The Smoke Eater For April 20, 2020
Florida, man.
A man removes a plastic glove before heading opening his truck at a laundromat. Photo by Dominic Gwinn.
Good morning, this is The Smoke Eater for Monday, April 20, 2020, and losin' out just might take you all night.
Quick Hit
* Seriously, did nobody watch “Alien?” *
NOTE: Today's issue would have been longer, but in the middle of writing I realized I had to deal with a personal issue. Patreon subscribers can check out photos from the latest volume of An Exercise In Boredom. The Smoker Eater is mobile friendly, ad-free and supported by super awesome readers. If you want to be super awesome, tip me on Ko-Fi, or subscribe to my Patreon!
Florida, Man
On Saturday the Wall Street Journal reported the administration's scramble to secure $110 million worth of N95 masks led them to order from shady vendors at inflated prices. According to the WSJ, some vedors have missed delivery deadlines, backed out, and one company is sitting in bankruptcy as its owners stand accused of fraud by multiple business partners. Some of the vendors the administration has been pouring money into have little vetting, or history doing business with the federal government.
Officials in Florida have been trying to hide the number of deaths in nursing homes. When reporters at the Miami Herald tried to get information about the number of deaths in some nursing homes, state officials attempted to block the release of the information. On Saturday, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis did release some information about nursing homes, the data didn't include the number of residents of staff members who had tested positive, or the number of deaths. Additionally, the state has been quiet about the backlog of COVID-19 tests in private lab, and the Florida Department of Corrections has refused to admit, provide details, and in some instances blocked, details on the testing of inmates.
Two weeks ago DeSantis tried to make a $600 million dollar no-bid purchase orders for PPE after it became evident the state was experiencing a full-blown crisis, but the deals (plural) have fallen apart as Florida realizes it's competing against 49 other state governors for scant supplies.
The nursing home industry has been begging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to extend sovereign immunity provisions in order to shield hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities protections against lawsuits for negligence. Similar requests are being made to governors in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. Lobbyists have argued that the people working in these facilities are heroes, like doctors and nurses, and should thus be shielded from accusations of gross negligence because this is "an act of God." This comes amid new reporting that two
On Friday the mayor of Charolette again declined to say whether or not the Republican National Convention would still be held this August. "We’ll follow the CDC rules and guidelines for whatever is going on," Mayor Vi Lyles said during a social media town hall. McClatchy's Alison Kuznitz reports that two large health systems have dropped requests to establish a 600-bed field hospital at the Charlotte Convention Center, while Republican officials tell reporters the convention is "full steam ahead," and Donald Trump says there's "no way" the convention will be canceled.
Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is extending time frames for field hospitals to operate. Due to high costs and fluctuating infection numbers, some cities are moving field hospitals out of convention centers and into more inexpensive sites, like motels.
Pro-gun extremist groups have been feeding the anti-quarantine pro-Trump protests, the Washington Post reports, suggesting the campaign is a largely astroturf movement. Metadata shows social media pages created Wednesday began feeding misinformation to the existing gun groups, and then Fox News personalities "interviewed" one Republican state lawmaker who sits on the Trump campaign's advisory board, and maintains a leading role in "Women for Trump," a spin-off of a pro-Trump super PAC (that's largely funded by wealthy donors of the Women Vote Smart Super PAC). WaPo adds the DeVos family has been funding protests.
One More Thing...
In the early 2000's, Reno 911 satirized the proto-reality show, Cops, with actors and comedians portraying incompetent police and criminals. The show was the brainchild of creators form "The State" and "Viva Variety," including Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver.
OK, here's a cute critter video: BABY GOATS!
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