hotair--2020-06-24--Wallace: I don't care what the FBI says, it's still a noose

Maybe … but was it a “ hate crime ” ?
The FBI says no , even though the garage-door pull in the stall assigned to Bubba Wallace at Talladega does look like a noose in the pictures shown on CNN .
However , the news that it has been there at least since last year — long before anyone knew Wallace would draw that stall — led the FBI to conclude that there was no ill intent .
Wallace won ’ t let it go , however .
CNN ’ s Don Lemon told the NASCAR racer that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ champ , ” but a champ might know when to walk away from a wreck .
Especially when it turns out he never saw the noose in the first place , but instead got told of the “ hate crime ” from NASCAR : WALLACE : But my side needs to be heard .
I don ’ t know what time it was about 5.30 , 6 o ’ clock on Sunday evening after the race has been called , garages are closed .
Crews , my crew was on a plane back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was about to go out to dinner with a couple fellow competitors .
And we were talking about what time we ’ re going to leave and where we ’ re going .
And I get a phone call from ( Inaudible ) I get a phone call from the president Steve Phelps .
And it ’ s a phone call , Don , that I ’ ll never forget .
It ’ s one of those phone calls where you can automatically tell within the first couple seconds that something is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think of , what did I do ?
What am I getting suspended for , like , what did I say wrong in an interview ?
Whatever it was .
And so , I ’ m thinking all the bad things or whatever it could have been that I had done .
Whatever I said .
So , he ’ s like we need to talk in person .
So , I ’ m OK .
So , he walks down on motor home and opens up the door .
And the look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me in a way that I ’ ll never forget as well .
And I ’ m still thinking like , OK , what did I do , let me know .
Now mind you I got to the racetrack — I don ’ t remember what time , 9.30 , 10 o ’ clock and slept all day .
Just because that ’ s what we were able to do .
Go straight to my motor home .
That ’ s the only place where I ’ m allowed to go .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the garage .
But the conversation that I had with Steve Phelps was I would say I ’ m speaking for him — I would probably say one of the hardest things , if not the hardest thing he ’ s ever had to tell somebody .
Tears rolling down his face .
Choked up on every word that he was trying to say that the evidence that he brought to me that a “ hate crime was committed , ” quote on quote .
And I immediately thought my family was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was about ready to call my mom and dad and to make sure everybody was OK .
But it was in the garage stall and the car was at .
And so , I was kind of like taken back and not really comprehending everything .
I was just like , what ?
But the way that I was communicating , Steve was communicating to me that everything was going on , it was , it showed that the testament to him and the character that he has and how he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stand up for what ’ s right .
He ’ s not going to tolerate any racist acts or anything .
And I stand behind Steve .
I stand behind NASCAR .
And like they said in their statements if it happened again , it wouldn ’ t change anything .
They would do it over again .
WALLACE : But I never seen the noose .
I never reported it .
Like I said , I was going to dinner .
Fair enough ; Wallace got told by NASCAR that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a completely normal reaction .
Wallace got emotionally invested in it , and that ’ s totally understandable .
However , the FBI has firmly established that the rope has been around for at least a year with that knot and had no relation to his stall assignment , which means it wasn ’ t aimed at Wallace .
Having learned that , Wallace might have tried to unwind .
Not so much , as it turns out : LEMON : Have you seen ropes like that hanging from garages ?
Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the image that I have and I have seen of what was hanging in my garage is not a garage pull .
I have been racing all my life .
We have raced at hundreds of garages .
That never had garage pulls like that .
So , people that want to call it a garage pull and put out all the videos and photos of knots being in as their evidence .
Go ahead .
But from the evidence that we have , that I have .
It ’ s a straight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was a noose over and over again .
NASCAR leadership has stated it was a noose .
I can confirm that .
I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage over my car , around my pit crew guys to confirm that it was a noose .
And never seen anything like it .
It ’ s not something — I talked to my crew chief about that is said , – said is this something like — I wanted to make sure we weren ’ t jumping the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t a knot , this isn ’ t just a regular old what you call it .
He ’ s like , Bubba , this isn ’ t something that can be done within a second of just tying a knot and being on the way .
This is something that took time .
LEMON : So , what are you saying here ?
Are you saying that you don ’ t believe — do you believe that it was intended for you in that way ?
Or are you — what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was a noose .
It was a noose that was whether tied in 2019 or whatever .
It was a noose .
So it wasn ’ t directed to me .
But somebody tied a noose .
That ’ s what I ’ m saying .
It was — it is a noose .
It seems pretty clearly a noose in the picture too , but a noose is — political freight aside — just another kind of knot .
People use knots for purposes other than hate crimes .
( For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely other purposes too . )
If someone took their time tying that rope in that fashion , perhaps they meant it out of general racial animus , but that seems like a weird way to express it .
Who else would ever see it other than racers and their crews , and who would know what the intention of it was ?
There are very few drivers of color on the NASCAR circuit , and Wallace is the only full-time black driver .
If it was meant as a message of intimidation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought out .
The FBI ’ s 15 agents on this case concluded that this wasn ’ t a hate crime at all , but just a pull rope , which seems like a pretty fair conclusion to reach .
As Sigmund Freud once purportedly said , sometimes a cigar is … just a cigar .
NASCAR did Wallace and its fans a disservice by blasting this out in public before the investigation had begun .
NASCAR wound up with egg on their faces , which is most certainly not Wallace ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wallace should direct his ire .
Update : I meant to write “ before the investigation had begun , ” not “ without an explanation.
” I changed it in the last paragraph after the post went live .

Maybe … but was it a “hate crime”? The FBI says no, even though the garage-door pull in the stall assigned to Bubba Wallace at Talladega does look like a noose in the pictures shown on CNN. However, the news that it has been there at least since last year — long before anyone knew Wallace would draw that stall — led the FBI to conclude that there was no ill intent.
Wallace won’t let it go, however. CNN’s Don Lemon told the NASCAR racer that he’s “handled this like a champ,” but a champ might know when to walk away from a wreck. Especially when it turns out he never saw the noose in the first place, but instead got told of the “hate crime” from NASCAR:
WALLACE: But my side needs to be heard. I don’t know what time it was about 5.30, 6 o’clock on Sunday evening after the race has been called, garages are closed. Crews, my crew was on a plane back to North Carolina. We were — I was about to go out to dinner with a couple fellow competitors. And we were talking about what time we’re going to leave and where we’re going. And I get a phone call from (Inaudible) I get a phone call from the president Steve Phelps. And it’s a phone call, Don, that I’ll never forget. It’s one of those phone calls where you can automatically tell within the first couple seconds that something is wrong. And it immediately made me think of, what did I do? What am I getting suspended for, like, what did I say wrong in an interview? Whatever it was. And so, I’m thinking all the bad things or whatever it could have been that I had done. Whatever I said. So, he’s like we need to talk in person. So, I’m OK. So, he walks down on motor home and opens up the door. And the look that he had on his face alerted me in a way that I’ll never forget as well. And I’m still thinking like, OK, what did I do, let me know. Now mind you I got to the racetrack — I don’t remember what time, 9.30, 10 o’clock and slept all day. Just because that’s what we were able to do. Go straight to my motor home. That’s the only place where I’m allowed to go. I’m not allowed to be in the garage. But the conversation that I had with Steve Phelps was I would say I’m speaking for him — I would probably say one of the hardest things, if not the hardest thing he’s ever had to tell somebody. Tears rolling down his face. Choked up on every word that he was trying to say that the evidence that he brought to me that a “hate crime was committed,” quote on quote. And I immediately thought my family was in danger. And so, I was about ready to call my mom and dad and to make sure everybody was OK. But it was in the garage stall and the car was at. And so, I was kind of like taken back and not really comprehending everything. I was just like, what? But the way that I was communicating, Steve was communicating to me that everything was going on, it was, it showed that the testament to him and the character that he has and how he’s representing the sport. How he wants to stand up for what’s right. He’s not going to tolerate any racist acts or anything. And I stand behind Steve. I stand behind NASCAR. And like they said in their statements if it happened again, it wouldn’t change anything. They would do it over again. LEMON: Well — WALLACE: But I never seen the noose. I never reported it. Like I said, I was going to dinner.
Fair enough; Wallace got told by NASCAR that it was a hate crime, and he had a completely normal reaction. Wallace got emotionally invested in it, and that’s totally understandable. However, the FBI has firmly established that the rope has been around for at least a year with that knot and had no relation to his stall assignment, which means it wasn’t aimed at Wallace. Having learned that, Wallace might have tried to unwind.
Not so much, as it turns out:
LEMON: Have you seen ropes like that hanging from garages? Is that typical? WALLACE: Don, the image that I have and I have seen of what was hanging in my garage is not a garage pull. I have been racing all my life. We have raced at hundreds of garages. That never had garage pulls like that. So, people that want to call it a garage pull and put out all the videos and photos of knots being in as their evidence. Go ahead. But from the evidence that we have, that I have. It’s a straight up noose. The FBI has stated it was a noose over and over again. NASCAR leadership has stated it was a noose. I can confirm that. I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage over my car, around my pit crew guys to confirm that it was a noose. And never seen anything like it. It’s not something — I talked to my crew chief about that is said, – said is this something like — I wanted to make sure we weren’t jumping the gun. And I said this isn’t a knot, this isn’t just a regular old what you call it. He’s like, Bubba, this isn’t something that can be done within a second of just tying a knot and being on the way. This is something that took time. LEMON: So, what are you saying here? Are you saying that you don’t believe — do you believe that it was intended for you in that way? Or are you — what are you saying here? WALLACE: It was a noose. It was a noose that was whether tied in 2019 or whatever. It was a noose. So it wasn’t directed to me. But somebody tied a noose. That’s what I’m saying. It was — it is a noose.
It seems pretty clearly a noose in the picture too, but a noose is — political freight aside — just another kind of knot. People use knots for purposes other than hate crimes. (For instance, suicides, although there are likely other purposes too.) If someone took their time tying that rope in that fashion, perhaps they meant it out of general racial animus, but that seems like a weird way to express it. Who else would ever see it other than racers and their crews, and who would know what the intention of it was? There are very few drivers of color on the NASCAR circuit, and Wallace is the only full-time black driver. If it was meant as a message of intimidation, it wasn’t terribly well thought out. The FBI’s 15 agents on this case concluded that this wasn’t a hate crime at all, but just a pull rope, which seems like a pretty fair conclusion to reach. As Sigmund Freud once purportedly said, sometimes a cigar is … just a cigar.
NASCAR did Wallace and its fans a disservice by blasting this out in public before the investigation had begun. NASCAR wound up with egg on their faces, which is most certainly not Wallace’s fault, but perhaps that is where Wallace should direct his ire.
Update: I meant to write “before the investigation had begun,” not “without an explanation.” I changed it in the last paragraph after the post went live.


hotair--2020-06-25--Facebook will soon feel the sting of an advertising boycott

Facebook just isn ’ t woke enough to just shut down President Trump and his supporters during this election season so companies have begun to pull their advertising dollars from the platform .
Even after Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout and some resigned , so far the freedoms allowed in the First Amendment still apply to Trump .
For weeks now , Facebook employees have been protesting against the company ’ s speech policy .
President Trump ’ s posts on Facebook are seen by them to be hate speech , or threats of violence , and even voter-suppression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the left doesn ’ t like what someone with an opposing view dares to say something .
That person must be canceled , erased from public view .
So , now companies are getting involved .
There is an advertising boycott planned for the month of July .
A coalition of non-profit groups , including the NAACP , the Anti-Defamation League , and Sleeping Giants , have formed an organization called Stop Hate For Profit with a simple message .
On its website , the group says , “ We are asking all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most deeply held American values of freedom , equality and justice and not advertise on Facebook ’ s services in July.
” The site goes on to accuse Facebook of allowing violence to be incited against Black Lives Matter protesters and elevating news sites like Breitbart and The Daily Caller that have worked with white nationalists .
As you read , it isn ’ t just President Trump , it ’ s conservative media sites , too .
This is why Facebook must be encouraged to continue to allow all voices on its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees aren ’ t even hiding their contempt for Trump and all conservatives .
Give the authoritarian leftists an inch and they ’ ll take a mile .
Earlier this month , Facebook announced that users will be able to block seeing all political ads .
This is in response to critics who say the ads are full of lies .
Facebook and Instagram users will be able to turn off all social issue , electoral or political ads from candidates , Super PACs or other “ organizations that have the ‘ Paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Facebook hopes to roll out the new feature to all U.S. users over the next few weeks and will aim to make it available in other countries where it monitors elections in the fall .
The company ’ s ad policy has been under fire from Democrats , namely the Biden campaign , since last year when Facebook doubled down on allowing politicians by lying in ads without being fact checked .
This is a bit different than what Twitter is doing .
Twitter is banning political ads altogether .
And we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ singling out President Trump ’ s tweets and slapping a warning on them for allegedly violating its policies .
Funny , of all the ugly tweets on that site , only Trump ’ s tweets seem to deserve their new special warnings and Twitter gets publicity for its aggression against the most powerful man in the world .
On Friday , The North Face , an outdoor apparel brand , became the best-known name to join the Stop Hate for Profit boycott campaign .
Just hours later , REI joined in , too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Upwork followed REI .
See how this works ?
Tweet out a boycott from Wokeville and the other companies just fall into line .
The North Face is also including Instagram in its boycott commitment .
( Facebook owns Instagram . )
The North Face ’ s commitment applies to ads on Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram , the brand said in a statement , though it will continue to create organic content on Instagram .
Craig Hodges , a spokesman for The North Face ’ s parent , VF Corp , said a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s portfolio are “ considering ” following in The North Face ’ s footsteps .
VF Corp also owns Dickies , Vans , Timberland and Smartwool among others .
For the year ended March 31 , VF Corp spent $ 756 million on advertising .
“ The North Face is halting all activity and U.S. paid advertising with Facebook until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist , violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform , ” the statement said .
On Sunday Patagonia announced its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platforms .
An advertising company is encouraging its clients to join in .
You may want to keep an eye out to see if the companies join the herd of sheeple .
Trump Derangement Syndrome is a hella drug .
Digital ad agency 360i , a division of Dentsu Group , said Thursday that it would encourage clients to support the boycott , saying in an email to them that the company “ believes any social platform that earns profits by amplifying the voices of their community must have a zero tolerance policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wall Street Journal .
360i ’ s clients include McCormick , Discover Financial Services , and Unilever , though it ’ s unclear if they will support the boycott .
Several other ad companies have taken similar stances , and smaller companies have pulled advertising off of Facebook .
Nike and Anheuser-Busch , two advertising giants , slashed their daily spending on Facebook and Instagram by $ 100,000 in early June .
Does a month-long advertising boycott from these companies threaten the viability of Facebook ?
No .
There will be thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any attention to the activist left in the retail world .
Smaller companies depend on the advertising to promote their businesses .
We just have to wait and see if the financial hit is big enough to cause Zuckerberg to cave to the demands of the mob .

Facebook just isn’t woke enough to just shut down President Trump and his supporters during this election season so companies have begun to pull their advertising dollars from the platform. Even after Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout and some resigned, so far the freedoms allowed in the First Amendment still apply to Trump.
For weeks now, Facebook employees have been protesting against the company’s speech policy. President Trump’s posts on Facebook are seen by them to be hate speech, or threats of violence, and even voter-suppression tactics. This is what happens when the left doesn’t like what someone with an opposing view dares to say something. That person must be canceled, erased from public view. So, now companies are getting involved. There is an advertising boycott planned for the month of July.
A coalition of non-profit groups, including the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, and Sleeping Giants, have formed an organization called Stop Hate For Profit with a simple message. On its website, the group says, “We are asking all businesses to stand in solidarity with our most deeply held American values of freedom, equality and justice and not advertise on Facebook’s services in July.” The site goes on to accuse Facebook of allowing violence to be incited against Black Lives Matter protesters and elevating news sites like Breitbart and The Daily Caller that have worked with white nationalists.
As you read, it isn’t just President Trump, it’s conservative media sites, too. This is why Facebook must be encouraged to continue to allow all voices on its platform. We already know that the employees aren’t even hiding their contempt for Trump and all conservatives. Give the authoritarian leftists an inch and they’ll take a mile.
Earlier this month, Facebook announced that users will be able to block seeing all political ads. This is in response to critics who say the ads are full of lies.
Facebook and Instagram users will be able to turn off all social issue, electoral or political ads from candidates, Super PACs or other “organizations that have the ‘Paid for by’ political disclaimer on them.” Facebook hopes to roll out the new feature to all U.S. users over the next few weeks and will aim to make it available in other countries where it monitors elections in the fall. The company’s ad policy has been under fire from Democrats, namely the Biden campaign, since last year when Facebook doubled down on allowing politicians by lying in ads without being fact checked.
This is a bit different than what Twitter is doing. Twitter is banning political ads altogether. And we know it has taken a fancy to singling out President Trump’s tweets and slapping a warning on them for allegedly violating its policies. Funny, of all the ugly tweets on that site, only Trump’s tweets seem to deserve their new special warnings and Twitter gets publicity for its aggression against the most powerful man in the world.
On Friday, The North Face, an outdoor apparel brand, became the best-known name to join the Stop Hate for Profit boycott campaign. Just hours later, REI joined in, too.
For 82 years, we have put people over profits. We're pulling all Facebook/Instagram advertising for the month of July. #StopHateForProfit Learn more: https://t.co/XCQSnUO8XJ https://t.co/Jp1GaKdCUN — REI (@REI) June 19, 2020
And then the recruiting company called Upwork followed REI. See how this works? Tweet out a boycott from Wokeville and the other companies just fall into line.
Upwork is hitting pause on hate with no Facebook advertising in July. #StopHateForProfit Learn more at https://t.co/rBCCtMXJZlhttps://t.co/ZpRAL6iSZU — Upwork (@Upwork) June 19, 2020
The North Face is also including Instagram in its boycott commitment. (Facebook owns Instagram.)
The North Face’s commitment applies to ads on Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram, the brand said in a statement, though it will continue to create organic content on Instagram. Craig Hodges, a spokesman for The North Face’s parent, VF Corp, said a number of other brands in the company’s portfolio are “considering” following in The North Face’s footsteps. VF Corp also owns Dickies, Vans, Timberland and Smartwool among others. For the year ended March 31, VF Corp spent $756 million on advertising. “The North Face is halting all activity and U.S. paid advertising with Facebook until stricter policies are put in place to stop racist, violent or hateful content and misinformation from circulating on the platform,” the statement said.
On Sunday Patagonia announced its support of the advertising boycott on both platforms.
“We will pull all ads on Facebook and Instagram, effective immediately, through at least the end of July, pending meaningful action from the social media giant,” the company said in a series of tweets on Sunday attributed to its head of marketing, Cory Bayers.
An advertising company is encouraging its clients to join in. You may want to keep an eye out to see if the companies join the herd of sheeple. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a hella drug.
Digital ad agency 360i, a division of Dentsu Group, said Thursday that it would encourage clients to support the boycott, saying in an email to them that the company “believes any social platform that earns profits by amplifying the voices of their community must have a zero tolerance policy for hate,” according to the Wall Street Journal. 360i’s clients include McCormick, Discover Financial Services, and Unilever, though it’s unclear if they will support the boycott. Several other ad companies have taken similar stances, and smaller companies have pulled advertising off of Facebook. Nike and Anheuser-Busch, two advertising giants, slashed their daily spending on Facebook and Instagram by $100,000 in early June.
Does a month-long advertising boycott from these companies threaten the viability of Facebook? No. There will be thousands of other companies who won’t pay any attention to the activist left in the retail world. Smaller companies depend on the advertising to promote their businesses. We just have to wait and see if the financial hit is big enough to cause Zuckerberg to cave to the demands of the mob.


hotair--2020-06-24--Are the new COVID hot-spot states headed for "soft" lockdowns?

By “ soft ” lockdown , I mean a situation in which everyone from the governor to the local health authorities recognizes that the virus is spreading at a sufficiently dangerous rate that everyone should stay home — but no formal stay-at-home order is issued .
That would be a “ hard ” lockdown , but for reasons of basic human psychology I ’ m not sure politicians are willing to do that again .
Not because people won ’ t follow new stay-at-home orders ; there ’ s reason to believe that they will .
Rather , I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wanting to admit “ failure ” by reverting to formal lockdown status after reopening .
That would put us back at square one after a long effort to move forward .
Which would be terrifying .
Even people like me who were skeptical of reopening early might be guilty of magical thinking with respect to COVID-19 .
That is , although we all had different opinions on when we thought it was “ safe ” to reopen , we all believed that it would be safe at some point .
Red states thought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blue states held out a bit longer .
But everyone had their own personal benchmark for when they believed transmission might be at a sufficiently low level that we could reemerge and — with proper precautions — engage in commerce without triggering a major outbreak .
But what if we were all wrong ?
What if the virus is sufficiently contagious that there ’ s just no way to prevent what Arizona and Texas and Florida and California and South Carolina are going through right now ?
Yeah , if we all wore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away at all times , maybe we could hold down transmission .
But that ’ s never going to happen .
Some segment of the population will always break the rules in the belief that it can ’ t happen to them — and if it does , it won ’ t be so bad .
( The young are probably especially susceptible to that thinking . )
What if we *can ’ t* reopen for any sustained period of time without sparking an outbreak that ’ s going to drive us into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month or two ?
That ’ s no idle hypothetical .
I remember reading about various epidemiological models in the early days of the pandemic that predicted exactly this outcome .
We ’ d be stuck in an endless cycle of locking down , then reopening , then locking down again , then reopening again , etc , because there simply wouldn ’ t be a way to hold down transmissions to a “ manageable ” level during the reopening periods .
We ’ d always end up having to take extreme measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of control , because it burns just that quickly .
It ’ s already happening in Texas .
The “ soft ” lockdown now exists in all but name , with Gov .
Greg Abbott explicitly warning residents that it ’ s best not to leave the house right now .
In Texas , Mr. Abbott renewed his warnings in an interview with the television station KBTX .
“ Because the spread is so rampant right now , there is never a reason for you to have to leave your home unless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
“ The safest place for you is at your home.
” … “ There remain a lot of people in the state of Texas who think the spread of Covid-19 is really not a challenge , ” said Mr. Abbott , who has resisted the idea of another lockdown .
“ Don ’ t go out unless you have a good reason ” sure sounds more like a lockdown than a reopening .
But what else can Abbott responsibly say ?
There is in fact a “ massive ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to borrow his words , with authorities scrambling to make sure hospital capacity is available in case there are soon more critical cases than there are beds .
That ’ s no idle hypothetical either : As of this morning ICU capacity in the city was at 97 percent , with Texas Children ’ s Hospital — the largest pediatric hospital in the U.S. — opening its doors to adults in order to handle the crush .
Hospitals having to prepare for surge capacity is one obvious hallmark of a lockdown scenario , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to free up resources .
That may be coming soon to Texas and other states as well : Another hallmark is businesses shuttering as the risk of transmission reaches frightening levels .
In a “ hard ” lockdown , the state mandates that .
In a “ soft ” lockdown , businesses do it voluntarily because they don ’ t want their employees or customers to die .
Guess what : Consumers also act accordingly in a “ soft ” lockdown scenario by declining to patronize businesses in order to avoid being infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graphs of restaurant reservations in New York City falling off a cliff in March even before stay-at-home orders went into effect there .
Well , again , guess what ’ s happening in Houston and other new hot-spot areas like North Carolina : There ’ s a school of thought that appeals to me that holds that “ hard ” lockdowns don ’ t do much to contain the spread .
When an outbreak reaches a point of such alarming prevalence that a formal stay-at-home order is necessary to try to contain it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aware of it and will act voluntarily to limit its own exposure .
( That ’ s why restaurant reservations in NYC tailed off before the lockdown began . )
But watching cases spike in Houston as Texas attempts a “ soft ” lockdown has me rethinking that .
There may be some segment of the public that simply will not believe there ’ s a dire emergency requiring them to stay home unless the state takes some extraordinary formal step to convey that .
Greg Abbott telling people in morning news interviews @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going out ” just might not hack it .
A person who really wants to go out will watch that and think , “ If it ’ s as bad as he ’ s saying he ’ d just do a new lockdown.
” Whereas a formal lockdown order will get that person to think , “ Sh*t , it really must be bad if they ’ re locking down again.
” That is , “ hard ” lockdowns may work to limit the spread more effectively than “ soft ” lockdowns not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doors but because they communicate in a singularly urgent way how unsafe it is to be around others .
Think of the old terror-alert system in the years after 9/11 .
If you tell people we ’ re at orange alert , with a highly elevated risk of terrorism , they ’ re not going to alter their behavior much .
What does “ highly elevated ” even mean ?
Tell them we ’ re at red alert , though , and they ’ ll sit up and pay attention .
Abbott ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 equivalent of orange alert .
If you want people to sit up , red alert may be the only option .
Here ’ s video from CNN that ’ s making the rounds today showing people in Florida inveighing against masks .
A nice explainer for why we just might not be able to sustain a durable reopening as a country without breeding new exponential growth .

By “soft” lockdown, I mean a situation in which everyone from the governor to the local health authorities recognizes that the virus is spreading at a sufficiently dangerous rate that everyone should stay home — but no formal stay-at-home order is issued. That would be a “hard” lockdown, but for reasons of basic human psychology I’m not sure politicians are willing to do that again. Not because people won’t follow new stay-at-home orders; there’s reason to believe that they will. Rather, I think it’s a function of not wanting to admit “failure” by reverting to formal lockdown status after reopening. That would put us back at square one after a long effort to move forward.
Which would be terrifying. Even people like me who were skeptical of reopening early might be guilty of magical thinking with respect to COVID-19. That is, although we all had different opinions on when we thought it was “safe” to reopen, we all believed that it would be safe at some point. Red states thought it would be safe in May; blue states held out a bit longer. But everyone had their own personal benchmark for when they believed transmission might be at a sufficiently low level that we could reemerge and — with proper precautions — engage in commerce without triggering a major outbreak.
But what if we were all wrong? What if the virus is sufficiently contagious that there’s just no way to prevent what Arizona and Texas and Florida and California and South Carolina are going through right now? Yeah, if we all wore masks and we all kept six feet away at all times, maybe we could hold down transmission. But that’s never going to happen. Some segment of the population will always break the rules in the belief that it can’t happen to them — and if it does, it won’t be so bad. (The young are probably especially susceptible to that thinking.) What if we *can’t* reopen for any sustained period of time without sparking an outbreak that’s going to drive us into “soft” lockdown again within a month or two?
That’s no idle hypothetical. I remember reading about various epidemiological models in the early days of the pandemic that predicted exactly this outcome. We’d be stuck in an endless cycle of locking down, then reopening, then locking down again, then reopening again, etc, because there simply wouldn’t be a way to hold down transmissions to a “manageable” level during the reopening periods. We’d always end up having to take extreme measures to control the fire before it burned out of control, because it burns just that quickly.
It’s already happening in Texas. The “soft” lockdown now exists in all but name, with Gov. Greg Abbott explicitly warning residents that it’s best not to leave the house right now.
In Texas, Mr. Abbott renewed his warnings in an interview with the television station KBTX. “Because the spread is so rampant right now, there is never a reason for you to have to leave your home unless you do need to go out,” he said. “The safest place for you is at your home.”… “There remain a lot of people in the state of Texas who think the spread of Covid-19 is really not a challenge,” said Mr. Abbott, who has resisted the idea of another lockdown.
“Don’t go out unless you have a good reason” sure sounds more like a lockdown than a reopening. But what else can Abbott responsibly say? There is in fact a “massive” outbreak happening in Texas right now, to borrow his words, with authorities scrambling to make sure hospital capacity is available in case there are soon more critical cases than there are beds. That’s no idle hypothetical either:
*HOUSTON ON PACE TO EXCEED INTENSIVE-CARE CAPACITY BY TOMORROW — Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) June 24, 2020
Update on utilization of general medical beds and ICU beds from Texas Medical Center in Houston. They are projecting that they will access sustainable surge capacity starting this week, and if current Covid trends continue, exceed that capacity in about two weeks. pic.twitter.com/QTk8nykvvU — Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) June 24, 2020
As of this morning ICU capacity in the city was at 97 percent, with Texas Children’s Hospital — the largest pediatric hospital in the U.S. — opening its doors to adults in order to handle the crush.
Hospitals having to prepare for surge capacity is one obvious hallmark of a lockdown scenario, replete with postponing elective surgeries in order to free up resources. That may be coming soon to Texas and other states as well:
"Very soon … hospitals in Texas, California, Florida and Arizona are going to have to make decisions to suspend elective surgeries again," says @ScottGottliebMD. "They're going to be on a trajectory to get overwhelmed again." pic.twitter.com/kHkrGvipOR — Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) June 24, 2020
Another hallmark is businesses shuttering as the risk of transmission reaches frightening levels. In a “hard” lockdown, the state mandates that. In a “soft” lockdown, businesses do it voluntarily because they don’t want their employees or customers to die. Guess what:
Apple now re-closing its 7 stores in Houston due to #COVID19 concerns https://t.co/czbBBY4jKp — Meg Tirrell (@megtirrell) June 24, 2020
Consumers also act accordingly in a “soft” lockdown scenario by declining to patronize businesses in order to avoid being infected. We’ve all seen the graphs of restaurant reservations in New York City falling off a cliff in March even before stay-at-home orders went into effect there. Well, again, guess what’s happening in Houston and other new hot-spot areas like North Carolina:
There’s a school of thought that appeals to me that holds that “hard” lockdowns don’t do much to contain the spread. When an outbreak reaches a point of such alarming prevalence that a formal stay-at-home order is necessary to try to contain it, the public will necessarily already be aware of it and will act voluntarily to limit its own exposure. (That’s why restaurant reservations in NYC tailed off before the lockdown began.) But watching cases spike in Houston as Texas attempts a “soft” lockdown has me rethinking that. There may be some segment of the public that simply will not believe there’s a dire emergency requiring them to stay home unless the state takes some extraordinary formal step to convey that. Greg Abbott telling people in morning news interviews “you’re better off not going out” just might not hack it. A person who really wants to go out will watch that and think, “If it’s as bad as he’s saying he’d just do a new lockdown.” Whereas a formal lockdown order will get that person to think, “Sh*t, it really must be bad if they’re locking down again.”
That is, “hard” lockdowns may work to limit the spread more effectively than “soft” lockdowns not because they force businesses to close their doors but because they communicate in a singularly urgent way how unsafe it is to be around others. Think of the old terror-alert system in the years after 9/11. If you tell people we’re at orange alert, with a highly elevated risk of terrorism, they’re not going to alter their behavior much. What does “highly elevated” even mean? Tell them we’re at red alert, though, and they’ll sit up and pay attention. Abbott’s “soft” lockdown may be the COVID-19 equivalent of orange alert. If you want people to sit up, red alert may be the only option.
Here’s video from CNN that’s making the rounds today showing people in Florida inveighing against masks. A nice explainer for why we just might not be able to sustain a durable reopening as a country without breeding new exponential growth.


hotair--2020-06-24--Joe Biden adds a Karen to his list of potential vice-presidential candidates

A new name has entered the field of candidates being vetted as a potential running mate for Joe Biden .
Rep. Karen Bass of California has been asked to participate in the vetting process .
By now I thought the list of women under consideration was dwindling but that ’ s not the case , as the addition of Bass shows .
She checks all the boxes as far as what Team Biden is looking for in a candidate goes .
She is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus , she is serving her fifth term in Congress , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the speaker of the California Assembly .
She had a career in health care as a physician assistant before entering politics .
Biden promised to choose a woman as his running mate and now the pressure is on for him to not just choose a woman but a woman of color .
A black woman as a running mate could boost enthusiasm among African-Americans for Biden , especially African-American women who make up a large segment of the Democrat voting population .
No doubt Team Biden is hoping that choosing a black woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enthusiasm problem with Democrat voters .
Of the ones reported to be under consideration – Senator Kamala Harris , Rep. Val Demings , Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms , and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice – would Bass be the best choice ?
Karen Bass has a decent enough resume but she is 66 years old and from California .
Biden will win California so he wouldn ’ t be counting on her to bring out the votes there .
Not that 66 is too old but wouldn ’ t you think that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of age will be the oldest person to be sworn in as president if he wins in November , would pick someone a little younger to be his shadow president ?
President Trump , for example , who was the oldest person to be sworn in as president at age 70 , chose Mike Pence who was in his late 50s at the time .
Let ’ s face it , whomever Biden chooses will be very important , much more important than a vice-presidential choice normally is , because of the concerns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capabilities and physical stamina to last through a full four-year term .
I don ’ t say that lightly or to be snarky , I truly don ’ t have confidence that Biden can make it through a full term as president .
Ms. Bass has been in the news lately as a more reasonable voice in the Democrat Party , especially during the uprise of Black Lives Matter and their campaign to defund and/or eliminate police in communities across the country .
She spoke up and said that Defund the Police is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t get too excited about momentary sanity .
She also said last December that Trump could be impeached again if the Democrats won the Senate back in 2020 .
Her clarity is limited .
She has taken the lead with constructing the House police reform bill .
Never let a crisis go to waste .
Bass could be seen as someone working toward reform , while Kamala Harris has a questionable history as California ’ s Attorney General and San Francisco District Attorney ’ s Office before that .
Val Demings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first woman to be Chief of Police in Orlando , Florida .
And , Keisha Lance Bottoms is gaining on-the-job experience in handling protests and rioting in Atlanta .
Bass could also be seen as a helpful partner in health care reform from her background .
She joined Biden on a live stream event discussing the coronavirus pandemic and health care workers .
As the seriousness of the pandemic set in during late March , Bass joined Biden for a livestream event about the problems faced by medical workers on the front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked in the trauma center at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic , I remember working without protection and I remember the fear I had every day , ” Bass said on the livestream about her work in Los Angeles .
“ I know the commitment you have to save lives even if it means putting your own life at risk .
The nation thanks you for your service.
” It still all boils down to identity politics .
While Elizabeth Warren sees her chances shrinking because she ’ s a white woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phony Native American heritage as a draw , the demand has been made that the choice must be a black woman .
Rep. Clyburn in South Carolina wrangled Biden ’ s primary victory in South Carolina that rescued his floundering campaign and ever since has been whispering in Sleepy Joe ’ s ear that a black woman is a key to his victory in November .
It should be insulting to the women under consideration that they are on a list simply because they check the right boxes but it won ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nod from Team Biden .
The people vetting candidates for Biden even admit that race is the top consideration .
Biden has boxed himself into a corner by pandering to the social justice mob .
I have no sympathy for him .
We ’ ll see how well he chooses when he announces his choice .
Biden still says he plans to do so around August 1 .

A new name has entered the field of candidates being vetted as a potential running mate for Joe Biden. Rep. Karen Bass of California has been asked to participate in the vetting process.
By now I thought the list of women under consideration was dwindling but that’s not the case, as the addition of Bass shows. She checks all the boxes as far as what Team Biden is looking for in a candidate goes. She is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, she is serving her fifth term in Congress, and before that, she served as the speaker of the California Assembly. She had a career in health care as a physician assistant before entering politics. Biden promised to choose a woman as his running mate and now the pressure is on for him to not just choose a woman but a woman of color.
A black woman as a running mate could boost enthusiasm among African-Americans for Biden, especially African-American women who make up a large segment of the Democrat voting population. No doubt Team Biden is hoping that choosing a black woman will be the answer to his low enthusiasm problem with Democrat voters. Of the ones reported to be under consideration – Senator Kamala Harris, Rep. Val Demings, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice – would Bass be the best choice?
Karen Bass has a decent enough resume but she is 66 years old and from California. Biden will win California so he wouldn’t be counting on her to bring out the votes there. Not that 66 is too old but wouldn’t you think that old Joe, who at 77 years of age will be the oldest person to be sworn in as president if he wins in November, would pick someone a little younger to be his shadow president? President Trump, for example, who was the oldest person to be sworn in as president at age 70, chose Mike Pence who was in his late 50s at the time. Let’s face it, whomever Biden chooses will be very important, much more important than a vice-presidential choice normally is, because of the concerns most of us have about his mental capabilities and physical stamina to last through a full four-year term. I don’t say that lightly or to be snarky, I truly don’t have confidence that Biden can make it through a full term as president.
Ms. Bass has been in the news lately as a more reasonable voice in the Democrat Party, especially during the uprise of Black Lives Matter and their campaign to defund and/or eliminate police in communities across the country. She spoke up and said that Defund the Police is a really bad slogan. But, don’t get too excited about momentary sanity. She also said last December that Trump could be impeached again if the Democrats won the Senate back in 2020. Her clarity is limited.
She has taken the lead with constructing the House police reform bill. Never let a crisis go to waste.
“I’m inclined to push the envelope as far as we can because we have a moment now,” Bass said of the policing reform proposal in an interview with CBS News’ Major Garrett on “The Takeout” podcast.
Bass could be seen as someone working toward reform, while Kamala Harris has a questionable history as California’s Attorney General and San Francisco District Attorney’s Office before that. Val Demings is a former law enforcement officer and the first woman to be Chief of Police in Orlando, Florida. And, Keisha Lance Bottoms is gaining on-the-job experience in handling protests and rioting in Atlanta. Bass could also be seen as a helpful partner in health care reform from her background. She joined Biden on a live stream event discussing the coronavirus pandemic and health care workers.
As the seriousness of the pandemic set in during late March, Bass joined Biden for a livestream event about the problems faced by medical workers on the front lines of the pandemic. “I worked in the trauma center at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, I remember working without protection and I remember the fear I had every day,” Bass said on the livestream about her work in Los Angeles. “I know the commitment you have to save lives even if it means putting your own life at risk. The nation thanks you for your service.”
It still all boils down to identity politics. While Elizabeth Warren sees her chances shrinking because she’s a white woman who can’t even use her phony Native American heritage as a draw, the demand has been made that the choice must be a black woman. Rep. Clyburn in South Carolina wrangled Biden’s primary victory in South Carolina that rescued his floundering campaign and ever since has been whispering in Sleepy Joe’s ear that a black woman is a key to his victory in November. It should be insulting to the women under consideration that they are on a list simply because they check the right boxes but it won’t be. They feel entitled to a nod from Team Biden. The people vetting candidates for Biden even admit that race is the top consideration.
One of the women helping Biden make his decision is Delaware Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester. She has been honest about how race will factor into her deliberation. “If we want to transform this country, this is the time to recognize…the leadership of black women,” Blunt Rochester said on a recent livestream. “We won’t be taken for granted.”
Biden has boxed himself into a corner by pandering to the social justice mob. I have no sympathy for him. We’ll see how well he chooses when he announces his choice. Biden still says he plans to do so around August 1.


hotair--2020-06-25--A multinational tech company installed software to pay taxes in China, then discovered malware insid

A multinational tech company installed software to pay taxes in China, then discovered malware inside

This report from NBC News never names the multinational corporation involved but it is not a Chinese company .
However because it does do business in China , it was required to pay local taxes .
A Chinese bank asked the company to install a piece of software to facilitate paying those taxes , but within hours the company ’ s entire system had been compromised with sophisticated software .
The tax software was legitimate , but embedded inside it was a nasty surprise , according to a new report by a private security firm : A sophisticated piece of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company ’ s network… The malicious code was extremely sophisticated , Hussey said .
It had what he called a triple layer of persistence .
It installed itself at two different locations on the network , and if one was deleted , the other one automatically kicked in .
There was also a so-called protector module , which would download and install another copy in the event both were deleted .
The software beaconed to a remote server at random intervals to evade detection , Hussey said .
Dubbed GoldenSpy , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax software was installed .
Because it was discovered shortly after it was activated , Trustwave says it isn ’ t sure who the creators of the spyware are or what they intended to do .
However , the sophistication of the software leads them to believe this was probably created by a nation not a private group of hackers .
The real question is how many other companies operating in China have been victims of this same cyberattack .
“ At this point , we are unable to determine how widespread this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We currently know of one targeted technology/software vendor and a highly similar incident occurring at a major financial institution , but this could be leveraged against countless companies operating and paying taxes in China or may be targeted at only a select few organizations with access to vital information.
” This kind of hidden takeover of a company ’ s network is a pretty extreme cyberattack , but it ’ s not as if China has any respect for privacy .
Last year I wrote about an investigation which found that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken at the border so that some kind of tracking app could be installed on it .
The app apparently scanned people ’ s phones for extremist content .
If you enter China , you have to expect that the government intends to spy on you and , if you are a multinational corporation , probably try to steal from you as well .
Update : Australia has been under a wave of cyber-attacks believed to be emanating from China .
A wide range of political and private-sector organisations in Australia have come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sophisticated state-based cyber-actor ” , the Australian government has revealed .
Scott Morrison , the prime minister , disclosed the far-reaching attacks at a media conference in Canberra on Friday , while the defence minister , Linda Reynolds , declared that malicious cyber-activity was “ increasing in frequency , scale , in sophistication and in its impact ” .
The government did not say which country it believed was responsible , except to say it was “ a state-based actor , with very significant capabilities ” .
The prime minister declined to respond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was China , after months of tensions in its relationship with Australia , but security experts later said they believed it , Russia and North Korea were the only countries that fell within Morrison ’ s description .
China has been upset with Australia ’ s media for claiming that China has been engaged in a cover-up related to the coronavirus .

This report from NBC News never names the multinational corporation involved but it is not a Chinese company. However because it does do business in China, it was required to pay local taxes. A Chinese bank asked the company to install a piece of software to facilitate paying those taxes, but within hours the company’s entire system had been compromised with sophisticated software.
The tax software was legitimate, but embedded inside it was a nasty surprise, according to a new report by a private security firm: A sophisticated piece of malware that gave attackers complete access to the company’s network… The malicious code was extremely sophisticated, Hussey said. It had what he called a triple layer of persistence. It installed itself at two different locations on the network, and if one was deleted, the other one automatically kicked in. There was also a so-called protector module, which would download and install another copy in the event both were deleted. The software beaconed to a remote server at random intervals to evade detection, Hussey said.
Dubbed GoldenSpy, the malware activated just two hours after the tax software was installed. Because it was discovered shortly after it was activated, Trustwave says it isn’t sure who the creators of the spyware are or what they intended to do. However, the sophistication of the software leads them to believe this was probably created by a nation not a private group of hackers.
The real question is how many other companies operating in China have been victims of this same cyberattack.
“At this point, we are unable to determine how widespread this software is,” the report said. “We currently know of one targeted technology/software vendor and a highly similar incident occurring at a major financial institution, but this could be leveraged against countless companies operating and paying taxes in China or may be targeted at only a select few organizations with access to vital information.”
This kind of hidden takeover of a company’s network is a pretty extreme cyberattack, but it’s not as if China has any respect for privacy. Last year I wrote about an investigation which found that tourists entering western China had their phones taken at the border so that some kind of tracking app could be installed on it. The app apparently scanned people’s phones for extremist content.
If you enter China, you have to expect that the government intends to spy on you and, if you are a multinational corporation, probably try to steal from you as well.
Update: Australia has been under a wave of cyber-attacks believed to be emanating from China.
A wide range of political and private-sector organisations in Australia have come under cyber-attack carried out by a “sophisticated state-based cyber-actor”, the Australian government has revealed. Scott Morrison, the prime minister, disclosed the far-reaching attacks at a media conference in Canberra on Friday, while the defence minister, Linda Reynolds, declared that malicious cyber-activity was “increasing in frequency, scale, in sophistication and in its impact”. The government did not say which country it believed was responsible, except to say it was “a state-based actor, with very significant capabilities”. The prime minister declined to respond to a specific question about whether it was China, after months of tensions in its relationship with Australia, but security experts later said they believed it, Russia and North Korea were the only countries that fell within Morrison’s description.
China has been upset with Australia’s media for claiming that China has been engaged in a cover-up related to the coronavirus.


hotair--2020-06-25--Lawmakers balk at Trump administration's plan to pull support from COVID-19 testing sites

One of the worst things about the coronavirus pandemic , other than the actual virus itself , is the confusion that keeps popping up about testing .
Now lawmakers are making waves because the Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) is shifting how the federal government provides support to thirteen testing sites .
The community-based coronavirus testing sites are located across the country , including seven that are in Texas .
Texas , as you know , is experiencing an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases , including hospitalizations .
Thankfully , the death rate is not skyrocketing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing continues to be a priority .
The trend now is younger , more healthy people getting the virus .
So , when the plan to shift how the federal government will support these sites was announced , lawmakers do what lawmakers do – they balked at allegedly losing federal money .
The sites are part of a “ now antiquated program ” the federal government has been using .
The federal government is moving away from it to expand testing options .
It is noted that the federal government has provided billions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Two of the sites in Houston are considered by city officials to be the backbone of testing efforts .
They each administer up to 500 tests per day .
Since Memorial Day , Texas has seen a 190 % increase in lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations .
Houston could soon be the country ’ s worst-hit city .
Governor Abbott is rightly sounding the alarm that more mitigation is necessary to stop the outbreak now .
The pushback against the announcement is coming from both sides of the political aisle .
“ Now is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing capabilities , not slowing it down , ” said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia , a Houston Democrat who led a letter to the heads of FEMA and Health and Human Services on Tuesday .
Houston Democratic U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee , Al Green and Lizzie Fletcher also signed it .
Also pushing back on the plan is a group of 20 members of the Texas House and Senate representing Harris County and Republican U.S. Sens .
John Cornyn and Ted Cruz .
Assistant HHS Secretary Brett Giroir is assuring lawmakers that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gov .
Greg Abbott , Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt , and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd .
Giroir claims that they all say that they are happy for the state to take control of the testing sites .
To me , this makes sense .
State and local officials are on the ground and more aware of what the needs are in local communities .
The government isn ’ t stopping its support .
The support will come in a different way .
The amount @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sites shouldn ’ t lose resources .
The plan to transition to states operating the testing sites has been in the works since April .
In other words , this isn ’ t a surprise announcement .
Giroir said the sites , which are located in Texas , Illinois , New Jersey , Colorado and Pennsylvania , will be supported by the $ 11 billion Congress allocated for testing and contact tracing , just like hundreds of other sites across the country .
“ We have worked carefully to make sure that [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing any services to any people , ” Giroir said .
Giroir said those 13 sites will remain open and will be operated by the states .
He said governors were aware of the plan to transition to state control , which had been in place since April .
“ There is no reason that a locally unresponsive , bulky , parallel system needs to occur when the states could happily take these over , and they happily will , ” Giroir said .
Objections are coming from Texas lawmakers because of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes at the same time the federal government is changing how it supports the testing sites .
A request for a later date for the change has been made .
In March , the CDC opened 41 community-based testing sites in coronavirus hot spots across the country .
The program is now outdated and these 13 testing sites around the country are the only ones remaining in operation .
The sites were narrowly focused and operated when supplies were more limited .
That is why HHS is making the change now .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal program in place that will reimburse retail pharmacies for providing tests .
There are now more than 600 testing sites in 48 states operating under this program .

One of the worst things about the coronavirus pandemic, other than the actual virus itself, is the confusion that keeps popping up about testing. Now lawmakers are making waves because the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is shifting how the federal government provides support to thirteen testing sites.
The community-based coronavirus testing sites are located across the country, including seven that are in Texas. Texas, as you know, is experiencing an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases, including hospitalizations. Thankfully, the death rate is not skyrocketing. The positivity rate is rising and testing continues to be a priority. The trend now is younger, more healthy people getting the virus.
So, when the plan to shift how the federal government will support these sites was announced, lawmakers do what lawmakers do – they balked at allegedly losing federal money. The sites are part of a “now antiquated program” the federal government has been using. The federal government is moving away from it to expand testing options. It is noted that the federal government has provided billions of dollars to help state testing efforts.
An array of Texas officials from the city of Houston to the state legislature and Congress are urging the White House to rethink the move, warning of “catastrophic cascading consequences” of pulling federal support for testing sites, four of which are in Harris County and administer thousands of tests per day. Houston officials say the sites won’t close, but keeping them open without federal help will drain much-needed resources as the city works to expand testing and build a contact tracing network.
Two of the sites in Houston are considered by city officials to be the backbone of testing efforts. They each administer up to 500 tests per day. Since Memorial Day, Texas has seen a 190% increase in lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations. Houston could soon be the country’s worst-hit city. Governor Abbott is rightly sounding the alarm that more mitigation is necessary to stop the outbreak now. The pushback against the announcement is coming from both sides of the political aisle.
“Now is the time to be ramping up our testing capabilities, not slowing it down,” said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat who led a letter to the heads of FEMA and Health and Human Services on Tuesday. Houston Democratic U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Al Green and Lizzie Fletcher also signed it. Also pushing back on the plan is a group of 20 members of the Texas House and Senate representing Harris County and Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
Assistant HHS Secretary Brett Giroir is assuring lawmakers that he has spoken with Texas leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. Giroir claims that they all say that they are happy for the state to take control of the testing sites. To me, this makes sense. State and local officials are on the ground and more aware of what the needs are in local communities.
Giroir said the federal government gives testing supplies to the state every month and that the federal government has sent Texas $567 million and Houston $73 million in coronavirus relief funding that they can use to help pick up the costs of keeping the sites running. Covering the seven sites in Texas that will lose federal support should be a “minimal burden” on the state, he said.
The government isn’t stopping its support. The support will come in a different way. The amount of testing will not decrease and the sites shouldn’t lose resources. The plan to transition to states operating the testing sites has been in the works since April. In other words, this isn’t a surprise announcement.
Giroir said the sites, which are located in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania, will be supported by the $11 billion Congress allocated for testing and contact tracing, just like hundreds of other sites across the country. “We have worked carefully to make sure that [the 13 sites] could sunset without losing any services to any people,” Giroir said. Giroir said those 13 sites will remain open and will be operated by the states. He said governors were aware of the plan to transition to state control, which had been in place since April. “There is no reason that a locally unresponsive, bulky, parallel system needs to occur when the states could happily take these over, and they happily will,” Giroir said.
Objections are coming from Texas lawmakers because of the timing – the spike in coronavirus cases comes at the same time the federal government is changing how it supports the testing sites. A request for a later date for the change has been made.
David Persse, who leads the Houston Health Department, sent a letter to Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz asking for federal support to continue through the end of August. “Losing the support of the federal government for testing sites will undoubtedly have catastrophic cascading consequences in the region’s ability to adequately test, quarantine and isolate, ultimately blunting the progression of COVID-19,” Persse said.
In March, the CDC opened 41 community-based testing sites in coronavirus hot spots across the country. The program is now outdated and these 13 testing sites around the country are the only ones remaining in operation. The sites were narrowly focused and operated when supplies were more limited. That is why HHS is making the change now. And Giroir points out that there is a federal program in place that will reimburse retail pharmacies for providing tests. There are now more than 600 testing sites in 48 states operating under this program.


hotair--2020-06-25--Inching towards lockdown: Texas governor hits pause on reopening for business

Last night I said that Texas is already in a “ soft ” lockdown , with Gov .
Greg Abbott strongly encouraging — but not formally ordering — people not to leave their homes amid a “ massive ” outbreak of COVID-19 .
The psychological and political pressure on Abbott not to issue that formal order and institute a “ hard ” lockdown is tremendous .
Psychologically it would require him to all but admit that the state wasn ’ t ready to reopen when he said it was .
It ’ s hard to admit that sort of error @ @ @ @ @ @ @ line .
Politically it would no doubt be seen as a massive act of “ disloyalty ” by Trump .
The president ’ s concluded that his path to reelection lies through a massive economic comeback .
If a state as populous as Texas shuts down again , it ’ ll be a double whammy : Not only will the economy take a hit from the loss of productivity , other states struggling with outbreaks right now might treat it as political cover to lock down again too .
We might have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with tens of thousands of layoffs .
Next month ’ s jobs number might erase the gains made this past month .
Trump and Congress would suddenly come under ( greater ) pressure to put together a new relief package for unemployed workers .
Even if the lockdown only lasted a few weeks , it might set back the economy enough to erase all possibility of a strong trend towards recovery by November to help Trump at the polls .
But Abbott may be left with no choice .
The state set a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with nearly 6,000 .
Houston ’ s ICUs are already close to capacity .
If the health-care systems in the state ’ s major cities begin to buckle over the next week and cases keep rising , he might have to go nuclear to avoid calamity — assuming it won ’ t be too late to do it .
Until then , though , he ’ s putting the brakes on the state ’ s reopening plans : Gov .
Greg Abbott announced Thursday morning that he will pause any further phases of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again putting a stop to elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients in certain counties .
Abbott ’ s latest action does nothing to reverse any of the reopening phases he ’ s already allowed for — meaning that bars , restaurants , malls , bowling alleys and other businesses are still allowed to remain open with some capacity limitations .
“ The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses , ” he wrote in a press release on Thursday , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corral the spread.
” The latest ban on elective procedures only applies to Bexar , Dallas , Harris and Travis counties , four areas where the number of patients hospitalized with virus is quickly progressing .
That last paragraph , with its use of the word “ only , ” makes it sound like the four counties named are podunk areas covering a tiny part of Texas .
They ’ re the counties where San Antonio , Dallas , Houston , and Austin are located , respectively .
All of the major population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crunch for hospital beds that they ’ re having to stop elective procedures .
The medical director of a hospital system in Houston warned residents that , although he can manage the crunch right now with the surge capacity they have , that will become untenable within weeks .
“ [ I ] f this trajectory is what it was the last 10 days , ” he said , “ when we literally had almost a tripling of our cases — we can ’ t do that for a couple of weeks at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two to three weeks for a new COVID infection to develop to the point where hospitalization is needed , which means that the die is probably already cast in Houston as to whether hospitals will end up overwhelmed .
People are being infected today who ’ ll end up at the hospital a few weeks from now .
Abbott is gambling that a new lockdown wasn ’ t needed because the many informal warnings to Texans this past week have penetrated well enough to begin slowing the spread by convincing them to social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about that , Texas will have quite a situation on its hands by mid-July .
This morning on CNN , Sanjay Gupta was left marveling that the richest , most powerful country in the world is handling its outbreak about as well as Brazil while first-world nations in Europe are Asia are getting back to business : Believe it , my man : Fun fact for Gupta : In the capital of Texas , the records system is so outdated and cloddish that COVID test results are being typed out , then *faxed* @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whereupon the info on the fax needs to be retyped into the authorities ’ computer system .
“ It ’ s archaic , ” said the local county commissioner .
“ It is so crude I am horrified to hear this.
” In Arizona , demand for tests right now is so huge relative to testing capacity that appointments in Phoenix for drive-through testing by the state ’ s largest lab are booked solid for the day within seven minutes of opening for business in the morning .
Per the Times , last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ twice as many samples as it can process .
I ’ m still slightly hopeful that we ’ ll have outperformed Brazil when this is all over .
Probably some third-world countries too .
Maybe .
I ’ d say no less than 50 percent of the clamor for more mask-wearing by me and others is driven by exasperation that the country just can ’ t seem to get a handle on the pandemic already .
Trumpers have their magical cure in hydroxychloroquine , people like me have our magical preventive in masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be fine .
Eh , not really .
But there is an important difference between HCQ and masks .
While the evidence that HCQ works against COVID remains paper thin , the evidence that universal mask-wearing would put a dent in the outbreak is abundant .
In fact… Nate Silver thinks there may be something to that .
Maybe we ’ ve reached a point of sufficient desperation , though , that it ’ s time to think beyond conventional approaches like more mask-wearing .
Robert Gallo , the famous researcher who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , argued in a letter to the Times today that we should strongly consider dosing out the polio vaccine to Americans because its ability to stimulate the immune system may end up heightening our defenses to the coronavirus .
Any immunity it provides would be short-lived , but a series of short-term “ boosters ” against the virus is better than watching Houston ’ s hospital system collapse .

Last night I said that Texas is already in a “soft” lockdown, with Gov. Greg Abbott strongly encouraging — but not formally ordering — people not to leave their homes amid a “massive” outbreak of COVID-19. The psychological and political pressure on Abbott not to issue that formal order and institute a “hard” lockdown is tremendous. Psychologically it would require him to all but admit that the state wasn’t ready to reopen when he said it was. It’s hard to admit that sort of error, especially when lives are on the line. Politically it would no doubt be seen as a massive act of “disloyalty” by Trump. The president’s concluded that his path to reelection lies through a massive economic comeback. If a state as populous as Texas shuts down again, it’ll be a double whammy: Not only will the economy take a hit from the loss of productivity, other states struggling with outbreaks right now might treat it as political cover to lock down again too.
We might have a cascade effect across the south, replete with tens of thousands of layoffs. Next month’s jobs number might erase the gains made this past month. Trump and Congress would suddenly come under (greater) pressure to put together a new relief package for unemployed workers. Even if the lockdown only lasted a few weeks, it might set back the economy enough to erase all possibility of a strong trend towards recovery by November to help Trump at the polls.
But Abbott may be left with no choice. The state set a new daily record for confirmed cases today with nearly 6,000. Houston’s ICUs are already close to capacity. If the health-care systems in the state’s major cities begin to buckle over the next week and cases keep rising, he might have to go nuclear to avoid calamity — assuming it won’t be too late to do it. Until then, though, he’s putting the brakes on the state’s reopening plans:
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday morning that he will pause any further phases of reopening Texas and that he is once again putting a stop to elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients in certain counties. Abbott’s latest action does nothing to reverse any of the reopening phases he’s already allowed for — meaning that bars, restaurants, malls, bowling alleys and other businesses are still allowed to remain open with some capacity limitations. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses,” he wrote in a press release on Thursday, but the “pause will help our state corral the spread.” The latest ban on elective procedures only applies to Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties, four areas where the number of patients hospitalized with virus is quickly progressing.
That last paragraph, with its use of the word “only,” makes it sound like the four counties named are podunk areas covering a tiny part of Texas. They’re the counties where San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Austin are located, respectively. All of the major population centers are now facing enough of a crunch for hospital beds that they’re having to stop elective procedures. The medical director of a hospital system in Houston warned residents that, although he can manage the crunch right now with the surge capacity they have, that will become untenable within weeks. “[I]f this trajectory is what it was the last 10 days,” he said, “when we literally had almost a tripling of our cases — we can’t do that for a couple of weeks at all.”
Remember that it typically takes two to three weeks for a new COVID infection to develop to the point where hospitalization is needed, which means that the die is probably already cast in Houston as to whether hospitals will end up overwhelmed. People are being infected today who’ll end up at the hospital a few weeks from now. Abbott is gambling that a new lockdown wasn’t needed because the many informal warnings to Texans this past week have penetrated well enough to begin slowing the spread by convincing them to social distance aggressively. If he gambled wrong about that, Texas will have quite a situation on its hands by mid-July.
This morning on CNN, Sanjay Gupta was left marveling that the richest, most powerful country in the world is handling its outbreak about as well as Brazil while first-world nations in Europe are Asia are getting back to business:
JUST NOW: "I cannot believe we're in the position that we're in in right now. We're the greatest country on Earth. We should have been able to figure this out." Wow…I have never heard @drsanjaygupta so frustrated.@NewDaypic.twitter.com/ForyHvqI8T — John Berman (@JohnBerman) June 25, 2020
Believe it, my man:
Fun fact for Gupta: In the capital of Texas, the records system is so outdated and cloddish that COVID test results are being typed out, then *faxed* to the local public health authorities, whereupon the info on the fax needs to be retyped into the authorities’ computer system. “It’s archaic,” said the local county commissioner. “It is so crude I am horrified to hear this.” In Arizona, demand for tests right now is so huge relative to testing capacity that appointments in Phoenix for drive-through testing by the state’s largest lab are booked solid for the day within seven minutes of opening for business in the morning. Per the Times, last Friday the lab ended up with fully twice as many samples as it can process.
I’m still slightly hopeful that we’ll have outperformed Brazil when this is all over. Probably some third-world countries too. Maybe.
I’d say no less than 50 percent of the clamor for more mask-wearing by me and others is driven by exasperation that the country just can’t seem to get a handle on the pandemic already. Trumpers have their magical cure in hydroxychloroquine, people like me have our magical preventive in masks. Just wear the mask and everything will be fine. Eh, not really. But there is an important difference between HCQ and masks. While the evidence that HCQ works against COVID remains paper thin, the evidence that universal mask-wearing would put a dent in the outbreak is abundant. In fact…
Over the last 2 weeks, cases have risen by 84% in states that don't require wearing masks in public. In states where mask wearing is mandatory, cases have fallen by 25%. https://t.co/VJkKe7yEQ3 pic.twitter.com/2iXgg3ZwZ8 — John Duchneskie (@jduchneskie) June 24, 2020
Nate Silver thinks there may be something to that. Maybe we’ve reached a point of sufficient desperation, though, that it’s time to think beyond conventional approaches like more mask-wearing. Robert Gallo, the famous researcher who helped discover HIV in the early 80s, argued in a letter to the Times today that we should strongly consider dosing out the polio vaccine to Americans because its ability to stimulate the immune system may end up heightening our defenses to the coronavirus. Any immunity it provides would be short-lived, but a series of short-term “boosters” against the virus is better than watching Houston’s hospital system collapse.


hotair--2020-06-25--Washington Post: Conservative media may have intensified the pandemic

The Post published an analysis of three recent studies which purport to connect conservative media to an intensification of the pandemic .
A lot of that intensification is assumed as we ’ ll see .
The first of the three was peer-reviewed and was based on a poll of 1,000 people .
Administering a nationally representative phone survey with 1,008 respondents , they found that people who got most of their information from mainstream print and broadcast outlets tended to have an accurate assessment of the severity of the pandemic and their risks of infection .
But those who relied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News and Rush Limbaugh , were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories or unfounded rumors , such as the belief that taking vitamin C could prevent infection , that the Chinese government had created the virus , and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exaggerated the pandemic ’ s threat “ to damage the Trump presidency.
” The second study is described as a “ working paper ” meaning this is still pre-publication .
It found an impact on travel based on Fox News viewership : We find strong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on several measures of the incremental propensity to stay at home during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis in the US , relative to January 2020 immediately before the outbreak .
While comparable in magnitude to the voting context , the persuasive effect of Fox Viewership on social distancing compliance is quite large , especially given that it defies the expert recommendations from leaders of the US and global health communities .
Interestingly , we fail to find conclusive effects of CNN viewership on social distancing compliance .
But there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The first is that this effect only seems to show up for the first two weeks of March : Why does this matter ?
Because nothing beyond a few high-profile events like Comic-Con was shut down in the first two weeks of March .
As I ’ ve written many times , the first counties to issue a stay-at-home order happened on March 16th in northern California .
So the study is suggesting that Fox News watchers were less likely to stay at home at a time when no one had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second catch is that the researchers have no evidence of how this relates to the number of infections or deaths : The third study is another “ working paper ” meaning it hasn ’ t been published yet .
This one is more interesting because it notes that there were actually different messages coming from the hosts at Fox News in the early days of the virus .
Sean Hannity was downplaying the seriousness of the virus but Tucker Carlson was doing the opposite .
In fact , Carlson was telling people to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was unnecessary .
Here ’ s a graph based on ratings given to the various programs : And here ’ s what the Post says about the study ’ s conclusions : They found that Hannity viewership was associated with changing pandemic-related behaviors ( like hand-washing and canceling travel plans ) four days later than other Fox News viewers , while Carlson viewership was associated with changing behaviors three days earlier .
Given the importance of individual behavior in curbing the spread of the coronavirus , it stands to reason that places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ steps might see more severe outbreaks .
That ’ s exactly what the final step of their analysis shows .
Could more hand-washing in February have helped ?
Probably but the fact remains that it was business as usual for almost everyone at that time .
In early March movie theaters were still open and so was Broadway and the NBA .
Blaming Fox News for the fact that no elected official anywhere in the country had shut down anything seems like a stretch .
What ’ s really frustrating about this entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic on Fox News is that by far the worst outbreak in the country , worse than almost everywhere in the world , was in New York City .
Were the residents of NYC hanging on every word from Sean Hannity .
I ’ m sure some were but not most .
It ’ s far more likely they were listening to Mayor de Blasio and Gov .
Cuomo who in early March were still telling people to go about business as usual and arguing over whether or not to shutter schools .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sending sick people back to nursing homes almost certainly had a far greater impact on the worst outbreak in the U.S. than anything on Fox News .
I look forward to the Post ’ s coverage of studies about those topics .

The Post published an analysis of three recent studies which purport to connect conservative media to an intensification of the pandemic. A lot of that intensification is assumed as we’ll see. The first of the three was peer-reviewed and was based on a poll of 1,000 people.
Administering a nationally representative phone survey with 1,008 respondents, they found that people who got most of their information from mainstream print and broadcast outlets tended to have an accurate assessment of the severity of the pandemic and their risks of infection. But those who relied on conservative sources, such as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories or unfounded rumors, such as the belief that taking vitamin C could prevent infection, that the Chinese government had created the virus, and that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exaggerated the pandemic’s threat “to damage the Trump presidency.”
The second study is described as a “working paper” meaning this is still pre-publication. It found an impact on travel based on Fox News viewership:
We find strong evidence of a Fox New viewership effect on several measures of the incremental propensity to stay at home during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis in the US, relative to January 2020 immediately before the outbreak. While comparable in magnitude to the voting context,
the persuasive effect of Fox Viewership on social distancing compliance is quite large, especially given that it defies the expert recommendations from leaders of the US and global health communities. Interestingly, we fail to find conclusive effects of CNN viewership on social distancing
compliance.
But there’s a catch to this, actually two. The first is that this effect only seems to show up for the first two weeks of March:
As anticipated, we find extremely small and statistically insignificant viewership effects throughout February, prior to the first emergency declaration. Only after March 1st, the day after the first emergency declaration in the US as explained above, do the IV estimates become systematically negative and statistically significant. The magnitudes increase between March 1st and March 13th, after which the point estimates appear to stabilize.
Why does this matter? Because nothing beyond a few high-profile events like Comic-Con was shut down in the first two weeks of March. As I’ve written many times, the first counties to issue a stay-at-home order happened on March 16th in northern California. So the study is suggesting that Fox News watchers were less likely to stay at home at a time when no one had been ordered to stay at home. The second catch is that the researchers have no evidence of how this relates to the number of infections or deaths:
…we do not attempt to attribute the Fox News effects to health outcomes, namely cases and deaths, for several reasons. First, to the best of our knowledge, COVID-19-related cases and deaths are tracked at the more aggregate county level and not at the zipcode level. Second, experts still disagree about the accuracy and reliability of current data which limits the interpretabilty of any association we might find with our behavioral outcomes…
The third study is another “working paper” meaning it hasn’t been published yet. This one is more interesting because it notes that there were actually different messages coming from the hosts at Fox News in the early days of the virus. Sean Hannity was downplaying the seriousness of the virus but Tucker Carlson was doing the opposite. In fact, Carlson was telling people to use masks when the CDC was saying it was unnecessary. Here’s a graph based on ratings given to the various programs:
And here’s what the Post says about the study’s conclusions:
They found that Hannity viewership was associated with changing pandemic-related behaviors (like hand-washing and canceling travel plans) four days later than other Fox News viewers, while Carlson viewership was associated with changing behaviors three days earlier. Given the importance of individual behavior in curbing the spread of the coronavirus, it stands to reason that places where people were slower to take preventive steps might see more severe outbreaks. That’s exactly what the final step of their analysis shows.
Could more hand-washing in February have helped? Probably but the fact remains that it was business as usual for almost everyone at that time. In early March movie theaters were still open and so was Broadway and the NBA. Blaming Fox News for the fact that no elected official anywhere in the country had shut down anything seems like a stretch.
What’s really frustrating about this entire effort to blame the seriousness of the pandemic on Fox News is that by far the worst outbreak in the country, worse than almost everywhere in the world, was in New York City. Were the residents of NYC hanging on every word from Sean Hannity. I’m sure some were but not most.
It’s far more likely they were listening to Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo who in early March were still telling people to go about business as usual and arguing over whether or not to shutter schools. The impact of leaving subways open 24/7 and sending sick people back to nursing homes almost certainly had a far greater impact on the worst outbreak in the U.S. than anything on Fox News. I look forward to the Post’s coverage of studies about those topics.