coronavirus

**UPDATE: As we near the end of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. And so do the economic consequences. My small business is suffering and my family is afraid – and I know I’m not alone. With newly elected officials taking office at all levels of government, we have a new opportunity to push for more relief checks. The pandemic is at the top of the agenda. Sign to send a message that people need multiple checks to get through this crisis. My name is Stephanie, and I am one of millions of Americans who fear for my financial future because of this coronavirus crisis. With businesses and schools closing across the country to control the spread of this virus, many people have already lost their jobs. Others are being forced to stay home. This is catastrophic for working families like mine.  I’m calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis. Otherwise, laid-off workers, furloughed workers, the self-employed, and workers dealing with reduced hours will struggle to pay their rent or put food on the table. My husband and I own a restaurant in Denver and these past two weeks have been a blur. Our restaurant community is wrestling with seeing everything we all have worked so hard for irrevocably changed. Our hearts were breaking as we watched our staff divide the ingredients in our kitchen to bring to their homes: a dismal token for employees who worked tirelessly every day. Our talented and cherished team, some of whom have been with us since we opened our doors 15 years ago, are now without an income. Like our team, my family has lost all of the income from our restaurant, and business owners and the self-employed can't claim unemployment. This is the story of America right now. For our team and other Americans who can claim unemployment, even the maximum payments will not be enough for most people to continue paying their bills – and avoid slipping into poverty. The facts are, even successful small businesses can’t go months with their doors closed.  But supplying Americans with monthly support until they can get back on their feet can save our communities from financial ruin. We need immediate checks and recurring payments so that we can keep our heads above water.  Congress needs to make sure that we won’t be left financially ruined for doing our part to keep the country healthy.

Trillions could be injected into the economy with no tax money needed, and nothing added to the national debt.   Federal student loans have become a national threat.  Before the Covid-19 virus emerged, 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. had student loans, and over 80% of them were either unable to pay on their loans, or were paying but their balances were going up.  The default rate for 2004 students is 40%, and these people were taking out less than a third of what today's students are compelled to borrow for college. The default rate for current borrowers will easily exceed 70%, if not far higher.  This is more than triple the default rate of sub-prime home mortgages, and this was all true before the pandemic. By every reasonable metric, this is now a catastrophically failed lending system. The President and Secretary of Education have all the authority needed issue an executive order cancelling all federally owned student loans- about 85% of all student debt. Nothing would be added to the national debt, and no tax appropriation would be needed.  This is, by far, the least expensive, and most expedient way to inject trillions into the economy.  This is not a partisan problem.  More than half of all student loan borrowers identify as being politically independent, or republican. More than 40% never graduated.  All are trapped by a uniquely predatory lending system from which nearly every consumer protection has been stripped- including statutes of limitations, Truth in Lending laws, and most importantly: bankruptcy rights that the Founders called for ahead of the power to raise an army and even ahead of the power to declare war in the U.S. Constitution.  The predatory, hyper-inflationary lending system that has resulted is what the Founders wished to avoid. Critics claiming that cancelling loans will largely benefit people who don't need it are completely wrong!  100% of all borrowers were determined to be "financially needy" as a precondition for receiving the loans. 80% were never going to be able to repay their loans before the pandemic.  What's more: the most successful student loan borrowers tend to refinance their loans out of the federal system. Importantly,  the people with the highest loan balances aren't younger people who irresponsibly over-borrowed for college; they are people over 50, who actually outnumber people under 25 with student loans.  They borrowed small amounts, but saw their loan balances skyrocket over decades of abuse at the hands of this unconsitutionally predatory lending system. People over 50 owe more than triple what people under 25 owe.  More than half of people over 75 are in default, and seniors citizens are having their social security taken from them. Analysts have predicted that cancelling student loans will increase GDP by about $100 billion for the next ten years, but they do not take into account the borrowing capacity (and thus spending) that such a move would free up. This would be another $1 Trillion injected into the economy in the near and medium term.  Some experts even believe that debt cancellation is the only way to avoid a depression! Rest assured, the taxpayers will be fine.  The federal government has been profiting wildly on these loans for many years, and decades of White House Budget data show that the Department of Education has even been making a profit on defaulted loans!  On balance, the taxpayer will have very little- perhaps no- net loss when these loans are cancelled. This is an historic opportunity for the President- whether this one or the next- to cure a recession and create a better higher education financing system for the country. This is YOUR PETITION.  Word of mouth is the best way we have to make it grow.  Please get a few people you know to sign, and paste the link to it wherever student loan borrowers are likely to see it (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)  Also, contact your local media, and tell them to cover it! Petition created by Alan Collinge, founder of StudentLoanJustice.Org and author of The Student Loan Scam (Beacon Press).  

Dear family, friends, parents, well-wishers, and supporters from around the world, I love my children more than anything and I am working tirelessly to do what is best for them. My boys were wrongfully taken from me in Cambodia and I have been blocked from seeing them for the last 3 years. My sons are 4 and 8 and they suffer from chronic respiratory problems. My oldest son is often hospitalized for respiratory distress. He was recently admitted to the ICU with a collapsed lung and difficulty breathing.  My youngest son also has respiratory problems. Both boys have been diagnosed with asthma and live in a city with high air pollution. I worry constantly about their health, safety and well-being. My sons are American citizens and they deserve the best medical care I can provide. The top pulmonary specialists are in Texas, USA and that is why I seek to bring them home for treatment. My estranged ex wife is preventing them from traveling to the US for critical medical care. As such, I am requesting support from politicians and Courts in the U.S. and Cambodia to bring my children home for medical care.   With the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus, my request is now more urgent than ever. My young children would suffer greatly and perhaps even die if they were exposed to this illness. Please help me get my boys safely to the United States before it is too late.  You can help me by: 1) Signing and SHARING this petition to lawmakers, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina 2) Calling Senator Lindsey Graham's office to express your support.  202-224-5972 (Washington), 803-933-0112 (South Carolina). 3) Tweeting to Senator Lindsey Graham @LindseyGrahamSC Please help to #bringtuckersboyshome from #Cambodia to the #UnitedStates ahead of #covid19 because #childrenslivesmatter and #parentsrights are important. 4) Tweeting to the US Embassy in Cambodia (@USEmbPhnomPenh) or to the Ambassador himself (@USAmbCambodia) 5) Tweeting to President Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 6) Tweeting to Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia (@hunsencambodia) 7) Sharing this petition with your friends and encouraging them to sign 8) Visiting, liking, following and commenting on our Facebook page: Bring Tucker's Boys Home. https://www.facebook.com/bringtuckersboyshome/ On behalf of my two boys, and our entire family, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support! Tucker McCravy Bring Tucker's Boys Home  

  | SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH!| Παρακαλώ αν υπογράψετε, τσεκάρετε το email σας γιατί πρέπει να επιβεβαιώσετε την υπογραφή σας για να καταμετρηθείτε, ευχαριστώ! Είμαστε γονείς παιδιών Δημοτικού και απλοί πολίτες και ανησυχούμε με την κατάσταση που επικρατεί στην παιδεία τον τελευταίο καιρό, την οποία παρακολουθούμε από την αρχή της πανδημίας. Εφόσον αποφασίστηκε το άνοιγμα των σχολείων στις 11 Ιανουαρίου, θέλουμε τα παιδιά να επιστρέψουν με ασφάλεια στα δια ζώσης μαθήματα και να αποφευχθεί πάση θυσία η επαναφορά στην τηλεκπαίδευση. Η διενέργεια τεστ στους εκπαιδευτικούς είναι αναμφίβολα ένα θετικό βήμα για την επάνοδο στις τάξεις. Από εκεί και πέρα όμως, ως μοναδικό μέτρο προστασίας παραμένει η χρήση μάσκας, κάτι που δεν επαρκεί. Ειδικά όταν αναφερόμαστε σε παιδιά Δημοτικού, τα αποτελέσματα είναι αμφίβολα, λόγω αδυναμίας σωστής χρήσης. Μάλιστα, η Ελλάδα είναι η μοναδική χώρα  στην Ευρώπη που εφαρμόζει τη χρήση μάσκας ακόμα και σε παιδιά 4 ετών, ενάντια στις συστάσεις του Π.Ο.Υ. Ωστόσο, πολλές άλλες χώρες βρήκαν και εφάρμοσαν καινοτόμες λύσεις  για να καταφέρουν να κρατήσουν τις ισορροπίες στην πρωτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση, όπως μείωση του αριθμού των παιδιών ανά τάξη, μεταφορά των μαθημάτων σε μεγαλύτερους χώρους – γήπεδα, θέατρα -, μαθήματα εκ περιτροπής, πρόσληψη καθαριστριών και υγειονομικού προσωπικού. Κάποιες από τις λύσεις αυτές χρειάζονται περαιτέρω επένδυση στην παιδεία και κονδύλια. ορισμένες όμως, όπως τα μαθήματα εκ περιτροπής, δεν είναι δύσκολο να εφαρμοστούν άμεσα.    Η επιστροφή των παιδιών στις τάξεις χωρίς κανένα πιο ουσιαστικό μέσο προφύλαξης, ενέχει τον κίνδυνο τα σχολεία να ξανακλείσουν πάλι σύντομα και να αναγκαστούμε να επανέλθουμε στις δύσκολες συνθήκες της τηλεκπαίδευσης: υπερβολική έκθεση των μαθητών σε οθόνες, κοινωνικός αποκλεισμός, ψυχικές διαταραχές και αμφίβολη αποτελεσματικότητα στο γνωστικό επίπεδο. Ταυτόχρονα, η λήψη οριζοντίων μέτρων σε όλη τη χώρα βάζει στην ίδια μοίρα μαθητές σε τάξεις με 25+ παιδιά σε επιβαρυμένες επιδημιολογικά περιοχές και μαθητές σε μικρά σχολεία σε περιοχές χωρίς πολλά κρούσματα.  Η πανδημία μας φέρνει όλους αντιμέτωπους με πρωτόγνωρες καταστάσεις αλλά η Ελλάδα δεν είναι η μόνη χώρα να αντιμετωπίζει κρίση. Μπορεί να χρησιμοποιήσει την εμπειρία άλλων χωρών και τη γνώση των επιστημόνων της. Παιδίατροι, ψυχολόγοι και παιδαγωγοί θα πρέπει να συμμετέχουν στις επιτροπές των εμπειρογνωμόνων που αποφασίζουν για τα μέτρα στα σχολεία, όπως συμβαίνει σε άλλες χώρες.  Δεδομένων των συνθηκών, καλούμε το υπουργείο σε μια δημόσια συζήτηση, για το πραγματικά ασφαλές άνοιγμα των σχολείων. Ως γονείς, δικαιούμαστε να έχουμε απαντήσεις, σχετικά με την εκπαίδευση και την υγεία των παιδιών μας. Γιατί για εμάς, τίποτα δεν είναι σημαντικότερο, από την ασφάλεια και το μέλλον τους. *** It’s time for a public discussion on how to open our schools safely during COVID pandemic TO: The Greek Ministry of Education  We are parents of primary school children and citizens and residents of Greece who are concerned about the situation that prevails in education here lately, which we have been following since the beginning of the pandemic. Since the schools have re-opened on January 11, we want our children to return safely to the classrooms.  The proposed testing on teachers is undoubtedly a positive step but beyond that, however, the only protection against the pandemic, remains the use of a mask, which is not enough, especially in primary school children where the results are doubtful, due to the impossibility of proper use. In fact, Greece is the only country in Europe that applies the use of a mask even to children of 4 years of age, against the recommendations of the WHO. In the meantime, many other countries have found and implemented innovative solutions to keep the balance in primary education, such as reducing the number of children per class, moving classes to larger venues like stadiums or theatres, rotating classes, and hiring cleaners and sanitation staff. Some of these solutions require further investment in education and funding but some, such as rotating classes, are easy to implement immediately. The return of children to the classroom without any more substantial safety measures runs the risk of reopening schools too soon, and forcing us to return to the difficult conditions of distance learning: over-exposure of students to screens, social exclusion, psychological issues and questionable learning outcome. The pandemic puts us all in an unprecedented situation, but Greece is not the only country in crisis. We can use the experience of other countries and the knowledge of our scientists. Paediatricians, psychologists and educators should be involved in expert committees that decide on measures in schools, as is the case in other countries. Given the circumstances, we call on the ministry of education to hold a public debate on the truly safe opening of schools. As parents, we have the right to have answers about our children’s education and health. Because for us, nothing is more important than their security and future.