Ken Scott Baron Podcast

Ken and Demetrius talk about the Battle for the Senate in Georgia in Jan 2021

Unreasonable use of force

The Supreme Court has decided to limit damage suits against government officials in Hernandez vs. Mesa. However, the court’s more liberal justices dissented from the ruling.

On the border between the United States and Mexico, controlled by the United States, U.S. Border Patrol agent Jesus Mesa fatally shot Sergio Hernández, a 15-year-old Mexican boy, seemingly without justification or provocation.

At the time of the shooting, Mesa was in U.S. territory, while Hernández was on Mexican soil. Hernández’s family sued Agent Mesa for damages, arguing that his arbitrary use of deadly force violated the Fourth Amendment.

Under the US Constitution, courts perform an essential checking function on the political branches of government, ensuring compliance with the Constitution’s protection of individual rights.

In another case: Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, allows individuals to seek monetary compensation from federal officials who have violated their constitutional rights.

Agent Mesa countered that the Fourth Amendment does not apply because Hernández was standing in Mexican territory at the time of the shooting. In a divided decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Hernández family could not assert a claim under the Fourth Amendment because Hernández was a Mexican citizen who was on Mexican territory at the time of the shooting. Hernández’s family then petitioned the Supreme Court to review this decision.

Constitutional Accountability Center Civil Rights Director David Gans attended today’s argument and issued the following reaction:

“In an Oval Office meeting back in March, President Trump reportedly suggested that U.S. Border Patrol agents “shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down.”

During today’s oral argument, Trump’s Department of Justice argued that persons killed or harmed by Border Patrol agents, even within the United States, should have no right to go to court to remedy the acts of such rogue border guards. In their view, the courthouse doors must be firmly closed against any efforts to hold Border Patrol agents accountable to the Constitution. The Supreme Court shouldn’t sanction a Constitution-free zone at the border that would allow U.S. Border Patrol agents to shoot to kill without any possibility of redress.

It seems that Hernandez vs. Mesa showsf the court’s determination to limit damage suits against government officials.

Congressman Joaquin Castro Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court 5-4 decision on Hernandez vs. Mesa:

“Sergio was an unarmed child when he was gunned down across the border by US Border Patrol Agent Mesa. Because of today’s decision, the Hernandez family now has no path to seek justice for his murder. This ruling means that moving forward, no one, not even unarmed children or their families, have the right to sue a federal agent for a cross-border shooting. This decision comes at a time when thousands of asylum seekers are being forced to live in camps along the border because of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. If children like Sergio - who was just playing along the border - can be murdered without recourse then CBP agents know that they will not be held accountable for similar crimes.

He went on to say: “Justice Ginsberg rightly noted that this was not an isolated incident. It’s become abundantly clear that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection are out of control and must be reined in.

Trump officials have dismissed suspicions that Russia has interfered in elections again

The NABWMT, as a program by the Media Committee is monitoring Voter Suppression in the USA. They have information on their web pages to keep folks aware of the attack on our vote by such news.

So, the National security advisor, said he had no knowledge of intelligence agency warnings that Russia is trying once again to help Trump by interfering in the 2020 campaign. Aides have tries to downplayed this.

Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire has retired as acting director of national intelligence claimed to be unrelated to Trump’s unhappiness over this briefing to lawmakers about Russian attempts at election interference.

The president presses ahead with his reelection bid and the Democratic contest for the nomination to oppose him gathers pace. So, Trump’s backers suggested that Ukraine — not Russia — interfered with the 2016 campaign. However,  the U.S. intelligence community concluded Moscow sought to do so in 2016.

National security advisor Robert C. O’Brien said he was not aware of any effort by Russia to try to bolster Trump’s 2020 prospects. In addition, news outlets have said lawmakers were told last week that the Kremlin is seeking to aid Trump, and also looking to help Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont secure the Democratic nomination, which Sanders acknowledged.

Trump seems eager for a matchup with Sanders, and the president Sunday congratulated the Vermont senator for his “great win” in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses. He believes be can win and suggested anew that Democratic Party leaders might seek to deprive him of the nomination. There is concern from Democratic establishment fears that Sanders might be to extreme to win.

Should these intelligence findings on Russia’s activities be controlled by the White House in the months between now and the November vote? The fear is that the administration controlling intelligence, and classified information, and leaking it out to the press when it advantages Republicans.

Senior Trump aides, meanwhile, appeared on the defensive over last week’s replacement of Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, with a staunch Trump partisan, Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany. Grenell is not subject to Senate confirmation and could serve until March 11, unless Trump nominates a permanent replacement before then, in which case Grenell could continue to serve as acting director until his replacement is confirmed.

Grenell was a regular contributor on Fox News's Tucker Carlson Tonight during the first few months of his Ambassadorship in Germany. In November 2018 he made an appearance where he repeated his criticism of Angela Merkel's immigration policies and compared her unfavorably to the recently elected Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz, who — he claimed — "won in a very big way" because of his strict stance on immigration. 

Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, denied in an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that Maguire’s departure was prompted by Trump’s displeasure over a briefing to members of Congress given by one of Maguire’s deputies.

Pence’s chief of staff also depicted Maguire’s departure as in line with the scheduled end of his tenure by March 12, since he was serving in an acting capacity. “It’s not firing,” he said.

 Trump’s own remarks, though, suggested he was upset about what transpired in the briefing. He suggested that Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) was behind news reports about Kremlin efforts to influence the election outcome.

“They ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that intelli...

In what may be a harbinger for our trends in US Immigration policy, a UK plan denies entry to ‘low-skilled’ foreign workers. As a result, industries expect labor shortages. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wants immigrants to meet requirements for skills, qualifications and English-speaking ability. I have special interest in this as a former UK resident.

So, if you are in your local Starbucks in England, the plan would exclude your “low-skilled” immigrant barista. This has ignited a nationwide outcry from business groups and employers who warned that the restrictions could cripple a broad swath of industries.

Here in the US, we are familiar with the aggressive policies of our government. I have podcasted on, for example, on the crisis that led federal immigration authorities to bus nearly 2,000 unaccompanied children from shelters around the country to a “tent city” in the desert of Texas. And the Trump administration had proposal that would make it harder for legal immigrants to become citizens or get green cards if they have ever used a range of popular public welfare programs, including Obamacare.

Likewise, the UK immigration policy would make it far more difficult for nationals of European Union countries to live and work in Britain beginning next year, when last month’s formal departure from the European Union takes effect. Critics have predicted many of those will be to Britain’s long-term detriment.

As Britain leaves it’s membership in the EU, partly based on anti-immigrant sentiment this reminds me of the populism and xenophobia that have swept other European countries over the last several years. This also mirrors that of President Trump, who favors an immigration system that would essentially exclude the poor and unskilled.

The new rules demand that immigrant workers speak English; many currently do not. It is reasonable to expect this, assistance to learn to become bilingual or even a polyglot.

If you came from the EU to Britain over the last 15 years you would not qualify for a work visa under the new standards, which require a well-paying job offer from an approved employer.

Then there is the jobs that could be freed up by these rules for native Brits. Care workers looking after aging Brits, construction workers out in all weather, getting the job done. Will these jobs be taken up by others?

Here in the US we have some background on this approach, and it is mostly myth. 7.6% of immigrants are self-employed compared to 5.6% of native-born Americans and they founded more than 40% of Fortune 500 companies, according to the Bush Center.

Likewise, the average European migrant arriving in the UK in 2016 will contribute £78,000 more than they take out in public services and benefits over their time spent in the UK, and the average non-European migrant will make a positive net contribution of £28,000 while living here. By comparison, the average UK citizen’s net lifetime contribution in this scenario is zero. This is according to Oxford Economics, is a leader in global forecasting and quantitative analysis.

Also, according to the Center and Budget and Policy Priorities, immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways.

They work at high rates and make up more than a third of the workforce in some industries. Their geographic mobility helps local economies respond to worker shortages, smoothing out bumps that could otherwise weaken the economy. Immigrant workers help support the aging native-born population, increasing the number of workers as compared to retirees and bolstering the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. And children born to immigrant families are upwardly mobile, promising future benefits not only to their families, but to the U.S. economy overall.
Back in the UK, Johnson’s government said the new rules would “open the U.K. to the brightest and the best from around the world” while ending reliance on “cheap,

Bernie Sanders could be the Democratic Nomination for President since he’s won more votes than any other candidate so far. However the Democratic Party establishment is hoping someone can stop Bernie Sanders from capturing the presidential nomination.

Sanders may not the first choice of most Democrats, he’s won more votes than any other candidate so far.In Iowa, he essentially tied for first place with Pete Buttigieg. In New Hampshire , he narrowly defeated Mayor Pete.

Sanders could consolidate his hold on first place, even if he only wins about a quarter of the votes, which is what he got in Iowa and New Hampshire.

A CBS News study about one-third of people described themselves as “very liberal,” which is Sanders’ base; another third said they were “somewhat liberal,” and the last third called themselves “moderate” or “conservative.” I

So will next Saturday’s Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary a week later, produce a clear surge for one of the candidates they consider more electable, namely Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar or Joe Biden.Klobuchar, finished a surprising third in New Hampshire, seems to be more experienced than Buttigieg, and a better campaigner than Biden.

In New Hampshire, Klobuchar was boosted by a strong performance in the final debate. A lot may hang on whether she performs as well at the next debate in Las Vegas.

This is also be the first debate to include Michael R. Bloomberg , the former mayor of New York who has spent more than $300 million to elbow on his way into the competition. Bloomberg will be on ballots beginning on March 3 — Super Tuesday — when 14 states including California hold primaries that will choose more than a third of the elected delegates to the Democrats’ convention.

This could be a problem for the establishment Democrats- a split convention. Bernie supporters are already worried that the establishment is plotting to stop him. But it’s not clear that the establishment is capable of intervening effectively.

Party leaders could tip the scales by endorsing a favorite candidate but endorsements don’t count as much as theyonce did. Voters who once relied on politicians for advice now have direct access to information — and disinformation — through the internet.

Big Money used to have a lot of influence. But that’s changed, too. Sanders has raised more than $121 million almost entirely from small-dollar donors. Bloomberg isn’t asking anyone for money at all. Party leaders seem to know they don’t want Sanders, but they can’t do much about it.

Party leaders could exert some influence by delegate-swapping if no one has a majority of delegates during the primaries, several candidates could try to cut bargains before the Democratic convention in Milwaukee.

For example, a candidate in third or fourth place could drop out and release his or her delegates, which would free them to vote for anyone else.

And then there is there are the party’s “superdelegates”. If there’s no winner on the first ballot, they get to join in later voting. The DNC adopted those rules in 2018 in a compromise that Sanders approved. So the establishment might make its voice heard after all.

But those hypothetical plot twists are months away. Until then, the choice is out of the establishment’s control and up to the voters. Like it or not, the Democrats are going to have to solve their problem through democracy.

The NABWMT does not endorse candidates but over 40 years has provide a strong voice for social justice and urges you to vote the NABWMT values in November 2020.

Source: LA TIMES and CBS NEWS

In a recent Los Angels Times article Hailey Branson-Potts covered a recent town hall meeting in West Hollywood which covered the risks of using drugs to enhance sex

The topic was a growing crisis, especially in the LGBTQ community, that health experts say is not talked about enough. It is the use of “chemsex,” where using drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA enhances sexual activity and lower inhibitions.

Chemsex has become pervasive on online dating apps like Adam4Adam, Scruff and Grindr, where people use code words and emojis to show they want to use or buy drugs and have sex.

One of the town hall panelist said there are “influencers on Instagram with a hundred thousand followers, and they’re doing crystal meth on the side, and no one understands or even knows that and everyone’s scared to talk about it. He also said many young gay men who come to West Hollywood, had not been taught about gay sex and were ashamed by it.

In West Hollywood, methamphetamine was involved in 47 deaths between 2015 and 2018, and meth- related hospitalizations have steadily ticked upward for the last decade, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health thinks that meth has been overlooked as a public health crisis. While it does not have the same national attention as the opioid crisis, methamphetamine in the Los Angeles area is actually incredibly prevalent and incredibly dangerous.

Across the country, overdose deaths involving meth more than quadrupled from 2011 to 2017. Hospitalizations related to meth jumped by about 245%. And throughout the West and Midwest, 70% of local law enforcement agencies say meth is their biggest drug threat.

But policymakers in Washington, D.C., haven’t kept up, continuing to direct the bulk of funding and attention to opioids, said Steve Shoptaw, an addiction psychologist at UCLA in Los Angeles, where he hears one story after another about meth destroying people’s lives. “But when you’re in D.C., where people are making decisions about how to deploy resources, those stories are very much muffled by the much louder story about the opioid epidemic,” he said.

Back to West Hollywood, remember there was the overdose deaths of two black gay men in the apartment of Democratic donor Ed Buck, who was accused last fall of injecting fatal doses of crystal methamphetamine into victims for his own sexual gratification.

In recent surveys of nearly 1,600 people in West Hollywood, more than 70% of respondents said that meth use at community events, bars and clubs is a “pressing issue” for the city, according to the Safe West Hollywood Community Coalition.

The coalition and city employees recently have begun going to major events like LA Pride and West Hollywood’s Halloween Carnaval to hand out free naloxone, a medication that can reverse drug overdoses, as well as condoms and testing strips to determine whether recreational drugs are laced with fentanyl.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the contamination of illicit drugs like methamphetamine with fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin — is a growing public health concern . Often, users are unaware it has been added.

The town hall panelists said that one of the tragedies of chemsex is that it often stems from loneliness and LGBTQ people’s shame around their sexuality or gender identity. In a world increasingly connected by technology, “we’re in a crisis of loneliness.”

There are some strategies that show hope for the use of PREP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) . In a recent HIV conference, there was NO evidence of an association between chemsex and sub-optimal adherence to PrEP among MSM in England. These analyses suggest PrEP remains a feasible and effective HIV prevention method for high-risk MSM engaging in chemsex, a practise which has been associated with an increased risk of...

Bayard Rustin, granted pardon

Gay Civil Rights Leader Convicted in Pasadena by California Gov. Gavin Newsom for a miscarriage of justice in Pasadena in 1953 according to mynewsla.com.

“Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday granted a posthumous pardon to black civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, who was convicted in Pasadena in 1953 of vagrancy while on a lecture tour and ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life”

As you BWMT know, Rustin — a principal organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and a top adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — was arrested in Pasadena on a “morals charge” in 1953 for having sex in a parked car with another man and spent nearly two months in jail. He died in 1987.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey joined the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and the California Legislative Black Caucus in asking the governor to posthumously pardon Rustin, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Barack Obama in 2013.

Rustin and “his historic contributions to the civil rights movement, however, were relegated to the background after his conviction in Pasadena while on a lecture tour,” the county’s top prosecutor wrote.

“Mr. Rustin was required, as part of his sentence, to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. The conviction and lifetime registration requirement were humiliating for Mr. Rustin, but more devastatingly, they gave foes ammunition to attack civil rights leaders for their mere association with a gay man. In fact, U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond read Mr. Rustin’s entire criminal file into the Congressional Record in an effort to undermine the entire civil rights movement.”

Lacey added that the crimes that “targeted Rustin and other members of the LGBTQ community were wiped from the law books long ago.” She said the pardon would “redress an ugly chapter in our state’s history and ensure this dedicated and brave civil rights leader is given his rightful place in the annals of our great nation.”

“In California and across the country, many laws have been used as legal tools of oppression, and to stigmatize and punish LGBTQ people and communities and warn others what harm could await them for living authentically,” Newsom said. “I thank those who advocated for Bayard Rustin’s pardon, and I want to encourage others in similar situations to seek a pardon to right this egregious wrong.”

Under the clemency initiative, LGBTQ Californians convicted of vagrancy, loitering, sodomy or other laws used to prosecute people for having consensual adult sex will be eligible to apply for pardons. The Board of Parole Hearings investigates pardon applications and makes recommendations to the governor, who has sole constitutional authority to grant them.

In the mid-1970s, California repealed the law that criminalized consensual sex between same-sex couples. In 1997, the state Legislature passed a law that for the first time allowed those convicted under such laws to remove their names from lists of registered sex offenders. Newsom has been an outspoken champion of LGBTQ rights since he was mayor of San Francisco and directed the city to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The act became a catalyst for a nationwide political battle over the issue that ended when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of LGBTQ people to marry in 2015.

Source: https://mynewsla.com/crime/2020/02/05/governor-posthumously-pardons-gay-civil-rights-leader-convicted-in-pasadena-2/

http://mynewsla.com.

In the 2020 Presidential Election eyes been focussed on the early primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire. In Iowa, according to 538.com, the candidates are ranked as: Sanders 22.6%, Biden 22.3, Buttigieg, 17.1%, Warren, 14.0%.

But perhaps more interesting, California polls ( see todays LA Times( have Sanders in lead in state’s presidential primary race. The poll shows Warren second and Biden running third. California is known to be a liberal state, but Sanders appears to have growing support from voters who label themselves “very liberal.” That very liberal group makes up about 1 in 3 Democratic primary voters in the state.

The 2020 California Democratic primary will take place on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, as one of 14 contests scheduled on "Super Tuesday" in the Democratic Party presidential primaries, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The California primary is a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 494 delegates, of which 415 are pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary. The rest are elected officials and others who attend as un pledged so-called super-delegates. The rest of the state’s likely primary voters remain divided among several candidates. Former Vice President Joe Biden remains the front-runner nationally, but in third place in California with 15% in the poll.

“California’s primary electorate is relatively liberal,” said Berkeley political science professor Eric Schickler, co-director of the institute. “The state is more conducive to one of the candidates on the left.” Biden narrowly trails Sanders among voters who call themselves somewhat liberal, moderate or conservative, but runs 33 percentage points behind him among the very liberal. California Democratic Party’s rules have delegates go to candidates who get at least 15% of the vote statewide or in a congressional district. Candidate Bloomberg gets 6% in the poll, up from 2% in November. He shares the second tier of candidates with Pete Buttigieg, at 7%, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is at 5% and Andrew Yang,, at 4%.

So what is good for Biden? He remains the candidate the state’s voters are most likely to say would beat President Trump. About a third of likely primary voters say so. Sanders comes in second on that score with about a quarter of voters — mostly his own supporters — calling him the one with the best chance of beating Trump in November.

Back to Iowa, where the question of electability has dominated the debate and in New Hampshire. In California, the issue of how much of a priority to put on picking an electoral winner sharply divides voters. About two-thirds of Sanders’ supporters put priority on a candidate who agrees with them on issues. Biden supporters go the other way, There is a generational clash in voting preferences between Sanders and Biden. Sanders’ support among younger voters has been steadily growing over time. Because of this, turnout will be extraordinarily influential in determining the outcome.” In the broader picture, 13 other states will hold contests on March 3rd, with about 40% of the delegates to the nominating convention will be allocated that day.

538.com attempts to forecast who’s ahead in the national polls. They update the average for each Democratic candidate in 2020 primary polls, accounting for each poll’s quality, sample size and recency. The latest results are:

Biden 26.7%Sanders 21.0% Warren 14.9% Bloomberg 8.3%Buttigieg 7.4% Yang 4.3% Klobuchar 3.2% Steyer 2.1%

In summary, as the nation thinks ahead to the November election where the Democratic nomination race has tightened at the top, each Democratic candidate tested by a Fox poll bests ...

The Real Economy

“The economy added 6 million jobs, and the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in nearly 50 years”. But, The average monthly gain under Trump so far is 188,000 — compared with an average monthly gain of 217,000 during Obama’s second term. The real unemployment rate (U-6) is a broader definition of unemployment than the official unemployment rate (U-3). In December 2019, it was 6.7%.1 The U-3 is the rate most often reported in the media. In the U-3 rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics only counts people without jobs who are in the labor force. To remain in the labor force, they must have looked for a job in the last four weeks.

The Labor Force Participation Rate, was 62.9 percent when Trump was sworn in. Three years later it’s at 63.3 percent, less than one half of a percentage point increase. In fact when the labor participation rate was almost identical to today’s, Trump claimed during the 2016 election that we had a real unemployment rate of over 40 percent.

The U-6, or real unemployment rate, includes the underemployed, the marginally attached, and discouraged workers. For that reason, it is around double the U-3 report.Trump's ongoing trade wars have also sapped business confidence. Companies are pulling back on hiring workers as a result.

Today’s numbers seem great and could be a factor to reelect the president, but let’s take a deeper look. It’s not just the economy. Even if they took home slightly bigger paychecks, employees have also confronted the rising price tags of housing, education and skyrocketing healthcare costs some economists now compare to another tax on their income.

People are working two to three jobs to get by, wages are essentially flat, and layoffs are on the uptick. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidates make this a top campaign issue, right up there with calling out Trump’s efforts to end you and your family’s coverage for pre-existing medical conditions—along with all the other benefits of the Affordable Health Care Act.

Our nation’s manufacturing sector is not only officially in a recession, but one that is becoming worse each month. In November, new manufacturing orders and employment dropped at a rate worse than the month before. That marks the fourth straight month that the manufacturing sector has contracted.

Economic growth fell far short of the annual 4% to 6% Trump promised. The most recent rate is 2.0%. And, The federal debt went up more than $2.4 trillion. The annual deficit hit nearly $1 trillion in fiscal year 2019 – the highest since 2012.

But, how people feel about the economy? Much of the benefit of the current growth has gone to people at the top of ladder, leaving many Americans feeling dissatisfied. A Monmouth University poll in April found that only 12% of Americans said their families had “benefited a great deal” from recent economic growth, and only 18% said that middle-class families had benefited a lot from Trump’s economic policies.

All, take the poll from Florida Atlantic University shows how much other issues overshadow the economy. The poll showed Florida, a crucial state electorally, as a toss-up. In hypothetical matchups, Trump tied or narrowly trailed each of the major Democratic candidates. This shows an erosion of the president’s numbers. Florida, once again, will be up for grabs.

In that same, poll Trump voters, the economy came in third place. behind immigration and foreign policy/terrorism (16%). For Democratic voters, the economy ranked behind healthcare as a motivating issue.

President Trump’s behavior also plays a role — his core supporters love his style, but it takes a big toll on his standing with other voters. Even as a good economy pushes his approval upward, the rest of the package pushes him down.

The reason why an improving economy used to improve a president’s standing is that it caused some voters to cross party lines and support a person ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A Decade Marked By Outrage Over Drug Prices

Martin Shkreli, the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, who was called before Cummings' committee in2016. After hiking the price of an old drug for parasitic infections to $750 a pill from $13.50, Shkreli became the poster boy for pharmaceutical greed that helped define the past decade.

Meanwhile, nearly 1 in 4 Americans has trouble affording prescription drugs, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

Of relevance, perhaps to our NA members, Daraprim: An old drug gets a huge new price

For decades, Daraprim has been the go-to medicine for treating toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection especially dangerous for people with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV and patients who've undergone organ transplants.

The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1953, and its patents expired long ago. But there wasn't a generic version available, and there was only one supplier in the United States. Even so, Daraprim cost just $13.50 a pill in early 2015.

Then Turing Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to the drug and raised its list price more than 5,000% overnight.

Another company called Valeant did the same year when it bought two old heart drugs — Isuprel and Nitropress — that had little competition.

Despite public outcry, Daraprim's price hasn't budged.

Today, many health insurance companies won't pay for the drug, and it's too expensive for many hospitals to keep in stock, says Armstrong. As a result, she says, doctors have been forced to turn to cheaper alternatives that have more side effects and less proof that they work.

Then there is EpiPen, used to counteract allergic reactions.

By the time the EpiPen's list price reached $300 per auto-injector in 2016, its manufacturer, Mylan, had made more than a dozen price hikes in just six years.

People clamored for a cheaper generic of the product, which injects a dose of epinephrine to counteract allergic reactions. Mylan had a virtual monopoly on it. In the spring of 2016, the FDA had rejected two applications from other firms that wanted to make generic versions.

State and federal lawmakers took notice. For years, they had been passing laws that pushed for schools and other public places to have EpiPens on hand.

Mylan started offering its own generic at half the price in December 2016 and left the price of its brand-name product where it was. Mylan's new version is called an authorized generic. These are usually introduced to undercut competition from other companies' generics — and eat into some of the competitors' profits.

Next consider Sovaldi: a first-of-its-kind hepatitis C drug, priced at $1,000 per pill. To rid a patient of the hepatitis C virus would cost $84,000 per person.

State health systems struggled to pay for the treatment, and health insurers denied the drug to all but the sickest patients. An investigation led by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden found that state Medicaid programs spent more than $1 billion on the drug in 2014, but less than 2.4% of Medicaid patients with hepatitis C got Sovaldi.

Now, there are a few other brand-name hepatitis C cures on the market, creating some competition.

Finally: Insulin

After insulin was discovered nearly 100 years ago, the rights to it were transferred to the University of Toronto for $1 so that insulin could be made widely available at a low cost.

But insulin prices have continued to creep upward at a rate that's higher than inflation. As a result, some patients have rationed their medicine, skipping doses or cutting them in half.

In 2017, a group of patients sued the three major insulin-makers — Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk — when they noticed that the companies were increasing their prices in lockstep.