Beans and Rants

Viral Rants:  Florida is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic but nothing to worry about there as Florida’s Governor/Trump mini-me Ron DeSantis insists that the state is just experiencing some minor blips, that infection rates are high only because of all that Trump disparaged testing and that since the infected “skew” young, who cares.  Like his mentor, DeSantis is engaging in gaslighting while pushing for the opening of schools and refusing to issue a mask mandate which is probably why the Orlando Sentinel has called for him to step aside and let the state’s Lt Governor lead the virus effort. Likewise, in her first interview, Trump niece Mary has called for her uncle to move aside and resign.  Sadly, neither is likely to happen.  Niece Mary, the psychologist who as a result of a Judge’s ruling is now free to promote her book, also says that Trump’s pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so inexplicable that it would take a battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests to properly diagnose him, she said that while pointing out that he lies as he breathes.  Anyone sane who watched yesterday’s Trump news conference would likely agree with her assessment.  The hastily scheduled conference was conveniently called to follow former not so “sleepy” VP Joe Biden’s coherent speech on the economy, one that was broadcasted live on CNN, MSNBC and even Fox. The purported purpose of Trump’s conference was to announce new measures against China as punishment for its measures against Hong Kong; that’s the China run by President Xi whose plans to put his Muslim Uyghurs in concentration camps Trump previously endorsed.  After just a few minutes on China Trump launched into a thoroughly insane campaign style rant that went on for an hour.  During his bizarre diatribe, he hit on the coronavirus, the “expensive” Paris Climate accords, crumbling highways, illegal immigration, his great friendship with Mexico, trade with Europe, crime in Chicago, the need for kids to go back to school virus or not, and statues, because who can forget that great hero Robert E Lee.  He also attacked Joe Biden around 30 times, appearing to suggest that Biden would get rid of windows and abolish the suburbs were he to win in November. Thoroughly ignoring the ban against campaigning from the White House podium, Trump took three questions, including one from the fawning incoherent pretend correspondent from right wing OANN and then left his stage. Following in her father’s footsteps, later in the day daughter Ivanka violated ethics laws by tweeting out an endorsement of Goya beans with a picture of herself holding a can captioned, in both English and Spanish, with the company’s tagline “If it’s Goya it has to be good.” That unlikely to be punished illegal act was Ivanka’s way of hitting back at the recently launched boycott against Goya products, a retaliation for Goya CEO’s praise of her father. Beans and rants aside, more substantively the Trump administration changed the way that coronavirus statistics will be reported going forward.  Instead of sending data to the CDC, hospitals have been told to send their information directly to Health and Human Services, a significant change in the way statistics are tracked, one that diminishes the role of the CDC and that many fear will allow the White House to manipulate date to bolster their claims that the virus isn’t really all that prevalent or deadly. That and Trump’s pushback against the CDC’s school opening guidelines explains yesterday’s Washington Post op-ed penned by  four former CDC heads that accuses the administration of repeatedly subverting sound public health guidelines and introduce chaos and uncertainty while unnecessarily putting lives at risk. Nothing other than sheer chutzpah and grandiosity explains another op-ed, this one in USA Today and written by trade advisor Peter Navarro who, in keeping with the rest of the White House spin machine, attacked virus guru Fauci saying that he has been wrong about everything, absolutely everything.    Just another normal day of backbiting, lying, spinning and beans.

Primary Update:  Jeff Sessions will not be returning to the Senate, he lost his primary runoff to Trump’s choice, former football coach Tommy Tuberville. Sessions’ loss might be Democratic Senator Doug Jones’ gain as Tuberville reportedly has some exploitable skeletons in his closet.  In other news Maine’s Sara Gideon, the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, easily won her primary and will now face off against the perennially concerned Senator Susan Collins in a race that is seen as a possible pick-up for Democrats.  Former Air force helicopter pilot MJ Hegar, the preferred candidate of the Democratic Senate campaign arm, won her primary and is now set to take on Texas Senator John Cornyn.  Though Joe Biden is polling better than expected in Texas, a Senate seat pick up in Texas still remains a reach even under the best of circumstances but who knows, nothing these days goes as predicted.  Lastly, it looks like Dr Ronny Jackson,  is on his way back to Washington, the not so good doctor who has become a full on Trump fan boy won his primary in a solidly red District.

Et Cetera:  The Trump administration has cancelled plans to rescind the visas of foreign students attending universities that go fully online this year. That unusual about face was announced minutes before Harvard, MIT and a group of other schools were about to present their argument against the new policy to a Boston Federal judge.  The visa rescission had also been opposed by virtually everyone in Silicon Valley and 20 states. As of now the list of Republican Senators and Representatives who have no plans to attend the RNC convention in Jacksonville Florida continues to grow so much so that Trump’s team is now looking to move his speech to an outside venue, because who doesn’t want to listen to Trump go on and on outside in August in a hot, humid virus stricken locale.  And time to pray for the notorious RBG again, she was rushed to the hospital yesterday suffering from chills and a fever.  She’s now being treated for an infection at Johns Hopkins Medical Center thought to be  related to the back up of a stent that was implanted last year during one of her earlier hospital visits.  Oy.