Progressives (Liberals)

Usha Reddi, the mayor of Manhattan, Kansas, went to the meeting hoping that the commissioners would declare an emergency, which they ultimately did. But what she heard from the chairman, Republican Marvin Rodriguez, was this: “I’m paraphrasing, but he said we don’t have a problem here because Italy has a lot of Chinese people, and we don’t have that problem here.”

Reached by phone, Rodriguez told The Star Editorial Board, “I didn’t necessarily say it like that.” So how did he say it? “Italy has a problem with its health department, first. It’s health for everybody. I have a friend in the Navy, and he said in that area” of Northern Italy where that country’s first cases were reported, “there’s a garment industry and a lot of Chinese. If we were like Italy, we’d have it already.”

We do have it already. But, does he understand why it’s dangerous to Asian Americans to talk like that, and that there has been an increase in reported attacks?

“Well, they say it came out of China,” he answered, “and I’m not putting it past the Chinese government in communist China.” Meaning, to export a virus on purpose? “Normally, this kind of thing spreads slowly,” he answered, so “I put two and two together. I’ve been around a long time, girl.”

He also said that his only public policy goal in saying all of this was to try to discourage panic. “We’re hurting a lot of people in Manhattan” by overreacting, he said. “Places are being shut down for no reason at all.”

All of the above not only encourages racist attacks but also encourages the public to ignore the life-saving advice of public health officials to take proper precautions to avoid transmitting the virus.
[...]
That the coronavirus has no nationality should be obvious. It’s no more the fault of the Chinese people, or of their government, than it was the fault of Kansans that the “Spanish flu” of a century ago seems to have started in Kansas. Very close to home for Mr. Rodriguez, in fact, among World War I soldiers at Camp Funston, part of Fort Riley in Geary and Riley counties.

Jonathan Martin
@jmartNYT
· 12h
Folks, the total number of unemployment claims *nationally* was 281,000 last week

Pennsylvania lawmakers were told today on a call with a state official that 180,000 Pennsylvanians applied for unemployment just in the last few days

I’m not putting it past the Chinese government in communist China.” Meaning, to export a virus on purpose? “Normally, this kind of thing spreads slowly,” he answered, so I put two and two together.

WASHINGTON — Senator Richard M. Burr sold hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock in major companies last month, as President Trump and others in his party were still playing down the threat presented by the coronavirus outbreak and before the stock market’s precipitous plunge.

The stocks were sold in mid-February, days after Mr. Burr, Republican of North Carolina and the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, wrote an opinion article for Fox News suggesting that the United States was “better prepared than ever before” to confront the virus. At least three other senators sold major stock holdings around the same time, disclosure records show.

Two weeks after Mr. Burr sold his stocks, he spoke at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington to a nonpartisan group called the Tar Heel Club, warning that the virus could soon cause a major disruption in the United States.

The gathering, which drew fewer than 100 people, included representatives from the North Carolina governor’s office, as well as staff members from other congressional offices in the state.

“There’s one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything we have seen in recent history,” Mr. Burr said, according to a recording obtained by NPR, which reported on his remarks on Thursday. “It’s probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic.”

He added: “Every company should be cognizant of the fact that you may have to alter your travel. You may have to look at your employees and judge whether the trip they’re making to Europe is essential or whether it can be done on video conference.”

Mr. Burr has long pushed for the United States to better prepare for the threat presented by pandemics, including sponsoring legislation that Congress passed in 2006 called the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.
[...]
It is apparently not the first time Mr. Burr has acted decisively to shield his assets from financial turmoil after hearing from government officials. In 2009, he recounted in a speech how after he heard Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson discuss a major company’s difficulty moving money between banks, he called his wife and instructed her to withdraw as much cash as possible from their own accounts out of fear there would be a run on funds.

Three other senators also sold major holdings around the time Mr. Burr did, according to the disclosure records: Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who is also a member of the Intelligence Committee; James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma; and Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia.

Actor Peter Fonda: Barron Trump should be 'ripped' from Melania, placed in 'cage with pedophiles


Actor Peter Fonda delivered a profane Twitter rant against President Trump’s immigration policies Wednesday morning, saying the president’s 12-year-old son Barron should be taken from his mother and placed in a “cage with pedophiles.

“We should rip Barron Trump from his mother’s arms and put him in a cage with pedophiles and see if his mother will stand up against the giant a—hole she is married to,” he wrote in all caps.

He also encouraged followers to dig up the names of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, “surround their homes” in protest and harass their children at school.

“We should hack the system, get the addresses of the ICE agents [Customs and Border Protection] agents and surround their homes in protest. We should find out what schools their children go to and surround the schools in protest. These agents are doing this cuz they want to do it. They like doing this,” he added.

“We don’t have to take the agents kids, we only need to surround their schools and scare the s—t out of them and worry the f—k out of the agents from CBE ICE and regular border patrol agents. We need to scare the f—k out of them! Need to make their children worry now.”

The actor has not yet issued an apology.

You must be drunk writing because you did NOT speak of Bernie in that paragraph. You spoke of his surrogates, or his insufferable supporters who "flocked to his message online." But you did not mention his actions or his policies. And that's telling of a person who bases his opinion on hearsay and public perception rather than on facts.

I knew all I needed to know about Bernie Sanders when I learned of his policies, his campaign, the people he chose for his staff, the surrogates he allowed to speak for him, the endorsements he took, his methods and strategy, and his animosity towards the Democratic Party and to the voters who failed to be hoodwinked by his fairy tales.

He was highlighting the way that Fox only mentioned one name - the Democrat - in the headline.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican senators faced calls to resign on Friday over media reports that they sold substantial amounts of stock ahead of the global coronavirus-induced market meltdown after receiving private briefings on the outbreak.
[...]
Tucker Carlson, a conservative Fox News commentator, told his viewers on Thursday night: “Maybe there is an honest explanation for what (Burr) did. If there is, he should share it with the rest of us immediately. Otherwise, he must resign from the Senate and face prosecution for insider trading.”
... ... ...

Reuters report: Republican senators dumped stock before coronavirus market crash

Quote:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican senators faced calls to resign on Friday over media reports that they sold substantial amounts of stock ahead of the global coronavirus-induced market meltdown after receiving private briefings on the outbreak.
[...]
Tucker Carlson, a conservative Fox News commentator, told his viewers on Thursday night: “Maybe there is an honest explanation for what (Burr) did. If there is, he should share it with the rest of us immediately. Otherwise, he must resign from the Senate and face prosecution for insider trading.”
... ... ...

Reuters report: Republican senators dumped stock before coronavirus market crash

Quote:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican senators faced calls to resign on Friday over media reports that they sold substantial amounts of stock ahead of the global coronavirus-induced market meltdown after receiving private briefings on the outbreak.
[...]
Tucker Carlson, a conservative Fox News commentator, told his viewers on Thursday night: “Maybe there is an honest explanation for what (Burr) did. If there is, he should share it with the rest of us immediately. Otherwise, he must resign from the Senate and face prosecution for insider trading.”
... ... ...