democracynow--2020-04-09--"Exposing U.S. Racism in a Stark New Way": COVID-19 Kills Disproportionate Number of Black Americans

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The War and Peace Report .
We ’ re broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic in New York City .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Nermeen Shaikh , as we turn to the devastating toll the coronavirus is taking on black Americans , who are disproportionately dying from the virus across the country .
In Michigan and Illinois , African Americans make up , oh , 14 to 15 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the COVID-19 deaths .
In Chicago alone , African Americans account for 70 % of the city ’ s deaths , yet just 30 % of the population .
In Louisiana , one of the hot spots of the virus , African Americans comprise about a third of the population but 70 % of the COVID-19 deaths .
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo , who once called the virus the “ great equalizer , ” said Wednesday black people make up 18 % of the deaths in the state despite being 9 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latinx community makes up 29 % of New York City but 34 % of the deaths , many of them in Queens , the most diverse community in the nation .
The actual number of deaths due to COVID-19 will likely be never known , as people , often undocumented , those on the margins of society , are dying at home uncounted .
For more , we turn to Camara Phyllis Jones .
She ’ s a family physician , epidemiologist , past president of the American Public Health Association , her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coronavirus Disease Discriminates .
Our Health Care Doesn ’ t Have To.
” Why don ’ t you elaborate on that , Dr. Jones , this issue , and why you see this disparate effect on the African-American population ?
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES : COVID-19 is exposing U.S. racism in a stark new way , because the black and brown bodies are piling up so fast that they can ’ t be — these deaths can ’ t be normalized or ignored .
And the way that racism is operating in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s increasing exposure to the virus , and it has increased vulnerability to the virus .
So , increasing exposure to the virus because the way that racism , that structures opportunity and assigns value , has structured our educational opportunities and job opportunities , we are in more front-facing , low-income , underappreciated jobs , where we are part of the essential workforce that really isn ’ t getting its full attention , and certainly not getting the full protection that we need .
Racism has increased the vulnerability of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in racially segregated communities that are resource segregated , without adequate access to food , and are environmental racism hazard segregated has made us carry in our bodies all of those same diseases — diabetes , high blood pressure , renal disease , asthma — that are making people who get infected to the virus sicker and die faster from it .
NERMEEN SHAIKH : And , Dr. Jones , even before — I mean , we mentioned the statistics everywhere , but in Chicago , even before the pandemic began , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years — slightly less than nine years less than white people who live in Chicago .
So , could you say , Dr. Jones , what you feel should be done ?
What steps should be taken to compensate for the disproportionate vulnerability of African Americans , Latinx communities in light of this emergency , health emergency ?
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES : Right .
I am so glad that you asked me that question , because we can ’ t just look at these statistics and then shrug or say , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” We have to act .
And so , the way that we act is on both fronts .
You asked me : How do we act when we recognize that we already — we have chronically been sicker and dying sooner ?
What that means is , if we already recognize that , we have to move all of the health resources to those areas where we can already expect higher deaths and all .
So we should not have black people already burdened with these diseases living in communities where they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number one , but adequate access to ventilators and health resources , and they ’ re not .
So we need to provide resources according to need .
And we can already predict that need .
On that vulnerability side , the other thing that I really need to say is , you will be seeing now in the news lots of different ways of people trying to say , “ If we have to ration ventilators , well , maybe we should discount people if they have diabetes or whatever.
” We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ First of all , we should not be working under a scenario of scarcity , because there ’ s no reason we have to have scarcity .
So we should reject that .
But certainly , if we do have one ventilator and three patients , there should never be any counting in of “ this person has diabetes or heart disease ” in that allocation .
I actually think that if it comes down to that , we need to have a random allocation of those resources .
We need to value @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s one of three core principles for achieving health equity .
AMY GOODMAN : Camara Phyllis Jones , let me ask you one last question , and then we ’ re going to do Part 2 and post it at democracynow.org .
This critical lack of testing that has completely compromised the public health response in this country , you have talked about the fact that that discriminates against African Americans , as well , where people can even get tests .
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES : Yes , that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But I have to say , the kind of haphazard way that we ’ ve approached testing is affecting all of us .
It ’ s affecting our ability to alter the course of the epidemic .
The way that we ’ re using testing in this country right now is to confirm diagnosis in a very narrow , one person by one person , kind of clinical , in the medical space way .
What we — AMY GOODMAN : We just have 20 seconds .
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do is we need to find out everybody who has the disease , and we need to do a public health testing .
Test those with symptoms .
Test those — sample those who don ’ t have symptoms , so that we can distribute our resources , so that we can identify and isolate people who have the disease before they ’ re symptomatic , while they ’ re spreading it , and also do contact tracing .
That will be for the good of all of us .
That way , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; we actually can change the course of it .
AMY GOODMAN : Camara Phyllis Jones , I want to thank you for being with us .
We ’ re going to do Part 2 , post it at democracynow.org .
Family physician , epidemiologist , past president of the American Public Health Association , currently Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University fellow .
That does it for our show .
Thank you to all the team that has made this show possible .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with @ @ @

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. We’re broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic in New York City. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh, as we turn to the devastating toll the coronavirus is taking on black Americans, who are disproportionately dying from the virus across the country.
In Michigan and Illinois, African Americans make up, oh, 14 to 15% of the population but account for 41% of the COVID-19 deaths. In Chicago alone, African Americans account for 70% of the city’s deaths, yet just 30% of the population. In Louisiana, one of the hot spots of the virus, African Americans comprise about a third of the population but 70% of the COVID-19 deaths. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who once called the virus the “great equalizer,” said Wednesday black people make up 18% of the deaths in the state despite being 9% of the state population. The Latinx community makes up 29% of New York City but 34% of the deaths, many of them in Queens, the most diverse community in the nation. The actual number of deaths due to COVID-19 will likely be never known, as people, often undocumented, those on the margins of society, are dying at home uncounted.
For more, we turn to Camara Phyllis Jones. She’s a family physician, epidemiologist, past president of the American Public Health Association, her recent piece for Newsweek magazine titled “Coronavirus Disease Discriminates. Our Health Care Doesn’t Have To.”
Why don’t you elaborate on that, Dr. Jones, this issue, and why you see this disparate effect on the African-American population?
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES: COVID-19 is exposing U.S. racism in a stark new way, because the black and brown bodies are piling up so fast that they can’t be — these deaths can’t be normalized or ignored. And the way that racism is operating in this pandemic is in two separate fronts. It’s increasing exposure to the virus, and it has increased vulnerability to the virus.
So, increasing exposure to the virus because the way that racism, that structures opportunity and assigns value, has structured our educational opportunities and job opportunities, we are in more front-facing, low-income, underappreciated jobs, where we are part of the essential workforce that really isn’t getting its full attention, and certainly not getting the full protection that we need.
Racism has increased the vulnerability of us to this virus, because living in racially segregated communities that are resource segregated, without adequate access to food, and are environmental racism hazard segregated has made us carry in our bodies all of those same diseases — diabetes, high blood pressure, renal disease, asthma — that are making people who get infected to the virus sicker and die faster from it.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Dr. Jones, even before — I mean, we mentioned the statistics everywhere, but in Chicago, even before the pandemic began, the life expectancy of African Americans was nine years — slightly less than nine years less than white people who live in Chicago. So, could you say, Dr. Jones, what you feel should be done? What steps should be taken to compensate for the disproportionate vulnerability of African Americans, Latinx communities in light of this emergency, health emergency?
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES: Right. I am so glad that you asked me that question, because we can’t just look at these statistics and then shrug or say, “Oh, well, we expected that.” We have to act.
And so, the way that we act is on both fronts. You asked me: How do we act when we recognize that we already — we have chronically been sicker and dying sooner? What that means is, if we already recognize that, we have to move all of the health resources to those areas where we can already expect higher deaths and all. So we should not have black people already burdened with these diseases living in communities where they can’t get adequate testing, number one, but adequate access to ventilators and health resources, and they’re not. So we need to provide resources according to need. And we can already predict that need.
On that vulnerability side, the other thing that I really need to say is, you will be seeing now in the news lots of different ways of people trying to say, “If we have to ration ventilators, well, maybe we should discount people if they have diabetes or whatever.” We cannot allow that to happen. First of all, we should not be working under a scenario of scarcity, because there’s no reason we have to have scarcity. So we should reject that. But certainly, if we do have one ventilator and three patients, there should never be any counting in of “this person has diabetes or heart disease” in that allocation. I actually think that if it comes down to that, we need to have a random allocation of those resources. We need to value all individuals and populations equally. That’s one of three core principles for achieving health equity.
AMY GOODMAN: Camara Phyllis Jones, let me ask you one last question, and then we’re going to do Part 2 and post it at democracynow.org. This critical lack of testing that has completely compromised the public health response in this country, you have talked about the fact that that discriminates against African Americans, as well, where people can even get tests.
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES: Yes, that’s true, where people can get tests. But I have to say, the kind of haphazard way that we’ve approached testing is affecting all of us. It’s affecting our ability to alter the course of the epidemic. The way that we’re using testing in this country right now is to confirm diagnosis in a very narrow, one person by one person, kind of clinical, in the medical space way. What we —
AMY GOODMAN: We just have 20 seconds.
DR. CAMARA PHYLLIS JONES: So, what we really need to do is we need to find out everybody who has the disease, and we need to do a public health testing. Test those with symptoms. Test those — sample those who don’t have symptoms, so that we can distribute our resources, so that we can identify and isolate people who have the disease before they’re symptomatic, while they’re spreading it, and also do contact tracing. That will be for the good of all of us. That way, we don’t document the epidemic; we actually can change the course of it.
AMY GOODMAN: Camara Phyllis Jones, I want to thank you for being with us. We’re going to do Part 2, post it at democracynow.org. Family physician, epidemiologist, past president of the American Public Health Association, currently Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University fellow.
That does it for our show. Thank you to all the team that has made this show possible. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.


democracynow--2020-04-09--Noam Chomsky: Bernie Sanders Campaign Didn't Fail. It Energized Millions & Shifted U.S. Politics

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : Before we go to break , on Wednesday , just before Bernie Sanders announced , but it did look like he was about to pull out of the presidential race , I asked political dissident , linguist and author Noam Chomsky about his assessment of the Bernie Sanders campaign in this time of the coronavirus pandemic .
NOAM CHOMSKY : If Trump is reelected , it ’ s a indescribable disaster .
It means that the policies of the past four years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American population , to the world , will be continued and probably accelerated .
What this is going to mean for health is bad enough .
I just mentioned the Lancet figures .
It will get worse .
What this means for the environment or the threat of nuclear war , which no one is talking about but is extremely serious , is indescribable .
Suppose Biden is elected .
I would anticipate it would be essentially a continuation of Obama — nothing very great , but at least not totally destructive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to change what is being done , to impose pressures .
It ’ s common to say now that the Sanders campaign failed .
I think that ’ s a mistake .
I think it was an extraordinary success , completely shifted the arena of debate and discussion .
Issues that were unthinkable a couple years ago are now right in the middle of attention .
The worst crime he committed , in the eyes of the establishment , is not the policy he ’ s proposing ; it ’ s the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movements , which had already been developing — Occupy , Black Lives Matter , many others — and turn them into an activist movement , which doesn ’ t just show up every couple years to push a leader and then go home , but applies constant pressure , constant activism and so on .
That could affect a Biden administration .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s activist , public intellectual , world-renowned linguist , Noam Chomsky .
We ’ ll spend the hour with him on Friday on Democracy Now !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ come back , the racial disparities .
Who ’ s dying in this pandemic ?
Stay with us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Before we go to break, on Wednesday, just before Bernie Sanders announced, but it did look like he was about to pull out of the presidential race, I asked political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky about his assessment of the Bernie Sanders campaign in this time of the coronavirus pandemic.
NOAM CHOMSKY: If Trump is reelected, it’s a indescribable disaster. It means that the policies of the past four years, which have been extremely destructive to the American population, to the world, will be continued and probably accelerated. What this is going to mean for health is bad enough. I just mentioned the Lancet figures. It will get worse. What this means for the environment or the threat of nuclear war, which no one is talking about but is extremely serious, is indescribable.
Suppose Biden is elected. I would anticipate it would be essentially a continuation of Obama — nothing very great, but at least not totally destructive, and opportunities for an organized public to change what is being done, to impose pressures.
It’s common to say now that the Sanders campaign failed. I think that’s a mistake. I think it was an extraordinary success, completely shifted the arena of debate and discussion. Issues that were unthinkable a couple years ago are now right in the middle of attention.
The worst crime he committed, in the eyes of the establishment, is not the policy he’s proposing; it’s the fact that he was able to inspire popular movements, which had already been developing — Occupy, Black Lives Matter, many others — and turn them into an activist movement, which doesn’t just show up every couple years to push a lever and then go home, but applies constant pressure, constant activism and so on. That could affect a Biden administration.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s activist, public intellectual, world-renowned linguist, Noam Chomsky. We’ll spend the hour with him on Friday on Democracy Now!
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, the racial disparities. Who’s dying in this pandemic? Stay with us.


democracynow--2020-04-09--Naomi Klein: Sanders "Broke the Spell" of Neoliberalism as Trump Pushes Coronavirus Capitalism

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
I ’ m Amy Goodman , broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States , New York City , along with my co-host , who is right here in New York City , as well , unfortunately not next to me where we usually are in the studio , but preventing community spread by broadcasting from home .
Hi , Nermeen .
NERMEEN SHAIKH : Hi , Amy .
And welcome to our listeners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , we ’ re going to turn right now to Bernie Sanders .
We just played his speech as he withdrew his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination .
Joe Biden now faces the challenge of winning over his supporters .
On Wednesday , seven progressive groups made up of young activists , including NextGen America , Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats , issued the Biden campaign a series of platform demands , saying , quote , “ The organizations … will spend more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help ensuring our efforts will be backed-up by a campaign that speaks to our generation , ” they said .
We ’ re joined now by Naomi Klein , senior correspondent at The Intercept .
She endorsed Bernie Sanders back in November and is joining us to talk not only about his historic campaign , as it surged and now as it ’ s suspended , but also to talk about coronavirus capitalism .
Naomi is the inaugural Gloria Steinem chair of media , culture and feminist studies at Rutgers University , author @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Shock Doctrine : The Rise of Disaster Capitalism ; her latest book , On Fire : The ( Burning ) Case for a Green New Deal .
Naomi , it ’ s great to have you with us .
You were one of our last guests in studio here , and now you ’ re speaking to us from your home in New Jersey .
Can you talk about how you and your family have fared during this pandemic ?
NAOMI KLEIN : Well , it ’ s very good to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it is true that going on your show is the last thing I did in person before this kind of lockdown .
And thank you for asking .
We are all doing well and healthy at the moment , though we weren ’ t a couple weeks ago , and so we ’ re very relieved to be .
And yeah , I just want to express my gratitude to you and the whole Democracy Now !
team for continuing to broadcast and bring us so many just crucial voices in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you and your family were exposed to COVID-19 , is that right ?
NAOMI KLEIN : Yeah , we believe that we were , because a colleague and friend of ours stayed at our house , and we spent time together — actually , the night before I saw you , Amy , which is why you know about this , because we contacted everyone we came in contact with .
And that friend went back to Canada , got sick and , because they live somewhere where there ’ s more testing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and did test positive .
And so , when we started showing symptoms , my husband Avi Lewis and I , we wondered about that .
But we ’ re fine .
And you appear to be fine , too , Amy , so we are the least of people ’ s worries right now .
We ’ re all good .
And our colleague has recovered and is doing well , as well .
AMY GOODMAN : And , of course , that ’ s an absolutely critical issue , the severe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whatever the president asserts — AMY GOODMAN : — in New York City , the epicenter , and all over the country .
But , Naomi , before we talk about that , Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign .
You , until recently , were saying he should continue , especially during this pandemic , to run for president .
So can you talk about your response to his address and his decision ?
NAOMI KLEIN : Well , I think the main thing that I want to say this morning , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would like to express my huge gratitude to Bernie Sanders , to his entire family , to the many people who worked for the campaign just so tirelessly and opened up the window of what was possible politically in this country .
It was an incredibly tough campaign .
And I trust that Bernie is making the right decision in this moment as the leader of that campaign and also as a U.S. senator .
I know that he ’ s not going to just go relax , as he said in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , as he has always done , in this critical moment , in terms of what kind of relief , rescue and reimagining that we do in the midst of this pandemic .
He is staying on the ballot .
He is still building power in order to pressure the Democratic Party and Joe Biden to run the most progressive campaign that they can .
So , you know , I feel so much gratitude for Senator Sanders .
More than anything else , I think what the campaign did is help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ us , ” I mean that huge “ us ” of the “ Not me .
Us.
” campaign .
And he did this not just in this campaign , but in 2016 , where he really broke the spell of the Reagan era , that spell that has lasted for four decades , that told people , who believed , that this system that was funneling so much wealth upwards and spreading insecurity , precariousness , poverty and pollution for everybody else — everybody who saw that system and thought there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the neoliberal era told us was that we were the ones who were crazy , we were a tiny minority of fringe people , and that we should just accept it .
And what the Sanders campaign did in 2016 is tell us that we had been lied to , that , in fact , there were so many millions of us who saw that this world was fundamentally upside down .
And all of the incredible organizing , including digital organizing but also in-person organizing , wove this amazing web , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other and find that we were many and they were few .
And so , I don ’ t think we can ever thank Bernie Sanders and the campaign enough for that .
And being part of the campaign as a volunteer — but I did go to four states for the campaign — was some of the — provided some of the greatest moments of my political life .
I mean , I was in Nevada when we won , and got to be part of that incredibly joyful moment and just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
And I think in Senator Sanders ’ s address that we just heard , Amy , I think he was so correct in zeroing in on the conspiracy of lowered expectations , right ?
He focused — he very directly addressed the American public and said , “ If you don ’ t believe that you deserve universal healthcare , you ’ re not going to get it .
If you don ’ t believe that you deserve a safe planet , you ’ re not going to get it.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the heart of why he lost .
You know , we ’ ve heard again and again , Bernie has won the battle of ideas .
But the truth is , there is a difference between winning a battle of ideas , winning an intellectual battle about what kind of policies are right and just and will keep us safe , and believing that you can win .
You can simultaneously win that battle of ideas and still believe that you will never actually win , that you are still a weak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destroyed by the forces of establishment power and money .
And that , I think , is the real generational divide that Bernie was also speaking to in that address .
You know , I don ’ t think that Bernie lost because of a battle between leftist and centrist , although of course that battle is still raging , but we had a progressive majority on the issues .
But where the generational divide comes in — and Bernie spoke to this — is that among voters not just under 30 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under 50 , were starting to believe that they could actually win .
And I think particularly among that majority of young voters , that always backed Bernie , they understood that the intellectual project of neoliberalism was bankrupt , that it had lost its powers of persuasion , and that these words like “ democratic socialist ” were not as scary anymore .
In fact , they have become appealing .
But I think for that older generation , that has — particularly the older generation that has a living memory of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waged literal war on revolutionary movement leaders , that sent them into exile , that sent them into their graves , that surveilled them , blacklisted them , when Bernie ’ s opponents raised the specter of the Red Scare that would be used against him , that was incredibly triggering , terrifying , and they couldn ’ t — progressive voters who agreed with Bernie could not believe that he could win , where younger voters did believe that he could win .
And that was , I think , the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Naomi , a lot of people believed — progressives , but also others — that since this coronavirus emergency has exposed so many failures of the U.S. system — healthcare , as well as the absence of a social safety net — that this would enhance support for Sanders and his policies .
Your response to that , and also whether you think his supporters will actually back Biden ?
I mean , Sanders did not say yesterday — he did not explicitly endorse Biden .
NAOMI KLEIN : Well , I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the platform were won , then it would all be about coming together and defeating Trump .
So , I don ’ t know , that ’ s not the way I heard it .
I think that there is no doubt that the way this pandemic is playing out is opening — is further opening up that window of what is politically possible , indeed what is necessary for people ’ s survival .
And so , yes , support for Medicare for All is surging , as well as support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ housing for all , that were always at the center of the Sanders campaign .
You know , in your headlines just now , we heard news about the air clearing around the world .
We are seeing that it is possible to clean the air .
A lot of people like that as one of these silver linings of this crisis .
But this isn ’ t how we want to clean the air .
We don ’ t want to clean the air by crash , by brutal crash .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We want to design policies that care for workers , that protect workers , that retrain workers , but allow us to live in a way that doesn ’ t poison people ’ s lungs , which , by the way , is part of what is making black and brown communities more vulnerable to the coronavirus , because those are the communities that have the most polluting industries in their backyards .
That ’ s one of the factors .
So people are seeing this and being radicalized by this and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Sanders campaign .
But during times of crisis , people also are risk-averse .
And so , you know , I think the timing of this was such , with the inability to continue campaigning in person , with people just reaching for something that looked and felt safe , I don ’ t think it was possible to translate that shift in openness to these kinds of policies with a huge electoral swing from Biden towards Bernie , although I was certainly hoping for it up until Bernie ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for it , I was keenly aware that the polls were not reflecting it , that it wasn ’ t happening and that people are not up for that kind of political seesaw in this moment of tumult .
So , what we have to be focused on , what the movement that the Sanders campaign represents , but also all of the social movements that were part of that campaign , independent social movements , and also movements that never joined the campaign — what we need to be focused on right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of a people ’ s bailout in this moment of profound crisis .
And we need to be focused on beating Donald Trump in November , absolutely .
AMY GOODMAN : And how exactly do you see that happening ?
This is our last question to you .
We ’ re going to then play a clip of Noam Chomsky talking about the significance of Bernie Sanders .
But I wanted to ask you , Naomi , how you see this happening , when people have to be isolated .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to happen in the coming months .
Clearly , in the White House right now they ’ re talking about opening as fast as possible the country , despite the dire warnings of scientists that another surge could happen if Trump does this .
He has removed the inspector general in charge of the $ 500 billion corporate fund that corporations will be bailed out by , despite the fact that Democrats put that into the bill to ensure that there would be some kind of oversight , but clearly didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he is able to just fire the person .
We ’ re going to talk in a moment about the disparities of who is affected by this .
It ’ s certainly not a great leveler , the coronavirus .
Those on the frontlines are , of course , the most hard hit , and who are on the frontlines of inequality in the country are the most hard hit .
But your whole assessment of coronavirus capitalism right now , where it stands right now on what has to happen in these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I think our phones still work , our internet still works , so we are still able to make ourselves heard in sending a very clear message to people in Congress , who are going to have to be running for reelection , who are running for reelection , that people are enraged by this bailout and the fact that these meager strings that were attached to the corporate bailout were immediately snipped by the Trump administration in terms of oversight , in terms of congressional oversight , in terms of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Mnuchin the ability to override that oversight .
I think that the battle , frankly , when it comes to disaster capitalism and this sort of corporate free-for-all that we are seeing right now under cover of pandemic , that that battle was lost when the rescue for people was bundled together with the corporate bailout .
I think the demand that we need to make on lawmakers right now is that they need to keep those things separate so that they aren ’ t held hostage , right ?
When we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — that people voted for that bailout who shouldn ’ t have voted for it , it was because they couldn ’ t be seen , or they felt that they couldn ’ t be seen , to be voting for what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called “ crumbs for our families , ” right ?
Because those crumbs are not nothing when people are starving .
So , the battle , really , the political battle , was lost when those two things were bundled together , when the people ’ s rescue was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So people need to send that message very , very strongly .
The fact is , there is power right now , and there is power from the working people who are holding the world together — this country together , but the world together — the healthcare workers , the janitors , the caretakers , the delivery workers , the people who are picking our food , under very unsafe conditions .
And we are seeing a wave of job action from these workers , who understand themselves to be so essential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by those in power .
And that is one of the great — it was one of the great strengths of the Sanders campaign , was that he always recognized the power of those essential workers .
It ’ s why he was supported overwhelmingly by Amazon workers , by grocery store workers and , of course , by nurses and by teachers .
And so , this is a time for us to be organizing and taking leadership from those workers .
And I have to say that one of my great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this campaign is watching my friends in the progressive movement who didn ’ t support Sanders , in part because they weren ’ t able to take leadership from those working people who recognized Sanders as their champion from the very beginning , and they felt that those workers didn ’ t understand their own best interests , and so they wanted them to support somebody else .
And this is a moment where if we say that we have so much gratitude for these frontline workers , let ’ s trust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s do everything we can to augment their political power .
Let ’ s demand that of our trade unions .
Let ’ s demand that of ourselves .
Let ’ s support them tangibly .
But let ’ s also take leadership from them , which is something that Bernie Sanders always did , and it is one of the things that I love most about him .
AMY GOODMAN : Naomi Klein , I want to thank you for being with us , senior correspondent at The Intercept , professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s joining in an “ After Bernie ” online teach-in with Astra Taylor and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor .
We ’ ll link to it at our website .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, broadcasting from the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, New York City, along with my co-host, who is right here in New York City, as well, unfortunately not next to me where we usually are in the studio, but preventing community spread by broadcasting from home. Hi, Nermeen.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Hi, Amy. And welcome to our listeners and viewers around the country and around the world.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to turn right now to Bernie Sanders. We just played his speech as he withdrew his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Joe Biden now faces the challenge of winning over his supporters. On Wednesday, seven progressive groups made up of young activists, including NextGen America, Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats, issued the Biden campaign a series of platform demands, saying, quote, “The organizations … will spend more than $100 million … but we need help ensuring our efforts will be backed-up by a campaign that speaks to our generation,” they said.
We’re joined now by Naomi Klein, senior correspondent at The Intercept. She endorsed Bernie Sanders back in November and is joining us to talk not only about his historic campaign, as it surged and now as it’s suspended, but also to talk about coronavirus capitalism. Naomi is the inaugural Gloria Steinem chair of media, culture and feminist studies at Rutgers University, author of a number of books, including The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism; her latest book, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.
Naomi, it’s great to have you with us. You were one of our last guests in studio here, and now you’re speaking to us from your home in New Jersey. Can you talk about how you and your family have fared during this pandemic?
NAOMI KLEIN: Well, it’s very good to be sort of with you, Amy, and it is true that going on your show is the last thing I did in person before this kind of lockdown. And thank you for asking. We are all doing well and healthy at the moment, though we weren’t a couple weeks ago, and so we’re very relieved to be. And yeah, I just want to express my gratitude to you and the whole Democracy Now! team for continuing to broadcast and bring us so many just crucial voices in this period.
AMY GOODMAN: Naomi, you and your family were exposed to COVID-19, is that right?
NAOMI KLEIN: Yeah, we believe that we were, because a colleague and friend of ours stayed at our house, and we spent time together — actually, the night before I saw you, Amy, which is why you know about this, because we contacted everyone we came in contact with. And that friend went back to Canada, got sick and, because they live somewhere where there’s more testing, was able to get tested, and did test positive. And so, when we started showing symptoms, my husband Avi Lewis and I, we wondered about that. But we’re fine. And you appear to be fine, too, Amy, so we are the least of people’s worries right now. We’re all good. And our colleague has recovered and is doing well, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, that’s an absolutely critical issue, the severe lack of testing to this day, whatever the president asserts —
NAOMI KLEIN: Oh, absolutely.
AMY GOODMAN: — in New York City, the epicenter, and all over the country. But, Naomi, before we talk about that, Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign. You, until recently, were saying he should continue, especially during this pandemic, to run for president. So can you talk about your response to his address and his decision?
NAOMI KLEIN: Well, I think the main thing that I want to say this morning, Amy, is just that I just would like to express my huge gratitude to Bernie Sanders, to his entire family, to the many people who worked for the campaign just so tirelessly and opened up the window of what was possible politically in this country. It was an incredibly tough campaign. And I trust that Bernie is making the right decision in this moment as the leader of that campaign and also as a U.S. senator. I know that he’s not going to just go relax, as he said in his address. He intends to fight for people, as he has always done, in this critical moment, in terms of what kind of relief, rescue and reimagining that we do in the midst of this pandemic. He is staying on the ballot. He is still building power in order to pressure the Democratic Party and Joe Biden to run the most progressive campaign that they can. So, you know, I feel so much gratitude for Senator Sanders.
More than anything else, I think what the campaign did is help us find each other. And by “us,” I mean that huge “us” of the “Not me. Us.” campaign. And he did this not just in this campaign, but in 2016, where he really broke the spell of the Reagan era, that spell that has lasted for four decades, that told people, who believed, that this system that was funneling so much wealth upwards and spreading insecurity, precariousness, poverty and pollution for everybody else — everybody who saw that system and thought there was something deeply wrong with it, what the neoliberal era told us was that we were the ones who were crazy, we were a tiny minority of fringe people, and that we should just accept it. And what the Sanders campaign did in 2016 is tell us that we had been lied to, that, in fact, there were so many millions of us who saw that this world was fundamentally upside down. And all of the incredible organizing, including digital organizing but also in-person organizing, wove this amazing web, and we were able to find each other and find that we were many and they were few. And so, I don’t think we can ever thank Bernie Sanders and the campaign enough for that. And being part of the campaign as a volunteer — but I did go to four states for the campaign — was some of the — provided some of the greatest moments of my political life. I mean, I was in Nevada when we won, and got to be part of that incredibly joyful moment and just got to meet so many other like-minded people.
And I think in Senator Sanders’s address that we just heard, Amy, I think he was so correct in zeroing in on the conspiracy of lowered expectations, right? He focused — he very directly addressed the American public and said, “If you don’t believe that you deserve universal healthcare, you’re not going to get it. If you don’t believe that you deserve a safe planet, you’re not going to get it.” And I think that that is really at the heart of why he lost. You know, we’ve heard again and again, Bernie has won the battle of ideas. But the truth is, there is a difference between winning a battle of ideas, winning an intellectual battle about what kind of policies are right and just and will keep us safe, and believing that you can win. You can simultaneously win that battle of ideas and still believe that you will never actually win, that you are still a weak minority, that you will still be destroyed by the forces of establishment power and money.
And that, I think, is the real generational divide that Bernie was also speaking to in that address. You know, I don’t think that Bernie lost because of a battle between leftist and centrist, although of course that battle is still raging, but we had a progressive majority on the issues. But where the generational divide comes in — and Bernie spoke to this — is that among voters not just under 30, but in many cases under 45, under 50, were starting to believe that they could actually win. And I think particularly among that majority of young voters, that always backed Bernie, they understood that the intellectual project of neoliberalism was bankrupt, that it had lost its powers of persuasion, and that these words like “democratic socialist” were not as scary anymore. In fact, they have become appealing. But I think for that older generation, that has — particularly the older generation that has a living memory of the state violence of the 1960s that waged literal war on revolutionary movement leaders, that sent them into exile, that sent them into their graves, that surveilled them, blacklisted them, when Bernie’s opponents raised the specter of the Red Scare that would be used against him, that was incredibly triggering, terrifying, and they couldn’t — progressive voters who agreed with Bernie could not believe that he could win, where younger voters did believe that he could win. And that was, I think, the most important generational divide.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Naomi, a lot of people believed — progressives, but also others — that since this coronavirus emergency has exposed so many failures of the U.S. system — healthcare, as well as the absence of a social safety net — that this would enhance support for Sanders and his policies. Your response to that, and also whether you think his supporters will actually back Biden? I mean, Sanders did not say yesterday — he did not explicitly endorse Biden.
NAOMI KLEIN: Well, I think that he implied that after the battles over the platform were won, then it would all be about coming together and defeating Trump. So, I don’t know, that’s not the way I heard it.
I think that there is no doubt that the way this pandemic is playing out is opening — is further opening up that window of what is politically possible, indeed what is necessary for people’s survival. And so, yes, support for Medicare for All is surging, as well as support for other kinds of programs, like housing for all, that were always at the center of the Sanders campaign. You know, in your headlines just now, we heard news about the air clearing around the world. We are seeing that it is possible to clean the air. A lot of people like that as one of these silver linings of this crisis. But this isn’t how we want to clean the air. We don’t want to clean the air by crash, by brutal crash. We want to clean the air by craft. We want to design policies that care for workers, that protect workers, that retrain workers, but allow us to live in a way that doesn’t poison people’s lungs, which, by the way, is part of what is making black and brown communities more vulnerable to the coronavirus, because those are the communities that have the most polluting industries in their backyards. That’s one of the factors. So people are seeing this and being radicalized by this and demanding policies that were at the center of the Sanders campaign.
But during times of crisis, people also are risk-averse. And so, you know, I think the timing of this was such, with the inability to continue campaigning in person, with people just reaching for something that looked and felt safe, I don’t think it was possible to translate that shift in openness to these kinds of policies with a huge electoral swing from Biden towards Bernie, although I was certainly hoping for it up until Bernie’s announcement last night. But while hoping for it, I was keenly aware that the polls were not reflecting it, that it wasn’t happening and that people are not up for that kind of political seesaw in this moment of tumult.
So, what we have to be focused on, what the movement that the Sanders campaign represents, but also all of the social movements that were part of that campaign, independent social movements, and also movements that never joined the campaign — what we need to be focused on right now is winning those policies for a kind of a people’s bailout in this moment of profound crisis. And we need to be focused on beating Donald Trump in November, absolutely.
AMY GOODMAN: And how exactly do you see that happening? This is our last question to you. We’re going to then play a clip of Noam Chomsky talking about the significance of Bernie Sanders. But I wanted to ask you, Naomi, how you see this happening, when people have to be isolated. It’s not clear what’s going to happen in the coming months. Clearly, in the White House right now they’re talking about opening as fast as possible the country, despite the dire warnings of scientists that another surge could happen if Trump does this. He has removed the inspector general in charge of the $500 billion corporate fund that corporations will be bailed out by, despite the fact that Democrats put that into the bill to ensure that there would be some kind of oversight, but clearly didn’t put it in strongly enough, because he is able to just fire the person. We’re going to talk in a moment about the disparities of who is affected by this. It’s certainly not a great leveler, the coronavirus. Those on the frontlines are, of course, the most hard hit, and who are on the frontlines of inequality in the country are the most hard hit. But your whole assessment of coronavirus capitalism right now, where it stands right now on what has to happen in these next months?
NAOMI KLEIN: So, I think our phones still work, our internet still works, so we are still able to make ourselves heard in sending a very clear message to people in Congress, who are going to have to be running for reelection, who are running for reelection, that people are enraged by this bailout and the fact that these meager strings that were attached to the corporate bailout were immediately snipped by the Trump administration in terms of oversight, in terms of congressional oversight, in terms of their own watchdogs, in terms of giving Steve Mnuchin the ability to override that oversight.
I think that the battle, frankly, when it comes to disaster capitalism and this sort of corporate free-for-all that we are seeing right now under cover of pandemic, that that battle was lost when the rescue for people was bundled together with the corporate bailout. I think the demand that we need to make on lawmakers right now is that they need to keep those things separate so that they aren’t held hostage, right? When we look at the fact that there was — that people voted for that bailout who shouldn’t have voted for it, it was because they couldn’t be seen, or they felt that they couldn’t be seen, to be voting for what Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called “crumbs for our families,” right? Because those crumbs are not nothing when people are starving. So, the battle, really, the political battle, was lost when those two things were bundled together, when the people’s rescue was bundled together with the corporate rescue. So people need to send that message very, very strongly.
The fact is, there is power right now, and there is power from the working people who are holding the world together — this country together, but the world together — the healthcare workers, the janitors, the caretakers, the delivery workers, the people who are picking our food, under very unsafe conditions. And we are seeing a wave of job action from these workers, who understand themselves to be so essential despite decades of having their labor belittled by those in power. And that is one of the great — it was one of the great strengths of the Sanders campaign, was that he always recognized the power of those essential workers. It’s why he was supported overwhelmingly by Amazon workers, by grocery store workers and, of course, by nurses and by teachers. And so, this is a time for us to be organizing and taking leadership from those workers.
And I have to say that one of my great, great regrets from having been involved in this campaign is watching my friends in the progressive movement who didn’t support Sanders, in part because they weren’t able to take leadership from those working people who recognized Sanders as their champion from the very beginning, and they felt that those workers didn’t understand their own best interests, and so they wanted them to support somebody else. And this is a moment where if we say that we have so much gratitude for these frontline workers, let’s trust them politically, too, and let’s do everything we can to augment their political power. Let’s demand that of our trade unions. Let’s demand that of ourselves. Let’s support them tangibly. But let’s also take leadership from them, which is something that Bernie Sanders always did, and it is one of the things that I love most about him.
AMY GOODMAN: Naomi Klein, I want to thank you for being with us, senior correspondent at The Intercept, professor at Rutgers University. Tonight she’s joining in an “After Bernie” online teach-in with Astra Taylor and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. We’ll link to it at our website.


democracynow--2020-04-09--Suspending the Campaign, Not the Movement: Sanders Pulls Out of 2020 Race But Will Stay on Ballot

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : We begin today ’ s show with Senator Bernie Sanders ’ announcement Wednesday that he ’ s suspending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination .
Vice President Joe Biden is now the presumptive nominee to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November election .
Sanders addressed his supporters in a live stream from his home in Burlington , Vermont .
As many of you will recall , Nelson Mandela , one of the great freedom fighters in modern world history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — “ It always seems impossible until it is done , ” end quote .
And what he meant by that is that the greatest obstacle to reach social change has everything to do with the power of the corporate and political establishment to limit our vision as to what is possible and what we are entitled to as human beings .
If we don ’ t believe that we are entitled to healthcare as a human right , we will never achieve universal healthcare .
If we don ’ t believe that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working conditions , millions of us will continue to live in poverty .
If we don ’ t believe that we are entitled to all of the education we require to fulfill our dreams , many of us will leave schools saddled with huge debt or never get the education we need .
If we don ’ t believe that we are entitled to live in a world that has a clean environment and is not ravaged by climate change , we will continue to see more drought , floods , rising sea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If we don ’ t believe that we are entitled to live in a world of justice , democracy and fairness , without racism , sexism , homophobia , xenophobia or religious bigotry , we will continue to have massive income and wealth inequality , prejudice and hatred , mass incarceration , terrified immigrants , and hundreds of thousands of Americans sleeping out on the streets in the richest country on Earth .
And focusing on that new vision for America is what our campaign has been about and what , in fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deny that over the course of the past five years our movement has won the ideological struggle .
In so-called red states and blue states and purple states , a majority of the American people now understand that we must raise the minimum wage to at least $ 15 an hour , that we must guarantee healthcare as a right to all of our people , that we must transform our energy system away from fossil fuel , and that higher education must be available to all , regardless of income .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these ideas radical and fringe .
Today they are mainstream ideas , and many of them are already being implemented in cities and states across the country .
That is what we have accomplished together .
And let me just say this .
In terms of healthcare , this current horrific crisis that we are now in has exposed for all to see how absurd our current employer-based health insurance system is .
The current economic downturn we are experiencing has not only led to a massive loss of jobs but has also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health insurance .
While Americans have been told over and over again how wonderful our employer-based private insurance system is , those claims sound very hollow today as a growing number of unemployed workers struggle with how they can afford to go to the doctor or not go bankrupt with a huge hospital bill .
We have always believed that healthcare must be considered as a human right , not an employee benefit .
And we are right .
Please also appreciate that not only are we winning the struggle ideologically , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future of our country rests with young people .
And in state after state , whether we won or whether we lost the Democratic primaries or caucuses , we received a significant majority of the votes , sometimes an overwhelming majority , from people not only 30 years of age or under , but 50 years of age or younger .
In other words , the future of this country is with our ideas .
As we are all painfully aware , we now face an unprecedented crisis .
Not only are we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is taking the lives of many thousands of our people , we are also dealing with an economic meltdown that has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs .
Today , families all across our country face financial hardship unimaginable only a few months ago .
And because of the unacceptable levels of income and wealth inequality in our economy , many of our friends and neighbors have little or no savings and are desperately trying to pay their rent or their mortgage or even put food on the table .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress must address this unprecedented crisis in an unprecedented way that protects the health and economic well-being of the working families of our country , not just powerful special interests .
As a member of the Democratic leadership in the United States Senate and as a senator from the state of Vermont , this is something that I intend to intensely be involved in over the next number of months , and that will require an enormous amount of work — which takes me to the state of our presidential campaign .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but I think you know the truth .
And that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden , and the path toward victory is virtually impossible .
So while we are winning the ideological battle and while we are winning the support of so many young people and working people throughout the country , I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful .
And so today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign .
… On a practical note , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will stay on the ballot in all remaining states and continue to gather delegates .
While Vice President Biden will be the nominee , we must continue working to assemble as many delegates as possible at the Democratic convention , where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions .
Then , together , standing united , we will go forward to defeat Donald Trump , the most dangerous president in modern American history .
And we will fight to elect strong progressives at every level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school board .
As I hope all of you know , this race has never been about me .
I ran for the presidency because I believe that as a president , I could accelerate and institutionalize the progressive changes that we are all building together .
And if we keep organizing and fighting , I have no doubt but that that is exactly what will happen .
While the path may be slower now , we will change this nation and , with like-minded friends around the globe , change the entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders announcing Wednesday he ’ s suspending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination , speaking from his home in Burlington , Vermont .
When we come back , we ’ ll speak with journalist and activist Naomi Klein , a well-known Sanders supporter , about Sanders ’ historic presidential campaign .
And we ’ ll talk to her about coronavirus capitalism — President Trump ’ s response to the pandemic .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Something to Think About ” by Willie Nelson , who will be joining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April 11th for a big Farm Aid concert to support , first , frontline essential workers , from grocery store clerks to delivery truck drivers to healthcare workers .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show with Senator Bernie Sanders’ announcement Wednesday that he’s suspending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Vice President Joe Biden is now the presumptive nominee to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November election. Sanders addressed his supporters in a live stream from his home in Burlington, Vermont.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Together, we have transformed American consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become, and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice. …
As many of you will recall, Nelson Mandela, one of the great freedom fighters in modern world history, famously said — and I quote — “It always seems impossible until it is done,” end quote. And what he meant by that is that the greatest obstacle to reach social change has everything to do with the power of the corporate and political establishment to limit our vision as to what is possible and what we are entitled to as human beings.
If we don’t believe that we are entitled to healthcare as a human right, we will never achieve universal healthcare. If we don’t believe that we are entitled to decent wages and working conditions, millions of us will continue to live in poverty. If we don’t believe that we are entitled to all of the education we require to fulfill our dreams, many of us will leave schools saddled with huge debt or never get the education we need. If we don’t believe that we are entitled to live in a world that has a clean environment and is not ravaged by climate change, we will continue to see more drought, floods, rising sea levels, an increasingly uninhabitable planet. If we don’t believe that we are entitled to live in a world of justice, democracy and fairness, without racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia or religious bigotry, we will continue to have massive income and wealth inequality, prejudice and hatred, mass incarceration, terrified immigrants, and hundreds of thousands of Americans sleeping out on the streets in the richest country on Earth.
And focusing on that new vision for America is what our campaign has been about and what, in fact, we have accomplished. Few would deny that over the course of the past five years our movement has won the ideological struggle. In so-called red states and blue states and purple states, a majority of the American people now understand that we must raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, that we must guarantee healthcare as a right to all of our people, that we must transform our energy system away from fossil fuel, and that higher education must be available to all, regardless of income. It was not long ago that people considered these ideas radical and fringe. Today they are mainstream ideas, and many of them are already being implemented in cities and states across the country. That is what we have accomplished together.
In terms of healthcare, even before this horrific pandemic we are now experiencing, more and more Americans understood that we must move to a Medicare-for-All, single-payer program. During the primary elections, exit polls showed, in state after state, a strong majority of Democratic primary voters supported a single government health insurance program to replace private insurance. That was true even in states where our campaign did not prevail.
And let me just say this. In terms of healthcare, this current horrific crisis that we are now in has exposed for all to see how absurd our current employer-based health insurance system is. The current economic downturn we are experiencing has not only led to a massive loss of jobs but has also resulted in millions of Americans losing their health insurance. While Americans have been told over and over again how wonderful our employer-based private insurance system is, those claims sound very hollow today as a growing number of unemployed workers struggle with how they can afford to go to the doctor or not go bankrupt with a huge hospital bill. We have always believed that healthcare must be considered as a human right, not an employee benefit. And we are right.
Please also appreciate that not only are we winning the struggle ideologically, we are also winning it generationally. The future of our country rests with young people. And in state after state, whether we won or whether we lost the Democratic primaries or caucuses, we received a significant majority of the votes, sometimes an overwhelming majority, from people not only 30 years of age or under, but 50 years of age or younger. In other words, the future of this country is with our ideas.
As we are all painfully aware, we now face an unprecedented crisis. Not only are we dealing with a coronavirus pandemic, which is taking the lives of many thousands of our people, we are also dealing with an economic meltdown that has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs. Today, families all across our country face financial hardship unimaginable only a few months ago. And because of the unacceptable levels of income and wealth inequality in our economy, many of our friends and neighbors have little or no savings and are desperately trying to pay their rent or their mortgage or even put food on the table.
This reality makes it clear to me that Congress must address this unprecedented crisis in an unprecedented way that protects the health and economic well-being of the working families of our country, not just powerful special interests. As a member of the Democratic leadership in the United States Senate and as a senator from the state of Vermont, this is something that I intend to intensely be involved in over the next number of months, and that will require an enormous amount of work — which takes me to the state of our presidential campaign.
I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth. And that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden, and the path toward victory is virtually impossible. So while we are winning the ideological battle and while we are winning the support of so many young people and working people throughout the country, I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful. And so today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign. …
While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that, quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” end quote. The fight for justice is what our campaign has been about. The fight for justice is what our movement remains about.
Today I congratulate Joe Biden, a very decent man, who I will work with to move our progressive ideas forward.
On a practical note, let me also say this: I will stay on the ballot in all remaining states and continue to gather delegates. While Vice President Biden will be the nominee, we must continue working to assemble as many delegates as possible at the Democratic convention, where we will be able to exert significant influence over the party platform and other functions. Then, together, standing united, we will go forward to defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history. And we will fight to elect strong progressives at every level of government, from Congress to the school board.
As I hope all of you know, this race has never been about me. I ran for the presidency because I believe that as a president, I could accelerate and institutionalize the progressive changes that we are all building together. And if we keep organizing and fighting, I have no doubt but that that is exactly what will happen. While the path may be slower now, we will change this nation and, with like-minded friends around the globe, change the entire world.
AMY GOODMAN: Senator Bernie Sanders announcing Wednesday he’s suspending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, speaking from his home in Burlington, Vermont. When we come back, we’ll speak with journalist and activist Naomi Klein, a well-known Sanders supporter, about Sanders’ historic presidential campaign. And we’ll talk to her about coronavirus capitalism — President Trump’s response to the pandemic. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Something to Think About” by Willie Nelson, who will be joining Neil Young and John Mellencamp and others April 11th for a big Farm Aid concert to support, first, frontline essential workers, from grocery store clerks to delivery truck drivers to healthcare workers.


democracynow--2020-04-09--Headlines for April  9, 2020

Headlines for April  9, 2020

Worldwide , the coronavirus continues to spread exponentially , with over 1.5 million documented cases and nearly 90,000 deaths — though the true rate of infection is certain to be far higher due to a critical lack of testing .
In Europe , there are signs that social distancing measures are flattening the curve of new infections , with Spain , Italy and France all recording fewer deaths over the past 24 hours .
Here in New York , Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the city has not yet reached its peak rate of deaths from COVID-19 .
Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is actually terrible : highest single-day death toll yet , 779 people .
When you look at the numbers on the death toll , it has been going steadily up , and it reached a new height yesterday.
” Governor Cuomo acknowledged the true death toll is certain to be higher because hundreds of people who ’ ve died of COVID-19 in their homes have not been counted .
This comes as The New York Times reports Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to trace the contacts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with coronavirus in early March , allowing the virus to spread undetected .
The Times reports a failed federal response , combined with unheeded warnings , delayed decisions and political infighting at the state and local level to accelerate the spread of the virus across New York .

Worldwide, the coronavirus continues to spread exponentially, with over 1.5 million documented cases and nearly 90,000 deaths — though the true rate of infection is certain to be far higher due to a critical lack of testing. In Europe, there are signs that social distancing measures are flattening the curve of new infections, with Spain, Italy and France all recording fewer deaths over the past 24 hours. Here in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the city has not yet reached its peak rate of deaths from COVID-19.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo: “The bad news is actually terrible: highest single-day death toll yet, 779 people. When you look at the numbers on the death toll, it has been going steadily up, and it reached a new height yesterday.”
Governor Cuomo acknowledged the true death toll is certain to be higher because hundreds of people who’ve died of COVID-19 in their homes have not been counted. This comes as The New York Times reports Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to trace the contacts of the first people known to be infected with coronavirus in early March, allowing the virus to spread undetected. The Times reports a failed federal response, combined with unheeded warnings, delayed decisions and political infighting at the state and local level to accelerate the spread of the virus across New York.


democracynow--2020-04-08--"People Are Dying in the Streets": Ecuador Struggles to Cope with COVID-19 as Cases Skyrocket

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The War and Peace Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman in New York , the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States .
Juan González is in New Jersey , number two in the United States for coronavirus .
We are going to turn now , though , to Ecuador , where the coronavirus pandemic is exhausting Ecuador ’ s medical resources with nearly 4,000 cases , death toll of 220 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the numbers are likely higher .
Ecuador is among the top three countries hardest hit by COVID-19 in Latin America .
The city of Guayaquil , Ecuador ’ s most populous region , is the epicenter of the pandemic in Ecuador .
In recent days , images of dead bodies wrapped in plastic tarp , left on the street for days as families desperately try to bury loved ones lost to COVID-19 , have shocked Ecuador and the world .
Residents have blamed strict quarantine and government neglect for the disaster .
Local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morgues have been installed throughout Guayaquil and the surrounding provinces .
Government officials distribute cardboard coffins to local residents .
This is Caesar Figueroa , a nurse working in Guayaquil .
AMY GOODMAN : Ecuador ’ s minister of health resigned last month , denouncing the Ecuadorian government ’ s mismanagement of the pandemic .
For more , we ’ re going to Quito , Ecuador , where we ’ re joined by Denisse Herrera , the Ecuador correspondent for teleSUR .
Welcome to Democracy Now !
Denisse , can you just start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ecuador , one of the hardest-hit countries in Latin America ?
DENISSE HERRERA : OK. Hello .
Thank you for this interview .
As was said before , we saw on social media the epicenter of this pandemic in Ecuador is the province of Guayas , is the coast of Ecuador , and mainly the city of Guayaquil is the most city where people are really facing difficult moments .
As we saw before , people are denouncing that they didn ’ t receive any help from the authorities .
But I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here what happened with the health system in Ecuador .
If we hear before also that the ex-minister of health , Catalina Andramuño , said that she didn ’ t receive any economic help from the authorities to face this sanitary crisis , we hear before that also the government are saying that they are taking all the measures to prevent this coronavirus situation .
But Guayaquil is facing a really difficult moment .
Is it true the government is saying that there is a communication , a strategic community , against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Correa ?
So they are trying to say that most of this history , that we hear , that we saw , that we know that it is true , is a lie .
People are dying in the streets , people are dying in their home , because they didn ’ t receive any health assistance , but they didn ’ t receive any help from the authorities .
So , it ’ s a real history .
But now we don ’ t know if the government will do something to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying that they are taking all the measures .
Also , the mayor of Guayaquil , Cynthia Viteri , said that they — she announced that she will begin with the construction of two cemeteries in Guayaquil .
But we don ’ t know when this starts or where or how this can help the people .
I mean , people are dying .
They want to give their families , their relatives a dignified burial .
But the government is not accepting what is really happening .
At the beginning of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I wanted to ask you about the impact of the austerity measures imposed by the IMF last year after a big $ 4.2 billion IMF loan under President Moreno .
How has that had an impact on the basic government services , especially healthcare ?
DENISSE HERRERA : Yeah , that was one of the main points here , because when Moreno decided to close , to sign this agreement with the IMF , one of the requirements made by the IMF was to make cuts in the public sectors .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement was the education and the healthcare .
And now the lawmakers from Ecuador , mainly from Ecuador , from Quito , are saying that this was the main problem here , because the government dismissed several medical doctors and nurses the past year , so now they have to hire again doctors and nurses to face this crisis .
But most of them don ’ t have the experience to face this crisis .
So , as we saw the last year , in October , people were really — they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were rejected , the austerity program that came from the IMF .
And Moreno said that this is a new opportunity to bring more money to the country , but until now we don ’ t know if the government will have this money .
Recently , the economic minister said — and it was one of the decisions , really difficult to say for the government , but the economic minister announced the payment of part of one bond — we call it the bond 2020 .
And Richard Martínez , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 325 million .
He said that this decision will bring much money to the country , but we don ’ t have money until now , so we don ’ t know if this decision really will help Ecuador .
AMY GOODMAN : Can I quickly ask you , before we go , about the conviction of former President Rafael Correa Tuesday on corruption charges ?
He is in Belgium .
He says this is ridiculous , that the current government is manipulating justice to get what they couldn ’ t get in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this ?
DENISSE HERRERA : Yeah .
As I said before , the government is trying to say that they are facing a communication campaign against their actions .
So , yesterday , a tribunal from April — AMY GOODMAN : And we ’ ve got five seconds .
Sorry .
DENISSE HERRERA : Yeah , OK .
So , the court of Ecuador resolved to say that former President Rafael Correa and former Vice President Jorge Glas were sent — were guilty of the crime of bribery .
So they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tension of what is really happening in Quito , in Guayaquil and — AMY GOODMAN : Denisse Herrera , we want to thank you so much for being with us , Ecuador correspondent for teleSUR , speaking to us from Quito .
Democracy Now !
working with as few people on site as possible .
Thanks to our entire crew , especially Julie Crosby .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman in New York, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. Juan González is in New Jersey, number two in the United States for coronavirus.
We are going to turn now, though, to Ecuador, where the coronavirus pandemic is exhausting Ecuador’s medical resources with nearly 4,000 cases, death toll of 220 people. Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno has admitted the numbers are likely higher. Ecuador is among the top three countries hardest hit by COVID-19 in Latin America. The city of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous region, is the epicenter of the pandemic in Ecuador. In recent days, images of dead bodies wrapped in plastic tarp, left on the street for days as families desperately try to bury loved ones lost to COVID-19, have shocked Ecuador and the world. Residents have blamed strict quarantine and government neglect for the disaster. Local hospitals and mortuaries are overwhelmed. Temporary morgues have been installed throughout Guayaquil and the surrounding provinces. Government officials distribute cardboard coffins to local residents. This is Caesar Figueroa, a nurse working in Guayaquil.
CAESAR FIGUEROA: [translated] I’m a nurse. I had my dad at home, because no hospital is able to treat him or anyone, just here in El Ceibo. But, believe me, people are dying. There’s no medical personnel, no nurses. There’s no one working. There’s like three people. Trust me, I’ve been inside. The situation is precarious. There is no gloves, no masks. There’s nothing. All of Ecuador is a country of nothing. There’s no government. There’s no president.
AMY GOODMAN: Ecuador’s minister of health resigned last month, denouncing the Ecuadorian government’s mismanagement of the pandemic.
For more, we’re going to Quito, Ecuador, where we’re joined by Denisse Herrera, the Ecuador correspondent for teleSUR.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Denisse, can you just start off by talking about the situation in Ecuador, one of the hardest-hit countries in Latin America?
DENISSE HERRERA: OK. Hello. Thank you for this interview. As was said before, we saw on social media the epicenter of this pandemic in Ecuador is the province of Guayas, is the coast of Ecuador, and mainly the city of Guayaquil is the most city where people are really facing difficult moments. As we saw before, people are denouncing that they didn’t receive any help from the authorities.
But I think that it’s important to say here what happened with the health system in Ecuador. If we hear before also that the ex-minister of health, Catalina Andramuño, said that she didn’t receive any economic help from the authorities to face this sanitary crisis, we hear before that also the government are saying that they are taking all the measures to prevent this coronavirus situation. But Guayaquil is facing a really difficult moment. Is it true the government is saying that there is a communication, a strategic community, against the government, leading by former President Rafael Correa? So they are trying to say that most of this history, that we hear, that we saw, that we know that it is true, is a lie. People are dying in the streets, people are dying in their home, because they didn’t receive any health assistance, but they didn’t receive any help from the authorities. So, it’s a real history. But now we don’t know if the government will do something to stop the situation. The government are saying that they are taking all the measures.
Also, the mayor of Guayaquil, Cynthia Viteri, said that they — she announced that she will begin with the construction of two cemeteries in Guayaquil. But we don’t know when this starts or where or how this can help the people. I mean, people are dying. They want to give their families, their relatives a dignified burial. But the government is not accepting what is really happening. At the beginning of this crisis —
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Denisse —
DENISSE HERRERA: Yeah.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Denisse Herrera, I wanted to ask you about the impact of the austerity measures imposed by the IMF last year after a big $4.2 billion IMF loan under President Moreno. How has that had an impact on the basic government services, especially healthcare?
DENISSE HERRERA: Yeah, that was one of the main points here, because when Moreno decided to close, to sign this agreement with the IMF, one of the requirements made by the IMF was to make cuts in the public sectors. So, the main areas affected by this agreement was the education and the healthcare. And now the lawmakers from Ecuador, mainly from Ecuador, from Quito, are saying that this was the main problem here, because the government dismissed several medical doctors and nurses the past year, so now they have to hire again doctors and nurses to face this crisis. But most of them don’t have the experience to face this crisis.
So, as we saw the last year, in October, people were really — they were rejecting all these economic measures. They were rejected, the austerity program that came from the IMF. And Moreno said that this is a new opportunity to bring more money to the country, but until now we don’t know if the government will have this money. Recently, the economic minister said — and it was one of the decisions, really difficult to say for the government, but the economic minister announced the payment of part of one bond — we call it the bond 2020. And Richard Martínez, the minister of economy, paid around $325 million. He said that this decision will bring much money to the country, but we don’t have money until now, so we don’t know if this decision really will help Ecuador.
AMY GOODMAN: Can I quickly ask you, before we go, about the conviction of former President Rafael Correa Tuesday on corruption charges? He is in Belgium. He says this is ridiculous, that the current government is manipulating justice to get what they couldn’t get in the ballot box. But the significance of this?
DENISSE HERRERA: Yeah. As I said before, the government is trying to say that they are facing a communication campaign against their actions. So, yesterday, a tribunal from April —
AMY GOODMAN: And we’ve got five seconds. Sorry.
DENISSE HERRERA: Yeah, OK. So, the court of Ecuador resolved to say that former President Rafael Correa and former Vice President Jorge Glas were sent — were guilty of the crime of bribery. So they are using this news to take away the tension of what is really happening in Quito, in Guayaquil and —
AMY GOODMAN: Denisse Herrera, we want to thank you so much for being with us, Ecuador correspondent for teleSUR, speaking to us from Quito.
Democracy Now! working with as few people on site as possible. Thanks to our entire crew, especially Julie Crosby. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.


democracynow--2020-04-08--Albert Woodfox: COVID-19 Offers Public a "Small Window" into What Prisoners Face in Solitary Confine

Albert Woodfox: COVID-19 Offers Public a "Small Window" into What Prisoners Face in Solitary Confinement

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : We want to end back with Albert Woodfox .
Albert , right now people are being told to remain in isolation , whether they ’ re sick or healthy , unless they get so sick that they should go to a hospital .
I mean , there is no comparison to what you endured .
You served more time in solitary confinement than any prisoner in the United States , close to 44 years .
But can you talk about how you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bars in solitary ?
ALBERT WOODFOX : You know , Robert Hillary King and Herman Wallace , the other two members who make up the Angola Three , you know , by any stretch of imagination , our situation was extraordinary .
But the fact that we had become members of the Black Panther Party , we had been politicized .
We had our political and social consciousness — level of consciousness raised , you know , so we kind of like understood the purpose of solitary , what it was meant to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together and individually , developed programs to combat that , you know , such as exercise programs , study programs , in which we devoted so many hours a day to just reading , and not just sit in a cell for 23 hours out of a 24-hour period and vegetate , you know , or become consumed by the prisoner culture , all the other distractions that was given to solitary over the decades , such as TV and radios and CD players and stuff like that .
And the fact that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the prison population demanded of us that we prepare ourselves by educating ourselves and knowing whatever subject matter that was brought to our attention , so we would be adequately informed enough to address it .
But , you know , solitary and surviving solitary is an individual ’ s game .
You know , it ’ s still a mystery why men , women , in some cases , children , react to the same conditions differently .
You know , Robert and I was talking the other day , and Robert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s sold you lemons , you make lemonade.
” And so , we have been talking , and we knew at some point in time this will pass .
And one of the questions we are asked the most when we go around the country and outside the country is “ What ’ s it like to be held in solitary ?
” And so , you know , we never had a reference other than our own experience , but this coronavirus pandemic , now people have a small window into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held , you know , with the advice of the CDC and other [ inaudible ] — AMY GOODMAN : Albert , we have to go , but I want to thank you so much for being with us .
And I want to encourage people to go to our website at democracynow.org .
We had you in studio for an hour talking about your experience just after you got out of prison .
That book , truly remarkable , a National Book Award finalist , Solitary : Unbroken by Four Decades in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Hope .
Albert Woodfox , speaking to us from New Orleans , he served the longest time in solitary confinement of any prisoner in the United States .
This is Democracy Now !
When we come back , we are heading south to Ecuador to talk about the coronavirus there .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : Spanish singer-songwriter Luis Eduardo Aute singing “ At Dawn.
” Luis died in Madrid on Saturday at the age of 76 .
He was best known for his anti-fascist songs during Spain ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporter of Palestinian causes .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to end back with Albert Woodfox. Albert, right now people are being told to remain in isolation, whether they’re sick or healthy, unless they get so sick that they should go to a hospital. I mean, there is no comparison to what you endured. You served more time in solitary confinement than any prisoner in the United States, close to 44 years. But can you talk about how you kept your sanity when you were behind bars in solitary?
ALBERT WOODFOX: You know, Robert Hillary King and Herman Wallace, the other two members who make up the Angola Three, you know, by any stretch of imagination, our situation was extraordinary. But the fact that we had become members of the Black Panther Party, we had been politicized. We had our political and social consciousness — level of consciousness raised, you know, so we kind of like understood the purpose of solitary, what it was meant to do. And so we consciously, together and individually, developed programs to combat that, you know, such as exercise programs, study programs, in which we devoted so many hours a day to just reading, and not just sit in a cell for 23 hours out of a 24-hour period and vegetate, you know, or become consumed by the prisoner culture, all the other distractions that was given to solitary over the decades, such as TV and radios and CD players and stuff like that. And the fact that we were looked upon as leaders in the prison population demanded of us that we prepare ourselves by educating ourselves and knowing whatever subject matter that was brought to our attention, so we would be adequately informed enough to address it.
But, you know, solitary and surviving solitary is an individual’s game. You know, it’s still a mystery why men, women, in some cases, children, react to the same conditions differently. You know, Robert and I was talking the other day, and Robert has a saying: “When somebody’s sold you lemons, you make lemonade.” And so, we have been talking, and we knew at some point in time this will pass. And one of the questions we are asked the most when we go around the country and outside the country is “What’s it like to be held in solitary?” And so, you know, we never had a reference other than our own experience, but this coronavirus pandemic, now people have a small window into what it’s like to be held, you know, with the advice of the CDC and other [inaudible] —
AMY GOODMAN: Albert, we have to go, but I want to thank you so much for being with us. And I want to encourage people to go to our website at democracynow.org. We had you in studio for an hour talking about your experience just after you got out of prison. That book, truly remarkable, a National Book Award finalist, Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope. Albert Woodfox, speaking to us from New Orleans, he served the longest time in solitary confinement of any prisoner in the United States.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, we are heading south to Ecuador to talk about the coronavirus there. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: Spanish singer-songwriter Luis Eduardo Aute singing “At Dawn.” Luis died in Madrid on Saturday at the age of 76. He was best known for his anti-fascist songs during Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy, longtime supporter of Palestinian causes.