TGIF 3/13/20

Boy, I'm glad it's Friday.

And boy, am I glad we don't have to go grocery shopping. And I saved $7.99 with a store coupon on toilet paper - when there was toilet paper available to buy.

I just saw an update that the best grocery chain in the world, Wegmans, of course - is going to be closing all NY stores at midnight so they can clean and restock. To me, that makes a lot of sense, because things have been getting pretty crazy lately. Good for them for trying to get things they can control under control.

And no matter how crazy it's been at Wegmans, it's been 'way more worser' at Shoprite. Check out #shoprite on Twitter and you'll see what I mean. And then there was my brother's experience in New Hampshire, where there's a BJs right across the street from Walmart. He went to BJs to get something he needed for work, and the lines were a mile long. So he went across the street to Walmart, to find only two shoppers waiting to check out.

So, the president finally broke down and declared a national emergency - two very big words - because of the coronavirus. This, after being hounded for not doing it sooner, as states were begging for relief so that, for example, they could get Medicaid waivers to get their poor tested, and enrolled so they'd have coverage for ane necessary services.  There were reports that Trump did not want to make the declaration because he considered it a sign of failure, but in the end cooler heads prevailed, or something.

He also continued to blame the Obama Administration, in some tweets this morning, and reminding us that whether we think so or not, this whole thing is all about him. And we shouldn't forget it.

He also let us know that, while Mike Pence is in charge of the coronavirus task force, and Jared Kushner is in charge of writing speeches and whatnot, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is in charge of, um, well, take a look.

The Fed Chair is responsible for not only the economy, but the way our body parts function?  Holy crap, as it were.

What else is going on?  Well, since the president's address the other night, we've got a host of Rs now referring to the Chinese coronavirus or the Wuhan virus.

Scientists are using the internationally accepted name COVID-19 to describe the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that was discovered late last year. But a number of prominent conservatives—including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas— are going with Wuhan virus, as if the deadly new pathogen were one more scourge to be blamed on the Chinese. As many of the responses to Gosar on Twitter pointed out, this kind of rhetoric invites the public to see a global epidemic in racial or (at best) geopolitical terms.

Glad to see the "full power of the federal government" it at work, and that Pompeo is contributing.

House Democrats may have a deal with the administration on additional funding to fight the virus, or maybe they don't have a deal.

Negotiations between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the coronavirus relief package have devolved into a state of confusion, with key officials on both sides directly contradicting each other on whether a deal exists.

Mnuchin said on Fox Business’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight” that he has reached an agreement with Pelosi, while GOP lawmakers — and even the No. 2 House Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer — say talks are still ongoing and a deal has not yet been reached.

But, the president is all on board and says he'll sign the bill if everyone will come together and do the right thing, so maybe there's a deal after all.

Trump said on Twitter that he looked forward to signing the legislation. 

"I have directed the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations that will provide flexibility so that in no way will Small Businesses be hurt. I encourage all Republicans and Democrats to come together and VOTE YES!" Trump wrote in a series of tweets.

On the plus side? All of Italy was singing today, it seems, or playing instruments and generally coming alive after being under lockdown for the past several days. From Sicily to Siena to Naples to Turin (all videos you can see in the link above), it was like a country-wide flashmob, and an act of beautiful fist-shaking at the virus which has infected over 15,000 and killed over 1,000 of their countrymen.

Also on the plus side? Americans will have lots of time to spend together, now that there aren't any sporting activities to attend or watch on TV. Maybe we'll develop a new-found appreciation for public displays of music...

TGIF, everyone.