thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Where Lynching Terrorized Black Americans, Corporal Punishment In Schools Lives On

Grisby hadn ’ t done anything to set the teacher off , at least not anything remotely worthy of punishment @ @ @ @ @ having left a coat in his classroom ; Grisby said the coat wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ to press her on it , she started to walk away .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ behind her in the hallway and put her in a chokehold , his arm squeezing @ @ @ @ @ Another teacher intervened right as her vision started to get fuzzy .
Her mom complained @ @ @ @ @ Grisby doesn ’ t recall anything changing as a result .

DURANT, MISSISSIPPI ― Justice Grisby, like every other student in Holmes County School District, knew about the paddle. Long, smooth and wooden, it was kept locked away in the principal’s office, except for the occasions it was taken out and used as a weapon of punishment. Grisby, a recent high school graduate, was lucky to survive her K-12 experience without ever getting paddled, but she will never forget the time she saw it happen to someone else.
Grisby, who is Black, was in the sixth grade. It was 2014 and her class was working on a reading project. As usual, the class bully was acting out. The girl was grabbing another student’s poster board when a school administrator walked through the classroom and caught the misbehavior.
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Paddlings were supposed to occur in the main office, behind closed doors. This time, it happened in front of a class of around 30 rowdy kids. The student was made to stoop over and the administrator wound up his arms, and struck her behind twice with his wooden paddle, Grisby recalled in an interview with HuffPost. The class broke out in jeers and laughter.
“You know how when you’re hurt and you laugh so people won’t see you cry?” Grisby asked, explaining the situation. “She kind of laughed, but I think she wanted to cry.”
Most states ban corporal punishment in schools. But Grisby lives in Mississippi, a state that not only allows it, but has the highest rate of the practice in the country.
For almost a century, Mississippi was one of the nation’s leaders in another category of punishment: lynching.
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Between 1865 and 1950, at least 708 confirmed lynchings took place in the state; the vast majority of victims were Black, according to prior research by professors E. M. Beck and Stewart Tolnay. They included Black teenagers falsely accused of crimes; Black men accused of offenses as minor as “insulting a white woman”; and Black women who were shot simply because of “race hatred.” Often, white mobs tortured victims, while others cheered and took photographs, later published in newspapers across the country.
Now, a new study makes a compelling case that these two acts of violence are related. Places with historically high rates of lynching over a century ago are now more likely to paddle students today, particularly Black students, according to the study, provided to HuffPost.
The history of state-sanctioned violence against Black people in Mississippi is as old as the state itself. Before the Civil War, the state had one of the highest concentrations of enslaved peoples in the country. And well into the civil rights era, white supremacists assaulted, terrorized and killed organizers for racial justice. Hundreds of years later, state- and school-sanctioned brutality against Black people is baked into the fabric of the community.
As millions of Americans protest police violence and racism against Black people after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the study’s findings are especially urgent, connecting racial violence in the past with brutality against Black people today.
“Even though we’re not studying policing, we’re still looking at physical punishment of Black bodies,” said Aaron Kupchik, professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware and study co-author. “The situation Black students find themselves in today doesn’t come out of nowhere.”
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A commemorative plaque marks the spot of the 1935 lynching of Elwood Higginbottom in Oxford, Mississippi. Studies show that areas of the U.S. that have a history of lynching also have higher rates of corporal punishment in public schools. Timothy Ivy for HuffPost
The idea for the study came out of discussions between Kupchik, who studies racial inequality in school punishment, and Geoff Ward, a professor of African and African-American Studies at Washington University St. Louis, who studies histories and legacies of racialized violence. Nick Petersen, assistant professor at the University of Miami, helped to lead data analysis as he and Ward had recently published a similar study of lynching and contemporary homicide. James Pratt, Ph.D. Candidate at University of California, Irvine and adjunct professor at Albany State University, and one of Ward’s graduate students at the time, also assisted in the research.
While school corporal punishment is only allowed in 19 states and rarely used in most of them, there are pockets where the practice continues to thrive. Researchers sought to uncover if those places were marked by high rates of historic racial violence. They asked: How much of what students, particularly Black students, face today is a result of what was written yesterday?
To answer this question, researchers took data on the frequency of school corporal punishment in 10 Southern states, self-reported by schools and collected by the U.S. Department of Education, and compared it with a database of historic lynchings. The results indicated a clear relationship.
Though overall rates of corporal punishment are higher in places where Evangelical Protestantism is popular and where rates of educational attainment are lower, researchers discovered that corporal punishment is more common in areas with histories of lynching for all students. But they also discovered that this effect is especially pronounced for Black children.
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Nearly 90% of districts in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi reported at least one school using corporal punishment during the 2011-2012 school year. Black students were at much higher risk for this punishment, despite committing a smaller share of “serious student misconduct,” says previous research cited in the study. Each additional historic lynching in a state’s county, the study found, increased the odds corporal punishment happening to a Black student by about 6%. These odds also increased about 4% for white students.
“School punishment, in this case corporal punishment, doesn’t arise out of nowhere. There’s a historical trajectory,” said Kupchik. “Though this happened 100 years ago, the rates of racial violence are predictive of how we punish Black students today.”
The researchers connect corporal punishment to the whipping of enslaved Black Americans and to mass mob lynchings designed to hurt individuals and instill terror in entire communities. These past terrors, they argue, are tied to what some kids experience in schools today in between math and gym class. White school officials, living in communities with a historic acceptance of racialized violence, may be more likely to dole out corporal punishment on Black students because of implicit or explicit biases, posits the study.
“We suspect that schools in counties with more pronounced histories of violent racialized social control, where physical pain has long been used to discipline and punish marginalized populations, are more likely to employ corporal punishment, and disproportionately impose this punishment on Black students today,” says the study.
But Black families and officials may be more likely to support this type of punishment against students, too. In places where Black bodies were regularly terrorized, communicating the physical cost of misdeeds could feel particularly urgent to Black adults, who may feel the need to convey the seriousness with which the outside world will treat Black children.
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“It is well established that black population support for corporal punishment is rooted in concerns for survival in a hostile social environment,” the study notes.
Indeed, for students like Grisby, this past has everything to do with the present.
Where Grisby lives, in Holmes County, Mississippi, there were 13 lynching incidents between 1865 and 1950, per the lynching database used in the study, meaning students there have considerably higher odds of facing corporal punishment compared to students in places with fewer or no known lynchings. Indeed, in 2015, Holmes County School District administrators paddled 281 students throughout the school year. Nearby, in Carroll County school district, 89 students faced the same fate that year.
Holmes county finally banned corporal punishment in 2018, after years of lobbying from the Nollie Jenkins Family Center, a local youth development group with which Grisby is involved. It was a long, uphill battle that involved years of campaigning to change the minds of parents and teachers who viewed the practice as a necessity.
Grisby had to work on deprogramming her instincts, too. For her, this type of punishment in a school setting doesn’t even seem abnormal. For most of her life, she considered it a natural feature of life in her community. Sometimes, Grisby even wonders if some of her peers deserved what they got, until she thinks about it more deeply.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to do that to my brother or sister. You shouldn’t hit somebody with wood,” she said on the practice of paddling, in between pauses to work out her thoughts.
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LEFT: Ellen Reddy, the Exective Director of the Nollie Jenkins Family Center in Durant, Mississippi, is a leading opponent of corporal punishment in public schools. RIGHT: Reddy holds a paddle that has been used in traditional forms of corporal punishment in Mississippi schools. Timothy Ivy for HuffPost
Ellen Reddy, 66, remembers a time when almost everybody in the Holmes County School District ― from teachers to bus drivers ― used physical violence against children. A rule, instituted about 10 years ago, that only school leadership or a “designee” appointed by school leadership could paddle students constituted initial progress against the practice. Now, thanks in part to her work, school corporal punishment is now outlawed here, at least on paper. As leader of the Nollie Jenkins Family Center, a youth development program for African American children in Mississippi that she co-founded with her twin sister, Reddy has dedicated much of the last 25 years to this and other causes.
“It is a mindset ― spare the rod, spoil the child,” said Reddy while prepping platters of tuna salad and hot dogs before a 2019 seminar for local kids. There’s an idea that, “If you don’t spank your child you’re not a good parent.”
Reddy recalled advocating years ago for one child, in sixth grade at the time, who was paddled so badly by a school administrator that one of his buttocks swelled to twice the size of the other. She recounts hearing that this child never finished high school.
“I cried many a times leaving school board meetings, prosecutor’s office, sheriff’s department, but I just have to pull over and say, I have to cry this out,” Reddy said, describing the many kids for whom she’s advocated over the years, sometimes only to be met with callous indifference.
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Now, the policy has changed but Reddy is skeptical that the practice has fully gone away, speculating about children facing pinches and slaps upside the head and rulers. Both Grisby and Reddy say they’ve heard that in lieu of corporal punishment, suspension rates have increased, meaning that one problem has only been replaced by another. (James Henderson, Holmes County superintendent, told HuffPost that suspension rates have actually decreased.) Reddy keeps her ear to the ground, prodding students about how school has changed and what issues she should be on the lookout for.
Throughout her campaign, Reddy has faced opposition from leaders of all colors and affiliations. So she comes armed with research; professional organizations like the American Psychological Association and American Academy of Pediatrics oppose corporal punishment, citing studies that show it only leads to more aggressive behavior, while putting a child at increased risk of mental health disorders. But some families can’t imagine a world in which children will behave without physical consequences looming.
“It’s the culture. Not necessarily the Black culture, but the culture of where we are, the deep South. It’s part of the culture in which we have been oppressed,” Reddy said with a sigh. “We still have not gotten rid of beating our children and somehow thinking beating is going to make them better human beings.”
Henderson, the district superintendent, grew up in Holmes County and agrees with Reddy’s assessment, which is why he says he supported abolishing the practice when he started his job. He had his own traumatic experience with corporal punishment as a child. When he was a third grader, a teacher paddled him in front of his entire class, in an incident similar to the one Grisby described. While he sat in a chair and sobbed, the teacher struck his thighs 10 times.
“That public humiliation damaged me,” said Henderson. “I’m an adult and I’ve grown out of it, but every time I think about that incident, there was a feeling that came along with it.”
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Further, in an epidemic of police violence against Black people, advocates like Reddy question how effective corporal punishment is in teaching Black children how to safely comport themselves around white outsiders. “The white community will still view [our kids] as criminals. Doesn’t matter how well behaved they are,” she said.
Graphics credit: Manyu Jiang
In the past year, Reddy’s organization, the Nollie Jenkins Family Center, has been working to extend a school corporal punishment ban outside of Holmes County through all of Mississippi.
At a 2019 seminar at the center’s headquarters attended by HuffPost, located in a house in a remote Mississippi town, Reddy prepped a group of about 20 middle and high school girls to take their fight to the Mississippi legislature. She spoke to the teenagers amid a backdrop of posters with James Baldwin quotes and messages reminding students, “Mike Brown can’t vote. But I can.”
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“Would you go with me to the capital and do the hard work? Would you testify before a committee? Would you be wiling to show them what it feel like when you administer corporal punishment?” Reddy asked triumphantly to cheers.
She questioned the group about how the possibility of facing corporal punishment in schools makes them feel. One mimicked what paddling looks like, bending over as if they’re waiting for an adult with a thick wooden paddle to enact a punishment.
“When it’s a man, I don’t feel like it’s right. My daddy is not gonna bend me down like this, so why do you do it?” said one female student.
Reddy asked the group if they would feel any less vulnerable if it were a female administrator performing the paddling.
“Either way you’re still bending, and there’s no telling what they could be doing back there,” offered Grisby, who will be studying criminal justice at Jackson State University next year.
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Justice Grisby, 18, a graduate of Holmes County Central High School in Lexington, Mississippi. Timothy Ivy for HuffPost
These are unfortunately considerations Grisby had to think about. Her K-12 experience was characterized by a culture of violence against students ― even more than just sanctioned corporal punishment.
She recalled, in middle school, a boy getting choked by an administrator because he wouldn’t give up his phone.
When Grisby was in eighth grade, a teacher, who was white, choked her, too, she said.
Grisby hadn’t done anything to set the teacher off, at least not anything remotely worthy of punishment. He accused her of having left a coat in his classroom; Grisby said the coat wasn’t hers. When he continued to press her on it, she started to walk away. That’s when he came up from behind her in the hallway and put her in a chokehold, his arm squeezing firmly around her neck. Another teacher intervened right as her vision started to get fuzzy. Her mom complained to school leaders, but Grisby doesn’t recall anything changing as a result.
“You know how that goes, they’re going to take the teacher’s word,” she said.
She became afraid of going to his class ― he taught social studies. That was when Grisby, a straight-A student, got her first F.
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“I feel like he didn’t like people of our color,” Grisby said of the white teacher. “He used to always tell us he was gonna send us back where we came from.”
“I probably put him in a mindset of like, back then and stuff.”
Henderson, who said he is unfamiliar with these allegations, wasn’t superintendent at the time. Since then, he noted, the district has undergone a consolidation process that involved substantial turnover. “Fortunately, these things are no longer happening since I have been the superintendent,” he said.
Reddy's goal is to abolish corporal punishment in all of Mississippi schools. Timothy Ivy for HuffPost
In the past few months, Reddy’s recent efforts have started to pay off.
A bill was introduced this session that would ban all forms of the practice in school. But during the coronavirus pandemic, it lost political momentum in the Republican-controlled legislature. (In 2019, Mississippi passed a law banning corporal punishment in schools for students with disabilities.)
Faith-based groups, school board members and some parents have been pushing against Reddy’s efforts, though she’s been working to convince them that school will continue as normal if the practice is replaced with peer mediation, peace circles and increased investments in school counselors. Such changes, though, take work and resources, and she’s found that many people prefer the status quo if the alternative requires effort and money.
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After graduating this spring, Grisby has been working full time at a Baskin Robbins while preparing to go to college. She plans to study criminal justice and has dreams of becoming a judge, eventually working her way up to serve the nation’s highest courts. She’s been watching the racial justice protests roil the nation from the sidelines.
She has mixed feelings, though, about Black Lives Matter and worries that it sends an exclusionary message to other groups. Reddy, though, watching from afar, said the movement’s efforts have been inspiring, confirming that now is the right time to move on this work.
Corporal punishment “is a practice that grows out to being enslaved … the methods, the policies, just changed but we’re still being oppressed, the knee is still on our neck,” Reddy said.
Kupchik has also been watching and meditating on how what’s happening today is a result of hundreds of years of policy. He believes he and his co-author’s research proves a simple fact: none of this is accidental.
“It’s not just about individuals in this case, principals or teachers or people being mean. It’s not about bad apples,” said Kupchik. “It’s about a legacy. A historic legacy of racial violence.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--GOP Official Admits He’s 'No Medical Expert,' Urges People To Ditch Masks Anyway

A Republican county official in New Mexico urged constituents in a video released online Monday to ignore the advice of public health experts and not wear face masks aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus .
Couy Griffin , an Otero County commissioner who founded the for-profit Cowboys for Trump organization , claimed — contrary to scientific evidence ― that “ the longer you wear the mask , the weaker your immune system is gon na be and the more susceptible you ’ re going to be to disease or viruses or bacteria or whatever.
” Griffin acknowledged he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ medical expert , ” but said he had “ enough common sense to know that you ’ re not doing yourself any good.
” “ I think , in my opinion , I think that we need to take the masks off , ” he continued in the footage , posted on the Cowboys for Trump account ’ s feed .
“ And you need to quit breathing all that recycled air that ’ s going back in and out , in and out , because you ’ re not doing yourself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mask the weaker your immune system is going to be & the more susceptible you are going to be to disease or viruses or bacteria .
Unless you are sick , we believe you need to take the mask off & quit breathing all that recycled air.pic.twitter.com/R4e3T7kI9I — Cowboys for Trump ( @ RideWithC4T ) July 20 , 2020 New Mexico Gov .
Michelle Lujan Grisham , a Democrat , mandated face masks in public places at the start of July .
The state is currently experiencing a record surge in new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Disease Control and Prevention states “ cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease , particularly when used universally within communities.
” CDC Director Robert Redfield last week described cloth face coverings as “ one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus ” that has killed more than 140,000 people in the United States .
In a second video tweeted by the Cowboys for Trump account on Monday , Griffin said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks and adhere to social distancing measures .
“ But I ’ m not going to , ” he said .
If you choose to wear a mask and if you choose to socially distant yourself , then that 's your choice .
Have at it .
We applaud you but WE ARE NOT GOING TO !
pic.twitter.com/FeWq8xsfTd — Cowboys for Trump ( @ RideWithC4T ) July 20 , 2020 Griffin garnered national attention in May when President Donald Trump quote-tweeted a video of him saying he ’ d “ come to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dead Democrat.
” Griffin said it was meant in a “ political sense.
” Earlier this month , the Otero County Commission postponed a meeting after Griffin refused to self-isolate following his attendance at the president ’ s Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore .
Griffin said he would not wear a face mask to the meeting , reported the Alamogordo Daily News .

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A Republican county official in New Mexico urged constituents in a video released online Monday to ignore the advice of public health experts and not wear face masks aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus.
Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner who founded the for-profit Cowboys for Trump organization, claimed — contrary to scientific evidence ― that “the longer you wear the mask, the weaker your immune system is gonna be and the more susceptible you’re going to be to disease or viruses or bacteria or whatever.”
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Griffin acknowledged he was “no rocket scientist” or “medical expert,” but said he had “enough common sense to know that you’re not doing yourself any good.”
“I think, in my opinion, I think that we need to take the masks off,” he continued in the footage, posted on the Cowboys for Trump account’s feed. “And you need to quit breathing all that recycled air that’s going back in and out, in and out, because you’re not doing yourself any favors.”
Check out the video here:
The longer you wear the mask
the weaker your immune system
is going to be
& the more susceptible you are going to be to disease
or viruses or bacteria.
Unless you are sick, we believe you need to take the mask off & quit breathing all that recycled air.pic.twitter.com/R4e3T7kI9I — Cowboys for Trump (@RideWithC4T) July 20, 2020
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, mandated face masks in public places at the start of July. The state is currently experiencing a record surge in new confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states “cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities.”
CDC Director Robert Redfield last week described cloth face coverings as “one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus” that has killed more than 140,000 people in the United States.
In a second video tweeted by the Cowboys for Trump account on Monday, Griffin said he applauded people who choose to wear masks and adhere to social distancing measures. “But I’m not going to,” he said.
Check out the video here:
If you choose to wear a mask and if you choose to socially distant yourself, then that's your choice. Have at it. We applaud you but
WE ARE NOT GOING TO!pic.twitter.com/FeWq8xsfTd — Cowboys for Trump (@RideWithC4T) July 20, 2020
Griffin garnered national attention in May when President Donald Trump quote-tweeted a video of him saying he’d “come to a conclusion where the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.” Griffin said it was meant in a “political sense.”
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Thank you Cowboys. See you in New Mexico! https://t.co/aCRJeskUA8 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Missouri Voters Have A Chance To Give 460,000 People Health Care Next Month

The proposed change , backed by progressive activists and business groups , would expand MO HealthNet , as Medicaid is called in the state , to anyone earning less than 133 % of the federal poverty level , which is about $ 17,000 a year for a single person .
This Medicaid expansion is made possible by the 2010 Affordable Care Act , which provides 90 % federal funding to cover the newly eligible people .
If the Show-Me State approves , it would be the sixth to do so via popular ballot .
The remainder would be low-income people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either through an employer or the Affordable Care Act ’ s health insurance exchange marketplace .
Washington University also projects that Medicaid expansion would help prevent cuts to other state health care programs , resulting in an overall savings for the state .
“ They ’ ve waited more than long enough , and we ’ re still not seeing any indication that our legislature wants to do it , so we ’ re taking it to the people , ” said Jen Bersdale , executive director of Missouri Health Care for All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s unfortunate that we have elected leaders who are trying to portray a false choice between health care for hardworking families and other priorities , especially a legislature that continues to push through tax cuts.
” Missouri is a conservative state with a Republican governor and GOP control of the state legislature and opposed to Medicaid expansion .
In addition , six of its eight representatives to the U.S. House are Republicans , as are both of its U.S. senators .
And President Donald Trump soundly defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Voters are not following the signals of politicians anymore on many , many issues , especially ones that are profoundly tied to their well-being and their neighbors ’ well-being , and they ’ re willing to reject the dogma of the Republican Party and the ideology that has said we need to keep wages low and minimize the social safety net , ” said Jonathan Schleifer , executive director of the Fairness Project , a Washington-based organization that specializes in ballot initiatives for progressive policies like Medicaid expansion and minimum-wage increases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winning campaign to raise Missouri ’ s minimum wage .
“ Americans actually agree on a lot of things when it comes to wages and health care and how they should be treated by their employers .
But that is lost in politics , ” Schleifer said .
“ They don ’ t have to go begging for what ’ s right from politicians .
They can go have reasonable conversations with their neighbors about this policy and they can get what they like.
” The Supreme Court ruling sparked the expansion campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some Republican state legislators seemed open to a deal on Medicaid expansion , she said .
That didn ’ t last .
“ We just started having more and more proverbial and literal doors shut in our face .
Members of the majority party in Missouri just decided they weren ’ t going to talk about this issue.
” A group called Healthcare for Missouri is leading the campaign to pass the ballot initiative and organized the campaign to collect enough signatures to get the constitutional amendment in front of voters .
Activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the pandemic could derail the effort , which has happened to other organizations seeking to place matters on the ballot this year .
Healthcare for Missouri did not respond to interview requests .
But the state has one of the most restrictive Medicaid programs in the U.S .
Adults who do not have disabilities and who do not have minor children living at home can not qualify for Medicaid coverage no matter how little they earn .
Missouri parents are eligible only if their annual incomes don ’ t exceed 21 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to about $ 2,700 ; only Alabama and Texas have lower income ceilings for Medicaid coverage of parents .
Adults with disabilities can qualify only if their annual income is at or below about $ 11,000 a year for a single person .

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For the seventh time in three years, voters will have an opportunity to provide health coverage to poor adults whom Republican leaders have failed to serve as Missourans decide whether to amend the state’s Constitution to guarantee access to Medicaid on Aug. 4.
The proposed change, backed by progressive activists and business groups, would expand MO HealthNet, as Medicaid is called in the state, to anyone earning less than 133% of the federal poverty level, which is about $17,000 a year for a single person. This Medicaid expansion is made possible by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which provides 90% federal funding to cover the newly eligible people. If the Show-Me State approves, it would be the sixth to do so via popular ballot.
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As many as 458,000 adult Missourians could qualify for Medicaid coverage under the expansion, including 190,000 who are currently uninsured, according to an analysis by Washington University in St. Louis.
The remainder would be low-income people who are now paying for private insurance either through an employer or the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchange marketplace. Washington University also projects that Medicaid expansion would allow the state to spend less on other state health care programs, resulting in an overall savings.
“They’ve waited more than long enough, and we’re still not seeing any indication that our legislature wants to do it, so we’re taking it to the people,” said Jen Bersdale, executive director of Missouri Health Care for All in St. Louis. “It’s unfortunate that we have elected leaders who are trying to portray a false choice between health care for hardworking families and other priorities, especially a legislature that continues to push through tax cuts.”
Missouri Is Trump Country
Missouri is a conservative state with a Republican governor and GOP control of the state legislature and opposed to Medicaid expansion. In addition, six of its eight representatives to the U.S. House are Republicans, as are both of its U.S. senators. And President Donald Trump soundly defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 with 57% of the vote.
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Those are obstacles supporters of Medicaid expansion must overcome, as are the challenges of winning on a progressive issue on a primary election day that’s likely to attract more Republicans to the polls than Democrats and amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Missourians have limited access to vote-by-mail.
Nevertheless, the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative has a real chance at passing, just as it did in Oklahoma and other conservative states, said Jake Haselswerdt, a political science professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
“There’s also this recent history of Medicaid expansion passing in other red and purple states,” he said. “The people involved in both of those are involved in this. So the progressive community knows what it’s doing at this point.”
“Voters are not following the signals of politicians anymore on many, many issues, especially ones that are profoundly tied to their well-being and their neighbors’ well-being, and they’re willing to reject the dogma of the Republican Party and the ideology that has said we need to keep wages low and minimize the social safety net,” said Jonathan Schleifer, executive director of the Fairness Project, a Washington-based organization that specializes in ballot initiatives for progressive policies like Medicaid expansion and minimum-wage increases.
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The Fairness Project participated in the winning campaign to raise Missouri’s minimum wage. “Americans actually agree on a lot of things when it comes to wages and health care and how they should be treated by their employers. But that is lost in politics,” Schleifer said. “They don’t have to go begging for what’s right from politicians. They can go have reasonable conversations with their neighbors about this policy and they can get what they like.”
Red State Victories
Oklahoma voters approved a similar Medicaid measure earlier this month, following a successful ballot initiative in Maine in 2017 and the enactment of Medicaid expansion by voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah in 2018. An effort to keep Montana’s Medicaid expansion in place failed two years ago, but Gov. Steve Bullock (D) signed legislation into law in 2019 to achieve the same result.
President Barack Obama and the congressional Democrats who authored the Medicaid expansion intended it to be nationwide, but a 2012 Supreme Court ruling made it optional for states. Missouri remains among the 13 states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion. Medicaid is jointly operated and financed by the federal government and the states.
The Supreme Court ruling sparked the expansion campaign, Bersdale said. Initially, even some Republican state legislators seemed open to a deal on Medicaid expansion, she said. That didn’t last. “We just started having more and more proverbial and literal doors shut in our face. Members of the majority party in Missouri just decided they weren’t going to talk about this issue.”
Campaign workers David Woodruff (left) and Jason White deliver boxes of initiative petition signatures to the Missouri secretary of state's office in Jefferson City on May 1. The Healthcare for Missouri campaign said it gathered nearly 350,000 signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment expanding Medicaid coverage. David A. Lieb/Associated Press
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Republicans have supermajorities in the state House and state Senate and have shown little interest in providing health benefits to more low-income adults. Former Gov. Jay Nixon (D) promoted Medicaid expansion until term limits ended his tenure in 2016, but GOP lawmakers were unpersuaded.
A group called Healthcare for Missouri is leading the campaign to pass the ballot initiative and organized the campaign to collect enough signatures to get the constitutional amendment in front of voters. Activists were able to complete this crucial step before the pandemic could derail the effort, which has happened to other organizations seeking to place matters on the ballot this year. Healthcare for Missouri did not respond to interview requests.
The main opponents are elected Republicans and conservative ideological organizations, including Americans for Prosperity and the Show-Me Institute.
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A Meager Safety Net
Nine percent of Missouri residents are uninsured, the same as the national rate, according to census data compiled by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
But the state has one of the most restrictive Medicaid programs in the U.S. Adults who do not have disabilities and who do not have minor children living at home cannot qualify for Medicaid coverage no matter how little they earn.
Missouri parents are eligible only if their annual incomes don’t exceed 21% of the poverty level, which amounts to about $2,700; only Alabama and Texas have lower income ceilings for Medicaid coverage of parents. Adults with disabilities can qualify only if their annual income is at or below about $11,000 a year for a single person.
And over the past year or so, Missouri’s government has attracted unfavorable attention for a purge of children and parents from the state’s Medicaid rolls, which is part of a broader trend under the Trump administration’s management of the program.
Even a victory next month on Medicaid expansion likely won’t be the end of the issue in Missouri. As an illustration, the state’s legislators currently are attempting to get voters to undo major parts of the redistricting reforms that passed at the ballot box in 2018.
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The recent history after the Medicaid expansion votes in Maine, Idaho, Utah and Nebraska also are instructive. Then-Gov. Paul LePage (R) of Maine refused to carry out the law voters passed, delaying expansion until after he left office in 2019. The GOP leaders of Idaho and Utah altered the Medicaid expansion that citizens backed by adding restrictions to the program.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Michigan Judge Refuses To Free Teen Jailed After Skipping Schoolwork

A Michigan judge has refused to release a 15-year-old Black high school student who was incarcerated after failing to complete her online schoolwork , which the judge said violated her probation .
Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan , who denied the motion for early release on Monday , said the teen was benefiting from a residential treatment program and it would be in her best interest to complete it , Michigan Radio reported .
The teen , identified only by her middle name Grace , has been in juvenile detention at Oakland County ’ s Children ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ProPublica report published last week that sparked local protests and widespread outrage over racial inequity in the education and criminal justice systems .
As noted by ProPublica , Grace is a member of a predominantly white community in a county where a disproportionate number of Black youth have been involved with the juvenile justice system .
“ Give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something , ” the judge told her , according to the newspaper .
“ The right thing is for you and your mom to be separated for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ADHD and participates in a special education plan , had been on probation for assault and theft charges from November , when she allegedly bit her mother and pulled her hair during a disagreement , according to the report .
Several weeks later , she allegedly stole a cellphone from the locker of a fellow student at her school , Birmingham Groves High School .
Rules mandated by her probation required Grace to complete her schoolwork .
But after schools ceased in-person classes during the coronavirus lockdown , Grace struggled to meet the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She failed to complete assignments and was sentenced to detention .
“ She was not detained because she didn ’ t turn her homework in , ” Brennan said Monday .
“ She was detained because she was a threat to her mother.
” Birmingham Groves High School students gathered in the Detroit suburb of Beverly Hills , Michigan , to call for Grace 's release last week .
They carried signs emblazoned with phrases such as `` # FreeGrace , '' `` Justice for Grace '' and `` End the school to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case has drawn , the judge said her “ role is to make decisions that are in this young lady ’ s best interest , period.
” “ I took an oath that I would not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism , ” Brennan said .
Activists and protesters have pointed to issues highlighted by the case , most notably the criminalization of Black children , the school-to-prison pipeline and the disadvantages of remote learning for children who have special learning requirements during the pandemic .
Nearly 90,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grace ’ s release and an end to the school-to-prison pipeline .
Hundreds of her fellow students protested last week with signs bearing phrases including “ Free Grace , ” “ I didn ’ t do my school work either , ” and “ Black Lives Matter .
”

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A Michigan judge has refused to release a 15-year-old Black high school student who was incarcerated after failing to complete her online schoolwork, which the judge said violated her probation.
Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, who denied the motion for early release on Monday, said the teen was benefiting from a residential treatment program and it would be in her best interest to complete it, Michigan Radio reported.
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The teen, identified only by her middle name Grace, has been in juvenile detention at Oakland County’s Children’s Village since mid-May, according to a ProPublica report published last week that sparked local protests and widespread outrage over racial inequity in the education and criminal justice systems. As noted by ProPublica, Grace is a member of a predominantly white community in a county where a disproportionate number of Black youth have been involved with the juvenile justice system.
Grace told the judge during Monday’s three-hour hearing that she wanted to go home, the Detroit News reported.
“I miss my mom,” she said. “I can control myself. I can be obedient.”
“Give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something,” the judge told her, according to the newspaper. “The right thing is for you and your mom to be separated for right now.”
Grace, who has ADHD and participates in a special education plan, had been on probation for assault and theft charges from November, when she allegedly bit her mother and pulled her hair during a disagreement, according to the report. Several weeks later, she allegedly stole a cellphone from the locker of a fellow student at her school, Birmingham Groves High School.
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Rules mandated by her probation required Grace to complete her schoolwork. But after schools ceased in-person classes during the coronavirus lockdown, Grace struggled to meet the requirements and adjust to online learning. She failed to complete assignments and was sentenced to detention.
“She was not detained because she didn’t turn her homework in,” Brennan said Monday. “She was detained because she was a threat to her mother.”
Birmingham Groves High School students gathered in the Detroit suburb of Beverly Hills, Michigan, to call for Grace's release last week. They carried signs emblazoned with phrases such as "#FreeGrace," "Justice for Grace" and "End the school to prison pipeline." Emily Elconin / Reuters
Addressing the attention the case has drawn, the judge said her “role is to make decisions that are in this young lady’s best interest, period.”
“I took an oath that I would not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism,” Brennan said.
Activists and protesters have pointed to issues highlighted by the case, most notably the criminalization of Black children, the school-to-prison pipeline and the disadvantages of remote learning for children who have special learning requirements during the pandemic.
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Nearly 90,000 people have signed a petition calling for Grace’s release and an end to the school-to-prison pipeline. Hundreds of her fellow students protested last week with signs bearing phrases including “Free Grace,” “I didn’t do my school work either,” and “Black Lives Matter.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--U.S. Virus Aid Far Off As EU Digs Deep To Aid Ailing Economies

Meanwhile , testing of an experimental vaccine showed it may produce an immune response against the coronavirus .
The urgency of such research is rising with the pandemic still gaining momentum in parts of the U.S. , India and elsewhere in the developing world .
India added more than 37,000 new cases for a national total that now exceeds 1,155,000 , the third most behind the U.S. , with more than 3.8 million , and Brazil , with 2.1 million , according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University .
India ’ s new cases have hovered around 40,000 a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warning a series of peaks lie ahead as the virus spreads in rural areas where the healthcare system is weak .
The Indian Council for Medical Research , the top medical research body , was urging state governments to add more labs and improve testing capacity for the country of 1.4 billion people .
Lebanon ’ s health minister said the financially troubled country , which had previously managed to contain the coronavirus , was sliding toward a critical stage with a new surge in infections , more than a fifth of them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the airport reopened .
As coronavirus outbreaks wax and wane , much hinges on the effectiveness of contact tracing of newly discovered cases .
In Spain ’ s Catalonia and other regions an early detection system meant to snuff out outbreaks and prevent cascades of cases appears to be inadequate , doctors and patients said .
Spain imposed a three-month lockdown earlier this year to rein in a devastating first wave of infections that left at least 28,000 dead .
Now , Barcelona and an agricultural area in the same Catalonia region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a resurgence of the virus .
“ We are seeing a rise in cases and community contagion that worries us , ” Dr. Jacobo Mendioroz , the epidemiologist in charge of Catalonia ’ s virus response , told Catalonia Radio on Sunday .
“ The system of contact tracers can still be improved .
Now we have 300 tracers and we are going to add another 600 shortly.
” Worldwide , almost 610,000 people have died from COVID-19 , according to Johns Hopkins , with more than 14.7 million people infected .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ lower than the true toll of the disease .
“ We have laid the financial foundations for the EU for the next seven years and came up with a response to this arguably biggest crisis of the European Union , ” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel .
As the first round of U.S. federal relief expires , the political stakes of providing more support to the American economy are high and rising ahead of the November election .
Unemployment claims have topped 1 million for 17 straight weeks , leaving many households in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing employer-backed health insurance coverage .
Congressional Republicans remained at odds with Democrats over how much money is enough to ease the financial burden as businesses endure repeated closures to contain the spread of the virus .
Businesses also are being squeezed .
Potions in Motions , a catering company in Fort Lauderdale , Florida , would ordinarily be in high gear for summer weddings , graduations and corporate events , but is down to “ micro-events ” of eight to 15 people and has had to cut most of its staff .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay alive , ” said company founder Jason Savino .
“ There ’ s no support coming from any government or anywhere that are accommodating these businesses that are being ordered to dial their business back.
” “ We ’ re still very much in the hard part of this fight , as you can see from the daily case numbers , and I ’ m not expecting that to change a lot in the short term , ” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said .
“ And we just need to keep @ @ @ @ @

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MITO, Japan (AP) — U.S. lawmakers remained far apart Tuesday on a deal to provide more financial relief for Americans as European leaders thrashed out a plan for their pandemic-ravaged economies.
Meanwhile, testing of an experimental vaccine showed it may produce an immune response against the coronavirus. The urgency of such research is rising with the pandemic still gaining momentum in parts of the U.S., India and elsewhere in the developing world.
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India added more than 37,000 new cases for a national total that now exceeds 1,155,000, the third most behind the U.S., with more than 3.8 million, and Brazil, with 2.1 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
India’s new cases have hovered around 40,000 a day in recent days, with experts warning a series of peaks lie ahead as the virus spreads in rural areas where the healthcare system is weak. The Indian Council for Medical Research, the top medical research body, was urging state governments to add more labs and improve testing capacity for the country of 1.4 billion people.
Lebanon’s health minister said the financially troubled country, which had previously managed to contain the coronavirus, was sliding toward a critical stage with a new surge in infections, more than a fifth of them untraceable, after lockdown restrictions were lifted and the airport reopened.
“The danger of community spread is still possible because the country has opened up,” the minister of health, Hamad Hassan, said in an interview with The Associated Press late Monday.
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As coronavirus outbreaks wax and wane, much hinges on the effectiveness of contact tracing of newly discovered cases. In Spain’s Catalonia and other regions an early detection system meant to snuff out outbreaks and prevent cascades of cases appears to be inadequate, doctors and patients said.
Spain imposed a three-month lockdown earlier this year to rein in a devastating first wave of infections that left at least 28,000 dead. Now, Barcelona and an agricultural area in the same Catalonia region have become the two areas hit hardest by a resurgence of the virus.
“We are seeing a rise in cases and community contagion that worries us,” Dr. Jacobo Mendioroz, the epidemiologist in charge of Catalonia’s virus response, told Catalonia Radio on Sunday. “The system of contact tracers can still be improved. Now we have 300 tracers and we are going to add another 600 shortly.”
Worldwide, almost 610,000 people have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins, with more than 14.7 million people infected. Both numbers are widely acknowledged to be lower than the true toll of the disease.
Weary after four days and nights of haggling, European Union leaders clinched an unprecedented 1.8 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund to confront the biggest recession in the history of the region, which faces an estimated economic contraction of 8.3%.
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A 750 billion euro ($858 billion) coronavirus fund will finance loans and grants for countries hit hardest by the virus. That comes on top of the seven-year, 1 trillion euro EU budget.
“We have laid the financial foundations for the EU for the next seven years and came up with a response to this arguably biggest crisis of the European Union,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The pandemic has killed around 135,000 people in EU countries. The U.S. has surpassed that, with nearly 141,000 dead, according to the Johns Hopkins data.
As the first round of U.S. federal relief expires, the political stakes of providing more support to the American economy are high and rising ahead of the November election. Unemployment claims have topped 1 million for 17 straight weeks, leaving many households in a cash crunch and at risk of losing employer-backed health insurance coverage.
Congressional Republicans remained at odds with Democrats over how much money is enough to ease the financial burden as businesses endure repeated closures to contain the spread of the virus.
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Democrats have passed a $3 trillion package in the House. The Republican plan totals about $1 trillion.
State governments strapped for medical resources have been forced to borrow billions of dollars and slash costs by furloughing workers, delaying construction projects, cutting school aid and even closing highway rest areas.
Businesses also are being squeezed. Potions in Motions, a catering company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, would ordinarily be in high gear for summer weddings, graduations and corporate events, but is down to “micro-events” of eight to 15 people and has had to cut most of its staff.
“We’re trying to just stay alive,” said company founder Jason Savino. “There’s no support coming from any government or anywhere that are accommodating these businesses that are being ordered to dial their business back.”
Financial markets pushed higher on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after scientists at Oxford University said their experimental vaccine had prompted a protective immune response in hundreds of people in an early trial.
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The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization hailed the results as “good news” but warned “there’s a long way to go.”
“We now need to move into larger scale real-world trials,” Dr. Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva.
In Asia, the latest virus flare-ups in Australia, South Korea and China’s far west appeared to be coming under control.
Australian military personnel were helping health authorities in Victoria state, where the country’s second largest city, Melbourne, has shut down to combat a rebound in infections.
“We’re still very much in the hard part of this fight, as you can see from the daily case numbers, and I’m not expecting that to change a lot in the short term,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. “And we just need to keep working the problem.”
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South Korea reported 45 new virus cases, 25 of them among quarantined people arriving from abroad. In many Asian countries, most newly reported infections are among those new arrivals, raising hopes that local outbreaks may be under control.
But Japan has been reporting hundreds of new cases daily, especially in Tokyo, and its death toll has risen above 1,000, with nearly 26,000 total infections.
___
AP journalists around the globe contributed to this report.
___


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Late-Night Hosts Reveal Most ‘Chilling’ Moment From Trump’s Fox News Interview

President Donald Trump ’ s interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News quickly turned into fodder for the late-night hosts ― and one moment stood out to all of them .
Trump boasted of passing a “ very hard ” cognitive test , but Wallace said he took the test himself when Trump first announced that he had passed it .
“ It ’ s not the hardest test , ” Wallace said .
“ They have a picture and it says ‘ what ’ s that ’ and it ’ s an elephant.
” The late-night hosts each offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Passing a cognitive test is not impressive , ” Stephen Colbert of “ The Late Show ” noted .
“ It checks for things like brain damage , asking real stumpers like ‘ name these three animals.
’ ” “ It ’ s chilling to see the most powerful man in the world bragging that he passed a test that they give to people to find out whether they should be allowed to take the bus by themselves.
” Trevor Noah of “ The Daily Show ” likewise wasn ’ t impressed with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elephant on the test .
“ If they wanted to test Trump , they shouldn ’ t have asked him to identify an elephant , ” he said .
“ They should ’ ve asked him to identify his second daughter .
That would ’ ve been impressive.
” But he did admit there ’ s a time it could come in handy : Jimmy Fallon of “ The Tonight Show ” cracked that at least the country would be in great shape if faced with an elephant pandemic : And Seth Meyers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not sure what ’ s more alarming : “ that Trump even had to take this test in the first place , or how proud he is with how he did.
” He said there was one question on the test that he ’ d pay to see Trump try to answer ― then did an impression of Trump taking a stab at it :

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President Donald Trump’s interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News quickly turned into fodder for the late night hosts ― and one moment stood out to all of them.
Trump boasted of passing a “very hard” cognitive test, but Wallace said he took the test himself when Trump first announced that he had passed it.
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“It’s not the hardest test,” Wallace said. “They have a picture and it says, ‘What’s that?’ and it’s an elephant.”
The late night hosts each offered a take on that exchange.
“Passing a cognitive test is not impressive,” Stephen Colbert of “The Late Show” noted. “It checks for things like brain damage, asking real stumpers like ‘name these three animals.’”
He added:
It’s chilling to see the most powerful man in the world bragging that he passed a test that they give to people to find out whether they should be allowed to take the bus by themselves.
See his full monologue below:
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Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” likewise wasn’t impressed with Trump’s ability to identify on elephant on the test.
“If they wanted to test Trump, they shouldn’t have asked him to identify an elephant,” he said. “They should’ve asked him to identify his second daughter. That would’ve been impressive.”
But he did admit there’s a time it could come in handy:
Jimmy Fallon of “The Tonight Show” cracked that at least the country would be in great shape if faced with an elephant pandemic:
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And Seth Meyers of “Late Night” said he’s not sure what’s more alarming: “that Trump even had to take this test in the first place, or how proud he is with how he did.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Federal Agents, Local Streets: A 'Red Flag' In Oregon

State and local authorities , who did not ask for federal help , are awaiting a ruling in a federal lawsuit filed late last week by state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum .
She said in court papers that masked federal officers have arrested people off the street , far from the courthouse , with no probable cause — and whisked them away in unmarked cars .
“ The idea that there ’ s a threat to a federal courthouse and the federal authorities are going to swoop in and do whatever they want to do without any cooperation and coordination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outside the context of a civil war , ” said Michael Dorf , a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University .
“ It is a standard move of authoritarians to use the pretext of quelling violence to bring in force , thereby prompting a violent response and then bootstrapping the initial use of force in the first place , ” Dorf said .
President Donald Trump says he plans to send federal agents to other cities as well .
The Chicago Tribune , citing anonymous sources , reported Monday that Trump planned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The ACLU of Oregon has sued in federal court over the agents ’ presence in Portland , and the organization ’ s Chicago branch said it would similarly oppose a federal presence .
“ We ’ re going to have more federal law enforcement , that I can tell you , ” Trump said Monday .
“ In Portland , they ’ ve done a fantastic job .
They ’ ve been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time.
” Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and agitators ” in a Sunday tweet , said the agents , with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department , are on hand to help Portland and restore order at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse .
But Trump , a Republican , has shown during his time in office that his actions do not always reflect traditional conservatism — particularly when politics , and in this case an impending election , are in play .
One prominent Republican , Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky , who is from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came out publicly against the federal agents .
“ We can not give up liberty for security .
Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will , ” Paul said in a tweet Monday .
The Portland Police Bureau used tear gas on multiple occasions until a federal court order banned its officers from doing so without declaring a riot .
Now , concern is growing that the tear gas is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead .
Anger at the federal presence escalated on July 11 , when a protester who was hospitalized with critical injuries after a U.S .
Marshals Service officer struck him in the head with a non-lethal round .
Video of the incident shows the man , identified as Donavan LaBella , standing across the street from the officers holding a speaker over his head with both hands when he was struck .
Affidavits filed in federal court in cases against recently arrested protesters also show that federal officers have posted lookouts on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plainclothes officers circulating in the crowd .
Court papers in one case — against a man arrested on federal charges for shining a green laser in the eyes of Federal Protective Service agents — show that Portland police turned him over to federal authorities after federal officers identified him , in part with the testimony of their undercover officers .
Mayor Ted Wheeler , who himself has been under fire locally for his handling of the protests , said Sunday on national TV talk shows that the demonstrations that dominated Portland headlines for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal officers engaged .
“ They are sharply escalating the situation .
Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism .
And it ’ s not helping the situation at all , ” Wheeler said Sunday on CNN ’ s “ State of the Union .
”

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal law enforcement officers’ actions at protests in Oregon’s largest city, done without local authorities’ consent, are raising the prospect of a constitutional crisis — one that could escalate as weeks of demonstrations find renewed focus in clashes with camouflaged, unidentified agents outside Portland’s U.S. courthouse.
State and local authorities, who did not ask for federal help, are awaiting a ruling in a federal lawsuit filed late last week by state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. She said in court papers that masked federal officers have arrested people off the street, far from the courthouse, with no probable cause — and whisked them away in unmarked cars.
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Constitutional law experts said Monday the federal officers’ actions are a “red flag” in what could become a test case of states’ rights as the Trump administration expands its federal policing into other cities.
“The idea that there’s a threat to a federal courthouse and the federal authorities are going to swoop in and do whatever they want to do without any cooperation and coordination with state and local authorities is extraordinary outside the context of a civil war,” said Michael Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University.
“It is a standard move of authoritarians to use the pretext of quelling violence to bring in force, thereby prompting a violent response and then bootstrapping the initial use of force in the first place,” Dorf said.
President Donald Trump says he plans to send federal agents to other cities as well. The Chicago Tribune, citing anonymous sources, reported Monday that Trump planned to deploy 150 federal agents to Chicago. The ACLU of Oregon has sued in federal court over the agents’ presence in Portland, and the organization’s Chicago branch said it would similarly oppose a federal presence.
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“We’re going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you,” Trump said Monday. “In Portland, they’ve done a fantastic job. They’ve been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time.”
Top leaders in the U.S. House said Sunday they were “alarmed” by the Trump administration’s tactics in Portland and other cities. They’ve called on federal inspectors general to investigate.
Trump, who called the protesters “anarchists and agitators” in a Sunday tweet, said the agents, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, are on hand to help Portland and restore order at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse.
The actions run counter to the usual philosophies of American conservatives, who typically treat state and local rights with great sanctity and have long been deeply wary of the federal government — particularly its armed agents — interceding in most situations.
But Trump, a Republican, has shown during his time in office that his actions do not always reflect traditional conservatism — particularly when politics, and in this case an impending election, are in play.
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One prominent Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is from the libertarian-leaning flank of the party, came out publicly against the federal agents. “We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will,” Paul said in a tweet Monday.
The protests now gaining nationwide attention have roiled Portland for 52 nights, ever since George Floyd died after being pinned by the neck for nearly eight minutes by a white Minneapolis police officer.
Many rallies have attracted thousands and been largely peaceful. But smaller groups of up to several hundred people have focused on federal property and local law enforcement buildings, at times setting fires to police precincts, smashing windows and clashing violently with local police.
The Portland Police Bureau used tear gas on multiple occasions until a federal court order banned its officers from doing so without declaring a riot. Now, concern is growing that the tear gas is being used against demonstrators by federal officers instead.
Anger at the federal presence escalated on July 11, when a protester who was hospitalized with critical injuries after a U.S. Marshals Service officer struck him in the head with a non-lethal round. Video of the incident shows the man, identified as Donavan LaBella, standing across the street from the officers holding a speaker over his head with both hands when he was struck.
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Affidavits filed in federal court in cases against recently arrested protesters also show that federal officers have posted lookouts on the upper stories of the courthouse and have plainclothes officers circulating in the crowd. Court papers in one case — against a man arrested on federal charges for shining a green laser in the eyes of Federal Protective Service agents — show that Portland police turned him over to federal authorities after federal officers identified him, in part with the testimony of their undercover officers.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, who himself has been under fire locally for his handling of the protests, said Sunday on national TV talk shows that the demonstrations that dominated Portland headlines for more than seven weeks were dwindling before federal officers engaged.
“They are sharply escalating the situation. Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism. And it’s not helping the situation at all,” Wheeler said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“They’re not wanted here. We haven’t asked them here,” Wheeler said. “In fact, we want them to leave.”
Indeed, crowds of demonstrators had begun to dwindle a week ago, and some people in notoriously liberal Portland — including Black community leaders — had begun to call for the nightly demonstrations to end.
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But by the weekend, the presence of federal troops and Trump’s repeated references to Portland as a hotbed of “anarchists” seemed to give a new life and renewed focus to the nightly demonstrations — and to attract a broader base.
On Sunday night, a crowd estimated at more than 500 people gathered outside the courthouse and included dozens of self-described “moms” who linked arms in a line in front of a chain link fence in front of the courthouse. The demonstration continued into Monday morning.
“It seems clear that there were at least some federal crimes committed here,” said Steve Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas. “But the notion that a handful of federal crimes justifies a substantial deployment of federal law enforcement officers … to show force on the streets is, to my mind, unprecedented.”
“Federal law enforcement,” Vladeck said, “is not a political prop.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-20--'Men's Rights' Lawyer Eyed In Shooting Of NJ Judge's Family

Roy Den Hollander , who received media attention including appearances on Fox News and Comedy Central for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of “ men ’ s rights , ” was found dead Monday in Sullivan County , New York , two officials with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press .
The FBI said Den Hollander was the “ primary subject in the attack ” and confirmed he had been pronounced dead but provided no other details .
Found among his personal effects was information about another judge , New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore , a state court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but in another part of the house and was unharmed , said the officials , who could not discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity .
Den Hollander was involved in a lawsuit , filed in 2015 , that was being heard by Salas involving a woman who wanted to register for the men-only military draft .
In writings posted online , Den Hollander derided the judge as having traded on her Hispanic heritage to get ahead .
In a screed Den Hollander posted online , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FedEx delivery person to speak with a young girl , the same tactic the gunman apparently used at the door to the judge ’ s home .
Den Hollander was best known previously for unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of “ ladies night ” promotions at bars and nightclubs .
His litigation , and willingness to appear on television , earned him spots on The Colbert Report and MSNBC .
“ I was shocked last night to hear news of Daniel Anderl ’ s tragic death Sunday evening in New Jersey .
Daniel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classes beginning in the next few weeks , ” university President John Garvey wrote on Twitter .
“ He turned 20 last week.
” Salas , seated in Newark , was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2011 .
Prior to that , she served as a U.S. magistrate judge after working as an assistant public defender for several years .
In more than 2,000 pages of often misogynistic , racist writings , Den Hollander criticized Salas ’ life story of being abandoned by her father and raised by her poor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blame a man and turn someone into super girl.
” In another section — part of a collection posted online that resembled an early draft of a memoir — he wrote about being treated recently for cancer , and wanting to use the rest of his time to “ wrap up his affairs.
” “ No more chances now , if there ever really were any , for glory and fortune , but maybe a little old time justice as in all those 1950s television westerns I watched as a kid when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fight , ” he wrote .
“ The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he can ’ t even the score with all of them .
But law school and the media taught me how to prioritize.
” Den Hollander ’ s writings also point to a possible connection to the area where he was found dead .
He described going to a family cabin in the Catskills community of Beaverkill , about 40 minutes by car @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bankruptcy in 2011 , citing more than $ 120,000 in credit card debt , as well as rent and other expenses .
In the filing , Den Hollander estimated he made about $ 300 a month from his work , with the bulk of his income coming from a $ 724 monthly Social Security payment .
Salas , born in California to a Cuban immigrant mother and Mexican father , spent most of her childhood in Union City , New Jersey .
After helping her family escape a devastating house fire , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and advocate , foreshadowing her career in law as she argued her family ’ s case to welfare officials , according to a 2018 magazine profile .
“ He ’ s been arguing with us since he could talk — practicing his advocacy skills , ” Salas told New Jersey Monthly .
“ I don ’ t want to dissuade him , but I was pulling for a doctor.
” “ These are people that will never see their friend again .
Then to think of Esther losing her only child .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Costanza , a lawyer who watched Daniel grow up , and had dinner plans this coming week with his parents .

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A self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer found dead in the Catskills of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound is the prime suspect in the shooting of a federal judge’s family in New Jersey, the FBI said Monday.
Roy Den Hollander, who received media attention including appearances on Fox News and Comedy Central for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of “men’s rights,” was found dead Monday in Sullivan County, New York, two officials with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
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The FBI said Den Hollander was the “primary subject in the attack” and confirmed he had been pronounced dead but provided no other details. Found among his personal effects was information about another judge, New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, a state court spokesperson said.
A day earlier, a gunman posing as a FedEx delivery person went to the North Brunswick, New Jersey, home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, and started shooting, wounding her husband, the defense lawyer Mark Anderl, and killing her son, Daniel Anderl.
Salas was at home but in another part of the house and was unharmed, said the officials, who could not discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Den Hollander was involved in a lawsuit, filed in 2015, that was being heard by Salas involving a woman who wanted to register for the men-only military draft. In writings posted online, Den Hollander derided the judge as having traded on her Hispanic heritage to get ahead.
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A package addressed to Salas was found along with Den Hollander’s body, the officials said.
In a screed Den Hollander posted online, he also wrote of posing as a FedEx delivery person to speak with a young girl, the same tactic the gunman apparently used at the door to the judge’s home.
Den Hollander was best known previously for unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of “ladies night” promotions at bars and nightclubs. His litigation, and willingness to appear on television, earned him spots on The Colbert Report and MSNBC.
Another lawsuit argued night clubs were violating human rights by charging men hundreds of dollars for bottle service. In 2008, he unsuccessfully sued Columbia University for providing women’s studies classes, saying they were “a bastion of bigotry against men.”
Daniel Anderl, Salas’ son, was set to be heading back shortly to The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he was named to the Dean’s List this spring.
“I was shocked last night to hear news of Daniel Anderl’s tragic death Sunday evening in New Jersey. Daniel was a rising junior, enrolled for classes beginning in the next few weeks,” university President John Garvey wrote on Twitter. “He turned 20 last week.”
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Salas, seated in Newark, was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2011. Prior to that, she served as a U.S. magistrate judge after working as an assistant public defender for several years.
In more than 2,000 pages of often misogynistic, racist writings, Den Hollander criticized Salas’ life story of being abandoned by her father and raised by her poor mother as “the usual effort to blame a man and turn someone into super girl.”
In another section — part of a collection posted online that resembled an early draft of a memoir — he wrote about being treated recently for cancer, and wanting to use the rest of his time to “wrap up his affairs.”
“No more chances now, if there ever really were any, for glory and fortune, but maybe a little old time justice as in all those 1950s television westerns I watched as a kid when the lone cowboy refused to give up without a fight,” he wrote. “The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he can’t even the score with all of them. But law school and the media taught me how to prioritize.”
Den Hollander’s writings also point to a possible connection to the area where he was found dead. He described going to a family cabin in the Catskills community of Beaverkill, about 40 minutes by car from Liberty.
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Den Hollander filed for bankruptcy in 2011, citing more than $120,000 in credit card debt, as well as rent and other expenses. In the filing, Den Hollander estimated he made about $300 a month from his work, with the bulk of his income coming from a $724 monthly Social Security payment.
Salas, born in California to a Cuban immigrant mother and Mexican father, spent most of her childhood in Union City, New Jersey. After helping her family escape a devastating house fire, she acted as her mother’s translator and advocate, foreshadowing her career in law as she argued her family’s case to welfare officials, according to a 2018 magazine profile.
In the profile, Salas spoke of her son possibly following his parents into the legal profession.
“He’s been arguing with us since he could talk — practicing his advocacy skills,” Salas told New Jersey Monthly. “I don’t want to dissuade him, but I was pulling for a doctor.”
Several college friends had spent the weekend visiting Daniel for his birthday, leaving just hours before the shooting, neighbor Marion Costanza said.
“These are people that will never see their friend again. Then to think of Esther losing her only child. It’s just devastating,” said Costanza, a lawyer who watched Daniel grow up, and had dinner plans this coming week with his parents.
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“I want the world to know what a beautiful kid this was,” she said. “It’s just devastating.”
Salas’ highest-profile case in recent years was the financial fraud case involving husband-and-wife “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reality TV stars Teresa and Joe Giudice, whom Salas sentenced to prison for crimes including bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion.
Attorney General William Barr said in a statement Monday that the FBI and the U.S. Marshals will continue investigating the shooting, adding: “This kind of lawless, evil action carried out against a member of the federal judiciary will not be tolerated.”
___


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-20--Lindsay Lohan Dishes On How She Pulled Off Playing Twins In 'Parent Trap' Reunion

Lindsay Lohan nailed her performance as twins in “ Parent Trap ” so effortlessly that even her co-stars wondered if she was two people .
In the cast ’ s first reunion since the movie ’ s 1998 release , they recalled some of the tricks it took to pull it off .
The virtual special ― a celebration of the Nancy Meyers remake ’ s 22nd anniversary ― was released on Katie Couric ’ s Instagram on Monday to support José Andrés ’ World Central Kitchen , which is aiding COVID-19 relief efforts .
“ I remember testing when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see how long the blue hard candy nail polish would take to put on and take off , ” Lohan said , as a clip of her 11-year-old self as Hallie Parker in the iconic summer camp poker scene flashed across the screen .
“ And I would just run , sit there , change everything , and ‘ then start talking like this , ’ ” she added in a British accent .
Lohan , now 34 , said putting on her wig made her feel entirely different , which helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Annie James .
“ And I feel like almost people treated me differently when I was Annie .
Because Annie was so much nicer , and I feel like Hallie was kinda like me , ” she said .
Her parents ’ separation , which was happening around the time of filming , helped her to understand her characters , Lohan shared .
Lohan soared to stardom after her performances as twins Hallie Parker and Annie James , who were separated as babies , then met at summer camp more than a decade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rocky start , the two girls uncover some unsettling similarities and finally realize they ’ re twins .
They hatch an elaborate intercontinental plan to switch places and get their divorced parents back together .
Meyers , who wrote and directed the film , said it was a challenging feat to pull off in 1998 .
She shouted out Lohan ’ s look-alike body double Erin Mackey , who she said was present every day of the shoot .
Mackey , who was roughly the same height and sported the red hair to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to life with the help of the far-less-advanced CGI of the day .
“ If you turn just a little bit too much , you could see that it wasn ’ t Lindsay , but it was ultimately a fun experience and experiment .
It worked , and even if you look at it now , it looks pretty good , ” she said .

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Lindsay Lohan nailed her performance as twins in “Parent Trap” so effortlessly that even her co-stars wondered if she was two people. In the cast’s first reunion since the movie’s 1998 release, they recalled some of the tricks it took to pull it off.
The virtual special ― a celebration of the Nancy Meyers remake’s 22nd anniversary ― was released on Katie Couric’s Instagram on Monday to support José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, which is aiding COVID-19 relief efforts.
Advertisement
“I remember testing when we had to do the nail polish to see how long the blue hard candy nail polish would take to put on and take off,” Lohan said, as a clip of her 11-year-old self as Hallie Parker in the iconic summer camp poker scene flashed across the screen. “And I would just run, sit there, change everything, and ‘then start talking like this,’” she added in a British accent.
Lohan, now 34, said putting on her wig made her feel entirely different, which helped her sink into her other role as Annie James.
“And I feel like almost people treated me differently when I was Annie. Because Annie was so much nicer, and I feel like Hallie was kinda like me,” she said.
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Her parents’ separation, which was happening around the time of filming, helped her to understand her characters, Lohan shared.
“Without this movie, without this, I wouldn’t have gotten that acting bug,” she added. ”‘The Parent Trap’ ― it’s beautiful, it’s timeless and it’s special.”
Lohan soared to stardom after her performances as twins Hallie Parker and Annie James, who were separated as babies, then met at summer camp more than a decade later. After getting off to a rocky start, the two girls uncover some unsettling similarities and finally realize they’re twins. They hatch an elaborate intercontinental plan to switch places and get their divorced parents back together.
Meyers, who wrote and directed the film, said it was a challenging feat to pull off in 1998. She shouted out Lohan’s look-alike body double Erin Mackey, who she said was present every day of the shoot.
Advertisement
Mackey, who was roughly the same height and sported the red hair to match, helped Meyers’ vision come to life with the help of the far-less-advanced CGI of the day.
“If you turn just a little bit too much, you could see that it wasn’t Lindsay, but it was ultimately a fun experience and experiment. It worked, and even if you look at it now, it looks pretty good,” she said.
The special also featured key cast members Dennis Quade (Nick Parker), Elaine Hendrix (Meredith Blake), Lisa Ann Walter (Chessy), Simon Kunz (Martin) and Meyers’ co-writer and producer, Charles Shyer.
Grab some peanut butter and Oreos and settle in for a heavy dose of nostalgia ― watch the reunion below.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Cognitive Test Trump Says He 'Aced' Is Supposed To Be Easy, Doctor Says

President Donald Trump may be very pleased he recently managed to “ ace ” a cognitive test , but it may have been more than dumb luck .
That ’ s because the doctor who designed a test recently given to Trump at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said it ’ s actually supposed to be easy for people without cognitive impairment .
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment ( MoCA ) test invented by Dr. Ziad Nasreddine in 1996 is a 10-minute examination that measures the strengths of different areas of the brain that handle short-term memory , spatial awareness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not an IQ test or the level of how a person is extremely skilled or not , ” Nasreddine explained .
“ The test is supposed to help physicians detect early signs of Alzheimer ’ s , and it became very popular because it was a short test and very sensitive for early impairment.
” A normal score is about 27 out of 30 , but Trump recently bragged about how he did on the test to both Sean Hannity and “ Fox News Sunday ” host Chris Wallace .
“ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wallace said .
“ They have a picture and it says , ‘ What ’ s that ?
’ And it ’ s an elephant.
” But Nasreddine says critics who talk about how easy the test is are missing the point .
“ It is supposed to be easy for someone who has no cognitive impairment , ” he said .
One of the more difficult tasks requires a person to be given five words to remember and then they are asked to recall them 10 minutes later .
“ That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test for someone who has cognitive impairment , ” Nasreddine told MarketWatch .
Although Trump has been ridiculed for bragging about how he did on the cognitive test , Nasreddine believes that cognitive impairment is a relevant issue this election year considering Trump is 74 and his challenger , Joe Biden , is 77 .
“ Dementia becomes more prevalent with age , ” Nasreddine said .
“ Statistically , one person out of four could have cognitive impairment or dementia at age 75 .
So it is a pertinent question , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is becoming an issue this election .
”

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President Donald Trump may be very pleased he recently managed to “ace” a cognitive test, but it may have been more than dumb luck.
That’s because the doctor who designed a test recently given to Trump at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said it’s actually supposed to be easy for people without cognitive impairment.
Advertisement
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test invented by Dr. Ziad Nasreddine in 1996 is a 10-minute examination that measures the strengths of different areas of the brain that handle short-term memory, spatial awareness and executive functioning.
But it doesn’t measure intelligence, Nasreddine stressed to MarketWatch.
“This is not an IQ test or the level of how a person is extremely skilled or not,” Nasreddine explained. “The test is supposed to help physicians detect early signs of Alzheimer’s, and it became very popular because it was a short test and very sensitive for early impairment.”
A normal score is about 27 out of 30, but Trump recently bragged about how he did on the test to both Sean Hannity and “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace.
To be fair, Wallace wasn’t impressed.
“It’s not the hardest test,” Wallace said. “They have a picture and it says, ‘What’s that?’ And it’s an elephant.”
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But Nasreddine says critics who talk about how easy the test is are missing the point.
“It is supposed to be easy for someone who has no cognitive impairment,” he said.
One of the more difficult tasks requires a person to be given five words to remember and then they are asked to recall them 10 minutes later.
“That’s the most difficult part of the test for someone who has cognitive impairment,” Nasreddine told MarketWatch.
Although Trump has been ridiculed for bragging about how he did on the cognitive test, Nasreddine believes that cognitive impairment is a relevant issue this election year considering Trump is 74 and his challenger, Joe Biden, is 77.
“Dementia becomes more prevalent with age,” Nasreddine said. “Statistically, one person out of four could have cognitive impairment or dementia at age 75. So it is a pertinent question, and it’s not surprising that this is becoming an issue this election.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Twitter Users Imagine What Drink 2020 Would Be

Although the events of 2020 are enough to drive anyone to drink , there is still the nagging question of @ @ @ @ @ with this year .

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thehuffingtonpost--2020-07-21--Workplace Temperature Checks Aren't Effective On Their Own. Here's What Else We Need.

Since fever is one of the symptoms of COVID-19 , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends temperature checks as an optional strategy to screen out employees who may be arriving to work with the virus .
These thermal scans are part of the new normal of living and working through a pandemic .
You may be scanned for fever at the door of your local restaurant , in the airport , entering Disney World , or before you can get your laptop checked at the Apple Store .
In many offices , plants and factories , staff are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being allowed to work .
But does this kind of temperature check actually work at limiting the spread of this infectious disease when employees spend all today together in the workplace ?
Not on its own .
For one thing , a large number of patients don ’ t present with fever .
Out of 5,700 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the New York City area between March and April , only 30.7 % showed fever symptoms , according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association .
People may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment they are getting a temperature check .
As the World Health Organization notes for travelers in airports , “ Temperature screening alone , at exit or entry , is not an effective way to stop international spread , since infected individuals may be in incubation period.
” “ Just a pure fever check gives you a false sense of security .
‘ I have a headache and I have muscle aches , but I don ’ t have a fever , so I can work.
’ ” - Kartik Cherabuddi , clinical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University of Florida Temperature checks alone are not a reliable workplace prevention strategy .
Cherabuddi said employers tend to focus on fever screening alone because it uses technology and the measurement feels objective .
But used alone , it doesn ’ t catch the more common mild symptoms Cherabuddi sees in patients , such as fatigue , mild headaches , muscle aches and a scratchy throat .
A more comprehensive symptom screening for employees would identify and take action on those milder symptoms , he said .
Someone who discloses that they didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they have a mild headache , for example , could be told to get their PPE checked , social distance at work , monitor their symptoms for a few hours , and go home if those symptoms get worse .
But there ’ s a limit to what symptom screening can catch .
For pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic employees , Cherabuddi said , having employees maintain their distance is key since it ’ s only way to prevent transmission when there ’ s no other way of telling if someone has the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Promoting healthy workplaces where employees aren ’ t pressured to work sick comes first .
Forcing people into long lines can give COVID-19 another way to spread .
To prevent crowding at workplace checkpoints , Cherabuddi recommended scheduling employees to work in staggered shifts and marking the distances where people should be standing in line well apart from each other .
Fever checks are also relatively useless if employees haven ’ t bought into a more comprehensive plan to keep each other safe .
More important than a fever check alone is making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is necessary , Cherabuddi said .
That could include using checkpoints as opportunities for eduction and to ensure people have appropriate PPE , he said .
Dr. Zeke McKinney , the primary occupational and environmental medicine provider at Minnesota ’ s HealthPartners RiverWay Clinic , calls fever screening a secondary prevention strategy .
Primary prevention is having employees wearing masks and doing physical distancing , he said , and understanding that the actions they do outside of work matter for preventing COVID-19 spread at work , too .
Employers also need to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communication with staff that takes away pressure for people to work while sick .
As the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine put it in its recommendations , “ Paid sick leave is recommended to reduce the chances that a worker will come to work with COVID-19 .
Temperature screening of workers without paid leave may seem to be of greater value , but this is unproven.
” Ultimately , the goal at worksite screening points is for positive symptoms to be treated with compassion and a plan of action , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or shamed for disclosing them .
Having open communication about everyone at work doing this symptom screening together “ can raise a sense of ownership and collegiality that ‘ we ’ re in this together , ’ ” Cherabuddi said .
Experts are still learning about the novel coronavirus .
The information in this story is what was known or available as of press time , but it ’ s possible guidance around COVID-19 could change as scientists discover more about the virus .
Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention @ @ @ @ @ @

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If it hasn’t already, some sort of temperature check may be coming to your workplace.
Since fever is one of the symptoms of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends temperature checks as an optional strategy to screen out employees who may be arriving to work with the virus.
These thermal scans are part of the new normal of living and working through a pandemic. You may be scanned for fever at the door of your local restaurant, in the airport, entering Disney World, or before you can get your laptop checked at the Apple Store. In many offices, plants and factories, staff are required to have their temperature taken before being allowed to work.
Advertisement
But does this kind of temperature check actually work at limiting the spread of this infectious disease when employees spend all today together in the workplace? Not on its own. For one thing, a large number of patients don’t present with fever. Out of 5,700 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the New York City area between March and April, only 30.7% showed fever symptoms, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Luis Alvarez via Getty Images Many businesses are taking employees' temperatures before they can enter offices, worksites or other facilities.
People may also be asymptomatic but infectious at the moment they are getting a temperature check. As the World Health Organization notes for travelers in airports, “Temperature screening alone, at exit or entry, is not an effective way to stop international spread, since infected individuals may be in incubation period.”
“Just a pure fever check gives you a false sense of security. ‘I have a headache and I have muscle aches, but I don’t have a fever, so I can work.’” - Kartik Cherabuddi, clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at the University of Florida
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Temperature checks alone are not a reliable workplace prevention strategy.
Fever checks do have their use.
“Can it help a little bit in worksite screening? Yes,” said Kartik Cherabuddi, a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at the University of Florida. “But it’s the third most important thing: symptom screening, PPE [personal protective equipment] or mask check, and then fever check.”
Cherabuddi said employers tend to focus on fever screening alone because it uses technology and the measurement feels objective. But used alone, it doesn’t catch the more common mild symptoms Cherabuddi sees in patients, such as fatigue, mild headaches, muscle aches and a scratchy throat.
“Just a pure fever check gives you a false sense of security: ‘I have a headache and I have muscle aches, but I don’t have a fever, so I can work,’” he said.
A more comprehensive symptom screening for employees would identify and take action on those milder symptoms, he said. Someone who discloses that they didn’t sleep well last night or that they have a mild headache, for example, could be told to get their PPE checked, social distance at work, monitor their symptoms for a few hours, and go home if those symptoms get worse.
But there’s a limit to what symptom screening can catch. For pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic employees, Cherabuddi said, having employees maintain their distance is key since it’s only way to prevent transmission when there’s no other way of telling if someone has the virus.
Advertisement
Fever screening is secondary prevention. Promoting healthy workplaces where employees aren’t pressured to work sick comes first.
Forcing people into long lines can give COVID-19 another way to spread. To prevent crowding at workplace checkpoints, Cherabuddi recommended scheduling employees to work in staggered shifts and marking the distances where people should be standing in line well apart from each other.
Fever checks are also relatively useless if employees haven’t bought into a more comprehensive plan to keep each other safe. More important than a fever check alone is making sure workers know why public health screening is necessary, Cherabuddi said. That could include using checkpoints as opportunities for eduction and to ensure people have appropriate PPE, he said.
Dr. Zeke McKinney, the primary occupational and environmental medicine provider at Minnesota’s HealthPartners RiverWay Clinic, calls fever screening a secondary prevention strategy. Primary prevention is having employees wearing masks and doing physical distancing, he said, and understanding that the actions they do outside of work matter for preventing COVID-19 spread at work, too.
Employers also need to do their part, opening a line of communication with staff that takes away pressure for people to work while sick. As the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine put it in its recommendations, “Paid sick leave is recommended to reduce the chances that a worker will come to work with COVID-19. Temperature screening of workers without paid leave may seem to be of greater value, but this is unproven.”
Advertisement
In other words, for a healthy workplace, employees should not hear mixed messages such as, “They tell us to stay home when we’re sick, but whenever I call in, my supervisor is really mad at me,” McKinney said.
Ultimately, the goal at worksite screening points is for positive symptoms to be treated with compassion and a plan of action, so that workers don’t feel penalized or shamed for disclosing them. Having open communication about everyone at work doing this symptom screening together “can raise a sense of ownership and collegiality that ‘we’re in this together,’” Cherabuddi said.