Rich and poor countries paying workers, we get the shaft?




Pay the people or get out of DC members of Congress and administration.

Impeach this MAGNA insanity by unanimous consent. Stand up for the people; don’t trade lives for profits.

Deliver the badly needed resources our healthcare community needs, yesterday.

Damn It!

In some countries, workers will have 90 percent of lost wages covered. In others, residents fear eviction. Nation to nation, rescue plans reflect conflicting ideas of government’s role in a crisis.

[...]

The Danish government has promised to cover 75 percent to 90 percent of salaries if businesses do not lay off their employees. Better to pay to keep people employed than to pay for the disruption caused by mass layoffs and unemployment, the government has said.

[...]

The Netherlands will pay up to 90 percent of wages for companies hit hard by the pandemic, with extra provisions being developed for restaurants.

[...]

the British chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said last week. The plan, which is still being developed, will pay up to about $2,900 a month to workers who have lost hours but are not laid off.

The center-right government in Germany will spend more than $40 billion to help small businesses cover basic needs to stay afloat during the crisis. That is in addition to a program aimed at larger companies, called “kurzarbeit,” or “short-time working,” that covers lost wages for employees who are sent home, to avoid laying them off.

www.nytimes.com/...

South Korea, Malaysia, Venezuela have similar pay worker plans.

~~~

Italy Plans Debt Moratorium to Cope With Coronavirus Lockdown
Relieving consumers and business from repaying debt could cushion economy but complicates how fragile banking system copes

www.wsj.com/

U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Press the issue, friends, a call may save a life from ruin or worse.

Be safe, peace.

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Comments

smiley7's picture

Damn, damn, damn.

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25 users have voted.

@smiley7

taking care of the cure makes what problem worse?
the problem of paying for the cure?
or workers not getting paid?
I just don't get it.
no matter what

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27 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@QMS

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22 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

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9 users have voted.

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@QMS For whom?
THANK GAWD he has a good heart, otherwise I would have taken that to mean he is prefers the needless death of his fellow citizens to curing and saving them.

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20 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

It made absolutely no sense. Geez, how I long for the clusterfuck of the 2016 clusterfuck.

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26 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

We had to destroy the village to save it.

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19 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@Snode

"lives"' expense. And not to worry, Trump will oversee who gets the money. And except for Bernie and a hand-full of courageous people, congress will play along.

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27 users have voted.

@smiley7 for the tourism industry, and in particular, hotels.
Emoluments clause, anybody?
Next, it will be golf courses.

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24 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

smiley7's picture

@on the cusp

How about the new lab testing corporation Kushner set up early in the year and not accepting the WHO test which would of helped; a few countries are handing out quick do-it-yourself tests?

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21 users have voted.

@smiley7 Hard for me to comprehend the beginning and end of their reason to live is to make money, maybe some gratuitous sex and fancy food tossed in for good measure.

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28 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

smiley7's picture

@on the cusp

i'm full of pent up steam wanting to explode; like Hank in O'Neill's The Hairy Ape.

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15 users have voted.

@smiley7
Mother Jones did some investigative journalism on this: Kushner coronavirus website Most definitely attempting to cash in on COVID-19 by directing those that suspect they have COVID-19 to the nearest testing site. (Nearest for a fictitious MD resident was in Kansas.) There's a financial relationship between the Kushner venture capital operation and Alphabet (Google parent)

Whatever made the Kushner bros set up a health insurance company, Oscar, in 2013? Who purchases health insurance from Oscar? From MJ:

That same year [2018?], the New York State Department of Financial Services fined Oscar $576,950 for violating insurance laws in several ways, including failing to accurately explain denials of coverage.

In earlier times, the NY insurance commissioner may have shut down Oscar as an insurance company.

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20 users have voted.
orlbucfan's picture

@smiley7 Surely, you jest.

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2 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

CB's picture

@on the cusp
plan for his golf courses. They will be enclosed within a giant Mylar bubble filled with oxygenated air from 2,500 ventilators that will also remove particulates down to 50 nm. DuPont is in the process of constructing several production lines to supply filter material.

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18 users have voted.
thanatokephaloides's picture

@on the cusp

Emoluments clause, anybody?

The applicable Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8):

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

That last bit -- "from any King, Prince, or foreign State" -- is why the Emoluments Clause doesn't apply to grants-in-aid from Congress. If Congress grants the funds, the funds are, by definition, American -- and therefore exempt from the Emoluments Clause.

And the Chumpster knows it, too!

Wink

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9 users have voted.

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

There is no way he should be expected to answer such a convoluted and complicated question. It’s a clear case of elder abuse. That woman needs to be fired, ASAP!!

I rest my case.

{edit} This senior meant this comment to be reply to smiley7’s video link. Ha!

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24 users have voted.

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

CB's picture

for coronavirus in the US?

Here's what isolation wards looked like in Wuhan:

Notice the use of ventilators in the following:

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20 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@CB

Yes, and i saw the walk and drive through disinfectant tunnels in use last week.

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13 users have voted.

@smiley7
service for lack of space in the actual ICUs.

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14 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

@CB
is beginning to feel a bit like an endless drip drip drip of water on my forehead.

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10 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

CB's picture

@UntimelyRippd

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8 users have voted.

@CB
the audience, it is better to have a volunteer take it in hand, rather than to undertake the matter oneself.

up
5 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

CB's picture

@UntimelyRippd

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3 users have voted.

@CB
buy it also carried the implication that I hadn't actually made the joke.

But then, who knows, maybe some folks hadn't picked up on it.

I once had a brief exchange of notes with A. Whitney Brown, back at dKos, when he wrote a very clever comment in which a joke that could have been left implicit was instead made explicit. When I asked him, he admitted that, as I had guessed, it was a difficult choice for him to make -- what with him being a Pro in these things. In the end he had chosen to sacrifice craft for accessibility.

up
4 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

CB's picture

@UntimelyRippd
I do enjoy a nice word salad!

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3 users have voted.
dervish's picture

@CB Except a few hospitals in NYC.

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0 users have voted.

"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

@dervish
The entire Mount Sinai health system has over 7,400 physicians, as well as 3,815 beds, and delivers over 16,000 babies a year. In 2019–20, the hospital was ranked 14th among the nearly 5,000 hospitals in the US by the U.S. News & World Report. So, nearly 4,986 US hospitals are worse than this:

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0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

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16 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

Morgoth Bauglir

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21 users have voted.

@smiley7
This will result in fewer RWNJ's.

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10 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

smiley7's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

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6 users have voted.

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4 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

smiley7's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

may have qualified to meet their maker; but i wish not to "judge."

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4 users have voted.
CB's picture

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3 users have voted.
orlbucfan's picture

@smiley7 Bubonic Plague and dies quickly!

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1 user has voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

magiamma's picture

At this point I don’t even know where to start. No help whatsoever from the Fed. No help with getting supplies and equipment, hospital beds. No plan. Nada.

Purposeful obfuscation and choices to endanger people. Right? So how is it that so many people can go along with this stupidity. Join in and consciously choose to make things worse. Jump on the meme.

I am amazed that Gavin Newsom was the first to do a complete Statewide lockdown. And thankful. Why is this not happening everywhere? Cuomo wtf? Seriously?! Because of the stock exchange. No?

I am so pissed.

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22 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

smiley7's picture

@magiamma

Glad you and friends are here; as as you say, powers that be don't care for humanity only money.

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14 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

orangutans, The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2020/mar/24/coronavirus-...

Oh, this would be doubly sad.

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15 users have voted.
TheOtherMaven's picture

@smiley7

and those who work with them are doing their utmost to make sure they don't find out the hard way.

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13 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

smiley7's picture

@TheOtherMaven

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9 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

Trump is still coming for 700,000 on food stamps that a judge put a temporarily halt on. This is beyond evil!!

Even with this economic epidemic crisis his administration is still planning on doing what congress has long wanted to do. This is unconsionable but here we are. Plenty of money for the ones who least need it while none for those who do. Let's hope that the judiciary branch will stop their agenda, but IIRC the supreme court said that yes indeed Trump can do what he wants with money even if congress has said no you can't. This was on the ruling for Trump taking money out of other programs and putting in the wall slush fund. Gee how many banks are funding companies that are building the damn thing?

What Pandemic? Trump Administration Presses Forward With Long-Term Benefit Cuts.

During the first three years of Donald Trump’s presidency, Congress refused to go along with cutting benefits that help people with low incomes afford food, housing and medical care. Undaunted, the Trump administration has been busily issuing regulations that cut benefits without congressional buy-in, through a number of government agencies.

The Social Security Administration is “still going full-steam ahead” on new rules limiting disability benefits, according to a source in the agency. One set of proposed changes to the claims process could affect hundreds of thousands of applicants each year if finalized. The agency previously said to expect the new rule in June; spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will continue their regular rulemaking processes, according to spokespeople. Pending rules include a January proposal to reduce automatic reenrollment in health coverage, and a draft rule that would make it harder for renters to sue landlords for racial discrimination.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will comply with a recently passed law suspending limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for unemployed adults for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. The law effectively halted a regulation that would have taken effect next month, cutting benefits for 700,000 annually.

Getting people off social security disability will be making people fill out long forms more often than they are now.

How nice that a black HUD dude is making it harder for people to file for racial discrimination. What civil rights era with lots of blood and tears that allowed him to rise to where he is today? I just do not get this.

When the military budget keeps going up every year because the defense industries won't get off the government teat let's let more people including the 19 million children on SNAP starve. Boy so much for family values. Which has just been a talking point for decades.

Nancy is doing her part to keep us from getting any relief. She is wanting funding for the JFK center, the IRS that mainly goes after the 99% and not the rich where the real money would be, NOAA and lots of other industries with just a measly amount to we the peons with a one time check of $600-1,2000 while the banks and other industries will get billions. This on top of the Trump, Obama, Bush, Reagan tax cuts that have seen the working class get constantly screwed. We should have saved for a rainy day, but not the corporations that used their tax cuts for stock buybacks and not to raise workers wages.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imOrbZIv-xY&list=TLPQMjQwMzIwMjAohneRaKW...

Saagar has a video of how this time is getting ripe for a populist uprising. If millions of people again lose their ability to take care of their families I think we will see this. We are having an unplanned general strike right now. When people have no money to buy anything then how will the sociopaths like Bezos get their money from us? Poor planning folks.

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21 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

smiley7's picture

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg
Martial Law will prevent uprisings, i fear.

edit for sp.

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13 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@smiley7

Politico posted an article on how the justice department is going to suspend habeous corpus for the duration of the epidemic and people are freaking out that it's Trump who is doing it. Guess what? This law has been in place since 2012 when Obama was president. It was just waiting for an event to trigger it.

Hey what is the woman who isn't president saying?

She along with Neera and other DNC'rs have been all over the Twit griping about the things that Trump is doing wrong. However not one of them are offering advice or saying what they would be doing. Even Biden's 'press conference' was about all the things Trump is doing wrong, but nothing for what he would do if he or when he becomes president. Go figure huh?

Ya think?

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ZIl6twxIM&list=TLPQMjQwMzIwMjAohneRaKW...

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17 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

smiley7's picture

@snoopydawg

Noted the spelling mistake, thanks.

Sixty percent approve of Trump's handling of crisis, same Gallup poll. Damn, we are so screwed.

Neera deserves having this virus named after her, imo.

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14 users have voted.

@smiley7
GWB and his team that let 9/11 happen while chimpy was on vacation and the others were engaged in war gaming and how to shovel more money to the owners of this country.

It's that rally around the POTUS (or king) effect in all national crises. Doesn't matter if they are ignoramus nincompoops that that created and/or worsened the crisis. Well as long as they don't don't do fly-ins to play air guitar while people are drowning.

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12 users have voted.
ggersh's picture

@smiley7 that the Gallup Poll is pure state propaganda, I for one have zero trust of any news coming from an ameriKan news organization.

The rightwing nut job propaganda is out in force.

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15 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

smiley7's picture

@ggersh

American.

Thinking on that, can't say i have thought that way past the first grade or so, if then even.

Platitudes instead of answers and they win.

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12 users have voted.
orlbucfan's picture

@ggersh has been out in force for over 40 years. Sure am tired of it in all its illiterate ‘wonder.’

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4 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg

and Dems who're mostly pushing more severe restrictions of movement and freedom--regarding social media, full quarantines in states barely-affected by CR (to date), etc.

My deepest concern, right now, is that the recommendations for self-quarantine--by the public, in general--will be loosened by the Administration. Not tightened.

In TN, they're considering (or, were) temporarily lifting the need to be licensed to "conceal carry." If you can believe that! Definitely, not imposing more restrictions of movement.

[Edit: To clarify--they are some restrictions 'recommended' by many TN localities--city and county, and, the other day, a 'weak tea' proclamation was put out by TN Gov Bill Lee. Not to say that I endorse this extreme--I don't. We were totally freaked out by the move to loosen 'conceal carry.' May be so that folks can better protect property. Don't know, and can't imagine 'why.']

There's appears to be quite a distinctive disconnect between the handling of 'personal freedoms' in red and blue states from what I'm hearing on Cable and reading. And I mean, stark.

Also, I 'think' that most policy regarding the CR crisis are made by other lawmakers--Pence, for instance--and staff/experts from various agencies. From my observation, DT is simply too detached to be intimately involved in any serious decision-making. And, when he does try to insert himself, he is mostly ignored.

IOW, from where I stand, he appears to be too busy attending to his Twitter account, to be overly concerned with mapping out a course of action to fight CR.

We're super concerned that it'll be flat-out catastrophic, if the recommended self-quarantine period is prematurely lifted.

Heh, a WH Briefing just started. (4:45 pm) Sounds like he's wanting to lift self-quarantine by Easter.

How ridiculous!

Over and out . . .

Mollie

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10 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

snoopydawg's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

and not allowing any trials. As I said this legislation was put in the 2012 NDAA. I've written about this quite a bit but it's been a few years.

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8 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

@snoopydawg

for the article you're referring to. Will read, if I can find it.

BTW, the author is nothing short of a blithering idiot (IMO). I can't bear to listen to her, anymore. If you get a chance, watch her on Cable teevee, sometime. Just sayin'.

Again, will read her Politico piece. Thanks for pointing this out. I hadn't heard anything about this. Pleasantry

BTW, the article below claims that Congress has to approve this measure.

The Department of Justice has secretly requested that Congress suspend habeas corpus and to allow “indefinite detention” of citizens without trial until the end of the Coronavirus panic, several news agencies are reporting today.

Politico reports:

Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted. POLITICO also reviewed and previously reported on documents seeking the authority to extend deadlines on merger reviews and prosecutions.

[BTW, don't know anything about the source--New American.]

Mollie

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5 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

snoopydawg's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

https://theintercept.com/2018/05/01/ndaa-2018-aumf-detention/

I've said in previous comments and essays how this has already been used on some veterans who got arrested and sent to psychiatric hospitals. I don't have time to dig it up right now.

ICYMI Joe posted this one tonight.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/23/coronavirus-civil-...

Barr is also talking about implementing it so I think it's just a matter of time unless we put up a big enough stink. But so far we haven't been able to stop them, but not for lack of trying. And trying...

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7 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg
The people want Biden, not a revolution!

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5 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

snoopydawg's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

And that's why it was so hard for them to vote. People keep saying that young people didn't show up to vote. Only if you ignore the long lines people had to wait in is that true.

How many here just waltzed in and voted? You can believe that rich people didn't wait hours to vote.

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8 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg
Around 11:00AM before the lunch rush. that's when I always go. I learned the deadest time from working as an election judge. We were #32 and 33. Not much turnout, but official results were big and Biden crushed Bernie. Kim Foxx won her primary with 38%.
I might as well have stayed home.

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4 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

TheOtherMaven's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

That's in ascending order of the ease of crocking the results. (Touch machines are notoriously cheaters' delights.)

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6 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

@TheOtherMaven

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0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

orlbucfan's picture

@snoopydawg azzhole who made money via insider trading only it was with hubby in real estate. I know it’s a million to one longshot but would love to see her get her pampered azz kicked out of office.

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2 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

snoopydawg's picture

Holy shit indeed.

Democrats are talking about pouring more money into UE benefits and raising the rate by $600. One thing that would help is make it non taxable. They are offering $10,000 cut on student loans, but the government will be making that payment for them so the banks get paid back either way. SO why no throw an extra bone to the people?

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13 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

smiley7's picture

in overnight repo loans.

Bidone just touted cutting student loans by $10,000 on NBC. Read not to long ago that a previous one day move of the Fed was more money than all student loans combined and no one voted for any of these fed moves.

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13 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

thanks for pointing out Miss Nancy's part in trying to defeat one-time/two-time checks to many American adults and children, SD.

Been listening to all the official CR Briefings, all the Leadership briefings--Schumer, Nance, O'Connell, McCarthy--we're totally scr*wed if DT ends the recommended quarantine period. Can't imagine that even an idiot like Kudlow would actually thing that's a great idea. Phew!

I'm concentrating on calling Dem Leadership (regarding 'checks') since they're much more in favor of targeting only 'workers'--excluding seniors/retirees, children, and full-time students since they aren't in the workforce. Sorta figure that Repubs will insist that this benefit is included, since seniors are one of their strongest constituencies, and 'R' lawmakers need to kowtow to this cohort.

From what I've read, those who qualify for a check, will receive the funds via auto-deposit--if that's how they received a refund in 2018. That's cool.

Sounds as though some of the cuts to Unemployment Insurance (under 'O' in February 2012) will be restored. Posted the CNN piece (here) yesterday. May put it in sig line for a bit, since so many Dems seemed to have missed it at the time. It's amazing how much 'O' got away with during his 8 years in office--had an excellent 'spin machine,' I suppose.

(Mr M read that 'O' was on the phone with Uncle Joe over the weekend. Would like to have been a fly on the wall.)

Have a good one, All. Pleasantry

Mollie

FYI

From the website Concierge Medicine Today,

Concierge Care for Congress: Attending Physician of the United States Congress
July 15, 2014

OAP provides members of Congress with physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. When specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.[4]

Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, as of 2009, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care is paid for by federal funding, from the U.S. Navy budget. The annual fee has not changed significantly since 1992.[4]

and,

Yearly Fee

One aspect of the office’s operations which remains unclear is just how the annual $503 fee is determined.

Until 1992, OAP services were free to members of Congress. But after former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania angered members by introducing a bill to make Congress members pay market rate prices for using the OAP, a compromise was reached.

Instead of charging for each service, Wofford said, members of the House and Senate agreed to hire independent consultants to determine the average value of the services offered and to use that amount to determine an annual fee.
“We thought of the pricing much like an HMO,” Wofford said of the compromise pricing model. “The attending physician at the time told me he had no interest in handling insurance or billing for each service available.”

But Wofford said the House and Senate committees tasked with determining the fee each insisted on hiring their own consultants, leading to a split pricing system. According to press accounts from 1992, the Senate set the fee at $520; the House fee was set at $263 for the same care. At some point, sources say, the separate rates were scrapped and replaced with the single fee, now set at $503.

The Office of the Attending Physician refused to comment on the fee or why it has not changed significantly in 17 years, despite rampant inflation in all other areas of health care costs.

Anderson refused repeated requests for the Committee on House Administration to provide details of how the rate is determined or who determines it.

“Members pay an annual fee determined by an independent actuary for use of the OAP services,” Anderson responded each time he was asked about the pricing model.

Gotta put an end to this Congressional Perk, if we hope to ever have a decent healthcare program.

(IOW, their current excellent OAP healthcare program allows them to be exempt from any austerity/managed care tools that they impose on the masses.)

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9 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

smiley7's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

though small at present, appear to be growing at a fast pace, outstripping us in NC.

We may, in time, see this happen in red states not taking good precautions; would not doubt or bet against this thinking, almost expected.

Can't easily ignore or stop a virus that apparently can live on hard surfaces for 17 days per the Center for Disease Control.

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8 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

@smiley7

wishes. My apologies for not replying sooner--now, got a bum elbow. Seems I'm getting accident-prone in my old age! Smile

Didn't know that CV could live 17 days on hard surfaces. Yikes! Will try to do better wiping down stuff that's mailed to us--got a FedEx package this morning. Pretty much everything is delivered to us--except for grocery pickup items.

Here's stats as of today (TN),

It's been reported that 28 patients and 16 employees at a local nursing home tested positive for the coronavirus last week. The facility had 320 employees and patients tested after two COVID-19 cases were identified. The "vast majority" of the group that tested positive were "symptom-free," meaning they could have unknowingly spread the virus to others.

So, to date, regarding the number of cases in our area, a large number of the 81 positive cases occurred in an institutional setting (a skilled nursing facility). Not to say it can't/won't spread from that point--notice that '16' were employees who live in the greater community, not to mention, as stated above, they were "symptom-free." Bad news, indeed.

Hope to catch up with you Guys, Saturday. Hope to have a screenshot (of a Golden) that I think you'll very much appreciate. BTW, hope new Pup is settling in better with Son and Family. Sometimes they come to us a bit traumatized, unfortunately.

Think it's wise that you're avoiding medical facilities right now (as much as possible). So are we.

Take good care. And stay safe. Pleasantry

Mollie

THANK YOU America's Physicians & Nurses, All Medical Personnel, First Responders, To Include Medical (EMT/Paramedics/Ambulance), Pharmacy Personnel, Fire Depts, Police Depts, Retailers/Grocers--Especially, To Marginally-Paid Frontline Retail Cashiers & Clerks.

Last, but not least,

THANKS to America's Truckers/Delivery Persons, Especially, To Over-The-Road/Long Haul Truckers, Who Obviously Have The Capacity To Shut Down The Entire Country, If They Should Choose To Sit Out The Current Health Crisis.

You are all truly heroes. Godspeed. Give rose

FYI

From the website Concierge Medicine Today,

Concierge Care for Congress: Attending Physician of the United States Congress

July 15, 2014

OAP provides members of Congress with physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. When specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.[4]

Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, as of 2009, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care is paid for by federal funding, from the U.S. Navy budget. The annual fee has not changed significantly since 1992.[4]

and,

Yearly Fee

One aspect of the office’s operations which remains unclear is just how the annual $503 fee is determined.

Until 1992, OAP services were free to members of Congress. But after former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania angered members by introducing a bill to make Congress members pay market rate prices for using the OAP, a compromise was reached.

Instead of charging for each service, Wofford said, members of the House and Senate agreed to hire independent consultants to determine the average value of the services offered and to use that amount to determine an annual fee.
“We thought of the pricing much like an HMO,” Wofford said of the compromise pricing model. “The attending physician at the time told me he had no interest in handling insurance or billing for each service available.”

But Wofford said the House and Senate committees tasked with determining the fee each insisted on hiring their own consultants, leading to a split pricing system. According to press accounts from 1992, the Senate set the fee at $520; the House fee was set at $263 for the same care. At some point, sources say, the separate rates were scrapped and replaced with the single fee, now set at $503.

The Office of the Attending Physician refused to comment on the fee or why it has not changed significantly in 17 years, despite rampant inflation in all other areas of health care costs.

Anderson refused repeated requests for the Committee on House Administration to provide details of how the rate is determined or who determines it.

“Members pay an annual fee determined by an independent actuary for use of the OAP services,” Anderson responded each time he was asked about the pricing model.

Gotta put an end to this Congressional Perk, if we hope to ever have a decent healthcare program.

(IOW, their current excellent OAP healthcare program allows them to be exempt from any austerity/managed care tools that they impose on the masses.)

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1 user has voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

magiamma's picture

@Unabashed Liberal
It’s good that we are getting crumbs I guess. But that’s all we get. I’m just trying to figure out what the advantage of having a bunch of people die is. Are they really that lacking in critical thinking? There must be some method to their madness. Maybe it’s sheer greed and they just don’t want to lose one thin dime. (Yes, without question it’s greed). But it seems like there must be more to it. Or they just got caught unawares and now have to figure out how to take advantage. FuckifIknow. Have a good one Mollie.

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8 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

@magiamma

reading my OAP blurb. Smile Apologies for delay in replying--got a bad elbow, to match my already bum ankle--so been laying low much of this week.

Couldn't agree more. Apparently, in the minds of our 'overlords,' only the richest and most powerful deserve decent healthcare.

Well, I don't plan to accept that dictate and/or attitude, lying down. Aggressive

I know how hard you worked on Bernie's behalf, and, imagine that the news of him stepping out of the race has to be a rather bitter pill to swallow. IMO, Bernie's a very fine man, but, maybe too much a part of the power structure to really want to rebel against it--with full force. Of course, he has brought many important and powerful ideas to the forefront--for that, we can all be quite thankful.

My 'hope' is that many progressives will stay engaged enough to fight another day against a 'managed care'-like so-called "public option" if, by a fluke, Uncle Joe is actually elected Prez. If he wins, I'm convinced that the PtB will go after the Traditional/Original Medicare program in order to reduce it to a MA- or Medicare Advantage-like plan. Which would very likely mean--using 'primary physician gatekeepers' to reduce access to physician specialists, heavy doses of PA's (Prior Authorizations) and, other so-called UM (Utilization Management) tools, designed to deny folks medical services, in order to flatten the cost curve.

Hope to catch up with you Guys at your OT, by late tomorrow. In the meantime, take good care of yourself. And, stay well. Pleasantry

Mollie

FYI

From the website Concierge Medicine Today,

Concierge Care for Congress: Attending Physician of the United States Congress
July 15, 2014

OAP provides members of Congress with physicals and routine examinations, on-site X-rays and lab work, physical therapy and referrals to medical specialists from military hospitals and private medical practices. When specialists are needed, they are brought to the Capitol, often at no charge to members of Congress.[4]

Members of Congress do not pay for the individual services they receive at the OAP, nor do they submit claims through their federal employee health insurance policies. Instead, as of 2009, members pay a flat, annual fee of $503 for all the care they receive. The rest of the cost of their care is paid for by federal funding, from the U.S. Navy budget. The annual fee has not changed significantly since 1992.[4]

and,

Yearly Fee

One aspect of the office’s operations which remains unclear is just how the annual $503 fee is determined.

Until 1992, OAP services were free to members of Congress. But after former Sen. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania angered members by introducing a bill to make Congress members pay market rate prices for using the OAP, a compromise was reached.

Instead of charging for each service, Wofford said, members of the House and Senate agreed to hire independent consultants to determine the average value of the services offered and to use that amount to determine an annual fee.
“We thought of the pricing much like an HMO,” Wofford said of the compromise pricing model. “The attending physician at the time told me he had no interest in handling insurance or billing for each service available.”

But Wofford said the House and Senate committees tasked with determining the fee each insisted on hiring their own consultants, leading to a split pricing system. According to press accounts from 1992, the Senate set the fee at $520; the House fee was set at $263 for the same care. At some point, sources say, the separate rates were scrapped and replaced with the single fee, now set at $503.

The Office of the Attending Physician refused to comment on the fee or why it has not changed significantly in 17 years, despite rampant inflation in all other areas of health care costs.

Anderson refused repeated requests for the Committee on House Administration to provide details of how the rate is determined or who determines it.

“Members pay an annual fee determined by an independent actuary for use of the OAP services,” Anderson responded each time he was asked about the pricing model.

Gotta put an end to this Congressional Perk, if we hope to ever have a decent single-payer healthcare program.

(IOW, our lawmakers' current excellent OAP healthcare program allows them to be exempt from any austerity/managed care tools that they seek to impose on the masses, as evidenced by several Dem Party MFA/public option proposals.)

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0 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

dystopian's picture

The American reaction is to first figure out how to position oneself to profit from the disaster (like Jared's new company), and seize more power whilst at it. These things take time. I am sure we will have a response like civilized countries soon. Almost all of the gov response at fed level has been to protect profits. Before people. When we get done dying and over it, they will go down in history and it will not be pretty.

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13 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

smiley7's picture

@dystopian
awareness of what it is to be human may arise.

In the meantime, fight the powers that be relentlessly.

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8 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@smiley7
agreed; history is our guide.

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5 users have voted.

We don't want that. We want Biden and his neoliberalism. /s

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8 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

mimi's picture

and needed life support. A very old lady with her bike stood in front of a store, around 2 m apart from me, shouting that she wants to kill and shoot her doctor for having asked her to take a certain medication that caused her joint pains more than before. She claimed the doctor had wanted to kill her and now she wants to just chops his head off. Now she had to die.

I guess the fear to get infected with the virus in combination with other medical conditions, elderly people have to take other medication for, causes huge problems. Add to that more or less severe dementia, is a real difficult problem to solve for the community of doctors and nurses and caretakers.

The coverage of the corona crisis in the German media is not bad, but way too much. Unfortunately I have no idea how to translate the various TV video productions and then change the narrators voice into an English speaking one. I wished I could.

I was verbally harassed by a lady which should give customers help to find their way through a big store. Because I touched my nose while standing at least 2.5 m apart from her. Very rude. I just turned around and left the large store. People are more ready to not only verbally be more rude, but also potentially physically aggressive. And this was only the first day of "movement restrictions" for everybody in Germany.

Tough times ahead of us.

Ok, I think it doesn't make sense to talk about it further...

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10 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@mimi
abound and it's going to get worse. Last week our streets were full of people who shouldn't have been out, now, very few stir.

Be safe, good friend.

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5 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

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6 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

In the latest echo from the Lehman crisis response, on Tuesday the Fed announced that, just as it did in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, it has hired the world's largest asset manager BlackRock to manage several of the Fed's brand new - and quite - massive debt-buying programs as the Fed scrambles to keep the US asset bubble, which it was inflating for the past decade, from bursting and obliterating the highly financialized US economy.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/fed-hires-worlds-largest-asset-manager...

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7 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@smiley7

Blackrock again? Asset manager is right. I commented on this in the EBs about how Obama let them buy homes for pennies and they took and kept them off the market and that's why housing prices exploded as well as rents.

A government for, by and with the people has ....never mind. I'm sure everyone is thinking the same thing.

"Those who make peaceful...."

It's coming.

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9 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

smiley7's picture

@snoopydawg
the fleecing. But that's the newest America isn't it, the great one, where stealing is transparent. Okay, cause, as Trump says, who's going to stop them.

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7 users have voted.

Wolff, the French workers held a general strike in December or January to show their opposition to Macron's plans to gut their pension program. Macron backed down after the strike but now is at it again and is going to force legislation through without discussion or a vote to gut the pension program. This is the playbook of TPTB. Sometime it's easier to recognize the hammer coming down in other places than it is at home.

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6 users have voted.