Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
March 17, 2020
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/andrew-yang-coronavirus-universal-basic-income-freedom-dividend-968248/
Andrew Yang: We Need Universal Basic Income to Save the Economy from a Coronavirus Depression
Andrew Yang: We Need Universal Basic Income to Save the Economy from a Coronavirus Depression
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Yang says he’s spoken with Democratic leaders about a basic income plan to respond to the new coronavirus pandemic
By Andy Kroll
WASHINGTON — Andrew Yang has dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary, but his signature plan to give every American adult a $1,000 a month has never been more popular.
With the novel coronavirus likely to plunge the economy into a recession and decimate the livelihoods of people who own small businesses or work in jobs without a guaranteed salary, lawmakers across the political spectrum have come out in favor of direct cash payments as a response to the pandemic. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) as well as Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) have all called for some version of a basic income to deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic. One proposal by Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) would directly pay affected Americans up to $6,000 a month depending on their need; Romney’s announcement calls for a flat $1,000 for every adult.
Yang says he’s heartened to see elected officials embrace his signature idea in the middle of the coronavirus. He says he’s had informal conversations with Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill about a universal basic income plan, and the organization he launched after dropping out of the presidential race, Humanity Forward, has also interacted with policymakers. “It’s invigorating that we might actually pass this thing before people’s lives fall apart,” he says.
Yang spoke with Rolling Stone on Monday afternoon about why a basic income could keep many Americans afloat right now, what type of plan he’d implement if he were president, and whether he plans to run for office again in the future.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Rolling Stone: Why do you think UBI is the right response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Andrew Yang: Think about the millions of Americans who work in jobs that are going to be impacted negatively and the list is essentially endless — from Uber drivers and waitresses and airline attendants to hotel workers and dog walkers and personal trainers. You’re going to have many, many Americans have their income reduced or wiped out in the days to come.
The CDC just said we should avoid gatherings of 50-plus for two months. New York City just shut down all of its bars and restaurants. The economic ripple effects are devastating and pervasive.
And so you have to look up and say, ‘How the heck do you try to keep millions of Americans of families afloat in that situation?’ We already had record levels of financial precariousness before the crisis: Almost half of Americans said they couldn’t afford an unexpected $400 bill, and 78% are living paycheck to paycheck. So what do you do?
In the absence of some kind of drastic move, you would see massive contraction in demand and economic activity to a point where you could be staring at a historic depression. So given that backdrop, you have no choice but to take drastic measures to help support demand and keep American families above water, and there’s no realistic way to do that except just to put cash in everyone’s hands as fast as possible.
The CDC just said we should avoid gatherings of 50-plus for two months. New York City just shut down all of its bars and restaurants. The economic ripple effects are devastating and pervasive.
And so you have to look up and say, ‘How the heck do you try to keep millions of Americans of families afloat in that situation?’ We already had record levels of financial precariousness before the crisis: Almost half of Americans said they couldn’t afford an unexpected $400 bill, and 78% are living paycheck to paycheck. So what do you do?
In the absence of some kind of drastic move, you would see massive contraction in demand and economic activity to a point where you could be staring at a historic depression. So given that backdrop, you have no choice but to take drastic measures to help support demand and keep American families above water, and there’s no realistic way to do that except just to put cash in everyone’s hands as fast as possible.
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/andrew-yang-coronavirus-universal-basic-income-freedom-dividend-968248/
March 17, 2020
Val Demings...
"I grew up the daughter of a maid and a janitor, I grew up poor, black and female in the South. Someone who was told a lot of times that I wasn't the right color or gender. I didn't have enough money. I didn't have a famous last name, my maiden name of Butler appeared on no buildings. But my mother pushed me and said, 'No, you can make it. If you work hard and play by the rules, you can be anything you wanna be and do anything you wanna do.' That's the message I send to children all over this nation. So the fact that my name is being called in such a special way for such an important position during such a critical time, it's such an honor."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/17/val-demings-says-vp-talk-is-such-an-honor/?fbclid=IwAR3-CuALkSEil_jD6v7Rl70B3Vw4cHAdxWnpedMoS6SJWjvx0Zc6KrTU8SU
March 17, 2020
Cotton, who knocked the House-passed coronavirus response bill as too complicated, suggested the money could come from tax rebates or through unemployment agencies.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/487939-gop-sen-cotton-calls-for-monthly-cash-payments-to-americans-during?fbclid=IwAR2l7YaMCEgFT7f4a3gqMEL4W08q85FODwyXZJqwBiQ67o95glBWU-BebbU
GOP Sen. Cotton calls for monthly cash payments to Americans during coronavirus pandemic
Huh? Where did this guy come from?
GOP Sen. Cotton calls for monthly cash payments to Americans during coronavirus pandemic
By Brooke Seipel - 03/16/20 09:13 PM EDT
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Monday he wants to give monthly checks to low-income and middle class Americans so they can afford necessities during the coronavirus outbreak.
"Let’s cut out employers as the middle men and get relief to people not in weeks but in days," Cotton wrote in a Medium post outlining his proposals for a Senate bill. "We should send relief directly to American families most likely to be in need — those in the bottom and middle tax brackets — to pay for rent, groceries, childcare, and other necessary expenses, as well as to spend at local businesses that are hurting during this crisis."
Cotton, who knocked the House-passed coronavirus response bill as too complicated, suggested the money could come from tax rebates or through unemployment agencies.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/487939-gop-sen-cotton-calls-for-monthly-cash-payments-to-americans-during?fbclid=IwAR2l7YaMCEgFT7f4a3gqMEL4W08q85FODwyXZJqwBiQ67o95glBWU-BebbU
March 17, 2020
Why Did the Trump Administration Reject the WHO Coronavirus Test?
It's the most consequential—and inexplicable—move of this crisis.
By Charles P. Pierce
Mar 16, 2020
The most consequential—and logically inexplicable—decision taken by this administration* in response to the current pandemic occurred in January, when German scientists developed the first test for COVID-19 and the World Health Organization offered the test to countries around the world and 60 countries accepted. We were not one of them. From Politico:
Let’s guess why this happened, and let’s leave aside for the moment that Jared Kushner’s brother runs a company that’s involved in testing, because that should not be any kind of surprise. What I’m fairly convinced is also behind that decision is the administration*’s disdain for international organizations, alliances of any kind, and foreigners in general. Couple that with the Republican Party’s similar xenophobic impulses and overall dislike of any science that can’t be replicated with baking soda and Fizzies, and you’ve got a pretty good reason why help from overseas is more terrifying in many minds than viruses from overseas are. American exceptionalism now means “except us.” That’s not a good development.
Charles P. Pierce: Why Did the Trump Administration Reject the WHO Coronavirus Test?
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a31677485/coronavirus-trump-administration-rejected-who-test/Why Did the Trump Administration Reject the WHO Coronavirus Test?
It's the most consequential—and inexplicable—move of this crisis.
By Charles P. Pierce
Mar 16, 2020
The most consequential—and logically inexplicable—decision taken by this administration* in response to the current pandemic occurred in January, when German scientists developed the first test for COVID-19 and the World Health Organization offered the test to countries around the world and 60 countries accepted. We were not one of them. From Politico:
Why the United States declined to use the WHO test, even temporarily as a bridge until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could produce its own test, remains a perplexing question and the key to the Trump administration’s failure to provide enough tests to identify the coronavirus infections before they could be passed on, according to POLITICO interviews with dozens of viral-disease experts, former officials and some officials within the administration’s health agencies.
The slowness of the testing regimen — which, administration officials acknowledged this week, is still not producing enough tests to meet the national demand — was the first, and most sweeping, of many failures. So far there have been confirmed cases in at least 23 states, and at least 15 deaths, while the stock market plunged and an otherwise healthy economy braced for a major disruption.
The slowness of the testing regimen — which, administration officials acknowledged this week, is still not producing enough tests to meet the national demand — was the first, and most sweeping, of many failures. So far there have been confirmed cases in at least 23 states, and at least 15 deaths, while the stock market plunged and an otherwise healthy economy braced for a major disruption.
Let’s guess why this happened, and let’s leave aside for the moment that Jared Kushner’s brother runs a company that’s involved in testing, because that should not be any kind of surprise. What I’m fairly convinced is also behind that decision is the administration*’s disdain for international organizations, alliances of any kind, and foreigners in general. Couple that with the Republican Party’s similar xenophobic impulses and overall dislike of any science that can’t be replicated with baking soda and Fizzies, and you’ve got a pretty good reason why help from overseas is more terrifying in many minds than viruses from overseas are. American exceptionalism now means “except us.” That’s not a good development.
March 17, 2020
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/03/16/obama-white-house-warned-trump-in-2017-about-potential-global-pandemic.html
Posted on Mon, Mar 16th, 2020 by Sean Colarossi
The Obama White House Warned Trump In 2017 About A Potential Global Pandemic
snip//
https://twitter.com/i/status/1239717386183475203
The Obama White House Warned Trump In 2017 About A Potential Global Pandemic
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/03/16/obama-white-house-warned-trump-in-2017-about-potential-global-pandemic.html
Posted on Mon, Mar 16th, 2020 by Sean Colarossi
The Obama White House Warned Trump In 2017 About A Potential Global Pandemic
snip//
https://twitter.com/i/status/1239717386183475203
March 16, 2020
23 mins ago - Politics & Policy
DOJ moves to drop charges against Russians accused of funding troll farm
Zachary Basu
Justice Department prosecutors on Monday filed a motion to dismiss charges against the shell companies accused of financing the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that engaged in a social media disinformation scheme to interfere in the 2016 election.
The big picture: Prosecutors claim that the Russians were essentially able to evade accountability and punishment while taking advantage of the discovery process to potentially harm U.S. national security.
Context: The shell companies, Concord Management and Concord Consulting, were charged by special counsel Robert Mueller in 2018 along with 13 Russian individuals and the troll farm itself — known as the Internet Research Agency. The scheme, outlined in the 2018 indictment and again in the Mueller report, sought to sow political discord ahead of the 2016 election.
Details: The Concord companies sought to fight the indictment in court, unlike the other Russians charged by Mueller. In doing so, prosecutors say they were able to "obtain discovery" from the U.S. government regarding its efforts to "detect and deter foreign election interference" — while also ignoring court-issued subpoenas.
DOJ moves to drop charges against Russians accused of funding troll farm
https://www.axios.com/justice-department-russian-trolls-internet-research-agency-9bf95c0d-2f6a-4377-84a5-c5f3eb8c4abb.html23 mins ago - Politics & Policy
DOJ moves to drop charges against Russians accused of funding troll farm
Zachary Basu
Justice Department prosecutors on Monday filed a motion to dismiss charges against the shell companies accused of financing the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that engaged in a social media disinformation scheme to interfere in the 2016 election.
The big picture: Prosecutors claim that the Russians were essentially able to evade accountability and punishment while taking advantage of the discovery process to potentially harm U.S. national security.
Context: The shell companies, Concord Management and Concord Consulting, were charged by special counsel Robert Mueller in 2018 along with 13 Russian individuals and the troll farm itself — known as the Internet Research Agency. The scheme, outlined in the 2018 indictment and again in the Mueller report, sought to sow political discord ahead of the 2016 election.
Details: The Concord companies sought to fight the indictment in court, unlike the other Russians charged by Mueller. In doing so, prosecutors say they were able to "obtain discovery" from the U.S. government regarding its efforts to "detect and deter foreign election interference" — while also ignoring court-issued subpoenas.
"In short, Concord has demonstrated its intent to reap the benefits of the Court’s jurisdiction while positioning itself to evade any real obligations or responsibility," prosecutors argued in the filing.
"It is no longer is the best interest of justice or the country’s national security to continue this prosecution."
"It is no longer is the best interest of justice or the country’s national security to continue this prosecution."
March 16, 2020
“There’s No Boogeyman He Can Attack”: Angry at Kushner, Trump Awakens to the COVID-19 Danger
For weeks, Trump and his son-in-law saw the novel coronavirus mostly as a media and political problem. But the spiraling cases, plunging markets, and a Mar-a-Lago cluster finally opened eyes.
By Gabriel Sherman
March 16, 2020
snip//
With the markets in free fall despite emergency action by the Fed over the weekend, Trump is waking up to the reality that’s been clear to everyone: Coronavirus poses a once-in-a-hundred-years threat to the country. “In the last 48 hours he has understood the magnitude of what’s going on,” a former West Wing official told me. As Trump processes the stakes facing the country—and his presidency—he’s also lashing out at advisers, whom he blames for the White House’s inept and flat-footed response. Sources say a principal target of his anger is Jared Kushner. “I have never heard so many people inside the White House openly discussed how pissed Trump is at Jared,” the former West Wing official said.
Sources told me Trump is regretting that Kushner swooped into the coronavirus response last week. Kushner, according to sources, encouraged Trump to treat the emergency as a P.R. problem when Fauci and others were calling for aggressive action. “This was Jared saying the world needs me to solve another problem,” a former White House official said. One source briefed on the internal conversations told me that Kushner advised Trump not to call a national emergency during his Oval Office address on March 11 because “it would tank the markets.” The markets cratered anyway, and Trump announced the national emergency on Friday. “They had to clean that up on Friday,” another former West Wing official said. Trump was also said to be angry that Kushner oversold Google’s coronavirus testing website when in fact the tech giant had a fledgling effort. Trump got slammed in the press for promoting the phantom Google product. “Jared told Trump that Google was doing an entire website that would be up in 72 hours and had 1,100 people working on it 24/7. That’s just a lie,” the source briefed on the internal conversations told me.
Reached for comment, a White House official said: “This is just another false story focused on rumors about palace intrigue instead of the actual aggressive measures President Trump has implemented to keep the American people safe and healthy.”
One reason the president’s attitude may be changing is that coronavirus showed up at his doorstep, literally: Mar-a-Lago is now a hot spot. Last weekend, Trump interacted with a Brazilian government official who tested positive for COVID-19. The appearance of coronavirus inside the president’s bubble jolted the president’s inner circle that up until that point treated the virus more like a Democratic plot. With coronavirus lurking on the property, about a hundred guests sipped cocktails by the pool at a 50th birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle. RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced after attending the party that she was self-quarantining after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Another turning point was an intervention by Guilfoyle’s former colleague Tucker Carlson. A source who attended the party told me Carlson went to Mar-a-Lago to confront Trump directly about his failure to take the virus seriously.
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/trump-awakens-to-the-covid-19-danger?fbclid=IwAR01_SVQXuX4prOPN_dGXrB8nr92LbtQDMJVlM9lFm3MPzJZNQ3ZUgoZ6cc
"There's No Boogeyman He Can Attack": Angry at Kushner, Trump Awakens to the COVID-19 Danger
“There’s No Boogeyman He Can Attack”: Angry at Kushner, Trump Awakens to the COVID-19 Danger
For weeks, Trump and his son-in-law saw the novel coronavirus mostly as a media and political problem. But the spiraling cases, plunging markets, and a Mar-a-Lago cluster finally opened eyes.
By Gabriel Sherman
March 16, 2020
snip//
With the markets in free fall despite emergency action by the Fed over the weekend, Trump is waking up to the reality that’s been clear to everyone: Coronavirus poses a once-in-a-hundred-years threat to the country. “In the last 48 hours he has understood the magnitude of what’s going on,” a former West Wing official told me. As Trump processes the stakes facing the country—and his presidency—he’s also lashing out at advisers, whom he blames for the White House’s inept and flat-footed response. Sources say a principal target of his anger is Jared Kushner. “I have never heard so many people inside the White House openly discussed how pissed Trump is at Jared,” the former West Wing official said.
Sources told me Trump is regretting that Kushner swooped into the coronavirus response last week. Kushner, according to sources, encouraged Trump to treat the emergency as a P.R. problem when Fauci and others were calling for aggressive action. “This was Jared saying the world needs me to solve another problem,” a former White House official said. One source briefed on the internal conversations told me that Kushner advised Trump not to call a national emergency during his Oval Office address on March 11 because “it would tank the markets.” The markets cratered anyway, and Trump announced the national emergency on Friday. “They had to clean that up on Friday,” another former West Wing official said. Trump was also said to be angry that Kushner oversold Google’s coronavirus testing website when in fact the tech giant had a fledgling effort. Trump got slammed in the press for promoting the phantom Google product. “Jared told Trump that Google was doing an entire website that would be up in 72 hours and had 1,100 people working on it 24/7. That’s just a lie,” the source briefed on the internal conversations told me.
Reached for comment, a White House official said: “This is just another false story focused on rumors about palace intrigue instead of the actual aggressive measures President Trump has implemented to keep the American people safe and healthy.”
One reason the president’s attitude may be changing is that coronavirus showed up at his doorstep, literally: Mar-a-Lago is now a hot spot. Last weekend, Trump interacted with a Brazilian government official who tested positive for COVID-19. The appearance of coronavirus inside the president’s bubble jolted the president’s inner circle that up until that point treated the virus more like a Democratic plot. With coronavirus lurking on the property, about a hundred guests sipped cocktails by the pool at a 50th birthday party for Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle. RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced after attending the party that she was self-quarantining after experiencing flu-like symptoms. Another turning point was an intervention by Guilfoyle’s former colleague Tucker Carlson. A source who attended the party told me Carlson went to Mar-a-Lago to confront Trump directly about his failure to take the virus seriously.
more...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/trump-awakens-to-the-covid-19-danger?fbclid=IwAR01_SVQXuX4prOPN_dGXrB8nr92LbtQDMJVlM9lFm3MPzJZNQ3ZUgoZ6cc
March 16, 2020
In the House, a bipartisan group of representatives called for meaningful reforms to federal spying powers, including Section 215. Democrats and Republicans who voted against the bill—and even some who voted for it—joined together to say that this legislation didn’t do enough to protect everyone’s privacy rights.
Yet in the Senate, Majority Leader McConnell has prevented Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and others from offering any amendments that would protect the privacy rights of Americans. Opposition to this legislation is gaining momentum, which is why McConnell is pushing so aggressively for a vote today while so much of the nation is focused on the coronavirus crisis.
more...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/03/16/senate-leadership-pushing-through-dangerous-surveillance-bill-americans-are-focused?fbclid=IwAR1XuavWti-oOaLem6-PbUubfH0dpa2yaVOV_MxHV9h9she0vEp2-R9Y4ds
Senate Leadership Pushing Through a Dangerous Surveillance Bill as Americans Are Focused on Covid-19
Published on Monday, March 16, 2020
by Common Dreams
Senate Leadership Is Pushing Through a Dangerous Surveillance Bill as Americans Are Focused on Covid-19
If McConnell's push through the Senate succeeds, it would renew the government’s power to warrantlessly acquire billions of data points on every person in the United States. These are terrifying powers to hand to President Trump.
by Sandra Fulton
On Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to push through a vote on the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020, legislation that would reauthorize abusive government spying powers that expired yesterday, Sunday, March 15.
The Act passed the House late last week, but with significant bipartisan opposition from civil-liberties champions in Congress and from leading privacy, racial-justice and constitutional-rights groups, including my group Free Press Action.
If signed by President Trump, the bill would reauthorize Section 215 powers Congress established under the USA Patriot Act in 2001. Section 215 is the provision national-security agencies cited in the past to support their unwarranted collection of phone records of hundreds of millions of innocent people in the United States.
"It's unthinkable to extend these spying powers to the same agencies that have so often sidestepped safeguards and ignored Americans' fundamental privacy rights."
In the House, a bipartisan group of representatives called for meaningful reforms to federal spying powers, including Section 215. Democrats and Republicans who voted against the bill—and even some who voted for it—joined together to say that this legislation didn’t do enough to protect everyone’s privacy rights.
Yet in the Senate, Majority Leader McConnell has prevented Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and others from offering any amendments that would protect the privacy rights of Americans. Opposition to this legislation is gaining momentum, which is why McConnell is pushing so aggressively for a vote today while so much of the nation is focused on the coronavirus crisis.
more...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/03/16/senate-leadership-pushing-through-dangerous-surveillance-bill-americans-are-focused?fbclid=IwAR1XuavWti-oOaLem6-PbUubfH0dpa2yaVOV_MxHV9h9she0vEp2-R9Y4ds
March 16, 2020
The Gravedigger of Democracy strikes again
Published by digby on March 16, 2020
There were some complaints about the bill the House passed last week after negotiations between the administration and Pelosi to blunt the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis on average workers. It was insufficient, leaving a number of workers behind. But I suspect they were all worried about this when they made their deal:
This is a perennial problem for Democrats. The Republicans in charge lead us into a crisis and then Democrats are forced to make compromises just to get anything done. Since right-wingers are nihilists, they really don’t care if people suffer. They count on being able to blame the Democrats for any suffering they cause and have their brainwashed voters believe them.
Trump has weaponized all this on a level we haven’t seen before. But he didn’t invent it. And McConnell is a master.
Here we have a hard-fought negotiation between the Houe and the White House which required some compromises to bring Mnuchin and Trump along. McConnell took off for a long weekend, signaling clearly that he didn’t give a shit and would happily let people go bankrupt if that’s what it takes. He and his henchmen are now leveraging that to get their own goodies and water down the bill further. What are the Democrats going to do about it?
They simply have to be voted out of power or this is going to get worse and worse. And it’s hard to imagine what that might look like at this point.
digby: The Gravedigger of Democracy strikes again
https://digbysblog.net/2020/03/the-gravedigger-of-democracy-strikes-again/?fbclid=IwAR3RLmojsWJXF5uHI_j3g_T2Kw_iZ1sOOqs23RAuRm648Tru_yTZK11eUvwThe Gravedigger of Democracy strikes again
Published by digby on March 16, 2020
There were some complaints about the bill the House passed last week after negotiations between the administration and Pelosi to blunt the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis on average workers. It was insufficient, leaving a number of workers behind. But I suspect they were all worried about this when they made their deal:
The Senate is under tremendous pressure to send President Donald Trump a bill passed by the House to help Americans deal with the coronavirus outbreak, but complaints from a few GOP lawmakers and technical snags could delay action for up to several days.
The package providing free virus testing and paid sick leave for many workers is almost certain to pass this week, though Senate rules allow any one senator to delay a final vote for days. The bill, which overwhelmingly passed the House early Saturday morning, is running into resistance from some Republicans worried about the impact of a temporary paid sick leave provision on small businesses.
It’s unclear when the Senate will vote on the virus bill. The chamber is set to debate a surveillance measure, and it would take the permission of all 100 senators to address the virus bill early in the week.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that the administration is trying to allay concerns about the legislation, which is aimed at blunting some of the economic impact for workers and families as the coronavirus outbreak spreads in the U.S.
“We are hearing feedback that certain small businesses are concerned about the burden of this. We were very focused, we need to get the money to people quickly,” he said on the “Fox News Sunday” program. “We don’t want them to have to deal with big bureaucracy.”
The package providing free virus testing and paid sick leave for many workers is almost certain to pass this week, though Senate rules allow any one senator to delay a final vote for days. The bill, which overwhelmingly passed the House early Saturday morning, is running into resistance from some Republicans worried about the impact of a temporary paid sick leave provision on small businesses.
It’s unclear when the Senate will vote on the virus bill. The chamber is set to debate a surveillance measure, and it would take the permission of all 100 senators to address the virus bill early in the week.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that the administration is trying to allay concerns about the legislation, which is aimed at blunting some of the economic impact for workers and families as the coronavirus outbreak spreads in the U.S.
“We are hearing feedback that certain small businesses are concerned about the burden of this. We were very focused, we need to get the money to people quickly,” he said on the “Fox News Sunday” program. “We don’t want them to have to deal with big bureaucracy.”
This is a perennial problem for Democrats. The Republicans in charge lead us into a crisis and then Democrats are forced to make compromises just to get anything done. Since right-wingers are nihilists, they really don’t care if people suffer. They count on being able to blame the Democrats for any suffering they cause and have their brainwashed voters believe them.
Trump has weaponized all this on a level we haven’t seen before. But he didn’t invent it. And McConnell is a master.
Here we have a hard-fought negotiation between the Houe and the White House which required some compromises to bring Mnuchin and Trump along. McConnell took off for a long weekend, signaling clearly that he didn’t give a shit and would happily let people go bankrupt if that’s what it takes. He and his henchmen are now leveraging that to get their own goodies and water down the bill further. What are the Democrats going to do about it?
They simply have to be voted out of power or this is going to get worse and worse. And it’s hard to imagine what that might look like at this point.
March 16, 2020
First human trial for coronavirus vaccine begins Monday in the US
Published Mon, Mar 16 2020 1:38 PM EDT
Updated Moments Ago
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
The first human trial testing a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19 began Monday, U.S. health officials confirmed.
Finding "a safe and effective vaccine" to prevent infection from the new coronavirus "is an urgent public health priority," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement Monday. "This Phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal."
The National Institutes of Health, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, has been fast-tracking work with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine using the genetic sequence of the new coronavirus. The trial is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, where COVID-19 cases have surged and authorities have banned mass gatherings. The early-stage, or phase 1, trial will test the vaccine on 45 males and non-pregnant females between the ages of 18 and 55, according to trial details on NIH's website.
There are no proven therapies for the latest outbreak, which has killed at least 6,513 and sickened nearly 170,000 people worldwide since emerging from the Chinese city of Wuhan less than three months ago.
Hopes to get a vaccine to market are high, but doctors are setting expectations low for how quickly it can happen. Developing, testing and reviewing any potential vaccine is a long, complex and expensive endeavor that could take months or even years, global health experts say. Before researchers can begin human trials, they must have a firm understanding of the pathogen, run safety tests and find enough human volunteers.
The early-stage trial will be led by Dr. Lisa Jackson, a senior investigator at Kaiser. Study participants will receive two doses of the vaccine via intramuscular injection in the upper arm approximately 28 days apart, NIH said. Each participant will be assigned to receive a 25 microgram, 100 mcg or 250 mcg dose at both vaccinations, with 15 people in each dose cohort, the agency said.
"This work is critical to national efforts to respond to the threat of this emerging virus," Jackson said. "We are prepared to conduct this important trial because of our experience as an NIH clinical trials center since 2007."
more...
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/16/first-human-trial-for-coronavirus-vaccine-begins-monday-in-the-us.html?fbclid=IwAR2k63FUaOdGpABiL_pdzvSvwD9qKaOtLMCj2uQU_mTVbnwcdEowwgVb3Zo
First human trial for coronavirus vaccine begins Monday in the US
First human trial for coronavirus vaccine begins Monday in the US
Published Mon, Mar 16 2020 1:38 PM EDT
Updated Moments Ago
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
The first human trial testing a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19 began Monday, U.S. health officials confirmed.
Finding "a safe and effective vaccine" to prevent infection from the new coronavirus "is an urgent public health priority," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement Monday. "This Phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal."
The National Institutes of Health, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, has been fast-tracking work with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine using the genetic sequence of the new coronavirus. The trial is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, where COVID-19 cases have surged and authorities have banned mass gatherings. The early-stage, or phase 1, trial will test the vaccine on 45 males and non-pregnant females between the ages of 18 and 55, according to trial details on NIH's website.
There are no proven therapies for the latest outbreak, which has killed at least 6,513 and sickened nearly 170,000 people worldwide since emerging from the Chinese city of Wuhan less than three months ago.
Hopes to get a vaccine to market are high, but doctors are setting expectations low for how quickly it can happen. Developing, testing and reviewing any potential vaccine is a long, complex and expensive endeavor that could take months or even years, global health experts say. Before researchers can begin human trials, they must have a firm understanding of the pathogen, run safety tests and find enough human volunteers.
The early-stage trial will be led by Dr. Lisa Jackson, a senior investigator at Kaiser. Study participants will receive two doses of the vaccine via intramuscular injection in the upper arm approximately 28 days apart, NIH said. Each participant will be assigned to receive a 25 microgram, 100 mcg or 250 mcg dose at both vaccinations, with 15 people in each dose cohort, the agency said.
"This work is critical to national efforts to respond to the threat of this emerging virus," Jackson said. "We are prepared to conduct this important trial because of our experience as an NIH clinical trials center since 2007."
more...
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/03/16/first-human-trial-for-coronavirus-vaccine-begins-monday-in-the-us.html?fbclid=IwAR2k63FUaOdGpABiL_pdzvSvwD9qKaOtLMCj2uQU_mTVbnwcdEowwgVb3Zo
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: NY
Home country: US
Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,056
