A PRO LIFE STATE

The death penalty has been abolished in Colorado

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a bill on Monday abolishing the death penalty.

Colorado is the 22nd state to ban capital punishment since it was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976.

Polis also commuted three death sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole, saying the "commutations of these despicable and guilty individuals are consistent with the abolition of the death penalty in the state of Colorado, and consistent with the recognition that the death penalty cannot be, and never has been, administered equitably in the state of Colorado."

Polis stated that he commuted the sentences "after a thorough outreach process to the victims and their families," and while he understands "some victims agree with my decision and others disagree, I hope this decision provides clarity and certainty for them moving forward." The state's last execution was in 1997, NBC News reports. Catherine Garcia

SNAKE OIL SALESMAN

Here’s the truth about the drug Trump thinks is a miracle coronavirus cure

March 23, 2020 By Nicole Karlis, Salon


As to be expected, President Donald Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to try to ease public fears about COVID-19 by promoting several experimental drug treatments. In an all-caps tweet, Trump urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “move fast” to approve a combination of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, and azithromycin, an antibiotic, as a potential treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. On Twitter, Trump served as hypeman for this medical cocktail, writing that these drugs “have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine.”

For someone with no background in medicine, Trump is weirdly convinced of the efficacy of these drugs. Last week, in a press conference, Trump said he felt “good” about the possibility of chloroquine, another related anti-malaria drug, and hydroxychloroquine as potential treatment for COVID-19. Today, he shared an article from the New York Post about a man surviving COVID-19 thanks to hydroxychloroquine. Yet anecdotes should not be confused for statistics; most scientists, researchers and doctors will tell you that one anecdotal story from the New York Post does not constitute clinical evidence that any of these drugs can, or should, be used to treat COVID-19.

According to a study published on the web site bioRxiv, there have been 69 drugs identified, including chloroquine, that could treat the respiratory disease that has caused 16,359 deaths and mass economic disruption worldwide. The World Health Organization is looking into both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as possible ways to slow or kill the virus, but there are plenty of unknowns that prevent it from being a “game changer,” as Trump called it. Science magazine details the concerns in a recent report. Similar to Trump’s previous dangerous rhetoric, his claims have the possibility to cause more harm than good. As NPR reported, some pharmacists are concerned about people hoarding the drugs. “Our members are definitely seeing more demand for this medication and possibly some people trying to hoard the medication,” Todd Brown, executive director of the Massachusetts Independent Pharmacists Association, told NPR. “Pharmacists are seeing an increase in requests and prescriptions for them, in instances where it’s not clear why the patient needs it at this time.” Health officials in Nigeria said that three people have overdosed on the drug.

Salon spoke with Rodney J.Y. Ho, a professor and director of the Targeted, Long-acting and Combination Anti-Retroviral Therapy (TLC-ART) program at the University of Washington, about both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as potential drugs to treat COVID-19.


As usual, this conversation has been edited for clarity.

First, what are these drugs?
Chloroquine is the original malaria drug that was introduced many many years ago. And it’s been distributed widely in malaria-rampant areas. Hydroxychloroquine is slightly different, so it has additional benefits [as a treatment]. People found out over time that hydroxychloroquine can be used for rheumatoid arthritis. Another way people use it is for lupus. The difference is that hydroxychloroquine, [as] you can read in the name, has been oxygenated.

So chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are both malaria drugs. You’ve probably heard about this from people that they’re accessible because they are FDA approved. But it’s not a drug that you buy over the counter, it’s a pill that’s prescribed— so that’s a very important distinction — because that means it has side effects that need to be managed by pharmacists and by relations.

And what are those side effects?So there are many different side effects, but the big ones are when it’s taken with another drug. So it can be as simple as being on a contraceptive that can change the drug levels, then that becomes toxic, so that’s what needed to be managed.So what do we know about how these drugs treat COVID-19?

We can kill the virus at the level that can be achieved in patients taking hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine in their blood. Based on that, people have been using it as one of the four or five experimental medications [but] because it’s not proven, nothing has been tested thoroughly by the FDA. But because it’s available by prescription and it’s a pill, you can order it.

So because it shows promise in a test tube, does that mean it can be that success can be easily transferred to a human body?The virus can kill people in many different ways. [We can observe that it is] killed in the test tube, [but] then you need to go through a long test to make sure that [it will happen] in the patient at the right stage, and the right place that you can use this [drug]. And we don’t know that yet. And what other things that the virus is doing, we don’t know.

What we do know is that the virus will kill the lung cells. Our lung cells are very big. Think of lung cells as balloons with pockets of cells inside them. These cells are loaded with blood. That’s how we exchange oxygen. So when the lung cells are infected, they will kill and collapse those balloons. At some stage, the whole lungs collapse and other cells attack the immune system. So, that’s when the hydroxychloroquine might have an effect, but the question is, when is there no point of return? And we don’t know that yet. So you can imagine the complications of how to treat this virus, and when to treat it. We don’t know how long and how quickly people can die from this — we need to help them by isolating and preventing the number of infections.


Trump says unproven coronavirus drugs could be 'gift from God'

AFP•March 23, 2020


US President Donald Trump has said his administration was working to dramatically expand access to hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, while many scientists have urged the public to remain cautious until larger clinical trials take place (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump on Monday said antimalarial drugs that are under investigation to treat the new coronavirus could be a "gift from God" despite scientists warning against the dangers of overhyping unproven medicines.

Trump announced last week his administration was working to dramatically expand access to hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, a related compound, following promising early studies in France and China that found the drugs helped patients suffering from the COVID-19 illness.

Many scientists including Anthony Fauci, the United States' leading infectious disease expert, have urged the public to remain cautious until larger clinical trials validate the smaller studies.

But Trump demonstrated no such restraint at a White House press briefing on Monday.

"The hydroxychloroquine and the Z-Pak, I think as a combination probably is looking very, very good," he said.

"There's a real chance that it could have a tremendous impact, it would be a gift from God, if that worked it would be a big game changer," he added, quoting the example of a patient who was ill but recovered after taking the drug.

NBC reported that a woman in Arizona, who heard Trump talk about chloroquine, ended up in hospital and her husband died after they took a form of chloroquine she had used to treat her koi fish.

"I saw it sitting on the back shelf and thought, 'Hey, isn't that the stuff they're talking about on TV?'" NBC quoted the unnamed woman as saying.

Banner Health, a non-profit health care provider based in Phoenix, said on its website that "a man has died and his wife is under critical care after the couple, both in their 60s, ingested chloroquine phosphate, an additive commonly used at aquariums to clean fish tanks."

Banner Health warned against self-medicating to treat or prevent the COVID-19 illness.

Trump has been criticized by some in the scientific community for overhyping the drugs -- which could create shortages for Americans who need them to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, diseases for which they are approved.

New York is set to begin a clinical trial on Tuesday that would treat patients with hydroxychloroquine taken together with azithromycin, an antibiotic used to clear secondary bacterial infections.

Separately, Vice President Mike Pence announced that self-administered nasal swab tests for the illness would be made available this week, thus reducing part of the burden on the overstretched health care system.

At present, the test is administered by health care workers wearing personal protective gear which is in short supply.

The US has almost 44,000 cases and 560 deaths, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

THE LAFFER CURVE VS THE COVID-19 CURVE
Trump called infamous right-wing economist four times to beg for advice on stopping job losses: report
March 23, 2020 By Matthew Chapman 


On Monday, The Daily Beast reported that President Donald Trump called right-wing economist Art Laffer multiple times, in a desperate attempt for advice on how to stop the financial bleeding from the coronavirus pandemic.

“‘I had a very serious conversation with [President Trump] and with [top economic adviser] Larry Kudlow and with [Treasury Secretary Steve] Mnuchin as well,’ relayed Art Laffer, a longtime conservative economist, who said he had three missed calls from Trump on Thursday night before the two connected,” according to the report. “During the phone call, Laffer says he advised the president to back a payroll tax-cut waiver, to guarantee liquidity for successful companies, and that ‘we should not be bailing out insolvent firms right now. I also advised him against ‘helicopter money’ … The president understood exactly what I was saying.'”

Laffer is notorious as the economist who came up with the Republican Party’s decades-long tax plan with a doodle on a napkin. He has argued that cutting taxes on the wealthiest corporations and individuals will increase the supply of goods and services, to the point where purchasing power increases for everyone else and economic growth of the tax base offsets losses in revenue — an idea that has not panned out in the real world.

Trump has grown increasingly fearful that the pandemic and the ensuing economic collapse will wreck his campaign message, which had been that he was a trustworthy steward of the economy.

YES HE DID SAY THIS 

Trump urges protection of Asian Americans — after weeks of using the racist term ‘Chinese Virus’March 23, 2020 By Bob Brigham
After repeated referring to COVID-19 as “Chinese Virus,” President Donald Trump is now urging the protection of the Asian American community.

“It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world,” Trump tweeted.

“They are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form,” Trump continued, in a dramatic change in messaging. “They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER!”

Here is Trump’s recent commentary on “Chinese Virus”:

My friend (always there when I’ve needed him!), Senator @RandPaul, was just tested “positive” from the Chinese Virus. That is not good! He is strong and will get better. Just spoke to him and he was in good spirits.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020

CHINESE VIRUS FACT CHECK pic.twitter.com/qJugCylvE2
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2020

I only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese Virus should we need to invoke it in a worst case scenario in the future. Hopefully there will be no need, but we are all in this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020

I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the “borders” from China – against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020

I will be having a news conference today to discuss very important news from the FDA concerning the Chinese Virus!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020

For the people that are now out of work because of the important and necessary containment policies, for instance the shutting down of hotels, bars and restaurants, money will soon be coming to you. The onslaught of the Chinese Virus is not your fault! Will be stronger than ever!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020

Cuomo wants “all states to be treated the same.” But all states aren’t the same. Some are being hit hard by the Chinese Virus, some are being hit practically not at all. New York is a very big “hotspot”, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020


'Run them over:' Chinese Americans face growing hate in coronavirus outbreak
Kathryn Krawczyk, The Week•March 23, 2020


As the new coronavirus continues to spread throughout the U.S., Chinese Americans — and Asian Americans as a whole — have reported rising verbal and physical attacks suggesting they're responsible for COVID-19's emergence. It's "a sudden spasm of hate that is reminiscent of the kind faced by Muslim-Americans after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001," but this time, the president isn't acting like he's on their side, The New York Times reports.

Yuanyuan Zhu recalled walking to the gym in San Francisco for one of her last workouts before an inevitable quarantine a few weeks ago. Along the way, she noticed a man "yelling an expletive about China," and hearing him shout "run them over" when a bus went by, the Times writes. Zhu tried to stay away, but when she got stuck with the man waiting for a crosswalk, he spit on her.

The possibility of those kinds of attacks have the nearly two dozen Asian Americans interviewed by The New York Times "afraid to go grocery shopping, to travel alone on subways or buses, to let their children go outside." Even Dr. Edward Chew, the head of the emergency department at a large Manhattan hospital, says he has noticed people covering their noses and mouths when he walks by.

Still, President Trump insists on calling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus" despite medical professionals warning how that could fuel fear of and attacks against an entire group of people. "If they keep using these terms, the kids are going to pick it up," Tony Du, an epidemiologist in Maryland, told the Times. "They are going to call my 8-year-old son a Chinese virus. It's serious." Read more at The New York Times.

Republican calls for a ‘State Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer’ to repent for sins that brought on coronavirus

on March 23, 2020 By Matthew Chapman


On Monday, The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Jonathan Lai reported that a Republican state representative in Pennsylvania is introducing a resolution demanding “A State Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer.”

The resolution, according to state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, is necessary because the coronavirus pandemic “may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins.”

Pennsylvania State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R., Clinton) has introduced a resolution calling for A State Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer because the coronavirus pandemic “may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins”:https://t.co/qlxZn47lXS pic.twitter.com/gRacY2iHX6
— Jonathan Lai

 

賴柏羽 (@Elaijuh) March 23, 2020


Many congregations in both the United States and abroad have suspended normal operations in response to the pandemic, with Pope Francis even advocating — contrary to centuries of Roman Catholic doctrine — that those worshipers in particular danger from the virus ask God for forgiveness directly rather than attend Confession.

As #WhereIsJoe Biden trends, Bernie Sanders to host coronavirus roundtable to address pandemic
March 21, 2020 By Common Dreams


While users on social media asked Friday why Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden appears to be missing in action on the coronavirus crisis — causing the #WhereIsJoe hashtag to trend — Sen. Bernie Sanders indicated his intention to remain focused on the global pandemic by announcing a virtual roundtable event focused on the crisis.

The campaigns of both remaining Democratic contenders have been dramatically curtailed by the infectious disease, but Sanders — who remains a sitting member of the U.S. Senate — has been much more active and vocal on the subject of how to manage the outbreak over the last week, even as his presidential hopes have been dashed by repeated primary losses to Biden.

On Tuesday, Sanders released a blueprint for what he believes is necessary to fight the pandemic while also protecting working families and the nation’s most vulnerable from economic fallout. Called “An Emergency Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic,” the plan sets forth a series of principles alongside detailed policies that guarantee healthcare coverage related to both testing and treatment of the virus be fully covered at no cost, would establish an Emergency Economic Finance Agency to manage the crisis, and create a separate oversight agency designed to protect consumers from price-gouging and corporate corruption.


While Biden also released a coronavirus action proposal — the “Plan to Combat Coronavirus (Covid-19) and Prepare for Future Global Health Threats” — the former vice president has been noticeably absent from the airwaves despite largely being seen as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Biden has pitched himself as the best candidate to take on President Donald Trump over his presidential mismanagement and crass leadership — a critique that others say is now more relevant than ever given Trump’s egregious handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

As Peter Daou, Democratic operative and Sanders supporter, stated on Twitter:

“While Bernie Sanders leads,” wrote historian Christo Aivalis, “Joe Biden is hiding. In this crucial moment, Americans need leadership, and they aren’t getting from the man already being crowned as the Democratic nominee.”

Journalist and co-founder of The Intercept Jeremy Scahill, tweeted: “We were all told that we desperately need Joe Biden’s leadership and experience. Now all we have to do is find him.”

In an Common Dreams column Thursday, progressive activist Norman Solomon argued   that the coronavirus crisis offers a serious opportunity to compare the governming styles and ideological commitments of Sanders and Biden—especially as a contrast to Trump and the Republicans.

According to Solomon, “the differences between what Biden and Sanders are advocating have enormous implications for what could be done to curb the deadly virus in this country.”

The Biden vs. Sanders vs. coronavirus question, Solomon wrote, “is not only an electoral contest between presidential candidates. It’s also a contrast of patchwork fixes vs. profound structural changes. Refusal to upset the apple carts of corporate power vs. willingness to fight that power. Tepid adjustments vs. truly transformational agendas.”

As people across the country increasingly realize that key planks of the Sanders agenda—from Medicare to All to paid sick leave to better labor protections—would make a world of difference in combatting the virus, the shortcomings of the status quo, including the nation’s tattered safety net and the bottomless greed of its for-profit healthcare system, are also coming into to sharp relief:

On Friday night at 7:00pm ET, Sanders is scheduled to host a virtual roundtable on the economic and health crises created by the coronavirus outbreak.

Sanders will speak to viewers live from his campaign office in Burlington and be joined remotely, according to the campaign, “by leaders who are on the frontlines of the fight to ensure working people aren’t left behind in the response to the crisis.”

TODAY MARCH 23 TRUMP BEGAN USING A NEW PHRASE INSTEAD OF THE CHINA VIRUS HE CALLS THE CORONAVIRUS THE "INVISIBLE SCOURGE" IT IS CERTAINLY THE LATTER BUT IT IS NOT INVISIBLE IT IS JUST NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE

YOU NEED A MICROSCOPE

Evangelical pastor calls out Trump’s rhetoric for promoting ‘hatred against Asians’

TODAY MARCH 23 TRUMP BEGAN USING A NEW PHRASE INSTEAD OF THE CHINA VIRUS HE CALLS THE CORONAVIRUS THE "INVISIBLE SCOURGE" IT IS CERTAINLY THE LATTER BUT IT IS NOT INVISIBLE IT IS JUST NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE

YOU NEED A MICROSCOPE

March 19, 2020 By Alex Henderson, AlterNet


Although Mainland China is no longer the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump and his supporters in right-wing media continue to use rhetoric like “Chinese virus” and “Wuhan virus.” And Eugene Cho, an evangelical pastor based in Seattle, is calling him out for it.

In a March 16 tweet, Trump posted: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”

But by that point, most of the coronavirus related-deaths had occurred outside of Mainland China — and Europe had become the new coronavirus epicenter.
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Cho, responding to the misleading “Chinese virus” reference in Trump’s tweet, responded, “Mr. President: This is not acceptable. Calling it the ‘Chinese virus’ only instigates blame, racism, and hatred against Asians — here and abroad. We need leadership that speaks clearly against racism; leadership that brings the nation and world together. Not further divides.”

The pastor, who was born in Korea but moved to the United States when he was six, also tweeted, “Listen, I want President Trump to succeed. We have a national and global health crisis. We NEED him to succeed. But while I can’t speak for all Asians, I’m navigating not just the health crisis…but the reality of racism and anger against Asians.”

The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020

Mr. President: This is not acceptable. Calling it the “Chinese virus” only instigates blame, racism, and hatred against Asians – here and abroad. We need leadership that speaks clearly against racism; Leadership that brings the nation and world together. Not further divides. https://t.co/wPTcnoO5QU
— Eugene Cho (@EugeneCho) March 17, 2020

Chinese Virus???


Listen, I want President Trump to succeed. We have a national and global health crisis. We NEED him to succeed. But while I can’t speak for all Asians, I’m navigating not just the health crisis…but the reality of racism and anger against Asians.
— Eugene Cho (@EugeneCho) March 17, 2020


Just when you think Trump can’t go any lower, he always finds a way.
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) March 16, 2020

Let’s remember. Coronavirus is not an Asian virus. It’s a human virus. We must elongate the epidemic curve for slow rise, slow fall. We must release all medical stockpiles. We must limit public gatherings of any sort, of any kid. Sooner we do this, sooner we conquer this disease

—

Christopher Zullo (@ChrisJZullo) March 16, 2020

Figures published by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon show hard coronavirus has been hitting countries other than Mainland China. Worldwide, the death toll from coronavirus had reached 7,866 — and while well over 3,100 people had died in Mainland China, other figures ranging from 2,503 deaths in Italy to 988 deaths in Iran to 509 deaths in Spain and 148 in France.

Christian responses to COVID-19 raise old religion v. science questions

By Chrissy Stroop, Religion Dispatches - Commentary March 18, 2020


If there’s one thing that irks me to no end about the atheist community, it’s the overrepresentation of vocal jerks—and let’s be frank, they’re usually white men—who exhibit smug superiority and a sort of fundamentalist and arguably (post-)Protestant ethos, in nearly all their interactions. While some of these “stable geniuses” style themselves progressives, others identify as libertarians or “classical liberals,” and at least the latter are more honest about what ultimately amounts to their alt-right adjacent, or even fully alt-right, views on matters of race, gender, and “identity politics.”

While I now regularly work with prominent atheists and in atheist spaces, there was a long period during which I refused to accept the label atheist for myself in part due to the toxicity that pervades so much of movement atheism. And part of that toxicity lies in the “rationaler-than-thou” attitude that leads many atheists to interject themselves into any and all discussions of religion that come their way, inserting ignorant cookie-cutter talking points and gleefully making asses of themselves in their ill-informed and indiscriminate religion bashing.

As mirror images of one another, fundamentalist believers and obnoxious atheists both insist that only the most toxic and absurd expressions of religion are “authentic.” Indeed, such atheism is awkwardly Christian-centric in the ways that its adherents ignore, for example, how religion scholars tend to define religion in terms of community rather than in terms of belief in the supernatural, and how, for example, it is entirely possible to be a practicing Jew—even an Orthodox Jew—and an atheist.


Personally, I am an outspoken advocate for the embrace of pluralism as essential to functional democratic politics, and for building coalitions among progressive non-believers and progressive believers around shared values. Anti-pluralist Christians are far more often the targets of my ire than anti-pluralist atheists, but the latter’s implacable insistence on the impossibility of progressive religion, and on the fundamental incompatibility of religion and science, is an endless annoyance and a hindrance to building broad progressive coalitions.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, however, Christian fundamentalists have made a spectacular show of their rejection of modern science in their pigheaded refusal to adopt common sense public health measures. And even I have to admit that a news cycle like this makes it difficult to object to the common atheist assertion that religion and science are inevitably at odds.

Julie Zauzmer has documented Christians responding both responsibly and irresponsibly with respect to to the danger of the coronavirus pandemic in her reporting, but while even some evangelical churches are taking sensible measures, the defiance of Christian know-nothings has been so extravagant and astonishing that it’s hard to focus on anything else.

For example, as Daniel Schultz noted earlier this week, Right Wing Watch posted video of charismatic Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne encouraging members of his Tampa, Florida-based megachurch congregation to shake hands this last Sunday as he defiantly proclaimed that his church would remain open because the Lord would keep Christians safe there. He added, “This Bible school is open because we’re raising young revivalists, not pansies.”

Asked what factors into the behavior of Christians like Howard-Browne, Zauzmer commented on the decentralization of evangelical Protestant churches vs. more top-down denominations as an issue:

It’s easier to close an entire Catholic or Episcopal diocese (or all the Mormon meetings, which was really striking), than to get nondenominational evangelical pastors on the same page, or a denomination like Southern Baptists who pride themselves on local church-level decision-making.

Pressed to comment on deeper motivations, Zauzmer added, “Politics definitely plays a role,” noting that some of President Trump’s false statements about coronavirus have encouraged conservative, mostly white evangelicals—Trump’s most loyal demographic—to rebel against the imposition of public health measures.

And then there are the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. To be sure, the Ecumenical Patriarchate at Constantinople, the see traditionally considered “first among equals” in the Eastern Orthodox world, issued a communique that reads in part:





“The Church has and continues to respect medical science. Thus, the Church recommends that all the faithful adhere to the official directives of both the World Health Organization and the pertinent pronouncements and legal regulations issued by the civil authorities of their respective countries.”

So far, so good. But then we get to the next point: “The Mother Church of Constantinople knows empirically from its two-thousand-year existence that Holy Communion is ‘the antidote to mortality’ and remains firm in its Orthodox teaching regarding the Holy Eucharist.” In addition to the awkward invocation of the rhetoric of science (i.e. “knows empirically”) in its assertion of religious dogma, the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s statement essentially contradicts itself. For their parts, representatives of the Greek and Russian Churches are going so far as to dangerously proclaim that “coronavirus cannot be transmitted through communion.”

That American charismatic and evangelical Protestants are behaving similarly should not surprise us. I’ve been among those documenting not only the affinities between the U.S. Christian Right and prominent Russian Orthodox Christians in recent years, but also the direct ties and collaborative efforts they make to advance an anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice agenda on the global stage.

So, what are we to make of all this? Must we admit that religion, or at least Christianity, is inevitably in conflict with science and as such a threat to humanity’s survival? I turned to Orthodox Christian writer and RD contributor Katie Kelaidis for comments on the Orthodox situation, and to Professor Karl Giberson of Stonehill College, an advocate for the compatibility of Christianity with evolution (for which he was essentially forced to resign from his previous position at Eastern Nazarene College), to comment on the issues raised in this article more generally.

Noting that at least some Orthodox dioceses in the United States are canceling all church services, Kelaidis insists, seemingly contra Constantinople, that “It has never been the teaching of the Orthodox Church that communion is magic. The miracle of transubstantiation does not change the material properties of the bread and wine. That is the miracle.”

When pressed on how she can state that the Orthodox Church has never taught “that communion is magic” when some of its leaders are clearly doing so, Kelaidis clarified, “It’s not the historical consensus of the Church. And I would argue it’s not the Orthodox position that a single bishop can override the historical consensus of the Church.”

I asked Kelaidis what she thinks motivates the kind of irresponsible behavior we’re observing in Greece and Russia (where we have evidence that information about the spread of coronavirus has been suppressed). She referred to a “temptation to over-believe”; to insist on interpretations that defy logic. “Continuing to not take common sense measures against the transmission of a dangerous virus is, frankly, an example of the horrific effects of this over-belief.”

And what does Giberson make of this massive global Christian cluster? “Trump embodies the denial of reality—particularly science—that largely defines the worldview of today’s Republican Party,” says Giberson, noting that, while many Christians are taking appropriate measures in response to coronavirus, Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s “pernicious” branch of evangelical Christianity “sold its soul to the Republican Party, which sold its soul to Donald Trump.” He went on:

Decades of ridiculing Darwinian evolution, the Big Bang Theory, climate change, the value of vaccination and so on has created a vast demographic only too willing to nod in agreement when Trump dismisses the coronavirus as a “hoax,” Rush Limbaugh says it’s just “the common cold,” or Falwell says it’s a plot to “get Trump.”

None of this means that all religion is incompatible with science, but if so many Christians are endangering the lives of themselves and others, that is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

Is there any hope? Giberson muses that with respect to coronavirus, “Fortunately, Trump is finally making contact with reality, so hopefully his followers will do likewise.” Yet even if they do, the larger problem of fundamentalist Christianity as a danger to democracy, human rights, and public health will remain.

Does blood type matter when it comes to coronavirus?  A Chinese study says yes

by Mike Stunson

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

People with type A blood are more likely to catch coronavirus and die from it, according to a new study published in Wuhan, China.

Type A is one of the most common blood types, but scientists urged people not to be concerned if they have type A.

Those with type O blood may be less likely to get COVID-19, which has infected more than 200,000 people worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins University map that tracks confirmed cases.

"If you are type A, there is no need to panic. It does not mean you will be infected 100 percent," researcher Gao Yingdai told the South China Morning Post. "If you are type O, it does not mean you are absolutely safe, either. You still need to wash your hands and follow the guidelines issued by authorities."

Researchers compared more than 2,100 confirmed coronavirus cases in China against more than 3,600 healthy Wuhan residents. While 31% of Wuhan residents have type A blood, more than 37% of surveyed patients had the blood type.

Around 40% of United States residents have type A blood, according to the San Diego Blood Bank. More than 45% have Type O blood, the website shows.

The same Chinese study showed 25% of surveyed cases had type O blood, despite more than 33% of the population having that type of blood.

The study examined 206 people in Wuhan who died from the virus and there were 63% more type A fatal cases than type O.

"People with blood group A might need particularly strengthened personal protection to reduce the chance of infection," researchers said in their study.

The study did not provide an explanation for why type A patients have a higher risk for coronavirus.

The American Red Cross said it is facing "a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations." The Red Cross has implemented extra safety precautions at blood drive centers.