Annals of corporate you have got to be kidding:

While much of the economy grinds to a halt, Amazon is doing more business than ever. The company has announced it is hiring 100,000 workers to try to meet surging demand. In 2019, Amazon had over $280 billion in revenue and $11.9 billion in profits. As more Americans shift their shopping online, it will likely do better this year. But, as the pandemic continues, Amazon maintains one of the stingiest paid sick leave policies among major corporations.

Well that’s why the profits are $11.9 billion!

In response to the pandemic, Amazon said it would provide two weeks of sick leave to “all Amazon employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into

Pence the other day:

Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday described his novel coronavirus test as a “kind of invasive” and a “not comfortable” experience.

Pence and second lady Karen Pence both tested negative for the virus Saturday afternoon after a staff member of his office had tested positive.

“The test was quick, but it goes a fair amount to the sinuses and it is not comfortable,” Pence said at a White House press briefing.

Oh yes? Not comfortable? That’s sad.

Newsweek tells us never mind about the cancer patients, the people thrown out of work and unable to pay rent, the bus drivers and supermarket workers and delivery drivers taking the risks – focus your attention instead on The Most Marginalized Of All.

With empty toilet paper aisles and shuttered businesses, some of the effects of social distancing and other pandemic measures have been readily apparent. But the pandemic has less visible consequences unique to vulnerable communities, like the additional burden placed on transgender people.

Transgender people are vulnerable, you see, unlike the rest of us. Women for instance – women are not vulnerable at all. Bitches.

Widespread closures and the strain placed on health care systems have thrown

Another rally disguised as a press briefing today.

TRUMP: "We'll be back in business as a country pretty soon. You'll be hearing about that also pretty soon." pic.twitter.com/MP3pU9l7WC

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2020

Enough of this trying to slow the contagion! Back to selling!

Trump does not commit to taking the advice of public health experts if they say that social distancing measures need to last longer than 15 days. He then misidentifies states as "countries" pic.twitter.com/2BxQ5SwJAL

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2020

Trump's press conference is now approaching 2 hours. There is no reason for these things to be this long aside from Trump needing to get his daily fix of attention.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar)

Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Ok time’s up.

15 days is forever for someone with no impulse control.

The fundamental theory is that your clampdown measures have to last 15 days after your last new case unless you have containment and contact tracing in place allowing every single instance to be quarantined.

Yes, but he’s a really smart guy who’s right a lot of times. He’s got a good feeling about 15 days. Besides, that sounds like a lot of work (none of which Trump would actually have to do), and altogether too many big words to fit onto the pages of his jumbo print note binder.

I say let him go out after 15 … Read the rest

The other day when he was contradicting Anthony Fauci on chloroquine as a miracle cure for C19 Trump asked “What have you got to lose?”

Your life, would be one answer.

Medical toxicologists and emergency physicians are warning the public against the use of inappropriate medications and household products to prevent or treat COVID-19. In particular, Banner Health experts emphasize that chloroquine, a malaria medication, should not be ingested to treat or prevent this virus.

“Given the uncertainty around COVID-19, we understand that people are trying to find new ways to prevent or treat this virus, but self-medicating is not the way to do so,” said Dr. Daniel Brooks, Banner Poison and Drug Information Center medical director. “The last

Joy Reid asks some very necessary questions.

Questions for @senatemajldr:
1) Why did the Republican bill contain a $500 billion slush fund?
2) Why should Treasury Secretary Mnuchin have control of such a fund w/o the American people being able to know who got the loans until after the election?
3) What are the loan terms?

— Nope. (@JoyAnnReid) March 23, 2020

5) Will cruise companies, who are mostly based offshore to vastly reduce their tax burdens and often utilize mostly low-paid, non-U.S. labor be able to access these bailout loans, and under what terms?

Please post any other questions you have below! #NoCorporateBailouts

— Nope. (@JoyAnnReid) March 23, 2020

… Read the rest

Oh did they now.

A review of public statements by Trump administration officials urging confidence in the markets as the coronavirus spread reveals a stark contrast with the private behaviour of some GOP lawmakers. 

While the president and his top economic adviser late February were urging Americans to show confidence in the stock market and invest as the coronavirus spread, at least two GOP senators had already privately dumped stocks — after receiving classified briefings on the damage likely to be caused by the disease. 

In other words Trump and Kudlow were telling people to buy stocks when they knew the market was going to tank. Meanwhile were they putting their own money at risk? Nah.

Deputy Labor Secretary … Read the rest

Zookeepers are the best people.… Read the rest

But wait – people are still thinking about other things. It’s not all pandemic from morning to night.

March 17, less than a week ago – a guy at Leeds City Council sends a hostile letter to someone about a Woman’s Place event at Leeds City Hall more than four months ago. What is Leeds City Council guy so hostile about four months later and during a pandemic? He’s hostile about “alleged statements about misgendering by speakers at the meeting and a Social Media post which was allegedly tweeted by the organisers about the use of gendered toilets and which toilets guests should use.” More than four months later, during a pandemic. Omigod some women talked about misgendering … Read the rest

Fauci spoke to ScienceInsider yesterday.

Anthony Fauci, who to many watching the now-regular White House press briefings on the pandemic has become the scientific voice of reason about how to respond to the new coronavirus, runs from place to place in normal times and works long hours. Now the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has even less time to sleep and travels at warp speed, typically racing daily from his office north of Washington D.C. to his home in the capital, and then to the White House to gather with the Coronavirus Task Force in the Situation Room. He then usually flanks President Donald Trump addressing the media–and when he isn’t there, concerned tweets begin

Oh, Gwyneth, not now.

I…I couldn’t resist pic.twitter.com/WQEBjUjRe7

— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) March 23, 2020

… Read the rest

It’s true about Trump’s letter to Kim.

Trump confirms he sent a letter to North Korea offering them help on coronavirus.

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) March 22, 2020

Washington and California and New York have to wait until most of us are dead, but that nice Mister Kim is a whole other story.… Read the rest

Rand Paul’s colleagues are not happy that he went scampering around the Senate for days after being exposed to C19 and taking a test.

A number of Senate aides and senators are angry Paul did not go into isolation after he took the test or after he leaned about the positive cases at the event he was at. Instead, he continued on with his schedule, attending GOP lunches, going to gym, etc https://t.co/zFwDdmY87B

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 22, 2020

Jake Tapper has the details:

A source close to Senator Rand Paul explains the events of the last couple weeks:

A week and a half or so ago, Sen. Paul shut down his offices because of the coronavirus, telling his

Trump did another rally packed with lies about the pandemic this afternoon.

Trump says they are marshaling every resource in the fight against "the Chinese virus." He calls for people to follow guidelines on social distancing, travel and hand-washing.

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 22, 2020

Trump on protecting veterans: "We're working on certain hospitals where we may be doing some work, in Louisiana in particular, and some other states — veterans hospitals."

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 22, 2020

Superb: Trump repeats his usual lie about having gotten the Veterans Choice program passed after others failed for "many, many decades."

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 22, 2020

He couldn’t just say “veterans’ hospitals,” he had to repeat a chronic … Read the rest

So Rand Paul has exposed a bunch of senators to the virus.

I took a picture inside the Senate GOP lunch when the door was open Friday and saw Rand Paul seated next to other senators. He is visible in this photo. pic.twitter.com/4qwZo5YdBs

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 22, 2020

Paul was at the Senate gym today and Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas told senators at lunch he saw Paul in the swimming pool today, per a source in the lunch

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 22, 2020

No social distancing for him, I guess. … Read the rest

Here is @RandPaul fighting against families first bill to fund the help of Americans during the #CoronavirusUS.

He has tested positive by what he once called a hoax #COVIDー19.

The #coronavirus has no political affiliation, there is no discrimination. pic.twitter.com/Lz0rNxyNgg

— Skyleigh Heinen-Uhrich (@Sky_Lee_1) March 22, 2020

… Read the rest

Oh those unique challenges:

In a new interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, Dr. Anthony Fauci opened up about the unique challenges of serving on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases called it “kind of funny but understandable that people said, ‘What the hell’s the matter with Fauci?’ because I had been walking a fine line.”

I.e. not yelping “Wait, sir, that’s wrong” when Trump babbles about game-changing treatments.

“I’ve been telling the president things he doesn’t want to hear. I have publicly had to say something different with what he states,” he continued, explaining that he’s engaged in “risky business” but insisting that Trump