July 20, 2020

John Lewis photos taken by Bob Adelman

Still can't believe we lost John Lewis over the weekend, still processing that....
Years ago I was lucky enough to see an incredible exhibition at our small local museum in Ft Lauderdale - it was called "The Movement" and it featured photographs of John Lewis (and Dr. King Jr and many others) during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's. I was so thrilled today to find those photos again on the photographer's website so I wanted to pass that on to you, my friends at DU. I can't post each pic so I am including the link. (Photographer Bob Adelman's photos were later acquired by the Library of Congress upon his passing).

http://www.bobadelman.net/

July 19, 2020

DHS Confirms Barr Will Be Deploying His Black Ops Inter-agency Army Nationwide

(Talking Points Memo) DHS Under Boss: We’re Taking This National
By Josh Marshall
July 18, 2020 12:02 a.m.
When asked about calls for an investigation into DHS police tactics in Portland, Oregon, Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli tells NPR not only are they not going to stop but they want to take the tactics nationwide

"Well, we are – we welcome – the more investigations, the better. With as much lawbreaking is going on, we’re seeking to prosecute as many people as are breaking the law as it relates to federal jurisdiction. That’s not always happening with respect to local jurisdiction and local offenses. But, you know, this is a posture we intend to continue not just in Portland but in any of the facilities that we’re responsible for around the country."

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dhs-under-boss-were-taking-this-national

July 19, 2020

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Says Trump Called South Koreans 'Terrible People'

*What a disgusting piece of garbage he is to insult our South Korean friends and allies like that!

(HuffPost) In a Washington Post editorial, the GOP governor said the president made the remarks in front of his wife, who is from South Korea.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, whose wife is from South Korea, claimed in an editorial for The Washington Post that President Donald Trump called South Koreans “terrible people” during a Republican Governors Association dinner in February.

According to Hogan, a Republican, the remarks were made during one of Trump’s “unscripted rally speeches that seemed to go on for at least an hour too long.”

“He talked about how much he respected President Xi Jinping of China; how much he liked playing golf with his buddy ‘Shinzo,’ Prime Minister Abe of Japan; how well he got along with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,” Hogan wrote in the editorial, published Thursday. “Then, the jarring part: Trump said he really didn’t like dealing with President Moon from South Korea. The South Koreans were ‘terrible people,’ he said, and he didn’t know why the United States had been protecting them all these years. ‘They don’t pay us,’ Trump complained.”

Hogan wrote that his wife, Yumi Hogan, was “sitting there as the president hurled insults at her birthplace,” but managed to endure the speech “politely and silently.”

Yumi Hogan, born in Naju, South Korea, immigrated to the United States in her 20s, married Larry Hogan in 2004 and is the first Korean American first lady of a U.S. state.


Read More: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/larry-hogan-trump-south-koreans-terrible-people_n_5f132890c5b619afc4020195

July 18, 2020

Thinking of John Lewis and his words....

“You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim or diminish your light. Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. […] Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don't be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.”

― John Lewis, Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America


*It doesn't feel quite like America without him in it.

July 17, 2020

Major USPS Changes Could Hamper Vote-By-Mail At The Worst Possible Time

(Talking Points Memo) Election officials who were already facing major challenges in making voting accessible operations during the pandemic were thrown a new curveball this week.

Mail service could be slowed down in coming months, as part of a campaign to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service launched by new agency leadership appointed by President Trump.

snip

In interviews with TPM, election officials, vote-by-mail experts, and mail vendors outlined ways the proposed changes negatively impact the vote-by-mail process, which is being adopted in record numbers across the country amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

They provided several scenarios in which the refusal to let USPS employees work overtime — the main driver of the changes being described — could lead to voters being disenfranchised.

“It’s really a concern. The Trump administration is looking at the Post Office as a business. It’s not a business, it’s a critical public service,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos told TPM.

Making The System ‘Susceptible To Issues’

Internal documents reported by the Washington Post describe a new culture being ushered where, in an effort to cut costs, overtime work would be vehemently discouraged. This means employees should leave mail behind if continuing to process those pieces would put them behind their schedule for deliveries.

“One aspect of these changes that may be difficult for employees is that.- temporarily – we may see mail left behind or mail on the workroom floor or docks (in P&DCs), which is not typical,” one document said, which described the changes as being implemented “immediately.”

In practice, that means some mail could take an extra day or even longer to be delivered.

(Read More) https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/usps-delays-elections-vote-by-mail-worries

July 17, 2020

Judge orders Trump administration to accept new DACA applications

(CNN) The Trump administration must begin accepting new applications for the Obama-era program that shields undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation, a federal judge ruled Friday.

The order comes nearly a month since the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration's attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That ruling emphasized that the administration failed to provide an adequate reason to justify scrapping DACA.

Judge Paul Grimm of the US District Court for the District of Maryland said Friday that the program is to be restored to its "pre-September 5, 2017 status," meaning the status quo before President Donald Trump tried to terminate it, thereby giving hundreds of thousands of DACA-eligible immigrants the opportunity to apply.

"We are extremely pleased and excited by Judge Grimm's order, but it's really just effectuating the decision the Supreme Court made a month ago," said Nick Katz, senior manager of legal services at CASA, which brought the lawsuit along with other immigrant rights group. "I hope this order makes it clear to (the Department of Homeland Security) that they can't delay any longer. They need to reopen the program."

US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department Homeland Security which administers DACA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Amid the years-long legal proceedings, DACA recipients have been able to apply for renewal, but new immigrants who met the criteria couldn't apply.

To be eligible, applicants had to have arrived in the US before age 16 and have lived there since June 15, 2007. They could not have been older than 30 when the Department of Homeland Security enacted the policy in 2012. Recipients are required to renew their protections every two years. The program doesn't provide permanent protection or a pathway to citizenship.

It's unclear, however, how many people will feel comfortable applying, given that doing so requires turning over identifying information to an administration that immigrants have grown increasingly untrustworthy of. (Read More)

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/17/politics/daca-trump-judge/index.html

July 17, 2020

Spain pays tribute to coronavirus victims and workers at state event

*Imagine if we had a real president - this is what they would have done for America...

(Al Jazeera) Spain has paid tribute to the nation's victims of the new coronavirus and workers who put their lives at risk during the worst of the pandemic with a solemn state ceremony in Madrid.

Relatives of about 100 people who died during the pandemic, representatives of medical personnel,police and other essential workers on Thursday joined King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, government members and officials from the European Union and the World Health Organization at an esplanade in Madrid's Royal Palace.

The guests, masked and seated in a socially distanced fashion surrounding a central cauldron, included representatives from a dozen religious organisations and ambassadors. The ceremony was shown live on television and online.

In an emotional speech, Hernando Calleja said he was sharing the pain of the loss of his brother Jose Maria, a well-known journalist and writer in Madrid, with other relatives of "anonymous" victims.

"Let's not forget that the coronavirus was and continues to be a cold, cruel and wrecking executioner," Calleja said.

Aroa Lopez, a nurse from the Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona, spoke representing workers in hospitals, health centres and laboratories, at least 52,600 of whom have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

She also remembered truck drivers, cleaners and thousands of others who "took care of the millions of Spaniards who were confined".

After telling how some health workers made video calls between relatives and dying patients, or held the hands of those who did not want to die alone, she urged politicians to protect the public health system.

"Who will take care of us if the person who takes care of us cannot do it? Let us never forget the lesson learned," she said.

As a live performance of string music took over from the words, attendees left white roses by the cauldron.

The country's monarch praised the citizens' response to the outbreak and called for responsible behaviour in fighting the virus.

"We have a moral obligation to always recognise and respect the dignity of the deceased and a civic duty to promote the best values that underlie our society," Felipe VI said before the ceremony came to an end with a minute of silence.

All Spanish political parties attended the state tribute except for the far-right Vox, whose leader has called the event an "act of propaganda" and "an exculpatory ceremony" for the left-wing ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Spain has officially recorded 28,413 patients who died after testing positive for the COVID-19 disease, although excess mortality figures suggest the actual figure is thousands higher.

The country is grappling with dozens of fresh outbreaks after it emerged from a strict lockdown last month.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/spain-pays-tribute-coronavirus-victims-workers-state-event-200716082336374.html

July 15, 2020

Ghislaine Maxwell Apparently Has a Secret Husband--but She Won't Say Who He Is

(Daily Beast) Ghislaine Maxwell has a secret spouse whom she refuses to identify, prosecutors said at her bail hearing Tuesday. The detail came out as prosecutors pressed her to reveal the extent of her wealth. “In addition to failing to describe in any way the absence of proposed co-signers of a bond, the defendant also makes no mention whatsoever about the financial circumstances or assets of her spouse whose identity she declined to provide to Pretrial Services,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said. Maxwell’s lawyers requested that she be released on a $5 million bond, but Manhattan federal Judge Alison Nathan denied the British socialite bail. Prosecutors convinced Nathan that Maxwell is an “extreme” flight risk, given that she hid from authorities for the last year, lied about her wealth, and allegedly purchased a New Hampshire mansion using a fake identity. She will remain in custody until her trial in 2021.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ghislaine-maxwell-apparently-has-a-secret-husbandand-she-wont-say-who-it-is

July 14, 2020

Thank you Thomas Kennedy for calling out FL Governor DeSantis at his presser!

https://twitter.com/i/status/1282789040996130816

July 12, 2020

Florida reports 15,300 new COVID-19 cases -- a record for one day anywhere in the U.S.

* our so-called governor really does not care if we live or die, just that he stay on trumpy's good side...

(Miami Herald) Sunday, Florida reported the most new COVID-19 cases any state has in a single day, 15,300.

This blew past the previous high, 12,274 by New York on April 4, by 3,026 or 24.6%.

With that massive leap, Florida has added 69,700 cases since last Sunday, 269,811 since the start of the pandemic. The 45 deaths reported Sunday brought that total to 4,346.

Throughout the pandemic, the daily case report numbers on Sundays have tended to be lower than the five days previous because fewer people work in labs and enter data on the weekends. So, Sunday reflects Saturday’s decrease in processing tests and reporting results.

HOSPITALIZATIONS
Florida began reporting current hospitalizations this week. This came a week Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed to the Miami Herald that the state would start reporting current hospitalization numbers for all counties.

Also, the jump in cases over the last three weeks caused public health experts and the nonprofit COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer group that has become the most prolific coronavirus data collector in the country, to all but scream for current hospitalization numbers as opposed to pandemic total hospitalization numbers. The former, they say, is a clearer way of assessing the pandemic’s severity.

Sunday, the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard reported 7,390 current hospitalizations from COVID-19, a rise of 152 from Saturday.

In Miami-Dade’s most recent update, Saturday afternoon, 1,806 people currently were hospitalized by the novel coronavirus, a number that’s risen for 27 consecutive days. (Read More)



https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article244173462.html?utm_source=pushly&intcid=pushly_599760