Hush Up
Well, Trump’s make over of the defense and intelligence operations of the United States has made a few more changes.
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper has urged American military commanders overseas not to make any decisions related to the coronavirus that might surprise the White House or run afoul of President Trump’s messaging on the growing health challenge, American officials said.
Mr. Esper told commanders deployed overseas that they should check in before making decisions related to protecting their troops.
Yeah, well, don’t surprise the president. He’s a slow thinker and he’s got a stock market to manage.
In fact, it might be better that before you say anything at all to anybody at all, check it out with the president. He’s got a lot of Executive Time on his hands.
This is akin to women having the government in the room with them at the doctor’s office. We didn’t like that much and I bet our service members won’t either!
1Because calling back to Stephen Miller’s wife via the DOD about decisions to PROTECT YOUR TROOPS sure doesn’t add a manure load of CYA for Incompedon.
2Probably related to the Navy issuing orders that their ships in the Pacific must spend two weeks at sea between port calls – allegedly enough time for any cases to show up and the entire ship to be quarantined.
3Oh no, don’t link tRump to Wall Street.
4After a slight recovery yesterday from last week’s disaster, the markets are again cratering today, with the Dow down ~700 points.
And that’s with Kudlow [tied with Wm Kristol in the ‘most wrong’ pronouncements dept, eg–100%rong], et al., whispering about more tax cuts, and the Fed announcing a 1/2 point prime interest rate reduction [to help prop up Rumpy some more].
Sandridge @4 – Wait… What? Fed’s emergency rate cut spooks Wall Street (loud primal screams)
Edit: (Reuters) – Wall Street tumbled in a volatile session on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve’s surprise half percentage-point cut in interest rates raised alarm over the magnitude of the coronavirus impact on the economy.
“The market reaction now is negative because the Fed sent the wrong message to the market,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
“All of a sudden the Fed is really worried about the economy and this is the reason why we are having this volatility.
”Bank stocks, which tend to outperform when interest rates are higher, dropped 3.4%, while the broader financials sector fell 2.6%. Wall Street closed Friday with its biggest weekly decline in more than a decade as growing cases of the flu-like virus outside China fanned fears of a global recession.
All three major indexes entered correction territory, implying a 10% drop from record highs. Many investors will consider an index to remain in a correction until it reclaims its peak.
“The rate cut underscores the magnitude of the problem that the global economy is facing,” said Peter Kenny, founder of Kenny’s Commentary LLC and Strategic Board Solutions LLC in New York.
“Normally, markets would welcome a rate cut, and they were hoping for it. Now that we’ve got it, the question is… what’s next?”
full article:
5https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/feds-emergency-rate-cut-spooks-wall-street-idUSKBN20Q1NR
Great comment in the Washington Post today:
Little known fact:
6Polio was a liberal hoax.
Once Jonas Salk, head of the Fed, lowered interest rates it disappeared.
And Trump still can’t get it through his fat head how vaccine trials work or that you can’t just use the flu vaccine instead.
7Trying to sweep a pandemic under the rug so that no one will notice it is like trying to sweep ants.
8The GOP is trying to pull the same stunt they pulled under Dubya: pretending that controlling the appearance of things produces reality, whereas it only pulls the wool over the eyes of the terminally gullible. In the words of a Bush43 appointee, “We make our own reality around here.” No, you didn’t. No, you don’t. No, you can’t. You just make the actual consequences of Trump’s administrations’ incompetence even worse.
9I don’t monitor every RWNJ hideout, but it sure seems like the anti-vaxxers have gone quiet. Nothing like a few thousand dead to make vaccine look better.
10megasoid @5, Bwahaha…
Right now all US indexes are down ~3%, Dow off ~800.
If interest rates get much lower they’ll go negative and investors will pay the Fed to hold their money [sounds crazy, but it has/is happening in some countries].
Amazing how corrupted things are now, even the Fed is trying to prop up IMPOTUS.
When or if all this shit comes together, a pandemic and major economic crash, like mixing 1918 with 1933, plus a few extras, we are going to be really really focked.
While comparisons with Donnei and Adolf are fully justified, imo, the difference is Adolf and his inner circle were all brilliant [twisted and evil, but brilliant].
11The Rumpys got the twisted and evil down pat, but are well short of brilliant.
Mind you, they’re mostly far smarter than given credit for, just look at their ‘wins’, from their viewpoint they’re mostly achieving their goals.
God forfend the opportunity to train BEFORE the emergency.
GOPs must view preparation and training as wasted effort. I mean, who pays for the “wasted” effort…
12Sandridge @ 11 – I have never seen or heard of markets shriveling on a rate cut and I usually take a peek during the day.
Oddly, I was watching The Phantom of the Opera this afternoon.
“These things do happen…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf6TvM2g3gA
13megasoid @13, ‘Zactly, it’s supposed to jump, this rate cut was in the works and was expected to work some voodoo magic soon.
Instead we get a market-wide “dead cat bounce” on Monday [pre-rate cut], then this today must be the Rump/Pence reverse-Midas touch rigor-mortising its’ grip back around the market’s throat despite the Fed juju.
Looking like another interesting week.
The Thugs will– already have- blame it all on the Dems anyway.
Gotta have a clean sweep in November.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_bounce
14Photo of Pence praying with coronavirus task force draws criticism: ‘We are so screwed’
https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/photo-of-pence-praying-with-coronavirus-task-force-draws-criticism-we-are-so-screwed/
15Trump eliminated a National Security Council position that coordinates responses to pandemics. He has ignored an expert panel’s warning that the US is badly unprepared for global health threats and needs to restore funding to address them, and is requesting that the CDC budget be cut by almost 16%, starting in October, and the Department of Health and Human Services budget by almost 10%. Trump is also proposing a $3bn cut to global health programs, including a 53% cut to the World Health Organization and a 75% cut to the Pan American Health Organization.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/01/trump-coronavirus-cuts-robert-reich
Are you tired of all the winning yet?
16Thinking of all the people in Cookeville and west to Nashville who wanted to vote today but are living (except for the 25 dead so far) in the aftermath of devastating tornadoes overnight. I live in the eastern part of the state, the photos on TV are horrific. I am sure it will affect the voting.
17Spoke with my daughter long distance last night about how the voting when in Alabama. Apparently much, much better than in previous years. Some new technology was involved. Sounds good, but the technology need was affirmed 20 YEARS AGO!
18My voting experience yesterday in Virginia was a dream in every respect and we used paper ballots that wee reviewed by a machine. And yes Virginia went for Biden.