• When remembering Americans who died in combat on Memorial Day, the lifelong effects on those who survived are too often forgotten: Tallies of U.S. military personnel who died over the past 233 years while serving in war total around 700,000 combat dead and a nearly equal number who died of disease and accidents while in uniform. The survivors, however, are all too often forgotten by all too many politicians who love to display their patriotism using veterans as decorations no different than the red, white, and blue bunting hanging at events where they speak on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and July 4th. The rest of the year, many of the same politicians don’t show the slightest interest in really thanking living veterans for their service by not cutting programs vital to their well-being. Nearly 4 million veterans live paycheck to paycheck. An estimated 360,000 returned from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with traumatic brain injuries (with as many as 90,000 needing specialized care). Vietnam veterans still suffer the effects of Agent Orange and PTSD.
Contrary to the popular understanding, many veterans aren’t eligible for health care from the Veterans Administration; they depend on private insurers. However, 1.8 million of them were on Medicaid at last count, a 10th of all veterans. Donald Trump’s proposed budgets have called for huge cuts in Medicaid. There has been a relentless GOP campaign to smash the Affordable Care Act, which, in its first two years alone meant coverage for 360,000 veterans who were previously uninsured. And then there are the constantly proposed cuts in SNAP, the food stamp program, in which 1.4 million veterans participated last year. Politicians who want to genuinely thank veterans for their service should fight such budget cuts. They should also do everything in their power to support policies designed to vastly reduce the number of veterans of future wars.
• Wired magazine publishes a monthly feature from reader offerings called “Six-Word Sci-Fi Stories: In the June issue, the topic was “In six words, write about love in the time of coronavirus.” The winner? So I married the delivery man by Hamish Hamish via Facebook. Included in the honorable mentions: Love is sacrificing the last ply. —Kristos Samaras via Facebook. You can sneeze in my elbow. —@ralfchardon via Instagram. The clothes came off; masks remained. —@_v.sh via Instagram. Casual gets serious way too fast. —@kristinafmiller via Instagram
• Four of the America’s largest drug companies scored $7 billion in savings from Trump tax overhaul: Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck and Abbott Laboratories reaped massive tax benefits in 2018 thanks to Donald Trump’s tax “reform” that followed the usual Republican redistribution of wealth upward. Meanwhile, according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota, 28% of pre-Medicare age Americans said they were not taking prescribed medications because of the cost.
MIDDAY TWEET
• Something doesn’t jibe in Russia’s coronavirus numbers: The infection rate is one of the world’s highest, but the death toll is about 15% that of other countries. Russia officially counts 353,000 cases but just 3,600 deaths, making its case fatality rate 1%. That compares with 4.5% for Germany and 14% for Britain. Yet, reports The Economist, the fatality rate among Russia’s front-line health professionals, who keep their own count, is running around 16 times as high as in comparable countries. Something is fishy. But on May 11, President Vladimir Putin, who never officially locked down the Russian economy, announced an end to “non-working days.”
• The U.S. spends $3.6 trillion on health care each year, but only 3% for public health: That works out to $10,000 per person for health in general and just $286 per person for public health. Over the past 20 years, a few public health programs have seen their budgets increase, but most have seen the opposite. Some pertinent examples in the midst of pandemic: • The Hospital Preparedness Program, which operates under the supervision of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the single source of federal funding to help regional healthcare systems prepare for emergencies. Its budget was $515 million in fiscal year 2004 and $275.5 million in FY 2020. • The Centers for Disease Control’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreements, which provide support for public health capabilities in states and local areas, saw its funding slide from $940 million in FY 2002 to $675 million in FY 2020. Those figures do not take into account inflation, which means the cuts reduce the budgets’ purchasing power even further than immediately apparent.
• In case you missed it, back on March 14 the Newport Oregon Police Dept. posted this on Facebook:
It’s hard to believe that we even have to post this. Do not call 9-1-1 just because you ran out of toilet paper. You will survive without our assistance.
In fact, history offers many other options for you in your time of need if you cannot find a roll of your favorite soft, ultra plush two-ply citrus scented tissue.
Seamen used old rope and anchor lines soaked in salt water. Ancient Romans used a sea sponge on a stick, also soaked in salt water. We are a coastal town. We have an abundance of salt water available. Sea shells were also used.
Mayans used corn cobs. Colonial Americans also used the core of the cob. Farmers not only used corn cobs, but used pages from the Farmers Almanac. Many Americans took advantage of the numerous pages torn from free catalogs such as Sears and Roebuck. The Sears Christmas catalog, four times thicker than the normal catalog, could get a family of three wiped clean from December through Valentine’s Day; or Saint Patrick’s Day if they were frugal.
Then, of course, there are always alternatives to toilet paper. Grocery receipts, newspaper, cloth rags, lace, cotton balls, and that empty toilet paper roll sitting on the holder right now. Plus, there are a variety of leaves you can safely use. Mother Earth News magazine will even tell you how to make your own wipes using fifteen different leaves. When all else fails, you have magazine pages. Start saving those catalogs you get in the mail that you usually toss into the recycle bin. Be resourceful. Be patient.
There is a TP shortage. This too shall pass. Just don’t call 9-1-1. We cannot bring you toilet paper.
• Cuban doctors seeking asylum keep border clinic running during pandemic: On the U.S.-Mexican border in Matamoros is a clinic, run by U.S. volunteers with the Florida-based nonprofit Global Response Management. Since it opened in the sprawling camp of some 2,000 people last fall, it has been staffed mostly by asylum seekers. Most are Cubans physicians or others with prior medical training. There is also a pharmacist from Nicaragua, an assistant from El Salvador, a nurse from Colombia. Their goal is to keep the deadly coronavirus from spreading while the migrants await for U.S. immigration hearings postponed by the pandemic and politics. So far, nobody at the camp has tested positive for COVID-19.