The pressure is on to "reopen" the economy (a misnaming of what needs to happen). The vision of what that means and the reality that will continue to evolve are in vast conflict. However, regardless of vision, there is a harsh reality that few seem to understand.
It is more dangerous to be out in public now than at any time since January 22, when we first became aware that there was one person with the virus in the U.S.
We are living in a dangerous time, dealing with something the majority rarely, if ever, even consider – Fighting a contagious, and possibly deadly, microbe. It is a virus known as Covid-19. Many will be sickened, few will escape unscathed, and some of us will die. How many don’t die largely depends on their being able to protect themselves, but more importantly, it depends on the vigilance of everyone else. If you are in my place (the highest risk group) your heart just sank. And every time you watch/read/listen to the news your heart drops a bit further.
I am not an expert, but I have been living with a double-lung transplant and suppressed immune system for going on 9 years. I also once worked for one of the largest sterilizer companies in the United States earlier in life. So here are my ideas, and what I am practicing, in these perilous times.
I am hoping that this discussion of what hate violence legislation is, and the underpinnings of it, will address the questions (and scoffing) I know are happening across the country as it is once more at the top of the news. I am a survivor of hate violence, and I have friends who have experienced hate violence, two of whom were murdered. My experiences inform me that many people, especially white people, not only do not understand the need for hate legislation, but who actually see it as "special" treatment. It is not, and I hope the following article helps explain why it is important.
Dear Friends and Acquaintances, My partner of 20 + years and spouse, Kelly (aka Stratofrog), finally laid down her burdens early this morning at 2:30am. She went through an heroic end on her own terms after fighting a brief but bitter battle with an inoperable brain cancer. She shared her love and warmth with many and those who called her friend almost always formed a deep and lasting bond. She loved the best in each of us without judgment.
Kelly was a musician, poet, and artist and what she loved the most was her family and most particularly, her children Josh and Cory. She will be missed but not forgotten as she has left her imprint on our hearts.
Many of you already expressed beautiful sentiments in my earlier post and I shared them all with her several times. To say she was touched would be an understatement.
There are many here who likely remember Stratofrog from TPM days. Some have kept in touch. I bring sad news that Stratofrog has a glioblastoma - an aggressive cancer of the brain. Diagnosed 2 weeks ago today, symptomatic for about 6 weeks, it is estimated that she has only a few weeks to live.
She is handling this with tremendous grace and strength, with love at the top of her priorities. She sends out an embrace to all her friends, including those who are in the circle of never seen but gladly met.
The consequences of Hurricane Harvey go on and on. Even under the "best" of circumstances the flooding caused by the days of torrential rain would be hazardous as the toxic fluids from automobiles, gas stations, businesses, and household chemicals mix with flooded sewers and sewage treatment facilities. In other words, flooding around any modern town or city is going to result in a toxic stew. However, this region of Texas is far more than a modern city (or collection of cities). It is the petrochemical capital of the United States, as well as having significant numbers of chemical production facilities.
Joe Arpaio is Trump's kind of lawman: cruel to the point of sadism, racist, makes his own law, and self righteous to a fault. Unfortunately, I am not embellishing the truth. After decades of effort by civil rights organizations and many citizens of Maricopa County and beyond. Arpaio had been ordered by the court (in 2011) to stop racially profiling people assumed to be Latino, stopping them, and turning them over to immigration authorities (ICE). Many of those stopped were citizens or legal residents, and many were not Hispanic; however, all that was required was that a patrolman, or a deputized citizen (and there were lots of those) believe you were Hispanic. Arpaio flagrantly ignored this order and continued his practice of harassment and illegal detention. So he was brought back to federal court and U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton found him in criminal contempt of court.
Today Mitch McConnell is calling a vote on 'healthcare', though no one knows what they are going to be voting on. It is critical that we flood Washington with phone calls, emails, tweets, and if you are close enough, your bodies. Call your Senator's local offices, and stop by those home offices if you can. We MUST let them know in no uncertain terms that there are hundreds of millions of us who do NOT want this shredding of the Affordable Care Act, nor the massive transfer of wealth from those receiving Medicaid to the top of the economic structure.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has released an "advertisement" that is a clear call to white supremacists and the Radical Right to rise up. It removes the veneer that the NRA is focused on protecting gun rights, instead putting forward a narrative that looks more racist radical right. This video is clearly crafted with the far right as the desired audience. The tone, images, and message are all characteristic of media out of this movement. What is chilling is not so much the video itself, but that it is produced by one of the most influential lobbies in Washington. It is the NRA, and its ability to mobilize a highly reactive membership, that holds the ears (and votes) of legislators. Below is Bill Moyers and Michael Winship's response to the NRA call to arms. My discussion resumes following their's.
On Friday June 23, 2017, Ari Melber, sitting in for Lawrence O'Donnell on, facilitated the best and most extensive examination of Medicaid and the potential consequences of the Senate (and House) Affordable Care Act replacement - aka "Trumpcare". Medicaid is the single most important component of American healthcare, directly impacting 70 MILLION people, and indirectly impacting virtually ALL of us. From infants being born, to many of the disables, to the elderly fighting to stay in their homes (or in nursing homes) to the poor (rural and urban), it is the bedrock upon which virtually all of us count. This is critical, and what the Republicans are proposing will drop a bomb on the overall healthcare system, and it will result in the deaths of tens of thousands. I cannot urge you strongly enough to take 23 minutes and watch the video clips from the program. Anything this critical deserves you time - and your voice.
My life is on the line as are the lives of millions of others. My continued existence depends upon access to an expensive mix of medications and medical care for I live with a double-lung transplant. My yearly out-of pocket expenses are already over $20,000 a year. With the "improvements" proffered by Trump and the Republicans, that amount will at least quintuple - just for the insurance, and forget about deductibles and co-pays. Without a medical "lifeline" I will die. I suspect that most of us will have someone we know or love who will lose their lives.
On March 29, 2017, Congress repealed the broadband privacy rules that blocked providers from collecting and selling your information (name, accounts, browsing history, financial transaction, pictures, everything you touch and surf to on your computer, tablets, and in some cases phones). Clearly there are few of us who approve of this move, and it is purely in the interests of broadband providers. However, there are ways for you to fight back. Some of the information below was garnered from an excellent article by PC World - Three Privacy Tools that Block Your Internet Provider From Tracking You.
Obamacare is "imploding", "collapsing under its own weight" etc. That is, and has been, the Republican drum beat, but is it true? I would argue that the answer is a flat out "No." But, but, but, what about those 130% premium increases, providers bailing on the Exchanges, etc. Yes, there are those issues ... in states who failed to implement the ACA (Affordable Care Act) the way it was crafted to function.
Hey Joe, get me some black extras to sit on the dais. I need to show some "diversity" in all those TV shots. Trump may not know much about government and being president, but he does know about entertainment. He regularly uses "extras" - like folks to applaud at press conferences. It is all one big show and Trump is the (prima donna) star.
As I watch Trump's efforts to block the entrance of Muslims into the United States, and the brutal tearing of families apart in the I.C.E. sweeps of immigrants, and the repeated crowing over destroying what Obama had built, and the white, white, white, Administration, I feel that I am being lashed by hatred and racism. Anxiety, Sadness, Anger, Depression? Oh yes, I feel these and I cry with the children who fear that they will never see their parents again, for I have been pulled from a parent and know that pain in my bones. All I know to do is to speak out and stand up and push back. It is either that or get mowed down, and that I cannot let happen.
We have repeatedly heard Donald Trump, first as a candidate and now as President, say that he is going to apply extreme vetting for immigrants and refugees. This is either for effect, or he has seriously not informed himself about the processes that folks go through (or even spoken to one of his wives), or he is playing on the ignorance of the bulk of the American public on what refugee, in particular, go through to get here. So to clarify, I off er this post that does detail those processes.
We are in a time when things are so insane that there is a background refrain of "you can't make this stuff up." Unfortunately, at least two authors have. One is so well known that there are periods (like now) when his name-cum-description is frequently invoked: "Orwellian." The other is Max Barry, who is the author of Jennifer Government - a world where you are born into a corporation or government, and assume your positions at the appropriate time. It is the ideal of the corporatist state on a global scale.1 For me, there is an eerie echo of it as I watch businessman Trump, with zero knowledge (or interest) in the functions nor purpose of government, ride roughshod over the Constitution as he reshapes it to his comfort level.
I am finding the beginning of the Trump Presidency frightening in both its content and lack of consideration for the humans involved. From calling all those not with him his 'enemies', to gagging a number of agencies and having them suspend contracts and grants (putting who knows how many out of work), to targeting the Dreamers (and one assumes their families) for ejection from the country; to banning Muslim refugees from entering the country. It is a slash and burn approach that is largely embedded in a perception of 'reality' which frankly is not reality.
Let me share the strange tale of the firing of Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz who is in charge of the joint forces gathered for the inauguration on Friday.
He "has spent months" helping with the planning of protection of the President-Elect/President, along with everyone else. In other words, this requires a high degree of coordination. The Washington Post broke the story and gives explicit detail. Here are the specifics...
Long before one line of NAFTA was written, manufacturing in the United States was dying. Not just factory after factory was shuttered, but entire industries were shipped out of the country, until virtually noting remained. While it is not part of this discussion, as manufacturing left, the strength of unions bled out onto the broken foundations of the dead factory floors. By the 1970's there was already the movement from an Industrial to Post Industrial society, and the burning question was 'Could a society that produced nothing survive?' (Something that is still a viable question) However, the question that was not raised until much later was 'Can the middle class survive?'
My life is on the line as are the lives of millions of others. My continued existence depends upon access to an expensive mix of medications and medical care for I live with a double-lung transplant. My yearly out-of pocket expenses are already over $20,000 a year. With the "improvements" proffered by Trump and the Republicans, that amount will at least quintuple - just for the insurance, and forget about deductibles and co-pays. Without a medical "lifeline" I will die. I suspect that most of us will have someone we know or love who will lose their lives.
As I watch Trump's efforts to block the entrance of Muslims into the United States, and the brutal tearing of families apart in the I.C.E. sweeps of immigrants, and the repeated crowing over destroying what Obama had built, and the white, white, white, Administration, I feel that I am being lashed by hatred and racism. Anxiety, Sadness, Anger, Depression? Oh yes, I feel these and I cry with the children who fear that they will never see their parents again, for I have been pulled from a parent and know that pain in my bones. All I know to do is to speak out and stand up and push back. It is either that or get mowed down, and that I cannot let happen.