The Pandemic Caused By Privilege and Capitalism Part 4 — The Forgotten Heroes: Sanitation

The Pandemic Caused By Privilege and Capitalism Part 4 — The Forgotten Heroes: Sanitation Workers.

By Joesph Feuerstein

Apr 4

Today April 4th marks the 50th Anniversary of the Passing of Martin Luther King Jr. As of now, there are a total of 1,094,068“confirmed” cases WorldWide. The worldwide total of deaths is 50,489. In the USA according to the White House Task Force, and CDC there are OVER 273,880 COVID-19 CASES WITHIN U.S. With 7,077 “confirmed” dead in the United States as of today, but that is not including those that could have died previous to testing. As I said before there are 7.7 Billion People in the world. if everyone got the virus, at a 1% death rate we are looking at 77,000,000.

These opinion articles will be a weekly assessment of current news and events, leadership choices towards treatments the working poor and middle class along with the victims and Essential and Non Essential workers, How Capitalism and Privilege affect the lives of everyone, from individual to the collective, and workers rights, and many other topics. These articles will focus on their labor throughout history during plagues and pandemics. This opinion article will also focus on how Sanitation Workers are unvalued, underpaid, their lack proper medicare care in some cases, and without their action, the spread of this disease would be far worse, they are risking their lives every day and those that they value (Family) to continue the logistic feet of providing the community and the healthy sanitized environment, in turn, providing health benefits to all. This is why this article will argue for a better standard of living for them (living wage, health benefits) worldwide, that they should fight for such through protests, striking, and other acts of peaceful civil disobedience. Right now from what I understanding there is a lack of cleaning supplies and they are in high demand. TO all of you in this trade, Thank you for what you are doing.

The national average salary for a Sanitation Worker in the United States is $26,164 per year or $12.58 per hour. But when you compare the Salary to the United Kingdom, The average salary for a Sanitation Worker is £29,191 per year aka (USD$36288.79). That is $10,000 worth of labor aka salary missing from the average Sanitation worker, that is not including if the employer has offers Health benefits, or if they are provided by a union. One of the largest trade unions of public based employees in the United States is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees with a total of 3,400 local unions in 46 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. They have over a Million employees and retirees some of the jobs they performed are Sanitation workers, police officers, health care workers, Prison Corrections officers, firefighters, and childcare providers. It is estimated that 2.4 billion people World Wide still lack minimal sanitation facilities as of 2015 and Open Defecation is still an issue and pathogens reside in feces. Open defecation is the practice whereby people will relive themselves publically by going into a field, bushes, forests, stream or body or water, and or other open spaces. The Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS) was is considered a human right by the United Nations General Assembly as of 28 July 2010.

The World Health OrganizationInternational Labour Organization, The World Bank, “defines” the variety of Sanitation Work/Waste Management to include toilet cleaners, those that empty Pits of shit and piss from pit latrines or septic tanks or other jobs that handle Fecile sludge; those that maintain the hygiene of sewers systems and manholes, along with those that work for sewage and fecal sludge treatment plants, along with disposal sites.

HOWEVER, In the United States, a garbageman or trashman is separate. Same thing goes for those in the United Kingdom, they are known as Waste Collectors and Dustman/Biman. In my opinion, the United States, the United Kingdom, and many other countries, and other corporate and private organizations have tried to REDEFINE, DIVIDED, and RECATORGORIZE the word. By dividing it and recategorizing for financial reasons for better control of the workforces through division and their understanding that they are stronger together. As I stated Martine Luther King Jr understood this and brought together both waste collectors, sewage workers, and other sanitation workers for varying trades. He understood by uniting them, they would be stronger together at achieving a stronger voice. Now is the time to fight the good fight just as he did, for the lives of those on the frontlines of dealing with this pandemic.

Martin Lurther King Jr Last speech to Striking Sanitation Workers was in Memphis

Martin Lurther King Jr Last speech to Striking Sanitation Workers was in Memphis, Tennessee and for good reasonMemphis, Tennessee was one of many areas that the workers were underpaid in Sanitation and Public Workers. The Sanitation workers and Public employees had years of inadequate pay(aka a living wage that matched inflation, rising wages that matched others in their field worldwide and risk of the job) and working conditions that could risk their lives. During this time, two documented cases(Echol Cole and Robert Walke) of people being crushing to death by a garbage compactor occurred. Between 700 — 1300 sanitation workers met on Sunday, February 11, and agreed to strike. They then did not turn out for work the next day. They wanted to join the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1733. The speech Martin Luther King JR gave would be his last speech, it was known as “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop”. Not long after he was assassinated. Memphis’s mayor, Henry Loeb, declared the strike by Sanitation Workers illegal and refused to meet with local Union Leaders. Thanks to the Freedom of Information act, Heavily redacted files were released in 2012 about the strike, which indicated the FBI monitored and increased its operations in Memphis during 1968.

Sanitation work is one of the most dangerous jobs worldwide. Sanitation jobs like Water and Waste management are essential to any growing community, along with its health of the collective within; and must be protected along with the dignity, pay, health and value of its workers. Some statics show at times more dangerous than police work. Sometimes bags and objects falling out of overloaded containers hitting them as they work containing who knows what. They deal with chemicals like Asbestos, Animal attacks from pests and dogs, Inhaling dust, and (insert chemical) along with smoke fumes. No matter the weather, whether it be severe or calm, much like the Postal Service, they are out there working. Whether it be the dump; or the side/middle of the road. Where would you put your trash if there was no sanitation department?

Hazards that this line of work faces includes pathogens and disease’s by sorting and processing local waste. They also deal with shards of various sizes of broken glass, metals, and plastic hidden like land mines amongst the garbage in unlabeled plastic bags. Along with that, they process medical waste such as needles, scalpels (and other tools), used bandages, and protective equipment covered in human fluids. Along with many other challenging aspects, such as human waste (feices and other fluids).

The worldwide access to clean water from 2000 to 2017 dropped from 20% to 10% thanks to many factors capitalism, privilege, along with climate change. The United Nations declared that clean water and access to it, along with Sanitation, and its facilities are an essential basic human right. Over 2,000,000,000 HUMAN BEINGS throughout the world (the United States Included) lack access to water this is free of health risks(pathogens, mental poisoning, industrial and other wastes). 701 million people worldwide still had to practice open defecation.

Wealth is tied to Health(aka Sanitation of the environment, the body, and the mind), and the well being of a community Workforce. Most Pathogens and Infectious Diseases can be attributed to sanitation, and have a direct relation to poverty/GDP. Rights, Pay, healthy, and quality work environment of its Sanitation Workforce is an investment into the Health, and well being of all workforce across all industries and inturn the wealth of the country. The Sanitation Industry is equal to the Medical Industry, and its value. Both should be categorized under the same umbrella as healthcare for they are the most dangerous for they both contribute to the health of a community and country. It is estimated that inadequate sanitation is responsible for 4% percent of deaths and 5.7 %of diseases spreading of pathogens and its burden worldwide.

For any social and economic development, adequate sanitation in conjunction with good hygiene and safe water is essential to good health. Lack of proper sanitation and water causes diseases. Tight quarters and limited fresh air are places where influenza could easily be transmitted due for example Elevators. The argument could and should be made, that Sanitation is on par with Healthcare if not more important, after all, who cleans the operating tables, the laboratory, the hospital hallways, and entryways. To say they should not be considered as part of the Healthcare system and its workforce. For every US$1 spent on sanitation, the estimated return to society is US$5.50. The statistic done in 2017 by the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) estimates that 4.5 billion people currently do not have safely managed sanitation and a total of 785 million people worldwide don’t have access to basic drinking water services. In regards to basic hand-washing facilities with soap and water at home, about 60% of people worldwide have this facility so consider the disease spread, and possible increase of the second and third wave of the Pathogens and Infectious Diseases such as the Corvid19. However, But in third world countries, only 38% have such facilities, Overall this translating to about 3 billion people still without basic handwashing facilities at home.

All you have to do to see the cracks of the system is look at history. If the cracks are still there it only proves that the system and its governance workforce during times of crisis are still inept and have not learned anything since the last major pandemic over a hundred years called the Spanish Flu. Leadership learned nothing when it came to preparing logistically, scientifically, technologically or economically. Influenza pandemics have occurred every 30 to 40 years since the 16th-century ranging in severity, this only proves more the cracks in the system.

In my opinion, all Essential businesses and services should provide staff/team members/employees/laborers with masks and gloves along with customers they value. This should be a blanket law across all industries considered essential for the safety of the worker and the public. Essential Business should have personal that monitor the population in the store along with enforcement of the 6-foot rule in aisles, the complete sanitation of all carts after use (handles to push and the basket that items that were touched by the individual has sit-in). Customers and workers should look with their eyes, not their hands, enforcement item contact should be done, touch if it is only going to be purchased. The environment such as floors, walls, shelves, desks, chairs, keyboards, pin pads, atm machines (insert other) should be sanitized frequently after each use to guarantee that there is no chance for the spread and guaranteed continuing profit/health of its workforce and consumers. Safety equipment enforcement should be practice by each team member/laborer has masks or gloves, and hairnets regardless of their current health symptoms or disregard. After all, symptoms do not appear for some time and they can still spread the virus to the general public, in turn, breaking the line of sanitation enforcement between the company and public, and it can not only prove too deadly could end in lawsuits, labor strikes, fines and other issues between the public.

In regards to the pandemic of Coronavirus and other infections diseases perhaps moving forward Each port of entry should have a hospital building built adjacent to the airport or connecting, to handle a percentage of those traveling every day along with a screening service(taking of temperature, blood pressure, some smartwatches do this already. Other ways smart technology could help is with smartphones apps that could help to indicate the areas in which you’re traveling to, when you are there if you are in a Pandemic Hotspot neighborhood or place of business through a warning system of heat map, or could help with this or what China is doing with QR code scans with smartphones. Perhaps throat swabs, and x-rays and other types of scans perhaps automation, robotic, artificial system along) for those arriving and departing. No matter the country they are traveling from nor state to state. By doing this we are investing in creating a better system of health for the world and the nation. It would help stop the spread of diseases but not only that be a canary in the coal mine for possible future pandemics and new infectious diseases.

Sanitation and Wastewater treatment adds to Climate Change in many ways. For an example of such In the Northeast, there has been increased flooding of the systems because of rainfall and treatment plants to be to the amount coming of sewage coming in. In the West, there is a lack of rainfall causing drought, and water sources are being depleted for capitalistic reasons. To fit the need the use of recycled and reclaimed water needs to be used more frequently. Climate change also affects piping that is already in use and increases the rate of damage and corrosion to the preexisting sanitation systems. One of the ways that it adds to climate change is that wastewater and Sanitation treatment facilities add to the emissions of greenhouse gases. Some of the common gas’s are nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane. They are created from the chemical reaction of the decomposition of organic material from the anaerobic bacteria. These bacteria actually help clean the waste leftover but also produce gas’s but the equipment used still produces more gas’s then the bacteria. That is not including the power usage from the machinery. That is why all facilities should consistently undergoing renovation and retrofitted or replaced with the latest innovations to provide a greener more sanitary environment. Standards and goals should be set moving forward for annual replacement of equipment used and machinery along with the process. Landfills can also cause a number of issues. Logistic and Infrastructure disruption, such as damage or access to roads. Pollution of local roads and watercourses from wheels on vehicles when they leave the landfill. Landfills can also pollute the local environment by contaminating groundwater, underground rivers/streams, aquifers, and soil. Poorly run landfills can cause vectors such as rats and flies which can spread infectious diseases. The occurrence of such vectors can be mitigated through the use of daily cover. Other issues include wildlife disruption due to the destruction of oof habitat. Local ecosystem and animal health issues caused by consuming waste from landfills. Small amounts of pharmaceuticals in both surface and groundwater are as of now overall are far below what is “considered” dangerous or of concern. But as time goes on it could pose a dangerous ecological ripple throughout by an increasing population growth.

Dangerous is the dreamer, for the very act of a dream is an act of rebellion. Greedy is the idealist, for an idea is pure but it is corrupted by imposing ego of I. a dream is an act of treason against the reality of lies force-fed to us since birth, screamed until it echoes scar our mind. Its madness beaten into us daily through the repertory, and its madness if we leave it unfulfilled that will leave a person’s soul twisted and leave nothing but a monster in frenzy. Dreams have no rules, no cages except the ones itself builds if left unfinished they will hold our mind and sometimes our hearts ransom to its desires until they are manifested and satisfied, and the most dangerous one is love because nothing can hold our gaze longer than that of pure love, it will grasp us all until death and every day after it. To others our dreams or ideas has to fit the puzzle of the society’s construct or the piece is burned and put into a box whichever comes first, but when everything is burning it is those that dream that will save us all when the regulated conventional greed of the unwise and vain fails.

During the 19th Century in response to the Great Stink of 1858 a British Civil Engineer name Sir Joseph William Bazalgette he was the head of the London Metropolitan Board of Works, his major accomplishment was the creation of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in helping the city reduce the Cholera Epidemic, and cleaning the River Thame. After recovering from a nervous breakdown from working in the latrine pits of the railway, he revolutionized London’s sewerage system began to be implemented an enclosed sewer that would eliminate The Great Stink aka Night air all based around the Miasma Theory aka miasma (μίασμα, ancient Greek: “pollution”)which the smell or bad air came from rotting organic mattet. It was typically associated with the spread of pathogens, some scholars believed then that it also attributed to other conditions as well for example one could become fat by inhaling the smell that food gave off. The reason I bring this up is that I believe it is time for a great overhaul, revitalization, innovations, rights, and reflection of current methods of sanitation and how it can be improved along with those that labor for the greater good.

During the 19th Century in response to the Great Stink of 1858 a British Civil Engineer name Sir Joseph William Bazalgette he was the head of the London Metropolitan Board of Works, his major accomplishment was the creation of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in helping the city reduce the Cholera Epidemic, and cleaning the River Thame. After recovering from a nervous breakdown from working in the latrine pits of the railway, he revolutionized London’s sewerage system began to be implemented an enclosed sewer that would eliminate The Great Stink aka Night air all based around the Miasma Theory aka  (μίασμα, ancient Greek: “pollution”)which the smell or bad air came from rotting organic matter. It was typically associated with the spread of pathogens, some scholars believed then that it also attributed to other conditions as well for example one could become fat by inhaling the smell that food gave off. The reason I bring this up is that I believe it is time for a great overhaul, revitalization, innovations, rights, and reflection of current methods of sanitation and how it can be improved along with those that labor for the greater good.

When you build something BIG A whole new job trade and economic boost would occur along with greater security. One example that could help impact everyone the same way Sir Joseph William Bazalgette impacted London would be A Hydroponic Chemical and Distribution Plant In every town or city, right next to the Sanitation and water treatment Plant that already preexist along with a hydroponic Filter and Recycle Chemical Plant. It would have its own separate and secure pipe system. The supply of chemicals be fed to commercial buildings and housing like it does already preexisting water supply systems to treatment facilities. The purpose would be to send the chemicals each building then cycle back through the system recycling the chemical excess through filtration. It would recycle negative chemicals excess, get rid of the root that broke off the plants, along with hydroponic rocks, and equalizing the pH in the water supply. By doing so it could put the nutrient chemicals back into the hydroponic chemical plant and separated the chemicals and liquids into there own holding containers. When you live in the city’ s you can’ t exactly have your own garden nor even a front or backyard to grow any food this system would help feed a populous during a time of crisis and provide food security.

Now imagine if your inside an apartment or house, and along the walls a pipe protruding from the top of the walls and traveling down the wall in a z or v like pattern. Special plant lights fan hanging and automated, adjustable based on distance from the pipe or plant to help maintain the temperature needed and the fans would strengthen the stocks of the plants. holes on the top of the pipes would have a basket with small holes to put hydroponic rocks in to mimic the dirt and whatever seed chosen by the occupant of the dwelling. It could help those that public regardless of social status, working or homeless, along with the environment.

You could have Excess chemical used in public pips that could lining the outside of the building, in the same way, the apartment pipes would run. You could have them in private and public nature parks on the ground along the side of a path or sidewalk of the park. Maybe even a hydroponic Fountain in certain areas. Inside would be the fastest variety of plant s that could grow during the winter seasons. from the hydroponic setup below grow next to the subway system. There are many benefits its in desperate times especially now, If there ever was widespread panic and a great economic depression occurred it would help stop starvation amongst the populace. Millions would not raid the local supermarket and clean them out. it would introduce a gardening class in the school system for every age set up to teach people how to grow and appreciate nature along with knowing what they can, and can not eat.

The Hydroponic plant would have checkpoints set up throughout the city that would analyze the water within every city block through an Electronic Wireless smart filter. The electronic Wireless Smart Filter would be able to check to see if someone is tampering with the water supply or to see if someone is growing something illegal. The smart filter or smart pipe could be analyzed through a cloud base control hub that all that plant employees and local municipality could moniter. It could shut off the flow or redirect to certain areas remotely in case of an emergency, whatever it might be, whether it is with a high amount of chemicals, thieves stealing and hoarding large amounts or by a terrorist. Also, the Smart filter/pipes would also be able to detect overall degradation, and if there was a broken pipe easier or if there was contamination within the supply

William Carlos Williams

The famous poet, William Carlos Williams was a family physician at the time of the Spanish flu, and he wrote: ‘We doctors were making up to sixty calls a day. Several of us were knocked out, one of the younger of us died, others caught the thing, and we hadn’t a thing that was effective in checking that potent poison that was sweeping the world.’

The most dangerous time of the Spanish Influenza wasfrom1918–1919. Over those two years, it claimed between 50 and 100 million lives, It is estimated that it 2.5%–5%of the global population of the time died. It is speculated Two major issues contributed to the spread and lack of Personal/Resources when it came to the Spanish Flu pandemic: the global war efforts of World War 1 and how it basically limited the concentration of scientific knowledge into the disease. There is limited data, to no Data on the Economic cost of the Spanish Flu, but World War I required much of the medical community to be stationed overseas throughout different areas and of the was. Back In 1918, not much was known about influenza, this lack of knowledge did impact infection control actions, effective treatment and prevention methods for there was a lack of an understanding of the disease. Some Ignorant people of the time thought it was spread by those of different income classes, certain jobs, religions, and ethnicities.

To quote the Smithsonian “Public health policies — like immigration policies — were colored by eugenics. It was common for privileged elites to look down on workers and the poor as inferior categories of human being, whose natural degeneracy predisposed them to disease and deformity. It didn’t occur to those elites to look for the causes of illness in the often abject living conditions of the lower classes: crowded tenements, long working hours, poor diet. If they sickened and died from typhus, cholera and other killer diseases, the eugenicists argued, then it was their own fault because they lacked the drive to achieve a better quality of life. In the context of an epidemic, public health generally referred to a suite of measures designed to protect those elites from the contaminating influence of the disease-ridden rabble.”

On top of all that, to add to this mix, one must wonder about the balance of liberty, justice, and equality. To Quote a CDC paper named Lessons from the History of Quarantine, from Plague to Influenza A”“In the face of a dramatic health crisis, individual rights have often been trampled in the name of public good. The use of segregation or isolation to separate persons suspected of being infected has frequently violated the liberty of outwardly healthy persons, most often from lower classes, and ethnic and marginalized minority groups have been stigmatized and have faced discrimination. This feature, almost inherent in quarantine, traces a line of continuity from the time of plague to the 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic”

It has nothing to do with race, religion, or creed, and more to do with income. One could argue that this virus is causing a social-economic base genocide of the working poor, and the middle class who are forced to work without adequate safety equipment or multiple tests need to make sure they are not spreading it. Those affected are in high population areas, who are forced to work for a system of governance or company that does not provide adequate healthcare, or pay or education. It must change and it must change now.

Right now according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group of historical civil rights worked with, among them, Martin Luther King Jr just reported that extremists of xenophobic, racists(Nazi’s/white supremacists) and Far-right origin believe the intense uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19 will help them the ability to recruit new members into their movement. Using the fear aka Fear mongering of the virus as a propaganda recruitment tool. to quote the article “Over the past year, a faction referring to themselves as “accelerationists” has gained strength within the movement, united in their belief that our current globally-connected, pluralistic society is irredeemable and “degenerate.” Society, this faction has argued, must be dismantled by bringing about “system collapse” — specifically through acts of violence that will accelerate its downfall. Only then, they believe, can they build an ethnonationalist society in its place. Accelerationists consider themselves the revolutionary vanguard of the white supremacist movement.” This is disgusting behavior in my opinion for many personal(grandfather escaped Austria through a Haywagon that was stabbed with Pitchforks by the SS and was smuggled out of France by my great Aunt who was part of the French Underground to the New York City) and logical reasons. All ethnic-based hate groups should be classified under terrorism and all those that commit such should be classified as such. For their actions fits the very definition of terrorism. For those that don’t know the Definition, here it is.

terrorism /ˈterəˌrizəm/ the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

QUESTION — The Population of America is 327.2 million give or take. There are only 160k Ventilators Available in the United States.15% Will have Severe Conditions from Corvid19 and will Need a Ventilator According to Medical Statics. How Much is 15% of 327.2 million?

ANSWER — 15% of 327.2 million is 49 Million, 49 Million people could need Ventilators in the United States if the entire Population of America Gets Sick. Only 160k Ventilators Available. let’s say 1% got sick in a day that’s 3 million and two hundred thousand. 15% of 3,200,00 that could need ventilators….that’s 480k. Still, only 160k Ventilators confirmed and 2,000 and possibly more ventilators don’t work and are broken because of a maintenance lapse according to the New York Times.

To Open with the weekly news, let’s speak about the conditions of warehouse workers that work for Amazon. Amazon workers walked out after demanding better protection for their workforce in NYC, inturn they were fired. to quote NBC Article “Amazon has fired a Staten Island warehouse worker who organized a strike to demand greater protections for employees amid the coronavirus outbreak. Chris Smalls, a management assistant at the facility, known as JFK8, said he was fired Monday afternoon following the strike. Smalls and other employees walked out to call attention to the lack of protections for warehouse workers. The workers are also urging Amazon to close the facility after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus last week. The organizers said that at least 50 people joined the walkout. “Amazon would rather fire workers than face up to its total failure to do what it should to keep us, our families, and our communities safe,” Smalls said in a statement. “I am outraged and disappointed, but I’m not shocked. As usual, Amazon would rather sweep a problem under the rug than act to keep workers and working communities safe.””

Jared Kushner, Trump’s Son in Law said he is working under Vice President Mike Pence, With Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx. Jared Kushner said this week in response from the cries of medical works asking for life-saving ventilators for victims of corvid 19 was

“ The state still has a stockpile, and the notion the federal stockpile was supposed to be “OUR” stockpile, it’s not supposed to be state stockpile that they then use” ~Jared Kushner

This speaks to the Pandemic of Capitalism and Privilege that I discussed in previous articles and should be taken not just his perspective, but that of the President as being a member of his family and part of Administration. 24 hours later the Trump administration edited the national stockpile website it originally read — : “Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out. When the state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency. Organized for a scalable response to a variety of public health threats, this repository contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously.”

NOW it Reads

” The Strategic National Stockpile’s role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available.”

Right after many The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), which manages the stockpile, would not comment on the record.

Ontop of that President Donald J Trump Tweeted “Massive amounts of medical supplies, even hospitals and medical centers, are being delivered directly to states and hospitals by the Federal Government. Some have insatiable appetites & are never satisfied (politics?). Remember, we are a backup for them. The complainers should…….have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit. Other states are thrilled with the job we have done. Sending many Ventilators today, with thousands being built. 51 large cargo planes coming in with medical supplies. Prefer sending directly to hospitals.”

One must consider the political strategy of the Trump Administration. I speculate moving forward one strategy the Trump Administration might do, would be by holding back on giving ventilators to each state temporarily, hoarding them to only flood the market with them at a later time, costing the lives of coronavirus victims in the present time, in turn at a later date when the market is flooded to appear to be the superhero and savior of the pandemic, the one that saved America, by twisting the narrative to make it look like he’s saved all of us for political point, wag the dog perception for his base At the cost and expense of human life.

Ontop of that Trump admin will not reopen Obamacare exchanges during coronavirus pandemic. “The White House will not reopen the Obamacare exchanges to allow uninsured Americans to purchase health care coverage during the coronavirus pandemic.” to quote an NBC Article. In my opinion, this will only add to the hardship of the working poor, and middle class struggling with the cost of this virus trying to get insurance putting them further into debt slavery. An argument could be made from this for even more reason why we need Medicare for all as we pay double the amount in totality for health insurance when compared to other countries.

The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if you’d ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again, They had things in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks. They had things that were just totally crazy and had nothing to do with workers that lost their jobs and companies that we have to save.”

On top of that last Monday, Donald J Trump Admitted on Air to Fox and Friends that admitted That Vote by Mail would hurt the Republican party.

To quote President Donald J Trump “ The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if you’d ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again, They had things in there about election days and what you do and all sorts of clawbacks. They had things that were just totally crazy and had nothing to do with workers that lost their jobs and companies that we have to save.”

To quote the Guardian Article. “The president made the comments as he dismissed a Democratic-led push for reforms such as vote-by-mail, same-day registration and early voting as states seek to safely run elections amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats had proposed the measures as part of the coronavirus stimulus. They ultimately were not included in the $2.2tn final package, which included only $400m to states to help them run elections.”

This should make you wonder in regard to voter suppression on the Middle class and working poor of all backgrounds. Why make this statement, if he didn’t have reason or evidence presented to him of possible voting fraud and voter suppression within the Republican Party.

On top of all that the Trump administration fired the inspector general who flagged Ukraine whistleblower complaint that brought evidence of a Quid Pro Qua according to an NBC New Article. President Donald J. Trump and His Administration stated “This is to advise that I am exercising my power as President to remove from office the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community,” the Trump letter to the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees says.

The letter also says “it is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspectors General. That is no longer the case with regard to this Inspector General.”

The firing is to take effect 30 days from Friday, according to the letter.”

Now onto current events that occurred this week that most people missed. To quote MSNBC Article– Attorney General Bill Barr has asked Congress for sweeping powers to detain people “indefinitely without trial” during emergencies, a controversial coronavirus proposal. Former Federal Prosecutor Maya Wiley says the proposal goes “far and beyond any powers” that would logically balance “public safety and the rights of our people,” in this interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber.

The Attorney General went on later in the week about releasing Prisoners to “Home Confinement” according to a CBS News Article “ U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Thursday directed the Bureau of Prisons to increase the use of home confinement among older inmates with underlying conditions as a means to mitigate the spread of coronavirus within the country’s prison system. As of Friday, 14 inmates and 13 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in federal facilities. Barr Stated “There are particular concerns in this institutional setting. We want to make sure that our institutions don’t become Petri dishes and it spreads rapidly through a particular institution. We have the protocols that are designed to stop that and we are using all the tools we have to protect the inmates,

In regards to Inmates, the Chicago Suntimes Article “134 inmates at Cook County Jail confirmed positive for COVID-19, The Cook County sheriff’s office announced Monday that 33 more inmates at the Cook County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, raising the total number of confirmed cases among detainees to 134. The triple-digit spread happened within a week. The first two cases of COVID-19 were announced March 23. One of the two men diagnosed, a 42-year-old Albany Park resident serving out a 90-day sentence for an aggravated DUI, said the environment inside the jail “was like Disneyland for coronavirus.” He was released last week and is now self-quarantining at home.

In regards to Defense Production Act related news according to Usa Today Article — Nearly a week after invoking his powers under a Korean War-era law to compel General Motors to manufacture ventilators for coronavirus, President Donald Trump’s administration has not formally ordered any of the machines, USA TODAY has learned.

According to The New York Post House Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants coronavirus ‘reparations’ for minority communities she wrote on twitter “COVID deaths are disproportionately spiking in Black + Brown communities,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted to her 6 million followers on Friday morning.“Why? Because the chronic toll of redlining, environmental racism, wealth gap, etc. ARE underlying health conditions,” the Bronx-born lawmaker added.“Inequality is a comorbidity. COVID relief should be drafted with a lens of reparations,” she wrote.”

According to the New York Times — “President Trump said on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was urging all Americans to wear a mask when they leave their homes, but he immediately undercut the message by repeatedly calling the recommendation voluntary and saying that he would not wear one himself. “With the masks, it is going to be a voluntary thing,” the president said at the beginning of the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House. “You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I am choosing not to do it. It may be good. It is only a recommendation, voluntary.” “Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens — I don’t know,” he added, though he stopped receiving foreign dignitaries weeks ago. “Somehow, I just don’t see it for myself.”

Now according to PBS new Article Stimulus Cash Payments May Take Up To 20 Weeks To Reach Some Americans. To quote their Article “People who do not have direct deposit information on file with the Internal Revenue Service may have to wait up to 20 weeks to receive cash payments included in the $2 trillion coronavirus relief legislation, according to a memo drafted by House Democrats.”

Ontop of that the Federal Reserve is giving over a TRILLION dollars a day to Banks around the country according to PBS Article. To quote them “The New York Federal Reserve Bank said it will offer $1 trillion of overnight loans a day through the end of this month to large banks. That is in addition to $1 trillion in 14-day loans it is offering every week. Banks, so far, have not borrowed nearly as much as the New York Fed is offering, and the loans are quickly repaid. None of the funding is from taxpayer dollars. Wall Street analysts say the huge number is intended to calm markets by demonstrating that the Fed’s ability to lend short-term is nearly unlimited. The Fed is also buying Treasury bonds at a furious pace, and will soon run through the $500 billion in purchases it announced on Sunday. It is also accelerating its purchases of mortgage-backed securities. Most analysts expect they will buy more.”

One must have to ask how many of the working poor and middle class do not have direct deposit information of “file”?

According to the Independent — “Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has warned Donald Trump that his decision to stop a US manufacturing company from sending respirators to Canada could prompt retaliatory measures. The Trump administration ordered 3M, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of protective healthcare equipment, to stop exporting protective masks to Canada and Latin America on Thursday. Mr. Trudeau said medical equipment “goes both ways across the border,” and noted that thousands of nurses travel from Canada to work in Detroit every day.”

Also According to an Abc News Article. “Healthcare workers aka Doctors, Nurses etc, are scrambling to find enough medical supplies to replenish their dwindling supplies. But state and local governments across the United States are vying to purchase the same equipment, creating a competitive market for those materials that drive up prices for everyone.” “A system that’s based on state and local governments looking out for themselves and competing with other state and local governments across the nation isn’t sustainable,” said John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and former acting Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, “and if left to continue, we’ll certainly exacerbate the public health crisis we’re facing.” “There’s a very real possibility,” he added, “that those state and local governments that have the most critical need won’t get the equipment they need.”

The Governor of New York stated “When I showed you the price of ventilators went from $25,000 to $45,000. Why? Because we bid $25,000. California says, ‘I’ll give you $30,000’ and Illinois says, ‘I’ll give you $35,000’ and Florida says ‘I’ll give you $40,000,’” Cuomo said during a press conference Saturday. “We’re literally bidding up the prices ourselves.”

Cuomo called on the federal government — or even states themselves — to get organized and eliminate private market competition.

“You can’t have the states competing against the states, and then by the way, when the federal government goes out to buy the same equipment for their stockpile, now it’s 50 states competing against the states and the federal government competing against the states,” Cuomo said. “This is not the way to do business. We need a nationwide buying consortium.”

But The Governor of New York Has also stated According to Business Insider — New York’s governor says he won’t commit to canceling rent payments, calls his 90-day halt on evictions the ‘fundamental’ solution.

On top of all that FEMA has sent 85 refrigerated trucks to New York City for COVID-19 bodies according to the New York Post. to quote them “Brooklyn Hospital uses forklift’s to move bodies into trucks. New York City is so short on morgue space for coronavirus victims that FEMA is hauling in trailers to store all the bodies. “We are sending refrigeration trucks to New York to help with some of the problem on a temporary basis,” FEMA regional director Thomas Von Essen said at a Manhattan press briefing with Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday. The city is expecting FEMA to send 85 trucks. Although their capacity was not immediately available, similar trailers already in use hold 40 bodies each. The additional FEMA trucks could double the city’s morgue capacity from 3,500 to 7,000.”

To add to New York News Governor Cuomo threatens lawsuit over Rhode Island crackdown on virus-fleeing New Yorkers to quote a Fox New Article– “New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is threatening to sue Rhode Island over its new coronavirus policy that calls for police to stop cars with New York license plates and has seen National Guard members go door-to-door to ask if anyone has arrived from the Empire State. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo — like Cuomo, a Democrat — announced the drastic new policies last week to limit the spread of the coronavirus. New York is the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., confirming more than 52,000 cases of COVID-19 and recording more than 700 deaths.”

On top of that of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp according to MSNBC Article stated he just learned asymptomatic people could transmit the virus. A leader who ill-informed or ignorant willingly or not, is not a leader, for he breeds ignorance and this pandemic further.

Then on top of that a Rush Limbaugh who just recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald J Trump said on his radio show that Millions tune into. To quote the Huffington Post Article “Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday suggested stay-at-home measures to protect people against the coronavirus pandemic were destroying the economy “under the guise” of saving lives. He also gave air to a conspiracy theory that Democrats and communists were plotting the downfall of capitalism.”

““Are we just going to sit by and watch $22 trillion — that’s the value, that’s the sum total of the GDP, that’s the U.S. economy — are we just going to sit by here and watch it evaporate? Because that’s what we’re doing, under the guise of not losing any unnecessary life — meaning we want to try to save as many lives as we can.”

Rush is dealing with Cancer, and would most likely be a severe case if he contracted Corvid 19 but yet as asserted that is no different then the common cold which is a dangerous assertion that only spread the virus more because of the breeding of ignorant statements like his without any proper medical researching or citation. I bet he would have no issue getting the care needed along with medical supplies because of is economic status while others suffer despite his propaganda he spread. He originally said that this outbreak was exaggerated to make look President Trump Look Bad. Trump’s actions are his own, what you do and what you say define you and history will remember. No matter how you spin the narrative of propaganda the facts remain and are not looking good in regards to recent republican narrative and action in regards to this pandemic.

In regards to Unemployment according to an Interview done by NBC with Bank of America Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America, told NBC News. “During the financial crisis, we were seeing a peak of about 650,000 [first-time applications] a week.”

To quote the Article Further “ A record 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, the latest brutal reminder of the toll the coronavirus pandemic is taking on the U.S. economy. Analysts had predicted a jobless claims total of 3 million to 6 million for the week ending March 28, after huge numbers of businesses across the country were forced to close, leaving millions of Americans out of work.Thursday’s figure eclipses even the record-shattering 3.28 million jobless claims from the week before, the first real marker of the jobless number, according to data released last week by the Department of Labor for the period ending March 21. Still, some economists said the actual number of unemployed could be much higher, since many applicants had experienced trouble filing a claim, as state labor departments became overwhelmed.

As someone said it before in a different way small business gets cowboy capitalism… while the big business lobby’s for socialist bailouts, and for laws to help them /give them an advantage over small business…..

Up in Maine Residents of a small island decided to act as law and order, and tried isolating out of stater, To quote a New York Times Article “A group of residents from an island town in Maine cut down a tree and dragged it into the middle of a road in an attempt to forcibly quarantine three roommates they believed could have the new coronavirus after arriving from out of state, law enforcement officials said on Saturday.”

In regards of news coming out of Massachusetts More than 900 Massachusetts hospital workers test positive for COVID-19 according to Fox 25 local News reports to quote them “The number of hospital workers in Massachusetts who’ve tested positive for coronavirus has surpassed 900, according to a Boston 25 News tally. The figures represent individuals in both clinical and non-clinical roles. The data is not being collected by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) nor the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, according to their respective spokespeople. The individual healthcare facilities are self-reporting the data to Boston 25 News upon request. These individuals are included in the total number of positive COVID-19 cases being reported by the state health department for the state in which they were tested in.”

Also in Massachusetts Veteran long term care, The VA Facilities that help with the care in Massachusetts has said 11 veterans have died, and 5 have tested for corvid19 according to NBC News Article to quote them “ eleven residents at a Massachusetts veterans facility died on Monday and at least five of them had tested positive for COVID-19. A state official said test results are pending for five others who died at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. The status of the 11th person who died was unknown. Eleven other residents have tested positive, as well as five staff members, and 25 more veteran residents are awaiting test results. NBC affiliate WWLP of Springfield reported the deaths at the Soldiers’ Home earlier Monday.”

On top of all that two well-known Grocery stores Massachusetts according to WcvB an Abc affiliate published an Article stating Market Basket, Whole Foods had workers test positive for COVID-19.

Speaking from experience of shopping for my Mother, Market Basket in Nashua New Hampshire said only weeks ago gloves were optional for those that work at the register and stock products and they didn’t have masks. Market Basket also close at 6 pm even though essential workers get out in most cases later than that. Now they enforced only a limited amount of people are allowed in the store, so there are lines outside and ask that people maintain 6 feet distancing. At Minium, it can take 5 minutes to get inside. Not sure how enforcement is being done at this time.

Ontop of all that Wholefood’s Employees are Striking for better working conditions, safety equipment, healthcare, and hazard pay. to quote a Vice Article “Whole Foods employees are planning to strike on Tuesday to protest the lack of protections offered to workers during the coronavirus pandemic — the first national collective action led by workers at the company since it was founded in 1980. On March 31, Whole Foods employees will call in sick to demand paid leave for all workers who stay home or self-quarantine during the crisis, free coronavirus testing for all employees, and hazard pay of double the current hourly wage for employees who show up to work during the pandemic. “COVID-19 is a very real threat to the safety of our workforce and customers,” Whole Worker, the national worker group that is organizing the “sick out” wrote in a statement. “We cannot wait for politicians, institutions, or our own management to step in to protect us.” The sick-out follows reports that Whole Foods workers at numerous stores across the country, including locations in New York City, Chicago, Louisiana, and California have tested positive for Covid-19. In each of these locations, the stores have remained open, leading some employees to charge that Whole Foods has failed to prioritize their safety during a period of record sales for the company”.

Also General Electric employees have Launched protests according to a Vice Article On Monday, General Electric factory workers launched two separate protests demanding that the company convert its jet engine factories to make ventilators. At GE’s Lynn, Massachusetts aviation facility, workers held a silent protest, standing six feet apart. Union members at the company’s Boston headquarters also marched six feet apart, calling on the company to use its factories to help the country close its ventilator shortage amid the coronavirus pandemic. These protests come just after General Electric announced it would be laying off 10 percent of its domestic aviation workforce, firing nearly 2,600 workers, along with a “temporary” layoff of 50 percent of its maintenance workers in a bid to save the company “$500 million to $1 billion.”

On top of all that a Philadelphia Hospital to Stay Closed After The Owner Requests Nearly $1 Million a Month. The Hospital name is Hahnemann University Hospital, it could have helped 500 patients with the coronavirus. But privileged city officials said the cost was too steep. Their actions should only prove further the pandemic of Capitalism and Privilege. Hospitals should not be owned by private entities and should provide everyone with health, by not doing so it violates the Hippocratic Oath. Shame. You can read more about it more in an article written by the New York Times.

Now Macy’s, a Major retail clothing chain who owns Macy’s Bloomingdales, and Bluemercury Brands will be furloughing(aka no paycheck) 130,000 employees According to an NBC Article “Macy’s will be putting the majority of its 130,000 workers on furlough, the company said Monday. “”Across Macy’s, Bloomingdales, and Bluemercury brands, we will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations,” the company said in a statement. “This means the majority of our colleagues will go on furlough beginning this week.” Most of the furloughs will be in Macy’s stores, which have been shut down since March 18, with some furloughs in Macy’s online businesses, distribution centers and call centers. the company said furloughed employees will continue to receive health benefits through at least May.””

the USS Naval Ship Comfort Docked in New York this week, it has over 1000 bed available to help pandemic, ay one point there was only 1 person occupy their ship that was a patient but to quote the New York Times Article “On Thursday, though, the huge white vessel, which officials had promised would bring succor to a city on the brink, sat mostly empty, infuriating executives at local hospitals. The ship’s 1,000 beds are largely unused, its 1,200-member crew mostly idle.Only 20 patients had been transferred to the ship, officials said, even as New York hospitals struggled to find space for the thousands infected with the coronavirus. Another Navy hospital ship, the U.S.N.S. Mercy, docked in Los Angeles, has had a total of 15 patients, officials said. “If I’m blunt about it, it’s a joke,” said Michael Dowling, the head of Northwell Health, New York’s largest hospital system. “Everyone can say, ‘Thank you for putting up these wonderful places and opening up these cavernous halls.’ But we’re in a crisis here, we’re in a battlefield.””

Now Many Doctors are reaching out telling people to stay at home. Many are making their voices heard throughout social media asking people to stay home, and about the shortage of Equipment, they need on behalf of the patient. Some are considering using trashbags when hospital gowns run out. Please heed their message for they are on the frontline.

Also, some people are showing signs of stroke’s, seizures, lack of mental faculties because of preexisted conditions in some cases. TO quote the New York Times Article “Neurologists around the world say that a small subset of patients with Covid-19 are developing serious impairments of the brain. Although fever, cough and difficulty breathing are the typical hallmarks of infection with the new coronavirus, some patients exhibit altered mental status, or encephalopathy, a catchall term for brain disease or dysfunction that can have many underlying causes, as well as other serious conditions. These neurological syndromes join other unusual symptoms, such as diminished sense of smell and taste as well as heart ailments. In early March, a 74-year-old man came to the emergency room in Boca Raton, Fla., with a cough and a fever, but an X-ray ruled out pneumonia and he was sent home. The next day, when his fever spiked, family members brought him back. He was short of breath, and could not tell doctors his name or explain what was wrong — he had lost the ability to speak. The patient, who had chronic lung disease and Parkinson’s, was flailing his arms and legs in jerky movements, and appeared to be having a seizure. Doctors suspected he had Covid-19, and were eventually proven right when he was finally tested. On Tuesday, doctors in Detroit reported another disturbing case involving a female airline worker in her late 50s with Covid-19. She was confused, and complained of a headache; she could tell the physicians her name but little else, and became less responsive over time. Brain scans showed abnormal swelling and inflammation in several regions, with smaller areas where some cells had died. Physicians diagnosed a dangerous condition called acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a rare complication of influenza and other viral infections.”

In regards to LBGT news Blood Donations from the FDA has “Eased Restriction” to “LBGT” donors. In my opinion, this only proves still discrimination against the LBGT community with Homophobic governance systematically still occurring especially in times of need.. To quote what NBC Article.”Amid what it’s calling an “urgent need for blood,” the Food and Drug Administration revised its blood donor guidelines on Thursday, significantly easing the restrictions on men who have sex with men.The new guidelines reduce the donation deferral period for sexually active gay and bisexual men from 12 months to three, meaning these otherwise healthy men will now have to abstain from same-sex sexual activity for 90 days before they are eligible to donate blood. Other 12-month deferral periods have also been shortened under the new guidelines, including those for people who have traveled to areas with certain endemic diseases, those who have engaged in injection drug use and people who have participated in commercial sex work. Restrictions on gay blood donors date to 1983, during the height of the AIDS crisis, when the federal government instituted a lifetime ban on blood donations by any man who had ever had sex with another man. The rule, intended to keep HIV out of the blood supply, was replaced in 2015 with the year-long abstinence requirement. Prior to the release of Thursday’s updated guidelines, restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men — who represent about 70 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S. — had come under increased scrutiny from lawmakers and LGBTQ advocates, particularly after coronavirus fears forced the cancellation of many in-person blood drives. In a Thursday call with reporters, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said it’s “critically important” that people living with HIV do not give blood, but said the new changes better reflected the time it takes to detect HIV in blood after certain risky behaviors. Adams also touted changes to the donor requirements for people who have recently gotten tattoos or piercings, hoping they too would grow the eligible blood donor pool. “These changes are based on the best science that we have today regarding the time that it takes to test positive for HIV,” Adams told reporters, saying the updated guidance would reduce stigma and encourage more people “to do the right thing”As NBC News reported on Wednesday, at least one gay man who tried to donate blood to give COVID-19 plasma antibodies was told that he was disqualified for 12 months because he takes Truvada to remain HIV-negative. On Thursday’s call, the FDA’s Dr. Peter Marks said that each blood center can decide how long blood donors must stop taking certain medications, like Truvada, before coming in to donate. “Each blood center might be a little bit different,” Marks said. For people who recover from COVID-19 and seek to donate plasma for experimental antibody treatments, Marks said they should wait for two weeks after all symptoms have resolved and will likely need to test negative for active coronavirus prior to donating blood. Those who wait four weeks after the resolution of COVID-19 symptoms may not need an additional test. In either case, Marks said, “they need documentation” of their COVID-19 status. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who led the effort by a group of 15 senators to ease the gay donor restrictions, called the FDA’s new guidelines “an important step” but said there’s “still more work to be done.”“The administration needs to change their blood donation policies to be based on individual risk so that all healthy gay and bisexual men are able to donate,” she said in a statement shared with NBC News. “This is more important than ever as we continue working to address the COVID-19 pandemic and help save lives.” The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, issued a similar statement.“While this change by the FDA is a step in the right direction, it still bases itself in bias rather than science,” the organization’s president, Alphonso David, stated. “Creating policy based on identity as opposed to risk is irrational and given the current COVID-19 crisis, it is more critical than ever to prioritize science and facts over fear and bias.”

On a side note the Stimulus that was supposed to help “All Americans” and Small Business denied sex worker industry any sort of stimulus, grant, or help to quote Huffington Post Article “When Congress passed the massive $2 trillion bailout bill last week, it made sure that self-employed people or other independent workers could apply for loans or grants from the Small Business Administration. But there was one very specific ― and puritanical ― exception: legal sex workers and others in the adult entertainment industry.”

Also happening a Megachurch Pastor was arrested for continuing services inturn risking his flock to this virus according to a Fox 13 of Tampa Bay article. to quote them “The pastor of a Tampa megachurch is facing charges after refusing to close its doors despite a “safer at home” order in effect in Hillsborough County, meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. The sheriff says up to 500 people were in attendance at Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne’s Sunday services”

In my Opinion A man of God should no better, a man of Have exploiting the have nots using religion to make his income, and to live beyond his means only proves the lack of compassion. He walks with sandals into the church but changes them when he leaves, a Fake Christian that exploits the faithful, disgusting.

Also In regards to the Dairy Industry in places like Wisconson they are dumping milk instead of turning it into cheese or other products according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article. to Quote them “Golden E Dairy got the call that any dairy farmer would dread. They were being asked to dump 25,000 gallons of fresh milk a day because there was no place for it to go as the marketplace for dairy products has been gutted by the closure of restaurants, schools, hotels and food-service businesses.”

According to a Newsweek article “In the week ending March 21, sales on alcoholic beverages have spiked by 55 percent according to market research firm Nielsen.”

SO, in my opinion, people are self-medicating their emotional state with Alcohol to deal with this problem. But yet in states where Marijuana is legal, the Recreation Marijuana businesses are asked or forced to remain closed during this Pandemic. One has to wonder if this was at the request competing for businesses like Alcohol, Tobacco, and Textiles who lobby politicians in the corresponding states..

We can’t return to normal, because the normal that we had was precisely the problem”
~ Unkown — China

To no surprise, China is censoring and fudging how bad the virus and its effects throughout its country along with numbers reported. Many people are posting online this mantra “We can’t return to normal, because the normal that we had was precisely the problem” ~ Unkown — China. To quote Bloomberg news Article — “China has concealed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in its country, under-reporting both total cases and deaths it’s suffered from the disease, the U.S. intelligence community concluded in a classified report to the White House, according to three U.S. officials. The officials asked not to be identified because the report is secret, and they declined to detail its contents. But the thrust, they said, is that China’s public reporting on cases and deaths is intentionally incomplete. Two of the officials said the report concludes that China’s numbers are fake.”

When you Deny Knowledge, you Breed Ignorance.
~Socrates~

In California a Teenage was turned away for not having or lacking Health insurance to quote an Independent NewArticle “ A 17-year-old whose death was initially linked to the novel coronavirus despite not having any previously reported health conditions was denied treatment at a California medical facility over his lack of insurance, according to the mayor.”

In my opinion, if this does not Increase the Argument for Medicare for all, and care for all regardless of insurance, then I do not what does. This teenager is but one victim, for his family and friends also bears the weight of his loss because of this systematic failure.

According to a NBC News Article “Woman who coughed on $35K worth of grocery store food charged with four felonies The store’s co-owner said he was “sick to my stomach” about the food loss. “When so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing.””

I ask in return what about the child who is sick running around the store that coughs, or the store employee that coughs, what about the elderly person who lives alone that coughs or the baby in a carriage that coughs. Maybe the store should protect their grocery and items better, or have better safety procedures as I stated in this article before.

According to PBS News Article Discrimination in regards to health is happening to quote them —

Health officials have stressed that novel coronavirus doesn’t discriminate based on race or ethnicity. But disparities long present in the U.S. medical system are now driving what some call a crisis within a crisis: black and brown communities across the country are being hit harder, and with fewer resources to save them. Amna Nawaz talks to Dr. Uché Blackstock of Advancing Health Equity.

In regards to severe or profound Mental Retardation, moderate to severe dementia, or catastrophic neurological complications such as persistent vegetative are not considered Priority cases for Ventilators in states to quote a MetroUK article —“US disability advocates say they have been disturbed by guidelines published by the state of Alabama on how to ration ventilators should the pandemic overstretch their resources. New guidance published Alabama officials says that ‘persons with severe mental retardation, advanced dementia or severe traumatic brain injury may be poor candidates for ventilator support.’ It goes on to say that ‘persons with severe or profound mental retardation, moderate to severe dementia, or catastrophic neurological complications such as persistent vegetative state are unlikely candidates for ventilator support.’ Similar guidance has been issued in Washington and Arizona, with medics in the latter state instructed to ‘allocate resources to patients whose need is greater or whose prognosis is more likely to result in a positive outcome with limited resources.’

Also what happened this week was USS Theodore Roosevelt came to port to relieve a Navy Captian who had been fired for sounding the alarm about an outbreak of Corvid19. That his Aircraft Carrier that has a population of 5000 members of the armed services. to Quote A NBC article “The ship, which was operating in the Pacific, pulled into port in Guam last week several days after multiple crew members tested positive for the virus. By Wednesday, there were 93 positive test results, and more than 1,000 people were taken off the carrier and placed into isolation on Guam. In total, 2,700 people are expected to disembark the ship this week, with a smaller crew remaining to maintain the carrier.”

In regards to immigration to quote Wikipedia “During Fiscal Year 2018, 396,448 people were booked into ICE custody: 242,778 of whom were detained by CBP and 153,670 by ICE’s own enforcement operations. A daily average of 42,188 immigrants (40,075 adult and 2,113 in families) were held by ICE in that year.” Now a woman in ICE custody working for a nonprofit speaked out this week stating “” Don’t let us die” To quote a CBS article — “The women detained at the for-profit jail in the small, rural town of Jena, Louisiana, hail from all corners of Latin America. Some are asylum-seekers who fled repressive regimes. Others are lawful U.S. permanent residents who were picked up by immigration authorities after serving time in prison. Some are mothers and even grandmothers. Right now, they’re all terrified. Like many of the more than 35,000 immigrants currently in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the women held at the LaSalle detention center in Jena feel powerless to shield themselves from the highly contagious coronavirus,”

To add to world affairs the Prime Minister of England Boris Johnson has contracted Corvid19,His condition remains unknown other than the fact he is hospitalized and in Intensive Care. According the BBC News Article.

As time goes on how do u think the powers that be (Media, Corporations, Government) want us to grow into apathetically or empathetically? empathy becomes apathy for some people…come sept the death counts will be treated like Vietnam was treated..daily numbers of dead….binary and apathetic or modified. what will be the narrative emotionally come November during the elections (depending on how it goes) + corporate black Friday? Class-Based Genocide….? The working poor and middle class must keep working without tests, a living wage, hazard pay, or Health benefits ..while the rich isolate, get tests, afford safety equipment, and possible drugs/vaccines? Equal, and fair? Sanitation workers and unions should unite with medicare workers and unions for benefit of all under this pandemic, both them and first responders are on the frontlines rising their lives and their families. All deserve adequate equipment, wages, healthcare, and retirement savings/pension for without them this world be worse off. As it was said once~“All Labor that uplifts humanity has Dignity.” by quote Martin Luther King over 50 years ago yesterday fighting for the rights and quality of pay/health of those in Sanitations. Thank you for making the world a better place.

After everything is read I pose my question again to you my reader, “Could an argument be made, that the rich, who dress nicely, who can afford to travel, entitled and privileged that spread/create it? Was the spread of this Pandemic Caused by Privilege and Capitalism/Globalism and apathy of the working class and their rights to care, wages, labor and they have made us apathetic to our collective and individual suffering by overworking us? Obscene Unoconciouess Capitalism behavior and the Profits of such, are the unpaid wages of the working poor and are a plague/pandemic of the middle and lower laborer.

Please pay attention to the CDC and WHO for clear absolute facts on how to stay healthy, and what to do, the information they have could save your life and the life others for knowledge is power, and it can save lives. Stay safe out their, please.

This article and it’s contents are republished with the permission of the writer.

 

 

 

‘A Day That Will Live in Infamy’: This Is What It Looked Like When Wisconsin Forced In-Person Voting During a Pandemic 

‘A Day That Will Live in Infamy’: This Is What It Looked Like When Wisconsin Forced In-Person Voting During a Pandemic

“People are being forced to risk their lives to place their vote or fulfill their right as an American to vote.”

by Jessica Corbett

As footage of Wisconsin’s crowded polling stations flooded the internet Tuesday, public health officials and civil rights advocates condemned the state’s Supreme Court and Republican legislative leaders for allowing in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic and thwarting Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ last-minute efforts to address voter safety concerns.

“These are dangerous times for democracy.”
—Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen

“It’s not going to be a safe election. People are going to get sick from this,” Brook Soltvedt, a 60-year-old textbook editor who is in charge of running the polling place at Thoreau Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin’s capital, told The Cap Times.

Soltvedt added that though she thinks “the city has done about the best that they can do,” she worries that the election will cause voter confusion and health consequences. In an effort to protect her 77-year-old husband, Soltvedt said she plans to “strip in the garage, put my clothes in the washer, and go downstairs for two weeks.”

After days of Wisconsin’s Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald resisting widespread demands to delay in-person voting and expand absentee voting—like other states have done—Evers on Monday issued an executive order to postpone the election until June 9. However, the order was overturned by the state Surpreme Court Monday night.

The right-wing U.S. Supreme Court added insult to injury on Monday, overturning a lower court ruling that extended the deadline for absentee voting. Absentee ballots must be postmarked Tuesday or returned to a polling place or local clerk’s office by 8 pm. Local leaders have expressed worries that due to a backlog of requests, residents may not receive absentee ballots in time to vote.

“What that meant was that, for a substantial portion of the electorate, Election Day presented a harsh choice,” John Nichols wrote Tuesday in a column for the Cap Times. “Those who had applied for absentee ballots but not yet received them, and those who had not applied for an absentee ballot by last Friday’s deadline, were forced to decide whether to risk exposure to the coronavirus in order to exercise their right to vote.”

Nichols denounced the dilemma faced by voters as “unreasonable” and characterized Vos and Fitzgerald as “legislative charlatans” who “threw tantrums at a point when everyone else was working to save lives, keep people healthy, stabilize the economy, and preserve democracy.”

“Tony Evers did his part,” wrote Nichols. “Vos, Fitzgerald, and the [state] Supreme Court majority failed us.”

Other concerned individuals and advocacy organizations issued similarly scathing critiques of Wisconsin’s lawmakers and high court while circulating on social media footage of longs lines at the limited polling stations that were able to open.

“Today there are five Milwaukee polling locations open. Usually there are 180 sites,” tweeted the group March for Our Lives. “There’s no way to skirt around it; this is wrong. People are forced to gather in long lines at central locations in the midst of a pandemic. Wisconsinites deserve better.”

Aquene Freechild, co-director of Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People Campaign, said in a statement about the Wisconsin election that “these are dangerous times for democracy.”

“Vos and Fitzgerald know that, with only five polling locations open in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee, holding the election now will suppress the Democratic vote more than the GOP vote,” Freechild added. “That outcome will skew votes for some statewide elections, such as for the state Supreme Court, to their party.”

In a statement Tuesday, Harvard Law School professor and Equal Citizens founder Lawrence Lessig said, “That partisan politics would drive partisan leaders to force citizens to choose between accelerating a pandemic and exercising their right to vote is outrageous.”

Teasing an episode of the Intercepted podcast to be released Wednesday, journalist Jeremy Scahill—who grew up in Wisconsin—tweeted an audio clip of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Dr. Jeannette Kowalik explaining that “unfortunately it’s not” safe to tell voters to go to the polls. 

“People are being forced to risk their lives to place their vote or fulfill their right as an American to vote. It’s just unbelievable that we are even having this conversation right now,” Kowalik said. She added that it has been “disheartening” to work behind-the-scenes on this issue and some people in positions of power in Wisconsin “are killing people by the decisions that they’re making.”

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Mary Kay Henry tweeted a video from a Milwaukee polling site and wrote that “this is a deliberate attempt by WI GOP to exclude voters, to limit participation, [and] to undermine democracy.”

In a lengthy Twitter thread, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, declared that “it’s unconscionable that Wisconsin voters are being forced to choose between their health amid a pandemic and their constitutional right to vote.”

“It’s unconscionable that Wisconsin voters are being forced to choose between their health amid a pandemic and their constitutional right to vote.”
—Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO

“Taking away the fundamental right to vote that so many have fought and died for is disgraceful. Democracy in our country is dying, and those meant to uphold our Constitution have failed miserably in their duty,” Trumka added. “Working people see what’s happening, and we’re not going to stand for it in November and beyond.”

Common Cause Wisconsin called Tuesday “a day that will live in infamy.” The group’s director, Jay Heck, said in a statement that “Wisconsin is the only state in the nation that has failed to step up and respond responsibly and safely to the current national health pandemic emergency. We have seven months until the general election and there is time to fix these issues before November to ensure we are protecting public health and the right to vote.”

Voters who participated in Wisconsin’s Tuesday election weighed in on local races as well as the Democratic presidential primary contest between Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who spoke out against the state Supreme Court decision—and former Vice President Joe Biden, who remains the frontrunner and recently claimed that in-person voting could be done safely.

Election officials across Wisconsin took various steps to protect voters. Palmyra Clerk/Treasurer Laurie Mueller told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the village’s sole polling place was moved to a bigger location.

According to the newspaper:

Mueller said a volunteer at the door is spray-sanitizing everyone’s hands as they enter, and voters are being instructed to take a pen to vote and then either throw it away or take it home with them.

Poll workers outfitted with masks and gloves are working behind sneeze guards made by the village’s public works employees. There are Xes on the floor at 6-foot intervals.

“We have a person wiping down the poll booths after everyone votes,” Mueller said, “and then randomly wiping down other areas in the voting location.”

Source: ‘A Day That Will Live in Infamy’: This Is What It Looked Like When Wisconsin Forced In-Person Voting During a Pandemic | Common Dreams News

‘This Is Unacceptable’: Trump Administration Says Millions May Have to Wait 5 Months to Receive $1,200 Relief Check

‘This Is Unacceptable’: Trump Administration Says Millions May Have to Wait 5 Months to Receive $1,200 Relief Check

“That’s not even remotely fast enough for the millions of working people who have seen their hours slashed, their expenses rise, and their government refuse to take sufficient action.”

By Jake Johnson

More than 10 million Americans lost their jobs last month and are in desperate need of immediate financial assistance amid the coronavirus crisis, but the Trump administration said in a draft plan circulated internally Thursday that people who do not have direct deposit information on file with the IRS—a group that is disproportionately low-income—may have to wait until September to receive the one-time $1,200 payment authorized under the latest stimulus.

The IRS said in the draft plan that it intends to start sending electronic payments by late next week to those with direct deposit information on file from their 2018 or 2019 tax returns, the Washington Post reported.

“As people lose their jobs, we can’t leave them in the cold while big corporations easily access their bailout money.”
—Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

“However, $30 million in paper checks for millions of other Americans won’t start being sent out until April 24, as the government lacks their banking information,” according to the Post. “And some of those checks won’t reach people until September, the document shows, underscoring the reality that many Americans could have to wait five months to receive their checks.”

During a press briefing Thursday evening, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin—who just last week dismissed surging unemployment as “not relevant”—promised that Americans without direct deposit information on file will soon be able to access a “web portal” to provide their banking details to the IRS.

Patricia McLaughlin, a Treasury Department spokesperson, told the Post that “the overwhelming majority of eligible Americans” will receive stimulus payments within the next three weeks, but progressive lawmakers and advocates are warning that millions of vulnerable people—including those living on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and veteran pensions—could fall through the cracks.

“This is unacceptable,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of the possible five-month delay in an email to supporters late Thursday. “That not even remotely fast enough for the millions of working people who have seen their hours slashed, their expenses rise, and their government refuse to take sufficient action.”

“This lockdown could last for months,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “As people lose their jobs, we can’t leave them in the cold while big corporations easily access their bailout money.”

Others similarly raised alarm about the IRS’ estimated timeline, which experts warn could be derailed by technical glitches.

“This is such a stupid disaster. We did not have to have mass unemployment,” tweeted New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo. “The policy response could have been to have the government pay companies’ payroll, like European countries are doing. Instead we’re letting people lose their jobs and sending them too-small checks too late.”

The Washington Post reported that the IRS draft plan “would distribute paper checks to the lowest-income Americans first, prioritizing payments for individual taxpayers with incomes of $10,000 or less on April 24.”

“Checks for earners of $20,000 or less would be in the mail May 1, followed by those with incomes of $30,000 on May 8, $40,000 on May 15, and continuing in income increments of $10,000 each week,” according to the Post. “The IRS plans to issue about 5 million checks each week.”

Late Wednesday, the Trump administration reversed policy guidance that would have required millions of Social Security recipients to file a tax return in order to receive their payments. However, critics said the reversal needlessly leaves out many SSI recipients and veterans, potentially causing massive delays in payments.

“The president appears more interested in putting his name on the check than getting it to Americans as quickly as possible.”
—Aaron Klein, Brookings Institution

“These are important members of our communities living with additional burdens in this pandemic,” Chuck Marr, senior director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote in a blog post Thursday. “There’s no reason to add to that burden by making them navigate filing a tax return when their government has all it needs to deposit a rebate in their bank account.”

As millions of people worry about payment delays, many others—including high school seniors, college students, and immigrant families—have learned in recent days that they are not eligible for the one-time $1,200 payments, which are part of a massive stimulus package President Donald Trump signed into law last Friday.

Aaron Klein, a fellow in economics studies at the Brookings Institution, estimated Tuesday that around 70 million Americans “are likely to have to wait at least another month, or more,” to receive their stimulus payment because they didn’t owe taxes—and thus did not file a return—in 2018 or 2019, or they did not use direct deposit for their tax refund.

“Despite being the largest economy on earth we lack both government run real-time payments and universal bank accounts, systems common among developed countries,” Klein noted. “Americans shouldn’t have to wait for Congress to act. Federal bank regulators have substantial authority to fix these problems. The Federal Reserve could require all checks under $5,000 to be immediately available to consumers, a power Congress delegated in the 1980s.”

“Ultimately, where there is a will, there is a way,” Klein wrote. “The president appears more interested in putting his name on the check than getting it to Americans as quickly as possible. The response to COVID is exposing a lot of problems ignored for too long. Add our basic banking and payment systems to this growing list.”

Source: ‘This Is Unacceptable’: Trump Administration Says Millions May Have to Wait 5 Months to Receive $1,200 Relief Check | Common Dreams News