Jesus died for our sins, not for us to gather and get coronavirus

The Kansas Supreme Court thankfully upheld the governor’s order prohibiting public gatherings of more than 10 people. The Republican legislature, in their infinite wisdom, revoked Laura Kelly’s order so they could prevent a “War on Easter”. Kansas isn’t alone- 5 states have yet to enact stay-at-home orders.  Rural states may they think they are exempt from the virus, but the Washington Post analysis shows that 76 million people — about 30 percent of the country’s adults — live in areas where there might not be enough intensive-care beds or ventilators.

Robert Reich in the Guardian calls out the rush to praise billionaires for donating to charities. Every donation matters and they are all desperately needed. But let’s not forget that Trump pushed through a massive tax cut for corporations and the ultra-wealthy that caused the deficit to spike. With trillions of federal dollars being directed at averting another Great Depression, how are we going to pay for it? Billionaires will need to pay their fare share….and today many of them don’t.

Besides, all the billionaire charity combined is a tiny fraction of the trillions the government has already spent on the coronavirus crisis. How does the Journal believe we’re going to pay down this added national debt if the wealthiest among us don’t pay more taxes? Even when this nightmare is over, most Americans will be hard pressed.

Biden is trying to stay relevant while almost all of the media attention is on Trump. It increasingly looks like the November election will be a referendum on Trump and his handling of the current crisis. Biden has to walk the fine line of being visible but not appearing to distract from the work that needs to be done. And Biden will need to raise massive amounts of money- and he has never been very good at that. From the Washington Post:

Through the end of February, Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee had a combined $225 million in the bank, while Mr. Biden’s campaign had $12.1 million. The Democratic National Committee had $14 million on hand, along with $6 million in debt. Both sides expect a fierce competition between a constellation of outside political groups.

Remember when US Navy Captain Brett Crozier sent an email saying sailors on his ship, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, needed to be removed and quarantined on shore? Remember how Navy Secretary Thomas Modly (before he quickly resigned) fired Crozier and said Crozier was naive or stupid? And that the sailors on the ship gave Crozier a standing ovation when he departed? NY Daily News reports that the ship now has more than 550 sailors who have tested positive for the virus- an absolutely disgraceful failure to value and protect our military personnel.

Trump has refused to provide additional funding for the US Post Office as part of the $2 trillion relief bill. Rolling Stone reports that 500 postal workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and that 19 of them have died. They wrap it up with: If the country can afford the billions sent to the private sector in the relief aid package, saving a service that many Americans rely on seems like something that should be a no-brainer.