Vaccines, Infrastructure, and Kids In Cages: US Politics April 2021

A guy constantly in the news down here for most of my childhood.

I saw the Davis toilet/chair article last night and misread it the same as DJP, provoking momentary, "wha-what?" before I re-read the name.

I would make a nice donation to be able to relieve myself on the Davis toilet/chair.

Valuing that chair at half a million dollars is just a load of stupid pro-Confederacy propaganda. The communique from the group struck just the right tone.

If the Daughters of the Confederacy have seen Black Mirror, they know they're getting off lightly.

how likely is it that they put up the banner?

also i'm holding back on letting you all know what else that chair could be used for and you're welcome

xp, Very unlikely. The chair is worthless except as a token of power, so any act of submission would be far worse than letting their stupid chair be "desecrated".

also i'm holding back on letting you all know what else that chair could be used for and you're welcome

I think everyone here has seen Burn After Reading.

I’m not sure what that is but there are “birthing chairs” from throughout history and some of them look pretty much like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrzEDyS9Ddw

Amazon backs a corporate tax rate hike https://t.co/81SFbxbx3J

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) April 6, 2021

"Of course, we'll swiftly move all our financial holdings to Ireland, but we nevertheless support this bold move."

Lol Amazon

Where did that Jamelle Bouie piece run?

NYT

Thanks

The Biden administration next week will launch a funeral assistance program that will provide up to $9,000 to cover the burial costs of each American who died of covid-19 — the largest program of its type ever offered by the federal government.

The program is open to families regardless of their income, as long as they show documentation and have not already received similar benefits through another program.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reimbursed burial costs before, but it has never offered as large a payment to so many people. In 2017, for example, FEMA paid $2.6 million to 976 people for funeral costs of victims of three hurricanes — an average of $2,664 per applicant.

But the novel coronavirus’s immense toll means a burial assistance program of an unprecedented scale is now being assembled. More than 557,000 Americans have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.''

Because the number of people who will be eligible is not known, neither is the program’s ultimate cost — but it will easily be several billion dollars. FEMA is setting up a dedicated toll-free hotline — 1-844-684-6333 — and a call center to answer questions about the program and take applications starting Monday, April 12.

“Although we cannot change what has happened, we affirm our commitment to help with funeral and burial expenses that many families did not anticipate,” acting FEMA administrator Bob Fenton said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both New York Democrats, have been pushing to help families pay for burials since last spring, when covid-19 was ravaging their state and mobile morgues were needed to handle the surge of deaths.

“To not be able to give a decent funeral and burial to someone who is near and dear to you is outrageous,” Schumer said at the time. He said people were losing their jobs and without enough money to eat, at the same time that they needed to pay for funerals of loved ones.

Ocasio-Cortez said the pandemic that disproportionately affected Latinos and Black Americans was “decimating an already vulnerable community. . . . The absolute least we can do is to help these families bury their loved ones. It is the very core, basic measure of human dignity.”

Funeral aid was held up during the worst of the crisis last year until then-President Donald Trump signed a nearly $1 trillion covid stimulus bill in the final weeks of his administration. The details were never made clear, but the maximum benefit discussed at the time was $7,000 and the funeral assistance program was to be capped at $2 billion.

After President Biden took office and signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan last month, the program was expanded. The funeral aid — even if it doubles from the $2 billion in the measure signed by Trump — is still a tiny fraction of the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill, which was opposed by all but a handful of congressional Republicans.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/covid-funerals-assistance/2021/04/06/d7d1db20-9659-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html

i just want to say that this program is very, VERY important to my family right now. thank you to those reading it that pay into it. it's helping us a lot. among my familial duties is waiting for Apr 12 so I can submit the application. for all of our differences, an aversion to wealth runs in my immediate family (it's funny how the expectation of apocalypse can match a cynical view of the monetary valuation of artistic fartput), so this program makes a big difference. my mom is going to be living off of SS now. my dad was due to start his SS payments this very month. he worked his entire career in public service, working 60+ hours a week on multiple jobs his entire life, and now my mom gets $2200 a month. so just covering his $3K cremation is going to be huge.

thank you to you all. seriously, for paying into this kind of thing, and supporting it. i won't be TOO vocal and irritable about it, but i do plan on letting my mother know where this benefit is coming from and which political party actually gave 1/10000000000000000000000th of a flying fuck about covid

but also, fuck this entire country

<3

seriously though - fuck this country

eat shit USA

much love, Z, and I hope you're able to restart your (horribly brief) extrication from family communication after these obligations, if that will still be beneficial to you.

Sending you love, Z.

Indeed.

Oh no. I'm glad that this is good news for you KM and also sorry to hear about the circumstances that make it good news. It's never easy, even when relationships are complicated/strained.

I really feel for everything yr going through at the moment, KM - wishing you strength and calm

I found out last night that the SBA’s disaster loans have been extended by a year (meaning I don’t have to start making payments until July 2022) *and* they’re letting people apply for increases, so I’m gonna try for another bite at that apple. Thanks, Biden!

Best wishes, KM.

♥️ km, wishing all the best for you

Yeah, best to you, KM.

Wishing you all the best, Z.

Joining the chorus - wishing you the best possible next steps in this very difficult journey, KM.

Glad to hear there is some slight relief, KM, in the middle of so much difficulty and grief. I hope you find some space for peace.

KM, I am so sorry. My deepest condolences.

laughing and crying at your posts at the same time km.

I am so, so sorry that it ended this way.

very sorry km. glad to hear about that program.

Oooooof, ❤️ and thank you, but also it is weiiird that I post this kind of shit when I black out. At least it was related to US politics? But thank you. Honestly, in the morning with this headache, I do blame US politics for his death. It’s impossible to put a number on such things, but I’d say it’s around 40-45% the fault of US politics.

Can I name the may thread? US politics: look out!!

oh look out you anti-vaccers!
ch-ch-ch-changes

look out, ya onethread posters-ch-ch-changes

a couple holes in white supremacy. biden said “let’s fill in the gaps 😏” https://t.co/MhAjSqjSY5

— 🌱 (@noname) April 7, 2021

obviously that could be true, but from what I could tell the only primary source for that is a right-wing rag (the Washington Times)

same source but more context

As @n_th_n_ reminded me, Mayorkas, who said ICE has a “noble mission” and needs to “strengthen [its] policies and practices,” was Obama’s director of UCIS (2009-13) and then deputy secretary of DHS (2013-16). https://t.co/DgIa8aIAZs

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) April 7, 2021

There have been stretches of walled barriers along the US-Mexico border since long before Obama was president. If some of Trump's new sections of barrier can be made contiguous with earlier sections at minimal cost, it makes a kind of sense. Not good sense, mind you. The wall is mostly useless. But filling in any smallish gaps appeals to one's natural sense of order and tidiness.

Hard to believe the Biden admin would like to discourage everyone to the left of Hillary and under 40 from ever voting again... but maybe.

the Biden admin would like to discourage everyone to the left of Hillary and under 40 from ever voting again

Yes. That must be their plan. Only possible explanation.

Lol nothing about borders makes any sense, period.

Americans lose their minds over many things, but (a) Israel (b) brown people racing across an open border to take assistant vice president of HR positions at Applebee's destroy them.

qft

Hey, that was my Applebee's position (for which I am wildly unqualified)!