shareblue--2020-08-14--Fox News falsely claimed Biden was 'in his basement' 322 times in 2 months

Fox News has repeatedly claimed that Vice President Joe Biden is `` hiding '' in his basement as the coronavirus pandemic rages on .
Time after time , Donald Trump and his reelection campaign have echoed the same untrue story .
Biden has in fact been following state and federal safety guidelines and recommendations by limiting contact with others to limit transmission of the virus that has killed over 170,000 Americans .
He has also made numerous public appearances and speeches during the time Fox and Trump claimed he was `` hiding . ''
Despite this , according to Media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Aug. 7 , Fox News pushed or refused to contradict the falsehood that Biden was hiding in his basement at least 322 times .
The claim was made across multiple shows on the network , throughout the day .
The network aired claims from both its own hosts , anchors , reporters , and pundits , as well as from guests appearing on Fox News ' various programs .
`` Fox & Friends , '' the network ’ s morning news show , made the false claim 47 times in that period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News ' midday program that it has claimed is a source of straight news reporting and not opinion , nonetheless pushed the false storyline 33 times .
The story was also frequently mentioned in Fox 's prime time lineup .
`` Hannity , '' `` The Ingraham Angle , '' and `` Tucker Carlson Carlson Tonight '' promoted the claim a total of 63 times .
Fox News hosts who 've repeated the talking point include Sean Hannity , who has been described as Trump 's `` shadow chief of staff '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story 26 times , as well as Jesse Watters ( 19 times ) , Pete Hegseth ( 15 times ) , Brian Kilmeade ( 12 times ) , Steve Doocy ( 6 times ) , Jeanine Pirro ( 6 times ) , and Laura Ingraham ( 5 times ) .
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel appeared on Fox to advance the narrative 10 times , which dovetailed with official party statements and videos .
Fox News pundits like Newt Gingrich ( 6 times ) , Jason Chaffetz ( 7 times ) , and Geraldo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the network ’ s anti-Biden chorus .
Anchors and reporters described by Fox News as `` straight news '' figures similarly promoted the Republican Party talking point , including Harris Faulkner ( 7 times ) , Sandra Smith ( 6 times ) , Trace Gallagher ( 5 times ) , and `` Fox News Sunday '' host Chris Wallace ( 7 times ) .
Biden began self-isolating in mid-March , after announcing that he would cancel planned campaign events in response to guidelines from officials in Delaware ( where Biden lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spread of the virus .
But since Memorial Day , Biden has repeatedly appeared in public even as the Trump campaign and Fox News insisted he was `` hiding . ''
Biden has worn a protective face mask during his appearances , while Trump and his team attacked him for doing so .
On Memorial Day , May 25 , Biden and his wife , Jill , visited the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park to pay their respects .
On June 1 , Biden went to Bethel AME Church in Wilmington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders about the George Floyd protests .
The next day , Biden went to Philadelphia City Hall and made a speech on civil unrest and the protests .
On June 11 , Biden held a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia about reopening the economy and the pandemic .
Six days later , Biden held another roundtable at a soul food restaurant in Yeadon , Pennsylvania .
That same day he gave a speech in Darby , Pennsylvania .
On June 25 , Biden traveled to Lancaster , Pennsylvania , and spoke with families about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a speech that same day , also in Lancaster .
Biden spoke about health care in a speech in Wilmington on June 30 .
On July 9 , Biden visited Scranton , Pennsylvania , where he was born , and spoke to several residents .
Biden also gave a speech in Dunmore , Pennsylvania , that same day .
The day after Biden ’ s twin appearances , House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy nonetheless referred to `` Basement Biden '' in a Facebook post .
Biden delivered a speech on energy policy in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later , in Castle , Delaware , Biden gave a speech about his `` Build Back Better '' economic policy .
Despite all these appearances , Trump , his presidential campaign , and the Republican Party have joined with Fox News in claiming that Biden is `` hiding '' from the public in his basement .
On June 11 , the same day Biden held his roundtable in Philadelphia , Trump tweeted that Biden `` refuses to leave his basement . ''
On July 20 , a Trump campaign spokesperson praised Trump for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energetic supporters '' which he called a `` stark contrast to the sleepy campaign being run by Joe Biden from his basement in Delaware . ''
Despite the sparse attendance at Trump 's Tulsa rally , health officials in the area said that the event was the `` likely '' source of a new surge in coronavirus cases in the state .
Conservative pundit and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain attended the Tulsa rally and later died due to complications from COVID-19 .
On Aug. 2 , Trump tweeted that Biden `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considerable evidence to the contrary .
Two days later , White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused Biden of `` hiding in a basement . ''
RNC chair McDaniel piled on , claiming that Biden was making `` gaffes from his basement . ''
The comment was made on Fox Business , Fox News ' sister network .
The next day , Aug. 5 , the Trump campaign released an ad alleging Biden was in his `` basement . ''
It was quickly revealed that in two of the ad 's depictions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he was outside .
Once again , on Aug. 9 , Trump 's rapid response director Abigail Marone tweeted that Biden `` has to stay in the basement . ''
After Trump canceled Republican Convention plans , which he changed because the governor of North Carolina would not ignore virus safety regulations for him , on Aug. 10 , McDaniel said that `` if Joe Biden can live in his basement , '' Trump could accept the party nomination at `` his house , '' the White House .
As recently as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden as `` the man who thinks he can win a presidential campaign from his basement . ''
Less than 24 hours after McEnany 's comment , Biden held his first public event with Sen. Kamala Harris ( D-CA ) , his running mate .
The event was not held in a basement .
It is often hard to tell where Trump and his campaign end and Fox News begins .
The shared message on Biden and his basement is just the latest example .
Fox hosts are close to Trump and often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump 's speeches and talking points .
Fox host Pete Hegseth , who Trump once reportedly considered for an administration position , pushed for businesses to reopen in May despite the virus , while at the same time Trump was publicly pressuring Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer on the same topic .
When Trump teargassed protesters in Lafayette Park across from the White House in June and posed with a Bible , Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum compared him to President Abraham Lincoln .
In July , as the Trump campaign falsely claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in campaign materials , Trump appeared for a friendly interview with Hannity .
Hannity repeated the campaign ’ s characterization of Biden 's remarks in a question to Trump , who used the opportunity to bash Biden .
They were in perfect synchronization .
Trump began his transition from a reality TV personality to a political figure by being featured as a regular commentator on Fox News , specifically on `` Fox & Friends . ''
Throughout the 2016 campaign , Trump gave voice to many Fox News obsessions , including the demonization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a U.S.-Mexico border wall .
In the White House , Trump has frequently used Fox News as the basis for policy decisions like his response to the pandemic and his decision to send federal law enforcement into Portland , Oregon .
Trump claimed that the protests were `` out of control '' based on Fox footage , even as local officials like Oregon Gov .
Kate Brown ( D ) said intervention was unnecessary .
Trump 's recent decision to push a rule that would allow renewed discrimination in housing `` shows that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demagoguery of right-wing media personalities , including Fox News host Tucker Carlson , '' Media Matters senior fellow Matthew Gertz noted .
Trump praises Fox News constantly , often telling his millions of followers to tune in to specific programs , particularly those of his biggest supporters like Pirro .
Trump also makes sure to tell followers to watch his interviews with Fox personalities like Hannity .
Trump makes hiring decisions for positions in the federal government from within Fox News ' ranks .
In total , 20 administration officials have come from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figures are former national security adviser John Bolton , former deputy national security adviser K.T .
McFarland , and Mercedes Schlapp , who served previously as the White House director of strategic communications and is now a part of Trump ’ s reelection campaign .
Neither the Trump campaign nor the White House responded to a request for comment on this story .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

Fox News has repeatedly claimed that Vice President Joe Biden is “hiding” in his basement as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Time after time, Donald Trump and his reelection campaign have echoed the same untrue story.
Biden has in fact been following state and federal safety guidelines and recommendations by limiting contact with others to limit transmission of the virus that has killed over 170,000 Americans. He has also made numerous public appearances and speeches during the time Fox and Trump claimed he was “hiding.”
Despite this, according to Media Matters for America, between June 8 and Aug. 7, Fox News pushed or refused to contradict the falsehood that Biden was hiding in his basement at least 322 times.
The claim was made across multiple shows on the network, throughout the day. The network aired claims from both its own hosts, anchors, reporters, and pundits, as well as from guests appearing on Fox News’ various programs.
“Fox & Friends,” the network’s morning news show, made the false claim 47 times in that period.
“America’s Newsroom,” Fox News’ midday program that it has claimed is a source of straight news reporting and not opinion, nonetheless pushed the false storyline 33 times.
The story was also frequently mentioned in Fox’s prime time lineup. “Hannity,” “The Ingraham Angle,” and “Tucker Carlson Carlson Tonight” promoted the claim a total of 63 times.
Fox News hosts who’ve repeated the talking point include Sean Hannity, who has been described as Trump’s “shadow chief of staff” and leads the pack, referencing the story 26 times, as well as Jesse Watters (19 times), Pete Hegseth (15 times), Brian Kilmeade (12 times), Steve Doocy (6 times), Jeanine Pirro (6 times), and Laura Ingraham (5 times).
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel appeared on Fox to advance the narrative 10 times, which dovetailed with official party statements and videos.
Fox News pundits like Newt Gingrich (6 times), Jason Chaffetz (7 times), and Geraldo Rivera (4 times) were also part of the network’s anti-Biden chorus.
Anchors and reporters described by Fox News as “straight news” figures similarly promoted the Republican Party talking point, including Harris Faulkner (7 times), Sandra Smith (6 times), Trace Gallagher (5 times), and “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace (7 times).
Biden began self-isolating in mid-March, after announcing that he would cancel planned campaign events in response to guidelines from officials in Delaware (where Biden lives) and federal health agencies on limiting the spread of the virus.
But since Memorial Day, Biden has repeatedly appeared in public even as the Trump campaign and Fox News insisted he was “hiding.” Biden has worn a protective face mask during his appearances, while Trump and his team attacked him for doing so.
On Memorial Day, May 25, Biden and his wife, Jill, visited the Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park to pay their respects.
On June 1, Biden went to Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, and spoke with church leaders about the George Floyd protests. The next day, Biden went to Philadelphia City Hall and made a speech on civil unrest and the protests.
On June 5, Biden gave a speech at Delaware State University.
On June 11, Biden held a roundtable discussion in Philadelphia about reopening the economy and the pandemic.
Six days later, Biden held another roundtable at a soul food restaurant in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. That same day he gave a speech in Darby, Pennsylvania.
On June 25, Biden traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and spoke with families about health care issues. He also gave a speech that same day, also in Lancaster.
Biden spoke about health care in a speech in Wilmington on June 30.
On July 9, Biden visited Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was born, and spoke to several residents. Biden also gave a speech in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, that same day.
The day after Biden’s twin appearances, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy nonetheless referred to “Basement Biden” in a Facebook post.
Biden delivered a speech on energy policy in Wilmington on July 14. Two days later, in Castle, Delaware, Biden gave a speech about his “Build Back Better” economic policy.
Despite all these appearances, Trump, his presidential campaign, and the Republican Party have joined with Fox News in claiming that Biden is “hiding” from the public in his basement.
On June 11, the same day Biden held his roundtable in Philadelphia, Trump tweeted that Biden “refuses to leave his basement.”
On July 20, a Trump campaign spokesperson praised Trump for “rallying in Tulsa with thousands of energetic supporters” which he called a “stark contrast to the sleepy campaign being run by Joe Biden from his basement in Delaware.”
Despite the sparse attendance at Trump’s Tulsa rally, health officials in the area said that the event was the “likely” source of a new surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
Conservative pundit and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain attended the Tulsa rally and later died due to complications from COVID-19.
On Aug. 2, Trump tweeted that Biden “never leaves his basement,” despite considerable evidence to the contrary. Two days later, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused Biden of “hiding in a basement.”
RNC chair McDaniel piled on, claiming that Biden was making “gaffes from his basement.” The comment was made on Fox Business, Fox News’ sister network.
The next day, Aug. 5, the Trump campaign released an ad alleging Biden was in his “basement.” It was quickly revealed that in two of the ad’s depictions of Biden purportedly in a “basement,” he was outside.
Once again, on Aug. 9, Trump’s rapid response director Abigail Marone tweeted that Biden “has to stay in the basement.”
After Trump canceled Republican Convention plans, which he changed because the governor of North Carolina would not ignore virus safety regulations for him, on Aug. 10, McDaniel said that “if Joe Biden can live in his basement,” Trump could accept the party nomination at “his house,” the White House.
As recently as Tuesday, Aug. 11, McEnany described Biden as “the man who thinks he can win a presidential campaign from his basement.”
Less than 24 hours after McEnany’s comment, Biden held his first public event with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), his running mate.
The event was not held in a basement.
It is often hard to tell where Trump and his campaign end and Fox News begins. The shared message on Biden and his basement is just the latest example.
Fox hosts are close to Trump and often what appears on air ends up in Trump’s speeches and talking points.
Fox host Pete Hegseth, who Trump once reportedly considered for an administration position, pushed for businesses to reopen in May despite the virus, while at the same time Trump was publicly pressuring Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on the same topic.
When Trump teargassed protesters in Lafayette Park across from the White House in June and posed with a Bible, Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum compared him to President Abraham Lincoln.
In July, as the Trump campaign falsely claimed Biden called police “the enemy” in campaign materials, Trump appeared for a friendly interview with Hannity. Hannity repeated the campaign’s characterization of Biden’s remarks in a question to Trump, who used the opportunity to bash Biden. They were in perfect synchronization.
Trump began his transition from a reality TV personality to a political figure by being featured as a regular commentator on Fox News, specifically on “Fox & Friends.”
Throughout the 2016 campaign, Trump gave voice to many Fox News obsessions, including the demonization of Mexican immigrants and his push for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
In the White House, Trump has frequently used Fox News as the basis for policy decisions like his response to the pandemic and his decision to send federal law enforcement into Portland, Oregon. Trump claimed that the protests were “out of control” based on Fox footage, even as local officials like Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) said intervention was unnecessary.
Trump’s recent decision to push a rule that would allow renewed discrimination in housing “shows that he’s been heavily influenced by the demagoguery of right-wing media personalities, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson,” Media Matters senior fellow Matthew Gertz noted.
Trump praises Fox News constantly, often telling his millions of followers to tune in to specific programs, particularly those of his biggest supporters like Pirro. Trump also makes sure to tell followers to watch his interviews with Fox personalities like Hannity.
Trump makes hiring decisions for positions in the federal government from within Fox News’ ranks. In total, 20 administration officials have come from the network since 2017.
Among those figures are former national security adviser John Bolton, former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland, and Mercedes Schlapp, who served previously as the White House director of strategic communications and is now a part of Trump’s reelection campaign.
Neither the Trump campaign nor the White House responded to a request for comment on this story.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-08-14--Two top Trump officials aren't legally allowed to hold jobs he gave them

The Government Accountability Office , a nonpartisan congressional watchdog , released a report on Friday saying two of Donald Trump 's top officials were illegally appointed to their roles , as Trump did not properly follow laws guiding the order of succession .
The report determined that both Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf , and Ken Cuccinelli , who currently serves as both senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary for DHS as well as acting director of the U.S .
Citizenship and Immigration Services , were not correctly appointed to their roles and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it did not `` review the consequences '' of the fact that both Wolf and Cuccinelli were illegally appointed .
Instead , it said it recommends the DHS inspector general look into that .
However , it raises questions about the legality of both men 's actions in leading the department .
`` To be clear , a GAO opinion does n't automatically invalidate Wolf 's and Cuccinelli 's appointments , '' Steve Vladeck , a professor at the University of Texas School of Law who specializes in presidential appointments , tweeted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pending lawsuits raising similar challenges to the appointments ( and actions taken under them ) , which the GAO opinion notes , that just got a *major* boost . ''
The report came after Reps. Bennie G. Thompson ( D-MS ) , chair of the Homeland Security Committee , and Carolyn Maloney ( D-NY ) , chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform , asked the GAO in November 2019 to review both Wolf and Cuccinelli 's appointments .
`` GAO 's damning opinion paints a disturbing picture of the Trump Administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate confirmation process to install ideologues , '' Thompson and Maloney said in a joint statement Friday morning .
`` In its haste to circumvent Congress ’ s constitutional role in confirming the government 's top officials to deliver on the President ’ s radical agenda , the Administration violated the Department ’ s order of succession , as required by law , '' they added .
The GAO report comes after a federal judge ruled in March that Cuccinelli was illegally appointed to head USCIS and that his attempts to restrict asylum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
DHS did not immediately respond to request for comment on whether any action will be taken given the GAO report .
Both Wolf and Cuccinelli have made controversial decisions in their roles .
Cuccinelli attempted to change asylum policy to cut the amount of time asylum seekers have to make their claim that they face persecution if they are sent back to the countries they came from .
Wolf tried to block New York residents from applying for the Global Entry program , which cuts wait times in customs for U.S. citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demand that New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo turn over access to the state 's motor vehicle database after New York passed a law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver 's licenses .
Wolf also ordered federal agents into Portland , Oregon , to infiltrate racial justice protests .
Those federal agents beat , tear-gassed , and even abducted peaceful protesters , leading to even bigger protests and accusations from Oregon officials that Wolf was trying to score political points for Trump .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, released a report on Friday saying two of Donald Trump’s top officials were illegally appointed to their roles, as Trump did not properly follow laws guiding the order of succession.
The report determined that both Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, and Ken Cuccinelli, who currently serves as both senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary for DHS as well as acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, were not correctly appointed to their roles and are thus serving illegally.
The GAO said it did not “review the consequences” of the fact that both Wolf and Cuccinelli were illegally appointed. Instead, it said it recommends the DHS inspector general look into that.
However, it raises questions about the legality of both men’s actions in leading the department.
“To be clear, a GAO opinion doesn’t automatically invalidate Wolf’s and Cuccinelli’s appointments,” Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law who specializes in presidential appointments, tweeted. “But there are a number of pending lawsuits raising similar challenges to the appointments (and actions taken under them), which the GAO opinion notes, that just got a *major* boost.”
The report came after Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), chair of the Homeland Security Committee, and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, asked the GAO in November 2019 to review both Wolf and Cuccinelli’s appointments.
“GAO’s damning opinion paints a disturbing picture of the Trump Administration playing fast and loose by bypassing the Senate confirmation process to install ideologues,” Thompson and Maloney said in a joint statement Friday morning.
“In its haste to circumvent Congress’s constitutional role in confirming the government’s top officials to deliver on the President’s radical agenda, the Administration violated the Department’s order of succession, as required by law,” they added.
The GAO report comes after a federal judge ruled in March that Cuccinelli was illegally appointed to head USCIS and that his attempts to restrict asylum in the United States were also illegal.
DHS did not immediately respond to request for comment on whether any action will be taken given the GAO report.
Both Wolf and Cuccinelli have made controversial decisions in their roles.
Cuccinelli attempted to change asylum policy to cut the amount of time asylum seekers have to make their claim that they face persecution if they are sent back to the countries they came from.
Wolf tried to block New York residents from applying for the Global Entry program, which cuts wait times in customs for U.S. citizens, as a ransom of sorts to demand that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo turn over access to the state’s motor vehicle database after New York passed a law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses.
Wolf also ordered federal agents into Portland, Oregon, to infiltrate racial justice protests. Those federal agents beat, tear-gassed, and even abducted peaceful protesters, leading to even bigger protests and accusations from Oregon officials that Wolf was trying to score political points for Trump.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-08-14--Trump and his wife get mail-in ballots after weeks of attacking mail-in ballots

Donald Trump has requested a mail-in ballot for Florida 's Tuesday primary election , despite weeks of criticizing the practice .
Ballots were mailed on Wednesday to both Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort , which Trump lists as his legal address , according to online Palm Beach County elections records .
Both previously voted by mail for the presidential preference primary in March , according to records .
Following multiple claims that mail-in voting was unsafe and vulnerable to fraud , Trump changed his mind about the practice last week , at least in Florida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Mail or Absentee Voting , in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure , Tried and True , '' Trump tweeted last Tuesday .
`` Florida 's Voting system has been cleaned up ( we defeated Democrats attempts at change ) , so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail ! ''
Meanwhile , Trump 's campaign and the GOP are suing Nevada over its new vote-by-mail law .
Nevada officials joined several states that plan on automatically sending voters mail ballots .
Two states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this summer to adopt automatic mail ballot policies .
Five other states have relied on mail-in ballots since even before the coronavirus pandemic raised concerns about voting in person , but there is no evidence to support Trump 's assertion that voting by mail leads to widespread fraud .
Florida voters must request a mail-in ballot in order to receive one .
Statewide in-person early voting began Saturday in Florida while the state continues to grapple with a high number of coronavirus cases , highlighted by more than 8,800 fatalities and at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began .
Voters are mainly choosing party nominees for Congress and the state Legislature .
While both parties have pushed voters to cast ballots by mail in recent elections , this year there 's been a stronger push during the pandemic .
More than 4.2 million Florida voters have requested a vote-by-mail ballot , and nearly 1.5 million had been returned by Saturday morning , according to a Department of State website .
That compares to nearly 1.3 million cast in the entire 2016 primary election .

Donald Trump has requested a mail-in ballot for Florida’s Tuesday primary election, despite weeks of criticizing the practice.
Ballots were mailed on Wednesday to both Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, which Trump lists as his legal address, according to online Palm Beach County elections records. Both previously voted by mail for the presidential preference primary in March, according to records.
Following multiple claims that mail-in voting was unsafe and vulnerable to fraud, Trump changed his mind about the practice last week, at least in Florida.
“Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True,” Trump tweeted last Tuesday. “Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail!”
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign and the GOP are suing Nevada over its new vote-by-mail law. Nevada officials joined several states that plan on automatically sending voters mail ballots. Two states, California and Vermont, moved earlier this summer to adopt automatic mail ballot policies.
Five other states have relied on mail-in ballots since even before the coronavirus pandemic raised concerns about voting in person, but there is no evidence to support Trump’s assertion that voting by mail leads to widespread fraud.
Florida voters must request a mail-in ballot in order to receive one.
Statewide in-person early voting began Saturday in Florida while the state continues to grapple with a high number of coronavirus cases, highlighted by more than 8,800 fatalities and at least 550,000 known virus cases since the pandemic began.
Voters are mainly choosing party nominees for Congress and the state Legislature. While both parties have pushed voters to cast ballots by mail in recent elections, this year there’s been a stronger push during the pandemic.
More than 4.2 million Florida voters have requested a vote-by-mail ballot, and nearly 1.5 million had been returned by Saturday morning, according to a Department of State website. That compares to nearly 1.3 million cast in the entire 2016 primary election.


shareblue--2020-08-15--Trump's EPA is letting oil and gas companies 'rapidly' pollute the atmosphere

Donald Trump 's administration is undoing Obama-era rules designed to limit potent greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields and pipelines , formalizing the changes Thursday in the heart of the nation 's most prolific natural gas reservoir and in the premier presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania .
Andrew Wheeler , the Environmental Protection Agency administrator , signed the rollback of the 2016 methane emissions rule in Pittsburgh as the agency touted the Trump administration 's efforts to `` strengthen and promote American energy . ''
The EPA first proposed the rollback last year , accusing the Obama administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and agency officials said it would save companies tens of millions of dollars a year in compliance requirements without changing the trajectory of methane emissions .
But states , including California , and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups warned that the changes are illegal — not to mention a setback in the fight against climate change — and expect to quickly sue to block it .
`` It 's not only negligent , it 's unlawful , '' California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement .
`` We wo n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ super pollutant to rapidly warm our atmosphere . ''
The White House took the event to Pittsburgh , the headquarters for many companies exploring the Marcellus Shale , the booming reservoir that vaulted Pennsylvania to the nation 's No .
2 natural gas state , behind Texas .
`` EPA has been working hard to fulfill President Trump 's promise to cut burdensome and ineffective regulations for our domestic energy industry , '' Wheeler said in a statement .
Reflecting the pervasive politics of the presidential campaign , Wheeler cast blame onto the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden , saying `` regulatory burdens put into place by the Obama-Biden Administration fell heavily on small and medium-sized energy businesses . ''
Pennsylvania is of prime importance in November 's presidential election , and the natural gas industry is playing a central role in TV attack ads being aired in the state by Trump 's allies .
In recent years , preventing methane leaks from well-site equipment and pipelines has become important for regulators because methane is a potent greenhouse gas .
The oil and gas industry was responsible for nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emissions in 2018 , and methane accounted for 10 % of the nation 's greenhouse gas emissions , according to the EPA .
The Trump administration is eliminating the twice-yearly requirement for companies to inspect for methane leaks on equipment installed after 2015 at well sites and downstream segments , such as pipelines , compressor stations and storage tanks .
Leaks must be fixed .
Supporters of the rule maintained that , based on reports the companies file , it seemed to be helping reduce methane emissions .
They also pointed to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that its rule changes will increase emissions of methane and smog-forming compounds .
Operators will still have to check equipment for leaks of smog-forming compounds at some higher-producing well sites , but Thursday 's changes relaxed those standards and producers wo n't have to inspect pipelines or downstream equipment anymore .
Any leaks they fix help capture methane , and companies say they have a financial incentive to voluntarily fix leaks to ensure that methane gets to customers , rather than going into the atmosphere .
But , far more importantly , killing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal requirement for the EPA to extend the rule to cover many more pieces of equipment installed before 2015 , environmental advocates say .
`` We 'll see them in court because this is blatantly illegal , '' said David Doniger , senior strategic director of the climate and clean energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council .
Robert Howarth , an ecology professor at Cornell University , estimated that shale oil and gas production in North America accounted for one-third of the total global increase in methane emissions over the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is `` dangerously reckless , '' Howarth said .
`` Methane emissions are increasing rapidly , and the oil and gas industry is clearly part of the problem . ''
Peter Zalzal , an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund , said that , without federal leadership , stronger state regulation will be even more important .
Some states — such as California , Colorado , Pennsylvania and Wyoming — have methane standards that are comparable or stronger than the EPA 's 2016 rule .
But many big oil and gas states — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zalzal said .
Oil and gas industry representatives pushed for the methane rollbacks , fearing more expensive rules covering emissions from older equipment .
Smaller , independent operators hailed the changes as important to their survival .
`` The issue for producers has never been whether regulations were necessary ; it has always been whether the regulations were sound and cost effective , '' the Independent Petroleum Association of America said .
Still , some companies opposed a rollback , noting they had pledged to reduce emissions or pointing out that they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some oil majors including BP , Shell , and ExxonMobil have called on Trump to strengthen efforts to cap methane emissions .
The Trump administration 's move is `` frustrating and disappointing , '' Shell 's U.S. president , Gretchen Watkins , said in a statement .
In 2016 's election , Trump eked out a win in Pennsylvania — the first Republican presidential candidate to capture it since 1988 — by piling up support with Pennsylvania 's rural areas and working-class whites .
Since then , Trump has eagerly promoted the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on shoring up his base as his appointees have moved to expand extraction on federal lands , boost the export of liquefied natural gas and restrict the ability of states to block pipelines .
Meanwhile , a pro-Trump super PAC , America First Action , is running TV ads in Pennsylvania accusing Biden of wanting to ban `` fracking , '' the process that along with horizontal drilling has unlocked a torrent of oil and natural gas across the United States in the past decade .
Biden 's campaign counters that that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new gas-drilling permits on public lands , his campaign said , pointing out that about 90 % of fracking is on private land .
And while Trump often ridicules the science behind increasingly urgent warnings for immediate action to stave off the worst of climate damage by cutting fossil fuel emissions , Biden 's campaign said it recognizes that `` climate change is an urgent problem and that all Americans have the right to clean air and clean water . ''

Donald Trump’s administration is undoing Obama-era rules designed to limit potent greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields and pipelines, formalizing the changes Thursday in the heart of the nation’s most prolific natural gas reservoir and in the premier presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Andrew Wheeler, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, signed the rollback of the 2016 methane emissions rule in Pittsburgh as the agency touted the Trump administration’s efforts to “strengthen and promote American energy.”
The EPA first proposed the rollback last year, accusing the Obama administration of enacting a legally flawed rule, and agency officials said it would save companies tens of millions of dollars a year in compliance requirements without changing the trajectory of methane emissions.
But states, including California, and a coalition of environmental advocacy groups warned that the changes are illegal — not to mention a setback in the fight against climate change — and expect to quickly sue to block it.
“It’s not only negligent, it’s unlawful,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “We won’t sit silently while the EPA allows this super pollutant to rapidly warm our atmosphere.”
The White House took the event to Pittsburgh, the headquarters for many companies exploring the Marcellus Shale, the booming reservoir that vaulted Pennsylvania to the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state, behind Texas.
“EPA has been working hard to fulfill President Trump’s promise to cut burdensome and ineffective regulations for our domestic energy industry,” Wheeler said in a statement.
Reflecting the pervasive politics of the presidential campaign, Wheeler cast blame onto the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, saying “regulatory burdens put into place by the Obama-Biden Administration fell heavily on small and medium-sized energy businesses.”
Pennsylvania is of prime importance in November’s presidential election, and the natural gas industry is playing a central role in TV attack ads being aired in the state by Trump’s allies.
In recent years, preventing methane leaks from well-site equipment and pipelines has become important for regulators because methane is a potent greenhouse gas.
The oil and gas industry was responsible for nearly 30% of the nation’s methane emissions in 2018, and methane accounted for 10% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA.
The Trump administration is eliminating the twice-yearly requirement for companies to inspect for methane leaks on equipment installed after 2015 at well sites and downstream segments, such as pipelines, compressor stations and storage tanks. Leaks must be fixed.
Supporters of the rule maintained that, based on reports the companies file, it seemed to be helping reduce methane emissions. They also pointed to the EPA’s acknowledgment in its technical analysis that its rule changes will increase emissions of methane and smog-forming compounds.
Operators will still have to check equipment for leaks of smog-forming compounds at some higher-producing well sites, but Thursday’s changes relaxed those standards and producers won’t have to inspect pipelines or downstream equipment anymore.
Any leaks they fix help capture methane, and companies say they have a financial incentive to voluntarily fix leaks to ensure that methane gets to customers, rather than going into the atmosphere.
But, far more importantly, killing the methane emissions rule also blocks a legal requirement for the EPA to extend the rule to cover many more pieces of equipment installed before 2015, environmental advocates say.
“We’ll see them in court because this is blatantly illegal,” said David Doniger, senior strategic director of the climate and clean energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Robert Howarth, an ecology professor at Cornell University, estimated that shale oil and gas production in North America accounted for one-third of the total global increase in methane emissions over the past year.
Rolling back methane measures now is “dangerously reckless,” Howarth said. “Methane emissions are increasing rapidly, and the oil and gas industry is clearly part of the problem.”
Peter Zalzal, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund, said that, without federal leadership, stronger state regulation will be even more important.
Some states — such as California, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Wyoming — have methane standards that are comparable or stronger than the EPA’s 2016 rule. But many big oil and gas states — such as Texas — do not, Zalzal said.
Oil and gas industry representatives pushed for the methane rollbacks, fearing more expensive rules covering emissions from older equipment. Smaller, independent operators hailed the changes as important to their survival.
“The issue for producers has never been whether regulations were necessary; it has always been whether the regulations were sound and cost effective,” the Independent Petroleum Association of America said.
Still, some companies opposed a rollback, noting they had pledged to reduce emissions or pointing out that they were already exceeding the rule’s requirements.
Some oil majors including BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil have called on Trump to strengthen efforts to cap methane emissions. The Trump administration’s move is “frustrating and disappointing,” Shell’s U.S. president, Gretchen Watkins, said in a statement.
In 2016’s election, Trump eked out a win in Pennsylvania — the first Republican presidential candidate to capture it since 1988 — by piling up support with Pennsylvania’s rural areas and working-class whites.
Since then, Trump has eagerly promoted the state’s gas industry, underscoring his focus on shoring up his base as his appointees have moved to expand extraction on federal lands, boost the export of liquefied natural gas and restrict the ability of states to block pipelines.
Meanwhile, a pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, is running TV ads in Pennsylvania accusing Biden of wanting to ban “fracking,” the process that along with horizontal drilling has unlocked a torrent of oil and natural gas across the United States in the past decade.
Biden’s campaign counters that that is flatly untrue.
Biden would only ban new gas-drilling permits on public lands, his campaign said, pointing out that about 90% of fracking is on private land.
And while Trump often ridicules the science behind increasingly urgent warnings for immediate action to stave off the worst of climate damage by cutting fossil fuel emissions, Biden’s campaign said it recognizes that “climate change is an urgent problem and that all Americans have the right to clean air and clean water.”


shareblue--2020-08-15--Dodgers are first major league baseball team to open stadium for voting

Dodger Stadium will serve as a vote center for the presidential election in November , making the Dodgers the first Major League Baseball team to make their venue available for voting .
Any registered voter in Los Angeles County can visit the stadium over a five-day period .
Parking will be free .
Further details will be announced later .
The team said Thursday that all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health guidelines will be followed regarding social distancing .
The stadium site is a joint effort between the Dodgers and More Than A Vote , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working together to educate , energize and protect young communities of color by fighting systemic voter suppression .
`` We are all in this together , '' James said in a statement .
`` This is exactly why we created More Than a Vote .
A lot of us now working together and here for every team who wants to follow the Dodgers lead and turn their stadium into a safer place for voting . ''
Dodger Stadium has been closed to the general public during the shortened 60-game season .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ county 's largest COVID-19 testing site and been a staging ground for emergency equipment and a food distribution site for those experiencing food insecurity .

Dodger Stadium will serve as a vote center for the presidential election in November, making the Dodgers the first Major League Baseball team to make their venue available for voting.
Any registered voter in Los Angeles County can visit the stadium over a five-day period. Parking will be free.
Further details will be announced later. The team said Thursday that all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health guidelines will be followed regarding social distancing.
The stadium site is a joint effort between the Dodgers and More Than A Vote, a nonprofit coalition of Black athletes and artists working together to educate, energize and protect young communities of color by fighting systemic voter suppression.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James helped created More Than A Vote.
“We are all in this together,” James said in a statement. “This is exactly why we created More Than a Vote. A lot of us now working together and here for every team who wants to follow the Dodgers lead and turn their stadium into a safer place for voting.”
Dodger Stadium has been closed to the general public during the shortened 60-game season. However, the stadium and surrounding property have hosted county’s largest COVID-19 testing site and been a staging ground for emergency equipment and a food distribution site for those experiencing food insecurity.


shareblue--2020-08-16--Memories of her mother drive Kamala Harris' political career

Speaking from the Senate floor for the first time , Kamala Harris expressed gratitude for a woman on whose shoulders she said she stood .
In her autobiography , Harris interspersed the well-worn details of her resume with an extended ode to the one she calls `` the reason for everything . ''
And taking the stage to announce her presidential candidacy , she framed it as a race grounded in the compassion and values of the person she credits for her fighting spirit .
Though more than a decade has passed since Shyamala Gopalan died , she remains a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she takes a historic spot on the Democratic ticket beside former Vice President Joe Biden .
Those who know the California senator expect her campaign for the vice presidency to bring repeated mentions of the woman she calls her single greatest influence .
`` She 's always told the same story , '' said friend Mimi Silbert .
`` Kamala had one important role model , and it was her mother . ''
Harris ' mother gave her an early grounding in the civil rights movement and injected in her a duty not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that no-nonsense demeanor on display in Senate hearings over special counsel Robert Mueller 's investigation , Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh , and more ?
Onlookers can credit , or blame , Gopalan , a crusader who raised her daughter in the same mold .
`` She 'd tell us : 'Do n't sit around and complain about things .
Do something . '
So I did something , '' Harris said Wednesday in her first appearance with Biden as his running mate .
Harris ' parents met as doctoral students at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the dawn of the 1960s .
Her father , a Jamaican named Donald Harris , came to study economics .
Her mother studied nutrition and endocrinology .
For two freethinking young people drawn to activism , they landed on campus from opposite sides of the world just as protests exploded around civil rights , the Vietnam War , and voting rights .
Their paths crossed in those movements , and they fell in love .
At the heart of their activism was a small group of students who met every Sunday to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grassroots activity around the world , from the anti-apartheid Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa to liberation movements in Latin America to the Black separatist preaching of Malcolm X in the United States .
A member of the group , Aubrey Labrie , said the weekly gathering was one in which figures such as Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro were admired , and would later provide some inspiration to the founders of the Black Panther Party .
Gopalan was the only one in the group who was n't Black , but she immersed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She and Harris wowed him with their intellect .
`` I was in awe of the knowledge that they seemed to demonstrate , '' said Labrie , who grew so close to the family that the senator calls him `` Uncle Aubrey . ''
The couple married , and Gopalan Harris gave birth to Kamala and then Maya two years later .
Even with young children , the duo continued their advocacy .
As a little girl , Harris says she remembers an energetic sea of moving legs and the cacophony of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to marches .
She writes of her parents being sprayed with police hoses , confronted by Hells Angels and once , with the future senator in a stroller , forced to run to safety when violence broke out .
Sharon McGaffie , a family friend whose mother , Regina Shelton , was a caregiver for the girls , remembers Gopalan Harris speaking to her daughters as if they were adults and exposing them to worlds often walled off to children , whether a civil rights march or a visit to mom 's laboratory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivering a speech .
`` She would take the girls and they would pull out their little backpacks and they would be in that environment , '' said McGaffie .
A few years into the marriage , Harris ' parents divorced .
The senator gives the pain of the parting only a few words in her biography .
Those who are close to her describe her childhood as happy , the smells of her mother 's cooking filling the kitchen and the sound of constant chatter and laughter buffeting the air .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even greater , and those who know Harris say they see it reflected throughout her life .
`` You ca n't know who @ KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was , '' her sister Maya tweeted Tuesday after Biden announced his pick .
`` Missing her terribly , but know she and the ancestors are smiling today . ''
As a kindergartner , Stacey Johnson-Batiste remembers Harris coming to her aid when a classroom bully grabbed her craft project and threw it to the floor , which brought retaliation from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the head with something that caused enough bleeding to necessitate a hospital visit , cementing for Johnson-Batiste a lifelong friendship with Harris and a view of her as a woman who embodies the ethics of her mother .
`` Even back then , '' Johnson-Batiste said , `` she has always stood up for what she thought was right . ''
As a teenager , after her mother got a job that prompted a family move to Montreal , Harris began seeing how she could achieve change in ways small and large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she and her sister protested a prohibition against soccer on the building 's lawn , which Harris said resulted in the rule being overturned .
As high school wound down , she homed in on a career goal of being a lawyer .
Sophie Maxwell , a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors , said Harris was n't choosing to eschew activism but rather to incorporate it into a life in law : `` Those two things go hand in hand . ''
In college , at Howard University in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recalls a classmate who was certain of what she wanted to do in life , who was serious about her studies , and who put off the fun of joining a sorority until her final year even as she made time for sit-ins and protests .
Thompkins and Harris both won student council posts .
In her new friend , Young Thompkins saw a young woman intent on not squandering all that her mother had worked to give her .
`` We were these two freshmen girls who want to save the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Harris ' story is much better known : a return to California for law school ; a failed first attempt at the bar ; jobs in prosecutor 's offices in Oakland and San Francisco ; a brazen and successful run at unseating her former boss as district attorney ; election as state attorney general and U.S. senator ; and a run for president that launched with fanfare but dissolved before the first votes were cast .
Each step of the way , friends point to the influence of Gopalan Harris as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being apparent from the moment they sat down to craft the very first flyer for Harris ' first campaign for public office .
`` She always talked about her mother , '' Dew Steele said .
`` When she was alive she was a force , and since she 's passed away she 's still a force . ''
Dew Steele remembers when she finally met Gopalan Harris at a campaign event .
It immediately struck her : `` Oh , this is where Kamala gets it from . ''
As much as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believed the world would see them differently .
Those who knew her say she was dismayed by racial inequality in the U.S. Understanding her girls would be seen as Black despite their mixed heritage , she surrounded them with Black role models and immersed them in Black culture .
They sang in the children 's choir at a Black church and regularly visited Rainbow Sign , a former Berkeley funeral home that was transformed into a vibrant Black cultural center .
Though the senator talks of attending anti-apartheid protests in college and frames @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same mold as her mother , she opted to pursue change by seeking a seat at the table .
`` I knew part of making change was what I 'd seen all my life , surrounded by adults shouting and marching and demanding justice from the outside .
But I also knew there was an important role on the inside , '' she wrote in `` The Truths We Hold . ''
To launch her political career , Harris had to unseat a man of her mother 's generation — a liberal prosecutor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family , who was active in the civil rights movement , and who became a hero to other activists whom he defended in court .
To win , Harris ran as a tougher-on-crime alternative .
Once in office , bound by the parameters of the law and the realities of politics , Harris ' choices stirred some to dismiss her claims of progressivism even as many others fiercely defend her .
She frames her philosophy in the example of her mother — concentrating on overarching goals through smaller daily steps .
`` She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She focused on the work right in front of her , '' the senator wrote .
Gopalan Harris defied generations of tradition by not returning to southern India after getting her doctorate , tossing aside expectations of an arranged marriage .
Her daughter portrays her mother 's spirit of activism as being in her blood .
Gopalan Harris ' mother took in victims of domestic abuse and educated women about contraception .
Her father was active in India 's independence movement and became a diplomat .
The couple spent time living in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there , working to settle refugees .
Joe Gray , who was Gopalan Harris ' boss after she returned from Canada to the Bay Area to work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , struggles to describe how a 5-foot-1-inch woman managed to fill a room with her commanding presence .
Gray , now a professor at Oregon Health and Science University , did n't see Gopalan Harris as a `` crusader in the workplace '' but said she insisted on racial and gender equity , would make known her disapproval to an insensitive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her work in cancer research .
Even from a distance , he 's struck by how much Harris reminds him of her .
`` I just get the TV persona , but a lot of Shyamala 's directness and sense of social justice , those seem to come through , '' he said .
`` I sense the same spirit . ''
Lateefah Simon sensed it , too .
She was a high school dropout-turned-MacArthur Fellow Harris hired to join the San Francisco DA 's office to head a program for first-time offenders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ role in a criminal justice system she saw as broken and biased , but Harris impressed her , and soon she had a glimpse of her mother as well .
At campaign events , Simon would watch Gopalan Harris , always in the front row , always beaming with pride .
She saw how both mother and daughter were meticulous about tiny details , how they were hard workers but maintained a sense of joy in their labors , how their laugh would echo in the room .
One time , Simon said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fundraiser because she was wearing tennis shoes , gently reminding her , `` We always show up excellent . ''
Years later , she heard echoes of the same message when Harris took a break from her Senate race to support her run for a seat on the Bay Area Rapid Transit District board .
Descending from her campaign bus , Harris was quick with some words of advice for her friend : `` Girl , clean your glasses . ''
`` It 's her saying , ' I believe in you and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see in you , ' '' Simon said .
Remembering her brush with the senator 's mother , Simon said , `` If I got that from Shyamala just in that one moment , can you imagine the many jewels Kamala got from her growing up ? ''
It 's an influence that far outweighed that of Harris ' father .
He and her mother separated when she was 5 before ultimately divorcing .
She writes of seeing him on weekends and over summers after he became a professor at Stanford University .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jamaica Global website , Harris said he never gave up his love for his daughters , and the senator trumpeted her father as a superhero in her children 's book .
But the iciness of their relationship was on display last year when she jokingly linked her use of marijuana to her Jamaican heritage .
Her father labeled the comment a `` travesty '' and a shameful soiling of the family reputation `` in the pursuit of identity politics . ''
The senator is curt in responding to questions about him , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contact .
Labrie said though the father attended his daughter 's Senate swearing-in , he was n't at her campaign kickoff .
He thinks the marijuana hubbub worsened their relationship .
`` I think that was the straw that really broke the camel 's back , '' he said .
The singularity of her mother 's role in her life made her death even harder for Harris .
Gopalan Harris relished roles in her daughter 's early campaigns but was gone before seeing her advance beyond a local office .
The senator says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` It can still get me choked up , '' she said in an interview last year .
`` It does n't matter how many years have passed . ''
The senator still uses pots and wooden spoons from her mother and thinks of her when she is back home and able to cook .
Her mother 's amethyst ring sparkles from her hand .
She finds herself asking her mother for advice or remembering one of her oft-repeated lines .
`` I dearly wish she were here with us this week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pride her mother wore as she stood beside her when she was sworn in as district attorney .
She remembers worrying about staying composed as she uttered her mother 's name in her inaugural address as attorney general .
She thinks of her mother asking a hospice nurse if her daughters would be OK as cancer drew her final day closer .
`` There is no title or honor on earth I 'll treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris ' daughter , '' she wrote .
`` That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all . ''

Speaking from the Senate floor for the first time, Kamala Harris expressed gratitude for a woman on whose shoulders she said she stood. In her autobiography, Harris interspersed the well-worn details of her resume with an extended ode to the one she calls “the reason for everything.” And taking the stage to announce her presidential candidacy, she framed it as a race grounded in the compassion and values of the person she credits for her fighting spirit.
Though more than a decade has passed since Shyamala Gopalan died, she remains a force in her daughter’s life as she takes a historic spot on the Democratic ticket beside former Vice President Joe Biden. Those who know the California senator expect her campaign for the vice presidency to bring repeated mentions of the woman she calls her single greatest influence.
“She’s always told the same story,” said friend Mimi Silbert. “Kamala had one important role model, and it was her mother.”
Harris’ mother gave her an early grounding in the civil rights movement and injected in her a duty not to complain but rather to act. And that no-nonsense demeanor on display in Senate hearings over special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and more? Onlookers can credit, or blame, Gopalan, a crusader who raised her daughter in the same mold.
“She’d tell us: ‘Don’t sit around and complain about things. Do something.’ So I did something,” Harris said Wednesday in her first appearance with Biden as his running mate.
Harris’ parents met as doctoral students at the University of California, Berkeley, at the dawn of the 1960s. Her father, a Jamaican named Donald Harris, came to study economics. Her mother studied nutrition and endocrinology.
For two freethinking young people drawn to activism, they landed on campus from opposite sides of the world just as protests exploded around civil rights, the Vietnam War, and voting rights. Their paths crossed in those movements, and they fell in love.
At the heart of their activism was a small group of students who met every Sunday to discuss the books of Black authors and grassroots activity around the world, from the anti-apartheid Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa to liberation movements in Latin America to the Black separatist preaching of Malcolm X in the United States.
A member of the group, Aubrey Labrie, said the weekly gathering was one in which figures such as Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro were admired, and would later provide some inspiration to the founders of the Black Panther Party. Gopalan was the only one in the group who wasn’t Black, but she immersed herself in the issues, Labrie said. She and Harris wowed him with their intellect.
“I was in awe of the knowledge that they seemed to demonstrate,” said Labrie, who grew so close to the family that the senator calls him “Uncle Aubrey.”
The couple married, and Gopalan Harris gave birth to Kamala and then Maya two years later. Even with young children, the duo continued their advocacy.
As a little girl, Harris says she remembers an energetic sea of moving legs and the cacophony of chants as her parents made their way to marches. She writes of her parents being sprayed with police hoses, confronted by Hells Angels and once, with the future senator in a stroller, forced to run to safety when violence broke out.
Sharon McGaffie, a family friend whose mother, Regina Shelton, was a caregiver for the girls, remembers Gopalan Harris speaking to her daughters as if they were adults and exposing them to worlds often walled off to children, whether a civil rights march or a visit to mom’s laboratory or a seminar where the mother was delivering a speech.
“She would take the girls and they would pull out their little backpacks and they would be in that environment,” said McGaffie.
A few years into the marriage, Harris’ parents divorced. The senator gives the pain of the parting only a few words in her biography. Those who are close to her describe her childhood as happy, the smells of her mother’s cooking filling the kitchen and the sound of constant chatter and laughter buffeting the air.
The mother’s influence on her girls grew even greater, and those who know Harris say they see it reflected throughout her life.
“You can’t know who @KamalaHarris is without knowing who our mother was,” her sister Maya tweeted Tuesday after Biden announced his pick. “Missing her terribly, but know she and the ancestors are smiling today.”
As a kindergartner, Stacey Johnson-Batiste remembers Harris coming to her aid when a classroom bully grabbed her craft project and threw it to the floor, which brought retaliation from the boy. He hit the future politician in the head with something that caused enough bleeding to necessitate a hospital visit, cementing for Johnson-Batiste a lifelong friendship with Harris and a view of her as a woman who embodies the ethics of her mother.
“Even back then,” Johnson-Batiste said, “she has always stood up for what she thought was right.”
As a teenager, after her mother got a job that prompted a family move to Montreal, Harris began seeing how she could achieve change in ways small and large. Outside her family’s apartment, she and her sister protested a prohibition against soccer on the building’s lawn, which Harris said resulted in the rule being overturned. As high school wound down, she homed in on a career goal of being a lawyer.
Sophie Maxwell, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said Harris wasn’t choosing to eschew activism but rather to incorporate it into a life in law: “Those two things go hand in hand.”
In college, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Shelley Young Thompkins recalls a classmate who was certain of what she wanted to do in life, who was serious about her studies, and who put off the fun of joining a sorority until her final year even as she made time for sit-ins and protests. Thompkins and Harris both won student council posts.
In her new friend, Young Thompkins saw a young woman intent on not squandering all that her mother had worked to give her.
“We were these two freshmen girls who want to save the world,” she said.
From there, Harris’ story is much better known: a return to California for law school; a failed first attempt at the bar; jobs in prosecutor’s offices in Oakland and San Francisco; a brazen and successful run at unseating her former boss as district attorney; election as state attorney general and U.S. senator; and a run for president that launched with fanfare but dissolved before the first votes were cast.
Each step of the way, friends point to the influence of Gopalan Harris as a constant.
Andrea Dew Steele remembers it being apparent from the moment they sat down to craft the very first flyer for Harris’ first campaign for public office.
“She always talked about her mother,” Dew Steele said. “When she was alive she was a force, and since she’s passed away she’s still a force.”
Dew Steele remembers when she finally met Gopalan Harris at a campaign event. It immediately struck her: “Oh, this is where Kamala gets it from.”
As much as mother and daughter shared, Gopalan Harris believed the world would see them differently. Those who knew her say she was dismayed by racial inequality in the U.S. Understanding her girls would be seen as Black despite their mixed heritage, she surrounded them with Black role models and immersed them in Black culture. They sang in the children’s choir at a Black church and regularly visited Rainbow Sign, a former Berkeley funeral home that was transformed into a vibrant Black cultural center.
Though the senator talks of attending anti-apartheid protests in college and frames her life story as being in the same mold as her mother, she opted to pursue change by seeking a seat at the table.
“I knew part of making change was what I’d seen all my life, surrounded by adults shouting and marching and demanding justice from the outside. But I also knew there was an important role on the inside,” she wrote in “The Truths We Hold.”
To launch her political career, Harris had to unseat a man of her mother’s generation — a liberal prosecutor who was the product of a left-wing family, who was active in the civil rights movement, and who became a hero to other activists whom he defended in court. To win, Harris ran as a tougher-on-crime alternative.
Once in office, bound by the parameters of the law and the realities of politics, Harris’ choices stirred some to dismiss her claims of progressivism even as many others fiercely defend her. She frames her philosophy in the example of her mother — concentrating on overarching goals through smaller daily steps.
“She wasn’t fixated on that distant dream. She focused on the work right in front of her,” the senator wrote.
Gopalan Harris defied generations of tradition by not returning to southern India after getting her doctorate, tossing aside expectations of an arranged marriage. Her daughter portrays her mother’s spirit of activism as being in her blood. Gopalan Harris’ mother took in victims of domestic abuse and educated women about contraception. Her father was active in India’s independence movement and became a diplomat. The couple spent time living in Zambia after the end of British rule there, working to settle refugees.
Joe Gray, who was Gopalan Harris’ boss after she returned from Canada to the Bay Area to work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, struggles to describe how a 5-foot-1-inch woman managed to fill a room with her commanding presence.
Gray, now a professor at Oregon Health and Science University, didn’t see Gopalan Harris as a “crusader in the workplace” but said she insisted on racial and gender equity, would make known her disapproval to an insensitive comment, and was assertive in defending her work in cancer research.
Even from a distance, he’s struck by how much Harris reminds him of her.
“I just get the TV persona, but a lot of Shyamala’s directness and sense of social justice, those seem to come through,” he said. “I sense the same spirit.”
Lateefah Simon sensed it, too. She was a high school dropout-turned-MacArthur Fellow Harris hired to join the San Francisco DA’s office to head a program for first-time offenders. Simon was skeptical of taking a role in a criminal justice system she saw as broken and biased, but Harris impressed her, and soon she had a glimpse of her mother as well.
At campaign events, Simon would watch Gopalan Harris, always in the front row, always beaming with pride. She saw how both mother and daughter were meticulous about tiny details, how they were hard workers but maintained a sense of joy in their labors, how their laugh would echo in the room.
One time, Simon said Gopalan Harris sent her away from a fundraiser because she was wearing tennis shoes, gently reminding her, “We always show up excellent.”
Years later, she heard echoes of the same message when Harris took a break from her Senate race to support her run for a seat on the Bay Area Rapid Transit District board. Descending from her campaign bus, Harris was quick with some words of advice for her friend: “Girl, clean your glasses.”
“It’s her saying, ‘I believe in you and I want people to see what I see in you,'” Simon said. Remembering her brush with the senator’s mother, Simon said, “If I got that from Shyamala just in that one moment, can you imagine the many jewels Kamala got from her growing up?”
It’s an influence that far outweighed that of Harris’ father. He and her mother separated when she was 5 before ultimately divorcing. She writes of seeing him on weekends and over summers after he became a professor at Stanford University.
In a piece he wrote for the Jamaica Global website, Harris said he never gave up his love for his daughters, and the senator trumpeted her father as a superhero in her children’s book. But the iciness of their relationship was on display last year when she jokingly linked her use of marijuana to her Jamaican heritage. Her father labeled the comment a “travesty” and a shameful soiling of the family reputation “in the pursuit of identity politics.”
The senator is curt in responding to questions about him, saying they have “off and on” contact. Labrie said though the father attended his daughter’s Senate swearing-in, he wasn’t at her campaign kickoff. He thinks the marijuana hubbub worsened their relationship. “I think that was the straw that really broke the camel’s back,” he said.
The singularity of her mother’s role in her life made her death even harder for Harris. Gopalan Harris relished roles in her daughter’s early campaigns but was gone before seeing her advance beyond a local office. The senator says she still thinks of her constantly.
“It can still get me choked up,” she said in an interview last year. “It doesn’t matter how many years have passed.”
The senator still uses pots and wooden spoons from her mother and thinks of her when she is back home and able to cook. Her mother’s amethyst ring sparkles from her hand. She finds herself asking her mother for advice or remembering one of her oft-repeated lines.
“I dearly wish she were here with us this week,” Harris tweeted Thursday.
She pictures the pride her mother wore as she stood beside her when she was sworn in as district attorney. She remembers worrying about staying composed as she uttered her mother’s name in her inaugural address as attorney general. She thinks of her mother asking a hospice nurse if her daughters would be OK as cancer drew her final day closer.
“There is no title or honor on earth I’ll treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris’ daughter,” she wrote. “That is the truth I hold dearest of all.”


shareblue--2020-08-16--A look at how Black women are shaping the Democratic Party

Black women are often called the backbone of the Democratic Party — reliable and loyal voters whose support can make or break a candidate .
In 2018 , they were more likely than women in any other racial or ethnic group to support Democratic House candidates , according to AP VoteCast , which surveyed more than 115,000 voters nationwide , including close to 7,000 Black women , making it one of the most in-depth available looks at the group 's political views .
But that does n't mean Black women are `` typical '' Democrats .
An AP analysis of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's views often stand out as more moderate than the rest of the party .
Black women are less likely to identify as liberal , somewhat less likely to support abortion rights , far less concerned about climate change , and somewhat more likely to prioritize jobs and the economy .
They are also more protective of former President Barack Obama 's policies and legacy .
In 2020 , the influence of those views was especially clear .
Black women came out in force to vote for the moderate in the Democratic presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Joe Biden , and rescued his bid .
A closer look at how Black women are shaping the Democratic Party : In its survey of 2018 midterm voters who identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party , VoteCast shows that Black women were much less likely than others to call themselves liberal ( 42 % vs 60 % ) and more likely to call themselves moderate ( 43 % vs 34 % ) or conservative ( 13 % vs 5 % ) .
The pattern is similar among Black men .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ VoteCast was conducted in the 2020 primary elections , Black voters were more likely to say they preferred voting for a candidate who would restore the political system to the way it was before Donald Trump took office ( 52 % ) than for a candidate who would fundamentally change politics in Washington ( 46 % ) .
Other Democratic voters were more likely to prefer the reverse , 54 % to 44 % .
It 's a key difference that demonstrates the group 's power in the party 's nomination process .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hampshire left Joe Biden 's candidacy on life support earlier this year , Black voters — and Black women in particular — spurred the former vice president to a decisive victory in South Carolina .
Black women made up about a third of voters in the key contest , and approximately two-thirds of them voted for Biden , VoteCast shows .
That victory turned Biden from also-ran to consensus candidate of moderate primary voters , propelling his comeback bid to win the nomination .
Among both Black female Democrats and other Democrats , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be named as the most important facing the country in 2018 , VoteCast shows .
But Black women stand out in their ranking of other priorities .
Within the Democratic coalition , Black women were somewhat more likely than other Democrats to call the economy and jobs ( 18 % to 12 % ) or gun policy ( 19 % to 12 % ) the top issue facing the country .
They were also less likely than others to call the environment the top issue , 4 % vs 14 % , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very concerned about climate change , 56 % vs 75 % .
There 's also a distinction on abortion rights .
Nearly 1 in 4 Black female Democrats said abortion should be illegal in most or all cases .
That 's compared to about 15 % of other Democrats .
That may reflect in part the fact that their religious views differ from other members of the party .
Black women were more likely than other Democrats to call themselves born-again Christians , 51 % to 16 % , and less likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religion , 13 % vs 33 % .
On immigration , Black women aligned with other Democrats on whether immigrants living illegally in the U.S. should be given the opportunity to apply for legal status — about 9 in 10 Democratic voters across racial and gender groups support the idea .
But Black women were somewhat more likely to be critical of immigrants ' impact on the country .
Nineteen percent of Black women Democrats said immigrants do more to hurt than help the country , compared to 13 % of other Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats in general , also differ from other Democrats in their views of the role race plays in U.S. society — and on what to do about it .
Among 2018 voters , VoteCast shows that Black female Democrats were more likely than other Democrats to say that white Americans have more advantages than Black Americans in U.S. society today , 87 % to 73 % .
Among black male Democrats , 81 % said white Americans have more advantages than Black Americans .
In seven states where the question was asked in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 Black voters — men and women alike — said they favored making reparations payments to the descendants of enslaved people , compared with about 4 in 10 non-Black Democrats .
Although the party was broadly united on the importance of health care as an issue facing the country , Black female Democrats in 2018 differed from other Democrats in their views of what to do about it .
In particular , Black women were more likely than other Democrats to say the Affordable Care Act should be left as is , 29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to say it should be expanded , 52 % to 63 % .
That difference may be an ideological one , but could also reflect a desire to support the signature policy of Obama , the nation 's first Black president .
One clue that the latter might play a role : Black women in the Democratic primary this year were little different from other Democratic voters in views of specific health care policies .
In the 2020 primaries , Black voters , including Black women , were about as likely as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insurance plan .
And like other primary voters , an even larger percentage of Black women supported a public insurance option .

Black women are often called the backbone of the Democratic Party — reliable and loyal voters whose support can make or break a candidate.
In 2018, they were more likely than women in any other racial or ethnic group to support Democratic House candidates, according to AP VoteCast, which surveyed more than 115,000 voters nationwide, including close to 7,000 Black women, making it one of the most in-depth available looks at the group’s political views.
But that doesn’t mean Black women are “typical” Democrats.
An AP analysis of the VoteCast data reveals that Black women’s views often stand out as more moderate than the rest of the party.
Black women are less likely to identify as liberal, somewhat less likely to support abortion rights, far less concerned about climate change, and somewhat more likely to prioritize jobs and the economy. They are also more protective of former President Barack Obama’s policies and legacy.
In 2020, the influence of those views was especially clear. Black women came out in force to vote for the moderate in the Democratic presidential primary, Obama’s former vice president, Joe Biden, and rescued his bid.
A closer look at how Black women are shaping the Democratic Party:
IDEOLOGY
In its survey of 2018 midterm voters who identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party, VoteCast shows that Black women were much less likely than others to call themselves liberal (42% vs 60%) and more likely to call themselves moderate (43% vs 34%) or conservative (13% vs 5%). The pattern is similar among Black men.
Similarly, across 17 states where AP VoteCast was conducted in the 2020 primary elections, Black voters were more likely to say they preferred voting for a candidate who would restore the political system to the way it was before Donald Trump took office (52%) than for a candidate who would fundamentally change politics in Washington (46%). Other Democratic voters were more likely to prefer the reverse, 54% to 44%.
It’s a key difference that demonstrates the group’s power in the party’s nomination process. After poor performances in Iowa and New Hampshire left Joe Biden’s candidacy on life support earlier this year, Black voters — and Black women in particular — spurred the former vice president to a decisive victory in South Carolina. Black women made up about a third of voters in the key contest, and approximately two-thirds of them voted for Biden, VoteCast shows.
That victory turned Biden from also-ran to consensus candidate of moderate primary voters, propelling his comeback bid to win the nomination.
PRIORITIES
Among both Black female Democrats and other Democrats, health care was the issue most likely to be named as the most important facing the country in 2018, VoteCast shows.
But Black women stand out in their ranking of other priorities.
Within the Democratic coalition, Black women were somewhat more likely than other Democrats to call the economy and jobs (18% to 12%) or gun policy (19% to 12%) the top issue facing the country.
They were also less likely than others to call the environment the top issue, 4% vs 14%, and much less likely to call themselves very concerned about climate change, 56% vs 75%.
There’s also a distinction on abortion rights. Nearly 1 in 4 Black female Democrats said abortion should be illegal in most or all cases. That’s compared to about 15% of other Democrats. That may reflect in part the fact that their religious views differ from other members of the party. Black women were more likely than other Democrats to call themselves born-again Christians, 51% to 16%, and less likely to say they don’t identify with any religion, 13% vs 33%.
On immigration, Black women aligned with other Democrats on whether immigrants living illegally in the U.S. should be given the opportunity to apply for legal status — about 9 in 10 Democratic voters across racial and gender groups support the idea. But Black women were somewhat more likely to be critical of immigrants’ impact on the country. Nineteen percent of Black women Democrats said immigrants do more to hurt than help the country, compared to 13% of other Democrats.
RACE
Black female Democrats, and Black Democrats in general, also differ from other Democrats in their views of the role race plays in U.S. society — and on what to do about it.
Among 2018 voters, VoteCast shows that Black female Democrats were more likely than other Democrats to say that white Americans have more advantages than Black Americans in U.S. society today, 87% to 73%. Among black male Democrats, 81% said white Americans have more advantages than Black Americans.
In seven states where the question was asked in the 2020 primaries, about 8 in 10 Black voters — men and women alike — said they favored making reparations payments to the descendants of enslaved people, compared with about 4 in 10 non-Black Democrats.
HEALTH CARE
Although the party was broadly united on the importance of health care as an issue facing the country, Black female Democrats in 2018 differed from other Democrats in their views of what to do about it. In particular, Black women were more likely than other Democrats to say the Affordable Care Act should be left as is, 29% to 19%, and less likely to say it should be expanded, 52% to 63%.
That difference may be an ideological one, but could also reflect a desire to support the signature policy of Obama, the nation’s first Black president. One clue that the latter might play a role: Black women in the Democratic primary this year were little different from other Democratic voters in views of specific health care policies. In the 2020 primaries, Black voters, including Black women, were about as likely as other voters to support a single-payer health insurance plan. And like other primary voters, an even larger percentage of Black women supported a public insurance option.


shareblue--2020-08-18--School nurse: 'All I can think about is keeping my kiddos safe' from virus

The first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention featured a school nurse from El Paso , Texas , who spoke to how the COVID-19 pandemic had made her job more challenging , saying presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had a plan to help the country regain some sense of normalcy .
Michelle Beebe was one of a number of Americans featured in the first hour Monday night 's convention proceedings .
Each talked about how Donald Trump 's policies over the past four years had hurt their livelihoods .
Beebe spoke specifically about how Trump 's failures to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to schools unsafe .
Still , she said , `` I am committed to take care of my family , my students , and all my staff at my school .
I will do whatever it takes to ensure that we are all ready to go back to school safe and healthy . ''
She was proceeded by a business owner , a farmer , and a racial justice activist who spoke about how Trump had negatively impacted their lives .
From Night 1 of the 2020 Democratic National Convention : We 've @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a little challenging because every day something seems to change .
We start one way one day , and have to change it the next day .
And I know that right now it 's kind of sad not to see the kiddos when we are back .
But I know that will change .
We will have to adapt and persevere .
But honestly right now all I can think about is keeping my kiddos safe .
I know back in March , you know we had them at home and we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 're wanting us to take them back to school .
And it 's a little scary with all the uprise in COVID cases .
And so I just want to say that I am committed to take care of my family , my students , and all my staff at my school .
I will do whatever it takes to ensure that we are all ready to go back to school safe and healthy .
And I know that I am optimistic to move forward with our life , and Joe Biden will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I just want to say for everyone to please remember to wash their hands and wear their mask because we 're all in this together .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

The first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention featured a school nurse from El Paso, Texas, who spoke to how the COVID-19 pandemic had made her job more challenging, saying presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had a plan to help the country regain some sense of normalcy.
Michelle Beebe was one of a number of Americans featured in the first hour Monday night’s convention proceedings. Each talked about how Donald Trump’s policies over the past four years had hurt their livelihoods.
Beebe spoke specifically about how Trump’s failures to contain the coronavirus early had made returning to schools unsafe.
Still, she said, “I am committed to take care of my family, my students, and all my staff at my school. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that we are all ready to go back to school safe and healthy.”
She was proceeded by a business owner, a farmer, and a racial justice activist who spoke about how Trump had negatively impacted their lives.
From Night 1 of the 2020 Democratic National Convention:
We’ve already started school, but it is a little challenging because every day something seems to change. We start one way one day, and have to change it the next day. And I know that right now it’s kind of sad not to see the kiddos when we are back. But I know that will change. We will have to adapt and persevere. But honestly right now all I can think about is keeping my kiddos safe. I know back in March, you know we had them at home and we were doing okay, but now they’re wanting us to take them back to school. And it’s a little scary with all the uprise in COVID cases. And so I just want to say that I am committed to take care of my family, my students, and all my staff at my school. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that we are all ready to go back to school safe and healthy. And I know that I am optimistic to move forward with our life, and Joe Biden will be the one to take us there. I just want to say for everyone to please remember to wash their hands and wear their mask because we’re all in this together.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.