Three weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, we’ve seen images of the destruction and heard stories about the lack of electricity and basic supplies like food and water in some areas.

But the main way we measure — and understand — the scope of any disaster is through the death toll.

The official count is now 48 deaths. But the news site Vox thought that number seemed off.

"We knew from reports on the ground, and investigative journalists who've also been looking into this, that this was very likely way too low of a number,” said Eliza Barclay, an editor at Vox.

So they dug into the numbers, cross-checking with news reports, and found that the number of casualties resulting from the hurricane was probably much closer to 450.

Two members of Congress have now announced they will request an audit of the official death toll.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/10/18/real-death-toll-puerto-rico-probably-450-much-higher-than-official-count/774918001/

Orrex (56,943 posts)
4. "Trump Discontinued Medical Coverage For His Own Disabled Nephew"

From
8 Less Known Trump Stories That’d Derail Any Other Campaign

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Donald Trump paraded his five children from three different wives in front of America, he was hoping we'd all see a family man underneath the shitshow facade we're used to getting from him. In fact, Trump is so concerned about the well-being of children everywhere that he's made affordable childcare a centerpiece of his campaign. There's one kid you shouldn't ask about how Trump actually feels about children, however -- his nephew with cerebral palsy. Oh wait, you can't, for legal reasons.

Let's back up. Donald Trump had a big brother who died at the young age of 43 in 1981. Freddy Trump wasn't as into real estate as his little brother or dad, and by the time he died, he had a reputation as an alcoholic, which some people think is why Donald himself is a vigorous teetotaler -- he watched his big brother destroy himself with booze. Before Freddy died, he got married and had two kids, Mary and Fred III. Those two kids grew up, got married (not to each other), started their own families, and moved on with life.

Then something weird happened. Somewhere along the way, Donald Trump's father decided to exclude his dead alcoholic son's heirs from his will. So when Fred Trump Sr. died in 1999, the millions of dollars he left behind were divided among Donald and his two living siblings -- everyone in Freddy's family was cut out of the inheritance. Specifically, Donald Trump helped his father draft a will which divided "at least $20 million, among his children and their descendants, 'other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.'"

Now, we know what people will do for a fiver to buy a pack of smokes. Imagine what people will do for their cut of a multi-million-dollar windfall. Now imagine what those people would do if they had a newborn child who had just been diagnosed with cerebral palsy -- which is exactly what had happened to Fred III. Fred and his sister sued the family for their share of the estate, because who wouldn't? Their grandfather was a 93-year-old man who suffered from Alzheimer's, and the whole will seemed fishy. When Donald Trump found out his nephew was suing over the will, he did something amazing. He cut off his nephew's baby son's medical benefits, claiming he "was angry because they sued."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

More at link http://www.cracked.com/article_24393_8-insane-donald-trump-moments-world-totally-forgot.html

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10029283283#post4

kpete (56,899 posts)

TRUMP can't wait to do the same to you.

heartwarming story about Trump from December 2000:

Even when it comes to a sick baby in his family, Donald Trump is all business. The megabuilder and his siblings Robert and Maryanne terminated their nephew's family medical coverage a week after he challenged the will of their father, Fred Trump. "This was so shocking, so disappointing and so vindictive," said niece Lisa Trump, whose son, William, was born 18 months ago at Mount Sinai Medical Center with a rare neurological disorder that produces violent seizures, brain damage and medical bills topping $300,000. The Trump family feud has come to light in recent days as the dispute over Fred Trump's estate is being played out in Queens Surrogate Court. The patriarch left between $100 million and $300 million, according to different family estimates. A separate case over the denial of medical coverage that Fred Trump freely provided to his family for decades was filed in Nassau Supreme Court. Both lawsuits were filed by Fred Trump 3rd and Mary Trump, the children of Donald's late brother, Fred Jr. They offer a rare window into one of New York's most prominent families, a world where alliances and rivalries are magnified by power, money and the tough-nosed tactics of Donald Trump.

"When (Fred 3rd) sued us, we said, 'Why should we give him medical coverage?" Donald said in an interview with the Daily News last week. Asked whether he thought cutting their coverage could appear cold-hearted, given the baby's medical condition, Donald made no apologies. "I can't help that," he said. "It's cold when someone sues my father. Had he come to see me, things could very possibly have been much different for them."

More:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/that-time-trump-rescinded-medical.html

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028210612

This story is also included in David Cay Johsnton's book about Donald: The Making of Donald Trump
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Donald-Trump-David-Johnston/dp/1612196322

Orrex (56,943 posts)
4. "Trump Discontinued Medical Coverage For His Own Disabled Nephew"

From
8 Less Known Trump Stories That’d Derail Any Other Campaign

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Donald Trump paraded his five children from three different wives in front of America, he was hoping we'd all see a family man underneath the shitshow facade we're used to getting from him. In fact, Trump is so concerned about the well-being of children everywhere that he's made affordable childcare a centerpiece of his campaign. There's one kid you shouldn't ask about how Trump actually feels about children, however -- his nephew with cerebral palsy. Oh wait, you can't, for legal reasons.

Let's back up. Donald Trump had a big brother who died at the young age of 43 in 1981. Freddy Trump wasn't as into real estate as his little brother or dad, and by the time he died, he had a reputation as an alcoholic, which some people think is why Donald himself is a vigorous teetotaler -- he watched his big brother destroy himself with booze. Before Freddy died, he got married and had two kids, Mary and Fred III. Those two kids grew up, got married (not to each other), started their own families, and moved on with life.

Then something weird happened. Somewhere along the way, Donald Trump's father decided to exclude his dead alcoholic son's heirs from his will. So when Fred Trump Sr. died in 1999, the millions of dollars he left behind were divided among Donald and his two living siblings -- everyone in Freddy's family was cut out of the inheritance. Specifically, Donald Trump helped his father draft a will which divided "at least $20 million, among his children and their descendants, 'other than my son Fred C. Trump Jr.'"

Now, we know what people will do for a fiver to buy a pack of smokes. Imagine what people will do for their cut of a multi-million-dollar windfall. Now imagine what those people would do if they had a newborn child who had just been diagnosed with cerebral palsy -- which is exactly what had happened to Fred III. Fred and his sister sued the family for their share of the estate, because who wouldn't? Their grandfather was a 93-year-old man who suffered from Alzheimer's, and the whole will seemed fishy. When Donald Trump found out his nephew was suing over the will, he did something amazing. He cut off his nephew's baby son's medical benefits, claiming he "was angry because they sued."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

More at link http://www.cracked.com/article_24393_8-insane-donald-trump-moments-world-totally-forgot.html

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10029283283#post4

kpete (56,899 posts)

TRUMP can't wait to do the same to you.

heartwarming story about Trump from December 2000:

Even when it comes to a sick baby in his family, Donald Trump is all business. The megabuilder and his siblings Robert and Maryanne terminated their nephew's family medical coverage a week after he challenged the will of their father, Fred Trump. "This was so shocking, so disappointing and so vindictive," said niece Lisa Trump, whose son, William, was born 18 months ago at Mount Sinai Medical Center with a rare neurological disorder that produces violent seizures, brain damage and medical bills topping $300,000. The Trump family feud has come to light in recent days as the dispute over Fred Trump's estate is being played out in Queens Surrogate Court. The patriarch left between $100 million and $300 million, according to different family estimates. A separate case over the denial of medical coverage that Fred Trump freely provided to his family for decades was filed in Nassau Supreme Court. Both lawsuits were filed by Fred Trump 3rd and Mary Trump, the children of Donald's late brother, Fred Jr. They offer a rare window into one of New York's most prominent families, a world where alliances and rivalries are magnified by power, money and the tough-nosed tactics of Donald Trump.

"When (Fred 3rd) sued us, we said, 'Why should we give him medical coverage?" Donald said in an interview with the Daily News last week. Asked whether he thought cutting their coverage could appear cold-hearted, given the baby's medical condition, Donald made no apologies. "I can't help that," he said. "It's cold when someone sues my father. Had he come to see me, things could very possibly have been much different for them."

More:
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/that-time-trump-rescinded-medical.html

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028210612

This story is also included in David Cay Johsnton's book about Donald: The Making of Donald Trump
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Donald-Trump-David-Johnston/dp/1612196322

Fighting racism: Teaching kids to identify individual black people can reduce racial bias
Date:
October 12, 2017
Source:
University of Toronto
Summary:
Many times, those who hold racially biased views of other people see them as all the same. Instead of thinking of them as specific individuals, they lump them into a group -- seeing them as 'those people.' Now an international team of researchers suggests one way to reduce racial bias in kids is by teaching them to identify individual faces of those of other races.


The study, published on Oct. 12, in the journal Child Development is the first to show a lasting effect -- and in kids young enough to not be too set in their ways.

Co-authored by researchers from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and their international colleagues, the study's two 20-minute sessions with 4- to 6-year-old Chinese children, in which they played with a touch-screen app to distinguish individual black faces, significantly reduced their implicit anti-black bias. This bias reduction lasted for at least two months.

Seeing others as individuals

"There are two key findings here," said Dr. Lee. "First, using our app, young children can quickly learn to recognize people from a particular race other than their own, which is an important social skill for children living in the globalized environment. Second and more importantly, an added benefit of learning to identify people from another race as individuals is the reduction of their implicit racial bias against that race."

"For parents and teachers, this means if you introduce children to those of another race frequently, teaching them about who they are as individuals, the implicit bias children hold against the people of that race will decrease," he continued, noting that teaching kids about Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama is one example of how adults can reduce implicit anti-black bias in non-black children.

Gail Heyman, a professor of psychology in the UC San Diego Division of Social Sciences and a senior co-author on the study, echoed Dr. Lee, emphasizing that in the study, the key to reducing the bias was the repeat session.

"A single session had minimal immediate effects that dissipated quickly. The lesson didn't stick. But a second session a week later seemed to act like a booster shot, producing measurable differences in implicit bias 60 days later," she said.

Timing is critical: Intervene before bias is 'entrenched'

Read more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171012163955.htm

Mea Culpa: I have been following Andrew Kliman’s frequent warnings that Trumpism—and now, the possible victory of Marine Le Pen and her National Front in the French elections—pose a far more serious danger than neoliberalism does. I tried for a long time to disprove this in my own head. I didn’t want it to be right, because it’s just hard to admit that what I’ve been arguing and working for during the past year and a half is just not working out.
In fact it was just plain wrong.

I don’t speak for everyone on this, but cognitive dissonance is powerful, and I can call it so because if I ultimately agree that Trumpism and the National Front are far more dangerous, it has to be my personal attachment to my own work and identification thereof that has created a gap in my thinking, a gap that is not based in any material reality.

There clearly is a problem in the far left’s insistence on the purity of its politics, while also championing candidates like Bernie Sanders and defeated French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who we also believe to be “pure”—that is, to speak the recognizable vocabulary of the modern left regarding neoliberalism, etc.—even though they themselves are not far left, but work within the present political system.

It clearly can’t be both.

The irony is that it is this insistence on pure politics free of “big banks” etc., etc., that has allowed people from the far left to think that it’s ok if they vote against the centrist candidate this time, even when the alternative is a fascist leader, because at least their candidate speaks our shared language of anti-neoliberalism.

I felt the same way last year. As someone who grew up as a leftist in the south, there is something very intoxicating about seeing the word “socialism” in the news and on TV, about finally seeing a candidate saying something, anything, about capitalism. This is what allowed me to sidestep my own principles, in the hopes that somehow and someway, despite Sanders’ flaws, his candidacy was the way out of the status quo, simply because the word “socialism” was attached to his name.

And I knew better. I knew this was a game that has been played before, but I didn’t care. I tried jumping through every ideological hula hoop, trying to explain to others, and mostly to myself, why this time was different, how it could fit into a revolutionary analysis.

But I’m too tired now.

I can speak bluntly about my mistake, in the hopes that other people who feel the same way can at least start to talk about why it happened. My mistake was an attempt to assuage my conscience. I felt that my conscience was “cleaner” by not voting for an established candidate.

Is that not exactly what the left was decrying about liberal votes for Hillary? That it made them feel better by not being Trump voters?
If that’s the case, then my argument ceased to be an argument and became a rationalization. It spoke more to how I felt about myself and my work than about the real circumstances of the 2016 election. I wanted to be free of the guilt of the sins of both parties.

It was a wager in which, had Hillary Clinton won, we would anticipate the inevitable—the “neoliberal” candidate behaving exactly how we thought she would–and I could glibly sit in my pure-politics corner and say “told you so.” That’s the worse kind of consciousness raising imaginable, but that’s as far as I could think.

Humans are abysmal at judging risk, and in this instance my foresight was catastrophic. It was selfish.