Category: Uncategorized

#AloneTogether

* According to the WHO, roughly half of coronavirus-related deaths in Europe are occurring in long-term care facilities.

* The WHO also reports that there are 70 COVID vaccines in development—three of which are in clinical trials.

* The U.S., with barely 4 percent of the world’s population, has nearly a third of the world’s coronavirus cases.

* The U.S. has 142 COVID cases per 100,000 people. South Korea has 20 cases per 100,000 people. Sure, there are variables. Among them: quickly scaling up testing and tracing, which allows a government to identify and slow the spread of the disease before it spirals out of control. No hoax pushback also helps.

* NASA Update: The (stay-at-home-impacted) air from Boston to Washington is its cleanest since a NASA satellite started measuring nitrogen dioxide–a traditional air pollutant–in 2005.

* “We’ll go anywhere the science takes us and nowhere the science doesn’t.” Would that America’s president had said that. But the direct, common sense rhetoric was that of Dr. Thom Mayer, the medical adviser of the NFL’s players’ union.

* Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is allowing salons and gyms to reopen. Hair styling, a massage, some bench presses. No problem.

* According to Zoom, it now has more than 300 million daily participants. Prior to the pandemic, it was about 10 million.

* Among the anti-quarantine protest (“Fire Fauci,” “Flatten the Fear,” “Shut Down the Shut-Down”) signs that resonate with defiant partisanship: “Give me liberty or give me COVID-19.” American society–and Patrick Henry–deserve better.

* A best-case scenario right now for Joe Biden is for Trump to keep doubling down on his off-the-cuff, misleading messaging via daily press briefings that alarms the scientific community and worries non-Trump-base viewers. The Biden campaign’s hope is that the former vice president will be impressively juxtaposed to Trump bombast and incoming ridicule with something akin to well-scripted, gaffe-free, digital-age fireside chats from his Delaware residence.

* “The best politics for Joe Biden will be the (vice presidential) selection of a woman who will be, and be seen as, qualified to be president of the United States.”–Richard Moe, former chief of staff to Vice President Walter Mondale.

* “(Biden) will get the overwhelming majority of the black vote, the question is turnout.”–Civil rights activist and talk show host Al Sharpton.

* Speaking of turnout, the Biden campaign remains concerned that they haven’t been seeing signs of a big turnout by Latino voters, who are critical for winning key swing states such as Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

* A key part of the pre-COVID-response, DeSantis honeymoon was the un-Scott-like appointment of Florida’s first chief resiliency officer, Julia Nesheiwot. The climate-change vulnerable Sunshine State was stepping up its existential game. Now, within six months, she’s gone, leaving a report in her wake that’s more sobering than encouraging.

“Florida’s coastal communities and regions do not have time to waste,” warns the report. “Communities are overwhelmed and need one place to turn for guidance. Florida needs a statewide strategy.”

It still does. Only sans Nesheiwot, who had vowed to push for scientific analysis, more funding and an advisory council to advocate for best practices and planning standards for sea-level rise. She now leaves behind an uncertain future for her recommendations. Resiliency–as well as gubernatorial commitment–has never mattered more.

* “We’re in uncharted waters, and nobody knows what’s effective.” —Gov. Ron DeSantis. Not exactly. Some bodies, whether in Tallahassee or Washington, know more than others.

* The at-home version of SNL scored well with Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt (as Dr. Anthony Fauci) taking care of the first two cold openings. But they couldn’t salvage anything else. Lame.

* How much is America missing the solace of sports in this time of crisis and anxiety? The NFL reports that an average of 15.6 million people watched the first round of its annual draft. That was more than 25 percent higher than the record set in 2014.

Recruiting corporations can be a dicey deal. The more sought-out ones want serious, economic incentives and can pit competing cities against one another. And they may or may not measure up as a community team player.

Then there’s Amgen, a biotech heavyweight that came here in 2017 after choosing Tampa over more than 200 other American cities for its new hub. Its choice was not swayed by any state or local incentives. It received none. Location, logistics, workforce and support of the business community and academic institutions carried the bottom-line day, and Amgen built out 130,000 square feet of offices near International Plaza. Now it has announced a $10 million expansion to add another 33,000 square feet.

Moreover, the Amgen Foundation has committed up to $12.5 million to support U.S. and global COVID-19 relief efforts, including more than $300,000 for Tampa Bay. Some corporate relos–and some “win-win” scenarios–are better than others.

* Pandemics have a history of return visits. Should we really be counting on the Bucs go-for-broke, “no risk it, no biscuit” off-season upgrades to get to the Super Bowl here in Tampa? The social-distancing, COVID elephant in the room will not go away–TB-12, Gronk and quality draft picks notwithstanding.

* Bucs’ top draft pick, Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs, has by most accounts exactly what the Bucs need at right tackle to help protect Tom Brady: size, athleticism and work ethic. Plus, he’s a nice guy. To some, however, “nice” is more of a minus, a caveat indicating the lack of a mean streak. No shoulder-chip. No swagger. Does that matter? Three words: Lee Roy Selmon.

* The WWE is still holding and taping shows on its closed set in Orlando. That’s because the state of Florida has classified the WWE as essential business. Seriously.

* “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.”–Donald Trump.

* “The American system still has a strength not available to the Chinese people: the ability to replace its leader when he falls  short. That may be what the world will be watching most closely of all.”–Fred Hiatt, Washington Post.

* “A European race to see who will allow tourist travel first will lead to unacceptable risks.”–German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

* “The American people want leadership, and they see it with President Trump, and it is driving the news organizations across the country crazy.”–White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in accusing CNN and MSNBC of “partisan” spin on coronavirus-briefing coverage.

* “You’ve got to have some hope to sell people. But Trump usually sells anger, division and ‘we’re the victim.'”–Congressman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma.

* “If Trump is the issue, he probably loses. If he makes it about Biden and the economy is getting better, he has a chance.”–Republican consultant Charles R. Black Jr.

* “Refusing to wear a mask on a city sidewalk isn’t civil disobedience; it’s an act of aggression against your families and your neighbors. Even if the president is cheering you on.”–Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times.

* “…more difficult and potentially more complicated.”–From a warning by Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, on what the fall and winter may look like due to the confluence of coronavirus and influenza.

* “The biggest risk is that you open too fast, too broadly, and you have another round of infections, a second wave. That’s the fodder for an economic depression. That would just completely undermine confidence.”–Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.

* “Stopping Blue State Bailout.”–The title  of a document put out by the staff of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggesting states hit hard by coronavirus should be allowed to seek bankruptcy protection rather than be given a federal bailout.

* “It’s not red and blue. It’s red, white and blue.”–New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

* “A noisy minority of protesters is furious at government for trying to keep them healthy. They demand their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of acute, respiratory distress.”–Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald.

* “We’re the most Scrooge-like state in the country on benefits. So coming into the crisis, we already had this (unemployment) system that was the most anti-worker system there was.”–State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami.

* The sooner we move to widespread testing and the use of face coverings, the sooner we will be able to reopen our businesses and get back to our daily lives.”–Mayor Jane Castor.

* “It’s a desert.”–Tampa International Airports spokeswoman Emily Nipps, on the optics of an airport that now sees about 2,500 travelers a day. Normally, it would be about 80,000 per day.

* “The pandemic has had a major impact on finances of institutions like Tampa General. It is not sustainable for the obvious reasons.”–John Couris, president and CEO of TGH. Florida hospitals are hoping to soon restart elective surgeries.

* “We’re keeping the energy flowing to our customers because we know how vital it is to their lives.”–TECO spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs, on keeping power on for customers, including those who can’t pay their bills because of the pandemic.

“A Republic, if you can keep it.”

* Trump’s demographic appeal skews older. The same demographic most vulnerable to COVID-19. How can elderly voters be anything but turned off–if not flat-out scared–by what they continue to see and hear at the presidential podium? Let alone what preceded the pandemic.

* “I will always put the well-being of America first.” Imagine what it would look like if that were not Trump’s foremost priority.

* So who is now the public face of HHS during a pandemic? It’s Michael Caputo, who has no background in health care. What the new assistant secretary for public affairs does have, however, is a track record of Trump fealty. Caputo wrote a book and produced a documentary, “The Ukraine Hoax,” during the impeachment process.

* “COVID-19 isn’t ‘shifty Schiff.'” That criticism of Trump’s briefings’ behavior, which features bluster, invective, insults and misleading information, didn’t come from the “lame stream media,” unless the LSM now includes the less-than-liberal Wall Street Journal.

* “You’re going to call your own shots. We’re going to be standing alongside of you.” That was Donald Trump in a conference call to governors, sounding like the vacillator-in-chief who had earlier claimed absolute authority to determine how and when states reopen. Stay tuned, as always.

* It’s 2020 and Wisconsin has a (de facto) poll tax. Call it the price Wisconsin voters paid recently in the form of fear, anxiety and physical well-being because of in-person voting. It’s the unconscionable upshot imposed by conservative Republicans on the courts and in the State Legislature. Being the  “Badger State” shouldn’t mean badgering democracy and enabling gerrymandering.

#AloneTogether

*Lávase Las Manos. Wash Your Hands.

* In Paris, Milan and Madrid, hospitals are now reporting empty ICU beds and enough ventilators to go around. We’ll take it.

* “It is thin ice. … Caution is the order of the day, and not overconfidence.”–German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

* Sweden has the highest mortality rate in Scandinavia. It’s likely not happenstance; it’s the only Nordic country that ignored the lockdowns imposed among its neighbors.

* “You don’t make the timelines. The virus makes the timelines.”–Dr. Anthony Fauci.

* The coronavirus attacks the lungs. Could that be a wake-up call to smokers and vapers? I don’t think so either.

* Talk about a worst-case scenario: a pandemic during the Trump plague!

* Yes, there is light at the end of this COVID tunnel; we just don’t know how long this tunnel is.

* “I think it will be months. I definitely don’t think it will be years.”–Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, on the economic-recovery time frame.

* COVID prescience: “If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war–not missiles but microbes.” That was Bill Gates in 2015. His Foundation is the second largest donor to the WHO for its latest two-year budget.

* Imagine how the pandemic “normal” would be looking if Trump, as he has self-servingly noted, were not doing “one hell of a job.”

* “We have the best tests in the world.” Maybe Trump meant true-false.

* When in pandemic doubt, err on the side of caution. It’s not an error–whether it’s beaches, businesses, churches or early release of problematic inmates.

* Gov. Ron DeSantis has given the go-ahead for some beaches and parks to reopen if it can be done safely. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said Duval County beaches have reopened with restricted hours and can only be used for walking,biking, hiking, fishing, running, swimming, surfing and taking care of pets. How’s that for restrictive?

* One inherent issue with wearing masks is that you can’t see people smile–and smiles have never mattered more.

* A group–representing political consultants, pollsters and lobbyists–is suing the U.S. government for a piece of the $2.2 billion COVID-19 bailout pie, specifically the “forgiving loans” provided under the Paycheck Protection Program. The program excludes a number of businesses, including nonprofits, strip clubs and those “primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities.” When’s the last time nonprofits, strip clubs and political lobbyists even appeared in the same sentence?

* According to a recent report by the Tampa Bay Partnership, USF Muma College of Business and others, about 40 percent of this region’s (5,000) hospital beds are still available for new patients and about a third of the ICU beds are currently available.

* Add wastewater employees to the list of everyday heroes on the front line of human health and environmental protection. That’s because of too many flushable wipes–and paper towels and diapers. There’s even been a warning from the EPA about the danger of flushing gloves, facemasks and wipes that could be carrying COVID-19.

* “(Joe Biden) has the character and the experience to guide us through one of our darkest times and heal us through a long recovery. … The Republicans occupying the White House and running the U.S. Senate are not interested in progress. They are interested in power.” That was former President Barack Obama, in endorsing his former vice president.

It won’t be enough, however, if the former president can’t foment hope-and-reset among minorities and young voters. They’ll be asked to get behind a candidate who is not charismatic like the eloquent, history-making Obama–nor as enthralling as the ideological guru that is Sanders.

* While Biden still polls better than Trump right now, he does have a disturbing deficit online. His YouTube subscribers total just 32,000; Trump has more than 300,000. Biden has less than 7 million followers on Facebook and Twitter; Trump has more than 100 million. It matters.

* It still existentially boggles the mind–how we keep reading references to Bernie Sanders’ supporters who are just not inspired by Biden, and, as a result, can’t be counted on voting for the presumptive Democratic nominee. It’s no malarkey that Biden doesn’t necessarily “inspire,” but, yes, Trump should necessarily frighten. Isn’t that rationale enough?

* “Mr. Sanders lost the nomination, but he’s winning the battle of ideas–and the Democratic Party’s future.”–That was Republican strategist Karl Rove. No, it’s not a compliment.