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He has somehow hit a new level of instability. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Most weeks,New YorkMagazine writer-at-largeFrank Richspeaks with contributorAlex Carpabout the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today, the multistate coronavirus recovery plans, and Trumps decision to put his name on stimulus checks.

After weeks of disappointment with the White Houses pandemic response,a group of governors in the Northeast and one on the West Coasthave announced plans to coordinate the reopening of businesses and schools regionally. Could this bring an escape from Trumps policy shortcomings, or will it simply escalate his attempts to grab power?

Nothing will stop Trumps attempts to grab power. His novel theory of presidential governance, as he himself has defined it, is to seize total authority while bearing no responsibility. He will throw any power move against the wall to see if it sticks. When the coastal coalitions of governors chose to flatly ignore or, in Andrew Cuomos case, mock his bid to set himself up as a king, he pivoted in a blink to his dead-on-arrival push to adjourn Congress so he could staff governmental vacancies with a new round of C-list hacks who wouldnt be subject to Senate approval. Every day a new tantrum, a new search for scapegoats for his catastrophic mismanagement of Americas public-health catastrophe, and a new attempted end run around the rule of law. The daily Trump show is the most predictable daytime television series since Romper Room.

Yesterday Trump again threatened to use his power to wreak vengeance against states who dont do his bidding: If were not happy, well take very strong action against a state or a governor As you know we have very strong action we can take, including a close down. What a close down means is unclear; perhaps Trump will ask Bill Barr for authorization to put Cuomo under house arrest in Albany. But many governors and not exclusively those in the coastal coalitions will refuse to obey Trumps much-hyped decision to open America by May 1. (For the first time, May Day may prove synonymous with Mayday.) Already, some of the Wall Street tycoons he strong-armed into White House conference calls yesterday told him that most Americans wont return to work without a wholesale testing regimen to assure them their lives are not at risk. Since Trump continues to claim that America now has the most expansive testing system anywhere, a desperately needed federal testing initiative will continue not to happen and much of the country will continue not to reopen.

But while Trump doesnt have the power to close down states that defy him or to force private businesses to open with a big bang, he does have one kind of power political power. And he will wield it. Not with the goal of defeating the coronavirus hes convinced himself that war is won but with the goal of arousing his base to a red-hot pitch of rage that will guarantee its massive turnout in November. As we have seen in recent days, this strategy has a strong ideological and cultural component that in form and content is redolent of the tea party movement of 2009, which in turn led to the shellacking (Barack Obamas term) of the Democrats in the 2010 midterms.

You see it in the internet fever swamps, where Anthony Fauci is a deep state traitor and #FireFauci is a battle cry that Trump retweeted for a reason, despite his subsequent claim that he wont fire Fauci. You see it in the pronouncements of Republican politicians like the Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick, the Indiana congressman Trey Hollingsworth, and the Louisiana senator John Kennedy, who have prioritized a reopened economy over the lives of their constituents. The shutdown did not stop the spread of the virus, Kennedy explained yesterday. I wish it had, but its too late for that. You see it in the protest at the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, where demonstrators decried Governor Gretchen Whitmer for stomping on their freedom with stringent anti-corona restrictions. (Predictably enough, this tea partyesque circus is underwritten by a group linked to the right-wing billionaire DeVos family.) And of course you see it on Fox News, where the prime-time lineup is trying to foment this street theater into a national phenomenon, social distancing be damned. The American spirit is too strong and Americans are not going to take it, declared Jeanine Pirro, attempting to portray Howard Beale in drag. And what happened in Lansing today, God bless them, its going to happen all over the country.

Where will this lead? Theres no way to predict what will happen on Election Day. But unless you choose to ignore whats already happening in other nations that lifted restrictions too early, there will be new waves of the virus, including in rural America, among religious congregations that abandon social distancing, and at MAGA venues where Trump hopes to rekindle his rallies. Even now, we are seeing a rise in hot spots in states like Florida, governed by mini-Trumps who were tardy in shutting down as the virus hit and are, in Trumps language, chomping at the bit to reopen. The No. 1 hot spot in the country is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the mini-Trump governor, Kristi Noem, remains steadfast in her refusal to impose tough public-health measure even as a Smithfield food-processing plant has shut down in the wake of a cluster of more than 600 infections.

Its been clear this week that Trump has hit a new level of berserk since last weekends epic Times report documenting in meticulous detail that he squandered at least six weeks to inaction, as the virus cut its lethal swath across America. He even used a coronavirus press briefing to unveil a Goebbels-esque propaganda video (produced at taxpayers expense) to try to rewrite that history. Wait until he sees the sequel coming from the fake news: The timeline of how he squandered the weeks between May 1 and the arrival this summer or fall of the next wave of infection, panic, re-shutdowns, and mass death.

Trump hasordered that his own name appear on the Treasurys stimulus checks, an addition that will likely delaypayment for many recipients who need it most. Is there a benefit for him in putting his name on this crisis?

Wait are you really saying it was Trumps idea to put his name on these $1,200 checks? He has told us it was all a surprise to him! In any event, the notion that a plague could be another beneficial branding opportunity for Trump makes sense only if you think it was Herbert Hoovers own brainchild to coin the name Hooverville for the impoverished shanty towns that sprang up during the Great Depression. At least we can be grateful that though Trumps name is printed on the checks, he didnt, in the end, insist on signing them. Under the law, only a civil servant, not the president, can sign IRS disbursements. Had Trump insisted on his signature, these checks would have bounced like those in his preWhite House business career.

The benefits of this stunt will be short-lived in any case. The Washington Post reports today that the IRSs first distribution of these payments, by direct deposit, is another major screwup that has affected millions of Americans. Whenever the cash arrives, with or without Trumps signature, it wont last long for the struggling recipients. Trumps refusal to endorse any emergency aid for an already challenged postal system as of last weekend 19 employees had died, and roughly 1,000 had tested positive or were presumed positive for the virus could further slow the checks arrival even as it achieves his goal of shutting off voting by mail in November. (The postal service is projected to run out of money in late September.) As an added insult, the federal relief program to shore up small businesses that retain their employees has now run out of money altogether.

But like that proverbial rooster who would take credit for the sunrise, Trump can always be counted on to take credit for any good news, even if he had little or nothing to do with it. And to blame everything that goes wrong on someone else. If Americans dont get their $1,200 promptly, that will be Nancy Pelosis fault. The immediate crisis for Trump is that the failures are rapidly outpacing the list of handy scapegoats as this pandemic marches on. Hes run through China, Obama, the Democrats, the media, and the World Health Organization, among others. Whos next? Hillary, Hunter Biden, Robert Mueller, and James Comey, of course. Jeff Sessions? New caravans on the march from Latin America? NFL players? Shifty Schiff? Pocahontas? Its truly only a matter of time before we learn that it was John McCain who brought the coronavirus back from Vietnam.

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Frank Rich: Trumps War on the States - New York Magazine

Normally the organisers send out packs for us to host a tea party and raise money for a designated charity.

This year because were all socially isolating the idea is to have on line tea parties.

Tea is often the focal point of our social gatherings. No wedding, baptism or funeral would be complete without tea. No matter how bad things are this hot elixir will provide comfort. Like the majority of the population here, I was brought up in a house where the kettle was never cool.

Tea refers to the fermented leaves of the plant Camelia Sinensis and originated in south west China centuries ago during the Shang dynasty. It was initially used as a medicinal ingredient. Tea drinking dates back to the third century. During the Tang dynasty it became a popular drink and its reputation spread to other countries. Portuguese priests introduced it in Europe in the sixteenth century. It became fashionable in Britain in the seventeenth century and the British started large scale production of the plant in India. Now India and China supply over 60 per cent of the worlds tea.

Ireland is the second biggest, per capita, consumer of tea in the world. Most people here consider themselves experts in the brewing of a perfect cuppa. To master the perfect brew you should use tealeaves and not a bag. Leaf to water ratio should be 2-3g of tea leaves to 150ml of water. The water temperature for tea is vital 80oc for black tea or 90oc for tea with milk. The hotter the water, the more tannic the tea. Boiling water is not ideal for tea if you dont have a temperature controlled kettle, add a little cold water to the pot. How long you leave the tea to stew is entirely up to you 1 minute for a light infusion, 2 for strong and 3 for very strong.

Tea isnt just for drinking, it also makes a flavoursome ingredient. My first recipe uses tea leaves to smoke beetroot. Mix tealeaves with Demerara sugar and rice to make a smoking medium. Ive paired the smoked beetroot with whipped goats cheese and grilled steak. Once youve mastered the smoking technique you can apply it to fish, chicken, vegetables, even fruit.

Tea and cake go together like strawberries and cream. My other recipe this week uses Earl Grey tea in a cake with lemon. The tea itself is infused with bergamot lemon so it has a deliciously citrusy flavour to start off with. The cake is topped with a lemon icing and served with a prosecco syllabub. This is an old English recipe where cream was thickened with an acid and then sweetened. You can leave out the Prosecco or just use white wine.

You can support National Tea Day and its chosen charity by going to nationalteaday.co.uk.

If youre interested in more recipes, with cooking videos to accompany them, go to tastecauseway.com

I think I can hear the kettle whistling...

Go here to see the original:
Is that the kettle whistling? Its time to celebrate our national treasure - Farming Life

America will learn hard lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, but when the fear subsides most of them will be social and political, rather than medical. If while reading this column you find yourself getting dismissive, consider this: If three months ago some public figure had predicted that much of the U.S. economy would soon be shut down, and that most Americans would in effect be under house arrest, you would have laughed at them.

The first lesson is that virtually any crisis or tragedy, whether an act of God or man, will be weaponized by the Democrat Party against its partisan foes. And any such event will also always be used as leverage to enact Democrat agenda items that lack the popular support needed for normal passage through the law-making process. Thus we have false accusations regularly leveled against the current administration, such as the debunked charges that President Trump gutted the CDC budget and disbanded the federal pandemic task force. We also have the Democrat-led House refusing to pass worker aid packages unless large chunks of cash are also directed to their favored groups and causes, such as Planned Parenthood and elimination of student debt.

We have also learned that we cannot trust the science to be accurate or to provide acceptable solutions. It now appears that Covid-19 mortality may be not much worse than that of a moderate flu 60,000 in the U.S., rather than the 2.4 million recently predicted. Scientists, like news reporters, present themselves as objective but both have agendas and priorities. Even the best often cant see beyond their fields of expertise. A medical doctor who is highly trained to save lives may be totally ignorant about economics. Ironically, healthy economies save lives consider how chronic rural unemployment fueled the opioid epidemic and raised suicide rates.

The third lesson is that usually cynical Americans become pliant and unquestioning if they can be frightened enough. Enough of them will then readily trade liberty for security, leaving it easy for federal, state and local authorities to crush the few who dare question policies or refuse to follow orders. Thus in Kentucky drive-in church services were banned while drive-in restaurants were allowed to operate. That order was overturned by a judge, but worshippers collectively celebrating Easter inside their cars in a church parking lot in Mississippi were issued $500 fines, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Witmers draconian prohibition against buying many innocuous items, like seeds and gardening supplies, provoked a large protest in Lansing.

The fourth lesson is that the nation, both as an economic unit and as individual citizens, needs more self-reliance. Our necessities must not depend on Chinas good will. Its not hard to imagine a more deadly pandemic scenario that could completely break the supply chain. It may not be just toilet paper next time, but completely empty grocery shelves. We cannot count on Washington to feed us under those circumstances.

The fifth lesson is that the liberal dream of jamming the populace into urban centers to make the world a greener place will likely make the world a sicker place. New York Citys population density and heavy reliance on mass transit were likely major factors in the astonishing spread of the virus there.

Martin Fey is a member of the Quiet Corner Tea Party Patriots.

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America learning hard lessons from Covid-19 - Opinion - The Bulletin - Norwich Bulletin

Make up your mind! The New York Times, which has criticized Donald Trump for playing dictator during the coronavirus pandemic, is now criticizing him for ceding any semblance of national leadership on the pandemic on Saturdays front page: Right-Wing Protests Find Megaphone in Trump. Michael Shear and Sarah Mervoshs highly partisan report began:

President Trump on Friday openly encouraged right-wing protests of social distancing restrictions in states with stay-at-home orders, a day after announcing guidelines for how the nations governors should carry out an orderly reopening of their communities on their own timetables.

In a series of all-caps tweets that started two minutes after a Fox News report on the protesters, the president declared, LIBERATE MICHIGAN! and LIBERATE MINNESOTA! -- two states whose Democratic governors have imposed strict social distancing restrictions....

These are not so much protests against standing six feet apart than they are against heavy-handed moves like Michigans arbitrary bans on buying gardening and home improvement items, which barely gets mentioned.

His stark departure from the more bipartisan tone of his announcement on Thursday night suggested Mr. Trump was ceding any semblance of national leadership on the pandemic, and choosing instead to divide the country by playing to his political base.

Echoed across the internet and on cable television by conservative pundits and ultraright conspiracy theorists, his tweets were a remarkable example of a president egging on demonstrators and helping to stoke an angry fervor that in its anti-government rhetoric was eerily reminiscent of the birth of the Tea Party movement a decade ago.

"Eerily reminiscent"? How biased can you get?

Then the Times berated Fox News for...covering news events:

Shaping their views has been Fox News, which has devoted extensive coverage to the protests that took place this week, reminiscent of the way it provided a platform for Tea Party activists early in the Obama administration. For the past several days, the network has shown videos of the crowds gathered outside State Capitols and aired interviews with organizers who fumed at their governors.

The story concluded with another far-right label:

Mr. Trump is also providing support to some of the darkest corners of the internet, where far-right activists have encouraged the protesters to defy Democratic governors...

A Poll Watch by Giovanni Russonello also denigrated conservative protests on behalf of the suffering and unemployed by comparing them to the Tea Party : Small but Angry Protests Reveal Crack in the Quarantine Consensus. The online headline: Whats Driving the Right-Wing Protesters Fighting the Quarantine? Left-wing protesters are never called angry or left-wing in the Times.

....polling shows that these right-wing activists probably speak for only a small minority of Americans -- or even of all Republicans....in states with an already intense partisan divide -- like Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina -- a small, vociferous protest movement is arising...The Tea Party -- which, like some of this weeks anti-restriction protests, was backed by well-funded interest groups ....

The left has no "well-funded interest groups"?

Originally posted here:
NY Times Now Whining Trump Won't Play Dictator: 'Ceding...National Leadership' on Virus - NewsBusters

With dainty sandwiches, delicious cakes and scones topped with lashings of cream and jam, afternoon tea is a wonderful, traditional treat.

Of course, it's best served with friends and enjoyed in an elegant tearoom or caf - but that is rather tricky at the moment.

However, you can still enjoy the tasty treats in the comfort of your home, as a number of county cafs are offering afternoon tea delivery services (and if you synchronise your deliveries, you could always take part in a Zoom afternoon tea party with your friends!)

These Leicestershire places are delivering afternoon teas - but you'll have to be quick, as they're getting booked up fast.....

This Loughborough caf is now providing an afternoon tea delivery service.

It costs 12 per person or 23 for two people, plus a delivery charge of 1.00.

You can expect finger sandwiches, fruit scone with cream and jam, fresh fruit and homemade treats.

You can order yours by sending a message via the Facebook page here.

Probably best known for its award-winning pies, Nice Pie also serves afternoon teas - which are available for delivery.

Orders are now being taken for delivery from April 26.

Featuring some impressive-looking homemade cakes, a Nice Afternoon Tea costs 18 per person.

There's free delivery within a five mile radius when you spend 20 or more. Five to maximum 10 miles is charged at 3 (any delivery is a minimum order spend of 20).

For more details and to book, click here to visit the Facebook page.

Known for its 'all you can eat' cheese buffet, Hinckley eatery The Chambers is now providing afternoon tea deliveries.

Complete with sweet and savoury delights, you can get an afternoon tea for one for 12.50, and afternoon tea for two for 17.50.

Delivery within the local area is included in the price.

For more details and to book, click here to visit the Facebook page.

Another option for those of you living in the Hinckley area is The Vintage Table Tea Rooms.

An afternoon tea gift box is priced at 10 per person and includes a selection of four finger sandwiches, scone, jam, clotted cream, brownie slice, cherry Bakewell slice (subject to change), macaron, crisps and a tea bag.

For more details and to book, click here to visit the Facebook page.

The team at Occasions Tea Room have announced that they will start an afternoon tea delivery service this weekend.

Afternoon Tea will consist of sandwiches, sausage rolls, scones with clotted cream and jam and a choice of either a slice of Victoria sandwich or coffee and walnut cake.

The cost is 10.00 per person and includes delivery. Delivery is available up to a 10 mile radius from Syston. All deliveries will be made between 12 and 2pm and you will be given a time.

This service will be offered every Saturday and Sunday from this weekend.

Booking is essential and needs to be placed by the Friday at 5pm for your weekend delivery. To book, send a message through Facebook or Instagram or email: occasionstearoom@yahoo.com

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Leicestershire cafs that will deliver an afternoon tea to your door during lockdown - Leicestershire Live