09 April 20
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09 April 20
Bernie Sanders | We Cannot Rely on Trump. Congress Must Lead the Way in This Unprecedented Crisis
Bernie Sanders, Guardian UK
Sanders writes: "President Trump is incapable of providing leadership, and instead continues to mislead the public and act out of political self-interest. So it is Congress that must lead, and it must do so now."
Bernie Sanders, Guardian UK
Sanders writes: "President Trump is incapable of providing leadership, and instead continues to mislead the public and act out of political self-interest. So it is Congress that must lead, and it must do so now."
The American people deserve and require leadership from Washington amid this horrific pandemic and economic meltdown
n this unprecedented moment in American history, we need an unprecedented legislative response. President Trump is incapable of providing leadership, and instead continues to mislead the public and act out of political self-interest. So it is Congress that must lead, and it must do so now.
With anxiety growing, everyone in our country needs to know that, in the midst of this horrific pandemic and economic meltdown, their government is doing everything possible to keep them healthy and financially secure.
In other words, we need to build upon and expand the recent stimulus package with new and bolder emergency legislation which must be passed as soon as possible. Here are a few core principles that must be included in that legislation.
First, Congress must explicitly authorize that the Defense Production Act is fully utilized to demand that the private sector start delivering the equipment and products that our medical personnel desperately need in order to treat their patients. We cannot rely on Trump to do it.
Recent reporting has revealed that the Trump administration did not start ordering crucial equipment like masks until March. It is beyond comprehension that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, doctors and nurses throughout the country are putting their lives on the line because they lack an adequate supply of surgical masks, gloves and gowns. We must also produce the ventilators as well as the various kinds of testing kits that we need now and will need in the future, as well as the dwindling supply of certain prescription drugs that are essential to treat the virus. States and hospitals should not have to compete against each other. The federal government must take the lead in coordinating efforts.
Further, during this crisis, every American must be able to receive all of the healthcare they need regardless of income. Before the pandemic, 87 million people were uninsured or underinsured. That number is rapidly escalating as millions of workers are not only losing their jobs but are also losing their employer-based health insurance.
The cost of hospital treatment for the coronavirus amounts to tens of thousands of dollars. Tragically, we have already seen people who have delayed treatment due to concerns about cost. In this pandemic, lack of insurance will lead to more deaths and more Covid-19 transmissions.
As long as this pandemic continues, Medicare must be empowered to pay all of the deductibles, co-payments and out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for the uninsured and the underinsured. No one in America who is sick, regardless of immigration status, should be afraid to seek the medical treatment they need during this national crisis.
Obviously, Congress must not only address the pandemic crisis, it must also act with a fierce sense of urgency to effectively deal with the economic crisis as well.
In the last two weeks, a record-breaking 10 million people filed unemployment claims – more than during the entire 2008 Great Recession. Frighteningly, the St Louis Federal Reserve projects that 47 million more people may become unemployed by the end of June, with unemployment reaching 32%. While such estimates may be a worst-case scenario, the reality of the pandemic has taught us that worst-case scenarios are what we must plan for. For the sake of working families all over this country, we must be prepared for all contingencies.
We cannot wait before taking the bold action that is necessary. In my view, it makes a lot more sense to prevent the collapse of our economy than figuring out how we put it back together after it crumbles. Simply stated, that means that every worker must keep receiving his or her paycheck and benefits during the crisis. In the recent emergency relief bill, Congress appropriated over $25bn in grants to the airline companies so that 2 million workers in that industry will continue to receive their full paycheck and benefits through 30 September. And that is exactly what we must do for every worker in America. This is not a radical idea. It is similar to what France, Norway, Denmark, the UK and other countries are doing.
Further, as quickly as possible, we must get money into the hands of people by immediately providing a $2,000 monthly emergency payment to every person in the country until the crisis has passed.
In addition, we must guarantee paid medical and sick leave to all workers. It has been estimated that only 12% of workers in businesses that are likely to stay open during this crisis are receiving paid sick leave benefits as a result of the second coronavirus relief package. We have got to increase this figure to 100%.
Moreover, workers who are on the frontlines of this crisis including those who work in grocery stores, warehouses, paramedics, nurses, pharmacies, domestic workers, postal workers, farm workers, public transit, truck drivers and janitors must receive $500 a week hazard pay, childcare and a safe and secure workplace.
Finally, we must put an immediate moratorium on evictions, foreclosures and utility shut-offs, and suspend payments on rent and mortgage loans for primary residences during this crisis.
This is a frightening and devastating time for our country, and the world. Never before in our lifetimes have we had to deal with both a public health pandemic and an economic meltdown.
The American people deserve and require leadership from Washington that acts aggressively, puts working people first, and provides peace-of-mind to the most vulnerable people in our country. Now more than any point in recent history, we are in this together. We must act with love, compassion and urgency.
Historians will look back at this time to see how we dealt with this unprecedented crisis. I hope they will observe that we responded with the courage and boldness that the moment required.
Former intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson. (photo: Getty)
Benjamin Wittes | Why Is Trump's Inspector General Purge Not a National Scandal?
Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare
Wittes writes: "If, three years ago, President Trump had removed two inspectors general from their posts within a week of each other for overtly self-interested reasons-as he has done over the past few days-it would have been a big scandal."
Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare
Wittes writes: "If, three years ago, President Trump had removed two inspectors general from their posts within a week of each other for overtly self-interested reasons-as he has done over the past few days-it would have been a big scandal."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (right), flanked by W
Trump Administration, Taking Cues From Fox News, Maps Out Funding Cuts to World Health Organization
Kristen Welker, Carol E. Lee, Abigail Williams and Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
Excerpt: "The White House's Office of Management and Budget is working on a possible plan to cut U.S. aid to the World Health Organization, administration officials said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump tries to deflect blame for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic."
Kristen Welker, Carol E. Lee, Abigail Williams and Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
Excerpt: "The White House's Office of Management and Budget is working on a possible plan to cut U.S. aid to the World Health Organization, administration officials said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump tries to deflect blame for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic."
he White House's Office of Management and Budget is working on a possible plan to cut U.S. aid to the World Health Organization, administration officials said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump tries to deflect blame for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Administration officials said they also plan to look into the timeline of the WHO's reaction to the coronavirus after it first appeared in China, as well as "links" to China.
"What the WHO knew and how it reacted to that knowledge is relevant to the U.S. government's response to the crisis," a senior administration official said.
Trump's focus on the WHO comes as he continues to face questions about his early statements playing down the virus and how unprepared his administration has been. The president's embrace of a broadside against the WHO echoes similar criticism from hosts on Fox News Channel, including Tucker Carlson, and some Republican lawmakers.
Trump said Tuesday that he was putting U.S. aid to the WHO "on hold."
"We're going to put a very powerful hold on it," he said, although he said later that his administration would review it.
He also accused the WHO of being "China-centric" and slow to sound alarms about the coronavirus.
"They could have called it months earlier," the president said.
The director of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, responded Wednesday by essentially accusing Trump of politicizing the virus.
"The focus of all political parties should be to save their people. Please don't politicize this virus," Ghebreyesus said. "If you don't want many more body bags, then you refrain from politicizing it."
But the president doesn't appear poised to back down.
On Wednesday, he said again that the WHO "got it wrong."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who appeared alongside Trump at the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House, said the administration was reevaluating its funding for the WHO, but he said it isn't the time for a change of leadership at the organization as it fights a pandemic, as some Republicans have advocated.
Asked about the notion that a period of global pandemic isn't the most opportune time to cut funding, a second senior administration official shot back: "Now is not the time to be misleading the world about how China covered up the pandemic."
Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security said the U.S. should be supporting the WHO.
"This is our premier public health agency in the world, and it is important that it be supported," Adalja said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports."
Emmanuel Macron also offered his support to the world health body, a French presidency official told Reuters.
In a call with its director, the French president "reaffirmed his trust, his support for the institution and refuses to see it locked into a war between China and the USA," the official said.
The U.S. is the largest funder of the WHO, contributing $14.7 million for the international group's coronavirus fund. But Trump recently proposed cutting the U.S. contribution. So the president's attacks in some ways advance two of his goals: They could cut back on international aid and minimize blame for his administration's handling of the pandemic.
"There is a lot in the WHO that does not jibe with the president's agenda," a senior administration official said.
Cutting U.S. financial support for the WHO would also remove a key talking point for American diplomats promoting the image of U.S. leadership during the pandemic.
China, working to rehabilitate its image as the country of origin of the coronavirus, has tried to usurp the title of global humanitarian savior by providing medical equipment, protective gear and even medical professionals to several countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The U.S., still in the middle of its own fight against the outbreak, is keeping all critical medical supplies at home until demand is met, and it is instead pointing to its financial assistance.
"We've long maintained an unsurpassed commitment to global health and humanitarian assistance," Pompeo told reporters at the end of last month. "The United States remains by far the largest contributor to the World Health Organization, as we've been since 1948. Our contribution exceeded $400 million last year, 10 times that of China."
Still, earlier this year — just as the extent of the coronavirus outbreak was starting to be understood — the Trump administration proposed a budget that would slash funding to the WHO by more than half what it had been the previous year.
Voters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, waited in line hours at one of the few polling places open in the city after most were consolidated due to a shortage of poll workers fearful of contracting Covid-19. (photo: Scott Olson/Getty)
Democrats Should Make Voting Reform a Nonnegotiable Baseline for the Next Stimulus Bill
David Roberts, Vox
Roberts writes: "The political climate in the US is tumultuous. The Covid-19 pandemic hangs over everything even as a dozen other issues - an oil crisis, a divided Democratic Party, and a corrupt, impeached president - compete for our scant remaining attention."
READ MORE
David Roberts, Vox
Roberts writes: "The political climate in the US is tumultuous. The Covid-19 pandemic hangs over everything even as a dozen other issues - an oil crisis, a divided Democratic Party, and a corrupt, impeached president - compete for our scant remaining attention."
READ MORE
In a webcast on April 8, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced the end of his 2020 presidential campaign. (photo: BernieSanders.com)
Healthcare Stocks Soar After Sanders Announces End of Campaign
teleSUR
Excerpt: "The stock market in the United States jumped higher Wednesday after Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign. This reaction confirmed the threat posed by his bold proposals and egalitarian program to Wall Street."
teleSUR
Excerpt: "The stock market in the United States jumped higher Wednesday after Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign. This reaction confirmed the threat posed by his bold proposals and egalitarian program to Wall Street."
The Dow Jones average climbed almost 800 points following the Vermont senator's announcement.
The possibility of Sanders at the White House was never welcomed by the financial markets as the 78-year-old democratic socialist is an outspoken critic of "corporate America," and his agenda, including proposals like Medicare-for-all, tuition-free public college, and a wealth tax, terrified the capital owners.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is now the presumptive nominee, is seen as a candidate who is much more friendly to the markets, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, Chris Zaccarelli, told The Post.
In a moment when the markets' reactions are primarily determined by the Coronavirus pandemic, Zaccarelli added that what happened "is a reminder that this is an election year." In four to five months, Wall Street will be focusing on the 2020 Presidential Election "and the implications it will have for next year and the three years beyond that."
The news that Sanders was ending his campaign was met with sadness from progressives, who mourned the end of a campaign that defied corporate power, the domination of the financial markets, and galvanized a broad working-class coalition into a movement while creating among young people a new interest in politics.
Sanders, in a live-streamed speech to supporters Wednesday, vowed to continue the fight.
"We have taken on Wall Street, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel companies, the military-industrial complex, the prison industrial complex and the greed of the entire corporate elite," said Sanders. "That struggle continues."
The Lummi Tribal Health Center in Washington state is bracing for the deadly coronavirus. (photo: Jovelle Tamayo/The Washington Post)
Indian Country, Where Residents Suffer Disproportionately From Disease, Is Bracing for Coronavirus
Dana Hedgpeth, Darryl Fears and Gregory Scruggs, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "The beds aren't needed yet, but on a reservation where residents suffer high rates of diseases that exist throughout Indian Country, the Lummi Tribal Health Clinic is taking every precaution to prepare for the deadly coronavirus."
READ MORE
Dana Hedgpeth, Darryl Fears and Gregory Scruggs, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "The beds aren't needed yet, but on a reservation where residents suffer high rates of diseases that exist throughout Indian Country, the Lummi Tribal Health Clinic is taking every precaution to prepare for the deadly coronavirus."
READ MORE
About 6% of mountain lion deaths between 2005 and 2014 were due to the plague, according to new research. (photo: National Park Service)
The Plague Has Been Quietly Killing Yellowstone Cougars for a Decade
Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian
Machemer writes: "A nine-year study of cougars in the Yellowstone National Park has found that nearly half of the big cats they tracked were infected with the plague-carrying bacteria Yersinia pestis at some point, according to a paper published last month in Environmental Conservation."
Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian
Machemer writes: "A nine-year study of cougars in the Yellowstone National Park has found that nearly half of the big cats they tracked were infected with the plague-carrying bacteria Yersinia pestis at some point, according to a paper published last month in Environmental Conservation."
Researchers found that almost half of the mountain lions they tested showed signs of plague infection
nine-year study of cougars in the Yellowstone National Park has found that nearly half of the big cats they tracked were infected with the plague-carrying bacteria Yersinia pestis at some point, according to a paper published last month in Environmental Conservation.
The Y. pestis bacteria is behind the Black Death, the mid-1300s epidemic of bubonic plague that in five years killed over 20 million people in Europe. These days, only about seven people catch Y. pestis each year in the United States. The bacteria lives in the soil, gets picked up by fleas living on rodents, and infects other creatures on its way up the food chain. The new evidence in cougars, also known as pumas and mountain lions, shows how flexible and dangerous the pathogen is in different hosts.
The study was conducted on cougars in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, specifically in Jackson Hole, the valley east of the Grand Teton mountain range and south of Yellowstone National Park. “You start to get a clear picture of how hard it is to be a mountain lion in Jackson Hole,” biologist and co-author Howard Quiqley tells Mike Koshmrl of Wyoming News. “If you get to be an adult mountain lion in Jackson Hole, you’re a survivor.”
The researchers found the first feline victims of plague in the middle of winter in 2006. A cougar’s tracking collar sent an alert that the animal hadn’t moved in eight hours. The researchers found the big cat, called F018, dead at the base of a large tree, with her three-month-old kitten also dead beside her.
“Everyone assumed it was starvation,” cougar program director of the wildcat conservation organization Panthera Mark Elbroch, tells Jason Bittel at National Geographic. But analysis of tissue samples revealed the true cause of death. Elbroch adds, “We were as surprised as anyone to learn that the cats had died of plague.”
Over nearly a decade, between 2005 and 2014, the researchers checked 28 cougars for signs of Y. pestis. Eleven of the cats were found after they’d died, and four of those, including the two found in 2006, died of the plague. The researchers drew blood from 17 other cougars and analyzed the samples for antibodies, the chemical footprint left behind after the immune system fights off an infection. Eight of the 17 tests came back positive.
In all, about 43 percent of the cougars studied faced Y. pestis infections.
“The most valuable data here are the repeated samples from the same individual over time,” USDA National Wildlife Research Center biologist Sarah Bevins, who wasn’t involved in the study, tells National Geographic. “Capturing a cougar even one time is not a trivial effort.”
One of the cougars in the study, dubbed M21, was tested four times in a five-year period. The first two tests were negative, but the third was positive, which meant that M21 had fought off a plague infection. A year later, another test came back negative—the antibodies had faded away. Eventually, M21 died in 2012, probably because of exposure to rodenticide.
The researchers didn’t find a connection between age or sex of the big cats and their likelihood to contract the plague, raising questions for future research. It’s possible that the bacteria reaches mountain lions through their prey.
Constant screening of cougars for Y. pestis could help humans anticipate plague outbreaks, too. About 3,000 cougars are killed legally in the U.S. each year and inspected by authorities, providing an opportunity to check for the bacteria.
Three of the cougars in the study died of the plague in 2006, only two years before a teenage Boy Scout caught the same disease in the same region. Per the Wyoming News, the Scout made a full recovery. But in 2007, Colorado mountain lion researcher Eric York contracted the plague during a necropsy and died of the infection.
"Plague is very much a part of the landscape in the western U.S., and wild animals are frequently exposed to it," Bevins tells National Geographic. "[While] human plague infections are still relatively rare…untreated plague infections are still just as deadly as they were 500 years ago.”
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