theintercept--2020-07-28--Coronavirus Strikes Latino Families Near California's Salton Sea

laughs too hard , she sometimes gets such a bad cough that she needs to use her inhaler .
It ’ s been this way for the 29-year-old since she was first diagnosed with asthma as a child .
Her symptoms typically rear up in the spring , when the high desert around California ’ s Salton Sea starts to warm , and the dust begins to blow .
But Covid-19 was something else .
“ This is probably the worst breathing issue that I ’ ve ever had , ” Rodriguez said .
The virus spread to her lungs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the hospital .
“ It ’ s like you ’ re just struggling so bad .
Just to get a good full breath of air.
” Covid-19 hit her family this June , spreading quickly from her older brother , to her sister and her young child , to her dad and then finally to Rodriguez .
She got the worst of it .
The community already beset by an environmental disaster is now facing a pandemic of the worst proportions .
Residents and activists , who have long fought for more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ area was already at a steep disadvantage for health care .
Now the largely agrarian community has found itself in the middle of a perfect storm of environmental neglect , poverty , and the coronavirus .
As Covid-19 cases resurge across the U.S. , the numbers have been stark in the Golden State .
Heralded for fast-moving lockdowns that helped thwart maxed-out hospitals at the beginning of the crisis , California is now breaking single-day case records .
The communities near the Salton Sea are some of the state ’ s hardest hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coachella Valley has the largest number of coronavirus cases and deaths of any of Riverside County ’ s districts — and Riverside has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state , aside from Los Angeles .
Across the lake to the south , adjacent Imperial County has also emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot , with the highest death rate in California .
The main hospital there is so overrun , they ’ ve turned to using portable military-style tents in the triple-digit heat .
Nearly all admitted patients are suffering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leech .
It thrives in these conditions , that ’ s why you ’ ve seen the spike here , ” said Luis Olmedo , executive director of Comite Civico del Valle , a veteran environmental justice group based in Imperial Valley .
“ We experience it everyday .
People are dying , getting sick , and having permanent scarring.
” two of the gritty towns that dot the receding banks of the Salton Sea , were once aptly named .
Created by accident in 1905 after a failed levee dumped fresh water @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bone-dry basin , the sea was a true desert wonder .
In the mid-20th century , it became a family resort , appealing to residents looking for a break from the hustle of Los Angeles , a three-hour drive to the West .
Vacationers came for water sports and to fish the stocked corvina .
In the 1970s , there was a dramatic shift .
Runoff from neighboring farmland that flowed untreated into the sea , paired with swiftly salinating waters due to limited new water supply , led to mass fish die-offs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the decay , turned the water freakish shades of green and red .
Then a pungent smell began .
But nothing exacerbated the issue more than the 2003 approval of a multimillion-dollar transfer of water to San Diego : the largest farm-to-urban water agreement in U.S. history .
It diverted water from the Colorado River that was previously available for use in the valley , dwindling runoff to the lake .
Critics say the benefits from the deal haven ’ t trickled down .
The water barons in the region — the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the valley — were equally opposed to the transfer .
About 500 farms control the rights to nearly 3.1 million acre-feet a year of water from the Colorado River .
Contrastingly , nearly a quarter of Imperial County lives in poverty .
Per capita income from 2018 was approximately $ 17,500 , according to the latest census figures .
Many Imperial Valley residents are tied to a massive agriculture sector that ’ s responsible for producing the majority of the U.S ’ s winter crops .
“ I like to call it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealthy white farmers and you have really poor people , ” said Malissa McKeith , a lawyer at the nonprofit advocacy group Citizens United for Resources and the Environment .
She fought for years against the water transfer agreement , pushing for at least a quarter billion dollars to be set aside to build hospitals and increase medical services for future environmental impacts on residents , to no avail .
The water loss , now exacerbated by increasingly warm temperatures due to climate change , has all but determined the Salton Sea ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the toxic dust laced with arsenic and fertilizer will be more and more exposed .
The lake has already retreated a football field ’ s length in parts , revealing crumbling banks made of petrified barnacles and dead fish exoskeletons .
It ’ s littered with dead birds , recognizable only by their residual feathers .
For McKeith , it ’ s unsurprising how hard Covid-19 has hit the community , considering the particulate matter that continues to blow from the sea .
“ You ’ re starting out with people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
“ This situation may finally wake people up to the environmental Chernobyl they created , by allowing so much water to go to rich communities without addressing the Salton Sea.
” Nearly 50 percent of Riverside County and 84 percent of Imperial County are Hispanic , according to state and census estimates .
Many Latino communities in the counties lack access to basic health care and have health conditions such as asthma , hypertension , diabetes , and obesity .
Families frequently live together in multigenerational homes .
Many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pickers , prison workers , and nurses .
Most can ’ t afford to take sick leave , let alone move elsewhere .
Research has linked polluted air — which Latinos in the U.S. are more likely to breathe than white people — with a higher likelihood of death from Covid-19 .
Exposure to poor or cramped living conditions and comorbidities are also believed to exacerbate infection rates and worsen outcomes .
In California , the risk to Latino communities is clear .
Latinos make up an outsized portion of Covid-19 cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45.2 percent of deaths in the state , despite being approximately 39 percent of the population .
Anna Rosas , 34 , a registered nurses assistant who works the night shift at the El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial , feels pangs of guilt over the death of her husband ( and high school sweetheart ) Luis Rosas .
“ I can ’ t help , you know , to maybe feel that it was my fault , ” she said .
As a health care professional for the past 13 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 ’ s spread in her community .
She washed her hands , wore masks , and limited her outings .
“ My husband would make fun of it .
He would be like , ‘ Oh , well , when you come home from work , I ’ m gon na have to hose you down , ’ ” she said .
But by the time she joined her sister-in-law ’ s Mother ’ s Day celebration on May 10 , along with six other close family members , she was feeling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she isolated herself in her home , pushing Luis and their 8-year-old son to move in with his sister , who at the time was living with her girlfriend , her parents , and her brother in a three-bedroom apartment .
Within a week , nearly the entire family had symptoms .
While Rosas was able to avoid the hospital , her sister-in-law and mother-in-law were later admitted and intubated .
Rosas ’ s 33-year-old brother-in-law died at home .
After three weeks in the ICU , her husband also passed away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Her husband had weight and heart issues , as did other members of his family .
“ I wish I would have definitely isolated myself , coming to work and not coming home .
Because , me being a worker at the hospital , I wish I really definitely would have done that , ” Rosas said .
“ It ’ s hard though .
I ’ ve never been separated from my husband in my life.
” knows the Eastern Coachella Valley exists because it ’ s on a map , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the tight-knit unincorporated community of North Shore .
Located just off the banks of the Sea , the neighborhood consists largely of mobile homes .
At least 84 people there have contracted Covid-19 .
Pozar is considered the unofficial mayor of the town , a role she stepped into when mothers at the sewing classes she taught began voicing concerns about their kids ’ frequent nosebleeds — attributable to the sea .
Now she ’ s concerned about the increase in Covid-19 cases , which she blames on the county ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ County voted unanimously on May 12 to approve a plan for reopening businesses , despite evidence of growing cases in the Eastern Coachella Valley .
Two weeks later , cases more than tripled .
Imperial County similarly moved to reopen in early June , despite having the highest rate of Covid-19 cases in the state at the time .
The virus ’ s attack on the southern California desert communities has rubbed salt in festering wounds of inequality .
“ The government has a responsibility to take care of everyone , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who grew up in Imperial Valley .
“ We need to be able to stabilize the exposed area [ around the sea ] .
We ’ re not talking about natural dust from undisturbed areas .
This has been a sump for industrial waste , and municipal waste .
There ’ s no way to sugarcoat this .
It ’ s been a site for a military proving ground .
We don ’ t know what ’ s under the sea .
What we do know , is we don ’ t want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visited the Salton Sea area in 2018 , agreeing that the region was at its “ tipping point.
” In June , the state legislature appropriated $ 47 million to help the Salton Sea .
Some , including Olmedo , view the moment with a glimmer of hope .
In order for residents to survive amongst the bleak dregs of the lake , Olmedo said he and others must let go of past resentments , accept that the water has been sold , and focus on mitigating the two main crises now facing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That means working in tandem with some of the government officials that locals have long felt were against them , being viewed as laborers and little more .
“ We have a 100-year-old playbook here where the pioneers came here and they ‘ found ’ Imperial .
Clearly those of us who are Latino , Mexicano , and Native American , we never really had any power .
It was stripped away from us .
So we have these carried-over sentiments .
But now we have these bigger issues that affect everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis that is here , is in the center of our community and nothing else matters.
” This article was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project .
Correction , July 28 4:03 p.m. EST : This piece has been updated to clarify the terms of the 2003 water transfer agreement between Imperial Valley and San Diego .

When Alexis Rodriguez laughs too hard, she sometimes gets such a bad cough that she needs to use her inhaler. It’s been this way for the 29-year-old since she was first diagnosed with asthma as a child. Her symptoms typically rear up in the spring, when the high desert around California’s Salton Sea starts to warm, and the dust begins to blow.
But Covid-19 was something else.
“This is probably the worst breathing issue that I’ve ever had,” Rodriguez said. The virus spread to her lungs and caused pneumonia, which sent her to the hospital. “It’s like you’re just struggling so bad. Just to get a good full breath of air.”
Covid-19 hit her family this June, spreading quickly from her older brother, to her sister and her young child, to her dad and then finally to Rodriguez. She got the worst of it.
Photo: Alex Welsh for The Intercept
Respiratory illnesses are no stranger to the Latino communities who live around California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea. Asthma rates here are some of the highest in California, with air quality routinely failing to meet federal and state standards. Thanks in part to the state’s omnipresent water wars, the water in this desolate, former vacation destination is rapidly drying up, salinating the lake, and releasing decades-old contaminants into the air.
Read Our Complete Coverage The Coronavirus Crisis
The community already beset by an environmental disaster is now facing a pandemic of the worst proportions. Residents and activists, who have long fought for more funding and pollution mitigation, say the area was already at a steep disadvantage for health care. Now the largely agrarian community has found itself in the middle of a perfect storm of environmental neglect, poverty, and the coronavirus.
As Covid-19 cases resurge across the U.S., the numbers have been stark in the Golden State. Heralded for fast-moving lockdowns that helped thwart maxed-out hospitals at the beginning of the crisis, California is now breaking single-day case records.
The communities near the Salton Sea are some of the state’s hardest hit. To the north, the Eastern Coachella Valley has the largest number of coronavirus cases and deaths of any of Riverside County’s districts — and Riverside has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state, aside from Los Angeles. Across the lake to the south, adjacent Imperial County has also emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot, with the highest death rate in California. The main hospital there is so overrun, they’ve turned to using portable military-style tents in the triple-digit heat. Nearly all admitted patients are suffering from Covid-19.
“Covid is a leech. It thrives in these conditions, that’s why you’ve seen the spike here.”
“Covid is a leech. It thrives in these conditions, that’s why you’ve seen the spike here,” said Luis Olmedo, executive director of Comite Civico del Valle, a veteran environmental justice group based in Imperial Valley. “We experience it everyday. People are dying, getting sick, and having permanent scarring.”
Oasis and Mecca, two of the gritty towns that dot the receding banks of the Salton Sea, were once aptly named. Created by accident in 1905 after a failed levee dumped fresh water from the Colorado River into the formerly bone-dry basin, the sea was a true desert wonder. In the mid-20th century, it became a family resort, appealing to residents looking for a break from the hustle of Los Angeles, a three-hour drive to the West. Vacationers came for water sports and to fish the stocked corvina.
In the 1970s, there was a dramatic shift. Runoff from neighboring farmland that flowed untreated into the sea, paired with swiftly salinating waters due to limited new water supply, led to mass fish die-offs. Algae in the lake, feeding off the decay, turned the water freakish shades of green and red. Then a pungent smell began.
The view from the south shore of the Salton Sea on May 11, 2018. Photo: Alex Welsh
But nothing exacerbated the issue more than the 2003 approval of a multimillion-dollar transfer of water to San Diego: the largest farm-to-urban water agreement in U.S. history. It diverted water from the Colorado River that was previously available for use in the valley, dwindling runoff to the lake. Critics say the benefits from the deal haven’t trickled down. The water barons in the region — the wealthy farmers who hold original water claims in the valley — were equally opposed to the transfer. About 500 farms control the rights to nearly 3.1 million acre-feet a year of water from the Colorado River. Contrastingly, nearly a quarter of Imperial County lives in poverty. Per capita income from 2018 was approximately $17,500, according to the latest census figures.
Many Imperial Valley residents are tied to a massive agriculture sector that’s responsible for producing the majority of the U.S’s winter crops.
“I like to call it the last plantation. You have enormously wealthy white farmers and you have really poor people,” said Malissa McKeith, a lawyer at the nonprofit advocacy group Citizens United for Resources and the Environment. She fought for years against the water transfer agreement, pushing for at least a quarter billion dollars to be set aside to build hospitals and increase medical services for future environmental impacts on residents, to no avail.
The water loss, now exacerbated by increasingly warm temperatures due to climate change, has all but determined the Salton Sea’s destiny. It will keep shrinking, and the toxic dust laced with arsenic and fertilizer will be more and more exposed. The lake has already retreated a football field’s length in parts, revealing crumbling banks made of petrified barnacles and dead fish exoskeletons. It’s littered with dead birds, recognizable only by their residual feathers.
For McKeith, it’s unsurprising how hard Covid-19 has hit the community, considering the particulate matter that continues to blow from the sea.
“You’re starting out with people who have such compromised respiratory systems,” she said. “This situation may finally wake people up to the environmental Chernobyl they created, by allowing so much water to go to rich communities without addressing the Salton Sea.”
After responding to a call deemed a highly possible case of Covid-19, firefighters in El Centro, Calif., transport a patient experiencing pain and an elevated heart rate on July 17, 2020. Photo: Alex Welsh for The Intercept
Nearly 50 percent of Riverside County and 84 percent of Imperial County are Hispanic, according to state and census estimates. Many Latino communities in the counties lack access to basic health care and have health conditions such as asthma, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Families frequently live together in multigenerational homes. Many also work in essential jobs as farm pickers, prison workers, and nurses. Most can’t afford to take sick leave, let alone move elsewhere.
Research has linked polluted air — which Latinos in the U.S. are more likely to breathe than white people — with a higher likelihood of death from Covid-19. Exposure to poor or cramped living conditions and comorbidities are also believed to exacerbate infection rates and worsen outcomes. In California, the risk to Latino communities is clear. Latinos make up an outsized portion of Covid-19 cases, accounting for 55.6 percent of cases and 45.2 percent of deaths in the state, despite being approximately 39 percent of the population.
Latinos make up an outsized portion of Covid-19 cases in California, accounting for 55.6 percent of cases and 45.2 percent of deaths.
Anna Rosas, 34, a registered nurses assistant who works the night shift at the El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial, feels pangs of guilt over the death of her husband (and high school sweetheart) Luis Rosas.
“I can’t help, you know, to maybe feel that it was my fault,” she said.
As a health care professional for the past 13 years, Rosas had a heightened awareness of Covid-19’s spread in her community. She washed her hands, wore masks, and limited her outings. “My husband would make fun of it. He would be like, ‘Oh, well, when you come home from work, I’m gonna have to hose you down,’” she said.
But by the time she joined her sister-in-law’s Mother’s Day celebration on May 10, along with six other close family members, she was feeling ill.
When Rosas later tested positive, she isolated herself in her home, pushing Luis and their 8-year-old son to move in with his sister, who at the time was living with her girlfriend, her parents, and her brother in a three-bedroom apartment. Within a week, nearly the entire family had symptoms.
While Rosas was able to avoid the hospital, her sister-in-law and mother-in-law were later admitted and intubated. Rosas’s 33-year-old brother-in-law died at home. After three weeks in the ICU, her husband also passed away. He was 37 years old. Her husband had weight and heart issues, as did other members of his family.
“I wish I would have definitely isolated myself, coming to work and not coming home. Because, me being a worker at the hospital, I wish I really definitely would have done that,” Rosas said. “It’s hard though. I’ve never been separated from my husband in my life.”
“Riverside County only knows the Eastern Coachella Valley exists because it’s on a map,” said Maria Pozar, a stay-at-home mother in the tight-knit unincorporated community of North Shore. Located just off the banks of the Sea, the neighborhood consists largely of mobile homes. At least 84 people there have contracted Covid-19.
Pozar is considered the unofficial mayor of the town, a role she stepped into when mothers at the sewing classes she taught began voicing concerns about their kids’ frequent nosebleeds — attributable to the sea. Now she’s concerned about the increase in Covid-19 cases, which she blames on the county’s decision to reopen too early. Riverside County voted unanimously on May 12 to approve a plan for reopening businesses, despite evidence of growing cases in the Eastern Coachella Valley. Two weeks later, cases more than tripled. Imperial County similarly moved to reopen in early June, despite having the highest rate of Covid-19 cases in the state at the time.
“We don’t know what’s under the sea. What we do know, is we don’t want it exposed.”
The virus’s attack on the southern California desert communities has rubbed salt in festering wounds of inequality.
“The government has a responsibility to take care of everyone,” said Olmedo of Comite Civico del Valle, who grew up in Imperial Valley. “We need to be able to stabilize the exposed area [around the sea]. We’re not talking about natural dust from undisturbed areas. This has been a sump for industrial waste, and municipal waste. There’s no way to sugarcoat this. It’s been a site for a military proving ground. We don’t know what’s under the sea. What we do know, is we don’t want it exposed.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the Salton Sea area in 2018, agreeing that the region was at its “tipping point.” In June, the state legislature appropriated $47 million to help the Salton Sea. Some, including Olmedo, view the moment with a glimmer of hope.
Photo: Alex Welsh for The Intercept
In order for residents to survive amongst the bleak dregs of the lake, Olmedo said he and others must let go of past resentments, accept that the water has been sold, and focus on mitigating the two main crises now facing the region: climate change and Covid-19. That means working in tandem with some of the government officials that locals have long felt were against them, being viewed as laborers and little more.
“We have a 100-year-old playbook here where the pioneers came here and they ‘found’ Imperial. Clearly those of us who are Latino, Mexicano, and Native American, we never really had any power. It was stripped away from us. So we have these carried-over sentiments. But now we have these bigger issues that affect everyone,” Olmedo said. “This crisis that is here, is in the center of our community and nothing else matters.”
This article was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Correction, July 28 4:03 p.m. EST:
This piece has been updated to clarify the terms of the 2003 water transfer agreement between Imperial Valley and San Diego.


theintercept--2020-07-27--No Masks, No Gloves, a Single Room for Sleeping — Detainees Describe Life in ICE Detention During th

No Masks, No Gloves, a Single Room for Sleeping — Detainees Describe Life in ICE Detention During the Pandemic

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The U.S. ambassador to Australia said there could be a “resolution” to the Justice Department’s pursuit of Assange.


theintercept--2020-07-29--USPS Workers Concerned New Policies Will Pave the Way to Privatization

a flurry of confusion and stress for postal workers , as a barrage of new measures are threatening to fundamentally overhaul and undermine the culture and operations of the U.S .
Postal Service .
Earlier this month , the Washington Post reported on a memo from the new USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging postal staff to leave behind mail at distribution centers if they thought it would cause a delay for letter carriers .
Another memo stated that the USPS would be looking to cut transportation and overtime costs , bringing about “ immediate , lasting , and impactful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The following week , postal workers learned of yet another new pilot program called Expedited to Street/Afternoon Sortation , or ESAS , that would be rolling out in 384 delivery units nationwide beginning on July 25 .
The crux of this program , as outlined in an unsigned memo dated July 16 , is to send letter carriers out to deliver mail more quickly in the morning by prohibiting them from sorting any mail in their offices before they go .
These changes could delay mail from getting to its final destination by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer .
While the USPS memo billed ESAS as an effort to “ improve consistency in delivery time ” to customers , reduce overtime , and increase efficiency , postal workers were alarmed and shocked by these new dictates , which appeared to directly undermine a core value of their work .
“ These are changes aimed at changing the entire culture of USPS , ” said Mark Dimondstein , the national president of the American Postal Workers Union .
“ The culture I grew up with , and of generations before me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind .
You serve the customer , you get mail to the customer .
Prompt , reliable , and efficient.
” Dimondstein said the union is putting in place an ESAS monitoring and reporting plan to evaluate the impacts of these new changes to service .
“ We are definitely getting our members educated and we will fight this post office by post office , community by community , ” he said .
The union is also coordinating with members of Congress to discuss strategies , and Dimondstein said he ’ s hoping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I think the best way to put it is we ’ re concerned , ” said Arthur Sackler , manager for the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service , a postal industry advocacy group .
“ Maybe this will just delay mail delivery once , but we ’ re worried if there ’ s no real time to sort , and no overtime , then there could be a cumulative growing impact.
” Sackler said his group has still gotten no information or clarity about these new rules and their potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We haven ’ t been told anything , we haven ’ t been consulted , and over the last three decades the Postal Service has had a good track record of talking to unions and industry groups if there are going to be changes.
” In a statement , USPS spokesperson David Partenheimer told The Intercept that the Postal Service “ is developing a business plan to ensure that we will be financially stable and able to continue to provide dependable , affordable , safe and secure delivery of mail and packages to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation ’ s critical infrastructure .
The plan , which will be presented to the Board of Governors when it is finalized , will include new and creative ways to help us fulfill our mission , and will focus on the Postal Service ’ s strengths to maximize our prospects for long-term success.
” In addition to developing the broader business plan , Partenheimer said , “ the Postal Service is taking immediate steps to increase operational efficiency by re-emphasizing existing plans that have been designed to provide prompt and reliable service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been on high alert since May , when it was announced that the USPS Board of Governors had selected DeJoy to serve as the new postmaster general and CEO .
DeJoy has been a top Republican Party fundraiser , including for the Republican National Convention and the president ’ s reelection effort , which prompted questions about how exactly he secured his new gig .
DeJoy previously worked as chair and CEO of New Breed Logistics , a massive warehousing and distribution company , and is the first postmaster general in over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ USPS .
He replaced outgoing postmaster general , Megan Brennan , who was appointed in 2015 and had been a career-long USPS employee , beginning as a letter carrier in Pennsylvania .
A bevy of worker violations and complaints have racked up at DeJoy ’ s old stomping ground .
When he was CEO , the National Labor Relations Board ruled that New Breed ’ s hiring practices were “ motivated by anti-union animus ” when it avoided hiring any Longshore union members after it secured an Army contract in California .
Between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its affiliates paid more than $ 1.7 million for violations of labor law , wage and hour regulations , employee discrimination , and aviation regulations .
In 2014 , the New York Times reported on four women who worked in a Memphis warehouse for New Breed who suffered miscarriages after their supervisors refused their requests for light duties while pregnant .
That same year New Breed merged with XPO Logistics , and since 2015 , XPO and its affiliates have paid more than $ 30 million for a range of workplace violations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ warehouse workers , and intermodal drivers at XPO facilities worldwide protested against abuse and wage theft .
Then when the Covid-19 pandemic hit , XPO offered to “ lend ” workers up to 100 hours of time off , but said they would have to repay that time .
DeJoy vowed to bring about change to USPS , criticizing the organization for having “ an expensive and inflexible business model ” that he said he looked forward to tackling head-on .
“ I did not accept this position in spite of these challenges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , ” he told USPS employees in a June 15 video address .
Postal service workers feel particularly unnerved by the new ESAS program and DeJoy ’ s appointment given the Trump administration ’ s announcement in 2018 that the president would like to restructure and privatize USPS .
The White House suggested that USPS could save money by raising rates , ending door-to-door delivery , and cutting down days of mail service .
This past April , Donald Trump called the Postal Service “ a joke ” and tried to force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in exchange for Covid-19 relief .
Delaying mail delivery in the name of cutting costs and efficiency , Dimondstein argued , means that people will lose confidence in one of the most trusted federal agencies in the country , which , unlike its private competitors , delivers everywhere , including to unprofitable and rural areas .
“ Undermining and degrading the Postal Service helps frustrate the customer , which sets the stage to privatizing it , ” he said .
“ The Trump administration is on record for raising prices , reducing service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefits .
This [ pilot ] may be Trump ’ s first foray to try and actually accomplish some of those things.
” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. , D-N.J. , pointed to the implications delaying mail could have not just on letters and packages , but also for the upcoming election .
“ With states now reliant on voting by mail to continue elections during the pandemic , the destabilizing of the post office is a direct attack on American democracy itself , ” he said in a statement .
Pascrell is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-sponsor of the USPS Fairness Act , a bill that would repeal the requirement that the Postal Service annually repay future retirement health benefits .
In May , he called for an inspector general investigation into possible political interference by the Trump administration within USPS .
In terms of reducing overtime , Dimondstein said the obvious way to do so is to hire more workers .
Between 2009 and 2018 , according to the Government Accountability Office , USPS cut its workforce by more than 77,000 employees .
“ There ’ s always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and overtime goes up during periods of high mail volume , but it also goes up when you ’ re understaffed , and during this pandemic we ’ ve had over 38,000 postal workers quarantined for Covid-19 exposure so someone has to cover those shifts.
” Drew , a letter carrier in Rockford , Illinois who requested his last name be withheld in case of employer retaliation , has worked for USPS for the past two years , and his parents also worked as carriers at different times .
“ This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen it , ” he told The Intercept .
“ One of the things that ’ s always been a central tenant of the Post Office is that the mail gets through , no matter how late you have to work , what the weather is , and now it feels like that ’ s being thrown out the window.
” The level of uncertainty that looms over carriers now is affecting morale , according to Drew .
“ We don ’ t know what sorts of overhauls are coming down the line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feels like something new comes down every few weeks .
”

July has been a flurry of confusion and stress for postal workers, as a barrage of new measures are threatening to fundamentally overhaul and undermine the culture and operations of the U.S. Postal Service.
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported on a memo from the new USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging postal staff to leave behind mail at distribution centers if they thought it would cause a delay for letter carriers. Another memo stated that the USPS would be looking to cut transportation and overtime costs, bringing about “immediate, lasting, and impactful changes” to the federal agency.
The following week, postal workers learned of yet another new pilot program called Expedited to Street/Afternoon Sortation, or ESAS, that would be rolling out in 384 delivery units nationwide beginning on July 25. The crux of this program, as outlined in an unsigned memo dated July 16, is to send letter carriers out to deliver mail more quickly in the morning by prohibiting them from sorting any mail in their offices before they go.
These changes could delay mail from getting to its final destination by at least one day, if not longer. While the USPS memo billed ESAS as an effort to “improve consistency in delivery time” to customers, reduce overtime, and increase efficiency, postal workers were alarmed and shocked by these new dictates, which appeared to directly undermine a core value of their work.
“These are changes aimed at changing the entire culture of USPS,” said Mark Dimondstein, the national president of the American Postal Workers Union. “The culture I grew up with, and of generations before me, is that you never leave mail behind. You serve the customer, you get mail to the customer. Prompt, reliable, and efficient.”
Dimondstein said the union is putting in place an ESAS monitoring and reporting plan to evaluate the impacts of these new changes to service. “We are definitely getting our members educated and we will fight this post office by post office, community by community,” he said. The union is also coordinating with members of Congress to discuss strategies, and Dimondstein said he’s hoping for oversight hearings in early fall.
“I think the best way to put it is we’re concerned,” said Arthur Sackler, manager for the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, a postal industry advocacy group. “Maybe this will just delay mail delivery once, but we’re worried if there’s no real time to sort, and no overtime, then there could be a cumulative growing impact.”
Sackler said his group has still gotten no information or clarity about these new rules and their potential consequences from the federal agency. “We haven’t been told anything, we haven’t been consulted, and over the last three decades the Postal Service has had a good track record of talking to unions and industry groups if there are going to be changes.”
“The culture I grew up with, and of generations before me, is that you never leave mail behind.”
In a statement, USPS spokesperson David Partenheimer told The Intercept that the Postal Service “is developing a business plan to ensure that we will be financially stable and able to continue to provide dependable, affordable, safe and secure delivery of mail and packages to all Americans as a vital part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The plan, which will be presented to the Board of Governors when it is finalized, will include new and creative ways to help us fulfill our mission, and will focus on the Postal Service’s strengths to maximize our prospects for long-term success.” In addition to developing the broader business plan, Partenheimer said, “the Postal Service is taking immediate steps to increase operational efficiency by re-emphasizing existing plans that have been designed to provide prompt and reliable service within current service standards.”
Postal workers have been on high alert since May, when it was announced that the USPS Board of Governors had selected DeJoy to serve as the new postmaster general and CEO. DeJoy has been a top Republican Party fundraiser, including for the Republican National Convention and the president’s reelection effort, which prompted questions about how exactly he secured his new gig.
DeJoy previously worked as chair and CEO of New Breed Logistics, a massive warehousing and distribution company, and is the first postmaster general in over two decades to have never worked at USPS. He replaced outgoing postmaster general, Megan Brennan, who was appointed in 2015 and had been a career-long USPS employee, beginning as a letter carrier in Pennsylvania.
A bevy of worker violations and complaints have racked up at DeJoy’s old stomping ground. When he was CEO, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that New Breed’s hiring practices were “motivated by anti-union animus” when it avoided hiring any Longshore union members after it secured an Army contract in California. Between 2001 and 2015, New Breed and its affiliates paid more than $1.7 million for violations of labor law, wage and hour regulations, employee discrimination, and aviation regulations. In 2014, the New York Times reported on four women who worked in a Memphis warehouse for New Breed who suffered miscarriages after their supervisors refused their requests for light duties while pregnant. That same year New Breed merged with XPO Logistics, and since 2015, XPO and its affiliates have paid more than $30 million for a range of workplace violations. Last year, hundreds of drivers, warehouse workers, and intermodal drivers at XPO facilities worldwide protested against abuse and wage theft. Then when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, XPO offered to “lend” workers up to 100 hours of time off, but said they would have to repay that time.
DeJoy has been a top Republican Party fundraiser, including for the president’s reelection effort, which prompted questions about how exactly he secured his new gig.
DeJoy vowed to bring about change to USPS, criticizing the organization for having “an expensive and inflexible business model” that he said he looked forward to tackling head-on. “I did not accept this position in spite of these challenges, I accepted this position because of them,” he told USPS employees in a June 15 video address.
Postal service workers feel particularly unnerved by the new ESAS program and DeJoy’s appointment given the Trump administration’s announcement in 2018 that the president would like to restructure and privatize USPS. The White House suggested that USPS could save money by raising rates, ending door-to-door delivery, and cutting down days of mail service. This past April, Donald Trump called the Postal Service “a joke” and tried to force the agency to quadruple its package rates in exchange for Covid-19 relief.
Delaying mail delivery in the name of cutting costs and efficiency, Dimondstein argued, means that people will lose confidence in one of the most trusted federal agencies in the country, which, unlike its private competitors, delivers everywhere, including to unprofitable and rural areas. “Undermining and degrading the Postal Service helps frustrate the customer, which sets the stage to privatizing it,” he said. “The Trump administration is on record for raising prices, reducing service, and reducing workers’ rights and benefits. This [pilot] may be Trump’s first foray to try and actually accomplish some of those things.”
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., pointed to the implications delaying mail could have not just on letters and packages, but also for the upcoming election. “With states now reliant on voting by mail to continue elections during the pandemic, the destabilizing of the post office is a direct attack on American democracy itself,” he said in a statement. Pascrell is a vocal supporter of postal banking and a co-sponsor of the USPS Fairness Act, a bill that would repeal the requirement that the Postal Service annually prepay future retirement health benefits. In May, he called for an inspector general investigation into possible political interference by the Trump administration within USPS.
In terms of reducing overtime, Dimondstein said the obvious way to do so is to hire more workers. Between 2009 and 2018, according to the Government Accountability Office, USPS cut its workforce by more than 77,000 employees. “There’s always going to be some fluctuation in mail, and overtime goes up during periods of high mail volume, but it also goes up when you’re understaffed, and during this pandemic we’ve had over 38,000 postal workers quarantined for Covid-19 exposure so someone has to cover those shifts.”
Drew, a letter carrier in Rockford, Illinois who requested his last name be withheld in case of employer retaliation, has worked for USPS for the past two years, and his parents also worked as carriers at different times. “This is the worst any of us have ever seen it,” he told The Intercept. “One of the things that’s always been a central tenet of the Post Office is that the mail gets through, no matter how late you have to work, what the weather is, and now it feels like that’s being thrown out the window.”
The level of uncertainty that looms over carriers now is affecting morale, according to Drew. “We don’t know what sorts of overhauls are coming down the line,” he said. “It feels like something new comes down every few weeks.”


theintercept--2020-07-29--Progressive J.D. Scholten Rejects DCCC Help in Close Iowa Race

Now , Scholten is rejecting the possibility of support and funds from the House Democrats ’ campaign arm , saying he is determined to run the campaign his way .
The DCCC , for its part , told Scholten he must meet its requirements , which would involve changing his campaign strategy , to receive funding — a very different message than in 2019 when DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos told Scholten it would go “ all in ” on his race against King .
J.D .
Scholten , the progressive populist who nearly defeated Steve King in Iowa ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to know that his campaign doesn ’ t want or need their help .
The falling out comes as the House Democrats ’ campaign arm , which encouraged him to run against King a second time , has de-prioritized the race ; King , a white supremacist , lost his primary , and the district was downgraded from “ tilt Republican ” to “ solid Republican.
” But it ’ s still competitive : Scholten is currently leading his new Republican rival in fundraising by hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s internal polling shows the two in a statistical dead heat .
“ We have an authentic campaign that reflects who I am and my vision for this district , ” Scholten said in a statement announcing the decision .
“ We won ’ t be beholden to special interests or the DCCC ; instead , we ’ re reaching out to folks across the political spectrum to earn votes.
” Scholten is especially frustrated by the DCCC ’ s approach to supporting moderate candidates who focus on traditional fundraising from big-dollar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where you sit at home and fundraise all day doesn ’ t win respect , trust , or elections in these parts and wouldn ’ t be a good start to addressing the serious challenges facing rural America , ” Scholten wrote .
In 2018 , as a first-time candidate , Scholten came within 3 percentage points of beating King , building a remarkable base of grassroots support .
He outperformed nearly 40 percent of the candidates in the DCCC ’ s “ Red-to-Blue ” program , which targets seats that have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election cycle , he said , the DCCC didn ’ t return his calls .
Over a year ago , Bustos reached out and “ begged ” him to run against King a second time , Scholten recalled , promising the DCCC would make it a top five race .
He openly weighed a run for the Senate seat currently held by Joni Ernst , at one point , but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer discouraged him from jumping in the race to try to clear the field for Theresa Greenfield , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That ’ s when Bustos said the House Democrats ’ campaign arm would go “ all in ” on his race if he challenged King again .
Scholten went on to win the Democratic nomination in June , following an uncontested primary .
He was preparing for a rematch against King — a white nationalist who had been censured by his colleagues in the House and stripped of his committee assignments — until the incumbent lawmaker lost the Republican primary to state Sen. Randy Feenstra , who was backed by President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Bustos to check in and see where the DCCC was at , and what she meant by her promise to go “ all in ” on his bid .
During their phone call , Scholten laid out everything they had accomplished last cycle and made his case for why the race , despite King ’ s loss , could present a huge opportunity .
“ And it just got to the point where they ’ re trying to dangle carrots in front of us and I was like , you know what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
“ They wan na be in all our meetings , they want us to use their consultants and stuff like that .
And I don ’ t feel comfortable doing that at this time.
” After discussing with his team , Scholten said , he decided , “ We don ’ t need them and what we want is to run the campaign similar to last time and that ’ s what ’ s going to win this race.
” Completely refusing the DCCC ’ s help also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its own field program and do its own mailing , which Red to Blue candidates are armed with additional “ organizational and fundraising support.
” “ That ’ s part of it : We didn ’ t feel that what they do provides enough value for what we ’ re trying to do , ” he said .
“ JD Scholten is a strong candidate working to earn voters ’ trust in rural Iowa , ” Cole Leiter , a DCCC spokesperson , said in a statement .
“ We have built a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make their own decisions about how to run their race .
We wish him well.
” Though King ’ s defeat changed the dynamics of the race , Scholten ’ s campaign believes that the issues , namely Medicare for All and his vow to take on the corporate interests exploiting the second largest agricultural district in the country , will help flip the district come November .
Scholten ’ s platform stands in stark contrast to the more moderate talking points and messaging the party establishment pushes on Democratic candidates running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for example , the DCCC commissioned a survey and analysis to help develop its messaging on health care .
The messaging handouts , The Intercept reported at the time , “ made clear where the party wants its candidates to stand when it comes to health care reform : preferably nowhere , but certainly not with single-payer advocates.
” Party elites also end up influencing campaign strategy , Scholten noted .
In a few weeks , his campaign will launch a tour that will go through all 375 towns in the district ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
“ They would not agree that I should go to all 375 towns even though that ’ s how we earn votes , ” he told The Intercept .
“ They want me to stay at home and just fundraise , be on the phone from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed.
” The Scholten campaign brought in a haul of nearly $ 620,000 in the second quarter of the fundraising year , making it the largest ever in a second quarter for any Democrat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ About 96 percent of the campaign ’ s contributions last quarter were under $ 200 , thanks to its online small donor base .
“ The way the DCCC ’ s system is , candidates like me , they don ’ t really care much about , ” he said .
“ If I could self fund , they ’ d be all over me .
I mean , the organizing and just the grassroots organization , we created something that ’ s so authentic and so organic that I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something like that .
We need more working-class people in D.C. , and their system is not made for that.
” Correction : July 29 , 2020 , 6:26 p.m .
The article has been updated to clarify that so-called Red to Blue candidates receive additional support from the DCCC , but not necessarily in the form of free mailings and field programs , as the article originally stated .

J.D. Scholten, the progressive populist who nearly defeated Steve King in Iowa’s deep-red 4th Congressional District in 2018, wants the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to know that his campaign doesn’t want or need their help. The falling out comes as the House Democrats’ campaign arm, which encouraged him to run against King a second time, has de-prioritized the race; King, a white supremacist, lost his primary, and the district was downgraded from “tilt Republican” to “solid Republican.” But it’s still competitive: Scholten is currently leading his new Republican rival in fundraising by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and his campaign’s internal polling shows the two in a statistical dead heat.
Now, Scholten is rejecting the possibility of support and funds from the House Democrats’ campaign arm, saying he is determined to run the campaign his way. The DCCC, for its part, told Scholten he must meet its requirements, which would involve changing his campaign strategy, to receive funding — a very different message than in 2019 when DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos told Scholten it would go “all in” on his race against King.
“We have an authentic campaign that reflects who I am and my vision for this district,” Scholten said in a statement announcing the decision. “We won’t be beholden to special interests or the DCCC; instead, we’re reaching out to folks across the political spectrum to earn votes.”
Scholten is especially frustrated by the DCCC’s approach to supporting moderate candidates who focus on traditional fundraising from big-dollar donors. “The DCCC-type of campaign where you sit at home and fundraise all day doesn’t win respect, trust, or elections in these parts and wouldn’t be a good start to addressing the serious challenges facing rural America,” Scholten wrote.
In 2018, as a first-time candidate, Scholten came within 3 percentage points of beating King, building a remarkable base of grassroots support. He outperformed nearly 40 percent of the candidates in the DCCC’s “Red-to-Blue” program, which targets seats that have a promising chance to flip. But that election cycle, he said, the DCCC didn’t return his calls.
Over a year ago, Bustos reached out and “begged” him to run against King a second time, Scholten recalled, promising the DCCC would make it a top five race. He openly weighed a run for the Senate seat currently held by Joni Ernst, at one point, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer discouraged him from jumping in the race to try to clear the field for Theresa Greenfield, who’s now the Democratic nominee. That’s when Bustos said the House Democrats’ campaign arm would go “all in” on his race if he challenged King again.
Scholten went on to win the Democratic nomination in June, following an uncontested primary. He was preparing for a rematch against King — a white nationalist who had been censured by his colleagues in the House and stripped of his committee assignments — until the incumbent lawmaker lost the Republican primary to state Sen. Randy Feenstra, who was backed by President Donald Trump.
Last week, Scholten reached out to Bustos to check in and see where the DCCC was at, and what she meant by her promise to go “all in” on his bid. During their phone call, Scholten laid out everything they had accomplished last cycle and made his case for why the race, despite King’s loss, could present a huge opportunity. “And it just got to the point where they’re trying to dangle carrots in front of us and I was like, you know what, I’m not having it,” he said. “They wanna be in all our meetings, they want us to use their consultants and stuff like that. And I don’t feel comfortable doing that at this time.”
After discussing with his team, Scholten said, he decided, “We don’t need them and what we want is to run the campaign similar to last time and that’s what’s going to win this race.” Completely refusing the DCCC’s help also means the campaign will have to provide its own field program and do its own mailing, which Red to Blue candidates are armed with additional “organizational and fundraising support.” “That’s part of it: We didn’t feel that what they do provides enough value for what we’re trying to do,” he said.
“JD Scholten is a strong candidate working to earn voters’ trust in rural Iowa,” Cole Leiter, a DCCC spokesperson, said in a statement. “We have built a big battlefield and every candidate is going to make their own decisions about how to run their race. We wish him well.”
Though King’s defeat changed the dynamics of the race, Scholten’s campaign believes that the issues, namely Medicare for All and his vow to take on the corporate interests exploiting the second largest agricultural district in the country, will help flip the district come November. Scholten’s platform stands in stark contrast to the more moderate talking points and messaging the party establishment pushes on Democratic candidates running in red districts.
In 2018, for example, the DCCC commissioned a survey and analysis to help develop its messaging on health care. The messaging handouts, The Intercept reported at the time, “made clear where the party wants its candidates to stand when it comes to health care reform: preferably nowhere, but certainly not with single-payer advocates.” Party elites also end up influencing campaign strategy, Scholten noted. In a few weeks, his campaign will launch a tour that will go through all 375 towns in the district (while adhering to health and safety guidelines.)
“They would not agree that I should go to all 375 towns even though that’s how we earn votes,” he told The Intercept. “They want me to stay at home and just fundraise, be on the phone from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed.”
The Scholten campaign brought in a haul of nearly $620,000 in the second quarter of the fundraising year, making it the largest ever in a second quarter for any Democrat who has run for the seat. About 96 percent of the campaign’s contributions last quarter were under $200, thanks to its online small donor base.
“The way the DCCC’s system is, candidates like me, they don’t really care much about,” he said. “If I could self fund, they’d be all over me. I mean, the organizing and just the grassroots organization, we created something that’s so authentic and so organic that I don’t think they know how to deal with something like that. We need more working-class people in D.C., and their system is not made for that.”
Correction: July 29, 2020, 6:26 p.m.
The article has been updated to clarify that so-called Red to Blue candidates receive additional support from the DCCC, but not necessarily in the form of free mailings and field programs, as the article originally stated.


theintercept--2020-07-29--The New Fight to Hold Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers Accountable for the Opioid Crisis

broke last September that Purdue Pharma was filing for bankruptcy , many victims of the deadly opioid crisis , for which the company holds immense responsibility , believed there was reason to celebrate .
The demise of the privately owned pharmaceutical corporation , the creator of OxyContin , had been the goal of activists , victims , and their families for well over a decade .
For those familiar with the vagaries of bankruptcy law , however , it was immediately clear that the Chapter 11 filing was just the latest move by Purdue executives and its owners , members @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justice and dodge accountability .
In filing for voluntary bankruptcy , Purdue was able to shield itself from the 2,600 federal and state lawsuits it was facing for its role flooding the U.S. with prescription opioids , contributing to the deaths of over 450,000 people since 1999 .
Purdue executives and members of the Sackler family were accused , in case after case , of misleading doctors and patients about the addictive nature of OxyContin , while amassing a multibillion-dollar fortune .
The bankruptcy filing invoked an automatic stay of civil litigation against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sacklers are by no means facing personal bankruptcy , they too have been granted a stay of litigation .
If they get their way in court , as they are likely to do , the bankruptcy settlement could shield the Sackler family from all future claims — and influence whether they are subject to criminal liability , too .
The full extent of Purdue ’ s — and the various Sacklers ’ — malfeasance in knowingly creating a mass market in addiction could remain hidden in sealed documents .
For numerous survivors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims is the very thing Purdue ’ s bankruptcy aims to avoid : transparency .
For numerous survivors , however , the primary demand in their claims is the very thing Purdue ’ s bankruptcy aims to avoid : transparency .
“ For many of us who have been in this fight for so long , the money means less , ” said Barbara Van Rooyan , who has campaigned against OxyContin ’ s proliferation since her son ’ s death from taking a single pill in 2004 .
“ The biggest asset @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rooyan joined with other survivors to form the Ad Hoc Committee on Accountability , a group of creditors seeking to use their participation in the bankruptcy case to push for the release of all of Purdue ’ s internal documents , both privileged and nonprivileged , alongside all communications between the Sackler family and the company .
Van Rooyan shared with me a copy of her filing for injunctive relief in the settlement , which includes a demand for “ the public disclosure of all Purdue Pharma documents including all documents that illuminate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sacklers and Purdue.
” In 2007 , when Purdue pleaded guilty to charges relating to the misbranding and marketing of OxyContin , Van Rooyan testified in the sentencing hearing .
In her bankruptcy settlement claim , she noted that in that case , as in many cases against the company , “ documents were kept hidden that would have changed the resolution of the case and most certainly the trajectory of the opioid crisis.
” For those who have suffered and lost loved ones in the years that followed , Purdue ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ If I had known more at the time , my son might still be alive , ” said Emily Walden , who lost her son in 2012 and now chairs the national coalition fighting the opioid crisis , FED UP !
Walden is filing a wrongful death claim in the bankruptcy case and is also a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Accountability .
Treating a corporation ’ s internal information as an asset that creditors can try to claim from the bankrupt company is a novel strategy and reflects the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the pharmaceutical leviathan over the years .
internal communications have been released in the past , the contents have been damning for the Sacklers who held executive posts .
A 2019 court filing against the company by the Massachusetts attorney general , for instance , cited a speech in which former Purdue President Richard Sackler boasted that “ the launch of OxyContin tablets will be followed by a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition.
” He was right : According to a peer-reviewed medical journal , “ Sales grew from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 1.1 billion in 2000.
” Only a few years after the drug ’ s release , evidence of its addictive properties — which the company would later be shown to have suppressed — began to emerge .
In a 2001 email , which was also filed in court in the Massachusetts case , Sackler strategized about how to deflect blame for the drugs ’ ill societal effects onto addicts — rather than have the company take any responsibility .
“ We have to hammer on abusers in every way possible , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminals.
” The vile “ blizzard ” comments would inspired a protest at the Guggenheim Museum by the activist group PAIN , or Prescription Addiction Intervention Now , founded by artist Nan Goldin .
Protesters snaked around the museum ’ s famed rotunda and scattered their own blizzard of fake Oxycontin prescriptions , each inscribed with quotations from Sackler ’ s communications with other Purdue executives .
Since 2017 , Goldin and PAIN have targeted the Sacklers at the very sites where the family sought to buy itself an honorable reputation in perpetuity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ museums .
PAIN staged numerous high-spectacle protests and die-ins , echoing the legacy of ACT UP activists during the heights of the AIDS crisis .
In response , a number of institutions vowed to reject future donations from the Sacklers .
The greater victory , however , was PAIN exposing the Sackler name to scrutiny ; the protests established a public association of the family as perpetrators of a deadly crisis , rather than as philanthropists .
Since 2017 , Goldin and PAIN have targeted the Sacklers at the very sites where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reputation in perpetuity , as grand philanthropists to galleries and museums .
PAIN staged numerous high-spectacle protests and die-ins , echoing the legacy of ACT UP activists during the heights of the AIDS crisis .
In response , a number of institutions vowed to reject future donations from the Sacklers .
The greater victory , however , was PAIN exposing the Sackler name to scrutiny ; the protests established a public association of the family as perpetrators of a deadly crisis , rather than as philanthropists .
PAIN recently turned its attention to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while working to extract whatever public accountability it can from the process .
But the arcane world of bankruptcy law provides a less fertile ground for public attention and outrage .
“ The Sacklers and Purdue bank on the complexity of these processes , ” said Harry Cullen , an activist with PAIN “ That ’ s part of the insidiousness of this bankruptcy.
” Goldin , herself a survivor of OxyContin addiction , emphasized the importance of extracting documentation in court .
“ For a lot of people , getting access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making sure something like this doesn ’ t happen again in the future , ” she told me .
“ For me , it ’ s also about the present .
It ’ s about justice.
” She said “ the whole story ” of what Purdue and the Sacklers have done needs exposure : “ This is exposure of the American system.
” In the spring , PAIN launched its OxyJustice initiative to help victims and survivors file proof-of-claim documents with the bankruptcy court .
This summer , the judge overseeing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Purdue from June 30 to July 30 — a minimal recognition of the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic .
As of late July , 61,000 personal injury claims have been filed — a drop in the ocean of the number of people harmed by Purdue ’ s decades of turpitude .
In addition to individuals , creditors in the settlement include states , hundreds of counties , and cities , U.S. territories and other corporations .
A proposed settlement will not go far — the most recent operating report filed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 billion .
The Sackler family has offered to payout $ 3 billion in cash over seven years , a mere fraction of the amount they have made from the sale of OxyContin .
Other perverse details dot the proposed settlement .
What remains of Purdue would be restructured into a trust and given to the plaintiffs .
This “ trust ” would continue selling OxyContin to pay out claims , while reportedly committing to nonprofit research and development of anti-addiction , anti-overdose drugs .
Ad Hoc Committee members are , unsurprisingly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I am outraged at the proposal that future sales of OxyContin fund part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement , ” Van Rooyen said in her injunctive relief claim .
“ This is the drug that ignited the opioid crisis.
” bankruptcy filing was announced , Steve Miller , who was brought on to chair Purdue ’ s board of directors when the Sacklers were sued , pitched the proposed settlement as a “ unique framework for a comprehensive resolution ” that would “ dedicate all of the assets and resources of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public.
” As Ed Bisch , a founding member of advocacy group Relatives Against Purdue Pharma , who lost his son to an overdose in 2001 , told me , “ I know what we ’ re up against .
Purdue plays chess while we play checkers.
” Around six months before Purdue filed for bankruptcy , its board of directors changed the company ’ s official address to White Plains , New York .
The move put the case in the jurisdiction of Robert D. Drain , a bankruptcy judge .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Drain entered the injunction to shut down all litigation against the Sacklers nationwide , even though they are not themselves bankrupt .
In February , the judge told the Department of Justice to stop taking a legal position that would interfere with the settlement deal ; he said that giving immunity to the Sacklers was “ the only way to get true peace.
” In March , Drain told the attorneys general who had sued the family that getting in the way of a Sackler deal was “ almost repulsive.
” It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2008 vanity book , “ The Turnaround Kid , ” Miller describes participating as a corporate witness in a separate bankruptcy case — also in front of Drain , whom he described as “ fiercely intelligent.
” Miller wrote that he was so comfortable in Drain ’ s “ modest chambers ” that he took a nap .
It ’ s no wonder that legal experts , victims , and advocates have all stressed the need for an independent examiner in the bankruptcy case .
In the all too likely absence of transparency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survivors and advocates plan to seek alternative paths , including exerting further pressure on Congress to take investigative action .
Mike Quinn , an attorney for the Ad Hoc Accountability Committee , pointed out that it was Congress , not the courts , that forced tobacco executives to testify under oath .
“ They could do it for the Sacklers , ” he said .
The House Oversight Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee have each launched investigations into Purdue ’ s activities , yet neither committee has held any hearings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filings in the bankruptcy case have revealed , Purdue hired D.C. law firm WilmerHale to defend against congressional investigations .
Legal bills also show that Purdue ’ s criminal defense lawyers are working with the Sacklers to protect their “ common interest ” against the Department of Justice .
“ Whether civil , criminal , or legislative , Purdue and the Sacklers have positioned their lawyers at every juncture of justice , ” said Quinn , “ but when the facts come out , all the king ’ s horses and all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to put Purdue back together again.
” There remains some hope that certain state attorneys general , who have thus far rejected Purdue ’ s bankruptcy settlement , will continue to push for legal action against the Sacklers .
“ My office will not be deterred in its lawsuit against the Sackler family , and will continue fighting to make this family pay for the death and destruction they inflicted on the American people , ” said New York ’ s Attorney General Letitia James , in the wake of Purdue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also vowed to seek further litigation against the family .
It is survivor activists , however , who have for two decades shown a readiness to deploy any number of tactics — from direct action to the nuanced trenches of bankruptcy law — to ensure that the Sacklers have no peace while their victims have no justice .
Their fight will not end in bankruptcy court .

When news first broke last September that Purdue Pharma was filing for bankruptcy, many victims of the deadly opioid crisis, for which the company holds immense responsibility, believed there was reason to celebrate. The demise of the privately owned pharmaceutical corporation, the creator of OxyContin, had been the goal of activists, victims, and their families for well over a decade. For those familiar with the vagaries of bankruptcy law, however, it was immediately clear that the Chapter 11 filing was just the latest move by Purdue executives and its owners, members of the Sackler family, to evade justice and dodge accountability.
In filing for voluntary bankruptcy, Purdue was able to shield itself from the 2,600 federal and state lawsuits it was facing for its role flooding the U.S. with prescription opioids, contributing to the deaths of over 450,000 people since 1999. Purdue executives and members of the Sackler family were accused, in case after case, of misleading doctors and patients about the addictive nature of OxyContin, while amassing a multibillion-dollar fortune.
The bankruptcy filing invoked an automatic stay of civil litigation against the company. And while the billionaire Sacklers are by no means facing personal bankruptcy, they too have been granted a stay of litigation. If they get their way in court, as they are likely to do, the bankruptcy settlement could shield the Sackler family from all future claims — and influence whether they are subject to criminal liability, too. The full extent of Purdue’s — and the various Sacklers’ — malfeasance in knowingly creating a mass market in addiction could remain hidden in sealed documents.
The move to bury what should be a mass public reckoning in the opaque crevices of bankruptcy court typifies underhanded Sackler marketing practices. In response, those fighting for accountability have been forced to navigate a complex legal terrain in efforts to access even a shred of justice. Individuals who have suffered from opioid addiction or lost loved ones to the Sackler-produced crisis have until the end of July to file claims of wrongful death and “personal injury” — a gross legalistic euphemism — as creditors in the bankruptcy settlement. They should be entitled to resources far greater than the payout will offer.
The headquarters of Purdue Pharma on April 2, 2019 in Stamford, Conn. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
For numerous survivors, however, the primary demand in their claims is the very thing Purdue’s bankruptcy aims to avoid: transparency.
“For many of us who have been in this fight for so long, the money means less,” said Barbara Van Rooyan, who has campaigned against OxyContin’s proliferation since her son’s death from taking a single pill in 2004. “The biggest asset they have is the truth.”
Van Rooyan joined with other survivors to form the Ad Hoc Committee on Accountability, a group of creditors seeking to use their participation in the bankruptcy case to push for the release of all of Purdue’s internal documents, both privileged and nonprivileged, alongside all communications between the Sackler family and the company. Van Rooyan shared with me a copy of her filing for injunctive relief in the settlement, which includes a demand for “the public disclosure of all Purdue Pharma documents including all documents that illuminate the financial and operational relationship between the Sacklers and Purdue.”
“For many of us who have been in this fight for so long, the money means less. The biggest asset they have is the truth.”
In 2007, when Purdue pleaded guilty to charges relating to the misbranding and marketing of OxyContin, Van Rooyan testified in the sentencing hearing. In her bankruptcy settlement claim, she noted that in that case, as in many cases against the company, “documents were kept hidden that would have changed the resolution of the case and most certainly the trajectory of the opioid crisis.”
For those who have suffered and lost loved ones in the years that followed, Purdue’s pattern of secrecy bears direct responsibility. “If I had known more at the time, my son might still be alive,” said Emily Walden, who lost her son in 2012 and now chairs the national coalition fighting the opioid crisis, FED UP! Walden is filing a wrongful death claim in the bankruptcy case and is also a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Accountability.
Treating a corporation’s internal information as an asset that creditors can try to claim from the bankrupt company is a novel strategy and reflects the ingenuity these campaigners and survivors have deployed against the pharmaceutical leviathan over the years.
When Purdue’s internal communications have been released in the past, the contents have been damning for the Sacklers who held executive posts. A 2019 court filing against the company by the Massachusetts attorney general, for instance, cited a speech in which former Purdue President Richard Sackler boasted that “the launch of OxyContin tablets will be followed by a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition.”
He was right: According to a peer-reviewed medical journal, “Sales grew from $48 million in 1996 to almost $1.1 billion in 2000.”
Only a few years after the drug’s release, evidence of its addictive properties — which the company would later be shown to have suppressed — began to emerge. In a 2001 email, which was also filed in court in the Massachusetts case, Sackler strategized about how to deflect blame for the drugs’ ill societal effects onto addicts — rather than have the company take any responsibility. “We have to hammer on abusers in every way possible,” Sackler wrote. “They are reckless criminals.”
The vile “blizzard” comments would inspired a protest at the Guggenheim Museum by the activist group PAIN, or Prescription Addiction Intervention Now, founded by artist Nan Goldin. Protesters snaked around the museum’s famed rotunda and scattered their own blizzard of fake Oxycontin prescriptions, each inscribed with quotations from Sackler’s communications with other Purdue executives.
Artist and Harm Reduction Activist Nan Goldin with members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm protest outside New Yorks Southern District Federal Court in White Plains, where Purdue Pharmaceuticals bankruptcy hearing is being held on Oct. 10, 2019. Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
Since 2017, Goldin and PAIN have targeted the Sacklers at the very sites where the family sought to buy itself an honorable reputation in perpetuity, as grand philanthropists to galleries and museums. PAIN staged numerous high-spectacle protests and die-ins, echoing the legacy of ACT UP activists during the heights of the AIDS crisis. In response, a number of institutions vowed to reject future donations from the Sacklers. The greater victory, however, was PAIN exposing the Sackler name to scrutiny; the protests established a public association of the family as perpetrators of a deadly crisis, rather than as philanthropists.
PAIN recently turned its attention to helping victims file claims with bankruptcy court, while working to extract whatever public accountability it can from the process. But the arcane world of bankruptcy law provides a less fertile ground for public attention and outrage. “The Sacklers and Purdue bank on the complexity of these processes,” said Harry Cullen, an activist with PAIN “That’s part of the insidiousness of this bankruptcy.”
Goldin, herself a survivor of OxyContin addiction, emphasized the importance of extracting documentation in court. “For a lot of people, getting access to Purdue papers and documents is about making sure something like this doesn’t happen again in the future,” she told me. “For me, it’s also about the present. It’s about justice.” She said “the whole story” of what Purdue and the Sacklers have done needs exposure: “This is exposure of the American system.”
In the spring, PAIN launched its OxyJustice initiative to help victims and survivors file proof-of-claim documents with the bankruptcy court. This summer, the judge overseeing the case extended the deadline to file claims against Purdue from June 30 to July 30 — a minimal recognition of the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As of late July, 61,000 personal injury claims have been filed — a drop in the ocean of the number of people harmed by Purdue’s decades of turpitude. In addition to individuals, creditors in the settlement include states, hundreds of counties, and cities, U.S. territories and other corporations.
A proposed settlement will not go far — the most recent operating report filed in the bankruptcy shows that Purdue has $1 billion. The Sackler family has offered to payout $3 billion in cash over seven years, a mere fraction of the amount they have made from the sale of OxyContin.
Other perverse details dot the proposed settlement. What remains of Purdue would be restructured into a trust and given to the plaintiffs. This “trust” would continue selling OxyContin to pay out claims, while reportedly committing to nonprofit research and development of anti-addiction, anti-overdose drugs. Ad Hoc Committee members are, unsurprisingly, demanding that Purdue be shut down. “I am outraged at the proposal that future sales of OxyContin fund part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement,” Van Rooyen said in her injunctive relief claim. “This is the drug that ignited the opioid crisis.”
When the bankruptcy filing was announced, Steve Miller, who was brought on to chair Purdue’s board of directors when the Sacklers were sued, pitched the proposed settlement as a “unique framework for a comprehensive resolution” that would “dedicate all of the assets and resources of Purdue for the benefit of the American public.” As Ed Bisch, a founding member of advocacy group Relatives Against Purdue Pharma, who lost his son to an overdose in 2001, told me, “I know what we’re up against. Purdue plays chess while we play checkers.”
Around six months before Purdue filed for bankruptcy, its board of directors changed the company’s official address to White Plains, New York. The move put the case in the jurisdiction of Robert D. Drain, a bankruptcy judge.
In the first months of the case, Drain entered the injunction to shut down all litigation against the Sacklers nationwide, even though they are not themselves bankrupt. In February, the judge told the Department of Justice to stop taking a legal position that would interfere with the settlement deal; he said that giving immunity to the Sacklers was “the only way to get true peace.” In March, Drain told the attorneys general who had sued the family that getting in the way of a Sackler deal was “almost repulsive.”
It’s perhaps of note that in his 2008 vanity book, “The Turnaround Kid,” Miller describes participating as a corporate witness in a separate bankruptcy case — also in front of Drain, whom he described as “fiercely intelligent.” Miller wrote that he was so comfortable in Drain’s “modest chambers” that he took a nap.
It’s no wonder that legal experts, victims, and advocates have all stressed the need for an independent examiner in the bankruptcy case.
“When the facts come out, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men won’t be able to put Purdue back together again.”
In the all too likely absence of transparency and accountability in the bankruptcy process, survivors and advocates plan to seek alternative paths, including exerting further pressure on Congress to take investigative action. Mike Quinn, an attorney for the Ad Hoc Accountability Committee, pointed out that it was Congress, not the courts, that forced tobacco executives to testify under oath. “They could do it for the Sacklers,” he said. The House Oversight Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee have each launched investigations into Purdue’s activities, yet neither committee has held any hearings or published any reports. And as filings in the bankruptcy case have revealed, Purdue hired D.C. law firm WilmerHale to defend against congressional investigations. Legal bills also show that Purdue’s criminal defense lawyers are working with the Sacklers to protect their “common interest” against the Department of Justice.
“Whether civil, criminal, or legislative, Purdue and the Sacklers have positioned their lawyers at every juncture of justice,” said Quinn, “but when the facts come out, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men won’t be able to put Purdue back together again.”
There remains some hope that certain state attorneys general, who have thus far rejected Purdue’s bankruptcy settlement, will continue to push for legal action against the Sacklers. “My office will not be deterred in its lawsuit against the Sackler family, and will continue fighting to make this family pay for the death and destruction they inflicted on the American people,” said New York’s Attorney General Letitia James, in the wake of Purdue’s bankruptcy filing. Massachusetts has also vowed to seek further litigation against the family.
It is survivor activists, however, who have for two decades shown a readiness to deploy any number of tactics — from direct action to the nuanced trenches of bankruptcy law — to ensure that the Sacklers have no peace while their victims have no justice. Their fight will not end in bankruptcy court.


theintercept--2020-07-30--The Unemployment Crisis Is a True National Emergency

Here in this reality , we ’ re governed by a blend of the criminally incompetent and incompetent criminals .
As things stand today , they ’ re about to push a large fraction of Americans off a terrifying cliff .
It ’ s so mercilessly cruel , economically destructive , and even contrary to their own self-interest , that if we ’ re going to stop them we probably need to figure out why .
reality , the government and corporate and union and religious leaders of the United States got together in February and told us : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re all going to have to get creative and work together to crush it .
Lots of jobs are going to momentarily vanish .
But no one in this country will be scared of going hungry , because no one will .
No one ’ s going to be scared of being thrown out of their home , because that ’ s not going to happen to anyone .
This country has the power to take care of everyone ’ s basic material needs , and we will.
” Our rulers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the passage of the CARES Act in March .
It was partly a cash-grab by big business but did get lots of people a $ 1,200 check and provided an extra $ 600 per week in federal unemployment benefits on top of state benefits .
Without these benefits , the 30 million people who lost their jobs in March and April would have already plummeted into the void .
And because everyone ’ s spending is someone else ’ s income , as they fell they would have grabbed onto tens of millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And in fact , this downward spiral began to happen in mid-March .
As the danger of Covid-19 became clear , consumer spending dropped by an astonishing 30 percent in a matter of days .
But as soon as the government cash started flowing , spending began to recover , and it ’ s now more than 90 percent of normal .
In poorer zip codes , it ’ s returned to almost 100 percent .
This has kept the lives of tens of millions of Americans merely bad , rather than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefits expire at the end of July .
The GOP opening bid is to extend them but to cut the amount from $ 600 to $ 200 .
The reason , Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin explained in the Oval Office , is to prevent malingering : “ We ’ re going to make sure that we don ’ t pay people more money to stay home than go to work.
” In addition , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the Republican “ red line ” in negotiations is making it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the grounds that their workplace is failing to protect them from Covid-19 .
Furthermore , under the proposed new rules , employers and even the Trump Justice Department would find it easy to countersue workers for bringing a coronavirus lawsuit .
Rationally , of course , this makes no sense .
For most of the unemployed , there aren ’ t any jobs to go back to , and won ’ t be until the pandemic is under control .
If their unemployment benefits are cut , people without jobs will desperately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more unemployment , which will lead to less spending , and so on .
The process will be accelerated as states and cities , which until now have attempted to avoid slashing payrolls in hopes that the federal government would rescue them , finally do so .
This may plausibly lead to basic material deprivation — true hunger and homelessness — on a scale few alive today have ever seen .
According to the Census Bureau , the number of America ’ s 249 million households reporting that they sometimes or often do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jumped from 22.5 million earlier this year to 29.3 million in July .
With Republicans opposing an expansion of food stamp funding , as well as the renewal of the CARES Act supplemental food program for children , that is likely just the beginning .
Then there ’ s housing .
The CARES Act contained a federal ban on evictions that covered about 30 percent of U.S. rental units .
That ban just ended , as have most state-level bans .
Forty million people could potentially lose their homes in the next several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Texas , and New York , half of the tenants will shortly be unable to make the rent .
This is a gigantic human emergency .
Almost every person in the country is viscerally frightened for themselves or their family and friends .
But beyond an emergency , it ’ s also politically inexplicable .
Donald Trump and Republicans in general are presumably aware that there ’ s an election this November , and that they ’ ll do better if Americans aren ’ t dying in the street .
Just their crass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much money at everyone as fast as possible .
But they ’ re not doing so .
Why not ?
It ’ s easy to believe it ’ s because they ’ re mustache-twirling villains who consciously enjoy the suffering they ’ re inflicting upon us .
But the reality is different , and in some ways scarier .

Photo: John Sommers II/Getty Images
In some alternate
reality, the government and corporate and union and religious leaders of the United States got together in February and told us: “The novel coronavirus is scary, and we’re all going to have to get creative and work together to crush it. Lots of jobs are going to momentarily vanish. But no one in this country will be scared of going hungry, because no one will. No one’s going to be scared of being thrown out of their home, because that’s not going to happen to anyone. This country has the power to take care of everyone’s basic material needs, and we will.”
Here in this reality, we’re governed by a blend of the criminally incompetent and incompetent criminals. As things stand today, they’re about to push a large fraction of Americans off a terrifying cliff. It’s so mercilessly cruel, economically destructive, and even contrary to their own self-interest, that if we’re going to stop them we probably need to figure out why.
Our rulers did demonstrate a spasm of rationality with the passage of the CARES Act in March. It was partly a cash-grab by big business but did get lots of people a $1,200 check and provided an extra $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits on top of state benefits.
Without these benefits, the 30 million people who lost their jobs in March and April would have already plummeted into the void. And because everyone’s spending is someone else’s income, as they fell they would have grabbed onto tens of millions more and taken them down as well.
And in fact, this downward spiral began to happen in mid-March. As the danger of Covid-19 became clear, consumer spending dropped by an astonishing 30 percent in a matter of days. But as soon as the government cash started flowing, spending began to recover, and it’s now more than 90 percent of normal. In poorer zip codes, it’s returned to almost 100 percent.
This has kept the lives of tens of millions of Americans merely bad, rather than totally impossible. But the supplemental unemployment benefits expire at the end of July. The GOP opening bid is to extend them but to cut the amount from $600 to $200. The reason, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin explained in the Oval Office, is to prevent malingering: “We’re going to make sure that we don’t pay people more money to stay home than go to work.” In addition, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the Republican “red line” in negotiations is making it essentially impossible for employees to sue employers on the grounds that their workplace is failing to protect them from Covid-19. Furthermore, under the proposed new rules, employers and even the Trump Justice Department would find it easy to countersue workers for bringing a coronavirus lawsuit.
Rationally, of course, this makes no sense. For most of the unemployed, there aren’t any jobs to go back to, and won’t be until the pandemic is under control. If their unemployment benefits are cut, people without jobs will desperately cut back on spending, leading to more unemployment, which will lead to less spending, and so on. The process will be accelerated as states and cities, which until now have attempted to avoid slashing payrolls in hopes that the federal government would rescue them, finally do so.
This may plausibly lead to basic material deprivation — true hunger and homelessness — on a scale few alive today have ever seen. According to the Census Bureau, the number of America’s 249 million households reporting that they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat has already jumped from 22.5 million earlier this year to 29.3 million in July. With Republicans opposing an expansion of food stamp funding, as well as the renewal of the CARES Act supplemental food program for children, that is likely just the beginning.
Then there’s housing. The CARES Act contained a federal ban on evictions that covered about 30 percent of U.S. rental units. That ban just ended, as have most state-level bans. Forty million people could potentially lose their homes in the next several months. In states like Florida, Texas, and New York, half of the tenants will shortly be unable to make the rent.
This is a gigantic human emergency. Almost every person in the country is viscerally frightened for themselves or their family and friends.
But beyond an emergency, it’s also politically inexplicable. Donald Trump and Republicans in general are presumably aware that there’s an election this November, and that they’ll do better if Americans aren’t dying in the street. Just their crass self-interest should lead them to throw as much money at everyone as fast as possible.
But they’re not doing so. Why not? It’s easy to believe it’s because they’re mustache-twirling villains who consciously enjoy the suffering they’re inflicting upon us. But the reality is different, and in some ways scarier.
The weird fact is that even the worst people in history never ask themselves, “Are we the baddies?” On the contrary, they’re convinced they’re great heroes marching us all to a glorious future. When interrogated by the FBI, Saddam Hussein sincerely referred to himself as “a humanitarian.”
Leaders like this are able to ignore the consequences of their actions because, to a shocking degree, they honestly are not aware of the consequences. In the past, this state of malignant ignorance was much harder to maintain. There were local newspapers that could shove the facts in front of them. There were unions that they had to pay attention to, and respected liberal archbishops who attempted to speak for the voiceless.
All that’s gone now. Today conservative U.S. elites live their mental lives protected by an almost impenetrable carapace of wealth and power. None of the people they meet at fundraisers are about to be thrown into the street, so therefore no one is. There are no stories on Fox News about children experiencing brain damage from malnutrition, thus such children don’t exist.
If anyone knows what to do about this, now’s definitely the time to speak up. U.S. politics have always been a matter of life and death for some Americans. But the waters are rising fast, and a lot more people are about to find out it’s a matter of life and death for them too.