therealnews--2020-04-20--Finding Hope During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Jaisal Noor : Welcome to The Real News .
I ’ m Jaisal Noor .
Grim times in the room , richest country in the history of the world , which the global pandemic has hit harder than any other , with over 600,000 confirmed cases and 26,000 deaths .
At least 22 million people have already lost their jobs and will be saddled with crushing medical bills if they get sick .
While the lion ’ s share of the government bailout is going to corporations and the wealthy , banks are seizing the measly $ 1,200 stimulus checks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration ’ s response has been nothing short of catastrophic .
Mismanagement , lies and misinformation , downplaying the viruses threat , and refusing calls to force industry to produce badly-needed personal protective gear has all contributed to the staggering death toll and is verging on authoritarianism .
Meanwhile , the democratic socialist challenger , who energized a movement to take on these ills by guaranteeing rights like healthcare and housing , has bowed out of the race and endorsed his opponent .
To talk about all of this , and perhaps more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in these grim times , is Dr. Gerald Horne .
He holds the Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston , is the author of dozens of books , including his latest , White Supremacy Confronted : U.S .
Imperialism and Anti-Communism vs. the Liberation of Southern Africa from Rhodes to Mandela .
Thank you so much for joining us again , Dr. Horne .
Dr. Gerald Horne : Thank you for inviting me .
Jaisal Noor : So I want you to start off by talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s response to this catastrophe .
I remember in our interviews back in the previous election , you predicted that he had a … When a lot of people counted him out , you were spot on , because you said that we ’ re not taking his threat seriously and you correctly predicted that he had a real chance to win the presidency .
We ’ re years into this now .
There ’ s an election coming up .
How do you evaluate Donald Trump ’ s response ?
Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most dangerous president in the history of this country .
Do you agree with that assessment ?
Dr. Gerald Horne : I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment .
You need look no further than the recent move to defund the World Health Organization in the midst of a global pandemic which billionaire Bill Gates said that it ’ s as dangerous as it sounds .
This is taking place in the midst of his hamfisted inaction and nonfeasance with regard to setting up testing , with regard to providing personal protective equipment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m afraid to say , that for once I may agree with an assessment of the International Monetary Fund , which in a recent report suggested that the global economy , particularly the economy of the United States of America , is on the cusp of what might be the most calamitous economic situation since the Great Depression of the 1930s .
You need look no further than the fact that Disney Corporation , a multibillion dollar giant , which just a few weeks ago seemed to be sailing along quite nicely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 million a day , laying off workers by the thousands , shutting down theme parks , shutting down its cruiser lines .
The whole cruiser business seems to me to be headed to be belly up since that seems to be a Petri dish for the circulation of the coronavirus .
And we also see that there has been an apocalypse in terms of retail , that is to say Best Buy is laying off workers , JC Penney ’ s might be on the verge of bankruptcy .
We see hotels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dangerous situation that we ’ re facing .
And the 45th US president only seems to be concerned with his own personal popularity rather than the welfare of the people of the United States .
Jaisal Noor : So this is solicited responses from both the right and the left .
On the right , in Michigan yesterday we saw these lines of protestors at the State House with chants of “ Lock her up ” , to the governor of Michigan demanding the economy be reopened despite the threats , despite the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesters feel that the economic impact will be worse than the potential health impact , even though many of those protesters were wearing masks , in no small bit of irony .
And on the other hand , the left is grappling with the dropping out of Bernie Sanders , which for many people was a real hope to address this crisis in a way that sort of addresses the fundamental root causes of this crisis and inequality .
He ’ s dropped out .
He has endorsed Joe Biden .
And we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ … We don ’ t know how many people , but for a significant amount of Bernie Sanders supporters , it could be something like 10 % as in previous elections , the idea of supporting Joe Biden is something they will not tolerate .
Dr. Gerald Horne : Well , with regard to the first item , that is a chilling and most dangerous development .
These so-called constitutional conservatives rallying at the State House in Lansing , Michigan .
This is coupled with similar moves that are taking place in Idaho @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state that is the de facto headquarters of white supremacists .
A number of the leaders of the August 2017 pro-Nazi pro-fascist rally in Charlottesville , Virginia actually had roots in Idaho .
And I ’ m afraid to say that this is also coupled with the spectacular rise in gun sales that is taking place as we speak .
And I ’ m also happy to say that the Sanders supporters , including Alexandria Ocasio Cortez , are quite right to keep putting pressure on the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is willing to support Mr. Biden , but she feels that her many supporters will be more comfortable in supporting Mr. Biden if he would move towards the Sanders agenda , including universal health care , including cancellation of student debt , including raising the minimum wage quite upwards .
So this is where we sit and stand as we speak .
Jaisal Noor : And he talked about universal health care .
I thought it was fascinating that a poll just put out put the popularity of single-payer healthcare the highest it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans now support it , according to recent polls .
And that ’ s despite the propaganda effort by many of these candidates dominating the airwaves .
You had insurance companies buying ads during these debates , arguing against universal healthcare .
And we have Joe Biden , the presumptive nominee … And I don ’ t think he ’ s a lock because he ’ s facing his own Me Too allegations and there ’ s been doubts for months about his ability to lead in moments like this .
But he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said in recent months that he would potentially veto a single-payer bill if it gets on his desk and he ’ s not satisfied with the payment mechanism of that .
Dr. Gerald Horne : Well , as the 45th president likes to say , we shall see about that .
But I think that this present moment underscores the wrongheadedness of so-called neoliberalism .
That is to say , one of the reasons why the United States is the epicenter of this pandemic is because the United States has been operating without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the circus , or if you know about circuses , you know that if one is engaged in a flying trapeze and it ’ s operating without a safety net , you oftentimes end with a fatality .
Operating without a safety net in this complex , complicated world is akin to driving from New York to San Francisco without a spare tire in your truck .
But gets worse because the United States has oftentimes tried to impose and implant this same wrongheaded , harebrained system on other countries .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ harbors in the 1980s to move Nicaragua away from a so-called socialist system , overthrowing the Grenadian revolution in October , 1983 , continuing the blockade against Cuba up to this very moment , the entire Cold War from 1917 till the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 .
And so now the chickens have come home to roofs .
And a number of US folk , I ’ m afraid to say , are just waking up to the fact , the undeniable reality , that you can have gold-plated healthcare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ door and meet an aerosolized cough from someone who doesn ’ t , and wind up dead .
And therefore , the only solution and remedy going forward is universal healthcare .
A chain is only strong as its weakest link .
And a society can not be strong if there are millions of people without healthcare , if there are millions of people who are homeless , and if there are millions of people who are suffering .
Jaisal Noor : And finally , I wanted to hear from you what gives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know that you have chronicled the abolition movement , the revolutionary movements around the world from some of these … from the global historic struggles like the Haitian revolution , which perhaps is sort of the most underdog story , fighting a colonial power and winning , the first successful slave revolt on a national scale , the first successful national labor revolt against unprecedented odds , defeating a superpower at that time .
Talk about what gives you hope .
Dr. Gerald Horne : Well , what gives me hope are the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For example , Chipotle workers in Manhattan storming off the job because their employer was jeopardizing their health by not supplying them with hand sanitizer and protective equipment .
Amazon workers in Staten Island acting similarly , the fact that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union , 1.3 million strong , perhaps the strongest union in the United States in the private sector , has been clamoring about what ’ s happening to its membership , who are represented not only in meat processing plants from the Atlantic to the Pacific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food security , but also those who stock our grocery shelves , those who take our money at supermarkets .
They ’ d been stepping up their militancy .
And so that ’ s what gives me hope , because I recognize and I realize that in the 1930s when there was the last Great Depression , that was also the moment when labor expanded its membership , when you had radical unions storming ahead .
And I would like to think that that ’ s what ’ s going to happen in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Well , Dr. Gerald Horne .
It ’ s always a pleasure to have you on .
And we know you have a book coming out this summer .
Can you give us some more information about that ?
Dr. Gerald Horne : Yes .
The Dawning of the Apocalypse : The Roots of Slavery , White Supremacy , Settler Colonialism , and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century .
It will help to explain the most elementary fact , which is why we are sitting here now speaking English instead of Spanish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at all .
Jaisal Noor : All right .
Thank you so much for joining us .
Dr. Gerald Horne : Thank you for inviting me .
Jaisal Noor : And thank you for joining us at The Real News Network .

Dr. Gerald Horne says workers organizing and fighting for basic rights offer hope during the coronavirus pandemic, increasingly catastrophic government response, dire economic outlook, and two unappealing options at the ballot box in November.
Story Transcript
Jaisal Noor: Welcome to The Real News. I’m Jaisal Noor. Grim times in the room, richest country in the history of the world, which the global pandemic has hit harder than any other, with over 600,000 confirmed cases and 26,000 deaths. At least 22 million people have already lost their jobs and will be saddled with crushing medical bills if they get sick. While the lion’s share of the government bailout is going to corporations and the wealthy, banks are seizing the measly $1,200 stimulus checks of those in debt. The Trump administration’s response has been nothing short of catastrophic. Mismanagement, lies and misinformation, downplaying the viruses threat, and refusing calls to force industry to produce badly-needed personal protective gear has all contributed to the staggering death toll and is verging on authoritarianism.
Meanwhile, the democratic socialist challenger, who energized a movement to take on these ills by guaranteeing rights like healthcare and housing, has bowed out of the race and endorsed his opponent. To talk about all of this, and perhaps more importantly, what should give us hope in these grim times, is Dr. Gerald Horne. He holds the Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, is the author of dozens of books, including his latest, White Supremacy Confronted: U.S. Imperialism and Anti-Communism vs. the Liberation of Southern Africa from Rhodes to Mandela. Thank you so much for joining us again, Dr. Horne.
Dr. Gerald Horne: Thank you for inviting me.
Jaisal Noor: So I want you to start off by talking about your evaluation of Donald Trump’s response to this catastrophe. I remember in our interviews back in the previous election, you predicted that he had a … When a lot of people counted him out, you were spot on, because you said that we’re not taking his threat seriously and you correctly predicted that he had a real chance to win the presidency. We’re years into this now. There’s an election coming up. How do you evaluate Donald Trump’s response? Bernie Sanders has called him the worst president, the most dangerous president in the history of this country. Do you agree with that assessment?
Dr. Gerald Horne: I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. You need look no further than the recent move to defund the World Health Organization in the midst of a global pandemic which billionaire Bill Gates said that it’s as dangerous as it sounds. This is taking place in the midst of his hamfisted inaction and nonfeasance with regard to setting up testing, with regard to providing personal protective equipment to endangered hospital workers. And I’m afraid to say, that for once I may agree with an assessment of the International Monetary Fund, which in a recent report suggested that the global economy, particularly the economy of the United States of America, is on the cusp of what might be the most calamitous economic situation since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
You need look no further than the fact that Disney Corporation, a multibillion dollar giant, which just a few weeks ago seemed to be sailing along quite nicely, is now reduced to borrowing $30 million a day, laying off workers by the thousands, shutting down theme parks, shutting down its cruiser lines. The whole cruiser business seems to me to be headed to be belly up since that seems to be a Petri dish for the circulation of the coronavirus. And we also see that there has been an apocalypse in terms of retail, that is to say Best Buy is laying off workers, JC Penney’s might be on the verge of bankruptcy. We see hotels empty. So this is a very dangerous situation that we’re facing. And the 45th US president only seems to be concerned with his own personal popularity rather than the welfare of the people of the United States.
Jaisal Noor: So this is solicited responses from both the right and the left. On the right, in Michigan yesterday we saw these lines of protestors at the State House with chants of “Lock her up”, to the governor of Michigan demanding the economy be reopened despite the threats, despite the real catastrophe that could result. The protesters feel that the economic impact will be worse than the potential health impact, even though many of those protesters were wearing masks, in no small bit of irony. And on the other hand, the left is grappling with the dropping out of Bernie Sanders, which for many people was a real hope to address this crisis in a way that sort of addresses the fundamental root causes of this crisis and inequality. He’s dropped out. He has endorsed Joe Biden. And we know that for a lot of people … We don’t know how many people, but for a significant amount of Bernie Sanders supporters, it could be something like 10% as in previous elections, the idea of supporting Joe Biden is something they will not tolerate.
Dr. Gerald Horne: Well, with regard to the first item, that is a chilling and most dangerous development. These so-called constitutional conservatives rallying at the State House in Lansing, Michigan. This is coupled with similar moves that are taking place in Idaho, which you may recall is the state that is the de facto headquarters of white supremacists. A number of the leaders of the August 2017 pro-Nazi pro-fascist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia actually had roots in Idaho. And I’m afraid to say that this is also coupled with the spectacular rise in gun sales that is taking place as we speak. And I’m also happy to say that the Sanders supporters, including Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, are quite right to keep putting pressure on the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president. Congresswoman Cortez has said that she is willing to support Mr. Biden, but she feels that her many supporters will be more comfortable in supporting Mr. Biden if he would move towards the Sanders agenda, including universal health care, including cancellation of student debt, including raising the minimum wage quite upwards. So this is where we sit and stand as we speak.
Jaisal Noor: And he talked about universal health care. I thought it was fascinating that a poll just put out put the popularity of single-payer healthcare the highest it’s been. The majority of Americans now support it, according to recent polls. And that’s despite the propaganda effort by many of these candidates dominating the airwaves. You had insurance companies buying ads during these debates, arguing against universal healthcare. And we have Joe Biden, the presumptive nominee … And I don’t think he’s a lock because he’s facing his own Me Too allegations and there’s been doubts for months about his ability to lead in moments like this. But he is the presumptive nominee. And he said in recent months that he would potentially veto a single-payer bill if it gets on his desk and he’s not satisfied with the payment mechanism of that.
Dr. Gerald Horne: Well, as the 45th president likes to say, we shall see about that. But I think that this present moment underscores the wrongheadedness of so-called neoliberalism. That is to say, one of the reasons why the United States is the epicenter of this pandemic is because the United States has been operating without a safety net. And if you go to the circus, or if you know about circuses, you know that if one is engaged in a flying trapeze and it’s operating without a safety net, you oftentimes end with a fatality. Operating without a safety net in this complex, complicated world is akin to driving from New York to San Francisco without a spare tire in your truck.
But gets worse because the United States has oftentimes tried to impose and implant this same wrongheaded, harebrained system on other countries. That is to say, mining Nicaraguan harbors in the 1980s to move Nicaragua away from a so-called socialist system, overthrowing the Grenadian revolution in October, 1983, continuing the blockade against Cuba up to this very moment, the entire Cold War from 1917 till the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. And so now the chickens have come home to roofs.
And a number of US folk, I’m afraid to say, are just waking up to the fact, the undeniable reality, that you can have gold-plated healthcare, but you can step outside your door and meet an aerosolized cough from someone who doesn’t, and wind up dead. And therefore, the only solution and remedy going forward is universal healthcare. A chain is only strong as its weakest link. And a society cannot be strong if there are millions of people without healthcare, if there are millions of people who are homeless, and if there are millions of people who are suffering.
Jaisal Noor: And finally, I wanted to hear from you what gives you hope in this time. We know that you have chronicled the abolition movement, the revolutionary movements around the world from some of these … from the global historic struggles like the Haitian revolution, which perhaps is sort of the most underdog story, fighting a colonial power and winning, the first successful slave revolt on a national scale, the first successful national labor revolt against unprecedented odds, defeating a superpower at that time. Talk about what gives you hope.
Dr. Gerald Horne: Well, what gives me hope are the reports that I read about wildcat strikes. For example, Chipotle workers in Manhattan storming off the job because their employer was jeopardizing their health by not supplying them with hand sanitizer and protective equipment. Amazon workers in Staten Island acting similarly, the fact that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, 1.3 million strong, perhaps the strongest union in the United States in the private sector, has been clamoring about what’s happening to its membership, who are represented not only in meat processing plants from the Atlantic to the Pacific and are therefore indispensable with regard to food security, but also those who stock our grocery shelves, those who take our money at supermarkets. They’d been stepping up their militancy.
And so that’s what gives me hope, because I recognize and I realize that in the 1930s when there was the last Great Depression, that was also the moment when labor expanded its membership, when you had radical unions storming ahead. And I would like to think that that’s what’s going to happen in 2020 going forward.
Jaisal Noor: Well, Dr. Gerald Horne. It’s always a pleasure to have you on. And we know you have a book coming out this summer. Can you give us some more information about that?
Dr. Gerald Horne: Yes. The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century. It will help to explain the most elementary fact, which is why we are sitting here now speaking English instead of Spanish or perhaps Turkish or not sitting here at all.
Jaisal Noor: All right. Thank you so much for joining us.
Dr. Gerald Horne: Thank you for inviting me.
Jaisal Noor: And thank you for joining us at The Real News Network.
Studio: Dwayne Gladden
Post-Production: Will Arenas
Production: Andrew Corkery
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therealnews--2020-04-20--Climate Crisis: KXL Roadblock, BP Spill at 10, and Dems Stand Down on Green Stimulus

Welcome back to TRNN ’ s Climate Crisis News Roundup .
In recent weeks , this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis , and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world .
But climate change and the politics of tackling the issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19 , and we will use this space to tell those stories , too .
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup , get in touch with me at [ email protected ] or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can read last week ’ s edition here .
In the roundup from two weeks ago , we reported that the long-contested Canada to Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline got a shot in the arm of over $ 5 billion in financial aid from the Alberta government .
Both TC Energy , the company formerly known as TransCanada which owns the pipeline , and the Alberta government said the money would make the project economically viable as the price of the Alberta tar sands tanks on the global oil market .
The company has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the US-Canada border in Montana .
But that Montana construction might not last for long or extend very far , due to a major April 15 federal court ruling in the US District Court for the District of Montana .
Judge Brian Morris ruled that , when the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for Keystone XL in 2017 for segments set to cross waters , it violated the Endangered Species Act .
The corps permit was granted two months after President Donald Trump gave TC Energy the presidential permit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the corps failed to do an adequate analysis of the potential impacts the pipeline could have on species such as the pallid sturgeon fish and the American burying beetle .
A Pallid sturgeon ( Scaphirynchus albus ) is released into Yellowstone River by U.S .
Fish and Wildlife Service personnel .
U.S .
Fish and Wildlife Service/Wikimedia Commons Environmental groups celebrated the ruling and say it could set legal precedent for future pipelines , as well .
“ The Trump administration has repeatedly violated the law in their relentless pursuit of seeing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Doug Hayes , an attorney for the Sierra Club , said in a press release .
“ Today ’ s ruling confirms , once again , that there ’ s just no getting around the fact that Keystone XL would devastate communities , wildlife , and clean drinking water.
” TC Energy , for its part , said it still intends to forge ahead with building the pipeline .
“ We have received the judge ’ s ruling and continue to review it , ” the company stated .
“ We remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project.
” On April 12 , Trump brokered a historic deal between Saudi Arabia , Russia , and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut oil production in an attempt to stabilize the plummeting price of oil .
The premise of the global deal centers around saving US shale oil fracking companies , who are on the brink of financial ruin due to the low oil price driven down by the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia .
But the United States has its own domestic production cuts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the US exists because fracking for oil is a capital-intensive endeavor which has had a hard time ever earning a profit , and the industry relies on a high global oil price .
To no avail , companies have asked the Trump administration for a bailout or financial incentives of some sort to keep themselves afloat .
But Trump has found himself in a bind because the industry is divided on the notion of both a bailout and a potential production cut mandate .
The divide is between major oil companies like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smaller companies , or those which led the fracking boom of the past 15 years .
That split was on full display during a 10-hour virtual hearing on April 14 about a proposal to mandate production cuts convened by the Texas Railroad Commision , the state ’ s oil regulating agency .
Texas is home to the most productive oil field in the country , the Permian Basin .
Though no formal decision came out of the hearing , it was clear where one of the non-Big Oil drillers , Continental Resources , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cut .
Founded by Harold Hamm , who until recently was also the CEO and now serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors , the company said it supports a production cut mandate both in Texas and Oklahoma .
Hamm , an energy adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential run , was also a major donor to his campaign that year and is again in 2020 .
On the other end of the industry spectrum was ExxonMobil , which called for the free market to win the day .
Likewise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it “ believes that the free market system will aptly regulate the price and supply of crude oil.
” The climate movement also weighed in via comments submitted in advance of the hearing and focused on flaring , a technique in which the excess gas byproduct is burned off into the atmosphere .
That gas is methane , a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide .
Methane emissions from oil producers in the Permian Basin are an increasingly major issue .
One of those comments came from the Sierra Club , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ methane waste as they are with waste that may result from oversupply due to the current supply and demand crisis.
” For his part , Trump is considering offering companies federal money to not drill up to 365 million barrels of oil , a proposal which would cost over $ 7 billion , and would require congressional appropriations .
EnergyWire has reported that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ( D-CA ) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ( D-NY ) have taken the Green Stimulus proposal called for by climate groups off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ round of COVID-19 stimulus talks .
Anonymous staffers told the publication not to expect the Democrats to put up a fight for the cause anytime soon , either , even as the oil industry receives both a slew of deregulatory measures and global dealmaking from the Trump administration .
EnergyWire reported that “ House Democrats have mostly stopped insisting that emergency relief bills address climate.
” “ At the end of the day , I don ’ t think this is about climate politics for [ Pelosi ] , ” one anonymous staffer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not magically keeping her powder dry until the perfect moment .
If [ climate ] were her priority , she would ’ ve said something.
” The clean energy sector is badly wounded from COVID-19 , having lost over 106,000 jobs in March alone .
The solar industry , too , could shed about 50 % of its workforce , which included over 250,000 workers at the end of 2019 .
And there are bleak prospects for the jobs market looking forward , with the International Monetary Fund recently concluding that we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Depression .
Are Democrats , the party that ushered in the original New Deal , actively fighting a Green New Deal at a historically parallel moment ?
It sure looks that way .
Some say it shouldn ’ t be that way , though .
In an opinion piece published by The New York Times on April 15 , Green New Deal architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright connected the dots between environmental injustice , the climate crisis , and the increasing risk of global pandemics like COVID-19 .
Unsurprisingly , she sees a Green New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these interrelated crises .
“ Addressing climate change doesn ’ t have to slow down the economic recovery , either .
In fact , it can push it forward , ” she wrote .
“ No one knows the depth of the recession , but it is hard to see how we will put the 16 million people who have filed for unemployment back to work without significant public investment.
” Lastly but definitely not least , the largest offshore spill in US history happened 10 years ago on April 20 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Horizon , an offshore platform owned by TransOcean , a drilling contractor for offshore oil owned by BP , which exploded and killed 11 workers .
A new report by the group Oceana titled “ Hindsight 2020 : Lessons We Can not Ignore from the BP Disaster ” looks back at the spill , which spewed 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico .
Oceana concludes that the lessons from the spill have still have gone unheeded , mostly based on the fact that the federal government still maintains regular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Mexico waters , ecosystems , and the planet at risk .
The report says that the spill led to over $ 500 million in financial losses for the recreation industry and that the seafood industry lost about $ 1 billion .
In the five years after the spill , 75 % of dolphin pregnancies failed , while the endangered Bryde whale decreased in population by a rate of 22 % .
Additional wildlife loss has included the deaths of 800,000 birds , 170,000 sea turtles , and 8.3 million oysters .
Days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another offshore spill happened in Alaska .
As of the count on April 18 , the Alyeska Pipeline , co-owned by BP , ExxonMobil , Chevron , Koch Industries , and ConocoPhillips , spewed over 30,000 gallons of oil into the waters of Prince William Sound.The size of the spill is still under examination by the Unified Command of Alyeska , the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation , and the United States Coast Guard .
In another example of history repeating itself , the Alyeska Pipeline terminal is close to the site of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest spill in US history .
In 1989 , the carrier ship spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William Sound .
The cause of the Alyeska Pipeline spill is still under investigation .
That ’ s it for this week .
Be safe out there , and if you can , under almost all circumstances , stay at home .
Thank you for reading and please come back next week for another edition of the Climate Crisis News Roundup .

Welcome back to TRNN’s Climate Crisis News Roundup. In recent weeks, this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis, and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world. But climate change and the politics of tackling the issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19, and we will use this space to tell those stories, too.
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup, get in touch with me at steve@therealnews.com or on Twitter at @SteveAHorn. You can read last week’s edition here.
Keystone XL Legal Roadblock
In the roundup from two weeks ago, we reported that the long-contested Canada to Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline got a shot in the arm of over $5 billion in financial aid from the Alberta government. Both TC Energy, the company formerly known as TransCanada which owns the pipeline, and the Alberta government said the money would make the project economically viable as the price of the Alberta tar sands tanks on the global oil market. The company has since then begun construction of the pipeline at the US-Canada border in Montana.
But that Montana construction might not last for long or extend very far, due to a major April 15 federal court ruling in the US District Court for the District of Montana. Judge Brian Morris ruled that, when the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for Keystone XL in 2017 for segments set to cross waters, it violated the Endangered Species Act. The corps permit was granted two months after President Donald Trump gave TC Energy the presidential permit required for cross-border pipelines.
Morris concluded that the corps failed to do an adequate analysis of the potential impacts the pipeline could have on species such as the pallid sturgeon fish and the American burying beetle.
A Pallid sturgeon (Scaphirynchus albus) is released into Yellowstone River by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Wikimedia Commons
A Pallid sturgeon (Scaphirynchus albus) is released into Yellowstone River by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Wikimedia Commons
Environmental groups celebrated the ruling and say it could set legal precedent for future pipelines, as well.
“The Trump administration has repeatedly violated the law in their relentless pursuit of seeing this dirty tar sands pipeline built,” Doug Hayes, an attorney for the Sierra Club, said in a press release. “Today’s ruling confirms, once again, that there’s just no getting around the fact that Keystone XL would devastate communities, wildlife, and clean drinking water.”
TC Energy, for its part, said it still intends to forge ahead with building the pipeline.
“We have received the judge’s ruling and continue to review it,” the company stated. “We remain committed to building this important energy infrastructure project.”
Big Oil vs. Little Oil
On April 12, Trump brokered a historic deal between Saudi Arabia, Russia, and members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut oil production in an attempt to stabilize the plummeting price of oil. The premise of the global deal centers around saving US shale oil fracking companies, who are on the brink of financial ruin due to the low oil price driven down by the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. But the United States has its own domestic production cuts agreement to work out.
The crisis in the US exists because fracking for oil is a capital-intensive endeavor which has had a hard time ever earning a profit, and the industry relies on a high global oil price. To no avail, companies have asked the Trump administration for a bailout or financial incentives of some sort to keep themselves afloat. But Trump has found himself in a bind because the industry is divided on the notion of both a bailout and a potential production cut mandate.
The divide is between major oil companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and smaller companies, or those which led the fracking boom of the past 15 years. That split was on full display during a 10-hour virtual hearing on April 14 about a proposal to mandate production cuts convened by the Texas Railroad Commision, the state’s oil regulating agency. Texas is home to the most productive oil field in the country, the Permian Basin.
Though no formal decision came out of the hearing, it was clear where one of the non-Big Oil drillers, Continental Resources, stands on the issue of a production cut. Founded by Harold Hamm, who until recently was also the CEO and now serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, the company said it supports a production cut mandate both in Texas and Oklahoma. Hamm, an energy adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential run, was also a major donor to his campaign that year and is again in 2020.
On the other end of the industry spectrum was ExxonMobil, which called for the free market to win the day. Likewise, Chevron said in its public comment it “believes that the free market system will aptly regulate the price and supply of crude oil.”
The climate movement also weighed in via comments submitted in advance of the hearing and focused on flaring, a technique in which the excess gas byproduct is burned off into the atmosphere. That gas is methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. Methane emissions from oil producers in the Permian Basin are an increasingly major issue.
One of those comments came from the Sierra Club, which said it was as “concerned with methane waste as they are with waste that may result from oversupply due to the current supply and demand crisis.”
For his part, Trump is considering offering companies federal money to not drill up to 365 million barrels of oil, a proposal which would cost over $7 billion, and would require congressional appropriations.
Democrats Stand Down on Green Stimulus
EnergyWire has reported that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have taken the Green Stimulus proposal called for by climate groups off the table once again during the fourth round of COVID-19 stimulus talks. Anonymous staffers told the publication not to expect the Democrats to put up a fight for the cause anytime soon, either, even as the oil industry receives both a slew of deregulatory measures and global dealmaking from the Trump administration.
EnergyWire reported that “House Democrats have mostly stopped insisting that emergency relief bills address climate.”
“At the end of the day, I don’t think this is about climate politics for [Pelosi],” one anonymous staffer told EnergyWire. “She’s not magically keeping her powder dry until the perfect moment. If [climate] were her priority, she would’ve said something.”
The clean energy sector is badly wounded from COVID-19, having lost over 106,000 jobs in March alone. The solar industry, too, could shed about 50% of its workforce, which included over 250,000 workers at the end of 2019. And there are bleak prospects for the jobs market looking forward, with the International Monetary Fund recently concluding that we are marching toward something akin to the Great Depression.
Are Democrats, the party that ushered in the original New Deal, actively fighting a Green New Deal at a historically parallel moment? It sure looks that way. Some say it shouldn’t be that way, though.
In an opinion piece published by The New York Times on April 15, Green New Deal architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright connected the dots between environmental injustice, the climate crisis, and the increasing risk of global pandemics like COVID-19. Unsurprisingly, she sees a Green New Deal as a way to climb out of these interrelated crises.
“Addressing climate change doesn’t have to slow down the economic recovery, either. In fact, it can push it forward,” she wrote. “No one knows the depth of the recession, but it is hard to see how we will put the 16 million people who have filed for unemployment back to work without significant public investment.”
BP Spill at 10
Lastly but definitely not least, the largest offshore spill in US history happened 10 years ago on April 20, 2010. It happened on the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore platform owned by TransOcean, a drilling contractor for offshore oil owned by BP, which exploded and killed 11 workers.
A new report by the group Oceana titled “Hindsight 2020: Lessons We Cannot Ignore from the BP Disaster” looks back at the spill, which spewed 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Oceana concludes that the lessons from the spill have still have gone unheeded, mostly based on the fact that the federal government still maintains regular biannual offshore lease sales, putting Gulf of Mexico waters, ecosystems, and the planet at risk.
The report says that the spill led to over $500 million in financial losses for the recreation industry and that the seafood industry lost about $1 billion. In the five years after the spill, 75% of dolphin pregnancies failed, while the endangered Bryde whale decreased in population by a rate of 22%. Additional wildlife loss has included the deaths of 800,000 birds, 170,000 sea turtles, and 8.3 million oysters.
Image Credit: Oceana
Days before the report’s release, another offshore spill happened in Alaska. As of the count on April 18, the Alyeska Pipeline, co-owned by BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Koch Industries, and ConocoPhillips, spewed over 30,000 gallons of oil into the waters of Prince William Sound.The size of the spill is still under examination by the Unified Command of Alyeska, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and the United States Coast Guard.
In another example of history repeating itself, the Alyeska Pipeline terminal is close to the site of the Exxon Valdez explosion, the previous largest spill in US history. In 1989, the carrier ship spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the Prince William Sound.
The cause of the Alyeska Pipeline spill is still under investigation.
That’s it for this week. Be safe out there, and if you can, under almost all circumstances, stay at home. Thank you for reading and please come back next week for another edition of the Climate Crisis News Roundup.
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therealnews--2020-04-20--Yemen’s Civil War and Coronavirus: A Perfect Storm

This is a rushed transcript .
It will be updated Taya Graham : Welcome to the Real News .
I ’ m Taya Graham .
The first confirmed COVID-19 case in war-torn Yemen was diagnosed on April 10th .
This was no surprise as one day before on April 9th , the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels agreed on a two week ceasefire to allow the population to take measures against the spread of the coronavirus .
[ Abdalmarick Aljahfari 00:00:25 ] is a Yemeni citizen living in Saudi Arabia .
Translator # 1 : The initiative taken by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a positive move and would be even better if it is reciprocated on both sides .
There are two wars , one against corona and the other one , which we want to get out of .
Taya Graham : Human Rights Watch called the situation , “ a perfect storm.
” After five years of civil war , Yemen is considered by the UN to be the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet .
The outbreak of cholera has already been more than the impoverished health facilities in Yemen can cope with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left to deal with the spread of COVID-19 .
[ Ahmad Kaled 00:01:07 ] lives in the Saudi capital of Riyadh .
Ahmad Kaled : A lot of money was spent on the war , but if that money wasn ’ t enough , if there was no war , that money was spent on education , medical school , college , knowledge .
People or both sides , Saudi government and Yemeni government , will have a better finance result after all .
Taya Graham : The war didn ’ t just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of troops from 10 Arab and African countries has actively looted aid shipments and blockaded the port of Hodeidah to stop food and medicine from reaching the population , which desperately needs it .
UN humanitarian coordinator , Lisa Grant had this to say .
Lisa Grant : A ceasefire for the next two weeks couldn ’ t have come at a more important time .
After five years of warfare , three quarters of the entire population of Yemen require some form of humanitarian assistance or protection .
It also comes at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 40 major humanitarian programs in Yemen , we don ’ t have funding for 31 of them .
This month alone in April , we ’ re going to see programs all across the country either reduce or shut .
Taya Graham : But the ceasefire didn ’ t last .
Both sides blame each other for breaking the ceasefire .
Although reports from Saudi Arabia indicate that the royal family may be growing weary of the war and are looking for a way out , this war has become a bonanza @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has just announced it will be lifting its arms embargo on Saudi Arabia and signing a $ 10 billion deal to sell light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia to be used against Yemenis .
The British BAE Systems have already made 15 billion pounds in profits by selling arms to the Saudi coalition .
[ Mohammed El Paquiti 00:03:02 ] is a member of the Houthi forces .
Translator # 2 : The Saudi announcement should not be considered a ceasefire announcement , but rather an announcement of war continuation because it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in air and the sea to impose a blockade on Yemen , which is more harmful than the war itself .
Taya Graham : As long as large arms corporations profit from the war , hopes for peace , even in the times of the coronavirus pandemic are slim .
The deaths from the war are added to the deaths from the acute shortages in food and medical supplies .
And now the 28 million people of Yemen are also facing the unknown death toll expected from the COVID-19 infections .
[ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sana ’ a the capital of Yemen .
Translator # 3 : This truce that they called can be considered a corona-truce , but not a real truce .
We don ’ t consider it to be a real truce because these two weeks are not enough .
We hope for a complete stop to the war , but these partial ceasefires of one or two weeks are meaningless and unconvincing .

This is a rushed transcript. It will be updated
Taya Graham: Welcome to the Real News. I’m Taya Graham. The first confirmed COVID-19 case in war-torn Yemen was diagnosed on April 10th. This was no surprise as one day before on April 9th, the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels agreed on a two week ceasefire to allow the population to take measures against the spread of the coronavirus. [Abdalmarick Aljahfari 00:00:25] is a Yemeni citizen living in Saudi Arabia.
Translator #1: The initiative taken by the king to call for a ceasefire is a positive move and would be even better if it is reciprocated on both sides. There are two wars, one against corona and the other one, which we want to get out of.
Taya Graham: Human Rights Watch called the situation, “a perfect storm.” After five years of civil war, Yemen is considered by the UN to be the worst humanitarian catastrophe on the planet.
The outbreak of cholera has already been more than the impoverished health facilities in Yemen can cope with. There are now simply no resources left to deal with the spread of COVID-19. [Ahmad Kaled 00:01:07] lives in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
Ahmad Kaled: A lot of money was spent on the war, but if that money wasn’t enough, if there was no war, that money was spent on education, medical school, college, knowledge. People or both sides, Saudi government and Yemeni government, will have a better finance result after all.
Taya Graham: The war didn’t just cost money. The Saudi coalition comprised of troops from 10 Arab and African countries has actively looted aid shipments and blockaded the port of Hodeidah to stop food and medicine from reaching the population, which desperately needs it. UN humanitarian coordinator, Lisa Grant had this to say.
Lisa Grant: A ceasefire for the next two weeks couldn’t have come at a more important time. After five years of warfare, three quarters of the entire population of Yemen require some form of humanitarian assistance or protection.
It also comes at an important time because of the more than 40 major humanitarian programs in Yemen, we don’t have funding for 31 of them. This month alone in April, we’re going to see programs all across the country either reduce or shut.
Taya Graham: But the ceasefire didn’t last. Both sides blame each other for breaking the ceasefire. Although reports from Saudi Arabia indicate that the royal family may be growing weary of the war and are looking for a way out, this war has become a bonanza for the global arms industry.
Canada has just announced it will be lifting its arms embargo on Saudi Arabia and signing a $10 billion deal to sell light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia to be used against Yemenis. The British BAE Systems have already made 15 billion pounds in profits by selling arms to the Saudi coalition. [Mohammed El Paquiti 00:03:02] is a member of the Houthi forces.
Translator #2: The Saudi announcement should not be considered a ceasefire announcement, but rather an announcement of war continuation because it is still using its military power on land, in air and the sea to impose a blockade on Yemen, which is more harmful than the war itself.
Taya Graham: As long as large arms corporations profit from the war, hopes for peace, even in the times of the coronavirus pandemic are slim. The deaths from the war are added to the deaths from the acute shortages in food and medical supplies. And now the 28 million people of Yemen are also facing the unknown death toll expected from the COVID-19 infections. [Abdul Raman Alkadi 00:03:46] lives in Sana’a the capital of Yemen.
Translator #3: This truce that they called can be considered a corona-truce, but not a real truce. We don’t consider it to be a real truce because these two weeks are not enough. We hope for a complete stop to the war, but these partial ceasefires of one or two weeks are meaningless and unconvincing.
Taya Graham: For the Real News Network, I’m Taya Graham.


therealnews--2020-04-21--Stir Crazy! Episode #18: They Want Us to Die. For Real

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therealnews--2020-04-21--Tea Party 2.0? Reopen Government Protests Linked To Right-Wing Donors

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Protestor : This is a free country .
Land of the free .
Jaisal Noor : Medical workers stood in the middle of the road , blocking a car carrying an anti-lockdown protester in Denver , Colorado on Sunday , April 19th .
The protestor was part of the many small scale , but highly publicized Reopen America protest , leaned out of the window to confront the man in medical scrubs , holding a poster reading Land Free and shouting , “ You go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I go to work ?
” President Donald Trump has encouraged these demonstrations , many of which have targeted democratic governors and have been linked to billionaire donors .
That ’ s despite the mounting evidence they can jeopardize public health .
Kentucky ’ s infection rates skyrocketed a week after the protest there .
The protest had been tied to Michigan ’ s DeVos family , billionaires who are leading Republican donors and activists .
The DeVos family includes Erik Prince , Founder of Blackwater , and Betsy DeVos , the heiress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Education Secretary .
The DeVos family ’ s also a leading member of the Koch Donor Network who bankroll conservative causes and it turns out who are major backers of the supposedly Grassroots Tea Party Movement , which called for less government and lower taxes .
Real News climate reporter Steve Horn says , “ Right wing billionaires have funded an ecosystem that greatly amplifies their message through organizations like the State Policy Network.
” Steve Horn : The State Policy Network essentially is the think tank world of the American Legislative Exchange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s what gets these ideas out there .
So in Michigan when this protest was happening , a different prong of this apparatus called the Mackinac Center for Public Policy , they were doing reporting on this from their own portal , and then they beamed out the protests .
They linked to something on Breitbart .
So Breitbart then beamed that out to 5.8 million people .
And essentially , this was the perfect depiction of how the right wing echo chamber works , the legacy of it and the newer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is funded and bankrolled , or at least was by the Mercer family .
And Mercer is and was a major backer of Trump .
Steve Bannon , who was a top White House aide .
Jaisal Noor : More than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month as closures of businesses and schools and severe travel restrictions have hammered the economy .
The United States is by far the world ’ s largest number of confirmed cases with more than 740,000 infections and over 40,000 deaths .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be much higher .
Professor Gerald Horne says this movement represents a dangerous development .
Gerald Horne : But these so called constitutional conservatives rallying at the state house in Lansing , Michigan , this was coupled with similar moves that are taking place in Idaho , which you may recall is the state that is the de facto headquarters of White supremacists , a number of the leaders of the August , 2017 pro Nazi and pro fascist rally in Charlottesville , Virginia actually had roots in Idaho .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is also coupled with the spectacular rise in gun sales that is taking place as we speak .
Jaisal Noor : “ Congress ’ Coronavirus bailout had little funding for workers or testing , while giving corporations a $ 6 trillion no strings attached bailout , ” says American Prospect editor David Dayen .
David Dayen : Reopening the economy , you really can only do that if we have the proper public health measures in place , the proper testing and things like that .
And there was almost no money in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the pandemic to actually bulk up testing and surge it so that you actually could reopen the country .
Jaisal Noor : For the Real News , this is Jaisal Noor .

The ongoing protests endanger public health, but are supported by Trump and may be funded by right-wing donors.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Protestor: This is a free country. Land of the free.
Jaisal Noor: Medical workers stood in the middle of the road, blocking a car carrying an anti-lockdown protester in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, April 19th. The protestor was part of the many small scale, but highly publicized Reopen America protest, leaned out of the window to confront the man in medical scrubs, holding a poster reading Land Free and shouting, “You go to work. Why can’t I go to work?” President Donald Trump has encouraged these demonstrations, many of which have targeted democratic governors and have been linked to billionaire donors. That’s despite the mounting evidence they can jeopardize public health. Kentucky’s infection rates skyrocketed a week after the protest there.
The protest had been tied to Michigan’s DeVos family, billionaires who are leading Republican donors and activists. The DeVos family includes Erik Prince, Founder of Blackwater, and Betsy DeVos, the heiress who serves as Donald Trump’s Education Secretary. The DeVos family’s also a leading member of the Koch Donor Network who bankroll conservative causes and it turns out who are major backers of the supposedly Grassroots Tea Party Movement, which called for less government and lower taxes. Real News climate reporter Steve Horn says, “Right wing billionaires have funded an ecosystem that greatly amplifies their message through organizations like the State Policy Network.”
Steve Horn: The State Policy Network essentially is the think tank world of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, and it’s what gets these ideas out there. So in Michigan when this protest was happening, a different prong of this apparatus called the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, they were doing reporting on this from their own portal, and then they beamed out the protests. They linked to something on Breitbart. So Breitbart then beamed that out to 5.8 million people. And essentially, this was the perfect depiction of how the right wing echo chamber works, the legacy of it and the newer prongs of it’s a Breitbart is funded and bankrolled, or at least was by the Mercer family. And Mercer is and was a major backer of Trump. Steve Bannon, who was a top White House aide.
Jaisal Noor: More than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month as closures of businesses and schools and severe travel restrictions have hammered the economy. The United States is by far the world’s largest number of confirmed cases with more than 740,000 infections and over 40,000 deaths. Though, the real numbers are said to be much higher. Professor Gerald Horne says this movement represents a dangerous development.
Gerald Horne: But these so called constitutional conservatives rallying at the state house in Lansing, Michigan, this was coupled with similar moves that are taking place in Idaho, which you may recall is the state that is the de facto headquarters of White supremacists, a number of the leaders of the August, 2017 pro Nazi and pro fascist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia actually had roots in Idaho. And I’m afraid to say that this is also coupled with the spectacular rise in gun sales that is taking place as we speak.
Jaisal Noor: “Congress’ Coronavirus bailout had little funding for workers or testing, while giving corporations a $6 trillion no strings attached bailout,” says American Prospect editor David Dayen.
David Dayen: Reopening the economy, you really can only do that if we have the proper public health measures in place, the proper testing and things like that. And there was almost no money in this pandemic response bill to actually respond to the pandemic to actually bulk up testing and surge it so that you actually could reopen the country.
Jaisal Noor: For the Real News, this is Jaisal Noor.
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therealnews--2020-04-21--DREAMers Are Awaiting A Supreme Court Decision That Could End Their Legal Status

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Jaisal Noor : Welcome to The Real News , I ’ m Jaisal Noor .
Dreamers , immigrants who came to the US as children without official documentation or awaiting a key Supreme court decision that could end their legal status even as an estimated 50,000 work in the healthcare industry and are helping fight Covid-19 .
A recent court filing stated termination of DACA during this national emergency would be catastrophic .
Meanwhile , the Trump administration is deporting immigrants who have been infected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ABC News reports that Guatemalan health officials said 75 % of migrants from a single flight later tested positive for Corona virus .
The United States is the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic and infections and death rates among marginalized communities have skyrocketed , especially in prisons and detention centers where detainees have launched hunger strikes in protests .
Well , joining us to discuss all of this is Adonia Simpson .
She ’ s the director of the Family Defense Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice .
Thank you so much for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you so much for having me .
Jaisal Noor : So the issue of the dreamers , people that were given this DACA status in 2012 by the Obama Administration , we know that the Trump Administration , they tried to revoke that .
Dreamers are now awaiting a Supreme court decision that could come at any time , maybe sometime in June .
Talk about the situation they ’ re in the tens of thousands that are on the front lines risking their lives to fight Covid-19 and at the same time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they no longer have the ability to work legally or be in this country legally .
Adonia Simpson : Absolutely .
We ’ re hearing a lot of fear and uncertainty .
On top of the fear and uncertainty a lot of people are experiencing just because of the Covid crisis .
You have mid-status families , people that have DACA status , DACA maybe have children that are us citizens and there ’ s a lot of fear of what happens down the road , should the benefit be terminated .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the healthcare industry , but in every aspect of our economy , including hundreds of DACA who couldn ’ t work in the food supply chain .
So we have thousands and thousands of people that are working in that also critical area right now in the situation that we ’ re in .
Jaisal Noor : So Mike Pence , the vice president was asked about the situation with DACA recipients and he said the president wants to reach a solution with Congress on DACA .
He said they are quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stepping up .
And we know that Donald Trump wanted money for the border wall , which obviously will do nothing to fight Covid-19 in exchange for DACA and some other concessions from Democrats in the house , which they haven ’ t been willing to make .
If you can address that in more broadly , we ’ ve been hearing , I mean obviously issues like family separation .
We ’ ve been hearing about the conditions in prisons and detention centers .
Some detainees are even going on a hunger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials admit social distancing is not possible if you ’ re behind bars .
Adonia Simpson : There ’ s a lot of things to unpack there , so let ’ s first talk about DACA .
Deferred action for childhood arrivals .
That was an executive order .
It wasn ’ t lie , it was an executive order by President Obama , which provided deferred action and the action that ’ s being deferred is deportation .
And it differs that for people that need certain eligibility criteria .
You can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have to have arrived before a certain age , you have to have studied here or been in the military .
There ’ re certain requirements and it ’ s an executive order , which means that as advocates we were always concerned what would happen after Obama .
As just as easily as Obama created the executive order , President Trump has now eliminated the program .
With that said , there ’ s nothing that prevents the executive , that prevents the President from rolling that decision back , particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to act .
There are millions of people beyond the DACA recipients who have been here for decades , who pay taxes , who have families , who are amazing and vibrant contributors to our community that we need to find a solution .
So yes , ultimately Congress needs to act , but there are some things that the administration can be doing to extend protections for this very vulnerable and important group of our society .
So the second aspect of what you discussed is detention which is huge .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ push right now to release individuals .
There ’ s thousands of people that are currently detained in immigration facilities across the country .
And it ’ s important to keep in mind that these individuals are often detained , immigration detention is civil , the proceedings are civil .
This is not criminal confinement .
It ’ s not supposed to be a punishment .
And a big difference between criminal detention and immigration detention is oftentimes people don ’ t have a date , an end date .
They don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be detained , they don ’ t know when their case will be resolved .
And there ’ s thousands and thousands of individuals who have no criminal history whose sole violation is being here without status or overstaying their status .
And that ’ s what ’ s led to them to being detainees in the facilities .
And as you were mentioning , advocates have a lot of concerns about the conditions .
We ’ ve heard reports from ICE about increasing numbers of staff who ’ ve tested positive .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are detained in these facilities testing positive and in this time where we ’ re supposed to be social distancing , detention facilities are the exact opposite .
It ’ s irresponsible .
Jaisal Noor : And you mentioned how even undocumented immigrants , they ’ re paying taxes , but we know they ’ re not getting a stimulus check , some of the people that need it the most .
And I wanted you to comment on that .
And also it ’ s the same Trump Administration that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the same time is not taking these steps that could help enhance the country ’ s response to allow people to get back to work .
There ’ s just a huge , cruel irony there .
Adonia Simpson : There is .
Absolutely .
And I ’ m so glad you brought up the stimulus package .
I heard recently from an advocate that the virus doesn ’ t discriminate .
The virus doesn ’ t pick people based on their immigration status .
However , a lot of the stimulus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so far has left out a huge number of people and a huge number of some of the most vulnerable immigrants .
And it ’ s not just people that don ’ t have social security numbers that aren ’ t eligible for the stimulus package for example .
The way that it ’ s structured right now , let ’ s say for example , there ’ s a US citizen and they ’ re married to somebody who ’ s undocumented , but that undocumented person does have an ITIN , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have two US citizen children , the spouse with the ITIN is participating in paying taxes .
The whole family is paying taxes .
The way that the packages is right now , the whole family would be eliminated from receiving any benefits .
So not just the individual who ’ s undocumented , but the two US citizen children .
They wouldn ’ t be eligible for that $ 500 and the US citizen adult would not be eligible for or the amount for adults .
And that ’ s creating a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that I think they said 5.1 million US citizen children and children with a social security numbers are potentially going to be barred from receiving this very important and critical relief in this time .
Jaisal Noor : And finally , this is an election year and voters are going to have an opportunity to cast a ballot and choose a candidate in November .
And if they haven ’ t voted in the primary yet , probably mail in a ballot for the primary election .
And we know that , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Latino voters come out for Bernie Sanders .
He ’ s no longer really in this race .
He stopped his campaign , although he ’ s still on the ballot .
So still trying to get votes on the ballot .
But now that the two leading contenders are Joe Biden and Donald Trump .
What do people need to know about their immigration platforms ?
We know we ’ ve talked about Trump ’ s record , but Joe Biden also has a record where he ’ s connected with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama Administration did have policies like DACA , but on the other hand , the Obama Administration deported millions of people during that tenure .
For people that are concerned about immigrant families , what should they know right now ?
Adonia Simpson : I think this is a great question and there ’ s so many things that can happen .
Unlike a lot of areas and issues in our country when it comes to immigration , the executive does wield so much power .
Everything that we ’ ve seen the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we haven ’ t seen a true change in law .
We haven ’ t seen Congress pass any sort of immigration , any changes to immigration .
There ’ s just so much room for the executive to work in the various agencies to change policies , promulgate new rules .
So we ’ ve seen a lot of things that have been horribly devastating to immigrant communities in the last few years .
We ’ ve seen things like the Public Charge Rule , which has created mass panic in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issue that we have now with Covid .
The Public Charge Rule has made so many immigrants afraid to seek benefits .
And many of these immigrants are eligible for benefits and they ’ re un-enrolling their children who are eligible for benefits because there ’ s a fear that they might be deported .
There ’ s so much that can be done by the executive .
And I think whoever is the president after the elections in November , there ’ s a lot of things that can still be done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if Biden potentially moves forward , there ’ s going to be a lot of work as far as unwinding a lot of the policies , a lot of the devastating policies we ’ ve seen in the last couple of years .
Should we have president Trump for another four years there ’ s a lot of other action items we anticipate that could be taken to even limit lawful immigration more and have even additional devastating effects on the community .
Jaisal Noor : And we know that asylum seekers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time .
Adonia Simpson : Yeah .
What ’ s difficult about asylum is provisions of asylum are part of international law .
And there ’ s this right to seek refuge if you ’ re fleeing persecution and what ’ s happening at the border is horrible .
Many individuals aren ’ t having an opportunity to really have a fair day in court to have an opportunity to present their case .
The migration protocols , the ‘ Remain in Mexico ’ policy for example , not only makes it more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and be safe .
However , it ’ s also limiting their access to counsel and the ability to work with an attorney who studies have shown over and over that having an attorney represent you on your immigration case can really sometimes increase the chances of the likelihood of success by seven times .
Jaisal Noor : Well , Adonia Simpson , director of the Family Defense Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice .
Thank so much for speaking with us and giving us this important update on the situation in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thank you for having me and thank you for covering this .
Jaisal Noor : And thank you for joining us at The Real News Network .

The decision could impact thousands of frontline medical workers helping to fight the COVID-19 crisis.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Jaisal Noor: Welcome to The Real News, I’m Jaisal Noor. Dreamers, immigrants who came to the US as children without official documentation or awaiting a key Supreme court decision that could end their legal status even as an estimated 50,000 work in the healthcare industry and are helping fight Covid-19. A recent court filing stated termination of DACA during this national emergency would be catastrophic. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is deporting immigrants who have been infected with Covid-19 to Latin American countries. ABC News reports that Guatemalan health officials said 75% of migrants from a single flight later tested positive for Corona virus. The United States is the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic and infections and death rates among marginalized communities have skyrocketed, especially in prisons and detention centers where detainees have launched hunger strikes in protests. Well, joining us to discuss all of this is Adonia Simpson. She’s the director of the Family Defense Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice. Thank you so much for joining us.
Adonia Simpson: Thank you so much for having me.
Jaisal Noor: So the issue of the dreamers, people that were given this DACA status in 2012 by the Obama Administration, we know that the Trump Administration, they tried to revoke that. Dreamers are now awaiting a Supreme court decision that could come at any time, maybe sometime in June. Talk about the situation they’re in the tens of thousands that are on the front lines risking their lives to fight Covid-19 and at the same time awaiting this decision, which could mean they no longer have the ability to work legally or be in this country legally.
Adonia Simpson: Absolutely. We’re hearing a lot of fear and uncertainty. On top of the fear and uncertainty a lot of people are experiencing just because of the Covid crisis. You have mid-status families, people that have DACA status, DACA maybe have children that are us citizens and there’s a lot of fear of what happens down the road, should the benefit be terminated. And we have DACA youth not only working in the healthcare industry, but in every aspect of our economy, including hundreds of DACA who couldn’t work in the food supply chain. So we have thousands and thousands of people that are working in that also critical area right now in the situation that we’re in.
Jaisal Noor: So Mike Pence, the vice president was asked about the situation with DACA recipients and he said the president wants to reach a solution with Congress on DACA. He said they are quite incredibly inspired by the way people are stepping up. And we know that Donald Trump wanted money for the border wall, which obviously will do nothing to fight Covid-19 in exchange for DACA and some other concessions from Democrats in the house, which they haven’t been willing to make. If you can address that in more broadly, we’ve been hearing, I mean obviously issues like family separation. We’ve been hearing about the conditions in prisons and detention centers. Some detainees are even going on a hunger strike to protest the conditions. Prison officials admit social distancing is not possible if you’re behind bars.
Adonia Simpson: There’s a lot of things to unpack there, so let’s first talk about DACA. Deferred action for childhood arrivals. That was an executive order. It wasn’t lie, it was an executive order by President Obama, which provided deferred action and the action that’s being deferred is deportation. And it differs that for people that need certain eligibility criteria. You can’t have certain criminal offenses, you have to have arrived before a certain age, you have to have studied here or been in the military. There’re certain requirements and it’s an executive order, which means that as advocates we were always concerned what would happen after Obama. As just as easily as Obama created the executive order, President Trump has now eliminated the program.
With that said, there’s nothing that prevents the executive, that prevents the President from rolling that decision back, particularly at this time. Ultimately, Congress needs to act. There are millions of people beyond the DACA recipients who have been here for decades, who pay taxes, who have families, who are amazing and vibrant contributors to our community that we need to find a solution. So yes, ultimately Congress needs to act, but there are some things that the administration can be doing to extend protections for this very vulnerable and important group of our society. So the second aspect of what you discussed is detention which is huge. There’s been a lot of push right now to release individuals. There’s thousands of people that are currently detained in immigration facilities across the country.
And it’s important to keep in mind that these individuals are often detained, immigration detention is civil, the proceedings are civil. This is not criminal confinement. It’s not supposed to be a punishment. And a big difference between criminal detention and immigration detention is oftentimes people don’t have a date, an end date. They don’t know how long they’ll be detained, they don’t know when their case will be resolved. And there’s thousands and thousands of individuals who have no criminal history whose sole violation is being here without status or overstaying their status. And that’s what’s led to them to being detainees in the facilities. And as you were mentioning, advocates have a lot of concerns about the conditions. We’ve heard reports from ICE about increasing numbers of staff who’ve tested positive. Increasing numbers of detainees, individuals who are detained in these facilities testing positive and in this time where we’re supposed to be social distancing, detention facilities are the exact opposite. It’s irresponsible.
Jaisal Noor: And you mentioned how even undocumented immigrants, they’re paying taxes, but we know they’re not getting a stimulus check, some of the people that need it the most. And I wanted you to comment on that. And also it’s the same Trump Administration that’s wanting to get people back to work at the same time is not taking these steps that could help enhance the country’s response to allow people to get back to work. There’s just a huge, cruel irony there.
Adonia Simpson: There is. Absolutely. And I’m so glad you brought up the stimulus package. I heard recently from an advocate that the virus doesn’t discriminate. The virus doesn’t pick people based on their immigration status. However, a lot of the stimulus packages and what we’ve seen so far has left out a huge number of people and a huge number of some of the most vulnerable immigrants. And it’s not just people that don’t have social security numbers that aren’t eligible for the stimulus package for example. The way that it’s structured right now, let’s say for example, there’s a US citizen and they’re married to somebody who’s undocumented, but that undocumented person does have an ITIN, a tax identification number, and they have two US citizen children, the spouse with the ITIN is participating in paying taxes. The whole family is paying taxes. The way that the packages is right now, the whole family would be eliminated from receiving any benefits.
So not just the individual who’s undocumented, but the two US citizen children. They wouldn’t be eligible for that $500 and the US citizen adult would not be eligible for or the amount for adults. And that’s creating a huge issue. I read something recently that I think they said 5.1 million US citizen children and children with a social security numbers are potentially going to be barred from receiving this very important and critical relief in this time.
Jaisal Noor: And finally, this is an election year and voters are going to have an opportunity to cast a ballot and choose a candidate in November. And if they haven’t voted in the primary yet, probably mail in a ballot for the primary election. And we know that, especially in Nevada, we saw huge numbers of Latino voters come out for Bernie Sanders. He’s no longer really in this race. He stopped his campaign, although he’s still on the ballot. So still trying to get votes on the ballot. But now that the two leading contenders are Joe Biden and Donald Trump. What do people need to know about their immigration platforms? We know we’ve talked about Trump’s record, but Joe Biden also has a record where he’s connected with the Obama Administration. You know, Obama Administration did have policies like DACA, but on the other hand, the Obama Administration deported millions of people during that tenure. For people that are concerned about immigrant families, what should they know right now?
Adonia Simpson: I think this is a great question and there’s so many things that can happen. Unlike a lot of areas and issues in our country when it comes to immigration, the executive does wield so much power. Everything that we’ve seen the last few years, all the changes we haven’t seen a true change in law. We haven’t seen Congress pass any sort of immigration, any changes to immigration. There’s just so much room for the executive to work in the various agencies to change policies, promulgate new rules. So we’ve seen a lot of things that have been horribly devastating to immigrant communities in the last few years. We’ve seen things like the Public Charge Rule, which has created mass panic in the community and also relates back to this issue that we have now with Covid. The Public Charge Rule has made so many immigrants afraid to seek benefits. And many of these immigrants are eligible for benefits and they’re un-enrolling their children who are eligible for benefits because there’s a fear that they might be deported.
There’s so much that can be done by the executive. And I think whoever is the president after the elections in November, there’s a lot of things that can still be done. There’s if we have, if Biden potentially moves forward, there’s going to be a lot of work as far as unwinding a lot of the policies, a lot of the devastating policies we’ve seen in the last couple of years. Should we have president Trump for another four years there’s a lot of other action items we anticipate that could be taken to even limit lawful immigration more and have even additional devastating effects on the community.
Jaisal Noor: And we know that asylum seekers are being especially hard hit at this time.
Adonia Simpson: Yeah. What’s difficult about asylum is provisions of asylum are part of international law. And there’s this right to seek refuge if you’re fleeing persecution and what’s happening at the border is horrible.
Many individuals aren’t having an opportunity to really have a fair day in court to have an opportunity to present their case. The migration protocols, the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy for example, not only makes it more difficult for people to appear in court and be safe. However, it’s also limiting their access to counsel and the ability to work with an attorney who studies have shown over and over that having an attorney represent you on your immigration case can really sometimes increase the chances of the likelihood of success by seven times.
Jaisal Noor: Well, Adonia Simpson, director of the Family Defense Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice. Thank so much for speaking with us and giving us this important update on the situation in the US right now.
Adonia Simpson: Thank you for having me and thank you for covering this.
Jaisal Noor: And thank you for joining us at The Real News Network.
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