Patterico's Pontifications

4/15/2020

Unsurprising: President Trump Has His Name Added To The Stimulus Checks

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:56 am



[guest post by Dana]

Of course he did:

When Americans receive their anxiously awaited checks from the federal government, which are being sent out to help mitigate the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus outbreak, they may notice the words “President Donald J. Trump” have been added at the bottom.

Trump suggested to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin the idea of adding his signature to the $1,200 paper checks, and the department agreed Monday to add his printed name (but not his actual autograph).

The Treasury Department confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday that Trump’s name would be on the checks, but claimed that affixing it would not delay delivery of the payments.

“Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned – there is absolutely no delay whatsoever,” a Treasury spokeswoman said in a statement. “In fact, we expect the first checks to be in the mail early next week which is well in advance of when the first checks went out in 2008 and well in advance of initial estimates.”

It is perfectly consistent with Trump’s personality and need to be admired, that he would want his name on the checks, as it suggests to recipients that he is giving them money out of his own beneficence, and thus they should be grateful for his magnanimity.

P.S. Information on how to get your payment can be found here.

–Dana

124 Responses to “Unsurprising: President Trump Has His Name Added To The Stimulus Checks”

  1. I hope this money will be a great help to those in need at this time.

    Dana (0feb77)

  2. Those checks will be closest Trump will ever come to having his name on US currency. He should enjoy it.

    Paul Montagu (0073cc)

  3. 1… agreed, it’s not much but it should help…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  4. Anyone with integrity and love for America would resign rather than agreeing go along with this.

    Dave (1bb933)

  5. I hope this help people that need it.

    I also wonder how many days in a row Trump can go without looking like a joke of a human being.

    Time123 (66d88c)

  6. Worst. POTUS. EVAH.

    Going away by lengths…

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  7. I pledge allegiance
    to the man
    who saved America from sticky gross bats.
    One nation, under Trump’s sole authority,
    and also not his responsibility, so help us God.

    Dustin (c56600)

  8. Hey, it’s a campaign tactic. He wants recipients to give him credit for the checks.

    The Dana in Kentucky (a2adc1)

  9. @8 Obviously, that’s what makes it greasy. He’s doing his job poorly in order to take personal credit for government action.

    Time123 (66d88c)

  10. I agree, Dana in Kentuckyt. He wants them to remember who signed the checks, and come November, they can show their gratefulness by voting for him.

    Dana (0feb77)

  11. The much better looking Dana wrote:

    I agree, Dana in Kentucky, that it is also that. He wants them to remember who signed the checks, and come November, they can show their gratefulness by voting for him.

    Hey, whatever works! 🙂

    President Trump is hardly perfect, but electing Democrats would be a disaster for this country.

    The Dana in Kentucky (a2adc1)

  12. You mean like being unprepared for a Pandemic despite 2 months of warning, shutting out country down at great economic costs, delaying aid to struggling citizens, and not having an actual plan to open it up? That kind of disaster? Or did you mean putting your 3 something kid and son in law as well as the CEO of a foreign cruse line company on the re-opening committee?

    The man is human garbage. And not in that brilliant rogue who get’s it done way. He’s garbage in a way that makes him bad at his job.

    Time123 (66d88c)

  13. Eleventyth-dimensional chess, my friends, while the rest of us are merely playing checkers.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  14. He’s never had a woman who was not store-bought, so why should his voters be any different? Let’s just be grateful for small favors … the checks are for $1,200 and not $130,000, and the people don’t have to deal with Michael Cohen to get them.

    nk (1d9030)

  15. 12… get it all out, let it flow… if it makes you feel better…

    Abrams-Biden 2020

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  16. What a douche.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  17. Trump, not Colonel Haiku.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  18. Aren’t the direct depositing these for a lot of people?

    Nic (896fdf)

  19. Yes Nic. I know many that already got it.

    NJRob (6f9c02)

  20. So he’s doing something controversial for something most people will never see.

    Nic (896fdf)

  21. How utterly remarkable for a politician to take credit for giving people their own money back.

    Not.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  22. Those checks will be closest Trump will ever come to having his name on US currency. He should enjoy it.

    President Grant, not among the elite of presidents, has his picture on the fifty.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  23. Name the last time this happened.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  24. Going away by lengths…

    Let me know when the civil war starts, and he can be worse than Buchanan.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  25. Gee… thanks for clearing that up, Leviticus

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  26. I agree, Dana in Kentuckyt. He wants them to remember who signed the checks, and come November, they can show their gratefulness by voting for him.

    How is this different that the mayor having his name on every road project sign? Sure, I wouldn’t do it, but this is how they all roll.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  27. Let me know when the civil war starts, and he can be worse than Buchanan.

    Wholly crap, Kevin! Buchanan was the cause of the Civil War…!?!?! Silly, even for you!

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  28. What a douche.

    And your point? 90% of everything is crap, including politicians. Maybe Trump is a bit more of a douche, but to me they all suck.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  29. Sure, I wouldn’t do it, but this is how they all roll.

    Name the last time, Kevin.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  30. Wholly crap, Kevin! Buchanan was the cause of the Civil War…!?!?! Silly, even for you!

    Pretty much was. Among other things, he jawboned a reluctant Supreme Court into ruling against Dredd Scoot, believing it would settle the slavery issue once and for all. Then, after states started talking secession, he did … absolutely nothing, suggesting they had the right to secede.

    He is, rightfully scored by just about everyone the worst US president ever, at least up to this point. Some score Trump worst (just as some scored Obama worst), but that’s just contemporary politics.

    By the way, you REALLY need to learn to argue without attacking the other person. I strive to maintain civility, but you make that hard.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  31. Name the last time, Kevin.

    Every road project in every town I, or anyone else, has ever lived in.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  32. So he’s doing something controversial for something most people will never see.

    It’s almost as if the guy most likely to undermine the Trump campaign is Donald J. Trump.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  33. I can just see Rgaspierre in court:

    “Judge, I object. That ruling is silly, even for you!”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  34. How is this different that the mayor having his name on every road project sign?

    If work on the road is held up until the vanity sign is in place then I completely agree with you. But usually that is not the case.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  35. I can just see Rgaspierre in court: “Judge, I object. That ruling is silly, even for you!”

    You are not a judge, and this isn’t a court.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  36. So, you can act out here?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  37. If work on the road is held up until the vanity sign is in place then I completely agree with you. But usually that is not the case.

    Most of us are getting the money electronically anyway.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  38. If Trump wants to sign the electrons, he’ll need a very small pen. At least he has the hands for it.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  39. A one time $1200 is Trump-chump bait; it doesn’t go very far in real world U.S.A.- particularly metropolitan areas. It should have- been at least $5000/per, up front– and now likely more will need to be rolled out given the uncertain length of the shutdown.

    Did he “sign” the $25 billion bailout for the airlines, too? You know, the businesses that got the yugggggge Trump tax breaks and did stock buy backs, have gotten a great break with the drop in fuel costs due to the drop in oil prices yet have the collateral like ground facilities, government contracts and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of aircraft to borrow against at nearly zero interest rates??? Remember that next time you fly and pay fee after fee for less and less knee space while ‘Mnuchin’ stale, bagged peanuts.

    You can smell the wretchedly evil stench of Reaganomics from the likes of the $100,000/month cocaine addicted Snowman Kudlow and his pals all over this albatross, too. Deregulate then; bailouts now: Reaganomics. The scrawl on all the bailout check[s] should be ‘I’m dead and stuck you suckered clowns with the bill Ronald Reagan’s’- not Donald Trump.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  40. more instability from the stable genius.

    We’re 2 weeks away from when he wants to start re-opening and they’re in the brainstorming stage.

    President Donald Trump for now has abandoned plans to create a new task force to help revive the nation’s economy after the coronavirus outbreak, according to two people familiar with the matter, and instead is holding a marathon series of calls on Wednesday with U.S. business leaders.

    Several of the companies and other participants said they found out they were invited only after Trump announced their names in a Rose Garden news conference on Tuesday or from a subsequent White House statement. They said they didn’t know the format or the purpose of the calls, and some expressed doubt the exercise would be productive.

    Planning for the calls appeared to be improvisational. People familiar with the matter said that multiple senior aides and White House offices were involved — particularly Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his associates. Trump himself pushed to expand participation, expressing a desire for titans of industry to advise him, one of the people said.

    “They’re going to give us some ideas,” Trump said Tuesday at a Rose Garden news conference

    Time123 (66d88c)

  41. Kevin, if you refrain from posting silly crap, I won’t have to call you for posting silly crap.

    That seems perfectly equitable to me.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  42. Most of us are getting the money electronically anyway.

    I know. That’s why this vanity move is so exasperating. As I said above, he’s going to be the guy that does the most to sabotage his own campaign.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  43. “And your point? 90% of everything is crap, including politicians. Maybe Trump is a bit more of a douche, but to me they all suck.”

    – Kevin M

    My point is that it’s still worth separating the 90% from the 10%.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  44. Though I do acknowledge it will be an epic troll job on the left if the printed message on each check is “Compliments of President Donald J. Trump.”

    JVW (54fd0b)

  45. Deregulate then; bailouts now

    Just take a few hours and name all the deregulation under Reagan that caused the current bailouts.

    But be sure to name all the deregulation under each of Reagan’s successors, since deregulation is the ruut of all economic evil in your mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  46. Though I do acknowledge it will be an epic troll job on the left if the printed message on each check is “Compliments of President Donald J. Trump.”

    JVW (54fd0b) — 4/15/2020 @ 1:13 pm

    I do not look forward to when a competent big gov lefty pulls Trump type corruption with 50% more plausibility and 50% less noise.

    Time123 (66d88c)

  47. @42. Yes, but the citizens who get the paper are the ones most likely to be loyalists as is – and those who aren’t see a Trump signature as a reminder of who is helping– not Schumer nor Pelosi; and it is a clever back door campaign slug, albeit vanity to be sure. But then, they’re all Nancy-and-Ronald-Reagan-hairdyed-vain, aren’t they.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  48. @45. Ignorance is bliss; stay happy.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  49. Though I do acknowledge it will be an epic troll job on the left if the printed message on each check is “Compliments of President Donald J. Trump.”

    JVW (54fd0b) — 4/15/2020 @ 1:13 pm

    You’re so bad!

    Dana (0feb77)

  50. Somehow I don’t think people are going to look favorably on Donald Trump providing them with $1,200 in compensation for the loss of jobs and loved ones that his incompetence has cost them.

    We know Donald Trump loves eminent domain, but we didn’t know that he thought it applied to human lives.

    Leviticus (efada1)

  51. Somehow I don’t think people are going to look favorably on Donald Trump providing them with $1,200 in compensation for the loss of jobs and loved ones that his incompetence has cost them.

    A full belly works wonders. They will whe the second nd third checks come– and they will, as is November. Yes, you can buy re-election.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  52. Democrats want to increase the dollar amount:

    House Democrats have introduced legislation that would expand the federal government’s coronavirus relief cash payments to $2,000 a month until the economy recovers…

    … Democratic Reps. Tim Ryan (Ohio) and Ro Khanna (Calif.) introduced a bill on Tuesday that would expand the payments to $2,000 on a monthly basis until employment returns to pre-crisis levels.

    They argued that the expansion is necessary to keep up with the growing number of Americans facing layoffs, furloughs or pay cuts due to the pandemic shutting down much of the economy.

    “As millions of Americans file for unemployment week over week, we have to work quickly to patch the dam — and that means putting cash in the hands of hard-working families,” Ryan said in a statement.

    “A one-time, twelve hundred dollar check isn’t going to cut it,” Khanna added.

    Under their proposal, every American age 16 older making less than $130,000 annually would receive at least $2,000 per month, while married couples earning less than $260,000 would receive at least $4,000. Families would also be eligible for an additional $500 for each child, up to $1,500.

    Dana (0feb77)

  53. @45. Ignorance is bliss; stay happy.

    Well, c’mon…!!! Hep me dispel mi awful ignorance on the subject.

    Just take a few hours and name all the deregulation under Reagan that caused the current bailouts.

    But be sure to name all the deregulation under each of Reagan’s successors, since deregulation is the ruut of all economic evil in your mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world.

    You know you’re gonna face this challenge every time you post your ignorant BS from now on, right?

    Better get to work…!!!

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  54. @52. Yep. Heard that. Inevitable; room to negotiate numbers for a final figure, too– so welcome to Compromise City. With next to zero interest rates for Uncle Sam to tap, expect it as election day nears and party conventions get whittled down to irrelevancy.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  55. The future ain’t what it used to be.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  56. BTW, yes, my vote is for sale!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  57. Meanwhile, back at the medical supplies shortage department –

    I just checked and I can’t find any place to order a MAGA face mask.

    I mean, China is now re-opening and you’d think that one of Ivanka’s companies could get a production line going in short order.

    John B Boddie (678895)

  58. 52… color me SHOCKED!!!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  59. @53. Better get to work…!!!

    =cough= You do that.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  60. The funniest thing about this is all the libs squealing that he’s ‘giving you your own money!’.

    Took them decades to figure out what taxes are.
    _

    I hope he also puts Ed McMahon and Dick Clark on the envelope just to put them over the edge.
    _

    harkin (e208fd)

  61. #60 — Trump wants people to think it’s a gift directly from his own pocket But that’s fine, as long as it annoys Dems and NeverTrumpers, right? Because that is always the most important goal to Trump fans — or, the second most important, right behind stroking Donald’s oversized but fragile ego.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  62. Unsurprising: President Trump Has His Name Added To The Stimulus Checks

    Actually, pretty much all Americans won’t care if it has his name on their checks– as long as it has their names on it.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  63. I first saw this on CNBC. One of the anchors noted that a lot of these tests still seem unreliable, in a tone of voice that implied she hoped the tests turned out to be a waste of money.

    https://www.businessinsider.com/fisher-island-richest-zip-code-coronavirus-antibody-tests-2020-4

    Kishnevi (bb4469)

  64. Would Democrats get another big stimulus bill through if they offered to put Trump’s face on the checks too? Maybe high speed rail for an image of Trump on Mount Rushmore? Just think of the possibilities.

    noel (4d3313)

  65. The real problem is that the whole world knows how to manipulate Donald Trump. The bad guys too.

    noel (4d3313)

  66. Meanwhile:

    Carrier Roosevelt Sailor Dies from COVID-19

    https://news.usni.org/2020/04/13/carrier-roosevelt-sailor-dies-from-covid-19-complications

    A sailor assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) has died from complications of a COVID-19 infection and four more are hospitalized, the Navy said on Monday. “At approximately 8:30 a.m., Apr. 9, the Sailor was found unresponsive during a daily medical check.

    Tell us, Captain TowLine– was his/her name “Hemingway?”

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  67. I hope he also puts Ed McMahon and Dick Clark on the envelope just to put them over the edge.

    The Good Ship Thorazine sailed 3.5 years ago.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  68. The Good Ship Thorazine sailed 3.5 years ago.

    Nope. A little before that, but there wasn’t enough to treat all the cultists at T-rump rallies, so it went without remediation.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  69. I pledge allegiance
    to the man
    who saved America from sticky gross bats.
    One nation, under Trump’s sole authority,
    and also not his responsibility, so help us God.

    That’s … *wipes away tear* … that’s beautiful man.

    Dave (1bb933)

  70. At some point, isn’t all this money being thrown out there going to cause inflation?

    Earlier this year, I was going to cash in a mutual fund, and just pay off my mortgage. Now I’ve decided to refrain from that, and instead use my fixed-rate mortgage loan as an inflation hedge. If there is inflation, I’ll be paying off the loan with cheaper and cheaper dollars.

    norcal (a5428a)

  71. Breaking-
    Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt
    The Navy is looking into whether it can reinstate Capt. Brett E. Crozier, who was removed from command of the carrier Theodore Roosevelt after he pleaded for more help fighting a novel coronavirus outbreak aboard his ship, Defense Department officials said on Wednesday.

    Adm. Michael M. Gilday, the chief of naval operations, has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who is viewed as a hero by his crew for putting their lives above his career, officials said.

    “No final decisions have been made,” Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the admiral, said in a statement to The Times on Wednesday. Commander Christensen added that Admiral Gilday was reviewing the findings of a preliminary investigation into the events surrounding Captain Crozier’s removal.

    …..Navy officials insist that Admiral Gilday will make a decision based on the findings of the investigation into the Roosevelt crisis, and not on what he thinks the president wants him to do.

    Mr. Trump himself has indicated he may be open to reassessing the events around the firing. He said recently that Captain Crozier “made a mistake,” but he also noted that the captain “had a bad day.” It remained unclear how the president would view a move to reinstate Captain Crozier, or when action would be taken.
    …..
    As of Wednesday, 615 Roosevelt crew members have tested positive for coronavirus; five are in the hospital with one in intensive care, and one has died. The death of the sailor on Monday was a poignant punctuation to Captain Crozier’s March 30 plea for help, after four days of being rebuffed by his superiors in his request to evacuate the ship, because, he wrote, “sailors don’t need to die.”
    …..
    Any decision to reinstate Captain Crozier would come with its own problems. Navy officials remain unhappy with the captain’s decision to send an unclassified letter pleading for help to so many people, instead of relying on his chain of command. For the Navy to reinstate him, Admiral Gilday would have to determine that Captain Crozier’s superiors were not being adequately responsive to his pleas for help before he sent the letter, Navy officials said.

    Admiral Gilday already has the findings of an initial investigation into the Roosevelt case. But that investigation was conducted by Adm. Robert P. Burke, the Navy’s second-highest admiral, who was involved in the situation aboard Roosevelt. It was Admiral Burke who, as part of the investigation, called the senior medical officer aboard the ship and criticized the doctor, saying he had failed as a leader, according to crew members.

    In the run-up to Captain Crozier’s letter, the ship’s medical staff and the captain advocated swift, decisive action, while Captain Crozier’s immediate boss, Rear Adm. Stuart P. Baker, countered that less drastic measures would still protect the crew and leave the Roosevelt in operation.

    Admiral Gilday told reporters earlier this month that a focus of the investigation was determining why Captain Crozier, a Naval Academy graduate with nearly 30 years of service, felt compelled to send his four-page letter outside normal communications channels and whether that illustrated a breakdown in communications with his chain of command, particularly with Admiral Baker. The Navy has said Captain Crozier did not copy Admiral Baker on his letter.
    ……
    “The Navy investigation now in progress should take its time and make sure we truly understand the detailed ‘ticktock’ of events that preceded the letter launched by Captain Crozier,” said James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral and former top commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “If it becomes clear that his chain of command was not responsive, it makes a potential case for rehabilitation much stronger.”
    …..
    In Guam, many among the Roosevelt’s crew say they are hoping Captain Crozier will return as their captain. One crew member described his fired commander as having proved prescient during every chapter of the crisis.
    …….

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  72. Trump threatens to adjourn both chambers of Congress
    President Trump on Wednesday threatened to use his executive power to force both chambers of Congress to adjourn if the Senate did not confirm his nominees for vacancies across the administration.

    The president, during a coronavirus briefing in the Rose Garden, offered a lengthy diatribe against what he described as congressional obstruction and argued confirming his nominees was more urgent than ever amid the pandemic.

    “The Senate should either fulfill its duty and vote on my nominees or it should formally adjourn so I can make recess appointments,” Trump said. “We have a tremendous number of people that have to come into government. And now more so than ever before because of the virus and the problem.”

    Lawmakers in both chambers are not expected to return to the Capitol until May 4 but both the House and Senate have been conducting pro forma sessions in the meantime. That means the Senate is technically in session and Trump may not make recess appointments.

    “The current practice of leaving town while conducting phony pro forma sessions is a dereliction of duty that the American people can not afford during this crisis,” he said. “It is a scam, what they do. It’s a scam. And everybody knows it and it’s been that way for a long time.”

    Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution grants Trump the power to “on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper.”

    That means that in order for the president to step in and dismiss both, the GOP-controlled Senate would have to adjourn while the Democrat-held House objected. Senate Democrats also have procedural tools to prevent the Senate from adjourning.

    The National Constitution Center noted that “no President has ever exercised” the authority.

    “Perhaps it’s never been done before, nobody’s even sure if it has,” Trump said. “But we’re going to do it. We need these people here. We need people for this crisis, and we don’t want to play any more political games.”

    Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor who appeared as a GOP witness during the House impeachment hearings, warned Trump against taking the step.

    “The President just said that he may unilaterally adjourn Congress. … This power has never been used and should not be used now,” he tweeted.
    …..

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  73. Good news from the Navy!

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  74. “I think Russia is going to need ventilators,” Trump said. “They’re having a hard time in Moscow. We’re going to help them.”

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  75. Congress should convene, and as the first order of business they should remove this criminal lunatic from office.

    Dave (1bb933)

  76. Meanwhile, both the Hill and the Post have stories saying that he’s making noises about adjourning Congress using his Article II Section 3 power to adjourn congress if the two houses don’t agree on an adjournment date.

    aphrael (7962af)

  77. Dave, they tried. The Republicans in the Senate refused to do so, and they’re not going to try again.

    aphrael (7962af)

  78. 25th Amendment Baby.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  79. 75… if he’s not on their payroll, he’s certainly appears to be on the ChiCom team.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  80. re Ripmurdock’s point… I think Trump’s probably in the right, at least in spirit. Why are appointments held up for so long? Normally there are good political reasons for a back and forth, and political inaction is not necessarily proof things are ‘wrong’ but in a pandemic we need to get certain positions filled to get things done.

    The only problem is that Trump keeps setting horrible, insane precedents for conservatism. Like all presidential power grabs, you have to think about if the opposing side did it. Imagine if Obama adjourned the House and the Senate and recess appointed a bunch of people? There’s a reason nobody has needed this power for 200 years.

    and the Senate belongs to the GOP right now so it’s not necessarily a good ‘value’ for such a move.

    Dustin (c56600)

  81. Maybe if he’d been competent enough to appoint people during the 3 years BEFORE the pandemic, we wouldn’t need to do it DURING the pandemic.

    And maybe if he didn’t screw up so much, and fire so many people for doing their jobs when he screws up, there wouldn’t be quite as many vacancies to fill.

    Just throwing that out there for consideration.

    Dave (1bb933)

  82. 75… if he’s not on their payroll, he’s certainly appears to be on the ChiCom team.

    GFY

    Dave (1bb933)

  83. Quarantine and Isolation Authorities in States Affected by COVID-19

    On Jan. 21, the United States reported its first case of coronavirus infection. Since that confirmed first case in Washington state, the virus has spread to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and multiple territories, infecting more than 234,000 people in the United States. As the virus continues to spread, we have also started to see stories of exposed persons violating recommended self-quarantines. In New Hampshire, a patient who became the state’s first confirmed case ignored medical advice and attended an event at a crowded music venue. He was then ordered by the state’s health commissioner to isolate at home. In Missouri, two schools closed temporarily after close relatives of the state’s first coronavirus patient attended a dance with students, also in violation of instructions to self-quarantine at home. In Kentucky, a patient who had tested positive for the coronavirus checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice and refused to quarantine himself. Law enforcement surrounded his house to prevent him from leaving and spreading the virus. So what powers do these states have to order compulsory quarantine of infected or exposed persons? Below, we provide a review of relevant state law authorizing quarantine or isolation. The summaries for each state and inhabited U.S. territory are listed in alphabetical order.
    …..
    A list of relevant statutory authority for all states is also available on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website. The NCSL also provides the following definitions for quarantine and isolation:

    Quarantine: Compulsory separation, including restriction of movement, of people who potentially have been exposed to a contagious disease, until it can be determined whether they have become sick or no longer pose a risk to others. This determination could be made, for example, based on the time elapsed from their potential exposure.

    Isolation: Separation of people known or suspected (via signs, symptoms or laboratory criteria) to be infected with a contagious disease from those who are not sick to prevent them from transmitting the disease to others.
    ……

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  84. Dave, I thought HIS Thorazine kicked in and he was referring to T-rump.

    …but you’re probably right.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  85. No wonder the Orange Maggot likes Captain Crozier so much. They’re two incompetent peas in a pod blaming others for their failures and going into tantrums when mommy and daddy don’t clean up their messes.

    nk (1d9030)

  86. @80-
    Tracking how many key positions Trump has filled so far

    The Post and Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, are tracking roughly 700 key executive branch nominations through the confirmation process. These positions include Cabinet secretaries, deputy and assistant secretaries, chief financial officers, general counsel, heads of agencies, ambassadors and other critical leadership positions. These are a portion of the roughly 1,200 positions that require Senate confirmation.

    The Senate can only act on nominations that have been formally submitted by the Trump administration. Those marked “awaiting nomination” above have been announced but not yet submitted, while those marked “formally nominated” are awaiting action by the Senate.

    My point is that this is mostly a self inflicted problem of either not making nominations or not nominating quality people. Of the approximately 700 positions tracked, there 212 positions with either no nominee, an announced, but not submitted, nominee, and 47 nominees that were withdrawn. This includes 37 in the State Dept., 8 in Commerce, 19 at Defense, 7 at Education, 3 at Energy, 4 at HHS, 12 at DHS, 10 at Justice, 6 at DOT, 4 at VA, 7 at Treasury, 4 at the Office of National Intelligence, 5 at EPA, 4 at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, all 5 at the FEC, and 11 at the White House. An additional 44 were returned to the President.

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  87. Forgot to add these positions are mostly high-ranking Assistant/Deputy/Under Secretaries or agency administrators (ICE, FEMA, etc.).

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8)

  88. Trump does not have the power to adjourn the House and Senate. He only has the power to set the date when they want to adjourn but cannot agree when. It’s as plain as the ink on the Constitution.

    What he could do, if he were not an incompetent buffoon, is a Constitutional ju jutsu, whereby he orders them to convene (that’s plainly written in the Constitution, too) and faced with the prospect of having to come back to DC they decide to formally adjourn.

    nk (1d9030)

  89. My point is that this is mostly a self inflicted problem

    But that’s so unlike President Trump!

    Dave (1bb933)

  90. What he could do, if he were not an incompetent buffoon, is a Constitutional ju jutsu, whereby he orders them to convene

    They are already in session right now. A 9-0 SCOTUS said so.

    And since it was Obama’s ox being gored at the time, most of us cheered…

    How can he order them to convene?

    Dave (1bb933)

  91. Maybe if he’d been competent enough to appoint people during the 3 years BEFORE the pandemic, we wouldn’t need to do it DURING the pandemic.

    Dave you have a good point. Trump has been absurd with how poorly he’s staffed an administration that has lost so many professionals, been understaffed in critical decision making areas, often just to ensure Trump is protected from criticism, sometimes paranoia of the ‘deep state’ and sometimes just because they don’t care. They appointed that federal judge who had no trial experience, a department of energy secretary who didn’t think the department had a legitimate purpose. It’s stupid.

    But now that we’re here, we gotta get those positions staffed properly (not too hastily, but quickly).

    75… if he’s not on their payroll, he’s certainly appears to be on the ChiCom team.

    Damn. Dave’s a traitor. Worse than that, if you read a few comments written together, clearly the message is that the chinese government is responsible for mass murder, and Dave betrayed us to the Chinese by criticizing Trump, and therefore deserves our hatred.

    That someone would attempt to criticize the Chinese government by lashing out at critics of the government is hilariously stupid. In China, someone has to zealously stomp on the critics, and there are people here who would do it to you and me, forsaking the gift God gave each of us in being Americans. Dave isn’t one of these people.

    Haiku, GFY.

    Dustin (c56600)

  92. My point is that this is mostly a self inflicted problem of either not making nominations or not nominating quality people. Of the approximately 700 positions tracked, there 212 positions with either no nominee, an announced, but not submitted, nominee, and 47 nominees that were withdrawn. This includes 37 in the State Dept., 8 in Commerce, 19 at Defense, 7 at Education, 3 at Energy, 4 at HHS, 12 at DHS, 10 at Justice, 6 at DOT, 4 at VA, 7 at Treasury, 4 at the Office of National Intelligence, 5 at EPA, 4 at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, all 5 at the FEC, and 11 at the White House. An additional 44 were returned to the President.

    RipMurdock (d2a2a8) — 4/15/2020 @ 5:25 pm

    Yes and you’re right. A lot of Trump’s appointments have been terrible, and in a weird way it’s almost good that he has to fill them now, when he will perhaps be more serious.

    Ideally the GOP senate and Trump work something out to fill these positions with good leaders soon. The idea that they would give the next democratic president the power to recess appoint tons of people when the GOP has the Senate and the White House… it’s so unfathomably stupid. Trump really doesn’t care about anything but his immediate political needs. I bet we see the same Trump media guys get real hostile towards GOP Senators when they get their marching orders.

    This is during an actual crisis too. All Team Trump does is pick fights with its partners. Easier than picking fights with enemies I guess.

    Dustin (c56600)

  93. Kevin, if you refrain from posting silly crap, I won’t have to call you for posting silly crap.

    Except I defend by “silly posts” with hard cold facts, and you just froth at the mouth. You want to refute me, fine, try. But just calling people names when you don’t agree with them is, well, Trump-like.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  94. Dave, they tried. The Republicans in the Senate refused to do so, and they’re not going to try again.

    Docr. Franklin was for retaining the [impeachment] clause as favorable to the executive.
    History furnishes one example only of a first Magistrate being formally brought to public Justice. Every body cried out agst this as unconstitutional. What was the practice before this in cases where the chief Magistrate rendered himself obnoxious? Why recourse was had to assassination in wch. he was not only deprived of his life but of the opportunity of vindicating his character. It wd. be the best way therefore to provide in the Constitution for the regular punishment of the Executive when his misconduct should deserve it, and for his honorable acquittal when he should be unjustly accused.

    July 20, 1787, in Convention

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  95. Except I defend by “silly posts” with hard cold facts…

    Like the one about Buchanan causing the Civil War…??? Because THAT will be flucking EVERGREEN!

    Trumpette.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  96. Somehow I don’t think people are going to look favorably on Donald Trump providing them with $1,200 in compensation for the loss of jobs and loved ones that his incompetence has cost them.

    That’s a little harsh. Show me, somewhere, the competent government that avoided a lockdown at no cost to life. Further, the estimates given us before we locked down were 500,000 to 1.7 million. Our host was even quoting numbers of that magnitude. We were supposed to have to lock down for many many months, too. None of that happened, and per capital, the USA will do better than most countries.

    Oh, I hear, GOVERNORS! Sure. Like the brilliant man in New York, who managed to only kill 60% of all the people who died or will die. How is THAT Trump’s fault? Or do you somehow claim that he should have known, despite all the people saying China had contained it, and in the middle of this impeachment trial, ordered every business closed and people to stay home? Didn’t everyone just get done waying he has no such powers?

    Sure, Trump is fumble-fingered, crass, gross and stupid. But he has been at least as active, with the powers he has, as anyone else.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  97. *per capita, of course, and 500,000 to 1.7 million DEAD.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  98. God, but I want the ability to fix typos.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  99. Or do you somehow claim that he should have known, despite all the people saying China had contained it,

    Yes, he should have had enough brains to realize China might be lying, and then start making plans accordingly for PPE stockpiles and testing equipment.

    Kishnevi (c91988)

  100. They are already in session right now. A 9-0 SCOTUS said so.

    Fair enough. Hmm. What if he threatened to fire Elaine Chao and, moreover, primary Mitch “Rubber Stamp” McConnell if he does not bring the Senate back to rubber stamp his appointments.

    nk (1d9030)

  101. Trumpette.

    I don’t agree with Kevin all the time, but he is a thoughtful and usually fair person who doesn’t deserve insults like this.

    Dave (1bb933)

  102. Hmm, who has the largest intel community on the planet, that was warning the administration at the begining of January?

    China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!

    Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days … Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!

    China seems to be making tremendous progress. Their numbers are way down. I think our relationship with China is very good. We just did a big trade deal. We’re starting on another trade deal with China — a very big one. And we’ve been working very closely. They’ve been talking to our people, we’ve been talking to their people, having to do with the virus.

    These are from Jan 24th through the end of Feb. But Xi was lying to him, you just can’t trust people anymore, however heard of a second opinion. Why, Xi is his good friend, he’d never lie.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  103. whoever

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  104. 82… a known problem…

    The University of California System authorized a systemwide audit to identify “risk(s) related to foreign influence” at programs run with federal grants, the institution confirmed this week in an email to Education Dive.
    Evaluating various categories of federal grants, UC’s audit will seek to identify factors that contribute to higher levels of risk related to foreign influence. It will also review grants for compliance with requirements designed to limit those risks, said Sarah McBride, a UC System spokesperson, in the email. She noted that further details could not be shared “as this audit has just been approved.”

    The audit follows a federal crackdown on foreign funds to universities and intelligence warnings about foreign scholars’ theft of intellectual property and research. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Virginia have also stepped up vigilance on sensitive projects.

    Nearly 25,000 students from China attended UC campuses last fall, accounting for just over half of all international students in the U.S., according to the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, “the UC system has a huge research portfolio especially dependent on federal agencies for research funding,” said Philip Altbach, director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, in an interview with Education Dive.

    Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that China has “created pipelines” at U.S. universities to steal key intellectual property. In February, a Senate subcommittee report roundly criticized the Ed Department for “a glaring lack of oversight” on foreign funds to American universities.

    https://www.educationdive.com/news/u-of-california-system-to-audit-campuses-for-foreign-influence-risk/559964/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  105. Dave, I guess you missed this…

    But just calling people names when you don’t agree with them is, well, Trump-like.

    I responded in kind. You may think well of Kevin. I think he’s a bully who can’t abide someone calling out his BS. I don’t even bother most of the time.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  106. FWIW, the comparison between Buchanan and Trump seems misguided to me.

    Buchanan took office in the midst of a crisis that had been building for decades, with the country being torn apart by sectional dispute for which there was almost certainly no peaceful resolution. The problems Buchanan faced would have been beyond the capabilities of even the greatest of statesmen, and Buchanan was not among the greatest of statesmen. He inherited a terrible situation, and was culpable in allowing it to get even worse.

    Trump, on the other hand, inherited the most militarily, economically, diplomatically and technologically powerful country on earth, in the midst of the longest economic boom in history. And he has still managed to turn everything he touches to sh*t.

    Dave (1bb933)

  107. NBC quotes Trump:

    “I’m sure people are very happy to get a big fat beautiful check with my name on it.” – Trump

    Dana (0feb77)

  108. Jeez. I’m going to give myself a cramp from cringing.

    Thanks to the Sharper Image™, you too can enjoy a big fat beautiful Trump Steak™ with my name on it.

    Dustin (c56600)

  109. Oh, oh, oh, little China bug
    Oh, oh, oh, little China bug

    I could lose this election, with my China bug
    I was doing great, without my little China bug
    I heard the crowd at my rallies, loud as thunder
    Now I see the stock market crashing
    I’m a mess, with my little China bug

    I turn on Fox mornings,and there’s my little China bug
    I hear the death tolls, loud as thunder
    Cuomo bugging me for ventilators
    I miss my Roy Cohn
    When I hear about my China bug

    I pretend that nothing really means too much
    When they ask about my China bug
    I stumble through the West wing just like a Reichsfuhrer
    Visions of swastikas in my head
    Checks for everyone
    It’s my name on them

    My little China bug
    You shouldn’t mess with me
    You’ll ruin everything I am
    You stole my television
    You faded my orange tan
    You made me look small in the world

    And when I get excited
    My little China bug says
    Oh baby, just you shut your mouth about chloroquine

    She says, sh-sh-shhh
    She says, sh-sh-shhh
    She says
    She says

    And when I get excited
    My little China bug says
    Oh baby, just wash your hands

    And when I get excited
    My little China bug says
    Oh baby, just you wear your mask

    She says, sh-sh-shhh

    She says
    Oh, oh, oh, little China bug
    Oh, oh, oh, little China bug
    Oh, oh, oh, little China bug
    Oh, oh, oh, little China bug

    nk (1d9030)

  110. Stimulus Delayed As Trump Insists On Personally Delivering Giant Check To Every American

    Trump will reportedly knock on every door in the country and surprise each household with the giant check and some free balloons.

    “Hi, I’m President Trump, and you’ve just won $1,200 of your own money!” Trump shouted, smiling, as he started going down his street, beginning at 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue and moving on from there. “Congratulations! What are you going to do now?”

    “I’m going to Disney World!” the woman declared, overjoyed. No one had the heart to tell her.

    The Babylon Bee is the worthy successor to The Onion.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  111. “… all the people saying China had contained it…”

    – Kevin M

    Trump has the entire US intelligence apparatus at his disposal. Can I blame him for not knowing what’s going on in the world? Yes, I think I can – particularly when we hear how often he skips intelligence briefings.

    Leviticus (cdf0fe)

  112. Turnabout is fair play. Intelligence skipped him.

    nk (1d9030)

  113. Trump has the entire US intelligence apparatus at his disposal

    What were they telling him? I don’t know and neither do you. Besides, they’ve been badly wrong before; see Iraq’s WMDs.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  114. What were they telling him? I don’t know and neither do you. Besides, they’ve been badly wrong before; see Iraq’s WMDs.

    Well, Trump specifically talked about it on Jan 22nd, and answered a specific question about China being honest. I know, he later said the opposite of this, later…later…much…later.

    JOE KERNEN: It was a couple of years ago. Before we get started– with- we’re going talk about the economy and a lot of other things–the CDC– has identified a case of coronavirus– in Washington state. The Wuhan strain of this. If you remember SARS, that affected GDP. Travel-related effects. Do you– have you been briefed by the CDC? And–

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: I have, and–

    JOE KERNEN: –are there worries about a pandemic at this point?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: No. Not at all. And– we’re– we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s—going to be just fine.

    JOE KERNEN: Okay. And President Xi– there’s just some– talk in China that maybe the transparency isn’t everything that it’s going to be. Do you trust that we’re going to know everything we need to know from China?

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: I do. I do. I have a great relationship with President Xi. We just signed probably the biggest deal ever made. It certainly has the potential to be the biggest deal ever made. And– it was a very interesting period of time time.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  115. Besides, they’ve been badly wrong before; see Iraq’s WMDs.

    I’ve always wondered how wrong they really were. Saddam obviously pursued these programs. I mean he used WMDs on his own people. But suddenly the American case for the war is undermined, causing a major loss of prestige for the USA.

    The more I think about it, those weapons would have been supported by Russia. Yanking them to Syria and destroying them there would have been an excellent clandestine operation for the Russians, but it also would have helped conceal their level of support.

    I still don’t buy that Saddam just gave up on the program. He had a lot of incentives to be public about it if he did thanks to how well that worked out for Qaddaffi (joke).

    Dustin (c56600)

  116. Besides, they’ve been badly wrong before; see Iraq’s WMDs.

    OK. Let’s unpack that myth.

    It was the understood position for decades that Saddam had WMD and used them.

    Saddam made a policy of projecting that he had WMD and WOULD use them.

    Essentially every intelligence agency in the Western world agreed that Saddam had WMD AND was working on more.

    There is ample reason to believe they were right.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  117. “Essentially every intelligence agency in the Western world agreed that Saddam had WMD AND was working on more.”

    Not exactly true:

    At a meeting of the Senate intelligence committee on Sept. 5, 2002, CIA Director George Tenet was asked what the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) provided as the rationale for a preemptive war in Iraq. An NIE is the product of the entire intelligence community, and its most comprehensive assessment. I was stunned when Tenet said that no NIE had been requested by the White House and none had been prepared. Invoking our rarely used senatorial authority, I directed the completion of an NIE.

    Tenet objected, saying that his people were too committed to other assignments to analyze Saddam Hussein’s capabilities and will to use chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons. We insisted, and three weeks later the community produced a classified NIE.

    There were troubling aspects to this 90-page document. While slanted toward the conclusion that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction stored or produced at 550 sites, it contained vigorous dissents on key parts of the information, especially by the departments of State and Energy. Particular skepticism was raised about aluminum tubes that were offered as evidence Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program. As to Hussein’s will to use whatever weapons he might have, the estimate indicated he would not do so unless he was first attacked.

    Under questioning, Tenet added that the information in the NIE had not been independently verified by an operative responsible to the United States. In fact, no such person was inside Iraq. Most of the alleged intelligence came from Iraqi exiles or third countries, all of which had an interest in the United States’ removing Hussein, by force if necessary.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/18/AR2005111802397.html

    Davethulhu (36eb8f)


  118. From my advantaged position, I had earlier concluded that a war with Iraq would be a distraction from the successful and expeditious completion of our aims in Afghanistan. Now I had come to question whether the White House was telling the truth — or even had an interest in knowing the truth.

    On Oct. 11, I voted no on the resolution to give the president authority to go to war against Iraq. I was able to apply caveat emptor. Most of my colleagues could not.

    The writer is a former Democratic senator from Florida. He is currently a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

    Caveat emptor, indeed.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  119. It is also a myth that no chemical weapons were found in Iraq.

    The NYT, certainly not ones to shade the truth on George W. Bush’s behalf, reported in 2014:

    From 2004 to 2011, American and American-trained Iraqi troops repeatedly encountered, and on at least six occasions were wounded by, chemical weapons remaining from years earlier in Saddam Hussein’s rule.

    In all, American troops secretly reported finding roughly 5,000 chemical warheads, shells or aviation bombs, according to interviews with dozens of participants, Iraqi and American officials, and heavily redacted intelligence documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

    That included “more than 2,400 nerve-agent rockets unearthed in 2006 at a former Republican Guard compound.”

    In addition, significant caches of forbidden weapons research and production equipment were found.

    Dave (1bb933)

  120. If Obama had simply kept up with things, Iraq would be a much better place today. But a success there would undermine a very hard fought PR win for Team D.

    Japan and South Korea and Germany didn’t happen overnight either.

    Dustin (c56600)

  121. The key thing on the Opening America Great Again Again Plan for Opening and Not Closing America Plan

    These are criteria, from the Trump Administration

    Proposed State or Regional Gating Criteria
    (Satisfy Before Proceeding to Phased Opening)

    SYMPTOMS
    Downward trajectory of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) reported within a 14-day period
    AND
    Downward trajectory of covid-like syndromic cases reported within a 14-day period

    CASES
    Downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period
    OR
    Downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period (flat or increasing volume of tests)

    HOSPITALS
    Treat all patients without crisis care
    AND
    Robust testing program in place for at-risk healthcare workers, including emerging antibody testing

    So even by the Admins guidelines, the clock isn’t even going to start for days. If you’re not testing as much this week as last week, and we’re not, and the cases are still going up, a May 1st opening date is not possible under Trump’s admin own guidelines.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  122. China is asshoe!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)


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