hotair--2020-05-11--Feds weighing possible hate crime charges in Ahmaud Arbery case

How can the feds have jurisdiction over a killing that happened in Georgia , you ask ?
I assume it ’ s because of this 2009 addition to the federal penal code , which allows the DOJ to get involved in possible hate-crime cases where “ the State has requested that the Federal Government assume jurisdiction.
” That ’ s what Georgia ’ s attorney general did this morning .
His thinking , I ’ m guessing , is that this case has already been an out-and-out sh*tshow as handled by local authorities and the AG wants to make sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further in case the state continues to mishandle it .
They ’ re better off handing it to Bill Barr and the DOJ .
Except that Barr ’ s DOJ is also highly suspect in the eyes of Democrats .
If the feds take the case and can ’ t get a conviction , Trump will be pummeled for having blown it .
Why would the president , and Barr , assume that risk ?
On the other hand , if Barr declines to take the case , Trump will pummeled for supposedly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the other hand , if Barr and his team prosecute the case successfully , that ’ s a nice political feather in the president ’ s cap ahead of the election .
Hmmmm .
The feds don ’ t need an invitation from the state to get involved .
The 2009 statute also permits federal intervention where “ a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.
” Question for legal eagles , though : Don ’ t they need hard evidence of racist motive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
I ’ m guessing it can ’ t be enough that Ahmaud ’ s death resembled a lynching , which it did , with an armed posse of white men cornering a black man accused of a crime without evidence .
Here ’ s what the statute says : ( 1 ) Offenses involving actual or perceived race , color , religion , or national origin.—Whoever , whether or not acting under color of law , willfully causes bodily injury to any person or , through the use of fire , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an explosive or incendiary device , attempts to cause bodily injury to any person , because of the actual or perceived race , color , religion , or national origin of any person— ( A ) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years , fined in accordance with this title , or both ; and ( B ) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life , fined in accordance with this title , or both , if— ( i ) death results from the offense ; or ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an attempt to kidnap , aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse , or an attempt to kill .
There ’ s a lot riding on the words “ because of.
” We can suspect why the McMichaels viewed Arbery as a threat so dangerous that he had to be confronted with firearms , but suspecting it and getting to beyond a reasonable doubt are two different things .
From Barr ’ s standpoint , why take a highly visible case where solid evidence of racist motive may not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prosecutors can probably nail them with life sentences based on the plain facts as we know them , without question of their motivation ?
Besides , the state prosecution is now being led by someone whose role should help ease some of the racial tensions here .
Cobb County D.A .
Joyette Holmes is taking over .
She ’ s a former judge , a black woman , and a Republican , appointed by Brian Kemp .
Arbery ’ s parents sound satisfied to have her handling the case , per a statement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barr ’ s going to end up passing and letting her handle it .
Here ’ s a report from ABC last night about the surveillance video of Arbery that Jazz wrote about yesterday — plus some more video of someone visiting the same construction site at night earlier this year .
Pay close attention at 1:35 .
Apparently that ’ s the very footage that the McMichaels saw that made them think Arbery was a burglar .
But it doesn ’ t look like him to my eye ; the suspect ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , between the blurred-out face and the significant arm tattoos , it ’ d be easy for someone who knew Arbery to tell if that ’ s him .
His family says it isn ’ t .
If they ’ re right , the McMichaels really did have the wrong man .
Nothing was ever stolen from the site , apparently .

How can the feds have jurisdiction over a killing that happened in Georgia, you ask? I assume it’s because of this 2009 addition to the federal penal code, which allows the DOJ to get involved in possible hate-crime cases where “the State has requested that the Federal Government assume jurisdiction.” That’s what Georgia’s attorney general did this morning. His thinking, I’m guessing, is that this case has already been an out-and-out sh*tshow as handled by local authorities and the AG wants to make sure that racial tensions don’t rise further in case the state continues to mishandle it. They’re better off handing it to Bill Barr and the DOJ.
Except that Barr’s DOJ is also highly suspect in the eyes of Democrats. If the feds take the case and can’t get a conviction, Trump will be pummeled for having blown it. Why would the president, and Barr, assume that risk? On the other hand, if Barr declines to take the case, Trump will pummeled for supposedly not taking the killing seriously.
On the other hand, if Barr and his team prosecute the case successfully, that’s a nice political feather in the president’s cap ahead of the election. Hmmmm.
DOJ spox on the Ahmaud Arbery case: "We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate. … We will continue to assess all information, and we will take any appropriate action that is warranted by the facts and the law." pic.twitter.com/ozSw6ubhTw — Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) May 11, 2020
The feds don’t need an invitation from the state to get involved. The 2009 statute also permits federal intervention where “a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.” Question for legal eagles, though: Don’t they need hard evidence of racist motive to make a charge like this stick? I’m guessing it can’t be enough that Ahmaud’s death resembled a lynching, which it did, with an armed posse of white men cornering a black man accused of a crime without evidence. Here’s what the statute says:
(1) Offenses involving actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person— (A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with this title, or both; and
(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if—
(i) death results from the offense; or
(ii) the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill.
There’s a lot riding on the words “because of.” We can suspect why the McMichaels viewed Arbery as a threat so dangerous that he had to be confronted with firearms, but suspecting it and getting to beyond a reasonable doubt are two different things. From Barr’s standpoint, why take a highly visible case where solid evidence of racist motive may not exist and risk blowing it when state prosecutors can probably nail them with life sentences based on the plain facts as we know them, without question of their motivation?
Besides, the state prosecution is now being led by someone whose role should help ease some of the racial tensions here. Cobb County D.A. Joyette Holmes is taking over. She’s a former judge, a black woman, and a Republican, appointed by Brian Kemp. Arbery’s parents sound satisfied to have her handling the case, per a statement issued by their attorney. I think Barr’s going to end up passing and letting her handle it.
Here’s a report from ABC last night about the surveillance video of Arbery that Jazz wrote about yesterday — plus some more video of someone visiting the same construction site at night earlier this year. Pay close attention at 1:35. Apparently that’s the very footage that the McMichaels saw that made them think Arbery was a burglar. But it doesn’t look like him to my eye; the suspect’s skin is lighter. And obviously, between the blurred-out face and the significant arm tattoos, it’d be easy for someone who knew Arbery to tell if that’s him. His family says it isn’t. If they’re right, the McMichaels really did have the wrong man. Nothing was ever stolen from the site, apparently.


hotair--2020-05-11--Life Flight's new protection against COVID-19: a cleaning robot

The coronavirus pandemic is changing many aspects of our lives .
Even the sanitizing of Life Flight helicopters owned by Memorial Hermann ’ s Life Flight in Houston has a new weapon against the spread of the virus – a sanitation robot .
One helicopter in the hospital system ’ s Life Flight fleet has been designated for transporting COVID-19 patients .
In order to cope with what was sure to be an increase in demand due to the coronavirus spreading in the Houston area , a plan was made to use one helicopter solely for patients with the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arise , Tom Flanagan , the director of Memorial Hermann Life Flight brought together Life Flight medical director Dr. Lesley Osborne , UTHealth epidemiologist Dr. Luis Ostrosky and Brandy Ferguson with the hospital ’ s emergency management team , as well as the chief flight nurse and chief pilot to work through tabletop exercises .
From those exercises , a plan was put together .
The top priority is cleanliness .
After each flight , the helicopter is cleaned with a water and bleach solution and then the cloth barrier between the cockpit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At that point , an ultraviolet-light sanitation robot is brought onboard .
Ultraviolet-light sanitation robots are already used in operating rooms so they were readily available .
In the hospital , the tubular robot rests on a set of wheels , and stands about as tall as a third-grader .
But inside the confined space of an aircraft , two crew members hoist the 40-pound clear cylinder from its base .
Crew members place the robot where a patient would be , in the center behind the cockpit ’ s dividing curtain , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then comes the light show .
Oliver and his colleagues use a Wi-Fi remote to activate the robot , which emits an ocean-blue light as it examines the crevices of the aircraft for evidence of coronavirus .
The light blinks on for minutes as it cleans using radioactive UV rays , then blinks off to detect more rogue bacteria .
The light doesn ’ t penetrate glass or plastic , but the crew is quick to seal all the helicopter ’ s openings as the robot works methodically for 20 to 30 minutes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hand-held device when it ’ s done .
The crew reopens the helicopter , performs another 40-pound weight-lift , and places the robot back on its wheels for the walk back to the hospital ’ s decontamination area .
It ’ s pretty clever , right ?
The robot is an added layer of protection in sanitizing the helicopter .
After consulting with Sky Tron , the manufacturer and vendor , to find out if the robot would work in helicopters , Flanagan was told they would so he ordered two for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the old way of transporting patients is gone now because of the pandemic and that includes non-COVID-19 patients , too .
Every person picked up for a Life Flight has their temperature taken and is masked as a precautionary measure .
Fifteen patients have been transported from Memorial Hermann facilities to the main Memorial Hermann campus in the Texas Medical Center .
Patients will soon begin to be moved to Houston Methodist Hospital .
Memorial Hermann Life Flight serves a 150-mile radius around Houston .
It makes daily trips to the Beaumont-Port @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In order to protect flight pilots and paramedics , new protocols and procedures have been implemented .
Instead of just flight suits , the flight crew also wear personal protection equipment .
For those of us who used to watch The Jetsons , we thought by now everyone would be traveling by flying cars .
Not yet .
Now , thanks to the coronavirus pandemic , we are being taught how to wash our hands and using robots to disinfect helicopters and operating rooms .

The coronavirus pandemic is changing many aspects of our lives. Even the sanitizing of Life Flight helicopters owned by Memorial Hermann’s Life Flight in Houston has a new weapon against the spread of the virus – a sanitation robot.
One helicopter in the hospital system’s Life Flight fleet has been designated for transporting COVID-19 patients. In order to cope with what was sure to be an increase in demand due to the coronavirus spreading in the Houston area, a plan was made to use one helicopter solely for patients with the virus. To be prepared for whatever would arise, Tom Flanagan, the director of Memorial Hermann Life Flight brought together Life Flight medical director Dr. Lesley Osborne, UTHealth epidemiologist Dr. Luis Ostrosky and Brandy Ferguson with the hospital’s emergency management team, as well as the chief flight nurse and chief pilot to work through tabletop exercises. From those exercises, a plan was put together.
The top priority is cleanliness. After each flight, the helicopter is cleaned with a water and bleach solution and then the cloth barrier between the cockpit and the patient area is removed. At that point, an ultraviolet-light sanitation robot is brought onboard. Ultraviolet-light sanitation robots are already used in operating rooms so they were readily available.
In the hospital, the tubular robot rests on a set of wheels, and stands about as tall as a third-grader. But inside the confined space of an aircraft, two crew members hoist the 40-pound clear cylinder from its base. “It’s pretty heavy actually,” said Christopher Oliver, a flight nurse. Crew members place the robot where a patient would be, in the center behind the cockpit’s dividing curtain, before shutting the doors and windows. Then comes the light show. Oliver and his colleagues use a Wi-Fi remote to activate the robot, which emits an ocean-blue light as it examines the crevices of the aircraft for evidence of coronavirus. The light blinks on for minutes as it cleans using radioactive UV rays, then blinks off to detect more rogue bacteria. The light doesn’t penetrate glass or plastic, but the crew is quick to seal all the helicopter’s openings as the robot works methodically for 20 to 30 minutes – sending an “all-clear” to the hand-held device when it’s done. The crew reopens the helicopter, performs another 40-pound weight-lift, and places the robot back on its wheels for the walk back to the hospital’s decontamination area.
It’s pretty clever, right? The robot is an added layer of protection in sanitizing the helicopter. After consulting with Sky Tron, the manufacturer and vendor, to find out if the robot would work in helicopters, Flanagan was told they would so he ordered two for the Life Flight helicopter. He said that the old way of transporting patients is gone now because of the pandemic and that includes non-COVID-19 patients, too. Every person picked up for a Life Flight has their temperature taken and is masked as a precautionary measure.
“This will change the world we know; everyone is trying to figure out what will be the new norm, how to open back up and start moving forward,” Flanagan said. “We want to continue to be a beacon for (emergency medical services) and other hospitals when they need air-medical transport.”.
Fifteen patients have been transported from Memorial Hermann facilities to the main Memorial Hermann campus in the Texas Medical Center. Patients will soon begin to be moved to Houston Methodist Hospital. Memorial Hermann Life Flight serves a 150-mile radius around Houston. It makes daily trips to the Beaumont-Port Arthur area to pick up critical patients.
In order to protect flight pilots and paramedics, new protocols and procedures have been implemented. Instead of just flight suits, the flight crew also wear personal protection equipment.
For those of us who used to watch The Jetsons, we thought by now everyone would be traveling by flying cars. Not yet. Now, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we are being taught how to wash our hands and using robots to disinfect helicopters and operating rooms.


hotair--2020-05-12--Los Angeles headed to lockdown ... forever?

Just for a period that ’ ll feel like forever .
This is the first time I ’ ve found myself moving towards the “ reopen now ” position .
A few dozen protests with Gadsden flags and AR-15s didn ’ t move me an inch .
But deciding that the biggest city in the world ’ s fifth largest economy should chill for most of the summer might have finally flipped me .
Los Angeles County ’ s stay-at-home orders will “ with all certainty ” be extended for the next three months , county Public Health Director Barbara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting on Tuesday… As other California regions have seen a decline in the number of reported infections and COVID-19-related deaths , L.A. County , the state ’ s most populous , continues to see growth on both fronts .
The county reported Monday an additional 566 people who tested positive for the virus , and an additional 39 deaths , bringing the death toll to 1,570 .
L.A. County ’ s death count accounts for more than half of the state ’ s total .
I understand them not wanting to reopen the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths are increasing , but a lockdown starting today and running through July would be longer than the lockdown we ’ ve experienced from the start of the epidemic until now .
To put this in perspective , California has fewer coronavirus deaths than Connecticut , a state with less than 10 percent of its population .
It has fewer than one-tenth the number of cases per capita that New York does and ranks in the bottom half of U.S. states in deaths per capita .
Gavin Newsom and the relevant local officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the outbreak by smothering the economy , but the plan right now seems to be to smother it until it stops moving .
At least beaches in L.A. County are reopening .
Provided you wear a mask , that is .
And no sunbathing .
“ Only active recreation — surfing , running , walking and swimming — will be permitted.
” No chairs !
The LA Times looked at Newsom ’ s guidelines for reopening counties across the state and found them to be , ah … exacting : A Times data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counties are not close to meeting Newsom ’ s standards .
The Times conducted an analysis to see which counties could pass just the first two criteria — whether deaths have stopped in the last 14 days , and whether there is no more than one case per 10,000 residents in that same time period .
Most of California failed that test .
In fact , 95 % of Californians live in counties that don ’ t meet that standard , The Times analysis found .
Not a single county in Southern California @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the criteria .
*Zero deaths* for two weeks ?
I.e .
the phony Chinese benchmark in Wuhan , which is almost certainly communist propaganda ?
You ’ ll be in lockdown forever , Angelenos .
It ’ s the only way to be sure .
Other state officials are looking further ahead to fall and planning to keep things locked down then too : The California State University ( CSU ) system said it plans to cancel all in-person classes for the fall and to continue instruction online… “ This virtual planning approach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the evolving data surrounding the progression of COVID 19 , ” White explained to CSU trustees .
White said non-partisan researchers and health experts forecast additional waves of infection coupled with the flu season in the fall .
He added the public immunity rate is very low , and it is not likely a vaccine will be developed during the academic year .
I ’ m tempted to predict that California ’ s going to see an exodus , although probably not among college kids .
Why would they leave ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed down this fall in anticipation of a second wave .
Regular working stiffs might be a different story , though .
If you ’ re one of the many Californians who ’ ve grown tired of the tax burden and cost of living , an indefinite lockdown might be the last little bit of motivation you need to finally pack up and go .
Great Depression II could end up looking like the opposite of the original Great Depression : Instead of dust-bowlers migrating west to California in search of a better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dust bowl for work .
By the way , the national picture today is looking up : We ’ ve improved in all relevant categories since last week .
That positive test rate is especially encouraging since it ’ s reliably in single digits now .
For a long time last month it hovered in the gory range of 20 percent .
We ’ ve now increased testing to the point where it ’ s less than half of that , which means we ’ re creeping up towards the level of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel confident about detecting new outbreaks .
Not only that but the number of daily new cases is down by 50 percent from the 30,000 or so per day we were averaging in late April .
And we haven ’ t had a day with more than 2,000 deaths in a week .
If you want to treat all of that as reason to proceed full speed ahead towards a grand reopening on the Sweden model , fair enough .
I ’ ll leave you with this .

Not literally forever.
Just for a period that’ll feel like forever.
This is the first time I’ve found myself moving towards the “reopen now” position. A few dozen protests with Gadsden flags and AR-15s didn’t move me an inch. But deciding that the biggest city in the world’s fifth largest economy should chill for most of the summer might have finally flipped me.
Los Angeles County’s stay-at-home orders will “with all certainty” be extended for the next three months, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer acknowledged during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday… As other California regions have seen a decline in the number of reported infections and COVID-19-related deaths, L.A. County, the state’s most populous, continues to see growth on both fronts. The county reported Monday an additional 566 people who tested positive for the virus, and an additional 39 deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,570. L.A. County’s death count accounts for more than half of the state’s total.
I understand them not wanting to reopen the county at a moment when cases and deaths are increasing, but a lockdown starting today and running through July would be longer than the lockdown we’ve experienced from the start of the epidemic until now.
To put this in perspective, California has fewer coronavirus deaths than Connecticut, a state with less than 10 percent of its population. It has fewer than one-tenth the number of cases per capita that New York does and ranks in the bottom half of U.S. states in deaths per capita. Gavin Newsom and the relevant local officials have done a bang-up job of smothering the outbreak by smothering the economy, but the plan right now seems to be to smother it until it stops moving.
At least beaches in L.A. County are reopening. Provided you wear a mask, that is. And no sunbathing. “Only active recreation — surfing, running, walking and swimming — will be permitted.” No chairs!
The LA Times looked at Newsom’s guidelines for reopening counties across the state and found them to be, ah … exacting:
A Times data analysis last week found most big California counties are not close to meeting Newsom’s standards. The Times conducted an analysis to see which counties could pass just the first two criteria — whether deaths have stopped in the last 14 days, and whether there is no more than one case per 10,000 residents in that same time period. Most of California failed that test. In fact, 95% of Californians live in counties that don’t meet that standard, The Times analysis found. Not a single county in Southern California nor the San Francisco Bay Area met the criteria.
*Zero deaths* for two weeks? I.e. the phony Chinese benchmark in Wuhan, which is almost certainly communist propaganda?
You’ll be in lockdown forever, Angelenos. It’s the only way to be sure.
Other state officials are looking further ahead to fall and planning to keep things locked down then too:
The California State University (CSU) system said it plans to cancel all in-person classes for the fall and to continue instruction online… “This virtual planning approach for the next academic year is necessary because of the evolving data surrounding the progression of COVID 19,” White explained to CSU trustees. White said non-partisan researchers and health experts forecast additional waves of infection coupled with the flu season in the fall. He added the public immunity rate is very low, and it is not likely a vaccine will be developed during the academic year.
I’m tempted to predict that California’s going to see an exodus, although probably not among college kids. Why would they leave? Schools everywhere in the U.S. will be closed down this fall in anticipation of a second wave. Regular working stiffs might be a different story, though. If you’re one of the many Californians who’ve grown tired of the tax burden and cost of living, an indefinite lockdown might be the last little bit of motivation you need to finally pack up and go. Great Depression II could end up looking like the opposite of the original Great Depression: Instead of dust-bowlers migrating west to California in search of a better life, Californians might head east to the dust bowl for work.
By the way, the national picture today is looking up:
US daily numbers via @COVID19Tracking. Much better than past Tuesdays. Newly reported deaths
Today: 1,510
Yesterday: 837
One week ago (5/5): 2,527 Newly reported cases
T: 20K
Y: 18K
5/5: 22K Newly reported tests
T: 307K
Y: 388K
5/5: 259K Positive test rate
T: 7%
Y: 5%
5/5: 9% — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) May 12, 2020
We’ve improved in all relevant categories since last week. That positive test rate is especially encouraging since it’s reliably in single digits now. For a long time last month it hovered in the gory range of 20 percent. We’ve now increased testing to the point where it’s less than half of that, which means we’re creeping up towards the level of surveillance we’d need nationally to feel confident about detecting new outbreaks. Not only that but the number of daily new cases is down by 50 percent from the 30,000 or so per day we were averaging in late April. And we haven’t had a day with more than 2,000 deaths in a week.
If you want to treat all of that as reason to proceed full speed ahead towards a grand reopening on the Sweden model, fair enough. I’ll leave you with this.


hotair--2020-05-12--Romney: "I find our testing record nothing to celebrate whatsoever"

Only a RINO malcontent would fail to see the glory in the U.S. being ranked 40th worldwide in tests per capita .
Or the CDC completely botching the initial testing rollout in February , replete with crude errors like lab contamination .
Chisel these paragraphs in granite on the walls of the eventual coronavirus memorial in Washington : Early on , the F.D.A.
, which oversees laboratory tests , sent Dr. Timothy Stenzel , chief of in vitro diagnostics and radiological health , to the C.D.C .
labs to assess the problem , several officials said .
He found an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and learned that nobody was in charge of the entire process , they said .
Problems ranged from researchers entering and exiting the coronavirus laboratories without changing their coats , to test ingredients being assembled in the same room where researchers were working on positive coronavirus samples , officials said .
Those practices made the tests sent to public health labs unusable because they were contaminated with the coronavirus , and produced some inconclusive results .
One amazing thing about the catastrophic early failure in testing by the U.S. is how completely the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A new poll out today from Pew finds that 72 percent of Americans rate the agency ’ s response to the epidemic as excellent or good even though it ’ s been sidelined since its giant testing screw-up in favor of other experts like Fauci and Birx .
Republicans are more in tune with the truth about the CDC ’ s performance than Democrats are , with just 68 percent rating it excellent or good versus 75 percent of Democrats .
I wonder how much either of those numbers has to do with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency .
That is , how many Americans think Birx and Fauci work for the CDC and are rating the agency based on their performance ?
How many Democrats are giving the agency good marks simply because they want to heap blame for all failures on Trump by comparison ?
How many Republican critics of the CDC are rating it badly as an expression of disapproval of all public health experts who oppose reopening the economy as opposed to rating it based on testing ?
The other amazing thing about the testing debacle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Even though the current garish death toll from the epidemic and all its attendant economic misery are a direct result of failing to test aggressively early and contain the outbreak , no one seems particularly outraged or even surprised that we ’ ve arrived at the pitiful position we ’ re in .
We don ’ t expect America , especially the federal government , to be equal to great challenges anymore .
We ’ ll muddle through , writes Ross Douthat , but Romney ’ s wishes in the clip below @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seem hallucinatory .
We ’ re Americans .
We don ’ t do efficiency , or victory .
We do quagmires and culture war .
We are capable enough to avoid socioeconomic collapse , resilient enough to muddle through an era of mass death — but 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… But we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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… 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rise .
Why would we do basic things like wear masks or institute centralized quarantine , which Americans have done successfully in the past to contain dangerous epidemics , when we can scream denialist platitudes instead ?
Of course our early testing sucked .
How could it have been otherwise ?
It is getting better , though , bit by bit .
The number of positive cases as a percentage of testing nationwide has been especially encouraging over the past few days , although with the caveat that the numbers always look better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the week .
Today ’ s numbers will give us a clue as to whether that apparent trend is real or whether it was just another weekend fluke .
Here ’ s Romney , who also makes a point of contradicting Trump on whether Obama is to blame for the lack of vaccine , even enlisting Fauci in his efforts .
He ’ s all-in on his role as anti-Trumper-in-chief , I guess .

Only a RINO malcontent would fail to see the glory in the U.S. being ranked 40th worldwide in tests per capita.
Or the CDC completely botching the initial testing rollout in February, replete with crude errors like lab contamination. Chisel these paragraphs in granite on the walls of the eventual coronavirus memorial in Washington:
Early on, the F.D.A., which oversees laboratory tests, sent Dr. Timothy Stenzel, chief of in vitro diagnostics and radiological health, to the C.D.C. labs to assess the problem, several officials said. He found an astonishing lack of expertise in commercial manufacturing and learned that nobody was in charge of the entire process, they said. Problems ranged from researchers entering and exiting the coronavirus laboratories without changing their coats, to test ingredients being assembled in the same room where researchers were working on positive coronavirus samples, officials said. Those practices made the tests sent to public health labs unusable because they were contaminated with the coronavirus, and produced some inconclusive results.
One amazing thing about the catastrophic early failure in testing by the U.S. is how completely the CDC has escaped blame for it. A new poll out today from Pew finds that 72 percent of Americans rate the agency’s response to the epidemic as excellent or good even though it’s been sidelined since its giant testing screw-up in favor of other experts like Fauci and Birx. Republicans are more in tune with the truth about the CDC’s performance than Democrats are, with just 68 percent rating it excellent or good versus 75 percent of Democrats.
I wonder how much either of those numbers has to do with the testing fiasco versus misconceptions about the agency. That is, how many Americans think Birx and Fauci work for the CDC and are rating the agency based on their performance? How many Democrats are giving the agency good marks simply because they want to heap blame for all failures on Trump by comparison? How many Republican critics of the CDC are rating it badly as an expression of disapproval of all public health experts who oppose reopening the economy as opposed to rating it based on testing?
The other amazing thing about the testing debacle is how inevitable it seems in hindsight. Even though the current garish death toll from the epidemic and all its attendant economic misery are a direct result of failing to test aggressively early and contain the outbreak, no one seems particularly outraged or even surprised that we’ve arrived at the pitiful position we’re in. We don’t expect America, especially the federal government, to be equal to great challenges anymore. We’ll muddle through, writes Ross Douthat, but Romney’s wishes in the clip below for South-Korean-style efficiency in managing the contagion seem hallucinatory. We’re Americans. We don’t do efficiency, or victory. We do quagmires and culture war.
We are capable enough to avoid socioeconomic collapse, resilient enough to muddle through an era of mass death — but 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… But we can still 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… 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.
Why would we do basic things like wear masks or institute centralized quarantine, which Americans have done successfully in the past to contain dangerous epidemics, when we can scream denialist platitudes instead?
Of course our early testing sucked. How could it have been otherwise?
It is getting better, though, bit by bit. The number of positive cases as a percentage of testing nationwide has been especially encouraging over the past few days, although with the caveat that the numbers always look better on the weekend than they do during the week. Today’s numbers will give us a clue as to whether that apparent trend is real or whether it was just another weekend fluke.
Here’s Romney, who also makes a point of contradicting Trump on whether Obama is to blame for the lack of vaccine, even enlisting Fauci in his efforts. He’s all-in on his role as anti-Trumper-in-chief, I guess.


hotair--2020-05-12--California State University campuses will be mostly closed this fall, online classes will continue

One of the big issues being debated today is whether or not schools should reopen this fall .
Dr. Fauci warned during his congressional testimony earlier today that we probably won ’ t have treatments or a vaccine in time to make that happen , at least not without some risk .
Tuesday afternoon , California State University announced that its 23 campuses would remain closed this fall , making it the largest university system to make such an announcement thus far .
Addressing a meeting of the system ’ s board of trustees , the chancellor , Timothy P. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exceptions .
If health and safety precautions permit , clinical classes in the nursing program , for example , could be held in person , he said , as could certain science labs and other essential instruction .
But for most undergraduate students enrolled at the Cal States , as they are known , classes will continue virtually , as they have since campuses closed .
“ Our university , when open without restrictions and fully in person , as is the traditional norm of the past , is a place where over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis , ” Mr. White said .
“ That approach , sadly , just isn ’ t in the cards now as I have described.
” ABC7 reports chancellor White cited the possibility of a second wave of the virus this fall : He apparently didn ’ t cite anyone in particular , but he ’ s making some of the same points Dr. Fauci made this morning .
Given the timing , it ’ s possible chancellor White was listening to what Dr. Fauci @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the core of the back and forth this morning between Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Fauci .
In that case , Sen. Paul was arguing for the Swedish approach while Fauci was worried about the potential for children to be infected .
In Sweden , colleges have been closed but elementary schools have remained open .
As significant as this decision by the CSU system is , it seems to be an outlier so far .
The Chronicle of Higher Education is keeping a list of all schools that have announced their plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears about 3/4 of them plan to hold in-person classes .
CSU falls under the purple “ hybrid model ” because it will allow some in-person classes for labs and classes that need access to special equipment .

One of the big issues being debated today is whether or not schools should reopen this fall. Dr. Fauci warned during his congressional testimony earlier today that we probably won’t have treatments or a vaccine in time to make that happen, at least not without some risk. Tuesday afternoon, California State University announced that its 23 campuses would remain closed this fall, making it the largest university system to make such an announcement thus far.
Addressing a meeting of the system’s board of trustees, the chancellor, Timothy P. White, allowed for the possibility of exceptions. If health and safety precautions permit, clinical classes in the nursing program, for example, could be held in person, he said, as could certain science labs and other essential instruction. But for most undergraduate students enrolled at the Cal States, as they are known, classes will continue virtually, as they have since campuses closed. “Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis,” Mr. White said. “That approach, sadly, just isn’t in the cards now as I have described.”
ABC7 reports chancellor White cited the possibility of a second wave of the virus this fall:
White said non-partisan researchers and health experts forecast additional waves of infection coupled with the flu season in the fall. He added the public immunity rate is very low, and it is not likely a vaccine will be developed during the academic year.
He apparently didn’t cite anyone in particular, but he’s making some of the same points Dr. Fauci made this morning. Given the timing, it’s possible chancellor White was listening to what Dr. Fauci said.
School openings were also at the core of the back and forth this morning between Sen. Rand Paul and Dr. Fauci. In that case, Sen. Paul was arguing for the Swedish approach while Fauci was worried about the potential for children to be infected. In Sweden, colleges have been closed but elementary schools have remained open.
As significant as this decision by the CSU system is, it seems to be an outlier so far. The Chronicle of Higher Education is keeping a list of all schools that have announced their plans and, at the moment, it appears about 3/4 of them plan to hold in-person classes. CSU falls under the purple “hybrid model” because it will allow some in-person classes for labs and classes that need access to special equipment.


hotair--2020-05-12--The Illinois unemployment system is still a hot mess

As with most states , the unemployment rate in Illinois has been steadily climbing during the pandemic shutdown with many workers being sent home from otherwise entirely viable jobs .
But not to worry , right ?
All of those workers are eligible for unemployment benefits and the federal government has generously enhanced those benefits to the point where some people are making more money staying home than they did at their jobs .
So everyone should be just fine .
Except , of course… they ’ re not .
While the benefits systems in many states have staggered under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enroll , the situation in Illinois appears to be one of the worst .
The system is overloaded and completing the application process online is proving impossible for many .
And even if you somehow miraculously get your claim submitted , for many people , weeks have gone by and they still haven ’ t gotten their first benefits check or even an acknowledgment that their claim has been approved .
Calling the hotline to ask for help is a hopeless task as you can ’ t get through the phone menu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nobody available and having the call disconnected .
CBS Chicago spoke to a number of people stuck in this situation and it certainly sounds grim .
“ We are all lost and no one sounds like they are in a hurry to fix the system , ” said legal administrator Idde Colon .
“ Why does the burden fall on us ?
We didn ’ t do anything wrong .
Why is it our job to sit and call for eight hours straight , ” asked Thomas McCarty , who works in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you can check the status of your claim on the website , ” McCarty said .
“ No !
You can not check status of any kind on that website.
” “ On one day , I called 19 times , ” Colon lamented .
“ It ’ s been 83 times since 7:30 this morning .
It hangs up on you exactly .
Every option hangs up on you.
” Unemployed workers are spending day after day trying to deal with the system online .
Others are calling dozens of times daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through phone menus only to reach a recording saying they system couldn ’ t respond to them at this time .
Meanwhile , the rent is already overdue , along with the rest of their bills , and for some , food is in short supply .
Why is the unemployment claims system such a disaster ?
One problem is that Governor Pritzker has been insisting for the past month that the system was operational and just needed a little time to catch up with the increased demand .
He stuck with that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he finally admitted that there were problems and that change was on the way .
“ There are thousands of people , there ’ s no doubt about it , who have had difficulty using the online system , and then when they can ’ t , having difficulty getting through to a body , ” Pritzker said .
But he said IDES has “ used every avenue available ” to expand capacity .
“ They have been working every day to expand our systems and capability to meet the increased need as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s not as if this is a problem that just cropped up this week and the Governor is scrambling to react .
These issues were already causing problems more than a month ago and Pritzker was promising new computer systems to handle the increased demand back then .
Apparently not much has changed .
At the moment , the Governor is blaming the fact that there were personnel cuts at the department that handles these claims over the past few years and that the computer systems haven ’ t been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the case and he already knew about it , why weren ’ t they already working on preparing that system for a rainy day ?
No boom cycle lasts forever and there was always going to be another recession sooner or later .
Governor Pritzker clearly needs to knock off this ostrich act , pull his head out of the sand , and figure out how to get things back on track .
He ’ s the one who wanted the job and now it ’ s his responsibility to make @ @ @

As with most states, the unemployment rate in Illinois has been steadily climbing during the pandemic shutdown with many workers being sent home from otherwise entirely viable jobs. But not to worry, right? All of those workers are eligible for unemployment benefits and the federal government has generously enhanced those benefits to the point where some people are making more money staying home than they did at their jobs. So everyone should be just fine.
Except, of course… they’re not. While the benefits systems in many states have staggered under the vastly increased number of people seeking to enroll, the situation in Illinois appears to be one of the worst. The system is overloaded and completing the application process online is proving impossible for many. And even if you somehow miraculously get your claim submitted, for many people, weeks have gone by and they still haven’t gotten their first benefits check or even an acknowledgment that their claim has been approved. Calling the hotline to ask for help is a hopeless task as you can’t get through the phone menu without being informed that there’s nobody available and having the call disconnected. CBS Chicago spoke to a number of people stuck in this situation and it certainly sounds grim.
“We are all lost and no one sounds like they are in a hurry to fix the system,” said legal administrator Idde Colon. CBS 2 wanted to give people like Colon a platform. “Why does the burden fall on us? We didn’t do anything wrong. Why is it our job to sit and call for eight hours straight,” asked Thomas McCarty, who works in the food service industry. “It says you can check the status of your claim on the website,” McCarty said. “No! You cannot check status of any kind on that website.” “On one day, I called 19 times,” Colon lamented. “It’s been 83 times since 7:30 this morning. It hangs up on you exactly. Every option hangs up on you.”
Unemployed workers are spending day after day trying to deal with the system online. Others are calling dozens of times daily, spending all of their time navigating through phone menus only to reach a recording saying they system couldn’t respond to them at this time. Meanwhile, the rent is already overdue, along with the rest of their bills, and for some, food is in short supply.
Why is the unemployment claims system such a disaster? One problem is that Governor Pritzker has been insisting for the past month that the system was operational and just needed a little time to catch up with the increased demand. He stuck with that line until just this past Thursday when he finally admitted that there were problems and that change was on the way.
“There are thousands of people, there’s no doubt about it, who have had difficulty using the online system, and then when they can’t, having difficulty getting through to a body,” Pritzker said. But he said IDES has “used every avenue available” to expand capacity. “They have been working every day to expand our systems and capability to meet the increased need as quickly as possible,” Pritzker said.
It’s not as if this is a problem that just cropped up this week and the Governor is scrambling to react. These issues were already causing problems more than a month ago and Pritzker was promising new computer systems to handle the increased demand back then. Apparently not much has changed.
At the moment, the Governor is blaming the fact that there were personnel cuts at the department that handles these claims over the past few years and that the computer systems haven’t been upgraded “in years.” If that’s the case and he already knew about it, why weren’t they already working on preparing that system for a rainy day? No boom cycle lasts forever and there was always going to be another recession sooner or later.
Governor Pritzker clearly needs to knock off this ostrich act, pull his head out of the sand, and figure out how to get things back on track. He’s the one who wanted the job and now it’s his responsibility to make it right.


hotair--2020-05-12--Chuck Schumer: Biden's denial of Tara Reade's accusation is "sufficient"

“ Before the # MeToo movement , women were not listened to who were telling what had happened to them , ” he intones here , adding quickly that they ’ re listened to now .
Chuck , m ’ boy , if at all it takes to dismiss a woman ’ s accusation of sexual assault out of hand is a perfunctory denial by the alleged culprit then women are not being listened to .
Not in any meaningful way .
If he wants to borrow the Republican standard for Trump and make it the Democrats ’ standard for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least be honest about what he ’ s doing .
It ’ s an outright repudiation of # MeToo , not some vindication of it .
A formal investigation would mean that women are being listened to .
Schumer wanted one of those for Brett Kavanaugh , didn ’ t he ?
And he got one in the form of the FBI interviewing key witnesses .
When do the Capitol Police or the D.C. district attorney interview Reade and Biden and their close acquaintances to see how their stories line up ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ # BelieveAllWomen .
I knew we ’ d get there eventually once an important Democrat was accused and Schumer ’ s party suddenly had real skin in this game but I didn ’ t think we ’ d get there this quickly .
Or that the effort to distinguish Biden/Reade from Kavanaugh/Ford would be so half-hearted .
I mean , watch this .
The man ’ s not even trying .
He even segues from the Reade matter to chirping about how Biden ’ s going to help them take back the Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on himself by revealing how nakedly partisan his double standard is .
This is not going away , no matter how much Democrats wish it would .
Especially now that there ’ s polling evidence that the Reade allegations are hurting Biden .
I think Schumer and other Dems really do believe that Biden ’ s innocent .
He ’ s “ handsy ” but in a creepy uncle way , not in a forced-digital-penetration way .
But I wonder how often Chuck , Nancy , and everyone else in the party lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happen if a second woman comes forward to claim she was assaulted by Biden too .
The only thing keeping Democrats ( mostly ) on his side , I think , is that there ’ s no evidence of a pattern of sexual assault here .
And one would think that , if it existed , evidence of a pattern would be known by now with respect to a guy who ’ s 77 , was a senator since he was 30 , and served as VP for two terms .
You never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take to upend the election and the nomination process is a second credible accuser .
We might end up with a floor fight at the convention between Berniebros and Cuomogals .
Here ’ s Megyn Kelly lashing into certain unnamed phony “ women ’ s advocates ” who rent their garments over Kavanaugh and are now basically making armpit-fart noises at Reade .
I wonder who she has in mind .
There are only a few thousand possibilities .

“Before the #MeToo movement, women were not listened to who were telling what had happened to them,” he intones here, adding quickly that they’re listened to now.
Chuck, m’boy, if at all it takes to dismiss a woman’s accusation of sexual assault out of hand is a perfunctory denial by the alleged culprit then women are not being listened to. Not in any meaningful way. If he wants to borrow the Republican standard for Trump and make it the Democrats’ standard for Biden, okay. But he should at least be honest about what he’s doing. It’s an outright repudiation of #MeToo, not some vindication of it.
A formal investigation would mean that women are being listened to. Schumer wanted one of those for Brett Kavanaugh, didn’t he? And he got one in the form of the FBI interviewing key witnesses.
When do the Capitol Police or the D.C. district attorney interview Reade and Biden and their close acquaintances to see how their stories line up?
We’re a lo-o-o-ong way from #BelieveAllWomen. I knew we’d get there eventually once an important Democrat was accused and Schumer’s party suddenly had real skin in this game but I didn’t think we’d get there this quickly. Or that the effort to distinguish Biden/Reade from Kavanaugh/Ford would be so half-hearted.
I mean, watch this. The man’s not even trying. He even segues from the Reade matter to chirping about how Biden’s going to help them take back the Senate, as if he’s telling on himself by revealing how nakedly partisan his double standard is.
Chuck Schumer is asked if he believes Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden: "I have heard Joe Biden's explanation. I think it's sufficient. I think he will be a great candidate, I think he will be a great president." https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/vYcvsqO2jf — CBS News (@CBSNews) May 12, 2020
This is not going away, no matter how much Democrats wish it would. Especially now that there’s polling evidence that the Reade allegations are hurting Biden.
Great America PAC today launched a devastating new ad titled “Shattered” which details Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden in 1993. pic.twitter.com/l7Udvgw3Ic — Great America PAC (@GreatAmericaPAC) May 12, 2020
I think Schumer and other Dems really do believe that Biden’s innocent. He’s “handsy” but in a creepy uncle way, not in a forced-digital-penetration way. But I wonder how often Chuck, Nancy, and everyone else in the party lies awake at night wondering what’ll happen if a second woman comes forward to claim she was assaulted by Biden too. The only thing keeping Democrats (mostly) on his side, I think, is that there’s no evidence of a pattern of sexual assault here. And one would think that, if it existed, evidence of a pattern would be known by now with respect to a guy who’s 77, was a senator since he was 30, and served as VP for two terms.
You never know, though. All it would take to upend the election and the nomination process is a second credible accuser. We might end up with a floor fight at the convention between Berniebros and Cuomogals.
Here’s Megyn Kelly lashing into certain unnamed phony “women’s advocates” who rent their garments over Kavanaugh and are now basically making armpit-fart noises at Reade. I wonder who she has in mind. There are only a few thousand possibilities.


hotair--2020-05-12--Will Bryan Adams get canceled for his COVID-19 rant about "bat eating, wet market ... greedy bas****

Will Bryan Adams get canceled for his COVID-19 rant about "bat eating, wet market ... greedy bas*****"?

Getting canceled over a cancelation ?
How … meta .
Canadian rocker Bryan Adams had tour dates scheduled this spring , including one last night at the Royal Albert Hall in London .
Those have all been canceled as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic , and Adams vented his frustrations on Instagram with the people who created the problem .
Adams didn ’ t do much self-editing when it came to his description of the , ahem , “ virus making greedy bastards ” : Canadian singer Bryan Adams posted an expletive-ridden rant about his concerts that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared a video of himself playing his 1983 hit “ Cuts Like a Knife ” on a guitar on Instagram Monday morning .
In the caption , he bemoaned a series of canceled concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London , blaming it on wet market vendors .
“ Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall , but thanks to some f–ing bat eating , wet market animal selling , virus making greedy bastards , the whole world is now on hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have suffered or died from this virus , ” he wrote .
Some people believe wet markets in Wuhan , China , were the the original source of coronavirus .
A wet market is a type of live-produce vendor that gets its name from its wet floors .
However , there is no confirmed connection between COVID-19 and the Wuhan wet markets .
Bear in mind that the wet-market theory is the least accusatory version of how we ended up in this global pandemic .
Scientists ( and intelligence agencies ) have accepted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and crossed over to humans , rather than being a man-made engineered virus .
The two possible means for the contagion are either a wet-market crossover or an accidental release from a laboratory .
Adams promotes the more innocuous theory , and his rant is aimed at promoting veganism — essentially blaming carnivorous diets in general for the disease .
That , however , doesn ’ t deter the Woke Police .
Almost immediately , Adams started getting accused of being a bigot , even though his Instagram message never mentions China or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even criticism of wet markets — which epidemiologists have demanded to be shut down for many years now — is raaaacist : Canadian singer Bryan Adams is being criticized as racist for social media posts in which he blamed “ bat eating ” people for the coronavirus .
… Though Adams has since deleted his tweet and appears to have disabled commenting on his Instagram post , his rant sparked immediate backlash online , with “ Bryan Adams ” and “ Bryan Adams racist ” trending on social media Tuesday .
“ Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s a a racist f—wit , I am a lot happier that I converted his concert t-shirt into my first ever homemade respiratory mask , ” one person tweeted .
“ Well , I didn ’ t have # BryanAdams being a screaming racist on my 2020 # StoptheMadness Bingo card , ” wrote lawyer and media consultant Katie Phang .
What , precisely , about Adams ’ rant was racist ?
No one appears to explain this argument ; instead , everyone just accepts it as accepted fact without any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arguing that the virus didn ’ t come from a wet market , for instance , or from Wuhan either , which Adams never mentions .
One could criticize Adams for exploiting the crisis to argue for veganism , but that ’ s pretty petty , under the circumstances … and wouldn ’ t feed the need for social-media triumphalism either .
Rather than stand up to the mob , Adams capitulated today , saying there was “ no excuse ” for his rant : Want to bet that this won ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s an easy bet , because they are never satisfied .
Even when there ’ s no real offense , or perhaps especially when there ’ s no real offense .

Getting canceled over a cancelation? How … meta. Canadian rocker Bryan Adams had tour dates scheduled this spring, including one last night at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Those have all been canceled as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and Adams vented his frustrations on Instagram with the people who created the problem. Adams didn’t do much self-editing when it came to his description of the, ahem, “virus making greedy bastards”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CADYjsonDVJ/?utm_source=ig_embed
Canadian singer Bryan Adams posted an expletive-ridden rant about his concerts that were canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. Adams shared a video of himself playing his 1983 hit “Cuts Like a Knife” on a guitar on Instagram Monday morning. In the caption, he bemoaned a series of canceled concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London, blaming it on wet market vendors. “Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of a tenancy of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall, but thanks to some f–ing bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards, the whole world is now on hold, not to mention the thousands that have suffered or died from this virus,” he wrote. Some people believe wet markets in Wuhan, China, were the the original source of coronavirus. A wet market is a type of live-produce vendor that gets its name from its wet floors. However, there is no confirmed connection between COVID-19 and the Wuhan wet markets.
Bear in mind that the wet-market theory is the least accusatory version of how we ended up in this global pandemic. Scientists (and intelligence agencies) have accepted that the COVID-19 virus originated in bats and crossed over to humans, rather than being a man-made engineered virus. The two possible means for the contagion are either a wet-market crossover or an accidental release from a laboratory. Adams promotes the more innocuous theory, and his rant is aimed at promoting veganism — essentially blaming carnivorous diets in general for the disease.
That, however, doesn’t deter the Woke Police. Almost immediately, Adams started getting accused of being a bigot, even though his Instagram message never mentions China or any ethnicity at all. Apparently, even criticism of wet markets — which epidemiologists have demanded to be shut down for many years now — is raaaacist:
Canadian singer Bryan Adams is being criticized as racist for social media posts in which he blamed “bat eating” people for the coronavirus. … Though Adams has since deleted his tweet and appears to have disabled commenting on his Instagram post, his rant sparked immediate backlash online, with “Bryan Adams” and “Bryan Adams racist” trending on social media Tuesday. “Now that I see #BryanAdams trending because he’s a a racist f—wit, I am a lot happier that I converted his concert t-shirt into my first ever homemade respiratory mask,” one person tweeted. “Well, I didn’t have #BryanAdams being a screaming racist on my 2020 #StoptheMadness Bingo card,” wrote lawyer and media consultant Katie Phang.
What, precisely, about Adams’ rant was racist? No one appears to explain this argument; instead, everyone just accepts it as accepted fact without any basis whatsoever. No one’s arguing that the virus didn’t come from a wet market, for instance, or from Wuhan either, which Adams never mentions. One could criticize Adams for exploiting the crisis to argue for veganism, but that’s pretty petty, under the circumstances … and wouldn’t feed the need for social-media triumphalism either.
Rather than stand up to the mob, Adams capitulated today, saying there was “no excuse” for his rant:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAFy-nKnkFi/
Want to bet that this won’t satisfy the online pitchfork-and-torch mobs? That’s an easy bet, because they are never satisfied. Even when there’s no real offense, or perhaps especially when there’s no real offense.


hotair--2020-05-12--WSJ: China is stalling global investigations into origin of the coronavirus

The Wall Street Journal has published a piece today which highlights China ’ s conspicuous silence about its ongoing investigation into the origin of the coronavirus .
This has been a sort of slow-motion story happening in the background for several months .
As time passes , it is getting harder and harder to explain China ’ s reluctance to pin down where the virus originated .
Mr. Lu knew the market , a sprawling maze of stalls near a railway station , but had no clue it was the suspected source of a mysterious illness spreading across this city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 a.m. on Dec. 31 , Lu Junqing woke to a phone call from his boss at a local disinfection company .
Get a team together and head to the Huanan market , he was told : “ Bring your best kit.
” When he got there , local officials directed him to a cluster of stalls selling wild animals for meat or traditional medicine .
There were carcasses and caged live specimens , including snakes , dogs , rabbits and badgers , he said .
As his team started to spray disinfectant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the stalls , sewers and goods , Mr. Lu says .
They got his team to help with the dead animals , picking out feces and fur with tweezers , and sealing them in plastic bags .
More than four months later , Chinese officials have yet to share with the world any data from the animals Mr. Lu and others say were sampled .
The question this raises is : Why won ’ t China share the data it has ?
It seems especially perplexing given the major role the origin of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and forth between China and the United States for several months .
Chinese propaganda began spreading the idea that the origin of the virus was unknown and then conspiracy theories took hold which blamed the entire global pandemic on an American woman named Maatje Benassi .
President Trump pushed back on some of the Chinese propaganda by referring to it as the “ Chinese virus ” but that was quickly deemed “ xenophobic ” by the American media .
Then there was a very public debate about whether the virus had originated in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accidentally from a local laboratory which was studying bat corona-viruses .
China has firmly denied the lab release scenario but has also clamped down on all research into the origins of the virus .
Given all that has happened , you would think China would be eager to release data proving that the virus originated in the market .
But thus far it hasn ’ t released the data to anyone .
China has only made public the genetic sequences of “ environmental samples ” from the market ’ s sewers , stalls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any animals—Chinese and foreign researchers say .
Some say they ’ ve been told by Chinese officials that animals taken from the market were destroyed .
Several Huanan market vendors said they had not done tests to establish how many of them were infected .
Although Chinese officials said they were tracing the suppliers of wild meat in the market , they have not published any information on those people or animals they handled .
The World Health Organization has taken China ’ s word as gospel throughout the crisis but when WHO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ origin of the virus , China said no .
Plans to map the origin of the virus based on samples have yet to bear any fruit .
However , the WSJ says there are indications what the results of China ’ s wet market tests were , even if China won ’ t release the information .
A Columbia University virologist said his counterparts in China told him the examination of samples from animals at the market didn ’ t reveal a clear origin : Dr. Lipkin , who also helped tackle SARS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China CDC chief , was initially convinced that the culprit was a bamboo rat , a rodent often sold as meat in China .
“ After they went through and did this exhaustive search of the live and the dead and the frozen animals in various freezers , and they didn ’ t come up with anything , they had to revise their model , ” said Dr. Lipkin .
He said Dr. Gao had told him that Chinese scientists had found the virus in the environmental samples but had been unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That conclusion is backed up by meeting minutes from a Paris-based group called the World Organization for Animal Health , of which China is a member .
The group met on Jan. 31 and , according to minutes of the meeting , learned that animal samples from the market had been tested but that none had tested positive for the virus .
This could explain why China won ’ t release the data it has .
In the current context , if China revealed that animal samples taken from the market on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the virus , that would be taken as evidence that the market was perhaps not the origin point of the virus .
It might even be taken as strengthening the case for an accidental lab release , something China has strenuously denied .
So you can see why they might prefer to sit on this information at the moment .
China either knows where the virus originated and doesn ’ t want us to know or it doesn ’ t know where the virus originated and doesn ’ t want us to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in December .
Either way , the bottom line is that revealing the data would make China look bad .
That would be a major negative at a moment when the communist government is a ) determined to look like a world leader and b ) very worried about the backlash to its initial failures surrounding the virus .
Right now , Xi Jinping would rather China ’ s actions look suspicious than confirm that its actions were incompetent .

The Wall Street Journal has published a piece today which highlights China’s conspicuous silence about its ongoing investigation into the origin of the coronavirus. This has been a sort of slow-motion story happening in the background for several months. As time passes, it is getting harder and harder to explain China’s reluctance to pin down where the virus originated.
Mr. Lu knew the market, a sprawling maze of stalls near a railway station, but had no clue it was the suspected source of a mysterious illness spreading across this city, later identified as Covid-19.
Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, Lu Junqing woke to a phone call from his boss at a local disinfection company. Get a team together and head to the Huanan market, he was told: “Bring your best kit.”
When he got there, local officials directed him to a cluster of stalls selling wild animals for meat or traditional medicine. There were carcasses and caged live specimens, including snakes, dogs, rabbits and badgers, he said. As his team started to spray disinfectant, the officials began taking samples from the stalls, sewers and goods, Mr. Lu says. They got his team to help with the dead animals, picking out feces and fur with tweezers, and sealing them in plastic bags. More than four months later, Chinese officials have yet to share with the world any data from the animals Mr. Lu and others say were sampled.
The question this raises is: Why won’t China share the data it has? It seems especially perplexing given the major role the origin of the virus has played in the back and forth between China and the United States for several months.
Chinese propaganda began spreading the idea that the origin of the virus was unknown and then conspiracy theories took hold which blamed the entire global pandemic on an American woman named Maatje Benassi. President Trump pushed back on some of the Chinese propaganda by referring to it as the “Chinese virus” but that was quickly deemed “xenophobic” by the American media.
Then there was a very public debate about whether the virus had originated in the Wuhan wet market or was released accidentally from a local laboratory which was studying bat corona-viruses. China has firmly denied the lab release scenario but has also clamped down on all research into the origins of the virus.
Given all that has happened, you would think China would be eager to release data proving that the virus originated in the market. But thus far it hasn’t released the data to anyone.
China has only made public the genetic sequences of “environmental samples” from the market’s sewers, stalls and a garbage truck—not material directly from any animals—Chinese and foreign researchers say. Some say they’ve been told by Chinese officials that animals taken from the market were destroyed. Several Huanan market vendors said they had not done tests to establish how many of them were infected. Although Chinese officials said they were tracing the suppliers of wild meat in the market, they have not published any information on those people or animals they handled.
The World Health Organization has taken China’s word as gospel throughout the crisis but when WHO offered to join to investigation into the origin of the virus, China said no. Plans to map the origin of the virus based on samples have yet to bear any fruit.
However, the WSJ says there are indications what the results of China’s wet market tests were, even if China won’t release the information. A Columbia University virologist said his counterparts in China told him the examination of samples from animals at the market didn’t reveal a clear origin:
Dr. Lipkin, who also helped tackle SARS, said that George Gao, the China CDC chief, was initially convinced that the culprit was a bamboo rat, a rodent often sold as meat in China. “After they went through and did this exhaustive search of the live and the dead and the frozen animals in various freezers, and they didn’t come up with anything, they had to revise their model,” said Dr. Lipkin. He said Dr. Gao had told him that Chinese scientists had found the virus in the environmental samples but had been unable to identify which animal they likely came from.
That conclusion is backed up by meeting minutes from a Paris-based group called the World Organization for Animal Health, of which China is a member. The group met on Jan. 31 and, according to minutes of the meeting, learned that animal samples from the market had been tested but that none had tested positive for the virus.
This could explain why China won’t release the data it has. In the current context, if China revealed that animal samples taken from the market on the day it was closed were negative for the virus, that would be taken as evidence that the market was perhaps not the origin point of the virus. It might even be taken as strengthening the case for an accidental lab release, something China has strenuously denied. So you can see why they might prefer to sit on this information at the moment.
China either knows where the virus originated and doesn’t want us to know or it doesn’t know where the virus originated and doesn’t want us to know that it botched the investigation back in December. Either way, the bottom line is that revealing the data would make China look bad. That would be a major negative at a moment when the communist government is a) determined to look like a world leader and b) very worried about the backlash to its initial failures surrounding the virus. Right now, Xi Jinping would rather China’s actions look suspicious than confirm that its actions were incompetent.


hotair--2020-05-12--Pastor: I can't baptize someone on a Zoom call

One of the more controversial examples of rules established by some governors around the country to combat the novel coronavirus was the decision to define churches as “ nonessential businesses.
” And that ’ s been getting some polite but firm resistance from otherwise generally passive men and women of the cloth .
Another case in this category comes to us today from Worcester , Massachusetts , where Pastor Kris Casey continues to hold Sunday services in defiance of Governor Charlie Baker ’ s order prohibiting gathers of more than ten people .
And he ’ s doing this despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with warnings of possible stiffer punishment to come .
The pastor ’ s message to the governor is a simple one .
I can ’ t baptize babies on a Zoom call .
( CBS Boston ) A pastor in Worcester held a service with more than 10 parishioners at his church Sunday despite the warning and fines he has received .
While some supporters stood by Pastor Kris Casey at Adams Square Baptist Church , critics call his actions “ misguided ” amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Casey has already been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baker ’ s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people .
“ We have a right to disobey , ” Casey told WBZ-TV .
“ I can ’ t baptize someone on a zoom meeting.
” Holding signs and flags , a few dozen folks gathered outside the church morning to support Casey ’ s decision to hold service in violation of the state ’ s coronavirus emergency orders .
I think the Governor is finding himself is a bit of a pickle over this situation .
It ’ s bad enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial penalties at a time when attendance and tithing are down considerably .
There are camera crews stationed outside the church every time a service is held or the pastor sets foot outside the door .
Can you imagine the political nightmare that would ensue if the evening news showed video of Pastor Casey being led away from his church in handcuffs and loaded into the back of a squad car ?
But if he doesn ’ t take action against the pastor , what does he say to all of the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
When they see that this pastor can seemingly thumb his nose ( politely ) at the Governor , what ’ s to stop them from resuming services as well ?
Baker would immediately look like a feckless , powerless leader .
Congregants have been quick to come to Pastor Casey ’ s defense .
Most spoke of their constitutional rights to religious freedom .
Others had more personal messages to share , publicly thanking the pastor for tending to their spiritual needs during a time of crisis and uncertainty .
Others seemed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for taking this action .
That ’ s a point that Casey has been making all along .
His church seats more than 300 people at full capacity .
He didn ’ t count the number of people who came to the most recent service , but he said it was “ more than ten.
” And yet it was far , far below full capacity .
They are disinfecting the pews , door handles and everything else after every service , and the congregants are spaced out with plenty of room between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stores , Walmart and Home Depot open taking those sorts of precautions , why not the churches ?
I realize I ’ m probably starting to sound like a broken record on this subject , but do you really believe that the ability to go buy a new hose for your lawn sprinkler is more “ essential ” than saving your immortal soul ?
The pastor had a baptism for a new baby to perform .
As he said , that ’ s not the sort of thing he can do through a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to expect the churches to follow the same precautions as commercial businesses that are currently open or in the process of reopening .
They can easily enforce social distancing rules and disinfect their spaces , probably more easily than some of those actual businesses .
And their work is surely as important ( if not more important ) than all the rest .
It ’ s time to stop threatening our spiritual leaders with fines or jail time and reopen the churches .

One of the more controversial examples of rules established by some governors around the country to combat the novel coronavirus was the decision to define churches as “nonessential businesses.” And that’s been getting some polite but firm resistance from otherwise generally passive men and women of the cloth. Another case in this category comes to us today from Worcester, Massachusetts, where Pastor Kris Casey continues to hold Sunday services in defiance of Governor Charlie Baker’s order prohibiting gathers of more than ten people. And he’s doing this despite having already been ticketed and fined twice, with warnings of possible stiffer punishment to come. The pastor’s message to the governor is a simple one. I can’t baptize babies on a Zoom call. (CBS Boston)
A pastor in Worcester held a service with more than 10 parishioners at his church Sunday despite the warning and fines he has received. While some supporters stood by Pastor Kris Casey at Adams Square Baptist Church, critics call his actions “misguided” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Casey has already been fined twice for ignoring Gov. Charlie Baker’s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. “We have a right to disobey,” Casey told WBZ-TV. “I can’t baptize someone on a zoom meeting.” Holding signs and flags, a few dozen folks gathered outside the church morning to support Casey’s decision to hold service in violation of the state’s coronavirus emergency orders.
I think the Governor is finding himself is a bit of a pickle over this situation. It’s bad enough that the church is being hit with financial penalties at a time when attendance and tithing are down considerably. There are camera crews stationed outside the church every time a service is held or the pastor sets foot outside the door. Can you imagine the political nightmare that would ensue if the evening news showed video of Pastor Casey being led away from his church in handcuffs and loaded into the back of a squad car?
But if he doesn’t take action against the pastor, what does he say to all of the other churches who have obeyed the shutdown orders? When they see that this pastor can seemingly thumb his nose (politely) at the Governor, what’s to stop them from resuming services as well? Baker would immediately look like a feckless, powerless leader.
Congregants have been quick to come to Pastor Casey’s defense. Most spoke of their constitutional rights to religious freedom. Others had more personal messages to share, publicly thanking the pastor for tending to their spiritual needs during a time of crisis and uncertainty. Others seemed to question the government’s rationale for taking this action.
That’s a point that Casey has been making all along. His church seats more than 300 people at full capacity. He didn’t count the number of people who came to the most recent service, but he said it was “more than ten.” And yet it was far, far below full capacity. They are disinfecting the pews, door handles and everything else after every service, and the congregants are spaced out with plenty of room between them.
If Massachusetts can have grocery stores, Walmart and Home Depot open taking those sorts of precautions, why not the churches? I realize I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record on this subject, but do you really believe that the ability to go buy a new hose for your lawn sprinkler is more “essential” than saving your immortal soul? The pastor had a baptism for a new baby to perform. As he said, that’s not the sort of thing he can do through a laptop screen.
It’s fair to expect the churches to follow the same precautions as commercial businesses that are currently open or in the process of reopening. They can easily enforce social distancing rules and disinfect their spaces, probably more easily than some of those actual businesses. And their work is surely as important (if not more important) than all the rest. It’s time to stop threatening our spiritual leaders with fines or jail time and reopen the churches.


hotair--2020-05-12--Rand Paul to Fauci: Your opinion isn't the "end all," you know

There ’ s a lot we , and you , still don ’ t know about this disease , Paul reminds him ( very politely ) .
The models of the epidemic seem more wrong than right in their particulars , he stresses .
Which is true but ironic in that Fauci has reportedly been one of the biggest skeptics of models behind closed doors in the White House .
But his point stands .
We can ’ t confidently say that reopening will or won ’ t trigger a second wave .
And by “ we , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You ’ re right , says Fauci , but I never claimed that my opinion should determine policy .
More importantly , the fact that we don ’ t know much about the disease could cut either way .
It could be that fears of a second wave are overblown .
Or it could be that they ’ re underestimated .
Just look at the data we ’ ve been getting over the past week about that mysterious inflammatory illness in children that appears to be linked to coronavirus .
Kids are immune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Now , belatedly , there ’ s a clue that that ’ s not quite true .
What we ’ re seeing here , in other words , is a debate over risk tolerance .
Fauci ’ s point is simple : Considering that this is a novel disease against which we have no natural immunity , that ’ s already killed 80,000 people in the span of two months , why err on the side of believing that reopening now will lead to a good outcome rather than a bad one ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Well , we can ’ t stay locked down forever , ” Fauci would agree .
That ’ s why he and his team came up with the federal guidelines .
The public wanted to know when reopening would be worth the risk .
Trump ’ s task force gave them an answer .
The response in many states , encouraged by the president himself is , “ Nah , takes too long.
” Don ’ t forget Sweden , says Paul to him at one point .
Fair enough , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mortality over the past month than the United States .
And because of the global downturn , they ’ re likely to see no economic benefit from their approach to the virus relative to the rest of Europe .
One Dem rep reacted to the clip above by reminding Paul that his home county in Kentucky has more coronavirus cases per capita than 51 out of 67 counties in New England , which Paul cites as an unusually hard-hit area .
Meanwhile , inside the Trump White House : Coronavirus infection rates are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas and smaller communities across the country , according to undisclosed data the White House ’ s pandemic task force is using to track rates of infection , which was obtained by NBC News… The 10 top areas recorded surges of 72.4 percent or greater over a seven-day period compared to the previous week , according to a set of tables produced for the task force by its data and analytics unit .
They include Nashville , Tennessee ; Des Moines , Iowa ; Amarillo , Texas ; and — atop the list @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Central City , Kentucky .
On a separate list of “ locations to watch , ” which didn ’ t meet the precise criteria for the first set : Charlotte , North Carolina ; Kansas City , Missouri ; Omaha and Lincoln , Nebraska ; Minneapolis ; Montgomery , Alabama ; Columbus , Ohio ; and Phoenix .
I ’ ll say this for Paul , though .
I think he ’ s pinpointed the two most consequential mysteries about the disease so far , solutions to which would vastly improve our decision-making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus produce durable immunity , a question in which Paul has a personal stake given that he contracted COVID-19 awhile ago .
He ’ s impatient with scientists ’ reluctance to say flatly that people who have recovered are now immune and can go back to work .
I understand that , but I ’ m also not sure what the alternative is .
Without a study to confirm immunity , how are world governments supposed to potentially tell tens of millions of recovered patients that they ’ re in the clear ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence and then some started getting sick again .
The second big mystery is how infectious children are .
The subject of reopening schools came up earlier at today ’ s hearing because of how much depends on the answer .
It ’ s not just that kids are falling behind in their educations , it ’ s that parents need child care during the day to be able to get back to work .
We need to know how much of a risk would be posed by sending everyone back to class @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might be surprisingly minimal : “ Children under 10 are less likely to get infected than adults , and if they get infected , they are less likely to get seriously ill , ” said Kári Stefánsson , in an interview following the publication of an Icelandic study he coauthored in The New England Journal of Medicine .
“ What is interesting , ” he continued , “ is that even if children do get infected , they are less likely to transmit the disease to others than adults .
We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child infecting parents.
” The same conclusion has been reached by many others .
A report released by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment for the Netherlands found “ no indications that children younger than 12 years were the first to be infected within the family.
” Rather , it remarked , “ The virus is mainly spread between adults and from adult family members to children.
” A report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease stated : “ Of note , people interviewed by the Joint Mission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transmission occurred from a child to an adult.
” If most kids are so completely immune to the virus that they can ’ t even pass it along to mom and dad then our school problem is miraculously solved , and with it a lot of headaches for parents in the work force .
You would think finding an answer would be a top priority for the feds and other countries .
I ’ ve seen little mention of it in daily reading about COVID-19 in the past two months , though .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hearing speculating that the true death toll from coronavirus is higher than the official death count , which is highly likely given the phenomenon of “ excess deaths.
” Worth noting , though : The true unemployment rate is no doubt higher than the official rate as well .

There’s a lot we, and you, still don’t know about this disease, Paul reminds him (very politely). The models of the epidemic seem more wrong than right in their particulars, he stresses. Which is true but ironic in that Fauci has reportedly been one of the biggest skeptics of models behind closed doors in the White House.
But his point stands. We can’t confidently say that reopening will or won’t trigger a second wave. And by “we,” he means public health supremo Anthony Fauci.
You’re right, says Fauci, but I never claimed that my opinion should determine policy. More importantly, the fact that we don’t know much about the disease could cut either way. It could be that fears of a second wave are overblown. Or it could be that they’re underestimated. Just look at the data we’ve been getting over the past week about that mysterious inflammatory illness in children that appears to be linked to coronavirus. Kids are immune from the disease — we thought. Now, belatedly, there’s a clue that that’s not quite true.
What we’re seeing here, in other words, is a debate over risk tolerance. Fauci’s point is simple: Considering that this is a novel disease against which we have no natural immunity, that’s already killed 80,000 people in the span of two months, why err on the side of believing that reopening now will lead to a good outcome rather than a bad one?
And if the answer to that is, “Well, we can’t stay locked down forever,” Fauci would agree. That’s why he and his team came up with the federal guidelines. The public wanted to know when reopening would be worth the risk. Trump’s task force gave them an answer. The response in many states, encouraged by the president himself is, “Nah, takes too long.”
Sen. Rand Paul: "I don't think you're the end all. I don't think you're the one person that gets to make a decision." Dr. Anthony Fauci: "I have never made myself out to be the end all and only voice in this. I'm a scientist, a physician and a public health official." pic.twitter.com/Nqlg3zOqn3 — CSPAN (@cspan) May 12, 2020
Don’t forget Sweden, says Paul to him at one point. Fair enough, but percentage-wise Sweden has seen more excess mortality over the past month than the United States. And because of the global downturn, they’re likely to see no economic benefit from their approach to the virus relative to the rest of Europe.
One Dem rep reacted to the clip above by reminding Paul that his home county in Kentucky has more coronavirus cases per capita than 51 out of 67 counties in New England, which Paul cites as an unusually hard-hit area. Meanwhile, inside the Trump White House:
Coronavirus infection rates are spiking to new highs in several metropolitan areas and smaller communities across the country, according to undisclosed data the White House’s pandemic task force is using to track rates of infection, which was obtained by NBC News… The 10 top areas recorded surges of 72.4 percent or greater over a seven-day period compared to the previous week, according to a set of tables produced for the task force by its data and analytics unit. They include Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; and — atop the list, with a 650 percent increase — Central City, Kentucky. On a separate list of “locations to watch,” which didn’t meet the precise criteria for the first set: Charlotte, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; Minneapolis; Montgomery, Alabama; Columbus, Ohio; and Phoenix.
I’ll say this for Paul, though. I think he’s pinpointed the two most consequential mysteries about the disease so far, solutions to which would vastly improve our decision-making. One is whether antibodies to the virus produce durable immunity, a question in which Paul has a personal stake given that he contracted COVID-19 awhile ago. He’s impatient with scientists’ reluctance to say flatly that people who have recovered are now immune and can go back to work. I understand that, but I’m also not sure what the alternative is. Without a study to confirm immunity, how are world governments supposed to potentially tell tens of millions of recovered patients that they’re in the clear? Imagine if they gave that assurance without evidence and then some started getting sick again.
The second big mystery is how infectious children are. The subject of reopening schools came up earlier at today’s hearing because of how much depends on the answer. It’s not just that kids are falling behind in their educations, it’s that parents need child care during the day to be able to get back to work. We need to know how much of a risk would be posed by sending everyone back to class. There’s some evidence that it might be surprisingly minimal:
“Children under 10 are less likely to get infected than adults, and if they get infected, they are less likely to get seriously ill,” said Kári Stefánsson, in an interview following the publication of an Icelandic study he coauthored in The New England Journal of Medicine. “What is interesting,” he continued, “is that even if children do get infected, they are less likely to transmit the disease to others than adults. We have not found a single instance of a child infecting parents.” The same conclusion has been reached by many others. A report released by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment for the Netherlands found “no indications that children younger than 12 years were the first to be infected within the family.” Rather, it remarked, “The virus is mainly spread between adults and from adult family members to children.” A report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease stated: “Of note, people interviewed by the Joint Mission Team could not recall episodes in which transmission occurred from a child to an adult.”
If most kids are so completely immune to the virus that they can’t even pass it along to mom and dad then our school problem is miraculously solved, and with it a lot of headaches for parents in the work force. You would think finding an answer would be a top priority for the feds and other countries. I’ve seen little mention of it in daily reading about COVID-19 in the past two months, though.
Here’s Fauci elsewhere during the hearing speculating that the true death toll from coronavirus is higher than the official death count, which is highly likely given the phenomenon of “excess deaths.” Worth noting, though: The true unemployment rate is no doubt higher than the official rate as well.


hotair--2020-05-12--Today's hot topics on #TEMS: Fauci warns, Tucker scorns, NBC suborns, Biden's norms, Texas reforms,

Today's hot topics on #TEMS: Fauci warns, Tucker scorns, NBC suborns, Biden's norms, Texas reforms, and more!

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show ( 4 pm ET ) , we have another great lineup for the news of the day !
The show will be streamed on Hot Air ’ s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook .
Join us as we welcome : • Andrew Malcolm joins us for Tuesdays with Andrew !
The Prince of Twitter and I will discuss all of the hot political stories of the day .
Voters face a choice between a narcissist who delivers and a likable gaffe-prone incompetent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but does Tara Reade change that calculation ?
We ’ ll also discuss Chuck Todd ’ s dishonest take on William Barr , today ’ s testimony from Anthony Fauci on COVID-19 , and Richard Grenell ’ s sudden intervention in l ’ affaire Flynn et al .
• The eyes of Texas are upon Gov .
Greg Abbott and the state ’ s reopening .
Hot Air contributor Taylor Millard updates us on the latest , plus we ’ ll discuss the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery and the delayed prosecution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem with the police or with the DA ’ s office ?
What role did a potential conflict of interest play in the delay ?
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page .
Be sure to join us , and don ’ t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page , too !
How can Republicans and conservatives keep the momentum going ?
Find out in GOING RED , published in April from Crown Forum !

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show (4 pm ET), we have another great lineup for the news of the day! The show will be streamed on Hot Air’s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook.
Join us as we welcome:
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page. Be sure to join us, and don’t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page, too!
How can Republicans and conservatives keep the momentum going? Find out in GOING RED, published in April from Crown Forum!