March 27, 2020

Trump spent 25 percent of his time at Wednesday's briefing on self-congratulation and placing blame

Trump spent 25 percent of his time at Wednesday’s briefing on self-congratulation and placing blame

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/26/trumps-coronavirus-self-congratulation-tour-illustrated/

March 27, 2020

Trump's Approval Hits New High, But A Rally-Around-The-Flag Effect Is Small

Regardless, the 3-point increase in his approval rating so far is not much of a bump, certainly not the kind of increase other presidents have seen in other rally-around-the-flag moments, pollsters say.

"We're seeing although his numbers have inched up, it's still roughly in his zone of support," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducts polling for NPR. "Look, he's not getting the rally-around-the-president [effect] that presidents in crisis have gotten."

Largely — as has been the case for the entirety of his presidency — Trump's approval and handling of the pandemic are split sharply along party lines. Overwhelming numbers of Republicans approve, and overwhelming numbers of Democrats don't.

"Certainly, there's no bounce — it's very minimal," Miringoff said. "It's all playing out depending on the filter people have. The partisan split is as wide as can be. I don't think it's something that reflects a president who is about to break 50% [approval] for the first time."

Historical rally-around-the-flag bounces

Partisanship did not begin in the Trump era.

Its sharp rise appears to have taken hold during the Obama years. That's evident by how little former President Barack Obama's approval fluctuated once his honeymoon period was over and legislation aimed at combating the Great Recession was passed.

According to data from the Gallup Presidential Job Approval Center, George W. Bush after 9/11 and before the Iraq War, George H.W. Bush before the Gulf War, Ronald Reagan during the Grenada military action and the Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon, and Jimmy Carter at the outset of the Iran hostage crisis all saw much bigger rally-around-the flag approval bounces than either Trump (so far) or Obama.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/27/822043781/trumps-approval-hits-new-high-but-a-rally-around-the-flag-effect-is-small

March 26, 2020

Deadline to get real id pushed back a year

https://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Deadline-to-get-a-REAL-ID-pushed-back-at-least-a-15159039.php

March 26, 2020

Internet is laughing at reporters reaction to approaching bison. Yellowstone said he did right thing

https://mobile.twitter.com/DeionNBCMT/status/1242910540105576450

March 26, 2020

Usa blew past Italy in number of coronavirus cases

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

March 26, 2020

A therapy dog brings comfort to ER doctors on the frontlines

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/health/therapy-dog-er-doctor-trnd-wellness/index.html

March 26, 2020

woman coughs on groceries

https://nypost.com/2020/03/25/woman-coughs-on-35k-of-goods-at-pennsylvania-grocery-store-in-very-twisted-prank/

A Pennsylvania woman ruined an estimated $35,000 worth of goods by intentionally coughing all over them while the coronavirus plagues nations worldwide, a grocery store alleged on Facebook.

The woman visited a Hanover Township location of the small grocery chain Gerrity’s Supermarket before 2:20 p.m. Wednesday and coughed on fresh produce, a small section of the bakery, meat case and grocery items, the store’s co-owner Joe Fasula wrote.

Authorities do not believe the woman, whose name is still unknown, is infected with COVID-19, but will “make every effort” to get her tested, Fasula wrote. The woman is also said to be a “chronic problem” in the community.

“While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers. We had no choice but to throw out all product she came in contact with,” Fasula wrote.

Gerrity’s Supermarket called cops immediately, and more than 15 employees worked with the Hanover Township health inspector to thoroughly clean and disinfect the store.

March 26, 2020

Friends & Family Are Remembering A "Generous And Patient" New York Times Editor Who Died Of COVID19

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/addybaird/coronavirus-victims-alan-finder-new-york-times

Friends And Family Are Remembering A "Generous And Patient" New York Times Editor Who Died Of The Coronavirus



Family, friends, and colleagues are mourning the death of Alan Finder, a longtime editor at the New York Times, who died Tuesday from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Finder was 72.

“I hope he knew how well regarded and well respected he was by so many colleagues, and how many people felt really strongly about him,” his daughter, Lauren Drucker, said in a phone call with BuzzFeed News on Wednesday. “His reach was much further and wider than his family really realized.”

Above all else, Drucker said her dad was a man of “integrity” who lived by a strong set of principles from which he never wavered.

“He definitely felt that putting others first was really important, and certainly valued family and friends, and I think he really showed an interest in people,” she said.

Finder loved music, books, and good food and wine. He liked to travel, attend concerts, garden, and work in the yard — “even though he complained about it a lot,” his daughter said.

March 26, 2020

"Watch Trump walk in, what do you notice?

https://twitter.com/MysterySolvent/status/1242972226074411019

March 26, 2020

the state of Ohio has stopped reporting unemployment claims at Trump's request.

https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/1242922146441187328

Amy Siskind Rainbow flag
@Amy_Siskind
I need us all to take this in: the state of Ohio has stopped reporting unemployment claims at Trump’s request.

Trump is hiding the size of the outbreak by making testing inaccessible. Trump is hiding unemployment data to try to prop up the stock market.
2:11 PM · Mar 25, 2020·Twitter for iPhone