Bits 'n pieces from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

Congressional emergency COVID-19 relief may come in the form of a significantly shrunken bipartisan plan, the Washington Post reported. It appears to set aside dollars for the jobless, states and cities, vaccine distribution efforts, hospitals, the hungry and the U.S. Postal Office and includes the Republican demand to protect businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits (that protection benefits corporations and shareholders, but not at-risk employees).

Democrats have resisted corporate COVID-19 legal protections, since there is no incentive to rigorously protect against the coronavirus. Republicans have resisted stimulus checks, but are OK with $300 a week for the unemployed, which is half of the amount offered previously.

Newsweek reported that far right Pastor Rick Wiles has suggested that firing squads be used on Democrats and the media if it is determined that they conspired to rig the recent presidential election.

A former Florida state data scientist had her home raided Monday morning by law enforcement officers, who took computers, phones and the like. Rebekah Jones had allegedly been fired for insubordination when she refused to manipulate COVID-19 data to downplay its severity. According to Tallahassee.com, after her dismissal she then compiled and posted pandemic info from her home.

Judges from six states, where President Donald Trump has sued to contest the election results, have declared that the suits do not prove widespread fraud, have no merit and are baseless in their claims, the Washington Post reported. Federal District Judge Brett Ludwig, a recent Trump nominee, commented that Trumps’ legal actions seeking “extraordinary” relief are hard to fathom and his desire to “remand” the election to the state legislature is “bizarre.”

“Lock him up” appears to be a real possibility for Trump once he leaves office. Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner (now a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC) described the various charges Trump could face. In New York State, it’s falsifying business records, with a maximum penalty of four years in prison; tax fraud, with 25 years maximum; insurance fraud with 25 years; and conspiracy, with 25 years. At the federal level, it’s conspiracy to defraud the U.S., including paying hush money, with five years; bribery, which comes with two years, regarding the Ukrainian attempt to dig up dirt on a relative of his presidential opponent; obstruction of Congress, with five years, regarding the impeachment process; witness tampering, three years, regarding tweeted comments while the former ambassador to the Ukraine testified to Congress; delaying delivery of U.S. mail, five years, regarding imposing service cutbacks at the postal office prior to an expectation of heavy mail volume with mail-in voting; violating campaign finance law, five years; and involuntary homicide, eight years, regarding gross negligence in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Dec. 6 the average number of new cases of COVID-19 per day had risen 15 percent as compared to two weeks ago, according to stats from The New York Times. On Dec. 6 there were 1,111 new deaths and 173,457 new cases. Last week there was an average of 196,826 cases per day. The number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19, since the beginning of the pandemic, was 282,300 on Dec. 6.

Yale University has been exploring why COVID-19 seems to have a lesser impact on children. In a study, they compared the immune responses of 60 adults and 65 children and adults under age 24. All were hospitalized. In general, the younger age group had milder symptoms and higher levels of two immune molecules, which seem to fight the virus. A study co-author said the youth’s more robust response may protect them from “progressing to severe pulmonary disease.”

Last week, while Americans experienced the highest rate of hunger in 22 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high, Inequality Media reported. Commentator Robert Reich, a former labor secretary in the Clinton Administration, said, “widening inequality is distinct from the problem of recession,” and explained that recessions are caused by a drop in demand for goods and services, but addressing inequality requires years of effort by people in power seeking equality.

In the past that was demonstrated with the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (who won four terms) with his people-empowerment programs, and President Lyndon B. Johnson, who furthered people empowerment by passing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. But further progress to address inequality in the economy has been hampered, Reich said, by sympathetic administrations being forced to prioritize addressing jobs and growth issues after taking office during recessions.

As a result, he argues that over the last 40 years hourly wages have stagnated, with most economic gains going to the top: “The richest 1 percent of U.S. households now own 50 percent of the value of stocks held by Americans.” And the richest 10 percent own 92 percent of stocks. The bottom line for making advances to redistribute economic power, Reich maintains, as in the times of FDR and LBJ, can only occur “when those without it demand it.”

Blast from the past: On Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor’s naval base was attacked by the Japanese, killing 2,403 Americans. As of Dec. 8, 2020, the U.S. has seen the death of 283,700 Americans from COVID-19.