Month: September 2020

16
Sep
2020

COVID 19 Stimulus and Relief

When the CARES Act passed in April, it was an historic step by our government to mitigate the effect of the COVID pandemic on our people and economy. The $2.2 billion provided by the act supported enhanced unemployment benefits, stimulus payments to individuals and families, the Payroll Protection Plan to allow businesses to keep employees on the payroll, funds for state and local governments to cover COVID-related costs and support for students and renters to suspend student loan repayments and many kinds of evictions.

While the CARES Act was successful in many ways, most of the benefits have either expired or are about to expire even though unemployment continues at very high levels, business bankruptcies are growing, economic activity remains depressed, state and local governments are suffering from increased costs and decreased revenue and the threat of further bankruptcies and more economic and health damage continues.

FILE – In this May 21, 2020 file photo, a man looks at signs of a closed store due to COVID-19 in Niles, Ill. U.S. businesses shed 2.76 million jobs in May, as the economic damage from the historically unrivaled coronavirus outbreak stretched into a third month. The payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that businesses have let go of a combined 22.6 million jobs since March.AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

In light of this, the House of Representatives passed legislation two months ago to provide additional stimulus and relief totaling almost $4 billion for individuals, families, businesses, healthcare providers, state and local governments and others. the Republican-led Senate, however, has been unable to pass any corresponding legislation and the Senate leadership and the White House oppose most of the initiatives included in the House bill. This is creating a severe hardship for many Americans which can only get worse with further layoffs and business closings in the future and evictions and homelessness in the future for many of those whose unemployment benefits have been cut or the newly unemployed.

So I was heartened to see that a bipartisan group of representatives called ‘The Problem Solvers Caucus’ had proposed a framework for a COVID 19 relief package that might help move things along. I’m cautious because this group hasn’t really had much of an impact until now but perhaps this will go somewhere.

The package being proposed represents, of course, a compromise between the administration position and the legislation passed by the House. In my view it’s far from perfect but better than nothing. Here are the basic elements:

  • $100 billion for testing and healthcare, primarily for providers
  • $316 billion in support for families and individuals including increases in WIC/SNAP, direct stimulus payments as in the CARES Act, Rental assistance for the most needy and Student Loan forbearance through December.
  • $120 billion for unemployment assistance including $450 weekly supplement for 8 weeks followed by up to $600 but not to exceed previous salary for 13 weeks.
  • $290 billion for small businesses and nonprofits including a second PPP program with a focus on small and community banks and $50 billion for employee retention tax credits
  • $145 billion for schools and childcare including $15 billion for childcare providers, $100 billion for K-12 schools and $30 billion for higher education
  • $500.3 billion for state and local governments, most of it to make up for general revenue shortfalls.

I think in some of these categories there is not enough money but, as I said before – it’s better than nothing and nothing is what we will get if the current gridlock continues. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Posted by Tom
16
Sep
2020

B. B. King

Today, September 16, is the birthday (in 1925) of the legendary blues guitarist and singer, B. B. King. King was born near Indianola Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers. He is considered by many to be the ‘King of the Blues’. He was an outstanding performer and those who had the privilege of seeing and hearing him in person will never forget it.

Posted by Tom in folk, Music, sixties and seventies
15
Sep
2020

The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

Since it’s shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, I thought I’d repost the review of The Shadow King that I posted earlier on Facebook.

I just finished reading ‘The Shadow King’ by Maaza Mengiste. It’s a story of the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia told in a beautiful, lyrical manner that seems much different than most war novels in its lyricism.The story centers around Hirut, a young woman who is a servant to a wealthy Ethiopian man, Kidane, and his wife, Aster. Hirut is an orphan and she has been taken in by this couple who knew her parents.Kidane is fond of Hirut, but Aster resents her.When war comes, Kidane recruits an army They are forced to leave their home when the Italians come, Kidane leading his troops and Hirut and Aster following behind. Hirut and Aster long to join the fight but are forbidden by Kidane and, when Hirut steals a gun to fight, she is brutally raped by Kidane. She realizes that there’s no way out but to fight.Eventually Hirut and Aster lead a troop of female fighters and, as Hirut trains she envisions fighting not the Italians but Kidane. There is reference to ancient battles, to the Iliad and Icarus and Daedalus. There are chapters about Emperor Haile Selassie and some historical narrative but the whole thing is strange and wonderful in a way I did not anticipate. There is pity and fear. One of the reviewers thought it gave her goose bumps from time to time and I agree. Hirut is a remarkable hero and this is a book you should read. I highly recommend it. For those of you who live in Maryland, it’s available on Maryland’s Digital eLibrary Consortium.

Posted by Tom in Books, Literature
15
Sep
2020

Booker Prize Shortlist for 2020

The judges have announced the shortlist for the annual Booker Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards. I was a bit surprised not to see Hilary Mantel’s name on the list for her third novel in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Her first two books in the trilogy each won the Booker Prize.

I’ve only read one of the books on the list, The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste, but I hope to read the others. I very much like The Shadow King and I will copy on this site the review I posted on Facebook.

The six novels are:

  • Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart – a violent tale of a child growing up in 1980’s Glasgow
  • Real Life by Brandon Taylor – a black, gay graduate student navigating life
  • The New Wilderness by Diane Cook set in a dystopian future in which almost all of the natural world has been destroyed
  • Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi about an artist’s struggles to cope with her aging mother
  • The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste about Ethiopian women in the second Italo-Ethiopian War, and
  • This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembgwa about a woman struggling to find employment in Zimbabwe.

I’ve very much enjoyed reading Booker Prize winners over the years and I’m looking forward to see which will be the winner this year. In any event I’m going to try to read all six of these. Let me know which you’ve read and which you’ve enjoyed.

Posted by Tom in Books
15
Sep
2020

How YOU can help stop Global Warming

TOPSHOT – A law enforcement officer watches flames launch into the air as fire continues to spread at the Bear fire in Oroville, California on September 9, 2020.

We’ve heard a lot about global warming and climate change and, though there are some diehard ‘head in the sands’ deniers, most of us understand that this is a serious and growing problem. The physics and chemistry of global warming/climate change are well understood and we’re seeing the impacts more and more every year and every day.

The American west is burning up from huge wildfires much as parts of Australia did earlier in the year. The National Hurricane Center is currently tracking SEVEN disturbances in the Atlantic basin that are either already hurricanes or may become hurricanes.

Flooding is becoming more serious and more frequent not only on our coasts due to sea level rise but also across the country and the world as a warmer atmosphere can hold more water and drop it in torrential rainfalls.

This is a global problem that will require solutions on the national and international level and, like most of you, I am frustrated by the slow pace of progress on this issue and the unwillingness or inability of our leaders to deal with this problem. We need to keep pressing our leaders to take decisive action on this problem.

But, while we are waiting for more large-scale action, there are things we can and should do on a personal level to help mitigate global warming. Sure, our actions will be just a drop in the bucket but enough drops fill the bucket. So I urge you to take these actions now:

Plant a Tree. Trees absorb carbon dioxide which makes up more than 80% of the greenhouse gasses causing global warming. According to the journal, Science, just letting our forests grow could absorb roughly two-thirds of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity. Trees also result in enhanced biodiversity, soil water retention, soil health and may contribute to food security and economic development for rural communities. If you can’t plant a tree yourself, contribute to One Tree Planted – a nonprofit which plants trees around the world.

Use LED Lights. Replacing all of our incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs will reduce our electricity use. LED bulbs use about 80% less electricity than conventional incandescent bulbs and last about 25 times longer. Electricity production is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gasses and every reduction in our electricity use, no matter how small, reduces the emission of greenhouse gasses. Even though we are increasing the amount of our electricity generated by renewable resources – solar and wind – most electricity in our country is still generated by burning fossil fuels.

Source – American Public Power Institute

Reduce Your Electricity Use. There are plenty of other ways to easily reduce your electricity use:

  • Buy energy efficient appliances,
  • Dry clothes outdoors when possible,
  • Caulk your windows and doors,
  • Unplug electronic devices when you’re not using them,
  • Wash clothes in cold water,
  • Change your air filters regularly,
  • Close curtains and blinds on the sunny side of the house in the summer,
  • Turn off lights when you leave the room, Use a programmable thermostat to reduce your heating/cooling costs when you’re away.

Adjust Your Transportation Habits. Transportation is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions in the USA than any other source and most of those emissions are from cars and trucks. These steps will help reduce the global warming impact of your car:

  • Keep your car tuned up.
  • Keep your tires inflated.
  • Share rides when you can.
  • Buy a climate-friendly car – preferably an electric one (a growing proportion of our electricity is generated by renewable resources).

Stop Eating Beef.

Emissions from animal agriculture account for around 15% of all human emissions, and beef is responsible for 41% of that, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

If cattle were their own nation, they would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Let that sink in.

If you need your meat fix, eat chicken instead. While chicken production does have significant environmental and human costs, pound-for-pound it has about half the carbon footprint of beef.

Animal-based foods have a bigger carbon footprint than plant-based foods. Producing beef, for example, uses 20 times the land and emits 20 times the emissions as growing beans, per gram of protein, and requires more than 10 times more resources than producing chicken. Lamb and goats also have heavy greenhouse impacts because, like cattle, they emit methane. Try plant-based protein if you can.

There’s plenty more you can do – this list is just a start. Keep the pressure on your elected representatives at all levels to take the necessary actions to limit climate change. It’s our responsibility to keep our planet safe for our children and grandchildren.

Posted by Tom