February 25, 2020
The Trump administration (click here) on Monday finalized a rule that would limit access to Social Security disability benefits for non-English speakers.
“It is important that we have an up-to-date disability program,” Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul said.
“The workforce and work opportunities have changed, and outdated regulations need to be revised to reflect today’s world,” he added....
The USA has a proud heritage of multiculturalism. That means language plays a huge role in preserving that heritage. In the past there were deaths during illnesses such as the spread of HIV and the USA needed to change it's health information to communities to include at the very least Spanish. We are now faced with a new threat with it's first death from Covid-19. Now is not the time to rethink the USA policy on open and free speech which demands the intact status of multiculturalism and information in diversity of languages.
The First Amendment guarantees open and free speech, this policy is ludicrous and bigoted.
Unlike many other countries, (click here) the United States does not have an official national language policy. Educational language policy in the country is largely the result of widely held beliefs and values about immigrants and patriotism. Language policies, implicit or explicit, are used to influence and control social behavior, and the U.S. is no different. Nothing prohibits states from having one or official languages, and a majority of U.S. states have designed English their official language policies. New Mexico and the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico have designated both English and Spanish as co-official languages. The state of Hawaii also has two official languages, English and Hawaiian (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi).
Traditionally, the discourse on language policy in the U.S.has been framed as an either-or choice between English and other languages. In schools, the result was an imposition of English language and Anglo culture on minorities, which goes back to the deculturation of American Indians through the system of English-only boarding schools. During World War 1 and the early 1920s, imposition of English-only policies went along with persecution of German speakers.
For a brief period during the sixties and seventies languages other than English were accommodated in schools. However, since the nineties, the English-only movement has reversed most of those gains, and currently 28 states have English-only policies.
Whenever I see the number of states as 28, I automatically think there is an amendment to the USA Constitution in the works somewhere.
Educational access through English not only ignores the linguistic resources in many immigrant or indigenous communities, but also negatively affects educational equity, achievement, and a sense of identity. Foreign language teaching has generally been restricted to languages useful for defense and intelligence purposes, with foreign language programs delinked from heritage language resources in communities.
In the last decade, we have seen a growth in community schools teaching heritage languages, and in formal dual-language programs. Hopefully this trend will continue and opportunities for developing multilingual competence from an early age will be expanded.
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February 29, 2020
Gov. Jay Inslee (click here) released a statement today on the death of a Washington state individual from the coronavirus (COVID-19).
"It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to their family and friends. We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.
"In partnership with the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Department of Emergency Management and local and community health partners, we are strengthening our preparedness and response efforts. I am committed to keeping Washingtonians healthy, safe and informed."
February 29, 2020
Officials in Washington state (click here) say a person has died of COVID-19, the first such death in the United States.
Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities after confirming three patients were infected by unknown means.
The patients — an older Northern California woman with chronic health conditions, a high school student in Everett, Washington and an employee at a Portland, Oregon-area school — hadn't recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person, authorities said....
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March 1, 2018
In the event of an awkward silence, (click here) it’s generally a good idea to have a stockpile of random trivia handy.
So next time you’re at a party and need a topic of conversation that makes you sound smart, whip out these fun facts about bilingual and multilingual U.S. presidents.
Here are 11 commanders-in-chief who could speak another language (and two honorable mentions).
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Martin Van Buren
Herbert Hoover
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Jimmy Carter
William Jefferson Clinton
George W. Bush
Baradk H. Obama
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Assad will not give up Idlib and Russia will back him. This is also not a basis for global war, either. If I may?
The map to the left is from an article from 2018 describing the ongoing civil war in Syria. (click here) These are not new struggles, so much as reignited and the addition in recent times of Turkey is a real problem because Assad ultimately won't accept a Turkish presence. If one recalls, after Trump pulled USA troops from the region there was a Turkish incursion that rejected the Kurds as a partner to the region. Well, when Turkey basically declared an ethnic war against the Kurds, they in turn joined forces with Assad and other Shi'ites in the Shia Crescent. So, now the tensions between Turkey and Assad is manifesting as Assad moves to retake lost ground.There is one other major problem Turkey is now facing, refugees seeking an opportunity to leave Turkey and Erodogan at the European border. (click here) From the picture it looks like the refugees do not deserve sympathy because they are primarily young men. The last time such a movement occurred Europe was not ready for it and the attacks in Paris were a direct result of extremists entering the country.
There are many sympathetic faces and stories, however, the militants manage to make themselves part of the masses.
28 February 2020
At least 33 Turkish soldiers (click here) have died in a Syrian government attack in opposition-held north-western Syria, in a major escalation of the conflict.
Turkey, which backs the opposition, says it hit 200 government targets in response, "neutralising" 309 soldiers.
Russia, Syria's key military ally, says Turkish troops were attacked in Idlib province by Syrian forces while operating alongside jihadist fighters.
The EU has warned the crisis could escalate further.
"There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted. "It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger."...
Before the conflicts in Syria that have taken many lives and instilled an ongoing civil war the coastal region of Syria is HISTORICAL land for the Alawites. In recent years the Alawites migrated from that coastal area because of war that had begun there. If the Alawites are now in Idlib, Assad will protect them beyond any attempt by Turkey or others, including potentially NATO to stop him.
Additionally, the coastal region of Syria are ancestral lands. Idlib provides a region that could pose a threat to that coastal region. Assad will see any forces other than his own as a threat to the Alawites retaking and resettling that coastal region.
So, basically, this is more of the same ongoing war in Syria with one more player in Turkey. Obviously, NATO is not seeing Turkey's actions as their own so much as an attempt for more land possession by Turkey in an effort to remove Kurds from near Turkey's borders or end any claimes there is a Kurdistan in any way.
"There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted. "It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger."...
Before the conflicts in Syria that have taken many lives and instilled an ongoing civil war the coastal region of Syria is HISTORICAL land for the Alawites. In recent years the Alawites migrated from that coastal area because of war that had begun there. If the Alawites are now in Idlib, Assad will protect them beyond any attempt by Turkey or others, including potentially NATO to stop him.
Additionally, the coastal region of Syria are ancestral lands. Idlib provides a region that could pose a threat to that coastal region. Assad will see any forces other than his own as a threat to the Alawites retaking and resettling that coastal region.
So, basically, this is more of the same ongoing war in Syria with one more player in Turkey. Obviously, NATO is not seeing Turkey's actions as their own so much as an attempt for more land possession by Turkey in an effort to remove Kurds from near Turkey's borders or end any claimes there is a Kurdistan in any way.
Trump vs the CDC
Community transmission is exactly what exists in China. China used flying drones to warn people to go back into their homes.
February 29, 2020
By Gerry Shih, James McAuley, Miriam Berger and Katie Mettler
More coronavirus infections (click here) were reported from South Korea to France to Qatar on Saturday after health officials in Washington state, Oregon and California on Friday reported a worrying development: new cases among people who have not traveled recently to countries hit hard by the outbreak or come into contact with anyone known to have the disease, which public health officials refer to as community transmission.
The four new cases Friday bring the total number of covid-19 cases detected through the U.S. public health system to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington state announced late Friday that a high school student in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, tested positive for the deadly virus and was in home isolation in a suspected community transmission case. State health officials also said a woman in her 50s in King County tested positive after traveling to Daegu, South Korea, the site of a major coronavirus outbreak. She, too, is in home isolation....
How the heck did a high school kid get the darn stuff? There is nothing in Snohomish County. This lousy virus better not be on wind currents either, but, Washington State is east of South Korea and Japan.
It is possibly the King County resident that traveled to South Korea. King County is directly south of Snohomish County in Washington State, but, where did the transmission occur?
Washington County isn't even close to either Snohomish or King Counties.
February 17, 2020
By Hannah Yasharoff, Jayme Deerwater, and David Oliver
...One plane carrying American passengers (click here) touched down at Travis Air Force Base in northern California just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday local time. A second flight arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas around 2½ hours later, early Monday.
The California flight had 177 people on it, seven of whom tested positive for coronavirus, Walters said. An additional three people were isolated during the flight for fever. Upon arrival, 171 stayed in Travis while six traveled to Omaha....
The FDA is allowing other labs to carry out the complex testing for Covid-19 in anticipation of a widening exposure to the general public. It is officially called a public health emergency.
2/29/2020
By Sarah Owermohle
The Food and Drug Administration (click here) on Saturday morning laid out how academic labs can use in-house coronavirus tests in hopes of expanding the health care system’s ability to detect the virus.
The guidance would let certain labs develop FDA-authorized tests without relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public health emergency,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement....
This is current as of yesterday, communities need to mobilize for cases of Covid-19. One thing is sure to result as more hospital labs use techniques to diagnosis the virus, there will be some false positives and false negatives. I think we have already seen false negatives with persons originally thought to be negative. That is due to viral load (click here for similar procedure for HIV) most probably. Where a person's immune system can inhibit the virus to grow there will be false negatives. Statistically, these errors will occur. Every person is different which leads to different outcomes. There is a lot no one knows about this virus, including any latent stage. A latent stage would indicate a "carrier" rather than a symptomatic person. I am quite confident the CDC and WHO are looking at everything.
This virus is a puzzle and isn't neatly fitting into any stereotypes of other coronavirus.
...This report summarizes (click here) the aggressive measures (2,3) that CDC, state and local health departments, multiple other federal agencies, and other partners are implementing to slow and try to contain transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. These measures require the identification of cases and contacts of persons with COVID-19 in the United States and the recommended assessment, monitoring, and care of travelers arriving from areas with substantial COVID-19 transmission. Although these measures might not prevent widespread transmission of the virus in the United States, they are being implemented to
February 29, 2020
By Gerry Shih, James McAuley, Miriam Berger and Katie Mettler
More coronavirus infections (click here) were reported from South Korea to France to Qatar on Saturday after health officials in Washington state, Oregon and California on Friday reported a worrying development: new cases among people who have not traveled recently to countries hit hard by the outbreak or come into contact with anyone known to have the disease, which public health officials refer to as community transmission.
The four new cases Friday bring the total number of covid-19 cases detected through the U.S. public health system to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washington state announced late Friday that a high school student in Snohomish County, just north of Seattle, tested positive for the deadly virus and was in home isolation in a suspected community transmission case. State health officials also said a woman in her 50s in King County tested positive after traveling to Daegu, South Korea, the site of a major coronavirus outbreak. She, too, is in home isolation....
How the heck did a high school kid get the darn stuff? There is nothing in Snohomish County. This lousy virus better not be on wind currents either, but, Washington State is east of South Korea and Japan.It is possibly the King County resident that traveled to South Korea. King County is directly south of Snohomish County in Washington State, but, where did the transmission occur?
Washington County isn't even close to either Snohomish or King Counties.
February 17, 2020
By Hannah Yasharoff, Jayme Deerwater, and David Oliver
...One plane carrying American passengers (click here) touched down at Travis Air Force Base in northern California just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday local time. A second flight arrived at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas around 2½ hours later, early Monday.
The California flight had 177 people on it, seven of whom tested positive for coronavirus, Walters said. An additional three people were isolated during the flight for fever. Upon arrival, 171 stayed in Travis while six traveled to Omaha....
The FDA is allowing other labs to carry out the complex testing for Covid-19 in anticipation of a widening exposure to the general public. It is officially called a public health emergency.
2/29/2020
By Sarah Owermohle
The Food and Drug Administration (click here) on Saturday morning laid out how academic labs can use in-house coronavirus tests in hopes of expanding the health care system’s ability to detect the virus.
The guidance would let certain labs develop FDA-authorized tests without relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public health emergency,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement....
This is current as of yesterday, communities need to mobilize for cases of Covid-19. One thing is sure to result as more hospital labs use techniques to diagnosis the virus, there will be some false positives and false negatives. I think we have already seen false negatives with persons originally thought to be negative. That is due to viral load (click here for similar procedure for HIV) most probably. Where a person's immune system can inhibit the virus to grow there will be false negatives. Statistically, these errors will occur. Every person is different which leads to different outcomes. There is a lot no one knows about this virus, including any latent stage. A latent stage would indicate a "carrier" rather than a symptomatic person. I am quite confident the CDC and WHO are looking at everything.
This virus is a puzzle and isn't neatly fitting into any stereotypes of other coronavirus.
...This report summarizes (click here) the aggressive measures (2,3) that CDC, state and local health departments, multiple other federal agencies, and other partners are implementing to slow and try to contain transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. These measures require the identification of cases and contacts of persons with COVID-19 in the United States and the recommended assessment, monitoring, and care of travelers arriving from areas with substantial COVID-19 transmission. Although these measures might not prevent widespread transmission of the virus in the United States, they are being implemented to
1) slow the spread of illness;
2) provide time to better prepare state and local health departments, health care systems, businesses, educational organizations, and the general public in the event that widespread transmission occurs; and
3) better characterize COVID-19 to guide public health recommendations and the development and deployment of medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. U.S. public health authorities are monitoring the situation closely, and CDC is coordinating efforts with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global partners. Interim guidance is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html. As more is learned about this novel virus and this outbreak, CDC will rapidly incorporate new knowledge into guidance for action by CDC, state and local health departments, health care providers, and communities.
Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 appears to occur mainly by respiratory transmission. How easily the virus is transmitted between persons is currently unclear. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath (4). Based on the incubation period of illness for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronaviruses, as well as observational data from reports of travel-related COVID-19, CDC estimates that symptoms of COVID-19 occur within 2–14 days after exposure. Preliminary data suggest that older adults and persons with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems might be at greater risk for severe illness from this virus (5)....
It is what it is.
Tomoyuki Sugano, (click here) starting pitcher of Yomiuri Giants, throws the first pitch during a behind-closed-doors opening game against the Tokyo Yaklut Swallows at Tokyo Dome baseball stadium in Tokyo on Feb. 29, 2020.
2) provide time to better prepare state and local health departments, health care systems, businesses, educational organizations, and the general public in the event that widespread transmission occurs; and
3) better characterize COVID-19 to guide public health recommendations and the development and deployment of medical countermeasures, including diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. U.S. public health authorities are monitoring the situation closely, and CDC is coordinating efforts with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global partners. Interim guidance is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html. As more is learned about this novel virus and this outbreak, CDC will rapidly incorporate new knowledge into guidance for action by CDC, state and local health departments, health care providers, and communities.
Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 appears to occur mainly by respiratory transmission. How easily the virus is transmitted between persons is currently unclear. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath (4). Based on the incubation period of illness for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronaviruses, as well as observational data from reports of travel-related COVID-19, CDC estimates that symptoms of COVID-19 occur within 2–14 days after exposure. Preliminary data suggest that older adults and persons with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems might be at greater risk for severe illness from this virus (5)....
Tomoyuki Sugano, (click here) starting pitcher of Yomiuri Giants, throws the first pitch during a behind-closed-doors opening game against the Tokyo Yaklut Swallows at Tokyo Dome baseball stadium in Tokyo on Feb. 29, 2020.
February 29, 2020
By David Welna
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad attends the Intra-Afghan Dialogue talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, in July.
The U.S. and the Taliban have struck a deal that paves the way for eventual peace in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the militant Islamist group, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed the potentially historic agreement Saturday in Doha, Qatar, where the two sides spent months hashing out its details.
Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. commits to withdrawing all of its military forces and supporting civilian personnel, as well as those of its allies, within 14 months. The drawdown process will begin with the U.S. reducing its troop levels to 8,600 in the first 135 days and pulling its forces from five bases.
The rest of its forces, according to the agreement, will leave "within the remaining nine and a half months."
The Afghan government also will release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners as a gesture of goodwill, in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security forces held by the Taliban....
Friday, February 28, 2020
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Just another day in paradise compliments of Republican extremism.
February 27, 2020
By Adrianna Rodriguez and Gina Barton
The Journal Sentinel, (click here) citing a police source, said the shooter was armed with two handguns, including one with a silencer. The make and model of the weapons remained unknown Thursday.
Silencers or suppressors are legal in 42 states, including Wisconsin, but must be registered under the National Firearms Act. More than 29,000 are registered in the Badger State, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Milwaukee - The city of Milwaukee (click here) was in mourning a day after a brewery employee fatally shot five people at the city's Molson Coors campus before killing himself Wednesday in one of the worst mass shootings in Wisconsin history.
The alleged gunman was identified as Anthony N. Ferrill, 51, who had worked as an electrician for more than 20 years, according to a law enforcement source who spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and online employment records.
Mayor Tom Barrett called it the "saddest day" in the 165-year history of the iconic "Miller Valley," where a massive red Miller sign towers over a sprawling complex that includes one of the nation's largest breweries and packaging and distribution centers.
Hours before the rampage, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called on lawmakers to take up legislation aimed at keeping guns away from people who are dangerous.
In response, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican, made it clear that Wisconsin's gun laws would not change under a Republican-controlled Legislature....
Jesus Valle Jr., 33 of Milwaukee
Gennady Levshetz, 61, of Mequon
Trevor Wetselaar, 33, of Milwaukee
Dana Walk, 57, of Delafield
Dale Hudson, 50, of Waukesha
Moscow Mitch knows mass shootings are such a small number in the statistics there is just no way reason for legislation. Some lives are just expendable for the sake of the cronies. Nothing else really makes the news in the way mass shootings do, so that is further reason to let the issue disappear.
UC Davis Health (click here)
February 27, 2020
By Matthew Daly
Washington, DC - Frustrated Democrats (click here) again lambasted Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell Thursday as they marked a year of Senate inaction since the House passed landmark gun control legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged that Democrats have been here before — complaining about McConnell's “legislative graveyard" — but she said Democrats were energized to “accelerate a drumbeat” on calls for McConnell to allow a Senate vote on a House-passed bill to expand background checks for gun purchases.
McConnell's name came up repeatedly at a raucous House ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the House bill. Speaking a day after a gunman killed five people at a Milwaukee brewery, Pelosi said McConnell was giving new meaning to his self-described nickname as the “grim reaper” of Democratic legislation.
“It's very sad that the Grim Reaper has decided that more people will die because he is the Grim Reaper,'' Pelosi said. ”One hundred people a day die from gun violence. Not all of them could be saved by this legislation, but many could.''...
Ya gotta die of something. 2015 through 2019 saw a marked increase of gun violence deaths. It has yet to stop or even level off.
December 13, 2018
By Niall McCarthy
According to data (click here) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40,000 people died in shootings across the United States in 2017, the highest number in 20 years. The data takes into account deaths classified as unintentional, suicide, homicide, undetermined and legal intervention/operations of war.
That trend was driven by a steady rise in suicides involving firearms The U.S. now has 12 deaths per 100,000 people due to guns compared to 0.2 per 100,000 people in Japan, 0.3 in the UK and 0.9 in Germany....
The "Stand Your Ground" laws which include the "Castle Doctrine" were first passed in 2005 in Florida. In the chart above, the number of Americans that died of gun violence began to rise in 2005. What is slightly more interesting is the FACT the Assault Weapons Ban was sun-downed by a Republican president in 2004.
I think that is really interesting. The Assault Weapons Ban is sun-downed by a Republican in 2004 and by 2005 ALEC was legislating loose gun laws in 2005. That took no time at all to increase the firearms sales, too. The graph below is from the AFT.
The bar graph (click here) depicts the number of NFA firearms processed from applications captured in the NFRTR by Fiscal Year from FY 2005 to FY 2018. The number of NFA firearms the NFA Division processed were: 147,484 NFA firearms in FY 2005; 296,127 NFA firearms in FY 2006; 563,127 NFA firearms in FY 2007; 981,303 NFA firearms in FY 2008; 834,328 NFA firearms in FY 2009; 828,462 NFA firearms in FY 2010; 992,975 NFA firearms in FY 2011; 1,112,041 NFA firearms in FY 2012; 1,152,163 NFA firearms in FY 2013; 1,383,677 NFA firearms in FY 2014; 1,426,211 NFA Firearms in FY 2015; 2,538,397 NFA Firearms in FY 2016; 1,607,952 NFA Firearms in FY 2017; and 1,422,353 NFA Firearms in FY 2018.
Ammoland has it broken down by type of gun sold. It all adds up to one thing, the number of guns sold was dependent on changing the gun laws in the USA as of 2004.
July 3, 2019
GREENVILLE, SC, USA & HALIFAX, NS, CANADA - Small Arms Analytics (click here) & Forecasting (SAAF) estimates June 2019 firearms sales at 973,500 units, a year-over-year increase of 3.8% from June 2018.
By Adrianna Rodriguez and Gina Barton
The Journal Sentinel, (click here) citing a police source, said the shooter was armed with two handguns, including one with a silencer. The make and model of the weapons remained unknown Thursday.
Silencers or suppressors are legal in 42 states, including Wisconsin, but must be registered under the National Firearms Act. More than 29,000 are registered in the Badger State, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Milwaukee - The city of Milwaukee (click here) was in mourning a day after a brewery employee fatally shot five people at the city's Molson Coors campus before killing himself Wednesday in one of the worst mass shootings in Wisconsin history.
The alleged gunman was identified as Anthony N. Ferrill, 51, who had worked as an electrician for more than 20 years, according to a law enforcement source who spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and online employment records.
Mayor Tom Barrett called it the "saddest day" in the 165-year history of the iconic "Miller Valley," where a massive red Miller sign towers over a sprawling complex that includes one of the nation's largest breweries and packaging and distribution centers.
Hours before the rampage, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called on lawmakers to take up legislation aimed at keeping guns away from people who are dangerous.
In response, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican, made it clear that Wisconsin's gun laws would not change under a Republican-controlled Legislature....
Jesus Valle Jr., 33 of Milwaukee
Gennady Levshetz, 61, of Mequon
Trevor Wetselaar, 33, of Milwaukee
Dana Walk, 57, of Delafield
Dale Hudson, 50, of Waukesha
Moscow Mitch knows mass shootings are such a small number in the statistics there is just no way reason for legislation. Some lives are just expendable for the sake of the cronies. Nothing else really makes the news in the way mass shootings do, so that is further reason to let the issue disappear.UC Davis Health (click here)
February 27, 2020
By Matthew Daly
Washington, DC - Frustrated Democrats (click here) again lambasted Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell Thursday as they marked a year of Senate inaction since the House passed landmark gun control legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged that Democrats have been here before — complaining about McConnell's “legislative graveyard" — but she said Democrats were energized to “accelerate a drumbeat” on calls for McConnell to allow a Senate vote on a House-passed bill to expand background checks for gun purchases.
McConnell's name came up repeatedly at a raucous House ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the House bill. Speaking a day after a gunman killed five people at a Milwaukee brewery, Pelosi said McConnell was giving new meaning to his self-described nickname as the “grim reaper” of Democratic legislation.
“It's very sad that the Grim Reaper has decided that more people will die because he is the Grim Reaper,'' Pelosi said. ”One hundred people a day die from gun violence. Not all of them could be saved by this legislation, but many could.''...
Ya gotta die of something. 2015 through 2019 saw a marked increase of gun violence deaths. It has yet to stop or even level off.
By Niall McCarthy
According to data (click here) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40,000 people died in shootings across the United States in 2017, the highest number in 20 years. The data takes into account deaths classified as unintentional, suicide, homicide, undetermined and legal intervention/operations of war.
That trend was driven by a steady rise in suicides involving firearms The U.S. now has 12 deaths per 100,000 people due to guns compared to 0.2 per 100,000 people in Japan, 0.3 in the UK and 0.9 in Germany....
The "Stand Your Ground" laws which include the "Castle Doctrine" were first passed in 2005 in Florida. In the chart above, the number of Americans that died of gun violence began to rise in 2005. What is slightly more interesting is the FACT the Assault Weapons Ban was sun-downed by a Republican president in 2004.
I think that is really interesting. The Assault Weapons Ban is sun-downed by a Republican in 2004 and by 2005 ALEC was legislating loose gun laws in 2005. That took no time at all to increase the firearms sales, too. The graph below is from the AFT.
The bar graph (click here) depicts the number of NFA firearms processed from applications captured in the NFRTR by Fiscal Year from FY 2005 to FY 2018. The number of NFA firearms the NFA Division processed were: 147,484 NFA firearms in FY 2005; 296,127 NFA firearms in FY 2006; 563,127 NFA firearms in FY 2007; 981,303 NFA firearms in FY 2008; 834,328 NFA firearms in FY 2009; 828,462 NFA firearms in FY 2010; 992,975 NFA firearms in FY 2011; 1,112,041 NFA firearms in FY 2012; 1,152,163 NFA firearms in FY 2013; 1,383,677 NFA firearms in FY 2014; 1,426,211 NFA Firearms in FY 2015; 2,538,397 NFA Firearms in FY 2016; 1,607,952 NFA Firearms in FY 2017; and 1,422,353 NFA Firearms in FY 2018. Ammoland has it broken down by type of gun sold. It all adds up to one thing, the number of guns sold was dependent on changing the gun laws in the USA as of 2004.
GREENVILLE, SC, USA & HALIFAX, NS, CANADA - Small Arms Analytics (click here) & Forecasting (SAAF) estimates June 2019 firearms sales at 973,500 units, a year-over-year increase of 3.8% from June 2018.
Likely single handgun sales (544,807) increased year-over-year by 4.0% and single long-gun sales (322,033) decreased year-over-year by 0.1%. All other likely firearms sales (106,660) increased year-over-year by 16.9%. This includes so-called “multiple” sales where the allocation between handguns and long-guns cannot be determined from the data record....
The Sandy Hook shootings occurred in 2012 (click here). There were 14 mass shootings in 2016, including the Pulse night club shooting. The gun industry goes into overtime after high profile killings of Americans through gun violence.
The moral role of the federal government is to end this level of danger in the American society. I think the Republicans have had 16 years to prove having more guns on the street reduces American deaths. They can't. The fact of the matter is the less guns are regulated, the more American deaths occur. That is a fact and there are enormous amount of data to prove it.
Republicans have lead the USA in many majorities and presidents since 2000 and the USA is not a better country for the obstructionist agenda of Moscow Mitch. Who does he think he is helping besides his own interests?
The Sandy Hook shootings occurred in 2012 (click here). There were 14 mass shootings in 2016, including the Pulse night club shooting. The gun industry goes into overtime after high profile killings of Americans through gun violence.
The moral role of the federal government is to end this level of danger in the American society. I think the Republicans have had 16 years to prove having more guns on the street reduces American deaths. They can't. The fact of the matter is the less guns are regulated, the more American deaths occur. That is a fact and there are enormous amount of data to prove it.
Republicans have lead the USA in many majorities and presidents since 2000 and the USA is not a better country for the obstructionist agenda of Moscow Mitch. Who does he think he is helping besides his own interests?
Why am I not surprised?
Donald Trump's middle name is COMPROMISED. He is compromised by Russia, his lousy attitude about Americans and his chronic and constant egotistic lies.
This is a COMPROMISE TO USA NATIONAL SECURITY!
USA national security is not guns and war only, it is the relationships we build with other countries that protect the people of this country. I am not at all surprised this news is coming from still yet another Whistleblower, either.
Donald "Compromised" Trump should be letting people know all along the way that the country may be more susceptible to Covid-17 than originally thought. Did he come to the country so the people can prepare? No, he kept silent because he might actually have to take ownership of a wrongful process in preventing disease from reaching USA shores.
THE ONLY THING HE THINKS ABOUT IS POLITICS AND HOW HE NEEDS TO WIN THE NEXT ELECTION. NO ONE OR ANYTHING IS IMPORTANT OTHER THAN HIS OWN INTERESTS.
If that isn't enough of Trump's KOMPROMAT, Turkey (click here) had a surprise attack from Russia today. Syrian children are dying of the cold and what does Putin do, attacks the very people he should be helping. Since when has Turkey been a problem to Russia? The entire past year Erdogan (click here) has done nothing but kiss Putin's behind and without the assistance of Trump.
I want to know from the Erdogan are the S-400 missiles preventing the invasion of Russia?
The Trump administration is a complete failure and Senate Republicans endorse the failure he continues to be.
February 27, 2020
By Lena H. Sun and Yasmeen Abutaleb
Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (click here) sent more than a dozen workers to receive the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, without proper training for infection control or appropriate protective gear, according to a whistleblower complaint.
The workers did not show symptoms of infection and were not tested for the virus, according to lawyers for the whistleblower, a senior HHS official based in Washington who oversees workers at the Administration for Children and Families, a unit within HHS.
The whistleblower is seeking federal protection, alleging she was unfairly and improperly reassigned after raising concerns about the safety of these workers to HHS officials, including those within the office of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She was told Feb. 19 that if she does not accept the new position in 15 days, which is March 5, she would be terminated....
This is a COMPROMISE TO USA NATIONAL SECURITY!
USA national security is not guns and war only, it is the relationships we build with other countries that protect the people of this country. I am not at all surprised this news is coming from still yet another Whistleblower, either.
Donald "Compromised" Trump should be letting people know all along the way that the country may be more susceptible to Covid-17 than originally thought. Did he come to the country so the people can prepare? No, he kept silent because he might actually have to take ownership of a wrongful process in preventing disease from reaching USA shores.
THE ONLY THING HE THINKS ABOUT IS POLITICS AND HOW HE NEEDS TO WIN THE NEXT ELECTION. NO ONE OR ANYTHING IS IMPORTANT OTHER THAN HIS OWN INTERESTS.
If that isn't enough of Trump's KOMPROMAT, Turkey (click here) had a surprise attack from Russia today. Syrian children are dying of the cold and what does Putin do, attacks the very people he should be helping. Since when has Turkey been a problem to Russia? The entire past year Erdogan (click here) has done nothing but kiss Putin's behind and without the assistance of Trump.
I want to know from the Erdogan are the S-400 missiles preventing the invasion of Russia?
The Trump administration is a complete failure and Senate Republicans endorse the failure he continues to be.
February 27, 2020
By Lena H. Sun and Yasmeen Abutaleb
Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (click here) sent more than a dozen workers to receive the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, without proper training for infection control or appropriate protective gear, according to a whistleblower complaint.
The workers did not show symptoms of infection and were not tested for the virus, according to lawyers for the whistleblower, a senior HHS official based in Washington who oversees workers at the Administration for Children and Families, a unit within HHS.
The whistleblower is seeking federal protection, alleging she was unfairly and improperly reassigned after raising concerns about the safety of these workers to HHS officials, including those within the office of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She was told Feb. 19 that if she does not accept the new position in 15 days, which is March 5, she would be terminated....
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
February 16, 2020
By Savannah Behrmann and Kristine Phillips
More than 2,000 ex-employees (click here) of the Department of Justice have signed a letter calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign, writing that his handling of the Roger Stone case "openly and repeatedly flouted" the principle of equal justice under the rule of law.
The letter, published Sunday, comes after a contentious week for the Justice Department, which already faces allegations of succumbing to political pressure from President Donald Trump.
"Although there are times when political leadership appropriately weighs in on individual prosecutions, it is unheard of for the Department’s top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the President, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case," the letter reads....
They have good reason to ask for Barr's resignation other than just the Roger Stone case. The problem is who will he be replaced with and how do Americans know they won't be effected by a DOJ supervised by Putin?
And don't tell me there is nothing supporting such concerns:
October 4, 2019
By Adam Taylor
President Trump (click here) has spoken privately with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at least 16 times since he entered office in 2017. These conversations have long been the subject of scrutiny and speculation, given the Kremlin’s interference in the election that brought Trump to power.
Now, with Trump’s private interactions the subject of a broader scandal after the release of a partial rough transcript of his July 25 conversation with Ukraine’s president, Trump’s conversations with Putin are being viewed with renewed interest.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) has said that Congress is particularly interested in finding the records of Trump’s calls with Putin, especially if they had been stored in an unorthodox way. The Kremlin initially said it did not want the conversations made public, though Putin said Wednesday that he would not be against it....
Well, the Secretary of the Treasury simply can't print money fast enough.
February 10, 2020
By Leah Nylan
The Trump administration (click here) is asking for 71 percent more money in congressional appropriations for the Justice Department’s antitrust division in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 — an increase that would allow the agency to hire 87 additional staffers.
The increase — the biggest increase sought for antitrust in recent memory, according to DOJ officials — is another indicator that the agency is serious about its pending investigations into tech giants like Google and Facebook...
February 25, 2020
Last month, (click here) the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released updated Vertical Merger Guidelines in draft form. These guidelines provide a useful resource for aerospace and defense contractors involved in M&A transactions. Vertical competition issues frequently arise in this industry given the nature of the supply base and contracting and supply relationships between companies operating at different levels of the supply chain.
This is the first time the antitrust agencies have released updated guidelines for analyzing vertical mergers since 1984. Although the agencies have updated the Horizontal Merger Guidelines several times since then (most recently in 2010), they have not provided similar updated guidance to businesses regarding vertical merger enforcement until now. The new guidelines summarize the practices, standards, and theories the agencies have used in evaluating vertical mergers for a number of years. Although the guidelines do not signal any shifts in current agency practice, they do provide the business community greater transparency about how the agencies analyze vertical mergers. This is helpful for the aerospace and defense industry, which is particularly susceptible to vertical competition issues given the heavy reliance on contracting out important elements at different levels of the supply chain....
Ever wanted to hold power over a sector of the USA economy to dictate what happens and what doesn't happen? Any form of anti-trust is a huge issue and a lot of power over any sector of the USA economy.
Aerospace is a huge industry and directly is involved with some of the most sensitive defense hardware of the United States of America.
If the USA is going to be hobbled in technology and advancement, this is the way to do it. I would seriously like to know why this is an issue and DOES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION KNOW WHERE ANTITRUST WILL LEAD? THIS IS THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE USA, THE TRUMP-BARR-PUTIN CABAL NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT THE FINAL OUTCOME IS GOING TO BE.
I would think the Secretary of Defense is already aware of the final outcome, right?
Who's ambition is this, Barr or Espers? The DOD is nowhere in this draft.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (click here)
DRAFT VERTICAL MERGER GUIDELINES
RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON JANUARY 10, 2020
By Savannah Behrmann and Kristine Phillips
More than 2,000 ex-employees (click here) of the Department of Justice have signed a letter calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign, writing that his handling of the Roger Stone case "openly and repeatedly flouted" the principle of equal justice under the rule of law.
The letter, published Sunday, comes after a contentious week for the Justice Department, which already faces allegations of succumbing to political pressure from President Donald Trump.
"Although there are times when political leadership appropriately weighs in on individual prosecutions, it is unheard of for the Department’s top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the President, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case," the letter reads....
They have good reason to ask for Barr's resignation other than just the Roger Stone case. The problem is who will he be replaced with and how do Americans know they won't be effected by a DOJ supervised by Putin?
And don't tell me there is nothing supporting such concerns:
October 4, 2019
By Adam Taylor
President Trump (click here) has spoken privately with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at least 16 times since he entered office in 2017. These conversations have long been the subject of scrutiny and speculation, given the Kremlin’s interference in the election that brought Trump to power.
Now, with Trump’s private interactions the subject of a broader scandal after the release of a partial rough transcript of his July 25 conversation with Ukraine’s president, Trump’s conversations with Putin are being viewed with renewed interest.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) has said that Congress is particularly interested in finding the records of Trump’s calls with Putin, especially if they had been stored in an unorthodox way. The Kremlin initially said it did not want the conversations made public, though Putin said Wednesday that he would not be against it....
Well, the Secretary of the Treasury simply can't print money fast enough.
February 10, 2020
By Leah Nylan
The Trump administration (click here) is asking for 71 percent more money in congressional appropriations for the Justice Department’s antitrust division in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 — an increase that would allow the agency to hire 87 additional staffers.
The increase — the biggest increase sought for antitrust in recent memory, according to DOJ officials — is another indicator that the agency is serious about its pending investigations into tech giants like Google and Facebook...
Last month, (click here) the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released updated Vertical Merger Guidelines in draft form. These guidelines provide a useful resource for aerospace and defense contractors involved in M&A transactions. Vertical competition issues frequently arise in this industry given the nature of the supply base and contracting and supply relationships between companies operating at different levels of the supply chain.
This is the first time the antitrust agencies have released updated guidelines for analyzing vertical mergers since 1984. Although the agencies have updated the Horizontal Merger Guidelines several times since then (most recently in 2010), they have not provided similar updated guidance to businesses regarding vertical merger enforcement until now. The new guidelines summarize the practices, standards, and theories the agencies have used in evaluating vertical mergers for a number of years. Although the guidelines do not signal any shifts in current agency practice, they do provide the business community greater transparency about how the agencies analyze vertical mergers. This is helpful for the aerospace and defense industry, which is particularly susceptible to vertical competition issues given the heavy reliance on contracting out important elements at different levels of the supply chain....
Ever wanted to hold power over a sector of the USA economy to dictate what happens and what doesn't happen? Any form of anti-trust is a huge issue and a lot of power over any sector of the USA economy.
Aerospace is a huge industry and directly is involved with some of the most sensitive defense hardware of the United States of America.
If the USA is going to be hobbled in technology and advancement, this is the way to do it. I would seriously like to know why this is an issue and DOES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION KNOW WHERE ANTITRUST WILL LEAD? THIS IS THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE USA, THE TRUMP-BARR-PUTIN CABAL NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT THE FINAL OUTCOME IS GOING TO BE.
I would think the Secretary of Defense is already aware of the final outcome, right?
Who's ambition is this, Barr or Espers? The DOD is nowhere in this draft.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (click here)
DRAFT VERTICAL MERGER GUIDELINES
RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON JANUARY 10, 2020
Trump, Barr Imposition Sets D.C. Federal Prosecutors On Edge | Rachel Ma...(click here for Rachel Maddow Show - thank you)
February 26, 2020
By Bob Van Voris
The Trump administration (click here) can block states from receiving Justice Department grants if they fail to help with federal immigration enforcement, a U.S. appeals court in Manhattan ruled, in a significant win that sets up a possible Supreme Court showdown.
Six states including New York and New Jersey sued in 2018 claiming the U.S. was trying to coerce states and cities into enforcing the administration’s immigration policies by illegally threatening to withhold federal criminal justice grants. A federal judge ordered the government to release funds withheld under the policy and blocked it from imposing immigration-related restrictions on the funds, known as Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants....
It is right and best to be concerned about the Barr DOJ simply because it jumps to awareness and action with every word stated by Trump. There must be a real concern that the Barr DOJ is actually influenced by Russia through Trump and his relationship with Putin's Russia. Basically, Putin is pulling Barr's chain and in return Barr is weakening the Rule of Law.
As far as these grants are concerned, it is pure coercion and violates States' Rights. New York and New Jersey are strongly Democratic states as well. It is all political.
The Barr DOJ is leaning more and more on the "Granston Memorandum" (click here). Basically, the Barr DOJ is writing it's own rules without the benefit of litigation.
First, Trump can't be prosecuted and now there are memos emerging that take the Rule of Law to task. What is the legal definition of unfair?
February 1, 2018
By David M. Glaser
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) (click here) has issued another memo likely to help healthcare providers avoid potentially unfair government investigations.
The Jan. 25 memo from Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand to the heads of all civil litigation components and U.S. Attorney’s offices instructs the government lawyers to refrain from using government “guidance documents” when bringing a case. (When this happens, it is often referred to as “affirmative civil enforcement,” or ACE)....
......................................................................
16 May 2019
By Jennifer Z. Belveal, Thomas F. Carlucci, Melissa B. Coffey, Pamela L. Johnston, Jessica E. Joseph, Michael P. Matthews, Lisa M. Noller, Lori A. Rubin and Michael J. Tuteur
In a memo leaked last year (the Granston Memo), (click here) the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) instructed its prosecutors to more seriously consider dismissing meritless whistleblower False Claims Act (FCA) cases when it is in the government’s best interest to do so. See “Leaked DOJ Memo Indicates New Government Focus On Dismissing Meritless False Claims Act Cases,” Health Care Law Today (January 29, 2018). A Pennsylvania federal judge recently provided important additional guidance on the limitations to DOJ’s dismissal authority, specifically rejecting the notion that the government’s right to dismiss is “unfettered.” United States v. EMD Serono, Inc., Civil Action No. 16-5594, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57150 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 3, 2019).
Although DOJ has incorporated the Granston Memo’s policy into its practices in the year since its release, there has not been a spree of dismissals. This may be due in part to the restrictions that many courts — now including the Eastern District of Pennsylvania — have imposed on the government’s discretion to dismiss cases....
February 26, 2020
By Piliero Mazza, PLLC
By Bob Van Voris
The Trump administration (click here) can block states from receiving Justice Department grants if they fail to help with federal immigration enforcement, a U.S. appeals court in Manhattan ruled, in a significant win that sets up a possible Supreme Court showdown.
Six states including New York and New Jersey sued in 2018 claiming the U.S. was trying to coerce states and cities into enforcing the administration’s immigration policies by illegally threatening to withhold federal criminal justice grants. A federal judge ordered the government to release funds withheld under the policy and blocked it from imposing immigration-related restrictions on the funds, known as Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants....
It is right and best to be concerned about the Barr DOJ simply because it jumps to awareness and action with every word stated by Trump. There must be a real concern that the Barr DOJ is actually influenced by Russia through Trump and his relationship with Putin's Russia. Basically, Putin is pulling Barr's chain and in return Barr is weakening the Rule of Law.
As far as these grants are concerned, it is pure coercion and violates States' Rights. New York and New Jersey are strongly Democratic states as well. It is all political.
First, Trump can't be prosecuted and now there are memos emerging that take the Rule of Law to task. What is the legal definition of unfair?
February 1, 2018
By David M. Glaser
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) (click here) has issued another memo likely to help healthcare providers avoid potentially unfair government investigations.
The Jan. 25 memo from Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand to the heads of all civil litigation components and U.S. Attorney’s offices instructs the government lawyers to refrain from using government “guidance documents” when bringing a case. (When this happens, it is often referred to as “affirmative civil enforcement,” or ACE)....
......................................................................
16 May 2019
By Jennifer Z. Belveal, Thomas F. Carlucci, Melissa B. Coffey, Pamela L. Johnston, Jessica E. Joseph, Michael P. Matthews, Lisa M. Noller, Lori A. Rubin and Michael J. Tuteur
In a memo leaked last year (the Granston Memo), (click here) the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) instructed its prosecutors to more seriously consider dismissing meritless whistleblower False Claims Act (FCA) cases when it is in the government’s best interest to do so. See “Leaked DOJ Memo Indicates New Government Focus On Dismissing Meritless False Claims Act Cases,” Health Care Law Today (January 29, 2018). A Pennsylvania federal judge recently provided important additional guidance on the limitations to DOJ’s dismissal authority, specifically rejecting the notion that the government’s right to dismiss is “unfettered.” United States v. EMD Serono, Inc., Civil Action No. 16-5594, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57150 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 3, 2019).
Although DOJ has incorporated the Granston Memo’s policy into its practices in the year since its release, there has not been a spree of dismissals. This may be due in part to the restrictions that many courts — now including the Eastern District of Pennsylvania — have imposed on the government’s discretion to dismiss cases....
February 26, 2020
By Piliero Mazza, PLLC
In 2019, we saw an upward trend in motions to dismiss filed by DOJ in qui tam actions in which the government failed to intervene. The government’s decision to file a motion to dismiss in a qui tam action is informed by the Granston Memorandum, which was issued in 2018. The Granston Memorandum provides a number of factors for the government to consider when deciding whether to seek strategic dismissal of a qui tam action, including curbing meritless FCA litigation, preserving government resources, and preventing interference with agency policies and programs. Prior to the Granston Memorandum, the DOJ rarely sought dismissal of qui tam cases. In fact, in the thirty years preceding the Granston Memorandum, the DOJ had sought dismissal of only 45 cases; the DOJ has dismissed approximately that same number of cases in the two years since the Granston Memorandum was issued. Citing the government’s role as a “gatekeeper” and its goal of “protect[ing] the integrity of the False Claims Act,” AG Cox expressed DOJ’s intent to “judicious[ly]” and “more consistent[ly]” rein in whistleblower overreach.
Although DOJ generally seeks dismissal of qui tam litigation in a modest number of cases, AG Cox confirmed our expectation that the government will continue to seek dismissal of unjustified qui tam complaints in 2020.
Trump is part of the problem and not the solution to any problem.
Do I trust Trump to say the right things to the public? Hell no! No one MAKES Trump look bad except Trump. He is ALWAYS conflicted between what is politically correct for his image, including the bounces on Wall Street and reality. He is an untrustworthy partner everywhere. Show me one place where his image does not circumvent reality.
February 25, 2020
Fears of a pandemic come (click here) after the Trump administration spent the past several years gutting the very government programs that are tasked with combatting such a crisis.
In 2018, for instance, the CDC cut 80% of its efforts to prevent global disease outbreaks because it was running out of money. Ultimately, the department went from working in 49 countries to just 10.
Here are some other actions the Trump administration undertook to dismantle government-spending programs related to fighting the spread of global diseases, according to Foreign Policy:
- Shutting down the entire global-health-security unit of the National Security Council.
- Eliminating the US government's $30 million Complex Crises Fund.
The Complex Crises Fund (CCF) (click here) prevents and responds to emerging or unforeseen crises by focusing on countries or regions that demonstrate a high or escalating risk of conflict, instability, or unanticipated opportunity for progress in fragile democracies. CCF provides global, flexible funding, enabling the United States to respond outside of planned programming.
- Reducing national health spending by $15 billion.
- Consistently attacking Mark Green, (click here) the director of the US Agency for International Development. Also known as USAID.
The CDC is working on a new test to screen for the coronavirus, but according to New York magazine, problems with the test's development resulted in only three out of 100 public-health labs being equipped to screen for the virus. Moreover, each test costs as much as $250, and the Health and Human Services Department is already running out of money to finance an adequate response to the outbreak.
The Trump administration recently requested $2.5 billion in emergency funds — $1.25 billion in new funding and $1.25 billion to be diverted from other federal programs — to aid in preparing and responding to coronavirus cases in the US....
I have to add, there is real reason to expect further investigation into the virus itself. It is highly contagious and surprisingly so, including educated health care workers. The actual virus itself has to be understood to assist in containment. Someone within the international health infrastructure may already have that information, it might be some time before it actually shows in the public records.
February 25, 2020
Fears of a pandemic come (click here) after the Trump administration spent the past several years gutting the very government programs that are tasked with combatting such a crisis.
In 2018, for instance, the CDC cut 80% of its efforts to prevent global disease outbreaks because it was running out of money. Ultimately, the department went from working in 49 countries to just 10.
Here are some other actions the Trump administration undertook to dismantle government-spending programs related to fighting the spread of global diseases, according to Foreign Policy:
- Shutting down the entire global-health-security unit of the National Security Council.
- Eliminating the US government's $30 million Complex Crises Fund.
The Complex Crises Fund (CCF) (click here) prevents and responds to emerging or unforeseen crises by focusing on countries or regions that demonstrate a high or escalating risk of conflict, instability, or unanticipated opportunity for progress in fragile democracies. CCF provides global, flexible funding, enabling the United States to respond outside of planned programming.
- Reducing national health spending by $15 billion.
- Consistently attacking Mark Green, (click here) the director of the US Agency for International Development. Also known as USAID.
The CDC is working on a new test to screen for the coronavirus, but according to New York magazine, problems with the test's development resulted in only three out of 100 public-health labs being equipped to screen for the virus. Moreover, each test costs as much as $250, and the Health and Human Services Department is already running out of money to finance an adequate response to the outbreak.
The Trump administration recently requested $2.5 billion in emergency funds — $1.25 billion in new funding and $1.25 billion to be diverted from other federal programs — to aid in preparing and responding to coronavirus cases in the US....
I have to add, there is real reason to expect further investigation into the virus itself. It is highly contagious and surprisingly so, including educated health care workers. The actual virus itself has to be understood to assist in containment. Someone within the international health infrastructure may already have that information, it might be some time before it actually shows in the public records.
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