This 6 May 2020 video from the USA is called Trump‘s “war against society”, with Joseph Kishore.
TRUMP REBUKES NURSE ON NATIONAL NURSES DAY President Donald Trump is getting called out on social media for his treatment of a nurse during a National Nurses Day event in the Oval Office. “PPE has been sporadic,” Sophia L. Thomas, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, said. Thomas, who has been reusing her own N95 mask for weeks, said nurses adapt to what she said was a “manageable” situation. But Trump zeroed in on her first line. “Sporadic for you, but not sporadic for a lot of other people,” he said. [HuffPost]
I’m one of the resident doctors in NYC. Here’s how we’re being exploited.
RENT THE RUNWAY IS RISKING WORKERS’ LIVES Martina stood outside the Rent the Runway warehouse where she works in Secaucus, New Jersey, in mid-April and took a deep breath. She was dreading going inside — there were rumors that several of her co-workers had fallen ill from the coronavirus as it ravaged the tri-state area. But she needed the money, and management had given warehouse workers two options: Work without hazard pay, or stay home and don’t get paid at all. Rent the Runway is using a lockdown loophole to keep distributing shipments of high-end fashion apparel to be rented and worn in isolation — frequently by people posing for mirror selfies. [HuffPost]
CORONAVIRUS COULD CHANGE THE WAY WE EAT MEAT The commercial meat industry, highly centralized and largely controlled by four companies — Cargill, JBS, Smithfield and Tyson — has been rocked by the coronavirus. As the virus spread to some of the country’s largest meat processing facilities, it killed workers and forced plants to shut down for deep cleaning. Nearly 5,000 meatpacking employees have contracted COVID-19 at 115 meat and poultry processing facilities. The price of beef and pork has plummeted and livestock producers have resorted to euthanizing surplus stock. [HuffPost]
FIRST IMMIGRANT IN ICE DETENTION DIES OF CORONAVIRUS An immigrant being held in detention at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in San Diego has died of COVID-19. A 57-year-old detainee at ICE’s Otay Mesa facility, which is run by private contractor CoreCivic, died early Wednesday of complications of the coronavirus disease after being hospitalized since late April, according to San Diego County officials. This is the first reported COVID-19 death of an immigrant in ICE custody. [HuffPost]
How coronavirus is affecting the Latinx community’s mental health.
FEARS OF ‘BACKSLIDE’ AS LOCKDOWNS LOOSEN As Europe and the U.S. loosen their lockdowns against the coronavirus, health experts are expressing growing dread over what they say is an all-but-certain second wave of deaths and infections. “We’re risking a backslide that will be intolerable,” said Dr. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University. German authorities began drawing up plans in case of a resurgence of the virus. Experts in Italy urged intensified efforts to identify new victims and trace their contacts. And France, which hasn’t yet eased its lockdown, has worked up a “reconfinement plan” in the event of a new wave. [AP]
WHO WARNS OF MORE OUTBREAKS IF LOCKDOWNS EASE TOO QUICKLY The World Health Organization warned that countries emerging from coronavirus restrictions must proceed “extremely carefully” or risk a rapid rise in new cases. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries needed to ensure they had adequate measures to control the spread of COVID-19 like tracking systems and a quarantine provision. “The risk of returning to lockdown remains very real if countries do not manage the transition extremely carefully and in a phased approach,” he said. [Reuters]
The coronavirus killed American exceptionalism.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Tonight, May 7th, at 8pm Eastern Time, Bernie will be hosting a livestream on the devastating effect of the coronavirus pandemic on people in our prison system. We hope you’ll tune in on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter.
Linda –
The human suffering being experienced in our country today is more widespread and intense than at any time in modern history.
Seventy-three thousand Americans have already died from the COVID-19 virus, 33.5 million have lost their jobs, there has been a significant increase in childhood hunger and people from coast to coast are worried about being evicted from their apartments or losing their homes. This crisis is especially severe for the working class of our country, especially in Black and Brown communities.
Over the past several weeks we have asked our supporters to describe, in human terms, how the pandemic and economic meltdown has impacted them and their loved ones. We received thousands of responses, many of them almost too painful to read.
But, if Congress is going to respond to this unprecedented crisis in a meaningful way, it needs to do something it too rarely does. Face the truth. Congress must understand the reality and pain that is being experienced in our country today.
Today I would like to share a few of those stories with you, and then ask you to tell Congress to act immediately on a new and comprehensive coronavirus relief package which includes our list of priorities as part of the bill.
Now, more than ever, it is important to remember that none of us are alone in this crisis. We are in this together.
“No job, no money, and on the verge of being homeless. Stimulus check paid the rent. I am 79 years old and must work full time. This is terribly scary. Another stimulus check is desperately needed.”
– Iris from Florida
“My husband is an undocumented immigrant, he lost all three of his jobs and although I still have mine, we cannot afford to live with just my salary. We couldn’t pay April’s rent and will not be able to pay May’s because my husband and I file our taxes together, his ITIN disqualifies us from receiving any type of government financial assistance/stimulus payments. We live in an inhumane system.”
– Jimena from California
“My entire community has been impacted. Most of the factories that supply the majority of jobs here are shut down due to Covid-19. My fiance was temporarily laid off of work for three weeks (so far) from SEP Cummins Engine Plant due to their part supplier shutting down over Covid-19. My fiance has filed for unemployment, but has yet to receive any money. He has not yet received his stimulus check. We are pretty tight on money.”
– Kelly from Indiana
“We’ve been struggling here – no sign of a stimulus check, trying to keep food on the table, unable to pay my bills because I cannot reach anyone at my debtors, I am in big trouble here. I have lost my income – because I am disabled and cannot drive, I lost my job three years ago when I became disabled, I have since tried to open my own business, and it was going great until this occured, I have a ton of product, and no sales or income coming in since the end of February. I do not receive disability from the government, because I was denied. I really need help.”
– Cindi from North Carolina
“I am a primary care doctor in Minnesota. Right now I am scared for my patients. We know that millions of people in this country have lost their jobs, and because of our employer-based health insurance system, millions have lost their health insurance at a time that they need it most. I am scared for the patients who I am no longer seeing. I am devastated for my patient with diabetes who can not only no longer afford a visit, but will soon be out of his medications with no way of affording more. The absence of patients seeking care is both devastating and difficult to quantify. We can and we need to do better. We need universal access to quality health care for every person living in this country. And we need it more than ever.”
– Hannah from Minnesota
“I’m a mail carrier with the USPS. Yes it’s very hard work, harder than most people think. Delivering mail, checks from the IRS, medications, packages are all things we do and that are vital to the community. If the USPS shuts down, America shuts down. There are people in rural areas who will no longer get mail. People count on us. Save the USPS, save America.”
– Robin from Colorado
As Congress prepares for the next package of emergency relief legislation, it is imperative that it acts boldly to address the unprecedented crisis we are now facing. Here is a list of priorities that must be included in the bill. You can read more about them below, but first I would like to ask for your support:
Add your name to say you support our coronavirus priorities and tell Congress to include them in the next relief bill.
Here is some of what I believe must be in the next relief bill:
1. Guarantee workers can continue to receive their income through the Paycheck Security Act
It is imperative that we protect workers during this crisis, and one of the best ways to do that is to ensure they can continue to have income and health care.
I recently put forth a proposal, together with Senators Warner, Jones, Warren, Klobuchar and Blumenthal, to ensure all workers whose jobs have been negatively impacted by the pandemic can keep receiving their pay and benefits during this crisis.
This is not a radical idea. Countries including Germany, France, Norway, Denmark and the U.K. have all successfully adopted similar programs. Now it is time for the U.S. to join them.
2. Provide universal health coverage with the Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act
Representative Pramila Jayapal and I introduced a proposal that would cover health care costs for everyone through Medicare for the duration of the pandemic.
If you are uninsured, underinsured, if you have high copayments, high deductibles, or out of pocket expenses, Medicare will cover those expenses so that everybody — regardless of their health care needs, and not just for coronavirus — will get the health care they need.
We understand that health care is a human right — it is not simply an employee benefit. And we must ensure, now more than ever, that people can access the health care, testing, and treatment they need.
3. Send $2,000 monthly payments to everyone as long as the crisis lasts
We are facing an economic meltdown the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. In the last 7 weeks, more than 33.5 million people have filed for unemployment — and the actual number of people who are out of work is even higher than that.
Workers have lost income, whether they’ve been laid off or had their hours cut, and their bills are piling up. Congress must act immediately to get money out to workers and families as soon as possible, and those payments must be universal to avoid bureaucratic delays.
That is why we must begin issuing cash payments of $2,000 a month for every person in America to provide households with the assistance they need to pay their bills and take care of their families.
4. Adequately fund the United States Postal Service to protect it from risk of collapse and to enable everyone to vote by mail
As we experience this pandemic, it is important to remember a fundamental American institution that is on the verge of collapse and under attack by the Trump administration. And that is the United States Postal Service.
While more than 600,000 postal workers are working on the frontlines, the USPS is at serious risk of going under and is expected to lose 50% of its revenue due to the crisis.
With such a large drop in revenue, it will be unable to carry out its work.
If we do not act quickly to save the United States Postal Service, hundreds of thousands of workers will be out of a job and millions of people will struggle to get crucial deliveries such as their medication. And as we face an unprecedented challenge of getting people out to vote in this year’s elections, we need the Postal Service to ensure everyone across the country can vote by mail.
5. Ensure relief is accessible to immigrants and undocumented people
One group of people who we have not focused on enough is the undocumented.
Despite the fact that they pay taxes, undocumented people and mixed-status families have been left out of the recent coronavirus relief policies passed by Congress. And if an undocumented person loses their job, they are not eligible to file for unemployment benefits.
Many undocumented people are working in jobs on the frontlines of this crisis and are putting themselves at risk everyday. And yet because of their immigration status, many are worried about going to a doctor to get tested or treated if they are experiencing symptoms.
No one — regardless of immigration status — should be worrying about how they will get food, or support their family, or get the care they need. That is why we must work to ensure the next coronavirus relief legislation will include benefits for the undocumented.
There is much we still need to do to support those who are struggling financially or struggling to get the health care they need during this crisis, which is why I am asking:
Add your name to tell Congress to include our list of priorities in the next coronavirus relief package.
What we are experiencing right now is something that we have not experienced in the modern history of this country: a pandemic and an economic crisis, threatening the lives and well-being of millions of people.
Many people are hurting right now. But I am confident if we stand together as one people — if we do not turn to fear or panic — we will be able to address this crisis and help minimize the pain.
Let us go forward together.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: no one should have to choose between their health and their vote.
But in too many cases, we’re seeing states refuse to make accommodations for voters who are afraid to vote because of COVID-19.
So we’ve filed new lawsuits against Alabama and Louisiana to provide greater access to the ballot for voters in those states. Will you help us take this fight to the finish line? Donate today and your gift will be MATCHED!
As in other states, Black people are suffering disproportionately from COVID-19 infection and death in Alabama and Louisiana. Although Blacks constitute 27% of the population of Alabama, they represent 45% of COVID deaths in the state. And in Louisiana? Blacks are 32% of the population but 56% of all COVID deaths
Yet in Alabama, if you want to vote by absentee ballot you have to submit an affidavit signed by either TWO people or a public notary and then drop off your absentee ballot with photo ID in-person.
This requires voters to break social distancing rules and put their health at risk. It also places an undue burden on people with medical conditions or for people under stay at home orders. This is an outrage and a violation of the Voting Rights Act.
We have to make sure that states are on notice – all voters deserve safe ways to cast their ballots. Can you pitch in a gift today to help us wage these fights for voting rights?
Thanks to a generous donor your gift will be MATCHED! >>
Alabama’s not alone. In Louisiana, lawmakers removed a proposed accommodation that would have allowed voters to request an absentee ballot if they were worried about COVID-19. What’s more, Louisiana is requiring that all absentee ballots include a witness signature on the ballot envelope – which will force voters who live alone to go out and interact with other people in order to validate their ballot.
People have a right to vote safely – and we’re counting on LDF supporters to help make it possible. Make it clear you’re with us. Donate now (all gifts MATCHED) >>
With you in struggle,
Sherrilyn A. Ifill
President and Director-Counsel
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