During the COVID crisis this change would be beneficial to social services agencies on the front line. Certain programing can be of substantial benefit to clients in Social Service Programs that address topics related to addiction, mental health, and survival stories be valuable teaching tools for clients struggling with these disorders.

1. Overcrowding occurs regularly with no individual pods for women. Over 30 women in a pod crammed into approximately 22 beds. 2. There was only one shower for over 30 women. A violation of State of Tennessee Rule 1400-1-.04 paragraph 7. 3. There were over four women forced to sleep on the floor in each cell. There were only 8 beds but 12 women in cell E-4. 4. Lice infested, no lice combs given, only toxic pesticide shampoos given. 5. No socks given, only shower thongs. 6. Mice were coming up through a drain in women’s shower. 7. Mattress pads were thin ¼ -½ inch thick. 8. Women weren’t given any outdoor time or exercise area and were forced to stay locked in a small area without any fresh air or sunlight for months at a time. When they were allowed out, it was at odd hours like 6 am. 9. No soap or shampoo given except a packet of toxic chemicals because of claims that prisoners were using bars of soap as a weapon, yet jail personnel had no problem passing out razors. 10. Family members were not allowed to donate books to the library because they claimed people were smuggling in drugs in books when all they had to do was flip through the books. 11. The court is charging prisoners $15 a day to stay in jail for drug use instead of putting them into a rehabilitation program. Over 90% of the prisoners were in there for drug use. There is no mental health assistance for prisoners with psychiatric issues, which Petitioner estimates accounts for at least half of the population. 12. Prisoners are literally being starved to death and inmates are spending 25-$50 a week on commissary food with no actual healthy food available to purchase. Greene County is estimated to be making over $100,000 a year on commissary. Diet consisted of: Breakfast, 5 am: gravy, non-fat watered down milk, 8oz, two slices of bread, spoiled mandarins and one boiled egg. Lunch, 10:30 am: 2 slices of wheat bread and one slice cheese and one 2x2 in. white cake. Dinner: Powdered milk if you could call it that; mostly water, beans, spoiled collard greens, 2 slices bread. 13. The temperature inside the cells was freezing cold at around 40-50 degrees and inmates are only given a short sleeve jumpsuit to wear with thongs, one blanket, and one sheet. a. Visitors are forced to visit through glass; they can’t see or hear the other side, even when they are non-violent. 14. In order to visit or to write to a prisoner, a prisoner has to put the person on visitation list which how would they know someone wanted to visit them in the first place if they can‘t contact them? 15. No bottled water for sale or given out. Tap water contains poisons of toxic sodium fluoride, chlorine, and arsenic, the same chemical formulation that was alleged by John Kerry to have been used to gas the Syrians. 16. Only two tables that seat 4 people each for 30+ females and one television with nowhere to sit and watch. There are no tables in F pod and inmates are forced to eat on the floor. 17. There is black mold growing on the showers and walls. The mold had been painted over and black mold was still coming through. Only one shower and two toilets for 30 inmates in F Pod. 18. Several Prisoners had sinus problems related to mold exposure, nutritionally deficient diet and poisonous water. 19. The overcrowding and unsanitary conditions led to increased illnesses with no proper cleaning sprays. 20. No access to a clock so inmates could prepare for court or other appointments. 21. No access to law books or library for inmates to assist them in preparing for court or to conduct research. 22. Prisoners had witnessed another girl who was brought in a few weeks prior to Petitioner who had overdosed and was foaming at the mouth. Instead of taking her to the hospital, prison staff put her in the drunk tank. 23. Toilets are placed in direct line with the beds so you have no privacy when going to the bathroom and other inmates can see your private parts. 24. Fluorescent lights are left on all day and all night long creating an unhealthy environment. 25. No access to a doctor or Naturopathic Doctor. The doctor only comes on Mondays. 26. No posted menu as they aren’t following it anyways and don’t want any evidence showing the prisoners that. 27. Staff is inattentive to prisoner’s needs and is not doing checks every hour as State of Tennessee rules state. 28. Bunk beds are unsafe with no guard rail on top and top bunk is hard to get to with no ladder or assistance to get up there. 29. Violation of 1400-1-.10 section 8 as there are only two benches that seat 4 people each so almost all prisoners must eat at their bunk bed. 30. Ice chest in cel unsanitary as prisoners dip dirty cups into it. 31. Complete violation of 1400-1-.12 32. No library services, I was told we could donate books and magazines, but jail personnel said all library services had been discontinued because they claimed drugs were being smuggled in books! Well then they should check them. 33. Phone service hours were not posted and there was no privacy. 34. No outdoor light or access to exercise at all. State of Tennessee Rule in Paragraph 2 in .12 35. Complete violation of rules 1400-1-.15 as prisoners are being denied soap, TP, unacceptable footwear, no socks, no comb per paragraph 2 and instead are being told that someone had used it as a weapon so they had to take it away, yet they are being given sodas in plastic bottles that can also be used as weapons and no access to bottled water. 36. Also paragraph 5 says inmates are to have a mattress in good repair. The mattresses are under ½” thick and blankets were torn leaving inmates to freeze to death. 37. Inmates are supposed to have access to a phone. However, you need to have a pin number in order to use the pay phone. CO’s routinely did ...

If lawmakers don’t act quickly, Wisconsin will move ahead with its primary elections this Tuesday -- despite a statewide shelter-in-place order and the growing threat of the COVID-19 crisis. This would potentially suppress hundreds of thousands of voters -- and expose those that do show up at the polls to unnecessary health risks. Wisconsin is the only one of the 11 states originally scheduled to hold contests in April that has not postponed or dramatically altered voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. If we let things move forward like this, far too many voters will be disenfranchised or choose to stay home. Already, poll worker shortages have forced many polling places to close (from 180 down to just 5 for the entire city of Milwaukee) -- placing major strains on the locations that plan to remain open. And here’s the appalling part: Republican lawmakers stand accused of dragging their feet on this issue in order to suppress voter turnout -- and help an incumbent right-wing state Supreme Court justice who’s up for re-election. [1] This shouldn't be a partisan issue. Protecting voters’ rights and safety right now should be every party’s top priority. Gov. Tony Evers has just called a special legislative session to fix this -- urging lawmakers to adopt a proposal to expand absentee voting until May 19th... provide every registered voter with a ballot... and create safe in-person voting opportunities for voters with disabilities and others who are unable to vote by mail. But lawmakers will only do the right thing if they feel massive public pressure -- so we urgently need you to add your voice right now. Tell Wisconsin lawmakers to delay in-person voting and make sure every voter can cast their ballot safely. 1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-goes-it-alone-holding-elections-next-week-amid-fears-of-infection-and-voting-chaos/2020/03/31/8bd801ae-735f-11ea-a9bd-9f8b593300d0_story.html

Small businesses are the engine of our economy. In many communities small businesses are the largest employer and the lifeblood of the community. We create meaningful jobs and opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive. By unilaterally requiring that your small business clients have pre-existing lending relationships with Bank of America you are putting up unnecessary roadblocks to saving jobs and saving communities from devastation. Worse, this practice may even be discriminatory, as it may impact black, Latino, Asian, and Native American business owners disproportionately, who are more likely to have been denied access loans due to historic and current red-lining practices and institutional racism. The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide forgivable loans to Small Businesses to keep people employed during this time of emergency. In determining clients of Bank of America's eligibility for these lifeline loans, you have instituted an unnecessary pre-existing lending client requirement that is preventing many desperate smaller businesses and nonprofits from even applying for PPP. We all need to come together at times like this, not put up barriers to resources. You have the power to eliminate this arbitrary requirement and we ask you to step in and address this issue with the urgency the present emergency demands.

Like most kinds of porn, inspiration porn is exploitative, unrealistic and harmful for disabled people. Imagery of individuals "overcoming" the disabled body serves only to de-value those of us who cannot for the enjoyment of those who never had to. This is particularly gross given that this imagery is being used to increase shareholder profits for Hyundai, a global corporation that did $91 billion in sales last year. In the time of COVID-19 this also means a very real chance of disabled people being denied life-saving treatment because of the mere perception that their lives are less valuable than a “healthier” person.

Statement Re Detained Asylum Seekers at the Port Isabel Detention Center, Texas We are writing to express our grave concern about the ongoing detention of numerous asylum seekers in the ICE Port Isabel Detention Center, Los Fresnos, Texas. The great majority of these persons have never committed a crime. Moreover, they have families with legal status here in the United States who are eager to take them in while their immigration cases are processed. Prior to this administration, release of these migrants to their families would have been routine. These asylum seekers are now in danger of contracting the Corona Virus, or Covid-19, and suffering severe illness and even death. They must be released to family and friends forthwith. Keeping them in long term, unjustified detention under these conditions is the moral equivalent of locking them into a burning building. Hygienic conditions and medical care at this facility are shocking even during the best of times. The conditions are now unconscionable. The asylum seekers do not receive soap, only small packets of shampoo in the morning. Soap they must purchase on their own through the commissary if they can. The guards, arriving from their homes, walk in and out of the dormitories without gloves or masks, and go from one dorm to the other in this manner throughout the day. There are 70 men to a dormitory so social distancing is impossible. The men also eat in their dorms, with food workers bringing in the food trays, with gloved hands but no masks. There are four toilet bowls in each dorm, standing out in the open without any screens. These are cleaned in the morning and evening, but no cleaning materials are available in between. These conditions fly in the face of the precautions we are all required to respect. Many of the detainees have serious health problems. It is a matter of time until the virus strikes, and the results will be devastating. We know that the detainees have brought these concerns to the facility’s officers, but to no avail. The detainees also initiated a hunger strike on Monday, March 30, 2020. We understand that there is a grave risk of retaliation and intimidation should it continue. We demand that all migrants in the Port Isabel Detention Center be immediately released to their friends and family unless they have a criminal record clearly indicating a danger to society. Contacts: Madeleine Sandefur Jennifer Harbury ANGRY TIAS AND ABUELAS

THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IF THEY ARE NOT RELEASED, THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY SITTING DUCKS WITH IMPROPER HYGIENE AND MEDICAL RESOURCES, AND THE CONTAGION FACTOR WOULD NEARLY GUARANTEE MANY MORE FATALITIES AT THESE DETENTION CENTERS THAN WOULD OCCUR IF THEY WERE FREED. IF WE ARE FREEING INMATES FROM AMERICAN PRISONS BECAUSE IT IS INHUMANE TO KEEP THEM LOCKED UP DURING THIS PANDEMIC.... WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS ARE WE IF WE DON'T FREE THESE PEOPLE AND CHILDREN, TOO???? HOW WILL WE LIVE WITH OURSELVES AS A NATION POST SOMETHING LIKE THIS???? THINK!

We’re all going to die or suffer terribly without it.

In reviewing the Code of Conduct set forth by NYS School Boards Association board members are to act as ‘role model to our students’. We believe that some board members have gone far beyond not following rules of order.

In the midst of the health and economic problems currently facing our country, our military people who are brave enough to serve do so deployed in forward areas. It is the individual Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine who forms the basic unit of our national defense. Our servicemembers who serve, do so depending on the officers assigned above them. Their lives depend on those officers entrusted with their care. In reciprocal fashion, commanders cannot fulfill their objectives if their personnel are inadequately supplied, or have medical concerns. A commanding officer is completely ineffective without operational personnel. Navy Captain Brett Crozier acted expediently to garner attention to the medical needs of his crew. We respectfully demand proper attention be given to Captain Crozier's crew, to absolve Captain Crozier of any wrongdoing in seeking prompt medical attention for his crew, and to initiate an investigation into the competency of those who would place blame of Captain Crozier instead of initiating immediate action to provide medical supplies and replacement crew members in the most expedient fashion. Ironically, Acting Navy Secretary Modly said, “Capt. Crozier is an honorable man who, despite this uncharacteristic lapse of judgment, has dedicated himself throughout a lifetime of incredible service to our nation and he should be proud of that.” [https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2020-04-02/captain-of-coronavirus-stricken-carrier-theodore-roosevelt-fired-over-leak-of-letter-asking-navy-for-help] Thomas Modly noted Capt. Crozier's honorable record. He appears to have exercised extraordinary measure, not faulty judgment which begs the question why he felt this was his most expedient option. It wasn't a lapse of judgment at all, rather an act of heroism deserving of a commendation. The individual serving as Secretary of the Navy could follow Captain Crozier's exemplary action by placing those brave personnel in the highest priority as well. Such consideration could be a giant leap toward restoring the US Navy's great example of military strength.

Although, it is a great initiative to do distant learning, parents and/or students are not fully equipped, mentally, emotionally to successfully provide or acquire the education that is provided by an official educator. This initiative will also keep the educators and households sane as we survive and readjust because of this pandemic. It will also provide a more realistic grade point average for schools and students not to lose their academic status.

They put their lives at risk to serve & protect all of us.