Friday, May 1, 2020
'America In the Age of Trump': Armed Gunmen Enter Michigan Capitol Demanding End to Covid-19 Lockdown
"You aren't allowed to bring in posters to the Michigan State Capitol, but you can bring guns and rifles."
by
Julia Conley, staff writer
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/america-age-trump-armed-gunmen-enter-michigan-capitol-demanding-end-covid-19
The right-wing movement against public health measures designed to stave off the coronavirus pandemic escalated on Thursday as armed gunmen were among those who stormed the Michigan state house and tried to enter the legislative chamber.
The protesters entered the building after holding a small rally outside the State House in Lansing, calling for an end to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order in accordance with guidance from public health experts due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The so-called "American Patriot Rally" was organized by the recently-formed group Michigan United for Liberty and came two weeks after a similar protest dubbed "Operation Gridlock" created a traffic jam outside the government building.
Some demonstrators on Thursday wore "Make America Great Again" hats, while others carried firearms into the Capitol building. It is legal to carry a visible weapon in Michigan.
"You aren't allowed to bring in posters to the Michigan State Capitol, but you can bring guns and rifles," wrote progressive activist Linda Sarsour.
The protesters demanded to be let into the state House chamber, where the Republican-controlled legislature was debating an extension of Whitmer's emergency order, which is due to expire at the end of the day Thursday. The lawmakers eventually adjourned without extending the order.
Democratic State Senator Dayna Polehanki posted photos of armed men with long guns in the public gallery above the floor:
A number of progressive advocates noted that racial and economic justice demonstrations have been met with force in recent years, while the crowd of largely white and pro-Trump protesters was permitted to force their way into the Capitol building with weapons.
The protest—during which one speaker compared the crowd to civil rights leaders including Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—came as the advocacy group Progress Michigan released poll results showing the majority of Michigan residents oppose protests like the American Patriot Rally and Operation Gridlock.
More than half of respondents said they trust Whitmer to handle the state's response to the pandemic, while only 15% said they trust the state legislature and 24% said they trust President Donald Trump.
Only 25% supported the anti-Whitmer protests, and 56% opposed them.
"Once again, the polling shows that Michiganders support Gov. Whitmer's commonsense, science-based handling of the COVID-19 crisis," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. "Operation Gridlock protesters have made a lot of noise, but these numbers make it clear they're only a very vocal minority of our state."
The demonstration came a day after a state court ruled that Whitmer's stay-at-home order does not violate constitutional rights.
"Our fellow residents—have an interest to remain unharmed by a highly communicable and deadly virus, and since the state entered the Union in 1837, it has had the broad power to act for the public health of the entire state when faced with a public crisis," Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray wrote.
Everybody Gets A Plane! (But Sorry Still No Masks, Tests, PPE or Jobless Benefits)
Operation America Unfriggingbelievably Tone-Deaf: Everybody Gets A Plane! (But Sorry Still No Masks, Tests, PPE or Jobless Benefits)
by
Abby Zimet, Further columnist
https://www.commondreams.org/further/2020/04/28/operation-america-unfriggingbelievably-tone-deaf-everybody-gets-plane-sorry-still
In the first of several planned, what-the ever-loving-Christ-were-they-thinking moves, the U.S. military performed exceedingly expensive, nauseatingly pointless flyovers over COVID-embattled New York City Tuesday in what was billed as "a touching display of American resolve." Impeached President Trump announced the brilliant "Operation America Strong" last week, claiming it was "the idea of our great military men and women...who wanted to show support to the American medical workers, who just like military members in a time of war are fiercely running forward the fight (sic)." The half-hour flyovers by the shiny hardware of our endless wars - specifically, Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels - were conducted over New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia in their first run; they're also scheduled for Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Baltimore and over a dozen more cities. New Yorkers were "overwhelmingly uninspired" by the unexpected presence of military-scale jets roaring over a still-9/11 traumatized city: "Oh yeah...planes loudly flying over NYC is an anxiety-free sound that everyone here enjoys." And, "For those of you who were with us on 9/11 and still suffer from PTSD...let us make new memories for you in this great city with, uh, the same sights and sounds as uh, well. Hmm..."
As those on the ground ignored social distancing rules to gape at the show - "My God...the virus...it has planes now!" - many cited the heedless cost at a time of dire need. The military argued flyovers will incur no additional cost because pilots have to practice anyway, but facts owe: Each $20-million plane costs about $8,000 to fly for an hour, a six-plane flyover at the 2011 Super Bowl cost about $450,000, each plane burns over 1,200 gallons of fuel an hour. Most grievously, estimates of the total cost of this chest-thumping vanity project run to over $1.32 million - enough to buy dozens of much-needed ventilators at $20,000 a pop at New York hospitals that are now "petri dishes," with scores of healthcare workers working long shifts, sometimes sick, for less than a living wage, without masks and other protective equipment. Given that grim reality - never mind widespread hunger and unemployment - the obscene waste incensed: "Here it is. The sum total of the Trump administration's effort to help first responders. Forget the PPE shortages. Forget the complete absence of a plan on testing...Indeed, forget the death toll. Look at the shiny airplanes." And: "The #flyover went right over the hospital in our neighborhood that's using duct tape on ventilators if you're wondering how thrilled we are about this pointless display." Meanwhile, on Wednesday, with over a million cases and 60,000 deaths, Jared Kushner declared the U.S. response "a great success story." Really, just fuck these sociopaths. Let them eat planes.
Polling Shows Two-Thirds of Americans Back Funding for Postal Service in Next Coronavirus Relief Package
"The public expects members of Congress and the White House to show appreciation for the importance of USPS and to ensure that essential postal services continue."
by
Eoin Higgins, staff writer
3 Comments
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/polling-shows-two-thirds-americans-back-funding-postal-service-next-coronavirus
New polling shows 67% of Americans support prioritizing funding for the U.S. Postal Service in the next coronavirus relief funding bill as the American institution faces an uncertain future with current projections showing the agency running out of money by September.
"The public expects members of Congress and the White House to show appreciation for the importance of USPS and to ensure that essential postal services continue," American Postal Workers Union (APWU) president Mark Dimondstein said in a statement.
The APWU commissioned the survey, which was conducted by YouGov between April 21 and 22. Of the respondents who were not in favor of funding the post office, 18% were unsure and only 15% were opposed.
According to the poll, politicians hostile to the agency could see political repercussions down the road:
If congressional leaders do allow the postal service to go bankrupt, half of Americans would be less likely to support a candidate who blocked funding in these circumstances, according to the poll. The figure includes 31 percent of Republicans, 55 percent of independents, and 65 percent of Democrats.
Standing in the way of relief is President Doanld Trump, who said on April 24 that "the Postal Service is a joke" and has demanded the agency raise prices and impose draconian cuts.
In a report on the state of the agency on Wednesday, Common Dreams described efforts on the part of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other progressive lawmakers to save the service.
"If we can bail out Boeing, we can save the Post Office," Sanders tweeted.
Dimondstein, in his statement celebrating the poll results, emphasized the community role of the Postal Service worker.
"Postal workers provide an absolutely essential service to everyone in the country—no matter who we are or where we live," said Dimondstein. "During this pandemic, postal workers have shown strength and commitment, as they process and deliver needed medicine, supplies, and information to a public who are confined to their homes."
"We Need a Working People's Bailout": Unemployment Claims Hit 30 Million as Many Struggle to Afford Necessities
"The relief and recovery packages passed so far are not enough, and more aid is crucial."
by
Julia Conley, staff writer
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/we-need-working-peoples-bailout-unemployment-claims-hit-30-million-many-struggle
The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday reported that more than 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the U.S., leading to fresh calls from progressives for congressional action on a bailout for working people.
More than 3.8 million people filed for unemployment in the last week as the pandemic-caused recession begins to affect sectors that were previously thought to be far more stable than the food services and hospitality industries, which were forced to shut down last month when the virus began spreading rapidly to every state in the country.
The new numbers mean that one out of five Americans have filed for unemployment in the past six weeks.
"There is no precedent for figures like this in modern American history," reported the Washington Post, adding that the number of jobs created since the 2008 economic meltdown and recession have now been lost.
At the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), director of policy Heidi Shierholz wrote that the CARES Act and subsequent relief packages, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), other small business assistance, and one-time $1,200 payments to many Americans, "are not enough" to protect millions of people from financial ruin.
"The next package should [include] $500 billion in aid to state and local governments, protect workers' paychecks, include worker safety and health protections, and invest in our democracy," wrote Shierholz.
Shierholz suggested that the federal government use one solution to help solve both the crisis of unemployment and that of the spreading pandemic by establishing a large-scale contact-tracing program to detect how the coronavirus is being transmitted and to whom:
We must also make significant investments in testing and contract tracing because, absent a vaccine or effective treatment for the virus, there is no way we will be able to reopen the economy successfully without an effective system of testing and contact tracing in place. It is likely that with 200,000 contact tracers, we could establish an effective tracing program. The federal government hires half a million temporary workers every ten years to conduct the decennial census—we could and should do large-scale hiring of public workers for contact tracing. That is one investment that would help not just in controlling the virus and allowing us to reopen earlier, but would also help the workers who would get those jobs, and their families, and therefore help the broader economy.
Without adjusting the unemployment numbers for seasonal changes as the Labor Department did, Shierholz wrote, nearly 28 million Americans, or one in six workers, applied for unemployment benefits in the last six weeks. Even with these lower numbers, she said, the unemployment rate is still "over five times the worst period of the Great Recession."
EPI also reported Thursday that an estimated 12.7 million Americans have already lost their employer-based health insurance as a result of the pandemic.
On Thursday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) reiterated her demand for Congress to pass her Paycheck Guarantee Act, which would ensure large and small businesses across the country are able to continue paying their workers' salaries of up to $100,000 per year.
"We need a working people's bailout immediately. Nothing less," wrote Michael Whitney, former fundraising manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, on social media.
The new unemployment numbers came on the heels of a survey by the national parent-led organization ParentsTogether Action showing that about half of U.S. families will struggle to pay rent or mortgage payments on May 1 without reducing other necessary expenses, like groceries or medications.
National groups including Indivisible, the Center for Popular Democracy, and Greenpeace have been calling for weeks for a People's Bailout, which would provide substantial direct economic relief for families and help for businesses which prioritizes workers—not shareholder profits and executive pay.
The "hard-to-fathom" unemployment numbers prompted progressive New York congressional candidate Mondaire Jones to demand "direct cash payments every month to Americans until this crisis is over."
"A one-time $1,200 check to working people is a slap in the face," Jones wrote.
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