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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 Coronavirus / Business Under Lockdown Edition: Street Level Retail

Business Under Lockdown Edition: Street Level Retail

by Anne Laurie|  March 27, 202010:43 pm| 148 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You, All Too Normal

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Clothing:

!! Walmart EVP of corporate affairs Dan Bartlett tells @YahooFinance that amid #coronavirus: “We are seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms” because so many people are doing video conferences from home. and all that matters is the above the waist shot. $WMT

— Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) March 26, 2020

Food:

The Cheesecake Factory tells landlords it will not be paying rents on April 1 https://t.co/AHjWusegPa pic.twitter.com/XlAevQxwWm

— Eater (@Eater) March 25, 2020

It begins. Seems to me like CF has the leverage right now; they can demand mitigation because their landlords don’t have much of an option. From what I’ve seen of them, repurposing those joints would be a massive undertaking. And there’s not gonna be a shortage of empty restaurant spaces, once this is over (or at least settling down to a dull background roar)…

… The Calabasas Hills-based company informed all of its landlords in a letter dated March 18 (reproduced [at the link]) that a severe decline in restaurant traffic has decreased its cash flow and “inflicted a tremendous financial blow” to business. Cheesecake Factory’s affiliated restaurants, such as Rock Sugar and North Italia, will also not make April 1 rent payments.

Company chairman and CEO David Overton writes, “Due to these extraordinary events, I am asking for your patience, and frankly, your help.” He continues, “we appreciate our landlords’ understanding given the exigency of the current situation.” The letter says that the company hopes to resume paying rent as soon as possible…

… In total, it operates 294 restaurants in 39 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Toronto, Canada. In 2019, the company also acquired Phoenix-based Fox Restaurants, including North Italia, Flower Child, and The Henry. Most of the company’s landlords are malls, including Simon and Westfield…

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Cheesecake Factory has closed 27 locations across the country, and pivoted other locations to a takeout and delivery-only model — which it said just days ago was enabling the company to “operate sustainably at present” — and its stock price has fallen by more than 50 percent in the past month.

With 38,000 employees, the Cheesecake Factory is one of the largest restaurant employers in the country. Given its recent stock woes and the ongoing reduction in business due to the coronavirus pandemic, it seems possible that it, like many restaurants, could end up needing a bailout to survive…

And to complete the economists’ clothing, food, shelter trilogy of basics — AirBnB has pretty much lost its regulatory argument with big-city governments; it’s not just a handful of nice amateurs renting out their spare rooms on an occasional weekend…

700 new Craigslist ads for furnished rentals in SF, posted this weekend. All in houses/apts, not in short term rentals. Are we seeing the implosion of AirBnB in real-time?

— ?? (@becauseberkeley) March 23, 2020


In tourism-heavy cities (I used Nashville, Honolulu, New Orleans, and Savannah) the rental market is exploding, as AirBnB owners are suddenly forced to put their houses on the market.

This surge in supply is going to dramatically cut the rates of monthly rentals. pic.twitter.com/Zyh3AYouyH

— Shane Morris (@IamShaneMorris) March 22, 2020

For years, AirBnB lobbyists and "advocates of the free market" have argued that AirBnB has a negligible impact on the prices of rentals, arguing that they were two totally different commodities.

Now we're seeing they were totally full of shit.

— Shane Morris (@IamShaneMorris) March 22, 2020

Wondering how much housing AirBnB removes from the local housing market? https://t.co/2n6q8HNrlE

— Craig Gilmore (@CraigOGilmore) March 22, 2020

Also: Making no friends in this ‘remote havens from from the current plague’ timeline:

This thread. Wealthy heading to their vacation homes and out of cities to avoid the virus, and spreading it along the way. More examples of what we discussed yesterday here, that happens in basically every epidemic in history: https://t.co/KOYpGwf4Ni https://t.co/c18as8YSf7

— Dr. Tara C. Smith (@aetiology) March 22, 2020

Being a small-scale landlord is an arduous business, requiring a very particular set of skills. Unfortunately for the corporation, not all of its franchisees are what one might call endearing arguments in their favor!

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Reader Interactions

148Comments

  1. 1.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 27, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    I found out today that the neighborhood restaurant I used to eat at all the time is actually still open! So I’ll be getting takeout from there tomorrow.

  2. 2.

    MattF

    March 27, 2020 at 10:49 pm

    I suspect that a lot of restaurants were teetering on the edge before the crisis, and now they’ve been pushed over it. The restaurant biz is a tough game.

  3. 3.

    satby

    March 27, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    Too many businesses are still open around here. Very few of them could be classified as essential. Indiana’s Covid count is going to be horrific. I may not go out of my house and yard til August.

  4. 4.

    Tom Levenson

    March 27, 2020 at 10:57 pm

    @satby: MA really has shut down. Grocery stores, gas stations, drug and liquor stores (because, d’uh) and restaurants for take out, but that’s just about it.

    It took us about a week to really get the idea, but it seems that folks have figured out that we’re all vectors.

  5. 5.

    L85NJGT

    March 27, 2020 at 10:58 pm

    Re: Cheesecake Factory – my immediate reaction is they were already in trouble, from the usual litany of over expansion, thin margins, and cash flow issues.

    Most of the company’s landlords are malls

    THAT doesn’t raise any red flags.

    Anyway, I never understood why anyone would want to eat in a factory.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    March 27, 2020 at 10:59 pm

    Step-sister and husband (he was recently diagnosed with ALS) who both work for NYC government (either directly or at a non-profit which contracts with NYC) have left Brooklyn and decamped to his mother’s place moderately more upstate. They are working remotely from there, and I don’t begrudge them changing locations an iota.

  7. 7.

    Martin

    March 27, 2020 at 11:03 pm

    The retail groups really need to organize a rent strike. It’s the only way they survive. The commercial landlord where I am have given a 90 day reprieve on commercial leases.

    I wouldn’t miss Cheesecake Factory.

  8. 8.

    The Dangerman

    March 27, 2020 at 11:04 pm

    We are seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms” because so many people are doing video conferences from home. and all that matters is the above the waist shot.

    Hold on here a second. About the same time you need a clean top, you need a clean bottom, unless you are just turning the bottoms inside out or … or … or … oh dear …

    NO NAKED MOPPING. NO HALF NAKED TELECONFERENCING. This has been a public service announcement from …

  9. 9.

    MattF

    March 27, 2020 at 11:05 pm

    @NotMax: My sister and BIL have fled from NYC to the Berkshires, and intend to stay in their home-away-from-home for the forseeable future. They are both in their late 70s, have various health issues and all the places they go to in the city are closed. I don’t blame them at all.

  10. 10.

    satby

    March 27, 2020 at 11:05 pm

    @Tom Levenson: well, the IN shelter in place order just went into effect Tuesday, so maybe people will get a clue. But, red state ?

  11. 11.

    Redshift

    March 27, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    Virginia has temporarily allowed restaurants to sell take-out alcohol (since all restaurants are now take-out, and booze is where they make a lot of their money normally.) Another thing it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out when this is over.

  12. 12.

    lgerard

    March 27, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    Anna Jones* had just finished her shift at St. Rose Hospital in Las Vegas, where she works as an emergency-room nurse, when she received an email from her landlord labeled “Quick Action Needed.” Her landlord—a quiet, older woman who lived downstairs from Jones and her husband—informed her that she would need to vacate the premises within 24 hours. The reason, she said, was COVID-19.

    I don’t want to say this landlady should meet a painful and expeditious demise….but I might be thinking it

  13. 13.

    Another Scott

    March 27, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    It’s nothing new. Remember Rand Paul?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  14. 14.

    Rusty

    March 27, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    The ones I am interested in hearing about are places like Red Lobster, bought by a hedge fund, they stripped all the valuable real estate into a separate company  owned by the fund, and had the restaurants sign expensive long term leases. A nice way to suck everything out of the chain.  A bunch of other restaurant  and store chains had this happen.   Watching the fundies get stiffed would be a pleasure (but the workers will likely get screwed the worst when the chains fail).

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    March 27, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    I’m glad to see some honesty about Air BnB.  They’re more a destructive force than a benefit.

  16. 16.

    MattF

    March 27, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    BTW, Zoom, the video conferencing app that people are using, is quite evil from a privacy point of view.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    March 27, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    @MattF

    His mother’s place has no TV set. My mother (her step-mother) surprised them by arranging to have a TV delivered there.

  18. 18.

    charluckles

    March 27, 2020 at 11:11 pm

    A lot of small businesses in my neck of the woods have worked hard to get a delivery service together.  Will take credit cards over the phone and drop products in the driveway.  If you can safely and sanely support them please do.

  19. 19.

    Brachiator

    March 27, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    It begins. Seems to me like CF has the leverage right now; they can demand mitigation because their landlords don’t have much of an option. From what I’ve seen of them, repurposing those joints would be a massive undertaking. And there’s not gonna be a shortage of empty restaurant spaces, once this is over (or at least settling down to a dull background roar)…

    Cheesecake Factory is not in a strong position at all.  In the San Gabriel Valley, California area, I’ve seen commercial landlords let properties stay vacant for months, and in some cases, years, because they are holding out to be able to charge higher rents in the future. It’s crazy, but they can accrue losses that may offset income somewhere else.  Of course, this was before the pandemic flattened everyone.

    And it is not that difficult to re-purpose commercial space.

    One of the sad ironies is that some building owners let spaces be hollowed out to be used for fitness academies, martial arts studios, and in a recent case, a dance academy. All of these businesses are deader than dead in the current social distance regime.

    Many restaurants have lost at least 75 percent of their business. “Grab and Go” is not sustainable. One coffee shop owner has been asked by customers to lower his prices, which he cannot do because his costs are still predicated on having a sit down business, even if his customer base has withered away.

    I see that some folks want to slam the cruise line industry and AirBnB, but again, the entire travel/leisure/tourism industry is taking a hit. And ultimately this means that some people may have permanently lost their jobs.

    And despite the fuming of a rancid gas bag like Trump, we don’t know how long this is going to last or how damaging the long term economic effects might be.

  20. 20.

    Benw

    March 27, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    So I goes to the landlady, you let me sliiiiiiide?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–AvCsh48bk&list=RD–AvCsh48bk&start_radio=1

    And out the door I went!

  21. 21.

    Anne Laurie

    March 27, 2020 at 11:13 pm

    @Martin: Me neither, actually — although the Spousal Unit would, mildly.

    I get the impression this letter was a ‘negotiate quietly with us, or face a united rent strike’ message.  The big mall companies are not easy for most people to empathize with, and (again) repurposing those ‘distinctive’ CF sites seems like a major PITA.

    There’s a lot of local restaurants will not survive this, including I’m sure some of my personal favorites.  (A couple of those, including the best Chinese place & the SU’s preferred pizza delivery place, are ‘on vacation’, and I’m already nervous they won’t come back.)   As far as I can, we’ll be prioritizing those that remain open for take-out over our preferred ‘casual eating chains’ (Bertuccis, OnTheBorder, Pizzaria Unos — don’t judge).

  22. 22.

    Ohio Mom

    March 27, 2020 at 11:14 pm

    Ohio finally got the (illegally) cancelled primary back up and running, sort of. Voters have to go to voteohio.gov and print out a mail-in ballot request. Ballot are due by April 28.

    This doesn’t seem to be particularly well-publicized. I’ve been on the lookout for this news but I imagine a lot of people will be surprised when the results of the primary they didn’t know about are announced. Especially since we were originally given the date of June 2.

    It’s a giant mess all around.

  23. 23.

    NotMax

    March 27, 2020 at 11:14 pm

    Bain gonna take a hit? Cry me a river.

  24. 24.

    The Dangerman

    March 27, 2020 at 11:17 pm

    @Benw:

    So I goes to the landlady, you let me sliiiiiiide?

    But, I was tired…

    Shit, George was gonna be in my neighborhood in … well, kinda soon, now I don’t remember. I’m sure it’s cancelled.

    ETA: May 30th. Far, FAR outside chance, I suppose…

  25. 25.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 27, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    NO NAKED MOPPING. NO HALF NAKED TELECONFERENCING.

    Cole and Baud will cut you.

  26. 26.

    L85NJGT

    March 27, 2020 at 11:19 pm

    @Elizabelle:

     

    I believe they call that market clearing. I take it there was a lot of rental price gouging being passed off as vacation rentals?

  27. 27.

    Ohio Mom

    March 27, 2020 at 11:19 pm

    Not Max: your mother is a mensch — paying her cleaning crew, sending a TV, she’s a very thoughtful person.

  28. 28.

    Brachiator

    March 27, 2020 at 11:21 pm

    @Martin:

    The retail groups really need to organize a rent strike. It’s the only way they survive. The commercial landlord where I am have given a 90 day reprieve on commercial leases.

    Come on. You are a fellow Californian. You know that what has helped, and may save a number of small businesses, has been the actions of state and local governments to impose moratoriums on personal and commercial evictions and negotiated deals with mortgage lenders.

    And how you gonna strike if you don’t have a strike fund to sustain you. Restaurants have seen their cash flow dry up. This is not a strong negotiating position.

  29. 29.

    MoCA Ace

    March 27, 2020 at 11:21 pm

    At work last Thursday I was discussing a new project with a lakefront property owner who wanted information for a homeowners association meeting to be held the following Saturday.  I mentioned that I didn’t think people were having meetings anymore and he replied they were fine as their lake was in the middle of nowhere.   I know the lake and while it is, almost all of the cottages are owned by residents from nearby large metro areas.  I assume they were expecting a high turnout since so many have fled north to the cottage.  I cant even.

  30. 30.

    Elizabelle

    March 27, 2020 at 11:21 pm

    @lgerard:   That’s very sad.

    It strikes me that about all of those nurses work in communities with hotels that cannot find enough guests, since travel has dried up.  And hotels have multiple entrances, so you could have a nurses’ wing or floor(s).  Even a dedicated elevator.   I hope the mayors and hospitals and others can find a way to guarantee their nurses and healthcare workers have safe and secure housing.

    I’d find volunteers to help move the nurses, and a way for some to store belongings.

    Won’t work for all of the nurses, but would for travel nurses and those in shared housing.  (Which is the problem with  Anna Jones* — she and her husband are sharing the kitchen with an elderly landlady; they don’t seem to have separate facilities.)

    All that unused hotel space.  Why stick the nurses with Air BnBs and all the stress.

    ETA:  And for grocery employees and essential services people too.

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 27, 2020 at 11:26 pm

    !! Walmart EVP of corporate affairs Dan Bartlett tells @YahooFinance that amid #coronavirus: “We are seeing increased sales in tops, but not bottoms” because so many people are doing video conferences from home. and all that matters is the above the waist shot. $WMT

    — Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) March 26, 2020

    We are all Deadpool now… (Content Warning: Foul Language, Adult Situations, NO PANTS!!!)

  32. 32.

    Benw

    March 27, 2020 at 11:26 pm

    @The Dangerman: That don’t be frontin’ me as long as I get my money next Friday!

    Hate to say it but they should cancel. Even if we’re flattening the curve in May there’s no point in starting the rebounding waves that early. Stay safe!

  33. 33.

    Mary G

    March 27, 2020 at 11:29 pm

    Shades of the St. Louis:

    #BREAKING: 4 dead aboard Holland America Zaandam. Ship is currently off the coast of Panama and intends to dock at Port Everglades next week.— Frank Guzman (@fguzmanon7) March 27, 2020

    They left Argentina on March 7 and were supposed to end in Chile on March 21. The Panama Canal has denied them passage and no country will let them land so far.

    Of the 1,234 passengers aboard, 305 are American and 247 are Canadian.— Frank Guzman (@fguzmanon7) March 27, 2020

    Voyage of the Damned 2020.

  34. 34.

    Brachiator

    March 27, 2020 at 11:29 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    Hold on here a second. About the same time you need a clean top, you need a clean bottom, unless you are just turning the bottoms inside out or … or … or … oh dear …

    NO NAKED MOPPING. NO HALF NAKED TELECONFERENCING. This has been a public service announcement from …

    I had been working at home for at least a few days a week since last September.

    In the beginning, I would never work in my PJs, and had a formal ritual where I would get dressed before work.

    Now, although my underwear is always clean and fresh, I often where sweatpants and a comfortable sweatshirt. If I have to do a video meeting, I will wear a nice shirt, but sweatpants or even shorts.

    And right now, my sweatshirt has a bit of a coffee stain.

  35. 35.

    Redshift

    March 27, 2020 at 11:30 pm

    @The Dangerman:

    Hold on here a second. About the same time you need a clean top, you need a clean bottom, unless… 

    There taking about people buying new clothes, not laundry. (At least my clothes aren’t single-use.)

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 27, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    @Ohio Mom: I don’t live in Ohio and I saw it reported yesterday.

  37. 37.

    Kent

    March 27, 2020 at 11:33 pm

    @L85NJGT: Cheescake Factory is the only thing that drives traffic in some of those malls. They have their landlords by the short hairs here.

  38. 38.

    Another Scott

    March 27, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    @NotMax: Bain take a hit?  Surely you jest.  :-/

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/investing/tax-bill-real-estate/index.html

    New York (CNN Business)The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by the Senate provides aid for average consumers and small businesses — but there’s also a lucrative tax break for wealthy real estate developers.

    That’s because the stimulus bill removes limits on the amount of losses that wealthy investors can use to offset taxes, by writing down the gradual depreciation of assets like real estate. Those limits were put into place as part of President Trump’s 2017 tax reform bill.

    The New York Times was the first to report this nuance in the stimulus bill, which can be found in a brief section on page 203 of the 880-page document. The Times also cited a draft congressional analysis that said this part of the stimulus bill would lead to $170 billion in tax breaks over ten years.

    […]

    (To be clear, I don’t know how this would affect Bain specifically.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  39. 39.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 27, 2020 at 11:38 pm

    @Mary G: The Ampoliros.

  40. 40.

    dmsilev

    March 27, 2020 at 11:39 pm

    I get the sense that the places which had previously been doing a good chunk of business in take-out will be in better shape than pure sit-down places. Not quite as much stress on their business model, they already have the experience to get packaged meals out the door, the local customers think of them first when thinking takeout, etc. The Cheesecake Factories of the world, not so much.

    (the C.F. here was the victim of an attempted bombing a few years ago. I guess someone really didn’t like chain restaurants?)

  41. 41.

    danielx

    March 27, 2020 at 11:40 pm

    OT question: is anybody here a former navy person who served afloat?

  42. 42.

    NotMax

    March 27, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    @Adam L. Silverman

    Is it kosher for front pagers to assign themselves a time out?

    :) :) :)

  43. 43.

    Martin

    March 27, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    @Brachiator: Well, that’s basically already in place in California, but I’m not seeing that out of most of the rest of the country.

  44. 44.

    L85NJGT

    March 27, 2020 at 11:41 pm

    My favorite joke from David Cross: Making America Great Again is “what are all these vape shops going to be next year?”

    There isn’t much to re-purposing a 10,000 sq foot commercial box.

  45. 45.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 27, 2020 at 11:42 pm

    @NotMax: I consider banning myself several times a week. Why do you ask?

  46. 46.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 27, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    @Brachiator:

    And right now, my sweatshirt has a bit of a coffee stain.

    And you see fit to comment here in that attire?  You monster!

  47. 47.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 27, 2020 at 11:45 pm

    @Another Scott:

    but there’s also a lucrative tax break for wealthy real estate developers.

    Gotta give Trump a piece of the action.

  48. 48.

    NotMax

    March 27, 2020 at 11:46 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    “It’s not a stain, it’s a strategic caffeine reserve.”

    ;)

  49. 49.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 27, 2020 at 11:46 pm

    @dmsilev: When the kid gets cakes and especially cheesecake, she gets it take-out from CF.

  50. 50.

    Aleta

    March 27, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    @Mary G:

    (Sun Sentinal)

    On the day it left port, Robert Redfield, the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was in Broward County, encouraging people to go about their lives and not be saddled by fears of the virus. Vice President Mike Pence took it a step further when he said people should continue to cruise. In no time, President Donald Trump would take to Twitter to say the virus was a ploy between the news media and the Democratic Party.

     

  51. 51.

    Jay

    March 27, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    We at work ususally get a daily/weekly/monthly update on “our” Stores numbers.

    Not now. It’s all Covid19, all the time.

    Where I sit however, I can crunch the numbers. Between half of out staff being absent, a 50 person max in the Store, on a good day, we break even. On a bad day, $20k loss.

    Still, the Corp says we will stay open, store after store, until there are Covid19 cases amongst working staff. At that point, store by store, there will be closures.

    In part, it’s because a lot of our competition has abandoned everybody but the “bulk buyers”, those who can and will buy by the truckload, so “they” can socially distance by having a driver only at “risk”, rather than retail staff.

    The Corp hopes that Customers will remember.

    Others of our competition, have closed completely and laid off staff. I know where to steal some toilet paper and bleach.

    The Corp has also realized that we are “essential”. A swackload of customers and contractors rely on us, being open, so they can stay open.

  52. 52.

    Brachiator

    March 27, 2020 at 11:48 pm

    @Kent:

    Cheescake Factory is the only thing that drives traffic in some of those malls. They have their landlords by the short hairs here.

    If the Cheesecake Factory is the only thing driving traffic, those malls are pretty much doomed. A single business cannot sustain them.

    @Martin:

    Well, that’s basically already in place in California, but I’m not seeing that out of most of the rest of the country.

    Yeah, I haven’t heard much what other states are doing.  The news that doesn’t mention California often only talks about New York.

    Still, I don’t see a strike doing anything when the business has already pretty much been struck down.

  53. 53.

    Another Scott

    March 27, 2020 at 11:48 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: There’s specific language in the bill that none of Trump’s properties, or those of his children, in-laws, other relatives, etc., can claim any of the benefits in the bill.

    Of course, he probably tried to wave that away in his signing statement too (though I haven’t checked).

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  54. 54.

    NotMax

    March 27, 2020 at 11:51 pm

    When does Five Guys change its name to One Guy & An App?

    ;)

  55. 55.

    debbie

    March 27, 2020 at 11:52 pm

    So Amy Siskind (“The List”) believes there needs to be a national shutdown to stop COVID-19

    Biden called for a nationwide shutdown tonite. That is the only way to stop this thing from killing thousands of Americans unnecessarily. Our curve has not flattened at all. By next Friday, w/out action, the math says we will have hundreds of thousands of cases and thousands dead
    — Amy Siskind ?️‍? (@Amy_Siskind) March 28, 2020

    But then turns around and makes the stupidest statement I’ve seen today:

    So this is where we are in America:
    Starting tomorrow, the Rhode Island law enforcement and the National Guard will knock on doors and stop cars to find New Yorkers.
    Pray tell, will they give us stars to wear if they find us?https://t.co/Bs8IyLc9Jp
    — Amy Siskind ?️‍? (@Amy_Siskind) March 28, 2020

  56. 56.

    debbie

    March 27, 2020 at 11:53 pm

    @Another Scott:

    And so he has:

    JUST IN: Trump signing statement on coronavirus bill says he’ll override a provision requiring the newly created inspector general to report to Congress any time agencies refuse to give him/her requested info. pic.twitter.com/XhbYKMGaGq
    — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 27, 2020

    Click on the pic to see a screen shot of part of the signing statement.

  57. 57.

    Elizabelle

    March 27, 2020 at 11:56 pm

    @debbie: 

    An idle threat, I think. Trump does not have a line item veto.

    He may try, but Nancy and the House can make him wish he hadn’t.

  58. 58.

    Brachiator

    March 27, 2020 at 11:59 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I get the sense that the places which had previously been doing a good chunk of business in take-out will be in better shape than pure sit-down places.

    Take-out places have been hit as well as shelter-in-place orders kill their volume.

    Before this pandemic hit, a few restaurants were experimenting with a new model. Say one person calls Dominic’s and orders Italian for takeout or delivery by Uber Eats. Another person calls Chicken Shack for fried chicken.  Both meals are prepared at the same kitchen, a place without any sit-down area. This type of service may drop some meal items which require detailed or special preparation, but they can still imitate a range of food types.

  59. 59.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 27, 2020 at 11:59 pm

    @Elizabelle: What is the House gonna do, impeach him?

  60. 60.

    Another Scott

    March 28, 2020 at 12:02 am

    @debbie:

    https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/27/trump-congress-coronavirus-relief-oversight-152560

    One Democratic Senate aide indicated that this was a reason Congress built in multiple layers of oversight — including the new inspector general, a review council of other inspectors general and a congressional review committee charged with overseeing Treasury and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to implement the law.

    Asked about the signing statement on MSNBC, Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the president’s move “no surprise.”

    “But Congress will exercise its oversight,” Pelosi said. “And we will have our panel appointed by the House to, in real time, to make sure we know where those funds are going to be expended.”

    Donnie’s MO is chaos and Nancy SMASH knows that. We’ll see what happens.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  61. 61.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2020 at 12:03 am

    @Elizabelle

    Wasn’t far off the mark the other day when predicted he’d try to order the data immediately be stamped classified.

  62. 62.

    Brachiator

    March 28, 2020 at 12:04 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: 

    RE: And right now, my sweatshirt has a bit of a coffee stain.

    And you see fit to comment here in that attire? You monster!

    And it wasn’t even fresh-brewed coffee!

  63. 63.

    Mary G

    March 28, 2020 at 12:04 am

    @Elizabelle: He can make it clear that anyone who cooperates with the special investigator gets fired and will never work for a Republican again. Since it’s mostly incompetents and ass kissers left, there’s a good chance it’ll work.

  64. 64.

    TS (the original)

    March 28, 2020 at 12:05 am

    @lgerard:

    From the link

    Kadey Carter, a travel nurse in Missouri, told The Daily Beast that multiple Airbnb hosts had canceled her reservations in recent weeks after learning she was a nurse. “They’re apologetic but they’re just like, ‘basically for our protection right now, we’re not comfortable with that,’” she said.

    I hope airbnb sink after this. All they ever did was want high rents, take business away from motels & similar and stop regular folks from being able to rent a home.

  65. 65.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 28, 2020 at 12:05 am

    @Another Scott: I’m not sure I’m convinced the Speaker is right here, we still haven’t seen Trump’s tax returns and the law is pretty specific that they be turned over to Congress.

  66. 66.

    Mary G

    March 28, 2020 at 12:06 am

    Multiple sources tell @ABC Pres. Trump turned to former Yankee Alex Rodriguez for advice this week. A source close to Rodriguez described the call as “pleasant” adding that Trump was seeking thoughts from ARod about the coronavirus response.— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) March 28, 2020

  67. 67.

    The Pale Scot

    March 28, 2020 at 12:06 am

    @The Dangerman:

    Cod piece and I’m good to go

  68. 68.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 28, 2020 at 12:09 am

    This post gave me a craving for cheesecake, good thing I picked one up at Costco last night.

  69. 69.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 28, 2020 at 12:10 am

    @Mary G: WTF?

  70. 70.

    TS (the original)

    March 28, 2020 at 12:11 am

    @Another Scott:

    but there’s also a lucrative tax break for wealthy real estate developers.

    Does anyone other than a regular wage earner pay tax in the US any more? Seems corporations will be into negative tax, while real people are into negative savings interest.

  71. 71.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 12:17 am

    @TS (the original):

    two pithies of late that have stuck,

    “Covid19 Corporate bailouts should meet, but not exceed the taxes they paid in 2018”.

    ”You elected a “Reality TV Star” to the Presidency”

    ”Congratulations. welcome to Survivor 2020, Real World Edition!”

  72. 72.

    Another Scott

    March 28, 2020 at 12:20 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Agreed.

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  73. 73.

    The Pale Scot

    March 28, 2020 at 12:22 am

    @Brachiator:

    Restaurants have seen their cash flow dry up. This is not a strong negotiating position.

    Time to bust the joint out then

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    March 28, 2020 at 12:27 am

    Sorry, but I’ve been spending too much time looking at the data here – https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

    Italy and Spain are scary – 151 deaths/million and 101 deaths/million respectively. Other major western countries are in the 30s or below.

    If we take 100 x 330 M = 33,000 dead Americans.

    :-(

    “But her e-mails…!”

    Rest easy, everyone. We’ll need our strength to get through this, and to help those who are struggling to counteract the criminally inadequate preparation and response.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  75. 75.

    CaseyL

    March 28, 2020 at 12:32 am

    If I’m not on camera, I’m in my PJs.  Hell, I take out the trash and pick up the mail in my PJs.

    The House has more than enough to impeach Trump again.  Hell, we have enough to try him for crimes against humanity.  He directly prevented aid from going to Michigan (and Washington, but I think we’re OK here) during a national crisis.

  76. 76.

    The Moar You Know

    March 28, 2020 at 12:33 am

    The Mexican restaurant that I’ve been eating at since I was in high school has a “temporarily closed” sign on the front door that says they hope they’ll be coming back. They won’t. It’s fucking sad.

    Of course, I have developed a cough over the last few days so I’ve got bigger things on my mind. No fever yet.  Doc won’t authorize a test even though one of my coworker’s husband came down with the shit.  And I’m in California.  Hate to think of what it’s like elsewhere.

    Well, sounds like the neighbors next street up are having a party.  Torn between calling the cops, or just letting nature take its course.

  77. 77.

    danielx

    March 28, 2020 at 12:38 am

    @Another Scott:

    Wondering about the math – wouldn’t you divide 330,000,000 by 100?

    Which would give you 3,300,000, which would be…bad. Am I wrong? I truly hope so.

  78. 78.

    chris

    March 28, 2020 at 12:39 am

    Way past my bedtime but must share this delightful ditty which needs to go viral.
    Stay the Fuck at Home!

  79. 79.

    danielx

    March 28, 2020 at 12:39 am

    @The Moar You Know:

    Nominees for a Darwin Award.

  80. 80.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2020 at 12:41 am

    I know I shouldn’t complain about hating social distancing. I know it’s for the best. But I fucking hate it. And I am stressed out about both the risks of a really terrible disease on my mom and my baby, as well as the not-awesome mental health of my elder two children, who are both really stressed out by confinement and the cancellation of basically their entire lives until God knows when. And this is likely to ruin my career for my lifetime, too, so there’s that.

  81. 81.

    West of the Rockies

    March 28, 2020 at 12:50 am

    @Mary G:

    Here’s a happy thought:  we may well have a new president in less than 10 months.  Turd Trump may be pondering a world of hurt and recrimination very, very soon.

  82. 82.

    Dahlia

    March 28, 2020 at 1:02 am

    @Suzanne: I hope things will get easier for you and your family.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnSWJHawQQ

    I hope this helps in an earnest, 1970’s kind of way.

  83. 83.

    Another Scott

    March 28, 2020 at 1:03 am

    @danielx: As I read the table, for Spain, for every million in the population, at the moment the death rate translates to 110 have died from COVID-19.  So, if we assume the USA has 330 M people, then for simplicity if we take a (huge! and with any luck far too large!) death rate of 100 per million for the US, then 100×330 = 33,000 dead from COVID-19.

    Note, these are rates at this particular point in time.  And it doesn’t assume that everyone in the country will be infected – it’s just a ratio.  But people are still dying in Italy and Spain and the USA.

    It would be good to understand why the rate is so high in those countries, and do what we can to keep the rate down in the USA!!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  84. 84.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    March 28, 2020 at 1:04 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    I think cancelling the primary was the right decision, legally or no, but I’m not thrilled with the Assembly’s set date of April 28th or with making voters have to fill out applications. Why not help the county boards mail ballots to registered voters like mail-in states do?

  85. 85.

    Geminid

    March 28, 2020 at 1:04 am

    A friend has a house in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville and for the last few years has been renting half as an airbnb. The place is over a hundred years old, and last December she  hired a carpenter to gut and renovate it. Joan is 68, but she put on a tool belt and worked almost every day till they finished it the end of last month. She immediately got bookings, but after one rental the rest cancelled on account of the virus. But then a couple of travel nurses who had been kicked out by a scared landlord rented the space until June. Joan is very happy about the steady income, and she only has to turn over the linen, etc. once a week. They have a 90 pound dog that drops a lot of poop in the yard, though, and she had to work on getting the nurses to properly clean up after their hound. But she says that they are young and trainable.

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2020 at 1:05 am

    @West of the Rockies

    Of course I fervently want to see him to lose the election. However, contemplating the damage he’ll do lashing out during the 2½ months between election day and inauguration day gives me a case of the the screaming meemies.

  87. 87.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    March 28, 2020 at 1:06 am

    @NotMax:

    Yeah, but it can’t be helped. Think he’ll actually try to pardon himself since if he loses states and then the Feds can pursue charges against him?

  88. 88.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2020 at 1:08 am

    @Suzanne:  I am so sorry life is going to look like the suck in the near future I hope everything works out as it should.

    @Another Scott:  We have one slight advantage and one big disadvantage. The advantage is we have much lower smoking rates in the US over Italy and Spain. That does eliminate one risk factor. Except we have many more diabetics. That is where the situation could really get ugly, especially in the poorer states. Looking at you Mississippi.

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2020 at 1:11 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Frankly, no. Because that would be a blatant public admission that He Who Is Incapable Of Doing Wrong did wrong.

  90. 90.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2020 at 1:11 am

    @Another Scott:

    I had to fucking look. You made me fucking look.

    OK you didn’t but still, you made the opportunity to look.

    Who the hell has the fucking brain bleach!?

  91. 91.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    March 28, 2020 at 1:12 am

    @Yutsano:

    Absolutely. Not to mention higher rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease. It’s a numbers game so it makes sense we’ll probably have higher fatalities then Italy or Spain

  92. 92.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2020 at 1:18 am

    What started as a gag birthday gift from my sister has turned into my greatest treasure. pic.twitter.com/gcdaosubeC— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) March 23, 2020

  93. 93.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2020 at 1:21 am

    @danielx:

    I am. A long time ago.

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2020 at 1:23 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Was 2 blocks from a CF when I lived in Pasadena. And yes they had takeout. The CF website currently lists takeout and delivery.

  95. 95.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2020 at 1:24 am

    @NotMax

    Plus it would impede upon what I expect to come out of him, along the lines of “People are already saying it was a perfect presidency.”

    Or “Historians are telling me they’ve firmly put me at the top of the heap.”

  96. 96.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 28, 2020 at 1:26 am

    @Ruckus:

    Who the hell has the fucking brain bleach!?

    Along with toilet paper, good luck getting that.

  97. 97.

    JAFD

    March 28, 2020 at 1:26 am

    From Merrie Olde England, this was posted on a hobby board,

    “Here in the UK we are in lock down. I am envious of my neighbour because he can still go to work the lucky devil.

    He is a Locksmith

    So he claims he is a key worker”

  98. 98.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2020 at 1:29 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Never try to make sense of anything trump does. All it will do is cause an aneurysm and still won’t solve a damn thing.

  99. 99.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 28, 2020 at 1:31 am

    @Ruckus: The kid usually picks up at CF at Americana at Brand.

    Speaking of the kid, she just put up a photo on IG with the staff at her OR hold signs “Help flatten the curve – stay home save lives OR8”.

  100. 100.

    Origuy

    March 28, 2020 at 1:35 am

    My housemates and i got back from the vet ER a little while ago. Their 17-year-old cat, Gizmo, apparently has cancer. She stopped eating a few weeks ago and the vet found some bad teeth, so those got pulled. She still didn’t eat much, so there were more trips to the vet. At today’s visit, the vet noticed that her stomach was full of fluid and told us to go to the ER where they could do an X-ray. They did the X-ray and ultrasound and decided that cancer was the most likely thing. They gave her steroids which should help with the inflammation. She’s still fairly active and ate as soon as we got home, but the ER vet said it could be a matter of days or weeks. My younger housemate turns 34 tomorrow and he’s had her half his life. He’s devastated.

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2020 at 1:36 am

    @Yutsano:

    Don’t we also have a lower pop density? At least after the six or seven largest cities?

    LA county has a larger population than 41 states.

  102. 102.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    March 28, 2020 at 1:45 am

    @NotMax: 
    Yeah, but then he would face charges. Wouldn’t his basic preservation instincts kick in?

  103. 103.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 1:48 am

    @Suzanne:

    sorry it sucks.

    social distancing Virtual Hugs. {{{{{{ ❤️}}}}}} to you and yours.

    Graduated into the Volker Recession. Took 15 years of having a jerb, to finally having a career. Dot Com and Fortune 100 aqusition turned that into a smoldering pile of flaming gas with no pension. Idjiot 43 then killed my RRSP’s.  Luckily SWMBO had a great career path, which lasted one life change and 3 years until a “Disrupter” Univeristy of Phoenix  MBA blew that up. Then 15 more years of “It’s a Hard Knock Life”, before we had to bail.

    so, new starts. I have a retail Jerb. She has an amazing job, ( temp) with an amazing group, that might become permanent. Some bills are getting paid, some, well, they can suck it. Can’t get blood out of a stone.

    Have friends, family, pets, the sun rises, the sun sets.

    You have skills, knowledge, ethics and a willingness to contibute. Work will come. You raised your kids right, they will do okay, even if it’s just a jerb and being able to look themseves in a mirror.

    breathe,  as this too shall pass, unless you know, you are cosplaying Gandalf at the moment.

    love and support, always.

  104. 104.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2020 at 1:50 am

    @Origuy:

    Sorry about your cat. Cancer is no fun for anyone or any animal.

    I’ve dealt with it in my family and my self for almost 50 yrs. Never had a pet with it but mom and my sister had it and so have I. Killed my sister at 66. Mom had an operation and lived another 45 yrs or so and I’ve made just over 3 yrs after treatment. If you are alive cancer can get you. Pretty much any animal, young, medium or old.

  105. 105.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 1:58 am

    @Ruckus: Crappies and rock bass on ultralight tackle,

    just saying,……..

  106. 106.

    West of the Rockies

    March 28, 2020 at 2:01 am

    @Jay:

    I don’t care what anyone says… You’re okay in my book.

    Any chance BoJo can have a play date with Toddler Trump?

  107. 107.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 2:12 am

    @West of the Rockies:

    hopefully. The Outlaws have turned on Dolt 45. Veiled hints of assassination. Big difference from indifference.

    Sadly, Nuremburg trials are needed.

    What’s here, now, few deserve,

    the World is gonna change. Hopefully, for the better, but it’s gonna be a slog, for all of us.

  108. 108.

    lumpkin

    March 28, 2020 at 2:12 am

    @Elizabelle:

    He may try, but Nancy and the House can make him wish he hadn’t.

    I don’t think they can make him do anything. They haven’t been able to so far. Our system of government doesn’t actually work if enough of the right people don’t want it to.

  109. 109.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 2:19 am

    @lumpkin:

    the House can’t make him do anything. They can stop him from doing a lot of things.

    the House has the “wallet”.

  110. 110.

    NobodySpecial

    March 28, 2020 at 2:22 am

    Really interesting being an “essential worker” in retail.

    For a state with stay in place orders, we average a customer every two minutes and sales are up over pre-virus levels, in some categories as much as 50%.

    The biggest reason I don’t see this slowing down is because too many Americans either suck at self quarantining or are determined (or uneducated enough) to avoid changing their lifestyles.

  111. 111.

    West of the Rockies

    March 28, 2020 at 2:24 am

    @Jay:

    I fervently hope that with this crisis will come a newfound respect for science and expertise.  If the (ballpark figure) 53% of the nation that values intelligence and facts can save us from the 43% that is pure racism/ignorance/resentment (and the remaining 10% who are perpetually undecided about everything), maybe we’ll be okay.

    Seriously, I bet 10% of those who are asked are still undecided as to whether Hitler was dangerous and evil.  I loathe the perpetually undecideds.

  112. 112.

    lumpkin

    March 28, 2020 at 2:24 am

    @Jay: no they don’t. The administration does. Congress just authorizes the administration to spend. In this case the money is authorized and allocated. They would have to rescind the authorization. Even then they would not be able to physically stop the administration from writing checks if they chose to do so and they probably will

    Edit: and rescinding the legislation would require Senate approval and trump’s signature.

  113. 113.

    Yutsano

    March 28, 2020 at 2:30 am

    @lumpkin:  You…really don’t know how government budgeting works do you? The executive branch can’t spend anything without Congressional approval. And yes Congress can absolutely kneecap the executive branch from spending any money except in exactly how Congress allocated it. How? By the exact mechanism you described: they rescind the original allocation. At that point there is no money. Congress just made it go poof. It doesn’t happen often but it does happen.

  114. 114.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 2:33 am

    @West of the Rockies:

    I really hope that after decades, the realization that if the “Jerb Creators” don’t get their tax cuts or subsidies, or “The Economy” will collapse,

    Falls apart with the realization that 2 weeks of waitress’s, maids, etc, not being able to go to work,

    Is destroying the economy.

    funny that.

    Applies to a lot of”stuff”. Medical care, school, etc.

  115. 115.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 28, 2020 at 2:37 am

    Thunderstorm!  Woo! ??

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2020 at 2:38 am

    I was at the supermarket to get a few essentials. I spent over an hour queuing up to get in — people were maintaining a social distance of at least 1.5m — and under ten minutes actually shopping. (With so many waiting outside, I was aware I mustn’t dawdle.) We shoppers were only allowed in one at a time when another shopper left, had our hands spritzed with sanitiser as we entered and were handed disposable plastic gloves to wear. Next week’s trip needs to be on a weekday, methinx.

  117. 117.

    West of the Rockies

    March 28, 2020 at 2:39 am

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Enjoy!  I hope it is spectacular (and non-destructive).

  118. 118.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 2:45 am

    Nursing home closed, so Tonka goes window to window visiting his peeps. Good social isolation. Great dog.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iu7EFITI-lc

  119. 119.

    lumpkin

    March 28, 2020 at 2:47 am

    @Yutsano: I know how it’s supposed to work. I’ve also been paying attention to how it has actually been working. If you will recall trump reallocated money that had been authorized by Congress for other things and used it for his wall. After Congress had specifically denied him funding for the wall. Put away your civics 101 textbook and look at what’s actually going on.

  120. 120.

    lumpkin

    March 28, 2020 at 2:49 am

    @Yutsano: And the House cannot rescind legislation that has passed and been signed by the president without going back through the entire legislative process. Again, pay attention to the real world. The Senate will not agree to rescind the legislation and even if they did trump would veto it.

  121. 121.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 28, 2020 at 2:53 am

    @Amir Khalid: I woke up early on Thursday to go to Costco for “Old Folk Hour”*, but the line was so long I bailed and headed back during regular hours just before closing.

    *They’re opening 8-9am on Tuesdays and Thursdays for those 60+ .

  122. 122.

    Jay

    March 28, 2020 at 2:56 am

    @lumpkin:

    the funny thing is, nobody’s been paid. Tied up in courts. Even Trump’s Ebola Caravans Military Deployments, unpaid.

    In the end, the Accountants rule.

    Corps who jumped on “Wall”, are going to have to “eat it”, and a hard lesson, from the ‘90’s, will get relearned for the 37th time, by the ass sucking, mushroom throating Corporate Choads.

  123. 123.

    Brachiator

    March 28, 2020 at 2:59 am

    @Yutsano:

     The executive branch can’t spend anything without Congressional approval. And yes Congress can absolutely kneecap the executive branch from spending any money except in exactly how Congress allocated it. How? By the exact mechanism you described: they rescind the original allocation. At that point there is no money.

    Great point. Trump doesn’t understand this either, the degree to which he can be controlled by Congress, if the Congress (especially the GOP) ever decided to stop being his lapdog.

  124. 124.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    March 28, 2020 at 3:03 am

    Multiple sources tell @ABC Pres. Trump turned to former Yankee Alex Rodriguez for advice this week. A source close to Rodriguez described the call as “pleasant” adding that Trump was seeking thoughts from ARod about the coronavirus response.
    — CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) March 28, 2020

    Steroids won’t kill the virus.

     

    He later called Lindsay Lohan for advice on how to run a ventilator.

  125. 125.

    lumpkin

    March 28, 2020 at 3:07 am

    @Jay: I found this AP article that says the Pentagon has reallocated $6.1B to the wall but doesn’t mention any legal action to stop payments. My recollection is that the supreme court already gave him the go-ahead. Do you have any links that support your assertion?

    And again, my main point was that the Senate and trump would both have to agree to take away his authority to spend the bailout money and that ain’t gonna happen no matter what he does with it.

  126. 126.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2020 at 3:14 am

    Deletificated.

  127. 127.

    MomSense

    March 28, 2020 at 3:14 am

    I can’t sleep.

  128. 128.

    lumpkin

    March 28, 2020 at 3:41 am

    @Jay: Here’s another article that says that on January 20 of this year the 5th Circuit Court reaffirmed the earlier supreme court ruling that trump could reallocate money for the wall. The issue is still being litigated but I don’t think that the court would order the government to refuse to pay contractors for work they’ve completed. I’m not a lawyer but I think there’s a clause about not questioning the government’s debt obligations.

  129. 129.

    Morzer

    March 28, 2020 at 3:42 am

    https://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2020/03/27/week-in-review-covid-shines-a-light-on-everything

  130. 130.

    Aleta

    March 28, 2020 at 4:41 am

    Not sleeping.

    Dogs + British sportscaster Andrew Cotter

    https://twitter.com/MrAndrewCotter/status/1243539675031232519

  131. 131.

    bjacques

    March 28, 2020 at 4:52 am

    Those residents of rural and scenic holiday villages plagued (literally) by city folk arriving out of season could take inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s “Summer People” (while practicing social distancing of course).

  132. 132.

    Aleta

    March 28, 2020 at 4:59 am

    I don’t know Portuguese and too weary to look this up.  Guessing it means something like “the other side of blue” ?   “of the other ? of blue”  ?  “on the other side” ?

    ANDREA MOTIS – BAIAO DE QUATRO TOQUES  “Do Outro Lado do Azul”

    Musicians: Alba Armengou, vocals Rita Payés, vocals Andrea Motis, vocals and trumpet Sergio Krakowski, pandeiro Èlia Bastida, violin Josep Traver, guitar Christoph Mallinger, violin Joan Chamorro, doublebass Mathieu “Téteu”, seven string Guitar Fernando del Papa, cavaquinho Ignasi Terraza, piano Esteve Pi, drums David Casamitjana, live sound and mix Ramon Tort, video

  133. 133.

    Aleta

    March 28, 2020 at 5:00 am

    Zé Miguel Wisnik – Serenata
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuzY7gV9mlY&list=PLA66B485EBF4F2CC1

  134. 134.

    terry chay

    March 28, 2020 at 5:01 am

    @danielx:  Your number is deaths overall assuming these countries have a 2% mortality rate and 50% get it for herd immunity (Given the failure of the medical system, mortality rate should be around 4-7% and herd immunity doesn’t kick in until well over 50%.)

    His numbers are the CURRENT mortality rate in these countries.

    So the way to look at these numbers is basically, since we are a few couple weeks behind Italy, that this is mortality in a 2-3weeks.

  135. 135.

    WereBear

    March 28, 2020 at 5:02 am

    I see that some folks want to slam the cruise line industry and AirBnB, but again, the entire travel/leisure/tourism industry is taking a hit. And ultimately this means that some people may have permanently lost their jobs.

    I resemble this remark. I just sigh and tell myself that I’m sure not the only one, and be glad I choose New York to live in, back at the beginning of my adult life. Who knew the consequences might have been life or death now?

  136. 136.

    bjacques

    March 28, 2020 at 5:22 am

    A friend, retired, in Amsterdam rents a spare flat on Airbnb, TripAdvisor etc., breaking even, and saw bookings evaporate early March. Unlike a lot of short term renters, she registered with the city, followed all the regulations and, most importantly, collected and paid taxes as would a normal business, which this is. That might help her now, if she applies for relief, since she has receipts and tax records proving how much business she’s lost.

    Adam! This FT.com item (sorry, paywall) should be right up your alley. Speaking of never letting a good crisis go to waste—though obviously long in the works—China is proposing a “New IP” standard they’ve developed with Huawei and hope to test next year. It goes before the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) shortly, with the enthusiastic support of Russia, Saudi Arabia, and all the developing countries receiving Chinese largesse. One Belt, One Road, One Digital Superhighway…

    https://www.ft.com/content/c78be2cf-a1a1-40b1-8ab7-904d7095e0f2

  137. 137.

    Martin

    March 28, 2020 at 5:25 am

    @Another Scott: Katie Porter is part of the oversight.

    May God have mercy on their souls.

  138. 138.

    Martin

    March 28, 2020 at 5:29 am

    @Another Scott: It’ll be over 33K. Those deaths/million reflect where on the curve they are. They both locked down and will come off the curve before the US will. Many parts of the US are still open, so there’s almost no chance they’ll get in front of this until they lock down. No part of the US is doing anything remotely like South Korea or Singapore in terms of testing/tracing/isolation to avoid a lockdown. They’re just killing more of their residents.

  139. 139.

    WaterGirl

    March 28, 2020 at 6:26 am

    @Tom Levenson: The local Garden Center is opening on Monday, after confirming their essential status.

    I love to garden and I’m glad they are open, but how in the hell is a garden center considered an essential business?

  140. 140.

    WaterGirl

    March 28, 2020 at 6:31 am

    @Mary G: This makes me so grateful that Imm and the Immp did not go on their cruise.

  141. 141.

    J R in WV

    March 28, 2020 at 6:34 am

    @danielx: 

    is anybody here a former navy person who served afloat?

    Lots of us are former sailors — I did, although in a sub-tender we weren’t at sea all the time, but ruckus was on a DD of one flavor or another ans was at sea most all the time.

    Others too I think…

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    March 28, 2020 at 6:41 am

    @danielx:  @J R in WV:

    If there aren’t a lot of responses in this thread, I would suggest asking in the Leto & Avalue Military Life thread this afternoon.

  143. 143.

    J R in WV

    March 28, 2020 at 6:59 am

    @WaterGirl:

    but, how in the hell is a garden center considered an essential business?

    When many people actually grow a large part of their food… even if it is just during the summer, more if the can and preserve like John G Cole does. My neighbors on both sides do that. I would still do it if my back would support working on my knees, but it do not!!  ;-)

  144. 144.

    WaterGirl

    March 28, 2020 at 7:21 am

    @J R in WV: Okay, you make a good point!   Thanks for pointing that out.  This particular place is 10x more about flowers than vegetables, so I wasn’t seeing that aspect of it.

  145. 145.

    Elizabelle

    March 28, 2020 at 8:11 am

    @WaterGirl:   I wonder if garden centers will add a lot more vegetables.  We sure have time and many of us have space (even small) to do virus gardens.  Fresh veggies and lettuces.

  146. 146.

    Another Scott

    March 28, 2020 at 10:27 am

    @WaterGirl: Excellent point.  I was a very early, very brief, advocate of them going.

    Whew!

    (Those poor people who are still trapped on those things…)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  147. 147.

    Geminid

    March 28, 2020 at 10:36 am

    @Elizabelle: and turnips this fall.

  148. 148.

    Uncle Cosmo

    March 28, 2020 at 11:11 am

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  In MD, GOV Hogan scheduled a primary election to select candidates for the MD-07 House seat (open due to the death of Elijah Cummings) in February, and the general election (to fill the seat for the remainder of the term) for the same date as the primary for everything else. With the primary pushed back to June 2, the MD State Board of Elections will now send every registered voter in MD-07 (including moi) a vote-by-mail ballot for the House seat, to be postmarked by April 28 (the original date of the primary).

    Frankly Hogan missed an opportunity here – instead of rescheduling the primary, he could have mandated statewide vote-by-mail, & if it worked out as well as it has in WA, we could have sashayed right on over to using it for all subsequent elections. I have to admit, it’s one of the few false steps he’s taken since the start of the pandamnic. And I don’t even say that grudginly – people like the Guv will hopefully form the nucleus of a responsible opposition party after the GOP has been bombed to rubble & the rubble made to bounce.

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