thenation--2020-04-22--Iran Is Suffering Under the Coronavirus, and the US Is Imposing Fresh Sanctions

The Covid-19 pandemic raises serious questions as to the efficacy and morality of the Trump administration ’ s sanctions on Iran .
Iran , which as of this writing has nearly 78,000 coronavirus cases and just under 5,000 deaths , ranks among those countries hardest hit by the pandemic .
Over the course of the past few weeks , the Trump administration , guided in these areas by unreconstructed hard-liners like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , Defense Secretary Mark Esper , and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin , has doubled down on its regime change strategy toward Iran .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Pompeo announced a further round of sanctions against Iran .
“ Our sanctions , ” said Pompeo , “ will deprive the regime of critical income from its petrochemical industry and further Iran ’ s economic and diplomatic isolation.
” A few weeks later , in a sickeningly cynical comment on April 2 , President Trump seemingly made light of the growing humanitarian crisis in Iran , declaring that “ the Iranian [ people ] love America .
I think they ’ d love to be free.… They love what we stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respect to the virus , we have the greatest medical professionals in the world .
We ’ d love to send them over.
” Not content with doubling down on sanctions and preventing much-needed supplies from third-party countries from entering Iran , the State Department went a step further on April 6 when it published a fact sheet on what it describes as “ Iran ’ s Sanctions Relief Scam , ” which alleges that efforts by the Iranian government to secure relief for its citizens is really nothing more than a ploy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its malign national security prerogatives .
According to the department ’ s fact sheet , “ Iran ’ s slick foreign influence campaign to obtain sanctions relief is not intended for the relief or health of the Iranian people but to raise funds for its terror operations.
” The cruelty of the current policy has given rise to a debate among Democrats in Congress .
Powerful hawks like disgraced New Jersey Senator Robert “ Bob ” Menendez and Elliot Engel of New York have teamed up to ask the president not to precipitously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ simply lifting sanctions…will not provide immediate or meaningful relief for the Iranian people.
” Meantime , progressives , including Bernie Sanders and representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called on the administration to lift sanctions on major sectors of the Iranian economy , including “ civilian industries , Iran ’ s banking sector and exports of oil.
” Moderates in the Senate , including Tim Kaine and Ben Cardin , signed a letter to Mnuchin calling for a 90-day waiver on sectoral sanctions that interfere with humanitarian relief and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technological restrictions that currently impede Iran ’ s fight against the virus .
And where is Joe Biden in all of this ?
On April 2 , Biden released a letter that seemed to support the idea of lifting sanctions—if only for the duration of the crisis .
Biden wrote , “ Whatever our profound differences with the Iranian government , we should support the Iranian people.
” Yet nowhere in Biden ’ s statement did he actually call for the lifting of sanctions .
His position echoed the Menendez-Engel line that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ humanitarian exceptions in place .
In an interview with NBC ’ s Chuck Todd on Sunday , Biden declined to say whether he would even agree to lift sanctions temporarily , because , in his view , the regime was likely “ lying ” about the scope of the crisis there .
Thus far , Biden ’ s response only confirms well-founded concerns that he has surrounded himself with among the most hawkish of Obama ’ s foreign policy alumni and that we may not see real , substantive changes in US foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meantime , a coalition of grassroots organizations and activists are calling for an end to the current sanctions policy .
The Center for Citizens Initiatives posted an open letter calling for an end to all US sanctions .
Likewise , CodePink and online activists using the hashtag # EndCOVIDSanctions have joined the call .
Even members-in-good-standing of the US foreign policy establishment have weighed in .
Writing in The Washington Post , Philip H. Gordon , who served as Middle East coordinator for Obama ’ s national security council , and the scholar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s campaign of so-called “ maximum pressure ” on Tehran and warned that such a policy “ will more likely lead to many more Iranian deaths [ and ] further the spread of the virus to Iran ’ s neighbors.
” Civic and religious leaders across the globe have also raised their objections to ongoing US policy .
On Easter Sunday , Pope Francis said sanctions “ make it difficult for countries on which they have been imposed to provide adequate support to their citizens.
” “ This , ” said Francis , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because the whole world is suffering and needs to be united in facing the pandemic .
”

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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The Covid-19 pandemic raises serious questions as to the efficacy and morality of the Trump administration’s sanctions on Iran. Iran, which as of this writing has nearly 78,000 coronavirus cases and just under 5,000 deaths, ranks among those countries hardest hit by the pandemic. Over the course of the past few weeks, the Trump administration, guided in these areas by unreconstructed hard-liners like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, has doubled down on its regime change strategy toward Iran.
On March 18, with the pandemic raging, Pompeo announced a further round of sanctions against Iran. “Our sanctions,” said Pompeo, “will deprive the regime of critical income from its petrochemical industry and further Iran’s economic and diplomatic isolation.”
A few weeks later, in a sickeningly cynical comment on April 2, President Trump seemingly made light of the growing humanitarian crisis in Iran, declaring that “the Iranian [people] love America. I think they’d love to be free.… They love what we stand for…. if they need help with respect to the virus, we have the greatest medical professionals in the world. We’d love to send them over.”
Not content with doubling down on sanctions and preventing much-needed supplies from third-party countries from entering Iran, the State Department went a step further on April 6 when it published a fact sheet on what it describes as “Iran’s Sanctions Relief Scam,” which alleges that efforts by the Iranian government to secure relief for its citizens is really nothing more than a ploy to raise cash in order to fund its malign national security prerogatives. According to the department’s fact sheet, “Iran’s slick foreign influence campaign to obtain sanctions relief is not intended for the relief or health of the Iranian people but to raise funds for its terror operations.” Coronavirus These People Aren’t Freedom Fighters—They’re Virus-Spreading Sociopaths Elie Mystal
The cruelty of the current policy has given rise to a debate among Democrats in Congress. Powerful hawks like disgraced New Jersey Senator Robert “Bob” Menendez and Elliot Engel of New York have teamed up to ask the president not to precipitately lift sanctions, because, they fear, “simply lifting sanctions…will not provide immediate or meaningful relief for the Iranian people.” Meantime, progressives, including Bernie Sanders and representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called on the administration to lift sanctions on major sectors of the Iranian economy, including “civilian industries, Iran’s banking sector and exports of oil.” Moderates in the Senate, including Tim Kaine and Ben Cardin, signed a letter to Mnuchin calling for a 90-day waiver on sectoral sanctions that interfere with humanitarian relief and an easing of logistical, financial, and technological restrictions that currently impede Iran’s fight against the virus.
And where is Joe Biden in all of this? On April 2, Biden released a letter that seemed to support the idea of lifting sanctions—if only for the duration of the crisis. Biden wrote, “Whatever our profound differences with the Iranian government, we should support the Iranian people.” Yet nowhere in Biden’s statement did he actually call for the lifting of sanctions. His position echoed the Menendez-Engel line that the Trump administration’s sanctions already have humanitarian exceptions in place. In an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday, Biden declined to say whether he would even agree to lift sanctions temporarily, because, in his view, the regime was likely “lying” about the scope of the crisis there. Thus far, Biden’s response only confirms well-founded concerns that he has surrounded himself with among the most hawkish of Obama’s foreign policy alumni and that we may not see real, substantive changes in US foreign policy if he wins in November.
Meantime, a coalition of grassroots organizations and activists are calling for an end to the current sanctions policy. The Center for Citizens Initiatives posted an open letter calling for an end to all US sanctions. Likewise, CodePink and online activists using the hashtag #EndCOVIDSanctions have joined the call. Even members-in-good-standing of the US foreign policy establishment have weighed in. Writing in The Washington Post, Philip H. Gordon, who served as Middle East coordinator for Obama’s national security council, and the scholar Ariane M. Tabatabai criticized the administration’s campaign of so-called “maximum pressure” on Tehran and warned that such a policy “will more likely lead to many more Iranian deaths [and] further the spread of the virus to Iran’s neighbors.”
Civic and religious leaders across the globe have also raised their objections to ongoing US policy. On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis said sanctions “make it difficult for countries on which they have been imposed to provide adequate support to their citizens.” “This,” said Francis, “is not a time for indifference, because the whole world is suffering and needs to be united in facing the pandemic.”


thenation--2020-04-22--Inequality and Poverty Were Destroying America Well Before Covid-19

My mom contracted polio when she was 14 .
She survived and learned to walk again , but my life was deeply affected by that virus .
Today , as our larger society attempts to self-distance and self-isolate , my family has texted about the polio quarantine my mom was put under : how my grandma fearfully checked my aunt ’ s temperature every night because she shared a bedroom with my mom ; how they had to put a sign on the front door of the house that read “ quarantine ” so that no one would visit .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I learned lessons about epidemics , sickness , disability , and inequality that have forever shaped my world .
From a young age , I saw that all of us should be valued for our intrinsic worth as human beings ; that there is no line between the supposedly deserving and the undeserving ; that we should be loved for who we are , not what we do or how much money we have .
My mom modeled for me what ’ s possible when those most impacted by inequality and injustice dedicate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hurts us all .
She taught me that the dividing line between sickness and wellbeing loses its meaning in a society that doesn ’ t care for everyone .
Here ’ s the simple truth of 21st century America : All of us live in a time and in an economic system that values our lives relative to our ability to produce profits for the rich or in the context of the wealth we possess .
Our wellness is measured by our efficiency and—a particular lesson in the age of the coronavirus—our sickness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen as an indication of individual limitations or moral failures , rather than as a symptom of a sick society .
About 31 million people today are uninsured in America , and 14 states have not even expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act .
The healthcare system is seemingly structured in defiance of the people it should serve , functioning as yet another way to maximize profits at the expense of millions .
In this coronavirus moment , many more Americans are finally awakening to the bitter consequences , the damage , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have access to the resources he or she needs to live decently or , for that matter , survive .
With the spread of a pandemic , the cost to a nation that often treats collective care as , at best , an afterthought should become apparent .
After all , more than 9,000 medical workers , many not adequately protected from the disease , have already contracted it .
For decades , both political parties have pushed the narrative that illness , homelessness , poverty , and inequality are minor aberrations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , as the possibility of a potentially historic depression looms , assurances that the mechanics of our economy are fundamentally strong ( and Covid-19 an unexpected fluke ) remain commonplace .
And yet , while that economy ’ s productivity has indeed increased strikingly since the 1970s , the gains from it have gone to an increasingly small number of people ( and corporations ) , while real wages have stagnated for the majority of workers .
Don ’ t be fooled .
This crisis didn ’ t start with the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , for instance , points to an energy system that was already on the brink , and a majority of economists agree that a manufacturing decline had actually begun in August 2019 .
It should no longer be possible to ignore the structural crisis of poverty and inequality that has been eating away at American society over these last decades .
Historic unemployment numbers in recent weeks only reveal how expendable the majority of workers are in a crunch .
This is happening at a moment when it ’ s ever clearer how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tasks in our economy are done by the least well-paid workers .
The ranks of the poor are widening at a startling clip , as many more of us are now experiencing what dire insecurity feels like in an economy built on non-unionized , low-wage work and part-time jobs .
In order to respond to such a crisis and the growing needs of millions , it ’ s important to first acknowledge the deeper history of injustice and pain that brought us all here .
In the last years of his life , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it well when he said that “ the prescription for the cure rests with an accurate diagnosis of the disease.
” To develop a cure not just for this virus but for a nation with the deepest kind of inequality at its core , what ’ s first needed ( as with any disease ) is an accurate diagnosis .
Today , more than 38 million people officially live below the federal poverty line and , in truth , that figure should have shocked the nation into action before the coronavirus even arrived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the real story anyway : The official measure of poverty , developed in 1964 , doesn ’ t even take into account household expenses like health care , child care , housing , and transportation , not to speak of other costs that have burgeoned in recent decades .
The world has undergone profound economic transformations over the last 66 years and yet this out-of-date measure , based on three times a family ’ s food budget , continues to shape policymaking at every level of government as well as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imagination .
Two years ago , the Poor People ’ s Campaign ( which I co-chair alongside Reverend William Barber II ) and the Institute for Policy Studies released an audit of America .
Its centerpiece was a far more realistic assessment of poverty and economic precariousness in this country .
Using the Census Bureau ’ s Supplemental Poverty Measure as a baseline , which , among other things , measures family income after taxes and out-of-pocket expenses for food , clothing , housing , and utilities , there are at least 140 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 400 emergency from that state .
( Of that , there are now untold examples in this pandemic moment . )
As poverty has grown and spread , one of the great political weapons of politicians and the ruling elite over the past decades ( only emphasized in the age of Trump ) has been to minimize , dismiss , and racialize it .
In the 1970s , President Richard Nixon ’ s “ Southern Strategy ” coded it into Republican national politics ; in the 1980s , in the years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fabricated image of “ the welfare queen ” gained symbolic prominence .
In the 1990s , President Bill Clinton ’ s welfare “ reforms ” enshrined such thinking in the arguments of both parties .
Today , given the outright racism and xenophobia that has become the hallmark of Donald Trump ’ s presidency , “ poor ” has become a curse word .
It is , of course , true that , among the 140 million poor people in the U.S. , a disproportionate number are indeed people of color .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never-ending discrimination , and the mass incarceration of black men in particular , as well as a generational disinvestment in such populations , could have resulted in nothing less .
And yet the reality of poverty stretches deep into every community in this country .
According to that audit of America , the poor or low-income today consist of 24 million blacks , 38 million Latinos , eight million Asian-Americans , two million Native peoples , and 66 million whites .
Those staggering numbers , already a deadweight for the nation , are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronaviral world we now inhabit and yet none of this should be a surprise .
Although we couldn ’ t have predicted the exact circumstances of this pandemic , social theorists remind us that conditions were ripe for just this kind of economic dislocation .
Over the past 50 years , for instance , rents have risen faster than income in every city .
Before the coronavirus outbreak , there was not a single county in this country where a person making a minimum wage with a family could afford a two-bedroom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout this crisis , there has been a rise in rent strikes , housing takeovers , and calls for moratoriums on evictions .
The quiet fact is that , in the last few decades , unemployment , underemployment , poverty , and homelessness have become ever more deeply and permanently structured into this society .
Covid-19 and the Descent Into Poverty Over the years , one political narrative has been trumpeted by both parties : that we don ’ t have enough to provide for every American .
This scarcity argument has undergirded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet it falls flat when we look at the 53 percent of every federal discretionary dollar that goes to the Pentagon , the trillions of dollars that have been squandered in this country ’ s never-ending war on terror , not to speak of the unprecedented financial gains the wealthiest have made ( even in the midst of the current crisis ) .
Of course , this economic order becomes a genuine moral scandal the moment attention is focused on the three billionaires who possess more wealth than the bottom half of society @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the poor to the very rich under the guise of “ trickle-down ” ( but actually gusher-up ) economics , key public institutions , labor unions , and the electoral process have been under attack .
The healthcare system has been further privatized , public housing has been demolished , public water and sanitation systems have been held hostage by emergency managers , and the social safety net has been eviscerated .
In these same years , core government functions have been turned over to the private sector and the free market @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and inequality in this country now outmatch those seen in the Gilded Age .
All of this , in turn , laid the groundwork for the rapid spread of death and disease via the Covid-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on poor people and people of color .
When the coronavirus first became a national emergency , the Fed materialized $ 1.5 trillion dollars in loans to Wall Street , a form of corporate welfare that may never be paid back .
In the following weeks , the Fed and a congressional bipartisan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the largest corporations .
Meanwhile , tens of millions of Americans were left out of that CARES Act : Forty-eight percent of the workforce did not receive paid sick leave ; 27 million uninsured people and 10 percent of the insured who couldn ’ t even afford a doctor ’ s visit have no guarantee of free or reasonably priced medical treatment ; 11 million undocumented immigrants and their 5 million children will receive no emergency provisions ; 2.3 million of the incarcerated have been left in the petri dish of prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recipients saw no increase in their benefits ; and homeless assistance funds were targeted at only about 500,000 people , although 8–11 million are homeless or housing insecure .
Such omissions are guaranteed to prove debilitating , even potentially lethal , for many .
They also represent cracks in a dam ready to break in a nation without a guaranteed living wage or universal healthcare as debt mounts , wages stagnate , and the pressures of ecological devastation and climate change intensify .
Recently , news reports have made it far clearer just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hitting hardest .
In New York City , now the global epicenter of the pandemic , for instance , the areas with the highest rates of positive tests overlap almost exactly with neighborhoods where the most “ essential workers ” live—and you undoubtedly won ’ t be surprised to learn that most of them are poor or low-income ones , 79 percent of them black or Latino .
The five ZIP Codes with the most coronavirus cases have an average income of under $ 27,000 ; while in the five ZIP Codes with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 118,000 .
Across the Black Belt of the Southern states , the poor and black are dying from the coronavirus at an alarming rate .
In many of those states , wages are tied to industries that rely on now interrupted regular household spending .
They also have among the fewest resources and the most vehement anti-union and wage-suppression laws .
That , in turn , leaves so many Americans all that more vulnerable to the Covid-19 crisis , the end of which is nowhere in sight .
Chalk this up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ divestment in public institutions and the entrenchment of extremist agendas in state legislatures .
The Black Belt accounts for nine of the 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid and for 60 percent of all rural hospital closures .
Nor are these the only places now feeling the consequences of hospitals being bought up or closed for private profit .
In Philadelphia , for instance , Hahnemann Hospital , which had served that city ’ s poorest patients for more than 170 years , was recently bought and closed by a real estate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million dollars a month from the local government to reopen it .
Now , as the coronavirus ravages Philadelphia , Hahnemann ’ s beds sit empty , reminiscent of the notorious shuttering of New Orleans ’ s Charity Hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 .
In fact , lessons from the catastrophe of Katrina resonate heavily today , as the poor suffer and die while the rich and their political allies begin to circle the ruins , seeing opportunities to further enhance their power .
After Katrina , many poor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to evacuate were unable to return , while the city became a laboratory for a new onslaught of neoliberal reforms from health care to housing .
One state legislator was overheard telling lobbyists , “ We finally cleaned out public housing in New Orleans .
We couldn ’ t do it , but God did.
” It hardly takes a stretch of the imagination to envision similar braggadocio in the post-coronavirus era .
The dual crises of pandemic and inequality are revealing ever more clearly how the descent into poverty is helping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out .
In a remarkably brief span of time , these crises have also highlighted our collective interdependence .
One of my earliest memories is of helping my mom walk when I was younger than my youngest child is now .
As we slid down the wintry streets of Milwaukee , Wisconsin , my small hand in hers , she suddenly fell and I went down alongside her .
I had been unable to keep us from crashing to the ground .
And yet , even when I couldn ’ t do what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognized , with the clarity that perhaps only a child can have , how much we as a family ( and , by extension , as a people ) were inescapably bound together—that when one of us falls , so many of us fall .
And that ’ s why , whatever Donald Trump or Jared Kushner or the rest of that crew in Washington and across the country may think , we can no longer tolerate leaving anybody out .
Hasn ’ t the time finally come to reject the false narrative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to demand a transformative moral agenda that reaches from the bottom up ?
If the wealthy were to pay a relatively modest amount more in taxes and we shrank our war economy to support the common good , then universal health care , living wages , and a guaranteed income , decent and affordable housing , strong programs for the poor , and even more might finally be within reach .
This crisis is offering us a striking demonstration of how an economy oriented around the whims of the rich brings death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society organized around the needs of the poor , on the other hand , would improve life for all of us—and especially in this Covid-19 moment , exactly this might be possible .

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 originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.
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My mom contracted polio when she was 14. She survived and learned to walk again, but my life was deeply affected by that virus. Today, as our larger society attempts to self-distance and self-isolate, my family has texted about the polio quarantine my mom was put under: how my grandma fearfully checked my aunt’s temperature every night because she shared a bedroom with my mom; how they had to put a sign on the front door of the house that read “quarantine” so that no one would visit.
Growing up with a polio survivor, I learned lessons about epidemics, sickness, disability, and inequality that have forever shaped my world. From a young age, I saw that all of us should be valued for our intrinsic worth as human beings; that there is no line between the supposedly deserving and the undeserving; that we should be loved for who we are, not what we do or how much money we have. My mom modeled for me what’s possible when those most impacted by inequality and injustice dedicate their lives to protecting others from what hurts us all. She taught me that the dividing line between sickness and wellbeing loses its meaning in a society that doesn’t care for everyone.
Here’s the simple truth of 21st century America: All of us live in a time and in an economic system that values our lives relative to our ability to produce profits for the rich or in the context of the wealth we possess. Our wellness is measured by our efficiency and—a particular lesson in the age of the coronavirus—our sickness, when considered at all, is seen as an indication of individual limitations or moral failures, rather than as a symptom of a sick society.
About 31 million people today are uninsured in America, and 14 states have not even expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The healthcare system is seemingly structured in defiance of the people it should serve, functioning as yet another way to maximize profits at the expense of millions. In this coronavirus moment, many more Americans are finally awakening to the bitter consequences, the damage, wrought when even a single person does not have access to the resources he or she needs to live decently or, for that matter, survive. With the spread of a pandemic, the cost to a nation that often treats collective care as, at best, an afterthought should become apparent. After all, more than 9,000 medical workers, many not adequately protected from the disease, have already contracted it.
For decades, both political parties have pushed the narrative that illness, homelessness, poverty, and inequality are minor aberrations in an otherwise healthy society. Even now, as the possibility of a potentially historic depression looms, assurances that the mechanics of our economy are fundamentally strong (and Covid-19 an unexpected fluke) remain commonplace. And yet, while that economy’s productivity has indeed increased strikingly since the 1970s, the gains from it have gone to an increasingly small number of people (and corporations), while real wages have stagnated for the majority of workers. Don’t be fooled. This crisis didn’t start with the coronavirus: Our collapsing oil and gas industry, for instance, points to an energy system that was already on the brink, and a majority of economists agree that a manufacturing decline had actually begun in August 2019. 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 Cost of Inequality
It should no longer be possible to ignore the structural crisis of poverty and inequality that has been eating away at American society over these last decades. Historic unemployment numbers in recent weeks only reveal how expendable the majority of workers are in a crunch. This is happening at a moment when it’s ever clearer how many of the most “essential” tasks in our economy are done by the least well-paid workers. The ranks of the poor are widening at a startling clip, as many more of us are now experiencing what dire insecurity feels like in an economy built on non-unionized, low-wage work and part-time jobs.
In order to respond to such a crisis and the growing needs of millions, it’s important to first acknowledge the deeper history of injustice and pain that brought us all here. In the last years of his life, Martin Luther King, Jr., put it well when he said that “the prescription for the cure rests with an accurate diagnosis of the disease.” To develop a cure not just for this virus but for a nation with the deepest kind of inequality at its core, what’s first needed (as with any disease) is an accurate diagnosis. Current Issue View our current issue
Today, more than 38 million people officially live below the federal poverty line and, in truth, that figure should have shocked the nation into action before the coronavirus even arrived here. No such luck and here’s the real story anyway: The official measure of poverty, developed in 1964, doesn’t even take into account household expenses like health care, child care, housing, and transportation, not to speak of other costs that have burgeoned in recent decades. The world has undergone profound economic transformations over the last 66 years and yet this out-of-date measure, based on three times a family’s food budget, continues to shape policymaking at every level of government as well as the contours of the American political and moral imagination.
Two years ago, the Poor People’s Campaign (which I co-chair alongside Reverend William Barber II) and the Institute for Policy Studies released an audit of America. Its centerpiece was a far more realistic assessment of poverty and economic precariousness in this country. Using the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure as a baseline, which, among other things, measures family income after taxes and out-of-pocket expenses for food, clothing, housing, and utilities, there are at least 140 million people who are poor—or just a $400 emergency from that state. (Of that, there are now untold examples in this pandemic moment.)
As poverty has grown and spread, one of the great political weapons of politicians and the ruling elite over the past decades (only emphasized in the age of Trump) has been to minimize, dismiss, and racialize it. In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” coded it into Republican national politics; in the 1980s, in the years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the fabricated image of “the welfare queen” gained symbolic prominence. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton’s welfare “reforms” enshrined such thinking in the arguments of both parties. Today, given the outright racism and xenophobia that has become the hallmark of Donald Trump’s presidency, “poor” has become a curse word.
It is, of course, true that, among the 140 million poor people in the U.S., a disproportionate number are indeed people of color. The inheritance of slavery, Jim Crow, never-ending discrimination, and the mass incarceration of black men in particular, as well as a generational disinvestment in such populations, could have resulted in nothing less. And yet the reality of poverty stretches deep into every community in this country. According to that audit of America, the poor or low-income today consist of 24 million blacks, 38 million Latinos, eight million Asian-Americans, two million Native peoples, and 66 million whites.
Those staggering numbers, already a deadweight for the nation, are likely to prove a grotesque underestimate in the coronaviral world we now inhabit and yet none of this should be a surprise. Although we couldn’t have predicted the exact circumstances of this pandemic, social theorists remind us that conditions were ripe for just this kind of economic dislocation.
Over the past 50 years, for instance, rents have risen faster than income in every city. Before the coronavirus outbreak, there was not a single county in this country where a person making a minimum wage with a family could afford a two-bedroom apartment. No surprise then that, throughout this crisis, there has been a rise in rent strikes, housing takeovers, and calls for moratoriums on evictions. The quiet fact is that, in the last few decades, unemployment, underemployment, poverty, and homelessness have become ever more deeply and permanently structured into this society.
Covid-19 and the Descent Into Poverty
Over the years, one political narrative has been trumpeted by both parties: that we don’t have enough to provide for every American. This scarcity argument has undergirded every federal budget in recent history and yet it falls flat when we look at the 53 percent of every federal discretionary dollar that goes to the Pentagon, the trillions of dollars that have been squandered in this country’s never-ending war on terror, not to speak of the unprecedented financial gains the wealthiest have made (even in the midst of the current crisis). Of course, this economic order becomes a genuine moral scandal the moment attention is focused on the three billionaires who possess more wealth than the bottom half of society.
Since the government began transferring wealth from the poor to the very rich under the guise of “trickle-down” (but actually gusher-up) economics, key public institutions, labor unions, and the electoral process have been under attack. The healthcare system has been further privatized, public housing has been demolished, public water and sanitation systems have been held hostage by emergency managers, and the social safety net has been eviscerated.
In these same years, core government functions have been turned over to the private sector and the free market. The result: Levels of poverty and inequality in this country now outmatch those seen in the Gilded Age. All of this, in turn, laid the groundwork for the rapid spread of death and disease via the Covid-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on poor people and people of color.
When the coronavirus first became a national emergency, the Fed materialized $1.5 trillion dollars in loans to Wall Street, a form of corporate welfare that may never be paid back. In the following weeks, the Fed and a congressional bipartisan stimulus package funneled trillions more in bailouts to the largest corporations. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans were left out of that CARES Act: Forty-eight percent of the workforce did not receive paid sick leave; 27 million uninsured people and 10 percent of the insured who couldn’t even afford a doctor’s visit have no guarantee of free or reasonably priced medical treatment; 11 million undocumented immigrants and their 5 million children will receive no emergency provisions; 2.3 million of the incarcerated have been left in the petri dish of prison; 3 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients saw no increase in their benefits; and homeless assistance funds were targeted at only about 500,000 people, although 8–11 million are homeless or housing insecure. Such omissions are guaranteed to prove debilitating, even potentially lethal, for many. They also represent cracks in a dam ready to break in a nation without a guaranteed living wage or universal healthcare as debt mounts, wages stagnate, and the pressures of ecological devastation and climate change intensify.
Recently, news reports have made it far clearer just where (and whom) Covid-19 is hitting hardest. In New York City, now the global epicenter of the pandemic, for instance, the areas with the highest rates of positive tests overlap almost exactly with neighborhoods where the most “essential workers” live—and you undoubtedly won’t be surprised to learn that most of them are poor or low-income ones, 79 percent of them black or Latino. The five ZIP Codes with the most coronavirus cases have an average income of under $27,000; while in the five ZIP Codes with the least, the average income is $118,000.
Across the Black Belt of the Southern states, the poor and black are dying from the coronavirus at an alarming rate. In many of those states, wages are tied to industries that rely on now interrupted regular household spending. They also have among the fewest resources and the most vehement anti-union and wage-suppression laws. That, in turn, leaves so many Americans all that more vulnerable to the Covid-19 crisis, the end of which is nowhere in sight. Chalk this up, among other things, to decades of divestment in public institutions and the entrenchment of extremist agendas in state legislatures. The Black Belt accounts for nine of the 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid and for 60 percent of all rural hospital closures.
Nor are these the only places now feeling the consequences of hospitals being bought up or closed for private profit. In Philadelphia, for instance, Hahnemann Hospital, which had served that city’s poorest patients for more than 170 years, was recently bought and closed by a real estate speculator who then attempted to extract a million dollars a month from the local government to reopen it. Now, as the coronavirus ravages Philadelphia, Hahnemann’s beds sit empty, reminiscent of the notorious shuttering of New Orleans’s Charity Hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In fact, lessons from the catastrophe of Katrina resonate heavily today, as the poor suffer and die while the rich and their political allies begin to circle the ruins, seeing opportunities to further enhance their power. After Katrina, many poor and black residents of New Orleans who had to evacuate were unable to return, while the city became a laboratory for a new onslaught of neoliberal reforms from health care to housing. One state legislator was overheard telling lobbyists, “We finally cleaned out public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did.” It hardly takes a stretch of the imagination to envision similar braggadocio in the post-coronavirus era.
Inescapably Bound Together
The dual crises of pandemic and inequality are revealing ever more clearly how the descent into poverty is helping to destroy American society from the inside out. In a remarkably brief span of time, these crises have also highlighted our collective interdependence.
One of my earliest memories is of helping my mom walk when I was younger than my youngest child is now. As we slid down the wintry streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my small hand in hers, she suddenly fell and I went down alongside her. I had been unable to keep us from crashing to the ground.
And yet, even when I couldn’t do what needed to be done alone, I recognized, with the clarity that perhaps only a child can have, how much we as a family (and, by extension, as a people) were inescapably bound together—that when one of us falls, so many of us fall. And that’s why, whatever Donald Trump or Jared Kushner or the rest of that crew in Washington and across the country may think, we can no longer tolerate leaving anybody out.
Hasn’t the time finally come to reject the false narrative of scarcity? Isn’t it time to demand a transformative moral agenda that reaches from the bottom up?
If the wealthy were to pay a relatively modest amount more in taxes and we shrank our war economy to support the common good, then universal health care, living wages, and a guaranteed income, decent and affordable housing, strong programs for the poor, and even more might finally be within reach. This crisis is offering us a striking demonstration of how an economy oriented around the whims of the rich brings death and destruction in its wake.
A society organized around the needs of the poor, on the other hand, would improve life for all of us—and especially in this Covid-19 moment, exactly this might be possible.


thenation--2020-04-22--Conversations With ‘The Nation’: Representative Jamie Raskin

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Representative Jamie Raskin joined Nation editorial director and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel and national affairs correspondent John Nichols in conversation on Wednesday, April 29, to talk about protecting our constitutional democracy during the era of Trump and the coronavirus pandemic.
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thenation--2020-04-22--How Trump’s Foreign Policy Puts Troops at Risk of Covid-19

US sanctions on Iran have “ badly crippled ” its economy as well as its ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic , which endangers nearby US troops , according to a military intelligence brief obtained by The Nation .
The document , dated April 3 , says that Qatar—host to the largest US military base in the region— ” has the highest number of COVID-19 cases , with over 800 confirmed.
” While the briefing does not make clear whether that figure includes US military personnel , the number is doubtless far higher today .
The Pentagon did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how many US military personnel in Qatar have tested positive for the virus The majority of these cases , the brief says , derive from Iran , which is located across the Persian Gulf from Qatar .
The document warns that US sanctions have “ left Iran bereft of financial resources to mount an effective public health response ” to the pandemic and “ unable to order ventilators from abroad , which are crucial for treatment.
” Despite this , sanctions remain in effect .
To quote one segment of the briefing : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on choke hold.
” The military is not alone in seeing the dangers .
Norman Roule , a retired CIA official who served as national intelligence manager for Iran until 2017 , told The Nation , “ The international community should do everything it can to enable the Iranian people to obtain access to medical supplies and equipment , not just because it ’ s the right thing to do , the human thing to do , but also because as Iranians travel throughout the region , they will continue to disperse the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the CIA , is no sympathizer of the Iranian regime .
He stressed that “ Iran has an obligation to be open as to the nature of the virus ’ s impact within its borders , ” but he said that if the coronavirus spreads unchecked throughout the country , it threatens everyone .
“ Iranian military personnel are in Yemen , Iraq , Syria , and parts of Afghanistan , and Iran also has a history of training foreign militants , ” Roule said .
These populations “ could spread viruses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the international community.
” The intelligence brief appears to echo Roule ’ s concern about the threat of the virus spreading outside Iran ’ s borders , warning , “ It creates potential negative effects to U.S. forward operating locations due to civilian personnel who are staffed throughout CENTCOM .
This ultimately affects military personnel due to the inevitable social interaction in maintaining operations.
” The intelligence brief , produced by the Air Force ’ s 461st Operations Support Squadron and marked For Official Use Only , was provided to The Nation by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anonymity to avoid professional reprisal .
It notes that “ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that [ the ] U.S. offered to help and Iran refused.
” While Pompeo has rhetorically expressed openness to easing sanctions , no concrete offer has been made , and he has not given any indication that he has dropped his 12 preconditions for sanctions relief .
Jake Sullivan , who negotiated with Iran while serving as the State Department ’ s director of policy planning under the Obama administration , reportedly said of Pompeo ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secretary set seem intended to ensure that no deal ever happens.
” Earlier this month , two dozen former US and European officials , including former secretary of state Madeline Albright , called on the Trump administration to lift sanctions in order to help Iran better respond to the pandemic , saying in a statement that “ an outbreak anywhere impacts people everywhere.
” Iran suffers from the highest number of coronavirus cases of any country in the Middle East .
It reportedly has 75,000 cases , with some 1,400 new ones being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iranians have died .
The Trump administration maintains what it calls a “ maximum pressure ” campaign against Iran .
Not only has the administration barred US firms from doing business with Iran but in May 2019 , the administration ended sanctions exemptions for foreign countries buying Iranian oil .
The move wrecked Iran ’ s economy , leading the IMF to forecast zero growth for the country in 2020 .
The coronavirus will likewise severely damage the economy .
Daniel Russel , a former US diplomat who served as the assistant secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affairs until 2017 , told The Nation that while pandemics have a devastating initial effect on public health , a brutal second wave can come in the form of an economic downturn—particularly in developing countries like Iran .
“ I ran the Iran Bureau in the State Department , and I was constantly reminding people that no matter how bad things seem , they can always be made worse , ” Russel said .
If relations with Iran improve , financial institutions are still unlikely to want to work with Iran .
Roule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much risk and exposure in working with the country .
Even during the Obama administration , which lifted sanctions , European banks were reluctant to conduct business with Iran .
Iran has unsuccessfully requested $ 5 billion in loans from the IMF in order to combat Covid-19 , in addition to a $ 50 million loan from the World Bank .
This marks the first time that Iran has asked the World Bank for a loan since 2005 .
Secretary of State Pompeo has vociferously opposed Iran ’ s request for a loan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the money for “ corrupt purposes.
” “ The Trump administration should start taking concrete steps to give banks and suppliers the clarity they need to help Iranians access vital humanitarian and medical assistance , ” Senator Ed Markey told The Nation .
“ The Iranian regime has long demonstrated its disregard for the well-being of its own people , but the United States should do more within our power to help coronavirus assistance reach those who need it inside Iran .
That ’ s what makes us different from Iranian leaders.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member of Congress to call for sanctions relief amid the pandemic .
Senators Chris Murphy , Tim Kaine , and Patrick Leahy have sent multiple letters to the administration urging it to ease sanctions .
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar , who serves on the Foreign Affairs committee , told The Nation , “ Keeping sanctions in place on Iran during a global pandemic is unconscionable .
These sanctions are only harming innocent civilians who bear the brunt of this crisis while having zero effect on the behavior of the Iranian government .
Civilians are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplies due to the US-placed sanctions.
” Correction : This article was updated to convey that the briefing does not make clear if the number of cases in Qatar includes US military personnel .

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US sanctions on Iran have “badly crippled” its economy as well as its ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which endangers nearby US troops, according to a military intelligence brief obtained by The Nation.
The document, dated April 3, says that Qatar—host to the largest US military base in the region—”has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, with over 800 confirmed.” While the briefing does not make clear whether that figure includes US military personnel, the number is doubtless far higher today. The Pentagon did not respond to a query by The Nation asking how many US military personnel in Qatar have tested positive for the virus.
The majority of these cases, the brief says, derive from Iran, which is located across the Persian Gulf from Qatar. The document warns that US sanctions have “left Iran bereft of financial resources to mount an effective public health response” to the pandemic and “unable to order ventilators from abroad, which are crucial for treatment.”
Despite this, sanctions remain in effect. To quote one segment of the briefing: “president trump refuses to let up on choke hold.”
The military is not alone in seeing the dangers. Norman Roule, a retired CIA official who served as national intelligence manager for Iran until 2017, told The Nation, “The international community should do everything it can to enable the Iranian people to obtain access to medical supplies and equipment, not just because it’s the right thing to do, the human thing to do, but also because as Iranians travel throughout the region, they will continue to disperse the virus.” 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
Roule, a 34-year veteran of the CIA, is no sympathizer of the Iranian regime. He stressed that “Iran has an obligation to be open as to the nature of the virus’s impact within its borders,” but he said that if the coronavirus spreads unchecked throughout the country, it threatens everyone. “Iranian military personnel are in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and parts of Afghanistan, and Iran also has a history of training foreign militants,” Roule said. These populations “could spread viruses throughout the region and from there, the international community.”
The intelligence brief appears to echo Roule’s concern about the threat of the virus spreading outside Iran’s borders, warning, “It creates potential negative effects to U.S. forward operating locations due to civilian personnel who are staffed throughout CENTCOM. This ultimately affects military personnel due to the inevitable social interaction in maintaining operations.” Current Issue View our current issue
The intelligence brief, produced by the Air Force’s 461st Operations Support Squadron and marked For Official Use Only, was provided to The Nation by a Pentagon official on the condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisal. It notes that “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that [the] U.S. offered to help and Iran refused.”
While Pompeo has rhetorically expressed openness to easing sanctions, no concrete offer has been made, and he has not given any indication that he has dropped his 12 preconditions for sanctions relief. Jake Sullivan, who negotiated with Iran while serving as the State Department’s director of policy planning under the Obama administration, reportedly said of Pompeo’s preconditions, “The 12 requirements the secretary set seem intended to ensure that no deal ever happens.”
Earlier this month, two dozen former US and European officials, including former secretary of state Madeline Albright, called on the Trump administration to lift sanctions in order to help Iran better respond to the pandemic, saying in a statement that “an outbreak anywhere impacts people everywhere.”
Iran suffers from the highest number of coronavirus cases of any country in the Middle East. It reportedly has 75,000 cases, with some 1,400 new ones being reported each day. Officially, 5,200 Iranians have died.
The Trump administration maintains what it calls a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. Not only has the administration barred US firms from doing business with Iran but in May 2019, the administration ended sanctions exemptions for foreign countries buying Iranian oil. The move wrecked Iran’s economy, leading the IMF to forecast zero growth for the country in 2020.
The coronavirus will likewise severely damage the economy. Daniel Russel, a former US diplomat who served as the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs until 2017, told The Nation that while pandemics have a devastating initial effect on public health, a brutal second wave can come in the form of an economic downturn—particularly in developing countries like Iran.
“I ran the Asia Bureau in the State Department, and I was constantly reminding people that no matter how bad things seem, they can always be made worse,” Russel said.
If relations with Iran improve, financial institutions are still unlikely to want to work with Iran. Roule explained that banks will probably see too much risk and exposure in working with the country. Even during the Obama administration, which lifted sanctions, European banks were reluctant to conduct business with Iran.
Iran has unsuccessfully requested $5 billion in loans from the IMF in order to combat Covid-19, in addition to a $50 million loan from the World Bank. This marks the first time that Iran has asked the World Bank for a loan since 2005.
Secretary of State Pompeo has vociferously opposed Iran’s request for a loan, saying that the country would use the money for “corrupt purposes.”
“The Trump administration should start taking concrete steps to give banks and suppliers the clarity they need to help Iranians access vital humanitarian and medical assistance,” Senator Ed Markey told The Nation. “The Iranian regime has long demonstrated its disregard for the well-being of its own people, but the United States should do more within our power to help coronavirus assistance reach those who need it inside Iran. That’s what makes us different from Iranian leaders.”
Markey is far from the only prominent member of Congress to call for sanctions relief amid the pandemic. Senators Chris Murphy, Tim Kaine, and Patrick Leahy have sent multiple letters to the administration urging it to ease sanctions.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who serves on the Foreign Affairs committee, told The Nation, “Keeping sanctions in place on Iran during a global pandemic is unconscionable. These sanctions are only harming innocent civilians who bear the brunt of this crisis while having zero effect on the behavior of the Iranian government. Civilians are unable to receive lifesaving medicine and humanitarian supplies due to the US-placed sanctions.”
Correction: This article was updated to convey that the briefing does not make clear if the number of cases in Qatar includes US military personnel.


thenation--2020-04-22--Trump’s Potemkin Presidency Keeps Making the Pandemic Worse

Can you really practice social distancing while cutting someone ’ s hair ?
Barbering is an intimate act , one that many of us are nostalgic for in the Covid-19 lockdown .
But thanks to an executive order from Governor Brian Kemp , residents of Georgia will in a matter of days be able to go to hair salons and a host of other businesses .
Following the lead of Donald Trump , who has repeatedly advocated an early reopening of the economy , Kemp has issued orders allowing , as The Washington Post reports , the reopening of “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studios , barbers , nail salons , cosmetologists , aestheticians , beauty schools , massage therapists , theaters , private social clubs and dine-in restaurants.
” Many of these businesses don ’ t meet the criteria set out by the White House for a safe operation .
Nor does Georgia seem ready for experimentation with reopening .
With 818 deaths as of Tuesday , it has the 11th-highest number of fatalities of any state .
During a briefing on Tuesday , Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force was asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hair salons , nail salons , and tattoo shops .
Birx replied , “ I believe people in Atlanta would understand that if their cases are not going down , that they need to continue to do everything that we said—social distancing , washing your hands , wearing a mask in public .
If there ’ s a way that people can social distance and do those things , then they can do those things .
I don ’ t know how , but people are very creative .
So I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s incoherent answer reflects the dangerously mixed messages the Trump administration has been sending about Covid-19 .
Birx , like her colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci , has repeatedly stressed the need for continued social distancing , which will allow for a testing regime to be set up that will make it safer to return to normal social life .
Unfortunately , any sound advocacy by Birx gets overwhelmed by others in the administration , including the president himself , who are eager for a quick solution .
In order to maintain their status @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fauci have to compromise with this faction , leading to absurdities such as Birx ’ s suggestion that a barber shop could practice social distancing .
Thanks to Covid-19 , Neoliberal Globalization Is Unraveling Can Obama Unite the Democrats Behind Biden ?
The constant stream of mixed messages from the White House is likely to make worse both the pandemic and the economic crisis .
States like Georgia aren ’ t going to see a full return to economic health , since people understandably will be reluctant to go to public places .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a tattoo parlor with even the small possibility of getting a potentially fatal virus ?
The most likely scenario is the worst of both worlds : an economy that remains in free fall while the pandemic spreads unchecked .
The dismal Georgia saga gives the lie to a common argument that American federalism has vindicated itself during the pandemic .
The claim is that while Trump has been incompetent , the states and cities have stepped up to the plate .
The reality , though , is that Trump still has enormous power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Republican strongholds .
When Trump argues for reopening the economy , governors like Brian Kemp ask only , “ How soon ?
” At the Tuesday briefing , Trump was asked by John Karl of ABC News , “ How do you protect the people of South Carolina , for example , from potentially bad decisions by a governor in Georgia ?
” Trump praised the governors of both states , adding , “ We ’ re going to find out.
” Writing in The Atlantic , George Packer asserts that Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is proof that the United States is a failed state : “ Every morning in the endless month of March , Americans woke up to find themselves citizens of a failed state .
With no national plan—no coherent instructions at all—families , schools , and offices were left to decide on their own whether to shut down and take shelter.
” With the passage of another month , we can extend Packer ’ s argument and note that the special failure of Trump ’ s response is that his is a Potemkin presidency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s main concern , as befit a former reality-TV star , was optics .
He has never quite figured out how to govern , but he has focused his energy on appearing like he ’ s doing his job .
In the game of performing president , Trump has been successful enough in keeping his base—roughly 40 percent of the American electorate—on his side .
Trump ’ s Potemkin presidency can be seen in every aspect of his response to the pandemic , including the daily briefings that are designed to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charge .
Though these propaganda events offer little in the way of useful information , they do allow Trump to keep pushing his talking points of the day—and to score shots against his political rivals and the media .
The primacy of performative politics can be seen in Trump ’ s pulling stunts like ordering a temporary suspension of immigration—an act that does nothing to address the reality that Covid-19 is now a homegrown problem , with the United States having more cases than any other country in the world .
Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is meeting its testing needs is another example of the president trying to pass off boasting as reality .
As The New York Times notes , “ Notwithstanding the Trump administration ’ s boosterish assurances , the United States still lacks the means to perform enough tests.
” A return to normality will certainly require upward of 500,000 tests per day and perhaps as many as 5 million tests per day .
Currently , the United States is stuck at a plateau of about 150,000 tests per day .
Instead of addressing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promoting hydroxychloroquine as a potential wonder drug .
His enthusiasm for this remedy always had the air of quackery , although in an emergency any possible cure is worth testing .
But the emerging evidence on hydroxychloroquine isn ’ t promising .
The Associated Press reports that the “ malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals .
There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care , researchers reported.
” There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theory that doesn ’ t pan out .
But Trump ’ s over-promotion of hydroxychloroquine is all too typical of his propensity for magical thinking .
The pandemic has revealed Trump at his worst : a con man who can ’ t distinguish between hope and hype .
The distressing fact is that as long as Trump is president , it ’ s hard to see any solution to either the pandemic or the economic crisis .
Federalism is only a partial remedy .
Trump still occupies a position that is essential for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidency is all the more important in a crisis .
And Trump is only going to keep making everything worse .

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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Can you really practice social distancing while cutting someone’s hair? Barbering is an intimate act, one that many of us are nostalgic for in the Covid-19 lockdown. But thanks to an executive order from Governor Brian Kemp, residents of Georgia will in a matter of days be able to go to hair salons and a host of other businesses. Following the lead of Donald Trump, who has repeatedly advocated an early reopening of the economy, Kemp has issued orders allowing, as The Washington Post reports, the reopening of “fitness centers, bowling alleys, body-art studios, barbers, nail salons, cosmetologists, aestheticians, beauty schools, massage therapists, theaters, private social clubs and dine-in restaurants.”
Many of these businesses don’t meet the criteria set out by the White House for a safe operation. Nor does Georgia seem ready for experimentation with reopening. With 818 deaths as of Tuesday, it has the 11th-highest number of fatalities of any state.
During a briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force was asked how social distancing could be practiced in hair salons, nail salons, and tattoo shops. Birx replied, “I believe people in Atlanta would understand that if their cases are not going down, that they need to continue to do everything that we said—social distancing, washing your hands, wearing a mask in public. If there’s a way that people can social distance and do those things, then they can do those things. I don’t know how, but people are very creative. So I’m not going to prejudge.”
Birx’s incoherent answer reflects the dangerously mixed messages the Trump administration has been sending about Covid-19. Birx, like her colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci, has repeatedly stressed the need for continued social distancing, which will allow for a testing regime to be set up that will make it safer to return to normal social life. Unfortunately, any sound advocacy by Birx gets overwhelmed by others in the administration, including the president himself, who are eager for a quick solution. In order to maintain their status in the White House, Birx and Fauci have to compromise with this faction, leading to absurdities such as Birx’s suggestion that a barber shop could practice social distancing. More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
The constant stream of mixed messages from the White House is likely to make worse both the pandemic and the economic crisis. States like Georgia aren’t going to see a full return to economic health, since people understandably will be reluctant to go to public places. Who would go to a gym or a tattoo parlor with even the small possibility of getting a potentially fatal virus?
The most likely scenario is the worst of both worlds: an economy that remains in free fall while the pandemic spreads unchecked.
The dismal Georgia saga gives the lie to a common argument that American federalism has vindicated itself during the pandemic. The claim is that while Trump has been incompetent, the states and cities have stepped up to the plate. The reality, though, is that Trump still has enormous power to shape how states behave, particularly in Republican strongholds. When Trump argues for reopening the economy, governors like Brian Kemp ask only, “How soon?” 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 Current Issue View our current issue
At the Tuesday briefing, Trump was asked by John Karl of ABC News, “How do you protect the people of South Carolina, for example, from potentially bad decisions by a governor in Georgia?” Trump praised the governors of both states, adding, “We’re going to find out.”
Writing in The Atlantic, George Packer asserts that Trump’s early response to the pandemic is proof that the United States is a failed state: “Every morning in the endless month of March, Americans woke up to find themselves citizens of a failed state. With no national plan—no coherent instructions at all—families, schools, and offices were left to decide on their own whether to shut down and take shelter.”
With the passage of another month, we can extend Packer’s argument and note that the special failure of Trump’s response is that his is a Potemkin presidency. Even before the pandemic, Trump’s main concern, as befit a former reality-TV star, was optics. He has never quite figured out how to govern, but he has focused his energy on appearing like he’s doing his job. In the game of performing president, Trump has been successful enough in keeping his base—roughly 40 percent of the American electorate—on his side.
Trump’s Potemkin presidency can be seen in every aspect of his response to the pandemic, including the daily briefings that are designed to make it look like he’s in charge. Though these propaganda events offer little in the way of useful information, they do allow Trump to keep pushing his talking points of the day—and to score shots against his political rivals and the media.
The primacy of performative politics can be seen in Trump’s pulling stunts like ordering a temporary suspension of immigration—an act that does nothing to address the reality that Covid-19 is now a homegrown problem, with the United States having more cases than any other country in the world.
Trump’s constant assurances that the United States is meeting its testing needs is another example of the president trying to pass off boasting as reality. As The New York Times notes, “Notwithstanding the Trump administration’s boosterish assurances, the United States still lacks the means to perform enough tests.” A return to normality will certainly require upward of 500,000 tests per day and perhaps as many as 5 million tests per day. Currently, the United States is stuck at a plateau of about 150,000 tests per day.
Instead of addressing the testing shortfall, Trump has been busy promoting hydroxychloroquine as a potential wonder drug. His enthusiasm for this remedy always had the air of quackery, although in an emergency any possible cure is worth testing. But the emerging evidence on hydroxychloroquine isn’t promising. The Associated Press reports that the “malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.”
There is no shame in pursuing a medical theory that doesn’t pan out. But Trump’s over-promotion of hydroxychloroquine is all too typical of his propensity for magical thinking. The pandemic has revealed Trump at his worst: a con man who can’t distinguish between hope and hype.
The distressing fact is that as long as Trump is president, it’s hard to see any solution to either the pandemic or the economic crisis. Federalism is only a partial remedy. Trump still occupies a position that is essential for the functioning of the system. The presidency is all the more important in a crisis. And Trump is only going to keep making everything worse.


thenation--2020-04-22--The Unfortunate Ugliness of ‘The Last Dance’

Sports is the last oasis of monocultural moments .
The Super Bowl , March Madness , the opening pitch to start the baseball season , the NBA Finals , and the Summer Olympics are a few of the events we still collectively share , even in our sliced and diced entertainment landscape .
These events , which timestamp the seasons in our subconscious , have been taken away from us by the coronavirus pandemic , but something close to a substitute has blessedly emerged .
For those immune to the ESPN hype machine , this is The Last Dance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Michael Jordan Bulls dynasty of the 1990s .
Rare footage , unseen since it was filmed over two decades ago , has emerged as a mammoth 10-part series to be shown over five weeks on ESPN .
The release date was moved up to fill the content hole created by the coronavirus .
Ratings for parts one and two are through the roof , the highest ever for an ESPN doc .
Grateful as I am for this film ’ s existence , it is a very flawed product .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worth the gargantuan hype that has accompanied it .
Granted , I was not necessarily the target audience .
I grew up a Knicks fan in the 1990s .
Michael Jordan ’ s Bulls stomped on the chests of those Pat Riley/Patrick Ewing Knicks teams .
At times , reliving the Bulls ’ supremacy felt like watching a frothy documentary about my last root canal .
For those born after 1990 , I could see this being a useful education into the sheer physical and psychological dominance that Michael Jordan brought to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also novel to see the 57-year-old Jordan interviewed about his life .
Speaking about himself , particularly his childhood in Wilmington , North Carolina , does not come easily to him .
It ’ s moving to see him attempt to make sense of the racial and familial considerations that propelled him to seek refuge on fields of play .
For being such a ubiquitous brand for almost four decades , Jordan is surprisingly reticent .
It makes for riveting , if not always elucidating , viewing .
Yet , as was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , biting Hall of Fame speech over a decade ago , the real Jordan behind the smiling hype and poetical play is compelling but also repellent .
He was a bully as a teammate and someone who wanted to rip out your soul as an opponent .
That he treated those around him so poorly does not make Jordan unique among those deemed geniuses in their craft .
Steve Jobs wasn ’ t exactly warm and cuddly .
But The Last Dance lionizes this behavior to an absurd degree .
While exposing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the filmmakers also project his bullying as critical to his success .
Former presidents and Hall of Famers , in tiresome fashion , pay tribute to his “ intensity , ” without a thought as to its toxicity .
Jordan ’ s insistence on being the alpha asshole deserves criticism , not praise .
As soon as Jordan ’ s playing skills eroded , when he returned from retirement for two failed last seasons with the Washington Wizards , we saw the limits of this approach to building a championship team .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you can be a jerk or you can be Mother Theresa .
You probably will find success .
When Air Jordan became Floor Jordan in Washington , it was far less charming , as his harangues lost their power and teammates were beaten down with none of the attendant success .
The other part of this documentary that is ( perhaps unintentionally ) nauseating is the vilification of the late Jerry Krause , the portly general manager of this championship team .
Krause is made to carry all of the blame for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ portrayed as some kind of petty schemer who wanted to tear it all down just to show he could rebuild a championship team without Jordan , Scottie Pippen , or coach Phil Jackson .
The film crudely never mentions that Krause died in 2017 , giving the impression that he decided not to cooperate with the project .
No one is on hand to give his side of the story , or provide a sympathetic view .
Krause was no saint , and is by no means blameless .
But to see Jordan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reinsdorf repeatedly throw him under the bus is gross .
It ’ s especially noxious since Jordan is now an NBA owner himself and putting all the blame on Krause gives his fellow “ team governor ” Reinsdorf a pass .
If the recollections of Krause feel unfair , the old footage from 1997 shows Krause constantly being belittled to his face by Jordan about his height , weight , and general appearance .
Again , this is all presented not only without criticism but with a message that this is part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clearly space for a critical documentary about Michael Jordan and his legacy .
Only judging by the first two episodes , this ain ’ t it .
Given that Jordan and the NBA reportedly had veto power over all the footage , and that ESPN is a broadcast partner in this process , not a critical journalistic entity , no one should expect much to change with the episodes that lie ahead .
It ’ s a shame .

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Sports is the last oasis of monocultural moments. The Super Bowl, March Madness, the opening pitch to start the baseball season, the NBA Finals, and the Summer Olympics are a few of the events we still collectively share, even in our sliced and diced entertainment landscape. These events, which timestamp the seasons in our subconscious, have been taken away from us by the coronavirus pandemic, but something close to a substitute has blessedly emerged.
For those immune to the ESPN hype machine, this is The Last Dance, the long-awaited documentary about the final season of the Michael Jordan Bulls dynasty of the 1990s. Rare footage, unseen since it was filmed over two decades ago, has emerged as a mammoth 10-part series to be shown over five weeks on ESPN. The release date was moved up to fill the content hole created by the coronavirus. Ratings for parts one and two are through the roof, the highest ever for an ESPN doc.
Grateful as I am for this film’s existence, it is a very flawed product. So far, it hasn’t been worth the gargantuan hype that has accompanied it. Granted, I was not necessarily the target audience. I grew up a Knicks fan in the 1990s. Michael Jordan’s Bulls stomped on the chests of those Pat Riley/Patrick Ewing Knicks teams. At times, reliving the Bulls’ supremacy felt like watching a frothy documentary about my last root canal.
For those born after 1990, I could see this being a useful education into the sheer physical and psychological dominance that Michael Jordan brought to the court every single night. It’s also novel to see the 57-year-old Jordan interviewed about his life. Speaking about himself, particularly his childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina, does not come easily to him. It’s moving to see him attempt to make sense of the racial and familial considerations that propelled him to seek refuge on fields of play. For being such a ubiquitous brand for almost four decades, Jordan is surprisingly reticent. It makes for riveting, if not always elucidating, viewing.
Yet, as was seen infamously in Jordan’s churlish, biting Hall of Fame speech over a decade ago, the real Jordan behind the smiling hype and poetical play is compelling but also repellent. He was a bully as a teammate and someone who wanted to rip out your soul as an opponent. That he treated those around him so poorly does not make Jordan unique among those deemed geniuses in their craft. Steve Jobs wasn’t exactly warm and cuddly. But The Last Dance lionizes this behavior to an absurd degree. While exposing a new generation to Jordan’s greatness, the filmmakers also project his bullying as critical to his success. Former presidents and Hall of Famers, in tiresome fashion, pay tribute to his “intensity,” without a thought as to its toxicity.
Jordan’s insistence on being the alpha asshole deserves criticism, not praise. As soon as Jordan’s playing skills eroded, when he returned from retirement for two failed last seasons with the Washington Wizards, we saw the limits of this approach to building a championship team. If you are the greatest player ever, you can be a jerk or you can be Mother Theresa. You probably will find success. When Air Jordan became Floor Jordan in Washington, it was far less charming, as his harangues lost their power and teammates were beaten down with none of the attendant success.
The other part of this documentary that is (perhaps unintentionally) nauseating is the vilification of the late Jerry Krause, the portly general manager of this championship team. Krause is made to carry all of the blame for breaking up this dynasty. He is portrayed as some kind of petty schemer who wanted to tear it all down just to show he could rebuild a championship team without Jordan, Scottie Pippen, or coach Phil Jackson. The film crudely never mentions that Krause died in 2017, giving the impression that he decided not to cooperate with the project. No one is on hand to give his side of the story, or provide a sympathetic view. Current Issue View our current issue
Krause was no saint, and is by no means blameless. But to see Jordan, Jackson, and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf repeatedly throw him under the bus is gross. It’s especially noxious since Jordan is now an NBA owner himself and putting all the blame on Krause gives his fellow “team governor” Reinsdorf a pass.
If the recollections of Krause feel unfair, the old footage from 1997 shows Krause constantly being belittled to his face by Jordan about his height, weight, and general appearance. Again, this is all presented not only without criticism but with a message that this is part of what made Jordan great.
There is clearly space for a critical documentary about Michael Jordan and his legacy. Only judging by the first two episodes, this ain’t it. Given that Jordan and the NBA reportedly had veto power over all the footage, and that ESPN is a broadcast partner in this process, not a critical journalistic entity, no one should expect much to change with the episodes that lie ahead. It’s a shame.