"Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em"? & Other Madness

Susan Glasser / New Yorker:
Fifty Thousand Americans Dead from the Coronavirus, and a President Who Refuses to Mourn Them  —  In just the past few days, President Trump has blamed immigrants, China, the “fake news” and, of course, “the invisible enemy” of the coronavirus for America's present troubles.
Politico:
Officials probe the threat of a coronavirus bioweapon  —  The Pentagon and the intelligence community are more forcefully investigating the possibility that adversaries could use the novel coronavirus as a bioweapon, according to defense and intelligence officials, in a shift that reflects the national security apparatus’ evolving understanding of the virus and its risks.
Mary Kekatos Senior / Daily Mail:
Was Hockney RIGHT?  French researchers to give nicotine patches to coronavirus patients and frontline workers after lower rates of infection were found among smokers  — A French study found that only 4.4% of 350 coronavirus patients hospitalized were regular smokers and 5.3% of 130 homebound patients smoked
Shane Trejo / Big League Politics:   Study Indicates That Smokers are Less Likely to Contract Coronavirus Because of Nicotine's Effect on Lungs
Sarah Elzas / RFI:   French researchers suggest nicotine could protect against Covid-19
Christopher Snowdon / spiked:   Smoke fags, save lives
Lucy Jones / The Sun:   Nicotine patches given to coronavirus patients as trial treatment - but docs say it's NOT a reason to smoke
Marc Levy / Associated Press:
Swing-state Republicans pin virus fallout on Democrats  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With legions out of work, Republicans across the critical battleground states are trying to lay blame for the economic wreckage of the coronavirus outbreak on Democratic governors, ramping up a political strategy that is likely to shape the debate in the run-up to the presidential election.

In Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — all three swing states with Democrats in charge — state Republican lawmakers, after an initial detente, have grown fiercely critical of the stay-at-home orders or business shutdowns imposed by governors to limit the spread of the coronavirus, casting them as the work of overzealous, nanny-state Democrats.
Dr. Scott W. Atlas / The Hill:
The data is in — stop the panic and end the total isolation  —  The tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be entering the containment phase.  Tens of thousands of Americans have died, and Americans are now desperate for sensible policymakers who have the courage to ignore the panic and rely on facts.
Jose Nino / Big League Politics:   Stanford Doctors Calls [sic] for Ending Full-Blown Lockdowns
Greg Pollowitz / Twitchy:   Dr. Scott W. Atlas: ‘The data is in — stop the panic and end the total isolation’

Is "appears to be entering" actual data? Fuck you, Doc. Fuck you in your weasel-words mouth. What's the problem, your investment portfolio tanking?