirus press briefing -- why is the Wuhan Virology Lab a grantee of the National Institutes if Health, whose National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) -- headed by one Dr. Anthony Fauci -- and a recipient of $3.7 million to study coronavirus in bats? Gaetz has gone beyond mere curiosity, writing a letter to HHS Secretary Azar demanding the grant be terminated:
For months now, it has been clear that Biden family corruption will be a campaign issue. The impeachment focused attention on ties between the vice president’s son, Hunter, and the corrupt Ukrainian oil and gas giant Burisma. But Hunter had equally close, equally profitable ties to Chinese state-owned banks. Those connections were formed when Joe Biden was leading the Obama administration’s policies toward both China and Ukraine.
Cozy, profitable, and possibly corrupt connections with the Chinese government are the last thing Americans want to hear about their politicians right now. Those voters are closeted at home, worried about their future, thanks to a virus
" We may or may not have flattened the curve," Fox News's Brit Hume said recently, "but we've certainly flattened the economy."
With that, Hume captured the fundamental dilemma of the nation's response to the coronavirus crisis. The methods federal and state officials chose to reduce the spread of infection — stay-at-home orders, closing "nonessential" businesses, limiting the size of gatherings — have involved enormous damage to the economy. After a period of early optimism in which some believed the disease could be conquered and then — presto! — the economy quickly turned back on, a more sobering reality has set in. What lies ahead is a long period of restoration,
Former passengers are suing Carnival-owned cruise lines and accusing company management and crew members of knowingly exposing them to coronavirus. In one case, the decision to continue boarding passengers caused a customer's death, lawyers representing a family said. The most recent case, filed this week, involves Susan and Michael Dorety of Texas, who boarded a Princess Cruise Line ship February 21. Michael Dorety became ill while on board, according to court documents. He later died from coronavirus complications and Susan contracted the disease COVID-19, said Rusty Hardin, a Houston lawyer representing the couple.
In March, one of the most feared aspects of the pandemic was the widely reported coming shortage of ventilators. One well-publicized estimate, repeated by the New York Times, the New Yorker and CNN, was that the U.S. would need roughly one million ventilators, or more than five times as many as we had. Gulp. Ventilators are expensive, they’re complex machines, and they can’t be churned out in the thousands overnight.
In the state that (as of today) has one-third of the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, New York governor Andrew Cuomo sounded the alarm for ventilators repeatedly. On March 27, he acknowledged “I don’t have a crystal ball”
Good COVID-19 News
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First, it seems that the Wuhan virus has peaked in the U.S. This chart is from the CDC web site. It shows cases of COVID-19 by date of onset. I have posted it a couple of times before, with the caveat that this chart only included around one-quarter of the total number of confirmed cases. Now, however, it includes more than half of cases recorded by the CDC. I assume that no date of onset is available for the others. At this point, it seems clear that the epidemic has assumed the bell-shaped curve predicted by Farr’s Law in the 19th Century:
"The American food supply is strong, resilient, and safe," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue assured Americans on Wednesday, "and in fact our food supply chain has shown tremendous agility in shifting production and logistics so suddenly from restaurant and institutional settings to retail settings" during the COVID-19 pandemic. There may be empty shelves now, he said, but "in the United States, we have plenty of food for all of our citizens." The new coronavirus is doing more than just creating logistical misalignment, though. Most meat is processed at giant facilities, creating a weak point in the production chain.
Pay attention, as today marks a pivotal point in American history as we struggle to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Several states have banded together to oppose President Trump's framework for getting America back to work, while other states have shown a willingness to protect individual liberty and the livelihoods of Americans. No two states demonstrate this stark contrast better than Texas and Washington.
On the same day, Gov. Inslee (D-Wash.) and Gov. Abbott (R-Texas) issued statements that display the fundamental question facing America. Shall the United States remain a nation founded on liberty, or shall we capriciously remove those rights as an exercise to increase the power of the state?
When the future author of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, arrived in Newport harbor, New York, at eight o’clock on the evening of May 9, 1831, it didn’t take him very long to realize that he was entering a country that was a New World in more ways than one.
Tocqueville was immediately astonished at “the spirit of enterprise” that characterized the country. Americans, Tocqueville quickly realized, were “a commercial people.” The nation buzzed with the pursuit of wealth. “Almost all of them,” Tocqueville scribbled in one of his notebooks, are “entrepreneurs.”
Hard work and meeting consumer demand were the path to economic success in the America encountered by Tocqueville.
Bill Cosby’s rep tells us that he’s sure that the disgraced comedian is going to be sent home from prison because of the pandemic. But the Department of Corrections tells Page Six that that’s not going to happen.
Cosby’s legal team was planning to file a petition to get him out of SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania — where he’s serving three to 10 years for sexual assault — because they’re afraid of him getting the coronavirus.
But after Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the state’s DOC last week to establish a program
US airlines are estimated to be sitting on more than $10 billion in travel vouchers that should have been cash refunds from canceled flights, a group of senators released on Friday.
Many US airlines are canceling 60 percent to 80 percent of their flights, and under federal law passengers on those flights are entitled to full refunds, Senators Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.
“However, many airlines have been obfuscating this right by offering travel vouchers as the default option, requiring passengers to take burdensome steps to request refunds instead,” they said.
President Trump sent shock waves around the world this week when he slammed the World Health Organization, claimed it favored China, blamed it for causing thousands of coronavirus deaths and ordered a freeze on funding from the U.S.
His decision was criticized by world leaders as well as political rivals at home, who called it reckless, irresponsible and an attempt to deflect criticism from his own administration's decision to downplay the novel coronavirus when warnings first surfaced.
WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with China and private donors, have asked Trump to reconsider. So far, the president has refused to budge.
The Trump administration sought Friday to alleviate fears about the availability of mass testing for the coronavirus, with Vice President Mike Pence telling reporters that states "have enough tests to implement the criteria of phase 1" of the White House plan to reopen the economy "if they choose to do so."
A slide in the White House briefing room touted that the U.S. had completed more than 3,780,000 tests as of Thursday. Many governors have expressed caution about lifting stay-at-home orders, saying they need more help from the federal government to make tests available. Meanwhile, protesters in several states have demanded the reopening of schools, businesses, and commerce.