Apparently democrat governors are discovering that border security might be important after all…. at least when it comes to quarantining pesky undesirables.  Hypocrisy, thy name is:

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Yes America, Democrat governors are now placing their national guard troops at the borders to question travelers about their origination… “papers please.”

[Rhode Island] – Governor Gina Raimondo announced. Starting immediately, anyone coming into the state from New York state will be mandated to self-quarantine for 14 days, the governor said.

“No matter how you come to Rhode Island – bus, car, train, plane – you are ordered to quarantine for 14 days,” Raimondo said. “In my judgement this is the most prudent form of action in light of the crisis.”

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President Donald Trump sent the following letter [pdf here] to our nations’ governors in response to the national COVID-19 crisis:

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• Phase One was retail. • Phase two was distribution. • Phase three was the space between manufacturing and distribution. • Phase four is raw material supply to manufacturing. U.S. food processing, and manufacturing is now operating at full capacity.

By now the majority of protein manufacturing has caught up. Beef and pork should be solid at your local market; however, chicken, while available, will lag to full replenishment capacity in the protein sector. The reason is: “chicken” is an ingredient component in many shelf stable items (soup etc.), that are still short as the manufacturing sector runs at capacity.

We enter a phase where grain commodities are now arriving at manufacturing.

♦ Between the Appalachian mountain range and the Colorado mountain range there is a massive amount of grain, meal, and derivative (farming) product generated. Thin component inventories, now exhausted at processing, are the cause of the current manufacturing supply chain stress… This lag will take a little longer.

There are train-loads of grain products heading both East and West daily; but there is a process of background prioritization taking place within the grain (total), flour, meal, rice and dried beans sector. The downstream ingredient system has a long-term and short-term priority schedule.

Example: total flour is prioritized to industrial bakeries for the production of bread. Nationally retail or consumer flour shortages are caused by prioritization in this part of the supply-chain.

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You knew it was going to happen… The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (President Tom Donohue) begins having apoplectic fits at the thought of even stronger Trump administration policies that might undercut their Chinese manufacturing investments.

The U.S. CoC is the biggest stakeholder of U.S. multinational companies doing business in China.  The Trump administration has been warning them for years to put America First in their business plans; and now with the Chinese Pandemic showing just how dangerous it is for critical manufacturing to be made in the U.S.A, chamber President Tom Donohue is pleading to keep the U.S. dependent on China.

Keep in mind, this is the EXACT SAME group who said the steel and aluminum tariffs were going to cause massive inflation driving up the price of all consumer goods and cars by thousands of dollars… It never happened; because the CoC are manipulative liars.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House plans to expand “Buy America” mandates to the medical equipment and pharmaceutical sectors could worsen shortages of urgently needed medicines and delay discovery of a vaccine for the new coronavirus, over 80 business groups warned.

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Citizens within the confined perimeter of the Kansas City metropolitan area are requested to turn in their neighbors for violating the stay at home directives.  Any comrade who wishes to assist the local police may call-in their tips to the Directorate of Compliance.

(KCUR) Kansas City, Kansas, police have created a hotline to report non-essential businesses that are staying open during the metro-wide stay-at-home order.

They’re urging residents to call (913) XXX-XXXX if they see a business they believe is not complying with the order, which went into effect Tuesday. The line is staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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On the heels of more than three million new unemployment claims, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calls in to CNBC for a phone interview to discuss the coronavirus relief bill that passed last night.

Mnuchin was asked about his reaction to seeing the 3.28 million new unemployment claims reported for the past week during the interview. Mnuchin said, “To be honest, I think these numbers right now aren’t relevant whether they’re bigger or shorter in the short term.”  WATCH:

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Yikes, the text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) has been released (full pdf below).  The Senate took H.R.748 stripped it out, and replaced the text with this bill.   The full 50 page senate record of the activity is available here.

Digging in now.  However, at first blush the size of the spending seems to be a considerable state budget deficit bailout [similar to how Obamacare removed the healthcare pension liabilities from unions].  Here’s the BILL:

[scribd id=453273118 key=key-drggn4Vhb6WkXv99UjQv mode=scroll]

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Share your thoughts in the comment section….

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Think about this… How weak and tenuous does a corporate financial position need to be such that being closed for one week means informing all nationwide landlords of your inability to pay the rent next week?   Consider this example:

CALIFORNIA – The Cheesecake Factory, one of the most popular sit-down restaurant chains in the country, says it will not be able to make upcoming rent payments for any of its storefronts on April 1 because of significant loss of income due to the coronavirus crisis.

[…]  Company chairman and CEO David Overton writes, “Due to these extraordinary events, I am asking for your patience, and frankly, your help.” He continues, “we appreciate our landlords’ understanding given the exigency of the current situation.” The letter says that the company hopes to resume paying rent as soon as possible.

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Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser closes the nation’s capital until April 25th, effectively closing all public gatherings for one month. [Order pdf Here]

There is a certain aspect to dèjá-vu showing up on the horizon… Welcome to an economic civil war. But first, the latest details.

WASHINGTON DC –  The intent of the Order is to temporarily cease all non-essential business activities, including tour guides and touring services; gyms, health clubs, spas, and massage establishments; theaters, auditoriums, and other places of large gatherings; nightclubs; hair, nail, and tanning salons and barbershops; tattoo parlors; sales not involved in essential services; retail clothing stores; and professional services not devoted to assisting essential business operations.

The Order goes into effect on March 25, 2020, at 10 pm, through April 24, 2020 (link)

On the horizon it appears the state and regional shutdowns are going to mirror the shutdowns from Obama’s infamous sequester-fiasco from the spring of 2013.  That looks like the road-map that will be followed as the coronavirus issue starts to level-off.

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With caution applied, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced around 2:00am ET a deal had been reached for the nearly $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) bill.

The final language for “HR.748” (stripped and newly assembled) will take place today.  Looks like the senate is using an old bill, previously passed by the House, so the House can deem and pass, without formally reconvening. There are ten republican amendments. Speaking from the floor, both McConnell and Schumer made remarks describing the bill.

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