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Celerity
Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
March 27, 2020
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2020/coronavirus-stimulus-checks.html
The Senate voted unanimously late Wednesday night to approve a $2 trillion economic stimulus package that would send most Americans checks of up to $1,200, as a way to put money directly in the pockets of families struggling to manage the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The legislation, which still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the president, would give single adults who reported adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less on their 2019 tax returns a one-time check for $1,200, according to draft legislation. Married couples who filed jointly would receive $2,400. Families would get an additional $500 for each child.
snip
Who qualifies for a stimulus check?
The size of the check would decrease based on income for individuals who earned more than $75,000 based on their tax return for last year (or their 2018 return if they have not filed yet). The rebate check for individuals would shrink by $5 for every $100 earned over $75,000. For couples who filed jointly, the reduction would start once they earn more than $150,000; for heads of household, at $112,500. This calculator can help you determine how much you might receive in a stimulus check. Individuals who earned more than $99,000 and couples who earned more than $198,000 jointly would not receive checks.
According to the legislation, people who do not receive Social Security benefits and also do not typically file taxes because their income is very low will need to file a 2019 tax return in order to receive a stimulus check. That may be a challenge for some, however, because many services that help low-income taxpayers file tax returns for free have suspended in-person operations to deter the spread of the coronavirus. Most low-income taxpayers are eligible to file tax returns online for free through the IRS Free File program.
snip
Stimulus Checks: Who Is Eligible and How Much Will They Be? (no income to qualify but you must file)
Senate plan would send $1,200 checks to many, including Social Security recipientshttps://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2020/coronavirus-stimulus-checks.html
The Senate voted unanimously late Wednesday night to approve a $2 trillion economic stimulus package that would send most Americans checks of up to $1,200, as a way to put money directly in the pockets of families struggling to manage the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The legislation, which still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the president, would give single adults who reported adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less on their 2019 tax returns a one-time check for $1,200, according to draft legislation. Married couples who filed jointly would receive $2,400. Families would get an additional $500 for each child.
snip
Who qualifies for a stimulus check?
The size of the check would decrease based on income for individuals who earned more than $75,000 based on their tax return for last year (or their 2018 return if they have not filed yet). The rebate check for individuals would shrink by $5 for every $100 earned over $75,000. For couples who filed jointly, the reduction would start once they earn more than $150,000; for heads of household, at $112,500. This calculator can help you determine how much you might receive in a stimulus check. Individuals who earned more than $99,000 and couples who earned more than $198,000 jointly would not receive checks.
According to the legislation, people who do not receive Social Security benefits and also do not typically file taxes because their income is very low will need to file a 2019 tax return in order to receive a stimulus check. That may be a challenge for some, however, because many services that help low-income taxpayers file tax returns for free have suspended in-person operations to deter the spread of the coronavirus. Most low-income taxpayers are eligible to file tax returns online for free through the IRS Free File program.
snip
March 26, 2020
Lombardi earlier reported a jump in deaths
Daily cases at 6,153 vs 5,210 yesterday.
Total Italy cases are 80,539.
The number of new deaths overall was lower at 662 compared to 683 yesterday. The mortality rate in Italy continues to run far higher than anywhere else.
Italy announces 6,153 new coronavirus cases, the most in five days
https://www.forexlive.com/news/!/italy-announces-6153-new-coronavirus-cases-the-most-in-five-days-20200326Lombardi earlier reported a jump in deaths
Daily cases at 6,153 vs 5,210 yesterday.
Total Italy cases are 80,539.
The number of new deaths overall was lower at 662 compared to 683 yesterday. The mortality rate in Italy continues to run far higher than anywhere else.
March 26, 2020
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/uk-patient-zero-east-sussex-family-may-have-infected-coronavirus/
A family from East Sussex may have been Britain’s first coronavirus victims, catching the virus in mid-January after one of them visited an Austrian ski resort that is now under investigation for allegedly covering up the early outbreak. If confirmed by official tests, it would mean the outbreak in Britain started more than a month earlier than currently thought. As things stand, the first recorded UK case was on January 31, and the earliest documented incidence of transmission within Britain occurred on February 28.
IT consultant Daren Bland, 50, was skiing in Ischgl, Austria from January 15 to 19 with three friends, two from Denmark and one from Minnesota in America. All three fell ill on their return with classic coronavirus symptoms, and Mr Bland passed on the infection to his wife and children in Maresfield, East Sussex. A virus caused a dry cough then spread rapidly through the area in the weeks running up to the February half-term, with many local children taking time off school with illness.
On Tuesday, Austrian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into allegations that a suspected infection in the resort of Ischgl was covered up, allowing Covid-19 to spread across Europe undetected. Hundreds of infections in Germany, Iceland, Norway and Denmark have been traced back to the resort, in the Tyrolean Alps, by European investigators, but Mr Bland and his family are the first in the UK known to be associated with it.
Like many of the European victims, Mr Bland visited the Kitzloch bar, known for its après-ski parties. The bar is tightly packed and known for "beer pong" – a drinking game in which revellers take turns to spit the same ping-pong ball into a beer glass. "We visited the Kitzloch and it was rammed, with people singing and dancing on the tables," Mr Bland recalled on Wednesday. "People were hot and sweaty from skiing, and waiters were delivering shots to tables in their hundreds. You couldn't have a better home for a virus."
The Telegraph has obtained an exclusive video shot inside the Kitzloch bar, which clearly shows conditions inside the venue.
snip
UK patient zero? East Sussex family may have been infected with coronavirus as early as mid-January
If confirmed, it would mean outbreak in Britain started more than a month earlier than is currently thoughthttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/uk-patient-zero-east-sussex-family-may-have-infected-coronavirus/
A family from East Sussex may have been Britain’s first coronavirus victims, catching the virus in mid-January after one of them visited an Austrian ski resort that is now under investigation for allegedly covering up the early outbreak. If confirmed by official tests, it would mean the outbreak in Britain started more than a month earlier than currently thought. As things stand, the first recorded UK case was on January 31, and the earliest documented incidence of transmission within Britain occurred on February 28.
IT consultant Daren Bland, 50, was skiing in Ischgl, Austria from January 15 to 19 with three friends, two from Denmark and one from Minnesota in America. All three fell ill on their return with classic coronavirus symptoms, and Mr Bland passed on the infection to his wife and children in Maresfield, East Sussex. A virus caused a dry cough then spread rapidly through the area in the weeks running up to the February half-term, with many local children taking time off school with illness.
On Tuesday, Austrian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into allegations that a suspected infection in the resort of Ischgl was covered up, allowing Covid-19 to spread across Europe undetected. Hundreds of infections in Germany, Iceland, Norway and Denmark have been traced back to the resort, in the Tyrolean Alps, by European investigators, but Mr Bland and his family are the first in the UK known to be associated with it.
Like many of the European victims, Mr Bland visited the Kitzloch bar, known for its après-ski parties. The bar is tightly packed and known for "beer pong" – a drinking game in which revellers take turns to spit the same ping-pong ball into a beer glass. "We visited the Kitzloch and it was rammed, with people singing and dancing on the tables," Mr Bland recalled on Wednesday. "People were hot and sweaty from skiing, and waiters were delivering shots to tables in their hundreds. You couldn't have a better home for a virus."
The Telegraph has obtained an exclusive video shot inside the Kitzloch bar, which clearly shows conditions inside the venue.
snip
March 26, 2020
Trumps is fucking LYING piece of dogshit when he says no one could have imagined anything like this occurring.
http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/scenario.html
Event 201 simulates an outbreak of a novel zoonotic coronavirus transmitted from bats to pigs to people that eventually becomes efficiently transmissible from person to person, leading to a severe pandemic. The pathogen and the disease it causes are modeled largely on SARS, but it is more transmissible in the community setting by people with mild symptoms.
The disease starts in pig farms in Brazil, quietly and slowly at first, but then it starts to spread more rapidly in healthcare settings. When it starts to spread efficiently from person to person in the low-income, densely packed neighborhoods of some of the megacities in South America, the epidemic explodes. It is first exported by air travel to Portugal, the United States, and China and then to many other countries. Although at first some countries are able to control it, it continues to spread and be reintroduced, and eventually no country can maintain control.
There is no possibility of a vaccine being available in the first year. There is a fictional antiviral drug that can help the sick but not significantly limit spread of the disease. Since the whole human population is susceptible, during the initial months of the pandemic, the cumulative number of cases increases exponentially, doubling every week. And as the cases and deaths accumulate, the economic and societal consequences become increasingly severe.
The scenario ends at the 18-month point, with 65 million deaths. The pandemic is beginning to slow due to the decreasing number of susceptible people. The pandemic will continue at some rate until there is an effective vaccine or until 80-90 % of the global population has been exposed. From that point on, it is likely to be an endemic childhood disease.
snip
http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/videos.html
Highlights Reel
Videos of Event 201
Public-private cooperation for pandemic preparedness and response
A call to action
Download the recommendations (PDF)
Event 201 (Oct 18, 2019) simulates an outbreak of a novel zoonotic coronavirus transmitted from bats
to pigs to people that eventually becomes efficiently transmissible from person to person, leading to a severe pandemic.Trumps is fucking LYING piece of dogshit when he says no one could have imagined anything like this occurring.
http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/scenario.html
Event 201 simulates an outbreak of a novel zoonotic coronavirus transmitted from bats to pigs to people that eventually becomes efficiently transmissible from person to person, leading to a severe pandemic. The pathogen and the disease it causes are modeled largely on SARS, but it is more transmissible in the community setting by people with mild symptoms.
The disease starts in pig farms in Brazil, quietly and slowly at first, but then it starts to spread more rapidly in healthcare settings. When it starts to spread efficiently from person to person in the low-income, densely packed neighborhoods of some of the megacities in South America, the epidemic explodes. It is first exported by air travel to Portugal, the United States, and China and then to many other countries. Although at first some countries are able to control it, it continues to spread and be reintroduced, and eventually no country can maintain control.
There is no possibility of a vaccine being available in the first year. There is a fictional antiviral drug that can help the sick but not significantly limit spread of the disease. Since the whole human population is susceptible, during the initial months of the pandemic, the cumulative number of cases increases exponentially, doubling every week. And as the cases and deaths accumulate, the economic and societal consequences become increasingly severe.
The scenario ends at the 18-month point, with 65 million deaths. The pandemic is beginning to slow due to the decreasing number of susceptible people. The pandemic will continue at some rate until there is an effective vaccine or until 80-90 % of the global population has been exposed. From that point on, it is likely to be an endemic childhood disease.
snip
http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/videos.html
Highlights Reel
Videos of Event 201
Public-private cooperation for pandemic preparedness and response
A call to action
Download the recommendations (PDF)
March 26, 2020
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/
Three months ago, no one knew that SARS-CoV-2 existed. Now the virus has spread to almost every country, infecting at least 446,000 people whom we know about, and many more whom we do not. It has crashed economies and broken health-care systems, filled hospitals and emptied public spaces. It has separated people from their workplaces and their friends. It has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed. Soon, most everyone in the United States will know someone who has been infected. Like World War II or the 9/11 attacks, this pandemic has already imprinted itself upon the nation’s psyche.
A global pandemic of this scale was inevitable. In recent years, hundreds of health experts have written books, white papers, and op-eds warning of the possibility. Bill Gates has been telling anyone who would listen, including the 18 million viewers of his TED Talk. In 2018, I wrote a story for The Atlantic arguing that America was not ready for the pandemic that would eventually come. In October, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security war-gamed what might happen if a new coronavirus swept the globe. And then one did. Hypotheticals became reality. “What if?” became “Now what?”
So, now what? In the late hours of last Wednesday, which now feels like the distant past, I was talking about the pandemic with a pregnant friend who was days away from her due date. We realized that her child might be one of the first of a new cohort who are born into a society profoundly altered by COVID-19. We decided to call them Generation C.
As we’ll see, Gen C’s lives will be shaped by the choices made in the coming weeks, and by the losses we suffer as a result. But first, a brief reckoning. On the Global Health Security Index, a report card that grades every country on its pandemic preparedness, the United States has a score of 83.5—the world’s highest. Rich, strong, developed, America is supposed to be the readiest of nations. That illusion has been shattered. Despite months of advance warning as the virus spread in other countries, when America was finally tested by COVID-19, it failed.
snip
great article so much more at the link
How the Pandemic Will End
The U.S. may end up with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out.https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/how-will-coronavirus-end/608719/
Three months ago, no one knew that SARS-CoV-2 existed. Now the virus has spread to almost every country, infecting at least 446,000 people whom we know about, and many more whom we do not. It has crashed economies and broken health-care systems, filled hospitals and emptied public spaces. It has separated people from their workplaces and their friends. It has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed. Soon, most everyone in the United States will know someone who has been infected. Like World War II or the 9/11 attacks, this pandemic has already imprinted itself upon the nation’s psyche.
A global pandemic of this scale was inevitable. In recent years, hundreds of health experts have written books, white papers, and op-eds warning of the possibility. Bill Gates has been telling anyone who would listen, including the 18 million viewers of his TED Talk. In 2018, I wrote a story for The Atlantic arguing that America was not ready for the pandemic that would eventually come. In October, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security war-gamed what might happen if a new coronavirus swept the globe. And then one did. Hypotheticals became reality. “What if?” became “Now what?”
So, now what? In the late hours of last Wednesday, which now feels like the distant past, I was talking about the pandemic with a pregnant friend who was days away from her due date. We realized that her child might be one of the first of a new cohort who are born into a society profoundly altered by COVID-19. We decided to call them Generation C.
As we’ll see, Gen C’s lives will be shaped by the choices made in the coming weeks, and by the losses we suffer as a result. But first, a brief reckoning. On the Global Health Security Index, a report card that grades every country on its pandemic preparedness, the United States has a score of 83.5—the world’s highest. Rich, strong, developed, America is supposed to be the readiest of nations. That illusion has been shattered. Despite months of advance warning as the virus spread in other countries, when America was finally tested by COVID-19, it failed.
snip
great article so much more at the link
March 26, 2020
Exponential Threat - Great new anti-Trump advert being aired in many of the swing states
March 25, 2020
These Trump 'Coronaviral' Pressers are basically billions (they will go on) in free campaign adverts
This HAS to END!!!!!!
Not only is he lying and gaslighting at an Olympian magnitude, but he is dominating the collective American psyche (even if at a subconscious level) with the BULLSHIT projection as him as the sole 'Big Daddy' for the nation.
He is setting up the mise en scène to turn the tables of blame ANYWAY he wants for the negative outcomes and at the same time take ALL the credit for any positive ones.
He has a giant media agitprop cannon atm with which to blast away at impediments that stand in the way of his reelection.
END THIS NOW!!!!!!
March 25, 2020
Last November, voters in Kentucky handed the governorship to Democrat Andy Beshear in a narrow victory of incumbent governor Matt Bevin. Bevin, a Donald Trump favorite, had done his best to undermine Kentucky’s successful deployment of the Affordable Care Act , blamed striking teachers for causing rape, and cancelled background checks for owning a gun. Bevin went out the door with all the class he displayed while in office, pardoning relatives of campaign donors no matter how hideous their crimes. Beshear’s victory was narrow, and for a time Bevin refused to admit defeat and encouraged the Republican-dominated legislature contemplated overturning the election. They did not, and Beshear has since issued executive orders that secured medical care for 95,000 Kentuckians and restored the voting rights of 100,000 former felons.
A year earlier, Tennesseans elected Bill Lee as their 50th governor. The Republican governor has rejected efforts to expand Medicaid in the state, supported legislation to end a woman’s right to choose, campaigned on allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT citizens or on the basis of religion, and, of course, introduced a proposal for more guns. Just two weeks ago, Kentucky Republicans moved to restrict the power of Democratic governor Beshear to enact executive orders. Thank goodness they were not successful. Because what Beshear has done since then is a beacon to a nation in crisis.
Originally compiled by local educator Stephanie Jolly, this chart of the difference between what has happened in Kentucky vs. Tennessee is incredibly compelling.
On March 6—the same day that the Kentucky legislature introduced a bill to limit Beshear’s power to issue executive orders—the governor used that power to declare a state of emergency, freeing up funds and resources to begin the state’s fight against COVID-19. This was a week before Trump declared a national emergency. In fact, it was a day before Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York. Beshear issued recommendations on social distancing the next day and began a daily update to reassure the state on actions being taken as well as provide details on the status of the outbreak. Two days after that, he restricted visitations to extended care facilities and prisons. And just five days after the original declaration of emergency, with eight known cases in the state, Beshear instructed every school to close. In the next week, the state ended in-restaurant dining, extended unemployment, and offered free testing to every person in the state—all at Beshear’s direction.
Meanwhile Tennessee had it’s first case on the same day as Kentucky, and Bill Lee did … nothing. As Beshear was closing schools in Kentucky, Lee told the people of his state that there was no reason to close schools or workplaces. Finally, on March 12, Lee declared a state of emergency. And he instructed the schools to close on Friday, March 20.
snip
Kentucky vs. Tennessee on coronavirus may be the best example of 'elections matter' in decades
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/3/21/1929798/-Kentucky-vs-Tennessee-on-coronavirus-may-be-the-best-example-of-elections-matter-in-decadesLast November, voters in Kentucky handed the governorship to Democrat Andy Beshear in a narrow victory of incumbent governor Matt Bevin. Bevin, a Donald Trump favorite, had done his best to undermine Kentucky’s successful deployment of the Affordable Care Act , blamed striking teachers for causing rape, and cancelled background checks for owning a gun. Bevin went out the door with all the class he displayed while in office, pardoning relatives of campaign donors no matter how hideous their crimes. Beshear’s victory was narrow, and for a time Bevin refused to admit defeat and encouraged the Republican-dominated legislature contemplated overturning the election. They did not, and Beshear has since issued executive orders that secured medical care for 95,000 Kentuckians and restored the voting rights of 100,000 former felons.
A year earlier, Tennesseans elected Bill Lee as their 50th governor. The Republican governor has rejected efforts to expand Medicaid in the state, supported legislation to end a woman’s right to choose, campaigned on allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT citizens or on the basis of religion, and, of course, introduced a proposal for more guns. Just two weeks ago, Kentucky Republicans moved to restrict the power of Democratic governor Beshear to enact executive orders. Thank goodness they were not successful. Because what Beshear has done since then is a beacon to a nation in crisis.
Originally compiled by local educator Stephanie Jolly, this chart of the difference between what has happened in Kentucky vs. Tennessee is incredibly compelling.
On March 6—the same day that the Kentucky legislature introduced a bill to limit Beshear’s power to issue executive orders—the governor used that power to declare a state of emergency, freeing up funds and resources to begin the state’s fight against COVID-19. This was a week before Trump declared a national emergency. In fact, it was a day before Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York. Beshear issued recommendations on social distancing the next day and began a daily update to reassure the state on actions being taken as well as provide details on the status of the outbreak. Two days after that, he restricted visitations to extended care facilities and prisons. And just five days after the original declaration of emergency, with eight known cases in the state, Beshear instructed every school to close. In the next week, the state ended in-restaurant dining, extended unemployment, and offered free testing to every person in the state—all at Beshear’s direction.
Meanwhile Tennessee had it’s first case on the same day as Kentucky, and Bill Lee did … nothing. As Beshear was closing schools in Kentucky, Lee told the people of his state that there was no reason to close schools or workplaces. Finally, on March 12, Lee declared a state of emergency. And he instructed the schools to close on Friday, March 20.
snip
March 25, 2020
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
The Madman Tweets
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1242905328209080331Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
The LameStream Media is the dominant force in trying to get me to keep our Country closed as long as possible in the hope that it will be detrimental to my election success. The real people want to get back to work ASAP. We will be stronger than ever before!
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