truthout--2020-12-25--States Say They’re Decarcerating, Yet 1 in 5 Prisoners Has Had COVID

“ Some of us wear masks even in our beds , but it feels futile , ” said Sarah Jo Pender , incarcerated at the Rockville Correctional Facility , one of Indiana ’ s three women ’ s prisons .
“ There is little to do except watch the infection spread and wait my turn to suffer.
” These measures did not prevent Pender and six of the 14 women in her cell from contracting COVID-19 .
They were not alone : As of December 18 , the prison had tested 1,050 women ; 302 ( nearly 29 percent ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly nine months after the virus exploded across the United States , prisons reported 276,235 confirmed COVID cases , a rate more than four times as high as that among the general public .
One in five prisoners has had COVID-19 .
Prisons have had at least 1,738 deaths from COVID .
( These figures only include state and federal prisons , not jails , immigration prisons or juvenile detention . )
Prisons have had at least 1,647 deaths from COVID .
And the impacts of incarceration-related COVID outbreaks extend beyond the jail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and out of prisons have contributed to community spread .
A new report by the Prison Policy Initiative estimated that , in the summer alone , prisons and jails contributed to more than half a million , or roughly 13 percent of , additional COVID-19 cases nationwide .
From the start of the pandemic , public health and medical officials warned that incarcerated people were uniquely vulnerable to COVID and its most severe complications .
Many people enter prison with a raft of preexisting health conditions .
Inside the prison , they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or adhere to other Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines , such as frequent hand washing , using alcohol-based sanitizers or wearing masks .
Many prisons did not issue masks for weeks , forcing incarcerated people to risk sanctions when they improvised masks from other pieces of clothing .
Experts ’ predictions quickly came true as several jails and prisons emerged as the nation ’ s top hotspots .
Family members and advocates , ranging from prison reformers to prison abolitionists , demanded decarceration , or the mass release of people from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread .
The response varied from state to state and even county to county , but some jails and prisons did make real population reductions .
Now , as a far worse second wave washes over the country , some jurisdictions are beginning to reverse their reductions .
Some jails , such as Chicago ’ s Cook County Jail , allowed some people awaiting trial to swap overcrowded dorms for electronic monitors ( though the county quickly ran out of monitors , forcing people to remain in jail ) .
Other jurisdictions such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resisted decarceration , declaring that they would not release anyone without a court order .
Across the country , jail populations decreased from 738,400 in December 2018 to 575,952 in July 2020 .
The response also varied among prison systems .
Federal prisons decreased their populations by less than 20,000 — from 175,315 in March 2020 to 156,968 in August .
Even these 20,000 releases are not all responses to COVID .
Nazgol Ghandnoosh , senior research analyst at the Sentencing Project , noted that it is unknown what percentage were those already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is also unknown how these numbers are affected by a reduced intake of people from jails during the pandemic .
In addition , as reported earlier , many people continue to languish in federal prisons across the country despite memos from then-Attorney General William Barr directing that people vulnerable to COVID complications be released from prison to home confinement .
On the state level , nearly 53,000 people were released from state prisons between December 31 , 2019 , and May 1 , 2020 .
Again , it is not known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-based early release and how many would have been released regardless .
California ’ s prison system has boasted that it has reduced its prison population by 22,148 since March 11 , largely by expediting the release of those scheduled to leave prison within months .
Michigan increased the number of people approved for parole by approximately 200 per week to reduce prison density .
In June , its Department of Corrections reported that its prison population had decreased by 1,958 people ( 5 percent ) since March 20 .
New York ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be released early , a decrease of approximately 8.8 percent .
New Jersey released more than 2,200 people , or 16 percent of its adult prison population , who had less than a year remaining on their prison sentences .
These decreases are not necessarily extraordinary , noted Ghandnoosh , especially when examined in the context of the roughly 600,000 people typically released from prisons annually .
Meanwhile , some states such as Indiana have resisted implementing early release policies .
Furthermore , population reductions have not been enough to stem the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 105 percent capacity ; of its 92,170 prisoners , 5,343 have active COVID cases and 93 have died .
New York ’ s prisons reported 120 new cases in early December , bringing its total to 1,959 cases among its 35,353 state prisoners .
In Michigan , the numbers are even more stunning .
With the help of the state ’ s National Guard , the Department of Corrections tested all 34,000 remaining prisoners .
As of December 17 , 19,710 have tested positive ( with 6,727 active cases ) and 104 have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3,944 cases and 68 deaths in June .
Even more alarming , 115 people who had previously tested positive for COVID have tested positive for a second time .
At its Gus Harrison Correctional Facility , over 72 percent ( or 1,423 ) of the 1,955 incarcerated men tested positive ; six have died .
A Reversal in Reductions — and a Surge in COVID As the pandemic drags on and the threat of COVID transmission becomes a normalized reality , incarceration reductions are reversing .
From March to July , the majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Policy Initiative had reduced the number of people behind bars by an average of 26 percent .
Since July , however , 77 percent of these same jails saw increases in their populations , a trend , says the Prison Policy Initiative , “ suggesting that the early reforms instituted to mitigate COVID-19 have largely been abandoned.
” Some , such as the jails in Cook County , Illinois , and Jefferson , Louisiana , have managed to slightly surpass their pre-pandemic ( February ) population .
Others have seen dramatic increases — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jailed 808 people in February ; throughout the pandemic , it has steadily increased its jail population to 1,332 people as of December 4 .
State prison populations are also beginning to climb again .
North Dakota ’ s prison population , which decreased by 19 percent between January and May 2020 , is starting to inch up .
From October 8 to November 19 , the state increased its prison population by 3 percent .
By Halloween , its prisons saw a surge in COVID : 66 of its 600 incarcerated people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff members tested positive .
Prison intakes , previously halted in many states to prevent COVID exposure , have restarted .
Each new arrival brings the potential for COVID to enter — and explode throughout the prison .
New arrivals are supposed to undergo 14 days of quarantine before mixing with the general population , but this is not always the case .
In New York , for instance , when prison officials first converted Adirondack Correctional Facility into a prison for men ages 65 and older , men reported not being tested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t stop COVID from exploding at Rockville , the Indiana prison where Sarah Jo Pender is incarcerated .
“ Our rooms are fenced-in cubicles with 14 to 16 women per room , ” she explained .
“ We live in bunk beds separated by three feet .
Every 136 women share two bathrooms.
” Rockville did not experience a COVID outbreak in the spring or summer .
That changed in the fall when a few women tested positive .
In response , the prison quarantined the women and their roommates in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mental health counselor tested positive .
The prison quarantined the counselor ’ s patients in the prison ’ s education building .
The patients ’ roommates were locked in their rooms to quarantine .
“ The administration requires masks to be worn when we exit our rooms , but since we are locked in our rooms all together , that really doesn ’ t seem like an effective tactic to prevent contagion , ” Pender said .
In addition , all 136 women in one housing unit share two bathrooms .
The prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use the same bathrooms as the women who were not under quarantine .
Cases began to rise exponentially .
“ Two cooks and a food line worker tested positive , ” recalled Pender .
“ Then a maintenance worker .
Then several women in one room .
Now , over half the prison is quarantined.
” Still , testing was not universal .
Only those who exhibit symptoms and report these symptoms to medical staff were tested .
As of December 8 , 225 ( nearly 24 percent ) of the prison ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Now , ” reported Pender , “ when a person tests positive , the policy is to lock the door , confining the sick person ( s ) together with her roommates.
” She noted that , in one room , 11 of 14 women tested positive .
All 14 were locked in the room under isolation .
“ The other three are simply shut in there and fervently praying for protection.
” Similarly , when Pender and six of her roommates tested positive , the five who did not were not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an email to Truthout , David Bursten , chief communications officer for the Indiana Department of Correction , stated that those found to have symptoms or were exposed to a known COVID-19 person are immediately tested and screened by medical staff and receive care as needed .
In response to Pender ’ s allegations , Bursten wrote , “ For prisons that have dormitory-style housing , other dorms or spaces may be used for separation if available and appropriate .
In some instances , incarcerated individuals who test positive have been temporarily housed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have readied additional space at the facility in order to separate them .
That is why we require that they wear face coverings , socially distance and practice frequent hand washing.
” “ I tested positive on the 10th .
Here it is , 11 days later , and neither me nor any of the dozens of women who tested positive on this section of the dorm were separated , ” Pender reminded Truthout on December 21 .
“ 116 of 136 they locked in our rooms , the sick with the healthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The other 16 are in one room where no one was tested , and no one reported symptoms.
” Now , the prison has started to isolate those who newly test positive into the gym , then lock down their roommates .
But , added Pender , those roommates are not tested unless they exhibit symptoms .
Pender has lost her sense of smell and , with very few exceptions , says everything tastes like cardboard and mudpies .
She also has an intermittent fever , headaches , extreme fatigue and brain fog @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same symptoms .
Furthermore , Pender believes the number of COVID cases are higher than those reported .
“ The women who get sick after being quarantined do not report their symptoms , because if they do , and test positive , then the 14-day period starts over for the whole room .
So there are a LOT of unreported positive cases here.
” The failure to meaningfully decarcerate jails and prisons has also led to increased cases in the community as staff travel between work and their home communities on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Texas , mass incarceration contributed to a quarter million new COVID cases — or 20 percent of new cases in these states — from May 1 to August 1 .
Despite its much-touted release of 22,148 people from prisons , the Prison Policy Initiative estimated that California ’ s incarceration alone contributed 113,969 COVID cases ( or 291 cases per 100,000 residents ) .
In Indiana , where Pender and many other women wear their masks to bed in a desperate bid to avoid COVID , the state ’ s insistence on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ additional cases ( or nearly 104 per 100,000 residents ) .
In Parke County , where Rockville is located , 28 percent of residents tested positive .
( Twenty percent of Rockville staff also tested positive . )
In Michigan , mass incarceration led to an additional 4,787 COVID cases ( or 48 per 100,000 residents ) throughout the state .
That was what prompted residents of Adrian , Michigan , the town where the Gus Harrison prison is located , to join family members and advocates during their December 11 protest demanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
“ They were worried , ” Shawanna Vaughn , the rally organizer and director of Silent Cry , a nonprofit addressing the traumas of incarceration , told Truthout .
“ They thought that if people inside are infected , then they ’ ll be infected too .
I explained that if incarcerated people get COVID , it comes from the staff so their community is already at risk.
” At the rally , advocates also learned that the men who had spoken out about COVID conditions had been placed in solitary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After the rally , Vaughn spoke with others inside the prison .
“ They were excited , ” she told Truthout .
“ Even though that [ retaliation ] is happening , nothing [ advocacy-wise ] was happening before.
” Now , she said , “ People are asking , ‘ What do we do now ?
Where do we go from here ?
’ ” Quoting Assata Shakur , she added , “ We have nothing to lose but our chains.
” That ’ s not the mood among the women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ essentially thrown up their hands and walked away from the problem for the moment , ” said Pender .
“ I am sure that they are working on a better solution ( at least , we hope so ) , but in the meantime , we see our neighbor get sick and we start worrying .
Then they test positive , and we literally become trapped in the room with them .
It ’ s like something out of a horror movie .
In the beginning , I used to flippantly say that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prison will just let us all get sick and die .
I thought that I was just being dramatic , but it might have been more prescient than I know .
”

As a second wave of COVID hits the U.S., some jurisdictions are beginning to reverse their decision to decarcerate.
Part of the Series Despair and Disparity: The Uneven Burdens of COVID-19
“Some of us wear masks even in our beds, but it feels futile,” said Sarah Jo Pender, incarcerated at the Rockville Correctional Facility, one of Indiana’s three women’s prisons. “There is little to do except watch the infection spread and wait my turn to suffer.” These measures did not prevent Pender and six of the 14 women in her cell from contracting COVID-19. They were not alone: As of December 18, the prison had tested 1,050 women; 302 (nearly 29 percent) tested positive.
On December 10, nearly nine months after the virus exploded across the United States, prisons reported 276,235 confirmed COVID cases, a rate more than four times as high as that among the general public. One in five prisoners has had COVID-19. Prisons have had at least 1,738 deaths from COVID. (These figures only include state and federal prisons, not jails, immigration prisons or juvenile detention.) Prisons have had at least 1,647 deaths from COVID.
And the impacts of incarceration-related COVID outbreaks extend beyond the jail walls: Guards and others traveling in and out of prisons have contributed to community spread. A new report by the Prison Policy Initiative estimated that, in the summer alone, prisons and jails contributed to more than half a million, or roughly 13 percent of, additional COVID-19 cases nationwide.
From the start of the pandemic, public health and medical officials warned that incarcerated people were uniquely vulnerable to COVID and its most severe complications. Many people enter prison with a raft of preexisting health conditions. Inside the prison, they are unable to physically distance from each other or adhere to other Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, such as frequent hand washing, using alcohol-based sanitizers or wearing masks. Many prisons did not issue masks for weeks, forcing incarcerated people to risk sanctions when they improvised masks from other pieces of clothing.
Experts’ predictions quickly came true as several jails and prisons emerged as the nation’s top hotspots. Family members and advocates, ranging from prison reformers to prison abolitionists, demanded decarceration, or the mass release of people from jails and prisons, to stem the spread.
The response varied from state to state and even county to county, but some jails and prisons did make real population reductions. Now, as a far worse second wave washes over the country, some jurisdictions are beginning to reverse their reductions.
Did Decarceration Happen?
Some jails, such as Chicago’s Cook County Jail, allowed some people awaiting trial to swap overcrowded dorms for electronic monitors (though the county quickly ran out of monitors, forcing people to remain in jail). Other jurisdictions such as Palm Beach, Florida, firmly resisted decarceration, declaring that they would not release anyone without a court order. Across the country, jail populations decreased from 738,400 in December 2018 to 575,952 in July 2020.
“There is little to do except watch the infection spread and wait my turn to suffer.”
The response also varied among prison systems. Federal prisons decreased their populations by less than 20,000 — from 175,315 in March 2020 to 156,968 in August. Even these 20,000 releases are not all responses to COVID. Nazgol Ghandnoosh, senior research analyst at the Sentencing Project, noted that it is unknown what percentage were those already scheduled for release regardless of the pandemic. It is also unknown how these numbers are affected by a reduced intake of people from jails during the pandemic. In addition, as reported earlier, many people continue to languish in federal prisons across the country despite memos from then-Attorney General William Barr directing that people vulnerable to COVID complications be released from prison to home confinement.
On the state level, nearly 53,000 people were released from state prisons between December 31, 2019, and May 1, 2020. Again, it is not known how many of these numbers are from COVID-based early release and how many would have been released regardless. California’s prison system has boasted that it has reduced its prison population by 22,148 since March 11, largely by expediting the release of those scheduled to leave prison within months.
Michigan increased the number of people approved for parole by approximately 200 per week to reduce prison density. In June, its Department of Corrections reported that its prison population had decreased by 1,958 people (5 percent) since March 20. New York’s prison system allowed 3,145 people to be released early, a decrease of approximately 8.8 percent. New Jersey released more than 2,200 people, or 16 percent of its adult prison population, who had less than a year remaining on their prison sentences.
These decreases are not necessarily extraordinary, noted Ghandnoosh, especially when examined in the context of the roughly 600,000 people typically released from prisons annually.
Meanwhile, some states such as Indiana have resisted implementing early release policies.
Furthermore, population reductions have not been enough to stem the spread. California’s prisons remain at 105 percent capacity; of its 92,170 prisoners, 5,343 have active COVID cases and 93 have died. New York’s prisons reported 120 new cases in early December, bringing its total to 1,959 cases among its 35,353 state prisoners.
In Michigan, the numbers are even more stunning. With the help of the state’s National Guard, the Department of Corrections tested all 34,000 remaining prisoners. As of December 17, 19,710 have tested positive (with 6,727 active cases) and 104 have died, a dramatic increase from the 3,944 cases and 68 deaths in June. Even more alarming, 115 people who had previously tested positive for COVID have tested positive for a second time. At its Gus Harrison Correctional Facility, over 72 percent (or 1,423) of the 1,955 incarcerated men tested positive; six have died.
A Reversal in Reductions — and a Surge in COVID
As the pandemic drags on and the threat of COVID transmission becomes a normalized reality, incarceration reductions are reversing. From March to July, the majority of 514 jails surveyed by the Prison Policy Initiative had reduced the number of people behind bars by an average of 26 percent. Since July, however, 77 percent of these same jails saw increases in their populations, a trend, says the Prison Policy Initiative, “suggesting that the early reforms instituted to mitigate COVID-19 have largely been abandoned.” Some, such as the jails in Cook County, Illinois, and Jefferson, Louisiana, have managed to slightly surpass their pre-pandemic (February) population s . Others have seen dramatic increases — St. Lucie, Florida, for example jailed 808 people in February; throughout the pandemic, it has steadily increased its jail population to 1,332 people as of December 4.
“Our rooms are fenced-in cubicles with 14 to 16 women per room,” she explained. “We live in bunk beds separated by three feet. Every 136 women share two bathrooms.”
State prison populations are also beginning to climb again. North Dakota’s prison population, which decreased by 19 percent between January and May 2020, is starting to inch up. From October 8 to November 19, the state increased its prison population by 3 percent. By Halloween, its prisons saw a surge in COVID: 66 of its 600 incarcerated people as well as 21 of approximately 200 staff members tested positive.
Prison intakes, previously halted in many states to prevent COVID exposure, have restarted. Each new arrival brings the potential for COVID to enter — and explode throughout the prison. New arrivals are supposed to undergo 14 days of quarantine before mixing with the general population, but this is not always the case. In New York, for instance, when prison officials first converted Adirondack Correctional Facility into a prison for men ages 65 and older, men reported not being tested or quarantined upon arrival.
Quarantine also didn’t stop COVID from exploding at Rockville, the Indiana prison where Sarah Jo Pender is incarcerated. “Our rooms are fenced-in cubicles with 14 to 16 women per room,” she explained. “We live in bunk beds separated by three feet. Every 136 women share two bathrooms.”
Rockville did not experience a COVID outbreak in the spring or summer. That changed in the fall when a few women tested positive. In response, the prison quarantined the women and their roommates in the prison gym. Then, a mental health counselor tested positive. The prison quarantined the counselor’s patients in the prison’s education building. The patients’ roommates were locked in their rooms to quarantine. “The administration requires masks to be worn when we exit our rooms, but since we are locked in our rooms all together, that really doesn’t seem like an effective tactic to prevent contagion,” Pender said.
In addition, all 136 women in one housing unit share two bathrooms. The prison continued to allow the quarantined women to use the same bathrooms as the women who were not under quarantine. Cases began to rise exponentially. “Two cooks and a food line worker tested positive,” recalled Pender. “Then a maintenance worker. Then several women in one room. Now, over half the prison is quarantined.” Still, testing was not universal. Only those who exhibit symptoms and report these symptoms to medical staff were tested.
As of December 8, 225 (nearly 24 percent) of the prison’s 954 women tested were positive. “Now,” reported Pender, “when a person tests positive, the policy is to lock the door, confining the sick person(s) together with her roommates.” She noted that, in one room, 11 of 14 women tested positive. All 14 were locked in the room under isolation. “The other three are simply shut in there and fervently praying for protection.” Similarly, when Pender and six of her roommates tested positive, the five who did not were not moved from their shared cell.
In an email to Truthout, David Bursten, chief communications officer for the Indiana Department of Correction, stated that those found to have symptoms or were exposed to a known COVID-19 person are immediately tested and screened by medical staff and receive care as needed.
“The women who get sick after being quarantined do not report their symptoms, because if they do, and test positive, then the 14-day period starts over for the whole room.”
In response to Pender’s allegations, Bursten wrote, “For prisons that have dormitory-style housing, other dorms or spaces may be used for separation if available and appropriate. In some instances, incarcerated individuals who test positive have been temporarily housed with those who are negative while we have readied additional space at the facility in order to separate them. That is why we require that they wear face coverings, socially distance and practice frequent hand washing.”
“I tested positive on the 10th. Here it is, 11 days later, and neither me nor any of the dozens of women who tested positive on this section of the dorm were separated,” Pender reminded Truthout on December 21. “116 of 136 they locked in our rooms, the sick with the healthy. Four went to the infirmary. The other 16 are in one room where no one was tested, and no one reported symptoms.”
Now, the prison has started to isolate those who newly test positive into the gym, then lock down their roommates. But, added Pender, those roommates are not tested unless they exhibit symptoms.
Pender has lost her sense of smell and, with very few exceptions, says everything tastes like cardboard and mudpies. She also has an intermittent fever, headaches, extreme fatigue and brain fog. Her roommates have varying degrees of the same symptoms.
Furthermore, Pender believes the number of COVID cases are higher than those reported. “The women who get sick after being quarantined do not report their symptoms, because if they do, and test positive, then the 14-day period starts over for the whole room. So there are a LOT of unreported positive cases here.”
Continued Incarceration Leads to Greater Exposure in Surrounding Communities
The failure to meaningfully decarcerate jails and prisons has also led to increased cases in the community as staff travel between work and their home communities on a daily basis.
Between California, Florida and Texas, mass incarceration contributed to a quarter million new COVID cases from May 1 to August 1.
Between California, Florida and Texas, mass incarceration contributed to a quarter million new COVID cases — or 20 percent of new cases in these states — from May 1 to August 1. Despite its much-touted release of 22,148 people from prisons, the Prison Policy Initiative estimated that California’s incarceration alone contributed 113,969 COVID cases (or 291 cases per 100,000 residents).
In Indiana, where Pender and many other women wear their masks to bed in a desperate bid to avoid COVID, the state’s insistence on keeping people in prison led to 6,879 additional cases (or nearly 104 per 100,000 residents). In Parke County, where Rockville is located, 28 percent of residents tested positive. (Twenty percent of Rockville staff also tested positive.)
In Michigan, mass incarceration led to an additional 4,787 COVID cases (or 48 per 100,000 residents) throughout the state.
That was what prompted residents of Adrian, Michigan, the town where the Gus Harrison prison is located, to join family members and advocates during their December 11 protest demanding the release of aging and medically vulnerable people.
Courtesy of Victoria Law
“They were worried,” Shawanna Vaughn, the rally organizer and director of Silent Cry, a nonprofit addressing the traumas of incarceration, told Truthout. “They thought that if people inside are infected, then they’ll be infected too. I explained that if incarcerated people get COVID, it comes from the staff so their community is already at risk.”
At the rally, advocates also learned that the men who had spoken out about COVID conditions had been placed in solitary confinement, a punitive form of isolation. After the rally, Vaughn spoke with others inside the prison. “They were excited,” she told Truthout. “Even though that [retaliation] is happening, nothing [advocacy-wise] was happening before.”
Now, she said, “People are asking, ‘What do we do now? Where do we go from here?’” Quoting Assata Shakur, she added, “We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
That’s not the mood among the women at Rockville. “The prison has essentially thrown up their hands and walked away from the problem for the moment,” said Pender. “I am sure that they are working on a better solution (at least, we hope so), but in the meantime, we see our neighbor get sick and we start worrying. Then they test positive, and we literally become trapped in the room with them. It’s like something out of a horror movie. In the beginning, I used to flippantly say that when the COVID finally comes here, the prison will just let us all get sick and die. I thought that I was just being dramatic, but it might have been more prescient than I know.”
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truthout--2020-12-25--With Winter Comes More Stagnant Air, Intensifying COVID-19 Risks

At around 11 AM on November 4 , Germaine Patterson stepped outside of her Clairton , Pennsylvania , home to exercise in the backyard .
Dirty air sent her quickly retreating back inside .
“ I started having heart palpitations , ” she told EHN .
“ I know it was due to the air quality.
” For seven straight days in early November , air pollution levels in Allegheny County , Pennsylvania , exceeded limits set to protect public health .
Unusually warm weather had triggered a hazardous temperature inversion : A low layer of cold air along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vehicle exhaust , wood smoke , industrial releases — became trapped beneath a lid of warmer air .
“ It was very noticeable to me , ” said Patterson , who lives about 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh .
Her house is less than a mile from an industrial plant — Clairton Coke Works — that converts coal into coke to manufacture steel .
On at least one of those early November days , she recalled waking up in the “ wee hours of the morning ” to a bad stench .
Throat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Such air inversions , which are a natural weather phenomenon , are most common during winter months when the sun supplies less warmth to the Earth ’ s surface .
Valleys and basins are especially prone to inversions , as surrounding hills or mountains can act as walls to block the wind and further lock in cold air and pollutants .
With the approaching winter and the lingering — in some cases , spiking — threat of COVID-19 , susceptible regions such as Pennsylvania ’ s Mon Valley , Utah ’ s Salt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basin that includes Los Angeles , may face a double whammy : Studies suggest that poor air quality can worsen COVID-19 ’ s toll on the body as well as increase its ability to spread .
“ We ’ re now talking about two pandemics , ” Thomas Muenzel , a cardiologist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz , Germany , told EHN .
“ We have a pollution pandemic , and we have the COVID pandemic.
” As Muenzel explained , both pollution particles and the novel coronavirus target the cardiovascular and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ similarly dangerous inflammation and dysfunction .
“ There are clear signs that air pollution hugely aggravates the outcome of patients infected with COVID-19 , ” he said .
A 2003 paper found that SARS coronavirus 1 — a virus that belongs to the same family as the virus that causes COVID-19 — patients from moderately polluted regions in China had an 84 percent elevated risk of dying from that virus compared to patients from regions with low levels of air pollution .
A study published in November estimated that the COVID-19 death rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the long-term average concentration of fine particulate matter of one microgram per cubic meter .
Overall , approximately 15 percent of global COVID-19 deaths could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution , according to another paper published in December .
Further studies from around the world appear to support the link .
“ Exposure to air pollution , both acutely and chronically , increases the lethality and severity of COVID infections , ” Brian Moench , president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment , told EHN .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other reasons why air pollution is a serious health hazard.
” He noted a November study in which researchers estimated that air pollution caused between 2,500 and 8,000 premature deaths per year in Utah .
Air pollution may also facilitate the spread of COVID-19 through a community , he told EHN .
Recent studies hint at how the coronavirus may hitch rides on pollution particles .
“ And when you ’ re talking about really microscopic particles , those things can stay suspended in the air for much longer — and can travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is probably one of the reasons why it doesn ’ t appear as though the social distancing dictum of six-feet separation is enough.
” Stagnant air during an inversion can rapidly worsen air quality .
One study linked winter temperature inversions with an average increase of 40 percent or more in daily fine particulate matter pollution across large areas of the U.S. Moench noted that most major cities do have worse fine particulate matter levels in the winter — at least in the absence of wildfires — due to inversions preventing pollution from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , inversions are not a “ one-size-fits-all event , ” he said .
If there is snow on the ground , for example , that can decrease the surface temperature and intensify an inversion and resulting build-up of pollution at ground level .
Many of the communities that experience poor air quality , such as Clairton and parts of Salt Lake Valley , tend to also be less affluent and have a larger proportion of racial minorities .
These same populations face greater risks from the coronavirus due to crowded housing conditions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inequitable health care access , and discrimination .
Minority groups also have higher rates of certain underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 such as asthma , obesity and diabetes .
One study found that Black people were twice as likely to catch the virus than White people ; another estimated that Black people were more than three times as likely to die from the infection than White people .
“ We ’ re looking at a racial justice , or injustice , issue , ” said Patterson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accessible COVID-19 testing in the early days of the pandemic .
While current forecasts paint a grim picture for the COVID-19 pandemic in the weeks , and perhaps months , ahead — holiday gatherings , experts warn , are likely to trigger more surges — a pair of promising vaccines could bring welcome relief to millions of Americans this winter .
“ The problem is you can vaccinate against COVID , but you can ’ t vaccinate against air pollution , ” said Muenzel .
“ So , when the COVID pandemic is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic.
” Rachel Filippini , executive director of Group Against Smog and Pollution in Pittsburgh , underscored the point .
“ No one is immune to air pollution .
It is not good for any of us , ” Filippini told EHN .
“ It is known to affect your respiratory system , cardiovascular system , just about every aspect of your health.
” Inversions are also nothing new to vulnerable communities .
In late October 1948 , for example , an inversion event intensified a deadly smog in Denora , Pennsylvania .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ warm front triggered an inversion in the Mon Valley , a cluster of townships outside Pittsburgh .
Residents endured six days of stinky , polluted air .
Future winters could prove even worse , as research suggests climate change may be increasing both the frequency and severity of inversion events .
Filippini is among advocates growing impatient for greater efforts to improve air quality .
She has called out U.S. Steel , which runs several plants in the Pittsburgh area , including the Clairton Coke Works plant .
“ We know that regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implemented , ” said Filippini .
“ So , right now , I think it is imperative that industry , such as U.S. Steel , show its commitment to the public by voluntarily curtailing their emissions during forecasted high pollution days.
” In an email to EHN , U.S. Steel spokesperson Meghan Cox noted that the corporation was “ already operating at a reduced level ” and “ made additional adjustments ” to operations during the November inversion event .
“ There were elevated emissions readings at monitors across the county and throughout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Cox .
“ This suggests region-wide issues such as mobile sources and background levels from other areas are contributing to elevated levels during inversions.
” She added that U.S. Steel is committed to supporting the county health department ’ s development of “ a science-based model to better predict inversions and their intensity.
” Muenzel is hopeful COVID-19 has raised public awareness about air pollution .
In the early days of the pandemic , as industries shut down and fewer vehicles filled the roads , the resulting cleaner air made international headlines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ myocardial infarctions went down substantially during that first wave of infections , ” he said , highlighting the link between heart attacks and air pollution .
“ That ’ s our next challenge : How can we keep air pollution levels down and not endanger our people ?
”

At around 11 AM on November 4, Germaine Patterson stepped outside of her Clairton, Pennsylvania, home to exercise in the backyard. Dirty air sent her quickly retreating back inside.
“I started having heart palpitations,” she told EHN. “I know it was due to the air quality.”
For seven straight days in early November, air pollution levels in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, exceeded limits set to protect public health. Unusually warm weather had triggered a hazardous temperature inversion: A low layer of cold air along with other airborne particles near the ground — vehicle exhaust, wood smoke, industrial releases — became trapped beneath a lid of warmer air.
“It was very noticeable to me,” said Patterson, who lives about 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. Her house is less than a mile from an industrial plant — Clairton Coke Works — that converts coal into coke to manufacture steel. On at least one of those early November days, she recalled waking up in the “wee hours of the morning” to a bad stench. Throat irritation plagued her nearly every day.
Such air inversions, which are a natural weather phenomenon, are most common during winter months when the sun supplies less warmth to the Earth’s surface. Valleys and basins are especially prone to inversions, as surrounding hills or mountains can act as walls to block the wind and further lock in cold air and pollutants. With the approaching winter and the lingering — in some cases, spiking — threat of COVID-19, susceptible regions such as Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley, Utah’s Salt Lake Valley and California’s coast-to-mountains basin that includes Los Angeles, may face a double whammy: Studies suggest that poor air quality can worsen COVID-19’s toll on the body as well as increase its ability to spread.
The deep darkness on this Christmas Day is caused by far more than an annual celestial exercise.
“We’re now talking about two pandemics,” Thomas Muenzel, a cardiologist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, told EHN. “We have a pollution pandemic, and we have the COVID pandemic.”
A Deadly Combination
As Muenzel explained, both pollution particles and the novel coronavirus target the cardiovascular and respiratory systems in the body, triggering similarly dangerous inflammation and dysfunction. “There are clear signs that air pollution hugely aggravates the outcome of patients infected with COVID-19,” he said.
A 2003 paper found that SARS coronavirus 1 — a virus that belongs to the same family as the virus that causes COVID-19 — patients from moderately polluted regions in China had an 84 percent elevated risk of dying from that virus compared to patients from regions with low levels of air pollution. A study published in November estimated that the COVID-19 death rate increased by 11 percent with an increase in the long-term average concentration of fine particulate matter of one microgram per cubic meter. Overall, approximately 15 percent of global COVID-19 deaths could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution, according to another paper published in December. Further studies from around the world appear to support the link.
“Exposure to air pollution, both acutely and chronically, increases the lethality and severity of COVID infections,” Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, told EHN. “We can add this pandemic to all the other reasons why air pollution is a serious health hazard.” He noted a November study in which researchers estimated that air pollution caused between 2,500 and 8,000 premature deaths per year in Utah. Air pollution may also facilitate the spread of COVID-19 through a community, he told EHN. Recent studies hint at how the coronavirus may hitch rides on pollution particles. “And when you’re talking about really microscopic particles, those things can stay suspended in the air for much longer — and can travel,” said Moench. “That is probably one of the reasons why it doesn’t appear as though the social distancing dictum of six-feet separation is enough.” Stagnant air during an inversion can rapidly worsen air quality. One study linked winter temperature inversions with an average increase of 40 percent or more in daily fine particulate matter pollution across large areas of the U.S. Moench noted that most major cities do have worse fine particulate matter levels in the winter — at least in the absence of wildfires — due to inversions preventing pollution from dispersing both vertically and laterally. However, inversions are not a “one-size-fits-all event,” he said. If there is snow on the ground, for example, that can decrease the surface temperature and intensify an inversion and resulting build-up of pollution at ground level.
Environmental Injustice Many of the communities that experience poor air quality, such as Clairton and parts of Salt Lake Valley, tend to also be less affluent and have a larger proportion of racial minorities. These same populations face greater risks from the coronavirus due to crowded housing conditions, disproportionate representation in essential work settings, inequitable health care access, and discrimination. Minority groups also have higher rates of certain underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 such as asthma, obesity and diabetes. One study found that Black people were twice as likely to catch the virus than White people; another estimated that Black people were more than three times as likely to die from the infection than White people. GASP “We’re looking at a racial justice, or injustice, issue,” said Patterson, adding that her own community lacked accessible COVID-19 testing in the early days of the pandemic. While current forecasts paint a grim picture for the COVID-19 pandemic in the weeks, and perhaps months, ahead — holiday gatherings, experts warn, are likely to trigger more surges — a pair of promising vaccines could bring welcome relief to millions of Americans this winter. “The problem is you can vaccinate against COVID, but you can’t vaccinate against air pollution,” said Muenzel. “So, when the COVID pandemic is finished, we still have the pollution pandemic.”


truthout--2020-12-25--Indigenous Nations Handle COVID as Federal and State Governments Fall Short

As the months roll by , the pandemic continues to hit Indigenous nations hard .
But this phenomenon is not new .
Epidemics have been part of colonialism since settlers arrived .
Health inequities tell us that illnesses have different outcomes on different populations ; however , leading medical professionals warn the general public of the dangers of oversimplifying health data .
They don ’ t tell the whole story .
And , in the case of Indigenous nations , the story of inequity is imbued with dispossession of lands and is met with organizing from the inside : two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 .
As scholars who have studied impacts of the virus and Native nations , we have found that Indigenous nations have reacted quickly and effectively to the pandemic .
In our analysis , tribal nations have implemented guidelines and policies that appear to be far more effective than those used by the states they are in .
These responses include locking down roads and implementing guidelines earlier and more carefully than others and developing relevant modes of delivery of supplies .
Their response shows that Indigenous nations and communities know what they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own protective measures .
Protecting Themselves and Their Land Even when governors in the states tribes are in disagree with them , nation leaders stood out .
Responding to the pandemic also means continuing to exercise sovereignty .
For example , in April , tribes in South Dakota set up checkpoints for cars coming onto their land and asked passersby not to enter .
South Dakota Gov .
Kristi Noem characterized the checkpoints as illegal roadblocks and ordered the tribes to cease their activities and called on the White House to intervene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mount Rushmore , President Trump referred to the Native Americans protesting his gathering on their land as “ angry mobs ” and opened his event with “ Garryowen , ” the well-known Seventh Cavalry regimental song played by Custer in battle .
Still , as coronavirus spikes continue to break records , Native nations have managed to control traffic on and off reservation land .
The Shinnecock Nation is also successfully organizing strategies to protect its people , land and ancestors .
The Shinnecock Nation is surrounded by Nassau and Suffolk counties on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wealthiest people in the world .
Those counties served as an escape for New Yorkers last spring when the pandemic raged .
Even with the onslaught of people , many of whom may have been exposed to the virus , the Shinnecock took action and kept the number of cases to a mere handful by following guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
This is nothing new for Shinnecock people .
Protecting themselves has been a necessity for survival since 1640 , when English settlers purchased eight square @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of what is now Southampton .
European settlers brought smallpox to Long Island , which had devastating impacts on Shinnecock and other Indigenous peoples of Long Island .
Centuries later , however , they travel across Long Island and from all over the U.S. to attend one of the largest annual powwows on the East Coast , held on Shinnecock Nation every summer .
This year , for the first time since its inception in 1967 , the powwow was virtual .
In fall 2020 , at the behest of members of Shinnecock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Protection Act .
This move came after years of development and disruption of burial grounds .
One such example is the well-known Shinnecock Hills golf course .
Now , a coalition of Shinnecock and its allies , Warriors of the Sunrise , has set up camp on the Shinnecock Nation and is asking for statewide passage of the act .
They also want the state to drop its lawsuit against the Shinnecock Nation over a signboard that has provided COVID-19 related information information for heavy commuter traffic .
In the Southwest , multiple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Navajo Nation has acted more swiftly and strongly to COVID-19 numbers than Arizona Gov .
Doug Ducey , who was slow to suggest guidelines at the pandemic ’ s beginning and quick to let them expire .
In contrast , Navajo Nation President Nez put out a mask mandate and began a public education campaign on the Navajo reservation in the early days of the pandemic .
Still , numbers and impacts of COVID-19 continue .
Additional Native-led efforts to meet community needs have been relevant and strong .
This includes the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Navajo-Hopi relief fund that raises money for food , water and “ kinship kits ” with Navajo and Hopi people in the region .
Grassroots strategies work because they are dynamic and vigilant ; tribal members best understand community needs .
Ethel Branch , former Navajo Nation attorney general , told our authors that the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts these communities indicates a “ target on our culture.
” Elders , she said , carry language and traditional knowledge .
This is why Yee Ha ’ ólníi Doo distributes two weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elders through a “ family-based relief approach ” : because elders , they know , will “ share with their family members.
” Other organizations left the area after the first surge , but this one has continued to provide consistent relief .
They know the foods and resources that are most appropriate for people who live there .
“ We love our people and we care about them , ” said Branch .
“ They are our family members and so we are really purposeful in how we apply resources .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic is gone.
” And now , during another spike , this organization and others continue to collect resources for lifesaving actions across tribal lands .
Perhaps it is time to consider dispossession as an ongoing health disparity .
Stories that focus only on the need and despair of Native people overlook long-held practices of sustainability , kinship and health .
Lisa Hardy is affiliated with The Society for Applied Anthropology .
She is the editor of the journal Practicing Anthropology .

Tribal nations have implemented far more effective guidelines and policies than those used by the states they are in.
As the months roll by, the pandemic continues to hit Indigenous nations hard. But this phenomenon is not new. Epidemics have been part of colonialism since settlers arrived. Health inequities tell us that illnesses have different outcomes on different populations; however, leading medical professionals warn the general public of the dangers of oversimplifying health data. They don’t tell the whole story. And, in the case of Indigenous nations, the story of inequity is imbued with dispossession of lands and is met with organizing from the inside: two crucial points for untangling and responding to COVID-19.
As scholars who have studied impacts of the virus and Native nations, we have found that Indigenous nations have reacted quickly and effectively to the pandemic.
In our analysis, tribal nations have implemented guidelines and policies that appear to be far more effective than those used by the states they are in. These responses include locking down roads and implementing guidelines earlier and more carefully than others and developing relevant modes of delivery of supplies. Their response shows that Indigenous nations and communities know what they need; they are the directors of their own protective measures.
Protecting Themselves and Their Land
Even when governors in the states tribes are in disagree with them, nation leaders stood out. Responding to the pandemic also means continuing to exercise sovereignty.
For example, in April, tribes in South Dakota set up checkpoints for cars coming onto their land and asked passersby not to enter. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem characterized the checkpoints as illegal roadblocks and ordered the tribes to cease their activities and called on the White House to intervene.
Later, at a rally at Mount Rushmore, President Trump referred to the Native Americans protesting his gathering on their land as “angry mobs” and opened his event with “Garryowen,” the well-known Seventh Cavalry regimental song played by Custer in battle. Still, as coronavirus spikes continue to break records, Native nations have managed to control traffic on and off reservation land.
The Shinnecock Nation is also successfully organizing strategies to protect its people, land and ancestors. The Shinnecock Nation is surrounded by Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, home to some of the wealthiest people in the world. Those counties served as an escape for New Yorkers last spring when the pandemic raged. Even with the onslaught of people, many of whom may have been exposed to the virus, the Shinnecock took action and kept the number of cases to a mere handful by following guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is nothing new for Shinnecock people. Protecting themselves has been a necessity for survival since 1640, when English settlers purchased eight square miles of Shinnecock land, the origin of what is now Southampton. European settlers brought smallpox to Long Island, which had devastating impacts on Shinnecock and other Indigenous peoples of Long Island. Centuries later, however, they travel across Long Island and from all over the U.S. to attend one of the largest annual powwows on the East Coast, held on Shinnecock Nation every summer. This year, for the first time since its inception in 1967, the powwow was virtual.
In fall 2020, at the behest of members of Shinnecock Nation, Southampton adopted the Unmarked Graves Protection Act. This move came after years of development and disruption of burial grounds. One such example is the well-known Shinnecock Hills golf course. Now, a coalition of Shinnecock and its allies, Warriors of the Sunrise, has set up camp on the Shinnecock Nation and is asking for statewide passage of the act. They also want the state to drop its lawsuit against the Shinnecock Nation over a signboard that has provided COVID-19 related information information for heavy commuter traffic.
The Navajo Nation on Monday reinstated a stay-at-home order for the next three weeks after health officials warned of “uncontrolled spread” of Covid-19 in dozens of communities across the vast reservation. https://t.co/pE2odOshMu — The New York Times (@nytimes) November 16, 2020
Navajo Mask Mandate and Organizing From Inside
In the Southwest, multiple tribes have quickly responded to COVID-19. The Navajo Nation has acted more swiftly and strongly to COVID-19 numbers than Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who was slow to suggest guidelines at the pandemic’s beginning and quick to let them expire. In contrast, Navajo Nation President Nez put out a mask mandate and began a public education campaign on the Navajo reservation in the early days of the pandemic. Still, numbers and impacts of COVID-19 continue.
Additional Native-led efforts to meet community needs have been relevant and strong. This includes the Native-led Yee Ha’ólníi Doo, a Navajo-Hopi relief fund that raises money for food, water and “kinship kits” with Navajo and Hopi people in the region.
Grassroots strategies work because they are dynamic and vigilant; tribal members best understand community needs. Ethel Branch, former Navajo Nation attorney general, told our authors that the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts these communities indicates a “target on our culture.” Elders, she said, carry language and traditional knowledge. This is why Yee Ha’ólníi Doo distributes two weeks’ worth of food and water to elders through a “family-based relief approach”: because elders, they know, will “share with their family members.”
Other organizations left the area after the first surge, but this one has continued to provide consistent relief. They know the foods and resources that are most appropriate for people who live there. “We love our people and we care about them,” said Branch. “They are our family members and so we are really purposeful in how we apply resources. We care about saving every life until this pandemic is gone.” And now, during another spike, this organization and others continue to collect resources for lifesaving actions across tribal lands. Perhaps it is time to consider dispossession as an ongoing health disparity. Stories that focus only on the need and despair of Native people overlook long-held practices of sustainability, kinship and health.
Lisa Hardy is affiliated with The Society for Applied Anthropology. She is the editor of the journal Practicing Anthropology.
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truthout--2020-12-25--On Christmas, Let’s Reach for Hope in This Dark Winter

Monday was the winter solstice , the longest night of the year .
It is the night , by ancient tradition , when we turn toward the light and begin the minute-by minute slog toward long summer evenings and the susurration of warm wind in the trees .
For me , this sustaining vision seemed far away , an impossible dream on a cold day when the sun was in the sky for the abbreviated hang time of a poorly punted football , and with a forbidding COVID season waiting in the long afternoon shadows .
The roots of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one of the oldest holidays in the human experience , have been subsumed by an avalanche of capitalist consumerism that has endeavored to steal the meaning of the day as brazenly as Emperor Constantine did so long ago .
Not all of it is lost , however .
Far from it .
“ Celebration of the longest night of the year is everywhere , ” I wrote in 2018 .
“ The Hopi descendants of the Anasazi celebrate Soyal at the setting of the solstice sun with a ceremony of fires and dancing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the winter solstice is celebrated as Shab-e Yalda , which means ‘ Night of Birth , ’ in which families and friends gather to read poems and feast .
It is called Dong Zhi in China and Inti Raymi in Peru , and these celebrations are striking in their similarities .
Wiccans and other practitioners of ancient witchcraft ( a word they proudly own ) celebrate the winter solstice as an affirmation of life itself as being sacred and interconnected.
” It is a warm idea in a grim time , harmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are a game of dice with death .
This winter , solstice is being celebrated small — for some , only within the individual heart — as we all endeavor to spray the horrors of this year back out into the universe from whence they came .
There is much horror to be rid of , and it is not over .
The deep darkness on this Christmas Day is caused by far more than an annual celestial exercise .
We confront a dwindling president reaching for open mutiny in a desperate and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as he flexes that power to free his co-conspirators , and worse ; among his latest pardons , the Blackwater butchers of Nisour .
We confront a frozen Congress all but unresponsive to the plight of the people , and a ruthless and ever-worsening pandemic still burning unchecked among us .
There is more than enough darkness to go around .
Indeed , there are many flavors of bleak to be sampled from the spread laid out on this diminished holiday table .
Congress , subject to the ongoing cold-blooded tyranny of Mitch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 900 billion COVID relief bill so thoroughly inadequate as to be deliberately insulting .
Along with gossamer unemployment support and a paltry $ 600 paid to struggling individuals — I ’ m so old , I remember the last relief bill paid $ 1,200 to individuals and $ 500 per child for people making less than $ 75,000 a year — this newest bill provides virtually no support for struggling cities and states while once again packing the larder of the very wealthy and corporations who don ’ t need the help .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 600 to begin with is because Democrats agreed to cut any new relief funding for cities and states out of the bill .
According to the towering lie of austerity , it ’ s the only way the country can afford to pay anything ( Ask an F-35 if that ’ s true ; don ’ t worry , they ’ re not busy ) .
Democratic leadership had months to fight for the kind of relief bill that would actually provide , you know , relief .
Instead , they capitulated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again , as they leaned into their permanently flawed belief that Republicans will be nice to them next time .
If Georgia ’ s runoff elections next month do not go entirely for the Democrats , however , there will almost certainly be no “ next time ” ; if one of those two contests is lost , this will probably be the last relief bill we see until the eve of the 2022 midterms , when political pressure once again forces Republicans to do the barest possible minimum ( maybe ) .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ be in by then .
Trump , To the surprise of only those who haven ’ t paid attention , lobbed a bag of hand grenades into the middle of the process just as this small beer bill was nearing completion .
After staying out of the conversation for weeks , the lamest duck abruptly demanded payments of $ 2,000 per individual , and threatened to veto the bill if this did not happen .
He didn ’ t make this demand to help people — this is the same guy who , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to strip tipped workers of more than $ 700 million per year — but to put McConnell and the GOP in a corner .
It ’ s another loyalty test , but with daggers for teeth ; Trump wants to see who will stand with him in this latest act of vandalism , because he ’ s making a list and checking it twice .
The relief bill is tied to the government shutdown bill , and Trump ’ s eruption has blown what was a done deal at least temporarily to bits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lose their unemployment benefits on Saturday , the eviction moratorium expires on New Years Eve , and absent a deal by Monday , the government will shut down on December 29 .
As of this writing , there is no certainty that any of this gets done before the roof caves in .
Most of Congress , in point of fact , is not even in the city .
Par for the course , literally : Trump himself has decamped for his golf club in Florida .
Of course , all this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McConnell , who personally stripped the relief bill of provisions to ensure that employers provide paid sick leave to workers who get infected with COVID-19 , because that is the perfect expression of his nature .
Even in the face of this , the Democrats under Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer relentlessly continue playing from a frightened playbook that has been dogeared and discredited for 40 years .
The paltry relief bill was announced just as a new and ominous COVID wind began blowing in from across the Atlantic .
Great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pinpointed a new mutation of the virus that is reportedly just as lethal as the current ones but far more communicable .
The TV news people have been at pains to say that this new mutation is not more dangerous than the current ones , which is nice , except the current ones have chopped down close to 320,000 souls already in this country alone .
With a hugely elevated communicability rate , how much more lethal do they really have to be ?
Here , right here , is what happens when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Will the new vaccines work on these new strains ?
Yes , but to a now-uncertain degree , and with an enormous caveat : The more this virus is allowed to wildfire its way through the populace , the more likely it is to mutate , and one of those mutations may wind up being resilient to the vaccine .
This , as the nation is traveling for the Christmas holiday after getting rocked by the spike caused by Thanksgiving travel .
If these new strains get here — which they inevitably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and COVID always finds a way — it will almost surely be by way of air travel .
In truth , it is entirely possible this new strain has already arrived , and is presently and covertly licking doorknobs in high-travel cities from coast to coast .
“ The rapid series of events and escalating number of countries that suddenly closed their borders was reminiscent of the early frenzied days of the pandemic , ” The New York Times reported on Monday , “ when international travel ground to a halt .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Saudi Arabia went even further in trying to halt the variant from gaining traction , announcing a one week ban on all international travel , according to the Saudi Press Agency.
” “ Right now , ” said New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo , “ this variant in the U.K. is getting on a plane and flying to J.F.K.
” On Thursday , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) mandated that all incoming airline passengers from the U.K. must pass a COVID test to enter the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planned or set for passengers from Nigeria or South Africa .
Is Cuomo paranoid , or is he paranoid enough ?
Ask the last 10 months… and pause to reflect on all the unspeakably reckless Thanksgiving travel that took place before this day .
It is Russian Roulette writ large , with a round in every other chamber , and in a country that for the love of all things should know better by now .
As for the people and their response to this broadening crisis ?
The majority have taken the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks , practicing social distancing , avoiding crowded places and staying home when possible … and then there are the Trump faithful , ever ready to participate in self-destructive spectacle in their undying effort to “ own the libs.
” If the COVID death rate in the states Trump won are any indication , these people appear entirely ready to pursue that goal right into the well of their own graves .
Case in point : Here is a video of “ anti-maskers ” invading a Target store in Arizona .
In their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upon the gears of authoritarianism as represented by flimsy pieces of medical equipment .
In truth , they are the living nightmare of every minimum wage retail worker who did not sign up to be the mask police in the face of aggressive right-wing ignorance , any more than they signed up to get sick and maybe die as a reward for coming to work in the first place .
This kind of nonsense is happening nationwide , and while it certainly is not everybody doing it , it is enough to serve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Will people like this be at your Christmas table today ?
They ’ re all going somewhere , some of them will be breathing virus onto their aunt ’ s special bread pudding , and such behavior is enough to keep this thing going ad infinitum , especially if and when these new and highly communicative strains make a home here .
The gift of the Magi , 2020 style .
What , then , do we do ?
I , as ever , turn to the poets with a candle in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all who bore witness to the nation when it transformed itself into a charnel house of violence , racism and hate more than 150 years ago : Here is despair on paper , a weary eye encompassing lethal folly on the grandest possible scale , written by one who saw the same trains of the faithless we see today , the sorrow , the poor results of all and the plodding sordid crowds , the empty and useless years , the fear , the fathomless despair and self-doubt , and you , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in tragedy that seems to have no bottom .
What good , amid all this , is hope ?
What good is anything at all ?
Solstice is about reaching for the light in the darkness .
Christmas — stripped of its gaudy commercialism — is about a new birth of hope in a beleaguered land .
Hope , these days , must be honed to a simpler edge — a belief that the effort of hoping itself reaps its own rewards no matter the final outcome — and that hope is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of hope may just be enough to bring us to the further shore , though it still be wreathed in darkness , when a combination of hard science and good sense perhaps gives us back some of what we have lost .
The dead can not be replaced .
There are hundreds of thousands of empty chairs at the table today , a truth fit to scald the numbness from all our hearts .
The injured and the bereft , the damaged and the inconsolable , are the hard truth of this new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinnest gruel for them above all .
Yet it is what we have , our tattered rope across the chasm before us .
We are together in the screaming solitude of this invidious passage , and we must keenly remember it .
We must remember all of it .
The powerful play goes on , and if there is to be anything for us on that long-off day , we must all contribute a verse .
If that verse is simply your living breath , so be it , and thank you .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to come , it is enough .
It has to be .

Monday was the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. It is the night, by ancient tradition, when we turn toward the light and begin the minute-by minute slog toward long summer evenings and the susurration of warm wind in the trees. For me, this sustaining vision seemed far away, an impossible dream on a cold day when the sun was in the sky for the abbreviated hang time of a poorly punted football, and with a forbidding COVID season waiting in the long afternoon shadows.
The roots of the joyous celebration of the winter solstice, one of the oldest holidays in the human experience, have been subsumed by an avalanche of capitalist consumerism that has endeavored to steal the meaning of the day as brazenly as Emperor Constantine did so long ago. Not all of it is lost, however. Far from it.
“Celebration of the longest night of the year is everywhere,” I wrote in 2018. “The Hopi descendants of the Anasazi celebrate Soyal at the setting of the solstice sun with a ceremony of fires and dancing that lasts all night. In Iran, the winter solstice is celebrated as Shab-e Yalda, which means ‘Night of Birth,’ in which families and friends gather to read poems and feast. It is called Dong Zhi in China and Inti Raymi in Peru, and these celebrations are striking in their similarities. Wiccans and other practitioners of ancient witchcraft (a word they proudly own) celebrate the winter solstice as an affirmation of life itself as being sacred and interconnected.”
It is a warm idea in a grim time, harmed only by the truth that gatherings nowadays are a game of dice with death. This winter, solstice is being celebrated small — for some, only within the individual heart — as we all endeavor to spray the horrors of this year back out into the universe from whence they came.
There is much horror to be rid of, and it is not over. The deep darkness on this Christmas Day is caused by far more than an annual celestial exercise. We confront a dwindling president reaching for open mutiny in a desperate and dangerous flail to retain power, even as he flexes that power to free his co-conspirators, and worse; among his latest pardons, the Blackwater butchers of Nisour. We confront a frozen Congress all but unresponsive to the plight of the people, and a ruthless and ever-worsening pandemic still burning unchecked among us. There is more than enough darkness to go around.
* * * * *
Indeed, there are many flavors of bleak to be sampled from the spread laid out on this diminished holiday table.
Congress, subject to the ongoing cold-blooded tyranny of Mitch McConnell, finally vomited up a $900 billion COVID relief bill so thoroughly inadequate as to be deliberately insulting. Along with gossamer unemployment support and a paltry $600 paid to struggling individuals — I’m so old, I remember the last relief bill paid $1,200 to individuals and $500 per child for people making less than $75,000 a year — this newest bill provides virtually no support for struggling cities and states while once again packing the larder of the very wealthy and corporations who don’t need the help.
I’m so old, I remember the last relief bill paid $1,200 to individuals and $500 per child for people making less than $75,000 a year.
The only reason people could see that $600 to begin with is because Democrats agreed to cut any new relief funding for cities and states out of the bill. According to the towering lie of austerity, it’s the only way the country can afford to pay anything (Ask an F-35 if that’s true; don’t worry, they’re not busy). Democratic leadership had months to fight for the kind of relief bill that would actually provide, you know, relief. Instead, they capitulated at every turn, over and over again, as they leaned into their permanently flawed belief that Republicans will be nice to them next time.
If Georgia’s runoff elections next month do not go entirely for the Democrats, however, there will almost certainly be no “next time”; if one of those two contests is lost, this will probably be the last relief bill we see until the eve of the 2022 midterms, when political pressure once again forces Republicans to do the barest possible minimum (maybe). God only knows the state we will be in by then.
Trump, To the surprise of only those who haven’t paid attention, lobbed a bag of hand grenades into the middle of the process just as this small beer bill was nearing completion. After staying out of the conversation for weeks,the lamest duck abruptly demanded payments of $2,000 per individual, and threatened to veto the bill if this did not happen. He didn’t make this demand to help people — this is the same guy who, on the same day, enacted policy to strip tipped workers of more than $700 million per year — but to put McConnell and the GOP in a corner. It’s another loyalty test, but with daggers for teeth; Trump wants to see who will stand with him in this latest act of vandalism, because he’s making a list and checking it twice.
The relief bill is tied to the government shutdown bill, and Trump’s eruption has blown what was a done deal at least temporarily to bits. Some 14 million people are set to lose their unemployment benefits on Saturday, the eviction moratorium expires on New Years Eve, and absent a deal by Monday, the government will shut down on December 29. As of this writing, there is no certainty that any of this gets done before the roof caves in. Most of Congress, in point of fact, is not even in the city. Par for the course, literally: Trump himself has decamped for his golf club in Florida.
Of course, all this is equally the months-long doing of ghoul McConnell, who personally stripped the relief bill of provisions to ensure that employers provide paid sick leave to workers who get infected with COVID-19, because that is the perfect expression of his nature. Even in the face of this, the Democrats under Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Schumer relentlessly continue playing from a frightened playbook that has been dogeared and discredited for 40 years.
Merry Christmas.
* * * * *
The paltry relief bill was announced just as a new and ominous COVID wind began blowing in from across the Atlantic. Great Britain, Nigeria and South Africa have pinpointed a new mutation of the virus that is reportedly just as lethal as the current ones but far more communicable. The TV news people have been at pains to say that this new mutation is not more dangerous than the current ones, which is nice, except the current ones have chopped down more than 330,000 souls already, in this country alone. With a hugely elevated communicability rate, how much more lethal do they really have to be?
Here, right here, is what happens when a pandemic is allowed to run wild. Will the new vaccines work on these new strains? Yes, but to a now-uncertain degree, and with an enormous caveat: The more this virus is allowed to wildfire its way through the populace, the more likely it is to mutate, and one of those mutations may wind up being resistant to the vaccine.
This, as the nation is traveling for the Christmas holiday after getting rocked by the spike caused by Thanksgiving travel. If these new strains get here — which they inevitably will, because COVID is COVID, and COVID always finds a way — it will almost surely be by way of air travel. In truth, it is entirely possible this new strain has already arrived, and is presently and covertly licking doorknobs in high-travel cities from coast to coast.
“The rapid series of events and escalating number of countries that suddenly closed their borders was reminiscent of the early frenzied days of the pandemic,” The New York Times reported on Monday, “when international travel ground to a halt. While most countries directed their restrictions on Britain, Saudi Arabia went even further in trying to halt the variant from gaining traction, announcing a one week ban on all international travel, according to the Saudi Press Agency.”
“Right now,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, “this variant in the U.K. is getting on a plane and flying to J.F.K.” On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandated that all incoming airline passengers from the U.K. must pass a COVID test to enter the country. No word on similar requirements being planned or set for passengers from Nigeria or South Africa.
Is Cuomo paranoid, or is he paranoid enough? Ask the last 10 months… and pause to reflect on all the unspeakably reckless Thanksgiving travel that took place before this day. It is Russian Roulette writ large, with a round in every other chamber, and in a country that for the love of all things should know better by now.
This kind of nonsense is happening nationwide, and while it certainly is not everybody doing it, it is enough to serve as continued grist for the COVID mill.
As for the people and their response to this broadening crisis? The majority have taken the required precautions to heart and are wearing masks, practicing social distancing, avoiding crowded places and staying home when possible … and then there are the Trump faithful, ever ready to participate in self-destructive spectacle in their undying effort to “own the libs.” If the COVID death rate in the states Trump won are any indication, these people appear entirely ready to pursue that goal right into the well of their own graves.
Case in point: Here is a video of “anti-maskers” invading a Target store in Arizona. In their eyes, they are patriots flinging themselves upon the gears of authoritarianism as represented by flimsy pieces of medical equipment. In truth, they are the living nightmare of every minimum wage retail worker who did not sign up to be the mask police in the face of aggressive right-wing ignorance, any more than they signed up to get sick and maybe die as a reward for coming to work in the first place. This kind of nonsense is happening nationwide, and while it certainly is not everybody doing it, it is enough to serve as continued grist for the COVID mill.
Will people like this be at your Christmas table today? They’re all going somewhere, some of them will be breathing virus onto their aunt’s special bread pudding, and such behavior is enough to keep this thing going ad infinitum, especially if and when these new and highly communicative strains make a home here.
The gift of the Magi, 2020 style.
* * * * *
What, then, do we do?
I, as ever, turn to the poets with a candle in the gloom, and to one above all who bore witness to the nation when it transformed itself into a charnel house of violence, racism and hate more than 150 years ago:
Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, (lamented Walt Whitman)
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring — What good amid these, O me, O life?
Here is despair on paper, a weary eye encompassing lethal folly on the grandest possible scale, written by one who saw the same trains of the faithless we see today, the sorrow, the poor results of all and the plodding sordid crowds, the empty and useless years, the fear, the fathomless despair and self-doubt, and you, and me, and us, all intertwined in tragedy that seems to have no bottom. What good, amid all this, is hope? What good is anything at all?
Answer.
That you are here — that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
Solstice is about reaching for the light in the darkness. Christmas — stripped of its gaudy commercialism — is about a new birth of hope in a beleaguered land. Hope, these days, must be honed to a simpler edge — a belief that the effort of hoping itself reaps its own rewards no matter the final outcome — and that hope is the light we reach for. That sort of hope may just be enough to bring us to the further shore, though it still be wreathed in darkness, when a combination of hard science and good sense perhaps gives us back some of what we have lost.
The dead cannot be replaced. There are hundreds of thousands of empty chairs at the table today, a truth fit to scald the numbness from all our hearts. The injured and the bereft, the damaged and the inconsolable, are the hard truth of this new breed of hope; it is the thinnest gruel for them above all. Yet it is what we have, our tattered rope across the chasm before us. We are together in the screaming solitude of this invidious passage, and we must keenly remember it. We must remember all of it.
The powerful play goes on, and if there is to be anything for us on that long-off day, we must all contribute a verse. If that verse is simply your living breath, so be it, and thank you. After all this and what is still to come, it is enough. It has to be.
Stout hearts.
This article has been updated.
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