Sunday School 3/22/20

I visited three classrooms for you today; we'll see how much fits here and anything that doesn't, I'll move to an Extra Credit post for all of you distance learners.

Let's start with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who chatted with Margaret Brennan of CBS on Face the Nation.  

Brennan asked if we were on the same trajectory as Italy, which has had more deaths than China. Fauci said not necessarily. He suggested their situation might be because they were not as quick to shut down travel from China as we were, adding

...I don't know why this is happening there to such an extent, but it is conceivable that once you get so many of these spreads out, they spread exponentially and you can never keep up with this tsunami, and I think that's what unfortunately our colleagues and our dear friends in Italy are facing. They are very competent. It isn't that they don't know what they're doing. 

He went on to say that he hopes we won't be in the same situation, but reiterate that "we're going to get hit. There's no doubt about it." 

Brennan wondered if the virus was mutating or changing; Fauci said that, as an RNA virus, it will change but it's not changing the way it's actin, which is something they're watching. She also wondered about the high numbers of young people being affected in Europe and here, where 20% of those hospitalized were in the 20-44 age bracket. 

Fauci said "it looks like there's a big difference" between what we saw in China and what we're seeing in Europe. It's possible the people have underlying conditions, but

if they don't... that will be something we have to really examine as to why we're seeing it here, but we didn't see it in China. So we're going to look at that very closely.

She also questioned the whole issue of whether Trump has actually invoked the Defense Production Act, (he's said both that he had, and that he will if needed). Fauci said they're coming forward on their own and stepping up to make "not only masks, but PPEs and now ventilators." Brennan pushed back, quoting NYC's Bill De Blasio saying his city will run out of equipment in as little as two weeks. Fauci tried to clarify things, noting that

...obviously, New York is the most hard hit. So not only is New York trying to get resources themselves, but we're going to be pouring it in from the federal government. So it would be a combination of local and federal...

On the new drug combos, Brennan wondered who Trump was listening to, if not Fauci, and if there was a concern about those drugs being used for COVID-19 cases, potentially causing a shortage for people who need the drugs to treat other illnesses now. In reference to the anecdotal reports that get mentioned, he said

So I was taking a purely medical, scientific standpoint and the president was trying to bring hope to the people. I think there's this issue of trying to separate the two of us. There isn't fundamentally a difference there. He's coming from it from a hopeful layperson standpoint. I'm coming from it from a scientific standpoint. 

I don't mind a hopeful layperson, but I do mind an argumentative deep-stater acting as a wartime president.

Brennan mentioned NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio; he was on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan this morning. Todd asked the mayor how things stood this morning in the city.  De Blasio pulled no punches. 

Chuck, the truth is -- and New Yorkers and all Americans deserve the blunt truth, it's only getting worse. And in fact, April and May are going to be a lot worse. Right now, we are a third of the cases in the country. That's going to get worse. We're about two thirds or more of the cases in New York State. That's going to get worse.

And, he said, he's not getting any help from the president, who is a New Yorker himself.

...he will not lift a finger to help his hometown. And I don't get it. I don't get it. Right now, I have asked repeatedly for the military to be mobilized, for the Defense Production Act to be used to its fullest to get us things like ventilators so people can live who would die otherwise. Chuck, I can't be blunt enough. If the president doesn't act, people will die who could have lived otherwise. Senior citizens, folks who are members of families. And we can't get action from the president of the United States.

And what could the military do for him?

...All military personnel who are medically trained should be sent to places where this crisis is deep, like New York, right now. The military is the best logistical organization in the nation. If there are ventilators being produced anywhere in the country, we need to get them to New York. Not weeks from now or months from now, in the next ten days. And the only force in America that could do that is the military. Why are they at their bases? Why are they not being allowed to serve? I guarantee you they're ready to serve. But the president has to give the order.

And on how he'll enforce his 'shelter in place' order? 

Chuck, people really do get it. I've been around my city the last few days. They're getting the message more and more. Also, we will use the NYPD and other agencies to go out and remind people. Educate them, break up groups of people if they're congregating. It'll take a while for people to truly get it.

And one last time, aiming a shot at Washington.

...I'll tell you one thing, everyday New Yorkers, everyday Americans, are much farther ahead of the curve in terms of understanding this crisis than anything we're seeing from the White House. And that's troubling, to think the people that have the power are not using it, when everyday people get right now, shelter in place is necessary to protect our families.

Turning to Gov. Hogan (who's an R, by the way), Todd brought up the absence of social distancing in DC and Virginia, where either people aren't paying attention or restrictions haven't been issued, and wondered if Hogan was hoping that everyone would get on the same page. Hogan said that he's been meeting with the others, "taking actions an trying to work together." And, he added

But yeah, the social distancing is not being enforced. And it's a little crazy to see the kind of crowds at the cherry blossoms. I mean, people have to listen...

He said they're cracking down in his state, 

...limiting people to groups of ten. We were chastising all these spring breakers that came back from partying in Florida. And we told them they need to self-quarantine for 14 days, otherwise they're risking the lives of their parents and their grandparents and their friends because this no longer is just about older people. People of all ages... We had a ten month old, a five year old who have gotten this disease. So people are kidding themselves if they think that they should just go on spring break or enjoy being out there just as business as normal. We've got to get people off the streets and out of these crowds. It's absolutely essential.

Turning back to De Blasio, Todd wondered about folks who are doing what they've been told, who are home and watching numbers get worse and worse, and he wondered what progress would look like. 

Real, consistent social distancing being enforced, people living with it. And hospitals that can function. People seeing that their health care system is actually holding because we have the supplies and the personnel. And I think that's going to be a national reality, Chuck. Medical personnel are going to have to be taken from one part of the country to another as this crisis deepens.The supplies, the equipment have to go where the needed is greatest. If people see the system holding, that will be progress...

Hogan was asked the same question, what would progress be.

...progress is going to be if we can somehow bend this curve down, wherein we can start to stop that spike that's going so we don't overload the health care system. You know, people are just going to -- look, it's very disconcerting. People's lives are disrupted. It's scary. And I understand people out there are concerned about when is it going to look better... What it takes is every one of our citizens is a part of this. And we can't stop it without them cooperating -- but it's going to be a while. We don't know how long or how long it's going to be. But it's going to continue until we can get it stopped. And we're just going to keep fighting 24 hours a day until we could get it done.

That's all we've got room for tonight. We'll look at the rest of it tomorrow.

See you around the virtual campus, and remember - social distancing and hand washing save lives. 

In Case You Missed It (v28)

I confess, it was a VERY slow week here, not in the mood to do a  lot of writing, especially since I was doing so much yelling at the White House COVID-19 press briefings, which were alternately ridiculous, bizarre, caustic, embarrassing, and more - and were 1000% not in accordance with the social distancing guidelines, but hey, what does it matter when our 'leaders' don't lead and don't care?

Anyway - all that aside, here's last week in review. 

Sunday School brought us conversations with Tony Fauci, a couple of governors, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, speaking with Jonathan Karl on This Week. Mnuchin did his darndest to try and explain what the heck it is that president Trump is trying to accomplish when he talks to us. You know, like when he focuses on the stock market. It's because, he said,

"it's just one indication of the economy that gives people confidence."

Right -- the stock market is giving people confidence... And when Karl asked about Trump's awful address to the nation, full of false statements and outright panic-inducing stuff, and how the markets responded badly to it, here's what Mnuchin had to say.

Well, let me just first comment on your reaction to the stock market. Because the stock market is going to go up; it's going to go down. We can't focus on, every day, the move.

Yep. It is. But it's just one indication of the economy that gives people confidence, remember? Sigh.  

Our Sunday School Extra Credit post last week was all about the two-man debate which happened Sunday night. As usual, the pundits tried to pick winners and losers. There was quite a bit of consensus that Joe Biden was the better of the two candidates; for example, here's what the WaPo had to say.

Papa Joe: TGFV spent a lot of time on things Papa Joe did years ago that, but Biden stayed focused, pointing out repeatedly that he "got things done" and he questioned the whole revolution thing. The lack of an audience likely hurt TGFV, they said, and Biden "drove home the point" that he'd be a "steady, pragmatic hand."

Other winners?

the women who might be Biden's veep, including former challengers Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar, and Stacey Abrams, who served in the House of Representatives in Georgia and most recently lost the gubernatorial race, in 1918. Biden, as you probably heard, promised he'd put a woman on the ticket.  (Chris Cillizza, CNN)

And there were losers, too.

TGFV on the coronavirus: they faulted him for his always falling back on his whole economic message, something he also did in the '16 campaign, and last night he did it again. When talking about the coronavirus pandemic, Medicare-for-All was his answer. As noted above, Biden scored on that point, and also when he said that coronavirus "has nothing to do with the legitimate concern about income inequality in our country." (WaPo)

The final post of last week was the 200th edition of Wondering on Wednesday  - and there was a lot of wondering on the coronavirus stuff. For example, did you know that the president's private club had remained opened, even though several guests had tested positive? Yep - that's true. But, fear not.

Mar-a-Lago will FINALLY close, after being a hot spot of sorts with several positive tests for the virus among attendees of various events. Here's a note about this from the Palm Beach Post.

...Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach has notified members it will close its restaurant and spa and cancel aerobics classes starting Thursday in response to health concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak.

I wonder if he decided to close now because he thought it was a pandemic a long time ago?  Or because he thinks it would be poor form to keep it open while he's telling the rest of us to stay home? Although, I must add, many Florida beaches are still open for spring break, so maybe he's just keeping up with the Joneses.

There was also some good news from the NBA, with many players stepping up to help out during these difficult economic times for folks who are not working because the league is not playing.  

 As we learn in this CBS Sports article, a number of the guys have stepped up to assist others in need. One of them is New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, a 19-year-old kid, who is paying the salaries of all the folks who work at the Smoothie King Arena for 30 days.

The young are going to save us, we keep hearing from Dr. Birks at the White House press conferences. It may not be the ones who went to spring break as if there was nothing going on in the world, but it might just be the likes of Zion Williamson...

So, there you have it -- the sum of the veritable pastiche that made it into production last week. I'll be back with this week's Sunday School a little later.  

Wondering on Wednesday (v200)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

So, what's on your mind tonight?  Are you wondering about the coronavirus pandemic? You know, the one about which the president said. 

I've always known this is a real - this is a pandemic. I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.

He might have known it was a pandemic, and he might have felt it was a pandemic, but he sure as heck didn't say anything about it being one. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Barry Rubin of The Bulwark put together this video showing us just what the president was telling us all this time he had those feelings. No need to wonder why he never said anything - it wouldn't have put him in a good light - and as the video shows, he'd give himself a perfect 10 for how he's handled this.

I should note that at least they've changed the podium used for the president's press briefings, so every speaker doesn't have to adjust the microphones to talk. But the task force members are still standing right next to each other, some of them are still touching the sides of the podium, and of course Trump lurks next to whoever's at the podium the entire time. Which is even more odd when you see that the reporters have been separated by an empty chair or two, allowing them to practice the social distancing that the task force is literally begging us to follow.

But the big news from the perfect 10 response? Mar-a-Lago will FINALLY close, after being a hot spot of sorts with several positive tests for the virus among attendees of various events. Here's a note about this from the Palm Beach Post.

...Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach has notified members it will close its restaurant and spa and cancel aerobics classes starting Thursday in response to health concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak.

I wonder if he decided to close now because he thought it was a pandemic a long time ago?  Or because he thinks it would be poor form to keep it open while he's telling the rest of us to stay home? Although, I must add, many Florida beaches are still open for spring break, so maybe he's just keeping up with the Joneses.

Some other wonderings, starting with them Dems.

• Papa Joe Biden won the primaries yesterday - Arizona, Illinois, and Florida, picking up another 281 delegates to That Guy from Vermont's 140.  Biden is now up by nearly 300 delegates, and right now we don't really know what to expect going forward as far as potential impact from the pandemic. I wonder if any other governors will do what Ohio's Mike DeWine did - declare a public health emergency and postpone their primaries for a month or nearly three? 

• For his part, TGFV is having to take a look at what his options are, if there are any, and he'll have to wonder whether it's worth it to continue. The margins of victory from yesterday's votes - 11.9% in Arizona, 23% in Illinois, and a whopping 39% in Florida - seem to suggest there's little hope left, but we'll see what happens. 

• Maybe the best thing he can do is to inspire others to attack the "establishment" Dems, get them out of the way, and then let AOC run for president in '24 or '28... and now I'm wondering if maybe that's the plan she's been working towards all along, since it was reported she wasn't all that interested in helping out the Vermonter's campaign when he needed her most?

Meanwhile, Fox News was happy to report, president Trump clinched the Republican nod Tuesday night. I wonder, does anyone even remember who was running against him?

In not-political news, Tom Brady has announced his career as a New England Patriot is over, and he's up for grabs. The problem is not a lot of teams want to grab him - looks like he's going to end up with the Tampa Bay Bucs (probably the most likely outcome) or the Los Angeles Chargers (I think the only other team that's still remotely interested. So, what's the wondering?

Well, for starters, why does he want to keep playing, at this stage of the game? 20 years, six Super Bowl wins, the Greatest of All Time, etc. etc. etc. And then, on the flip side, if you're Tom Brady, would you be able to resist the chance to turn around a team that only won seven games last season?

Elsewhere in the sports world, there's good news to report from the NBA, particularly in how some of the players are responding to the league's suspension of play.  As we learn in this CBS Sports article, a number of the guys have stepped up to assist others in need. One of them is New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, a 19-year-old kid, who is paying the salaries of all the folks who work at the Smoothie King Arena for 30 days.

Why, you wonder, might he do that? Because, he said, his mom "has always set an example for me about being respectful for others and being grateful for what we have." Good for her, good for him, and good for everyone who's doing things large and small to help others during these crazy times.  

Sunday School Extra Credit 3/15/20: Debate Winners and Losers

I'm taking a bit of a different tack for our Extra Credit entry this week. Instead of going with the morning classrooms and more discussion about the coronavirus, I decided to check out how folks saw the winners and losers of last night's (old) mano a (old) mano debate.

CNN's Chris Cillizza (CNN hosted the debate, in partnership with Univisions) picked these winners:

• the women who might be Biden's veep, including former challengers Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar, and Stacey Abrams, who served in the House of Representatives in Georgia and most recently lost the gubernatorial race, in 1918. Biden, as you probably heard, promised he'd put a woman on the ticket. 
• Donald Trump, who managed to generally escape mention throughout the debate, as Sanders attacked Biden and his votes over the years (OK, decades) in the Senate. Not only was time wasted not going after the real opponent, the debate just handed more ammo to Trump.
• No live audience. Lamenting the reason for not having a live audience, Cillizza "thought this debate was FAR better" than others recently. And, he said, the DNC shouldn't be the ones who get to pick who gets to attend. Hear, hear!
• Sticking with coronavirus influences, the elbow bump was a winner, even though "it looked sort of weird."
• Anf for some reason, The You Tube was a winner, thanks to Sanders telling people to go there. 

And now, the losers:

• That Guy from Vermont and Papa Joe Biden, for attacking each other for two hours in a way that at times caused people to tune out. (Case in point? A friend turned from the debate to American Idol.) And, Cillizza noted, "Both men looked small more than they looked big." Not only that, but neither of them inspired the other guys supporters to come on over - which I'd have to agree with, as did most folks in the Twitterverse. 
• Ambitious male Democratic politicians: similar to his picking the women who dropped out as winners, he picked Mayor Pete, Cory Booker, and Andrew Yang here, saying the best they'll do is being picked for a job on Biden's cabinet should he win. 

The Opinion gang at the NY Times scores the candidates on a 10-point scale. Here's how they collectively saw the debate:

• Papa Joe: 7.6 out of 10: two folks gave him 9 out of 10, with one noting he made rational arguments, didn't stumble, and scored with a comment about Italy having a single-payer system. The other said that, other than promising putting a woman on the ticket, "tying a revolution to disruption" was his boldest move. His two lowest scores were 6 out of 10; one said "Biden is here to assure them that we can... live in 2013 forever." The other said Papa Joe is "selling competence" and that his performance in the debate was, well, competent, but lacking in charisma and charm, things he's been known for.

• TGFV: 7.1 out of 10: he scored five 8 out of 10 scores, for (among other things), his "breadth of interests;" his consistency; his push for "big structural change," mentioned by more than one person on the panel; him turning down the volume and turning up the compassion; and , one said, "he essentially vetted Biden for the progressive wing of the party" because he's going to be their nominee. On the low end, the person who gave him 6 out of 10 said that TGFV has a "command of legislative detail" and of his big picture, but he "hasn't shown he can build coalitions to make his dream real." His worst score (4 out of 10) came from a feeling that"it's not a good time to be an ideologue" and because, now, "his arguments are sounding tired..."

From the Washington Post, here are the winners:

• Papa Joe: TGFV spent a lot of time on things Papa Joe did years ago that, but Biden stayed focused, pointing out repeatedly that he "got things done" and he questioned the whole revolution thing. The lack of an audience likely hurt TGFV, they said, and Biden "drove home the point" that he'd be a "steady, pragmatic hand."
• Harris, Klobuchar and other would-be female VPs: Also mentioned here, as by Cillizza? Warren and Abrams. They noted that TGFV waffled on making the female running mate. 
• Audience-free debates: "Let's hope it's not the last" debate to forgo the studio audience;  the debate "was certainly better thanks to the lack of cheering and booing."

And the losers?

• TGFV on the coronavirus: they faulted him for his always falling back on his whole economic message, something he also did in the '16 campaign, and last night he did it again. When talking about the coronavirus pandemic, Medicare-for-All was his answer. As noted above, Biden scored on that point, and also when he said that coronavirus "has nothing to do with the legitimate concern about income inequality in our country." But...
• Biden's Medicare-for-all attack: while one of the NYT folks thought Biden's attack here worked, WaPo didn't think so, because he started the argument but didn't finish when TGFV pushed back on Biden's support from insurance companies. 

And finally, let's hear from the NY Post, who picked Biden as the winner, saying he "walked out of Sunday night's debate in a commanding position" after TGFV didn't land the punches he needed to, according to the paper's debate expert, Eric Phillips.

Bernie Sanders had to change the trajectory of this race and he did not do it. I think we're talking about a matter of days before Sanders has to give it up.

Phillips also had kind words for Papa Joe.

The Biden we saw Sunday night - when he's rested and put in a position to project steady leadership - can absolutely go toe to toe with Donald Trump. Biden did what he had to do and in a moment when everyone is understandably nervous about leadership, Biden was the one on the state who projected it. 

And that's where we'll leave it.

See you around the virtual campus.

Sunday School 3/15/20

Today, I sat in on three classrooms, looking for discussion on different aspects of the coronavirus threat.

So, I've got Dr. Tony Fauci, our top expert on infectious diseases talking to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday (he was in all the classrooms today, I'm hoping from a remote and socially distanced location), SecTreas Steven Mnuchin talking with Jon Karl on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and a couple of governors, Mike DeWine (R-OH) and J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) who chatted with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press.   

We'll start with Mnuchin, fresh off his negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the second coronavirus aid bill. Mnuchin denied we're in a recession, which a lot of people are saying is the current state of things.

I don't think so. But I think the real issue is not the economic situation today. The real issue is what economic tools are we going to use to make sure we get through this. This is a unique situation...We're addressing issues for small and medium-sized businesses. And later in the year, obviously the economic activity will pick up as we confront this virus.

And, he tried to explain to us why the president is so focused on the stock market "because it's just one indication of the economy that gives people confidence."

Karl brought up Trump's Oval Office address, noting that there was pretty strong negative reaction to it, not just from the stock markets; he also noted the false statements that were made, and wondered how it could have happened. Ironically, after his immediately prior comment about Trump focusing on the market because it gives us confidence, he said

Well, let me just first comment on your reaction to the stock market. Because the stock market is going to go up; it's going to go down. We can't focus on, every day, the move.

O-kay.  And then, speaking of the Oval Office address, he said Trump

...wanted to address a very important point, which was he made the move to shut down travel so that he could shut down more cases coming in. He wanted to reassure the American public. I don't think, in an Oval Office address, you're going to address every single issue as you're discussing it...

Karl tried again, asking how does he get things wrong about his own proposals, and Mnuchin said he doesn't think Trump got it wrong "at all." And when Karl said "I mean, cargo's not banned" here's the response.

And we were very clear that people misinterpreted the comments on cargo and we immediately put out a statement to clarify that. So the president said this is similar to China and China cargo is not banned.

It was almost impossible to misinterpret what the president said. Here are those words, as reported on the White House website. Referencing the suspension of travel from Europe for 30 days,

... these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing.  

Mnuchin also spent a lot of time talking about tools: tools they have, and tools they'll ask Congress for if needed.  And on the bill he worked out with Pelosi, that hopefully will get Senate attention this week,

So we were -- we were constantly in touch, updating the bill and making changes. And, yes, our focus is especially small and medium-sized businesses that are really hit hard in specific industries. Again, this is going to be a process with working with Congress. But, again, what I want to focus on is, there is an economic situation, and the American public should know that the president, the vice president, the entire Cabinet is going to be focused on what economic things we need to do.

And now, let's see what Dr. Fauci had to say to Chris Wallace. He's not thrilled with what's happening in the airports where Americans are coming back home from Europe and need screening. The pictures are less than comforting - people packed in like sardines in a can, physically touching people next to them whether they want to or not, for five, six, seven hours or more.

Yes, I mean we'd like to not see crowds like that. I think what people need to understand, if you're an American citizen, if you are a family member, that you can get back. You don't need to rush back. You'll be able to get back. But it's understandable how when people see a travel ban, they immediately want to hunker and get home... 

He's not sure what can be done about it, other than letting people know that Americans and their family members don't have to rush back from Europe and they can take some time and avoid the crowd.

On his comments before Congress, including the part about the mortality rate being 10 times the 0.1% mortality with the flu,

Well, the -- I would say three things, Chris. One it's brand new so we don't have any prior experience about what it's going to do, what it's dynamics are going to be. Number two, it spreads very easily. There's no doubt about that... And number three, it's very serious in the sense of morbidity and mortality particularly among -- and very heavily weighted towards - individuals who are more susceptible, the elderly and those with underlying conditions.  

Wallace pushed on the contagiousness and lethality being worse than the flu.

Well, yes. I mean, it just is. And we've got to face that fact. We've got to be realistic. I mean, we've got to realize -- and I said that at the hearing, that things are going to get worse before they get better but the kinds of things we're doing now will hopefully mitigate that... 

Wallace questioned the duration of the thing, since both the president and Fauci mentioned eight weeks a couple of days ago, and asked if Fauci was suggesting that "if we do everything right we could be on the other side of the curve" in that amount of time.

-- first of all, we have to say that people don't misunderstand. We are not sure what the duration is going to be, number one. Number two, if you look at what happened in China... it started off China, you know, two or three months ago, they started coming down within a two-month period. So if you're talking about reflecting what went on there, it's going to be about that time that we hopefully in the next couple of months are going to see the direction it's going to go. Hopefully, what we're doing, in a very aggressive way of containment and mitigation, we'll be able to not only flatten it in the sense of not as many cases, but also diminish the duration. 

Fauci said he doesn't really know what the president is talking about when he points to the Obama administration (one of five or six administrations other than this one in which Fauci has served), and rules and regulations that hampered testing.

You know, Chris, to be honest with you, I'm not sure what regulations or what it was that they're talking about. I really mean that. I mean, I'm trying to figure out what it is that these things were in place that were able to or inhibiting. But one thing that I do know now is that the ability to get a test had some regulatory and other restrictions on it that the FDA now has just gotten rid of. 

And as to our healthcare system being overwhelmed, given we have less than a million hospital beds and only 45,000 ICU beds, we have only 160,000 ventilators. Fauci said the models are only as good as the assumptions used to run them, but

If we have a worst-case scenario, we've got to admit it, we could be overwhelmed. Are we going to have a worst-case scenario? I don't think so. I hope not. What are we doing to not have that worst-case scenario? That's when you get into the things that we're doing...preventing infections from going in with some rather stringent travel restrictions... containment and mitigation from within. So, at a worst-case scenario, anywhere in the world, no matter what country you are, you won't be prepared. So our job is to not let that worst-case scenario happen. 

And finally, we turn to Meet the Press and the governors, starting with Pritzker of Illinois, home of the nightmare that was (or could still be) O'Hare Airport.

We knew when the president gave the orders that European travel back to the United States was going to be cut off, that there would be an influx of people, Americans and others, that would come before the final cutoff. So what should've happened? They should've increased the Customs and Border Patrol numbers. And they should've increased the number of CDC personnel on the ground doing those checks. They did neither of those.

And he expects it will be worse today, with even more flights coming in and CBP seeming to be "completely unprepared."  As to any "reassurance" from the administration on getting more folks on the ground?

Well, here's what I got. I got a call at about 11:00 last night after that tweet from a White House staffer who yelled at me about the tweet. That is what I got. Now, we've been talking to Customs and Border Patrol officials directly on the ground at O'Hare. I've been working with the mayor and our senators to make sure that we're getting the federal government to pay attention to this problem because we can't have it happen all day today.

DeWine, who's recognized as one of the governors who is pretty strictly following the guidance from Fauci and the other experts, was asked if he's going to close restaurants and bars in Ohio.

We're certainly looking at that. You know, we started off last week closing the schools. We reduced the number of people gathered together to 100. You know, we've restricted access to our nursing homes, to our prisons. So we're taking tough steps... all the people I've been consulting...they say, "Look. Every day counts so much. And you cannot wait. You've got to move very, very quickly." And look, these are tough decisions. We're inconveniencing people. It's making people's lives change. But we've got to save lives. Everything we're doing is to save lives.

DeWine noted the experts have said "we're always way, way behind in what we know" and that while infection rates in his state have just about doubled several days in a row, testing is ramping up and the rates are going to go up as testing comes online. And,

what I'm telling the people of Ohio, look, none of this should be a surprise. We know there's a bunch of people out there who are carrying this virus around. And that's part of the message, particularly to young people who maybe aren't so worried about it, the 20-somethings. Look, you may not get really, really sick. You may get lucky. But you may take that to your grandmother, who's 80. And we know people in their eighties, the mortality rates at least 15-20%.

Pritzker was asked the same question, specifically with regard to the massive St. Patrick's celebration in Chicago. 

With regard to St. Patrick's Day, we shut down the parade. We didn't color the river green, as we usually do. And I have advised that we need to keep our crowds smaller. And yesterday we say that -- you know, we put a limit of 250 people in gatherings. We cancelled all the gatherings larger than that. And then yesterday what we saw was many young people who think they're impervious to this went out and celebrated... People aren't understanding that, even if you're healthy, even if you're young, that you may be a carrier. And you're going to hand it over to somebody else. COVID-19 is spreading because even healthy people can be walking around, giving it to other people. So we need to go on lockdown.

But, he said, there are issues with keeping open and with shutting down, outside of the pandemic itself. The decisions, he said.

They're also about people's livelihoods. So we're actually looking hard at that decision making today. We obviously saw what happened in Europe. Nowhere in the United States really has there been a lockdown on bars and restaurants, but it's something that we're seriously looking at.

Both states have primaries on Tuesday, and that they previously had said they plan on going forward. Todd wondered if they were hesitating now. DeWine said.

We're going to go ahead. But we're telling people, again, to be careful. The good thing in Ohio is we have basically four weeks of voting. People can vote today. We're urging them to go vote today. They can vote Monday. They've got 13 hours on Tuesday. So that just naturally spreads it out. We're asking them to be very, very careful.

Pritzker said they've taking similar steps.

We have actually lengthened our hours of early voting. We have mail balloting. We've had record mail balloting this year. So we're going to go ahead with it. But we've been extra careful at all of our polling places...we're making sure that it's safe for people to come and vote. 

Todd left this discussion noting "I have a feeling it may be the last primaries we have for a little while." And that's a whole nother can of worms to think about.

See you around campus.

In Case You Missed it (v27)

Too busy last week trying to find toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and other supplies, leaving you with little time to read blog posts?  No problem - I've got you covered.

Last week's Sunday School included conversations with some of the administration's Coronavirus Task Force, including HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson. Being a doctor and all, I thought maybe he'd be able to provide some helpful information. I think George Stephanopoulos thought so too, but that wasn't what happened. The excerpt below is just one example of Carson either not being able to answer, purposefully ignoring the question he was asked and babbling about something else, or refusing to answer.

Switching gears, George wondered about the plan for the Grand Princess cruise ship (with 3500 people on board and at least 21 who've tested positive).

The cruise ship personnel and -- as you know, the vice president met with the CEOs of the major cruise ship companies yesterday, and they are coming up with a plan within 72 hours of that meeting --

But, George said, "the ship’s docking tomorrow."

The plan will be in place by that time. But I don’t -- I don’t want to preview the plan right now.

Because Sunday School was saved for the administration, our candidate feature was pushed to the Extra Credit post. That Guy from Vermont was all over the place, while Papa Joe was absent from all of the classrooms.  Here's an excerpt from TGFV's conversation with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.

On how he and Biden debate without cutting each other up and making it easier for Trump?

Well, Chris, that's the right question... So, Biden and I, no matter who wins this thing, will be together in defeating Trump, but now that it is a two-way race, it is important for the voters of this country to ask themselves two questions. Number one, which candidate is stronger in terms of being able to defeat Trump. And number two, what are the differences in a record.

We'll here more about that in tonight's debate, I'm sure.

Wondering on Wednesday? Why yes, yes I was, thank you very much for asking. One of the things that got me wondering was a crazy statement from someone at the NSC. Take a look.

And I wonder how it is that an NSC spokesman could make the following statement without snickering?

"From day one of the response to the coronavirus, NSC has insisted on the principle of radical transparency,” said the spokesman, John Ullyot. He added that the administration “has cut red tape and set the global standard in protecting the American people under President Trump’s leadership.”  (Emphasis added.)

Need an example of how we have NOT "set the global standard" under the president's leadership? Let's not try and wrap our arms around the entire response to the virus here in the US, let's wonder just about testing, OK?  Because testing, much more than hand-washing, is the key to identifying and dealing with the virus.

Finally, it was TGIF time, and with all of the churn stemming from all of the messages, mixed or straight up, it was nice to see what happened in a country that's been hugely impacted by the coronavirus.

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...

So, that's last week's veritable pastiche. A bit of a slow week, mostly because I started more posts than I finished. Will try and clear the drafts folder this week.

See you later for Sunday School. Hopefully the guests will all be worthy messengers in the 'radical transparency' mode, no matter what the topic.

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.

Wondering on Wednesday (v199)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Let's wonder about the coronavirus, for starters.

Remember when the House held impeachment depositions in the SCIF - the secure, compartmentalized info filing cabinet, or whatever you call it? And how horrible that was?  Well, I wonder why it is that, according to multiple sources who have spoken to Reuters, the administration is holding coronavirus meetings in a similar SCIF?

The officials said that dozens of classified discussions about such topics as the scope of infections, quarantines and travel restrictions have been held since mid-January in a high-security meeting room at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a key player in the fight against the coronavirus.

And I wonder how it is that an NSC spokesman could make the following statement without snickering?

"From day one of the response to the coronavirus, NSC has insisted on the principle of radical transparency,” said the spokesman, John Ullyot. He added that the administration “has cut red tape and set the global standard in protecting the American people under President Trump’s leadership.”  (Emphasis added.)

Need an example of how we have NOT "set the global standard" under the president's leadership? Let's not try and wrap our arms around the entire response to the virus here in the US, let's wonder just about testing, OK?  Because testing, much more than hand-washing, is the key to identifying and dealing with the virus.

Here's a chart from March 8th published by Science Alert, showing the tests per million people stats from several countries. You'll see the US at the top of the chart, which is where we want to be, right? #MAGA and all? Well, no.

Now, the asterisk there on the US notes that the data is what the CDC has, and it "doesn't include accurate test counts from state, local, private and commercial labs." Which in and of itself is a problem, if you ask me, that the CDC doesn't even know what the heck is going on. 

But fear not; people are trying to figure it out for us. According to this March 9th article in The Atlantic,  

Nearly two weeks after the new coronavirus was first found to be spreading among Americans, the United States remains dangerously limited in its capacity to test people for the illness, an ongoing investigation from The Atlantic has found.

After surveying local data from across the country, we can only verify that 4,384 people have been tested for the coronavirus nationwide, as of Monday at 4 p.m. eastern time. These data are as comprehensive a compilation of official statistics as currently possible.

Now, let's compare that to the example of South Korea, as reported in this article, published today, in The Guardian:

The country is conducting about 15,000 tests a day, free of charge, and has carried out almost 200,000 screenings so far. It has also set up about 50 drive-through testing centres and distributed smartphone alerts about the movements of people who have tested positive.

So, NSC spokesman John Ullyot, if we've only tested around 5000 people, and South Korea is testing 15,000 each day, I'm not interested in having whatever swill you're selling. Thanks but no thanks, as they say.  But I do wonder how you people do this day in and day out, threatening us with "radical transparency" and delivering the exact opposite?

And no, I'm not panicking about the virus. I understand why people might be, but I'm much more panicked by the pandemic of lying permeating the Trump administration. Here are some links - ABC News, the NY Times, and Slate, and there are others -reporting on actual experts testifying before Congress today. I encourage you to take a look and get educated. The bottom line is, all of the news outlets are reporting that this is much worse than the president pretends it is - or wants it to be. 

What else is on the wondering agenda today? Well, there was that 'big Tuesday' thing yesterday, and it was, again, not what That Guy from Vermont was hoping for. He went home to Vermont without addressing supporters.  

Here are the results as we know them, as of around 7:30 PM here in NY. 

If you're a TGFV fan, this was not good, on the heels of Super Tuesday being not good, and on the heels of Iowa and New Hampshire being underwhelming, at best. 

In a statement earlier today, TGFV talked about the issue of electability, and how (per the email I got from him today)

while we are winning - very clearly - the ideological debate, we are losing, right now, the electability debate.

I cannot tell you how many people I and our campaign have spoken to that tell me that they like what our campaign stands for but they are going to vote for Joe Biden because they believe he is the best candidate to beat Trump.

Now. you may wonder if that's enough for him to step aside, and I can assure you, as he did today, that he's not. That will not be happening, at least not before the next round of primaries. He plans on debating hard on Sunday, and it seems he plans on asking all of the questions, not just answering them. During his remarks, he mentioned more than a handful of questions he planned on asking his friend Joe.   

So, what's the wondering about? Well, TGFV has regularly attacked the media for not reporting fairly, and for being part of the massive establishment that wants to take down his campaign. And so, I wonder if the reporters who were there today, or watching on TV were fast and furiously scribbling down the questions he wants to ask Papa Joe?  And I wonder whether reporters are going to ask Papa Joe what questions he wants to ask TGFV, so the moderators can ask those questions, too? 

A couple of other things I'm wondering about? 

The president plans on addressing the nation tonight (9PM, if you're interested) and I don't know yet whether he made enough headway with Congressional Republicans to get his now-til-election-day payroll tax waiver moving (not that he's trying to buy votes or anything), or if he's beaten Fed Chair Jerome Powell enough to get him to drop interest rates again, or what he has up his sleeve.  I wonder about that stuff, a little. 

But I heard on tonight's news that he went to Jared for help. That's right -- Jared of the ever-expanding portfolio has apparently been called in to write the speech that we'll hear later. And I wonder even more what the message will be with him behind the pen. Will we see new settlements of patients, maybe? You know, unilateral movements of them behind fences in areas that we can simply call coronavirus-free, and assume everyone will believe it? 

And I wonder, I do, about all the people who say this is "just the flu" and "just wash your hands" and whatnot, and how they feel about an economic stimulus for something so insignificant? I'm guessing they're up in arms, but you never know. (Well, wait -- we do know, of course. They are conspicuously quiet.)

Finally, let's turn to the sports world. 

We learned today that the NCAA is going to do March Madness without the madness that comes from having bodies in the seats. Other than game-essential folks and limited family members in attendance, the arenas will be empty. And so, I'm wondering if they'll get recordings of rabid fans from all the participating teams and blast them into the arenas during games? Because March Madness in silence? Yeah, there's no madness there. 

And last, we've got some fascinating stuff from the soccer world. As you may know, the US women's national soccer team has sued their governing body for equal pay with the men's team. There are some complicated issues here, from a legal responsibility perspective, but there's also this kind of stuff that makes one wonder.

That US men's team players often face openly hostile fans at their own home games, US Soccer argued, was also evidence that men work a different, more demanding job than women. The US men’s opponents, like Mexico, sometimes attract more supporters to games played on US soil than the US men do, especially in the wake of the men’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Got it? You get paid more when you lose because it's hard to deal with fans who are mad at you for losing, than you do for winning because, I guess, the fans are nicer?

That should make anyone wonder.

Sunday School Extra Credit 3/8/20

As promised, I've got That Guy from Vermont wandering around the classrooms, waving his arms and yelling at us.

Let's start with his appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Here are some highlights.

On what surprised him about Super Tuesday?

Well, one of the things that I was kind of not surprised by is the power of the establishment to force Amy Klobuchar who had worked so hard, Pete Buttigieg, who, you know, really worked extremely hard as well, out of the race.  What was very clear from the media narrative and what the establishment wanted was to make sure that people coalesced around Biden to try to defeat me, so that's not surprising.

And, nor is it surprising that it only took the initial question for him to point blame at the 'establishment' and 'the media' - but he didn't stop there.

We are taking on, George, as I think everybody knows, the establishment. We're taking on the corporate establishment. We're taking on the political establishment. And what you are seeing now just in the last few weeks is Wall Street, the healthcare industry, the billionaire class putting a lot of money into Joe's campaign.

But at the end of the day, you know what, I think we're going to win this thing. We won in California. We won in Utah. We won in Colorado. We won in Vermont. We won three states, popular votes, before that. And I'm looking forward to the primary here in Michigan and in the state of Washington, other places as well.  

On the now nine former candidates (as of the interview) that have endorsed Papa Joe, and him winning 10 states?

Yes, well, let me say this, later on today we're going to have the support, I believe here in Grand Rapids, of Jesse Jackson. And, as I think you well know, you know Jesse, Jesse has been one of the great civil rights leaders in the modern history of this country. He changed American politics with the concept of the Rainbow Coalition bringing blacks and whites and Latinos together in '84, in '88... So we're proud. 

He went on to tout his grassroots organization, the union support, and that he's not expecting to get the support of most elected officials at the state or federal level. And to tout his agenda, with which we're all familiar., and pointed out what differentiates him from Biden, including

Joe has been, in the past, on the floor of the Senate talking about the need to cut Social Security, Medicare, veterans programs as part of our so-called balanced budget effort. I strongly opposed that. I believe we have to expand Social Security. 

There was more discussion on it, leading to this comment from TGFV.

So all that I'm saying here, and I like Joe, I really do, is that people have a right to know who is going to be there when the going gets tough... What our campaign is about is getting our priorities right and really, finally, having a government that represents working people and not just the billionaire class. 

On whether, if he can't get a plurality of delegates, if he's not in the lead heading into the convention, he'll drop out or continue fighting?

Look, we will fight for every vote that we can, as we're - as we try to win this election. I'm not a masochist who wants to stay in the race that can't be won. But right now, that's a little bit premature. Let's not determine what will happen on Tuesday, what will happen in future. I think we got a great chance to win in Michigan, Washington and New York state, some of the major states that are coming up, and I think the people in those states have a right to cast a vote for the candidate that they want to see become president of the United States.

From his conversation with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union, what did we learn?

On whether he worried that his cancelling an event in Mississippi to go to Michigan would sent the wrong message to people of color instead?

Look, everybody -- everybody knows that there are limited amounts of time. We did three rallies yesterday. We were in Chicago, Illinois -- and Illinois' primary is coming up in a week -- where we had 15,000 people out at Grant Park...We have two rallies today. We did three yesterday. We are working as hard as we can. And you have to adjust the schedule every moment. We look forward to doing as well as we can in Mississippi. It is going to be a tough state for us. But, right now, our focus is here in Michigan, where we think we have the agenda that can win this state. And, also, with two people in the race -- now, it's Vice President Biden and myself -- we have the opportunity to contrast our voting records, our vision for the future.

On the battleground states - Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin?

...these states are all states that have been devastated by these terrible trade agreements. And I fear very much, if Joe is the candidate, believe me, Trump will and has already talked about Joe's record on trade. I believe that we are the strongest campaign to defeat Donald Trump, A, because we have a grassroots movement that is unparalleled, B, because we have a voting record that speaks to the needs of working families. 

On the CDC's recommendation that older people (and others) should avoid crowds, at what point do you stop holding rallies?

That's a good question. And all that I can tell you, Jake, is, we are in communications with public health officials wherever we go...Now, I love rallies. But your point is well-taken. We will not endanger the health of anybody in this country. And I think there are many organizations, the NBA being one, theaters all over this country. I mean, this -- we are watching this thing very, very carefully. What is most important is the health of the American people. And we are in constant contact with public health officials and getting their advice.

On whether he, Biden and Trump, as older Americans, should be limiting travel and avoiding crowds themselves?

Well, in the best of all possible worlds, maybe. But, right now, we're running as hard as we can... Look, this is the most consequential election in the modern history of the United States of America. Trump, in my view, is a president who is a liar, who is a -- running a corrupt administration, who does not understand the Constitution of the United States, who thinks he's above the law. He has to be beaten. And I believe I am the strongest candidate to do that. And I'm going to work as hard as I can to make sure that we win this Democratic nomination and that we defeat Trump.

On his reaction to someone waving a Nazi flag at one of his rallies?

Jake, we have been disrupted by various groups. Some Trump people have gotten excited, and we have gotten rid of them. But the idea that there was a swastika, a symbol of everything that this country stands against -- we lost 400,000 people fighting that symbol, fighting Nazism. Six million Jews were killed. Other people were killed, the most devastating war in the history of humanity. And you have in the United States of America somebody -- who is an anti-Semite, was yelling out vulgar things as well. Obviously, it is unspeakable. It is disgusting. It is something -- I got to tell you, I never expected in my life, as an American, to see a swastika at a major political rally. It's horrible.

On whether sexism and other forms of bigotry are still hurdles for candidates looking for Dem votes?

Yes, I do. Look, the answer -- the short answer is, yes, I do. I think women have obstacles placed in front of them that men do not have. On the other hand, we have made progress in the last 40, 50 years in terms of the number of the women who are now in the Congress... But the day has got to come sooner or later that women can see themselves equally represented in Congress, a half or more members of Congress, president of the United States, leaders of companies all over this country. We're making progress, but it's too slow. And we have got to get rid of all of the vestiges of sexism that exist in this country, which is still pretty rampant.

And finally, from his chat with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, here are a handful of highlights.

On how he and Biden debate without cutting each other up and making it easier for Trump?

Well, Chris, that's the right question... So, Biden and I, no matter who wins this thing, will be together in defeating Trump, but now that it is a two-way race, it is important for the voters of this country to ask themselves two questions. Number one, which candidate is stronger in terms of being able to defeat Trump. And number two, what are the differences in a record.

On billionaires in general?

Well, two questions. No one is denigrating the achievements of Bill Gates or anybody else. But we have to look at culturally what's going on. Do people like the Walton family, for example, that owns Walmart, they're worth well over $100 billion, when their workers are marking $11 or $12 an hour. No one is denigrating people who have made significant achievements but enough really is enough. Does Mike Bloomberg really need $65 billion? To see his wealth increase by $15 billion in the last couple of years.

On how far he'd go on worker control of businesses?

I believe it is important to put workers on the boards of directors of major corporations. And I'll tell you why, when you do that, corporations are not going to be so quick to shut down in America and move to China, move to Mexico, and to move to other low wage countries. I want working people to say, you know what, I'm in a job, my ideas matter. I'm just not a cog in a machine. And in Vermont, by the way, and in states all over this country, where you have enterprises where workers, do have significant input into what goes on, absenteeism goes down, productivity goes up. Democracy to me means not just voting every four years, having a bit of a say in the job that you're working at.

There you have it -- a notebook full of stuff for Extra Credit.

See you around campus.