GEORGE KORDA: For disasters like COVID-19: Criticism is easy, responsibility is hard.

THE CHICOM TERRORISTS HAVE WON: Is This Really the Sort of Hellish Dystopia You Want to Live In? COVID-19 Delays Release of New Emojis.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How To Use An Instant Pot.

21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Icelandic Forestry Service Recommends Hugging Trees While You Can’t Hug Others.

BEND THE KNEE: Watch as Joe Biden Promises to ‘Transform This Nation’ in Accepting Bernie’s Endorsement.

Some moderate, eh?

ROGER SIMON: Democrats Would Rather Blame Trump than China for the Pandemic.

Well, yes. See also the “Fire doesn’t melt steel”-era trutherism about 9/11.

CUOMO: SOME NORTHEASTERN AND MID-ATLANTIC STATES ANNOUNCING A REGIONAL RE-OPENING PLAN THIS AFTERNOON.

BELGIUM’S WUHAN CORONAVIRUS DEATH RATE SURPASSES ITALY’S: “In the meantime, neighboring Netherlands, which a few weeks ago had a similar rate to Belgium’s, now has half of Belgium’s. I don’t know why this is happening (different initial infection patterns? different containment policies? different treatment policies? different healthcare quality? different reporting practices?), but I thought I’d note it. Spain is at 374 deaths per million, Belgium at 337, Italy at 329, France at 221, UK at 167, Netherlands at 165 (Worldometer data). By way of comparison, US is at 67.”

REPORT: 10,000 miles in a Porsche Cayenne. I never cease to be amused at how today’s SUVs and luxury sedans compare with the supercars of my youth: “On its stock Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport summer tires, our 4708-pound Cayenne stops from 70 mph in 158 feet and holds onto the skidpad at 0.95 g. While those aren’t mind-blowing numbers, remember, this is just the base Cayenne model. With a modest 335 horsepower from its turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6, the Cayenne scoots to 60 in just 4.9 seconds and trips the quarter-mile lights in 13.5 seconds at 102 mph.”

AT AMAZON, Shop Amazon Warehouse Deals – Deep Discounts on Open-box and Used Products.

Plus, Shop Amazon Outlet – Clearance, Markdowns and Overstock Deals.

OH FER CRYIN’ OUT LOUD: Authorities Investigate Illicit Amish Wedding in Sleepy Ohio Hamlet, Population 3,220.

THE DEATH OF STALIN: Bernie Sanders Endorses Former Rival Joe Biden: ‘We Need You in the White House.’

As one wag quipped on Twitter, “All beret. No Ché.”

(Classical reference in headline.)

WHEN MARKETING RULES AN ENGINEERING FIRM: New document reveals significant fall from grace for Boeing’s space program.

The 2014 crew contract analysis, authored by NASA’s then-chief of human spaceflight, William Gerstenmaier, frequently lauds Boeing for its technical and management expertise. “This is a very comprehensive, credible plan,” Gerstenmaier wrote. He described their earlier work in the commercial crew program as “excellent and effective,” while providing “high quality products with sufficient detail.”

In the analysis, which compared Boeing to SpaceX and the third competitor in the crew program, Sierra Nevada, Boeing received the highest marks. “Boeing’s proposal had the highest overall Mission Suitability score and the highest adjectival ratings of Excellent for each of the two most heavily weighted subfactors, Technical and Management,” Gerstenmaier wrote. “I agree with this assessment.” In the final crew development awards, Boeing received $4.2 billion from NASA, and SpaceX $2.6 billion—reflecting Boeing’s much higher costs at the time.

Six years later, the perception of Boeing’s bid for the lunar cargo contract is much changed. Of the four contenders, it had the lowest overall technical and mission suitability scores. In addition, Boeing’s proposal was characterized as “inaccurate” and possessing no “significant strengths.” Boeing also was cited with a “significant weakness” in its proposal for pushing back on providing its software source code.

Due to its high price and ill-suited proposal for the lunar cargo contract, NASA didn’t even consider the proposal among the final bidders. In his assessment late last year, NASA’s acting chief of human spaceflight, Ken Bowersox, wrote, “Since Boeing’s proposal was the highest priced and the lowest rated under the Mission Suitability factor, while additionally providing a conditional fixed price, I have decided to eliminate Boeing from further award consideration.”

Ouch.

WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE, THE INSTA-DAUGHTER’S FAVORITE MOON WAS CALLISTO: Every Moon in Our Solar System, Ranked.

FINALLY: Former royals announce organization providing attention to former royals.

FASTER, PLEASE: UPMC Leads Global Effort to Fast Track Testing of Hydroxychloroquine and other COVID-19 Therapies with ‘Learning While Doing’ Clinical Trial. “REMAP (randomized, embedded, multi-factorial, adaptive platform) allows researchers to rapidly test multiple treatment approaches simultaneously at a lower cost and with fewer patients than traditional clinical trials.”

UGH: Sailor From COVID-19 Plagued Aircraft Carrier Dies Two Weeks After Letter Warned Of Fatalities.

THE RED REIGN OF ERROR: The Death of Stalin Arrives on Netflix.

My latest post at Ed Driscoll.com.

(Bumped.)

LET’S ALL GET BACK TO WORK SOON: Supreme Court Adapts to Coronavirus to Resume Oral Arguments in Key Cases.

SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Analysis Reveals Most US Jobs Simply Can’t Be Done From Home.

ANNALS OF THE EXPERTS: Anthony Fauci March 9: Sure, Go On A Cruise! “Speaking at a White House press conference tonight to provide updates on the COVID-19 Coronavirus situation, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told reporters if you are healthy, there is no reason to eschew cruise vacations. ‘If you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship.'”

FASTER, PLEASE: Planning the Great Escape from House Arrest—and From Communist China.

MAKE PRIME GREAT AGAIN: Amazon to Allow Sellers of Nonessential Items to Resume Shipping.

Last month, Amazon made a decision to prioritize so-called essential items such as cleaning products, health-care items and shelf-stable food at its warehouses to meet customer demand. Amazon stopped accepting shipments of items from sellers that didn’t correspond to the shopping needs created by the virus. The mandate caused unrest for its army of third-party sellers, which account for 58% of Amazon’s sales.

“Later this week, we will allow more products into our fulfillment centers,” said an Amazon spokeswoman. “Products will be limited by quantity to enable us to continue prioritizing products and protecting employees, while also ensuring most selling partners can ship goods into our facilities.”

The tech giant has been inundated by orders as Americans follow shelter-in-place guidance to stop the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, its network of warehouses has struggled to keep up with demand, and shipping times for orders in its Prime program that previously delivered items in one day or less have slipped to as much as a month in some cities.

That’s a good sign.

UGH: 40% of people with severe COVID-19 experience neurological complications.