TGIF 3/6/20

If it's Friday, it's list-making day.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar is having a bad week, wouldn't you agree? Today at the White House, when the president was explaining why he wasn't going to the CDC as planned (because someone who works there might have the virus) Azar said "he's sending me instead" and Trump seemed pretty comfortable with the thought of sending Azar into a coronavirus threat, and then ignored him for the rest of his remarks.

And then, during the question time at the rescheduled CDC visit, Trump spoke of the many great experts including Mike Pence who is "working 24/7 on this" again ignoring Azar who was standing right next to him. I'm still thinking he's gonna be the fall guy, especially if those cruise ship peeps come off the boat.

Speaking of the president, he had a week. Just like he always does. From a great jobs report to not touching his face to bizarro comments at the CDC (and how all of that transpired), you'd think that was enough.

But no-o-o-o -- there's more. Because there's always more.

You'll recall I suggested not long ago - in fact, it was just last week - that Mulvaney was in trouble.

There's little about Barron in the media - by design. It's because the legitimate media know that president's kids are off limits, and because they know that the mere mention of the name Barron - nothing about the child himself, mind you, but simply using the homophones Barron and baron in a sentence - caused an uproar on the Trump News Network. Mulvaney better have his bags packed.

Little did I know that it would take so little time, and that he'd be going so far away. And I do have to laugh at the folks at The Hill, who earlier in February gave us this article, headlined

Oopsie. No word yet on who will run OMB, but I doubt even someone as fabulous as Mulvaney would have a hard time running the budget from another country.

Let's see who else is having a week? Chuck Schumer, for one.  He verbally attacked two Supremes this week, 

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,

He said he misspoke , after being publicly whipped by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All Members of the Court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter.

This is not the first time Schumer has shot his mouth off, and it won't be the last. I understand that, to a certain point, but the problem is he's just not good at it.

Joe Biden, we know, had a good week. That Guy From Vermont did not. Elizabeth Warren did not, and that's frustrating. Mike Bloomberg did not, but he's going to keep spending money so that either Biden or TGFV has a good November (he hopes). Tom Steyer and Amy Klobuchar didn't. Pete Buttigieg had a good week, I think, because we have definitely not heard the last from him. Steve Bullock did too, as he's decided to run for US Senate in Montana.

Andrew Yang had a good week; he's announced the formation of Humanity Forward, a new nonprofit.

Humanity Forward, which will be based in New York, will focus first on a “data dividend” project and campaign that would fight on behalf of consumers who want the rights to their personal data, Mr. Yang said. 

Separately, he said Thursday that the group had received pledges of $3 million for pilot programs that would provide people with a universal basic income payment each month.

I could keep going, but this seems like a good place to stop.

TGIF, everyone.