littlemissmartypants
littlemissmartypants's Journal1,000s flee fire at migrant camp on virus lockdown in Greece
Source: Associated Press
1,000s flee fire at migrant camp on virus lockdown in Greece
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands of migrants fled a camp under COVID-19 lockdown after multiple fires gutted much of the site on the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities said early Wednesday.
Some 12,500 people were living at the Moria camp and the surrounding area, where additional restrictions have been imposed over the past week after a Somali resident tested positive for the coronavirus.
“The fire spread inside and outside of the camp and has destroyed it ... There are more than 12,000 migrants being guarded by police on a highway,” Stratos Kytelis, mayor of the island’s main town, Mylinene, told private Skai radio.
“It is a very difficult situation because some of those who are outside will include people who are positive (for the coronavirus).”
More at the link.
Read more: https://apnews.com/afe11920263987d7190bef4def4197d5
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North Carolina Court Wipes Out Voting Restrictions Designed to "Secure White Supremacy"
North Carolina Court Wipes Out Voting Restrictions Designed to “Secure White Supremacy”
Tens of thousands of people are suddenly eligible to vote in November.
By MARK JOSEPH STERN
SEPT 08, 20205:35 PM
On Friday, a North Carolina court dramatically expanded the number of voters eligible to participate in the 2020 election. The state may not disenfranchise citizens who owe fines, fees, and other debts from a felony conviction, the Wake County Superior Court ruled on Friday. And while the court limited its order to those affected by wealth-based voter suppression, its reasoning portends a broader ruling in the near future that could restore voting rights to 70,000 more North Carolinians on probation or parole.
Many felon disenfranchisement rules, including North Carolina’s, are rooted in overt white supremacy. After Reconstruction, racist Democrats in the state sought to revoke Black citizens’ suffrage. They accomplished this task, in part, through vague criminal laws that stripped convicted felons of their civil rights—then enforced these laws disproportionately against Black people. North Carolina’s current statute is rooted in an 1877 law spearheaded by a representative who later presided over the lynching of three Black men. At the time, Democrats argued that felon disenfranchisement was necessary to stop “the honest vote of a white man” from being “off-set by the vote of some negro.” Its purpose, alongside other Jim Crow measures like the literacy test, was to “secure white supremacy.”
The law continues to work as intended, as documented in an expert report by University of North Carolina professor Frank R. Baumgartner. Today, Black North Carolinians represent 22 percent of adults and 42 percent of the disenfranchised. Black residents are denied the right to vote at three times the rate of white residents in 44 counties. The state’s disenfranchisement regime targets two groups of people: those on probation or parole, and those who’ve completed their full sentence but still owe court debt. Notably, judges may extend an individual’s probation or send them back to prison because they haven’t paid off these fines and fees.
Snip...
Put simply, the writing is on the wall: Bell and Gregory think North Carolina’s felon disenfranchisement scheme is unconstitutional, but they’ll reach that conclusion after a full trial, not at this preliminary stage, two months out from an election.
Link: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/north-carolina-felon-disenfranchisement.html
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Sept. 4: Mail-in voting kicks off in North Carolina
https://www.kpq.com/early-voting-starts-today-heres-what-to-expect/Snip...
Sept. 4: Mail-in voting kicks off in North Carolina
In North Carolina, election officials are starting to mail ballots to any eligible voter who requested an absentee ballot in advance on Friday, officially kicking off the fall voting season.
Both legal and political pressure led to state lawmakers enacting changes to vote-by-mail in the state in June, which included allowing voters to request absentee ballots by email or fax, creating a new ballot tracking system that will allow voters to track their ballot, requiring election officials to notifying voters if there is a problem with their ballot and giving them an opportunity to correct it.
The result is a crush of absentee ballots requests this year — a 21-fold increase from the same time in 2016 — according to election officials.
So far, 591,379 North Carolina voters have requested ballots by mail, compared with just under 28,000 four years ago, according to data compiled by Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, with the U.S. Elections Project. Registered Democrats account for 53% of those making the requests, while 31% are unaffiliated voters and roughly 16% are registered Republicans.
Snip...
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https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/north-carolina-1st-state-begin-voting-president-sees/story?id=72514498
North Carolina, 1st state to begin voting for president, sees record number of requests for absentee ballots
The state will begin its mail-in voting process on Sept. 4.
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GOTV!
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Covid-19 Update, Move into Step 2.5 on Sept. 4th
Governor Cooper announced that, after a summer of hard work to slow the spread of COVID-19, NC will take a modest step forward into Phase 2.5 starting this Friday, September 4 at 5 p.m.
“Safer at Home Phase 2.5 continues our state’s dimmer switch approach to easing some restrictions,” said Governor Cooper. “We can do this safely only if we keep doing what we know works — wearing masks and social distancing. In fact, a new phase is exactly when we need to take this virus even more seriously.”
Anyone who has symptoms or has been exposed to COVID-19 should get tested. There are supports available to help people who may face challenges in being able to miss work or safely stay home.
For more, visit: https://governor.nc.gov/news/north-carolina-move-phase-25
https://www.facebook.com/ncdhhs/photos/a.1564644626880075/3612053418805842/?type=3
📣 ICYMI: NC will take a modest step forward into Phase 2.5 starting this Friday, 9/4/2020 at 5 p.m.
North Carolinians must stay vigilant on mask wearing and social distancing. Learn more about what 2.5 means for NC and don't forget to WEAR, WAIT, WASH. https://t.co/KQMCehrOSp https://t.co/vNysA6PqdV
https://twitter.com/ncdhhs/status/1301285997532020738
● North Carolina has seen our COVID-19 case numbers stabilize, and we want to keep it up. To continue slowing the spread of this virus, Gov. Cooper has extended the 11 PM curfew on alcoholic drinks until October 2, 2020.
Learn more about the Order here: https://governor.nc.gov/news/governor-roy-cooper-extends-11-pm-alcohol-curfew-through-september
https://www.facebook.com/1753552381631348/posts/2742311009422142/
Good luck everyone.
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Dr. Mandy Cohen, awarded the 2020 Leadership in Public Health Practice Award
A BIG congratulations to our NCDHHS Secretary, Dr. Mandy Cohen, for earning the 2020 Leadership in Public Health Practice Award from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health!
The award recognizes a graduate who has been an outstanding example of effective public health leadership, and honors selfless service, significant contributions to the uptake of public health principles and demonstrated significant organizational leadership.
Read more about why Secretary Cohen was chosen for the 2020 Alumni Award in the recent Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health article: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/2020-alumni-awards-announced/.
We are so proud of you, Secretary Cohen!
https://www.facebook.com/899724903372054/posts/3611832212161296/
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Covid-19 Update, Community Testing Events
NCDHHS
NC.GOV COVID-19 Testing
https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/about-covid-19/testing/find-my-testing-place/pop-testing-sites
Resources, information and assistance from across state
Community Testing Events
Community testing events can last from one to several days. The table below lists events across the state. Many of these events provide tests at no cost.
Anyone interested in getting tested should contact the test site before they go to confirm testing criteria, availability, hours and registration.
Your personal information is private and strictly confidential. Some locations may ask for identification, but it is not required at all testing places.
Some locations offer testing at NO COST.
For more information, contact your local testing place before arriving.
(Su información personal es privada y estrictamente confidencial. Algunos lugares que hacen la prueba pueden solicitar identificación, pero no es obligatoria en todos los sitios. Algunos lugares ofrecen la prueba SIN COSTO. Comuníquese con el punto de prueba de su localidad antes de presentarse.)
How to see if there is a community testing event near you:
● Sort the table by County, City, Date, No-Cost Testing, or any column by clicking on the arrows in the top row.
● Use the Search box right above the table.
You can enter your ZIP Code, city or other information to search the list.
The content below (at the link) can be translated by clicking on the Google Translate dropdown menu at the top right of the page for those using Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers.
Organizations planning a single or multi-day community testing event should submit this information using this form instead.
Click the link for the drop down county by county menu for test events.
https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/about-covid-19/testing/find-my-testing-place/pop-testing-sites
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Today's Women's March in Belarus
Cross post from GD for Niyad, Hattip to soothsayer.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213994285
Hanna Liubakova
·
Aug 29, 2020
#Belarus How powerful these women are. They are chanting: “This is our city” while holding banners “Fight like a girl” and “Belarussy Riot". The mood has changed. These are peaceful protesters, but they are becoming more defiant, consolidated, more ready to send stronger messages
Hanna Liubakova
@HannaLiubakova
That’s how female protesters greeted one of the most courageous women in #Belarus,Nina Bahinskaya,at the march. Thousands of women are rallying now in the city centre of #Minsk. A @dw_russian journalist Pauluk Bykouski has been
detained a moment ago and taken to a police
station
Hanna Liubakova
@HannaLiubakova
Powerful. The fearless women of #Belarus are chanting "You are someone's children" and "Where is your mom?" in front of riot police officers who blocked them
#Belarus. One of the most powerful moments of today's Women's March. Riot police are trying to stop and block women, they are chanting, "We are the power!" And look at how a man approached an officer, and the women immediately came to them and hugged the man to protect him
https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1299707872775991296
https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1299712530756009992
https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1299719476926181377
https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1299722183724457984
https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1299749167150006272
Link to Hannah's Twitter account:
Check out Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova): https://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova
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NPR Fact Check: Trump's Address To The Republican Convention, Annotated
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/27/901381398/fact-check-trumps-address-to-the-republican-convention-annotatedFact Check: Trump's Address To The Republican Convention, Annotated
August 27, 20209:30 PM ET
President Trump is accepting the Republican nomination for president on Thursday, the final day of the Republican National Convention.
Throughout the week, RNC speakers have argued that Trump would restore "law and order" and make America a safer country than his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Republicans have focused more on what they call a bleak future under Democrats rather than on the record of Trump's actions over the last four years.
Trump's address comes a week after Joe Biden promised to lead the country out of a "season of darkness." (Read our annotation of Biden's speech here.)
Trump, who is speaking at the end of tonight's program, is expected to talk about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as well as the threat of Hurricane Laura and unrest in Kenosha, Wis., where the shooting of Jacob Blake by police led to protests, followed by another shooting by a civilian.
NPR reporters are providing fact checks and analysis of Trump's remarks live. Watch a livestream of the convention and read the annotations below.
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Covid-19 Update, Important Budget Update
People need a safe, stable place to call home, especially during this pandemic. Today, Gov. Cooper announced that the state is directing $175 million in programs that will help North Carolinians pay their bills and avoid eviction.
https://governor.nc.gov/news/governor-cooper-announces-175-million-assist-rental-utility-payments-north-carolinians
Facebook Video here:
https://www.facebook.com/NCgovernor/videos/634251480566308/
***Important Update Follows ***
Budget Recommendations have been updated.
Budget PDF Download (24 pages) available at the link. ***
WEDNESDAY, AUG 26, 2020 3:18 PM
Governor Roy Cooper today shared a recommended budget,
***Support for a Determined North Carolina**
which outlines how to use the state’s remaining federal coronavirus funding and make responsible investments in the state’s future.
"Today I am sharing a recommended budget that offers Support for a Determined North Carolina," said Governor Cooper. "The budget I propose takes on the challenges of today while building for the promise of tomorrow. We have to rise to the occasion of this pandemic response now and focus on ways to emerge from this crisis stronger than before."
North Carolina has more than $900 million left in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds from the federal CARES Act. Governor Cooper’s budget lays out a plan to use this money to continue the state’s response to COVID-19.
$175 million for critical public health services including: $25 million for testing and tracing; $50 million to target rural and historically marginalized populations; and $40 million for early childhood services
$49 million to build a state strategic stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE)
$132 million to help K-12 public schools to protect students, teachers and staff and ensure students most impacted by COVID-19 receive support
$200 million in aid for local governments
$50 million to establish an emergency grant program to expand high-speed internet access
$27.5 million to combine with other funds to create a $50 million relief program to support NC businesses with rent, mortgage and utility relief
$18 million to combine with other funds to create a $33 million grant program for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) that have been left out of other support programs
$25 million to provide equipment for health care and first responder workforce programs at community colleges to continue the state’s pipeline of necessary, qualified workers
$25 million to research obstacles to reliable, rapid COVID-19 testing
$50 million in direct aid to food banks, emergency feeding organizations, and community organizations for food and nutrition assistance
The Governor’s budget also proposes a responsible investment of North Carolina’s state dollars to ensure the state has a stable foundation to succeed in the long-term and emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger.
A one-time $2,000 bonus to K-12 public school teachers, instructional support personnel, principals and assistant principals
A one-time $1,000 bonus to K-12 non-certified public school personnel
A one-time $1,500 bonus to UNC System and NC Community College System personnel
$50 million to support the highest needs students, schools, and districts and early childhood education as a part of the state’s commitment to providing a sound basic education to all students
$86.5 million to provide state matching funds for FEMA Recovery programs from Hurricanes Matthew, Florence, Dorian and Isaias, and to assist with recovery in Alleghany County after the August 9 earthquake
Supporting North Carolinians Out of Work
Governor Cooper’s budget also proposes a responsible expansion of the state’s unemployment benefits program, which is currently among the stingiest in the nation. North Carolina provides among the lowest maximum benefits and is dead last in number of benefit weeks. Cooper’s proposal would increase the duration of available benefits from 12 weeks to 24 weeks and increase the maximum weekly benefit to $500. The budget would suspend any formula-driven unemployment insurance tax increases through 2022.
This proposal would keep the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Balance above $2 billion. There is currently $3.05 billion in the fund.
“This pandemic has put many North Carolinians out of work through no fault of their own, and we can do more to support them and also support our local economies,” said Governor Cooper.
Closing the Health Care Coverage Gap
Governor Cooper’s budget recommends expanding Medicaid to cover 600,000 more North Carolinians who are currently in a health care coverage gap. Expansion is 90% funded by the federal government with the remaining cost paid by health care providers and insurance companies, leaving the state with no additional cost.
“Medicaid expansion is perhaps the most important decision we can make right now to save lives, protect people’s health, boost our economy with billions of federal dollars, and save our rural hospitals, and it won’t cost the state anything,” said Governor Cooper. “North Carolina is one of only 12 states that still hasn’t expanded Medicaid – even Indiana did so when Vice President Mike Pence was their governor. As people find themselves suddenly without a job, underemployed, without the health care they counted on, we have a solution.”
Investing in Critical Infrastructure
Through the use of bonds, North Carolina can take advantage of historically low interest rates to improve the state’s health care infrastructure and response to COVID-19 as well as make other critical investments in schools, water and sewer systems and affordable housing.
The Governor proposes a $988 million health care infrastructure limited obligation bond to support health facilities, public health labs, vaccine development and more. In addition, his budget recommends placing a $4.3 billion infrastructure general obligation bond on the November 2021 ballot that would invest:
$2 billion in school construction
$800 million for water and sewer infrastructure
$500 million for UNC System facilities
$500 million for the Community College system
$500 million for affordable housing
Each $1 million in investment sustains or creates up to 13 direct jobs and 28 indirect jobs, helping support the economy as it recovers.
In April, the Governor directed the Office of State Budget and Management to issue directions to state agencies and universities to reduce expenditures, including not filling vacant positions, freezing salary adjustments, limiting purchases and limiting travel.
The Governor’s budget proposal finds additional savings by taking unused money from the private school voucher program. Any student currently receiving a voucher would continue to do so, but new students would not be added to the program.
https://governor.nc.gov/news/governor-cooper-proposes-budget-continue-fighting-covid-19-while-investing-nc%E2%80%99s-future
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We're $2,095 away from our One Million Dollar goal!
Donate, please. Let's close the gap.
Thanks to Omaha Steve for everything he does to support the cause!
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https://secure.actblue.com/donate/duforjoe
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