Hospitalizations and deaths are rising at an alarming rate in Texas, but not fast enough for Abbott and Paxton, who have been losing in lower state courts to school districts and counties desperately trying to protect their citizens and students from Abbott’s death plan.  In true Trumpian fashion, Abbott has been sowing chaos all over the state by banning all safety protocols that only morons and religious nuts oppose.  The chaos has overrun the hospitals, and now threatens to overrun the courts.  Yesterday, Abbott was handed two losses in quick succession, one in Dallas and the other in San Antonio, and concerned that the courts might be daring to protect Texans, Abbott instructed indicted felon Ken Paxton to run to the 100% GOP controlled Supreme Court to stop local governments from doing the right thing.  Said court generally follows the party line, backing business and corrupt politicians rather than protecting Texans, but this one really counts.  This is the test – will the judicial system of Texas once again rule against common sense and the common good, or will they surprise us?  I’m not holding my breath.

Politico has put its hands on the pandemic response plan that had been developed by NSC staff during the Obama administration.  The plan got tossed onto a shelf and the pandemic response team was disbanded in 2018 despite warnings from experts.  This new reporting publishes the now ignored guide and you can read it here.  Trump’s talking heads responded to Politico that the plan was “dated” and superseded by newer plans at CDC.  The Obama plan was finished in 2016.

Trump has claimed that “Nobody ever expected a thing like this,” which, of course, is a lie.  Plenty of people foresaw the potential of a global pandemic, but the massive turnover in the Trump administration and his obsessive effort to erase the Obama administration’s accomplishments have literally risked all Americans’ very lives.  Trump must be held accountable for this massive failure.