With the nightly focus on riots and looting, less attention seems to be given to the grievances and protests following the killing of George Floyd by police. However, the timing of this explosive situation across our nation follows weeks of fear and lockdown, sickness, and deaths. Perhaps understandable is that less attention is being given to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic One horrific problem at a time. However, the reality of sky high Unemployment numbers, Closed businesses which may or may not reopen, domestic abuse rising, substance abuse and alcoholism addictions destroying lives and families, and depressions driving up suicides.
Not exclusively— there is good news and bad news, sadly.
This thread got off to an unseemly start, beginning as a “report from my basement” theme which came about at the time when my Rose Garden Thread appeared to have been sunk.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52898797 This clever 9yr old Kenyan invented a hands-free hands-washing machine and has just received a national award for innovation. He’s also been promised a scholarship.
In the Uncaged Bird thread i posted a link to a lovely article about a bird that flew just under 5000 miles in 10 days; an amazing and ancient journey. Modern town planning will affect that journey in future but at least this year the eastern curlew could migrate, and might return for breeding. There are still some pockets of good news.
Cover of Der Spiegel this week (Der Spiegel is a weekly magazine in Germany, the largest such magazine in Europe, very influential). Reichstag fire anyone?
I do see the fences serving a peaceful outlet for protestors.
Better than nailing signs to poor trees, or littering the grounds.
If the fence provides a place to vent — so much better than destroying property and businesses — and infinitely better than Molotov cocktails hurled at police cars.
I'm surprised no one is mentioning that NJ and NY have had sufficient success in "bending the curve" that we are beginning phased in reopening of businesses. Barring setbacks, NJ will have outdoor dining returning next week, and the following week businesses like barber shops and salons will reopen.
The quarantine was undoubtedly painful, but it bought us some time to figure out how to reopen businesses safely.
"Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Washington’s first black archbishop and a longtime civil rights advocate, invited Catholic priests in the diocese to Black Lives Matter Plaza on Monday morning. Dozens of them arrived to pray and snap photos. Protesters, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, gathered around for a sermon and singing." (WaPo)
Good news, but bad news as well. Perhaps this new normal will be long-lasting. As with all change, there may be some benefits. How we will all adapt to, or be acceptIng of change, is the question.
Trump campaigns sends cease-and-desist letter to CNN about a poll that shows Biden leads Trump. Think about this for a second. Not only is this freaking hilarious, it is also a really hopeful sign, and therefore GOOD NEWS!
Trump campaigns sends cease-and-desist letter to CNN about a poll that shows Biden leads Trump. Think about this for a second. Not only is this freaking hilarious, it is also a really hopeful sign, and therefore GOOD NEWS!
this had to have been done at the Donald's insistence, probably over the objections of everyone else in the White House. He's losing it. It's 25th Amendment time.
So very true. A particularly surprising author to the majority opinion, as well. The occupant of the stolen seat may never make a decent decision again but he has already far exceeded my expectations for his tenure.
So very true. A particularly surprising author to the majority opinion, as well. The occupant of the stolen seat may never make a decent decision again but he has already far exceeded my expectations for his tenure.
Per the article: "I've read the decision," the president said of the various opinions, which ran to 119 pages in all.
If true, this is even better news. I didn't think he could read 2 pages.
So very true. A particularly surprising author to the majority opinion, as well. The occupant of the stolen seat may never make a decent decision again but he has already far exceeded my expectations for his tenure.
Just to be cynical -
Gorsuch joined a 6-3 decision. If he had gone the other way, it would have been the same result, but 5-4.
He joined the majority, and then the Chief Justice could designate him to write the opinion.
The opinion itself is limited, making clear what it does NOT decide (on pages 31 and 32). For example, he notes that issues of "sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and dress codes" aren't part of the decision: "But none of these other laws are before us; we have not had the benefit of adversarial testing about the meaning of their terms, and we do not prejudge any such question today. Under Title VII, too, we do not purport to address bathrooms, locker rooms, or anything else of the kind. The only question before us is whether an employer who fires someone simply for being homosexual or transgender has discharged or otherwise discriminated against that individual 'because of such individual’s sex'."
Similarly, the issue of a religious objection isn't decided -
Separately, the employers fear that complying with Title VII’s requirement in cases like ours may require some employers to violate their religious convictions. We are also deeply concerned with preserving the promise of the free exercise of religion enshrined in our Constitution; that guarantee lies at the heart of our pluralistic society. But worries about how Title VII may intersect with religious liberties are nothing new; they even predate the statute’s passage. As a result of its deliberations in adopting the law, Congress included an express statutory exception for religious organizations. §2000e–1(a). This Court has also recognized that the First Amendment can bar the application of employment discrimination laws “to claims concerning the employment relationship between a religious institution and its ministers.” Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, 565 U. S. 171, 188 (2012). And Congress has gone a step further yet in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), 107 Stat. 1488, codified at 42 U. S. C. §2000bb et seq. That statute prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion unless it demonstrates that doing so both furthers a compelling governmental interest and represents the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. §2000bb–1. Because RFRA operates as a kind of super statute, displacing the normal operation of other federal laws, it might supersede Title VII’s commands in appropriate cases. See §2000bb–3.
But how these doctrines protecting religious liberty interact with Title VII are questions for future cases too.
This is good news for everyone except if you stocked up based on Trump's "snake oil salesman" pitch.
UPDATE: The FDA has pulled emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, the malaria drugs touted by Pres. Trump to treat COVID-19, due to growing evidence of their ineffectiveness and risk of deadly side effects, the AP reports pic.twitter.com/lEg7VYDjaN
Instead of attack ads against Trump, we should just run clips of his speeches (like these). His hard base is going to support him no matter what, but moderate republicans and independents should hear from Trump in his own words as much as possible, because it is just so painful to watch this. He can't bully a virus, and he has no empathy, so he has no idea what to do anymore. I used to get so annoyed hearing him speak, but now I just think it is just priceless. And according to the polls, moderates and independents are starting to notice too. Rasmussen, one of Trump's favorite pollsters, shows Biden leading Trump by 12%. Even Fox News is saying that their polls show Trump is in trouble.
I understand this does not guarantee anything (2016), but I do believe that we should just let Trump talk instead of attack him, because his incompetence is finally being noticed by voters.
Restrooms have often been in the news, whether for gender or accessibility issues. But we can point to COVID-19 as the defining end of going to the toilet anywhere but in your own home! Portajohns, service centers on highways, Yankee Stadium, parks and playgrounds, as office escape destinations, restaurants, etc etc will be scary places.
Bad news...
With the nightly focus on riots and looting, less attention seems to be given to the grievances and protests following the killing of George Floyd by police. However, the timing of this explosive situation across our nation follows weeks of fear and lockdown, sickness, and deaths.
Perhaps understandable is that less attention is being given to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic One horrific problem at a time. However, the reality of sky high Unemployment numbers, Closed businesses which may or may not reopen, domestic abuse rising, substance abuse and alcoholism addictions destroying lives and families, and depressions driving up suicides.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/02/meet_the_psychiatrist_telling_trump_that_lockdowns_are_deadly_143344.html
The reality is that we are all in this together, and only together, will we survive.