Do You Qualify For Temporary Eviction Protection

 

See if You Qualify For Temporary Eviction Protection On August 3, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new order that suspends evictions through October 3, 2021. To qualify for protection under the eviction ban, you must live in a county where transmission of COVID-19 is at a high or substantial rate. You must also meet certain income or financial hardship requirements. Review what is available for you as a renter. Find out if your financial situation and county’s transmission rate qualify for protection using a step-by-step guide. Get further housing help from free housing counselors in your area.

One Canadian province has virtually eliminated its vermin. "..brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) thrives only among human settlements" From March 2019.

 

A poster released by the Alberta Department of Public Health circa 1948. (A17202b/Provincial Archives of Alberta)

How Alberta Won the Rat Race

One Canadian province has virtually eliminated its vermin—and shows how others can too

By James Palmer

 

         MARCH 31, 2019, 9:00 AM

Along an 18-mile strip of land between the Canadian province of Alberta and its neighbor Saskatchewan, the rat patrol keeps guard. An eight-person team, armed with poison and shotguns, hunts daily for any sign of the rodent invaders. The Alberta rat patrol checks more than 3,000 farms a year, but it rarely sees an actual rat. Alberta has 4.3 million people, 255,000 square miles, and no rats—bar the stray handful that make it into the killing zone each year. Ever since 1950, a sternly enforced program of exclusion and extermination has kept the province rat-free. Nowhere else in the world comes close; the only other rat-free areas are isolated islands such as the remote British territory of South Georgia. Public support and education have been key to Alberta’s success. Locals use hotlines (310-RATS or 310-FARM) to report any sign of rodents, though false alarms are common. School programs educate kids about the telltale signs of the invaders. Keeping pet rats is banned and can earn you a fine of almost $4,000. Across the world every year, mice and rats are estimated to cause nearly $20 billion in damage and wipe out as much as a fifth of the world’s food supply. They’re not just enthusiastic gnawers. They’re also prolific urinators, and rat pee frequently contaminates goods. Rats are thought to have spread the Black Death in the Middle Ages, as they do other viruses today. Rats arrived in Canada in the 18th century, but geographical isolation kept the invaders from reaching Alberta for a solid two centuries, until the first signs of the rodents started to appear along the border with Saskatchewan after the end of World War II. That’s when Alberta’s anti-rat agenda was born. It wasn’t the first program of its kind: Public involvement in pest control boomed in the 20th century with the spread of disease theory and the motivational push of wartime. In Vietnam, for example, the creation of the Hanoi sewer system at the turn of the 20th century saw a boom in rat numbers; in response, in 1902 the French colonial government began paying a bounty for their carcasses—that is, until it realized locals were breeding them to cash in on the reward. In Washington, D.C., meanwhile, a 1917 program attempted to wipe out feral cats, with the enthusiastic backing of the local Cat Fanciers’ Association. “They saw alley cats as a threat to their precious kittens,” said Hayden Wetzel, a local historian. “It was wartime, so the slogan was ‘Kill a Cat for Your Country.’”   Canadians may not have been as enterprising as the Vietnamese or as bloodily patriotic as the Americans, but they have been far more successful. The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) thrives only among human settlements, so farms and towns became the battlefields for the fight against invasion in Alberta. The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) thrives only among human settlements, so farms and towns became the battlefields for the fight against invasion in Alberta.   World War II propaganda set the tone for the province’s early campaign, during which 2,000 posters were distributed across the border region. “Rats are coming!” cautions one grayscale poster. “You can’t ignore the rat!” reads another. “We need to be properly organized and know what to do, in order to fight the battle successfully,” a 1954 booklet sternly warns. Mass chemical warfare cleansed the borderlands, with some 63,000 kilograms of arsenic powder blown across thousands of buildings.   After 1959, the volume of annual infestations was dramatically reduced, down from 500-600 a year to fewer than 200 by 1980; today, it’s a handful annually. (A 2012 infestation in the Medicine Hat landfill was a record-setter, with nearly 150 rats eventually rooted out.) The propaganda didn’t let up: “The only good rat is a dead rat,” reads a 1975 poster. Today, the provincial government focuses mostly on stories placed regularly in the Canadian media covering the success of the program, instead of the sneakiness of the rodent. Rat control has become institutionalized, not only through regular inspections but through a public proud of Alberta’s rat-free status and keen on maintaining it. The whole program currently costs just about $380,000 a year—most of the money is spent on exterminators’ salaries—but saves Alberta’s farmers millions. Across the Pacific, another former colonial outpost is struggling with European invaders, at far greater cost.   Alberta’s success might be imitable, but other countries lack the geographical advantages that confine the rat to a narrow access corridor. New Zealand has had a rodent problem ever since the Maori brought the kiore, or Polynesian rat, with them in canoes in the 13th century. But the first R. norvegicus—far larger and meaner than its Polynesian cousin—crawled off a ship in the 1770s and discovered a land of plenty. To the rat, the eggs of New Zealand’s bird life, which had never adapted to murine predators, offered an all-you-can-eat buffet. Rats and other nonnative species, such as possums and stoats, slaughter approximately 25 million birds a year. The slaughter, plus rats’ usual damage to crops, cost the economy $2.3 billion annually, according to the government.   Alberta government rat posters. (Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA1579.2/Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.” ) New Zealand has battled to keep as much of the country rat-free as possible, especially its isolated islands that preserve taonga (“treasures” in Maori), unique flora and fauna such as the kiwi and the kakapo parrot. But rats are master swimmers and hiders; one test subject, Razza the rat, evaded capture for more than four months, becoming the unlikely hero of a children’s book. All it takes to defeat a mass extermination campaign is a single pregnant survivor.   That’s why the government has given up on half-measures; instead, a hugely ambitious program launched in 2016, Predator Free New Zealand, envisages wiping out not only rats but stoats and possums by 2050. It’s an expensive effort. The pilot scheme—conducted on two inhabited islands, covering almost 15 square miles—cost about $3 million. The plan is to assault the rats (and other invasive predators) on all fronts, using drones to blitz them from above and map their locations, customized poisons and traps on the ground, and perhaps (although it’s highly controversial) genetic modification to permanently alter breeding habits.   Part of the work, said the conservation biologist James Russell, a key mover in the program, must focus on public education and support. Drawing on models such as the Alberta strategy has helped create an informed and engaged public, with more than 1,000 volunteer groups involved in wildlife protection. In Canada, the program built on wartime language, engaging a public that was already eager to come together to fight an alien menace and focusing on the danger to human civilization and industry. In New Zealand, it instead draws on the love of local wildlife and the natural world. “New Zealanders are in touch with nature,” Russell said, “and they play a huge role in protection efforts—they’re often the first to report new rat sightings to the hotlines.”   Climate change is giving a new urgency to the project. A record-hot summer created the breeding conditions for a rat explosion. Hotter temperatures let rats survive the winter better, Russell said, and to reach higher densities in the summer, pushing greater numbers into areas such as southern New Zealand, where the threat was once relatively low.   Beyond rats, a hotter world is making the threat of invaders greater across the board. As climate shifts, threatening flora and fauna are moving with it, even into once inaccessible areas. In the United Kingdom, a degree or two of warming could create a welcome home for the ecology-wrecking Argentine ant. Australia’s already stressed native species, including pygmy possums and wombats, are especially vulnerable to invaders such as foxes. Other governments are already experimenting with apps and hotlines to report invasive species. But as the planet warms, the need for far more extensive programs of education and eradication like Alberta’s will only grow.

 

This article appears in the Spring 2019 print issue of  Foreign Policy.

James Palmer is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @BeijingPalmer

Addressing Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccines Among Black Americans August 2021

 

People walk past a COVID-19 vaccination center near the Santa Fe International Bridge in El Paso, Texas, May 7, 2021. Photo by Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

Addressing Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccines Among Black Americans Although vaccination rates have increased over time, Black Americans are still being vaccinated at lower rates than other racial or ethnic groups. Recent RAND research has revealed two key insights into this issue. First, vaccine confidence has improved among Black Americans, but mistrust continues to hold down vaccination rates. Second, the national discussion about vaccine confidence has hidden real problems with vaccine access. Read more »

Reallocation for youth programs. Defund the Police? Defunding Prisons? August 2021

 

RAND research and commentary on the issues that matter most Aug 12, 2021

 

Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Defund the Police? Defunding Prisons Might Make More Sense The incarceration rate in the United States fell to a historic low prior to the pandemic, and concerns about transmission of the virus only accelerated this decline. The same trend has played out in the nation's juvenile detention centers, with the same result: empty beds in expensive correctional facilities. According to RAND experts, this presents an opportunity to reclaim and redirect billions of dollars toward education, job training, transportation, and other community services. Shifting resources away from prisons, juvenile detention centers, and jails may be a durable approach to supporting criminal justice reform and investing in vulnerable communities, the researchers say. The savings could pay for some of the aims of “defund the police” campaigns in a way that “has more political support and no trade-off on public safety.” Read more »

Disaster and climate change dilemma. People spend half of their lives not focused on the present. CNN August 8, 2021

 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/05/health/practice-mindfulness-hate-sitting-still-wellness-trnd/index.html  People spend half of their lives not focused on the present, research says. Here’s how to change it By Rachel Trent, CNN Updated 3:58 PM EDT, Thu August 5, 2021 A popular way to practice mindfulness while moving is going on a mindful walk, experts told CNN. Editor’s Note: Welcome to our CNN Wellness five-part series on adolescence – a tough time under any circumstances. As our children head back to school this fall, learn more about helping your tweens and teens understand their developing brains and feel their feelings. CNN —     “A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” That’s what Harvard researchers Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert of Harvard University wrote after their 2010 study found people spend nearly half of their waking hours thinking about something other than what is going on right in front of them. There is good news, however: We are not doomed to a life of distraction. By taking up a mindfulness practice, you can strengthen your ability to focus on the task at hand, experts on the form of meditation told CNN. Mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment “without a story about it or reacting to it,” said Amishi Jha, professor of psychology at the University of Miami and author of the forthcoming “ Jha said it’s very beneficial to embrace a still practice, which she compared to resistance training for attention. The goal is not about controlling the breath but “observing the breath and keeping your attention on the breath and when the mind wanders away to guide it back to the breath,” she said. “When we are still, it is much easier to take this kind of observational stance,” Jha added. “We don’t have to control our movement. We don’t have to monitor where we are in space.” For many people, that stillness associated with mindfulness or meditation can be daunting. Fortunately, you don’t have to sit still on the floor with your eyes closed to cultivate this mental exercise. There are more mobile ways to get mindful, including the following. Take a mindful walk If sitting still isn’t your style, mindfulness experts recommend incorporating the practice into a walk. It’s not the kind of walk where you let your mind wander. Instead, you focus on the sensations of walking, noticing “the toe touching the ground, then the heel, then the lifting of the foot,” Jha said. If your mind starts to go somewhere else, instead of bringing your attention back to the breath as you would in a stillness practice, you bring your attention back to the sensations of walking. How a 'micro-practice' can ease stress and help you sleep Another common physical practice is stretching, according to Diana Winston, director of mindfulness education at the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of “The Little Book of Being.” Try mindful stretching “The difference between stretching versus making it into a formal mindfulness practice is what you do with your mind,” she said. “The idea is to stretch and to feel the sensations of your body moving – so your arms as they move through space, the air, the touch, the physicality.” Make everyday tasks mindful You don’t have to do a formal exercise to practice mindfulness. “It’s this quality of attention, and you can bring it into any physical practice,” Winston said. “Rather than being lost in your worries and thinking about everything you have to do and catastrophizing and all the things we normally do, we turn the physical activity into a mindful practice.” This can be done during tasks as mundane as washing the dishes. “Feel the sensations of your hands on the water, noticing the rubbing motion. This is all bringing mindfulness into your day,” Winston said. You can even incorporate the practice into your commute, Jha said. “You could be sitting on the subway. You could be at a stop sign,” she said. “At an elevator waiting. You stop, take a breath, observe and proceed.” Try these 5 ways to practice mindfulness with your kids Regardless of the form you try, you’ll want to have success when you’re beginning a mindfulness practice, Jha said, which is why she recommended starting with small goals. Start small People will also find some practices work better for them than others, said Mallika Chopra, author of “My Body is a Rainbow” and “Just Be You,” children’s books about emotional awareness. “It changes at different times and ages and different phases of our own life,” Chopra said. She suggested taking on something enjoyable. “People tend to think these exercises are very serious and stoic, and the goal is to make it fun.”

Lawsuits Excluding Farmers of Color From Debt Relief OP-ED August 1, 2021

 

OP-ED RACIAL JUSTICE Trump Loyalists Are Behind Lawsuits Excluding Farmers of Color From Debt Relief The right-wing-funded legal challenges are about maintaining a conservative base of voters heading into 2022 and beyond.   JOHN FEDELE VIA GETTY IMAGES BY Anthony Pahnke, Truthout PUBLISHED August 1, 2021 https://truthout.org/articles/trump-loyalists-are-behind-lawsuits-excluding-farmers-of-color-from-debt-relief/ Trump Loyalists Are Behind Lawsuits Excluding Farmers of Color From Debt Relief “Equality before the law” — for a constitutional principle, it is one of the most basic, perhaps the most important. It is also the idea (at least the one openly stated by right-wing law firms, such as the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty) that is driving the legal injunctions blocking President Joe Biden’s $4 billion debt relief initiative for farmers of color. truthout.org “Equality before the law” — for a constitutional principle, it is one of the most basic, perhaps the most important. It is also the idea (at least the one openly stated by right-wing law firms, such as the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty) that is driving the legal injunctions blocking President Joe Biden’s $4 billion debt relief initiative for farmers of color. The effort is part of the American Rescue Plan, a COVID-19 stimulus package. As the argument runs, it is not fair for any specific group of farmers, although they may belong to historically marginalized groups of people, to be singled out for special treatment. We are told that farming is tough for everyone in the occupation. White farmers also have debts that could be forgiven. Everyone should have equal access to the same resources. Therefore, Biden’s proposal is being decried as unconstitutional. Yet, as simple and logical as this line of reasoning sounds, the arguments provided are deeply flawed. What these injunctions really display is a ploy by right-wing political actors and the conservative law firms that give them cover, to gin up the support of rural white people. There have been three separate injunctions filed — in Texas, Florida and Wisconsin. Each represents white farmers not only from those three states but around the country. The filing from Wisconsin roots its argument in individual rights. Here, the reasoning is based on the 1995 case Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña, which held that group-based allegations of racism must be scrutinized with respect to the effects on individuals. Specifically, the plaintiffs take a quote from the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his concurring opinion from Adarand, which reads, “Individuals who have been wronged by unlawful racial discrimination should be made whole; but under our Constitution there can be no such thing as either a creditor or a debtor race. That concept is alien to the Constitution’s focus upon the individual.”  There is an interesting bit of constitutional philosophy here but also one that is problematic: Basically, it’s debatable whether there is a “focus upon the individual” in the Constitution. The fact is that there are many references to group rights in our country’s founding document. Look no further than the First Amendment, with respect to the freedom to practice religion free of discrimination. As far as I know, a religion comprised of one individual does not exist. The same could be said of the Second Amendment and militias. Again, this is a clear “focus,” not on individual, but rather on group rights. So, for the plaintiffs filing these injunctions to base their arguments on the idea that the U.S.’s magna carta is rooted solely on individual rights is incorrect. The Florida injunction, which the Texas plaintiffs claim is the basis for their case, takes issue with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) designation of “socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers” (SDFRs). Here, the reasoning goes that direct evidence needs to be shown as to the experiences of racism. The plaintiffs argue that, “although the government argues that historical discrimination against SDFRs also included things such as higher interest rates, less advantageous loan terms, and delayed approvals, the record evidence does not appear to show that SDFRs with current loans suffered such discrimination.” The problem is that evidence is not the issue; or rather, claims that evidence of racism must be provided are not required for the USDA to act with respect to historically marginalized farmers and ranchers. It is worth noting that the SDFR designation was created as part of the 1990 Farm Bill, referring explicitly to producers who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their group identity. Included are not only African Americans, but also Latinos, Indigenous people, and Asian and Pacific Islanders. With the designation, the USDA secretary of agriculture was granted the power to “carry out an outreach and technical assistance program to encourage and assist socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and veteran farmers or ranchers, in owning and operating farms and ranches, and in participating equitably in the full range of agricultural programs offered by the Department.” The main point here is on “participating equitably.” Specifically, the USDA has the power, in ways that it sees fit, to directly work with historically marginalized groups of people to counter systemic discrimination. Debt forgiveness is one such initiative. After all, if people are in debt, then they are less likely and able to participate in other programs. For instance, Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) loans — which provide resources to farmers to practice farming in ways that improve soil, water and animal health — in part depend on having sound financials. So, the case coming out of Florida misunderstands the SDFR designation, which has been on the books for over 30 years. But really, these injunctions have little to do with sound reasoning. Digging into the actual forces behind these cases, we find Donald Trump loyalists including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller. They started the nonprofit that filed the injunction in the Texas case. The Pacific Legal Foundation, which filed the injunction in Florida, is bankrolled by various conservative and libertarian groups such as the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Donors Trust, which is tied to the Charles G. Koch Foundation. Additionally, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which is behind the case filed in Wisconsin, draws most of its financial support from the Bradley Foundation. This foundation is behind funding several right-wing nonprofits around the country that are hostile to unions and skeptical of climate change. In line with this strategy, leaders of the Wisconsin Institute — a recipient of Bradley foundation grants — have publicly stated that they have political objectives in mind with this injunction, intending to expand nationally in projects that target leftists and anti-racism. The point is that these lawsuits against farmers of color have little to do with “equality before the law.” Bankrolled by conservatives with political ambitions, this race-baiting, white-identity politicking is all about maintaining a conservative base of voters heading into 2022 and beyond. If the interests behind these injunctions really thought farming was tough, then they would invest time and energy in backing legislation that would actually help our country’s producers, like the Justice for Black Farmers Act; the Farm System Reform Act; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s proposed program to restructure farm loans; and/or Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s bill that would strengthen antitrust enforcement. Instead, what we have are nothing but right-wing ploys that do nothing but divide rural people and distract them from working on creating meaningful change in our communities. Well this is awkward. Friend, we urgently need your support. Yes it can be awkward to ask for help, but we’ll do whatever it takes to ensure Truthout survives — we believe in this work that much. Trustworthy, fearless reporting is desperately needed, but there are far too few media sources that can deliver. Independent news outlets like this one are irreplaceable, so if you appreciate what we publish, please donate what you can, or consider starting a new monthly donation to sustain and strengthen honest journalism. Anthony Pahnke Anthony Pahnke is vice president of the Family Farm Defenders, and an assistant professor of international relations at San Francisco State University in San Francisco. He can be reached at anthonypahnke@sfsu.edu. National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association  1029 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 601 Washington, DC 20005 Office: (202) 628-8833 Fax No.: (202) 393-1816 Email: latinofarmers@live.com  Twitter: @NLFRTA Website: www.NLFRTA.org

Institutionalized Barriers, Subliminal Erradication. The total elimination of the Black Male in the equation of wage gap issue. The Eviction Crisis is a Race and Gender Wage Gap Issue

The total elimination of the Black Male in the equation of wage gap issue.

Should women of all ethnicity wage gap, and mem to mem ethnicity wage gap be compared then wage gap of women to men for a complete analysis?

The Eviction Crisis is a Race and Gender Wage Gap Issue Rep. Cori Bush delivered a big win for millions of renters during a pandemic. But inequalities that make Black women particularly vulnerable to evictions will continue until they are paid their fair share. Blogging Our Great Divide August 06, 2021 by Rebekah Entralgo For Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO), sleeping away from the comfort of a bed is an unfortunately familiar feeling. Years ago, Bush had to live out of her car for a time with her two young children, all while working a full-time job. Her experience as an unhoused person drove her to take bold action on July 30, as the federal eviction moratorium was about to expire. “Many of my Democratic colleagues chose to go on vacation early today rather than staying to vote to keep people in their homes,” Bush tweeted. “I’ll be sleeping outside the Capitol tonight. We’ve still got work to do.” Many of my Democratic colleagues chose to go on vacation early today rather than staying to vote to keep people in their homes. I’ll be sleeping outside the Capitol tonight. We’ve still got work to do. pic.twitter.com/9l52lWBM73 — Cori Bush (@CoriBush) July 31, 2021 For three nights she and other advocates slept on the steps of the Capitol, intermittently joined by House colleagues, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Presley. Bush also introduced the Unhoused Bill of Rights, a federal resolution calling on Congress to permanently end the unhoused crisis by 2025. Ultimately, Bush’s organizing succeeded. On August 3, the Biden administration announced a 60-day eviction ban for U.S. counties with “substantial and high levels of community transmission,” which applies to approximately 90 percent of renters across the country. The federal eviction moratorium coincided with Black Women’s Equal Pay Day 2021, which marks the number of days into the year that the average Black woman has to work to catch up to the average white man’s annual earnings in 2020. Based on recent Census data, Black women make just 63 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. If Black women’s earnings continue to grow as slowly as they have since the mid-1980s, it will take them more than 100 years — until 2133 — to reach pay equity with white men. “Lower pay deprives Black women of resources they need to provide for themselves and their families and over a lifetime can really add up — the loss of earnings in D.C. alone adds up to almost $1 million dollars over 20 years,” said Chandra Childers, lead author of a new report on the wage gap from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. There is a direct correlation between this racial, gendered wage gap and evictions. If Black women had access to the $24,000 they lose annually to the wage gap, they would be better able to keep up with rent. Get the facts Racial Economic Inequality According to an analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF), 1 in 5 renters likely to face eviction are Black women. Almost 80 percent of Black mothers are key breadwinners for their families and spend a larger percentage of their income on critical household expenses like rent and utilities than white families. Because so many Black mothers are depended on for their wages, they are also more likely to have their names listed as the leaseholder. Any interruptions in their ability to pay rent An unexpected financial shock — like a global pandemic —  can throw Black women and their families into a vicious cycle of eviction and bad credit that makes it harder to secure housing. While the extension of the federal eviction moratorium is sure to be a relief for millions of tenants working to make ends meet as Covid-19 cases surge, many renters will remain vulnerable. According to a recent Private Equity Stakeholder Project report, corporate landlords have violated the moratorium by filing to evict at least 75,000 residents instead of helping them access support through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. In an earlier joint report with Jobs With Justice, the Project revealed that many of these landlords pocketed federal Covid relief before turning around and throwing renters out of their homes. Only $3 billion of the $47 billion in rental aid allocated by Congress was provided to about 630,000 households by June 30, 2021. That amounts to less than 4 percent of the total available funds. The inequalities that make Black women particularly vulnerable to evictions will continue unless bold, progressive action is taken to ensure that they are paid their fair share. The two are inextricably linked. As Rep. Cori Bush tearfully said after the moratorium extension was announced, “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I went through — ever.” Rebekah Entralgo is the managing editor of Inequality.org. You can follow her on Twitter at @rebekahentralgo. National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association  1029 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 601 Washington, DC 20005 Office: (202) 628-8833 Fax No.: (202) 393-1816 Email: latinofarmers@live.com  Twitter: @NLFRTA Website: www.NLFRTA.org