The Ministry of Covid Compliance is reminding us this week how the virus has a genetic targeting mechanism able to differentiate between essential cans of vegetables, bottles of liquor, lottery tickets and non-essential products like sneakers and paint.  Thus the Ministry is able to help us better understand the lock-down policy.

We’ve been piling into crowded supermarkets for seven weeks buying food, and we are allowed to purchase liquor and lottery tickets. Those purchases are deemed safe by the state; however, it is critical for viral control that we not purchase sneakers or other hazardous items which pose a greater threat of proximity transmission.

Similarly the COVID-19 virus seems incapable of keeping up with the speed of passenger vehicles, buses, airplanes and trains.  However, once you exit your COVID compliant transportation, the virus can swoop down and attack you if you are in the proximity of a open-space park or beach. 

The Ministry appreciates our compliance in avoiding the dangerous virus freedom zones; and is thankful for compliant citizens who do not question the complex data analysis that goes into regional scientific tracking systems. 

To avoid an increased infection rate it is critical for American citizens to only visit Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, WalMart & other large institutional retail systems with influential lobbying offices near the Covid Mitigation Ministry.   

Effective compliance and mitigation requires that everyone must avoid the small business operations where the virus is more prone to hide out and attack consumers.  The scientific data-hubs in/around K-Street in Washington DC must lead our careful decision-making.

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President Trump participates in a presidential ceremony to recognize heroism in combating the coronavirus pandemic. The event is titled: “hard work, heroism and hope” and the anticipated start time is 4:15pm ET.  [Video Added]

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Today President Trump is delivers remarks on protecting America’s seniors.  The event is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm ET [Livestream Links Below]

White House Livestream – Fox News Livestream – RSBN Livestream – Fox10 Livestream.

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Amid another troubling week for initial unemployment claims showing 3.8 million workers filing for financial assistance President Trump’s Senior Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett appears on Fox News to discuss the status of the economic shut-down.

Hassett notes his current estimate for total workforce unemployment around 19 percent. Additionally, Hassett outlines how the economic data lags the economic activity, so there is much more bad news to come.   That said, with massive influx of federal spending to fill the gap, the White House has now shifted focus toward how best to reignite the economy.

Kevin Hassett has a forward outlook of optimism and notes there is pent-up demand which can re-launch the economy. The economy was so strong prior to the shutdown it is possible to look forward and remain optimistic.

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Earlier today President Trump hosted New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy in the Oval Office to discuss the latest COVID-19 mitigation efforts.  President Trump and Governor Murphy take questions from the press pool:

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The Department of Labor released their weekly report showing first-time filings for unemployment insurance hit 3.84 million last week. Though the worst appears to be in the past, the total number of claims in the past six weeks now exceeds 30 million.

The surge in unemployment claims is an outcome of decisions to shut-down the U.S. economy to control the coronavirus spread. Some states and local regions have recently started to bring their respective economies back online; however, most of the key U.S. infrastructure remains on lockdown.

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President Trump participates in a roundtable discussion with various industry executives on the plan for reopening the American economy. Anticipated start time 4:00pm ET.

White House Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream – RSBN Livestream

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow argues the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is over and the U.S. economy is getting ready to reopen. Kudlow outlines the scale of the current economic relief package how any further discussion should focus on policies to launch the economic recovery.

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The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) advanced estimate and the result is a 4.8% decline in economic activity. [BEA Here]

The revised fourth quarter GDP shows the economy was growing at 2.1 percent prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.  The severity of the change in GDP reflects a severe drop in consumer spending, essentially bringing the economy to a halt in March as the entire nation went into lock-down.  As the BEA explains:

The decline in first quarter GDP was, in part, due to the response to the spread of COVID-19, as governments issued “stay-at-home” orders in March. This led to rapid changes in demand, as businesses and schools switched to remote work or canceled operations, and consumers canceled, restricted, or redirected their spending.

The full economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be quantified in the GDP estimate for the first quarter of 2020 because the impacts are generally embedded in source data and cannot be separately identified. (more)

Digging down into the details the data shows what we all have seen.  There is some specific data that is noteworthy in the tables.

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Sometimes a special message needs a special messenger.  Today, amid the anxiety and stress created by the coronavirus pandemic, a very special messenger named Michael visited the White House and delivered a very important message to everyone:

…”At Bitty and Beaus we like to use the phrase ‘not broken’. That means me and all my important co-workers are not broken, and we have lots to offer. I know the great country of the United States isn’t broken either.”…   ~ Michael

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Indeed, this too shall pass.

Thank you Michael; thank you.

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There is a tremendous amount of information and misinformation surrounding the current status of protein processing within the meat industry. Most of the misinformation comes from many people not understanding the total food supply-chain and how it works.

First, there is no shortage of meat protein products: beef, pork and chicken at the farm level. However, the problems arise within processing, manufacturing and more importantly binding legal contracts and liabilities within the supply-chain. Additionally, there are national and multinational aspects to the protein food supply.

Today President Trump remarked the White House and Dept of Agriculture are drawing up a plan for the president to invoke the defense production act as a tool to cut through some of the liabilities present within the supply-chain dynamic. Let’s use cattle to explain.

Because beef is a “graded” commodity, there are contracts for purchase within the supply chain. USDA Prime, USDA Choice and USDA Select are three well known grades of beef. However, there are eight grades total: prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter and canner.

Within the total food supply there are contracts for exclusive product purchasing in both the commercial and consumer side of the food supply.  Additionally, the commercial side breaks down into ‘food-away-from-home’ (ie. restaurants), and manufactured food.

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