huffpost--2020-05-26--Many Americans Would Like To Keep Working From Home More

Twitter , which encouraged employees to work from home in early March , announced that if eligible employees want to continue to do so indefinitely , they can .
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that 50 % of his staff will likely be working from home within the next 10 years .
Other companies have followed suit .
In his company announcement of switching mostly to permanent remote work , Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke declared , “ Office centricity is over.
” But is a fully remote workforce what American professionals actually want ?
Although many American workers would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to remote work , not everyone would be pleased , according to a new HuffPost/YouGov survey that provides a more nuanced picture of how Americans feel about working from home and returning back to the office .
Many employees surveyed wanted a mix of remote work and office work .
Among those who said the question applied to them , 38 % said a mix of working from home and working from the office was preferred , 26 % said they wanted to work from home all the time , 27 % said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the time , and 9 % were not sure what they ’ d pick .
Many people who were driven from their workplaces by the coronavirus pandemic say they wouldn ’ t mind too much if working from home became the new normal .
When asked how they would feel if their employer told them to work from home permanently , more said they would welcome the change than not .
About half of people who started working from home due to the pandemic said they would be excited or relieved , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disappointed , 8 % said they would be upset , and the rest were not sure .
For many , communication has gotten worse during the coronavirus outbreak .
Some workers are thriving with the opportunity to work from home , while others are struggling .
Forty-five percent of those who have been working from home due to the pandemic said they were about as productive as they were before the remote transition , 29 % said they were less productive , and 22 % answered that they were even more productive .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ own set of challenges during a pandemic .
If communication is not consistent or clear , remote paranoia over what silences mean can sink in , for example .
For some of the U.S. workers surveyed , work communication has gotten worse since the pandemic .
Of those working from home due to the pandemic , just 15 % say they ’ re communicating better with co-workers , with 31 % saying their ability to communicate has worsened .
The rest say that their level of communication hasn ’ t much changed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or that the question doesn ’ t apply .
This is what Americans will — and won ’ t — miss about office life if the switch to remote work is permanent .

nadia_bormotova via Getty Images Americans answered questions about how the coronavirus pandemic has shaped their ideas about working from home all the time or returning to an office.
Because of coronavirus-related business shutdowns, many employees are suddenly working from home and not from their usual office. A growing number of employers have announced that they want to keep it that way — forever.
Twitter, which encouraged employees to work from home in early March, announced that if eligible employees want to continue to do so indefinitely, they can. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that 50% of his staff will likely be working from home within the next 10 years. Other companies have followed suit. In his company announcement of switching mostly to permanent remote work, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke declared, “Office centricity is over.”
Advertisement
But is a fully remote workforce what American professionals actually want? Although many American workers would be excited or relieved by the permanent switch to remote work, not everyone would be pleased, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov survey that provides a more nuanced picture of how Americans feel about working from home and returning back to the office.
Many employees surveyed wanted a mix of remote work and office work.
Workers were asked if COVID-19 were no longer a concern, and they had the choice to design their preferred work setup, what would they want it to look like?
Among those who said the question applied to them, 38% said a mix of working from home and working from the office was preferred, 26% said they wanted to work from home all the time, 27% said they wanted to work from the office all the time, and 9% were not sure what they’d pick.
In total, about 65% of those to whom the question applied said they want to be in the office all or some of the time.
Advertisement
Many people who were driven from their workplaces by the coronavirus pandemic say they wouldn’t mind too much if working from home became the new normal. When asked how they would feel if their employer told them to work from home permanently, more said they would welcome the change than not. About half of people who started working from home due to the pandemic said they would be excited or relieved, while 26% said they would be disappointed, 8% said they would be upset, and the rest were not sure.
For many, communication has gotten worse during the coronavirus outbreak.
Some workers are thriving with the opportunity to work from home, while others are struggling. Forty-five percent of those who have been working from home due to the pandemic said they were about as productive as they were before the remote transition, 29% said they were less productive, and 22% answered that they were even more productive.
But remote communication can come with its own set of challenges during a pandemic. If communication is not consistent or clear, remote paranoia over what silences mean can sink in, for example. For some of the U.S. workers surveyed, work communication has gotten worse since the pandemic.
Of those working from home due to the pandemic, just 15% say they’re communicating better with co-workers, with 31% saying their ability to communicate has worsened. The rest say that their level of communication hasn’t much changed, that they’re not sure, or that the question doesn’t apply.
This is what Americans will — and won’t — miss about office life if the switch to remote work is permanent.
When asked to reflect on what they would and wouldn’t miss if the move to remote work became permanent, workers discussed commuting routines, office amenities, and the everyday interactions that left an impact on their work life.
What people would miss about their office if they were working from home permanently:
“Better internet and technology, good printer, nice desk.” — 55-year-old woman, California
“Getting out of the house and wearing nice clothes. Positive energy at work.” — 33-year-old woman, North Carolina
“My office and ability to focus without family and pets interrupting.” — 46-year-old woman, Massachusetts
“I work with kindergarten students and the kids are not able to receive the best education virtually without the proper preparations.” — 30-year-old woman, Pennsylvania
“Human contact with coworkers, yoga classes, free coffee and fruit, more exercise and walking, routine.” — 25-year-old woman, New Hampshire
Advertisement
“Better tap water.” — 26-year-old man, Illinois
“Gossip.” — 27-year-old man, California
What people wouldn’t miss about their office if they were working from home permanently:
“Dealing with people’s complaints.” — 37-year-old man, Georgia
“Dressing up for work.” — 48-year-old man, Georgia
“Getting up at 5:30 in the morning.” — 57-year-old woman, Massachusetts
“Hovering people.” — 29-year-old woman, Florida
“My jerk office mates.” — 33-year-old man, California
“In-person meetings and the loud atmosphere.” — 21-year-old woman, New Jersey
“Having to always put on the ‘work smile’ and facade.” — 19-year-old woman, Texas
“People coming in sick.” — 43-year-old man, Minnesota
“Having the boss watch you.” — 55-year-old man, Alabama
Use the widget below to further explore the results of the HuffPost/YouGov survey:
Methodology statement:
The HuffPost/YouGov poll consisted of 1,964 completed interviews conducted May 18-20 among U.S. adults, including 353 workers who usually work from an office, but are now working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. It uses a sample selected from YouGov’s opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population.
HuffPost has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov’s nationally representative opinion polling. More details on the polls’ methodology are available here.


huffpost--2020-05-26--'The Walking Dead' Is About To Have A 'Game Of Thrones Super War Battle'

The AMC zombie show had an unintentionally cat-astrophic cliffhanger in Season 10′s penultimate episode , as Beta ( Ryan Hurst ) led the Whisperers and a massive zombie herd straight to survivors .
But then everything came to a halt : Postproduction on the season finale was paused due to the coronavirus , and when the episode will eventually air remains in question .
Now , star Norman Reedus is teasing that it ’ s going to be worth the wait .
“ It ’ s going to be an epic battle , ” Reedus told Entertainment Weekly .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Game of Thrones ’ super war battle.
” He added , “ It was a lot of fun to shoot , but we really pushed the crew and pushed the actors on that one .
Everyone really had to dig deep because ... talk about exhausting episodes !
There were huge battle scenes until the wee hours of the morning consistently , and it looks so grand on an epic scale .
Those battle scenes are going to be legendary.
” Aside from Reedus ’ comparison to the HBO show , the sneak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allusions to “ Game of Thrones.
” In a teaser , Father Gabriel ( Seth Gilliam ) makes a speech similar to one given by Robert Baratheon ( Mark Addy ) .
Robert Baratheon using his fist to explain that one united kingdom fighting together is stronger : Of course , “ The Walking Dead ” might not want to copy “ Game of Thrones ” too much .
The HBO show ’ s final battle against the undead didn ’ t get the reaction the cast and crew were hoping for , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too abrupt and too dark to see anything .
However , on the plus side for “ The Walking Dead , ” at least their battle takes place during the day .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Winter is coming ... to “The Walking Dead.”
The AMC zombie show had an unintentionally cat-astrophic cliffhanger in Season 10′s penultimate episode, as Beta (Ryan Hurst) led the Whisperers and a massive zombie herd straight to survivors. But then everything came to a halt: Postproduction on the season finale was paused due to the coronavirus, and when the episode will eventually air remains in question.
Now, star Norman Reedus is teasing that it’s going to be worth the wait.
“It’s going to be an epic battle,” Reedus told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s like a full-on ‘Game of Thrones’ super war battle.”
Advertisement
He added, “It was a lot of fun to shoot, but we really pushed the crew and pushed the actors on that one. Everyone really had to dig deep because ... talk about exhausting episodes! There were huge battle scenes until the wee hours of the morning consistently, and it looks so grand on an epic scale. Those battle scenes are going to be legendary.”
Aside from Reedus’ comparison to the HBO show, the sneak peak of the finale also has some allusions to “Game of Thrones.” In a teaser, Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) makes a speech similar to one given by Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy).
Father Gabriel using his fist to explain that the surviving communities are stronger when they fight together:
Advertisement
Robert Baratheon using his fist to explain that one united kingdom fighting together is stronger:
Of course, “The Walking Dead” might not want to copy “Game of Thrones” too much. The HBO show’s final battle against the undead didn’t get the reaction the cast and crew were hoping for, with many viewers complaining that it was too abrupt and too dark to see anything.


huffpost--2020-04-15--Former Jay Inslee 2020 Staffers Form New Group To Promote Climate Plan To Democrats

Thirteen hours before Jay Inslee dropped out of the Democratic presidential race last August , his campaign ― the first in history to make a serious bid for the White House on climate change alone ― rounded out its book-length stack of policy memos with a final 38 pages on rural infrastructure and paying farmers to store carbon dioxide removed from the air .
By the time the Washington governor announced his exit from the race on MSNBC that night , Inslee pointed proudly to a tangible legacy , boasting of having “ left an open-source gold standard of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and really will end our reliance on fossil fuels.
” “ It was not just a campaign document , it was a governing document , and it could be used by anyone who ends up in the White House , ” Inslee told HuffPost that day in August .
Now a group of his former staffers is getting the band back together to promote an expanded version of that manifesto to candidates as the general election begins and to Democratic leaders as Congress weighs its next bill to curb the economic fallout of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nonprofit named itself Evergreen , after the roughly 200 pages of campaign proposals Inslee dubbed the Evergreen Action Plan , an allusion to Washington ’ s state nickname .
Inslee , gripped by the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington , is not involved in the effort , as he runs for a third term as governor and grapples with flailing efforts to pass new emissions legislation in his state .
But Evergreen is headed by the former staffers credited with authoring much of the campaign ’ s policy program : Sam Ricketts , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American Progress as a senior fellow ; Bracken Hendricks , a long-time Inslee adviser ; and Maggie Thomas , who until recently worked for Elizabeth Warren ’ s presidential campaign .
“ What we need in climate policy , if we want to redefine what the solution is , is details and substantive plans , ” said Leah Stokes , a climate policy expert and assistant professor at the University of California , Santa Barbara , who has been advising Evergreen .
“ These are people who ’ ve been working on this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former Secretary of State John Kerry launched a new star-studded campaign to push for climate action , though the initiative forwent serious policy proposals in favor of pitching a tent big enough to welcome fossil fuel allies .
Last month , the progressive Roosevelt Institute announced a new Climate and Economic Transformation program .
This week , Data for Progress , the left-leaning think tank and polling operation that drafted one of the first Green New Deal blueprints , added a new deputy to its climate team .
There are less formal efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group of former campaign staffers who advised Inslee , Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) published a lengthy open letter to Congress calling for a bailout for public transit systems , a rapid drilling phaseout and the passage of existing Green New Deal proposals as part of the federal stimulus legislation to blunt the effects of the pandemic .
The meat of the plan is a refurbished version of the campaign documents Inslee released during his six months in the primary race .
That includes a regulatory roadmap to completely phase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a Climate Conservation Corps and a plan to wield the federal government ’ s buying power to boost the clean energy sector and restore the labor movement to its mid-20th-century might .
But Evergreen goes beyond what the Inslee campaign produced .
The memo includes a novel section calling for the establishment of a new White House Office of Climate Mobilization , based on the World War II-era Office of War Mobilization , with a network of chapters in each state .
It explicitly advocates revising the carbon-capture technology sector ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its use by oil drillers .
The proposal also adopts the Warren campaign ’ s sweeping Blue New Deal proposal to regulate fisheries , spur new aquaculture markets and curb the impact of climate change on oceans .
Evergreen declined to name its exact funders , but a spokesman said it included “ multiple environmental foundations.
” Its formal launch , slated for later this year , comes as the Democratic Party seeks to unite its base ahead of what ’ s expected to be a difficult campaign against President Donald Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bungled response to the pandemic and the unprecedented wave of job losses it induced .
Biden ’ s record of support for the 2003 Iraq invasion , opposition to universal health care and deep ties to the fossil fuel industry makes him a difficult sell to progressives whose calls for dramatic expansions of the social safety net look less radical by the day as the pandemic spreads .
Indeed , Inslee himself sparred with Biden on the debate stage last year .
But the urgency of dealing with climate change , a crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , could persuade reluctant voters to back Biden in a bid to unseat Trump , a fossil fuel hardliner who ’ s scheduled to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accords the day after the November election .
In a sign of the election ’ s global stakes , China , the world ’ s largest emitter , signaled this week it may postpone submitting its climate plan to the United Nations until after votes are cast .
The former vice president ’ s $ 1.7 trillion proposal to lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Warren or Sanders , whose $ 16 trillion Green New Deal marked easily the most ambitious plan of the race , proposed .
Still , during the Super Tuesday blitz that all but secured Biden the nomination , one exit poll found 34 % of voters who cited climate change as their top concern voted for the former vice president , compared to 28 % who cast ballots for Sanders .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Thirteen hours before Jay Inslee dropped out of the Democratic presidential race last August, his campaign ― the first in history to make a serious bid for the White House on climate change alone ― rounded out its book-length stack of policy memos with a final 38 pages on rural infrastructure and paying farmers to store carbon dioxide removed from the air.
By the time the Washington governor announced his exit from the race on MSNBC that night, Inslee pointed proudly to a tangible legacy, boasting of having “left an open-source gold standard of what will get us to a cleaner future and really will end our reliance on fossil fuels.”
Advertisement
“It was not just a campaign document, it was a governing document, and it could be used by anyone who ends up in the White House,” Inslee told HuffPost that day in August.
Now a group of his former staffers is getting the band back together to promote an expanded version of that manifesto to candidates as the general election begins and to Democratic leaders as Congress weighs its next bill to curb the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The new nonprofit named itself Evergreen, after the roughly 200 pages of campaign proposals Inslee dubbed the Evergreen Action Plan, an allusion to Washington’s state nickname. Inslee, gripped by the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington, is not involved in the effort, as he runs for a third term as governor and grapples with flailing efforts to pass new emissions legislation in his state.
But Evergreen is headed by the former staffers credited with authoring much of the campaign’s policy program: Sam Ricketts, who went on to join the Center for American Progress as a senior fellow; Bracken Hendricks, a long-time Inslee adviser; and Maggie Thomas, who until recently worked for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign.
Advertisement
“What we need in climate policy, if we want to redefine what the solution is, is details and substantive plans,” said Leah Stokes, a climate policy expert and assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has been advising Evergreen. “These are people who’ve been working on this issue for decades.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) last year ran the first major Democratic presidential campaign to focus almost entirely on climate change. JASON REDMOND / Reuters
The nonprofit joins a growing roster of groups jockeying to shape climate policy in the critical next few years that could determine how catastrophic warming becomes in the decades ahead.
In November, former Secretary of State John Kerry launched a new star-studded campaign to push for climate action, though the initiative forwent serious policy proposals in favor of pitching a tent big enough to welcome fossil fuel allies. Last month, the progressive Roosevelt Institute announced a new Climate and Economic Transformation program. This week, Data for Progress, the left-leaning think tank and polling operation that drafted one of the first Green New Deal blueprints, added a new deputy to its climate team.
There are less formal efforts, too. Last month, a group of former campaign staffers who advised Inslee, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) published a lengthy open letter to Congress calling for a bailout for public transit systems, a rapid drilling phaseout and the passage of existing Green New Deal proposals as part of the federal stimulus legislation to blunt the effects of the pandemic.
Advertisement
But Evergreen is targeting Democrats’ top brass, hoping to leverage the goodwill Inslee’s campaign garnered from both the establishment and progressive wings of the party to unite warring factions behind an ambitious, if markedly technocratic, approach.
On Tuesday evening, the group made a soft debut, sending its new 85-page memo to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign and to party leaders in the House and Senate. On Wednesday morning, the group planned to loop in several hundred climate activists and policy experts.
The meat of the plan is a refurbished version of the campaign documents Inslee released during his six months in the primary race. That includes a regulatory roadmap to completely phase out fossil fuel production, a blueprint for a Climate Conservation Corps and a plan to wield the federal government’s buying power to boost the clean energy sector and restore the labor movement to its mid-20th-century might.
But Evergreen goes beyond what the Inslee campaign produced. The memo includes a novel section calling for the establishment of a new White House Office of Climate Mobilization, based on the World War II-era Office of War Mobilization, with a network of chapters in each state. It explicitly advocates revising the carbon-capture technology sector’s lone existing federal tax credit to discourage its use by oil drillers. The proposal also adopts the Warren campaign’s sweeping Blue New Deal proposal to regulate fisheries, spur new aquaculture markets and curb the impact of climate change on oceans.
Evergreen declined to name its exact funders, but a spokesman said it included “multiple environmental foundations.” Its formal launch, slated for later this year, comes as the Democratic Party seeks to unite its base ahead of what’s expected to be a difficult campaign against President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has climbed despite a bungled response to the pandemic and the unprecedented wave of job losses it induced.
Advertisement
“Evergreen is targeting Democrats’ top brass, hoping to leverage the goodwill Inslee’s campaign garnered from both the establishment and progressive wings of the party to unite warring factions behind an ambitious, if markedly technocratic, approach.”
Biden’s record of support for the 2003 Iraq invasion, opposition to universal health care and deep ties to the fossil fuel industry makes him a difficult sell to progressives whose calls for dramatic expansions of the social safety net look less radical by the day as the pandemic spreads. Indeed, Inslee himself sparred with Biden on the debate stage last year.
But the urgency of dealing with climate change, a crisis that requires a response similar to the pandemic, could persuade reluctant voters to back Biden in a bid to unseat Trump, a fossil fuel hardliner who’s scheduled to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accords the day after the November election. In a sign of the election’s global stakes, China, the world’s largest emitter, signaled this week it may postpone submitting its climate plan to the United Nations until after votes are cast.
The former vice president’s $1.7 trillion proposal to lower emissions paled in comparison to what Inslee, Warren or Sanders, whose $16 trillion Green New Deal marked easily the most ambitious plan of the race, proposed. Still, during the Super Tuesday blitz that all but secured Biden the nomination, one exit poll found 34% of voters who cited climate change as their top concern voted for the former vice president, compared to 28% who cast ballots for Sanders.
Evergreen’s approach could offer a palatable compromise.
“It’s smart, politically,” Stokes said. “And it’s also at the scale of the problem.”


huffpost--2020-04-15--How To... Embrace Being Alone

How To... Embrace Being Alone

People everywhere are trying to cope with the coronavirus , facing problems from the serious to the mundane .
We @ @ @ @ @ into one house or apartment and attempting to stay calm about an invisible virus all @ @ @ @ @ re trying to learn how to home-school our kids or make bread for ourselves .
@ @ @ @ @ new world , and HuffPost ’ s illustration series is about how to live in @ @

People everywhere are trying to cope with the coronavirus, facing problems from the serious to the mundane. We’re jamming full lives into one house or apartment and attempting to stay calm about an invisible virus all around us. We’re trying to learn how to home-school our kids or make bread for ourselves. It’s a whole new world, and HuffPost’s illustration series is about how to live in it.


huffpost--2020-04-15--Coronavirus Delivers Record Blow To U.S. Retail Sales In March

WASHINGTON ( Reuters ) - U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods , setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades .
The Commerce Department on Wednesday said retail sales plunged 8.7 % in March , the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992 , after falling by a revised 0.4 % in February .
The report came as millions of Americans are thrown out of work , and strengthen economists ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recession .
States and local governments have issued “ stay-at-home ” or “ shelter-in-place ” orders affecting more than 90 % of Americans to curb the spread of COVID-19 , the respiratory illness caused by the virus , and abruptly stopping the country .
“ The economy is almost in free fall , ” said Sung Won Sohn , a business economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles .
“ We will see the bottom when the coronavirus infection rates stabilize .
It ’ s going to be a pretty deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The drag on sales in most retail categories from social restrictions far outweighed a surge in receipts at online retailers like Amazon < AMZN.O > , and grocery stores and pharmacies as consumers stocked up on household essentials such as food , toilet paper , cleaning supplies and medication .
Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity .
It grew at a 1.8 % pace in the fourth quarter , with the overall economy expanding at a 2.1 % rate over that period .
Economists see no respite for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with estimates as low as a 41 % rate of decline , despite a historic $ 2.3 trillion fiscal package , which made provisions for cash payments to some families and boosted unemployment benefit checks .
“ In general consumer spending is going to look about as bad as it has ever been , although there will be some categories of resilience , ” Tim Quinlan , a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte , North Carolina .
“ The panic buying at grocery stores can not offset the retrenchment in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ categories.
” Economists believe the economy entered recession in March .
The National Bureau of Economic Research , the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of U.S. recessions , does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real gross domestic product , as is the rule of thumb in many countries .
Instead , it looks for a drop in activity , spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales suffered a record drop in March as mandatory business closures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depressed demand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spending for its worst decline in decades.
The Commerce Department on Wednesday said retail sales plunged 8.7% in March, the biggest decline since the government started tracking the series in 1992, after falling by a revised 0.4% in February.
Advertisement
According to a Reuters survey of economists, retail sales were forecast to have fallen 8.0% last month.
The report came as millions of Americans are thrown out of work, and strengthen economists’ conviction that the economy is in deep recession. States and local governments have issued “stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” orders affecting more than 90% of Americans to curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, and abruptly stopping the country.
“The economy is almost in free fall,” said Sung Won Sohn, a business economics professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “We will see the bottom when the coronavirus infection rates stabilize. It’s going to be a pretty deep bottom from which to come up.”
The drag on sales in most retail categories from social restrictions far outweighed a surge in receipts at online retailers like Amazon , and grocery stores and pharmacies as consumers stocked up on household essentials such as food, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and medication.
Advertisement
Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. It grew at a 1.8% pace in the fourth quarter, with the overall economy expanding at a 2.1% rate over that period. Economists see no respite for consumer spending in the second quarter, with estimates as low as a 41% rate of decline, despite a historic $2.3 trillion fiscal package, which made provisions for cash payments to some families and boosted unemployment benefit checks.
“In general consumer spending is going to look about as bad as it has ever been, although there will be some categories of resilience,” Tim Quinlan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The panic buying at grocery stores cannot offset the retrenchment in spending that we will see in other categories.”
Economists believe the economy entered recession in March. The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of U.S. recessions, does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real gross domestic product, as is the rule of thumb in many countries. Instead, it looks for a drop in activity, spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months.


huffpost--2020-04-15--I'm Desperate For Money Due To Coronavirus, So I Donated Plasma. It Was Alarming.

I have been a blood donor for decades but have never been paid to donate plasma .
Though I am more susceptible to dehydration because I have an abbreviated gastrointestinal system ( I no longer have my large intestine ) , if I hydrate well before and after , it usually goes fine .
I also donated platelets for a time , a process called apherisis .
This required a two-hour time commitment during which I was stuck in a bed with needles in both arms , unable to move .
Once I had my kid , I no longer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so I stopped apherisis , but still participated in blood drives .
I imagined donating plasma ( plasmapheresis ) would be similar to apherisis , except you get paid .
Then I went to a private room to answer more than 60 questions about my health and travel history .
The first thing the worker did was push another dirty , laminated piece of paper toward me with a dry erase marker and asked me to circle my answers and “ sign ” the paper .
I asked for hand sanitizer before touching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looked for some , returning with a nearly empty bottle .
I had to unscrew the top and turn it over to get a small amount out .
After I filled out the paper with the marker , I used more sanitizer .
The worker didn ’ t clean the paper or the marker .
By the time I got to vitals , where they weighed me and told me how much money I ’ d be getting , it had been more than three hours since I had arrived .
I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They gave me a styrofoam cup to use at the drinking fountain ( I turned the fountain on with my hip and didn ’ t touch anything else ) , and though I had a couple of cups of water , I have to drink a lot of liquid regularly to stay hydrated because I poop multiple times a day since I don ’ t have a colon .
In addition to feeling hungry and thirsty , I was increasingly anxious about my physical safety throughout the process .
I kept trying not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through .
But the more they tell you about how donating works and its potential side effects ― combined with how potentially contaminated everything was ― I had some serious anxiety by the time I got to the donation bed .
By then , it had been four hours since my breakfast of eggs ( apparently bad to eat before donating ) , feta cheese ( cheese is also bad ) , kalamata olives and tomatoes .
This did not bode well .
An hour after my process had begun , the girl @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donating after me ― was long gone .
My container was only half-full and my bladder was screaming .
I was so thirsty , and I had a horrible headache .
I waved someone over and asked how much longer , and she said I wasn ’ t squeezing enough .
I squeezed like crazy during the next cycle , and the plasma container started filling up .
I squeezed as much as I could , and then the plasma appeared to reach the stop line .

"Nobody cleaned desks, chairs, computer, mouse, etc., before or after anyone’s use." Travelsouls via Getty Images
Like millions of people across the U.S., my work has been affected due to COVID-19. As a writer, work is feast or famine even in normal times, though mine has been more famine than feast since I was forced into freelance life back in 2017. It’s now completely ground to a halt.
Although my clients are happy with my work, budgets have been slashed and work for freelancers has been frozen as companies to try to stay afloat during the pandemic. I’ve been ghosted by at least five clients. I was barely able to keep up with my expenses before the pandemic hit, but now it’s become nearly impossible.
Advertisement
While I’ve made reductions in personal expenses, including reducing car insurance to “storage” level (better for your future rates than stopping coverage), cutting back on meat consumption, and making bread from scratch, it hasn’t helped much. So, I decided to look into plasma donation in hopes of earning whatever extra money I can.
I have been a blood donor for decades but have never been paid to donate plasma. Though I am more susceptible to dehydration because I have an abbreviated gastrointestinal system (I no longer have my large intestine), if I hydrate well before and after, it usually goes fine. I also donated platelets for a time, a process called apherisis. This required a two-hour time commitment during which I was stuck in a bed with needles in both arms, unable to move. Once I had my kid, I no longer had that kind of free time, so I stopped apherisis, but still participated in blood drives. I imagined donating plasma (plasmapheresis) would be similar to apherisis, except you get paid.
I’ve seen people lined up at these centers waiting for them to open. I admit, I thought it was the ultimate in desperation — selling your own bodily issuances for money. But I am now desperate. And, given the nature of donating, I was sure the center would be one of the cleanest and safest facilities operating during this pandemic. So, earlier this month, I had a big breakfast, gathered my required documents and headed to the nearest facility.
“I’ve seen people lined up at these centers waiting for them to open. I admit, I thought it was the ultimate in desperation — selling your own bodily issuances for money. I am now desperate.”
Advertisement
Four hours later, feeling sick and worried I may have put my life at risk, I finally left. Here’s what happened.
Registering
The registration process is rigorous. People in poor health aren’t accepted and, as an added measure of precaution during COVID-19, you have to wait in the vestibule of the donation center for a nurse to come out, take your temperature and answer questions before entering. The nurse wore a face shield and gloves.
Unfortunately, the level of safety I thought would exist inside the center was, instead, acutely absent.
Basically, very little appeared to have changed from how the clinic was operating before the coronavirus except that in the two places you have to wait in line (vitals and donations), tape was on the floor to keep donors six feet apart. That’s it.
After being cleared to enter, I gave my papers to a gloved staff member for approval. I was then given a packet of papers clipped together, along with a laminated piece of paper with stuff written on it in dry erase marker that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in forever. I was directed to the tiny waiting area — six blue chairs in maybe a 10 sq. ft. area, total, two rows facing each other. There were already two people waiting (men — 99% of the donors I saw were men), so instead I chose to remain standing several feet away.
Advertisement
One man was given a big plastic binder with laminated pages to read. He paged through it with his bare hands. When he was done, he gave it back to the gloved worker, who handed it directly to the other guy in the waiting area. After it was my turn to read it, I handed it back and then went directly to the bathroom and washed hands.
Then I went to a private room to answer more than 60 questions about my health and travel history. The first thing the worker did was push another dirty, laminated piece of paper toward me with a dry erase marker and asked me to circle my answers and “sign” the paper. I asked for hand sanitizer before touching it. The employee got up and looked for some, returning with a nearly empty bottle. I had to unscrew the top and turn it over to get a small amount out. After I filled out the paper with the marker, I used more sanitizer. The worker didn’t clean the paper or the marker.
He asked me the questions and then asked me to sign a plastic signature pad with a stylus. The pad and stylus weren’t cleaned before or after my use. I washed my hands again when I was done with questions.
“The cubicle had two computers and a guy was already sitting in one of the two chairs, only inches away from the other chair. I told the employee I would wait until he was done. Nobody cleaned desks, chairs, computer, mouse, etc., before or after anyone’s use.”
I was then given disposable earbuds and directed to a kiosk to watch an orientation video. The cubicle had two computers and a guy was already sitting in one of the two chairs, only inches away from the other chair. I told the employee I would wait until he was done. Nobody cleaned desks, chairs, computer, mouse, etc., before or after anyone’s use. I washed my hands again after the video.
Advertisement
I passed many people in the hall going to and from the bathroom. Nobody made any attempt to keep away from anyone else.
Finally, I visited a nurse. She assured me she sanitized every single surface and changed gloves between each patient. I was glad. She wore a face shield, asked me another long list of questions and did a physical exam. She walked me to where vitals were taken, and I washed my hands again on the way. She made a point of staying away from the entrance to the bathroom, and from me, while we walked — nurses know what’s up.
I got in line. Mostly, others were staying on the red tape on the floor. They were only taking vitals at every other cubicle, and hand sanitizer was available there, at least. But again I was asked to sign a signature pad with a stylus/pad that weren’t cleaned before or after my use, and to take and read a laminated sheet of paper that wasn’t cleaned.
The Money
On the plus side, “Vitals” is where I learned that because I am fat, I get more money. Finally, a financial benefit to being overweight! There are three classes of weight, and if you’re in the highest tier like I am, you get the most money if you donate twice a week. You have to continue regular, twice-weekly donations (with at least 48 hours in between) to get the most money per month.
At this center, everyone gets the same amount the first time — $60. It comes on a debit card that charges you a fee every time you use it, because of course it does. It’s reloaded on subsequent visits. There is a reward program, and you can get points that can earn money if you refer other people like some kind of human fluids pyramid scheme.
Advertisement
By the time I got to vitals, where they weighed me and told me how much money I’d be getting, it had been more than three hours since I had arrived. I was getting hungry again, and thirsty. They gave me a styrofoam cup to use at the drinking fountain (I turned the fountain on with my hip and didn’t touch anything else), and though I had a couple of cups of water, I have to drink a lot of liquid regularly to stay hydrated because I poop multiple times a day since I don’t have a colon.
“At this center, everyone gets the same amount the first time — $60. It comes on a debit card that charges you a fee every time you use it, because of course it does.”
In addition to feeling hungry and thirsty, I was increasingly anxious about my physical safety throughout the process. I kept trying not to panic ― to just see it through. But the more they tell you about how donating works and its potential side effects ― combined with how potentially contaminated everything was ― I had some serious anxiety by the time I got to the donation bed. By then, it had been four hours since my breakfast of eggs (apparently bad to eat before donating), feta cheese (cheese is also bad), kalamata olives and tomatoes. This did not bode well.
Donating
The beds were less than two feet apart. A girl next to me arrived at the same time — we could have reached out and held hands. It was a big, open area with beds on either side of two aisles. If anyone coughed or sneezed into the air, we would all be breathing it in.
I tamped down my anxiety as much as I could and explained to the phlebotomist that it was my first time and how nervous I was. He said women typically donate faster than men ― I would be done in 45 minutes to an hour ― and told me not to worry. He said I would be cut off at 75 minutes whether I was done or not ― that’s the max. I nodded and we proceeded.
Advertisement
The plasmapheresis part was, initially, the easiest part of the visit. Just lie there and squeeze your fist when the centrifuge machine you’re hooked up to is taking plasma, then relax your arm when it indicates it is returning red blood cells to you. It cycles through this process several times during the donation. I hoped the 45 minutes would pass quickly.
After about a half-hour, I got incredibly thirsty, and I had to use the bathroom, but I was stuck in the bed.
An hour after my process had begun, the girl next to me ― who had started donating after me ― was long gone. My container was only half-full and my bladder was screaming. I was so thirsty, and I had a horrible headache. I waved someone over and asked how much longer, and she said I wasn’t squeezing enough. I squeezed like crazy during the next cycle, and the plasma container started filling up. I squeezed as much as I could, and then the plasma appeared to reach the stop line.
Unfortunately, so had I. I felt like I was going to puke and pass out simultaneously. I wasn’t panicked, as this has happened on rare occasions when donating blood. I put my hand up to signify I needed help, but nobody noticed. I started seeing stars and knew pretty soon I would vomit or conk out. I tried to yell out to an employee, but it came out as a whisper ― “I need help,” I said. My voice sounded dry and thin.
“I felt like I was going to puke and pass out simultaneously. I wasn’t panicked, as this has happened on rare occasions when donating blood. I put my hand up to signify I needed help, but nobody noticed. I started seeing stars and knew pretty soon I would vomit or conk out completely.”
Advertisement
The attendant came over right away and said I had just reached my donation limit and to relax. She started running a line of saline into my arm and said I should feel better soon. Once the saline started working I immediately improved.
“It’s a good thing you got to your donation amount,” she said, “Or they don’t let you keep all the money.” I was exhausted and sweaty.
Another employee got me a bottle of Powerade and I sipped on it. They took out the needle and the Powerade worked magic. Still, I was wiped.
I went to the bathroom, washed my hands again, used my coat sleeve to open the doors on the way out, used the hand sanitizer in my car and drove home. I was worthless the rest of the day.
Going Back?
I used the money on the card to order supplies to build my 10-year-old son an Easter basket. I know it’s a “non-essential” item, but he asked for one and never has before (we are not religious). He is starting to have some real issues with all the isolation and loss of normal life. I was happy to give my plasma so I could buy him this one special thing.
Advertisement
Plasma donation is also seriously helpful to many people, including research scientists who develop medications. The need for plasma donation is heightened now, as it can help with many health challenges, including respiratory disorders — key during COVID-19 ― so I feel good about what I did.
However, I was appalled at the lack of protection, cleaning and thought in regards to donor safety. I understand the center is not set up for “social distancing,” but there are many steps the clinic could take to clean items every step of the way, in between each donor and every hour on the hour, regardless of usage. Those things are not being done and it’s putting everyone who walks into that clinic at risk.
I will return — because I need the money and because I want to help however I can — but not for a long time. Here in Ohio, we are in the midst of the most intense time of the virus potentially spreading, so I won’t go back until it feels somewhat safer.
For now, I find myself lying in bed each night hoping that I didn’t just give myself a death sentence by trying to make enough money to buy my kid an Easter basket.
Nina McCollum is a writer living in Cleveland. Her work has appeared online at sites including Good Housekeeping, Scary Mommy, The Financial Diet, BELT Magazine, and Café Mom. You can read her blog about life as a Midwest mom at https://www.patreon.com/rustbeltrants or view work samples on her website, ninawritenow.com.
Advertisement
Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch!


huffpost--2020-04-15--Kentucky Republicans Pass Voter ID Law In Midst Of Coronavirus Pandemic

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP Kentucky Gov .
Andy Beshear ( D ) speaks about the novel coronavirus during a media conference in Frankfort on April 5 , 2020 .
The bill requires people to show government-issued photo identification in order to cast a ballot , starting in November .
A key race ― the reelection of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R ) ― will be on the ballot .
This legislation comes at a time when people are already struggling to vote in primary elections because of the coronavirus pandemic .
While many officials in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easier for people to vote ― through absentee ballots and other measures ― some Republicans are using the crisis to further suppress voting .
They ’ ve blocked vote-by-mail measures ― openly complaining that such initiatives would mean more people could vote ― created commissions to crack down on supposed voter fraud , and pushed legislation putting up more hurdles to dissuade people from voting .
“ I think that this is a decision being made in a world like we don ’ t have an international health pandemic , ” Beshear said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Can ’ t [ Republicans ] at least wait until the next session when we ’ re not facing this ?
.
.
.
If you want to pass a voter ID bill , that ’ s fine , but let ’ s do it outside the coronavirus.
” Government offices ― such as the Department of Motor Vehicles , where many people would obtain a photo ID ― are closed for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus .
State Sen. Robby Mills ( R ) , the lead sponsor of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we will have those clerks ’ offices open and doing business later in the spring or summer.
” “ And there ’ s going to be ample opportunities for folks that do not have a valid photo ID to obtain that free photo ID that is allowed in this piece of legislation , ” he added .
“ At a time when officials of both parties throughout the country are working together to ensure every eligible voter can safely participate in their elections , the Kentucky General Assembly is making it more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shapiro , the group ’ s legal director .
“ They have pushed this voter suppression measure in the name of election security , yet not a single proponent of this law has ever provided any instance of in-person voter fraud in Kentucky.
” Shapiro added that under this new law , starting in July , voters will have to have a photocopy of a photo ID to obtain an absentee ballot .
“ This will force thousands of Kentuckians to leave home to get new IDs and make photocopies during a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the year , ” Shapiro said .
“ This law will make voting more difficult , and potentially dangerous , for any Kentuckian who does not feel safe leaving their home during this pandemic – even for those who currently have a valid photo ID.
” Voter fraud is extremely rare , yet voter ID bills are popular with Republicans .
The elderly , students and people of color ― who often vote for Democrats ― are the groups that are most likely to lack proper ID .

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) speaks about the novel coronavirus during a media conference in Frankfort on April 5, 2020. Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP
Kentucky’s GOP-controlled legislature successfully overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) veto of a voter ID bill on Tuesday night, a move that adds an extra hurdle for people to vote in November.
The bill requires people to show government-issued photo identification in order to cast a ballot, starting in November. A key race ― the reelection of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) ― will be on the ballot.
Advertisement
The legislature originally passed the bill in late March, but Beshear vetoed it.
This legislation comes at a time when people are already struggling to vote in primary elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. While many officials in both parties are trying to make it easier for people to vote ― through absentee ballots and other measures ― some Republicans are using the crisis to further suppress voting.
They’ve blocked vote-by-mail measures ― openly complaining that such initiatives would mean more people could vote ― created commissions to crack down on supposed voter fraud, and pushed legislation putting up more hurdles to dissuade people from voting.
“I think that this is a decision being made in a world like we don’t have an international health pandemic,” Beshear said Tuesday during a news briefing. “Can’t [Republicans] at least wait until the next session when we’re not facing this? . . . If you want to pass a voter ID bill, that’s fine, but let’s do it outside the coronavirus.”
Government offices ― such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, where many people would obtain a photo ID ― are closed for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus.
Advertisement
State Sen. Robby Mills (R), the lead sponsor of the bill, said he was “sure that we will have those clerks’ offices open and doing business later in the spring or summer.”
“And there’s going to be ample opportunities for folks that do not have a valid photo ID to obtain that free photo ID that is allowed in this piece of legislation,” he added.
State Sen. Damon Thayer (R), one of the bill’s sponsors, tweeted that it was a “great day” for Republicans.
Today was a great day for the @KYSenateGOP & @KYHouseGOP supermajorities. We overrode five vetoed bills by Gov. Andy Beshear including two Senate priority bills (SB2&SB5). Conservative agendas are still winning, & elections matter!@KYGOP @KentuckySRCCC @FayetteKYGOP — damon thayer (@damon_thayer) April 15, 2020
The ACLU of Kentucky said it was considering filing a lawsuit to block the law.
“At a time when officials of both parties throughout the country are working together to ensure every eligible voter can safely participate in their elections, the Kentucky General Assembly is making it more difficult to vote,” said Corey Shapiro, the group’s legal director. “They have pushed this voter suppression measure in the name of election security, yet not a single proponent of this law has ever provided any instance of in-person voter fraud in Kentucky.”
Advertisement
Shapiro added that under this new law, starting in July, voters will have to have a photocopy of a photo ID to obtain an absentee ballot.
“This will force thousands of Kentuckians to leave home to get new IDs and make photocopies during a pandemic that many experts believe will continue throughout the year,” Shapiro said. “This law will make voting more difficult, and potentially dangerous, for any Kentuckian who does not feel safe leaving their home during this pandemic – even for those who currently have a valid photo ID.”


huffpost--2020-04-15--Trump's Name Will Appear On Stimulus Checks

President Donald Trump ’ s name will be printed on the economic stimulus checks that will be distributed by the Internal Revenue Service to individuals to help mitigate losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic , The Washington Post reported Tuesday .
The addition , which was ordered by the Treasury Department , is expected to delay the delivery of paper checks by several days , according to the Post , which cited unnamed senior agency officials .
The phrase “ President Donald J. Trump ” will be printed in a memo line on the left side of the checks ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , below a line that says “ Economic Impact Payment.
” After the IRS adjusts its printing technology for this addition , tens of millions of Americans are expected to receive these checks in the mail in the coming weeks .
In response to the reports , the Treasury said in a statement Wednesday that the stimulus checks are scheduled to go out with no delay .
“ Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned — there is no delay whatsoever , ” the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported by The Associated Press .
“ In fact , we expect the first checks to be in the mail early next week , which is well in advance of when the first checks went out in 2008 and well in advance of initial estimates.
” The decision to add Trump ’ s name to the checks was reportedly finalized late Monday and announced to the IRS ’ s information technology team on Tuesday , the Post reported , citing a Treasury Department official .
This is the first time a president ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the IRS .
The checks are a part of the government ’ s $ 2 trillion effort to stimulate the tanking economy as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down much of the country .
The IRS will need to add computer coding to include Trump ’ s name in the checks ’ printing process , then test the system before sending out the checks , according to the Post .
The newspaper also reported that Trump privately suggested to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the president should sign the stimulus checks .
However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorized signer for payments made by the Treasury .
Sen. Brian Schatz ( D-Hawaii ) said in a tweet that Trump was directly causing the delay of these checks to Americans who need them to continue paying bills .
“ You are getting your money late because the President thinks it is more important that his name be on the check than that you are able to pay your bills on time , ” Schatz tweeted .
“ This is not a rhetorical flourish .
The checks are delayed .
Because Trump.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the President thinks it is more important that his name be on the check than that you are able to pay your bills on time .
This is not a rhetorical flourish .
The checks are delayed .
Because Trump .
— Brian Schatz ( @ brianschatz ) April 15 , 2020

LOADING ERROR LOADING
President Donald Trump’s name will be printed on the economic stimulus checks that will be distributed by the Internal Revenue Service to individuals to help mitigate losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The addition, which was ordered by the Treasury Department, is expected to delay the delivery of paper checks by several days, according to the Post, which cited unnamed senior agency officials. The phrase “President Donald J. Trump” will be printed in a memo line on the left side of the checks (most will total $1,200 for individuals), below a line that says “Economic Impact Payment.”
Advertisement
After the IRS adjusts its printing technology for this addition, tens of millions of Americans are expected to receive these checks in the mail in the coming weeks.
NBC News also confirmed the report Tuesday night.
In response to the reports, the Treasury said in a statement Wednesday that the stimulus checks are scheduled to go out with no delay.
“Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned — there is no delay whatsoever,” the Treasury said in its statement, as reported by The Associated Press. “In fact, we expect the first checks to be in the mail early next week, which is well in advance of when the first checks went out in 2008 and well in advance of initial estimates.”
President Donald Trump speaks during a bill signing ceremony March 27 for the CARES Act, an economic stimulus package meant to deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Erin Schaff/pool/Getty Images
Advertisement
The decision to add Trump’s name to the checks was reportedly finalized late Monday and announced to the IRS’s information technology team on Tuesday, the Post reported, citing a Treasury Department official.
This is the first time a president’s name will appear on a payment from the IRS.
The White House did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
The checks are a part of the government’s $2 trillion effort to stimulate the tanking economy as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down much of the country. The IRS will need to add computer coding to include Trump’s name in the checks’ printing process, then test the system before sending out the checks, according to the Post.
The newspaper also reported that Trump privately suggested to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the president should sign the stimulus checks. However, the U.S. president is not an authorized signer for payments made by the Treasury.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said in a tweet that Trump was directly causing the delay of these checks to Americans who need them to continue paying bills.
“You are getting your money late because the President thinks it is more important that his name be on the check than that you are able to pay your bills on time,” Schatz tweeted. “This is not a rhetorical flourish. The checks are delayed. Because Trump.”
Advertisement
You are getting your money late because the President thinks it is more important that his name be on the check than that you are able to pay your bills on time. This is not a rhetorical flourish. The checks are delayed. Because Trump. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) April 15, 2020
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) described the addition as an “unprecedented, cheap political stunt.”
Coming to your $1,200 relief check: Donald J. Trump’s name// unprecedented,cheap political stunt by our Barnum’N Bailey ringmaster,our Joe Exotic!Gives Charlatan a bad name.#TrumpMadness #CARESAct https://t.co/BXwKgiWAKz — Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) April 15, 2020


huffpost--2020-04-14--FEMA Accused Of Hijacking Protective Gear For First Responders In Massachusetts Town

Like a bad Santa , instead of delivering medical supplies , the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been accused again of hijacking desperately needed protective gear for first responders and health care workers — this time in a Massachusetts town .
Milford Fire Chief William Touhey Jr. accused the agency of commandeering 30,000 gowns as well as masks that the department had ordered .
Some of the protective gear was to be used by first responders , and the rest were to go to the Milford Regional Medical Center , the Milford Daily News reported .
“ At the last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shipment “ wouldn ’ t be coming , ” Touhey told WCVB-TV in Boston .
“ The government had stepped in and taken possession.
” Touhey told the Daily News that he was informed he wouldn ’ t receive any of the gowns and has so far received only 500 of the 2,500 masks ordered .
Nurses were so desperate for the protective gear that they had “ held up cardboard signs ” for passing motorists , “ asking for donations of anything : ponchos , gloves and [ the ] kinds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a medical setting , ” Touhey told Boston 25 News .
FEMA issued a statement that it works with an organization and companies that may be “ obligated to sell a predetermined percentage of their cargo to areas that HHS [ Health and Human Services ] and FEMA identified as hot spots .
This ... may be misconstrued as FEMA ‘ commandeering ’ supplies.
” President Donald Trump has repeatedly ordered states to get their own supplies to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and to not rely on equipment from the National Emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their own supplies , many state officials have complained that FEMA holds up the orders and redirects the goods to places the Trump administration chooses .
FEMA seized 500 lifesaving ventilators ordered by Colorado last week , according to state officials .
Trump then restored 100 of them , crediting Sen. Cory Gardner ( R-Colo. ) , who ’ s in the middle of a tough reelection campaign in the state .
Rep. Diana DeGette ( D-Colo. ) accused the president of “ playing politics ” with people ’ s lives by doling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer — a Democrat whom Trump has frequently targeted because of what he calls her “ complaints ” — revealed last month that vendors with whom her state had contracted for desperately needed medical equipment were told “ not to send stuff , ” on orders from the Trump administration .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Like a bad Santa, instead of delivering medical supplies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been accused again of hijacking desperately needed protective gear for first responders and health care workers — this time in a Massachusetts town.
Milford Fire Chief William Touhey Jr. accused the agency of commandeering 30,000 gowns as well as masks that the department had ordered. Some of the protective gear was to be used by first responders, and the rest were to go to the Milford Regional Medical Center, the Milford Daily News reported.
Advertisement
“At the last minute, we were notified” that the shipment “wouldn’t be coming,” Touhey told WCVB-TV in Boston. “The government had stepped in and taken possession.”
Touhey told the Daily News that he was informed he wouldn’t receive any of the gowns and has so far received only 500 of the 2,500 masks ordered.
Nurses were so desperate for the protective gear that they had “held up cardboard signs” for passing motorists, “asking for donations of anything: ponchos, gloves and [the] kinds of things that they could use in a medical setting,” Touhey told Boston 25 News.
FEMA issued a statement that it works with an organization and companies that may be “obligated to sell a predetermined percentage of their cargo to areas that HHS [Health and Human Services] and FEMA identified as hot spots. This ... may be misconstrued as FEMA ‘commandeering’ supplies.”
Advertisement
President Donald Trump has repeatedly ordered states to get their own supplies to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and to not rely on equipment from the National Emergency Stockpile. But when they do locate their own supplies, many state officials have complained that FEMA holds up the orders and redirects the goods to places the Trump administration chooses.
FEMA seized 500 lifesaving ventilators ordered by Colorado last week, according to state officials. Trump then restored 100 of them, crediting Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who’s in the middle of a tough reelection campaign in the state. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) accused the president of “playing politics” with people’s lives by doling out critical supplies like patronage.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — a Democrat whom Trump has frequently targeted because of what he calls her “complaints” — revealed last month that vendors with whom her state had contracted for desperately needed medical equipment were told “not to send stuff,” on orders from the Trump administration.
Several hospitals in seven states surveyed by the Los Angeles Times complained that FEMA officials were showing up unannounced and seizing their supplies, leaving them desperately short and uncertain about where to turn for more equipment. PeaceHealth, a 10-hospital system in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, had a shipment of testing supplies confiscated. “It’s incredibly frustrating,” CEO Richard DeCarlo told the newspaper.
Advertisement


huffpost--2020-04-14--Donald Trump Halting U.S. Funding To World Health Organization

WASHINGTON ( Reuters ) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has instructed his administration to at least temporarily halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
Trump , at a White House news conference , said the WHO had “ failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.
” He said the group had promoted China ’ s “ disinformation ” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred .
The United States is the biggest overall donor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than $ 400 million in 2019 , roughly 15 % of its budget .
But Trump has been increasingly critical of the organization as the global health crisis has continued , accusing it of being too lenient with China in the earliest days of the pandemic , causing unnecessary deaths .
“ The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable , ” Trump said .
The WHO has been appealing for more than $ 1 billion to fund operations against the pandemic .
The U.N. agency needs more resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response against the disease .
Trump said Washington would discuss with global health partners what it will do with the millions of dollars that would normally go to the WHO and said the United States would continue to engage with the organization .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has instructed his administration to at least temporarily halt funding to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump, at a White House news conference, said the WHO had “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said the group had promoted China’s “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak of the virus than otherwise would have occurred.
Advertisement
The United States is the biggest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $400 million in 2019, roughly 15% of its budget.
But Trump has been increasingly critical of the organization as the global health crisis has continued, accusing it of being too lenient with China in the earliest days of the pandemic, causing unnecessary deaths.
“The WHO failed in this basic duty and must be held accountable,” Trump said.
The WHO has been appealing for more than $1 billion to fund operations against the pandemic. The U.N. agency needs more resources than ever as it leads the global response against the disease.
Trump said Washington would discuss with global health partners what it will do with the millions of dollars that would normally go to the WHO and said the United States would continue to engage with the organization.
Advertisement


huffpost--2020-04-15--Liberty University Sued For Refusing To Refund Student Dorm Fees During Pandemic

RICHMOND , Va. ( AP ) — Liberty University has profited from the COVID-19 pandemic by refusing to refund thousands of dollars in room and board and other fees owed to students after the school moved classes online last month , a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges .
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg accuses the university — one of the nation ’ s largest and most prominent evangelical institutions — of purporting to remain open so it could refuse to return fees paid by students and their parents for the remainder of the spring semester .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ president , Jerry Falwell Jr. , of putting students at risk by telling students they were welcome to return to campus following spring break in March .
The suit cites comments and tweets made by Falwell in which he downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic and implied that the government shutdowns were an attempt to hurt President Donald Trump politically .
The lawsuit said that despite efforts to downplay the pandemic , the university stopped providing services and activities by moving classes online , closing its campus to visitors , prohibiting gatherings of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recreation and fitness centers .
“ In other words , the University ’ s statement that it is ‘ open ’ is an illusion being put forth to try to keep money that should be returned to students and their families , ” the lawsuit said .
In a statement , Liberty said it has “ tirelessly attempted to balance the needs of students , employees , and the community as it has navigated through the unprecedented health challenges presented by COVID-19.
” “ Each of Liberty ’ s changes in operations and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governmental officials , a fact the complaint omits .
That fact legally excuses Liberty ’ s adjustments and leaves the plaintiffs without a legal case , ” the statement said .
The lawsuit focuses on the week of March 16 , when students were on spring break .
While many colleges around the country were announcing campus closures , Liberty initially planned to continue on-campus instruction .
But after Virginia Gov .
Ralph Northam restricted gatherings of more than 100 , Liberty announced it would transition most classes to online beginning on March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a March 20 email that they were “ welcome ” to either stay in place or return to campus , where it said various safety measures had been put in place to avoid concentrations of people .
That message contradicted actions by many other colleges and universities urging students to stay home .
The lawsuit filed Tuesday has just one plaintiff — identified only as Student A — but seeks certification as a class-action suit on behalf of other students who want the university to refund the unused portion of fees they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on-campus services , said attorney Adam Levitt .
“ We filed this lawsuit because we believe that Liberty ’ s effort to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic is wrong .
It ’ s particularly hypocritical in light of the values upon which the university says that it ’ s based , ” Levitt said .
Levitt said he hasn ’ t yet calculated how much money each student is owed , but he said it would be “ in the thousands ” for each student .
Liberty said it has offered a $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ move out of residence halls .
“ Liberty ’ s less populated and more frequently sanitized campus living environment will be maintained for those students who chose it as their safest option , ” the statement said .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Liberty University has profited from the COVID-19 pandemic by refusing to refund thousands of dollars in room and board and other fees owed to students after the school moved classes online last month, a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Lynchburg accuses the university — one of the nation’s largest and most prominent evangelical institutions — of purporting to remain open so it could refuse to return fees paid by students and their parents for the remainder of the spring semester.
Advertisement
The lawsuit also accuses Liberty and its president, Jerry Falwell Jr., of putting students at risk by telling students they were welcome to return to campus following spring break in March.
The suit cites comments and tweets made by Falwell in which he downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic and implied that the government shutdowns were an attempt to hurt President Donald Trump politically.
The lawsuit said that despite efforts to downplay the pandemic, the university stopped providing services and activities by moving classes online, closing its campus to visitors, prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people and closing indoor recreation and fitness centers.
“In other words, the University’s statement that it is ‘open’ is an illusion being put forth to try to keep money that should be returned to students and their families,” the lawsuit said.
Advertisement
A student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, moves out of her dorm on March 31, 2020. AMANDA ANDRADE-RHOADES via Getty Images
In a statement, Liberty said it has “tirelessly attempted to balance the needs of students, employees, and the community as it has navigated through the unprecedented health challenges presented by COVID-19.”
“Each of Liberty’s changes in operations and modes of delivery has been required by governmental officials, a fact the complaint omits. That fact legally excuses Liberty’s adjustments and leaves the plaintiffs without a legal case,” the statement said.
The lawsuit focuses on the week of March 16, when students were on spring break. While many colleges around the country were announcing campus closures, Liberty initially planned to continue on-campus instruction. But after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam restricted gatherings of more than 100, Liberty announced it would transition most classes to online beginning on March 23.
Liberty officials told residential students in a March 20 email that they were “welcome” to either stay in place or return to campus, where it said various safety measures had been put in place to avoid concentrations of people. That message contradicted actions by many other colleges and universities urging students to stay home.
Advertisement
Officials in Lynchburg, where Liberty’s campus is located, said they fielded complaints about hundreds of students who returned to the campus after spring break.
Students walk around the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 31, 2020. AMANDA ANDRADE-RHOADES via Getty Images
The lawsuit filed Tuesday has just one plaintiff — identified only as Student A — but seeks certification as a class-action suit on behalf of other students who want the university to refund the unused portion of fees they paid for room and board and other on-campus services, said attorney Adam Levitt.
“We filed this lawsuit because we believe that Liberty’s effort to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic is wrong. It’s particularly hypocritical in light of the values upon which the university says that it’s based,” Levitt said.
Levitt said he hasn’t yet calculated how much money each student is owed, but he said it would be “in the thousands” for each student. Liberty said it has offered a $1,000 credit to students who opted to move out of residence halls.
Advertisement
“Liberty’s less populated and more frequently sanitized campus living environment will be maintained for those students who chose it as their safest option,” the statement said.
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. is a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump's administration. Here, he presents an honorary degree to Vice President Mike Pence in Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S., on May 11, 2019. Jonathan Drake / Reuters
As colleges and universities around the country have moved classes online because of the coronavirus, they’ve had varied responses to requests for fee refunds. Some announced prorated room and board refunds quickly, including Harvard and Smith College.
Levitt’s firm filed a lawsuit last month against the Arizona Board of Regents for refusing to refund fees paid by students at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.


huffpost--2020-04-15--‘Too Much Death’: This NYC Councilman Says He’s Lost 8 Friends To COVID

Yes , absolutely .
I think what we have to do is really come to a realization : Who are our essential workers ?
OK .
These folks that live in my district are the essential workers during this COVID crisis .
They ’ re the aides in the hospitals , they ’ re the people who are doing the work in the restaurants .
They ’ re the folks who are driving the buses and operating the trains .
And so , you know , oftentimes when people think about essential workers , maybe they think of an elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rich guy in Manhattan , whatever .
But really what it comes down to are these people , our community , both documented and undocumented , who are risking their lives on a daily basis for everyone else , and to me , that ’ s something that ’ s really jumped out at me .
You know , I have a real policy difference with Gov .
Cuomo on the issue of how he has treated our New York state prisoners .
They ’ re some of the most vulnerable people in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into prisons with very , very little to prevent the virus .
They don ’ t have enough soap , they don ’ t have enough sanitizer , they don ’ t have masks , and the most insulting part of it is that the staff does !
The corrections officers have that and have access to that but the poor people who are stuck in jail , don ’ t have access to any of that .
I would .
I would look at all records of people who could potentially be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in New York state prisons are on life terms , and there ’ s no death penalty , but by leaving them in prison at this point , you know , it ’ s really a matter of saving their lives .
And so , the whole thing needs to be examined and we need a real change there .
And overall , I think he has shown a lot of leadership , but this is one of the things that I think just sticks out in my mind .
They have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be looked at .
The other thing I ’ m seeing here in the community is people who are in Elmhurst Hospital , they ’ ve been taken in because they have severe symptoms of the virus , or they have for four or five days , maybe a little longer , but then they ’ re released but they have no place to go to convalesce .
So you know , they go back to their overcrowded conditions where somebody else is infected and who knows , they could infect somebody else @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where people don ’ t even want them back into the overcrowded homes to begin with .
I think we have to have a rent freeze and the mayor has called for that by the Rent Guidelines Board , and I think there need to be some federal dollars because even if we have a rent freeze , it ’ s still not going to protect those tenants if they can ’ t catch up for three , six , eight , nine months , whatever it may be .
To expect them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when they don ’ t have an income or haven ’ t had an income is going to be a very hard burden , particularly on my constituents , but on anybody who finds themselves in that type of situation .
So a rent freeze and some type of federal balance to help with the payment of rents .

LOADING ERROR LOADING
NEW YORK — As the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged New York City, so far killing over 10,000 people, it’s laid bare the harsh racial and social inequities in the five boroughs.
About 80% of the city’s frontline workers — grocery store cashiers, nurses, bus drivers, food delivery drivers — are Black or Latino. Look at a map of where they live in the city, and then compare it to a map of the most concentrated outbreaks of COVID-19, and you’ll see many of the same neighborhoods highlighted in red.
Advertisement
One of the hardest-hit working-class neighborhoods is Jackson Heights in Queens — one of the most diverse places on the planet. Daniel Dromm, who’s represented the neighborhood for 10 years in the city council, tweeted earlier this month that he’d already lost five friends in the pandemic, underscoring the desperate situation there.
Daniel Dromm, who represents Jackson Heights in Queens, says he's lost eight friends in the pandemic. William Alatriste for New York City Council
Dromm talked to HuffPost about the growing food emergency in his community, how Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) needs to release people in state prisons now, the need for rent relief, and how, sadly, he’s lost even more friends over the last couple of weeks.
You call your district the “epicenter of the epicenter.” What makes your district specifically so vulnerable to all this?
Advertisement
Well, we have a lot of service workers that live here, undocumented folks that live here, immigrants who are here, and oftentimes, we see that those folks are of lower income, and in order to survive, they have to live in overcrowded, illegally converted homes, which only makes the spread of COVID worse. So there’s really no place for many people who live in my community to self-isolate because sometimes they live 20 to 25 people in a house. We’ve seen this on numerous occasions here in the district.
So that closeness and that density in the neighborhood is, I think, one of the major contributing factors to COVID. Now, even those of us who are as fortunate as I am, I have a one-bedroom apartment for myself, there’s still the density of the neighborhood so that when you walk down on 37th Avenue, which is kind of like one of the main strips in Jackson Heights, it’s very hard to not bump into somebody or meet somebody that wants to talk.
That was always the case before COVID and in a sense, it was very quaint, very nice, because it’s kind of like a small town in the big city. But of course, that type of interaction between people as well is another contributing factor to the spread of COVID.
So something that for years we liked about the neighborhood, which was that social gathering and connections, now we’re being forced to socially distance, and that’s something we in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst are unfamiliar with. And so I think the density, the poverty, the lack of health care, all of those things have been contributing factors to the spread of the virus.
What is the most urgent thing your constituents need from the state or federal government that they’re not getting right now?
Advertisement
So it’s kind of changed a little bit. Elmhurst Hospital seems to be a little bit better off than it was. Not much, because every single bed is taken — 545 beds taken at Elmhurst. But my on-the-ground type of feeling is that people now are seeking food.
A number of the supermarkets in the neighborhood had closed down, including Patel brothers, two Asian supermarkets on Broadway, most of the fruit stands and food stores along 37th Avenue closed down, so people were short of food simply by virtue of stores closing, but then again on top of that, you have those who can’t even afford it anymore because they’ve lost their job.
Dozens of people stand in line outside of Seatide Fish & Lobster market to purchase fish on Good Friday on April 10, 2020, in Jackson Heights, Queens. David Dee Delgado via Getty Images
So people like taxicab drivers — I have a large constituency of cab drivers — they’re not really working anymore. Many of them are undocumented and don’t have access to SNAP benefits. So food has become last week’s and this week’s biggest issue to conquer. I was lucky that working with Grow NYC, I was able to get 300 boxes of food to be distributed at the United Sherpa Society started this week, and that’s going to last for another 12 weeks.
So finding food and getting access to food is an issue. And then even those who are fortunate enough to have an income or be able to pay for food are facing very, very long lines outside the supermarket, sometimes a block or two long, just waiting to get into the supermarkets that are open. So that is a big issue at this point.
Advertisement
Is there anything that D.C. or Cuomo in Albany can do to alleviate that problem?
So actually, I’m going to be having a conference call with Sen. [Chuck] Schumer and Sen. [Kirsten] Gillibrand and a few of the congressional delegates tomorrow, and that’s my major concern that I’m going to raise is, particularly for undocumented communities who are not eligible for SNAP benefits, what type of provisions are being made for them?
And also a number of food banks have closed in the area — because, one, of the volunteer shortage and two, because of the lack of food availability, but what type of provisions are going to be made for that?
So you were talking before about how this pandemic has kind of unmasked a lot of racial and economic inequalities that were already there, that maybe people in other neighborhoods or districts weren’t paying attention to. Being in the epicenter of the epicenter of this crisis, has it changed your worldview at all? Are there bigger changes that need to be made after all this is over?
Yes, absolutely. I think what we have to do is really come to a realization: Who are our essential workers? OK. These folks that live in my district are the essential workers during this COVID crisis. They’re the aides in the hospitals, they’re the people who are doing the work in the restaurants. They’re the folks who are driving the buses and operating the trains. And so, you know, oftentimes when people think about essential workers, maybe they think of an elected official, maybe they think of some rich guy in Manhattan, whatever. But really what it comes down to are these people, our community, both documented and undocumented, who are risking their lives on a daily basis for everyone else, and to me, that’s something that’s really jumped out at me.
These delivery men, these delivery men who bring us our takeout orders. They’re essential, OK? They are essential to us and to the economy. And we have to look at that and in the future reward them with paid time off, sick days, etc., because we realize now how essential they are.
Advertisement
Gov. Cuomo has gotten a lot of accolades, and his poll numbers are up, and I was wondering if you thought that was deserved?
You know, I have a real policy difference with Gov. Cuomo on the issue of how he has treated our New York state prisoners. They’re some of the most vulnerable people in the whole state because they are packed into prisons with very, very little to prevent the virus. They don’t have enough soap, they don’t have enough sanitizer, they don’t have masks, and the most insulting part of it is that the staff does! The corrections officers have that and have access to that but the poor people who are stuck in jail, don’t have access to any of that.
And like Rikers Island, I think today had 383 cases of COVID among the detainees, and I make a differentiation there between detainee and inmates because they haven’t been convicted yet, but upstate, upstate is where the governor has control, and he has done nothing, and he shot down reporters.
So I plead with the governor, to please release the — especially the elderly people who are in prison, and those who are near the end of their term, to release them from prison, because they should not be getting a death sentence simply because they are packed into these prisons. And ultimately, that’s what’s going to happen if we don’t deal with this issue immediately.
OK. And just to be clear, you’re saying he should release elderly people and people near the end of their term but would you even go further than that?
Advertisement
I would. I would look at all records of people who could potentially be eligible for relief. Because very few people in New York state prisons are on life terms, and there’s no death penalty, but by leaving them in prison at this point, you know, it’s really a matter of saving their lives. And so, the whole thing needs to be examined and we need a real change there. And overall, I think he has shown a lot of leadership, but this is one of the things that I think just sticks out in my mind. They have nowhere to go and it just to be looked at.
“I have a real policy difference with Gov. Cuomo on the issue of how he has treated our New York state prisoners. They’re some of the most vulnerable people in the whole state.” - Daniel Dromm
There’ve been some reports about there being an outbreak among homeless shelters at the moment, and also in NYCHA residences. What solutions do you see for those problems?
Well, yeah, I mean, it’s very similar to the issue that we’re facing here in terms of overcrowding, within our immigrant community, and I’ve been pushing the mayor for about two and a half weeks now to open up these hotels and get people into hotels. There are enough hotels probably to house, I don’t know how many people really because I don’t have a grip on that, but to have a lot of people, let me put it that way.
And there’s been some hesitancy on the part of the De Blasio administration in that direction, although now they are finally moving in that direction…
Advertisement
The other thing I’m seeing here in the community is people who are in Elmhurst Hospital, they’ve been taken in because they have severe symptoms of the virus, or they have for four or five days, maybe a little longer, but then they’re released but they have no place to go to convalesce. So you know, they go back to their overcrowded conditions where somebody else is infected and who knows, they could infect somebody else or whatever. And in some instances where people don’t even want them back into the overcrowded homes to begin with.
So we’ve been working with Mitch Katz, the head of Health and Hospitals, to at least get those folks who are being released with nowhere to go, to be aware that there is now going to be implemented this program of the availability of a hotel room for a period of convalescence. So that is supposed to be happening as of today.
What needs to be done that’s not being done when it comes to rent?
I think we have to have a rent freeze and the mayor has called for that by the Rent Guidelines Board, and I think there need to be some federal dollars because even if we have a rent freeze, it’s still not going to protect those tenants if they can’t catch up for three, six, eight, nine months, whatever it may be. To expect them then to pay back all that rent when they don’t have an income or haven’t had an income is going to be a very hard burden, particularly on my constituents, but on anybody who finds themselves in that type of situation. So a rent freeze and some type of federal balance to help with the payment of rents.
And so on April 1, you tweeted that you’ve lost five friends to the virus, and I’m very sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
And I hate to ask, but has that number grown since?
Advertisement
Which is just incredible. And then, of course, I’m the councilman for the area and I’ve heard about, you know, at least two dozen, maybe almost 30 people in the community who have died.
LGBT activist Anne Quashen, right, seen here celebrating shortly before the 2019 Queens Pride Parade kick-off in Jackson Heights, Queens, recently died of the coronavirus. Jim Burke
I just found out this morning that a woman who lives in my building complex, not in my exact building, but within the complex, her name is Gloria Lippman, she died last night. She was only 75 years old. But, you know, I used to see her in the neighborhood all the time. She’d go [puts on thick New York accent] “Dannyyy! How are youuu?”
So you know, I hear of maybe one [death] a day. And it’s just too much death. It’s just too much death for anyone to bear.
Well, that was my next question. How are you bearing it? Like, what kind of toll is it taking on you?
Advertisement
I try to keep moving forward. One of the people who was in the original batch of five when I tweeted that out, his name was Tarlach MacNiallais, and he was a member of the St. Pat’s For All Parade, you know, the inclusive St. Patrick’s Parade that we have here in Sunnyside, Queens. So I think that one kind of hit me the hardest because he was the one who was I was closest to.
But I also just lost one of the founding members of PFLAG Queens. Her name is Anne Quashen. She was older, she was 88. And she died on Friday afternoon.
So it’s hard to say, you know, I just keep going forward because that’s all you can do, you know. And what makes it worse is that there’s no grieving period that, you know, you can get together with people and hug and console each other.
For Tarlach, we did an online or a virtual funeral, and a virtual Irish funeral, which went on for six hours. ... There were people from Ireland on it, so ... at least you can see people that might not otherwise be able to fly here, but you realize how important those things are, you know, to the grieving process. And so without it, all you can do is just keep going and, you know, try to get up each day and do what you can to get to the end of this.
Do you see a light at the end of the tunnel now? Are we at that point?
Well, I’m always optimistic. You know, I like to say I survived one crisis, the AIDS crisis or the AIDS epidemic, right, and we survived other things as well. 9/11 and other catastrophes. … I’m of the age of Vietnam. I didn’t go to Vietnam, you know, but that was a disaster. I remember the oil crisis where you couldn’t get oil [for] your cars.
Advertisement
Eventually, we came out of all of that, and it’s part of our lived experience. So, yeah, I’m hopeful. You know, I think we’ll get through this and maybe even be more united as a community, and maybe people will stop sometimes being so ugly, but that’s what I’m hoping.
Yeah, and then the last question, when this is all over and we’re back to life as normal, when you kind of imagine that situation, what’s the first thing you do to enjoy yourself as a New Yorker?
I’m going to go to a Broadway show. [Laughs.] When I heard that the Broadway theaters weren’t gonna open ’til June 7, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s a gay man’s nightmare.’
I always love my art and my theater and stuff like that. It kind of makes life worth living. So I’m really looking forward to that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Advertisement