crooksandliars--2020-05-14--Nicolle Wallace Rakes Fox News Over The Coals For Smearing Dr. Fauci

Nicolle Wallace began her show on Wednesday cutting Trump down to size with a new poll out that shows two-thirds of the nation wo n't feel safe gathering in public until at least July .
She laid out the `` real mood in the country that Donald Trump is trying to sell on a steady and swift march back to work '' as being guided much more heavily by actual medical experts , like Dr. Tony Fauci than President Clorox .
That certainly explains Trump 's foul mood , but add to that Dr. Fauci 's testimony before the Republican-controlled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from testifying in front of the Democratic-led House ) and it 's easy to surmise why he felt the need to sic his mangy attack dogs on Dr. Fauci .
See , the world renowned disease expert seems to be having more influence , what with his truth-telling , than an autocrat might like him to have .
In fact , Dr. Fauci 's warnings are even having an effect on the market , and Lord Farquad only knows we can not have that .
WALLACE : That 's the backdrop against which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landed .
He cautioned that moving too quickly could not only threaten lives but threaten the economy , too , and in a sign that Americans may be putting more stock in his warnings than those empty assurances from trump , The New York Times notes this , `` Dr. Fauci 's remarks appeared to rattle the markets .
Driving the S & P 500 down as investors weighed the potential of a second wave of infections against Mr. Trump 's promises that the economy would bounce back once stay-at-home restrictions were lifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you needed another one , that Donald Trump might have officially lost his grip on the messaging .
So enter Trump 's parade of allies in the right-wing media who apparently picked up on the significance of Dr. Fauci 's warnings , and the reactions from a nervous country .
Across several hours of Fox News last night , Trump 's most loyal defenders responded to the latest public health guidance by waging war on Tony Fauci .
Wallace then played a montage of the blackest souls at Fox News saying the absolutely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just can not be trusted .
TUCKER CARLSON : Is Tony Fauci is right about the science ?
Do we have any particular reason to think he is right ?
This guy , Fauci may be even more off base than your average epidemiologist .
SEAN HANNITY : Dr. Anthony Fauci also seems to favor what most of the Democrats want , and that is massive restrictions with no end in sight./He deserves a lot of credit .
But there is no secret either that Dr. Fauci like so many others have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : With all due respect to Dr. Fauci 's expertise , no one elected him to anything .
TUCKER CARLSON : Is this the guy into whom you want to invest all of your trust ?
Is this the guy you want to chart the future of the country ?
Maybe not .
This is a very serious matter the decisions we 're making right now .
Tony Fauci has n't been elected to anything .
Some think he should be dictator for the duration of this crisis .
That 's insanity .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I DO want to invest my trust in this guy , and I DO want him to chart the course of the future !
Because we all know , if everyone who advised us in a crisis must have been elected to that position , we would be well and truly f*cked !
Is the position of Fox News that we as a nation should have to wait for people who issue guidance in a national crisis to run a rigorous campaign , go through primaries , hold debates , and wait @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take their advice seriously ?
Then Wallace got down to what really matters , and threw the words of people from his own party back in Trump 's face while she was at it .
Dr. Fauci is one of finest public servants we have ever had .
He 's not a partisan .
His only interest is in saving lives .
We need his expertise and his judgment to defeat the virus .
All Americans should be thanking him every day .
WALLACE : Keep in mind they all work with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who had to remove some hosts for their coronavirus coverage .
And because we do n't play misinformation or smears against anyone , especially Dr. Tony Fauci , without a fact check , here 's one from a member of Donald Trump 's own party , Congresswoman Liz Cheney , tweeting this last night : And a reminder from those moved to attack the scientists , scientists like Dr. Fauci , on the frontlines of this battle , that what remains at the center of all of this is n't politics .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infected and the nearly 84,000 moms , dads , grandparents and yes , children lost in America .

Nicolle Wallace began her show on Wednesday cutting Trump down to size with a new poll out that shows two-thirds of the nation won't feel safe gathering in public until at least July. She laid out the "real mood in the country that Donald Trump is trying to sell on a steady and swift march back to work" as being guided much more heavily by actual medical experts, like Dr. Tony Fauci than President Clorox.
That certainly explains Trump's foul mood, but add to that Dr. Fauci's testimony before the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday (Trump forbade him from testifying in front of the Democratic-led House) and it's easy to surmise why he felt the need to sic his mangy attack dogs on Dr. Fauci. See, the world renowned disease expert seems to be having more influence, what with his truth-telling, than an autocrat might like him to have. In fact, Dr. Fauci's warnings are even having an effect on the market, and Lord Farquad only knows we cannot have that.
WALLACE: That's the backdrop against which the warnings yesterday from Dr. Anthony Fauci landed. He cautioned that moving too quickly could not only threaten lives but threaten the economy, too, and in a sign that Americans may be putting more stock in his warnings than those empty assurances from trump, The New York Times notes this, "Dr. Fauci's remarks appeared to rattle the markets. Driving the S&P 500 down as investors weighed the potential of a second wave of infections against Mr. Trump's promises that the economy would bounce back once stay-at-home restrictions were lifted." A sign, as if you needed another one, that Donald Trump might have officially lost his grip on the messaging. So enter Trump's parade of allies in the right-wing media who apparently picked up on the significance of Dr. Fauci's warnings, and the reactions from a nervous country. Across several hours of Fox News last night, Trump's most loyal defenders responded to the latest public health guidance by waging war on Tony Fauci.
Wallace then played a montage of the blackest souls at Fox News saying the absolutely most absurd things about why Dr. Fauci just cannot be trusted.
TUCKER CARLSON: Is Tony Fauci is right about the science? Do we have any particular reason to think he is right? This guy, Fauci may be even more off base than your average epidemiologist. SEAN HANNITY: Dr. Anthony Fauci also seems to favor what most of the Democrats want, and that is massive restrictions with no end in sight./He deserves a lot of credit. But there is no secret either that Dr. Fauci like so many others have been wrong, a lot. LAURA INGRAHAM: With all due respect to Dr. Fauci's expertise, no one elected him to anything. TUCKER CARLSON: Is this the guy into whom you want to invest all of your trust? Is this the guy you want to chart the future of the country? Maybe not. This is a very serious matter the decisions we're making right now. Tony Fauci hasn't been elected to anything. Some think he should be dictator for the duration of this crisis. That's insanity.
Yes! YES! Actually, Tucker, I DO want to invest my trust in this guy, and I DO want him to chart the course of the future!
Because we all know, if everyone who advised us in a crisis must have been elected to that position, we would be well and truly f*cked! Is the position of Fox News that we as a nation should have to wait for people who issue guidance in a national crisis to run a rigorous campaign, go through primaries, hold debates, and wait for us to VOTE before we can take their advice seriously?
Then Wallace got down to what really matters, and threw the words of people from his own party back in Trump's face while she was at it.


crooksandliars--2020-05-14--Republicans Are Manipulating A Routine U.S. Intelligence Activity In Order To Attack Biden

Remember back in the Before Times when many people were very concerned about the fact that Russia helped get Donald Trump elected in 2016 , and we also found out that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell helped make that happen by covering it up in the summer and fall of 2016 , before we all voted ?
We 're revisiting all that now as Trump and Republican senators try to gin up something called `` Obamagate '' to try to hurt Joe Biden .
What that something is is not entirely clear , but it involves Richard Grenell , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an Obama-administration document related to the supposed `` unmasking '' of Michael Flynn , Trump 's convicted former national security adviser .
Before we travel too far down this path , also remember this : Now back to Grenell declassifying this document : he did it entirely for the purposes of leaking it and getting the names of the Obama administration officials who were asking about Flynn back in January 2017 into the hands of Republican senators in order to get to Biden .
What they seem to think is that they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama conspiracy to harm Trump .
It 's worth at this point going through the timeline of what was happening in January 2017 in the last days of the Obama administration .
It was imposing sanctions on Russia for election interference .
To explain those sanctions , it publicly announced that the Russia government had worked to influence the election for Trump—the thing that McConnell had worked to cover up months earlier .
But there was something else happening then—the fact that the FBI had reviewed intercepts of communications between Flynn and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grenell declassified is a list of the Obama administration officials who asked intelligence officials for more information about all this .
Because they were still the administration in charge of the country and they needed to know what exactly was going on with Russia and what would need to be done to protect the nation from that potential threat .
But now we 've got all the usual Republican stooges screaming about `` unmasking '' —Obama people trying to somehow act suspiciously , if not illegally , to find a victim that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when they know Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee for president .
Which is bunk , as a Wall Street Journal reporter noted in a tweet : `` Unmasking U.S. identities in intel reports is a fairly routine process that occurs thousands of times a year and is requested by senior administration officials to better understand the context of intercepted conversations that are being reviewed . ''
So what we have happening right now is Republicans and Trump trying to manipulate a routine U.S. intelligence activity in order to attack a political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what they 're going to do .
Unfortunately , we 've also got a slathering D.C. traditional media that 's bored with coronavirus and is going to fall for it hook , line , and sinker , as if `` but her email '' did n't land us precisely on the precipice of utter disaster because Donald Trump is president .
In large part because Moscow Mitch McConnell covered up Russian interference and kept that information from the voting public .
So he could destroy the federal judiciary .
Now that 's a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some more ink .

Remember back in the Before Times when many people were very concerned about the fact that Russia helped get Donald Trump elected in 2016, and we also found out that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell helped make that happen by covering it up in the summer and fall of 2016, before we all voted? We're revisiting all that now as Trump and Republican senators try to gin up something called "Obamagate" to try to hurt Joe Biden. What that something is is not entirely clear, but it involves Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, declassifying an Obama-administration document related to the supposed "unmasking" of Michael Flynn, Trump's convicted former national security adviser. Before we travel too far down this path, also remember this:
I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017
Now back to Grenell declassifying this document: he did it entirely for the purposes of leaking it and getting the names of the Obama administration officials who were asking about Flynn back in January 2017 into the hands of Republican senators in order to get to Biden.
What they seem to think is that they can gin up some sort of Deep State Obama conspiracy to harm Trump. It's worth at this point going through the timeline of what was happening in January 2017 in the last days of the Obama administration. It was imposing sanctions on Russia for election interference. To explain those sanctions, it publicly announced that the Russia government had worked to influence the election for Trump—the thing that McConnell had worked to cover up months earlier. But there was something else happening then—the fact that the FBI had reviewed intercepts of communications between Flynn and the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The list Grenell declassified is a list of the Obama administration officials who asked intelligence officials for more information about all this. Because they were still the administration in charge of the country and they needed to know what exactly was going on with Russia and what would need to be done to protect the nation from that potential threat. But now we've got all the usual Republican stooges screaming about "unmasking"—Obama people trying to somehow act suspiciously, if not illegally, to find a victim that they can use three years down the line when they know Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee for president.
Which is bunk, as a Wall Street Journal reporter noted in a tweet: "Unmasking U.S. identities in intel reports is a fairly routine process that occurs thousands of times a year and is requested by senior administration officials to better understand the context of intercepted conversations that are being reviewed."
So what we have happening right now is Republicans and Trump trying to manipulate a routine U.S. intelligence activity in order to attack a political opponent. Because of course that's what they're going to do. Unfortunately, we've also got a slathering D.C. traditional media that's bored with coronavirus and is going to fall for it hook, line, and sinker, as if "but her email" didn't land us precisely on the precipice of utter disaster because Donald Trump is president.
In large part because Moscow Mitch McConnell covered up Russian interference and kept that information from the voting public. So he could destroy the federal judiciary. Now that's a story for the 2020 election that deserves some more ink.
Posted with permission from Daily Kos.


crooksandliars--2020-05-14--Doctors Warn Of Severe Inflammatory Syndrome In Children With COVID

Every day , we learn more about COVID-19 .
This latest side effect is rare but dangerous , doctors say .
Via WKTV.com : Doctors in Italy have become the latest to raise the alarm over a worrying spike in children getting sick with a rare but serious inflammatory syndrome they say is tied to the coronavirus pandemic .
A new study , published in the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday , found a 30-fold rise in the number of cases of the syndrome in the Bergamo province of Italy shortly after the coronavirus pandemic spread to the region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are similar to the observations made in recent weeks by health officials in the United States .
Doctors in the United States are investigating cases of the syndrome in at least 150 children , most of them in New York .
At least 17 states and Washington , DC are checking into suspected cases , according to a CNN survey .
The syndrome , now frequently referred to as 'multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children , ' resembles another childhood condition known as Kawasaki disease which typically affects children under the age of five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walls of medium-sized arteries and can damage the heart .
While the new syndrome also involves inflammation , infectious disease experts say it is different from Kawasaki disease .
Symptoms include persistent fever , rash , red eyes , inflammation and poor function in one or more organs .
.

Every day, we learn more about COVID-19. This latest side effect is rare but dangerous, doctors say. Via WKTV.com:
Doctors in Italy have become the latest to raise the alarm over a worrying spike in children getting sick with a rare but serious inflammatory syndrome they say is tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
A new study, published in the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday, found a 30-fold rise in the number of cases of the syndrome in the Bergamo province of Italy shortly after the coronavirus pandemic spread to the region.
The findings of the Italian doctors are similar to the observations made in recent weeks by health officials in the United States. Doctors in the United States are investigating cases of the syndrome in at least 150 children, most of them in New York. At least 17 states and Washington, DC are checking into suspected cases, according to a CNN survey.
The syndrome, now frequently referred to as 'multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children,' resembles another childhood condition known as Kawasaki disease which typically affects children under the age of five. The disease causes inflammation in the walls of medium-sized arteries and can damage the heart.
While the new syndrome also involves inflammation, infectious disease experts say it is different from Kawasaki disease. Symptoms include persistent fever, rash, red eyes, inflammation and poor function in one or more organs.
.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Texas Has 1,000 New Coronavirus Cases Almost Every Day Since Reopening

File under we told you so : 1,000 or more new coronavirus cases have been found in Texas for five days in a row .
According to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services , 1,179 new cases were reported on Tuesday , bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Lone Star State to 41,048 .
Since Gov .
Greg Abbott ( R ) allowed some businesses to resume operations on May 1 , Texas has only been below 1,000 new cases per day twice — on May 4 and May 7 .
On Tuesday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's top public health officials , appeared before the Senate Health Committee and warned that states who reopen their economies too quickly could see new outbreaks of the disease that could result in “ needless suffering and death.
” But instead of re-tightening some of the social distance restrictions , Texas seems to be doubling down on relaxing them .
The Texas Tribune reported that on Monday , Abbott will announce another round of reopening plans .
In fact , cases were clearly plateauing around the beginning of May and they have now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Texas ranked 48th among states in testing per capita ( though it seems to have greatly ramped up in the last two days ) , there ’ s a good chance the total number of recent cases is a lot higher .

File under we told you so: 1,000 or more new coronavirus cases have been found in Texas for five days in a row.
From The Hill:
According to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, 1,179 new cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Lone Star State to 41,048.
Since Gov. Greg Abbott (R) allowed some businesses to resume operations on May 1, Texas has only been below 1,000 new cases per day twice — on May 4 and May 7.
On Tuesday, Anthony Fauci, one of the nation's top public health officials, appeared before the Senate Health Committee and warned that states who reopen their economies too quickly could see new outbreaks of the disease that could result in “needless suffering and death.”
But instead of re-tightening some of the social distance restrictions, Texas seems to be doubling down on relaxing them. The Texas Tribune reported that on Monday, Abbott will announce another round of reopening plans.
We’re opening Texas as fast as possible while also containing the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in a Wednesday night interview with KETK-TV.
In fact, cases were clearly plateauing around the beginning of May and they have now taken a decidedly upward turn.
Given that Texas ranked 48th among states in testing per capita (though it seems to have greatly ramped up in the last two days), there’s a good chance the total number of recent cases is a lot higher.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Mike's Blog Round Up

Mike's Blog Round Up

Lawyers , Guns & Money : Trump insists “ testing is overrated ” because “ If we did n't do @ @ @ @ @ very few cases.
” Blue Heron Blast : You don ’ t need to be @ @ @ @ @ the damage being done by Trump ’ s gutting of environmental regulations .
Off the @ @ @ @ @ t let COVID-19 kill Medicaid eligibility , too .
Eschaton : Republicans will never stop @ @ @ @ @ Social Security “ lock box.
” Speaking of which , your quote of the day @ @ @ @ @ ] offers the option of investing over one-third of their current Social Security taxes into @ @ @ @ @ ( Paul Ryan , on his “ Road Map for America ’ s Future , @ @ @ @ @

Lawyers, Guns & Money: Trump insists “testing is overrated” because “If we didn't do any testing we would have very few cases.”
Blue Heron Blast: You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand the damage being done by Trump’s gutting of environmental regulations.
Off the Charts: Congress shouldn’t let COVID-19 kill Medicaid eligibility, too.
Eschaton: Republicans will never stop trying to crack open the Social Security “lock box.”
Speaking of which, your quote of the day:
"[The plan] offers the option of investing over one-third of their current Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts." (Paul Ryan, on his “Road Map for America’s Future,” February 2010.)


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Only One Faction In This Country Is Unwilling To Give The Coronavirus A Real Fight

Ross Douthat wonders why we do n't want to wage a full-scale war on the coronavirus .
We ’ re containing the virus , limiting the damage , preventing worst-case scenarios — but we aren ’ t trying to actually stamp it out .
Instead , we ’ re on a path to just live with it ( and sometimes die with it ) until we get a vaccine or herd immunity , choosing management and mitigation over suppression , a year of stalemate over a campaign to win the war .
... we have no nimbleness and little grand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited when it comes to achieving more than just stability , more than what Matthew Continetti calls a “ cruel new normal ” of thousands of deaths every week or month .
You may be asking : Who is this `` we '' Douthat is talking about ?
And continues to talk about : ... we can ... look at the places that have achieved suppression and see a range of plausible measures for a would-be General Patton of the coronavirus war .
Masking .
Testing .
Tracing .
And yes , mandatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to scale up our capacities in these areas — first in the wasted month of February , then in the weeks of lockdown we ’ ve just endured .
And we ’ ve made some progress , however halting .
But an assumption of futility hangs over these efforts — a mentality of “ no , we can ’ t ” that emphasizes all the ways that we aren ’ t like South Korea or Taiwan or Eastern Europe , all the impositions that Americans supposedly won ’ t stand for , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polarization and mutual suspicion will inevitably make our death toll rise .
Maybe some of this defeatism is justified as a judgment on Donald Trump ’ s inability to lead any kind of wartime effort .
Maybe it ’ s justified as a judgment on our hollowed-out industrial capacities , our loss of what Bloomberg ’ s Dan Wang calls the “ process knowledge ” required to suddenly shift from making semiconductors to making swabs or masks .
Are our manufacturing shortfalls solely because we lack the `` process knowledge '' to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend , The Washington Post reported on a Texas company whose vice president told the Trump administration that he was willing to start up relatively new but idle production lines in order to produce 1.7 million N95 masks a week .
The administration blew him off .
Does Douthat think most Americans wanted that to happen ?
Maybe a great deal of U.S. manufacturing capacity is n't ready to shift to pandemic mode , but the Trump administration has n't even tried to get the most we can get out of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an interesting comparison here : But the assumption that decadence is simply inescapable seems decadent itself .
Especially when it leads to weird conclusions — like that Americans are too paranoid or cussedly libertarian to accept mandatory testing or temperature checks or mask-wearing or quarantines but that we will somehow just resign ourselves to closed schools and dead retail and empty restaurants and rolling lockdowns for months and months to come .
Right -- we did accept the lockdowns , or most of us did .
Poll after poll tells us that two-thirds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue until it 's safer to resume a more normal life .
On the whole , Americans are n't `` cussedly libertarian . ''
Only some of us are .
And nearly all of those so-called libertarians are n't libertarians in the abstract -- they 're fine if people they do n't like are subject to government restraints ( or worse treatment , such as police brutality ) , as long as the authorities do n't try to make them do what they do n't want to do .
Douthat almost gets it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognize what 's preventing us from really declaring war on the virus : Republicans .
It 's Republican politicians who 've tolerated Trump 's dithering , denialism , and failure to act .
It 's Republican pols and propagandists who are trying to manufacture consent for a forced return to normal life , even though most of the public still find the virus terrifying .
It 's Republican voters who 've drunk the Kool-Aid and who now accept the plutocrat-friendly `` reopen '' rhetoric , even as Democrats and non-right-leaning independents -- i.e.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ -- reject that rhetoric .
America is still big .
It 's the GOP that got small .
It fears that a shared sense of purpose and a successfully activist government might threaten the party 's top mission , which is to transfer as much money and power as possible from the non-rich to the rich .
A `` reform conservative '' like Douthat ought to be able to figure that out .
Posted with permission from No More Mr. Nice Blog

Ross Douthat wonders why we don't want to wage a full-scale war on the coronavirus.
We’re containing the virus, limiting the damage, preventing worst-case scenarios — but we aren’t trying to actually stamp it out. Instead, we’re on a path to just live with it (and sometimes die with it) until we get a vaccine or herd immunity, choosing management and mitigation over suppression, a year of stalemate over a campaign to win the war. ... we have no nimbleness and little grand ambition, and so our capacities are limited when it comes to achieving more than just stability, more than what Matthew Continetti calls a “cruel new normal” of thousands of deaths every week or month.
You may be asking: Who is this "we" Douthat is talking about? And continues to talk about:
... we can ... look at the places that have achieved suppression and see a range of plausible measures for a would-be General Patton of the coronavirus war. Masking. Testing. Tracing. And yes, mandatory quarantines. We have twice been given time to scale up our capacities in these areas — first in the wasted month of February, then in the weeks of lockdown we’ve just endured. And we’ve made some progress, however halting. But an assumption of futility hangs over these efforts — a mentality of “no, we can’t” that emphasizes all the ways that we aren’t like South Korea or Taiwan or Eastern Europe, all the impositions that Americans supposedly won’t stand for, all the ways that our exceptionalism and polarization and mutual suspicion will inevitably make our death toll rise. Maybe some of this defeatism is justified as a judgment on Donald Trump’s inability to lead any kind of wartime effort. Maybe it’s justified as a judgment on our hollowed-out industrial capacities, our loss of what Bloomberg’s Dan Wang calls the “process knowledge” required to suddenly shift from making semiconductors to making swabs or masks.
Are our manufacturing shortfalls solely because we lack the "process knowledge" to make, say, protective equipment? Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported on a Texas company whose vice president told the Trump administration that he was willing to start up relatively new but idle production lines in order to produce 1.7 million N95 masks a week. The administration blew him off.
Does Douthat think most Americans wanted that to happen? Maybe a great deal of U.S. manufacturing capacity isn't ready to shift to pandemic mode, but the Trump administration hasn't even tried to get the most we can get out of what we've got.
Douthat actually makes an interesting comparison here:
But the assumption that decadence is simply inescapable seems decadent itself. Especially when it leads to weird conclusions — like that Americans are too paranoid or cussedly libertarian to accept mandatory testing or temperature checks or mask-wearing or quarantines but that we will somehow just resign ourselves to closed schools and dead retail and empty restaurants and rolling lockdowns for months and months to come.
Right -- we did accept the lockdowns, or most of us did. Poll after poll tells us that two-thirds to three-quarters of Americans want restrictions to continue until it's safer to resume a more normal life. On the whole, Americans aren't "cussedly libertarian." Only some of us are. And nearly all of those so-called libertarians aren't libertarians in the abstract -- they're fine if people they don't like are subject to government restraints (or worse treatment, such as police brutality), as long as the authorities don't try to make them do what they don't want to do.
Douthat almost gets it:
... there’s nothing in our history to suggest that our individualism precludes accepting tough, even authoritarian measures under the right conditions. A pandemic that’s already responsible for 1930s-level unemployment and more American dead than the war in Vietnam seems like it should qualify.
What Douthat won't do is recognize what's preventing us from really declaring war on the virus: Republicans. It's Republican politicians who've tolerated Trump's dithering, denialism, and failure to act. It's Republican pols and propagandists who are trying to manufacture consent for a forced return to normal life, even though most of the public still find the virus terrifying. It's Republican voters who've drunk the Kool-Aid and who now accept the plutocrat-friendly "reopen" rhetoric, even as Democrats and non-right-leaning independents -- i.e., the vast majority of the nation -- reject that rhetoric.
America is still big. It's the GOP that got small. It fears that a shared sense of purpose and a successfully activist government might threaten the party's top mission, which is to transfer as much money and power as possible from the non-rich to the rich. A "reform conservative" like Douthat ought to be able to figure that out.
Posted with permission from No More Mr. Nice Blog


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Devin Nunes:  Ballot Harvesting Will Keep CA25 Republican In November

Devin Nunes ca n't help from saying the quiet part out loud .
Ballot harvesting , in which an outside group or organization collects mail-in ballots and turns them in on behalf of voters , is actually legal in California , where vote-by-mail is the norm .
Jerry Brown made this practice legal in California in 2016 .
As you may have heard , the Republican candidate won this week in a special election to replace Katie Hill in California 's 25th Congressional District .
Reflecting on the win , Devin Nunes told Shannon Bream on Fox News Friday that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mike Garcia , would win election to a full-term in the fall .
`` We are forced to have to ballot harvest , because it 's the only way to win .
As long as we have a robust ballot harvesting operation come November , and I hate saying that , because it 's illegal in 49 states , I think Mike Garcia is in good shape to hold on to that seat , because it 's traditionally a Republican seat , '' said Nunes .
It 's amazing how there 's always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this one 's only a month old !
Maybe Devin should check in with the White House before spouting off his mouth .
Is n't that what he usually does ?
UPDATE : ( Karoli ) Apparently it 's all good because they won CA-25 .
Do n't spit your drink when you see what they sent out to their mailing list today : In your dreams , Republicans .
In your frickin ' dreams .

Devin Nunes can't help from saying the quiet part out loud.
Ballot harvesting, in which an outside group or organization collects mail-in ballots and turns them in on behalf of voters, is actually legal in California, where vote-by-mail is the norm. Jerry Brown made this practice legal in California in 2016.
As you may have heard, the Republican candidate won this week in a special election to replace Katie Hill in California's 25th Congressional District.
Reflecting on the win, Devin Nunes told Shannon Bream on Fox News Friday that he was sure the Republican candidate, Mike Garcia, would win election to a full-term in the fall.
"We are forced to have to ballot harvest, because it's the only way to win. As long as we have a robust ballot harvesting operation come November, and I hate saying that, because it's illegal in 49 states, I think Mike Garcia is in good shape to hold on to that seat, because it's traditionally a Republican seat," said Nunes.
It's amazing how there's always a Trump tweet. But hey, this one's only a month old!
GET RID OF BALLOT HARVESTING, IT IS RAMPANT WITH FRAUD. THE USA MUST HAVE VOTER I.D., THE ONLY WAY TO GET AN HONEST COUNT! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2020
Maybe Devin should check in with the White House before spouting off his mouth. Isn't that what he usually does?
UPDATE: (Karoli) Apparently it's all good because they won CA-25. Don't spit your drink when you see what they sent out to their mailing list today:
In your dreams, Republicans. In your frickin' dreams.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--McConnell Wants To Protect Schools From Liability, Not Children From COVID-19 Death

Mitch McConnell wants Americans to be “ brave enough ” to send their kids back to school but schools don ’ t have to be brave enough to make sure they protect students from the coronavirus pandemic .
Besides admitting that oh , I forgot , Obama did leave Trump a pandemic plan , McConnell also revealed his priority in reopening schools .
Spoiler alert : It ’ s not students ’ health and wellbeing .
Actually , the only health and safety that McConnell does seem to care about are that of business owners ’ and institutions ’ bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bret Baier Thursday about the next coronavirus relief bill .
MCCONNELL : And our red line is going to be liability protections for those who are brave enough to begin to open up the economy again in the wake of the trial lawyers who are descending already on hospitals and doctors and businesses .
As of about a week and a half ago , 771 lawsuits had already been filed .
So we ’ re working on a narrowly crafted protection from liability for things directly related to the coronavirus .
And that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of any package , because if we ’ re really going to get the economy up and going again , people have to be brave enough to begin to engage in economic activity .
How about the presidents of universities ?
Are they willing to open up with the fall or are we going to have another period of time where not only k-12 students but potentially college students are still at home ?
All of those questions need to be answered by the fall .
Liability protection will help provide the answer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McConnell said he wants schools “ to feel comfortable to be able to open up this fall .
And I think answering this liability question ’ s a big part of that.
” He never said anything about protecting students from illness or death .
They 're not on his priority list .

Mitch McConnell wants Americans to be “brave enough” to send their kids back to school but schools don’t have to be brave enough to make sure they protect students from the coronavirus pandemic.
Besides admitting that oh, I forgot, Obama did leave Trump a pandemic plan, McConnell also revealed his priority in reopening schools. Spoiler alert: It’s not students’ health and wellbeing.
Actually, the only health and safety that McConnell does seem to care about are that of business owners’ and institutions’ bank accounts. This is what McConnell told Bret Baier Thursday about the next coronavirus relief bill.
MCCONNELL: And our red line is going to be liability protections for those who are brave enough to begin to open up the economy again in the wake of the trial lawyers who are descending already on hospitals and doctors and businesses. As of about a week and a half ago, 771 lawsuits had already been filed. So we’re working on a narrowly crafted protection from liability for things directly related to the coronavirus. And that will have to a be a part of any package, because if we’re really going to get the economy up and going again, people have to be brave enough to begin to engage in economic activity. How about the presidents of universities? Are they willing to open up with the fall or are we going to have another period of time where not only k-12 students but potentially college students are still at home?
All of those questions need to be answered by the fall. Liability protection will help provide the answer.
Later, in the interview, McConnell said he wants schools “to feel comfortable to be able to open up this fall. And I think answering this liability question’s a big part of that.”
He never said anything about protecting students from illness or death. They're not on his priority list.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Newly Released CDC Guidelines For Reopening 'Vague' And 'Watered Down'

On Thursday afternoon , the CDC guidelines for opening up were finally released ... allegedly .
These were supposedly the guidelines that the CDC had prepared that officials had been told would `` never see the light of day '' because they were too involved and required too much of people in order to keep them alive and whatnot .
This news broke during Deadline White House , so Nicolle Wallace had Shannon Pettypiece summarize the news , which is basically that now there is centralized CDC guidance for businesses on how to open safely , instead of each state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own research and develop their own practices about how to reopen without killing their customers .
But , is it truly guidance ?
Wallace managed to get Dr. Leana Wen , who 'd been on the show earlier in the hour back on camera to get her thoughts .
Suffice it to say , she was unimpressed .
Really ?
We 're encouraging them to stay at home if they 're sick , not requiring them to ?
Or when feasible , wearing a facial covering .
But we should just state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be a big departure from how the CDC normally talks .
DR. WEN : So , I 'm just going through these guidelines myself , but what I 'm seeing , and it 's the first thing that 's really striking , is that they do n't sound like what the CDC normally puts out .
That they seem to be pretty vague and actually watered down .
I mean , there 's language in there about encouraging social distancing , but what exactly does that mean ?
We need a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sections , in particular on child care facilities as a mom of a toddler , and for example , it talked about when -- it talked about encouraging people to stay at home .
Sick people to stay at home.Or when feasible , wearing a facial covering .
But we should just state it as it is and that seems to be a big departure from how the CDC normally talks .
WALLACE : How would that happen , Dr. Wen ?
What would be -- and as Bob Woodward says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the intervening act BE for the CDC to put out something that does n't sound like the CDC ?
DR. WEN : I could imagine that a first draft , maybe that the draft that the AP first obtained went to officials , Dr. Birx and other folks who then added language that qualified it in some way .
But you know what ?
That 's not what we need .
I mean , regulators , business owners , schoolteachers , they need to know exactly what it is that we should do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system , but what exactly should they be looking at ?
What are the cleaning procedures that should be implemented ?
What activities are prohibited and what 's allowed ?
That 's the type of specific guidance that we expect from the CDC , and at least from my quick read , it 's not there in the detail that we would normally expect .
I LOVE how Nicolle Wallace zeros right in on the nefarious aspect of this administration , and asks , Gee , Dr. Wen , what might have HAPPENED @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CDC wrote them and the time they got released , hmmmmm ?
And Dr. Wen says , `` Well , someone probably f*cked with them .
And how helpful is it too tell people to just look at their ventilation systems ? ''
Seriously , *I* could look at *my* ventilation system !
I 'm doing it right now !
Is it helping protect anyone from COVID-19 ?
I KINDA DOUBT IT .
Then Wallace asked David Jolly ( former Florida Congressional rep ) his impression of these newly released guidelines .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
JOLLY : I imagine we 'll find out as much of what we already know about how this administration operates , which is they view everything through a political lens , and the lens that is the ego of Donald Trump .
And so , if there is a message that interferes with that , if there 's a message -- a public health message emerging out of CDC that complicates the message that Trump actually wants to deliver , regardless of whether or not Trump 's message is accurate , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you will see it , perhaps , watered down or you 'll see it put on the shelf .
At the end of the day , throughout this entire pandemic , Nicolle , the White House -- not just Donald Trump , Mike Pence as well , and the officials , Jared Kushner , probably Ivanka , all of them had more and better information than anybody in the United States ever had , and they refused to share 100 % accurate information with the American people .
They risked the lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ego and the political interests of the president of the United States , and I am sure this story of the shelved CDC guidelines , when we get to the bottom of it , will affirm that once again this was about what makes Donald Trump look best , not what is in the best interest of the American people and their health .
This entire administration is complicit .
Jolly puts it into language that paints the cruelest of pictures ... Trump , Pence , Kushner , Ivanka , all of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people who pay their salaries .
The people they are supposed to serve .
The people they 're supposed to protect .
And they kept that information to themselves , and muzzled anyone else who wanted to share it , just to swaddle Trump 's eggshell ego in the warm fuzzy blankie it needs to feel safe .

On Thursday afternoon, the CDC guidelines for opening up were finally released...allegedly. These were supposedly the guidelines that the CDC had prepared that officials had been told would "never see the light of day" because they were too involved and required too much of people in order to keep them alive and whatnot.
This news broke during Deadline White House, so Nicolle Wallace had Shannon Pettypiece summarize the news, which is basically that now there is centralized CDC guidance for businesses on how to open safely, instead of each state, and each business having to do their own research and develop their own practices about how to reopen without killing their customers.
But, is it truly guidance? Wallace managed to get Dr. Leana Wen, who'd been on the show earlier in the hour back on camera to get her thoughts. Suffice it to say, she was unimpressed.
Really? We're encouraging them to stay at home if they're sick, not requiring them to? Or when feasible, wearing a facial covering. But we should just state it as it is and that seems to be a big departure from how the CDC normally talks. DR. WEN: So, I'm just going through these guidelines myself, but what I'm seeing, and it's the first thing that's really striking, is that they don't sound like what the CDC normally puts out. That they seem to be pretty vague and actually watered down. I mean, there's language in there about encouraging social distancing, but what exactly does that mean? We need a lot more specifics. I was looking over the sections, in particular on child care facilities as a mom of a toddler, and for example, it talked about when -- it talked about encouraging people to stay at home. Sick people to stay at home.Or when feasible, wearing a facial covering. But we should just state it as it is and that seems to be a big departure from how the CDC normally talks. WALLACE: How would that happen, Dr. Wen? What would be -- and as Bob Woodward says, the truth always emerges. What would the intervening act BE for the CDC to put out something that doesn't sound like the CDC? DR. WEN: I could imagine that a first draft, maybe that the draft that the AP first obtained went to officials, Dr. Birx and other folks who then added language that qualified it in some way. But you know what? That's not what we need. I mean, regulators, business owners, schoolteachers, they need to know exactly what it is that we should do, not just look at your ventilation system, but what exactly should they be looking at? What are the cleaning procedures that should be implemented? What activities are prohibited and what's allowed? That's the type of specific guidance that we expect from the CDC, and at least from my quick read, it's not there in the detail that we would normally expect.
I LOVE how Nicolle Wallace zeros right in on the nefarious aspect of this administration, and asks, Gee, Dr. Wen, what might have HAPPENED to those guidelines between the time the CDC wrote them and the time they got released, hmmmmm? And Dr. Wen says, "Well, someone probably f*cked with them. And how helpful is it too tell people to just look at their ventilation systems?"
Seriously, *I* could look at *my* ventilation system! I'm doing it right now! Is it helping protect anyone from COVID-19? I KINDA DOUBT IT.
Then Wallace asked David Jolly (former Florida Congressional rep) his impression of these newly released guidelines. As always, he did not hold back.
JOLLY: I imagine we'll find out as much of what we already know about how this administration operates, which is they view everything through a political lens, and the lens that is the ego of Donald Trump. And so, if there is a message that interferes with that, if there's a message -- a public health message emerging out of CDC that complicates the message that Trump actually wants to deliver, regardless of whether or not Trump's message is accurate, or in the best interest of the nation, you will see it, perhaps, watered down or you'll see it put on the shelf. At the end of the day, throughout this entire pandemic, Nicolle, the White House -- not just Donald Trump, Mike Pence as well, and the officials, Jared Kushner, probably Ivanka, all of them had more and better information than anybody in the United States ever had, and they refused to share 100% accurate information with the American people. They risked the lives of the American people to protect the ego and the political interests of the president of the United States, and I am sure this story of the shelved CDC guidelines, when we get to the bottom of it, will affirm that once again this was about what makes Donald Trump look best, not what is in the best interest of the American people and their health.
This entire administration is complicit. Jolly puts it into language that paints the cruelest of pictures...Trump, Pence, Kushner, Ivanka, all of them and their confidantes had better information than the people who pay their salaries. The people they are supposed to serve. The people they're supposed to protect. And they kept that information to themselves, and muzzled anyone else who wanted to share it, just to swaddle Trump's eggshell ego in the warm fuzzy blankie it needs to feel safe.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Anti-Lockdown Protesters Threaten News Reporter Wearing Face Mask

Angry Trump supporters are nothing new , but the fervor with which some of them are trying to defend the madness of opening areas which have no business opening is still something to see .
Parts of Long Island are among the worst hit areas in the country .
Kevin Vesey , a reporter with News 12 Long Island , was surrounded by anti-lockdown protesters during a reopening rally in Commack yesterday .
The protesters chanted `` fake news is not essential '' at him and flouted social distancing guidelines .
This marks the second reopening rally in the last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Suffolk County , New York , on Jericho Turnpike .
Yesterday , hundreds of people turned out for the event , organized by a pro-Trump group named the Setauket Patriots .
The demonstration claimed to give a voice to those who are struggling financially under New York 's lockdown measures , in place due to the coronavirus pandemic .
However , Vesey 's presence at the event was not welcomed .
`` Why are you essential ? ''
shouted one protester through a megaphone at Vesey before the reporter turned the camera on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clearly a lot of anger here today '' .
Vesey is wearing what appears to be a surgical face mask in one video and quickly becomes uncomfortable as protestors approach him .
`` Can you please stay away from me sir , '' said Vesey to another protestor .
Police were present at the event and according to Vesey spoke to protesters about social distancing .
... `` You have people calling us murderers , '' shouts one protester in the footage .
`` You are the enemy of the people , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nobody ever painted you as murderers , '' Vesey responds .
`` F**k you , you guys are f**king fake news , '' said another protester .
`` I 'll probably never forget what happened today , '' wrote Vesey on his Twitter account later in the day .
`` I was insulted .
I was berated .
I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic .
All the while , I was there to tell THEIR story . ''

Angry Trump supporters are nothing new, but the fervor with which some of them are trying to defend the madness of opening areas which have no business opening is still something to see. Parts of Long Island are among the worst hit areas in the country.
Source: Newsweek
Kevin Vesey, a reporter with News 12 Long Island, was surrounded by anti-lockdown protesters during a reopening rally in Commack yesterday. The protesters chanted "fake news is not essential" at him and flouted social distancing guidelines.
This marks the second reopening rally in the last two weeks to have taken place in Suffolk County, New York, on Jericho Turnpike. Yesterday, hundreds of people turned out for the event, organized by a pro-Trump group named the Setauket Patriots. The demonstration claimed to give a voice to those who are struggling financially under New York's lockdown measures, in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Vesey's presence at the event was not welcomed.
"Why are you essential?" shouted one protester through a megaphone at Vesey before the reporter turned the camera on himself and said: "There's clearly a lot of anger here today". Vesey is wearing what appears to be a surgical face mask in one video and quickly becomes uncomfortable as protestors approach him.
"Can you please stay away from me sir," said Vesey to another protestor. Police were present at the event and according to Vesey spoke to protesters about social distancing.
...
"You have people calling us murderers," shouts one protester in the footage.
"You are the enemy of the people," shouts another in the background.
"Nobody ever painted you as murderers," Vesey responds.
"F**k you, you guys are f**king fake news," said another protester.
"I'll probably never forget what happened today," wrote Vesey on his Twitter account later in the day. "I was insulted. I was berated. I was practically chased by people who refused to wear masks in the middle of a pandemic. All the while, I was there to tell THEIR story."


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Jim Jordan Jumps On The Bogus Obamaghazi Conspiracy To Aid Trump

One of the most conspiratorial congressman from the whacked-out Freedom Caucus , Jim Jordan , sent a letter to Mike @ @ @ @ @ documents '' related to the faux Burisma con targeting Hunter Biden .
In effect , @ @ @ @ @ reopen Rudy Giuliani 's shadow government conspiracy , smearing Joe Biden 's son for being @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump pushed this conspiracy onto the President of Ukraine , which resulted in Trump @ @ @ @ @ in 2019 .
It 's the Trump administration 's continued smear of Trump 's political @ @ @ @ @ During the House Democrats ’ partisan impeachment inquiry in late 2019 , several State Department @ @ @ @ @ concerns during the Obama-Biden Administration about Hunter Biden ’ s role with Burisma , ” @ @ @ @ @ addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo .
Jordan would have investigated HRC 's knickers @ @ @ @ @ if he was allowed .
And he has n't found a conspiracy theory so far @ @ @ @ @ rubber-stamp it for his lord and savior , Donald Trump .

One of the most conspiratorial congressman from the whacked-out Freedom Caucus, Jim Jordan, sent a letter to Mike Pompeo asking for "unredacted documents" related to the faux Burisma con targeting Hunter Biden.
In effect, Gym Jordan is trying to reopen Rudy Giuliani's shadow government conspiracy, smearing Joe Biden's son for being on the board of Burisma.
Trump pushed this conspiracy onto the President of Ukraine, which resulted in Trump being impeached by the House in 2019.
It's the Trump administration's continued smear of Trump's political rival Joe Biden:
“During the House Democrats’ partisan impeachment inquiry in late 2019, several State Department officials described how they raised concerns during the Obama-Biden Administration about Hunter Biden’s role with Burisma,” Jordan wrote in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Jordan would have investigated HRC's knickers during the fevered Benghazi investigations if he was allowed. And he hasn't found a conspiracy theory so far fetched that he won't rubber-stamp it for his lord and savior, Donald Trump.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Biden:  I Will Not Pardon Donald Trump

Biden:  I Will Not Pardon Donald Trump

My better half has this tweet pinned to his profile : a tweet he wrote the WEEK Donald Trump was elected : So we 've known from the beginning that THAT 'S coming .
But thanks to the town hall commenter , Edward from Ohio , who asked the question of Joe Biden at Thursday 's MSNBC Virtual Town Hall .
Edward said via video : “ Sir , if you were to win the election , would you be willing to commit to not pulling a President Ford ” and giving Donald Trump a pardon under the pretense of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , are you willing to commit to the American ideal that no one is above the law ?
” Host Lawrence O'Donnell pushed the point : “ So that ’ s a commitment , Mr. Vice President , you ’ re saying that wherever the investigative trail might lead , whether that be an investigative trail pursued by the Justice Department against Trump officials , Trump associates , administration officials , whether those are congressional investigations , that ’ s hands-off for you , you ’ re not going to say let ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ”

My better half has this tweet pinned to his profile: a tweet he wrote the WEEK Donald Trump was elected:
#Inners
What happens when Trump pardons all of his goons and henchmen?
What happens when Trump pardons himself? — driftglass (@Mr_Electrico) November 10, 2016
So we've known from the beginning that THAT'S coming.
But thanks to the town hall commenter, Edward from Ohio, who asked the question of Joe Biden at Thursday's MSNBC Virtual Town Hall.
Edward said via video: “Sir, if you were to win the election, would you be willing to commit to not pulling a President Ford” and giving Donald Trump a pardon under the pretense of healing the nation? In other words, are you willing to commit to the American ideal that no one is above the law?”
“Absolutely yes, I commit.” said
Host Lawrence O'Donnell pushed the point: “So that’s a commitment, Mr. Vice President, you’re saying that wherever the investigative trail might lead, whether that be an investigative trail pursued by the Justice Department against Trump officials, Trump associates, administration officials, whether those are congressional investigations, that’s hands-off for you, you’re not going to say let’s just let bygones be bygones?”
“It’s hands-off completely,” Biden said.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--George Takei Schools Wisconsin 'Kangaroo Judge' About Internment Camps

Last week , when the Wisconsin Supreme Kangaroo Court heard the case over the Safer at Home order , one of the worst injustices was Rebecca Bradley .
She had the gall to compare the order to the Japanese internment camps of WWII : Bradley suggested the state 's stay-at-home order is `` the very definition of tyranny , '' during last week 's Supreme Court hearing .
She invoked the country 's internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II during the hearing and again in her written opinion .
`` In Korematsu v. United States , '' Bradley wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professed to apply 'the most rigid scrutiny ' to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II but nevertheless found the 'assembling together and placing under guard all those of Japanese ancestry ' in 'assembly centers ' to be constitutionally based on ' [ p ] ressing public necessity ' and further rationalized this defilement of the Constitution because 'the need for action was great , and time was short . '
'' This caught the attention of George Takei , the Japanese American actor , who had spent four years of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Needless to say , he was not pleased with her comment and responded on Twitter to her hyperbole and bigotry : Instead of apologizing or even feeling chagrin , Bradley doubled down by trying to blame the media and rationalizing it : But Bradley wrote that she was n't trying to compare the order to Japanese internment camps .
`` Although headlines may sensationalize the invocation of cases such as Korematsu , the point of citing them is not to draw comparisons between the circumstances of people horrifically interned by their government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subjected to isolation orders during a pandemic , '' Bradley wrote .
`` We mention cases like Korematsu in order to test the limits of government authority , to remind the state that urging courts to approve the exercise of extraordinary power during times of emergency may lead to extraordinary abuses of its citizens . ''
If Bradley had any morals or ethics , she would have resigned .
But since she has neither , do n't hold your breath to do anything upstanding like that .

Last week, when the Wisconsin Supreme Kangaroo Court heard the case over the Safer at Home order, one of the worst injustices was Rebecca Bradley. She had the gall to compare the order to the Japanese internment camps of WWII:
Bradley suggested the state's stay-at-home order is "the very definition of tyranny," during last week's Supreme Court hearing. She invoked the country's internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II during the hearing and again in her written opinion. "In Korematsu v. United States," Bradley wrote. "The United States Supreme Court professed to apply 'the most rigid scrutiny' to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II but nevertheless found the 'assembling together and placing under guard all those of Japanese ancestry' in 'assembly centers' to be constitutionally based on '[p]ressing public necessity' and further rationalized this defilement of the Constitution because 'the need for action was great, and time was short.'"
This caught the attention of George Takei, the Japanese American actor, who had spent four years of his childhood in one of these internment camps. Needless to say, he was not pleased with her comment and responded on Twitter to her hyperbole and bigotry:
Justice Rebecca Bradley of the WI Supreme Ct compared WI’s stay-at-home order to “assembling together and placing under guard all those of Japanese ancestry in assembly centers during World War II.”
I’m in my own home watching Netflix. It’s not an internment camp. Trust me. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 14, 2020
Instead of apologizing or even feeling chagrin, Bradley doubled down by trying to blame the media and rationalizing it:
But Bradley wrote that she wasn't trying to compare the order to Japanese internment camps. "Although headlines may sensationalize the invocation of cases such as Korematsu, the point of citing them is not to draw comparisons between the circumstances of people horrifically interned by their government during a war and those of people subjected to isolation orders during a pandemic," Bradley wrote. "We mention cases like Korematsu in order to test the limits of government authority, to remind the state that urging courts to approve the exercise of extraordinary power during times of emergency may lead to extraordinary abuses of its citizens."
If Bradley had any morals or ethics, she would have resigned. But since she has neither, don't hold your breath to do anything upstanding like that.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Friday News Dump: Trump Thanks His Army Of Trolls, And Other News

Remember the movie `` Ben , '' where a boy 's only friend was a rat ?
It 's like that , only online !
What am I missing ?
Keyboard warriors are something to be celebrated ?
Maybe Dawn PHD is a keyboard PHD ?
Still think she ’ s really Don Jr .
They should have given her a different name to make it more difficult to crack the code .
Dawn/Don .
Lol pic.twitter.com/sT8Pu54Sd1 Already hearing that wealthy New Yorkers are talking about forming `` trust circles '' with their friends and hiring private tutors to teach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sending them to schools .
ICE agents coerced human trafficking victims into having sex with them , supposedly in order to catch their traffickers .
In one case , agents paid women to make them orgasm , but ultimately never went after their traffickers .
are you fucking kidding mehttps : //t.co/yVzEucUpWf For many workers , the dubious obstacles to being permitted to work from home have evaporated during lockdown .
On # NationalWorkfromHomeDay , @ mcash argues it ought to be a right , not a privilege - and not just for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After having first reported in April that advocates were seeing an increase in complaints of landlords pressuring tenants for sex , @ BuzzFeedNews was contacted by multiple readers with their own stories of intimidation https : //t.co/UYBCzrWXJ5 It looks like some service that users allow access to their contacts got bought/hacked and merged into a massive identity database .
Never sync contacts to services .
Don ’ t use 3rd party apps with your email .
Don ’ t use anything that requests access to your account .
https : //t.co/hJWgdZZwrO Fmr .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ discusses the CDC 's new guidelines for reopening : “ There ’ s a great deal of chaos and confusion out there and this is a time where what we need is more specificity.
” https : //t.co/HC8cN4pnRF Please take a minute to read this short piece by  @ anneapplebaum and watch the video .
In short , the President of the United States is an imbecile .
Our country is in decline because of it and the world is moving on https : //t.co/ZFhH5Dj6K0 '' Not only will Flynn sell out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do it on the cheap .
If you ’ re Russia , apparently , he ’ ll do your bidding for five figures and a few Applebee ’ s gift cards .
Mike Flynn is the Kohl ’ s of traitors .
`` https : //t.co/d9rfdqXTmF The most convincing evidence I have yet seen throwing cold water on Tara Reade 's allegations against Joe Biden .
When I worked on Capitol Hill , any member behaving the way she alleges would definitely be the subject of discussion among the staff .
https : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US FEEL BETTER AMIRITE ?
On today ’ s episode of Why My Toddler is Crying , a conversation happened like this while I was going to the bathroom Calvin : I want to see the poop Me : go away Calvin : pic.twitter.com/HVRuceUGLZ We made it through another week , and now it 's the weekend .
Woo hoo !
Keep washing your hands and wearing your masks , you guys !

Remember the movie "Ben," where a boy's only friend was a rat? It's like that, only online!
Donald Trump thanks "my keyboard warriors" as his army of trolls and meme makers prepare for battle in 2020 presidential election https://t.co/9mEQe2diZN — Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 15, 2020
trumps keyboard warriors are Russian. Why happily acknowledge their efforts unless he's thanking Putin pic.twitter.com/41VGbAVhys — No Citizen's United. Staying inside (@BostonStuff) May 15, 2020
What am I missing? Keyboard warriors are something to be celebrated? Maybe Dawn PHD is a keyboard PHD? Still think she’s really Don Jr. They should have given her a different name to make it more difficult to crack the code. Dawn/Don. Lol pic.twitter.com/sT8Pu54Sd1 — Splurge Boutique (@SplurgeBoutiqu2) May 15, 2020
****
I Beg Your…? Joe Biden Promises if Elected He 'Absolutely' Will Not Pardon Trump https://t.co/ALbPJcAnha — Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 15, 2020
Consumer spending tumbled a record 16.4% in April as the backbone of the U.S. economy retrenched amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government report Friday. Analysts had expected a drop of 12.3% mm- @CNBC https://t.co/ggsAE9xHrB — Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) May 15, 2020
with all this NYPD budget talk, figured I’d bump this, a @ChristRobbins pitch that landed me into the budget history aisle: https://t.co/Oosa58LqV4 — Emma Whitford (@emma_a_whitford) May 15, 2020
The level of anger directed at the media from these protestors was alarming. As always, I will tell a fair and unbiased story today. pic.twitter.com/5jCR0YY9VH — Kevin Vesey (@KevinVesey) May 14, 2020
my latest—this looks a lot like media cowardice; https://t.co/u3OI9H5pvn — Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) May 15, 2020
Already hearing that wealthy New Yorkers are talking about forming "trust circles" with their friends and hiring private tutors to teach their kids in the fall instead of sending them to schools. — Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) May 14, 2020
ICE agents coerced human trafficking victims into having sex with them, supposedly in order to catch their traffickers. In one case, agents paid women to make them orgasm, but ultimately never went after their traffickers.
are you fucking kidding mehttps://t.co/yVzEucUpWf — manny (@mannyfidel) May 14, 2020
As Americans give themselves viral outbreaks, German cafes can figure out how to manage. pic.twitter.com/htOk5EUSdG — Nameless Cynic (@NamelessCynic) May 15, 2020
This seems unfair: California governor to propose 10% pay cut for state workers to help with $54 billion deficit, union leaders say https://t.co/a5TVfyfvrU — Melanie Jean (@princessmom122) May 15, 2020
Two weeks after reopening, Texas reports its highest single-day increase in deaths and case load -- and marks "the 7th day in a row that Texas saw more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day."
(via @statesman)https://t.co/VpIrJrb7RT — Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) May 15, 2020
Mass testing under way in Wuhan, China, as officials hope to check all 11 million residents https://t.co/nnAxzIe9c9 pic.twitter.com/N376rELNx4 — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 15, 2020
For many workers, the dubious obstacles to being permitted to work from home have evaporated during lockdown.
On #NationalWorkfromHomeDay, @mcash argues it ought to be a right, not a privilege - and not just for the duration of the pandemic.https://t.co/br1quoHXh8 — Novara Media (@novaramedia) May 15, 2020
After having first reported in April that advocates were seeing an increase in complaints of landlords pressuring tenants for sex, @BuzzFeedNews was contacted by multiple readers with their own stories of intimidation https://t.co/UYBCzrWXJ5 — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) May 15, 2020
It looks like some service that users allow access to their contacts got bought/hacked and merged into a massive identity database. Never sync contacts to services. Don’t use 3rd party apps with your email. Don’t use anything that requests access to your account. https://t.co/hJWgdZZwrO — SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) May 15, 2020
Fmr. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy discusses the CDC's new guidelines for reopening: “There’s a great deal of chaos and confusion out there and this is a time where what we need is more specificity.”https://t.co/HC8cN4pnRF — MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 15, 2020
Please take a minute to read this short piece by @anneapplebaum and watch the video. In short, the President of the United States is an imbecile. Our country is in decline because of it and the world is moving on https://t.co/ZFhH5Dj6K0 — Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) May 15, 2020
White Supremacist Website Doxxes Interracial Couples https://t.co/GJ3E13bV0P — (((RuggedAmethyst))) (@GrooveSDC) May 15, 2020
hi friends, i've been struggling a bit at writing so i drew a comic about some starfish that i would like to be:https://t.co/vWZQoACoBR — Ritika Bhasker (@mostlyinane) May 15, 2020
EXCUSE ME? Appeals Court Urged to Allow Probe of MSNBC Host's Anti-Trump Bias https://t.co/KxAgbJP1Js — gregarious (@gryking) May 15, 2020
"Not only will Flynn sell out his country, but he’ll do it on the cheap. If you’re Russia, apparently, he’ll do your bidding for five figures and a few Applebee’s gift cards. Mike Flynn is the Kohl’s of traitors."https://t.co/d9rfdqXTmF — Greg Olear (@gregolear) May 15, 2020
Yesterday, NYPD cops tackled a mother with her toddler on the subway for not wearing a mask properly. This is precisely the kind of racism @ElieNYC predicted. https://t.co/t6uLixokAG — The Nation (@thenation) May 14, 2020
The most convincing evidence I have yet seen throwing cold water on Tara Reade's allegations against Joe Biden. When I worked on Capitol Hill, any member behaving the way she alleges would definitely be the subject of discussion among the staff. https://t.co/dsQ50lOxVE — Bruce Bartlett (@BruceBartlett) May 15, 2020
Fuck this ad, I want to see #TrumpsDirtyLaundry!
"Russia, if you're listening..."
Maybe @DonaldJTrumpJr would like to set up another "adoption" meeting in Trump Tower?https://t.co/fRaFwDBqzK — Phillybits (@philly_bits) May 15, 2020
Brian Lee Hitchens said he used to believe COVID-19 was a "fake crisis." Now he's imploring people to listen to experts. https://t.co/t2JGnFYcCT — HuffPost (@HuffPost) May 15, 2020
DEPT. OF THINGS THAT MAKE US FEEL BETTER AMIRITE?
🥰🥰🥰
Toddler presenting his own baking show is the cutest thing you will see today, guaranteed...
pic.twitter.com/QXVd6ndU9C — FierceWarriorNStilettos (@InactionNever) May 12, 2020
Got his first pup at 30 🐾💕
pic.twitter.com/IaQ5JaHxUV — jay arnold 🎬 (@jadedcreative) May 15, 2020
Panda mama picking up her newborn😍🐼 pic.twitter.com/9IDfSZhu7D — Mermaid (@citkusu) May 13, 2020
Thought I’d test the toddler challenge. She listened but... 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/XUXr5KqTSs — Hiba Faraj (@_HibaFaraj) May 14, 2020
On today’s episode of Why My Toddler is Crying, a conversation happened like this while I was going to the bathroom
Calvin: I want to see the poop
Me: go away
Calvin: pic.twitter.com/HVRuceUGLZ — Alicea (@AliceaWHO) May 15, 2020
A newborn baby elephant taking its first steps! 💓 pic.twitter.com/eV5EikejPp — Golden (@ItsGirllCode) May 13, 2020
Boy sings to newborn brother with Down's Syndrome 😍 pic.twitter.com/5ZTfqSieOO — The Sun (@TheSun) May 7, 2020
being chased by a tiny kitten on big wide green pic.twitter.com/IwE4y9tsfI — Kittens (@kittensfolder) May 12, 2020
We made it through another week, and now it's the weekend. Woo hoo! Keep washing your hands and wearing your masks, you guys!


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Prestigious Medical Journal's Op-Ed Calls For Americans To Vote Trump Out

An unusual editorial in The Lancet , the prestigious medical journal , calls for Americans to revive the CDC and replace Trump in the presidential election : The Trump administration 's further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health , as it is trying to do by defunding WHO .
A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats , both domestic and international , and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic .
Americans must put a president in the White House come January , 2021 , who will understand that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partisan politics .
New Day 's John Berman talked about the `` scathing '' announcement with NYT reporter Maggie Haberman .
`` The Lancet writes , 'The Trump administration further chipped away at the CDC 's capacity to combat infectious diseases .
CDC staff in China were cut back with the last remaining CDC officer recalled home from the China CDC in July , 2019 , leaving an intelligence vacuum when COVID-19 began to emerge . '
It 's a scathing assessment of the administration 's response , particularly how the CDC has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Haberman .
`` This is something in your own reporting , this is something you 've picked up and it 's very real . ''
`` That 's right .
Look , there is a lot of tension between the White House and the CDC .
Not everybody who 's on the task force , but a number of folks .
They made complaints about how the CDC is run .
The CDC result , whether these complaints were fair or not , the CDC has not been an empowered partner in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` Some of this goes back to the failed effort to develop an early test to detect the coronavirus in the U.S. , but I do n't think I have ever heard of such a thing from the medical journal .
it 's stunning .
But I do think that there is a concern among folks who are focused on public health , experts in the field , doctors and scientists , that the president is increasingly disregarding what he is hearing from his own public health folks in favor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I really think that that editorial speaks to that . ''
Berman talked about the call to elect a replacement for Trump , calling it `` stunning . ''
`` First of all , you 're absolutely right .
In medicine , we try to focus on the science and keep politics out of it , but I think a lot of us in infectious disease and epidemiology , virology are shocked what we 've seen throughout the process how scientific data , research , et cetera , has been taken over by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responded .
`` So I think The Lancet , equivalent of the New England Journal , made an unprecedented statement politically about the shape and the way things are happening in the United States . ''
`` If you want an example of the type of thing I imagine the writers at the Lancet saw , it was the president 's comments overnight , or yesterday , I should say , about testing , and about the number of cases in the United States .
Let 's listen to that , '' Berman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , frankly -- overrated .
Maybe it is overrated .
We have more cases than anybody in the world .
But why ?
Because we do more testing .
When you test you have a case .
When you test you find something is wrong .
With people .
If we did n't do any testing , we would have very few cases .

An unusual editorial in The Lancet, the prestigious medical journal, calls for Americans to revive the CDC and replace Trump in the presidential election:
The Trump administration's further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic. Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics.
New Day's John Berman talked about the "scathing" announcement with NYT reporter Maggie Haberman.
"The Lancet writes, 'The Trump administration further chipped away at the CDC's capacity to combat infectious diseases. CDC staff in China were cut back with the last remaining CDC officer recalled home from the China CDC in July, 2019, leaving an intelligence vacuum when COVID-19 began to emerge.' It's a scathing assessment of the administration's response, particularly how the CDC has been marginalized," he said to Haberman.
"This is something in your own reporting, this is something you've picked up and it's very real."
"That's right. Look, there is a lot of tension between the White House and the CDC. Not everybody who's on the task force, but a number of folks. They made complaints about how the CDC is run. The CDC result, whether these complaints were fair or not, the CDC has not been an empowered partner in this effort for some time," Haberman said.
"Some of this goes back to the failed effort to develop an early test to detect the coronavirus in the U.S., but I don't think I have ever heard of such a thing from the medical journal. it's stunning. But I do think that there is a concern among folks who are focused on public health, experts in the field, doctors and scientists, that the president is increasingly disregarding what he is hearing from his own public health folks in favor of the politics around his re-election, and I really think that that editorial speaks to that."
Berman talked about the call to elect a replacement for Trump, calling it "stunning."
"First of all, you're absolutely right. In medicine, we try to focus on the science and keep politics out of it, but I think a lot of us in infectious disease and epidemiology, virology are shocked what we've seen throughout the process how scientific data, research, et cetera, has been taken over by partisan politics," Dr. Suraj Saggar responded.
"So I think The Lancet, equivalent of the New England Journal, made an unprecedented statement politically about the shape and the way things are happening in the United States."
"If you want an example of the type of thing I imagine the writers at the Lancet saw, it was the president's comments overnight, or yesterday, I should say, about testing, and about the number of cases in the United States. Let's listen to that," Berman said.
It could be the testings, frankly -- overrated. Maybe it is overrated. We have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing. When you test you have a case. When you test you find something is wrong. With people. If we didn't do any testing, we would have very few cases.


crooksandliars--2020-05-15--Mitch McConnell Tells Brett Baier He Was 'Wrong' About Pandemic Plan

Dr. Rick Bright testified yesterday that the Obama administration did leave a pandemic plan , despite # MoscowMitch McConnell 's comments to Lara Trump earlier this week .
People claim pandemics only happen once every hundred years , but what if that ’ s no longer true ?
We want to be early , ready for the next one , because clearly the Obama administration did not leave to this administration any kind of game plan for something like this .
Brett Baier asked him about it last night on Fox News .
“ I was wrong , they did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made a mistake in that regard , ” McConnell said .
“ As to whether or not the plan was followed and who is the critic and all the rest , I don ’ t have any observation about that because I don ’ t know enough about the details of that to comment on it in any detail.
” I think it 's finally dawning on Mitch that not only will Republicans lose the White House , they 're going to lose the Senate as well .
He 's trying to salvage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years of kissing Trump ass , it 's time to pay the piper .

Dr. Rick Bright testified yesterday that the Obama administration did leave a pandemic plan, despite #MoscowMitch McConnell's comments to Lara Trump earlier this week.
People claim pandemics only happen once every hundred years, but what if that’s no longer true?We want to be early, ready for the next one, because clearly the Obama administration did not leave to this administration any kind of game plan for something like this.
Brett Baier asked him about it last night on Fox News.
“I was wrong, they did leave behind a plan so I clearly made a mistake in that regard,” McConnell said.
“As to whether or not the plan was followed and who is the critic and all the rest, I don’t have any observation about that because I don’t know enough about the details of that to comment on it in any detail.”
I think it's finally dawning on Mitch that not only will Republicans lose the White House, they're going to lose the Senate as well. He's trying to salvage something, anything, but after three years of kissing Trump ass, it's time to pay the piper.
I give McConnell credit. It's rare for a Republican to admit error and acknowledge reality. Much more common response to being proven wrong is to dig in and attack the liberal media. https://t.co/ql9hrPZinS — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) May 14, 2020


Quarantine Stereotypes FTW!

Spraying groceries and currency with Lysol , leaving groceries in the car to `` age out '' for three days @ @ @ @ @ our house down pretty well .

Spraying groceries and currency with Lysol, leaving groceries in the car to "age out" for three days?
Okay, you got our house down pretty well.
Open thread below...


crooksandliars--2020-05-16--No Wonder Trump's Ginning Up Biden Scandals—His Approval Ratings On Coronavirus Are Tanking

There 's a reason Donald Trump 's new favorite pastime is screaming into the wind about a fantastical Biden scandal he ca n't even explain—his approval ratings for handling the coronavirus are tanking .
A new CBS poll this week found that Trump 's coronavirus approvals are now the lowest they have been amid the pandemic , dropping fully 10 points since March to just 43 % Americans saying they approve of his efforts to combat the virus .
But that 's not all .
Trump 's biggest hit in approvals has come from political independents , with fully 40 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a `` very bad '' job of handling the outbreak , twice as many as the 20 % who say he 's done a `` very good '' job .
In fact , the partisan divide on this question is growing starker by the week with Republicans living in what appears to be a completely separate reality from the rest of America .
While only 20 % of independents are praising Trump 's pandemic response , nearly 6 in 10 Republicans say Trump is doing brilliantly .
But Trump absolutely needs the Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biggest issues of the day—coronavirus and the economy—are terrible for him and getting worse .
Along with taking an overall 10-point tumble on his coronavirus response , the public ’ s view of the economy is almost catastrophic , and understandably so .
Here ’ s how people rate the national economy : That 's why we can expect to see a whole lot more “ Obamagate ” whining from Team Trump , which is a pretty hard sell when people continue to die by the thousands every week .
By the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s overall job approval rating among white independents , which shows a similar trend line to his coronavirus ratings in the CBS poll .
You can see where Trump got a brief national emergency bump to 48 % approve/48 % disapprove in mid-March , right around when he started doing the task force briefings on a daily basis .
Now Trump ’ s mad musings have managed to entirely erase that bump , falling to 44 % approve/51 % disapprove , and he ’ s still on a downward tilt .

There's a reason Donald Trump's new favorite pastime is screaming into the wind about a fantastical Biden scandal he can't even explain—his approval ratings for handling the coronavirus are tanking.
A new CBS poll this week found that Trump's coronavirus approvals are now the lowest they have been amid the pandemic, dropping fully 10 points since March to just 43% Americans saying they approve of his efforts to combat the virus. But that's not all.
Trump's biggest hit in approvals has come from political independents, with fully 40% of them saying Trump has done a "very bad" job of handling the outbreak, twice as many as the 20% who say he's done a "very good" job. In fact, the partisan divide on this question is growing starker by the week with Republicans living in what appears to be a completely separate reality from the rest of America. While only 20% of independents are praising Trump's pandemic response, nearly 6 in 10 Republicans say Trump is doing brilliantly.
But Trump absolutely needs the Biden distraction he is fabricating because the two biggest issues of the day—coronavirus and the economy—are terrible for him and getting worse. Along with taking an overall 10-point tumble on his coronavirus response, the public’s view of the economy is almost catastrophic, and understandably so. Here’s how people rate the national economy:
Very good: 4%
Fairly good: 16%
Fairly bad: 39%
Very bad: 33%
Not sure: 8%
That's why we can expect to see a whole lot more “Obamagate” whining from Team Trump, which is a pretty hard sell when people continue to die by the thousands every week.
By the way, below is the Civiqs data on Trump’s overall job approval rating among white independents, which shows a similar trend line to his coronavirus ratings in the CBS poll. You can see where Trump got a brief national emergency bump to 48% approve/48% disapprove in mid-March, right around when he started doing the task force briefings on a daily basis. Now Trump’s mad musings have managed to entirely erase that bump, falling to 44% approve/51% disapprove, and he’s still on a downward tilt.
Posted with permission from Daily Kos.


crooksandliars--2020-05-16--Trump Axes Another Inspector General For Doing His Job

As first reported by Meridith McGraw and Hahal Toosi at Politico , Donald Trump has purged yet another inspector general , State Department IG Steve Linick .
His replacement will be Ambassador Stephen Akard , a former career Foreign Service officer with strong ties to Vice President Mike Pence .
Akard will serve in an acting role because the State Department post is one of the 36 federal inspectors general—of 74 total—who must be confirmed by the Senate .
Because of widespread opposition when Trump tried to appoint him director general of the Foreign Service in 2017 , Akard withdrew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those fired before him , Linick was dumped for performing his watchdog job , which was causing discomfort in the White House where loyalty is only surpassed by flattery for anyone who wants to stay on good side of the man squatting in the Oval Office .
Like three of the other IGs purged in the past six weeks , Linick ’ s ouster came late on a Friday .
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , Trump expressed his lack of full confidence in the IG .
Like those fired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of President Barack Obama , is being replaced by an appointee who can be counted on not to rock the boat despite that being fundamental to his task , which is not supposed to be ideologically motivated .
Pelosi tweeted in response : “ The late-night , weekend firing of State Department IG Steve Linick is an acceleration of the President ’ s dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people.
” The lack of confidence in Linick apparently stems from two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House squirm because they concerned alleged retaliation by Trump political appointees against career employees .
Also , during the impeachment proceedings , Linick hand-delivered 40 pages of information to congressional investigators looking into whether Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden .
The spark that apparently led to his ouster , however , was an unfinished probe into whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had misused a political appointee to carry out personal tasks for him and his wife .
Several other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey , the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , tweeted `` Another late Friday night attack on independence , accountability , and career officials .
At this point , the president 's paralyzing fear of any oversight is undeniable.
” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut tweeted that “ inspectors general are inconvenient , pesky brutes if your goal is turn the government into a cash cow for your friends , cronies and family.
” Pelosi said in a statement that Linick was “ punished for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Constitution and our national security , as required by the law and by his oath.
” And Rep. Adam Schiff , the chairman of the intelligence committee in the House who eviscerated Trump repeatedly during the impeachment hearings , tweeted : Previously late on a Friday , Trump has axed Health and Human Services IG Christi Grimm , Defense Department IG Glenn Fine , and Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson , all because he didn ’ t like what they were investigating or a report they had produced .
But as the citizen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) points out , 14 IG posts were already vacant or led by acting chiefs when Linick became No .
15 .
Those include IGs for the Central Intelligence Agency , the Department of Defense , the Department of Education , the Department of Transportation , the Treasury , and the Federal Communications Commission .
Consequent to the Watergate scandal that toppled President Richard Nixon , Congress passed the Inspectors General Act of 1978 for a dozen federal agencies .
Since then , another 62 IGs have been added .
Just 36 require @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered important enough to require that process .
Their task , under the law , is to audit and investigate , promote “ economy , efficiency , and effectiveness , ” curb fraud , abuse , and waste , and review legislation affecting their agency or department .
Agency chiefs supervise them but can not block nor assign investigations .
IGs hire their own staffs and have subpoena power .
Inspectors general were created to make sure Congress has eyes and ears within executive agencies .
Through audits , investigations and work with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you as a taxpayer are getting the greatest possible value from an executive branch that is supposed to serve you .
Failing to give all inspectors general protection against getting fired other than `` for cause , '' like those enjoyed by the members of the Merit Systems Protection Board and the IG at the U.S .
Postal Service , would be tantamount to Congress closing its eyes , throwing money at a problem — and just hoping for the best .
Congress last revamped the laws governing IGs a dozen years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcement powers .
The House version of the bill , passed with strong bipartisan support , would have prevented any president from removing an IG for anything but good cause — such as violation of the law , neglect of duty and abuse of authority — but those protections were cut out in the Senate .
Congress should now finish what the House started in 2008 .
Just one of the zillion remedial actions a Democratic Congress and Democratic president will have to tackle come January 2021

As first reported by Meridith McGraw and Hahal Toosi at Politico, Donald Trump has purged yet another inspector general, State Department IG Steve Linick. His replacement will be Ambassador Stephen Akard, a former career Foreign Service officer with strong ties to Vice President Mike Pence. Akard will serve in an acting role because the State Department post is one of the 36 federal inspectors general—of 74 total—who must be confirmed by the Senate. Because of widespread opposition when Trump tried to appoint him director general of the Foreign Service in 2017, Akard withdrew his name for that nomination.
Like those fired before him, Linick was dumped for performing his watchdog job, which was causing discomfort in the White House where loyalty is only surpassed by flattery for anyone who wants to stay on good side of the man squatting in the Oval Office.
Like three of the other IGs purged in the past six weeks, Linick’s ouster came late on a Friday. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump expressed his lack of full confidence in the IG.
Like those fired others, Linick, a 2013 appointee of President Barack Obama, is being replaced by an appointee who can be counted on not to rock the boat despite that being fundamental to his task, which is not supposed to be ideologically motivated.
Pelosi tweeted in response: “The late-night, weekend firing of State Department IG Steve Linick is an acceleration of the President’s dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people.”
The lack of confidence in Linick apparently stems from two reports his office produced that made the White House squirm because they concerned alleged retaliation by Trump political appointees against career employees. Also, during the impeachment proceedings, Linick hand-delivered 40 pages of information to congressional investigators looking into whether Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden. The spark that apparently led to his ouster, however, was an unfinished probe into whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had misused a political appointee to carry out personal tasks for him and his wife.
Several other Democrats weighed in on the firing. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted "Another late Friday night attack on independence, accountability, and career officials. At this point, the president's paralyzing fear of any oversight is undeniable.”
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut tweeted that “inspectors general are inconvenient, pesky brutes if your goal is turn the government into a cash cow for your friends, cronies and family.”
Pelosi said in a statement that Linick was “punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath.”
And Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the intelligence committee in the House who eviscerated Trump repeatedly during the impeachment hearings, tweeted:
Previously late on a Friday, Trump has axed Health and Human Services IG Christi Grimm, Defense Department IG Glenn Fine, and Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson, all because he didn’t like what they were investigating or a report they had produced.
But as the citizen watchdog Project on Government Oversight (POGO) points out, 14 IG posts were already vacant or led by acting chiefs when Linick became No. 15. Those include IGs for the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation, the Treasury, and the Federal Communications Commission.
Consequent to the Watergate scandal that toppled President Richard Nixon, Congress passed the Inspectors General Act of 1978 for a dozen federal agencies. Since then, another 62 IGs have been added. Just 36 require Senate confirmation. The rest are not considered important enough to require that process.
Their task, under the law, is to audit and investigate, promote “economy, efficiency, and effectiveness,” curb fraud, abuse, and waste, and review legislation affecting their agency or department. Agency chiefs supervise them but cannot block nor assign investigations. IGs hire their own staffs and have subpoena power.
POGO’s Executive Director Danielle Brian wrote at Fulcrum last month:
Inspectors general were created to make sure Congress has eyes and ears within executive agencies. Through audits, investigations and work with whistleblowers, these watchdogs are ensuring that you as a taxpayer are getting the greatest possible value from an executive branch that is supposed to serve you. Failing to give all inspectors general protection against getting fired other than "for cause," like those enjoyed by the members of the Merit Systems Protection Board and the IG at the U.S. Postal Service, would be tantamount to Congress closing its eyes, throwing money at a problem — and just hoping for the best. Congress last revamped the laws governing IGs a dozen years ago, most notably by giving them law enforcement powers. The House version of the bill, passed with strong bipartisan support, would have prevented any president from removing an IG for anything but good cause — such as violation of the law, neglect of duty and abuse of authority — but those protections were cut out in the Senate. Congress should now finish what the House started in 2008.
Just one of the zillion remedial actions a Democratic Congress and Democratic president will have to tackle come January 2021
Posted with permission from Daily Kos.