https://www.dailykos.com/user/Laura Clawson/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 11 May 2020 14:02:15 +0000 Mon, 11 May 2020 14:02:15 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/11/1944229/-It-took-months-for-Ahmaud-Arbery-s-killers-to-be-charged-Now-the-Justice-Department-may-investigate <p>After it took two changes of prosecutor and a leaked video before Gregory and Travis McMichael were <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/7/1943479/-Father-and-son-killers-of-Ahmaud-Arbery-FINALLY-arrested-on-murder-and-aggravated-assault-charges" target="_blank" title="">arrested and charged</a> with murder and aggravated assault, Georgia’s attorney general has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/10/ahmaud-arbery-doj-investigation/" target="_blank" title="">asked the Department of Justice</a> to investigate how the case was handled. “<span>We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,” </span>Attorney General Chris Carr said in <a href="https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2020-05-10/carr-requests-doj-conduct-investigation-handling-ahmaud-arbery-case" target="_blank" title="">a statement</a> Sunday.</p> <p><span>“We have requested the involvement of the DOJ since we first took this case,” S. Lee Merritt, the attorney for Arbery’s parents, <a href="https://twitter.com/MeritLaw/status/1259647043095724032" target="_blank" title="">wrote in a statement</a>. “There are far too many questions about how this case was handled and why it took 74 days for two of the killers to be arrested and charged in Mr. Arbery’s death.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AhmaudArbery DepartmentofJustice Georgia gregorymcmichael travismcmichael _1944229 Mon, 11 May 2020 13:51:26 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/11/1944223/--It-is-scary-to-go-to-work-Trump-adviser-says-after-COVID-19-appears-in-the-White-House <p>Donald Trump’s personal valet has tested positive for COVID-19. So has Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, who has not only been maskless at recent White House meetings but is married to top Trump staffer Stephen Miller. “<span>It is scary to go to work,” top economic adviser Kevin Hassett <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/politics/white-house-coronavirus-trump.html?referringSource=articleShare" target="_blank" title="">said on CBS Sunday morning</a>, adding an admission sure to be perceived as disloyal: “I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing.”</span></p> <p>The appearance of coronavirus in the White House comes despite stringent measures to protect Trump and Pence, including daily testing for top aides and testing for outside visitors before they enter meetings with Trump. In other words, the White House is doing exactly what Trump has been saying the rest of the country <em>doesn’t</em> need to do to be safe—and it’s still not enough. Trump will have an opportunity to change his tune on testing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/11/coronavirus-update-us/#link-C6T6JN2NIBAZVFTJ2YZYNURRTA" target="_blank" title="">in public remarks scheduled for Monday afternoon</a>, but so far <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/11/853518465/trump-says-more-testing-makes-u-s-look-bad-but-its-availability-remains-a-concer" target="_blank" title="">his stance has been</a> that “<span style="text-align:start">by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AnthonyFauci Coronavirus DonaldTrump LamarAlexander MikePence RobertRedfield StephenHahn WhiteHouse _1944223 Mon, 11 May 2020 12:55:24 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/9/1943411/-Unemployment-insurance-boost-is-tiny-next-to-tax-cuts-for-the-rich-this-week-in-the-war-on-workers <p>Republicans are doing their best to push people off of unemployment, with governors reopening states so that the most vulnerable workers are forced back into unsafe workplaces. But the Economic Policy Institute’s Josh Bivens and Heidi Shierholz write that <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/the-extra-600-in-unemployment-insurance-has-been-the-best-response-yet-to-the-economic-shock-of-the-coronavirus-and-should-be-extended/" target="_blank" title="">the extra $600 in unemployment insurance has been the best economic response to coronavirus</a>—and it needs to be extended.</p> <p>“<span>Money spent on continuing crucial unemployment insurance provisions will help avoid a prolonged period of high unemployment that will do far more serious and persistent damage to the economy,” they write. “In the last six weeks,<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/nearly-28-million-workers-applied-for-unemployment-insurance-benefits-in-the-last-six-weeks-congress-must-act-to-mitigate-harm-from-unprecedented-joblessness/" title="">close to 30 million workers</a><span><span> </span>have applied for unemployment insurance. It’s worth noting as a point of comparison that those 30 million workers would need to be provided an extra<span> </span></span><em>$1,400 per week</em><span><span> </span></span><em>for a year<span> </span></em><span>to match the<span> </span></span><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2018/11/29/461579/rising-deficits-falling-revenues/" title="">fiscal size of the 2017 tax cuts</a><span><span> </span>aimed at corporations and the rich.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Labor _1943411 Sat, 09 May 2020 22:55:08 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/8/1943678/-COVID-19-news-Trump-and-Pence-to-be-tested-daily-as-another-White-House-aide-tests-positive <p>The day after news broke that a military aide who serves as a personal valet to Donald Trump had tested positive for coronavirus, Trump announced that he and Mike Pence <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/8/1943570/-Trump-and-Pence-to-get-daily-coronavirus-tests-after-valet-diagnosed-with-COVID-19" target="_blank" title="">would be getting daily tests</a> (even as he continued to downplay the need for expanded testing nationally). But that valet wasn’t the end of it for the White House. Katie Miller, a spokesperson for Pence and the wife of top Trump aide Stephen Miller, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/8/1943646/-Katie-Miller-Pence-White-House-spokesperson-and-Stephen-Miller-s-wife-tests-positive-for-COVID-19" target="_blank" title="">also tested positive</a>. </p> <p>Stephen Miller’s mark continues to be felt through his use of the pandemic as <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/8/1943646/-Katie-Miller-Pence-White-House-spokesperson-and-Stephen-Miller-s-wife-tests-positive-for-COVID-19" target="_blank" title="">an excuse to treat immigrants even worse than before</a>, with hundreds of migrant children deported after arriving alone in the U.S. But he’s not the only Republican using coronavirus to harm vulnerable people. State-level Republicans are using reopening orders to <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/8/1943578/-Republicans-threaten-low-wage-workers-with-fraud-charges-if-they-re-too-scared-to-go-back-to-work" target="_blank" title="">scare low-wage workers back into unsafe workplaces</a>.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Democrats DonaldTrump MarthaMcSally MikePence NancyPelosi Republicans Senate Unemployment _1943678 Sat, 09 May 2020 00:00:11 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/8/1943621/-Trump-claims-Project-Airbridge-as-a-big-COVID-19-success-so-why-is-he-hiding-its-results <p>Donald Trump and Mike Pence have done a lot of bragging about “Project Airbridge,” the effort—supposedly led by First Son-in-Law Jared Kushner <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/5/1942777/-Trump-administration-tasked-volunteers-with-procuring-U-S-emergency-supplies-during-pandemic" target="_blank">and his merry band of inexperienced "volunteers"</a>—to quickly bring in personal protective equipment (PPE) through a public-private partnership. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/white-house-pandemic-supply-project-swathed-in-secrecy-and-exaggerations/2020/05/08/9c77efb2-8d52-11ea-a9c0-73b93422d691_story.html" target="_blank">The deal is</a> that the federal government pays for planes to bring masks, gloves, and gowns sourced overseas by private companies, and half of the equipment is sold to coronavirus hot spots while the other half goes to wherever those private companies care to sell it.</p> <p>“<span>If you think about it, if there are 100 cargo planes, then right now what we know at a minimum is that 50 cargo planes full of much-needed, desperately needed PPE is coming to America and we have no idea where it’s going,” Rep. Ted Deutch said in April. But a new <em>Washington Post</em> investigation suggests that—as with so many things when the Trump administration is involved—what we’re getting is not the best case scenario. </span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump JaredKushner MikePence ProjectAirbridge _1943621 Fri, 08 May 2020 17:45:43 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/8/1943578/-Republicans-threaten-low-wage-workers-with-fraud-charges-if-they-re-too-scared-to-go-back-to-work <p>Republicans were really not happy about passing a $600 per week increase in unemployment benefits, and Republican governors are moving to make it impossible for many people to collect it. As Republican governors reopen their states quickly—more quickly than is safe—they force people back to unsafe jobs, and money is the weapon making it stick. If you can theoretically go back to your job, even if it’s unsafe, then you aren’t eligible for unemployment insurance.</p> <p>After Ohio encouraged employers to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/08/workers-unemployment-states-reopen/" target="_blank" title="">turn in workers</a> who don’t want to go back to unsafe jobs, 600 employers turned in 1,200 workers. (Ohio Democrats <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidPepper/status/1258458220055707649" target="_blank" title="">countered</a> with a website for workers to report unsafe workplaces.) Iowa similarly has a tip line for employers to call to report reluctant workers, and Alabama’s government has warned people that collecting unemployment rather than going back to an unsafe job is fraud. </p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Alabama Arkansas Coronavirus Iowa Labor Ohio Republicans Unemployment _1943578 Fri, 08 May 2020 15:54:36 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/8/1943570/-Trump-and-Pence-to-get-daily-coronavirus-tests-after-valet-diagnosed-with-COVID-19 <p>Testing shortages have been one of the big stories of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with legitimately sick people unable to get tested. But now that <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/7/1943320/-A-member-of-the-U-S-Navy-who-serves-as-Trump-s-personal-valet-has-tested-positive-for-COVID-19" target="_blank" title="">a personal valet to Donald Trump</a> has tested positive for COVID-19, Trump and Mike Pence <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/us/politics/coronavirus-white-house-military-aide.html" target="_blank" title="">will be tested every day</a>.</p> <p>Trump claimed: “<span>I’ve had very little contact, personal contact, with this gentleman</span>,” in contradiction to reports that the valet served him his meals and brought him Diet Cokes. The military aide was reportedly symptomatic at the time he tested positive. The White House uses the Abbott rapid testing kits, which are fast but less accurate than tests that are sent out to labs and take longer.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus coronavirustesting DonaldTrump MikePence _1943570 Fri, 08 May 2020 14:36:27 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/8/1943558/-Trump-campaign-teases-upcoming-attack-ads-with-widely-mocked-Death-Star-brag <p>The coronavirus pandemic has prevented the Trump campaign from unleashing the full force of its massive bank account and bottomless dishonesty against former Vice President Joe Biden so far, but that’s about to end. It just wouldn’t have looked presidential to be campaigning quite so openly and viciously, but now that Donald Trump is pushing to reopen the country before it’s safe to do so, he’s giving his campaign cover for the long-desired attacks.</p> <p>The Trump campaign is kicking off <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/07/trump-campaign-to-unload-on-biden-with-negative-ad-onslaught-242976" target="_blank" title="">a $10 million attack ad onslaught</a>, with manager Brad Parscale <a href="https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1258388669544759296" target="_blank" title="">tweeting Thursday</a>: “<span>For nearly three years we have been building a juggernaut campaign (Death Star)” and “in a few days we start pressing FIRE for the first time.” Twitter had a few things to say about this analogy.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) 2020 China coronaviruus DonaldTrump JoeBiden Recommended trumpcampaign _1943558 Fri, 08 May 2020 14:00:55 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/8/1943551/--History-is-written-by-the-winner-Barr-and-Trump-do-victory-lap-after-dropping-Flynn-case <p>Attorney General William Barr <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/07/politics/barr-flynn-defends-case/index.html" target="_blank" title="">claimed he was </a>“doing the law’s bidding,” and not Donald Trump’s bidding, when he had the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/7/1943391/-Trump-s-Justice-Department-drops-case-against-ex-Trump-national-security-adviser-Michael-Flynn" target="_blank" title="">move to dismiss charges</a> against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Despite that admission of guilt, Barr claimed that “<span>A crime cannot be established here.”</span> </p> <p>But something else Barr said is far more revealing of his thinking—and of his determination to do anything he can to protect Trump at whatever cost to equal justice. Asked how history would judge his move, Barr answered, “<span>Well, history is written by the winner.” He clearly intends for Team Trump to be writing that history, and dropping charges against Flynn is one step in that process. There are other steps planned.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) DonaldTrump JusticeDepartment MichaelFlynn TrumpRussia WilliamBarr _1943551 Fri, 08 May 2020 12:58:19 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/7/1943373/-Essential-workers-speak-out-on-the-unsafe-conditions-they-face <p> For all the talk about how they’re heroes, too many essential workers still aren’t feeling valued in the ways that matter: protections for their health and safety. A new study of essential workers in western Massachusetts—a region with two cities among the highest COVID-19 death rates in the country—finds that <a href="https://www.umass.edu/lrrc/sites/default/files/Western%20Mass%20Essential%20Worker%20Survey%20-%20May%202020.pdf" target="_blank" title="">51% said they don't feel safe on the job</a>, a number that rose to 67% among grocery and other retail workers.</p> <p>Nearly two out of three workers said they couldn’t practice social distancing, 29% didn’t get COVID-19 transmission training, 21% don’t have masks, 17% don’t have hand sanitizer, 8% aren’t able to practice regular hand-washing, and 16% were asked by their employers to keep their health information from their coworkers. And this is in Massachusetts, where labor protections are strong by comparison with, say, Texas, where the Hillstone Restaurant Group <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/food/restaurant-news/2020/05/05/hillstone-restaurant-employees-say-the-company-is-forbidding-them-to-wear-masks/" target="_blank" title="">told workers they couldn't wear masks </a>as restaurants reopen for on-site dining.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Essentialworkers Labor Massachusetts _1943373 Thu, 07 May 2020 19:02:30 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/7/1943327/-Trump-taps-big-Republican-donor-to-head-the-Postal-Service-during-coronavirus-crisis <p>Donald Trump loves big donors and hates the U.S. Postal Service, and now he’s putting one of the former in charge of the latter. Trump has tapped Louis DeJoy—who has given more than $2 million to the Trump campaign and other Republican causes since 2016 and is the finance chair for the Republican National Convention—to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-republican-fundraiser-and-trump-ally-to-be-named-postmaster-general-giving-president-new-influence-over-postal-service-officials-say/2020/05/06/25cde93c-8fd4-11ea-8df0-ee33c3f5b0d6_story.html" target="_blank">the next postmaster general</a>.</p> <p>Trump has made his agenda for the Postal Service clear: starve it of resources and force it to charge uncompetitive amounts to deliver packages for Amazon, which he hates because Jeff Bezos owns <em>The Washington Post</em>. And of course Trump is always eager to hurt workers like the Postal Service’s unionized, 21% Black workforce.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump LouisDeJoy PostalService USPostalService _1943327 Thu, 07 May 2020 16:17:53 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/7/1943299/-Meatpacking-plants-are-epicenters-of-coronavirus-The-Trump-administration-is-blaming-workers <p>The Trump administration is determined to keep meatpacking plants <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/business/coronavirus-trump-meat-plants.html" target="_blank" title="">open and running</a> fast even as they become epicenters of coronavirus—and administration officials are trying to distract from that by blaming the workers for getting sick. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/07/azar-coronavirus-meatpacking-workers-241915" target="_blank" title="">recently told</a> a bipartisan group of lawmakers that the high infection rates at meatpacking plants weren’t about the plants themselves but about the workers’ “<span>home and social” lives.</span></p> <p><span>”Their theory of the case is that [workers] are not becoming infected in the meat processing plant, they're becoming infected because of the way they live in their home,” Rep. Ann Kuster of New Hampshire told Politico about the call. This comes after workers at one Smithfield pork plant <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/business/economy/coronavirus-smithfield-meat.html" target="_blank" title="">filed a complaint</a> saying they could get in trouble for pausing their work long enough to cover their faces while coughing or sneezing, and after at least one company has threatened a union for going public with safety concerns. This work involves standing close together without time to wash or sanitize hands regularly—in part, because <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/09/business/pork-factory-regulations.html" target="_blank" title="">the Trump administration allowed a speed-up</a> of pork processing lines.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AlexAzar AnnKuster Coronavirus Labor MeatPackingPlants TrumpAdministration _1943299 Thu, 07 May 2020 14:53:15 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/7/1943282/-Trump-administration-blocks-release-of-CDC-guidelines-for-reopening-safely <p>When the White House released its “<span style="text-align:start">Opening Up America Again” guidelines last month, a lot of people noticed that something was missing: details on how to do that safely. Now, the Trump administration has <a href="https://apnews.com/7a00d5fba3249e573d2ead4bd323a4d4" target="_blank">blocked the release</a> of a detailed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. </span></p> <p><span style="text-align:start">The 17-page “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework” was supposed to be published last Friday—but then, an unnamed CDC official tells the Associated Press, scientists were told it “would never see the light of day.” And it’s reportedly not because the document had errors or was incomplete, but because, with Donald Trump pushing reopening no matter what, the White House doesn’t want to release detailed guidance.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) CDC Coronavirus DonaldTrump _1943282 Thu, 07 May 2020 12:52:42 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/6/1942975/-Republican-rush-to-reopen-states-means-unemployment-cutoffs-for-terrified-workers <p>As Republican governors move to reopen businesses in their states before it’s safe to do so, they’re risking certain people’s lives more than others. Workers in restaurants and retail stores, among other businesses that would not be reopening if public health was a concern, have no choice besides risking their lives on the job or starving at home. That’s because when businesses reopen and jobs become available, workers lose their eligibility for unemployment insurance—even if it’s not safe to go back to work.</p> <p>“<span>If you're an employer and you offer to bring your employee back to work and they decide not to, that's a voluntary quit,” <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/495050-states-telling-workers-theyll-lose-unemployment-benefits-if-they-refuse" target="_blank">Iowa Gov.<span> Kim Reynolds </span>said Friday</a> as she loosened coronavirus-related restrictions in 77 of the state’s 99 counties. “Therefore, they would not be eligible for the unemployment money.” Iowans have a graphic example of how dangerous it can be to go to work: <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2020/05/05/coronavirus-infects-thousands-iowa-meatpacking-plant-workers-covid-19-waterloo-perry/5170796002/" target="_blank">nearly 1,700 workers at four meatpacking plants</a> in the state are infected with coronavirus.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Iowa KimReynolds Labor Ohio Recommended Texas _1942975 Wed, 06 May 2020 14:52:53 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/6/1942966/-Trump-insists-the-people-want-the-economy-to-reopen-as-two-polls-say-very-differently <p>“<span>The people aren’t going to accept” a long shutdown, Donald Trump said Tuesday, even as <a href="https://civiqs.com/documents/Civiqs_DailyKos_monthly_banner_book_2020_05_r8c32an.pdf?link_id=0&amp;can_id=a45fc1b7f023ef007e5a87a4e936efb1&amp;source=email-growing-majority-of-americans-disapprove-of-trumps-handling-of-coronavirus-crisis-new-daily-kosciviqs-poll-2&amp;email_referrer=email_795873&amp;email_subject=majority-of-americans-support-state-stay-at-home-orders-new-daily-kosciviqs-poll" target="_blank">poll</a> after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/americans-widely-oppose-reopening-most-businesses-despite-easing-of-restrictions-in-some-states-post-u-md-poll-finds/2020/05/04/495ddc3a-8e36-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_2&amp;itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target="_blank">poll</a> finds that a majority of people support stay-at-home orders or would not want to go to the sort of businesses Trump is pushing to reopen. But Trump’s imagination of what “the people aren’t going to accept” is, of course, all about what Trump wants, and he’s not only pressing to reopen businesses but teased the idea of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/americans-deeply-wary-of-reopening-as-white-house-weighs-ending-covid-19-task-force/2020/05/05/d2efcbbe-8eec-11ea-9e23-6914ee410a5f_story.html" target="_blank" title="">shutting down the White House coronavirus task force</a> before <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1258020179692445697" target="_blank">retreating following an outcry</a>.</span></p> <p><span>Because nothing says “time to stop fighting” like models of likely deaths rebounding up as the death count crosses 70,000 with no end in sight. That’s just the moment to start talking about disbanding the centralized effort to fight the pandemic because of “the tremendous progress we’ve made as a country,” as Mike Pence put it. In fact, the thought of shutting down the coronavirus task force looks a lot like surrender … to the virus and to the fact that the botched response is hurting Trump’s reelection chances.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AnthonyFauci Coronavirus DonaldTrump Economy MikePence Recommended _1942966 Wed, 06 May 2020 13:00:23 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/5/1942713/-What-has-the-pandemic-taught-us-according-to-Donald-Trump-That-I-was-right <p>If you’d like some pure, unadulterated Donald Trump injected straight into your veins, the <em>New York Post</em> is here for you. The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid got an hour-long interview with Trump and is running the semi-coherent bits a little at a time. The big headline? <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/05/04/trump-says-coronavirus-comeback-underway-people-feel-good/" target="_blank" title="">Trump says Trump was right </a>about the novel coronavirus, and “there’s a great optimism” in the United States right now.</p> <p>No, really. Never mind the polls, never mind the steadily rising death count or the unemployment: “<span style="text-align:start">I think they’re starting to feel good now,” Trump said of Americans. “The country’s opening again. We saved millions of lives, I think.” Of himself and the lessons learned from coronavirus (as if it’s not still an ongoing crisis), he said: “Now, the one thing that the pandemic has taught us is that I was right,” Trump said. “You know, I had people say, ‘No, no, it’s good. You keep—you do this and that.’ Now those people are really agreeing with me. And that includes medicine and other things, you know.” Shockingly, Trump doesn’t seem to have named the people who previously disagreed but now think he did everything right.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Recommended Taxes _1942713 Tue, 05 May 2020 13:49:11 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/5/1942704/-Trump-s-ego-needed-the-image-of-him-at-Lincoln-s-feet-and-he-got-it-rules-be-damned <p>Donald Trump didn’t just do a Fox News virtual town hall in the Lincoln Memorial, sitting at the feet of the giant statue of Abraham Lincoln while saying he was treated worse than the assassinated president. He had the monument closed and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/us/politics/trump-lincoln-memorial.html" target="_blank" title="">the rules changed</a> to allow him to conduct a crass political event inside, near the statue, an area that, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/7.96" target="_blank" title="">by law</a>, isn’t supposed to be used for “demonstrations and special events”—that’s why every big event you’ve ever seen involving the Lincoln Memorial was outside, on the steps.</p> <p>But Trump wanted to look presidential, there at the feet of Lincoln, so Interior Secretary David Bernhardt closed the memorial and changed the rules for him. <em>The New York Times</em> reports that the original plan put Trump on the steps, but then the White House said nah, he’s going inside. </p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) DavidBernhardt DonaldTrump LincolnMemorial _1942704 Tue, 05 May 2020 12:40:29 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/4/1942452/--I-think-you-can-really-have-it-both-ways-Trump-says-on-coronavirus-restrictions <p>Donald Trump is claiming that the United States can have it both ways on coronavirus. Literally. During his Fox News virtual town hall Sunday, <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-virtual-town-hall-transcript-may-3" target="_blank">Trump said</a> “<span style="text-align:left">I think you can satisfy both</span><span>” people who are afraid to go back to work and people who are raging against closures. “</span><span style="text-align:left">I think you can really have it both ways,” Trump continued. See, all that has to happen is that people who don’t want to go out, don’t, and … well, Trump didn’t really explain how that would work in practice.</span></p> <p><span style="text-align:left">But as long as Trump is insisting the U.S. can have it both ways, making armed protesters happy without jeopardizing the public health they were protesting against, it’s going to be a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-its-safe-to-reopen-states-as-governors-grapple-with-loosening-restrictions/2020/05/03/013ee34a-8d64-11ea-a0bc-4e9ad4866d21_story.html" target="_blank">state-by- state issue</a> and one too often influenced by fear of those armed protesters. It also means that even as states like New York and California strive to get the pandemic under control, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/28/1941079/-As-states-prepare-to-reopen-those-that-never-really-shut-down-are-already-seeing-a-spike-in-cases" target="_blank">coronavirus rates are spiking</a> in states that never did the right thing to begin with—in Texas, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/1/1941918/-Texas-coronavirus-numbers-spike-as-Republican-governor-reopens-state?_=2020-05-04T06:08:44.281-07:00" target="_blank">numbers literally spiked</a> as Gov. Greg Abbott announced the state would be reopening.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump LarryHogan _1942452 Mon, 04 May 2020 13:58:08 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/5/4/1942442/--I-believe-I-am-treated-worse-than-Abraham-Lincoln-Trump-insists-ignoring-the-assassination-thing <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/03/politics/fact-check-fox-news-townhall-trump-may-3/index.html" target="_blank">Donald Trump lied and misled</a>—about HIV/AIDS, trade with China, hydroxychloroquine, former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, Hunter Biden, NATO, and Dr. Anthony Fauci—in Sunday evening’s Fox News virtual town hall at the Lincoln Memorial. But all those lies were snoozers compared with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/04/trump-lincoln-media-coronavirus/" target="_blank">what Trump said about Abraham Lincoln</a>.</p> <p>“<span>I am greeted with a hostile press, the likes of which no president has ever seen. The closest would be that gentleman right up there,” Trump said as he sat at the foot of the statue of Lincoln. Lincoln, you may remember, was assassinated. Trump went on: “They always said, ‘Lincoln, nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse.” Again: The man was murdered.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AbrahamLincoln DonaldTrump FoxNews NewtGingrich _1942442 Mon, 04 May 2020 12:46:12 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/25/1939687/-From-Amazon-warehouses-to-online-teaching-coronavirus-is-creating-a-spike-in-the-war-on-workers <p>The coronavirus pandemic continues to completely shape the world of work, no matter what your job is. But while the effects are different if you’re an essential worker trying to stay safe, a low-wage worker trying to get unemployment so you can pay your rent and feed your family, or an office worker juggling work from home and full-time child care, there’s some really important stuff everyone should know.</p> <p>First, <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/trumps-corporate-first-agenda-has-weakened-worker-protections-needed-to-combat-the-coronavirus/" target="_blank" title="">Trump's corporate-first agenda has weakened worker protections</a> that should have been helping people out in this crisis. Like keeping track of workplace injuries and illnesses, for instance. Second, <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/the-extreme-jobless-numbers-will-lead-to-a-jump-in-the-unemployment-rate-but-that-wont-tell-the-whole-story/" target="_blank" title="">the increase in the official unemployment rate isn't going to be the full increase in joblessness</a>. As horrifying as the unemployment rate is going to be, remember that. And third, <a href="https://labornotes.org/blogs/2020/04/what-are-my-rights-paid-leave-and-unemployment-during-pandemic" target="_blank" title="">know your rights to paid leave and unemployment</a> during the pandemic.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Labor Unemployment WorkPlaceSafety _1939687 Sat, 25 Apr 2020 22:55:05 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/24/1940065/-Donald-Trump-is-spending-a-deadly-pandemic-watching-TV-and-stewing-over-negative-coverage <p>Donald Trump is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/us/politics/coronavirus-trump.html" target="_blank">a lonely, angry, bitter man</a> adrift without the usual ego-feeding he relies on. Which we already knew, but is confirmed by a <em>New York Times</em> story based on information from “<span>more than a dozen administration officials and close advisers.” The story is short on direct quotes but long on delicious, pathetic details.</span></p> <p><span>Trump watches cable news for hours on end and “is angry even with Fox, an old security blanket, for not portraying him as he would like to be seen.” He dwells on his slide in the polls and takes calls from his campaign manager Brad Parscale to talk about it. Unfortunately, Trump’s unhappiness does not make the situation any better for the rest of us. We’re still living in the hell he created.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) 2020 Coronavirus DonaldTrump Recommended _1940065 Fri, 24 Apr 2020 18:12:15 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/24/1940020/-Biden-warns-Trump-may-try-to-delay-November-election <p>Joe Biden is saying one of the things many of us have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/biden-says-he-thinks-trump-will-try-delay-november-election-n1191506" target="_blank">feared in our darker moments</a>: that Donald Trump will try to stop the elections from happening in November.</p> <p>“<span>Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held,” the former vice president said during an online fundraiser for his presidential campaign.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) 2020 DonaldTrump Elections JoeBiden Recommended _1940020 Fri, 24 Apr 2020 15:20:26 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/24/1940002/-Trump-compromises-public-trust-former-surgeon-general-said-even-before-bleach-injection-scandal <p>Donald Trump’s approach to coronavirus information is dangerous, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told CNN’s Brian Stelter. And while that’s not exactly news in the wake of Trump’s <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/24/1939969/-No-matter-what-Donald-Trump-says-do-not-inject-yourself-with-bleach-to-cure-coronavirus" target="_blank" title="">ultraviolet-light-and-bleach-cure advice</a>, Murthy said that <em>before</em> Trump advised people to inject disinfectant to fight COVID-19.</p> <p>“<span>When you have different people in the administration saying different things at the same time, what that does is, it compromises public trust. And when you're responding to a pandemic, one of the most important resources you have is public trust. And you've gotta protect it at all costs,” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/media/coronavirus-trump-administration-mixed-messagees/index.html" target="_blank" title="">Murthy told Stelter</a>. The risk of saying different things at the same time is ”you measure the price in terms of lives lost.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Media _1940002 Fri, 24 Apr 2020 14:48:29 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/24/1939971/-Trump-s-dangerous-rant-on-disinfectant-injections-is-a-case-study-in-how-broken-the-media-is <p>Donald Trump suggested sunlight and disinfectant as treatments for coronavirus—as in, he suggested injecting disinfectants like bleach into sick people, perhaps directly into their lungs—which is a sentence it is simply unbelievable to be typing. This is a moment that shows how dangerous and dangerously ignorant this man is, a moment that shows how absolutely misguided it is to treat him as a reasonable source on anything.</p> <p>Somehow, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/health/sunlight-coronavirus-trump.html" target="_blank" title="">that remains a challenge for <em>The New York Times</em></a>. Even in the face of “<span>And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute—one minute—and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that,” <em>The New York Times</em>, the newspaper of record, maintained its absolute commitment to reporting on Trump as if everything’s normal and it’s all business as usual.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Media NewYorkTimes _1939971 Fri, 24 Apr 2020 12:55:19 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/23/1939842/-Trump-s-Phase-One-coronavirus-reopening-list-includes-gyms <p>Donald Trump is not known as a man who cares much about physical fitness. But one thing he does care about is the happiness of rich people who suck up to him a lot, and that fact goes a long way to explaining how it is that<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/23/politics/gyms-reopening-lobbying-coronavirus-trump-phase-one/index.html" target="_blank" title=""> gyms made it into the first phase</a> of his reopening plans.</p> <p>Two owners of fitness chains—Bahram Akradi of Life Time Fitness and Steve Ross of Equinox and SoulCycle—were among the 16 executives on a coronavirus-related call with Trump the day before his reopening plans were announced. They deny having spoken about reopening gyms on that call, but Akradi has been pushing both governors and the White House on the issue. And anyway, that’s the thing about influence: You don’t necessarily even need to ask if the right people are already thinking about your interests.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BahramAkradi Coronavirus DonaldTrump IvankaTrump JimWorthington SteveRoss _1939842 Thu, 23 Apr 2020 20:47:25 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/23/1939802/--Space-outfits-are-Trump-economic-adviser-s-hot-idea-for-reopening-the-economy <p>The quality of thinking from the economic geniuses on Team Trump is truly alarming. Economists tend to believe that they’re qualified to hold forth on any topic because The Market is so central to all life, but even by that standard, these people are absurd. Up now: Trump campaign economic adviser, Club for Growth cofounder, and former Trump Federal Reserve pick Stephen Moore, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/stephen-moore-coronavirus-economy.html" target="_blank" title="">suggesting that the way to reopen</a> the economy during the coronavirus pandemic is to “<span>put everybody in a space outfit or something like that.”</span></p> <p><span><em>New York Times</em> interviewer Lisa Lerer pushed back, her eye roll almost visible on the printed page, with, “</span>Well, we’d have to make the space outfits, right?” </p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Economy StephenMoore _1939802 Thu, 23 Apr 2020 19:20:23 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/23/1939740/-Democratic-areas-in-some-swing-states-are-making-vote-by-mail-easier-How-will-Republicans-respond <p>The coronavirus pandemic makes nationwide vote-by-mail a matter of life and death, and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/22/1939265/-Numerous-polls-point-to-what-Democrats-need-to-fight-for-securing-our-elections-with-vote-by-mail" target="_blank" title="">voters support it</a>. Congresssional Republicans and Donald Trump, though, remain opposed, and Democrats haven’t yet forced the issue. But there is good news on the vote-by-mail front. </p> <p>Local governments of heavily populated areas in at least two key states are <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-s-home-county-other-democratic-strongholds-ramp-vote-mail-n1190026" target="_blank" title="">sending vote-by-mail or absentee ballot request forms to every registered voter</a>, allowing them to request ballots for November’s elections. Three counties that are home to more than one in four Florida voters—Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Broward—are sending out those vote-by-mail request forms, while the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is planning to do the same and include postage-paid return envelopes.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BrowardCounty Coronavirus Florida Miami-DadeCounty Milwaukee PalmBeachCounty VoteByMail Voting Wisconsin _1939740 Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:51:42 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/23/1939719/-Elizabeth-Warren-mourns-her-charming-and-funny-oldest-brother-after-his-coronavirus-death <p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s loving stories of her older brothers were a fixture of her presidential campaign—the way their military service shaped her childhood, her ability to talk to them and find points of agreement even though two were Republicans. Now, Warren’s oldest brother, Donald Reed Herring, has <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/23/nation/elizabeth-warrens-oldest-brother-dies-coronavirus-oklahoma/?s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter" target="_blank" title="">died due to coronavirus</a>.</p> <p>“<span>I’m grateful to the nurses and other front-line staff who took care of my brother, but it is hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say ‘I love you’ one more time. And now there’s no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close,” Warren said in a statement. “I will miss my brother.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldReedHerring ElizabethWarren Recommended _1939719 Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:59:19 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/23/1939696/-COVID-19-cases-associated-with-Wisconsin-in-person-voting-rise-to-19 <p>Wisconsin Republicans <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/politics/wisconsin-pandemic-primary-republicans.html" target="_blank">refused to delay an election</a> during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as those same Republicans are <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/22/1939437/-Republican-led-Wisconsin-legislature-leads-death-march-parade-suing-to-reopen-state" target="_blank">suing state health officials</a> to force an end to a stay-at-home order, the number of people who have <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cases-coronavirus-wisconsin-linked-election-activities-state-health/story?id=70264956" target="_blank">tested positive for COVID-19 after voting in person or working at the polls</a> has grown to 19.</p> <p>While some of those 19 people had other possible exposures to the virus, they’re probably not the end of the story. Milwaukee’s city health commissioner told NBC News: “<span>As of now, we only have 30% of the data as far as any new COVID-19 cases that were associated with the date of the 7th of April, which is when the election was held." Milwaukee has found <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/21/1939177/-Wisconsin-sees-at-least-seven-cases-of-COVID-19-as-a-result-of-in-person-voting-amid-pandemic" target="_blank">seven people</a> who may have been exposed through the in-person election.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Milwaukee Racism Republicans Wisconsin _1939696 Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:28:08 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/23/1939688/-Trump-does-an-about-face-from-OPEN-FOR-BUSINESS-to-it-s-too-soon-for-Georgia-s-reopening <p>Well, that was fast. Between Wednesday morning and Wednesday evening, Donald Trump went from <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1252928613743235072" target="_blank" title="">celebrating</a> that “<span>Our Country is starting to OPEN FOR BUSINESS again” to criticizing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen businesses, including hair salons and gyms, starting Friday. Making Trump’s about-face even more interesting is that in a Tuesday evening phone call, he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/22/politics/trump-pence-georgia-governor-brian-kemp/index.html" target="_blank" title="">reportedly told Kemp he supported the move</a>.</span></p> <p><span>The timeline is this: Kemp <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/21/1939106/-Georgia-massage-parlors-and-bowling-alleys-among-businesses-to-reopen-Friday" target="_blank" title="">announced his decision</a> on Tuesday, with <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/22/1939410/-Georgia-s-Kemp-getting-resistance-on-harebrained-scheme-to-kill-his-citizens" target="_blank" title="">resistance from local officials and business owners</a> building on Wednesday. A source tells CNN that on the Tuesday evening phone call, both Trump and Mike Pence praised Kemp. Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted “States are safely coming back. Our Country is starting to OPEN FOR BUSINESS again. Special care is, and always will be, given to our beloved seniors (except me!). Their lives will be better than ever...WE LOVE YOU ALL!” Then, at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/trump-georgia-governor-kemp-coronavirus.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes" target="_blank" title="">Wednesday evening’s press briefing</a>, Trump said, “I want him to do what he thinks is right, but I disagree with him on what he is doing. I think it’s too soon.” Hmm. What do you think Trump was told between Wednesday morning and Wednesday evening?</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BrianKemp Coronavirus DonaldTrump Georgia _1939688 Thu, 23 Apr 2020 13:05:47 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/22/1939205/-What-would-it-look-like-to-reopen-the-economy-safely-First-listen-to-workers <p>At some point, some way, businesses and other parts of the economy will reopen. Donald Trump wants that to happen within weeks, quickly and without regard for public health. But while we need to insist on listening to public health experts about <em>when</em> to reopen, there are also questions about what it should look like when that happens. Workers need a voice in that, the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the U.S., said in a new <a href="https://aflcio.org/covid-19/plan-reopen-economy" target="_blank" title="">working people's plan for reopening the economy the right way</a>.</p> <p>That’s the first and most important part of the plan: Workers’ voices need to be heard at every level, from the individual workplace up to the federal government. But that’s not the only important principle to uphold in making sure that workers are safe as their workplaces reopen. Workers need adequate personal protective equipment on the job—and training to use it correctly—and they need widespread testing, reporting and tracking, and contact tracing to prevent workplace-based outbreaks.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AFL-CIO Coronavirus DonaldTrump Economy Labor OSHA Unions WorkPlaceSafety _1939205 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 19:15:21 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/21/1939146/-Americans-rate-their-governors-coronavirus-responses-highly-Trump-s-not-so-much <p>Yet another poll is throwing cold water on Donald Trump’s plan to boost his own political standing by <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/20/1938826/-Trump-s-blame-the-governors-plan-his-only-real-coronavirus-plan-kicks-into-high-gear" target="_blank">attacking governors</a> over their handling of the coronavirus crisis. There are <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bfv5MiCU80-kEFt3XNTBxooNnH7CeJyCR9NB8LL0ckM/edit#gid=378851581" target="_blank">a lot of polls</a> doing this. So many polls. Now, according to the new <em>Washington Post</em>/University of Maryland poll, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/most-rate-trumps-coronavirus-response-negatively-and-expect-crowds-will-be-unsafe-until-summer-post-u-md-poll-finds/2020/04/20/0b436dda-833b-11ea-a3eb-e9fc93160703_story.html" target="_blank">54% of Americans </a>say Trump’s handling of coronavirus was not good or poor, while 72% say their own governors have done a good or excellent job.</p> <p>Trump continues to be out of step with most Americans. He’s pushing for businesses to reopen very soon, but just 31% of people said they expected coronavirus to be controlled enough to make gatherings of 10 or more people safe by the end of May; 65% of people said it wouldn’t be safe until the end of June or later. So no, no matter how much media attention they get, those protests of shutdowns don’t reflect majority opinion.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Economy Polls Race _1939146 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 17:20:13 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/21/1939126/-Trump-is-putting-the-shock-doctrine-in-action-using-COVID-19-as-an-excuse-to-slash-regulations <p>It’s not just <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/21/1939094/-Trump-to-suspend-immigration-to-the-U-S-in-a-blatant-attempt-to-distract-from-coronavirus-failures" target="_blank" title="">immigration</a>. Donald Trump plans to use coronavirus as an excuse to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/21/white-house-coronavirus-regulations/" target="_blank" title="">weaken environmental, labor, health, and other regulations</a> in exactly the ways he’s wanted to all along. While the White House negotiates with Congress, including Democrats, over what the next round of coronavirus relief could look like, regulatory changes can be made without congressional approval.</p> <p>The administration already decided not to enforce air quality standards—during a respiratory disease pandemic. Now, Trump and advisers like d<span style="text-align:left">irector of the United States National Economic Council </span>Larry Kudlow, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and incoming chief of staff Mark Meadows are talking about ideas like suspending regulations on small businesses—an absolute invitation to wage theft and dangerous working conditions, among other things—and “<span>expanding an existing administration program that requires agencies to revoke two regulations for every new one they issue,” <em>The Washington Post</em> reports. Because nothing says “we’re serious about making good policy” like arbitrary rules limiting what the government can do on a strictly numeric level.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Environment Health Labor Regulations WorkPlaceSafety _1939126 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 15:21:47 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/21/1939106/-Georgia-massage-parlors-and-bowling-alleys-among-businesses-to-reopen-Friday <p>If you’ve spent your coronavirus shut-in time waiting to get in a good sweaty workout followed by a massage, a hair cut, a tattoo, and a friendly game of bowling, get yourself to Georgia on Friday. Gov. Brian Kemp is allowing gyms, barber shops, massage parlors, tattoo parlors, and bowling alleys to reopen as long as they follow social distancing guidelines. (How do you keep distance while giving or getting a hair cut, massage, or tattoo?) On Monday, April 27, restaurants and theaters can reopen. </p> <p>Georgia currently ranks 42nd in testing per capita, which means state officials don’t really know how widespread the disease is. What we do know is that the state had its <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/breaking-733-deaths-nearly-19k-cases-coronavirus-verified-georgia/7cY6rgiic1UBP4FRSVGQGM/" target="_blank">highest death toll</a> from the virus on Monday, along with 452 new confirmed cases. At this point, 23% of tests conducted in Georgia have been positive. These are not the numbers that say: “This thing is over, let’s reopen the businesses and get celebratory massages.”</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BrianKemp Coronavirus Georgia Ohio SouthCarolina Tennessee Texas _1939106 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 14:05:39 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/21/1939094/-Trump-to-suspend-immigration-to-the-U-S-in-a-blatant-attempt-to-distract-from-coronavirus-failures <p>Donald Trump is always looking around for excuses to use immigration to divide the country to his own political benefit, and he’s currently looking for ways to distract from his <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/18/1938359/-Donald-Trump-is-personally-responsible-for-the-death-of-thousands-of-Americans" target="_blank" title="">fatal incompetence</a> on coronavirus. Monday night he tweeted out <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1252418369170501639" target="_blank" title="">the latest plan on both fronts</a>: “<span>In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”</span></p> <p>Rep. Joaquin Castro<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/xenophobe-chief-democrats-blast-trump-s-plan-suspend-immigration-u-n1188551?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_np" target="_blank" title=""> nailed what Trump’s doing here</a>, tweeting, “<span>This action is not only an attempt to divert attention away from Trump's failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, but an authoritarian-like move to take advantage of a crisis and advance his anti-immigrant agenda. We must come together to reject his division.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BillPascrell Coronavirus DonaldTrump Immigration JerryNadler JoaquinCastro _1939094 Tue, 21 Apr 2020 12:58:04 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/20/1938932/-Pence-claimed-sufficient-capacity-of-testing-Governor-after-governor-disagrees <p>One of Mike Pence’s key coronavirus roles is to batter, deep fry, and roll in sugar the sh#t sandwich that is the testing situation in the United States of America. It didn’t go over well <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938186/-Pence-briefed-Democratic-senators-on-COVID-19-It-did-not-go-well" target="_blank">when Pence briefed Democratic senators</a>, and it didn’t go over well with governors when Pence claimed “<span>there is a sufficient capacity of testing across the country today for any state in America” on Sunday.</span></p> <p><span>Directly in response to that claim, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said it was “not accurate.” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, called the claim “delusional.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat, said her state could do “double or triple” its current level of testing if it had the materials needed. But while not every governor responded directly to Pence, any number of other governors have also made clear that there is not “a sufficient capacity of testing” for their states.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Arizona ChrisSununu Coronavirus DougDucey GretchenWhitmer HRMcMaster LarryHogan Maryland Michigan MikePence Mississippi NewHampshire RalphNortham SouthCarolina TateReeves Virginia _1938932 Mon, 20 Apr 2020 20:48:58 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/20/1938893/-Ruth-s-Chris-is-another-poster-child-we-didn-t-need-for-abuse-of-Paycheck-Protection-Program <p>Burger chain Shake Shake did the right thing by reversing course and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/20/1938816/-Burger-chain-Shake-Shack-returns-10-million-stimulus-loan-intended-for-small-business-relief?_=2020-04-20T09:20:43.440-07:00" target="_blank" title="">returning $10 million to the Paycheck Protection Program</a>, but the parent company of Ruth’s Chris Steak House is doing the exact opposite. In returning the money, which is supposedly intended for small businesses but is available to large restaurant chains through a loophole making them eligible as long as they don’t have 500 employees at any one restaurant, Shake Shack’s CEO and chair wrote, “<span>Until every restaurant that needs it has had the same opportunity to receive assistance, we’re returning ours.”</span></p> <p>Every restaurant that needs it most definitely has not had that opportunity, with some closing permanently or going deeply into debt to have a chance at survival. But <a href="https://popular.info/p/a-raw-deal" target="_blank" title="">Ruth's Hospitality Group managed to get $20 million in loans</a>—twice the $10 million limit, because it got loans for two different corporate subsidiaries—and has still laid off many of its workers, Judd Legum reports at Popular Information.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus PaycheckProtectionProgram RestaurantIndustry RuthsHospitalityGroup shakeshack SmallBusiness Stimulus _1938893 Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:50:38 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/20/1938857/-Dead-bodies-broken-promises-Coronavirus-is-hitting-public-housing-hard-with-little-help-in-sight <p>Living in multi-unit buildings is a new and special challenge during the era of coronavirus—but, like so much else, while the complaints of the well-to-do are heard most clearly, lower-income people are experiencing a disproportionate amount of the suffering. Nearly 70 million people live in multifamily buildings, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/someone-in-our-building-has-it-covid-19-fuels-tensions-at-apartments-and-condos/2020/04/19/576fcb32-7ff2-11ea-a3ee-13e1ae0a3571_story.html" target="_blank"><em>The Washington Post</em> reports</a>, and they’re being forced to find their way, building by building, through the challenges and tensions involved.</p> <p>That may mean people in seven-figure apartments sending angry emails to force their building to cancel an in-person building-wide meeting, limits on how many people are supposed to ride in an elevator together, or angry debate about whether to name residents who have the virus (a big nope, legally speaking). But it means much greater hardship for people in public housing.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) apartmentbuildings Coronavirus EconomicInequality PublicHousing racialinequality _1938857 Mon, 20 Apr 2020 17:25:03 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/20/1938826/-Trump-s-blame-the-governors-plan-his-only-real-coronavirus-plan-kicks-into-high-gear <p>Donald Trump has been pressuring governors to lift coronavirus restrictions against the advice of public health experts, but that’s not the whole plan. The rest of the plan is pure Trumpian messaging: blaming the governors. Not the governors who endanger public health by <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/19/1938596/--FloridaMorons-trends-on-Twitter-after-images-of-crowded-Florida-beaches-go-viral-amid-pandemic" target="_blank">opening beaches</a>. The ones who try to keep people from dying through stay-at-home orders.</p> <p>Trump’s big concern is <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/20/1938812/-Ending-coronavirus-restrictions-a-winner-for-Trump-if-it-becomes-a-partisan-issue-Republicans-say" target="_blank">reelection</a>, and <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/20/trump-revs-up-state-fight-coronavirus-shutdowns-195443" target="_blank">that's where his attacks on governors come in</a>. “<span>Senior administration officials and Trump advisers say the level of hostility between the president and governors will probably only increase in the coming days, in part because Trump sees so much political opportunity in stoking those divisions during his reelection campaign,” Politico’s Nancy Cook reports.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Governors LarryHogan PublicHealth Recommended _1938826 Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:16:25 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/20/1938812/-Ending-coronavirus-restrictions-a-winner-for-Trump-if-it-becomes-a-partisan-issue-Republicans-say <p>Gee, what a surprise: when Donald Trump rages and raves about lifting coronavirus restrictions, he’s thinking more about <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/18/trump-reopening-economy-193885" target="_blank">his own political future</a> than about public health. Internal polling for conservative groups shows increasing numbers of people wanting to reopen businesses, and Team Trump sees it as a way to whip up his base before November.</p> <p>“<span>Trump, himself, feels pretty good about the polling in his direction,” an unnamed “Republican familiar with the White House’s deliberations” told Politico’s Anita Kumar. “It’s a winner for Trump if it becomes a partisan issue.” So he’s going to do his damnedest to make it a partisan issue.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) 2020 Coronavirus DonaldTrump Economy Elections _1938812 Mon, 20 Apr 2020 13:42:55 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/20/1938807/-Trump-isn-t-just-nursing-grievances-about-coronavirus-shutdowns-he-s-encouraging-violence <p>The media needs to do better when it comes to Donald Trump and the recent spate of well-organized protests against coronavirus restrictions. We’re talking about large groups of people standing around shouting without masks, so lives are at stake here before we even get to the guns some of them are carrying—and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938092/-After-armed-protest-in-Michigan-Trump-dangerously-tweets-people-should-liberate-blue-states" target="_blank">Trump is encouraging actual violence</a> in states with governors who aren’t bending to his pressure to loosen restrictions.</p> <p>But from media organizations like <em>The New York Times</em> we get hot messes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/us/politics/trump-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">like this one</a> by Maggie Haberman. Haberman highlights the contradictions in Trump’s recent rhetoric, how he’s veered from claiming he’ll work with governors to tweeting “LIBERATE.” But the basic presentation of the protests is a staggering misread: “So far, the protests have been relatively small and scattershot, organized by conservative-leaning groups with some organic attendance.” </p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump RightWingExtremists _1938807 Mon, 20 Apr 2020 12:48:48 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/19/1937848/--What-we-thought-we-knew-we-don-t-know-doctors-say-of-COVID-19 <p>Much of the concern about treating COVID-19 patients has focused on ventilators—specifically, whether hospitals will have enough ventilators to treat everyone who needs them. But, with <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/02/826105278/ventilators-are-no-panacea-for-critically-ill-covid-19-patients" target="_blank">a high death rate</a> among patients on ventilators and some unexpected differences between COVID-19 patients and patients with other sources of respiratory distress, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/nyregion/new-york-coronavirus.html" target="_blank" title="">some doctors are starting to reevaluate</a>, saying “<span>What we thought we knew, we don’t know” <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/08/doctors-say-ventilators-overused-for-covid-19/" target="_blank">and</a> “</span><span style="text-align:start">It’s hard to switch tracks when the train is going a million miles an hour,” but “This may be an entirely new disease.”</span></p> <p>Patients look <em>different </em>than the usual expectation for people with such low oxygen levels, doctors say. “<span>Never in my life have I had to ask a patient to get off the telephone because it was time to put in a breathing tube,” one told <em>The New York Times</em>. “[C]</span><span style="text-align:start">linically they look a lot more like high-altitude sickness than they do pneumonia,” another <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928156#vp_1" target="_blank">told Medscape</a>.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Covid-19 _1937848 Sun, 19 Apr 2020 15:40:07 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/18/1937890/--If-I-die-I-want-you-to-politicize-my-death-nurse-writes-this-week-in-the-war-on-workers <p>This week, as millions of people continue to be hammered by unemployment and essential workers continue to lack needed protections, let’s start off by hearing what some workers are saying. <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trader-joes-workers-are-angry-and-terrified" target="_blank">Trader Joe’s workers</a> told Kim Kelly how angry they are about a death at Trader Joe’s. “<span>They have the audacity to tell us the worker…. had pre-existing conditions, like that’s some sort of excuse?” one worker said. “His death is because Trader Joe’s refused to take action when it became abundantly clear they needed to do something. [CEO] Dan Bane and the whole company has blood on their hands.”</span></p> <p>“If I die, I don’t want to be remembered as a hero. I want my death to make you angry too,” <a href="https://mnnurses.org/want-my-death-make-you-angry/" target="_blank">Minnesota nurse Emily Pierskalla writes in an amazing piece</a>. “I want you to politicize my death. I want you to use it as fuel to demand change in this industry, to demand protection, living wages, and safe working conditions for nurses and ALL workers.” She’s not the only one to call for organizing amid the pandemic. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Oscar Otzoy told Sarah Jaffe how <a href="https://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/belabored-stories-farmworkers-need-field-hospitals" target="_blank">farmworkers are organizing</a> even as they’re still in the fields picking produce.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Labor OSHA paidfamilyleave PaidSickLeave WorkPlaceSafety _1937890 Sat, 18 Apr 2020 22:55:06 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/17/1938178/-COVID-19-news-Small-business-relief-is-the-latest-part-of-Trump-s-corrupt-coronavirus-mess <p>COVID-19 deaths continue to rise at a horrible rate, <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/16/1937975/-Polling-shows-the-pervasive-impact-of-the-coronavirus-on-American-life" target="_blank" title="">nearly all Americans have seen their lives affected</a> by the pandemic, and Donald Trump keeps trying to make things worse. <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938039/-Trump-s-plan-for-reopening-Governors-take-all-the-blame-he-gets-all-the-credit-Any-questions" target="_blank" title="">Trump's big plan for reopening</a> is to take all the credit while making sure governors take all the blame when things go wrong. No wonder <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938106/-Republicans-fear-Trump-s-abysmal-coronavirus-handling-is-sinking-his-reelection" target="_blank" title="">Republicans fear Trump's abysmal coronavirus handling is sinking his reelection</a>. But he’s going to do plenty more mismanaging in the mean time. </p> <p>Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938150/-McConnell-and-Trump-have-rigged-emergency-small-business-relief-for-some-big-businesses" target="_blank" title="">rigged emergency small business relief for some big businesses</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938079/-Big-surprise-The-Trump-McConnell-urgent-COVID-19-small-business-loans-were-dumped-into-red-states" target="_blank" title="">the money is being funneled into red states</a>. Meanwhile, at least <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/04/16/1937865/-One-company-is-furious-after-Trump-named-it-to-advisory-group-without-actually-asking" target="_blank">one company is "furious"</a> after Trump named it to his <span>“Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups” advisory council without actually asking. </span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Covid-19 DonaldTrump House Michigan Minnesota MitchMcConnell Senate _1938178 Sat, 18 Apr 2020 00:00:10 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/17/1938140/-Armed-pro-coronavirus-protests-are-not-grassroots-and-they-don-t-reflect-majority-opinion <p>There are two things we need to be very clear about in coverage of the <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/17/1938092/-After-armed-protest-in-Michigan-Trump-dangerously-tweets-people-should-liberate-blue-states" target="_blank" title="">pro-coronavirus protests</a> being held in several states recently: these are not grassroots endeavors, and they do not reflect the will of the majority. Interestingly, <em>The New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/us/coronavirus-rules-protests.html" target="_blank" title="">rewrote its initial coverage</a> of such protests in Michigan and elsewhere to reflect the former point, doing more to identify organizers like Greg McNeilly, who miraculously shifted shape from being a “Republican consultant” to being chair of the Michigan Freedom Fund and a longtime DeVos family functionary.</p> <p>Although that coverage still claims that “<span>The rallies reflected both economic frustrations and political divides,” a</span> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/us/politics/poll-watch-quarantine-protesters.html" target="_blank" title="">subsequent article</a> even describes the protests as “well-organized” and notes that “<span>From the available polling on these issues and the public statements of many organizers, there is reason to believe that this backlash is more about ideology than about fears of the restrictions’ economic impact.” But it’s important—and unfortunate—that it took <em>The Times </em>a little time to catch up with those realities, and it still left in the “economic frustrations” angle, so let’s review. Just so no one forgets.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus Polls Republicans RightWing _1938140 Fri, 17 Apr 2020 20:02:44 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/17/1938067/-Republican-connected-firm-gets-569-million-to-build-17-miles-of-border-wall-During-a-pandemic <p>No pandemic is going to stop the Trump administration from pouring billions of dollars into building a needless border wall, apparently. And once you’re blowing through money at the rate of $20 million per mile, why not up it to $30 million per mile and send that money to a construction company owned by big Republican donors?</p> <p>One construction firm, BFBC, just got $569 million in contract modifications from the Army for building an extremely specific 17.17 miles of wall in two California locations. It’s not BFBC’s first such contract, either. The company has now gotten over $1 billion for 37 miles of wall, working out to an average of $27 million per mile.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BorderWall Coronavirus Recommended Republicans TrumpAdministration _1938067 Fri, 17 Apr 2020 15:32:57 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/17/1938050/-There-aren-t-many-women-world-leaders-but-somehow-they-re-leading-the-coronavirus-fight <p>Message to U.S. voters reluctant to vote for a woman for president: Around the world, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/asia/women-government-leaders-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html" target="_blank" title="">women are standing out among the leaders</a> fighting coronavirus most effectively. </p> <p>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, <span>Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, and Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir are among the world’s few women leading nations—and they’re among some of the most successful in the current crisis.</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) AngelaMerkel Coronavirus Germany Iceland JacindaArdern KatrinJakobsdottir NewZealand Taiwan TsaiIng-wen Women _1938050 Fri, 17 Apr 2020 14:39:06 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/17/1938044/-If-he-wins-Biden-will-inherit-a-government-in-ruins-He-s-already-planning-how-to-fix-that <p>Now that the path is clear and former Vice President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, he’s starting to think about what a transition to the presidency would look like, should he win. (Please pause to observe all relevant superstitions.)</p> <p>A donor at a virtual fundraiser Thursday evening asked Biden how he would address the problem of parts of the federal government left “without talent” by the Trump administration, and Biden said he was on it, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/16/politics/joe-biden-white-house-transition-team/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reports</a>.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) 2020 JoeBiden Recommended _1938044 Fri, 17 Apr 2020 12:55:44 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/16/1937865/-One-company-is-furious-after-Trump-named-it-to-advisory-group-without-actually-asking <p>True to form, the behind-the-scenes reality of the new White House “<span>Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups” advisory council is rather different than the picture Donald Trump painted in Wednesday’s coronavirus press briefing.</span> For one thing, not everyone involved knew they were involved.</p> <p><span>“We got a note about a conference call, like you’d get an invite to a Zoom thing, a few lines in an email, and that was it. Then our CEO heard his name in the Rose Garden? What the [expletive]?” a “prominent Washington lobbyist for a leading global corporation” told <em>The Washington Post</em>. “My company is furious. How do you go from ‘Join us on a call’ to, ‘Well, you’re on our team?’”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) Coronavirus DonaldTrump Recommended _1937865 Thu, 16 Apr 2020 18:57:31 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/4/16/1937787/-States-now-have-rapid-COVID-19-testing-devices-but-where-are-the-tests-for-them <p>The White House unveiling of rapid tests for COVID-19 was a Trump classic: Donald Trump in the Rose Garden, unboxing a testing device and declaring it “<span>a whole new ballgame.” And the aftermath has likewise been a Trump classic: states complaining that they got devices to run tests, but <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/15/politics/coronavirus-rapid-testing-states-abbott-machines-few-tests-invs/index.html" target="_blank" title="">only enough tests for 115 people</a>. </span></p> <p><span>”It's incredibly frustrating, because it was a lot of talk about this device, there was a lot of hype on it nationally and that was wonderful and then when they showed up, expectations were set really high,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said at a press conference last week. “But to actually have these, 13 of these devices, and have no way to use them—I'm banging my head against the wall. I really am.”</span></p> rss@dailykos.com (Laura Clawson) BrettGiroir Coronavirus Detroit Maine Minnesota NewHampshire santaclara TrumpAdministration _1937787 Thu, 16 Apr 2020 15:53:10 +0000