Super Screwed Day

Super Screwed Day

by Coast Watcher

Apparently there’s some kind of mass primary event going on today called "Super Tuesday," but let’s look at something that provokes even more intense anxiety—the current American government’s utter lack of concern for its citizens.
The preamble to the American Constitution reads:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Note that bit about promote the general Welfare? How much promoting of the general welfare does the government do exactly? To paraphrase the early Federalist Robert Goodloe Harper, it seems to be a case of “Billions for defense, but not one cent for welfare.”

The case for a single payer, a free at point-of-use health care system, in the United States is gaining ground. At no time has the need for such a system been clearer than the need to deal responsibly with the current global coronavirus outbreak.
Are you looking forward to facing a pandemic in a country where a key source of affording health care is starting a GoFundMe account and begging strangers for money?
According to the Business Insider, the cost per patient for coronavirus treatment will be around $3,000. A public official has stated that an inoculation for the virus will not be made available for free. Big Pharma stands to make a gigantic profit from human fear and misery, so it's American business as usual there. In any case, it’s predicted that such an inoculation will only become available sometime in the fall.

Of course, the Trump administration has characteristically stumbled to the fore in its desire (after much pressure) to be seen to be acting on the problem. The president appointed Vice President Mike Pence as the coordinator for the coronavirus outbreak. Evangelist Pence is the man who, as governor of Indiana, mishandled an AIDS outbreak in his state by ordering people to "pray for it to go away." His tardiness in responding to the outbreak by ordering the setting up of AIDS clinics and needle sharing programs led to the disease spreading, causing many unnecessary deaths. I shudder to think how his general evangelical-Protestant attitude will deal with a serious nationwide outbreak of disease. Perhaps his desire to bring about the End Times will yet again outweigh his responsibility toward the citizens of America.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the man who helped turn the tide in the fight against HIV/AIDS during the 1990s has been virtually gagged by the administration over the response to the crisis. That’s right. The director of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has been prevented from giving out all he knows on the matter. Why this should be is unknown, but it simply could be down to Trump’s general level of incompetence and erratic behavior.
To add to the general level of insanity coming out of the White House these days, we have Trump’s oldest son, Donald Jr., proclaiming that the coronavirus is a ploy generated by the Democratic Party to discredit his father in November’s election. Yes, you read that right. Junior reckons that a major political party is willing to kill thousands (and possibly millions) in order to dump on his daddy.

On the Democratic side of the fence, we have the unedifying spectacle of newcomer to the electoral race Mike Bloomberg saying that elderly Americans should be denied health care in certain cases. Wow... Mr. Bloomberg demonstrates just how much a billionaire willing to buy his way into power cares about promoting the general welfare.
Of course, other countries are already dealing with the potential for a pandemic in a responsible way. Britain’s NHS is rolling out extensive testing for the virus, and plans are in place to close schools, colleges and businesses to contain an outbreak. Similar plans are being enacted across Europe. Note that these countries all have universal health care. There’s no question of anyone going bankrupt in order to preserve their health or the health of the community.
By contrast, rumors coming out of North Korea claim that dictator Kim Jong-Un has ordered the execution of his country’s first coronavirus patient. You think that's bad? Read on and you'll see why many Americans can’t even drink their tap water.

Below this blog post is a press release issued by Toledoans for Safe Water regarding a recent judicial ruling on the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR). In essence, the judge ruled that corporations polluting our waterways is a First Amendment right. Way back when the Bill of Rights was written, the Founding Fathers knew bad water could cause disease and kill thousands, even if they didn’t understand exactly why. Now that we in the modern world do understand the causes of water-borne illnesses, it must be the government's responsibility to ensure that its citizens have access to clean, potable water or else another epidemic may occur when the toxic blue-green algae begins to bloom on the lake this summer.

Except nowadays our government is quick to shirk its responsibilities. According to federal judge Jack Zouhary, a citizen’s right to clean water and a healthy environment must give way to Big Agribusiness and Big Oil and their desire to make as much money as possible (by causing the biggest mess as possible) before the Earth ceases to be habitable for humanity.
So much for promoting the general welfare.  Feeling screwed yet? Let the oligarchy know from this day forward that you're mad as hell and you're not going to take it anymore. We the people have the power. Now is the time to wield it. Remember:

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.  -- Alice Walker

BIO: Coast Watcher is always on the look out for what's happening to our human rights to health and happiness. Apparently they've been sold to the billionaires for cheap so the fat cats can sell our rights back to us at a huge profit. So much for all men are created equal, eh?

Related articles:
 

CDC's Fauci: Coronavirus Vaccine On Its Way https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/hai-types/cdcs-fauci-coronavirus-vaccine-way
Coronavirus: Trump Administration Stops Discussion https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-anthony-fauci-trump-admin-stops-discussion-2020-2
Getting Treatment Might Cost Americans Upwards of $3,000+ https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-treatment-costs-americans-health-care-broke-2020-2
Timetable for a Coronavirus Vaccine--Maybe this Fall? https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/02/12/804628081/timetable-for-a-vaccine-against-the-new-coronavirus-maybe-this-fall
Mike Pence's "Pray On It" Plan to Combat Indiana HIV Outbreak Resurfaces After Trump Taps VP to Lead Coronavirus Response https://www.newsweek.com/mike-pences-pray-it-plan-combat-indiana-hiv-outbreak-resurfaces-after-trump-taps-vp-lead-1489344
How Mike Pence Allowed the Indiana HIV Outbreak to Spread https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/how-mike-pence-allowed-the-indiana-hiv-outbreak-to-spread/

Video Raises Questions About Bloomberg's View on Health Care for Older Americans https://www.forbes.com/sites/patriciagbarnes/2020/02/17/video-raises-questions-about-bloombergs-views-on-healthcare-for-older-americans/#77a45cc13005

North Korea's First Confirmed Covid19 Patient Shot Dead https://news-af.feednews.com/news/detail/cba0e3d130dbd0d8759b7f5bb9519404
Mass Coronavirus Testing to Reveal How Far Disease Has Spread in Britain https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/25/mass-testing-uncover-spread-coronavirus-britain/
Trump Jr.: Democrats Hope Coronavirus "Kills Millions of People" https://mavenroundtable.io/theintellectualist/news/trump-jr-democrats-hope-coronavirus-kills-millions-of-people-NP-Ny1dXJE6wCnBAyLNd-g
White House: "Media Stoking Virus Fears to Take Down Trump" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51667670***

Court Overturns Lake Erie Bill of Rights
Judge Silences People and Nature on Behalf of Corporate Voices

Federal judge Jack Zouhary joined a long list of enablers complicit in the destruction of the natural world. In an unfortunate but predictable decision, he invalidated the democratically enacted Lake Erie Bill of Rights (“LEBOR”). This local charter amendment was the first of its kind in the United States. His decision comes at a time when the pollution of Lake Erie is intensifying, resulting in dangerous toxic algal blooms that threaten the drinking water for 11 million people and the health of Lake Erie.

LEBOR would allow residents to bring lawsuits on behalf of Lake Erie instead of depending on state government or regulatory agencies. Both the government and its agencies have not only consistently failed to enact adequate protections for Lake Erie, but have legalized harm to her and the people.

“Today we find that Zouhary’s ruling lacks the courage needed to create a just system and thriving community,” says Crystal Jankowski of Toledoans for Safe Water (TSW). “In the words of Howard Zinn, ‘Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.’ Our childrens’ future is on the line and you have the choice to remain willfully ignorant or take action. ”

Zouhary admits that “LEBOR has already injured the State: at least on paper, State laws, regulations, licenses, and permits are invalid in Toledo to the extent they conflict with LEBOR.” This admission that LEBOR successfully challenges state pollution permits supports the claims made by Toledoans that legalized and permitted pollution has a negative impact on Lake Erie.

LEBOR has sparked a global conversation and inspired similar initiatives in Hawaii, Florida, and the state of Washington.

"As our options within the system are shut down, Toledoans must decide whether or not Lake Erie is worth fighting for,” says Markie Miller of TSW. “As long as there is a Lake to protect we won’t be going anywhere.”

We have been shown, time and time again, that the common peoples’ voices are the easiest to ignore. As the world faces unprecedented change, now is a crucial moment. We must stand together and unite in the fight for a healthy and thriving environment. We must call on the City of Toledo to appeal this decision, but also on the people of Toledo to stand with TSW and work together to fight for the change that has to happen. Our silence will not protect us.

Get involved with Toledoans for Safe Water at www.LakeErieAction.org.

Related articles:

Lake Erie Bill of Rights Ruled Invalid By Judge Zouhary
https://www.toledoblade.com/local/environment/2020/02/27/lake-erie-bill-of-rights-ruled-invalid-judge-jack-zouhary-toledo-lucas-county/stories/20200227155

AG Yost: Let's Save Lake "Legally" After LEBOR Invalidated
https://www.toledoblade.com/local/environment/2020/02/28/attorney-general-dave-yost-save-lake-legally-after-lake-erie-bill-of-fights-invalidated/stories/20200228122

***

Donald Trump Jr. Has Once Again Paid for the Chance to Kill, and This Time It’s a Treasured Grizzly Bear!

Sign Now




In a characteristic move, Donald Trump Jr. just bought the right to hunt an innocent, beloved animal recreationally. Trophy hunting is a cruel and unnecessary sport, the endgame of which is the grotesque collecting and displaying of a murdered animal's body parts, and Don Jr. is looking to add a grizzly bear head to his vast hoard.
Please sign the petition and demand that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game put an end to all grizzly bear hunting!
The grizzly bear, also known as the brown bear in Alaska, is all but extinct in the continental United States at a population of approximately 1,500. By comparison, these iconic animals are thriving in Alaska - their population there numbers just about 30,000. But this does not mean that the grizzly bear is unthreatened. Strict conservation standards are necessary to protect the Alaskan grizzly bears so they do not meet the same fate as their counterparts in the lower 48 states, which were decimated by habitat loss and overhunting.
And yet, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game sees fit to host a horrifying "lottery" in which non-Alaskan residents to enter for the chance to win the right to hunt down and kill these American treasures. The latest American to win such a disgusting honor is Donald Trump Jr.
Don Jr. has a history of using his status and wealth to get what he wants. Unfortunately, what he wants is to take innocent lives. Last year, for example, the world was shocked to learn that Trump's firstborn killed a Mongolian argali, a highly treasured and endangered breed of sheep, and then used his power, influence, and money to retroactively gain a permit to do so.
This time, he won't have to work that hard — this Alaskan lottery system and the murder that ensues is totally legal. This has got to change. Don Jr. thinks he can use his status and image to get away with anything, but we can use those things to draw notice to our cause.
Please, add your voice to the fight for the Alaskan grizzly bear and tell the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to terminate all grizzly bear hunting permits, now and in the future.
Thank you,

Kelsey B.
The Care2 Petitions Team

 
P.S. No one should be allowed to hunt grizzly bears, not even the wealthy elite! Sign now to urge Alaska to end permits granted for hunting grizzly bears!


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We’ve been anticipating this, but we got some news on the GOP’s lawsuit to repeal the ACA. 
 
Instead of deciding to hear the case as soon as possible, the Supreme Court decided to take up the lawsuit in the upcoming term, which starts in October -- and WAIT until after the election to let more than 130 million Americans know if their health care is safe. The Health Care Repeal Lawsuit creates a level of uncertainty that’s dangerous to patients, people with pre-existing conditions, and the health care market overall.
 
We need stability NOW. Call your Rep. to demand they protect people with pre-existing conditions before October, and ask 5 friends to do the same:
(202) 224-3121
 
It’s puzzling that the Court has granted many of the Trump administration’s unprecedented demands to expedite case after case, but refuses to do so in a lawsuit that represents a fifth of the entire U.S. economy and the lives of tens of millions of Americans. 
 
The good news is that the Court will finally resolve this grave threat to the care that tens of millions of people rely on. But since Trump packed the Court with conservative justices, we can’t rely on them to make the right call. We need Congress to take action to fix this right now.
 
Congress needs to protect our care no matter what. Call your representative today, and forward this email to 5 friends asking them to do the same:
(202) 224-3121
 
Time and time again, the GOP has shown us that their goal is to destroy the entire ACA, abolish protections for pre-existing conditions, and take away health care from tens of millions of people. But we have the people power to fight back and grow our ranks, so they can’t hide from the consequences of their actions anymore.
 
Together, we can save the ACA.
 
Thank you for fighting alongside us,
Rosemary, The Health Care Voter Team
 
P.S. One powerful way we can fight back is to share our stories -- post yours on social media today to explain why you’re a #HealthCareVoter.