WhatAbout Machine in High Gear
You knew it would happen. Trump’s incompetent response to the COVID-19 outbreak is one of the few crises in the last three years that is not of his own making, and his sycophants have come to realize that he can’t lie or tweet his way out of this one. The response? Gen up the Noise Machine, WhatAbout Version. One of the loudest blowhards in the Machine is PJ Media formerly called Pajamas Media, one of the biggest manure shovelers on the web.
The WhatAbout target this time? Barack Obama, of course, and this time it was his response to the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009, days after he had taken office. H1N1 became apparent in January 2009 and being researched by the WHO then. The first case of H1N1 was discovered on April 15, 2009, the WHO declared a medical emergency on April 25, and the CDC began releasing anti-viral drugs to fight the disease. Obama declared a US medical emergency on April 30. He requested $1.9 billion then and as the pandemic grew, requested another $9 billion for response and vaccines. In October of 2009 Obama did declare a national emergency, but only after multiple efforts to control the virus. Today, H1N1 continues as a recurring flu virus and has killed an estimated 75,000 Americans since 2009. It’s part of the annual flu vaccine today that many Americans still refuse to receive.
Let’s talk about how Republicans responded to the virus back in 2009 versus what they are saying now. During the funding debates of 2009, Republicans opposed Obama’s request because, well, they’re Republicans. Also, the noise machine cranked up led by Gleen Beck, Lou Dobbs, and Rush Limbaugh. Glenn Beck, who at that time had a big show on Fox Noise said, “…you don’t know if this is going to cause neurological damage like it did in the 1970s,” adding that he would do “the exact opposite” of what the federal government recommended and might even attend a swine flu party to deliberately infect himself before the virus could mutate. Rush Limbaugh said, “I am not going to take it [the H1N1 vaccine], precisely because you are now telling me I must. . . . I don’t want to take your vaccine. I don’t get flu shots.” He added that if “you have some idiot government official demanding, telling me I must take this vaccine, I’ll never take it.” In Congress Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) commented, “We can’t let all of our spending and our reaction be media-driven in responding to a panic so that we don’t get Katrina-ed. . . . It’s important because what we are talking about as we discuss the appropriateness of spending $2 billion to produce a vaccine that may never be used—that is a very important decision that our country has to make.” Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) added, “I don’t think we need to spend $1.5 billion on flu vaccine when . . . the research shows that it’s not going to be very virulent. . . . We are stealing our grandchildren’s future by borrowing and spending. . . . This hysteria over the flu is driving the media, and it’s driving the administration, driving the leadership here. We’ve got to stop that.”
The funding was passed, but after intense anti-vaxxer misinformation and loud Republican opposition, the distribution of the vaccine was greatly suppressed and even THAT was affected by party. Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 50% in saying they would take the vaccine.
The Repubs are singing the same song this time, too, calling the outbreak of COVID-19 a hoax and supporting Trump’s idiotic and incoherent blabbering and tweeting about it. Even as they try to cover for Trump, they’re attacking Obama for doing exactly the opposite of what he actually did.
Same song, different pandemic.
Democrats look for solutions, Republicans look for scapegoats.
1Correction: On Friday, meanwhile, a federal judge blocked a Trump administration attempt to force nearly 700,000 people off food stamps, a key public benefit for poor Americans.
In her ruling, district court judge Beryl Howell cited the coronavirus outbreak and said the attempted action was capricious, arbitrary and probably unlawful.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/14/trump-coronavirus-paid-sick-leave-unemployment-testing
2megasoid, leave it to IQ4.5* to miss the easiest and most obvious solution to decreasing food stamp dependence by eliminating poverty with a minimum wage that’s a living wage.
3Thanks for your research, El Jefe, and for reminding us that Georgia has always sent idiots to Congress. I feel less depressed by the current batch. “So we don’t get Katrina-ed” –yes, the media really blew that little rainstorm out of proportion, didn’t they?
4It is becoming difficult to tell one day from the next with such radical happenings, daily.
Thank you to all the people serving the public good, and those that give a shite about their neighbors and community.
Do your best. Wash your hands and phones. And try to enjoy yourself when you can…
5I caught the end of an NPR interview yesterday with a man from the government – didn’t get the name – but he said when the H1N1 came, the Obama administration realized that we didn’t have enough secure access to eggs which are used to make vaccines. Now the government has secret agreements with farmers to supply 10,000 eggs per day in an emergency. Now that’s planning!
6Meet the 17-year-old behind a website tracking coronavirus cases that is now a vital global resource
Written by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now March 14, 2020
Edit: A teenager’s website tracking coronavirus has become one of the most vital resources for people seeking accurate and updated numbers on the pandemic. The URL is nCoV2019.live. We speak with 17-year-old Avi Schiffmann, a high school junior from Mercer Island outside Seattle, who started the site in late December, when coronavirus had not yet been detected outside of China. Now the site has been visited by tens of millions from every country on Earth. It tracks deaths, numbers of cases locally and globally, and provides an interactive map, information on the disease, and a Twitter feed. The resource updates every minute or so, and pulls information from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and elsewhere.
**************************************
The URL is nCoV2019.live. That’s nCoV2019.live.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/meet-the-17-year-old-behind-a-website-tracking-coronavirus-cases-that-is-now-a-vital-global-resource/
7Quick Facts
updated: a few seconds ago
(NOTE: Not all countries update at the same time)
Global – RECOVERED: 49%
8Sick Leave Loopholes: ‘There’s a Giant Hole in Pelosi’s Coronavirus Bill’
“In fact, the bill guarantees sick leave only to about 20 percent of workers.”
The New York Times editorialized Saturday afternoon:
Edit: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi early Saturday celebrated passage of legislation she described as providing paid sick leave to American workers affected by the coronavirus.
She neglected to mention the fine print.
In fact, the bill guarantees sick leave only to about 20 percent of workers. Big employers like McDonald’s and Amazon are not required to provide any paid sick leave, while companies with fewer than 50 employees can seek hardship exemptions from the Trump administration.
“If you are sick, stay home,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. “You’re not going to miss a paycheck.”
But that’s simply not true. Sick workers should stay home, but there is no guarantee in the emergency legislation that most of them will get paid.
The White House and congressional Republicans, who insisted on the exemptions as the price of bipartisan support for the legislation, bear the primary responsibility for the indefensible decision to prioritize corporate profits in the midst of a public health emergency…
full article:
9https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/14/sick-leave-loopholes-theres-giant-hole-pelosis-coronavirus-bill
FDR fans:
TONIGHT 7:30 PM ET: Bernie Sanders to Livestream Fireside Chat
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/14/tonight-730-pm-et-bernie-sanders-livestream-fireside-chat
10Here’s a direct link.
BURLINGTON, Vt. – In the tradition of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats, Sen. Bernie Sanders will host a livestream from his home in Burlington on Saturday, March 14th at 7:30 PM ET. He will discuss his vision for the country and take questions from supporters.
Tune in here at 7:30 PM ET:
11Watch live video from Bernie_Sanders on http://www.twitch.tv