#doctor Mike Pappas

[96thdayofrage]

Following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police at the end of May, the United States erupted in a surge of anti-racist and anti-police uprisings, lead by a new generation of Black youth. Since then, similar movements have been sparked around the world. In this context, the central focus of the rally was the denouncement of the relationship between racism, police violence, and capitalism from a socialist and revolutionary perspective. The speakers, drawing on their own stories and experiences, spoke of the respective fights in their countries for workers’ rights and against racism and all forms of oppression.

Representatives spoke on a variety of issues including Black liberation, the persecution and stigmatization of migrant youth, the women’s and LGBTQ movements, the indigenous rights struggle, as well as healthcare workers’ fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The speeches were charged with hatred against this racist capitalist system, highlighting how capitalism necessitates inequality and subjects the vast majority to exploitation, hunger, and misery. They spoke on the importance of unity between workers and all oppressed sectors in their shared struggle against the capitalists and their governments around the world, especially in the context of the triple social, economic, and health crisis of which the working class is bearing the brunt.

The event featured a variety of speakers including Anasse Kazib, a child of Moroccan immigrants and current railway worker in France, Yunus Özgür, a young migrant from Turkey now living in Germany, leaders of the Black community in different countries like Leticia Parks and Marcelo Pablito from Brazil and Julia Wallace from the U.S., Maryam Alaniz, an American student and child of Iranian immigrants, and Mike Pappas, a doctor who has been on the frontlines of the Covid-19 crisis in the United States. Comrades from Chile, Bolivia, and the U.K. also gave greetings. Nicolás del Caño and Myriam Bregman, revolutionary militants and members of Argentina’s parliament, hosted the event.

The virtual Black Lives Matter rally highlighted the Trotskyist Fraction-Fourth International’s participation in these current struggles and movements, especially focusing on the need to build revolutionary parties and a strong revolutionary international to end this system of exploitation and oppression. The fight against racism and police violence is international!

[doriskilmanandthepinkicing]

Mike Pappas, a doctor, was arrested by NYPD earlier in the Bronx while working as a medic during the #FTP #BlackLivesMatter protest.Frontline workers like Mike were called "heroes" by Cuomo and DeBlasio a little over a week ago.

Also arrested was Dr. Nell Baldwin.

[kristinsimmons]

Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus

By MIKE PAPPAS, MD

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, millionaires and billionaires, who have been key to oppressing the working class, are trying to position themselves as everyday Americans. We need to understand them for what they are: beneficiaries and key supporters of the capitalist system that helped create this crisis.

My name is Mike. I’m a physician in NYC working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m also a socialist and member of Left Voice.

It was recently reported that a 17-year-old boy in Lancaster, California died suddenly, likely of coronavirus. The boy, who had no previous health conditions, was sick for only a few days. On Friday he was healthy and by Wednesday he was dead. On Wednesday, he went to urgent care as he was not feeling well, but since he had no health insurance, the urgent care center declined to treat him. He was directed to transfer to a nearby hospital, but en route, he went into cardiac arrest. He arrived at the nearby hospital, was revived, but died hours later.

In a YouTube address, the Mayor of Lancaster, Rex Parris gave his condolences. “We have lost” a 17 year old boy, he said. No, no, no, a 17 year old boy was killed on Wednesday night. A 17 year old boy was killed by a capitalist economic system and a for profit health care system that puts profit accumulation above all else. Explain to me how we can live in a country that allows one man to have a net worth over $100 billion, but still allows for someone to be “turned away” due to their health insurance status?

Let me be clear, the for profit health care system killed this boy–just as it has killed many others from either denying them care or from economically destroying patients and their families. In this system health and well being are secondary to profit accumulation, period.

It’s interesting that politicians like Parris continue to use this type of passive language to misidentify the real problems at hand. They never remotely touch upon how their maintenance of exploitative, oppressive systems may be to blame. Let’s take another politician as an example, shall we? 

Cuomo, Liberal Elite’s New Darling

America’s new darling New York Governor Andrew Cuomo–oh, isn’t he just so dreamy?

Each day I have not been working in the clinic or hospital, I have watched Cuomo’s daily address where I have seen him identify his family as if they are normal, everyday members of the working class. He speaks of how the coronavirus could affect his mom or his sister as if they live just as an everyday New Yorker does. He wants to position himself as the progressive antidote to Trump. 

But this hunk of a millionaire is the same person responsible for shutting down several hospitals in the state, leading to an overall reduction in hospital beds. Peculiarly, NYC is now scrambling to make makeshift hospital sites for the influx of new patients that will need to be treated. This is the same man who just pushed a plan to cut Medicaid spending by some $400 million during a pandemic. The same man who uses prison labor to bottle hand sanitizer and refuses to release inmates from overcrowded jails, even as coronavirus spreads. At the same time this man pretends to care about the working class, he appoints private equity vultures like William Mulrow and Stephen Cohen as key individuals in “rebuilding New York’s economy.”  He isn’t one of us. 

Buddy, Mr. Cuomo, I am talking directly to you, your family knows nothing about the hardship a working class family is enduring. You know nothing about the struggle working class New Yorkers face. You know nothing about the struggle of the patient I spoke with today who is currently living in one of the crowded shelters of NYC, pregnant, with coronavirus. One of the shelters that is so crowded because you and every other capitalist politician allow hundreds of thousands of apartments in New York City to stay vacant so your elite friends can turn a profit. .

We Are All in This Together?

Now that we see coronavirus exposing all of the contradictions of the capitalist system, billionaires want to pretend we are all equal in the fight against the virus. They are suggesting that we’re all in this together. Bezos recently suggested that the public donate to the company’s “Amazon Relief Fund” established to support workers under financial distress. Amazon’s child company, Whole Foods, suggested that workers share sick leave with other workers who need to take time off. Meanwhile these companies pay ZERO DOLLARS in taxes. 

The world’s richest man, who runs a company that is worth over $1 trillion, could individually cover any expense of every one of his employees and not bat an eyelash. If anything we should take every dime this criminal has accumulated by exploiting his workers and give it back to the public.  

We are all “in this fight together”–as the corporate elite likes to claim– yet hospitals are postponing buying ventilators because they are concerned about their bottom line, despite the coming catastrophe health care providers like myself know is on the horizon. We are all “in this fight together,” yet investment bankers are pushing medical supply companies and drug firms to consider ways they can increase profits from this crisis. 

The only positive I see in the pandemic is it is finally exposing capitalism for what it is: a parasitic system, run by a parasitic class that does not give a shit about the planet or the general public. Working people need to stick together during this crisis, but we also need to understand who our enemies are: the capitalists and the economic system that has led us into this mess in the first place.

Mike is an activist and medical doctor working in New York City. This article originally appeared on LeftVoice here.

The post Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

[lauramalchowblog]

Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus

By MIKE PAPPAS, MD

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, millionaires and billionaires, who have been key to oppressing the working class, are trying to position themselves as everyday Americans. We need to understand them for what they are: beneficiaries and key supporters of the capitalist system that helped create this crisis.

My name is Mike. I’m a physician in NYC working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m also a socialist and member of Left Voice.

It was recently reported that a 17-year-old boy in Lancaster, California died suddenly, likely of coronavirus. The boy, who had no previous health conditions, was sick for only a few days. On Friday he was healthy and by Wednesday he was dead. On Wednesday, he went to urgent care as he was not feeling well, but since he had no health insurance, the urgent care center declined to treat him. He was directed to transfer to a nearby hospital, but en route, he went into cardiac arrest. He arrived at the nearby hospital, was revived, but died hours later.

In a YouTube address, the Mayor of Lancaster, Rex Parris gave his condolences. “We have lost” a 17 year old boy, he said. No, no, no, a 17 year old boy was killed on Wednesday night. A 17 year old boy was killed by a capitalist economic system and a for profit health care system that puts profit accumulation above all else. Explain to me how we can live in a country that allows one man to have a net worth over $100 billion, but still allows for someone to be “turned away” due to their health insurance status?

Let me be clear, the for profit health care system killed this boy–just as it has killed many others from either denying them care or from economically destroying patients and their families. In this system health and well being are secondary to profit accumulation, period.

It’s interesting that politicians like Parris continue to use this type of passive language to misidentify the real problems at hand. They never remotely touch upon how their maintenance of exploitative, oppressive systems may be to blame. Let’s take another politician as an example, shall we? 

Cuomo, Liberal Elite’s New Darling

America’s new darling New York Governor Andrew Cuomo–oh, isn’t he just so dreamy?

Each day I have not been working in the clinic or hospital, I have watched Cuomo’s daily address where I have seen him identify his family as if they are normal, everyday members of the working class. He speaks of how the coronavirus could affect his mom or his sister as if they live just as an everyday New Yorker does. He wants to position himself as the progressive antidote to Trump. 

But this hunk of a millionaire is the same person responsible for shutting down several hospitals in the state, leading to an overall reduction in hospital beds. Peculiarly, NYC is now scrambling to make makeshift hospital sites for the influx of new patients that will need to be treated. This is the same man who just pushed a plan to cut Medicaid spending by some $400 million during a pandemic. The same man who uses prison labor to bottle hand sanitizer and refuses to release inmates from overcrowded jails, even as coronavirus spreads. At the same time this man pretends to care about the working class, he appoints private equity vultures like William Mulrow and Stephen Cohen as key individuals in “rebuilding New York’s economy.”  He isn’t one of us. 

Buddy, Mr. Cuomo, I am talking directly to you, your family knows nothing about the hardship a working class family is enduring. You know nothing about the struggle working class New Yorkers face. You know nothing about the struggle of the patient I spoke with today who is currently living in one of the crowded shelters of NYC, pregnant, with coronavirus. One of the shelters that is so crowded because you and every other capitalist politician allow hundreds of thousands of apartments in New York City to stay vacant so your elite friends can turn a profit. .

We Are All in This Together?

Now that we see coronavirus exposing all of the contradictions of the capitalist system, billionaires want to pretend we are all equal in the fight against the virus. They are suggesting that we’re all in this together. Bezos recently suggested that the public donate to the company’s “Amazon Relief Fund” established to support workers under financial distress. Amazon’s child company, Whole Foods, suggested that workers share sick leave with other workers who need to take time off. Meanwhile these companies pay ZERO DOLLARS in taxes. 

The world’s richest man, who runs a company that is worth over $1 trillion, could individually cover any expense of every one of his employees and not bat an eyelash. If anything we should take every dime this criminal has accumulated by exploiting his workers and give it back to the public.  

We are all “in this fight together”–as the corporate elite likes to claim– yet hospitals are postponing buying ventilators because they are concerned about their bottom line, despite the coming catastrophe health care providers like myself know is on the horizon. We are all “in this fight together,” yet investment bankers are pushing medical supply companies and drug firms to consider ways they can increase profits from this crisis. 

The only positive I see in the pandemic, is it is finally exposing capitalism for what it is: a parasitic system, run by a parasitic class that does not give a shit about the planet or the general public. Working people need to stick together during this crisis, but we also need to understand who our enemies are: the capitalists and the economic system that has led us into this mess in the first place.

Mike is an activist and medical doctor working in New York City.

The post Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

[nickgossett]

11 Years...No Longer a Boy, But Not Yet a Man...

Keaton-

On a crazy day in May, eleven years ago, you came barreling into this world full speed and you have not slowed down since.

For eleven fast, yet slow years, I’ve tried my best to teach you as best I can through my words and my example. I will readily admit that some days have been far easier than others. What I never really realized until a few days ago, is that during these past 11 years while I was trying so hard to teach you all these things, you were actually teaching me quite a few things as well.  So I want to list a few of them and thank you for them as well.

1. In Your Eyes, I’m the Best.

Being a dad is so hard every single day. I have so many days where I ask myself "Am i doing this right?” “Am I fucking this up?...Will he be talking about me to some doctor on a couch when he’s in his 30′s?” And whenever I feel that way and begin to question what kind of father I am, you are always there to remind me, that I am the best dad in the whole world. You even still let me be your dad every once in awhile.

2.  These Days Will Surely Pass.

One thing I’ve learned long ago is that the days themselves may seem long, but the years? My how they are short.  Either way, both will pass and the time will tick on whether you want it to or not.  Whether I’m ready for my alarm to buzz for the next day or I would rather sleep in, it does not matter, because that next day is here. No matter how hard you pray to stop it, slow down to enjoy it, or speed through it, these days will begin and they will end;  just as the day before it did- just as the day after will.  And those days turn into weeks, and those weeks... months, and those months... years.  You are 11 and you’re brother is 8. I start to get sad when I remember that in a few even shorter years, you will be driving and working, graduating, going to college...It’s all seems like a lifetime away, but it’s all going to happen so soon.

3.  Winning Isn’t Everything.

You are absolutely one of the most competitive 11 year olds in this entire universe.  You love about every sport under the sun!  As I watched you play sports over the past 6+ years even though I’ve always know this to be true, but never really understood, that the score of the game doesn’t really matter.  It’s never about winning. It’s so much more about the friendships you gain, the discipline you receive, the fun you have… those are the things that matter.  I’ve told you more than once that I never judge your success by the Wins and Losses or the number of tackles and sacks you have. I always judge it on how much better a player you are at the end of they year, and you have not let me down yet!

4.  Accept the Things I Cannot Change

There’s a prayer that ends that way and I used to hear it alot in AA/NA meetings with your MeeMaw and Pappa Mike. It’s taken me quite a few years to learn this lesson, but I think I’ve finally got it. Some things are the way they are, some people will never change, and allowing either of these things to spill over into your life will only cause you further agony. You do not dwell on things much, aside from Xbox time, and you let things roll off like water on a duck’s back most of the time. From the tantrums your brother throws at you, the constant denial of Xbox time, to not getting to play on the football team you wanted to last year. You just roll on and make the best of it. In fact, I think you had a ton of fun with those guys last year! You even got to be a teacher for the new guys. It was awesome to watch. Either way, you’ve taught me to accept these things and move forward,  And I’m pretty sure I’m a better person because of it.

5.  We Are All a Little Crazy...and That’s OK

This one is self explanatory...Everyone has a little crazy in them and it’s ok... Just let it go...

6.  Don’t Strive for Perfection...Find Your Happy Place

This is not to say do not always give 110% and always do your best.  You just have to realize that sometimes your best just isn’t enough and that’s is OK. As long as you are happy in what you are doing, and you are giving your all, that’s what’s important. Perfection is something that does not really exist anyway. Like the song says, “Don’t worry, be happy..”

7.  Kids Jokes are Terrible...Except They Aren’t

I’m sorry son but you and your brother’s jokes are terrible...To your mom and I. But to you guys nothing if more funny. Nothing makes us happier than watching you both hold your pee-pee’s to keep from pissing in your pants from cracking each other up so much. You always inevitably ruin it by beating a dead horse and saying it over and over again 1000 times, each time becoming less funny and more irritating, but it never gets old for you two.

8.  Some of Life’s Worse Moments Will Be the Best Thing That Every Happened To You

Job losses, unexpected deaths, your mom’s brain bleed, I could name 100 times that life has thrown your mom and I curve balls. I’m not saying they all end in sunshine and rainbows, but sometimes when the dust settles you realize that in the end it all works out. Sometimes the path you’re on may be the very one you asked for, just not the way you thought. There will also be times you do not get what you thought you wanted only for something better to come along. Everything happens for a reason. Roll with the punches and know that sometimes God’s greatest gift is an unanswered prayer. He may know more than you do about what you actually NEED versus what you THINK you WANT.

9.  Loving to The Moon and Back...

When you fight with your brother, talk back constantly, or just push me completely past the point of no return, I still love you just as much. Nothing you can say or do will ever make me love you any less. Just as I hope no matter the punishment I give you, or the restrictions I may place on your life, no matter how bad I may fail at this job called fatherhood, I would hope you would never love me any less for it.

10.  NOTHING is Impossible...

From dropping weight, to going back to school, coaching football, all of these things that I have always just sort of put on a shelf because I did not think I had the time or will to do any of them are only possible because you inspire and ask me to do them. You make me want to do these things not only for myself, but to show you that everything is possible with hard work and determination. 

11.  New Love for Life and It’s Purpose...

You and your brother being born completely changed the life of your mother and I. We never think of ourselves first. We make the ultimate sacrifices so you never have to. There’s nothing either of us wouldn’t give up to be at all of both you guys’ games, to be able to stand beside you both through all of your life’s big and small moments. You both have assured in me that my life has a greater purpose. That purpose is to be a better father than mine was, better than his father was, and to hopefully teach you enough to be an even better father than I ever was. Thank you my son for all of the lessons so far, and the one’s I have yet to learn. Happy 11th birthday! I hope it’s the best one yet! PS - You still have Hooters on Saturday!

[nancibmoore]

Takano, Tester Take VA to Task over Proposed Access Standards

Washington D.C. – Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Congressman Mark Takano and Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Senator Jon Tester today led a group of 55 members of Congress to voice their concerns about the VA’s proposed VA MISSION Act access standards that could trigger a massive shift of care from VA facilities to the private sector.

In a letter to the VA, the Members share their disappointments that the VA’s proposed access standards don’t live up to the goal of the VA MISSION Act to get rid of the arbitrary one-size-fits-all approach to veterans’ access to community care.

The Members are urging the Department not to hollow out the VA’s capacity to serve veterans by bypassing VA care for nearly-automatic eligibility for community care. They also criticize the VA’s unacceptable lack of transparency in developing access standards that would hold community providers to lower standards than VA doctors. The Members note that the VA does not know how many veterans will be affected by the proposed access standards and is unable to provide accurate data about how much it will cost taxpayers.

“Given our concerns, we would urge the Agency to re-evaluate the number and type of access standards the Secretary is designating under the VA MISSION Act,” the Members wrote. “We also strongly recommend the VA review its estimates of the budgetary impact of these standards. Finally, we believe that the Department should remain the primary coordinator of care for all veterans, instead of setting up a system where it’s possible that a subset of veterans will never see a VA doctor.”

The Members also note the absence of information on how veterans will be educated on their new health care options.

Additional signees include Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representatives Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.), Raul Grijalva D-Ariz.), Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Denny Heck (D-Wash.), Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), David Trone (D-Md.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Gregorio Sablan (D-Northern Mariana Islands), Michael San Nicolas (D-Guam), David Scott (D-Ga.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Terri Sewell (D-Ala.).

Their letter can be read in full HERE.

  ###

The post Takano, Tester Take VA to Task over Proposed Access Standards appeared first on Battlefield to Boardroom.

Takano, Tester Take VA to Task over Proposed Access Standards

[amutheology]

New Book by PhD Candidate Kevin Clarke on 7 Deadly Sins

Continuing the tradition of academic excellence at AMU Graduate Theology, PhD candidate Kevin M. Clarke recently had his book, The Seven Deadly Sins: Sayings of the Fathers of the Church published by CUA press. With his expertise in patristics and wide familiarity with their thought and writings, Mr. Clarke was able to track down the widely dispersed patristic treatments of the seven deadly sins.

According to the summary

Sacred Scripture did not neatly list the seven deadly sins, so where did this tradition come from? Unsurprisingly, it can be traced back to the Church Fathers. But were there eight or seven? In a sense, the answer is "both." The tradition of the capital sins has a rich development in the patristic era, not only in the presentation of the list of vices but in the preaching and teaching of the early shepherds of the Church. So how do the capital sins spawn other vices in the soul? How does one cultivate the virtues that heal the soul from those vices? How are gluttony and lust related? Is sadness really a vice? How is vainglory different from pride? What role does almsgiving have in soothing the passion of anger? The Fathers of the Church answer these questions and more in this volume.

This book, with a forward by renowned author Mike Aquilina, provides an excellent insight into the origins of the tradition of the seven deadly sins, which in turn adds to our understanding of the valuable insights that can still, and always, be harvested from the wealth of wisdom in the writings of the Fathers.

Below is a brief interview with Mr. Clarke: 

What was the inspiration for this book, and how did it come about? 

I dedicated the book to Father Lamb, both for his influence upon me as a scholar and for his role directly and indirectly in this project coming together. He graciously let me work up the introduction to the book while I was taking his ancients seminar. So that was my "research journal," as those who have taken his ancients colloquium understand. It was especially a Lambian enterprise. I met John Martino, the CUA acquisitions editor, at the conference honoring Father Lamb. John got in touch with me that August about producing this book, and I was very excited to take on the project because of how I knew it would plunge me into monastic studies. I was able to focus especially on Evagrius, John Cassian, Gregory the Great, Maximus the Confessor. Father Lamb, being the Augustine expert that he was, pointed me to a place in the confessions where Augustine seems to enumerate a list of deadly sins himself.

Did you find it challenging to complete the book while still a student?

While it is usually discouraged to produce a book while one is working on doctoral studies—and indeed this project did consume a good bit of my research time during the summer of 2016—it nonetheless gave me the confidence that, "hey, I made a book. Maybe dissertations are kind of like that." In a lot of ways it has been easier to write my dissertation than to produce this book. Certainly, my dissertation is a more academic work, but there is something easier about recording one's own thoughts than the constant research and discovery of patristic quotes. The seven chapters of the book corresponding to the seven deadly sins have between 80 and 100 quotes from the church fathers, each of which were carefully read, discriminated, and included. For every one that I included, there were a dozen that I didn't include. Plus, everyone that I included is the most concise version of itself without sacrificing the context. I didn't want these to be like a Twitter stream of patristic quotes, on the one hand, but I didn't want them to be too long either. Some are a bit longer than others though. A few I translated directly. That is always fun for me.

Has this book been a part of further projects? I have already used the fruit of this research last summer at the Pappas Patristics institute in Brookline, Massachusetts, where I taught a weeklong course on the fathers of the church and the capital vices. I will be teaching the same course in June, so hopefully those who take the class will be able to receive a copy of the book. Really, the book is perfect for what Bruce Beck likes to do at the Institute.

When will the book be available for purchase?

I think the book should be available for purchase any day now. You can pre-order it on Amazon already.

[backpaindoctor]

Mike Pappas, D.O. (by HealthPlusllc)

[kristinsimmons]

Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus

By MIKE PAPPAS, MD

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, millionaires and billionaires, who have been key to oppressing the working class, are trying to position themselves as everyday Americans. We need to understand them for what they are: beneficiaries and key supporters of the capitalist system that helped create this crisis.

My name is Mike. I’m a physician in NYC working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m also a socialist and member of Left Voice.

It was recently reported that a 17-year-old boy in Lancaster, California died suddenly, likely of coronavirus. The boy, who had no previous health conditions, was sick for only a few days. On Friday he was healthy and by Wednesday he was dead. On Wednesday, he went to urgent care as he was not feeling well, but since he had no health insurance, the urgent care center declined to treat him. He was directed to transfer to a nearby hospital, but en route, he went into cardiac arrest. He arrived at the nearby hospital, was revived, but died hours later.

In a YouTube address, the Mayor of Lancaster, Rex Parris gave his condolences. “We have lost” a 17 year old boy, he said. No, no, no, a 17 year old boy was killed on Wednesday night. A 17 year old boy was killed by a capitalist economic system and a for profit health care system that puts profit accumulation above all else. Explain to me how we can live in a country that allows one man to have a net worth over $100 billion, but still allows for someone to be “turned away” due to their health insurance status?

Let me be clear, the for profit health care system killed this boy–just as it has killed many others from either denying them care or from economically destroying patients and their families. In this system health and well being are secondary to profit accumulation, period.

It’s interesting that politicians like Parris continue to use this type of passive language to misidentify the real problems at hand. They never remotely touch upon how their maintenance of exploitative, oppressive systems may be to blame. Let’s take another politician as an example, shall we? 

Cuomo, Liberal Elite’s New Darling

America’s new darling New York Governor Andrew Cuomo–oh, isn’t he just so dreamy?

Each day I have not been working in the clinic or hospital, I have watched Cuomo’s daily address where I have seen him identify his family as if they are normal, everyday members of the working class. He speaks of how the coronavirus could affect his mom or his sister as if they live just as an everyday New Yorker does. He wants to position himself as the progressive antidote to Trump. 

But this hunk of a millionaire is the same person responsible for shutting down several hospitals in the state, leading to an overall reduction in hospital beds. Peculiarly, NYC is now scrambling to make makeshift hospital sites for the influx of new patients that will need to be treated. This is the same man who just pushed a plan to cut Medicaid spending by some $400 million during a pandemic. The same man who uses prison labor to bottle hand sanitizer and refuses to release inmates from overcrowded jails, even as coronavirus spreads. At the same time this man pretends to care about the working class, he appoints private equity vultures like William Mulrow and Stephen Cohen as key individuals in “rebuilding New York’s economy.”  He isn’t one of us. 

Buddy, Mr. Cuomo, I am talking directly to you, your family knows nothing about the hardship a working class family is enduring. You know nothing about the struggle working class New Yorkers face. You know nothing about the struggle of the patient I spoke with today who is currently living in one of the crowded shelters of NYC, pregnant, with coronavirus. One of the shelters that is so crowded because you and every other capitalist politician allow hundreds of thousands of apartments in New York City to stay vacant so your elite friends can turn a profit. .

We Are All in This Together?

Now that we see coronavirus exposing all of the contradictions of the capitalist system, billionaires want to pretend we are all equal in the fight against the virus. They are suggesting that we’re all in this together. Bezos recently suggested that the public donate to the company’s “Amazon Relief Fund” established to support workers under financial distress. Amazon’s child company, Whole Foods, suggested that workers share sick leave with other workers who need to take time off. Meanwhile these companies pay ZERO DOLLARS in taxes. 

The world’s richest man, who runs a company that is worth over $1 trillion, could individually cover any expense of every one of his employees and not bat an eyelash. If anything we should take every dime this criminal has accumulated by exploiting his workers and give it back to the public.  

We are all “in this fight together”–as the corporate elite likes to claim– yet hospitals are postponing buying ventilators because they are concerned about their bottom line, despite the coming catastrophe health care providers like myself know is on the horizon. We are all “in this fight together,” yet investment bankers are pushing medical supply companies and drug firms to consider ways they can increase profits from this crisis. 

The only positive I see in the pandemic is it is finally exposing capitalism for what it is: a parasitic system, run by a parasitic class that does not give a shit about the planet or the general public. Working people need to stick together during this crisis, but we also need to understand who our enemies are: the capitalists and the economic system that has led us into this mess in the first place.

Mike is an activist and medical doctor working in New York City. This article originally appeared on LeftVoice here.

The post Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

Liberal Elite More Deadly Than Coronavirus published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

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WASHINGTON | The Latest: Ex-NAACP president wins Dem gov nom in Maryland

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/BwqlsY

WASHINGTON | The Latest: Ex-NAACP president wins Dem gov nom in Maryland

WASHINGTON — The Latest on primaries and runoffs in seven states (all times local):

10:45 p.m.

Former NAACP President Ben Jealous has won the Democratic nomination for governor in Maryland, setting up a battle between the liberal candidate and a popular Republican incumbent.

Jealous beat Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker. Both candidates are black, and Jealous now has a shot at becoming the state’s first black governor and the country’s third elected black governor.

Jealous faces Gov. Larry Hogan in the general election.

Jealous won support from leading liberals on the national stage, including Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Kamala Harris of California.

Jealous supports tuition-free college educations and expanding Medicare to all. He also advocates raising teacher pay by 29 percent and funding full-day, universal pre-kindergarten with tax revenue from his proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.

___

10:40 p.m.

Turnout is up significantly in Colorado’s primary, thanks in large part to a new state law allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in the two parties’ nominating contests for the first time.

According to preliminary figures from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, more than 32 percent of the state’s 3.2 million active voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, up from 21 percent in 2016.

Unaffiliated voters, who make up roughly a third of the state’s electorate, represent the bulk of the increase. They cast more than 250,000 votes, or about 8 percentage points of the turnout.

Preliminary voter turnout among members of the two major parties was up about 3 percentage points.

Enthusiasm is one possible factor. Turnout has been high in primary elections across the country, among Democrats in particular. This year’s ballot also had interesting races. Colorado did not have a presidential primary in 2016. This year, both parties have contested gubernatorial primaries atop the ticket.

___

10:35 p.m.

A state senator in South Carolina has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy’s open seat.

William Timmons was nominated after Tuesday’s runoff. He had finished second to former state Sen. Lee Bright in the June 12 primary.

Timmons was the choice of establishment Republicans, picking up a number of endorsements and quiet support. He is similar to Gowdy, who spent eight years in the House and led a highly partisan panel investigating the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Timmons was a prosecutor and successful businessman who spent more than $900,000 of his own money on his campaign.

Timmons will take on businessman Brandon Brown, who won the Democratic runoff Tuesday.

___

10:30 p.m.

Gov. Henry McMaster says he will use his relationship with President Donald Trump to bring prosperity to South Carolina.

McMaster told supporters gathered to celebrate his victory in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial runoff that he was glad to have a friend in the president and knew that the state would benefit from their relationship.

Trump endorsed McMaster in his pursuit of a first full term in office and campaigned for him just hours before polls opened for Tuesday’s voting.

Greenville businessman John Warren congratulated McMaster on his victory but told his own supporters he hoped they could continue their momentum in forging a new brand of conservatism in South Carolina.

___

10:27 p.m.

Mitt Romney has won the Republican primary for a Utah Senate seat, setting him on the path to restart his political career with a Senate seat left open by retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Romney secured the nomination Tuesday against state lawmaker Mike Kennedy after fending off attacks on his onetime criticism of President Donald Trump.

Romney was the heavy favorite to win the race in Utah, where he moved after his failed 2012 presidential run and is a beloved adopted son.

Romney blasted Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, though the two men have largely buried the hatchet, and Romney has accepted the president’s endorsement.

He now faces Democratic Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, though GOP candidates have an upper hand in the conservative state.

___

10:25 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley says he wishes “the best” for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the challenger who beat him in the Democratic congressional primary in New York in a highly unexpected upset.

The 10-term incumbent thanked supporters and expressed his love Tuesday for the people of the 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ocasio-Cortez has never held elected office. She worked for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

She was outspent by an 18-1 margin but won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party’s left, including MoveOn.

Crowley says, “I want nothing but the best for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. I want her to be victorious.”

Crowley had been considered a candidate to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority.

Republican candidate Anthony Pappas is running unopposed.

___

10:20 p.m.

Oklahoma voters have backed the medicinal use of marijuana despite opposition from law enforcement and business, faith and political leaders.

State Question 788 was the result of an activist-led signature drive. It allows physicians to approve medical marijuana licenses for people to legally grow, keep and use cannabis. The proposal doesn’t list any qualifying medical conditions, allowing doctors to prescribe it for a wide range of ailments.

Opponents had argued the proposal was too loosely written, and Republican Gov. Mary Fallin said it would essentially allow recreational use. She recently warned that if the measure passed, she would have to call lawmakers into a special session to develop rules regulating the industry in Oklahoma.

It’s the first marijuana question on a state ballot in 2018. Elections are scheduled for later this year in Michigan and Utah.

___

9:50 p.m.

In a shocking upset, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley has been defeated by a 28-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter in the Democratic congressional primary in New York.

Crowley had been considered a candidate to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority.

He was defeated Tuesday by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has never held elected office.

Ocasio-Cortez ran a low-budget campaign and was outspent by an 18-1 margin. She won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party’s left, including MoveOn.

Crowley has been in Congress since 1999. He represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.

Ocasio-Cortez has been a community organizer in the Bronx and worked on Sanders’ presidential campaign.

___

9:47 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis has won the Democratic primary in the race to replace Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Polis secured the nomination Tuesday against former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne.

Polis is a five-term congressman, former state board of education member and self-made millionaire and philanthropist.

He supports publicly-funded preschool and kindergarten, forgiveness of college debt, single-payer health care and promoting renewable energy.

State law prohibits Hickenlooper from serving a third consecutive term.

Tuesday’s primary was the first in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, could participate in one or the other of the major party primaries.

Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Bill Owens, who served from 1999 to 2007.

___

9:45 p.m.

Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has defeated ex-state Sen. Connie Johnson to win the Democratic nomination in the race to be the state’s next governor.

Edmondson will face the eventual Republican nominee in November.

Edmondson’s victory Tuesday was something he was unable to do in 2010. He was upset in that Democratic primary by then-Lt. Gov. Jari Askins.

The 71-year-old Edmondson is a Vietnam War veteran from Muskogee who served four terms as Oklahoma attorney general and had a huge fundraising advantage over Johnson. The $1.5 million he raised was more than 20 times as much as Johnson, a 66-year-old former state senator from Oklahoma City.

Johnson has been a longtime champion of legalizing marijuana and abolishing the death penalty.

___

9:40 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan has survived a fierce challenge in New York’s Republican primary from Michael Grimm, a former congressman who resigned to go to prison for tax fraud.

Donovan represents New York’s 11th Congressional District, which covers Staten Island and part of Brooklyn.

Grimm served more than seven months in prison after pleading guilty in 2014 to cheating the government out of taxes at his Manhattan restaurant.

He was leading in at least one poll when President Donald Trump weighed in on the race last month, urging voters to stick with Donovan.

Trump said in a tweet that a vote for Grimm risked handing the seat to Democrats.

Donovan is New York City’s only Republican congressman.

He is seeking a third term.

___

9:35 p.m.

Mississippi Democrats have nominated state Rep. David Baria to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, lining up behind a party stalwart as they reject a bid by a newcomer.

Baria is a Bay St. Louis attorney. He beat venture capitalist Howard Sherman of Meridian in Tuesday’s runoff.

Many Democratic politicians backed Baria, the state House minority leader, arguing that Sherman was an unknown quantity. The husband of actress Sela Ward, Sherman voted as a Republican in California and donated to Wicker. Sherman said that was an effort to prevent a tea party conservative from winning office.

Baria says he has the experience to make the uphill campaign against Wicker and be a productive senator.

The Reform Party’s Shawn O’Hara of Hattiesburg and Libertarian Danny Bedwell of Columbus also are running in November.

___

9:30 p.m.

State Treasurer Walker Stapleton has won the Republican primary for Colorado governor.

Stapleton secured the nomination Tuesday against businessmen Victor Mitchell, Doug Robinson and Greg Lopez.

Stapleton led a field that collectively vowed to defend any attempt to tamper with Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which leaves it to voters to approve tax hikes. He also aligned himself with President Donald Trump on immigration, health care and the federal tax plan.

Stapleton has aired an ad in which he states, “I’ll stand with Donald Trump to get illegal aliens who commit crimes deported.” In the ad, Stapleton blames Congress for an immigration policy that separates children from their parents along the border.

State law prohibits Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper from serving a third consecutive term.

___

9:25 p.m.

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin has won the Democratic nomination for his bid to earn a third term, beating Chelsea Manning and six others.

The popular and well-funded incumbent easily took victory in Tuesday’s crowded primary.

Cardin’s best-known rival was Manning, the convicted leaker of U.S. government secrets. She ran an unorthodox, grassroots campaign that failed to resonate with many voters.

Outside Manning’s involvement, the contest attracted such little attention that there were no debates, few candidate forums and hardly any polling.

Cardin has name recognition within the state. He served 20 years in the U.S. House before becoming a senator in 2006. In his last primary, he easily defeated eight challengers.

___

9:15 p.m.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination for a first full term in office, after President Donald Trump publicly embraced him at a rally and followed up with a tweet encouraging voters.

McMaster defeated Greenville businessman John Warren in Tuesday’s primary runoff.

McMaster became governor when Nikki Haley left the office in 2017 to join the Trump administration as U.N. ambassador. As lieutenant governor, McMaster was the first statewide elected official in the country to back Trump’s candidacy.

The runoff pitting McMaster against Warren threatened to embarrass the White House if the governor fell short. Trump has a mixed track record when going all-in for candidates.

McMaster was unsuccessful in his previous bid for the governorship in 2010, losing a four-way GOP primary to Haley.

___

9 p.m.

Polls have now closed in New York and Colorado on a night when seven states are holding primary or runoff elections.

Polls closed in New York and Colorado at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Polls have already closed in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Maryland but remain open in Utah.

New York City’s only Republican congressman will try to hold off a fierce challenge in the state’s primary election from a former congressman trying to make a political comeback after serving prison time for tax fraud. The fight between U.S. Rep. Daniel Donovan and former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm is the most closely watched race in New York congressional primaries.

In Colorado, the contest to succeed Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper tops the primary. He is prevented by term limit laws from running again.

___

8 p.m.

Polls have closed in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Maryland on a night of primary or runoff elections.

Polls closed in those states at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Polls closed an hour earlier in South Carolina, while polls close later Tuesday in Colorado, New York and Utah.

In Maryland, the outcome of races might be delayed because of an issue with voter registration that election officials said could affect as many as 80,000 voters. Those voters tried to change information through the Motor Vehicle Administration, but the MVA didn’t transmit the information to election officials.

In Mississippi, Democratic voters are picking a nominee to challenge an incumbent Republican senator, and Republicans are choosing a congressional nominee for an open seat.

Oklahoma’s gubernatorial race is at the top of the primary election ballot in that state.

___

7 p.m.

Polls have closed in South Carolina as seven states across the nation hold primary or runoff elections.

Polls closed in South Carolina at 7 p.m. for Tuesday’s runoff. Primary elections are also unfolding in Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma and Utah, while a runoff was being held in Mississippi.

President Donald Trump has put his name on the line in several races, especially in South Carolina, where he implored voters at a rally Monday to support incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster over newcomer John Warren. The winner faces Democrat James Smith in November.

Voters in one U.S. House District in South Carolina are also set to pick the replacement for U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy. Former state Sen. Lee Bright takes on state Sen. William Timmons for the Republican nomination in Gowdy’s 4th Congressional District.

___

2:15 p.m.

Maryland residents are voting in a primary amid some confusion created by a major voter-registration snafu.

But election officials say they haven’t received any reports of problems thus far in Tuesday’s elections.

A computer error at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration failed to send changes some voters made in address and party affiliation to the state elections board.

As a result, as many as 80,000 voters could be forced to cast provisional ballots that won’t be counted until next week.

Officials say the problem affects information that was entered either on the administration’s website or at self-serve kiosks.

State elections deputy administrator Nikki Charlson says she hasn’t heard of any problems related to the issue.

___

7 a.m.

Voters in seven states are voting in primary or runoff elections Tuesday. They’re facing decisions on everything from whether to return a convicted felon to Congress to whether marijuana laws should be loosened.

Primary elections are unfolding in Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma and Utah. South Carolina and Mississippi are holding runoffs.

President Trump has put his name on the line in several races, especially in South Carolina, where he implored voters Monday to support incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster. In New York, Rep. Daniel Donovan hopes to avoid becoming the third House Republican to lose a primary this year. His rival is former Rep. Michael Grimm, who went to federal prison for tax evasion.

And in Utah, Mitt Romney is the favorite to win the GOP nomination for Senate.

__

By Associated Press

___

[investmart007]

WASHINGTON | The Latest: Mitt Romney wins GOP primary in Utah Senate race

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/JcNB5E

WASHINGTON | The Latest: Mitt Romney wins GOP primary in Utah Senate race

WASHINGTON— The Latest on primaries and runoffs in seven states (all times local):

10:27 p.m.

Mitt Romney has won the Republican primary for a Utah Senate seat, setting him on the path to restart his political career with a Senate seat left open by retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Romney secured the nomination Tuesday against state lawmaker Mike Kennedy after fending off attacks on his onetime criticism of President Donald Trump.

Romney was the heavy favorite to win the race in Utah, where he moved after his failed 2012 presidential run and is a beloved adopted son.

Romney blasted Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, though the two men have largely buried the hatchet, and Romney has accepted the president’s endorsement.

He now faces Democratic Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, though GOP candidates have an upper hand in the conservative state.

___

10:25 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley says he wishes “the best” for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the challenger who beat him in the Democratic congressional primary in New York in a highly unexpected upset.

The 10-term incumbent thanked supporters and expressed his love Tuesday for the people of the 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ocasio-Cortez has never held elected office. She worked for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.

She was outspent by an 18-1 margin but won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party’s left, including MoveOn.

Crowley says, “I want nothing but the best for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. I want her to be victorious.”

Crowley had been considered a candidate to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority.

Republican candidate Anthony Pappas is running unopposed.

___

10:20 p.m.

Oklahoma voters have backed the medicinal use of marijuana despite opposition from law enforcement and business, faith and political leaders.

State Question 788 was the result of an activist-led signature drive. It allows physicians to approve medical marijuana licenses for people to legally grow, keep and use cannabis. The proposal doesn’t list any qualifying medical conditions, allowing doctors to prescribe it for a wide range of ailments.

Opponents had argued the proposal was too loosely written, and Republican Gov. Mary Fallin said it would essentially allow recreational use. She recently warned that if the measure passed, she would have to call lawmakers into a special session to develop rules regulating the industry in Oklahoma.

It’s the first marijuana question on a state ballot in 2018. Elections are scheduled for later this year in Michigan and Utah.

___

9:50 p.m.

In a shocking upset, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley has been defeated by a 28-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter in the Democratic congressional primary in New York.

Crowley had been considered a candidate to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority.

He was defeated Tuesday by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has never held elected office.

Ocasio-Cortez ran a low-budget campaign and was outspent by an 18-1 margin. She won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party’s left, including MoveOn.

Crowley has been in Congress since 1999. He represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.

Ocasio-Cortez has been a community organizer in the Bronx and worked on Sanders’ presidential campaign.

___

9:47 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis has won the Democratic primary in the race to replace Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Polis secured the nomination Tuesday against former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne.

Polis is a five-term congressman, former state board of education member and self-made millionaire and philanthropist.

He supports publicly-funded preschool and kindergarten, forgiveness of college debt, single-payer health care and promoting renewable energy.

State law prohibits Hickenlooper from serving a third consecutive term.

Tuesday’s primary was the first in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, could participate in one or the other of the major party primaries.

Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Bill Owens, who served from 1999 to 2007.

___

9:45 p.m.

Former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has defeated ex-state Sen. Connie Johnson to win the Democratic nomination in the race to be the state’s next governor.

Edmondson will face the eventual Republican nominee in November.

Edmondson’s victory Tuesday was something he was unable to do in 2010. He was upset in that Democratic primary by then-Lt. Gov. Jari Askins.

The 71-year-old Edmondson is a Vietnam War veteran from Muskogee who served four terms as Oklahoma attorney general and had a huge fundraising advantage over Johnson. The $1.5 million he raised was more than 20 times as much as Johnson, a 66-year-old former state senator from Oklahoma City.

Johnson has been a longtime champion of legalizing marijuana and abolishing the death penalty.

___

9:40 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan has survived a fierce challenge in New York’s Republican primary from Michael Grimm, a former congressman who resigned to go to prison for tax fraud.

Donovan represents New York’s 11th Congressional District, which covers Staten Island and part of Brooklyn.

Grimm served more than seven months in prison after pleading guilty in 2014 to cheating the government out of taxes at his Manhattan restaurant.

He was leading in at least one poll when President Donald Trump weighed in on the race last month, urging voters to stick with Donovan.

Trump said in a tweet that a vote for Grimm risked handing the seat to Democrats.

Donovan is New York City’s only Republican congressman.

He is seeking a third term.

___

9:35 p.m.

Mississippi Democrats have nominated state Rep. David Baria to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, lining up behind a party stalwart as they reject a bid by a newcomer.

Baria is a Bay St. Louis attorney. He beat venture capitalist Howard Sherman of Meridian in Tuesday’s runoff.

Many Democratic politicians backed Baria, the state House minority leader, arguing that Sherman was an unknown quantity. The husband of actress Sela Ward, Sherman voted as a Republican in California and donated to Wicker. Sherman said that was an effort to prevent a tea party conservative from winning office.

Baria says he has the experience to make the uphill campaign against Wicker and be a productive senator.

The Reform Party’s Shawn O’Hara of Hattiesburg and Libertarian Danny Bedwell of Columbus also are running in November.

___

9:30 p.m.

State Treasurer Walker Stapleton has won the Republican primary for Colorado governor.

Stapleton secured the nomination Tuesday against businessmen Victor Mitchell, Doug Robinson and Greg Lopez.

Stapleton led a field that collectively vowed to defend any attempt to tamper with Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which leaves it to voters to approve tax hikes. He also aligned himself with President Donald Trump on immigration, health care and the federal tax plan.

Stapleton has aired an ad in which he states, “I’ll stand with Donald Trump to get illegal aliens who commit crimes deported.” In the ad, Stapleton blames Congress for an immigration policy that separates children from their parents along the border.

State law prohibits Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper from serving a third consecutive term.

___

9:25 p.m.

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin has won the Democratic nomination for his bid to earn a third term, beating Chelsea Manning and six others.

The popular and well-funded incumbent easily took victory in Tuesday’s crowded primary.

Cardin’s best-known rival was Manning, the convicted leaker of U.S. government secrets. She ran an unorthodox, grassroots campaign that failed to resonate with many voters.

Outside Manning’s involvement, the contest attracted such little attention that there were no debates, few candidate forums and hardly any polling.

Cardin has name recognition within the state. He served 20 years in the U.S. House before becoming a senator in 2006. In his last primary, he easily defeated eight challengers.

___

9:15 p.m.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination for a first full term in office, after President Donald Trump publicly embraced him at a rally and followed up with a tweet encouraging voters.

McMaster defeated Greenville businessman John Warren in Tuesday’s primary runoff.

McMaster became governor when Nikki Haley left the office in 2017 to join the Trump administration as U.N. ambassador. As lieutenant governor, McMaster was the first statewide elected official in the country to back Trump’s candidacy.

The runoff pitting McMaster against Warren threatened to embarrass the White House if the governor fell short. Trump has a mixed track record when going all-in for candidates.

McMaster was unsuccessful in his previous bid for the governorship in 2010, losing a four-way GOP primary to Haley.

___

9 p.m.

Polls have now closed in New York and Colorado on a night when seven states are holding primary or runoff elections.

Polls closed in New York and Colorado at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Polls have already closed in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Maryland but remain open in Utah.

New York City’s only Republican congressman will try to hold off a fierce challenge in the state’s primary election from a former congressman trying to make a political comeback after serving prison time for tax fraud. The fight between U.S. Rep. Daniel Donovan and former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm is the most closely watched race in New York congressional primaries.

In Colorado, the contest to succeed Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper tops the primary. He is prevented by term limit laws from running again.

___

8 p.m.

Polls have closed in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Maryland on a night of primary or runoff elections.

Polls closed in those states at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Polls closed an hour earlier in South Carolina, while polls close later Tuesday in Colorado, New York and Utah.

In Maryland, the outcome of races might be delayed because of an issue with voter registration that election officials said could affect as many as 80,000 voters. Those voters tried to change information through the Motor Vehicle Administration, but the MVA didn’t transmit the information to election officials.

In Mississippi, Democratic voters are picking a nominee to challenge an incumbent Republican senator, and Republicans are choosing a congressional nominee for an open seat.

Oklahoma’s gubernatorial race is at the top of the primary election ballot in that state.

___

7 p.m.

Polls have closed in South Carolina as seven states across the nation hold primary or runoff elections.

Polls closed in South Carolina at 7 p.m. for Tuesday’s runoff. Primary elections are also unfolding in Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma and Utah, while a runoff was being held in Mississippi.

President Donald Trump has put his name on the line in several races, especially in South Carolina, where he implored voters at a rally Monday to support incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster over newcomer John Warren. The winner faces Democrat James Smith in November.

Voters in one U.S. House District in South Carolina are also set to pick the replacement for U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy. Former state Sen. Lee Bright takes on state Sen. William Timmons for the Republican nomination in Gowdy’s 4th Congressional District.

___

2:15 p.m.

Maryland residents are voting in a primary amid some confusion created by a major voter-registration snafu.

But election officials say they haven’t received any reports of problems thus far in Tuesday’s elections.

A computer error at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration failed to send changes some voters made in address and party affiliation to the state elections board.

As a result, as many as 80,000 voters could be forced to cast provisional ballots that won’t be counted until next week.

Officials say the problem affects information that was entered either on the administration’s website or at self-serve kiosks.

State elections deputy administrator Nikki Charlson says she hasn’t heard of any problems related to the issue.

___

7 a.m.

Voters in seven states are voting in primary or runoff elections Tuesday. They’re facing decisions on everything from whether to return a convicted felon to Congress to whether marijuana laws should be loosened.

Primary elections are unfolding in Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma and Utah. South Carolina and Mississippi are holding runoffs.

President Trump has put his name on the line in several races, especially in South Carolina, where he implored voters Monday to support incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster. In New York, Rep. Daniel Donovan hopes to avoid becoming the third House Republican to lose a primary this year. His rival is former Rep. Michael Grimm, who went to federal prison for tax evasion.

And in Utah, Mitt Romney is the favorite to win the GOP nomination for Senate.

__

By Associated Press

___