dailykos--2020-04-22--Good News Roundup for April 22

Good News Roundup for April 22

ICYMI , 2thanks added a comment on Monday about the following story .
I think it needs to be spread far and wide .
I ’ ve included only the headings to each category of possibly infectious items so y ’ all could see what the story covers .
Just go read the whole thing , okay ?
Is the Virus on My Clothes ?
My Shoes ?
My Hair ?
My Newspaper ?
From the NY Times ( and if you ’ re blocked by the paywall , it was also published in Business Standard ) : We reached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scientists and microbiologists to answer reader questions about the risks of coming into contact with the virus during essential trips outside and from deliveries .
While we still need to take precautions , their answers were reassuring .
Should I change my clothes and shower when I come home from the grocery store ?
For most of us who are practicing social distancing and making only occasional trips to the grocery store or pharmacy , experts agree that it ’ s not necessary to change clothes or take a shower when you return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always wash your hands .
… Why is it that small droplets and viral particles don ’ t typically land on our clothing ?
Is there a risk that the virus could be in my hair or beard ?
For all the reasons outlined above , you should not be worried about viral contamination of your hair or beard if you are practicing social distancing .
Even if someone sneezed on the back of your head , any droplets that landed on your hair would be an unlikely source of infection .
… @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sorting clothes ?
Can I shake viral particles loose from my clothes and send them into the air ?
The answer depends on whether you ’ re doing routine laundry or cleaning up after a sick person .
...
So how long can the virus remain viable on fabric and other surfaces ?
Most of what we know about how long this novel coronavirus lives on surfaces comes from an important study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in March .
The study found that the virus can survive , under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on hard metal surfaces and plastic and up to 24 hours on cardboard .
But the study did not look at fabric .
Still , most virus experts believe that the cardboard research offers clues about how the virus probably behaves on fabric .
… Should I be concerned about the mail , packages or the newspaper ?
The risk of getting sick from handling mail or packages is extremely low and , at this point , only theoretical .
There are no documented cases of someone getting sick from opening a package @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t mean you shouldn ’ t take precautions .
… How much should I worry about contamination if I go outside to walk the dog or exercise ?
Your chances of catching the virus when you go outdoors is extremely low , provided you ’ re keeping a safe distance from others .
I ’ ve read that when I get home from a trip outside I should remove my shoes and wipe them down .
Should I waste my precious disinfectant wipes on my shoes ?
Shoes can harbor bacteria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t mean they are a common source of infection .
... You can try not to think about what ’ s lurking on your shoes — or you can have a conversation with your family about becoming a shoe-free household .
My husband and I have opted for the shoe-free household .
It takes a little practice to avoid wearing your walking shoes beyond the hallway , but we got the hang of it in a couple of days .
Under a click-bait headline , Raw Story republished an op-ed from the Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of international politics at Tufts University .
What the piece says is not what you might think it would based on that headline : The media is making a big mistake about Trump ’ s chances in 2020 ... many are in denial about Trump ’ s standing in the 2020 election .
Some mainstream media coverage of the campaign , Drezner writes in a Washington Post op-ed , is — in an effort to be fair to Trump — downplaying some of the problems his campaign is facing during the coronavirus pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headline on an Associated Press story : ‘ Coronavirus could Complicate Trump ’ s Path to Reelection , ’ ” Drezner asserts .
“ I know the AP is as strait-laced as possible in its coverage , and to be fair , the story is straight-forward in describing Trump ’ s challenges come November .
Still , this is equivalent to a headline on December 8 , 1941 , saying : ‘ Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor Could Complicate America First ’ s Desire for Isolationism.
’ ” In other words , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shouldn ’ t pretend otherwise .
Drezner notes that over the weekend , the New York Times , the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post all published articles “ covering the Trump campaign ’ s belief that it can attack Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic nominee , as being soft on China.
” But he goes on to assert that during a deadly pandemic , such attacks miss the mark badly .
“ ... campaign tactics are meaningless when the administration has bungled its pandemic response and the economy is cratering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is starting the fourth quarter of the campaign behind and with a lousy field position .
Biden is beating him in the polls .
Democrats have united behind their candidate .
Trump can not campaign on the economy .
Attacking Biden on China is like trying to bail out the Titanic with a toy bucket.
” It ’ s good news that at least some people who interact regularly with His Royal Lowness are ignoring him , though I ’ d rather see them actively pushing back and calling him on his shit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Another nail in an almost closed coffin ’ : Trump faces his next coronavirus test Of course , we should be providing much better support for the growing number of Americans who have become homeless , but at least this is a compassionate solution that can be put in place quickly .
My favorite out of the handful of poems in the story is the one I included .
The Portland Street Art Alliance Wants to Connect Artists With Boarded-Up Businesses to Create Temporary Murals This is absolutely wonderful news !
Oregon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permitting non-unanimous jury convictions for felonies ; Louisiana amended its constitution recently to prohibit split jury decisions in cases prosecuted after 2018 .
This ruling could create an avalanche of appeals , but Oregon ’ s Attorney General said her office is well-prepared to deal with them .
Pickathon is a beloved Oregon outdoor music festival , which currently is offering videos of past performances online .
Each concert will remain available for 3 days .
The artist line-up is eclectic and always worth hearing .
And from just across the Columbia River @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t know anyone whose mind isn ’ t a jumble of troubling thoughts these days , so I thought this great classic blues song would be a good one for today .
There are lots of wonderful performances of it , but as is often the case , my favorite is by Nina Simone : Good news from around the nation And here ’ s more from José Andrés , who is a genuine hero : José Andrés : We Have a Food Crisis Unfolding Out of Sight America has fed millions through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
From the New York Times : Writing in the middle of two devastating cholera pandemics in the early 1800s , the great French culinary thinker Brillat-Savarin articulated a truth we urgently need to grasp today : “ The destiny of nations depends on how they feed themselves.
” Our fate as a nation depends on how we feed our most vulnerable citizens through this crisis .
If our leaders step up now with federal aid , food can be the solution — supporting millions of jobs while also feeding millions of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need a W.P.A .
to feed America .
In honor of one of its food programs , I suggest calling this new emergency relief America Eats Now .
Today an army of American cooks stands ready to serve our most vulnerable citizens , at a time when those cooks are themselves in desperate need of support .
They are our food first responders .
With the full support of the federal government , they can serve the many , while saving so many jobs .
There are three groups in our communities who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : the elderly , the homeless and families struggling to make ends meet .
The National Restaurant Association is advocating for a much larger package of support , worth more than $ 300 billion , as it seeks to save up to seven million jobs through a mixture of grants , loans and deferments .
Our restaurant industry faces an existential challenge that we all recognize .
It is one of the foundational sectors in our economy : four times bigger than our airline industry in sales , and 18 times bigger in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its case in this crisis .
But only those of us who work in restaurants can help revive the economy while feeding and building our communities at the same time .
Restaurants were shut down by our governments ; they can be revived by our governments to serve the people in their hour of greatest need .
And here he is talking about something we Gnusies all believe in : empathy .
More Than 20,000 WiFi Devices Are Being Donated to Hospitals So Patients Can Talk With Family in Quarantine This next story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any cure for COVID-19 would be welcome , no matter who was hyping it – but there is definitely a good news aspect to it .
First , it may save the lives of some idiot MAGAts who are downing the fish tank cleaner version of chloroquin .
Second , it might convince a few more people that the Toddler-in-Chief is full of shit on the subject of virus cures , as he is on all other subjects .
More deaths , no benefit from malaria drug in VA virus study This 1932 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jazz standard , popped into my mind when I was searching for music that has something to say about our current situation .
I think it ’ s appropriate not only for those of us who have loved ones to be together with but also for those who are finding ways to be together while having to remain by themselves .
And for all of us all over the country doing whatever we can to help and finding that “ we ’ re strong as long as we ’ re together.
” She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scientific pioneer June Almeida is finally being acknowledged for virology breakthroughs she made a half century ago .
Almeida played a pivotal role in identifying [ coronavirus for the first time , in 1964 ] .
That feat was all the more remarkable because the 34-year-old scientist never completed her formal education .
[ Almeida ] was born in Glasgow , Scotland , where her father worked as a bus driver .
June was a bright student with ambitions to attend university , but money was scarce .
At 16 , she dropped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lab technician at Glasgow Royal Infirmary… [ After marrying and immigrating to Canada ] she got a job working with electron microscopes at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto [ where she developed a new microscopy technique ... simple , yet revolutionary for the field of virology .
[ To solve the problem of identifying viruses with electron microscopes ] Almeida realized she could use antibodies taken from previously infected individuals to pinpoint the virus .
Antibodies are drawn to their antigen-counterparts—so when Almeida introduced tiny particles coated in antibodies , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her to its presence .
This technique enabled clinicians to use electron microscopy as a way to diagnose viral infections in patients .
Today , researchers are still using her techniques to rapidly and accurately identify viruses .
Fifty-six years after she first saw a coronavirus through a microscope , Almeida ’ s work is more relevant than ever .
This one ’ s for you , BeeD !
Invite a llama or goat to your next corporate Zoom meeting or video call for under $ 100 Dogs Are Joining the Fight Against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virus From Nextdoor in my Portland OR neighborhood : One of the pleasures I look forward to each week is reading Wonkette ’ s “ Nice Things ” on Sunday , a regular feature by resident writer Doktor Zoom ( “ not a medical doctor , but does have a real PhD in Rhetoric ” ) .
This Sunday , he featured the Getty Museum Challenge ( which , as he points out , was actually started by an art fan in Amsterdam ) : make a replica of a famous work of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I know this project has been mentioned before on GNR , but now there are many more great responses , and this link has lots of them .
Here ’ s one Doktor Zoom singles out , not only for the imaginative use of a face mask but for the absolute brilliance of a response to it on Twitter : For those unfamiliar with Magritte , the reference is to this painting , “ The Treachery of Images ” , which says under the pipe “ This is not a pipe.
” And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : This may be the best : www.newyorker.com/ ... How Anthony Fauci Became America ’ s Doctor .
This is a terrific profile of Fauci , who is as fascinating and admirable a man as you might imagine he is .
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/…Antibodies Could Be ‘ Radically Life-Changing ’ New Treatment for OCD and Other Mental Disorders www.oregonlive.com/ ... Live webcams take you on a virtual road trip with amazing views ( mostly from Oregon ) .
This link has it all : eagles and other birds , aquariums ( otters , sharks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tigers , bats ) , beaches , snowy mountain slopes , and more .
www.oregonlive.com/ ... After layoff , Portland dancer created a website that is now a one-stop resource for dancers to share online dance projects ( dancingalonetogether.org ) www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ ...
Shirts Are Being Made Out of Luxury Hotel Bed Sheets That Were Discarded for Minor Wear and Tear www.goodnewsnetwork.org/…For the First Time in 240 Years , White-Tailed Eagles Spotted Flying Over England When Randy Newman was asked to create a social distancing PSA , he told Rolling Stone that So here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sneakily full of heart as Newman ’ s work always is .
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts , your hearts , and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd .

Welcome!
Greetings Gnusies, Gnewbies, lurkers, and drop-ins! Come into our cozy space where we share good news and encouragement. Our specialty here is putting news in perspective (sometimes very long perspective, thanks to the history buffs among us), so that we can find hopeful ways forward as activists even in the darkest moments.
This is a pot luck, so please bring something to share in the comments, which we’re proud to claim as The Best Comment Section on the Internet™. Insights, compassion, and wit are welcome. But although we encourage you to share your personal feelings honestly, please don’t add to the general gloom by boosting disaster stories from the media.
An interesting opinion piece that shows how much GNR’s way of seeing the news is needed
I receive a daily email from the Columbia Journalism Review, and I highly recommend signing up for it. (The sign-up window is on the right below CJR’s website’s banner). Yesterday the opinion piece was titled “The good-news trend: Uplifting? Delusional? Both?” I found it fascinating in light of how we handle bad news here at the GNR:
The good-news trend: Uplifting? Delusional? Both? From Columbia Journalism Review: It seems churlish to even question this trend [of aggregating feel-good news stories], because it’s so clearly designed to be heartwarming. Who doesn’t want their heart warmed...? ✂ The problem is that the whole point of the news is to inform people about the world, to give them the knowledge of events that might affect them. And a lot of that knowledge involves depressing things like viruses, or quarantines, war, and death. Is it nice to have a respite from that? Of course. Even journalists need to take breaks, as CNN reporter Brian Stelter admitted he had to do recently, after getting overwhelmed by the relentlessness of coronavirus coverage. But a focus on only good news could easily turn into escapism, if it involves deliberately avoiding the truth in favor of something that feels better, because it implies that the world is just fine the way it is, and therefore nothing needs to change.
By the time I reached that point in the piece, I was thoroughly annoyed by the author’s black-and-white reductive thinking, and I was saying in my mind, “No, no! You can use both good news and bad news to motivate people to work for change!” Then at the end, he offered this:
Although it might seem related to the good-news trend, so-called “solutions journalism” is designed to focus more on what people can do about a particular problem, according to its proponents—giving readers resources to effect positive change. “The solution is not to produce more positive news but to create more knowledge, to truly understand how the world works, what forces are at work in terms of trying to address problems,” David Bornstein, cofounder of the Solutions Journalism Network, told CJR in 2014. “It’s not more awareness about problems, or even outrage, but: What can we do about it?”
Interestingly, I think even Bornstein doesn’t quite get it. It is about awareness and outrage, as well as the positive news of how people are using that knowledge and those feelings to “effect positive change.” I’m interested to know how the rest of you feel about this.
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This little light of mine
So many people around the world are doing their best to radiate the light of love and truth. Some do it by risking their lives to care for those who are suffering from COVID-19. Some do it by making and/or donating the supplies those heroic health providers and first responders need, from masks to nutritious food. Some do it by writing truthfully about coronavirus and about the shameful failures of the current mal-administration. Some do it by driving trucks full of food and supplies across the country. Some do it by delivering our mail and packages. Some do it by restocking grocery shelves. Some do it by running errands for neighbors and family members who because of age or medical problems can’t risk going outside. Some do it by creating music or art and sharing it online for everyone’s pleasure. And of course we can all show love by simply staying home and following the advice of medical experts so that we flatten the curve in our own neighborhoods, a form of love that radiates outward like the ripples on the surface of a pond.
And if you need some energy to help you get up and shine your light, The Boss is here to bring it:
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Good news from Daily Kos
Daily Kos Cheers and Jeers Rum & Social Distancing Edition LIVE
The first – but not the last! – Daily Kos virtual event happened on Friday evening (7:00 EDT, 4:00 PDT), and it was a total delight. Neeta Lind organized it, and now she has published a video that will allow you to experience it from start to finish. The video goes on for over 45 minutes, so if you don’t have time for the whole thing, just dip into it. It was such a pleasure to see the faces of Kos (an amazing pianist – who knew??), Bill in Portland Maine, Mark Sumner, Denise Oliver Velez, and other DKos stalwarts. We viewers weren’t on camera or mics, so those who wanted to comment did so in the chat room, which streamed on the right hand side of the screen, very fast because so many people were saying hi to each other. Altogether a sweet and heartening experience. I assume that if you want to be invited to the next one, you should kosmail Neeta.
Here’s the video!
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Important coronavirus news
ICYMI, 2thanks added a comment on Monday about the following story. I think it needs to be spread far and wide. I’ve included only the headings to each category of possibly infectious items so y’all could see what the story covers. Just go read the whole thing, okay?
Is the Virus on My Clothes? My Shoes? My Hair? My Newspaper?
From the NY Times (and if you’re blocked by the paywall, it was also published in Business Standard):
We reached out to infectious disease experts, aerosol scientists and microbiologists to answer reader questions about the risks of coming into contact with the virus during essential trips outside and from deliveries. While we still need to take precautions, their answers were reassuring. Should I change my clothes and shower when I come home from the grocery store? For most of us who are practicing social distancing and making only occasional trips to the grocery store or pharmacy, experts agree that it’s not necessary to change clothes or take a shower when you return home. You should, however, always wash your hands. … ✂ Why is it that small droplets and viral particles don’t typically land on our clothing? ✂ Is there a risk that the virus could be in my hair or beard? For all the reasons outlined above, you should not be worried about viral contamination of your hair or beard if you are practicing social distancing. Even if someone sneezed on the back of your head, any droplets that landed on your hair would be an unlikely source of infection. … ✂ Should I worry about doing laundry and sorting clothes? Can I shake viral particles loose from my clothes and send them into the air? The answer depends on whether you’re doing routine laundry or cleaning up after a sick person. ... ✂ So how long can the virus remain viable on fabric and other surfaces? Most of what we know about how long this novel coronavirus lives on surfaces comes from an important study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in March. The study found that the virus can survive, under ideal conditions, up to three days on hard metal surfaces and plastic and up to 24 hours on cardboard. But the study did not look at fabric. Still, most virus experts believe that the cardboard research offers clues about how the virus probably behaves on fabric. … ✂ Should I be concerned about the mail, packages or the newspaper? The risk of getting sick from handling mail or packages is extremely low and, at this point, only theoretical. There are no documented cases of someone getting sick from opening a package or reading a newspaper. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take precautions. … ✂ How much should I worry about contamination if I go outside to walk the dog or exercise? Your chances of catching the virus when you go outdoors is extremely low, provided you’re keeping a safe distance from others. ✂ I’ve read that when I get home from a trip outside I should remove my shoes and wipe them down. Should I waste my precious disinfectant wipes on my shoes? Shoes can harbor bacteria and viruses, but that doesn’t mean they are a common source of infection. ...You can try not to think about what’s lurking on your shoes — or you can have a conversation with your family about becoming a shoe-free household.
My husband and I have opted for the shoe-free household. It takes a little practice to avoid wearing your walking shoes beyond the hallway, but we got the hang of it in a couple of days.
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Good political news
Under a click-bait headline, Raw Story republished an op-ed from the Washington Post by Daniel Drezner, a professor of international politics at Tufts University. What the piece says is not what you might think it would based on that headline:
The media is making a big mistake about Trump’s chances in 2020
...many are in denial about Trump’s standing in the 2020 election. Some mainstream media coverage of the campaign, Drezner writes in a Washington Post op-ed, is — in an effort to be fair to Trump — downplaying some of the problems his campaign is facing during the coronavirus pandemic. “My personal favorite is this headline on an Associated Press story: ‘Coronavirus could Complicate Trump’s Path to Reelection,’” Drezner asserts. “I know the AP is as strait-laced as possible in its coverage, and to be fair, the story is straight-forward in describing Trump’s challenges come November. Still, this is equivalent to a headline on December 8, 1941, saying: ‘Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor Could Complicate America First’s Desire for Isolationism.’” In other words, Trump is in dire straits, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. ✂ Drezner notes that over the weekend, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post all published articles “covering the Trump campaign’s belief that it can attack Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, as being soft on China.” But he goes on to assert that during a deadly pandemic, such attacks miss the mark badly. “...campaign tactics are meaningless when the administration has bungled its pandemic response and the economy is cratering,” Drezner explained. “Trump is starting the fourth quarter of the campaign behind and with a lousy field position. Biden is beating him in the polls. Democrats have united behind their candidate. Trump cannot campaign on the economy. Attacking Biden on China is like trying to bail out the Titanic with a toy bucket.”
Got that, Gloom-n-Doomers?!?
Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force Increasingly Ignores Trump
It’s good news that at least some people who interact regularly with His Royal Lowness are ignoring him, though I’d rather see them actively pushing back and calling him on his shit, like NDP does so skillfully.
From Daily Beast:
...within Trump’s coronavirus task force, his latest Twitter outburst is being treated as simply another speed bump. Trump’s own aides and officials are aware that the president’s missives are at odds with the recommendations embraced by his top public-health experts. But rather than correct the record or even push back internally, they have tried to proceed as if the president didn’t just do what he had so clearly done. “It is a pain in the ass sometimes, for sure,” said a senior official working with the task force. “There isn't much more [some of us] can do in that, except continue making sound policy recommendations and hope they sink in. … What once was a task force hyper-focused on being in lock-step with the president for fear of drawing his ire is now a team operating on a parallel but separate track: working to ameliorate a public-health crisis despite Trump pushing policies that scientists say could make that task harder.
‘Another nail in an almost closed coffin’: Trump faces his next coronavirus test
From Politico:
President Donald Trump’s political fate now hinges on a simple premise: Everybody who needs a coronavirus test must be able to get a test. ✂ The message coming out of the White House on testing varies day to day. Trump has contradicted himself repeatedly over the past month about the federal government’s role in fighting the crisis and his own control over states. And more than three months after China reported its first death from the virus, the administration has been plagued by complaints about testing shortages and delays along with comparisons to other advanced nations such as Germany and South Korea that ramped up testing quickly to control the virus. “If the testing does not get sorted out as soon as possible, it will be another nail in an almost closed coffin,” said one Republican close to the White House who argued messaging alone cannot solve the political challenge the pandemic presents for Trump.
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Good news from Portland
Residents praise new Portland shelter: 'It's a community’
Of course, we should be providing much better support for the growing number of Americans who have become homeless, but at least this is a compassionate solution that can be put in place quickly.
From the Portland Tribune:
A dusty parking lot in the shadow of Interstate 5 has been given a new name by Portland's unhoused population: home. The unprecedented public health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus catalyzed creation of the outpost at Southeast Water Avenue and Main Street — just the first of three temporary outdoor shelters planned by Portland and Multnomah County officials. So far, residents are giving the spot top marks. "There's food, water, a lot of resources and donations," said a resident... “And all your stuff, it's not going to get stolen." "I've never ever got housing before. This gives other people a chance to not camp in front of businesses," said [another] occupant... "It's a community. We have a vote, we have a say.” Separated from the public by a double line of chain-link fencing, about 20 tents have been pitched on wood pallets since the camp opened less than a week ago, with scattered heat lamps, hand-washing stations and a half-dozen portable toilets set up near the check-in desk. Oregon Harbor of Hope will be lending use of its mobile shower truck.
Portland poet Kim Stafford offers “Poems for the Pandemic”
My favorite out of the handful of poems in the story is the one I included.
From The Oregonian:
Oregon’s poet laureate wakes before dawn. He takes a long walk around his neighborhood. When he returns to his home in Southwest Portland, he carries a cup of black coffee in his favorite chipped mug to his tiny writing shed in the front yard. It’s “about the size of Thoreau’s hut,” he says, “made of scrounged materials.” ✂ Stafford, 70, was born in Portland and is the son of William Stafford, who served as Oregon’s poet laureate from 1975 to 1990. It’s been almost two years since Kim Stafford was bestowed the title in May 2018 and he’s settled into the role. Unlike his father, whom he saw as deeply private, the younger Stafford sees his duty as a poet to be a “witness to the world." For him, poetry comes from two places: One is a deeply personal place of “intuition.” And the other is a sense of trying to be a “servant of the world.” ✂ Shelter in Place March 20, 2020 Long before the pandemic, the trees knew how to guard one place with roots and shade. Moss found how to hug a stone for life. Every stream works out how to move in place, staying home even as it flows generously outward, sending bounty far. Now is our time to practice — singing from balconies, sending words of comfort by any courier, kindling our lonesome generosity to shine in all directions like stars.
The Portland Street Art Alliance Wants to Connect Artists With Boarded-Up Businesses to Create Temporary Murals
This is a great idea:
From Willamette Week:
The Portland Street Art Alliance wants to give [boarded-up businesses] a splash of life. The nonprofit has put out a call to local businesses interested in having a Portland artist create temporary murals on their property. "As we can see with examples happening around town," PSAA wrote in an Instagram post, "this is a great way to boost community morale and beauty our streetscapes while we all hunker down through this.” It's not just a way to spruce up the urban landscape—it'd also give artists some much-needed work. The organization is suggesting donations between $5 and $25 per square foot, though it adds that it will help businesses that can't afford payment right now find an alternative plan.
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Good news from Oregon
US Supreme Court Ruling Ends Oregon's Non-unanimous Jury Convictions
This is absolutely wonderful news! Oregon had remained until now the only state permitting non-unanimous jury convictions for felonies; Louisiana amended its constitution recently to prohibit split jury decisions in cases prosecuted after 2018. This ruling could create an avalanche of appeals, but Oregon’s Attorney General said her office is well-prepared to deal with them.
From the Oregonian:
Oregon’s decades-long practice of allowing split verdicts to convict felony defendants came to an end Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court found such jury systems to be unconstitutional in a ruling that could invalidate hundreds of criminal convictions in the state. The 6-3 vote overturns an earlier decision by the nation’s high court nearly 50 years ago that allowed two states, Oregon and Louisiana, to continue the practice, which critics say had its roots in racial, ethnic and religious bigotry. ✂ Five justices from across the court’s ideological spectrum — Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Brett Kavanaugh — joined the ruling, which also said the split jury laws were based in discrimination. ✂ Oregon voters in 1934 approved a constitutional amendment creating the state’s own nonunanimous jury system. Legal scholars and reform advocates have argued Oregon’s law at the time aimed to silence immigrants and religious minorities who served on juries.
Pickathon’s Concert a Day
From The Oregonian:
Pickathon is a beloved Oregon outdoor music festival, which currently is offering videos of past performances online. Each concert will remain available for 3 days. The artist line-up is eclectic and always worth hearing.
The popular outdoor summer music festival, held annually on a farm in Happy Valley, is opening up its music vault to treat fans with high-end videos of live performances from its years of shows. With help from the Recording Academy, Amazon Music, and YouTube, Pickathon is presenting 60 days of videos, releasing one every day at 1 p.m. They’ll stream on Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. The shows — filmed through the years by audiovisual specialists in coordination with the festival — will be hosted either by a journalist or one of the performing artists each day on Facebook.
And from just across the Columbia River in Vancouver WA:
Co-workers help deaf Trader Joe's employee overcome unexpected COVID-19 challenge -- reading lips
From KGW.com
Matthew Simmons is a part-time clerk at the Vancouver Trader Joe's. He's also deaf and relies on lip-reading and speaking skills to communicate with customers who don’t know American Sign Language. ✂ But when customers started wearing masks due to the coronavirus, ...Simmons could no longer read their lips, leading many confused customers to walk away from him. “I started to get anxiety because I wasn't sure how to react,” said Simmons. “I didn't know what to do.” Simmons said his boss, Alexandria Baker, got an idea. She took one of Simmons’ Trader Joe's T-shirts and wrote "Deaf, I read lips" on the front, and "Deaf, please tap me on the shoulder for help," on the back. Simmons said right away customers started lowering their masks just long enough to ask him questions. “It's been such a positive experience with no concerns from customers,” he said. Trader Joe’s managers also let Simmons write a message to customers on the Plexiglas shields at cash registers and gave him wipe boards to use at the checkout stands. One customer wrote, "It must be hard with everyone wearing masks, thank you for your help!" If all else fails, Simmons said co-workers are always near to help bridge the communication gap.
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Musical break
I don’t know anyone whose mind isn’t a jumble of troubling thoughts these days, so I thought this great classic blues song would be a good one for today. There are lots of wonderful performances of it, but as is often the case, my favorite is by Nina Simone:
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Good news from around the nation
#ChefsForAmerica Week 5: 2 million meals served
From Chef José Andrés’ newsletter for World Central Kitchen:
This week, WCK [World Central Kitchen] passed 2 million meals served in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to expand our food relief operations in cities across America and in Spain. We are currently serving over 160,000 meals per day. José Andrés also announced a commitment to purchase 1 million meals from small, local restaurants — bringing them back to work (safely). WCK will then deliver those meals with partners to families, seniors, frontline healthcare workers & more. ✂ In New York City, WCK's Relief Team with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies is taking over feeding operations for 16 NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, including 11 hospitals and 5 post-acute centers. Also in NYC, we are launching Free Farmers Markets 6 days a week across the city. Working with Farmer Rich, WCK is purchasing from farms that typically serve restaurants, taking produce that otherwise would be thrown away and bringing it directly to families in need.
And here’s more from José Andrés, who is a genuine hero:
José Andrés: We Have a Food Crisis Unfolding Out of Sight
America has fed millions through disasters before. Mobilize restaurant workers now.
From the New York Times:
Writing in the middle of two devastating cholera pandemics in the early 1800s, the great French culinary thinker Brillat-Savarin articulated a truth we urgently need to grasp today: “The destiny of nations depends on how they feed themselves.” ✂ Our fate as a nation depends on how we feed our most vulnerable citizens through this crisis. If our leaders step up now with federal aid, food can be the solution — supporting millions of jobs while also feeding millions of people in desperate need. ...Today we need a W.P.A. to feed America. In honor of one of its food programs, I suggest calling this new emergency relief America Eats Now. ✂ Today an army of American cooks stands ready to serve our most vulnerable citizens, at a time when those cooks are themselves in desperate need of support. They are our food first responders. With the full support of the federal government, they can serve the many, while saving so many jobs. There are three groups in our communities who face the greatest threat from the pandemic: the elderly, the homeless and families struggling to make ends meet. ✂ The National Restaurant Association is advocating for a much larger package of support, worth more than $300 billion, as it seeks to save up to seven million jobs through a mixture of grants, loans and deferments. Our restaurant industry faces an existential challenge that we all recognize. It is one of the foundational sectors in our economy: four times bigger than our airline industry in sales, and 18 times bigger in jobs. Every industry group should make its case in this crisis. But only those of us who work in restaurants can help revive the economy while feeding and building our communities at the same time. Restaurants were shut down by our governments; they can be revived by our governments to serve the people in their hour of greatest need.
And here he is talking about something we Gnusies all believe in: empathy.
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More Than 20,000 WiFi Devices Are Being Donated to Hospitals So Patients Can Talk With Family in Quarantine
From Good News Network:
... grassroots nonprofit COVID Tech Connect (CTC) is asking tech manufacturers to donate WiFi-enabled devices for hospital patients to video chat with their loved ones while they undergo medical treatment. Their goal is to collect 20,000 donated devices. ✂ CTC came about after Sara Rodell, CEO of technology logistics company Loop and Tie, heard that people in the New York Nurses Union were trying to organize donations of smart devices so that family members could stay in touch with their loved ones during the chaos of the COVID-19 outbreaks. Rodell was so touched by the thought, she reached out to a team of female executives with decades of combined experience in logistics and technology solutions to help her make sure the nurse’s union got what they were looking for. ✂ Despite how the CTC’s GoFundMe campaign was launched only ten days ago, the grassroots movement has already raised over $100,000 dollars and is making a real difference in people’s lives—which has actually included giving some individuals an opportunity that would have been beyond tragic if lost: the opportunity for patients and loved ones to share a final goodbye.
This next story isn’t exactly good news – any cure for COVID-19 would be welcome, no matter who was hyping it – but there is definitely a good news aspect to it. First, it may save the lives of some idiot MAGAts who are downing the fish tank cleaner version of chloroquin. Second, it might convince a few more people that the Toddler-in-Chief is full of shit on the subject of virus cures, as he is on all other subjects.
More deaths, no benefit from malaria drug in VA virus study
From Politico:
A 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. The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it’s the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19… The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has been submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine, but has not been reviewed by other scientists. ... Researchers analyzed medical records of 368 male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at Veterans Health Administration medical centers who died or were discharged by April 11. About 28% who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11% of those getting routine care alone. About 22% of those getting the drug plus azithromycin died too, but the difference between that group and usual care was not considered large enough to rule out other factors that could have affected survival. Hydroxychloroquine made no difference in the need for a breathing machine, either.
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Musical break
This 1932 song, which has long been a jazz standard, popped into my mind when I was searching for music that has something to say about our current situation. I think it’s appropriate not only for those of us who have loved ones to be together with but also for those who are finding ways to be together while having to remain by themselves. And for all of us all over the country doing whatever we can to help and finding that “we’re strong as long as we’re together.”
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Science news
She discovered coronaviruses decades ago—but got little recognition
From National Geographic:
Scientific pioneer June Almeida is finally being acknowledged for virology breakthroughs she made a half century ago. Almeida played a pivotal role in identifying [coronavirus for the first time, in 1964]. That feat was all the more remarkable because the 34-year-old scientist never completed her formal education. [Almeida] was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where her father worked as a bus driver. June was a bright student with ambitions to attend university, but money was scarce. At 16, she dropped out of school and started working as a lab technician at Glasgow Royal Infirmary… [After marrying and immigrating to Canada] she got a job working with electron microscopes at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto [where she developed a new microscopy technique ... simple, yet revolutionary for the field of virology. ✂ [To solve the problem of identifying viruses with electron microscopes] Almeida realized she could use antibodies taken from previously infected individuals to pinpoint the virus. Antibodies are drawn to their antigen-counterparts—so when Almeida introduced tiny particles coated in antibodies, they would congregate around the virus, alerting her to its presence. This technique enabled clinicians to use electron microscopy as a way to diagnose viral infections in patients. ✂ Today, researchers are still using her techniques to rapidly and accurately identify viruses. Fifty-six years after she first saw a coronavirus through a microscope, Almeida’s work is more relevant than ever.
Animal news
This one’s for you, BeeD!
Invite a llama or goat to your next corporate Zoom meeting or video call for under $100
From Business Insider:
An animal sanctuary in Silicon Valley called Sweet Farm is letting people pay to get llamas, goats, and other farm animals to tune into their video calls for under $100.
Since launching the service, called Goat 2 Meeting, last month, Sweet Farm has fielded more than 300 requests for animal cameos and virtual field trips in work happy hours and corporate meetings.
Sweet Farm cofounder Anna Sweet told Business Insider that the money made from Goat 2 Meeting would help the farm recover some of the revenue it has lost because of coronavirus lockdown orders.
Dogs Are Joining the Fight Against COVID-19 By Learning to Sniff Out the Virus
From Good News Network:
For years, dogs have been helping to keep humans safe by sniffing out narcotics, improvised explosive devices, pests, natural disasters, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and now—yes, you guessed it—the novel coronavirus. A medical charity in England that has successfully trained dogs to detect malaria is now attempting to train man’s best friend to identify the smell of COVID-19. The charity, called Medical Detection Dogs, is partnering with the Tropical Medicine and Hygiene School in London along with Durham University to begin trialing dogs for the job. Dr. Claire Guest, a behavioral psychologist and principal member of the charity told CTV News that there is “absolutely no reason why a dog can’t detect the virus.” Describing its approach as “rigorously scientific,” Medical Detection Dogs has produced more than a dozen peer-reviewed papers during their work training dogs to smell and detect cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and most recently malaria, the people behind which have reunited to give COVID a shot.
Gracie the Cat:
From Nextdoor in my Portland OR neighborhood:
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Some laughs and astounding creativity
One of the pleasures I look forward to each week is reading Wonkette’s “Nice Things” on Sunday, a regular feature by resident writer Doktor Zoom (“not a medical doctor, but does have a real PhD in Rhetoric”). This Sunday, he featured the Getty Museum Challenge (which, as he points out, was actually started by an art fan in Amsterdam): make a replica of a famous work of art using stuff inside your home. I know this project has been mentioned before on GNR, but now there are many more great responses, and this link has lots of them.
Here’s one Doktor Zoom singles out, not only for the imaginative use of a face mask but for the absolute brilliance of a response to it on Twitter:
For those unfamiliar with Magritte, the reference is to this painting, “The Treachery of Images”, which says under the pipe “This is not a pipe.”
And here are more Getty Museum Challenge delights:
This may be the best:
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Hot lynx
www.newyorker.com/...How Anthony Fauci Became America’s Doctor. This is a terrific profile of Fauci, who is as fascinating and admirable a man as you might imagine he is.
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/…Antibodies Could Be ‘Radically Life-Changing’ New Treatment for OCD and Other Mental Disorders
www.oregonlive.com/...Live webcams take you on a virtual road trip with amazing views (mostly from Oregon). This link has it all: eagles and other birds, aquariums (otters, sharks, stingrays), zoos (bears, tigers, bats), beaches, snowy mountain slopes, and more.
www.oregonlive.com/...After layoff, Portland dancer created a website that is now a one-stop resource for dancers to share online dance projects (dancingalonetogether.org)
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/...Shirts Are Being Made Out of Luxury Hotel Bed Sheets That Were Discarded for Minor Wear and Tear
www.goodnewsnetwork.org/…For the First Time in 240 Years, White-Tailed Eagles Spotted Flying Over England
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Final musical break
When Randy Newman was asked to create a social distancing PSA, he told Rolling Stone that
it grew into a love song for his wife Gretchen. [She] added, “When he said [I’ve] written a song for you, a love song, I thought, ‘No, there’s gonna be something not right about it. And it’s beautiful, I have to say it’s beautiful.” ✂ Proceeds from “Stay Away” benefit the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in the 9th Ward, New Orleans; the Marsalis jazz family patriarch died April 1st due to complications related to COVID-19.
So here it is, as quirky and as sneakily full of heart as Newman’s work always is.
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❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts, your hearts, and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd.
❤💙 RESIST, PERSIST, REBUILD, REJOICE!💙❤


dailykos--2020-04-23--Trump & GOP Want A Shortcut To 'Herd Immunity' Without Acknowledging Possible Half Million Dead

It ’ s time to admit it : There is a method to the madness , if you ’ re willing to put all morality and ethics aside .
This is why Trump flip-flopped from “ I have the power ” to tell the states to open their economies , to the more recent “ It ’ s up to them to decide ( but we ’ ll be watching and giving ‘ advice ’ ) .
It also explains Trump ’ s mystifying intransigence in refusing to allow the federal government to bring resources to bear to help states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide the public confidence necessary to open up their economies safely .
It explains why the message from the administration is so bifurcated , one side encouraging compliance with social distancing measures and SIP directives , while Trump encourages ‘ liberation ’ from ‘ draconian ’ SIP directives—particularly when the governors instituting such measures are Democrats .
Even the mixed message chaos suits the strategy .
What IS the strategy ?
The strategy that looks for the shortest possible route to ‘ herd immunity ’ .
The basic premise of herd immunity is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the virus and survive , the virus , at least in a non-mutated form , is no longer infectious on a scale that disrupts society .
Go back to work , open your stores , live your life .
I believe that Trump believes his goal is to get America to a place of herd immunity .
In his mind , it makes everything bad go away .
Testing becomes a non-issue .
Vaccines become less immediately important .
People stop dying ( in large numbers ) .
And he thinks he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have ... by November .
And he believes with only the herd immunity ‘ survivors ’ he comes out the ‘ hero ’ .
Trump ‘ wins ’ .
Yah , sure , getting to that immunity that quickly might end up costing up to 500,000 unnecessary deaths .
But hey , in Trump World that ’ s called the ‘ cost of doing business ’ if he can point to an economy steaming ahead to normalcy .
The only problem is , he can ’ t quite come right out and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better off letting the virus ‘ wash over the country ’ ” , as Dr. Fauci is purported to have once heard Mr. Trump muse out loud , to his horror .
Trump wants herd immunity .
He just hasn ’ t quite figured out how to get there without being asked how many deaths it will ‘ cost ’ .
And right on cue , not to be left out of the fun , ‘ Moscow Mitch ’ McConnell , senate majority leader , admitted today that any further federal financial support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this last Relief bill is passed .
Asked whether the states should come to the federal government for future debt relief as already tight budgets reach the breaking point in a few months time , McConnell replied “ I ’ d much prefer the bankruptcy route ” .
Of course he would .
There ’ s the ‘ tough love ’ we ’ ve come to know and expect from the GOP .
Talk about “ never let a crisis go to waste ” !
Sure , Mitch and the GOP would prefer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow the GOP to be in a position to renegotiate public pension debt , held mostly by states the Trumpists have always felt were far too generous in contract negotiations with public sector unions in decades past .
Nevermind the cratering of the American economy that would result from trillion dollar writedowns of lost equity , if that ever came to pass .
But , sadly , America can never presume these guys won ’ t steer the ship-of-state right toward those rocks on purpose .
For them , this is the moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” into the Libertarian Paradise the GOP donors , along with their evangelical fellow travelers , have always wanted .
Just let the FN/OAN propaganda do its work writing off the generation of voters that got us into this mess in the first place .
All will be well .
And we can become comfortably numb together again .
With Trump .
For another four years .
Of this .
PS : If you think countries doing SIP and reemergence correctly will be able to out-perform the United States economically , guess again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t ‘ take advantage ’ of us because we will punish them with tariffs if they try .
That ’ ll show them who ’ s boss !
“ Privatize profits , socialize losses .
”

It’s time to admit it: There is a method to the madness, if you’re willing to put all morality and ethics aside. This is why Trump flip-flopped from “I have the power” to tell the states to open their economies, to the more recent “It’s up to them to decide (but we’ll be watching and giving ‘advice’).
It also explains Trump’s mystifying intransigence in refusing to allow the federal government to bring resources to bear to help states provide the scale of testing necessary to provide the public confidence necessary to open up their economies safely.
It explains why the message from the administration is so bifurcated, one side encouraging compliance with social distancing measures and SIP directives, while Trump encourages ‘liberation’ from ‘draconian’ SIP directives—particularly when the governors instituting such measures are Democrats. Even the mixed message chaos suits the strategy. What IS the strategy? The strategy that looks for the shortest possible route to ‘herd immunity’.
The basic premise of herd immunity is, when enough people have been exposed to the virus and survive, the virus, at least in a non-mutated form, is no longer infectious on a scale that disrupts society. Go back to work, open your stores, live your life.
I believe that Trump believes his goal is to get America to a place of herd immunity. In his mind, it makes everything bad go away. Testing becomes a non-issue. Vaccines become less immediately important. People stop dying (in large numbers). And he thinks he gets to have the election he intended to have...by November. And he believes with only the herd immunity ‘survivors’ he comes out the ‘hero’. Trump ‘wins’. Yah, sure, getting to that immunity that quickly might end up costing up to 500,000 unnecessary deaths.
But hey, in Trump World that’s called the ‘cost of doing business’ if he can point to an economy steaming ahead to normalcy. The only problem is, he can’t quite come right out and say “We’d all be better off letting the virus ‘wash over the country’”, as Dr. Fauci is purported to have once heard Mr. Trump muse out loud, to his horror.
Trump wants herd immunity. He just hasn’t quite figured out how to get there without being asked how many deaths it will ‘cost’.
And right on cue, not to be left out of the fun, ‘Moscow Mitch’ McConnell, senate majority leader, admitted today that any further federal financial support for the states is basically over after this last Relief bill is passed. Asked whether the states should come to the federal government for future debt relief as already tight budgets reach the breaking point in a few months time, McConnell replied “I’d much prefer the bankruptcy route”.
Of course he would. There’s the ‘tough love’ we’ve come to know and expect from the GOP.
Talk about “never let a crisis go to waste”! Sure, Mitch and the GOP would prefer states declare bankruptcy, because it would allow the GOP to be in a position to renege renegotiate public pension debt, held mostly by states the Trumpists have always felt were far too generous in contract negotiations with public sector unions in decades past. Nevermind the cratering of the American economy that would result from trillion dollar writedowns of lost equity, if that ever came to pass.
But, sadly, America can never presume these guys won’t steer the ship-of-state right toward those rocks on purpose. For them, this is the moment the nation gets to “reinvent itself” into the Libertarian Paradise the GOP donors, along with their evangelical fellow travelers, have always wanted. Just let the FN/OAN propaganda do its work writing off the generation of voters that got us into this mess in the first place. All will be well. And we can become comfortably numb together again. With Trump. For another four years. Of this.
PS: If you think countries doing SIP and reemergence correctly will be able to out-perform the United States economically, guess again. We will make sure they can’t ‘take advantage’ of us because we will punish them with tariffs if they try. That’ll show them who’s boss! “Privatize profits, socialize losses.”


dailykos--2020-04-25--Letter from a Concerned Veteran and Candidate in North Carolina

Please read this letter from one candidate I am helping this year , Josh Remillard , a veteran , family man , and community leader .
He is running against a former legislator who made it his goal to micromanage local elections and suppress the will of the voters , Tim Moffitt .
I will let Josh ( through his letter , tell you more… My name is Josh Remillard , and I am running for the North Carolina House of Representatives in Western North Carolina .
There are some basic traits that I use to guide my life ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Focus on Mission .
These are all traits that were instilled in me during my 8 years of service in the United States Army , and which I put into action next to my brothers and sisters-in-arms during 2 tours of combat in Iraq .
When my boots touched the ground , we had a mission , to protect this country , and that mission deserved the resources and planning to get to “ mission accomplished.
” After the army , I moved to Henderson , NC with my wife Rhiannon ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my family .
My grandparents in Wilmington both taught me the value of service to my community , which has been part of my life professionally and personally .
I work for Gaia Herbs , a nationally recognized pioneer of herbal supplements based in Brevard that actively works towards building a more inclusive and sustainable economy .
When not at work or home , I donate my time to organizations such as Aura Home for Homeless Female Veterans , which addresses the rapid growth of homelessness among female veterans , and Team Rubicon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Assessor , to Marianna , Florida to lend natural disaster aid .
I am running for the North Carolina House of Representatives because our legislature lost their way , have lost sight of the mission that public service is all about .
As a veteran , father , and community leader in Henderson County , I understand the issues that many of my neighbors live everyday .
Whether it is access to decent affordable healthcare , a well-funded public school for our kids , or clean water and air , that has not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Instead , over the last 10 years , they have focused more on lining the pocket of the special interests , their friends in Raleigh , and Republican leadership .
As I watch the dysfunction in our current political climate , I knew that I had to step and do something about it .
That ’ s why I am running to help take back the majority in the legislature , so we can bring the mission of public service back to Raleigh .
My campaign has already generated support locally and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received local support from my neighbors , community leaders , and my fellow candidates .
Ret .
Col. Moe Davis , candidate for Congress , endorsed my campaign .
I have been endorsed by VoteVets , and my fellow brothers and sisters in service have joined me in the campaign .
We are growing !
Please consider going to joshremillard.com to join my campaign .
Here are some other ways to get engaged in my campaign .
Thank you for your help , and I look forward to working with you and serving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we can do it !
I am new here to Daily Kos , but I am not new to politics .
I have worked to elect new and emerging Democrats over the last 4 years .
I managed both the election and re-election of Elizabeth Guzman , the first Hispanic woman and first AFSCME member to the VA legislature .
In 2019 , I was part of the group that flipped the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate .
I want to elect new leaders in places like my home in North @ @ @ @ @

Good evening!
Please read this letter from one candidate I am helping this year, Josh Remillard, a veteran, family man, and community leader. He is running against a former legislator who made it his goal to micromanage local elections and suppress the will of the voters, Tim Moffitt. I will let Josh (through his letter, tell you more…
---------— ---------------—
Dear Friend,
My name is Josh Remillard, and I am running for the North Carolina House of Representatives in Western North Carolina. There are some basic traits that I use to guide my life; Integrity, Service, Respect, Decency, Focus on Mission. These are all traits that were instilled in me during my 8 years of service in the United States Army, and which I put into action next to my brothers and sisters-in-arms during 2 tours of combat in Iraq. When my boots touched the ground, we had a mission, to protect this country, and that mission deserved the resources and planning to get to “mission accomplished.”
After the army, I moved to Henderson, NC with my wife Rhiannon (we call her Rhi) to start my family. My grandparents in Wilmington both taught me the value of service to my community, which has been part of my life professionally and personally. I work for Gaia Herbs, a nationally recognized pioneer of herbal supplements based in Brevard that actively works towards building a more inclusive and sustainable economy. When not at work or home, I donate my time to organizations such as Aura Home for Homeless Female Veterans, which addresses the rapid growth of homelessness among female veterans, and Team Rubicon after Hurricane Michael, as a Damage Assessor, to Marianna, Florida to lend natural disaster aid.
I am running for the North Carolina House of Representatives because our legislature lost their way, have lost sight of the mission that public service is all about. As a veteran, father, and community leader in Henderson County, I understand the issues that many of my neighbors live everyday. Whether it is access to decent affordable healthcare, a well-funded public school for our kids, or clean water and air, that has not been the priority of Republicans in Raleigh. Instead, over the last 10 years, they have focused more on lining the pocket of the special interests, their friends in Raleigh, and Republican leadership. As I watch the dysfunction in our current political climate, I knew that I had to step and do something about it. That’s why I am running to help take back the majority in the legislature, so we can bring the mission of public service back to Raleigh.
My campaign has already generated support locally and nationally. Despite COVID-19, I have received local support from my neighbors, community leaders, and my fellow candidates. Ret. Col. Moe Davis, candidate for Congress, endorsed my campaign. I have been endorsed by VoteVets, and my fellow brothers and sisters in service have joined me in the campaign. We are growing! Please consider going to joshremillard.com to join my campaign. Here are some other ways to get engaged in my campaign.
Website: joshremillard.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/...
Twitter: @Remillard117
Actblue: secure.actblue.com/...
Thank you for your help, and I look forward to working with you and serving you in Raleigh! With your support, we can do it!
Warm regards,
Josh Remillard
-------------
I am new here to Daily Kos, but I am not new to politics. I have worked to elect new and emerging Democrats over the last 4 years. I managed both the election and re-election of Elizabeth Guzman, the first Hispanic woman and first AFSCME member to the VA legislature. In 2019, I was part of the group that flipped the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. I want to elect new leaders in places like my home in North Carolina. — Keith Brannum


dailykos--2020-04-25--Culling The Herd: The Coronavirus Death Rate And The Conservative Herd Immunity Con.

What is the death rate from Coronavirus , or for that matter any disease ?
The traditional formula for this is quite simple .
This is the formula regularly used for everything from the flu to the Coronavirus .
However , it is not good enough for a conservative narrative seeking to frame sheltering in place as an evil-commie-lib-socialist plot aimed at wrecking the wonderful capitalist utopia brought to us by the Trump regime .
It ’ s not good enough because it produces a death rate much too high to justify reopening society .
Let ’ s take New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the nation , or for that matter , in another manifestation of American supremacy , the world .
As of this writing , New York has almost 280,000 confirmed cases and about 21,400 deaths for an eye popping death rate of nearly 7.7 % .
We can ’ t have that .
So we need to adjust the numbers .
In this case the key to adjusting the numbers , to bring down that percentage , is to increase the denominator .
Argue that the confirmed cases understates actual cases , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimated actual cases instead of confirmed cases in the equation .
An example of this approach is Kevin McCullough ’ s Townhall article with the inflammatory title Antibody Testing : Proves We ’ ve Been Had !
I encourage you to read it as an example of this flawed methodology .
If you accept Mr. McCullough ’ s reasoning , you have indeed been had .
Mr. McCullough cites a New York study that found 13.9 % of those tested had Coronavirus antibodies .
This implies they contracted coronavirus , symptom free , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While such immunity is not actually proven yet it ’ s likely and I shall assume it exists .
When reviewing Mr. McCullough ’ s article , click through to the article he uses as the citation for the New York study .
When you do two things will be made quite clear in that article .
• Those tested were not representative of the general population of New York .
The tests were done in grocery and box stores , so by definition these were people out and about .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are people who were out and about , shopping , they were not people who were in their home , they are not people who were isolated and not people who were quarantined who you could argue , probably had a lower rate of infection because they wouldn ’ t come out of the house.
” 2 .
The same article McCullough uses as his source also states that the number of deaths in New York is greatly understated because it includes only deaths in hospitals and nursing homes .
It notably excludes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number who die in their own homes .
Even though McCullough ’ s own source makes clear the sample tested was not representative ( by failing to include groups with likely lower infection rates ) , McCullough nevertheless treats it as representative .
He extrapolates the 13.9 % to the entire population to determine the actual number of infections is 2,500,000 .
Even though McCullough ’ s source also makes clear the number of deaths is understated McCullough nevertheless uses the current official number of deaths that fails to include those who died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to extrapolate an estimated number of “ actual cases ” for the denominator , then consistency ( and intellectual honesty ) would require also extrapolating an estimated number of actual deaths for the numerator , particularly when you know that number is greatly deflated .
Alas , such intellectual honesty was lacking in Mr. McCullough ’ s approach .
McCullough takes the best for his argument approach of an estimated 2.5 million infected , and the also best for his argument known to be deflated death count , and plugs that into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real fatality rate “ is actually .75 % .
” He compares that favorably to the seasonal flu ’ s fatality rate , ignoring the obvious confirmed apples to estimated oranges problem .
Many also get the flu without interacting with the health system and being formally diagnosed .
If you applied his method to the flu it too would have a lower fatality rate than is reflected in McCullough ’ s statements of the flu ’ s fatality rate .
The Culling : What It Takes To Get To Herd Immunity Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions are already immune and we are closer to herd immunity than we realize .
Getting to herd immunity requires culling a certain percentage of the herd , a bad thing if you are among those culled , or someone you care for is .
McCullough does not tell you how big that culling would be , even applying his own rosy ( and wrong ) numbers .
I will .
If you apply McCullough ’ s 0.75 % to the U.S. population of 330 million you get 2.5 million Americans “ culled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dead .
I accept that number as somewhat high because at some point herd immunity confers significant protection to even those not immune .
That point , for the record , is about 70 % of the population , or over 200 million Americans .
So applying McCullough ’ s own ( wrong ) 0.75 % fatality rate to the more than 200 million Americans required to contract the virus to confer herd immunity means around 1.5 million dead Americans .
That ’ s not anything like the flu .
Another point here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in New York as those who actually get sick .
They have symptoms that prompt the test .
In New York that is about 280,000 cases .
Again , accepting McCullough ’ s figure of 2.5 million New Yorkers who have gained immunity from having the virus , that means that about 11 % who get the virus get sick .
Applying that to the 200 million Americans required to gain the benefit of herd immunity means about 22.5 million sick Americans , of which ( as explained above ) about 1.5 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not comparable to the flu .
Perhaps that ’ s an acceptable loss to some , but at least be up front about the carnage you are talking about .
What ’ s more keep in mind that the flawed start to McCullough ’ s method means his 0.75 % is wrong , likely much higher , and that the deadly consequences of returning to normal are also much higher .
In the real world , there is no sign of herd immunity .
Yesterday ( April 24th ) saw the biggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet .

What is the death rate from Coronavirus, or for that matter any disease? The traditional formula for this is quite simple.
(Confirmed Deaths ÷ Confirmed Cases) X 100 =Fatality Rate Percentage.
This is the formula regularly used for everything from the flu to the Coronavirus. However, it is not good enough for a conservative narrative seeking to frame sheltering in place as an evil-commie-lib-socialist plot aimed at wrecking the wonderful capitalist utopia brought to us by the Trump regime. It’s not good enough because it produces a death rate much too high to justify reopening society.
Let’s take New York, the hottest spot for Coronavirus in the nation, or for that matter, in another manifestation of American supremacy, the world. As of this writing, New York has almost 280,000 confirmed cases and about 21,400 deaths for an eye popping death rate of nearly 7.7%. We can’t have that. So we need to adjust the numbers.
Adjusting the Numbers: The Flawed Methodology
In this case the key to adjusting the numbers, to bring down that percentage, is to increase the denominator. Argue that the confirmed cases understates actual cases, and by a lot. Then use the estimated actual cases instead of confirmed cases in the equation.
An example of this approach is Kevin McCullough’s Townhall article with the inflammatory title Antibody Testing: Proves We’ve Been Had! I encourage you to read it as an example of this flawed methodology. If you accept Mr. McCullough’s reasoning, you have indeed been had.
Mr. McCullough cites a New York study that found 13.9% of those tested had Coronavirus antibodies. This implies they contracted coronavirus, symptom free, and now have immunity from it. While such immunity is not actually proven yet it’s likely and I shall assume it exists. When reviewing Mr. McCullough’s article, click through to the article he uses as the citation for the New York study. When you do two things will be made quite clear in that article.
Those tested were not representative of the general population of New York. The tests were done in grocery and box stores, so by definition these were people out and about. In the words of Governor Cuomo: “These are people who were out and about, shopping, they were not people who were in their home, they are not people who were isolated and not people who were quarantined who you could argue, probably had a lower rate of infection because they wouldn’t come out of the house.”
2. The same article McCullough uses as his source also states that the number of deaths in New York is greatly understated because it includes only deaths in hospitals and nursing homes. It notably excludes what is believed to be a significant number who die in their own homes.
Even though McCullough’s own source makes clear the sample tested was not representative (by failing to include groups with likely lower infection rates), McCullough nevertheless treats it as representative. He extrapolates the 13.9% to the entire population to determine the actual number of infections is 2,500,000.
Even though McCullough’s source also makes clear the number of deaths is understated McCullough nevertheless uses the current official number of deaths that fails to include those who died at home. Surely if one is going to extrapolate an estimated number of “actual cases” for the denominator, then consistency (and intellectual honesty) would require also extrapolating an estimated number of actual deaths for the numerator, particularly when you know that number is greatly deflated. Alas, such intellectual honesty was lacking in Mr. McCullough’s approach.
McCullough takes the best for his argument approach of an estimated 2.5 million infected, and the also best for his argument known to be deflated death count, and plugs that into the formula. He then concludes the real fatality rate “is actually .75%.” He compares that favorably to the seasonal flu’s fatality rate, ignoring the obvious confirmed apples to estimated oranges problem. Many also get the flu without interacting with the health system and being formally diagnosed. If you applied his method to the flu it too would have a lower fatality rate than is reflected in McCullough’s statements of the flu’s fatality rate.
The Culling: What It Takes To Get To Herd Immunity
Mr. McCullough talks about herd immunity, arguing millions are already immune and we are closer to herd immunity than we realize. Getting to herd immunity requires culling a certain percentage of the herd, a bad thing if you are among those culled, or someone you care for is. McCullough does not tell you how big that culling would be, even applying his own rosy (and wrong) numbers. I will.
If you apply McCullough’s 0.75% to the U.S. population of 330 million you get 2.5 million Americans “culled” from the herd, as in dead.
I accept that number as somewhat high because at some point herd immunity confers significant protection to even those not immune. That point, for the record, is about 70% of the population, or over 200 million Americans. So applying McCullough’s own (wrong) 0.75% fatality rate to the more than 200 million Americans required to contract the virus to confer herd immunity means around 1.5 million dead Americans. That’s not anything like the flu.
Another point here. We can describe the confirmed cases in New York as those who actually get sick. They have symptoms that prompt the test. In New York that is about 280,000 cases. Again, accepting McCullough’s figure of 2.5 million New Yorkers who have gained immunity from having the virus, that means that about 11% who get the virus get sick. Applying that to the 200 million Americans required to gain the benefit of herd immunity means about 22.5 million sick Americans, of which (as explained above) about 1.5 million would die. Again, that’s not comparable to the flu.
Perhaps that’s an acceptable loss to some, but at least be up front about the carnage you are talking about. What’s more keep in mind that the flawed start to McCullough’s method means his 0.75% is wrong, likely much higher, and that the deadly consequences of returning to normal are also much higher.
In the real world, there is no sign of herd immunity. Yesterday (April 24th) saw the biggest single day increase in new coronavirus cases yet.


dailykos--2020-04-25--Girl, we told you: a rhyming reach-out text to white America.

From that day you made a scene , it ’ s been a minute since we ’ ve seen When you get this , pls don ’ t scream But girl , how ’ ve you been ?
Cos we saw : Thousand-car breadlines out in Maimi , Doctors Without Borders come to NYC Trouble with militias down in Wisconsin Your boy 's posse thinks he 's stupid , but they endorsed him Now they 're stripping 5G towers just for endorphins But a part of us is working out old jealousy Laugh to let off steam , put our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we were a shithole and we were n't shit He was expert-level trolling when he said that ish But your cowardly news media went and covered it Never ventured in , merely mentioned it But if he bashes Jake Tapper , they 'll be hand in fist Dude 's a terrorist with a terror list , but you know , we tried to warn you to beware of this Said he did weird shit , said he acted trashy Told us to mind our business , he `` helped your anxiety '' And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to mate with mental But if you find you 're ready to talk , you know , we 'll be gentle

From that day you made a scene, it’s been a minute since we’ve seen
When you get this, pls don’t scream
But girl, how’ve you been? Cos we saw:
Thousand-car breadlines out in Maimi, Doctors Without Borders come to NYC
Trouble with militias down in Wisconsin
Your boy's posse thinks he's stupid, but they endorsed him
Now they're stripping 5G towers just for endorphins
Shit's a horror scene, it's embarrassing
But a part of us is working out old jealousy
Laugh to let off steam, put our claws back in
from when he said we were a shithole and we weren't shit
He was expert-level trolling when he said that ish
But your cowardly news media went and covered it
Never ventured in, merely mentioned it
But if he bashes Jake Tapper, they'll be hand in fist
Dude's a terrorist with a terror list, but you know, we tried to warn you to beware of this
Said he did weird shit, said he acted trashy
Told us to mind our business, he "helped your anxiety"
And that's where we left you, to mate with mental
But if you find you're ready to talk, you know, we'll be gentle


25th Amendment Now!

We can not wait any longer A mere four days ago I posted an Around the Block which included a @ @ @ @ @ Mike Pence ’ s approach to invoking the 25th Amendment : Around the Block – @ @ @ @ @ things have deteriorated to a point no one could have imagined .
Since then , @ @ @ @ @ States suggested injecting light and disinfectant into people ’ s bodies to “ cure ” @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s latest outrage , I posted “ 25th Amendment Now !
We Can @ @ @ @ @ Here the link : Around the Block - 25th Amendment Now !
I closed the @ @ @ @ @ But more importantly , figure out a way to get Pence and the rest of @ @ @ @ @ think about , it but do something about it .
Because , they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ get it done !
” Think about it !

We cannot wait any longer
A mere four days ago I posted an Around the Block which included a satirical riff on Vice President Mike Pence’s approach to invoking the 25th Amendment: Around the Block – This and That
Since then things have deteriorated to a point no one could have imagined.
Since then, the President of the United States suggested injecting light and disinfectant into people’s bodies to “cure” Covid-19.
In response to Trump’s latest outrage, I posted “25th Amendment Now! We Cannot Wait Any Longer.”
Here the link: Around the Block - 25th Amendment Now!
I closed the piece with this:
“Think about it.
“But more importantly, figure out a way to get Pence and the rest of the Cabinet to not only think about, it but do something about it. Because, they’re the only ones who can get it done!”
Think about it!


dailykos--2020-04-26--Mitch McConnell is actually proposing the most massive tax increases in U.S. history

In “ Why Mitch McConnell ’ s State Bankruptcy Idea Is So Stupid , ” Josh Barro makes a very important and elemental point about Mitch McConnell ’ s proposal to let states go bankrupt .
Bankruptcy is only available to those who are insolvent - and no state is even close to insolvency because they have the power to tax .
Right ?
A bankruptcy court can not wipe out debts simply because the debtor prefers not to raise taxes to pay for them .
So , for example , McConnell ’ s bankruptcy stance is only a proposal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course , McConnell would comfortably argue that NY taxpayers , not federal taxpayers generally , should pay the bills .
But that is not the argument he is making .
And it is important to debunk the bankruptcy narrative because it ( 1 ) allows Republicans to use it pejoratively ( deadbeats , profligates , failed public policies ) while also ( 2 ) allowing Republicans to think they are acting beneficently and with fiscal probity - allowing some debts to be wiped out and the state to emerge “ reorganized ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debts must be paid , in full .
And given the number of states that are , and will be , incurring massive costs associated with Covid-19 and its consequences — including large states like NY , NJ , CA , FL , WI and so on - McConnell is actually advocating for the most massive tax increases in U.S. history .
Let ’ s be clear about that and not fight on McConnell ’ s false ground .
*/ Of course , it also has to be noted that the states are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thus McConnell ’ s harebrained scheme would require Congress to actually vote the states into possible bankruptcy .
That ’ s not going to happen and , as discussed above , the whole country would have to be pretty much wrecked before any state could credibly argue that it is “ insolvent .
”

In “Why Mitch McConnell’s State Bankruptcy Idea Is So Stupid,” Josh Barro makes a very important and elemental point about Mitch McConnell’s proposal to let states go bankrupt. Bankruptcy is only available to those who are insolvent - and no state is even close to insolvency because they have the power to tax. Right? A bankruptcy court cannot wipe out debts simply because the debtor prefers not to raise taxes to pay for them. So, for example, McConnell’s bankruptcy stance is only a proposal to massively raise NYS taxes.*/
Of course, McConnell would comfortably argue that NY taxpayers, not federal taxpayers generally, should pay the bills. But that is not the argument he is making. And it is important to debunk the bankruptcy narrative because it (1) allows Republicans to use it pejoratively (deadbeats, profligates, failed public policies) while also (2) allowing Republicans to think they are acting beneficently and with fiscal probity - allowing some debts to be wiped out and the state to emerge “reorganized” and stronger. No, all these debts must be paid, in full.
And given the number of states that are, and will be, incurring massive costs associated with Covid-19 and its consequences — including large states like NY, NJ, CA, FL, WI and so on - McConnell is actually advocating for the most massive tax increases in U.S. history.
Let’s be clear about that and not fight on McConnell’s false ground.
*/ Of course, it also has to be noted that the states are not legally allowed to declare bankruptcy and thus McConnell’s harebrained scheme would require Congress to actually vote the states into possible bankruptcy. That’s not going to happen and, as discussed above, the whole country would have to be pretty much wrecked before any state could credibly argue that it is “insolvent.”


dailykos--2020-04-26--Around the Block - USDA let millions of pounds of food rot while food-bank demand soared

You know , I always cringed when I heard Ronald Reagan ’ s small government mantra , “ I ’ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m here to help.
” He also said , “ In this present @ @ @ @ @ the solution to our problem ; government is the problem.
” Guess what ?
With @ @ @ @ @ That Can ’ t Shoot Straight , ” I finally can get behind something Saint @ @ @ @ @ Block : USDA let millions of pounds of food rot while food-bank demand soared

You know, I always cringed when I heard Ronald Reagan’s small government mantra, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
He also said, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
Guess what? With Trump and his “Gang That Can’t Shoot Straight,” I finally can get behind something Saint Ronald said.
Around the Block: USDA let millions of pounds of food rot while food-bank demand soared


The Believers

“ In an ever-changing , incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would , at the same @ @ @ @ @ nothing , think that everything was possible and that nothing was true .
... Mass @ @ @ @ @ was ready at all times to believe the worst , no matter how absurd , @ @ @ @ @ to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow .
The @ @ @ @ @ propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that , under such conditions , one could make @ @ @ @ @ statements one day , and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable @ @ @ @ @ they would take refuge in cynicism ; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied @ @ @ @ @ protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would @ @ @ @ @ superior tactical cleverness .
”

“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.
The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”
- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, (1951).


🎶 DITCH MITCH 🎶

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dailykos--2020-04-27--“PRIMUM NON NOCERE “

“PRIMUM NON NOCERE “

The president who once stared directly into a solar eclipse despite warnings muses on a possible cure for the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ spitballed at a gobsmacking stream-of-consciousness news briefing the idea that disinfectant might just be the @ @ @ @ @ What have you got to lose ?
My advice ?
Get a second opinion .
@ @ @ @ @ 2020 — vote him out !

What’s your poison?
The president who once stared directly into a solar eclipse despite warnings muses on a possible cure for the coronavirus. Our Teetotaler in Chief spitballed at a gobsmacking stream-of-consciousness news briefing the idea that disinfectant might just be the cure for the coronavirus.
What have you got to lose?
My advice? Get a second opinion.
Isolate. Test. Trace. Treat. Cure.
Party like it’s 2020 — vote him out!


dailykos--2020-04-28--Workers Must Continue Fight for Rights and Protections

Labor activist Mary Harris “ Mother ” Jones once said , “ Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.
” Those words resonate today , just as they did at the turn of the 20th Century .
Even before the novel coronavirus pandemic , her words rang true to the current state of our democracy .
We live in a world where poor and working-class people are still sacrificed for the sake of capitalism and the almighty dollar .
This pandemic has highlighted how willing the elite class is to surrender us for their gains and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unite to save our own lives .
Poor and working-class people in America do not stand a chance unless we organize .
Mother Jones saw the devastation of class warfare during the industrial and post-industrial years in this country .
She dedicated her life to bringing the disenfranchised together to fight for themselves against the cruelty of industry leaders .
A lot has changed in the decades since Mother Jones fought alongside working people and their families , but a great deal remains the same .
The elite class still rules without regard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives of the workers that generate their wealth .
This pandemic shows just how fragile a system the elite have built .
We can not allow ourselves to go back to the status quo when this pandemic is over .
We can not continue to allow the ruling class to sacrifice our health , safety , and lives so they can continue to gain unimaginable wealth and leave us breadcrumbs .
Are you not tired of fighting your neighbors for breadcrumbs ?
I certainly am .
I am tired of being forced into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me to hang on .
I am sick of seeing my friends , family , and neighbors tremble in fear when unexpected expenses arise that could financially ruin them .
I am sick of seeing poor and working-class people being offered up as sacrifice to “ save the economy ” .
This isn ’ t about saving the economy .
Let ’ s be real , this is about saving their personal wealth .
It ’ s about profit over people , the same mantra of the coal and railroad companies Mother Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you OK with your family being sacrificed in the name of industrialism ?
I ’ m not .
I do not owe the elite class or our capitalist society a damn thing , certainly not the lives of myself and my family .
As a member of the working-class , I ’ ve given them enough .
The question remains , what are the poor and working-class supposed to do to help themselves when a system of institutionalized disenfranchisement has been built specifically to keep us down ?
Organize .
There is power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a collective voice .
We have seen a rise in essential workers taking charge of their rights and organizing to demand hazard pay , protective gear , better sanitation practices , and increased social distancing inside of stores during the pandemic .
Poor and working-class people must keep this momentum going once this pandemic is over .
We must stand up for our rights as the workforce that produces the wealth for those in the elite class .
We must stop the elite in their tracks and not allow them to pit us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same struggles and we are more alike than they would ever want us to realize .
They have spent hundreds of years working to divide us by convincing us that we are each other ’ s enemy .
We aren ’ t enemies , we are comrades that must organize and use our collective voice against the real enemy , the elite class .

Labor activist Mary Harris “Mother” Jones once said, “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.” Those words resonate today, just as they did at the turn of the 20th Century. Even before the novel coronavirus pandemic, her words rang true to the current state of our democracy. We live in a world where poor and working-class people are still sacrificed for the sake of capitalism and the almighty dollar. This pandemic has highlighted how willing the elite class is to surrender us for their gains and how important it is for us to unite to save our own lives.
Poor and working-class people in America do not stand a chance unless we organize. Mother Jones saw the devastation of class warfare during the industrial and post-industrial years in this country. She dedicated her life to bringing the disenfranchised together to fight for themselves against the cruelty of industry leaders. A lot has changed in the decades since Mother Jones fought alongside working people and their families, but a great deal remains the same. The elite class still rules without regard for the health, safety, and lives of the workers that generate their wealth. This pandemic shows just how fragile a system the elite have built.
We cannot allow ourselves to go back to the status quo when this pandemic is over. We cannot continue to allow the ruling class to sacrifice our health, safety, and lives so they can continue to gain unimaginable wealth and leave us breadcrumbs. Are you not tired of fighting your neighbors for breadcrumbs? I certainly am. I am tired of being forced into low-wage, unsustainable work that barely allows me to hang on. I am sick of seeing my friends, family, and neighbors tremble in fear when unexpected expenses arise that could financially ruin them.
I am sick of seeing poor and working-class people being offered up as sacrifice to “save the economy”. This isn’t about saving the economy. Let’s be real, this is about saving their personal wealth. It’s about profit over people, the same mantra of the coal and railroad companies Mother Jones fought against 100 years ago. Are you OK with your family being sacrificed in the name of industrialism? I’m not. I do not owe the elite class or our capitalist society a damn thing, certainly not the lives of myself and my family. As a member of the working-class, I’ve given them enough.
The question remains, what are the poor and working-class supposed to do to help themselves when a system of institutionalized disenfranchisement has been built specifically to keep us down? Organize. There is power in numbers. There is power in a collective voice. We have seen a rise in essential workers taking charge of their rights and organizing to demand hazard pay, protective gear, better sanitation practices, and increased social distancing inside of stores during the pandemic. Poor and working-class people must keep this momentum going once this pandemic is over.
We must stand up for our rights as the workforce that produces the wealth for those in the elite class. We must stop the elite in their tracks and not allow them to pit us against one another when we all have the same struggles and we are more alike than they would ever want us to realize. They have spent hundreds of years working to divide us by convincing us that we are each other’s enemy. We aren’t enemies, we are comrades that must organize and use our collective voice against the real enemy, the elite class.
U.S. Senate - Paula Jean Swearengin
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dailykos--2020-04-30--We Must Put Our Support Behind Progressive Candidates

I know many of you are disappointed over the suspension of Bernie Sanders ’ campaign .
I know I am .
Bernie brought a movement to the mainstream that supports progressive policies that will benefit those of us in the bottom 99 % .
This is what this country needs in order for people to thrive rather than just survive .
We can not let this discourage us .
We owe Senator Sanders a debt of gratitude for what he has done for the movement , but a movement takes all of us .
We can not lose momentum .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ us to stand behind progressive candidates at all levels , but especially congressional candidates .
No matter who our president is , we must elect a strong Congress to hold that person accountable and pass legislation that benefits “ We the People ” , not “ They the Corporations ” .
We have been sacrificed to the will of the elite for too long.. West Virginians know all too well how it feels to be taken advantage of by corporate America and forgotten by our elected officials .
Aren ’ t you tired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind for us ?
I sure am .
I am sick of being told through self-serving actions that we don ’ t matter .
I am tired of struggling to take care of my family while the work I do produces the wealth C-level executives take for granted .
It ’ s time for the top wage earners in this country to pay their fair share so that people in this country can flourish beyond the constraints of poverty .
I am ready to see progressives like myself filling the halls of Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have the courage of their convictions to stand up They the Corporations and stand up We the People .
I am not afraid to fight for progressive policies like universal healthcare , a federal jobs guarantee , and a living wage .
I am not afraid to hold the Democrats and Republicans alike accountable to the people of this country .
Find progressive candidates in your districts and help get them elected .
Volunteer your time to help them reach voters .
Donate money if you can .
Put a sign in your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We have to keep the momentum of this movement going so that no matter who our president is , we have a strong , collective progressive voice in Congress .

I know many of you are disappointed over the suspension of Bernie Sanders’ campaign. I know I am. Bernie brought a movement to the mainstream that supports progressive policies that will benefit those of us in the bottom 99%. This is what this country needs in order for people to thrive rather than just survive. We cannot let this discourage us. We owe Senator Sanders a debt of gratitude for what he has done for the movement, but a movement takes all of us. We cannot lose momentum.
It has never been more important for us to stand behind progressive candidates at all levels, but especially congressional candidates. No matter who our president is, we must elect a strong Congress to hold that person accountable and pass legislation that benefits “We the People”, not “They the Corporations”. We have been sacrificed to the will of the elite for too long..
West Virginians know all too well how it feels to be taken advantage of by corporate America and forgotten by our elected officials. Aren’t you tired of fighting over the breadcrumbs they leave behind for us? I sure am. I am sick of being told through self-serving actions that we don’t matter. I am tired of struggling to take care of my family while the work I do produces the wealth C-level executives take for granted. It’s time for the top wage earners in this country to pay their fair share so that people in this country can flourish beyond the constraints of poverty.
I am ready to see progressives like myself filling the halls of Congress advocating for meaningful change. Progressive candidates have the courage of their convictions to stand up to They the Corporations and stand up for We the People. I am not afraid to fight for progressive policies like universal healthcare, a federal jobs guarantee, and a living wage. I am not afraid to hold the Democrats and Republicans alike accountable to the people of this country.
Find progressive candidates in your districts and help get them elected. Volunteer your time to help them reach voters. Donate money if you can. Put a sign in your yard or a sticker on your bumper. We have to keep the momentum of this movement going so that no matter who our president is, we have a strong, collective progressive voice in Congress.
U.S. Senate - Paula Jean Swearengin
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