Saturday News: “Replace Trump And Bolster The CDC, A Leading Medical Journal Urges”; “Trump ousts State Department watchdog”; U.S. House Democrats Pass $3 Trillion “HEROES Act”; Reade a “Manipulative, deceitful, user”; “Cautious reopening begins in Virginia”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 16.

• Wave of ‘vaccine nationalism’ hinders global efforts to halt coronavirus (“Analysis: ‘If your country develops the vaccine before anyone else, immediately exporting it to another country is not a vote-winner,’ one expert said.”)
• Brazil loses second health minister in less than a month as Covid-19 deaths rise
• From ‘Respect’ to ‘Sick and Twisted’: How Coronavirus Hit U.S.-China Ties (“China has struck back at American criticism over its handling of the coronavirus, saying the U.S. ignored warnings and mismanaged the crisis. The clash over the pandemic is fanning broader tensions. Bad blood between the two countries threatens to draw them into a new kind of Cold War.”)
• Trump Set to Restore Some Funding to WHO, Fox Reports (Hmmmm…”Fox Reports?”)
• Fed Warns of Significant Hit to Asset Prices If Crisis Grows
• Trump, Unveiling Space Force Flag, Touts What He Calls New ‘Super-Duper Missile’ (“Super-Duper?” Is this a joke?)
• Hopes dim on quick economic recovery
• Drug promoted by Trump as coronavirus ‘game changer’ increasingly linked to deaths
• Replace Trump And Bolster The CDC, A Leading Medical Journal Urges
• Lancet editorial blasts Trump’s ‘inconsistent and incoherent’ coronavirus response
• The Lancet: Reviving the US CDC (“The Trump administration’s further erosion of the CDC will harm global cooperation in science and public health, as it is trying to do by defunding WHO. A strong CDC is needed to respond to public health threats, both domestic and international, and to help prevent the next inevitable pandemic. Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics.”)
• The Industries Hit Hardest By The Unemployment Crisis
• A Sitting President, Riling the Nation During a Crisis (“By smearing his opponents, championing conspiracy theories and pursuing vendettas, President Tru​mp has reverted to his darkest political tactics in spite of a pandemic hurting millions of Americans.”)
• Democrats push new $3T coronavirus relief bill through House
• House Passes $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill That Has Dim Future
• The House has voted to allow remote voting for the first time in its history (“Democrats successfully pushed through a rule change to temporarily allow proxy voting during the coronavirus pandemic.”)
• Rick Bright’s testimony confirms our worst fears (“The administration’s willful blindness and egregious incompetence killed people.”)
• A coronavirus vaccine may take longer than 12 to 18 months
• Tobacco-Based Coronavirus Vaccine Poised for Human Tests
• Trump unveils ‘warp-speed’ effort to create coronavirus vaccine by year’s end (Another empty Trump promise, most likely.)
• Scientists say Trump’s timeline on wide vaccine availability is unrealistic
• Trump downplays the need for coronavirus vaccine: ‘It’ll go away at some point’
• Dan Abrams: Based on All We Know Right Now, ‘This Obamagate Theory Is 100 Percent Bullsh*t’
• State Dept. inspector general fired as Democrats decry ‘pattern of retaliation’ (Gotta love it – “Democrats decry,” as opposed to “everyone decries,” which is what it should be of course.)
• Pompeo fires State Dept. watchdog critical of Trump moves (Pompeo is horrible.)
• Trump ousts State Department watchdog (“President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.” Appalling.)
• Engel Statement on the Firing of Inspector General Linick
• Michael Flynn isn’t a martyr. He’s a crook and a crackpot.
• Justice Department, State Attorneys General Likely to Bring Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google
• Most US states fall short of recommended testing levels (Virginia’s not even close.)
• If Trump had been in charge during World War II, this column would be in German (“…even though the war has just begun, the Trumpified FDR is already losing interest. One day he says the war is already won; the next day that we will just have to accept the occupation of France because that’s the way life is. He speculates that mobilization might be unnecessary if we can develop a ‘death ray’ straight out of a Buck Rogers comic strip. He complains that rationing and curfews are very unpopular and will have to end soon. He tells the governors that if they want to keep on fighting, they will have to take charge of manufacturing ships, tanks and aircraft. Trumpy FDR prefers to hold mass rallies to berate his predecessor, Herbert Hoover. He even suggests that Hoover belongs in jail along with the leading Republican congressmen — ‘Martin, Barton and Fish.'”)
• We’re Paying for Coronavirus Stimulus by Printing Money. And That’s Fine!
• Former National Security Officials: The “Unmasking” List Could Be Bad News for Mike Flynn
• “People Will Die. People Do Die.” Wall Street Has Had Enough of the Lockdown (“Soaring unemployment and related damage—insolvency, social unrest, suicide—make stay-at-home orders untenable, say bankers and traders. But to save the economy, one asks, ‘how many lives are we willing to risk?'”)
• These are the states with coronavirus cases falling and rising the most
• CDC Replaces In-Depth Reopening Report With 6 Pages of Trump-Friendly Graphics (“The document released by the CDC is an edited version of more detailed guidance initially buried by the administration.”)
• Trump faces criticism over lack of national plan on coronavirus
• ‘He lied on national television’: Trump says truckers protesting industry problems are actually honking to support him
• GOP congressman on why he’s not wearing a mask: ‘There’s just no need’ (What there’s “no need” for is…Republican Congressmen.)
• These advertisers are sponsoring Fox News while they neglect COVID coverage (“Amazon, Sirius XM, United State Postal Service, Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz, Disney, McDonald’s, Progressive, Allstate, Sandals Resorts, Overstock.com, Abbott, GOLO, Carvana, Bayer”)
• Mike Bloomberg plots spending blitz to support Joe Biden’s run for president
• Biden Promises: No Pardon for Trump
• It Really Could Be Warren (“After her swing and miss at the presidency, the Massachusetts senator is making a case for herself as Joe Biden’s vice president.”)
• ‘Manipulative, deceitful, user’: Tara Reade left a trail of aggrieved acquaintances
• New Reporting Increases Doubts on Tara Reade’s Allegation Against Joe Biden (“Increasing doubts?” How about “utterly demolishes,” which is what’s actually happened?)
• What 74 former Biden staffers think about Tara Reade’s allegations (What this incident shows is that anyone can accuse anyone of anything, but it does *NOT* make it credible, let alone true. In this case, the people who pushed these allegations owe Joe Biden a huge apology.)
• How We Became Infected by Chain E-Mail (“Like a virus, its sole purpose is replication.”)
• ACLU sues Betsy DeVos over “reprehensible” new sexual assault rules (“Suit against DOE claims new Title IX rules could mean far fewer campus reports of sexual harassment and assault”)
• During Crises Urban Residents Fled, and Cities Panicked. Will Things Be Different Post-Pandemic?
• Amazon declines to commit to Jeff Bezos testimony in Congress
• WTF is “Obamagate”? That’s easy: It’s Donald Trump’s reboot of “but her emails” (“A baseless pseudo-scandal the media sets ablaze” Yes, the media does this shit over and over again.)
• The Coronavirus Hot Spots Are Shifting to the South and Midwest
• Burr’s alleged conflicts extend beyond his coronavirus-related stock trades (“The North Carolina senator holds numerous investments in firms regulated by the committees on which he sits.”)
• Jim Jordan complains about working from home because it’s not in the Constitution (“Gym” Jordan is beyond parody.)
• 5 governors bragged about their virus response. Now they’re seeing cases spike (“Mark Gordon of Wyoming, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, and Mike Parson of Missouri”)
• Pete Buttigieg Hosts Virtual Grassroots Organizing Training in Virginia [UPDATED with Video of Mayor Pete]
• Virginia Organizing, 100+ Public Officials Call for Congress to Direct Relief Funds to Community Priorities
• Spanberger opposes latest stimulus package, saying it ‘goes far beyond pandemic relief’
• In The Midst of Coronavirus, Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos Abandon Virginia’s Students
• With virus restrictions lifting, a cautious reopening begins in Virginia and Maryland
• Coronavirus infection rate in metro D.C. is three times higher than outside region
• Northam: Health, labor officials ready to crack down on business coronavirus violations
• Northam says he will listen if other localities urge pause, takes responsibility for combined test results
• Carrico: The parole board undermines justice
• Social distancing butterflies? Virginia slowly eases restrictions as some businesses reopen, some don’t (“It wasn’t a free-for-all and Northam has described his strategy as turning a dimmer dial up rather than flipping a light switch.”)
• Va. braces for $1B budget shortfall; Northam to make decision on beaches next week
• House speaker shakes up tobacco panel, naming Democrats to replace Republicans from tobacco regions (“Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn has changed the lineup to the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, replacing senior Republican delegates with Democrats.”)
• Paul Goldman Announces 2021 Campaign for Lt. Governor of Virginia
• Paul Goldman announces bid for lieutenant governor
• ‘A great outcome for Virginia’: Technology research ‘critical’ to rebuilding state’s economy
• Virginia’s share of an experimental COVID-19 drug can treat 36 patients. Health officials still haven’t revealed where it’s going.
• Northam Addresses Testing Situation, As Health Department Tweaks How it Reports Data
• Live Video, Highlights: Gov. Ralph Northam’s Friday (5/15) Virginia COVID-19 Briefing
• Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Believe It Or Not) Strikes Again, Spews Out COVID-19 Misinformation, Urges Reopening, Says “We Must Allow Freedom”
• Friday (5/15) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +859 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 28,672), +65 Hospitalizations (to 3,657), +22 Deaths (to 977) From Yesterday
• Is COVID-19 Really Putting a “Crimp” in Runup to 2021 Virginia Statewide Races? Let’s Look at 2009, 2013 and 2017 for Comparison.
• 8th CD Resolutions Package to be Voted on Saturday at Convention
• ‘We’ll deal with that’; Northam says to sheriff not enforcing reopening guidelines
• Western Loudoun Supervisors Unhappy With County Joining NoVA
• Local Restaurants Look At The Rest Of Virginia For Roadmap To Reopening
• Fairfax Co. teachers’ union calls for more mental health support
• Some Fredericksburg-area churches reopen, others remain leery amid pandemic
• Officials Say Arlington May Reopen in Mini-Phases
• Today’s the warmest day for a while as an unsettled pattern dominates next week