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By Sid Schwab / Herald columnist

I alone can fix it, he announced, to delirious cheers, after which he proceeded to prove he couldnt: budget deficits, health care, Mexico/wall, coal, 4 percent growth, etc. Its a long, well-known list.

More recently, he claimed total authority over when states end stay-at-home rules. Then, maybe realizing he couldnt avoid responsibility if he failed to fix this, too, he punted to governors. Which brings us to now, when, in a functioning democracy, the 25th Amendment would be halfway to dethroning him.

We refer to fomenting armed rebellion against those governors to whom he ceded authority. Liberate Minnesota, he tweeted. Liberate Michigan. Liberate Virginia. In the last instance, he added, unsubtle and mendacious, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege. This president, having told governors it was theirs to decide, is inciting citizens to rise up armed, by implication against those governors and their decisions. Did he mean it? He said it. Like a dangerous lunatic, not a president. Not even a president. This should be obvious to everyone.

It isnt. From sea to temporarily-shining sea, answering the bawling of their golden calf, people are protesting. Saying, in effect, Were not sick, and if were asymptomatic carriers who end up infecting others, and if that overwhelms our hospitals, causing more deaths, its OK. We may be waving swastikas and Confederate flags along with the Stars and Stripes, wearing armor, packing, urging fellow citizens to die for us, but were the real patriots.

Like their tea party predecessors, theyre acting in the interests of wealthy Republican donors (Family DeVos and gun promoters this time around) and against their own. Possibly fatally. Perfect timing of reopening is impossible, especially with inadequate testing; but these virulent protests are helping the wrong people.

The point, though, is less about the comparative handful, so far, of protesters than it is about an Oval Office malefactor who encourages sedition. Whos appealing to the worst of us, intentionally turning America upon itself. Like his transparently cynical, base-pleasing ban on green-card applications. To protect us. Its what he considers leadership.

What he doesnt consider leadership is creating coherent policies to address this crisis; especially a coordinated, federally managed process for getting protective equipment and testing capability to every state, rather than causing hospitals and states to resort to subterfuge to get and keep them. Instead, its thievery and grift from a lifelong crook and grifter, likely so he can dole it out as political patronage: (New England Journal of Medicine: tinyurl.com/2getPPE) Governors of both parties are speaking out, too: (NBC News: tinyurl.com/govscallout)

Unironically carrying signs saying My body, my choice, these easily exploited protesters are beyond reach. They reject the personal sacrifice and common sense that real patriots have always delivered when America needed them. If this slice of Americana is small for now, the cultish cake from which theyre cut is not. But surely there are former supporters and true conservatives who see how this president is undermining his own government, suborning rebellion, to save his particularly personal @$$.

And, equally importantly, who see what hes not: an able and empathetic leader, more concerned for others than himself. Who see how hes preparing to shift blame onto governors (after China, Democrats, President Obama and the WHO) for his own failings; and whove come to recognize he doesnt care about the consequences for our republic.

The current occupant of the White House is but one disturbed man, whom we should ignore. The problem, then, is us. Those whove become so inured to being lied to that they neither notice nor care. Youre a commie POS, was the entirety of a recently received email. Asked, in response, what hed read thats remotely like communism, the sender disappeared. (I didnt dispute the POS part.) Youre a liar, write others, who refuse to provide examples.

Say hello to George Soros, smirked yet another Foxicant, who declined information about the work Soros does defending democracy and supporting resistance to dictators around the world. Giving less to Democrats than the Koch Brothers give to Republicans, my pal George is nevertheless a knee-jerk boogeyman for propagandized rightists. Hook, line, Foxified sinker, regurgitated word for word, mindlessly.

People like that are why the 25th wont be invoked. Integrity began leaking from the Republican Party with the election of Saint Ronnie. And those were the good old days. Fox news didnt exist, and our pernicious president was just a pampered draft-dodger who hadnt yet filed his first bankruptcy.

Email Sid Schwab at columnsid@gmail.com.

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Schwab: White House occupant can't be called president - The Daily Herald

The 10th Amendment protects state powers and puts a hamper on presidential powers. Here's how the fight for control is playing out today. USA TODAY

Madison Elmer got the offer shortly after she and some friends startedorganizing a protest to oppose Wisconsin's coronavirus stay-at-home order: An outside group wanted to chip in some money to help pay for the rally she plans this week.

Concerned about the strings that could be attached, Elmer turned it down.

"We felt like it had a political agenda behind it, said the Wisconsin native, who declined to name the group.We didnt want to be pawns in somebodys elses game.

As protesters across the country plan to challenge statewide coronavirus orders, they fiercely resist a growing narrative that they are aligned with or funded by national groups, gun rights organizations or entities supporting President Donald Trumps reelection even as some of those groups take part in the events.

The protests, focused on rolling back stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of coronavirus, snarled traffic in Michigan,blocking a hospital entrance.Thousands of cheering, flag-waving drivers cruised aroundPennsylvania. Some demonstrations feature Trump campaign flags, but homemade signs such as one in Tennessee that encouraged Americans to "fear your government,"not the coronavirus are more prevalent.

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They have continued even as some states tentatively began reopening businesses and easing distancing guidelines. More than 46,000 Americans have died from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. Trump encouraged states with fewer cases and deaths to begin bringing their economies back online.

Wisconsin had more than 4,800 confirmed cases of the virus by Wednesday and had recorded 246 deaths, according to the state health department.

Elmer said she started organizing a protest for Friday after hearing from friends who were struggling, not because they are sick but because they are running out of money. Friday was the day thatGov. Tony Evers' social distancing restrictionswere initially set to lift.

Instead, they have been extended to May 26.

"I was listening to all these concerns, and I was sick of not doing anything about it," she said. "There are people suffering on both sides of this."

A woman holds a sign out the sunroof of a car during a demonstration April 20 in Pittsburgh.(Photo: Keith Srakocic, AP)

Much like the tea party movement that sprang up a decade ago, the coronavirus protests are a culturaleddy of conservative ideologies, from gun rights advocates to religious groups. Though many organizers insist the "gridlock" events and protestsare nonpartisan, many have taken on the flavor of Trump rallies including a smattering of campaign signs and the president's trademark red "MAGA" caps.

The events underscorehowefforts to contain the virus havedivided millions of Americans along familiar political battle lines.

Nearly 60% of the nations voters say they are more concerned about additional deaths from the virus than they are about the economic impact, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll this week. That sentiment is more prevalent amongDemocratsthan Republicans. GOP respondents are divided almost half are more concerned with the economy.

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Alvin Tillery, a political scientist at Northwestern University, sees the protests and Trumps exhortations as an attempt to rally his base when he has faced intense criticism from Democrats for his early handling of the crisis.

Its directed toward the blue states. Its meant to distract from Mr. Trumps incredibly poor performance in managing the crisis, Tillery said. It distracts but also gives them an issue that activates their desire to vote against the Democrats.

Trump has encouraged the groups, including from the podium of the White House briefing room. Friday, in a series of tweets, he suggested it was time to "liberate"Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia. He has beenless clear about what he'd like those states to do, and he has batted away questions about whether the protesters flout social distancing guidelines he and his aides promoted.

Liberate: Trump seeks to 'liberate' states as protesters demand easing of orders

The first item in those guidelines is to "listen and follow" directions from authorities. The guidance goes on to encourageAmericans to work from home, cancel unnecessary travel and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.

Protesters took to the streets around the Virginia State Capitol to show support for ending tight restrictions due to coronavirus pandemic USA TODAY

"Look, people they want to get back to work, they got to make a living," Trump said late Tuesday. "They have to take care of their family."

Georgia: Trump says he disagrees with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's reopeningplan

Trump took a different approach a day later,saying he disagreed "strongly" with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's decision to move toward reopening parts of that state's economy. Kemp, a Republican and Trump ally, is pushing to reopen gyms, barber shops and other businesses as soon as Friday.

Trump said Wednesday he thought it was"just too soon."

Elmer stressed that she took no money or help from outside interests, but she's aware that a group called Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine plans an event Friday at the same place and at roughly the same time as the rally she organized. That entity is associated witha national gun rights group.

"Coolif theyre supporting our mission, which is reopening Wisconsin, she said.

Similarly, organizers reached by USA TODAY in Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana and several other states denied working with national groups but said they were inspired by protests elsewhere. Some tapped into guns rights or tea party organizations to help spread the wordbut claimed no formal affiliation with wider networks.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina to demonstrate against Gov. Roy Cooper's stay-at-home order and to demand reopening the state's economy. (April 21) AP Domestic

There is some overlap: In addition to Wisconsin, rallies in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Minnesota were promoted by Facebook pages started by brothers Chris, Benand Aaron Dorr who have a network of gun advocacy organizations in multiple states.

Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine, which was launched by the Pennsylvania Firearms Association and led by Chris Dorr, was among a trio of groups that helped organize Mondays rally in Harrisburg.

"A government that is powerful enough to make unilateral decisions that close down the means of production, well, theyre also then able, in a future school shooting or another Pittsburgh shooting, to reinvoke that same power and say were going to ban constitutional freedoms to bear arms, said Dorr, the firearms associations director.

Dorr downplayed the amount of money and coordination involved.

These Facebook groups, they are completely free," Dorr said. "All I did was start the page and then invited about 10 or 15 friends into it, and it spiraled out of control from there. Theres not even 5 bucks behind this whole thing."

Protesters hold up signs and wave flags in Denver on April 21 as they protest the stay-at-home order issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.(Photo: Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Several national groupsthat fueled the tea party movement during President Barack Obama's administration said they are helping but not leading the groups. Many of the same charges about "AstroTurf" organizing were leveled against that movement, which sprang up partly in response to the Affordable Care Act.

"There is no central person organizing everything," said Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, a conservative group that focuses on economic issues.

Brandon said 25,000 people took his group's"grassroots training program," and many of them work withgroups to stage the demonstrations. The training includes coaching organizers on how to promote their events, such as through writing news releases and contacting reporters.

Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, said the real organizers are "people who are fed up."

Martin described the events as an organic movement that relies on social media. National groups such as hers, she said, blast out announcements posted to social media by local organizers to help spread the word.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered at the Idaho Statehouse Friday in defiance of Gov. Brad Little's extension of a statewide stay-at-home order. Little extended the order to the end of April in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. (April 17) AP Domestic

"We want to make sure our supporters are aware events are happening," Martin said.

Organizers dismissed claims of national organization.

"Its nonsense," said Robert Hall, a longtime conservative figure in Indiana whohelped promote a protest in Indianapolis. "Its all grassroots."

Stephen Moore, an outside economic adviser to Trump, applauded the events but said he declined invitations to speak at them because he doesn't want organizers to be seen as swayed by national interests. Moore cautioned protesters against wearing MAGA hats and other Trump merchandise, arguing it could turn off some supporters.

"It really has been a spontaneous combustion," he told USA TODAY.

Demonstrators drive through Kansas City, Mo., during a protest of the stay-at-home order issued as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY NETWORK)

In some cases, the organization of the protests borders on chaotic.

Teo De Las Heras created a "ReOpen PA" Facebook page last week after spotting a similar effort in North Carolina.The tech company employeefrom Langhorne, Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY that the pagequickly grew to more than 60,000 members. Within days, other members of the grouporganized a protest he attended but didn't help to stage.

Were basically a grassroots thing right now, said De Las Heras, a registered Republican, who said he abstained from voting in the 2016 election. "All the admin and moderators are basically just small-business owners and people impacted by this."

He said an individual reached out to him about having a conversation about"some kind of national organization," but he didn't know the specifics nor the person's group. "They're contacting all the different influencers out there on social media," De Las Heras said. He agreed to talk, but the meeting was canceled.

De Las Herassaid his Facebook group was initially filled with people looking to impeach Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat,but hes sought to keep it focused on the economy.

A man who declined to provide his name wears yellow caution tape as a mask during a protest in Texas on April 18, 2020.(Photo: Nick Wagner, Austin American-Statesman-USA TO)

Keeping protesters on message and avoiding an association with some of the hate speech that hascropped up has been a challenge for organizers. Some protestershave reportedly flashed anti-Semitic signs. Organizers have rebuked that behavior, which has been rare,and said it distracts from the intended message.

In Virginia, David Britt, a spokesman for the Reopen Virginia gridlock rally, said the support keeps getting "exponentially bigger" since the event was organized last Thursday. He said hisgroup is "not getting a dime in outside fundingor other help.

A self-described "constitutional conservative" and"political big-mouth on Facebook," Britt said he was driven to action after watching last weeks rally in Lansing, Michigan. He proposed on Facebook that Virginians do the same thing.

"Were winging this and flying by the seat of our pants, said Britt, a mental health counselor from Fairfax, Virginia.

Virginia organizers are particularly upset about the length of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northams stay-at-home order, which is to runthrough June 10. They said its too extreme and will lead to unemployment and other unintended consequences, from homelessness to domestic violence.

Virginia hadmore than 9,600 confirmed cases of the virus as of Tuesdayand recorded 324deaths, according to state health officials.

Britt said organizers discouraged people from turning an event planned for Wednesday into a Trump rally or a protest over Second Amendment rights and instead urged them tostay "laser-focused" on their message about getting Virginians back to work.

"We're trying to discourage that as much as possible," Britt said, who described himself as a supporter of the president."This isnt a Trump rally. This isnt a Republican rally."

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY; Lansing State Journal;Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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'We're winging this.' Coronavirus protests tout independence as national groups eye election - USA TODAY

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If you've read Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" or seen any of the movie adaptations, the Mad Hatter is bound to have left an impression. He's eccentric, to say the least, as he presides over a rollicking tea party that Alice attends.

But the idea of being "mad as a hatter" (in the British sense, "mad" meaning "crazy") didn't come from Carroll. And if you, like Alice, have a tendency to fall down rabbit holes, this phrase is a real treat.

Carroll's book was published in 1865, but the Oxford English Dictionary puts the earliest known use of "mad as a hatter" in 1829. That's three and a half decades before any March hares or dormice sipped tea, or the Cheshire cat made his famous claim of general madness. The actual origin of the phrase is unknown, but it's believed to be connected to mercury poisoning in hatmakers.

Several years after the Alice first appeared, in 1883, the phrase "hatter's shakes" was used to describe the condition caused by mercury poisoning. The symptoms included muscle tremors, plus mental and behavioral changes. The Hatter behaves strangely in the novel (as do many other characters), but his friends accept his oddities as being the usual.

Today, mercury poisoning is know to the medical and scientific communities as erethism. The modern list of symptoms including irritability and mania, both of which the Hatter has. But there's also sleep disturbance, depression, visual disturbance, hearing loss and those telltale tremors, which the Hatter doesn't seem to have.

You'll be glad to learn that short-term exposure to mercury can cause erethism, but it usually goes away if you can stay away from touching or inhaling mercury. Long-term exposure, such as dental professionals and chemical workers experience, can mean the symptoms persist. In any case, erethism is a rare disease.

At his trial, the Hatter explains to the King that he has no hats of his own because he sells all the hats he has. Which brings us to the last stop in our rabbit hole: What does mercury have to do with hats?

It's part of a process called "carroting." In order to make felt, which is what many hats are made of, you have to get the fur of a beaver or rabbit to stick together in a mat of thick, stiff fabric. To get the fur off the skin cleanly, mercuric nitrate was used. It came to be known as carroting because the solution would turn the edges of the pelts orange as it dried.

Modern haberdashers use hydrogen peroxide to remove the fur from the skin, which is a slower but much safer process.

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TALLAHASSEE Sen. Rick Scott wrote in a campaign fundraising email sent Thursday night that Americans thrown out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic would rather collect unemployment than go back to work.

Businesses looking to reopen are telling us their employees dont want to come back to work because they collect more on unemployment, Scotts email said. And who can blame them?

In the email, Scott railed against the $600-per-week unemployment benefits Congress allotted to out-of-work Americans, and he blamed Democrats for allowing it to go through. The benefits made up a part of a $2 trillion package called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 96-0 in late March.

One of those votes belonged to Scott, although at the time he had strong objections, including that some workers would receive benefits exceeding their former salaries.

When I discovered that the CARES Act allowed workers to make more on unemployment insurance than they could make in a job, I fought back, his email states. Why would Democrats in Congress want to create a disincentive for people to come back to work when we open our economy back up?

Scott spokesman Chris Hartline said the fundraising email was meant to promote the senators op-ed in Fox News, and he pointed to examples in other states of businesses claiming that their employees are making more in unemployment than in their jobs. The CEO of Dominos, however, said hes seen the opposite.

Senator Scott supported significantly expanding unemployment insurance in the CARES Act but he, along with a handful of colleagues, worried that paying workers more to be on a government program than they could make in a job would lead workers to make the rational decision to delay returning to work, harming our economic recovery, Hartline said in a statement. Now we know that he and his colleagues were right.

But in Florida, most out-of-work Floridians have been unable to get either jobs or unemployment, and theyve grown increasingly desperate, with food banks reporting a surge in demand.

Up to 1.8 million Floridians thrown out of work from the coronavirus have filed claims since March 15 up to 18 percent of the states workforce.

Hardly any of them just 153,788 have been able to receive unemployment in large part because of the policies and programs Scott supported and put into place during his eight years as Florida governor.

Riding a wave of Tea Party grievances against government spending, Scott entered office in 2011 just three years into the Great Recession. He passed a number of policies promoted by big businesses.

He signed hallmark legislation requiring recipients to take a 45-question skills test and prove every week that theyve sought work from five employers more than in any other state. The law also cut the number of weeks people are eligible for unemployment assistance and made it easier for the state to deny benefits for misconduct. It also required recipients to file claims online and reapply every two weeks.

While Scotts predecessor, Charlie Crist, oversaw the selection of the company that launched the states now-crippled unemployment website, Scott oversaw the two-year development and disastrous 2013 rollout of the website. In 2015 and 2016, state auditors found that the site had numerous glitches and problems that are still bedeviling Floridians today.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican but a political rival, has issued emergency orders waiving many of the unemployment hurdles Scott created in an effort to get money into the hands of Floridians.

DeSantis has called some of those hurdles perverse, including one that allows businesses to keep employees on the payroll at drastically reduced rates to prevent those employees from qualifying for unemployment.

On Friday, DeSantis said he believed the system was designed to fail, and the $77 million spent to overhaul it under Scotts tenure was not a good investment for the state.

This thing was a clunker, theres no doubt about it," DeSantis said. It was designed, with all these different things, to basically fail, I think.

DeSantis, however, also failed to fix the website. Auditors flagged the problems a third time last year.

While many states have struggled to handle record unemployment claims, Florida has been among the slowest states in the nation to pay claims. Also unlike other states, the amount of money in Floridas unemployment trust fund, which is used to pay claims, has actually increased since March 1, according to the New York Times.

With a net worth last year of $166 million, Scott is one of the nations wealthiest senators. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and isnt up for re-election until 2024.

Scott and two other GOP senators erected a roadblock to the CARES Act bill to try to make the unemployment compensation tied to the persons salary.

We cannot be paying people more money on unemployment than they get paid in their job, he said last month.

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The president of the Skylands Tea Party said he was threatened with arrest after he planned a protest on the Newton Green in response to Gov. Phil Murphy's executive orders during the coronavirus pandemic.

William Hayden, of Frankford, said he had planned a small gathering Saturday of around 10 to 20 people on the Newton Green in protest, targeting Murphy's stay-at-home directives. The plan was to keep 6 feet apart while live streaming a reading of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which, in essense, calls for the protection against laws that prohibit freedom of speech, religion and the press and the right to assemble and to petition the government. The Newton Green is Sussex Countys only county-owned park.

Hayden knows the coronavirus is serious, stating that his wife, an ICU nurse, sees it first-hand, but notes that Murphy has "taken it upon himself to violate all of our rights."

An avid hiker, Hayden takes particular issue with the closure of county and state parks, noting that as open-air spaces remain closed, popular retailers like Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart are open, allowing more people in tight, enclosed areas.

Murphy ordered parks to close after seeing and receiving reports from state and county officials that people were gathering and failing to abide by social distancing orders. The decision was made in an effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, which as of Friday afternoon had claimed 3,840 lives, including 48 Sussex County residents 26 of whom were clients at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation I and II facilities in Andover Township.

But the decision to close parks didn't come without pushback by some Republican lawmakers, including 24th District Assembly members Parker Space and Hal Wirths, who supported the introduction of a resolution by Republican Assemblyman Jay Webber, of Morris County, to reopen the parks. Webber also started an online petition that has, since April 7, garnered over 11,000 signatures.

Hayden said he had obtained a permit in January to host a Patriot's Day event on the Newton Green. The day, held on the third Monday of April each year, commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord. The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the event he said.

County officials closed off the Newton Green this week. On Friday, barriers were placed in the park, blocking the entrance points to the Newton Green which is often bustling with people on a workday or even weekend along with caution tape surrounding the perimeter.

Hayden said he has always had a good relationship with Newton Police Chief Robert Osborn, but "the dynamic changed" when they spoke over the phone this week after the chief got wind of Hayden's plans to hold a protest on the Green, which had been posted on social media.

"He told me he would have to arrest me if I went through (with the protest)," Hayden said.

When asked if he was planning on moving the protest elsewhere today, Hayden didn't rule out the idea, stating he "may be doing something."

Osborn decline comment Friday, but instead referred to a statement issued by the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office.

Gregory Mueller, first assistant prosecutor, said Friday his office was advised of Haydens plan, and based on follow up with social media posts, his office responded by issuing a press release.

In the release, Mueller thanked the residents of Sussex County for their "sacrifice, patience and strength" during the ongoing pandemic, noting that their cooperation and adherence to county and state officials along with Murphy's executive orders has "saved many lives in our community."

The statement, in part, continued: "Your commitment in this regard shows your compassion for your fellow neighbor, honors the sacrifice they are making and reduces the danger posed to first responders and health care workers in our county."

"Your actions now, and in the coming weeks," Mueller said, "Could save the life of someone you know or someone you may never meet," the statement ended.

Murphy has echoed similar sentiments in his daily coronavirus briefings, stating that it is essential to stay home and keep with social distancing to flatten the curve.

On Thursday, Murphy stated, "We will get through this unequivocally, not without cost. Look at the lives, the thousands now, of lives we've lost. But we will, New Jersey, get through this together as one extraordinary family, stronger than ever before."

Hayden said that Murphy's executive orders violate the Bill of Rights, a topic that was addressed during a rare interview between Fox News' Tucker Carson and Murphy on Wednesday.

Murphy, in response during the often-heated interview, said he "wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights" when he issued his March 21 executive order to require New Jersey residents to stay home while banning social gatherings. Instead, Murphy said he looked at "data and science," specifically that "it says people have to stay away from each other."

First Assistant Prosecutor Mueller, when asked his thoughts of the topic, said he was going to respond by quoting a phrase most often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "The Constitution is not a suicide pact."

Hayden said he has plans to attend the Open New Jersey rally that is planned for April 28 at the Trenton War Memorial, the location of Murphys daily coronavirus briefings. The event is expected to include hundreds of people, or more.

Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

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Tea Party president says he was threatened with arrest for planning protest on Newton Green - New Jersey Herald