#State of Emergency.

[reasonsforhope]

No paywall version here.

"Two and a half years ago, when I was asked to help write the most authoritative report on climate change in the United States, I hesitated...

In the end, I said yes, but reluctantly. Frankly, I was sick of admonishing people about how bad things could get. Scientists have raised the alarm over and over again, and still the temperature rises. Extreme events like heat waves, floods and droughts are becoming more severe and frequent, exactly as we predicted they would. We were proved right. It didn’t seem to matter.

Our report, which was released on Tuesday, contains more dire warnings. There are plenty of new reasons for despair. Thanks to recent scientific advances, we can now link climate change to specific extreme weather disasters, and we have a better understanding of how the feedback loops in the climate system can make warming even worse. We can also now more confidently forecast catastrophic outcomes if global emissions continue on their current trajectory.

But to me, the most surprising new finding in the Fifth National Climate Assessment is this: There has been genuine progress, too.

I’m used to mind-boggling numbers, and there are many of them in this report. Human beings have put about 1.6 trillion tons of carbon in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution — more than the weight of every living thing on Earth combined. But as we wrote the report, I learned other, even more mind-boggling numbers. In the last decade, the cost of wind energy has declined by 70 percent and solar has declined 90 percent. Renewables now make up 80 percent of new electricity generation capacity. Our country’s greenhouse gas emissions are falling, even as our G.D.P. and population grow.

In the report, we were tasked with projecting future climate change. We showed what the United States would look like if the world warms by 2 degrees Celsius. It wasn’t a pretty picture: more heat waves, more uncomfortably hot nights, more downpours, more droughts. If greenhouse emissions continue to rise, we could reach that point in the next couple of decades. If they fall a little, maybe we can stave it off until the middle of the century. But our findings also offered a glimmer of hope: If emissions fall dramatically, as the report suggested they could, we may never reach 2 degrees Celsius at all.

For the first time in my career, I felt something strange: optimism.

And that simple realization was enough to convince me that releasing yet another climate report was worthwhile.

Something has changed in the United States, and not just the climate. State, local and tribal governments all around the country have begun to take action. Some politicians now actually campaign on climate change, instead of ignoring or lying about it. Congress passed federal climate legislation — something I’d long regarded as impossible — in 2022 as we turned in the first draft.

[Note: She's talking about the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Act, which despite the names were the two biggest climate packages passed in US history. And their passage in mid 2022 was a big turning point: that's when, for the first time in decades, a lot of scientists started looking at the numbers - esp the ones that would come from the IRA's funding - and said "Wait, holy shit, we have an actual chance."]

And while the report stresses the urgency of limiting warming to prevent terrible risks, it has a new message, too: We can do this. We now know how to make the dramatic emissions cuts we’d need to limit warming, and it’s very possible to do this in a way that’s sustainable, healthy and fair.

The conversation has moved on, and the role of scientists has changed. We’re not just warning of danger anymore. We’re showing the way to safety.

I was wrong about those previous reports: They did matter, after all. While climate scientists were warning the world of disaster, a small army of scientists, engineers, policymakers and others were getting to work. These first responders have helped move us toward our climate goals. Our warnings did their job.

To limit global warming, we need many more people to get on board... We need to reach those who haven’t yet been moved by our warnings. I’m not talking about the fossil fuel industry here; nor do I particularly care about winning over the small but noisy group of committed climate deniers. But I believe we can reach the many people whose eyes glaze over when they hear yet another dire warning or see another report like the one we just published.

The reason is that now, we have a better story to tell. The evidence is clear: Responding to climate change will not only create a better world for our children and grandchildren, but it will also make the world better for us right now.

Eliminating the sources of greenhouse gas emissions will make our air and water cleaner, our economy stronger and our quality of life better. It could save hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives across the country through air quality benefits alone. Using land more wisely can both limit climate change and protect biodiversity. Climate change most strongly affects communities that get a raw deal in our society: people with low incomes, people of color, children and the elderly. And climate action can be an opportunity to redress legacies of racism, neglect and injustice.

I could still tell you scary stories about a future ravaged by climate change, and they’d be true, at least on the trajectory we’re currently on. But it’s also true that we have a once-in-human-history chance not only to prevent the worst effects but also to make the world better right now. It would be a shame to squander this opportunity. So I don’t just want to talk about the problems anymore. I want to talk about the solutions. Consider this your last warning from me."

-via New York Times. Opinion essay by leading climate scientist Kate Marvel. November 18, 2023.

#WE CAN DO THIS #I SO TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO THIS #WE CAN SAVE OURSELVES AND THE WORLD ALONG WITH US #climate crisis #united states #climate change #conservation #hope posting #sustainability #climate news #climate action #climate emergency #fossil fuels #global warming #environmentalism #climate hope #solarpunk #climate optimism #climate policy #earth #science #climate science #meteorology #extreme weather #renewable energy #solar power #wind power #renewables #carbon emissions #climate justice

[jack-the-fool]

(x)

#when i read too much siken and then go into a fuge state and emerge with this on my dektop #nimona #nimona movie #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin #goldenheart #ballister x ambrosius #gloreth #edit #fan edit #flashing gif #one day i'll stop posting at 10pm but clearly this isn't it #n nimona #n ballister #n ambrosius #n glorith #jack.edit #jack.txt

[imnotselfryed]

WE DID IT YOU GUYS WE DIDNT GET EATEN BY ZOMBIES (i wish i did)

#Emergency alert system #FEMA test #yes i made this as a joke #Alert test #i survived #EAS #NWS #FEMA #emergency alert #FCC #extremely loud sound wednesday #usa #united states

[foryouthegays]

ok @ my european followers theres the stereotype that yall dont travel more than like half an hour away .what if u live far in like .university or college or smthin .do u just not go home for holidays ? whats ur Max Time youd spend on a bus/train to get home? bc im curently on a ten hour bus train combo and ive done this three times already this year (and thats not counting the two times i was driven up here which is 8ish hours)

#im so fascinated by that stereotype #the first time i went home it was bc my dog was sick ur telling me if there was a family emergency you wouldnt spend more than like an hour #getting there??? wack #please tell me ur travel ideas europeans i want to study you #THIS IS LIGHTHEARTED THIS IS LIGHTHEARTED THIS IS LIGHTHEARTED #also yes i am in the same state <33 it isnt even the furthest i could go in this state <33

[izzystizzys]

the thing about being the highest-ranked and most-decorated officer in any GAR/Guard capacity, fox thinks, is that unsurprisingly nobody could give less of a shit or listen to anything he says. it’s not like he earned those medals and recognitions and perfect test scores or anything, now is it, kote?

or, after the zillo beast disaster, the coruscant guard medbay just so happens to be much closer than the GAR one, and surprise surprise, senators don’t want meatdroids to be treated in their facilities after they’ve just protected them with their lives. fox tries to reason against this. fox is unsuccessful, because no one listens to fox.

which is how he finds himself crammed into a corner along with cody, ponds, bly, rex and their jedi, looking out across a medbay which is quite frankly a goddamn disaster rivalling the fight with the zillo beast in proportions. skywalker tries to step out towards one of the medics, and has to be pulled back by the collar of his shirt by amidala, squawking loudly when he’s nearly rammed over by mauler, crucifix and a shrilly screaming crash cart.

it’s not like fox said this would be a bad idea or anything.

“um, vod”, cody begins, unsure, “what’s - is that guy sewing wooley up with thread?!”

meathook, who is in fact sewing wooley up with thread, and looks about as happy about it as his patient, and who fox honestly thought was going to cry when he announced the influx of patients about to descend on them, snaps something about triage over his shoulder at hound, whose arm is decidedly bent in a way it shouldn’t be, jerking his head to gesture at the rickety cot next to cody’s ARC. fox is pretty sure they salvaged the thing from a dumpster. he slaps a bandage on the stitches that fox fears might be from the same dumpster.

“putting those advanced reconnaissance training skills to use, kote”, says fox, who invariably turns into the worst possible version of himself whenever cody opens his mouth within a klick of his vicinity.

skywalker harrumphs, evidently at the end of his impressive patience. “well, why?! hey, trooper! these men need bacta!”

“do they, now? i’m sorry, i hadn’t noticed”, a low voice hisses angrily behind them, and fox is the only one who doesn’t jump on account of he’s too dead inside to be scared of his CMO anymore. a grave error, he’s sure. “i guess i’ll just go pull some out of my ass along with a tank and painkillers, then! hadn’t thought of that yet!”

warcrime, whose eye is twitching and who is holding a bloody saw in visible consideration of using it, pins skywalker with a look that has had shinies all over the guard peeing themselves. “we don’t have any fucking bacta, you absolute numbskull.”

“but that can’t be right”, cody pipes up again, next to a very troubled looking generals kenobi and windu. fox sympathises very much with the patented migraine-glare on windu’s face. “why do you not have any bacta?”

“because i like to smear meiloorun juice all over my patient’s stab wounds, commander”, warcrime says. “it’s a homeopathic medicine thing. because the chancellor refuses to give us any, genius.”

“what?!” skywalker says, bristling. “that can’t be true! he wouldn’t -“ he’s cut off by his comm pinging loudly over the moaning and crying in the medbay, and warcrime leaning close enough to be heard with a whisper.

“well, he would, and if you don’t believe me, there’s a holorecording of him telling marshal commander fox why biological weapons on the homefront have lower priority and therefore half rations of everything. now get out of my medbay or find out why they named me warcrime, sir.”

amidala, the collective braincell holder for both her husband and the senate combined (on occasion), tugs him out of the way of warcrime’s bonesaw and ire. fox, who very much enjoys not being the primary target of a medic for once, unfortunately also has to be the adult in the room. “sirs, a transfer to the GAR barracks medbay might be a preferable- AH, MOTHERFU-“

“get him, stabby!”, rabid whoops from where he’s resetting thire’s nose, who echoes a much more nasal and muffled, “go, ftabby!”

“get kriffing FUCKED, stabby, you absolute-“, fox seethes, trying to swipe for the medic’s head and nearly planting one on cody instead by accident, who unfortunately manages to evade the swing fox is admittedly projecting very obviously on account of the sedation hypo jammed into his flank.

“medbay rules, sir”, stabby calls, dancing away towards mauler and his crash cart, while someone bumps something solid and flat against the backs of fox’s thighs that he can’t help but tumble back on, already seeing two codys and blys dancing around his vision. “commander fox protocol dictates he is to be helped to sleep as often as possible, sir.”

“a desperate but well-founded measure, i’m sure”, kenobi of all people agrees, and fox waves an unsteady hand in what might be the general’s direction to the sound of cody’s scandalized gasp. “as you were, officer… stabby.”

“traitors”, fox slurs, just as his com-unit begins to ping with an urgent notification. before he can try and answer it, warcrime has ripped it off his arm and flung it somewhere out of his sight. eh, it probably wasn’t anything THAT important, fox thinks. and if he wakes up two days later to a near-hysteric meathook kissing the glass casing of the guard’s brand new bacta tank over and over again, he decides to just roll over and go back to sleep.

#commander fox #corrie guard deserves better #oc corrie guard medics my beloved #the com was in fact an emergency alert that the zillo beast wasn’t as dead as they thought it was and bit palpatine’s head off #‘oh no’ says fox ‘how horrible’ #‘-anyways-‘ #jedi order absolutely horrified at the state of things immediately begin to occupy guard headquarters #mace gives himself force exhaustion trying to heal troopers #he is not in fact a healer #kix who is horrified to hear all about this immediately puts in a temporary transfer notice along with a small army of medics #they come bearing all kinds of contraband once they find out about the lack of adequate food as well #it turns out murder and insults do in fact solve all of fox’s problems #stabby has to admit to a very concerned kix that he’s not actually medically sedating fox every other day #‘i only did that once out of desperation and ever since i’ve made a point of sticking him with an empty needle every now and then’ he sayd #‘poor thing’s so exhausted he keels over immediately’ #fox gets his monthly eight hours and stabby gets to earn his dues: win win #kix is reluctantly impressed

[jaidacorvera]

Update regarding the issue of Human Rights in the dystopian flatland state of Nebraska - As of October 1 until November 28, minors (those under 19, which has always been the case in Nebraska) seeking HRT must receive 40 hours of gender-identity focused training and must live as their preferred gender for at least six months. https://www.ketv.com/article/pillen-administration-announces-guidelines-for-gender-care-involving-minors/45397199 Please boost this so that others realize the rights that are being slowly stripped from people. Please donate to the ACLU, who aim to fight this as much as they can.

#trans nonpositivity #trans rights are human rights #trans state of emergency #lgbtq+ #trans in nebraska #transgender rights

[landlockedcorsair]

The HRC has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people.

There is a downloadable guidebook (pdf) in the 2nd paragraph of the article:

I don’t think the fascists will win, but they are dangerous and numerous. Don’t take this lightly.

Stay sharp, keep safe and good luck.

#lgbtq+ #lgbtq+ rights #state of emergency #human rights campaign

[lgbtawarenessproject]

THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN HAS DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR LGBT PEOPLE IN THE USA

Please watch this video by Rudy Riggs explaining it!

Took uh, a lot longer to add this ID than I intended

Picture ID: A person with a black t-shirt, layered silver necklaces, several piercings, a hat, and red hair dye except for the middle section which is brown. Their hair is very short, and they are very expressive with their hands and head movement. Their visible hand has several rings, one of which is very large.

The background is of a beige room with a sign light on the left, a picture or painting on the right, and plant in the corner.

There are captions above their head and a title in front of their throat which only stays for a few seconds.

End Picture ID

Captions(slashes are used to signify the end of a caption):

okay so a national state of emergency has been declared in America/

for LGBTQ+ people by the Human Rights Commission/

but what does that even mean/

I hear you ask/

look it up for yourself/

but I'm going to tell you the top line facts/

firstly they have released a statement of emergency/

which basically just states what the emergency is about/

and why they have decided to declare one/

they've also released what they're calling a handbook/

which has a bunch of resources/

like different laws in different states of America/

as well as rights for LGBTQ+ people in different states of America/

as well how to determine access for healthcare/

how to finance yourself a move to a safer state or place and finding employment/

information for filing complaints against civil rights laws/

as well as a bunch of other stuff about how to identify rhetoric/

and how to oppose anti LGBTQ/

plus situations on school boards or in other areas of your life/

and then finally/

the Human Rights Commission have also released information for travelers/

coming to the United States of America/

which is pretty terrifying/

that is just the overview of a very in depth document/

so please go and look at it yourself/

this is supposed to be Pride Month/

and it's really hard to feel pride/

when human rights are being violated across the entire globe/

End Caption ID

Rudy makes a note in the video description that they misspoke in the video and that it was the Human Rights Campaign, not Commission.

Find the Human Rights Campaign Here

Please note that HRC is a recognized non-profit based in Washington DC. It is also one of the largest LGBT+ organizations in the United States.

#project unknowing #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtqia+ #queer #current politics #discrimination #national state of emergency #really fucking important #important #human rights campaign #usa #lgbt politics #current lgbt politics #politics #us politics #usa politics #human rights #ID #has ID #video #tiktok #video id

[slightly-depressed-sloth]

Breakfast burgers!

(As always click for better quality)

I’d like to think that Damian is visiting after his Robin shift and they’re getting in some supersons hang out time before school

My emergency commissions are still open with everything 10% off the final price!

Version without lighting effects (+coloured lines) and zoomed in version under cut;

#idk what about stress makes me decide to draw big pieces but let’s just say this took about 25 hours 💀 #supersons #super sons #is there a space I can never remember #damian wayne #robin v #jon kent #superboy #batfam #superfam #superman #but only on his way to work in the background #dc comics #dc #art #slightlyslothdraws #on a personal note in a really weird state of limbo rn regarding housing where we don’t really know what’s happening when #i feel a bit weird about having my emergency comms up when theres a possibility itll get sorted through a charity soon but everythings #really uncertain atm and if it falls through then we'll be back to square one #personal note aside please enjoy the boys they are my children and i love them very dearly #(Clark bought the burgers)

[mousedetective]

Passing this on from one of my Facebook friends, so maybe we can help Maddie and her wife get somewhere safer. Below is the text from my friend Viki on Facebook:

Hi friends. As many of you know, Florida is a virtual dumpster fire where Trans rights are concerned. The LGBTQIA+ community is DeSatan's pet hate and right now, Trans individuals are his legislation's biggest focus.

The most current update is a law - not a bill, this has passed and will be put into place - that declares sex and gender the same thing. You will not be able to change your gender marker on your legal state identification. Moreso, it's considered fraud if you do. It is literally becoming illegal for my trans friends to be themselves.

Maddie is a good friend and I've known and loved her through her entire coming out process. She and her wife are my People and I hate losing them, but Maddie's safety has to come first. And right now the only way to guarantee she remains safe is to get her out of this state. Those of us who are able to stay and keep fighting can and should but that isn't the case for everyone. On top of needing to relocate to a blue state, they'll also need to house the both of them while they find new work, transportation if they're temporarily separated (they currently share a car), and just anything that might get them on their feet.

I know this is a hard time economically. I personally am counting coins. But anything that can get the word out counts.

And vote. I know we will never have a Perfect Candidate. There will never be one person everyone can agree on. But we can't keep letting the administrations we have continue or there won't be a common ground to launch from.

Please reblog this or share it anywhere you can so Maddie and her wife can get out of Florida and go somewhere safer for them both.

#signal boost #mutual aid #mutual aid request #urgent #emergency #direct action #community aid #gofundme #please boost #please reblog #please share #please help #anything helps #help needed #politics #florida #united states #trans safety #trans community

[reasonsforhope]

"Tuesday’s [April 9, 2024] definition-shifting court ruling means nearly 50 governments must now contend with a new era of climate litigation.

Governments be warned: You must protect your citizens from climate change — it’s their human right.

The prescient message was laced throughout a dense ruling Tuesday from Europe’s top human rights court. The court’s conclusion? Humans have a right to safety from climate catastrophes that is rooted in their right to life, privacy and family.

The definition-shifting decision from the European Court of Human Rights means nearly 50 governments representing almost 700 million people will now have to contend with a new era of litigation from climate-stricken communities alleging inaction. 

While the judgment itself doesn’t include any penalties — the case featured several women accusing Switzerland of failing to shield them from climate dangers — it does establish a potent precedent that people can use to sue governments in national courts.

The verdict will serve “as a blueprint for how to successfully sue your own government over climate failures,” said Ruth Delbaere, a legal specialist at Avaaz, a U.S.-based nonprofit that promotes climate activism...

Courting the courts on climate

The European Court of Human Rights was established in the decade following World War II but has grown in importance over the last generation. As the judicial arm of the Council of Europe, an international human rights organization, the court’s rulings are binding on the council’s 46 members, spanning all of Europe and numerous countries on its borders.

As a result, Tuesday’s [April 9, 2024] ruling will help elevate climate litigation from a country-by-country battle to one that stretches across continents.

Previously, climate activists had mostly found success in suing individual countries to force climate action. 

A 2019 Dutch Supreme Court verdict forced the Netherlands to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, while in 2021 a French court ruled the government was responsible for environmental damage after it failed to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals. That same year, Germany’s Constitutional Court issued a sweeping judgment that the country’s 2019 climate law was partly “unconstitutional” because it put too much of the emissions-cutting burden on future generations.

Even in the U.S., young environmental activists won a local case last year against state agencies after arguing that the continued use of fossil fuels violated their right to a "clean and healthful environment."

But 2024 is shaping up to be a turning point for climate litigation, redefining who has a right to sue over climate issues, what arguments they can use, and whom they can target. 

To start, experts overwhelmingly expect that Tuesday’s ruling will reverberate across future lawsuits — both in Europe and globally. The judgment even includes specifics about what steps governments must take to comply with their new climate-related human rights obligations. The list includes things like a concrete deadline to reach climate neutrality, a pathway to getting there, and evidence the country is actually on that path...

Concretely, the verdict could also affect the outcomes of six other high-profile climate lawsuits pending before the human rights court, including a Greenpeace-backed suit questioning whether Norway's decision to grant new oil and gas licenses complies with its carbon-cutting strategy.

An emerging legal strategy

In the coming months, other international bodies are also expected to issue their own rulings on the same thorny legal issues, which could further solidify the evolving trend. 

The International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights all have similar cases working through the system.

"All these cases together will clarify the legal obligations of states to protect rights in the context of climate change — and will set the stage for decades to come," said Chowdhury, from the environmental law center."

-via Politico, April 9, 2024

#europe #human rights #legal system #international politics #climate change #climate emergency #climate hope #international law #netherlands #france #germany #united states #switzerland #good news #hope

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a bill that is aimed at fighting homelessness.

Called “Home IL,” it will bring state agencies, nonprofit organizations and other advocates together. The bill focuses on an equity-based approach, which includes the voices and contributions of those who have experience homelessness.

It codifies the collaboration to move Illinois to “functional zero” homelessness by bolstering the safety net, targeting high-risk populations, expanding affordable housing, securing financial stability for unhoused individuals and closing the mortality gap.

“Every person deserves access to safe shelter and the dignity that comes with housing,” Pritzker said. “This is a first-of-its-kind multi-agency cooperative effort — bringing together state agencies, nonprofit organizations, advocates, and people with lived experience to prevent and end homelessness. I’m grateful for their dedication and believe that together, we can prevent and end homelessness once and for all.”

Rockford has already taken strides in this aspect. In 2017, it became the first community to reach “functional zero” levels among veterans and the chronically homeless.

Illinois’ Interagency Task Force and Community Advisory Council works across 17 state departments and agencies, as well as over 100 processes, programs and policies, to develop a comprehensive plan to combat homelessness.

The goal of the plan is to prevent shelter entry or ensure that shelter stays are limited and lead to quick transitions into stable living situations.

Pritzker has also committed about $360 million for the initiative in his FY24 budget. These investments include:

• $118 million to support unhoused populations seeking shelter and services, including $40.7 million in the Emergency and Transitional Housing Program.

• $50 million in Rapid ReHousing services for 2,000 households, including short-term rental assistance and targeted support for up to two years.

• $40 million in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Capital funds to develop 90+ new PSH units providing long term rental assistance and case management.

• $37 million in Emergency Shelter capital funds to create more than 460 non-congregate shelter units.

• $35 million for supportive housing services, homeless youth services, street outreach, medical respite, re-entry services, access to counsel, and other shelter diversion supports.

• $21.8 million to provide homelessness prevention services to approximately 6,000 more families.

• $30 million for court-based rental assistance.

• $15 million to fund Home Illinois Innovations Pilots.

• $12.5 million to create 500 new scattered site PSH units.

“People experiencing the trauma of housing instability are our neighbors and community members who deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity. With this cooperative effort, Illinois is ensuring our state agencies can continue to collaborate, and that stakeholders are at the table with us, to support our most vulnerable in living healthy, well, and with dignity.” Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton said. “Our state is making it clear that we will continue to work together so we can all move forward, and we will focus on holistic strategies that bring us closer to ending homelessness in our state.”

#us politics #news #my state line #Illinois #gov. j.b. pritzker #2023 #homeless #homelessness #house the homeless #houselessness #Home IL #end homelessness #expand affordable housing #mortality gap #Illinois’ Interagency Task Force and Community Advisory Council #Emergency and Transitional Housing Program #Permanent Supportive Housing #Emergency Shelter #supportive housing services #homeless youth services #street outreach #medical respite #access to counsel #homelessness prevention services #court-based rental assistance #Home Illinois Innovations Pilots #Juliana Stratton #progressivism #progressives #Democrats

[heybiji]

alley cat

#original character #ocs #digital art #my art #biji draws #atticus alley #alley #aa7gh #emergency drawing #as in i've been in a weird state lately and thinking i could never draw again and be chill with that #so i needed to just draw SOMETHING to try and pivot from that thought #eek

[lavatory-sealed-hanako-kun]

Pov: your boyfriend is high on pain medication after his major injury and being dragged out following chapter 71

#terukane #tbhk Minamoto teru #tbhk teru #tbhk akane #minamoto teru #aoi akane #jshk teru #jshk akane #toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #we just decided that #he was sent into emergency care #after the incident in the far shore #since they stated that the clock keepers can't affect one another #so imagine Teru bringing Akane to Kako #him looking at Akane and going #hm can't do much about that lol take him to the er

[tomorrowusa]

Four years ago today (March 13th), then President Donald Trump got around to declaring a national state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration had been downplaying the danger to the United States for 51 days since the first US infection was confirmed on January 22nd.

From an ABC News article dated 25 February 2020...

CDC warns Americans of 'significant disruption' from coronavirus

Until now, health officials said they'd hoped to prevent community spread in the United States. But following community transmissions in Italy, Iran and South Korea, health officials believe the virus may not be able to be contained at the border and that Americans should prepare for a "significant disruption." This comes in contrast to statements from the Trump administration. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Tuesday the threat to the United States from coronavirus "remains low," despite the White House seeking $1.25 billion in emergency funding to combat the virus. Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC’s Kelly Evans on “The Exchange” Tuesday evening, "We have contained the virus very well here in the U.S." [ ... ] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the request "long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency." She also accused President Trump of leaving "critical positions in charge of managing pandemics at the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security vacant." "The president's most recent budget called for slashing funding for the Centers for Disease Control, which is on the front lines of this emergency. And now, he is compounding our vulnerabilities by seeking to ransack funds still needed to keep Ebola in check," Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Our state and local governments need serious funding to be ready to respond effectively to any outbreak in the United States. The president should not be raiding money that Congress has appropriated for other life-or-death public health priorities." She added that lawmakers in the House of Representatives "will swiftly advance a strong, strategic funding package that fully addresses the scale and seriousness of this public health crisis." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also called the Trump administration's request "too little too late." "That President Trump is trying to steal funds dedicated to fight Ebola -- which is still considered an epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- is indicative of his towering incompetence and further proof that he and his administration aren't taking the coronavirus crisis as seriously as they need to be," Schumer said in a statement.

A reminder that Trump had been leaving many positions vacant – part of a Republican strategy to undermine the federal government.

Here's a picture from that ABC piece from a nearly empty restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. The screen displays a Trump tweet still downplaying COVID-19 with him seeming more concerned about the effect of the Dow Jones on his re-election bid.

People were not buying Trump's claims but they were buying PPE.

I took this picture at CVS on February 26th that year.

The stock market which Trump in his February tweet claimed looked "very good" was tanking on March 12th – the day before his state of emergency declaration.

Trump succeeded in sending the US economy into recession much faster than George W. Bush did at the end of his term – quite a feat!. (As an aside, every recession in the US since 1981 has been triggered by Republican presidents.)

Of course Trump never stopped trying to downplay the pandemic nor did he ever take responsibility for it. The US ended up with the highest per capita death rate of any technologically advanced country.

Precious time was lost while Trump dawdled. Orange on this map indicates COVID infections while red indicates COVID deaths. At the time Trump declared a state of emergency, the virus had already spread to 49 states.

The United States could have done far better and it had the tools to do so.

The Obama administration had limited the number of US cases of Ebola to under one dozen during that pandemic in the 2010s. Based on their success, they compiled a guide on how the federal government could limit future pandemics.

Obama team left pandemic playbook for Trump administration, officials confirm

Of course Trump ignored it.

Unlike those boxes of nuclear secrets in Trump's bathroom, the Obama pandemic limitation document is not classified. Anybody can read it – even if Trump didn't. This copy comes from the Stanford University Libraries.

TOWARDS EPIDEMIC PREDICTION: FEDERAL EFFORTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN OUTBREAK MODELING

Feel free to share this post with anybody who still feels nostalgic about the Trump White House years!

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Why aren't you mad yet?

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