truthout--2020-04-26--Reopening the Economy Now Will Send Us Deeper Into Hell

As we head into the fifth month of the outbreak millions of working families feel like they have been kidnapped and sent to hell .
As unemployment ( officially reported ) soars toward 30 percent or more , an estimated 20 million more people will fall helplessly below the poverty line .
In a recent Pew poll , 60 percent of Latinos reported losing jobs or wages , as did more than half of all workers below the age of 30 .
In addition to their jobs , millions will lose everything they had spent their lives working for : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and savings accounts .
Most of us have already lived through a brutal preview of economic collapse : the 2008-09 “ Great Recession.
” In a span of 18 months a majority of Black and Latino families lost all their net wealth and college grads from non-privileged backgrounds found themselves marooned , seemingly for life , in the low-wage service economy .
That ’ s why so many millions flocked to Bernie Sanders ’ New Deal banner .
But the threat ahead is mass immiseration and hunger on a scale unseen since 1933 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work and save what they can of their lives .
But heeding the siren call of the MAGA demonstrators , puppets on strings manipulated by hedge funds and billionaire casino owners , to “ reopen the economy ” would only result in tragedy .
Consider these points : • Sending millions of people back to work without protection or testing would be a death sentence for thousands .
Thirty-four million workers are over 55 ; 10 million of them over 65 .
Millions more suffer from diabetes , chronic respiratory problems , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work to ICU to morgue .
• Millions of our “ essential workers ” face intolerable hazards because of the shortage of protective equipment .
It will be weeks , at best , before there will be an adequate supply for medical workers .
Workers in warehouses , markets , and fast food have no guarantee of ever receiving masks , unless legislation compels it .
If this is a war , Trump ’ s refusal to use existing laws to federalize the manufacture of masks and ventilators is a war crime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s blood and then issue back-to-work certificates if they have the right antibodies is mere fantasy at the moment .
Washington has allowed more than a hundred different firms to sell serological kits without human trials or FDA certification .
The results they give are all over the map , just a mess .
It may be weeks or longer before public health workers have reliable diagnostics to use .
Even then it would take months to test the workforce and it ’ s doubtful that enough people would have the antibodies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• The most heroic assumption is that a vaccine could be available by spring 2021 , although no one knows how long its conferred immunity would last .
Meanwhile , hundreds of research teams and smaller biotech firms are working on medicines that will reduce the risk of respiratory failure and serious heart or kidney damage .
But this sprawling scientific experiment lacks coordination and funding from Washington .
In a sense , we are living in an indefinite lock-out , facing an administration that sets a higher priority on destroying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a crash program to produce the tests , safety equipment , and antivirals that will allow the U.S. to return to work .
Trump ’ s accomplices are monsters like Amazon , which in two weeks made Jeff Bezos $ 25 billion richer , and UnitedHealth Group , the world ’ s largest health insurance company , whose profits increased by $ 4.1 billion in the first three months of the pandemic .
Medical insurers have experienced a windfall , since most of their enrollees are now unable to book operations or obtain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rapidly rising to the surface in this country and we need to harness it to defend and build unions , ensure Medicare for all , and knock the bastards off their gilded thrones .
How We Got Here Last New Year ’ s Eve , while we were lifting our glasses , hugging our mates , and singing a few verses of a song written several centuries ago by a Scots revolutionary , Chinese doctors were notifying colleagues around the world that a rapidly increasing number of acute pneumonia cases , clustered around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result of infections caused by a previously unknown virus .
Within a week it had been gene-sequenced and unmasked as a “ coronavirus.
” Until 2003 , research on this family of viruses had principally responded to the serious diseases they cause in a variety of animals , including livestock and poultry .
Only two were known to infect humans , and since they produced only mild colds , researchers at the time considered them insignificant .
Then in 2003 a new viral epidemic started with a traveler in a Chinese airport hotel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with whom he had contact .
Within 24 hours the virus had flown to five other countries .
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS ) killed one out of every 10 victims .
The SARS pathogen was identified as another coronavirus , passed from bats to small lithe carnivores known as civets , long valued in southern Chinese cuisine .
SARS reached 30 countries and caused a full-scale international panic .
But it had an Achilles heel : it was only contagious at the stage when infected people displayed symptoms like dry coughing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Because it was so easily recognized , the SARS virus was finally contained .
A similar virus , a kind of mummy ’ s curse spread by tomb bats to camels , emerged in 2012 and has killed 1,000 people , mainly in the Arabian peninsula .
But it ’ s mostly spread by direct contact with camels and thus has not been considered a candidate for starting a pandemic .
Researchers hoped that the current killer , a virus known as SARS-C0V-2 and sharing most of its genes with the original SARS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through correlation with patients ’ symptoms .
They were disastrously mistaken .
After four months of circulation in the human world , we now know that the virus , unlike its predecessors , flies on the same wings as influenza : spread easily by people without visible signs of illness .
The current pathogen has turned out to be a “ stealth virus ” on a scale far exceeding influenzas and perhaps unprecedented in the annals of microbiology .
The Navy has tested almost the entire crew of the stricken aircraft carrier Theodore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those infected never displayed visible symptoms .
A large universe of undetected cases might be considered good news if infections produced durable immunity , but that doesn ’ t seem to be the case .
The dozens of antibody-detecting blood tests that are now in use , all uncertified by the FDA , are producing confusing and contradictory results , making the idea of a back-to-work antibody ID card impossible at the moment .
But most recent research ( which can be reviewed at the National Institutes of Health pandemic website , LitCovid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited and coronavirus could become as entrenched as influenza .
Barring dramatic mutations , second and third infections will likely be less dangerous to survivors , but there is as of yet no evidence that they will be any less dangerous to uninfected people in high-risk groups .
So COVID-19 will be the monster in our attic for a long time .
They Knew This Was Coming But the disease is not an eruption of the totally unknown , a biological asteroid .
Although its transmissibility was unexpected in a coronavirus , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long described for an avian flu outbreak .
For nearly a generation the World Health Organization and all major governments have been planning how to detect and respond to such a pandemic .
There has always been a very clear international understanding of the need for early detection , large stockpiles of emergency medical supplies , and surge capacity in ICU beds .
Most important has the been the agreement of WHO members to coordinate their response along guidelines they all had voted to accept .
Early containment was crucial : comprehensive testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of suspected cases .
Large-scale quarantines , sealing off cities , shutting large sectors of the economy—these should be only last-ditch measures , made unnecessary by extensive planning .
Along these lines , after the arrival of avian flu in 2005 the U.S. government published an ambitious “ National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza ” based on the finding that all levels of the American public health system were totally unprepared for a large-scale outbreak .
After the swine flu scare in 2009 , the strategy was updated , and , in 2017 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , outgoing Obama officials and incoming Trump administrators jointly carried out a large-scale simulation that tested the response of federal agencies and hospitals to a pandemic arising in three different scenarios : swine flu , Ebola , and Zika virus .
In the simulation the system , of course , failed to prevent the outbreaks or , for that matter , flatten the curves in time .
Part of the problem was detection and coordination .
Another was inadequate stockpiles and supply chains with obvious bottlenecks , such as depending on a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And behind all this lay the failure to aggressively take advantage of revolutionary advances in biological design over the last decade in order to stockpile an arsenal of new antivirals and vaccines .
In other words , the U.S. was not ready and the government knew it was not ready .
By the end of January 2020 three things had happened .
First , the WHO quickly distributed hundreds of thousands of test kits designed by German scientists but otherwise was pushed to the sidelines while each nation bolted its doors and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Second , three East Asian nations with well-prepared medical arsenals and single-payer health systems—South Korea , Singapore , and Taiwan—successfully contained outbreaks with minimal mortality and moderate periods of social isolation .
After early disasters that allowed the virus to escape on air flights and forced the lockdown of Wuhan , China mobilized on an unprecedented scale and quickly extinguished all COVID-19 hotspots outside Wuhan .
Third , our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( the CDC ) decided to create its own diagnostic kit rather than use the one distributed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ production lines were contaminated with viruses , however , and the test kits were useless .
The entire month of February , when it was still possible to prevent the exponential increase of infection through testing and contact tracing , was squandered .
This was the first disaster .
The second was in March , when severe and critical cases began to crowd hospitals .
As institutions began to run out of respirators ( N-95 masks ) and ventilators , they turned to their states and then to the federal government ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designed specifically for use during an outbreak like COVID-19 .
But the cupboard was almost bare .
It had been largely depleted during the national panic over swine flu in 2009 and several subsequent emergencies .
The Trump administration had been repeatedly warned of its statutory duty to restock it , but had other priorities such as slashing the budget of the CDC and killing the Affordable Care Act .
As a result millions of American workers have been going into battle in hospitals , nursing homes , public transit , and Amazon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pennies to manufacture .
Nothing is as emblematic of the Trump administration ’ s total dereliction of duty than the fact that on the same day that the president was bragging of the USA ’ s “ unmatched scientific and technological superiority , ” the New York Times was devoting a page to “ How to Sew a Mask at Home .
”

This story was originally published at Labor Notes.
As we head into the fifth month of the outbreak millions of working families feel like they have been kidnapped and sent to hell.
As unemployment (officially reported) soars toward 30 percent or more, an estimated 20 million more people will fall helplessly below the poverty line. In a recent Pew poll, 60 percent of Latinos reported losing jobs or wages, as did more than half of all workers below the age of 30. In addition to their jobs, millions will lose everything they had spent their lives working for: homes, pensions, medical coverage, and savings accounts.
Most of us have already lived through a brutal preview of economic collapse: the 2008-09 “Great Recession.” In a span of 18 months a majority of Black and Latino families lost all their net wealth and college grads from non-privileged backgrounds found themselves marooned, seemingly for life, in the low-wage service economy. That’s why so many millions flocked to Bernie Sanders’ New Deal banner. But the threat ahead is mass immiseration and hunger on a scale unseen since 1933.
People desperately need to go back to work and save what they can of their lives. But heeding the siren call of the MAGA demonstrators, puppets on strings manipulated by hedge funds and billionaire casino owners, to “reopen the economy” would only result in tragedy. Consider these points:
Sending millions of people back to work without protection or testing would be a death sentence for thousands. Thirty-four million workers are over 55; 10 million of them over 65. Millions more suffer from diabetes, chronic respiratory problems, and so on. Straight from home to work to ICU to morgue.
Millions of our “essential workers” face intolerable hazards because of the shortage of protective equipment. It will be weeks, at best, before there will be an adequate supply for medical workers. Workers in warehouses, markets, and fast food have no guarantee of ever receiving masks, unless legislation compels it. If this is a war, Trump’s refusal to use existing laws to federalize the manufacture of masks and ventilators is a war crime.
The proposal to test people’s blood and then issue back-to-work certificates if they have the right antibodies is mere fantasy at the moment. Washington has allowed more than a hundred different firms to sell serological kits without human trials or FDA certification. The results they give are all over the map, just a mess. It may be weeks or longer before public health workers have reliable diagnostics to use. Even then it would take months to test the workforce and it’s doubtful that enough people would have the antibodies to safely staff all the closed businesses.
The most heroic assumption is that a vaccine could be available by spring 2021, although no one knows how long its conferred immunity would last. Meanwhile, hundreds of research teams and smaller biotech firms are working on medicines that will reduce the risk of respiratory failure and serious heart or kidney damage. But this sprawling scientific experiment lacks coordination and funding from Washington.
Indefinite Lockout
In a sense, we are living in an indefinite lock-out, facing an administration that sets a higher priority on destroying the Postal Service than it does on organizing a crash program to produce the tests, safety equipment, and antivirals that will allow the U.S. to return to work.
Trump’s accomplices are monsters like Amazon, which in two weeks made Jeff Bezos $25 billion richer, and UnitedHealth Group, the world’s largest health insurance company, whose profits increased by $4.1 billion in the first three months of the pandemic. Medical insurers have experienced a windfall, since most of their enrollees are now unable to book operations or obtain vital treatments.
A volcanic rage is rapidly rising to the surface in this country and we need to harness it to defend and build unions, ensure Medicare for all, and knock the bastards off their gilded thrones.
How We Got Here
Last New Year’s Eve, while we were lifting our glasses, hugging our mates, and singing a few verses of a song written several centuries ago by a Scots revolutionary, Chinese doctors were notifying colleagues around the world that a rapidly increasing number of acute pneumonia cases, clustered around the city of Wuhan, was the result of infections caused by a previously unknown virus.
Within a week it had been gene-sequenced and unmasked as a “coronavirus.” Until 2003, research on this family of viruses had principally responded to the serious diseases they cause in a variety of animals, including livestock and poultry. Only two were known to infect humans, and since they produced only mild colds, researchers at the time considered them insignificant.
Then in 2003 a new viral epidemic started with a traveler in a Chinese airport hotel who passed his infection on to everyone with whom he had contact. Within 24 hours the virus had flown to five other countries. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) killed one out of every 10 victims.
The SARS pathogen was identified as another coronavirus, passed from bats to small lithe carnivores known as civets, long valued in southern Chinese cuisine. SARS reached 30 countries and caused a full-scale international panic. But it had an Achilles heel: it was only contagious at the stage when infected people displayed symptoms like dry coughing, fever, and muscle aches. Because it was so easily recognized, the SARS virus was finally contained.
A similar virus, a kind of mummy’s curse spread by tomb bats to camels, emerged in 2012 and has killed 1,000 people, mainly in the Arabian peninsula. But it’s mostly spread by direct contact with camels and thus has not been considered a candidate for starting a pandemic.
The Stealth Virus
Researchers hoped that the current killer, a virus known as SARS-C0V-2 and sharing most of its genes with the original SARS, would likewise be simple to identify through correlation with patients’ symptoms. They were disastrously mistaken.
After four months of circulation in the human world, we now know that the virus, unlike its predecessors, flies on the same wings as influenza: spread easily by people without visible signs of illness. The current pathogen has turned out to be a “stealth virus” on a scale far exceeding influenzas and perhaps unprecedented in the annals of microbiology. The Navy has tested almost the entire crew of the stricken aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and discovered that 60 percent of those infected never displayed visible symptoms.
A large universe of undetected cases might be considered good news if infections produced durable immunity, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The dozens of antibody-detecting blood tests that are now in use, all uncertified by the FDA, are producing confusing and contradictory results, making the idea of a back-to-work antibody ID card impossible at the moment.
But most recent research (which can be reviewed at the National Institutes of Health pandemic website, LitCovid) suggests that conferred immunity is very limited and coronavirus could become as entrenched as influenza. Barring dramatic mutations, second and third infections will likely be less dangerous to survivors, but there is as of yet no evidence that they will be any less dangerous to uninfected people in high-risk groups. So COVID-19 will be the monster in our attic for a long time.
They Knew This Was Coming
But the disease is not an eruption of the totally unknown, a biological asteroid. Although its transmissibility was unexpected in a coronavirus, the pandemic otherwise corresponds closely to the scenario long described for an avian flu outbreak.
For nearly a generation the World Health Organization and all major governments have been planning how to detect and respond to such a pandemic. There has always been a very clear international understanding of the need for early detection, large stockpiles of emergency medical supplies, and surge capacity in ICU beds. Most important has the been the agreement of WHO members to coordinate their response along guidelines they all had voted to accept. Early containment was crucial: comprehensive testing, contact tracing, and the isolation of suspected cases. Large-scale quarantines, sealing off cities, shutting large sectors of the economy—these should be only last-ditch measures, made unnecessary by extensive planning.
Along these lines, after the arrival of avian flu in 2005 the U.S. government published an ambitious “National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza” based on the finding that all levels of the American public health system were totally unprepared for a large-scale outbreak. After the swine flu scare in 2009, the strategy was updated, and, in 2017, a week before Trump’s inauguration, outgoing Obama officials and incoming Trump administrators jointly carried out a large-scale simulation that tested the response of federal agencies and hospitals to a pandemic arising in three different scenarios: swine flu, Ebola, and Zika virus.
In the simulation the system, of course, failed to prevent the outbreaks or, for that matter, flatten the curves in time. Part of the problem was detection and coordination. Another was inadequate stockpiles and supply chains with obvious bottlenecks, such as depending on a few overseas factories to produce vital protective equipment. And behind all this lay the failure to aggressively take advantage of revolutionary advances in biological design over the last decade in order to stockpile an arsenal of new antivirals and vaccines.
In other words, the U.S. was not ready and the government knew it was not ready.
Dominoes of Disaster
By the end of January 2020 three things had happened. First, the WHO quickly distributed hundreds of thousands of test kits designed by German scientists but otherwise was pushed to the sidelines while each nation bolted its doors and ignored previous commitments to mutual aid.
Second, three East Asian nations with well-prepared medical arsenals and single-payer health systems—South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan—successfully contained outbreaks with minimal mortality and moderate periods of social isolation. After early disasters that allowed the virus to escape on air flights and forced the lockdown of Wuhan, China mobilized on an unprecedented scale and quickly extinguished all COVID-19 hotspots outside Wuhan.
Third, our Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) decided to create its own diagnostic kit rather than use the one distributed by the WHO. The CDC’s production lines were contaminated with viruses, however, and the test kits were useless. The entire month of February, when it was still possible to prevent the exponential increase of infection through testing and contact tracing, was squandered.
This was the first disaster. The second was in March, when severe and critical cases began to crowd hospitals. As institutions began to run out of respirators (N-95 masks) and ventilators, they turned to their states and then to the federal government’s National Strategic Stockpile, which had been designed specifically for use during an outbreak like COVID-19.
But the cupboard was almost bare. It had been largely depleted during the national panic over swine flu in 2009 and several subsequent emergencies. The Trump administration had been repeatedly warned of its statutory duty to restock it, but had other priorities such as slashing the budget of the CDC and killing the Affordable Care Act.
As a result millions of American workers have been going into battle in hospitals, nursing homes, public transit, and Amazon warehouses without essential protection that costs only pennies to manufacture. Nothing is as emblematic of the Trump administration’s total dereliction of duty than the fact that on the same day that the president was bragging of the USA’s “unmatched scientific and technological superiority,” the New York Times was devoting a page to “How to Sew a Mask at Home.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-04-26--New Poll Shows Nearly 90 Percent of Democratic Voters Support Medicare for All

A new poll showing nearly 90 percent approval among Democratic voters for Medicare for All has stirred fresh calls for Joe Biden , the party ’ s presumptive nominee , to end his outdated opposition to the healthcare solution that would cover all Americans at less overall cost than the current , more wasteful for-profit system .
Arriving amid the coronavirus pandemic that has thrust the nation into a public health emergency and triggered a nearly unprecedented economic calamity in the U.S. , The Hill-HarrisX survey released Friday showed overall voter support for Medicare for All 69 percent but that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats .
Among independents , voters likely to be crucial in the 2020 general election , support now sits at 68 percent while even among Republicans sits at 46 percent .
Speaking to Hill.TV on the findings , Felicia Wong , president and CEO of the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute , said that the coronavirus has opened people ’ s eyes even further to the need for a universal , single-payer healthcare system like Medicare for All .
“ These progressive policies have been popular for a long time , ” Wong said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more popular as it becomes clear just how fragile our American political economy really is.
” The latest figures led to calls for Biden to drop his stubborn opposition to Medicare for All and join with the majority of Democratic voters and the American people who now recognize it as a necessary solution to the nation ’ s healthcare woes .
“ Hey , Joe Biden ,  as a Democrat running for president in a pandemic , this looks like a popular idea , ” said Michael Lighty , a health policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll .
Earlier this month Biden put forth a proposal to drop the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 down to 60 as an apparent effort to win over supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders , who suspended his presidential bid a week earlier .
But critics , as Common Dreams reported , immediately said the plan does nothing to address the fundamental failures of the corporate-driven healthcare system that often ties coverage to employment , leaves tens of millions uninsured or underinsured , and leads to spiraling costs .
In new reporting by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like MoveOn.org confirmed they are going to make pushing Biden to the left on healthcare is going to be a focus amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis and through the general election season .
“ Obviously the pandemic , with both its health and economic impacts , has become the top issue that everyone is talking about , ” Dan Kalik , MoveOn ’ s senior political adviser , told Politico .
“ It ’ s all-encompassing .
It ’ s impacting every aspect of our lives .
It ’ s the key issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s going to be an issue through November.
” While Julian Brave Noisecat of the progressive think tank Data for Progress said his group ’ s general belief is ” that the quote unquote establishment is going to tell the left to f–k off on Medicare for All , ” other Democrats aligned with the Sanders wing of the party believe there is still opportunity to move Biden and others in leadership .
Rep. Pramila Jayapal ( D-Wash. ) , co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and lead sponsor of The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. House , said she has no illusions about who Biden is on the issue but that progressives would be pressuring him nonetheless .
“ I ’ d be fooling myself if I thought Joe Biden would embrace Medicare for All , ” Jayapal said .
“ But I do think there ’ s room for him to move much more than he has so far.
” Appearing on MSNBC with Ali Velshi on Saturday morning , Sanders said that he also believes Biden can be pushed to embrace something closer to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Specifically , Sanders said the former Vice President could support lowering the Medicare age to 55 as well as making all children under the age of 18 eligible would be “ some of the things that Joe Biden can do without embracing a full Medicare for All concept.
” According to The Hill , their online poll with HarrisX surveyed 958 registered voters between April 19 and 20 and has margin of error of +/- 3.17 percentage points .

A new poll showing nearly 90 percent approval among Democratic voters for Medicare for All has stirred fresh calls for Joe Biden, the party’s presumptive nominee, to end his outdated opposition to the healthcare solution that would cover all Americans at less overall cost than the current, more wasteful for-profit system.
Arriving amid the coronavirus pandemic that has thrust the nation into a public health emergency and triggered a nearly unprecedented economic calamity in the U.S., The Hill-HarrisX survey released Friday showed overall voter support for Medicare for All 69 percent but that number soared to 88 percent for registered Democrats. Among independents, voters likely to be crucial in the 2020 general election, support now sits at 68 percent while even among Republicans sits at 46 percent.
Speaking to Hill.TV on the findings, Felicia Wong, president and CEO of the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute, said that the coronavirus has opened people’s eyes even further to the need for a universal, single-payer healthcare system like Medicare for All. “These progressive policies have been popular for a long time,” Wong said. “I think COVID-19 will make them more popular as it becomes clear just how fragile our American political economy really is.”
The latest figures led to calls for Biden to drop his stubborn opposition to Medicare for All and join with the majority of Democratic voters and the American people who now recognize it as a necessary solution to the nation’s healthcare woes.
“Hey, Joe Biden,  as a Democrat running for president in a pandemic, this looks like a popular idea,” said Michael Lighty, a health policy expert and advocate, pointing at the poll.
Dear @JoeBiden: 69% of ALL voters now support #MedicareForAll, including 68% of Independents & 88% of Democrats. It’s no longer a tenable position for you to oppose Medicare For All & be the Democratic nominee. It’s time for you to put the people first. https://t.co/iUE4H6Qllw — Ryan Knight 🌹 (@ProudResister) April 25, 2020
Earlier this month Biden put forth a proposal to drop the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 down to 60 as an apparent effort to win over supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who suspended his presidential bid a week earlier. But critics, as Common Dreams reported, immediately said the plan does nothing to address the fundamental failures of the corporate-driven healthcare system that often ties coverage to employment, leaves tens of millions uninsured or underinsured, and leads to spiraling costs.
In new reporting by Politico, meanwhile, progressive advocacy groups like MoveOn.org confirmed they are going to make pushing Biden to the left on healthcare is going to be a focus amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis and through the general election season.
“Obviously the pandemic, with both its health and economic impacts, has become the top issue that everyone is talking about,” Dan Kalik, MoveOn’s senior political adviser, told Politico. “It’s all-encompassing. It’s impacting every aspect of our lives. It’s the key issue we’re working on, and it’s going to be an issue through November.”
While Julian Brave Noisecat of the progressive think tank Data for Progress said his group’s general belief is ” that the quote unquote establishment is going to tell the left to f–k off on Medicare for All,” other Democrats aligned with the Sanders wing of the party believe there is still opportunity to move Biden and others in leadership.
Medicare For All WILL be on the Democratic party platform this year ✊🏽
https://t.co/fJDMtIjMiw — Healthcare-NOW! (@HCNow) April 25, 2020
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and lead sponsor of The Medicare for All Act of 2019 in the U.S. House, said she has no illusions about who Biden is on the issue but that progressives would be pressuring him nonetheless. “I’d be fooling myself if I thought Joe Biden would embrace Medicare for All,” Jayapal said. “But I do think there’s room for him to move much more than he has so far.”
Appearing on MSNBC with Ali Velshi on Saturday morning, Sanders said that he also believes Biden can be pushed to embrace something closer to his vision of complete Medicare for All. Specifically, Sanders said the former Vice President could support lowering the Medicare age to 55 as well as making all children under the age of 18 eligible would be “some of the things that Joe Biden can do without embracing a full Medicare for All concept.”
According to The Hill, their online poll with HarrisX surveyed 958 registered voters between April 19 and 20 and has margin of error of +/- 3.17 percentage points.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-04-26--Wildfires Can Reduce Biodiversity. Can Biodiversity Be Used to Reduce Wildfires?

Over the past several months , wildfires have burned a huge portion of Australia ’ s natural landscape .
We ’ re talking almost 18 million acres of bushland , forest and national parks .
This was not your typical annual wildfire .
As Dieter Hochuli , an environmental sciences professor at the University of Sydney , told CNN , it should not be seen as such .
“ The scale of these fires is unprecedented , ” said Hochuli .
“ There are substantial concerns about the capacity of these ( ecosystems ) to rebound from the fires.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this situation is the loss of animal life .
In total , ecologists estimate that as many as 1.25 billion animals — including iconic Australian species such as koalas , kangaroos , wallabies and gliders — have been killed or displaced by the fires .
In some instances , certain species may have even gone extinct .
Species with smaller populations living in localized environments face the greatest risk of extinction .
While species such as koalas and kangaroos were spared this time around , as their populations diminish alongside habitable land , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next time the fires break out .
The reason we need to pay particular attention here is that that “ next time ” may be sooner than we can afford .
According to a new analysis of 57 peer-reviewed studies looking at the link between climate change and wildfire risk , the weather conditions that led to the Australian wildfires are set to become more common .
The unanimous conclusion was that “ climate change increases the frequency or severity of fire-favorable weather conditions.
” The review found that “ fire weather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 .
Fire weather generally involves hot temperatures , low humidity , [ and ] low rainfall in the preceding days and weeks , and windy conditions.
” Furthermore , the studies ’ climate models show that this change has come about as a direct result of climate change , as opposed to natural fluctuations .
In 2019 , Australia saw its hottest and driest weather on record , a condition that Richard Betts , co-author of the review , warned could become the “ new normal.
” His analysis concluded that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fires , it is essential that climate change is kept below 2 degrees Celsius , in accordance with the Paris climate agreement .
In Australia , however , there is still much debate around reducing the risk of wildfires versus confronting climate change head-on .
On one hand , reported The Economist , some Australians have suggested the best solution lies in a method known as “ hazard reduction.
” This practice involves carrying out controlled burns during winter in order to reduce flammable material .
But the problem with this approach is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ window for prevention .
The other side of this debate argues for tackling the underlying causes of this problem .
As The Economist notes , the recent Australia wildfires marked a shift in rhetoric around the connection between these events and climate change .
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison , for instance , has claimed the country is set to “ meet and beat ” its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals .
In reality , though , this is not the case .
Australia ’ s carbon emissions are “ among the highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Economist .
Moreover , these levels have in fact been rising since Morrison ’ s Liberal Party came into power in 2013 and got rid of a carbon tax .
Furthermore , at the climate conference in Madrid , Spain , in December 2019 , Australia proposed meeting its Paris agreement commitments by carrying over previous credit earned in the past .
This proposal sets a dangerous precedent for other big carbon emitters such as China and exemplifies the ongoing denial around preventing a future fraught with climate-induced destruction .
Let ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment and imagine a brighter future where countries like Australia actually lower their carbon emissions .
The fact remains that wildfires are not going to stop .
So , beyond the obvious need for government policies committed to tackling climate change , what else can be done ?
One idea proposed by Conservation Magazine is to promote biodiversity .
One of the greatest costs of wildfires is the loss of indigenous animals , a factor that may have a knock-on effect of increasing the risk of further fires .
This is according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Conservation .
According to this research , over the past two centuries , Australia has lost 29 of its 315 varieties of terrestrial mammals .
This means certain parts of local ecosystems have been lost , which in certain areas could be increasing the risk of fires spreading .
How ?
Here ’ s the theory .
Leaf litter is one of the most prominent sources of flammable material when it comes to wildfires .
In the past , much of this pesky detritus has been cleaned up by “ fossorial species , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and turn over the dead leaves with soil , which ultimately helps to break it down .
With these populations diminishing , the amount of leaf litter accumulates — and so does the material for starting fires .
To test this theory , Matt Hayward , a conservation ecologist at Bangor University in Australia and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy , set up an experiment , as explained in Anthropocene Magazine .
Together with his colleagues , Hayward reintroduced fossorial species to certain , fenced-off areas .
The team went on to compare the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas versus outside .
They discovered that the little critters had helped reduce litter by 24 percent , which a mathematical model calculated could drastically reduce both the intensity and speed in fires due to the “ reduction in fuel.
” This approach to tackling wildfires offers a number of benefits .
For one , it ’ s a natural , sustainable method that doesn ’ t necessarily require huge costs .
It also facilitates decomposition , which leads to less carbon being released into the atmosphere .
Although biodiversity alone is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it should form a crucial part of any holistic prevention plan for the future .
Yet Derek E. Lee , an associate research professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University , believes that in certain instances , fires can even assist in promoting biodiversity .
“ In the fire-adapted forests of North America , there are many studies that show how biodiversity is increased by fire diversity , and the big high-severity patches in burned forests often see a cascade of superabundance following fires , ” Lee told Truthout .
This process begins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lay eggs “ where their larva can eat the still fresh layer of tree tissue under the bark.
” This , together with a growth in nutritious shrubs , leads to the arrival of nesting birds , bats , and small mammals like mice , gophers and wood rats , which in turn attracts spotted owls and other raptors , bobcats , coyotes and black bears .
“ These forest systems have been adapting to cycles of wet and dry epochs for millions of years , so they know how to take advantage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem is that humans degrade and alter forests that were perfectly adapted , and sometimes the remaining forests are too small and fragmented to do what they evolved to do .
The solution to our global climate and biodiversity crises is to preserve our existing forests , regrow damaged or lost forests wherever possible , and let natural processes continue , ” said Lee .
Another strategy , highlighted in a recent report by Australia ’ s ABC news involves drawing on Indigenous knowledge .
In recent years , state fire agencies , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land councils , have begun working more with traditional fire practitioners on a small scale to conduct preventive burns .
These practices involve using small controlled flames on a case-by-case basis .
Oliver Costello , a member of Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation who assists with facilitating these burns , explained to ABC how the process takes place .
Taking into account habitat , vegetation , soil type and moisture levels , Costello ’ s group determines how they conduct their burns .
“ We might see vegetation we know shouldn ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hotter in that one spot , ” he said .
The effect is preventive burns that reduce fire risk while also encouraging the growth of local flora , thus protecting native animal habitats .
This approach is in line with promoting biodiversity .
As opposed to hazard reduction burns that focus on reducing fuel for fires , the Indigenous method is not a one-size-fits-all approach .
By tailoring each burn to that specific area , general fire risk can be brought down to a greater degree by maintaining the integrity of the habitat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to become sustainable , said Costello , cultural burning needs to be factored into mainstream fire management in the future .
“ Most of the Aboriginal communities we work with do not have the resources to support their people to manage their land full-time , so that ’ s a big problem , ” Costello told ABC .
He emphasizes a need for training programs and greater investment in building this sort of infrastructure .
Undoubtedly , these sustainable approaches will help reduce future fire risk .
The key to realizing these and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the hands of politicians — who remain , at least in Australia ’ s case , mostly ineffective .
As Catherine Brahic , The Economist ’ s environment editor , said in a recent podcast , “ It ’ s not necessarily about preventing fires .
As I said , in many places fire is just part of the natural ecosystem .
Whether or not people need to be moved out of certain high-risk areas is , as I say , a live debate ; it ’ s a political debate … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that people might need to just learn to live with fire risk.
” The fires aren ’ t about to stop , but how we confront them can change .
Politicians can no longer address natural disasters without discussing the climate crisis .
Time is running out , and we can not afford to waste any more of it .
This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life , a project of the Independent Media Institute .

Over the past several months, wildfires have burned a huge portion of Australia’s natural landscape. We’re talking almost 18 million acres of bushland, forest and national parks. This was not your typical annual wildfire. As Dieter Hochuli, an environmental sciences professor at the University of Sydney, told CNN, it should not be seen as such. “The scale of these fires is unprecedented,” said Hochuli. “There are substantial concerns about the capacity of these (ecosystems) to rebound from the fires.”
One of the more emotive examples of this situation is the loss of animal life. In total, ecologists estimate that as many as 1.25 billion animals — including iconic Australian species such as koalas, kangaroos, wallabies and gliders — have been killed or displaced by the fires. In some instances, certain species may have even gone extinct.
Species with smaller populations living in localized environments face the greatest risk of extinction. While species such as koalas and kangaroos were spared this time around, as their populations diminish alongside habitable land, so too do their chances of survival the next time the fires break out. The reason we need to pay particular attention here is that that “next time” may be sooner than we can afford.
According to a new analysis of 57 peer-reviewed studies looking at the link between climate change and wildfire risk, the weather conditions that led to the Australian wildfires are set to become more common. The unanimous conclusion was that “climate change increases the frequency or severity of fire-favorable weather conditions.”
The review found that “fire weather seasons have lengthened globally between 1979 and 2013. Fire weather generally involves hot temperatures, low humidity, [and] low rainfall in the preceding days and weeks, and windy conditions.” Furthermore, the studies’ climate models show that this change has come about as a direct result of climate change, as opposed to natural fluctuations.
Copernicus Sentinel-3 / European Space Agency
In 2019, Australia saw its hottest and driest weather on record, a condition that Richard Betts, co-author of the review, warned could become the “new normal.” His analysis concluded that in order to reduce the future risk of fires, it is essential that climate change is kept below 2 degrees Celsius, in accordance with the Paris climate agreement.
In Australia, however, there is still much debate around reducing the risk of wildfires versus confronting climate change head-on. On one hand, reported The Economist, some Australians have suggested the best solution lies in a method known as “hazard reduction.” This practice involves carrying out controlled burns during winter in order to reduce flammable material. But the problem with this approach is that longer fire seasons mean a shorter window for prevention.
Although biodiversity alone is not nearly enough to single-handedly combat wildfires, it should form a crucial part of any holistic prevention plan for the future.
The other side of this debate argues for tackling the underlying causes of this problem. As The Economist notes, the recent Australia wildfires marked a shift in rhetoric around the connection between these events and climate change. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, for instance, has claimed the country is set to “meet and beat” its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. In reality, though, this is not the case.
Australia’s carbon emissions are “among the highest in the world,” according to The Economist. Moreover, these levels have in fact been rising since Morrison’s Liberal Party came into power in 2013 and got rid of a carbon tax. Furthermore, at the climate conference in Madrid, Spain, in December 2019, Australia proposed meeting its Paris agreement commitments by carrying over previous credit earned in the past. This proposal sets a dangerous precedent for other big carbon emitters such as China and exemplifies the ongoing denial around preventing a future fraught with climate-induced destruction.
BLM Idaho via Flickr
Let’s ignore this harsh reality for a moment and imagine a brighter future where countries like Australia actually lower their carbon emissions. The fact remains that wildfires are not going to stop. So, beyond the obvious need for government policies committed to tackling climate change, what else can be done?
One idea proposed by Conservation Magazine is to promote biodiversity. One of the greatest costs of wildfires is the loss of indigenous animals, a factor that may have a knock-on effect of increasing the risk of further fires. This is according to one study published in the journal Animal Conservation.
According to this research, over the past two centuries, Australia has lost 29 of its 315 varieties of terrestrial mammals. This means certain parts of local ecosystems have been lost, which in certain areas could be increasing the risk of fires spreading. How? Here’s the theory.
Leaf litter is one of the most prominent sources of flammable material when it comes to wildfires. In the past, much of this pesky detritus has been cleaned up by “fossorial species,” like small marsupials, that burrow and turn over the dead leaves with soil, which ultimately helps to break it down. With these populations diminishing, the amount of leaf litter accumulates — and so does the material for starting fires.
To test this theory, Matt Hayward, a conservation ecologist at Bangor University in Australia and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, set up an experiment, as explained in Anthropocene Magazine. Together with his colleagues, Hayward reintroduced fossorial species to certain, fenced-off areas. The team went on to compare the accumulation of leaf litter within these enclosed areas versus outside. They discovered that the little critters had helped reduce litter by 24 percent, which a mathematical model calculated could drastically reduce both the intensity and speed in fires due to the “reduction in fuel.”
This approach to tackling wildfires offers a number of benefits. For one, it’s a natural, sustainable method that doesn’t necessarily require huge costs. It also facilitates decomposition, which leads to less carbon being released into the atmosphere. Although biodiversity alone is not nearly enough to single-handedly combat wildfires, it should form a crucial part of any holistic prevention plan for the future.
Yet Derek E. Lee, an associate research professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University, believes that in certain instances, fires can even assist in promoting biodiversity.
“In the fire-adapted forests of North America, there are many studies that show how biodiversity is increased by fire diversity, and the big high-severity patches in burned forests often see a cascade of superabundance following fires,” Lee told Truthout. This process begins with the arrival of certain insects which lay eggs “where their larva can eat the still fresh layer of tree tissue under the bark.” This, together with a growth in nutritious shrubs, leads to the arrival of nesting birds, bats, and small mammals like mice, gophers and wood rats, which in turn attracts spotted owls and other raptors, bobcats, coyotes and black bears.
“These forest systems have been adapting to cycles of wet and dry epochs for millions of years, so they know how to take advantage of fires when they happen. The problem is that humans degrade and alter forests that were perfectly adapted, and sometimes the remaining forests are too small and fragmented to do what they evolved to do. The solution to our global climate and biodiversity crises is to preserve our existing forests, regrow damaged or lost forests wherever possible, and let natural processes continue,” said Lee.
Jo-Anna Robinson / AP Images for HSI
Another strategy, highlighted in a recent report by Australia’s ABC news involves drawing on Indigenous knowledge. In recent years, state fire agencies, as well as local property owners and land councils, have begun working more with traditional fire practitioners on a small scale to conduct preventive burns. These practices involve using small controlled flames on a case-by-case basis. Oliver Costello, a member of Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation who assists with facilitating these burns, explained to ABC how the process takes place.
Taking into account habitat, vegetation, soil type and moisture levels, Costello’s group determines how they conduct their burns. “We might see vegetation we know shouldn’t be there, and we’ll go hotter in that one spot,” he said. The effect is preventive burns that reduce fire risk while also encouraging the growth of local flora, thus protecting native animal habitats. This approach is in line with promoting biodiversity.
As opposed to hazard reduction burns that focus on reducing fuel for fires, the Indigenous method is not a one-size-fits-all approach. By tailoring each burn to that specific area, general fire risk can be brought down to a greater degree by maintaining the integrity of the habitat. However, in order for this to become sustainable, said Costello, cultural burning needs to be factored into mainstream fire management in the future.
“Most of the Aboriginal communities we work with do not have the resources to support their people to manage their land full-time, so that’s a big problem,” Costello told ABC. He emphasizes a need for training programs and greater investment in building this sort of infrastructure.
Undoubtedly, these sustainable approaches will help reduce future fire risk. The key to realizing these and more fundamental solutions, however, remains in the hands of politicians — who remain, at least in Australia’s case, mostly ineffective. As Catherine Brahic, The Economist’s environment editor, said in a recent podcast, “It’s not necessarily about preventing fires. As I said, in many places fire is just part of the natural ecosystem. Whether or not people need to be moved out of certain high-risk areas is, as I say, a live debate; it’s a political debate … to some extent it’s possible that people might need to just learn to live with fire risk.”
The fires aren’t about to stop, but how we confront them can change. Politicians can no longer address natural disasters without discussing the climate crisis. Time is running out, and we cannot afford to waste any more of it.
This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute.
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truthout--2020-04-26--I’m Native and Disabled. The US Government Is Sacrificing My People.

Sequestered away in my apartment in Washington , D.C. , I listen to the sounds of construction outside my window .
Despite stay-at-home orders and closures of non-essential businesses , the construction bringing gentrification and overpriced apartment buildings most D.C. residents can ’ t afford continues on .
It ’ s a beautiful sunny day and I ’ d like to be anywhere but at my computer right now .
I ’ m multiply disabled and chronically ill with several of the underlying health conditions that make me vulnerable to COVID-19 .
For the sake of my life and all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m staying home .
However , the vulnerabilities that put my life in jeopardy under this pandemic aren ’ t simply the fear of contracting the virus .
I ’ m vulnerable during this time partially due to the lack of disability resources and access to my regular medical care .
Even if I manage to avoid contracting COVID-19 I could still very well die due to this pandemic .
All of my regular medical care , including pain management , is canceled for the foreseeable future .
My pain levels are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may not be able to work or pay my bills .
Not only is this a financial hardship , but it could mean one less media professional to cover the stories of my hyper-erased and misrepresented communities .
Not only am I disabled and chronically ill , but I ’ m also bisexual , Two Spirit and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma .
I spend a great deal of my time just trying to get people to understand that all of my communities are real and exist .
While I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the very few journalists in my communities , it is the reality .
It infuriates me that our stories could further go unheard .
Coupled with the lack of resources pre-pandemic , the crisis has put me at a real risk of losing my home health aide .
In 2019 the D.C. government significantly reduced and kicked many people off of the local home health aide program .
Many of us , myself included , were already in the midst of filing appeals and suing the government to keep our aides .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are losing our aides because they either can ’ t or won ’ t come to work , and the D.C. and federal governments are doing nothing to rectify this situation .
The average home health aide in D.C. earns between $ 11-16 hourly .
Benefits are few and far between .
Most of the aides are womxn of color and immigrants .
The work they do isn ’ t valued because disabled and ill people ’ s lives , along with elders ’ lives , aren ’ t valued .
As public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aides are unable to get to their patient ’ s homes , and alternate , affordable means of transportation have not been provided to them .
My aide and I are paying out of our pockets so she can take rideshares and cabs to my home .
Neither of us has this kind of money , but it ’ s what ’ s now necessary .
With the closures of public schools , many are without their free or low-cost childcare , creating yet another barrier to work .
Personal protective equipment ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t available to many aides either .
The agency my aide works for hasn ’ t given out any information to the aides on the pandemic and how to keep themselves and their patients safer .
Nor has it given out hand sanitizer or wipes .
It only began giving extra gloves and giving the aides one mask each about two weeks ago .
When I ’ ve spoken with my case manager and the agency , I ’ ve been told , “ We can ’ t make people work.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and the government more broadly — should be doing is providing health care workers with the supports they need to do their jobs with lower risks to their well-being and that of their patients .
Discrimination and a lack of resources are going unchecked .
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city council have done little to ensure people such as myself are cared for during this time .
The aides aren ’ t receiving any additional paid sick leave , hazard pay , nor are their increased expenses being covered .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ people is an issue .
Just this week while attempting to shop at a Trader Joes , I was denied use of an elevator and told that despite being disabled I still had to stand in line to enter the store .
Most of the grocery stores in D.C. aren ’ t offering special shopping hours for those of us who are vulnerable but aren ’ t elders , putting us in the position to either go hungry or risk our lives to grocery shop .
Delivery services are often more expensive than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t all accept SNAP , creating another barrier for many disabled people .
Buses , when they ’ re even running , are only opening the front doors for those who are visibly disabled or elders , but as roughly half the disabled people in the U.S. have invisible disabilities , this has created larger access barriers .
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority paratransit program , which is the only way some disabled people are able to get around , has suspended all evaluation processes , leaving some disabled people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to live in poverty and suffer from higher rates of houselessness than the abled .
This is partially because employment is difficult for many of us to obtain and keep .
I ’ ve had several employment situations where I was denied my federally protected right to reasonable accommodations , such as working from home .
I was repeatedly told it ’ s not doable , so I ’ ve stayed in poverty even when I was physically able to work full time .
It ’ s rather ironic that the universities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make accommodations for me are now offering these same accommodations widespread to the abled and healthy .
I sincerely hope that those of us that come out the other side of COVID-19 have the opportunity to sue employers , institutions of learning and the governmental bodies that are have denied us our federally protected rights .
Compounding my fears are the projections that the Washington , D.C. , metropolitan area could become one of the next hotspots , with our peak cases anticipated to possibly hit in late June or early July .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ graves being dug for the excess bodies in New York City could become a reality here .
By the time this is all said and done , most of us in the U.S. will know at least one person that contracted COVID-19 ; many of us will know people who ’ ve died from it .
As I confront this reality , I think of my communities with deep concern .
The Native population only recently grew to 2 percent of the total U.S. population .
While this number is small , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re rebounding from over 500 years of genocide , but now we have to worry again about entire tribes ceasing to exist .
Indigenous people were already suffering multiple crises pre-coronavirus .
Despite the federal government ’ s trust and treaty responsibility , our Native health care system is the worst in the country .
The Indian Health Service ( IHS ) is grossly underfunded , understaffed and without many of the resources even the most bare-bones of medical facilities have .
It ’ s also important to note that Native people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illnesses in the U.S. Funding streams and access to supplies have been grossly less than what our tribal leaders have requested or they ’ ve been flat out denied .
Many health care facilities that serve Native communities are without COVID-19 tests and the labs to process them .
The numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in IHS system continue to grow rapidly .
The Navajo Nation has had as many confirmed COVID-19 deaths as thirteen states combined .
A lack of accurate data collection , however , doesn ’ t reflect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seventy-one percent of Natives are urban based , but our ethnicity often isn ’ t accurately counted in non-Native health care .
Despite repeatedly checking American Indian on health forms , throughout my life , I ’ ve often found that I ’ m listed as “ white ” in my medical records .
The numbers from IHS also don ’ t include the number of cases in tribal-run and urban Indian health centers .
I ’ m terrified at what this all means for my communities especially as we now face state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m pissed off that I , and my loved ones , could die due to preventable causes .
It ’ s becoming more difficult for me to maintain my composure every time I leave my home and see people without their faces covered or taking any precautions such as social distancing .
The lack of access to medical care is also further setting us up for eugenics — and even genocide .
Determinations of who ’ s “ socially useful ” and therefore worthy of medical care exclude the vast majority of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Our lives are deemed worthless in the best of times , so it ’ s not surprising that we ’ re deemed “ unworthy ” of care during a pandemic .
The only real chance I have in being deemed “ socially useful ” is that I have the privilege of a graduate education , am a journalist and not an elder .
Many of my people aren ’ t that fortunate .
The weight of historical and intergenerational trauma from the government restricting Native people ’ s movement and germ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m carrying .
It wasn ’ t so very long ago that Native people weren ’ t allowed to leave reservations without the white man ’ s permission .
Pandemics and germ warfare have been used to kill us , and there are signs that this could happen again .
Some white supremacists have been reported encouraging each other to go into Indigenous , people of color , and Jewish spaces to cough on us and spread COVID-19 in the hopes that we ’ ll die .
This is a modern-day version of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ Indian problem.
” Every day is a struggle to remain hopeful and to continue fighting to live .
Since the stay-at-home orders and rising numbers of cases and deaths , I ’ ve had days when my depression has been so bad , I felt a complete void of interest and motivation in anything , including my work , which I love dearly and feel a responsibility to .
I worry how many in my communities that struggle with trauma and addiction will fare during this time .
I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oklahoma , which is one of the very few states that hasn ’ t issued a stay-at-home order .
Instead , Gov .
Kevin Stitt has told Oklahomans to practice “ personal responsibility.
” The first person to die of COVID-19 in the state was a fellow Cherokee Nation citizen .
Stitt and the other right-wing , oppressive monsters that run Oklahoma have blood on their hands , proving just how little they value life despite their claims to the contrary .
Regardless of whether or not I make it through this pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as we always have — but we ’ ll pay a very heavy toll along the way .

Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
Sequestered away in my apartment in Washington, D.C., I listen to the sounds of construction outside my window. Despite stay-at-home orders and closures of non-essential businesses, the construction bringing gentrification and overpriced apartment buildings most D.C. residents can’t afford continues on. It’s a beautiful sunny day and I’d like to be anywhere but at my computer right now.
I’m multiply disabled and chronically ill with several of the underlying health conditions that make me vulnerable to COVID-19. For the sake of my life and all others I come in contact with I’m staying home. However, the vulnerabilities that put my life in jeopardy under this pandemic aren’t simply the fear of contracting the virus. I’m vulnerable during this time partially due to the lack of disability resources and access to my regular medical care. Even if I manage to avoid contracting COVID-19 I could still very well die due to this pandemic.
All of my regular medical care, including pain management, is canceled for the foreseeable future. My pain levels are rising with every day. Soon I may not be able to work or pay my bills. Not only is this a financial hardship, but it could mean one less media professional to cover the stories of my hyper-erased and misrepresented communities. Not only am I disabled and chronically ill, but I’m also bisexual, Two Spirit and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. I spend a great deal of my time just trying to get people to understand that all of my communities are real and exist. While I don’t want to be one of the very few journalists in my communities, it is the reality. It infuriates me that our stories could further go unheard.
Coupled with the lack of resources pre-pandemic, the crisis has put me at a real risk of losing my home health aide. In 2019 the D.C. government significantly reduced and kicked many people off of the local home health aide program. Many of us, myself included, were already in the midst of filing appeals and suing the government to keep our aides. Now with COVID-19, more of us are losing our aides because they either can’t or won’t come to work, and the D.C. and federal governments are doing nothing to rectify this situation. The average home health aide in D.C. earns between $11-16 hourly. Benefits are few and far between. Most of the aides are womxn of color and immigrants. The work they do isn’t valued because disabled and ill people’s lives, along with elders’ lives, aren’t valued.
As public transit has been significantly reduced, many aides are unable to get to their patient’s homes, and alternate, affordable means of transportation have not been provided to them. My aide and I are paying out of our pockets so she can take rideshares and cabs to my home. Neither of us has this kind of money, but it’s what’s now necessary. With the closures of public schools, many are without their free or low-cost childcare, creating yet another barrier to work. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and information on COVID-19 aren’t available to many aides either. The agency my aide works for hasn’t given out any information to the aides on the pandemic and how to keep themselves and their patients safer. Nor has it given out hand sanitizer or wipes. It only began giving extra gloves and giving the aides one mask each about two weeks ago. When I’ve spoken with my case manager and the agency, I’ve been told, “We can’t make people work.” This is true, but what they — and the government more broadly — should be doing is providing health care workers with the supports they need to do their jobs with lower risks to their well-being and that of their patients.
Discrimination and a lack of resources are going unchecked. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city council have done little to ensure people such as myself are cared for during this time. The aides aren’t receiving any additional paid sick leave, hazard pay, nor are their increased expenses being covered.
Access to food for disabled and ill people is an issue. Just this week while attempting to shop at a Trader Joes, I was denied use of an elevator and told that despite being disabled I still had to stand in line to enter the store. Most of the grocery stores in D.C. aren’t offering special shopping hours for those of us who are vulnerable but aren’t elders, putting us in the position to either go hungry or risk our lives to grocery shop. Delivery services are often more expensive than shopping in the stores, and they don’t all accept SNAP, creating another barrier for many disabled people. Buses, when they’re even running, are only opening the front doors for those who are visibly disabled or elders, but as roughly half the disabled people in the U.S. have invisible disabilities, this has created larger access barriers. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority paratransit program, which is the only way some disabled people are able to get around, has suspended all evaluation processes, leaving some disabled people without paratransit.
Even if I manage to avoid contracting COVID-19 I could still very well die due to this pandemic.
Disabled people are more likely to live in poverty and suffer from higher rates of houselessness than the abled. This is partially because employment is difficult for many of us to obtain and keep. I’ve had several employment situations where I was denied my federally protected right to reasonable accommodations, such as working from home. I was repeatedly told it’s not doable, so I’ve stayed in poverty even when I was physically able to work full time. It’s rather ironic that the universities and other workplaces that have refused to make accommodations for me are now offering these same accommodations widespread to the abled and healthy. I sincerely hope that those of us that come out the other side of COVID-19 have the opportunity to sue employers, institutions of learning and the governmental bodies that are have denied us our federally protected rights.
Compounding my fears are the projections that the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area could become one of the next hotspots, with our peak cases anticipated to possibly hit in late June or early July. I worry that the photos of mass graves being dug for the excess bodies in New York City could become a reality here.
By the time this is all said and done, most of us in the U.S. will know at least one person that contracted COVID-19; many of us will know people who’ve died from it. As I confront this reality, I think of my communities with deep concern. The Native population only recently grew to 2 percent of the total U.S. population. While this number is small, it’s significant and represents how we’re rebounding from over 500 years of genocide, but now we have to worry again about entire tribes ceasing to exist. Indigenous people were already suffering multiple crises pre-coronavirus. Despite the federal government’s trust and treaty responsibility, our Native health care system is the worst in the country. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is grossly underfunded, understaffed and without many of the resources even the most bare-bones of medical facilities have. It’s also important to note that Native people have the highest rates of disabilities and illnesses in the U.S.
Funding streams and access to supplies have been grossly less than what our tribal leaders have requested or they’ve been flat out denied. Many health care facilities that serve Native communities are without COVID-19 tests and the labs to process them. The numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in IHS system continue to grow rapidly. The Navajo Nation has had as many confirmed COVID-19 deaths as thirteen states combined. A lack of accurate data collection, however, doesn’t reflect the true rates of contraction and death. Seventy-one percent of Natives are urban based, but our ethnicity often isn’t accurately counted in non-Native health care. Despite repeatedly checking American Indian on health forms, throughout my life, I’ve often found that I’m listed as “white” in my medical records. The numbers from IHS also don’t include the number of cases in tribal-run and urban Indian health centers. I’m terrified at what this all means for my communities especially as we now face state economies being reopened. Frankly, I’m pissed off that I, and my loved ones, could die due to preventable causes.
Many health care facilities that serve Native communities are without COVID-19 tests and the labs to process them.
It’s becoming more difficult for me to maintain my composure every time I leave my home and see people without their faces covered or taking any precautions such as social distancing.
The lack of access to medical care is also further setting us up for eugenics — and even genocide. Determinations of who’s “socially useful” and therefore worthy of medical care exclude the vast majority of my community members and many other marginalized people. Our lives are deemed worthless in the best of times, so it’s not surprising that we’re deemed “unworthy” of care during a pandemic. The only real chance I have in being deemed “socially useful” is that I have the privilege of a graduate education, am a journalist and not an elder. Many of my people aren’t that fortunate.
The weight of historical and intergenerational trauma from the government restricting Native people’s movement and germ warfare are a heavy burden I’m carrying. It wasn’t so very long ago that Native people weren’t allowed to leave reservations without the white man’s permission. Pandemics and germ warfare have been used to kill us, and there are signs that this could happen again. Some white supremacists have been reported encouraging each other to go into Indigenous, people of color, and Jewish spaces to cough on us and spread COVID-19 in the hopes that we’ll die. This is a modern-day version of smallpox blankets that were used to solve the “Indian problem.”
Every day is a struggle to remain hopeful and to continue fighting to live. Since the stay-at-home orders and rising numbers of cases and deaths, I’ve had days when my depression has been so bad, I felt a complete void of interest and motivation in anything, including my work, which I love dearly and feel a responsibility to. I worry how many in my communities that struggle with trauma and addiction will fare during this time.
Our lives are deemed worthless in the best of times, so it’s not surprising that we’re deemed “unworthy” of care during a pandemic.
I’m especially worried for my home state of Oklahoma, which is one of the very few states that hasn’t issued a stay-at-home order. Instead, Gov. Kevin Stitt has told Oklahomans to practice “personal responsibility.” The first person to die of COVID-19 in the state was a fellow Cherokee Nation citizen. Stitt and the other right-wing, oppressive monsters that run Oklahoma have blood on their hands, proving just how little they value life despite their claims to the contrary.
Regardless of whether or not I make it through this pandemic, I know my communities will endure, as we always have — but we’ll pay a very heavy toll along the way.
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