These few evil Republicans .. and that is the only appropriate word to describe the likes of Lindsey Graham and several of  his comrades .. who put on display in the public forum their evil and callous world view. These trolls reap obscene benefits from lobbyists, PACS and campaign contributors..  and have the audacity to protest the common citizen receiving a $600 stipend. Samantha Power wrote a Pulitzer Prize book, “A Problem from Hell-America and the Age of Genocide.”   Republican members of Congress who are trying to stop this legislation are the type people Ms. Power was writing about. Or as Hannah Arendt aptly labeled this behavior in 1962, “The banality of evil.”

Excerpted from  the Wall Street Journal 3.25.2020

WASHINGTON—The Senate late Wednesday moved towards voting on an estimated $2 trillion stimulus package designed to shield the economy from the ravages of the new coronavirus pandemic, after the effort hit snags earlier in the day.

The legislation hit a snag on Wednesday when a group of Senate Republicans attempted to amend the legislation to remove the $600 extra weekly payment for those receiving unemployment insurance because it could result in people getting more money while out of work than they did in their jobs.

“This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.). He, along with a few others, attempted to amend the legislation.

The $600 across-the-board increase was a bipartisan agreement, reached several days ago and was done because every state has a different unemployment program and creating a program for each state would take too much time, aides from both parties said.

“Some workers, some, may end up coming out ahead…I’m not going to stand here and say that I feel badly about that,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.). “Let’s give them that helping hand and not apologize for it for a minute.”

The Senate was expected to vote Wednesday night on the mammoth bill, though the procedure was delayed when rank-and-file members voiced objections while lawmakers were finalizing the bill’s full text.

 

After reading an article in the San Francisco Chronicle over 10 years ago in which the Critic called The Wire, “the best television series, ever” I began watching and was hooked.

I have every season on DVD and feel vindicated that The Wire is now receiving the viewership it has always deserved.

The Wire is gritty, violent, realistic and definitely not for the squeamish.

Vanity Fair 3.25.2020

Upon entering indefinite periods of self-isolation, millions of people across the country apparently had the same exact idea: This would be a great time to finally watch The Wire. You know—the Baltimore-set HBO crime drama that critics have never stopped swooning about? The one that offered Idris Elba a breakout role on American television? Yes, that one. You come at the king, et cetera, et cetera, you know how this song goes.

According to Variety, HBO’s parent company, WarnerMedia, says that viewership of The Wire has nearly tripled in the last week on HBO Now, its streaming service.

At last, all the people who silently nodded and smiled whenever the show became a topic of conversation at parties (sigh, remember parties?) are finally playing catchup, using this quarantine season to see what all the fuss is about. Or worse: All the people who have already seen the show are refreshing their memories, arming themselves to pepper their Zoom hangouts with important points such as, “It’s actually the first Dickensian work of television,” or “You know, I prefer season five to season four,” or “How come they never showed that many wires?” (I have never seen The Wire.)

WarnerMedia shared that flagship shows The Sopranos and Sex and the City have also almost doubled in viewership, bringing two of television’s most notorious antiheroes—Tony Soprano and Carrie Bradshaw—back into the spotlight. One can only hope that friends all across this nation are having renewed arguments about who is truly the worst man on Sex and the City. Viewers are also checking out contemporary shows, though. Westworld is the number one show on the streamer, while shows like Euphoria, Big Little Lies, Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials, and the miniseries Chernobyl have all seen boosts in viewership.

Dominic West and Michael K. Williams

Streaming has become more important than ever, as millions of people across the world shelter at home to stop the spread of coronavirus. In fact, people have been binging projects with such alarming speed that it’s placed a strain on internet providers. Over in Europe, Netflix has had to take the extra step of reducing its video quality for 30 days to decrease the stress on internet networks. Per the BBC, Netflix said lowering video quality will reduce data consumption by 25%. The streamer has not yet said whether it will take the same step in North America. And for those in need of additional TV recommendations across streamers, we’ve got more than a few suggestions to keep you company.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/coronavirus-the-wire-hbo

 

A German Court sentenced several Neo-Nazis to prison today.

These thugs had planned a terrorist attack in Berlin on October 2, 2018 during the 29th annual Reunification Day ceremony and festivities.  The commemoration of the reuniting of East and West Germany. A partition which was created at the end of World War II in 1945.

I was in Berlin at the time.

Even in the midst of the Coronavirus the German government pursued this prosecution to ensure justice was served.

Deutsche Welle 3.24.2020 – Photos Lee Heidhues

Eight men were found guilty of being members of a terrorist organization for their involvement in the group “Revolution Chemnitz.” The men planned to launch a civil-war-like revolt in Berlin before they were caught.

The trial went ahead on Tuesday despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, since any interruption of proceedings lasting longer than 10 days would have forced the trial to start over from the beginning.

Eight members of the neo-Nazi group “Revolution Chemnitz” were sentenced to several years in prison by a court in eastern Germany on Tuesday.

In their ruling, the Higher Regional Court in Dresden agreed with prosecutors that the group constituted a terrorist organization.

The ringleader, Christian K., was handed the longest sentence —five years and six months — for founding and being a member of a terrorist group.

The other defendants were sentenced to two years and three months in prison for taking part in “Revolution Chemnitz.” Five of them were also found guilty of severely disturbing the peace, while another was also sentenced for aggravated assault.

Topography of Terror  – Berlin, Germany

The men, aged 22 to 32, allegedly lead the skinhead, hooligan and neo-Nazi scenes in the eastern German city of Chemnitz.

Read more: Defining what it means to be German in a unified country

What is ‘Revolution Chemnitz’?

The group formed in Chemnitz September 2018, in the aftermath of anti-immigrant protests that engulfed the eastern German city.

According to prosecutors, Christian K. invited the other seven members to an online chat where he then posted a document outlining what he wanted the group to achieve.

None of the members objected to the plans, which essentially outlined a call for violent action against “leftists, parasites, Merkel zombies, media dictators and their slaves.”

The group allegedly planned  to orchestrate a civil-war-like rebellion in Berlin on October 2, 2018. Prosecutors based their charges partly on the use of chat logs found on the defendants’ mobile phones.

AFD Campaign Poster – Lubeck, Germany

The members of the group were caught by police during a so-called “practice-run” in mid-September when they attacked refugees and a group of young people — one of whom was beaten.

https://www.dw.com/en/revolution-chemnitz-right-wing-german-terror-group-handed-jail-terms/a-52903660

 

Beyond Shock.  Actually I am not shocked. 

This is what America and the Republican Party under Trump have become.

Trump’s Darwinian fantasy is right out there for everyone to see in plain view.

Talking Points Memo 3.24.2020

Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick (R) made the astonishing argument on Monday night that the elderly ought to be willing to die from COVID-19 for the sake of the economy.

Patrick’s comments came as other Republicans, including President Donald Trump, push for the end of social distancing to rescue the sinking economy, even as the coronavirus continues to roil the country.

“Those of us who are 70+, we’ll take care of ourselves but don’t sacrifice the country,” Patrick said. “Don’t do that. Don’t ruin this great American Dream.”

The lieutenant governor asserted that grandparents have a “choice” to make in the face of “total collapse” in the economy.

“We all want to live. We all want to live with our grandchildren as long as we can,” he said. “But the point is our biggest gift we give to our country and our children and our grandchildren is the legacy of our country, and right now, that is at risk.”

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/texas-dan-patrick-grandparents-sacrifice-lives-coronavirus-economy

March 23, 2020

Every Picture Tells a Story – Ongoing Series

 Photo above – It took a 5.5. mile bike ride through deserted streets in the Shelter in Place environment to find a small package of TP at Laurel Village in the toney Pacific Heights neighborhood.

First photo below – Liz Heidhues displays her Italian roots with the Italian flag to show love and solidarity for her brothers and sisters in Italy.

Forza! Andrá tutto Bene!

Second photo below – Last week’s door sign at the neighborhood Trader Joe’s Store.

Photos – Lee Heidhues

 

 

The Germans are practical.

Deutsche Welle 3.23.2020

Social distancing is the order of the day, so it’s not a good time for sexual contact. It’ll be toughest for single people. But for couples, isolation could prove to be a second honeymoon … or hell on Earth.

The coronavirus is changing everything, including our sexual relationships. The most obvious sign of that in Berlin was evident one Friday evening in mid-March: The doormen had disappeared from Insomnia, the German capital’s famed club for swingers, fetishists and hedonists, along with the otherwise usual line of sexual libertines along the sidewalk.

Instead, there was only a note on the door announcing that the Berlin state government had ordered all clubs to be shut down. On the club homepage, Insomnia manager Dominique and the team posted an optimistic message: “Stay healthy, protect yourselves, and hopefully we’ll be able to party together in five weeks’ time.”

Bad time to be single

Though Berlin’s clubs were already closed, restaurants and cafés were still open in mid-March. As one young woman sitting with her friends outside a bar in the spring sunshine told DW with a laugh: “The coronavirus had to come in spring, of all times. Doesn’t look good for us singles.”

Soon afterwards, all the dance schools, restaurants and bars in Berlin also shut down: all the places where singles usually get to know each other, either to fall in love or for a sexual adventure.

Author and couples therapist Wolfgang Krüger offers a curt response: “Single people are generally left high and dry, coronavirus or no coronavirus. A married 60-year-old woman gets significantly more sex than a single 30-year-old. The quality of sex for single people is generally worse, too.”

To improve their chances, millions of men and women look for the right partner on dating sites. So has virus anxiety set in among them? One such German dating agency, Parship, claims in its advertising that one person falls in love every 11 minutes thanks to its services.

Parship spokeswoman Jana Bogatz says she has not yet noticed a fall in membership rates and even claims to see a benefit for the business in the current situation: “Everyone is being called on to reduce social interaction to a minimum, which, of course, limits dating possibilities,” Bogatz says. But, she says, people can stay in contact online and even make new contacts, since “meeting people offline is only partly possible at the moment.”

However, the question is whether people will be satisfied with what could be months of writing messages, or whether they might not risk infection for a brief tryst after all.

Read more: What are Germany’s new coronavirus social distancing rules?

As ever, though, one person’s poison is another’s tonic. As single people are now forced to provide for themselves, the demand for pornography and sex toys is booming. Sex shops have switched to online trading, with the more entrepreneurial ones even offering a taxi delivery service, which offers at least a little income for taxi drivers who have seen their own businesses crash.

Couples have home advantage

Not having to find a sexual partner makes things easier for couples. For some, pausing normal life and staying at home might be a source of sexual reinvigoration, seeing as there isn’t much else to do — gyms, cinemas, theaters are all shut down. Football, too, is something that belongs to a past world.

Though the pendulum might also swing the other way, as was the case for Rolf. For many years, work has meant that Rolf has had to live apart from his wife during the week. So, initially, he welcomed the chance to work from home: a good opportunity to finally live together properly, not just at the weekend.

A week later, and nerves were fraying for both of them. Joint tasks, such as cleaning the windows, occasionally ended in a full-on marital row. Rolf decided to move his self-isolation back to Berlin: “Forced cohabiting is like a forced marriage. And sex isn’t fun then, either,” he said.

Couples therapist Krüger isn’t surprised. “Their distance rules have been scrambled,” he said — the partner is always there and alway available. “Erotic desire arises from an alternation of proximity and distance,” he says.

But couples who have mastered the game of proximity and distance could well be in for a good time. “In times of panic and fear, sexual desire can also rise,” Krüger said. “Sexuality is the best way to drive away angst.”

A coronavirus baby boom?

And if people do find new inspiration for their sex lives, it might have fruitful consequences. Krüger, looking nine months into the future, is certain, anyway: “More children will be born.”

But — what a pity! — there is no scientific statistical evidence for this, though the question is raised whenever there are blackouts or longer periods of bad weather.

https://www.dw.com/en/sex-in-times-of-the-coronavirus/a-52889374

 

 

The Coronavirus crisis has brought the debate over housing rights to an entirely new level. 

California renters, who far outnumber landlords, are pushing the State legislature to ensure the rights of renters to go on strike and organize against corporate landlords.

It will be a brutal battle as corporate landlords are well entrenched with lobbyists and deep pockets.

San Francisco Examiner 3.22.2020

Coronavirus lockdown adds urgency to fight for protection from retaliation

Among the legislation to be delayed by coronavirus this month is a potential state law that would allow tenants to go on strike and enforces their right to organize amid tension with corporate landlords.

“People being forced out right now in order for a corporate landlord to meet their bottom line, it’s not just morally wrong” Tenants Together Lupe Arreola said, “but it’s actually going to exacerbate our current public health crisis. It’s important tenants have the tools to help defend their rights to be in their homes without the risk of being pushed out.”

Tenant organizers are looking to Senate Bill 1404, to be introduced by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo and sponsored by Tenants Together, to codify rights around tenant associations and organizing. This includes penalties for retaliation and the right to withold rent, which would be put in escrow after landlords and tenants fail to come to an agreement on an issue like habitability and rent increases.

“Right now with this humanitarian crisis, we want to strengthen the protections,” Durazo said. “If you have the right to organize but you don’t have anything that protects you against retaliation, there’s still that imbalance of power.”

Tensions around tenants’ right to organize have increased in San Francisco since Veritas, known as the city’s largest landlord, put 76 buildings up for sale in December. Tenant organizers have reported more confrontations with building managers, who argue that California Civil Code 1942.6 doesn’t allow them to knock on the doors of all other residents after being let inside by one to discuss tenant issues.

“There isn’t any clear enforcement mechanism at the state or local level that will help tenants enforce these rights,” Arreola said. SB 1404 “basically forces the owner to continue to engage with the tenants to help resolve the issues, otherwise tenants can withhold rent for 30 days.”

SB 1404 would expand enforcement of AB 1482 to local jurisdictions, which would involve the city attorney, district attorney or county counsel. But Durazo’s intention with the right to a rent strike would bring landlords to the negotiating table so it may be worked out before falling to the government.

At the moment, door-knocking has been put on hold while The City hunkers down to prevent coronavirus from spreading. But organizers have had plenty to keep them busy and are working to prevent others from losing their homes during or immediately after the shelter in place order ends April 7, when many people will likely struggle to make rent.

The California Legislature’s recess through April 13 during the COVID-19 crisis has caused delays with the legislative counsel, which is needed to draft language before it can be introduced. Durazo introduced a similar bill in 2019, Senate Bill 529, but it failed by one vote.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/tenants-look-to-state-bill-to-boost-right-to-organize-strike/

 

 

Who would have thought????

Compared to his boss, Mike Pence assumes genius like qualities and becomes a Mainstream Media favorite as a figure of recitude and calmness.

The Guardian 3.21.2020

Critics flagged up his anti-science background and questionable record as governor but the vice-president has won praise as the Covid-19 taskforce head

His past record made him seem an odd choice. He remains as servile to Donald Trump as ever. But Mike Pence, the US vice-president, is said to be having “a good war” against the coronavirus outbreak.

When Trump named him chair of the White House coronavirus taskforce, it led some to wonder whether the president, facing a tough election in November, was looking for an easy scapegoat if everything went wrong.

However, Pence, 60, earned early plaudits for his cool head and assured performances in the cacophony of the White House briefing room – probably benefiting from comparison with his volatile boss and two divisive press secretaries. Indeed, this week Trump has reasserted himself as the face of the administration as if to ensure Pence does not claim too much of the limelight.

Trump’s decision to put Pence in charge of the coronavirus effort triggered an outcry. Critics noted that Pence once wrote an article that claimed “despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn’t kill”. More recently, as governor of Indiana, he failed to act swiftly as HIV spread among drug users, and he has been reluctant to accept the evidence for the climate crisis.

But D’Antonio, who wrote a column headlined “Mike Pence is exactly the wrong guy for this job”, has been pleasantly surprised. “I thought maybe Trump was using him as the fall guy, but it could be that Mike learned something from those previous experiences in Indiana. They were formative, especially the issue around the HIV outbreak.

“He’s not so cold and detached that he can’t imagine people contracted HIV in the time he dithered. This may be a way for him to redeem himself. I think he has the capacity for redemption; I’m not sure the president does.”

More than a year since the last formal press briefing, Pence, a former talk radio host, has been welcomed as a steady presence at the lectern along with scientists and experts.

Jack Shafer, a media columnist at the Politico website, wrote that he “acted less like the ‘coronavirus czar’ and more like a good old-fashioned White House press secretary. He was calm. He was direct. He was polite in face of shouted, competing questions.”

David Axelrod, former chief strategist for Barack Obama, tweeted this week: “Other than the incessant fawning, the @VP is a far better briefer than his boss. Tries to stick to facts.”

This week, for example, as Trump continued to offer upbeat assessments, Pence delivered a dose of realism: “There will be many thousands of Americans that contract the coronavirus,” he told National Public Radio. “We fully expect that we will be dealing with the coronavirus in the United States for months.”

Pence’s past experience as a former governor reassured some state governors currently at the frontline of the crisis. He was able to build bridges with Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington state, even as Trump dismissed Inslee as a “snake”.

D’Antonio added: “He’s done very well. He’s felt very confident in the president’s support because he laid so much of the foundation of praise for Trump in the past. He’s established he’s always going to give the spotlight to Trump and he’s always willing to accept the blame if necessary.

“He’s had his chin out and he’s willing to take a knock if one is coming. He’s hung in there and let himself be used, and now he’s of use. You still cringe as you hear him be so unctuous but you’ll notice others are doing it too.”

Whatever happens in November, Pence is seen as a likely contender for the Republican nomination in 2024. D’Antonio believes he has boosted his chances. “If things go poorly for Trump, Pence stands as the more serious and inspirational leader right now. If people had a problem with Pence, it’s often over the idea that he’s anti-science. This is doing a lot to counter that.

The vice-president’s constant praise for Trump, however, incessantly peppering his remarks with the phrase “the president”, is likely to win him few friends among Democrats and independents, however.

Jeff Greenfield, a political analyst and author, tweeted on Wednesday: “Have some sympathy for Mike Pence. I’ve learned that there is an electrified belt around his waist and if he speaks for more than 7 seconds without praising the President, a White House aide presses a button and Pence suffers a painful shock.”

A Russian campaign to spread disinformation about the Coronavirus has been gaining traction in Europe and the United States.

With so much information being circulated almost minute by minute on every media outlet, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction.

Deutsche Welle 3.20.2020

Is Russia using the coronavirus pandemic as a chance to incite unrest in the West by spreading fake news and misinformation? EU observers of Russian media say that’s what it looks like.