Monday Reading

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

Brian Resnick writes as more and more states reopen, what many have predicted about a Covid-19 surge is coming true:

One month ago, I asked epidemiologist Tara Smith if she was worried about states loosening their stay-at-home orders, despite most not meeting the government’s criteria for doing so.

“I am really fearful that by June 1 or June 15, after we’ve seen a couple weeks to a month of [state reopenings], that our cases are going to be climbing,” said Smith, a professor at the Kent State University College of Public Health.

Well, here we are. It’s June 12, and Covid-19 hospitalizations are rising in Arizona, the Carolinas, Utah, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, and perhaps Florida. Those states are also seeing higher numbers of positive Covid-19 tests, as well as increases in the percentage of tests that come back positive. This indicates that the higher case counts aren’t simply due to more widespread testing finding milder cases.

Call it a reopening backfire. But really: No expert thought that reopening this quickly was going to work in the first place. [snip]

Many states opened up in early May, hoping the economy would recover while a winning battle against Covid-19 continued apace.

Unfortunately, it’s now clear that in the areas where the virus has come roaring back, few gains against it were made in the last month.

"We managed to disrupt our economy [and] skyrocket unemployment, and we didn’t control the damn virus,” said Jeff Shaman, an infectious disease modeler at Columbia University.  (our emphasis)

Bunker Boy walked away from the battle with his impeccable lack of courage, judgement and accountability, and most states were hard pressed to resist the pressure.  So, here we are with the virus still not contained.

David Von Drehle revisits one of Bunker Boy's biggest promises during the 2016 campaign, that he would "bring back" the coal industry.  How's that working out for Mr. Fix-It?

Peabody (formerly Peabody Energy) is by far the largest coal producer in the United States, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. With mines throughout the country, the company suffered under the anti-coal policies of the Obama administration and entered bankruptcy in 2016.* Trump was speaking Peabody’s language when he pledged to end “the war on coal.” Under the new administration, the reorganized company roared out of bankruptcy and back into the Fortune 500.

Initially, things looked good. By June 2018, Peabody’s stock was selling for nearly $47 per share. But now that Trump has had more time to work his magic, Peabody is hemorrhaging, and its share price has plunged to less than $3.50.

Arch Coal is the next largest outfit, with 13 percent of the U.S. market in 2018. Its share price has fared better than Peabody’s, despite losing more than 60 percent of its value during Trump’s time in office.

The No. 3 and No. 4 producers in the EIA rankings, Cloud Peak Energy and Murray Energy, are both in bankruptcy. Fifth on the list is Alliance Resource Partners (ARP), headquartered in Tulsa, where Trump plans to hold his first covid-era rally on June 19 [now 20th]. ARP chief executive Joe Craft is a product of impoverished Eastern Kentucky who bootstrapped his way into the billionaire class. He donated $1 million for the Trump inauguration festivities, and his wife, Kelly Craft, is now U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Craft’s company has not fared well, either.

Not that any of that matters to the "economically anxious" voters in Coal Country, who continue to support him.  It's much more important that they hate the same people Bunker Boy does than that they're the continuing victims of his lies.  [*Ed.--  see comments by Mart.]

Media critic Erik Wemple dissects Fox "News" trust fund baby Tucker "Mothertucker" Carlson's style of attack and his unraveling during the Black Lives Matter protests:

As long as there was violence associated with the protests, there was a segment for “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” By last weekend, however, the clashes and violence had diminished.

A change of gears, accordingly, was in store for “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” On Monday, he denounced the growing cultural influence of the Black Lives Matter movement: “America went insane over the weekend. ... This was without precedent in the modern era, a small group of highly aggressive, emotionally charged activists took over our culture. They forced the entire country to obey their will. It all happened so fast and with such ferocity that virtually no one resisted it.”

As the host decried this new and “insane” America, he himself sounded more and more unhinged. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah had taken part in a D.C. protest and declared that we need to find "a way to end violence and brutality and to make sure that people understand that black lives matter.” Carlson couldn’t handle it: “Mitt just wants to make sure that Americans understand, get through their thick heads that black lives matter, as if Americans didn’t know that.”

That's when Mothertucker went for the "they're coming for you" racist bullhorn and the sponsors started bailing.

American Paul Whelan was sentenced today in Russia for espionage:

Former Marine Paul Whelan was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a Russian prison for espionage Monday, the conclusion to a case that has added tension to already strained relations between the United States and Russia.

Whelan, 50, said throughout the trial that he was framed. His lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said his client was unwittingly handed a flash drive containing “state secrets” while visiting Russia for a wedding in late 2018. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Whelan was caught “red-handed.”

As these games are played, an exchange with a Russian asset held in the U.S. is expected.  May we suggest Bunker Boy for Whelan?

We close by recommending a visit to Infidel 753's link round- up to posts from around the internet. Every week, he assembles an impressive array of links on various topics.  (While you're there, check out his list of essential books -- good companions for these times.)

BONUS:  Time for one more acknowledgement of Bunker Boy's birthday yesterday (h/t Mock Paper Scissors) --