So this must have been in the works for a good while, but apparently hit the White House Gift Store this week:
A snapshot of the White House Gift Store’s ad for the limited edition ‘Trump Defeats COVID-19″ commemorative coin. Uh-oh.
So, RawStory, right? But that’s where I saw yet another discussion of insiders being shocked that they’re not getting the information they need to keep themselves healthy and/or to do their jobs (from the context it’s not clear which, if not both, is being lamented). In this particular case, however, it’s a high-level staffer or official of the Leopards Eating Faces Party who is shocked, SHOCKED that they are being treated like a commoner, with crucial information being withheld and no way to determine which of the contradictory stories appearing in the press are the lies and which are to be believed. The original reporting was from Politico, and I quote from them despite the hat tip from Raw Story:
just saw thousands of muslims dancing on a rooftop in jersey city
— demi adejuyigbe (@electrolemon) October 2, 2020
whew, so glad it's only Covid-19 and not the Chinese virus https://t.co/Bv5rlMcsRZ
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) October 2, 2020
There’s more!
It’s like 2020 isn’t even trying to make sense anymore. If any of you readers can explain what’s happening here, I’ll be impressed:
The fact that the President has contracted a potentially fatal virus is cause for celebration in QWorld. We're truly living in the Upside Down. pic.twitter.com/prWqYYQWQN
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) October 2, 2020
Yep, the October Surprise has already happened before large hunks of the country were even able to finish October 1st.
Technically though, we should add some clarity: we only know Trump has been exposed to coronavirus. No news has yet been released as of 1:30am EST / 10:30pm PST about the President’s symptoms (or lack thereof), but the president’s Twitter account did announce that he and Melania had both tested positive and were entering quarantine. Apparently the white house has also known for days that Hope Hicks tested positive and after she was positive was traveling and interacting with Trump, White House staff, and the White House Press Corps. There is as yet no guarantee that Biden was not directly or indirectly exposed, so watch for updates on that front.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown, as the character of the vice-principal from The Breakfast Club, takes down Judd Nelson’s bad boy character, hard.
Is almost literally what happened earlier today, March 9th, 2020. The National Association of Immigration Judges recommended that immigration courts display disease prevention posters in english and several other languages to protect court employees, lawyers, and attendees.
But as odd as it seems for a court to be part of the executive branch, in the case of immigration courts, they are organized under Article II powers (executive powers, thus accountable to the president) rather than article III (judicial powers, thus accountable to the Supreme Court generally on some matters, or the Chief Justice specifically on remaining matters) because the constitution gives authority over immigration and naturalization to the executive, subject to duly passed laws.
As a result, the President has the authority to interfere with immigration courts to the extent not prohibited by law passed by Congress and signed by the President (or passed with veto-override). Apparently the President or his delegates were none too pleased that immigration judges wanted to prevent death and disease and ordered immigration courts to take the posters down:
EOIR has ordered immigration court staff to remove CDC posters designed to slow spread of coronavirus.
No, this is not a parody account.
— Immigration Judges (NAIJ) (@Imm_Judges_NAIJ) March 9, 2020
It’s hard to explain just how heinous and shortsighted this is, but mostly because it is so obviously heinous and shortsighted. To the Trumpists who actually need this explained, I doubt comprehension will ever come.