hotair--2020-03-19--Another Title IX investigation run amok

Another Title IX investigation run amok

Wednesday the NY Times published a lengthy description of another Title IX investigation run amok .
This case is unusual for a couple of reasons .
First the accuser eventually turned out to be a professor from another school and second , the accused was a lesbian professor and her wife .
It all started when Sarah Viren , who wrote the piece for the Times , applied for a job at a college in Michigan .
At first , back in early 2019 , things looked hopeful .
Sarah received a job offer from a school in Michigan and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be helping to find a suitable job her wife Marta , also a professor , could take .
But weeks passed without hearing back from the school .
And then some anonymous posts appeared on Reddit claiming that Marta , Sarah ’ s wife , has sexually propositioned students .
Both Sarah and Marta were convinced the claims were false , but how do you prove an anonymous accusation is false ?
In the meantime , more anonymous accusations were being delivered to the school where Sarah and Marta taught .
Someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Rebecca James ” claimed she had been propositioned by Marta .
The person investigating the claim on the school ’ s behalf , Melanie , quickly discovered that no such student existed .
Sarah asked if the fact that the accuser didn ’ t exist meant the investigation would be closed and Melanie explained that ’ s not how things work : “ If you can figure out that it ’ s an outsider or somebody from the outside that ’ s posing as a student , ” I finally said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” “ Good question , ” Melanie responded , her voice bright again .
“ Because of the funding that we receive through Title IX , we ’ re required to investigate everything .
And with that we want to really run everything to the ground.
” I nodded .
I knew that universities could lose federal funding if they didn ’ t show they were protecting students , and I was glad — I am glad — for that .
But I was still confused .
Melanie continued .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked the question — if we find out that the information is false , for our purposes that ’ s not really our end goal ; we ’ re just trying to determine whether or not there ’ s a policy violation.
” Listening to my recording of our conversation recently , I wondered why I didn ’ t stop Melanie at that point .
Was she really saying that if they realized the accusations were invented , if the accuser herself was a fiction , they would still investigate ?
Did it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or false ?
Eventually , Sarah realized that a person who had been competing for the same job she ’ d been offered in Michigan was the person making the false allegations , probably in an attempt to ensure he got the job instead .
In the story he is simply identified as J .
In order to prove this theory , Sarah and Marta hired an attorney : We filed what is known as a “ John Doe ” lawsuit .
The lawyer we had hired explained that the suit would allow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the emails used in the accusations and the Reddit posts , and once we had that proof , we could directly sue whoever owned those email addresses… Around the middle of April , J. learned about our lawsuit .
That same day , he started telling people that he was being trolled online .
Homophobic comments about him were posted on the subreddit for his university that afternoon , and an anonymous letter was sent to his university mailbox that read “ Die fag professor ” later that week .
He even did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a panel at his university on discrimination , subtext and the power of language .
The audience was outraged and horrified .
“ That ’ s a classic horror-movie move !
” a friend of mine said when I told her what was happening .
“ The villain injures himself.
” Eventually , the John Doe lawsuit resulted in a three page document they received from their lawyers .
Sarah at first thought it didn ’ t contain anything useful but then noticed the source of the emails making allegations about them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number .
Checker her phone , she realized that number was the same one she had for J .
Sadly there ’ s no happy ending to this story .
The school where Sarah and Marta worked eventually cleared them .
Sarah was still offered the job in Michigan but they eventually said they could not find a job for Marta so she had to turn it down .
More importantly , after J was sued , he suddenly claimed that he had been sent messages from an anonymous stalker who claimed they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sarah and Marta : The lawsuit was settled in July but J never admitted to any wrongdoing .

Wednesday the NY Times published a lengthy description of another Title IX investigation run amok. This case is unusual for a couple of reasons. First the accuser eventually turned out to be a professor from another school and second, the accused was a lesbian professor and her wife. It all started when Sarah Viren, who wrote the piece for the Times, applied for a job at a college in Michigan.
At first, back in early 2019, things looked hopeful. Sarah received a job offer from a school in Michigan and was told a “dual-career coordinator” would be helping to find a suitable job her wife Marta, also a professor, could take. But weeks passed without hearing back from the school. And then some anonymous posts appeared on Reddit claiming that Marta, Sarah’s wife, has sexually propositioned students.
Its author wrote: “Lesbian professors, too, are capable of harassing students despite common narratives.” But it was the second post that scared me. “Hi y’all,” it read. “I’m looking for advice. My linguistics professor has offered me wine several times in her office and acted inappropriately when I see her in various queer spaces in Tempe or Phoenix.”
Both Sarah and Marta were convinced the claims were false, but how do you prove an anonymous accusation is false? In the meantime, more anonymous accusations were being delivered to the school where Sarah and Marta taught. Someone claiming to be a grad student named “Rebecca James” claimed she had been propositioned by Marta.
The person investigating the claim on the school’s behalf, Melanie, quickly discovered that no such student existed. Sarah asked if the fact that the accuser didn’t exist meant the investigation would be closed and Melanie explained that’s not how things work:
“If you can figure out that it’s an outsider or somebody from the outside that’s posing as a student,” I finally said, “can you just close the investigation?” “Good question,” Melanie responded, her voice bright again. “Because of the funding that we receive through Title IX, we’re required to investigate everything. And with that we want to really run everything to the ground.” I nodded. I knew that universities could lose federal funding if they didn’t show they were protecting students, and I was glad — I am glad — for that. But I was still confused. Melanie continued. “If we find out that — and Marta asked the question — if we find out that the information is false, for our purposes that’s not really our end goal; we’re just trying to determine whether or not there’s a policy violation.” Listening to my recording of our conversation recently, I wondered why I didn’t stop Melanie at that point. Was she really saying that if they realized the accusations were invented, if the accuser herself was a fiction, they would still investigate? Did it not matter whether the complaints were true or false?
Eventually, Sarah realized that a person who had been competing for the same job she’d been offered in Michigan was the person making the false allegations, probably in an attempt to ensure he got the job instead. In the story he is simply identified as J. In order to prove this theory, Sarah and Marta hired an attorney:
We filed what is known as a “John Doe” lawsuit. The lawyer we had hired explained that the suit would allow us to subpoena identifying information associated with the emails used in the accusations and the Reddit posts, and once we had that proof, we could directly sue whoever owned those email addresses… Around the middle of April, J. learned about our lawsuit. That same day, he started telling people that he was being trolled online. Homophobic comments about him were posted on the subreddit for his university that afternoon, and an anonymous letter was sent to his university mailbox that read “Die fag professor” later that week. He even did a presentation about the harassment as part of a panel at his university on discrimination, subtext and the power of language. The audience was outraged and horrified. “That’s a classic horror-movie move!” a friend of mine said when I told her what was happening. “The villain injures himself.”
Eventually, the John Doe lawsuit resulted in a three page document they received from their lawyers. Sarah at first thought it didn’t contain anything useful but then noticed the source of the emails making allegations about them had been associated with a specific phone number. Checker her phone, she realized that number was the same one she had for J.
Sadly there’s no happy ending to this story. The school where Sarah and Marta worked eventually cleared them. Sarah was still offered the job in Michigan but they eventually said they could not find a job for Marta so she had to turn it down. More importantly, after J was sued, he suddenly claimed that he had been sent messages from an anonymous stalker who claimed they were responsible for all the accusations against Sarah and Marta:
The confession read like the end of a “Scooby-Doo” episode, when the mask is pulled off and the criminal lays out his line of transgressions. It was the kind of confession I had once hoped J. would give us.
The lawsuit was settled in July but J never admitted to any wrongdoing.


hotair--2020-03-19--Today's hot topics on #TEMS: Coronavirus news, Middle America views, Mueller's blues, Tulsi excused,

Today's hot topics on #TEMS: Coronavirus news, Middle America views, Mueller's blues, Tulsi excused, 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 : • Duane “ Generalissimo ” Patterson brings us up to date on the week ’ s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow ’ s Hugh Hewitt show .
We ’ ll catch up to the latest on the WuFlu @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now making its way through Congress , and the latest from today ’ s Donald Trump presser .
• How is Middle America reacting to the COVID-19 epidemic ?
Salena Zito joins us to discuss her travels to East Liverpool , Ohio , and how people outside the bubble are coping with the crisis .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservatives keep winning after 2016 ?
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:
Duane “Generalissimo” Patterson brings us up to date on the week’s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow’s Hugh Hewitt show. We’ll catch up to the latest on the WuFlu, including the Phase 3 stimulus package now making its way through Congress, and the latest from today’s Donald Trump presser.
How is Middle America reacting to the COVID-19 epidemic? Salena Zito joins us to discuss her travels to East Liverpool, Ohio, and how people outside the bubble are coping with the crisis.
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 winning after 2016? Find out in GOING RED, published in April from Crown Forum!


hotair--2020-03-19--How is the 'shelter in place' order working in San Francisco?

Monday six Bay Area counties announced a “ shelter in place ” order , the most restrictive measure announced anywhere in the United States , in response to the coronavirus .
The idea was to completely shut down transmission of the virus by having everyone stay home for a period of three weeks .
How is that working out so far ?
For the most part , people have been going along with it : The order in San Francisco bans any activities that aren ’ t essential : no drinking at bars , no haircuts by barbers and no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for takeout or delivery .
Outdoor exercise is allowed , but gyms are closed .
The city , famous in part because of 1967 ’ s Summer of Love , is full of people who can bristle at authority .
But in the first day after the mayor imposed the shutdown order , backed with the threat of jail time , residents didn ’ t really seem to rebel .
The police department said it wasn ’ t immediately aware of any significant resistance to the order , which would be punishable as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sent to reporters Wednesday morning — which covers reported crimes with violence or the threat of violence — included a single reported entry from the previous day : Three suspects had punched a woman and taken her bicycle .
Video on social media back up the claim that most San Francisco residents are taking the shelter in place seriously .
This video shot Tuesday shows the city looking like a ghost town : And here ’ s a clip from this morning : Traffic along the Golden Gate Bridge was sparse : So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staying home .
The only people who seem to be pushing the limits of the shelter in place and social distancing orders are people looking to exercise .
The near total lockdown of the Bay Area is not particularly airtight , as anyone who has stepped outside for a hike , a jog , a trip to the dog park or grocery store has found out .
There are people out there , sometimes a lot of people .
That jarring discovery is being made by quite a few of the people disregarding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what was supposed to be a vacant , abandoned landscape consistently includes other individuals doing the same thing .
There have been reports of elbow-to-elbow joggers on the Embarcadero , clusters of dog walkers chewing the fat in the park and scores of people admiring the view of the bay from Fort Mason ’ s Great Meadow — all folks who could potentially spread the coronavirus .
Tuesday , Jake Tapper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussed images of joggers , walkers , and roller-bladers passing one another along the Embarcadero .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are not distancing .
They ’ re holding hands and walking down the street and you know , normally , I ’ d say ‘ bravo , ’ but this is actually kind of enraging , ” Tapper said .
“ Many people in San Francisco have clearly not gotten the message.
” An official in San Francisco called it “ outdoor shaming.
” Phil Ginsburg , general manager of San Francisco ’ s Recreation and Park Department , said in an email that , in addition to being in line with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — with proper social distancing — were “ critical ” for mental health and physical well-being.. “ We really need to stay away from some of the ‘ outdoor shaming ’ going on right now .
The shelter order is written specifically to allow runs , bike rides and walks in our parks because they are good for you and because we trust the citizens to get outside in a way that is safe for themselves and for their neighbors , ” he said .
In any case , there were reportedly a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday , whether from shame or because the temperature had dropped a bit .
Here ’ s the full clip from CNN :

Monday six Bay Area counties announced a “shelter in place” order, the most restrictive measure announced anywhere in the United States, in response to the coronavirus. The idea was to completely shut down transmission of the virus by having everyone stay home for a period of three weeks. How is that working out so far? For the most part, people have been going along with it:
The order in San Francisco bans any activities that aren’t essential: no drinking at bars, no haircuts by barbers and no dinner parties. Restaurants can operate only for takeout or delivery. Outdoor exercise is allowed, but gyms are closed. The city, famous in part because of 1967’s Summer of Love, is full of people who can bristle at authority. But in the first day after the mayor imposed the shutdown order, backed with the threat of jail time, residents didn’t really seem to rebel. The police department said it wasn’t immediately aware of any significant resistance to the order, which would be punishable as a misdemeanor. Its daily crime recap sent to reporters Wednesday morning — which covers reported crimes with violence or the threat of violence — included a single reported entry from the previous day: Three suspects had punched a woman and taken her bicycle.
Video on social media back up the claim that most San Francisco residents are taking the shelter in place seriously. This video shot Tuesday shows the city looking like a ghost town:
From Wednesday:
South Market is absolutely empty. San Francisco is definitely a ghost town. pic.twitter.com/QEYJaPLAB4 — Jeanette (@JeanetteRoc) March 19, 2020
And here’s a clip from this morning:
Traffic along the Golden Gate Bridge was sparse:
The Golden Gate Bridge, heading into the City at 5:00 pm. A very small handful of people walking and very few cars. pic.twitter.com/5qXwFUJvhU — Oh Shiela (@ShielaJonson) March 18, 2020
So the majority of people seem to be staying home. The only people who seem to be pushing the limits of the shelter in place and social distancing orders are people looking to exercise.
The near total lockdown of the Bay Area is not particularly airtight, as anyone who has stepped outside for a hike, a jog, a trip to the dog park or grocery store has found out. There are people out there, sometimes a lot of people. That jarring discovery is being made by quite a few of the people disregarding shelter-in-place orders. That sneaky excursion into what was supposed to be a vacant, abandoned landscape consistently includes other individuals doing the same thing. There have been reports of elbow-to-elbow joggers on the Embarcadero, clusters of dog walkers chewing the fat in the park and scores of people admiring the view of the bay from Fort Mason’s Great Meadow — all folks who could potentially spread the coronavirus.
Tuesday, Jake Tapper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussed images of joggers, walkers, and roller-bladers passing one another along the Embarcadero.
“We see a whole bunch of people here who are not distancing. They’re holding hands and walking down the street and you know, normally, I’d say ‘bravo,’ but this is actually kind of enraging,” Tapper said. “Many people in San Francisco have clearly not gotten the message.”
An official in San Francisco called it “outdoor shaming.”
Phil Ginsburg, general manager of San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department, said in an email that, in addition to being in line with recommendations of health officials, outdoor activities — with proper social distancing — were “critical” for mental health and physical well-being.. “We really need to stay away from some of the ‘outdoor shaming’ going on right now. The shelter order is written specifically to allow runs, bike rides and walks in our parks because they are good for you and because we trust the citizens to get outside in a way that is safe for themselves and for their neighbors,” he said.
In any case, there were reportedly a lot fewer people jogging along the Embarcadero Wednesday, whether from shame or because the temperature had dropped a bit. Here’s the full clip from CNN:


hotair--2020-03-19--WaPo: Suddenly, Republicans are fans of stimulus spending in COVID-19 crisis, or something

Now that Phase One and Phase Two bills for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic ’ s economic damage have passed , Congress will take up Phase 3 — otherwise known as The Big One .
Politico ’ s Playbook predicted this morning that the text of the massive “ go big ” plan should drop sometime today , but that its parameters are largely known already .
The new bill will authorize more than a trillion dollars in spending to stem the bleeding , driven by Donald Trump ’ s desire to stabilize the markets as well as the economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NEW MOVEMENT … SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL is expected to put out his PHASE THREE coronavirus bill today , laying a marker for the consensus view of Senate Republicans on what ’ s expected to be a $ 1 trillion-plus package .
THEN , as early as sometime today , MCCONNELL and his team will begin talking with Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER to begin negotiations over the package .
We don ’ t know how long this process is going to take , or when to expect a vote .
— @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate floor : “ I recommend senators stay close .
While we don ’ t know exactly how long it will take to get this done , everyone knows that we need to do it as quickly as possible because the situation demands it .
So we ’ ll keep senators posted .
I hope they don ’ t go too far away.
” It ’ s a massive amount of spending , far outstripping the early 2009 stimulus bill pushed by Democrats and signed by Barack Obama .
The Washington Post recalls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3 , arguing that Trump is taking a risk with his base and fiscal conservatives by backing any kind of stimulus package of this scope .
Support for these stimulus bills is “ a sea change on the political right , ” they report : The administration on Wednesday outlined a $ 1 trillion plan , which includes $ 500 billion in cash payments to individual Americans and $ 300 billion toward helping small businesses , as well as $ 50 billion for airlines and $ 150 billion for other affected sectors .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ which has won early support from most Republican lawmakers , marks a sea change on the political right .
The president and many of his conservative allies rose to power on the strength of a grass-roots movement forged in opposition to the bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis and President Obama ’ s subsequent economic stimulus package .
Scrutiny of Trump ’ s plan continues to grow as some Republicans express unease about its scope and leading Democrats warn against federal giveaways to corporations without accountability measures that would ensure taxpayer money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay .
And there is some trepidation within the administration about the political risks associated with the perception that industries spend money as they wish — as well as uncertainty about how , exactly , all of the money would be spread around , according to officials involved in the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private talks .
That ’ s not entirely unfair , but it is substantially unfair .
First , the bank bailouts began in the George Bush administration , and had some significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant opposition ) .
After the election , Republicans did oppose the 2009 stimulus bill , but not because they opposed any kind of a stimulus bill .
Republicans in the House and Senate minorities wanted to direct stimulus in different directions than Democrats did .
In fact , Republicans demanded to be at the table to help write the bill , but Nancy Pelosi locked them out and Obama offered his famous quip : “ I won.
” Republicans turned out to be correct in their opposition to the form of stimulus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of attempting to shore up the damage directly by dealing with the collapsed value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds , it instead aimed at infrastructure spending , block grants to states , green-energy subsidies , and social-engineering experiments like Cash for Clunkers .
It wasn ’ t an emergency bill as much as it was an agenda-funding bill , and it produced a flabby and undynamic recovery .
The GOP ’ s ideas at the time weren ’ t actually all that much better either , though ; rather than use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also offered up tax cuts and other long-range agenda items that may have otherwise had value but were ill suited to an acute crisis .
Fiscal conservatism has a role to play even in massive stimulus packages , I argue in my column at The Week .
In fact , it ’ s more critical than ever in avoiding everything that usually goes wrong with these efforts : Still , while fiscal conservatism might not apply to the overall approach by Congress to the economic crisis , it should inform how to best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blunt it .
That means targeting the money where the damage is most acutely felt rather than to commit it to longer-term programmatic goals .
Subsidiarity is key to making the biggest impact , while trying to leverage the crisis for re-engineering the economy is the best way to ensure that the money and the opportunity get wasted .
… This rescue package should focus sharply on the points of the economy where government inflicted the most damage .
The highest priority has to be consumers sidelined by business closures — putting enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engaged in the economy .
Fortunately , both parties have more or less come around to direct payments over the next two months , which will cost around $ 500 billion but will keep families from tipping over into ruin .
That added spending power will boost local businesses as well , keeping some dynamism in the economy while keeping families mostly at home .
Next , funds needs to target the most critical costs of keeping small businesses running through the crisis .
Either that also means direct payments or perhaps grants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under control and lease payments made .
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie proposed a wider repeat of the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort , which used HUD ’ s Community Development Block Grant ( CDBG ) program to keep small- and medium-sized businesses from shutting down during that crisis .
If funds get rapidly deployed into those programs , small businesses such as restaurants and bars can either avoid or limit employee furloughs , also allowing for more resiliency and dynamism in the immediate term and limiting long-term damage .
Both of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If the effect is not robust enough at first , Congress can direct more funds to bolstering these programs .
Refraining from launching expensive long-term programs aimed at political goals will provide even greater flexibility , and furthermore allow more clarity to ensure that these programs work as intended .
When government inflicts massive economic damage as a necessity in a crisis , even fiscal conservatives agree that the same federal government has a responsibility to address that damage .
That is all that these packages should be doing , however — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agendas and attempting major structural change when structure isn ’ t the problem .

Now that Phase One and Phase Two bills for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic’s economic damage have passed, Congress will take up Phase 3 — otherwise known as The Big One. Politico’s Playbook predicted this morning that the text of the massive “go big” plan should drop sometime today, but that its parameters are largely known already. The new bill will authorize more than a trillion dollars in spending to stem the bleeding, driven by Donald Trump’s desire to stabilize the markets as well as the economic situation for workers and small businesses:
NEW MOVEMENT … SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL is expected to put out his PHASE THREE coronavirus bill today, laying a marker for the consensus view of Senate Republicans on what’s expected to be a $1 trillion-plus package. THEN, as early as sometime today, MCCONNELL and his team will begin talking with Senate Minority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER to begin negotiations over the package. We don’t know how long this process is going to take, or when to expect a vote. — MCCONNELL said this late Wednesday on the Senate floor: “I recommend senators stay close. While we don’t know exactly how long it will take to get this done, everyone knows that we need to do it as quickly as possible because the situation demands it. So we’ll keep senators posted. I hope they don’t go too far away.”
It’s a massive amount of spending, far outstripping the early 2009 stimulus bill pushed by Democrats and signed by Barack Obama. The Washington Post recalls that episode in its preview of Phase 3, arguing that Trump is taking a risk with his base and fiscal conservatives by backing any kind of stimulus package of this scope. Support for these stimulus bills is “a sea change on the political right,” they report:
The administration on Wednesday outlined a $1 trillion plan, which includes $500 billion in cash payments to individual Americans and $300 billion toward helping small businesses, as well as $50 billion for airlines and $150 billion for other affected sectors. Trump’s hastily crafted stimulus, which has won early support from most Republican lawmakers, marks a sea change on the political right. The president and many of his conservative allies rose to power on the strength of a grass-roots movement forged in opposition to the bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis and President Obama’s subsequent economic stimulus package. Scrutiny of Trump’s plan continues to grow as some Republicans express unease about its scope and leading Democrats warn against federal giveaways to corporations without accountability measures that would ensure taxpayer money does not fund stock buybacks or executive pay. And there is some trepidation within the administration about the political risks associated with the perception that industries spend money as they wish — as well as uncertainty about how, exactly, all of the money would be spread around, according to officials involved in the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private talks.
That’s not entirely unfair, but it is substantially unfair. First, the bank bailouts began in the George Bush administration, and had some significant GOP support (as well as some significant opposition). After the election, Republicans did oppose the 2009 stimulus bill, but not because they opposed any kind of a stimulus bill. Republicans in the House and Senate minorities wanted to direct stimulus in different directions than Democrats did. In fact, Republicans demanded to be at the table to help write the bill, but Nancy Pelosi locked them out and Obama offered his famous quip: “I won.”
Republicans turned out to be correct in their opposition to the form of stimulus provided in 2009, too. Instead of attempting to shore up the damage directly by dealing with the collapsed value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds, it instead aimed at infrastructure spending, block grants to states, green-energy subsidies, and social-engineering experiments like Cash for Clunkers. It wasn’t an emergency bill as much as it was an agenda-funding bill, and it produced a flabby and undynamic recovery. The GOP’s ideas at the time weren’t actually all that much better either, though; rather than use precision to fix the damage, they also offered up tax cuts and other long-range agenda items that may have otherwise had value but were ill suited to an acute crisis.
Fiscal conservatism has a role to play even in massive stimulus packages, I argue in my column at The Week. In fact, it’s more critical than ever in avoiding everything that usually goes wrong with these efforts:
Still, while fiscal conservatism might not apply to the overall approach by Congress to the economic crisis, it should inform how to best use the funds it will spend to blunt it. That means targeting the money where the damage is most acutely felt rather than to commit it to longer-term programmatic goals. Subsidiarity is key to making the biggest impact, while trying to leverage the crisis for re-engineering the economy is the best way to ensure that the money and the opportunity get wasted. … This rescue package should focus sharply on the points of the economy where government inflicted the most damage. The highest priority has to be consumers sidelined by business closures — putting enough money in their pockets to keep them engaged in the economy. Fortunately, both parties have more or less come around to direct payments over the next two months, which will cost around $500 billion but will keep families from tipping over into ruin. That added spending power will boost local businesses as well, keeping some dynamism in the economy while keeping families mostly at home. Next, funds needs to target the most critical costs of keeping small businesses running through the crisis. Either that also means direct payments or perhaps grants and bridge loans to keep operating expenses under control and lease payments made. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie proposed a wider repeat of the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort, which used HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to keep small- and medium-sized businesses from shutting down during that crisis. If funds get rapidly deployed into those programs, small businesses such as restaurants and bars can either avoid or limit employee furloughs, also allowing for more resiliency and dynamism in the immediate term and limiting long-term damage. Both of these approaches have significant scalability, as well. If the effect is not robust enough at first, Congress can direct more funds to bolstering these programs. Refraining from launching expensive long-term programs aimed at political goals will provide even greater flexibility, and furthermore allow more clarity to ensure that these programs work as intended.
When government inflicts massive economic damage as a necessity in a crisis, even fiscal conservatives agree that the same federal government has a responsibility to address that damage. That is all that these packages should be doing, however — not saddling up hobby horses from political agendas and attempting major structural change when structure isn’t the problem.


hotair--2020-03-19--Trump: Hydroxychloroquine has shown very encouraging early results in treating coronavirus

Jazz wrote about hydroxychloroquine this morning .
News broke yesterday that a French researcher , supposedly well respected , found that hydroxychloroquine rapidly reduced the infectiousness of coronavirus patients .
Quote : “ We were able to ascertain that patients who had not received Plaquenil ( the drug containing hydroxychloroquine ) were still contagious after six days , but of those that had received Plaquenil , after six days , only 25 % were still contagious.
” That ’ s not all .
As Jazz noted , last night Tucker Carlson had on an “ advisor to the Stanford University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” who ’ s working with the French researcher .
That guy doesn ’ t appear to be a doctor ; he has a law degree and his bio says he ’ s “ led a biotech firm for the past five years in research and clinical evaluation of Chloroquine in various diseases.
” He told Carlson that 40 out of 40 coronavirus patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine in the French trial recovered from the disease .
One hundred percent success .
The kicker , though , is that hydroxychloroquine is already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drugs like remdesivir , chloroquine ’ s been around for decades as a treatment for other maladies .
It ’ s safe for human consumption .
It hasn ’ t undergone clinical trials here yet as a coronavirus treatment — that ’ s coming — but it seems like a cinch that American doctors are going to reach for it and use it off-label as a defense against COVID-19 given the early hype about it .
Which means we should have some basic idea very soon , as hospitals are deluged , how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Trump touting it at a briefing this morning : As usual , there was some clean-up afterwards : The FDA hasn ’ t approved hydroxychloroquine or remdesivir to treat COVID-19 yet but it ’ s looking to expand their use while clinical trials are pending .
There ’ s been noise about those two drugs practically since the start of the outbreak in Wuhan : All the way back on February 4 , Chinese scientists flagged remdesivir and chloroquine as treatments that seemed to effectively inhibit coronavirus in vitro .
Another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specified that hydroxychloroquine , a less toxic derivative of chloroquine , was also effective against the disease .
Now we have the French study also showing strong results .
Less than 24 hours ago , Bayer announced that it would make a “ large donation ” of chloroquine to the U.S. government .
Clearly this is the closest thing in the world ’ s collective medical arsenal that ’ s ready to be deployed right now that might meaningfully punch down the death rate .
Which , I guess , explains why Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though there appears to be no real “ news ” from the federal government about it .
Nothing has changed ; the drug hasn ’ t been approved for treatment .
All he and FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn wanted to do is give the public a little hope at a moment when hope is short supply .
For the sake of his and Hahn ’ s credibility , I hope they ’ re not overhyping a treatment that ’ s going to go bust once American doctors actually begin trying it .
Drugs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 have been known to do that already .
A pessimistic thought I had : Given how widely available hydroxychloroquine is , shouldn ’ t we know already from China and Italy whether it ’ s effective or not ?
Surely Italian doctors have heard the anecdotal reports that the drug works .
They ’ re desperate enough at the moment to try anything on hand .
Why haven ’ t we heard any “ yay , chloroquine !
” stories out of northern Italy ?
And a more optimistic thought : If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be used quasi-prophylactically to try to squelch coronavirus infections before they get rolling in lieu of a vaccine ?
In other words , might we reach a stage of this epidemic where doctors prescribe it the instant someone has a fever , a sort of just-in-case treatment to head off a possible coronavirus infection before it takes root ?
Here ’ s Hahn talking up how the FDA is on the case and looking to expedite treatments as quickly as humanly — but responsibly — possible .

Jazz wrote about hydroxychloroquine this morning. News broke yesterday that a French researcher, supposedly well respected, found that hydroxychloroquine rapidly reduced the infectiousness of coronavirus patients. Quote: “We were able to ascertain that patients who had not received Plaquenil (the drug containing hydroxychloroquine) were still contagious after six days, but of those that had received Plaquenil, after six days, only 25% were still contagious.”
That’s not all. As Jazz noted, last night Tucker Carlson had on an “advisor to the Stanford University School of Medicine SPARK Translational Research Program” who’s working with the French researcher. That guy doesn’t appear to be a doctor; he has a law degree and his bio says he’s “led a biotech firm for the past five years in research and clinical evaluation of Chloroquine in various diseases.” He told Carlson that 40 out of 40 coronavirus patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine in the French trial recovered from the disease. One hundred percent success.
The kicker, though, is that hydroxychloroquine is already on the shelf. Unlike promising experimental drugs like remdesivir, chloroquine’s been around for decades as a treatment for other maladies. It’s safe for human consumption. It hasn’t undergone clinical trials here yet as a coronavirus treatment — that’s coming — but it seems like a cinch that American doctors are going to reach for it and use it off-label as a defense against COVID-19 given the early hype about it. Which means we should have some basic idea very soon, as hospitals are deluged, how effective it is or not.
Here’s Trump touting it at a briefing this morning:
President Trump on Hydroxychloroquine: "It's been around for a long time, so we know if things don't go as planned it's not going to kill anybody…It's shown very, very encouraging early results, and we're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately." pic.twitter.com/Q7C8dk7gnd — CSPAN (@cspan) March 19, 2020
As usual, there was some clean-up afterwards:
11:47: *TRUMP SAYS FDA HAS APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR USE IN COVID-19 11:48: *TRUMP SAYS STILL COLLECTING EVIDENCE OF CHLOROQUINE EFFICACY 11:48: *TRUMP SAYS CHLOROQUINE RISKS LOW AND ARE WELL-KNOWN 12:12: *FDA SAYS IT HAS NOT APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR COVID-19 USE — Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) March 19, 2020
The FDA hasn’t approved hydroxychloroquine or remdesivir to treat COVID-19 yet but it’s looking to expand their use while clinical trials are pending. There’s been noise about those two drugs practically since the start of the outbreak in Wuhan: All the way back on February 4, Chinese scientists flagged remdesivir and chloroquine as treatments that seemed to effectively inhibit coronavirus in vitro. Another Chinese report published a few days ago specified that hydroxychloroquine, a less toxic derivative of chloroquine, was also effective against the disease. Now we have the French study also showing strong results.
Less than 24 hours ago, Bayer announced that it would make a “large donation” of chloroquine to the U.S. government. Clearly this is the closest thing in the world’s collective medical arsenal that’s ready to be deployed right now that might meaningfully punch down the death rate. Which, I guess, explains why Trump was talking about it this morning even though there appears to be no real “news” from the federal government about it. Nothing has changed; the drug hasn’t been approved for treatment. All he and FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn wanted to do is give the public a little hope at a moment when hope is short supply. For the sake of his and Hahn’s credibility, I hope they’re not overhyping a treatment that’s going to go bust once American doctors actually begin trying it. Drugs that look “promising” in treating COVID-19 have been known to do that already.
A pessimistic thought I had: Given how widely available hydroxychloroquine is, shouldn’t we know already from China and Italy whether it’s effective or not? Surely Italian doctors have heard the anecdotal reports that the drug works. They’re desperate enough at the moment to try anything on hand. Why haven’t we heard any “yay, chloroquine!” stories out of northern Italy? And a more optimistic thought: If chloroquine does work, could it potentially be used quasi-prophylactically to try to squelch coronavirus infections before they get rolling in lieu of a vaccine? In other words, might we reach a stage of this epidemic where doctors prescribe it the instant someone has a fever, a sort of just-in-case treatment to head off a possible coronavirus infection before it takes root?
Here’s Hahn talking up how the FDA is on the case and looking to expedite treatments as quickly as humanly — but responsibly — possible.


hotair--2020-03-19--NY Times: How the Chinese propaganda machine is changing the coronavirus narrative

Yesterday the NY Times published a new video report about the Chinese PR efforts surrounding the coronavirus .
“ We analyzed thousands of tweets from Chinese state media and official accounts , ” the narrator states .
What the Times found was three messages being heavily pushed by the Chinese government .
First , the government was eager to project optimism in the face of the growing threat .
Part of that effort was putting out positive messages about the government response but an equally important part was censoring statements and images that didn ’ t conform to the message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want a pure distillation of that message this next video is it .
This is a Mr. Bean impersonator whose optimistic message has been heavily spread by the Chinese media : But there ’ s a dark side to this optimism : Censorship of what is really happening .
The Times created a separate video last month about a small group of people who reacted to Chinese censorship by attempting to archive and translate as much of the material appearing online as they could before the censors made it disappear .
By posting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ western social media sites they were able to get some of the messages to the outside world : There were a few persistent voices in China who insisted on doing actual reporting from Wuhan .
Last month Chinese blogger Chen Qiushi suddenly disappeared after uploading a number of videos about the crisis .
Chen apparently hasn ’ t been seen since .
The second message China wanted to send was that it was a leader in the fight against the virus .
Chinese media sought to portray the world as united to fight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But there was one exception .
China has been critical of the response within the United States and , in particular , of Donald Trump .
On this topic , the message coming from Chinese media sounds a lot like the message coming from U.S. media .
Finally , the third message the Times found Chinese state media pushing was the idea that the origin of the coronavirus is unknown .
More specifically , Chinese government officials have claimed the origin may have been the United States .
This started last month when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unknown .
When U.S. media sources announced the first case of the virus in the U.S. , a mistranslated version of the message began spreading on Chinese social media which said that the U.S. had admitted the virus originated here .
The normally censorious government minders who monitor Chinese social media decided to let this false claim go viral .
Given what is happening in China , it remains striking that so many in the U.S. media remain fixated on the idea it is offensive and wrong for officials in the U.S. to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus.
” President Trump was asked about this several times yesterday .
He explicitly pointed out that he was using the phrase in response to Chinese propaganda efforts to blame the origin of the virus on U.S. soldiers .
But for the most part ( and here I ’ m excluding the NY Times ) the U.S. media is ignoring the Chinese propaganda as if it isn ’ t happening .
And if it isn ’ t happening ( or isn ’ t worth mentioning to readers and viewers ) then President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of nowhere .

Yesterday the NY Times published a new video report about the Chinese PR efforts surrounding the coronavirus. “We analyzed thousands of tweets from Chinese state media and official accounts,” the narrator states. What the Times found was three messages being heavily pushed by the Chinese government.
First, the government was eager to project optimism in the face of the growing threat. Part of that effort was putting out positive messages about the government response but an equally important part was censoring statements and images that didn’t conform to the message China wanted to circulate. If you want a pure distillation of that message this next video is it. This is a Mr. Bean impersonator whose optimistic message has been heavily spread by the Chinese media:
But there’s a dark side to this optimism: Censorship of what is really happening. The Times created a separate video last month about a small group of people who reacted to Chinese censorship by attempting to archive and translate as much of the material appearing online as they could before the censors made it disappear. By posting this material through VPN’s onto western social media sites they were able to get some of the messages to the outside world:
There were a few persistent voices in China who insisted on doing actual reporting from Wuhan. Last month Chinese blogger Chen Qiushi suddenly disappeared after uploading a number of videos about the crisis. Chen apparently hasn’t been seen since.
The second message China wanted to send was that it was a leader in the fight against the virus. Chinese media sought to portray the world as united to fight the virus with help from China. But there was one exception. China has been critical of the response within the United States and, in particular, of Donald Trump. On this topic, the message coming from Chinese media sounds a lot like the message coming from U.S. media.
Finally, the third message the Times found Chinese state media pushing was the idea that the origin of the coronavirus is unknown. More specifically, Chinese government officials have claimed the origin may have been the United States. This started last month when a Chinese epidemiologist said the source was unknown. When U.S. media sources announced the first case of the virus in the U.S., a mistranslated version of the message began spreading on Chinese social media which said that the U.S. had admitted the virus originated here. The normally censorious government minders who monitor Chinese social media decided to let this false claim go viral.
Here’s the NY Times report:
Given what is happening in China, it remains striking that so many in the U.S. media remain fixated on the idea it is offensive and wrong for officials in the U.S. to refer to this as a “Chinese virus.” President Trump was asked about this several times yesterday. He explicitly pointed out that he was using the phrase in response to Chinese propaganda efforts to blame the origin of the virus on U.S. soldiers. But for the most part (and here I’m excluding the NY Times) the U.S. media is ignoring the Chinese propaganda as if it isn’t happening. And if it isn’t happening (or isn’t worth mentioning to readers and viewers) then President Trump’s response seems to come out of nowhere.


hotair--2020-03-19--"We will get through this": Fear and panic are more dangerous than COVID-19, says Cuomo, so no NY lo

"We will get through this": Fear and panic are more dangerous than COVID-19, says Cuomo, so no NY lockdowns

New York will not order people to be “ imprisoned in their homes , ” Gov .
Andrew Cuomo declared this morning , because it won ’ t help — and might make things worse .
“ The fear and panic can get out of control more than the virus , ” Cuomo tells Today ‘ s Savannah Guthrie this morning .
Panic may already be a problem thanks to news reporting on the rapidly growing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases , but Cuomo tells Guthrie that ’ s a function of expanding test capacity , not real-time spread : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill de Blasio that a lockdown might be required .
This morning , Cuomo ’ s still dismissive of that idea .
“ You ’ re seeing confusion ” as a result of fear and panic , Cuomo says .
“ Are we reducing density ?
Yes , ” Cuomo says after Guthrie presses him on the issue .
“ Do we want people to stay home ?
Yes .
Are we going to do quarantine , people imprisoned in their homes ?
No.
” Later in the morning , Cuomo emphasized his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that with Cuomo ’ s tone toward the White House .
Once again , Cuomo offers praise for Donald Trump , this time briefly over Trump ’ s cooperation on getting the Army Corps of Engineers involved .
“ I think that ’ s the best news , ” Cuomo remarks , telling Guthrie that “ this is a war , and we have to treat it like a war.
” The ACE ’ s role will be to expand hospital capacity as rapidly as possible , likely in conjunction with the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t be built fast enough , Cuomo warns .
“ The health care system is going to be overwhelmed , ” he says .
“ The question now is to what extent and what consequence.
” Cuomo seems to have found his footing in this crisis , as has Trump .
The last two days from both men have been impressive , not just on their own but in how they have reached out to the other .
It ’ s that kind of leadership that can tamp down the fear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tasks more than speculation and analysis , and focused on the crisis rather than the partisan game-playing around it .
Cuomo later emphasized the same point in his presser later in the morning .
“ It is this much time , ” he said , holding his fingers slightly apart .
“ We will get through this .
… We ’ ve been through it before.
” That ’ s a good message to hear from top leadership in a crisis .

New York will not order people to be “imprisoned in their homes,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared this morning, because it won’t help — and might make things worse. “The fear and panic can get out of control more than the virus,” Cuomo tells Today‘s Savannah Guthrie this morning. Panic may already be a problem thanks to news reporting on the rapidly growing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, but Cuomo tells Guthrie that’s a function of expanding test capacity, not real-time spread:
“In this war, ventilators are what the missiles were in World War II. We have to make those missiles. We have to make those ventilators.” Watch @NYGovCuomo’s full interview with @savannahguthrie about the latest news surrounding the coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/lQRJ4u3v0w — TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 19, 2020
Yesterday, Cuomo sharply dismissed suggestions from Bill de Blasio that a lockdown might be required. This morning, Cuomo’s still dismissive of that idea. “You’re seeing confusion” as a result of fear and panic, Cuomo says. “Are we reducing density? Yes,” Cuomo says after Guthrie presses him on the issue. “Do we want people to stay home? Yes. Are we going to do quarantine, people imprisoned in their homes? No.”
Later in the morning, Cuomo emphasized his opposition to a lockdown again:
NY Gov. Cuomo says no to shelter-in-place order in NYC: "I'm not talking about imprisonment of people in their homes. I'm not talking about quarantine and road blocks where you're locked into a geographic area. That will explode panic in New York City."https://t.co/1JRuLjBIm5 — NBC News (@NBCNews) March 19, 2020
Contrast that with Cuomo’s tone toward the White House. Once again, Cuomo offers praise for Donald Trump, this time briefly over Trump’s cooperation on getting the Army Corps of Engineers involved. “I think that’s the best news,” Cuomo remarks, telling Guthrie that “this is a war, and we have to treat it like a war.” The ACE’s role will be to expand hospital capacity as rapidly as possible, likely in conjunction with the state’s National Guard. It literally can’t be built fast enough, Cuomo warns. “The health care system is going to be overwhelmed,” he says. “The question now is to what extent and what consequence.”
Cuomo seems to have found his footing in this crisis, as has Trump. The last two days from both men have been impressive, not just on their own but in how they have reached out to the other. It’s that kind of leadership that can tamp down the fear and panic — leadership focused on the tasks more than speculation and analysis, and focused on the crisis rather than the partisan game-playing around it.
Cuomo later emphasized the same point in his presser later in the morning. “It is this much time,” he said, holding his fingers slightly apart. “We will get through this. … We’ve been through it before.” That’s a good message to hear from top leadership in a crisis.


hotair--2020-03-19--Esper: Yeah, those hospital ships won't be ready for a few weeks

The moral of this gruesome story when it ’ s finally written will be “ We waited too long.
” Waiting too long is understandable with mass social distancing : Even though distancing works better the earlier it ’ s applied , it ’ s no small thing to shut down the world ’ s biggest economy .
You want to know for absolute certain that that train is headed right at you and can ’ t be stopped before you make a move like that .
But other early preparations we could have taken weren ’ t so costly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the side of caution in January by scrambling to procure millions of masks and protective equipment in the event that an epidemic arrived .
An order could have been placed for more ventilators .
Military hospital ships could have been readied in the expectation that they ’ d soon be deployed .
A panicked surgeon in New York has an op-ed in the Times today titled “ The Sky Is Falling.
” She writes , “ We need more equipment and we need it now .
Specifically gloves , masks , eye protection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology friends to be making and testing prototypes to rig the ventilators that we do have to support more than one patient at a time .
We need our labs channeling all of their efforts into combating this bug — that means vaccine research and antiviral treatment research , quickly.
” We waited too long : The Pentagon is donating what few masks and ventilators it currently has to hospitals , but that ’ s not nearly enough to meet the surge .
Ironically , just as the long , excruciating delay in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some doctors are reporting that they ’ ve hit a new snag : They can ’ t safely test patients with symptoms because they don ’ t have masks to protect themselves .
There were reports a few days ago that front-line doctors and nurses across the world have been hit especially hard by the disease , probably because they ’ re getting more of a viral load via contact with so many patients than the average infected person does — and here we are without the means to shield them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ page up advising medical personnel to use bandanas or headscarves as a last resort because they *might* provide some extra protection .
We ’ re staring at an epidemic within the medical profession on top of an epidemic within the larger population .
It ’ s not just masks , either .
There ’ s currently a shortage of something as basic as the swabs needed to conduct virus tests , with one San Francisco hospital warning that it ’ ll need to stop testing people altogether if it isn ’ t resupplied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to fly 500,000 swabs in from Italy earlier this week just to try to keep hospitals supplied for now .
This is a massive managerial failure .
Even inside the White House , at this late hour , people appear not to know exactly how the chain of command is operating .
Jared Kushner ’ s taken it upon himself to form a “ shadow task force ” alongside Mike Pence ’ s official task force and no one seems quite sure who ’ s in charge .
“ Two senior officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confused as they have received emails from private industry employees on Kushner ’ s team and have been on conference calls with them , unsure what their exact role is in the government response.
” The core failure , though , remains the CDC ’ s breakdown in developing a workable diagnostic test early and the FDA ’ s delay in turning to commercial testing instead .
The WSJ has a piece about that today that ’ s worth your time .
It was a perfect storm of incompetence , it seems : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developed in an agency lab , retracting many tests .
They resisted calls from state officials and medical providers to broaden testing , and health officials failed to coordinate with outside companies to ensure needed test-kit supplies , such as nasal swabs and chemical reagents , would be available , according to suppliers and health officials .
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , also involved in the response , finally opened testing to more outside labs , a run on limited stocks of some supplies needed for the CDC-developed test quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Hospital and commercial lab operators said the government didn ’ t reach out to enlist their help until it was too late .
“ This was kind of a perfect storm of three separate failures , ” said Tom Frieden , who directed the CDC from 2009 to 2017 , citing the botched test , overstrict FDA rules and sidelined private labs .
He cautioned he didn ’ t have direct knowledge of details .
If you want to see what good management looks like , read Reuters on South Korea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The comparison between their country and ours is irresistible because each of us recorded our first official coronavirus cases on the same day .
It ’ s not completely fair : Korea had to act sooner because of its proximity to China ; it ’ s also more used to worrying about regional epidemics after the SARS and MERS outbreaks .
But their bureaucracy appears to be far more nimble than ours and their early , effective initiative to test widely has largely contained new infections there .
The administration of President Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and conventions , former officials and public health experts say .
Instead of drafting the private sector early on to develop tests , as South Korea did , U.S. health officials relied , as is customary , on test kits prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , some of which proved faulty .
Then , sticking to its time-consuming vetting procedures , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn ’ t approve tests other than the CDC ’ s until Feb. 29 , more than five weeks after discussions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the absence of enough kits , the CDC insisted for weeks on narrow criteria for testing , recommending it only when a person had recently been to China or other hot spots or had contact with someone known to be infected .
As a result , the federal government failed to screen an untold number of Americans and missed opportunities to contain the spread , clinicians and public health experts say .
South Korea prioritized getting test kits out the door ASAP , gambling that they ’ d be reasonably accurate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Said one cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh of America ’ s comparative screw-ups , “ It makes me feel like I ’ m living in a farce.
” It ’ d go too far to say the feds have handled this the way a third-world government would but they obviously haven ’ t handled it the way a first-world government like Korea has .
Maybe that ’ s what decadence looks like — we can still respond to crises , it just takes us much longer and costs much more in blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our international peers .
Speaking of third-world governments , listen to this short NPR report on secret audio of Senator Richard Burr , head of the Senate Intelligence Committee , telling businessmen at a private meeting three weeks ago that this could be a 1918-style pandemic and that they might soon have to alter their travel for safety ’ s sake .
NPR did not find records of Burr saying stuff like this publicly at the time .
Why not ?
Why did special interests get a heads up on this from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t ?
Did he think it was better to leave us all in the dark than to risk angering Trump by contradicting his then-rosy outlook on the virus publicly ?

The moral of this gruesome story when it’s finally written will be “We waited too long.” Waiting too long is understandable with mass social distancing: Even though distancing works better the earlier it’s applied, it’s no small thing to shut down the world’s biggest economy. You want to know for absolute certain that that train is headed right at you and can’t be stopped before you make a move like that.
But other early preparations we could have taken weren’t so costly. The feds could have erred on the side of caution in January by scrambling to procure millions of masks and protective equipment in the event that an epidemic arrived. An order could have been placed for more ventilators. Military hospital ships could have been readied in the expectation that they’d soon be deployed.
A panicked surgeon in New York has an op-ed in the Times today titled “The Sky Is Falling.” She writes, “We need more equipment and we need it now. Specifically gloves, masks, eye protection and more ventilators. We need our technology friends to be making and testing prototypes to rig the ventilators that we do have to support more than one patient at a time. We need our labs channeling all of their efforts into combating this bug — that means vaccine research and antiviral treatment research, quickly.” We waited too long:
The USNS Mercy is likely to deploy sooner, though the Pentagon has not said where it will be sent. “The Comfort, which is on the East Coast, should be ready in a couple weeks — plus, the Mercy, which is on the West Coast, should be ready in a week and a half, two weeks, definitely before the end of this month the Mercy will deploy,” Esper told CNN’s Jake Tapper Wednesday.
The Pentagon is donating what few masks and ventilators it currently has to hospitals, but that’s not nearly enough to meet the surge.
Ironically, just as the long, excruciating delay in widespread testing is finally beginning to ease, some doctors are reporting that they’ve hit a new snag: They can’t safely test patients with symptoms because they don’t have masks to protect themselves. There were reports a few days ago that front-line doctors and nurses across the world have been hit especially hard by the disease, probably because they’re getting more of a viral load via contact with so many patients than the average infected person does — and here we are without the means to shield them. The CDC website actually now has a page up advising medical personnel to use bandanas or headscarves as a last resort because they *might* provide some extra protection. We’re staring at an epidemic within the medical profession on top of an epidemic within the larger population.
It’s not just masks, either. There’s currently a shortage of something as basic as the swabs needed to conduct virus tests, with one San Francisco hospital warning that it’ll need to stop testing people altogether if it isn’t resupplied within five days. The U.S. military had to fly 500,000 swabs in from Italy earlier this week just to try to keep hospitals supplied for now.
This is a massive managerial failure. Even inside the White House, at this late hour, people appear not to know exactly how the chain of command is operating. Jared Kushner’s taken it upon himself to form a “shadow task force” alongside Mike Pence’s official task force and no one seems quite sure who’s in charge. “Two senior officials said some government officials have become increasingly confused as they have received emails from private industry employees on Kushner’s team and have been on conference calls with them, unsure what their exact role is in the government response.”
The core failure, though, remains the CDC’s breakdown in developing a workable diagnostic test early and the FDA’s delay in turning to commercial testing instead. The WSJ has a piece about that today that’s worth your time. It was a perfect storm of incompetence, it seems:
CDC officials botched an initial test kit developed in an agency lab, retracting many tests. They resisted calls from state officials and medical providers to broaden testing, and health officials failed to coordinate with outside companies to ensure needed test-kit supplies, such as nasal swabs and chemical reagents, would be available, according to suppliers and health officials. When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also involved in the response, finally opened testing to more outside labs, a run on limited stocks of some supplies needed for the CDC-developed test quickly depleted stores, lab operators and suppliers said. Hospital and commercial lab operators said the government didn’t reach out to enlist their help until it was too late. “This was kind of a perfect storm of three separate failures,” said Tom Frieden, who directed the CDC from 2009 to 2017, citing the botched test, overstrict FDA rules and sidelined private labs. He cautioned he didn’t have direct knowledge of details.
If you want to see what good management looks like, read Reuters on South Korea’s response to the crisis. The comparison between their country and ours is irresistible because each of us recorded our first official coronavirus cases on the same day. It’s not completely fair: Korea had to act sooner because of its proximity to China; it’s also more used to worrying about regional epidemics after the SARS and MERS outbreaks. But their bureaucracy appears to be far more nimble than ours and their early, effective initiative to test widely has largely contained new infections there.
The administration of President Donald Trump was tripped up by government rules and conventions, former officials and public health experts say. Instead of drafting the private sector early on to develop tests, as South Korea did, U.S. health officials relied, as is customary, on test kits prepared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of which proved faulty. Then, sticking to its time-consuming vetting procedures, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration didn’t approve tests other than the CDC’s until Feb. 29, more than five weeks after discussions with outside labs had begun. Meanwhile, in the absence of enough kits, the CDC insisted for weeks on narrow criteria for testing, recommending it only when a person had recently been to China or other hot spots or had contact with someone known to be infected. As a result, the federal government failed to screen an untold number of Americans and missed opportunities to contain the spread, clinicians and public health experts say.
South Korea prioritized getting test kits out the door ASAP, gambling that they’d be reasonably accurate and not littered with false positives. Said one cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh of America’s comparative screw-ups, “It makes me feel like I’m living in a farce.” It’d go too far to say the feds have handled this the way a third-world government would but they obviously haven’t handled it the way a first-world government like Korea has. Maybe that’s what decadence looks like — we can still respond to crises, it just takes us much longer and costs much more in blood and treasure than it does for some of our international peers.
Speaking of third-world governments, listen to this short NPR report on secret audio of Senator Richard Burr, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, telling businessmen at a private meeting three weeks ago that this could be a 1918-style pandemic and that they might soon have to alter their travel for safety’s sake. NPR did not find records of Burr saying stuff like this publicly at the time. Why not? Why did special interests get a heads up on this from him when the rest of us didn’t? Did he think it was better to leave us all in the dark than to risk angering Trump by contradicting his then-rosy outlook on the virus publicly?


hotair--2020-03-19--Legend's celebrity wife trash tweets "wife bot" FLOTUS

Chrissy Teigen , the celebrity wife of singer John Legend , has been busy on Twitter during these days of hunkering down and waiting for the coronavirus to loosen its grip on everyday life .
The foul-mouthed thirty-something model often posts hate-filled tweets about President Trump .
A tweet thread Tuesday night tearing into First Lady Melania Trump went into the wee hours as she moved on to turn against First Daughter Ivanka .
Teigen and Legend were part of the Obama social circle during his eight years of inviting our betters from the entertainment world to the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they find other ways to capture headlines .
Speaker Pelosi invites them to Democrat retreats to opine on the politics of the day .
Sometimes the president responds to their appearances at town halls .
Legend ’ s wife doesn ’ t think that Melania Trump is doing anything about the COVID-19 pandemic .
Perhaps it was the wine she was drinking , as seen in a photo , or maybe the ugliness was caused by her boredom at home .
Who knows ?
Drunk or sober , her tweets are consistently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the moment .
Charming , right ?
What exactly is Melania Trump expected to be doing about the coronavirus ?
Social distancing means she can ’ t go out and visit children ’ s hospitals and schools as she normally does .
She can ’ t be shown doing craft projects with school kids or holding a sick baby .
She has tweeted out words of encouragement , as noted by CNN , who counted 10 tweets from her so far .
CNN went on to criticize Melania , of course , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PSAs with members of Trump ’ s COVID-19 team of experts .
The PSAs will address “ important ways Americans can protect themselves and those most at risk ” .
CNN called her tweets “ confusing ” .
On Monday , the first lady announced in a statement that the annual Easter Egg Roll would be canceled .
And Wednesday morning , the White House also confirmed the postponement an upcoming state dinner for the King and Queen of Spain next month .
On Tuesday , Melania Trump tweeted a call for spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were settling in for early days of what could be a long period juggling work life and home life .
However , she appeared to mix up what it means to “ work ” from home .
“ Consider taking advantage of time working from home to connect with your loved ones via email or FaceTime , spend time w family , or work on your well-being by reading a book or spending time on a hobby , ” tweeted the first lady , seemingly unaware that most of the millions of Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just that — working .
It was not until Wednesday that Trump sent her first social media post specifically about children and parents dealing with massive school cancellations across the nation , nearly five days after they first occurred .
“ I know these can be trying times for parents & kids .
I encourage students at all grade levels to continue their learning at home .
Scholastic Learn At Home allows open access to daily learning , ” she tweeted to her 13.3 million followers , adding a link to Scholastic ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platform — Be Best , which in May will mark its third anniversary — is centered around helping children , with one of its three pillars devoted to their health and emotional well-being .
Teigen mocks the Be Best initiative in her tweets .
Now she knows that the First Lady will appear in PSAs , I assume addressing the needs of children .
CNN and other anti-Trump networks regularly criticize the Be Best initiative , dismissing it as hypocritical because of President Trump ’ s manner of speaking , so it must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one expert on First Ladies says this is a perfect time to utilize the initiative .
Kate Andersen Brower , CNN contributor and author of “ First Women : The Grace and Power of America ’ s Modern First Ladies , ” said this is a moment of national unity , and nonpartisanship , which is where a first lady can shine .
“ ( The coronavirus pandemic ) is an anxiety-producing situation we ’ re faced with and the first lady should see it as her job in this difficult time for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ empathy , and to share helpful information with children and parents specifically in mind , ” she said .
Later , after midnight , Teigen had something to say about First Daughter Ivanka Trump ’ s tweet suggesting something fun parents can do with bored kids at home .
Teigen asked for COVID-19 tests .
Then she critiqued the description of the brooms or something .
When a sister celeb posted a disturbing riff about COVID-19 and its victims on Instagram , however , Teigen was only too happy to come to her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She ’ s a forgiving person , you see .
Except , of course , of people with political views not her own .

Chrissy Teigen, the celebrity wife of singer John Legend, has been busy on Twitter during these days of hunkering down and waiting for the coronavirus to loosen its grip on everyday life. The foul-mouthed thirty-something model often posts hate-filled tweets about President Trump. A tweet thread Tuesday night tearing into First Lady Melania Trump went into the wee hours as she moved on to turn against First Daughter Ivanka.
Teigen and Legend were part of the Obama social circle during his eight years of inviting our betters from the entertainment world to the White House. Now that those days are over, they find other ways to capture headlines. Speaker Pelosi invites them to Democrat retreats to opine on the politics of the day. Sometimes the president responds to their appearances at town halls.
Legend’s wife doesn’t think that Melania Trump is doing anything about the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps it was the wine she was drinking, as seen in a photo, or maybe the ugliness was caused by her boredom at home. Who knows? Drunk or sober, her tweets are consistently angry against whatever has triggered her at the moment.
A tweet from earlier in her evening proved that Chrissy may have been a little inebriated when she tore into Melania. “Fuck im so drunk from the streams and I have a Skype therapy session in 20 mins,” she tweeted an hour before the Melania tweets, referencing livestreams she and John Legend were putting online while they were drinking wine.
I expect Donald to be a do nothing fucking loser wimp but she could maybe possibly try to uhhh BE BETTER possibly the best be the best the best be best. — chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 18, 2020
ALL I have seen this bot do is gently touch Christmas ornaments in a cape and stare in a cape and pat statues in a different cape and then change her cape into a rude ass jacket. Fuck you — chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 18, 2020
Charming, right? What exactly is Melania Trump expected to be doing about the coronavirus? Social distancing means she can’t go out and visit children’s hospitals and schools as she normally does. She can’t be shown doing craft projects with school kids or holding a sick baby. She has tweeted out words of encouragement, as noted by CNN, who counted 10 tweets from her so far.
CNN went on to criticize Melania, of course, even as the story announced her participation in PSAs with members of Trump’s COVID-19 team of experts. The PSAs will address “important ways Americans can protect themselves and those most at risk”. CNN called her tweets “confusing”.
On Monday, the first lady announced in a statement that the annual Easter Egg Roll would be canceled. And Wednesday morning, the White House also confirmed the postponement an upcoming state dinner for the King and Queen of Spain next month. On Tuesday, Melania Trump tweeted a call for spending time with family, as many Americans were settling in for early days of what could be a long period juggling work life and home life. However, she appeared to mix up what it means to “work” from home. “Consider taking advantage of time working from home to connect with your loved ones via email or FaceTime, spend time w family, or work on your well-being by reading a book or spending time on a hobby,” tweeted the first lady, seemingly unaware that most of the millions of Americans working remotely are spending those days doing just that — working. It was not until Wednesday that Trump sent her first social media post specifically about children and parents dealing with massive school cancellations across the nation, nearly five days after they first occurred. “I know these can be trying times for parents & kids. I encourage students at all grade levels to continue their learning at home. Scholastic Learn At Home allows open access to daily learning,” she tweeted to her 13.3 million followers, adding a link to Scholastic’s programming.
Melania Trump’s platform — Be Best, which in May will mark its third anniversary — is centered around helping children, with one of its three pillars devoted to their health and emotional well-being.
Teigen mocks the Be Best initiative in her tweets. Now she knows that the First Lady will appear in PSAs, I assume addressing the needs of children. CNN and other anti-Trump networks regularly criticize the Be Best initiative, dismissing it as hypocritical because of President Trump’s manner of speaking, so it must sting a bit to report online that one expert on First Ladies says this is a perfect time to utilize the initiative.
Kate Andersen Brower, CNN contributor and author of “First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies,” said this is a moment of national unity, and nonpartisanship, which is where a first lady can shine. “(The coronavirus pandemic) is an anxiety-producing situation we’re faced with and the first lady should see it as her job in this difficult time for the entire country to exude warmth, empathy, and to share helpful information with children and parents specifically in mind,” she said.
Later, after midnight, Teigen had something to say about First Daughter Ivanka Trump’s tweet suggesting something fun parents can do with bored kids at home. Teigen asked for COVID-19 tests. Then she critiqued the description of the brooms or something.
after we quote pack unquote sandwiches can we please have Covid tests https://t.co/rMHsfU26Mw — chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 18, 2020
also that’s a clothing rack but yeah america only understands “taped together brooms” — chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 18, 2020
When a sister celeb posted a disturbing riff about COVID-19 and its victims on Instagram, however, Teigen was only too happy to come to her rescue on social media and defend her. She’s a forgiving person, you see. Except, of course, of people with political views not her own.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B92KPiahFNH/?utm_source=ig_embed
sometimes people, especially famous people, are gonna say really stupid shit. & so are you. and they, and u, will learn from it & hopefully their history says they’re good. it’s ok. and at the same time, wow they really had a dumb fuckin moment. but u don’t have ruin their lives — chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 18, 2020


hotair--2020-03-19--CNN's reporting blows up their own fact checker on virus test kits

During last Sunday ’ s Democratic primary debate , former Vice President Joe Biden made a number of claims that were questionable , to say the least .
But one of them that really stood out was his assertion that part of the cause of our current struggles with the coronavirus outbreak was the White House ’ s failure to accept testing kits from the World Health Organization ( WHO ) .
He said , “ Look , the World Health Organization offered the testing kits that they have available and to give it to us now .
We refused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buy them .
We did not want to get them from them .
We wanted to make sure we had our own.
” As the Free Beacon reports , that claim is a bunch of malarky ( as Joe Biden himself might say ) .
Despite their own fact-checker initially saying that Biden was correct , CNN later reported that the CDC and the WHO had never discussed our getting testing kits from them and they never offered any .
A new CNN report refutes its own correspondent ’ s approving fact check @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump administration “ refused ” the World Health Organization ’ s offer of coronavirus testing kits .
CNN fact-checker Holmes Lybrand rated Biden ’ s statement at Sunday ’ s Democratic primary debate to be correct at the time .
But CNN reported Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO never discussed the latter providing tests to the United States , and WHO did not offer it tests .
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told CNN this was not unusual , since the United States has the capacity to manufacture its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own version of the coronavirus test on Jan. 17 , the same day WHO published a German protocol for countries to use in manufacturing their own tests .
CNN ’ s fact-checker initially judged Biden ’ s statement to be correct .
( That page has now been changed to reflect the actual facts with the edit noted at the bottom of the page , but that only happened in the past 24 hours . )
On the same day ( Monday ) , PolitiFact rated Biden ’ s claim as “ mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fire ” would have been a more accurate rating .
Two different officials from the WHO were asked about it this week and they both agreed that the United States “ does not ordinarily rely on WHO for reagents or diagnostic tests because of sufficient domestic capacity.
” There ’ s no question that we ’ ve been behind the curve in terms of getting testing kits into mass production , but it would have been totally out of character for us to go to the WHO to ask for them initially .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ get that so wrong – and leave the incorrect information up on their website until yesterday – while their own reporters were covering the correct version of the story remains something of a mystery .
The reality is that the reporting on Biden ’ s claim was , dare we say… fake news .
Sadly , that doesn ’ t really do anything about the underlying problem .
Everyone watching that debate on Sunday night heard the presumptive Democratic nominee say that Trump had turned down a WHO offer of badly needed testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ checking it the next day who went to CNN for their information had their initial belief verified for them .
And by now , particularly with all of the other coronavirus headlines swamping the news cycle , Biden ’ s claim has fallen down the memory hole and become part of the alternate reality that ’ s being repeated on social media .
Yes , it ’ s good that CNN ’ s fact-checker finally corrected their analysis , but that article dropped off of CNN ’ s front page days ago .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ unless you were specifically searching for it or following a link from a conservative website like ours or the Free Beacon .
So in reality , the damage has been done and you just don ’ t end up unringing that bell .

During last Sunday’s Democratic primary debate, former Vice President Joe Biden made a number of claims that were questionable, to say the least. But one of them that really stood out was his assertion that part of the cause of our current struggles with the coronavirus outbreak was the White House’s failure to accept testing kits from the World Health Organization (WHO). He said, “Look, the World Health Organization offered the testing kits that they have available and to give it to us now. We refused them. We did not want to buy them. We did not want to get them from them. We wanted to make sure we had our own.”
As the Free Beacon reports, that claim is a bunch of malarky (as Joe Biden himself might say). Despite their own fact-checker initially saying that Biden was correct, CNN later reported that the CDC and the WHO had never discussed our getting testing kits from them and they never offered any.
A new CNN report refutes its own correspondent’s approving fact check of Joe Biden’s claim the Trump administration “refused” the World Health Organization’s offer of coronavirus testing kits. CNN fact-checker Holmes Lybrand rated Biden’s statement at Sunday’s Democratic primary debate to be correct at the time. But CNN reported Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO never discussed the latter providing tests to the United States, and WHO did not offer it tests. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told CNN this was not unusual, since the United States has the capacity to manufacture its own diagnostics. The CDC developed its own version of the coronavirus test on Jan. 17, the same day WHO published a German protocol for countries to use in manufacturing their own tests.
CNN’s fact-checker initially judged Biden’s statement to be correct. (That page has now been changed to reflect the actual facts with the edit noted at the bottom of the page, but that only happened in the past 24 hours.) On the same day (Monday), PolitiFact rated Biden’s claim as “mostly false.”
Actually, “Pants on Fire” would have been a more accurate rating. Two different officials from the WHO were asked about it this week and they both agreed that the United States “does not ordinarily rely on WHO for reagents or diagnostic tests because of sufficient domestic capacity.” There’s no question that we’ve been behind the curve in terms of getting testing kits into mass production, but it would have been totally out of character for us to go to the WHO to ask for them initially. How CNN’s fact-checker managed to get that so wrong – and leave the incorrect information up on their website until yesterday – while their own reporters were covering the correct version of the story remains something of a mystery. The reality is that the reporting on Biden’s claim was, dare we say… fake news.
Sadly, that doesn’t really do anything about the underlying problem. Everyone watching that debate on Sunday night heard the presumptive Democratic nominee say that Trump had turned down a WHO offer of badly needed testing kits. Anyone curious enough to bother checking it the next day who went to CNN for their information had their initial belief verified for them. And by now, particularly with all of the other coronavirus headlines swamping the news cycle, Biden’s claim has fallen down the memory hole and become part of the alternate reality that’s being repeated on social media.
Yes, it’s good that CNN’s fact-checker finally corrected their analysis, but that article dropped off of CNN’s front page days ago. You wouldn’t find it today unless you were specifically searching for it or following a link from a conservative website like ours or the Free Beacon. So in reality, the damage has been done and you just don’t end up unringing that bell.


hotair--2020-03-19--Pelosi to Trump: Seize the means of production now!

Yesterday , Donald Trump signed the Defense Production Act as a back-up measure , in case of a breakdown in production of critical supplies .
“ ” Hopefully there will be no need , ” Trump later tweeted , “ but we are all in this TOGETHER !
” The measure is in place only for “ a worst case scenario in the future.
” This morning , Nancy Pelosi and fifty-six other House Democrats said that the worst case scenario is already upon us .
In a statement released to the media this morning , Pelosi demanded that Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shortages in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic : What precisely is Pelosi demanding ?
ABC News outlined the parameters of the DPA , and it ’ s basically authority to impose a wartime command economy : The executive branch , under this law , can essentially dictate industry production and force companies to sign contracts telling them how to allocate materials .
The president can also impose wage and price controls , settle labor disputes and control consumer and real estate credit , among other authorities given by the law .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ War in 1950 , and it has been used sporadically since then .
“ It was based on lessons learned by the U.S. in the early days of World War II when massive mobilization of industrial resources and control of raw materials was required , ” said Steve Ganyard , an ABC News contributor and former deputy assistant secretary of state .
It ’ s a very broad and nearly dictatorial power , one that should truly be a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency authority .
Are we there yet ?
We are facing momentary shortages in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ventilators , as well as hospital space for an expected wave of seriously ill Americans .
However , we only just identified those gaps , and thus far we have no real evidence that we can ’ t fix those through normal economic incentives , such as premiums for production and delivery .
In fact , US automakers are already offering to shift production to medical equipment to meet those gaps : Rosie the Ventilator Maker ?
General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO reportedly suggested to top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while its plants are idled due to the coronavirus pandemic .
Speaking on Fox News Wednesday , Kudlow said he spoke with executives from two of the three Detroit-based automakers , then apparently alluded to Barra when he explained , “ one of them told me even while the men and women may be off for two weeks due to the virus she ’ s gon na try to call them back so they can produce ventilators and they might even ask them to do it on a voluntary basis for civic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed to Forbes that Kudlow was referring to Barra explaining , “ still very early , but she did tell the administration it was something we were exploring….still very early in the process , but she indicated we could help , and we were beginning to look into it.
” General Electric , one of the main sources of ventilators , has already begun expanding its existing production , as well as stepping up on other medical lines : GE on Thursday said its healthcare unit is expanding its manufacturing capacity in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but also more patient monitors , CTs , ultra sound devices , and mobile X-ray systems .
GE ’ s announcement comes with federal and state governments scrambling to buy more medical equipment to deal with a growing surge of seriously ill coronavirus patients , with rising concerns that ventilator capacity could fall short as the crisis deepens .
“ To help address this global challenge , we have increased our manufacturing capacity and output of equipment … while also taking steps to ensure safe operations for our employees , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GE Healthcare .
In order to boost ventilator production , GE has added manufacturing lines and now has shifts working around-the-clock to produce this vital piece of medical equipment .
The Boston-based company said it is also hiring additional manufacturing workers and shifting employees from other units to help out as well .
The best way to get fast production of these necessities is to let the manufacturers proceed as unhindered as possible .
We are not actually fighting a war , after all , and access to raw materials is unchanged except @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it down .
Only in an extremity of resources , labor , and distribution should a president be given command-economy authority , and we are not there yet .
We are not even close to being there .
Finally , this is a rather ironic demand coming from the same politicians who just spent the last several months warning that a failed impeachment would allow Trump to become a dictator .
Now they ’ re complaining because he ’ s not using dictatorial powers fast enough .

Yesterday, Donald Trump signed the Defense Production Act as a back-up measure, in case of a breakdown in production of critical supplies. “”Hopefully there will be no need,” Trump later tweeted, “but we are all in this TOGETHER!” The measure is in place only for “a worst case scenario in the future.”
This morning, Nancy Pelosi and fifty-six other House Democrats said that the worst case scenario is already upon us. In a statement released to the media this morning, Pelosi demanded that Trump take control over domestic production to address shortages in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic:
https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1240618188993368065
What precisely is Pelosi demanding? ABC News outlined the parameters of the DPA, and it’s basically authority to impose a wartime command economy:
The executive branch, under this law, can essentially dictate industry production and force companies to sign contracts telling them how to allocate materials. The president can also impose wage and price controls, settle labor disputes and control consumer and real estate credit, among other authorities given by the law. The DPA was passed during the Korean War in 1950, and it has been used sporadically since then. “It was based on lessons learned by the U.S. in the early days of World War II when massive mobilization of industrial resources and control of raw materials was required,” said Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor and former deputy assistant secretary of state.
It’s a very broad and nearly dictatorial power, one that should truly be a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency authority. Are we there yet? We are facing momentary shortages in some critical items, including masks and ventilators, as well as hospital space for an expected wave of seriously ill Americans. However, we only just identified those gaps, and thus far we have no real evidence that we can’t fix those through normal economic incentives, such as premiums for production and delivery.
In fact, US automakers are already offering to shift production to medical equipment to meet those gaps:
Rosie the Ventilator Maker? General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO reportedly suggested to top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow, the automaker could build hospital ventilators while its plants are idled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking on Fox News Wednesday, Kudlow said he spoke with executives from two of the three Detroit-based automakers, then apparently alluded to Barra when he explained, “one of them told me even while the men and women may be off for two weeks due to the virus she’s gonna try to call them back so they can produce ventilators and they might even ask them to do it on a voluntary basis for civic and patriotic reasons.” GM spokesman Pat Morrissey confirmed to Forbes that Kudlow was referring to Barra explaining, “still very early, but she did tell the administration it was something we were exploring….still very early in the process, but she indicated we could help, and we were beginning to look into it.”
General Electric, one of the main sources of ventilators, has already begun expanding its existing production, as well as stepping up on other medical lines:
GE on Thursday said its healthcare unit is expanding its manufacturing capacity in order to roll out not only more ventilators, but also more patient monitors, CTs, ultra sound devices, and mobile X-ray systems. GE’s announcement comes with federal and state governments scrambling to buy more medical equipment to deal with a growing surge of seriously ill coronavirus patients, with rising concerns that ventilator capacity could fall short as the crisis deepens. “To help address this global challenge, we have increased our manufacturing capacity and output of equipment … while also taking steps to ensure safe operations for our employees,” said Kieran Murphy, president and CEO of GE Healthcare. In order to boost ventilator production, GE has added manufacturing lines and now has shifts working around-the-clock to produce this vital piece of medical equipment. The Boston-based company said it is also hiring additional manufacturing workers and shifting employees from other units to help out as well.
The best way to get fast production of these necessities is to let the manufacturers proceed as unhindered as possible. We are not actually fighting a war, after all, and access to raw materials is unchanged except to the extent that sick personnel slows it down. Only in an extremity of resources, labor, and distribution should a president be given command-economy authority, and we are not there yet. We are not even close to being there.
Finally, this is a rather ironic demand coming from the same politicians who just spent the last several months warning that a failed impeachment would allow Trump to become a dictator. Now they’re complaining because he’s not using dictatorial powers fast enough.