Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Let there be snark.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

Bark louder, little dog.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

People are weird.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

It’s a doggy dog world.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / The data has been disappeared*

The data has been disappeared*

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Saw this on Twitter a while ago:

Presumably this is the result of the Trump admin directive for hospitals to report COVID-19 data to the administration instead of the CDC. From CNN yesterday:

Hospital data on coronavirus patients will now be rerouted to the Trump administration instead of first being sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.

The move could make data less transparent to the public at a time when the administration is downplaying the spread of the pandemic, and threatens to undermine public confidence that medical data is being presented free of political interference.

Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the department, confirmed the change first reported by The New York Times earlier in the day, saying in a statement that the “new faster and complete data system is what our nation needs to defeat the coronavirus and the CDC, an operating division of HHS, will certainly participate in this streamlined all-of-government response. They will simply no longer control it.”

“The CDC’s old hospital data gathering operation once worked well monitoring hospital information across the country, but it’s an inadequate system today,” Caputo said in the statement.

(Yes, that Michael Caputo.) I wonder if the “new faster and complete data system” will be as technologically advanced as the Google-created testing website Trump announced with great fanfare back in March — you remember, the one that solved all our testing woes? Yeah, I’m guessing it will be exactly that helpful.

What we have here is an extension of Trump’s “when you test, you create cases” logic. Maybe I’m a crazy optimist, but I don’t think disappearing the data is going to work.

Actively degraded by Trump, the federal response to the pandemic has failed catastrophically, so local, state and corporate leaders are either stepping up or choosing not to. Target and CVS just joined Walmart in mandating masks in their stores nationwide. Even Alabama’s governor has mandated masks. Florida’s and Georgia’s governors have not and are undermining local efforts.

There will be life and death consequences, and, one hopes, monetary and political consequences too. We’re finding out in real time just how many of the people can be fooled ALL of the time.

*UPDATE: The data has reappeared, according to CNN. Hmmm!

Reader Interactions

217Comments

  2. 2.

    mrmoshpotato

    Well done to all of the selfish shitstains who told Hillary to get fucked.

    That choice gets better and better each day.

    Barrels-worth of blood on their hands.

  3. 3.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    So much for the “hospitalizations are the best metric” talking point right wingers have been pushing. “Mortalities” is the other “important metric” they tout, despit it being the indicator that lags the most, thus being useless. That will probably go dark too

    Had a local R state rep that was appointed by the state leg who is either the legal counsel or managing director for a local Infectious Disease practice on TV recently. He’s related to one of the doctors there btw.

    Anyway, he was using the “hospitalizations and fatalities are the key metrics” talking point when interviewed by local news. He also said he wasn’t very concerned with the recent spikes in Ohio.

    This guy isn’t an epidemiologist or a public health expert, but he should know better than this. It’s a cult all the way down. He’s apparently also of hispanic descent, so I presume he has some self-loathing issues as well

  4. 4.

    Ruckus

    @Fraud Guy: 
    Obviously you have confused nothing and everything.
    And I believe my sarcasm meter went into operational overload yesterday about 4pm.

  6. 6.

    Gin & Tonic

    I’ll try that at work. “This system is inadequate, so I’m going to disable it today. I’ll certainly participate in building a new one, though.”

    I’ll let everyone know how that goes.

  8. 8.

    FlyingToaster

    Oddly enough, for some of us, the data goes from the hospitals and town health office to our state health commisioner’s office; tabulated and cleaned up (updating cases from suspected to confirmed per test results, removing duplicates for people residing in one county but being tested/hospitalized in a different county, etc.). The results are then sent to the CDC every am. Every pm, they’re posted on the state website and sent to the various players (Johns Hopkins).

    That’s Massachusetts, and I suspect a number of other “blue” states. So the doctoring will be in states with Trumpista governance, unless you’ve got the Miami Herald calling every hospital in the state. Heh.

    My prediction: We will have 2 million dead by December 31. Whether we admit it or not.

  9. 9.

    pacem appellant

    * have been disappeared

    I know I’m in an extreme minority, but data are plural.

  11. 11.

    low-tech cyclist

    It’s not just the data, it’s his attitude that because he’s President, the Federal government is essentially his property to do what he wants with, rather than existing for the benefit of the American people.

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    This has gone well beyond callous indifference. The trump administration is taking active measures to harm us.

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    I think we, the public, have a right to that information.  Journalists and state and county health entities need it too.  Airlines, business, to know about reopening …

    Does anyone else foresee legal challenges, if the CDC info has indeed been taken private?

  23. 23.

    Unsympathetic

    A revision to Reagan’s old phrase to hate – “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help” – seems appropriate.

    “I’m a Republican from the government, and I’m here to help” should be the hated phrase.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    (Yes, that Michael Caputo.)

    Thank you for the link. I was trying to remember how I knew that name.

  26. 26.

    Calouste

    @mrmoshpotato: There’s probably some barely researched deep sea creature that can do that, but ostriches are better known for burying their head in the sand, and I think the new GOP logo should reflect that pose.

  28. 28.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Aren’t there private/advocate systems collecting the information from the hospitals as well?  I don’t think Trump will be able to hide this.  Florida already has one metro area that just ran out of ICU space.

  30. 30.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Calouste:

    The GOP should change their logo and replace the elephant with an ostrich.

    I’m sure there’s some talented graphic artist on our side who could design a GOP Ostrich logo with which we could all flood the internets.

  31. 31.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    That Micheal Caputo:

    “I stopped caring about what handwringing, virtue signaling leftists think of me,” Caputo told CNN about his tweets

    What a piece of shit

  32. 32.

    Eric U.

    Isn’t Johns Hopkins still up and running?  Never surprised when a Republican screws something up to benefit themselves and their friends.

  36. 36.

    Gin & Tonic

    DougJ put this on the Twitter machine, but it appears that Chuck Woolery’s son has COVID-19.

    Life comes at you fast.

  37. 37.

    sheldon vogt

    Convenient that hospital data’s inaccessible as we get reports of overwhelmed ICUs in Miami.

  40. 40.

    Jesse

    @gkoutnik: That’s for sure. Brazil did the same thing with their data a a few weeks ago. They were sued, I believe, and were forced to make it public again.

    So yeah, Brazil got their first. Our turn now.

  42. 42.

    Gin & Tonic

    Funny. I got an e-mail from Amazon saying “your package has been delivered to your preferred safe place.” Some may wonder what my preferred safe place is. Well, since I have never told Amazon my preference, it seems they concluded that my preferred “safe place” is on my front steps, in the sun, fully visible from the street.

  45. 45.

    catclub

    @low-tech cyclist:

    it’s his attitude that because he’s President, the Federal government is essentially his property to do what he wants with, rather than existing for the benefit of the American people.

    A couple of points:
    1. I could have sworn the law says that hospitals are to report to the CDC.
    Is that correct or is there no law?
    2. As noted above the CDC website has gone dark.
    The hospitals seem to be following the command, which is pretty reasonable. HHS has huge amounts of money that get siphoned to hospitals.
    3. The point is not just to hide the numbers, it is also to make any numbers from the Federal government untrustworthy. That part has already succeeded.
    4. The people who cater to Trumps lies (rather than Trump himself)
    are the enablers that Mary Trump identified.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    @Whereaway: Just saw that and updated the post. Weird!

    @David Evans: Oh, come on! Using the singular for a collective noun is a perfectly respectable choice; it’s in the AP style guide, FFS, and is in no way comparable to putting bad grammar/poor spelling into the mouths of helpless animals.

  48. 48.

    catclub

    @Whereaway: According to CNN, the data has mysteriously reappeared …

     

    Until they silence all the state health department reports, which they are probably working on right now.  the news will get out.

    and actually blocking the news will make the rumors of high numbers even worse.

  50. 50.

    Roger Moore

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    This guy isn’t an epidemiologist or a public health expert, but he should know better than this.

    If he isn’t an epidemiologist or a public health expert, he should be deferring to the people who are rather than contradicting them.

  51. 51.

    jonas

    @FlyingToaster: We will have 2 million dead by December 31. Whether we admit it or not.

    I’ll take the under on that bet, particularly seeing as death rates going forward in the rest of the country are probably not going to be as high as they were in NYC in March and April — but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the end, we come close to the the est. 675,000 who died in the 1918 pandemic. Not as big a % of the population as it was back then, but considering how much more advanced the state of medicine is, and that, before Trump dismantled it, we had agencies in place to coordinate a response to stuff like this, to essentially repeat a historic disaster because of rank stupidity is almost worse somehow.

  52. 52.

    jonas

    @MomSense:The trump administration is taking active measures to harm us.

    As it always has been, the working assumption inside the WH is that this is mostly a “those people” problem. It’s unfair to punish good MAGAts with masks and lockdowns when this whole thing is really on those inscrutable Chinese.

  54. 54.

    VeniceRiley

    @jonas: I’ll take the under on your under.  But I’ll take the over on both for virus positive patients suffering from underlying health consequences for quite a long time from a year to end of life. COPD, brain damage, damage do to clots, heart health, etc.

  55. 55.

    Jeffro

    Just imagine if he’d done something about this – most anything, really – when it first hit his PDB in late January.

    Just imagine if he’d done something about this instead of calling it a “hoax” in February.

    Just imagine if we as a country hadn’t (almost) wasted the entire March-May lockdowns.

    Just imagine if he hadn’t made wearing a frickin’ mask a political issue.

    Same goes for you, Kemp, Abbott, DeSantis.

  56. 56.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Roger Moore:

    True, but he has an election to win this fall, so that’s a no go for him.

    It’s a traditionally Dem (even if Conservadem) seat, and I want it to be so again. Both my state rep and state senator narrowly flipped red in 2018. The current state senator is the owner of a local grocery chain. He’s voted yes on abortion restrictions (he’s a conservative Catholic) while in office. Sure talked a good game about “listening to both sides of the aisle” but is an empty Republican suit at the end of the day

  57. 57.

    Lacuna Synechdoche

    I honestly don’t understand why Trump is so angry with the CDC and so eager to direct his rage and vindictiveness towards it.

    I mean, Redfield has been every bit as incompetent in leading the CDC as Trump could have possibly hoped for. May as well let them keep publishing CoViD-19 data – Trump and Redfield have already obliterated much of the CDC’s global reputation. So why block them from publishing the data? It’s not like the CDC has a lot of credibility left anymore.

  58. 58.

    Marcopolo

    Please note the additional guidance from the CDC after they turned their dashboard back on:

     

    As of now, the previously removed dashboard modules were back online. The CDC has also added language to their page announcing that they will not be updating this data past July 14.

     

    So, no, this doesn’t change what happened. Covid-19 data going forward will not be available to the public

    As a number of folks have mentioned, there are still ways to get most, if not all, of this data by directly accessing state & county level health department portals but the whole point of having the CDC as the designated collector for the country was to make it easier to see what was going on.  I’m thinking the only kind of place that has the resources to track down Covid data from all the local/state sources would be an entity like the NYT.

  60. 60.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Benw:

     

    Georgia’s governor has suspended all local mask mandates, per CNN.

    Any city that wants to send a ‘up yours’ message to the governor can set up a few stations in AA neighborhoods and start passing out free masks. “Don’t let the honkeys kill you! Get your free mask here.”

  61. 61.

    VOR

    Trump is treating the pandemic as a PR problem, not a public health problem. Worse, he thinks a global, world-wide, pandemic is all about him. People wears masks just to spite him. Testing is only to make him look bad. And those people dying, talk about a bunch of haters.

  62. 62.

    Spanky

    @Betty Cracker:

    … is in no way comparable to putting bad grammar/poor spelling into the mouths of helpless animals.

    I have 5 cats. Those bastards are definitely not helpless.

  63. 63.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Jeffro:

    Same goes for you, Kemp, Abbott, DeSantis.

    Just imagine if Kemp and DeSantis were never elected in the first place

  65. 65.

    joel hanes

    @Lacuna Synechdoche:

    I honestly don’t understand why Trump is so angry with the CDC

    Because the CDC continues to attempt fact-based and science-based policy toward the pandemic.   Factual information shows that Trump is incompetent evil (“makes him look bad”), and science  flies in the face of policies Trump wants to force on the nation in service of the interests of the Trump crime family.

    Trump’s greatest consistencies are attacking the messenger and lying continually about everything.

  66. 66.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Marcopolo:

    Covid-19 data going forward will not be available to the public.

    This is absolute horseshit. They can’t be allowed to do this

  67. 67.

    pacem appellant

    @joel hanes: The traditional media are garbage. I hope non-life-threatening bacteria infect them all, especially the NYT editorialists. NYT delenda sunt.

  69. 69.

    Marcopolo

    Betty, since you are monitoring this thread (I hope), would you please do a post in the next day or so about this:

    Supreme Court won’t lift the 11th Circuit’s stay, meaning excons who haven’t paid their court fees wont be able to vote. Three dissenting justices say it “prevents thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating … simply because they are poor.” https://t.co/qdJTQLIA3K pic.twitter.com/FchBr5mijn— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 16, 2020

    For folks who want to throw a few bucks (any amount will make a difference) into a pot to help pay outstanding fines for FL ex-felons so that they can exercise their vote this year, you can do that here: Florida Rights Restoration Coalition

    Last but not least, there is no provision in any of the court rulings staying/upholding this poll tax for notification to go out to FL ex-felons who have registered to vote that they still will need to pay off their fines first.

    This is so chilling. Per Sotomayor, neither the 11th Circuit nor the Supreme Court are providing for any notice to tens of thousands excons who registered to vote on the basis of the stayed ruling that they might now be exposed to prosecution if they do vote w/ outstanding fees. pic.twitter.com/Ycj8PGjoxg— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) July 16, 2020

  70. 70.

    Kay

    I have next door neighbors who are snowbirds. The husband is kind of mean so I don’t talk to him but his wife is delightful. Anyway, they go to Florida every winter and my neighbor isn’t voting for Trump again because he “ruined Florida”. I think it’s hysterical that she made it that specific.

    Donald Trump ruined Florida. Among other things and places.

  71. 71.

    Marcopolo

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  There are two actions all of us can take: 1) call our Senators & Rep, whatever party they are, and tell them that the federal gov’t must provide the American people with up-to-date accurate information about the pandemic; 2) vote all the fuckers behind this out in November.

    While I am no longer persuaded that congressional oversight works with the Trump administration (cuz they could care less), I made my calls yesterday.

  72. 72.

    Percysowner

    @Marcopolo: This is the time Michael Bloomberg to put his money where his mouth is and pay off these fines. I mean it’s really pocket change to him. Until that unlikely event, I have tossed a few dollars their way.

  73. 73.

    randy khan

    If you assume good motives and that they really meant to continue to make the data available (work with me here), it’s the height of incompetence not to have the new system up and running before you turn off the old system.  So, just another day in the Trump Administration.

  74. 74.

    Kay

    @VOR:

    But even the Trump marketing is incredibly dumb. What we’ve learned is the public is incredibly generous and willing to accept A LOT of mistakes from lawmakers as long as they appear to take it seriously and make a serious effort. A lot of people died in NY. Cuomo fucked up a lot. But everyone forgave him because it was new and he was trying- we could see him working.

    People aren’t mad that Trump “failed” to control the pandemic. They’re mad that he has spent 6 months denying it is happening and blaming everyone else, and also, it bears mentioning, not appearing to be doing ANY WORK AT ALL.

    They suck at “marketing” too.

  75. 75.

    Roger Moore

    @Marcopolo:

    I’m thinking the only kind of place that has the resources to track down Covid data from all the local/state sources would be an entity like the NYT.

    There are already several sites that are going directly to the states and even counties to get their data.  I generally use the Worldometer tracking site, but I know Covidtracking.com is doing something similar.  Most of the states provide their data either in something like JSON or at least on a web page that can be scraped by a decently written script.  That means they aren’t depending on an army of interns manually opening the web pages and transcribing the data for them.  The disadvantage is that they’re limited to the data the states are willing to publish publicly, while the feds can actually mandate that states and hospitals provide them with specific information.

  76. 76.

    sniffy

    All hail the Central Committee!  Dear Leader will inform you of the details you need to know for your part in our Glorious Future!

    From each, according to their ability, to each, according to their status.

    Arise! You have nothing to lose but your health, family, and self-respect!

  77. 77.

    James E Powell

    @Percysowner:

    This is the time Michael Bloomberg to put his money where his mouth is and pay off these fines.

    I will be shocked – shocked! – if he never does anything to help anyone.

  79. 79.

    Chyron HR

    If the Biden transition team finds a single scrap of of paper showing that the Trump administration was spreading the virus on purpose, we need public executions.

  80. 80.

    Marcopolo

    @pacem appellant:  I get the urge to generalize about “the traditional media,” but there are an awful lot of reporters, many working at places like the NYT, who do work their butts off every day to let us know what the fuck is going on in the Trump administration, with climate change, etc…  That’s the problem with the loss of so many local papers–no one is covering town councils or city halls or even state capitals in a lot of areas.  I always keep that in mind when I am pissed off by sycophantic or stenographic stories that rely on “access” journalism.

    I do totally agree, however, that a lot of the NYT opinion (not necessarily the editorial folks) page folks (apparently writers and editors) are execrable, even with Bari Weiss resigning.  Maybe that will slowly improve with Bennet’s departure.

  82. 82.

    Marcopolo

    @Roger Moore:  I understand that, but if states or counties (I would assume hospitals would be required by local or state law to report to their state DoH) choose to not make that information available (for whatever reason) places like this are SoL whereas there are laws on the books requiring everyone to report their information to the CDC.

  83. 83.

    piratedan

    @Benw: it would seem to me that the next play would be for a local government to say, I’m sorry governor, you say our ban is unenforceable, they why don’t you send the Ga State Police down here to arrest us and we’ll make sure that the cameras are rolling when you do.

  85. 85.

    Marcopolo

    @Percysowner:  Thanks for the contribution!  At least one or two of the folks commenting on twitter have also made the point about Bloomberg.

  86. 86.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Chyron HR:

     

    If the Biden transition team finds a single scrap of of paper showing that the Trump administration was spreading the virus on purpose, we need public executions.

    Also for the baby snatching, child torture and trafficking, and I have a little list. Biden will not stretch too many laws to make that happen. I do hope that he will send a few folks to The Hague since we will be unable to get justice here.

  88. 88.

    Roger Moore

    @Kay:

    The key for me is that Trump hasn’t just been too lazy to do his job; he’s done the exact opposite of his job.  At every turn, he has contracted real experts and encouraged the public to ignore the pandemic.  He has discouraged people from wearing masks.  He has done everything he can think of to force states to reopen regardless of whether it was safe to do so, up to and including cheering on gangs of gun-wielding terrorists threatening state legislatures.  He is using the power of the purse to try to force schools to open in person.  We would have been better off if he had spent the last 6 months golfing and left Pence in charge, which is the most damning indictment you can make of any president in US history.

  89. 89.

    Red Cedar

    @Marcopolo: thanks for the link to the help-pay-the-fines folks at the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. Feels like a better use of money than giving to politicians who are going to buy TV ads—although I do realize that that’s necessary, too, and I do give $$ to Dem candidates. Still. I like being able to help voters. Thank you.

  90. 90.

    Ksmiami

    @joel hanes: I was chastised for being too mean and openly calling for Republicans to do us all a favor and off themselves- now I realize my message wasn’t mean enough…

  92. 92.

    mad citizen

    @Roger Moore: It is almost as if trump is helping Putin attain his goals.

     

    From above: “I’m a Republican from the government.  Watch me blow this up.”

  94. 94.

    Another Scott

    @Whereaway: I doubt there’s much of a mystery about it – I assume that they tried to break very specific rules and laws about the reporting and got called on it.

    CDC from June 4:

    […]

    The Guidance is being issued pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

    Public Law 116-136, § 18115(a), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, requires “every laboratory that performs or analyzes a test that is intended to detect SARS-CoV-2 or to diagnose a possible case of COVID-19” to report the results from each such test to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This document outlines the requirements for data submission to HHS as authorized under this law. In an effort to receive these data in the most efficient and effective manner, the Secretary is requiring that all data be reported through existing public health data reporting methods, described below. As a guiding principle, data should be sent to state or local public health departments using existing reporting channels (in accordance with state law or policies) to ensure rapid initiation of case investigations by those departments, concurrent to laboratory results being shared with an ordering provider, or patient as applicable.

    I assume Donnie’s people were trying to break the existing systems.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  96. 96.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Roger Moore: And the really ironic thing is that if he *had* done his job, set an example with mask-wearing himself, mandated it countrywide, supported the necessary closing and distancing measures we needed in April, we’d have infection and death rates more like a normal country and a reasonable chance of opening schools next month – and he’d be polling at 60% and sailing toward re-election.

  97. 97.

    Martin

    So, there are various data scientists pulling data directly from states on this. Yes, losing the CDC is a serious problem because even if you are able to faithfully reproduce that data, having a federal government silencing scientists is hella bad. Data scientists will also pull from the WH dataset to the extent that’s possible (basically, if you put it out in almost any form, we can find a way to scrape it – you would be shocked to learn the lengths we need to go through to get data as a normal thing) but I can’t imagine anyone will trust the data given that it’s now fully politicized.

    Bottom line, you can’t hide this. My guess is that ProPublica will become the repository. They’re already doing pretty detailed state reporting. They have really good, mature toolsets for doing that and can roll things up pretty quickly.

    tl;dr, this is a political emergency, not a public health one – we’ll fill the gap within days.

  98. 98.

    Marcopolo

    @Red Cedar:  Thank you!  In her dissent, I think one of the issues Sotomayor raised was that this ruling by the SC actually creates legal jeopardy for ex-felons who registered to vote under the assumption that the state law requiring payment of fees had been made null & void (that is until it was stayed by a higher court)–i.e. if they are not aware the ruling was stayed & these ex-felons go and vote they could be charged with illegal voting & wind up back in prison.  Sotomayor expresses concern that there is no acknowledgement of this in the SC or lower court ruling or mechanism for contacting and warning these newly registered ex-felons who appear to number in the 10s of thousands.

  99. 99.

    Gin & Tonic

    @John Revolta: He said he’d give a billion to help elect the Dem nominee, even if it wasn’t him. If you have a link to the FEC reports that show he’s given a penny, please post.

  100. 100.

    Just Chuck

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): So much for anything right-wingers have ever said and might ever say.  Actually no, I have to pay some attention to them, because if they say “good morning”, my first assumption will be that it’s midnight.

  102. 102.

    dww44

    @low-tech cyclist: This is exactly right and it has infuriated me from before he was even inaugurated.  That the federal government and all its agencies and personnel exist only for Trump’s use.  This is why, without being unnecessarily conspiratorial, his willingness to give up the office if he loses the election is not not necessarily assured.

  103. 103.

    JaneE

    Our county is using the Verily/Google app for screening and scheduling testing at a couple of extra spots around the county.  Aside from the fact that you need to sign up with Google somehow to schedule a test, the county page that shows local Covid info including tests and test status specifically states “Verily numbers are not currently included.”

    So where is the information going?

  104. 104.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    The public were (mostly) great about it at the beginning. All Trump had to do was appear to make an effort. That’s it. No one expected anyone to miraculously cure it. The governors who get high marks are not curing it. They’re just dealing with it in a way that makes people think they’re trying.

    The Trump Administration couldn’t even do that. They’re STILL not doing anything. They spent an entire day attacking Fauci and the next entire day denying they attacked Fauci. Fauci? He’s working. We all see him working. That’s what he’s getting credit for.

  106. 106.

    Just Chuck

    @Lacuna Synechdoche:

    I honestly don’t understand why Trump is so angry with the CDC and so eager to direct his rage and vindictiveness towards it.

    Because it will kill the largest number of people possible.  Whether or not he gets marching orders direct from Putin, he is making war on this country.  With Trump, I don’t assume good faith, I don’t even assume bad faith, I assume hostile intent.

  107. 107.

    Marcopolo

    @Gin & Tonic: This is what he wound up doing.

    Michael Bloomberg Campaign Transfers $18 Million to DNC to Beat Trump

    Previously, Bloomberg had said even if he wasn’t the nominee, he was willing to spend a lot of money — but “hopefully not” as much as $1 billion — to keep staff and offices in six battleground states to help any Democratic nominee defeat Trump and elect other Democrats. His campaign had explored doing that forming an outside group that would not be able to coordinate with a candidate or the national party.

    But the former New York mayor’s campaign said today because of the need to coordinate efforts and the dynamics of the race changing with Joe Biden in control, he’s giving $18 million to the DNC’s coordinated campaign and transferring leases from several campaign offices to state Democratic parties. A list of “hundreds” of staff members will be given to the DNC with the expectation and hope they would be hired, a campaign aide said.

    So, yeah, he pretty much lied about it, though he did wind up spending over a billion on his own campaign.

  110. 110.

    Kay

    @Roger Moore:

    I don’t think media get it either. They’re mad that Cuomo gets so much credit even with his huge fuckups. “That’s not fair! All those people died in NY!”

    It’s not hard to figure out. He TRIES. He does…shit. He makes decisions. Some it bad some of it good, but he’s clearly engaged and working. That’s why he’s better than DeSantis who spent 4 months denying anything had to be done.

  112. 112.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    I’ve heard the Republican caucus has Labor Day as the day they’re waiting for, to cut ties and try to swim away from Trump.

    I guess they think the base is really loyal, and not very bright, and willing to overlook a lot, including continued exponential growth of Covid-19. I’m not sure they have any comprehension of how badly this can backfire. It wouldn’t surprise me if, by September, there were a small minority of people unaffected by the disease, directly or indirectly (having someone they care about having been infected, and suffering/dying).

    Me? I want to find some bridge, euchre, spades, and hearts players, and see if we can lobby them to start explaining which suit is biden. So a bridge bid could go “one heart” “one spade” “one no-biden”.

    In euchre, you can explain the jack of biden, and the same color jack, are actually the two highest cards in the biden suit.

    (I’m 90% sure that in spades, and hearts, the relevant suit is biden, and will win any trick where a higher ranked biden was played.)

  113. 113.

    Hoodie

    @Roger Moore: Why is he doing that?  The best I can tell is pure sociopathy, treating people purely as expendable instrumentalities.  He thinks like a mobster.  What matters is maintaining power as the greater good.   The polls are telling him the only area where he has a perceived advantage over Biden is the economy so that has to be the sole focus.  He hopes that the virus will to somehow turn out to be not so bad — or that he can spin two to three hundred thousand deaths as not so bad  —  and that the economy will begin to at least show signs of rebounding before November to help carry him to re-election.  Mandating restrictions on behavior will guarantee that the economy goes into long term hibernation, with even things like mask mandates causing people to be risk averse and thus curtail economic activity.   The idea is to inure people into the idea that a few hundred thousand deaths by September is no big deal, so why even bother to wear masks?  Sure, you can wear a mask if you want to, if that is what it takes for you to go out the movies, NASCAR, whatever stupid-ass shit you rubes do.

  116. 116.

    patrick II

    @Kay:

    Doing nothing would be an improvement over what they did. There is a long list, but one thing that really galled me was their theft of PPE’s en route to hospitals and the VA which were then rerouted to — who knows?  Probably to friends for resale at a profit.  Or to southern governor political allies.

    When NYC was in the worst of it, some Homeland guys (supposedly under directions from Jared) rerouted ppe right off the dock bound for a new york hospital. Where would it have been more useful?

  117. 117.

    JCJ

    @Kay:

    That’s why he’s better than DeSantis who spent 4 months denying anything had to be done.

     

    On The Daily Show Tuesday night there was a segment on the premature congratulations on Fox News had for DeSantis, Abbot, and others.  While they are praising him DeSantis has this stupid grin.  Portions of that should be played every time the current numbers from Florida are presented

     

     

    It starts about the 3:00 mark

    http://www.cc.com/episodes/53x4zp/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-july-14–2020—hannibal-buress-season-25-ep-25125

  118. 118.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Marcopolo: Right, so he closed all his offices, laid off all his staff and “settled” it for two cents on the dollar. One Donald J. Trump would be really proud of that effort.

    Fuck him.

  119. 119.

    germy

    @Marcopolo:

    I always thought his goal was to take out Sanders and Warren.

    Which is why I was glad Warren went after him so hard, and waited until he was safely out before she conceded herself.

  120. 120.

    dww44

    @Eric U.: In this instance, I’d posit that the goal here is to disappear the Covid so that Trump can lie to us with even more impunity. If a few already wealthy Donors financially benefit  from rewriting the data, then that’s just icing on the cake.

  121. 121.

    Ken

    @Martin: Bottom line, you can’t hide this.

    As was said some years ago, “The Internet treats censorship as a network error, and routes around it.”

    Mind you, the Chinese got around that, but I don’t think anyone in the administration has the competence to do the same.

  122. 122.

    VeniceRiley

    @Hoodie: My thought is that Mary is correct.  He can never be wrong. Everything is great and I am the reason why and so everyone should keep praising me.  Since the news is 24/7 pandemic, and any mentions of his name are in the negative, he needs to make the pandemic disappear from the news (since he cannot make it disappear from the populace.) and then, he thinks it’ll be all about him and his great handling of literally everything on Fox & friends and in the papers.

  124. 124.

    Another Scott

    @Marcopolo: Infuriating.

    Since, apparently, any state law regarding elections is just fine with the 5 monsters on the SCOTUS, maybe places with Democratic majorities should pass a law that parents with children in public universities should get n additional proxy votes for their n children.  And let residents of Puerto Rico vote in their state’s elections.  And remove anyone from the ballot who has been a member of a political party that pushed these voting restrictions…

    Grr…

    Donated.  Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  125. 125.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @dww44:

    This is why, without being unnecessarily conspiratorial, his willingness to give up the office if he loses the election is not not necessarily assured.

    Whoever is certified by Congress January 6th will become President at noon January 20th.

  126. 126.

    topclimber

    @germy: I don’t know about databases, but data and datum should be treated like sheep–same word (data) regardless of number.

    Must we still be slaves of the Romans and their Latin grammar?

  129. 129.

    germy

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Lame Duck Trump will get into all sorts of mischief before he leaves.

    Pardons, giveaways for his pals, more crimes, etc

    And imagine what he’ll be telling his redhat fans…

  131. 131.

    germy

    @topclimber:

    data and datum should be treated like sheep–same word (data) regardless of number.

    I remember Shemp Howard playing a tailor in a 3 Stooges short, telling a customer that a suit he was trying to sell was 200 percent wool. “These sheep led a double life!” he explained.

  132. 132.

    pamelabrown53

    @germy:

    Trump’s not waiting for Lame Duck status. Each day he more brazenly takes the wrecking ball to our norms, values, laws and constitution.

    It’s impossible to keep up with his outrages and attendant damages. All Chaos all the time.

  133. 133.

    Ruckus

    @Calouste:

    Today’s rethuglicans are so hard headed and idiotic that they bury their heads in concrete. So that even less real information can get through.

  134. 134.

    Another Scott

    @Percysowner: Isn’t part of the problem in Florida that people cannot get accurate and timely information on what they actually owe?  And the state is in no hurry to get that information to them?  (I thought I saw that reported somewhere a week or more ago.)

    Cui bono?

    The GOP is obviously trying to keep people from voting.  It’s what they do.  And the SCOTUS is just fine with it.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  135. 135.

    Kent

    @Kay:

    I have next door neighbors who are snowbirds. The husband is kind of mean so I don’t talk to him but his wife is delightful. Anyway, they go to Florida every winter and my neighbor isn’t voting for Trump again because he “ruined Florida”. I think it’s hysterical that she made it that specific.

    Donald Trump ruined Florida. Among other things and places.

    Yep, pre-2016 Florida was just  a paradise.

  136. 136.

    Mike in NC

    The city of Wilmington, NC has renamed a major park that honored a white supremacist who was one of the instigators of a race riot in 1898 that killed dozens of black people. The land where the park is located was donated by one Hugh MacRae in 1913 and was designated for “whites only” until the US Supreme Court outlawed such restrictions in 1948.

    MacRae was identified as a “business executive and real estate developer”. Are most real estate developers scumbags by nature or is it merely a coincidence?

  138. 138.

    Kent

    @Another Scott:

    @Percysowner: Isn’t part of the problem in Florida that people cannot get accurate and timely information on what they actually owe?  And the state is in no hurry to get that information to them?  (I thought I saw that reported somewhere a week or more ago.)

    Cui bono?

    The GOP is obviously trying to keep people from voting.  It’s what they do.  And the SCOTUS is just fine with it.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

    That is EXACTLY the point.  You risk prosecution by voting without clearing up your fines.  But you have no way to actually do so even if you wanted.  Or any assurance that they are all cleared up even if you pay 98% of them.

    So basically if you are a felon, don’t risk voting, period.  Or, since it is Florida, if you are a Black/Hispanic felon don’t risk voting.  If you are a good-ol’ boy redneck real estate developer with a fraud conviction, go ahead and vote because you can be safe knowing they’ll never go after you.

  140. 140.

    patrick II

    @germy:

    I thought that was his goal too — but did not understand how splitting the moderate vote into one more piece would do that.  Did he think he was going to win?

  141. 141.

    Mike in NC

    Just saw a poster that reads “Ron DeathSantis : Killing Florida With His Stupidity”. Will have to share the image with friends we have down there.

  143. 143.

    Ruckus

    @jonas:

    Not almost worse.

    Positively worse. To have the ability to make the situation even marginally better, and do the exact opposite, make it massively worse, is fucking criminal, traitorous in fact.

  144. 144.

    bluehill

    @germy: Rich Lowry is the male version of Laura Ingraham. Tries to come up with logical sounding arguments for fascism, racism and incompetence. DeSantis can look for his apologies in the hospitals and then the morgues.

  145. 145.

    Kent

    @Calouste:@?BillinGlendaleCA: And even if no one is certified as President on January 6, the term still ends on January 20.

    The election will be fought out entirely in the states, like Florida 2000.    If a majority of states certify election results favoring Biden then it is basically over.

    Unfortunately we don’t really know which state will be Florida 2000.  Will it be Arizona?  Wisconsin?  Colorado?  Maybe 3 or 4 of them?

  146. 146.

    Marcopolo

    @Another Scott:  Thank you.  Btw, you probably noticed the FRRC had two pots you can donate too.  One for their operating funding & the other strictly to go to paying off ex-felon’s debts.  One of the things they do, in addition to just collecting the money to pay off the debts is to help FL ex-felons navigate all aspects of the process.

  147. 147.

    Kent

    @VeniceRiley:@jonas: I’ll take the under on your under.  But I’ll take the over on both for virus positive patients suffering from underlying health consequences for quite a long time from a year to end of life. COPD, brain damage, damage do to clots, heart health, etc.

    And, of course, the true number of deaths will never be accurately known.  Whatever official number gets decided will no doubt be a huge under-count.  And won’t include all the ancillary deaths that resulted from the diversion of resources to Covid and away from other aspects of healthcare.    How many heart attack victims have died because the ERs are full up with Covid patients?

  148. 148.

    Baud

    @Marcopolo:

    he did wind up spending over a billion on his own campaign.

    A billion dollars to be smacked around by Elizabeth Warrren has to be the most expensive BDSM ever.

  151. 151.

    Gin & Tonic

    Kayleigh McInane makes a true statement: says Trump’s “historic COVID response speaks for itself.”

  152. 152.

    Marcopolo

    @Kent:  If Biden just wins back WI, PA, and MI that’s it.  Game over.  You don’t need FL or any other state for that matter.  To that end, the campaign appears to be trying to lock down those states first (if you look at where money is going) before putting out feelers into FL, AZ, TX, etc…

    As some campaign veteran said on one of the cable shows when they had a segment on about how Ds are now seeing opportunities in new places: “Biden’s job isn’t to expand the party, it is to win the Presidency. That’s the one thing he has to do. Anything else is gravy.”

  153. 153.

    germy

    @patrick II:

    Did he think he was going to win?

    I think he did.  He figured he’d squash the crazy radicals with their outrageous tax plans, and then coast into the nomination.  He’s been surrounded by yes-men for so long it made sense to him.

    60Minutes did a glowing segment with him the year before.  “He’s a genius!”  I’m sure it went to his head.

  154. 154.

    Marcopolo

    @Baud:  Hey, I watched that debate.  He got his money’s worth.  That was some seriously high class smacking around.

  155. 155.

    Patricia Kayden

    "The science should not stand in the way of this"From the president who told you to: -Inject bleach-Rake forest floors to stop wildfires-Change hurricane paths with a sharpie-Focus on windmill cancer-Stare at eclipses without safety glasses https://t.co/bFs0tkicOl— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) July 16, 2020

  156. 156.

    Danielx

    There was a piece by Dana Milbank in WP the other day to the effect that under Trump – whatever today is like, tomorrow will be worse.

    Which is true. And is causing me to experience emotional whiplash – hopeful for the results in November, despair lest these dumb motherfuckers get me or mine killed in the meantime or shortly thereafter. I want to be around for revenge.

  157. 157.

    Kelly

    @Unsympathetic:A revision to Reagan’s old phrase to hate – “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help” – seems appropriate.

    I’m not sure if Reagan turning the idea that government can help into a joke is the most destructive old joke. The most destructive joke may be “There are three kinds of lies; lies, damn lies and statistics”. It’s had to understand this crisis without statistics.

  158. 158.

    Hoodie

    @VeniceRiley: No doubt she is. You can diagnose his NPD from 30,000 feet.  Pathological narcissists typically ignore their failures or even try to spin them into triumphs so their fragile egos are protected.  No doubt that, even half a million deaths from now, he will be proclaiming success in keeping it to that level.  Alternatively, he will cast it as a sacrifice that had to be done to save the precious economy, and that the number of deaths was worth the cost, given what a great economy we’ll have.

    People with normal or even relatively elevated levels of narcissism have difficulty living with the kind of massive fuckups that have characterized Trump’s life.   Shame can have devastating psychological and physical effects.  Even a relatively narcissistic guy like LBJ, who made a horrendous and unforgiveable mistake in miring the country in Viet Nam, seemed to be deeply affected by that failure, leading to his withdrawal and  probably accelerating his death.  That doesn’t happen to psychos like Trump.  His narcissism might be viewed as a hyperactive defense mechanism against shame.  I haven’t read the book yet, but my understanding is that Mary thinks that’s attributable to his emotionally abusive father.

  160. 160.

    Hungry Joe

    This idea seems so simple and obvious that there must be something seriously wrong with it. I can’t figure out what, but I’m sure somebody here will tell me:

    Cities and counties know how many residents die each day, week, month, etc. —- right? And they have records of the same info from a year ago, two years ago, etc., so they know what’s about average. Can’t they compare the number of deaths in various time periods this year and compare that number to the average — i.e., what would be expected — and assign that difference, generally, to COVID-19? Sure, it’d lag way behind the infection rate, and wouldn’t take into account illnesses and hospitalizations, but it would be straightforward and easy-to-understand info, no? And impossible for the Trump gang to mess with.

  162. 162.

    cain

    @gkoutnik:

    You should see what the Feds are doing in Portland – coming into minivans dressed up as rando soldiers and grabbing people off the streets without any green lighting from the city.

    Ted is dead to me – that fuck has screwed the pooch and if he thinks he’s going to get re-elected, he can just forget it.

  164. 164.

    jonas

    @Benw: 

    When all the post-Trump Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are done with their work, I’m sure we’ll have turned up not a few email chains, texts, etc. in which local, state, and federal Republican officials are seen actively strategizing and/or boasting about how the fact that a majority of COVID victims are POC can be a feature and not a bug for them.

  165. 165.

    The Moar You Know

    From democracy to totalitarian state in four years.

    But that Hillary…you know she was up to some shit.

    I have encountered one and only one Trump voter who regrets their vote; yet still, they would not have voted for Hillary.  Our citizenry are so broken.

  166. 166.

    dww44

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:  You may be comfortable with this long adhered to norm actually happening on January 20.  I’m not.  The full extent of Trump’s ties to Putin have not been made public and I’m not at all sure that the person (if it’s not Trump) certified on January 6  will be  able to take the oath on January 20.   And if  Trump wins, there will be, truthfully,  blood on the streets as everyone, even the cultists, will know that the outcome was not legitimate.

  167. 167.

    Brachiator

    Posted from a prior thread. Trump has decided to turn out the lights on democracy. So far a good chunk of the country is accepting it with a shrug.

    the Traitor’s minions have apparently removed various data from the CDC website.

    The Trump administration has crossed over from being generally incompetent to  dangerously malignant.

    They will no longer lie or spin to proclaim that Trump is fabulous. They will just declare it and smirk that no one can easily get the data to dispute it.

    Meanwhile, people will continue to get sick and die.

    It is so strange to watch this slow motion autocracy amass power with the consent of the Republican Party and its conservative base.

  168. 168.

    Baud

    @dww44:

    I’m not at all sure that the person (if it’s not Trump) certified on January 6 will be able to take the oath on January 20.

    Do you think Trump is going to kill Biden? Because that’s the only way to prevent him from taking the oath.

  170. 170.

    prostratedragon

    (Maybe Ozark or another regular Guardian reader already has this today.)

    Upcoming on streaming platforms, You’ve Been Trumped Too, a documentary on the effects that Trump’s golf courses have had on surrounding villages in Scotland. In the article, the filmmaker describes the harassment he’s had to endure to get the thing out.

  171. 171.

    Marcopolo

    @cain: You should see what the Feds are doing in Portland – coming into minivans dressed up as rando soldiers and grabbing people off the streets without any green lighting from the city.

    In case folks here do not know what you are talking about:

    This is extremely fucked up and citizens of any American city should not tolerate masked, armed gunmen kidnapping people in unmarked vans https://t.co/9mhcYfsCzN— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) July 16, 2020

  173. 173.

    dww44

    @Baud: To answer this, I share part of comment # 167 just above yours:

    The Trump administration has crossed over from being generally incompetent to dangerously malignant.

    They will no longer lie or spin to proclaim that Trump is fabulous. They will just declare it and smirk that no one can easily get the data to dispute it.

    Meanwhile, people will continue to get sick and die.

    It is so strange to watch this slow motion autocracy amass power with the consent of the Republican Party and its conservative base.

    As Trump continues to discard norms and destroy institutions,  who’s to say that that the norms will hold on January 6 or January 20.   We have to be prepared for the eventuality of his not leaving, particularly as long as the Republican party is both complicit and supine and the ties to Putin remain firmly in place.

  174. 174.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @dww44:

    I’m not at all sure that the person (if it’s not Trump) certified on January 6  will be  able to take the oath on January 20.

    I see the problem here, it doesn’t matter about the oath.  At noon on January 20th whoever is certified as the winner becomes President.  If it’s not Trump, he will be a private citizen and no one will take orders from him anymore than they would from you or me.  It’s not a matter of norms, it’s automatic.  Trump can stay holed up in the Oval and it won’t make one damn bit of difference.

  175. 175.

    Baud

    @dww44:

    We have to be prepared for the eventuality of his not leaving,

    I hope he doesn’t. Then he can be arrested for trespassing or attempting to overthrow the government.

  176. 176.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @dww44: As I noted above, none of this matters; if no winner is certified on January 6th, both the office of President and Vice President will be vacant at noon on January 20th and the Speaker of the House would become President.  It is automatic.

  177. 177.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Brachiator:

    It is so strange to watch this slow motion autocracy amass power with the consent of the Republican Party and its conservative base.

    The bad news, for them that is, is that I don’t think it will work. As you note, people will still die. The healthcare system may still collapse.

    They have absolutely no credibility with the vast majority of people.

  178. 178.

    laura

    @Benw: I suspect Brian Kemp is a racist shite-bag who’s planning to kill people of color by denying the most basic of protections. Hope he gets what he deserves and I hope voters get a chance to elect Stacy Abrams again.

  179. 179.

    Patricia Kayden

    Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden has sharply narrowed his cash gap with President Trump's political operation, as some of the Democratic Party's biggest donors from the worlds of Hollywood and Wall Street have stepped up to fund his campaign https://t.co/Kuq6OoyzLQ— CNN (@CNN) July 16, 2020

  180. 180.

    Galahad Threepwood

    Fucking bastards trying to hide the data, and then using weaselspeak to cover what they’re doing.  Fix the problem, motherfuckers, don’t try to hide it.  I mean, I know they’re not going to.  I get that.  But it still is extremely infuriating to see this kind of shit.

  181. 181.

    Galahad Threepwood

    @Gin & Tonic:   I got that too the other day.  “Package was delivered to a secure location”.  Which… was dead-center on my porch.  Verrry secure.

  182. 182.

    randy khan

    @LongHairedWeirdo: 

    I’ve heard the Republican caucus has Labor Day as the day they’re waiting for, to cut ties and try to swim away from Trump.

    I think I would enjoy watching that. The worst case scenario is that it hurts Trump; the best case scenario is that Trump lashes out at *the entire Republican party,* causing his loyal cadre not to vote for Republican candidates. If he does that just right (or just wrong, which always is the better way to describe what he does), you could end up with both Trump and the Republican candidates being so damaged that the carnage would awe-inspiring.

  183. 183.

    randy khan

    @Baud:

    And the new President doesn’t even have to have taken the oath – the Constitution specifies that power transfers at noon on Inauguration Day.  (I remember when Obama was inaugurated, the oath was delayed a couple of minutes and the commentators on CNN International – I was out of the country, but I wasn’t going to miss it – said that he actually already was President before he took the oath.)

  184. 184.

    dww44

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Well, hopefully you’re right, but I don’t feel nearly so certain “that If it’s not Trump, he will be a private citizen and no one will take orders from him anymore than they would from you or me. “

    As his niece, Mary, is currently telling all who will listen.  Trump is a real danger to the country and our democracy. Then it was Atrios who posited the other day that:

    But even if that is the moment, what is supposed to happen? Somebody should do something. The celestial hall monitors or maybe the marshal of the Supreme Court are coming!

    Nobody has infinite power but lots of people with some power are looking around the room waiting for somebody else to do something. Ah well nevertheless.

  188. 188.

    Galahad Threepwood

    @dww44:  I get the anxiety here, and I don’t think you can rule anything out with Trump–up to and including him showing up at the inauguration to throw feces at Biden.  However, I think that if Trump continues to perform poorly in the polls and the writing is on the wall after Labor Day, Republicans will start to peel away from him.  And if that happens, and he then gets pantsed in the general election, I think he will have a lot of trouble finding anyone with influence to support him in any attempt to contest the results or stay on in the Oval Office.  If  polling changes and the race is close (God forbid), then I think there is a greater chance for fuckery.   But if it’s not a serious contest, I think he’s done, whatever shit he tries to pull.

  190. 190.

    Jinchi

    @Betty Cracker: Just saw that and updated the post. Weird!

    You might want to clarify your update. The past data will still be available. But you’re out of luck if you want to check what’s happening a week from now.

    The CDC has also added language to their page announcing that they will not be updating this data past July

  192. 192.

    Kent

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:I see the problem here, it doesn’t matter about the oath.  At noon on January 20th whoever is certified as the winner becomes President.  If it’s not Trump, he will be a private citizen and no one will take orders from him anymore than they would from you or me.  It’s not a matter of norms, it’s automatic.  Trump can stay holed up in the Oval and it won’t make one damn bit of difference.

    Nothing about the presidency is location-specific.  Biden can govern from his Delaware basement.

    Also, every Trump appointee becomes a private citizen on January 20 as well.  What does Bill Barr do when he shows up at the Justice Department on January 21 and his key card doesn’t work, his cell phone is bricked, his computer log-in doesn’t work, and no court in the US will enforce an order with his name on it?  Don’t think the IT folks in the government don’t know how to turn off access to every Trump appointee in the government and make them vanish.  Key cards, email access, government cell phones, etc. etc.

    Trump cannot govern on his own.  Whatever battles we are going to have in this election will all be at the state level like Florida 2000.  That is where the next president will be decided.

  193. 193.

    Brachiator

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    They have absolutely no credibility with the vast majority of people.

    Trump doesn’t care about credibility. He is delusional.

    The Republican leadership doesn’t care about credibility. They are craven.

    For now, Trump is happy with a blandly quiet acceptance to his childish bullshit.

    We will see what happens if he takes the next step and demands obedience.

  194. 194.

    Galahad Threepwood

    @rikyrah:  Polling already shows that the vast majority of people already distrust Trump on COVID-19.  This is just gonna amplify that.  I know, America, lowest common denominator, etc.  But if they do try to cook the numbers like this,  I think it’s going to fail.

  195. 195.

    Brachiator

    @Kent:

    Nothing about the presidency is location-specific.  Biden can govern from his Delaware basement.

    The White House is the official residence and working place of the president of the United States. Trump cannot occupy it after Biden’s inauguration.

  196. 196.

    Jinchi

    @dww44: You may be comfortable with this long adhered to norm actually happening on January 20.

    It’s not a norm. It’s literally in the Constitution.

    “The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January”

  197. 197.

    Roger Moore

    @Ken:

    Mind you, the Chinese got around that, but I don’t think anyone in the administration has the competence to do the same.

    The way they got around it was by redesigning the internet.  Honestly, the internet in general does not work the same way it did back when the saying about routing around censorship was coined.  Back then, the internet was primarily a peer-to-peer communications medium.  Each site would have direct connections to several other sites, which meant any single site- or even several sites- going down wouldn’t keep anyone from getting their information.  Similarly, if any site tried to block you from getting information, it was always possible to send it by a different route.

    But now most people have only a single upstream provider, their ISP.  If the ISP decides to block a site, about the only thing you can do about it is to effectively get a different ISP by using a VPN.  By blocking VPNs and controlling the ISPs, China can censor the internet effectively.  The only thing that keeps them from complete censorship is the classic whack-a-mole problem.  They want to allow some contact with the outside world, but they can’t know in advance everything that needs to be censored.

  198. 198.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Brachiator:

    My point is that it ultimately doesn’t matter what BS PR moves they make. Their lack of credibility is hurting them with the handling of the pandemic.

  199. 199.

    Kay

    Mark Knoller
    @markknoller
    · 1h
    On South Lawn, WH seeks to make a political point by setting up a crane lifting the weights of regulation from the bed of a “red” truck, while showing the burden of regulations weighing down a “blue” truck.

    No one in the Trump Administration ever does any actual work and when the Covid crisis exploded, people noticed that.
    Any governor who appears to be working immediately looks better than the Trump people, simply because they are working and the Trump people are not.

  201. 201.

    Kay

    What did the Trump Administration accomplish in the month of July related to the national pandemic gripping the country?

    Nothing. They accomplished nothing.

    People notice.

  202. 202.

    Roger Moore

    @The Moar You Know:

    From democracy to totalitarian state in four years.

    It’s been more than four years.  The Republicans have been undermining democratic norms for decades.  Trump never would have happened if they hadn’t been.

  203. 203.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    It’s mindblowing. 20 or 30 adults met sometime in the last few days and spent hours coming up with this idea, procuring a crane, putting Trump branding on the crane, then getting the trucks and all the other props.

    This is what they do all day. In the middle of a national crisis.

  204. 204.

    catclub

    @Kay: Even stupid there.  The message is that Trump plays political favorites withe Federal Government. Some people will object to that.

  207. 207.

    Roger Moore

    @Galahad Threepwood:

    However, I think that if Trump continues to perform poorly in the polls and the writing is on the wall after Labor Day, Republicans will start to peel away from him.

    That seems likely, but I suspect the “peeling away” will come in the form of them ignoring Trump and trying to pretend he doesn’t exist, rather than outright repudiating him.

  208. 208.

    Roger Moore

    @Brachiator:

    The White House is the official residence and working place of the president of the United States. Trump cannot occupy it after Biden’s inauguration.

    I think you’re talking past each other.  The White House is the official residence of the POTUS, but simply occupying it doesn’t convey any special power or authority.  If Trump tries to stay in the White House after Biden has been properly elected and sworn in, that makes him a trespasser.  Biden can do the job of the presidency from somewhere else until they manage to evict Trump.

    More importantly, it’s Congress certifying the election that makes someone President, not that person claiming to have won the election.  If Biden has won the election fair and square and Congress has certified him as the victor, all Trump’s claims will be so much noise as far as the federal government is concerned.  The only thing Trump could do at that point to try to retain control would be to start a civil war.

  209. 209.

    Brachiator

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    As I noted above, none of this matters; if no winner is certified on January 6th, both the office of President and Vice President will be vacant at noon on January 20th and the Speaker of the House would become President.  It is automatic.

    I thought that in the case of an electoral college vote deadlock, the House votes for president. Each state delegation gets one vote.

    The Senate would vote for vice president. If the House continued to be deadlocked, the vice president elect would become acting president until the House elected a president.

  210. 210.

    Brachiator

    @Roger Moore:

    I think you’re talking past each other.  The White House is the official residence of the POTUS, but simply occupying it doesn’t convey any special power or authority.

    True enough. But my point was that if Biden is elected president, Trump cannot even “try” to stay in the White House.

  212. 212.

    cmorenc

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    @dww44: As I noted above, none of this matters; if no winner is certified on January 6th, both the office of President and Vice President will be vacant at noon on January 20th and the Speaker of the House would become President.  It is automatic.

    What the constitution and law black-letter requires is only effective if the Secret Service, Chiefs of the Military Services, and SCOTUS actually enforce it, instead of stepping aside and waiting for the stare-down contest among rival claimants is resolved among themselves, or worse if one of these actors concocts a rationale to collaborate with leaving Trump in office.

  213. 213.

    J R in WV

    @randy khan:

    And the new President doesn’t even have to have taken the oath – the Constitution specifies that power transfers at noon on Inauguration Day. (I remember when Obama was inaugurated, the oath was delayed a couple of minutes and the commentators on CNN International – I was out of the country, but I wasn’t going to miss it – said that he actually already was President before he took the oath.)

    I have several things to say about this.

    First, CNN commentors have no legal standing to make such a decision.

    Second, Chief Justice Roberts messed up the wording of the constitutional oath, not reading it but trying and failing to do it from memory.

    Third, The C J Roberts and Mr Obama repeated that oath correctly later that day, just to keep people from denying President Obama’s reality as president.

    So some people inside the government thought it was not only important for an elected President to take that oath, the specific words said by the person swearing in the president mattered.

    Forth, after the murder of J F Kennedy, some would say LBJ (cursed be his name!) was president the moment doctors in Dallas declared JFK dead, while others would say he became president in Air Force 1 when federal judge Sarah T. Hughes swore him in with Jackie standing beside him in a blood spattered dress.

    Either way, the nation has lasted through terrible times in living memory, and this will be no different. Trump will not be re-elected and someone else will be president next January 20th. Almost certainly former VP Joe Biden, who has turned out to be a very good man, no surprise there as he was a great VP for President Obama.

  214. 214.

    Aleta

    I  think he’ll make a lot of noise while getting the hell out of town with all the patriotic silver and paintings they’ve stolen.

  215. 215.

    Kelly

    Nah it won’t be the courts, the military, the secret service or Congress that boots Trump out of the White House if he loses. The career White House domestic staff will toss that jerk’s stuff out into the street noon January 20.

  216. 216.

    J R in WV

    @Galahad Threepwood:

     I got that too the other day.  “Package was delivered to a secure location”.  Which… was dead-center on my porch.  Verrry secure.

    We have had various delivery services, mostly FedEx, put packages at our basement door, which is more convenient that going up the steps to the front door. Sometimes these packages have contained high-end networking products, left out in the rain, in spite of delivery companies requirements that packages left be put in plastic bags. Which would have helped.

    Fortunately the contents inside the box were in plastic bags… so no harm done. But for having to look around the property to find the delivered materials.

  217. 217.

    Ruckus

    @catclub:

    Well it is shitforbrains.

    Whatever he can do wrong, he will, at the very most, fail at. It’s the only thing he’s good at, failure. He’s been doing it his entire life, failing. He’s fully practiced at failure, he quite possibly leads the world in failure and not just at one thing, he’s an equal opportunity failure. He’s even failed at being dumb, by being an idiot. Dumb would be about 27 steps up. His father gave him enough money that he could be a failure for most of his miserable life, but he’s such a failure that he had to borrow more and sell what little bit of a soul that he may have stolen from someone else. He’s such a failure that he actually failed at failing and got his idiot ass elected president, at which he’s failed worse than any other ass that’s gone before him. He’s failed to attempt to keep thousands of American citizens alive, of course he was attempting to kill them so maybe that shouldn’t count as a failure. If someone calls you a complete and total failure, you have an example of someone who is far worse a failure in life, no matter what you’ve done to have someone say that, our 45th president. He’s failed up, he’s failed down, he’s failed in every single direction of both a compass and an altimeter. There isn’t anything in life that he hasn’t failed at except one. He hasn’t failed to keep breathing. Fucking asshole, the only thing that would make him a better person, and he’s failed at that as well.

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