dailykos--2020-05-06--The Next President Must Harness
the Virus Debt for Economic Growth

Historic Levels of Unemployment Claims and Business Shutdowns Have Required the Greatest Surge in Government Debt Since WW II Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the Federal government , with the support of both parties , has issued close to $ 3 trillion in government debt to stop the economy from cratering .
However , this debt could also create an opportunity to expand our economy .
First let ’ s review how we got here .
With stay-in-place laws and mandatory closing of most businesses , unemployment has skyrocketed .
Before the pandemic it was at 3.5 percent in December @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Economic Policy Institute has estimated that unemployment rate to be at 18.3 percent .
Many economists using April ’ s Labor Department data predict that the unemployment rate could reach 25 percent this summer if the existing practices remain in force .
That level would match the peak of the Great Depression in 1933 .
However , then it took three years not six months to reach that level .
The health security measures taken so far by states and the federal government , has also dramatically reduced the size of our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will shrink by around 6 percent from 2019 .
This would wipe out all the growth that took place in the last two years .
The GDP having increased 2.3 percent in 2019 and 2.9 percent in 2018 .
With numbers like these , both President Trump and Democrat leaders pushed for federal loans .
Trump initially said in February , `` I think that we ’ re doing a great job , '' requesting $ 1.25 billion in new funding to address the coronavirus pandemic .
However , the House Democrats passed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Relief , and Economic Security Act ( H.R .
748 ) at a much higher level of funding .
In the first week of March , Congress with bipartisan support , replaced that bill with a Phase 1 funding package totaling $ 8.3 billion to treat and prevent the widespread transmission and effects of COVID-19 .
By the end of March , a new Phase 3 added $ 2 trillion more and was passed by the Senate unanimously and in the House by voice vote , with Trump signing it the next day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CARES 2 , which provides another half trillion for emergency relief .
It is scheduled for a House vote when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi determines that it is safe for the members to return to D.C .
These loans are pumping up government debt to new levels .
Previous government spending increases and tax cuts had already pushed U.S. government ratio of debt to the GDP to nearly 80 % , the highest in over 60 years .
It was only 35 percent at the end of 2007 .
Germany ’ s second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the current coronavirus relief packages will push that figure to 96 % by 2022 .
Although the Republicans are reluctant to push for the larger CARES 2 funding package , economists have been predicting that more support for workers and companies harmed by the pandemic will be required .
However , with unemployment approaching an all-time high , tax revenue will decline along with economic activity , pushing the government deficit even further .
Bernd Weidensteiner , one of the German bank 's economists , says that could well happen if Congress passes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not revive quickly ; US debt could then exceed the previous high of 106 percent set right after WW II .
The Next Administration Faces Two Options for Addressing Our Current and Growing Government Debt Next year ’ s administration , whether under Donald Trump or Joe Biden , will face a huge federal debt due to the Covid-19 pandemic .
There are two different approaches to take .
On the whole , conservatives support paying off the debt as soon as possible to avoid inflation , while liberals support using debt to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy .
This month the leaders of the conservative Republican Study Committee ( RSC ) sent a letter to the top four leaders in both chambers saying that there is an “ urgent need '' to address the “ fiscal health of our nation ” because of the growing debt created by dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic .
Their solution is to offset debt payments with spending cuts and to limit growth of the federal revenue to 60 percent of the GDP .
Their approach is similar to the conservative movement to pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would require the federal government ’ s total revenues to be equal to or greater than total expenses .
Inflation would be avoided by cutting or curtailing the growth of social spending , like the social security and Medicare entitlement programs .
That effort has been around since the 80s .
President Ronald Reagan pledged in his first term to do `` all I can '' to get the Republican dominated congress to pass a resolution for a constitutional amendment to require balanced federal budgets .
But in his two terms , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Instead he ran budget deficits as a result of providing business tax cuts .
In particular , real estate developers benefited , like Donald Trump , who amassed $ 3.4 billion in debt by 1990 , and was personally liable for a quarter of it .
Meanwhile during Trump ’ s presidency our nation ’ s deficit is up nearly 50 percent from Obama ’ s last term through pushing big military spending increases and additional tax cuts .
Bush like Reagan , believed in a balanced budget , but continued to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make funding cuts in social spending that impacted Social Security , Medicare and education .
However , Democrat Presidents Bill Clinton and Barak Obama , also worked to achieve a balanced budget .
Clinton vowed to reform welfare but in 1996 when the Republicans gained control of both Congress ’ s chambers and he faced an election for his second term , he signed off on Republican legislation .
It ended six decades of federal guaranteed help to the poorest and turned over the responsibility to the states .
In the process he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initial proposal to increase welfare spending by $ 10 billion and instead cut it by nearly $ 55 billion .
President Obama also pursued a balanced budget when he convened the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles “ National Commission on Budget Responsibility and Reform ” in 2010 .
It recommended a complete overhaul of the tax code , with the objective of lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio to 60 % by 2023 .
Among its recommendations was increasing the normal retirement age to 69 by 2075 , reducing federal retirement benefits , school loans and farm subsidies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York Times columnist Paul Krugman , argues that conservatives use budget deficits “ as an excuse to cut social programs ” — for example , a number of states have made it much harder to collect unemployment benefits when their budgets shrink .
State business tax revenue has been drastically reduced by measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic .
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates states could suffer a collective shortfall of $ 500 billion through fiscal year 2022 .
Unless they receive national assistance , they will have to eliminate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State assistance has been blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ; he says it would cost too much .
He said if states can not afford to handle the coronavirus pandemic , they should declare bankruptcy .
There is a certain irony in that suggestion , since McConnell ’ s Kentucky is one of only four states where local and state debt exceeds 90 % of their combined revenue .
Despite Trump tweeting , “ Why should taxpayers be bailing out poorly run cities and states , in all cases Democrat run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states have fiscally conservative Republican governors .
Focus on Expanding the Economy , not Balancing the Budget Although cutting debt to achieve a balanced budget may still be pushed by Trump or Biden , the Covid-19 pandemic has created a new set of conditions .
An increase in federal debt may not be a problem but a means to sustain a growing economy .
Krugman recently wrote , “ While we will run very big budget deficits over the next couple of years , they will do little if any harm.
” A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fiscal and Monetary Policy came to the same conclusion .
The world market is “ awash in savings ; people and institutions with savings are particularly eager to invest the money in U.S. Treasury debt right now.
” This makes it “ easier for the U.S. Treasury to borrow more without being forced to pay much higher interest rates ; ” And , “ with interest rates at historic lows… investment demand is likely to be very low in the face of the uncertain economic outlook associated with the pandemic.
” An industrialized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debt to GDP be well over 100 percent , and still have a growing economy without excessive inflation .
Artie Green of Cognizant Wealth Advisors suggests looking at Japan as a positive case study .
It has the highest debt to GDP ratio in the world ( currently 273 % ) , its economy has been doing relatively well .
Unemployment slid from 5 % in 2008 to less than 3 % in 2017 and its inflation rate has not topped 3 % for the past two decades .
Four academics from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economics issued a paper on why running a government budget deficit is stabilizing instead of destabilizing , if it is used to invest in full-employment strategies and assisting small businesses .
Both the owners and their employees ’ benefit .
The owners receive financial assistance to keep their businesses alive and their workers employed during emergency conditions , like the pandemic or the last recession They point out that in past instances when debt was expanded , like the Obama bank bailout after the 2008 crash , the Trump tax cuts and Coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to finance new infrastructure , expanded employment , or improve living standards .
Instead most of it was given to the finance , insurance and real estate sectors of our economy so that they could remain profitable .
This approach , highlighted by the balance-the-budget mentality and sustained by the belief that financing investors will create good paying jobs , has been pursued by both Republican and Democrat administrations .
The result is a gradual but measurable shift in wealth from middle class working families to a thin slice of the population whose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
A report by Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies found that since 1980 , the taxes paid by billionaires , measured as a percentage of their wealth , dropped 79 % .
He also found that after the 2008 financial crisis , it took less than 30 months for billionaire wealth to return to its pre-meltdown levels .
But as of 2019 , the net worth of middle class families have yet return to the 2007 level of wealth .
“ People went into the pandemic with the economic hangover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
In order to have to have a growing economy the federal budget will need to lift up employee ’ s wages .
Our economy is consumer driven and dependent on small businesses for sustaining our work force .
Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of American economic growth .
Over 99 percent of America 's 28.7 million firms are small businesses and they create two-thirds of net new jobs .
The Nation Needs a Plan for Moving Forward The next presidential administration must have a plan for dealing with the Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s tax cut and Covid-19 government debt cut services to balance the budget .
If Biden is to offer something different , he needs to articulate how our current debt does present a challenge but also an opportunity to sustain and expand our economy .
The closing down of businesses and the restrictions of personal travel has hurt small businesses and their employees .
It has also slowed down the spread of the pandemic .
But it has come with a huge economic cost , resulting in protestors across the country demonstrating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legitimate concerns , but their actions are promoted by interests that want to see government funding flow to those least in need of assistance .
That practice will continue hinder middle class incomes from keeping up with increasing living costs .
It produces anger , resentment and a willingness to support whomever is willing to take drastic steps to alter their slide away from a stable income and secure future .
In other words , they support candidates , like Donald Trump , who run against government because it has failed to protect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solutions but someone to blame : a deep state of elites , dangerous migrants , fake media , and government funded scientists .
It is a pattern we are now seeing in countries with weak democratic institutions , like a free press or an independent judiciary .
These countries will either face social unrest or move to cripple those institutions that protect their citizens .
The U.S. does not have to go down that path .
The next administration can choose to use our debt to create decent paying jobs and update our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the voters , need to hear a plan .
One that uses the federal budget to provide us both economic growth and a safer , healthier environment .
We need a leader that moves beyond blaming others for our problems to one who corrals our debt as a resource not a burden to fund such a journey .
Biden must to step up to that challenge if he is to be a viable alternative to Trump .
Nick Licata served 5 terms on the Seattle City Council , named progressive municipal official of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is founding board chair of Local Progress , a national network of 1,000 progressive municipal officials .
Subscribe to Licata ’ s newsletter Urban Politics

Historic Levels of Unemployment Claims and Business Shutdowns Have Required the Greatest Surge in Government Debt Since WW II
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic the Federal government, with the support of both parties, has issued close to $3 trillion in government debt to stop the economy from cratering. However, this debt could also create an opportunity to expand our economy. First let’s review how we got here.
With stay-in-place laws and mandatory closing of most businesses, unemployment has skyrocketed. Before the pandemic it was at 3.5 percent in December 20, as of April 2020, the Economic Policy Institute has estimated that unemployment rate to be at 18.3 percent. Many economists using April’s Labor Department data predict that the unemployment rate could reach 25 percent this summer if the existing practices remain in force. That level would match the peak of the Great Depression in 1933. However, then it took three years not six months to reach that level.
The health security measures taken so far by states and the federal government, has also dramatically reduced the size of our 2020 GDP. Fitch Ratings predicts it will shrink by around 6 percent from 2019. This would wipe out all the growth that took place in the last two years. The GDP having increased 2.3 percent in 2019 and 2.9 percent in 2018.
With numbers like these, both President Trump and Democrat leaders pushed for federal loans. Trump initially said in February, "I think that we’re doing a great job," requesting $1.25 billion in new funding to address the coronavirus pandemic. However, the House Democrats passed the CARES Act ( Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (H.R. 748) at a much higher level of funding.
In the first week of March, Congress with bipartisan support, replaced that bill with a Phase 1 funding package totaling $8.3 billion to treat and prevent the widespread transmission and effects of COVID-19. By the end of March, a new Phase 3 added $2 trillion more and was passed by the Senate unanimously and in the House by voice vote, with Trump signing it the next day. Still waiting in the wings is CARES 2, which provides another half trillion for emergency relief. It is scheduled for a House vote when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi determines that it is safe for the members to return to D.C.
These loans are pumping up government debt to new levels. Previous government spending increases and tax cuts had already pushed U.S. government ratio of debt to the GDP to nearly 80%, the highest in over 60 years . It was only 35 percent at the end of 2007. Germany’s second largest bank, Commerzbank, believes that the current coronavirus relief packages will push that figure to 96% by 2022.
Although the Republicans are reluctant to push for the larger CARES 2 funding package, economists have been predicting that more support for workers and companies harmed by the pandemic will be required. However, with unemployment approaching an all-time high,
tax revenue will decline along with economic activity, pushing the government deficit even further. Bernd Weidensteiner, one of the German bank's economists, says that could well happen if Congress passes further aid packages and the economy does not revive quickly; US debt could then exceed the previous high of 106 percent set right after WW II.
The Next Administration Faces Two Options for Addressing Our Current and Growing Government Debt
Next year’s administration, whether under Donald Trump or Joe Biden, will face a huge federal debt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There are two different approaches to take. On the whole, conservatives support paying off the debt as soon as possible to avoid inflation, while liberals support using debt to expand the nation’s services and economy.
Balance the Budget by Cutting Public Services
This month the leaders of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) sent a letter to the top four leaders in both chambers saying that there is an “urgent need" to address the “fiscal health of our nation” because of the growing debt created by dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Their solution is to offset debt payments with spending cuts and to limit growth of the federal revenue to 60 percent of the GDP.
Their approach is similar to the conservative movement to pass a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment, which would require the federal government’s total revenues to be equal to or greater than total expenses. Inflation would be avoided by cutting or curtailing the growth of social spending, like the social security and Medicare entitlement programs. That effort has been around since the 80s.
President Ronald Reagan pledged in his first term to do "all I can" to get the Republican dominated congress to pass a resolution for a constitutional amendment to require balanced federal budgets. But in his two terms, he never proposed a balanced budget to Congress. Instead he ran budget deficits as a result of providing business tax cuts. In particular, real estate developers benefited, like Donald Trump, who amassed $3.4 billion in debt by 1990, and was personally liable for a quarter of it. Meanwhile during Trump’s presidency our nation’s deficit is up nearly 50 percent from Obama’s last term through pushing big military spending increases and additional tax cuts.
Bush like Reagan, believed in a balanced budget, but continued to run deficits. His cure was to make funding cuts in social spending that impacted Social Security, Medicare and education. However, Democrat Presidents Bill Clinton and Barak Obama, also worked to achieve a balanced budget.
Clinton vowed to reform welfare but in 1996 when the Republicans gained control of both Congress’s chambers and he faced an election for his second term, he signed off on Republican legislation. It ended six decades of federal guaranteed help to the poorest and turned over the responsibility to the states. In the process he balanced the budget - by abandoning his initial proposal to increase welfare spending by $10 billion and instead cut it by nearly $55 billion.
President Obama also pursued a balanced budget when he convened the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles “National Commission on Budget Responsibility and Reform” in 2010. It recommended a complete overhaul of the tax code, with the objective of lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio to 60% by 2023. Among its recommendations was increasing the normal retirement age to 69 by 2075, reducing federal retirement benefits, school loans and farm subsidies. Congress never adopted it.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, argues that conservatives use budget deficits “as an excuse to cut social programs” — for example, a number of states have made it much harder to collect unemployment benefits when their budgets shrink. State business tax revenue has been drastically reduced by measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates states could suffer a collective shortfall of $500 billion through fiscal year 2022. Unless they receive national assistance, they will have to eliminate services to both citizens and businesses.
State assistance has been blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; he says it would cost too much. He said if states cannot afford to handle the coronavirus pandemic, they should declare bankruptcy. There is a certain irony in that suggestion, since McConnell’s Kentucky is one of only four states where local and state debt exceeds 90% of their combined revenue. Despite Trump tweeting, “Why should taxpayers be bailing out poorly run cities and states, in all cases Democrat run and manage….” three of these four states have fiscally conservative Republican governors.
Focus on Expanding the Economy, not Balancing the Budget
Although cutting debt to achieve a balanced budget may still be pushed by Trump or Biden, the Covid-19 pandemic has created a new set of conditions. An increase in federal debt may not be a problem but a means to sustain a growing economy. Krugman recently wrote, “While we will run very big budget deficits over the next couple of years, they will do little if any harm.”
A report from the Brookings Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy came to the same conclusion. The world market is “awash in savings; people and institutions with savings are particularly eager to invest the money in U.S. Treasury debt right now.” This makes it “easier for the U.S. Treasury to borrow more without being forced to pay much higher interest rates;” And, “with interest rates at historic lows… investment demand is likely to be very low in the face of the uncertain economic outlook associated with the pandemic.”
An industrialized country can have a ratio of government debt to GDP be well over 100 percent, and still have a growing economy without excessive inflation. Artie Green of Cognizant Wealth Advisors suggests looking at Japan as a positive case study. It has the highest debt to GDP ratio in the world (currently 273%), its economy has been doing relatively well. Unemployment slid from 5% in 2008 to less than 3% in 2017 and its inflation rate has not topped 3% for the past two decades.
Four academics from the U.S. and Europe in the field of economics issued a paper on why running a government budget deficit is stabilizing instead of destabilizing, if it is used to invest in full-employment strategies and assisting small businesses. Both the owners and their employees’ benefit. The owners receive financial assistance to keep their businesses alive and their workers employed during emergency conditions, like the pandemic or the last recession
They point out that in past instances when debt was expanded, like the Obama bank bailout after the 2008 crash, the Trump tax cuts and Coronavirus financial bailout, money was not used to finance new infrastructure, expanded employment, or improve living standards. Instead most of it was given to the finance, insurance and real estate sectors of our economy so that they could remain profitable.
This approach, highlighted by the balance-the-budget mentality and sustained by the belief that financing investors will create good paying jobs, has been pursued by both Republican and Democrat administrations. The result is a gradual but measurable shift in wealth from middle class working families to a thin slice of the population whose wealth is measured in billions of dollars.
A report by Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies found that since 1980, the taxes paid by billionaires, measured as a percentage of their wealth, dropped 79%. He also found that after the 2008 financial crisis, it took less than 30 months for billionaire wealth to return to its pre-meltdown levels. But as of 2019, the net worth of middle class families have yet return to the 2007 level of wealth. “People went into the pandemic with the economic hangover from the Great Recession,” he says.
In order to have to have a growing economy the federal budget will need to lift up employee’s wages. Our economy is consumer driven and dependent on small businesses for sustaining our work force. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of American economic growth. Over 99 percent of America's 28.7 million firms are small businesses and they create two-thirds of net new jobs.
The Nation Needs a Plan for Moving Forward
The next presidential administration must have a plan for dealing with the Covid-19 induced government debt. The Trump administration’s tax cut and Covid-19 government debt cut services to balance the budget. If Biden is to offer something different, he needs to articulate how our current debt does present a challenge but also an opportunity to sustain and expand our economy.
The closing down of businesses and the restrictions of personal travel has hurt small businesses and their employees. It has also slowed down the spread of the pandemic. But it has come with a huge economic cost, resulting in protestors across the country demonstrating against these protective measures. They have legitimate concerns, but their actions are promoted by interests that want to see government funding flow to those least in need of assistance.
That practice will continue hinder middle class incomes from keeping up with increasing living costs. It produces anger, resentment and a willingness to support whomever is willing to take drastic steps to alter their slide away from a stable income and secure future. In other words, they support candidates, like Donald Trump, who run against government because it has failed to protect them. Such leadership does not seek solutions but someone to blame: a deep state of elites, dangerous migrants, fake media, and government funded scientists. It is a pattern we are now seeing in countries with weak democratic institutions, like a free press or an independent judiciary. These countries will either face social unrest or move to cripple those institutions that protect their citizens.
The U.S. does not have to go down that path. The next administration can choose to use our debt to create decent paying jobs and update our aging physical infrastructures. The public, the voters, need to hear a plan. One that uses the federal budget to provide us both economic growth and a safer, healthier environment. We need a leader that moves beyond blaming others for our problems to one who corrals our debt as a resource not a burden to fund such a journey. Biden must to step up to that challenge if he is to be a viable alternative to Trump.
Nick Licata served 5 terms on the Seattle City Council, named progressive municipal official of the year by The Nation, and is founding board chair of Local Progress, a national network of 1,000 progressive municipal officials.
Subscribe to Licata’s newsletter Urban Politics


dailykos--2020-05-06--Good News Roundup for Wednesday, May 6 – "The Pandemic is a Portal"

Here are a few thoughts on this , starting with a list of what we should be learning as we live in isolation .
This was written by Kim Stafford , a poet and teacher : Home School Thoughts for All of Us From a FB post , passed along to me by a friend : Home School Thoughts for All of Us – In the pandemic , what should we all be learning ?
by Kim Stafford Self reliance How to cook a meal .
How to clean a house , a porch , a yard .
How to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tools How to fix broken things : sew a button , mend a hole , do laundry , wash dishes like a pro .
Buoyancy How to be sad and get over it .
How to find the music that restores you .
How to walk so your troubles fall from your shoulders .
How to write your troubles to make them visible , then manageable , then smaller , and finally funny .
Friendship How to know a true friend .
How to let go old friends who make you feel bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a friend by listening , asking , wondering .
How to feed a friendship so it roots , deepens , grows .
Thought How to think something through .
How to question your fears , interrogate them , talk back to them .
How to remember something so precious you are less afraid .
How to make clear what most calls to you , what you love , what you will do to sustain it .
Dreams How to have a dream , toward a life worth planning for , saving for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ways to make steady progress toward a worthy goal .
How to identify a dream that is so important , you will let go lesser things to achieve it .
Thrift How to know what you don ’ t need .
How to know what you do need .
How to pare away things you don ’ t need—objects , habits , false wishes , propaganda coming at you that is foreign to who you are—so you can give your energy to what you really want .
Love How does it feel in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a person , for a place , for a feeling about who you really are , a longing for what you most want to do with this life ?
This is your compass , your inner landmark , your truth principle .
Only you can know .
Speaking of active hope , there is certainly no more hopeful step anyone can take than deciding to bring a baby into the world .
Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg , the founders of Indivisible , revealed in their May newsletter this week that Leah is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boy .
I love how Ezra announced it : As we await the end of isolation and think about what the future might look like , there are already significant changes happening .
Among the ones I see are : • A lot more respect for teachers .
There ’ s nothing like having to teach your own kids at home to show you what an invaluable – and highly skilled – job teachers do .
• Also more respect for child care workers , and a growing demand for affordable child care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respect for service workers who have had to risk their lives as essential workers during the pandemic .
• A very clear and painful realization that our health care system is fatally broken and needs to be replaced .
Hospitals acquiring vital PPE on a “ just in time ” basis has been shown to be especially insane , as is tying health insurance to one ’ s job .
• A lot of office workers realizing that they can work successfully from home .
If your office work is all done on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can arguably do the same work distantly .
Here ’ s a good historical deep dive on the subject , with both pro and con views of offices : Death of the Office • A rediscovery of the pleasures of preparing food in your own kitchen .
Not everyone will continue cooking and baking after we ’ re all free to eat out , but I think many will .
I could natter on with more observations and random predictions , but I ’ d rather hear what you all have to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Comments section .
Music to inspire us as we plan the future This has prompted me to make a couple of new masks : Making your own mask ?
Researchers say some fabrics can filter nearly as well as an N95 Fabric from a cotton sheet combined with material from a prom dress , an old tie , or a pair of pajamas could be used to make a mask with a filter that ’ s nearly as good as the N95 mask , according to new research .
A new study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says that a combination of cotton with silk , chiffon , or flannel can create a well-functioning filter .
However , the researchers and other experts say there ’ s a big caveat : If your mask leaks around the edges , unlike the tightly fitted N95 , your homemade filter will lose its effectiveness .
... the best overall filtration was provided by a sandwich consisting of one layer of the tighter-woven cotton plus two layers of silk , or two layers of chiffon , or one layer of flannel — because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-cotton layers .
Now on to the news !
Polling is looking good for passage of Measure 26-210 .
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting in a story on April 30 , Gov .
Kate Brown Lays Out COVID-19 Testing And Contact Tracing As Keys To Reopening Oregon Gov .
Kate Brown said on Friday [ May 1 ] a new study with 100,000 randomly selected Oregonians could shed light on how far the coronavirus has spread throughout the state and will help guide the state ’ s decisions to reopen the economy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ new details on how the state plans to expand COVID-19 testing and trace people who have been exposed to the coronavirus .
Both measures are crucial to reopening the economy , which the governor said could start happening in some regions of the state as soon as May 15 .
An OHSU research team will randomly select Oregonians to voluntarily participate in the study ...
The research team will track the temperatures and other COVID-19 symptoms of the participants .
Those invited to participate will receive a letter and would agree to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We are all in this together , ” the governor said .
“ Make no mistake , physical distancing will remain part of our daily lives until we have security of a vaccine or a treatment for the disease , ” Brown said .
Oregon Shakespeare Festival will stream performances online with new platform ‘ O !
’ The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is one of the oldest and largest professional non-profit theatres in the nation .
Hearing that they ’ re working proactively to survive the pandemic is definitely good news !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this case proceeds successfully , it may halt at least some of the confirmations of RWNJ judges : Court Vacancy Is Under Scrutiny Ahead of Contested Confirmation Hearing From the New York Times ( if you ’ re blocked by the paywall , you can read a summary on Raw Story ) : Oklahoma Supreme Court strikes down law that would have required tens of thousands of notaries for mail voting Trump and his tax returns at the SCOTUS An excellent informative read from VCLib on DKos .
It doesn ’ t lend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the link : Judge issues scathing ruling against Trump administration — and cancels hundreds of oil leases on public land This is wonderful news for nonprofits , for whom their .org websites are a lifeline to donations .
Sale to a private equity firm would have resulted in much higher fees to keep their websites going .
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers , the non-profit organization that oversees the Internet 's domain name system , has rejected a controversial proposal to sell the .org domain to a private equity group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It 's a serious—quite possibly fatal—blow to a proposal that had few supporters besides the organizations that proposed it .
Currently , the .org domain registry is run by the Public Interest Registry , a non-profit subsidiary of another non-profit called the Internet Society .
PIR was created in 2002 to run the .org domain and has been doing so ever since .
But last fall , the Internet Society stunned the non-profit world by announcing it would sell the PIR—and , effectively , ownership of the .org domain—to a new and secretive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than $ 1 billion .
The announcement created a swift and powerful backlash .
In its resolution formally rejecting the transaction , ICANN says it received its first letter opposing the deal just two days after it was announced .
The group would eventually receive letters from at least 30 groups opposing the deal , as well as numerous negative comments during public hearings .
Meanwhile , ICANN says , the deal has received `` virtually no counterbalancing support except from the parties involved in the transaction and their advisors . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ block the deal .
ICANN 's contract with the PIR required PIR to seek ICANN 's approval for a change in control of the registry , but it stated that ICANN 's `` approval will not be unreasonably withheld . ''
The big legal question , then , was whether it was reasonable for ICANN to withhold its approval .
On Thursday , ICANN 's board concluded that it was .
Good news from around the world Italians Turn Old Tradition of Charitable Giving into Modern COVID Response With ‘ Suspended Shopping ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspended coffee ’ —is what someone says in a Naples café when they ’ re feeling generous and want to pay it forward to someone less fortunate .
Now , in their COVID-conscious culture , a more generous version of the tradition is sweeping Italy with ‘ suspended shopping ’ ( la spesa sospesa ) .
COVID-19 has done more damage in Italy than almost anywhere else , and because of the extreme difficulties , people are going into shops and paying the grocery tabs for strangers who might be out of work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side , modern-day Italians have more opportunities to support local businesses .
One Italian foodie website , Puntarella Rossa , recently launched il calice sospeso “ the suspended wine glass , ” where readers can buy vouchers worth 1 glass , or 1 bottle of wine from a local bar—redeemable after the lockdown orders are lifted .
But wine , coffee , and groceries aren ’ t the only things being “ suspended.
” From sustainable clothing brand Re-Bello comes a crowd-funding campaign called One-for-One Mask .
An Italian news network described it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guessed it , the suspended mask .
A person can buy one washable , antibacterial mask , and the profits go to providing a second mask for a refugee in Cyprus through a European aid organization Refugee Support Europe .
We Might Have Just Found the Next Great Lighting Material Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimated to Fall by 8 % in 2020—the Largest Recorded Drop in History The sentence in bold is the one that really jumped out at me : The COVID-19 pandemic represents the biggest shock to the global economy in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research says that the outbreaks are likely to result in a record-breaking 8 % annual decline in carbon emissions—the largest decrease in history .
A new report released this week by the International Energy Agency ( IEA ) provides an almost real-time view of the COVID-19 pandemic ’ s extraordinary impact across all major fuels .
Based on an analysis of more than 100 days of real data so far this year , the IEA ’ s Global Energy Review includes estimates for how energy consumption and carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) emissions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of 2020 .
“ Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheard-of slump in electricity use , ” said Dr. Fatih Birol , the IEA Executive Director .
“ It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts , but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.
” The Global Energy Review ’ s projections of energy demand and energy-related emissions for 2020 are based on assumptions that the lockdowns implemented around the world in response to the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coming months , accompanied by a gradual economic recovery .
A friend sent me this parody of “ Nessun Dorma ” rewritten for the pandemic .
It ’ s really well executed and actually winds up being quite inspiring despite being a parody .
This has been making the rounds for at least a couple of weeks , but I ’ m including it just in case any of you missed it .
It ’ s truly brilliant , and the refrain would be a great marching song !
I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ YouTube vlogs .
They ’ re really clever and well-produced .
This one made me LOL for real , especially the “ No fix !
Listen !
!
” exchange and the presentation of the medal : More great responses to the Getty Museum Challenge Here are a few more amazing and witty recreations of museum masterpieces using household items .
I really can ’ t get enough of this !
Lady 1-Ply , Keeper of Non-Perishables and Protector of the Soap .
Someone ( BeeD ?
WineRev ? )
posted a quick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple of weeks ago , but it ’ s too wondrous not to highlight .
This is a perfect marriage of beauty and ingenuity , a combination which the Japanese are especially adept at : www.dailykos.com/… Best News I Read Today : There Will be Criminal Prosecutions www.rawstory.com/… The biggest political story of the year isn ’ t what you think www.huffpost.com/… NBC News Chairman Andy Lack Stepping Down : Lack has come under fire for his handling of sexual misconduct at the network .
Good riddance !
betterworldbooks.com ...
Better World Books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to someone in need each time they sell a book , and uses proceeds above operating expenses to support literacy around the world .
On Saturday , April 25 , the Metropolitan Opera held an “ At-Home Gala , ” which sadly I didn ’ t know about until a week later .
The reviews of the at-home performances , by so many of the world ’ s greatest singers , were ecstatic .
Fortunately , they did allow the highlight of the evening , the chorus “ Va , pensiero ” ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Verdi ’ s Nabucco , to be published on YouTube .
The opera is about the struggle of the Jews against the Babylonians , and this chorus , also known as “ The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves , ” is their lament for the homeland they have been exiled from .
It ’ s one of opera ’ s most beautiful and most moving choral passages .
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts , your hearts , and your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd @

Welcome!
Greetings to all you Gnusies, Gnewbies, occasional drop-ins, lurkers, and first-timers! Come inside our virtual salon/saloon to find and share messages of hope and to celebrate all the ways good people are triumphing over the evil-doers in power. Today, I want to highlight the opportunity we now see in front of us to use the effects of the pandemic to change the status quo and create a more just society. As always, this roundup is a pot-luck, so please share your own contribution in the comments, which we consider to be The Best Comment Section on the Internet™.
The Pandemic is a Portal
The title of today’s Good News Roundup is taken from an article by Indian novelist Arundhati Roy. Here is how she ends it:
What is this thing that has happened to us? It’s a virus, yes. In and of itself it holds no moral brief. But it is definitely more than a virus. Some believe it’s God’s way of bringing us to our senses. Others that it’s a Chinese conspiracy to take over the world. Whatever it is, coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to “normality”, trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture. But the rupture exists. And in the midst of this terrible despair, it offers us a chance to rethink the doomsday machine we have built for ourselves. Nothing could be worse than a return to normality. Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it. Arundhati Roy – The Pandemic is a Portal
I think this is the best description yet of where we are now. We are standing uncomfortably between the way life used to be – familiar but rife with problems – and the as-yet-unknown ways our lives will change because of the pandemic. It is up to us as individuals and as a nation to decide whether our post-pandemic lives will be an improvement over our old lives.
Here are a few thoughts on this, starting with a list of what we should be learning as we live in isolation. This was written by Kim Stafford, a poet and teacher:
Home School Thoughts for All of Us From a FB post, passed along to me by a friend: Home School Thoughts for All of Us – In the pandemic, what should we all be learning?
by Kim Stafford Self reliance
How to cook a meal. How to clean a house, a porch, a yard.
How to plant a garden. How to use tools How to fix
broken things: sew a button, mend a hole, do laundry,
wash dishes like a pro. Buoyancy
How to be sad and get over it. How to find the music
that restores you. How to walk so your troubles fall from
your shoulders. How to write your troubles to make them
visible, then manageable, then smaller, and finally funny. Friendship
How to know a true friend. How to let go old friends
who make you feel bad about yourself. How to give
generously to a friend by listening, asking, wondering.
How to feed a friendship so it roots, deepens, grows. Thought
How to think something through. How to question
your fears, interrogate them, talk back to them. How to remember something so precious you are less afraid. How to make clear what most calls to you, what you love, what you will do to sustain it. Dreams
How to have a dream, toward a life worth planning for, saving for, working for. How to design ways to make steady progress toward a worthy goal. How to identify a dream that is so important, you will let go lesser things to achieve it. Thrift
How to know what you don’t need. How to know what you do need. How to pare away things you don’t need—objects, habits, false wishes, propaganda coming at you that is foreign to who you are—so you can give your energy to what you really want. Love
How does it feel in your body when love is real—love for a person, for a place, for a feeling about who you really are, a longing for what you most want to do with this life? This is your compass, your inner landmark, your truth principle. Only you can know. Maintenance
Health. Rest. Calm. Breath. Patience. Affection. Humor. Active hope.
Speaking of active hope, there is certainly no more hopeful step anyone can take than deciding to bring a baby into the world. Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, the founders of Indivisible, revealed in their May newsletter this week that Leah is pregnant with their first child, a boy. I love how Ezra announced it:
We delayed having this kid so that we could see through the fight with Indivisible, and in no small part , it’s Indivisible that gives us the gumption to bring new life into this world now. Our little boy will be born during the end of the Trump era, but he’ll grow up in the world we make together. At the very least, we’ll have one more small GOTV companion come November. And we can’t wait to teach him his representative’s phone number.
As we await the end of isolation and think about what the future might look like, there are already significant changes happening. Among the ones I see are:
A lot more respect for teachers. There’s nothing like having to teach your own kids at home to show you what an invaluable – and highly skilled – job teachers do.
Also more respect for child care workers, and a growing demand for affordable child care.
And also a lot more respect for service workers who have had to risk their lives as essential workers during the pandemic.
A very clear and painful realization that our health care system is fatally broken and needs to be replaced. Hospitals acquiring vital PPE on a “just in time” basis has been shown to be especially insane, as is tying health insurance to one’s job.
A lot of office workers realizing that they can work successfully from home. If your office work is all done on a computer and a phone, you can arguably do the same work distantly. Here’s a good historical deep dive on the subject, with both pro and con views of offices: Death of the Office
A rediscovery of the pleasures of preparing food in your own kitchen. Not everyone will continue cooking and baking after we’re all free to eat out, but I think many will.
I could natter on with more observations and random predictions, but I’d rather hear what you all have to say, so please share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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Music to inspire us as we plan the future
x YouTube Video
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Useful news
This has prompted me to make a couple of new masks:
Making your own mask? Researchers say some fabrics can filter nearly as well as an N95
From the Boston Globe:
Fabric from a cotton sheet combined with material from a prom dress, an old tie, or a pair of pajamas could be used to make a mask with a filter that’s nearly as good as the N95 mask, according to new research. A new study from researchers at the University of Chicago says that a combination of cotton with silk, chiffon, or flannel can create a well-functioning filter. However, the researchers and other experts say there’s a big caveat: If your mask leaks around the edges, unlike the tightly fitted N95, your homemade filter will lose its effectiveness. ✂ ...the best overall filtration was provided by a sandwich consisting of one layer of the tighter-woven cotton plus two layers of silk, or two layers of chiffon, or one layer of flannel — because of the electrostatic filter created by the non-cotton layers.
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Now on to the news!
Good news from Portland
Oregon researchers build 3-D printable ventilator for coronavirus, hope to deploy free worldwide
From the Oregonian:
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a ventilator that can be made with a 3-D printer, does not require electricity and can be produced for less than $10 in materials, university officials said Friday. The university filed for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday [April 24] to release the design to the public. ✂ The design can produce a workable ventilator in three to eight hours, according to the university, and functions using only a common oxygen tank and springs that are available in most hardware stores.
Homeless services tax measure on May ballot
From Metro [Portland area regional government entity] website:
Proposed supportive housing services measure Voters across greater Portland will be asked in May 2020 to consider a proposed regional supportive housing services measure, developed with community members and leaders from around the Portland region, which, if passed, would fund services for people experiencing homelessness to find and stay in housing. The proposed measure would provide housing services for approximately 5,000 people with disabilities experiencing homelessness, and would fund housing support for approximately 10,000 households experiencing homelessness or who could become homeless. If passed, the measure would assess a 1% tax on taxable income above $200,000 for households, or $125,000 for single filers. If passed, the measure would also assess a 1% tax on business profits for businesses with annual gross receipts over $5 million. If the measure passes, Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties would receive funding for the following services: case management
mental health care
addiction and recovery treatment
job training
housing assistance
culturally-specific services
Polling is looking good for passage of Measure 26-210. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting in a story on April 30,
out of 600 likely May voters, nearly 60% said they would vote “yes” on the measure, according to the poll, which had a 4% margin of error.
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Good news from Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown Lays Out COVID-19 Testing And Contact Tracing As Keys To Reopening Oregon
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
Gov. Kate Brown said on Friday [May 1] a new study with 100,000 randomly selected Oregonians could shed light on how far the coronavirus has spread throughout the state and will help guide the state’s decisions to reopen the economy. ✂ At a press conference, Brown unveiled new details on how the state plans to expand COVID-19 testing and trace people who have been exposed to the coronavirus. Both measures are crucial to reopening the economy, which the governor said could start happening in some regions of the state as soon as May 15. ✂ An OHSU research team will randomly select Oregonians to voluntarily participate in the study...The research team will track the temperatures and other COVID-19 symptoms of the participants. Those invited to participate will receive a letter and would agree to be tracked for up to one year. ✂ “We are all in this together,” the governor said. “Make no mistake, physical distancing will remain part of our daily lives until we have security of a vaccine or a treatment for the disease,” Brown said.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival will stream performances online with new platform ‘O!’
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is one of the oldest and largest professional non-profit theatres in the nation. Hearing that they’re working proactively to survive the pandemic is definitely good news!
From the Oregonian:
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is taking a new step into the digital world, hoping to connect with the millions of Oregonians stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The southern Oregon theater company launched its new digital platform, O!, on Wednesday, where it expects to begin streaming previously staged performances as well as documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and educational videos. ✂ ...the organization has launched a $5 million fundraising campaign, encouraging donors to form “teams” to raise money...there have been no new layoffs since March and...the festival still plans to run a truncated season from Sept. 8 to Nov. 1, if possible.
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Good news from around the nation
If this case proceeds successfully, it may halt at least some of the confirmations of RWNJ judges:
Court Vacancy Is Under Scrutiny Ahead of Contested Confirmation Hearing
From the New York Times (if you’re blocked by the paywall, you can read a summary on Raw Story):
Just days before a high-profile Senate confirmation hearing to fill a vacancy on the prestigious U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the court’s chief judge has opened the door to an inquiry into whether ethical improprieties occurred in the creation of the coveted opening. In an order dated May 1, Judge Sri Srinivasan asked Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to assign another circuit to look into a complaint filed by the progressive advocacy group Demand Justice, which questioned the timing and circumstances of Judge Thomas B. Griffith’s retirement announcement in early March. The advocacy group acted in March after disclosures that Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader who has focused intently on conservative judicial confirmations the past three years, had been contacting appeals court judges nominated by Republican presidents to encourage them to retire.
Another absurd voter suppression law bites the dust!
Oklahoma Supreme Court strikes down law that would have required tens of thousands of notaries for mail voting
From Raw Story:
On Monday, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma struck down a requirement that absentee ballots be notarized, making it substantially easier to vote by mail ahead of an election threatened by fears of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision, which follows a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters, is a victory for voting rights activists. The controversy centered on a voting law passed in 2002. The League of Women Voters asserted this law only required a signed affidavit under penalty of perjury, rather than requiring the ballot to be notarized by a third party, and contended that in the current environment, this restriction would substantially reduce turnout. The law also required each notary to approve a maximum of 20 ballots. According to Democratic voting rights attorney Marc Elias, this means if only half of Oklahoma’s 2 million registered voters requested an absentee ballot, the state would need 50,000 notaries just to process them all.
Trump and his tax returns at the SCOTUS
An excellent informative read from VCLib on DKos. It doesn’t lend itself to summarizing, so do click the link:
Next week the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a trio of cases dealing with Trump’s efforts to thwart committees of the House of Representatives and the Manhattan District Attorney, Cryus R. Vance Jr., from obtaining his financial records. The cases are Trump v Mazars USA, LLP, Trump v Deutsche AG, and Trump v Vance. The two cases regarding the House have been combined for oral argument, followed by the Vance case, all of which have been scheduled for May 12, 2020.
Activists: Boycott Meat to Protect Plant Workers From Coronavirus
From Daily Beast:
A coalition of Iowa groups is calling for a consumer boycott of meat this month to demand better working conditions for employees in crowded factories that have become incubators for the coronavirus. Thousands of meat-packing workers and their families have been sickened by outbreaks—and advocates say the companies have not done enough to protect those who remain on the job. Earlier this week, President Trump signed an executive order to force meat plants to stay open. On Friday afternoon, the League of United Latin American Citizens will announce details of its Meatless May campaign in Iowa—where 90 percent of the COVID-19 infections in one county are linked to a Tyson plant.
Judge issues scathing ruling against Trump administration — and cancels hundreds of oil leases on public land
From Raw Story:
The Trump administration suffered a major setback in its efforts to open more public lands to oil and gas drilling. “A federal judge on Friday canceled nearly 300 oil and gas leases in Montana because government officials failed to properly study the risks of all that drilling to the environment and water supply,” the Associated Press reported Friday. The ruling impacts 287 leases covering approximately 227 square miles. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris blasted the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in his decision. “The Court does not fault BLM for providing a faulty analysis of cumulative impacts or impacts to groundwater, it largely faults BLM for failing to provide any analysis,” Morris wrote.
ICANN blocks controversial sale of .org domain to a private equity firm
This is wonderful news for nonprofits, for whom their .org websites are a lifeline to donations. Sale to a private equity firm would have resulted in much higher fees to keep their websites going.
From Ars Technica:
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the non-profit organization that oversees the Internet's domain name system, has rejected a controversial proposal to sell the .org domain to a private equity group for more than $1 billion. It's a serious—quite possibly fatal—blow to a proposal that had few supporters besides the organizations that proposed it. Currently, the .org domain registry is run by the Public Interest Registry, a non-profit subsidiary of another non-profit called the Internet Society. PIR was created in 2002 to run the .org domain and has been doing so ever since. But last fall, the Internet Society stunned the non-profit world by announcing it would sell the PIR—and, effectively, ownership of the .org domain—to a new and secretive private equity firm called Ethos Capital for more than $1 billion. The announcement created a swift and powerful backlash. In its resolution formally rejecting the transaction, ICANN says it received its first letter opposing the deal just two days after it was announced. The group would eventually receive letters from at least 30 groups opposing the deal, as well as numerous negative comments during public hearings. Meanwhile, ICANN says, the deal has received "virtually no counterbalancing support except from the parties involved in the transaction and their advisors." ICANN didn't have unlimited discretion to block the deal. ICANN's contract with the PIR required PIR to seek ICANN's approval for a change in control of the registry, but it stated that ICANN's "approval will not be unreasonably withheld." The big legal question, then, was whether it was reasonable for ICANN to withhold its approval. On Thursday, ICANN's board concluded that it was.
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Good news from around the world
Italians Turn Old Tradition of Charitable Giving into Modern COVID Response With ‘Suspended Shopping’
From Good News Network:
Caffe sospeso—an Italian term which means ‘suspended coffee’—is what someone says in a Naples café when they’re feeling generous and want to pay it forward to someone less fortunate. ✂ Now, in their COVID-conscious culture, a more generous version of the tradition is sweeping Italy with ‘suspended shopping’ (la spesa sospesa). COVID-19 has done more damage in Italy than almost anywhere else, and because of the extreme difficulties, people are going into shops and paying the grocery tabs for strangers who might be out of work. ✂ Now with the internet on their side, modern-day Italians have more opportunities to support local businesses. One Italian foodie website, Puntarella Rossa, recently launched il calice sospeso “the suspended wine glass,” where readers can buy vouchers worth 1 glass, or 1 bottle of wine from a local bar—redeemable after the lockdown orders are lifted. ✂ But wine, coffee, and groceries aren’t the only things being “suspended.” From sustainable clothing brand Re-Bello comes a crowd-funding campaign called One-for-One Mask. An Italian news network described it as ‘La Mascherina Sospesa’—you guessed it, the suspended mask. A person can buy one washable, antibacterial mask, and the profits go to providing a second mask for a refugee in Cyprus through a European aid organization Refugee Support Europe.
We Might Have Just Found the Next Great Lighting Material
From Popular Mechanics:
Researchers in Switzerland have found a new organic light emitting diode (OLED) material that could scale the technology up to inexpensively light entire rooms and homes for the first time. The results come from a new arrangement of copper electrons, CuPCP, that replaces more costly precious metal diodes (PHOLEDs). ✂ The secret to the Swiss team’s new material is a behavior called thermally activated delayed fluorescence, or TADF. Like a supercooled superconductor or a hot nuclear reactor, these TADF OLEDs must get to a certain temperature before they can operate as designed, and they use a supply of outside energy to get to that temperature. Several years ago, researchers began to make these diodes using copper in a similar excited state to the way precious metals work in PHOLEDs. The results were phenomenal: “A remarkable photoluminescence quantum yield [greater than] 99 [percent] was recently achieved for such materials,” the researchers say. ✂ The scientists hope others will be able to find and fine-tune even more versions of this copper TADF, with an eye on applications and even more reduction in cost. And when it comes to your TV or home lighting future, this new look could be just years away.
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimated to Fall by 8% in 2020—the Largest Recorded Drop in History
The sentence in bold is the one that really jumped out at me:
From Good News Network:
The COVID-19 pandemic represents the biggest shock to the global economy in more than seven decades, but new research says that the outbreaks are likely to result in a record-breaking 8% annual decline in carbon emissions—the largest decrease in history. A new report released this week by the International Energy Agency (IEA) provides an almost real-time view of the COVID-19 pandemic’s extraordinary impact across all major fuels. Based on an analysis of more than 100 days of real data so far this year, the IEA’s Global Energy Review includes estimates for how energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trends are likely to evolve over the rest of 2020. “Only renewables are holding up during the previously unheard-of slump in electricity use,” said Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director. “It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts, but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.” The Global Energy Review’s projections of energy demand and energy-related emissions for 2020 are based on assumptions that the lockdowns implemented around the world in response to the pandemic are progressively eased in most countries in the coming months, accompanied by a gradual economic recovery.
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Musical break
A friend sent me this parody of “Nessun Dorma” rewritten for the pandemic. It’s really well executed and actually winds up being quite inspiring despite being a parody.
x YouTube Video
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ICYMI
This has been making the rounds for at least a couple of weeks, but I’m including it just in case any of you missed it. It’s truly brilliant, and the refrain would be a great marching song!
x YouTube Video
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A little humor
I’ve gotten pretty hooked on the Holderness family YouTube vlogs. They’re really clever and well-produced. This one made me LOL for real, especially the “No fix! Listen!!” exchange and the presentation of the medal:
x YouTube Video
More great responses to the Getty Museum Challenge
Here are a few more amazing and witty recreations of museum masterpieces using household items. I really can’t get enough of this!
Lady 1-Ply, Keeper of Non-Perishables and Protector of the Soap.
Frida Kahlo with Parrots Cleaning Products
And dogs!
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An amazing video
Someone (BeeD? WineRev?) posted a quick link to this in an extendo a couple of weeks ago, but it’s too wondrous not to highlight. This is a perfect marriage of beauty and ingenuity, a combination which the Japanese are especially adept at:
x YouTube Video
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Hot lynx
www.dailykos.com/… Best News I Read Today: There Will be Criminal Prosecutions
www.rawstory.com/… The biggest political story of the year isn’t what you think
www.huffpost.com/… NBC News Chairman Andy Lack Stepping Down: Lack has come under fire for his handling of sexual misconduct at the network. Good riddance!
explore.org/… Aurora borealis live cam!
betterworldbooks.com...Better World Books sells donated books, donates a book to someone in need each time they sell a book, and uses proceeds above operating expenses to support literacy around the world.
www.nationalgeographic.com/...The Hairless Mexican Dog Has a Storied, Ancient Past
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In closing, some transcendent music
On Saturday, April 25, the Metropolitan Opera held an “At-Home Gala,” which sadly I didn’t know about until a week later. The reviews of the at-home performances, by so many of the world’s greatest singers, were ecstatic. Fortunately, they did allow the highlight of the evening, the chorus “Va, pensiero” (“Go, my thoughts”) from Verdi’s Nabucco, to be published on YouTube. The opera is about the struggle of the Jews against the Babylonians, and this chorus, also known as “The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves,” is their lament for the homeland they have been exiled from. It’s one of opera’s most beautiful and most moving choral passages.
x YouTube Video
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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--2020-05-06--Very Very effective ad I found on the internets

First time doing this , I ’ m usually not a poster , but I saw this ad and thought @ @ @ @ @ too good not to spread around .
It ’ s made by a media group @ @ @ @ @ I have nothing to do with them , but I certainly admire their handiwork .
@ @ @ @ @ is Lindsay Grahams calm and cool narration throughout the devastating take down of Dear Leader @ @ @ @ @ this one link below .
Thanks !
PS — Hope I did this right .

First time doing this, I’m usually not a poster, but I saw this ad and thought Dayum! This one is too good not to spread around. It’s made by a media group called Meidastouch and no, I have nothing to do with them, but I certainly admire their handiwork. The best thing about it is Lindsay Grahams calm and cool narration throughout the devastating take down of Dear Leader. Click on the Love this one link below. Thanks!
PS — Hope I did this right.
Love this one!


End Healthcare Injustice

Health care is a basic human right .
All Kentuckians , no matter how much they earn , deserve access @ @ @ @ @ We need to move towards a more accessible healthcare system , like Medicare-for-All .
Too @ @ @ @ @ without adequate healthcare coverage , resulting in higher premiums for those who are insured .
@ @ @ @ @ Opt-In/Opt-Out to give people an opportunity to try Medicare as their healthcare coverage at whatever @ @ @ @ @ .
After one year , buyers can “ Opt-Out ” and restart their previous insurance @ @ @ @ @ were paying prior to their “ Opt-In ” .
To lower long-term costs and improve @ @ @ @ @ treating healthcare like a private industry , and start treating it like a public good @ @ @ @ @ every American .

Health care is a basic human right. All Kentuckians, no matter how much they earn, deserve access to affordable health care.
We need to move towards a more accessible healthcare system, like Medicare-for-All. Too many people in America are without adequate healthcare coverage, resulting in higher premiums for those who are insured. I am proposing a Medicare Opt-In/Opt-Out to give people an opportunity to try Medicare as their healthcare coverage at whatever cost they are currently paying. After one year, buyers can “Opt-Out” and restart their previous insurance at the rate which they were paying prior to their “Opt-In”.
To lower long-term costs and improve care, we must stop treating healthcare like a private industry, and start treating it like a public good and a basic right for every American.


dailykos--2020-05-06--Cashing In On the COVID Crisis

Cashing In On the COVID Crisis

Clinton ’ s solution : any pay over $ 1 million could not be deducted from the corporation ’ s tax .
Sounds good , but next comes a method often used to actually do the opposite of what the politicians say is being done : an exemption .
The corporations could deduct pay over $ 1million if based on performance .
The board of directors could set targets .
If the executives met these targets , the corporation could pay them , not in cash , but in stocks or stock options in the corporation .
Great !
said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ puts the executives ’ interest in line with the best interest of the corporation : if the company does better , they do better .
But it doesn ’ t .
It puts the executive ’ s interest at odds with the corporations in what economists call a perverse incentive .
Executives can manipulate the company ’ s affairs to artificially inflate the share value at the time of their sale .
The company pays more than the true value on the buyback .
The executives get a benefit based on a temporary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Economic Policy Institute shows , until the 1970s CEO-Worker pay ratio was 20:1 .
Then CEO pay started a gradual rise .
In the Reagan years ( 1981–89 ) the curve angled up slightly , but not until the Clinton years ( 1993–2001 ) did it achieve full lift off .
The Executive Buy Back is Done in Secret As a result of the Clinton reform , the executives had mountains of stock .
They needed a way to convert it to cash .
Enter the buyback .
Buy backs were once absolutely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ price manipulation .
It ’ s not just that corporations buying their own shares is the ultimate insider trading , the executives can arrange the company ’ s affairs to make it look more profitable in the quarter of the buyback .
For example , they can defer expenses to another quarter , making the financial statement at the time of the buyback look better than it is .
There otta be a law against it .
Indeed , there is a law against it ; but , and I hope you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an exemption .
Under Regan , and at the beginning of the government-is-the-problem deregulation extravaganza , the SEC passed a regulation to allow corporations to buy back their own shares including executive shares .
It ’ s a convoluted set of restrictions in SEC Rule 10b-18 , called a safe harbor , saying the corporation can buy its own shares if the purchase meets complicated restrictions .
Complexity is another tool to obfuscate what is really happening or make it impossible for regulators to get a conviction .
Mary Jo White , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was not policing these buybacks because it was impossible .
So , the executives , who are in control of the corporation , get to arrange the buybacks of their own shares with no one watching .
More Perversity in the Incentive This incentive distorts the value of the stock market .
According to the capitalist model , sophisticated investors like Warren Buffett should review the financial statements for value and determine the price of the stock by what they are willing to pay for it .
But buybacks create an artificial demand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Additionally , the company cancels the stock it has bought back making the remaining stock more valuable .
Most of the money from the Trump tax cuts went into buybacks .
Thus benefiting Trump as it made the stock market look better than it actually is .
This crisis will reveal this artificial inflation .
As Warren Buffett once put it : it ’ s only when the tide goes out that we will see who has been swimming naked .
Unfortunately , he and other sophisticated investors will know the cause @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but the vast majority of voters will not understand that it was completely avoidable and preventable for the future—and vote for the very leaders who caused it , such as a Trump .
On March 16 , 2020 , Brandon Kochkodin of Bloomberg News reported that “ the major air carriers had spent 96 percent of their cash over the past decade on stock buybacks .
American , for instance , went deep into debt while spending $ 15 billion on buybacks .
All told , six of the country ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in buybacks over the past decade.
” That reference to debt raises another threat to the entire economic system .
Prior to the buyback exemption , corporations used to pay half of their profits in dividends and retain the other half for future expenses including a risk management practice for a rainy day fund to provide against the absolutely unexpected .
It would tide them over for several months of a crisis .
Sometime after the Reagan era , corporations began stripping out all of their profits in high executive pay , dividends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borrow to meet valid on going business expenses .
Years prior to the pandemic of 2020 , analysts began warning that the size of corporate debt was so mountainous , that even a normal slow downturn in the economy could cause a raft of bankruptcies .
In November , 2018 , Jeff Cox , writing for CNBC , called the colossal corporate debt a ” ticking time bomb ” in the US economy .
In 2013 , economist Thomas Piketty startled the liberal establishment with his book Capitalism in the 21st Century , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supported with substantial academic research .
He showed that now inherited wealth , through investment , earned more than working for wages .
Wealth would continually accumulate in an increasing number of fewer wealthy families .
That wealth has given those families increasing political power .
We see enacting before our eyes what Louis Brandeis warned in the early 19th century : We can have democracy in this country , or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few , but we can ’ t have both .
Piketty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soaring executive pay and stagnating worker pay drives the inequitable distribution of the income of a nation .
In his later work published this year , Capital and Ideology , he connects rising inequality as a prime cause of populous movements like the one that elected Trump .
Changing ideology , he claims , is responsible for the policies that have facilitated this inequality .
Perhaps , but a greater factor is simply that the voting classes are kept ignorant of how it ’ s done .
Every crisis could be a tipping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1930s .
The corporations seeking relief today were not in a strong position to bargain .
If a critical mass of voters had understood the damaging role that the buyback safe harbor exemption played , they could have demanded complete retraction of that exemption for all time and not just one year after the date of the bailout .
Yet , where can an educated voter learn what I have written here ?
So , only 12 years after politicians vowed there would never be another bailout , the corporations could come , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hey we ’ re not like the banks : we didn ’ t do it , the virus did it ; and demand trillions of dollars in aid .
But they did do it .
And their techniques are successful as long as they all do it .
They can unitedly threaten the entire economic system collapse unless the government , in an another act of extreme socialism for the rich , bails them out .
As a result of the bail out , they definitely will live to do it again .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the safe harbor exemption and absolutely prohibit buybacks as in the pre-Reagan era .
There should have been an outcry from the salaried classes — but there wasn ’ t a murmur .
The workers who suffer under this device have no idea how it ’ s hurting them and paving the way for further business black mail .
The 2020 handout only said it could not be immediately used for buybacks and until one year after the loan is repaid .
After that corporations will be free once more to put the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the executive class .
And they will !
The Democrats had control of the presidency , the House , and the Senate during Obama ’ s first term .
It was clear by then that the Clinton reform on executive pay had backfired and that executives were insider trading without restraint .
Why didn ’ t the Democrats remove that exemption allowing this practice ?
An investigation into that question may explain why no Democrat reform has been , or ever will be , effective to end economic inequality .
Critics may well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aspect of how laws are used for the upward transfer of wealth through the corporate form .
True , there are other factors at play .
For example : why , if shareholders are owners , can ’ t shareholders reign in executive pay ?
Who is behind the dividend stripping ?
Are there more groups that benefit from stock manipulation than the executives ?
And most importantly , how can some of it get to the workers ?
For we can be sure that even if part of the executive pay is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not go to workers without more .
Certainly valid issues , but for another day .
Acknowledgement : Title image of money courtesy of Pixabay on Pexels Jan D. Weir is a lawyer who has advised international corporations , banks and accounting firms .
He has taught business law at the University of Toronto , and is the co-author of The Critical Concepts of Canadian Business Law ( 6e ) Pearson .
Follow him for updates on laws that affect inequality @ JanWeirLaw and Medium.com ,

IN THE AFTERMATH of the Great Depression observers noted how certain of the wealthy could cash in on a crisis and dubbed them ‘market crash millionaires’. There were only a few then. At that time, however, there was a counter balance: the bailout in the 1930s went to the distressed homeowners and continued the progress toward economic equality for workers that had begun slowly in the 1900s.
But by 2020, the super-rich had perfected methods of ensuring that they got the full benefit from every economic crisis. This is a tale of how both Democrat and Republican administrations supported, and still support, this trend. To understand how the present stimulus package is going to permanently put the economy at risk for the salaried classes, but protect the moneyed classes, I’ll review a pernicious relationship that is never discussed in the media: the role of executive compensation related to buybacks.
We need to go back to 1993 when Bill Clinton ran on the promise to stop the outrageous executive compensation that had been wildly escalating since the 1970s.
Clinton’s solution: any pay over $1 million could not be deducted from the corporation’s tax. Sounds good, but next comes a method often used to actually do the opposite of what the politicians say is being done: an exemption. The corporations could deduct pay over $1million if based on performance. The board of directors could set targets. If the executives met these targets, the corporation could pay them, not in cash, but in stocks or stock options in the corporation.
Great! said those who promoted this exemption. This puts the executives’ interest in line with the best interest of the corporation: if the company does better, they do better. But it doesn’t. It puts the executive’s interest at odds with the corporations in what economists call a perverse incentive. Executives can manipulate the company’s affairs to artificially inflate the share value at the time of their sale. The company pays more than the true value on the buyback. The executives get a benefit based on a temporary illusion.
Available on Wikipedia
As the graph by the Economic Policy Institute shows, until the 1970s CEO-Worker pay ratio was 20:1. Then CEO pay started a gradual rise. In the Reagan years (1981–89) the curve angled up slightly, but not until the Clinton years (1993–2001) did it achieve full lift off.
The Executive Buy Back is Done in Secret
As a result of the Clinton reform, the executives had mountains of stock. They needed a way to convert it to cash. Enter the buyback. Buy backs were once absolutely prohibited because of the opportunity for stock price manipulation. It’s not just that corporations buying their own shares is the ultimate insider trading, the executives can arrange the company’s affairs to make it look more profitable in the quarter of the buyback. For example, they can defer expenses to another quarter, making the financial statement at the time of the buyback look better than it is.
There otta be a law against it. Indeed, there is a law against it; but, and I hope you’ve already anticipated it: there is an exemption. Under Regan, and at the beginning of the government-is-the-problem deregulation extravaganza, the SEC passed a regulation to allow corporations to buy back their own shares including executive shares. It’s a convoluted set of restrictions in SEC Rule 10b-18, called a safe harbor, saying the corporation can buy its own shares if the purchase meets complicated restrictions. Complexity is another tool to obfuscate what is really happening or make it impossible for regulators to get a conviction.
Mary Jo White, when head of the SEC, said it was not policing these buybacks because it was impossible. So, the executives, who are in control of the corporation, get to arrange the buybacks of their own shares with no one watching.
More Perversity in the Incentive
This incentive distorts the value of the stock market. According to the capitalist model, sophisticated investors like Warren Buffett should review the financial statements for value and determine the price of the stock by what they are willing to pay for it. But buybacks create an artificial demand that inflates the value of the stock.
Additionally, the company cancels the stock it has bought back making the remaining stock more valuable. Most of the money from the Trump tax cuts went into buybacks. Thus benefiting Trump as it made the stock market look better than it actually is. This crisis will reveal this artificial inflation. As Warren Buffett once put it: it’s only when the tide goes out that we will see who has been swimming naked.
Unfortunately, he and other sophisticated investors will know the cause of the nakedness of the financial statements, but the vast majority of voters will not understand that it was completely avoidable and preventable for the future—and vote for the very leaders who caused it, such as a Trump.
Buy Backs: A Tide That Raises Only Yachts
On March 16, 2020, Brandon Kochkodin of Bloomberg News reported that “the major air carriers had spent 96 percent of their cash over the past decade on stock buybacks. American, for instance, went deep into debt while spending $15 billion on buybacks. All told, six of the country’s largest airlines approved roughly $47 billion in buybacks over the past decade.”
That reference to debt raises another threat to the entire economic system. Prior to the buyback exemption, corporations used to pay half of their profits in dividends and retain the other half for future expenses including a risk management practice for a rainy day fund to provide against the absolutely unexpected. It would tide them over for several months of a crisis. Sometime after the Reagan era, corporations began stripping out all of their profits in high executive pay, dividends and buybacks. They then had to borrow to meet valid on going business expenses.
Years prior to the pandemic of 2020, analysts began warning that the size of corporate debt was so mountainous, that even a normal slow downturn in the economy could cause a raft of bankruptcies. In November, 2018, Jeff Cox, writing for CNBC, called the colossal corporate debt a” ticking time bomb” in the US economy.
The Fountainhead of Income Inequality
In 2013, economist Thomas Piketty startled the liberal establishment with his book Capitalism in the 21st Century, calling attention to the rising economic inequality supported with substantial academic research. He showed that now inherited wealth, through investment, earned more than working for wages. Wealth would continually accumulate in an increasing number of fewer wealthy families. That wealth has given those families increasing political power. We see enacting before our eyes what Louis Brandeis warned in the early 19th century: We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.
Piketty also asserted that the mushrooming gap between soaring executive pay and stagnating worker pay drives the inequitable distribution of the income of a nation.
In his later work published this year, Capital and Ideology, he connects rising inequality as a prime cause of populous movements like the one that elected Trump. Changing ideology, he claims, is responsible for the policies that have facilitated this inequality.
Perhaps, but a greater factor is simply that the voting classes are kept ignorant of how it’s done. Every crisis could be a tipping point for positive change as in the 1930s. The corporations seeking relief today were not in a strong position to bargain. If a critical mass of voters had understood the damaging role that the buyback safe harbor exemption played, they could have demanded complete retraction of that exemption for all time and not just one year after the date of the bailout. Yet, where can an educated voter learn what I have written here?
So, only 12 years after politicians vowed there would never be another bailout, the corporations could come, show flimsy financial statements, claim, hey we’re not like the banks: we didn’t do it, the virus did it; and demand trillions of dollars in aid. But they did do it. And their techniques are successful as long as they all do it. They can unitedly threaten the entire economic system collapse unless the government, in an another act of extreme socialism for the rich, bails them out.
As a result of the bail out, they definitely will live to do it again. The politicians had the opportunity to revoke the safe harbor exemption and absolutely prohibit buybacks as in the pre-Reagan era. There should have been an outcry from the salaried classes — but there wasn’t a murmur. The workers who suffer under this device have no idea how it’s hurting them and paving the way for further business black mail. The 2020 handout only said it could not be immediately used for buybacks and until one year after the loan is repaid. After that corporations will be free once more to put the economy in jeopardy for the benefit of the executive class. And they will!
The Democrats had control of the presidency, the House, and the Senate during Obama’s first term. It was clear by then that the Clinton reform on executive pay had backfired and that executives were insider trading without restraint. Why didn’t the Democrats remove that exemption allowing this practice? An investigation into that question may explain why no Democrat reform has been, or ever will be, effective to end economic inequality.
Critics may well claim that this article discusses just one aspect of how laws are used for the upward transfer of wealth through the corporate form. True, there are other factors at play. For example: why, if shareholders are owners, can’t shareholders reign in executive pay? Who is behind the dividend stripping? Are there more groups that benefit from stock manipulation than the executives? And most importantly, how can some of it get to the workers? For we can be sure that even if part of the executive pay is kept in the corporation, it will not go to workers without more. Certainly valid issues, but for another day.
Acknowledgement: Title image of money courtesy of Pixabay on Pexels
Jan D. Weir is a lawyer who has advised international corporations, banks and accounting firms. He has taught business law at the University of Toronto, and is the co-author of The Critical Concepts of Canadian Business Law (6e) Pearson. Follow him for updates on laws that affect inequality @JanWeirLaw and Medium.com,


dailykos--2020-05-07--21st Century Jobs for a Stronger Kentucky

Kentuckians continue to work harder and harder to make ends meet , the simple truth is that our economy is @ @ @ @ @ .
For most Kentuckians meaningful work has been replaced by low-wage jobs that lack basic @ @ @ @ @ , and paid family leave .
We need congress to prioritize regulating broadband internet as @ @ @ @ @ all Kentuckians can participate in the 21st century economy .

Kentuckians continue to work harder and harder to make ends meet, the simple truth is that our economy is leaving workers and families behind. For most Kentuckians meaningful work has been replaced by low-wage jobs that lack basic benefits like healthcare, retirement, and paid family leave. We need congress to prioritize regulating broadband internet as a ‘utility’ so all Kentuckians can participate in the 21st century economy.