News of the Week for Mar. 16th<\/sup>, 2020<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How Will The Coronavirus Impact The Census?<\/a> As Beijing claims credit for beating coronavirus, many Chinese are outraged: “Fake! It’s all fake!”<\/a> As Coronavirus Spreads, Italian Doctors Face Impossible Choice: Who Lives and Who Dies<\/a> Two Strains Of Coronavirus Identified, One More Aggressive. Researchers Believe That Virus Has Mutated.<\/a> The Most Drastic Anti-Coronavirus Travel Ban in the World<\/a> COVID-19 and the World Economy<\/a> Feds Initially Told Seattle Researchers To Stop Testing For Coronavirus \u2014 After They Discovered A Case Of Infection<\/a> Is Andrew Cuomo Trampling on New Yorkers’ Civil Liberties to Fight Coronavirus?<\/a> Why the CDC botched its coronavirus testing<\/a> Why Is the CDC Lowballing Numbers for the Coronavirus?<\/a> Social Distancing During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Lessons for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)<\/a> Asian-Americans stock up on guns over fears of coronavirus backlash<\/a> How Government Red Tape Stymied Testing and Made the Coronavirus Epidemic Worse<\/a> Greening Our Way to Infection<\/a> Elderly Will Be Denied Intensive Care as Coronavirus Overwhelms Italy’s National Health System, Experts Warn<\/a> Coronavirus burial pits in Iran so vast that they\u2019re visible from space<\/a> Coronavirus: Varese medical chief dies<\/a> Gilead’s coronavirus treatment is already being used in Washington state<\/a> Biden’s Coronavirus Adviser Wants to Die at 75<\/a> Iran: Satellite Images Show Massive Burial Pits For Coronavirus Victims<\/a> Disneyland Is Closing Over Coronavirus Concerns<\/a> Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Wife Tests Positive For The Coronavirus<\/a> “Not a single EU country” responded to Italian plea for help with coronavirus<\/a> CDC Unable to Do Most Effective Form of Coronavirus Contact Tracing, Sen. Cassidy Says<\/a> Coronavirus can live in air for 3 hours, on surfaces for 2-3 days<\/a> China: Exploiting False Accusations of Racism<\/a> Communist Chinese Propagandists Now Claim U.S. Military Made Wuhan Virus <\/a> Costco’s Coronavirus Equity<\/a> Europe’s Coronavirus Fate Is Already Sealed<\/a> Chinese State Media Warns It Could Cut America’s Pharmaceutical Drug Supply<\/a> Gavin Newsom To “Commandeer Property” cuz Wuhan<\/a> So It Begins: Louisiana Becomes First State to Postpone an Election Over Coronavirus<\/a> Only One Word<\/a> Coronavirus: London mayoral election postponed for a year<\/a> Illinois mayor signs executive order granting power to ban sale of guns and alcohol while addressing coronavirus<\/a> Bernie Sanders wins Northern Mariana Islands caucuses<\/a> Coronavirus: Hubei government deletes report claiming Covid-19 could damage male fertility<\/a> Georgia Postpones Presidential Primaries Due To Coronavirus Pandemic<\/a> Newt Gingrich: I Am in Italy Amid the Coronavirus Crisis. America Must Act Now\u2014And Act Big <\/a> Chinese Tycoon Who Criticized Xi’s Response to Coronavirus Has Vanished<\/a> Coronavirus: More young patients being admitted to hospital, Italian doctor warns<\/a> “Somber Time,” and Sober for Some: Pa. Liquor Stores to Close in Philly Suburbs<\/a> Critical care beds: this may be part of what’s wrong in Italy<\/a> The Real Reason Why 40 Republicans Voted Against the Second Coronavirus Bill<\/a> Illinois Mayor Assumes Emergency Powers to Ban the Sale of Firearms and Alcohol<\/a> Will the 2020 Election Be Postponed Because of the Coronavirus?<\/a> Coronavirus vs. the Flu: The Difference Between a 1% and 0.1% Fatality Rate Is Huge<\/a> In National Emergency, Trump Waives Regulations to Fight Coronavirus<\/a> Casino closures: MGM, Wynn Resorts temporarily shutting down Las Vegas casinos; Venetian, Palazzo staying open<\/a> First coronavirus vaccine trial set to begin in the US<\/a> Mexico Is Dangerously Unprepared For The Inevitable Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak <\/a> California’s Governor Just Shut Down the Bars Before St. Paddy’s Day to Fight COVID-19<\/a> What Is Happening With The Coronavirus In Russia?<\/a> Tom Del Beccaro: Coronavirus is proof that US not ready for a serious disaster<\/a> City of Reno orders all non-essential businesses to close beginning tomorrow<\/a> Not Your Usual Economic Crisis<\/a> We Are in This Crisis because of the Decisions of the Chinese Government<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bullock announces run for Montana Senate<\/a> Democrats shockingly outvoted Republicans in Texas suburbs; GOP turnout in DFW down 43%<\/a> Montana Gov. Steve Bullock Running for Senate to Help Democrats Win Majority<\/a> Of Course Joe Biden Wants to Take Your Guns Away<\/a> Mitch McConnell’s Senate majority is in danger<\/a> Massive Majority Of Latinx Voters Don’t Like The Term Latinx<\/a> A socialist next time?<\/a> Does Biden’s Michigan Blowout Mean Trump Is In Trouble This Fall?<\/a> How Not to Convince White Working-Class Voters<\/a> How Bernie Sanders Lost the White Working Class<\/a> Democrats Feign Unity as Bernie Bros Threaten to Bolt the Party<\/a> Headwinds: McConnell Nudging Republican Judges To Retire Soon If They’re So Inclined, Fearing Senate Wipeout This Fall<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/impeachreno.org\/politicalhat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Newsboy.jpg\" "\\"News")
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<\/a>Corona Virus<\/h1>\n
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\nThe intersection of two recent stories raises some interesting questions about some of the chores awaiting both the federal government and the states this year. As John reported last night, health officials in multiple states are preparing for the spread of the coronavirus into homeless communities in all major American cities. This is a major concern because the homeless tend to be in worse health than the rest of the general population and they mix together in large encampments with little in the way of sanitary conditions or opportunities to frequently wash up. That’s a recipe for disaster in terms of a highly contagious disease.<\/p>\n
\nThe high schooler was lying in his hotel bed, playing a video game, when he heard the sound of rushing sand.<\/p>\n
\nIn the Italian province of Lombardy, there are 900 beds for intensive care patients with a serious case of the coronavirus. The disease is spreading so fast that medical authorities are now saying the number of coronavirus cases will soon far outnumber beds available.<\/p>\n
\nGenomic and virology researchers from Peking University\u2019s School of Life Sciences and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai have identified two possible strains of the coronavirus, one more aggressive and another slightly passive, circulating in humans and causing infections. They also believe that the coronavirus has mutated at least more than once.<\/p>\n
\nPacific island nations are more at risk than most countries.<\/p>\n
\nAll countries are taking a hit, but China faces a steeper climb to recovery.<\/p>\n
\nThe only thing keeping this from being a total failure by the federal government was the initial decision to ban travel to parts of China. That bought some time to prepare, which was squandered. Nearly everything that’s happened since, as far as I can tell from public reporting, has been a grievous failure. We’re at the “don’t leave the house if at all possible” stage of managing the crisis because all of the things you’d expect to happen in a situation like this \u2014 quick development of diagnostic tests, quick rollout to public labs, quick identification and containment of infected people \u2014 hasn’t happened. You want to avoid getting sick now, or avoid killing some elderly person you know by inadvertently transmitting the virus to them? Then isolate yourself from other human beings to the greatest feasible extent. That’s the only advice left. Shelter in place.<\/p>\n
\nOn Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) zeroed in on the City of New Rochelle, a coronavirus hot spot. He mobilized the National Guard, set up a containment area, and opened a special testing center in the city.<\/p>\n
\nThe first testing kits from the Centers for Disease Control had a simple fault, and red tape prevented other labs from creating their own.<\/p>\n
\nThe CDC is America’s lead agency for expertise and guidance on the Wuhan virus, so the CDC web site is where you’d look for up-to-the-minute data on this outbreak, right? Umm, nope, don’t even think about it. As confirmed case numbers nation-wide soared over the weekend, the numbers posted Friday on the CDC web site didn’t budge: 164 total cases, 11 deaths. No change. In CDC-world, the virus took a break over the weekend. Meantime, in the real world, the far more timely and accurate online dashboard provided by Johns Hopkins was reporting on the soaring case numbers for this virus, which by Sunday afternoon had topped 500 (more than triple the CDC’s number) and 21 deaths (almost double the CDC figure).<\/p>\n
\nAs COVID-19 spreads around the world, more and more things such as conferences, schools, and large events such as SXSW are being canceled \u2013 an effort to halt the spread of the virus and reduce the strain on our healthcare system. Meanwhile, dangerous notions circulate: the idea that nearly everyone will get COVID-19 so distancing measures are irrelevant or the idea that we might as well just get it and be done with it (for example, from Rick Santelli on CNBC).<\/p>\n
\nWhile panicked Americans have been purchasing bundles of toilet paper, water and other supplies because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Asian Americans have instead been reportedly stocking up on guns out of a fear of backlash \u2014 and justifiably so.<\/p>\n
\nFDA and CDC bureaucrats stopped private and academic diagnostic tests from being deployed.<\/p>\n
\nThe ban on single-use plastic grocery bags is unsanitary\u2014and it comes at the worst imaginable time.<\/p>\n
\nHealth officials in Italy have issued guidelines for rationing care as hospitals there struggle to keep up with the surge of patients infected with the coronavirus. Doctors are being told that they’ll likely need to deny care to senior citizens and those with other health conditions as the virus explodes across the nation.<\/p>\n
\nIranian authorities began digging a pair of trenches for victims just days after the government disclosed the initial outbreak. Together, their lengths are that of a football field.<\/p>\n
\nGeneral practitioner, died in hospital in Como<\/p>\n
\nSubscribe to Fortune’s Outbreak newsletter for a daily roundup of stories on the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on global business.<\/p>\n
\nJoe Biden has announced the creation of a “Public Health Advisory Committee,” consisting of Democratic experts to advise him about how to best grapple with the coronavirus during the campaign. Okay. Good public-health practices are worthy goals for any candidate.<\/p>\n
\nMonday I wrote about evidence that suggests the spread of the coronavirus in Iran has been much worse than government officials have admitted so far. The official number of cases (as of Monday) was 6,566 but the actual number may have been 100 times higher. Today the Washington Post published a story which further indicates Iran isn’t being truthful about the spread of the infection or the death toll. The story is titled, “Coronavirus burial pits so vast they’re visible from space.”<\/p>\n
\nDisneyland and California Adventure will be closing Saturday over concerns about the possible spread of the coronavirus. Variety reports the closure is expected to last at least two weeks<\/p>\n
\nCanadian Prime Minister’s Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has tested positive for the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
\nA top Italian official knocked the European Union for leaving Italy’s plea for medical assistance unanswered while the coronavirus outbreak cripples the country.<\/p>\n
\nEfforts to track the spread of coronavirus in the United States are hampered because Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials can’t use the most advanced form of location contact tracing, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said March 12.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to new research, the novel coronavirus can remain in the air for up to 3 hours and survive on some surfaces for two to three days.<\/p>\n
\nWhen confronted, China frequently accuses its critics of racism. Last month, for example, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters in retribution for an opinion column titled “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia.” China Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece, declared the headline “astonishingly racist”\u2014despite the fact the term “sick man” is routinely used idiomatically to describe countries facing economic challenges, and isn’t connected to the Coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n
\nChina threatened by way of its leading propaganda publication to impose pharmaceutical export controls that “plunge[] [America] into the mighty sea of coronavirus.”<\/p>\n
\nPublic health officials have been encouraging telecommuting to slow the spread of coronavirus. But at first Costco would not allow it \u2014 because equity.<\/p>\n
\nOne reason Britain and Italy are struggling: Their medical systems are too dependent on government.<\/p>\n
\nThis is probably just saber-rattling, but it’s still a bit worrisome as the U.S. is struggling to deal with a pandemic. A Chinese state media outlet has published an article bragging about the nation’s control over the supply chain of pharmaceutical drugs<\/p>\n
\nCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order yesterday declaring a state emergency in regards to the Wuhan virus COVID-19. While most of us listened to the announcement of the curtailment of public gatherings and asking for social distancing, the devil is in the details.<\/p>\n
\nOn Friday, Louisiana became the first state to postpone an election due to the coronavirus. The state’s presidential nominating contests have been delayed by more than two months.<\/p>\n
\nThere was considerable confusion Wednesday night and Thursday morning over the scope of the administration’s restrictions on movement from Europe. The Wall Street Journal reports that the text of President Trump’s speech read that the ban “will not apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo.” What he said Wednesday night was that it “will not only apply” to trade and cargo. The remark added to the turmoil in stock markets before Trump corrected himself on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\nLocal elections in England were due to take place in May, just as scientists predict the outbreak will reach its peak.<\/p>\n
\nThe mayor of Champaign, Illinois, gave herself the power to ban the sale of guns and alcohol after declaring a citywide emergency to address the coronavirus. <\/p>\n
\nVermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Northern Mariana Islands Democratic caucuses Saturday.<\/p>\n
\nMen who have contracted the disease and recovered should seek medical advice regarding \u2018theoretical\u2019 risk to their reproductive health, Wuhan hospital says<\/p>\n
\nGeorgia election officials are postponing the state’s March 24 presidential primaries until May 19 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press reported.<\/p>\n
\nThe COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic poses two threats: public health and economic.<\/p>\n
\nRen Zhiqiang appears to be the latest government critic silenced by the Communist Party as it cracks down on dissent over the epidemic.<\/p>\n
\nOver 17,600 people are infected by Covid-19 in Europe’s worst-hit country<\/p>\n
\nGov. Tom Wolf said he was not shutting down the state-run liquor stores on Friday, but by Saturday the state said it would shut down all stores in Philadelphia’s four suburban counties.<\/p>\n
\nThe number of critical care beds may be \u2013 critical.<\/p>\n
\nIn the wee hours of Saturday morning, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Despite President Donald Trump announcing his support for it last night, 40 Republicans voted against the bill. Liberals on Twitter naturally excoriated them, but they had good reasons to oppose it.<\/p>\n
\nChampaign, Ill., isn’t known for very much besides being the location for the main campus of the University of Illinois. But the one thing they do big in Champaign is granting power to city officials in an emergency.<\/p>\n
\nIn 2016, many people (liberal ones anyway) asked what would happen if Trump wouldn’t concede the election to Hillary Clinton. In 2019, the same people asked what would happen if Trump doesn\u2019t concede the 2020 election if he loses. Again, a silly question, because the transfer of power isn\u2019t dependent on the concession of the candidate, regardless of whether he or she is an incumbent.<\/p>\n
\nIn congressional testimony this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the top medical experts in the Trump administration, said that the new coronavirus “is ten times more lethal than the seasonal flu.”<\/p>\n
\nTo better coordinate the federal government’s response, President Donald Trump on Friday declared coronavirus to be a national emergency, temporarily waiving a host of laws and regulations and teaming with the private sector. <\/p>\n
\nMGM closing all Las Vegas resorts effective Tuesday<\/p>\n
\nCoronavirus vaccine trials will begin Monday, with at least one subject receiving a first-ever experimental dose of the potential inoculation, a government official said.<\/p>\n
\nThe disease is going to spread fast in Mexico, where a weak and corrupt state has made almost no preparations.<\/p>\n
\nCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday shut down all of the state’s bars and nightclubs, ordered people 65 years old and older to stay home, and cut the restaurant business in half \u2013 effective now.<\/p>\n
\nThe official number of coronavirus cases in Russia as of today in 93 (a 47% jump from yesterday) but the number of reported deaths is still zero. If that seems miraculous, it could be because it’s probably not true.<\/p>\n
\nNo one can say for sure, but the experience indicates one thing is for certain: America is not ready for a major national crisis, such as the failure of an electrical grid a bioterrorist crisis or worse. The silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic loss it involves, however, could be that wise leaders stop using government to buy votes and instead prepare for us future crises.<\/p>\n
\nThe City of Reno has ordered all non-essential businesses, including restaurants and bars, to begin closing tomorrow until April 5th in an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. With the announcement, Reno became the first jurisdiction to announce the mandatory shutdown of businesses, placing more pressure on Las Vegas to do the same.<\/p>\n
\nCongress is clearly going to pass some kind of emergency fiscal package in response to the spread of COVID-19. One thing to consider is that this moment we are currently experiencing is nothing like anything that we\u2019ve experienced since government began to actively use its budget-making powers in attempts to ensure full employment.<\/p>\n
\nAs a country, we’ve got our hands full right now. But while we\u2019re sitting in various forms of self-quarantine, we \u2014 and a lot of other people around the world \u2014 will have a lot of time to read about the Chinese government destroying samples and suppressing information about the coronavirus in December<\/p>\n<\/a>Election 2020<\/h1>\n
\nMontana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) formally announced his 2020 Senate run on Monday, tweeting his first campaign ad.<\/p>\n
\nDemocratic primary turnout was up 59% across metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
\n“He is immediately a credible, strong candidate for United State Senate and he clearly puts that state in play.”<\/p>\n
\nCharles touches on Joe Biden’s heated exchange with a Michigan autoworker whom he accused of being “full of s***” and what it might mean for Democrats.<\/p>\n
\nWith Biden poised to be atop the ticket, Democratic candidates are leading in the most consequential Senate races.<\/p>\n
\nHave you been chastized online yet for using the terms Latina or Latino? I have. It hasn’t happened a lot, but I’ve been seeing increasing use of the term LatinX and critics attempting to correct those who fail to use it. The traditional terms are now apparently some bizarre combination of racism and sexism simultaneously according to the Woke Patrol. But how do actual Hispanic citizens feel about it? The Free Beacon dug up a recent survey that sampled voters in Florida as well as nationally. The results weren’t even close to any sort of balanced split. Hispanic voters widely prefer the term Hispanic and “LatinX” was the first choice for almost nobody.<\/p>\n
\nAs it did in 2016, the Democratic party this year flirted with a socialist presidential candidate, but ultimately rejected him for a pragmatist. Bernie Sanders’s quest for the nomination seems doomed. The party almost certainly will select Joe Biden.<\/p>\n
\nThis Tim Alberta piece is a perfect companion to what John wrote about earlier, the idea that Bernie’s surprising strength against Hillary in the 2016 primary was really all a big misunderstanding. In hindsight, it’s not that Bernie was “strong,” it’s that Hillary was weak. A meaningful chunk of Democratic voters in the Rust Belt may have been perfectly open to supporting a likable Democratic establishmentarian over Sanders that year.<\/p>\n
\nDan McLaughlin has a thorough analysis of Bernie Sanders’s performance among white working-class voters over on the homepage. He sifts through reams of exit polling and examines the political and rhetorical changes that precipitated Sanders’s failure to entice voters in that demographic.<\/p>\n
\nBy reworking his rhetoric to appeal to a different constituency, he ended up losing more than he gained<\/p>\n
\nJoe Biden is ahead in the Democratic Party presidential race by 150 delegates and is well on his way to winning the 1,991 necessary to secure the nomination. And while the establishment rallies around Joe Biden, many Bernie Sanders supporters \u2014 the vanguard of the revolution \u2014 are refusing the call for unity.<\/p>\n
\nMy idealistic side thinks it’s inappropriate for politicians to be leaning on judges to quit sooner rather than later for nakedly partisan reasons.<\/p>\n<\/a>Gun Rights<\/h1>\n