The Governor Gavin Newsom California will make its own insulin, the agency said Thursday, meaning many residents will no longer have to spend hundreds of dollars a month to live in decent health.
"On my first day in office, I signed an executive order to put California on a path to creating our own prescription drugs. And now it's happening. California is going to make its own insulin," the governor said in a tweet.
He stressed that "nothing epitomises market failures more than the cost of insulin."
"Many Americans have to pay between $300 and $500 a month out of pocket for this life-saving drug. Now, California is taking matters into its own hands," he added.
He recalled that he had just signed a budget for one hundred million dollars, so that California could, by contract, manufacture its own insulin at a cheaper price, close to its real cost, and make it available to everyone.
He said $50 million will go toward developing low-cost insulin products and another $50 million will go toward creating an insulin manufacturing plant based in California, which will provide new, well-paid jobs in a more robust supply chain for the drug.
According to the American Diabetes Association, 10.5 percent of California's adult population has some form of diabetes, which means more than 3.2 million older men and women.
In addition, almost 900,000 people in the state have diabetes, but have not been diagnosed, which increases health risks.
However, 33.4 percent of the total adult population in California has pre-diabetes, with blood glucose levels above the recommended level, but not high enough to be diagnosed with the disease.
Each year, it is estimated that more than 270,000 people are diagnosed in the "Golden State."
The organization notes that people with diabetes have medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those without diabetes, while total direct medical expenses for the diagnosed condition in California were estimated at $27 billion in 2017.
Another $12.5 billion was spent on indirect costs due to lost productivity caused by diabetes.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanics or Latinos in the country are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (17 percent) than non-Hispanic whites (8 percent).
This risk is due, he explains, to genetics, diet, weight and physical activity.
In some Hispanic or Latino cultures, meals may be high in fat and calories, and family celebrations may involve social pressure to overeat, and refusing to eat something may be interpreted as being rude.
Regarding weight and physical activity, the CDC details that the Latino community has higher rates of obesity and tends to do less physical activity than non-Hispanic white people.
Se dice que es de origen mesoamericano, pero actualmente se encuentra en todo el mundo. El cacao: alimento de los dioses, crece más cómodo en climas tropicales, mide tan sólo de seis metros de alto, es lento en su crecimiento y produce una poco atractiva baya color café de apenas unos 30 cm de largo, sin embargo, es el elemento vital para el tan famoso chocolate.
Cada siete de julio, desde el 2010, se celebra el Día Internacional del Cacao, gracias a una iniciativa realizada por la Organización Internacional de Productores del Cacao ‒ICCO, por sus siglas en inglés‒, una organización intergubernamental establecida en 1973 por parte de las Naciones Unidas y la Academia Francesa de los Maestros Chocolateros y Confiteros.
La existencia del chocolate no se logra sin el cacao, el cual es uno de los principales productos consumidos a nivel mundial, tan solo superado por el café.
El nombre cacao, tiene su origen en la lengua de los olmecas, civilización desarrollada durante el periodo preclásico de Mesoamérica principalmente en Veracruz, México, y que denominaba al árbol como kakawa hasta llegar al cacaoatl y de ahí, al cacao.
Además, los mayas llamaron a este tipo de árbol «kabkaj», que quiere decir «jugo amargo».
Sin embargo, el nombre científico de tan preciada baya es «Theobroma», que significa en griego «alimento de los dioses».
Se estima que el cacao llegó a Europa a principios del siglo XVI, tras la conquista y colonización de América. Sin embargo, hay que recalcar que existe una gran diferencia al momento de hablar de cacao y del chocolate, que radica en dos factores fundamentales: los nutrientes y la producción.
Si bien se presume que México es el origen de este valioso fruto, es por el contrario uno de los países que, según la Fundación Cacao México, menos lo produce, ocupando el onceavo lugar, al participar con menos del dos por ciento de la producción mundial, es decir, a penas unas 22 mil toneladas entre 2011 y 2012.
Por su parte, el Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Rural Sustentable y la Soberanía Alimentaria de México ‒CEDRSSA‒, destaca que México se encuentra en el décimo tercer lugar productor de cacao a nivel mundial hasta 2016.
Por el contrario, África Occidental y Asia son las regiones que actualmente tienen más producción de tan importante alimento.
Por otro lado, se estima que la producción total de cacao en el mundo, en 2020, ascendió a 8 mil 500 millones de dólares, lo que representa 0.051 por ciento del total de comercio mundial, según datos del Observatorio de Complejidad Económica (OEC).
Cuando hablamos de cacao pensamos también en chocolate y es que, en términos de consumo del cacao en su versión procesada, es decir, a la que se añade azúcar y leche, y que conocemos popularmente como chocolate, presenta grandes índices de producción y de consumo en países como Alemania, que según Statista es el más grande exportador de dicho producto con cerca de 916 millones de kilos exportados en 2020.
Estados Unidos se cuece aparte, pues de acuerdo con cifras del Observatorio de Complejidad Económica ‒OEC, por sus siglas en inglés‒, en abril de este año, el chocolate y demás preparaciones alimenticias que contenían cacao en Estados Unidos contabilizaron exportaciones de hasta 142 millones de dólares, mientras que las importaciones representaron hasta 265 millones de dólares.
Ello, resultando en un negativo balance comercial de 123 millones de dólares.
Hasta el cuarto mes de este año, el destino del chocolate y demás preparaciones alimenticias que contengan cacao fueron los países principalmente a Canadá, México, Corea del Sur, Filipinas, y Australia.
Mientras que se importó principalmente de Canadá, México, Bélgica, Alemania y Suiza.
Weight differences
Otro factor que diferencia al cacao del chocolate es su sabor amargo, el cual, si bien no es muy atractivo, está lo suficientemente lleno de nutrientes como para mantener de pie a un pelotón.
Por sus altos índices nutrimentales como la fibra, las proteínas y los hidratos de carbono, el cacao tiene propiedades que según el Cocoa Observatory, ayudan a reducir el colesterol, la presión arterial, reducir el riesgo de padecer diabetes e incluso reducir la pérdida leve de memoria, así como estimular las defensas del organismo.
Según CEDRSSA, el cacao procesado como chocolate es la desnaturalización del producto, lo que marca un bajo o nulo procentaje nutricional.
Además, el chocolate tiene su propio día, pues a nivel internacional se celebra cada 13 de septiembre.
Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and others active in addressing anti-Asian and Pacific Islander hate celebrated a victory Wednesday after the California Department of Social Services approved distributing $30.3 million to local nonprofits fighting AAPI hate.
The money, which will be distributed in grants to organizations that provide victim services and strengthen violence prevention programs, is part of the $166.5 million budget for Asians and Pacific Islanders that was approved in California last year.
Assembly Budget Chairman Ting announced the legislation as one of the largest appropriations bills to address the rise in hate crimes against the AAPI community seen during the pandemic in California and across the United States.
She further noted that during the pandemic there has been a rise in hate and bias crimes in many communities, with anti-AAPI bias incidents increasing by more than 177 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to a report by the California Attorney General's Office.
“We are so excited to see grants going to many of our largest community organizations,” Ting said. “We are also so proud of the coalitions that have come together and are working to fight AAPI hate.”
For community organizations, the grants represent a major step toward addressing issues the AAPI community has faced for decades.
“These are long-standing issues in our community, not just in terms of hate incidents, but also in terms of the lack of care,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, chairman of the state’s Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs.
The money is expected to not only help hate crime survivors and the AAPI community at large, but also inform the government on how to better address issues facing the community, Ramakrishnan said.
Organizations receiving grants are also expected to use the funds for mental health and wellness resources, legal assistance, help navigating government agencies and language accessibility, she said.
“Ultimately, what we’re all seeking is to create California as a place of belonging and not a state of hate,” Ramakrishnan said.
Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of the group Chinese for Affirmative Action, part of the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice in San Francisco, noted that the grants will go a long way toward addressing much more than hate crimes.
In that regard, she said that equity issues ranging from language barriers to affordable housing are linked, and these grants help address many problems at once.
"I cannot overstate that this is an example of good governance," Choi said.
Nikki Dominguez, policy director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles, said she was grateful for the grants going to existing organizations that have already earned trust within AAPI communities.
Dominguez clarified that the work that will be facilitated with the $30.3 million will be community-driven and victim-centered, given the emphasis placed on organizations that are already integrated into communities.
“Our work is not over and we need to continue to raise awareness about these issues, but also engage partners and community members, moving them to be active members in creating safer communities across our state,” he said.
For some organizations, this money will allow more resources to be directed and focused on mental health services for those in the AAPI community.
Mary Ann Foo, founder and executive director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance of Orange County, said requests for mental health assistance within the AAPI community have nearly tripled during the pandemic.
He further explained that the pandemic caused a surge in AAPI hate, which reminded him of the one he faced growing up in the 1980s.
“As a child, I was afraid to walk to school,” Foo said, an experience she called common in the AAPI community.
Foo said her organization will use the funds to provide vital mental health services to those who need the resources.
"They have a trauma that has been there for many, many years," he said.
Image captured from the video posted on social networks.
*Attacks on Mexican food vendors are on the rise
Police arrested a woman on robbery charges after attacking a taco vendor south of Los Angeles. She was booked and held on $60,000 bail.
It is very common to see street food stalls in South Los Angeles, especially serving Mexican food or one of its fusions, places that are often run by and owned by men and women who are looking to earn an honest income but who are undocumented.
However, in the last year, it has also been common for people who run these types of places to be attacked for no apparent reason, but with racist connotations underneath.
Recently, customers of the South Tacos Stand on the corner of Slauson and Normandie avenues witnessed the assault of a woman who, after investigation by the police, was identified as India Duerson, 30, to the vendor Bertha Zuniga, who was working at the stand.
The video shows the attacker throwing sauces, vegetables and containers full of food, as well as barrels of horchata, onto the floor, in addition to spitting on all the other food that she was unable to throw away.
After that, he went after one of the workers - Bertha - whom he pushed and pulled, which is why people called the emergency services to request police support, who, according to workers at the site, arrived almost an hour after the incident.
According to an interview conducted by CBS Los Angeles, although she was nervous to speak out, Zuniga said the woman began destroying her place after ordering a burrito and being asked by workers to wait until they were fully set up.
"It's just that you don't know, sometimes I get nervous because you don't know what they're going to do or what's going to happen," Bertha said.
For his part, chef and street vendor advocate Jimmy Saucez said that because many of these workers are undocumented, "they are afraid to speak out. That's why they are being attacked, because they feel like they won't say anything."
He said police may be overwhelmed with everything going on in the area, "but I wish they would respond a little quicker. At the end of the day, if it's a robbery, it's a robbery. If it's a mugging, it's a mugging. They should be there as soon as possible."
Attacks on such establishments have increased over the past year, said employees of the taco and burrito stand that has been in the same location for more than 12 years.
This incident follows the case of a man who attacked a Long Beach tamale vendor and was recorded yelling anti-Mexican slurs at him earlier this month.
The vendor, Juan Aguilar, said the man yelling at him, who neighbors later identified, walked aggressively toward him with his fists clenched. That's when Aguilar began recording and later had his wife, Luz, upload the video to social media where it went viral.
Aguilar said he presented an official report of hate incident to the Los Angeles Police Department, and said that what happened has not discouraged him. He stressed that he will continue selling tamales and will work hard so that one day he can open a traditional restaurant or a distribution company.
In both cases, the community has been overwhelmingly supportive, with the taco stand seeing many more people since the incident, while Aguilar has seen massive tamale sales, selling up to two thousand tamales in one day.
This Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration The FDA has authorized state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer's COVID-19 drug Paxlovid to eligible patients.
“The FDA recognizes the important role that pharmacists have and continue to play in the fight against this pandemic,” said Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
She added that since Paxlovid must be taken within five days of the onset of symptoms, “authorizing state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid could expand access to timely treatment for some patients who are eligible to receive this medication for the treatment of COVID-19.”
Paxlovid, made by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is intended to treat mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 in people at high risk of severe illness, including hospitalization or death.
The drug, which has emergency use authorization, is approved for adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 40 kilograms or 88 pounds with positive results from direct SARS-CoV-2 viral tests.
Upon testing positive for COVID-19, patients should first consider seeking care from their regular healthcare provider or locating a drive-through testing site in their area.
While this action allows state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid with certain limitations, community pharmacies that do not already participate as a trial-to-try site can decide whether and how to offer this service to patients.
Patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are seeking to determine their eligibility to receive Paxlovid where prescription is available from state-licensed pharmacists will be required to bring their electronic or paper health record that is less than 12 months old, including the most recent laboratory blood test reports, for the state-licensed pharmacist to review for kidney or liver problems.
Also, a list of all medications they are taking, including over-the-counter medications, so the state-licensed pharmacist can screen for medications with potentially serious interactions with Paxlovid.
It is important to note that individuals will be referred by the pharmacist for a clinical evaluation with a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant licensed or authorized under state law to prescribe medications, if any of the following conditions apply:
There is insufficient information to assess renal and hepatic function.
There is insufficient information available to assess a possible drug interaction.
Other medications may need to be modified due to potential drug interactions.
Patients in the eligible population who report a positive result from a rapid antigen home diagnostic test or a positive PCR test to their provider are eligible for Paxlovid.
What is Paxlovid?
Paxlovid is the brand name of the oral antiviral treatment developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to treat COVID-19.
This consists of two sets of pills that must be taken together. The standard treatment includes two nirmatrelvir pills and one ritonavir pill twice a day for five days.
Paxlovid should be taken as soon as possible after a person becomes ill, and is not recommended for people who have been hospitalized for COVID-19.
The FDA approved Paxlovid in December 2021 for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients ‒12 years of age and older who weigh at least 40 kg‒ who test positive for SARS-CoV-2.
It's been more than two years since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began in the United States, with nearly 5.7 million infected children across the country detected. The "Golden State" is no exception, especially when mUnfounded fears limit COVID-19 vaccination in minors in rural California.
Vaccines have become the most effective tool to fight the disease, prevent severe cases, hospitalizations and death. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are available for people over six months of age and have been deemed completely safe by the country's health authorities.
Although California is one of the states that has most quickly made vaccines protecting against the SARS-CoV-2 virus available to all those over six months of age, it is also where unfounded fears prevail that limit the safety of the most vulnerable at home.
Conspiracy theories such as the intention to make people disappear, the inability to connect spiritually, and heart or lung failure have been circulating around the world through social media, messaging apps, and streaming platforms, among other means, since the creation of the vaccine.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccines save between 2 and 3 million children's lives each year. Despite this, some parents' fear of their children receiving the inoculation continues due to myths circulating in communities.
These are some of their stories and fears
It is midday on Sunday, May 15, 2022. A joyful family from Oaxaca, Mexico, sits together in Rohner Park to celebrate the fifth birthday of one of its youngest members. Carefree, they celebrate with a dish of Oaxacan pozole, which they proudly offer to anyone who approaches them.
Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P
Blue and orange balloons and decorations from the animated children's film "Encanto" adorn the trees next to the table of the Oaxacan farm family who tell P360P that COVID-19 simply does not exist.
"It's my mentality against the whole world, but the truth is that to a certain extent I feel that all of this [COVID-19] is a lie," says a family member and resident of Fortuna County, a location north of the Bay Area in California.
Of this family, only one member has received the inoculation, but the mother and her children refuse to do so.
Photo: Manuel Ortiz P360P
One of the main reasons for not getting vaccinated, according to residents of Fortuna, is that despite the inoculation, they still run the risk of getting sick.
In addition to this reasoning, there are other myths about the side effects that the COVID-19 vaccine may cause, such as the following infertility and infection to the heart and lungs. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has pointed out that this is false.
The young members of the family, who get their information from the Internet and their schoolmates, refuse to receive the vaccine, a decision supported by their parents who believe that their children are informed, since they speak English and have access to different communication tools that they do not.
"What they (our children) tell us is that they have heard that because of the vaccine "they will not be able to have children" or that they can get heart disease, and that they can die some time after receiving it," says this Oaxacan mother.
The three most heard myths in rural communities in California are: 1. Heart infection 2. Lung infection 3. Infertility
Religious and spiritual beliefs are also part of the factors that influence the mentality of the inhabitants to accept or not the inoculation.
“It can block your ability to connect with spirits to meditate. I heard it will also affect a person’s ability to be able to connect spiritually,” are some of the beliefs heard from the community.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), only 29 percent of children ages 5 to 11 and 59 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 in the country were fully vaccinated as of early June, allowing the disease to spread and affect the most vulnerable in the home.
Of note, the CDC has also reported that cases of myocarditis and pericarditis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine are rare and that patients with these conditions who received the vaccine responded satisfactorily after medication and rest.
On the other hand, the fear caused by the belief that the vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes death has increased due to social networks such as Facebook, since it is one of the most popular platforms from which families obtain information.
However, the CDC has noted that reports of death after vaccination are rare and that reports of adverse reactions do not necessarily mean the vaccine caused a health problem.
Educating for life
Beginning in February, the mandate to wear masks outdoors was lifted due to a decline in infections in the U.S., much of it thanks to vaccines.
Schools across the country joined in this uprising.
For a Fortuna County teacher, educating about the importance of vaccination to protect lives has not been easy, even though the school where she works decided to continue with the mask mandate in order to protect its students, teachers and staff.
The school's decision to maintain the use of masks did not affect students. However, several complaints from parents forced the school to remove the rule.
This teacher told P360P that one of her students had COVID-19 symptoms so she asked him to wear his mask telling him: “well, you know it’s because we care about the people around you, because you don’t want them to get sick like you,” which caused the child’s mother to complain to the principal’s offices. Days after the incident, students who were near him began to show symptoms.
In her view, the teacher said that communities of color are more reluctant to get vaccinated and wear masks, saying, "There is a great distrust of medical services and the government because of past aggressions. Our government has a history of harming these populations."
CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older get vaccinated against COVID-19 and that everyone 5 years of age and older get booster doses, when eligible.
If you or someone in your family has questions about the vaccine, go to your pediatrician or trusted doctor so that he can resolve them. There is also information in several languages from the CDCs that can help you.
In the history of the bikini, there are bikinis of all sizes and colors, textures and materials, but, without a doubt, it is and will continue to be a garment that causes a stir.
On a day like today, but in 1946, the bikini came into the world. A garment that not only innovated women's clothing, but also became a symbol of revolution in body expression and sexual liberation that continues to cause a stir in the 21st century.
While it is true that the two-piece garment that becomes popular every summer is part of many women's wardrobes, it would be contradictory to think that a garment, a symbol of female sexual liberation, was designed by a man.
The history of the bikini dates back to the post-war era when a French automobile engineer named Louis Reard designed a swimsuit for women that broke with the standards of heavy fabrics that covered much of the female body when on vacation by the pool or on the beach.
At that time, no woman accepted the challenge of showing her body in the controversial but now famous swimsuit divided into three triangles of fabric. However, on July 5, 1946, stripper Micheline Bernardini agreed to pose in the garment at the iconic Molitor Pool in Paris, France.
However, the acceptance of the garment turned out to be nothing less than a bombshell for the conservative sector, which exploded on the same magnitude as the one that exploded after the war on Bikini Island, from which the swimsuit acquired its name.
The powerful swimsuit had an impact in various parts of Europe, reaching Spain, where General Francisco Franco censored the use of this garment on Spanish beaches in 1951, as he considered it immoral for a woman to expose her navel.
This garment was not accepted as completely natural until renowned actresses such as French actress Brigitte Bardot in Willy Rozier's "The Girl in the Bikini" (1952), who made the bikini an attribute of women, or in the Golden Age of Hollywood with Marilyn Monroe, as well as Ava Gardner and Rachel Welch who popularized this garment.
Nowadays, the exposed female body in a bikini within politics is as scandalous as it was with politics Ségolène Royal, socialist candidate for the presidency of the French Republic who in 2006 competed with the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, and she walked along the beaches at the age of 53 in a bikini, being considered unserious.
Although the acceptance of the bikini garment is currently normalized, it is not the same with the female body.
Currently, campaigns that seek to destigmatize the rigid beauty standards that have been created around the bikini, such as opinions on women's weight and physical appearance, have become popular in advertising campaigns that seek to democratize the garment.
The popular protein ad phrase that in 2016 caused anger among London society “Are you beach body ready?” for showing advertisements on the subway with extremely thin bodies in women and muscular bodies in men.
So, at the time, London Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged during his election campaign to ban ads that pressured people to meet beauty standards that undermined their health.
In response, society popularized the phrase: What does it take to wear a bikini? Generating a response that continues to be controversial: "Easy, have a body and wear a bikini."
In 2022, there are still women who still cannot wear a bikini, either due to sexism, social pressure, religion, or perhaps because women today experience more pressure regarding the decisions they make about their bodies.
The city of East Palo Alto will recommend Tuesday that the City Council continue anti-displacement tenant supports to keep people in their homes and apartments, especially after statewide eviction moratoriums have expired.
According to the staff report presented to the council, tenants in East Palo Alto continue to face the same challenges as they did during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic; the only difference now is that the same tenant protections, such as prohibiting eviction for nonpayment of rent, are no longer in place.
A little history: revenue from Measure O, approved by voters in 2016 as a tax on certain rental properties, went to agencies that help with anti-displacement services, the city said.
In 2019, Nuestra Casa, Jóvenes Unidos por la Acción Comunitaria, and East Palo Alto Community Legal Services submitted a joint proposal for eviction defense and tenant education and outreach.
These are called “Measure O Contract Organizations.” Their proposal was accepted in early 2020, directing the city manager to approve a one-year contract with the agencies for $279,088, with half the cost coming from Measure O funding and the rest from the city’s Rent Stabilization Program, the city said.
Then COVID-19 hit, intensifying the need for eviction protection and rent relief. Measure O contract organizations stepped up to assist with state-funded relief for tenants; the City Council received a report and overview of Measure O Contract accomplishments and activities in January.
Now that the moratoriums have expired, the city has compiled urgent community needs to present to the council. They include legal services for people facing eviction or displacement, tenant outreach in multiple languages to make sure people know their rights and what resources are available, case management, and direct financial and rental assistance.
City staff is requesting that the council authorize new requests for proposals for new Measure O facilitators to provide these services as contractors. The total amount allocated for these purposes would be $900,000 over two years, including $300,000 in direct rent and financial assistance for those in need.
The East Palo Alto Police Department logo, serving East Palo Alto, California. (East Palo Alto Police via Bay City News)
A man was stabbed in East Palo Alto on Monday night following celebrations for the Fourth of July, the day that commemorates the independence of the United States.
According to the local Police Department, officers responded to a report at 11:35 p.m., of a stabbing victim in the 400 block of East O'Keefe Street.
Upon arrival, officers found the victim and administered first aid before paramedics arrived, but the person died at the scene.
Police are withholding the victim's name pending notification of next of kin, according to a police news release issued around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The stabbing death marks East Palo Alto's third homicide this year.
Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding this incident to call Acting Commander Angel Sanchez at (650) 853-3154.
Information can be shared anonymously via email to epa@tipnow.org and via text or voicemail to (650) 409-6792.
The celebration of July 4, Independence Day in the United States, is dull and uneasy due to violence, social polarization and the primitive behavior of the Supreme Court of this country.
Celebrating independence doesn't make much sense when the Supreme Court, a group of white men with no representation of the enormous ideological and ethnic diversity that exists in the United States, overturns the ruling Roe v. Wade and thereby takes away women's control and freedom over their bodies and childbearing.
Nor is it encouraging to know that this same small group of men dealt a serious blow to the urgent fight against climate change by removing the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.
And, as if that were not enough, despite the series of massacres that have bathed the United States in blood and shame this year, the Supreme Court struck down New York State's restrictions on carrying weapons in public. This not only affects New York, but also sends a retrograde national message of indifference, and even promotion, of the enormous violence that is tearing apart the social fabric in many neighborhoods and cities in the country.
I don't want to be a party pooper. Celebrating is always good. Let's enjoy the concerts, parades and shows that have been carefully prepared. But let's also take advantage of this day to reflect and condemn the abuses of a rancid and abusive Supreme Court that does everything except work for us.
