Trump claims he will temporarily suspend immigration over coronavirus fears – CNNPolitics
fucker
‘I will not be bullied’: LaToya Cantrell firm in decisions about coronavirus stay-home orders
“The data will drive us and not a specific date,” the mayor said several times during an afternoon press conference, where she took issue with a letter published in a full-page newspaper ad the day before by four prominent businessmen that said her moves threatened the city’s economy.
…Cantrell cast her critics as out of touch with the city’s public health needs. She also suggested they were prioritizing money over people’s lives.
“To the citizens of the city of New Orleans, please know that I will and have always continued to put the health of the people first. They are the priority. And not only that…. but you can be reassured that I will not be bullied,” Cantrell said.
…Cantrell said she has been in constant contact with leaders in other parishes and said she doesn’t believe it will be safe to hold festivals in the fall since it will be hurricane season and because the coronavirus pandemic is likely to remain active then.
hmmm
A hospital’s secretive deal for coronavirus masks
It had all the markings of an illicit drug deal in a Hollywood movie: an encounter at a secret warehouse, with a last-minute sampling of the goods to make sure they were the real thing, a wire transfer of more than $1 million, and the sudden appearance of the FBI at the moment of handoff.
But this wasn’t about drugs. It was a deal cut by a Massachusetts hospital system for 250,000 scarce Chinese-made masks so its personnel could treat COVID-19 patients.
…At the warehouse, two empty trailer trucks stood at the ready, disguised as food-service delivery trucks. The idea was for them to take different routes back to Massachusetts to minimize the chance that the whole shipment might be diverted.
…The G-men examined Artenstein’s identification and checked his bona fides on Google. Eventually they allowed the boxes to be loaded on the trucks. But they still refused to let the trucks leave until they verified that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t want to claim the supplies first. (A call to the hospitals’ local Congress member’s office helped fend off any effort by that agency to get in the way.)
…“We were just on the trail of 1.2 million disposable gowns that were exactly what we were looking for,” he says. “It literally dissolved at midnight the other night — we were told it was stuck in Turkey, which may or may not be the case. But that’s as much as we could get in terms of rationale.”
…Other suppliers have explained failed deals by blaming the Department of Veterans Affairs or other states or other institutions or other suppliers for stepping in. “That’s what we’ve been told,” Artenstein says. “It’s possible we’ve been fed a story, but it’s hard to fact-check these things.”
Even when a supplier can be found, the system is paying as much as five times the pre-crisis price — $5 or more for N95 masks, which offer the best filtration against airborne contaminants, and which normally cost as little as 60 or 70 cents each.
…A system that should operate like clockwork has turned into a dog-eat-dog, zero-sum game in which frontline workers and patients are merely pawns. Is this any way to run a 21st century country?
Hiltzik: A hospital’s secretive deal for coronavirus masks – Los Angeles Times
sigh….
‘Corona-Shaming’ Phase of the Pandemic
The internet has always opened its arms to people wanting to spotlight the behavior and perceived misdeeds of neighbors, celebrities and strangers.
But now, weeks into the pandemic’s shutdown of businesses and schools, and with state governments calling for all but essential workers to stay home, the web is especially alight with finger-pointers: people who are genuinely concerned about public health but also, perhaps, with pent-up fears, frustrations and extra time on their hands.
hmmm
Trump Isn’t the First Conservative to Try to Limit the Vote
The Republican House speaker in Georgia, David Ralston, admitted that an expansion of absentee voting would be “extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia.”
Opinion | Trump Isn’t the First Conservative to Try to Limit the Vote – The New York Times
hmm
Why New Jersey’s unemployment insurance system uses COBOL.
COBOL systems process trillions of dollars of transactions daily for the world’s largest banks, which are clearly not strapped for the cash they’d need to make upgrades. COBOL might be deeply uncool, but it’s hardly a dead language.
…States have been starved of funding they need for running their unemployment insurance systems, money that under the 1935 Social Security Act is supposed to come from the federal government. According to a 2017 presentation by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, the federal funding available for state unemployment insurance agencies to upgrade their technology, pay workers, and cover other administrative expenses has been falling steadily for the past 25 years, dipping roughly 30 percent below mid-1990s levels. In a survey NASWA conducted of 40 states’ workforce agencies, more than half of respondents said their administrative budget shortfalls were either “serious” or “critical.” And things haven’t gotten better in the years that followed, with Congress making further budget cuts in 2018 and 2019. Even compared with other social safety net programs, the technology used for unemployment insurance is in particularly bad shape. They have “some of the most antiquated and least versatile computer systems among public agencies,” said Indivar Dutta-Gupta, co-executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. While states that upgrade their Medicaid websites and tech systems have their spending matched 9 to 1 by the federal government, he said, states that want to fix their unemployment insurance get no such help.*
…According to Dutta-Gupta, Congress would have preferred to raise the percentage of lost wages that insurance would replace, instead of giving everyone the same boost, but the states said it would take five months or longer to change the reimbursement percentage.
…When it comes to our broken social safety net, COBOL isn’t really the bad guy: blame Congress for underfunding the programs, and states for failing to make up the gaps.
…It appears that a functional website sometimes goes hand in hand with a state government that prioritizes the safety net: Before Congress expanded UI, Florida provided only 12 weeks of unemployment insurance, while Massachusetts provided 30 weeks, and Massachusetts’ weekly benefit amounts were roughly 40 percent higher for middle-income workers than Florida’s.
Why New Jersey’s unemployment insurance system uses COBOL.
hmmm
The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions
While protesters in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and other states claim to speak for ordinary citizens, many are also supported by street-fighting rightwing groups like the Proud Boys, conservative armed militia groups, religious fundamentalists, anti-vaccination groups and other elements of the radical right.
On Wednesday in Lansing, Michigan, a protest put together by two Republican-connected not-for-profits was explicitly devised to cause gridlock in the city, and for a time blocked the entrance to a local hospital.
It was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition, which Michigan state corporate filings show has also operated under the name of Michigan Trump Republicans. It was also heavily promoted by the Michigan Freedom Fund, a group linked to Trump cabinet member Betsy DeVos.
…The pattern of rightwing not-for-profits promoting public protests while still more radical groups use lockdown resistance as a platform for extreme rightwing causes looks set to continue in events advertised in other states over coming days.
…The protest has been heavily promoted by the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), which counts among its donors “dark money” funds linked to the Koch brothers such as Donors Capital Fund, and Castle Rock, a foundation seeded with part of the fortune of Adolph Coors, the rightwing beer magnate.
…Rodriguez’s website advises, “We feel that wearing face masks and gloves is counterproductive to the movement, and should be avoided”.
…Miller, who is active in the Kitsap county Republican party, was involved in passing a resolution in January in support of representative Matt Shea, who was excluded from the State House’s GOP caucus after a report commissioned by house found that he had participated in domestic terrorism.
The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions
A decent start to connecting the dots.
Trump wants his name on coronavirus stimulus checks, even if it delays them – Vox
The president is not an authorized signer for IRS disbursements, so his name will appear on the memo line.
Trump wants his name on coronavirus stimulus checks, even if it delays them – Vox
pathetic losah!
Donald J. Trump’s name will be on stimulus checks in unprecedented move
The unprecedented decision, finalized late Monday, means that when recipients open the $1,200 paper checks the IRS is scheduled to begin sending to 70 million Americans in coming days, “President Donald J. Trump” will appear on the left side of the payment.
It will be the first time a president’s name appears on an IRS disbursement, whether a routine refund or one of the handful of checks the government has issued to taxpayers in recent decades either to stimulate a down economy or share the dividends of a strong one.
Donald J. Trump’s name will be on stimulus checks in unprecedented move – The Washington Post
hmmm
Michigan governor fires back at Trump, says states won’t ‘open via Twitter’
Legal experts say the president does not have the authority to overrule governors by reversing public health restrictions that have been ordered at the state level.
…When discussing Trump’s comments during an appearance on the “Today” show, Cuomo said the “president doesn’t have total authority,” while pointing to the 10th Amendment, which states that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
“The Constitution is there, the 10th Amendment is there, number of cases over the years, it’s very clear. States have power by the 10th Amendment, and the president is just wrong on that point,” Cuomo said.
Michigan governor fires back at Trump, says states won’t ‘open via Twitter’ | TheHill
hmmm
U.S. probe unable to rule out White House influence on JEDI contract awarded to Microsoft, not Amazon
Several officials said their conversations were privileged “presidential communications.”
…“We could not definitively determine the full extent or nature of interactions that administration officials had, or may have had, with senior DoD officials regarding the JEDI Cloud procurement because of the assertion of a ‘presidential communications privilege,’” the report said, referring to the Department of Defense by its acronym.
…Amazon has said the Defense Department’s decision to give the contract to Microsoft was full of “egregious errors,” which were a result of “improper pressure from [Trump.]”
hmmmm
Obama slams rollback of vehicle emission standards in rare rebuke of Trump – CNNPolitics
Obama slams rollback of vehicle emission standards in rare rebuke of Trump – CNNPolitics
THAT’S the issue that brought you out of whatver you have been hiding, Barack????
OK….. Interesting choice.
Trump slams ‘partisan investigations’ after Pelosi announces committee
Trump slams ‘partisan investigations’ after Pelosi announces committee
[Yawn] there is nothing more boring and weak-looking than a persecution complex.
Veterans Denounce ‘Unforgivable’ Decision to Remove U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier, Who Asked for Help With Ship’s COVID-19 Outbreak
Do not forget how this administration treated the men and women of our all-volunteer military.
Oooops. Too late for most people!
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