Today on Sojourner Truth:
The COVID-19 virus is once again spiking across the United States, infecting hundreds of thousands of people and forcing states to shut down. Over a million new cases have been confirmed over the past week as elected officials in all 50 states have reported higher infection rates, according to The New York Times. Texas, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Oregon are among 39 states that have set weekly case records in the last few days. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to set new records, with more than 73,000 patients in the hospital on Monday, November 16, according to the Covid Tracking Project. That figure has remained above 61,000 for the past week. Deaths from COVID-19 are also on the uptick, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a countrywide average of more than 1,100 a day. Overall, 248,429 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States, with over 11.3 million people being infected, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. Our guest is Dr. David Himmelstein, a Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the City University of New York, a lecturer in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care doctor in The Bronx. Dr. Himmelstein co-founded Physicians for a National Health Program, a group whose 23,000 members advocate for Medicare for All.
As Donald Trump continues to claim election fraud, President-elect Joe Biden is busy assembling his inner team of White House advisers and Cabinet officials. Ten people have been appointed thus far, seven of which include women and people of color. Biden will also nominate officials to head the federal government's domestic and international security teams. Despite the President-elect receiving praise for hiring women and people of color, many are concerned about his top picks for security and defense. Susan Rice, who is being considered for Secretary of State, backed the invasion of Iraq and echoed the long debunked claim that there were weapons of mass destruction there. Tony Blinken, who is being considered for National Security Adviser, supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under former President Barack Obama. And Michle Flournoy, who is being considered for Secretary of Defence, also called for preemptive strikes against Iraq. Our guest is Mariamne Everett, who recently wrote the piece "Biden: A War Cabinet?" She is an intern at the Institute for Public Accuracy and radio presenter with World Radio Paris where she hosts the podcast Hidden Paris, about the hidden cultural & social aspects and places of the City of Lights.
Also, our weekly Earth Minute presented by Theresa Church of the Global Justice Ecology Project and our weekly Campaigners for Black Lives segment featuring Akili. He is a core team member of Black Lives Matters Los Angeles, Director of the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute and Project Coordinator for Corporate Accountability, which wages strategic campaigns that compel transnational corporations to stop destroying our health, human rights, democracy, and our planet.
