This season of American Gods has really taken a turn
Behold GABRIEL, angel of the Fifth Mansion, called Alchatay; they grant safe return from long journeys; they instruct scholars; they build up and do not tear down; from their right hand comes health, from the left, goodwill.
Behold ENEDIEL, angel of the Second Mansion, called Albochan the belly of Aries; with their aid may treasures be found, by their strength are captives restrained; with the right hand they sow, with the left, they reap.
Behold DIRACHIEL, angel of the Sixth Mansion, called Athanna the little star of great light; they aid in the hunting of beasts, and in war and siege, which is the hunting of man; to them is given the destruction of harvest and fruit; by their hand is the physician confounded.
Behold AMNIXIEL, angel of the Twenty-Eighth Mansion, called Albotham or Pisces; in their right hand is increase and marital joy; in their right hand is protection for the traveler in the wild places; but their left takes away treasure and strengthens the prison. 
Behold AMUTIEL, angel of the Nineteenth Mansion, called Allatha the tail of Scorpio; their blessing is the fall of cities, their favor is found in sieges; the flight of people from home is their laughter; it is their hands that lock the gaol and destroy its key.
Behold BARBIEL, angel of the Ninth Mansion, called Archaam the eye of the lion; they hinder harvest; the broken bridge is their doing, and the flooded road, and the injured horse; their delight is in petty strife between men.3 Comments
Tags: art, fashion, religion, the future
The restaurant industry's moral dilemma
Stay open or close down
Open for deliveries of pizza and cocktails, because what the hell else can we do?Food businesses shouldn't have to balance the fates of their employees with public safety. That's an inhuman moral dilemma and a completely capitalist fabrication. A choice you make because, if you choose otherwise, people in your employ will lose live-saving health coverage or stable housing, is not a choice. What is the point of preserving someone's life while also ruining it?
To close temporarily, even for a week, is incredibly punishing to the vast majority of food businesses. They are still on the hook for rent, utilities, sales taxes, benefits and payroll taxes.
Closing would be even more punishing for those who work at those businesses: members of the working class who still need to pay for rent, health care, and various debts. Unemployment benefits can help allay some of those costs. But many food industry workers make the majority of their income from tips, and these are not counted when determining benefits. And according to a 2008 report by the Pew Hispanic Center, 20% of restaurant workers are undocumented but, despite the fact that they pay into that system, are ineligible for those payments. [...]
What we've seen so far from the federal government has not made the decision to close easier. According to the Small Business Administration's guidelines for the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), issued April 2, what was pitched as a forgiveable business loan with a 10-year repayment plan has morphed into one that must be repaid in 2 years with 1% interest.
If a business doesn't rehire all of its staff by June 30, a large chunk of that loan will qualify as non-forgiveable. It's unimaginable that restaurants will recover enough to rehire their entire pre-coronavirus staffs even by the end of 2020. [...] And even though evictions have been put on hold by San Francisco, commercial and residential landlords still have the right to demand rent be paid in full at in the future. The result is a ticking time bomb: We might see restaurants come back from this in May, only to shutter en masse when they have to start paying back their loans and deferred rent.
