thenation--2020-05-15--The Virus, the Press, and the Comfortable Class

Even in normal times , the New York–centric nature of the national news media strongly shapes—and skews—national coverage .
That has been especially true during the current crisis .
In a remarkable and unhappy confluence , New York City—the nation ’ s news capital—is also the epicenter of the pandemic .
Of the more than 1.4 million cases nationwide , about 350,000 have occurred in New York State and 140,000 more in neighboring New Jersey .
Of the more than 80,000 deaths nationwide , about a third have occurred in New York .
These grim numbers have instilled a sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city , journalists included .
Among the high-profile figures to have been stricken by the coronavirus are Chris Cuomo , Brooke Baldwin , Lesley Stahl , and George Stephanopoulos ; Kate Snow chronicled for NBC viewers the challenges she faced in caring for her infected ( and since recovered ) husband .
Thirty-four states , meanwhile , have had fewer than 1,000 deaths ; 12 have had fewer than 100 .
California , with more than twice the population of New York , has had about one-tenth the number of deaths ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been rising ) .
San Francisco—among the first cities to be hit—has had fewer than 40 deaths .
One might have expected its mayor , London Breed , to be a regular presence on news shows , offering guidance on how to combat the virus , but because she ’ s 3,000 miles from New York , she makes only cameo appearances .
To find out what ’ s going on in California , one has to seek out the site of the Los Angeles Times or other news sources in the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the impact has been starkly uneven , with New York City and its suburbs accounting for about 90 percent of all cases in the state and 95 percent of the deaths .
About half of New York ’ s 62 counties have had five or fewer deaths .
Regions like the Mohawk Valley , the Adirondacks , and the North Country ( bordering Canada ) look more like Iowa and Oklahoma than Queens or Long Island .
Yet Governor Andrew Cuomo ’ s shutdown order has been applied uniformly throughout the state .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Like Fascists… There Is Only One Way to Prevent Mass Deaths in Prisons : Let Them Out More in this series On April 22 , a protest demanding a relaxation of that order was held outside the state capitol building in Albany to coincide with the governor ’ s daily briefing .
It was a boisterous group .
Some marched on foot ; others blocked traffic in their cars .
Some waved American flags and held signs declaring “ poverty is more dangerous than a virus ” and “ my small business is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hats .
Inside , the honking of the car horns could plainly be heard .
During his presentation , however , Cuomo did not mention the protest .
Nor did the first eight reporters recognized during the Q and A .
Then the governor called on Anne McCloy , an anchor and reporter for WRGB , a local TV station .
“ These are regular people who are not getting a paycheck ; some are not getting an unemployment check , ” she said , citing the protesters .
“ They ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to wait for all of this testing , and they need to get back to work in order to feed their families .
Their savings are running out .
They don ’ t have another week.
” Their point , she added , is that “ the cure can ’ t be worse than the illness itself .
What is your response to them ?
” “ The illness , ” Cuomo replied , “ is death .
What is worse than death ?
” “ What if somebody commits suicide because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” McCloy said .
“ But the illness may be my death , as opposed to your death , ” said the governor .
“ How can the cure be worse than the illness if the illness is potential death ?
” “ It doesn ’ t equal death .
Economic hardship , yes , very bad , but not death… .
I get the economic hardship—everybody feels it… .
The question is how do you respond to it , and do you respond to it in a way that jeopardizes public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” McCloy referred to the many people unable to get unemployment benefits .
Cuomo said they would be paid .
But they can ’ t wait because “ they ’ re out of money , ” said McCloy , adding that the protesters were asking , “ Is there a fundamental right to work if the government can ’ t get me the money when I need it ?
” “ You want to go to work , ” said the governor , “ go take a job as an essential worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re working—you ’ re an essential worker .
So go take a job as an essential worker.
” Over weeks of watching the briefings , I had never heard a reporter press Cuomo so hard on the economic toll that the lockdown was taking on upstate New York .
Others also noticed .
The New York Times ran an item on the exchange , and a commentator on Fox News discussed it .
( For weeks , Fox had been pushing the idea that the cure should not be worse than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Facebook page , people expressed their gratitude .
“ Thank you for the tough questions , ” one wrote .
“ Upstate New York needs to open earlier than downstate .
By the way , 95 % of the cases and 97 % of the deaths in New York State are south of I-84 .
Something to consider.
” ( Some posts were less complimentary , charging McCloy with pushing an agenda and calling attention to herself . )
Most of the journalists who attend Cuomo ’ s briefings represent news outlets from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ask about the lockdown ’ s impact on shopkeepers and dentists , dry cleaners and construction workers .
Cuomo ’ s remarks on economic hardship often have a pro forma quality about them , and his combative response to McCloy—including his off-handed suggestion that people go out and get an essential job—reflected the relative inattention he has paid to the economic distress of his constituents ( except for essential workers , whom he regularly praises ) .
Reached by phone , McCloy told me that she was surprised that no reporter at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( As a local TV reporter , she ’ s low in the pecking order . )
In the weeks before the briefings , she had twice interviewed a hairdresser in Schenectady about her experience filing for unemployment benefits ; despite repeated calls over many days , the woman had been unable to get through , and her savings were evaporating .
In addition , said McCloy ( who grew up in Arizona and attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University ) , her station has run many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most Americans lack emergency savings .
She also knows many people who run small businesses , and , she said , “ they don ’ t know how long they can take it.
” Every day at the press briefings , McCloy added , “ I feel a strong obligation to be a voice for the people upstate .
Every day , I pray I ask the right question.
” None of this should be taken to imply that the national press has neglected the economic cost of the virus .
The New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run countless stories on overwhelmed food pantries , people struggling to pay the rent , farmers forced to let their crops rot , and retailers worrying about losing their stores .
On May 1 , the paper offered a long report ( by Jesse McKinley and Jane Gottlieb ) about the spike in unemployment in upstate New York “ as thousands of businesses , from florists to flooring , have shuttered , ” forcing “ paycheck-to-paycheck families ” to visit food banks and farmers to pour “ unwanted milk into the ground.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upstate the governor ’ s cautious approach enjoys strong support . )
Yet liberal columnists , talking heads , and scholars often downplay , minimize , or ignore altogether the economic despair so many are feeling .
They seem unable to identify or empathize with people who have been laid off , can ’ t pay their utility bills , and have had trouble reaching unemployment offices .
When anti-lockdown protests broke out around the country , there was a rush to dismiss and discredit them .
“ The Quiet Hand of Conservative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran the headline atop a long piece in the Times .
The protests , it reported , were being organized by “ an informal coalition of influential conservative leaders and groups , some with close connections to the White House , ” with key contributions from the Tea Party Patriots and FreedomWorks , a libertarian advocacy group .
The Coronavirus Strike Wave Could Shift Power to Workers—for Good “ The anti-quarantine protests seem spontaneous .
But behind the scenes , a powerful network is helping , ” The Washington Post declared .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ represented one salvo in a wide-ranging and well-financed conservative campaign to undermine restrictions that medical experts say are necessary to contain the coronavirus.
” The story described the involvement of Trump officials like Ben Carson and conservative think tanks like the Texas Public Policy Foundation , and it quoted a Drexel University sociologist as saying that “ the blowback against the coronavirus precautions carries echoes of efforts to deny climate change , both of which rely on hostility toward government action.
” CNN ’ s Miguel Marquez , covering a rally of hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told Anderson Cooper that it had the feel of a “ Donald Trump reelection rally.
” “ Logically , ” Cooper said , “ I don ’ t understand.
” The protesters were not practicing the social distancing guidelines issued by the Trump administration .
They “ seem to be in favor of the president and yet believe that the guidelines he himself has been pushing are too onerous .
” Apparently , Cooper could not conceive that these protesters might diverge from the president .
Among columnists , the protests have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Post ’ s Dana Milbank ( “ Trump ’ s Gun-Toting Supporters are Firing Blanks ” ) , The New Yorker ’ s John Cassidy ( “ Fringe Protests Can ’ t Distract from Trump ’ s Failures ” ) , and the Times ’ Paul Krugman ( “ The Right Sends in the Quacks ” ) and Jamelle Bouie ( “ The Anti-Lockdown Protesters Have a Twisted Conception of Liberty ” ) .
Almost none of these reports cited actual protesters .
One reporter who did seek out their views is Molly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headlined “ What the People Organizing ‘ Reopen the Businesses ’ Protests Are Thinking , ” she described the protesters as falling into two camps .
One consisted of people interested in preserving local businesses .
Among them were small proprietors facing financial ruin from an extended lockdown ; many pointed to rural communities in which conditions differed significantly from those in New York , Detroit , Atlanta , and other large cities .
The other camp rejected the lockdowns as infringements on personal liberties and were far more stridently political .
Those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the presence of more extreme voices peddling misinformation and conspiracy theories .
Many journalists , however , seem to hear only those more extreme voices .
In discussing when to reopen , it seems critical to weigh the health risks against the economic pain ; clearly , trade-offs are unavoidable .
Yet many liberal politicians and commentators are reluctant to acknowledge that .
Overwhelmingly , they cite epidemiologists , infectious disease experts , food and drug specialists , and public health commissioners .
And they incessantly invoke “ science ” —a term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligence and integrity .
At his press conferences , Cuomo asserts over and over that he is making decisions based not on emotion or politics but on facts and science .
“ You ’ re entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts , ” he never tires of observing , quoting Daniel Patrick Moynihan .
But the coronavirus is so novel that our knowledge of it keeps changing .
At first , antibodies were assumed to provide immunity—now we ’ re not so sure .
Children , it was initially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now clear that some are .
After a long period in which everyone was said to be equally susceptible , we now know that low-income African Americans and Latinos are especially vulnerable .
It ’ s also been found that more than 90 percent of those hospitalized for the virus have one or more underlying conditions .
At his May 7 briefing , Cuomo acknowledged that the data about the virus keep mutating , yet he continues to cite “ the facts ” as if they ’ re as fixed as the laws @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , he has continued to keep the entire state on a strict lockdown .
And he rarely refers to the more than 1.8 million nurses , bartenders , construction workers , and other New Yorkers who in recent weeks have filed unemployment claims .
A similar indifference prevails on CNN and MSNBC .
It is exasperating to watch Anderson Cooper , Wolf Blitzer , Jake Tapper , Chris Hayes , and the crew at Morning Joe—all participating via webcams from their comfortably upholstered apartments and country homes—snobbishly tut-tutting all those benighted souls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and food insecurity , want to get back to work .
Covid-19 seems to be widening the gulf between entitled white-collar professionals and blue-collar working people that emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign and that remains such a discouraging and self-defeating feature of the liberal establishment .
On Fox , meanwhile , you hear nonstop cheerleading for reopening without any regard for the potential risks .
Public-health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci are routinely denigrated while constitutional rights and civil liberties are loudly extolled .
Shelley Luther , the Dallas salon owner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apologize for keeping her business open despite a statewide stay-at-home order , was hailed as a freedom fighter .
On May 7 , Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw appeared on Fox & Friends to denounce “ so-called leaders and judges ” who are “ arresting moms and dads ” and “ using the full force of the law ” to “ take away your freedom.
” “ Why can ’ t you go to a car wash ?
” cohost Brian Kilmeade complained .
“ Why can ’ t a jewelry store open up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Why can I go to a supermarket but I can ’ t go to a sports store ?
Why can ’ t I sit on a beach ?
How dare I sit on the beach !
” “ They ’ re drunk on power , ” Crenshaw explained .
“ They think we ’ re stupid .
This is why you ’ re seeing people rise up.
” Retired Marine bomb technician Joey Jones came on to second President Trump ’ s praise for America ’ s “ warrior culture ” in fighting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defend your livelihood , your civilization , so you put on your armor , you sharpen your sword , you stay on guard , and , most importantly , you go live your life.
” Jones expressed disdain for journalists who question the use of such martial language .
“ I think there is a certain amount of pacifism in this country now , ” so that “ the mere thought of sacrifice scares people to death.
” All very stirring .
Yet Jones , Crenshaw , and Kilmeade were all calling in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true for Tucker Carlson ( who regularly mocks social distancing guidelines ) , Sean Hannity ( who compared Shelley Luther to Braveheart ) , and Laura Ingraham ( for whom Governor Cuomo is a favorite whipping boy ) .
While clamoring for Americans to go back to work , they themselves refuse to go to the studio .
In contrast to liberal commentators , who like to show off their bookcases behind them , most Fox anchors use virtual backdrops so as conceal their unwillingness to expose themselves to the same risks they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are home-office warriors , sheltering-in-place patriots .
The Media ’ s Covid-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight the Climate Crisis Where liberals seem oblivious to the economic suffering of working Americans , conservatives seem indifferent to the grim choices confronting many of those they are urging back to work .
On Fox , you see few stories about immigrant meatpackers forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder on conveyor belts despite the contagion raging around them , restaurant waiters and servers who fear returning to work but who know that if they stay home they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers who pick the lettuce and tomatoes that we consume but who can ’ t get health insurance , Amazon workers reluctant to complain about unsafe working conditions out of fear of being fired , the people of color on the front lines in Queens and the Bronx who will no doubt continue to die in disproportionate numbers as the economy reopens , or the decisive majorities of the public who , polls show , support a go-slow approach .
In short , the comfortable class , both left and right , remains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class .
At his March 11 press conference , Governor Cuomo unveiled a plan for reopening New York , with upstate regions permitted to loosen restrictions earlier than the NYC metropolitan area .
The plan , he said , was based on data and science .
Meanwhile , people throughout New York remain in distress .
After Anne McCloy ’ s exchange with Governor Cuomo , a Facebook group posted her number , and ever since , she told me , her phone has been ringing .
“ People from all over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” seeking help in getting through .
“ Even people from Manhattan and Queens have been calling.
” One person was so desperate that he called 20 times before she picked up .
“ He thought I could help him .
”

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Even in normal times, the New York–centric nature of the national news media strongly shapes—and skews—national coverage. That has been especially true during the current crisis. In a remarkable and unhappy confluence, New York City—the nation’s news capital—is also the epicenter of the pandemic. Of the more than 1.4 million cases nationwide, about 350,000 have occurred in New York State and 140,000 more in neighboring New Jersey. Of the more than 80,000 deaths nationwide, about a third have occurred in New York.
These grim numbers have instilled a sense of fear and dread in everyone in the city, journalists included. Among the high-profile figures to have been stricken by the coronavirus are Chris Cuomo, Brooke Baldwin, Lesley Stahl, and George Stephanopoulos; Kate Snow chronicled for NBC viewers the challenges she faced in caring for her infected (and since recovered) husband.
Thirty-four states, meanwhile, have had fewer than 1,000 deaths; 12 have had fewer than 100. California, with more than twice the population of New York, has had about one-tenth the number of deaths (though the number in Los Angeles has been rising). San Francisco—among the first cities to be hit—has had fewer than 40 deaths. One might have expected its mayor, London Breed, to be a regular presence on news shows, offering guidance on how to combat the virus, but because she’s 3,000 miles from New York, she makes only cameo appearances. To find out what’s going on in California, one has to seek out the site of the Los Angeles Times or other news sources in the state.
Even within New York State, the impact has been starkly uneven, with New York City and its suburbs accounting for about 90 percent of all cases in the state and 95 percent of the deaths. About half of New York’s 62 counties have had five or fewer deaths. Regions like the Mohawk Valley, the Adirondacks, and the North Country (bordering Canada) look more like Iowa and Oklahoma than Queens or Long Island. Yet Governor Andrew Cuomo’s shutdown order has been applied uniformly throughout the state. Coronavirus Amid Partisan Politicking, Revelations on a Covid Origins Article Jimmy Tobias It’s Not “Unreasonable” to Want to Change Our Rotten Health Care System Gregg Gonsalves Covid Has Left Deep Wounds in America’s Rural Communities Anne N. Sosin
On April 22, a protest demanding a relaxation of that order was held outside the state capitol building in Albany to coincide with the governor’s daily briefing. It was a boisterous group. Some marched on foot; others blocked traffic in their cars. Some waved American flags and held signs declaring “poverty is more dangerous than a virus” and “my small business is essential”; a number wore pro-Trump hats.
Inside, the honking of the car horns could plainly be heard. During his presentation, however, Cuomo did not mention the protest. Nor did the first eight reporters recognized during the Q and A. Then the governor called on Anne McCloy, an anchor and reporter for WRGB, a local TV station. “These are regular people who are not getting a paycheck; some are not getting an unemployment check,” she said, citing the protesters. “They’re saying they don’t have time to wait for all of this testing, and they need to get back to work in order to feed their families. Their savings are running out. They don’t have another week.” Their point, she added, is that “the cure can’t be worse than the illness itself. What is your response to them?” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
“The illness,” Cuomo replied, “is death. What is worse than death?”
“What if somebody commits suicide because they can’t pay their bills?” McCloy said.
“But the illness may be my death, as opposed to your death,” said the governor. “How can the cure be worse than the illness if the illness is potential death?” Current Issue View our current issue
“What if the economy failing equals death?”
“It doesn’t equal death. Economic hardship, yes, very bad, but not death…. I get the economic hardship—everybody feels it…. The question is how do you respond to it, and do you respond to it in a way that jeopardizes public health and possibly causes more people to die?”
McCloy referred to the many people unable to get unemployment benefits. Cuomo said they would be paid. But they can’t wait because “they’re out of money,” said McCloy, adding that the protesters were asking, “Is there a fundamental right to work if the government can’t get me the money when I need it?”
“You want to go to work,” said the governor, “go take a job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow.”
“They’re not hiring.”
“You’re working—you’re an essential worker. So go take a job as an essential worker.”
Over weeks of watching the briefings, I had never heard a reporter press Cuomo so hard on the economic toll that the lockdown was taking on upstate New York. Others also noticed. The New York Times ran an item on the exchange, and a commentator on Fox News discussed it. (For weeks, Fox had been pushing the idea that the cure should not be worse than the disease.) On McCloy’s Facebook page, people expressed their gratitude. “Thank you for the tough questions,” one wrote. “Upstate New York needs to open earlier than downstate. By the way, 95% of the cases and 97% of the deaths in New York State are south of I-84. Something to consider.” (Some posts were less complimentary, charging McCloy with pushing an agenda and calling attention to herself.)
Most of the journalists who attend Cuomo’s briefings represent news outlets from New York City and—preoccupied with the contagion—seldom ask about the lockdown’s impact on shopkeepers and dentists, dry cleaners and construction workers. Cuomo’s remarks on economic hardship often have a pro forma quality about them, and his combative response to McCloy—including his off-handed suggestion that people go out and get an essential job—reflected the relative inattention he has paid to the economic distress of his constituents (except for essential workers, whom he regularly praises).
Reached by phone, McCloy told me that she was surprised that no reporter at the briefing had mentioned the protest before her. (As a local TV reporter, she’s low in the pecking order.) In the weeks before the briefings, she had twice interviewed a hairdresser in Schenectady about her experience filing for unemployment benefits; despite repeated calls over many days, the woman had been unable to get through, and her savings were evaporating. In addition, said McCloy (who grew up in Arizona and attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University), her station has run many stories over the past year about how most Americans lack emergency savings. She also knows many people who run small businesses, and, she said, “they don’t know how long they can take it.”
Every day at the press briefings, McCloy added, “I feel a strong obligation to be a voice for the people upstate. Every day, I pray I ask the right question.”
None of this should be taken to imply that the national press has neglected the economic cost of the virus. The New York Times, for one, has run countless stories on overwhelmed food pantries, people struggling to pay the rent, farmers forced to let their crops rot, and retailers worrying about losing their stores. On May 1, the paper offered a long report (by Jesse McKinley and Jane Gottlieb) about the spike in unemployment in upstate New York “as thousands of businesses, from florists to flooring, have shuttered,” forcing “paycheck-to-paycheck families” to visit food banks and farmers to pour “unwanted milk into the ground.” (The article also noted that even upstate the governor’s cautious approach enjoys strong support.)
Yet liberal columnists, talking heads, and scholars often downplay, minimize, or ignore altogether the economic despair so many are feeling. They seem unable to identify or empathize with people who have been laid off, can’t pay their utility bills, and have had trouble reaching unemployment offices. When anti-lockdown protests broke out around the country, there was a rush to dismiss and discredit them. “The Quiet Hand of Conservative Groups in the Anti-Lockdown Protests,” ran the headline atop a long piece in the Times. The protests, it reported, were being organized by “an informal coalition of influential conservative leaders and groups, some with close connections to the White House,” with key contributions from the Tea Party Patriots and FreedomWorks, a libertarian advocacy group. Power to the Worker The Coronavirus Strike Wave Could Shift Power to Workers—for Good Bryce Covert
“The anti-quarantine protests seem spontaneous. But behind the scenes, a powerful network is helping,” The Washington Post declared. The rallies, the paper stated, “represented one salvo in a wide-ranging and well-financed conservative campaign to undermine restrictions that medical experts say are necessary to contain the coronavirus.” The story described the involvement of Trump officials like Ben Carson and conservative think tanks like the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and it quoted a Drexel University sociologist as saying that “the blowback against the coronavirus precautions carries echoes of efforts to deny climate change, both of which rely on hostility toward government action.”
CNN’s Miguel Marquez, covering a rally of hundreds of protesters in Harrisburg, Pa., told Anderson Cooper that it had the feel of a “Donald Trump reelection rally.” “Logically,” Cooper said, “I don’t understand.” The protesters were not practicing the social distancing guidelines issued by the Trump administration. They “seem to be in favor of the president and yet believe that the guidelines he himself has been pushing are too onerous. ” Apparently, Cooper could not conceive that these protesters might diverge from the president.
Among columnists, the protests have been dismissed as exclusively right-wing affairs by the Post’s Dana Milbank (“Trump’s Gun-Toting Supporters are Firing Blanks”), The New Yorker’s John Cassidy (“Fringe Protests Can’t Distract from Trump’s Failures”), and the Times’ Paul Krugman (“The Right Sends in the Quacks”) and Jamelle Bouie (“The Anti-Lockdown Protesters Have a Twisted Conception of Liberty”).
Almost none of these reports cited actual protesters. One reporter who did seek out their views is Molly Olmstead of Slate. In a piece headlined “What the People Organizing ‘Reopen the Businesses’ Protests Are Thinking,” she described the protesters as falling into two camps. One consisted of people interested in preserving local businesses. Among them were small proprietors facing financial ruin from an extended lockdown; many pointed to rural communities in which conditions differed significantly from those in New York, Detroit, Atlanta, and other large cities. The other camp rejected the lockdowns as infringements on personal liberties and were far more stridently political. Those focusing on the economic toll expressed discomfort with the presence of more extreme voices peddling misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Many journalists, however, seem to hear only those more extreme voices.
In discussing when to reopen, it seems critical to weigh the health risks against the economic pain; clearly, trade-offs are unavoidable. Yet many liberal politicians and commentators are reluctant to acknowledge that. Overwhelmingly, they cite epidemiologists, infectious disease experts, food and drug specialists, and public health commissioners. And they incessantly invoke “science”—a term that has become a signifier of superior intelligence and integrity. At his press conferences, Cuomo asserts over and over that he is making decisions based not on emotion or politics but on facts and science. “You’re entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts,” he never tires of observing, quoting Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
But the coronavirus is so novel that our knowledge of it keeps changing. At first, antibodies were assumed to provide immunity—now we’re not so sure. Children, it was initially believed, are not affected—it’s now clear that some are. After a long period in which everyone was said to be equally susceptible, we now know that low-income African Americans and Latinos are especially vulnerable. It’s also been found that more than 90 percent of those hospitalized for the virus have one or more underlying conditions. At his May 7 briefing, Cuomo acknowledged that the data about the virus keep mutating, yet he continues to cite “the facts” as if they’re as fixed as the laws of thermodynamics, and, based on them, he has continued to keep the entire state on a strict lockdown. And he rarely refers to the more than 1.8 million nurses, bartenders, construction workers, and other New Yorkers who in recent weeks have filed unemployment claims.
A similar indifference prevails on CNN and MSNBC. It is exasperating to watch Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Chris Hayes, and the crew at Morning Joe—all participating via webcams from their comfortably upholstered apartments and country homes—snobbishly tut-tutting all those benighted souls who, facing bankruptcy, shrunken savings, and food insecurity, want to get back to work. Covid-19 seems to be widening the gulf between entitled white-collar professionals and blue-collar working people that emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign and that remains such a discouraging and self-defeating feature of the liberal establishment.
On Fox, meanwhile, you hear nonstop cheerleading for reopening without any regard for the potential risks. Public-health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci are routinely denigrated while constitutional rights and civil liberties are loudly extolled. Shelley Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was briefly jailed for refusing to apologize for keeping her business open despite a statewide stay-at-home order, was hailed as a freedom fighter. On May 7, Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw appeared on Fox & Friends to denounce “so-called leaders and judges” who are “arresting moms and dads” and “using the full force of the law” to “take away your freedom.”
“Why can’t you go to a car wash ?” cohost Brian Kilmeade complained. “Why can’t a jewelry store open up on Mother’s Day?… Why can I go to a supermarket but I can’t go to a sports store? Why can’t I sit on a beach? How dare I sit on the beach!”
“They’re drunk on power,” Crenshaw explained. “They think we’re stupid. This is why you’re seeing people rise up.” Retired Marine bomb technician Joey Jones came on to second President Trump’s praise for America’s “warrior culture” in fighting the pandemic. “You have to defend your livelihood, your civilization, so you put on your armor, you sharpen your sword, you stay on guard, and, most importantly, you go live your life.” Jones expressed disdain for journalists who question the use of such martial language. “I think there is a certain amount of pacifism in this country now,” so that “the mere thought of sacrifice scares people to death.”
All very stirring. Yet Jones, Crenshaw, and Kilmeade were all calling in from remote locations. The same is true for Tucker Carlson (who regularly mocks social distancing guidelines), Sean Hannity (who compared Shelley Luther to Braveheart), and Laura Ingraham (for whom Governor Cuomo is a favorite whipping boy). While clamoring for Americans to go back to work, they themselves refuse to go to the studio. In contrast to liberal commentators, who like to show off their bookcases behind them, most Fox anchors use virtual backdrops so as conceal their unwillingness to expose themselves to the same risks they are encouraging others to take. They are home-office warriors, sheltering-in-place patriots. Media on Covid-19 The Media’s Covid-19 Coverage Proves It Could Also Spotlight the Climate Crisis Mark Hertsgaard
Where liberals seem oblivious to the economic suffering of working Americans, conservatives seem indifferent to the grim choices confronting many of those they are urging back to work. On Fox, you see few stories about immigrant meatpackers forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder on conveyor belts despite the contagion raging around them, restaurant waiters and servers who fear returning to work but who know that if they stay home they can lose their unemployment insurance, undocumented workers who pick the lettuce and tomatoes that we consume but who can’t get health insurance, Amazon workers reluctant to complain about unsafe working conditions out of fear of being fired, the people of color on the front lines in Queens and the Bronx who will no doubt continue to die in disproportionate numbers as the economy reopens, or the decisive majorities of the public who, polls show, support a go-slow approach.
In short, the comfortable class, both left and right, remains insulated from the concerns of the working class.
At his March 11 press conference, Governor Cuomo unveiled a plan for reopening New York, with upstate regions permitted to loosen restrictions earlier than the NYC metropolitan area. The plan, he said, was based on data and science.
Meanwhile, people throughout New York remain in distress. After Anne McCloy’s exchange with Governor Cuomo, a Facebook group posted her number, and ever since, she told me, her phone has been ringing. “People from all over the state have been contacting me about unemployment,” seeking help in getting through. “Even people from Manhattan and Queens have been calling.” One person was so desperate that he called 20 times before she picked up. “He thought I could help him.”


thenation--2020-05-15--Ahmaud Abery’s Killers Understood White Freedom Perfectly

By now , there is no need to recount the details here .
It is a fair enough summation to write that three months ago , Ahmaud Arbery , a black 25-year-old , was hunted and summarily executed by white gunmen while jogging near Brunswick , Ga .
Despite his killer having literal blood on his hands when officers arrived at the scene , the state ruled that Arbery ’ s murder was not worth inconveniencing his assailants ’ lives with either arrest or prosecution .
In the instant they grabbed guns , put together a posse , and pursued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrated their confidence that white American indifference to black death grants them power , impunity , and above all , liberty .
Which is to say , white American freedom .
That ideal has always been a sinister thing , rooted in the notion that whiteness is endowed with the inalienable right to control black bodies and determine black destinies .
As a policy tradition—historically spelled out in the actual letter of American law and still visible in how the laws are unequally applied—it is one of this country ’ s foundational beliefs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use of terror and violence ( and very often , gun violence ) when it perceives even the mere reality of black existence as a threat to white authority and comfort .
Both Arbery ’ s killers and Georgia state authorities exercised white freedom at every turn .
His murderers saw themselves as free white men and , as such , duly entitled to police the movements , motivations , and ultimately , the right to exist of a black stranger .
District Attorney George E. Barnhill , whose son previously worked with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter of recusal that amounted to an indictment—of Arbery .
In it , Barnhill wrote that he and senior trial lawyers “ do not see grounds ” to arrest the murderers , effectively attributing Arbery ’ s killing to his having entered “ their neighborhood ” and then ignoring the shouts from armed white men “ telling him to stop.
” Alan Tucker , the Georgia lawyer and acquaintance of the gunmen who leaked footage of the killing , once again putting black death into viral , heavy rotation , essentially blamed Arbery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if he had just frozen ” —meaning halted and deferred to white freedom ’ s right to question him— “ he wouldn ’ t have got shot.
” That sentiment is echoed by the tens of thousands who signed on to the GoFundMe accounts or joined Facebook groups dedicated to supporting Arbery ’ s killers .
Like every episode of black death that garners even the mildest critiques of those who carried out the murders , Arbery ’ s killing has attracted a wide and vocal audience who make their advocacy for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom ’ s inextricable link to black subjugation is woven into the fibers of American history , from all-white colonial militia patrols to keep black enslaved people in line to the unknowable thousands of post-Reconstruction lynchings that served to blare the consequences of black freedom mistaking itself for true American citizenship .
The Red Summer of 1919—a bloody period of white mob terror and what historian Bill Tuttle identifies as black “ ethnic cleansing ” across 25 American cities—was the response when black civil rights efforts threatened white Americans ’ mythologies about their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terrorism of Jim Crow , like mass incarceration and extrajudicial police violence , is a continuous thread that affirms the steadfast endurance of white freedom .
The mode of lynching black folks may change with the technology of the times , but the product is always the same old black death .
The Coronavirus Reveals That the Stars Are Not Like Us Since Emancipation , the United States Has Refused to Make Reparations for Slavery White freedom is on full display by the overwhelmingly white protesters of stay-at-home orders around the country , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 ’ s black death tolls racialized the disease .
It is not incidental that those defenders of white freedom have likened orders to remain at home to stem the spread of a deadly virus to the brutality of slavery while insisting that the ranks of disproportionately black and brown service workers already dying of the disease get back to making their lives comfortable .
Nor is it insignificant that they have openly carried firearms as they stormed statehouses—an open threat to anyone who would suggest that the rule of law might apply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesters yelling insults into the faces of police and carrying weapons hasn ’ t left a single white protester dead proves that the white freedom they ’ re fighting for has been with them all along . )
If they were black and protesting the killings of black folks , these scenes would be described as riots .
Instead , Donald Trump ’ s economic adviser Stephen Moore equated those white protesters with black civil rights workers , calling them “ the modern-day Rosa Parks , ” a gesture meant to inflame but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white freedom is patriotic .
Trump , whose presidency and administration have been one long exercise in white freedom , tweeted they should “ LIBERATE MINNESOTA , ” “ LIBERATE MICHIGAN , ” and “ LIBERATE VIRGINIA.
” Meanwhile , black folks are being arrested and even shot for not social distancing .
On May 3 , a black North Carolina woman and her son were besieged in their home by a mob of 15 angry white men , one reportedly carrying an assault weapon and another holding a shotgun .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who , when told he had the wrong house , blocked the doorway with his foot and demanded to enter , according to the family ’ s lawyer .
Law enforcement officers who initially responded to the scene made little effort to investigate the incident , which didn ’ t end in violence but certainly could have .
The officers didn ’ t cite white freedom as their excuse for doing nothing in response to an armed vigilante group terrorizing a black family .
They didn ’ t have to .

This article appears in the June 1/8, 2020 issue.
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By now, there is no need to recount the details here. It is a fair enough summation to write that three months ago, Ahmaud Arbery, a black 25-year-old, was hunted and summarily executed by white gunmen while jogging near Brunswick, Ga. Despite his killer having literal blood on his hands when officers arrived at the scene, the state ruled that Arbery’s murder was not worth inconveniencing his assailants’ lives with either arrest or prosecution. In the instant they grabbed guns, put together a posse, and pursued him, Arbery’s white killers demonstrated their confidence that white American indifference to black death grants them power, impunity, and above all, liberty.
Which is to say, white American freedom. That ideal has always been a sinister thing, rooted in the notion that whiteness is endowed with the inalienable right to control black bodies and determine black destinies. As a policy tradition—historically spelled out in the actual letter of American law and still visible in how the laws are unequally applied—it is one of this country’s foundational beliefs. White American freedom relies on the use of terror and violence (and very often, gun violence) when it perceives even the mere reality of black existence as a threat to white authority and comfort.
Both Arbery’s killers and Georgia state authorities exercised white freedom at every turn. His murderers saw themselves as free white men and, as such, duly entitled to police the movements, motivations, and ultimately, the right to exist of a black stranger. District Attorney George E. Barnhill, whose son previously worked with one of the killers, wrote a letter of recusal that amounted to an indictment—of Arbery. In it, Barnhill wrote that he and senior trial lawyers “do not see grounds” to arrest the murderers, effectively attributing Arbery’s killing to his having entered “their neighborhood” and then ignoring the shouts from armed white men “telling him to stop.”
Alan Tucker, the Georgia lawyer and acquaintance of the gunmen who leaked footage of the killing, once again putting black death into viral, heavy rotation, essentially blamed Arbery for his own murder, stating “if he had just frozen”—meaning halted and deferred to white freedom’s right to question him—“he wouldn’t have got shot.” That sentiment is echoed by the tens of thousands who signed on to the GoFundMe accounts or joined Facebook groups dedicated to supporting Arbery’s killers. Like every episode of black death that garners even the mildest critiques of those who carried out the murders, Arbery’s killing has attracted a wide and vocal audience who make their advocacy for the tenets of white freedom known.
White freedom’s inextricable link to black subjugation is woven into the fibers of American history, from all-white colonial militia patrols to keep black enslaved people in line to the unknowable thousands of post-Reconstruction lynchings that served to blare the consequences of black freedom mistaking itself for true American citizenship. The Red Summer of 1919—a bloody period of white mob terror and what historian Bill Tuttle identifies as black “ethnic cleansing” across 25 American cities—was the response when black civil rights efforts threatened white Americans’ mythologies about their own innate racial superiority. The white terrorism of Jim Crow, like mass incarceration and extrajudicial police violence, is a continuous thread that affirms the steadfast endurance of white freedom. The mode of lynching black folks may change with the technology of the times, but the product is always the same old black death. More From Kali Holloway Inside the Cynical Campaign to Claim That Affirmative Action Hurts Asian Americans August 9, 2023 It’s Not Just Corporate Pride Boycotts—Right-Wingers Are Escalating Their Anti-LGBTQ Campaign June 23, 2023 Affirmative Action Is in the Supreme Court’s Crosshairs June 22, 2023
White freedom is on full display by the overwhelmingly white protesters of stay-at-home orders around the country, in demonstrations that proliferated after reports of Covid-19’s black death tolls racialized the disease. It is not incidental that those defenders of white freedom have likened orders to remain at home to stem the spread of a deadly virus to the brutality of slavery while insisting that the ranks of disproportionately black and brown service workers already dying of the disease get back to making their lives comfortable.
Nor is it insignificant that they have openly carried firearms as they stormed statehouses—an open threat to anyone who would suggest that the rule of law might apply to them. (The fact that protesters yelling insults into the faces of police and carrying weapons hasn’t left a single white protester dead proves that the white freedom they’re fighting for has been with them all along.) If they were black and protesting the killings of black folks, these scenes would be described as riots. Instead, Donald Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Moore equated those white protesters with black civil rights workers, calling them “the modern-day Rosa Parks,” a gesture meant to inflame but also to signal that the fight for white freedom is patriotic. Trump, whose presidency and administration have been one long exercise in white freedom, tweeted they should “LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN,” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA.” Meanwhile, black folks are being arrested and even shot for not social distancing.
On May 3, a black North Carolina woman and her son were besieged in their home by a mob of 15 angry white men, one reportedly carrying an assault weapon and another holding a shotgun. In the group was a sheriff’s deputy who, when told he had the wrong house, blocked the doorway with his foot and demanded to enter, according to the family’s lawyer. Law enforcement officers who initially responded to the scene made little effort to investigate the incident, which didn’t end in violence but certainly could have. The officers didn’t cite white freedom as their excuse for doing nothing in response to an armed vigilante group terrorizing a black family.
They didn’t have to.


thenation--2020-05-15--Pelosi Sends a Message

Pelosi Sends a Message

With unemployment at levels not witnessed since the Great Depression , hunger spreading among families with children , and even the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Reserve begging the Congress to act , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the $ 3 trillion HEROES legislation , which the House passed Friday .
After months of backroom negotiations that conceded initiative to the Republican Senate , Pelosi has finally decided to drive the debate .
Inevitably , the 1,180-page bill—a bare-bones summary takes 90 pages—contains much good and some plain ugly .
Its centerpiece is nearly $ 1 trillion in aid to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vitally needed to avoid massive layoffs and savage reductions in essential services from police to teachers .
It extends enhanced unemployment benefits until January .
It offers another one-off cash payment of $ 1,200 per person .
Importantly , it would extend sick leave to all workers , correcting the cribbed program of the first rescue package .
It provides expanded funding for food stamps and aid to women with children .
Hazard pay rewards essential workers .
The imperative ramping up of testing and tracing is funded .
It would rescue the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3.5 billion is allocated to help states prepare for vote-by-mail in the fall election .
Republicans immediately called it DOA .
Trump announced that he was in “ no rush ” to pass new help , and he specifically denounced the vote-by-mail provisions .
Senate Republican leader McConnell scorned it as “ aspirational legislation , ” regally announcing that he had “ not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately , ” and reemphasized that his priority was business liability protection , so owners can ’ t be sued by workers or customers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With the economy cratering and despair deepening , the contrast could not be more stark .
Pundits , as well as Pelosi ’ s aides and allies , describe the proposal as a “ message bill.
” This is a disservice to the legislation , which is , in the context of this economic calamity , a sensible , if inadequate and cautious , response .
Reality—and the approaching November elections—will dispel Trump and McConnell ’ s magical thinking sooner rather than later .
Let Us Now Praise Bernie Sanders The real message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump but to progressives inside and outside Congress .
With Congress dispersed , Pelosi and her committee chairs maintained iron control of what went into the bill .
And the message to progressives was clear : Not yet .
No to recurring cash payments .
No to guaranteed paychecks that would keep workers off unemployment , despite Representative Pramila Jayapal ’ s success in gaining widespread support for the proposal across the caucus .
No to Medicare paying the health care costs of the unemployed .
No to a jobs guarantee .
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ payments .
No to student debt forgiveness .
No public ownership stake in companies that are bailed out .
No prohibition of corporate mergers or greater protection against private equity predators ’ picking the bones of weakened companies .
No major green infrastructure initiative .
While progressive initiatives were left on the cutting room floor , corporate lobbies cleaned up .
Lobby associations made themselves eligible for the Payroll Protection Program .
The wealthy got tax relief with the repeal of the limit on state and local tax deductions .
Nothing was done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real estate investor tax break that was tucked into the first rescue package .
And most brazenly , the bill calls for paying the full Cobra payments for the unemployed , a direct , costly , and shameless subsidy to the insurance companies .
Progressives got the message .
The cochairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus , Mark Pocan and Pramila Jayapal , called for a delay in the vote so members could assess the act to ensure “ it truly reflects the priorities and the work of the entire caucus.
” Pelosi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they would not dare to vote against the bill .
Senator Elizabeth Warren diplomatically applauded the effort but noted that “ more work needs to be done.
” What we have here are differing takes on reality .
Trump and McConnell are betting the economy will rebound when states “ reopen.
” They are eager to use the crisis to break public employee unions and roll back state and local safety net programs .
They worry most that support for the unemployed will lessen their willingness to accept miserably paid jobs in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and her leadership understand the need for bold public action to help working people , save cities and states , and help generate the demand needed to get the economy going .
They don ’ t yet embrace the reality that the old normal isn ’ t coming back and wasn ’ t working in any case , that fundamental structural change is needed to create a decent society .
Progressives have begun to detail the elements of a new New Deal that would move us in a new direction , but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ build the outside pressure that would force this agenda on the leadership—much less past McConnell and Trump .
The House passed the bill largely in its original form .
Senate Republicans will eventually come to the table .
What emerges will be less ambitious and more riddled with corporate giveaways .
But it will soon become clear that “ reopening ” won ’ t revive the economy .
Many industries will shrink ; many businesses will go belly up .
Restaurants , entertainment companies , universities , car companies , airlines , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and more will face existential challenges .
Americans will come to realize that “ getting back to normal ” isn ’ t happening .
Then the question of fundamental alternatives will have to be addressed , and an even bolder progressive agenda will be harder to ignore .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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With unemployment at levels not witnessed since the Great Depression, hunger spreading among families with children, and even the Trump-appointed head of the Federal Reserve begging the Congress to act, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the $3 trillion HEROES legislation, which the House passed Friday. After months of backroom negotiations that conceded initiative to the Republican Senate, Pelosi has finally decided to drive the debate.
Inevitably, the 1,180-page bill—a bare-bones summary takes 90 pages—contains much good and some plain ugly. Its centerpiece is nearly $1 trillion in aid to states, localities, and territories, vitally needed to avoid massive layoffs and savage reductions in essential services from police to teachers. It extends enhanced unemployment benefits until January. It offers another one-off cash payment of $1,200 per person. Importantly, it would extend sick leave to all workers, correcting the cribbed program of the first rescue package. It provides expanded funding for food stamps and aid to women with children. Hazard pay rewards essential workers. The imperative ramping up of testing and tracing is funded. It would rescue the Post Office from bankruptcy. And $3.5 billion is allocated to help states prepare for vote-by-mail in the fall election.
Republicans immediately called it DOA. Trump announced that he was in “no rush” to pass new help, and he specifically denounced the vote-by-mail provisions. Senate Republican leader McConnell scorned it as “aspirational legislation,” regally announcing that he had “not yet felt the urgency of acting immediately,” and reemphasized that his priority was business liability protection, so owners can’t be sued by workers or customers who become infected because their negligence. With the economy cratering and despair deepening, the contrast could not be more stark.
Pundits, as well as Pelosi’s aides and allies, describe the proposal as a “message bill.” This is a disservice to the legislation, which is, in the context of this economic calamity, a sensible, if inadequate and cautious, response. Reality—and the approaching November elections—will dispel Trump and McConnell’s magical thinking sooner rather than later. More From Robert L. Borosage Jesse Jackson Is Keeping Hope Alive July 13, 2023 The Left Should Support Ending Violence in Ukraine April 27, 2023 Biden, Go Bold in the State of the Union February 6, 2023
The real message in the bill was sent not to Trump but to progressives inside and outside Congress. With Congress dispersed, Pelosi and her committee chairs maintained iron control of what went into the bill. And the message to progressives was clear: Not yet. No to recurring cash payments. No to guaranteed paychecks that would keep workers off unemployment, despite Representative Pramila Jayapal’s success in gaining widespread support for the proposal across the caucus. No to Medicare paying the health care costs of the unemployed. No to a jobs guarantee. No to a moratorium on rent and mortgage payments. No to student debt forgiveness. No public ownership stake in companies that are bailed out. No prohibition of corporate mergers or greater protection against private equity predators’ picking the bones of weakened companies. No major green infrastructure initiative. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
While progressive initiatives were left on the cutting room floor, corporate lobbies cleaned up. Lobby associations made themselves eligible for the Payroll Protection Program. The wealthy got tax relief with the repeal of the limit on state and local tax deductions. Nothing was done to reverse the obscene $170 billion real estate investor tax break that was tucked into the first rescue package. And most brazenly, the bill calls for paying the full Cobra payments for the unemployed, a direct, costly, and shameless subsidy to the insurance companies.
Progressives got the message. The cochairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Mark Pocan and Pramila Jayapal, called for a delay in the vote so members could assess the act to ensure “it truly reflects the priorities and the work of the entire caucus.” Pelosi immediately denied the request, assuming that they would not dare to vote against the bill. Senator Elizabeth Warren diplomatically applauded the effort but noted that “more work needs to be done.”
What we have here are differing takes on reality. Trump and McConnell are betting the economy will rebound when states “reopen.” They are eager to use the crisis to break public employee unions and roll back state and local safety net programs. They worry most that support for the unemployed will lessen their willingness to accept miserably paid jobs in the midst of a continuing pandemic. Pelosi and her leadership understand the need for bold public action to help working people, save cities and states, and help generate the demand needed to get the economy going. They don’t yet embrace the reality that the old normal isn’t coming back and wasn’t working in any case, that fundamental structural change is needed to create a decent society. Progressives have begun to detail the elements of a new New Deal that would move us in a new direction, but they haven’t yet been able to build the outside pressure that would force this agenda on the leadership—much less past McConnell and Trump.
The House passed the bill largely in its original form. Senate Republicans will eventually come to the table. What emerges will be less ambitious and more riddled with corporate giveaways. But it will soon become clear that “reopening” won’t revive the economy. Many industries will shrink; many businesses will go belly up. Restaurants, entertainment companies, universities, car companies, airlines, the health care industry, commercial real estate, and more will face existential challenges. Americans will come to realize that “getting back to normal” isn’t happening. Then the question of fundamental alternatives will have to be addressed, and an even bolder progressive agenda will be harder to ignore.


thenation--2020-05-15--Baseball’s Plan to Reopen Is All Risk for the Players

A League of Their Own told us there was no crying in baseball .
But no spitting ?
This is just one of the proposed rules Major League Baseball is putting forward in its plan to restart the season in July amid the coronavirus pandemic .
Spitting is to baseball as Gatorade is to basketball : whether masticating tobacco , sunflower seeds , or Big League Chew ( for that bubble gum/tobacco feel ) , when you play baseball , you spit .
The barring of expectoration is just one of the cultural changes the league is proposing to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minimum while still somehow playing an 82-game season .
Other ideas being put forward include no more high-fiving anyone on your team , and no more autographs for fans hanging around outside the park .
Outside would be the only place a fan could possibly get an autograph , because games would be played in empty stadiums .
The minor league games will almost certainly be canceled , but teams can carry 50 people on a roster , so the top minor leaguers will see action .
With all these extra players practicing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the stands instead of the dugout , which will be an odd sight indeed .
For those 82 games , teams will only play opponents in their division or inter-league opponents within , pardon the expression , spitting distance .
If this plan sounds like a sclerotic facsimile of a legitimate baseball season , it is .
If it sounds like a possible health catastrophe waiting to happen , it is .
But the fans , desperate for some kind of sports , are ready to see the players risk the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distance away .
The owners , desperate for their television broadcast payola , are ready to see the players risk the virus .
Members of the media , desperate for something to broadcast and hot topics to discuss other than the career of Michael Jordan , are in a full-scale pressure campaign to see the players risk the virus .
Many of the players , not willing to burn off a year of their careers , are also ready to risk it all .
It is the players union—and only the union—that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to be asked .
First and foremost , the owners are proposing the scrapping of the players ’ contracts for this season and splitting all revenue with the players 50/50 .
In March , owners promised that the contracts would be prorated , but now they say that since the stadiums will be empty and they—according to their own word—get 40 percent of their revenue from the live gate , the salaries are unaffordable .
This is a big deal , because baseball is the only “ uncapped ” sport : a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ union takes great pride that there aren ’ t artificial constraints on what players earn and isn ’ t about to give that up .
Union chief Tony Clark told The Athletic that “ a system that restricts player pay based on revenues is a salary cap—period.
” He said : In other words , the 50/50 proposal is , in the words of baseball insider Jeff Passan , “ dead on arrival.
” But unlike what is being said by certain top personalities at ESPN , this is not only about salary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ players .
There is the question of players being sequestered from their families and how that will be handled .
There is also—most glaringly—the question of whether not spitting and the other foofaraw being proposed is really enough to keep the virus at bay .
Sean Doolittle , the relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals , certainly doesn ’ t think so .
In a tweet storm on May 11 , he outlined the myriad health risks that players will be facing from being in close contact with one another and the long-term @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
People should read his concerns .
They outline the reality of the chances that the financial forces around Major League Baseball are willing to take with the players ’ lives .
This entire restarting operation is a leap of faith built on a house of cards .
It is difficult to imagine MLB pulling this off without someone getting sick or even dying .
People who shrug off those concerns are conspicuously not the people taking all the risk .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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A League of Their Own told us there was no crying in baseball. But no spitting? This is just one of the proposed rules Major League Baseball is putting forward in its plan to restart the season in July amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Spitting is to baseball as Gatorade is to basketball: whether masticating tobacco, sunflower seeds, or Big League Chew (for that bubble gum/tobacco feel), when you play baseball, you spit. The barring of expectoration is just one of the cultural changes the league is proposing to keep the spread of the virus at a minimum while still somehow playing an 82-game season. Other ideas being put forward include no more high-fiving anyone on your team, and no more autographs for fans hanging around outside the park. Outside would be the only place a fan could possibly get an autograph, because games would be played in empty stadiums.
The minor league games will almost certainly be canceled, but teams can carry 50 people on a roster, so the top minor leaguers will see action. With all these extra players practicing social distancing, players will be sitting in the stands instead of the dugout, which will be an odd sight indeed. For those 82 games, teams will only play opponents in their division or inter-league opponents within, pardon the expression, spitting distance.
If this plan sounds like a sclerotic facsimile of a legitimate baseball season, it is. If it sounds like a possible health catastrophe waiting to happen, it is. But the fans, desperate for some kind of sports, are ready to see the players risk the virus while franchise owners collect checks a safe distance away. The owners, desperate for their television broadcast payola, are ready to see the players risk the virus. Members of the media, desperate for something to broadcast and hot topics to discuss other than the career of Michael Jordan, are in a full-scale pressure campaign to see the players risk the virus. Many of the players, not willing to burn off a year of their careers, are also ready to risk it all.
It is the players union—and only the union—that is standing up and asking the questions that need to be asked. First and foremost, the owners are proposing the scrapping of the players’ contracts for this season and splitting all revenue with the players 50/50. In March, owners promised that the contracts would be prorated, but now they say that since the stadiums will be empty and they—according to their own word—get 40 percent of their revenue from the live gate, the salaries are unaffordable. This is a big deal, because baseball is the only “uncapped” sport: a sport without a salary cap. The union takes great pride that there aren’t artificial constraints on what players earn and isn’t about to give that up. Union chief Tony Clark told The Athletic that “a system that restricts player pay based on revenues is a salary cap—period.” He said:
This is not the first salary-cap proposal our union has received. It probably won’t be the last.… That the league is trying to take advantage of a global health crisis to get what they’ve failed to achieve in the past—and to anonymously negotiate through the media for the last several days—suggests they know exactly how this will be received.
In other words, the 50/50 proposal is, in the words of baseball insider Jeff Passan, “dead on arrival.” Current Issue View our current issue
But unlike what is being said by certain top personalities at ESPN, this is not only about salary for the union and many of the players. There is the question of players being sequestered from their families and how that will be handled. There is also—most glaringly—the question of whether not spitting and the other foofaraw being proposed is really enough to keep the virus at bay.
Sean Doolittle, the relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, certainly doesn’t think so. In a tweet storm on May 11, he outlined the myriad health risks that players will be facing from being in close contact with one another and the long-term health complications that come with the coronavirus. People should read his concerns. They outline the reality of the chances that the financial forces around Major League Baseball are willing to take with the players’ lives.
This entire restarting operation is a leap of faith built on a house of cards. It is difficult to imagine MLB pulling this off without someone getting sick or even dying. People who shrug off those concerns are conspicuously not the people taking all the risk.


thenation--2020-05-15--Gaza Holds Its Breath as the Threat of Coronavirus Looms

These days , some Palestinians in Gaza joke that something good has finally come of the crippling siege Israel imposed on the tiny coastal enclave more than a decade ago : It has delayed the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic currently ravaging many other parts of the world .
As of this writing , there have been only 20 cases confirmed in Gaza , with no deaths .
Yet , while it ’ s probably true that the siege has slowed the entry of the virus into Gaza , if and when it does reach the general population , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israeli military assaults on Gaza ’ s health care system and civilian infrastructure will result in a public health catastrophe and the unnecessary deaths of many people .
In some ways , it feels like the calm before the storm in Gaza now—which is to say , the calm before a tornado touches down in the middle of a hurricane .
Since 2012 , the United Nations has warned repeatedly that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020 , and now we are finally here , with the new and unexpected burden of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , man-made humanitarian crisis we were already facing .
Gaza is one of the most densely populated and isolated places in the world , with about 2 million people living in a territory of 141 square miles .
Under the siege , Israel grants permits to only a small number of Palestinians to exit Gaza for urgent reasons , such as medical treatment , and rarely permits foreigners to enter .
As a result , Palestinians in Gaza have been living in quarantine for 13 years .
In addition to this forced isolation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Palestinian government in Gaza has been quarantining those returning from abroad through one of the two entry points .
The three-week quarantine takes place in special units before people are permitted to return to their homes .
Health sources in Gaza report that preparations to confront the novel coronavirus are now sufficient for 150 cases at most .
According to the Ministry of Health , Gaza faces critical shortages of drugs , laboratory supplies , blood , testing kits , personal protective equipment , and hospital beds .
There are only 110 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 100 ventilators .
As elsewhere , people with underlying conditions are most vulnerable to the pandemic , but in Gaza their situation is made worse by the fact that the health care system was already in desperate shape because of Israel ’ s siege and military attacks .
As a result , doctors have been forced to transfer many patients who require life-saving treatment to hospitals abroad .
With the arrival of the coronavirus , however , Israel has closed Gaza ’ s crossings , leaving patients unable to transfer to hospitals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is my 4-year-old niece , Ro ’ a , who was supposed to have heart surgery in occupied Jerusalem in March .
The closure of crossings delayed her surgery and left her in limbo , because Gaza hospitals lack the resources to perform the procedure .
Meanwhile , life in the Gaza Strip goes on , but at a tense and cautious pace .
After the first cases of the virus were discovered in Bethlehem , in the West Bank , in early March , all schools and wedding halls in the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gathering in Gaza ’ s parks , beaches , cafés , and restaurants were banned .
As in the United States and many other parts of the world , we in Gaza are staying home most of the time in order to physically distance .
In an unusual scene , mosques in Gaza have been closed , including for Friday prayer , which is the most important weekly gathering for Muslims .
While Muslims awaited the holy month of Ramadan that began last week , Palestinians in Gaza debated whether it would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they had been closed .
The controversy was finally resolved when it was decided to keep them closed .
This means that the Tarawih prayer that Muslims usually perform nightly in mosques during Ramadan will take place at home this year .
This hasn ’ t happened since the First Intifada against Israeli military rule , when people were forced to stay in their homes for long periods , sometimes for weeks , and all public activities were disrupted by the curfews imposed by the Israeli army , which threatened to shoot any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Churches in Gaza have also taken precautionary measures ; the Church of St. Porphyrios in Gaza City closed its doors to Christian worshippers on Easter , in compliance with public safety measures .
Instead , they performed the prayer through a live broadcast on Facebook .
Meanwhile , even as the virus itself has hovered around the edges of Gaza , its economic impact has penetrated deep inside .
The interruption of public life has meant that thousands of Palestinian workers have lost their livelihoods , compounding what was already a sky-high unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the general population , and 60 percent of young people , were unemployed before the outbreak ) .
Street vendors and drivers have lost their sources of income because people stopped going to their jobs and students stopped going to school .
Judith Butler on the Violence of Neglect Amid a Health Crisis The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many voices around the world to demand that government budgets be devoted to health , scientific research , and medicine instead of armies and arsenals of weapons .
This lesson is the most important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plight .
Surely , the billions of US taxpayer dollars that the American government gives to Israel every year to enforce its racist military rule and displacement of the Palestinians people would be better directed to building hospitals and helping people instead of hurting them .
Even if Gaza manages to dodge the coronavirus disaster , the future of the 2 million Palestinians trapped in the besieged strip , including my children and niece , will be bleak as long as the siege and blockade remain in place and Israel continues to deny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Now , in this time of crisis when Palestinians and Israelis are confronting a deadly , invisible menace that doesn ’ t respect borders , is the time to finally lift the siege .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
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These days, some Palestinians in Gaza joke that something good has finally come of the crippling siege Israel imposed on the tiny coastal enclave more than a decade ago: It has delayed the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic currently ravaging many other parts of the world. As of this writing, there have been only 20 cases confirmed in Gaza, with no deaths. Yet, while it’s probably true that the siege has slowed the entry of the virus into Gaza, if and when it does reach the general population, the destructive effects of the siege and repeated Israeli military assaults on Gaza’s health care system and civilian infrastructure will result in a public health catastrophe and the unnecessary deaths of many people.
In some ways, it feels like the calm before the storm in Gaza now—which is to say, the calm before a tornado touches down in the middle of a hurricane. Since 2012, the United Nations has warned repeatedly that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020, and now we are finally here, with the new and unexpected burden of the pandemic having been added to the deliberate, man-made humanitarian crisis we were already facing.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated and isolated places in the world, with about 2 million people living in a territory of 141 square miles. Under the siege, Israel grants permits to only a small number of Palestinians to exit Gaza for urgent reasons, such as medical treatment, and rarely permits foreigners to enter. As a result, Palestinians in Gaza have been living in quarantine for 13 years. In addition to this forced isolation, since the outbreak of Covid-19, the Palestinian government in Gaza has been quarantining those returning from abroad through one of the two entry points. The three-week quarantine takes place in special units before people are permitted to return to their homes.
Health sources in Gaza report that preparations to confront the novel coronavirus are now sufficient for 150 cases at most. According to the Ministry of Health, Gaza faces critical shortages of drugs, laboratory supplies, blood, testing kits, personal protective equipment, and hospital beds. There are only 110 intensive care unit beds available and fewer than 100 ventilators.
As elsewhere, people with underlying conditions are most vulnerable to the pandemic, but in Gaza their situation is made worse by the fact that the health care system was already in desperate shape because of Israel’s siege and military attacks. As a result, doctors have been forced to transfer many patients who require life-saving treatment to hospitals abroad. With the arrival of the coronavirus, however, Israel has closed Gaza’s crossings, leaving patients unable to transfer to hospitals outside the strip. Current Issue View our current issue
Among those patients is my 4-year-old niece, Ro’a, who was supposed to have heart surgery in occupied Jerusalem in March. The closure of crossings delayed her surgery and left her in limbo, because Gaza hospitals lack the resources to perform the procedure.
Meanwhile, life in the Gaza Strip goes on, but at a tense and cautious pace.
After the first cases of the virus were discovered in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, in early March, all schools and wedding halls in the West Bank and Gaza were closed, and gathering in Gaza’s parks, beaches, cafés, and restaurants were banned. As in the United States and many other parts of the world, we in Gaza are staying home most of the time in order to physically distance. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
In an unusual scene, mosques in Gaza have been closed, including for Friday prayer, which is the most important weekly gathering for Muslims. While Muslims awaited the holy month of Ramadan that began three weeks ago, Palestinians in Gaza debated whether it would be appropriate to reopen mosques a month after they had been closed. The controversy was finally resolved when it was decided to keep them closed. This means that the Tarawih prayer that Muslims usually perform nightly in mosques during Ramadan will take place at home this year. This hasn’t happened since the First Intifada against Israeli military rule, when people were forced to stay in their homes for long periods, sometimes for weeks, and all public activities were disrupted by the curfews imposed by the Israeli army, which threatened to shoot any Palestinian who dared leave their home.
Churches in Gaza have also taken precautionary measures; the Church of St. Porphyrios in Gaza City closed its doors to Christian worshippers on Easter, in compliance with public safety measures. Instead, they performed the prayer through a live broadcast on Facebook.
Meanwhile, even as the virus itself has hovered around the edges of Gaza, its economic impact has penetrated deep inside. The interruption of public life has meant that thousands of Palestinian workers have lost their livelihoods, compounding what was already a sky-high unemployment rate (as much as 40 percent of the general population, and 60 percent of young people, were unemployed before the outbreak). Street vendors and drivers have lost their sources of income because people stopped going to their jobs and students stopped going to school. The Crisis of Covid-19 Judith Butler on the Violence of Neglect Amid a Health Crisis Francis Wade Reopening: A Chronicle of Needless Deaths Foretold Gregg Gonsalves
The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many voices around the world to demand that government budgets be devoted to health, scientific research, and medicine instead of armies and arsenals of weapons. This lesson is the most important thing that humanity can draw from this plight. Surely, the billions of US taxpayer dollars that the American government gives to Israel every year to enforce its racist military rule and displacement of the Palestinians people would be better directed to building hospitals and helping people instead of hurting them.
Even if Gaza manages to dodge the coronavirus disaster, the future of the 2 million Palestinians trapped in the besieged strip, including my children and niece, will be bleak as long as the siege and blockade remain in place and Israel continues to deny Palestinians our freedom and basic human rights. Now, in this time of crisis when Palestinians and Israelis are confronting a deadly, invisible menace that doesn’t respect borders, is the time to finally lift the siege.