Vol. 51 No. 1
April 23, 2020 -April 29, 2020
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
The Political and Healthcare System is Broken and Corrupt in America By Roger Caldwell, NNPA Newswire Contributor
In the African American community, the coronavirus is exposing systemic racism with frightening numbers. In Chicago, the Black population is 29% but 70% of the people dying from the virus are Black. In Louisiana, the Black population is 32% but 70% of the people dying from the virus are Black. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) “History is bound to repeat itself. Look at what went wrong in 1918 (Spanish Flu). Then do the opposite,” says the History Channel. President Woodrow Wilson was the American President in 1918, when 675,000 Americans died as a result of the Spanish Flu and over 20 to 50 million people died around the world. This pandemic happened 100 years ago, and a lack of leadership from the federal government helped the flu spread like wildfire. President Woodrow Wilson took no decisive measures with a coordinated federal plan and gaps were filled at the state and local level. There was a general lack of preparedness and the public health infrastructure was inadequate with no leadership and organization. Public officials lied, made up facts and 25% of the military personnel who had the flu, infected the citizens
around the country. The flu started in March 1918 and the second wave came in the fall, when the majority of Americans died. This mysterious strain of the flu happened during the end of World War I and moving lots of men and materials in crowded conditions contributed to the spread of the virus. America and nations around the globe refused to lockdown their countries and the flu spread rapidly. “The chaotic culture of the Trump White House contributed to the crisis. A lack of planning and a failure to execute, combined with the president’s focus on the news cycle and his preference for following his gut rather than the data cost time and perhaps lives,” says Eric Lipton of the NY Times. The 1918 pandemic lasted 1 year and there were 3 different waves where the majority of people died. In order for the 2020 pandemic
to end in America, the entire country must be shutdown in every state and the president must place large-scale orders for masks, protective equipment, critical hospital equipment, ventilators and community leaders educating their constituents. This is not a time for “happy talk.” The Coronavirus Task Force must enforce the quarantine with military forces and local police. China started its lockdown on January 23, 2020 and by the beginning of March, the country was starting to open back up. They were able to get infected cases to low levels, and the United States must follow the same course of action. The population practiced social distancing and the government was able to test on a wide scale. At this point, America’s testing process has failed, with testing of less than 1% of the population
completed. There is no vaccine and more healthcare workers are getting infected with the virus with no time off. Before the country can be opened, there must be widespread testing and a national database of cases to prevent the spread of the virus. With over 500,000 thousand Americans infected with the virus, and the most citizens to die in any country — over 20,000 — the political and healthcare system is broken. Instead of the pandemic slowing down, it is speeding up and rapidly growing. In the African American community, the coronavirus is exposing systemic racism with frightening numbers. In Chicago, the Black population is 29% but 70% of the people dying from the virus are Black. In Louisiana, the Black population is 32% but 70% of the people dying from the virus are Black. In other cities, like Washington, DC, Baltimore, Detroit and Dallas, there are alarming numbers that indicate health disparities are killing more Blacks. No one will save Blacks but us. However, Black leaders must sound the alarm. When America gets a cold, African American get pneumonia. There is a failure of leadership with President Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence managing and running the Coronavirus Task Force. They have done a terrible job, lying to Americans, with a general lack of preparedness. There is glaring incompetency in Trump’s handling of the crisis, and the failure of testing has spread the virus. As our president continues to fabricate the truth at every daily briefing, don’t believe anything President Trump promises.
NFL Scores Win with National Response to COVID-19 By Stacy M. Brown
In the wake of the unprecedented novel coronavirus pandemic, the National Football League (NFL) — perhaps more than any other sports league and many other major corporations — has strived to rapidly respond to needs in local communities throughout the nation. In an interview with NNPA Newswire, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said, “The commissioner and all of us remain completely aware of the reality of what’s going on.” Commissioner Roger Goodell, and others at league headquarters, are conscious and respectful of how the virus is affecting our nation and the entire globe. The NFL’s Draft-A-Thon, a fundraising effort that takes place simultaneously with the NFL Draft on April 23, will allocate funds to six national charities and their local chapters. The charities include: The American Red Cross, the CDC Foundation, Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, the
The commissioner and all of us remain completely aware of the reality of what's going on." Commissioner Roger Goodell, and others at league headquarters, are conscious and respectful of how the virus is affecting our nation and the entire globe. (Photo: NFL) Salvation Army and United Way. In addition to the Draft-A-Thon, the NFL, along with its teams and players, have come together to support communities throughout the nation as everyone attempts to tackle the issues arising from the COVID-19 disaster. “The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) encourages all professional sports to follow the extraordinary lead of the NFL in their national
response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 across America.,” emphasized Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President and CEO of the NNPA. “In particular, African Americans have the highest number of fatalities from COVID-19. The NNPA appreciates the responsive leadership of the NFL as this pandemic continues to spread and disproportionately impact our families and communities.”
Here’s a snapshot of what the NFL and its teams and players have done thus far: More than 70 Philadelphia Eagles employees and their families, including coach Doug Pederson and his wife Jeannie, participated in a community blood drive at Lincoln Financial Field in response to the dip in blood donations across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter recently gave about $20,000 to help coronavirus patients. Hunter’s grandmother, Joy Gayle, works as a nurse at a hospital in New York. He has been getting regular reports from her about how “crazy” things are at the hospital, including a shortage of supplies. Cleveland Browns team seamstress Becky Zielinski has led a service effort in collaboration with Mask Making Miracles, who are a local group of volunteer seamstresses who wanted to help during this crisis. Together, Becky and Mask (continued on page 6)
Publisher’s Corner Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com
Clifton Harris Editor in Chief
While Struggling Americans Await $1,200 Stimulus, Nation’s Wealthiest Reap Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Windfall By Senior Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia While struggling individuals and families look forward to a $1,200 federal stimulus check, America’s wealthy have again made off with most of the cash. The $2.3 trillion coronavirus stimulus package includes a temporary tax change for individuals who make at least $1 million a year, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The Joint Committee’s analysis shows 43,000 taxpayers in the highest income bracket, making more than $1 million a year, could save a combined $70 billion in taxes. Almost all benefits from the tax break go to people making more than $100,000 a year. The change in tax law reportedly suspends limits on how much money individuals can deduct against how much they owe based on lost income or business revenue, according to the committee. Still, millionaires and billionaires are set to reap more than 80 percent of the benefits because of the Trump tax law change, which alters what certain business owners are allowed to deduct from their taxes. It allows many of the country’s wealthiest to avoid nearly $82 billion of tax liability in 2020. Nearly 82 percent of the benefits from the tax law change will go to people making $1 million or more annually in 2020, according to the Joint Committee. Approximately 95 percent of those who benefit from the change make $200,000 or more. The government began sending out $1,200 stimulus payments to individuals making less than $75,000, and $2,400 for couples earning no more than $150,000. An additional $500 per child under 18 was provided to families while those high school and college students over the age of 17 were left entirely out. In all, taxpayers will lose nearly $90 billion from the change to the law, which suspends a restriction introduced in President Trump’s 2017 tax bill. The change allows owners of businesses known as passthrough entities to lower their taxes by deducting as much as they want against income unrelated to the company. “It’s a scandal for Republicans to loot American taxpayers amid an economic and human tragedy,” Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse noted in a statement. “This analysis shows that while Democrats fought for unemployment insurance and small business relief, a top priority of President Trump and his allies in Congress was another massive tax cut for the wealthy.” Whitehouse and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) sent a letter expressing their concerns to Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought. “We are specifically seeking information about whether any people in the Trump administration who were involved with developing the
Millionaires and billionaires are set to reap more than 80 percent of the benefits because of the Trump tax law change, which alters what certain business owners are allowed to deduct from their taxes. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA) changes would also benefit from the provisions.” Several published reports said both Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner stand to reap millions as a result of the stimulus package and the change in tax law. So that Congress and the American public can better understand the provenance of these tax law changes, and assess whether any individuals within the Administration who stand to gain from these provisions were involved in their development, Whitehouse and Doggett have requested that Pence, and Vought provide the following information: All communications from January 1, 2020, to the present between the White House, Department of Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget and any nongovernment person or entity related to sections 2303 or 2304, or the policies modified by those sections. All communications between the Department of Treasury and the White House, and between the Department of Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget, related to sections 2303 or 2304, or the policies modified by those sections, in the development of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. All studies, analyses, proposals, cost estimates, or other information considered by the White House, the Department of Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget related to sections 2303 or 2304, or the policies modified by those sections, in the development of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. “It’s a scandal for Republicans to loot American taxpayers in the midst of an economic and human tragedy,” Whitehouse noted in his statement. “Congress should repeal this rotten, un-American giveaway and use the revenue to help workers battling through this crisis.” Doggett added that the cost of the tax break is more than total new funding for all hospitals in America and more than the total provided to all state and local governments. “Someone wrongly seized on this health emergency to reward ultrarich beneficiaries, likely including the Trump family, with a tax loophole not available to middle class families. This net operating loss loophole is a loser that should be repealed,” Doggett said.