Vote on War Powers Act restores Power to Congress

Photo: WCF Courier

The uncertainty inside and surrounding the White House has caused high anxiety in Washington, D.C., along with the world at large.  The Trump administration has attempted to act without restraint and been reeled back in each time -- thank goodness.  There has been a buzz over the last few years about our current President attempting to start a war.



Based on his handling of the Coronavirus, the world, along with the U.S., have a lot to be concerned with.  If the President has this much difficulty handling a virus without enacting the Defense Production Act of 1950 for so long, how would he ever be able to guide the country through a war?  The result would be a blood bath.  Americans live all over - dead.



Which is why the recent news coming out of Politico Defense regarding a vote that occurred which took power to start a war out of the President's hand was very comforting:

NORTH KOREA WAR POWERS BILL: In the latest effort to check presidential war powers, Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Ro Khanna on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require congressional authorization before launching hostilities with North Korea.

“The president must come to Congress before starting a war, period,” Khanna, a California Democrat who has played a signature role in similar attempts to rein in Trump’s war powers in Yemen and Iran, said in a statement. “The current state of world affairs only underlies the importance of Congress reclaiming its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace.”

Markey said the bill, which is almost guaranteed to be vetoed if it passes, is particularly important at a time when the fate of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un remains a mystery. “While developments inside North Korea are unclear, the United States must be absolutely clear in signaling that we do not seek war with Pyongyang, regardless of who heads the country,” said Markey of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the East Asia Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee.

With the threat of the Coronavirus spreading throughout the world, the last additional risk needed would be for the United States to go to war.  Thank you, Congress, for taking back the power.  Since Congress controls the purse strings (a.k.a. Funding/Spending power), the right to send U.S. troops into combat should also reside in their hands.  The power would be distributed over the voting power of the states (Congressional Elected Official).



The step taken by Congress to shift power from the President to the Congress reassures the American people (and the world at large) that Congressional officials are working in their favor.  Thank you to all of the elected officials who voted for the shift in power.

Ralph Nader: Calls Out Congress on a Poor Job Helping Americans During Coronavirus Pandemic

Photo: Pew Research Center

The Coronavirus continues to destroy the United States of America.  At least from an economic standpoint.  And what is Congress doing to help Americans?  Passing a $2 Trillion relief package that helps large businesses such as 'Shake Shack' rather than small mom and pop businesses is laughable.  The state of government is truly terrible.  Congress is out to lunch.

Recently, the activist Ralph Nader called the situation is as terrible as I said above.  Congress is out to lunch:

Cowardly Congress Chooses to be AWOL: Shouldn’t Our Elected Representatives be on the Job Providing Essential Services?

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic a careening, confused President is fibbing, flailing, breaking laws, and mishandling money. As the domino effect of this crisis mounts, the public is asking: “Where is the Congress?” Our Senators and Representatives have been home since March 20 and won’t be back until May 4th, not on the job inside the Capitol. Shameful!

Worse, some lawmakers want a remote Congress so they can remain AWOL and pretend to deal with the many crises remotely.

Why? Fear of the pandemic? Escaping rollcall responsibility? No matter that Congress can follow all the CDC guidelines and more for personal protection. No matter that millions of essential workers – some a few blocks from Congress, bravely go to work to perform their critical duties. Healthcare, transit, grocery, police, maintenance and sanitation workers, many executive branch civil servants and others are faithfully on the job.

Congress should be working harder than ever – 6 days a week, not its usual 21/2 days. Congress should be monitoring the spending of trillions of dollars it approved for recovery, and passing improved rescue legislation that puts the people first. Congress should also be anticipating and preventing the ugly greed of commercial lobbyists who will cravenly push for more giveaways for their fat-cat big-business clients. The devil is in the details and in the fine print of new and upcoming bills. Scams, gouging, waste, and corruption are exploding already in a corporate crimewave while the President pulls the federal cops off their beats.

Thirteen million people will lose their health insurance between March and July of this year. Over 25% unemployment is bringing untold fear, dread, and deprivations to millions of families. Where are the indispensable 535 lawmakers? Back at home ignoring their duties.

Small businesses and family farms, lacking the reserves and political privileges of big business, are suddenly experiencing a deadly freefall in sales with slow arrivals of temporary federal assistance. Many will face ruin and bankruptcy. Lifetimes of work smashed.

Trump has encouraged the EPA to stop enforcing violations of prohibited pollution laws. Trump’s FDA announced that it was suspending inspections of foreign plant exporters of food and drugs to the U.S. The President is even threatening the existence of our post offices.

Where is the Congress? It’s halls and committee rooms are empty!

With knowing criminal intent, the Trumpsters are running the life and health saving Federal agencies into the ground. Under Trump’s puppet Andrew Wheeler, the EPA has become the environmental pollution agency. OSHA has been turned upside down. Trump is even weakening nursing home safety regulations in our pandemic. Scientists and other civil servants are being muzzled or pushed out.

Where is Congress? It is looking for how it can push button constitutional duties from perches back home. Can Congress truly believe that it can run our national legislature from home? There is no substitute for members of Congress convening in real time in the nation’s capital. Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution requires a quorum to conduct Congressional lawmaking. The full Senate voted in person in March to pass the $2.2 trillion relief/bailout package.

Now, Congress agrees another large assistance law is needed. It has to be preceded by hard work, the best ideas, public hearings, tight drafting, and intense deliberation over long days.

So far Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is on the job, is resisting remote voting. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said he agrees, but he led the flight out of Congress back to Kentucky a month ago.

Many of these pampered politicians, comfortable at home in their safe gerrymandered districts, drawing their regular salaries and benefits while watching or reading the stories of courageous workers risking their lives daily for pittances, will go down in history as cowards. Historians will not treat them kindly.

Meanwhile these so-called guardians of our crucial constitutional separation of powers are having a mock video hearing to try to show Congress can go online. This is indefensible when we have a Constitution-breaking monarchical president who says: “I have an Article 2 where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.”

Sovereign people – give your Senators and Representatives, who have fled Washington and are back home, a galvanizing piece of your mind. Just pick up the phone and dial your member or the Congressional switchboard (202-224-3141) and make your needs known. Remind them that if they don’t get back to work, you’ll remember in November.

Take action and call your elected representative to say wake up and save Americans!

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Unscientific Advice from the Highest Office in the United States of America

Photo: KNBN Newscenter

If the last three and a half years of President Trump's administration could be summarized into 12 minutes of video, then Morning Joe has captured that video.  Yesterday marked an all-time high for the need for science communication to the public.  The misinformation came from the highest office of the land -- the President of the United States of America.



The information was so dangerous to the health of Americans that the manufacturer of Lysol cleaning brands had to issue a comprehensive statement to save the citizens of the world.  Citizens who might choose to follow the directive of the most dangerous President that the United States has seen in its history.


Warning: Do Not Ingest or Inject Lysol or other cleaning agents into your body.  The result could kill you.



In the following video from the MSNBC show Morning Joe, a clip of President Trump's daily COVID-19 video is shown.  The clip of footage from the President's briefing disseminates misinformation about possible cures for the COVID-19 virus (a.k.a. Coronavirus).  Do not take the President's advice seriously -- the result could be death.

The misinformation spread by the President of the United States of America has resulted in the chemical manufacturer RB - maker of Lysol to release the public press release after:

Improper use of Disinfectants

Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB (the makers of Lysol and Dettol) has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).  As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines. Please read the label and safety information.

We have a responsibility in providing consumers with access to accurate, up-to-date information as advised by leading public health experts. For this and other myth-busting facts, please visit Covid-19facts.com.

For more information on our response to COVID-19, visit this link: Coronavirus information

In the statement above, near the end are two hyperlinked webpages that contain information on COVID-19 by RB -- the maker of Lysol.  An example of the information provided is shown in the video below about the Coronavirus:

The second link is to an RB webpage with frequently asked questions about the Coronavirus and can be found by clicking here.  The damage done by spreading misinformation from the mouth of the most powerful man in the world is hard to squash.



Although news agencies such as NBC News, along with CNN, have been busy spreading the correct information regarding the suggestion of ingesting or injecting Lysol into the human body to treat COVID-19: Do Not Inject or Ingest Any Lysol Into The Human Body To Treat COVID-19.  The Act Could Result In Death.



The daily COVID-19 briefing from the White House represents yet another example of why the need for science communication to the public at large is so critical.  We are living in unprecedented times.  Never before have the American people ever been instructed to drink or inject chemicals that could kill them.  Please do not mess around with Lysol or other cleaning agents.  This is not sound science.



Hopefully, in the future, science will play a more significant role in policymaking at the federal level (and state along with local). Only spending more money on science funding will not accomplish the job alone.  There is a great need for the dissemination of science at every level of society.  The time has come.  The demand has been growing over the past few decades.  Educate yourself.  Your life is potentially at stake!



Stay safe!

Politico: "How should the U.S. address cybersecurity risks exposed by the broader move to telework?"

Photo: CSO Online

There is no doubt that after the coronavirus pandemic dies down, life will not be the same.  I wrote a blog post which discussed some changes at the outset of the end of the epidemic - lines, testing, paperwork to enter places of business -- which depends on the country.   My mother works in the healthcare industry.  She now works from home by 'teleworking' or 'telecommuting' via the internet.  How does this change of venue for her and others impact the United States Cybersecurity as a whole?



Recently, reporting from Politico Nightly has a short paragraph response from two elected officials shown below:

How should the U.S. address cybersecurity risks exposed by the broader move to telework?

"In the Armed Services Committee we use a term, 'attack surface.' This has massively expanded the attack surface, the target areas for malevolent actors. Particularly in the private sector, it opens up new avenues for penetrating private networks. I'm talking about businesses all the way from retail to national defense. Our commission found something like 90 percent of private sector cyberattacks can be prevented by simple cyber hygiene. It's a serious problem that just got a lot more serious." — Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, as told to cybersecurity reporter Tim Starks

"One of the many things we've learned from this crisis is that the federal government was unprepared for a massive and sudden shift to work remotely. That can't happen again." — Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), also co-chair of that commission

As Americans consider returning to civilized life after a pandemic, changes are inevitable.  The United States, along with the rest of the world, has been caught off guard.  At the very least, serious consideration into changes at the infrastructure will be a high priority in both chambers of Congress, to begin with. 



Otherwise, we (as a nation) will find ourselves back in the same vulnerable position that we were at the beginning of the year and the pandemic.  Change needs to occur.  When will our elected officials take hold of the steering wheel from the Trump administration and start making changes to protect us?  Time will tell.




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EPA Mercury Rule is Changed Due to New Cost Benefit Analysis

Photo: LA Times

The Trump administration has been seeking over the last few years to undo or "rollback" any environmental regulation which was enacted during the Obama administration.  As I have previously mentioned, any change in management must be fought in the courtroom.  Simply because to change the law (in Congress), any new regulation must be better (safer) than the previous one.  Unless, of course, in a court of law, it can be shown that benefits to society are outweighed by the cost to society (cost burden).  That appears to be the case concerning mercury pollution in power plants.



Recently, the Trump administration won a court battle changing the calculation (parameters/conditions for the computation) which dictate the limit for mercury pollution as reported by Politico Agriculture:

MERCURY RULE WOBBLING: EPA released its final revisions to the Obama-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, and as expected, the revisions keep in place the pollution limits set in 2013, though the agency says its update of the cost-benefit analysis indicates the regulation should never have been enacted in the first place, Pro's Alex Guillén reports.

The move is one of the most significant regulation rollbacks yet issued by the Trump EPA, as it could make it more difficult to create future environmental regulations. The action cements a critical change to EPA's regulatory math that could limit the use of some public health benefits to justify environmental rules, as Alex reports.//

The fight comes down to co-benefits: The Obama EPA was only able to quantify a few million dollars' worth of direct benefits from mercury reductions when it first finalized the rule, which were dwarfed by the estimated $10 billion compliance cost. However, the Obama EPA counted tens of billions of dollars' worth of "co-benefits" from the rule's reduction in particulate matter pollution, which outweighed the costs.

The Trump EPA agreed to revisit the matter, and removed those co-benefits, which it said changed the balance and meant it was never "appropriate and necessary" to regulate mercury from power plants.

Thursday's rulemaking effectively creates a game of regulatory Jenga, public health advocates argue. The numeric limits on mercury pollution are still sitting atop the tower, but a coal company or other interested party could topple the whole thing with a legal argument that the standards are no longer justified. "This deeply irresponsible finding seeks to sabotage the rules by inviting court challenges from Wheeler's former clients and the Trump administration's current donors and allies," said Earthjustice attorney James Pew.

Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Thursday however waved off concerns from electric utilities that the agency's revisions could cost them billions of dollars, calling it an exaggeration, Alex reports. "I always find it interesting when some groups say, 'Oh this is going to create legal uncertainty because people are going to sue.' And they're going to sue. And they sue in every other instance," he added. "So I don't really buy that. I think our regulation is grounded in the science, is grounded in good cost-benefit analysis."

The move above by the Trump administration goes against the tide of change sweeping across the world right now.  Only the cabinet members and individual coal power plants believe that the ruling is good.  The remainder of power plant owners/operators is clear on where the future is taking the renewable energy sector.  And with the rise of renewable energy comes cleaner energy.  Including overhauling power plant technology, which is outdated and replacing that technology with new or better (cleaner) energy sources.  The future is here.  Our current President is out of touch with technology and the drive toward more modern (and cleaner) energy.  Join the bandwagon or be left behind.


Have a good weekend.

Pork Industry Takes Another Large Hit With the Coronavirus

Photo: AgNet

Over the past few years, the Trump administration has screwed over the farming industry.  With the Trade War started and continuing on (despite the coronavirus), the farming and agriculture business continues to take massive hits to their local and global economy.  I have written about this over the past few years (see blog indexes -- here and here).  The importing and exporting of goods has taken a toll on the industry.  From the swine flu in China to the coronavirus, the industry has taken hits that have questioned the continued existence looking into the future.  How bad is it? Keep on reading.



Reporting by Politico Agriculture highlights the current times for the Pork Industry:

CORONAVIRUS HITS HOG FARMERS, PORK PROCESSORS: The National Pork Producers Council said Tuesday that the loss of foodservice customers, a drop in pork exports and a series of slaughterhouse closures across the country is wreaking havoc on the industry, writes Pro Ag's Liz Crampton.

Farm economists with Kerns & Associates and Iowa State University estimate that hog farmers will lose nearly $37 per pig because of the market turmoil, adding up to about $5 billion for the rest of 2020. The shutdown of major processing sites like the Smithfield site in Sioux Falls, S.D., has caused a surplus of hogs, driving down their value.

"We are taking on water fast. Immediate action is imperative, or a lot of hog farms will go under," said NPPC President Howard A.V. Roth. For example, the group is asking USDA to buy up more than $1 billion in pork products, helping to clear out the backed-up meat supply and to lift the financial pressure on producers. Those goods could be redirected to food banks, where demand is surging.

NPPC also wants "equitable" treatment for pork producers, without eligibility restrictions, under USDA's upcoming farm stimulus program, which the department is expected to unveil as soon as this week.

The pork industry is just one of many sectors hit hard by the coronavirus.  As enterprises across the world lose massive amounts of money daily, one cannot help but wonder what is holding back the Trump administration from enacting legislation on a federal level to save the nation from decline.



States have done a fair amount on their own.  Although, as the numbers of coronavirus deaths start to decline with no testing done, what will happen when people go back to work?  Especially with the fact that extensive examination would reveal the population with antibodies that are linked to the coronavirus.  With the significant losses happening daily, the nation needs federal action now.  Industries like the pork industry should not be bearing the entire crux of the coronavirus and the Trade War with China.




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Ralph Nader: The Week We Should Not Forget for Our Own Sake

Photo: Image by cromaconceptovisual from Pixabay

Last week was a whirlwind of news bites that might have passed quickly by a reader or listener's ear if not paying attention continuously to the news.  Of course, there is only so much information that each of us can withstand over a given time.  Recently, information (mostly misinformation) overload is becoming a big problem quickly.  That is resulting in a large amount of Americans ignoring the news altogether.  Which is dangerous in some cases.  

A healthy course of news daily is good to keep the mind actively questioning where the world is going.  Too much can be problematic in some cases.  Each of us should evaluate our own consumption based on need.  Why am I carrying on about the news?  Because events have been happening which might have been missed.

Believe me?

Why not?

Well, don't believe me, ask the consummate activist Ralph Nader.  In his weekly newsletter which I often post to draw readers' attention toward, he highlights the important events which have transpired over last week.  Sometimes hearing important events out of a respected activist sounds better than from a scientist.  Therefore, without further ado, read on and enjoy!

Ralph Nader has summed last week's historic events while highlighting the importance of each in his weekly newsletter shown below:

The Week We Should Not Forget for Our Own Sake

Much happened this week and we can’t afford to ignore any of it. The events of the last seven days provide significant opportunities for civic action.

1. Bernie Sanders suspended his peoples’ presidential campaign while staying on upcoming primary ballots to acquire more delegates to take to the Democratic convention. He concedes the nomination to Delaware corporatist Joe Biden. But he is determined to use his leverage to get Biden to adopt many important and practical reforms and redirections that would benefit the people instead of greedy big business CEOs. The unsteady Biden needs Sanders voters more than ever in several swing states.

2. The seriously unstable, ill-informed Trump is consumed by his destructive, all-consuming ego. This is no time to have a mindless madman at the helm of our careening ship of state. Each day, Trump spreads lies and misleading information and regularly and repeatedly contradicts himself as well as his honest government scientists and doctors. His delusional fantasies about the COVID-19 pandemic and his boastful role, combined with medical quackery, has led some media to stop broadcasting live his deceptive news briefing to protect the public. He nastily lashes back at criticism, blames, scapegoats and he flatters his easily manipulated sycophants. His delusions of grandeur know no bounds—on a scale of one to ten, he shamelessly rates his efforts to address the deadly pandemic a “Ten.”

When will influential Americans— in and outside of Congress—call for his resignation for the sake of the country? For far less erratic behavior, Senate Republicans, led by Barry Goldwater, visited President Nixon in 1974 and told him his time was up. Even stubborn Nixon quit, as do failing prime ministers in other countries.

3. The so-called Republican Party, which has long suppressed voters in minority, low income districts, is seizing on the coronavirus crisis to block more voters they don’t like from the polls. Republicans insisted on holding Tuesday’s chaotic and health-threatening Wisconsin primary.

Get this: only 5 of 183 voting precincts in Milwaukee were open. The regularly fascistic, gerrymandered Republican legislature refused to heed the Governor’s request for postponement, and shopped for Republican judges to support this criminogenic sham enterprise. Get ready for more tyranny in Republican controlled states, like Florida, Ohio, and Arizona in November.

Republicans falsely claim that mail-in voting opens the door to widespread voter fraud. Voting fraud is as rare as whooping cranes. Trump lies about mail-in voting fraud because he knows the higher the voter turnout, the more likely it is he and the Republicans could lose (See: A Short History of Presidential Election Crises: And How to Prevent the Next One by Alan Hirsch, Chair of the Justice and Law Studies program at Williams College).

4. Trump and the Federal Reserve’s multi-trillion dollar bailout of recklessly indebted corporations, from Wall Street to Houston, invites waste, commercial crimes, and price gouging. This bailout also opens the door to all sorts of scams harmful to consumers, workers, and the poor. Trump is busy firing his watchdogs and defiantly blocking Congressional efforts to shine bright lights on these massive hand-outs.

The big question is whether smug, profiteering corporate capitalism will come out of the pandemic with an even more control of local, state and federal governments. Will stock buybacks and other reckless practices continue unabated? Will Wall Street be able to avoid accountability for its crimes and misdeeds which triggered the 2008-2009 great recession? Will the taxpayers again be forced to bailout the business fat-cats at the expense of the American people on Main Street?

Less accountability, unrelenting crony capitalism, and weakened labor and consumer rights are on the horizon. It looks as if the voices of the people may again be ignored. Dear citizens, you must politically mobilize to ensure that the 535 members of Congress use their awesome constitutional powers for the public good.

Bernie Sanders is right to call for a people’s political revolution to roll back the silent corporate coups d'état. Corporatism has taken over public budgets, destabilized the tax system, and undermined the checks and balances that came out of the American Revolution against monarchical despotism. Corporate control left us totally unprepared and defenseless against pandemics that our public health officials, scientists, and yours truly warned about for years.

The problem is that too many voters have lost confidence in themselves as the sovereign authority in our constitution (“We the People”) and did not listen to Bernie Sanders, an honest and dedicated elected U.S. Senator, who has been so truthful and right for forty years.

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Societies New Normal Post Coronavirus Pandemic

Photo: Politico/Getty

Will, our society ever return 'to normal'?  This is a fair question given changes taking place across the world.  Changes will affect the world as a whole, not just the United States of America.  First, there will never be a pre-coronavirus normal ever again.  Why? Merely due to the changes in the daily habits of the citizens across the world.



A post coronavirus world will undoubtedly be a better-prepared society for a future outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic size.  Multiple pieces of legislation will be passed to make preparedness a priority along with infrastructure changes needed to address a threat of the current format.  Our healthcare alone will have to be reconsidered.  The ongoing danger could easily overwhelm our current medical healthcare system.



What about changes to crowd sizes and gatherings which involve over 10 people?  Recent reporting by Politico Nightly has shed light on immediate changes taking place across the world:

THE NEW ABNORMAL — This almost nationwide lockdown won’t continue forever. But what will recovery look like? It won’t resemble life before Covid-19.

Top public health officials like former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and former CDC Director Tom Frieden already are tackling how to come out of our houses while keeping the death toll low. Governors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as well as some European leaders are weighing how to lift lockdowns once the first wave of the pandemic passes.

Still, a widely available vaccine against Covid-19 is thought to be at least one to two years away. In the meantime, our society will be radically altered in ways that seem unimaginable. Some of those changes are all but certain to outlive the immediate crisis. A time traveler from the 1970s would be baffled by the layers of security now required before boarding an airplane.

Expect masks, hand washing, covered coughing and handshake-less greetings to become the norm. And that’s just the start of changes we might see and are already seeing. Here’s a look at more ways coronavirus could transform our daily lives for the foreseeable future:

Regular checkups — Singapore and other Asian countries adopted widespread fever testing in the aftermath of the SARS epidemic. After coronavirus, the same could become the norm in the U.S. Before someone enters a store, office building, school, stadium, airport or other public space, they could be subject to thermal scans to check for an elevated temperature, much like they sometimes have to go through a metal detector to check for guns today.

Tracking — China and South Korea are already using apps to trace people’s movements and record symptoms in order to track the next hotspots. Americans may have to get more accustomed to logging and sharing their movements to help officials track and contain the virus spread. Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo is urging residents to keep a daily log of where they have been in case they become infected. She suggested today that such logs could become a requirement for coronavirus testing in the state.

“There is going to be a discussion about how to manage security and privacy concerns while meeting this gargantuan challenge of tracking sick patients in any given community,” said Dan Hanfling, an emergency room physician and vice president of In-Q-Tel, which invests in security technology.

Random sampling — Ohio and Masschussets are planning to randomly test people in order to get a better handle on case counts and virus spread. Until widespread testing is available, random testing could allow a region to track the virus spread and know when to re-impose stay at home orders.

Certifications — Germany is already creating certificates for people who have recovered from the virus, which confers on them at least short-term immunity. The certificates allow people to sidestep lockdown restrictions. If antibody testing becomes more widespread, the idea of certifying the recovered could take off here as well.

Staggered seatings and at home services — Restaurants, museums and concert venues could offer staggered seatings and shows with smaller, separated crowds. Painted lines on floors could help people appropriately space. In addition, hairdressers, manicurists and other service providers could move to home services that limit customers’ contact with one another.

More public spaces and micro-transit — Cities could accelerate new forms of transit and rethink public spaces, said Steven Pedigo, a University of Texas urban affairs researcher. More cities could build bike lanes or widen the ones they already have. Wider sidewalks, too, could help people commute without contact. Cities won’t disappear as the result of the pandemic, but they could become less dense.

“We obviously are now dealing with how to die,” Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease expert and co-author of Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, tells us. “We also have to figure out how to live.”

The present world will never be the same after this pandemic.  Hopefully, all of the world citizens make the best changes out of this unfortunate situation.  The time for change is now.  Congress should act accordingly and pass legislation to better prepare our society for such a threat.



Next, the difficult time comes for the citizens of the world. To be patient with the needed changes that were described above along with those which will take effect into the near and distant future.  These changes will require more planning to attend significant crowd-size events and conferences (and conventions too).  Be patient and plan accordingly.  Keep an open mind looking into the future.  Changes will be different depending on changing circumstances.  Stay informed.  Stay safe, and wash your hands.



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SNAP Recipients Need Online Access Now -- Start Working On It Congress and USDA!!

Photo: Hunger Coalition Organization

During the best of times in our society, citizens who rely on social benefit programs such as the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) tend to draw the short straw.  That is to say, benefits are not easily manageable -- which results in unnecessary complications and, in the end, significant cuts to the program.  And that is sad.  Why do programs intended to help those most in need fail them time and time again?  Below is yet another example of the failure of the government to manage a program that is vital to Americans.



I have written over the last year about attempts by the Trump administration to cut funding for the SNAP program.  As mentioned above, SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  As of 2018, 40 million Americans rely on SNAP for food assistance -- 9.2%  Additionally, with the emergence of the coronavirus, the number of SNAP recipients might very well increase.  Especially if the spread of the virus continues for months (up to years).



The realization of the present society in which we live calls for immediate action to bring SNAP benefits to all recipients using current technology.  If a person can shop online for groceries, then any SNAP recipient should be able to use their Electronic Benefits Transfer card (EBT card) to purchase goods online too.  Currently, there is no avenue for SNAP recipients to use home delivery avenues with their EBT cards.  This is ludicrous.



Reporting from Politico Agriculture has shed light on the deficiencies of the SNAP benefit distributions:

THE SOCIAL DISTANCING GAP FOR SNAP USERS: The coronavirus pandemic is shining a spotlight on a widespread problem for millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients: Their food stamps are no good online.

Only a handful of states allow SNAP benefits to be used in e-commerce, and only through designated retailers like Amazon, Safeway, Walmart and a few others. With enrollment in the nutrition assistance program ballooning as businesses shutter and workers are laid off, nonprofit groups are lobbying Congress and USDA to relax the restrictions on online SNAP use, reports Pro Ag's Liz Crampton this a.m.

The lack of online SNAP options is especially glaring as other consumers pile into grocery delivery programs, which are booked up across the country as shoppers quarantine at home and stores limit their hours and crowd sizes. Meanwhile, SNAP users are frequently more vulnerable to the virus itself, like elderly recipients or those with disabilities.

Not exactly a snap: USDA said it will help states interested in offering SNAP purchases online, but it's unclear how quickly the department can make that happen. It took years to set up the pilot program in the 2014 farm bill, as officials grappled with major technical hurdles like verifying purchases and preventing fraud. Another hurdle is that SNAP benefits can't be used to cover the cost of delivery or service fees, which quickly add up.

Lawmakers and anti-hunger lobbyists are also demanding more funds for SNAP in the next economic relief package. More than 130 members sent a letter to House and Senate leaders asking them to prioritize a 15 percent expansion in maximum SNAP benefits; raise the monthly minimum benefit from $16 to $30; and block the Trump administration's regulatory actions over the last two years aiming to crack down on program participation.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced legislation that would encourage grocers to deliver to SNAP recipients and allow them to swipe their electronic benefit transfer cards at the door, along with providing $500 million for state agencies to reimburse retailers for delivery fees.

The letter mentioned above, which was sent to Congress, is shown below:

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy, Majority Leader McConnell, and Minority

Leader Schumer:

As you consider legislative priorities in any upcoming stimulus packages to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we urge you to incorporate provisions that will address the needs of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. SNAP is one of our country’s most vital social safety nets, and it will continue to play a critical role in reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty throughout the COVID-19 health crisis. In light of this significance, we urge you to incorporate provisions that will: (1) boost the maximum SNAP benefit by 15 percent; (2) increase the monthly minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30; and (3) place a hold on harmful rules proposed by the Executive Branch that weaken SNAP eligibility and benefits.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, a growing number of states are following guidance from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by encouraging social distancing and issuing stay-at-home orders. As a result, thousands of industries were interrupted, and millions of Americans were thrown into financial uncertainty. During this time of crisis, Americans must be able to turn to government benefits such as SNAP to put food on the table. In 2019, SNAP helped feed 38 million people across the country, but that number is likely to increase in the coming weeks and months, as a record-high 3.3 million people applied for unemployment benefits in just the last week.

The average SNAP benefit comes to approximately $1.40 per person per meal, and almost half of all SNAP families use up their entire benefit at the beginning of the month. At the height of the Great Recession in 2009, the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped prevent large increases in poverty by increasing the maximum SNAP benefit by 13.6 percent, totaling to $1.74 per person per meal. In order to mitigate the inevitable disruptions that the COVID-19 pandemic will bring, Congress must make a similar investment, by increasing maximum benefits by at least 15 percent. To that same effect, increasing the monthly minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30, will go a long way in helping single and family households keep food on the table.

Finally, Congress must also put a stop to harmful rules from the Executive Branch that will weaken SNAP eligibility and benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2019, October 2019, and December 2019 respectively, the Trump Administration published three rules that if enacted, will: (1) severely limit broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) and effectively throw hundreds of thousands of children off of school meal participation; (2) strip states of their much needed flexibility to set their own Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) using state-based and current energy cost information; and (3) eliminate state flexibility to waive certain work requirements and exemptions for SNAP participants who are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The BBCE and ABAWDs rules circumvent congressional intent as laid-out in the 2018 Farm Bill and short of rescinding them, all three rules, at the very least should be stayed until the economy shows significant improvement.

We thank you for your consideration and close attention to these urgent matters.

Sincerely, 

Food pantries, along with food shelters, have been hit especially hard during the pandemic.  Volunteers and essential employees are not able to make it into work.  This might be due to sickness associated with the coronavirus or just fear related to the spread of the virus.  For those citizens with financial means, the problems are lessened.  But for those who need financial assistance, then safely traveling to and from the grocery store might be a significant problem.



Again, if a person receives benefits from other organizations such as unemployment, services can use their EBT card like a debit card at a grocery store. Congress should demand that the USDA immediately initiate the ability to use EBT cards for online home grocery shopping too.  The time has come to bring up to speed the program for those most in need.  Additionally, the time has come to stop trying to defund a program that supports American families most in need.  The Trump administration should stop any attempt to limit funding to this vital program.  Congress should, in turn, not let any outside influence (such as the Trump administration or lobbyists) try to limit the funding.  If anything, there should be an increase in funding based on need.



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Photo: CDC

With the government giving varying views on the length of the coronavirus pandemic, an end to the spreading virus is nowhere in sight.  That is concerning given the death toll is on the increase rather than on the decrease at this point in time.  One has to ask, is there anything positive to say or that can emerge from the pandemic at this time or in the future?



Ralph Nader writes in a recent newsletter of a solution which can emerge from the coronavirus pandemic:

Many of us have heard that the Chinese character for “crisis” is also the character for “opportunity.” During the coronavirus crisis, we have a duty to apply political solutions and emerge much superior than before the pandemic struck an unready country. The time for serious civic reforms is now! Here are five fundamental opportunities for structural reforms and transformations:

1. The U.S. needs a permanent framework of explicit Congressional standards and accountability procedures for gigantic corporate welfare grants, loans, and other guarantees especially during emergencies. Without these standards, the U.S. government has repeatedly bailed out capitalism with “socialism for the rich.”

The most recent example is the $2.2 trillion salvation package for big corporations, small businesses, local and state governments, workers, and a little for consumers. The bailout package is nearly 1,000 pages of vague language, loopholes, and other gateways for waste, fraud, and corruption.

To put it mildly, Congress is granting the Treasury Department huge discretion to provide more taxpayer welfare to the business community. We know how this is going to turn out in the highly partisan, corporatist, secretive Administration of Donald Trump.

The same lack of standards and openness afflicts the corporate “socialism” of the Federal Reserve even more deeply. The Federal Reserve has occult ways of incurring debt and printing money to save the big boys of Wall Street and those in their dependent commercial circles.

2. Congress must be held to a higher standard and must carry out its constitutional duties. Congress is the duly authorized branch of the government to establish clear public missions and exercise prudent oversight of government initiatives. But as constitutional law specialist, Bruce Fein, has testified repeatedly – “Congress is an inkblot,” abdicating its constitutional duties either to the Executive Branch, the courts, or to the ether.

Working a 2½ day week, when not on recess, Congress has less time to conduct rigorous appropriations and oversight hearings to be followed by competently drafted legislation.

So pathetic is Congress that since 1992, it has allowed the Defense Department to violate the requirement for annual auditable budgets—with impunity. Congress has rubberstamped trillions of dollars for the Iraq and Afghan wars under a special escape from customary Senate and House hearings. The military contracts with giant arms contractors are a wildly out-of-control fleece-fest marked by greased palms and golden handshakes.

And most troubling, Congress is complicit in endless wars, neither to be declared since World War II, nor to be evaluated regularly by the most powerful of our three branches of government.

3. We must never allow ourselves to be driven into a state of perilous domestic unpreparedness due to the grotesque misallocation of federal funds behind the warfare state. The Empire’s insatiable demands worldwide has created new enemies and starved funding for domestic necessities. Of the federal government’s operation budgets (excluding self-funded insurance and social security) nearly 70 percent goes to the military budget, interest on deferred debt for wars, the Veterans Administration, and pieces of other Departments such as Energy and Homeland Security.

The coronavirus assault finds the mighty, often-forewarned U.S.A. without adequate emergency planning for a pandemic. The U.S. has been unable to ready hospitals, add skilled staff, and conduct critical pandemic medical research. U.S. hospitals even lack basic equipment such as ventilators, facemasks, and – astonishingly, swabs. U.S. readiness requires a social safety net like what citizens in other Western countries have. It means more self-reliant production in the U.S. for pharmaceuticals (now outsourced heavily to China and India) along with the production of all basic necessities. The rules of corporate-managed “free trade,” have left us without a national defense from corporate avarice run amok.

The days of abandoning crucial elements of our protective economic sovereignty must be declared over once and for all. Our country must take care of itself right down to producing critical swabs, now rationed by a dominant Italian manufacturer besieged with virus-induced needs in Italy.

4. The media has to be smarter, dig deeper, and not wallow in official source journalism, while ignoring the knowledge and experience of citizen groups. Members of the media spend too much time ditto-heading each other, interviewing their own reporters, and not covering the daily power struggle between the haves and the have nots. Instead, some editors pursue long investigative features in search of prizes. Unfortunately, too many (but not all) journalists are content to rehash the news of the day with establishment talking heads.

Like politicians running for public office, the mass media mostly ignores the devastating impact on our country of the devouring, corrosive, burgeoning military-industrial complex (remember President Eisenhower’s warning) desperately looking for enemies abroad to justify their gigantic contracts.

5. The foundation on which all of the above relies— is the citizenry. Focusing on the 535 members of the Congress, a mere one percent or less of citizens forming Congressional watchdog groups over their two Senators and Representatives in every Congressional District can regain command of Congress. Only through citizen action will Congress perform its constitutional duties and turn the ship of state from corporatism to a functioning democracy.

In my small paperback, Breaking Through Power: It’s Easier than We Think, I outline specific, modest actions citizens can take to laser-beam focus back home on their legislators. What is needed is a left/right alliance on many fundamental changes. Such a latent, converging alliance, where people live, work, and raise their families, is politically unstoppable.

Marshaling decisive public opinion can overwhelm the divide-and-rule tactics of manipulative plutocrats. It happened before in our history and it can happen again in major ways—starting small and building quickly in each District.

Wide reaching, predictable crises, such as the coronavirus, invite long-overdue advances in the evolution of democratic societies. These include full Medicare for all, living wages, and law and order for big business. We need to make the most of these life-sustaining opportunities. Right now!

Hopefully, meaningful change can come of this pandemic.  What changes have taken place at the local level?  What about at the federal level?  Ralph Nader has outlined 5 good changes that would make the U.S. government in a better place to address future epidemics that will inevitably arise.

In a previous post, I highlighted the obvious fact that Bill Gates warned the United States of a viral threat 4 years ago.  The best change that could take place at all levels of government is to have a national plan.  Additionally, having a local plan in place is critical too.  Building a plan and being prepared is critical to future success. Preparation is the best way to combat an emerging pandemic.



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Scientists Worldwide Do Not Need To Social Distance During This Time

Photo: Bizkaia Talent

Yes, scientists are human beings.  And yes, scientists are capable of contracting and transmitting the deadly coronavirus.  Then why the title suggesting that scientists do not need to adhere to social distancing during this time?



A recent article in The New York Times highlights the need for scientists from across the world to band together to fight the rapidly spreading coronavirus.  Research around the world has been placed on hold.  The critical scientific research question which tops the list on the world scale is how to combat the coronavirus.  Research from different perspectives is being conducted.  Additionally, funding from various countries is cutting across borders like a hot knife through butter:

But the coronavirus has ignited the scientific community in ways that no other outbreak or medical mystery has before. That reflects the scope of the pandemic and the fact that, for many researchers, the hot zone is no longer an impoverished village in the developing world. It is their hometowns.\\ 

“This is playing at home,” said Professor Hill, of Oxford. He has worked on vaccines for Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis, diseases that have been most prevalent in Africa. “But for Covid, it is happening right here.”

Previously, I wrote an article (blog post) on another site regarding the Trump administration's effort to defund the Pentagon's Disease Hunters.  That funding was explicitly designed for hunting down diseases in rare parts of the world.  Over the last four years, the disease hunters have collected over 140,000 biological samples.   The team has found over 1,000 new viruses -- including a new strain of ebola.  Wow!



The cost of the program for four years was a mere $200 million annually.  Wow!  The program included tracking the spread of the virus and the pathology of the infection.  Having the pathology of the virus would help researchers find a vaccination much sooner.  Now, I am not directly blaming the spread of the coronavirus on the lack of funding for the Pentagon's Disease Hunters.  I am suggesting that the program was vital and might have shed light on the spread of the virus, which has now ravaged parts of the world.



Scientists from around the world are grouping together in an unprecedented effort to fight the disease.  As mentioned in the excerpt above, the aim is to combat a condition that is taking a stronghold on all parts of the world.  Not just rare - hidden places.  Their combined effort is noble.  As is the funding of the work by both governments and the private sector.



This should be the case in a world pandemic.  The disease knows no boundaries of state or country.  The time has come for scientists not to isolate and work on their own research, but to communicate throughout the world.  This is counter to what social distancing and isolation to prevent the spread of the disease.



The time has come for the President of the United States to declare a national emergency and fund research throughout the nation.  Various agencies are working overtime to come up with vaccinations, ventilators, and protective equipment to combat the effort of the disease to spread further.



Citizens of the world can help immensely by staying home and keeping up social distancing.  As the article mentioned, the current threat to humanity is not concerned with just a single country.  The world is the target.  A world-scale solution is needed.  Never before have all of the countries grouped together to set aside pride, title, social standing, reputation -- to research solutions for the epidemic.  From a science standpoint, (and others) we are living through an unprecedented time.  Take note.



The end result of these difficult times could be wide-ranging: from the implementation of telecommuting to telemedicine becoming more frequently practiced.  Who knows?  Time will tell.  Take note of what changes that you are seeing around you at a local scale.  Compare to the past and the future as the government gives us further directive.  The present is exciting and scary.  But more so exciting to see the citizens of the world adhering to save various groups of citizens. 



People extending services and help to one another who they previously did not know.  The levels of giving and respect toward one another are both encouraging and astounding.  The virus will not win.  The question is how many unfortunate deaths have to occur to quench the virus.  Please do your part. 




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Photo: Wall Street International

America's health is currently under the weather.  With the pandemic from the coronavirus taking over the world, the Trump administration has really mismanaged the crisis.   From a media management standpoint, the Trump administration sends a message of 'hoax' to 'a crisis nearly gone.'  Which is it?  How long will it last?  How many supplies does the federal government have for Americans?  Why is the government not stepping in to manage a pandemic which knows no state boundaries?  These are questions which the Trump administration should have answers too.  Ralph Nader highlights the obvious mismanagement and provides a solution below.

In a recent newsletter, Ralph Nader describes the obvious with examples of the way President Trump is damaging our nation during the coronavirus pandemic:

Leaning on sober-minded experts in infectious diseases at his daily news conferences, Trump is frantically trying to look good. But the old delusionary Trump keeps resurfacing. On Monday, he rated his coronavirus performance at a perfect ten. On Tuesday, he lied to the public about his knowing it was a pandemic “long before it was called a pandemic.” The facts are just the opposite. On February 28th, Trump called COVID-19 a Democratic hoax (See the March 18, 2020 article in the New York Times).

Trump is unable to accept the ferocious reality of this pandemic.

Donald J. Trump is so consumed by his all-defining ego as to be occupationally insane. He is imperiling the public health of the entire country. If Trump endangered his family as he has endangered the country, he would be institutionalized. Again and again, Trump replaces realities with fantasies. He fibs, flails, fails, scapegoats, and never admits he was wrong or mistaken. Trump insists that the media heap undeserved praise on him, and solicits fawning, obsequious compliments from his cabinet members and staff. He just cannot absorb essential information.

Trump’s negligence is even worse than is often recognized. In 2018, his White House’s National Security Council disbanded the pandemic response team after Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer, who headed the program, was told to leave his position. Last week, Trump vacuously said he didn’t know that this happened. Even though, the press had repeatedly reported Trump’s decision, Trump refused to take any responsibility. Trump insanely cut USAID’s tiny Predict Program tracking infectious diseases, while bulking up the bloated military weapons budget. Stockpiling redundant nuclear bombs but not precious medical equipment and facilities.

It is clear that Trump’s failed administration is responsible for our staggering unreadiness as the current catastrophe metastasizes, leaving America greatly vulnerable. But Trump doesn’t see it that way. When asked about the role he played in the U.S. government’s gross failure to anticipate and contain coronavirus, Trump responded, “I don’t take responsibility at all.”

Trump is crazily still pressing to weaken nursing home regulations designed to reduce deadly infections among millions of elderly residents. He stubbornly persists even after COVID-19 interrupted his golf game. He hates these rules because Obama issued them – his vendetta against Obama is all-consuming.

One of Trump’s biggest goals is to get rid of Obamacare without any replacement plan. When Democrats repeatedly stopped his efforts in Congress, Trump decided to turn to a prolonged court case. Would a rational president mindlessly cut desperately needed healthcare coverage for thirty million Americans during a pandemic? The potential victims even include Trump’s own supporters!

The corporations now want varieties of bailouts because of the virus crisis, and Trump and the Republicans are pouring Niagara’s of red ink into the federal budget. Yet Trump and his congressional cronies continue to starve the IRS that is unable to recover over $400 billion in uncollected taxes every year because of its inadequate budget. The IRS budget is lower than it was in 2011 and lack of funding has forced layoffs of thousands of employees. It is impossible for the IRS to properly audit many global corporations or even respond to inquiring taxpayers without long delays.

Would a sane president be fanatically disabling disease and injury prevention programs at federal agencies and boast about such “deregulation”? Trump continues to favor crooked/for-profit universities that rip off students and leave them impoverished with debt.

It gets worse. Year after year, Trump tried to cut the budgets of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health, and the US contribution to the World Health Organization, including their pandemic prevention work. This is criminal negligence. His recent federal budget sent to Congress on February 10, 2020 still advocated these capricious cuts, along with more money for the bloated Pentagon budget than asked for by the Generals.

Last week, Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, called for President Trump to resign. (You can see his statement at Citizen.org).

Lunging between vicious vitriol and manipulative flattery, Trump never did know how to get out of the holes he dug. Here is how to get him out of this one: he should be a patriot for the sake of America and just resign. This is not the time for Captains Queeg or Ahab. The ship of state is sailing toward disaster and the President is incapable of transforming his temperamental dysfunctions. (See: Fake President: Decoding Trump’s Gaslighting, Corruption, and General Bullsh*t by Mark Green and Ralph Nader).

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