A week that felt like a century. But we made it. It’s over. While you were wrangling the kids or getting used to coworking with your partner in your living room, here’s what you might have missed:
Sherrod Brown explodes in rant slamming Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell's handling of coronavirus
By Walter Einenkel
The Democratic-led House of Representatives has been working day and night to create an economic relief package that would target Americans impacted by the coronavirus. At the same time, the Republican-led Senate, under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has been dragging its heels and delaying doing its very essential part in the lawmaking process. When the House passed a coronavirus bill that they got the biggest imbecile on the planet to finally agree to LAST WEEK, McConnell didn’t simply refuse to do his job: he was on vacation. We are deep in uncharted waters, and a few days of inaction could mean thousands of people’s lives. So on Thursday, March 12, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio went to the Senate floor to speak for the American people and bring down righteous anger directed at the Republican Party’s leadership.
Sen. Brown began by stating the very simple negligence going on in our government. “President Trump had chance after chance after chance to get ahead of this coronavirus pandemic in the United States. He failed. Congress can't make the same mistakes, senators should not leave town,” he said. Brown pointed out what was at stake for not only the American worker, but the health of all those unable to stay home—not because they are providing an essential service, but because they cannot afford to stay home.
Bravo Senator! Bravo!
The real reason to leave WIC-eligible grocery items on the shelf as you stock up amid coronavirus
By Marissa Higgins
What is WIC? WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. It’s a federal program for low-income women with children under 5 years old. WIC generally covers eggs, milk, fortified foods, peanut butter, beans, tofu, fruits, vegetables, canned fish, and more. Women who don’t breastfeed are able to receive iron-fortified infant formula. People can also use WIC assistance at participating farmers’ markets to buy fresh produce.
To qualify, people must be pregnant or postpartum and breastfeeding, meet income guidelines that fall at 185% of the U.S. Poverty Income Guidelines, and be evaluated to be at “nutritional risk” by a health professional. People must also meet state residency requirements.
How many people are really affected by WIC? Looking at the fiscal year 2018, over 3 million children, 1 million infants, and 1 million adult women. If the Senate passes the legislative package the House approved over the weekend, WIC may get $500 million in funding, though waivers for items or online orders would still be on a state-by-state basis.
All of this is to say: Unless you qualify for the program, please leave WIC-approved items on the shelf as you stock up during this coronavirus outbreak. If you’re in a nightmare scenario where these are the only items left, of course, do what you need to do. But if other options are available, or if you can reasonably get to another store, come back another day, or so on, please think twice about buying out what might be someone else’s only option.
Are you worried about being able to afford groceries during the shutdown of the economy? We must stick together and help each other out during these uncertain times.
Chef converts his closed restaurants into to-go kitchens to feed public during coronavirus crisis
By Gabe Ortiz
Chef José Andrés announced on Twitter that he has closed all of his Washington, D.C.-area restaurants due to the coronavirus public health crisis, saying “We are doing this for the right reasons. We need to take care of our employees, we need to take care of our guests, for their safety, more important, we need to take care of every one of you. We cannot just keep going like this is not going to happen to us.”
The World Central Kitchen founder and humanitarian said that all of his employees will be paid for the next two weeks and that a number of his locations would instead serve as “community kitchens,” where the public can pick up meals to take home. “These Community Kitchens will be part of World Central Kitchen efforts across the country in the coming days and weeks,” he tweeted. “Not for enjoyment … but a service for people in need of a plate of food during this emergency.”
Andrés said the move was necessary when in Europe “entire countries are shutting down, entire restaurants, entire systems.” He urged more in the U.S. to follow suit: “We need to be joining the NBA, need to be joining the closings of other venues that are doing the right call ahead of everybody. We cannot stay much longer with restaurants open or we will only be part of the problem, when we need to be part of the solution.”
Give Chef Andrés the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From a different president.
Warren for VP would not be the wrong move
By kos
I’ve long maintained that Joe Biden would be best served with a Black woman for vice president, and have done so for three reasons:
1) The vice president’s first and most important job is to help get the ticket elected. Only about 39% of white men are Democrats, so the VP should be reflective of the actual party base—female and brown. Furthermore, the biggest vote centers in the critical battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina are heavily Black, and heavily suppressed. New Democratic leadership in those states means (hopefully) less suppression, but we need a candidate that can swing through Milwaukee, Detroit, Philly, Research Triangle (NC), Miami, and back again, all to rally that critical, all-important vote.
2) The Black vote made Biden. I believe that, in politics, you reward those who brought you.
3) History. It’s time.
But, that doesn’t mean that a Black woman is Biden’s only smart play. In fact, picking Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be quite brilliant, as well.
What do you think? Who do you think would be the best pick for Biden’s VP?
Here's how we beat Scott Walker's hand-picked judge next month and turn Wisconsin blue
By David Nir
Wisconsin, of course, is going to be one of the most important swing states this fall, so you know that Trump wants his pet judge on the bench to help him out in the event of a close race. But there’s even more at stake: Right now, conservatives hold a 5-2 majority on the court; if Karofsky wins, we’ll whittle that down to 4-3.
A narrower advantage will, in the short term, make it harder for the conservatives to hold the line, but even more important, we’ll be able to flip the court to a liberal majority in just a few short years. If we can do that, then Wisconsin will finally have a Supreme Court ready to curb the worst excesses of the Republican Party.
For that to happen, though, we need to win next month. This race is likely to be decided by a very small margin—again, we’re talking about swingy Wisconsin—so every dollar really counts.
Please give $3 now to help Jill Karofsky defeat Scott Walker’s hand-picked judge on the Wisconsin Supreme Court!
Any stories you think we should have covered more this week? Let us know in the comments below!