Thursday, April 30, 2020
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Wartime Vatican archive shows how much Pius knew about the Holocaust, says researcher
Folders marked with labels reading “Pius XII" are seen through a grating during a guided tour for media of the Vatican library on Pope Pius XII, at the Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. The Vatican’s apostolic library on Pope Pius XII, the World War II-era pope and his record during the Holocaust, opened to researchers on March 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
April 27, 2020
Tom Heneghan
PARIS (RNS) — The long-awaited opening of Pope Pius XII’s wartime records only lasted a week before the coronavirus shut the Vatican archives down again, but that was long enough for documents to emerge that reflect badly on the pontiff accused of silence during the Holocaust, according to published reports.
In that week alone, German researchers found that the pope, who never directly criticized the Nazi slaughter of Jews, knew from his own sources about Berlin’s death campaign early on. But he kept this from the U.S. government after an aide argued that Jews and Ukrainians — his main sources — could not be trusted because they lied and exaggerated, according to the researchers.
The researchers also discovered the Vatican hid these and other sensitive documents presumably to protect Pius’ image, a finding that will embarrass the Roman Catholic Church still struggling with its covering up of the clerical sexual abuse crisis.
These reports are coming out in Germany, home to seven researchers from the University of Münster who went to Rome despite the coronavirus crisis there for the historic opening of Pius’ wartime papers on March 2. Other researchers from the United States and Israel had been expected to attend the opening but apparently stayed home because of the pandemic.
READ: A gift of photos from a papal coronation opens a path for Jewish-Catholic healing
Leading the German team was Hubert Wolf, 60, a historian of the Catholic Church who has researched in the Vatican’s Secret Archive — now called the Apostolic Archive — since his student days. A Catholic priest and prolific author, he enjoys a reputation as an objective researcher and outspoken analyst.
“We have to first check these newly available sources,” he told Kirche + Leben, the Catholic weekly in Münster, last Friday. “If Pius XII comes out of this study of the sources looking better, that’s wonderful. If he comes out looking worse, we have to accept that, too.”
Tom Heneghan
PARIS (RNS) — The long-awaited opening of Pope Pius XII’s wartime records only lasted a week before the coronavirus shut the Vatican archives down again, but that was long enough for documents to emerge that reflect badly on the pontiff accused of silence during the Holocaust, according to published reports.
In that week alone, German researchers found that the pope, who never directly criticized the Nazi slaughter of Jews, knew from his own sources about Berlin’s death campaign early on. But he kept this from the U.S. government after an aide argued that Jews and Ukrainians — his main sources — could not be trusted because they lied and exaggerated, according to the researchers.
The researchers also discovered the Vatican hid these and other sensitive documents presumably to protect Pius’ image, a finding that will embarrass the Roman Catholic Church still struggling with its covering up of the clerical sexual abuse crisis.
These reports are coming out in Germany, home to seven researchers from the University of Münster who went to Rome despite the coronavirus crisis there for the historic opening of Pius’ wartime papers on March 2. Other researchers from the United States and Israel had been expected to attend the opening but apparently stayed home because of the pandemic.
READ: A gift of photos from a papal coronation opens a path for Jewish-Catholic healing
Leading the German team was Hubert Wolf, 60, a historian of the Catholic Church who has researched in the Vatican’s Secret Archive — now called the Apostolic Archive — since his student days. A Catholic priest and prolific author, he enjoys a reputation as an objective researcher and outspoken analyst.
“We have to first check these newly available sources,” he told Kirche + Leben, the Catholic weekly in Münster, last Friday. “If Pius XII comes out of this study of the sources looking better, that’s wonderful. If he comes out looking worse, we have to accept that, too.”
Churches, And Other Faith-Based Organizations, Can Receive Emergency Funds In ‘Unprecedented’ Move By The SBA
Apr 15, 2020,11:22pm EDT
Michela Moscufo
I cover collaboration and codependence in small business.
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 14: The Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan is shown open for prayer and reflection on April 14, 2020, in New York City. Most houses of worship have moved to live streaming services during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
On April 5, the Small Business Administration announced that faith-based organizations are eligible to receive financial assistance under the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This would make the hundreds of thousands of congregations and other faith-based organizations that were legally restricted from receiving SBA business loans now eligible for funding.
The announcement has resulted in outcry from lawyers, academics, pastors, and other public figures who are concerned this decision erodes the constitutional separation of church and state. Under this new provision churches could receive forgivable loans to pay pastors and other employee salaries, which critics say is akin to government-funded religion.
Federal regulation states that religious organizations cannot receive small business loans, yet the SBA said it would “decline to enforce those subsections” in a published document. Since non-profit organizations are eligible for federal aid under the CARES Act, the SBA has decided that eligibility extends to faith-based non-profits as well. The SBA’s justification invokes the second clause of the first amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on religious-belief:
“Those regulations bar the participation of a class of potential recipients based solely on their religious status,” the Small Business Administration wrote in a public document published April 3.
This decision, although unprecedented, is not surprising. The Trump administration has been consistent in its desire to expand access to federal funds for religious organizations, especially churches. It has relied on the non-discrimination clause of the first amendment, and a Supreme Court decision from 2017, to bolster its argument that no organization should be exempt from receiving federal funds because of its religious nature.
Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Trump administration expanded public assistance eligibility for faith-based organizations under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Previously, only religious institutions providing secular activities that “help the community at large” were eligible for public assistance as community centers. In the amended 2018 policy guide for FEMA public assistance, all language that placed restrictions on religious non-profits was removed. Activities such as “worship, proselytizing, religious instruction, or fundraising activities” that were previously considered ineligible for government grants, were now eligible under the category of essential governmental-type community services.
Since non-profit organizations were already included in the text of the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration only had to shift their policy to enable public assistance for faith-based organizations. In doing so, the Small Business Administration is ensuring that religious institutions, including houses of worship, are eligible for any loans that a private non-profit is eligible for under the CARES Act, regardless of how the money is used. The SBA makes clear that even the salaries of ministers and other staff engaged in the “religious mission” of the institutions can be covered under the grant.
“Explicitly religious activities cannot be funded by federal dollars,” says Katy Joseph, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Interfaith Alliance. “That is consistent with the establishment clause of the first amendment.”
Courts have been parsing the meaning of the first amendment since it became law. The longstanding tension is between its first two clauses: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. The government cannot regulate religious activity, and it cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion.
In giving money directly to churches, in the form of potentially forgivable loans, isn’t the government funding religious activities? The nature of the crisis, however, leads some to ask instead: if the government didn’t offer aid to faith-based organizations, would it be discriminating against them on the basis of religion?
Michela Moscufo
Contributor
I cover collaboration and codependence in small business.
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 14: The Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan is shown open for prayer and reflection on April 14, 2020, in New York City. Most houses of worship have moved to live streaming services during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
On April 5, the Small Business Administration announced that faith-based organizations are eligible to receive financial assistance under the CARES Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This would make the hundreds of thousands of congregations and other faith-based organizations that were legally restricted from receiving SBA business loans now eligible for funding.
The announcement has resulted in outcry from lawyers, academics, pastors, and other public figures who are concerned this decision erodes the constitutional separation of church and state. Under this new provision churches could receive forgivable loans to pay pastors and other employee salaries, which critics say is akin to government-funded religion.
Federal regulation states that religious organizations cannot receive small business loans, yet the SBA said it would “decline to enforce those subsections” in a published document. Since non-profit organizations are eligible for federal aid under the CARES Act, the SBA has decided that eligibility extends to faith-based non-profits as well. The SBA’s justification invokes the second clause of the first amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on religious-belief:
“Those regulations bar the participation of a class of potential recipients based solely on their religious status,” the Small Business Administration wrote in a public document published April 3.
This decision, although unprecedented, is not surprising. The Trump administration has been consistent in its desire to expand access to federal funds for religious organizations, especially churches. It has relied on the non-discrimination clause of the first amendment, and a Supreme Court decision from 2017, to bolster its argument that no organization should be exempt from receiving federal funds because of its religious nature.
Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Trump administration expanded public assistance eligibility for faith-based organizations under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Previously, only religious institutions providing secular activities that “help the community at large” were eligible for public assistance as community centers. In the amended 2018 policy guide for FEMA public assistance, all language that placed restrictions on religious non-profits was removed. Activities such as “worship, proselytizing, religious instruction, or fundraising activities” that were previously considered ineligible for government grants, were now eligible under the category of essential governmental-type community services.
Since non-profit organizations were already included in the text of the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration only had to shift their policy to enable public assistance for faith-based organizations. In doing so, the Small Business Administration is ensuring that religious institutions, including houses of worship, are eligible for any loans that a private non-profit is eligible for under the CARES Act, regardless of how the money is used. The SBA makes clear that even the salaries of ministers and other staff engaged in the “religious mission” of the institutions can be covered under the grant.
“Explicitly religious activities cannot be funded by federal dollars,” says Katy Joseph, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Interfaith Alliance. “That is consistent with the establishment clause of the first amendment.”
Courts have been parsing the meaning of the first amendment since it became law. The longstanding tension is between its first two clauses: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. The government cannot regulate religious activity, and it cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion.
In giving money directly to churches, in the form of potentially forgivable loans, isn’t the government funding religious activities? The nature of the crisis, however, leads some to ask instead: if the government didn’t offer aid to faith-based organizations, would it be discriminating against them on the basis of religion?
Monday, April 27, 2020
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Fauci's Absence From Task Force Briefing Turns Heads
NIH's Dr. Anthony Fauci (Patrick Semansky/AP)
By Solange Reyner | Monday, 23 March 2020 10:51 PM
Dr. Anthony Fauci's absence from the White House coronavirus task force briefing is making news.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was absent from the press briefing Monday for the second day in a row. His disagreements with President Donald Trump on the U.S.'s coronavirus response has made headlines, specifically comments he made to Science magazine over the weekend when he said there was a limit to what he could do when Trump made false statements.
"I can't jump in front of the microphone and push him down," Fauci said. "OK, he said it. Let's try and get it corrected for the next time."
Trump's patience is reportedly wearing thin with Fauci, according to a report in The New York Times published shortly after Monday's press briefing, and the president has become increasingly concerned with Fauci correcting his statements during the task force briefings.
Some White House officials have become concerned Fauci is criticizing the president, per the Times.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
On Annunciation, dozens of bishops dedicate their nations to Mary
3/26/2020
by
Sts. Jacinta and Francisco Marto are pictured in a colorized image with their cousin, Lucia dos Santos (right), in a file photo taken around the time of the 1917 apparitions of Mary at Fatima, Portugal. The two young saints died during an influenza epidemic. (CNS photo/Reuters)
Church leaders around the world used the feast of the Annunciation March 25 to entrust their nations to Mary and Jesus.
Catholic leaders from 24 states sought divine help in ending the COVID-19 pandemic by consecrating their countries to Jesus and Mary during a March 25 ceremony in Fatima, Portugal.
"We wish to entrust our supplications to the Virgin's maternal heart, so she may present them to God and intercede for us," said Cardinal Antonio dos Santos Marto of Leiria-Fatima.
"Through the rosary, we will keep in mind both direct and indirect victims of this pandemic, as well as health professionals tireless in their efforts to help the sick and the authorities seeking to find solutions."
In Harissa, north of Beirut, the towering white statue of Our Lady of Lebanon was illuminated the night of March 25 in the colors of the Lebanese flag. The lighting of the statue in red and white with a cedar tree was followed by the rosary, in the presence of a few priests, as Lebanese were confined to their homes due to COVID-19.
"We asked Our Lady of Lebanon to bless Lebanon and bless the whole world," Maronite Father Fadi Tabet, rector of the Harissa shrine, told Cathiuolic News Service.
The ceremonies came as the number of cases of COVID-19 climbed. By March 26, there were more than 511,000 confirmed cases, and test kits were at a premium in many countries. The death toll was more than 23,000, with nearly 121,000 recovered.
Catholic leaders from 24 states sought divine help in ending the COVID-19 pandemic by consecrating their countries to Jesus and Mary during a March 25 ceremony in Fatima, Portugal.
"We wish to entrust our supplications to the Virgin's maternal heart, so she may present them to God and intercede for us," said Cardinal Antonio dos Santos Marto of Leiria-Fatima.
"Through the rosary, we will keep in mind both direct and indirect victims of this pandemic, as well as health professionals tireless in their efforts to help the sick and the authorities seeking to find solutions."
In Harissa, north of Beirut, the towering white statue of Our Lady of Lebanon was illuminated the night of March 25 in the colors of the Lebanese flag. The lighting of the statue in red and white with a cedar tree was followed by the rosary, in the presence of a few priests, as Lebanese were confined to their homes due to COVID-19.
"We asked Our Lady of Lebanon to bless Lebanon and bless the whole world," Maronite Father Fadi Tabet, rector of the Harissa shrine, told Cathiuolic News Service.
The ceremonies came as the number of cases of COVID-19 climbed. By March 26, there were more than 511,000 confirmed cases, and test kits were at a premium in many countries. The death toll was more than 23,000, with nearly 121,000 recovered.
Moving Out and Not Coming Back
By JIM GERAGHTY
April 23, 2020 9:54 AM
A used face mask on a street in New York City, March 14, 2020 (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
On the menu today: The possibility of another wave of Americans moving out of the big cities, the likelihood of some future pandemic further down the road, and how the Red America–Blue America divide is likely to be altered when we emerge from this crisis.
The Coming De-Urbanization of America
Yesterday on my work Facebook page, a reader asked, “Why is it that the places Covid-19 show up the most are in Democrat controlled areas?” As much as I’d like to believe that all the troubles in the world can eventually be traced back to Bill de Blasio, I responded, “Probably because ‘the places it shows up the most’ are large densely-packed cities with a lot of international and domestic air travel and high use of mass transit, where Democrats have been winning elections more than Republicans for at least a generation and in many cases several generations.”
The Debate BetweenLiberty-Minded and Common-Good
Conservatives Is Nothing New
You can split red and blue America in a lot of ways — race, age, religiosity — but arguably the strongest factor is geography. The “Big Sort” that Bill Bishop described has been at work for two decades. Sure, there are conservatives and Republicans who live in big cities and inner-ring suburbs, just rarely in the numbers that could make a difference. And there are progressives and Democrats who live in rural areas and exurbs, but again, rarely in the numbers that could make a difference in elections.
Kevin Williamson has noted that conservatives often don’t even try to persuade city-dwellers of the value of their ideas, and lapse into a casual to overt contempt of life in the big city.
You can split red and blue America in a lot of ways — race, age, religiosity — but arguably the strongest factor is geography. The “Big Sort” that Bill Bishop described has been at work for two decades. Sure, there are conservatives and Republicans who live in big cities and inner-ring suburbs, just rarely in the numbers that could make a difference. And there are progressives and Democrats who live in rural areas and exurbs, but again, rarely in the numbers that could make a difference in elections.
Kevin Williamson has noted that conservatives often don’t even try to persuade city-dwellers of the value of their ideas, and lapse into a casual to overt contempt of life in the big city.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Pandemic Deepens Catholic Church’s Financial Crunch, From Vatican to Parishes
WORLD
As coronavirus closes doors, Church loses revenue sources and priests turn to online giving
By
Francis X. Rocca | Photographs by Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi for The Wall Street JournalUpdated April 24, 2020 10:08 am ET
ROME—The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a blow to the Catholic Church’s finances, threatening its extensive charitable activities and leading bishops and parish priests to slash expenses and seek funds elsewhere.
The impact of the pandemic, which has pulled the global economy into a likely recession, has been felt at the highest levels of the church. The Vatican has temporarily lost its largest single source of income, the Vatican Museums, since their closure last month. The museums typically receive more than six million visitors each year, yielding revenue of some €40 million ($43 million).
“The principal problem for the Catholic Church is that it is asset rich but liquidity poor,” said the Rev. Anthony Stoeppel, who teaches church finance at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California. “The pope could in theory sell St. Peter’s Basilica but unless he does so he doesn’t have that money.”
Robin Klueber organized the food pantry at the Church of the Ascension on Thursday. Donations have enabled the pantry to provide for the needy twice as often.
The Vatican also normally earns between €40 million and €50 million in rents on real estate properties, mostly in Rome, but those are also likely to diminish during a recession expected to last well beyond the reopening of the Italian economy, now slowly under way. The Vatican has said it would consider requests for reductions in rent payments from tenants suffering hardship.
The Rev. Augusto Zampini, a member of the pope’s task force on the coronavirus, told reporters on Thursday that the Vatican was tapping emergency financial reserves during the crisis and that some senior officials had offered to take pay cuts to ease the financial pressure.
The economic downturn aggravates a dire situation for the Vatican. Pope Francis urged officials last year to address the Holy See’s gaping budget deficit. The bulk of the pope’s world-wide annual charity collection wasn’t going to the poor but being used to plug the deficit, The Wall Street Journal discovered.
Adventist Health holding virtual race this weekend .. (Friday-Sunday)
Adventist Health holding virtual race this weekend benefiting families affected by COVID-19
Joseph Luiz
8 hours ago
The Adventist Health Bakersfield Foundation is kicking off its three-day first Tough as Nails Kern Kwarantine 2×4 Ultra Race tonight.
Through the virtual race, held April 24-26, people can run or walk from anywhere in the world, including on your treadmill, in your backyard or even on your balcony at home. The race is free, but the foundation is asking for donations to benefit families affected by COVID-19.
“So many people in our community are struggling through this quarantine, whether it’s the individuals who are directly fighting the coronavirus, or those who are just going a little stir-crazy at home. We want to find ways to help,” said AHBF President Beatris Espericueta Sanders. “For me, running has always provided a healthy outlet to work through issues I’m facing. We hope this race can provide that same outlet for others, and bring our community together.”
Runners must complete two miles every four hours for a 48-hour period. That means at least four of the two-mile runs will take place sometime between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., testing competitors not just physically but mentally.
The race totals 24 miles over two days and is based on inspirational speaker and retired Navy SEAL David Goggins’ 4x4x48 challenge that has become an annual viral challenge.
Unlike conventional races, competitors won’t be mailed bibs. Instead, race organizers are asking competitors to get creative and make their own. The best homemade bib will receive a prize.
Aside from finisher prizes and best bibs, organizers will also award prizes for other things, such as most socially distant and most socially present on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (hashtag Kern2x4 and #GetFitKern).
Donations will go toward helping families struggling with COVID-19, the foundation said, including buying groceries and covering transportation and lodging costs.
For more information or to sign up, visit https://bit.ly/3cH6c9Z.
"Plague of Corruption" by Dr. Judy Mikovits, Kent Heckenlively, interview
Download it before it's taken down for censorship...
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Q&A with Dr. Anthony Fauci (C-SPAN 1/8/2015)
Dr. Anthony Fauci Q&A interview on C-SPAN in 2015.
@ 12:27 Mins.
- LAMB: The Jesuits teach you high school, college, Holy Cross.
- FAUCI: Right.
- LAMB: Regis High School in Manhattan. What impact- what does it mean to be taught by Jesuits? We hear about Jesuits all the time.
- FAUCI: Well, it's a great experience, I have to say. They combine intense intellectualism with discipline, not in the sense of, you know, smacking you around, but intellectual rigor, discipline in how you handle yourself as a person, as a human being. And they have a general motto of-and I think this had a major influence on me and what I did-is the issue of service to others. That's very big.
- That doesn't mean that people who don't go into public service are doing anything lesser with their lives, but they tend to have a, I wouldn't say a pushing, but a leaning towards something about what you do is public service, either everything you do, which turned out what I did by going into public service, or at least a part of your life. So it was- it was an interesting combination of concern for mankind as well as a good intellectual rigor.
- LAMB: When did you want to be a doctor? Can you remember the time?
- FAUCI: I think it was early high school. I'm very interested in people. I'm very much of a people person, and probably, as part of the Jesuit training, which is very steeped in the classics and the humanities.
- So when I went to Regis High School we took four years of Greek, four years of Latin, a romance language, and ancient history and things like that. And when I went to Holy Cross, which is another Jesuit school, as a college, I took kind of a hybrid pre-med course. It was called- it's almost an oxymoron. It was called "A.B. Greek Classics dash Pre-Med."
- So you were majoring in the humanities and the classics with a lot of philosophy, but you took enough science to get into medical school. And the idea about when I wanted to become a doctor- I like science, I like discovery, I like the challenges of science, but I also so much liked mankind and the humanities that it was just a natural fit that, where do you put science and people in the same bucket? And to me that was medicine.
- LAMB: Who was an early mentor?
- FAUCI: Probably some of the very young Jesuits in Regis High School. In the Jesuit training, it's a long, long training before you become a Jesuit priest. And back then they had what's called scholastics, or people who weren't yet ordained as priests, but they dressed with the garb of a priest and they taught in the high school. And there were a couple of those scholastics who had a major impact on me, just great people, highly intellectual and highly nurturing of you and what you wanted to do.
---
Sources
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
A little slice of history: Sunday rest
By Rick Just History writer
The manager of the Natatorium Park Amusement Company got a warning before his arrest for violating Idaho’s Sunday Rest law.
Image from the Bob Hartman Collection.
I did the research for this column on a Sunday. I wrote it on another Sunday. It will appear on yet another Sunday. Does that make me a scofflaw?
No, not in 2020. In 1907 the answer would not have been so clear.
Many Idahoans would rather the state name not even appear in the same sentence as California. It will appear that way here, twice. Idaho and California were the last two states in the nation that did not have a Sunday Rest law on the books in 1907. That was soon to change.
Sunday Rest laws were put in statute to codify a day of rest from secular labor. The International Reform Bureau was a group promoting such laws nationwide, and Idaho was in their sights. Dr. G.L. Tufts, of Portland, was the group’s lead lobbyist. He took his job seriously enough to get arrested for it.
Dr. Tufts became the first to test a law then recently passed by the Idaho Legislature that prohibited lobbying in the statehouse. Tufts was arrested on a Wednesday after repeated warnings that his conversations with lawmakers were prohibited. Presiding over the case a Justice Savidge released the man that Friday on the grounds that “Your thought (was) kindly and brotherly, nothing else, and your motive philanthropic. Your intention was far from anything criminal and you may go on your way.”
The law prohibiting lobbying didn’t last, perhaps due in part to this quick dismissal. The bill Dr. Tufts lobbied for got considerable support from the citizenry in the form of petitions. As a sample, there were 41 signatures from St. Anthony, 126 from Boise, and, notably, 310 from Kellogg. The Silver Valley, which includes Kellogg, was deeply torn by the proposed law.
Mine owners pointed out the hardship of shutting down their operations one day each week and missing out on the soaring silver prices at the time. Bar owners, especially in Wallace, openly vowed to flout the law if it passed.
Cuomo says Michael Bloomberg will fund $10M coronavirus tracking program
'We must do the impossible’: Cuomo says Michael Bloomberg will fund $10M coronavirus tracking program
By DAVE GOLDINER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
APR 22, 2020 | 12:48 PM
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo makes an announcement in the Red Room at the State Capitol. April 21, 2020 in Albany, NY.(Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
Gov. Cuomo announced Wednesday that Michael Bloomberg will fund a pilot program to test and trace coronavirus infection rates as the daily death rate dipped slightly to 474.
The billionaire ex-NYC mayor will fund a $10 million initial plan to trace people who test positive for the deadly virus, a key hurdle to safely reopening the state.
“You have weeks to get this up and running. It’s a super-ambitious undertaking," Cuomo said. "And Mayor Bloomberg will help coordinate the entire effort.”
A statewide random testing effort is working to identify what share of New York’s population is infected with coronavirus. The tracing effort will track people across county and city lines.
Cuomo suggested that up to 10% or more of the city’s population may have been infected.
“How could you possibly trace a million people? You can’t. You do the best you can,” he said. “But for every person you isolate ... that’s one less person walking around infecting another 10 people.”
During what he called a “productive” meeting with President Trump Tuesday, Cuomo said the leaders agreed to double New York’s testing program from the 20,000 daily tests now being performed to 40,000.
The governor said the testing would be “ramped up” but admitted he has no time frame for achieving the target.
He said the federal government has also allocated $1.3 billion to fund tracing efforts, which Cuomo portrayed as an experiment that would benefit states across the nation as they seek to reopen using the same process.
The governor did not detail how the Bloomberg-run pilot plan would interact with federally funded plans or how they would collate and share information.
Even as Cuomo gave his daily update, demonstrators chanted and honked horns outside on an Albany street to demand the state reopen businesses and schools faster.
Cuomo insisted that he would resist pressure to reopen the state prematurely and potentially put New Yorkers’ lives at risk.
“Beware, because there can be a second wave, or there could be a third wave,” he said. “So, don’t be cocky just because you got hit by a wave and it didn’t knock you off your feet.”
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com/public/MORNEJU3YZBKXAHB6JASATDUIQ.jpg)
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Coronavirus in New York: How the state has been changed by the outbreak
The governor pushed back forcefully against a reporter who echoed protesters’ claim that the economic pain of the shutdown is worse than the public health cost of the pandemic.
“The illness is death. What is worse than death?” Cuomo said. “Economic pain, bad. Death, worse. Anxiety and stress from being stuck inside the house, bad. Death, worse.”
Financial doomsday: State, local governments face layoffs, service cuts, projects derailed
The coronavirus crisis "will be even worse than the Great Recession by a factor of at least two," one mayor said.
Small businesses in Brooklyn, N.Y., and across the country have been closed for weeks during the coronavirus epidemic.Mark Lennihan / AP file
April 22, 2020, 7:11 AM EDT / Updated April 22, 2020, 3:34 PM EDT
By Allan Smith
Across the country, state and local governments are clamoring for the federal government to rescue them from what could quickly become a fiscal catastrophe, saying that they may need as much as three-quarters of a trillion dollars as the coronavirus pandemic dries up many of their revenue sources.
Though Democrats sought to include roughly $150 billion in funding to state and local governments in the latest coronavirus aid package, set to pass this week, it did not make it into the final bill. Already, Congress approved $150 billion in funding for state and local governments as part of earlier coronavirus legislative aid — assistance governors and local leaders said would ultimately not be enough.
A Congressional Research Service report last week on initial coronavirus aid said that "early evidence suggests that the COVID-19 economic shock will have a notable impact on state and local budgets," pointing to the "sizable share of economic output" that derives from state and local governments.
April 22, 2020, 7:11 AM EDT / Updated April 22, 2020, 3:34 PM EDT
By Allan Smith
Across the country, state and local governments are clamoring for the federal government to rescue them from what could quickly become a fiscal catastrophe, saying that they may need as much as three-quarters of a trillion dollars as the coronavirus pandemic dries up many of their revenue sources.
Though Democrats sought to include roughly $150 billion in funding to state and local governments in the latest coronavirus aid package, set to pass this week, it did not make it into the final bill. Already, Congress approved $150 billion in funding for state and local governments as part of earlier coronavirus legislative aid — assistance governors and local leaders said would ultimately not be enough.
A Congressional Research Service report last week on initial coronavirus aid said that "early evidence suggests that the COVID-19 economic shock will have a notable impact on state and local budgets," pointing to the "sizable share of economic output" that derives from state and local governments.
April 21, 202001:50
Linda Bilmes, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and a leading expert on public budgetary and financing issues, told NBC News that the nature of the crisis prevents states from raising new revenue in traditional ways.
"Can you increase property taxes, retail taxes, income taxes, special investments? Can you increase service fees? Well, no," she added. "Nobody's using services, toll roads. Can you expand the number of fees? Can you increase traffic violations? Well, nobody's driving."
These governments will need to instead lay off or furlough workers, reduce benefits, cancel projects, defer construction and maintenance, and more.
Linda Bilmes, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and a leading expert on public budgetary and financing issues, told NBC News that the nature of the crisis prevents states from raising new revenue in traditional ways.
"Can you increase property taxes, retail taxes, income taxes, special investments? Can you increase service fees? Well, no," she added. "Nobody's using services, toll roads. Can you expand the number of fees? Can you increase traffic violations? Well, nobody's driving."
These governments will need to instead lay off or furlough workers, reduce benefits, cancel projects, defer construction and maintenance, and more.
On Earth Day, pope says nature will not forgive our trespasses
by Reuters
Wednesday, 22 April 2020 11:21 GMT
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY, April 22 (Reuters) - Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for protection of the environment on Wednesday's 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, saying the coronavirus pandemic had shown that some challenges had to be met with a global response.
Francis praised the environmental movement, saying it was necessary for young people to "take to the streets to teach us what is obvious, that is, that there will be no future for us if we destroy the environment that sustains us".
The pope, who wrote a major encyclical in 2015 on the defence of nature and the dangers of climate change, dedicated his general audience - broadcast from his library because of the coronavirus lockdown - to the theme.
Recounting a Spanish proverb that God always forgives, man sometimes forgives but nature never forgives, Francis said: "If we have deteriorated the Earth, the response will be very ugly."
A landmark in the emergence of the environmental movement when it first took place in 1970, this year's Earth Day has prompted calls from many, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for governments to pursue "green recovery" in response to coronavirus
Both the pope and Guterres have made environmental protection and climate change signature themes of their offices.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
'Army' of contact tracers will be needed in coronavirus fight
'Army' of contact tracers will be needed in coronavirus fight. Experts say that could cost billions.
Congress will need to appropriate about $3.6 billion in emergency funding for the effort, including for the hiring of 100,000 contact tracers, according to one report.
April 17, 2020, 7:02 PM EDT
By Erik Ortiz
With data continuing to suggest New York is "flattening the curve" in the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that the next phase in the battle for his state and others is on the horizon: contact tracing.
But it will come at a hefty cost.
The labor-intensive commitment involves identifying those who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and interviewing them to find out where they have gone and whom they’ve come in contact with, an effort that has been effective in controlling other outbreaks, including tuberculosis and SARS.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Before stay-at-home restrictions can be loosened and states and cities can begin the fragile process of emerging from isolation, public health experts warn that more people must be tested and then isolated through contact tracing to further diminish the virus's spread, while tracking who is healthy enough to go out.
A contact tracer is "a detective, investigator, in the public health space," Cuomo said during a news conference. "That is a massive undertaking ... an army of tracers."
But a recent report estimated that the high price tag for the implementation will require federal assistance.
Related
The two Ts that could help America emerge from coronavirus lockdown
Congress would need to appropriate about $3.6 billion in emergency funding for the effort, including for the hiring of 100,000 contact tracers, paid or volunteer, according to the report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Congress would need to appropriate about $3.6 billion in emergency funding for the effort, including for the hiring of 100,000 contact tracers, paid or volunteer, according to the report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Deborah Birx’s Husband Is Former Clinton ‘Advance Man’ Paige Reffe
Getty
Those who watch the press briefings from the White House Coronavirus Task Force are familiar with response coordinator Deborah Birx. Often the only woman on the stage, Birx was assigned to the task force on February 26 and draws on years of experience fighting HIV/AIDS globally. In fact, she served as the Ambassador-at-Large and US Global AIDS Coordinator from 2014 to 2020.
From time to time, Birx discusses her personal life on stage, with references to her husband of many years, former Clinton advance man, Paige Reffe.
Reffe Was the Deputy Assistant & Director of Advance for Bill Clinton
Reffe graduated from both the college and the law school of Emory University. From 2000 to 2002, he served on the Visitor’s Board of the United States Airforce Academy.
As the Deputy Assistant and Director of Advance, Reffe was responsible for the execution of the President and First Lady’s trips, according to The Project on Transitional Democracies.
Speaking to CBS in 2000, Reffe shared, “From who sits where on the motorcade, to how you communicate the message. They deal with who gets invited to events, who sits on the podium, who speaks and when. They deal with lighting, press filing centers, coordinating with security and balancing local political interests with national ones. The role is much more than a logistical one.”
Coronavirus Will Likely Change The Nature Of U.S. Political Debate (Update) Transcript
5-Minute Listen
With Congress taking unprecedented measures to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and a deep economic shock to the country, the crisis is poised to deeply reshape political dynamics in the U.S.
NOEL KING, HOST:
This pandemic could permanently change the way we live. There will almost certainly be more handwashing and more telework in the future. But could it also cause lasting political and policy changes? National political correspondent Mara Liasson has some answers.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: There are a lot of people who think the pandemic could reshape politics in profound ways.
ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER: This crisis is a time machine to the future.
LIASSON: Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of the New America think tank, was the former director of policy planning at the Obama State Department.
SLAUGHTER: I think we'll look back and see that this was like the Great Depression or a war and that created political space to make big policy change that seemed just too hard even two months ago.
LIASSON: Big policy changes that could rearrange traditional political divisions. Now that Republicans in the Senate have voted unanimously for policies they've opposed in the past, like paid sick leave, a guaranteed minimum income, student debt relief, protections for renters and for gig economy workers. Of course, this massive package of federal help for ordinary people is only temporary, but Slaughter says it has the potential to permanently change the political debate.
SLAUGHTER: Suddenly, in a crisis like this, people realize across the political spectrum that unless we can provide a floor, the whole economy can crash - that paid sick leave is not about coddling workers. It's about making sure that sick workers don't come to work and infect others. People are equally realizing if workers have no money to spend, the economy can't function.
LIASSON: Democrats have advocated many of these policies for decades. But now that Congress has approved the largest federal intervention in the economy since the creation of Medicare, they see a new opportunity to push for big investments in modern digital infrastructure, like 5G, a better public health system, universal health insurance that doesn't disappear when you lose your job and a stronger social safety net.
As he endorsed Joe Biden last week, former President Barack Obama was making this argument.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BARACK OBAMA: The vast inequalities created by the new economy are easier to see now, but they existed long before this pandemic hit. Health professionals, teachers and delivery drivers, grocery clerks, cleaners - the people who truly make our economy run, they've always been essential. And for years, too many of the people who do the essential work of this country have been underpaid, financially stressed and given too little support.
LIASSON: Democrats aren't the only ones who see a political opportunity in the pandemic. The nationalist populist wing of the Republican Party that's been warning about the dangers of globalization has also gotten a boost, says conservative J.D. Vance, the author of "Hillbilly Elegy."
JD VANCE: One of the core arguments of the Trump 2016 campaign is that in our supply chains in our manufacturing economy, we had become too dependent on a globalized world, especially China. It turns out that if you want to have an economy that can weather a crisis, you actually have to be able to make some core things for yourself, whether it's wireless technology, whether it's pharmaceutical products, whether it's ventilators and hospital masks.
LIASSON: And that's exactly the argument that you're hearing from Peter Navarro, President Trump's pandemic equipment czar.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PETER NAVARRO: If there's any vindication of the president's buy American, secure borders and a strong manufacturing base philosophy, strategy and belief, it is this crisis.
LIASSON: On trade, the pandemic gives a clear advantage to the antiglobalists in the GOP led by President Trump. But on domestic policies and the role of the federal government, while Democrats know what they want, Republicans aren't so sure, says Henry Olsen, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.
HENRY OLSEN: I think the debate within the Republican Party over what it stands for has been heating up, and the pandemic is going to kick it into overdrive. That you've got the people who are holding on to the neolibertarian version of the past but the - you've seen more and more calls for reform, which is moving more in the direction of engaging the Democrats on their core issue, which is how do we help people rather than saying the government can't help people?
LIASSON: There are already lots of splits. Conservative freshman Senator Josh Hawley, for instance, wants to beef up the social safety net. He's advocating a European-style unemployment backstop, where the federal government would pay companies 80% of wages to prevent layoffs. But other Republicans support nothing more than the current temporary emergency measures. And in addition to Tea Party-style protests against the stay-at-home orders, there's also conservative pushback to the exponential increases in federal spending - even temporarily.
But despite those Republican tensions, J.D. Vance says, it will be hard for the president and his party to continue to argue that popular programs like Obamacare should be eliminated lock, stock and barrel.
VANCE: I think the appetite for small government, everyone-is-on-their-own approach to the welfare state - frankly, it was always pretty small, and it's going to be even smaller, I think, over the next couple of years.
LIASSON: Especially, says Vance, when there are at least 22 million people who've applied for unemployment benefits. How this debate resolves itself depends on how long the pandemic recession lasts and how popular the government rescue programs turn out to be. But until then, the pandemic has given both parties an opportunity to appeal to the vast number of Americans who will need help from the federal government for some time to come.
Mara Liasson, NPR News.
Source
Promote Healthful Living
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1.
It is impossible for a man to present his body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, while continuing to indulge habits that are depriving him of physical, mental, and moral vigor. Again the apostle says, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2.36Counsels on Health, 23.
We are in a world that is opposed to righteousness or purity of character, and especially to growth in grace. Wherever we look, we see defilement and corruption, deformity and sin. How opposed is all this to the work that must be accomplished in us just previous to receiving the gift of immortality! God's elect must stand untainted amid the corruptions teeming around them in these last days. Their bodies must be made holy, their spirits pure. If this work is to be accomplished, it must be undertaken at once, earnestly and understandingly. The Spirit of God should have perfect control, influencing every action.
The health reform is one branch of the great work which is to fit a people for the coming of the Lord.... Men and women cannot violate natural law by indulging depraved appetites and lustful passions, without violating the law of God. Therefore He has permitted the light of health reform to shine upon us, that we may realize the sinfulness of breaking the laws which He has established in our very being....
To make natural law plain, and to urge obedience to it, is a work that accompanies the third angel's message.... He [God] designs that the subject shall be agitated, and the public mind deeply stirred to investigate it; for it is impossible for men and women, while under the power of sinful, health-destroying, brain-enervating habits, to appreciate sacred truth....
He who cherishes the light which God has given him upon health reform, has an important aid in the work of becoming sanctified through the truth, and fitted for immortality.37Counsels on Health, 20-22.
Maranatha, p. 119.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Pope dreams of post-virus world where inequalities abolished
By NICOLE WINFIELD
yesterday
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is urging the faithful to use the coronavirus pandemic’s “time of trial” to prepare for a future where inequalities are abolished and the poorest are no longer left behind.
“This is not some ideology,” Francis said. “It is Christianity.”
Francis traveled a few blocks outside the Vatican walls on Sunday to celebrate Mass at a nearby church to mark a special feast day dedicated to mercy. Only a few priests were in the pews given Italy’s strict virus lockdown.
In his homily, Francis said the grave, global toll of the pandemic has reminded the world that there are no borders between those who suffer, no differences in nationalities among those who are struck or spared.
“We are all frail, all equal, all precious,” he said.
“May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us,” he said from the altar of the Santo Spirito church. “The time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family!”
While people infected with the coronavirus often experience mild or moderate symptoms, possible complications like pneumonia can put their lives at risk.
Francis has been using his daily livestreamed Masses in the Vatican hotel where he lives to single out a particular group of people for prayers during the pandemic: the elderly, doctors and nurses, prisoners and those with disabilities.
On Sunday, he delivered a broader message about inequality and the need for a post-virus world to rethink its priorities. It’s a theme that echoes the pre-pandemic preaching of the world’s first Latin American pope, who has constantly demanded greater solidarity among rich and poor.
In recent days, Francis has proposed the creation of a universal basic wage to help those who have lost their jobs as a result of the virus economic shutdown to survive. On Sunday, he said there is a grave risk that while COVID-19 might eventually be tamed, the virus of “selfishness indifference” could take its place.
To combat that risk, he said: “Let us welcome this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective future. Because without an all-embracing vision, there will be no future for anyone.”
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is urging the faithful to use the coronavirus pandemic’s “time of trial” to prepare for a future where inequalities are abolished and the poorest are no longer left behind.
“This is not some ideology,” Francis said. “It is Christianity.”
Francis traveled a few blocks outside the Vatican walls on Sunday to celebrate Mass at a nearby church to mark a special feast day dedicated to mercy. Only a few priests were in the pews given Italy’s strict virus lockdown.
In his homily, Francis said the grave, global toll of the pandemic has reminded the world that there are no borders between those who suffer, no differences in nationalities among those who are struck or spared.
“We are all frail, all equal, all precious,” he said.
“May we be profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us,” he said from the altar of the Santo Spirito church. “The time has come to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining the health of the entire human family!”
While people infected with the coronavirus often experience mild or moderate symptoms, possible complications like pneumonia can put their lives at risk.
Francis has been using his daily livestreamed Masses in the Vatican hotel where he lives to single out a particular group of people for prayers during the pandemic: the elderly, doctors and nurses, prisoners and those with disabilities.
On Sunday, he delivered a broader message about inequality and the need for a post-virus world to rethink its priorities. It’s a theme that echoes the pre-pandemic preaching of the world’s first Latin American pope, who has constantly demanded greater solidarity among rich and poor.
In recent days, Francis has proposed the creation of a universal basic wage to help those who have lost their jobs as a result of the virus economic shutdown to survive. On Sunday, he said there is a grave risk that while COVID-19 might eventually be tamed, the virus of “selfishness indifference” could take its place.
To combat that risk, he said: “Let us welcome this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective future. Because without an all-embracing vision, there will be no future for anyone.”
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Pope Simulator - Trailer
Pope Simulator - Trailer
Ultimate Games S.A.
Published on Apr 16, 2020
Take over the reins of the world's largest religious institution – use your influence to change the fate of humanity. In this realistic political-strategic game, you take on the role of pope.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/12...
Realistic simulator of the Pope – face the problems of the modern world from the point of view of the head of the Church. Make decisions that will weigh on the fate of humanity, convert and support the crowds. Plan the church's strategic actions through faithful envoys. Manage your travels around the globe. Fight for peace.
Friday, April 17, 2020
Paying Pandemic Bills Requires Changes In Wealth Gap
Paying Pandemic Bills Requires Changes In Wealth Gap, Dalio Says
April 16, 20205:04 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
NPR's Noel King Talks to Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, about how the economy might change in a post-pandemic world.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Ray Dalio is known for making lucrative predictions. His hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is the largest in the world. But Dalio, who is a billionaire himself, says capitalism is broken. Noel talked with Dalio about how the economy might change in a post-pandemic world.
RAY DALIO: We will have ahead of us the question of, who's going to pay the bills and how will we redefine things? - because we have a large wealth gap. And all of these processes necessitate a lessening of the wealth gap.
NOEL KING, BYLINE: You've been concerned about the wealth gap since before this - before the pandemic. Is there a set of circumstances in which that gets better? And what are those circumstances?
DALIO: Well, history has shown the same things happen over and over again. You have the crash. And the '30s is a great model. There's the United States; there's other countries. And there's a lot of fighting over wealth, just as a basic principle. The United States maintained a civility, but there was a wealth gap. There needed to be a shift in wealth. And there were jobs programs. There were changes in taxation and so on. And the United States did it in the best way in the world.
KING: Over the weekend, the pope, in his Easter address, appeared to endorse a universal basic income - a government guarantee that every citizen receives a minimum income. What do you think about a universal basic income to address some of the structural inequalities that have you so worried that capitalism is not working the way it should?
DALIO: We are now in an era of universal basic income.
KING: Oh, you mean now with the pandemic - people getting checks in the mail?
DALIO: Right. And it won't be adequate. And the only question is how long that lasts. But let's say...
KING: How long should it last, do you think?
DALIO: It has to last long enough so that there's subsistence. It's the quick and easy way for getting a certain amount of purchasing power in the hands of those people. And of course, it's the transfer of wealth, and that should exist. And I think there's a wonderful opportunity here, if we can operate well, to restructure the way the system is working in a way to increase the size of the pie and divide it well.
KING: What does the United States economy look like when this is over?
DALIO: We will have a lot of people suffering financially, not just in - here but around the world. I worry about the anger and the fighting and what that might be like. And we're going to be much more isolated, not just because of the virus but because of the fact that everybody knows that they have to have self-sufficiency, from the individual all the way to the country. In either case, we still have the greatest asset of humanity - the ability to adapt, invent and come up with things. And we will do that effectively, and we will get past it. But it may take a few years, and it may be nasty in the process.
KING: Ray Dalio, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate it.
DALIO: Thank you for the opportunity.
U.S. ducks coronavirus doomsday as projections miss mark
Medical workers cheer and acknowledge pedestrians and FDNY firefighters who gathered to applaud them at 7pm outside Brooklyn Hospital Center, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
By Stephen Dinan, Alex Swoyer and David Sherfinski
New York, which just weeks ago was pleading with the feds to help it find 40,000 ventilators to handle a projected flood of critically ill COVID-19 patients, now says things are going so well it’s shipping hundreds of ventilators to other states.
Hospital beds nationwide were projected to top out at nearly 225,000 on their peak day amid the coronavirus crisis. Instead, they peaked at less than a third of that.
Beds in intensive care units are also far less in demand than prognosticators had warned.
It’s all good news, as America appears to be avoiding doomsday coronavirus scenarios, but it’s spurring questions about why the initial numbers were so far off.
Pessimists say there was never enough understanding of the disease, and prognosticators and policymakers were operating in the dark, guessing at what was going to happen and using imperfect data to make decisions that could turn out to have been completely wrong.
Others counter that it turns out the country is far better at social distancing than expected and the virus’s spread has slowed because of that.
Experts said both factors were at play.
Even when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was demanding tens of thousands of ventilators for his state alone, the models said the entire country would need no more than about 25,000 at peak.
In reality, things topped out at a peak last week of about 15,000 ventilators nationally, with New York needing only about 5,200.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Pope Francis goes full fascist, pushes universal basic income, a strategy to enslave the world under government tyranny
Thursday, April 16, 2020 by: Ethan Huff
(Natural News) On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, didn’t celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ the Messiah. Instead, he preached about universal basic income (UBI), encouraging governments of the world to widely adopt it for the “betterment” of humanity.
In a letter he wrote to members of various social activist groups, Francis stressed that a big part of his mission in this world is to advance a hybrid form of communist socialism that will ensure a steady stream of fiat currency to those who have “no steady income.”
“I know that you have been excluded from the benefits of globalization,” Francis wrote. “You do not enjoy the superficial pleasures that anesthetize so many consciences, yet you always suffer from the harm they produce. The ills that afflict everyone hit you twice as hard.”
Francis specifically named “street vendors, recyclers, carnies, small farmers, construction workers, dressmakers,” and “different kinds of caregivers” as the types of people he believes deserve a UBI. Giving these people free money would “acknowledge and dignify the noble, essential tasks you carry out,” he further wrote.
“It would ensure and concretely achieve the ideal, at once so human and so Christian, of no worker without rights,” Francis ultimately declared.
Because of rapid technological advances in production and other tasks that are making actual human labor obsolete, many are being left behind, is Francis’ take on the situation. Thus, the time is ripe to implement a new world order where people are taken care of by their benevolent governments, apparently.
“I hope that this time of danger will free us from operating on automatic pilot, shake our sleepy consciences and allow a humanist and ecological conversion that puts an end to the idolatry of money and places human life and dignity at the center,” Francis contends.
“Our civilization – so competitive, so individualistic, with its frenetic rhythms of production and consumption, its extravagant luxuries, its disproportionate profits for just a few – needs to downshift, take stock, and renew itself.”
Pope Francis is the communist false prophet of the new world order
You’ve got to admit that Pope Francis has a way with words. He knows how to inject just the right amount of Christian-sounding verbiage into his lofty diatribes about social justice and doing away with free-market capitalism, which is something he’s been pushing for many years now.
Keep in mind that Francis incorporated these same things into his actual Easter message, which complemented this letter he wrote to social justice warriors everywhere who believe that the duty of the state is to take care of them by providing free money for survival.
By all appearances, Francis is the false prophet spoken about in the book of Revelation who’s leading his followers astray and herding them straight into the new world order. His promises of a Utopian future built upon free money from the government is the same message coming from the likes of two-time failed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who also opposes free markets.
At some point, all of this is going to converge into a new world religion, which will require worship of the beast, a part of which will be mandatory acceptance of microchip vaccinations and total herd tracking. Such chips will also be necessary in order to buy and sell, or to receive the UBI paychecks that Francis is demanding.
Beware of anything that sounds too good to be true because it probably is. And in this case, it will come with plenty of strings attached, including the requirement that a person sell his soul in exchange for everything being promised in the name of fairness, equality, decency and goodness.
To learn more about the agenda of Pope Francis, be sure to check out Evil.news.
Sources for this article include:
Disrn.com
Ultra-secret military task force prepares to secure D.C. and U.S. Capital ahead of major inbound event
U.S. government braces for impending disaster under the guise of COVID-19
By Lexi Morgan -
April 16, 2020 A Newsweek exclusive report released on Wednesday reveals how “a little-known military task force charged with evacuating Washington has already been activated, a task force charged with the most sensitive government mission of “securing” Washington in the face of attackers, foreign and domestic—and if necessary, moving White House and other key government offices to alternate locations.”
According to the report, the Joint Task Force National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) was activated on Wednesday one month after President Trump declared a national emergency under the guise of the invisible enemy known as COVID-19.
The ultra-secret team has been ordered to “defend” at all costs the capital city’s waterfront, land, and airspace from whatever top military strategists within the U.S. government know is arriving.
Bracing for impact
As you may already know, Intellihub founder Shepard Ambellas has been trying to warn people of an impending disaster for weeks now and has made dozens of diligent appearances on broadcasts, including Coast To Coast AM with George Noory, and podcasts such as Crowdsource the Truth, in an attempt to warn the American populace of what Amebella’s speculates is an “inbound near-earth object,” possibly an asteroid, extinction-level event, or Planet X.
Ambellas lays it all out in a brilliant report and presentation titled Doomsday plan activated: The real reason FEMA is in control and POTUS is now powerless where he claims that Celestial objects may be on a direct collision course with earth and reports on a White House plan to mitigate earthbound near-earth objects in last-ditch effort to save humanity.
“The first asteroid intersects earth’s orbit Wednesday, April 15, then again on April 29, and beyond,” Ambellas wrote “This is not a drill but rather a real-world ‘live exercise'” as Secretary of Defense Mike Pompeo stated during a White House press conference last month.
Now, the Pentagon is talking about potentially evacuating the city per se, if they feel something bad may hit. (i.e. a COVID-19 spike in deaths or another disaster)
Newsweek reports:
Ever since National Guards started to activate countrywide, Pentagon officials have insisted that men and women in uniform are not conducting secret missions and that they will not administer or enforce “stay at home” quarantines. The Pentagon has also rejected reports, including articles in Newsweek, about martial law or other extreme contingency plans, arguing that the Guard remains under strict control of state governors, while federal troops support civil agencies like FEMA.
And yet the activation of Joint Task Force National Capital Region, including almost 10,000 uniformed personnel to carry out its special orders, contradicts those assurances. JTF-NCR is not only real and operating, reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense for some of its mission, but some of its units are already on 24/7 alert, specially sequestered on military bases and kept out of coronavirus support duties to ensure their readiness.
Keep in mind, it comes after President Trump announced this week that hospitals did not need to use many ventilators during the current COVID-19 outbreak and claimed that the unused ventilators would be added to the U.S. stockpile to be used at a later date.
Moreover, the president ordered on Tuesday the dispersal over 6.5 million dust masks to “essential workers” throughout the Continental United States.
Couple all of that with Trump’s most recent order to send military medical personnel from the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy to staff empty hospitals, triage tents, and sports stadiums across the country–I myself tend to think that we may have an evolving problem and that Ambellas may be right with his theory.
Are you prepared?
#ShelterInPlace #StayAtHome
Seed companies can't keep up as more Americans turn to growing their own food
BY AIMEE PICCHI
APRIL 14, 2020 / 7:54 AM / MONEYWATCH
As millions of Americans hunker down at home, the coronavirus outbreak has led to runs on everything from toilet paper to baker's yeast. Now people are reporting another shortage: seeds to start their "pandemic gardens."
Some seed companies said they've temporarily stopped taking new orders after seeing an overwhelming surge in demand. The increase in orders is "just unbelievable," said George Ball, chairman of Burpee Seeds, a 144-year-old seed company in Pennsylvania. The company closed to new orders last week because it needed time to catch up, although it plans to start accepting them again on Wednesday.
With Americans largely stuck in place, many are turning to home-based activities that are boosting sales of home improvement goods, alcohol — and gardening supplies.
"If I had to put my thumb on it, I would say people are worried about their food security right now," said Emily Rose Haga, the executive director of the Seed Savers Exchange, an Iowa-based nonprofit devoted to heirloom seeds. "A lot of folks even in our region are putting orders into their grocery stores and having to wait a week to get their groceries. Our society has never experienced a disruption like this in our lifetime."
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Nearly half of Americans believe the Bible should influence US laws
By Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter| Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Joel Perez prays during the 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held at the King Jesus International Ministry as they await the arrival of President Donald Trump on January 03, 2020 in Miami, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Almost half of adults in the United States believe that the Bible should influence the laws, with over a quarter saying that it should overrule the will of the people, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
A report by Pew’s Fact Tank published Monday found that in a survey of American adults, 49 percent of respondents believe that the Bible should have either “a great deal” or “some” influence on U.S. laws.
By contrast, 19 percent of respondents said they believe that the Bible should have “not much” influence on the laws, while 31 percent responded “none at all.”
Among those who said the Bible should have “a great deal” or “some” influence on laws, 28 percent said they believe the Bible should overrule the will of the people when they conflict.
White evangelicals were the religious group most likely to support the Bible having influence on laws, with 58 percent of respondents saying it should have “a great deal” of influence and 31 percent saying it should have “some” influence.
Among white evangelical respondents who supported biblical influence on laws, 68 percent believe that the Bible should overrule the will of the people when they conflict. This was the largest support for that answer among all surveyed religious groups.
Almost half of adults in the United States believe that the Bible should influence the laws, with over a quarter saying that it should overrule the will of the people, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
A report by Pew’s Fact Tank published Monday found that in a survey of American adults, 49 percent of respondents believe that the Bible should have either “a great deal” or “some” influence on U.S. laws.
By contrast, 19 percent of respondents said they believe that the Bible should have “not much” influence on the laws, while 31 percent responded “none at all.”
Among those who said the Bible should have “a great deal” or “some” influence on laws, 28 percent said they believe the Bible should overrule the will of the people when they conflict.
White evangelicals were the religious group most likely to support the Bible having influence on laws, with 58 percent of respondents saying it should have “a great deal” of influence and 31 percent saying it should have “some” influence.
Among white evangelical respondents who supported biblical influence on laws, 68 percent believe that the Bible should overrule the will of the people when they conflict. This was the largest support for that answer among all surveyed religious groups.
Protesters clog streets in Michigan over Whitmer coronavirus stay-home order
People take part in a protest for “Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine” at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan today.Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images
By Mark Moore
April 15, 2020 | 5:38pm | Updated
There's actual militia
Protesters cause backed up traffic over stay at home orders
Thousands of protesters on foot and in vehicles converged Wednesday on Michigan’s capital to rally against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders in the state.
“Operation Gridlock,” organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition, created a huge bumper-to-bumper traffic jam around the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
Meshawn Maddock, an organizer for the group, said the demonstrators include Republicans, Democrats and independents.
“Quarantine is when you restrict movement of sick people. Tyranny is when you restrict the movement of healthy people,” Maddock told Fox News. “Every person has learned a harsh lesson about social distancing. We don’t need a nanny state to tell people how to be careful.”
The protests had been expected to start at noon, but a line of vehicles stretching for miles began earlier in the morning.
“Operation Gridlock” was just one of many demonstrations planned across the country to push back on the stay-at-home orders, calling on state governments to focus on the economic toll the coronavirus pandemic has caused along with taking care of the sick.
Nearly 17 million Americans have been laid off or furloughed in the past three weeks – or one out of every 10 workers.
Echoing President Trump that “we cannot let the cure be worse than the disease,” Maddock said the restrictions are wrecking people’s lives and may have killed more than the virus.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Downturn Since the Great Depression
(Photo: WILLY KURNIAWAN/REUTERS/Newscom)
IMFBlog is a forum for the views of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and officials on pressing economic and policy issues of the day.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF and its Executive Board.
IMFBlog2020-04-14T10:04:15-05:00April 14, 2020|
By Gita Gopinath
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português
The world has changed dramatically in the three months since our last update of the World Economic Outlook in January. A rare disaster, a coronavirus pandemic, has resulted in a tragically large number of human lives being lost. As countries implement necessary quarantines and social distancing practices to contain the pandemic, the world has been put in a Great Lockdown. The magnitude and speed of collapse in activity that has followed is unlike anything experienced in our lifetimes.
April World Economic Outlook projects global growth in 2020 to fall to -3 percent.
This is a crisis like no other, and there is substantial uncertainty about its impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. A lot depends on the epidemiology of the virus, the effectiveness of containment measures, and the development of therapeutics and vaccines, all of which are hard to predict. In addition, many countries now face multiple crises—a health crisis, a financial crisis, and a collapse in commodity prices, which interact in complex ways. Policymakers are providing unprecedented support to households, firms, and financial markets, and, while this is crucial for a strong recovery, there is considerable uncertainty about what the economic landscape will look like when we emerge from this lockdown.
Under the assumption that the pandemic and required containment peaks in the second quarter for most countries in the world, and recedes in the second half of this year, in the April World Economic Outlook we project global growth in 2020 to fall to -3 percent. This is a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from January 2020, a major revision over a very short period. This makes the Great Lockdown the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis.
Assuming the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and that policy actions taken around the world are effective in preventing widespread firm bankruptcies, extended job losses, and system-wide financial strains, we project global growth in 2021 to rebound to 5.8 percent.
This recovery in 2021 is only partial as the level of economic activity is projected to remain below the level we had projected for 2021, before the virus hit. The cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic crisis could be around 9 trillion dollars, greater than the economies of Japan and Germany, combined.
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