The government is certainly not us. What is called the government
is the ongoing bureaucratic functioning of the state. The state is the
apparatus that functions to keep one class in power by exercising
violence or the threat of violence against another class. In the case of
the current form of the state in North America the state is a bourgeois
state. About the only way you could be accurate in describing the state
or its government as us is if you were a billionaire. The rest of us,
the vast majority, exceeding ninety-nine percent, are not the
government. We are the ones that the government is imposed upon.
___
Robert G. Ingersoll
“Progress is born of doubt and inquiry. The Church never doubts, never
inquires. To doubt is heresy, to inquire is to admit that you do not know—the
Church does neither.”
― Robert G. Ingersoll,
On 9/5/2020 6:22 PM, Andy Baracco wrote:
Keep in mind that there is no entity out there somewhere called the government. The government is you and me. Unlike the old USSR, the government does not own the means of production. Thus, the government produces nothing. All that government can do is to shift money around, i. e. take from some and give to others. You won't get much objection from those who are on the taking end, but you will probably get static from those who are expected to give. The ongoing problem with government is that it doesn't function efficiently because of antiquated equipment and practices. I recall that when I worked for the government, we always had old computers and were always one or two version of MS Windows behind. This inefficiency seems to continue no matter which party is in power.
The thing to remember is that when we hear or read about some great government program, it means that someone is shoving their hand into your pocket.
Andy
----- Original Message ----- From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2020 2:47 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
If we are truly a Democracy, concerned about the welfare of our citizens,
the solution isn't educating people when they have no money and there are no jobs available. The solution is for the government to provide money to help individual people, rather than handing billions to big banks, fossil fuel companies, and military contractors. Just opening up the economy or pretending to go back to the way things were has been tried in several states, and the result has been an upsurge in illness and death. All of that homelessness in California is not new. It's a symptom of a financial system that has been discounting the needs of the poor and the mentally ill for years. It's the result of the attitude of most people that poverty and illness are the fault of the people who suffer those conditions, rather than the fault of a society that cares more about acquiring material success and status than the needs of all the people.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Andy Baracco
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 5:09 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
We can't stay shut down forever. Here in CA thousands of people have lost their jobs. Homelessness has been a problem for years, but the numbers of homeless have greatly increased now that people who lost their jobs can't afford their rent. In turn this increased number of homeless are increasing the spread of many diseases because they live, excrete, etc. on the sidewalks, and driveways.
Sooner or later you have to balance risk vs. reward and do the best that you can to educate people about safe practices and trust that most people will do the right thing.
it's easy for these government bureaucrats to shut things down because their jobs and lifestyle are secure. I don't think that Governor Newsom has to worry about losing his job in the near future.
I understand that when NYC mayor Bill De Blasio was confronted with the economic damage that keeping restaurants closed is causing, he said that eating in a restaurant is an example of privilage, and that most people can't afford to eat in a restaurant. This totally discounts the fact that poor people work in these restaurants, and that the revenue generated by the restaurants is a major source of income for the city, and helps everyone, including the people who can't afford to eat in restaurants.
Andy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2020 1:41 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
Unfortunately, at this time, it would be n error to try to do things as we did before this virus attacked. It has made clear how our society has changed. The sickness and corruption of our society has been made manifest.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, September 5, 2020 4:06 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Expected Until Mid-2021
What began as a short term shut down is beginning to look like a social transformation.
Under capitalism, our government fears financial loss far worse than human loss.
But I am unwilling to return to my old comings and goings, testing to see if I am one of the "fittest" in the human herd. The long term damage many are suffering from even after an apparent recovery, suggests that this is far more than a stronger version of the Flu.
On the Fourth Friday of September, our Chapter, the Jefferson County Council of the Blind is scheduled to meet in the banquet room at the Road House Restaurant in Port Townsend. But since all our members are well up in years, and our youngest is 68, we are very reluctant to run the risk of contacting COVID-19. All the officials in the nation can order us to resume "normal activities", but we know that for most of us catching this virus could well be a death sentence.
I'm at a loss as to what to do.
We used to have 25 members, about 8 or 10 of them were movers and shakers.
But one by one they have died or moved into Assisted Living.
When Sue Ammeter died, the active members now stand at 2...Cathy and myself.
I'm going to suggest to the members that we pay dues for anyone wanting to continue belonging for the next year, but that we continue keeping in contact via email and telephone. At least we need to stay shuttered until after the First of the year.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/4/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Published on
Friday, September 04, 2020
byCommon Dreams
WHO Official Warns No Widespread Covid-19 Vaccine Expected Until
Mid-2021 The sobering comments from a spokesperson for the global
health agency come on the heels of the CDC asking states to prepare
for potential distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine by November 1.
byBrett Wilkins, staff writer
A scientist at work in the mAbxience laboratory in Garin, Argentina,
where an experimental coronavirus vaccine for Latin America is being
developed.
(Photo: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images) A scientist works at the
mAbxience biosimilar monoclonal antibody laboratory plant in Garin,
Buenos Aires province, on August 14, 2020, where an experimental
coronavirus vaccine will be produced for Latin America.
(Photo:
Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images)
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Friday that
widespread vaccination against Covid-19 is not expected until
mid-2021, a statement that stood in stark contrast with President
Donald Trump's recent claim that a vaccine could be ready by the
November general election.
Speaking at a United Nations briefing in Geneva, WHO spokesperson
Margaret Harris said that none of the candidate vaccines currently in
advanced clinical trials has shown "a clear signal" of being at least
50% effective, the minimum level of acceptability according to many
scientists.
"We are really not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the
middle of next year," said Harris, who explained that "phase three
[clinical trials] must take longer because we need to see how truly
protective the vaccine is and we also need to see how safe it is."
"A lot of people have been vaccinated and what we don't know is
whether the vaccine works," she added. "At this stage we do not have
the clear signal of whether or not it has the level of worthwhile
efficacy and safety."
Harris' remarks stood in contrast to an August 6 claim by Trump that a
Covid-19 vaccine could be available by early November. Experts have
repeatedly countered that an effective vaccine would take until at
least the middle of next year to develop, produce and distribute. Dr.
Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center in
Atlanta, said that vaccine development in less than a year would be a
"miracle."
On Thursday, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the administration's own chief vaccine
adviser, told NPR that it was "extremely unlikely" that a vaccine
would be available as the "October surprise" Trump seeks to boost his
reelection chances.
Medical experts and health officials have warned that the
administration's politically motivated push to rush a Covid-19 vaccine
to production before the presidential election, and its stated
willingness to fast-track unproven experimental vaccines, poses
serious public health risks.
On August 27, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director
Robert Redfield sent a letter to state governors urging them to select
and prepare locations for potential Covid-19 vaccine distribution on
November 1.
Officials in at least three states-California, New York, and
Washington-have suggested they would refuse to distribute vaccines
they deemed to be inadequately vetted or politically motivated
"If the U.S. FDA were to proceed with an abbreviated process and
approve a vaccine through the Emergency Use Authorization I think that
would raise concern," said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday.
More than 170 nations are currently in talks to join the Covid-19
Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, a WHO-led global initiative
to fast-track development, production, and equitable worldwide
distribution of a coronavirus vaccine. Covax aims to deliver two
billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021.
Conspicuously absent from the list of participating countries is the
United States, as the Trump administration claimed on Tuesday that it
"will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by
the corrupt World Health Organization and China."
Trump-who has been widely criticized for his handling of the pandemic
in a nation that has by far suffered the most Covid-19 cases and
deaths in the world-has long been at odds with the WHO. The president
has called the agency "a puppet of China" and has claimed without
evidence that it caved to pressure from Beijing "to mislead the world"
about the nascent pandemic.
In July, Trump followed through on an earlier threat to withdraw from
the WHO by formally notifying the agency that the U.S. would leave it
in July 2021. The American Medical Association strongly opposed the
move, calling it a "major setback to science, public health, and the
global coordination of efforts needed to defeat Covid-19" and warning
that it "puts the health of our country at grave risk."
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden responded to Trump's WHO
withdrawal announcement by saying the U.S. would rejoin the the
organization on his first day in office.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced it will not pay $80
million in WHO dues owed for 2019 and 2020 and will instead redirect
the money to help pay its United Nations bill. Georgetown Law
professor Lawrence Gostin slammed the move as "unethical... and
patently unlawful."
