More American families struggling to afford food. Can food banks cope?
The economic fallout brought on by COVID-19 put millions of families in Ms. White’s shoes. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 35 million Americans were food insecure before the pandemic, a number that may rise to 50 million by the end of the year, says Zuani Villarreal of Feeding America, a nonprofit that supplies food banks.
By Jenin Younes | American Institute of Economic Research | December 11, 2020
Lest you were hopeful that some semblance of normal life will return in 2021, either due to the development of vaccines or the pandemic fizzling out on its own, the New York Times and 700 epidemiologists have news for you. An article that appeared in the paper on December 4, 2020, entitled “How 700 Epidemiologists are Living Now, and What They Think is Next,” with the subheading “They are going to the grocery store again, but don’t see vaccines making life normal right away,” reveals that most in the profession, or at least the vast majority of those interviewed for the piece, believe that masks and some form of social distancing should continue for years, if not forever.
Virus Avoidance Is Not the Whole of Life
48% Of U.S. Small Businesses Fear That They May Be Forced To “Shut Down Permanently” Soon
It is also important to remember that there are many Americans that have been unemployed for so long that they are no longer eligible to receive benefits.
Related:
Amazon and other corporations won the pandemic at the expense of everyone else
Veteran journalist lines up alongside the mainstream, attacking “conspiracy theorists” and “covid denialism”.
By Cat Maguire & Colleen Maguire
With a title like The Great Reset Conspiracy Smoothie, it appears Naomi Klein is trying too hard to recapture her prowess at defining a meme. Her buzz-concept, “Shock Doctrine,” is spot-on and rightfully successful. But her “Screen New Deal” about Silicon Valley technocrats fizzled.
Naomi Klein: Gatekeeper Extraordinaire
Related:
RT | December 9, 2020
American billionaires made so much money during the Covid-19 pandemic that their profits since March are enough to give every US resident a $3,000 check without cutting into their pre-virus wealth, a new report shows.
Billionaires’ ‘pandemic profits’ alone could pay for $3K stimulus checks to EVERY American – report
Can your boss make you get a COVID vaccine? Probably
The advent of the vaccines is great news for the country. But it also creates a quandary for employers who are already navigating tricky legal issues related to COVID, such as whether they can require workers to come into the office. In the case of the vaccines, can companies force employees to get a shot?
The short answer is yes. According to Jonathan Segal, a partner at Duane Morris who specializes in employment law, the legal bar for mandatory vaccinations requires showing a “strong business necessity.” And given the nature of the pandemic, companies should be able to clear that bar.
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There is also the question of who should pay for am employee to get a COVID vaccine. According to Segal, if the coming vaccine is not free, the law does not obligate employers to pay for the cost of a mandatory shot. Nonetheless, he argues they should do so, both because it is the ethical thing to do and since it will make it easier to ensure compliance. (Meanwhile, some politicians argue the U.S. should pay Americans $1,500 to get one).
Related:
Employers start preparing for the coronavirus vaccine with a question: Can we require it?
Political situation in Sweden: Corona, migration, fascism and anti-fascism (YouTube)
In comparison to other countries, there was never a lockdown in Sweden, but rather recommendations to follow. While many of us started working from home, we could still have a social life. For example, when going to the pub, we could go out and have fun with friends, but according to restrictions, you’d have to keep 1.5 meter away from other companies.
Federal student loan forbearance given additional extension
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced late Friday that the US government will extend a federal student loan forbearance on borrowers for an additional month as more businesses are closing due to a surge in coronavirus cases. This means that payments of federal student loans will not be due in January.
New records show Trump’s DOJ rushed a no-bid contract for lethal injection drugs
Since then, DOJ has continued full steam ahead despite public resistance and legal challenges, and conducted its business largely in the dark. So far, eight people have been executed since the Trump administration resumed the federal death penalty in July, and five more executions are scheduled before the start of the Biden administration. Rushing these executions in a pandemic has made matters worse: only two of the first seven men put to death had their attorneys present at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, where executions are being held, during their execution. At least 19 BOP staff and prisoners have contracted COVID-19, as well as two lawyers representing Lisa Montgomery, who is scheduled to be executed on December 8th (a judge has temporarily halted the execution in response). Documents obtained by the ACLU show that the rush of executions likely caused a COVID-19 spike. In July, the ACLU sued to delay the executions, arguing that they were superspreader events. DOJ proceeded anyway.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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