thenation--2020-03-27--This Was Never Just About Woody Allen. It Still Isn’t.

Every high-profile controversy discloses a deeper reality , and the one involving Woody Allen and the off-again , on-again publication of his memoir is no different .
There is the despised celebrity and then the despised many , who have no power and for whom a sex accusation or conviction may make their very existence criminal .
There is one damned book and then the damned many , banned by the thousands by state and federal prison authorities .
There is one attention-seeking crowd of private censors and then the crowd working less noisily , organizing morality campaigns to remove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public libraries .
Every year the American Library Association puts out a Top 10 Most Challenged Books list .
In 2017 the list included Sex Is a Funny Word , a sex education book , challenged because of fears it might lead children to “ ask questions about sex.
” Since 2015 , half the titles have had queer subjects .
Censorship is rarely called by its true name among those who practice it .
History groans with the righteous justifications of private interests bent on erasing words and people they don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t hide the old reflex .
They do make it easy , though , to mistake the moral scold for the rebel spirit .
Some scenes from the long contest between the vice cop of the mind and the champion of free thought offer a clarifying light .
Beginning in the 19th century , Anthony Comstock and his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice ( supported by J.P. Morgan , William Dodge , Samuel Colgate , and The New York Times ) ruined thousands of writers ’ lives and destroyed hundreds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pamphlets , many by women , in the service of protecting “ innocent girls.
” Comstock ’ s successor , John Sumner , took up the cause in the 1910s , pressuring publishers into melting the printing plates for obscure , supposedly obscene novels , and in 1920 he and his crowd invoked the safety of “ young girls ” to get Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap , lesbian heroes of the avant-garde press , arrested and prosecuted for daring to be the first in the world to publish Ulysses .
Sumner also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20,000 copies of The Little Review , where the women had been serializing James Joyce ’ s masterwork .
The vigilantes of decency had already scared off dozens of men in the reputable book trade from publishing anything by Joyce .
When Dubliners finally got into print in Europe , a private citizen bought up the entire edition and had it set ablaze in Dublin .
Joyce called it “ a new and private auto-da-fé.
” Joyce is but a name we know .
Avowed protection from deviance , dirt , degeneracy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such routine burning of unknown titles by unknown authors in the Western world that when the Nazis torched the library and archive of the great Magnus Hirschfeld ’ s Institute for Sexual Science in 1933 , the act reverberated most forcefully among Hirschfeld ’ s fellow Jews , sex radicals , and researchers , who were already habituated to stepping cautiously—studying women ’ s sexual satisfaction in the United States , for instance , under the camouflage of “ maternal health.
” Depending on one ’ s point of view , Hirschfeld might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ( an American synonym for “ homosexual ” in the 1930s ) , part of a group to be watched , suspected , obliterated , or as a founder of the world ’ s first gay rights organization and a giant in the study of human sexuality ( that would be current history ’ s view ; thank you , sexual liberation ) .
One final example from a vast history : During the Red Scare and the interrelated though oft-ignored Lavender Scare , Cold War centurions in industry , the arts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations cast themselves as defenders of democracy against radical contagion and guardians of wholesome ( straight , marital ) sexuality in their effort to shut people up , lock them up , oust them from their jobs , exile them , and deprive others of the freedom to see , read , know , be .
There is an element of the absurd in raising Ronan Farrow ’ s censorious zeal and Hachette ’ s cowardly decision to pulp Woody Allen ’ s memoir , Apropos of Nothing , on the heels of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s resurrection by Skyhorse Publishing , announced as we went to press , does not lessen it .
These are absurd times , when censors masquerade as justice warriors .
For them , the degenerate man , as Allen has been labeled , is the real object of erasure .
For Hachette , the cowardice was threefold , actually : first , in keeping its acquisition of Allen ’ s book a secret from Farrow , who as an author with its Little , Brown division did deserve the courtesy of a heads-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crowd , including protesting staffers , who invoked allegiance to Farrow and victims ’ rights to validate their censors ’ reflex ; third , in couching its public explanation of the betrayal of an author ( Allen ) and the destruction of a book in the soothing language of commitment—to “ challenging books , ” “ conflicting points of view , ” and a “ stimulating…work environment.
” Hachette ought simply to have said what it meant : “ We fear the crowd .
The crowd has power .
Our US revenues dropped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power side over the pervert.
” Why Woody Allen Deserves the Benefit of the Doubt Farrow ’ s duplicity is more obvious .
He made his first splash promulgating one side of a family drama , convicting Allen of child molestation in the public mind—despite copious reasons for doubt , including official investigations finding no abuse ( which I discussed years ago in The Nation ) and his brother Moses ’ s severe rebuttal in a 2018 blog post—and lamenting media industry efforts to obstruct his own writing about Hollywood .
“ Free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” as Nat Hentoff famously condensed it , is an ignoble political standard .
Farrow , of course , is laden with emotion , with loyalty to his mother , Mia , and sister , Dylan , and his own lifetime of exposure to their accusing narratives .
He can not be dispassionate about Allen , and it ’ s preposterous to think he should be .
It ’ s preposterous as well that others who care about writing , ideas , independent thought , and the freedom to see should lash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More disturbing is the pretense that there ’ s high principle in cleansing the public sphere of anyone who ’ s been declared a public demon .
For the crowd in this case , the weasel ’ s way out of complicity in censorship took many routes , all of them dead ends .
“ Censorship is an act of the state.
” “ Businesses are free to do what they want.
” “ Who needs another book by Woody Allen ?
He ’ s had his day in the sun .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-publish ( and , look , his book will still come out in France ) .
” “ This is a down payment on justice and accountability ; the powerful have always had a platform , finally the powerless have a voice .
‘ Free speech ’ is a bourgeois construct to maintain the social order , so why care about it for Woody fucking Allen ?
” Such were the sentiments floating in the suspect air after the staff walkout that preceded Hachette ’ s decision to pulp the book .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nesbit said of the walkout .
“ I feel moved almost to tears.
” Nesbit represents not just Ronan Farrow but also Dylan and Mia , who have both profited off accusations against Allen via book contracts and considerable flattery in the press .
It requires no illusions about the social order or the “ free marketplace of ideas ” to understand that the dead end is the point at which someone commands someone else to shut up .
The problem with private censorship is not so different from the problem with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of # MeToo , censorship and the will to shun and silence are being renovated as social goods when exercised by the self-declared forces of good , on behalf of the good , as if definitions of what ’ s “ good , ” what ’ s “ progress , ” aren ’ t always politically contested .
It ’ s remarkable—at a time when scientists are purging their work of dangerous terms like “ climate change ” and “ fetal tissue ” and “ transgender ” in order to maintain federal funding—that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claim to purity can ’ t boomerang .
The cowing power of the crowd suits the authoritarian spirit of the time , and some traditional defenders of free speech have gone soft or silent .
The ACLU did not respond to a request for comment after the book was quashed .
The Writers Guild issued no statement .
PEN America issued a wobbly statement , which left Allen twisting in the wind , though its CEO , Suzanne Nossel , did slam Hachette ’ s decision on the radio .
Index on Censorship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social and other media to defend principle .
At the National Coalition Against Censorship , Christopher Finan criticized Hachette and pointed to the continuing relevance of “ The Freedom to Read Statement , ” first issued by librarians and publishers during the Cold War .
Amid the current enthusiasm for moral cleansing , its propositions bear study , particularly one that states , “ No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators .
No society of free people can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to whom it will not listen , whatever they may have to say.
” The early sex radicals and avant-garde feminists , who really were brave , recognized that the struggle to expand the realm of freedom had to include the freedom to write , read , see , and be seen , all of which broadened knowledge of—hence possibilities for—human experience .
( It ’ s notable that Sylvia Beach , also a lover of women , was the first to publish Ulysses in its entirety , from her bookshop in Paris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on which the men at Random House were able to orchestrate the landmark Supreme Court ruling on obscenity years later . )
“ Vice , ” a term that in those days covered almost any writing about sex and any nonconformist behavior , was the point of a spear that helped enforce every social hierarchy and intensify every form of repression .
We don ’ t use the word much today , but the vice cop of the mind is still on the beat , allowing a certain kind of sex talk—the stories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , deciding who is worthy to speak , who is not , and who should hide .
Skyhorse ’ s bet on a market for Allen ’ s book while much of society is housebound should not obscure that larger and unlovely reality .

This article appears in the April 13, 2020 issue.
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Every high-profile controversy discloses a deeper reality, and the one involving Woody Allen and the off-again, on-again publication of his memoir is no different. There is the despised celebrity and then the despised many, who have no power and for whom a sex accusation or conviction may make their very existence criminal. There is one damned book and then the damned many, banned by the thousands by state and federal prison authorities. There is one attention-seeking crowd of private censors and then the crowd working less noisily, organizing morality campaigns to remove books from school, university, and public libraries. Every year the American Library Association puts out a Top 10 Most Challenged Books list. In 2017 the list included Sex Is a Funny Word, a sex education book, challenged because of fears it might lead children to “ask questions about sex.” Since 2015, half the titles have had queer subjects.
Censorship is rarely called by its true name among those who practice it. History groans with the righteous justifications of private interests bent on erasing words and people they don’t like. New excuses can’t hide the old reflex. They do make it easy, though, to mistake the moral scold for the rebel spirit. Some scenes from the long contest between the vice cop of the mind and the champion of free thought offer a clarifying light.
Beginning in the 19th century, Anthony Comstock and his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (supported by J.P. Morgan, William Dodge, Samuel Colgate, and The New York Times) ruined thousands of writers’ lives and destroyed hundreds of thousands of pounds of books and pamphlets, many by women, in the service of protecting “innocent girls.” Comstock’s successor, John Sumner, took up the cause in the 1910s, pressuring publishers into melting the printing plates for obscure, supposedly obscene novels, and in 1920 he and his crowd invoked the safety of “young girls” to get Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, lesbian heroes of the avant-garde press, arrested and prosecuted for daring to be the first in the world to publish Ulysses. Sumner also got the Post Office to burn some 20,000 copies of The Little Review, where the women had been serializing James Joyce’s masterwork. The vigilantes of decency had already scared off dozens of men in the reputable book trade from publishing anything by Joyce. When Dubliners finally got into print in Europe, a private citizen bought up the entire edition and had it set ablaze in Dublin. Joyce called it “a new and private auto-da-fé.”
Joyce is but a name we know. Avowed protection from deviance, dirt, degeneracy, and the corruption of children led to such routine burning of unknown titles by unknown authors in the Western world that when the Nazis torched the library and archive of the great Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science in 1933, the act reverberated most forcefully among Hirschfeld’s fellow Jews, sex radicals, and researchers, who were already habituated to stepping cautiously—studying women’s sexual satisfaction in the United States, for instance, under the camouflage of “maternal health.” Depending on one’s point of view, Hirschfeld might be categorized as a “sexual psychopath” (an American synonym for “homosexual” in the 1930s), part of a group to be watched, suspected, obliterated, or as a founder of the world’s first gay rights organization and a giant in the study of human sexuality (that would be current history’s view; thank you, sexual liberation). One final example from a vast history: During the Red Scare and the interrelated though oft-ignored Lavender Scare, Cold War centurions in industry, the arts, media, unions, and other organizations cast themselves as defenders of democracy against radical contagion and guardians of wholesome (straight, marital) sexuality in their effort to shut people up, lock them up, oust them from their jobs, exile them, and deprive others of the freedom to see, read, know, be. 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
There is an element of the absurd in raising Ronan Farrow’s censorious zeal and Hachette’s cowardly decision to pulp Woody Allen’s memoir, Apropos of Nothing, on the heels of such weighty history. The book’s resurrection by Skyhorse Publishing, announced as we went to press, does not lessen it. These are absurd times, when censors masquerade as justice warriors. For them, the degenerate man, as Allen has been labeled, is the real object of erasure. For Hachette, the cowardice was threefold, actually: first, in keeping its acquisition of Allen’s book a secret from Farrow, who as an author with its Little, Brown division did deserve the courtesy of a heads-up. Second, in caving to the crowd, including protesting staffers, who invoked allegiance to Farrow and victims’ rights to validate their censors’ reflex; third, in couching its public explanation of the betrayal of an author (Allen) and the destruction of a book in the soothing language of commitment—to “challenging books,” “conflicting points of view,” and a “stimulating…work environment.” Hachette ought simply to have said what it meant: “We fear the crowd. The crowd has power. Our US revenues dropped in 2019, so we chose the power side over the pervert.” Related Article Why Woody Allen Deserves the Benefit of the Doubt JoAnn Wypijewski
Farrow’s duplicity is more obvious. He made his first splash promulgating one side of a family drama, convicting Allen of child molestation in the public mind—despite copious reasons for doubt, including official investigations finding no abuse (which I discussed years ago in The Nation) and his brother Moses’s severe rebuttal in a 2018 blog post—and lamenting media industry efforts to obstruct his own writing about Hollywood.
“Free speech for me but not for thee,” as Nat Hentoff famously condensed it, is an ignoble political standard. Farrow, of course, is laden with emotion, with loyalty to his mother, Mia, and sister, Dylan, and his own lifetime of exposure to their accusing narratives. He cannot be dispassionate about Allen, and it’s preposterous to think he should be. It’s preposterous as well that others who care about writing, ideas, independent thought, and the freedom to see should lash their intellect to Farrow’s prejudices. More disturbing is the pretense that there’s high principle in cleansing the public sphere of anyone who’s been declared a public demon. Current Issue View our current issue
For the crowd in this case, the weasel’s way out of complicity in censorship took many routes, all of them dead ends. “Censorship is an act of the state.” “Businesses are free to do what they want.” “Who needs another book by Woody Allen? He’s had his day in the sun. He’s rich; he can self-publish (and, look, his book will still come out in France).” “This is a down payment on justice and accountability; the powerful have always had a platform, finally the powerless have a voice. ‘Free speech’ is a bourgeois construct to maintain the social order, so why care about it for Woody fucking Allen?” Such were the sentiments floating in the suspect air after the staff walkout that preceded Hachette’s decision to pulp the book. So “brave,” power agent Lynn Nesbit said of the walkout. “I feel moved almost to tears.” Nesbit represents not just Ronan Farrow but also Dylan and Mia, who have both profited off accusations against Allen via book contracts and considerable flattery in the press.
It requires no illusions about the social order or the “free marketplace of ideas” to understand that the dead end is the point at which someone commands someone else to shut up. The problem with private censorship is not so different from the problem with the nondisclosure agreement. But under the cover of #MeToo, censorship and the will to shun and silence are being renovated as social goods when exercised by the self-declared forces of good, on behalf of the good, as if definitions of what’s “good,” what’s “progress,” aren’t always politically contested. It’s remarkable—at a time when scientists are purging their work of dangerous terms like “climate change” and “fetal tissue” and “transgender” in order to maintain federal funding—that anyone might feel confident that their own claim to purity can’t boomerang. Related Article Woody and Mia: A Modern Family Timeline JoAnn Wypijewski
The cowing power of the crowd suits the authoritarian spirit of the time, and some traditional defenders of free speech have gone soft or silent. The ACLU did not respond to a request for comment after the book was quashed. The Writers Guild issued no statement. PEN America issued a wobbly statement, which left Allen twisting in the wind, though its CEO, Suzanne Nossel, did slam Hachette’s decision on the radio. Index on Censorship, by contrast, took swiftly to social and other media to defend principle. At the National Coalition Against Censorship, Christopher Finan criticized Hachette and pointed to the continuing relevance of “The Freedom to Read Statement,” first issued by librarians and publishers during the Cold War. Amid the current enthusiasm for moral cleansing, its propositions bear study, particularly one that states, “No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.”
The early sex radicals and avant-garde feminists, who really were brave, recognized that the struggle to expand the realm of freedom had to include the freedom to write, read, see, and be seen, all of which broadened knowledge of—hence possibilities for—human experience. (It’s notable that Sylvia Beach, also a lover of women, was the first to publish Ulysses in its entirety, from her bookshop in Paris in 1922, thus providing the basis on which the men at Random House were able to orchestrate the landmark Supreme Court ruling on obscenity years later.) “Vice,” a term that in those days covered almost any writing about sex and any nonconformist behavior, was the point of a spear that helped enforce every social hierarchy and intensify every form of repression. We don’t use the word much today, but the vice cop of the mind is still on the beat, allowing a certain kind of sex talk—the stories of abuse and accusation—but making it unanswerable, deciding who is worthy to speak, who is not, and who should hide. Skyhorse’s bet on a market for Allen’s book while much of society is housebound should not obscure that larger and unlovely reality.


thenation--2020-03-27--This Is What an Opposition Party Is Supposed to Sound Like

Republicans are using the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to do the same thing they did during the financial meltdown of 2008 : wage class war against working Americans .
This time , Bernie Sanders is refusing to let them get away with it .
Employing a combination of moral outrage and devastating sarcasm , the Vermont senator shamed Republicans in a Wednesday Senate floor speech that ripped into them for prioritizing corporate bailouts while objecting to providing a measure of security for low-wage workers who have lost their jobs as much of the American economy has ground to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrong is that ?
What kind of value system is that ?
” demanded Sanders , as he railed against a Republican amendment that would have constrained benefits at a time when the unemployment rate is skyrocketing .
Even in the midst of the crisis , the senator thundered , “ Some of my Republican friends have still not given up on the need to punish the poor and working people.
” In a matter of minutes , during a debate that focused on just one portion of a huge measure , Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to operate , and what it ’ s supposed to sound like .
Refusing to let Republicans peddle the nonsense that invariably serves as a cover for the awful combination of bailouts for the wealthy and austerity for the working class , Sanders pushed back .
On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times How to Win in Wisconsin ‘ Just Keep Up the Faith ’ : Workers Are Stepping Up to Beat the Coronavirus It was a fight Sanders expected to win , but it was the way he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as hard as the Republicans .
And he claimed the moral high ground—inspiring the hashtag # ThankYouBernie to trend on social media as the Rev .
Dr. William J. Barber II wrote , “ # ThankYouBernie for pointing out the immorality of Republicans funding big business & trying to strip out the few things in the bill to help poor & low income workers.
” Former senator Heidi Heitkamp , a moderate Democrat from North Dakota , circulated a video of the speech with the message , “ I may not always agree @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BernieSanders at his very best .
You go , my friend !
” Whether Sanders continues his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination as he trails former vice president Joe Biden or whether he folds at some point , his speech this week signaled that the senator will remain a transformative figure in the politics of the Democratic Party and the United States .
The fight that Sanders joined goes to the heart of concerns about the federal response to economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
There is broad bipartisan agreement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an urgent response .
But there is a good deal of disagreement about how to respond to the economic fallout as states lock down in order to slow the spread of the deadly virus .
There is a good deal of concern that the legislative process will be gamed by Republicans—and perhaps some Democrats—who are as inclined to bail out Wall Street in 2020 as they were in 2008 .
The wrangling over the Senate bill highlighted those concerns .
Why GE Workers Walked Out in Lynn Exclusive : The Military Knew Years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this series The $ 2 trillion relief package that the Senate approved Wednesday night does everything imaginable , and a few things that are unimaginable , for big business .
The 880-page measure allocates $ 425 billion to create a fund controlled by the Federal Reserve , which permits massive loans to corporations .
In addition , it makes $ 75 billion available for loans targeted to aid the airline and hotel industries .
The legislation is so friendly to big business that , even after it was reported on Thursday morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed for unemployment benefits , the Dow Jones surged because , as one analyst told CNBC , “ the focus by the market now is on the fact we ’ re likely to get a historically large fiscal stimulus.
” The wolves of Wall Street are excited by what economist Dean Baker correctly identifies as “ the $ 500 billion slush fund that McConnell has made a centerpiece of the Senate bill.
” The measure would have been dramatically worse had Republicans not been faced with the reality of a divided Congress and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Schumer and his caucus , which fought for more than $ 100 billion for hospitals , $ 150 billion dollars for state and local government , $ 30 billion in emergency education funding , $ 25 billion in emergency transit funding , vital initiatives for small businesses , and anti-corruption initiatives that Schumer said were toughened with the aid of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren .
The Democrats celebrated a plan providing direct payments averaging $ 1,200 for individuals and $ 2,400 for couples , as well as what Schumer dubbed “ unemployment insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was agreed to by Senate negotiators , featured a section—which Sanders and other progressives had championed—that supercharged unemployment benefits by promising out-of-work Americans up to four months of weekly unemployment checks from the states where they live and an additional $ 600 a week in benefits .
It also established a new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to provide benefits to gig workers and the self-employed .
This level of care for vulnerable workers disturbed Republican Senators Tim Scott , Lindsey Graham , and Ben Sasse .
Their objection ?
“ Unless this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work .
This isn ’ t an abstract , philosophical point—it ’ s an immediate , real-world problem , ” the senators claimed in a press statement , continuing : If the federal government accidentally incentivizes layoffs , we risk life-threatening shortages in sectors where doctors , nurses , and pharmacists are trying to care for the sick , and where growers and grocers , truckers and cooks are trying to get food to families ’ tables .
This isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this isn ’ t what we do in a crisis .
We must sadly oppose the fast-tracking of this bill until this text is addressed , or the Department of Labor issues regulatory guidance that no American would earn more by not working than by working .
Unless these Republican Senators drop their objections , I am prepared to put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the $ 500 billion corporate welfare fund to make sure that any corporation receiving financial assistance under this legislation does not lay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ship jobs overseas , or pay workers poverty wages .
When the Republican amendment was debated Wednesday , Sanders held nothing back .
“ So now I find that some of my Republican colleagues are very distressed .
They ’ re very upset that somebody who is making $ 10 , $ 12 an hour might end up with a paycheck for four months [ amounting to ] more than they received last week , ” raged the senator .
Aiming sarcastic fury at the Republicans , he shouted : Oh , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Imagine that !
Somebody is making 12 bucks an hour , now , like the rest of us , faces an unprecedented economic crisis with the 600 bucks on top of their normal , regular unemployment check might be making a few bucks more for four months .
Oh , my word , will the universe survive ?
Noting that “ these very same folks had no problem a couple years ago voting for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and large profitable corporations , ” Sanders added , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the midst of a terrible crisis , maybe some of them earning or having more money than they previously made—oh my word , we got ta strip that out.
” The Senate did not strip it out .
The Republican amendment failed , and the objecting senators folded—joining the full Senate in voting for the overall bill .
What was striking , and what will be remembered , is that in this chaotic moment Bernie Sanders framed an urgent debate around the fundamental premise that “ one thing we must not @ @ @ @ @ @ @

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Republicans are using the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to do the same thing they did during the financial meltdown of 2008: wage class war against working Americans. This time, Bernie Sanders is refusing to let them get away with it.
Employing a combination of moral outrage and devastating sarcasm, the Vermont senator shamed Republicans in a Wednesday Senate floor speech that ripped into them for prioritizing corporate bailouts while objecting to providing a measure of security for low-wage workers who have lost their jobs as much of the American economy has ground to a near halt.
“How absurd and wrong is that? What kind of value system is that?” demanded Sanders, as he railed against a Republican amendment that would have constrained benefits at a time when the unemployment rate is skyrocketing. Even in the midst of the crisis, the senator thundered, “Some of my Republican friends have still not given up on the need to punish the poor and working people.”
In a matter of minutes, during a debate that focused on just one portion of a huge measure, Sanders illustrated how an opposition party is supposed to operate, and what it’s supposed to sound like. Refusing to let Republicans peddle the nonsense that invariably serves as a cover for the awful combination of bailouts for the wealthy and austerity for the working class, Sanders pushed back. More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
It was a fight Sanders expected to win, but it was the way he fought it that mattered: He hit as hard as the Republicans. And he claimed the moral high ground—inspiring the hashtag #ThankYouBernie to trend on social media as the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II wrote, “#ThankYouBernie for pointing out the immorality of Republicans funding big business & trying to strip out the few things in the bill to help poor & low income workers.”
Former senator Heidi Heitkamp, a moderate Democrat from North Dakota, circulated a video of the speech with the message, “I may not always agree with @BernieSanders but this is @BernieSanders at his very best. You go, my friend!” 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
Whether Sanders continues his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination as he trails former vice president Joe Biden or whether he folds at some point, his speech this week signaled that the senator will remain a transformative figure in the politics of the Democratic Party and the United States.
The fight that Sanders joined goes to the heart of concerns about the federal response to economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. There is broad bipartisan agreement that Congress must move decisively to fund an urgent response. But there is a good deal of disagreement about how to respond to the economic fallout as states lock down in order to slow the spread of the deadly virus. There is a good deal of concern that the legislative process will be gamed by Republicans—and perhaps some Democrats—who are as inclined to bail out Wall Street in 2020 as they were in 2008. The wrangling over the Senate bill highlighted those concerns. 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
The $2 trillion relief package that the Senate approved Wednesday night does everything imaginable, and a few things that are unimaginable, for big business. The 880-page measure allocates $425 billion to create a fund controlled by the Federal Reserve, which permits massive loans to corporations. In addition, it makes $75 billion available for loans targeted to aid the airline and hotel industries.
The legislation is so friendly to big business that, even after it was reported on Thursday morning that a record 3.28 million people had filed for unemployment benefits, the Dow Jones surged because, as one analyst told CNBC, “the focus by the market now is on the fact we’re likely to get a historically large fiscal stimulus.” The wolves of Wall Street are excited by what economist Dean Baker correctly identifies as “the $500 billion slush fund that McConnell has made a centerpiece of the Senate bill.”
The measure would have been dramatically worse had Republicans not been faced with the reality of a divided Congress and the interventions of Senate minority leader Charles Schumer and his caucus, which fought for more than $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion dollars for state and local government, $30 billion in emergency education funding, $25 billion in emergency transit funding, vital initiatives for small businesses, and anti-corruption initiatives that Schumer said were toughened with the aid of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. The Democrats celebrated a plan providing direct payments averaging $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples, as well as what Schumer dubbed “unemployment insurance on steroids.”
The package, as it was agreed to by Senate negotiators, featured a section—which Sanders and other progressives had championed—that supercharged unemployment benefits by promising out-of-work Americans up to four months of weekly unemployment checks from the states where they live and an additional $600 a week in benefits. It also established a new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to provide benefits to gig workers and the self-employed.
This level of care for vulnerable workers disturbed Republican Senators Tim Scott, Lindsey Graham, and Ben Sasse. Their objection? “Unless this bill is fixed, there is a strong incentive for employees to be laid off instead of going to work. This isn’t an abstract, philosophical point—it’s an immediate, real-world problem,” the senators claimed in a press statement, continuing:
If the federal government accidentally incentivizes layoffs, we risk life-threatening shortages in sectors where doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are trying to care for the sick, and where growers and grocers, truckers and cooks are trying to get food to families’ tables. This isn’t who we are as Americans; this isn’t what we do in a crisis. We must sadly oppose the fast-tracking of this bill until this text is addressed, or the Department of Labor issues regulatory guidance that no American would earn more by not working than by working.
Sanders responded immediately:
Unless these Republican Senators drop their objections, I am prepared to put a hold on this bill until stronger conditions are imposed on the $500 billion corporate welfare fund to make sure that any corporation receiving financial assistance under this legislation does not lay off workers, cut wages or benefits, ship jobs overseas, or pay workers poverty wages.
When the Republican amendment was debated Wednesday, Sanders held nothing back.
“So now I find that some of my Republican colleagues are very distressed. They’re very upset that somebody who is making $10, $12 an hour might end up with a paycheck for four months [amounting to] more than they received last week,” raged the senator. Aiming sarcastic fury at the Republicans, he shouted:
Oh, my God, the universe is collapsing. Imagine that! Somebody is making 12 bucks an hour, now, like the rest of us, faces an unprecedented economic crisis with the 600 bucks on top of their normal, regular unemployment check might be making a few bucks more for four months. Oh, my word, will the universe survive?
Noting that “these very same folks had no problem a couple years ago voting for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and large profitable corporations,” Sanders added, “But when it comes to low-income workers, in the midst of a terrible crisis, maybe some of them earning or having more money than they previously made—oh my word, we gotta strip that out.”
The Senate did not strip it out. The Republican amendment failed, and the objecting senators folded—joining the full Senate in voting for the overall bill.
What was striking, and what will be remembered, is that in this chaotic moment Bernie Sanders framed an urgent debate around the fundamental premise that “one thing we must not do is punish low-income workers.”


thenation--2020-03-27--My Anxious Wife Is Stockpiling Pop-Tarts! What Should I Do?

Dear Liza , My wife ’ s coronavirus anxiety is through the roof and has taken the form of desperate stockpiling .
Our teenage sons and I gape in disbelief at the supplies coming in the back door daily .
Twenty boxes of Pop-Tarts—really ?
?
?
My wife is a lauded author and professor , and the transformation over the past few weeks has been startling .
She says to me , exasperated after I make a snarky comment , “ Can ’ t you have a little compassion ?
” I know it ’ s difficult to trust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Control after it has been starved of funding by Donald Trump .
But is there any better way to figure out what to do ?
You ’ ve nailed the root of the problem : With no confidence that our government will protect us , your wife is dealing with her justified anxieties by stocking up on supplies .
And she ’ s not the only one ; many Americans have been doing the same .
But you ’ re not alone in your bewilderment as a spouse .
The Wall Street Journal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much stockpiling is appropriate .
There ’ s a kernel of rationality in the prepping : Were someone in your house to get sick , your family would need to self-quarantine and keep out of the grocery store .
( Of course , it ’ s good to stay away from stores to minimize human contact right now , no matter what , though delivery is likely to remain a good option . )
I agree , however , with your underlying sense that much of our hoarding isn ’ t rooted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pop-Tart supply chain aren ’ t the most likely of our impending problems .
I ’ m sure by now your family has figured out that the most urgent matter is to avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus , including by practicing social distancing and staying at least six feet away from other humans whenever possible .
I ’ m Roasting at the Office .
What Can I Do ?
How Can I Help My Mom ’ s Domestic Worker Get a Dignified Retirement ?
A New Mom Asks , ‘ When Does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life changes demanded of us by this effort may by now be distracting your wife from going to Costco .
She probably has to figure out how to put all of her classes online , perhaps care for aging relatives long-distance , help you nag the teenagers ( presumably stranded in the house all day and sleeping till noon ) to resist the charms of TikTok and Instagram long enough to help with the chores and do whatever schoolwork their teachers have remotely mandated , and get some exercise .
But if she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s a budgetary issue for your family ( which it may be if you ’ ve lost work to the virus ) , just let it go .
Twenty boxes of Pop-Tarts is more than you ’ ll need , but this excess is not worth fighting about .
I get annoyed when people try to use the pandemic as an opportunity for personal growth—our goal in a crisis should be to stay alive and help others do so as well , so let ’ s not put extra pressure on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time—but living in such close quarters with our partners and kids should , if anything , help us learn to pick our battles .
Dear Liza , In this time of Covid-19 , how should we take care of friends feeling lonely and blue , friends who have lost their jobs , friends whose parents are terribly sick but are not allowed visitors ?
Normally , I would seek them out or host them for drinks and dinner .
How should I now practice solidarity ?
I feel your letter deeply .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hanging out in person , meeting people for drinks , or hosting them for dinner is how we all try to look after friends in trouble .
And let us not forget hugs , a critical source of solace we ’ ve abruptly lost .
( And what about friends with benefits , who have suddenly had to withdraw even coffee dates from a list that recently included more intimate and cheering activities ? )
While social distancing is essential to reduce transmission—a critical need for our already overburdened and fragile health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The injunction not to visit other people ’ s homes , not to spend time with anyone outside our immediate families or households , is a burden that may fall more heavily on those who live alone and count on friends for company , as well as on anyone who is suffering and in need of emotional support .
In a society unaccustomed to sacrificing for the common good , many of us are zealously trying to do our part not to spread or contract the virus , but we may do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ psychic pain around us .
People are just beginning to discuss the coming toll of social distancing on our mental health .
As Ezra Klein writes in Vox , we are about to face a “ loneliness epidemic.
” My sister Miranda , a social worker , says , “ People are going to crack .
Social isolation is really dangerous.
” Depending on where you live and what kind of recommendations or lockdown rules are in place , if you have distressed friends who are especially in need of human contact , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and take a walk together , observing epidemiologists ’ recommendations to stay at least six feet away from each other .
( You probably need to get outside anyway , for your own mental health . )
If you have a stoop , porch , or backyard that allows a safe physical distance , you could carefully hang out that way , too .
Safer yet , some people are meeting for cocktails or coffee virtually via Zoom or FaceTime .
This pandemic presents us with emotional and social challenges that we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ analog to the problem you pose is supporting suffering friends who live far away .
Most of us have had to do this at times , and it ’ s never been easy .
Thanks to technology , we have more ways of offering comfort than we did when humans had only letters and , later , the phone .
In many cases , the best we can do right now is to let our friends know we are thinking of them .
We can text to check in and also have long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can even bring back letters and phone calls .
My hope is that we all help each other survive this crisis by doing such things , but I also hope that we remember how much we ’ ve lost by not being physically together—and press our governments to be more prepared for the next plague so this never happens again .
Have a question ?
Ask Liza here .

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.
This article appears in the April 13, 2020 issue.
Dear Liza,
My wife’s coronavirus anxiety is through the roof and has taken the form of desperate stockpiling. Our teenage sons and I gape in disbelief at the supplies coming in the back door daily. Twenty boxes of Pop-Tarts—really??? My wife is a lauded author and professor, and the transformation over the past few weeks has been startling. She says to me, exasperated after I make a snarky comment, “Can’t you have a little compassion?” I know it’s difficult to trust Mike Pence or the Centers for Disease Control after it has been starved of funding by Donald Trump. But is there any better way to figure out what to do?
—Involuntary Hoarder
Dear Involuntary,
You’ve nailed the root of the problem: With no confidence that our government will protect us, your wife is dealing with her justified anxieties by stocking up on supplies. And she’s not the only one; many Americans have been doing the same. But you’re not alone in your bewilderment as a spouse. The Wall Street Journal reported that many couples disagree on how much stockpiling is appropriate. There’s a kernel of rationality in the prepping: Were someone in your house to get sick, your family would need to self-quarantine and keep out of the grocery store. (Of course, it’s good to stay away from stores to minimize human contact right now, no matter what, though delivery is likely to remain a good option.) I agree, however, with your underlying sense that much of our hoarding isn’t rooted in such practical thinking. Disruptions in the Pop-Tart supply chain aren’t the most likely of our impending problems. I’m sure by now your family has figured out that the most urgent matter is to avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus, including by practicing social distancing and staying at least six feet away from other humans whenever possible. More From Liza Featherstone Can a Socialist Lyft Driver Beat an Incumbent Bankrolled by the Fossil Fuel Industry? August 17, 2022 The Fierce Hope of Ana María Archila June 23, 2022 Why This N.Y. Socialist Is Running on Climate June 21, 2022
The enormous life changes demanded of us by this effort may by now be distracting your wife from going to Costco. She probably has to figure out how to put all of her classes online, perhaps care for aging relatives long-distance, help you nag the teenagers (presumably stranded in the house all day and sleeping till noon) to resist the charms of TikTok and Instagram long enough to help with the chores and do whatever schoolwork their teachers have remotely mandated, and get some exercise. But if she’s still stocking up, unless it’s a budgetary issue for your family (which it may be if you’ve lost work to the virus), just let it go. Twenty boxes of Pop-Tarts is more than you’ll need, but this excess is not worth fighting about. I get annoyed when people try to use the pandemic as an opportunity for personal growth—our goal in a crisis should be to stay alive and help others do so as well, so let’s not put extra pressure on ourselves to become more awesome during this time—but living in such close quarters with our partners and kids should, if anything, help us learn to pick our battles. 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
Dear Liza,
In this time of Covid-19, how should we take care of friends feeling lonely and blue, friends who have lost their jobs, friends whose parents are terribly sick but are not allowed visitors? Normally, I would seek them out or host them for drinks and dinner. How should I now practice solidarity?
—Helpless Friend Current Issue View our current issue
Dear Helpless,
I feel your letter deeply. I have been struggling with this problem myself. Hanging out in person, meeting people for drinks, or hosting them for dinner is how we all try to look after friends in trouble. And let us not forget hugs, a critical source of solace we’ve abruptly lost. (And what about friends with benefits, who have suddenly had to withdraw even coffee dates from a list that recently included more intimate and cheering activities?) While social distancing is essential to reduce transmission—a critical need for our already overburdened and fragile health care system—its impact is not evenly distributed. The injunction not to visit other people’s homes, not to spend time with anyone outside our immediate families or households, is a burden that may fall more heavily on those who live alone and count on friends for company, as well as on anyone who is suffering and in need of emotional support. In a society unaccustomed to sacrificing for the common good, many of us are zealously trying to do our part not to spread or contract the virus, but we may do so clumsily and without regard to the psychic pain around us.
People are just beginning to discuss the coming toll of social distancing on our mental health. As Ezra Klein writes in Vox, we are about to face a “loneliness epidemic.” My sister Miranda, a social worker, says, “People are going to crack. Social isolation is really dangerous.” Depending on where you live and what kind of recommendations or lockdown rules are in place, if you have distressed friends who are especially in need of human contact, you might be able to meet up and take a walk together, observing epidemiologists’ recommendations to stay at least six feet away from each other. (You probably need to get outside anyway, for your own mental health.) If you have a stoop, porch, or backyard that allows a safe physical distance, you could carefully hang out that way, too. Safer yet, some people are meeting for cocktails or coffee virtually via Zoom or FaceTime.
This pandemic presents us with emotional and social challenges that we’ve never faced before. The closest analog to the problem you pose is supporting suffering friends who live far away. Most of us have had to do this at times, and it’s never been easy. Thanks to technology, we have more ways of offering comfort than we did when humans had only letters and, later, the phone. In many cases, the best we can do right now is to let our friends know we are thinking of them. We can text to check in and also have long conversations by DM or Skype. We can even bring back letters and phone calls. My hope is that we all help each other survive this crisis by doing such things, but I also hope that we remember how much we’ve lost by not being physically together—and press our governments to be more prepared for the next plague so this never happens again.
Have a question? Ask Liza here.


thenation--2020-03-27--The Postal Service Is Breaking Down

The Postal Service Is Breaking Down

Last Thursday , Charles Martin showed up at the post office in Cincinnati , Ohio , where he works as a letter carrier .
When he arrived , he learned that a clerk in the station had been quarantined after she displayed symptoms of Covid-19 .
“ I heard about it from somebody else in the station , because management hasn ’ t announced it yet , ” Martin told me .
“ Half the station still doesn ’ t know.
” He keeps going into work though , he said ; after all , the number of packages has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s governor closed bars and restaurants on March 15 .
“ We ’ re an essential service , so we ’ ve got to keep going , ” Martin said , “ but there are a lot of older employees at my station , and I ’ m worried about it spreading to them.
” The oldest carrier , he said , was more than 75 years old ; as of Tuesday that carrier and all the others in Martin ’ s station were showing up , though many of them are afraid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ customers .
As the coronavirus spreads throughout the United States , the Postal Service has struggled to maintain its crucial role in connecting the country , while also protecting its workers and customers .
These challenges are not limited to disinfecting surfaces or social distancing , either : Many post offices have long been understaffed , and the coronavirus is poised to push an already overworked labor force to a breaking point .
Without drastic action , the virus could soon threaten the Postal Service just when it ’ s needed most .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Letter Carriers reported that Rakkhon Kim , a 50-year-old mail carrier in the Bronx had died of complications related to Covid-19 .
As of that same day , at least 85 postal workers were suspected to have the coronavirus , about quadruple the number that were thought to have it last week .
These employees work in stations all around the country , from locked down areas like New York City and Westchester County to smaller towns like Howell , Georgia , and Troy , Michigan .
The Postal Service said it has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ close contact with them for more than a few minutes , but thousands upon thousands of carriers and clerks are still going to work , where every day they deliver to hundreds of different addresses and handle thousands of pieces of paper and cardboard , where research suggests the virus can linger for hours at a time .
The rapid spread of the coronavirus caught many industries in the United States by surprise , but postal workers said the response at their stations has been particularly slow and ineffective .
Half a dozen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not been able to provide soap , disinfectant wipes , and hand sanitizer , or gloves for postal carriers .
Last week , USPS management rolled out new protocols that require some employees to wear gloves and guarantee masks to any employee who wants one .
They also mandate that all surfaces be disinfected and wiped down .
But postal workers uniformly told me they can ’ t access any protective and sanitary supplies ; two employees further said that as of Monday their station management still hadn ’ t addressed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d describe their response as completely lacking , ” said Lawrence , a carrier who works in western Ohio .
“ [ Last ] Friday was the first day it got brought up in any meaningful way , and that was to tell us they had no supplies to help us with cleaning , with gloves , anything , ” he said .
“ Otherwise , it ’ s been treated as nothing is going on.
” A postal clerk named , Jim , who works in Colorado , said that even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus cases in his area yet , he ’ s worried about passing the disease to letter carriers who then spread it along their routes .
“ Right now the focus is on washing your hands and disinfecting , but it ’ s viable for a very long time on cardboard , and we don ’ t have very many disinfecting supplies , ” he said .
“ If you have a post office like ours with a small lobby , you can see how the mail coming in could easily spread the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new guidelines that prohibit customers from touching digital package scanners , Jim said , his station was still allowing customers to sign for packages and certified mail .
At his station , he said , a lobby assistant typically walks down the line and uses a mobile scanner to scan packages , allowing customers to sign the scanner with their fingers .
Colorado instituted a shelter-in-place order on Tuesday , but before that , he said , his station management hadn ’ t taken the disease seriously .
“ I deliver to an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elderly people in it , and they ’ re the ones who are most likely to meet me at the door to say hello or to get their mail right away .
It makes me uneasy , because they ’ re very vulnerable , ” Lawrence said .
“ Even when people want to take normal sick leave , it ’ s always a struggle at our station , ” said Jim .
“ It requires overtime , extended hours , things like that.
” If the coronavirus spreads through the workforce in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the workforce will be stretched even further—likely with clerks and carriers forced to work daily shifts of up to 12 hours .
The Novels That Explain the Failure of Centrism “ The last couple days , it ’ s almost like Christmas again with the parcel volume , ” said Lawrence .
“ We ’ re starting to get shipments of things that people can ’ t get in stores anymore.
” People in his station , he said , were working minimum 10-hour shifts already , even with no one out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ package volume , of course , means more heavy lifting for clerks and carriers , which will leave them more exhausted at the end of each day .
Sasha , who delivers mail in a city in Massachusetts , said carriers in his station were already doubling up on routes before the virus .
“ My station is pretty understaffed as it is .
Actually , most of the stations around here are understaffed , so we ’ re already kind of on a shoestring , ” he said , adding that on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two full postal routes .
“ Anytime someone does call in sick , that ’ s another route that isn ’ t getting delivered , so we ’ re all doing a lot of overtime as it is .
If we start having a lot of carriers out , then , honestly , I don ’ t know what it ’ s going to look like.
” David Partenheimer , a spokesperson for the USPS , told me , “ The safety of our employees remains our highest priority .
We are urgently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have what they need to stay safe and healthy.
” He added that the USPS had rolled out a series of informational videos and talks about hand washing and social distancing , and that it was making masks and gloves available to employees who asked for them .
He also said that the agency had modified customer signature procedures to avoid customers touching scanners , and was encouraging carriers to keep a safe distance from customers .
As the coronavirus taxes staffing levels , the two postal unions and postal management are scrambling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safe without compromising the agency ’ s essential function .
Last week , the unions representing mail handlers and letter carriers both inked deals with postal management that will allow employees to use their sick leave days to take care of children who may be out of school , a policy that includes part-time “ non-career ” employees .
The agreements also require station managers to relax their typically strict policies about schedule and shift changes .
Looking forward , though , the unions ’ biggest concern is the same as the rank-and-file @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure stations can get the mail out without overworking their clerks and carriers .
“ The staffing levels are definitely strained , ” said Kevin Tabarus , who runs the New York City local for the National Postal Mail Handlers ’ Union .
“ It ’ s becoming a problem .
We ’ re encouraging our employees to stay home if they feel sick , of course , but the ones that are able to work are working even more hours to get the mail out .
There are attendance problems , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so everybody ’ s working overtime.
” Don Sneesby , who runs the NPMHU local in Washington state and Alaska , said that there have been work shortages across his region as well .
Sneesby said that if things get much worse in Seattle , the USPS may have to treat the coronavirus as it would a natural disaster , temporarily suspending operations in the facilities or areas that have been heaviest hit by the disease .
Paul Hogrogian , the president of the mail-handlers ’ union , said that he expects management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an agreement that would temporarily allow the Postal Service to hire what it calls “ non-career ” employees , which are part-time employees without benefits .
This potential agreement , which has not been previously reported , would help improve conditions at many understaffed stations and provide thousands of new jobs for Americans who have been laid off or whose employers have folded due to the coronavirus .
( The National Association of Letter Carriers , the other major postal union , said only that the union was in “ an ongoing dialogue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus . )
In a statement released on Monday night , Representatives Carolyn Maloney ( D-NY ) and Gerry Conolly ( D-VA ) said that the Postal Service had already seen a sharp decline in traditional mail like magazines and fliers ; without direct financial assistance , they said , the agency could go broke by the summer .
The Postal Service would likely turn a profit if it were run like most government agencies , but the agency is bound by a unique requirement to pre-fund its retirement benefits more than 50 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a post-recession decline in mail volumes has left the agency in a precarious financial situation , and the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus now puts its basic operations in jeopardy .
Accordingly , the two representatives added to the House stimulus package a set of provisions that would help bail out the agency , including an emergency payment of $ 25 billion and a provision that would allow the agency to borrow an additional $ 15 billion in the short term .
The final version of the bill passed by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borrowing limit to $ 10 billion and omitted the emergency payment .
If Congress does not take further action to save the Postal Service in the near future , the scenario predicted by Maloney and Connolly may come to pass , and its consequences would be dire .
Without a functioning Postal Service , there would be no one to deliver medicine , medical supplies , and protective equipment to households and hospitals around the country , especially in more remote places .
As more states and cities go on lockdown , families @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliver packages full of any food and hygienic supplies they may not be able to find in grocery stores .
And now that Congress has passed its $ 2 trillion stimulus package , it will be USPS workers who will deliver the checks that many Americans desperately need .
“ We ’ re really on the frontlines , ” said Tabarus .
“ We ’ ve never seen something like this before .
Anthrax was bad , for instance , but this really beats it .
It ’ s really , really bad.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me said that the Postal Service ’ s role in fighting the coronavirus goes beyond what ’ s sorted in its distribution plants and packed into its mail trucks .
The agency ’ s most important role during a pandemic , the postal employees said , is as a first responder , an infrastructure that helps keep people connected to each other when nothing else will .
“ We deliver medicine and essential equipment , yes , ” said Jim , “ but we ’ re also the ones who are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ checks on people , knocking on the door and saying , ‘ Hey , are you OK ?
’ That ’ s our traditional role , it goes back for a while.
” Sasha agreed , saying his customers have told him over the past few weeks that seeing his truck outside their window helps give them a sense of normalcy .
“ Our routes are timed to the minute , ” he said .
“ We hit the same house , at the same time , every day .
There are some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That might be their only human contact the entire day .
It lets them breathe a little bit easier , like , all right , things are bad , but we still have some sense of stability going on.
” “ We ’ re a service that stitches the community together , ” said Martin .
“ If people see us out delivering the mail like normal , it calms them down.
” An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of National Postal Mail Handlers ’ Union official Don Sneesby .

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. On March 31, Senator Bernie Sanders launched an inquiry into the working conditions of postal workers during the coronavirus pandemic, citing this investigation. Generous readers like you made that possible.
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Last Thursday, Charles Martin showed up at the post office in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he works as a letter carrier. When he arrived, he learned that a clerk in the station had been quarantined after she displayed symptoms of Covid-19.
“I heard about it from somebody else in the station, because management hasn’t announced it yet,” Martin told me. “Half the station still doesn’t know.” He keeps going into work though, he said; after all, the number of packages has started to ramp up since Ohio’s governor closed bars and restaurants on March 15.
“We’re an essential service, so we’ve got to keep going,” Martin said, “but there are a lot of older employees at my station, and I’m worried about it spreading to them.” The oldest carrier, he said, was more than 75 years old; as of Tuesday that carrier and all the others in Martin’s station were showing up, though many of them are afraid to interact with their coworkers and their customers.
As the coronavirus spreads throughout the United States, the Postal Service has struggled to maintain its crucial role in connecting the country, while also protecting its workers and customers. These challenges are not limited to disinfecting surfaces or social distancing, either: Many post offices have long been understaffed, and the coronavirus is poised to push an already overworked labor force to a breaking point. Without drastic action, the virus could soon threaten the Postal Service just when it’s needed most.
On Thursday, the National Association of Letter Carriers reported that Rakkhon Kim, a 50-year-old mail carrier in the Bronx had died of complications related to Covid-19. As of that same day, at least 85 postal workers were suspected to have the coronavirus, about quadruple the number that were thought to have it last week. These employees work in stations all around the country, from locked down areas like New York City and Westchester County to smaller towns like Howell, Georgia, and Troy, Michigan.
The Postal Service said it has quarantined those employees and anyone who had close contact with them for more than a few minutes, but thousands upon thousands of carriers and clerks are still going to work, where every day they deliver to hundreds of different addresses and handle thousands of pieces of paper and cardboard, where research suggests the virus can linger for hours at a time.
The rapid spread of the coronavirus caught many industries in the United States by surprise, but postal workers said the response at their stations has been particularly slow and ineffective. Half a dozen clerks and carriers told me that management has not been able to provide soap, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizer, or gloves for postal carriers. 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung 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 My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Current Issue View our current issue
Last week, USPS management rolled out new protocols that require some employees to wear gloves and guarantee masks to any employee who wants one. They also mandate that all surfaces be disinfected and wiped down. But postal workers uniformly told me they can’t access any protective and sanitary supplies; two employees further said that as of Monday their station management still hadn’t addressed the coronavirus in stand-up meetings.
“I’d describe their response as completely lacking,” said Lawrence, a carrier who works in western Ohio. “[Last] Friday was the first day it got brought up in any meaningful way, and that was to tell us they had no supplies to help us with cleaning, with gloves, anything,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s been treated as nothing is going on.”
A postal clerk named, Jim, who works in Colorado, said that even though there haven’t been many coronavirus cases in his area yet, he’s worried about passing the disease to letter carriers who then spread it along their routes.
“Right now the focus is on washing your hands and disinfecting, but it’s viable for a very long time on cardboard, and we don’t have very many disinfecting supplies,” he said. “If you have a post office like ours with a small lobby, you can see how the mail coming in could easily spread the disease.” While FedEx and UPS have new guidelines that prohibit customers from touching digital package scanners, Jim said, his station was still allowing customers to sign for packages and certified mail.
At his station, he said, a lobby assistant typically walks down the line and uses a mobile scanner to scan packages, allowing customers to sign the scanner with their fingers. Colorado instituted a shelter-in-place order on Tuesday, but before that, he said, his station management hadn’t taken the disease seriously.
“I deliver to an area that has a good amount of elderly people in it, and they’re the ones who are most likely to meet me at the door to say hello or to get their mail right away. It makes me uneasy, because they’re very vulnerable,” Lawrence said.
“Even when people want to take normal sick leave, it’s always a struggle at our station,” said Jim. “It requires overtime, extended hours, things like that.” If the coronavirus spreads through the workforce in his area of Colorado, he said, the workforce will be stretched even further—likely with clerks and carriers forced to work daily shifts of up to 12 hours. More From Jake Bittle The William Buckley and Edgar Smith Saga June 16, 2022 The Hollow Narrative of HBO’s “Gilded Age” April 7, 2022 What Inspired “Crime and Punishment”? February 16, 2022
“The last couple days, it’s almost like Christmas again with the parcel volume,” said Lawrence. “We’re starting to get shipments of things that people can’t get in stores anymore.” People in his station, he said, were working minimum 10-hour shifts already, even with no one out on sick leave. An increase in package volume, of course, means more heavy lifting for clerks and carriers, which will leave them more exhausted at the end of each day.
Sasha, who delivers mail in a city in Massachusetts, said carriers in his station were already doubling up on routes before the virus.
“My station is pretty understaffed as it is. Actually, most of the stations around here are understaffed, so we’re already kind of on a shoestring,” he said, adding that on most of his shifts he delivers for two full postal routes. “Anytime someone does call in sick, that’s another route that isn’t getting delivered, so we’re all doing a lot of overtime as it is. If we start having a lot of carriers out, then, honestly, I don’t know what it’s going to look like.”
David Partenheimer, a spokesperson for the USPS, told me, “The safety of our employees remains our highest priority. We are urgently working to make sure all our employees have what they need to stay safe and healthy.” He added that the USPS had rolled out a series of informational videos and talks about hand washing and social distancing, and that it was making masks and gloves available to employees who asked for them. He also said that the agency had modified customer signature procedures to avoid customers touching scanners, and was encouraging carriers to keep a safe distance from customers.
As the coronavirus taxes staffing levels, the two postal unions and postal management are scrambling to find a way to keep workers safe without compromising the agency’s essential function. Last week, the unions representing mail handlers and letter carriers both inked deals with postal management that will allow employees to use their sick leave days to take care of children who may be out of school, a policy that includes part-time “non-career” employees. The agreements also require station managers to relax their typically strict policies about schedule and shift changes.
Looking forward, though, the unions’ biggest concern is the same as the rank-and-file employees who spoke to me: making sure stations can get the mail out without overworking their clerks and carriers.
“The staffing levels are definitely strained,” said Kevin Tabarus, who runs the New York City local for the National Postal Mail Handlers’ Union. “It’s becoming a problem. We’re encouraging our employees to stay home if they feel sick, of course, but the ones that are able to work are working even more hours to get the mail out. There are attendance problems, because people are sick, of course, so everybody’s working overtime.”
Don Sneesby, who runs the NPMHU local in Washington state and Alaska, said that there have been work shortages across his region as well. Sneesby said that if things get much worse in Seattle, the USPS may have to treat the coronavirus as it would a natural disaster, temporarily suspending operations in the facilities or areas that have been heaviest hit by the disease.
Paul Hogrogian, the president of the mail-handlers’ union, said that he expects management and the unions will soon come to an agreement that would temporarily allow the Postal Service to hire what it calls “non-career” employees, which are part-time employees without benefits. This potential agreement, which has not been previously reported, would help improve conditions at many understaffed stations and provide thousands of new jobs for Americans who have been laid off or whose employers have folded due to the coronavirus. (The National Association of Letter Carriers, the other major postal union, said only that the union was in “an ongoing dialogue with the Postal Service” about the coronavirus.)
In a statement released on Monday night, Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Gerry Conolly (D-VA) said that the Postal Service had already seen a sharp decline in traditional mail like magazines and fliers; without direct financial assistance, they said, the agency could go broke by the summer.
The Postal Service would likely turn a profit if it were run like most government agencies, but the agency is bound by a unique requirement to pre-fund its retirement benefits more than 50 years in advance. That mandate along with a post-recession decline in mail volumes has left the agency in a precarious financial situation, and the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus now puts its basic operations in jeopardy. Accordingly, the two representatives added to the House stimulus package a set of provisions that would help bail out the agency, including an emergency payment of $25 billion and a provision that would allow the agency to borrow an additional $15 billion in the short term. The final version of the bill passed by the Senate, though, only raised the borrowing limit to $10 billion and omitted the emergency payment.
If Congress does not take further action to save the Postal Service in the near future, the scenario predicted by Maloney and Connolly may come to pass, and its consequences would be dire. Without a functioning Postal Service, there would be no one to deliver medicine, medical supplies, and protective equipment to households and hospitals around the country, especially in more remote places. As more states and cities go on lockdown, families will also rely on the USPS to deliver packages full of any food and hygienic supplies they may not be able to find in grocery stores. And now that Congress has passed its $2 trillion stimulus package, it will be USPS workers who will deliver the checks that many Americans desperately need.
“We’re really on the frontlines,” said Tabarus. “We’ve never seen something like this before. Anthrax was bad, for instance, but this really beats it. It’s really, really bad.”
But the postal workers who spoke to me said that the Postal Service’s role in fighting the coronavirus goes beyond what’s sorted in its distribution plants and packed into its mail trucks. The agency’s most important role during a pandemic, the postal employees said, is as a first responder, an infrastructure that helps keep people connected to each other when nothing else will.
“We deliver medicine and essential equipment, yes,” said Jim, “but we’re also the ones who are going to every address, often conduct welfare checks on people, knocking on the door and saying, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ That’s our traditional role, it goes back for a while.”
Sasha agreed, saying his customers have told him over the past few weeks that seeing his truck outside their window helps give them a sense of normalcy. “Our routes are timed to the minute,” he said. “We hit the same house, at the same time, every day. There are some customers who look forward to that. That might be their only human contact the entire day. It lets them breathe a little bit easier, like, all right, things are bad, but we still have some sense of stability going on.”
“We’re a service that stitches the community together,” said Martin. “If people see us out delivering the mail like normal, it calms them down.”
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of National Postal Mail Handlers’ Union official Don Sneesby.