#national pandemic strategy

[brutalgamer]

Tropico 6 goes viral with new round of diseased-DLC

A mighty new challenge for El Presidente has just arrived for Tropico 6, and it’s spreading a host of new missions, edicts and more.

[greenthestral]

Global Manufacturing Rebounds Amid Pandemic, Yet LDCs Struggle to Catch Up: A Tale of Two Realities

Global Manufacturing Rebounds: A Sign of Hope Amidst the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global economy, disrupting supply chains, halting production lines, and shuttering factories worldwide. However, as the world slowly began to recover, there was a glimmer of hope in the form of a rebounding manufacturing sector. Many countries witnessed a resurgence in production and industrial activities, bringing a sense of relief and optimism for a post-pandemic recovery.

The Uneven Recovery: LDCs Left Behind

As global manufacturing started to rebound, it became evident that not all nations were benefiting equally from this resurgence. The Least Developed Countries (LDCs), often already grappling with economic challenges, found themselves further left behind in the race for recovery. While some advanced economies experienced a remarkable upswing, LDCs faced a harsh reality where their manufacturing sectors struggled to regain pre-pandemic levels.

Understanding the Impact on LDCs

The disparity between the developed and developing nations in terms of manufacturing recovery raises crucial questions about the global economy's inclusivity. To comprehend the full impact, it is essential to analyze the factors contributing to the struggles faced by LDCs.

Supply Chain Disruptions and Limited Access to Resources

One of the primary reasons for the challenges encountered by LDCs is the disruption in global supply chains. During the height of the pandemic, borders were closed, and trade came to a halt. LDCs, heavily reliant on imports for raw materials and machinery, found their access to these essential resources restricted. As a result, their production capabilities were severely constrained, hindering their ability to capitalize on the recovering global demand.

Technology Divide and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Another significant factor exacerbating the plight of LDCs is the technology divide. The pandemic accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution, promoting automation and digitalization across industries. Advanced economies with access to cutting-edge technologies could adapt swiftly to the new normal, enhancing their manufacturing efficiency and productivity. In contrast, LDCs with limited technological infrastructure struggled to keep pace, leading to further disparities in output and growth.

Financial Struggles and Limited Government Support

LDCs also faced significant financial challenges during the pandemic. Many of these nations lacked the fiscal resources and stimulus packages needed to support their manufacturing sectors adequately. Moreover, the shift in global focus towards economic recovery in the developed world meant that financial aid and investment opportunities for LDCs were scarce. As a result, these nations found it difficult to revive their manufacturing industries and create much-needed employment opportunities.

The Importance of Inclusive Global Recovery

The uneven recovery of the manufacturing sector underscores the importance of pursuing an inclusive approach to global economic revival. Leaving LDCs behind not only perpetuates existing economic disparities but also poses potential risks to the stability of the global supply chain and international trade.

Building Resilience Through Sustainable Growth

To bridge the gap and ensure that LDCs are not left behind, a sustainable growth strategy is imperative. This approach involves providing these nations with better access to resources, technology transfer, and capacity building. Collaborative efforts between developed and developing countries can create a more resilient global supply chain, reducing vulnerabilities and increasing opportunities for shared prosperity.

Empowering Local Industries and Promoting Fair Trade

Supporting the growth of local industries in LDCs is another vital aspect of an inclusive recovery. Encouraging fair trade practices can help boost their manufacturing capabilities and improve their integration into the global market. Additionally, fostering international partnerships that prioritize mutual growth and knowledge sharing can enable LDCs to harness their full potential.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the rebound of global manufacturing is undoubtedly a promising sign for the world's economic recovery from the pandemic's devastation. However, it is crucial to recognize that the recovery has not been uniform across all nations. LDCs continue to face significant challenges, and their struggles highlight the need for a more inclusive and equitable approach to economic revitalization.

As we move forward, it is essential for governments, businesses, and international organizations to come together and address the disparities in the manufacturing sector. By empowering LDCs, promoting sustainable growth, and fostering fair trade practices, we can pave the way for a more resilient and prosperous global economy that leaves no country behind. Only then can we truly build a world where the benefits of recovery are shared by all, regardless of their economic standing.

What's In It For Me? (WIIFM)

Welcome to this eye-opening blog article where we delve deep into the fascinating and contrasting realities of global manufacturing's post-pandemic rebound. As the world gradually emerges from the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic, we witness a glimmer of hope in the form of a resurging manufacturing sector. However, beneath this positive trend lies a sobering truth – not all nations are experiencing the same level of growth and progress.

Throughout these pages, we will explore the factors that contribute to the divergent paths taken by various countries in their recovery journey. Discover the reasons why some nations seem to prosper, witnessing an upswing in industrial activities, while others, particularly the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), face an uphill battle to catch up. The disparities in their recovery are stark, and it is essential to understand the underlying dynamics shaping this reality.

By delving into the complexities of global manufacturing's rebound, you will gain valuable insights into the intricate interplay of factors at play. From supply chain disruptions to technology disparities and limited access to resources, we'll explore the challenges faced by LDCs in their pursuit of revival. Understanding these challenges is crucial, as it brings us to a fundamental question – what role can each one of us play in fostering an inclusive global recovery?

As we journey through the pages of this blog, we'll uncover the power we hold as individuals, organizations, and global citizens to make a difference. Supporting LDCs in their manufacturing efforts can pave the way for a more resilient and sustainable sector, creating a win-win situation for all. By investing in fair trade practices, empowering local industries, and promoting knowledge transfer, we can contribute to a brighter future for these developing nations.

The stakes are high, and the choices we make now will shape the world of tomorrow. By embracing inclusive growth and supporting sustainable manufacturing practices, we can build a fairer and more prosperous world for all. Together, we can ensure that no nation is left behind in the pursuit of economic revival and progress.

So, join us on this enlightening journey, as we uncover the hidden realities of global manufacturing's resurgence. Let us strive for a future where prosperity is shared, and the benefits of recovery reach every corner of the world. Together, we have the power to create an inclusive and equitable global recovery, leaving a lasting positive impact on the lives of millions. The time for action is now, and the journey starts with you.

Call to Action (CTA)

Ready to make a difference? Join us in advocating for an inclusive global manufacturing recovery. Share this blog article with your network to raise awareness about the challenges faced by LDCs and the importance of equitable growth. Together, let's support sustainable practices and empower local industries, paving the way for a brighter future for all nations. It's time to take action and be a part of the change we want to see.

Blog Excerpt

As the world navigates through the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the manufacturing sector has shown signs of resurgence, instilling hope for economic recovery. However, beneath the surface of this positive trend lies a stark reality - while some countries experience robust growth, others, particularly the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), are struggling to keep pace. This blog delves deep into the factors contributing to this disparity, the impact on global trade, and the urgent need for inclusive measures to ensure no nation is left behind in the journey towards a stronger and more sustainable manufacturing industry.

Meta description in 320 characters

Discover the contrasting realities of global manufacturing post-pandemic. Uncover why some nations thrive while LDCs are left behind. Join us in advocating for an inclusive recovery for a prosperous future.

[wilwheaton]

The GOP wonders why young people (and others) don't want to vote for them. Some wise scribe assembled this list.

1.) Your Reagan-era “trickle-down economics” strategy of tax breaks for billionaires that you continue to employ to this day has widened the gap between rich and poor so much that most of them will never be able to own a home, much less earn a living wage.

2.) You refuse to increase the federal minimum wage, which is still $7.25 an hour (since 2009). Even if it had just kept up with inflation, it would be $27 now. You’re forcing people of all ages but especially young people to work multiple jobs just to afford basic necessities.

3.) You fundamentally oppose and want to kill democracy; have done everything in your power to restrict access to the ballot box, particularly in areas with demographics that tend to vote Democratic (like young people and POC). You staged a fucking coup the last time you lost.

4.) You have abused your disproportionate senate control over the last three decades to pack the courts with religious extremists and idealogues, including SCOTUS—which has rolled back rights for women in ways that do nothing but kill more women and children and expand poverty.

5.) You refuse to enact common sense gun control laws to curb mass shootings like universal background checks and banning assault weapons; subjecting their entire generation to school shootings and drills that are traumatizing in and of themselves. You are owned by the NRA.

6.) You are unequivocally against combatting climate change to the extent that it’s as if you’ve made it your personal mission to ensure they inherit a planet that is beyond the point of no return in terms of remaining habitable for the human race beyond the next few generations.

7.) You oppose all programs that provide assistance to those who need it most. Your governors refused to expand Medicaid even during A PANDEMIC. You are against free school lunches, despite it being the only meal that millions of children can count on to actually receive each day

8.) You are banning books, defunding libraries, barring subject matter, and whitewashing history even more in a fascistic attempt to keep them ignorant of the systemic racism that this nation was literally founded upon and continues to this day in every action your party takes.

9.) You oppose universal healthcare and are still trying to repeal the ACA and rip healthcare from tens of millions of Americans and replace it with nothing. You are against lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs that millions need simply to LIVE/FUNCTION in society.

10.) You embrace white nationalists, Neo-Nazis, and other groups that are defined by their intractable racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and intolerance. You conspired with these groups on January 6th to try to overthrow the U.S. government via domestic terrorism that KILLED PEOPLE.

11.) You oppose every bill aimed at making life better for our nation’s youth; from education to extracurricular and financial/nutritional assistance programs. You say you want to “protect the children” while you elect/nominate pedophiles and attack trans youth and drag queens.

12.) You pretend to be offended by “anti-semitism” while literally supporting, electing, and speaking at events organized by Nazis. You pretend to hate “cancel culture” despite the fact that you invented it and it’s basically all you do.

13.) Every word you utter is a lie. You are the party of treason, hypocrisy, crime, and authoritarianism. You want to entrench rule by your aging minority because you know that you have nothing to offer young voters and they will never support you for all these reasons and more.

14.) You’re so hostile to even the notion of helping us overcome the mountain of debt that millions of us are forced to take on just to pay for our post K-12 education that you are suing to try to prevent a small fraction of us from getting even $10,000 in loan forgiveness.

15.) You opened the floodgates of money into politics via Citizens United; allowing our entire system of government to become a cesspool of corruption, crime, and greed. You are supposed to represent the American people whose taxes pay your salary but instead cater to rich donors.

16.) You respond to elected representatives standing in solidarity with their constituents to protest the ONGOING SLAUGHTER of children in schools via shootings by EXPELLING THEM FROM OFFICE & respond to your lack of popularity among young people by trying to raise the voting age.

17.) You impeach Democratic presidents over lying about a BJ but refuse to impeach (then vote twice to acquit) a guy whose entire “administration” was an international crime syndicate being run out of the WH who incited an insurrection to have you killed.

18.) You steal Supreme Court seats from democrats to prevent the only black POTUS we’ve ever had from appointing one and invent fake precedents that you later ignore all to take fundamental rights from Americans; and even your “legitimate” appointments consist of people like THIS (sub-thread refuting CJ Roberts criticisms of people attacking SCOTUS' legitimacy).

19.) You support mass incarceration even for innocuous offenses or execution by cop for POC while doing nothing but protect rich white criminals who engage in such things as tax fraud, money laundering, sex trafficking, rape/sexual assault, falsifying business records, etc.

20.) You are the reason we can’t pass:—Universal background checks—An assault weapons ban—The ‘For the People/Freedom to vote’ Act or John Lewis Voting Rights Act—The ERA & Equality Act—The Climate Action Now Act—The (Stopping) Violence Against Women Act—SCOTUS expansion.

21.) You do not seek office to govern, represent, or serve the American people. You seek power solely for its own sake so you can impose your narrow-minded puritanical will on others at the expense of their most fundamental rights and freedoms like voting and bodily autonomy.

22.) Ok, last one. You are trying to eliminate social security and Medicare that tens of millions of our parents rely on and paid into their entire lives. And you did everything to maximize preventable deaths from COVID leaving millions of us in mourning.

Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/e8DBZLH

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #20

May 24-31 2024

The EPA awards $900 million to school districts across the country to replace diesel fueled school buses with cleaner alternatives. The money will go to 530 school districts across nearly every state, DC, tribal community, and US territory. The funds will help replace 3,400 buses with cleaner alternatives, 92% of the new buses will be 100% green electric. This adds to the $3 billion the Biden administration has already spent to replace 8,500 school buses across 1,000 school districts in the last 2 years.

For the first time the federal government released guidelines for Voluntary Carbon Markets. Voluntary Carbon Markets are a system by which companies off set their carbon emissions by funding project to fight climate change like investing in wind or solar power. Critics have changed that companies are using them just for PR and their funding often goes to projects that would happen any ways thus not offsetting emissions. The new guidelines seek to insure integrity in the Carbon Markets and make sure they make a meaningful impact. It also pushes companies to address emissions first and use offsets only as a last resort.

The IRS announced it'll take its direct file program nationwide in 2025. In 2024 140,000 tax payers in 12 states used the direct file pilot program and the IRS now plans to bring it to all Americans next tax season. Right now the program is only for simple W-2 returns with no side income but the IRS has plans to expand it to more complex filings in the future. This is one of the many projects at the IRS being funded through President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

The White House announced steps to boost nuclear energy in America. Nuclear power in the single largest green energy source in the country accounting for 19% of America's total energy. Boosting Nuclear energy is a key part of the Biden administration's strategy to reach a carbon free electricity sector by 2035. The administration has invested in bring the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan back on-line, and extending the life of Diablo Canyon in California. In addition the Military will be deploying new small modular nuclear reactors and microreactors to power its installations. The Administration is setting up a task force to help combat the delays and cost overruns that have often derailed new nuclear projects and the Administration is supporting two Gen III+ SMR demonstration projects to highlight the safety and efficiency of the next generation of nuclear power.

The Department of Agriculture announced $824 million in new funding to protect livestock health and combat H5N1. The funding will go toward early detection, vaccine research, and supporting farmers impacted. The USDA is also launching a nation wide Dairy Herd Status Pilot Program, hopefully this program will give us a live look at the health of America's dairy herd and help with early detection. The Biden Administration has reacted quickly and proactively to the early cases of H5N1 to make sure it doesn't spread to the human population and become another pandemic situation.

The White House announced a partnership with 21 states to help supercharge America's aging energy grid. Years of little to no investment in America's Infrastructure has left our energy grid lagging behind the 21st century tech. This partnership aims to squeeze all the energy we can out of our current system while we rush to update and modernize. Last month the administration announced a plan to lay 100,000 miles of new transmission lines over the next five years. The 21 states all with Democratic governors are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The Department of Transportation announced $343 million to update 8 of America's oldest and busiest transportation stations for disability accessibility. These include the MBTA's the Green Line's light-rail B and C branches in Boston,  Cleveland's Blue Line, New Orleans'  St. Charles Streetcar route, and projects in San Francisco and New York City and other locations

The Department of interior announced two projects for water in Western states. $179 million for drought resilience projects in California and Utah and $242 million for expanding water access in California, Colorado and Washington. The projects should help support drinking water for 6.4 million people every year.

HUD announced $150 million for affordable housing for tribal communities. This adds to the over $1 billion dollars for tribal housing announced earlier in the month. Neil Whitegull of the Ho-Chunk Nation said at the announcement "I know a lot of times as Native Americans we've been here and we've seen people that have said, ‘Oh yeah, we'd like to help Indians.’ And they take a picture and they go away. We never see it, But there's been a commitment here, with the increase in funding, grants, and this administration that is bringing their folks out. And there's a real commitment, I think, to Native American tribes that we've never seen before."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged $135 million to help Moldavia. Since the outbreak of Russia's war against neighboring Ukraine the US has given $774 million in aid to tiny Moldavia. Moldavia has long been dependent on Russian energy but thanks to US investment in the countries energy security Moldavia is breaking away from Russia and moving forward with EU membership.

The US and Guatemala launched the "Youth With Purpose” initiative. The initiative will be run through the Central America Service Corps, launched in 2022 by Vice President Harris the CASC is part of the Biden Administration's efforts to improve life in Central America. The Youth With Purpose program will train 25,000 young Guatemalans and connect with with service projects throughout the country.

Bonus: Today, May 31st 2024, is the last day of the Affordable Connectivity Program. The program helped 23 million Americans connect to the internet while saving them $30 to $75 dollars every month. Despite repeated calls from President Biden Republicans in Congress have refused to act to renew the program. The White House has worked with private companies to get them to agree to extend the savings to the end of 2024. The Biden Administration has invested $90 Billion high-speed internet investments. Such as $42.45 billion for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, $1 billion for the The Middle Mile program laying 12,000 miles of regional fiber networks, and distributed nearly 30,000 connected devices to students and communities, including more than 3,600 through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

[halorvic]

The danger is clear and present: COVID isn’t merely a respiratory illness; it’s a multi-dimensional threat impacting brain function, attacking almost all of the body’s organs, producing elevated risks of all kinds, and weakening our ability to fight off other diseases. Reinfections are thought to produce cumulative risks, and Long COVID is on the rise. Unfortunately, Long COVID is now being considered a long-term chronic illness — something many people will never fully recover from. Dr. Phillip Alvelda, a former program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office that pioneered the synthetic biology industry and the development of mRNA vaccine technology, is the founder of Medio Labs, a COVID diagnostic testing company. He has stepped forward as a strong critic of government COVID management, accusing health agencies of inadequacy and even deception. Alvelda is pushing for accountability and immediate action to tackle Long COVID and fend off future pandemics with stronger public health strategies. Contrary to public belief, he warns, COVID is not like the flu. New variants evolve much faster, making annual shots inadequate. He believes that if things continue as they are, with new COVID variants emerging and reinfections happening rapidly, the majority of Americans may eventually grapple with some form of Long COVID. Let’s repeat that: At the current rate of infection, most Americans may get Long COVID.

[...]

LP: A recent JAMA study found that US adults with Long COVID are more prone to depression and anxiety – and they’re struggling to afford treatment. Given the virus’s impact on the brain, I guess the link to mental health issues isn’t surprising. PA: There are all kinds of weird things going on that could be related to COVID’s cognitive effects. I’ll give you an example. We’ve noticed since the start of the pandemic that accidents are increasing. A report published by TRIP, a transportation research nonprofit, found that traffic fatalities in California increased by 22% from 2019 to 2022. They also found the likelihood of being killed in a traffic crash increased by 28% over that period. Other data, like studies from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, came to similar conclusions, reporting that traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high across the country in 2021. The TRIP report also looked at traffic fatalities on a national level and found that traffic fatalities increased by 19%. LP: What role might COVID play? PA: Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple. Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.

[...]

LP: You’ve criticized the track record of the CDC and the WHO – particularly their stubborn denial that COVID is airborne. PA: They knew the dangers of airborne transmission but refused to admit it for too long. They were warned repeatedly by scientists who studied aerosols. They instituted protections for themselves and for their kids against airborne transmission, but they didn’t tell the rest of us to do that.

[...]

LP: How would you grade Biden on how he’s handled the pandemic? PA: I’d give him an F. In some ways, he fails worse than Trump because more people have actually died from COVID on his watch than on Trump’s, though blame has to be shared with Republican governors and legislators who picked ideological fights opposing things like responsible masking, testing, vaccination, and ventilation improvements for partisan reasons. Biden’s administration has continued to promote the false idea that the vaccine is all that is needed, perpetuating the notion that the pandemic is over and you don’t need to do anything about it. Biden stopped the funding for surveillance and he stopped the funding for renewing vaccine advancement research. Trump allowed 400,000 people to die unnecessarily. The Biden administration policies have allowed more than 800,000 to 900,000 and counting.

[...]

LP: The situation with bird flu is certainly getting more concerning with the CDC confirming that a third person in the U.S. has tested positive after being exposed to infected cows. PA: Unfortunately, we’re repeating many of the same mistakes because we now know that the bird flu has made the jump to several species. The most important one now, of course, is the dairy cows. The dairy farmers have been refusing to let the government come in and inspect and test the cows. A team from Ohio State tested milk from a supermarket and found that 50% of the milk they tested was positive for bird flu viral particles.

[...]

PA: There’s a serious risk now in allowing the virus to freely evolve within the cow population. Each cow acts as a breeding ground for countless genetic mutations, potentially leading to strains capable of jumping to other species. If any of those countless genetic experiments within each cow prove successful in developing a strain transmissible to humans, we could face another pandemic – only this one could have a 58% death rate. Did you see the movie “Contagion?” It was remarkably accurate in its apocalyptic nature. And that virus only had a 20% death rate. If the bird flu makes the jump to human-to-human transition with even half of its current lethality, that would be disastrous.

[robertreich]

Biden vs. Trump: Whose Economic Plan Is Better for You? 

Trump failed to deliver on his number one campaign promise:

President Trump presided over a historic net loss of nearly 3 million American jobs, the worst jobs numbers ever recorded under an American president.

This is no fluke. America’s economy has almost always done worse under Republican presidents. A New York Times analysis found that since 1933, the U.S. economy has grown nearly twice as fast on average under Democrats.

Now Trump’s defenders claim it’s not his fault that the economy collapsed under his watch. It was the pandemic. But there are two big things wrong with this.

First, the pandemic recession was as bad as it was because of Trump. His failure to lead with any national strategy left America in chaos throughout 2020, long after other nations had developed coordinated testing, tracing, and social distancing plans that allowed them to reopen their economies.

But secondly, even before the pandemic, Trump failed to deliver on his economic promises. Job growth slowed under Trump.

America added more jobs in President Obama’s last three years than in Trump’s first three.

Even before the pandemic most middle-class American households saw their incomes go down under Trump.

Trump’s major economic policy was cutting taxes on the rich and big corporations. He promised it would result in $4,000 annual raises for workers. How did that work out? Did you get a $4,000 raise?

Republicans keep claiming that if we just cut enough taxes on the rich, the wealth will “trickle down.” But it never works. Wage growth slowed after Reagan’s tax cuts for the rich and big corporations. And the Bush and Trump tax cuts didn’t trickle down either.

These giveaways to the wealthy came at the expense of investments in infrastructure, education, and health care, making life more expensive and difficult for everyone who isn’t rich.

They also exploded the debt and deficit. Reagan oversaw a 186% increase in the national debt — the biggest percentage increase in over 70 years. The Bush and Trump tax cuts, that mostly benefited corporations and the rich, are the main reasons why America’s debt is growing faster than the economy.

Republican presidents have led us into the three worst economic crises of the last century, and Democrats led us out of them.

Republicans talk about running the country like a business, but they want to run it the way Trump ran his businesses: with massive debts, a string of failures, and payouts for the folks at the top, while workers get shafted again and again. Given Republicans’ track record, why would any hard-working American put their financial security in the hands of a Republican president ever again?

[covid-safer-hotties]

The US Government Is Shutting Down A Key Covid Website

Tomorrow the US government agency responsible for biomedical and public health research, The National Institutes of Health, will shut down its Covid-19 ‘special populations’ website.

This site hosts a huge amount of information about how to treat covid and long covid in the immunocompromised and in people with HIV, cancer and similar immune supressing conditions - so-called ‘special populations.’

The site is going totally offline.

It’s a shameful dereliction of duty by the NIH which, behind Harvard, is the second largest publisher of biomedical research papers in the world. Doctors and clinicians all over the world use the NIH site for advice and treatment ideas.

And it’s going offline during a massive summer surge of covid infections in the US, a surge that is now topping 1.3 million infections per day. (One of whom was Anthony Fauci, who was infected for the third time last week). A surge killing 750 people a week in the US. Many of whom will be precisely the type of people this website is intended to help clinicians treat.

It’s a scandal.

The message it sends to vulnerable people could hardly be clearer - when it comes to covid, there’s nothing else we can do for you. Sorry. That’s it. We’re done.

It’s so terrifying.

It also sends a terrible signal to the medical community about where we are with covid

and will be materially damaging in efforts to treat vulnerable people, both in the acute stage of the disease and those with long covid.

The move to shut the page down is premised on an entirely false assumption: that we already know everything we’ll ever know about how to manage covid so there’s no point keeping a live web resource because they’ll never be anything to update it with ever again.

This is simply not true. While we know a lot about treating covid four years in, we absolutely do not know everything, not by a long stretch. As evidenced by the hundreds still dying every week in summer 2024. And as for long covid, we know very little about how to treat it. For a start, there is no agreed treatment plan. Absolutely none. But apparently we also know so much about this disease we can start shutting down online resources dedicated to it.

Please imagine for a second if a Trump administration rather than a Biden-Harris administration was doing this.

There would be an outcry.

But this move has so far been greeted by media silence.

It is left to a few disability activists and the covid aware to shout into the social media void.

Not that this is a surprise. This is how it has been for the last two years at least, guided by the business as usual, vax-and-forget strategy. More people have died of covid under the Biden-Harris administration than died under Trump. Despite having vaccines since 2021. You’d never know it by mainstream media coverage.

Some people have written to the director of the NIH, Monica Bertagnolli, and asked them to keep the advice live and up-to-date. If you want to do this her email address is:

monica.bertagnolli@nih.gov

Long Covid Action has archived the site here

Maybe if enough people write to her and enough noise is made the decision will be reversed. Worth a try.

Overall it’s just another grim episode in the handling of the pandemic by the current US administration, an administration who, we should never forget, won power in large part due to the outrage at Trump’s handling of the first nine months of covid.

Solidarity to everyone still trying to protect themselves and their communities from covid against all the odds.

At least we can keep fighting for each other.

[simply-ivanka]

Democrats, Blame Yourselves

Voters on Tuesday repudiated the results of progressive policies.

By The Editorial Board Wall Street Journal

If Democrats want some sage counsel on how to recover from their electoral drubbing on Tuesday, we suggest they recall that classic relationship breakup line from Seinfeld’s George Costanza: “It’s not you; it’s me.”

The temptation after a defeat this humiliating is to hunt for scapegoats—fading Joe Biden, untutored Kamala Harris, Russian disinformation, benighted and racist voters. They’d be wiser to look in the mirror.

The defeat was less a resounding endorsement of Mr. Trump than a repudiation of progressive governance. America rejected the consequences of left-wing policies. Democrats lost ground from 2020 across many demographic groups, according to the exit polls. Even women moved percentage points closer to Mr. Trump. How could Democrats possibly lose like this to a man they think is Hitler? Allow us to offer a list for liberal reflection:

• The failure of Bidenomics. Democrats once understood that private business drives growth and higher incomes. Sometime in the 21st century, they came to believe that government spending creates wealth—via the “Keynesian multiplier” and other nostrums.

Thus they passed, on a party-line vote, a $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief bill that wasn’t really needed, fueling the highest inflation in decades. This robbed millions of workers of real wage gains, which haunted Democrats on Tuesday as two-thirds of voters said they were unhappy with the state of the economy.

• Cultural imperialism. Democrats took their 2020 victory as an invitation to turn identity politics into woke policy. They stood with transgender activists instead of parents who don’t want boys to play girls sports or elementary teachers to pass out pronoun pins. Republicans hammered Democrats with ads that attacked Democratic votes against tying federal funds to transgender school policies.

Democrats also began using the term “Latinx,” which sounds to many Spanish-speakers like illiterate cultural imperialism from elites. Could that and other woke policies have played a role in Mr. Trump winning 46% of the Hispanic vote and 55% of Latino men, according to the exit polls?

• Regulatory coercion. In pursuit of their climate obsessions, Democrats pushed coercive mandates, including an EPA rule effectively saying that by 2032 only 30% of new car sales can be gas-powered models. The EV mandate caused layoffs among auto workers in Michigan that Mr. Trump attacked in TV ads and on the stump.

• Lawfare. Democrats used Mr. Trump’s divisiveness to escalate against him at every turn. After calling him a Russian stooge and impeaching him twice, Mr. Biden labeled him a “fascist” and Democrats tried to bar him from the ballot.

They criminally indicted Mr. Trump—four times—and targeted his family business with a civil suit. They convicted him in New York, under an elected Democratic prosecutor who stretched the law to turn misdemeanors into felonies, in a case that wouldn’t have been brought against another businessman.

The strategy turned Mr. Trump into a martyr to GOP voters and cemented his support in the Republican primaries.

• Breaking democratic norms. Democrats decided to use taxes from plumbers and welders to forgive college loans for lawyers and grad students in grievance studies. When the Supreme Court struck Mr. Biden’s effort down as an abuse of power, he tried again and taunted the Court to stop him.

Democrats tried to override the Senate filibuster to seize control of the nation’s voting laws and impose practices such as ballot harvesting, as Mr. Biden raged that his opponents were creating “Jim Crow 2.0.”

They tried to override the filibuster to pass a national abortion law that would go beyond Roe v. Wade. They promised to override the filibuster in 2025 to bulldoze the High Court. They ran Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema out of the party for disagreeing.

All of this and other progressive preoccupations caused Democrats to lose sight of the larger public interest. They came to believe, backed by the mainstream press, that voters would tolerate it all because Mr. Trump was simply unacceptable.

This opened the door for Mr. Trump to remind voters that they were better off under his policies four years earlier. Mr. Trump won more than 72 million ballots. He improved his standing with minority voters. He gained votes even in Democratic states.

Voters were telling Democrats on Tuesday that the party has wandered into ideological fever swamps where most Americans don’t want to go. Winning those voters again will require more than firing back up the anti-Trump “resistance.”

[izooks]

Some of Joe Biden’s accomplishments:

**Domestic policy**

* **American Rescue Plan (2021)**: Provided $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 relief, including direct payments, enhanced unemployment benefits, and funding for vaccines and testing.

* **Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021)**: Allocated $1.2 trillion for infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, broadband, and clean energy initiatives.

* **Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022)**: Expanded background checks for gun purchases and provided funding for mental health services.

* **Child Tax Credit Expansion (2021-2022)**: Temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit to provide up to $3,600 per child in monthly payments.

* **Affordable Care Act Expansion (2021)**: Made health insurance more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans by reducing premiums and expanding subsidies.

**Foreign Policy**

* **Withdrawal from Afghanistan (2021)**: Ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

* **Re-joining the Paris Agreement (2021)**: Re-committed the United States to global efforts to address climate change.

* **Strengthening Alliances with NATO and the EU (2021-present)**: Repaired relationships with key European allies after strained relations during the Trump administration.

* **Supporting Ukraine in the Ukraine-Russia War (2022-present)**: Provided military, humanitarian, and diplomatic support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia's invasion.

* **Nuclear Deal with Iran (2023)**: Revived negotiations with Iran on a comprehensive nuclear deal, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

**Other Notable Accomplishments**

* **Appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court (2022)**: Made history by being the first Black woman appointed to the nation's highest court.

* **Signing the Respect for Marriage Act (2022)**: Ensured federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages.

* **Establishing the Office of the National Cyber Director (2021)**: Coordinated federal efforts to combat cybersecurity threats.

* **Creating the COVID-19 National Preparedness Plan (2021)**: Developed a comprehensive strategy to respond to future pandemics.

* **Launching the Cancer Moonshot (2022)**: Re-energized the government's efforts to find a cure for cancer.

[robfinancialtip]

🗽🌍Raja Iqdeimat, a successful pastry firm owner, describes her story. Born in Abu Dhabi, she grew up in several places, including Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, and Kuwait before moving to Turkey, California, and finally New York. Despite her parents' lack of education, she was the first member of her family to pursue higher education and succeed. She credits her parents for instilling entrepreneurial skills and determination in her despite their lack of formal schooling.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🌱Growing up as the youngest member of a large family of nine, Raja felt unusual, but she believed that each family had a unique person who contributed in different ways. Despite lacking a formal education, she describes how her father was a successful businessman who inspired her to pursue her aspirations. Raja's mother, though uneducated, was hardworking and concerned about her family's well-being, imparting in Raja a strong work ethic and tenacity.

😔💼Growing up in different places and seeking a profession in finance was filled with personal losses and difficulties. Despite working as a brokerage manager in Jordan for seven years, dealing derivatives, equities, and bonds, she felt great loneliness following the deaths of her parents when she moved to the United States as a single mother without a broker's license. When the mass layoff in 2008, she was unemployed for six to seven months in California, struggling to support herself and her kid. Realizing that California's emphasis on the film industry did not fit with her career goals, she boldly moved to New York, where she swiftly obtained a job at an insurance firm and began rebuilding her life.

🏙️🎉While working at a New York bank in 2018, her manager questioned her capacity to buy a Manhattan apartment, which proved critical. This distrust motivated Raja to pursue entrepreneurship and independence. Despite difficulties and misgivings, she bravely launched her own business, motivated by her passion for entrepreneurship and need for autonomy. This marked the beginning of Délice Macarons, her venture into the world of cooking pastry, and her journey toward self-reliance and success.

🚀🧁Raja, a dessert shop owner in New Jersey, faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite lacking retail expertise, she managed everything from decoration to recruitment, relying on her entrepreneurial flair. She and her chef friend opened their first physical store in Cranford, New Jersey, in January 2020. Despite financial constraints, they shifted their business strategy to focus on fundamental products like bread. Raja's resilience and ability to transform adversity into opportunity remained evident.

🌟🗣️Raja's message encourages listeners, emphasizing the value of endurance, adaptation, and believing in oneself. Despite various barriers, including financial difficulties and the enormous task of beginning a business in a new nation, she stayed determined to succeed, demonstrating that anything is possible with devotion and hard work. Raja's path demonstrates the importance of taking risks, pursuing passion, and never giving up on one's goals. Her tale resonates with individuals who want to overcome obstacles and succeed on their terms. Raja highlights the importance of perseverance, hard work, and financial acumen. She promotes confidence in oneself and pursuing one's goals, emphasizing that hard work combined with passion may lead to success in any activity.

[someone-will-remember-us]

The multi-billion euro pornography industry must be “targeted” to end a culture of violence, degradation and increasing misogyny in Ireland, a report has warned.

Women’s Aid, which commissioned the report, is urging the Government to address “consistently high” levels of sexual abuse linked to porn in Ireland.

The research found that porn featuring verbal degradation and extreme acts such as choking was now mainstream and freely available online.

Such consumption of sexually violent content is affecting healthy sexual development and behaviour in adults and teens.

It was also leading to sexual violence, unhealthy relationships and hostile misogyny and it compounded gender inequality, the report noted.

Ruth Breslin, the director of The Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy (SERP) institute, was co-author of the report alongside Dr Monica O’Connor.

Ms Breslin said progress on sexual “consent” was “being undermined by boys’ sexual expectations of girls”, which was “moulded by pornography”.

“Girls have been groomed by pornography to submit to acts that they do not want and do not enjoy,” she said.

“In shaping boys’ sexual scripts, pornography has taught boys that women, and therefore girls, have limitless sexual appetites, a high tolerance for pain, sometimes say ‘no’ when they mean ‘yes’ and enjoy ‘aggressive sex’, which includes physical violence, sexual assault and verbal abuse.”

Most (81pc) of the 18 to 25-year-olds surveyed as part of the research said pornography was increasing young men’s interest in seeking rough or violent sex. Three-quarters agreed that pornography made children and young people vulnerable to requests to share intimate images and videos.

Further, 71pc said the Government and technology companies needed to do more to protect children and young people from pornography exposure and should act faster to support survivors of image-based sexual abuse.

In the poll, 81pc of all respondents said they wanted age-appropriate sexuality and relationships education in schools, with a focus on the negative consequences of being exposed to porn.

Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid, said: “This study now clearly confirms that the vast majority of pornography does nothing to promote healthy sexuality, equality and intimacy, but is instead creating a conducive context for violence and degradation, particularly of women and girls.

“This is directly relevant to our work, as women contacting Women’s Aid for support have identified their partner’s use of pornography as a component of the sexual coercion and abuse they’re enduring.”

The study, called Facing Reality: Addressing The Role Of Pornography In The Pandemic Of Violence Against Women And Girls, underscores the damage porn is also doing to victims of sex trafficking, including children and ordinary Irish women and girls.

In its research, Women’s Aid urges the Government to “tackle an unregulated multi-billion euro pornography industry”.

It said it was vital to examine practical and effective measures to “target the business model of a wholly unregulated international industry with an appalling track record of exploiting vulnerable people, including children, for profit”.

“There have been successes in other jurisdictions, such as the US, with class action suits on behalf of trafficking victims and successful appeals to financial institutions, providing vital infrastructure to the pornography industry,” the report said.

“The potential to build on or leverage these actions to reduce the impact of the industry in the Irish context should be considered.”

Women’s Aid said it was encouraging that porn was challenged in the Government’s third national strategy to prevent and combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

However, Ms Benson said explicit images could still be shared without consent by partners or former ones and even used for blackmail and coercion.

This could affect a “survivor’s well-being, mental health, employment and social connections”, the report found.

Although the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 had “created much needed offences in relation to image-based sexual abuse”, the charity said prosecutions took time. Yet images were “available and can be shared and re-posted”.

There was “an opportunity to protect children and adults alike with the current Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill”, the report said.

“The proposed Online Safety Commissioner must be provided with the power to issue immediate take-down orders in cases of image-based sexual abuse specifically,” it said.

Studies on men’s attitudes and behaviours have found a strong link between the consumption of violent pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women and misogyny.

The report was funded by Community Foundation Ireland.

(archive)

[allthecanadianpolitics]

In the winter of 2020, at the outset of the pandemic, the Immigrant Workers Centre where I’m an organizer brought together a group of migrant workers for a Zoom meeting. It was a snapshot of the precarious lives of those who make Canada’s economy run.  [...] These stories are not an exception but the norm for temporary foreign workers. These racialized workers generate great wealth for the corporate class inside countries like Canada because they’ve been made exploitable through a restrictive immigration regime designed to ensure they remain vulnerable, docile, deportable and disposable.  Capitalists tend not to be fundamentally anti-migrant but rather seek to control and manage migration for the needs of business. They envision migration to be a kind of kitchen faucet that can be turned on and off according to labour market fluctuations. [...] Corporations in critical sectors like logistics, warehouses and distribution rely on the same strategies in the Global South as they do in the Global North: when the industries cannot be offshored, they rely on a precarious workforce of migrants. 

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[tomorrowusa]

Four years ago today (March 13th), then President Donald Trump got around to declaring a national state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration had been downplaying the danger to the United States for 51 days since the first US infection was confirmed on January 22nd.

From an ABC News article dated 25 February 2020...

CDC warns Americans of 'significant disruption' from coronavirus

Until now, health officials said they'd hoped to prevent community spread in the United States. But following community transmissions in Italy, Iran and South Korea, health officials believe the virus may not be able to be contained at the border and that Americans should prepare for a "significant disruption." This comes in contrast to statements from the Trump administration. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Tuesday the threat to the United States from coronavirus "remains low," despite the White House seeking $1.25 billion in emergency funding to combat the virus. Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC’s Kelly Evans on “The Exchange” Tuesday evening, "We have contained the virus very well here in the U.S." [ ... ] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the request "long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency." She also accused President Trump of leaving "critical positions in charge of managing pandemics at the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security vacant." "The president's most recent budget called for slashing funding for the Centers for Disease Control, which is on the front lines of this emergency. And now, he is compounding our vulnerabilities by seeking to ransack funds still needed to keep Ebola in check," Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Our state and local governments need serious funding to be ready to respond effectively to any outbreak in the United States. The president should not be raiding money that Congress has appropriated for other life-or-death public health priorities." She added that lawmakers in the House of Representatives "will swiftly advance a strong, strategic funding package that fully addresses the scale and seriousness of this public health crisis." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also called the Trump administration's request "too little too late." "That President Trump is trying to steal funds dedicated to fight Ebola -- which is still considered an epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- is indicative of his towering incompetence and further proof that he and his administration aren't taking the coronavirus crisis as seriously as they need to be," Schumer said in a statement.

A reminder that Trump had been leaving many positions vacant – part of a Republican strategy to undermine the federal government.

Here's a picture from that ABC piece from a nearly empty restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. The screen displays a Trump tweet still downplaying COVID-19 with him seeming more concerned about the effect of the Dow Jones on his re-election bid.

People were not buying Trump's claims but they were buying PPE.

I took this picture at CVS on February 26th that year.

The stock market which Trump in his February tweet claimed looked "very good" was tanking on March 12th – the day before his state of emergency declaration.

Trump succeeded in sending the US economy into recession much faster than George W. Bush did at the end of his term – quite a feat!. (As an aside, every recession in the US since 1981 has been triggered by Republican presidents.)

Of course Trump never stopped trying to downplay the pandemic nor did he ever take responsibility for it. The US ended up with the highest per capita death rate of any technologically advanced country.

Precious time was lost while Trump dawdled. Orange on this map indicates COVID infections while red indicates COVID deaths. At the time Trump declared a state of emergency, the virus had already spread to 49 states.

The United States could have done far better and it certainly had the tools to do so.

The Obama administration had limited the number of US cases of Ebola to under one dozen during that pandemic in the 2010s. Based on their success, they compiled a guide on how the federal government could limit future pandemics.

Obama team left pandemic playbook for Trump administration, officials confirm

Of course Trump ignored it.

Unlike those boxes of nuclear secrets in Trump's bathroom, the Obama pandemic limitation document is not classified. Anybody can read it – even if Trump didn't. This copy comes from the Stanford University Libraries.

TOWARDS EPIDEMIC PREDICTION: FEDERAL EFFORTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN OUTBREAK MODELING

Feel free to share this post with anybody who still feels nostalgic about the Trump White House years!

[reality-detective]

I think we're nearing "End Game" "Checkmate" where things are about to get real crazy? 👇

Black Swan Event! The World’s Most Powerful Families Are Crafting Global Chaos – Trump Is Leading the Fight Against a Globalist Cabal!

In the clandestine corridors of power, a sinister plot is unfolding—one that mocks the very democracy and freedom we hold dear. This is not just another historical manipulation, but a shadow war waged by a cabal of power-hungry elites, tracing their bloodlines back to the darkest realms of the Illuminati and the counterfeit AshkeNAZI lineage.

The Rothschilds, Rockefellers, and their ilk have orchestrated every major catastrophe of the 20th and 21st centuries. From the World Wars to economic collapses and the recent pandemic, each disaster serves their ultimate goal: total global domination through chaos and despair.

The United Nations and Israel? Not geopolitical strategies, but key pieces in their grand chess game. Under the guise of international cooperation, these institutions enable the elites to conduct heinous crimes—from human trafficking rings to covert biological warfare on innocent populations. The CIA is merely a puppet in their hands, enforcing their will across the globe, with Ukraine becoming the latest battleground where their twisted agenda plays out.

But it doesn’t stop there. The elites have infiltrated every corner of society—from the financial crashes they orchestrate to the dictators they install. Even Google, Facebook, and YouTube are weapons in their arsenal, controlling thought, manipulating reality, and silencing those who dare to speak out.

As these elites sense their plans unraveling, they retreat into private banking and cryptic financial channels, but their ultimate aim remains clear: the collapse of global economies to establish a new world order under their absolute control. They think their plan is foolproof, but they didn't anticipate the rise of counterforces.

Trump and General Flynn have been laying the groundwork for a massive counterstrike, executing covert operations to dismantle the Deep State from within. The Quantum Financial System (QFS), a revolutionary technology, is their secret weapon, designed to overthrow the corrupt financial structures of the elites and bring about a new era of transparency and freedom.

As the world teeters on the brink of a Black Swan event, engineered economic meltdowns and social chaos are distractions from their true aim: the Great Reset. This terrifying new world order would mark the end of monetary privacy and the final tightening of their iron grip on the global populace.

But patriots worldwide, take heed! The storm is here. This battle for the soul of humanity is not some far-off conflict—it’s happening now. Trump’s coalition is fighting on the frontlines, preparing to activate the QFS and dismantle the elite’s centuries-old network.

Stay alert, stay vigilant. The Great Awakening has arrived. This is our moment—resist, or be swept away in their final bid for tyranny. The truth is your weapon, and awareness your shield. The endgame is here.

This is why I have been saying there won't be an election. It's going to get ugly! 🤔

[ngdrb]

The accomplishments of Joe Biden during his presidency

Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, assumed office at a pivotal moment in history, facing a myriad of challenges ranging from a global pandemic to economic uncertainty and social unrest.

Throughout his presidency, President Biden has pursued an ambitious agenda aimed at addressing these pressing issues and advancing key policy priorities. In this essay, we will examine some of the notable accomplishments of Joe Biden during his time in office and the impact of his leadership on the nation.

One of the most significant accomplishments of President Biden during his presidency has been his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon taking office, President Biden made the pandemic a top priority and swiftly implemented a national strategy to combat the spread of the virus and accelerate the vaccination campaign.

Under his leadership, the administration successfully exceeded its initial goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses within the first 100 days, ultimately surpassing 200 million doses. This aggressive vaccination effort has been instrumental in curbing the spread of the virus and has contributed to a significant reduction in COVID-19 cases and deaths across the country.

 In addition to his focus on public health, President Biden has made substantial strides in revitalizing the American economy in the wake of the pandemic. The administration's American Rescue Plan, a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package, provided much-needed financial assistance to individuals, families, and businesses impacted by the economic downturn. The plan included direct stimulus payments to Americans, extended unemployment benefits, support for small businesses, and funding for vaccine distribution and testing. 

President Biden's economic agenda has also centered on job creation and infrastructure investment, culminating in the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a historic legislation that allocates substantial funding for modernizing the nation's infrastructure, creating millions of jobs, and bolstering economic growth. Furthermore, President Biden has been a vocal advocate for advancing racial equity and social justice in the United States. His administration has taken concrete steps to address systemic inequalities and promote inclusivity, including the signing of executive orders to combat discrimination, promote fair housing, and strengthen tribal sovereignty. 

Additionally, President Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. These actions underscore the administration's commitment to confronting the legacy of racism and fostering a more equitable society for all Americans.

 Moreover, President Biden has demonstrated a strong commitment to combating climate change and advancing environmental sustainability.

 His administration rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change, signaling a renewed dedication to global cooperation in addressing the climate crisis. In November 2021, President Biden convened a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, bringing together world leaders to discuss ambitious measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy. 

Additionally, the administration has unveiled a comprehensive plan to invest in clean energy infrastructure, promote energy efficiency, and prioritize environmental justice, aiming to position the United States as a global leader in the fight against climate change. 

In the realm of foreign policy, President Biden has sought to reassert American leadership on the world stage and rebuild alliances with international partners. His administration has prioritized diplomacy and multilateral engagement, working to address global challenges such as nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats, and human rights abuses. 

President Biden has reaffirmed the United States' commitment to NATO and other key alliances, signaling a departure from the isolationist policies of the previous administration. His approach to foreign affairs has emphasized the importance of collaboration and collective action in tackling shared global concerns, fostering a more cohesive and cooperative international order. Furthermore, 

President Biden has been a steadfast proponent of expanding access to affordable healthcare and strengthening the Affordable Care Act. His administration has taken steps to bolster the ACA, including increasing enrollment outreach, expanding coverage options, and lowering healthcare costs for millions of Americans. 

President Biden has also championed efforts to address mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders, recognizing the critical importance of mental and behavioral health in overall well-being. 

In conclusion, President Joe Biden has achieved a range of significant accomplishments during his tenure in office, from his swift and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic to his ambitious efforts to revitalize the economy, promote racial equity, combat climate change, and reinvigorate America's role in global affairs. 

His leadership has been marked by a steadfast commitment to addressing pressing domestic and international challenges and advancing a progressive policy agenda aimed at fostering a more equitable, resilient, and prosperous future for the nation. As his presidency continues to unfold, the enduring impact of his accomplishments is likely to shape the trajectory of the United States for years to come, leaving a lasting imprint on the fabric of American society and the global community.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich:: GOP strategy in its totality

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 18, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 19, 2024

Today, at a White House reception in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, President Joe Biden said: "We don't demonize immigrants. We don't single them out for attacks. We don't believe they're poisoning the blood of the country. We're a nation of immigrants, and that's why we're so damn strong."

Biden’s celebration of the country’s heritage might have doubled as a celebration of the success of his approach to piloting the economy out of the ravages of the pandemic. Today the Fed cut interest rates a half a point, a dramatic cut indicating that it considers inflation to be under control. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has maintained that it would be possible to slow inflation without causing a recession—a so-called soft landing—and she appears to have been vindicated.

Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said: “The labor market is in solid condition, and our intention with our policy move today is to keep it there. You can say that about the whole economy: The US economy is in good shape. It’s growing at a solid pace, inflation is coming down. The labor market is at a strong pace. We want to keep it there. That’s what we’re doing.”

Powell, whom Trump first appointed to his position, said, “We do our work to serve all Americans. We’re not serving any politician, any political figure, any cause, any issue, nothing. It’s just maximum employment and price stability on behalf of all Americans.”

Powell was anticipating accusations from Trump that his cutting of rates was an attempt to benefit Harris before the election. Indeed, Jeff Stein of the Washington Post reported that Trump advisor Steven Moore called the move “jaw-dropping. There's no reason they couldn't do 25 now and 25 right after the election. Why not wait till then?” Moore added, "I'm not saying [the] reduction isn't justified—it may well be and they have more data than I do. But i just think, 'why now?’” Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville called the cut “shamelessly political.” 

The New Yorker’s Philip Gourevitch noted that “Trump has been begging officials worldwide not to do the right thing for years to help rig the election for him—no deal in Gaza, no defense of Ukraine, no Kremlin hostages release, no border deal, no continuing resolution, no interest rate cuts etc—just sabotage & subterfuge.”

That impulse to focus on regaining power rather than serving the country was at least part of what was behind Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance’s lie about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. That story has gotten even darker as it turns out Vance and Trump received definitive assurances on September 9 that the rumor was false, but Trump ran with it in the presidential debate of September 10 anyway. Now, although it has been made very clear—including by Republican Ohio governor Mike DeWine—that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are there legally, Vance told a reporter today that he personally considers the programs under which they came illegal, so he is still “going to call [a Haitian migrant] an illegal alien.”

The lies about those immigrants have so derailed the Springfield community with bomb threats and public safety concerns that when the Trump campaign suggested Trump was planning a visit there, the city’s Republican mayor, Rob Rue, backed by DeWine, threw cold water on the idea. “It would be an extreme strain on our resources. So it’d be fine with me if they decided not to make that visit,” Rue said. Nonetheless, tonight, Trump told a crowd in Long Island, New York, that he will go to Springfield within the next two weeks. 

The false allegation against Haitian immigrants has sparked outrage, but it has accomplished one thing for the campaign, anyway: it has gotten Trump at least to speak about immigration—which was the issue they planned to campaign on—rather than Hannibal Lecter, electric boats, and sharks, although he continues to insist that “everyone is agreeing that I won the Debate with Kamala.” Trump, Vance, and Republican lawmakers are now talking more about policies.

In the presidential debate of September 10, Trump admitted that after nine years of promising he would release a new and better healthcare plan than the Affordable Care Act in just a few weeks, all he really had were “concepts of a plan.” Vance has begun to explain to audiences that he intends to separate people into different insurance pools according to their health conditions and risk levels. That business model meant that insurers could refuse to insure people with pre-existing conditions, and overturning it was a key driver of the ACA.

Senate and House Republicans told Peter Sullivan of Axios that if they regain control of the government, they will work to get rid of the provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that permits the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over drug prices. Negotiations on the first ten drugs, completed in August, will lower the cost of those drugs enough to save taxpayers $6 billion a year, while those enrolled in Medicare will save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses. 

Yesterday Trump promised New Yorkers that he would restore the state and local tax deduction (SALT) that he himself capped at $10,000 in his 2017 tax cuts. In part, the cap was designed to punish Democratic states that had high taxes and higher government services, but now he wants to appeal to voters in those same states. On CNBC, host Joe Kernan pointed out that this would blow up the deficit, but House speaker Mike Johnson said that the party would nonetheless consider such a measure because it would continue to stand behind less regulation and lower taxes.

In a conversation with Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former press secretary, Trump delivered another stream of consciousness commentary in which he appeared to suggest that he would lower food prices by cutting imports. Economics professor Justin Wolfers noted: “I'm exhausted even saying it, but blocking supply won't reduce prices, and it's not even close.” Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark added, “Tell me more about why you have to vote for Trump because of his ‘policies.’”

Trump has said he supports in vitro fertilization, or IVF, as have a number of Republican lawmakers, but today, 44 Republican senators once again blocked the Senate from passing a measure protecting it. The procedure is in danger from state laws establishing “fetal personhood,” which give a fertilized egg all the rights of a human being as established by the Fourteenth Amendment. That concept is in the 2024 Republican Party platform.

Trump has also demanded that Republicans in Congress shut down the government unless a continuing resolution to fund the government contains the so-called SAVE Act requiring people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Speaker Johnson continues to suggest that undocumented immigrants vote in elections, but it is illegal for even documented noncitizens to do so, and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the nonprofit American Immigration Council notes that even the right-wing Heritage Foundation has found only 12 cases of such illegal voting in the past 40 years.

Johnson brought the continuing resolution bill with the SAVE Act up for a vote today. It failed by a vote of 202 to 220. If the House and then the Senate don’t pass a funding bill, the government will shut down on October 1.

Republican endorsements of the Harris-Walz ticket continue to pile up. On Monday, six-term representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) told the Charleston City Paper that “Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the republic” and said he would vote for Harris. “If Donald Trump loses, that would be a good thing for the Republican Party,” Inglis said. “Because then we could have a Republican rethink and get a correction.” 

George W. Bush’s attorney general Alberto Gonzales, conservative columnist George Will, more than 230 former officials for presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and 17 former staff members for Ronald Reagan have all recently added their names to the list of those supporting Harris. Today more than 100 Republican former members of Congress and national security officials who served in Republican administrations endorsed Harris, saying they “firmly oppose the election of Donald Trump.” They cited his chaotic governance, his praising of enemies and undermining allies, his politicizing the military and disparaging veterans, his susceptibility to manipulation by Russian president Vladimir Putin, and his attempt to overthrow democracy. They praised Harris for her consistent championing of “the rule of law, democracy, and our constitutional principles.” 

Yesterday, singer-songwriters Billie Eilish, who has 119 million followers on Instagram, and Finneas, who has 4.2 million, asked people to register and to vote for Harris and Walz. “Vote like your life depends on it,” Eilish said, “because it does.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON