“IS IT TRUE” MARCH 29, 2020
We hope that today’s “IS IT TRUEâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?
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IS IT TRUE our “READERS POLLS†are non-scientific but trendy?
Senator Braun’s Weekly Update | COVID-19 Relief for Hoosier Workers & Small Businesses
WATCH: Senator Mike Braun’s speech on the Senate floor on flattening the coronavirus curve without flattening our economy, and how Hoosiers will do their part to arrest the spread of the virus.
Senator Braun joined Pete Hegseth on Fox and Friends on Saturday morning to discuss the negotiations of the second phase of coronavirus federal relief legislation, planned to be voted on tomorrow.
Senator Braun discussed the small business portion of the package, how to most effectively get help in to the hands of workers and small businesses who need it most, and how to fight the virus fully while limiting irreversible damage to the economy.
We need to put a hard wall of protection around the most vulnerable, because this is about saving lives. Also, being smart about treating places like New York and Washington and California differently, where the preponderance of cases are.
I’m going to rely on the medical experts when it comes to what we have to do on the healthcare portion, and I like that we’ve thrown everything at this, but when we get beyond the end of this 14 day stretch and we may have irreversible long term economic damage.Â
Let’s be smart about it, evaluate what’s worked and what hasn’t, and we’ll adjust where we need to.Â
Senator Braun joined MSNBC Live to discuss the state of bipartisan negotiations over coronavirus federal relief and his priority of getting relief directly to small businesses and workers who have been displaced by government orders to shutter businesses.
Senator Mike Braun joined The Ingraham Angle to discuss the way forward on the coronavirus relief phase 3 to get immediate help to small businesses after negotiations stalled.
NPR’s Noel King speaks with Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana about the third phase of coronavirus relief package that has congressional Republicans and Democrats at odds.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “highjacked†bipartisan negotiations to the detriment of the American public’s health.
Pelosi and Schumer decided to nix bipartisan negotiations over the third phase of the congressional coronavirus response package on Sunday. Instead, Pelosi decided to craft her own bill in the House, which would significantly delay the American people’s and businesses’ ability to receive relief in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Senator Braun joined Stu Varney on Fox Business to discuss the break down on negotiations for the coronavirus relief package and the way forward to getting a bipartisan consensus on what matters most: relief for small businesses and waged earners who are going without a paycheck due to efforts to stop the spread.
Senator Mike Braun delivered a speech on the Senate floor last Thursday evening on the need to get aid into the hands of small businesses and workers immediately, but to evaluate the efficacy of shutdown measures in 2 weeks to ensure we’re not causing unnecessary irreversible damage to the economy.
Senator Braun joined Varney & Co. to discuss the needs of small businesses during the coronavirus crisis.
Senator Braun joined Bloomberg’s Balance of Power with David Westin to discuss accountability measures on loans given to large employers to keep employees on their payroll in the coronavirus relief package.
To subscribe to this newsletter and see other updates from Senator Braun, visit his official website.
To unsubscribe from Senator Braun’s Weekly Update, please contact press@braun.senate.gov.Â
Health, Sex And Coronavirus: How Does Sexual Intimacy Change During A Pandemic?
Health, Sex And Coronavirus: How Does Sexual Intimacy Change During A Pandemic?
Elizabeth and her husband have found a way to cope, though. Sex, and lots of it.
As the coronavirus has spread and calls for all Americans to engage in social distancing and self-quarantining practices have increased, how and when Americans have sex is changing.
“We’re both really embracing this as time together rather than using it to stress out,†Elizabeth tells me.(The names of some people interviewed below have been changed for privacy reasons.) “There’s fear in general, sure — there are people that I love that are at a higher risk — but sex has definitely been a distraction for us. It’s finally a moment when we’re not thinking about or talking about this virus.â€
As the coronavirus has spread and calls for all Americans to engage in social distancing and self-quarantining practices have increased, how and when Americans have sex is changing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people stay at least 6 feet away from each other at all times unless they live with a partner or family member. That amount of distance certainly curtails the possibility of physical contact with a relative stranger, meaning dating — casual or not — is indefinitely on hold for many people around the country. And since research has shown touch to be beneficial to both our physical and mental health, these necessary precautions are nothing short of frustrating for those of us who crave that level of intimacy but are being denied it in the name of the greater good.
But even for those spending more time than normal with their partners, the dynamic is more complicated. For some, it is a welcomed distraction, but for others, the anxiety of the situation has banished intimacy. Are we likely to see a baby boom that tends to follow disasters, á la Hurricane Sandy? Probably. Sex can be a great stress reliever. But if you’re feeling an aversion to sex, whether it be with your partner or yourself, know that your reaction, too, is typical. There is no one “right” way to handle unprecedented moments such as these.
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As a psychologist specializing in women’s reproductive and maternal mental health, I know firsthand and through the various stories, my patients share with me that sex can be complicated and multifaceted. Life circumstances have a way of making their way into the bedroom, but what can occur there can also help us mitigate that stress. Numerous studies have found that more sex equals less stress, and a lack of sex can contribute to depression and a lower sense of self-worth. So it comes as no surprise to me, then, that when I polled my Instagram community of over 46,000 followers about whether the coronavirus pandemic was helping or hurting their sex lives, responses were split almost down the middle: Fifty-two percent said their sex life had improved, and 48 percent said it was stunted.
“I think being more sexually intimate has created this sense of security,†a teacher and mother of one living in Kansas City, Missouri, who asked to speak with me anonymously, said. “We’re at home, not leaving, and trying to follow guidelines from the CDC and the government and just stay inside and not see anyone, and having that emotional release and the endorphins that come from it makes you feel more secure and grateful for that relationship.â€
If you are among those interested in sex, it can be a welcome release amid a near-constant news cycle saturated by the virus and the government’s response to it. Living with a loved one also doesn’t mean you can’t get lonely. As long as the person you’re engaging with is a partner you’re planning on spending your self-quarantine time with — someone who wouldn’t be able to unknowingly infect you, or who you wouldn’t unknowingly be able to infect only to have them leave and infect others — being present in your physical body during the act of sex can be a grounding experience.
“Neither one of us have been exposed to the virus as far as we know, so we don’t have an issue being intimate with each other because they fear of transmitting it to one another seems almost nonexistent,†Megan, 20, who lives in Minneapolis and is engaged to be married, said. “Since we’re both working and going to school, we don’t get to spend too much time during the day together. Now that we’re practicing social distancing, we have more time together, which sometimes means more time to engage in our sex life.â€
Still, it is normal and unsurprising that this isn’t a universal experience. “This past week has been so stressful all the way around that it’s tough to put things out of my mind and really connect with my partner,†Nina, 28, who has a 2-year-old daughter and lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, tells me. “We’ve decided to delay trying for a second baby until this blows over. So in a way, there’s less ‘pressure’ on being intimate this month in terms of trying to conceive purposes.â€
Forcing intimacy isn’t beneficial — it’s potentially harmful. If you want to be left alone and sit still in this moment, it’s far better to follow that impulse.
Women often feel pressured to have sex when they’re in a monogamous relationship. And now, the pressure to be busy in a time of forced quarantine has, in many ways, increased that pressure. We’re being told now is the time to write that book — after all, Shakespeare was productive during isolation — and to create color-coded schedules for our children and fill every second of our mandated seclusion being productive. But forcing intimacy isn’t beneficial — it’s potentially harmful. If you want to be left alone and sit still at this moment, it’s far better to follow that impulse then to force yourself into being physically intimate.
And the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy is also something to consider. For Elizabeth, who was in the middle of infertility treatments prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and who has been diagnosed with recurrent miscarriages, the potential for the increase in sex to result in a positive pregnancy test is something she and her husband have considered. They fear that if she miscarries again, “I wouldn’t have access to my fertility clinic or the medical care that I need,†she said. “So yeah, it’s definitely a big fear right now, and we’ve talked about using contraceptives again because there’s just so much unknown.â€
We are in uncharted territory. Sex may be a comforting constant or completely uninteresting, but know they are both normal reactions in an otherwise abnormal time.
“I think we’re all craving a little bit of control throughout this,†Nina says. “We’re finding more time for bigger conversations, which I think fuels a more intimate relationship. It really puts everything into perspective, as far as what’s important to us, not only now but in the future.â€
PUBLIC NOTICE OF RELOCATION OF PUBLIC MEETING OF THE EVANSVILLE CITY COUNCIL
The Evansville City Council will meet on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. in the Locust Meeting Rooms “BC†of the Old National Events Plaza (“ONEPâ€) at 715 Locust Street in Evansville, Indiana.
The public is welcome to attend, but, pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order 20-04, 20-08 and 20-09, the Statement and General Guidance of the Public Access Counselor Regarding the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Event, and CDC and ISDH requirements: Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 10 people. In accordance with the PAC guidelines, the following accommodations will be made:
- A portion of those individuals present must include representatives from the media or the public (with priority given to the media).
- Access into ONEP will be limited to the Locust 2 Door
- No admittance will be allowed until five (5) minutes before the start of the meeting.
- Admittance into ONEP will be limited to 10 persons
- Other reasonable restriction on social distancing and movement may be made at the discretion ofthe President
- No public comment will be allowed
- Any person attempting to enter may be subject to denial if displaying symptoms of COVID-19Notices and agendas for public meetings may be posted solely by electronic means during the duration of the Governor’s Emergency Declaration
- 03-30-20 Agenda
Indiana Could Peak In COVID-19 Cases In Mid-To-Late April
By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS- State health officials said Friday that coronavirus cases in Indiana probably won’t peak until mid-to-late April as they noted the daily tally of the disease—nearly 1,000 cases statewide and 17 deaths.
The numbers of people who tested positive jumped by 336 from Thursday to Friday and seven more people died, said Dr. Kristina Box, state health commissioner. And those are only the cases that have been confirmed by a test and reported to the Indiana State Department of Health.
“I want to send my deepest sympathies to the seven new individuals that we had to post, to their families, to their communities, to their friends for their loss,†Box said.
Three days into Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home executive order which requires Hoosiers whose jobs are not essential to remain home, he said the state is preparing for the surge in COVID-19 cases.
“We don’t see the peak yet, these numbers are compounding,†Holcomb said. “This is like a snowball that’s rolling downhill and getting bigger and bigger and bigger.â€
When asked if he plans to extend the stay-at-home order, he said he is making decisions day-by-day and will wait closer to the end date of April 7 to decide.
“We will if need be, but we track it daily and we’re in a two-week period, we’re on day three. We’ll let the umbers drive it,†he said. “When you see the positive cases double, and when you see the deaths double, is sobering every single day, and to know that’s coming tomorrow, that’s the urgency about this all.â€
The state health department has begun to report age and gender of those who have tested positive for the virus, along with the daily numbers by county, but has provided no additional information on the Hoosiers who have died.
Neither is the state providing details about the numbers of intensive care unit beds or ventilators available to care for those who are sickest with the virus, also known as COVID-19. Box said she has the numbers and knows where they are through her regular consultations with hospitals and other medical facilities.
Holcomb said the main worry about providing specific numbers—as governors in other states have done—is violating agreements with the hospitals. He said he will work toward sharing information with the public as the state approaches a surge in cases.
“We will look forward to supplying you with regional information that wouldn’t compromise the agreement or contract that we have in place with our hospitals. We’ll do everything we can to be transparent,†Holcomb said.
Woody Myers, a former state health commissioner and the Democratic nominee for governor, said in a statement that there should be more transparency from Box and Holcomb about the number of ICU beds and ventilators the state has and other information on the positive cases in the state, including if they were hospitalized or not.
“There’s zero reason not to make this critical information available right now. Health care professionals need to know, but it should also be available to all Hoosiers,†Myers said.
Nationally, the United State became the country with the most cases of COVID-19 when the number of people infected soared past 100,000. The rising numbers has mayors across the country worried about having enough test kits, protective gear and ventilators to take care of their sick people.
Of those surveyed, 91.5% of the cities said they do not have an adequate supply of face masks for their first responders and medical personnel; 88.2% said they do not have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) other than face masks to protect these workers; and 92.1% said they do not have an adequate supply of test kits.
The Miami Correctional Facility is working to help meet some Hoosier needs by repurposing production lines to produce face masks, gowns and hand sanitizer.
“Production of these items will lessen the strain on the supply chain, leaving more of these products available for Hoosiers,†Holcomb said.
COVID-19 continues to take a toll on all aspects of life across the state as the number of people losing jobs rises.
On Friday, Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, and Rep. Rita Fleming, D-Jeffersonville, authored a letter to Holcomb Friday to urge him to open state exchange and expand eligibility for the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP).
The letter asked Holcomb to temporarily raise the maximum income eligibility for HIP, implement continuous eligibility for one year starting April 1 and expand eligibility for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
“Giving more Hoosiers a path to coverage will benefit all aspects of our state’s health care system through this difficult and costly public health emergency,†the letter said.
Holcomb, at the press conference, said he hadn’t yet seen the letter but added, “We’ll make sure that we’re there for Hoosiers who need it the most.â€
Victoria Ratliff is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
February Indiana Employment Report
INDIANAPOLIS (March 27, 2020) – Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.1 percent for February and remains lower than the national rate of 3.5 percent. The monthly unemployment rate is a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicator that reflects the number of unemployed people seeking employment within the prior four weeks as a percentage of the labor force.
Indiana’s labor force had a net increase of 3,114 over the previous month. This was a result of a decrease of 1,599 unemployed residents and an increase of 4,713 employed residents. Indiana’s total labor force, which includes both Hoosiers employed and those seeking employment, stands at 3.39 million, and the state’s 64.4 percent labor force participation rate remains above the national rate of 63.4 percent.
Learn more about how unemployment rates are calculated here: http://www.hoosierdata.in.gov/infographics/employment-status.asp.
Employment by Sector
Private sector employment has decreased by 800 over the year and has grown by 3,900 over the previous month. The monthly increase is primarily due to gains in the Private Educational & Health Services (2,300) and the Construction (1,600) sectors. Gains were partially offset by losses in the Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-1,500) and the Professional and Business Services (-300) sectors. Total private employment stands at 2,748,000, which is 1,300 below the January 2019 peak.
Midwest Unemployment Rates
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EDITOR’S NOTES:
Data are sourced from February Current Employment Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
February employment data for Indiana Counties, Cities and MSAs will be available Monday, March 30, 2020, at noon (Eastern) pending U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics validation.
BIRTHDAYS IN MARCH OF 2020
BIRTHDAYS IN MARCH OF 2020
BEN SHOULDERS
CHUCK YOUNG
DARREN STEARN
JERRI ORPURET
KEN ROBINSON
LEAH N. SPIVEY
LYDIA JOHNSON
DELBERT (BUDDY) HUDSONÂ
FRED Â AA. EMORY
REBECCA BUDDE
KEITH GANDER
MELINDA MACKEY
BECY BATEMAN
DANIEL KISNER
BARB MENKE
DEBBIE KELLER
RICK MCPHERSON
WARD SHAW
JOHN ROGERS III
KEVIN WATERS
VICKI NELSON
SHARON BARON
JERRY WILLIAMS
JOE KRATOCHVILL
MICHAEL PEARCE
RICK DAVIS