Monday Reading

As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.

First some non- coronavirus related news you may have missed.  Nine former intelligence chiefs from both Republican and Democratic administrations wrote an op/ ed warning of the removal of key intelligence experts by the increasingly politicized regime of Putin puppet Donald "Moron Vector" Trump:

The United States — and the world — faces a historic threat to its health, well-being and economy. The global covid-19 pandemic challenges all of us: the public, cities, states and, of course, the federal government. But as we collectively fight this deadly disease, the intelligence institutions that help protect us all from current and future threats are also under attack from an insidious enemy: domestic politics. We cannot let the covid-19 pandemic be a cover for the deeply destructive path being pursued by the Trump administration.

The most recent illustration of this unprecedented attack is the continuing dismissal of career intelligence professionals — officers who have ably served both Republican and Democratic administrations regardless of their personal political stripe. Specifically, the unceremonious removal this week of the leadership of the National Counterterrorism Center. The NCTC, though not as recognized an entity as its intelligence community counterparts such as the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency, is one of the crown-jewel creations of the United States’ post-9/11 reforms. [snip]

Even amid public health concerns, we cannot be distracted from how deeply destructive these removals are to our nation’s safety. To be clear: This is not just about protecting a few senior officers. These unceremonious removals send a damaging message across the intelligence community. Every current officer sees that speaking truth to power in this administration is an immediate career-killer. Every young recruit will conclude that joining the intelligence community is little different from signing up for any other politicized element of the federal bureaucracy. Countless more talented young Americans will decide that federal service, indeed public service, is not a worthy calling.  (our emphasis)

The Washington Post is reporting on a Science magazine interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci that was released yesterday.  The interview shed some light on the challenges Fauci faces in managing information and facts when dealing with a pathological liar and narcissist:

Amid the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, Anthony S. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been charged with a herculean task: trying to keep President Trump’s public statements about the novel virus rooted in fact.

Now it appears that Fauci’s frustration is showing.

When asked Sunday by Science magazine’s Jon Cohen about having to stand in front of the nation as “the representative of truth and facts” when “things are being said that aren’t true and aren’t factual,” the 79-year-old said there is only so much he can do.

“I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down,” Fauci said, referencing Trump. “Okay, he said it. Let’s try and get it corrected for the next time.” [snip]

He then discusses how he and the coronavirus task force function with Moron Vector Trump:

“We sit down for an hour and a half, go over all the issues on the agenda,” Fauci said, adding that the group also discusses what they want to emphasize to the public that day before meeting with Trump.

“Then we go in to see the president, we present [our consensus] to him and somebody writes a speech,” he explained. “Then he gets up and ad-libs on his speech. And then we’re up there to try and answer questions.”

Fauci appeared to make his qualms with Trump’s ad-libs known at Friday’s news conference when he was seen covering his face and struggling to maintain his composure after the president mentioned the “Deep State Department.”

Asked if he was criticized for the gesture, Fauci said “no comment.”

Reports of critical shortages in hospital workers' personal protective equipment (PPE) abound. Here's a snippet:

A hospital nurse in Michigan says she and her colleagues have discussed bringing in bleach to make their own disinfectant wipes. A pregnant nurse in Ohio says she has no choice but to tend to critically ill patients without a specialized N95 mask. And a health care worker in Georgia has resorted to scouring local hardware stores in an effort to secure the protective masks.  [snip]

Many reported being forced to ration or reuse supplies, including surgical and N95 masks, for fear of running out. Many also said they were facing shortages of basic sanitary supplies, including hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.

This is Trump's economy, brought to you by the Moron Vector who refused to take sound advice or action when they were critically needed, who scapegoats and lies incessantly to cover for his incompetence, and who's convinced most people who have two brain cells to rub together that he's catastrophically over his head in this crisis:

When the damage the coronavirus inflicts on the U.S. jobs market becomes clearer, it could be unlike anything the country has ever seen.

Judging by a host of forecasts from economists, the avalanche of furloughs will easily break the record for most in a single month.

Upcoming weekly jobless claims will shatter the standards set even during the worst points of the financial crisis and the early-1980s recession. Those numbers are expected to be bad, in fact, that the Trump administration, according to several media reports, has asked state officials to delay releasing precise counts.

While the headline unemployment rate is highly unlikely to approach the 24.9% during the Great Depression, it very well could be the highest in almost 40 years, something unthinkable for a jobs market that had been on fire as recently as February.

We end by strongly recommending a stop at Infidel 753's link round- up (where we found the last two items above).  There's much more there, of course, and most of it's not coronavirus related -- a mix of topics and tones that we can assure you that you'll find something to your liking.