The ‘good cop bad cop’ routine with deBlasio just seemed a little too scripted… Then the framework of a usefully constructed contrast narrative started to become clear… Then, as if on cue, all national broadcasts started being interrupted for maximum exposure; again a little odd.

A deep, very deep, connection to Bloomberg reappeared as a little flashing light in the corner of the picture… Then the Murdoch’s started to shape the landscape; curiosity piqued… Followed by positioning that seems a little too centrally located in the political sphere.. Then Hannity and Bannon started singing his praises.  Well, Bannon doesn’t exactly have a good track record of judgement… I digress.  But it really wasn’t until the CIA started publishing their endorsement that things possibly started making sense. WATCH:

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Are they positioning NY Governor Andrew Cuomo to exit the DNC convention as the consensus nominee; the chosen one?  It would take the construct, at least the optics of, a reluctantly drafted candidate to pull it off.  Then again, what is all this – if not that.

Think that’s crazy?…. Let’s keep watching.

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There’s been a debate about possible political motives surrounding the panic he has created; the massive economic damage he has inflicted; and the conflicting assertions of National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.

CTH identifies the motives as sketchy.  He appears to use his position to advance theories and yet position himself to avoid scrutiny.

Sometimes within a 24 hour period Fauci will make a statement, then contradict the initial assertion, then attempt to cloud his own conflict with obtuse and wordy explanations.  After watching for several weeks, we called it out HERE.

Perhaps one way to help see through the professional obfuscation, and identify just exactly how political Dr. Fauci is, would be to: compare and contrast Dr. Fauci under President Obama in September 2009 after 3,000 to 4,000 H1N1 deaths in the USA  -vs- Dr. Fauci under President Trump in March 2020 after 200 to 300 COVID-19 deaths.  WATCH:

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Now, to better absorb the information…. According to the CDC final estimate of 2009 U.S. H1N1 cases (published in 2011): from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010 approximately 60.8 million U.S. cases, 274,304 U.S. hospitalizations, and 12,469 U.S. deaths occurred due to H1N1. That’s the empirical data.

After: (1) watching that 2009 video; and (2) comparing the 2009 H1N1 response to the current 2020 COVID-19 response; and (3) reviewing the empirical data; we must admit to ourselves there is a VERY BIG difference.  So now, with the baseline established, we look for why such a big difference; and to do that we (4) evaluate the politics:

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Comrade citizens, if you don’t believe there are local, state and federal contingency plans to activate the National Guard as a police authority you have not paid close attention over the past three decades.  However, nothing quite grabs attention like a convoy of Humvees and MWRAPS driving though Main Street…

In this small example of what is happening on a national scale, Illinois State Police and Chicago police prepare to enforce Governor  Pritzker’s “stay-at-home” order.  WATCH:

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Watch for the words: “opportunity”, “challenges” and “support” when used within a sentence that describes the deployment of the national guard.

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Math is math. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the math, understand the logistics of the current extreme demand, recognize that fixed assets are limited, and realize if you shut down essential services for truckers the total supply-chain will suffer.

On March 17th Pennsylvania officially shuttered all Turnpike service plazas in response to coronavirus concerns. However, the decision was ridiculously short-sighted as long-haul and regional Truckers depend on fuel stations, bathrooms and restaurants along the route. Thankfully PA officials realized their error and reopened the service stations yesterday.

PA Authority – The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has agreed to reopen all of service plazas that they shuttered earlier this week for Coronavirus.

All 17 closed service plazas are set to reopen at 7 a.m. on Friday, March 20, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

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Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has an important message about the U.S. food sector. With shortages in the retail food (grocer) sector the last part is key…. “don’t take more than you would normally use in a week or two.”  WATCH:

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The aspect that most models are missing, is the pressure on the supply-chain will not soon end.  The restaurant sector (‘food away from home’) appears to be operating at far less than half capacity (perhaps as low as 25%) due to coronavirus restrictions.  As long as those food consumers remain shifted into the retail supply chain (food at home), there are going to be long-term shortages due to capacity constraints and distribution limits.

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Earlier today President Trump announced the closing of the southern border (Mexico) and northern border (Canada) to non essential travel. Entry/Exit for trade and business travel will continue to operate with additional screening.

PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH: President Trump is taking action at our northern and southern borders to prevent further spread of the coronavirus in the United States.

♦ The United States has reached mutual agreements with Canada and Mexico to restrict non-essential travel across our northern and southern borders.

♦ The United States will expeditiously return aliens who cross between ports of entry or are otherwise not allowed to enter the country, as the facilities in which these aliens would normally be held cannot support quarantine for the time needed to assess potential cases.

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announces via Twitter the IRS has delayed the deadline for tax filing to July 15th. However, anyone expecting a refund should file asap for obvious reasons.

The White House coronavirus task force briefing is being held today at 11:45am ET.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Former White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett is returning to the administration as a senior economic advisor to President Trump during the COVID-19 response.

Kevin Hassett is very sharp and a happy warrior by disposition.  Hassett was excellent as CEA Chair and no doubt his rejoining the economic team with an advisory position to President Trump will bring a great voice back to the crew.

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If Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton had a child, it would be Nikki Haley.   Ms. Haley and her paid staff of political wind-testers, are constantly scanning the horizon for optics and issues that might upend her aspirations to the presidency.  Today she quits the board of Boeing after the likelihood of a government bailout starts to rise….

(Via CNBC) Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley stepped down from Boeing’s board of directors after less than a year because she opposes government aid to help the aircraft manufacturer weather the coronavirus crisis, the company said Thursday.

Boeing earlier this week said it is seeking $60 billion in government aid for itself and its massive supply chain because of the virus. The manufacturer’s suppliers include United Technologies, General Electric, Spirit Aerosystems and dozens of others. The administration hasn’t yet said what Boeing, a top U.S. military contractor could receive.

President Donald Trump this week threw his support behind the manufacturer, saying: “We have to protect Boeing.”

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